Chapter Summaries

Song Qingming announced a counterattack after Carefree Sect reinforcements arrived and led Jinshan Market’s cultivators into battle against the Demonic Beasts. As he struck down Level 2 Demonic Beasts, the White Lion Demon King finally appeared to face him.

• Song Qingming told Jinshan Market’s Foundation Establishment Cultivators that reinforcements had arrived and ordered a covert counterattack for the next day.
• Song Qingming secretly informed Cao Rongxue and the others at Huoyun Mountain of the plan, then agreed to let part of Song Yuanli’s Law Enforcement Team fight while the rest supervised the rear.
• The White Lion Demon King heard battle cries and sent its Demonic Beast Army toward Jinshan Market, believing the cultivators had finally fallen for its provocations.
• Nearly two thousand fighters from Jinshan Market charged out and clashed with the Demonic Beast Army; Song Qingyu was surrounded after killing a Foundation Establishment Early Stage Demonic Beast.
• Song Qingming arrived, killed two Level 2 Demonic Beasts with the Green Willow Sword, and drew the White Lion Demon King out to confront him.

Song Qingming lured the White Lion Demon King away from its army and trapped it in an encirclement with the Golden Winged Flying Tiger Puppet Beast. The White Lion Demon King was driven into a desperate fight, with Song Qingming and his allies poised to slay it.

• Song Qingming attacked the White Lion Demon King at full strength, but it rallied nearby demonic beasts and forced him to retreat.
• The White Lion Demon King intercepted Song Qingming and injured him as he tried to flee toward Jinshan Market's Mountain Protection Array.
• Song Qingming turned back and drew the White Lion Demon King toward the Bewitching Illusion Array he had prepared.
• Wu Wenhai and two others used the Golden Winged Flying Tiger Puppet Beast to block the White Lion Demon King's escape, while pursuing demonic beasts were trapped in the array.
• Song Qingming and the Golden Winged Flying Tiger attacked the surrounded White Lion Demon King, which roared for help as it was driven back.

Song Qingming and his allies defeated the Demonic Beast Army at Jinshan Market after killing the White Lion Demon King, then catalogued the battle’s enormous spoils. Song Yuanli asked Song Qingming whether cultivators should be allowed to claim or buy demonic beast materials before the spoils were distributed.

• Song Qingming trapped the White Lion Demon King's inner core with the Five-Colored Divine Light Mirror and, with Wu Wenhai's support, killed the Demon King and claimed its inner core.
• Song Qingming helped Huang Siyuan defeat the Level 2 Demonic Beasts trapped in her array, then joined the battlefield with Wu Wenhai's group and turned the battle in the cultivators' favor.
• The Jinshan Market Cultivators routed the demonic beasts and pursued them north before returning after a nearly hundred-li chase.
• Song Yuanli and the Law Enforcement Team inventoried the spoils: one Level 3 Demon King, thirty-six Level 2 Demonic Beasts, and more than sixteen hundred Level 1 demonic beasts.
• Song Yuanli told Song Qingming that cultivators wanted to exchange Merit Points or Spirit Stones for demonic beast materials and asked whether he should approve their requests.

Song Qingming learned that Song Qingyu’s force had destroyed the Demonic Beasts at Huoyun Mountain, leaving Jinshan Market safe, and arranged rewards and compensation for those who fought there. At Carefree Hall, Yao Ganshu proposed using the Deer Soul Pill to join an attack at Guiyun Marketplace, but Li Mufeng rejected his plan and left the next deployment undecided.

• Song Qingming told Song Yuanli to delay distributing Merit Points until the battle contributions were tallied, while allowing some lower-grade Demonic Beast Materials to be sold and reserving materials of Level Two and above for the sect.
• Song Qingyu reported that her force and Cao Rongxue’s defenders had nearly wiped out the Demonic Beasts at Huoyun Mountain, with only two Level 2 Demonic Beasts escaping.
• Yao Ganshu and Li Mufeng agreed that Song Qingming could handle the seized materials and merit accounts, while the White Lion Demon King’s core and materials would be kept until Song Qingming returned.
• Yao Ganshu proposed taking a Deer Soul Pill and joining Song Qingming and the Golden Winged Flying Tiger in an attack on the Demonic Beasts at Guiyun Marketplace, but Li Mufeng objected and left without approving the plan.
• Song Qingming distributed rewards according to merit to Rogue Cultivators, Carefree Sect disciples, and cultivation families, and gave one Level Two Spiritual Item to each of the ten most outstanding fighters.
• Song Qingming arranged compensation for the dead, including more than four hundred cultivators killed during the conflict; Lu Xingde and several other Foundation Establishment Cultivators had also fallen.

