Chapter Summaries

Wang Wu infiltrated a mountain stronghold and discovered that Little Mountain Pig, Ape Bupuo, Tiger Vanguard, and possibly other old companions were gathered there, prompting him to retreat toward Heavenly Dao Mountain. As he approached the border, he sensed Human cultivators and a detection formation watching the mountain ahead.

• Wang Wu hid near the stronghold, learned that its demon king was preparing a banquet, and discovered a training camp holding roughly a hundred thousand Sprites.
• Wang Wu recognized Little Mountain Pig as Ironmouth Commandant and suspected it could be bait, so he immediately withdrew.
• Wang Wu encountered Ape Bupuo, then heard Tiger Vanguard call it back to the banquet and suspected Old Ox, Bear Sixteen, and Wolf Bu'er were there too.
• Wang Wu avoided the stronghold and traveled by night toward Heavenly Dao Mountain, cultivating during the day as he crossed Centipede Ridge.
• Wang Wu sensed Human cultivators and a detection formation watching from the mountain he needed to cross.

Wang Wu discovered that Human cultivators had sealed Centipede Ridge with vast detection arrays, and feared their operation was aimed at eliminating him and the Savage Ancient Bear bloodline. He used his talents and Spirit Energy Light Film to approach the arrays, hoping to find gaps before the network was fully integrated.

• Wang Wu transformed into Bear Form, raised Danger Sense and Spiritual Essence, and sensed surveillance arrays and powerful spirit-energy sweeps covering the mountains.
• Wang Wu inferred that Bear Sixteen and its followers may have been exposed, and that the Humans had established the blockade to hunt him because of his ancestor, the former Demon Emperor.
• Wang Wu realized that hiding alone would not save him and decided to use Spiritual Resonance and Danger Sense to find gaps between the arrays before they linked together.
• Wang Wu activated two Stealth Demon Cores and prepared his Spirit Energy Light Film as he approached the mountain.
• A high-powered detection sweep struck Wang Wu, but his Spirit Energy Light Film neutralized it, allowing him to continue approaching and study the arrays.

Wang Wu spent months studying two overlapping formations, then slipped through their narrow weakness and escaped the blockade. He reached a Human cultivator camp and overheard Senior Brother Wen and Junior Brother Song arguing over Wen’s illicit relationship with a Fifth-grade Ancient Blood Spirit Fox.

• Wang Wu observed the massive formation blockade and moved south to search for a weakness.
• Wang Wu discovered a second formation overlapping the first and identified Spirit Energy ripples in the overlap zone as a possible way through.
• Wang Wu spent months memorizing the ripples’ patterns, then crossed the overlap zone by stepping precisely between them.
• Wang Wu escaped the encirclement and approached a nearby camp to gather intelligence.
• Wang Wu overheard Senior Brother Wen emerge from a tent holding a Fifth-grade Ancient Blood Spirit Fox as Junior Brother Song scolded him for neglecting his duty and violating Cloud Cauldron City’s rules.

Wang Wu eavesdropped on Wen Jiusi and learned that the formation fluctuations could expose him, then used Level 4 Serpent Affinity to control A Qing. A Qing uncovered his traces and led him away from Wen Jiusi’s camp to erase them.

• Wen Jiusi dismissed Song Xinzhao’s concerns about the formation fluctuations while Wang Wu secretly studied Wen Jiusi’s identity and formation knowledge.
• Wen Jiusi revealed to A Qing that Lü Dongyang’s spirit beast had been killed after Soul Searching, and A Qing volunteered to guard against Bear Cub.
• Wang Wu raised his Serpent Affinity to Level 4 and used it to influence A Qing, removing her protective artifact and ordering her to take him to Heavenly Dao Mountain.
• A Qing returned to the camp to erase recent formation traces and explained that Wen Jiusi’s Weak Water Three Thousand Traces Formation had recorded Wang Wu’s approach.
• A Qing found Wang Wu through the formation’s traces and led him away, while Wang Wu realized his Serpent Affinity had worked.

Wang Wu learned from Bear Mom that A Qing was one of the three hundred Snake Guards and that the Snake Guard Mark let him recognize and command them. A Qing stayed behind at Centipede Ridge to maintain her cover, while Wang Wu left with a warning that human cultivators had only twenty years to search for him.

