Chapter Summaries

Qu Jianlei demonstrated that the Broken Blade could swiftly erase Heavenly Devil Qi, then learned that the other exploration teams had encountered real Heavenly Demons and sent reinforcements. His team found Ji Xiaohua’s besieged Warships, whose defenders feared they could hold out for only ten more days.

• Qu Jianlei used the Broken Blade to clear the surrounding Heavenly Devil Qi, astonishing Thousand Hands True Immortal and the others.
• Five days later, Ji Xiaohua’s team reported that Li Yuren’s group had been attacked by Heavenly Demons, suffered casualties, and needed aid.
• Qu Jianlei sent a Zhu Family Golden Core Realm cultivator back to warn the cultivators inside the Sealing Grand Array, then led his team toward the besieged groups.
• Qu Jianlei stopped the Battalion-Class Ship after his intuition warned him of danger, and Xiao Hu’s detectors located three Warships trapped in anomalous energy.
• Ji Xiaohua’s three Warships used a Three Powers Array and soul-defense formations to resist the Heavenly Demons, but He Jiuling estimated they could hold out for at most ten days.

Ji Xiaohua’s group learned that Red Leaf Ridge was launching a rescue, and Wind Forgotten emerged to attack the Heavenly Demons. The Tree Race giant disrupted the enemy but faced limits in its energy-intensive, narrow attacks.

• Ji Xiaohua restrained a Cultivator who criticized the Twelve Greats, warned everyone not to weaken morale, and told the teams to prepare to resist until rescue arrived.
• Sunset Glow appeared as a Ruler and instructed Ji Xiaohua’s group to keep attacking the Heavenly Demons and move toward Red Leaf Ridge if anything changed.
• A massive tree appeared and used black spatial attacks to cut apart Heavenly Demons, revealing itself as an Alien Race rather than an immortal plant.
• Qu Jianlei released Wind Forgotten from the portable space to fight alone, while keeping the other Tree Race members in reserve.
• Wind Forgotten charged into the Heavenly Devil Qi and drew many Heavenly Demons away from the Cultivators, but its linear attacks consumed considerable energy and could not deal area damage.

Wind Forgotten sheltered Ji Xiaohua’s three warships while Qu Jianlei and Broken Blade attacked the Heavenly Demons surrounding them. After the demons fled and were pursued, Qu Jianlei ordered the Battalion-Class Ship to rendezvous with Ji Xiaohua’s team.

• Wind Forgotten invited Ji Xiaohua and the others into its tree holes, letting their warships escape the siege from most directions.
• Wind Forgotten relayed Qu Jianlei’s order for the cultivators to attack the Heavenly Demons and avoid irrelevant targets.
• Qu Jianlei released Broken Blade, which destroyed Heavenly Demons far more quickly than Wind Forgotten’s black lines.
• After more than half an hour of fighting, the Heavenly Demons scattered, and Broken Blade pursued and killed many of them.
• Qu Jianlei ordered the Battalion-Class Ship to advance toward Ji Xiaohua’s team, whose members realized they had escaped.

Qu Jianlei and the two exploration teams eliminated the remaining Heavenly Demons, assessed their losses, and decided to return while leaving Red Leaf Ridge to guard outside the Sealing Grand Array. They found the Third Team, which had also fought Heavenly Demons and escaped, but one of its True Immortals had been injured.

• Qu Jianlei helped the teams destroy the remaining Heavenly Demons, including one that used a spatial jump to attack Li Yuren.
• Qu Jianlei took away the Tree Race, and the teams counted their casualties and damage before discussing whether to continue exploring.
• Qu Jianlei warned that Heavenly Demons might find weak points around the Sealing Grand Array, and the True Immortals agreed to return while Red Leaf Ridge guarded outside it.
• Ji Xiaohua led his team aboard the Battalion-Class Ship to search for the Third Team, and they found it after two days.
• Li Yuren learned that the Third Team had fought and killed some Heavenly Demons, escaped, and suffered the injury of a True Immortal.

Qu Jianlei and Red Leaf Ridge completed six months of border garrison duty, patrolling around the Sealing Grand Array and destroying several small Heavenly Demon units. As they returned inside the array, Le Tong warned Qu Jianlei that a major cultivator might have arrived from Central Province.

