Chapter Summaries

Song Changsheng confronted the Rong Clan over its role in the Ling Province war and imposed terms that preserved the clan while curbing its power. Rong Mingtao then maneuvered to protect his authority and persuaded the Golden Crow Sect to support the Rong Clan after his death.

• Song Changsheng arrived at Tiannan Peak and demanded that Rong Mingtao answer for the Rong Clan’s actions in the war.
• Rong Mingtao offered himself to appease Song Changsheng, but Song instead set four conditions for ending their dispute.
• Rong Xingzhou surrendered himself and five other Rong Clan members whose hands were stained with blood, while Rong Mingtao agreed to compensate Song’s side and identify the two unknown Purple Palace Cultivators.
• Rong Mingtao accepted Song Changsheng’s demand that the Rong Clan seal Tiannan Peak for one hundred years, and Song took Rong Xingzhou away while waiting for the compensation.
• Rong Mingtao privately recognized that Song Changsheng had spared him because he could restrain Xiangzhou’s other powers, then asked Chen Mingzhao to secure Golden Crow Sect protection and an Azure Sky White Jade Pill.

After securing the Rong Clan’s reparations and leaving it sealed for a hundred years, Song Changsheng established Chihuo as the Song Clan’s representative in Yang Province and arranged his marriage into the Bai Clan. Song Changsheng returned to Ling Province, leaving Chihuo to oversee Yang Province’s clans under the Song Clan’s authority.

• Song Changsheng divided the Rong Clan’s reparations among Sunset City, allied forces, and the Clan Cultivators, then executed Rong Xingzhou and five others at Tianyang Peak.
• Song Changsheng offered Chihuo Tianyang Peak and appointed him the Song Clan’s representative in Yang Province, granting him the Chi surname.
• Song Changsheng arranged for Chihuo to marry Bai Ruotong, and Bai Ruohong accepted the match on her behalf.
• Song Changsheng instructed Chihuo to build alliances among Yang Province’s clans and expand his family after marriage.
• After Song Changsheng returned to Ling Province, Chihuo summoned the seven Great Clans to arrange their attendance at Song Changsheng’s Violet Palace Grand Ceremony, and they obeyed.

After returning from the victory over the Blazing Sun Sect, Song Changsheng confronted the Song Clan’s manpower shortage and assigned prisoners to mine, workers to restore Yang Province, and Song Qingqing to oversee the next Immortal Ascension Assembly. He then announced plans to expand Wind Whisper Hall with branches staffed by Outer Clan Cultivators, leaving the clan to begin building an intelligence network and elite Hidden Guard.

• Song Xianyun celebrated Song Changsheng’s victory, then fell asleep while telling Song Qingyang he wished for ten more years of life.
• Song Changsheng reviewed the Song Clan’s battle casualties and manpower shortage with the elders, then sent more than three hundred prisoners to mine Song Yulong’s Azure Stone Vein and transferred fifty people to restore Yang Province’s key resource sites.
• Song Changsheng assigned Song Qingqing to preside over the Immortal Ascension Assembly half a year later.
• Song Changsheng proposed recruiting Outer Clan Cultivators to expand Wind Whisper Hall, and Song Luyun recognized that he intended to use people from the Blazing Sun Sect’s former territories.
• Song Changsheng explained that the new Dark Hall would gather intelligence and plant informants, while the Hidden Hall would train a loyal Hidden Guard to handle covert operations.

Song Changsheng reviewed the Song Clan’s spoils, expanded its plans to cultivate Foundation Establishment members, and transformed Jingxuan Lake into a frigid training ground. He decided to raise Song Qingyun himself and ended by asking Little Nine for the latter half of a body-tempering art.

• Song Luzhou and Xia Yunxue reported the Foundation Establishment Pills, spiritual herbs, and battle spoils recovered from the Blazing Sun Sect, and Song Changsheng distributed rewards to the clan.
• Song Changsheng set the Violet Palace Grand Ceremony for one month later, approved twenty-one Foundation Establishment Seeds, and granted them increased cultivation resources and priority access to pills.
• Song Changsheng and Song Xianming moved the Spirit Fish from Jingxuan Lake, built a formation around it, and used the Cold Pond Coral to turn it into a freezing training ground called Cold Pond.
• Song Changsheng refused Sunset City’s offer to guide Song Qingyun and told Song Xianming he would teach his son himself.
• Song Changsheng asked Little Nine about the Heavenly Dao’s punishment for sharing a cultivation method, then requested the latter half of the Five Beast Body Tempering Art.

