Chapter Summaries

Yang Ye agreed to pursue the Nine Tripod Sect’s cultivation path, while the gathered cultivators completed their trades and exchanged intelligence about Nanlin Road’s unexplained sacrifices and looming imperial upheaval. Wang Ping learned that the imperial family might sacrifice on a large scale to extend the Emperor’s life, and Wen Yang urged the group to prepare to support one another as conflict approached.

• Yang Ye agreed to follow the Nine Tripod Sect’s Nine Heavens cultivation path, and Sun Shulin invited him to Hushan Kingdom to discuss it further.
• Yue Ziyu offered to find Old Daoist Wu an adult female Mystic Tortoise, arranged support for his businesses moving south, and Wen Yang offered Sun Shulin a paid introduction to establish a dao field on Shanwu Road.
• Wang Ping asked about the recent sacrificial rituals on Nanlin Road, and Old Daoist Wu, Wen Yang, and Guangxuan agreed that the rituals had appeared without warning or rumors.
• Yue Ziyu told the group that Yang Kui’s conflict with the Emperor and the imperial family’s plans to sacrifice on a large scale could destabilize the court within two years.
• Wen Yang proposed that the cultivators’ regional alliances support one another if the coming upheaval led to battle, and Daoist Yuanzheng voiced hope that Lord Xiaoshan would advance successfully.

Wang Ping, Wen Yang, and Yue Ziyu assessed the factions likely to join Lord Xiaoshan’s struggle and planned how to survive the coming battle in the Capital City. They left with four retreat routes and a promise to trust and support one another, while Wang Ping resolved to keep a private safeguard in reserve.

• Yue Ziyu and Wen Yang discussed how the True Sun Sect and other factions might choose sides if Lord Xiaoshan advanced, while Wang Ping listened.
• Wang Ping urged them to focus on preserving themselves, and the three planned four escape routes for the coming conflict in the Capital City.
• Wen Yang warned them not to challenge a Prefect, while Yue Ziyu proposed gathering like-minded allies to strengthen their position.
• Wen Yang asked the others to trust one another, and Wang Ping agreed while deciding to begin keeping a safeguard through Zi Luan.

Wang Ping prepared to deal with Yuan Hu while finishing the Puppet he had promised Wu Quan. After Zi Luan approved the plan and Wang Ping formally sought the Demon Domain’s cooperation, Zi Luan arrived at Thousand Wood Mountain with intelligence on Duan Shui Men.

• Wang Ping returned to Thousand Wood Temple, reviewed its Disciples, spoke with Daoist Yucheng about the gathering, and agreed to keep trust in others limited.
• Wang Ping freed the Fire Spirit, suppressed its dangerous madness, and put its consciousness into Wu Quan’s Puppet core, then sent Wu Quan a letter through Yulian.
• Zi Luan replied that the plan to deal with Yuan Hu could proceed, and Wang Ping submitted a formal request for assistance to the Demon Domain council of elders.
• Wang Ping filed a record of the negotiation to protect his claim to Yuan Hu’s whereabouts and the Samadhi True Fire Yuan Zheng wanted.
• Three days later, Zi Luan came to Thousand Wood Mountain to discuss the plan and brought intelligence about Duan Shui Men.

Wang Ping prepared to capture Yuan Hu while investigating the risks surrounding the plan and Zi Luan’s motives. After divination warned him of danger, he sent Puppets ahead to gather intelligence and secretly contacted someone before approaching True Sun Mountain.

• Zi Luan told Wang Ping that Qi Hua had vanished and agreed to divide Yuan Hu’s possessions while Wang Ping took the Samadhi True Fire.
• Zi Luan left to recruit help in Shanwu Road, and Yulian warned Wang Ping that he wanted to test the circle behind him.
• Wang Ping received a temporary flight permit, practiced formations, and improved his use of the Cave Heaven Mirror before Yuan Zheng reported Yuan Hu’s whereabouts.
• Wang Ping traveled toward Shanwu Road, but repeated divinations revealed great danger, leading him to suspect Yuan Hu had feigned weakness and Zi Luan had withheld a warning.
• Wang Ping sent three Puppets ahead to investigate and dispatched a secret message toward True Sun Mountain.

