Chapter Summaries

Zhang Yize, Zhang Xi, and their allies investigated the Dancing Sickness spreading through Qushan Ancient City and traced it to an Evil Cultivation Method being cast from a tower. They broke through the tower’s barriers and confronted the Evil Cultivators, but the fight continued as their attacks began.

• Zhang Yize and Li Yifeng entered Qushan Ancient City, recognized the strange dancing as an Evil Cultivation Method, and split up to search for its source.
• Zhang Xi, Zhang Yu, Zhao Wuji, Jiang Guyu, and Kong Junhao joined the investigation and identified a distant tower as a likely casting site.
• The group found black mist covering the tower entrance, and Zhang Yize cleaved through it so they could enter.
• At the tower’s top floor, the group discovered gray-robed Evil Cultivators chanting around a formation and a black crystal ball; an invisible barrier knocked Zhao Wuji back.
• Kong Junhao recited Words of Power while Zhang Yize and Zhang Yu shattered the barrier, allowing everyone to attack the Evil Cultivators.
• Zhang Yize burned away black smoke with a talisman, while Zhang Xi used his fan to trap the spreading green smoke.

Li Yifeng, Zhao Wuji, and their allies destroyed the formation draining the residents and shattered its crystal orb, freeing the townspeople from its control. The orb’s released power escaped, and Zhao Wuji wondered what the Evil Fang organization was pursuing as the group continued its hunt.

• Li Yifeng and Zhao Wuji attacked the gray-robed Evil Cultivators while Kong Junhao weakened the formation with the Word Spirit.
• Jiang Guyu realized the formation was draining the dancing residents, and the group discovered that defeated Evil Cultivators were turning into green smoke and strengthening the crystal orb.
• Zhao Wuji, Zhang Yize, Li Yifeng, Kong Junhao, Jiang Guyu, and Zhang Yu combined their attacks to crack and destroy the orb, breaking the formation and causing the tower’s upper half to explode.
• The controlled residents stopped dancing and collapsed from exhaustion as the group landed among the tower’s ruins and found the Evil Cultivators had vanished.
• Jiang Guyu called for help to rescue the residents, while Zhao Wuji noted that the orb’s released power had escaped and questioned what the Evil Fang organization wanted.

Li Yifeng, Zhang Yize, and their allies fought a black figure at the cemetery and destroyed an altar to the Evil God beneath it. Zhang Yize warned that the Evil God’s power might already have spread elsewhere.

• Li Yifeng and Zhang Yize tracked a strange power to a cemetery, where a black figure attacked them with black smoke.
• Zhang Yize’s lightning and Li Yifeng’s sword briefly battered the figure, but it reformed and continued its assault.
• Jiang Guyu, Kong Junhao, Zhao Wuji, and Zhang Yu arrived and joined Li Yifeng and Zhang Yize in fighting the black figure.
• The group overwhelmed the figure, and Li Yifeng destroyed it with a blast of sword light.
• Jiang Guyu used a Spirit Seeking Talisman to locate a buried altar, which Kong Junhao identified as an altar to the Evil God.
• Li Yifeng and the others attacked the altar until its runes shattered and it collapsed; Zhang Yize warned that the Evil God’s power might have spread elsewhere.

Zhang Yize, Jiang Guyu, and their companions battled Ghost Spirits and evil spirits as the entrance to the Qushan Secret Realm opened. Li Yifeng entered the Secret Realm, while the group destroyed the giant evil spirit and forced Shi Bantian to flee.

• Zhang Yize and Jiang Guyu warned the group about lingering evil aura, and Jiang Guyu used a talisman to blast open a grave where Ghost Spirits poured out.
• Zhao Wuji, Zhang Yu, Kong Junhao, Zhang Yize, and Jiang Guyu fought the Ghost Spirits and gradually subdued them.
• The ground cracked open and black qi surged as the entrance to the Secret Realm began to open, prompting the group to shield themselves and attack the emerging evil spirits.
• A gigantic evil spirit emerged from the cracks, and Li Yifeng slipped into the Secret Realm while striking at it.
• Kong Junhao bound the evil spirit with his Bamboo Scroll, and Zhang Yize destroyed it with Thunder Flame Sky Strike.
• Shi Bantian, who had controlled the evil spirit from outside the city, vomited blood and fled using a secret art.

