Chapter Summaries

Qu Jianlei deployed Red Leaf Ridge’s warships to clear the Heavenly Demons around Dai Family Ridge before attacking the Heavenly Devil Domain. After a day of fighting and mounting reinforcements, demonized cultivators launched a surprise assault on the warships after nightfall.

• Duan Bowen questioned whether the Stone Jar could help against the Heavenly Demons, and Qu Jianlei divined that they had no choice but to act.
• Qu Jianlei released ten warships, and Huo Jiujian recognized the weapons and agreed to destroy the Heavenly Demons’ surrounding forces quickly.
• The warships attacked the Demonic Qi and drew in hundreds of Heavenly Demons, while their Protective Shields drained the attackers’ energy.
• Heavenly Demons from farther away reinforced the battle, and a Company-level Warship shut down after fighting all day.
• After nightfall, more than ten Demon-Corrupted Humans attacked the warships, exploiting the weakened Protective Shields in the Cultivation World.

As Qu Jianlei’s warships fought the Heavenly Demons around Dai Family Ridge, a Dai Family patrol team finally reached the defenders and described the people trapped inside. The chapter left Duan Bowen questioning how the Dai Family had communicated with its Old Ancestor despite the Heavenly Devil Qi.

• The Heavenly Demons attacked the warships with coordinated ramming and hull-breaching tactics, destroying several ships before Qu Jianlei deployed reinforcements and the battle intensified.
• Page Boy intercepted seven Dai Family cultivators and brought the patrol survivors to Qu Jianlei, Huo Jiujian, and Duan Bowen.
• Dai Shuyi explained that the seven had been assembled from three patrol teams and had struggled to reach Dai Family Ridge while avoiding Heavenly Demon reinforcements.
• Dai Shuyi said the Heavenly Devil Domain had formed about thirteen or fourteen days earlier and that nearly four hundred thousand people might be sheltering inside the ridge.
• Dai Shuyi reported that Old Ancestor Quan Yan was the only Nascent Soul cultivator inside and that demon-corrupted clan members had destroyed the Dai Family’s Teleportation Array half a month earlier.
• Duan Bowen asked how the patrol team had communicated with its Old Ancestor and whether the Heavenly Devil Qi had interfered.

Dai Shuyi’s group learned that the communication talisman could not work inside the Heavenly Devil Domain, while Qu Jianlei and the others continued their assault and treated the wounded. When a patrol from Autumn Water City arrived, Dai Shuyi drove them away because of the city’s refusal to aid the Dai Family, though Huo Jiujian warned that more visitors would come.

• Qu Jianlei identified a flaw in the communication talisman’s Spatial Rules and said it could not be used safely to contact the Dai Family’s Old Ancestor.
• Dai Shuyi promised the group the Dai Family would honor its agreement, and Qu Jianlei ordered him to bring over the wounded.
• Dai Shuyi returned with nine injured people as the warship bombardment continued and weakened the Heavenly Devil Qi.
• A patrol from Autumn Water City arrived to investigate the fighting, and Dai Shuyi explained that the city had refused to send the Dai Family reinforcements.
• Dai Shuyi and another Golden Core Realm cultivator drove the patrol away, while Huo Jiujian warned Qu Jianlei that people from Autumn Water City would return.

The four cultivators fought off a major attack by Heavenly Demons while Lei Shun of Autumn Water City watched, learning that Star Palace had joined the battle at Dai Family Ridge. After the demons fled, Qu Jianlei chose to wait until dawn before advancing on the Heavenly Devil Domain.

• Dai Shuyi and another Golden Core cultivator tried to stop Autumn Water City's investigators, but backed down when Lei Shun arrived with a larger party.
• Lei Shun questioned the four cultivators about their ties to the Dai Family, but Huo Jiujian and the Page Boy rebuffed him.
• Two Nascent Soul Heavenly Demons and many Golden Core Heavenly Demons attacked Qu Jianlei, Huo Jiujian, the Page Boy, and Duan Bowen, who fought back with support from the warships.
• Dai Shuyi moved to join the battle, but Huo Jiujian ordered him to stand down, and Lei Shun stayed outside the fight.
• Qu Jianlei and the others killed the two Nascent Soul Heavenly Demons and several Golden Core Heavenly Demons, driving the remaining demons into the Heavenly Devil Qi.
• Duan Bowen urged them to attack at once, but Qu Jianlei decided they should wait until dawn and prevent the Heavenly Demons from escaping.

Huo Jiujian and Qu Jianlei attacked the Heavenly Devil Domain around the Dai Family, while Huo demanded that Dai Quanyan cooperate with Star Palace over an undisclosed matter. After Dai Quanyan agreed to face the inquiry, the domain fell, and the Heavenly Demons escaped amid the chaos.

