Chapter Summaries

Meng Lie and Xie Kui rescued Feng Cheng and Feng Die'er from the Black Snake pirates, then reported to Lin Sheng as the Crimson Feather Army continued its campaign to eliminate sea raiders and search for Gongsun Changhai. Lin Sheng led the warship to the Obsidian Pirates’ island stronghold, where he stopped an enemy cannon from firing by destroying its barrel and ship.

• Black Snake revealed that the Crimson Feather Army had colluded with his pirates, then ordered his men to kill the Feng family and capture Feng Die'er.
• Meng Lie killed Black Snake, and Xie Kui and another officer exterminated the pirates; Meng Lie told Feng Cheng that Commander Lin Sheng had executed the Gongsun family members who colluded with pirates.
• Feng Cheng led the surviving Feng family members along the Third Sea Route, while Lin Sheng learned they had no news of Gongsun Changhai and continued searching the sea himself.
• Three days later, Lin Sheng and the Crimson Feather Army reached the Obsidian Pirates’ island stronghold, and two pirate warships sailed out to confront them.
• Lin Sheng vanished from the warship and pressed down on an enemy cannon barrel, causing it to explode and tear a large hole in the pirate ship.

Lin Sheng defeated and killed Gongsun Changhai and Steve, then helped the Crimson Feather Army turn back the ambush and seize the Obsidian Pirates’ stronghold. The captured supplies and evidence linked Gongsun Changhai to a secret operation, and Lin Sheng ordered his cousin Gongsun Changyue taken back for the Emperor to deal with.

• Steve fled after Lin Sheng killed Gongsun Changhai, but Lin Sheng caught up and drove him back with a powerful strike.
• Steve used the Ghost Vine and the Giant Wood Array to trap Lin Sheng, but Lin Sheng burned through the vines and killed Steve.
• Lin Sheng returned to normal and told Meng Lie to help Xie Kui and the others; he then killed the pirate leaders and helped the Crimson Feather Army defeat the remaining pirates.
• Xie Kui reported that the seized wealth, supplies, weapons, and ships far exceeded expectations, while Meng Lie said half the equipment had come from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue.
• Meng Lie reported that Gongsun Changhai had secretly controlled the island for years and had ties to an underground force in the Silo Kingdom; Lin Sheng ordered Gongsun Changyue taken back with them.

Lin Sheng returned from suppressing the pirates, gained a small increase in constitution, and learned that the Gongsun family had colluded with the Heart of Thorns. Emperor Jing and Old Dragon decided to eliminate the Gongsun family, while Gongsun Yue awaited news at his residence as a dragon-shaped phantom appeared overhead.

• Sun Kaixuan welcomed Lin Sheng and presented him with seven bottles of beast essence blood as he returned from the campaign.
• Lin Sheng refined the blood, raised his constitution by one point, and departed for the imperial capital with Meng Lie and the captive Gongsun Changyue.
• Meng Lie told Lin Sheng that the Gongsun family had helped the Heart of Thorns, an organization from Silo Kingdom known for massacring cities.
• Emperor Jing and Old Dragon agreed that the Gongsun family had to be destroyed and prepared to act before it could respond.
• Gongsun Yue waited for news at the Gongsun residence when a panicked messenger announced bad news and a dragon-shaped phantom appeared overhead.

After Lin Sheng helped expose the Gongsun family's collusion with the Heart of Thorns, Emperor Jing rewarded him with access to the Imperial Treasury. Lin Sheng entered the treasury to collect Demon Beast materials for his cultivation, while the fate of the Gongsun family and its escaped patriarch remained unsettled.

• Old Dragon led Imperial Guard soldiers in an assault on the Gongsun residence, where Gongsun Yue resisted and escaped badly wounded after a Heart of Thorns Grandmaster intervened.
• Princess Lingyu waited at the Imperial City gates for Lin Sheng, then learned he had already gone to the palace to meet Emperor Jing.
• Emperor Jing praised Lin Sheng for reclaiming the Crimson Feather Army and exposing the Gongsun family's collusion, then gave him a Dragonheart Jade Token granting access to the Imperial Treasury.
• Emperor Jing told Lin Sheng that the Gongsun family had been raided, Gongsun Yue had escaped, and Gongsun Changyue was being held; he then summoned the officials.
• Princess Lingyu accompanied Lin Sheng to the Imperial Treasury, where Old Dragon explained its four levels and warned him against entering the dangerous fourth level.
• Lin Sheng passed through the first two levels and reached the third, where he found sealed bottles of Demon Beast blood and a frozen half-carcass.

