Chapter Summaries

Xiao Bai consolidated control of Mingyue Mountain and prepared to expand his power against nearby Black Bandit factions. He renamed his faction the Bright Cult and awaited Hai Bodong’s weapons and support.

• Xiao Bai used the Three Corpse Brain God Pill to control the Black Bandits and took charge of Mingyue Mountain.
• Xiao Bai ordered Dai Lin to gather intelligence on nearby factions and secretly locate their hideouts and treasure vaults.
• Xiao Bai told Hai Bodong to bring rocket launchers and other weapons from Wutan City for the coming campaign.
• Xiao Bai assessed the faction’s money and supplies and planned to open a Black Corner Region Auction House with Hai Bodong’s help.
• Xiao Bai chose the name Bright Cult for his faction and summoned Ma Li.

Xiao Bai questioned Ma Li about hiring powerful experts and decided to delay recruiting them until Hai Bodong arrived, while preparing intelligence for a campaign against nearby factions. Seven days later, Hai Bodong appeared above Mingyue Mountain, and Xiao Bai sensed his arrival.

• Ma Li told Xiao Bai that hiring Dou Wang experts was difficult without an offer powerful enough to tempt them, and advised against recruiting them.
• Xiao Bai abandoned his plan to lure in Dou Ling and Dou Wang experts, ordering Ma Li to gather intelligence on the factions before Elder Hai arrived.
• Xiao Bai revealed that Elder Hai was Hai Bodong, the Ice Emperor, and Ma Li realized the Black Corner Region was about to change.
• Xiao Bai cultivated while seven days passed, then sensed Hai Bodong arriving above Mingyue Mountain.

Xiao Bai ordered Hai Bodong, Dai Lin, and Ma Li to subdue nearby forces, control their leaders, and claim most of their assets. They began with Golden Gate, where Hai Bodong arrived with the others and Xiao Bai’s demand to rename it the Bright Cult left Lu Renyi facing an unexpected order.

• Xiao Bai reviewed intelligence on rival forces and assigned Dai Lin to lead, Hai Bodong to overcome resistance, and Ma Li to administer the Three Corpse Brain God Pill before bringing captives to him.
• Xiao Bai ordered Hai Bodong to tally each force’s assets and give him eighty percent.
• Hai Bodong, Dai Lin, and Ma Li chose Golden Gate as their first target and flew there together.
• Lu Renyi learned that a powerful visitor had arrived and went to greet Hai Bodong cautiously.
• Hai Bodong told Lu Renyi to change Golden Gate’s name to the Bright Cult.

Lu Renyi joined Xiao Bai’s Bright Cult and surrendered most of Golden Gate’s wealth in exchange for a pill that strengthened his Dou Qi. Hai Bodong returned with resources and new followers, while the Cult’s campaign to absorb nearby factions continued.

• Ma Li told Lu Renyi that Golden Gate would be destroyed unless he joined the Bright Cult, and Lu Renyi agreed.
• Ma Li demanded ninety percent of Lu Renyi’s wealth and gave him the Three Corpse Brain God Pill Version 2.0, which Lu Renyi swallowed.
• Hai Bodong collected Golden Gate’s resources and told Lu Renyi to report to Moonbright Mountain in three days before flying off with Dai Lin and Ma Li.
• Xiao Bai surveyed the resources Hai Bodong had gathered and heard that the Hungry Wolf Gang had surrendered after its leaders were wiped out.
• Hai Bodong captured White Horse Hall’s two-star Dou Wang Hall Master Liu Yiyi and assigned her to handle factions led by Dou Lings.

Xiao Bai consolidated the Bright Cult around Mingyue Mountain, sent Hai Bodong and three Dou Wangs to infiltrate the Black Skull Tomb, and began planning a city headquarters. Hai Bodong’s group reached Skeleton City, bringing them closer to starting their operation.

• Xiao Bai ordered the Bright Cult’s new members to bring their forces to Mingyue Mountain and establish it as their headquarters.
• Xiao Bai assigned Hai Bodong, Liu Yiyi, and two other Dou Wangs to investigate the Black Skull Tomb and recruit its members by capturing and controlling them.
• Xiao Bai summoned architects to plan Bright Moon City and proposed a giant statue of himself as its landmark.
• Hai Bodong and the three Dou Wangs traveled to Skeleton City and entered after paying the fee.

