Chapter Summaries

Wang Ping prepared Liu Shuang, Hu Qianqian, and Zhao Yu'er to command Second Realm cultivators during the coming battle at True Sun Mountain, while suspecting the Imperial Court and other factions might target him. As war spread and Wang Ping received troubling reports about True Sun Mountain, Huodouzi arrived on behalf of the First Sect and warned that the Sun Sect seemed to be plotting against him.

• Wang Ping ordered Liu Shuang, Hu Qianqian, and Zhao Yu'er to command Second Realm cultivators if the decisive battle at True Sun Mountain went awry, and warned them not to ascend the mountain without his orders.
• Wang Ping learned through Guangxuan and Yue Ziyu that the imperial family planned to send people to True Sun Mountain, though their intentions were unknown.
• After the armies advanced toward True Sun Mountain, Taishan persuaded Wang Ping to let him return to Shunyang Prefecture to protect the waterways.
• Wang Ping received Wen Yang's report that True Sun Sect leaders had given no instructions, and he began doubting the sect's future and the reliability of his alliances.
• Huodouzi visited Wang Ping on behalf of the First Sect and warned him that the Sun Sect seemed to be plotting against him.

Wang Ping weighed offers from the First Sect while the Chu army advanced against True Sun Mountain, then heard Ruan Chunzi deliver Chang Jing’s request for peace. The chapter ended with Wang Ping asking Ruan Chunzi to tell him the truth about the offer.

• Huodouzi explained the Sun Sect’s motives and offered First Sect’s help against its attack in exchange for Wang Ping’s promise not to aid First Day in the final struggle for the Fire Spirit.
• Wang Ping accepted Huodouzi’s communication jade slip without committing to the bargain and decided to wait for other offers.
• The Chu army captured the stockades below True Sun Mountain and pressed toward Sanshui City, while Wen Yang wrote that he and Ruan Chunzi wanted to join Wang Ping in killing Daoist Chang Jing.
• After Chu forces won further victories around Lishan, Ruan Chunzi visited Wang Ping, shared wine and a game of chess, and said Chang Jing wanted a two-month peace to settle matters at True Sun Mountain before handing it over.
• Wang Ping questioned whether Ruan Chunzi was telling him the truth.

Ruan Chunzi told Wang Ping that he planned to kill Chang Jing and seek information about the True Sun Sect's cultivation, offering intelligence in exchange for Wang Ping's help. Wang Ping then confronted Wu Quan and Gan Xing about plots against their allies and learned that both had agreed to take part in separate encirclement plans.

• Ruan Chunzi told Wang Ping he would seek refuge with him if the True Sun Sect split and he survived, then revealed his plan to kill Chang Jing and read his memories.
• Ruan Chunzi offered Wang Ping the Fire Control Banner for arranging cooperation with First Day and the First Sect, but Wang Ping asked for information instead.
• Ruan Chunzi warned Wang Ping that Xin Shi might target Hu Yin and that Chang Jing and Wen Yang planned to move against each other.
• Wang Ping summoned Wu Quan and Gan Xing and confronted them with reports that someone planned to harm their allies.
• Gan Xing admitted that Wen Yuan had recruited him and Wu Quan to encircle Daoist Huai Mo, whom Wang Ping identified as Zi Luan's guest.
• Wu Quan revealed that Chang Jing had recruited him to help encircle Daoist Wen Yang, and that he had agreed.

Wang Ping learned how several Cultivators planned to target Huai Mo and Wen Yang, then refused to join the scheme against Huai Mo. As the Imperial Court prepared to use True Sun Mountain’s chaos against him, Yulian reached a critical stage in condensing her Primordial Spirit.

• Wang Ping suppressed a malicious plan to use Wen Yang and Ruan Chunzi against Gan Xing and Wu Quan after three divinations yielded Yin Trigrams.
• Gan Xing explained his history with Wen Yuan and his plan to take Huai Mo’s Golden Core bloodline, while Wu Quan said he wanted to study Huai Mo’s physical body universe and owed Shan Wei a favor.
• Wang Ping declared that Huai Mo could not be touched and told Gan Xing to consult Zi Luan, while leaving Wu Quan’s plan against Wen Yang unchallenged.
• Wang Ping told Shan Wei that Xin Shi had joined forces with someone on their side to harm Hu Yin, and Shan Wei hurried off to investigate.
• Hu Yin and Daoist Zhi Gong warned Wang Ping that the Imperial Court intended to exploit True Sun Mountain’s chaos to deal with him, and Wang Ping agreed the turmoil must not endanger ordinary people.
• Wang Ping sensed that Yulian had reached a critical moment in condensing her Primordial Spirit.

