Chapter Summaries

After the Zhao Country Royal Family’s Core Formation cultivators died in Xiangshui Prefecture, clans across Zhao Country reconsidered their loyalties while the Lu and Yue Country royal families prepared to expand their influence. In Huangmin Prefecture, Wu Yueya urged the Seven Great Families to become subordinate forces of the Xiangshui Li Clan.

• The Li Clan’s subordinate forces celebrated the Li Clan’s survival, and Zhao Country’s Core Formation clans concluded that Li Qianqing had become a major power while praising the Li Clan’s restraint.
• The Lu Country Royal Family debated the uncertain extent of Li Qianqing’s strength and decided to infiltrate Zhao Country while the Zhao Country Royal Family was weakened.
• The Yue Country Royal Family also began planning to expand its influence in Zhao Country, though it did not consider annexing the country.
• Wu Yueya gathered representatives of the Huangmin Seven Great Families and proposed that they contact the Xiangshui Li Clan and become its subordinate forces.
• Wu Yueya cited the Zhao Country Royal Family’s past suppression of the Wu Family and argued that the Li Clan offered better prospects than remaining loyal to the weakened royal family or becoming independent.

Wu Yueya persuaded Huangmin Prefecture’s six Foundation Establishment clans to join the Xiangshui Li Clan, while the Zhao Country Royal Family’s surviving Core Formation cultivators argued over how to respond after losing seven of their strongest members. The royal family split over whether to flee as subordinate forces began defecting and the Lu Country Royal Family made contact with Zhao’s forces.

• Wu Yueya presented four choices to Huangmin Prefecture’s six Foundation Establishment clans, and all chose either to join the Li Clan immediately or wait until the Zhao Country Royal Family fell.
• The four surviving Core Formation cultivators of the Zhao Country Royal Family confirmed that their Ancestor and six other Core Formation cultivators had died at the Li Clan’s hands.
• The Fenghai Xun Clan announced that it was breaking away from the Zhao Country Royal Family, and Zhao Xiaoyang warned that more subordinate clans would follow.
• Zhao Yongtian proposed leaving Zhao Country with some clan cultivators, and the other three Core Formation cultivators agreed to let him go while they stayed in Huangmin Prefecture.
• A Sound Transmission Talisman reported that cultivators on the Lu Country Royal Family’s side had begun contacting forces in the Zhao Country Cultivation World.

After the Zhao royal family’s failed attack, Li Qianqing planned a gradual takeover of its power and welcomed the Huangmin Wu Clan and three allied clans as Li Clan subordinates. The Wu Clan agreed to organize rebellions among the royal family’s subordinate forces, while Li Qianqing began preparing for a new mortal dynasty and a later alliance with Clear Wind Valley.

• Zhao Yongtian argued against spending too much strength trying to stop other countries from interfering, and Zhao Xiaoyang agreed that they should resist only as much as possible.
• Li Qianqing convened a family meeting and decided the Li Clan would gradually replace the Zhao royal family rather than destroy it all at once.
• Wu Yueya arrived on behalf of the Huangmin Wu Clan, the Huangmin Kong Clan, the Zhuang Family, and the Zhou Family to pledge allegiance to the Li Clan.
• Li Qianqing promised not to interfere with subordinate clans that served the Li Clan’s interests and tasked the Wu Clan with secretly encouraging the royal family’s subordinate forces to rebel.
• Li Qianqing ordered Li Qingping to select a mortal member aged twelve to eighteen to prepare as the next emperor, then sent Yan Xuewei a Sound Transmission Talisman to arrange a meeting.

Li Qianqing and Yan Xuewei discussed the Li Clan’s campaign to absorb the Zhao Country Royal Family’s influence and agreed that Clear Wind Valley could help the Three Sects expand openly. Yan Xuewei gathered Heaven Transmission Mountain and Water Cloud Gate to coordinate their next moves, leaving Clear Wind Valley poised to lead the Three Sects as the Li Clan’s power continued to rise.

• Yan Xuewei met Li Qianqing in a forest cabin and praised him for defeating Zhao Longyin and the other Zhao Country Royal Family cultivators.
• Li Qianqing explained that the Li Clan would first absorb the Zhao Country Royal Family’s forces in the other prefectures before dealing with Huangmin Prefecture.
• Li Qianqing urged Yan Xuewei to tell Heaven Transmission Mountain and Water Cloud Gate they could expand openly, so long as they did not overreach.
• Three days later, Yan Xuewei invited Core Formation elders from Heaven Transmission Mountain and Water Cloud Gate to Clear Wind Valley to discuss Zhao Country’s changing situation.
• Yan Xuewei assured the elders that the Li Clan would tolerate their open expansion, while Feng Xicheng urged the Three Sects to stand together and affirmed Clear Wind Valley’s leadership.

