Chapter Summaries

Lin Taichu and Meng Qi reached Soul Severing Valley, where masked men used the altar to escape through a rift to the demon realm. Lin Taichu, Qin Fang, and the Lingshui City experts began repairing the altar, while Meng Qi examined the dead Cultivators.

• Lin Taichu used Qin Fang's token to halt the cracks in the barrier, then led Meng Qi and other Cultivators into Soul Severing Valley.
• Lin Taichu found five masked men performing a ritual at the altar with the missing half of a Demon God Crystal Core, and Qin Fang arrived with more than thirty experts from Lingshui City.
• The tall black-clothed man placed the crystal core in the altar, opening a rift that swept him and the four masked men into the underground Demon Cave network.
• Qin Fang explained that the Spirit-Locking Curse had trapped the crystal core in the altar, and Lin Taichu used his token to suppress its activity.
• Lin Taichu, Qin Fang, and the Lingshui City experts began repairing the altar with jade stones and special liquid while Meng Qi examined the corpses.

Lin Taichu and Meng Qi entered the left passage toward the underground palace while Qin Fang took the right, and they discovered that the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild's Shadow Department had been killing cultivators with Spirit-Devouring Needles. Lin Taichu learned that the true entrance lay in the chamber and that Qin Fang might be trapped, then attacked the Shadows as three Bone Corroding Wolf Talismans summoned giant wolves.

• Lin Taichu, Meng Qi, and Qin Fang headed deeper into Soul Severing Valley after suppressing the altar, leaving five Cultivators behind to guard it.
• At a fissure, Lin Taichu and Qin Fang split up, with Lin Taichu and Meng Qi taking the mist-filled left passage and Qin Fang taking the right.
• Lin Taichu and Meng Qi found Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild corpses in a chamber and discovered that Spirit-Devouring Needles had drained their vital essence.
• Five masked Shadows ambushed Lin Taichu and Meng Qi, and their leader revealed that the group belonged to the guild's Shadow Department.
• The leader explained that the three Stone Pillars opened the underground palace and that Qin Fang's passage was a dead end, so Lin Taichu crushed a Communication Talisman and attacked.
• A Shadow threw three Bone Corroding Wolf Talismans, which summoned giant black wolves to fight Lin Taichu.

Lin Taichu fought the masked assassins guarding the underground palace and used the Netherworld Bead, Yin-Yang Two Qi, and Phoenix True Fire to defeat most of them. He learned that the Demon Cave’s core required Qin Fang’s bloodline to activate, but the captured leader died through a prepared self-destruction mechanism.

• Lin Taichu froze the giant wolves, blocked Spirit Devouring Needles, and wounded one assassin with the Reincarnation Token.
• Lin Taichu told Meng Qi to fall back, then used the Reincarnation Token and Yin-Yang Two Qi to disrupt the remaining assassins’ attacks.
• Lin Taichu froze the wounded assassin with the Netherworld Bead and burned another to ashes with Phoenix True Fire.
• The leader tried to flee, but Lin Taichu struck him down and demanded to know how to activate the underground palace’s mechanism.
• The leader revealed that the Demon Cave’s core needed the Essence Blood of a Qin Family descendant, then died after a detonating Talisman triggered in his dantian.

Lin Taichu sent Meng Qi into the underground palace to find Qin Fang and stop the core while he stayed behind to confront Old Mo, the Demon Cave’s guardian. He deceived Old Mo into taking the Netherworld Bead and followed him toward the seal’s node, learning that unsealing the Demon Cave could turn all of Soul Severing Valley into a demon domain.

• Lin Taichu used the Reincarnation Token to open the underground passage, but sensed a powerful demonic presence approaching.
• Lin Taichu gave Meng Qi the Reincarnation Token and sent her down to find Qin Fang and stop the core while he faced the newcomer.
• Old Mo, the Demon Cave’s guardian, arrived seeking the Netherworld Bead, and Lin Taichu pretended to be a Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild member named Su Bei.
• Lin Taichu tricked Old Mo into believing the Netherworld Bead was in his Storage Bag, and Old Mo took it and led him toward the underground palace’s central hub.
• Old Mo explained that the bead could break the Demon Cave’s remaining seals and turn all of Soul Severing Valley into a demon domain.

