Chapter Summaries

After Sun Xiangzong died, Chen Sanshi inherited his spear and belongings while his senior brothers debated whether to remain in the court and support him. The imperial court appointed Chen Sanshi Supervisor and Marquis Champion, then ordered him to move to the capital, which he recognized as an attempt to place him under house arrest.

• Chen Sanshi discovered Sun Xiangzong had died, mourned him with Sun Li and his fellow disciples, and inherited the Dragon Gallant Bright Silver Spear.
• Eunuch Hou pressed Chen Sanshi about Sun Xiangzong's inheritance, while the disciples later discussed the court's plans for them and whether they should support Chen Sanshi.
• Chen Sanshi inspected Sun Xiangzong's ring, learned about the Guardian Envoy token and other possessions, and made the Black Snake Bow from a giant snake's sinew.
• Eunuch Hou delivered the imperial rewards at the Military Camp, naming Chen Sanshi Marquis Champion and appointing him Supervisor.
• The decree ordered Chen Sanshi to take his family to a bestowed residence in the capital, and he realized the court intended to confine him there.

Chen Sanshi accepted the emperor’s decree but invoked mourning rites to keep his senior brothers and sisters in Liangzhou, while Fang Qingyun went to the capital with a copied cultivation method and an array talisman. Emperor Longqing granted Chen Sanshi one year to mourn and kept Fang Qingyun in the capital; meanwhile, two Shengyun Sect cultivators arrived to negotiate with the emperor and one set out for Liangzhou to investigate the dead Guardian Envoy.

• Chen Sanshi accepted the imperial orders transferring him and his fellow disciples, then argued that they should remain in Liangzhou to observe mourning for three years, citing the Military Immortal Yu Shanggong.
• Fang Qingyun volunteered to go to the capital with a copied True Force cultivation method and a Heavenly Book Array talisman, while Chen Sanshi stayed in Liangzhou with the others.
• Emperor Longqing granted Chen Sanshi one year to mourn, appointed Fang Qingyun Marquis of Wuan, and ordered him to remain in the capital as Cao Zhi’s teacher.
• Wang Jun and Qu Yuanxiang met Emperor Longqing, negotiated for spirit grain and cultivation resources, and asked about the Guardian Envoy of the Eastern Continent.
• Wang Jun sent Qu Yuanxiang to Liangzhou to investigate the Guardian Envoy, and Qu Yuanxiang vowed to search his grave for clues.

Chen Sanshi dealt with Liangzhou’s military and political crises while confronting the limits of his strength and Lu Ji’s secret pact with an evil god. As imperial pressure, unrest, and a meddling cultivator tightened around him, he left for Great Marsh Market with Zhaozhao to seek treasures that could advance his martial cultivation.

• Chen Sanshi settled his family in the Governor’s Mansion, built a hidden cave dwelling, and cultivated the Five Elements Art and archery.
• Chen Sanshi caught recruitment clerk Zhang Youde selling military positions, then took Su Can and Yu Ji’s brothers as his disciples.
• Wen Zhi apologized to Chen Sanshi and promised not to seek revenge, but Chen Sanshi rushed to Huangyun Mountain after spotting a cultivator flying toward his master’s grave.
• Lu Ji prevented the drunken cultivator Qu Yuanxiang from disturbing the grave, then told Nie Yuan that he owed an evil god twenty thousand blood offerings and had arranged the slaughter of the barbarian captives to repay them.
• Chen Sanshi confronted Lu Ji about killing the captives and warned him to act carefully, while Lu Ji urged Chen Sanshi to obey the court’s order to leave Liangzhou after one year of mourning.
• After unrest broke out over the Spirit Grain Tax, Chen Sanshi prepared to enter closed-door cultivation and took Zhaozhao and the Spirit Boat to Great Marsh Market to seek treasures for advancing his martial realm.

Chen Sanshi traveled south, intervened in Liangshan Marsh’s recruitment crisis, and helped Dan Qunyu secure a path to survival after defeating two Southern Xu cultivators. The chapter ended with King Zhennan suffering ruined meridians while practicing the Dragon Scripture, though he believed the fault lay in his own training.

