Chapter Summaries

Mo Hua asked Zhang Lan about the report on Chief Administrator Zhou’s stronghold of Evil Cultivators, and Zhang Lan explained that Black Mountain Stronghold had sent a memorial to the Dao Court. Zhang Lan remained worried about the risks, but the Dao Court’s reply—and whether it would send Dao Soldiers—was still pending.

• Mo Hua met Zhang Lan and asked about the Dao Court’s response to the report on Chief Administrator Zhou.
• Zhang Lan said Black Mountain Stronghold had submitted a memorial, though the report rested on Mo Hua’s account and two maps, and he feared the Dao Court might not believe it.
• Zhang Lan explained that he could be dismissed if the report proved false, but he believed he had to protect Immortal City from the threat.
• Mo Hua reassured Zhang Lan over dinner, and the two joked about how Zhang Lan had changed.
• Zhang Lan said the Dao Court would dispatch Dao Soldiers soon if it approved the report.

Mo Hua learned that Dao Court soldiers were preparing to attack White Mountain Stronghold and persuaded Zhang Lan and Elder Yu to let him help from a safe distance. He remained barred from entering Deep Mountain or seeing the soldiers directly, but agreed to assist in exchange for merit.

• Zhang Lan told Mo Hua that Dao Soldiers had been dispatched to wipe out White Mountain Stronghold, but their deployment and operations were secret.
• Zhang Lan explained that Mo Hua's Foundation Establishment divine sense and Concealment Technique made him useful, while warning that the Eighth Leader might recognize him and seek revenge.
• Mo Hua inferred that Zhang Lan had changed his mind about asking for help and asked whether he could at least see the Dao Soldiers.
• Zhang Lan said Mo Hua's assistance would count toward his merits at the Dao Court Office, and Mo Hua agreed to help.
• Elder Yu warned Mo Hua not to enter Deep Mountain or Black Mountain Stronghold, and Mo Hua promised to stay out of danger.

Zhang Lan brought Mo Hua to the Dao Soldiers’ camp at Nameless Peak to help with the campaign against Black Mountain Stronghold. Commander Yang doubted that a child could be an array master, but Mo Hua’s Bronze Waist Token and the detailed stronghold map left him stunned.

• Zhang Lan led Mo Hua to Nameless Peak, where Dao Soldiers were stationed in the mine tunnels.
• Zhang Lan and Commander Yang bickered before Zhang Lan introduced Mo Hua as the array master he had invited.
• Commander Yang challenged Mo Hua’s qualifications and asked to see his array work.
• Zhang Lan showed Commander Yang the detailed map of Black Mountain Stronghold, and Mo Hua confirmed he had drawn it.
• Mo Hua presented his Bronze Waist Token from the Dao Court Office, and Commander Yang realized his work could count as the office’s contribution.

Mo Hua explained Wei Yan Stronghold’s array layout to Commander Yang and learned how powerful Dao Soldiers could be against higher-realm cultivators. After the Mist Arrays in Mist Forest changed and blocked the route, Commander Yang decided to bring in more Dao Soldier squads, leaving the attack on Wei Yan Stronghold unresolved.

• Mo Hua explained the arrays, weak points, and possible attack routes on the Wei Yan Stronghold map while Commander Yang took notes.
• Mo Hua asked how Dao Soldiers fought Foundation Establishment cultivators, and Commander Yang explained their formations, training, and coordinated equipment.
• Mo Hua asked what arrays Dao Soldiers used, but Commander Yang refused to reveal the Dao Court secret.
• Commander Yang told Mo Hua that scouts had found the Mist Arrays had shifted and the forest fog had thickened, making Wei Yan Stronghold impossible to locate.
• Commander Yang decided to transfer several more Dao Soldier squads and promised to protect Mo Hua.

Mo Hua entered the Mist Forest alone to map its arrays and scout White Mountain Stronghold, while Commander Yang and his Dao Soldiers waited outside. He returned unseen after finding no Evil Cultivators, leaving Commander Yang astonished by his concealment and array skills.

