Chapter Summaries

Zhou Ming strengthened Lin Fort Town’s defenses by hiring cultivator retainers, building a professional army, and developing the Protect the Village School. After creating a powerful crossbow for ordinary soldiers, he began planning its mass production to help them resist cultivators.

• Zhou Ming resolved to defend Lin Fort Town by recruiting retainers, establishing an army, and cultivating local talent.
• Zhou Ming hired Su Yuanlong and Wang Caifeng, a middle Qi Refining couple, and they settled in town with their children.
• Su Yuanlong and Wang Caifeng volunteered as instructors at Protect the Village School, freeing Zhou Ming to organize the Protect the Village Army.
• Zhou Ming selected 150 young hunters and established the disciplined Protect the Village Army after three months of training.
• Zhou Ming developed the Godly Arm Crossbow, which Su Yuanlong said could threaten even a late Qi Refining cultivator if fired in a large volley.
• Zhou Ming named the weapon the Defying Heaven · Immortal Slaughtering Crossbow and decided to pursue mass production.

Zhou Ming decided to build a cement road from Lin Fort Town to Jin Rock City to expand trade and attract immigrants, despite the risks. As the town strengthened its retainers and army, he also began exploring a powerful new weapon based on spirit essence.

• Zhou Ming identified poor roads as a major reason Lin Fort Town could not sell its growing surplus and decided to build a cement road to Jin Rock City.
• Zhou Ming explained that the road would increase trade and help the town’s Immigration Team recruit residents from the city, supporting his goal of growing Lin Fort Town into a city.
• Jiang Ruonan, a powerful new retainer, threatened Zhou Ming with her sword after he tried to refuse her temporary refuge, and he agreed to let her stay.
• Zhou Ming noted that Lin Fort Town’s retainers had increased to seven and its Protect the Village Army had grown to three hundred members.
• Zhou Ming revealed that the town had developed a spirit-essence weapon ten times as powerful as the Godly Arm Crossbow, which even early-stage Qi Refinement cultivators could use.

Over five years, Lin Fort Town completed the Lin-Jin Highway, grew into a powerful town, and began building the walls that would make it Town Lin City. As Zhou Ming discussed Jiang Ruonan’s refusal to leave, a dark cloud carrying a pursuer who sensed her Spirit Soul Body approached from the east.

• The Lin-Jin Highway reached Multi-Deer Town after years of conflict, and Lin Fort Town grew to more than seventy thousand people while gaining strength and influence over nearby forces.
• Zhou Ming planned to recruit thirty thousand workers to finish the city wall and rename Lin Fort Town Town Lin City, while weighing the town’s military strength against the threats beyond it.
• Jiang Ruonan told Zhou Ming she would stay until reaching the Core Solidification Stage, despite his urging her to leave.
• A black cloud raced toward Lin Fort Town as its occupant sensed Jiang Ruonan’s aura and vowed to claim her Spirit Soul Body.

Netherworld Old Ancestor attacked the town while pursuing Jiang Ruonan, and Zhou Ming ordered an evacuation as the Protect the Village Army joined the fight. The soldiers and cultivators were devastated, and Netherworld Old Ancestor seized Jiang Ruonan before a Spiritual Essence Cannon was fired from the city’s western quarter.

• Jiang Ruonan warned Zhou Ming that Netherworld Old Ancestor had arrived, then fled as the Black Cloud struck the gate tower.
• Zhou Ming ordered the townspeople evacuated and allowed the Protect the Village Army to fight after evacuation, while Su Yuanlong, Wang Caifeng, Sword White Robe, and the other guest cultivators attacked Netherworld Old Ancestor.
• Jiang Ruonan returned to battle after Netherworld Old Ancestor grievously injured her friends, and they regrouped to interrupt his attempt to capture her.
• A crossbow bolt injured Netherworld Old Ancestor, so over a thousand Protect the Village Army soldiers and the Sniper Crossbows fired on him; he retaliated and killed every soldier.
• Netherworld Old Ancestor seized the badly injured Jiang Ruonan, while six guest cultivators lay incapacitated and soldiers in the western city prepared to fire the Spiritual Essence Cannon.

