Chapter Summaries

Xiao Lingying oversaw the growing Ancient Yan Kingdom Secret Realm as her cultivation and authority increased. She visited Zhao Siqi in Shucheng, where Zhao Siqi remained unable to advance after a breakthrough accident and the Zhang family faced mounting losses.

• Xiao Lingying reached the Void Returning Realm as a Grand Alchemist with Sixth Tier strength, while Xiaoqing also possessed Sixth Tier combat strength.
• Xiao Lingying observed the revival of Spiritual Energy in the Ancient Yan Kingdom Secret Realm and spoke with Xiaoqing about its increasing density.
• Xiao Lingying traveled to Shucheng, where Zhao Siqi had spent ten years recovering and regained mid-stage Core Formation strength but could no longer cultivate further.
• Zhao Siqi continued receiving letters about Zhang Mingshu's family, whose lineage was flourishing even as the Zhang family suffered losses in Shucheng.
• The County Princess visited to comfort the Zhang family and check on Zhao Siqi's recovery.

Xiao Lingying and Zhao Siqi rushed to rescue Chong Li after she was ambushed while on patrol. Xiao Lingying watched from concealment as Chong Li fought off the attackers, who began retreating under her powerful assault.

• Xiao Lingying visited Zhao Siqi, gave her pills for her injuries, and heard that Zhao Siqi could no longer advance in cultivation.
• A Zhang family disciple reported that Chong Li had been ambushed, so Xiao Lingying and Zhao Siqi mobilized forces and went to rescue her.
• Xiao Lingying reached the mountain forest and hid to observe while Chong Li battled the attackers, whose ambush had killed or injured many of her companions.
• Chong Li used her twin sabers and the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Illusory Blade Slash to kill and wound several enemies, forcing them to retreat.

Chong Li fought off an assassination attempt by the Chai Family, who sought to reclaim Cangzhou and eliminate the Zhang Family’s leadership in Shucheng. As the attackers surrounded her and her wounded companions, Xiao Lingying secretly began investigating the Chai Family’s forces while Chong Li continued holding the line.

• The Chai Family’s attackers declared that their young master had returned to reclaim Cangzhou, and Xiao Lingying recognized the family as the region’s former hegemon.
• Chong Li recalled that the Chai Family had targeted her and Zhao Siqi while Zhao Xiaojie was away at the front, and Xiao Lingying secretly sent word to investigate their forces and schemes.
• Chong Li countered the attackers’ fire dragon with talismans, then shattered a cultivator’s forbidden technique with a powerful blade strike.
• Chong Li used [Iron Flute Sound] to restore her teammates while fighting the growing number of Chai Family pursuers and ambushers.
• A lecherous old Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator attacked Chong Li with [Splitting Light Shadow Sword], forcing her to defend her helpless companions as Xiao Lingying watched her struggle.

Chong Li fought off the Chai Family ambush while protecting the wounded, but the enemy’s reinforcements and two Void Returning Realm cultivators cornered them. Xiao Lingying arrived and turned the battle around, leaving the Chai Family forces routed and only one Void Returning Realm elder able to escape.

• Chong Li unleashed her full strength, killed several attackers, and broke away with the wounded as the Chai Family reinforcements arrived.
• Chong Li led the injured through the jungle and down a hillside while the combined Chai Family forces pursued them.
• Two Void Returning Realm elders appeared, and Chong Li prepared to hold them off so the wounded could escape.
• Xiao Lingying descended and slew one of the Void Returning Realm elders with the Heavenly Heart Sword.
• Chong Li recovered and attacked the disordered enemy ranks, while Xiao Lingying helped Shucheng's forces surround the Chai Family troops.
• The Chai Family forces fled in defeat, and Xiao Lingying deliberately let one Void Returning Realm elder escape.

Xiao Lingying and her allies captured the Chai Family attackers and launched a campaign against their hidden operations. She then proposed that Zhao Siqi form a Master-Servant Contract with Xiaoqing to borrow its power and possibly heal her meridians, though the risks remained uncertain.