Lin Sheng activated his fifth mark with demonic beast blood and assimilated three demonic beasts from the royal treasury. When he sensed the fourth floor, a Void Beast’s lingering consciousness overwhelmed him, and Old Dragon took him upstairs to see its remains.

• Lin Sheng consumed blood from hundreds of jade bottles, activating his fifth mark after using nearly half the treasury’s supply.
• Lin Sheng examined the stored remains, assimilated a Crimson Copper Earth Fire Scorpion and two other demonic beasts, and refined selected flesh into blood pills.
• Lin Sheng sensed the concealed fourth floor, where a roar triggered his Sea Sacrifice Demonic Blood talent and nearly trapped his consciousness.
• Old Dragon suppressed the roar with a dragon-shaped wooden carving and revealed that the fourth floor held Void Beast remains discovered by the royal family over a thousand years earlier.
• Old Dragon led Lin Sheng through the Spirit-Bewildering Mist to the Void Beast’s remains, where its lingering consciousness showed Lin Sheng a colossal white-scaled dragon before he returned to his senses.

Lin Sheng examined the Southern Qi Imperial Family’s Star Pivot Spirit Radiance Dragon skeleton, learned it had died in the Void Transformation Tribulation, and left the treasury without taking anything else. In the Western Ocean, Ghost Serpent Anthony ordered his followers to provoke more Black Disasters before Green Ji reported that Steve was dead and their Southern Qi plan had failed.

• Old Dragon showed Lin Sheng the Star Pivot Spirit Radiance Dragon skeleton and explained its importance to the Southern Qi Imperial Family.
• Lin Sheng touched the dragon bone, learned its immense attributes and talents, and saw that it had died in the Void Transformation Tribulation, but the remaining flesh was insufficient for Body Entry.
• Lin Sheng left the treasury empty-handed, told Princess Lingyu he had already met his needs, and returned with her to their residence to enter seclusion.
• Ghost Serpent Anthony watched a Black Disaster destroy a town in the Western Ocean and ordered Beck and Corey to gather more powerful Knight Warriors to provoke future disasters.
• Green Ji emerged before Anthony and reported that Steve had died, the Southern Qi plan had failed, and the Southern Qi Imperial Family had dealt with the Gongsun family.

Anthony ordered Green Ji to take charge of Southern Qi, recruit Gongsun Yue or kill him, and deal with Lin Sheng, who had disrupted the Heart of Thorns’ plans. In the imperial capital, Lin Sheng tested the vast force he could unleash, while Princess Lingyu learned he had already killed a Grandmaster and a Second Realm Spirit Light Great Knight.

• Anthony learned that Lin Sheng had killed Steve and a Gongsun family Grandmaster, then ordered Green Ji to recruit Gongsun Yue or kill him and deal with Lin Sheng.
• Princess Lingyu sparred with Lin Sheng, whose force easily overcame her sword attack, and Lin Sheng reflected on the power and capacity gained through his cultivation.
• Lin Sheng entered the training ground alone and unleashed more than a thousand blue-black force serpents, then let the demon beasts enter his body to withstand the strain and continued expanding his display.
• Princess Lingyu asked Granny Shi whether Lin Sheng could match a Grandmaster, and Granny Shi revealed that Lin Sheng had killed Gongsun Changhai and a Second Realm Spirit Light Great Knight.
• The sky darkened above the training ground as Princess Lingyu saw black mist and giant blue-black serpents churning overhead.

Lin Sheng discovered that his immense reserves of force could threaten ordinary Grandmasters, while Gongsun Yue recovered from his injuries in Blackwater City and was confronted by Green Ji of the Heart of Thorns. After Gongsun Yue refused to join her and tried to attack, Green Ji’s hidden power seized control of his body, leaving him with one last chance to accept.