Li Yifeng fought waves of increasingly powerful Ghost Spirits after entering the Qushan Secret Realm, while Jiang Guyu’s squad was scattered across the realm. As the exhausting battle pushed Li Yifeng toward defeat, a flash of enlightenment changed his swordsmanship.

• Li Yifeng entered the Qushan Secret Realm and cut down a Ghost Spirit before more emerged from the darkness.
• Jiang Guyu led Zhao Wuji, Zhang Yu, and an elite squad into the secret realm, but the passage scattered them across different locations.
• Li Yifeng fought endless Ghost Spirits that merged together and repeatedly re-formed, then tried to draw out their source with a Sword Qi vortex.
• After fighting for more than a day, Li Yifeng was wounded and the sinister aura seeped into his body.
• Li Yifeng recalled his past setbacks and felt a sudden flash of enlightenment as his swordsmanship grew slower and steadier.

Li Yifeng broke through to the Void Returning Realm and joined the others in attacking the Netherworld Cult’s altars in the Qushan Secret Realm. After they destroyed several arrays, they confronted the final Evil God’s array, and Li Yifeng prepared to strike it down.

• Li Yifeng defeated the Ghost Spirit, clashed with the Great Dao’s giant hand, and broke through to the Void Returning Realm.
• Jiang Guyu and Zhao Wuji joined Li Yifeng in identifying the Secret Realm’s source and pressing toward the Netherworld Cult’s altars.
• Zhang Yu sent a signal for reinforcements, and Zhang Xi relayed it to Zhang Yize, Kong Junhao, and the others.
• Zhao Wuji attacked an altar, but a Ghost Cultivator fused with its array knocked him away; Li Yifeng then pierced the array’s core and shattered it.
• Zhang Xi, Zhang Yu, Jiang Guyu, and the others were driven back at another altar, where the group discovered the final Evil God’s array.
• Zhang Yize and Kong Junhao used inherited treasures to suppress the Evil God’s power as Li Yifeng unleashed a sword strike against its array.

Li Yifeng destroyed the Evil God's power in Qushan Secret Realm, ending the immediate crisis. The allies began organizing the secret realm and planning a search, while Li Yifeng remained behind and found that no living people were left inside.

• Li Yifeng shattered the altar and dispersed the Evil God's shadow with his sword, resolving the crisis in Qushan Secret Realm.
• Zhang Yu stayed behind with Li Yifeng, Zhao Wuji, and others to establish a temporary camp, while Zhang Yize and Kong Junhao went to address outside forces.
• The leaders met in East Sea County and planned to monitor the secret realm, search it with four teams, and coordinate with the Zhao Kingdom.
• Li Yifeng surveyed the gray-misted secret realm from a mountain as Zhang Yu's people prepared the camp.
• Li Yifeng realized that all the remaining mortals had been disposed of, leaving no living person inside the secret realm.

Li Yifeng reflected on the path of sword cultivation as the Zhao Kingdom and the Zhang Clan divided control and responsibilities for pacifying Donghai Prefecture. With most forces heading south, Evil Cultivators attacked Zhang Mingshu’s camp at Wenzhuang, where he emerged to face them.

• Li Yifeng considered the long road from the Void Returning Realm to Dao Integration and the Great Dao of Wind’s connection to his swordsmanship.
• Zhang Yize helped arrange an agreement in which East Sea County passed to the Zhang Clan under Zhao Kingdom rule, while the clans and families agreed to provide troops and handle their own logistics.
• Zhao Xiaojie led soldiers to Shuyang County to join Li Jixu, while East Sea County sent a joint army south as the yin aura and Ghost Spirit sightings diminished.
• Zhang Mingshu detected seven or eight Evil Cultivators approaching Wenzhuang through his Starfield-enhanced warning abilities.
• Tuoba Zhìrè killed one attacker, Xianyu Shuangfu and his Ghost Spirit engaged others, and Zhang Mingshu stepped out after lightning drove back an attacker near his tent.

