Chapter Summaries

Qin Fengming learned that Shang Lingxi had reached the Nascent Soul stage and had instructed three cultivators to look after him. He declined their offer to escort him through the Sky Flame Mountain Range and asked them to tell Shang Lingxi that he was safe.

• Wei Hongliang recounted how Shang Lingxi had rescued him and his companions from a powerful demon beast and later asked them to look after Qin Fengming.
• Qin Fengming realized Shang Lingxi had likely recovered to the Nascent Soul stage, but grew concerned when the three cultivators said they had seen no one with her.
• The three cultivators explained that they had come to the Sky Flame Mountain Range hoping to find Qin Fengming and repay Shang Lingxi's kindness.
• Wei Hongliang offered for the three cultivators to escort Qin Fengming safely out of the mountain range.
• Qin Fengming politely declined, asked them to reassure Shang Lingxi that he was safe, and said he would visit her in Manzhou after handling his affairs.

Qin Fengming escaped the white fog region through the entrance and returned to the lava-filled central region of the Sky Flame Mountain Range. He concealed himself in a formation and awakened the captured Li surname cultivator, who realized he could no longer use his spiritual power.

• The three Wei surname cultivators discussed Qin Fengming’s account of the spirit pool and flew southeast to investigate.
• Qin Fengming hurried to the entrance, was pulled through a hidden barrier, and emerged amid the central region’s erupting lava.
• Qin Fengming flew beyond the most dangerous lava and set up a formation among the rocks near a volcanic crater.
• Qin Fengming awakened the captured Li surname cultivator, who recognized him and discovered that he could not mobilize his spiritual power.

Qin Fengming defeated Elder Li and captured him, then demanded the Soul Restraining Artifact needed to control Elder Li’s refined corpse. Elder Li agreed to identify it, but panicked when Qin Fengming revealed he knew there were two treasures inside his body.

• Elder Li abandoned his secret technique and retreated, but Qin Fengming’s four attacks triggered an explosion that destroyed Elder Li’s defensive ancient treasure and knocked him unconscious.
• Qin Fengming told Elder Li that his senior brothers would never return, but Elder Li refused to believe he had defeated the four other Baleful Intent Sect cultivators.
• Qin Fengming said he had spared Elder Li to obtain the Soul Restraining Artifact for the refined corpse.
• Elder Li agreed to hand over the item in exchange for his soul being allowed to enter the Netherworld, claiming his sealed magic power prevented him from retrieving it.
• Qin Fengming asked Elder Li to identify which of the two treasures inside his body was the Soul Restraining Item, shocking him.

Qin Fengming killed Elder Li and took the two treasures refined within his body, discovering that the ancient smoke whistle contained a substance resembling Chaos Purple Qi. He refined Elder Li’s Black Round Mirror and gained smooth control of the corpse-refining puppet.

• Elder Li explained that the Black Round Mirror controlled the corpse-refining puppet and that he had never managed to fully refine the smoke whistle.
• Qin Fengming killed Elder Li, removed the two treasures from his body, and burned his corpse to ashes.
• Qin Fengming examined the smoke whistle and found dense Muddied Purple Viscous Substance resembling the Chaos Purple Qi in his goblet.
• Qin Fengming recognized four ancient characters on the smoke whistle but could not understand them, then put the treasure away.
• Qin Fengming used his Spirit Devouring Netherflame to refine the Black Round Mirror in a little over a month and gained full control of the corpse-refining puppet.

Qin Fengming gained the tall Corpse Refining’s secret arts and learned to store it in a Corpse Refining Bag after refining the forbidden artifact. He continued cautiously through the Sky Flame Mountain Range, where the approaching closure and the lack of other cultivators left his route uncertain.

• Qin Fengming received the tall Corpse Refining’s techniques through their mental connection and learned about the Startling Spirit Chant and Ten Finger Strike.
• Qin Fengming used the Corpse Refining Bag to summon the tall Corpse Refining and then stored it inside.
• Qin Fengming collected his formation flags and flew onward through the lava-filled region, where the air-restricting prohibition slowed him despite his Core Formation cultivation.
• Qin Fengming realized more than seven years had passed since he entered the Sky Flame Mountain Range and that only a little over two years remained before it closed.
• Qin Fengming flew for more than ten days without meeting another cultivator and suspected most had left or were hiding in the Misty Zone to rob travelers.