Clear Wind Valley secured the other sects’ recognition of its leadership, while Heaven Transmission Mountain began openly expanding its influence in Xianlin Prefecture. The chapter ended with Lu Country’s Qi Dongqiang questioning Heaven Transmission Mountain’s actions after receiving news from Zhao Country.

• Yan Xuewei and Feng Xicheng saw Water Cloud Gate and Heaven Transmission Mountain accept Clear Wind Valley’s leadership and discuss minor cooperation.
• A Lu Country Royal Family cultivator pressured Jiang Shouyun to make the Jiang Clan serve Lu Country, but a Zhao Country Royal Family cultivator arrived and exposed the negotiations.
• Wang Zhigong entered the Jiang Clan’s reception hall and ordered Jiang Shouyun to make the Jiang Clan an affiliated force of the Wang Clan.
• Wang Zhigong used Spirit Pressure to drive the Lu Country cultivator away, then sent the Zhao Country cultivator away without revealing Heaven Transmission Mountain’s reasoning.
• Jiang Shouyun agreed to affiliate the Jiang Clan with the Wang Clan, giving Heaven Transmission Mountain influence over nearby Small Spirit Mines.
• In Lu Country, Qi Dongqiang received the report from Zhao Country and questioned what Heaven Transmission Mountain meant by its actions.

Qi Dongqiang and the Zhao Country Royal Family waited for the Li Clan to respond to Heaven Transmission Mountain’s open expansion, but Li Qianqing deliberately stayed silent while the three sects gained ground. Two years later, the Zhao Country Royal Family remained on the defensive as rumors about the Li Clan’s plans multiplied.

• Qi Dongqiang learned that Heaven Transmission Mountain had openly intervened in Xianlin Prefecture and hoped the Li Clan would make it restrain itself.
• The Zhao Country Royal Family’s three Core Formation cultivators decided to send Zhao Wulong, a Pseudo-Core cultivator, to seek talks with the Li Clan.
• Zhao Wulong reached Changqing Mountain, was refused an audience with Li Qianqing, and returned safely to Huangmin Prefecture.
• Li Qianqing inferred that Zhao Wulong had come to gauge the Li Clan’s intentions and planned to wait until the royal family’s forces outside Huangmin Prefecture had been removed or subdued.
• Two years passed without the Li Clan making a public move, while the three sects expanded and cultivators speculated about the Li Clan’s intentions.

After years of weakening the Zhao Country Royal Family and waiting for its influence to shrink, Li Qianqing announced that the Li Clan would begin its final operation within half a year. He outlined the plan at a core family meeting, where Li Xunting and Li Qingqing eagerly volunteered to take part.

• The Zhao Country Royal Family recalled Zhao Yongtian from Da Ming Country, but its influence continued to collapse as subordinate forces broke away and the Three Sects destroyed its attempts to respond.
• Over the next ten years, the Royal Family lost control of every region except Huangmin Prefecture, while the Li Clan quietly strengthened its forces in Xiangshui Prefecture.
• After receiving a Sound Transmission Talisman, Li Qianqing decided the time had come to exterminate the Zhao Country Royal Family and called a core family meeting.
• Li Qianqing announced that the Li Clan would move against the Royal Family within half a year, with Li Xunting and Li Qingqing volunteering to participate.
• Li Qianqing explained that the operation would rely on allied Foundation Establishment clans in Huangmin Prefecture and local Qi Refining clans to pursue the Royal Family's forces.

Li Qianqing led the Li Clan and Huangmin Prefecture’s allied forces to begin their operation against the Zhao Country Royal Family. The Zhao family learned of the attack too late, and Li Qianqing rejected Zhao Yongtian’s plea to negotiate as the ancestral land prepared for battle.

• Li Qianqing assigned Li Qingping to remain behind while the other Foundation Establishment cultivators prepared to attack the Zhao Country Royal Family.
• Wu Yueya received Li Qianqing’s message and organized the Huangmin Prefecture Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining families to join the operation two months later.
• The Zheng Clan Head informed his cultivators that they would attack the Zhao family’s Qi Refining members and keep their spoils.
• Zhao Xiaoyang received word that the Li Clan had reached Huangmin Prefecture and hurried to alert the Zhao Country Royal Family’s Core Formation Cultivators.
• Zhao Xiaoyang activated the ancestral land’s protective array and ordered the Zhao family to resist, while some cultivators began fighting among themselves over whether to flee.
• Li Qianqing arrived above the Zhao Country Royal Family’s ancestral land, and he told Zhao Yongtian that there was no chance for reconciliation.

