Chapter Summaries

Zhao Sheng took control of Wind Feather Hall in Mystic Iron City and began planning to destroy Great Dragon Hall. After Zhou Quan warned him of Great Dragon Hall’s scheme, Zhao Sheng decided to use him in a counterplan.

• Zhao Sheng entered Wind Feather Hall with the Feng Yu Token, while a Great Dragon Hall informant spotted him and went to report to Dragon Lord.
• Zhao Sheng met Chen Shaoang, Feng Bupo, Wan Zhen'er, and Liu Gongyu, then learned about Wind Feather Hall and the major powers in Black Tortoise City.
• Zhao Sheng ordered an invitation sent to the Mining Gang’s leader, saying he would visit in three days.
• Zhou Quan told Zhao Sheng that Third Master of Great Dragon Hall had ordered him to lure Wind Feather Hall members to Yihai Road.
• Zhao Sheng had Chen Shaoang take Zhou Quan into hiding, planning to use his cooperation in a performance in the coming days.

Zhao Sheng joined forces with Ma Dacai to destroy the Great Dragon Hall and secure Wind Feather Hall’s position in Mystic Iron City. He then traveled with Zhou Quan to the City Beneath the Spring, where he settled in Black Tooth Alley and began investigating the Zhou Family.

• Zhao Sheng learned that Zhou Quan came from the Zhou Family of Red Yang Continent, the family he intended to destroy.
• Zhao Sheng met with Mining Gang leader Ma Dacai and arranged a plan to lure the Great Dragon Hall into an ambush at Yihai Road.
• Zhao Sheng and Ma Dacai attacked the Great Dragon Hall, heavily wounding Wang Dalong and driving out the Great Dragon Hall; the Mining Gang ceded benefits to Wind Feather Hall afterward.
• Zhao Sheng traveled with Zhou Quan to the City Beneath the Spring and chose to stay in Zhou Quan’s rented house in Black Tooth Alley.
• Zhou Quan began gathering intelligence for Zhao Sheng about the Zhou Family, whose businesses operated throughout the underground city.

Zhao Sheng sought information on the Zhou Family but found its confidential records sealed, so he devised a plan targeting Zhou Zhongyu. After spending three months preparing wine and other ingredients, he returned to the City Beneath the Spring and ordered a feast, where his plan was about to begin.

• Zhao Sheng paid Kuai Zai Pavilion for information on the Zhou Family, then learned that an Earth Grade Confidentiality Order blocked its confidential records.
• Zhao Sheng bought outdated public information and concluded that the Zhou Family's strength made direct confrontation impossible.
• Zhao Sheng took Zhou Quan to Mystic Iron City, then ordered the Four Vajras to gather wines, medicinal ingredients, spices, and other supplies.
• Zhao Sheng spent three months secluded in Wind Feather Hall, then left Mystic Iron City after telling Chen Shaoang and the others not to disturb him over minor matters.
• Zhao Sheng returned to the City Beneath the Spring, ordered a feast at the Immortal Delicacies Restaurant, and took out a white jade gourd.

Zhao Sheng befriended Zhou Zhongyu over their shared love of wine and quietly gathered secrets about the Zhou Family. More than ten years later, Zhou Zhongyu traveled through a Black Sandstorm toward Moon Spring Oasis when his lookout spotted something unexpected.

• Zhao Sheng lured Zhou Zhongyu into friendship by sharing his spirit wines and used their drinking sessions to learn about the Zhou Family.
• Zhao Sheng learned that Zhou Zhongyu belonged to the Zhou Family and had reached the sixth level of Foundation Establishment.
• Zhao Sheng repeatedly got Zhou Zhongyu drunk, memorized his complaints and disclosures about the Zhou Family, and used his connections to meet other Zhou Family cultivators.
• More than ten years later, Zhou Zhongyu traveled aboard a flying boat through a weakening Black Sandstorm toward Moon Spring Oasis.
• The lookout cried out in alarm after spotting something, and Zhou Zhongyu flashed to his side.

Zhou Zhongyu discovered an ancient cultivator’s cave and took a Dragon Pearl and a Golden Ring Spirit Earthworm shell before Zhao Sheng revealed he had witnessed the find. A month later, Zhou Zhongyu prepared to leave for Red Yang Continent, and Zhao Sheng asked whether his family was accepting guest retainers.