Lin Taichu used the Reincarnation Token to activate the mechanism for closing the Demon Cave while Old Mo tried to release the Demon Core. Lin Taichu revealed his control over the Netherworld Bead and destroyed the Demon Core, leaving Old Mo’s fate unresolved.

• Old Mo led Lin Taichu to the chamber containing the three locks and explained that the Netherworld Bead could activate the Demon Core.
• While Old Mo focused on the Demon Core, Lin Taichu placed the Reincarnation Token in the chamber’s closing mechanism.
• Lin Taichu used his Reincarnation Dao Foundation to activate the formation, but Old Mo attacked and used Essence Blood to weaken the golden chains.
• Lin Taichu commanded the Netherworld Bead to strike Old Mo, then shattered its crystal shell to reveal its blue light core.
• The Netherworld Bead and Reincarnation Token formed a Taiji Diagram that tightened the chains, crushed the Stone Pillars, and shattered the Demon Core.

Lin Taichu sealed the Demon Cave’s core and hurried to help Qin Fang, who was trapped in a triple Demonic Mark Formation. Their attacks weakened one stone stele, but the central stele unleashed a shockwave that sent them both flying.

• Lin Taichu defeated Old Mo, sealed the Demon Cave’s core, and took the damaged Reincarnation Token.
• Lin Taichu rushed through the right passage after hearing Qin Fang fighting and found him trapped with two surviving Cultivators inside the formation.
• Lin Taichu identified the three stone steles as formation eyes, while Qin Fang’s first attack failed to damage one and the Ghost Claws killed the remaining Cultivators.
• Lin Taichu used Evil-Breaking Talismans to weaken the formation, allowing Qin Fang to crack the groove at the base of the left stele with his ancestral sword art.
• As Qin Fang continued striking the cracked stele, the central stele erupted with black light and blasted Qin Fang and Lin Taichu away.

Lin Taichu and Qin Fang destroyed the Demonic Mark Formation, sealed the Demon Cave, and gathered their fallen companions. They escaped with Meng Qi and resolved to report the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild’s plot to the sect.

• Lin Taichu used the Reincarnation Token while Qin Fang attacked the stone steles, and together they destroyed the Formation’s three nodes and central stele.
• Lin Taichu gave Qin Fang Detoxification Pills for his demonic wound, then burned a fragment bearing Demonic Marks.
• Lin Taichu and Qin Fang gathered their companions’ bodies, and Lin Taichu warned that the merchant guild’s true mastermind remained hidden.
• Lin Taichu found Meng Qi on the stairs and brought her back to Qin Fang, who had collected five Storage Bags to return to the fallen companions’ families.
• Lin Taichu, Qin Fang, and Meng Qi left through the left passage, where Lin Taichu noticed missing Ku Gu and suspected the merchant guild had used them as sacrifices.

Lin Taichu, Qin Fang, and Meng Qi sealed the altar at Soul Severing Valley and suspected the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild had sought the Myriad Demons Scripture. They left the valley to avoid the Guild’s watchers and reached Black Stone Town, where they prepared to gather supplies and information.

• Lin Taichu and Qin Fang inspected the altar and discussed the possibility that the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild was seeking the Myriad Demons Scripture.
• At dawn, Qin Fang used the Spirit Locking Formation to seal the altar against demonic qi for three years.
• Lin Taichu, Qin Fang, and Meng Qi left Soul Severing Valley and chose the road to Black Stone Town to avoid watchers near the Guild stronghold.
• The three arrived in Black Stone Town and divided up to find information and supplies; Lin Taichu visited an apothecary and was greeted by its white-haired Old Man.

Lin Taichu, Meng Qi, and Qin Fang learned that the Shadow Department's Death Warriors and the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild were active near Black Stone Town, then set out for the Azure Cloud Sect. After fighting demonic-qi-infected beasts in a forest, they reached a dangerous open plain and decided to wait until dark before crossing.

