Chapter Summaries

Ye Zhen abandoned his chance to escape and lured Hua Yan, Fu Dongxing, and their forces toward a battlefield he had chosen, refining Soul Shocking Thunder Light as he traveled. After leading them into Rainbow Forest, he reached the prepared location for his risky gambit.

• Ye Zhen slowed Cloud Winged Tiger King Xiao Mao and repeatedly refined lightning into Soul Shocking Thunder Light while keeping Hua Yan at a distance.
• Fu Dongxing and Hua Yan coordinated a burst of speed to close in, but Ye Zhen struck Hua Yan with Soul Shocking Thunder Light and escaped at Xiao Mao's full speed.
• Hua Yan and Fu Dongxing decided to pursue Ye Zhen relentlessly and threaten the Qi Yun Sect and his loved ones if he escaped.
• Ye Zhen secretly changed course and led his pursuers deeper into the monster-filled western reaches of Rainbow Forest.
• Three hours later, Ye Zhen spotted a lifeless scar of land and declared that he had reached the place for his risky gambit.

Ye Zhen lured Hua Yan and the other pursuers into Blood River Cave, where they and the Blood Demons mistook each other for the enemies he had brought. After Hua Yan shattered the illusion, the group found themselves facing the Blood God Cult’s forces and their Blood River Formation.

• Ye Zhen entered Blood River Cave and challenged Blood Spirit while secretly watching for Hua Yan’s group.
• Hua Yan, Fu Dongxing, Huan Cang, Hua Zhu, Qingyi, and the Thousand Illusions Eagle King followed Ye Zhen into the cave, leaving Hua Wei to guard the entrance.
• Ye Zhen spotted the pursuers, vanished, and shouted that it was time to kill, prompting both groups to think he was addressing them.
• Blood Spirit ordered the Blood Demons to attack, and Fu Dongxing recognized that the cave’s appearance was an illusion.
• Hua Yan detonated Water Fire Spiritual Flowers to break the illusion, revealing Blood River Cave and the Blood Demons.
• The Blood Demons formed the Blood River Formation and sent a towering net of blood crashing toward Hua Yan’s group.

Ye Zhen escaped Blood River Cave disguised as a Silver Thread Demonic Eagle King and tricked Hua Wei into leaving the General-class Heavenly Spirit Boat, then killed him and took control of the vessel. He charged its Energy Cannon and aimed it at the cave entrance, waiting to see whether Hua Yan would emerge.

• Ye Zhen used the Mirage Dragon Pearl to transform into a Silver Thread Demonic Eagle King and escape Blood River Cave unnoticed.
• Ye Zhen spotted the Tiannan Hua Family's General-class Heavenly Spirit Boat and decided to seize it so he could attack Pulse Forging Realm experts.
• Ye Zhen dropped a top-grade Crimson Fire Spirit Crystal to lure Hua Wei out of the boat, and Hua Wei lowered its spiritual power light screen to retrieve it.
• Ye Zhen struck Hua Wei with lightning and killed him with a sword, then swept his body into the boat.
• Ye Zhen took the Spirit Crystals from the boat's Storage Rings, restored its light screen, and charged the Energy Cannon while aiming it at Blood River Cave's entrance.

In Blood River Cave, the Illusory God Sect and Tiannan Hua Family fought Blood Demon Protector Blood Spirit, eventually destroying the cave and escaping. Outside, Ye Zhen fired the General-class Heavenly Spirit Boat’s Energy Cannon at the fleeing Hua family, killing Hua Zhu and severely wounding Hua Yan before Fu Dongxing exposed Ye Zhen as the attacker.

• Blood-red flames killed Elder Qingyi, and Blood Spirit’s Blood River severely injured Huan Cang and tainted Hua Yan’s Spirit Weapon.
• Fu Dongxing and the others attacked Blood River Cave, broke it apart, and opened an escape route while Blood Spirit pursued them as a blood dragon.
• Huan Cang, Fu Dongxing, Hua Zhu, and Hua Yan escaped the cave, with the Thousand Illusions Eagle King fleeing first.
• Ye Zhen fired the General-class Heavenly Spirit Boat’s Energy Cannon, killing Hua Zhu and leaving Hua Yan gravely wounded.
• Fu Dongxing shattered the boat’s protective screen and revealed Ye Zhen, prompting the others to recognize him.

Ye Zhen helped Blood Spirit defeat Hua Yan while Fu Dongxing protected the wounded Huan Cang. After Hua Yan died, Blood Spirit proposed teaming up against Huan Cang, and Fu Dongxing fled with the Grand Elder as Ye Zhen struck Blood Spirit with Soul Shocking Thunder Light.

