Chapter Summaries

After a strange disturbance drains the Demons in the first thirty layers of the Heaven-Bearing Magic Restriction, Chen Mu learns the Demon Sealing Curse while the Hundred Illusions Sect investigates. The fog clears and the disciples are dismissed, but Chen Mu decides to stop exploring the seals and worries whether his 212 Peach Divine Lords can protect him from the Dao Soldier Contract’s backlash.

• Lu Han finds Chen Mu at the Cliff Cave Dwelling, warns him about Peach Blossom Tower, and takes him to Qingqiu Hall after a strange fog appears over Prison of Essence Valley.
• The elders discover that the Demons within the first thirty layers of the seals have vanished, and they suspect the Heaven-Bearing Magic Restriction was triggered by an external force.
• Outside Qingqiu Hall, Chen Mu blames the disturbance on Nine Heads and practices the Demon Sealing Curse with the other disciples.
• Chen Mu searches Qingqiu Mountain and the surrounding Misty Forest for the black-robed woman but finds no sign of her, while the elders confirm no Demons escaped the deeper seals.
• After the fog thins, Chen Mu returns to his Cliff Cave Dwelling and decides not to explore underground again, worrying that his 212 Peach Divine Lords may not block the Dao Soldier Contract’s backlash.

Chen Mu sought advice about refining Peach Divine Lords and learned that mastering the Nine Lives Tribulation Splitting Art could make them shoulder more tribulation for him. He secretly trained the art while working at a grinding workshop, where Yang Fu grew wary of him and praised his work rather than reprimanding him.

• Chen Mu asked Hu Buwei about alternatives to Moli Silver, and Hu advised him to practice the Nine Lives Tribulation Splitting Art to strengthen his Peach Divine Lords.
• After Chen Mu left, Hu Buwei and Nine Heads discussed his ability to absorb Origin Qi and suspected he might be a demon or an infiltrator.
• Chen Mu used the Gray Wall to track his progress and began refining a Peach Divine Lord again to gain more experience.
• At the Grinding Stone Workshop, Chen Mu crushed and milled Demonic Energy Stones while secretly refining a Peach Divine Lord.
• Yang Fu hesitated to criticize Chen Mu, then praised the fineness of his stone powder and allowed him to turn it in.

After reaching the limit of the Nine Lives Tribulation Splitting Art, Chen Mu discovered he could connect his Heavenly Demon Spirit Seeds and make them share its burden. He began strengthening the distant Heavenly Demon Body, but his plan to develop the Spirit Seed Tribulation Splitting Art was limited by the supply of Exotic Beast Meat, so he decided to hunt in Misty Forest.

• Chen Mu used the Gray Wall’s revelation to realize that connected Heavenly Demon Spirit Seeds could share the burden of the Nine Lives Tribulation Splitting Art, which he renamed the Spirit Seed Tribulation Splitting Art.
• Chen Mu bought the Affairs Office’s supply of Antler Horse meat to feed his Yin Soul Monsters.
• Chen Mu used the Mountain Bearing Scripture and Yin Fault Yang Deviation to channel the Yin Soul Monsters’ power into white mist that nourished the Heavenly Demon Body and spread its presence across Qiluo Mountain.
• Chen Mu concluded that he needed to strengthen the Heavenly Demon Body to keep the Spirit Seeds’ Qi Mechanisms connected to him.
• Chen Mu realized that the limited supply of Exotic Beast Meat was holding back his cultivation and decided to visit Misty Forest.

Chen Mu hunted Hundred-Eyed Spiders in Misty Forest to feed his Yin Soul Monsters and support his Heavenly Demon Body cultivation. After returning to Qingqiu Mountain, he calculated that he might reach his goal in time to go to Qianji Sect this year.

• Chen Mu lied to the Grinding Stone Workshop apprentices and Yang Fu, claiming he was going to the Myriad Sutra Cave to learn a cultivation secret from Elder Hu Buwei.
• Chen Mu entered Misty Forest and used his Vermilion Feather Swords and True Hearing Supernatural Ability to kill and collect Hundred-Eyed Spiders.
• Chen Mu drove the remaining spiders into flight, deciding to let the colony reproduce before returning to harvest it again.
• Chen Mu resumed his routine at the Grinding Stone Workshop while using vital essence from the spiders to support his cultivation.
• Chen Mu tested Innate Qi and chilling White Mist, calculated their ideal ratio for transforming his Heavenly Demon Body, and considered going to Qianji Sect this year.