• Lin Taichu learned from a pharmacy shopkeeper that a dozen cloaked figures led by a Bronze Masked man had left for Soul Severing Valley two days earlier.
• Qin Fang reported that the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild had captured hunters to investigate Soul Severing Valley, and Meng Qi showed a map route toward Azure Cloud Sect territory.
• Lin Taichu, Meng Qi, and Qin Fang left Black Stone Town and entered a forest despite a warning about Monster Beasts.
• Lin Taichu and Qin Fang killed several demonized Black Bears, while Lin Taichu concluded that demonic qi from the Demon Cave was spreading through the area.
• After crossing the forest, the three rested at its edge and agreed to wait until dark before crossing the exposed plain toward the Azure Cloud Sect.

Lin Taichu, Qin Fang, and Meng Qi overheard a secret meeting between Azure Cloud Sect elder Bai Xuan and the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild’s Shadow Department, uncovering their alliance and their hunt for the Myriad Demons Scripture. After learning that the Guild planned to target them once it found the scripture, the three prepared to leave before the conspirators became more alert.

• Lin Taichu led Qin Fang and Meng Qi across the plain and spotted a concealed stone house guarded by Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild Cultivators.
• The three hid under the protection of the Netherworld Bead and watched Bai Xuan leave the stone house after meeting with the Shadow Department Commander.
• The Shadow Department Commander told Bai Xuan that the Guild had collected demonic qi samples and found leads to the Myriad Demons Scripture, while Bai Xuan supplied Solid Yuan Pills and warned him not to delay.
• Bai Xuan refused to let the Guild target Lin Taichu yet, while the Commander ordered his men to search for the scripture and secretly watch Lin Taichu and Qin Fang.
• Qin Fang realized Bai Xuan had helped bring down his family, and Lin Taichu urged the group to leave before the Guild heightened its vigilance.

Lin Taichu, Meng Qi, and Qin Fang fled to the Azure Cloud Sect to expose Bai Xuan’s dealings with the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild. After an assassin attacked them at their inn, they secretly entered the sect and reached Elder Su for help.

• Lin Taichu, Meng Qi, and Qin Fang discussed Bai Xuan’s scheme and hurried toward the Azure Cloud Sect while evading the Merchant Guild’s patrols.
• Lin Taichu proposed taking their evidence to the trustworthy Pill Hall elder, and the three stayed at an inn near the sect’s mountain gate.
• Lin Taichu sensed the Reincarnation Token resonate with an aura from the Demon Cave, then defeated an assassin who carried a Shadow Department token and killed himself with poison.
• Lin Taichu, Meng Qi, and Qin Fang left the inn and used a weak point in the mountain-protecting Formation to enter the Azure Cloud Sect.
• Lin Taichu led the others to Elder Su’s quarters at the Pill Hall, and she let them inside after noticing their injuries and urgency.

Lin Taichu, Qin Fang, and Meng Qi hid in the Pill Hall after revealing Bai Xuan’s plot to obtain the Myriad Demons Scripture, which could expose demon realm rifts. As they uncovered the threat to the Azure Cloud Sect, someone with Golden Core Early Stage cultivation approached their secret chamber.

• Lin Taichu and Qin Fang told the elder about Bai Xuan’s dealings with the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild and the Shadow Department, and Qin Fang explained his family’s grudge against Bai Xuan.
• The elder revealed that the Myriad Demons Scripture mapped seventy-two demon realm rifts and that Bai Xuan’s ancestor, Bai Li, had made a pact with demon realm cultivators.
• Lin Taichu presented a memory crystal recording Bai Xuan’s collusion, and the elder decided to consult trusted elders while hiding the three in the Pill Hall.
• Lin Taichu, Qin Fang, and Meng Qi settled in the medicinal storehouse, where Qin Fang set a warning array and Meng Qi began refining Healing Pills.
• Lin Taichu discovered that three demon realm rifts lay within Azure Cloud Sect territory and that the next expansion would occur in three years.
• Qin Fang’s warning array detected someone with Golden Core Early Stage cultivation approaching, and Lin Taichu looked through a gap in the Stone Gate.