• Granny Shi and Princess Lingyu rushed to Lin Sheng’s training ground after sensing his vast force, then found him unharmed as he drew it back into his body.
• Lin Sheng reflected that his force reserves could threaten ordinary Grandmasters and might become even more dangerous as his cultivation advanced.
• In Blackwater City, Gongsun Yue erased a dragon-shaped mark and brought his injuries under control.
• Green Ji revealed she had tracked Gongsun Yue through traces left by the Heart of Thorns’ contingency measures and invited him to join the organization.
• Gongsun Yue refused and attacked Green Ji, but strange bulges spread across his body and left him unable to control his strength.
• Green Ji crouched beside Gongsun Yue and gave him one last chance to join the Heart of Thorns.

Gongsun Yue was forced to join the Heart of Thorns after Green Ji implanted a Seed of Thorns in him and ordered him to capture Lin Sheng. Lin Sheng returned to Northern Yan, evaded Gongsun Yue, and learned that Lin Hong’s whereabouts might be in Linjiang Prefecture.

• Green Ji made Gongsun Yue swallow a Seed of Thorns, bound him to the Heart of Thorns, and tasked him with bringing back Lin Sheng.
• Lin Sheng told Princess Lingyu he would return to Northern Yan to bring his parents to their wedding, then left Southern Qi alone.
• Lin Sheng sensed Gongsun Yue pursuing him, hid underground, and continued toward Northern Yan after Gongsun Yue gave up the chase.
• Lin Sheng crossed Jade Sea Pass and found Dark Star’s nearby bases abandoned amid Northern Yan’s crackdown.
• Lin Sheng sent a message from East Sea Prefecture and received a reply directing him to Qingliu Small Residence in Linjiang Prefecture.

Cao Luan secretly visited his injured master, a former Pine Crane Sect Grand Elder, and received pills and instructions for finding the sect’s inheritance. Meanwhile, Lin Sheng learned that the Imperial Court had dismantled the Myriad Sect Alliance and was hunting Dark Star, then continued toward Linjiang Prefecture as Northern Yan’s upheaval intensified.

• Cao Luan slipped away from Clear Spring Villa and traveled to a hidden cave to visit his gray-clothed master.
• Cao Luan demonstrated the Pine Crane Divine Fist, received Crane Form Pills, and was told to seek Hundred Herbs Ravine after reaching late Bone Transformation if his master did not return.
• The gray-clothed elder warned Cao Luan not to reveal his whereabouts and prepared to seek medicinal herbs in the Congyun Mountain Range.
• Lin Sheng rode with a Bai Family caravan and questioned two fellow travelers about the situation in Linjiang Prefecture and the Imperial Court’s campaign against Dark Star.
• Lin Sheng gave the travelers Blood Solidifying Pills and left the carriage, reflecting on the collapse of the Myriad Sect Alliance and the danger posed by beastified martial artists.

Lin Sheng reached Linjiang Prefecture and visited the Tianxiang Sword Sect, where he crushed its two famous swords and killed Zheng Wufeng while demanding to know where the Sect Master was. Meanwhile, Song Zhuo’s hunt for the injured Pine Crane Sect remnant ended with Zhou Tong’s death, and Song Zhuo ordered searches of nearby towns as Tianxiang Sword Sect prepared to submit to the Imperial Court.

• Lin Sheng arrived in Linjiang Prefecture, memorized Clear Spring Town’s location, and continued on to visit his old acquaintances.
• Song Zhuo and the constables cornered the wounded Zhou Tong, who poisoned himself before Song Zhuo could question him.
• Song Zhuo ordered the constables to search Green Pine Town and Clear Spring Town and to watch Zhou Tong’s cave.
• Zheng Wufeng and Song Changfeng agreed that Tianxiang Sword Sect should join the Imperial Court and discussed the sect’s losses after the Congyun Mountain Range battle.
• Lin Sheng entered Tianxiang Sword Sect, shattered its two famous swords, crushed Zheng Wufeng, and demanded to know where the Sect Master was.

Lin Sheng wiped out the Tianxiang Sword Sect and found its treasury disappointing before confronting the Yuanyang Beast Sect. After Tie Lang’s surprise attack failed, Lin Sheng grabbed him by the head, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Lin Sheng killed Zheng Wufeng and Song Changfeng after learning they were the Tianxiang Sword Sect’s sect master and Grand Elder.
• Lin Sheng killed the sect members who entered the hall, then forced a surviving elder to lead him to the treasury and killed him when he tried to flee.
• Lin Sheng found little of value in the treasury, declared that he had avenged the Seven Forms Sect, and left Heavenly Sword Peak.
• At Yuanyang Peak, Mu Zhong reported his progress to Tie Lang and learned he could seek an assessment for the Sky Rainbow Pavilion after reaching peak Bone Transformation.
• Lin Sheng appeared in the Yuanyang Beast Sect’s hall, where Tie Lang unleashed a hidden decaying pangolin and struck Lin Sheng from behind.
• Lin Sheng blocked Tie Lang’s attack, shattered his arm, and seized him by the head.

