Chapter Summaries

Tian Yuan sought Foundation Establishment by refining Blood Origin Pills from the flesh and blood of mortals and cultivators. After persuading three fellow survivors to help him, he led them and their disciples toward Huai River County to target the Azure Bamboo Wang Clan and Cloud Mist Wen Clan.

• Tian Yuan broke through to Qi Training Completion and decided to use Blood Origin Pills to pursue Foundation Establishment.
• Tian Yuan summoned three elderly granddisciples and proposed killing mortals and cultivators to gather materials for the pills.
• Tian Yuan offered the three cultivator corpses, mortal souls, and the possibility of Foundation Establishment if they helped him.
• The three agreed after Tian Yuan explained that the Wang Clan and Wen Clan had sent their Foundation Establishment cultivators to defend West Yang Market Town.
• Tian Yuan and the three elderly cultivators settled the division of benefits and led their disciples toward Huai River County.

Tian Yuan’s demonic group devastated the Cloud Mist Wen and Azure Bamboo Wang Clans, then moved to Ice Flood Dragon County when other Foundation Establishment cultivators intervened. After slaughtering tens of thousands to refine a Blood Origin Pill, Tian Yuan killed his own followers, reached Foundation Establishment, and began preparing a powerful Thousand Ghost Banner.

• Wen Ruofei pursued fleeing demon beasts from Rare Mist Valley, where Tian Yuan’s group ambushed him and then destroyed the valley’s defenses, killing most of its cultivators and mortals.
• Small Demon Uprisings brought heavy losses to the Cloud Mist Wen and Azure Bamboo Wang Clans, but patrols by allied Foundation Establishment cultivators forced Tian Yuan’s group out of Huai River County.
• Tian Yuan’s group ravaged the six weak Foundation Establishment Families of Ice Flood Dragon County, and Tian Yuan refined a Blood Origin Pill from the corpses of tens of thousands of mortals and more than a hundred cultivators.
• Tian Yuan summoned a hundred powerful evil ghosts to kill his own disciples and descendants, then used the Blood Origin Pill to break through to Foundation Establishment.
• After stabilizing his cultivation with another pill refined from his followers’ corpses, Tian Yuan prepared to forge a Thousand Ghost Banner from nearly one hundred thousand souls and Foundation Establishment demon beast hide.

Ling Pengyun agreed to help Luo Qiuming defend the Sun Family from a demon beast siege and traveled with him to Ice Flood Dragon County. The battle began at the Sun Family Clan Mountain, where Luo Qiuming trapped the stronger Gale Wolf king in a powerful array while Ling Pengyun attacked the wolf queen.

• Luo Qiuming and Sun Mingzhong asked Ling Pengyun to help the Sun Family repel a horde of demon beasts, and Ling Pengyun initially refused because he feared leaving his clan unguarded.
• Luo Qiuming promised to carry Ling Pengyun to the Sun Family Clan Mountain and back within a day, so Ling Pengyun agreed after learning he would face the Foundation Establishment First Layer wolf queen.
• Luo Qiuming flew Ling Pengyun and Sun Mingzhong more than ten thousand li to the besieged Sun Family Clan Mountain in four hours.
• Ling Pengyun noticed the Gale Wolf pack and considered capturing some wolves for his clan to tame and raise.
• Ling Pengyun attacked the wolf queen while Luo Qiuming surrounded the stronger wolf king with eighteen Lifebound Array Flags and activated the Yellow Sand Erosion Grand Array.

Ling Pengyun and Luo Qiuming helped the Sun Clan defeat a demon beast assault, then collected payment and arranged a future purchase of Earth Silk Worm Silk. They left Sun Family Clan Mountain and returned to Lingxiao Mountain.

• Ling Pengyun killed the Foundation Establishment First Layer mother wolf, captured several Early-Stage Qi Training Gale Wolves, and helped the Sun Clan fight the demon beasts.
• Luo Qiuming slew the Foundation Establishment Third Layer wolf king, and he and Ling Pengyun helped the Sun Clan drive off the remaining Qi Training demon beasts.
• Sun Mingzhong paid Ling Pengyun and Luo Qiuming for their aid and gave them the materials and proceeds from the demon beasts they had slain.
• Ling Pengyun asked Sun Mingzhong to reserve Earth Silk Worm Silk for the Ling Clan, and Luo Qiuming agreed to let the Sun Clan fulfill Ling Pengyun’s order first.
• Luo Qiuming flew Ling Pengyun back to Lingxiao Mountain, then departed.

