Chapter Summaries

Song Qingxing arrived at the Boundless Sword Sect to enter the Trial Road and learned that Li Yuxia was offering a bounty for Bai Zhengchun’s remains. After proving his strength and discovering that Li Yuxia had been Bai Zhengchun’s ally, Song Qingxing heard how Bai Zhengchun sacrificed himself to help Li Yuxia escape with a secret to reaching the Golden Core Stage.

• Song Qingxing registered for the Trial Road and learned that someone had placed a bounty on Bai Zhengchun’s remains.
• Song Qingxing found Li Yuxia’s notice offering five million Low-Grade Spirit Stones and followed its address to the temporary residences.
• Song Qingxing withstood Li Yuxia’s full-force sword strike without injury, alarming the other contestants gathered outside the Immortal Cave.
• Song Qingxing asked Li Yuxia about the person he sought, revealed he had come from Sunset City to bring Bai Zhengchun home, and learned they had been allies in the previous trial.
• Li Yuxia recounted that Bai Zhengchun burned his origin to help him escape after they obtained an item holding the ultimate secret to breaking through to Golden Core.

Li Yuxia explained the Trial Road’s five trials and gave Song Qingxing a guide as he prepared to seek a breakthrough under pressure. Meanwhile, Song Changsheng reorganized the Song Clan amid a wave of seclusions, and the Trial Road opened to hundreds of participants.

• Li Yuxia told Song Qingxing how Bai Zhengchun had found a mysterious die, passed five trials, and reached the Golden Core Stage, then gave him a jade slip containing his notes and a map.
• Song Qingxing studied the guide and prepared for the Trial Road, which was expected to open in about a month.
• Song Changsheng reviewed a list of Song Clan cultivators entering seclusion and agreed with Song Qingxi’s plan to prioritize essential halls and promote new managers.
• The Song Clan began its closed-seclusion tide and relied on Jing-generation Foundation Establishment Cultivators to keep operations running.
• The Trial Road opened, drawing at least three hundred participants to the Training Ground.
• A Nascent Soul True Lord warned the participants that their lives and deaths were their own responsibility, then opened a teleportation gate.

Song Qingxing explored the Trial Road, found a spirit-rich Floating Island, and discovered a corpse whose life essence had been drained by an unknown threat. Outside the Trial Road, Song Mingyuan became the first Foundation Establishment Cultivator of the Song Clan’s “Ming” generation, while Song Changsheng planned to investigate the Demon Domain.

• Song Qingxing entered the Trial Road and began exploring its silent, spiritual-energy-free space, using Li Yuxia’s information to guide his plans.
• Song Qingxing traveled by Sword Riding Technique and found a Floating Island with spiritual energy and herbs that could restore dharma power.
• Song Qingxing discovered and buried a corpse with no visible wounds, concluding that an unknown creature or threat had drained its life essence.
• Over three months outside the Trial Road, nearly twenty Song Clan members broke through, including twenty-seven-year-old Song Mingyuan, the first Foundation Establishment Cultivator of the “Ming” generation.
• Song Changsheng discussed the Demon Race’s movements with Song Xianming and decided to visit the Demon Domain because Jinxuan had not been contacted.

Song Changsheng entered the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom to investigate the flood’s damage, learn whether the Demon Race was preparing for war, and find the missing Jinxuan. After seeing the kingdom’s devastation and following their faint blood-contract connection for more than ten days, he reached a desolate mountain range with no clear sign of Jinxuan.

• Song Changsheng decided to enter the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom himself, and Song Xianming warned him to put his safety first.
• Song Changsheng crossed the Canglan River in Spatial Phasing and noticed that far fewer demonic birds were present than before.
• Song Changsheng found that the flood had left vast lands barren, killed many low-tier Demon Beasts, and weakened the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom’s ability to form a large Beast Tide.
• Song Changsheng followed the faint connection from his blood contract with Jinxuan, growing anxious that Jinxuan might have left the kingdom or encountered an accident.
• After more than ten days of searching, Song Changsheng reached a desolate mountain range as the connection to Jinxuan remained weak.

Song Changsheng entered the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom to investigate its Demon Kings and search for his missing contracted spirit beast, Jinxuan. After rescuing Niu Dazhuang from two Blazing Firebirds, he learned that Jinxuan had been taken by a powerful member of the Golden Land Turtle clan.

