Chapter Summaries

Yuanyuan and the Ji Family dealt with the shop’s irregular business and rumors while trading Restoration Fluid for Nascent Soul Techniques. A Golden Core Realm cultivator arrived accusing the shop’s fluid of worsening his Heart Protecting Mirror, and the argument drew a crowd as a Palace-Attired Beauty emerged from the shop.

• Qu Jianlei agreed that two Ji Family Golden Core Realm cultivators could sit by the shop entrance, while making them responsible for their own food and lodging.
• Jing Yuexin explained that the arrangement publicly signaled a limited connection between the Ji Family and Red Leaf Ridge without forming a full alliance.
• Yuanyuan opened the shop only intermittently, and she and the Ji Family cultivators speculated that Hundred Herbs Valley was waiting because someone might soon form a Nascent Soul.
• Over the next two months, the shop received five sets of Nascent Soul Techniques and gave out ten portions of Restoration Fluid.
• A Golden Core Realm cultivator accused Yuanyuan of selling faulty Restoration Fluid after Grandmaster Lei’s repair left his Heart Protecting Mirror covered in additional cracks.
• A Ji Family cultivator disputed the accusation by citing other treasures successfully repaired with the fluid, but the angry customer drew a crowd before a Palace-Attired Beauty came out of the shop.

Jing Yuexin stopped Golden Core cultivators from making trouble at the market, while Qu Jianlei waited for Hundred Herbs Valley to contact his group. After Huaiheng Real Person died during an attempted Nascent Soul breakthrough, Qu Jianlei’s group delayed their departure to avoid suspicion, then left; three days later, an old man arrived above their courtyard.

• Jing Yuexin silenced the troublemaking cultivators and confirmed that Restoration Fluid had never been guaranteed to work.
• Qu Jianlei decided to wait half a month for Hundred Herbs Valley to make contact, and the Ji Family gave his group a bag of spirit stones before Huaiheng Real Person attempted to form a Nascent Soul.
• Qu Jianlei’s group watched as Hundred Herbs Valley strengthened its protective formation, then learned that Huaiheng Real Person had died during his advancement.
• Hundred Herbs Valley and its allies investigated the street market, but Qu Jianlei’s group stayed put to avoid appearing suspicious.
• After waiting ten more days without being contacted, Qu Jianlei’s group left, and an old man flew above their courtyard three days later.

Five Willows True Immortal destroyed the Bai Family courtyard while grieving Huaiheng Real Person, prompting Red Leaf Ridge to sever ties with Hundred Herbs Valley. When the Cultivator Alliance later called for patrol conscription after trouble arose at the Sealing Grand Array, Hua Xiezhi refused unless Red Leaf Ridge received a Chief Executive, leaving the dispute unresolved.

• Five Willows True Immortal found the courtyard empty, learned its occupants had left three days earlier, and destroyed it before ordering the Hundred Herbs Valley disciples to confess their failure.
• After hearing about the destruction, Qu Jianlei rejected the idea that it was merely an outburst and had Hua Xiezhi announce that Red Leaf Ridge and Hundred Herbs Valley would have no further dealings.
• Two months passed without a response from Hundred Herbs Valley, while visitors came to Su Family Village seeking Red Leaf Ridge's Restoration Fluid.
• Qu Jianlei sensed trouble near the Sealing Grand Array, and Yan Xuemin later reported that the Cultivator Alliance was forming patrol teams.
• Hua Xiezhi refused Red Leaf Ridge's conscription unless the Alliance gave them a Chief Executive, and told Yan Xuemin to report their refusal and invite punishment.

Yan Xuemin sought Li Yuren’s advice after Hua Xiezhi warned that a threat might come from the void, while Red Leaf Ridge refused the Cultivator Alliance’s requisitioning. As reports pointed to possible Heavenly Demon activity and hidden space rifts, San Duo True Person received three unusual shields from Qu Jianlei, and Zhu Jiayi began examining one.