Song Changsheng entered the Five Beast Body Tempering Art’s dangerous trial to gain a Battle Body, while Zhuang Yuechan became trapped in the Gusu Cultivation World after powerful cultivators pursued her for a rare spiritual object. Song Changsheng neared the end of his trial, but Zhuang Yuechan’s plea for help was followed by the loss of contact.

• Song Changsheng entered the spiritual trial and defeated the Earth Dragon Emperor by breaking its spine, gaining its regenerative ability.
• Song Changsheng faced the Bi Fang Bird, then continued battling the remaining ferocious beasts until he reached the One-Horned Flood Dragon.
• Zhuang Yuechan traveled to the Gusu Cultivation World, gained combat experience, and advanced to the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment.
• Zhuang Yuechan escaped a Blood Demon Sect ambush, completed Mu Guibai's training task, and obtained a rare gold-element Heaven and Earth Spiritual Object.
• Zhuang Yuechan was pursued by Foundation Establishment and Purple Palace Cultivators, sent out a plea for help, returned to where she had found the spiritual object, and lost contact.
• Song Changsheng charged at the One-Horned Flood Dragon, intending to destroy it from the inside.

Song Changsheng completed the Five Beast Battle Body trial, prepared a cultivation art for Song Qingyun, and began his Heavenly Lightning Tribulation. The final purple lightning bolt pierced through his chest despite his battle body.

• Song Changsheng completed the Five Beast Battle Body trial and absorbed the abilities of all five remnant souls, but emerged mentally exhausted.
• Song Changsheng erased the Silver Flood Dragon Mace's Artifact Spirit and imprinted his Divine Soul on the weapon.
• Song Changsheng gave Song Qingyun the Great Dream Illusion Heaven Art and asked Zhu Yiqun to watch over him during cultivation.
• Song Changsheng prepared a defensive array in a wilderness and awaited his Heavenly Lightning Tribulation.
• Song Changsheng endured the first two lightning bolts, then activated the Five Beast Battle Body against a massive purple bolt that pierced his chest.

Song Changsheng survived the Heavenly Lightning Tribulation and prepared for his Violet Palace Grand Ceremony, where major forces gathered to congratulate him. The ceremony began with lavish festivities and gifts, while Su Ye of the Golden Crow Sect took an interest in Song Changsheng as a worthy rival.

• Song Changsheng endured a lightning strike that tore through his chest, then recovered from the warning punishment of the Heavenly Dao.
• Song Qingyun dispersed her old cultivation and quickly advanced with the Great Dream Illusion Heaven Art, while Zhu Yiqun was asked to prepare dishes for the ceremony.
• Shen Qingxiu told Song Changsheng that Xing Zhao had died attempting to break through to the Purple Mansion Realm, and Li Ru reassured him that Zhuang Yuechan was safe on her training journey.
• Xia Qingxue and Su Ye arrived from the Golden Crow Sect; Song Changsheng met Su Ye, who praised him and resolved to defeat him in a future contest.
• Representatives from across the Great Qi Cultivation World gathered at Vast Peak, where Zhu Yiqun’s medicinal cuisine and a buffet banquet impressed the guests.
• Song Changsheng opened the ceremony with a greeting, and Old Ghost Chihuo, Shangguan Yin, and Chu Nanfeng presented one hundred catties of Extreme Cold Refined Iron.

Song Changsheng celebrated his breakthrough into the Purple Palace Realm with a grand ceremony, receiving lavish gifts from several major forces. After the ceremony, Xia Qingxue warned him to be careful of Su Ye, and Song Changsheng realized the Golden Crow Sect’s mysterious gift might be connected to Su Ye’s hidden purpose.

• Feng Zhongyi, Hua Ruoxi, Lu Yuming, and Jian Wuming presented Song Changsheng valuable gifts on behalf of their sects and halls.
• Jin Rihe gave Song Changsheng a living branch of the Han Gold White Jade Fruit Tree on True Person Bai Yan’s behalf, and Song Changsheng reluctantly accepted it.
• Su Ye revealed that the Golden Crow Sect’s Old Ancestor wanted to learn how Song Changsheng had risen to prominence, then gave Song Qingqing a sealed gift box.
• Shen Qingxiu delivered Mu Guibai’s Magic Sound Conch to Song Changsheng, which could disrupt the senses and injure the spirit and soul once.
• Song Changsheng led the ancestor-honoring ceremony and gave a three-day sermon before the celebration ended.
• Xia Qingxue warned Song Changsheng to be careful of Su Ye, and Song Changsheng began to suspect that the Golden Crow Sect’s gift concealed a danger.

