Chapter Summaries

Lu Xuan reached the perfected Inner Qi Realm and strengthened his body with Vajra Indestructible before preparing to leave Dengfeng County with the Blackbird Guard. He departed after entrusting Lu Qingqing to Shen Yunwei and Shen Yuan, while county magistrate Zeng Fan watched him leave.

• Lu Xuan discovered that his inner qi had condensed into liquid, confirmed his perfected realm, and tested the power of Vajra Indestructible.
• Lu Xuan consumed the Great Supplement Medicine but gained only 10 System Points, then decided to seek Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects in the prefectural capital.
• Shen Yunwei promised to protect Lu Qingqing, and Lu Xuan warned Shen Yuan not to mistreat her before bidding them farewell.
• Lu Xuan rejoined Zhao Sheng and the others outside the Shen Residence, and they set out together.
• Zeng Fan and the county Chief Constable secretly watched Lu Xuan and the Blackbird Guard depart.

Lu Xuan and Zhao Sheng reached Peaceful Town on their way to White Path Prefecture and learned that the town was preparing to sacrifice children to the Brocade Scale River God. Zhao Sheng recognized the river’s supposed god as a powerful demonic fish, leaving the group caught in a dangerous situation as they approached the river.

• Zeng Fan ordered his men not to provoke the Shen Family after Zhao Sheng and the others warned him of its strength.
• Lu Xuan, Zhao Sheng, and their companions arrived in Peaceful Town and stopped at the Peaceful Inn before crossing the Brocade Scale River.
• A woman begged the town leader to spare her son Little Fatty, but the leader insisted that the town must offer twenty children to the river god each year.
• Wu Sheng accepted that his child would be taken for the sacrifice, and the town leader led the children away.
• Zhao Sheng recognized that the Brocade Scale River God was a Blood Refinement Realm Completion demonic fish that could contend with an Inner Qi Realm expert.

Lu Xuan learned that the Brocade Scale River God was a powerful demon beast and decided to confront it over Peaceful Town’s offerings. He took Zhao Sheng and the other Blackbird Guards to the town leader, who warned that an earlier attempt to challenge the beast had cost more than a hundred townspeople their lives.

• Lu Xuan learned that the Brocade Scale River God was a demon beast at Blood Refinement Realm Greater Mastery, and that Peaceful Town offered it twenty children each year.
• Lu Xuan ordered Zhao Sheng and the other two Blackbird Guards to accompany him to meet the town leader and investigate what would happen if the offerings were withheld.
• Lu Xuan and the three guards appeared in the town leader’s hall, where twenty children had been gathered as sacrifices.
• Lu Xuan announced that Peaceful Town would be under his command, and the town leader recognized the Blackbird Guard and warned that its previous challenge had led the River God to take more than a hundred people in one night.

Lu Xuan seized control of Peaceful Town, canceled its sacrifice to the Brocade Scale River God, and prepared to confront the river’s demon. At night, the carp-like beast emerged and attacked Lu Xuan, while revealing that a more powerful Dragon Lord was trapped beneath the river.

• Lu Xuan ordered Zhao Sheng and Qian Hao to seize the Peaceful Town Leader and put Li Daren in charge of the children.
• Qian Hao, Zhao Sheng, and Li Daren revealed their Blood Refinement Realm strength and subdued the Peaceful Town Leader and his guards.
• Zhao Sheng and Qian Hao tore down the sacrificial platform, posted warnings, and confiscated vessels traveling on the Brocade Scale River.
• A giant carp-like demon beast emerged from the river and vowed to kill the humans, saying the Dragon Lord was close to breaking free.
• Lu Xuan approached the demon beast, and it charged at him as he judged its intelligence to be low.

Lu Xuan fought the carp demon beast at the Brocade Scale River, revealing that he had reached the peak of the Inner Qi Realm. When the wounded beast unleashed a powerful dragon phantom, it injured Lu Xuan before vanishing, and he suspected that the force behind it belonged to the Divine Mansion Realm Dragon Lord.