Qin Fengming entered the Misty Zone and found that his divine sense reached farther there than it had before, giving him an advantage as he crossed the dangerous region. After discovering evidence of a recent battle and then hearing another clash ahead, he cautiously approached under the cover of an invisibility talisman.

• Qin Fengming reached the Misty Zone, put away the Azure Silkworm Silk treasure, prepared his defenses, and entered on foot.
• Qin Fengming discovered his divine sense could probe more than a hundred yards through the mist, farther than Core Formation cultivators could detect.
• Qin Fengming found signs of a recent battle but chose to continue along the same route, reasoning that no path through the region was free of danger.
• Qin Fengming traveled for half a month and then stopped after hearing a fierce battle taking place ahead.
• Qin Fengming used a Qi Concealing Invisibility Talisman and approached the battle to identify the fighters without being discovered.

Qin Fengming discovered four Brahma Sound Temple monks and four Qing Ming Sect cultivators fighting over an unknown spirit fruit tree, whose five colorful fruits had drawn the Five Elements Beasts’ attention. He recognized that the tree was fully mature but did not know what it was, and abandoned his plan to leave.

• Qin Fengming cautiously approached a prolonged battle between four Brahma Sound Temple monks and four Qing Ming Sect cultivators, all at the Peak Core Formation stage.
• Qin Fengming watched the evenly matched combat and wondered why none of the eight used powerful techniques or treasures.
• The five Five Elements Beasts sent excited mental waves through Qin Fengming’s Spirit Beast Bracelet, alerting him to a nearby spirit herb.
• Qin Fengming searched the area with his divine sense and discovered a hidden fruit tree with five differently colored fruits at the center of the battle.
• Qin Fengming realized the cultivators were fighting over the tree and, despite not recognizing it, decided not to leave.

Qin Fengming watched eight cultivators from Brahma Sound Temple and Qing Ming Sect fight over a rare spiritual fruit, but he could not find a safe way to take it. The arrival of seven cultivators from Black Fiend Island turned the dispute into a confrontation among three factions.

• Qin Fengming hid nearby and considered how to steal the spiritual fruit, but knew he could not withstand the eight Core Formation cultivators guarding it.
• Old Man Wang and six other Black Fiend Island cultivators arrived, drawing the attention of the fighters from Brahma Sound Temple and Qing Ming Sect.
• Old Man Wang proposed that the three factions divide the fruit, while the Brahma Sound Temple monk objected that his temple had discovered it first.
• Qin Fengming recalled that Black Fiend Island cultivators practiced the Demon Fiend Art, which could raise their combat strength by a small realm.
• Zhai of Qing Ming Sect challenged the Black Fiend Island cultivators, and Old Man Wang threatened to kill the others if his group was not granted a share.

The Qing Ming Sect and Brahma Sound Temple joined forces against seven cultivators from Black Fiend Island to compete for a rare spirit fruit with five fruits. The battle erupted around the fruit, while Qin Fengming struggled to steady himself amid the energy waves.

• A Qing Ming Sect elder challenged Black Fiend Island, while old man surnamed Zhai and Master Tianming agreed to combine forces and divide the spirit fruits if they won.
• Old man surnamed Cui and the other Qing Ming Sect cultivators, alongside the Brahma Sound Temple monks, launched attacks against the seven Black Fiend Island cultivators.
• Old Man Wang showed no fear and ordered his six companions to intercept the attackers, as both sides began fighting across the area.
• Qin Fengming felt the battle’s energy waves shake him and used his spiritual power to steady himself.
• Old man surnamed Zhai summoned a huge skull treasure, which clashed evenly with a Black Fiend Island cultivator’s black ring; the other pairs also began fighting with their natal treasures.

Qin Fengming watched the battle over the spirit fruit from hiding while Old Man Zhai and Old Monk Tianming joined forces against a Black Fiend Island cultivator. When their opponent began casting the Demon Fiend Art, Old Man Zhai launched a concealed attack to interrupt him.

• Qin Fengming hid near the spirit fruit and held back, wary of the cultivators guarding it and Old Monk Tianming's unexplained secret technique.
• Old Man Zhai saw his fellow Qing Ming Sect cultivator losing ground to Old Man Wang and asked Old Monk Tianming to help defeat his own opponent.
• Old Monk Tianming joined Old Man Zhai and attacked their Black Fiend Island opponent with a golden Zen staff.
• The Black Fiend Island cultivator, enraged at being outnumbered, began using the Demon Fiend Art.
• Old Man Zhai recognized the technique and sent a concealed murky yellow sphere at the cultivator to interrupt him.