• Xiao Lingying, Chong Li, and Zhao Siqi defeated the Chai Family ambush and captured the surviving attackers for interrogation.
• Xiao Lingying ordered a territory-wide hunt for the Chai Family, and Si Tianxing's territories joined the campaign using clues from her side.
• Xiao Lingying told Zhao Siqi that a contract with Xiaoqing might let her borrow spiritual power and help restore her damaged meridians.
• Zhao Siqi agreed to consider the contract as a secret between them, while Xiao Lingying warned that Xiaoqing's time away and the effects of separation were uncertain.

Zhao Siqi returned to Baishi Village after years away, reuniting with Zhang Mingshu and explaining her plans to help the family. Xiaoqing agreed to form a temporary contract with Zhao Siqi to aid her recovery, while Zhang Mingshu continued to reckon with his resurfacing memories and the danger of losing himself.

• Zhou Buding planted a Yin-Yang Qi Pill in Zhang Xi to maintain a weak balance and reduce his need for dual cultivation with his wives.
• Zhao Siqi returned to Baishi Village with Chong Li and Xiaoqing and reunited with Zhang Mingshu.
• Zhao Siqi told Zhang Mingshu about her experiences and said Xiaoqing could help her recover from her internal injuries.
• Xiaoqing formally appeared before Zhang Mingshu and agreed to form a temporary contract with Zhao Siqi.
• Zhang Mingshu and Zhao Siqi discussed sending one or two of their daughters-in-law to Shucheng after the teleportation array was ready.
• Little White sensed Xiaoqing's presence and returned to Baishi Village, but Xiaoqing hid inside Zhao Siqi and went to sleep.

Zhang Mingshu and Zhao Siqi reunited with their family in East Sea County, then returned to Baishi Village for the Zhang Household’s New Year ancestral ceremony. They planned to awaken the spirits of six daughters-in-law, and Liu Shiyuan chose the Lightning Sea Lion as her spirit.

• Zhang Mingshu and Zhao Siqi arrived in East Sea County and reunited with Liu Shiyuan, the other women, and the children.
• Zhang Mingshu and Zhao Siqi inspected East Sea County and the Qushan Secret Realm, then decided to give each of their six daughters-in-law a chance to awaken her spirit during the New Year ceremony.
• Zhang Mingshu and Zhao Siqi returned to Baishi Village while Liu Shiyuan and the others prepared to bring the children there for New Year.
• Zhang Mingshu presided over the Zhang Household’s ancestral ceremony as family members gathered in the ancestral hall.
• Liu Shiyuan entered the six-pointed star formation and selected the Lightning Sea Lion for her spirit awakening.

Zhang Mingshu used the Life Book to awaken six daughters-in-law with powers drawn from demon beasts and spirits. Liu Shiyuan broke through to the early Spirit Transformation Realm, and the other five gained new abilities before the ritual ended.

• Zhang Mingshu sacrificed a fifth-tier Lightning Sea Lion to awaken Liu Shiyuan, granting her Lightning Strike Technique and Electric Flash as she advanced to the early Spirit Transformation Realm.
• Meng Qiuyan gained Yin Yang Harmony, Yin Spirit Response, and Yang God Fall from a fifth-tier Yin Yang Black Tortoise.
• Wen Yuhan awakened abilities from a fourth-tier Golden Beak Blue Bird, including Wind Piercing Diamond Drill and Blue Feather Illusionary Body Technique.
• Fan Ruohua gained Earth Evasion, Earth Spike, and Fierce Bear Strength from a fourth-tier Earth Fierce Bear, though the last ability made her muscles swell.
• Zhu Qimeng gained Cold Crow Vision, Ice Shadow Decoy, and Ice Shard Pierce from a fourth-tier Ice Soul Cold Crow.
• Qu Ziyi gained Poison Wither Decay, Everlasting Bloom, and Life and Death Ginseng from a fourth-tier Thousand Bitter Poison Ginseng.

Zhang Yanhua skipped his lessons and entered the Mountain God Temple’s secret realm, where he listened to the mountain god’s tales. Zhang Mingshu secretly watched over him, aware of his unusual bond with the mountain god and wondering whether a prophesied existence had been reborn among the children; the chapter ended with Zhang Yanhua dreaming of the story’s next battle.