• Hua Xiezhi told Yan Xuemin that Red Leaf Ridge would help against a threat from the void but would not accept requisitioning.
• Yan Xuemin met Li Yuren, who said Red Leaf Ridge need not answer the Cultivator Alliance’s demand.
• San Duo True Person visited Red Leaf Ridge to request protection and received three Wood Shields from Qu Jianlei.
• San Duo True Person told Qu Jianlei that the Alliance was investigating Red Leaf Ridge’s refusal, while Jiao Daoren and San Duo discussed possible Heavenly Demons and Hidden Space Rifts.
• Zhu Jiayi examined one of the Wood Shields and identified it as a trial piece made from wood that did not come from their realm.

San Duo True Person showed the Zhu Family’s Wood Shield to the Li Family, whose elders traced its Otherworld materials to Red Leaf Ridge. Li Yuren questioned Qu Jianlei about the Tree Race and Sealing Grand Array, then joined him in arranging Wood Shield purchases and learned that Qu planned to visit the Ji Family.

• Zhu Jiayi and San Duo True Person tested the Wood Shield and suspected it was made from an Otherworld creature, so Zhu Jiayi sent San Duo to show it to the Li Family.
• Li Handong and Li Yuren examined the shield, and Li Yuren went to Red Leaf Ridge to ask Qu Jianlei where its material came from.
• Qu Jianlei explained that the shield came from Tree Race members of the Locust Otherworld and refused to share further details, while Li Yuren questioned him about the Sealing Grand Array and Heavenly Demons.
• Li Yuren arranged to buy Wood Shields through Hua Xiezhi, and Qu Jianlei raised the price after Li Yuren criticized his artifact-refining skill.
• Qu Jianlei announced he would also sell shields to the Ji Family and set out to visit Ji Xiaohua in return for the family’s Out-of-Body Realm manuals.

Qu Jianlei, Li Yuren, and Yan Xuemin visited the Ji Family, where Ji Xiaohua welcomed them with the family’s highest honors. After Qu Jianlei gave Wood Shields to the Ji Family, Ji Xiaohua recognized their connection to the Locust World and asked about its powerful Mother Tree; the conversation ended with them discussing whether Heavenly Demons were involved in Huaiheng Real Person’s recent death by tribulation.

• Qu Jianlei and Li Yuren set out for the Ji Family, and Yan Xuemin joined them from the Yan Family Market.
• The Ji Family greeted the three visitors with Five-Colored Auspicious Clouds, a Seven-Colored Corridor, and its Central Earth Arch Bridge.
• Qu Jianlei gave Wood Shields to everyone in the welcoming party, and Ji Xiaohua prompted them to thank Old Ancestor Qu.
• Ji Xiaohua examined a Wood Shield and guessed that Qu Jianlei’s elders had raided the Locust World.
• Qu Jianlei and Ji Xiaohua discussed the Out of Body Mother Tree and the vast Alien Race Forest of Trees around it.
• Qu Jianlei, Ji Xiaohua, and Li Yuren discussed Dongsheng’s situation, including whether Heavenly Demons caused Huaiheng Real Person’s death by tribulation.

Qu Jianlei learned that the Cultivator Alliance planned to investigate the void sealed by the grand formation, while Red Leaf Ridge kept a low profile and sold Wood Shields. The chapter ended with Alliance and Seven Stars Sect forces arriving to demand Wu Minxi, as another figure appeared from their Flying Shuttle.

• Ji Xiaohua told Qu Jianlei that the Cultivator Alliance was planning an investigation of the void sealed by the grand formation and might recruit criminals for the mission.
• Hua Xiezhi sold two-thirds of Red Leaf Ridge's Wood Shields to Emerald Screen Mountain for thirty-five million spirit stones, including one thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Qu Jianlei told Wu Laoliu to help appraise artifacts and Secret Manuals near Su Family Village, as long as he stayed within a hundred kilometers of Red Leaf Ridge.
• Three warships arrived at Red Leaf Ridge, and Zeng Jiarui and Le Tong demanded that the team hand over Wu Minxi, whom they called a fugitive wanted by Hundred Herbs Valley and the Seven Stars Sect.
• Paranoid and Old Lady Jia rejected the demand, while Zeng Jiarui appealed to a young Golden Core Realm cultivator among his group, who agreed before calling for his master.

