Chapter Summaries

Wang Ping repaired Yuan Hu's Puppet while Yulian received a Water Stabilizing Pearl to refine. Meanwhile, the Datong Imperial Court prepared to storm Long Copper Mountain and arrest True Sun Sect disciples, with two Third Realm cultivators arriving to support the army.

• Yuan Zheng gave Wang Ping Yuan Hu's Puppet, warned him not to force matters, and left for Ningzhou Road.
• Wang Ping inspected the Puppet and began repairing its Qi Sea and neural blockage.
• Yulian brought Wang Ping a Water Stabilizing Pearl, named it the Purple Green Treasure Bottle, and went to the river to refine it.
• The Datong Imperial Court besieged Long Copper Mountain after clashes with True Sun Sect disciples over an unregistered temple and murder cases.
• Chief Secretary Wang told Kunpeng that the Lord Marquis and Prime Minister had ordered the army to arrest the criminals, backed by two Third Realm cultivators, and forbade looting or destruction.

Wang Lian discussed the future of the Great Harmony court, its laws and relations with Mystic Sect cultivators, and the campaign against the True Sun Sect with Zhang Xinghuai and the Heir Apparent. After Zhang Xinghuai left, Wang Lian warned his son that the court’s rise in the northwest rested on their own family, not the Prime Minister.

• Wang Lian woke from a nap as the Heir Apparent and Zhang Xinghuai arrived in his garden.
• Wang Lian reminded Zhang Xinghuai of their agreement to limit future Lord Marquises to twenty years in office and cautioned him that each era had different needs.
• The Heir Apparent and Zhang Xinghuai explained that General Kunpeng and monks from the Snow Region would search for the True Sun Sect within the law, while the court strengthened its own high-realm cultivators.
• Zhang Xinghuai identified Daoist Leshan, a Disciple of Lord Rongyang, as the leader of the True Sun Sect temple on Long Copper Mountain and said Chu Kingdom’s army would soon cross the Nong River as Great Harmony advanced east.
• After Zhang Xinghuai left, the Heir Apparent warned that the Prime Minister’s plan would make enemies of Mystic Sect cultivators, but Wang Lian said the Prime Minister sought stability and reminded his son that their family had risen through his great-grandfather.

Le Xin disciplined his Disciples for violating Great Harmony law while discussing with Hua Yun the political game surrounding Long Copper Mountain and the Capital City. Hua Yun urged him to meet Changqing, answer his questions truthfully, and recall any Disciples in the Capital City before a coming upheaval.

• Le Xin confirmed that his Disciples had violated the Datong Law and ordered Xu Huo to copy the library scriptures and gain experience at the Grand Commandant's Mansion.
• Le Xin told Hua Yun that the siege around Long Copper Mountain was a diversion while Great Harmony sought to seize Xishi Road and Anqing City.
• Hua Yun explained that Changqing had gained enemies and told Le Xin to meet him and share what he knew.
• Le Xin refused to go to the Capital City at first and asked whether Lord Xiaoshan could advance successfully, but Hua Yun gave no answer.
• Hua Yun warned Le Xin that a great change would soon occur in the Capital City and told him to recall his Disciples there.

Zi Hong guarded the transport of thousands of slaves from Capital City, then returned home and discovered Huang Qi had been killed. As the city was swept by a coordinated attack, Zi Hong fled toward the Chu Kingdom military camp while sending away a Puppet bird carrying his memories, but a deadly formation closed in on him.

• Zi Hong watched eight groups of slaves pass through his checkpoint and board official ships at the southern dock.
• Zi Hong found attackers waiting at his courtyard, knocked aside their arrows, and killed the Taiyin Cultivator who struck first.
• Zi Hong discovered Huang Qi with his heart removed and his spirituality burned away, then fled as fires erupted across the city.
• Zi Hong evaded pursuit with Blessing Talismans, broke through the city wall, and copied his memories into a Puppet bird before releasing it.
• Zi Hong continued south toward the Chu Kingdom military camp, but pursuing cultivators sent a formation of daggers toward him as Wang Ping's Jia Talisman shielded him from flames.

Zi Hong was destroyed during a purge in Capital City, but his Puppet bird escaped and traveled south across the war zone. It reached True Sun Mountain and found Wang Ping, who was progressing in his fusion with the Heaven Connecting Talisman.

