Chapter Summaries

The Wind Thunder Pavilion attacked the Mercenary Guild fortress, and Venerable Thunder’s combined force shattered its energy barrier. As Liu Ling faced the Wind Thunder South Pavilion master, a white-haired old man emerged from distorted space, drawing wariness from Venerable Thunder and Venerable Yellow Springs.

• Elder Liu directed the fortress’s crossbowmen and defenders as they repelled the Wind Thunder Pavilion’s initial assault.
• Venerable Thunder ordered more than forty Dou Zong experts to combine their power into an energy beast that shattered the fortress’s barrier.
• Liu Ling and the Mercenary Guild fighters charged into battle as Venerable Thunder sent his forces toward the walls.
• The Wind Thunder South Pavilion master attacked Liu Ling, but a white-haired old man appeared beside him.

Heavenly Fire Venerable arrived beside Liu Ling and turned the tide of the battle with a single sword strike. Venerable Yellow Springs fled with his followers, leaving the Mercenary Guild victorious and Venerable Thunder facing an overwhelming opponent.

• Heavenly Fire Venerable appeared beside Liu Ling, causing the Wind Thunder South Pavilion Master to withdraw.
• Heavenly Fire Venerable assessed Venerable Thunder and Venerable Yellow Springs, then faced them in battle.
• Heavenly Fire Venerable split Venerable Thunder's lightning spear with an energy sword and forced him to evade its follow-up strike.
• Venerable Yellow Springs fled after seeing Heavenly Fire Venerable's strength, and ten Yellow Springs Pavilion Dou Zong experts followed him.
• The Mercenary Guild forces cheered as Heavenly Fire Venerable's intervention ended the battle in their favor.

Heavenly Fire Venerable defeated the Wind Thunder Pavilion’s forces and trapped Venerable Thunder, who tried to secure his survival by invoking the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan. After finding the clan’s young member among the attackers, Heavenly Fire Venerable still looked ready to kill Venerable Thunder.

• Heavenly Fire Venerable pursued Venerable Thunder and trapped him inside a spatial cage.
• Venerable Thunder pleaded for mercy and revealed that Wind Thunder Pavilion served the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan and that one of its young members was present.
• Heavenly Fire Venerable searched the attackers and spotted a slender figure standing atop a Seven-Colored Giant Crane.
• Venerable Thunder warned that the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan would investigate if he died, while Heavenly Fire Venerable’s killing intent remained strong.

Heavenly Fire Venerable defeated and beheaded Venerable Thunder, leaving the Wind Thunder Pavilion’s three branch masters to consider surrender or escape. Liu Ling arrived at the battlefield and spotted the woman of the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan whom Heavenly Fire Venerable had warned him not to harm.

• Venerable Thunder tried to threaten Heavenly Fire Venerable with the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan’s influence, but Heavenly Fire Venerable dismissed him and attacked.
• Venerable Thunder broke free of the spatial cage, but Heavenly Fire Venerable’s energy palm overwhelmed his defenses and left him badly wounded.
• Heavenly Fire Venerable cut off Venerable Thunder’s head, and the three Wind Thunder Pavilion branch masters reacted with shock and began weighing surrender or escape.
• Xiao Jin and Liu Ling arrived, and Heavenly Fire Venerable told Liu Ling to leave the woman riding the Seven-Colored Peacock unharmed because she belonged to the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan.
• Liu Ling looked toward the woman and saw her sitting atop the Seven-Colored Giant Crane.

Liu Ling noticed a young woman from the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan while the Wind Thunder Pavilion's three branch masters tried to escape. Xiao Jin intercepted two of them with fiery golden sword strikes, leaving both engulfed in flames as Xiao Jin pursued Tian Lei Zi.

• Liu Ling recognized the woman atop the Seven-Colored Giant Crane as a likely member of the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan and resolved to ensure her safety.
• The Wind Thunder South Pavilion master, the Wind Thunder West Pavilion master, and Tian Lei Zi split up and fled in different directions.
• Liu Ling ordered Xiao Jin to stop the three fugitives, and Xiao Jin attacked the South and West Pavilion masters with golden sword qi.
• The two pavilion masters blocked much of the sword qi's force, but the strikes pierced them and ignited flames that burned their bodies.
• Xiao Jin used Golden Phantom to pursue Tian Lei Zi while the South Pavilion master cried out in agony and struggled to escape the fire.

Xiao Jin overwhelmed the Wind Thunder Pavilion masters with his sword and pursued Tian Lei Zi, while Liu Ling caught the South Pavilion Master. Liu Ling’s Azure Vermilion Bird engulfed the South Pavilion Master in hotter flames, as Xiao Jin continued after Tian Lei Zi.

