Chapter Summaries

The Righteous Path Alliance attacked Withered Bone Market, and six Golden Core Ancestors destroyed its defensive formation before pressing on toward the Blood Fiend Cult headquarters. As the Flowing Cloud Sect disciples looted and fought through the market, Li Chengjie spotted a wounded Blood Fiend Cult steward battling a sect cultivator.

• Hu Qingling led five other Golden Core Ancestors to Withered Bone Market and shattered its Third-Tier Defensive Formation with a coordinated assault.
• The Golden Core Ancestors found no Golden Core Demonic Cultivators in the market, destroyed its remaining restraints, and flew north toward the Blood Fiend Cult headquarters.
• Hu Qingling ordered the Flowing Cloud Sect disciples to clear out the remaining Blood Fiend Cult members, and the disciples began slaughtering and looting the unprotected market.
• Li Chengjie concealed his aura and searched the market with the Profound Light Mirror's divine sense for a valuable target.
• Li Chengjie spotted a Flowing Cloud Sect Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator fighting a severely wounded, one-armed Blood Fiend Cult steward near a black tower.

Li Chengjie secretly disrupted a Blood Fiend Cult elder’s control of his flying axe, then killed him and took his Storage Bag. Zhang Yuan swallowed his anger over losing the spoils and headed to plunder a nearby shop, while Li Chengjie moved on to another target.

• A wounded Blood Fiend Cult elder drove his black flying axe at Zhang Yuan, who struggled to defend himself.
• Li Chengjie used Soul-Stirring—Pierce to disrupt the elder’s spiritual sense control, making the flying axe fall.
• Li Chengjie struck the elder through the back with Azure Flame sword light and took his Storage Bag after the elder died.
• Zhang Yuan resented Li Chengjie for taking his prey but restrained himself because he knew he was outmatched.
• Zhang Yuan charged toward a nearby Hundred Bones Pavilion to search for more spoils, and Li Chengjie headed for his next target.

After three months of bloody raids through Blood Fiend Cult territory, Li Chengjie sorted his plunder in a secluded Cave Abode and successfully refined the Filthy Yin Blood Luo Barrier. He left with the defensive artifact bound to him and ready to use.

• Flowing Cloud Sect cultivators and their allies swept north from Withered Bone Market, destroying Blood Fiend Cult strongholds and marketplaces as they plundered their way toward Ten Thousand Skeletons Mountain.
• Li Chengjie inventoried his spoils, including twelve Storage Bags from Foundation Establishment cultivators and several powerful Dharma Artifacts.
• Li Chengjie chose to refine the Filthy Yin Blood Luo Barrier, a demonic defensive artifact taken from a Foundation Establishment peak cultivator at Black Cloud Market.
• Li Chengjie spent six hours purging the artifact's filth and its previous owner's imprint while resisting its backlash.
• Li Chengjie bound the Filthy Yin Blood Luo Barrier with his Essence Blood and Spiritual Sense, gaining a defensive artifact he could summon at will.

Li Chengjie absorbed Hu Jincheng’s cultivation insights and broke through to Foundation Establishment Late Stage. Ancestor Hu Qingling summoned him, praised his battlefield record and strong foundation, and introduced the Hu Family’s practice of recruiting talented cultivators through marriage alliances.

• Li Chengjie used Hu Jincheng’s cultivation experience to master more of the Sky Burning Startling Swan Sword Art and break through to Foundation Establishment Late Stage.
• Li Chengjie assessed his strengthened combat abilities, withdrew his cave restrictions, and received a summons from Hu Jincheng on behalf of Ancestor Hu Qingling.
• Li Chengjie traveled to Qingyan Flat and paid his respects to Hu Qingling and Hu Jincheng.
• Hu Qingling praised Li Chengjie’s conduct in battle, asked about his family and marital status, and learned that he was unmarried and had no living relatives.
• Hu Qingling described the Hu Family’s tradition of recruiting promising young cultivators through marriage alliances.

Li Chengjie lost a chance to become the Hu Family’s son-in-law after Hu Jincheng privately changed Hu Qingling’s attitude. The Flowing Cloud Sect then ordered Foundation Establishment cultivators to raid Blood Fiend Cult forces around Ten Thousand Skeletons Mountain, giving Li Chengjie a new opportunity to earn resources.

• Hu Qingling offered Li Chengjie a marriage alliance with Hu Shiyun, but Hu Jincheng sent a voice transmission that made Hu Qingling postpone the matter.
• Li Chengjie left Qingyan Flat suspecting Hu Jincheng had sabotaged the offer and wondering why.
• For days, the Flowing Cloud Sect’s Golden Core Ancestors maintained a blockade around Ten Thousand Skeletons Mountain without launching a major assault.
• Hu Haihan ordered Foundation Establishment cultivators to form teams, raid nearby Blood Fiend Cult holdings, and keep their gains, requiring them to return in half a year.
• Li Chengjie welcomed the order as a chance to plunder nearby resources with less risk than attacking the mountain.