• A Xia Imperial Family prince and another cultivator trapped Zi Hong in a sealing array and destroyed him after his hidden thoughts activated.
• The two cultivators searched Zi Hong's remains and confirmed he had been planted in Capital City by Thousand Wood Temple's Internal Affairs.
• Zi Hong's Puppet bird waited until Capital City's activity subsided, then flew south with a flock of birds.
• The Puppet bird traveled past military camps, Guest Pass, and a temporary supply settlement before turning west toward True Sun Mountain.
• The Puppet bird reached Wang Ping at True Sun Mountain, where he had reached 76/100 fusion with the Heaven Connecting Talisman.

After learning that Zi Hong had died and that the Upper Capital Imperial Court was purging its opponents, Wang Ping investigated the suspicious lack of warnings from his intelligence network. He then received a visit request from Le Xin, a powerful cultivator who had tried to kill him in Capital City, and prepared to ask why when they met.

• Yulian restored the rain-damaged land around True Sun Mountain, and she and Wang Ping discussed the Imperial Court’s purge and the missing warnings from their spies.
• Wang Ping learned that Zi Hong was gone and agreed not to revive him with his memories, then sent inquiries to Zi Luan, Daoist Yuanzheng, Daoist Yucheng, and First Day.
• Le Xin submitted a calling card and letters of recommendation from Zhang Xinghuai and Ruan Chunzi.
• Wang Ping and Yulian read the letters and learned that Le Xin had cultivated Lord Rongyang’s Blazing Fire Art to the Third Realm and had spent most of a thousand years in seclusion.
• Wang Ping decided to ask Le Xin why he had attacked him when they met.

Le Xin met with Wang Ping and shared Lord Rongyang’s theories about the Five Elements true spirits, the origins of cultivation realms, and the risks tied to realm quotas. Wang Ping left with a warning to be cautious about advancing and to keep his unusual memories hidden.

• Le Xin prayed before Lord Xiaoshan’s divine statue, then explained that Martial Uncle Guang Zuo publicly supported Princess Xia Yao to preserve the True Sun Sect’s balance while also quietly supporting Lord Xiaoshan.
• Le Xin told Wang Ping that Lord Rongyang speculated the Five Elements true spirits came from an ancient civilization and had been divided to create the Five Sects of Mystic Gate and the cultivation realms.
• Le Xin said Lord Rongyang had collected continuous memories from Fire Spirits fused with fallen Third Realm cultivators, though one memory contained no living beings.
• Wang Ping recalled seeing signs of life in memories he had experienced during advancement and resolved to keep a lower profile, while Yulian soothed him.
• Le Xin warned that higher-realm cultivators’ fusions with true spirits depended on having enough lower-realm cultivators, and said more than sixty Taiyan Third Realm cultivators currently made advancement relatively safe.
• Wang Ping realized that this explained why Fourth Realm cultivators rarely attacked Third Realm cultivators, and Le Xin cautioned that they would still retaliate if provoked.

Le Xin warned Wang Ping that order among the Five Sects of Mystic Gate was collapsing and that cultivators of the same realm could target him for the spoils in Capital City. After consulting Daoist Yucheng, Wang Ping set out with his army despite the rain and floodwaters, beginning the march north across the Nong River.

• Le Xin explained to Wang Ping that the Daoist Scripture Hall maintained order among the Five Sects of Mystic Gate, but that most northern regions were descending into chaos.
• Wang Ping and Yulian discussed whether the earliest True Lords had been demons or beings from beyond the domain, then Wang Ping sent Daoist Yucheng a coded account of Le Xin's visit.
• Daoist Yucheng advised Wang Ping not to enter the game unless necessary, and Wang Ping resolved to focus on his bargain with Lord Xiaoshan and his own advancement.
• On the tenth day of the third month, Wang Ping cast a Sacred Divination and flew to Moon Mountain, where he ordered the army to march despite the rain.
• Wang Ping sent Zuo Xuan to remain at Moon Mountain and asked Huai Mo to notify Pingzhou Road.
• The vanguard used Earth Vein spells to build a stone bridge over the flooded Nong River, and the army crossed before splitting into routes toward three county seats.

The Chu Kingdom army advanced through Jingwu Prefecture while Liu Yu was ordered to spread Lord Xiaoshan’s faith and prepare for the Marquis to proclaim himself emperor. As command shifted toward the front lines, Liu Jing and Liu Zhengzhi crossed the Nong River, while Wang Ping remained behind to await further instructions.