Song Qingming managed Jinshan Market’s postwar compensation and supplies while the Carefree Sect prepared to send him to another battlefield. Meanwhile, Yao Ganshu resolved to risk his life for the sect, and Li Mufeng gave him a Deer Soul Pill that could temporarily suppress his injuries.

• Song Qingming distributed pensions to the descendants of fallen cultivators and sent Wu Wenhai and the other two off to support Gaoyun County.
• Song Yuanli reported the Song Family’s losses, and Song Qingming ordered that the dead clansmen’s belongings and compensation be stored until their descendants could be verified.
• Song Qingming arranged rewards for the Song Family and discreetly sent useful Demonic Beast Materials back to Funiu Mountain.
• Carefree Sect Merit Pavilion cultivators loaded Jinshan Market’s remaining Demonic Beast Materials onto two Flying Boats, and Song Qingming later received an edict summoning him to the sect.
• Yao Ganshu told Li Mufeng he had decided to give up his personal path to help the sect, and Li Mufeng handed him a Deer Soul Pill to suppress his injuries for up to two hours.

Song Qingming returned to Mount Guyang and learned that the Carefree Sect planned a counterattack at Guiyun Marketplace, with Li Xianyun and the recovered Yao Ganshu joining the effort. He was assigned to hold back the Nine-Patterned Flood Dragon while his allies fought the Fire Leopard Demon King.

• Song Qingming handed Jinshan Market’s defenses to Song Qingyu, Zhao Chuancheng, and the others, then hurried alone to Mount Guyang.
• Li Mufeng introduced the yellow-robed Golden Core cultivator as Li Xianyun, a famed rogue cultivator who had returned to help fight the demonic beasts.
• Li Mufeng explained the plan to defeat the two Demon Kings south of Guiyun Marketplace, then join Bai Yuxian’s forces and trap the other Demon Kings in Gaoyun County.
• Song Qingming questioned whether he and Li Xianyun could defeat the Nine-Patterned Flood Dragon and the Fire Leopard Demon King quickly enough, and Li Mufeng revealed that Yao Ganshu would join them.
• Li Mufeng assigned Song Qingming to hold back the Nine-Patterned Flood Dragon for half an hour while Yao Ganshu and Li Xianyun fought the Fire Leopard Demon King, and Song Qingming accepted.

The Carefree Sect marched to Zixing Market to confront the Demon Kings and lured the Fire Leopard Demon King away from its army. After Li Xianyun blocked its attack, Yao Ganshu arrived with much of his strength restored, trapping the Fire Leopard Demon King between them.

• Li Mufeng organized more than two thousand cultivators to advance toward Zixing Market with Yao Ganshu, Song Qingming, and Li Xianyun.
• The Carefree Sect chose to draw the Fire Leopard Demon King away from the marketplace so they could focus their strength on killing it.
• Five Foundation Establishment Cultivators attacked Demonic Beasts near a river, prompting the Fire Leopard Demon King to pursue them northeast.
• Li Xianyun emerged from a concealed formation, split the Fire Leopard Demon King's fireball, and let the five cultivators retreat safely.
• The Fire Leopard Demon King tried to flee back to Zixing Market, but Yao Ganshu blocked its way with an iron tower after taking the Deer Soul Pill and recovering much of his strength.

The Carefree Sect attacked Zixing Market, where Yao Ganshu and Li Xianyun fought the Fire Leopard Demon King while Song Qingming held off the Nine-Patterned Flood Dragon. After Song Qingming resisted the flood dragon’s poisonous mist and illusion, the Fire Leopard Demon King was killed, and the Nine-Patterned Flood Dragon fled north.

• Yao Ganshu and Li Xianyun attacked the Fire Leopard Demon King as Song Qingming led Carefree Sect cultivators in an assault on Zixing Market.
• The Nine-Patterned Flood Dragon summoned reinforcements from Guiyun Marketplace, then moved to rescue the Fire Leopard Demon King, but Song Qingming blocked its path.
• The Nine-Patterned Flood Dragon trapped Song Qingming in poisonous mist and an illusion of Li Mufeng, but Song Qingming saw through the deception and escaped.
• Song Qingming held off the Nine-Patterned Flood Dragon with spells and magic treasures while Yao Ganshu and Li Xianyun overwhelmed the Fire Leopard Demon King.
• After Li Xianyun beheaded the defeated Fire Leopard Demon King, the Nine-Patterned Flood Dragon concealed its escape with poisonous mist and fled north.

