Chapter Summaries

Song Changsheng used the newly established Inspection Department to expose and punish clan officials who had embezzled funds, while the clan elders learned about the department and accepted its role. Six months later, Song Qingyun began breaking through to Foundation Establishment, slept through the prolonged process, and finally woke after three days complaining that the nap had exhausted him.

• Song Changsheng ordered Song Changxuan to investigate four clan managers suspected of embezzlement after Jiang Ling and the inspectors reported their findings.
• Song Xianming told the elders that the Inspection Department had uncovered the corruption, and explained why the clan needed it.
• Song Changxuan's investigation uncovered extensive theft and destructive mining, and the four offenders were stripped of their cultivation and punished under clan law.
• Song Changsheng ordered regular and random inspections, then worried about the Heavenly Sword Sect's unexplained use for the Black Gold it received from the Song Clan.
• Six months later, Song Qingyun began breaking through to Foundation Establishment and appeared to fall asleep during the Divine Soul Stage as Song Changsheng watched.
• After more than three days of attracting a crowd and betting pools in Dingyuan City, Song Qingyun woke, stretched, and said his nap had been exhausting.

After Song Qingyun’s unusual breakthrough drew a crowd, Song Changsheng warned him about the dangers of losing himself in a dream. Weeks later, a vast thunderstorm appeared over the Canglan River, and Song Changsheng and other cultivators prepared to investigate the living creature glimpsed inside it.

• Song Qingyun told Song Changsheng that he had avoided inner demons during his breakthrough by creating a dream for himself, and Song Changsheng warned that he might become trapped in it.
• Song Qingyun consolidated his new cultivation while the curious crowd gradually left Dingyuan City.
• Song Changsheng rushed toward immense thunderclouds over the Canglan River, where lightning killed Second-Tier water demons.
• Song Changsheng met Bai Zhengchun, who identified Chiyu, a powerful Late Purple Mansion Stage cultivator, and cautioned Song Changsheng about him.
• As the thunderclouds shrank, cultivators spotted a living figure inside, and Bai Zhengchun urged Song Changsheng to prepare to act.

Song Changsheng captured a valuable Thunder Spirit in the storm clouds, but Nine Departures Rogue tried to steal it and called Batu for help. Song Changsheng chased and battered Nine Departures Rogue, who was still trying to reach his ally as Batu approached.

• Bai Zhengchun and Song Changsheng entered the thunderclouds with the other cultivators, and Song Changsheng searched separately using the Illusion Breaking Eye.
• Song Changsheng spotted a Thunder Spirit and learned from Little Nine that it could enhance Thunder Law affinity and help cultivators temper their bodies.
• Song Changsheng bound the Thunder Spirit with the Demon Binding Rope and struck away Nine Departures Rogue’s bronze bell when he tried to steal it.
• Nine Departures Rogue called on Batu for help, and Song Changsheng broke his arm and damaged his bell while pursuing him.
• As Batu approached, Nine Departures Rogue called out to him again while Song Changsheng prepared to continue the attack.

Song Changsheng defeated Batu and Nine Departures Rogue, then forced Nine Departures to reveal the Vast Righteousness Alliance’s origins and strength. He learned that the alliance leader, the Spirit Eye Immortal Fairy, might be preparing for a Golden Core breakthrough and that the stolen Heavenly Fire Cauldron could be connected to it, so he demanded the location of the alliance’s lair.

• Batu intervened to save Nine Departures Rogue, but Song Changsheng overwhelmed them with the Five Elements Creation Seal and pursued them as they fled.
• Song Changsheng’s Violet Void Divine Fire damaged Nine Departures Rogue’s bronze bell, and Batu recognized Song Changsheng as True Lord Zixu before abandoning Nine Departures to escape.
• Song Changsheng prepared to kill Nine Departures, but Nine Departures offered information about the Vast Righteousness Alliance in exchange for his life.
• Nine Departures revealed that the Spirit Eye Immortal Fairy had built the alliance around access to an Ancient Battlefield and that it had grown to include at least twenty Purple Palace Cultivators.
• Nine Departures said the Spirit Eye Immortal Fairy had entered seclusion thirty years earlier to attempt a Golden Core breakthrough, and Song Changsheng suspected the stolen Heavenly Fire Cauldron was meant to help her.
• Song Changsheng demanded that Nine Departures tell him where the Vast Righteousness Alliance was based.