• Lu Xuan kicked the carp demon beast into the ground, while Zhao Sheng and Qian Hao realized he was an Inner Qi Realm expert like Blackbird Envoy Sir.
• Lu Xuan saw that the carp demon beast had survived and used the Mystic Iron Blade to unleash crimson flames at it.
• The carp demon beast released a colossal dragon phantom that swallowed Lu Xuan's flames and attacked him.
• Lu Xuan countered with a crimson fire pillar, but the phantom dragon claw broke through and wounded his chest before he escaped its strike.
• The dragon phantom vanished, and Lu Xuan healed his wound while suspecting that the apparition represented the Divine Mansion Realm Dragon Lord.

After Lu Xuan survived a terrifying phantom’s attack, he found the carp demon beast dead and learned its flesh was a valuable tonic. He gave Zhao Sheng and Qian Hao the beast’s head and left, while a powerful presence beneath the Brocade Scale River discovered Red Scale’s death and raged against humanity.

• Lu Xuan questioned Zhao Sheng and Qian Hao about the phantom, and they said they knew nothing of the demon beast’s secret beyond the Blackbird Envoy’s orders.
• Lu Xuan found the carp demon beast dead, confirmed he had received no System Points for its death, and blamed the phantom for ruining his hunt.
• Zhao Sheng explained that Blood Refinement Realm demon beast flesh was a precious tonic, so Lu Xuan told him and Qian Hao to take the corpse to Peaceful Town and gave them its head.
• Zhao Sheng and Qian Hao eagerly lifted the carp demon beast to carry it back to Peaceful Town before Lu Xuan left.
• Deep beneath the Brocade Scale River, a colossal being realized its divine sense on Red Scale had vanished, lamented the loss of its sacrifice, and vowed that the changing world would soon free it from its shackles.

After Zhao Sheng and the others killed the Brocade Scale River God, Peaceful Town learned it no longer had to sacrifice people, while Lu Xuan used demon beast flesh to advance his techniques. Three days later, Lu Xuan arrived with the three Yellow Envoys at the Blackbird Guard residence in White Path Prefecture Capital.

• Zhao Sheng told Peaceful Town that the carp demon beast was dead, and Wu Sheng confirmed its identity before the townspeople knelt in gratitude.
• Zhao Sheng, Qian Hao, and Li Daren took the demon beast’s head to the Town Leader’s residence to eat its flesh.
• Lu Xuan spent 140 System Points deducing Wind Chasing Steps and Vajra Indestructible, bringing him closer to the Outer Core Realm.
• Three days later, Lu Xuan and the three Yellow Envoys reached the Blackbird Guard residence, where the guards noticed Li Daren’s shoulder and questioned why a young man accompanied them.

Lu Xuan arrived at the Blackbird Guard Residence, where Li Yanran was waiting for an Inner Qi expert before returning to the Imperial Capital. When she heard that an old acquaintance had come, she suspected it was Lu Xuan, while Li Chengfeng was shocked by her reaction.

• Zhao Sheng and the other two led Lu Xuan into the Blackbird Guard Residence after his chest wound healed completely during their stay in Peaceful Town.
• Li Chengfeng urged Li Yanran to return to the Imperial Capital soon to compete for a chance to comprehend the family ritual artifact, and said Deputy Envoy Yu Hong could oversee White Path Prefecture while they were away.
• Li Yanran said she had promised to wait for an Inner Qi expert and would wait ten more days before returning to the Imperial Capital.
• A messenger told Li Yanran and Li Chengfeng that an old acquaintance had come to see her, and Li Yanran suspected it was Lu Xuan.
• Li Chengfeng reacted with shock to Li Yanran's delighted expression as Zhao Sheng welcomed Lu Xuan and Qian Hao served him tea.

Lu Xuan reunited with Li Yanran in White Path Prefecture Capital and asked to access the Blackbird Guard archives while seeking stronger enemies to defeat. When Li Chengfeng revealed that the Brocade Scale River demon beast carried the Dragon Lord’s divine sense, Lu Xuan demanded to learn about the Dragon Lord.

