Chapter Summaries

Xu Yi's authority as Elder Xi's chief strategist was revealed when Captain Shi arrived, turning the confrontation against the officials who had mistreated him. Shi Guozheng arrested the offenders, and Xu Yi left with Cheng Yan while Zhong Wu remained behind.

• Vice Dean Yang ended his call with Xu Yi without offering the officials any help.
• Leng Qianli accused Xu Yi to Captain Shi Guozheng, who struck him and knelt to greet Xu Yi as the Supervising Lord.
• Shi Guozheng and his guards knelt before Xu Yi, leaving Leng Qianli, Guan Quan, Niu Dagang, and Zhong Wu stunned.
• Xu Yi ordered Shi Guozheng to investigate Niu Dagang and arrest Guan Quan and Leng Qianli for interrogation.
• Xu Yi left with Cheng Yan, passing over Zhong Wu without forgiving him.

Xu Yi left Fengle after helping Cheng Yan’s family, then met Tao Jingshan, who sought information about Ming Liding and hoped to renew his family’s connection with him. Xu Yi arranged an inquiry through Shi Guozheng and traveled to Fanyang Prefecture, where a hidden guard arrived at his inn after dark.

• Long Hu gave Cheng Yan a jade plaque granting free meals at Eight Treasures Restaurant, and Xu Yi sent a feast to Cheng Yan’s home.
• Xu Yi declined to see Xiao Tao that night, then met him on the road outside Fengle the next morning.
• Xiao Tao introduced himself as Tao Jingshan of Biyou Academy and asked Xu Yi about Ming Liding, his father’s former subordinate.
• Xu Yi shared what he knew about Ming Liding, then contacted Shi Guozheng through a Ruyi Pearl and entrusted him with a task.
• Xu Yi traveled to Fanyang Prefecture and settled into an inn in Sanyang City, where a hidden guard arrived after moonrise.

Xu Yi uncovered how Tao Jingshan and Ming Liding were both investigating Old Prefect's hidden treasure at Sanyang Mountain, then joined the auction for the mountain. He left Tao Jingshan desperate to hear the two pieces of evidence he claimed to possess.

• Xu Yi learned from Shi Guozheng that Tao Jingshan had been asking about Ming Liding and that the Fanyang Prefecture office had moved away from Sanyang Mountain.
• Xu Yi connected Tao Jingshan, Ming Liding, Sanyang Mountain, and the auction to Old Prefect's hidden treasure, realizing three groups were pursuing it.
• Xu Yi traveled to Dongliu Immortal City, paid a deposit, and collected a bidding token for the auction of Fanyang Prefecture's mountains.
• Tao Jingshan invited Xu Yi into a sealed tea room and questioned why he wanted to lease a mountain.
• Xu Yi told Tao Jingshan that he had heard of a treasure buried on Sanyang Mountain and claimed to have two pieces of evidence.
• Tao Jingshan offered Xu Yi rare tea and pressed him to explain the evidence before he left.

Xu Yi used his knowledge of Ming Liding’s plans and the treasure at Sanyang Mountain to draw Tao Jingshan into revealing why he had come to Jizhou Territory. Tao offered to trade the treasure’s resources for a family heirloom, but Xu Yi refused to join forces, and Tao warned that Xu could not find the treasure without his help.

• Xu Yi told Tao Jingshan that Ming Liding had transferred Sanyang Mountain to the Inner Court Department to secretly search for its treasure, and claimed he was prepared to bid a thousand wish pearls for the mountain.
• Tao Jingshan tried to dissuade Xu Yi from bidding, then admitted he had come to seek his late father’s treasure and showed him a damaged letter about treasure hidden at Sanyang Mountain.
• Tao Jingshan explained that he wanted an ancient family heirloom and clan-leader token, and offered Xu Yi all the other resources in the treasure if Xu helped him obtain it.
• Xu Yi refused to work with Tao Jingshan, saying he preferred to act alone, and Tao warned that Xu would not find the treasure without his help.

Xu Yi and Tao Jingshan agreed to search for Tao Jingshan’s family treasure, but Tao Jingshan accidentally revealed his presence to Ming Liding’s circle. Xu Yi secretly arranged the meeting that exposed Tao Jingshan, then told him he would spend two thousand wish pearls to challenge Ming Liding at the auction.

