Chapter Summaries

Ji An defended the western city wall with powerful farming spells and spiritual artifacts, stopping the demon beast horde from breaching his section. When several Golden Core Demon Kings summoned a deadly demon cloud, Ji An retreated as three hidden True Lords appeared to fight back.

• Lin Qiubai tested Ji An with sword intent, recognized the strength of his cultivation art, and ordered him to defend a section of the western city wall.
• Ji An reunited with Liu Yu and Ge Luoying, and Liu Yu warned him that the secret realm disaster was under a sect-ordered seal of secrecy.
• Ji An and Liu Yu took adjacent defensive areas, and Ji An prepared Spirit Grain seeds that he grew into Grass Puppets to confront the approaching demon beasts.
• Ji An used the Grass Puppets, the Flame Light Banner, the Quicksand Art, and other spells to kill demon beasts and keep his section of the wall secure.
• When a demon cloud created by Golden Core Demon Kings approached, Ji An ordered a retreat and laid a wall of fire beneath the city wall.
• True Lord Zhengyang, True Lord Nanshan, and True Lord Huoyun emerged and attacked the demon cloud with their magical treasures.

Five Demon Kings attacked Crying Phoenix Mountain Immortal City, where three Golden Core cultivators and the sects’ hidden spirit beasts fought them off. Rock Ancestor helped kill a bear Demon King, and the survivors fled, leaving the cultivators hopeful that the battle could turn the tide of the Demon Catastrophe.

• True Lord Zhengyang defended the Mountain Protecting Array while True Lord Nanshan drew off a bear Demon King and True Lord Huoyun attacked the other demons.
• Ji An and Liu Yu wondered why the Old Ancestors had gathered at Echoing Peak Mountain and worried about Demon Kings reaching the cultivation families’ territories.
• True Lord Nanshan wounded the bear Demon King, and Rock Ancestor and golden spider threads trapped and killed it.
• The remaining Demon Kings fled, and the Old Ancestors stayed near the array rather than pursuing them.
• News spread that the sects had Golden Core Stage Mountain Protecting Spirit Beasts, and Ji An and Liu Yu discussed the possibility that the Demon Catastrophe could end early.

Western Continent’s leaders debated whether to retreat as the Demon Kings continued their attacks, while Hu Yu Niang revealed she was directing the war to curb human expansion. She ordered the Demon Kings to kill four Golden Core cultivators before they could end the war, leaving them to plan their next assault.

• True Lord Huoyun and the other leaders discussed their losses, feared that Nascent Soul demonic beasts were directing the attacks, and blamed Central Continent for withholding reinforcements.
• Hu Yu Niang reprimanded the returning Demon Kings for Xiong Zhuang’s death and used her Nascent Soul Manifestation to cow them into submission.
• Hu Yu Niang ordered the Demon Kings to keep fighting until several human Golden Core cultivators died, despite their complaints about the human formations.
• The bovine Demon King reported Green Flood Dragon’s ambush of True Lord Qingxu, and Hu Yu Niang counted Qingxu’s likely death as one of four required kills.
• The bovine Demon King asked whether killing Golden Core mountain-guarding spirit beasts would count, and Hu Yu Niang agreed.

The demon kings planned to intensify their assault on Crying Phoenix Peak and test whether the human Golden Core cultivators would attack beyond their formation. As the battle began, Ji An fought off the beasts and lured a Golden Feathered Eagle into a close-range attack, leaving him caught in its talons.

• The Black Wind Wolf Demon King persuaded the demon kings to seek reinforcements, break Crying Phoenix Peak's formation, and test the humans by committing more beasts to battle.
• True Lord Huoyun and the other Golden Core cultivators prepared to discuss withdrawing, while Ji An strengthened the city-wall defenses and Li Haoran went to challenge a First-Revolution Chaoyuan white tiger.
• Ji An killed a Foundation Establishment wolf demon with Geng Metal Finger and used his Grass Puppet to slaughter beasts as it grew stronger.
• A Golden Feathered Eagle harassed Ji An from the air, so he used his own Golden Feathered Eagle to provoke it into approaching.
• The Golden Feathered Eagle dived at Ji An while he was occupied with a Black Wind Wolf, seized him in its talons, and raked him with its claws.

Ji An killed a Golden Feathered Eagle, but its dying curse marked him and drew the Golden Feathered Eagle Demon King to the Immortal City. After True Lord Zhengyang brought him to safety, he explained that the Blood Corrupting Soul Chasing Curse had attached itself to Ji An, leaving its effects and cure uncertain.