• The Chu Kingdom army took Shanma County without fighting, then captured seven counties and surrounded Jingwu Prefecture City.
• Liu Yu ordered Liu Zhengzhi to establish Lord Xiaoshan’s statues and convert commoners and slaves, while telling Liu Jing that Liu Zhengzhi would later return to Jinhuai City.
• Liu Jing warned Liu Yu that key cultivators and family members remained south of the Nong River, but Liu Yu refused to retreat.
• A female official delivered the Marquis’s decree naming Liu Yu General Who Conquers the North and ordering him to announce the Marquis’s imperial claim and prepare the statues for the Prefect’s will.
• Three days later, Liu Jing and Liu Zhengzhi crossed the Nong River as Third Realm cultivators left the Six Hearts Sect to take command, while Wang Ping was ordered to stay and await Zi Luan, Wu Quan, and Gan Xing.

Wang Ping received reports that the Wang Family had severed ties with Capital City and that Yue Ziyu had cut off contact, while Capital City’s growing secrecy suggested a major scheme before the Xia Imperial Family’s enthronement. Zi Luan arrived at the mountaintop, where Gan Xing greeted him with reluctance.

• Wang Ping learned that Daoist Yucheng had severed ties with the Wang Family in Capital City, while the Yang Family had moved to the Cloud Sea Grassland and declared neutrality.
• Gan Xing lost another chess game to Huai Mo, and Wu Quan took his place, accepting a two-stone handicap.
• Wang Ping received Daoist Yuanzheng’s report that Yue Ziyu and his Disciple, Wu Kuo, could no longer be contacted, and considered how Yue might become a threat.
• Gan Xing told Wang Ping that spies in Capital City had nearly all been wiped out, and Wang Ping agreed their previous deal would continue.
• Wang Ping felt the divination blocks resist his attempt to cast a reading and wondered whether the Xia Imperial Family’s enthronement ceremony was connected to the turmoil.
• Zi Luan arrived at the mountaintop, and Gan Xing told him he did not want to see him at a time like this.

Wang Ping and Zi Luan discussed the sects’ old war and the political alliances stirring around Lord Xiaoshan’s advancement as their companions departed. Zi Luan revealed that Guan Mao planned to advance to the Fourth Realm during the coming turmoil and draw the Sky-Veiling Talisman.

• Zi Luan left with veteran Third Realm cultivators to inspect the front lines while Wang Ping and the others played chess.
• Huai Mo warned Wang Ping that the Taiyin Sect, Yuqing Sect, True Sun Sect, and Demon Race might be drawn into another conflict, recalling their ancient war.
• Huai Mo and Wu Quan departed after the group exchanged farewells, while Gan Xing said he would wait for Wang Ping on Moon Mountain.
• Wang Ping caught a Puppet bird carrying a message from Beiyuan Road and told Zi Luan he had arranged Transfer Talismans there as a precaution.
• Zi Luan told Wang Ping that he had captured two of Guan Mao’s Disciples and learned Guan Mao intended to advance to the Fourth Realm and draw the Sky-Veiling Talisman amid the turmoil.

Wang Ping discussed a hidden Taiyan cultivator’s Fourth Realm advancement with Zi Luan, who admitted he had once tried to stop other cultivators out of fear but now supported Wang Ping. They also discussed compromised intelligence and learned they were to wait for the Chu Kingdom’s lord to ascend the throne and gather the fortunes of Heaven and Earth.

• Wang Ping asked Zi Luan to find the whereabouts of a cultivator secretly advancing to the Fourth Realm, and Zi Luan said First Day might be able to locate him.
• Zi Luan mocked Wang Ping’s eagerness to secure a Fourth Realm seat, then revealed he had once obstructed other Taiyan cultivators’ advancement and might have targeted Wang Ping without Lord Xiaoshan’s warning.
• Zi Luan told Wang Ping he would support his advancement, while Yulian judged Zi Luan’s cultivation to be exceptionally strong but said he had lost his drive.
• Zi Luan explained that a disciple had concealed the Six Hearts Sect spies’ removal from Capital City and vanished; he also blamed Wang Ping’s former connection with Xia Yao for the breach.
• Zi Luan said the Lord Marquis of Chu Kingdom would ascend the throne after midnight and pay homage to Lord Xiaoshan’s divine seat, and that they only needed to wait for orders.

