Chapter Summaries

After Heavenly Demons struck Seven Stars Sect territory, Qu Jianlei gave Ji Xiaohua laser weapons and Energy Blocks to help defend against them, then sold similar weapons to other powerful cultivators. He left the chapter considering how to develop a detector for Heavenly Devil Qi, though his team still lacked comparison samples.

• Qu Jianlei divined that Tian Yin should begin secluded cultivation, then sent her, Bentley, and Mu Yu into the Black Colt Tower while he made replacements for the team's worn towers.
• After Heavenly Demons caused chaos in Seven Stars Sect territory, Ji Xiaohua asked Qu Jianlei for laser weapons, and Qu gave him ten weapons and one million Energy Blocks while warning him about their limitations.
• Qu Jianlei told Ji Xiaohua that laser attacks in the previous battle had consumed a little over five million Energy Blocks, then agreed to sell more at ten blocks per spirit stone.
• Ji Xiaohua bought the available Energy Blocks and tested the weapons, then persuaded Qu Jianlei to let him help set prices while keeping the weapons' existence quiet unless other forces asked.
• He Jiuling and Li Yuren learned about the weapons and purchased matching sets from Qu Jianlei, while Li Yuren also urged Red Leaf Ridge to develop a Heavenly Demon detector.
• Qu Jianlei explained that his team was developing an active detector but still needed Heavenly Devil Qi samples for comparison.

Red Leaf Ridge announced a bounty for Heavenly Devil Qi, then faced demands to treat cultivators tainted by Demonic Qi. After treatment requests grew into unrest, Le Tong arrived seeking help as the Seven Stars Sect panicked over Heavenly Demon attacks.

• Red Leaf Ridge spread a bounty for Heavenly Devil Qi across the Eastern Prosperity Continent, and the Yan Family raised its reward to show support.
• Zhu Jiayi visited Qu Jianlei, asked about Duan Bowen, and placed a mundane weapons order for the Zhu Family.
• Three Golden Core Realm cultivators brought Heavenly Devil Qi samples and pleaded for Red Leaf Ridge to save their demonized companion; after negotiating a symbolic one-spirit-stone reduction to the bounty, Red Leaf Ridge treated him, and he recovered enough to leave five days later.
• More cultivators tainted by Demonic Qi arrived seeking treatment, but Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao refused many requests and suppressed attempts to pressure Red Leaf Ridge.
• Le Tong of the Seven Stars Sect arrived after attacks by two small groups of Heavenly Demons left his sect's territory in panic.

True Immortal Le Tong negotiated with Jing Yuexin for the Seven Stars Sect to clear Su Family Village and treat people contaminated by Heavenly Devil Qi in exchange for weapons and a chance to spare the Golden Core Realm cultivator. After Wu Laoliu publicized the agreement and the Cultivator Alliance tried to negotiate a discount, Qu Jianlei completed a Heavenly Devil Qi detector and sent Wu Laoliu to test it near Red Leaf Ridge.

• True Immortal Le Tong met Jing Yuexin, who demanded the Seven Stars Needle Manual and offered to spare the Golden Core Realm cultivator if the Seven Stars Sect treated the contaminated people in Su Family Village.
• Le Tong and Jing Yuexin agreed that the Seven Stars Sect would clear Su Family Village and attempt treatment, while Red Leaf Ridge sold it mortal weapons at five times the previous price.
• Wu Laoliu, dissatisfied with the negotiations, spread details of the agreement, and the commotion in Su Family Village quickly died down.
• The Cultivator Alliance asked to buy weapons at the Ji Family's price, but Jing Yuexin quoted them double and sent them back to seek instructions.
• Qu Jianlei developed a Heavenly Devil Qi detector with a range of twenty to thirty kilometers and gave a prototype to Wu Laoliu to test around Red Leaf Ridge.
• Wu Laoliu tested the detector for three days and expanded its detection radius.

Wu Laoliu tested Red Leaf Ridge’s prototype Heavenly Devil Qi detector and helped kill a concealed Golden Core Realm Heavenly Demon on Lin Family territory. The Yan and Lin Families sought to buy detectors, and word of the device spread across the Eastern Prosperity Continent.

