Chapter Summaries

Ling Wuyuan confronted a powerful Ghost General, which recognized that he was in the Source Gathering Realm and threatened to kill him. The Ghost General unleashed a vast spiritual assault and summoned a battle formation of ghost soldiers, leaving Ling Wuyuan surrounded beneath the moonlight.

• The Ghost General identified Ling Wuyuan as a Source Gathering Realm cultivator despite his extraordinary Qi and Blood.
• Ling Wuyuan mocked the Ghost General and openly took a stance as if preparing to thrust at it from afar.
• Enraged by Ling Wuyuan's contempt, the Ghost General vowed to show him his weakness.
• The Ghost General spread a spiritual Shockwave across a hundred li, killing the souls of nearby beings too weak to resist.
• The Ghost General awakened hundreds of ghost soldiers, who formed a battle formation and surrounded Ling Wuyuan as ghostly Qi suppressed his Qi and Blood.

Ling Wuyuan used overwhelming speed to rush past the Ghost General’s black qi and strike him before he could react. The Ghost General realized he had been killed as his spirit body began to disintegrate.

• The Ghost General sent his ghost soldiers’ black qi surging toward Ling Wuyuan to test his strength while minimizing losses.
• Ling Wuyuan activated [Abyssal Divine Speed], accelerated tenfold, and rushed through the black qi toward the Ghost General.
• Ling Wuyuan cut down the ghost soldiers and pierced the Ghost General’s chest before he could perceive the attack.
• Ling Wuyuan sheathed his sword behind the Ghost General and told him he had already been killed.
• The Ghost General saw the wound in his spirit body, understood what had happened, and scattered into invisible fragments.

Ling Wuyuan wondered why an ordinary battlefield site produced ghosts at an unusually high rate, then left for Huayan City to gather information and continue toward White Mist Country. At a hidden mountain palace, a sect master learned that Ling Wuyuan had swiftly killed a Spirit Infusion Realm Ghost General and sent the Third Elder to investigate the site and its ghost-catalyzing formation.

• Ling Wuyuan realized that the battlefield ruins had produced thousands of ghosts in only a few decades despite lacking conditions suited to nurturing them.
• Ling Wuyuan searched the area for abnormal factors, found nothing, and headed for Huayan City rather than spend more time there.
• At a hidden palace, the sect master learned that the Ghost General from Soul Nurturing Ground Number Twelve had been killed within two or three breaths of being gravely injured.
• The sect master speculated that an Enlightened Intent Realm cultivator might have killed the Ghost General and asked the Third Elder to inspect the site and its formation ritual.

The chapter recounts the Crimson Blood Ghost Sect’s origins and its rise into a notorious heretical sect, then follows Third Elder Teng Shenghu as he travels to investigate the Soul Nurturing Ground. After learning a Ghost General had been swiftly killed, Teng Shenghu disguised himself and deliberately avoided rushing toward the likely Enlightened Intent Realm enemy, hoping to evade danger or defect if necessary.

• The sect’s founder began cultivating after forty with half a Heretical Cultivation Method and, despite his humble origins, advanced close to the Source Gathering Realm.
• Unable to progress further, the founder established the Crimson Blood Ghost Sect and passed on his accumulated knowledge to disciples.
• The Crimson Blood Ghost Sect grew infamous and survived for generations by keeping a low profile while evading repeated extermination attempts.
• Third Elder Teng Shenghu left the sect under orders to investigate the Soul Nurturing Ground and complained about the mission.
• Teng Shenghu put on a human-skin mask and altered his appearance while traveling toward the site.
• Fearing the enemy who killed a powerful Ghost General, Teng Shenghu traveled cautiously and considered evading the mission or defecting.

Ling Wuyuan reached Huayan City and saw that its people lived in poverty and its streets were unsafe. After making a dramatic landing at the city gate, he asked the guards for a place to find information or books, and the commander offered to guide him while secretly sending word to the city’s leaders.

• Ling Wuyuan crossed the desolate countryside and observed the corpses, frightened travelers, and signs of widespread banditry.
• Ling Wuyuan spotted Huayan City and saw its worn-down walls, shabby residents, and air of hardship.
• Ling Wuyuan descended at the city gate, startling the guards and passersby with his forceful landing.
• The gate commander quickly calmed his soldiers and welcomed Ling Wuyuan, then asked what he needed.
• Ling Wuyuan said he wanted information or a large collection of books, and the commander offered to guide him while signaling his adjutant to alert the city’s leaders.