Zheng Bai Lian rewarded Hu Buwei for guarding the Deep Seal but warned him not to exploit Dao Soldier apprentices. Meanwhile, Chen Mu combined several Yin Spirit Secret Arts and created a colossal Candle Dragon-like Flood Dragon, leaving him amazed at the power of his unified technique.

• Hu Buwei reported that three Demon Beasts had vanished as the Heaven-Bearing Magic Restriction repaired the Deep Seal, and Zheng Bai Lian rewarded him with ten thousand White Jade.
• Zheng Bai Lian warned Hu Buwei about rumors that he was amassing White Jade by exploiting Dao Soldier apprentices.
• Chen Mu reviewed his Secret Arts and realized he could use the Mountain Bearing Scripture to unify Yin Soul Monsters before applying Five Ghosts Possession and the Five Dragon Scripture.
• Chen Mu tested the combination, progressing from ten Yinhun to Ten Thousand Ghosts Possession while remaining clear-headed.
• Chen Mu used the Five Dragon Scripture to transform the gathered power into a colossal black-and-silver Flood Dragon and recognized it as Candle Dragon.

Chen Mu discovered that he could use the Nine Lives Tribulation Splitting Art to connect with many Peach Divine Lords, making his journey to Qianji Sect safer. After passing the Grinding Stone Workshop assessment and preparing to pursue the Dao Foundation Chart, he focused on completing the Yin Spirit Embryo and advancing his Cloud Mirage Heavenly Demon Body.

• Chen Mu used Innate Qi to strengthen his connection to the Star Chart and successfully linked with Peach Divine Lord through the Nine Lives Tribulation Splitting Art.
• Chen Mu persuaded Yang Fu to witness his Grinding Stone Workshop assessment and passed by grinding two hundred jin of Demonic Energy Stone Powder in an hour.
• Chen Mu revealed that he had gained control of one hundred and thirty-seven Peach Divine Lord versions, reducing the danger of being sent to Qianji Sect as cannon fodder.
• Chen Mu concluded that he could now head to Qianji Sect to seek a Dao Foundation Chart.
• Chen Mu considered how to complete the Yin Spirit Embryo and bring his Cloud Mirage Heavenly Demon True Body to great completion.

Chen Mu learned that the Celestial Battlefield lay among the stars, bought an outdated bestiary, and prepared to leave the Hundred Illusions Sect as a Dao Soldier. At the contract ceremony, the Pure Yang Dao Ancestor’s power watched over the apprentices, leaving Chen Mu unsure whether his Nine Lives Tribulation Splitting Art could withstand a tribulation art from such an existence.

• Hu Buwei told Chen Mu that the Celestial Battlefield was also called the Star Battlefield and lay among the stars, while both men suspected the other of hidden motives.
• Chen Mu bought an original Jade Slip of the thirty-year-old Compendium of Demons and Monsters Supplement and resolved to avoid the Myriad Sutra Cave.
• Chen Mu monitored Hu Buwei, cultivated in his Cave Dwelling, declined invitations to join Dao Soldier alliances, and chose the Grade A Contract for its shorter term.
• Zheng Bai Lian summoned the Pure Yang Dao Ancestor before the Four Directions Cauldron, and the Dao Soldier apprentices submitted their Contracts into its flames.
• Chen Mu submitted his signed Grade A Contract and felt the Pure Yang Dao Ancestor’s immense gaze, then worried that his Nine Lives Tribulation Splitting Art could not withstand a tribulation art cast by such a being.

Chuan Changzai discovered a strange fissure around the Stone Gourd before an unseen figure trapped him. At Qingqiu Mountain, a blood waterfall poured from a rift in the sky, and Zheng Bai Lian used the Dao Soldier Contract to order the disciples to defend the mountain while he fled.

• Chuan Changzai found the Stone Gourd's crack apparently stable, but glimpsed a larger fissure spreading from it before the surface looked normal again.
• An invisible force immobilized Chuan Changzai, and a woman in a black skirt appeared beside him.
• After the Dao Ancestor's power faded, Chen Mu reassured himself that his Contract would not put him in danger as a rear-camp butcher.
• A star shone brightly in daylight as the Demon Suppressing Needles hummed and a fissure opened in the sky above Qingqiu Mountain.
• Blood poured from the rift, and Zheng Bai Lian ordered the disciples to defend the mountain under threat of the Contract's punishment before fleeing.