• Ji An resisted the Golden Feathered Eagle's grip and killed it with his Golden Light Art, then was struck by a bloody phantom that entered his body.
• The Golden Feathered Eagle Demon King sensed its descendant's death and flew toward the Immortal City as Ji An returned to the battle.
• The demon king attacked the city's protective formation, and its curse made Ji An's skin flare red and burn as it singled him out.
• True Lord Huoyun and True Lord Zhengyang drove the demon king away, and True Lord Zhengyang took Ji An to a cave dwelling.
• True Lord Zhengyang identified the mark as the Blood Corrupting Soul Chasing Curse, and Ji An asked what harm it caused and whether it could be dispelled.

Ji An learned that the Golden Core Demon King's blood curse could last a century and heard how the sects planned to evacuate cultivators from Crying Phoenix Peak. After teleporting away, he reunited with fellow disciples and challenged Li Haoran to a future spar once he reached Origin Seeking.

• True Lord Zhengyang explained that Ji An's blood curse could persist for about a hundred years, though it posed little danger unless his divine sense was depleted.
• The sect leaders decided that core disciples and Origin Seeking independent cultivators could evacuate through the Teleportation Array, while most others would have to leave by flying boat.
• Lin Qiubai told Li Haoran and the other disciples that the sect ancestors feared a Shapeshifted Great Demon and planned to let demon beasts reduce the number of low-level cultivators.
• Ji An resolved not to become a sacrifice for the greater picture and to grow strong enough to control his own fate.
• Three days later, Ji An teleported away from the Immortal City, then joined Ge Luoying, Li Haoran, and Liu Yu outside the formation.
• After Li Haoran invited Ji An to spar, Ji An proposed they fight once he reached Origin Seeking, when he believed he could make Li Haoran use his full strength.

Ji An returned to Crimson Flame Peak after the survivors of the Battle of Mount Mingfeng were evacuated, and resumed caring for his spirit fields while resolving to reach the Origin Seeking stage. Meanwhile, the Demon Kings discovered Crying Phoenix Mountain Immortal City was empty, broke through its formation, and triggered a devastating explosion at the summit.

• Ji An told Liu Yu, Ge Luoying, and Li Haoran that he was confident he could break through to the Origin Seeking stage once his cultivation and pill were ready.
• Wei Songnian reunited with his surviving relatives at the Golden Spirit Sect, where True Lord Zhengyang announced that the survivors could return home or join the sect.
• Ji An traveled back with Wei Songnian, urged him to bring vulnerable relatives to the sect, and returned to Crimson Flame Peak with the Golden Feathered Eagle.
• Ji An tended the spirit fields and Sky Origin Pear trees by the Cold Pool, then resolved to break through to the Origin Seeking realm as soon as possible.
• The Demon Kings found Crying Phoenix Mountain Immortal City deserted, attacked its mountain-guarding formation, and entered after it collapsed.
• The demonic beasts rushed toward the mountaintop, where an explosion engulfed them in flames and left the Demon Kings calling the human cultivators despicable.

Ji An returned safely to Crimson Flame Peak, resumed cultivation, and reunited with his disciples. At Mount Puyun, the Chen Clan mourned its losses and began preparing Chen Xingzhou to lead, until a powerful intruder broke into the patriarch’s residence.

• Xia Yulian saw Ji An cultivating in the orchard and left to buy fresh demonic beast meat for lunch.
• Ji An cultivated on Crimson Flame Peak, refined his Five-Colored Radiance, and reported his safety to his master.
• Ji An reunited with Huang Xuan, Xia Yulian, and Li Cheng over a meal and recounted the battle at Crying Phoenix Mountain.
• Chen Daochang told Chen Xingzhou to focus on cultivation and prepare to become the next clan patriarch.
• An unknown intruder mocked the Chen Clan, breached the cave residence’s protective formation, and overwhelmed Chen Daochang and Chen Xingzhou with spiritual pressure.

Azure Dragon forced the Chen Clan to join the Heavenly Demon Alliance by making them cultivate the Heavenly Demon Genesis Scripture. After Chen Xingzhou and Chen Daochang refined Fire Ape Essence Blood, Xiong Ba assigned the clan to spy on the Golden Spirit Sect and warned them that a Shapeshifted Great Demon was directing the war.

