Chapter Summaries

Li Yanran and her companions discovered that Fang Sheng had been driven to consume the people in Black Wind Stronghold as a White Lotus Blood Infant hatched from him. The infant killed Chen Lingfeng and wounded Li Yanran, then pursued Su Tianqi as Lu Xuan appeared at the stronghold gates.

• Li Yanran found Fang Sheng surrounded by bones and blood, with a White Lotus Blood Infant growing from the White Lotus Holy Seed in his chest.
• Fang Sheng died as the embryo drained his Qi and Blood, and Li Yanran recognized the creature as a White Lotus Blood Infant.
• Su Tianqi and Chen Lingfeng arrived, and Li Yanran urged them to run as the infant burst from its embryo.
• The White Lotus Blood Infant tore through Chen Lingfeng and swallowed his heart before Li Yanran sliced it apart, but its wounds quickly healed.
• The infant struck Li Yanran and injured her thigh, then pursued Su Tianqi as Lu Xuan appeared outside the stronghold gates.

Lu Xuan arrived at the bandit stronghold and witnessed Su Tianqi being hunted and killed by the White Lotus Blood Infant, an aberration created by the Pure World White Lotus Sect. As Li Yanran warned him to flee, Lu Xuan suddenly kicked the monster back into the stronghold and chased after it, leaving her stunned.

• Su Tianqi fled the White Lotus Blood Infant toward the stronghold entrance and encountered Lu Xuan.
• Su Tianqi tried to use Lu Xuan as a decoy, but his palm passed through Lu Xuan, and the White Lotus Blood Infant caught and devoured him.
• Li Yanran struck the monster away, warned Lu Xuan that it was an aberration, and urged him to run while she held it off.
• The White Lotus Blood Infant charged toward the entrance, but Lu Xuan kicked it back into the stronghold and pursued it.
• Li Yanran stood outside the stronghold, stunned because she had not seen what Lu Xuan did.

Lu Xuan killed the White Lotus Blood Infant and discovered that it had earned him System Points, then resolved to investigate the Pure World White Lotus Sect. Li Yanran found the scorched ground where the monster had been and decided to seek answers from Lu Xuan in Azure Cloud County City.

• Lu Xuan burned the White Lotus Blood Infant to nothingness with his Crimson Flame Blade Art and gained 33 System Points.
• Lu Xuan noted that the monster had carried a weak mysterious aura, remembered the name Pure World White Lotus Sect, and left by way of the rear mountain.
• Chen Shi and Ye Qingxuan arrived at the stronghold gate and found the injured Li Yanran, who hurried back into the stronghold.
• Li Yanran found charred ground where the White Lotus Blood Infant had been but found neither it nor Lu Xuan.
• Li Yanran decided she would seek answers from Lu Xuan in Azure Cloud County City, then urged Chen Shi to return to the county town.

Li Yanran mourned the Blackbird Guards lost on her journey, while Huang Yangping dealt with the fallout from Huang Xuanjie’s death and received his brother-in-law Jia Sheng. The chapter ended with Huang Yangping rebuking Jia Sheng over the counterfeit medicine scandal that had nearly earned him an execution.

• Li Yanran buried Chen Lingfeng after all the Blackbird Guards under her command perished, while Su Tianqi's body had been completely destroyed.
• Huang Yangping ordered his Head Butler to take away the relatives of the guards who had fled after Huang Xuanjie died, condemning them to death.
• Huang Yangping learned that Ye Qingshan had closed the case and vowed to seize the Azure Cloud County Magistrate post from him.
• Huang Yangping agreed to receive Jia Sheng, who complained that the Lu Family Pharmacy was ruining his business.
• Huang Yangping scolded Jia Sheng for selling counterfeit medicine that had killed more than a dozen people, reminding him that he had destroyed the evidence to save him from execution.

Huang Yangping decided to move against the Lu Family Pharmacy and enlisted Huang Wen to deal with Liang Cheng. Meanwhile, Lu Xuan deduced the Crimson Flame Blade Art, broke through to Inner Qi Realm Lesser Mastery, and resolved to ask Liang Shanhai about the Pure World White Lotus Sect.

• Huang Yangping agreed to attack the Lu Family Pharmacy because it threatened his interests, and Jia Sheng warned him that Liang Cheng was guarding it.
• Huang Yangping promised that Huang Wen would help deal with Liang Cheng, reassuring Jia Sheng.
• Lu Xuan used 40 System Points to deduce the Crimson Flame Blade Art and broke through to Inner Qi Realm Lesser Mastery.
• Lu Xuan swallowed half of his powerful tonic medicine and discovered that his System Points remained at 15 despite the medicine being fully absorbed.
• Lu Xuan thought about the White Lotus Blood Infant and the Pure World White Lotus Sect, then decided to visit Liang Shanhai the next day.

