Chapter Summaries

Zhang Mingshu learned that Zhao Xiangyu had approved the Zhang Family’s rule over Haiqu and Five Lotus Counties, while ordering East Sea County renamed Haining County. After leaving Zhang Yanbang with Zuo Wuming to study, Zhang Mingshu returned to prepare the renaming and continue the family’s expansion.

• Li Jixu told Zhang Mingshu that Zhao Xiangyu had approved the Zhang Family’s control of Haiqu County and Five Lotus County and wanted East Sea County renamed.
• Li Jixu chose Haining as the new county name, and Zhang Mingshu agreed to rename Qushan Ancient City as Haining City as well.
• Zhang Mingshu reflected that Zhao Xiangyu was checking the Zhang Family’s growing influence while positioning it to balance the Zhuge Family.
• Zhang Mingshu left Zhang Yanbang with Zuo Wuming for schooling and asked Zuo Wuming to teach him well.
• Zhang Mingshu returned to the Zhang Family, inspected local arrangements, and prepared to rename the county before traveling to Five Lotus County for the next expansion campaign.

Zhang Mingshu hurried back to Haining County to arrange the reception of the Xuanjing Tong Family and Yuanlong Sword Dragon Family, who had arrived under the Sword Immortal Li Family’s command. He welcomed their powerful representatives and learned who had come, but the full arrangements for the two families remained ahead.

• After the Zhang Family failed to prepare for the Tong and Dragon Families’ arrival, Li Jixu and Zuo Wuming helped coordinate their reception and summoned Zhang Mingshu back.
• Zhang Mingshu returned to Haining County, told Zhang Yanhua to leave the remaining preparations to him, and led people out to welcome the families.
• Zhang Mingshu met Long Xiaotian, who introduced himself as the Dragon Family’s second-born leader overseeing its affairs, and the two groups headed to meet the other representatives.
• Long Xiaotian introduced the Tong Family’s Tong Xiangbo, Tong Xiangbei, and Tong Xiangquan, including Tong Xiangquan’s role in wielding the family’s Xuanjing.
• Zhang Mingshu learned about the representatives’ formidable cultivation and combat strength, including Long Zhantian’s late-stage He Dan Hun Yuan Realm.

Zhang Mingshu welcomed the Tong and Long Families and discussed their plans to support the Zhang Family’s expansion war. After their main forces arrived, he brought them to a temporary camp outside Haining City and began arranging their supplies and future settlement in Haiqu County.

• Zhang Mingshu met Long Zhantian, Long Xiaotian, Long Batian, Long Yutian, and other representatives, then learned why the Tong and Long Families had left the northwestern region under the Li Family’s banner.
• Zhang Mingshu and the family representatives discussed the expansion war, the dangers of the Five Lotus Mountain Range, and possible places for the families to settle.
• The Tong and Long Families’ main forces arrived, and Zhang Mingshu led them with the Zhang Family’s forces toward Haining County City.
• Zhang Mingshu welcomed the families to the temporary camp outside Haining City, where Long Xiaotian and Tong Xiangbo approved of the arrangements.
• Zhang Mingshu distributed food and necessities for the nearly thousand newcomers, shared a simple meal with them, and recorded the camp’s supply problems for later action.

Zhang Mingshu negotiated the Tong and Long Families’ settlement in Haiqu County, balancing their strength against the Zhang Family’s influence. After the two families accepted his plan, he reassured Zhang Yanhua and advised him to delegate and focus on important matters.

• Zhang Mingshu explained that the Tong and Long Families would have to stay in tents, and both families agreed to camp together rather than split up.
• Zhang Mingshu considered how the arrivals would test the Zhang Family’s leadership and concluded that the two families understood the need to respect the Zhang Family’s position.
• Zhang Mingshu offered to help settle the newcomers in Haiqu County, and Long Zhantian and Tong Xiangbo pledged to contribute their strength rather than accept favors without repayment.
• Zhang Mingshu showed the two patriarchs a map of Haiqu County, and Long Xiaotian and Tong Xiangbo approved the proposed settlement areas and rules for dealing with local families.
• After the camp settled for the night, Zhang Mingshu reflected that the Tong Family needed time to rebuild its ancestral hall and restore the [Mystic Mirror]’s power.
• Zhang Yanhua apologized for mishandling affairs, and Zhang Mingshu advised him to learn from the mistake, delegate authority, and focus on important matters.