• True Immortal Lei Shun tried to persuade Huo Jiujian to intervene in West Hill City’s affairs, but Huo refused to take responsibility for matters outside Great Leaf City.
• Qu Jianlei ordered Xiao Hu to launch a general assault with thirty-nine warships, but the Heavenly Devil Domain withstood the bombardment overnight.
• Huo Jiujian told Dai Quanyan that Star Palace had uncovered a matter involving him and began to withdraw when Dai Quanyan tried to bargain.
• Dai Quanyan apologized for mistaking Huo Jiujian’s status and agreed to go to Star Palace if the accusation proved true, so Huo and Qu Jianlei resumed the attack.
• The warships shattered the Heavenly Devil Domain two hours later, and three Nascent Soul Heavenly Demons escaped as the Dai Family and Autumn Water City cultivators prepared for their emergence.

After the Heavenly Demons besieging Dai Family Ridge were mostly defeated, Huo Jiujian confronted Dai Quanyan over a Stone Jar tied to an attack on True Person Wu Yao. The Dai Family surrendered the jar, but Dai Quanyan revealed that they had planned to wait out the crisis inside their well-stocked stronghold, leaving Duan Bowen to question how long they could hide.

• The remaining Heavenly Demons fled or were destroyed as the warships cleared Demonic Qi, and Dai Quanyan led five Golden Core Cultivators out of Dai Family Ridge.
• True Immortal Lei Shun recognized Gao Xi, who explained that the Dai Family had rescued and treated him.
• Dai Quanyan asked Huo Jiujian about the Star Palace incident, and Qu Jianlei traced the karmic connection to a Stone Jar Dai Quanyan had acquired.
• Huo Jiujian explained that the jar had belonged to True Person Wu Yao, who was ambushed and injured after buying it at an auction, and Dai Quanyan agreed to hand it over.
• Dai Quanyan said he had considered giving the jar to the Art Academy in exchange for an opportunity, but Huo Jiujian declared that opportunity lost and accepted the jar instead.
• Dai Quanyan explained that the Dai Family could survive inside its fortified grounds for years, prompting Duan Bowen to challenge his assumption that they could keep hiding.

Dai Quanyan reluctantly handed over the Stone Jar and explained that Dai Family Ridge had adequate supplies, while Qu Jianlei’s group prepared to leave. The chapter ended with the group warning that Autumn Water City remained in danger and Huo Jiujian refusing to take in its population.

• Dai Quanyan challenged the rescuers’ demands, then agreed to give Huo Jiujian the Stone Jar for three thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Dai Quanyan explained that Dai Family Ridge produced most of its own necessities and offered to let representatives inspect its supplies.
• Qu Jianlei told Dai Quanyan to prepare to clear the remaining Heavenly Devil Qi and stored the warships despite Dai Quanyan’s request to buy them.
• True Immortal Lei Shun stayed behind with helpers to clear the Heavenly Devil Qi, while Qu Jianlei and the others left with the Stone Jar.
• Huo Jiujian warned True Immortal Lei Shun that Autumn Water City remained in danger, but refused to take in its population, saying they had a duty to defend their territory.

Qu Jianlei’s group escaped West Hill City with the Stone Jar, and Duan Bowen and Qu Jianlei suspected the Dai Family had hidden ways to protect itself. Back at Red Leaf Ridge, Mu Yu emerged after advancing to the Nascent Soul Realm, and Jiang Hui confronted Qu Jianlei about his convenient trips to Central Province and the West Hill City Lord.

• Huo Jiujian tacitly agreed to let refugees from Autumn Water City enter Great Leaf City, but refused to arrange their transportation.
• Duan Bowen, Qu Jianlei, and Lei Shun suspected the Dai Family still had a Teleportation Array and a hidden way to recognize Rule Items.
• Qu Jianlei’s group teleported from Autumn Water City through West Hill City and returned to Great Leaf City with the Stone Jar, narrowly avoiding a new investigation order.
• Qu Jianlei and Duan Bowen returned to Red Leaf Ridge, where Mu Yu emerged from seclusion after reaching the Nascent Soul Realm and received congratulatory gifts from her teammates.
• Jiang Hui met Qu Jianlei and questioned his trips to Central Province and his failure to kill the West Hill City Lord; Qu Jianlei said Red Leaf Ridge would not overstep its authority.

Jiang Hui offered Qu Jianlei the Earth Origin Embryo on Star Palace’s behalf and tried to secure Red Leaf Ridge’s cooperation against the Heavenly Demons. Qu Jianlei rejected her proposed conditions but hinted that Red Leaf Ridge might offer its Light Arts in return, leaving the negotiation unresolved.