• Commander Yang led three squads of Dao Soldiers to escort Mo Hua and Zhang Lan toward the Mist Forest, and Mo Hua chatted with Zhang Lan about his rivalry with Commander Yang and his family’s marriage plans.
• At the forest’s edge, Commander Yang ordered the soldiers to keep Mo Hua’s scouting discussion classified, and Mo Hua convinced him that going in alone would keep the group from alerting the Evil Cultivators.
• Mo Hua concealed himself and entered the Mist Forest, where he examined the Mist Arrays and used his Divine Consciousness to detect traces of Lingli.
• Mo Hua climbed a tree, mapped the locations of the Mist Arrays, and followed the forest’s edge to the main gate of White Mountain Stronghold without encountering any Evil Cultivators.
• Mo Hua returned to the group unseen, and Commander Yang realized that Mo Hua had used the Concealment Technique and marveled at how he had done it.

Mo Hua returned from Mist Forest with a map and repaired a Dao Soldier’s armor, discovering the Compound Array hidden inside it. Impressed by his skills, Commander Yang tried to recruit him to the Dao Soldier Bureau, while Zhang Lan argued for the Zhang Family.

• Commander Yang and Zhang Lan waited at the edge of Mist Forest and discussed Mo Hua’s infiltration of Black Mountain Stronghold and his intelligence work for the Dao Court Office.
• Mo Hua returned with a map of Mist Forest, its roads, and its Mist Arrays, and Commander Yang praised his abilities.
• Commander Yang showed Mo Hua a Dao Soldier’s armor and spear, and Mo Hua examined the concealed Compound Array inside the armor.
• Mo Hua restored the armor’s Array Patterns, and Commander Yang reassembled and activated it, confirming that Mo Hua had repaired it.
• Commander Yang offered Mo Hua the chance to learn Dao Soldier Array Techniques if he joined the Dao Soldier Bureau, while Zhang Lan protested that the Zhang Family should claim him instead.

Mo Hua listened as Commander Yang and Zhang Lan planned an assault on Gu Huanye’s Black Mountain Stronghold, while weighing Commander Yang’s offer to join the Dao Soldier Bureau. Kept at the camp for his safety, Mo Hua learned that Elder Yu’s forces had been completely overrun, and the battle against Gu Huanye remained underway.

• Commander Yang offered Mo Hua a place in the Dao Soldier Bureau, but Zhang Lan warned that battlefield work would be dangerous for him.
• Commander Yang and Zhang Lan coordinated a plan for the Monster Hunters to draw out Gu Huanye’s Evil Cultivators so the Dao Soldiers could encircle and attack them.
• Mo Hua asked Zhang Lan about the plan’s risks, then stayed behind at the Dao Soldier camp on Famous Peak while the force marched into Deep Mountain.
• The battle continued for three days, and Mo Hua waited anxiously as he heard fighting in the distance.
• News arrived that Elder Yu’s forces had been overrun, while the Dao Soldiers and Monster Hunters suffered few casualties and Mo Shan and the others sustained mostly minor injuries.

Mo Hua returned to the ruined Black Mountain Stronghold and investigated the preparations that had preceded its destruction. He found no direct evidence tying the Qian Family or other Immortal City powers to the Evil Cultivators, but the stronghold’s orderly defenses and apparent delay tactics left him suspecting that someone had secretly pushed it toward its defeat.

• Mo Hua entered Black Mountain Stronghold through the hole in its wall and found new arrays set to catch intruders who used that entrance.
• Mo Hua searched the Front Stronghold and Rear Stronghold, finding destroyed buildings, empty cells, a cleared treasure storeroom, and the ruined Alchemy Room.
• Mo Hua examined the damaged White Bone Alchemy Furnace and found traces of the blood-colored evil formation and foul remnants of Human Longevity Pills.
• Mo Hua realized the Evil Cultivators had strengthened arrays and prepared defenses as if they expected an attack, yet the Dao soldiers had breached the stronghold without much delay.
• Mo Hua considered whether the Qian Family, An Family, or another Immortal City force had supported Black Mountain Stronghold, but found no proof of a connection.
• Mo Hua wondered why Black Mountain Stronghold had seemed to stall for time before calmly going to its destruction.

Mo Hua studied a Fireball Technique insights manual taken from an Evil Cultivator and discovered that its unusual method of condensing spells with Divine Consciousness gave the technique immense power. After Old Kui explained the method and restored the pond Mo Hua accidentally destroyed, Mo Hua resolved to master the Fireball Technique.