Zhang Mingshu prepared to escort the Shi Family and Long Family to Haiqu County as the two clans began integrating with the Zhang Family. The chapter left Zhang Yanhua stepping in after Long Family youths defeated several of the Zhang Family’s trainees.

• Zhang Mingshu reassured Zhang Yanhua that he needed more experience and told him to rest before the work ahead.
• The Shi Family and Long Family formed teams to serve under the Zhang Family and learn how to work with its people.
• Zhang Mingshu set out for Haiqu County with Tong Xiangbo, Long Zhantian, Long Xiaotian, and four younger family members to inspect the territory and arrange the next steps.
• At morning practice, youths from the Shi Family and Long Family compared themselves with the Zhang Family’s trainees and challenged them at the martial arena.
• Long Family youths defeated several Zhang Family trainees, and Zhang Yanhua arrived and offered to fight them.

Zhang Yanhua fought Long Yingting in the martial arena, using a spell and the Heroic Spirit Han Huaiyin’s power to turn the battle in his favor. Long Xiaotian stopped the fight, disciplined his son, and apologized to Zhang Mingshu.

• Long Yingting attacked Zhang Yanhua with his sword, and Zhang Yanhua evaded and countered as they exchanged blows.
• Zhang Yanhua raised a Tier 2 Earth Wall Spell, trapping Long Yingting’s sword and creating an opening for an attack.
• Zhang Yanhua used Fight with One's Back to the River, sending Long Yingting and the earthen wall flying.
• Long Xiaotian ordered Long Yingting to stop, took his sword when he tried to attack again, and had his strength sealed for breaking clan rules.
• Long Xiaotian apologized to Zhang Mingshu on behalf of the Long Household.

After Zhang Yanhua defeated Long Yingting, Zhang Mingshu led representatives of the Tong and Long Families on a lengthy inspection journey to Haiqu County. They accepted the Zhang Family’s preparations and decided to settle there, pledging to share honor and disgrace.

• Zhang Mingshu cautioned Long Xiaotian to learn control and restraint, while Long Yingting accepted his defeat and withdrew.
• Zhang Mingshu traveled with representatives of the Tong and Long Families for more than half a month, inspecting the Zhang Family’s lands and operations along the way.
• Tong Xiangbo and Long Xiaotian praised Haiqu County’s abundant Spiritual Energy and agreed that it was a suitable place to establish their households.
• The travelers saw towns preparing for war and residents building roads under the Zhang Family’s direction.
• Zhang Mingshu showed Tong Xiangbo and Long Zhantian the two towns prepared for their families, and they accepted the lodging and expressed their gratitude.

After returning from years of seclusion, Zhang Wushuang faced pressure from suitors and uncertainty about whether to remain at Daizong or prioritize her family. She sought advice from Zhao Siqi and Zuo Wuming, then traveled to Five Lotus County to consult her father, Zhang Mingshu, and found the family’s expansion had brought new complications.

• Zhang Wushuang returned home after reaching the Void Returning Realm and Grand Alchemist rank, fleeing the sudden attention of numerous suitors, including Kong Junhao.
• Zhang Wushuang learned that her family had moved to Haining City, where she told Zhao Siqi about her dilemma, but Zhao Siqi advised her to seek Zuo Wuming’s counsel.
• Zhang Wushuang visited Zuo Wuming in Tancheng and discussed her future with the sect and family, then spent the night at home before setting out to find Zhang Mingshu.
• Zhang Wushuang saw that the family’s forces were expanding through the Five Lotus Mountain Range, while powerful monsters still resisted at four locations on Great Green Mountain.
• Zhang Wushuang reached Haiqu County and asked a Zhang family elder to guide her to Zhang Mingshu in Five Lotus County.