Zhang Mingshu used his home-territory abilities to defeat eight Evil Cultivators who had attacked the camp. Afterward, he reflected on the Zhang Family’s growing power and its position among the factions controlling three counties.

• Zhang Mingshu used rain, lightning, mist, and his spear skills to overwhelm the Evil Cultivators in their camp.
• He killed the Evil Cultivators who tried to fight back or self-destruct, while Little White guarded their escape routes.
• Zhang Mingshu personally killed all eight Evil Cultivators without Little White needing to intervene.
• Zhang Mingshu considered the Zhang Family’s weak weapons and the need to strengthen its foundations.
• He reflected that the family had grown into a midsized faction controlling three counties, supported by Little White, Liu Yun, and its network of connections.

After defeating the Evil Cultivators, Zhang Mingshu received a Soul Suppressing Stone from Zhou Buding to help contain the Qushan Secret Realm’s yin energy, deathly aura, and Ghost Spirits. As Zhang Mingshu prepared to address the crisis and the renewed pirate threat, Zhao Xiaojie’s army pursued the Netherworld Cult south toward Shuyang County’s border and prepared to establish a camp.

• Zhang Mingshu defeated the Evil Cultivators and ordered his forces to clear the battlefield.
• Zhou Buding gave Zhang Mingshu a sealed Soul Suppressing Stone and explained how it could gather yin energy, deathly aura, and Ghost Spirits with a formation.
• Zhou Buding warned Zhang Mingshu that pirates were preparing to attack and advised him to move the Zhang Household’s base from Baishi Village to East Sea County.
• Zhang Mingshu recalled Zhao Dun, arranged for formation materials, and took the Soul Suppressing Stone into the Qushan Secret Realm to absorb yin energy.
• Zhao Xiaojie pursued the fleeing Netherworld Cult forces to the border of Shuyang, Guanyun, and Guannan, then ordered his army to advance cautiously and build a defensive camp before nightfall.

Zhang Mingshu brought the Soul Suppressing Stone into the Qushan Secret Realm and established a formation to absorb its yin energy and suppress its Ghost Spirits. As Donghai Prefecture recovered and the enemy fled east across the sea, the Zhang Household prepared to rebuild its core territory and negotiate with neighboring lineages and the Zhao Kingdom.

• Zhang Mingshu activated the Soul Suppressing Stone in the secret realm, drawing in yin energy and weakening the Ghost Spirits.
• Zhang Xi went south to oversee logistics as Shuyang County was recovered and neighboring forces joined the campaign.
• The decisive battle at Lianshui County never happened, and after several clashes the enemy escaped east across the sea from Xiangshui.
• Zhang Mingshu left the secret realm while Zhang Yu, Zhao Wuji, and their people stayed behind to guard it.
• The forces of Donghai Prefecture and neighboring lineages gathered in East Sea County for a victory banquet and talks, where the Zhao Kingdom's envoy and representatives Han Liangping and Han Lianghan attended.

The Zhao Kingdom recognized the Zhang Family’s role in the East Sea Prefecture incident by conferring Zhang Mingshu the title of East Sea County Baron, while officials and factions discussed losses, reconstruction, and the region’s administration. Zhang Mingshu and Zhuge Yunfei brought the Kong Family into discussions about the future Five Lotus Mountain Range project, though the Kong Gate focused on preparations for war.

• The Han Family strengthened its position by moving north, taking control of Guangling Prefecture, and remaining between the Zhao Kingdom and Southern Jin.
• Prefect Li Jixu presided over a conference where the Zhao Kingdom conferred Zhang Mingshu the title of Subordinate Fifth Rank East Sea County Baron.
• Li Jixu summarized the operation’s losses and gains and outlined support for rebuilding families and restoring grassroots administration.
• Zhang Xi arranged for East Sea County’s local families to relocate to Guanyun County, while officials planned to bring small families under the Zhang Family’s administration.
• Zhang Mingshu exchanged formal courtesies with Li Jixu and acknowledged the other factions’ contributions to the East Sea Prefecture incident.
• Zhang Mingshu and Zhuge Yunfei invited the Kong Family to prepare for the Five Lotus Mountain Range project, but the Kong Gate agreed only to stay in contact while focusing on the coming battle.