Lin Sheng defeated the Yuanyang Beast Sect Master Tie Lang and killed the sect’s giant pangolin and Mu Zhong, then forced Tie Lang to reveal the sect’s secret demon-beast cultivation method and its accumulated knowledge. After plundering the sect’s treasury, Lin Sheng examined the strange jade stones and discovered that one contained the Blood Corpse Life Technique.

• Lin Sheng restrained Tie Lang, endured his surprise attack unharmed, and killed the giant pangolin after it repeatedly rose from devastating injuries.
• Lin Sheng killed Mu Zhong and forced Tie Lang to explain the demon-beast secret art, then tore off both of Tie Lang’s arms when he tried to bargain.
• Tie Lang revealed the method was incomplete and led Lin Sheng to a hidden stone box containing another jade stone and a book of the sect masters’ experience.
• Lin Sheng killed Tie Lang, looted the Yuanyang Beast Sect’s treasury, and left the sect.
• Outside Yuanyang City, Lin Sheng tested the two indestructible jade stones and read the words “Blood Corpse Life Technique” after sending his consciousness into one.

Lin Sheng studied the Blood Corpse Life Technique and considered whether it could revive Void Beasts, then left to visit his parents. Meanwhile, Cao Luan was captured by Song Zhuo, whose interrogation exposed Dark Star remnants in Clear Spring Town, and Song Zhuo led an armed force into town to capture them.

• Lin Sheng examined the Blood Corpse Life Technique, recognized its power and drawbacks, and considered using it to revive dead Void Beasts.
• Cao Luan learned that officials were searching for his master Zhou Tong and hurried to the cave to warn him.
• Zhang Kui’s constables captured Cao Luan at the cave, while Wang Meng and Liu Tianci watched from nearby.
• Song Zhuo interrogated Cao Luan and discovered that Dark Star remnants were hiding in Clear Spring Town.
• Song Zhuo assembled hundreds of constables and Dragon Demon Army soldiers, along with Song Yi and Song Xuan, and sent Cao Luan ahead into town.

Lin Sheng returned to Clear Spring Town and discovered that Song Zhuo’s Imperial Court forces had cornered his parents and the Dark Star protectors at Clear Spring Villa. As Song Xuan attacked, Lin Sheng arrived and killed him, leaving the confrontation with the rest of the attackers unresolved.

• Cao Ying worried when Cao Luan failed to return, and Wang Wei organized a search after the family grew concerned.
• Cao Luan returned in an unnatural state as Song Yi, Song Xuan, and Song Zhuo’s soldiers surrounded Clear Spring Villa.
• Song Zhuo recognized Lin Hong and Xie Guilan as Lin Sheng’s parents and ordered his men to capture them alive for Lord Xiahou’s reward.
• Wang Wei tried to use a Tiger Warrior Pill, but Song Xuan severed his hand and knocked him down while the attackers restrained the others.
• Lin Sheng arrived at Clear Spring Villa and killed Song Xuan after the latter had defeated the defenders.

Lin Sheng rescued his family from the Imperial Court in Clear Spring Town and began taking them toward safety in Southern Qi. As he learned that Dark Star was under attack, news of his actions reached Fulong City, where the Imperial Court began suspecting Dark Star’s upper ranks.

• Lin Sheng killed Song Xuan and Song Yi, then wiped out Song Zhuo and the Imperial Court forces in the courtyard.
• Lin Sheng reunited with Lin Hong, Xie Guilan, Cao Ying, and the others, thanked Wang Wei for protecting them, and gave him healing medicine.
• Lin Sheng led the group away from Clear Spring Town toward Southern Qi, then used his golden gaze to awaken Cao Luan from a strange stupor.
• Wang Wei told Lin Sheng that Xia Houqi had sent nine Grandmasters against Dark Star, and that Luo Yin and Tu Long had been badly wounded but escaped with help from Divine Lord.
• In Fulong City, Ku Rong won the right to refine divine blood at Sky Rainbow Pavilion, then Song Tie reported that the life tablets of Song Yi, Song Xuan, and Song Zhuo had shattered.
• Ku Rong and the scholar-robed official concluded that whoever killed the three was likely among Dark Star’s upper ranks.