Ling Pengyun brought fifteen Gale Wolves to Ling Yunhan to raise as spirit beasts for the Ling Clan, while Tian Yuan decided to hunt Foundation Establishment cultivators to strengthen his Thousand Ghost Banner and remain in the region. The chapter left Tian Yuan stealthily heading toward Huai River County to target the families guarded by Foundation Establishment cultivators.

• Ling Pengyun learned from Ling Pengliang that no clansmen had called for help and that the Sun Clan had no Earth Silk Worm Silk in stock.
• Ling Pengyun brought fifteen bound Early-Stage Qi Training Gale Wolves, including ten females, to Ling Yunhan and asked her to tame them for the Ling Clan.
• Ling Yunhan began using beast-taming secret arts on the wolves, while she and Ling Pengyun discussed building a pack that could eventually serve the clan.
• Tian Yuan concluded that raising a Foundation Establishment malicious ghost from Qi Training cultivators' souls would take years and that he needed to kill Foundation Establishment cultivators to strengthen his Thousand Ghost Banner.
• Tian Yuan chose the two Huai River County families with Foundation Establishment cultivators guarding them as targets and set out for the county.

Ling Pengyun was ambushed by a thousand evil ghosts controlled by Tian Yuan, a Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator. After using two Qi Recovery Pills to sustain his attacks, Ling Pengyun destroyed the ghosts, pursued Tian Yuan, killed him, and safely returned to Lingxiao Mountain.

• Ling Pengyun defended himself from a thousand evil ghosts with protective screens, a Fire Bird Talisman, and his sword formation.
• Ling Pengyun discovered Tian Yuan using a Thousand Ghost Banner to strengthen the ghosts and attacked him with two Azure Sea Sky Swords, but Tian Yuan blocked them.
• Ling Pengyun swallowed a Qi Recovery Pill and launched more Azure Sea Sky Swords, breaking through the ghost horde and weakening Tian Yuan’s Blood Source Light Screen.
• Ling Pengyun took a second Qi Recovery Pill, cleared away the remaining ghosts, and forced Tian Yuan to flee with the Blood Source Escape Technique.
• Ling Pengyun caught up with Tian Yuan, cut him in two, collected his spiritual items, and burned his corpse.
• Ling Pengyun rode the Wind Shadow Peng back to his cave residence on Lingxiao Mountain.

Ling Pengyun destroyed the demonic artifacts taken from a slain Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator and kept the Blood Source secret arts for the Ling Clan. Half a month later, Ling Chengxin delivered his monthly Qi Refining Pills and arranged to begin practicing other First Rank Low Grade pills.

• Ling Pengyun burned the demonic banner and other demonic artifacts, released the mortal souls in a Soul Gathering Bottle, and recorded ghost-control methods before destroying the Ghost Control Art manual.
• Ling Pengyun memorized the Blood Source Demonic Shield and Blood Source Escape Technique, then stored the secret canon in the Mountain Top Cave Residence study.
• Ling Chengxin refined four Qi Refining Pills in one batch and decided to expand his practice to other First Rank Low Grade pills.
• Ling Chengxin delivered sixty Qi Refining Pills to Ling Pengliang, who inspected them, awarded him twenty-five Contribution Points, and supplied materials for the next month.
• Ling Chengxin asked for materials to practice Qi Recovery Pills, Grain Avoidance Pills, and Returning Spring Powder, and Ling Pengliang went to the Clan Repository to obtain them.

Ling Chengxin used Stone Spirit Walnuts to break through to the Qi Training Fourth Layer, while Ling Pengyun followed a Fragmented Map to a hidden underground site in the Tiger's Roar Liu Clan's territory. After breaking through the formation and bronze door, Ling Pengyun found dense, pure spiritual power infused with extreme icy cold qi.

• Ling Pengliang gave Ling Chengxin three Storage Bags of alchemy materials and three First Rank Middle Grade Stone Spirit Walnuts to help him improve his cultivation.
• Ling Chengxin refined the Stone Spirit Walnuts, reached the Qi Training Third Layer Peak, and broke through to the Qi Training Fourth Layer.
• Ling Pengyun pursued demon beasts into the Azure Bamboo Wang Clan's territory and decided to investigate a location marked on an old Fragmented Map.
• Ling Pengyun searched the marked stretch of the Huai River in the Azure Bamboo Wang Clan's territory but found nothing unusual, then flew to the marked location in the Tiger's Roar Liu Clan's territory.
• Ling Pengyun discovered an underwater passage leading to an underground cave and used his Water Serpent Technique to break through a First Rank Middle Grade Water Storage Array and its bronze door.
• Ling Pengyun sensed pure spiritual power pouring from beyond the broken door and realized it carried extreme icy cold qi.

