Chapter Summaries

Xu Yang met with Qing He Daoist and White Mountain Monk after defeating Kuron Daoist, and the three discussed the dangers facing the region. The chapter ended with them considering whether Yin Mountain Daoist and his ghost army posed an even greater threat than Kuron.

• Xu Yang arrived at the mountain pavilion, where Qing He Daoist and White Mountain Monk praised him for capturing Kuron Daoist, and he hosted them with tea.
• Qing He Daoist and White Mountain Monk described how Lanruo Temple’s ghost domain was held in check by True Lord Changrong and other cultivators, while Xu Yang said he had no plans to enter it.
• Qing He Daoist asked about Hundred Ghosts Forest, and White Mountain Monk explained that Yin Mountain Daoist had occupied its mass graveyard and defeated him with Increase Longevity General.
• White Mountain Monk and Qing He Daoist discussed the strength of Yin Mountain Daoist’s ghost generals and concluded that he might be a fifth realm True Person with a force more dangerous than Kuron Daoist.
• Qing He Daoist turned to Xu Yang and asked what he thought of Yin Mountain Daoist.

Xu Yang told White Mountain Monk and Qing He Daoist that Yin Mountain Daoist was a righteous cultivator and his sworn elder brother, then defended his friendship with Li Jieyuan. The three parted amicably after agreeing to stand by their friends as long as they avoided evil.

• Xu Yang explained that Yin Mountain Daoist cultivated orthodox Daoist methods, used ghosts to fight evil, and had not harmed innocents.
• Xu Yang revealed that he and Yin Mountain Daoist had sworn brotherhood and joined their temples as two branches of one family.
• White Mountain Monk and Qing He Daoist warned that the Two Generals of Longevity Increase and Life Decrease might lose control, and Xu Yang promised to kill them if they threatened the people.
• Xu Yang said he had given Li Jieyuan a Daoist Magic Sacred Scripture and would treat him as an equal friend rather than a disciple.
• When Qing He Daoist and White Mountain Monk urged Xu Yang to advise Li Jieyuan about Guo Bei Academy's conduct, Xu Yang vowed to defend him unless he turned to evil or wicked deeds.
• The three resumed their gathering, drank tea until sunset, and then returned to their respective Daoist grounds.

Xu Yang returned to Roaring Firmament Temple, offered incense at his thunder altar, and reviewed the cultivation, identities, and abilities he had built over nearly ten years. After confirming that his influence in Guobei was growing but dangers remained, he examined the spoils from Ku Rong Temple and singled out two Daoist scriptures.

• Xu Yang returned to Roaring Firmament Temple, ordered the disciples to close the altar, and made offerings before inspecting his gains.
• Xu Yang reflected on how ritual altars and the divine names of ancient immortals let cultivators connect with and draw upon the Heaven and Earth Great Dao.
• Xu Yang reviewed the progress of his three identities: Li Liuxian expanded his influence, Shi Jian became the Lightning Law King, and Yinshan Daoist raised the Two Generals of Longevity Increase and Life Decrease to the ultimate realm of ghost generals.
• Xu Yang assessed his Lightning Law King and Increase-Decrease Two Generals traits, which strengthened his thunder arts and ghost generals and helped him defeat Kuron Daoist.
• Xu Yang inspected the spoils from Ku Rong Temple and set aside the Mystic Light Eye Technique and Xuanyuan Divine Sword Art as the two scriptures worth keeping.

Xu Yang learned the Mystic Light Eye Technique and tested its ability to reveal information about ordinary objects, then studied the incomplete Xuanyuan Divine Sword Art. He planned to use three separate identities and their powerful inheritances to secure decades of time to grow in a dangerous world.

• Xu Yang studied the Mystic Light Eye Technique gifted by Kuron Daoist and understood how it could query traces left throughout the world.
• Xu Yang performed the ritual to open his spiritual eye and form a Mystic Light Mirror, then used it to reveal the history and properties of his prayer cushion.
• Xu Yang considered how the technique could eventually expose enemies’ weaknesses and let him perceive the Heavenly Mechanism, but resolved not to waste it on treasure appraisal.
• Xu Yang read the incomplete Xuanyuan Divine Sword Art and found that it was a powerful sword method capable of cultivation up to the third rank.
• Xu Yang planned for Li Liuxian, Shi Jian, and Yin Mountain Daoist to cultivate different arts, using their identities and Lanruo Temple’s hidden threat to buy time for his expansion.

