Chapter Summaries

Song Qingming helped the Wu Family cleanse and investigate its members after demonic cultivators infiltrated the family, while Lu Yuanfeng used a Soul Chasing Talisman to locate Yang Wuqi in Pingyang County. As the sect prepared to pursue him, Yang Wuqi destroyed a talisman in his mountain hideout.

• Song Qingming examined the Wu Family cultivators and confirmed that none of the remaining members had been parasitized.
• Lu Yuanfeng used a Soul Chasing Talisman on Gu Liangshan to extract a trace of Yang Wuqi’s Demonic Soul.
• The talisman indicated that Yang Wuqi was hiding in Pingyang County, so Lu Yuanfeng returned to notify the sect while Song Qingming stayed to handle the Wu Family’s aftermath.
• Song Qingming rebuked the Wu Family cultivators and warned the vassal families to strengthen their patrols.
• In a cave in Pingyang County, Yang Wuqi complained about his subordinates and burned a Black Talisman to ashes.

After the demonic cultivators died, Song Qingming dealt with their confiscated items and arranged for Huang Siyuan to care for his Skyfire Roc. He gave her a jade pendant that could let her fly, and she named it Immortal Wind Jade.

• Song Qingming found Gu Liangshan and the other demonic cultivator dead in the secret chamber and burned their bodies to ashes.
• Song Qingming returned to Qinghe Market, fed his hungry Skyfire Roc, and destroyed the demonic techniques, pills, and artifacts he had seized.
• Song Qingming kept several alchemy books for Song Qingwan and summoned Huang Siyuan to ask her to care for his Skyfire Roc.
• Song Qingming gave Huang Siyuan the cleansed black jade pendant as a deposit for feeding the roc.
• Song Qingming taught Huang Siyuan to fly with the pendant, and she named it Immortal Wind Jade.

Song Qingming reflected on Huang Siyuan’s painful history and recognized the resolve behind her desire to control her own cultivation path. After returning to Qinghe Market with her, he learned that Martial Uncle Chen and others had arrived at the Council Hall.

• Song Qingming considered how Huang Siyuan had lost her place in the Huang Family and been chosen as a tool in its Marriage Alliance with the Song Family.
• On the mountain peak, Song Qingming sensed Huang Siyuan’s firm Dao Heart and was moved by her yearning for cultivation.
• Song Qingming gave Huang Siyuan the Skyfire Roc in a Spirit Beast Pouch, and he flew them back to Qinghe Market on his Level 2 Flying Sword.
• A disciple of Lu Yuanfeng told Song Qingming that Martial Uncle Chen and the others were waiting in the Council Hall.

Song Qingming, Lu Yuanfeng, and Carefree Sect cultivators tracked Yang Wuqi to a ruined Spirit Mountain in Pingyang County. They uncovered his hidden stronghold and reinforcements, then split up to fight as Chen Xuanxin faced Yang Wuqi.

• Lu Yuanfeng followed the Soul Chasing Talisman to a Spirit Mountain with Song Qingming, Chen Xuanxin, and three other Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
• Chen Xuanxin broke the Bewitching Illusion Array, revealing a desolate mountain covered in black Qi, corpses, and bones.
• Yang Wuqi emerged and was surrounded, but summoned two Foundation Establishment Demonic Cultivators with a Black Talisman.
• Chen Xuanxin attacked Yang Wuqi, who countered with his completed Demonic Blade, and the two began their long-awaited battle.
• Song Qingming and the other cultivators withdrew to intercept the two Demonic Cultivators, leaving Chen Xuanxin to fight Yang Wuqi.

Song Qingming and Ye Tan fought Han Tongshan while Lu Yuanfeng and Rao Xinghai held off a red-clad demonic fiend. After Song Qingming wounded Han Tongshan and Ye Tan escaped his Soul Gathering Banner, the red-clad fiend transformed and began overwhelming his opponents, prompting Ye Tan to rush to their aid.