• Zhang Yanhua slipped away from class and entered the secret realm inside the Town Wind Stone.
• Zhang Mingshu observed that Zhang Yanhua had been born able to draw close to and communicate with the mountain god, and kept the discovery secret.
• Zhang Mingshu continued wondering whether an existence destined to be reborn had appeared among the Zhang Household’s children.
• Zhang Yanhua drank from the water vat and asked the mountain god to continue his story instead of studying.
• Zhang Yanhua fell asleep and watched the mountain god’s tale of the struggle between the River Gods continue in a dream.

Zhang Yanhua learned about the gods, the Mountain God's past, and the cultivation world's history through an illusion, while reflecting on his inability to cultivate and the different paths available to his siblings. The chapter ended with the Zhang Family's governance of its territories and the children's upbringing described as carefully managed.

• The chapter explained how the Mountain God had received his divine core, survived threats with Incense and Worship, and followed Zhang Mingshu to Baishi Town.
• Zhang Yanhua witnessed the River God's battle and learned that a third party had seized the emerald-green water snake before the gray python took the divine core and became River God of that stretch.
• Through the Mountain God's illusion, Zhang Yanhua learned about divine cores, the Human-God War, and the cultivators and sects that had defended deities.
• Zhang Yanhua learned that he lacked the spiritual root and Spiritual Aperture needed to cultivate, while Zhang Mingshu shifted his attention to the other children and their abilities.
• Zhang Mingshu and Zhao Siqi arranged the children's resources to limit the influence of their mothers and preserve the siblings' bonds, while Zhang Yanqin trained in beast-taming with Fan Ruohua.
• The Zhang Family completed its direct administration of East Sea County and delegated half of Huai Ren County and all of Guanyun County to minor families.

On Zhang Yanhua’s tenth birthday, Zhang Mingshu assigned him two guards and began building a team to prepare him for future responsibilities. Zhang Mingshu remained anxious about Zhang Xi’s dangerous secret-realm expedition as Zhang Yanhua woke in the Mountain God Temple and hurried home for his birthday feast.

• Zhang Mingshu recalled Hong Liuyao and Mo Daheng from ineffective town assignments and made them Zhang Yanhua’s guards.
• Zhang Mingshu considered the Zhang Family’s lack of a consistent way to educate its younger generation and doubted whether Zhang Xi could succeed him.
• Zhang Mingshu worried that Zhang Xi and his companions might not return safely from the secret realm, while Zhao Xiaojie remained on standby in the Royal Capital.
• On Zhang Yanhua’s tenth birthday, Zhang Mingshu began forming a team around him and selected playmates from affiliated minor families.
• Zhang Yanhua woke in the Mountain God Temple after vivid mythological dreams and hurried home to wash and change for his birthday feast.

Zhang Yanhua endured his birthday feast and met the guards and companions assigned to him. His grandfather then took him to the Mountain God Temple, where they prepared to test a way for the Mountain God to live and fight through a divine spirit’s power.

• Zhang Yanhua returned from the Mountain God Temple and saw the preparations for his birthday feast across the manor and Baishi Town.
• Zhao Siqi led Zhang Yanhua through the feast, where Zhang Mingshu introduced his guards, Hong Liuyao and Mo Daheng, and the young followers Zhang Bairen and Bai Zhangfu.
• Zhang Yanhua slipped away from the feast and found Zhang Mingshu waiting in the estate’s rear courtyard, where his grandfather offered him another gift.
• Zhang Mingshu brought Zhang Yanhua back to the Mountain God Temple using [Poverty in the Profound Space], and the Mountain God said he was ready for the long-awaited experiment.
• Zhang Mingshu prepared to use Zhang Yanhua, who could not cultivate, to test whether a divine spirit could combine its power with someone and participate in battle.

Zhang Mingshu used a divine contract with the Mountain God to grant Zhang Yanhua access to divine power and the aptitude to cast spells. After demonstrating his new abilities, Zhang Yanhua returned to the banquet, where his changed demeanor drew notice from factions watching the Zhang family.