• Song Changsheng considered why Jinxuan had vanished from the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom and chose to investigate the Demon Kings before searching for him.
• Song Changsheng heard fighting, followed the sounds, and discovered that Niu Dazhuang was being chased by two Blazing Firebirds.
• Song Changsheng killed one Blazing Firebird and captured the other, then reunited with Niu Dazhuang.
• Niu Dazhuang explained that an inside informant had confirmed the Demon Kings were mostly in seclusion and the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom would not start a war soon.
• Song Changsheng questioned the captured Blazing Firebird and learned that a powerful member of the Golden Land Turtle clan had taken Jinxuan.

Song Changsheng and Niu Dazhuang baited the Blazing Firebird clan into pursuing them so Song Changsheng could capture a Demon King and learn whether the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom was preparing to invade. Song Changsheng trapped the Blazing Fire Demon King, who recognized him and burned his origin for a desperate counterattack.

• Song Changsheng explained that the Demon Race’s quiet after the Canglan River battle seemed suspicious and decided to remain in the Demon Domain to investigate while Niu Dazhuang drew pursuit away.
• Niu Dazhuang left a trace of Blazing Firebird blood, then fought his way through a growing band of pursuers as Song Changsheng secretly watched over him.
• Song Changsheng warned Niu Dazhuang that the Blazing Fire Demon King was following in secret, so Niu Dazhuang sped toward the Canglan River and used Song Changsheng’s Sword Talisman to provoke the pursuers.
• The Blazing Fire Demon King attacked Niu Dazhuang near the Great Qi Cultivation World, but Song Changsheng revealed himself and trapped the Demon King with Drawing a Circle as a Prison.
• The Blazing Fire Demon King recognized Song Changsheng and burned his origin to fight back, while Song Changsheng summoned the Night Illuminating Divine Bird and the Hundred Fiends Qiongqi Cauldron to suppress him.

Song Changsheng defeated and captured the Blazing Fire Demon King, then escaped the Golden-Eyed Demon Lord’s attack with Niu Dazhuang by crossing into Great Qi. After they reunited with Mu Guibai, Song Changsheng and Niu Dazhuang explained how their attempt to investigate the Demon Race had led to capturing a Demon King and alarming the region’s powerful cultivators.

• Song Changsheng used the Violet Void Divine Fire, sword qi, and the Hundred Fiends Qiongqi Cauldron to defeat and capture the Blazing Fire Demon King, then killed the fleeing Great Demons.
• The Golden-Eyed Demon Lord attacked from across the Canglan River, but Song Changsheng fled with Niu Dazhuang into Great Qi, where the demon’s tiger claw stopped at the border under the Heavenly Dao Oath.
• Song Changsheng taunted the Golden-Eyed Demon Lord and told Niu Dazhuang that he had hoped to provoke the demon into crossing the border, but the plan had failed.
• Shi Potian, Bai Zimou, and Mu Guibai headed toward the border after the Golden-Eyed Demon Lord’s roar alarmed Great Qi’s powerful cultivators.
• Mu Guibai found Song Changsheng and Niu Dazhuang, and Niu Dazhuang explained that Song Changsheng had captured a Demon King while investigating a suspected Demon Race plot.

Song Changsheng and the allied powers interrogated the captured Blazing Fire Demon King while exchanging intelligence about the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom’s plans. After three days of torture, the Demon King revealed that the Golden-Eyed Demon Lord was waiting for an extremely important ally.

• Mu Guibai explained to Shi Potian and Bai Zimou how Song Changsheng had captured the Blazing Fire Demon King, and the group agreed to share intelligence and interrogate him together.
• Bai Zimou and Shi Potian described their sects’ brutal interrogation techniques, and Song Changsheng placed the Demon King in the Golden Crow Sect’s bitter water pool.
• The allies exchanged what they knew and concluded that the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom was preparing for something despite showing no sign of an imminent attack.
• Mu Guibai dismissed their speculation, saying the Demon King’s interrogation would reveal the truth in three days.
• After three days in the bitter water pool, the Blazing Fire Demon King broke and revealed that the Golden-Eyed Demon Lord was waiting for an extremely important ally.

After interrogating Blazing Fire Demon King, Song Changsheng and the others uncovered the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom’s alliance with the Blood Demon Sect and planned to root out the sect in the Lu Kingdom Cultivation World. On the journey back, Mu Guibai revealed that several Nascent Soul True Lords from ten thousand years ago had arranged rebirth, prompting Song Changsheng to study astrology for answers.