Li Qianqing led the attack on the Zhao Country royal family’s ancestral land, using his divine sense technique to disable its Core Formation cultivators and breaking through its protective array. As the battle spread across the grounds, the Zhao Country royal family’s defeat became inevitable, while Li Qingqing revealed her strength as a puppet master.

• Li Qianqing used Enter Dream to incapacitate the Zhao Country royal family’s three Core Formation cultivators, then ordered Li Changgui to break the protective array.
• Li Changgui created a weak point in the array, and Li Qianqing’s Flame Dragon Pearl tore it open before he entered and killed Zhao Xiaoyang and the other two Core Formation cultivators.
• Li Changgui broke the array, while Zhao Country royal family cultivators fled or gathered to fight; subordinate forces intercepted the fleeing Qi Refining cultivators.
• Zhao Tiandong targeted Li Qingqing, but she summoned a third-order low grade Humanoid Puppet that killed him, then joined the battle using four smaller puppets.

The Li Clan destroyed the Zhao Country Royal Family, took control of Zhao Country, and established Qing Country with Li Qianqing as its royal founder. After distributing spirit-vein lands to its Huangmin Prefecture allies and naming Liyang City the imperial capital, the Li Clan saw Qing Country’s forces accept its new rule.

• Li Qianqing saved Wu Yueya during the battle, while Li Xunting infiltrated Dragon Rumble Mountain and defeated its guarding Core Formation cultivator; Li Xingsheng and Flame Turtle distinguished themselves in the fighting.
• Li Qianqing and Li Xunting’s forces defeated the Zhao Country Royal Family at its ancestral land and Dragon Rumble Mountain, wiping out its Foundation Establishment and Core Formation cultivators.
• Li Qianqing renamed the Zhao Country Royal Family’s former strongholds Changhe Mountain and Changting Mountain, and rewarded Huangmin Prefecture’s allied clans with spirit-vein lands; the Wu Clan received two.
• Wu Yueya discussed handling mortals tied to the former royal family and seeking to acquire spirit-vein lands from independent Qi Refining clans.
• Li Qianqing declared the Li Clan the new royal family and established Qing Country, with Liyang City as its imperial capital and Li Zhongyong as its first emperor.
• Cultivators across Qing Country recognized the Li Clan’s rule, and the country’s powers came to be viewed as one royal family, three sects, and nine clans.

Li Qianqing prepared to host Qing Country’s major forces as the Li Clan consolidated its new royal-family position and expanded its resources. The banquet began with powerful guests arriving, including the Water Cloud Gate Master and Yu Qianshui, whose Yu Clan feared the Li Clan’s growing strength.

• Wandering cultivators learned that the Li Clan was recruiting Spirit Planters for its Spiritual Fields, while the Lu Country Royal Family discussed testing Qing Country’s response to pressure on Heaven Transmission Mountain.
• The Yue Country Royal Family decided to suspend its infiltration plans because Clear Wind Valley and Water Cloud Gate blocked its efforts.
• Li Qianqing assessed the Li Clan’s growing resources and cultivation prospects before leaving his cave dwelling to attend the banquet.
• The Water Cloud Gate Master arrived at Changqing Mountain, prompting guests to wonder whether the Clear Wind Valley Master and Heaven Transmission Mountain Sect Master would also attend.
• Yu Qianshui arrived at the Li Clan’s mountain gate and worried that his Yu Clan could not match the Li Clan’s strength.

At the Li Clan’s banquet on Changqing Mountain, Li Qianqing assured the gathered Core Formation forces that the Li Clan would not seize their territory and would look beyond Qing Country for expansion. The other forces began discussing cooperation, and Yu Qianshui left reassured that the Li Clan would not target the Yu Clan.

• Yu Qianshui arrived at Changqing Mountain and joined the Core Formation cultivators as representatives of the nine clans and three sects gathered.
• Yan Xuewei and Zuoqiu Lipeng arrived together, prompting the other cultivators to infer that Clear Wind Valley had a good relationship with the Li Clan.
• Li Qianqing welcomed the guests and invited them to discuss the future of the Qing Country Cultivation World, while explaining that Li Xunming was away tempering himself.
• At Yan Xuewei’s prompting, Li Qianqing said the Li Clan would not expand into the gathered forces’ territory and would seek land in Lu Kingdom or Yue Kingdom instead.
• The ancestor of the New Moon Shen Clan agreed, and Heaven Transmission Mountain’s sect master and Ancestor Xue exchanged information about the Heavenly Revelation Alliance.
• Heaven Transmission Mountain’s sect master watched Yu Qianshui, who denied that the Yu Clan had contacted foreign forces and felt reassured by Li Qianqing’s pledge.