In the summer of Sheng Tong Year Thirty-Five, the Zhang Household consolidated control over three counties and organized reconstruction while preparing for renewed conflict with Evil Dragon Island. Zhang Mingshu put Zhao Xiaojie in charge of a plan to find and destroy the pirates’ lair, while Zhang Xi took on reconstruction work and the lineage’s women gathered in East Sea County.

• As the fog began to clear and fighting ended, the Zhang Household gained control of three counties and began arranging county officials and local leadership.
• Zhang Mingshu assigned Zhang Xi to oversee reconstruction while he managed appointments and preparations for renewed fighting at sea.
• Zhao Xiaojie told Zhang Mingshu that barbarians and Evil Dragon Island forces were scouting nearby waters, and Zhang Mingshu agreed to support an initiative to find their lair.
• Zhang Yu continued returning to Baishi Village to spend time with Lü E despite his heavy responsibilities.
• During the months before winter, Liu Shiyuan, Meng Qiuyan, Wen Yuhan, Fan Ruohua, Zhu Qimeng, and other women came to East Sea County to live and work with Zhang Xi.

A mysterious stone tablet appeared near Baishi Village, and Zhang Mingshu and Zhou Buding discovered it was a fragment of the Demon Subduing Hall containing a cultivation method. They began studying its changing runes and using its revelations to improve their cultivation.

• Zhang Mingshu investigated the tablet after villagers found it, but no one could move it or identify its runes.
• Zhou Buding recognized the runes as ancient writing, and the tablet responded to his touch by revealing text.
• Zhou Buding used Formation Patterns to help Zhang Mingshu carry the tablet to Baishi Village and later conjectured it was a core fragment of the Demon Subduing Hall.
• Zhang Mingshu and Zhou Buding discovered that the tablet’s shifting runes revealed images of stars and a cultivation method tied to demon spirits and the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons.
• The two found that the runes became clearer at the full moon, and Zhang Mingshu began cultivating from the tablet’s guidance.

Zhang Mingshu and Zhou Buding deciphered the stone stele’s list of Demonic Spirits and learned more about their ranks, mutations, and evolution. Zhao Xiaojie underwent an experiment at Liangshan Marsh that evolved both of his Demonic Spirits, but weakened the ability he relied on to convert his team’s loyalty into Martial Dao true qi.

• Zhang Mingshu used the Life Book, Star Moon Painting, and Star Scripture to decipher the numbered Demonic Spirit list on the stone stele, with Zhou Buding helping identify the Observatory’s core personnel.
• Zhou Buding explained how star-marked Demonic Spirits could suppress similar unmarked spirits, while Zhang Mingshu learned that Demonic Spirits could mutate under the influence of other spiritual powers.
• Researchers at Liangshan Marsh made progress on Demonic Spirit mutations, and Zhao Xiaojie traveled there to have his White-Robed Scholar and White-Robed Strategist evolved.
• Xiao Guihe escorted Zhao Xiaojie into Liangshan Marsh’s mountain city, where researchers examined him and activated a formation to alter his Demonic Spirits.
• The experiment transformed Zhao Xiaojie’s spirits into a New White-Robed Scholar and a Black-Robed Strategist, but weakened his ability to turn his team’s loyalty and righteousness into Martial Dao true qi.

Zhang Mingshu gathered the Zhang Family’s forces and allies for a campaign against Evil Dragon Island’s pirates, while Zhang Yu and Zhao Wuji scouted ahead. After several days at sea and several minor clashes, the fleet encountered pirate ships near the island and prepared to fight.