Song Qingming helped the Carefree Sect retake Zixing Market, then took command while Yao Ganshu withdrew to recuperate. The White Dragon Demon King abandoned plans to retake the market and warned the Demon Kings in the south, forcing their armies to retreat north toward Guiyun Marketplace.

• Song Qingming returned to Zixing Market after the Nine-Patterned Flood Dragon escaped, and the remaining demonic beasts fled north after learning the Fire Leopard Demon King had died.
• Song Qingming ordered the Carefree Sect disciples to stop pursuing the fleeing beasts and repair the Mountain Protection Array.
• Yao Ganshu explained that the Deer Soul Pill's effects had ended, transferred command of the marketplace's cultivators to Song Qingming, and returned to Mount Guyang to recuperate.
• Song Qingming coordinated the repairs, and the Mountain Protection Array was fully restored two days later without a Demon King attack.
• The Nine-Patterned Flood Dragon met two Demon Kings sent from Guiyun Marketplace, and the three decided against attacking Zixing Market and returned to report to the White Dragon Demon King.
• The White Dragon Demon King warned the Gale Demon King and the Nine-Headed Demon King that Zixing Market had fallen; they abandoned their attack on Cuiyun Market and began retreating north.

The Carefree Sect ambushed the exhausted Demonic Beast Army as it retreated from Gaoyun County, and Song Qingming and Li Xianyun killed the Nine-Headed Demon King. Song Qingming traded for its Essence Soul to advance his Soul Devouring Art, while the Gale Demon King escaped and most of the demonic beasts were slaughtered.

• True Person Guangling pursued the retreating Demonic Beast Army from Cuiyun Market while Bai Yuxian and the Carefree Sect prepared an ambush near Zixing Market.
• The Carefree Sect forces attacked the exhausted army, and the Gale Demon King and Nine-Headed Demon King fled separately as Song Qingming, Li Xianyun, True Person Guangling, and Wu Wenhai's group intercepted them.
• Song Qingming and Li Xianyun fought the Nine-Headed Demon King, and Li Xianyun killed it with his sword arts.
• Song Qingming exchanged a spiritual item with Li Xianyun for the Nine-Headed Demon King's Essence Soul, which he wanted to cultivate the Soul Devouring Art.
• True Person Guangling and the Golden Winged Flying Tiger wounded the Gale Demon King, but it escaped north after meeting another Demon King.
• The Carefree Sect routed the Demonic Beast Army, killing most of its beasts while only a small portion escaped north to Guiyun Marketplace.

The Carefree Sect reversed the battlefield situation, broke the siege at Tuoyun Mountain, and prepared to relieve Iron Immortal Fortress. Ma Hongshan learned of the victories, but two blue-robed cultivators entered the Council Hall and questioned whether he still needed their help.

• The Demonic Beast Army withdrew north of Guiyun Marketplace after suffering heavy losses, leaving both sides wary of a decisive battle.
• Feng Yangde had wounded the Cloud Crane Demon King with a Grade 3 Mid-grade Spirit Talisman, temporarily saving Tuoyun Mountain from attack.
• Chu Fengping led Carefree Sect reinforcements to Tuoyun Mountain, where they defeated the injured Cloud Crane Demon King and routed the Demonic Beast Army.
• Ma Hongshan learned that the Carefree Sect had repelled the Demonic Beasts at Guiyun Marketplace and Tuoyun Mountain, though he remained unsure how the situation had turned around.
• Two blue-robed cultivators entered Iron Immortal Fortress's Council Hall and asked Ma Hongshan whether he would still need them once Carefree Sect reinforcements arrived.

Ma Hongshan welcomed Carefree Sect’s reinforcements at Iron Immortal Fortress, stabilizing Wei State’s remaining front against the demonic beasts. The turmoil eventually ended after nearly three years, and Song Qingming returned to Jiangling Commandery once the army withdrew.

• Ma Hongshan assured two blue-robed Golden Core Cultivators that he would honor their secret agreement and discuss Qiu Die’s departure with her.
• Chu Fengping and Feng Yangde led several thousand cultivators to Iron Immortal Fortress, where Ma Hongshan warmly welcomed them.
• The reinforcements helped stabilize Iron Immortal Fortress, while the battles at Guiyun Marketplace and the other fronts settled into stalemates.
• The demonic beasts withdrew across the Floating Cloud Mountain Range after nearly three years, bringing the turmoil to an end.
• Song Qingming completed his sect summons mission and returned to Jiangling Commandery with the cultivators under his command.