At the Li Clan banquet, Li Qianqing offered paid assistance to forces seeking to expand, and later explained to Yan Xuewei why his vision for the Qing Country required no outside-surname cultivators in the Li Clan. Two years after the Zhao Country Royal Family fell, Li Xunming returned from his travels and asked Li Qianqing whether he knew any Nascent Soul Cultivators in Fan Yang Country.

• Li Qianqing offered the Yu Clan and other forces paid help if they encountered trouble expanding into Lu Kingdom or Yue Kingdom, and Yu Qianshui and the Heaven Transmission Mountain Sect Master responded.
• The banquet ended, and Yan Xuewei and Zuoqiu Lipeng stayed behind while the other Core Formation cultivators departed.
• Yan Xuewei and Li Qianqing discussed how the Li Clan's vision for the Qing Country meant it would not recruit outside-surname cultivators or control local forces.
• Li Xunting tested Zuoqiu Lipeng's strength, leaving him aware that he was falling further behind and considering traveling to seek an opportunity.
• In Qingli Year Three, Li Xunming returned from his travels and asked Li Qianqing whether he knew any Nascent Soul Cultivators in Fan Yang Country.

Li Xunming returned from Fan Yang Country and told Li Qianqing about escaping a Nascent Soul Cultivator’s scrutiny and finding an Azure Cloud Token. Years later, Li Qianqing traveled to Da Ming Country to claim another token and visit Lu Shangqing, whose reaction to hearing Li Qianqing’s name left their meeting poised to begin.

• Li Xunming told Li Qianqing that a Nascent Soul Cultivator had questioned him about Bewitching Heart and let him go after mistaking his teacher for a Nascent Soul Cultivator.
• Li Xunming showed Li Qianqing an Azure Cloud Token, and Li Qianqing explained that it granted entry to the Azure Cloud Realm and could lead to a Nascent Soul opportunity.
• Li Xunming chose to return to Changming Mountain, while Li Qianqing later reviewed the Li Clan’s growth and prepared to travel to Da Ming Country.
• Li Qianqing left Li Qingping in charge of matters on Changqing Mountain and traveled to Fortune Harmony Merchant Guild to meet Lu Shangqing.
• A guild cultivator told Lu Shangqing that Li Qianqing had come looking for him, and Lu Shangqing reacted with surprise at the name.

Li Qianqing reunited with Lu Shangqing, agreed to help him pass a Fortune Harmony Merchant Guild assessment, and asked him to expand the guild’s business into Qing Country. He then visited the Yin Family in Tianyang County to obtain the Azure Cloud Token, and Yin Benwu learned that a Core Formation cultivator had arrived.

• Lu Shangqing welcomed Li Qianqing and learned that the Li Clan had become Qing Country’s royal family.
• Li Qianqing confirmed that he could defeat ordinary Peak Core Formation cultivators and agreed to help Lu Shangqing with his assessment in seven years.
• Li Qianqing asked Lu Shangqing to expand the Fortune Harmony Merchant Guild’s auctions and business into Qing Country, and Lu Shangqing agreed to act after passing his assessment.
• Li Qianqing traveled to Tianyang County to meet the Yin Family and seek the Azure Cloud Token.
• A Yin Family gate guard reported Li Qianqing’s arrival to Yin Benwu, who wondered whether the visitor had come for the clan’s secret.

Li Qianqing traded the Yin Family’s Azure Cloud Token for a promise to aid them for the rest of his life, then spent half a year gathering information in Da Ming Country. Meanwhile, Wang Zhigong investigated a Qi Refining clan that had broken away from the Wang Family, but a thunderclap struck him down at the Lei Family Ancestral Land.

• Yin Benwu gave Li Qianqing the Azure Cloud Token, and Li promised to help the Yin Family until his lifespan ended.
• Li explained that the token opened the Azure Cloud Realm and warned Yin Benwu that Foundation Establishment cultivators were unlikely to survive there.
• After Li left, Yin Benwu decided to investigate who had revealed the token’s existence and punish them while rewarding them for bringing the family a powerful ally.
• Li remained in Da Ming Country for half a year to gather information before entering the Azure Cloud Realm.
• Wang Zhigong went to confront Lei Ruhai after learning that three Qi Refining clans had broken away from the Wang Family.
• A thunderclap struck as Wang Zhigong confronted Lei Ruhai, and Wang Zhigong’s head was severed.