• Yan Xuemin asked Wu Laoliu to test the detector in a place suspected of Heavenly Devil Qi, and Jiao Daoren authorized the trip with a warning to guard the self-destruct switch.
• Wu Laoliu and Yan Xuemin found Heavenly Devil Qi in the Lin Family’s spirit beast garden, where a Golden Core Realm Heavenly Demon had hidden inside spirit beasts and concealed its aura.
• Wu Laoliu attacked the demon and drew its attention until Yan Xuemin and a Lin Family Golden Core Realm cultivator killed it; the demon nearly overwhelmed him, but Red Leaf Ridge’s defensive talismans saved his life.
• Wu Laoliu refused the Lin Family’s request for further help, then returned to Red Leaf Ridge with Lin Family representatives and Yan Xuemin, who wanted to buy detectors.
• Qu Jianlei and the others set the detector’s price at one hundred spirit stones, and news of the device spread rapidly after the Cultivator Alliance reported the Lin Family’s demon extermination.

Red Leaf Ridge sold experimental Heavenly Demon detectors through lotteries, drawing huge crowds and praise for its low price and stated commitment to the fight. After the first devices helped exterminate six hidden groups of Heavenly Demons, the Twelve Greats attended the second sale, and five groups’ Heavenly Devil Qi had been sent to Su Family Village.

• Huan Wei announced that Red Leaf Ridge would sell one hundred experimental detectors for one hundred spirit stones each, with Otherworld Energy Blocks sold separately.
• Red Leaf Ridge held a lottery at the Yan Family’s Martial Arts Practice Field, where a thousand-plus forces competed for the devices and all one hundred winners bought the maximum Energy Block allotment.
• Yan Xuemin urged buyers to keep the detectors’ use confidential and send Red Leaf Ridge Heavenly Devil Qi collected from slain Heavenly Demons.
• Red Leaf Ridge held a second sale half a month later, offering detectors with an improved range of roughly forty kilometers and attracting nearly three thousand forces, including representatives of all Twelve Greats.
• The first hundred detectors had helped forces exterminate six groups of hidden Heavenly Demons, and five groups’ Heavenly Devil Qi had been sent to Su Family Village.

Red Leaf Ridge’s reconnaissance equipment drew strong demand, while Qu Jianlei rejected Hundred Herbs Valley’s request for help and negotiated with Yuan Yi over Space Repair Fluid. Suspecting Yuan Yi’s questions about the fluid’s origin had a purpose, Qu Jianlei traveled to Central Province, where Jia Shuiqing reported that their new estate was nearly complete and the team had made initial contacts.

• Red Leaf Ridge completed its first equipment sale, and factions that missed out waited at Yan Family Market or arranged agents for the next drawing as the Yan Family expanded the market and teleportation array.
• Yuan Yi asked Qu Jianlei to mediate Red Leaf Ridge’s conflicts with the Seven Stars Sect and Hundred Herbs Valley, then requested help saving Hundred Herbs Valley’s Golden Core; Qu Jianlei refused the rescue request.
• Yuan Yi asked to buy more Space Repair Fluid for the Cultivator Alliance, but Qu Jianlei said he would exchange one portion only for a Nascent Soul cultivation technique and information about the Otherworld.
• Yuan Yi asked whether the fluid came from the Otherworld, and Qu Jianlei changed the subject before Yuan Yi left.
• Qu Jianlei traveled to Central Province that night and asked Jia Shuiqing whether anyone there had asked about Restoration Fluid; she said they had not and reported that construction and local introductions were proceeding normally.

Qu Jianlei encouraged the team to develop sustainable trades while news spread that a Laser Sniper Rifle had helped kill a Golden Core Heavenly Demon. After Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin left for Great Leaf City, True Immortal San Shi visited the manor with news about a planned grand array and a suppressed Heavenly Demon report.

• Qu Jianlei proposed cultivating Spirit Grain at the manor, and Jia Shuiqing and Qinghu agreed that the team should develop farming and talisman-making skills.
• A Wang Family investigation team, assisted by Emerald Screen Mountain, killed a Golden Core Heavenly Demon after a Foundation Establishment disciple destroyed three of its clones with a Laser Sniper Rifle.
• Jing Yuexin traveled to Central Province and told Qu Jianlei about the rifle's battlefield success, and they left for Great Leaf City to attend its auction.
• True Immortal San Shi visited the manor and told Jia Shuiqing that Great Leaf City was considering restarting the Locking Sky Grand Array and that reports of a Heavenly Demon were being suppressed.
• True Immortal San Shi mentioned that Heavenly Demons had appeared in Central Province before and praised the effectiveness of the Restoration Fluid before asking where Qu Jianlei was.

Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin entered a Great Leaf City auction as observers because bidding would expose their identities and link them to the Restoration Fluid. At the auction, Shi Guang True Immortal bought a Phoenix Hairpin amid a dispute, and Duan Bowen unexpectedly reunited with Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin.