Hai Bodong and his companions quietly infiltrated Black Skull Tomb, recruited much of its force, and prepared the way for Xiao Bai to take over. After receiving their report, Xiao Bai set out to claim the territory and meet Black Skeleton.

• Hai Bodong assigned Liu Yiyi and the others to gather intelligence while keeping their mission discreet.
• The group learned that Black Skeleton was a three-star Dou Emperor with six Dou Wang subordinates and chose to target four of them first.
• Liu Yiyi proposed exploiting Elder Wang Xin’s affair, and Dou Wang Number Two suggested using his lover to lure him into an ambush.
• Hai Bodong captured Wang Xin, then used him to draw in the other three targets and persuade many of their subordinates to switch sides.
• Hai Bodong sent Xiao Bai a report through a ball of light, and Xiao Bai praised the mission’s success.
• Xiao Bai decided to set out for Black Skull Tomb to take over the territory and meet Black Skeleton.

Xiao Bai brought his forces to Skeleton City to seize it, prompting the city’s leaders and Black Skeleton to prepare for a confrontation. He faced Black Skeleton at the city wall and demanded that he surrender the city, which Xiao Bai planned to rename White City.

• Xiao Bai’s army arrived outside Skeleton City, and a gate guard reported the force to an elder, who suspected it belonged to the Cult Master.
• Old Luo told people gathered in a hidden room about the army, and news of its arrival spread through the city.
• Black Skeleton heard that a force had arrived and led his experts to the city wall to meet it.
• Xiao Bai praised Hai Bodong and promised him a breakthrough pill that could help him become a Dou Zong after their affairs in the Black Corner Region were settled.
• Black Skeleton sensed a powerful Dou Emperor among Xiao Bai’s forces and assigned Bai Gu to handle the other fighters if he was occupied.
• Xiao Bai told Black Skeleton to leave and announced that he was taking over Skeleton City and renaming it White City.

Xiao Bai’s forces defeated Black Skeleton’s men while Hai Bodong fought Black Skeleton in the sky. After Liu Yiyi was injured, Xiao Bai sentenced Bai Gu and Black Bone to be burned in his Light Prison, leaving the onlookers frightened by its power.

• Black Skeleton charged at Hai Bodong, and the two fought high above the battlefield.
• Bai Gu and Black Bone were struck down by the four men who had secretly joined Xiao Bai, while the subdued Dou Lings defeated the rest of Black Skeleton’s forces.
• The four men swore allegiance to Xiao Bai as Cult Master, and Bai Gu and Black Bone realized they had fallen into a trap.
• Liu Yiyi landed injured after intervening in the battle between Dou Emperors, and Xiao Bai ordered her taken away to recover.
• Xiao Bai trapped Bai Gu and Black Bone in Light Prisons, where white flames began burning their bodies and souls.

Xiao Bai defeated Black Skeleton Tomb and offered its captured master a chance to join the Bright Cult. Black Skeleton surrendered to avoid execution, but Xiao Bai implanted a diamond-shaped block of ice in his heart, leaving his fate unclear.

• Liu Yiyi delayed Black Skeleton's escape, allowing Hai Bodong to trap him in ice and defeat him.
• Xiao Bai offered the captured Black Skeleton a place in the Bright Cult, but Black Skeleton initially refused.
• Xiao Bai threatened to kill Black Skeleton and his family, then summoned a powerful angelic figure and formed a Sword of Light.
• Fearing death, Black Skeleton surrendered and knelt before Xiao Bai.
• Xiao Bai told Black Skeleton not to resist and plunged a diamond-shaped block of ice into his heart, leaving Black Skeleton in shock.

After subduing Black Skeleton and taking the Black Skull Tomb’s treasury, Xiao Bai felt empty despite his new wealth. He realized he wanted someone to share his happiness with and thought of Xiao Yi Xian, whom he loved and had promised to meet again.

• Xiao Bai used a Life and Death Talisman to control Black Skeleton, renamed him Hei Yi, and intimidated the others into submission.
• Hei Yi comforted Bai Gu and Black Bone after Xiao Bai released them, and Xiao Bai arranged his new subordinates.
• Xiao Bai looted the Black Skull Tomb’s treasury and asked Hai Bodong to prepare an inventory of its treasures.
• Xiao Bai secluded himself for three days, searching for the reason his wealth and growing power had not made him happy.
• Xiao Bai realized he wanted to share his happiness with someone and remembered Xiao Yi Xian, whom he loved.