Li Yanran reported that Su Tianqi and Chen Lingfeng had been killed by the White Lotus Blood Infant, prompting Ye Qingshan to prepare an urgent report to the prefecture. After Li Yanran delayed that report to investigate a young man from the Lu Family, she went to Lu Xuan's courtyard at midnight to question him.

• Li Yanran told Ye Qingshan, Chen Shi, and Ye Qingxuan that Su Tianqi and Chen Lingfeng were dead and that Fang Sheng had also been killed.
• Li Yanran said the White Lotus Blood Infant of the Pure World White Lotus Sect had killed Su Tianqi and Chen Lingfeng, and Ye Qingshan ordered Chen Shi to report the threat to the prefecture.
• Li Yanran stopped Ye Qingshan from sending Chen Shi because she had not confirmed whether the White Lotus Blood Infant was dead or alive.
• Li Yanran asked Chen Shi to describe Lu Xuan, then went to the Lu Family in the dead of night to investigate what had happened.
• Lu Xuan emerged after Li Yanran's arrival, recognized her, and heard her explain that she had come to get to the bottom of what happened.

Li Yanran confirmed that Lu Xuan had killed the White Lotus Blood Infant and explained the higher Martial Realms and the Blackbird Guard's work against extraordinary horrors. Lu Xuan accepted her identity token and decided it was time to leave Azure Cloud County, while trouble gathered at the Lu Family Pharmacy.

• Li Yanran asked Lu Xuan whether he had killed the White Lotus Blood Infant, and he admitted that he had.
• Li Yanran learned that Lu Xuan was an Inner Qi Realm expert and told him about the Outer Core Realm and Divine Mansion Realm.
• Li Yanran explained that the Blackbird Guard fought extraordinary horrors and mutated demonic beasts, and that Divine Palace True Persons might be able to erase the horrors.
• Li Yanran gave Lu Xuan her Blackbird Guard identity token and directed him to the prefecture's archives for more information.
• The next morning, Lu Xuan headed to Liang Shanhai's residence as unwelcome visitors arrived outside the Lu Family Pharmacy on Master Jia's orders.

Jia Sheng’s men attacked the Lu Family Pharmacy to kill Lu Jiahe and cripple the family’s business. Li Mingzhong took the assassin’s strike meant for Lu Jiahe, leaving both men injured as the guards moved to fight back.

• Jia Sheng’s burly leader entered the Lu Family Pharmacy with several men, intending to kill Lu Jiahe for a reward of three thousand taels of silver.
• The burly man seized a pharmacy apprentice and demanded to see Lu Jiahe, prompting Li Mingzhong and the guards to confront the intruders.
• Lu Jiahe arrived with Lu Yunqing and Lu Yunfeng, examined the men, and found no sign that they were ill.
• The burly man insulted Lu Jiahe, then drew a short sword from his sleeve and lunged at him.
• Li Mingzhong blocked the attack with his left arm, which the sword pierced, while its tip only cut Lu Jiahe’s chest.
• The people in the rear hall realized what had happened and turned on the attackers in fury.

Li Yanran intervened when Lu Jiahe and his family were attacked outside the Lu Family Pharmacy, while Liang Cheng fought Huang Wen and rushed to the scene. At the county office archives, Liang Shanhai told Lu Xuan that his father had been harmed, and Lu Xuan's aura surged in fury.

• Li Yanran stopped outside the Lu Family Pharmacy with Ye Qingxuan and recognized the commotion when Lu Jiahe and his sons fled the shop under attack.
• Liang Cheng charged toward the pharmacy, but Huang Wen and his men blocked him and engaged him in a fight.
• Li Yanran knocked aside the attackers pursuing Lu Jiahe and gave Lu Yunqing a Profound Origin Root Elixir for his poisoned father.
• Liang Cheng drove Huang Wen away, and Li Yanran caught and broke a short sword hurled at Lu Jiahe before sending its attacker crashing back inside the pharmacy.
• Liang Shanhai entered the county office archives and told Lu Xuan that his father had been harmed, causing Lu Xuan's aura to erupt.

After learning that his father had been attacked, Lu Xuan returned to the Lu Family and found Lu Jiahe recovering from his injuries. He identified the likely people behind the attack and went to the county office late at night to deal with them himself.