• Jiang Hui presented Qu Jianlei with the Earth Origin Embryo as a gesture of goodwill from Star Palace.
• Jiang Hui asked Red Leaf Ridge to establish an office in Central Province or support Open Navigation between Central Province and Dongsheng, but Qu Jianlei rejected both proposals.
• Jiang Hui asked why Red Leaf Ridge had cooperated with Huo Jiujian, and Qu Jianlei insisted that his side was cooperating as an equal.
• Jiang Hui argued that Star Palace could offer access to upper-realm information and urged Red Leaf Ridge to earn military merit fighting the Heavenly Demons.
• Qu Jianlei declined to commit to Star Palace and suggested that Red Leaf Ridge had Light Arts with unique qualities.

Qu Jianlei obtained an Earth Origin Embryo from Jiang Hui and decided to use it to help Mu Yu develop a Cultivation System version of Gravity Art, which could restrain Heavenly Demons. The team insisted that Qu Jianlei keep the treasure for his cultivation, and he began researching the art in the Portable Abode, where the red Stick Figure sensed the embryo could help it.

• Jiang Hui and Qu Jianlei agreed that Red Leaf Ridge would answer three requests against the Alien Race, within its capabilities and excluding suicide missions, but would not trade the Earth Origin Embryo for arts or a warship.
• Qu Jianlei told Mu Yu that he wanted her to use the Earth Origin Embryo to develop Gravity Art for the Cultivation System, but Mu Yu doubted she could handle the responsibility.
• Jia Shuiqing, Jing Yuexin, Duo Gan, and Paranoid urged Qu Jianlei to use the embryo himself, and Paranoid suggested giving Mu Yu the Golden Needles instead.
• Qu Jianlei agreed to keep the embryo, entered the Portable Abode to research Gravity Art, and discovered that the red Stick Figure felt the treasure could help it.

Qu Jianlei perfected a spell using the Earth Origin Embryo, then learned why Jiang Hui had repeatedly come to Red Leaf Ridge: Star Palace had discovered his identification talismans prevented friendly fire and wanted to understand the method. Jiang Hui admitted she had been mistaken and asked to learn about the spell.

• Qu Jianlei told High-Fidelity Replica to endure without the resources needed to complete the Portable Abode, and refused to give the Earth Origin Embryo to Gold Digger.
• Qu Jianlei spent nearly twenty days refining a spell, using one-tenth of the Earth Origin Embryo and diminishing much of its spiritual resonance.
• Qu Jianlei emerged from seclusion and agreed to meet Jiang Hui after Jia Shuiqing said she had been waiting at Red Leaf Ridge for ten days.
• Jiang Hui noticed Qu Jianlei had used the Earth Origin Embryo and explained that she had collected a wisp of its aura to prevent accidents.
• Jiang Hui told Qu Jianlei that Star Palace had traced the lack of friendly fire at Autumn Water City to Red Leaf Ridge's identification talismans, and admitted she had previously been subjective.

Qu Jianlei taught Jiang Hui the concept behind Red Leaf Ridge’s Team Talisman, but refused to take on Star Palace’s proposed improvements to defend against demonic contamination. After Jiang Hui left to seek an upper-realm promise of reward, Jade Forest Matron returned to Yan Family Market with Book Pavilion’s assessment that the Heavenly Demons had left Dongsheng and would likely target Central Province.

• Qu Jianlei agreed to teach Jiang Hui the Team Talisman concept for free, while Jiang Hui proposed adapting it to protect against demonic contamination.
• Qu Jianlei argued that fully treating demonic deviation was likely beyond reach, then declined to research partial improvements himself.
• Qu Jianlei explained the Team Talisman and gave Jiang Hui a sample, but stopped answering when her questions touched on Red Leaf Ridge’s inheritance.
• Jiang Hui left, promising to ask Star Palace to petition the upper realm for a reward if they found a way to counter the Heavenly Demons.
• Jade Forest Matron returned to Yan Family Market on the third day after Jiang Hui’s departure, bringing Book Pavilion’s assessment that the Heavenly Demons had abandoned Dongsheng and would focus on Central Province.

Jade Forest Matron negotiated Book Pavilion’s cooperation with Red Leaf Ridge, seeking its Team Talisman and Gravity Art while offering research support and Swordplay Manuals. Qu Jianlei agreed to share the arts, then traveled to Liuguang City to find a discreet place for a Teleportation Array after learning the city had been conducting inspections.