Ling Pengyun discovered a hidden pool of Dark Ice Spirit Water and searched the cave’s long-dead owner’s belongings, learning that the cultivator was Qi De of the Qi Family. He decided to seek Qi De’s descendants and the other Fragmented Map in Tian Yuan Town, while leaving the cave with the spirit water and several Formation Plates.

• Ling Pengyun collected sixty-five mouthfuls of Dark Ice Spirit Water from the cave’s spiritual pool and recognized that the powerful water-aspected spirit vein beneath it could eventually raise the pool’s grade.
• Ling Pengyun searched the skeleton’s Storage Bags and found magic artifacts, an array formation inheritance, and a letter identifying the dead cultivator as Qi De.
• Ling Pengyun learned from Qi De’s letter that the hidden site was meant for Qi De’s descendants and that another Fragmented Map might expose the location.
• Ling Pengyun decided to travel to Tian Yuan Town to find the other Fragmented Map and, if Qi De’s descendants remained, offer them assistance.
• Ling Pengyun burned Qi De’s letter, examined the array formation inheritance, and found Formation Plates controlling three formations in the cave.

Ling Pengyun discovered a hidden spirit pool that produced Dark Ice Spirit Water and told the Ling Clan leadership, who arranged to protect it and share its resources. After Ling Yunxi installed a stronger formation at the pool, Ling Pengyun returned to the clan.

• Ling Pengyun sealed Qi De’s cave, returned to Ling Clan Mountain, and reported the spirit pool to Ling Pengliang and Ling Yunxi.
• Ling Pengyun and the clan leaders agreed that Ling Yunxi would guard the pool using the Cloud Mist Drifting Rain Great Array.
• Ling Pengyun gave Dark Ice Spirit Water to Ling Yunxi and Ling Pengliang and arranged to sell more to them and the clan at half price.
• Ling Pengyun and Ling Yunxi retrieved the Cloud Mist Drifting Rain Great Array and traveled to the pool in Tiger's Roar Liu Clan territory.
• Ling Yunxi installed the array around the spirit pool, and Ling Pengyun returned to the clan.

Ling Pengyun used Dark Ice Spirit Water to help his Wind Shadow Peng and Thorn Vine reach Qi Training Completion, then broke through to the second level of Foundation Establishment himself. Meanwhile, West Yang Market Town’s defenders repelled another demon beast attack and collected the remaining corpses under the Hundred Spirits Sect’s rules.

• Ling Pengyun fed Dark Ice Spirit Water to the Wind Shadow Peng and Thorn Vine, helping both advance to Qi Training Completion.
• The Thorn Vine’s spiritual power feedback failed to break Ling Pengyun’s bottleneck, so he refined ten mouthfuls of Dark Ice Spirit Water and advanced to the second level of Foundation Establishment.
• Ling Pengyun decided to conserve the remaining Dark Ice Spirit Water and used a Spirit Gathering Pill to consolidate his cultivation while continuing to patrol the clan’s territory.
• At West Yang Market Town, Luo Minghui and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators helped the Five Great Clans and other defenders repel the demon beast horde.
• The retreating demon beasts carried away most of their fallen, while cultivators collected the remaining corpses and handed half of their gains to the Hundred Spirits Sect.

The six Foundation Establishment cultivators divided the spoils from their battle, and Ling Yunhong agreed to refine Spirit Gathering Pills for Luo Minghui. Ling Yunhong helped Ling Pengxing obtain Evergreen Spirit Water, and Pengxing broke through to the second level of Foundation Establishment.

• Luo Minghui distributed the remaining demon beast corpses and inner cores among the six cultivators according to their agreement.
• Luo Minghui asked Ling Yunhong to refine three batches of Spirit Gathering Pills, and Ling Yunhong accepted the materials and cores.
• Ling Pengxing asked Ling Yunhong for help buying Evergreen Spirit Water, and Ling Yunhong gave him eight Spirit Gathering Pills to sell for Contribution Points.
• Ling Pengxing sold the pills, bought four bottles of hundred-year Evergreen Spirit Water, and received approval to enter seclusion for half a month.
• Ling Pengxing consumed two bottles of the water and, ten days later, broke through to the second level of Foundation Establishment.

Ling Pengqiu defended River Creek Mountain from a Flame Wolf Pack during the Demon Beast Uprising, using the mountain formation, his Blazing Fire Fan, and talismans to defeat the attackers. After the surviving wolves fled, he collected the corpses and salvaged useful materials.

