Chapter Summaries

After helping capture an Evil Cultivator, Mo Hua received a meal and one hundred Spirit Stones from Zhang Lan, who warned him that public recognition could invite revenge. Zhang Lan and Situ Fang brought Mo Hua to meet Old Master An, and the chapter ended as Mo Hua studied the An Family’s formations on the way to the reception hall.

• Mo Hua told Elder Yu about the silver-white-robed cultivators, and Elder Yu blamed the Qian Family and promised to investigate.
• Zhang Lan treated Mo Hua and Situ Fang to a meal, gave Mo Hua one hundred Spirit Stones as his reward, and explained why the Dao Court Office would keep his contribution quiet.
• Zhang Lan revealed that Old Master An wanted to meet Mo Hua, and Mo Hua guessed that the Evil Cultivator had targeted an An Family girl.
• Zhang Lan and Situ Fang escorted Mo Hua to the An Family estate, where he inspected and identified the formations throughout the grounds.
• Mo Hua arrived at the reception hall and saw the elderly, dignified Old Master An seated inside.

Mo Hua learned why Old Master An was grateful for helping capture the Evil Cultivator, then realized the elder was trying to arrange a match with an An Family disciple. After Mo Hua left with Fatty An, Fatty An confessed that he felt his family had given up on him and believed he could never become capable enough to lead the clan.

• Old Master An explained that the Evil Cultivator had drained an An Family girl and thanked Mo Hua for helping Zhang Lan capture him.
• Old Master An questioned Mo Hua about his family and future, but Mo Hua dodged his questions with vague answers.
• Old Master An introduced An Family disciples and invited Mo Hua to stroll with them, revealing his hopes of matching Mo Hua with someone from the clan.
• Mo Hua declined the invitation, then recognized Fatty An and agreed to let him show him around.
• Fatty An told Mo Hua that he feared his family’s disappointment and thought he was too stupid to become clan head.

Mo Hua toured the An Family residence with Fatty An, who told him about the family’s plans to marry him in and the marriage alliances of great clans. Meanwhile, Old Master An reconsidered recruiting Mo Hua and criticized the An Family’s weaknesses, especially its supposedly secure arrays.

• Mo Hua cheered Fatty An up and encouraged him to think about what he wanted from life, and Fatty An realized he liked eating.
• Fatty An told Mo Hua that Old Master An seemed to want him to marry into the An Family and explained how great clans arranged spiritual-root-based marriages.
• Fatty An described how clan members might obey arranged matches publicly while pursuing their own relationships privately, leaving Mo Hua astonished.
• After Zhang Lan and Situ Fang left, Old Master An told An Yonglu that the An Family had long fallen behind the Qian Family and questioned whether Xiao Fu should become family head.
• An Yonglu asked why Old Master An had abandoned the idea of recruiting a live-in son-in-law, and Old Master An said the An Family was unworthy because Mo Hua had recognized all its arrays.

After reaching the sixth level of Qi Refining, Mo Hua tried to draw a nine-pattern array but found his divine sense insufficient. With Mr. Zhuang’s advice, he practiced until he drew the First-Grade Golden Armor Array ten days later, then wondered where the supposed threshold had been.

• Mo Hua said goodbye to Fatty An, and Zhang Lan and Situ Fang bought Monster Meat from his family’s eatery before leaving.
• Mo Hua broke through to the sixth level of Qi Refining and began practicing the First-Grade Golden Armor Array, but his divine sense ran out before he could finish the ninth pattern.
• Mo Hua asked Mr. Zhuang about the difficulty of drawing nine patterns, and Mr. Zhuang urged him to keep practicing while privately predicting he would succeed within days or weeks.
• Mo Hua practiced the Golden Armor Array each day, gradually strengthening his divine sense and drawing more of its patterns.
• Ten days later, Mo Hua naturally completed the Golden Armor Array and wondered why he had not noticed the threshold Mr. Zhuang described.