Song Changsheng sealed Su Ye’s suspicious gift, but its hidden spell let Su Ding invade his consciousness and interrogate him, believing he was a reincarnated Great Power. Song Changsheng resisted with Little Nine’s help and broke free, then ordered Little Fifth to kill Su Ding.

• Song Changsheng sealed the red-cloth-covered gift from the Golden Crow Sect and stored it in a hidden compartment in his study.
• The gift’s red cloth fell away, and its flash put Song Changsheng to sleep as Su Ding’s divine sense appeared from the box.
• Su Ding questioned Song Changsheng and became convinced that his rapid cultivation meant he was a reincarnated Great Power with knowledge of reincarnation and recultivation.
• Su Ding demanded to know whether Song Changsheng retained memories from a previous life, while Song Changsheng struggled against the suppression in his Sea of Consciousness.
• Little Nine repeatedly called to Song Changsheng, helping him recover his self-awareness and resist Su Ding’s interrogation.
• Song Changsheng shattered Su Ding’s restraint, regained control of his dharma power, and ordered Little Fifth to kill him.

Song Changsheng survived Su Ding’s attempt to probe his memories and learned that the Golden Crow Sect still suspected him. After recovering from his soul injuries, he rushed to Song Xianyun’s bedside and found his Twenty-First Grandfather nearing death.

• Song Changsheng used the Five Elements Creation Seal to destroy Su Ding’s divine soul projection, while Su Ding resolved to test him again when an opportunity arose.
• Su Ye revealed Su Ding’s plan to Xia Qingxue, who warned him to keep the matter secret and looked toward Ling Province.
• Little Nine told Song Changsheng that his memories might have been erased and gave him a Soul Locking Technique; Song Changsheng identified the Divine Illusion Ring used in the attack and resolved to become strong enough to confront the Golden Crow Sect.
• Song Changsheng entered the Cold Pond to heal his soul, then awoke when Song Qingming reported that the Great Elder was about to die.
• Song Changsheng hurried to Song Xianyun’s residence, where the family elders had gathered, and found Song Xianyun experiencing a final burst of strength.
• Song Xianyun sent the others away to speak with Song Changsheng alone, asked him to help him walk, and let Song Changsheng examine his failing condition.

Song Xianyun died after entrusting Song Changsheng with his records and naming Song Qingyang’s newborn son Song Youlin. After the funeral, Song Changsheng found Xianyun’s wedding gift and letter, then reorganized the clan’s elders.

• Song Xianyun gave Song Changsheng his clan records and cultivation notes before his life began to fade.
• Song Qingyang brought his newborn son to Song Xianyun, who named the child Song Youlin and died soon afterward.
• The Song Clan mourned Song Xianyun, and Song Xianming grieved the loss of his brother.
• Song Changsheng found Song Xianyun’s letter and Unity Stone, prepared as a wedding gift, and wept over his final wish.
• At the family meeting, Song Changsheng appointed Song Chang'an as Transmission Elder and named Qingxing as Punishment Elder.

Song Changsheng appointed Song Qingxing as Punishment Elder and decided to support Ling Province’s affiliated forces by selling them resources at a discount. Song Luyun proposed a Contribution Point system to draw those forces closer to the Song Clan, and Song Changsheng recognized the scale of her plan.

• Song Changsheng named Song Qingxing Punishment Elder, arguing that his strictness would deter misconduct, and ordered Song Chang'an to hand over the position.
• Song Luzhou reported that the Song Clan had ten Foundation Establishment Pills, and Song Changsheng directed seven Foundation Establishment Seeds to receive pills and enter seclusion.
• Song Luyun confirmed that the family planned an auction, and Song Changsheng proposed selling resources, including the remaining three pills, to Ling Province’s major forces at thirty percent below market price.
• Song Luyun proposed establishing a task system where affiliated forces could earn Contribution Points and exchange Spirit Stones for them.
• Song Luyun outlined plans for a separate Treasure Vault with limited, rotating rare resources to encourage affiliated forces to stockpile Contribution Points, and Song Changsheng recognized her strategy.

Song Changsheng and the clan elders refined a contribution-point task system for the Song Clan and its affiliated forces, balancing its benefits against the risk of damaging the clan’s reputation. Later, Song Changsheng gave Song Qingxing a sword painting and Song Qingxi a Foundation Establishment Pill, leading Song Qingxing to confess his feelings and propose marriage, while Song Qingxi resisted because she feared holding him back.

