Chapter Summaries

Su Bai arrived at Yan Yun’s Ninth Prince’s Manor, where Steward Liu explained that the prince was cultivating in seclusion at the Night Watch Palace. Steward Liu persuaded Su Bai to stay until Yan Yun returned, while recognizing that Su Bai had a powerful figure backing him.

• Su Bai and Zhu Biao passed repeated security inspections as they traveled through the inner city to the Ninth Prince’s Manor.
• Su Bai used Yan Yun’s Message Transmission Artifact to announce his arrival, and Steward Liu came out to greet him.
• Steward Liu told Su Bai that Yan Yun could not meet him immediately because he was cultivating in seclusion at the Night Watch Palace.
• Su Bai offered to report to the Demon Suppression Division and return later, but Steward Liu urged him to stay, saying Yan Yun would return within a few hours.
• Su Bai accepted Steward Liu’s invitation and followed him into the manor.

Su Bai settled into Yan Yun’s manor while Butler Liu took Zhu Biao to obtain an official demon registration token. As Su Bai explored the extravagant grounds, he discovered a Golden Core Stage spirit crane kept in its original form as an ornament.

• Butler Liu showed Su Bai the guest quarters and offered to arrange Zhu Biao’s official demon registration.
• Su Bai accepted Butler Liu’s offer, and Zhu Biao left with the steward after receiving Su Bai’s permission.
• Su Bai explored the manor and admired its luxurious spiritual plants and displays of wealth.
• Su Bai found a blood-red Golden Core Stage spirit crane on an island in the artificial lake and realized it appeared to be kept from taking human form for its ornamental value.

Yan Yun explained the Demon Suppression Division’s hierarchy, strict recruitment, and political obstacles to Su Bai, who prepared to join with hopes of a high-ranking post. The conversation ended with Su Bai and Yan Yun reaffirming their friendship, while Zhu Biao received his official Demon Registry Token.

• Su Bai considered how the Demon Suppression Division’s name suggested a more aggressive policy toward demons than the Night Watch Palace’s defensive role.
• Yan Yun told Su Bai that Celestial Master Xuanyuan Ningxin led the division and outlined its ranks and cultivation requirements.
• Yan Yun explained that imperial vetting and opposition from Great Qian nobles had left the division’s middle and upper ranks understaffed.
• Yan Yun encouraged Su Bai to seek a Thousand-Household Commander post or possibly become a Commander, citing his cultivation, merits, and connections.
• Su Bai agreed to call Yan Yun Brother Yan, and the two reaffirmed their friendship.
• Steward Liu returned with Zhu Biao, whose temporary wooden tag had been replaced by an official Demon Registry Token.

Su Bai arrived at the Demon Suppression Division headquarters with an imperial transfer decree and was admitted after the guards verified it. A Demon Queller Envoy escorted him toward Celestial Master Xuanyuan Ningxin, as the division’s headquarters and towering suppression pagoda came into view.

• Su Bai entered the headquarters plaza and saw the Ink Qilin resting in its spiritual spring.
• Four Demon Queller Envoys stopped Su Bai and demanded to know why he had come.
• Su Bai presented his transfer decree and identified himself as the former Night Watcher Chief Steward in Copper City, Northern Province.
• The lead Demon Queller Envoy verified the decree, sent the others back to their posts, and escorted Su Bai to meet the Celestial Master.
• Su Bai followed the envoy into the division’s core grounds, where they approached the headquarters pavilion and a seven-level metal pagoda.

Xuanyuan Ningxin appointed Su Bai commander despite his Nascent Soul cultivation, granting him resources and a chance to become a Deity Transformation Seed while assigning him only one temporary subordinate. Su Bai arrived at his new office after agreeing to recruit talent and pass Xuanyuan Ningxin’s wish to meet Lu Jiu along to his master.

• Xuanyuan Ningxin explained that Su Bai’s appointment was an exception and arranged cultivation resources and support to help him reach Deity Transformation.
• Xuanyuan Ningxin told Su Bai that all five Thousand-Household Commander positions were vacant, but he had temporarily transferred one commander under him.
• Xuanyuan Ningxin authorized Su Bai to recommend suitable recruits for the Division’s establishment.
• Su Bai agreed to help recruit talent and to convey Xuanyuan Ningxin’s request to meet Lu Jiu, while noting that his master’s whereabouts were elusive.
• Su Bai went to the office assigned to him on the first floor of the Demon Suppression Division headquarters.