• Zhang Mingshu performed a divine contract ritual, allowing Zhang Yanhua to resonate with the Mountain God and gain a share of its power.
• Zhang Yanhua learned the First-order Fireball Spell and First-order Earth Wall Spell, then successfully cast both under Zhang Mingshu's guidance.
• Zhang Mingshu explained that Zhang Yanhua could communicate with the Mountain God and borrow its power to protect the Lineage and its land.
• Zhang Yanhua left the Mountain God's small mystic-realm space with some of its permissions and returned with Zhang Mingshu to the banquet.
• Guests were struck by Zhang Yanhua's newfound maturity and confidence, and reports about him reached factions watching the Zhang family.
• After the guests departed, Zhang Mingshu brought Zhang Yanhua to the rear courtyard, where their family gathered and gifts from relatives were discussed.

Zhang Yanhua began cultivating with the Lesser Five Elements Incantation and, after a difficult night, condensed his first drop of magic power. With a new direction for his future, he began body-tempering and martial arts training under Mo Daheng.

• Zhao Siqi guided Zhang Yanhua through the Household’s basic cultivation methods, and the Lesser Five Elements Incantation let him sense and gather Spiritual Energy.
• Zhao Siqi and Zhang Mingshu suspected Zhang Yanhua had received ordination registers as both a Daoist and a Feathered Scholar, while Zhang Mingshu taught him the Five Elements Interaction Diagram and Zhao Siqi taught him Qi Refining knowledge.
• The Mountain God guided Zhang Yanhua through his first night of cultivation, and he condensed a drop of magic power by dawn.
• Zhao Siqi encouraged Zhang Yanhua to cultivate daily, and Zhang Mingshu considered how to help the younger generations grow so the Household would not stagnate.
• Mo Daheng began training Zhang Yanhua in body-tempering and martial arts, and Zhang Yanhua found that his new ability to absorb Spiritual Energy improved his strength and agility.

Zhang Yanhua trained under Mo Daheng, made rapid progress in martial arts, and began studying the Lesser Five Elements Incantation. Zhao Siqi urged him to be patient while reflecting that the Handan Zhao Clan and Zhao Kingdom were facing deepening crises.

• Zhang Yanhua practiced punches and footwork until he formed the embryonic form of Internal Strength, impressing Mo Daheng.
• Mo Daheng gave Zhang Yanhua a wooden sword, and Zhang Yanhua quickly learned to swing it using the same feeling of controlled strength.
• Zhang Yanhua finished training for the day while Bai Zhangfu studied for the imperial examination and Zhang Bairen continued his extreme training.
• Zhang Yanhua studied the Lesser Five Elements Incantation that night and struggled to understand how the Five Elements generated and restrained one another.
• Zhao Siqi praised Zhang Yanhua's progress and advised him not to grow impatient, while noting that the Handan Zhao Clan and Zhao Kingdom faced worsening troubles.

Zhang Yanye discovered a passion for talisman crafting after finding the Baizhuan Qianfu Codex in the Scripture Repository. Zhang Mingshu arranged for Grandmaster Mo Yihang to teach him the basics, and Zhang Yanye began practicing his brush strokes.

• Zhang Yanbang, Bai Zhangfu, Zhang Yanye, and Zhang Yanqin spent time studying in the Lineage's Scripture Repository, where Zhang Yanye found the Baizhuan Qianfu Codex.
• Zhang Mingshu found Zhang Yanye tracing talisman scripts in the air and stopped him before his fire-element practice could endanger the Scripture Repository.
• Zhang Yanye told Zhang Mingshu he wanted to learn talisman crafting, and Zhang Mingshu agreed to arrange lessons while reminding him not to neglect his other studies.
• Zhang Mingshu brought Grandmaster Mo Yihang to teach Zhang Yanye the fundamentals of talisman crafting.
• Mo Yihang gave Zhang Yanye Talisman Paper and a Talisman Crafting Brush, and Zhang Yanye began practicing the basic strokes.