• Shi Potian and the others verified Blazing Fire Demon King's intelligence and learned that the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom had allied with the Blood Demon Sect through a Blood-Eyed Crow messenger.
• Mu Guibai proposed using the next sixty years to prepare for war and find the Blood Demon Sect, while Song Changsheng argued that its source of recruits might lie in the Lu Kingdom Cultivation World.
• Shi Potian agreed to visit the Lu Kingdom Cultivation World and persuade Rakshasa Hall and the Five Poisons Sect to help eliminate the Blood Demon Sect.
• Song Changsheng asked Bai Zimou about Chen Zhongfang, Su Ye, and Xia Qingxue, learning that the first two were in seclusion and Xia Qingxue was traveling.
• Mu Guibai told Song Changsheng about a third known case of a Nascent Soul True Lord attempting rebirth, and Song Changsheng connected the pattern to the astrological text given to him by True Monarch Lingji.
• Song Changsheng decided to study astrology during a coming long-term seclusion and asked Mu Guibai and his Martial Uncle to watch over Ling Province and the East Sea.

Hun Sha learned that the Great Qi forces had uncovered the Blood Demon Sect’s alliance with the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom and launched an assault on the Bone Erosion Sect. As Rakshasa Hall and two Golden Core True Persons destroyed the sect, Hun Sha escaped with a few chosen followers, while the attackers discovered their Space Blockade had been breached.

• Hun Sha learned from the Blood-Eyed Crow that Song Changsheng had captured the Blazing Fire Demon King and that the Golden-Eyed Demon Lord had warned the Blood Demon Sect to relocate.
• Rakshasa Hall, led by True Lord Heavenly Fiend, attacked the Bone Erosion Sect alongside Shi Potian and Liu Wuxiang, breaching its defensive array.
• Hun Sha decided to use the Sacred Artifact to escape with Misa, Jin, È nú, the Blood-Eyed Crow, and the person needed to awaken the Protector Envoy.
• È nú stayed behind to rally the sect members and draw the attackers’ attention while Hun Sha prepared the escape.
• The Golden Core True Persons crushed the Blood Demon Sect’s remaining resistance, but Hun Sha and several key figures were missing, and Liu Wuxiang discovered that his Space Blockade had been broken.

Song Changsheng traced the Blood Demon Sect’s escape route to the Yellow Sand Gobi, where Hun Sha led the remnants toward the Abyss in search of Mibotoloran and the Protector Envoys. As Song Changsheng and True Lord Heavenly Fiend caught up, the Blood Demons entered the Abyss, leaving Song Changsheng suspicious that they had planned to go there all along.

• Shi Potian sent Song Changsheng to examine the lingering Spatial ripples after the Blood Demon Sect’s leaders escaped.
• Song Changsheng recognized the Spatial Power from an earlier ambush, found residual Blood Demon aura, and traced its flow west toward the Yellow Sand Gobi.
• True Lord Heavenly Fiend used the aura to track the Blood Demon remnants while Hun Sha resolved to enter the Abyss and find Mibotoloran to awaken the Protector Envoys.
• Hun Sha ordered the sect to rest before exploring the Abyss, but Song Changsheng and True Lord Heavenly Fiend caught up with them the next day.
• After the Blood-Eyed Crow warned them of their pursuers, Hun Sha led the Blood Demon remnants into the Abyss, and Song Changsheng questioned whether their choice was truly a desperate mistake.

After the Blood Demon Sect remnants entered the Abyss, Song Changsheng’s group returned to Rakshasa Hall and interrogated the captured Great Protector È nú. È nú revealed Hun Sha’s purpose in the Abyss and claimed to know the whereabouts of the Vast Righteousness Alliance, leaving True Lord Nether Snake eager for answers.

• True Lord Heavenly Fiend, True Lord Nether Snake, and Shi Potian refused to pursue Hun Sha and her group into the Abyss, while Song Changsheng secretly resolved to return for a seed his master had named as key to his Dao.
• Song Changsheng arranged a sensing formation near the Abyss, and the group returned to Rakshasa Hall to interrogate È nú with Shi Potian’s Soul-Striking Whip.
• È nú truthfully described the Blood Demon Sect’s branch altars, its alliance with the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom, and its plan to attack Golden Crow Sect during a Beast Tide within one sixty-year cycle.
• Song Changsheng asked why Hun Sha entered the Abyss, and È nú said she sought Mibotoloran, a spirit plant needed for the Sect Leader to cultivate the True Demon Body.
• È nú claimed he knew the whereabouts of the Vast Righteousness Alliance, prompting True Lord Nether Snake to demand that he reveal where Ling Mou was hiding.

Song Changsheng and four Golden Core True Persons besieged Ling Mou at the ruins of the Righteous Qi Sect after learning she was there. Ling Mou appeared to die in a self-destruction that shattered their formation, leaving Song Changsheng to wonder whether her final attack had been as destructive as it seemed.