• Lu Yuanfeng and Rao Xinghai joined forces against the red-clad Foundation Establishment fiend, while Song Qingming and Ye Tan faced Han Tongshan.
• Han Tongshan trapped Song Qingming and Ye Tan in black mist with his Soul Gathering Banner, but Song Qingming used a Spirit Calming Pill and Mystic Light Armor to escape.
• Song Qingming attacked Han Tongshan with his Golden Light Mirror, and Ye Tan broke free with a Yellow Jade Token and joined the assault.
• Han Tongshan withdrew toward the black mist, but Song Qingming struck his left shoulder with golden light and badly injured him.
• The red-clad fiend transformed into an enormous fat man and began suppressing Lu Yuanfeng and Rao Xinghai, so Ye Tan went to support them.

Song Qingming used prepared talismans and magic tools to counter Han Tongshan’s attacks, then killed him with Formless Jade Wind Needles. After collecting Han Tongshan’s belongings, Song Qingming turned toward the other battles as the fight above also ended.

• Han Tongshan attacked Song Qingming with the Soul Gathering Banner, but Song Qingming destroyed many of its resentful souls with an Exorcism Lightning Talisman.
• Han Tongshan charged Song Qingming with a White Bone Great Hammer, and Song Qingming’s Giant Bear Puppet Beast intercepted the blow but lost an arm.
• Han Tongshan swallowed a Blood-colored Spirit Pill and launched a faster attack, but Song Qingming blocked it with a Level 2 Defensive Talisman.
• Song Qingming struck Han Tongshan with Formless Jade Wind Needles, leaving him unable to move and killing him.
• Song Qingming collected Han Tongshan’s belongings and saw that the battle above had also ended.

Chen Xuanxin pursued Yang Wuqi after the demonic fiend fled, while Song Qingming and the others fought the Man in Red. The Man in Red self-destructed to escape, poisoning Song Qingming and Ye Tan, and Chen Xuanxin returned as the group recovered.

• Yang Wuqi used a blood mist secret technique to flee, but Chen Xuanxin followed him with a Jade Shuttle.
• Song Qingming joined Lu Yuanfeng, Rao Xinghai, and Ye Tan in attacking the Man in Red, who was nearing his limit.
• The Man in Red self-destructed and released poisonous blood mist, afflicting Song Qingming and Ye Tan.
• Lu Yuanfeng gave Song Qingming a Wind Jade Pill that suppressed the Blood Poison.
• Chen Xuanxin returned after pursuing Yang Wuqi.

Chen Xuanxin returned after killing Yang Wuqi and learned that the red-clad fiend who poisoned Ye Tan and Song Qingming might be linked to the Blood Demon Old Ancestor. After recovering at the Carefree Sect and receiving a reward, Song Qingming visited Yangshan Marketplace to restock cultivation supplies and repair his puppet.

• Chen Xuanxin showed the group Yang Wuqi’s Demonic Blade and confirmed that he had killed the old devil.
• Chen Xuanxin identified the poison on Ye Tan and Song Qingming as Blood Poison from the Great Blood Demon Technique and suspected the red-clad fiend was connected to the Blood Demon Old Ancestor.
• Song Qingming warned that the red-clad fiend might have escaped using a Body Replacement Technique, but Chen Xuanxin chose to return to Mount Guyang and notify Jinshan Market instead of searching for him.
• Song Qingming spent more than half a month at the Carefree Sect expelling the Blood Poison and recovering his arm, and the sect rewarded him with eight hundred Spirit Stones for the battle.
• Song Qingming went to Yangshan Marketplace, bought cultivation supplies, and had his Giant Bear Puppet Beast repaired.

Song Qingming met his Third Brother, Song Qingze, whose failed attempt at Foundation Establishment had left him disheartened, and told him about his recent battles against demonic cultivators. He then asked Song Qingze to help find a Rank 2 Formation Master to upgrade the Song Family’s Spirit Vein on Funiu Mountain, and the family’s preparations had gathered most of the required Spirit Stones.