• Lu Xuan left Liang Shanhai at the storeroom and rushed back to the Lu Family main hall.
• Lu Xuan found Lu Jiahe alive, learned that Li Mingzhong was safe, and used internal qi to help his father recover.
• Lu Xuan asked Liang Cheng about the attack and learned that the unconscious assailants were held at the county office, while Huang Wen had deliberately delayed Liang Cheng.
• Lu Cheng learned that the female hero who saved Lu Jiahe was called Lord Li and belonged to the Blackbird Guard, leading Lu Xuan to suspect Li Yanran.
• Late at night, Lu Xuan approached the county office, intending to kill those who threatened the Lu Family.

Lu Xuan tortured and killed the men who had attacked his father, learning that the Huang Family was behind the plot. He tracked down the Azure Cloud County Magistrate Huang Yangping and killed him, his son Huang Wen, and Jia Sheng, then vanished.

• Lu Xuan entered the county prison, killed the three captured attackers, and learned they had been hired by the Huang Family.
• Huang Yangping, Jia Sheng, and Huang Wen discussed the failed attempt to poison Lu Jiahe and planned to target his sons instead.
• Lu Xuan went to the Jia Family but failed to find Jia Sheng, so he headed to the Huang Family.
• Lu Xuan killed Huang Yangping, Huang Wen, and Jia Sheng after breaking into Huang Manor, then disappeared.

After Huang Yangping and several others were found dead, Lu Xuan revealed that he had killed the prisoners who assassinated Liang Shanhai’s brother-in-law. With no remaining threat to the Lu Family in Azure Cloud County, Lu Xuan prepared to travel to White Path Prefecture City to investigate the Profound Origin Root Elixir and his father’s antidote.

• Ye Qingshan learned from Chen Shi that Huang Yangping, Huang Wen, and Jia Sheng had been murdered, and he set out with Chen Shi to inspect Huang Manor.
• Liang Shanhai reported that three prisoners had died mysteriously in the county jail and ordered the coroner to examine them.
• Liang Cheng told Lu Xuan about the prisoners’ deaths, and Lu Xuan confirmed that he had killed them.
• Lu Xuan examined the Blackbird Guard Token and decided to go to White Path Prefecture City after finding no useful information in the county records.
• Lu Xuan speculated that the force within his father’s body came from the Profound Origin Root Elixir, whose medicinal power might surpass Great Supplement Medicine.

Ye Qingshan connected the bizarre murders to Lu Xuan and chose not to investigate further, while Huang Yangping and Jia Sheng's families were wiped out amid a wave of retaliation. Lu Xuan prepared to leave Azure Cloud County for White Path Prefecture City, promising his father he would return within half a year.

• County coroners reported that Huang Yangping and the other victims had died with their bones crushed and their insides mangled, and Ye Qingshan suspected a powerful warrior was responsible.
• Ye Qingshan connected the prison killings, the Lu Family Pharmacy attack, and Li Yanran's investigation of Lu Xuan, then decided to protect the Lu Family rather than pursue his suspicions.
• After Huang Yangping's death became known, enemies and rival factions attacked the Huang and Jia families until their male bloodlines were extinguished and both families vanished from Azure Cloud County.
• Lu Xuan visited his injured father, Lu Jiahe, and said he was leaving for White Path Prefecture City and would return within half a year.
• Lu Xuan asked Yun Qing and Yun Feng to look after Lu Jiahe while he was away, and both young men agreed.

Luo Jinghe assured Huang Xuanzheng that he would avenge Huang Yangping, then killed him to conceal their contact. Later, Lu Xuan reached Willow Ditch Village hoping to kill the black Ghost Shadow again, but found it gone and left before dawn.

• Huang Xuanzheng secretly visited Luo Jinghe and asked him to seek justice for Huang Yangping.
• Luo Jinghe asked whether anyone had seen Huang Xuanzheng arrive, then killed him with a blow to the head.
• Luo Jinghe ordered his subordinate to investigate Huang Yangping’s killer and vowed to make the culprit pay.
• Lu Xuan rode to Willow Ditch Village to look for the black Ghost Shadow and gain System Points.
• Lu Xuan sensed no trace of the Ghost Shadow, then left the village before the villagers awoke.

Lu Xuan stopped at Sifang Town on his way to White Path Prefecture City and learned that a wealthy family was traveling to Lotus Birth Temple. He recognized a pendant worn by the pregnant Madam Chen as carrying the same eerie aura as the White Lotus Blood Infant and decided to investigate the temple.

• Lu Xuan reached Sifang Town in Dengfeng County and decided to rest before visiting his half-sister Lu Qingqing the next day.
• At Sifang Inn, Lu Xuan ordered thirty jin of beef jerky but learned that most of the inn's food had been reserved by travelers heading to Lotus Birth Temple.
• Master Chen arrived with his pregnant wife, who said the temple's masters would consecrate her pendant so the Chen Family could bear a son.
• Lu Xuan sensed the White Lotus Blood Infant's eerie aura coming from Madam Chen's white seed pendant and resolved to go to Lotus Birth Temple.