Li Chengjie set out alone east from the Flowing Cloud Sect camp, aiming to reach the Boundless Sea and plunder Blood Fiend Cult affiliates along the way. After crossing Howling Ghost Forest, he arrived at the Zhou Family’s valley and found its territory eerily quiet.

• Li Chengjie registered to act alone, chose the eastern route, and prepared his supplies and concealed his cultivation aura.
• Li Chengjie flew east, crossed Howling Ghost Forest, and entered the region of the Blood Fiend Cult’s affiliated factions.
• Li Chengjie selected the Zhou Family, a Foundation Establishment family with ore veins and Blood Crystal Grass, as his first target.
• After five days of travel, Li Chengjie reached the Zhou Family’s valley and found the territory terrifyingly quiet.

Li Chengjie investigated the abandoned Zhou Family residence and discovered that the family had evacuated long ago, taking everything valuable with them. He abandoned his plan to search prominent factions for resources and began considering less obvious targets that might not have fled.

• Li Chengjie concealed himself outside the valley and used the Profound Light Mirror to inspect the deserted Zhou Family residence.
• He found the family’s homes, storehouses, workshops, Spirit Fields, and formations abandoned, while the cemetery had been searched for valuables.
• Li Chengjie found a damaged Zhou Family Jade Token and concluded that the family had fled one or two months earlier as the Blood Fiend Cult’s defeat became likely.
• He reasoned that the Zhou Family had taken its valuable resources and descendants away, leaving behind an empty shell.
• Li Chengjie studied his maps and decided to seek remote, poorly informed, loosely affiliated, or unmarked locations instead of prominent factions.

After spotting Zhao Qianfeng fleeing Gu Mengyan, Li Chengjie recognized both men as enemies and decided not to rescue Zhao. He ambushed Zhao with a sword strike as the fleeing cultivator swept past, leaving the attack poised to land.

• Li Chengjie sensed Zhao Qianfeng being pursued by Gu Mengyan across Crimson Gravel Hill.
• Zhao Qianfeng called on Li Chengjie to help fight Gu Mengyan, intending to use him as a distraction and escape.
• Li Chengjie realized Zhao was trying to sacrifice him and silently prepared his Azure Flame Ice Soul Sword.
• As Zhao flew close by, Li Chengjie launched a sudden, deadly sword strike at him.

Li Chengjie killed Zhao Qianfeng and confronted Gu Mengyan, who recognized him from Weeping Blood Valley and launched a two-pronged attack. Li Chengjie revealed his true Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivation and released Leaving Fire Pure Flame as Gu Mengyan reeled in shock.

• Li Chengjie struck down Zhao Qianfeng with the Azure Flame Ice Soul Sword and took his Storage Bag.
• Gu Mengyan recognized Li Chengjie as the cultivator who had escaped him in Weeping Blood Valley and prepared to settle their old score.
• Gu Mengyan attacked Li Chengjie with Hundred Ghosts Soul Devouring Flame and Blood Fiend Soul Chasing Claw.
• Li Chengjie revealed Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivation and powerful Sword Intent, shocking Gu Mengyan.
• Li Chengjie completed a spell and shouted, "Leaving Fire Pure Flame, disperse!"

Li Chengjie effortlessly broke Gu Mengyan’s attacks and intercepted his attempted escape with the Departing Fire Seal and Azure Flame Sword. Trapped and badly injured, Gu Mengyan faced certain death and resolved to fight Li Chengjie to the end.

• Li Chengjie used crimson gold flames and the Azure Flame Ice Soul Sword to destroy Gu Mengyan’s ghostfire and Blood Fiend Claw attacks.
• Gu Mengyan realized he could not defeat Li Chengjie and activated a Blood Escape Talisman to flee.
• Li Chengjie cast the Departing Fire Seal to confine the space around Gu Mengyan and disrupt his escape.
• Li Chengjie’s Azure Flame Sword severed Gu Mengyan’s connection to the talisman, causing the blood escape to fail and injuring him with backlash.
• Gu Mengyan recognized Li Chengjie would not spare him and resolved to fight to the death.

Gu Mengyan self-detonated to kill Li Chengjie, who survived the blast but was injured and lost the Filthy Yin Blood Luo Barrier’s spiritual power. After finding a map in Zhao Qianfeng’s Storage Bag, Li Chengjie learned the locations of the Gu Family’s holdings and a hidden cave, then set his sights on the Gu Family.