Zhou Ming developed Spiritual Essence weapons by using Soul Stones to store mental power, then fired a cannon at Netherworld Old Ancestor as he attacked Lin Fort Town. The blast left the old ancestor gravely wounded, and the Protect the Village Army finished him off.

• Zhou Ming learned that mental power could energize Spiritual Essence Particles and that Soul Stones could store it.
• Zhou Ming bought eleven Soul Stones and led his people in building ten Spiritual Essence Guns and one Spiritual Essence Cannon.
• Zhou Ming ordered the cannon fired at Netherworld Old Ancestor, whose instinct to protect his captive left him unable to escape the shell.
• The cannon blast destroyed Black Cloud and wounded Netherworld Old Ancestor, who fled north after losing a leg, a hand, and an eye.
• A Sniper Crossbow bolt pinned Netherworld Old Ancestor down, and the Protect the Village Army killed him with a volley of bolts.

After Netherworld Old Ancestor’s attack killed 3,183 people in Lin Fort Town, Zhou Ming sent the recovering Jiang Ruonan away to prevent further losses. He later realized Sword White Robe had followed her in hopes of gaining from her Spirit Soul Body, and feared the journey would end in his death.

• Zhou Ming tallied the devastation from the battle, including 3,183 dead, and learned that four of his seven guest retainers had died while Su Yuanlong, Sword White Robe, and Jiang Ruonan survived.
• A week later, Zhou Ming told Jiang Ruonan that the town had paid too high a price for her troubles, and she agreed to leave once she recovered.
• Chen Qi, Fan Qing, and the other students pleaded for Jiang Ruonan to stay, but Zhou Ming rebuked them and ordered them to focus on becoming strong enough to protect others.
• A month later, Jiang Ruonan left Lin Fort Town with Sword White Robe, while Su Yuanlong stayed behind to care for their children and the orphans.
• Zhou Ming told Su Yuanlong that Jiang Ruonan was clever but afraid to face danger alone, and that Sword White Robe had followed her because of her Spirit Soul Body; Su Yuanlong realized Sword White Robe was likely risking his life for her.

After surviving its first crisis, Town Lin City grew rapidly over five years, expanding its population, agriculture, and industry while attracting immigrants through free education. Zhou Ming laid the foundations for future industrial and cultivation advances, and the city’s development continued without interruption.

• Town Lin City completed its walls, became a city of more than one hundred thousand people, and gained the feared reputation of Slaughter Immortal City after Netherworld Old Ancestor was killed there.
• Over the next five years, the population rose to 505,000 as agricultural output, medicinal herb cultivation, and ferocious beast and Mutated Beast breeding expanded.
• Zhou Ming developed large-scale Shine Titanium smelting, providing materials for Steam Engines while reserving greater hopes for Spiritual Energy Engines.
• Zhou Ming enforced nine years of free compulsory education, including cultivation classes, and attracted thousands of students and their families from Jin Rock City and elsewhere.
• Town Lin City’s education system became a major driver of immigration and continued growth, while Zhou Ming grew confident that his forces could become a quasi-high-tech cultivation society within twenty years.

Jin Rock City's ruling families united behind the Gao Family head's plan to blockade Town Lin City, prompting calls for war when the blockade took effect. Zhou Ming rejected an immediate invasion and hinted that he had a more thorough way to deal with the families.

• Jin Rock City's family heads considered ways to stop Town Lin City's growth and concluded that Red Star Mountain's immortals would not intervene without a tempting treasure.
• The Gao Family head proposed blocking Town Lin City goods, barring migration, and stopping Shine Gold Stone sales, and he persuaded the families to unite despite their profitable trade ties.
• Several days later, Wu Bao urged Zhou Ming to send troops against Jin Rock City after its blockade began, and other council members called for taking the city.
• Zhou Ming cautioned that invading Jin Rock City could provoke Red Star Mountain through its cultivating descendants and said he had a more thorough way to deal with the families.

Zhou Ming argued that Town Lin City should offer Jin Rock City a share in Shine Gold smelting, agriculture, and cotton textiles to end their blockade and build cooperation. More than ninety percent of Jin Rock City's families agreed to cooperate, but the Gao Family head introduced a condition that both sides then insisted on adding to the agreement.

