Chapter Summaries

Song Qingyu was poisoned by Chen Zicong’s Black Python Needles and fled with Wu Xiang and Chen Zicong in pursuit, while the defenders at Qinghe Market began to retreat. The Liu Family held back from joining the battle, leaving the marketplace’s fate uncertain.

• Song Changxiong rallied the defenders as the attack on Qinghe Market eased, while the Liu Family Patriarch chose to wait instead of sending his small force to help.
• Song Qingyu struggled against Wu Xiang and Chen Zicong until Chen Zicong ambushed her with his Black Python Needles.
• Song Qingyu swallowed Detoxification Pills to slow the venom and fled, with Wu Xiang and Chen Zicong pursuing her.
• After Song Qingyu left the battle, Hu Maocai fled with some cultivators, while others retreated into the marketplace’s grand formation.

Song Qingyu was nearly killed by Wu Xiang and Chen Zicong, but Gao Yubai arrived and drove them off. Qinghe Market’s protective array fell, and as bandits attacked the marketplace, Gao Yubai pursued the retreating pair back toward the battle.

• Song Qingyu, weakened by poison and exhaustion, used her final defensive talisman to survive Wu Xiang and Chen Zicong’s attacks.
• Gao Yubai arrived, rescued Song Qingyu, and forced Wu Xiang and Chen Zicong to retreat toward Qinghe Market.
• Gao Yubai pursued Wu Xiang and Chen Zicong after leaving Song Qingyu behind.
• Cheng Yilong’s forces broke Qinghe Market’s protective array, and over a hundred bandit cultivators stormed the marketplace to search for spiritual items.
• Song Changxiong and the other defenders formed the Golden Net Immortal Trapping Formation while Cheng Yilong ordered his forces to intensify their assault and pursued fleeing cultivators.
• Wu Xiang and Chen Zicong returned to Qinghe Market with Gao Yubai following close behind.

Gao Yubai and the arriving family cultivators forced the Bandit Cultivators to retreat from Qinghe Market, though Cheng Yilong defeated Gao Yubai before escaping. Song Qingming reached the devastated marketplace fearing for Song Qingyu, then found her alive and exhausted.

• Gao Yubai led dozens of Qi Refining Cultivators into the fight at Qinghe Market, prompting Cheng Yilong to signal a retreat after much of the market had been plundered.
• Cheng Yilong stayed behind to cover the Bandit Cultivators' escape while Wu Xiang and Chen Zicong directed their men north.
• Cheng Yilong defeated Gao Yubai in a clash outside the marketplace and then flew away.
• Song Changxiong organized the rescue of wounded cultivators and the gathering of the dead after the attackers withdrew.
• Song Qingming arrived late, searched for Song Qingyu, and found her alive as she apologized for failing to defend the marketplace.

After Qinghe Market was retaken, Song Qingming learned how Song Qingyu had escaped and mourned the heavy casualties suffered by the Song Family and the other families. Lu Yuanfeng then revealed that he had found leads pointing to a traitor who helped the bandits breach the marketplace.

• Song Qingming gave the injured and poisoned Song Qingyu Healing Pills, and she recovered enough to recount how Gao Yubai had saved her after the marketplace fell.
• Song Qingming learned that bandit cultivators had looted nearly ten thousand Spirit Stones' worth of goods and killed many cultivators and mortals, including Song Changqiu and Hu Maocai.
• Song Qingming grieved over the Song Family's dead and injured, including Song Qingwan, whose meridians had been damaged and who would be unable to practice Alchemy for years.
• Lu Yuanfeng visited Song Qingming while Song Qingyu healed and said his investigation had uncovered suspicious individuals who might have helped the bandits breach the marketplace.
• Song Qingming explained why he believed the attack had been planned in advance, and Lu Yuanfeng confirmed that he had leads on the traitor.