• A Qing revealed that she recognized Wang Wu and activated a hand seal that let Bear Mom speak to him.
• Bear Mom explained the Snake Guard Mark, the three hundred Snake Guards, and why she had placed Wang Wu near the mortal-blood snake clan; her remaining essence soul then vanished.
• Wang Wu understood that his connection to the Black Snake Clan and his Serpent Affinity came from the mark, while A Qing wept at Bear Mom's passing.
• A Qing refused to leave Wen Jiusi, explaining that she remained useful to him and that Lu Wuchen and eight second-rank Human cultivators were searching for Wang Wu.
• A Qing warned Wang Wu that the search could cover Centipede Ridge within twenty years and that taking her would put him in greater danger.
• A Qing reassured Wang Wu that the Snake Guards' identities were protected by Snake Soul Jade, then kissed him and departed.

Wang Wu fled Centipede Ridge and entered the Evil Wind-swept desert, where he discovered that Bear Mom had left him the Bear Demon Emperor’s Inheritance Soul Jade. After restoring his attribute panel, he learned that he had contracted the severe Evil Wind Bone Plague and struggled to begin the treatment it required.

• Wang Wu left Centipede Ridge and crossed into the desert domain of Heavenly Dao Mountain, where the violent winds began to make his joints ache and his mind grow muddled.
• Wang Wu opened his damaged attribute panel and realized that Bear Mom had supported it; he restored it by injecting 100,000 points of spiritual energy.
• The restored panel revealed Bear Mom’s transfer of the Bear Demon Emperor’s Inheritance Soul Jade and warned that Wang Wu had contracted Evil Wind Bone Plague, which had permanently reduced his attributes and required three months of underground recovery.
• Wang Wu used Passive Concealment to descend 600 meters, carved out a cave, and tried treating himself with the Internal Breathing Technique and Ice-Fire Dual Spirit Root.
• Wang Wu found that treatment triggered unbearable pain throughout his bones and joints, but concluded that the plague would worsen unless he kept trying to recover.

After enduring three months of the Evil Wind Bone Plague, Wang Wu recovered and slowly built up his resistance while digging thousands of li through the desert in search of food and water. He finally broke into a strange underground nest filled with honey, but found no sign of its enormous bee-like inhabitants.

• Wang Wu endured three months of severe pain and hair loss before curing the Evil Wind Bone Plague and gaining 1 point of Evil Wind Resistance.
• Wang Wu woke hungry and, unable to use his usual abilities without Vitality Points, began digging east through the desert with his Broken Sword.
• Wang Wu dug 4,800 li over the following months, gradually recovering, regrowing his fur, and increasing his Evil Wind Resistance and Ice Fire Spirit Root cultivation.
• Wang Wu broke into a hollow cavern and cautiously explored a network of gourd-shaped chambers that smelled of honey.
• Wang Wu recognized the scent as honey and suspected the chambers belonged to enormous worker bees, but found the nest empty.

Wang Wu discovered a vast bee hive and secretly cultivated in its walls by absorbing spiritual energy from the honey. After recovering and growing stronger, he began designing a fourth demon core without disturbing his heart or the two cultivation systems in his body.

• Wang Wu entered the hive’s Great Pit and saw its enormous beeswax tower, thousands of powerful bees, and countless worker-bee chambers.
• Wang Wu sealed his tunnel and hid in the pit wall, gaining Vitality Points by smelling the honey while keeping his presence concealed.
• Wang Wu observed returning worker bees and learned that they carried food, cultivated with demon cores, and were much stronger than he had expected.
• Wang Wu spent three months recovering from the Evil Wind Bone Plague, then cultivated for another three months and grew rapidly from the Vitality Points he absorbed.
• Wang Wu stopped one demon core from advancing and decided to form a fourth core as a reserve, while keeping his central heart and the innate and acquired cultivation systems separate.
• Wang Wu began testing qi-and-blood circulation patterns to develop a fourth demon core, a process that required time and many Vitality Points.

Wang Wu spent years modeling and optimizing a Four Demon Core System, then used the Inheritance Soul Jade’s guidance to discover that a Five Demon Core System worked far better. He began cultivating the fourth and fifth Demon Cores, gaining a much more efficient and reliable system.