Song Changsheng questioned Nine Departures Rogue about the Vast Righteousness Alliance, then sealed him away before investigating a battle over Thunder Spirit eggshell fragments. After taking the fragments, Song Changsheng challenged Chiyu to a Fire Duel, which would decide ownership of their Spirit Fires and the Dao Rhyme treasures.

• Nine Departures Rogue said the Vast Righteousness Alliance had no fixed headquarters and named Zhang Yu and Xu Mei as the cultivators involved in the Song Clan attack, while blaming Spirit Eye Immortal Fairy for the alliance's actions.
• Song Changsheng sealed Nine Departures Rogue unconscious and hid him before heading toward a clash among Purple Palace Cultivators.
• Little Nine explained that the fighters were contesting Thunder Spirit eggshell fragments containing Thunder Attribute Law Dao Rhyme.
• A middle-aged cultivator threw seven fragments toward Song Changsheng to divert Chiyu, and Song Changsheng claimed them despite Chiyu's demand.
• Song Changsheng repelled Chiyu's fire dragons with the Violet Void Divine Fire, and Chiyu proposed a Fire Duel over their Spirit Fires and Dao Rhyme fragments; Song Changsheng accepted.

Song Changsheng and Chiyu wagered their Dao Rhyme Fragments on a witnessed duel over their fires, with Chiyu mistaking Song Changsheng’s Violet Void Divine Fire for a Spirit Fire. Their flames clashed, and Chiyu revealed that his Red Lotus Golden Fire had absorbed other Spirit Fires and gained the Frozen Sky Flame and Heart Devourer abilities; the battle left Song Changsheng’s dharma power draining away.

• Song Changsheng recognized Chiyu as a Spirit Fire devourer and agreed to wager their Dao Rhyme Fragments in a duel.
• Song Changsheng asked Bai Zhengchun to witness the duel, and Bai accepted and held both fragments.
• Chiyu unleashed his transformed Red Lotus Golden Fire, and Song Changsheng met it with the Violet Void Divine Fire.
• Chiyu used the Frozen Sky Flame to encase Song Changsheng’s fire, but Song Changsheng broke the icy seal with a surge of dharma power.
• Chiyu activated Heart Devourer, turning his fire obsidian and draining Song Changsheng’s dharma power until Song Changsheng grew pale.

Song Changsheng defeated Chiyu in the Fire Duel, handed over intelligence about the Vast Righteousness Alliance to Bai Zhengchun, and returned to the clan with Song Qingyun. Back at Vast Peak, the clan began discussing Song Qingyun’s marriage, while Song Qingyun reunited with Song Qingli and caught her as she staggered.

• Song Changsheng detonated Violet Void Divine Fire and Chiyu’s Heart-Devouring Black Flame, then revealed that he had preserved his own Fire Seed and claimed victory, taking Chiyu’s Spirit Fires.
• Bai Zhengchun returned Song Changsheng’s eggshell fragments, agreed to make rubbings of the Thunder Attribute Dao resonance, and took the captive Nine Departures Rogue away for interrogation.
• Song Changsheng and Song Qingyun visited Five Elements Peak, where Song Changsheng assessed the clan’s growing settlements and income before returning to Vast Peak.
• Song Luzhou told Song Changsheng that the clan intended to arrange a marriage for Song Qingyun, and Song Changsheng agreed to the plan.
• Song Changsheng considered how to use the captured Thunder Spirit but decided to keep raising it for now.
• Song Qingyun found Song Qingli working in the spirit fields, reunited with her, and offered her gifts when she staggered backward.

Song Qingyun visited the ill Song Qingli, then refused a marriage arranged by the Song Clan elders because he remained devoted to Su Xiaoxiao. Song Changsheng agreed to handle the refusal and later learned that the Vast Righteousness Alliance’s Ancient Battlefield would soon open, prompting Mu Guibai to summon the sect leaders.

• Song Qingyun found Song Qingli recovering in her room and learned that her illness had worsened despite her medicine and cultivation.
• Song Qingli recalled how Song Qingyun had once mistaken her collapse for sleep, and he urged her to stop farming and focus on reaching Foundation Establishment.
• Song Qingyun gave Song Qingli gifts from Dingyuan City, including a Wide-Sleeved Immortal Dress that reminded her of her late mother.
• Song Changsheng told Song Qingyun that the Family Council of Elders had arranged a marriage, but Song Qingyun refused because he would marry no one but Su Xiaoxiao.
• Song Changsheng decided to refuse the marriage on Song Qingyun’s behalf and went to the Hall of General Affairs to speak with Song Luzhou.
• At Sunset City, Mu Guibai told Song Changsheng that the Vast Righteousness Alliance’s Ancient Battlefield would soon open and asked him to join the coming meeting with the sect leaders.