• Hua Yan charged Ye Zhen, but Fu Dongxing abandoned the pursuit when Blood Spirit swallowed Huan Cang and attacked the blood dragon to rescue him.
• Ye Zhen struck Hua Yan with Soul Shocking Thunder Light, letting Blood Spirit drain his essence blood and interrupt his attacks.
• Fu Dongxing condemned Ye Zhen for joining forces with Blood Demons, but Ye Zhen argued that Hua Yan and Fu Dongxing would not spare him or his family.
• Blood Spirit drained nearly all of Hua Yan's essence blood, and Hua Yan died after cursing Ye Zhen and warning that the Hua Family's ancestor would return in a little over ten years.
• Blood Spirit proposed that Ye Zhen help it attack Huan Cang, but Huan Cang warned Fu Dongxing to retreat, and Fu Dongxing fled with Huan Cang and the Thousand Illusions Eagle King as Ye Zhen struck Blood Spirit with lightning.

Ye Zhen escaped the Blood Demon Protector Blood Spirit after using Soul Shocking Thunder Light to kill Yin Suhai and collect Hua Yan’s treasures. He resolved to cultivate the Soul Shocking Thunder Art’s second level and rode toward the Qing Luo Sect with plans to trouble the Illusory God Sect further.

• Ye Zhen used Soul Shocking Thunder Light to severely wound Blood Spirit and kill Yin Suhai, then forced Blood Spirit back long enough to flee.
• Ye Zhen took Hua Yan’s General-class Heavenly Spirit Boat and Storage Ring before escaping Blood Spirit’s pursuit on Xiao Mao.
• After shaking off Blood Spirit, Ye Zhen condensed more Soul Shocking Thunder Light and decided to cultivate Soul Shocking Heavenly Lightning as soon as possible.
• Ye Zhen opened Hua Yan’s Storage Ring and found Spirit Crystals, two Divine Ability Martial Skill jade slips, and other treasures, though Hua Yan’s Water-Fire Plate had been ruined.
• Ye Zhen rode toward the Qing Luo Sect to have Guo Wanfeng identify the pills and cause the Illusory God Sect more trouble.

Ye Zhen arrived at the Qing Luo Sect with intelligence about the Illusory God Sect, as its leaders debated whether to exploit the rival sect’s apparent losses. After True Person Tianzhu threatened Ye Zhen’s family, Ye Zhen captured him and demanded an apology, leaving Guo Wanfeng to decide how to resolve the standoff.

• Guo Wanfeng and the Qing Luo Sect elders argued over whether to attack the Illusory God Sect, whose losses they could not fully assess.
• Ye Zhen requested an audience using his real name and sent a letter promising crucial intelligence about the Illusory God Sect’s upper echelon.
• True Person Tianzhu threatened to wipe out Ye Zhen’s family, and Ye Zhen struck him with lightning and pinned him with sword aura.
• Ye Zhen demanded an apology and threatened to kill Tianzhu and escape with Xiao Mao’s help, while the elders urged him to relent.
• Ye Zhen challenged Guo Wanfeng to address the threats against his family, leaving Guo Wanfeng struggling to resolve the confrontation.

Ye Zhen forced True Person Tianzhu to submit after Tianzhu twice attacked him, then revealed a ruined Spirit Weapon linked to Hua Yan as proof of his intelligence about the Illusory God Sect. The chapter left Sect Master Guo Wanfeng confronting Tianzhu over his crime, while the Qing Luo Sect awaited Ye Zhen’s revelations.

• Guo Wanfeng and Zi Shi pressured Tianzhu to acknowledge that his threat against Ye Zhen had been unintentional, and Tianzhu reluctantly apologized.
• Tianzhu attacked Ye Zhen as soon as Ye Zhen sheathed his sword, but Ye Zhen struck him with Soul Shocking Thunder Light and pinned him against the hall wall.
• Guo Wanfeng promised to give Ye Zhen an explanation, and the four Protector Elders captured Tianzhu and stripped him of three years of sect provisions.
• Ye Zhen refused to reveal his intelligence while Tianzhu remained a threat, then displayed a ruined Water-Fire Plate as evidence.
• Zi Shi identified the Water-Fire Plate as the Hua Family’s inherited Spirit Weapon, and Guo Wanfeng and the elders questioned Ye Zhen about Hua Yan’s fate.
• After Ye Zhen refused Zi Shi’s plea for Tianzhu, Guo Wanfeng turned to Tianzhu and asked whether he knew his crime.