• Song Changsheng approved Song Luyun’s plan for a contribution-point system but warned the elders to limit exchanges so the Song Clan would not devalue its points or ruin its reputation.
• Song Changrong proposed using Parent-Child Boards to post and accept tasks remotely, and Song Changsheng assigned External Affairs Deacons to verify completed tasks at affiliated forces.
• Song Changsheng promised Song Luyun more staff, then gave Song Qingxing the Heavenly Sword Sect’s “Setting Sun Sword Dance Painting” and advised him to follow the rules as Punishment Elder.
• Song Changsheng gave Song Qingxing Song Qingxi’s Foundation Establishment Pill and encouraged him to confess his feelings after she established her foundation.
• Song Qingxing confronted Song Qingxi about avoiding him, told her he had proposed marriage, and asked her to become his Dao companion.
• Song Qingxi tried to reject him because she feared holding him back, but she could not swear she had never loved him, and Song Qingxing embraced and kissed her.

Song Qingxing secured Song Qingxi’s agreement to become his dao companion despite their differences in aptitude, while the Song Clan’s new exchange policy drew factions across Ling Province and Yang Province into its growing Contribution Point system. Song Changsheng then uncovered Qingtian Sword Immortal’s Violet Void Divine Fire method and began cultivating it, only for the new flame to consume most of his Earth Core Cold Flame.

• Song Qingxi explained that their unequal talents and lifespans made a future together seem impossible, but Song Qingxing promised to stay with her for life after life, and she agreed.
• Factions in Ling Province exchanged Contribution Points for Foundation Establishment Pills and other resources, while Song Luyun expanded the task board and rejected requests to pay Song Clan members in points.
• The Bai Clan and then other Yangzhou families joined the exchange policy, bringing the Song Clan nearly five hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones and clearing much of its stored cultivation stock.
• Song Changsheng inspected Qingtian Sword Immortal’s light orb after reaching the Purple Palace Stage and found the cultivation method for Violet Void Divine Fire.
• Song Changsheng refined the invisible fires, but the Violet Void Divine Fire swallowed most of the Earth Core Cold Flame and began devouring purple qi; he sealed the remaining fire seed for another practitioner to use.

Song Changsheng tested the devastating Violet Void Divine Fire, then learned that Zhuang Yuechan had been missing in Gusu for months and her Soul Lamp had dimmed. He set out with Niu Dazhuang to find her, carrying the Mountain Shaking Halberd and racing east aboard a Third Tier Flying Shuttle.

• Song Changsheng tested the Violet Void Divine Fire and watched it burn through his Scale Armor Shield, then recalled the Flowing Cloud Hand jade slip.
• Niu Dazhuang arrived at the Song Clan and told Song Changsheng that Zhuang Yuechan had missed her regular reports for half a year and that her Soul Lamp had dimmed.
• Song Changsheng decided to go to Gusu immediately, despite Song Xianming's concerns, and prepared spirit stones and supplies.
• Song Xianming gave Song Changsheng Old Ancestor Yungui's Mountain Shaking Halberd and urged him to return alive with Zhuang Yuechan.
• Song Changsheng and Niu Dazhuang left for Gusu aboard Niu Dazhuang's Third Tier Flying Shuttle.

Song Changsheng and Niu Dazhuang reached Gusu to search for Zhuang Yuechan, whose Soul Lamp showed she was in grave danger. In Crimson Firmament City, Song Changsheng secured an audience with his old friend Peng Siying at the Wanlong Trading House, but Hong Luan greeted him with open hostility.

• Niu Dazhuang told Song Changsheng that Zhuang Yuechan had last been heard from near the border of Tiannan Province and Yunmeng Province, and that her Soul Lamp had remained weak for nearly three months.
• Song Changsheng and Niu Dazhuang arrived in Crimson Firmament City, found no trace of Zhuang Yuechan with the Ten Thousand Mile Tracking Technique, and split up to seek clues.
• Song Changsheng recognized the Wanlong Trading House and used his Guest Elder status to ask for an audience with Peng Siying.
• After Song Changsheng bribed the attendant to report his arrival, Peng Siying remembered him and sent Qingluan to bring him inside.
• Hong Luan warned Song Changsheng to keep his eyes in check before opening Peng Siying's room.