Mr. Zhuang explained how the Dao Court grades Array Masters and warned Mo Hua that connections could keep Rogue Cultivators from receiving an assessment slot. He urged Mo Hua to pursue array mastery beyond titles and suggested that reaching Second Grade would give him a stronger position, leaving Mo Hua with a renewed goal.

• Mo Hua asked Mr. Zhuang whether drawing nine Array Patterns made him a First-Grade Array Master, and Mr. Zhuang explained that it only meant he had crossed the threshold.
• Mr. Zhuang told Mo Hua that the Heavenly Pivot Pavilion graded Array Masters and that assessments depended on both skill and connections.
• Mo Hua worried that Rogue Cultivators might be denied chances to be graded, and Mr. Zhuang said array mastery was not defined by worldly ranks.
• Mr. Zhuang advised Mo Hua to seek a grade anyway for its practical benefits, then said that a Second-Grade Array Master would be harder for the Heavenly Pivot Pavilion to dismiss.
• Mr. Zhuang explained that Second Grade had initial, middle, and high tiers, and said Mo Hua could reach the initial tier after Foundation Establishment; he concluded that raising the threshold kept cultivators below it from stepping over.

Mo Hua gave Mo Shan a newly forged Vine Armor bearing a First-Grade Golden Armor Array before his father went hunting in Great Black Mountain. Mo Shan’s squad weakened a late first-grade Kui Wood Wolf, but the chapter ended when Mo Shan realized it was still alive and warned the others.

• Mo Hua asked Master Chen to forge reinforced Vine Armor for Mo Shan and drew a First-Grade Golden Armor Array on it.
• Mo Shan accepted the armor from Mo Hua and wore it when he entered Great Black Mountain with his Monster Hunting Squad.
• Mo Shan and the other Monster Hunters tracked down a late first-grade Kui Wood Wolf and surrounded it by a stream.
• The squad fought the Kui Wood Wolf for about two hours until it collapsed, and a Monster Hunter approached to check whether it was dead.
• Mo Shan sensed danger and shouted that the Kui Wood Wolf was not dead as it opened its eyes.

Mo Shan saved a fellow Monster Hunter from a Kui Wood Wolf that had feigned death, and his Vine Armor blocked the demon beast’s claw. At camp, the squad discovered that Liu Ruhua had drawn an intricate Array Technique into the armor, while Mo Shan worried over a scratch on it.

• The Kui Wood Wolf attacked the burly Monster Hunter, and Mo Shan kicked him clear before the beast could strike his head.
• The Kui Wood Wolf’s claw hit Mo Shan’s Vine Armor but failed to pierce it, and the Monster Hunters killed the demon beast in a flurry of blows.
• The squad withdrew to an Outer Mountain campsite, where the burly man thanked Mo Shan and the hunters marveled at his unusually tough Vine Armor.
• Mo Shan shared food and liquor with the squad, then examined his armor and found an intricate Array Technique drawn inside it.
• When the Monster Hunters admired the armor’s craftsmanship, Mo Shan noticed a scratch and lamented the damage.

After Mo Shan returned from a successful demon hunt, Mo Hua learned that the Qian Family might be behind Uncle Zhao’s attack and visited him in Apricot Forest Hall. Uncle Zhao woke after Elder Feng’s treatment and revealed that Great Black Mountain had a Spirit Mine.

• Mo Shan returned home and told Mo Hua that the Monster Hunters wanted him to draw Golden Armor Arrays, which Mo Hua agreed to do after he had time to practice.
• Mo Shan told Mo Hua that Uncle Zhao remained unconscious and that the Qian Family was suspected of pursuing him.
• Mo Hua visited Uncle Zhao at Apricot Forest Hall, where Elder Yu said the Qian Family had been secretly entering Great Black Mountain at night.
• Elder Feng treated Uncle Zhao with acupuncture, and Uncle Zhao regained consciousness.
• Uncle Zhao grabbed Elder Yu and revealed that Great Black Mountain had a Spirit Mine.