Ye Zhen negotiated for Qing Luo Sect's Hundred Herbs Body Forging Pills and better treatment for Green Vine and True Person Bixin in exchange for intelligence. He revealed that the Hua Family and Illusory God Sect had suffered devastating losses, leaving Qing Luo Sect's elders eager to seize the opportunity.

• Sect Master Guo Wanfeng imprisoned True Person Tianzhu at Quiet Heart Cliff for thirty years over his misconduct.
• Ye Zhen demanded three bottles of Hundred Herbs Body Forging Pills, then agreed to accept two bottles after Guo Wanfeng explained the sect's limited supply.
• Ye Zhen secured elder-level treatment for Green Vine and Guardian Elder-level treatment for True Person Bixin before sharing his intelligence.
• Ye Zhen reported that Hua Yan and Hua Zhu had died and that more than eighty percent of the Hua Family's Soul Sea Realm experts had fallen.
• Ye Zhen revealed that the Illusory God Sect had lost nearly seventy percent of its Soul Sea Realm elders, including Great Elder Qingyi, while Huan Meng and Huan Cang were gravely injured.
• Great Elder Zi Shi urged Guo Wanfeng to exploit the weakened Illusory God Sect, and Qing Luo Sect's elders celebrated the opportunity.

The Illusory God Sect faced a crisis as the Qing Luo Sect seized its interests and Mu Tong challenged the injured Huan Cang. Meanwhile, Ye Zhen used the Hundred Herbs Body Forging Pill to advance his Crimson Jade Battle Body and prepared to leave Green Vine to train against heavenly lightning.

• Bi Chuan warned Fu Dongxing and Huan Cang that the Qing Luo Sect had seized mines, Medicine Mountains, and court positions, threatening the Illusory God Sect’s standing.
• Mu Tong arrived above the Illusory God Sect and challenged Huan Cang, while Bi Chuan warned that the sect’s enemies might unite against it.
• Ye Zhen tempered his chest with the Hundred Herbs Body Forging Pill, completing a patch of Crimson Jade Battle Body in five days and accelerating his cultivation.
• Ye Zhen reflected on his need to master Soul Shocking Heavenly Lightning and defeat the Blood Demon, though he struggled to leave Green Vine.
• Green Vine urged Ye Zhen to pursue his cultivation and promised to wait for him, and they embraced and teased each other.

Ye Zhen traveled to Flying Thunder Ridge to cultivate the Soul Shocking Thunder Art, but Mo Tong tried to extort him for entry. Ye Zhen fought back and faced Mo Tong’s companions, including several Soul Sea Realm martial artists, as the confrontation escalated.

• Ye Zhen left Green Vine a bottle of Hundred Herbs Body Forging Pills and departed the Qing Luo Sect for Flying Thunder Ridge.
• Lightning repeatedly struck Cloud Winged Tiger King Xiao Mao on the way, so Ye Zhen sheltered him and flew onward alone.
• Mo Tong demanded three thousand Low-grade Spirit Crystals from Ye Zhen for entry to Flying Thunder Ridge, then raised the price when Ye Zhen challenged him.
• Ye Zhen seized Mo Tong and crushed both of his arms as Mo Tong called for help and mocked him.
• A black-robed old man and other martial artists surrounded Ye Zhen, and the old man ordered them to kill him after Ye Zhen insulted him.

Ye Zhen was stopped at Flying Thunder Ridge by Mo Tong and Mo Dian, but Mo Xinshui arrived and recognized him as the first-ranked Black Dragon Ranking expert. After Mo Xinshui punished Mo Tong for extortion and gave Ye Zhen a passage token, Ye Zhen entered the ridge to cultivate the Soul Shocking Thunder Art, while Mo Dian watched him leave with a gloomy expression.

• Mo Xinshui arrived just as Mo Dian and his hidden martial artists prepared to attack Ye Zhen, then greeted Ye Zhen as an old friend.
• Mo Tong accused Ye Zhen of breaking Flying Thunder Ridge’s rules, but Mo Xinshui slapped him and stopped Mo Dian from attacking.
• Mo Xinshui revealed that Ye Zhen was the famed first-ranked Black Dragon Ranking expert, alarming Mo Dian and the other Mo Family martial artists.
• Ye Zhen explained how Mo Tong had raised the entry fee from three thousand to ten thousand Low-grade Spirit Crystals, and Mo Xinshui ordered Mo Tong’s property confiscated and made him a mine slave.
• Mo Xinshui gave Ye Zhen a Jade Talisman granting passage through Flying Thunder Ridge, and Ye Zhen went into the ridge to cultivate the Soul Shocking Thunder Art.