• Azure Dragon and Xiong Ba arrived at Mount Puyun and threatened the Chen Clan with death unless they accepted the Heavenly Demon Genesis Scripture and refined Fire Ape Essence Blood.
• Chen Xingzhou and Chen Daochang began refining the essence blood, while Chen Daoxi died during the process.
• Chen Xingzhou completed his refinement first, and Xiong Ba named him a subordinate; Chen Daochang finished two quarters of an hour later.
• Xiong Ba ordered the Chen Clan to gather intelligence about the Golden Spirit Sect and its surroundings, warning that the monster-beast army had breached Crying Phoenix Peak under a Shapeshifted Great Demon's oversight.
• Xiong Ba assured the Chen Clan that the scripture concealed their demonic auras and explained that advancing to its second level would let them condense Demon Bodies; further techniques required merit.

Chen Daochang and Chen Xingzhou accepted their transformation into Demon Cultivators while secretly planning the Chen Clan’s survival, as Azure Dragon prepared to exploit the coming conflict between humans and demon beasts. After returning from Crying Phoenix Peak, Ji An learned of the catastrophic losses in the Azure Mist Secret Realm and heard that his aging master had refused Longevity Pills; he thought of a way to persuade her to keep living but feared time was running out.

• Chen Daochang ordered Chen Xingzhou to announce Dao Xi’s death, arrange the clan funerals, and secretly send some promising disciples away while placing others in the Golden Spirit Sect.
• Xiong Ba reported that two of the Chen Clan’s three Foundation Establishment Cultivators had refined Fire Ape Essence Blood, and Azure Dragon told him to hunt promising demon beast races while awaiting a battle between beasts and human forces.
• A black-robed demonic cultivator slaughtered a small clan’s townspeople, completed his Soul Devouring Banner, and refined two Blood Food Pills from their corpses.
• Ji An drank with Liu Yu, Ge Luoying, and Wei Songnian, then learned that fewer than a hundred of the five hundred entrants survived the Azure Mist Secret Realm after four Origin Seeking Stage demon beasts were lured out.
• Ge Luoying showed Ji An a Longevity Peach seed and explained that her grandaunt had refused the Longevity Pills made from the peaches because she saw no point in prolonging her declining life.
• Ji An said he had thought of a way to persuade his master to keep living, but kept the plan secret and hoped he had enough time to try it.

As the demon catastrophe worsened, Ji An learned that the Golden Feathered Eagle Demon King had tracked him to the sect and stayed on Crimson Flame Peak while cultivating and tending spiritual trees. Half a year later, after reaching Foundation Establishment Layer 8, he visited his aging master, Ge Ying, and urged her to live long enough to see a disciple reach the Origin Seeking stage.

• Liu Yu said the beast horde would soon break through the defensive line, and Ji An confirmed that the sect had begun accepting clan disciples.
• Ji An’s Blood Corrupting Soul Chasing Curse activated, revealing that the Golden Feathered Eagle Demon King was nearby; he decided to avoid missions outside the sect.
• Wei Songnian asked Ji An to protect his pregnant wife, Qiu Yun, if he died, and Ji An promised to help if he could.
• Ji An planted a Longevity Peach Tree and teased his slow-growing Azure Water Turtle, while Xia Yulian defended the turtle’s usefulness.
• After half a year of cultivating under the Nethermoon Azure Jade Tree, Ji An advanced to Foundation Establishment Layer 8.
• Ji An visited Ge Ying, who refused to take a Longevity Pill, and revealed his new cultivation level while asking whether she wanted to witness a disciple reach the Origin Seeking stage.

Ji An persuaded Ge Ying to take a Longevity Pill and learned the requirements for obtaining a Foundation Replenishing Pill. At the Treasure Pavilion, Rock Ancestor sensed a special aura on Ji An and asked whether he was hiding an earth-element treasure.

• Ji An assured Ge Ying that he would take over Condensing Emerald Cliff after reaching the Origin Seeking Stage, and she agreed to take a Longevity Pill intended for her disciples.
• Ge Ying swallowed the pill, regained a youthful appearance, and warned Ji An that its effects could not restore the vitality she had already lost.
• Ji An learned that a Foundation Replenishing Pill cost fifty thousand minor merits, while submitting Sky Origin Ginseng could offset twenty-five thousand and grant priority.
• Ge Luoying arrived, learned that Ge Ying had taken the pill, and tried unsuccessfully to discover what Ji An had said to persuade her.
• At the Treasure Pavilion, Ji An offered Rock Ancestor two Earth Spirit Fruits, and the beast demanded better fruit as tribute before asking if Ji An had an earth-element treasure.