Old Zhao revealed that the Qian Family had been secretly mining a Spirit Mine in Great Black Mountain and nearly killed him to keep it secret. Elder Yu gathered the Monster Hunters and ordered them to search the mountain for the mine, leaving them prepared to fight the Qian Family.

• Old Zhao fainted after revealing the Spirit Mine, and Elder Yu confirmed he was alive before sending word to Yu Chengyi to gather the Monster Hunter leaders.
• Elder Yu explained to Mo Hua how Spirit Mines formed, why cultivators relied on Spirit Stones, and how Rogue Cultivators lacked access to the mines controlled by powerful groups.
• Elder Yu told the gathered Monster Hunters about the mine and Old Zhao’s attack, prompting them to suspect the Qian Family had also caused earlier disappearances.
• Elder Yu ordered the late-stage Qi Refining Monster Hunters to search Great Black Mountain at night and capture any Qian Family cultivators they encountered.
• When asked what they should do if they found a large group of Qian Family cultivators, Elder Yu ordered the Monster Hunters to kill them all.

Mo Hua stayed in the Monster Hunters’ mountain camp while using the Sinan Parent Array to search for the Qian Family. On the fourth night, he detected spiritual power fluctuations and followed them to find Mo Shan, telling him he knew where the Spirit Mine was.

• Mo Shan returned from the first night’s search without finding any trace of the Qian Family, then agreed to let Mo Hua accompany him on later nights.
• Mo Hua stayed in the camp, strengthened its gate with a formation, and watched the Sinan Parent Array’s Compass while the Monster Hunters searched.
• On the fourth night, a light appeared on the Compass, and Mo Hua used it and his map to identify a desolate hill near the boundary between the Outer Mountain and the Inner Mountain.
• Mo Hua left the camp and quietly found Uncle Wu, who told him Mo Shan was searching near Great Mountain Rock.
• Mo Hua reached Mo Shan and told him he knew where the Spirit Mine was.

Mo Hua and the Demon Hunters raided the Qian Family’s hidden mine tunnels at Nameless Peak, driving off the Qian Family’s Foundation Establishment cultivator and routing the rest. While hiding nearby, Mo Hua ambushed small groups of fleeing cultivators and took their Storage Bags.

• Mo Hua showed Elder Yu where he sensed hidden mine tunnels beneath Nameless Peak, and Elder Yu marked additional entrances on the map.
• Elder Yu ordered the Demon Hunters to enter through the tunnels and cripple or kill any Qian Family cultivators they found, while Mo Shan told Mo Hua to stay hidden.
• The Demon Hunters attacked the mine, and the Qian Family’s Foundation Establishment cultivator fled before the remaining cultivators scattered down the mountain.
• Mo Hua hid in a pit and knocked out two exhausted Qian Family cultivators with Fireball Techniques, then took their Storage Bags.
• Mo Hua stayed in hiding and ambushed more small groups of fleeing Qian Family cultivators, filling his clothes with their Storage Bags as the battle ended.

After the demon hunters seized the Spirit Mine, Mo Hua kept the Storage Bags he had taken from isolated Qian Family cultivators, while Elder Yu and the Dao Court Office failed to settle the dispute. Zhang Lan told Mo Hua that both sides would now be allowed to fight over Nameless Peak without the Dao Court Office intervening.

• Elder Yu let Mo Hua keep the Storage Bags he had picked up after defeating lone Qian Family cultivators, and the demon hunters secured the mine and tended to their wounded.
• Mo Hua and Mo Shan counted the loot at home, finding hundreds of Spirit Stones and other valuables, and Mo Shan took the weapons and supplies in preparation for the Qian Family's retaliation.
• The Chief Administrator of the Dao Court Office met with Elder Yu, but they left looking displeased after failing to reach an agreement.
• Mo Hua asked Zhang Lan what the meeting had been about, and Zhang Lan explained that the Qian Family had demanded the Spirit Mine in exchange for ending the dispute.
• Zhang Lan told Mo Hua that the Dao Court Office would allow both factions to fight on Nameless Peak, while forbidding them from killing each other without cause elsewhere.