Zhang Wushuang returned to Five Lotus County to seek Zhang Mingshu’s advice about choosing between cultivation at Mount Dai Sect and serving the Lineage, while considering Zuo Wuming as a Dao companion. As Wushuang began helping with the county’s defenses, Zhang Mingshu learned Zuo Wuming’s origins and began secret talks with him.

• Zhang Wushuang told Zhang Mingshu about his choices at Mount Dai Sect, and Zhang Mingshu urged him to decide according to his wishes while assuring him the Lineage would support him.
• Zhang Wushuang asked what Zhang Mingshu thought of Zuo Wuming, then chose to stay and learn about the Lineage’s affairs and the battle in Five Lotus County.
• Zhang Mingshu met Zhou Buding and the Green Snake Demon King, who agreed not to interfere in the fighting as long as it stayed away from Green Mountain Peak.
• Zhou Buding revealed that Zuo Wuming came from the Zuo clan of the Spring and Autumn Secret Realm and had been raised by Zhou before being adopted by Zhang Mingshu.
• Zhang Wushuang inspected the defensive lines and formed a plan to eliminate the hidden danger of Great Green Mountain, unaware that Zhang Mingshu had reached an agreement with the Green Snake Demon King and begun secret talks with Zuo Wuming.

Zhang Wushuang summoned the Changbai Snow Tiger Demon King and chose to return to the Zhang family Lineage, taking on responsibilities in Five Lotus County. She joined the campaign planning and proposed that the Lineage first defeat the Python King of Dragon Waterfall Gorge.

• Zhang Wushuang summoned the seventh-tier Changbai Snow Tiger Demon King, her longtime contracted companion, to her command tent.
• Zhang Mingshu returned after reaching an agreement with Zuo Wuming, and Zhang Wushuang told him she would return to the Lineage and help it develop.
• Zhang Mingshu gave Zhang Wushuang the Lineage's token and explained the wedding arrangements and Zuo Wuming's Household situation.
• Zhao Siqi received Zhang Mingshu's letter and accepted Zhang Wushuang's decision to take on Lineage responsibilities and marry Zuo Wuming.
• Zhang Wushuang returned to the Five Lotus County camp, earned the soldiers' respect, and joined the Lineage's leadership.
• Zhang Wushuang addressed the generals and core combatants, proposing that they first take down the Python King of Dragon Waterfall Gorge.

Zhang Wushuang and Zhang Mingshu led the Seventh-Tier Tiger King and Little White into Dragon Waterfall Gorge to attack the Python King, with the Scorpion King joining the battle. Their planned division of forces put the two Demon Kings under mounting pressure, while the Crane King and Green Bamboo Snake King watched without intervening.

• Zhang Mingshu approved Zhang Wushuang’s plan to target the Python King and sent Little White ahead to scout Dragon Waterfall Gorge.
• The next day, Zhang Wushuang, Zhang Mingshu, the Tiger King, and Little White split up and infiltrated the gorge from different directions.
• The Python King sensed the intruders and attacked as Zhang Wushuang and the Tiger King engaged it while Zhang Mingshu and Little White moved in from the sides.
• The Scorpion King appeared, prompting Zhang Mingshu and Little White to turn from the Python King and fight it together.
• The Crane King and Green Bamboo Snake King arrived but watched instead of joining the battle as the Python King and Scorpion King struggled against the Zhang Household’s forces.
• The Python King reversed the waterfall to create a serpent clone, while Zhang Mingshu and Little White kept the Scorpion King at bay and its poison and Spiritual Energy dwindled.

Zhang Mingshu, Zhang Wushuang, Little White, and the Tiger King wounded the Python King and cornered the Scorpion King. The Crane King and Green Bamboo Snake King joined the fight, leaving the Python King captured and the Scorpion King surrendering.

• Little White joined Zhang Wushuang against the Python King and used the Great Dream Illusion Technique to freeze it, giving Zhang Wushuang a chance to wound its vital point with the Xueya Sword.
• Zhang Mingshu used Inverse Five Elements Reversal Formation to hinder the Scorpion King's escape underground while Little White disrupted its senses with illusions and soul attacks.
• The Crane King and Green Bamboo Snake King decided to help the Zhang Household, and the Crane King announced their support before the Snake King seized the wounded Python King.
• The exhausted Scorpion King stopped fighting, lay prostrate, and begged to surrender.