• Chen Sanshi refined pills during his journey south and learned that Southern Xu and Great Sheng were competing to recruit Liangshan Marsh, whose leaders were divided over which side to choose.
• Chen Sanshi met Zhang Shun at Liangshan Marsh and urged him to support accepting King Zhennan’s amnesty rather than joining Southern Xu.
• Si Daoren tried to force Dan Qunyu to sign Liangshan Marsh over to Southern Xu, but Chen Sanshi killed Si Daoren and Meng Quji and Zhaozhao defeated the other cultivator.
• Chen Sanshi advised Dan Qunyu to accept amnesty and seek permission to station Liangshan’s remaining troops in Mangshan Prefecture, then left Meng Quji to assist him.
• King Zhennan practiced the Dragon Scripture, suffered catastrophic damage to his meridians, and insisted that his own practice was at fault.

Chen Sanshi returned to Tianshui Continent, learned about the cultivators’ exploitation of mortals, and searched Great Marsh Market for resources to advance his martial cultivation. He caught a Detoxifying Fish and defeated a Wolf-Badger Hybrid, then left with the fish and the beast’s valuable organs.

• Chen Sanshi reached the Qi Refining Second Layer, sailed to End of the World, and took Zhaozhao and Qianxun through the Ancient Teleportation Array to Tianshui Continent.
• At Little Stone Village, Chen Sanshi saw cultivators taking children from poor families and asked Old Man Li about the sects that ruled the continent.
• Chen Sanshi learned that the Steward Hall’s recruitment required a Blood Contract, then heard Wei Xuan would trade a Spirit-Gazing Fruit for a Detoxifying Fish.
• Chen Sanshi and Zhaozhao entered Chiling Mountain, where Zhaozhao caught a Detoxifying Fish that Chen Sanshi stunned and captured.
• Chen Sanshi shot down and killed a Wolf-Badger Hybrid with his bow and saber, claimed its Wolf Heart and badger lungs, and departed with Zhaozhao and the fish.

Chen Sanshi traded for the Fire Swallowing Art, stocked up on pill ingredients, and went to claim Wei Xuan’s reward, only to discover Lu Boqin had stolen the Spirit-Gazing Fruit and tried to kill Wei Xuan. Chen Sanshi killed Lu Boqin and several cultivators who obstructed him, then fled with the fruit as Great Marsh Market declared him a wanted Robbing Cultivator.

• Chen Sanshi sold pills and magical artifacts, traded an Orthodox God Path Spirit-Calling Scroll for the Fire Swallowing Art and a Clear Spirit Pill formula, and bought ingredients and supplies despite borrowing spirit stones from Zhaozhao.
• Chen Sanshi and Zhaozhao visited Song Guizhi, who told them that Lu Boqin had already claimed he had found a Detoxifying Fish and invited Wei Xuan to collect it.
• Lu Boqin took Wei Xuan’s Spirit-Gazing Fruit but refused to hand over the fish, then attacked him; Chen Sanshi arrived and rescued Wei Xuan with his Four Symbols attacks.
• Chen Sanshi pursued Lu Boqin on Qianxun, but Lu Boqin tricked a Martial Saint and other cultivators into attacking Chen Sanshi by calling him a Robbing Cultivator and offering them the Spirit-Gazing Fruit.
• Chen Sanshi killed Lu Boqin and the cultivators who blocked him, recovered the Spirit-Gazing Fruit, and escaped with Qianxun as witnesses identified him to the Law Enforcement Hall.
• The Law Enforcement Hall issued Wanted Orders for Chen Sanshi after an elder learned that one of the dead cultivators was surnamed Li.

Chen Sanshi warned that the Governor's Guard Army's camp at Yiling would be destroyed, but Tong Xiaochu secretly read the warning too late to prevent Han Xiang's fire attack. The attack burned the camp and killed or scattered the vanguard, while most of the army had withdrawn in advance, leaving Han Xiang to suspect that his plan had been discovered.