• Tao Jingshan claimed that a formation protecting his family treasure required Tao Family blood, and Xu Yi agreed to cooperate while demanding everything except the family keepsake.
• Tao Jingshan accepted Guang Jianfeng’s invitation to a gathering, where he was introduced to Cao Wangneng, Ming Liding’s personal guard commander.
• Tao Jingshan told Xu Yi that Ming Liding had learned he was in town, and Xu Yi scolded him for jeopardizing their plans for the auction.
• Xu Yi revealed that he had arranged Tao Jingshan’s gathering with Guang Jianfeng and had hosted Guang Jianfeng and Shi Guozheng for dinner.
• Xu Yi told Tao Jingshan he would spend two thousand wish pearls to compete against Ming Liding, and Tao Jingshan worried that Xu Yi might demand repayment from the treasure.

Xu Yi manipulated Tao Jingshan into winning the lease to Sanyang Mountain while making Ming Liding believe Tao would lead him to the legacy. After securing the jade token controlling the mountain wards, Xu Yi raced toward the mountain to claim the treasure.

• Xu Yi insisted that Tao Jingshan bid for Sanyang Mountain while keeping the ward-control token for himself, and Tao reluctantly agreed.
• At the auction, Tao Jingshan raised the bid to five hundred Wish Pearls, and Xu Yi announced Tao’s identity and filial purpose to the crowd.
• Tao Jingshan won the lease without Ming Liding bidding against him, then followed Xu Yi to collect the jade token.
• Xu Yi left with the token, and Tao Jingshan realized that Xu Yi had used him as part of a scheme.
• Xu Yi reflected that he had counted on Ming Liding yielding to Tao Jingshan while he already knew where the legacy was and how to reach it.
• Xu Yi raced toward Sanyang Mountain without stopping.

Xu Yi opened Sanyang Mountain’s hidden treasure chamber and found the Sun Radiance Token, but Ming Liding, Tao Jingshan, and a Divine Embryo Realm elder confronted him over it. Xu Yi’s forces struck with Spirit Cannons, leaving the intruders battered as the siege began.

• Xu Yi used the restriction token to enter Sanyang Mountain, broke the Seven Aversion Palace Locking Formation, and uncovered a chamber of cultivation resources and a fiery-red token.
• Ming Liding arrived with more than ten people and asked Xu Yi to return the treasure, claiming it belonged to a friend.
• Tao Jingshan arrived with a white-haired Divine Embryo Realm expert and claimed the Sun Radiance Token as his father’s legacy.
• Xu Yi said the mountain and everything on it belonged to him because he had won it at auction, and ordered Ming Liding and Tao Jingshan to leave.
• The white-haired elder attacked Xu Yi, but more than ten Spirit Cannons blasted the group and wounded Ming Liding, his men, and the elder.
• Over a hundred cultivators appeared in formation behind Xu Yi, with more than ten Spirit Cannons ready.

Xu Yi used the Night Watch army and Spirit Cannons to stop Ming Liding from taking the Sun Radiance Token, then privately bargained with Tao Jingshan over the token’s secrets. Tao Jingshan asked Xu Yi to persuade Martial Uncle Han to extend his term as a black auditor by two years.

• Xu Yi’s Night Watch troops arrived with thirteen Spirit Cannons, preventing Ming Liding from acting against him without exposing the affair.
• Ming Sihuo arrived to aid Ming Liding, but learned that the Sun Radiance Token was in Xu Yi’s hands and recognized Martial Uncle Han’s connection to Biyou Academy.
• Xu Yi invited Tao Jingshan into a cave and showed him the Crescent Moon Three Stars Seal, which he said he had found among Tao’s father’s belongings.
• Xu Yi offered to ask Martial Uncle Han to take Tao Jingshan as a disciple in exchange for learning what the Sun Radiance Token did.
• Tao Jingshan rejected the discipleship offer and asked Xu Yi to secure a two-year extension of his term as a black auditor.