• Wang Wu spent nearly four years developing a Four Demon Core System and another year optimizing it, while his other cultivation stalled.
• Wang Wu used the Inheritance Soul Jade to improve the system’s circulation efficiency to 85%, but its advice suggested adopting a Five Demon Core System.
• Wang Wu refused to continue investing spirit energy or Vitality Points in the Inheritance Soul Jade, but reconsidered its Five Demon Core System suggestion.
• Wang Wu designed a five-core layout with two logistical cores positioned at his kidneys, and the system worked on its first trial at 97% of normal circulation speed while consuming less energy.
• Wang Wu began cultivating the fourth and fifth Demon Cores and soon felt the increased efficiency and reliability they provided.

Wang Wu’s first three Demon Cores advanced to Seventh Rank, triggering the successful condensation of two Sixth Rank Ruyi Demon Cores and granting him powerful new abilities and attributes. He realized he had reached Principal Sixth Rank, though he still doubted he could defeat the former South Mountain Great King or North Mountain Great King in a direct fight.

• Wang Wu gave up waiting for his fourth and fifth Demon Cores to form and allowed his first three cores to advance.
• The surge of power from the advancement caused Wang Wu’s fourth and fifth cores to condense into Sixth Rank Ruyi Demon Cores, which regulated his size and strength.
• Wang Wu received the Ruyi Body Concealment Art, the Demon Wind Evasion Technique, and information about Demon Core ranks and advancement paths.
• Wang Wu celebrated his increased lifespan and attributes, which gave him a total lifespan of 1,032 years and raised his maximum Health, Stamina, and Vitality Points.
• Wang Wu judged that he had reached Principal Sixth Rank but remained unsure he could defeat the South Mountain Great King or North Mountain Great King in a straightforward battle.

After completing six years of secluded cultivation, Wang Wu inscribed two demon arts onto his Ruyi Demon Cores and continued strengthening himself. Lu Wuchen then arrived at the Jade Bee Clan and asked True Person Yu Feng to find Wang Wu, but Wang Wu escaped her bloodline tracing and remained undiscovered.

• Wang Wu inscribed the Ruyi Body Concealment Art and Demon Wind Evasion Technique onto his sixth-grade Ruyi Demon Cores, raising both arts’ levels.
• Wang Wu tempered his right forepaw into a Heavenly Ninth-grade Destined Demonic Weapon and continued cultivating in hiding.
• Lu Wuchen arrived at the Jade Bee Clan and asked True Person Yu Feng to find Xiong Wu, offering gifts and a share of Black Forest in exchange.
• True Person Yu Feng accepted Lu Wuchen’s gifts and began a search, sending millions of worker bees out from the hive.
• True Person Yu Feng used her bloodline tracing ability, but Wang Wu’s concealment, lack of a repaired Inheritance Soul Jade, and diet of Jade Bee Honey helped him evade discovery.

Wang Wu survived True Person Yu Feng’s bloodline tracing and learned that Lu Wuchen and the West Sea Bee Kingdom were building an alliance to hunt him and attack the Black Forest. The chapter ended with True Person Yu Feng agreeing to Lu Wuchen’s plan while insisting that the bee kingdom protect the demon kingdoms they recruited.

• Wang Wu realized the Jade Bee Clan used Bear Demon Emperor’s remains to trace his bloodline, but his Passive Concealment let him evade True Person Yu Feng twice.
• True Person Yu Feng told Lu Wuchen that Xiong Wu had left the West Sea Bee Kingdom, and Lu Wuchen explained that divination with Bear Demon Emperor’s skull could only be repeated after more than ten years.
• Lu Wuchen proposed allying the Cloud Cauldron Nine Cities Alliance with the West Sea Bee Kingdom, recruiting Western Wilderness demons, and attacking the Black Forest to kill Grandpa Tree and corner Xiong Wu.
• Lu Wuchen asked True Person Yu Feng to help defeat Great Ape King and force Mad Tiger King and other demon clans to join his alliance.
• True Person Yu Feng agreed to negotiate with Mad Tiger King and Centipede Great General, demanding that the West Sea Bee Kingdom protect their kingdoms and urging Lu Wuchen to persuade Great Ape King to surrender.