Lu Yuanfeng exposed two Qi Refining cultivators whose careless talk had helped Cheng Yilong’s forces attack Qinghe Market, and the Foundation Establishment cultivators debated how severely to punish them. Song Qingming and Huang Shengyue opposed leniency, while the Lu Family acknowledged its responsibility.

• Lu Yuanfeng revealed that Lu Pingjiang had sold Qinghe Market’s secrets to Cheng Yilong’s side and that two cultivators had unintentionally leaked sensitive information.
• Song Qingming recalled suspecting a traitor after the failed expedition to Eagle Nest Ridge and concluded that Lu Pingjiang’s information had helped the attackers breach the marketplace array.
• Lu Xingde prompted Gao Jinhe to plead for a light punishment, surprising Song Qingming and Gao Yubai.
• Song Qingming argued that the two cultivators deserved severe punishment because their disclosures had cost many lives.
• Huang Shengyue supported Song Qingming, and Lu Yuanfeng agreed that they should be severely punished while the elders also accepted responsibility.

Lu Yuanfeng punished the Lu Family and its collaborators for helping Eagle Nest Ridge attack Qinghe Market, then arranged a counterattack. Song Qingming prepared to return home, leaving Song Xin hu to manage the family’s shop while Song Qingyu remained at the market.

• Lu Yuanfeng spared two Lu Family offenders from execution but sentenced them to twenty years of mining, exposed their crimes, and confiscated two family shops for the Gao and Song Families.
• Lu Yuanfeng arranged for Qinghe Market’s forces to gather at Funiu Mountain in three days and wrote to the Cao Family of Pingyang County for reinforcements against Eagle Nest Ridge.
• Song Qingyu offered to join the expedition, but Lu Yuanfeng persuaded her to stay behind and guard Qinghe Market.
• Song Qingming reprimanded Song Xin hu and told him to manage the Song Family’s shop while he returned home the next day.
• Song Qingyu grieved over Song Changqiu’s death and blamed herself, while Song Qingming urged her to protect herself if danger arose again.

Song Qingming warned Song Qingyu to put her own survival first when protecting the family, then led a force of Qinghe County cultivators toward Eagle Nest Ridge to wipe out the bandits who had attacked Qinghe Market. The assault began after Gao Yubai reported that the bandits had returned and remained unaware of the approaching army.

• Song Qingming told Song Qingyu that her safety as a Foundation Establishment elder mattered more to the Song Family than risking her life to protect clansmen.
• Song Qingyu recalled that she could have fled Qinghe Market but stayed to delay the enemy, and realized she might have died without Gao Yubai's timely arrival.
• Song Qingming gathered cultivators from Qinghe County and the Cao Family of Pingyang County, and they marched to Eagle Nest Ridge.
• Gao Yubai returned from scouting and reported that the bandits were celebrating on the mountain without noticing the force.
• Lu Yuanfeng divided the cultivators into eastern and western groups, sent a warning to the bandits, and ordered everyone to charge Eagle Nest Ridge.

Song Qingming and the other cultivators besieged Eagle Nest Ridge, wearing down its Mountain Protection Array while Cheng Yilong waited in vain for reinforcements. As the array neared collapse, Wu Xiang tried to bargain with Lu Yuanfeng, but Cheng Yilong caught him and proposed that he help Eagle Nest Ridge survive.

• Song Qingming and seven other Foundation Establishment Cultivators surrounded Eagle Nest Ridge and began taking turns attacking its Mountain Protection Array.
• Cheng Yilong reassured the increasingly anxious Wu Xiang that reinforcements were coming, though Chen Zicong knew the array could hold for only about a month.
• After half a month passed without reinforcements and the array neared collapse, Wu Xiang contacted Lu Yuanfeng and offered to help open the array in exchange for safe passage for his group.
• Chen Zicong discovered Wu Xiang's message and informed Cheng Yilong, who confronted Wu Xiang and asked him to help Eagle Nest Ridge seek a way to survive.
• Lu Yuanfeng discussed Wu Xiang's offer with the others, and most considered accepting it to break the array early and let Wu Xiang's group go.