• Zhou Zhongyu spotted a colossal creature in a Black Sandstorm, then suspected it was a Sand Magnetic Mirage and ordered his flying boat toward the location.
• Zhou Zhongyu found an excavated cave and discovered a skeleton, a Dragon Pearl, and a Golden Ring Spirit Earthworm shell in its deepest Stone Room.
• Zhou Zhongyu took the Dragon Pearl, whose essence had mostly leaked away, and removed the insect shell before leaving the cave.
• Zhao Sheng emerged from a concealed place in the Stone Room after Zhou Zhongyu left, holding a True Image Orb.
• One month later, Zhou Zhongyu told Zhao Sheng he was returning to Red Yang Continent and would not come back.
• Zhao Sheng asked whether Zhou Zhongyu’s family was still accepting guest retainers, and Zhou Zhongyu reacted with surprise and delight.

Zhao Sheng left Guiyuan Sect and became the Zhou Family’s chief guest elder, winning its trust while secretly pursuing his long-term plans. A year later, in Yong Capital for the Ten Thousand Treasures Auction, he learned the family wanted him to bid discreetly on a Golden Ring Spirit Earthworm.

• Zhao Sheng told Zhou Zhongyu that the Blood Soul Sutra had consumed his lifespan, and Zhou Zhongyu agreed to bring him into the Zhou Family as a guest elder.
• After settling Wind Feather Hall’s affairs, Zhao Sheng traveled with Zhou Zhongyu to Red Yang Continent and became the Zhou Family’s chief guest elder.
• Zhao Sheng gave the Zhou Family talismans and spirit wine, accepted disciples, and built a generous reputation while the family investigated his background and found his story consistent.
• A year later, Zhou Zhongyu brought Zhao Sheng to Yong Capital’s Ten Thousand Treasures Trade Fair to act as the Zhou Family’s hidden hand.
• Zhou Zhongyu handed Zhao Sheng a note whose first entry was Golden Ring Spirit Earthworm.

Zhao Sheng attended a small Chen Yi Auction on behalf of the Zhou Family, which had tasked him with securing several treasures, especially the Golden Ring Spirit Earthworm. The ordinary lots sold before Mo Yunji unveiled the earthworm as the first grand finale treasure, leaving the bidders eager to learn of its connection to the extinct Mountain Dragon.

• Zhao Sheng agreed to bid on the Zhou Family’s behalf and accepted a Storage Bag of Spirit Stones from Zhou Zhongyu.
• A maid led Zhao Sheng through a hidden entrance to the Chen Yi Auction, where Mo Yunji welcomed him into a hall filled with cultivators and attendants.
• Mo Yunji opened the auction and sold a series of rare items, while Zhao Sheng waited without bidding.
• After the ordinary lots ended, Mo Yunji presented the Golden Ring Spirit Earthworm and asked the crowd whether they knew of the extinct Mountain Dragon.
• A cultivator asked if the Mountain Dragon had been a long-lived dragon descendant that could rival a Nascent Soul, and Zhao Sheng watched the crowd react.

Zhao Sheng used the Golden Ring Spirit Earthworm auction to provoke wealthy bidders and sold the creature for 150,000 Spirit Stones, then accepted the Mo Family’s offer to buy the remaining Spirit Earthworms at the same price. As the Ten Thousand Treasures Auction neared its end, new intelligence reached the Black Ice Platform in Yong Capital.

• Mo Yunji introduced the Golden Ring Spirit Earthworm and opened bidding, which quickly climbed past thirty thousand Spirit Stones.
• Zhao Sheng bid sixty thousand, then competed with Hua Hong and two other bidders until he won the Golden Ring Spirit Earthworm for 150,000 Spirit Stones.
• Zhao Sheng secretly met Zhou Zhongyu after the auction and suspected the Zhou Family had planted agents there.
• Over the next month, Zhao Sheng attended auctions to mislead the Zhou Family’s people while secretly settling accounts for Spirit Stones.
• A Late Stage Foundation Establishment member of the Mo Family apologized, waived the commission, and offered to buy Zhao Sheng’s remaining Spirit Earthworms for 150,000 Spirit Stones; Zhao Sheng accepted.
• The day before the Ten Thousand Treasures Auction ended, a True Image Orb carrying intelligence arrived at the Black Ice Platform in Yong Capital’s Five Weapons Workshop.