After the Zhang Family secured Great Green Mountain, Zhang Mingshu gained powerful new allies and the family began its advance into the Five Lotus Mountain Range. Gongsun Bowang then introduced the Murong Family’s request for cooperation, leaving Zhang Mingshu wary and planning to consult senior allies.

• The Scorpion King surrendered his contract, and Zhang Mingshu performed a ritual to bring him under the Zhang Family’s control.
• Zhang Wushuang and Zhang Mingshu sealed the Python King, then Zhang Mingshu searched its underwater dwelling and took its possessions.
• The Zhang Family expanded its control around Great Green Mountain and prepared Zhang Wushuang’s wedding to Zuo Wuming while their forces advanced into the Five Lotus Mountain Range.
• Gongsun Bowang and Gongsun Bailing visited Zhang Mingshu and explained the Murong Family’s history and its desire to reclaim power in the mountain range.
• Zhang Mingshu suspected the Murong Family’s intentions and decided to consult Zhou Buding and Chong Li before choosing a direction.

Zhang Mingshu weighed the Murong Family’s pressure and considered which powers the Zhang Family could trust, then received Zhou Buding’s guidance through the Spirit Star. He agreed with Gongsun Bowang to deepen cooperation while resisting the Murong Family, as Zhou Buding took responsibility for negotiating with the Xu Clan.

• Zhang Mingshu asked Gongsun Bowang which other forces might become partners, and Gongsun Bowang advised him to look south because the major northern families were already involved.
• Zhang Mingshu considered the Han Family and the Zhang Family’s limited role in the Evil Dragon Pool Secret Realm conflict, while Gongsun Bowang explained the Xu Clan’s history and the Gongsun Family’s plans to establish southern branches.
• Zhang Mingshu received four messages from Zhou Buding: deepen cooperation with the Gongsun Family, fear nothing from the Murong Family, stop the Han Clan from heading north, and let him negotiate with the Xu Clan.
• Zhang Mingshu proposed deeper cooperation with the Gongsun Family and joint resistance to Murong provocation, and Gongsun Bowang agreed to consult his family about the details.

During the forty-ninth year of the Sacred Reign, Zhang Mingshu and Zhang Wushuang reviewed the family’s development, the children’s prospects, and the worsening fighting in the Five Lotus Mountain Range. Zhang Mingshu planned to accelerate the Zhang Family’s advance after the New Year, while the family prepared for threats to its rear.

• Zhang Mingshu stayed in Five Lotus County with Zhang Wushuang, while Zhang Yanhua and the other family members returned home for the New Year and Zhang Yu remained in Haiqu County with Qu Ziyi.
• Zhang Mingshu used the Life Book to observe the ancestral hall and saw the children’s progress, including Zhang Yanhua’s ability to enter the Qushan Secret Realm and approach the Heavenly Book Stone Tablet.
• Zhang Wushuang suggested sending promising children to Dai Sect and Fuding Sect, and Zhang Mingshu planned to discuss the possibility with Zhao Siqi and their mothers.
• Zhang Mingshu showed Zhang Wushuang a map of the Five Lotus Mountain Range and said the family needed to advance toward Lizhui Peak faster after the New Year.
• Zhang Wushuang explained that affiliated families had already sent most of their fighters to the front and warned that withdrawing more forces could leave the interior exposed, especially with the Murong Family likely to cause trouble.

After the New Year celebrations, Zhang Mingshu and Zhang Wushuang prepared the understaffed main camp for possible demon-beast attacks while most of the higher-tier combatants were away or guarding key posts. The chapter left Zhang Mingshu alone atop a watchtower, sensing several recovering Sixth-Tier demon beasts beneath Lizhui Peak but not the Seventh-Tier beasts above.