Xu Yi learned that the Sun Radiance Token was a fragment of Lu Shentong’s destroyed Void Crossing Boat and bargained with Han Zhongjun over its value. Ming Sihuo revealed that the Ming family also possessed a token, and Han Zhongjun began explaining how the tokens could help reach the Northern Continent World.

• Tao Jingshan told Xu Yi that Lu Shentong forged the Void Crossing Boat, which was destroyed by a heavenly tribulation and scattered into fragments that became Sun Radiance Tokens.
• Tao Jingshan explained that Han Zhongjun needed the token’s stellar power but knew few details about its purpose.
• Xu Yi demanded to know the token’s value and refused Han Zhongjun’s threats, insisting they negotiate while the Dark Guard remained nearby.
• Tao Jingshan warned Han Zhongjun not to let the negotiations collapse, and Han Zhongjun agreed to talk with Xu Yi and Ming Sihuo present.
• Ming Sihuo revealed the Ming family’s Sun Radiance Token and had a physical token brought to him, prompting Han Zhongjun to establish a barrier for their discussion.
• Han Zhongjun said his treasure could pierce spatial barriers and reach the Northern Continent World, then began explaining the Sun Radiance Token’s importance and the poachers.

Han Zhongjun explained how Sun Radiance Tokens enabled cultivators to evade controlled spatial passages and poach in the Northern Continent’s Savage Wilderness. Xu Yi and Ming Sihuo negotiated a joint expedition with Han Zhongjun, agreeing to split the Sun Moon Shuttle’s capacity equally.

• Xu Yi recalled Zhu Shisan’s insistence that he obtain the Old Prefect’s treasure and give the Sun Radiance Token to the Church Patriarch.
• Han Zhongjun explained that cultivators used Sun Radiance Tokens to bypass spatial passage restrictions and hunt in the Northern Continent, whose development the Western and Eastern Continents limited to preserve their supply of high-grade wish beads.
• Han Zhongjun revealed that his Sun Moon Shuttle needed two Sun Radiance Tokens for a round trip, and asked Xu Yi and Ming Sihuo to either sell their tokens or join his expedition.
• Ming Sihuo agreed to explore the Savage Wilderness and asked how many people the shuttle could carry.
• Xu Yi argued that the three sides should divide the expedition places equally because Xu Yi and Ming Sihuo supplied the tokens while Han Zhongjun supplied the shuttle.
• Han Zhongjun accepted the equal division and set the limit at six people per side.

Xu Yi proposed a system of mutual checks and balances to secure cooperation between the three families on their journey to the Northern Continent. Ming Sihuo accepted the arrangement, though Xu Yi’s motives still left him uneasy.

• Ming Sihuo and Han Zhongjun rejected Xu Yi’s demand to use Ming Sihuo’s Sun Radiance Token on the way there and Xu Yi’s on the way back, and Han Zhongjun asked them to hand over both tokens for safekeeping.
• Ming Sihuo refused to surrender his token, so Xu Yi proposed that Ming Sihuo use his token first and Han Zhongjun hand over the Sun Moon Shuttle once they arrived.
• Xu Yi offered to seal his own Sun Radiance Token in a Myriad Mechanism Jade Lock Box and give the box to Ming Sihuo until Ming Sihuo received the Sun Moon Shuttle.
• Ming Sihuo questioned the proposal, but Han Zhongjun argued that Ming Sihuo had already agreed and that the arrangement kept the Ming family in check.
• Xu Yi bluffed that he knew another person with a Sun Radiance Token and challenged Ming Sihuo to decide whether to continue cooperating.
• Ming Sihuo accepted Xu Yi’s proposal and praised him as a rare talent.

Xu Yi secured an agreement with Ming Sihuo and Han Zhongjun, then rushed to Auspicious Chimes Immortal City, eager to find a way back to the Northern Continent and reunite with Yan Zi and Qiu Wa. At Cangyou Peak, he hurried off before learning that Qin Shousheng was preparing to confront Chao over a dispute between their peaks.