Song Changsheng attended a secret alliance meeting to plan a strike against the Vast Righteousness Alliance in the Blood Ruin Realm, then began choosing Song Clan participants. He decided it was time for Song Qingxing to return home, while Song Qingxing traveled back carrying a powerful bronze mirror.

• Mu Guibai introduced Song Changsheng to the sect leaders and explained that their target was the Vast Righteousness Alliance's base in the Blood Ruin Realm, an ancient battlefield in Bozhou.
• The leaders agreed to attack when the battlefield opened on the second day of the second month next year, concealed their troop movements, and pledged Purple Palace and Foundation Establishment cultivators for the campaign.
• Cheng Muqiu questioned Song Changsheng's contribution, and Song Changsheng offered one Purple Palace Cultivator and ten Foundation Establishment Cultivators for the Song Clan.
• Mu Guibai distributed jade slips listing suspected Vast Righteousness Alliance members, and Song Changsheng was alarmed to recognize several names.
• After returning to the Song Clan, Song Changsheng considered whom to send into battle, crossed out the names he had written, and said it was time for the brat to come home.
• Song Qingxing traveled north aboard a flying boat, eager to reunite with someone he loved, while Wujie questioned his attachment to romantic feelings.

Song Qingxing returned to Vast Peak and reunited with Song Qingxi, then told Song Changsheng about the Origin of Law he had recovered from the Abyss. He planned to use it to help Song Qingxi overcome the gap in their talents, while Wujie struggled to accept Song Qingxing’s choice.

• Song Qingxi waited for Song Qingxing at Moonfall Cliff, and he returned to her courtyard and promised not to leave her alone again.
• Song Qingxing met Song Qingyun, learned Song Changsheng was in his study, and went to speak with his uncle.
• Song Qingxing revealed his journey into the Abyss, the Spirit-Connecting Soul-Capturing Treasure Mirror, and the Origin of Law inside it.
• Song Qingxing asked Song Changsheng to help Song Qingxi fuse with the Origin of Law, and Song Changsheng agreed to prepare for the process the next day.
• After Song Qingxing left the bronze mirror behind, Wujie confronted Song Changsheng about his resentment toward the Song family and his doubts about love.
• Song Qingxing returned home and found Song Qingxi waiting for him, then brought her inside out of the cold.

Song Changsheng transferred the Origin of Law from the bronze mirror into Song Qingxi and risked opening her Middle Dantian so she could contain its power. After the transplant succeeded, he began recovering and brought Song Luzhou a roster of those he had selected for battle.

• Song Changsheng prepared a formation and used Wujie's help to transfer the Origin of Law into the sleeping Song Qingxi over seven days.
• Song Changsheng decided to expand Song Qingxi's capacity by forcing open her Middle Dantian, using his Life Essence and Wujie's remaining power to protect her.
• Song Changsheng completed the procedure and told Song Qingxing that everything was well; Song Qingxing rushed to see Song Qingxi while Song Changsheng concealed his injury and began recovering.
• The next morning, Song Changsheng visited the Hall of General Affairs, where Song Luzhou urged him to rest and asked why he had come.
• Song Changsheng handed Song Luzhou a roster of the people he had selected for battle.

Song Changsheng assembled trusted Song Clan cultivators for a dangerous campaign against the Vast Righteousness Alliance and competition over an ancient battlefield, after obtaining Song Luzhou’s approval. The group agreed to take part, while Chihuo sought Song Qingyun’s help securing a place for his son and received Song Changsheng’s recognition for his service in Yang Province.

• Song Changsheng asked Song Luzhou to approve a roster of clan pillars and allies for the campaign, and Song Luzhou reluctantly stamped the dispatch list.
• Song Changsheng explained that he deliberately submitted to the elders’ procedures to prevent his authority as Patriarch from going unchecked.
• Chihuo asked Song Qingyun to put in a word with Song Changsheng so Chihuo’s son could serve the young master, and Song Qingyun agreed to raise the matter without promising an outcome.
• Song Changsheng briefed the assembled cultivators on the risks of fighting the Vast Righteousness Alliance and competing with the Heavenly Sword Sect and Golden Crow Sect over the ancient battlefield.
• Zhu Yiqun negotiated his participation with Song Changsheng through gestures, and the other cultivators pledged to join the campaign.
• Song Changsheng dismissed the group, ordered them to keep the meeting secret, then kept Chihuo behind and praised his contribution to Yang Province’s peace.