Su Bai asked Hua Yifeng about his background and the Demon Suppression Division, then questioned him about Commander Ye Qingxuan. He learned that Ye was a common-born Peak Deity Transformation expert and former Nascent Soul Immortal Martial Laureate, though Xuanyuan Ningxin was stronger.

• Su Bai welcomed Hua Yifeng, offered him Spirit Tea, and asked him to explain the division and his own background.
• Hua Yifeng introduced himself as a member of the Kyoto Hua Family, a First Academy graduate, and a veteran of the northern frontier army.
• Hua Yifeng explained that Ye Qingxuan had personally invited him to join the Demon Suppression Division and had remained his commander.
• At Su Bai's request, Hua Yifeng described Ye Qingxuan as a common-born Peak Deity Transformation expert and former Nascent Soul Immortal Martial Laureate.
• Su Bai considered the difference between Ye Qingxuan's strength and Xuanyuan Ningxin's, recognizing that Xuanyuan Ningxin could steadily suppress him.

Su Bai collected his commander's cultivation resources and familiarized himself with the Demon Suppression Division before returning to the Ninth Prince's Manor. He told Yan Yun that his new post was a general without troops, and Yan Yun asked what he meant.

• Su Bai told Hua Yifeng to handle routine Division affairs and notify him of urgent matters while he focused on cultivation.
• Su Bai received his annual allocation of spirit stones, pills, and spirit herbs from the materials office's stern-faced old woman.
• Su Bai toured the Demon Suppression Division, then walked through the capital in his commander's uniform and received deference from guards.
• Su Bai returned to the Ninth Prince's Manor, where Yan Yun congratulated him and asked whether Xuanyuan Ningxin had made things difficult.
• Su Bai said Xuanyuan Ningxin had supported his cultivation but that he was a general without troops, prompting Yan Yun to ask what he meant.

Su Bai kept a low profile while gradually raising the cultivation he displayed at the Demon Suppression Division. His quiet routine ended when Eldest Princess Yan Ling pressed Celestial Master Xuanyuan Ningxin to help recover her lost demon pet.

• Su Bai cultivated in his assigned room, using the Demon Suppression Division’s resources to practice secret techniques while maintaining the appearance of seeking a breakthrough.
• Over three months, Su Bai raised his apparent cultivation to the peak of Nascent Soul Late Stage and planned to progress further before pursuing Spirit Transformation.
• Yan Ling visited Xuanyuan Ningxin at the Demon Suppression Division headquarters and asked him to recover her lost demon pet.
• Xuanyuan Ningxin said that recovering a lost pet fell outside the Division’s duties, but Yan Ling invoked the Qian Emperor’s instruction and threatened to report his refusal.

Su Bai received a mission from Xuanyuan Ningxin to find a missing Nascent Soul Realm Fluffy Ball Rat Demon, which had evaded even Deity Transformation Stage guards. When Zhu Biao identified it as a Void-Escaping Spirit Mouse, Su Bai realized it might be connected to the Law of Space and asked about its origins.

• Xuanyuan Ningxin gave Su Bai a Jade Slip describing the missing Rat Demon and asked him to try to find it.
• Su Bai accepted the mission, then reasoned that he could not scan the capital with his full strength without risking exposure.
• Su Bai decided Zhu Biao was best suited to track the Rat Demon and handed him the Jade Slip.
• Zhu Biao recognized the creature as a Demon Cultivator from the Void-Escaping Spirit Mouse clan.
• Su Bai became interested in the mouse's possible connection to space powers and asked Zhu Biao to explain its origins.

Su Bai learned that the Void-Escaping Spirit Mouse possessed spatial abilities and decided to pursue it as a way to obtain Law of Space treasures. He set out with Zhu Biao to track the mouse, while Hua Yifeng and his subordinates insisted on joining to handle obstacles around the capital.

• Zhu Biao explained that Void-Escaping Spirit Mice were elusive thieves born with spatial abilities and usually preyed on weaker factions.
• Su Bai realized he could use captured Void-Escaping Spirit Mice to refine Law of Space Crystals and improve his comprehension of space.
• Zhu Biao said his Myriad-Mile Source Pursuit ability had a seventy to eighty percent chance of tracking the mouse's lingering aura, though capturing it would be difficult.
• Su Bai climbed onto Zhu Biao's back and ordered him to find the mouse's trail.
• Hua Yifeng arrived with guards and asked to join the mission, arguing that his subordinates could negotiate with local factions and clear the way for Su Bai.