At the Duantian Mountain Range, Lu Shan and Quan Cang confronted each other while Demon Race members attacked a Daoist Scripture Hall cultivator. Yuan Hu escaped the battle but was captured by a female cultivator and Ruan Chunzi, who took him toward True Sun Mountain.

• A Snake Demon, Tiger Demon, and another Demon Race member attacked an Artifact Cultivator near the Daoist Scripture Hall checkpoint, and the Snake Demon's Spirit Sealing Technique disrupted the cultivator's weapons and formations.
• Lu Shan arrived in the Nine Heavens Formation and confronted Quan Cang, who claimed he had only come out for a walk with a friend; Yuan Hu fled the battlefield.
• Yuan Hu hid underwater after landing beside a pool, and three Immortal Realm cultivators searched for him before leaving toward Shangning Road.
• A female cultivator trapped Yuan Hu beneath a barrier and filled the pool with flames, while he tried to recover and summon his cauldron.
• Ruan Chunzi turned the barrier's flames into magma, and he and the female cultivator carried Yuan Hu toward True Sun Mountain as fighting broke out near Mianzhu County.

Wang Ping arrived in Mianzhu County as Quan Cang stalled the Daoist Scripture Hall cultivators to give Yuan Hu time to escape. Quan Cang and the other demons launched a sudden attack, then withdrew toward the Duantian Mountain Range, leaving Wang Ping suspecting the rat Yao had targeted him.

• Wang Ping joined Zi Luan, Lu Shan, and the other Artifact Cultivator as Quan Cang tried to justify the demons’ presence in the buffer zone.
• Quan Cang kept Lu Shan’s group occupied while Yuan Hu fled, and the growing crowd below became increasingly disorderly.
• Cang An attacked Wang Ping after recognizing him, but Wang Ping used the Cave Heaven Mirror to evade the blood-red claws.
• Lu Shan, the other Artifact Cultivator, Zi Luan, and Wang Ping engaged the Tiger Demon, Snake Demon, and rat Yao in battle.
• The rat Yao unleashed an invisible claw strike that forced the cultivators back, then led the three demons toward the Duantian Mountain Range.
• Wang Ping suspected the rat Yao’s attack had been aimed at him.

Wang Ping and his allies divided the spoils after capturing Yuan Hu, then prepared to celebrate the New Year with his disciples. The gathering began with several arrivals, including Yang Rong, who revealed she had unexpectedly achieved Foundation Establishment.

• Lu Shan demanded five Nine Revolutions Pills from Wang Ping as his share, then left with the other Artifact Cultivator.
• Miaoyu revealed the captured Yuan Hu, and Wang Ping subdued him and separated his Primordial Spirit from his body and spirit body.
• Wang Ping gave Yuan Hu's Primordial Spirit to Zi Luan, while Zi Luan accepted the task of supplying Lu Shan with five Nine Revolutions Pills.
• Wang Ping prepared for New Year's Eve as his disciples began sending greetings and returning to the Mountain Top Dojo.
• Hu Qianqian, Shen Xiaozhu, and Xia Weny arrived, and Daoist Yucheng sent them back after an old friend came to visit.
• Yang Rong arrived at the dojo after achieving Foundation Establishment while exploring a Demon Race ruin on the Far East Continent.

Wang Ping spent New Year’s Eve relaxing with his Disciples, then watched Thousand Wood Temple’s Dharma assemblies and contests begin on New Year’s Day. He suppressed the temptation to cultivate Divine Art and turned his attention to the formal Inner Sect gathering and its matches.

• Yang Rong recounted her travels and the mysterious ruins where she and her friends had inexplicably reached Foundation Establishment, while Wang Ping found her Spiritual Root had improved.
• Wang Ping sent Hu Qianqian and the others to enjoy themselves, then spent the day reading folk tales with Yulian as Xia Weny practiced his sword.
• Zhao Wan and the courtyard leaders presented New Year gifts to Wang Ping, and Daoist Yucheng declined his dinner invitation.
• Hu Qianqian served Red Seal wine at dinner, and Yulian urged her to bring back seeds so Wang Ping could grow the fruit used to make it.
• Wang Ping tested Xia Weny on Human Way and silently prompted Shen Xiaozhu to guide her junior brother.
• On New Year’s Day, Wang Ping suppressed his urge to cultivate Divine Art while observing the county-town Dharma assembly and Thousand Wood Temple’s Inner Sect contests, which included Disciples from Sanhe Temple.