Old Monk Tianming and the Zhai family cultivator confronted Black Fiend Island’s Demon Fiend Art, which transformed Junior Brother Wu into a creature with Nascent Soul-level pressure. Both sides activated their strongest secret arts and held their positions around the spirit fruit, leaving the battle in a tense stalemate.

• Old Monk Tianming joined the Zhai family cultivator in attacking, but the explosion sent both of them tumbling back without stopping their opponent.
• Junior Brother Wu emerged transformed into a wolf-headed demon whose pressure matched that of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
• The Black Fiend Island cultivators prepared their secret arts as the Zhai family cultivator and Old Monk Tianming ordered their allies to activate their sects’ defenses and techniques.
• Old Monk Tianming and three fellow monks formed a defensive formation near the spirit fruit, while the four Qing Ming Sect cultivators enclosed themselves in blood-red spheres.
• All seven Black Fiend Island cultivators transformed, and both sides paused without attacking.

Zhai faced a wolf-headed Black Fiend Island cultivator whose Demon Fiend Art made him immune to Zhai’s sound and treasure attacks. With ordinary methods useless, Zhai summoned a Netherworld object, risking its escape from his control, as battles raged elsewhere.

• Zhai charged the wolf-headed Black Fiend Island cultivator and endured his soul-shaking howl without injury.
• The wolf-headed cultivator pounced at Zhai, then knocked aside his two ancient treasures with his claws.
• Zhai released a small humanoid Netherworld object created through the Qing Ming Sect’s sinister secret art.
• Zhai hesitated because repeated use could let the powerful Netherworld object break free, but he faced certain death without it.
• The other three Qing Ming Sect cultivators also resorted to methods like Zhai’s as their battles intensified.

The Qing Ming Sect cultivators and monks from Brahma Sound Temple held off the transformed Black Fiend Island cultivators with powerful defensive arts and relentless attacks. As the battle stalemated, Qin Fengming saw a chance to pick the spirit fruit and escape.

• The Zhai family cultivator used his underworld object to stop the charging wolf-headed Black Fiend Island cultivator and battled him to a standstill.
• The other Qing Ming Sect cultivators used white soul bodies and red blood spheres to block their opponents’ attacks.
• The Brahma Sound Temple monks attacked the advancing Black Fiend Island cultivators with bells, drums, and formed sound waves.
• Qin Fengming watched the battles, recognized the white objects as refined souls, and considered their potential value to his Soul Devouring Beast.
• Seeing both sides locked in a stalemate, Qin Fengming considered picking the spirit fruit and fleeing.

Qin Fengming tried to send his Silver Sheath Worm to retrieve the spirit fruit, but discovered an invisible barrier protecting it and realized he could not take it easily. Meanwhile, Old Man Wang urged the Black Fiend Island cultivators to unleash their secret arts, and the battle shifted as one cultivator’s attack failed to stop his opponent’s baleful object.

• Qin Fengming sent the Silver Sheath Worm through the magma toward the spirit fruit, but an invisible barrier repelled it.
• Qin Fengming recognized the barrier as the spirit fruit’s own protection and withdrew the worm, concluding that he could not pluck the fruit without weakening its defenses.
• Old Man Wang warned the Black Fiend Island cultivators that their Demon Fiend Art would eventually expire and ordered them to use their secret arts.
• Old Man surnamed Zhai urged the Qing Ming Sect and Brahma Sound Temple cultivators to act quickly, then sent his gray-white baleful object at a wolf-headed Black Fiend Island cultivator.
• The wolf-headed cultivator launched a murky-yellow sphere, but it passed through the gray-white object without harming it as both attacks continued forward.

Qin Fengming returned to the spirit fruit after a devastating explosion scattered the cultivators, finding the Black Fiend Island group incapacitated and preparing to attack them. The chapter ended as he charged toward three of them while they meditated.

• The four Brahma Sound Temple monks maintained their defensive formation as the Black Fiend Island cultivators unleashed an enormous explosion that blasted Qin Fengming away.
• Six badly injured cultivators—four monks and two Qing Ming Sect members—fled past Qin Fengming, who suspected the Black Fiend Island cultivators were pursuing them.
• Qin Fengming searched the area, realized the Black Fiend Island cultivators had not followed, and returned toward the spirit fruit.
• Qin Fengming found three Black Fiend Island cultivators meditating, four standing rigid in apparent torment, and two dead bodies nearby.
• Qin Fengming decided to exploit the group’s weakened state and rushed toward the three meditating cultivators.