• The Tong and Long Families rebuilt their towns in Haiqu County, and the Tong Family’s [Mysterious Mirror] recovered some of its power.
• Tong Xiangbo observed Zhang Mingshu’s battle against a Seventh-Tier demon beast and was shaken by the sorcerer’s abilities.
• Zhang Mingshu arranged for the remaining troops to guard the camp and logistics routes while others took New Year leave.
• Zhang Mingshu sent Zhang Wushuang to inspect the outer Defensive Formations and comforted the soldiers, especially the injured.
• Zhang Mingshu climbed a wooden tower at night and sensed several clusters of energy beneath Lizhui Peak, but could not detect the Seventh-Tier demon beasts above.

Zhang Mingshu used the Qingxi He Family’s decline as a lesson in transferring family authority, while Zuo Wuming arrived at the front lines and advised the Zhang Family on personnel changes. The chapter left Xia Qirui promoted to army commander and rotated back to replace Zhao Xiaojie.

• Zhang Mingshu told Zhang Wushuang how greed and infighting had weakened the Qingxi He Family after He Xi left, urging her to learn from its mistakes about transferring authority.
• After the New Year, Zuo Wuming brought supplies to the front lines, inspected logistics, and gave Zhang Mingshu suggestions about personnel rotations.
• Zhang Yu handed over his duties to Qu Ziyi, returned to Haining City, and took leave to reunite with his children.
• Zuo Wuming recommended that Xia Qirui replace Zhao Xiaojie because Xia Qirui’s military skills would be more useful against barbarians and human forces.
• Zhang Mingshu recalled Xia Qirui, discussed the transfer with him, and formally promoted him to commander of an army.

After taking over the defenses in Sizhou, Zhao Xiaojie traveled toward Five Lotus County and investigated a demon spirit called the Death Gate God in Shuyang City. He tracked its aura to an abandoned residence, where he sensed that someone was also Raising Ghosts.

• Xia Qirui took over the Sizhou defenses, and Zhao Xiaojie left for Baishi Town and Five Lotus County.
• Zhao Xiaojie observed the weakened forces around Sizhou and reached Shuyang County by evening.
• A Zhang Family intelligence officer told Zhao Xiaojie that the Death Gate God had affected the city and that the trapped shop staff were awaiting help.
• Zhao Xiaojie left the shop after dark and followed the demonic aura through the streets.
• Zhao Xiaojie found an abandoned residence and sensed both a demon spirit and someone Raising Ghosts there.

Zhao Xiaojie investigated the Demon Spirit Death Gate God and uncovered signs of unexplained deaths, missing children, and a concealed history surrounding the abandoned residence. He chose to wait for the Shuyang Lineages and Demon Hunter organization to act, while Zhang Yanhua watched events from Haining City.

• Zhao Xiaojie confronted Death Gate God at night, observed its strange behavior, and left before dawn.
• Zhao Xiaojie concluded that someone had tried to raise and control the Demon Spirit, then ordered his shop assistants to investigate recent deaths, disappearances, and the abandoned residence's former owners.
• The shop assistants reported several unexplained deaths and disappearances, including missing children, and said the residence's Household had supposedly died during the Ghost Fog incident.
• Zhao Xiaojie suspected the Household had been wiped out and chose to wait for Death Gate God to seek revenge, while questioning the Demon Hunter organization's delayed arrival.
• Zhang Household rescuers arrived outside Shuyang City but did not intervene, as Zhang Yanhua continued learning to delegate responsibility and awaited news from Haining City.

Zhao Xiaojie watched Death Gate God enter the Shen Family residence and waited for the Demon Hunters and Zhang Family reinforcements to arrive. As Death Gate God slaughtered the Shen Family inside its formation, the Demon Hunters prepared to seal the residence and Zhao Xiaojie readied himself to act.

• Zhao Xiaojie ordered his people to observe Death Gate God without acting rashly.
• Death Gate God entered the Shen Family residence, whose history of decline and betrayal had left it vulnerable to the demon spirit’s attack.
• Zhao Xiaojie sent a signal outside the city, then led his people to the rear of the Shen Family residence after its formation blocked his view.
• Wu Zixuan arrived with Zhang Family reinforcements and used Golden Eye Sharp Sight to see Death Gate God killing the Shen Family’s defenders.
• The Demon Hunters surrounded the residence and prepared a sealing formation while Zhao Xiaojie climbed onto the wall and called to Zixuan.