Lei Ruhai learned that his clan had been forced into a Core Formation conflict after a Lu Country cultivator killed Wang Zhigong in Lei territory. The Wang Clan sought Heaven Transmission Mountain’s help, while the chapter ended with Li Qianqing receiving a message from the sect as Li Xingsheng prepared his Flame Turtle’s breakthrough.

• Lei Ruhai agreed to the Lu Country Core Formation cultivator’s demand and hoped the Wang Clan would not discover Wang Zhigong’s death soon.
• The Xianlin Wang Clan discovered Wang Zhigong was missing, suspected he had been ambushed, and sent its clan head to report the danger to Heaven Transmission Mountain.
• The Heaven Transmission Mountain sect master suspected the Lu Country Royal Family was behind the attack and considered asking the Li Clan for help.
• Li Xingsheng prepared the Flame Turtle Changming to attempt a breakthrough to Third Order, estimating a sixty percent chance of success.
• Li Qianqing arrived at Changqing Mountain, and a Sound Transmission Talisman from Heaven Transmission Mountain appeared before him.

Li Xunting arrived in Xianlin Prefecture to help the Wang Family investigate the death of Wang Zhigong and the families breaking away from them. At the Lei Family, the Wang Clan Head pressured Lei Ruhai to reveal the Lu Country Royal Family’s involvement, while Li Xunting remained concealed nearby.

• Li Qianqing received a request from Heaven Transmission Mountain for a Li Clan Core Formation cultivator to assist in Xianlin Prefecture and sent Li Xunting.
• Li Xingsheng began the Flame Turtle Changming’s breakthrough preparations, then visited Azure Wave Lake and spoke with Li Changlin about the Iron Carp Pao Pao’s potential.
• Li Xunting met with the Wang Family’s three Foundation Establishment cultivators and learned that they suspected Wang Zhigong had been intercepted and killed.
• Li Xunting agreed to secretly accompany the Wang Clan Head as he questioned Qi Refining families that had broken away from the Wang Family.
• At the Lei Family, Lei Ruhai claimed resource shortages had caused the separation, but the Wang Clan Head threatened to destroy the family unless he told the truth.
• Lei Ruhai blamed the Lu Country Royal Family and offered to summon a Lu Country cultivator with a Sound Transmission Talisman.

Li Xunting confronted Qi Dongqiang, a Core Formation cultivator from the Lu Country Royal Family, near the Lei Clan's ancestral land and made clear that the Qing Country Royal Family opposed Lu Country interference. After Qi Dongqiang left, the Wang Clan Head dealt with Lei Ruhai, and Li Xunting reported the encounter to Li Qianqing, who expected Lu Country to investigate before making another move.

• The Wang Clan Head questioned Lei Ruhai about the Lei Clan's alliance with the Lu Country Royal Family while waiting for the cultivator summoned by Lei Ruhai's Sound Transmission Talisman.
• Qi Dongqiang arrived near the Lei Clan's ancestral land, discovered Li Xunting in hiding, and spoke with her about Lu Country's intentions in Xianlin Prefecture.
• Li Xunting warned Qi Dongqiang against extending Lu Country's influence into Qing Country, and he left without fighting after recognizing the Qing Country Royal Family's opposition.
• Li Xunting went to the Lei Clan's ancestral land, left Lei Ruhai's fate to the Wang Clan Head, and then accompanied him to another clan's ancestral land.
• Li Xunting returned to Changqing Mountain and told Li Qianqing about Qi Dongqiang; Li Qianqing predicted that Lu Country would likely act after learning more about Qing Country's situation.

After Lu Country abandoned its attempt to infiltrate Qing Country, the Li Clan’s Flame Turtle Changming broke through to Third Order, strengthening the royal family’s power. By Qingli Year Eighteen, Li Qianqing was preparing to leave for Da Ming Country while anticipating another event in the next few years.

• Qi Dongqiang reported to Qi Xianhe and another Lu Country Royal Family ancestor that Li Xunting had stopped his move in Xianlin Prefecture, and the ancestors canceled the infiltration mission.
• The Flame Turtle Changming broke through to Third Order at Changqing Mountain, and Li Qianqing sent word to Li Xingsheng.
• Li Xingsheng returned with Shu Shu, celebrated Changming’s breakthrough, and urged it to guard the clan and seek to break its bloodline limits.
• Li Qianqing let Li Xingsheng continue his work after he refused to spend his remaining years resting, and Li Xingsheng mentioned that Pao Pao might also break its bloodline limits.
• News of Changming’s breakthrough spread through Qing Country, where cultivators recognized the Li Clan’s growing strength.
• In Qingli Year Eighteen, Li Qianqing prepared to leave for Da Ming Country to meet Lu Shangqing and estimated that another event should occur within the next few years.