Zheng Zhongcheng learned that Ling Wuyuan had entered Huayan City and went to meet him at Wenying Tower, wondering about the outsider’s background and what information he sought. Ling Wuyuan was actually looking for a way home, and as he sensed his body growing stronger from exposure to spacetime turbulence, Wenying Tower’s people warmly welcomed him.

• Zheng Zhongcheng heard that Ling Wuyuan had entered Huayan City and was being escorted to Wenying Tower to seek information or books.
• Zheng Zhongcheng decided to go to Wenying Tower and wondered whether Ling Wuyuan was a young prodigy or an old cultivator disguised as a youth.
• Ling Wuyuan thought of returning home to the people important to him and sensed that spacetime turbulence had strengthened his body.
• Ling Wuyuan acknowledged that surviving the spacetime passage had been luck and that he could not safely endure another exposure.
• Wenying Tower’s staff greeted Ling Wuyuan warmly after learning through their intelligence channels that he wanted to purchase information.

Ling Wuyuan visited Wenying Tower to buy detailed intelligence about his location and the route to White Mist Country in the Southern Region. He learned that he was deep in the Northern Domain and faced a journey of billions or even tens of billions of kilometers, but insisted on buying the information anyway.

• The Wenying Tower manager praised Ling Wuyuan's natural appearance and asked what intelligence he wanted.
• Ling Wuyuan paid one premium crystal coin for complete information about the continent's geography and nearby countries and forces.
• Ling Wuyuan asked for a route map to White Mist Country in the Southern Region.
• The manager explained that Ling Wuyuan was deep in the Northern Domain, with billions or tens of billions of kilometers separating him from the Southern Region.
• Ling Wuyuan recoiled at the immense distance but insisted that he would buy the intelligence.

Ling Wuyuan bought intelligence from Wenying Tower and learned it would take about ten days to arrive. After telling Zheng Saijuan his name and affiliation, he discovered that newspapers were no longer sold in the region.

• Ling Wuyuan accepted a communication token from Zheng Saijuan and agreed to wait roughly ten days for the intelligence.
• Zheng Saijuan asked Ling Wuyuan about his name and origins, and he told her he was from Snow Moon Cloud Heaven Pavilion.
• Ling Wuyuan reflected on his growing sense of belonging to Pei Yiman, Snow Moon Cloud Heaven Pavilion, and his current world.
• Ling Wuyuan asked where he could buy a News Report, and Zheng Saijuan explained that News Report branches had disappeared after the surrounding countries fell apart.

Ling Wuyuan learned that [News Report] was a public-facing venture jointly established by three major intelligence organizations, including [Wenying Tower], and arranged to receive a copy through Zheng Saijuan. After Zheng contacted her grandfather to ask about Ling Wuyuan, his shocked reaction to the name [Snow Moon Cloud Heaven Pavilion] left her eager to learn more.

• Zheng Saijuan told Ling Wuyuan that [News Report] had withdrawn from unstable regions and offered to obtain him a copy through [Wenying Tower].
• Zheng explained that [Wenying Tower] was one of three intelligence organizations behind [News Report], which shared information across the [Golden Mist Continent].
• Ling Wuyuan questioned the purpose of [News Report], and Zheng admitted she did not know whether it served credibility or charity.
• After Ling Wuyuan left, Zheng contacted her grandfather to request information and ask about Ling Wuyuan's identity.
• Zheng's grandfather reacted with shock when she said Ling Wuyuan came from [Snow Moon Cloud Heaven Pavilion].

Zheng Saijuan consulted her grandfather Song Jie about the mysterious Ling Wuyuan, whose request for information about reaching White Mist Country seemed to contradict reports of his role in the Southern Region. Song Jie learned that the anti-oceanic coalition had suffered near-total annihilation, leaving Ling Wuyuan’s appearance in the Northern Domain more plausible but still unexplained.

• Zheng Saijuan told Song Jie that Ling Wuyuan wanted intelligence about nearby factions and a way to reach White Mist Country.
• Song Jie explained that Ling Wuyuan and Snow Moon Cloud Heaven Pavilion were known figures involved in the Southern Region’s fight against oceanic invaders.
• After speaking with Song Jie, Zheng Saijuan remained convinced that Ling Wuyuan had not lied to her and wondered why he was there.
• Song Jie contacted an old friend and learned that the anti-oceanic coalition had been nearly annihilated about thirty hours earlier.
• Song Jie heard that the coalition had faced more than twenty True Form Realm enemies and stronger beings, with heavy casualties among its cultivators.