• Zhao Sheng explained that the demon beast flesh Lu Xuan had given him and the others had greatly strengthened them.
• Li Yanran arrived, greeted Lu Xuan warmly, and thanked him for saving her father; Lu Xuan asked her to let him enter the Blackbird Guard archives.
• Li Chengfeng noticed Li Daren’s missing arm and learned that the Human-Faced Eerie Entity had become Dire-Level and was growing stronger.
• Zhao Sheng told Li Chengfeng that Lu Xuan had defeated the Human-Faced Eerie Entity and killed the Blood Refinement Realm Completion demon beast in Brocade Scale River.
• Li Chengfeng revealed that the Brocade Scale River demon beast carried the Dragon Lord’s divine sense, and Lu Xuan demanded information about the Dragon Lord.

Lu Xuan overwhelmed Blackbird Envoy Li Chengfeng, proving he had reached the peak of the Inner Qi Realm and was close to becoming an Outer Strength Grandmaster. Li Chengfeng then explained that the Dragon Lord beneath the Brocade Scale River had once been a Netherworld Python that gained Flood Dragon might.

• Li Chengfeng questioned how Lu Xuan survived the Dragon Lord's divine intent, and Lu Xuan demanded an answer by attacking him.
• Lu Xuan broke through Li Chengfeng's inner qi defenses and suppressed him, revealing his own immense strength.
• Li Chengfeng recognized Lu Xuan as a peerless talent nearing the Outer Strength Grandmaster realm and welcomed him warmly.
• Li Yanran introduced Lu Xuan to Li Chengfeng, who sent Zhao Sheng and the others away and asked Yanran to prepare tea.
• Li Chengfeng explained that the Dragon Lord had begun as a Netherworld Python, reached the Divine Mansion Realm, and gained a trace of Flood Dragon might.

Lu Xuan learned that the Dragon Lord of the Brocade Scale River was a Netherworld Python suppressed by Tianqi Emperor with a ritual artifact, then asked Li Chengfeng to let him consult the Blackbird Guard archives. Li Chengfeng explained the artifacts and brought Lu Xuan to the archive warehouse, ordering the guards not to bar his entry.

• Li Chengfeng explained that Tianqi Emperor had sealed the Divine Mansion Realm Netherworld Python beneath the Brocade Scale River with the Mysterious Black Bird Sky Lock.
• Lu Xuan recognized the account of the Tianqi Era disaster as the events recorded in the County Chronicles and asked Li Chengfeng about ritual artifacts.
• Li Chengfeng described ritual artifacts as Heaven-and-Earth-born objects and said the Eight Great Families and Transcendent Great Factions possessed complete ones.
• Lu Xuan asked to borrow the Blackbird Guard archives for information about transcendent anomalies and mysterious demon beasts.
• Li Chengfeng led Lu Xuan to the archive warehouse and ordered the Blackbird Guards to let him enter freely in the future.

Lu Xuan searched the Blackbird Guard archives for living Eerie Entities, demon beasts, and information about the Pure World White Lotus Sect, but found no useful leads on active threats. After learning of Lu Xuan’s strength and character, Li Chengfeng decided to put him in charge of White Path Prefecture Capital while he was away.

• Li Chengfeng introduced Lu Xuan to An Qingyu and the archive staff, instructing them to help him find information about Eerie Entities, demon beasts, and the Pure World White Lotus Sect.
• Lu Xuan reviewed records of past supernatural threats and learned that the Tiger Ghoul Demon King had escaped badly wounded twenty years earlier.
• An Qingyu gave Lu Xuan a book of secret Great Xia Dynasty accounts, including information about the Pure World White Lotus Sect, and said the Blackbird Guard had no records of active threats.
• Li Chengfeng questioned Zhao Sheng and the others, learned of Lu Xuan’s powerful flames, and concluded that Lu Xuan had gained an extraordinary opportunity.
• Li Yanran urged Li Chengfeng to recruit Lu Xuan, and Li Chengfeng decided to leave him in charge of White Path Prefecture Capital while he was away.

Li Chengfeng decided to appoint Lu Xuan to oversee White Path Prefecture Capital without sending him to the Imperial Capital for assessment, while Lu Xuan uncovered secrets about the Pure World White Lotus Sect and the Void Glimpse True Lord. As night fell, Hua Jianghe and his guards encountered a pleasure house that had seemingly appeared from nowhere.