• Song Qingming met Song Qingze at a restaurant in Yangshan Marketplace and comforted him after his failed Foundation Establishment attempt.
• Song Qingming recounted his role in the battles at Dragon Pool Mountain and Pingyang County, while Song Qingze described Chen Xuanxin’s strength and Golden Core breakthrough attempt.
• Song Qingming asked Song Qingze to find a Rank 2 Formation Master willing to leave the sect and inspect Funiu Mountain’s Spirit Vein.
• Song Qingming explained that the Song Family planned to upgrade its Level 1 High-grade Spirit Vein to Grade 2 Low-grade, requiring a Rank 2 Formation Master and nearly ten thousand Spirit Stones.
• Song Changfeng and the Song Family cultivators gathered most of the required funds, while Song Qingming volunteered the remaining 2,500 Spirit Stones.

Song Qingming recruited Bai Yunhua, a young Rank 2 Formation Master, to upgrade Funiu Mountain’s spirit vein, and returned with him to Qinghe County. Bai Yunhua began preparing for the work with Song Changfeng while Song Qingming resumed his duties at Qinghe Market.

• Song Qingze agreed to find a Rank 2 Formation Master and returned two days later with Bai Yunhua, a Qi Refining Cultivator of the Carefree Sect.
• Bai Yunhua agreed to help set up a Rank 2 Spirit Gathering Array, provided the Song Family supplied the materials and paid him two hundred Spirit Stones.
• Song Qingze said he would keep pursuing Foundation Establishment, and Song Qingming left Yangshan Marketplace with Bai Yunhua.
• After nearly five days of travel, Song Qingming brought Bai Yunhua to Funiu Mountain and gave Song Changfeng the Spirit Stones and array materials.
• Song Changfeng sent for the remaining materials and arranged for Song Qingsi to assist Bai Yunhua, while Song Qingming returned to Qinghe Market.

After returning to Qinghe Market, Song Qingming resumed cultivating and checked on Li Quan and Li Hongyu, whom he had placed under Huang Siyuan’s protection. He met Huang Shengyue at Huixian Tower and arranged for her to try refining two demonic tools into a Level 2 Magic Tool.

• Song Qingming used a True Essence Pill to cultivate, increasing his mana, and learned that the pill’s potency limited how often he could take it.
• Song Qingming visited Immortal Phoenix Tower, where Li Hongyu served him a spirit fish dish and he encouraged her to keep learning spirit cooking.
• Huang Siyuan told Song Qingming that Huang Shengyue had arrived at Huixian Tower, and Song Qingming followed her there to meet the Huang Family representative.
• Huang Shengyue congratulated Song Qingming for helping slay Yang Wuqi, and Song Qingming clarified that Chen of the Carefree Sect had dealt the decisive blow.
• Song Qingming showed Huang Shengyue two Level 2 Soul Gathering Banners, and she agreed to attempt to refine them into one Level 2 Magic Tool.

Song Qingming agreed to help the Huang Family retrieve a Level 3 Sky Radiance Flower guarded by two powerful wolf demons and spent nearly half a year preparing. Before leaving his post, he received the Bewildering Soul Banner and tested its ability to trap opponents.

• Huang Shengyue asked Song Qingming to join the Huang Family in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range to obtain a Sky Radiance Flower guarded by two Foundation Establishment Late Stage wolf demons, and he agreed.
• Song Qingming secluded himself for nearly half a year, improving his Soul Tempering Art until his divine sense was roughly twice as strong as an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator’s.
• Huang Shengyue refined the vengeful souls from Song Qingming’s Soul Gathering Banners into a new Level 2 magic tool, the Bewildering Soul Banner.
• Song Qingming tested the Bewildering Soul Banner on two Song Family cultivators and found that its yellow mist could briefly trap opponents in a disorienting illusion.