Ye Zhen cultivated the Soul Shocking Thunder Art on Flying Thunder Ridge, repeatedly drawing heavenly lightning into his body and tempering himself with it. After more than three months and nearly a hundred thousand lightning strikes, he formed a Thunder Pearl in his thunder aperture.

• Ye Zhen coated himself with Lightning Repelling Paste, swallowed a Lightning Repelling Pill, and drew his first bolt of heavenly lightning into his body, damaging his meridians before refining the lightning in his thunder aperture.
• Ye Zhen spent a day and a half recovering, then divided the lightning into more than a hundred portions and used them to temper his meridians.
• Ye Zhen repeatedly drew heavenly lightning into his body, gradually reducing his injuries until he could withstand strikes without help from Cloud Winged Tiger King Xiao Mao.
• Ye Zhen cultivated on the stump for more than three months, absorbing and refining nearly a hundred thousand bolts of lightning.
• Ye Zhen refined another bolt in his thunder aperture and formed a grain-of-rice-sized sphere of black light, completing the Thunder Pearl.

Ye Zhen mastered Soul Shocking Heavenly Lightning and discovered that residual heavenly lightning accelerated his body tempering, helping him break through to the fourth level of the Spirit Transformation Realm. As he continued tempering his organs and strengthening his lightning resistance, a pair of hostile eyes watched him from the thunderclouds.

• Ye Zhen condensed a lightning pearl and tested his newly mastered Soul Shocking Heavenly Lightning, then began absorbing more heavenly lightning to strengthen the pearl.
• Ye Zhen used thin strands of lightning and prepared Crimson Jade Spiritual Energy to injure and repair his five viscera and six bowels, tempering them in repeated cycles.
• Ye Zhen traced his faster body-tempering progress to residual lightning stimulating and purifying his flesh, and he completed tempering his entire body.
• Ye Zhen refined High-grade Spirit Crystals and Earth Grade Monster Cores, breaking through to the fourth level of the Spirit Transformation Realm and entering Viscera Transformation.
• Ye Zhen continued using heavenly lightning to temper his organs and built strong resistance to lightning attacks.
• A pair of gloomy eyes watched Ye Zhen from within the thunderclouds several li away.

Ye Zhen continued cultivating in Flying Thunder Ridge while Mo Dian, who had secretly watched him for months, launched an ambush to steal his lightning cultivation secret. Ye Zhen countered with his own terrifying black lightning, leaving Mo Dian horrified as more bolts flew toward him.

• Ye Zhen found a lava platform with steady heavenly lightning and continued cultivating, having grown his Heavenly Lightning Pearl and advanced to the middle stage of the Spirit Transformation Realm.
• Mo Dian revealed that he had watched Ye Zhen for over three months, hoping to kill him, steal his secret art, and regain prestige within Hidden Mountain Villa.
• Seeing Cloud Winged Tiger King Xiao Mao leave its guard post, Mo Dian secretly approached and prepared to strike when the next heavenly lightning bolt fell.
• Mo Dian unleashed Swift Thunder Swords and a Lightning Chain as heavenly lightning struck Ye Zhen, intending to capture him alive.
• Ye Zhen calmly struck Mo Dian with a powerful black lightning bolt that disrupted his Spiritual Power and battered his soul sea.
• Mo Dian recognized that he had underestimated Ye Zhen and saw more black lightning bolts flying toward him.

Ye Zhen killed Mo Dian with the Soul Shocking Heavenly Lightning, finished cultivating in Flying Thunder Ridge, and set out to hunt the Blood Demon. After finding no trace of it at Blood River Cave, he followed reports of mass disappearances to Yuezhou City, where he heard new news at a restaurant.

• Ye Zhen's four bolts of Soul Shocking Heavenly Lightning killed Mo Dian, and he burned the corpse to ash with heavenly lightning.
• Ye Zhen cultivated in Flying Thunder Ridge for another month, then left after more than seven months there with his lightning pearl holding about two hundred thousand bolts.
• Ye Zhen declined Mo Xinshui's invitation to celebrate and continued his search for the Blood Demon.
• Ye Zhen found no trace of the Blood Demon at Blood River Cave or in the surrounding area.
• Ye Zhen used Qing Luo Sect's gold command token to examine official reports and learned of two mass disappearances in Ancient Yue Prefecture.
• Ye Zhen went to Yuezhou Hero Tower to gather information and overheard a piece of news.