• Chen Sanshi returned from the End of the World and learned that Western Qi, Eastern Qing, and Southern Xu had launched campaigns into Great Sheng, apparently seeking a spirit vein.
• Qin Changxu reported that the Governor's Guard Army had camped at Yiling, and Chen Sanshi ordered an immediate withdrawal, warning that the army would otherwise be wiped out.
• In the capital, Cao Zhi urged the court to summon Chen Sanshi to command the western campaign, but Cao Huan and the ministers refused.
• Tong Xiaochu pretended to burn Chen Sanshi's secret letter in front of his officers, then secretly rescued and read it, realizing that Yiling was in danger.
• Han Xiang recognized the danger of the Governor's Guard Army's camp and ordered Western Qi troops to set it ablaze and attack.
• The fire consumed the eight-hundred-li camp, but Han Xiang learned that more than ninety percent of the Governor's Guard Army had withdrawn beforehand, leaving only twenty thousand vanguard troops behind.

Han Xiang’s campaign drove Tong Xiaochu’s Governor’s Guard Army out of Ping Prefecture, and the Great Sheng court finally summoned Chen Sanshi to command the western front. Chen Sanshi completed new magic and martial cultivation breakthroughs while traveling, then emerged from closed cultivation to receive the imperial transfer order.

• Han Xiang anticipated Tong Xiaochu’s retreat from the Yiling fire and set ambushes and defections that forced the Governor’s Guard Army through Huangfeng Ridge, away from Lishi and Shanhua, and out of Ping Prefecture with half its troops lost.
• The Great Sheng court debated replacing Tong Xiaochu but delayed summoning Chen Sanshi until the losses mounted, then ordered him to take command in Jia Prefecture.
• Aboard ship, Chen Sanshi advanced Ten Thousand Swords Descend and Thick Earth Art, began cultivating Fire Swallowing Art, and opened the Brain God while training toward the True Force Realm.
• Chen Sanshi learned that the court’s army had lost Ping Prefecture and that his sister-in-law in Eastern Qing had ignored his advice to withdraw her troops.
• Eunuch Hou Bao arrived at the Governor’s Mansion with the transfer order, and Chen Sanshi emerged from closed cultivation to accept his appointment as commander-in-chief for the Western Expedition.

Chen Sanshi arrived in Jia Prefecture and faced off against Han Xiang, a Western Qi commander who treated war as a game of chess. After Han Xiang’s feints and Chen Sanshi’s countermeasures brought the armies to a stalemate, Chen ordered Great Sheng’s 170,000 troops to meet Western Qi’s 300,000 in a head-on battle.

• Chen Sanshi accepted the order to take command in Jia Prefecture and departed with Hongze Camp, while Sun Buqi joined the army as an ordinary soldier.
• Han Xiang sent a clone to meet Chen Sanshi and announced that he viewed their war as a chess game, but Chen declared that his people were alive, not pieces.
• Chen recognized Western Qi’s attack on Yunduan Prefecture as a feint but crossed the Luo River with 120,000 troops, while Tong Xiaochu’s boats and chains stopped Western Qi from burning the bridge.
• Chen’s reinforcements helped drive Western Qi from Yunduan Prefecture, but he refused to pursue into Han Xiang’s suspected ambush and instead ordered the troops back to the city.
• Han Xiang pressured Great Sheng by threatening Fengzhou, forcing Chen to order 170,000 troops to leave Yunduan Prefecture in five days and face Western Qi’s 300,000 in battle.

Chen Sanshi uncovered Ma Zhen’s betrayal and set a risky battle plan, using his central army as bait while the Right Army targeted Western Qi’s flank. As Western Qi’s main force converged on him, Chen Sanshi personally charged into the enemy and fought off its cultivators, ending the chapter facing Sikong Chen.

• Chen Sanshi learned that the Li family had issued a bounty for him and warned Wei Xuan and Song Guizhi to help hold the Right Army.
• The Great Sheng vanguard won an early victory, but Wang Jun discovered that Ma Zhen was sending intelligence to Western Qi.
• Chen Sanshi kept Ma Zhen and the Main Military Tent in place, assigned the army’s formations, and made his central force bait for Han Xiang’s attack.
• Western Qi launched its assault at dawn, and Chen Sanshi led a charge that broke into its overwhelming central force.
• Wang Jun executed Ma Zhen as he attempted to betray Great Sheng, while Han Xiang held Wang Jun back from supporting Chen Sanshi.
• Chen Sanshi killed Yuan Xicheng and another cultivator, then confronted Sikong Chen, who summoned a giant boulder against him.