Zhao Sheng used years of careful deception to gain the Zhou Family’s trust while preparing to destroy it, then decided the time had come to advance his plan. The chapter ended as Zhou Yingze received Zhao Sheng’s request for a meeting.

• The Mo Family began a frantic search after receiving secret intelligence about a possible Mountain Dragon Dragon Pearl, alarming the Great Yong Dynasty’s other forces.
• Zhao Sheng returned to Zhou City and spent two years cultivating the Zhou Family’s trust by living as a kindly, unambitious elder and teaching his disciples.
• Zhao Sheng discovered and studied the rare Water Refining Pill Conception method in the Zhou Family Scripture Pavilion.
• Zhao Sheng reflected that he had just over ten years left to live and decided his preparations were nearly complete.
• Zhao Sheng sent Zhou Yingze a Water Ripple Flying Note requesting a meeting, and Zhou Yingze ordered a servant to invite him in.

Zhao Sheng left Zhou City, traveled to Yong Capital, and used public auctions and consignment shops to draw attention to himself. He was captured and brought to the Black Ice Platform, where a Golden Core True Person questioned him and Zhao Sheng gave his name as Zhao Zhiqin.

• Zhao Sheng told Zhou Yingze he planned to visit his homeland for one or two years, then left Zhou City three days later.
• Zhao Sheng consigned his Small Mountain Seal at Ten Thousand Treasures Market to attract the attention of certain people.
• Zhao Sheng bid on many auction items and consigned several more treasures over the following days.
• A bald Golden Core True Person subdued Zhao Sheng after an auction and took him to the Black Ice Platform of Five Weapons Workshop.
• A middle-aged Golden Core True Person surrounded by a blood-red-eyed phenomenon asked Zhao Sheng his name, and Zhao Sheng answered, "Zhao Zhiqin."

Zhao Sheng told Mo Shengxuan that the Zhou Family had commissioned him to buy the Golden Ring Spirit Earthworm, then used his genuine feud with the family to steer the Black Ice Platform’s suspicions toward them. He left Mo Shengxuan believing the Zhou Family might possess the Dragon Pearl, while Zhao Sheng’s backup evidence was set to reach the Black Ice Platform if he failed to escape.

• Zhao Sheng admitted that he had bought a Golden Ring Spirit Earthworm for the Zhou Family of Red Yang Continent, and Mo Shengxuan’s Golden Core true intent briefly froze him.
• Zhao Sheng said he was a guest elder of the Zhou Family but had a deep blood feud with them, and Mo Shengxuan’s Void Piercing True Eye confirmed his statements were truthful.
• Zhao Sheng recounted how the Zhou Family destroyed the Wang Family and how he infiltrated them, omitting details that could expose his deception.
• Zhao Sheng reasoned that the Mo Family would treat the Zhou Family as a threat because they might possess the Dragon Pearl and could raise a Mountain Dragon.
• Zhao Sheng revealed that he had arranged for a copy of a True Image Orb recording to reach the Black Ice Platform if he did not escape, then swore he would risk his life to destroy the Zhou Family.

Zhao Sheng was assigned to infiltrate the Zhou Family alongside three Five Elements Envoys after the Dragon Pearl was traced to Zhou Zhongyu. He revealed that his specially bred Bloodthirsty Mosquitoes could help the group track the Zhou Family members targeted for surveillance.

• After half a month under guard, Zhao Sheng was brought before Mo Shengxuan, who offered to send him back to the Zhou Family as an infiltrator, and Zhao readily agreed.
• Mo Shengxuan introduced the three Five Elements Envoys: Metal Envoy Mo Ruowu, Earth Envoy He Ying, and Fire Envoy Bao Yuer.
• Mo Shengxuan gave the group a Jade Slip listing sixty-seven important Zhou Family members and ordered them to monitor everyone before the final assault.
• When He Ying questioned how four people could watch so many targets, Zhao Sheng explained that spirit wine he had tampered with left a traceable Blood Spirit Qi in those who drank it.
• Zhao Sheng revealed that he had spent over ten years breeding nearly a hundred Bloodthirsty Mosquitoes that could detect the scent of his essence blood and track the marked cultivators.

After returning to Red Yang Continent, Zhao Sheng faced Zhou Zhongyu’s probing questions about which disciple might inherit his legacy, then reported to the Black Ice Platform. He learned that the platform’s agents were focused on Boiling Spring Valley, the Zhou Family’s guarded ancestral retreat and likely site for cultivating Golden Ring Spirit Earthworms.