Qin Fengming ambushed three Black Fiend Island cultivators, killing two with Sun-Shooting Talismans and confronting the weakened Old Man Wang. He blocked Old Man Wang’s secret art and taunted him, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Qin Fengming planted formation flags near the spirit fruit and approached the three Black Fiend Island cultivators.
• Qin Fengming attacked with Sun-Shooting Talismans, killing two cultivators while Old Man Wang dodged the beams.
• Qin Fengming recognized that Old Man Wang was gravely weakened, and Old Man Wang unleashed a giant black palm to kill him quickly.
• Qin Fengming sent five hundred fire boas against the black palm, then blocked its weakened strike with the Ding Jia Talisman.
• Qin Fengming taunted Old Man Wang and demanded that he surrender.

Qin Fengming killed Old Man Wang with a Mountain Breaking Talisman and subdued the four Black Fiend Island cultivators who remained trapped in their painful transformation. He took them toward the spirit fruit and concealed the battlefield with his formation.

• Old Man Wang recognized Qin Fengming’s power but could not decide whether he was the young master of Manghuang Mountain.
• Qin Fengming launched hundreds of Fire Python Talismans at Old Man Wang and advanced under their cover.
• Old Man Wang tried to flee, but Qin Fengming used the Profound Sky Evasive Steps and a Mountain Breaking Talisman to destroy his treasures and kill him.
• Qin Fengming sealed the spiritual power of the four motionless Black Fiend Island cultivators and had his puppet and corpse refinement carry them.
• Qin Fengming reached his formation, concealed it in the surrounding scenery, and left the ash-covered battlefield without a trace.

Qin Fengming discovered powerful divine thoughts inside four Black Fiend Island cultivators and suspected they contained underworld beings. He sent his Soul Devouring Beast to investigate, and it devoured two souls from one cultivator, leaving the fate of the other three unresolved.

• Qin Fengming probed the four Black Fiend Island cultivators and found a powerful divine thought inside each, forcing him to withdraw his divine sense.
• Qin Fengming suspected the cultivators contained underworld entities and summoned his Soul Devouring Banner and Soul Devouring Beast.
• Qin Fengming told the Soul Devouring Beast to devour the powerful souls, and it attacked one of the cultivators by sending gray mist into his body.
• The Soul Devouring Beast struggled with two powerful energies inside the cultivator, then expelled and swallowed gray qi containing two transparent souls.
• Qin Fengming realized the swallowed souls were the underworld entity sacrificed by the Qing Ming Sect and the Black Fiend Island cultivator's own soul.

Qin Fengming helped the Soul Devouring Beast endure the pain of refining the souls it had devoured, then turned his attention to the five-colored spiritual fruit. He discovered that harvesting it without damage required five single-attribute treasures, leaving him uncertain how to proceed.

• The Soul Devouring Beast swallowed souls from the four Black Fiend Island cultivators, then suffered as it tried to refine them.
• Qin Fengming fed the beast drops of mysterious liquid, replenishing its physical energy until its condition stabilized.
• Qin Fengming searched the four corpses, collected their valuables, burned them, and put away his puppets and refined corpse.
• Qin Fengming struck the barrier around the five-colored spiritual fruit, but his spiritual artifact bounced away without breaking it.
• Qin Fengming realized he needed five equally powerful treasures of different single elements to harvest the fruit safely and wondered whether he had to refine them himself.

Qin Fengming watched the Five Elements Beasts bypass the barrier around a five-colored spirit fruit and devour all five fruits, then collected the still-living tree. He put the beasts away and began repairing damaged magic treasures while the Soul Devouring Beast refined powerful souls.

• The Five Elements Beasts urged Qin Fengming to release them, and he brought the five little beasts out of the Spirit Beast Bracelet.
• The Five Elements Beasts passed through the spirit fruit’s defensive barrier and ate all five fruits before Qin Fengming could stop them.
• Qin Fengming examined the fruit tree, moved it into a Jade Box, sealed it with restriction talismans, and stored it.
• Qin Fengming returned the Five Elements Beasts to the Spirit Beast Bracelet and saw that the Soul Devouring Beast was still refining several powerful souls.
• Qin Fengming sat beside the Soul Devouring Beast and used the Spirit Devouring Netherflame to repair and re-refine several damaged magic treasures.