• Zhao Sanshui, Daoist Gao, and the Palace-Attired Beauty reviewed battle recordings and agreed to withdraw with Red Leaf Ridge.
• Qu Jianlei led the squads back to the Sealing Grand Array by a circuitous route, where True Immortal Yuan Yi asked Red Leaf Ridge to hold the line for half a year.
• Qu Jianlei refused Yuan Yi's requests to inspect the Tree Race cultivator and buy the Mortal Warship, then agreed to remain on patrol with Thousand Hands True Immortal.
• Jia Shuiqing left for over three months to retrieve supplies, while Qu Jianlei and Thousand Hands True Immortal continued patrolling and eliminating Heavenly Demon units.
• Li Jingtian, Le Tong, and True Immortal Ke Liang arrived with the next rotation, and Le Tong told Qu Jianlei that a major cultivator might have come from Central Province.
• Qu Jianlei and the returning cultivators entered the Sealing Grand Array as its stone pillars and defenses stood ready for battle.

Qu Jianlei and Jia Shuiqing returned to Red Leaf Ridge after facing intrusive inspections, and Qu Jianlei reported that the Cangwu Realm would soon face a Heavenly Demon invasion. As Red Leaf Ridge attracted allies and refugees, Yan Jinhai proposed greatly expanding its territory and making it a refuge.

• Qu Jianlei refused a demand to surrender his belongings during an inspection, then reached Red Leaf Ridge with Jia Shuiqing.
• Paranoid told Qu Jianlei that Tian Yin was nearing a breakthrough, and Qu Jianlei agreed to discuss it after resting.
• Qu Jianlei told the residents of Red Leaf Ridge about the Heavenly Demons as Dongsheng prepared to resist their invasion.
• Small and medium-sized forces sought ties with Red Leaf Ridge after its squad became known for defeating Heavenly Demons without losses.
• Yan Jinhai visited Red Leaf Ridge and proposed expanding its territory to create a refuge for Dongsheng's people.

Qu Jianlei’s team agreed to expand Red Leaf Ridge amid the coming Heavenly Demon invasion and discussed how to manage refuge seekers and nearby land. The chapter ended with Qu Jianlei rejecting Hundred Herbs Valley’s envoy and demanding the Seven Stars Soul Return Needle Manual before he would help them.

• Yan Jinhai explained that Red Leaf Ridge could expand and establish rules for a refuge site, while Paranoid insisted on a buffer zone and Duo Gan proposed charging fees through an agent system.
• Qu Jianlei agreed to expand Red Leaf Ridge, and Yan Jinhai told Yan Xuemin to build ties with Wu Laoliu.
• After Tian Yin emerged from seclusion, Qu Jianlei divined that she would be safer attempting a breakthrough in half a year.
• Three Flavors True Immortal arrived from Hundred Herbs Valley to discuss Heavenly Devil Qi contamination, but Qu Jianlei cursed Five Willows and ordered him away.
• Qu Jianlei refused to help Hundred Herbs Valley unless it brought him the Seven Stars Soul Return Needle Manual, and Three Flavors True Immortal left in anger.

Red Leaf Ridge negotiated its territorial expansion and began planning Small Towns to shelter refugees while recruiting workers. Qu Jianlei’s team left the terms of refuge unsettled but established a larger protected domain and adopted a more restrained approach to dealing with outsiders.

• Wu Laoliu reported an offer of a Seven-Leaf Mysterious Soul Grass, but Hua Xiezhi refused to let Shi Yongsheng’s treasure aura influence Red Leaf Ridge’s decisions or grant the offerer access to the Core Area.
• True Immortal Yuan Yi visited to discuss Red Leaf Ridge’s expansion, and Qu Jianlei declined to promise how many people they would protect or confirm plans for an official Residential Area.
• Red Leaf Ridge and the Yan Family settled the new boundaries at nearly two thousand square kilometers, with the Yan Family reserving one hundred square kilometers for a possible retreat.
• Hua Xiezhi announced plans to build Small Towns for refugees and recruit construction workers, while Wu Laoliu explained that protection would come at a cost.
• Duo Gan and Jia Shuiqing defended Red Leaf Ridge’s restrained handling of suspicious outsiders as the proper way to integrate into Cangwu Realm society.