Lu Xuan questioned an innkeeper about Lotus Birth Temple, then secretly infiltrated it to investigate its secrets. Inside the main hall, he found a white lotus pattern in the Buddha statue’s eyes and was attacked by someone hiding behind it.

• Lu Xuan asked the innkeeper about Lotus Birth Temple and learned that it opened its gates to worshippers once a year and stood about an hour from Dengfeng County’s seat.
• Lu Xuan rode to the temple after dark, left his horse at the foot of the mountain, and climbed in from the back.
• Lu Xuan subdued two Bone Refining Realm monks guarding the main hall and entered after finding it apparently empty.
• Lu Xuan spotted a tiny white lotus pattern in the Buddha statue’s eyes and moved closer to inspect it.
• A concealed attacker struck Lu Xuan from behind the statue and tore open his robe.

Lu Xuan uncovered more evidence that Lotus Birth Temple was tied to the Pure World White Lotus Sect and fought his way toward its abbot. He overheard the abbot ordering the temple to sacrifice its captives and prepare to flee before the Blackbird Guard discovered them.

• Lu Xuan killed an old monk who had ambushed him, then found a mask fitted over the Buddha statue’s face, confirming the temple’s connection to the Pure World White Lotus Sect.
• Lu Xuan seized two monks on night watch and killed one when he drew a short sword; the surviving monk agreed to lead him to the abbot.
• Lu Xuan incapacitated the monks guarding a secluded building and reached a room where the Lotus Birth Temple Abbot was speaking with other monks.
• The abbot said the Ghostly Things in Dengfeng County had revived early and the Blackbird Guard was coming, so the temple would withdraw within a day and sacrifice its remaining blood offerings.

Lu Xuan discovered that Lotus Birth Temple served the Pure World White Lotus Sect and learned they planned to sacrifice blood offerings to the White Lotus Holy Infant. After the abbot fled toward the Underground Palace, Lu Xuan followed, hoping to locate the Holy Infant while worrying about the Ghostly Thing in Dengfeng County Town and his sister, Lu Qingqing.

• The Lotus Birth Temple Abbot ordered the monks to seize the blood offerings and take them to the Underground Palace for the White Lotus Holy Infant.
• Lu Xuan kicked down the door, confronted the monks, and identified Lotus Birth Temple as part of the Pure World White Lotus Sect.
• The Lotus Birth Temple Abbot mistook Lu Xuan for a member of the Blackbird Guard and revealed that a Ghostly Thing was in Dengfeng County Town.
• Concerned for Lu Qingqing, Lu Xuan let the abbot escape so he could follow him to the Underground Palace, while he knocked the other monks aside.
• The Lotus Birth Temple Abbot fled to a ruined Buddhist hall, unaware that a strange white glow had appeared in his eyes.

Lu Xuan tracked Lotus Birth Temple Abbot to a hidden Underground Palace and killed him after the abbot claimed the White Lotus Holy Scripture made him unkillable. There, Lu Xuan discovered a stronger White Lotus Blood Infant, while the Sub-Master ordered two monks to seize him.

• Lotus Birth Temple Abbot opened a hidden passage beneath the Buddha statue, but Lu Xuan caught up with him and kicked him into the hall wall.
• Lotus Birth Temple Abbot claimed the White Lotus Holy Scripture made him Undying and Unkillable, so Lu Xuan shattered his head with a chunk of stone.
• Lu Xuan entered the Underground Palace, where a Sub-Master waited beside a giant white lotus surrounded by bones.
• Lu Xuan recognized the blood-red presence within the lotus as a White Lotus Blood Infant nearing the Inner Qi Realm.
• The Sub-Master, angered that Lu Xuan ignored him, ordered two monks to seize him.

Lu Xuan killed the Pure World White Lotus Sect middle-aged man and burned the white lotus at Lotus Birth Temple, gaining System Points from the flower. A White Lotus Blood Infant survived the flames and appeared before him, leaving Lu Xuan ready to fight it.

• Lu Xuan killed the two monks with stones, then defeated the middle-aged man with his Inner Qi Realm strength.
• Lu Xuan wondered why killing the cultists gave him no System Points, then burned the lotus dais and its white lotus with his Crimson Flame Blade Art.
• Lu Xuan saw his System Points rise from 15 to 45 and realized the points had come from the white lotus.
• A White Lotus Blood Infant emerged from the burning lotus dais, and Lu Xuan noticed it looked different from the one he had encountered before.