After Xiao Bai took control of White City, news of Black Skull Tomb’s defeat spread across the Black Corner Region. Fan Ling plotted to have Xiao Bai assassinated, while other factions prepared to investigate the Bright Cult’s intentions.

• Reports said Black Skeleton had surrendered Black Skull Tomb to the Bright Cult after losing to Xiao Bai, and Fan Lao decided to visit White City with Fan Ling in three days.
• Fan Lao compared Fan Ling unfavorably to Xiao Bai, provoking Fan Ling’s jealousy and determination to prove himself.
• Fan Ling gave Old Luo a Storage Ring and ordered him to hire the assassins Black and White Impermanence to kill Xiao Bai.
• Fan Ling planned to lure the assassins with a small cauldron, concealing that it could reliably refine a pill only once each month.
• Other Black Corner Region factions also planned to visit White City to assess the Bright Cult and learn whether it intended to expand.

Black and White Impermanence entered White City to plan an assassination of Xiao Bai, while Xiao Bai cultivated at the City Lord’s Manor and learned that factions from the Black Corner Region had arranged a meeting. The chapter ended with the meeting set for two days later.

• Black and White Impermanence rented a room at Myriad Fragrance Inn and Black Impermanence applied medicine to White Impermanence’s disfigured face.
• Black Impermanence vowed to heal White Impermanence and said he would kill Xiao Bai if given the chance, then take her to Central Continent.
• Black and White Impermanence learned that Xiao Bai commanded two Dou Emperors, nine Dou Wangs, and many Dou Lings, and White Impermanence began planning how to assassinate him and escape.
• Xiao Bai broke through his bottleneck and entered the Dou Ling realm as he prepared to grow stronger and find Xiao Yi Xian.
• Hai Bodong told Xiao Bai that the factions of the Black Corner Region had sent visiting invitations and that their meeting was scheduled for two days later.

Xiao Bai arranged for a stand-in to meet the Black Corner Region factions visiting White City while he stayed hidden and cultivated. At the banquet, Hai Bodong promised to lead the guests to Xiao Bai after they had eaten, while two guests secretly watched from the far end of the table.

• Xiao Bai told Hai Bodong to welcome the visiting factions at the City Lord's Manor and use a lookalike behind a curtain in his place.
• Hai Bodong prepared White City for the visitors as the city's residents and merchants anticipated the crowds and business.
• The major factions arrived with gifts, and Xiao Bai hid nearby while his subordinates announced each gift aloud.
• Hai Bodong hosted the guests at a banquet, and Fan Lao asked to meet Xiao Bai.
• Hai Bodong said he would take the guests to see Xiao Bai after the meal, while two people at the far end of the table watched with flickering eyes.

After the Cult Master refused to meet Fan Lao privately, Black and White Impermanence devised a plan to infiltrate the Bright Cult and get close to Xiao Bai. The next day, they applied to join as down-and-out Dou Wangs.

• Hai Bodong escorted the visitors to meet the Cult Master, who told them to enjoy White City and said Hai Bodong spoke for him.
• Fan Lao challenged Black Skeleton, but the Cult Master refused to speak with Fan Lao directly, and the visitors left.
• Fan Ling blamed Black and White Impermanence for failing to act, while Fan Lao left angry over how they had been treated.
• Black and White Impermanence learned that the City Lord's Manor was heavily guarded and decided to infiltrate the Bright Cult as refugees.
• Black and White Impermanence posed as down-and-out Dou Wangs and spent half an hour completing the Cult's application forms.

Black and White Impermanence tried to join the Bright Cult as internal members so they could get close to Xiao Bai, but their path began with memorizing a hundred cult articles and taking a strict written exam. They entered the examination room and heard rules that made cheating nearly impossible.

• Black and White Impermanence registered as five-star Dou Wangs and received tokens numbered One and Two.
• They learned that passing a written test and interview could make them internal members, giving them a chance to meet the Bright Cult's higher-ups.
• The pair read the hundred articles by Taibai and reluctantly memorized them to pursue their mission.
• An attendant summoned them to an exam room with eighteen candidates and eighteen invigilators.
• The invigilators announced strict anti-cheating rules, leaving even Black Impermanence's plan to cheat in doubt.