Su Bai led the Demon Suppression Division into Left Minister Zhou Shian’s residence to capture a concealed Demon Cultivator. After Zhou confronted him, Su Bai explained that reliable intelligence placed the wanted demon inside the estate.

• Su Bai ordered Hua Yifeng and the Demon Suppression Division guards to enter Zhou Shian’s residence and take control of the grounds.
• Zhu Biao confirmed that the Rat Demon was still hiding somewhere in the estate, and Su Bai ordered the search to continue before it escaped.
• Zhou Shian emerged with his Deity Transformation aura and confronted the intruders.
• Su Bai introduced himself as the Demon Suppression Division commander and told Zhou that they were pursuing a Nascent Soul Realm Demon Cultivator hiding in the residence.

Su Bai fought Zhou Shian while concealing his true cultivation, then sacrificed five swords to unleash a devastating attack that injured Zhou Shian and wrecked much of the Left Chancellor's residence. The chapter left Su Bai facing Zhou Shian with five replacement swords ready to continue the battle.

• Zhou Shian attacked Su Bai's second-turn Grand Five Elements Sword Array with his sword Dao power.
• Su Bai maintained his Nascent Soul disguise as the array struggled against Zhou Shian's Deity Transformation Stage strength.
• Su Bai detonated the five swords forming the array's eyes and condensed their power into a Five-colored Sword Light.
• Zhou Shian met the strike with a Golden Giant Sword, was knocked back and injured, and the clash's aftershock devastated much of his residence.
• Su Bai summoned five spare top-grade Spirit Artifact swords and aimed them at Zhou Shian.

Su Bai captured the Void-Escaping Spirit Mouse hidden beneath Zhou Shian’s residence and returned to the Demon Suppression Division. He left Zhou Shian to answer to the court and turned in the captured demon to Xuanyuan Ningxin.

• Su Bai sealed the Void-Escaping Spirit Mouse in a beast-taming pouch and announced that his mission was complete.
• Zhou Shian challenged Su Bai’s claim, but Su Bai revealed the captured Nascent Soul Realm Void-Escaping Spirit Mouse and questioned how it had been hiding in the Left Chancellor’s residence.
• Zhou Shian denied knowing about the demon, and Su Bai ended the exchange and departed with Zhu Biao.
• Hua Yifeng led the Demon Suppression Division personnel out of the residence, while Zhou Shian watched them leave and then vanished.
• Su Bai returned to headquarters and presented the beast-taming pouch containing the Void-Escaping Spirit Mouse to Xuanyuan Ningxin.

Su Bai explained the two paths to Deity Transformation and requested the Law Treasure Xuanyuan Ningxin had promised him. After receiving ten strands of Water Law essence, he said his master had arranged a secluded Grotto-Heaven for his breakthrough.

• Su Bai reviewed how cultivators used Law Treasures as a springboard to Deity Transformation before later comprehending their own Laws.
• Su Bai asked Xuanyuan Ningxin for a Law Treasure, saying his cultivation had reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage and his bottleneck had loosened.
• Xuanyuan Ningxin gave Su Bai a Jade Box containing ten strands of Water Law essence refined from the Deep Blue Heart.
• Xuanyuan Ningxin advised Su Bai to find a quiet place with abundant Spiritual Energy for seclusion.
• Su Bai said his master, Lu Jiu, had already arranged a hidden Grotto-Heaven blessed land for him.

Su Bai traveled in disguise to Burning Heaven City to learn whether Nine Tails had found a suitable Secret Realm for his plans to raise Void-Escaping Spirit Mice. Nine Tails reported that the weakened Cloud Tree Clan was offering its vast, stable Secret Realm and control nexus for five complete Law Treasures.

• Su Bai left the capital, changed into Lu Jiu, revealed his Peak Deity Transformation aura, and traveled through a spatial rift to Burning Heaven City.
• Su Bai met Nine Tails in the Red Palace and asked whether she had found a suitable Secret Realm.
• Nine Tails described the Cloud Tree Clan's expansive, stable Secret Realm, with abundant Spiritual Energy and a self-sustaining ecosystem.
• Nine Tails explained that the Cloud Tree Clan was selling the Secret Realm because its Old Ancestor was gravely injured and it lacked a new Peak Deity Transformation cultivator.
• Nine Tails told Su Bai that the Cloud Tree Clan demanded five complete Law Treasures for the Secret Realm and its control nexus.