Ji An sought a Foundation Replenishing Pill and learned that his rapid cultivation and insight might earn him special terms from the sect. After the patriarch approved a five-year credit arrangement, Ji An returned to the Treasure Pavilion, where his cultivation revealed an even deeper understanding of the Azure Wood Eternal Spring Art.

• Ji An exchanged for Water Element Spiritual Items and asked Jia Yu about discounts and ingredients needed to obtain a Foundation Replenishing Pill.
• Jia Yu discovered Ji An had reached Foundation Establishment Layer 8 and learned about his breakthrough in Manifesting Intent into Form, then reported his circumstances to the patriarch.
• Jia Yu told Ji An that five disciples were ahead of him for the current pill batch and explained that later ingredients would take about thirty years to mature.
• The patriarch allowed Ji An to exchange for a Foundation Replenishing Pill on credit, provided he repaid the debt within five years, and authorized buying reserve pills if a Merchant Airship arrived.
• Ji An learned that his master would lend him resources worth about five thousand minor merit points, then set out early for the Treasure Pavilion the next morning.
• As Ji An cultivated outside the Treasure Pavilion, grass around him sprouted and withered, and Jia Yu recognized that his understanding of the Azure Wood Eternal Spring Art had deepened again.

Ji An secured a Foundation Replenishing Pill through the sect and arranged a steady supply of Mystic Wood Spirit Gathering Pills with Zhong Yuefei, allowing him to focus on cultivation. After three years of seclusion and intense training, he broke through to Foundation Establishment Layer 9 and moved closer to the Origin Seeking stage.

• Jia Yu processed Ji An's exchange for a Foundation Replenishing Pill, granted him an extra annual quota of Mystic Wood Spirit Gathering Pills, and warned him to repay his sect debt within five years.
• Ji An visited Zhong Yuefei and arranged to trade future spirit fruits for pills; she gave him sixty-four Mystic Wood Spirit Gathering Pills and agreed to cover his annual shortfall.
• Ji An returned to Crimson Flame Peak and spent three years cultivating, tending spirit fields, refining pills, and practicing body refinement.
• Ji An broke through to Foundation Establishment Layer 9, strengthened his immortal veins, and improved his aptitude.

Ji An nurtured his life-light, reached Foundation Establishment Layer 9, and celebrated by rewarding the workers on Crimson Flame Peak before tending his spirit orchards. Ge Luoying learned of his breakthrough after returning from a dangerous mission and accepted the news calmly as she pursued her own path.

• Ji An circulated his secret art, nurtured his life-light, and sent messages to his master, Uncle-Master Jia, and Senior Sister Zhong.
• Ge Luoying returned from a successful mission and told Ge Ying that her progress had brought her close to Foundation Establishment Layer 9; Ge Ying then revealed that Ji An had already reached that level.
• Ge Luoying congratulated Ji An in spirit and calmly accepted that he had broken through first.
• Ji An celebrated his breakthrough with dinner, gave Zhang Cuihua instructions to distribute thirty Spirit Stones among the workers, and then cast spells over his Water and Fire Element Spirit Plant orchards.

Ji An completed his rounds of cultivating spirit plants and continued his nighttime cultivation before visiting the Treasure Pavilion to collect a pill and settle his debts. Jia Yu told him that Han had successfully refined eight Foundation Replenishing Pills, but Ji An would have to wait until he reached Foundation Establishment Layer 9 Perfection to receive one and prepare for a breakthrough to the Origin Seeking stage.

• Ji An cultivated his spirit fields, saw the Emerald Leaf Red Lotus form a lotus pod, and realized its seeds could eventually nurture Green Lotus Heart-Burning Fire.
• Ji An visited his underground field, tended the Soul Nurturing Wood, and considered seeking a secret art to raise Golden Fur.
• Ji An returned to the Treasure Pavilion with three years of spirit fruits and pine nuts, asking Jia Yu for his Purple Ganoderma Spirit Condensing Pill and Water Element Spiritual Items.
• Jia Yu told Ji An that Han had refined eight Foundation Replenishing Pills and said Ji An could receive one after reaching Foundation Establishment Layer 9 Perfection, when the sect would arrange his seclusion and breakthrough attempt.