Three months later, Young Master Chu arrived in Guo Bei County and listened as local scholars accused Li Liuxian and Guo Bei Academy of tyranny and corruption. After promising to report Li Liuxian to the Son of Heaven, Chu spotted Xin Shisiniang and took an ominous interest in her.

• Young Master Chu asked why the scholars resented Guo Bei Academy, and they accused Li Liuxian of admitting women, teaching improper subjects, and killing Zhang and his household.
• The scholars claimed Li Liuxian had used his influence to suppress the Zhang Family and evade justice, then begged Young Master Chu to report him to the capital.
• Young Master Chu agreed to present Li Liuxian's alleged crimes to the Son of Heaven.
• Young Master Chu noticed Xin Shisiniang outside a rouge shop, while the scholars warned him that she was Li Liuxian's protected maid.
• Xin Shisiniang sensed someone watching her, but her fox-spirit sisters teased her about Li Liuxian until she blushed and hurried away.

During spring break, Chu Cai of the Mangshan Chu Family Wolves confronted the Xin Family Foxes and demanded to marry Xin Shisiniang, who had already married into Li Residence. When she and her sisters refused, Chu Cai attacked, and after the foxes’ formation wounded his pack, he broke free and rushed toward the academy.

• The Xin Family Foxes returned from the fields and encountered Chu Cai, who emerged from the mist and revealed himself as a wolf demon.
• Chu Cai demanded that Xin Shisiniang marry him, but she and her sisters rejected him and warned him about Stone Dharma King and Li Liuxian.
• Xin Shisiniang defended her choice and condemned Chu Cai’s predatory ways, while Chu Cai argued that demons followed the law of the strong devouring the weak.
• Chu Cai summoned his wolf servants and attacked, but the nineteen foxes formed the Seven Ultimate True Martial Formation and killed one of his followers.
• Chu Cai unleashed Heavenly Wolf Howling Moon, injured several foxes, and broke through their failing formation.
• After the foxes invoked Stone Dharma King, Chu Lang fled toward the academy, and Xin Shisiniang and her sisters hurried after him.

Chu Lang attacked Guo Bei Academy to devour Li Liuxian, but Xu Yang’s Sword Casket defeated and killed him while Xu Yang slept. Afterward, Xu Yang explained how he had cultivated the Sword Casket and combined the human, earth, and heaven methods of the Xuanyuan Divine Sword Art.

• Chu Lang raced to Guo Bei Academy, and the injured Xin Family Foxes followed as Xin Shisiniang tried to stop him.
• Xin Shisiniang intercepted Chu Lang inside the academy, but he broke her sword and drove her into a building.
• Chu Lang spotted Xu Yang asleep beside a corridor pillar and charged at him, ignoring Xin Shisiniang’s desperate pursuit.
• The Sword Casket unleashed sword light and thunder-infused attacks, piercing Chu Lang and pinning him to the ground.
• Xu Yang woke, killed Chu Lang with a thunderous sword strike, and recalled the swords to the Sword Casket.
• Xu Yang reflected on his flying-sword cultivation and his plan to perfect the human, earth, and heaven methods of the Xuanyuan Divine Sword Art.

Xu Yang defeated the Chu Family Wolf and healed the badly injured Xin Shisiniang. After she confessed her feelings, he accepted her and decided he would pursue a lasting relationship with her despite the hardships of their different lifetimes.

• Xu Yang caught the unconscious Xin Shisiniang, reassured the injured foxes, and stored the demon wolf's corpse.
• Xu Yang healed Xin Shisiniang with a spirit pill and the Life Scroll while she rested in fox form.
• Xin Shisiniang awoke in human form beside Xu Yang, grew embarrassed, and clung to him when he tried to leave.
• Xin Shisiniang asked whether Xu Yang loved someone and pleaded for a chance with him, even if she could only be a substitute.
• Xu Yang comforted Xin Shisiniang, told her he would pursue their relationship beyond a brief moment, and kissed her.