• Gu Mengyan reversed his cultivation and self-detonated his dantian, using his body, cultivation, Essence Blood, and soul to unleash a destructive blast.
• Li Chengjie used the Departing Fire Seal, the Filthy Yin Blood Luo Barrier, the Flowing Flame Escape, and Body Protection Qi to defend himself and retreat, but the blast injured him and damaged the barrier.
• Gu Mengyan’s body and soul were annihilated, and his Storage Bag was destroyed; Li Chengjie healed himself and found no trace of Gu Mengyan’s belongings.
• Li Chengjie opened Zhao Qianfeng’s Storage Bag and discovered a detailed map of the Gu Family’s holdings, including a marked hidden cave in the northwest.
• Li Chengjie put away the map, suppressed his injuries, and turned his attention toward the Gu Family.

Li Chengjie recovered from his fight with Gu Mengyan, then followed Zhao Qianfeng’s Beast Skin Map to the Gu Family’s Hidden Cave near the Dragon Fall Wasteland. He found a concealed passage and detected the Gu Family’s formation, but had not yet entered.

• Li Chengjie put away the Beast Skin Map, restored his spiritual power, and found that the Filthy Yin Blood Luo Barrier needed repairs.
• Li Chengjie traveled northwest through the desolate foothills of the Dragon Fall Wasteland and found the Gu Family’s marked sites abandoned or buried.
• Li Chengjie reached the cliff region marked as the Hidden Cave and compared its terrain with the map.
• Li Chengjie used his spiritual sense to find a narrow crack leading to a hidden passage and detected a second-grade mid-grade Icy Cold Formation within it.
• Li Chengjie concluded that the Gu Family had concealed its main force inside and considered how Zhao Qianfeng might have been discovered.

Li Chengjie confronted the Gu Family at their hidden cave and rejected Clan Leader Gu Yu’s plea to surrender, deciding to destroy the clan for its ties to the Blood Fiend Cult and its attack on fellow cultivators. He unleashed his Azure Flame Ice Soul Sword against the formation, leaving the outcome of his strike unresolved.

• Li Chengjie reasoned that the Gu Family might not be strong enough to stop him and flew to the entrance of their Hidden Rock Crevice.
• Li Chengjie struck the formation with the Azure Flame Ice Soul Sword, prompting Gu Yu to beg for mercy and offer the Gu Family’s wealth and allegiance to the Flowing Cloud Sect.
• Li Chengjie accused the Gu Family of supporting the Blood Fiend Cult and cited Gu Mengyan’s ambush and attempted killing of him.
• Li Chengjie rejected Gu Yu’s offer and declared that the Gu Family would pay for its crimes to prevent future revenge.
• Li Chengjie invoked Leaving Fire Azure Flame, Sword Breaks All Laws, and sent his sword toward the formation.

Li Chengjie shattered the Gu Family’s formation and prepared to kill Gu Yu and Gu Tinghe, but Gu Yu awakened the Heart Devourer Bead with the willing sacrifice of several clansmen. The bead drove Gu Yu into Foundation Establishment Late Stage, leaving Li Chengjie to face his transformed enemy.

• Li Chengjie unleashed a blazing Azure Flame attack, while Gu Yu and Gu Tinghe spent their Essence Blood to strengthen the formation and block it.
• Li Chengjie split his sword attack into several streams of flame, which destroyed the formation and left Gu Yu and Gu Tinghe gravely injured.
• Li Chengjie entered the cave and prepared to finish off the two wounded cultivators.
• Gu Yu revealed the Heart Devourer Bead and sacrificed his Essence Blood to awaken its power.
• Several Gu Family Qi Refining disciples voluntarily offered their Essence Blood to the bead, then collapsed and died.
• The bead’s power shattered Gu Yu’s cultivation bottleneck and raised him to Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

Li Chengjie fought Gu Yu as the Heart Devourer Bead drove him to sacrifice his clansmen for greater power. The chapter ended with Gu Yu devouring his entire clan, transforming into a Foundation Establishment peak demon, and attacking Li Chengjie.

• Gu Yu unleashed Blood Refinement Returns to Origin while Gu Tinghe used the cave’s Yin Fiend Qi to hinder Li Chengjie.
• Li Chengjie blocked Gu Yu’s Blood Silk Threads and struck at the Heart Devourer Bead, then killed Gu Tinghe with Li Fire Finger.
• Gu Yu lost control after Gu Tinghe’s death and decided to sacrifice the remaining Gu Family members for power.
• Gu Yu drained the lives and origins of his entire clan, transforming into a towering demon with Foundation Establishment peak strength.
• Demonized Gu Yu attacked Li Chengjie with a massive demonic claw, forcing Li Chengjie to face his unexpectedly powerful foe.

Li Chengjie fought Demonized Gu Yu, using his Leaving Fire techniques to withstand the Foundation Establishment peak Demonic Beast and search for its weakness. He identified the vortex in Gu Yu’s chest as the source of his power, but Gu Yu trapped him with a powerful suction technique.