Song Changsheng devised an academy to train disciples from affiliated clans and use them to strengthen the Song Clan’s influence, while Song Qingshi ordered spies to investigate Yang Province’s major clans. As military movements heightened tensions, Cui Yu urged the Vast Righteousness Alliance to delay opening the Blood Ruin Realm, but the gathered members had yet to decide.

• Old Ghost Chihuo asked Song Changsheng to let Changxian serve Song Yun, and Song Changsheng said he would consider the request.
• Song Changsheng developed an academy plan for affiliated clans, and the Council of Elders approved it for future implementation.
• Song Changsheng received reports that the Bai Clan supported the academy while the Chu Clan and Shangguan Clan resisted it.
• Song Qingshi ordered Song Qingyan to mobilize spies and investigate the Chu Clan and Shangguan Clan for suspicious associates.
• After New Year, Cui Yu gathered several Vast Righteousness Alliance figures and proposed postponing the Blood Ruin Realm’s opening, but Zhang Heng objected and the others fell silent.

Cui Yu failed to persuade the other Blood Ruin Realm managers to delay its opening, while Song Qingxing told Song Qingxi he had given her the Origin of Law and the two reconciled. Song Changsheng joined Sunset City’s forces in Bozhou, where the unexpectedly small Heavenly Sword Sect contingent raised suspicions about its true purpose.

• Cui Yu quit the group managing the Blood Ruin Realm after Zhang Heng insisted it must open on the second day of the second month in Bozhou.
• Song Qingxi woke after absorbing the Origin of Law, and Song Qingxing confessed that he had arranged for her to receive it instead of keeping the opportunity for himself.
• Song Changsheng led the Song Clan fighters to Bozhou and joined Sunset City’s forces ahead of the Blood Ruin Realm opening.
• The Heavenly Sword Sect arrived with Jian Xu and only twelve Foundation Establishment Cultivators, despite its greater strength and the threat from the Vast Righteousness Alliance.
• Bai Zhengchun told Song Changsheng that Jian Xu’s explanation about the Mingxu Sect was false, prompting Song Changsheng to suspect the Heavenly Sword Sect’s Black Gold purchases were connected.

Song Changsheng inferred that Jian Wuming was preparing to break through to the Golden Core Stage, then joined the campaign against the Vast Righteousness Alliance. The alliance’s gathering at Blood Ruin Valley was ambushed by Great Qi’s forces, whose formation inflicted devastating casualties before the battle could fully begin.

• Song Changsheng suspected Jian Wuming was preparing a breakthrough after hearing that the Heavenly Sword Sect had acquired a great quantity of Black Gold.
• Cheng Muqiu proposed distributing Blood Ruin Realm gains by military merit, and Bai Zhengchun arranged for Shen Qingxiu and the strongest representatives of the other factions to compete for the alliance’s Control Tokens.
• Zhang Heng arrived at Blood Ruin Valley with only four of the five Great Elders and announced that Cui Yu had relinquished his position and handed over his token.
• Eight pillars of light sealed Blood Ruin Valley as more than two hundred Foundation Establishment Cultivators and twenty-nine Purple Palace Cultivators surrounded the Vast Righteousness Alliance.
• The alliance’s spells rebounded from the barrier, and Cheng Muqiu compressed and detonated its power, killing many Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Song Changsheng helped Hua Ruoxi defeat Lin Chengfeng and secured his Formation Token as the Coalition Army crushed the Vast Righteousness Alliance. After the battle, the five token holders opened the Blood Ruin Realm, revealing the ancient battlefield of the Immortal Dynasty.

• Zhang Heng led the Rogue Cultivators in a desperate breakout, while Cheng Muqiu ordered the Coalition Army to kill them all.
• Song Changsheng watched Hua Ruoxi fight Lin Chengfeng until Lin Chengfeng burned his life origin and nearly killed her.
• Song Changsheng killed Lin Chengfeng, rescued Hua Ruoxi, and took the Formation Token from Lin Chengfeng's Storage Bag.
• Cheng Muqiu and Zhao Di killed Zhang Heng and divided his two tokens, while Shen Qingxiu and Jian Xu secured the remaining tokens from their opponents.
• The Coalition Army finished off the Vast Righteousness Alliance, counted its heavy losses, and cleared the battlefield.
• Song Changsheng and the other four token holders activated their Formation Tokens at midnight, opening a gate to the ancient battlefield of the Immortal Dynasty.