• Ling Pengqiu detected thirteen Flame Wolves approaching River Creek Mountain and activated its Golden Adamant Screen Grand Array.
• Ling Pengqiu attacked the wolf king with his Blazing Fire Fan, then killed it with three Fire Arrow Talismans.
• Ling Pengqiu killed the Qi Training Sixth Layer wolf that took over as pack leader and used a Qi Recovery Pill to restore his spiritual power.
• Ling Pengqiu killed two more middle-stage wolves and three early-stage wolves, causing the six surviving wolves to retreat.
• Ling Pengqiu brought the wolf corpses inside the mountain and harvested useful materials from them.

Ling Pengqiu killed the pursuing Flame Wolves and discovered a suspicious presence in a desolate valley on Wang Clan territory. A Wang Clan cultivator drove him away, but Ling Pengqiu left convinced that the valley hid a secret.

• Ling Pengqiu recovered his spiritual power by eating wolf king meat, then patrolled after the six surviving Flame Wolves.
• Ling Pengqiu caught and killed five Flame Wolves using Entangling Techniques, the Blazing Fire Fan, and spirit talismans, while the last wolf fled.
• Ling Pengqiu pursued the final Flame Wolf into Wang Clan territory, killed it near a desolate valley, and sensed someone watching him from inside.
• Ling Pengqiu approached the valley with his Black Iron Shield and Blazing Fire Fan, hoping to find a demon beast capable of concealing its aura.
• An elderly Wang Clan cultivator revealed himself and ordered Ling Pengqiu to leave, explaining that the valley lay within Wang Clan territory.
• Ling Pengqiu departed but suspected the valley contained an array concealing something, while the Wang Clan cultivator worried that the secret might be exposed before the Hundred Spirits Sect arrived.

Ling Pengyun and Ling Pengqiu entered Wang Clan territory to investigate a hidden valley, where Wang Yanqian revealed a Crimson Fire Iron Ore Vein already promised in part to the Hundred Spirits Sect. Wang Yanqian offered the Ling Clan a share in exchange for Ling Pengyun’s protection, but Ling Pengyun challenged the value of the deal.

• Ling Pengqiu told Ling Ruru about a guarded barren valley in Wang Clan territory, and Ling Ruru sent for Ling Pengyun to investigate it.
• Ling Pengyun inspected the valley and found five Wang Clan cultivators protected by high-grade formations.
• Ling Pengyun claimed he was pursuing a Foundation Establishment demon beast, and Wang Yanqian lowered the valley’s defenses and admitted it contained a miniature Crimson Fire Iron Ore Vein.
• Wang Yanqian explained that the Wang Clan had already reported the vein to the Hundred Spirits Sect and offered the Ling Clan two thousand jin of ore over five years in return for Ling Pengyun’s patrols and aid.
• Ling Pengyun objected that the offered ore was worth too little to justify the risks of protecting the Wang Clan.

Ling Pengyun negotiated a Crimson Fire Iron deal with Wang Yanqian, then rewarded Ling Pengqiu for his service to the clan. Later, he defended the recovering Spirit Mandarin Tree at Fruit Bee Ridge from a large Fire Feather Swallow Group and was still fighting its two Foundation Establishment leaders when the chapter ended.

• Ling Pengyun agreed to refine the Wang Clan’s Crimson Fire Iron in exchange for three thousand jin of ore, while accepting that the clan would retain Huai River County’s market for the resulting fire-element artifacts.
• Ling Pengyun gave Ling Pengqiu Dark Ice Spirit Water and cultivation guidance before leaving River Creek Mountain.
• Ling Pengyun tended the Spirit Mandarin Tree at Fruit Bee Ridge and judged that it needed another half year to a year to recover fully.
• Ling Pengyun spotted more than three hundred Fire Feather Swallows, including two at the Foundation Establishment Stage, and sent a plea for aid before engaging them.
• Ling Pengyun’s Azure Sea Sky Sword killed more than one hundred seventy Qi Training Stage Fire Feather Swallows, but he had to focus on battling the two leaders as their attacks intensified.

Ling Pengyun and Ling Ruda defeated the Fire Feather Swallows, but Ling Ruda sacrificed his life to save Ling Pengyun. Before dying, he entrusted his wealth to Ling Pengyun and asked him to avenge the arm Bai Jiaqian had severed and reclaim the Earthly Fiend Swordplay Secret Subsequent Circulation Method; Ling Ruxian then encountered Ling Pengyun carrying Ling Ruda’s frozen body and asked how he died.