Song Qingming returned to Funiu Mountain, where the Song Family upgraded its spirit vein and began recovering from the expense. After arranging family affairs, he entered seclusion and advanced to the Foundation Establishment Second Layer, then met with Song Changfeng.

• Song Qingming left Qinghe Market with the stationed Song Family cultivators, while Huang Siyuan stayed behind to manage Immortal Phoenix Tower and care for the Skyfire Roc.
• Bai Yunhua completed the Grade 2 Spirit Gathering Array, and Funiu Mountain's spirit vein reached Grade 2 Low-grade as the mountain rose several hundred zhang.
• Song Gulan passed away at age one hundred and twenty, having witnessed the Song Family's rise and the spirit vein upgrade.
• Song Qingming opened a cave abode at the summit, and the family suspended most cultivators' stipends for two years to replenish its depleted Treasury.
• Song Qingming entered seclusion and broke through to the Foundation Establishment Second Layer after several months.
• Song Changfeng hurried to meet Song Qingming soon after he emerged from seclusion.

Song Qingming joined the Huang Family’s expedition to retrieve a Level 3 Sky Radiance Flower guarded by wolf demons. The group found the flower untouched, but an unknown voice addressed them just after Huang Shengxin picked it.

• Song Qingming arrived at Taiyuan Mountain and met Huang Chengding, a powerful Foundation Establishment cultivator who had returned from the Carefree Sect.
• Huang Shengxin led the group north aboard a Flying Boat toward the mountain where the Sky Radiance Flower grew.
• The cultivators split into two groups, with Huang Shengxin and Huang Chengding sent to lure away the wolf demons while the others gathered the flower.
• Huang Shengxin and Huang Chengding returned without finding any demons, so the group followed Si Rui up the mountain to inspect the flower.
• Huang Shengxin picked the untouched Sky Radiance Flower, and an unfamiliar voice suddenly spoke to the group.

Song Qingming and the Huang Family were attacked by an azure great bird that was a Third-tier Demon King after they took the Sky Radiance Flower. As the group scattered to escape, the Demon King trapped Song Qingming in a Fire Cloud, leaving him unable to break free.

• The azure great bird revealed itself as a Third-tier Demon King and destroyed Huang Shengxin's spirit boat after the Huang Family took its Sky Radiance Flower.
• Huang Shengxin used a powerful Golden Talisman to trap the bird briefly, then fled with the others as the Demon King broke free and pursued them.
• The azure great bird blasted Huang Chenliang away, and Huang Shengyue rescued him while Song Qingming changed direction and fled alone.
• Huang Shengxin ordered everyone to scatter, and Song Qingming flew more than ten miles before thinking he had escaped.
• The azure great bird caught Song Qingming in a fiery red cloud, and his Mystic Light Armor could barely protect him as the cloud compressed around him.

Song Qingming survived the Azure Luan Demon King's Fire Cloud and was taken to a cavern, where he met a mysterious Red-clothed Woman. She demanded that he retrieve an item for her, leaving him with no choice but to agree and wait for her instructions.

• Song Qingming activated the Incomplete Map to sustain his mana until the Azure Luan Demon King released him from the Fire Cloud.
• The Azure Luan Demon King spared Song Qingming's companions, captured him, and brought him to a cavern beneath the Floating Cloud Mountain Range.
• The Red-clothed Woman told the Azure Luan Demon King that her identity had to remain secret while they took refuge with Uncle Jinyu.
• Song Qingming woke in a cavern, broke the Restriction at its entrance, and encountered the Red-clothed Woman and the Azure Luan Demon King.
• The Red-clothed Woman asked Song Qingming to retrieve an item, threatened him with the choice of dying or living, and told him to wait two days for instructions.