Black Impermanence and White Impermanence took the Bright Cult recruitment exam, but White Impermanence excelled while Black Impermanence failed to qualify for the inner ranks. After White Impermanence also topped the interview, they waited to learn their assignments, and Black Impermanence was posted as a city gate defense intern.

• Black Impermanence improvised answers during the written exam while White Impermanence focused on her paper.
• White Impermanence ranked first with eighty-five points, while Black Impermanence placed fifteenth with twenty-five, leaving her responsible for the planned assassination.
• Black Impermanence told White Impermanence that bribing gatekeepers could have bypassed the written exam and arranged an interview with the Cult Master.
• White Impermanence ranked first in the interview, giving her a chance to meet the Cult Master, and she and Black Impermanence prepared for the opportunity.
• A white-bearded official read out the remaining recruits' assignments, announcing that Chang Hei would serve as a city gate defense intern.

Chang Hei and Chang Bai accepted assignments in the Bright Cult while seeking a way to reach its mysterious Cult Master. At night, Hei Yi brought Xiao Bai news about the assassins Black and White Impermanence.

• Chang Hei protested being assigned to guard the gate, then told the crowd he was dissatisfied that they remained interns rather than official Bright Cult members.
• An elder explained that recruits had to earn the trust of everyone at their workplace before the Cult Master would accept them as family and grant them membership.
• Chang Hei realized that winning recognition at the city gate could bring him face-to-face with the Cult Master, so he accepted the gate duty and worked to earn his coworkers’ approval.
• Chang Bai joined the women’s dance troupe, practiced dancing and cultivation, and investigated information while wearing a mask provided by her troupe leader.
• Xiao Bai cultivated Light Dou Qi by candlelight until Hei Yi entered and reported that he had discovered something about the ranked assassins Black and White Impermanence.

Xiao Bai summoned Chang Bai after learning that assassins were likely targeting him, while Hei Yi secretly gathered guards for the meeting. Chang Bai arrived at the Worship Hall torn between her mission and her growing admiration for Xiao Bai, who began questioning her.

• Hei Yi warned Xiao Bai that the assassins were likely targeting him, and Xiao Bai arranged to meet Chang Bai, the top scorer in both the written test and interview.
• Hei Yi recruited four former Dou Wang subordinates and Liu Yiyi to protect Xiao Bai during the meeting.
• Chang Bai told Chang Hei that she would meet Xiao Bai, and they planned to escape together after completing their mission.
• Chang Bai waited in the Worship Hall, admired Xiao Bai's statue, and struggled with her intent to kill him.
• Xiao Bai met Chang Bai in person and began asking her to answer a question truthfully.

Xiao Bai questioned White Impermanence about her feelings for Chang Hei, then used her concern for him to disarm and incapacitate her. As White Impermanence feared for Chang Hei’s life, Xiao Bai asked whether she wanted to save him.

• Xiao Bai asked White Impermanence whether she loved Chang Hei, and she firmly said they loved each other and would never be separated.
• Xiao Bai revealed that he had invited Chang Hei over, and White Impermanence drew a dagger before reluctantly surrendering it and several hidden blades.
• White Impermanence threatened Xiao Bai with poison and demanded that his men bring Chang Hei to her, but Xiao Bai ordered them to beat Black Impermanence instead.
• White Impermanence suddenly lost her strength, and Xiao Bai caught her and searched her for weapons while she worried about Chang Hei.
• Xiao Bai asked White Impermanence whether she wanted to save Black Impermanence and keep him alive.

Xiao Bai bound White Impermanence with a Life and Death Talisman and renamed her White Ghost after seeing the damage to her face. He promised to consider restoring her appearance once she proved loyal, leaving him determined to punish evildoers and confident he could find a cure.

• Xiao Bai told White Impermanence that he had placed a Life and Death Talisman inside her, and she accepted that it could kill her if she rebelled.
• Xiao Bai ordered White Impermanence to remove her mask, using the talisman’s power when she hesitated, and saw that half her face had been ruined.
• Xiao Bai resolved to act against evildoers rather than wait for heaven to deliver retribution, then told White Ghost to put her mask back on.
• Xiao Bai renamed her White Ghost and promised to consider restoring her appearance if she proved loyal.
• White Ghost asked whether Xiao Bai could heal her face, recalling that even Medicine Emperor Han Feng had failed to cure it.
• Xiao Bai said a ninth-grade alchemist might help and considered asking Yao Chen or using Brother Gua’s power to enhance medicine.