Song Jie learned that the [Southern Region] had suffered a devastating defeat against the sea race, while the [News Report] delayed announcing the losses. He told Old Chen that his granddaughter had met someone claiming to be Ling Wuyuan, and the chapter ended with the City Lord of [Huayan City] arriving to meet Zheng Saijuan.

• Old Chen told Song Jie that the [Southern Region] had suffered a crushing defeat and the [News Report] might take two or three days to disclose the full losses.
• Old Chen said the situation was not yet at its worst and revealed that the [Black Phase Dynasty] had lost two [True Form Realm] cultivators and suffered many [Divine Ability Realm] casualties.
• Song Jie explained that his granddaughter had met a person who claimed to be Ling Wuyuan of the [Snow Moon Cloud Heaven Pavilion] and had paid a deposit for information about reaching [White Mist Country].
• Sun Poyun, the City Lord of [Huayan City], arrived at the [Shadow Listening Pavilion] to meet Zheng Saijuan.

Ling Wuyuan politely rejected Sun Poyun’s offer to socialize while he focused on his own affairs. Elsewhere, Teng Shenghu inspected the battle site and found a surviving bandit leader, whom he regarded as useful material for his ghost-raising formation.

• Sun Poyun tried to learn about Ling Wuyuan and invited him to a meal, but Ling Wuyuan declined because he had more important matters to attend to.
• Teng Shenghu inspected the ruined area and found that the buried ghost-raising formation could be repaired with minor adjustments.
• Teng Shenghu noticed a battered man crawling out of a pit and flew over to examine him.
• The bandit leader blamed Ling Wuyuan’s battle for the destruction of his group and regretted returning to pursue the merchant caravan.
• Teng Shenghu spotted corpses still buried in the pit and praised them as promising raw materials, terrifying the surviving bandit leader.

Teng Shenghu decided to investigate the mysterious young expert and headed toward Huayan City. At Snow Moon Cloud Heaven Pavilion, Pei Yi learned that Ling Wuyuan was far away in the Northern Domain and resolved to grow stronger while waiting for his return.

• Teng Shenghu put away the wild material and set off for Huayan City to investigate the unknown young expert.
• Yuan Yujun learned that Ling Wuyuan was in the Northern Domain, far from Snow Moon Cloud Heaven Pavilion, and realized that bringing him back would take considerable time.
• Murong Yan reassured Yuan Yujun and Pei Yi that Ling Wuyuan was safe and that they could retrieve him later, though the journey might take a year and a half.
• Pei Yi accepted the delay and decided that greater strength would help her protect Ling Wuyuan in the future.
• Pei Yi set a goal of reaching the Source Gathering Realm within half a year, and Yuan Yujun enthusiastically supported her.

Ling Wuyuan felt close to advancing to the Spirit Infusion Realm, but judged that his Source Gathering Realm abilities still needed development. Feeling vulnerable in the Northern Domain, he adjusted his priorities toward faster cultivation and accepted that battles and public displays of strength would be necessary as he pursued a return to White Mist Country.

• Ling Wuyuan assessed his rapid progress and recognized that his Source Gathering Realm foundation and ability to interfere with external energy still had room to grow.
• Ling Wuyuan arranged a spirit-gathering formation with spirit stones and filled his room with dense spiritual energy.
• Ling Wuyuan decided to devote more attention to leveling up because he felt a growing sense of crisis in the foreign Northern Domain.
• Ling Wuyuan rejected the idea of hiding away to cultivate, believing that combat and life-and-death struggles would sharpen his strength and help him return to White Mist Country sooner.
• Ling Wuyuan resolved to adapt to danger and seek chances to display his power rather than remain inconspicuous once he had the strength to do so.

Ling Wuyuan reflected on whether his quiet life and attachment to Pei Yi had dulled his edge, then decided her support had only made his cultivation stronger. Stranded in a foreign land, he welcomed the powerful enemies he expected to face in the Northern Domain as trials that could forge him further.

• Ling Wuyuan concluded that his sword had not dulled and that Pei Yi’s wealth and connections had improved his cultivation.
• Ling Wuyuan resolved to be bolder in the unfamiliar place and test the strength of anyone who caused him trouble.
• Ling Wuyuan reasoned that only brutal, life-or-death trials could provide the competition he lacked at the Snow Moon Cloud Heaven Pavilion.
• Ling Wuyuan accepted that his rise would inevitably make enemies and that he would step over them rather than seek mutual progress.
• Ling Wuyuan felt joyful at the prospect that powerful experts in the Northern Domain would eventually fight him and provide the trials he wanted.