Lin Taichu, Qin Fang, and Meng Qi fought off Zhao Feng and four Enforcement Hall cultivators who had broken into their secret chamber. With Bai Xuan closing in, they escaped through an ancient passage toward the main peak.

• Lin Taichu knocked out an Enforcement Hall informant outside the secret chamber and found proof that Bai Xuan had begun searching the Pill Hall.
• Lin Taichu, Qin Fang, and Meng Qi prepared for an attack while Lin Taichu discovered that yin-yang power might threaten Bai Xuan.
• Zhao Feng led five Enforcement Hall cultivators in a raid, but Lin Taichu wounded Zhao Feng with the Yin-Yang Two Qi, and Qin Fang killed two attackers before the survivors fled.
• Meng Qi found the map to an emergency passage, and the three opened a secret gate behind a medicine cabinet and entered the route to the main peak.

Lin Taichu, Qin Fang, and Meng Qi fought through Bai Xuan’s ambush in a secret passage and learned that Bai Xuan had taken control of the Enforcement Hall. They emerged onto the main peak to find Elder Su losing to a greatly strengthened Bai Xuan while the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild besieged the Sect Master Hall.

• Lin Taichu, Qin Fang, and Meng Qi survived poisoned arrows in the secret passage and identified the traps as the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild’s handiwork.
• The Shadow Department Commander and ten black-clad Cultivators ambushed the trio, but Lin Taichu and his companions defeated them.
• The Shadow Department Commander revealed that Bai Xuan had taken control of the Sect Master Hall, then killed himself with a poison tooth before Lin Taichu could learn more.
• Lin Taichu opened the Stone Gate with Elder Su’s temporary sect token, and the trio reached the rear mountain of the main peak.
• Lin Taichu saw Bai Xuan fighting Elder Su at the middle stage of Nascent Soul and realized he had likely used a life-burning forbidden technique.
• Lin Taichu, Qin Fang, and Meng Qi saw a hundred Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild Cultivators attack the Sect Master Hall as its defensive formation began to crack.

Lin Taichu and Qin Fang battled Bai Xuan, whose forbidden techniques and Demon Soul projection overwhelmed them. After Elder Su revealed that the projection depended on a jade pendant, Lin Taichu charged at Bai Xuan while Qin Fang covered him.

• Lin Taichu interrupted Bai Xuan's attack on Elder Su and confronted him with the Reincarnation Token.
• Lin Taichu and Qin Fang combined the Reincarnation Token's power with the Demon Breaking Talisman to destroy Bai Xuan's demonic python.
• Bai Xuan summoned his ancestor Bai Li's Demon Soul projection, which attacked the group with Black Skeletons.
• A Black Skeleton wounded Meng Qi, and Lin Taichu gave her a Detoxification Pill before she retreated to recover.
• Elder Su told Lin Taichu that Bai Xuan's jade pendant sustained the Demon Soul projection.
• Lin Taichu drew the Skull Heads away with the Reincarnation Token and charged toward Bai Xuan as Qin Fang covered him with sword qi.

Lin Taichu and his allies destroyed Bai Xuan’s jade pendant, weakening him and ending his Demon Soul projection, but Bai Xuan self-destructed before they could capture him. They reached the Sect Master Hall too late to stop the Commander of the Shadow Department from stealing the Myriad Demons Scripture, and the Commander surrounded them with Guild Cultivators.

• Lin Taichu shattered Bai Xuan’s jade pendant with a punch, weakening the Demon Soul projection, while the Sect Master Hall’s defenses collapsed and black-clad Cultivators invaded.
• Lin Taichu gave Meng Qi his last Detoxification Pill, then coordinated with Elder Su and Qin Fang to trap Bai Xuan and destroy the pendant with a Demon Breaking Talisman.
• Bai Xuan’s Demon Soul dissipated, and his cultivation fell to Golden Core Late Stage; when he threatened to self-destruct, Lin Taichu, Qin Fang, and Elder Su retreated as he exploded.
• Lin Taichu and the others rushed to the Sect Master Hall and found the Commander of the Shadow Department holding the Myriad Demons Scripture amid dead Azure Cloud Sect Disciples.
• The Commander stored the scripture and summoned dozens of elite Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild Cultivators to surround Lin Taichu, Qin Fang, and Elder Su.