With the Qian Family attacking the Nameless Peak Spirit Mine, Mo Hua stayed with the Monster Hunters and supplied them with Golden Armor Arrays. The arrays turned the battle in the Monster Hunters’ favor, and the Qian Family paused its assault after repeated defeats.

• Elder Yu gathered the Monster Hunters to defend the mine and allowed Mo Hua to stay after learning he could draw Golden Armor Arrays.
• Mo Hua drew about thirty Golden Armor Arrays over three days while the Qian Family prepared to attack.
• The Qian Family’s first assault collapsed when the array-protected Monster Hunters charged through their weapons and drove them back.
• The Qian Family returned with vine armor, iron armor, and first-grade blades, but the Golden Armor Arrays let the Monster Hunters defeat them again and again.
• The Qian Family halted its offensive after its morale crumbled, and Elder Yu realized the Golden Armor Array was a first-grade array.

Elder Yu discovered that Mo Hua could draw First-Grade Array Techniques and warned the Monster Hunters to protect him and keep the skill secret from the Qian Family. Yu Chengyi then took Mo Hua through the mine, explaining how Spirit Mine was processed and why its surrounding qi was unsafe to cultivate with.

• Elder Yu counted the nine Array Patterns in Mo Hua's Golden Armor Array and realized Mo Hua could draw First-Grade Array Techniques.
• Elder Yu told Yu Chengyi, Mo Shan, and the other Monster Hunters to protect Mo Hua and conceal his abilities from the Qian Family.
• Mo Hua sensed Yu Chengyi watching him and persuaded him to take a break from drawing and visit the Spirit Mine.
• Yu Chengyi explained how raw Spirit Mine was exchanged for standardized Spirit Stones and why only the Dao Court could refine them.
• Mo Hua asked about cultivating with the dense energy in the mine, and Yu Chengyi warned him that impure qi could harm cultivators.

Mo Hua helped the Demon Hunters counter the Qian Family’s harassment by laying hidden Earth Fire Compound Arrays around Nameless Peak. The traps devastated the Qian Family’s night raid, leaving their leader stunned as the surviving cultivators fled.

• Mo Hua worried that the Spirit Mine would let the Qian Family dominate Immortal City, while the Qian Family repeatedly ambushed and harassed the Demon Hunters.
• Mo Hua proposed a plan to Elder Yu, then drew Seven-Pattern Earth Fire Compound Arrays for the Demon Hunters to plant around the mountain.
• The Demon Hunters lured the Qian Family away and secretly laid the arrays before withdrawing.
• Mo Hua waited near a concealed mine entrance as the Qian Family gathered beneath Nameless Peak and planned a raid with a returning-horse spear feint.
• The Qian Family cultivators triggered the hidden arrays as they advanced, and explosions blasted them into panic and retreat.
• The huge Qian Family man realized his schemes had failed and that he had become the clown he had mocked.

Mo Hua’s Earth Fire Arrays repeatedly drove back the Qian Family’s attempts to seize the Spirit Mine, leaving Qian Zhuang’s forces battered and demoralized. After the Qian Family retreated, Elder Yu explained to Mo Hua how large groups of experienced Qi Refining cultivators could threaten even a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

• Mo Hua and the demon hunters watched Earth Fire Compound Arrays blast the Qian Family cultivators, while demonic beasts later killed some of the wounded on their way back.
• Qian Hong ordered Qian Zhuang to take the Spirit Mine, and Qian Zhuang learned that the demon hunters were using seven-pattern Earth Fire Arrays.
• Qian Zhuang repeatedly rallied his cultivators to attack, but Mo Hua’s stock of Arrays kept driving them back until the Qian Family abandoned the offensive.
• Mo Hua asked Elder Yu what they would do if the Qian Family sent Foundation Establishment cultivators, and Elder Yu explained how numbers could allow Qi Refining cultivators to wear one down.