• Ling Ruda arrived to support Ling Pengyun and attacked a Foundation Establishment Fire Feather Swallow while Ling Pengyun wiped out the remaining Qi Training birds.
• Ling Pengyun slew a Second-Level Foundation Establishment Fire Feather Swallow, but Ling Ruda’s Azure Spirit Swords were destroyed as he defended himself from the remaining bird.
• Ling Ruda unleashed his Geng Metal Sword Seed, weakening the Fire Feather Swallow at the cost of his blood essence and rapidly declining cultivation.
• Ling Pengyun killed the last Fire Feather Swallow, but Ling Ruda died after entrusting his wealth to him and asking him to avenge Bai Jiaqian and recover the sword method.
• Ling Pengyun froze Ling Ruda’s body, gathered materials from the battlefield, and headed for Xia Zhi Mountain with the Immortal Spirit Crane.
• Ling Ruxian met Ling Pengyun, saw Ling Ruda’s frozen corpse, and asked how his Thirteenth Brother had died.

After Ling Ruda died fighting during the Demon Beast Uprising, Ling Pengyun and Ling Ruxian buried him and assigned Ling Chengxin to guard his post. Ling Chengxin then encountered a thousand refugees from the defeated Shen Family and arranged for them to settle in Ling Clan territory.

• Ling Pengyun told Ling Ruxian how Ling Ruda died and shared his dying request for revenge against Bai Jiaqian and the recovery of the Earthly Fiend Swordplay Secret’s circulation method.
• Ling Pengyun and Ling Ruxian brought Ling Ruda’s body to the clan mountain, held his funeral, and appointed Ling Chengxin to guard the cavern beneath Azure Stone Lake.
• Half a month later, Ling Chengxin spotted a thousand refugees entering Ling Clan territory and flew out to question them.
• Shen Qi explained that demon beasts had overrun the Shen Family’s territory and that the refugees had fled the fall of Ji Yun Mountain.
• Ling Chengxin agreed to take the refugees in under a contract forbidding them to leave Ling Clan territory and gave Shen Qi a map to Xia Zhi Town.
• Ling Chengxin sent his Immortal Spirit Crane to escort Shen Qi’s group toward Xia Zhi Town, then returned to his post to refine pills.

After learning that demon beasts had overrun the Shen Clan’s territory, Ling Pengyun flew to the Shen Family Clan Mountain to seek its remaining heritage. There he joined Luo Qiuming and Liu Daozhong in a plan to attack the mountain and drive off its powerful demon beast guardian.

• Ling Ruxian told Ling Pengyun that the Shen Clan might have been wiped out and urged him to recover its cultivation arts and scriptures.
• Ling Pengyun flew into Shen Clan territory and found nearly a thousand demon beasts occupying the Shen Family Clan Mountain, led by a Middle-Stage Foundation Establishment beast.
• Luo Qiuming sent Ling Pengyun a Message Talisman and summoned him to a concealed gathering with Liu Daozhong and five Shen Clan cultivators.
• Luo Qiuming proposed that he, Liu Daozhong’s Flame Cloud Tiger, and Ling Pengyun attack the mountain together and share copies of the Shen Clan’s inheritances.
• Ling Pengyun agreed to join the assault, and Luo Qiuming suggested they attack immediately.

Ling Pengyun, Luo Qiuming, Liu Daozhong, and the Flame Cloud Tiger attacked Shen Family Clan Mountain and fought off its demon-beast horde. After driving the Middle-Stage Foundation Establishment Demon Serpent away, the three men and the tiger reached the mountain’s summit.

• Ling Pengyun, Luo Qiuming, Liu Daozhong, and the Flame Cloud Tiger advanced into Shen Family Clan Mountain and were met by the demon serpent and nearly a thousand Qi Training demon beasts.
• Luo Qiuming trapped the demon serpent in his formation while Ling Pengyun attacked it, and Liu Daozhong and the Flame Cloud Tiger shielded them from the horde’s spells.
• Ling Pengyun and Luo Qiuming broke the serpent’s Protective Yuan Qi, but it escaped the formation and retreated into the mountain as the demon beasts continued their assault.
• Ling Pengyun and Luo Qiuming pursued the serpent into Shen Family Clan Mountain and forced it to retreat again, then returned to help Liu Daozhong and the Flame Cloud Tiger.
• Ling Pengyun and Luo Qiuming killed or wounded hundreds of demon beasts, causing the rest to flee, and the three men and the tiger ascended to the mountain’s summit.