After the Demonic Beast Turmoil, Song Qingming settled in Qinghe Market and broke through the Soul Devouring Art to its third level. He summoned Feng De to discuss mediating the Lu Family’s dispute with the Li Family, leaving the matter poised for resolution.

• The Demonic Beast Turmoil ended with heavy losses across Wei State, though Jiangling Commandery and Tuoyun Mountain suffered comparatively less than Gaoyun County and Iron Immortal Fortress.
• Song Qingming and Huang Siyuan moved into Qinghe Market, where returning cultivators and a flood of resources revived the marketplace’s prosperity.
• Song Qingming advanced the Soul Devouring Art to its third level, extending his divine sense more than ten li and bringing it close to that of an ordinary Late Golden Core Stage Cultivator.
• Song Qingming summoned Feng De and told him not to overburden himself with extra marketplace patrols just because Song Qingming was staying nearby.
• Song Qingming told Feng De that he would mediate between the Lu Family and the Li Family after the Lu Family sought the Song Family’s protection.

Song Qingming decided how to handle the Lu Family’s decline and then visited Chu Fengping to seek medicine for his family and ways to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills. Chu Fengping said the sect’s pills were reserved for war compensation and proposed another use for Song Qingming’s White Lion Demon King inner core.

• Song Qingming ordered the Lu Family demoted to a Qi Refining Immortal Clan but allowed them to keep their territory for twenty years, and asked Feng De to warn Li Chengyue not to trouble them.
• Song Qingming reflected on the rise and fall of cultivation families, then reunited with Huang Siyuan, who told him Chu Fengping had returned from Iron Immortal Fortress.
• Song Qingming told Huang Siyuan he would seek healing pills for Song Yuanfang and Foundation Establishment Pills for Changze and the others; Huang Siyuan also asked him to find a pill to help her cultivation break through.
• Song Qingming visited Chu Fengping, who recommended Merit Pavilion pills to help Song Yuanfang recover and offered Huang Siyuan a Barrier Breaking Pill.
• Chu Fengping explained that Foundation Establishment Pills would be reserved for families of cultivators who died in the turmoil, so Song Qingming offered his White Lion Demon King inner core in exchange for a batch.
• Chu Fengping called using the inner core to refine Foundation Establishment Pills a waste and began proposing an alternative.

Song Qingming agreed to give Chu Fengping the White Lion Demon King's core to refine White Dew Pills, hoping they would speed his Golden Core cultivation. He then visited the Carefree Sect's Merit Pavilion to seek supplies, but found its stock depleted after the Demonic Beast Turmoil and had to wait for Sect Leader Yao Ganshu's approval to exchange for what he needed.

• Song Qingming asked Chu Fengping about the uses of the White Lion Demon King's inner core, which he had kept since the battle.
• Chu Fengping explained that the core could be used to refine White Dew Pills that might save a Golden Core Cultivator more than ten years of cultivation, and proposed that Song Qingming provide the core while he supplied the other ingredients.
• Song Qingming agreed to the arrangement, giving Chu Fengping the core in exchange for a share of the pills if he refined two or more.
• Song Qingming went to the Carefree Sect's Merit Pavilion to exchange for spiritual items, but the sect's supplies had been greatly depleted after the Demonic Beast Turmoil.
• The Merit Pavilion staff said they needed Sect Leader Yao Ganshu's approval before exchanging Spirit Stones, and Song Qingming found that the third-floor shelves held almost no useful cultivation pills.

Song Qingming exchanged for cultivation supplies at the Carefree Sect and secured a promise of a Foundation Establishment Pill. He then led the Song Family in upgrading Funiu Mountain’s spirit vein, returning home to celebrate the family’s growth and review its elders’ prospects.

• Yao Ganshu welcomed Song Qingming at the Merit Pavilion, arranged for him to receive a Foundation Establishment Pill after the sect refined more, and helped him exchange Merit Points for pills and Spirit Stones.
• Song Qingming gathered the Song Family elders and decided to upgrade Funiu Mountain’s spirit vein to Grade 2 High-grade because the family could not afford a Grade 3 upgrade.
• Song Qingming built a Grade 2 High-grade Spirit Gathering Array with the family’s Formation Masters and invested over twenty thousand Spirit Stones to raise the mountain’s Spiritual Energy.
• A year later, Song Qingming and Huang Siyuan moved back to Funiu Mountain, where the Song Family held a banquet to celebrate the spirit vein upgrade.
• Song Qingming reviewed the Song Family’s growth and the cultivation prospects of Song Qingyu, Huang Siyuan, Song Yuanli, and the injured Song Yuanfang.