After marrying Xin Shisiniang, Xu Yang used the Taiyin Body Refinement Method to study her fox transformations and explained how the technique could help his spirit beasts and his island. He dismissed her fears of retaliation from the Mangshan Chu Family and urged her family to avoid desperate fights, then chose to spend more time with her instead of returning to work.

• Xu Yang asked Xin Shisiniang to use the Taiyin Body Refinement Method to reveal her fox ears and tail while he studied the transformations.
• Xu Yang considered how the method could let his spirit beasts take human form, provide workers, and improve their cultivation.
• Xin Shisiniang warned Xu Yang that the Mangshan Chu Family would seek revenge for his killing one of its direct bloodline members.
• Xu Yang said he could handle the Chu Family and told Xin Shisiniang and the other Xin Family Foxes to retreat from powerful enemies rather than fight to the death.
• Xin Shisiniang urged Xu Yang to get up because Stone Dharma King might visit, but Xu Yang pulled her back and said he would take a few days off.

After advancing his plans in the dream world, Xu Yang focused on strengthening himself in reality and refined an Accumulating Thunder Cloud. He flew to White Dragon Island Market Town to buy altar materials, only to find the cultivators there gripped by grief and despair.

• Xu Yang decided to develop his ghost-commanding arts and thunder methods in reality while also training people and expanding his crafting skills.
• He used a Pseudo-Heaven Swallowing Gourd to gather weather phenomena and refined them with thunder into an Accumulating Thunder Cloud.
• Xu Yang completed a high-grade Accumulating Thunder Cloud, though he regretted that it lacked the quality and potential of Shi Jian’s version.
• He set out to build a yin altar and a thunder altar, planning to buy materials while market prices were low.
• Xu Yang arrived at White Dragon Island Market Town and saw that its cultivators looked pale and despairing, so he headed toward White Dragon Tower to investigate.

After the Hundred Thousand Mountains plan collapsed, Xu Yang bought discounted materials from Yun Yan and left White Dragon Island. A Qi Refining ambusher and a concealed Foundation Establishment robbery cultivator attacked him, and Xu Yang revealed his strength as he pursued the fleeing robber.

• Yun Yan told Xu Yang that the halted development plan had caused market turmoil and heavy losses for cultivators and White Dragon Island.
• Xu Yang bought materials that had fallen in price and left White Dragon Island after Yun Yan warned him about robbery cultivators.
• A tenth-level Qi Refining cultivator intercepted Xu Yang outside White Dragon Lake, and Xu Yang killed him with a lightning strike that shattered his flying boat.
• Xu Yang blasted a concealed black-robed Foundation Establishment robbery cultivator out of hiding with thunder.
• The black-robed man fled after realizing Xu Yang was a Foundation Establishment Lightning Cultivator, while Xu Yang prepared to kill him and deter other attackers.

Xu Yang killed the Foundation Establishment robber Zhang Jia with a thunder spell outside White Dragon Island, prompting Yun Yan and the market to reassess Stone Dharma King’s strength. After returning to Dongting Lake in disguise, Xu Yang patrolled its waterways while the Wang Family investigated the disappearances of more than a hundred cultivators there.

• Xu Yang pursued the fleeing Zhang Jia with the Five Thunders Demon-Slaying Curse, killed him, and collected his corpse and the spoils from the demonic servant.
• Yun Yan learned that Stone Dharma King had killed the notorious Demon Hand Zhang Jia in three moves and ordered the White Dragon Island staff to prepare compensation for him.
• Rumors spread through the market that Shi Jian had hidden his Foundation Establishment strength and was a formidable Lightning Cultivator.
• Xu Yang returned to Dongting Lake under concealment and began patrolling its waterways after noticing unfamiliar mortals and cultivators nearby.
• Two investigators told a young Wang Family member that they had located a place where missing cultivators were likely trapped, but their scouts had vanished or failed to return.
• The young man concluded that the disappearances of over a hundred cultivators meant Dongting Lake concealed a major secret.