Wang Wu overheard True Person Yu Feng and Lu Wuchen make plans to attack Black Forest, then learned Yu Feng intended to investigate Lu Wuchen’s sudden concessions. He returned to the Western Wilderness Desert to cultivate Evil Wind Resistance and, after witnessing the desert’s strange shifting sands, followed a group of local demons.

• True Person Yu Feng agreed to join Lu Wuchen in attacking Black Forest, provided she could first persuade the Mad Tiger King and help establish the Western Wilderness Myriad Races Alliance.
• Wang Wu overheard True Person Yu Feng pass the Bee Emperor Palace to her child and explain that she planned to seize one living ancient tree trunk before withdrawing, while investigating Lu Wuchen’s motives in Cloud Cauldron City.
• Wang Wu stayed hidden for half a month, then dug back toward the desert to farm Evil Wind Resistance, marking his route with a Bear Fur hair.
• Wang Wu observed the desert’s wind and sand behave unnaturally, including his buried marker shifting hundreds of meters while he could not sense the movement.
• Wang Wu spotted a giant lizard carrying twenty-seven hooded demons and followed them using a Stealth Demon Core, while staying within fifty li of his marker.

Wang Wu endured another three-month bout of Evil Wind Bone Plague and concluded that farming resistance cost too much to continue. After deciding the desert might conceal a mysterious pattern, he followed the desert natives and saw their giant lizard pass through an enormous dune that he could not enter.

• Wang Wu discovered that Evil Wind Bone Plague caused permanent losses that Self-Healing could not prevent, and he decided not to farm more resistance unless the desert natives knew how to reduce the cost.
• Wang Wu returned toward the Bee Emperor Palace but found it had vanished, so he endured the full three-month plague outbreak underground and gained 10 more points of Evil Wind Resistance.
• Wang Wu suspected the desert followed a hidden pattern and went back to the surface, where his Bear Fur marker led him to the desert natives again.
• Wang Wu secretly followed the natives and watched their giant lizard burrow through an enormous dune, but he struck solid sand when he tried to follow.

Wang Wu entered Shamen Village to seek treatment for the Evil Wind Bone Plague and spent three months soaking in a toxic mud bath. Though the treatment eased his symptoms, he still lost three years of lifespan, and Old Man Sha explained that Evil Wind was one of the Three Calamities faced by cultivators.

• After contracting the Evil Wind Bone Plague, Wang Wu waited on the great dune until Old Man Sha invited him into Shamen Village.
• Old Man Sha told Wang Wu to soak in a vat of mud slurry for three months, explaining that the plague’s transformations permanently cost three years of lifespan if untreated.
• The toxins in the mud eased Wang Wu’s pain, but he remained under guard and the village attendants refused to answer his questions.
• At the end of each of the first two months, Wang Wu lost another year of lifespan despite feeling recovered.
• Old Man Sha returned and told Wang Wu that Evil Wind was one of the Three Calamities, alongside Yang Thunder and Yin Fire, that cultivators eventually faced.

Wang Wu recovered from the Evil Wind in Shamen Village under Old Man Sha’s care, where Big Black Pig and Old Turtle discovered his unusual cultivation and debated his prospects. Old Man Sha then died after failing to overcome the Three Calamities, leaving the others to explain that he had sacrificed his life to seek a path through them.

• Wang Wu apologized to Old Man Sha and returned to the vat to continue his treatment for the Evil Wind Bone Plague.
• Old Man Sha revealed that he knew Wang Wu had stolen Jade Bee Honey, and Big Black Pig arrived and recognized Wang Wu’s Ancient Blood and Bear Demon Emperor’s scent.
• Big Black Pig and Old Turtle examined Wang Wu’s five Demon Cores and Ice Fire Spirit Roots, then argued over whether his mixed cultivation would lead to success or Qi Deviation.
• Old Man Sha began to shine with rosy light as Yang Thunder, Yin Fire, and Evil Wind engulfed the courtyard, and Big Black Pig threw Wang Wu out of danger.
• Old Turtle and Big Black Pig explained that Old Man Sha’s External Incarnations had been destroyed and that he had spent his lifespan trying to find a way to overcome the Three Calamities.

After surviving the Evil Wind Bone Plague, Wang Wu explored Shamen Village and learned more about its secluded residents and Big Black Pig’s past. He prepared to leave but was advised to stay clear of Jade Bee trouble, then a tiger demon asked him to deliver a letter to its old brother if he ever left.