Song Qingming learned that Fire Phoenix had brought him to an ancient Human Race secret realm and wanted him to retrieve a Fire Scale Fruit. Fire Phoenix opened the realm’s entrance and gave him three days to complete the task, leaving Song Qingming with a map and Long Feng’s warnings before he entered.

• Fire Phoenix told Song Qingming to remain in the cave while she went away, and Azure Luan stayed behind to watch him.
• After two days, Fire Phoenix returned with Long Feng and ordered the giant eagle to carry Song Qingming away.
• Long Feng flew for two or three days before dropping Song Qingming in a barren area that Fire Phoenix identified as an ancient Human Race secret realm.
• Fire Phoenix opened a golden fissure with her feather fan and gave Song Qingming a map, ordering him to retrieve a Fire Scale Fruit and return within three days.
• Long Feng explained how to recognize the fruit and warned Song Qingming to beware of the secret realm’s powerful Restrictions.

Song Qingming learned why Fire Phoenix had chosen a Foundation Establishment cultivator to enter the perilous secret realm, then arrived there with much of his Mana suppressed. He set out toward the valley on her map, but a huge tiger Demonic Beast attacked him before he had traveled far.

• Long Feng explained that the secret realm’s Restrictions suppressed powerful cultivators more severely and that damaged Restrictions could send them into Spatial Rifts.
• Long Feng carried Song Qingming through the shrinking golden rift and dropped him into a pool inside the secret realm.
• Song Qingming found that the realm had sealed away more than half his Mana and used Fire Phoenix’s map to locate himself in the southeastern corner.
• Song Qingming set out on foot toward the valley roughly a thousand li away, avoiding dangerous unknown areas on the map.
• A massive Tiger with Fierce Eyes and White Brow sprang at Song Qingming from a hillside.

Song Qingshi learned that Song Qingming had been captured by the Azure Luan Demon King, while the Huang Family suffered heavy losses and Huang Shengxin entered seclusion to form a core. The Gao and Lu Families seized a Huang Family copper mine, and Song Changfeng recalled most of the Song Family to Funiu Mountain as tensions rose in Qinghe County.

• Song Qingshi told Song Changfeng that the Huang Family ancestors had returned and gone into seclusion, so Song Changfeng sent him to Taiyuan Mountain to seek answers from Huang Shengyue.
• Huang Shengyue told Song Qingshi that Song Qingming had been captured by the Azure Luan Demon King, Huang Chenliang had died, and Huang Chengding was recovering in seclusion.
• Gao Jinhe urged Lu Xingde to exploit the Huang Family’s weakness while Huang Shengxin attempted to form a core, and Lu Xingde cautiously considered the proposal.
• Rogue Cultivators attacked a Huang Family copper mine, then the Gao and Lu Families drove them off and jointly occupied the mine instead of returning it.
• Song Changfeng recalled most Song Family cultivators to Funiu Mountain as the Gao and Lu Families’ seizure of the mine stirred conflict across Qinghe County.

Huang Shengyue investigated the Huang Family’s troubles and learned that Song Qingming was still missing, while Huang Xianchen tried to persuade Huang Siyuan to return to the Huang Family. Siyuan refused to leave Immortal Phoenix Tower, and Song Qingming remained stuck before a poisonous river in the secret realm as Fire Phoenix’s deadline approached.

• Huang Shengyue ordered the Huang Family to focus on defending Taiyuan Mountain and keep watch on the Song Family, while allowing Siyuan to return if she wished.
• Huang Xianchen visited Huang Siyuan at Immortal Phoenix Tower and urged her to return to the Huang Family because Song Qingming was missing and the Song Family was under threat.
• Huang Siyuan refused, saying she had reached the Late Qi Refining Stage, considered Immortal Phoenix Tower her home, and would face adversity on her own.
• Huang Xianchen left after failing to persuade his daughter.
• Song Qingming paced before a poisonous river in the secret realm, unable to cross it as Fire Phoenix’s third-day deadline neared.