Chen Mu and the Dao Soldiers were trapped on Qingqiu Mountain as Blood Shadows attacked, while Lan Zhang and Eyeless Child discussed their plans to seize Chen Mu’s Shadow Cave Heaven. The chapter ended with Eyeless Child binding Chen Mu and revealing that he had been targeted for his unusual powers.

• Lu Han ordered the Dao Soldiers to cast the Demon Sealing Curse, but many fled and were killed by the Contract’s Five Thunder Strike.
• Lan Zhang and Eyeless Child discussed the Blood River invasion and revealed that Lan Zhang had chosen Qingqiu Mountain because Chen Mu’s Shadow Cave Heaven was hidden there.
• Chen Mu helped maintain the Demon Sealing Spiritual Light while weighing whether to risk the Nine Lives Tribulation Splitting Art or seek refuge in the warehouse secret realm.
• Yang Fu proposed retreating into the Affairs Office warehouse secret realm, and the Dao Soldiers prepared to escape the Blood Shadows.
• Eyeless Child bound Chen Mu with shadow ribbons, recognized his Shadow Cave Heaven and unusual abilities, and said he could hardly bear to kill him.

Zheng Bai Lian escaped the Blood River’s attack but was trapped by a blood-colored lake, while Chen Mu fled Eyeless into an underground cavern beneath Qingqiu Mountain. Eyeless broke through the cavern’s defenses to attack him, but Chen Mu’s Candle Dragon Dharma Body devoured its shadow, turning the hunt against the monster.

• Zheng Bai Lian decided to hide in the Tianhe Water Mansion, but a blood-colored lake appeared beneath him and revealed that his pupils had turned blood-red.
• Eyeless pursued Chen Mu into the Prison of Essence Valley, where the Demonic Energy Stone stopped it from digging or evading underground.
• Chen Mu hid in an underground river cavern and waited, believing the Demonic Energy Stone would protect him from Eyeless.
• Eyeless spread its shadow through the cavern, surrounded Chen Mu, and threatened to absorb his essence, soul, and spirit.
• Chen Mu summoned his Candle Dragon Dharma Body, which shattered Eyeless’s shadow and began swallowing its fragments.
• Chen Mu taunted Eyeless and threatened to have his Dharma Body tear it apart.

Chen Mu hid in sealed chambers beneath Qingqiu Mountain after devouring the Shadow Monster, and discovered that Thousand Lantern City was growing and had gained a Shadow Pupil. He mapped the limits of the Demonic Energy Stone and deployed Vermilion Feather Swords and backup chambers to monitor the underground while waiting for the Qianji Sect to quell the chaos.

• Chen Mu devoured Eyeless with his Candle Dragon Dharma Image, then continued relocating through chambers carved into Demonic Energy Stone.
• He tended Sea Heart Pines and intermittently opened Thousand Lantern City to keep the air fresh in his sealed chamber.
• Chen Mu saw a Shadow Pupil appear in Thousand Lantern City and realized it let him see and control the Cave Heaven more fully as it continued to expand.
• After exploring beneath Qingqiu Mountain, Chen Mu found the edge of the Heaven-Bearing Magic Restriction and sent two Vermilion Feather Swords to scout beyond it.
• Chen Mu connected to seven hidden backup chambers and confirmed that the Blood Shadow Demons under Lan Zhang could not break through Demonic Energy Stone.
• Chen Mu decided to remain underground and wait for the Qianji Sect to intervene, hoping Lan Zhang would not target him.

Lu Shenjun destroyed the Nine-headed Flood Dragon and ordered Haizhou’s Dao Soldiers to assemble against the Demons, while Chen Mu learned that his Nine Lives Tribulation Splitting Art could blunt the Qianji Sect’s Five Thunder Strike. Chen Mu decided he could avoid reporting to Taoshan Temple and remain safely underground.

• Lu Shenjun burned the Nine-headed Flood Dragon to ashes, causing the rift in the sky to begin closing.
• Lu Shenjun ordered groups to gather Haizhou’s Dao Soldiers and rebuked Lan Xiuzhu for failing to detect the Celestial Star’s disturbance and for suggesting the recall of veterans.
• Chen Mu watched the expanding Thousand Lantern City Cave Heaven from his underground chamber and observed the Blood Shadow Demon ravaging Misty Forest.
• The Qianji Sect’s edict ordered all Dao Soldiers to report to Taoshan Temple, and Chen Mu feared the Five Thunder Strike would force him into the war.
• Chen Mu’s Nine Lives Tribulation Splitting Art weakened the lightning strike into a harmless nose-tickling jolt, so he decided he could stay underground instead of going to Taoshan Temple.