• Song Changsheng, True Lord Nether Snake, True Lord Wutian, True Lord Heavenly Fiend, and True Lord Heavenly Killer used the Five Spirits Imprisoning Heaven Array to seal the ruins and confront Ling Mou.
• Ling Mou sent Yu Dongyang away with the Heavenly Fire Cauldron and then fought the five cultivators, using spatial abilities and an ultimate-grade Spirit Sword.
• The five Golden Core True Persons gradually overwhelmed Ling Mou, who launched the Great Divine Ability World in the Palm but could not break their siege.
• As the cultivators prepared their strongest attacks, Ling Mou burned her Life Essence and self-destructed, collapsing the array and apparently annihilating her body, True Spirit, and Spirit Sword.
• Song Changsheng and the others survived, though True Lord Heavenly Killer suffered minor injuries; Song Changsheng regretted losing the Heavenly Fire Cauldron and suspected Ling Mou's self-destruction had lacked its expected force.
• True Lord Heavenly Fiend invited the cultivators to a victory banquet celebrating the removal of the Blood Demon Sect and the Vast Righteousness Alliance.

At a victory banquet, the leaders of the Lu and Great Qi Cultivation Worlds discussed how to withstand the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom’s growing threat and agreed to strengthen themselves while preparing for the worst. After returning to the Gemini Islands, Song Changsheng explained to Song Yuqing that his conflict was with Song Daoling and Song Wuji’s faction, not necessarily the entire Brocade Banner, and asked Yuqing to choose where he stood.

• True Lord Heavenly Fiend and the other leaders discussed the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom’s rapid growth, the need for cooperation, and the possibility of retreating or seeking aid from the rear.
• After the banquet, Song Changsheng, Mu Guibai, and Shi Potian agreed to enter seclusion and avoid internal conflict while preparing for the coming crisis.
• Song Changsheng returned to Vast Peak, learned that the Myriad Manifestations Palace’s medicinal pills would soon be delivered, and traveled to the Gemini Islands to support Song Jingxiao and Xu Miaoyin’s breakthroughs.
• Song Changsheng praised Chi Li’s steady cultivation and told Song Yuqing that he had more chances of reaching the Golden Core Stage.
• Song Changsheng clarified that he targeted Song Daoling and Song Wuji’s faction rather than the entire Brocade Banner, unless it chose to shelter them.
• Song Yuqing declared that he would oppose the faction’s actions and would not let it drag the Brocade Banner into ruin.

Song Changsheng encouraged Song Yuqing to help reform the Brocade Banner while the clan’s internal divisions deepened. True Lord Jianxin delivered the pills from the Myriad Manifestations Palace, and the chapter ended as Song Jingxiao began breaking through to Foundation Establishment on White Dragon Island.

• Song Changsheng explained that he wanted Song Yuqing to mediate the Brocade Banner’s gradual absorption into the Wangyue Song Clan, and Song Yuqing vowed to change his clan’s corrupt order.
• Song Yuqing described how Song Jiyuan had purged rivals, seized power, and rewarded his own descendants, while Song Changsheng revealed that his faction had secretly encouraged Song Jiyuan’s rise to inflame the clan’s conflicts.
• True Lord Jianxin arrived from the Myriad Manifestations Palace and delivered nineteen pills refined by three Fourth-Tier Supreme-Grade Alchemy Masters, along with a bonus Hundred Treasures Body Sculpting Pill.
• Song Changsheng inspected the pills and noticed a faint red trace in the Supreme Clarity Jade Marrow Pills, but decided to trust Master Li Chengxiang’s judgment.
• A Spiritual Qi Vortex formed above the Gemini Islands, and Song Changsheng discovered that Song Jingxiao was breaking through on White Dragon Island.

Song Jingxiao and Xu Miaoyin broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, revealing a curse-like thunderbolt and a powerful Spiritual Tide. Afterward, Xu Yunhe decided to leave Song Changsheng to seek a cure for Wanyun, whose lost cultivation and dwindling lifespan could no longer be helped by ordinary remedies.

• A thunderbolt struck during Song Jingxiao's breakthrough, leading Song Changsheng to suspect that a curse had been triggered.
• Song Youfu reasoned that the culprit might have infiltrated Song Youping's [Bloodline Worm] breeding grounds, and Song Changsheng ordered an investigation.
• Song Jingxiao completed his breakthrough without gaining [Thunderbolt True Intent], while Song Changsheng decided he needed more trials and hardships.
• Xu Miaoyin broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm and triggered a Spiritual Tide through her [Divine Soul True Intent].
• Song Changsheng and Xu Yunhe congratulated the two new Foundation Establishment Cultivators and warned them not to go out until the culprit was found.
• Xu Yunhe told Song Changsheng he was leaving to find someone who could restore Wanyun's cultivation and save her dwindling lifespan.