During the Spring Festival assembly, Yang Hou began entering the realm after decades of secluded cultivation, while Wang Ping watched the disciples’ matches and hosted friends and disciples at his dojo. The chapter ended with Wang Ping congratulating Yang Rong on taking first place and pouring her a bowl of aged wine.

• Wang Ping inspected the nearly completed barrier pavilion, then watched the sect’s disciples compete while waiting for visitors.
• Yang Hou began merging the Wood Spirit with his spirit veins to enter the realm, and Yulian judged that he would succeed if left undisturbed.
• Wang Ping, Zuo Xuan, Daoist Yucheng, and Guangxuan discussed Yang Hou’s breakthrough and the six academy leaders awaiting their own chances to enter the realm.
• Wang Ping invited Guangxuan to drink at his dojo, where Zuo Xuan played the zither and they watched the matches; Liu Chang and other guests later joined them.
• Yang Rong arrived after taking first place in the matches, and Wang Ping praised her and poured her aged wine.

Wang Ping’s gathering at the Mountain Top Dojo brought together his Disciples and their allies, while a debate over human-demon marriages exposed Hu Xin’s disagreement with Hu Qianqian’s rules. Zhang Xinghuai reported on his military preparations in the northwest and his plan to expand toward the Snow Region, where he expected resistance and uncertain alliances.

• Wang Ping hosted a large dinner at the Mountain Top Dojo, where his guests stayed afterward to talk and spend time together.
• Liu Huai and Hu Xin argued over whether humans and demons should be allowed to marry, and Yulian challenged Hu Xin to consider the risk of blood feuds.
• Hu Qianqian told Hu Xin to seek answers after condensing a False Core, and Wang Ping sent her and Liu Huai to join Shen Xiaozhu.
• Zhang Xinghuai reported that he had trained twenty thousand armored soldiers, gathered auxiliary troops and cultivators, and stockpiled supplies near Shangning Lake.
• Zhang Xinghuai said he planned to expand westward toward the Snow Region, while Hu Qianqian warned him that the monks there were divided and might oppose him.

Wang Ping saw off the departing disciples and helped protect Yang Hou as his spirit veins fused with the Wood Spirit. He then welcomed Yuan Zheng and Monk Liaoyuan, handing Yuan Zheng the sealed spiritual body he had come to retrieve in exchange for its Samadhi True Fire.

• During the Spring Festival gathering, Wang Ping stopped Zhang Xinghuai from discussing northwest affairs and joined the others for a night of celebration.
• On the fifth day of the first month, Wang Ping advised Su Hai to stay safe, gave him a letter for Princess Xia Yao, and warned Zhang Xinghuai to be wary of the Jimin Association's Saint.
• On the seventh day, spiritual creatures attacked Yang Hou's cultivation formation, so Wang Ping strengthened the Wood Spirit Qi while Yulian and Daoist Yucheng assessed the danger.
• Daoist Yucheng told Wang Ping that Yuan Zheng would arrive, and Wang Ping went to receive Yuan Zheng and Monk Liaoyuan at the sect gate.
• Wang Ping gave Yuan Zheng the Wooden Box containing Yuan Hu's spiritual body, and Yuan Zheng confirmed that the furnace cauldron and Samadhi True Fire were intact.

Wang Ping awakened a corpse soldier named Song Qu and arranged for him to cultivate, while continuing work on the barrier formation. Ruan Chunzi's disciple delivered payment for Cang An's Primordial Spirit, including Vineswood Tree seeds and a cultivation method, and Wang Ping began considering how to grow the trees.

• Wang Ping used a true spirit, copied consciousness, and the Enlightenment Technique to awaken a corpse soldier, then named him Song Qu.
• Wang Ping nourished Song Qu with Wood Spirit energy until he recovered and reached the qi refinement realm, then sent him to Shen Xiaozhu's dojo to cultivate alongside Xia Weny.
• Wang Ping supervised tool puppets completing the barrier formation's rune lines for two months.
• A disciple of Ruan Chunzi delivered Vineswood Tree seeds and planting methods as payment for the exchange of Cang An's Primordial Spirit.
• Wang Ping reviewed the Light Screen Panel's Vineswood cultivation requirements and planned to revise the guide and ask Zhao Wan to oversee preparations.