• Xiao Jin’s flames crippled the South Pavilion Master and West Pavilion Master, shocking the Wind Thunder Pavilion experts and the Woman in Colorful Skirt.
• Liu Ling pursued the burning South Pavilion Master while Xiao Jin chased Tian Lei Zi.
• Tian Lei Zi summoned a Three Thousand Lightning Illusory Body to delay Xiao Jin as he fled.
• Xiao Jin destroyed the Seven-star Dou Zong duplicate with one sword strike, halting Tian Lei Zi and leaving him exposed to pursuit.
• Liu Ling struck the South Pavilion Master with an Azure Vermilion Bird that devoured Xiao Jin’s Beast Fire and engulfed him in hotter azure flames.

Liu Ling defeated the Wind Thunder Pavilion leaders and offered their surviving forces a chance to surrender, then announced punishments for those who had attacked the Mercenary Guild. The chapter ended as several hundred members fled after hearing that murderers would be executed.

• The Azure Vermilion Bird burned the Wind Thunder South Pavilion Master to death, and Liu Ling warned the Wind Thunder Pavilion forces to surrender or be killed.
• The West Pavilion Master and Tian Lei Zi surrendered, and Liu Ling withdrew the West Pavilion Master's Beast Fire.
• Liu Ling ordered the West Pavilion Master and Tian Lei Zi to gather the Wind Thunder Pavilion members and their affiliated forces.
• Liu Ling declared that attackers would face imprisonment, murderers would die, and others could leave after surrendering half their possessions.
• Several hundred Wind Thunder Pavilion members, including five or six Dou Zong experts, fled after hearing Liu Ling's terms.

Liu Ling punished those responsible for attacking the Mercenary Guild and negotiated with Feng Qing'er, who revealed her ties to the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan. After half a month of investigations and arrangements, the Wind Thunder Pavilion's forces were dealt with, and the Mercenary Guild emerged as a first-rate faction.

• Liu Ling ordered his allies to kill the fleeing attackers, then had the Mercenary Guild's survivors identify others who had shed its blood.
• Liu Ling told Feng Qing'er that she could leave, and she introduced herself while suggesting that the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan might seek cooperation with the Mercenary Guild.
• Feng Qing'er departed on her Seven-Colored Giant Crane, and the Mercenary Guild spent half a month sorting out the Wind Thunder Pavilion's remaining forces.
• The Mercenary Guild executed most of the three to four hundred people identified as murderers and released most others after they surrendered half their possessions.
• Liu Ling imprisoned the Wind Thunder Pavilion's Dou Zong experts who had damaged the fortress barrier, while others surrendered their possessions and agreed to serve the Guild without pay for a year.
• The victory at Scarlet Cliff Fortress brought the Mercenary Guild treasures and elevated it into the ranks of the continent's first-rate factions.

After the Mercenary Guild secured the Northwest Continent, Gu He and Yun Yun discussed how Xiao Yi Xian, Nalan Yanran, and the others were faring on their missions. Gu He sensed that they had ventured into the Central Plains and expected they would remain away until their three-year deadline.

• The Mercenary Guild expanded across the Northwest Continent and grew to include forty-seven Dou Zong elders and a One-star Dou Zun elder.
• Gu He praised Liu Ling for expanding the guild while avoiding a premature move into the Central Plains.
• Yun Yun wondered how Nalan Yanran, Xiao Yi Xian, and the others were doing after nearly two years away.
• Gu He sensed the Void Jade Talismans and found Xiao Yi Xian alone while Nalan Yanran, Han Yue, Han Xue, and A Zi were gathered together in the Central Plains.
• Gu He and Yun Yun discussed the difficult tasks facing Xiao Yi Xian and Han Yue and expected the group would not return before the deadline.

Gu He expanded the former Nine-Colored Valley into the Nine-Colored Realm and continued raising Little Yu Chen in the Misty Cloud Sect. The story shifted to Ice River Valley, where a green-robed elder reported new leads about the Calamity Poison Body to the Valley Master.

• Gu He expanded the space where Nine-Colored Valley had stood into the thirty-li Nine-Colored Realm.
• Gu He planted medicinal herbs and kept the Crimson Flood Dragon, Cai'er, and Qing Lin’s poisonous insects in the realm.
• Gu He stayed in the Misty Cloud Sect palace complex so Little Yu Chen could grow up around other people.
• The story introduced Ice River Valley’s mountain stronghold deep in the frigid Cold Fall Mountain Range.
• A green-robed elder told the Valley Master that he had found leads while investigating the Calamity Poison Body.