• Zhang Mingshu recalled key personnel and assembled the family’s forces, allies, and underwater specialists for the coming sea battle.
• Zhang Xi returned Liu Shiyuan to Baishi Village and took five main forces to Qunwa Island, while Zhao Xiaojie stayed to oversee coastal defenses.
• Zhang Mingshu ordered the fleets to sail toward Evil Dragon Island as Zhang Yu and Zhao Wuji searched the open sea ahead of them.
• Zhang Mingshu’s fleet fought several small skirmishes and then spotted Evil Dragon Island pirate ships near the island’s waters.
• Zhang Mingshu ordered the fleet into battle formation, and Zhang Yu and Zhao Wuji led their fleets toward the enemy ships.

Zhang Yu infiltrated the Evil Dragon Island Pirates’ fleet, killed several pirates, and disrupted their preparations before returning to the Harrier Ridge to ready an ambush. The chapter left him preparing to destroy the pirate ships as he reflected on the barbarians’ exploitation of the coastal regions.

• Zhang Yu used [Phantom Wings] to swim underwater and found pirates laying traps.
• Zhang Yu attacked the underwater pirates with [Wing Slash], killing them before continuing toward their fleet.
• Zhang Yu used [Shadow Spirit] to infiltrate a pirate ship and kill pirates, then withdrew when the crew searched the water.
• Zhang Yu returned to the Harrier Ridge and ordered the Alchemy Crossbow Bolts and concealment formation prepared for an attack.
• Zhang Yu recognized that Evil Dragon Island’s operation was controlled by northern barbarians who used enslaved descendants of refugees to plunder the coast.

Zhang Yu and the Harrier Ridge attacked a pirate fleet, sinking its ship and killing the survivors, including their leader. After returning to report and rotate the crew, Zhang Yu received a letter warning that another group of Evil Dragon Island Pirates had been spotted nearby.

• Zhang Yu ordered the Harrier Ridge to attack the pirate fleet with an Armor-piercing Arrow, punching through an enemy ship and leaving it to sink.
• Chen Junluo and Zhang Shaoqing guarded escape routes while Zhang Yu prepared the Harrier Ridge for close combat.
• Zhang Yu used Phantom Wings to pursue and kill pirates underwater as the crew intercepted the survivors.
• Zhang Yu and the others surrounded and killed the pirate leader after the rest of the pirates had been dealt with.
• Zhang Yu returned with the crew to report and rotate personnel, then received a letter describing signs of another Evil Dragon Island Pirates group nearby.

After Zhang Yu’s squad defeated a pirate force, Zhang Mingshu realized the enemy may have used demon spirits to secretly report the battle to Evil Dragon Island. The Zhang Family regrouped with the other squads and prepared to coordinate their next moves as they advanced toward the island.

• Zhang Yu returned from reconnaissance and reported that his squad had annihilated the enemy without encountering demonic reinforcements.
• Zhang Mingshu and Zhu Jianzhen suspected the pirates had left demon spirits behind to transmit news of the battle to Evil Dragon Island.
• The other squads returned with reports of heavy casualties, an ambush, and fierce pirate attacks, though Zhao Wuji’s squad had won decisively.
• Zhang Mingshu ordered the squads to coordinate and develop new tactics, while the group learned that the Zhuge Family fleet and Han Family troops would join the campaign.
• The warships formed a tight defensive formation, and Zhang Mingshu worried about the approaching fight as the Central Plains turmoil limited the barbarian tribes’ ability to reinforce Evil Dragon Island.

Zhang Yu and Zhao Wuji led nine warships into a suspected pirate ambush, where their formation and underwater fighters turned the battle into a costly stalemate for the enemy. The pirate fleet hesitated to retreat as two more Zhang family fleets appeared on the horizon.

• Zhang Mingshu agreed to Zhang Yu and Zhao Wuji's plan to ambush the enemy at a likely meeting point.
• Zhang Yu and Zhao Wuji took a third of the Zhang family's forces to sea and encountered a pirate fleet lying in wait.
• Zhang Yu's nine warships activated a mobile formation to block the pirates' demonic waves while Zhang Yu joined the underwater fight.
• Little White led Zhang Yu and the other underwater fighters against the pirate demon spirits, and the pirates suffered most of the casualties.
• Zhao Wuji kept the Zhang family fleet close to the pirates as two more fleets appeared in the distance.