• Mo Hua found the Fireball Technique Insights manual and read its account of how its original owner, the ordinary Spirit Cultivator surnamed Yang, had developed a powerful meridian diagram.
• Mo Hua practiced the technique at the pond, producing a dark-red fireball, and asked Old Kui to explain its unusual appearance and power.
• Old Kui explained that Mo Hua had condensed the spell with Divine Consciousness and confirmed that the technique had no problems.
• Mo Hua fired the Fireball Technique into the pond, evaporating its water and burning its plants and fish, and Old Kui restored the scene with a wave of his sleeve.
• Mo Hua thanked Old Kui, then resolved to study the technique and cultivate it to its utmost limit.

Mo Hua asked Mr. Zhuang about the Heavenly Dao, and Mr. Zhuang explained how Dao comprehension and cultivation were connected to spirit arrays and Valley Virtue. Mo Hua grasped that reverse spiritual power could destroy the spirit arrays underlying other powers, and Mr. Zhuang agreed to teach him how to use it.

• Mo Hua asked Mr. Zhuang what the Heavenly Dao was, and Mr. Zhuang explained that longevity came from comprehending the Great Dao and practicing the Heavenly Dao.
• Mr. Zhuang taught Mo Hua that the myriad forms of cultivation and the powers of spells and blood qi ultimately manifested through spirit arrays and Valley Virtue.
• Mo Hua reasoned that cultivation and Dao-heart comprehension were both necessary to seek the Great Dao, and Mr. Zhuang urged him to develop his understanding step by step.
• Mr. Zhuang explained that reverse Valley Virtue made spirit arrays reverse-transform and decompose, producing a purer power of destruction.
• Mo Hua realized that reverse spiritual power dissolved the spirit arrays beneath an array, and Mr. Zhuang said he could teach him to use it.

Mr. Zhuang taught Mo Hua Spirit Power Calculation, also called Divine Sense Derivation, explaining how it revealed an array’s essence through the flow of spirit power. Mo Hua learned that the skill could help him understand and see through arrays, though his divine sense limited its use and the lesson hinted that Mr. Zhuang would soon leave.

• Mr. Zhuang explained that Spirit Power Calculation derived and reconstructed an array’s spirit-power paths within the Sea of Consciousness, rather than merely analyzing its structure.
• Mr. Zhuang said the method could deepen Mo Hua’s understanding, reveal hidden arrays and let him deduce array patterns, but it consumed enormous divine sense and most Array Masters never learned it.
• Mo Hua asked whether he could use the method to disintegrate compound arrays and kill Foundation Establishment cultivators, and Mr. Zhuang said his current divine sense allowed only simple first-grade compound arrays that could injure but not kill them.
• Mr. Zhuang confirmed that Mo Hua could learn arrays by sensing their spirit-power circulation, but cautioned him that misidentifying an array could be dangerous.
• Mr. Zhuang said Mo Hua’s Foundation Establishment-level divine sense barely met the threshold for learning the method and encouraged him to study while there was still time.

Mo Hua learned Divine Sense Derivation and discovered that erasing derived Ji Li trajectories from the Dao Stele restored his spent divine sense, allowing him to practice without the usual limit. He attended Fu Lan and Lingli’s wedding, while Immortal City’s recovery brought its people renewed prosperity.

• Mo Hua spent half a month practicing Divine Sense Derivation, beginning with the Earth Fire Array and finding that each derivation consumed most of his divine sense.
• Mo Hua derived the Molten Fire Array and saw its Ji Li trajectories appear on the Dao Stele, then erased them and recovered his divine sense.
• Mo Hua realized he could use the Dao Stele to restore divine sense after derivation and planned to use it to study more arrays.
• Mo Hua attended Fu Lan and Lingli’s wedding with his parents, where Immortal City had the couple serve him tea.
• Immortal City’s independent cultivators enjoyed safer, more prosperous lives after White Mountain Stronghold’s destruction and the Evil Cultivators’ defeat.

After Ji Li and Fu Lan’s wedding, Mo Hua learned that their handmade wedding cakes were a rare gift reserved for honored guests. He shared the cakes around Immortal City, then gave the rest to Ji Qingbai, who asked whether the cakes could help him find a wife.