Chen Mu reached Taoshan Temple and settled into camp, refusing to investigate Misty Forest while he cultivated and listened to rumors. His Heavenly Demon Body completed its transformation, and a jade-white pearl appeared in his Brow Secret Aperture as his Divine Embryo was completed.

• Chen Mu met Elder Mao at Taoshan Temple, admitted the Hundred Illusions Sect’s Dao Soldiers had not been as safe as he expected, and entered the camp.
• Chen Mu reunited with Yang Fu, claimed Elder Chuan had helped him escape Qingqiu Mountain, and refused to accept missions investigating Misty Forest.
• Chen Mu stayed in camp, cultivated his Heavenly Demon Body, and used True Hearing to gather rumors while avoiding the Qianji Sect elder’s notice.
• Chen Mu saw the Starry Sky Chart emerge and a jade-white pearl appear in his Brow Secret Aperture, completing his Divine Embryo and transforming his Heavenly Demon Body.

Chen Mu completed his Divine Embryo, strengthened the Candle Dragon Transformation, and discovered that his new Delusion Seven Emotions Flame could destroy a living being’s Spirit God origin. At Peach Blossom Valley, he learned the Hundred Illusions Sect was nearly destroyed and saw a group of strangely familiar mortals arrive.

• Chen Mu completed his Divine Embryo, transformed the Candle Dragon Dharma Body into a bracelet, and discovered the Delusion Seven Emotions Flame.
• Chen Mu bought two Five-colored Pheasants from Yang Fu, who explained that the Hundred Illusions Sect had been devastated and Taoshan Temple controlled access to Qingqiu Mountain.
• Chen Mu and Yang Fu saw ragged but healthy-looking mortals escorted into Peach Blossom Valley, and Chen Mu sensed he had encountered them before.
• Chen Mu tested the Delusion Seven Emotions Flame on the Five-colored Pheasants and found that it extinguished their life rhythms without injuring their bodies.
• Chen Mu concluded that the flame could burn the origin of a Spirit God and was likely an offensive divine ability of his transformed Heavenly Demon Body.

Chen Mu witnessed a spreading secret technique that made ordinary people and Dao Soldiers sleepwalk toward Qingqiu Mountain, while Qianji Sect isolated the infected in Peach Blossom Valley. Though he believed Thousand Lantern City kept him safe, a Jade Cicada mark appeared on his forehead and he began walking out of the city under the technique’s influence.

• In Misty Forest, blank-faced people and animals walked in unison through the fog toward Qingqiu Mountain.
• Chen Mu recognized signs of damage to the soul spirit among the newcomers to Peach Blossom Valley and feared the illness resembled the Yellow Millet Plague Toxin.
• Dao Soldiers began disappearing from Peach Blossom Valley, but Taoshan Temple’s Black-Clad Patrol stopped some sleepwalkers and returned them to the temple.
• A Qianji Sect Elder named Yan isolated the infected ordinary people behind a barrier, and the disappearances among the Dao Soldiers ceased.
• Chen Mu stayed in Thousand Lantern City, then discovered a Jade Cicada mark on his forehead and lost control of himself.
• Chen Mu began sleepwalking toward the outside of Thousand Lantern City.

Chen Mu discovered that the Sleepwalking Evil Art was still spreading through Peach Blossom Valley despite the Qianji Sect’s assurances. As more residents fell victim and the crisis worsened, Lu Shenjun prepared to use the Plague Immortal Banner against Meng Qingchan, while Chen Mu remained unable to save others with his Seven Emotions Flame without harming their Spirit Gods.

• Chen Mu narrowly escaped sleepwalking toward the peach grove when the Delusion Seven Emotions Flame burned away the markings on his forehead.
• Panic spread through Peach Blossom Valley as the Sleepwalking Evil Art continued to infect residents despite the Qianji Sect Elders’ efforts.
• At the Diyin Sect, Lan Xiuzhu asked Lu Shenjun for the Plague Immortal Banner, but Lu Shenjun vowed to kill Meng Qingchan and ordered Lan Xiuzhu to return to his defense zone.
• Chen Mu awakened Yang Fu from the evil art with a pebble, and Yang Fu thanked him before joining the other infected residents being held under guard.
• Chen Mu recalled that using the Seven Emotions Flame on others would also burn away their Spirit Gods, and he hoped the Qianji Sect would find a cure.