Chen Sanshi fought through the Western Qi army, killed Sikong Chen, and helped Great Sheng’s forces withdraw after Han Xiang exposed his plan to outflank the enemy. After reviewing their clashes, Chen Sanshi found what he believed was the one flaw in Han Xiang’s strategy.

• Chen Sanshi killed Sikong Chen after his battle strength rose through the slaughter, then rallied the Western Qi soldiers into retreating from him.
• Han Xiang realized Chen Sanshi was baiting Western Qi’s main force while Great Sheng’s Right Army threatened to outflank it at Crushed Stone River, and he ordered his troops to redeploy.
• Great Sheng’s Left Army broke through Western Qi’s Right Army, but Han Xiang’s reinforcements forced the Sheng troops to abandon their advance.
• Chen Sanshi ordered the Great Sheng armies to withdraw into Yunduan Prefecture, and both sides ended the battle with heavy losses.
• After hearing Wang Jun’s account, Chen Sanshi reviewed his encounters with Han Xiang and identified a flaw in his opponent’s strategy.

Chen Sanshi’s retreat from Yunduan Prefecture left Great Sheng’s western campaign in a stalemate as rebellion spread and supplies dwindled. Emperor Longqing’s court negotiated with Falling Leaf Valley, and Yan Liang accepted a bargain that condemned Chen Sanshi and the 150,000 troops at Guandu to death.

• Cao Huan and the court learned that Chen Sanshi’s army had fought Western Qi to a stalemate, while Li He demanded that Emperor Longqing surrender Chen for execution.
• Emperor Longqing learned that Chen Sanshi had concealed his cultivation-world ties, but Yan Liang advised postponing judgment until after the war; Chen continued training and received an order to win before winter.
• Chen Sanshi uncovered threats to his supply lines, responded to rebellions across Jia Prefecture, and withdrew his army east of the Luo River to Guandu despite orders to advance.
• Han Xiang pursued the retreating Great Sheng army, planned to seize the region, and later negotiated with the court through Falling Leaf Valley as both sides faced mounting supply pressures.
• Yan Liang offered Mang Mountain and three western prefectures in exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill, but Zhu Gui demanded the deaths of Guandu’s 150,000 troops and described a plan to trap them.
• After a bell rang in Myriad Longevity Palace, Yan Liang agreed to the bargain that sentenced Chen Sanshi and the 150,000 soldiers to death.

Chen Sanshi’s army was trapped at Guandu after three border prefectures rebelled, even as the court removed him from command for refusing to attack. The revelations in the capital showed that the Emperor had made a secret bargain with Falling Leaf Valley, while Fang Qingyun and Cao Zhi maneuvered around Chen Sanshi’s fate; the battle’s outcome remained uncertain.

• Chen Sanshi continued to hold his troops back, and Guo Fengjie used a Gold Tablet to remove him as commander and appoint Mu Fengchun in his place.
• A surviving supply escort reported that Wu Commandery, Dounan, and Guangyuan had rebelled and attacked his convoy, trapping the Sheng army at Guandu between the rebels and Western Qi.
• Chen Sanshi ordered the rebellion kept secret, requested aid and intelligence, and concluded that the timing of the revolt and the preserved provisions might point to a larger plot.
• In the capital, Yan Liang admitted that he had helped arrange the betrayal of the three prefectures for the Emperor, while Cao Huan and his ministers struggled to respond.
• Cao Zhi asked Fang Qingyun to help rescue Chen Sanshi and bring him to the capital, but Fang refused to speak for his junior brother.
• Fang Qingyun and a Brocade Guard informant discussed evidence against the Emperor and the danger facing the Governor’s Mansion, as Fang declared that its people would no longer remain beneath others’ control.

At Guandu, Chen Sanshi advanced his cultivation while the starving army faced desertion and possible mutiny. After rallying the troops and arranging for the defector Liao Fang to identify Western Qi’s provisions, Chen prepared to lead a dawn raid that he believed would decide the battle.