Yulian completed most of her advancement to the Third Realm with Wang Ping’s help, forming a Primordial Spirit and evolving her body into a spirit body. She demonstrated new powers and discussed the remaining bloodline step she would need to ask her parents about.

• Wang Ping supported Yulian’s evolution at Lai Mountain River by supplying spiritual energy and guiding the spirit veins in her body.
• Yulian’s soul condensed into a Primordial Spirit, whose consciousness formed and flew around the lake.
• Yulian absorbed the Water Spirit Qi and cleared impurities from her spirit veins while Wang Ping sent the formation cultivators away.
• Yulian told Wang Ping that the Nine Revolutions Pill’s toxin caused only a minor obstruction and would fade after twenty or thirty years of cultivation.
• Yulian described her new abilities, including summoning an ocean, flooding True Sun Mountain, and producing acidic water.

Wang Ping tested Yulian's powerful new Water Spirit spell before returning to Lai Mountain, where the fighting around True Sun Mountain remained limited to a brief clash. After receiving Daoist Yucheng's letter, Wang Ping proposed joining forces with Huodouzi's master to attack Chang Jing, and the master agreed.

• Wang Ping helped Yulian test a spell that spread refraction-amplified Water Lines across the sky and pierced a mountain, then stopped it when he realized it would keep consuming Water Spirit Qi.
• Wang Ping and Yulian traveled to Lai Mountain, where Hu Yin, Gan Xing, and Wu Quan congratulated them on their cultivation advances.
• Wang Ping and the others watched Second Realm cultivators from True Sun Mountain and the Chu Army exchange threats and withdraw after a brief clash.
• Daoist Yucheng told Wang Ping that Wen Yang could be trusted but warned him not to appear in person, so Wang Ping proposed to Huodouzi that they join forces against Chang Jing and the Sun Sect.
• Huodouzi reported that his master accepted Wang Ping's proposal and promised to preserve Chang Jing's spirit body's physical body for him.

Wang Ping arranged a temporary ceasefire with Chang Jing’s faction while preparing for an assassination threat and the growing unrest around True Sun Mountain. Liu Huaien arrived to observe the conflict and warned that several secretive organizations and factions were converging there.

• Wang Ping and Ruan Chunzi agreed that the True Sun Sect would give up Sanshui City and cease hostilities for a month while Ruan Chunzi’s faction prepared to move against Chang Jing.
• Wang Ping authorized Liu Shuang to negotiate the ceasefire, and the Chu Army entered Sanshui City on September twenty-fifth.
• Zi Luan and Capital City intelligence warned Wang Ping that Imperial Court and Linshui Prefecture forces planned to assassinate him as Xiu Yu fought the Imperial Court’s main army on Pingzhou Road.
• After receiving a Sacred Divination, Wang Ping met Liu Huaien, who said he would observe the True Sun Mountain conflict from Wang Ping’s side.
• Liu Huaien warned that Jiutian Pavilion, Chongyuan Prefecture, the Empty Mountain Association, and rogue members of the Jimin Association would also come to True Sun Mountain.
• Wu Quan told Wang Ping that Shan Wei had left after being invited by Sect Master Chang Jing.

Wang Ping ordered True Sun Mountain's forces into defensive positions after his Jiaobei shattered and gathered the Third Realm cultivators to meditate nearby. As the two-month deadline approached, a surge of heat erupted from the mountain's northeast peak.

• Wang Ping's Jiaobei shattered during divination, and he ordered Hu Qianqian to retain two thousand defenders in Sanshui City and move the remaining troops into defensive positions around True Sun Mountain.
• Wang Ping summoned the Third Realm cultivators and ordered them to meditate at his side until the mountain's crisis was resolved; Yulian reported that Tongming's Primordial Spirit Consciousness had fluctuated.
• Shan Wei admitted he had agreed to help Chang Jing lure Wen Yang into an ambush, but refused to betray Chang Jing because Chang Jing had once shown him kindness.
• Wang Ping and the others spent the following days in the courtyard discussing reports, including the arrival of four Third Realm cultivators from the Imperial Court and Linshui Prefecture.
• On the twelfth day of the tenth month, a scorching wave of heat burst into the sky from the northeast of True Sun Mountain's main peak as Wang Ping played chess with Liu Huaien.