Wang Ping studied Cang An’s dangerous Fire Cultivation Method, recorded it for the sect, and completed the restored barrier formation. The barrier still lacked enough energy, while Zi Luan arranged for cultivators to come and Guan Xi announced that he would visit within half a month.

• Yulian told Wang Ping that Xiao Zhu was nearly ready to enter the realm and that Yang Rong wanted to cultivate the Wood Gathering Art and continue Shuang'er’s legacy.
• Wang Ping used the Light Screen Panel to examine Cang An’s secret method, which required awakening and merging with a Fire Spirit at great risk.
• Wang Ping gave the method to Daoist Yucheng and agreed to ask Fellow Daoist Zuo to obtain basic cultivation methods for the sect’s disciples.
• Wang Ping finished drawing the barrier runes, installed the required treasures, activated the Two Yang and Three Yin Spirit Gathering Arrays, and placed the Corpse Soldiers in the underground formation.
• Wang Ping informed Zi Luan that the barrier had been restored, and Zi Luan said he would send cultivators from Nanlin Road; Guan Xi also wrote that he would visit within half a month.

Wang Ping completed and tested Thousand Wood Temple’s barrier array, then welcomed Guan Xi, who traced the First Sect’s activities to Haizhou Road. The chapter ended with Wang Ping asking whether the unrest there was connected to the First Sect.

• Five cultivators entered Thousand Wood Temple and began secluded cultivation while Wang Ping placed two Puppets to guard them.
• Wang Ping and Daoist Yucheng activated the barrier array, which covered two-thirds of Thousand Wood Temple for an hour despite being less than ten percent charged.
• Daoist Yucheng advised Wang Ping to compromise with Guan Xi and offered to call on Tian Shan for help if trouble arose.
• Guan Xi arrived and explained that he had traced Yang Guangyuan’s memories from a First Sect branch in River Country to Haizhou Road.
• Guan Xi identified Daoist Hengle of Lishan Zhúwén Temple as a First Sect Inspector who cultivated the Taiyan Talisman, and Wang Ping asked whether the First Sect was connected to the unrest in Haizhou Road.

Wang Ping assigned Liu Huaien and Zhao Wan to investigate the Haizhou Road lead while he continued his work at Thousand Wood Temple. After learning that Xingshan had died in battle, Wang Ping spent the year-end holiday with his disciples and discovered a potentially powerful use for Two Forms Vine Bark.

• Guan Xi asked Wang Ping to investigate the Haizhou Road lead and offered Liu Huaien's help, which Wang Ping accepted.
• Wang Ping tasked Liu Huaien with the investigation, ordered Zhao Wan to oversee his actions, and sent his Puppet disciple Wang Bing to assist them.
• Daoist Yucheng told Wang Ping that Xingshan had died in an enemy ambush on the northern battlefield, and Wang Ping agreed that Xingshan deserved a memorial tablet.
• Wang Ping celebrated the new year with the disciples who returned, and Yang Rong won the martial contests again.
• Wang Ping received Xia Yao's explanation of Xingshan's death, then began repairing Cang An's damaged spirit body.
• An unstable Power Pill formation activated inside Two Forms Vine Bark, toppling Puppets and an Alchemy Furnace, and Wang Ping realized the material could harness immense power.

Wang Ping experimented with using unstable Power Pills to create energy-powered devices, then continued treating Cang An. When Zhao Yu'er’s demonic weapon advanced her to the Second Realm, Wang Ping took her under his care and forbade her from absorbing a newly fallen Outer Realm Object until she could control its influence.

• Wang Ping tested a Power Pill wrapped in Two Forms Vine Bark and realized the reaction might power devices usable by ordinary people, though he recorded the discovery and kept it secret.
• In the second month, Zhao Wan brought Wang Ping a list of academy members preparing to enter the realm as a crimson Outer Realm Object fell into a prepared Sealing Array.
• Zhao Yu'er attacked the seal around her dojo, but the forest vines restrained her until Wang Ping arrived.
• Wang Ping examined Zhao Yu'er and discovered that her demonic weapon had replaced her organs and advanced her into the Second Realm while she retained control of her emotions.
• After Zhao Yu'er asked to absorb the new Outer Realm Object, Wang Ping warned that it could destabilize her and ordered her to follow him until she controlled the demonic weapon’s madness.