• Zhou Ming explained that sharing three industries with Jin Rock City would cut costs, use its farmland and population, and help Town Lin City avoid provoking stronger powers.
• Wu Bao and the other councilors accepted Zhou Ming's reasoning and stopped objecting.
• Town Lin City's representatives negotiated in Jin Rock City and outlined the potential profits from Shine Gold, agriculture, and textiles.
• The Yang Family head agreed to cooperate, prompting more than ninety percent of Jin Rock City's families to abandon the blockade.
• The Gao Family head proposed a condition for continued cooperation, and the other family heads and Town Lin City negotiators agreed it should be considered for the agreement.

Jin Rock City's families eagerly pursued a marriage alliance with Zhang Shanhe, but he publicly refused because he was devoted to Xia Xiaoyan and would not arrange marriages for his children without their consent. His refusal enraged many families, while Gao Xiuzhen rode to Town Lin City to demand an explanation and reunited with Zhou Ming.

• Jin Rock City's families began selecting unmarried daughters to win Zhang Shanhe through a marriage alliance, overlooking that he was already married to Xia Xiaoyan.
• Zhang Shanhe rejected the alliance and declared that he would take no other wife or concubine and would not force his children into marriages.
• Many Jin Rock City family heads felt insulted by the refusal and called for continued resistance and a blockade.
• Gao Xiuzhen packed her belongings and rode toward Town Lin City, determined to confront Zhang Shanhe about his rejection.
• Zhou Ming heard that Wen Xiuzhen had returned, hurried to the reception hall, and greeted Gao Xiuzhen, who was overcome by his familiar voice.

Gao Xiuzhen spent time with Zhou Ming and learned why he rejected Jin Rock City's marriage alliance, including his plans for Town Lin City's government and his own cultivation. After she left and returned, Jin Rock City agreed to resume cooperation, beginning a Twin Cities Alliance that would grow into a powerful nation.

• Gao Xiuzhen set aside her anger and spent several days discussing cultivation and practicing swords with Zhou Ming, though seeing him affectionate with his wife renewed her heartache.
• Gao Xiuzhen asked Zhou Ming why he had refused Jin Rock City's marriage alliance despite the trade boycott and blockade.
• Zhou Ming explained that marriage alliances were unreliable and could let outside families infiltrate Town Lin City, whose election system and shared leadership he wanted to protect.
• Zhou Ming told Gao Xiuzhen he planned to leave city leadership after his term, focus on teaching and cultivation, and seek to become stronger; Gao Xiuzhen said she would grow stronger with him.
• Gao Xiuzhen left Town Lin City and returned two days later, and Jin Rock City sent an envoy on the third day to cancel the marriage requirement, end the blockades, and resume cooperation.
• Zhou Ming accepted the cooperation plan, and Town Lin City and Jin Rock City began a Twin Cities Alliance that would expand into a powerful nation.

After nearly forty years of searching, Shanhe’s parents traveled to Town Lin City, believing the renowned mortal Zhang Shanhe might be their lost son. As they descended toward the city hall, they ignored the city defenders’ warnings, and the Protect the Village Army opened fire.

• The woman in red insisted that the orphaned inventor Zhang Shanhe was their son, while Shiyu doubted they had found him.
• Shiyu and the woman in red flew west in their Sky-Soaring Law Boat and marveled at Jin Rock City’s railways, factories, and prosperous farmland.
• The couple reached Town Lin City and were stunned by its greater size and prosperity, which Zhang Shanhe had built.
• The Sky-Soaring Law Boat descended toward the City Lord’s Mansion despite repeated warnings from the Protect the Village Army.
• The city-defense general ordered the army to attack the law boat.

Town Lin City’s air defenses shot down a dharma boat after its occupants ignored the rules, forcing Shi Yu and his wife to flee. The pair sought an audience with Zhou Ming after suspecting he was their son, and Zhou Ming went to meet them.