Song Changsheng enlisted Peng Siying’s help to find Zhuang Yuechan, whose trail led to the Meteorite Mountain Range after she was hunted for obtaining Geng Metal Qi. Song Changsheng and Niu Dazhuang rushed there, where they learned something that enraged Song Changsheng.

• Peng Siying agreed to use the Wanlong Merchant Association’s intelligence network to search for Zhuang Yuechan and promised results within three days.
• Song Changsheng returned to Laifu Inn and told Niu Dazhuang that Peng Siying was helping them.
• Qingluan delivered a report saying Zhuang Yuechan had collected Geng Metal Qi, been pursued by cultivators, and disappeared into the Meteorite Mountain Range.
• Song Changsheng and Niu Dazhuang hurried to the Meteorite Mountain Range and found many cultivators gathered there.
• Song Changsheng questioned a Foundation Establishment cultivator, heard the story behind the gathering, and became furious.

Song Changsheng and Niu Dazhuang entered the Golden Profound Stone Cave to find Zhuang Yuechan, whose Geng Metal Qi had drawn cultivators into a deadly struggle over the cave’s Mystic Gold. After killing their way through the passages, they encountered Purple Fiend and the Demon Wind Monster Hunting Team, who were pursuing Yuechan for reasons beyond the Geng Metal Qi.

• Song Changsheng learned that a woman carrying the Geng Metal Qi had retreated into the cave, and he and Niu Dazhuang entered to search for Zhuang Yuechan.
• Song Changsheng followed traces through the cave, finding corpses and Mystic Gold deposits as cultivators fought over the valuable material.
• Song Changsheng and Niu Dazhuang killed two Foundation Establishment Cultivators and interrogated the survivor, who revealed that Purple Cloud Pavilion had found traces of the woman ahead.
• Song Changsheng and Niu Dazhuang slaughtered cultivators blocking their way, then paused to recover their dharma power.
• Purple Fiend told the Demon Wind Monster Hunting Team that the cave held a Fortuitous Encounter beyond the Geng Metal Qi and that he intended to capture the woman.
• Song Changsheng and Niu Dazhuang emerged from a passage and faced Purple Fiend and his group.

Song Changsheng and Niu Dazhuang joined Purple Fiend’s group to find Zhuang Yuechan, then helped him defeat the Purple Cloud Pavilion cultivators and open an ancient Bronze Gate. Beyond it, they found a magma-filled chamber and a perilous stone path, where Purple Fiend ordered a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to go first.

• Song Changsheng and Niu Dazhuang agreed to work for Purple Fiend in exchange for Geng Metal Qi, using the aliases Zhu Yiqun and Liu Mang.
• Song Changsheng reasoned that Purple Fiend needed expendable help to reach Zhuang Yuechan, and the two cultivators followed his group deeper into the cave.
• Purple Fiend’s group caught up with the Purple Cloud Pavilion party, refused its leader’s offer to withdraw, and killed the leader and six Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
• Song Changsheng’s Jade Pendant reacted near an ancient Bronze Gate, revealing that Zhuang Yuechan was likely behind it, while Purple Fiend explained the gate’s connection to an Origin of Law.
• Song Changsheng, Niu Dazhuang, and Purple Fiend poured their dharma power into the Bronze Gate and opened it, revealing a magma pool and a forbidden-air formation.
• Purple Fiend conjured a stone path across the magma, then ordered a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to step onto it first.

Song Changsheng and Niu Dazhuang followed Purple Fiend across a deadly bridge into an underground palace, where he revealed the Origin of Law and tried to distract them from finding Zhuang Yuechan. The two turned on him, and Niu Dazhuang weakened him with the Purple Yin Golden Bracelet as their battle began.

• Purple Fiend forced the Demon Wind Monster Hunting Team to test the Floating Stone Bridge, and seven members died before the survivors found a safe route.
• Song Changsheng and Niu Dazhuang crossed the bridge with Purple Fiend and entered a magnificent underground palace, where Song Changsheng sensed that Zhuang Yuechan was nearby.
• Purple Fiend used two cultivators to test the Sharp Gold Energy in the hall, then led the group to the altar and showed Song Changsheng the Origin of Law.
• Song Changsheng and Niu Dazhuang demanded the promised Geng Metal Qi, but Purple Fiend urged them to focus on absorbing the Origin of Law instead.
• Niu Dazhuang punched Purple Fiend, and Song Changsheng attacked with the Mountain Shaking Halberd before Niu Dazhuang's Purple Yin Golden Bracelet cut Purple Fiend's available dharma power in half.