• Li Chengjie formed the Leaving Fire Demon Slaying Blade and clashed it against Demonized Gu Yu’s demonic claw, but the blade cracked under the beast’s strength.
• Li Chengjie split the blade into flying blades to harass Gu Yu, while Gu Yu released Blood Fiend Poison Mist and charged into close combat.
• Li Chengjie evaded Gu Yu’s attacks and used the Profound Light Mirror to discover that the Heart Devourer Bead’s vortex in Gu Yu’s chest was his weakness.
• Li Chengjie secretly attached a glimmer to several pale points while maintaining his assault, but Gu Yu reversed the chest vortex and unleashed Demonic Devourer Returns to the Void.
• The suction slowed Li Chengjie and dragged him toward Gu Yu’s vortex.

Li Chengjie used the White Bone Heart Piercing Nails to damage Demonized Gu Yu’s chest vortex, then pierced its core with the Azure Flame Ice Soul Sword. As Gu Yu’s life faded, he chose to detonate the vortex and take Li Chengjie down with him.

• Li Chengjie launched five White Bone Heart Piercing Nails at Demonized Gu Yu while Gu Yu concentrated on the vortex at his chest.
• Four nails pierced Gu Yu and disrupted the vortex, while the fifth struck his wrist and numbed his arm.
• Li Chengjie poured his remaining spiritual power into the Azure Flame Ice Soul Sword and struck the weakened vortex core.
• The sword pierced the vortex and unleashed Azure Flame Sword Qi that burned through Gu Yu’s demonic power and life.
• Gu Yu resolved to prevent Li Chengjie from escaping with the Gu Family’s reserves and began forcing the damaged vortex to detonate.

Gu Yu self-detonated with the power of his demonic cultivation, nearly killing Li Chengjie and devastating the cavern. Li Chengjie survived but was left gravely wounded, with his spiritual power exhausted and his Dharma Artifacts ruined.

• Gu Yu ignited his demonic power and began a self-detonation as Li Chengjie tried to retreat.
• Li Chengjie severed most of his Spiritual Sense Connection to the trapped Azure Flame Ice Soul Sword and used the Filthy Yin Blood Luo Barrier to defend himself.
• Gu Yu's explosion damaged the Azure Flame Ice Soul Sword, shattered the Blood Luo Barrier, and hurled Li Chengjie into the cavern wall.
• The explosion annihilated Gu Yu and shook the cavern, leaving a crater and scattered wreckage.
• Li Chengjie regained consciousness and saw that Gu Yu was gone, his two Dharma Artifacts were ruined, and he was near death.

Li Chengjie survived Gu Yu’s self-detonation by using a drop of Ten Thousand Year Spirit Milk to heal his grave injuries. After assessing his damaged artifacts and meager spoils, he reflected on the battle and resolved to be more cautious around demonic cultivators.

• Li Chengjie used Ten Thousand Year Spirit Milk to stabilize his injuries, restore his spiritual power, and purge the demonic qi from his body.
• After recovering for one or two hours, Li Chengjie examined the Azure Flame Ice Soul Sword and found it severely damaged, while the Filthy Yin Blood Luo Barrier was destroyed.
• Li Chengjie searched the crater left by Gu Yu’s self-detonation and found only fragments of the Heart Devourer Bead and remnants of demonic bones.
• Li Chengjie collected Gu Tinghe’s Storage Bag and the remaining belongings of the Gu Family cultivators, finding little wealth and few items useful to him.
• Li Chengjie concluded that the battle’s losses far exceeded its spoils and reflected that he had underestimated the resolve of demonic cultivators.

After four months of blockade, Meng Yaofan emerged from Ten Thousand Skeletons Mountain using its sinister Blood Infant Myriad Fiends Great Array to boost his power. Hu Haihan and five other Golden Core cultivators attacked him, but Meng Yaofan’s defensive technique withstood their combined assault, and he summoned a blood-red infant phantom.

• Hu Qingling reported that Ten Thousand Skeletons Mountain’s formation had grown stronger and that several Golden Core auras had appeared inside, so Hu Haihan gathered the Golden Cores to investigate.
• Hu Haihan, Hu Qingling, Li Qingping, Zhao Changpeng, Hu Changzheng, and An Mingyuan confronted Meng Yaofan as he emerged from the activated Blood Infant Myriad Fiends Great Array.
• Meng Yaofan attacked Hu Haihan with a giant Ghost Claw, but Hu Haihan blocked it with the Great Sun Golden Body Dharma Aspect.
• Meng Yaofan drew on the array’s origin to raise his Cultivation level, and Hu Haihan and the five other Golden Cores struck him with their Divine Abilities.
• Meng Yaofan used Myriad Fiends Body Protection to survive their combined assault, then released the blood-red infant mark from his brow and transformed it into an infant phantom.