• Li Chengfeng assured Li Yanran that he would take the risk of placing Lu Xuan in charge and gain the Li Family's support.
• Lu Xuan read that the Pure World White Lotus Sect predated the Great Xia Dynasty and created White Lotus Blood Infants and powerful Holy Envoys.
• Lu Xuan learned that a Void Glimpse True Lord could unleash a Grotto-Heaven world within his body, and that sacrificial artifacts and Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects came from the Spirit Ruins Land in the Imperial Capital.
• Hua Jianghe struck a Marrow Refining Realm guard for warning him to return home before nightfall, and the guard apologized and slapped himself.
• Hua Jianghe and his five guards noticed the Wind Moon Tower, which had appeared on the street as pedestrians began to disappear.

Hua Jianghe entered Wind Moon Tower and fell under its ghostly illusion until Uncle Qing arrived and cut off his corrupted arms. The tower was revealed as a decaying ruin filled with dead victims, while the Wind Moon Tower Ghost Shadow watched from the second floor and trapped them.

• Hua Jianghe entered Wind Moon Tower with his guards, where a strange fragrance and seductive women clouded their minds.
• Uncle Qing rushed in and killed the two women beside Hua Jianghe, revealing that they were ghostly apparitions.
• Uncle Qing cut off Hua Jianghe's blackened arms to stop the spreading Yin Energy.
• Hua Jianghe saw that Wind Moon Tower was a decaying building and that his guards and other visitors had become dead, withered husks.
• Uncle Qing identified the Wind Moon Tower Ghost Shadow as a Dire-Level Eerie Entity and faced its shadow on the second floor as the Yin Energy intensified.

Uncle Qing and Hua Jianghe were killed by the Wind Moon Tower Ghost Shadow, whose Yin Energy had reached the level of a complete Dire-Level Eerie Entity. The next morning, Lu Xuan discussed joining the Blackbird Guard with Li Chengfeng and learned how members earned scarce Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects, while the Black Feather Guard inspected their affairs.

• The Wind Moon Tower Ghost Shadow attacked Uncle Qing and Hua Jianghe with its hair, overwhelming Uncle Qing’s Qi and Blood.
• Hua Jianghe was pierced by severed strands of hair and withered into a skeleton, then the Ghost Shadow swallowed Uncle Qing.
• Li Chengfeng invited Lu Xuan to join the Blackbird Guard and explained its authority and limited restrictions.
• Lu Xuan asked about Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects, and Li Chengfeng explained that members earned them through Dire-Level or higher missions and that a Profound Rank Blackbird Guard allocated them.
• Li Chengfeng said a prefectural guard could request more objects from headquarters but warned Lu Xuan that the Black Feather Guard might uncover an excessive request.

Lu Xuan joined the Blackbird Guard and accepted temporary command of its White Path Prefecture Capital post from Li Chengfeng, seeing a chance to obtain spiritual objects and advance to Outer Strength Grandmaster. Before he could ask about the stockpile, a Blackbird Guard reported that the Heavensea Gang’s Great Elder and Hua Jianghe had vanished and the Wind Moon Tower Ghost Shadow might have awakened early.

• Li Chengfeng explained the Blackbird Guard’s ranks and salaries, including the Great Supplement Medicine and Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects awarded to higher ranks.
• Lu Xuan agreed to join the Blackbird Guard, and Li Chengfeng offered him temporary command of the White Path Prefecture Capital while he returned to the Imperial Capital.
• Lu Xuan asked whether the local guards and Imperial Capital would recognize the arrangement, and Li Chengfeng assured him that they would obey Lu Xuan and that he would report the appointment.
• Li Chengfeng handed Lu Xuan his Blackbird Envoy token, and Lu Xuan accepted, intending to use the Guard’s spiritual objects to advance his cultivation.
• A Blackbird Guard reported that the Heavensea Gang’s Great Elder and Young Gang Leader Hua Jianghe were missing and that the Wind Moon Tower Ghost Shadow might have awakened ahead of time.