Red Leaf Ridge trapped its attackers and several onlookers inside a grand array, where their weapons and warships proved ineffective. Le Tong and Zeng Jiarui prepared to confront Paranoid and Jia Shuiqing, while Thousand Hands asked Red Leaf Ridge whether he should intervene.

• A mysterious man appeared to protect his disciple, and Thousand Hands True Immortal arrived, mistaking Paranoid for Ridge Lord Qu before learning that he was Chaoyun.
• The man claimed to belong to a reclusive family, then vanished when Jia Shuiqing activated the grand array that isolated the opposing forces and their warships.
• Paranoid revealed that the array had neutralized Le Tong's Immortal Binding Rope, seized it, and mocked the attackers.
• Zeng Jiarui ordered the warships to attack, but the array swallowed their increasingly powerful assaults, while Thousand Hands and Li Jingtian encountered resistance as they retreated.
• Le Tong and Zeng Jiarui positioned themselves to prevent Paranoid and Jia Shuiqing from escaping, and Thousand Hands asked the Red Leaf Ridge cultivators what they wanted him to do.

Red Leaf Ridge activated the Ten Directions Demon Subduing Grand Array against the Zeng Family, Seven Stars Sect, and Lingyin Li Family, unleashing lightning that their opponents struggled to withstand. As Paranoid and Le Tong evaded the attacks, they revealed the array’s unusual protections, while Le Tong warned that outside factions knew of the confrontation and Paranoid questioned whether True Immortal Bowen had truly escaped.

• Zeng Jiarui recognized the Ten Directions Demon Subduing Grand Array as it suppressed the intruders and filled the space with lightning.
• Zeng Jiarui ordered the attackers to strike Red Leaf Ridge’s two True Immortals and take them alive, but Paranoid and Le Tong vanished from sight.
• Li Jingtian used the Chiyang Crown to withstand the lightning, then realized that Paranoid and Le Tong evaded the bolts without being harmed by them.
• Zeng Jiarui suspected that the pair had Protective Array Talismans, while Paranoid explained that Red Leaf Ridge had no talismans and the array spared its own people through an Identification Card system.
• Thousand Hands True Immortal asked Paranoid to stop the lightning from hitting him, and Jia Shuiqing promised to reward him after they captured their opponents.
• Le Tong warned that the Cultivator Alliance and Hundred Herbs Valley knew of the visit and claimed True Immortal Bowen had escaped, but Paranoid questioned whether Bowen could really get away.

Red Leaf Ridge captured True Immortal Bowen after he fled, while Ji Xiaohua arrived and sided with Qu Jianlei. With Bowen unable to protect them, Zeng Jiarui and Le Tong surrendered, and Red Leaf Ridge disarmed the remaining forces.

• True Immortal Bowen tried to flee Red Leaf Ridge but was trapped by its cultivators and bound in a massive net.
• Ji Xiaohua arrived, denied knowing Bowen, and offered Qu Jianlei the Ji Family’s support against him.
• Qu Jianlei revealed that Bowen had not escaped and said several more enemies remained trapped in the grand formation.
• Paranoid demanded that Zeng Jiarui and Le Tong surrender, and Zeng Jiarui admitted defeat while invoking the Alliance’s Suppression Order.
• Red Leaf Ridge dispersed the formation, restricted the surrendered cultivators, and left Li Jingtian unrestricted because he had not joined the attack.

After the battle, Qu Jianlei and the others questioned Zeng Jiarui about the Cultivator Alliance’s Suppression Order and negotiated compensation for Red Leaf Ridge. Zeng Jiarui agreed to obtain an Out of Body Cultivation Method, but Jia Shuiqing insisted they still had to discuss the costs of the Demon Subduing Formation.