• Chen Sanshi opened the Spine God Yi Lifu and later the Nose God Zhong Longyu, bringing seven of the Eight Scenery Gods awake, while Cui Zichen offered to take him away from Guandu and Chen refused.
• Chen Sanshi discovered soldiers had robbed villagers for food, ordered the offenders beheaded and the stolen goods returned, then burned secret letters urging officers to surrender and promised victory within fifteen days.
• Chen Sanshi concluded Western Qi’s provisions were most likely stored in Wucheng or Lufu and agreed to Liao Fang’s demands so the strategist would come identify their location.
• Chen Sanshi ordered Chu Shixiong to select fifty riders and prepared to leave Guandu at dawn to attack the enemy and expose Han Xiang’s weakness.

Chen Sanshi raided the Western Qi vanguard, killed Jinyun, and learned from Liao Fang that Wucheng held the enemy’s grain stores. With provisions nearly exhausted, he led twenty-two thousand troops to attack Wucheng while Han Xiang marched on Gengyang Prefecture; the chapter ended as Chen Sanshi launched the assault.

• Chen Sanshi led fifty riders against the Western Qi vanguard, killed General Chai Zuoyuan, and slew Jinyun after revealing his True Force-level strength.
• Han Xiang learned of Chen Sanshi’s breakthrough and ordered forces secretly transferred to Wucheng, while Chen Sanshi’s army faced imminent starvation.
• Cao Zhi told Cao Huan that Du Xiaochen’s children had been secretly brought to the capital, prompting them to suspect a deeper betrayal involving the Yan family.
• Liao Fang arrived and revealed that Western Qi’s provisions were stored in Wucheng, where a True Force martial artist and more than twenty thousand defenders guarded them.
• Chen Sanshi assigned troops to defend Gengyang Prefecture and delay the enemy, then led twenty-two thousand soldiers toward Wucheng.
• Han Xiang chose to attack Gengyang Prefecture rather than reinforce Wucheng, while Chen Sanshi formed the Earth Dragon Formation and ordered his troops to charge the city.

Chen Sanshi led Hongze Camp in an assault on Wucheng and fought Zou Hu while Han Xiang raced from Gengyang to join the battle. After Han Xiang and Zou Hu collapsed the city wall around him, Chen Sanshi survived and broke through to the True Force Realm.

• Mo Xuepeng learned from Han Xiang's letter that Chen Sanshi was approaching Wucheng and rallied the defenders to protect the grain stores.
• Chen Sanshi used the Earth Dragon Formation to bring Hongze Camp to Wucheng, where he broke through the defenses and fought Immortal Aunt Lan and Zou Hu.
• Zou Hu discovered that Chen Sanshi was still using true qi, while Han Xiang learned the same and left Gengyang to reinforce Wucheng.
• Wang Jun stayed to defend Gengyang as Han Xiang's cultivators restrained him, while Hongze Camp began its assault on Wucheng.
• Chen Sanshi battled Zou Hu as Hongze Camp fought on despite heavy losses, until Han Xiang arrived and joined Zou Hu in a pincer attack that collapsed Wucheng's northern wall.
• Han Xiang warned that Chen Sanshi had survived the collapse, and Chen Sanshi unleashed the Fire Element and broke through to True Force.

Chen Sanshi broke through to the True Force Realm, killed Zou Hu and Han Xiang, and captured Wucheng, turning the Western Qi campaign around. Great Sheng recovered the western frontier and reached Chongming Prefecture, where Chen Sanshi reunited with Liao Fang, who demanded that he stop wearing white robes.

• Chen Sanshi awakened all eight Scenery Gods during battle, broke through to the True Force Realm, and used his new fire technique to overwhelm Han Xiang and Zou Hu.
• Zou Hu sacrificed his foundation to launch a final attack, but Chen Sanshi killed him; Chen then exposed Han Xiang's talisman decoy, caught the fleeing Military Immortal, and pierced his heart.
• Chen Sanshi returned to the battlefield with Han Xiang and Zou Hu's heads, prompting Wucheng's defenders to surrender; Western Qi's forces abandoned their siege of Gengyang Prefecture after learning of Han Xiang's death and Wucheng's fall.
• News of Chen Sanshi's victory reached the capital, where Cao Huan and Cao Zhi learned that he had broken through and slain Han Xiang; Emperor Longqing also received the victory report after believing Chen had died at Guandu.
• After Western Qi's retreat, Great Sheng recovered the western frontier, and Chen Sanshi's army advanced to Chongming Prefecture to secure Mangshan.
• Liao Fang greeted Chen Sanshi at Chongming Prefecture and claimed credit for the victory, then scolded him for wearing white robes and demanded that he wear black instead.