Qu Jianlei and Red Leaf Ridge turned away True Immortal Zhiyuan’s demands and built a system of outside supervisors, inspectors, and project overseers for the Small Town. As work continued and Red Leaf Ridge strengthened its Spirit Veins, True Immortal Jiaoying visited Jing Yuexin to ask why her family’s Xuan Soul Grass had been refused, leaving Jing Yuexin to guess her real reason.

• Qu Jianlei refused True Immortal Zhiyuan’s requests to inspect and question the Tree Race member, telling him to return after becoming a Great Venerable.
• Duo Gan warned True Immortal Zhiyuan that Heavenly Demons might attack Central Province, and Zhiyuan left after offering to welcome Red Leaf Ridge if it provided the Out-of-Body Mother Tree’s remains.
• Dongsheng factions competed for Small Town construction positions, and Red Leaf Ridge established supervisors, project overseers, and inspectors to oversee the work.
• Qu Jianlei expanded Red Leaf Ridge’s territory and began improving its Spirit Veins while reports of scattered Heavenly Demons continued.
• True Immortal Jiaoying told Jing Yuexin that the family who had offered Xuan Soul Grass belonged to her, and Jing Yuexin guessed that Jiaoying had another reason for seeking Red Leaf Ridge’s help.

Jing Yuexin confronted True Immortal Jiaoying over Heyang’s schemes, and Jiaoying offered a Jade Tablet to settle the Profound Moon Sect’s grievance with Red Leaf Ridge. Two days later, Zhu Jiayi asked Qu Jianlei to shelter the Zhu Family and proposed building a Teleportation Array at Red Leaf Ridge as protection against a Heavenly Demon invasion.

• Jing Yuexin challenged True Immortal Jiaoying’s account of the dispute over the Tiger-Man Nascent Soul corpse and accused her of trying to bait Red Leaf Ridge into harming her clansmen.
• True Immortal Jiaoying admitted she wanted to resolve the conflict, and Jing Yuexin warned her to keep Heyang away from Red Leaf Ridge.
• True Immortal Jiaoying left a detailed Jade Tablet about the Eastern Prosperity Continent, and Qu Jianlei agreed to let the grievance end if Heyang caused no further trouble.
• Zhu Jiayi asked Qu Jianlei to reserve territory at Red Leaf Ridge as a contingency for the Zhu Family, explaining that a few clansmen would arrive first to prepare residences.
• Qu Jianlei questioned whether the Zhu Family could safely reach Red Leaf Ridge during an emergency, and Zhu Jiayi tentatively proposed establishing a Teleportation Array there.

Zhu Jiayi negotiated with Qu Jianlei to establish a teleportation link between the Zhu Family and Red Leaf Ridge, offering array discs and proposing a fixed array. He also revealed that Duan Bowen wanted to return to Central Province, leaving Qu Jianlei weighing the timing of the trip while reassuring Zhu Jiayi that Red Leaf Ridge would not abandon the war.

• Zhu Jiayi proposed a teleportation link with Red Leaf Ridge so the two sides could share information and supplies, and offered to let Red Leaf Ridge personnel guard both ends.
• Zhu Jiayi explained that his family had an array master and Teleportation Array Discs, while Qu Jianlei suggested building a fixed array as well and asked to study both types of teleportation technology.
• Qu Jianlei asked what the Zhu Family had planned to offer in exchange, and Zhu Jiayi said Duan Bowen wanted to return to Central Province and had asked whether anyone from Red Leaf Ridge would go with him.
• Qu Jianlei asked how long a round trip would take and considered the risks of leaving Dongsheng while war with the Heavenly Demons seemed imminent.
• Zhu Jiayi felt relieved that Qu Jianlei was considering the trip rather than fleeing Dongsheng, and concluded that his fears about Red Leaf Ridge abandoning the fight had been unnecessary.

Qu Jianlei learned the principles of the Zhu Family’s Teleportation Array before setting out with Zhu Jiayi and Duan Bowen to cross the sea from Dongsheng to Central Province. The group boarded Duan Bowen’s concealed Warship for a voyage expected to last at least three months.