• After the grand array dispersed, Qu Jianlei, Jing Yuexin, Paranoid, Jia Shuiqing, Ji Xiaohua, and Thousand Hands True Immortal questioned Zeng Jiarui in a pavilion.
• Zeng Jiarui admitted that Le Tong had worked on the Suppression Order and that he had not objected, explaining that Seven Stars Sect had pushed to target Red Leaf Ridge.
• Jia Shuiqing pressed Zeng Jiarui to prove his innocence, and he offered the Zeng Family’s Nascent Soul Techniques; she said they already had nearly all such techniques and asked for an Out of Body Cultivation Method instead.
• Thousand Hands True Immortal offered to trade his Out-of-Body insights, prompting Zeng Jiarui to promise that the Zeng Family would find a method at any cost.
• Jia Shuiqing demanded compensation for Red Leaf Ridge’s losses, including the expense of the Demon Subduing Formation, despite Zeng Jiarui’s promise.

Jia Shuiqing interrogated Zeng Jiarui and Le Tong after Red Leaf Ridge captured them, demanding compensation and an explanation for the Seven Stars Sect’s actions. Le Tong revealed the sect’s plan and agreed to ransom himself, while Jia Shuiqing set the terms.

• Jia Shuiqing demanded five thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones from Zeng Jiarui for the formation’s use and warned that the Zeng Family would not get a third chance to provoke Red Leaf Ridge.
• Qu Jianlei brought Wu Laoliu before Le Tong, whose disdain turned to suspicion after Wu Laoliu explained how the Seven Stars Sect had been manipulated.
• Jia Shuiqing told Le Tong that Carefree True Immortal had fled, and Le Tong agreed to cooperate and ransom himself rather than risk being declared to have fled too.
• Le Tong explained that the Seven Stars Sect wanted Hundred Herbs Valley’s pills and used the Cultivator Alliance’s mobilization effort to justify targeting Red Leaf Ridge.
• Jia Shuiqing demanded the Seven Stars Soul Return Needle Manual and five thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones from Le Tong as ransom.

Le Tong negotiated over his ransom and the Immortal Binding Rope, while Jia Shuiqing released several captives but refused to search a Central Province cultivator’s soul. Zhu Jiayi then revealed that the captured True Immortal Bowen was his old friend Duan Bowen, a Dongsheng native who had posed as a Central Province cultivator while secretly trading between the regions.

• Le Tong said he could not readily provide the ransom, and Jia Shuiqing told him he would remain at Red Leaf Ridge until it was paid while claiming the Immortal Binding Rope as spoils of war.
• Jia Shuiqing agreed to let one of Le Tong’s disciples carry a message, and Li Jingtian left as a witness escorting a Seven Stars Sect cultivator.
• Jia Shuiqing considered searching True Immortal Bowen’s soul, but Ji Xiaohua and Thousand Hands True Immortal warned her against provoking Central Province, so she released several defeated invaders the next day.
• Zhu Jiayi arrived with San Duo True Person and asked Qu Jianlei to consider an unreasonable request concerning the captured Duan Bowen.
• Zhu Jiayi explained that Duan Bowen was a Dongsheng native who had claimed Central Province origins after settling there with his family, then secretly traded between the regions for centuries.

Qu Jianlei and Zhu Jiayi persuaded Duan Bowen to reveal the route to Central Province by showing him Red Leaf Ridge’s evidence of its strength against the Tiger-Men. Duan Bowen agreed to guide them when he was ready to return, and Zhu Jiayi revealed that he also hoped to travel to Central Province.