Xu Yang discovered that Dongting Lake’s Spiritual Land had drawn the attention of powerful cultivation forces, so he chose to make it public and establish it as the foundation of his enterprise. He arranged a Spiritual Land Dispute at Dongting Lake three months later, where he would have to defend his claim.

• Wang Haishi revealed that the Wang Family and other forces were investigating Dongting Lake before Xu Yang killed him and took his intelligence.
• Xu Yang decided not to abandon Dongting Lake, but to reveal its Spiritual Land and develop it openly despite the danger from stronger Foundation Establishment forces.
• Three days later, Xu Yang hosted Bai Yunzi, an Immortal Seeking Envoy of the Azure Jade Sect, and showed him the island’s farms and spiritual formation.
• Bai Yunzi judged the Spiritual Land barely first-grade and announced that Xu Yang could claim it by defending the arena for three rounds.
• Xu Yang agreed to hold the Spiritual Land Dispute at Dongting Lake three months later.

Xu Yang prepared to claim Dongting Spiritual Land while concealing his full strength from the Azure Jade Sect, refining nineteen Hundred Ghosts Banners for the coming dispute. He began filling them with evil ghosts and planned to use them to refine the two generals Increase Longevity and Decrease Life.

• Xu Yang reasoned that he needed to deter Foundation Establishment challengers without exposing his spirit beasts or provoking suspicion from the Azure Jade Sect.
• Xu Yang refined nineteen high-grade Hundred Ghosts Banners over three days using Thunderbolt Spiritual Flame.
• Xu Yang disguised himself as Yin Mountain Daoist and traveled to a Ghost Market to buy evil ghosts.
• Xu Yang bought evil ghosts from several Foundation Establishment stall owners and drew them into his banners.
• Xu Yang left with several hundred evil ghosts and headed for another Ghost Market to fill all nineteen banners.

Xu Yang gathered ghosts and rare materials, then built an orthodox Yin Altar in a secret chamber beneath his medicinal field and began refining two Foundation Establishment yin souls into the Increase-Decrease Two Generals. He also transmitted the Increase Longevity, Decrease Life trait from the Daoist Magic World and planned to strengthen the generals before the Spiritual Land Dispute.

• Xu Yang visited every Ghost Market in the Liang Kingdom, filling nineteen Hundred Ghosts Banners and capturing two Foundation Establishment evil cultivators’ yin souls by concealing his cultivation and using himself as bait.
• After returning to Dongting Lake, Xu Yang found that the factions had pulled back their spies after Bai Yunzi reported the hidden Foundation Establishment Middle Stage sword cultivator, while several powerful factions still awaited the Spiritual Land Dispute.
• Xu Yang used the Earth Deity Divine Seal, ghost-controlling talismans, banners, and yin-yang-balanced spiritual materials to construct and consecrate an orthodox Yin Altar.
• Xu Yang branded two Foundation Establishment yin souls with talisman commands and began refining them as the Increase-Decrease Two Generals, which then devoured the surrounding vicious ghosts.
• After ten days of dream cultivation, Xu Yang transmitted the Increase Longevity, Decrease Life trait from the Daoist Magic World and resolved to strengthen the generals before the Spiritual Land Dispute.

Xu Yang used the Spiritual Eye Mysterious Light to uncover Zhou Mingyu and the Wang Family’s plan to challenge him over Dongting Spiritual Land. As Bai Yunzi began the dispute, Xu Yang appeared before the assembled cultivators, and the Wang and Zhou families launched their attack.

• Wang Tianling called for revenge against Li Jianchen for killing his illegitimate son and other family descendants.
• Zhou Mingyu agreed to take the final arena match and arranged for Yan Changfeng to fight first, with Wang Tianling taking the second match.
• Xu Yang used the Spiritual Eye Mysterious Light to observe Zhou Mingyu and the others plotting against him.
• Bai Yunzi announced that the Spiritual Land Dispute had begun, and Xu Yang arrived among the assembled cultivators.
• The Wang and Zhou families shouted accusations at Xu Yang and attacked him.