Song Qingming considered the Song Family’s promising younger cultivators after receiving a Foundation Establishment Pill from the Carefree Sect. He chose Song Yuanxue to receive it, while deciding that favored junior Song Changze should wait until he was better prepared.

• Song Qingming recognized Song Yuantong and Song Yuanxue for their contributions, while Song Changze emerged as the most promising cultivator of the Chang Generation.
• Song Qingming brought Song Changze to Qinghe Market and personally instructed him in preparation for his future Foundation Establishment.
• The Carefree Sect notified Song Qingming that the Song Family could collect a Foundation Establishment Pill, and he gathered the Foundation Establishment elders to choose a recipient.
• Song Qingyu and Song Yuanfang supported Song Yuanxue, citing her age, Three Spirit Roots, and accomplishments as the family’s only second-grade Spirit Planter Master.
• Song Qingming decided that Song Yuanxue would receive the pill and asked Song Qingyu to guide her in the Wave Breaking Art.
• Song Qingming told Song Qingyu that he still intended to support Song Changze later, but worried that giving him the pill now would add too much pressure.

Song Qingming chose to support Song Yuan Xue’s Foundation Establishment and began refining a White Dew Pill in seclusion. Song Qingyu gave Yuan Xue a Foundation Establishment Pill, leaving her overwhelmed with excitement as she admired the view from the mountaintop.

• Song Qingming explained to Song Qingyu why Song Yuan Xue deserved support, then decided Song Changze could join the Law Enforcement Team to build experience.
• Song Qingming entered seclusion and took a White Dew Pill to improve his cultivation.
• Song Yuan Xue transplanted a Grade 2 Spirit Fruit Tree in the Spiritual Medicine Garden, reflecting on how her persistence had made her a Level 2 Spirit Planter Master.
• Song Qingyu summoned Song Changze and Song Yuan Xue to her cave abode, then gave Yuan Xue a Foundation Establishment Pill.
• Song Yuan Xue left the cave abode with the pill and stood on the mountaintop, moved by the beautiful scenery.

Yuan Hao’s mother told him that his Spirit Root meant he would eventually need to pursue cultivation beyond her care. Meanwhile, Song Qingming broke through to the Second Layer of Golden Core and visited Jingyuan Mountain, where Song Yuan Xue was attempting Foundation Establishment.

• Yuan Hao bought Rejuvenation Pills for his ill mother, who told him she could not keep him from pursuing his cultivation path forever.
• Song Qingyu activated Funiu Mountain’s defenses when golden spiritual light appeared above Song Qingming’s cave abode.
• Song Qingming emerged from more than two years of seclusion after breaking through to the Second Layer of Golden Core with a White Dew Pill.
• Song Qingming learned that Song Yuan Xue had begun secluded Foundation Establishment at Jingyuan Mountain under Song Yuan Li’s protection.
• Song Qingming sensed that Song Yuan Xue had passed the body-tempering stage and said her chances of succeeding in Foundation Establishment were high.

Song Yuanxue successfully established her foundation and joined the Song Family’s ranks of Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Song Qingming then traveled with Yao Ganshu and other Carefree Sect Golden Core Cultivators to a trade fair in Wu State, arriving at Seven Stars Market.

• Song Yuanxue endured a difficult four-month seclusion and successfully reached the Foundation Establishment Realm.
• Song Qingming and Song Qingyu gave Song Yuanxue Level 2 gifts, while Song Qingyu also gave her a Grade 2 Mid-grade Spirit Talisman.
• Song Yuanxue stayed at Jingyuan Mountain because Funiu Mountain’s spirit vein could not adequately support another Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
• Yao Ganshu invited Song Qingming to join several Carefree Sect Golden Core Cultivators on a trip to Wu State for a large trade fair.
• Song Qingming and the group crossed Taiyue Lake aboard Yao Ganshu’s flying boat, driving off more than a dozen waves of demonic beasts.
• After traveling through Wu State, the group arrived at Seven Stars Market aboard the flying boat controlled by Chen Xuanxin.