Teng Shenghu sent his concealed evil spirit hound into the city to find Ling Wuyuan. Ling Wuyuan sensed a powerful hostile presence and suspected it was connected to the Ghost General or the area where he had encountered it.

• Teng Shenghu released his evil spirit hound and ordered it to find Ling Wuyuan.
• The hound slipped past the city’s defenses and began searching the city for powerful life forces.
• Ling Wuyuan sensed hostile intent nearby and recognized that his body had entered a combat state.
• Ling Wuyuan reasoned that the enemy was likely a peak [Spirit Infusion Realm] or [Enlightened Intent Realm] expert, rather than a [Divine Ability Realm] cultivator.
• Ling Wuyuan suspected the threat was linked to the Ghost General or its territory and lamented how quickly he had become involved in another incident.

Ling Wuyuan drew the Evil Spirit Hound out of hiding and killed it before it could escape. He then cut open Huayan City's protective formation and flew away, intent on hunting down the enemy.

• The Evil Spirit Hound detected the life force inside Ling Wuyuan's room after his formation barrier dispersed and realized it had found its target.
• Ling Wuyuan launched a mental spear at the Evil Spirit Hound, which sent thousands of resentful ghosts to intercept the attack.
• Huayan City's protective formation activated and restrained the mental spear and the ghosts, giving the Evil Spirit Hound a chance to retreat.
• Ling Wuyuan burst through the room's wall, crossed over a thousand meters, and killed the Evil Spirit Hound with one sword strike.
• Ling Wuyuan cut a huge opening in Huayan City's protective formation and flew out of the city to pursue the enemy.

After Ling Wuyuan killed Teng Shenghu’s wraith hound, Teng Shenghu tried to flee, but Ling found him outside Huayan City and forced him to fight. Ling charged through Teng’s summoned ghosts, and a tremendous battle shook the city.

• Teng Shenghu sensed the wraith hound’s death and, furious, decided to return to the Crimson Blood Ghost Sect and lure its sect master into fighting Ling Wuyuan.
• Ling Wuyuan cut through Huayan City’s defensive formation and located Teng Shenghu by sensing his malice.
• Teng Shenghu realized he could not escape and summoned more than twenty resentful spirits and vicious ghosts as shields.
• Ling Wuyuan charged at Teng Shenghu, triggering thunderous booms that woke people across the area.
• A colossal explosion outside Huayan City made the city shake and sent tens of thousands of residents fleeing in panic.

Ling Wuyuan fought Teng Shenghu, who used evil ghosts and his Crimson Blood Ghost Sect possession art to boost his strength. Ling Wuyuan unleashed his speed and sword intent, overpowering Teng Shenghu and sending him crashing through the mountains.

• Ling Wuyuan accelerated his reflexes and thoughts to study his combat ability while Teng Shenghu struggled to keep track of him.
• Teng Shenghu ordered evil ghosts to block Ling Wuyuan, then possessed an Enlightened Intent Realm ghost and attacked with a powerful fist technique.
• Ling Wuyuan increased his speed, used sword techniques, and slaughtered the Spirit Infusion Realm ghosts, strengthening his sword intent.
• Teng Shenghu unleashed a vast vortex of ghostly aura and wind, but Ling Wuyuan met his punch with his sword and sent him flying through the mountains.

Ling Wuyuan battled Teng Shenghu with overwhelming force, sending him crashing through a mountain and triggering a devastating explosion. As shockwaves rocked the city, Sun Poyun and Zheng Saijuan watched in alarm, hoping Ling Wuyuan would defeat the Crimson Blood Ghost Sect fighter.

• Ling Wuyuan's blow shattered Teng Shenghu's fingers and sent him hurtling through the air at tremendous speed.
• Teng Shenghu crashed into a mountain and tried to counter his momentum with true qi, causing opposing forces to explode and blow the mountain apart.
• Ling Wuyuan charged through the flying debris and continued fighting Teng Shenghu.
• Sun Poyun sensed the city-protecting formation rapidly consuming its reserves as shockwaves shook the city, and he recognized Ling Wuyuan's aura and the Crimson Blood Ghost Sect's ghostly qi.
• Sun Poyun hoped Ling Wuyuan would win, while Zheng Saijuan watched citizens flee Wenying Tower and identified the fighting faction by its ghostly qi.