• Ji Qingbai thanked Mo Hua for saving his family and helping the Monster Hunters, and insisted that Mo Hua accept a cup of wedding tea.
• Ji Li gave Mo Hua a box of wedding cakes, and Bai Zixi explained that newlyweds made them by hand for their most honored guests.
• Mo Hua tasted the cakes, then shared them with his family and friends before delivering the rest around Immortal City.
• Mo Hua gave the remaining cakes to Ji Qingbai, who ate one and asked whether they could help him find a wife.

Mo Hua experimented with disintegrating an array using Divine Sense Derivation and discovered that the Dao Stele could calculate a single-array trajectory in stages. He successfully disintegrated a first-grade Earth Fire Array, but its power was limited, so he turned back to practicing derivation while considering the potential of stronger arrays.

• Mo Hua asked Mr. Zhuang about array collapse, then followed Jie Zhili’s instructions to calculate an array’s single-array trajectory and place Reverse Spirit Arrays on its Array Hub.
• Mo Hua activated a first-grade Earth Fire Array from a safe distance and watched it vanish without sound, leaving its Array Medium reduced to powder.
• Mo Hua realized the disintegration had reversed the array’s flow and annihilated it, but the collapse of an ordinary first-grade array had too little range to threaten an enemy.
• Mo Hua discovered that the Dao Stele could preserve multiple single-array trajectories and let him calculate arrays bit by bit, though his current divine sense could not handle Compound Arrays.
• Mo Hua decided to set aside array collapse for now and continue practicing Divine Sense Derivation.

Mo Hua learned that array derivation could be done gradually and began studying Compound Array Disintegration, while Mister Zhuang warned him about its demands and the need to leave a Life Gate. Commander Yang told him the Little Leader and Eighth Leader had escaped into the Deep Mountain, and Mo Hua was left uneasy as Mister Zhuang prepared to depart.

• Mo Hua asked Mister Zhuang about array derivation and learned he could calculate arrays bit by bit, though Compound Array Disintegration required immense divine sense and time.
• Mister Zhuang explained how to find a Compound Array’s Life Gate and warned Mo Hua not to use the Reverse Spirit Array near it; Mo Hua admitted he had disintegrated a First-Grade Earth Fire Array before.
• Commander Yang visited Mo Hua and explained that the Dao Soldiers had captured most remaining Evil Cultivators, but the Little Leader and Eighth Leader had vanished into the Deep Mountain.
• Commander Yang said the search would end when the Dao Soldiers’ deployment time ran out, leaving the rest to the Dao Court Office and Elder Yu.
• Commander Yang invited Mo Hua to a farewell feast at the Spirit Meal Pavilion, and Mo Hua agreed while wondering why he was not the one hosting it.

Mo Hua attended Commander Yang’s farewell banquet, where he was praised for helping destroy Black Mountain Stronghold and was invited to join the Dao Soldier Bureau. Afterward, he and Zhang Lan discussed who had supported the stronghold, and Mo Hua began suspecting that the Qian Family had exploited the decline of Array Technique instruction to keep the stronghold hidden.

• Mo Hua met Zhang Lan on the way to Commander Yang’s banquet, and they traded remarks as they headed to Spirit Meal Pavilion.
• At the banquet, Commander Yang and others praised Mo Hua’s Array Techniques for helping the Dao Soldiers find and break into Black Mountain Stronghold.
• Commander Yang invited Mo Hua to join the Dao Soldier Bureau, but Mo Hua said he wanted to keep studying arrays before deciding.
• Mo Hua asked Zhang Lan about the captured Second Leader, and Zhang Lan said the prisoner had revealed nothing useful about Black Mountain Stronghold’s backers.
• Zhang Lan said the stronghold must have had local support, and Mo Hua proposed the Qian Family as a suspect.
• Mo Hua connected the lack of Array Technique instruction after Chief Administrator Zhou left with independent cultivators being unable to detect the stronghold’s Concealment and Mist Arrays, then went home with Mo Shan.