Ji An exchanged Crimson Flame Peak’s abundant spirit-farming harvest for pills and resources, securing three hundred Purple Ganoderma Spirit Condensing Pills and reducing his debt. Back at the peak, he learned a Demon King still roamed outside the sect, agreed to sell Liu Yu Sky Origin Pears, and revealed that he had reached Foundation Establishment Layer 9.

• Jia Yu appraised Ji An’s spirit plants and fruits, credited him with 32,500 minor merits, and agreed to let him redeem three hundred Purple Ganoderma Spirit Condensing Pills along with Water Element Spiritual Items.
• Ji An received the pills and Trickling Spirit Water, repaid 13,000 minor merits, and left with his remaining debt reduced to 13,000.
• The Earth Dragon Beast praised Ji An’s mid-grade spirit fruits, while Jia Yu sent word to the sect that it should purchase Origin Seeking farming spells for him.
• Ji An returned to Crimson Flame Peak and felt the Blood Corrupting Soul Chasing Curse flare as the lingering Demon King wandered outside the sect again.
• Liu Yu asked Ji An for Sky Origin Pears, and Ji An agreed to spare him twenty if they proved useful to his cultivation.
• Ji An told Liu Yu that he had broken through to Foundation Establishment Layer 9, leaving Liu Yu both congratulating him and feeling discouraged.

Ji An and Liu Yu discussed Liu Yu’s plan to use Water Element nourishment to achieve Dragon Tiger Union, while the war against the demon beasts worsened. At Harmony Peak, the sect faced possible collapse as its allies hesitated to send reinforcements, and the Demon Kings considered halting their assault and letting demonic cultivators weaken the humans.

• Ji An gave Liu Yu two Sky Origin Pears, and Liu Yu explained that he hoped to draw out the true water within his body and harmonize it with the fire in his heart.
• Ji An understood Liu Yu’s Dragon Tiger Union theory and advised him to maintain the proper balance; Liu Yu said Zhu Xiangrong and Jia Yu had already supported the experiment.
• Ji An and Liu Yu discussed the damage caused by the Demon Catastrophe and questioned why the demon beasts continued attacking despite their heavy losses.
• At Harmony Peak, True Lord Beichen asked the allied True Persons for a strategy as the sect’s Spirit Vein and resources neared exhaustion; True Lord Yuxiao and True Lord Baiyun promised to report its plight to their sect leaders.
• At Mangcang Mountain, the Demon Kings debated their costly siege, and Black Wolf proposed sending word to Fairy Hu and pausing the attack while humans dealt with the newly emerged demonic cultivators.

Ji An completed a major cultivation session, prepared gifts from his ripened Spiritual Peaches, and visited his master, where he learned that Li Haoran had become an Origin Seeking cultivator. Meanwhile, a relief force from Central Continent approached Western Continent as its Golden Core True Persons wondered how much fighting they would be expected to do.

• Black Wolf Demon King rejected the envoy proposal and urged the Demon Kings to keep pressing Harmony Peak.
• Ji An’s Five Elements power formed a balanced cycle and manifested a ten-foot domain of growth and decay as he cultivated.
• Ji An collected a Spiritual Peach, then instructed Zhang Cuihua to organize the harvest of Mid-grade Second-tier spiritual herbs and reward the workers.
• Ji An visited Ge Ying with Spiritual Peach gifts, and Ge Luoying and Liu Yu told him that Li Haoran had become an Origin Seeking cultivator.
• As the relief fleet neared Western Continent, its Golden Core True Persons asked Qiongxiao whether True Monarch Taixuan expected them to fight or merely help defend.

Qiongxiao explained that True Monarch Taixuan would only stabilize the situation in Western Continent and would not join the fighting, then took charge of affairs when he entered seclusion. After Western Continent's sect leaders sought help defending Harmony Peak, Qiongxiao accepted their request after receiving a valuable gift.

• Qiongxiao told the cultivators that True Monarch Taixuan would hold the central position for three years and that joining the war was their choice.
• True Monarch Taixuan gave Qiongxiao a command token and ordered her to manage Western Continent's affairs while he entered seclusion.
• The Merchant Airship arrived at Azure Cloud Immortal City, and Central Continent's cultivators cleared demonic beasts from the area around it.
• True Lord Huoyun, True Lord Zhengyang, and True Lord Beichen visited Qiongxiao and asked her to move the airship to help defend Harmony Peak.
• Qiongxiao received a mid-Golden Core Demon Core and ten High-grade Spirit Stones, then decided to grant the request.