Zhang Yanye quickly learned the basic techniques of talisman crafting, impressing Mo Yihang and earning Zhang Mingshu and Zhao Siqi’s support. The family then considered how to develop the children’s abilities and establish the Zhang Household’s foundation through careful selection and training.

• Zhang Yanye successfully guided Spiritual Energy into Talisman Paper after repeated attempts, astonishing Mo Yihang with his progress.
• Zhang Yanye completed a simple talisman, and Mo Yihang instructed him to practice controlling Spiritual Energy more steadily.
• Zhang Mingshu and Zhao Siqi praised Zhang Yanye and asked Mo Yihang to continue guiding him; Zhang Yanye vowed to become the best talismanist.
• Zhang Mingshu and Zhao Siqi reminded themselves to balance the children’s specialized pursuits with education and physical training.
• Zhao Siqi reflected on how large clans screened children for cultivation aptitude and built their strength through rigorous training, a foundation the Zhang Household still needed to develop.

Zhang Yanhua awakened Golden Willow abilities, while the Zhang Household advanced its cultivation, herb-growing, and talisman-making plans. The chapter ended with Sizhou City replacing the emptied Royal Capital.

• Zhang Mingshu arranged an Awakening Ceremony for Zhang Yanhua using a Golden Willow Tree Demon, granting him the Golden Willow Whip and Willow Leaf Flying Blade abilities.
• Zhang Mingshu planned whip and flying-blade training for Zhang Yanhua, while Zhang Yanbang and Zhang Yanye remained unready for their own Awakening Ceremonies.
• Zhang Mingshu arranged for Zhang Yantang to study cultivation and Spiritual Herbs with Qu Ziyi in Guanyun County, where Qu Ziyi was pregnant.
• Zhang Yanhua began helping Zhang Yanye make Talisman Paper with Golden Willow Leaves, and Zhang Yanye asked Master Mo to let him try a Fireball Talisman.
• Sizhou City completed its descent and replaced the Royal Capital, whose former site had become ruins or sunk underground.

Sizhou City descended into the mortal world, and its formation helped the forces inside and outside the Ancient Luo Yi Battlefield open a stable passage to the secret realm. As the city underwent final adjustments, Zhao Xiaojie and Li Yifeng left it, with Li’s return signaling that the Sword Immortal Li Clan heir would soon rejoin the world.

• The chapter described the Thirteen Cities and explained Sizhou City’s history, restoration, and secret-realm-like properties.
• Sizhou City descended, revealing its enormous walls, ancient buildings, central Purple Kirin statue, and active formations.
• The forces inside and outside the Ancient Luo Yi Battlefield opened a stable passage, using the city to keep Second Heaven concealed and relatively stable.
• Wei Mingxun and another leader advanced to first-grade kings as the human factions’ shifting alliances and Great Jin’s unity came into focus.
• Zhao Xiaojie reflected on his years of service and his former life in the Imperial Palace, now crushed beneath Sizhou City.
• Zhao Xiaojie and Li Yifeng left the city after helping open the passage, while Zhang Yize remained connected to Li Yifeng’s impending return to the Sword Immortal Li Clan.

Li Yifeng returned to the Li Household after parting from Zhao Xiaojie and Zhang Yize, while Zhao Xiaojie arranged for the Tong and Long Households to move to the Central Plains. At home, Zhang Mingshu received Zhao’s letter as family politics and the children’s futures continued to develop.

• Li Yifeng gave Zhao Xiaojie a Sword Talisman, asked the Zhang Household to arrange lodging for the Tong and Long Households, then departed through a ray of sword light.
• Zhang Yize returned to Dragon Tiger Mountain to stabilize his new realm, while Zhao Xiaojie sent Zhang Mingshu a secret letter and entered Sizhou City.
• Zhao Xiaojie bowed to the Purple Kirin in the city’s central square, and the demonic spirit within him sensed fear.
• Zhang Mingshu received Zhao Xiaojie’s letter while examining the children’s schoolwork and continued managing their education and family affairs.
• Zhang Mingshu had previously rotated Zhu Qimeng and others out of their duties after a squad leader provoked him, while Zhang Yanhua and the other children began exploring their own paths.