• Xu Yi told Han Zhongjun that he would not scheme against or harm those who did not do so to him, then helped Tao Jingshan secure Han's agreement to assist him.
• Tao Jingshan criticized Xu Yi as a scheming bandit, and Xu Yi said he had spoken up for Tao partly to honor a promise and repay a favor.
• Xu Yi told Shi Guozheng to sublet Sanyang Mountain, then hurried toward Auspicious Chimes Immortal City after agreeing to cooperate with Ming Sihuo and Han Zhongjun.
• Xu Yi reached Cangyou Peak and left in a hurry when Pan Meiren, Dong Xinchang, and Qin Shousheng came to see him.
• Pan Meiren ordered Dong Xinchang to negotiate with Chao again, but Qin Shousheng rejected further hesitation and charged out to confront him.

Xu Yi confronted Elder Xi about his attempt to end their alliance and revealed that the Night Walkers had recorded Elder Xi as one of them, offering him a chance to become a poacher. Elder Xi accepted the tempting offer and returned to his seat beside Xu Yi.

• At Cangyou Peak, Pan Meiren and Dong Xinchang realized Qin Shousheng was trying to seize power, and Dong rushed to gather men to seize the water.
• Xu Yi went to Duoluo Mountain after Elder Xi summoned him, and Elder Xi rebuked him for stirring up trouble with the Night Watch.
• Elder Xi said he regretted making Xu Yi his Chief Strategist and told him to return to the Staff Department.
• Xu Yi revealed that the Night Walkers had made Elder Xi a token, filed his information, and credited him with the failed operation to capture Ghost Seven.
• Xu Yi showed Elder Xi the Sun Radiance Token and offered him the chance to become a poacher through the Pontiff.
• Elder Xi weighed the risks, accepted the offer, and claimed he had only been teasing Xu Yi about ending their alliance.

Xu Yi recruited Xi Mengfan into the Night Walkers to secure him a place on the Northern Continent poaching expedition, then asked him to help trade two remaining slots for wish pearls. Xi Mengfan swallowed his anger, accepted that Xu Yi had brought him under control, and began planning for the expedition alongside the Ming family and Biyou Academy.

• Xu Yi offered Xi Mengfan a Night Walker slot, and Xi Mengfan joined Station Number Seven by using a message token.
• Xu Yi revealed that he was Station Number Seven’s station chief and asked Xi Mengfan to help find elders willing to buy two expedition slots with wish pearls.
• Xi Mengfan grew furious when he realized the slots could be bought, fled the hall, and cooled off in a pool before deciding to protect his interests and keep Xu Yi under control.
• Xi Mengfan returned and asked about the price and the other expedition members, recognizing that joining the Night Walkers had been Xu Yi’s way of keeping him in check.
• Xu Yi named the Ming family and Biyou Academy as the other factions, and Xi Mengfan began discussing how to select strong people and plan for the trip.

Xu Yi sold two poaching quotas through Xi Mengfan for two hundred White Grade Wish Beads, but Xi refused his cut and offered further help. Xu Yi then attended a Staff Department meeting where Vice Dean Yang nominated Shen Yiguan to fill the vacant dean’s post.

• Xu Yi put Xi Mengfan in charge of selling two poaching quotas and offered him a ten-percent cut.
• Elder Wu and Elder Ma each accepted the same price for a quota, and Xi Mengfan gave Xu Yi two hundred White Grade Wish Beads.
• Xi Mengfan refused Xu Yi’s offered cut and proposed another way to help him, explaining that their interests were aligned.
• Vice Dean Yang summoned Xu Yi to a packed Staff Department meeting and announced that Elder Deng was resigning as dean to enter seclusion.
• Vice Dean Yang named Chief Strategist Shen Yiguan as the board’s nominee for dean, prompting whispers among those present.

Xu Yi confronted Shen Yiguan after Cuidie Peak was reported destroyed, and Shen tried to assert his authority over him. Xu Yi seized and humiliated Shen before leaving, while a Personnel Selection Office envoy arrived with a jade token and raised the prospect that a candidate had been chosen.

• A brocade-robed man reported that Cangyou Peak's people had destroyed Cuidie Peak and Shen Yiguan's cave abode, prompting the assembly to turn its attention to Xu Yi.
• Shen Yiguan rebuffed Xu Yi's attempt to speak and challenged him over the destruction, while Vice Dean Yang secretly warned Xu Yi about Shen's influence.
• Xu Yi admitted he had ordered Cuidie Peak smashed and challenged Shen Yiguan, then grabbed and lifted him before setting him down and leaving.
• The assembly denounced Xu Yi after he left, and a Personnel Selection Office envoy arrived carrying a jade token.
• Shen Yiguan asked whether the people above had already chosen a candidate and felt reassured that Elder Ma cared about him.