Mo Hua investigated whether the Qian Family had ties to Elder Yu and Black Mountain Stronghold, but found no solid proof. After Zhang Lan warned him that Mo Shan might come after him, Mo Shan ambushed him with Qian Family disciples and Mo Hua defeated their first attacker with a single Fireball Technique.

• Mo Hua worried that the Qian Family’s pressure on Instructor Yan would let Black Mountain Stronghold conceal its crimes with formations, so he went with Mo Shan to question Elder Yu.
• Mo Hua asked Dong Shuyu and Qian Xing whether any Qian Family cultivators had been among the Evil Cultivators, but they had found no clear evidence.
• Zhang Lan warned Mo Hua that Mo Shan might seek revenge, while Mo Hua continued to suspect the Qian Family’s involvement with Elder Yu.
• Mo Shan brought seven followers to a secluded mountain path and ordered them to attack Mo Hua.
• Mo Hua struck the charging Qian Family disciple with a Fireball Technique, and the man collapsed as the others fell silent.

Mo Hua defeated Qian Xing and the Qian Family disciples who came with him, then questioned Qian Xing and Shu Xin about strange cultivation methods, outsiders, and demonic beasts. Their answers gave Mo Hua no proof of Qian Family involvement with Evil Cultivators or White Mountain Stronghold, and Qian Xing fled back to Immortal City.

• Mo Hua used Fireball Technique, Water Prison Technique, and his movement skills to defeat Qian Xing’s disciples, then broke Qian Xing’s arm and disarmed him.
• Mo Hua threatened Qian Xing and questioned him about evil arts, outsiders in the Qian Family, and the demonic beast he had once threatened to feed Mo Hua to.
• Qian Xing admitted he had intended to feed Mo Hua to a pig-like demonic beast, but denied knowing of strange cultivation methods or outsiders in the clan.
• Qian Xing explained that family members could be distinguished by their conduct and that the Qian Family’s rules forbade evil arts, while Shu Xin described how outsiders with family ties might be admitted as collateral branches.
• Mo Hua realized that Qian Xing’s answers did not establish whether the Qian Family had colluded with White Mountain Stronghold, and he let Qian Xing go.
• Qian Xing fled toward Immortal City without checking on his injured disciples, while Mo Hua remained without proof of the suspected connection.

Mo Hua forced Shi Qing to reveal how the Qian Family Ancestor had killed a cultivator and fed him to a pig demon at Black Mountain Stronghold. Shi Qing’s account showed that Qian Xing had witnessed the killing as a child, leaving the Qian Family’s secret exposed and Qian Xing terrified that his family would silence him.

• Mo Hua questioned Shi Qing about Black Mountain Stronghold and threatened him until Shi Qing agreed to tell the truth.
• Shi Qing recounted that his Great-Grandfather, the Qian Family Ancestor, took him to a blood-red Alchemy Room and killed a cultivator there.
• Shi Qing said the Qian Family Ancestor fed the still-living cultivator to a pig demon and taught him to regard outsiders as less than people.
• Shi Qing explained that the sight haunted him with nightmares until the Qian Family Ancestor convinced him that the victim did not matter.
• Mo Hua realized Qian Xing had been the child who witnessed the killing, and Qian Xing grew pale as he understood that the secret could get him killed.

Qian Xing revealed the Qian Family Ancestor’s connection to White Mountain Stronghold and begged Mo Hua to protect him. Mo Hua gathered allies and planned to kill the ancestor within three to five days, while they tried to uncover his identity in the stronghold.

• Qian Xing told Mo Hua that the ancestor had confessed part of his secret and feared being killed for knowing too much.
• Mo Hua assured Qian Xing the ancestor would not come after him, then had Qian Xing pretend he had been knocked unconscious and kept him out of the way.
• Mo Hua told Yang Jiyong and the others that the Qian Family Ancestor had killed a cultivator and fed him to the pig in White Mountain Stronghold’s Alchemy Room.
• Zhang Lan and the others noted that the ancestor’s aura matched a stronghold figure, but none of the seven leaders fit; Yang Jiyong recalled that the Qian Family Great Elder had supposedly died in the Deep Mountain two hundred years earlier.
• Mo Hua asked whether the stronghold’s main leader could be called its Stronghold Master and declared they had three to five days to find a way to kill the ancestor.