• True Immortal San Shi wondered whether Qu Jianlei might be in Great Leaf City, but decided not to get involved.
• Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin failed to secure bidding rights without revealing their cultivation and identities, but their guide obtained two observation-area spots.
• Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin attended the auction, where Shi Guang True Immortal bought a Phoenix Hairpin and his Golden Core Realm guard threatened the competing bidders.
• Duan Bowen approached Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin in the observation area, and Qu Jianlei recognized him despite his changed appearance.

Qu Jianlei and Duan Bowen reunited at an auction and discussed Red Leaf Ridge’s search for a permanent base in Central Province. The Restoration Fluid was sold to a City Lord’s Mansion guard, leaving Qu Jianlei unable to discreetly trace its buyer.

• Duan Bowen recognized Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin at the auction, then asked where Red Leaf Ridge had settled and whether they had found an unused Tier 4 Spirit Vein.
• Qu Jianlei said they were staying temporarily in Liuguang City and asked Duan Bowen about possible Tier 4 Spirit Veins; Duan Bowen said claiming one would be difficult without pledging to Four Sages Mountain.
• Duan Bowen identified True Immortal Shiguang as Deng Shiguang of the Deng Family and explained that he had already won several auction items.
• When the Restoration Fluid came up for bidding, a Golden Core Realm cultivator identified himself as a guard from Great Leaf City’s City Lord’s Mansion and asked True Immortal Shiguang to yield.
• The guard won the Restoration Fluid, and Qu Jianlei realized that investigating the buyer was no longer a discreet option.

Qu Jianlei returned to Dongsheng as Heavenly Demon threats grew, while detector sales and research on spirit-stone-powered models advanced. After returning to Central Province to learn about the Stone Jar auction and Duan Bowen’s investigation, he was told that Duan Bowen’s Old Ancestor would visit within three days.

• Qu Jianlei watched a battered Stone Jar sell for thirty-eight hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones and asked Duan Bowen to find out who had bought it.
• After returning to Dongsheng, Qu Jianlei saw Su Family Village grow and Red Leaf Ridge gain twenty-two portions of Heavenly Devil Qi, then oversaw more detector sales as interest in Laser Weapons cooled.
• Qu Jianlei advised Tian Yin to enter seclusion and attempt her breakthrough, while Red Leaf Ridge announced plans to launch spirit-stone-powered detectors within one to three years.
• After the seventh detector sale, Qu Jianlei traveled to Central Province with Duo Gan, Bentley, and Rhine and learned that Heavenly Demons had infiltrated several areas there.
• Claire used a Communication Talisman to ask Duan Bowen about the Stone Jar investigation, and a Duan Family cultivator promised that Duan Bowen’s Old Ancestor would visit within three days.

Qu Jianlei and Duan Bowen exchanged news about the Restoration Fluid, the Stone Jar, and Central Province’s fight against Heavenly Demons. Duan Bowen declined to handle the Energy Block business but agreed to explore other Red Leaf Ridge ventures as they discussed finding a Tier 4 Spirit Vein.

• Duan Bowen visited Qu Jianlei and revealed that two smuggling groups had sold Restoration Fluid obtained in Dongsheng, while someone from Star Palace had bought the Stone Jar.
• Duan Bowen said the Stone Jar’s bidder was a Golden Core Realm cultivator who was likely acting as an agent, and Qu Jianlei showed little interest in pursuing it.
• Qu Jianlei asked about Energy Blocks, and Duan Bowen confirmed Central Province had also been attacked by Heavenly Demons and accepted Energy Blocks as a necessary power source.
• Duan Bowen refused to become an agent for detectors and Energy Blocks, then learned that True Immortal Yuan Yi had twice approached Qu Jianlei about Restoration Fluid.
• Qu Jianlei offered Duan Bowen two portions of Restoration Fluid if he found a Tier 4 Spirit Vein, then invited him to choose another Red Leaf Ridge business to handle.

Duan Bowen sought Red Leaf Ridge’s help with travel and wartime supply trading, while True Immortal San Shi visited Qu Jianlei to ask about the Space Repair Fluid and a device that countered Heavenly Demons. The chapter ended with San Shi asking whether Red Leaf Ridge would support the Five Friends Alliance in handling the dangerous device business.