• The Protect the Village Army attacked a dharma boat approaching City Hall, and its concentrated weapons fire broke through the vessel’s defenses and brought it down.
• Shi Yu escaped with Qian Hong, while the city defense general ordered the Cultivator Squad to prepare Spiritual Essence Cannons in case the fight continued.
• Shi Yu prepared to attack the city, but Qian Hong stopped him, warning that he might kill their son if the city was truly his territory.
• Shi Yu and Qian Hong landed outside the city and requested an audience with its ruler.
• Zhou Ming learned that the visiting immortals might be his family and told his secretary to receive them in the distinguished guests’ hall before going to meet them.

Zhou Ming reunited with Mei Qianhong and Ying Shiyu, who proved they were his biological parents through the jade pendant he had worn since childhood. With two Immortals now at his side, he considered resisting Red Star Mountain’s demand for tribute.

• Zhou Ming entered the City Lord’s Mansion and recognized that Mei Qianhong and Ying Shiyu looked remarkably like him.
• Mei Qianhong rushed to embrace Zhou Ming and tearfully declared that he was her missing son.
• Zhou Ming asked for proof, and Mei Qianhong and Ying Shiyu identified his jade pendant engraved with “Shanhe” as evidence of their family bond.
• Zhou Ming asked why his parents had taken so long to find him, then accepted their explanation and called Mei Qianhong Mother.
• After the family reunited, Zhou Ming reflected on the jade pendant and his parents’ extraordinary origins.
• Zhou Ming considered that Mei Qianhong and Ying Shiyu could help Town Lin City resist Red Star Mountain’s demand for one billion Spirit Coins in annual tribute.

Zhou Ming suspected Red Star Mountain was preparing to attack Town Lin City because of its wealth and feared strength, and he secretly bought time to prepare. Meanwhile, Ying Shiyu met his grandchildren and tried to persuade Zhou Ming and the children to take the Ying surname, but they all refused for now.

• Zhou Ming reasoned that Red Star Mountain wanted Town Lin City's profits and feared its apparent ability to kill immortals, and he suspected someone had incited the mountain's leaders.
• Zhou Ming sent the Shadow Assassination Squad to intercept Red Star Mountain's messengers and delay their arrival while Town Lin City prepared.
• Mei Qianhong gave gifts to Zhou Ming's seven children and was moved by their modest presents, while Ying Shiyu felt a renewed bond with his family and saw promise in his grandchildren.
• Ying Shiyu urged Zhou Ming to change his surname and his children's surnames from Zhang to Ying, but Zhou Ming said he would wait until stepping down from his roles.
• Ying Shiyu asked the children to take the Ying surname, but they each objected, leaving him deeply disappointed.

After touring Town Lin City and Da Xian Academy, Ying Shiyu was astonished by Zhou Ming’s mortal education system and cultivation results and urged him to move the academy to Yinghua Valley. Zhou Ming refused, revealed plans involving a Spirit Gathering Tower and a conflict with Red Star Mountain, then led Ying Shiyu to a testing ground to show him his next move.

• Zhou Ming showed Ying Shiyu Town Lin City’s farms, factories, government, army, schools, and Da Xian Academy, leaving him impressed by the city’s scale and capabilities.
• Ying Shiyu learned that Da Xian Academy had trained over 1,700 cultivators and produced 58 Liquid Condensation Stage teachers, far surpassing Yinghua Valley’s results.
• Ying Shiyu asked Zhou Ming to move Da Xian Academy to Yinghua Valley and take over the sect, but Zhou Ming said Yinghua Valley should instead merge into the academy.
• Zhou Ming explained that a Spirit Gathering Tower could make the mortal world suitable for cultivation, and said he wanted to confront Red Star Mountain because it planned to annex Town Lin City.
• Ying Shiyu urged Zhou Ming to flee with the city’s people and resources to Yinghua Valley, but Zhou Ming led him to a testing ground to reveal his next plan.

Zhou Ming used Town Lin City’s weapons and negotiations to buy time while secretly preparing for Red Star Mountain’s threat. Ge Qingzi helped lower the tribute to an agreed sum, but Zhou Ming ordered the Shadowless Organization to have him eliminated once the agreement was reached.