• Qu Jianlei agreed to hear Duan Bowen out after Zhu Jiayi explained why he had acted arrogantly and asked them to show leniency.
• Duan Bowen recognized Zhu Jiayi, questioned Qu Jianlei about Carefree True Immortal’s death, and demanded reliable information about a possible second Tiger-Man invasion.
• Qu Jianlei threatened to search Duan Bowen’s soul unless he shared the passage’s location, while Zhu Jiayi presented Red Leaf Ridge’s Tiger-Human Nascent Soul trophies and a Wood Shield from the Otherworld.
• Duan Bowen examined the Wood Shield, accepted Tiger-Human Nascent Soul flesh as payment, and agreed to lead them to the passage when he returned to Central Province.
• Zhu Jiayi promised that the Zhu Family would guarantee Duan Bowen’s return and said he wanted to visit Central Province too; Qu Jianlei was surprised that Zhu Jiayi had never been there.

After settling disputes with Seven Stars Sect and the Zeng Family, Red Leaf Ridge received an invitation to a major gathering about exploring the void. Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin arrived at Alliance Gathering Valley, where Li Yuren came to visit them.

• Thousand Hands True Immortal and Ji Xiaohua arrived as Qu Jianlei released Duan Bowen, and they discussed whether Xiaoyao should be spared.
• The Zeng Family delivered two accounts of Out-of-Body Realm cultivation insights, and Red Leaf Ridge released Zeng Jiarui and the other Zeng Family members while continuing to hold Le Tong.
• At Seven Stars Sect's request, Red Leaf Ridge released Le Tong to search for the Seven Stars Soul Return Needle Manual, giving him half a year to recover it.
• Three months later, a Qingyang Sect disciple invited Red Leaf Ridge to the major powers' gathering about exploring the void, and Qu Jianlei, Jing Yuexin, and Little Snake attended.
• Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin set up at Alliance Gathering Valley, where Li Yuren arrived with several Li Family disciples to visit them.

The Alliance conference began with Red Leaf Ridge recognized as the foremost faction beneath the Twelve Greats, while True Immortal Hai He announced Central Province’s readiness to provide aid. The Alliance proposed exploration teams for investigating the Sealing Grand Array’s changes, leaving the conference to decide how the remaining True Immortals and other cultivators would be supplied.

• Emerald Screen Mountain, the Zhu Family, Thousand Hands True Immortal, and True Immortal Qi Ya visited Red Leaf Ridge, but Jing Yuexin showed little interest in Qi Ya’s proposal for mutual aid.
• The Alliance introduced Red Leaf Ridge as the thirteenth faction, while Qu Jianlei noticed the unusually prominent placement of Wind and Rain Pavilion.
• True Immortal Hai He told the conference that Central Province was prepared to provide aid but offered no advice on Dongsheng’s decisions.
• The Alliance proposed exploration teams of one True Immortal, five Golden Core Realm cultivators, and two Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, then recommended sending nine True Immortals in three groups.
• The Twelve Greats claimed four True Immortal slots and accompanying cultivators, leaving the other factions to provide the remaining five True Immortals and twenty-five Golden Core Realm cultivators.

At Alliance Gathering Valley, the factions debated who would supply cultivators for a dangerous void mission, but Qu Jianlei refused to let Red Leaf Ridge be pressured into contributing True Immortals. The dispute shifted to Golden Core cultivators, where Wind and Rain Pavilion demanded two from Red Leaf Ridge and Jing Yuexin angrily objected.

• The Twelve Greats assigned the medium and small factions five True Immortal slots, while True Immortal Qi Ya proposed that the Rogue Cultivators Alliance provide two, including Xiaoyao if he could be found.
• When True Immortal Yuan Yi asked Red Leaf Ridge to state its position, Qu Jianlei said his faction had come only to observe and refused to risk its people without status or recognition.
• True Immortal Hai He urged unity against outsiders, but Qu Jianlei agreed only in principle, and the gathering decided to proceed without counting Red Leaf Ridge's True Immortals.
• Wind and Rain Pavilion's Golden Core True Person demanded that Red Leaf Ridge provide two Golden Core cultivators for the mission.
• Jing Yuexin angrily reminded Wind and Rain Pavilion of their past dispute, while True Immortal Yuan Yi argued that Red Leaf Ridge could spare cultivators without harming its foundations.