Xu Yang, posing as Li Jianchen, faced down accusations from the gathered cultivators with Bai Yunzi’s support and entered the arena to defend his claim. He defeated Yan Changfeng in the first duel, leaving the crowd reluctant to challenge him.

• The crowd condemned Li Jianchen for killing spies and demanded that he be attacked, but he challenged anyone who wanted to kill him to fight him directly.
• Bai Yunzi declared that Li Jianchen had no bandit-cultivator warrants against him and that dissatisfied cultivators could challenge him in the arena.
• Yan Changfeng volunteered to fight Li Jianchen, and the two sword cultivators began their duel within the boundaries set by Bai Yunzi.
• Li Jianchen’s swordsmanship damaged Yan Changfeng’s flying sword and suppressed his three sword lights, forcing Yan Changfeng to leave the arena and concede.
• Bai Yunzi declared Li Jianchen the winner of the first bout and invited another challenger, but the crowd stayed silent.

Xu Yang defeated and killed Wang Tianling in the second arena, despite Wang Tianling’s many powerful artifacts, and Zhou Mingyu intervened too late to save him. After Bai Yunzi stopped Zhou Mingyu from attacking Xu Yang, Zhou Mingyu volunteered to fight in the final arena.

• Wang Tianling entered the arena with four top-grade magic artifacts and used them to trap Xu Yang in a frozen crystal prison.
• Xu Yang broke free using Human Sword Unity, shattered Wang Tianling’s shields, and killed him with a fatal sword strike.
• Zhou Mingyu rushed into the arena, but Xu Yang drove him back and collected Wang Tianling’s artifacts and corpse.
• Bai Yunzi rebuked Zhou Mingyu for violating the arena rules, while Xu Yang defended his actions as part of a life-and-death contest.
• When Bai Yunzi asked who would fight in the third arena, Zhou Mingyu volunteered.

Xu Yang defeated Zhou Mingyu in the final arena battle and secured Dongting Spiritual Land, then secretly revealed that the apparent Li Jianchen had been a disguised golden eagle. After recovering from his injuries, Xu Yang used the Geng Metal White Tiger’s blood to prepare a ritual targeting Zhou Mingyu.

• Zhou Mingyu fought Xu Yang with the White Tiger Geng Metal Art and badly wounded him, but Xu Yang unleashed an incomplete Golden Core sword-art move that forced Zhou Mingyu to retreat.
• Bai Yunzi declared Xu Yang the winner of all three arena battles and granted him Dongting Spiritual Land; Xu Yang offered the sect tribute and the incomplete sword art in exchange for having twenty years of labor duties waived.
• After Bai Yunzi left, Xu Yang revealed that the white-robed Li Liuxian was a golden eagle in disguise and sent it to recover while impersonating Li Jianchen.
• Xu Yang healed himself in secret, used blood from the Geng Metal White Tiger on a straw effigy bearing Zhou Mingyu’s name, and began a ritual to curse him.

Xu Yang used the Dongting Spiritual Land’s teleportation technique to intercept Zhou Mingyu’s flying tower ship and unleash a curse against him. Zhou Mingyu’s protections failed to stop the attack, and he collapsed in agony as the curse struck his soul.

• Zhou Mingyu stabilized his wounds aboard the tower ship and ordered his family to hurry back to Clear Wind Mountain.
• Zhou Mingyu told a middle-aged cultivator to console Yun'er and her orphaned mother and child, then sensed an unexplained foreboding.
• Xu Yang teleported five hundred li ahead of the tower ship, concealed himself, and prepared the Curse-Subduing Straw Figure with Longevity Increase and Life Decrease Yin-Yang Nails.
• Xu Yang invoked the curse, summoning two ghost generals who entered the pierced straw figure as baleful clouds gathered.
• Zhou Mingyu took protective talismans, pills, and an azure jade pearl, but the curse caused unbearable pain in his soul and made him fall from the lotus platform.