Chapter Summaries

Tan Shaoyuan and Wei Lang discussed their investments in Jiang Fan, while Jiang Fan refined ten imperial Great Dao Fragments and discovered their power would not merge with his existing Great Daos. The chapter left him puzzled by the fragments’ independent, repelling threads.

• Wei Lang praised Tan Shaoyuan for transferring two Great Daos to Jiang Fan, then explained that his own long history of helping Jiang Fan carried greater weight.
• Jiang Fan returned to his courtyard and examined the ten Great Dao Fragments from the imperial court.
• Jiang Fan refined the fragments with the Dao-Nurturing Chapter for a day and a night, easing the sluggishness among his fourteen Great Daos.
• Jiang Fan saw a pale golden outline appear around his fourteen Great Daos and found that the fragments’ power formed ten separate threads above his Dao Foundation.
• Jiang Fan tried to bring two threads together, but they repelled each other and returned to their original positions.

Jiang Fan set aside his attempts to merge the ten complete Great Dao Fragments and was summoned by the Demon-Cleansing Bureau to the capital. After receiving warnings and a jade token from Wei Lang and Tan Shaoyuan, he reached the capital, where an official woman recognized him at the gate.

• Jiang Fan found that the ten Great Dao Fragments resisted merging and decided to revisit them after advancing his Dao-Nurturing Chapter.
• The Demon-Cleansing Bureau ordered Jiang Fan to depart for the capital immediately.
• Tan Shaoyuan warned Jiang Fan to keep a low profile in the capital and avoid forming connections, while Wei Lang gave him a jade token to use if he faced serious trouble.
• Jiang Fan said farewell to Wei Lang and Tan Shaoyuan and traveled from Azure Cliff City to the capital in two days.
• Jiang Fan arrived at the enormous capital and was approached by a woman in pale purple official robes who asked if he was the Demon-Cleansing Bureau's Special Envoy.

Jiang Fan followed Liu Qingyi to his temporary residence in the capital, then learned that the silver tower was the Daoist Canon Pavilion and went there to use his imperial reward. After a keeper verified his authorization, Jiang Fan received a token granting him access to the Pavilion’s first seven floors for three days and entered the tower.

• Liu Qingyi escorted Jiang Fan to a modest courtyard in the north of the city and told him to await the commander’s summons.
• Jiang Fan asked Liu Qingyi where the Daoist Canon Pavilion was, and she identified it as the silver tower he had seen upon entering the capital.
• Liu Qingyi privately envied Jiang Fan’s permission to study in the Pavilion, while Jiang Fan grew curious about its significance.
• Jiang Fan changed into a clean blue robe and walked through the capital to the Daoist Canon Pavilion.
• The Pavilion’s guards checked Jiang Fan’s authorization, and a keeper gave him a token allowing access to the first seven floors for three days.
• Jiang Fan entered the Daoist Canon Pavilion.

Jiang Fan discovered a second portion of the Dao-Nurturing Chapter in the Daoist Canon Pavilion and realized it completed the text Wu Ji had taught him. After learning that Dao Seeds could grow from fragments of Dao intent into complete Great Daos, he understood how to use the ten Great Dao Fragments he had set aside.

• Jiang Fan searched the Daoist Canon Pavilion’s floors for useful texts but found little that suited his needs.
• Jiang Fan found a dusty ancient book titled the Dao-Nurturing Chapter on the seventh floor.
• Jiang Fan read the book for a day and night and confirmed that its formulas continued the incomplete portion Wu Ji had taught him.
• Jiang Fan learned that Dao Seeds could be nurtured from even damaged fragments of Great Dao intent until they grew into complete Great Daos.
• Jiang Fan realized that the ten Great Dao Fragments he had kept could become ten new Great Daos if he planted and nurtured their Dao intent within his Dao Foundation.

Jiang Fan met a young woman in the Daoist Canon Pavilion who shared her unusual ideas about incomplete texts and offered a strikingly accurate interpretation of the Dao-Nurturing Chapter. Her thoughts on nurturing Dao meridians matched much of the missing portion Jiang Fan had learned from Wu Ji, leaving him astonished by her talent.

• A young woman approached Jiang Fan as he studied the incomplete Dao-Nurturing Chapter and explained why she valued gaps in ancient texts.
• The young woman said that incomplete cultivation methods and formation diagrams forced readers to think independently and find their own way.
• Jiang Fan learned that she visited the Daoist Canon Pavilion every day and had read nearly all its incomplete texts.
• The young woman explained that Dao Seeds should be planted and nurtured rather than forcibly refined or swallowed.
• When Jiang Fan asked her to guess the missing portion, the young woman proposed nurturing the Dao meridians and described methods that closely matched the other half Wu Ji had taught him.