Lu Xuan took charge as the Blackbird Envoy of White Path Prefecture Capital and ordered the Blackbird Guards to secure the site of the Wind Moon Tower Ghost Shadow, despite the Heavensea Gang’s plans to confront it. Li Chengfeng then showed Lu Xuan the Blackbird Guard’s hidden store of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects.

• Lin Mu reported that the Wind Moon Tower Ghost Shadow had reappeared in City West, where the Heavensea Gang’s Young Gang Leader, Grand Elder, and passing civilians had vanished.
• Li Chengfeng named Lu Xuan the acting Blackbird Envoy, and Lin Mu said the Ghost Shadow appeared once every three days.
• Lin Mu reported that Hua Tianhai had surrounded the street and planned to destroy the Ghost Shadow himself.
• Lu Xuan ordered the Heavensea Gang to withdraw and told Lin Mu to seal off the area until Lu Xuan went to destroy the Ghost Shadow in two days.
• Li Chengfeng backed Lu Xuan’s order, and Lin Mu led Blackbird Guards to the site.
• Lu Xuan asked to see the Blackbird Guard’s spiritual objects, and Li Chengfeng revealed a hidden store beneath his room, with blue boxes holding Low Grade items and red boxes holding Mid Grade items.

Lu Xuan entered Li Chengfeng’s underground secret chamber and took Azure Spirit Ginseng and other treasures. After refining the ginseng and spending nearly all his System Points to deduce the Crimson Flame Blade Art, he broke through to Outer Strength Grandmaster.

• Li Chengfeng left Lu Xuan in charge of the White Path Prefecture Capital and went to gather the Blackbird Guard before departing for the Imperial Capital with Yanran.
• After confirming the courtyard was empty, Lu Xuan entered the secret chamber and found four boxes of Azure Spirit Ginseng among its treasures.
• Lu Xuan took the four boxes of Azure Spirit Ginseng and five azure boxes, then swallowed the ginseng in his room.
• The Azure Spirit Ginseng increased Lu Xuan’s System Points to 1321, and he spent 1250 points deducing the Crimson Flame Blade Art twice.
• Lu Xuan’s inner qi transformed into gang essence, and he reached the Outer Strength Grandmaster realm.

Lu Xuan demonstrated the fiery Strength Essence he had gained as an Outer Strength Grandmaster. Meanwhile, Hua Tianhai prepared to confront the Wind Moon Tower Ghost Shadow, but the Blackbird Guard arrived and took control of the scene.

• Lu Xuan summoned a crimson flame from his Strength Essence and saw that its power rivaled his former full-force Inner Qi strike.
• Hua Tianhai gathered Heavensea Gang leaders in White Path Prefecture Capital to discuss the Wind Moon Tower Ghost Shadow and the deaths of Hua Jianghe and Liu Qing.
• Hua Tianhai decided to deal with the Ghostly Thing himself and ordered the government not to interfere.
• Heavensea Gang members reported that the Blackbird Guard had arrived and demanded that the gang withdraw.
• Hua Tianhai ordered the newcomers to enter, and an azure-robed man strode into the inn with several people behind him.

Lin Mu ordered the Heavensea Gang to leave the Wind Moon Tower, but Hua Yunhai withdrew his people and insisted on staying at the inn. In the Blackbird Guard hall, Li Chengfeng told He Yan that Lu Xuan would temporarily serve as Blackbird Envoy while Li Chengfeng was away, and they learned Yu Hong had not returned from investigating Tiger Prison Mountain.

• Lin Mu arrived at the Wind Moon Tower and ordered Hua Yunhai and the Heavensea Gang to clear the street for the Blackbird Guard.
• Hua Yunhai questioned whether Li Chengfeng was behind the order, then told Hua Yunfei to withdraw the gang while claiming the right to stay at the inn.
• Li Chengfeng told He Yan that Lu Xuan, a young Inner Qi Consummation martial artist, would temporarily command the White Path Prefecture Capital Blackbird Guard.
• Li Chengfeng asked about Yu Hong, and He Yan reported that Yu Hong had not returned from investigating the tiger's roar near Liusha County.
• Li Chengfeng instructed He Yan to notify all Yellow Rank Blackbird Guards and above about Lu Xuan's command.