Mo Hua learned why the Qian Family’s Foundation Establishment cultivators had held back, while Elder Yu explained how their divided interests and guarded holdings limited their response. When Qian Zhuang finally broke through the Earth Fire Arrays with armored cultivators, Yu Chengyi’s Demon Hunters met them openly and drove them back, seizing several suits of armor.

• Elder Yu explained that the Qian Family’s Foundation Establishment cultivators avoided committing themselves because they feared the risks and had competing interests and holdings to protect.
• A few nights later, Qian Zhuang led earth-type body-refining cultivators in iron armor through the Earth Fire Arrays, destroying the formations at great cost.
• Qian Zhuang realized the Demon Hunters had been waiting in formation, turning his planned sneak attack into an open confrontation.
• Yu Chengyi ordered the Demon Hunters to charge, and they quickly routed the exhausted Qian Family cultivators and seized several suits of iron armor.
• Qian Hong returned to camp with the battle report, and Qian Zhuang bitterly wondered who had drawn the Earth Fire Array.

Qian Zhongxuan arrived to take over the Qian Family’s campaign against the demon hunters and prepared Qian Zhuang for another attack. He and Elder Yu agreed that neither side’s Foundation Establishment cultivators would join the coming fight, while Mo Hua continued practicing arrays and watched their confrontation from safety.

• Qian Zhongxuan stripped Qian Zhuang of command but encouraged him to regain the Qian Family’s honor in a future attack.
• Elder Yu warned the demon hunters that Qian Zhongxuan’s arrival might lead to a hard battle and told Mo Hua to stay inside.
• Mo Hua learned the First-Grade Earth Fire Array and practiced drawing it while saving the completed arrays.
• Qian Zhongxuan met Elder Yu outside the mine and proposed that Foundation Establishment cultivators on both sides stay out of the Spirit Mine fight.
• Elder Yu agreed after Qian Zhongxuan said the Chief Administrator of the Dao Court Office would witness the arrangement, then mocked him until he left.
• Mo Hua admired Elder Yu’s cursing, and Elder Yu warned him not to imitate it.

The Qian Family used a formation of powerful Spirit Cultivators to drive the Monster Hunters back, leaving Elder Yu searching for a counter. When he asked whether any Monster Hunter was a Spirit Cultivator, Mo Hua raised his hand and said he was.

• The Monster Hunters initially pushed back the larger Qian Family force through their experience and teamwork, but Qian Zhongxuan ordered them to withdraw.
• The next day, the Qian Family protected more than twenty late-stage Qi Refining Spirit Cultivators, whose spells overwhelmed the Monster Hunters and forced Elder Yu to retreat to the cave entrance.
• Elder Yu and the others discussed ways to break through the Qian Family's defenses, but rejected risky attacks and recruiting Spirit Cultivators as ineffective.
• Elder Yu asked who among the Monster Hunters was a Spirit Cultivator, and Mo Hua raised his hand and said he was.

Mo Hua helped the Demon Hunters turn the battle against the Qian Family by using his long-range Fireball Techniques to disrupt their Spirit Cultivators. Qian Zhongxuan ordered a retreat after Elder Yu blocked his attempt to locate Mo Hua.

• Elder Yu agreed to let Mo Hua disrupt the Qian Family's Spirit Cultivators from inside the mine tunnel while he protected him.
• During the next battle, Mo Hua hit Qian Family Spirit Cultivators with fast, accurate Fireball Techniques, interrupting their spells and injuring them.
• The Qian Family's spells dispersed before reaching Mo Hua because he stood beyond their divine sense range.
• With the Qian Family Spirit Cultivators suppressed, Yu Chengyi led the Demon Hunters in a fierce attack that forced the Qian Family to retreat.
• Qian Zhongxuan tried to locate Mo Hua with his divine sense, but Elder Yu blocked him, and Qian Zhongxuan ordered a withdrawal.