Wang Ping released Zhao Yu'er but placed safeguards on her while he observed her unusual body. He later learned that a bloody Imperial Court sacrifice was connected to the Emperor's lost lifespan, which Wang Ping believed he had caused.

• Wang Ping released Zhao Yu'er, placed a 'Bing Talisman' in her brow, and warned her not to approach her Master or Senior Disciple Sister Liu.
• Zi Luan delivered Wang Ping a 'Nine Revolutions Pill' and advised him to save it for the final stage of merging the 'Heaven Connecting Talisman'.
• Wang Ping received a letter saying Daoist Yuanzheng had entered Secluded Cultivation to attempt advancing to the Third Realm.
• Wang Ping received memories of a rebellion near Capital City and an eyewitness scroll depicting a massive, bloody Imperial Court sacrificial ritual on Beiyuan Road.
• Wang Ping suspected the ritual was meant to restore the lifespan His Majesty the Emperor had lost and meditated to suppress his agitation.

Wang Ping tested a new Puppet core design, arranged for demon weapons to improve it, and gave Xia Weny permission to establish his own Daoist temple while beginning to teach him the Taiyan Talisman. In August, after Xia Weny began marrow cleansing, Lord Xiaoshan summoned Wang Ping to his Daoist temple.

• Wang Ping observed the disciples of Thousand Wood Temple in meditation and discussed Hu Xin’s coming False Core breakthrough with Yulian.
• Wang Ping tested a Puppet with a Qi Sea core, but its simulated meridians shattered and the Puppet’s abdomen was blasted open.
• Wang Ping asked Zhao Yu'er to have Zhao Wan seek help from Fellow Daoist Zuo Xuan in purchasing low-value demon weapons.
• Wang Ping gave Xia Weny five hundred thousand taels of silver and permission to establish his own Daoist temple, and arranged for him to learn the Taiyan Talisman.
• Over the next two months, Wang Ping guided Xia Weny in setting up Spirit Gathering Arrays and caring for the Huai Tree, and Xia Weny began marrow cleansing in August.
• Lord Xiaoshan sent Wang Ping a voice transmission summoning him to his Daoist temple.

Lord Xiaoshan revealed that no one had become a True Lord since the Human Way flourished and explained why he chose to ascend. He resolved Zi Luan’s doubts, advised Xiu Yu about avoiding Heavenly Secrets, and began explaining the secret art he had used to reach the Fourth Realm.

• Wang Ping and Zhao Yu'er arrived at the Six Hearts Sect, where the disciples welcomed Wang Ping and Zi Luan escorted him to Lord Xiaoshan.
• Lord Xiaoshan told Wang Ping, Zi Luan, and Xiu Yu that the recorded stories of people ascending to become True Lords were false, and said he had chosen to ascend in search of answers.
• Lord Xiaoshan confirmed that Zi Luan was not a Puppet, recounted how he had saved him as a child, and urged him to stop doubting his past.
• Lord Xiaoshan told Xiu Yu that Heavenly Secrets could be deceived by taking another Taiyan cultivator’s place during ascension or, in theory, by using good fortune to inscribe the Sky-Veiling Talisman at the right moment.
• Lord Xiaoshan began to reveal a third method, a secret art passed down by True Monarch Huishan that he had used to ascend to the Fourth Realm.

Lord Xiaoshan gave Wang Ping, Zi Luan, and Xiu Yu sealed secret arts and assigned them to refine an array for suppressing the coming Wood Spirit uprising. After leaving the sect, Wang Ping examined the array and learned it could strengthen its linked cultivators, but warned him not to probe their consciousness.

• Lord Xiaoshan gave Wang Ping, Zi Luan, and Xiu Yu sealed jade slips and promised rewards depending on whether his advancement succeeded.
• Lord Xiaoshan explained that the three would serve as Array Eyes in a suppressing array and gave them three days before secluded cultivation.
• Wang Ping left the Six Hearts Sect with Zhao Yu'er and concealed their auras outside Jinhuai Prefecture City.
• Wang Ping examined the array and discovered it linked their Primordial Spirits through consciousness nurtured by Puppets cultivating Taiyan Talisman.
• The Light Screen Panel identified the array as incomplete, said it could suppress most true spirits and strengthen weaker cultivators, and warned Wang Ping not to read others' consciousness.