Su Bai traveled to Cloud City in his Lu Jiu identity to inquire about the Cloud Tree Clan's inheritance Secret Realm. He left the bustling city with Mu Qing guiding him toward the clan elders.

• Su Bai used the Law of Space to travel from Burning Heaven City to the northern reaches of Eternal Night Forest.
• He arrived above Cloud City, the Cloud Tree Clan's aerial territory built among giant trees, and revealed his Peak Deity Transformation aura.
• Captain Mu Qing and his Nascent Soul guards approached Su Bai and respectfully asked his purpose.
• Su Bai introduced himself as Lu Jiu and said he had come to inquire about the inheritance Secret Realm the Cloud Tree Clan planned to sell.
• Mu Qing agreed to take Lu Jiu to meet the clan elders and guided him through Cloud City toward the clan's core territory.

Su Bai, posing as Lu Jiu, showed the Cloud Tree Clan elders two Law Crystals to prove he could pay for their secret realm. After the elders accepted his sincerity, they led him north from Cloud City to inspect the realm.

• Mu Cang, Mu Qing, and Mu Pan cautiously welcomed Su Bai, wary of his reputation for killing Shan Yan.
• Su Bai reassured the elders that he had come to trade and would follow the rules.
• Su Bai revealed Wind and Water Law Crystals, and the elders confirmed their value as sufficient funds for the transaction.
• Su Bai asked to inspect the Cloud Tree Secret Realm, and Mu Cang agreed to show it to him.
• Mu Cang, Mu Qing, Mu Pan, and Su Bai flew north from Cloud City toward the guarded area where the secret realm lay.

Su Bai inspected the Cloud Tree Secret Realm and recognized its vast, self-sustaining nature, which made him eager to acquire it despite its limited value to his sword cultivation. He began bargaining with Mu Cang by downplaying the realm’s benefits and explaining that he wanted it as a secluded retreat and a future estate for his disciple, Su Bai.

• Su Bai entered the Cloud Tree Secret Realm and sensed that its immense area and balanced ecology made it a fledgling Lesser World.
• Su Bai surveyed the realm while considering how to negotiate for it.
• Su Bai told Mu Cang that the realm’s predominantly Wood Attribute Spiritual Energy offered little benefit to a Sword Cultivator.
• Su Bai rejected the idea of using the realm to found a sect and said he wanted it for secluded cultivation and as a future estate for his disciple, Su Bai.

Su Bai completed a deal with Mu Cang by handing over a Wind Law Crystal and ten Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pills, while promising to deliver a Deity Transformation Breakthrough Pill later. Mu Cang sent Mu Qing and Mu Pan out of the Cloud Tree Secret Realm with the payment, leaving himself behind as Su Bai prepared to refine the secret realm core.

• Su Bai gave Mu Cang the Wind Law Crystal and ten Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pills, which Mu Cang and the elders inspected and praised for their quality.
• Mu Cang asked about the missing Deity Transformation Breakthrough Pill, and Su Bai promised to deliver it after refining it during his seclusion.
• Mu Cang accepted Su Bai's explanation and agreed to proceed with handing over the Cloud Tree Secret Realm core.
• Mu Cang instructed Mu Qing and Mu Pan to leave the secret realm with the payment while he stayed behind to guard Su Bai.
• Mu Qing and Mu Pan departed, leaving Su Bai and Mu Cang alone in the Cloud Tree Secret Realm.

Su Bai refined the Cloud Tree Secret Realm’s core and decided to turn the dependent realm into an independent Grotto-Heaven so he could remove its vulnerable entrance from the demon hinterland. He left Mu Cang to guard the entrance while he stayed inside to begin his work.

• Su Bai refined the secret realm core, leaving Mu Cang awed by his mastery of the Law of Space.
• Su Bai sensed the entire Cloud Tree Secret Realm and realized its connection point to the Blue Origin Realm remained in the Eternal Night Forest.
• Su Bai decided to refine the secret realm into a Grotto-Heaven rather than attempt to move its connection point.
• Su Bai ordered Mu Cang to forbid anyone from approaching or entering the secret realm, warning that intruders would be executed.
• Su Bai used the secret realm’s power to send Mu Cang outside, and Mu Cang immediately ordered the entrance guarded under the highest-level martial law.