Lin Taichu and his allies defeated the Shadow Department Commander and protected the Myriad Demons Scripture, but Azure Cloud Sect was left badly weakened. Knowing the sect could not shield him from the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild, Lin Taichu prepared to leave with supplies from his companions.

• Lin Taichu combined the power of the Reincarnation Token, Bronze Cauldron fragment, and Netherworld Bead to kill the Shadow Department Commander, who dropped the Myriad Demons Scripture.
• Elder Su secured the Scripture and learned that reinforcements from several major sects had arrived.
• Lin Taichu, Qin Fang, and Meng Qi discussed the threat posed by the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild as Elder Su described Azure Cloud Sect's heavy losses.
• Lin Taichu told Elder Su he would leave so his enemies would not bring further danger to the weakened sect, and warned him about the demon-realm rift expected to expand in three years.
• Elder Su gave Lin Taichu pill formulas and Communication Talismans, while Qin Fang and Meng Qi provided him with a defensive array disk and medicine.

After fleeing Azure Cloud Sect, Lin Taichu evaded the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild’s pursuit and crossed into the Tianshui Kingdom. He reached Yunshui City, obtained a temporary residence permit, and learned where to apply for the Demon Slaying Army.

• Lin Taichu left Azure Cloud Sect with Elder Su’s books and his Dharma Artifacts, avoiding the main routes as he descended the mountain.
• In Black Stone Town, the innkeeper warned Lin Taichu that five Golden Core cultivators linked to the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild were searching for him, so he fled west.
• Lin Taichu crossed into the Tianshui Kingdom using an ordinary Identity Token and learned that the royal family was recruiting cultivators to defend against demons.
• Lin Taichu decided to join the Demon Slaying Army for protection and access to royal resources, then traveled to Yunshui City.
• Lin Taichu obtained a three-month temporary residence permit, and a registration official directed him to the Demon Slaying Army recruitment site at the western Training Ground.

Lin Taichu passed the Demon Slaying Army’s recruitment tests and joined Third Squad under Captain Zhao Hu. After learning that their first mission was reconnaissance at Black Wind Ridge, the squad assembled and set out from the Barracks.

• Lin Taichu registered as a Golden Core Early Stage rogue cultivator and passed the combat test by holding off a soldier for an incense stick’s duration.
• Lin Taichu collected his enlistment certificate and supplies, received an assignment to Third Squad, and spent three days preparing in Yunshui City.
• Lin Taichu reported to the Barracks and met Captain Zhao Hu and the other members of Third Squad.
• Zhao Hu explained that Third Squad’s first mission was to investigate Black Wind Ridge, where abnormal demonic energy suggested a high-level demonic cultivator might be hiding.
• Third Squad assembled at dawn, and Zhao Hu led them toward Black Wind Ridge on foot to avoid exposing their position.

Lin Taichu and Zhao Hu’s squad found a demonic cultivator stronghold in Black Wind Ridge, where they were ambushed by enemies far stronger than the intelligence had indicated. Lin Taichu revealed the Reincarnation Token to turn the battle, but a Golden Core Late Stage Blood Demon Sect cultivator attacked him.

• Zhao Hu led the squad to Black Wind Ridge, where they found villagers’ corpses and tracked faint spiritual energy to an abandoned stronghold.
• Qian Ming discovered a concealed cave with at least five people inside, and Zhao Hu’s squad surrounded its entrance and demanded surrender.
• Five demonic cultivators emerged, including a scar-faced Golden Core Late Stage cultivator, destroyed Zhao Hu’s signal talisman, and overwhelmed the squad.
• Zheng Yue fell to demonic qi, while Qian Ming and Sun Lei were wounded; Lin Taichu summoned the Reincarnation Token and drove off the demonic cultivators attacking them.
• Lin Taichu killed one demonic cultivator with the token, and the scar-faced cultivator turned his attack on him.
• Zhao Hu warned Lin Taichu that the attacker belonged to the Blood Demon Sect and specialized in devouring Essence Blood.