After Chen Sanshi’s army defeated Western Qi and captured Mount Mang, the Sheng court stripped him of command and ordered him back to Liangzhou while secretly plotting to bring him under control. Chen Sanshi suspected the court had betrayed his troops for Foundation Establishment Pills, and as his army began the march home, Wei Xuan and his wife joined him.

• Zhu Tong killed Liao Fang with a hammer after Liao Fang insulted Chen Sanshi, and Chen Sanshi ordered Zhu Tong held for judgment; Wang Zhi later reported that Liao Fang had abducted women, and the army entered the city.
• In Daqing, Shen Xizhi told Gu Xinlan she would leave after Foundation Establishment and arrange for Gu Xinlan and Chen Duhe to return to Liangzhou, while officials in the Sheng capital debated how to reward and control Chen Sanshi.
• Emperor Longqing’s advisers devised a plan to strip Chen Sanshi of command, summon him to the capital, and pressure him through his family in Liangzhou.
• After Fang Qingyun’s letter warned him to return home first, Chen Sanshi concluded the court had betrayed his army for Foundation Establishment Pills and surrendered his commander's seal when Guo Fengjie delivered the transfer order.
• Chen Sanshi led Hongze Camp toward Liangzhou with Qu Yuanxiang and Wang Jun assigned as military supervisors, while Zhao Kang and Liu Jinkui freed Zhu Tong and brought him along.
• Wei Xuan and his wife joined Chen Sanshi on the road, saying they had received Spirit-Gazing Fruits and hoped to break through to the True Force Realm.

After the Northern Liang Army withdrew to Liangzhou, Chen Sanshi returned to his family and learned that the court was moving to isolate and summon him to the capital. As Chen and his allies prepared their response, Fang Qingyun and Cao Zhi plotted against the emperor, whose past betrayal of Cao Zhi’s mother drove the prince’s rebellion.

• Lü Ji’s forces ambushed Qin Xiuhai’s retreating army, and Lü Ji completed a blood sacrifice that helped him break through again.
• Xu Wencai received a marquisate and command of three camps, then ordered his army into Liangzhou as the court arranged for Chen Sanshi to enter the capital.
• The court stopped the Azure Dragon and Zhuque Camps at Liangzhou’s border, and Chen Sanshi’s returning family reunited with him in Liangzhou City.
• Chen Sanshi told his senior brothers and sisters to plan before acting and gave them True Martial Pills to help them reach Martial Saint.
• Cao Zhi revealed his plan to attack the emperor during the grand sacrifice, while Fang Qingyun proposed bringing down the Yan Family and preparing a route of retreat.
• Fu Yuanjia agreed to spread evidence of the Three Prefectures Rebellion, and Cao Zhi and Cui Zichen prepared to act in revenge for Nangong Bifan.

Chen Sanshi intervened in a village dispute over spirit grain, received an imperial order elevating him to Duke of Wei and summoning him to the capital, and faced growing pressure from Lu Ji and the court. As he prepared to leave Liangzhou, Fang Qingyun publicly accused the immortals and the Emperor of harming the people, setting off a realm-wide storm against Yan.

• Chen Sanshi stopped Pan Luo from suppressing Qingping Village, dismissed Prefect Wu Youde, and heard villagers explain how spirit-grain levies and poor harvests had driven them toward desperation.
• Eunuch Hou Bao delivered an imperial decree naming Chen Sanshi Duke of Wei and ordering him to enter the capital within five days; Xu Wencai took command of Hongze Camp, and Chen ordered Zhu Tong arrested for execution after autumn.
• Lu Ji warned Chen Sanshi to obey the decree and demonstrated his Incense Godhood when Chen's senior disciples attacked him; Chen told them to keep cultivating while his household packed.
• Sun Buqi agreed to stand with Chen Sanshi despite the dangers, and a secret letter arrived as Chen said the wind was about to rise.
• In the capital, Fang Qingyun blocked Emperor Longqing's procession and presented three memorials condemning spirit-grain levies, the Emperor's rule, and the deaths at Yunzhou and Guandu; petition sheets appeared across the realm and a storm against Yan began.