• Zhou Ming showed Ying Shiyu the Spiritual Energy Cannons’ destructive power and asked him to bring Yinghua Valley’s disciples to Town Lin City.
• Red Star Mountain learned its first messenger team had been killed, and Ge Qingzi volunteered to lead another delegation to Town Lin City.
• Ge Qingzi arrived with three disciples and demanded one billion Spirit Coins in tribute during negotiations with Town Lin City’s representatives.
• Zhou Ming bribed Ge Qingzi by offering him a share of any reduction in the tribute, shifting Ge Qingzi’s focus from revenge to personal gain.
• After nine rounds of negotiations over nearly two months, Ge Qingzi reduced the annual tribute to two hundred and fifty million Spirit Coins, which both sides accepted.
• Zhou Ming ordered the Shadowless Organization to send intelligence that would prompt Red Star Mountain to get rid of Ge Qingzi.

After Ge Qingzi’s betrayal was exposed, Red Star Mountain rejected Town Lin City’s signed tribute agreement and demanded far more. Negotiations collapsed when Fire Cloudzi discovered Town Lin City had powerful immortal reinforcements, and the city prepared for war.

• Hongyan Daozu killed Ge Qingzi, punished his three disciples, and ordered Fire Cloudzi to demand a tribute of at least one billion Spirit Coins a year from Town Lin City.
• Fire Cloudzi arrived in Town Lin City and demanded two billion Spirit Coins for the first year, but the city’s negotiators insisted that both sides honor their agreement for 250 million annually.
• Fire Cloudzi threatened Town Lin City after its representative refused the new terms and revealed that the city had already killed six immortals.
• Fire Cloudzi sensed two powerful immortals outside the conference room, realized Town Lin City had secured reinforcements, and left with his disciples after negotiations collapsed.
• Ying Shiyu asked Zhou Ming why he had let Fire Cloudzi leave, and Zhou Ming explained that the city needed to preserve its moral standing and unite its people for the coming war.

Zhou Ming prepared Town Lin City and rallied a large force of allies and residents to face Red Star Mountain, while Red Star Mountain sent twelve immortals and their disciples to destroy the city. The chapter ended as Fire Cloudzi spotted dozens of white cones of light rushing toward the law boats and shouted for the expedition to dodge.

• Zhou Ming welcomed more than a hundred powerful friends who had gathered in Town Lin City to help him, though many joked that they had come to watch the fight.
• Zhou Ming counted Town Lin City's forces and weapons, then inspired hundreds of thousands of residents to volunteer and swear to defend their city.
• Nearly thirty percent of Jin Rock City's families sent support to Town Lin City, while the rest planned to stay out of the conflict.
• Fire Cloudzi persuaded eleven other immortals to join the expedition, and Red Star Mountain sent the twelve immortals and 120 disciples toward Town Lin City.
• A member of the expedition mistook Jin Rock City for Town Lin City and struck a farmstead before Fire Cloudzi corrected him.
• As the expedition reached Town Lin City and its members spoke excitedly of plundering it, Fire Cloudzi spotted dozens of white cones of light flying toward their law boats and warned them to dodge.

Town Lin City used Spiritual Essence Cannons to annihilate Red Star Mountain’s punitive force, leaving the city with almost no casualties. After four allied immortals considered leaving because the cannons threatened their status, Zhou Ming persuaded them to stay and embrace the changes ahead.

• The Spiritual Essence Cannons destroyed Red Star Mountain’s twelve Sky-Soaring Law Boats, killing four immortals and most of the disciples while leaving six immortals badly wounded.
• Ying Shiyu prepared to shoot Fire Cloudzi, but Zhao Baige intervened and killed him in a prolonged sword battle, completing Red Star Mountain’s defeat.
• At the victory banquet, Zhou Ming warned Town Lin City’s allies not to underestimate Red Star Mountain, whose main force remained intact.
• The next day, Zhao Baige and three other immortals tried to leave after the Spiritual Essence Cannons made them fear for their place in the new era.
• Zhou Ming urged the four immortals to treat the cannons as a catalyst for new cultivation methods, and Zhao Baige agreed to stay and observe.