Song Zhong and Ku Rong prepared to investigate the Dark Star experts in Fulong Dao, while Lin Sheng continued cultivating during the convoy’s journey and considered the mysteries of the Heavenly Demon Space. He wondered whether his master could explain it when they met again.

• Song Zhong decided to travel with Ku Rong to pursue the Dark Star remnants after they killed a member of the Song Family.
• Ku Rong left Xiang Kong in charge of Fulong City as he accompanied Song Zhong.
• A day after the events at Clear Spring Villa, Lin Sheng cultivated in the Heavenly Demon Space while the convoy reached the border of Linjiang Prefecture.
• Lin Sheng observed that his perception and the demonic essence in the space had increased, but he still could not move the dried-corpse-like body there.
• Lin Sheng resolved to ask his master about the strange space and then vanished from the carriage after wondering whether his targets had taken the bait.

Lin Sheng confronted Northern Yan Grandmasters Song Zhong and Ku Rong in the mountain forest, revealing overwhelming power after Song Zhong attacked him. Lin Sheng killed both Grandmasters, leaving Northern Yan without its two pursuers.

• Lin Sheng met Ku Rong and Song Zhong, who recognized him and offered to spare him if he joined Northern Yan.
• Song Zhong attacked Lin Sheng, but Lin Sheng blocked his first strike with a vast torrent of force.
• Song Zhong unleashed his Second Realm Grandmaster transformation, and Lin Sheng grew into a giant and crushed Song Zhong's beast form.
• Lin Sheng seized Song Zhong and crushed him into a cloud of blood mist.
• Ku Rong fled to report Lin Sheng's power, but Lin Sheng's roar disrupted him and Lin Sheng killed him as well.

Lin Sheng left the two slain Grandmasters’ belongings behind and continued toward Lin’an County, where he intervened as a Mountain Crossing Leopard attacked hunters. Meanwhile, Northern Yan’s leaders learned of Ku Rong and Song Zhong’s deaths and debated the danger posed by Xia Houqi’s use of demon blood.

• Lin Sheng destroyed the traces of his fight with Ku Rong and Song Zhong, then vanished into the forest.
• Xiang Kong learned that Ku Rong and Song Zhong’s life plaques had shattered, reported their deaths, and ordered Fulong City’s grand formation activated.
• Prince Ping told Xia Houqi that Ku Rong and Song Zhong had died; Xia Houqi rejected the idea that Dark Star’s leaders were responsible and returned to the Eastern Sea.
• Prince Ping discussed Xia Houqi’s growing demonic nature with Pavilion Master Wu, who said he would deal with Xia Houqi if he lost control.
• Lin Sheng reached Lin’an County and left the carriage to deal with a powerful creature in Yangping Mountain.
• A Mountain Crossing Leopard attacked several hunters, but it suddenly collapsed trembling as Lin Sheng emerged from the forest.

Lin Sheng destroyed the Blood Demon Great Array, killed the incomplete Phantom Demon Beast, and defeated Dragon Demon Army commander Long Zilu before rejoining the convoy. Meanwhile, Tu Long and Luo Yin discussed Imperial Court Grandmasters leaving the Eastern Sea, the Divine Lord’s worsening condition, and delaying their withdrawal.

• Lin Sheng learned Town Mountain Tower had been wiped out and continued into Yangping Mountain, where he found a surviving Silver-ringed Scale Bear and the Blood Demon Great Array.
• Lin Sheng broke the array, burned away the Phantom Demon Beast’s tentacles, and absorbed it, discovering that it was incomplete and had the Phantom Demon Seed Heart talent.
• Long Zilu confronted Lin Sheng over destroying the array, but Lin Sheng defeated him and left; later, others found the shattered pillars and Long Zilu’s deformed armor.
• Lin Sheng rejoined the convoy, intending to send Lin Hong and the others away before more Northern Yan Grandmasters arrived.
• Tu Long told Luo Yin that Blood Wolf and other Imperial Court Grandmasters had left the Eastern Sea; Luo Yin chose to remain because Jade Faced Cicada was injured and the Divine Lord’s condition was uncertain.