• Qu Jianlei declined to choose a business for Duan Bowen and questioned his request to bring Duan’s family between Dongsheng and Central Province, then rejected his proposal to profit from wartime shortages.
• Claire announced True Immortal San Shi’s arrival, and Qu Jianlei greeted him with Qinghu and invited him into the courtyard.
• True Immortal San Shi recognized Qu Jianlei as the owner of the Restoration Fluid and recognized Duan Bowen, who explained that he used the alias Wen Bo in eastern Central Province.
• Qu Jianlei told San Shi that Red Leaf Ridge would not discuss the Space Repair Fluid with the Five Friends Alliance because the alliance was too weak and recently established.
• Qu Jianlei suggested that Heavenly Demon detectors might have reached Central Province and challenged the Five Friends Alliance’s ability to handle the business; San Shi then asked whether Red Leaf Ridge would support his alliance.

Qu Jianlei negotiated with True Immortal San Shi over the Five Friends Alliance’s request to sell Red Leaf Ridge’s detectors in Central Province, demanding two Out of Body Cultivation Methods for authorization. After San Shi departed, Duan Bowen warned that he was narrow-minded, then was pressured into visiting the Five Friends Alliance, where San Shi questioned him about Central Province.

• Qu Jianlei considered the Five Friends Alliance’s proposal and said Red Leaf Ridge might grant authorization but would not publicly endorse the alliance.
• San Shi offered five Nascent Soul Techniques, but Qu Jianlei rejected the offer and demanded two Out of Body Cultivation Methods.
• San Shi asked about Qu Jianlei’s travel method and Red Leaf Ridge’s mortal weapons for killing Heavenly Demons, but Qu Jianlei gave no further commitments.
• After San Shi left, Duan Bowen warned Qu Jianlei that San Shi held grudges, and Qu Jianlei dismissed the threat.
• San Shi intercepted Duan Bowen and invited him to the Five Friends Alliance; Duan Bowen went despite recognizing the invitation’s coercive undertone.
• San Shi questioned Duan Bowen and gave him spirit stones, then the alliance’s three True Immortals discussed Red Leaf Ridge’s demands, with one objecting that two Out of Body Cultivation Methods were excessive.

The Five Friends Alliance sent Qu Jianlei an incomplete Out of Body Cultivation Method and negotiated a deal to distribute Red Leaf Ridge’s probes in Central Province. True Immortal Yongheng warned that Great Leaf City was investigating Red Leaf Ridge and asked whether it would relocate to Central Province, leaving Qu Jianlei considering a Tier 4 Spirit Vein.

• True Immortal Yongheng persuaded True Immortal San Shi to provide Red Leaf Ridge with an incomplete Out of Body Cultivation Method, with the alliance promising compensation.
• Qu Jianlei received the method, then negotiated interest and additional terms with True Immortal San Shi before the transaction was settled.
• Qu Jianlei agreed to supply the Five Friends Alliance with fifty probes per delivery, with the Central Province version released two months after the Dongsheng version.
• True Immortal Yongheng told Qu Jianlei that Great Leaf City was investigating Red Leaf Ridge’s presence and offered to help facilitate contact with the city.
• Qu Jianlei said Red Leaf Ridge might relocate to Central Province if it obtained a Tier 4 Spirit Vein, but rejected Yongheng’s suggestion to seize one by Punishing the Unrighteous because the process was too complicated.

Qu Jianlei revealed that he had divined a full-scale Heavenly Demon invasion of Dongsheng in three years and asked True Immortal Yongheng and True Immortal San Shi to keep the prediction secret. Ten days later, Yongheng discovered a connection between Duan Bowen, Red Leaf Ridge, and the Star Palace, while a hostile group arrived at Claire’s manor.

• Qu Jianlei rejected Yongheng’s suggestion to pursue justice and explained why he had collected six years of interest in advance.
• Qu Jianlei disclosed his divination that Dongsheng would face a full-scale Heavenly Demon invasion in three years and asked Yongheng and San Shi to keep it confidential.
• Yongheng and San Shi promised secrecy, discussed divination with Qu Jianlei, and later Yongheng divined that Duan Bowen was entangled in a dispute involving Red Leaf Ridge and the Star Palace.
• A Long-Bearded Daoist and his group arrived at the manor outside Liuguang City, and Duo Gan warned Claire that they seemed hostile.
• Keros recognized the Golden Core Realm couple who had previously harassed them, and Claire confronted the visitors by asking if they were not done yet.

True Immortal Wuyou confronted Claire’s group, accusing them of fleeing Dongsheng and demanding two portions of Restoration Fluid. Duo Gan threatened him with death for the insult, and another Nascent Soul Realm cultivator appeared as Wuyou tried to learn her name.