Song Changsheng, Song Qingxing, and Zhu Yiqun explored the Blood Ruin Realm, collecting Blood Crystals and seeking opportunities to temper Song Qingxing’s Slaughter Sword Dao. They encountered Yuying’s Golden Crow Sect squad again at an ancient complex, where Yuying proposed that they explore it together.

• Zhao Di and Cheng Muqiu explained the Blood Ruin Realm’s ten-day limit and required everyone to surrender their storage artifacts before entering.
• Song Changsheng split his people into exploring groups, then took Song Qingxing and Zhu Yiqun toward the battlefield’s depths.
• The trio found a skeleton and Blood Crystals, which Zhu Yiqun swallowed using his Innate Devouring Spirit Body.
• Song Changsheng led the group deeper so the Blood Fiend Qi could temper Song Qingxing’s Slaughter Sword Dao.
• The trio met Yuying’s Golden Crow Sect squad at an oasis, then encountered them again at an ancient complex the next day.
• Yuying proposed that her group and Song Changsheng’s group explore the ancient complex together.

Song Changsheng and his companions explored the ancient ruins, captured a Baleful Spirit, and used Soul Search to learn the location of a secret passage to the Treasure Vault. They entered the passage, hoping to reach the buried vault.

• Song Changsheng agreed to explore separately from Yuying and her Golden Crow Sect disciples, who sought treasures to exchange for contribution merits.
• Song Changsheng, Zhu Yiqun, and Song Qingxing searched a ruined palace and collected a damaged incense burner before a black shadow ambushed them.
• Song Qingxing severed the shadow's arm, and Song Changsheng bound it with the Demon Binding Rope; they identified it as a Baleful Spirit.
• Song Changsheng used Soul Search on the Baleful Spirit and learned that the Treasure Vault lay several li north, with a secret passage leading to it.
• Song Changsheng killed the Baleful Spirit, found the passage, and led Zhu Yiqun and Song Qingxing inside.

Song Changsheng and his companions cleared the Baleful Spirits from an ancient Inner Treasury and discovered the Hundred Fiends Qiongqi Cauldron, which Zhu Yiqun stored away. While searching the vault for surviving treasures, Zhu Yiqun found a dark-purple Jade Slip that left Song Changsheng astonished when he read it.

• Song Changsheng, Zhu Yiqun, and Song Qingxing entered the Inner Treasury and fought through the Baleful Spirits gathered there.
• Song Changsheng discovered the Hundred Fiends Qiongqi Cauldron and learned from its vision that it had been forged using the blood of mortal soldiers.
• Song Changsheng subdued the cauldron’s Qiongqi phantom, and Zhu Yiqun swallowed the cauldron to store it.
• The three searched the vault, finding that the Foundation Establishment Pills had decayed into powder.
• Zhu Yiqun found a dark-purple Jade Slip, and Song Changsheng read it with delight and surprise.

Song Changsheng and his companions searched a treasure vault, finding rare divine abilities and valuable materials before encountering Yuying fleeing from a third-tier Baleful Spirit. Song Changsheng intervened to fight it, while Yuying ordered her disciples to help and punished Chen Qiusheng for urging her to abandon him.

• Song Changsheng learned that Zhu Yiqun had found the Great Divine Ability Universe in the Sleeve and continued searching the vault with Zhu Yiqun and Song Qingxing.
• The group collected two intact Minor Divine Abilities, assorted jade slips, spiritual materials, and damaged Magic Artifacts, then heard fighting elsewhere in the ruins.
• Song Changsheng and his companions emerged from the vault and met Yuying fleeing from a third-tier Baleful Spirit; he chose to help because Little Nine had said the spirit would be useful to him.
• Song Changsheng sent Zhu Yiqun and Song Qingxing away and used the Mountain Overturning Seal and Yin-Yang Qi to hold off the Baleful Spirit.
• Yuying prepared to assist Song Changsheng, but Chen Qiusheng urged her to flee; she slapped him and ordered Li Qingyue to seal his acupoints.