Xu Yunhe decided to leave the Song Clan to seek a cure for Xia Wanyun and face the dangers pursuing them, while Song Changsheng investigated the curse attack on Song Jingxiao. The suspected Curse Master, Yu Xinchou, was brought before Song Changsheng, and his connection to Song Yuqing emerged as Yu Xinchou insisted he had not used his curse arts to kill anyone.

• Song Changsheng urged Xu Yunhe to stay until Xu Miaoyin's cultivation stabilized, but Xu Yunhe said he had decided to leave and would return if he survived the Golden Core Lightning Tribulation.
• Song Changsheng agreed not to stop Xu Yunhe and asked him to spend his remaining days with Xu Miaoyin before leaving.
• Song Youlin presented three suspected Curse Masters, and Song Youfu and Song Youlin arrested the most suspicious one under the protection of the [Night Illuminating Divine Bird].
• Song Changsheng confronted the middle-aged cultivator, who admitted casting the curse but denied being ordered by anyone; Song Changsheng suspected the [Brocade Banner] was involved.
• Song Yuqing recognized the suspect as Yu Xinchou and pleaded for him, then kicked him after learning he had cursed Song Jingxiao.
• Yu Xinchou said he had never forgotten his oath to use curse arts only to lift his wife's curse and asked Song Yuqing to execute him.

Song Yuqing persuaded Song Changsheng to spare Yu Xinchou and revealed that Song Jiyuan had coerced the Curse Master by imprisoning his wife. After learning the truth, Song Yuqing resolved to seize control of the Brocade Banner Song Clan and give it a better future.

• Song Changsheng agreed to spare Yu Xinchou if he cooperated, while he and Song Youfu and Song Youlin discussed the Brocade Banner’s attack and planned retaliation.
• Song Yuqing persuaded Yu Xinchou to relent, and Song Changsheng pressed him to reveal what he knew.
• Song Yuqing explained that Song Jiyuan had imprisoned Yu Xinchou’s wife and forced him to curse Song Jingxiao and Xu Miaoyin, while an inside man supplied their movements.
• Song Yuqing begged Song Changsheng to spare Yu Xinchou and accepted responsibility for leading him into danger.
• Song Yuqing concluded that the Brocade Banner needed new leadership and resolved to take control of the clan’s future.

Song Changsheng learned that Yu Xinchou had been forced to target Wangyue Song Clan cultivators and uncovered Song Jinglin as the clan’s inside man. After sparing Yu Xinchou and promising to rescue his wife, Song Changsheng confronted Song Jiyuan at Heavenly Dragon Peak, where his first thunder strike battered the Brocade Banner’s defense array.

• Song Yuqing explained Yu Xinchou’s loyalty and asked Song Changsheng to spare him, and Yu Xinchou drew the disguised Foundation Establishment cultivator who had recruited him.
• Song Changsheng offered Yu Xinchou exile with his curse arts abolished or one hundred years of service, but Yu Xinchou chose to lose his cultivation to protect his imprisoned wife.
• Song Changsheng instead spared Yu Xinchou’s curse arts and promised to rescue his wife in exchange for one hundred and fifty years of service, while assuring him he would not be forced to harm anyone.
• Song Changsheng caught Song Jinglin secretly sending a message to the Brocade Banner and identified him as the inside man.
• After receiving Song Jinglin’s message, Song Jiyuan gathered his elders as Song Changsheng arrived at Heavenly Dragon Peak and accused him of ordering curse attacks.
• Song Changsheng unleashed an Azure Thunder strike against the peak’s activated defense array.

Song Changsheng attacked Brocade Banner’s Heavenly Dragon Peak and shattered its Mountain Protection Array, demanding accountability for the attempt to curse and kill a junior of his clan. Brocade Banner agreed to negotiate, and the newly released Song Zhexuan approached Song Changsheng as its representative.

• Song Changsheng battered Brocade Banner’s defensive array with thunder and broke its blood-powered counterattack using Spatial Folding and One Finger Settles Dust.
• Song Changsheng destroyed the Mountain Protection Array with Mountain Overturning Seal, prompting Song Daoling and Song Tianyuan to appear and confront him.
• Song Changsheng accused Brocade Banner of ordering Yu Xinchou to curse a Wangyue Song Clan junior and threatened to level Heavenly Dragon Peak when its elders denied responsibility.
• Song Tianyuan agreed to negotiate and demanded Song Jiyuan release Song Zhexuan, whom he had confined on suspicion of betrayal.
• Song Zhexuan was freed and went to meet Song Changsheng, representing Brocade Banner in negotiations.