Wang Ping organized the defense against the flames attacking Chang Jing, then sent a Puppet to investigate the battle at True Sun Mountain. He learned that the First Sect had ambushed the True Sun Sect Master, who had fallen, as the conflict continued.

• Wen Yang's Three Yang True Fire rained down on Chang Jing, and Wang Ping and Yulian intercepted it while the other cultivators took up defensive positions.
• Wang Ping grew a forest over the ruins of Fire Candle Forest, whose Wood Spirit energy neutralized the falling flames, and assigned the cultivators to guard the area.
• Wang Ping sent a Golden Armored Soldier carrying a trace of his consciousness to investigate True Sun Mountain, where he saw cultivators gathered around a deep pit and fighting nearby.
• Wen Yang and Ruan Chunzi returned to the True Sun Mountain cultivators after the battle, while their opponents flew to the other side of the battlefield.
• Wen Yang said the First Sect had ambushed the Sect Master and confirmed that he had fallen and his summoned Fire Spirit had been extinguished.

Wen Yang and Xin Shi faced the Sun Sect, the First Day, the First Sect, and other forces at True Sun Mountain as their uneasy standoff erupted into battle. More than ten Third Realm cultivators then arrived from the north, leaving the conflict poised to intensify.

• Yuqing Sect's sunlight cleared the dust and revealed the lava-filled crater and the forces gathered around the Puppet.
• Ke Yue confronted Xin Shi, while the First Day's sword-wielding leader demanded that Xin Shi accommodate them and she refused.
• Wen Yuan destroyed Wang Ping's Puppet, but Wang Ping's consciousness escaped capture through the Heaven Connecting Talisman.
• Alchemist Feng attacked from the east, and Dan Zhi charged into his Three Yang True Fire as the First Day's leader attacked Xin Shi.
• The Sun Sect, First Day, First Sect, and Linshui Prefecture cultivators split into battles, while Wen Yang and Ruan Chunzi fought two First Sect cultivators.
• More than ten Third Realm cultivators arrived from the northern horizon as the First Day's leader faced Xin Shi and her allies.

Xin Shi and the Sun Sect’s allies battled to hold back Feng Dan and Luo Feng while the Linshui Prefecture cultivators and Wen Yuan joined the fight. Wen Yuan’s summoned soldiers trapped Luo Feng in a Sealing Array, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Xin Shi summoned the Crimson Jade Ruler to absorb Feng Dan’s Three Yang True Fire, while Ke Yue strengthened herself with a Fire Spirit crystal and attacked with flames.
• Feng Dan tried to bypass Xin Shi and warned her that her disciple might die, while Luo Feng shrugged off Wen Yuan’s Lightning Summoning Technique and blocked two Ice Spikes with the Gentleman's Sword.
• The Linshui Prefecture cultivators summoned their Flood Dragon Primordial Spirits and used the Water Droplet Pierces Stone technique to pressure Luo Feng.
• Wen Yuan created two external incarnations and used Scattering Beans to Create Soldiers to summon twelve Third Realm soldiers.
• The soldiers and Wen Yuan trapped Luo Feng in a Sealing Array as the Linshui Prefecture cultivators guarded her.

Wen Yuan sealed Luo Feng, but he broke free and defeated her before sparing her at Ke Yue’s plea. As the Sun Sect and First Sect withdrew behind True Sun Mountain’s barrier, Luo Feng and the others waited for the end of October and discussed who had schemed to kill Chang Jing.

• Wen Yuan used twelve cultivators created by Scattering Beans to Create Soldiers to seal Luo Feng, trapping space within the barrier.
• Luo Feng pierced Wen Yuan’s Qi Sea with the Gentleman's Sword in its demonic form, but stopped short of killing her after Ke Yue reminded him that a gentleman would not slaughter the weak.
• Luo Feng drove Wen Yuan toward True Sun Mountain and frightened off the two Linshui Prefecture cultivators who tried to intervene.
• Xin Shi retreated to True Sun Mountain, where Gold Cultivator blocked Luo Feng’s strike; the remaining cultivators entered the mountain and raised its barrier.
• Luo Feng and the nearby cultivators waited for the end of October as Feng Dan and Ke Yue speculated that Changqing of Thousand Wood Temple might benefit from Chang Jing’s death.