Lu Yuanfeng’s forces stormed Eagle Nest Ridge after its Mountain Protection Array was shut down, but Cheng Yilong and Chen Zicong used a fake surrender and a Golden Talisman to escape with their followers. The pursuers regrouped and split up to hunt down the two bandit leaders.

• Lu Yuanfeng agreed to Wu Xiang’s demands and ordered the array opened by the following night.
• Song Qingming and the other cultivators charged up Eagle Nest Ridge, where Gao Jinhe’s group stopped a band of fleeing cultivators wearing white sashes.
• A disguised Chen Zicong posed as the wounded Wu Xiang, then trapped Gao Jinhe and Gao Yubai with a Golden Talisman while Cheng Yilong attacked.
• Cheng Yilong and Chen Zicong led nearly a hundred cultivators down the mountain after revealing that they had killed the real Wu Xiang and his followers.
• Song Qingming and the others broke the Gao Family pair free and pursued the escaping bandits.
• Lu Yuanfeng assigned the Gao Family pair, Lu Xingde, and a Cao Family cultivator to intercept Chen Zicong, while he, Song Qingming, and the Huang Family pair chased Cheng Yilong.

Qinghe Market’s forces routed the Eagle Nest Ridge Bandit Cultivators and cornered Cheng Yilong, who used a Heavenly Heart Lightning to wound Huang Shengxin. When the smoke cleared, Cheng Yilong had vanished, leaving his fate unknown.

• Cheng Yilong and Chen Zicong were exposed while fleeing, and the remaining bandits scattered into a desperate retreat.
• Huang Shengxin caught up with Cheng Yilong and blocked his escape, then Song Qingming, Lu Yuanfeng, and Huang Shengyue joined the fight.
• Cheng Yilong was overwhelmed by the four cultivators and threatened them with a Heavenly Heart Lightning.
• Huang Shengxin pressed his attack despite the threat, so Cheng Yilong detonated the Heavenly Heart Lightning and badly injured his shoulder.
• When the smoke cleared, Cheng Yilong had disappeared.

Song Qingming discovered Cheng Yilong hiding beneath a Concealment Formation, but Cheng Yilong struck before Song could alert the others. Cheng Yilong failed to break through Song’s Azure Water Bell and offered him a Grade 3 Spirit Medicine, leaving Song wary of the bargain.

• Huang Shengxin led the group in searching the forest for the wounded Cheng Yilong, while Lu Yuanfeng left to bring reinforcements.
• Song Qingming sensed a faint spiritual fluctuation and discovered Cheng Yilong’s Concealment Formation beneath a great tree.
• Song decided to leave and alert the nearby Huang Family members, but Cheng Yilong saw through his act and launched a sneak attack.
• Song activated the Azure Water Bell, and Cheng Yilong’s repeated saber strikes failed to break through its defense.
• Cheng Yilong offered Song a Grade 3 Spirit Medicine in exchange for being allowed to escape, but Song did not trust him.

Song Qingming foiled Cheng Yilong’s attempted ambush and killed the Bandit Cultivator leader, though he was injured in the fight. The Huang Family members arrived to find Cheng Yilong dead, and Lu Yuanfeng soon joined them.

• Cheng Yilong offered Song Qingming a Grade 3 Spirit Medicine and other valuables in exchange for safe passage.
• When Song Qingming moved to pursue him, a hidden dagger flew from the jade box, and Cheng Yilong attacked from behind with a Black Blade.
• Song Qingming’s Mystic Light Armor was cut through, but his body stopped the Black Blade, and his close-range strike left Cheng Yilong unable to fight.
• Song Qingming confirmed Cheng Yilong was dead, collected the valuables and two Grade 2 Mid-grade artifacts, and treated his injuries.
• Two members of the Huang Family arrived, and Huang Shengxin severed Cheng Yilong’s head after checking his corpse.
• Lu Yuanfeng descended and asked whether the group had found their target.