• Jade Forest Matron returned to Red Leaf Ridge and learned from Qu Jianlei that the faction had obtained the Earth Origin Embryo and used it to deduce Gravity Art.
• Jade Forest Matron proposed that Book Pavilion collaborate with Red Leaf Ridge and Art Academy on the Team Talisman, and Qu Jianlei agreed to exchange arts.
• Jade Forest Matron recognized that a Gravity Array could disrupt Heavenly Demons’ movement techniques and offered Swordplay Manuals in exchange for the art.
• Jade Forest Matron asked to borrow Red Leaf Ridge’s Teleportation Array to return to Central Province, and Qu Jianlei agreed to prepare it after two days.
• Qu Jianlei warned Jade Forest Matron about possible trouble with the Dai Family, then traveled to Liuguang City to find another site for the Teleportation Array.
• Qinghu told Qu Jianlei that Liuguang City had recently conducted several inspections and that City Lord Huo had been receiving visitors from Star Palace.

Qu Jianlei and the Book Pavilion settled on High Mountain City as a transfer station, then joined Jade Forest Matron’s disciples to test their new combat arts against a Heavenly Devil Domain in Heaven Spring City. The Book Pavilion won a major victory, and its disciples remained to hear the critique.

• Qu Jianlei and Jade Forest Matron established a temporary foothold at Yellow Earth Ridge, then arranged a residence with a quasi-Tier 4 Spirit Vein in High Mountain City.
• Qu Jianlei explored High Mountain City, found locals guarded against outsiders, and noticed several areas with Demonic Qi under patrol.
• Jade Forest Matron brought Book Pavilion disciples to Red Leaf Ridge to buy Team Talismans and ask for guidance as they tested newly learned arts in combat.
• Qu Jianlei and Jia Shuiqing accompanied the Book Pavilion group to a Heavenly Devil Domain in Heaven Spring City, where two city cultivators joined the expedition for support.
• The Book Pavilion disciples used Gravity Art and other methods to destroy the domain and kill nine Nascent Soul Realm Heavenly Demons, suffering only three minor injuries.
• After eight days of battle and cleanup, the Book Pavilion disciples stayed behind to recover and hear the critique.

Jia Shuiqing analyzed the Book Pavilion’s battle, and Qu Jianlei’s group later tested the Pavilion’s coordination with Mortal Warships while fighting another Heavenly Devil Domain. Jade Forest Matron then offered Red Leaf Ridge manuals and a Righteous Qi technique, leaving Qu Jianlei wary that the upper realm might be treating their world as an experiment.

• Jia Shuiqing analyzed the battle for Book Pavilion disciples, then ended the lesson when their questions began probing Red Leaf Ridge’s private principles.
• The Book Pavilion spent three days resting before clearing another Heavenly Devil Domain eleven days later, coordinating with more than twenty Mortal Warships while Heaven Spring City cultivators arrived near the battle’s end.
• Qu Jianlei and Jia Shuiqing returned to their estate in High Mountain City, and Jade Forest Matron brought them five Swordplay Manuals and two Nascent Soul Techniques, including a completed Righteous Qi technique.
• Jade Forest Matron invited Red Leaf Ridge to cultivate Righteous Qi and share its research, explaining that a successful cultivator might even become a Pavilion Master.
• Qu Jianlei questioned whether the upper realm viewed their world as an experimental ground, and Jade Forest Matron said they were both caught within a game they lacked the strength to escape.

Qu Jianlei learned that a fight at the Cultivator Alliance meeting had inflamed Dongsheng against Star Palace, and Jiang Hui asked Red Leaf Ridge to mediate. He refused unless Star Palace permanently halted the Isolation Array, leaving Jiang Hui to seek approval from Central Province.

• Jade Forest Matron asked to return to Dongsheng with disciples, while Qu Jianlei put off trying to cultivate Righteous Qi.
• Ke Liang, Thousand Hands, and Carefree True Immortal demanded that Star Palace permanently cease the Isolation Array, then clashed with True Immortal Zhiyuan and Star Palace's cultivators.
• Thousand Hands warned Star Palace that he had explored the void alongside Red Leaf Ridge, deterring them from retaliating against the three.
• Jiang Hui asked Qu Jianlei to mediate and compensate the three, but he refused, arguing that Red Leaf Ridge could not spend an intervention on the matter.
• Qu Jianlei offered to help mediate if Star Palace permanently halted the Isolation Array, and Jiang Hui said she needed Central Province's approval.

Jiang Hui negotiated with Qu Jianlei for Star Palace to obtain Red Leaf Ridge’s techniques, Mortal Warship, and Team Talismans, then discovered the Book Pavilion had gained access to teleportation. She accused Qu Jianlei of setting Star Palace and the Book Pavilion against each other and left the confrontation unresolved.