• Wang Wu cured the Evil Wind Bone Plague after cultivating for thirty days and gained 10 points of Evil Wind Resistance.
• Wang Wu searched for Old Turtle and Big Black Pig, then explored Shamen Village’s lively marketplace and its harmonious human, Demon, and spirit residents.
• Big Black Pig told Wang Wu to wait until the Jade Bee Honey scent faded before leaving and confirmed that Xiong Pi was dead.
• Wang Wu asked about Lu Wuchen and True Person Yu Feng, learning that Big Black Pig had once been chased by Yu Feng for stealing Jade Bee Honey and believed Wang Wu was safe in Shamen Village.
• A tiger demon recognized an old friend in Wang Wu and asked him to deliver a letter to its brother Tiger Force, also known as the Mad Tiger King, if he left Shamen Village.

Wang Wu tried to find work in Shamen Village but angered its spirit-beast residents, who demanded payment for his stay. He learned the village charged him one hundred thousand dou of Spirit Energy each year, leaving him to decide how to meet the cost.

• Wang Wu refused the Tiger Demon's request to deliver a letter to the Mad Tiger King and asked whether its forging shop needed an assistant.
• The Tiger Demon explained that its spirit-beast restrictions kept it from attacking humans, then drove Wang Wu away when he changed the subject to work.
• Wang Wu encountered the Wolf Demon selling wolf-meat buns and the Chicken Demon selling egg custard as Shamen Village's market turned hostile around him.
• The Wolf Demon told Wang Wu that he must pay the village's upkeep or defeat five residents to earn the right to stay.
• The Chicken Demon calculated that Wang Wu owed one hundred thousand dou of Spirit Energy each year for lodging in Shamen Village.

Wang Wu paid Shamen Village’s spirit-energy rent and discovered that the Snake Demon who recruited him was Snake Nineteen, a longtime Snake Guard. After he freed her and the other Snake Guards from their duty, Snake Nineteen gave him the tavern’s barrier key and wished to return to her homeland before she died.

• Wang Wu paid the 100,000 dou rent with five Seventh Rank Practice Pills, and the village accepted him as a resident.
• The Snake Demon offered Wang Wu a waiter’s job, led him into a hidden chamber, and revealed that she was Snake Nineteen, a Snake Guard who had been undercover for sixteen hundred years.
• Wang Wu activated his ancestral inheritance and became clan lord of the Ancient Blood Bear Clan, gaining authority over the Snake Guards.
• Snake Nineteen told Wang Wu that her former human master had abused her and that her lifespan was nearly over.
• Wang Wu promised that there would be no more Snake Guards and that she and her sisters were free to lift the mark.
• Snake Nineteen gave Wang Wu the tavern’s barrier key and asked to return to her homeland before she died.

Wang Wu learned that Snake Nineteen’s loyalty and warnings might be genuine, but its skill at deception made every claim uncertain. He refused to kill it and stayed to learn how to refine Five Aggregates Spirit Pills, while Snake Nineteen warned him never to trust Snake Guards unconditionally.

• Snake Nineteen explained that Snake Spirits were gifted at sensing emotions and disguising their intentions, then warned Wang Wu that the snake and fox races might be manipulating conflicts across the Great Wilderness.
• Snake Nineteen revealed that it knew Wang Wu was Xiong Wu and asked whether he had met A Qing after escaping Centipede Ridge, prompting Wang Wu to pin it down.
• Snake Nineteen claimed that it was the last truly loyal Snake Guard and urged Wang Wu to kill every Snake Guard, while Wang Wu suspected that Snake Nineteen itself could be a double agent.
• Snake Nineteen told Wang Wu that Lu Wuchen had visited Shamen Village five hundred years earlier, and Wang Wu wondered whether Big Black Pig had withheld information about him.
• Snake Nineteen explained that A Qing had left a secret code on the Snake Guard Mark and claimed it recorded events and instructed another Snake Guard to protect Wang Wu.
• Snake Nineteen argued that humans subconsciously feared snakes and that this explained Wang Wu’s feelings for A Qing, then offered to teach him how to refine basic Five Aggregates Spirit Pills.