• Qu Jianlei arranged land for the Zhu Family, whose cultivators built homes and a Teleportation Array while its array master explained the craft to him.
• Qu Jianlei studied the array and its Array Plate, then entrusted Xiao Hu with calculations to explore improvements to the travel experience.
• Qu Jianlei, Qinghu, Zhu Jiayi, Claire, Tian Yin, and the Keros siblings traveled to a West Coast town and met Duan Bowen and his hunter-cultivator group.
• After making preparations, Duan Bowen brought out a small concealed Warship and explained that crossing the Isolation Grand Array required his array diagram, Sea Chart, and knowledge of the sea.
• The group boarded the cramped Warship after dark, with Qu Jianlei’s companions receiving more space while Duan Bowen’s group settled into stacked bunks.

As Sea Beasts made the voyage to Central Province increasingly dangerous, Qu Jianlei proposed a new way to travel using the aura of an Out-of-Body Tiger-Man. Duan Bowen discovered that Red Leaf Ridge possessed a Tiger-Man Great Venerable’s little toe and was stunned by how they had obtained it.

• Duan Bowen warned Qu Jianlei that divine-sense probes and battles could attract Sea Beasts, and the warship repeatedly changed course to avoid them.
• After the Sea Beasts’ activity pushed the estimated journey to as long as six months, Qu Jianlei proposed storing everyone below the True Immortal level in Spirit Beast Pouches.
• Qu Jianlei asked whether an Out-of-Body aura could repel Sea Beasts, and Duan Bowen promised to keep the matter secret.
• Qu Jianlei revealed a piece of flesh from an Out-of-Body Tiger-Man, and Duan Bowen recognized it as a little toe and demanded to know how Red Leaf Ridge had obtained it.

Qu Jianlei used the Tiger-Human Great Venerable’s remains to conceal the group as Sunset Glow carried them across the sea far faster than the Warship. The group paused to rest, and Duan Bowen told his attendants they would reach Central Province within four days.

• Duan Bowen examined the toe and concluded that Qu Jianlei had killed a Great Venerable.
• Duan Bowen judged that the Great Venerable’s aura cleared a safe path through the Sea Beasts and estimated the Warship would take another month and a half to reach Central Province.
• Qu Jianlei proposed using Sunset Glow to travel faster, and Duan Bowen agreed after they put away the Warship.
• Qu Jianlei carried Sunset Glow and the Great Venerable’s remains above the sea while Qinghu and Duan Bowen held on, and Sunset Glow accelerated through the gang winds.
• Duan Bowen corrected their course and later estimated that they could reach Central Province in five days at their current speed.
• After two days, the group stopped to rest, and Duan Bowen told his attendants they would reach Central Province in four days at most.

Qu Jianlei and his companions reached Central Province, parted ways with Duan Bowen in Wanghai East City, and settled in Liuguang City. Qu Jianlei tested a teleportation array beneath their rented courtyard, triggering the Defense Array, while his companions staged a loud argument to disguise the disturbance.

• Duan Bowen brought the group ashore in Central Province, where they hunted Sea Beasts and passed as returning hunters.
• Duan Bowen led his disciples to Wanghai East City, then gave Qu Jianlei and the other five advice on obtaining temporary identities before they separated.
• Qu Jianlei and his companions bought passage Talisman Plates, spent several days in Wanghai East City, and teleported to Liuguang City.
• The six rented a courtyard in Liuguang City for three months and took turns exploring the city and buying goods.
• Qu Jianlei secretly built a Stone Chamber and Teleportation Array underground, but its energy ripple made the Defense Array tremble.
• Tian Yin and Korona loudly argued and overturned a table, distracting nearby cultivators while Qu Jianlei returned aboveground.

Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin confirmed that their Teleportation Array could reach Red Leaf Ridge, though the journey caused dangerous Space Ripples and consumed enormous energy. Meanwhile, Claire and the Keros siblings searched for land in Liuguang City, and Claire refused to let a broker use them to raise a property's price.