Wang Ping and the other cultivators discussed the battle with Luo Feng, the confirmed death of Chang Jing, and the True Sun Sect’s unanswered appeals. As factions continued to hold back, Wang Ping waited for more intelligence before acting, learning that Lord Rongyang and Daoist Guang Zuo were likely preparing to rebuild their sanctuaries in the Sea of Clouds.

• Wang Ping’s Golden Armored Soldier Puppets returned after retreating from True Sun Mountain, and he recounted their brief clash with Luo Feng.
• Liu Huaien described Luo Feng’s role in First Day and the East Continent Merchant Alliance, while Layman Tong Ming criticized the alliance’s harsh laws and First Day’s sacrifices.
• Wang Ping decided to wait for intelligence before making a move, despite Yulian urging him to tempt the gathered cultivators with legal spoils from True Sun Mountain.
• The next morning, Hu Yin, Shan Wei, Gan Xing, Wu Quan, and Daoist Zhi Gong confirmed that Chang Jing had died.
• Liu Huaien reported that Lord Rongyang and Daoist Guang Zuo were probably preparing to reestablish their Daoist sanctuaries in the Sea of Clouds, and Wang Ping began to propose an idea.

The Chu Kingdom army pushed into True Sun Mountain, capturing Fire Thunder Gate and several smaller sects before the mountain withdrew its defenses. Wang Ping and his allies considered how to proceed and wondered whether True Sun Mountain was fighting to secure advancement or protect something else.

• The Chu Kingdom army captured Fire Thunder Gate, looted its grounds, and continued fighting through the night as it occupied the outer peaks and destroyed six small sects.
• After receiving reports that True Sun Mountain had withdrawn its defensive lines, Liu Yu proposed sending powerful cultivators directly toward Sanyang City, but the commanders decided to consult Wang Ping.
• Wang Ping rejected the idea of having righteous disciples openly slaughter ordinary soldiers and arranged for Liu Huaien to contact the First Day madmen.
• Wang Ping asked why True Sun Mountain was still resisting, and Layman Tong Ming and Yulian suggested its leaders might be seeking advancement to the Fourth Realm.
• Shan Wei explained that True Sun cultivators nourished a Sun Flower with their true fire as the key to reaching the Heart Fire Realm, while Hu Yin wondered why Great Lord Lieyang would let the mountain's valuable Fire Spirit leave the sect.

The Chu Army began its assault on True Sun Mountain as its flames and chaotic Fire Spirit energy threatened Sanshui City and the surrounding camps. Zuo Xuan activated the formations encircling the mountain and led Liu Shuang, Hu Qianqian, Zhao Yu'er, and the other Second Realm cultivators toward it.

• Zuo Xuan used her formation-bearing embroidery needles to clear the fog and flames threatening Sanshui City, while Water cultivators protected the soldiers from the heat.
• The Chu Army assembled its troops and raised defensive barriers as flames descended from True Sun Mountain, and Hu Qianqian shot down a figure falling from the sky.
• Second Realm cultivators collected the dead and searched one fallen cultivator's memories as another crash came from the northern side of True Sun Mountain.
• Liu Shuang, Zhao Yu'er, Zuo Xuan, and Hu Qianqian discussed the mountain's chaos and the danger to Sanyang City's soldiers and civilians.
• Zuo Xuan signaled the Immortal Realm and Foundation Establishment cultivators to activate the formations surrounding True Sun Mountain.
• Zuo Xuan flew toward True Sun Mountain, followed by Liu Shuang, Hu Qianqian, Zhao Yu'er, and the other Second Realm cultivators.

Wang Ping and the others watched True Sun Mountain’s barrier fall and saw First Day force open the volcanic crater to enter the depths below. As Luo Feng held off the other factions, Wang Ping ordered Chu Kingdom’s Second Realm cultivators to retreat and wondered whether the mountain could withstand the battle.

• Wang Ping and his companions flew to True Sun Mountain, where they saw the gathered factions fighting and Chongyuan Prefecture cultivators capturing distorted spirituality.
• Wang Ping reassured Yulian that Shuang'er and the others were protected by Jia Talismans, while Wu Quan predicted the mountain’s barrier would break soon.
• After two and a half days, True Sun Mountain’s barrier shattered, revealing a man-made volcanic peak covered in Fire Spirit runes.
• Luo Feng of First Day slashed open the volcanic crater and led First Day’s cultivators inside, then stood ready to block anyone who tried to follow.
• When three Sun Sect cultivators charged Luo Feng, Wang Ping signaled Chu Kingdom’s Second Realm cultivators to retreat as Daoist Zhi Gong noted the mountain had a powerful stabilizing formation.