Jiang Fan learned how to nurture the pale golden threads in his Dao Foundation and successfully began forming ten Nascent Daos. After wondering why the Demon-Cleansing Bureau had not contacted him, he went for a stroll and ran into He Xiyan.

• He Xiyan introduced herself to Jiang Fan and asked whether he would return to the Daoist Canon Pavilion the next day.
• Jiang Fan confirmed with the middle-aged Canon Officer that his unused study time remained available as long as he kept his silver token.
• Jiang Fan used the Dao-Nurturing Chapter to plant ten threads of Great Dao light in his Dao Foundation, where they began to sprout buds.
• Jiang Fan noticed the Demon-Cleansing Bureau had not contacted him and decided to explore the capital instead of seeking out its headquarters.
• He Xiyan greeted Jiang Fan beneath a willow tree while holding an old book.

Jiang Fan encountered He Xiyan on the street, but her childhood friend Qin Shaoyang’s probing questions led to a tense exchange. Jiang Fan left, while He Xiyan scolded Qin Shaoyang for driving away someone she enjoyed talking with.

• Jiang Fan met He Xiyan beneath a willow tree and explained that he had stayed away from the Daoist Canon Pavilion to stabilize his newly formed Dao Intent.
• He Xiyan asked about Jiang Fan’s work, then apologized for prying into his background before he could answer.
• Qin Shaoyang arrived, questioned Jiang Fan about his origins and occupation, and drew a sharp reply when Jiang Fan challenged his right to ask.
• He Xiyan tried to defuse the confrontation, and Jiang Fan took his leave without waiting for her response.
• After Jiang Fan disappeared around the corner, He Xiyan accused Qin Shaoyang of driving away her friend, and he said he had been protecting her from men with ill intentions.

Qin Shaoyang ordered an investigation into Jiang Fan after seeing him speak with He Xiyan, while Jiang Fan explored Yan Capital until the Demon-Cleansing Bureau summoned him. He reached the Bureau’s northern station and waited in its hall for the grand commander.

• He Xiyan rebuffed Qin Shaoyang and walked to the Daoist Canon Pavilion, while Qin Shaoyang secretly ordered his servant to uncover everything about Jiang Fan within one day.
• Jiang Fan dismissed Qin Shaoyang and He Xiyan’s connection and explored Yan Capital’s bustling streets and marketplace.
• Liu Qingyi summoned Jiang Fan to the Demon-Cleansing Bureau’s northern station through a Communication Jade Talisman.
• Jiang Fan presented his credentials at the guarded station, and a clerk escorted him to the hall to wait for the grand commander.

Jiang Fan waited for Lu Xuanling at the Demon-Cleansing Bureau and studied a map that he recognized as marking Blood Fiend Alliance Branch Altars. Lu Xuanling arrived, praised Jiang Fan’s insight, and welcomed him as a subordinate.

• Jiang Fan waited two hours for Lu Xuanling, grew impatient, and examined a detailed map in the hall.
• Jiang Fan inferred that the map’s cinnabar marks showed discovered Blood Fiend Alliance Branch Altars suited to ambushes or hidden troops.
• Lu Xuanling entered unnoticed and asked Jiang Fan what he thought of the map.
• Jiang Fan identified the map as a military map, and Lu Xuanling praised his observation and introduced himself as the Grand Commander.
• Lu Xuanling welcomed Jiang Fan as his subordinate and asked about his first days in the capital.
• Jiang Fan described stabilizing his cultivation and studying at the Daoist Canon Pavilion, and Lu Xuanling praised his patience and restraint.

Lu Xuanling explained that capital factions had shaped the Demon-Cleansing Bureau’s personnel and warned Jiang Fan to keep a low profile despite his achievements. The next morning, Jiang Fan entered the Bureau’s assembly hall for formal deliberations and found it filled with colleagues, including Liu Qingyi.