• Zhou Zhongyu held Zhao Sheng a welcome feast and tried to discover which disciple he favored as a potential heir.
• Zhao Sheng praised Zhou Qingwu’s aptitude but said Zhou Qingli was more diligent and Zhou Yunmin more devoted to talismans, adding that none was the most suitable to inherit his mantle.
• After several days of visiting Zhou Family figures, Zhao Sheng went to the Hundred Li Crisp shop and met He Ying in its underground chamber.
• Zhao Sheng gave He Ying a Jade Butterfly containing intelligence on the Zhou Family, and He Ying explained that the Black Ice Platform already had long-standing spies inside the family.
• He Ying said the agents’ main task was to investigate Boiling Spring Valley, which Zhao Sheng recognized as the Zhou Family’s secretive, heavily guarded ancestral retreat.

Zhao Sheng watched Black Ice Platform weaken the Zhou Family through political favors and scattered deployments while waiting for a chance to infiltrate Boiling Spring Valley. As the Zhou Family sensed danger and sent its promising juniors there for protection, He Ying summoned Zhao Sheng to meet Mo Wushuang and Bao Yuer, along with an unfamiliar monk.

• Zhao Sheng stopped actively seeking intelligence and returned to his established routine, suspecting Black Ice Platform still regarded him as cannon fodder.
• Zhou Shi became Crown Princess, and Zhou Zhonghang led the Fire Wolf Army to guard Black Sand Continent as the Zhou Family expanded its influence.
• Zhao Sheng suspected Black Ice Platform was using the Zhou Family’s new posts and growing business to disperse its strength.
• The Zhou Family’s industries came under attack, the Crown Prince’s position weakened, and three Foundation Establishment clansmen were sent to Yong Capital at Zhou Shi’s request.
• The Zhou Family Ancestor ordered Zhou Qingwu, Zhou Qingli, and other juniors to enter Boiling Spring Valley, which Zhao Sheng suspected was meant to protect them.
• He Ying summoned Zhao Sheng to the intelligence station, where he found Mo Wushuang, Bao Yuer, and a bald monk waiting.

Zhao Sheng helped Formless Monk infiltrate Boiling Spring Valley by luring Zhou Qingli out, where the monk used the Formless Avatar Great Art to take his place. After the Spirit Stone War began, Zhao Sheng learned that the Slaughter Wolf Operation would soon begin, with the Five Elements Envoys preparing to enter the valley and receive Formless Monk.

• He Ying introduced Formless Monk as the Water Element Envoy, and the monk asked Zhao Sheng to lure Zhou Qingli out so he could infiltrate Boiling Spring Valley.
• Zhao Sheng summoned his disciples under the pretext of giving them talismans, and Formless Monk transformed into Zhou Qingli and left for the valley.
• The Great Zhen Buddhist Army attacked Black Sand Continent, beginning the thirty-second Spirit Stone War and tying down the Fire Wolf Army.
• He Ying told Zhao Sheng that the Slaughter Wolf Operation would begin in seven days and that their objective was to enter Boiling Spring Valley and meet Formless Monk.
• Zhao Sheng distributed his twelve remaining Bloodthirsty Mosquitoes, and He Ying hinted that the court would publicly accuse the Zhou Family before moving against them.

Zhao Sheng learned that the Zhou Family had received the Crown Prince’s Blood Robe Edict and recognized the coup as a trap targeting the family. Zhou Yingze sent Zhao Sheng and three clan elders toward Yong Capital, where the effeminate Crown Prince confidant ordered them to act as their cloudship crossed a rocky field.

• Zhou Yingze presented the Blood Robe Edict, which called loyalists to rescue the Emperor and set the Crown Prince’s coup for the following midnight.
• Zhao Sheng recognized that the coup was a conspiracy connected to the Slaughter Wolf Operation and predicted that it would implicate and destroy the Zhou Family.
• Zhou Yingze split the family over whether to back the Crown Prince, then ordered three supporting clan elders, one hundred Qi Refinement clansmen, and Zhao Sheng to travel to Yong Capital.
• A gray cloudship carried the group out of Red Yang Continent and into the Heavenly Wasteland Gobi.
• Zhao Sheng sensed a flood of information as the cloudship crossed a rocky field, and the effeminate man turned to him and ordered the group to act.