• True Immortal Wuyou revealed his Nascent Soul Realm aura and asked Claire to summon her Old Ancestor.
• The Fourth Boss and Zi Jiuxian stopped Wuyou’s Golden Core Realm followers from entering, while Claire led Wuyou to the central courtyard.
• Duo Gan confronted Wuyou, who demanded two portions of Restoration Fluid and claimed his divination showed the group had fled Dongsheng.
• Duo Gan threatened that Wuyou and his companions would pay with their lives if his accusation was false, then offered to swear an Oath of the Heavenly Dao.
• Wuyou asked Duo Gan’s name, but another Nascent Soul Realm cultivator appeared and accused him of provoking them.

Qinghu confronted True Immortal Wuyou after he interrupted her spirit-plant research, and his divination revealed that she came from beyond Dongsheng. When Wuyou tried to flee rather than face the manor’s demand to verify his identity, lightning struck him.

• Qinghu demanded compensation for the interruption, and Wuyou offered twenty pairs of Qingyu Spirit Crane eggs.
• Qinghu gave Wuyou her name, and he attempted to divine her origins despite her warning about backlash.
• Wuyou suffered backlash from the divination and realized Qinghu was not from Dongsheng.
• Duo Gan refused to let Wuyou leave until Great Leaf City verified his identity, while another Nascent Soul Realm aura rose from the manor.
• Wuyou abruptly tried to escape, and a bolt of lightning struck him.

Duo Gan, Qinghu, Jia Shuiqing, and the others quickly subdued True Immortal Wuyou and his companions after Wuyou attacked their estate. Qu Jianlei informed True Immortal Yongheng in Great Leaf City, who promised Wuyou would not be allowed to cause trouble there.

• Duo Gan and Old Lady Jia struck True Immortal Wuyou with soul attacks as Qinghu’s net and another lightning bolt brought him down.
• Claire and Jia Shuiqing subdued Wuyou’s two Golden Core Realm disciples, while Fourth Boss captured the remaining Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.
• Qinghu restricted Wuyou, and Duo Gan began interrogating the female Golden Core Realm cultivator as Qu Jianlei left for Great Leaf City.
• Claire told two neighboring Golden Core Realm cultivators that the intruders had been captured, and she said the estate had contacted Great Leaf City.
• Qu Jianlei met True Immortal Yongheng and reported the incident; Yongheng said Wuyou would not be allowed to run wild in Great Leaf City.

True Immortal Yongheng explained why helping Red Leaf Ridge could threaten the Five Friends Alliance’s business in Pangxing City, but agreed to support Qu Jianlei and brought a force to confront Wuyou. Wuyou acknowledged his wrongdoing and learned that a formation, not a hidden Thunder Cultivator, had helped defeat him; Yongheng then turned to compensation.

• True Immortal Yongheng explained Golden Glow Sect’s ties to Pangxing City and agreed to help Qu Jianlei despite the risks to the Five Friends Alliance’s business.
• Yongheng arranged his affairs and traveled with cultivators from the Five Friends Alliance to confront Wuyou.
• Yongheng challenged Wuyou over trespassing on the land San Shi had sold, and Wuyou admitted he had acted rashly.
• Wuyou recounted how he had been captured, and Yongheng explained that a grand formation had helped defeat him.
• Yongheng told Wuyou that the people he had troubled could defeat him and began discussing compensation.

True Immortal Wuyou surrendered divination manuals and much of his fortune after True Immortal Yongheng confronted him over trespassing, while the Golden Glow Sect chose not to pursue suspicions about Red Leaf Ridge. Qu Jianlei and Yongheng then discussed Red Leaf Ridge’s plans and Star Palace, leaving Qu Jianlei asking how outsiders could obtain its treasures.

• True Immortal Yongheng rejected Wuyou’s proposed wagered duel and pressed him for compensation, while Wuyou refused to hand over the Golden Glow Sect’s secret divination arts.
• Wuyou admitted his mistake and offered other divination methods; Qu Jianlei and Yongheng agreed to copy the manuals, divide the remaining spoils, and keep the news quiet.
• Wuyou paid a huge sum of spirit stones and surrendered collected divination arts before leaving, then rejected his disciple’s suggestion to report Claire’s group to Great Leaf City or Pangxing City.
• Yongheng asked Qu Jianlei when Red Leaf Ridge would appear publicly and return to Dongsheng, and Qu Jianlei said they would delay their public appearance as long as possible.
• Yongheng revealed that he had two friends in Star Palace, and Qu Jianlei asked how outsiders could obtain its treasures.