• Jiang Hui asked Qu Jianlei to count the Book Pavilion’s offerings, including the Gravity Art and Mortal Warship, toward Star Palace’s intervention.
• Qu Jianlei proposed giving Star Palace The Art of Doppelganger instead of an Artifact Spirit clone, while Jiang Hui also requested a temporary supply of Team Talismans.
• Jade Forest True Immortal arrived and challenged Jiang Hui’s demand for priority supplies from Red Leaf Ridge.
• Jiang Hui realized Jade Forest True Immortal had used Red Leaf Ridge’s teleportation and demanded to know how the Book Pavilion had gained that access.
• Jiang Hui accused Qu Jianlei of manipulating Star Palace and the Book Pavilion into competing for his favor.

Qu Jianlei negotiated with Jiang Hui and Jade Forest Matron over cooperation against the Heavenly Demons, insisting Red Leaf Ridge would contribute only on equal terms and for compensation. The talks shifted to Mortal Warships, but the two cultivators recognized the Jinwu Bing’s puppet technique as an old technology the upper realm had rejected.

• Jiang Hui asked Qu Jianlei to return the Stone Jar, and Qu Jianlei said Huo Jiujian had sold it to him and that it had already been used to repair a magic treasure.
• Jade Forest Matron learned that the Stone Jar was a Rule Item and urged Jiang Hui to cooperate with Red Leaf Ridge as an equal partner, offering exchanges of intelligence, resources, and compensated battle support.
• Qu Jianlei refused to take responsibility for protecting the realm, then asserted that Red Leaf Ridge’s battle had driven the Heavenly Demons from Dongsheng.
• Jade Forest Matron and Jiang Hui agreed to provide guidance and support for compensation, and Jade Forest Matron steered the discussion toward procuring Mortal Warships.
• Qu Jianlei showed them a Jinwu Bing demonstration model, and Jiang Hui and Jade Forest Matron explained that the upper realm had rejected similar puppets about a thousand years earlier because they performed poorly and consumed too much Soul-Splitting Realm power.

Qu Jianlei, Jiang Hui, and Jade Forest Matron negotiated cooperation while discussing safeguards for Xiao Hu and the Mortal Warship. After Jing Yuexin showed Jiang Hui her Soul Suppressing Bell, Jiang Hui became absorbed in designing techniques for it and pushed Star Palace to approve cooperation with Red Leaf Ridge.

• Qu Jianlei agreed to trust Jade Forest Matron's guarantee and asked Jiang Hui to secure Star Palace's permanent shutdown of the grand formation before cooperation could proceed.
• Qu Jianlei asked Jiang Hui to teach him Sound Killing techniques, and she offered to design a specialized Art of Sound Assassination for Jing Yuexin's Soul Suppressing Bell.
• Jing Yuexin let Jiang Hui inspect the bell, and Jiang Hui identified it as an Ancient Soul Suppressing Bell that could be improved against Heavenly Demons.
• Jiang Hui stayed near Red Leaf Ridge to work on the bell's techniques while pressing Star Palace to accept the negotiated terms of cooperation.
• Star Palace grew concerned that the Book Pavilion might obtain Red Leaf Ridge's Mortal Warship and urged Jiang Hui to make further efforts, though she blamed the mission's troubles on others' conflict with Dongsheng.

Star Palace agreed to partially suspend its grand formation for two hundred years after Book Pavilion’s troop training and pressure from Dongsheng. Qu Jianlei approved a compromise proposed by three Dongsheng cultivators, while disputes over warship training and Red Leaf Ridge’s Teleportation Array left Jiang Hui dissatisfied.

• Book Pavilion sent a large force to destroy another Heavenly Devil Domain, prompting Star Palace to promise Dongsheng it would not activate the grand formation for two hundred years.
• He Jiuling secretly visited Red Leaf Ridge, while Ke Liang, Thousand Hands, and Carefree met Qu Jianlei near Yin Ridge and explained that they had deliberately provoked Star Palace to disrupt negotiations.
• Qu Jianlei advised the three to stop pressing for a permanent opening, and Dongsheng accepted a partial suspension of the grand formation with restrictions on Central Province residents.
• Star Palace and Book Pavilion sent people to Red Leaf Ridge to learn to operate and maintain Mortal Warships, while Qu Jianlei refused to let them use Red Leaf Ridge’s Teleportation Array.
• Qu Jianlei suggested hiring Dongsheng cultivators to operate the warships and train Central Province personnel, leaving Jiang Hui uneasy about relying on secondhand instruction.