After tracing the Blood Demon’s attacks from Yuezhou into Wan Prefecture, Ye Zhen followed the trail to a newly vanished village and began searching nearby settlements. He found signs of another recent attack and opened an abandoned kiln, where a horrifying sight awaited him as warning talismans rose nearby.

• Ye Zhen learned that Wan Ji Peak was hunting a demon linked to villages whose inhabitants had vanished, then used Guo Wanfeng’s gold command token to obtain provincial intelligence.
• Ye Zhen traveled to Eagle Fall Fort and found signs that its people had disappeared without leaving any blood, identifying the attack as the Blood Demon’s work.
• Ye Zhen inferred that the demon struck again within a thousand li and searched nearby villages with Cloud Winged Tiger King Xiao Mao.
• Xiao Mao led Ye Zhen to a silent fishing village, where fresh food and tea suggested the inhabitants had vanished within the past two days.
• Xiao Mao alerted Ye Zhen to an abandoned brick kiln, and Ye Zhen opened it to find a horrifying scene as warning talismans shot into the sky nearby.

Ye Zhen found nearly two thousand blood-drained corpses and concluded that the Blood Demon was behind the calamities. Wan Ji Peak’s disciples mistook him for the demon fiend and attacked, but reinforcements arrived just as he spared their badly wounded Elder Xue Dao, including the sect’s Sect Master.

• Ye Zhen discovered a mountain of dried human and animal corpses in an abandoned brick kiln and suspected the Blood Demon was responsible for the disappearances.
• Hua De and Sun Ziwen mistook Ye Zhen for the demon fiend and attacked him alongside Wan Ji Peak disciples.
• Ye Zhen repelled Hua De and Sun Ziwen with Soul Shocking Thunder Light, but they called him a fiend and summoned Elder Xue Dao.
• Elder Xue Dao attacked Ye Zhen, who shattered his blade light and nearly killed him with Soul Shocking Heavenly Lightning and Floating Cloud Finger.
• Bai Xin and Leng Yue arrived and asked Ye Zhen to spare Xue Dao, and Ye Zhen withdrew his attack as Wan Ji Peak reinforcements gathered.
• Wan Ji Peak’s disciples announced that their Sect Master had arrived.

Ye Zhen defended himself against Wan Ji Peak’s accusations, proving that the corpses were victims of the Blood Demon and winning Sect Master Yi Hanshuang’s trust. He agreed to go to Wan Ji Peak to discuss the investigation, while Bai Xin marveled at his strength and learned he had defeated one of the sect’s mightiest elders with a single move.

• Yi Hanshuang arrived and heard Hua De, Sun Ziwen, and Xue Dao accuse Ye Zhen of being the demon who slaughtered thousands.
• Ye Zhen challenged the elders’ claims, pointed out the corpses had been dead for a day, and identified the Blood Demon’s methods; Bai Xin and Elder Leng Yue supported him.
• Yi Hanshuang judged that Ye Zhen was righteous, and Ye Zhen presented Guo Wanfeng’s token as proof he was investigating the sightings on the Qing Luo Sect Master’s behalf.
• Yi Hanshuang burned the corpses, reprimanded the elders, and invited Ye Zhen to Wan Ji Peak; Ye Zhen accepted so the sect could help track the escaped Blood Demon Protector Blood Spirit.
• On the way to Wan Ji Peak, Ye Zhen encouraged Bai Xin, who told him Xue Dao was the sect’s strongest elder after Yi Hanshuang and had once fought the Illusory God Sect’s Great Elder Qingyi to a draw.

Ye Zhen realized that the events around the corpses and the Wan Ji Peak elders had likely been a trap, and he noticed that Hua De and Sun Ziwen reacted far more severely to his thunder technique than Bai Xin did. He suspected a hidden explanation and asked Bai Xin to stay near him after they returned to the sect so he could investigate further.

• Ye Zhen questioned Bai Xin's account of Xue Dao's strength after comparing it with how badly Xue Dao had been hurt by one Soul Shocking Heavenly Lightning.
• Ye Zhen retraced the day's events and concluded that Hua De and Sun Ziwen had set a trap to kill whoever was mistaken for the Blood Demon and claim the reward.
• Ye Zhen identified further mysteries: Hua De and Sun Ziwen had recognized him despite his unfamiliar appearance, and their combat strength seemed inexplicably weak.
• Ye Zhen tested his Soul Shocking Thunder Light on Bai Xin, who recovered quickly and showed him that the technique's power alone could not explain the elders' collapse.
• Bai Xin realized the difference in their reactions, and Ye Zhen said he believed he had found an answer before asking her to stay by him at the sect.