As the battle around True Sun Mountain intensified, Wang Ping and his allies confronted a coalition of cultivators amid spreading Fire Spirits and volcanic destruction. Huai Mo and Wu Quan struck down two Imperial Court Gold cultivators, while Shan Wei’s explosive metal grains forced another enemy back.

• Three First Sect cultivators joined the battle, while the Sun Sect cultivators refused to cooperate and True Sun Mountain was engulfed by lava, smoke, and restless Fire Spirits.
• Wang Ping sent Gan Xing to the rear and ordered Huai Mo to support Wu Quan as a nine-cultivator enemy group approached.
• Tong Ming and Shan Wei intercepted the attackers, while three First Sect cultivators stopped the Sun Sect cultivators targeting Wang Ping.
• Wang Ping summoned seventy-two Iron Bamboo Swords, Jia One, Jia Two, and Yulian as the enemy focused its assault on him.
• Huai Mo pierced one Imperial Court Gold cultivator’s spirit-body, and Wu Quan’s Mountain Suppressing Art crushed the fleeing second cultivator.
• Shan Wei’s Spirit Explosion Art drove a Linshui Prefecture cultivator backward, while Zuo Xuan and Liu Shuang witnessed the battle’s destructive force from Sanshui City.

Wang Ping and his allies repelled an assassination attempt while cultivators gathered at True Sun Mountain to pursue the Fire Spirit. As Luo Feng and others entered the crater, an Outer Realm Demonic Creature emerged and attacked Wang Ping, leaving the danger unresolved.

• Yulian used Acid Water and Wang Ping's Killing Formation to drive the Xia Imperial Family cultivators away after the other attackers retreated.
• Wang Ping and his allies spotted masked cultivators and other factions gathering near True Sun Mountain, while some observers withdrew and Luo Feng entered the crater.
• Several First Sect cultivators followed Luo Feng into the crater, where a battle soon erupted.
• A black vortex appeared beside Wang Ping, and Daoist Zhi Gong used the Earth Cave Sect's Great Earth Scripture to trap it in a Life and Death Light Screen.
• The vortex pierced through the screen with a gray-black gleam aimed at Wang Ping, prompting Daoist Zhi Gong and Hu Yin to shout warnings.

Wang Ping and the others repelled an attack from the Paranoid Faction, and Liu Huaien gave Yulian the sealed Artifact Bird that had swallowed the Spirit Communication Stone’s attack. After an explosion shook the volcano, Wang Ping decided to send his Third Realm Puppet inside and wait for a chance to seize True Sun Mountain.

• Liu Huaien released an Artifact Bird from a sealing crystal, and it swallowed the Spirit Communication Stone’s attack before returning to its seal.
• Liu Huaien explained the demonic weapon Jiaxia-07 and gave the sealing crystal to Yulian, who accepted it.
• An explosion deep inside the volcano shook the mountain range and collapsed several peaks.
• Wang Ping persuaded Layman Tong Ming, Shan Wei, and Wu Quan to wait, promising that True Sun Mountain would be theirs after the fighting ended.
• Wang Ping summoned his Third Realm Puppet, which held two Fire Control Banners, preparing to send it into the volcano.

Wang Ping scouted the volcanic cavern and learned that Zhu Chen had forced the sects to surrender two Third Realm Fire Spirits. As the Fire Spirits emerged from the lava, Wen Yang swallowed an advancement pill and began attempting to reach the Fourth Realm, reigniting the battle.

• Wang Ping sent a Puppet into the volcano and saw the surviving cultivators gathered in a cavern with no visible exits.
• Zhu Chen demanded two Third Realm Fire Spirits, threatening the weakened old man in the lava barrier with his Myriad Poison Banner.
• Wang Ping learned Zhu Chen's identity from Daoist Huai Mo and prepared to join Huai Mo and Shan Wei against him.
• Xin Shi surrendered two sealed crystals to Zhu Chen, who used them to draw two Third Realm Fire Spirits out of the lava.
• Wen Yang rushed to the old man, swallowed a pill made from a Sun Flower, and attempted to advance toward the Fourth Realm.
• Xin Shi and Ke Yue clashed, Zhong Hua confronted Luo Feng, and Ruan Chunzi moved to Wen Yang's side as the melee resumed.