• A Golden Core Realm Female Cultivator stopped Korona and Tian Yin from fighting after their argument disturbed the neighbors.
• Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin's avatars returned from successful teleportations, and Jing Yuexin reported that Red Leaf Ridge's settlement was nearly complete.
• Claire and the Keros siblings searched Liuguang City for secluded land but struggled to find a suitable property.
• A broker offered them a seven-to-eight-square-kilometer property with a Near Tier 3 Spirit Vein Branch for seventy thousand Medium Spirit Stones, but Qu Jianlei chose to wait.
• The broker brought Claire and the Keros siblings to inspect the land while other buyers negotiated there, and Claire said they had given up rather than be used to raise the price.

Claire’s group learned that Space Repair Fluid, a rare treasure for repairing spatial magical artifacts, would be auctioned in Great Leaf City and drew the attention of powerful factions. After the broker shared what he had discovered, Claire asked him to find the previous auction price, and he named one hundred Medium Spirit Stones.

• The Golden Core buyers argued over the price of an ancestral property, and their dispute escalated into threats when one accused the other of driving up the offer.
• Claire’s group heard the buyers mention Space Repair Fluid, but Claire refused the owner’s offer to sell the land in exchange for information and left with her companions.
• Keros asked the broker to investigate Space Repair Fluid, and the broker returned the next day with news about its scarcity, upcoming auction, and mysterious origins.
• Claire asked the broker to learn the previous sale price, and he said the first batch had sold for one hundred Medium Spirit Stones.

Claire and her companions drew the attention of a powerful family after they sought land and information about Restoration Fluid. After learning the group might possess the rare fluid, Claire asked the family’s representatives to bring their True Immortal to negotiate.

• A Golden Core Realm cultivator and his allies confronted Claire, but she refused to meet their master and warned them against provoking her group.
• After Claire returned to the courtyard, Qu Jianlei said the broker had probably met with misfortune but the family posed no threat.
• Two Golden Core Realm cultivators offered Claire an owned courtyard in exchange for information about Restoration Fluid, but she refused their offer and listened as they explained their family’s interest.
• The cultivators returned with auction details, saying a portion of Restoration Fluid had sold for six hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones and that a future sale might exceed one thousand.
• Claire suggested that possessing the fluid could raise suspicion of illegal border crossing, then discussed trading three portions for a large plot of land near Liuguang City.
• Claire agreed to consider the arrangement but told the cultivators to bring their family’s True Immortal because they were too low-ranking to negotiate it.

Qu Jianlei negotiated with True Immortal San Shi to trade Restoration Fluid for a plot of land in Great Leaf City. After the land was registered under Claire and the Keros siblings, Qu Jianlei’s group began preparing it for their use.

• Claire told the Golden Core Realm cultivators that her family had several True Immortal Old Ancestors, and they returned three days later to bring her group to meet True Immortal San Shi.
• Qu Jianlei met San Shi at a Mobile Palace, showed him Restoration Fluid, and agreed to settle the land transaction before discussing additional supplies.
• The transaction was completed, and Qu Jianlei’s group learned that San Shi was a prominent leader in the Five Friends Alliance merchant guild.
• Claire and the Keros siblings registered ownership of the land, and San Shi’s people removed the Defense Arrays while leaving the Gathering Spirit Arrays behind.
• Qu Jianlei’s group excavated an underground Stone Chamber, installed a Teleportation Array, and began building a Defense Array to conceal Space Ripples.

After returning to Red Leaf Ridge, Qu Jianlei experienced Seeking the Dao and sensed that the Cultivation World was growing increasingly oppressive. His divination suggested that two or three relatively stable years remained, and the group sent Jia Shuiqing to help guard Central Province.

• Fourth Boss, You You, Yuanyuan, and Zi Jiuxian arrived from Central Province and reported that scattered Heavenly Demons had begun appearing in Dongsheng.
• Qu Jianlei agreed to take Tian Yin back to Red Leaf Ridge to attempt Core Formation, and she traveled in the Life Support Pod.
• Jing Yuexin suggested that cultivation could combine different methods, prompting Qu Jianlei to reconsider his assumptions and enter a state Jiao Daoren identified as Seeking the Dao.
• Qu Jianlei emerged from Seeking the Dao with an improved soul, and Jiao Daoren concluded he was capable of following his own path.
• Qu Jianlei sensed an oppressive change in the world, divined that two or three relatively stable years remained, and went to recover.
• The group chose Jia Shuiqing to go to Central Province and support Qinghu, where Zi Jiuxian was also staying.