• Lu Xuanling told Jiang Fan that he had delayed the Blood Fiend Alliance campaign while settling political disputes over appointments to the Demon-Cleansing Bureau.
• Lu Xuanling praised Jiang Fan’s handling of the Azure Cliff City case but warned him that some officials would resent his lack of backing and advised him to conceal his edge.
• Jiang Fan thanked Lu Xuanling and resolved to keep a low profile; Lu Xuanling said he would introduce him to the Bureau at formal deliberations the next day.
• Jiang Fan left the headquarters and wondered whether his appointment by the emperor would protect him from the powerful families’ scions.
• The next morning, a guard checked Jiang Fan’s credentials and led him to the assembly hall, where he saw Liu Qingyi among the gathered colleagues.

Jiang Fan attended Lu Xuanling’s briefing as the Demon-Cleansing Bureau prepared to destroy the Blood Fiend Alliance’s branch altars. Lu Xuanling assigned forces to three targets and gave the noble scions logistical duties.

• Jiang Fan observed the battle-hardened officers and the young noble scions gathered in the hall.
• Lu Xuanling reported that the bureau had identified at least twenty-six branch altars but had not found the alliance headquarters or its strategist.
• Lu Xuanling proposed destroying the discovered branch altars to gather clues and force the enemy leadership into the open.
• The bureau settled on attacking Eastern Lan Marsh, Blackwind Hollow, and Luoyan Mountain first.
• Lu Xuanling assigned commanders to the attacks and entrusted the noble scions with supply coordination, official correspondence, and message delivery.

Lu Xuanling introduced Jiang Fan as a special envoy tasked with breaking the Blood Fiend Alliance’s formations and granted him absolute authority over that work on the battlefield. After Cui Shaoying and other brocade-robed disciples challenged Jiang Fan’s role, Lu Xuanling silenced them and turned to Jiang Fan to greet everyone.

• Lu Xuanling introduced Jiang Fan and described his achievements in Azure Cliff City and his role in the campaign.
• Several brocade-robed disciples doubted Jiang Fan’s appointment, and Lu Xuanling said the emperor had personally appointed him and his merits had been verified.
• Cui Shaoying argued that Jiang Fan should not have absolute battlefield authority because formations were only a supporting part of combat.
• Lu Xuanling defended Jiang Fan’s authority, warned the assembly against further challenges, and reprimanded Cui Shaoying.
• Lu Xuanling told Jiang Fan to say hello to everyone.

Jiang Fan remained at the Demon-Cleansing Bureau as three detachments advanced against the Blood Fiend Alliance, until Li Chengfeng’s force became trapped in a deadly formation at Eastern Lan Marsh. Jiang Fan seized control of the formation, turning it against the Blood Fiend Alliance and freeing the Demon Seeds as Li Chengfeng recognized him.

• Lu Xuanling sent Li Chengfeng, Huang Yanshao, and Chen Cong with three detachments while the noble scions stayed behind under the pretense of handling logistics.
• Jiang Fan monitored the Communication Jade Talisman and cultivated as the detachments advanced and reported early victories.
• Jiang Fan received an urgent message that Li Chengfeng’s force was trapped beneath a Blood Fiend Grand Formation and rushed to Eastern Lan Marsh.
• Jiang Fan analyzed the altered formation, penetrated its patterns, and took control of its Formation Core.
• The formation turned its bloody light against the Blood Fiend Alliance’s Evil Cultivators, and the Demon Seeds regained their senses as Li Chengfeng saw Jiang Fan in the air.

The Demon-Cleansing Bureau destroyed twenty-four Blood Fiend Alliance Branch Altars in half a month and traced the alliance’s headquarters to one of two possible strongholds. As Lu Xuanling prepared to lead an assault, Cui Shaoying revealed that Daoist Xuanji might be connected to Jiang Fan.

• With Jiang Fan’s help, the Demon-Cleansing Bureau destroyed the Blood Fiend Alliance’s Branch Altars at Eastern Lan Marsh, Blackwind Hollow, and Luoyan Mountain, then continued its campaigns against other targets.
• Over the next half month, the Bureau captured or destroyed twenty-four Branch Altars, rescued more than ten thousand captives, and gathered intelligence pointing to the Far Western Mountains and Pingding Pass as possible locations of the General Alliance.
• At a council meeting, Lu Xuanling announced that the Blood Fiend Alliance’s strategist might be Ji Wuyue and that Daoist Xuanji may have helped design its core formations.
• Jiang Fan realized that Ji Wuyue seemed to be the woman connected to his master, Daoist Xuanji, and grew troubled as Lu Xuanling ordered an assault on both suspected strongholds.
• Cui Shaoying interrupted the meeting and told Lu Xuanling that Daoist Xuanji might also have a connection to Jiang Fan.