After Eagle Nest Ridge was defeated, Song Qingming and the other cultivators settled the spoils and returned to Qinghe Market. The bandits were wiped out and the recovered treasures were inventoried, leaving Lu Yuanfeng relieved that the successful counterattack had spared him punishment.

• Lu Yuanfeng learned that Song Qingming had killed Cheng Yilong after Huang Shengxin wounded him, and Song handed over Cheng's Storage Bag and received the black saber in return.
• Lu Yuanfeng accepted the Storage Bag for Qinghe Market and awarded Cheng Yilong's magic tool to Song Qingming, with Huang Shengxin and Huang Shengyue agreeing.
• Gao Jinhe and his companions arrived after killing Chen Zicong, and Lu Yuanfeng led everyone back to the fighting at the foot of Eagle Nest Ridge.
• The cultivators defeated the remaining bandits, found Wu Xiang dead in a hidden cave, and searched Eagle Nest Ridge for its spiritual items.
• Lu Yuanfeng's forces inventoried the spoils in Qinghe Market, recovering lost goods and gaining more than ten thousand Spirit Stones' worth of valuables.

Song Qingming reflected on the Carefree Sect’s Merit Pavilion and the rewards the families received after the battle, then recounted how he outmaneuvered Cheng Yilong and survived their duel. He returned from Mount Guyang disappointed after finding that the Song Family’s Merit Points were insufficient to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill.

• Lu Yuanfeng sent the bandit leaders’ heads to the Carefree Sect, and the participating families received Merit Points, with the Huang and Gao Families receiving the largest shares.
• Song Qingming recalled how he used the Formless Jade Light Needle and the Incomplete Map sewn over his chest to kill Cheng Yilong and survive his final strike.
• Song Qingming kept the spiritual items Cheng Yilong had brought out during the duel, and Lu Yuanfeng did not investigate their disappearance.
• Song Qingming comforted the Song Family’s dead and wounded cultivators after distributing the family’s share of the spoils.
• Song Qingming went to the Merit Pavilion at Mount Guyang, but the Song Family’s five hundred Merit Points were far short of the two thousand needed toward a Foundation Establishment Pill, and he returned without an exchange.

After the Song Family’s marketplace business faltered, Song Qingming brought Shi Chun back to Qinghe Market to help restore it. He then learned that Lu Yuanfeng’s recall was tied to war between Lu State and the Tianhai Alliance, which had forced Lingyin Sect to seek aid from neighboring countries.

• Song Qingwan’s severe injuries and Song Changqiu’s death weakened the Song Family’s presence in Qinghe Market, and Song Changyue struggled to keep its shops profitable.
• Song Qingming transferred Shi Chun from Phoenix Head Mountain to Qinghe Market, where Shi Chun gradually improved the Song Family’s businesses.
• Lu Yuanfeng was urgently recalled to the Carefree Sect, and Feng De replaced him as Qinghe Market’s guardian.
• Song Qingming visited the Huang Family on Taiyuan Mountain and learned that the Tianhai Alliance was at war with Lu State and had pushed Lingyin Sect’s front line back.
• Song Qingming learned that Lingyin Sect and the Carefree Sect were mobilizing for support against the powerful Tianhai Alliance, whose forces also faced the Demonic Beasts of the Leiyuan Sea.

Song Qingming reviewed the Song Family’s growing cultivation trades and resources, then went to Qinghe Market after receiving news. At the Immortal Phoenix Tower, he found Song Xin hu and Li Hongyu managing the restaurant while the injured Li Quan had stepped back from its affairs.