Tian Shuangzi reported to Ice Venerable that the Calamity Poison Girl was likely a Three-star Dou Zun who was establishing a sect near Xuantian City. Ice Venerable, who possessed an acquired Calamity Poison Body, considered how he might evolve it into an innate one.

• Tian Shuangzi approached Ice Venerable with leads about the Calamity Poison Body.
• Ice Venerable emerged from the distorted space and ordered Tian Shuangzi to report what he knew.
• Tian Shuangzi said the Calamity Poison Girl was likely a Three-star Dou Zun and had recently been seen near Xuantian City.
• Ice Venerable considered the report and his desire to turn his acquired Calamity Poison Body into an innate one.

Ice Venerable ordered Tian Shuangzi to investigate the Calamity Poison Girl discreetly and stop her from gaining control of Xuantian City. Tian Shuangzi demanded the city’s eight clan patriarchs help Ice River Valley ambush and kill her, threatening to replace them if they refused.

• Ice Venerable sent Tian Shuangzi and several trusted members of Ice River Valley to Xuantian City to monitor the Calamity Poison Girl.
• The eight clan patriarchs of Xuantian City discussed submitting to the Calamity Poison Girl rather than risk the city’s destruction.
• Tian Shuangzi arrived at the City Lord's Manor and urged the patriarchs to resist the Calamity Poison Girl.
• Tian Shuangzi ordered the patriarchs to pretend to submit, lure the Calamity Poison Girl into an ambush, and help kill her.
• Tian Shuangzi rejected the patriarchs’ request for time to consider and threatened to replace their clans if they refused.

Xiao Yi Xian arrived in Xuantian City to lead the Eight Great Families into forming the Heavenly Poison Sect, but Ice River Valley interrupted the gathering to take her. After she wounded Tian Shuangzi, Ice Venerable Ice River appeared and faced her in the snow-covered plaza.

• Tian Shuangzi ordered the Eight Great Families to join Ice River Valley or leave Xuantian City, and they later publicly pledged support to Xiao Yi Xian and the Heavenly Poison Sect.
• Xiao Yi Xian and Little Silver appeared at the plaza, where the Eight Great Families welcomed Xiao Yi Xian as their Sect Leader.
• Tian Shuangzi arrived with Ice River Valley disciples and announced that Ice River Valley's Sect Leader was interested in Xiao Yi Xian.
• Xiao Yi Xian attacked Tian Shuangzi with poisonous aura, forcing him back and making him expel the poison from his body.
• Xiao Yi Xian called out Ice Venerable, and Ice River appeared above the plaza as snow began to fall.

Ice Venerable revealed that he had come to claim Xiao Yi Xian’s innate Calamity Poison Body to perfect his own acquired one, then attacked her and Little Silver. Xiao Yi Xian and Little Silver repelled his opening assault without injury, leaving Ice Venerable unable to gauge Xiao Yi Xian’s strength.

• Ice Venerable arrived in Xuantian City and declared that he had come for Xiao Yi Xian, not to contest control of the city.
• Xiao Yi Xian attacked Ice Venerable with a poison arrow, but he inhaled the Calamity Poison Gas without harm.
• Ice Venerable revealed that he possessed an acquired Calamity Poison Body and wanted Xiao Yi Xian’s innate body to make his own physique perfect.
• Ice Venerable turned the snow around him black and sent a barrage of black snowflakes toward Xiao Yi Xian and Little Silver.
• Xiao Yi Xian and Little Silver blocked Ice Venerable’s attack and countered his black energy dragons, while Ice Venerable realized he had gained no advantage.

Xiao Yi Xian used the Netherworld Poison Fire to overwhelm Ice Venerable, destroying his black dragon and penetrating his ice defenses. Ice Venerable was left horrified as the Purple Butterfly closed in on him.

• Ice Venerable re-formed his black dragons and sent them charging at Xiao Yi Xian.
• Xiao Yi Xian unleashed the Netherworld Poison Fire, which shattered the black dragon and made Ice Venerable recognize the deadly flame.
• Xiao Yi Xian sent the Purple Butterfly after Ice Venerable, leaving poisonous, scorching traces across the battlefield.
• Ice Venerable attacked the Purple Butterfly with black ice spears and raised a thick wall of black ice to defend himself.
• Xiao Yi Xian guided the Purple Flame through the ice wall, and the Purple Butterfly re-formed beside Ice Venerable.