Shen Yiguan tried to use Xi Mengfan’s supposed opposition to Xu Yi to undermine him, but the Elder Council appointed Xu Yi Dean of the Staff Department instead. Shen Yiguan was expelled by his master, while Xu Yi’s subordinates celebrated his promotion and rushed to improve their standing with him.

• Shen Yiguan exaggerated Xu Yi’s alleged crimes to Xi Mengfan, expecting Xi to punish him, but Xi only pitied Shen Yiguan and left.
• A red-robed official read out the Elder Council’s appointment naming Xu Yi Dean of the Staff Department, and the gathered elders hurried to congratulate him at Cangyou Peak.
• Shen Yiguan knelt before a white-robed elder, who rebuked him for misjudging Xu Yi and expelled him from the peak.
• Pan Meiren and Qin Shousheng praised Xu Yi’s promotion and wondered why Dong Xinchang had gone to the Archives.
• Qin Shousheng realized Dong Xinchang was studying the department’s rules to earn Xu Yi’s trust and hurried after him to the Archives.

After taking up the post of Dean of the Staff Department, Xu Yi went to Auspicious Chimes Immortal City to prepare equipment for his coming journey. At Guanghui Hall, he asked Tu Wuming to show him offensive treasures and learned that his choices were a Jade Tablet or a wondrous talisman.

• Pan Meiren cursed Xu Yi and raced toward the Archives, unwilling to be cast aside as his lord rose to power.
• Xi Mengfan told Xu Yi that three elders had secured his promotion to Dean of the Staff Department, and Xu Yi thanked him.
• Xu Yi completed the formalities of taking office, reassured Vice Dean Yang and the board that they would continue managing the department, then left for Auspicious Chimes Immortal City.
• At Guanghui Hall, Xu Yi verified his new position with his official seal and met Tu Wuming, who personally offered to show him the shop's treasures.
• Xu Yi said he wanted offensive equipment, and Tu Wuming named a Jade Tablet and a wondrous talisman as the available options.

Xu Yi bought Swift Body Talismans and Jade Tablets from Tu Wuming at Guanghui Hall, then considered how to obtain offensive Mystical Talismans without overspending. He left the shop still deciding who should receive the two remaining spots and how to make the poaching expedition safer.

• Tu Wuming offered Xu Yi a Jade Tablet for a discounted thousand Wish Beads and showed him the remaining Mystical Talismans.
• Xu Yi bought three Swift Body Talismans and one hundred and forty Jade Tablets for two hundred White Origin Beads, and Tu Wuming added ten Jade Tablets to the order.
• Xu Yi explained that Elder Xi and two other elders had pooled their funds to buy one of his treasures, easing Tu Wuming’s suspicion about his wealth.
• After leaving Guanghui Hall, Xu Yi ate buns by White Stone Bridge while weighing who should receive the last two spots.
• Xu Yi decided he could not afford the Fire Snake Talisman but needed to find a way to acquire offensive Mystical Talismans for the poaching expedition.

Xu Yi negotiated with Senior Brother and two Black Lotus Cult elders over two poaching spots, using his Sun Radiance Token to establish that the offer was real. The elders recognized that Xu Yi had leverage and began considering what to offer him.

• Xu Yi contacted Dong Xinchang, then met Senior Brother at a bun shop with the Black Lotus Cult elders Kong Shao and You Xian.
• Xu Yi insisted they discuss business in the public shop, and Senior Brother sealed their table off from outside observation before introducing the elders.
• Xu Yi showed the Sun Radiance Token and explained that only two of his six poaching spots remained available to the Black Lotus Cult.
• Kong Shao asked Xu Yi to name a price, but Xu Yi argued that the buyers should decide what the rare spots were worth.
• Kong Shao and You Xian privately discussed Xu Yi's leverage and began weighing what to offer before he could approach other buyers.