Lan Zhang prepared to leave Qingqiu Mountain after studying the Exquisite Golden Chapter, while Chen Mu awaited a cure for the Sleepwalking Evil Art in Peach Blossom Valley. The Qianji Sect’s rain ritual purged the Green Worm Gu, but Chen Mu was then ordered to join an expedition into Misty Forest and feared the demons ahead.

• Lan Zhang dismissed Eyeless Child’s warnings and announced that they would leave Qingqiu Mountain rather than save Green Worm Divine Lord.
• Chen Mu failed to use his Seven Emotions Flame to cure an afflicted Black-Thread Rat without killing its Spirit God, as the evil art spread through Peach Blossom Valley.
• Yan Ming identified the evil art as Green Worm Gu and led more than a thousand cultivators in a Demon Sealing Curse and rain ritual that began purging the poison across Haizhou.
• Two days later, Hu Buwei joined the Hundred Illusions Division as Hai Ming prepared to lead the cultivators into Misty Forest, leaving Chen Mu worried about confronting demons and considering escape.

Chen Mu watched Qianji Sect’s puppet Dao Soldiers, made from people whose souls had been destroyed by the Green Worm evil art, fight Demons in Misty Forest. Five days later, as he continued training and supporting the Awakening Spirit Bell, Lan Zhang escaped through the shrinking rift and the Demon chaos appeared to be ending.

• Chen Mu and Lu Han watched Qianji Sect’s Dao Soldiers kill the Red-Eyed Water Ape and march deeper into Misty Forest, and Lu Han identified Yang Fu among the mindless soldiers.
• Chen Mu worried about Qianji Sect’s use of people as Dao Soldiers and resolved to study Yinling Secret Arts to help his Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed hosts survive.
• Five days later, Chen Mu supplied the Awakening Spirit Bell with Sealing Strange Force and saw that his Demon Sealing Curse had reached its limit.
• Chen Mu considered practicing the Tongyou Curse and other Secret Arts while continuing to strengthen himself.
• Lan Zhang shot through the shrinking blood-red rift and escaped, leading Chen Mu to believe the Demon chaos was ending.

Three months after Sky Rift was sealed, Chen Mu and the Hundred Illusions Division continued exterminating demons across Haizhou before returning to Qingqiu Mountain. After receiving his rewards and finding the Spirit Fox Secret Codex lacked the Dao Foundation Chart, Chen Mu resolved to keep pursuing strength and chose to cultivate the Ten Directions Hand.

• A swarm of blood-red mosquitoes devastated Sparrow City, and Hu Buwei’s Dao Soldiers killed the remaining swarm, though Chen Mu found that only a handful of the city’s tens of thousands of residents had survived.
• Chen Mu and Lu Han reflected on their exhausting work producing Sealing Magic Power as the demon extermination campaign neared its end.
• More than ten days later, Chen Mu received Dao Merit, White Jade, and the Spirit Fox Secret Codex at Qingqiu Mountain, where Taoshan Temple and the remnants of the Hundred Illusions Sect had formed a new temple.
• Chen Mu read the Spirit Fox Secret Codex and discovered it contained no Dao Foundation Chart, leaving him convinced he would still need to go to the Star Battlefield to pursue a Dao Foundation.
• Chen Mu reviewed his Gray Wall skills and chose the Ten Directions Hand as the secret art to practice, testing its power by concentrating force into his fist.

Chen Mu used a borrowed Yellow Gourd to dig Demonic Energy Stone for Thousand Lantern City while learning that Hu Buwei had been ordered to serve as a Dao Soldier. As Chen Mu continued expanding the city, he discovered a gourd that looked exactly like the carrier of the Ninety-Nine Heaven-Bearing Magic Restriction.

• Chen Mu helped clear the rubble around the shattered Demon Suppressing Needle and secretly planned to use the Yellow Gourd to gather Demonic Energy Stone.
• Lu Han told the cultivators that Hu Buwei and the other Hundred Illusions Sect members had been ordered to become Dao Soldiers, with Hu Buwei facing the dangerous front line.
• Chen Mu used the Universe One Qi Gourd to dig Demonic Energy Stone and expand Thousand Lantern City's foundation, then crushed a piece with his bare hand and recognized the power of his Ten Directions Hand.
• Lu Han explained that the mountain-clearing work was suspended while Hu Buwei and other experts attended a lecture about the new Mountain Protection Magic Restriction.
• Chen Mu found a gray Stone Gourd in Thousand Lantern City and recognized it as a carrier gourd of the Ninety-Nine Heaven-Bearing Magic Restriction.