• Song Qingming noted that Song Xintang was emerging as a promising Alchemist while the family trained more Formation Masters, Talisman Makers, Artifact Refiners, and practitioners of other arts.
• The Song Family expanded its Spirit Fields to two hundred mu, though its fifty cultivators struggled to manage the work and the family’s businesses.
• Song Qingming built a cordial relationship with Feng De, who had taken over at Qinghe Market and maintained Lu Yuanfeng’s regulations and trusted aides.
• Song Qingming visited the Immortal Phoenix Tower and saw that Song Xin hu and Li Hongyu were running it while Li Quan recovered from his injuries.
• Song Xin hu spotted Song Qingming and called Li Hongyu from the kitchen to greet him.

Song Qingming investigated why the Skyfire Roc had been asleep for more than ten days, but the Beast Tamers at Qinghe Market could not identify the problem. Shi Chun pointed him toward Ma Boshan, a suspected Level 2 Beast Tamer at Phoenix Head Mountain, and Song Qingming went to seek his help.

• Li Hongyu told Song Qingming that the Skyfire Roc had fallen asleep after a hunting trip to Yunwu Mountain and would not wake.
• Song Qingming examined the Skyfire Roc and tried to rouse it through their spirit beast contract, but it remained asleep.
• Song Qingming consulted several renowned Beast Tamers in Qinghe Market, but none could explain the Skyfire Roc's condition.
• Shi Chun told Song Qingming that Ma Boshan at Phoenix Head Mountain was believed to be a Level 2 Beast Tamer.
• Song Qingming prepared gifts and took the Skyfire Roc to visit Ma Boshan at the Phoenix Head Mountain mine.

Song Qingming learned that his Skyfire Roc needed a Golden Thunder Fruit to have a chance of breaking through to the second rank. Unable to obtain one from Ma Boshan or the sect, he sought help from the Demon Race and asked Long Feng for the fruit.

• Song Qingming visited Ma Boshan, who explained that the Skyfire Roc was gathering strength to break through but might fail because its foundation was weak.
• Ma Boshan told Song Qingming that the Skyfire Roc needed a Golden Thunder Fruit, which was rare and unavailable through the sect’s Merit Pavilion.
• Song Qingming thanked Ma Boshan and gave him several prepared spirit objects before leaving.
• A month later, Song Qingming met Long Feng in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range after learning that Fire Phoenix was in seclusion.
• Song Qingming asked Long Feng for a second-rank Golden Thunder Fruit, and Long Feng demanded to know why he wanted it.

Song Qingming struck a bargain with Long Feng, who took the Skyfire Roc to help it advance in exchange for a favor to be named later. Half a year later, a Level 2 Demonic Beast appeared over Funiu Mountain, but Song Qingming arrived on its back and surprised Song Changfeng.

• Song Qingming admitted he had brought the Skyfire Roc and asked Long Feng about the Golden Thunder Fruit.
• Long Feng examined the Skyfire Roc and agreed to take it for half a year to help it advance, asking Song Qingming to owe him a future favor.
• Song Qingming reflected on the danger of dealing with Long Feng and decided the Skyfire Roc’s advancement was worth the debt.
• Half a year later, a giant bird appeared over Funiu Mountain, and Song Changfeng ordered the Mountain Protection Array activated.
• Song Qingming leaped down from the bird, passed through the array, and startled Song Changfeng.

Song Qingming returned to Funiu Mountain with the Skyfire Roc, which had advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm and became a powerful guardian for the Song Family. He and Song Changfeng held a Grand Ceremony of Grace and Honor for the younger generation, as the family’s growing prosperity and changing generations came into view.

• Song Qingming arrived riding the enlarged, ash-white Skyfire Roc and told Song Changfeng and the elders to deactivate the Mountain Protection Array.
• Song Qingming settled the Skyfire Roc at Funiu Mountain, tested its combat strength, and arranged for a Beast Tamer to care for it.
• Song Changfeng proposed a Grand Ceremony of Grace and Honor, and Song Qingming agreed to invite family cultivators who could return.
• Song Qingming and Song Qingyu attended the ceremony and gave gifts to five Yuan Generation children as they paid their respects.
• Song Qingming reflected on the Song Family’s growth, while the older Chang Generation cultivators began to pass away or retire.