Red Leaf Ridge negotiated over its contribution to an expedition against the Alien Race, refusing to let its cultivators become expendable Chess Pieces. Qu Jianlei agreed to send two True Immortals if Xiaoyao True Immortal could not be found, but the other factions left wary of Red Leaf Ridge’s command and battlefield discipline.

• Yuan Yi and Ke Liang argued that Red Leaf Ridge should send Golden Core cultivators, while Qi Ya defended her disciple and Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin weighed the risks.
• Zeng Jiarui, Hai He, Yuan Yi, and Zhao Sanshui asked Qu Jianlei to provide four Golden Core cultivators, but Qu Jianlei demanded assurances they would not become cannon fodder.
• Qu Jianlei offered one Nascent Soul Realm cultivator in place of the Golden Core cultivators, on the condition that Red Leaf Ridge command the other two True Immortals in the squad.
• After Yuan Yi questioned Red Leaf Ridge’s experience coordinating with outsiders, Qu Jianlei offered two True Immortals a voice in a squad if Xiaoyao True Immortal could not be found.
• Qu Jianlei said Red Leaf Ridge would accept any teammate with a sense of the greater good and warned that it would enforce battlefield discipline without sparing anyone’s feelings.
• The four True Immortals agreed to announce Red Leaf Ridge’s contribution, while three privately decided not to let their own people team up with Red Leaf Ridge.

Qu Jianlei and Jia Shuiqing joined a void expedition after Red Leaf Ridge claimed two Nascent Soul slots, and the other forces finalized their teams around them. The group reached the grand array, where Thousand Hands True Immortal secured a place alongside Red Leaf Ridge, and He Jiuling learned that Red Leaf Ridge possessed knowledge of Alien Races beyond Tiger-Men.

• Thousand Hands True Immortal joined the mission after learning Qu Jianlei and Jia Shuiqing would represent Red Leaf Ridge, then helped settle the rogue True Immortals' selections.
• Ji Xiaohua decided to stay on the expedition after hearing Qu Jianlei would go, and he persuaded He Jiuling to accompany him.
• The selected cultivators gathered at Red Leaf Ridge, where Qu Jianlei left Jiao Daoren behind to guard their home and brought Sunset Glow instead.
• Qu Jianlei's group traveled to the grand array, and Thousand Hands True Immortal secured a place on their team.
• Ji Xiaohua hinted to He Jiuling that Red Leaf Ridge possessed Alien Race remains beyond Tiger-Men, prompting He Jiuling to suspect they had Alien Race trees.

The three squads began exploring the void, with Qu Jianlei and Jia Shuiqing using a Battalion-Class Ship to coordinate with their allies. Their search uncovered lingering Heavenly Demon aura, and Qu Jianlei, Jia Shuiqing, and Thousand Hands True Immortal prepared to collect evidence and clear it away.

• The True Immortals divided the cultivators into three squads, placing Li Yuren with Ji Xiaohua and He Jiuling while Qu Jianlei and Jia Shuiqing joined Thousand Hands True Immortal.
• Qu Jianlei revealed a Battalion-Class Ship after the squads entered the void, and Jia Shuiqing and Thousand Hands True Immortal brought their groups aboard.
• Li Yuren asked Qu Jianlei to sell his squad a Battalion-Class Ship, but Qu Jianlei refused and agreed to maintain communications instead.
• After more than a month of searching, Jia Shuiqing investigated an anomaly and ordered the nearby cultivators to withdraw after sensing a grave presence.
• Qu Jianlei and Jia Shuiqing identified an aura resembling a Heavenly Demon, and Thousand Hands True Immortal joined them to inspect it.
• Qu Jianlei proposed collecting the aura in sealed bottles and clearing what remained, and Thousand Hands True Immortal agreed.