After the Crown Prince’s coup failed, the Zhou Family learned that Zhou Zhonglu had been implicated in the Emperor’s assassination and faced the threat of the Mo Family. Zhou Yingze conveyed the Ancestor’s order to abandon pawns, concede losses, and seek an alliance with the other three great families.

• Zhao Sheng learned that Eunuch Huai was a Black Ice Platform spy and watched him depart for Yong Capital with the cloud vessel.
• He Ying and Bao Yuer set out for Red Yang Continent, while Zhao Sheng offered Mo Wushuang a ride and Mo Wushuang accepted.
• The Zhou Family learned that the Crown Prince’s coup had failed and that he had been stripped of his title and imprisoned.
• The Zhou Family received word that Zhou Zhonglu had been identified among the assassins who attacked the Emperor.
• Zhou Yingze told the panicking elders that the Ancestor ordered them to abandon pawns, concede losses, gather their forces, and unite the four families against the Mo Family.

After the Crown Prince’s failed rebellion and the Emperor’s reported death left the Zhou Family facing accusations of treason, Zhou Yingze sought help from the great families. At Boiling Spring Valley, Hua Xinyan confronted Zhou Xilai over the Dragon Pearl, but the supposedly dead Holy Emperor Mo Wenda appeared with power that astonished both Golden Core cultivators.

• Zhou Yingze learned that the Crown Prince’s rebellion had failed and that rumors blamed the Zhou Shi for treason and the Emperor’s assassination.
• After news arrived that the Emperor had died and the Second Prince had taken the throne, Zhou Yingze sought aid from the other great families; the Wu and Yan families agreed, but the Hua Family gave no reply.
• Zhou Yingze sent an urgent talisman letter to Zhou Xilai at Boiling Spring Valley.
• Hua Xinyan confronted Zhou Xilai and demanded the Dragon Pearl, showing him an image of Zhou Zhongyu picking it up.
• Zhou Xilai revealed that Mo Wen Dao was nearby, and the supposedly dead Holy Emperor emerged from the flames with an aura that seemed to conceal Nascent Soul Mana.

Zhou Xilai realized the Mo Family was attacking the Zhou Family and tried to alert Zhou City, but the Profound Nether Guard arrived and its assault began before the Zhou Family could respond. As He Ying, Zhao Sheng, and Bao Yuer headed toward Boiling Spring Valley, a clash erupted above the valley.

• Zhou Xilai sent Zhou Yingze a warning to activate Zhou City's Defense Array, while Mo Wen Dao secretly sent a message of his own.
• Hua Xinyan blocked Zhou Xilai from attacking Mo Wen Dao, and Mo Wen Dao blamed the Zhou Family for the Crown Prince's rebellion.
• Zhou Xilai saw flames erupt over Zhou City and attacked Mo Wen Dao, realizing the Mo Family had struck first.
• He Ying learned the Profound Nether Guard had arrived and moved the Slaughter Wolf Operation forward, then led Zhao Sheng and Bao Yuer toward Boiling Spring Valley.
• He Ying chose to leave the Profound Nether Guard to attack Zhou City, citing Wushuang's presence there, but the sky above Boiling Spring Valley ignited and filled with cold white mist.

Zhao Sheng and He Ying fled a devastating attack that froze Boiling Spring Valley, then searched the Zhou Family’s empty underground city for the Formless Monk. They discovered Golden Core True Persons fighting nearby and retreated as the battle began collapsing the tunnels around them.

• He Ying warned Zhao Sheng and Bao Yuer to dodge as Mo Wen Dao’s power froze Boiling Spring Valley, and Zhao Sheng escaped with a blood-red burst of speed.
• Mo Wen Dao arrived, searched the area, and vanished after declaring that his target could not escape.
• Zhao Sheng returned to find He Ying emerging from underground, and the two headed into the valley to reinforce the Formless Monk while Bao Yuer remained missing.
• Zhao Sheng and He Ying searched the empty Zhou Family underground city and descended through increasingly hot tunnels.
• They heard the Formless Monk scream as nearby Golden Core True Persons began a lethal battle that shook and collapsed the underground passages.
• He Ying ordered Zhao Sheng to retreat five li, and Zhao Sheng followed despite wondering if they should flee farther.