Xiao Yi Xian overpowered Ice Venerable in their battle, forcing him to concede before she demanded that he leave behind an arm. Ice Venerable refused and ordered the Ice River Valley disciples to trap Xiao Yi Xian and Little Silver inside the Ice River Great Formation.

• The Netherworld Poison Fire broke through Ice Venerable's black ice wall and attacked him as the Purple Butterfly.
• Ice River used Frozen Heaven Palm to clash with the Netherworld Poison Fire, creating a destructive energy storm and spatial rifts.
• Xiao Yi Xian revealed strength at the Four-star Dou Zun level and drove Ice Venerable into retreat.
• Ice Venerable asked Xiao Yi Xian to let the matter go, but she demanded that he leave behind one arm.
• Ice Venerable ordered Tian Shuangzi and the Ice River Valley disciples to raise the Ice River Great Formation, trapping Xiao Yi Xian and Little Silver inside a hemispherical ice barrier.

Xiao Yi Xian and Little Silver escaped Ice River Valley’s formation, then trapped Ice Venerable and more than a hundred disciples inside Xiao Yi Xian’s Heavenly Poison Prison. The poisonous mist overwhelmed the trapped disciples and even frightened Tian Shuangzi.

• Little Silver opened a spatial crack, allowing her and Xiao Yi Xian to escape the Ice River Great Formation.
• Xiao Yi Xian struck Ice Venerable through a spatial rift with deathly gray gas, killing more than a dozen Ice River Valley disciples and weakening the formation.
• Old Patriarch Zhou and other Xuantian City experts feared Ice River Valley’s defeat would bring retribution for their betrayal of Xiao Yi Xian.
• Little Silver immobilized Ice Venerable with spatial barriers while Xiao Yi Xian enclosed him and nearby disciples in the Heavenly Poison Prison.
• Xiao Yi Xian’s poisonous mist filled the prison, causing the trapped disciples to scream in terror and alarming Tian Shuangzi.

Xiao Yi Xian trapped Ice River Valley’s forces in the Heavenly Poison Prison, where the poison killed nearly everyone, including Tian Shuangzi, while Ice Venerable died in a self-destruction. After Little Silver contained the resulting storm, Xiao Yi Xian declared the Heavenly Poison Sect’s establishment and faced survivors begging for mercy.

• Xiao Yi Xian intensified the poison inside the Heavenly Poison Prison with the Netherworld Poison Fire as Ice Venerable and the others tried to break out.
• The poison killed the four Dou Zong experts, leaving only Tian Shuangzi and Ice Venerable alive inside the prison.
• Tian Shuangzi died, and Ice Venerable self-destructed, causing a massive storm of energy and poison gas.
• Xiao Yi Xian ordered Little Silver to contain the storm, and he enclosed it within distorted space.
• Xiao Yi Xian announced that Ice River Valley had brought its fate upon itself, and the remaining Ice River Valley and Xuantian City fighters begged for their lives.

After defeating Ice River Valley, Xiao Yi Xian founded the Heavenly Poison Sect and built it into a rising regional power. A month later, the sect was gaining strength while Ice River Valley had been nearly abandoned, and Xiao Yi Xian learned of Liu Ling’s rapidly growing Mercenary Guild.

• After Ice Venerable and Tian Shuangzi died, Xiao Yi Xian spared the surviving forces and accepted Xuantian City’s people into her new sect.
• Xiao Yi Xian established the Heavenly Poison Sect in Xuantian City, assigning its elders and gathering disciples, six Dou Zongs, and two Dou Zun experts.
• Xiao Yi Xian and Little Silver discussed Liu Ling’s Mercenary Guild and wondered how Yan Ran, Han Yue, and the others were progressing toward their tasks.
• Over the following month, the Heavenly Poison Sect rose in prominence as Ice River Valley declined after its Valley Master’s death.
• Nearly all of Ice River Valley’s remaining people left or plundered the valley, fearing another attack from the Heavenly Poison Sect.

Xiao Yi Xian led Little Silver and Heavenly Poison Sect elders to Ice River Valley to loot its treasures, only to find the valley largely deserted after its leaders had fallen and most disciples had fled. Little Silver shattered the valley’s protective seal, and the group descended into the plaza as the remaining disciples realized they had come to plunder.

• Xiao Yi Xian captured a former Ice River Valley disciple and forced him to point out the valley’s location.
• Xiao Yi Xian and her group followed the Ice River through the Cold Fall Mountain Range and discovered Ice River Valley beyond its distorted spatial seal.
• Little Silver broke the valley-protecting seal, drawing the attention of the few remaining disciples.
• Xiao Yi Xian, Little Silver, and the Heavenly Poison Sect group descended to the plaza before the white palace.