Across Chu Kingdom, freed slaves and people from distant regions witnessed the faith-powered Divine Art ritual that raised a golden space resembling a divine kingdom. As midnight passed, the Chu Kingdom Lord Marquis proclaimed himself emperor and led the people in worshipping Lord Xiaoshan, whose golden realm transformed into a magnificent hall.

• Freed slaves gathered at altars across Chu Kingdom, and their prayers caused Lord Xiaoshan’s statues to shine and heal their ailments.
• Ming Kong told Zhang Xinghuai that Lord Xiaoshan had acquired the rudiments of a divine kingdom, while Zhang questioned the claims and rejected Ming Kong’s offer to teach him Divine Arts.
• Golden pillars rose across the southern regions, drawing the attention of people throughout Central Province and beyond.
• Ming Kong revealed that the Saints’ power had created a curtain of light, and he urged Zhang Xinghuai to restore the coming chaos to balance.
• At midnight, the Chu Kingdom Lord Marquis proclaimed his imperial ascension before Lord Xiaoshan’s statue and led officials and people in worship.
• The gathered prayers formed celestial music as the golden space became a grand hall, where Lord Xiaoshan sat upon a Cloud Bed.

Xia Yao activated the Imperial Family’s Divine Art Array with Emperor Yuanding at its center, drawing power from faith and widespread human sacrifices as the plan advanced toward its decisive day. Jiang Cun left the altar to oversee the Imperial Palace and later sent Wang Ping a calling card, hoping to meet his old friend.

• Xia Yao brought Emperor Yuanding to the altar’s core and activated the Divine Art Array, which linked the imperial statues and illuminated Capital City.
• Dozens of distant altars sacrificed slaves and gathered believers’ spirituality, sending golden pillars of light toward the Cloud Sea.
• Xia Yao told Jiang Cun that the plan would be over once tomorrow passed and left him to handle matters outside the altar.
• Jiang Cun discarded part of his memories, then gathered more than a dozen Third Realm cultivators to guard the Imperial Palace.
• After dawn passed without the golden phantoms vanishing, Jiang Cun sent a calling card to Wang Ping and asked to meet his old friend.

Wang Ping prepared for battle at the Chu Kingdom camp outside Capital City, reviewing his spells, treasures, and escape plans before accepting Jiang Cun’s invitation to meet. Jiang Cun arrived and revealed that his two elder brothers had drawn Linshui Prefecture into the conflict to study the True Dragon Realm through the fortune of the people.

• Wang Ping reached the Pingzhou Road front with Zi Luan and assessed his weapons, defenses, and fears about Fourth Realm cultivators and True Lords.
• A military supervisor delivered Jiang Cun’s calling card, and Wang Ping chose an abandoned courtyard as their meeting place.
• Zi Luan and Xiu Yu accompanied Wang Ping to the courtyard, where Jiang Cun arrived with two companions.
• Wang Ping asked why Linshui Prefecture had entered the conflict, and Jiang Cun said his two elder brothers wanted to investigate the True Dragon Realm by observing the fortune of all living people.

Jiang Cun told Wang Ping that his brothers Ao Yi and Ao Hong were involved in the True Dragon Mirror and explained why he had summoned him. As the succession ceremony approached, Lord Xiaoshan arrived at the front lines with several powerful allies, including Star God Alliance senior Min You.

• Jiang Cun told Wang Ping that his third and seventh brothers had helped plan the True Dragon Mirror, and that his seventh brother was now Ao Hong.
• Jiang Cun said he had summoned Wang Ping only to talk and to invite him to watch Xia Yao, then left for Capital City.
• Wang Ping returned to camp with Zi Luan and meditated while Yulian linked their Qi Sea and Primordial Spirit Consciousness.
• Wang Ping sensed the Prefect's arrival and saw Lord Xiaoshan reach the front lines with Daoist Wanzhi, Daoist He Feng, and a shadowed figure.
• Wang Ping joined Lord Xiaoshan's group, where Zi Luan introduced the shadowed figure as Senior Min You of the Star God Alliance.

Lord Xiaoshan and the Third Realm cultivators launched an assault on Capital City, using arrays and a rapidly spreading forest to break through its defenses. They discovered the city’s citizens gathered in a sacrificial array, killed the defending captains, and faced a new threat emerging from the Imperial Palace.

• Lord Xiaoshan summoned Yu Zuo, who used a talisman-carved banyan branch to establish a communication array before Lord Xiaoshan manifested a divine hall and raised golden barriers around Capital City.
• Wood and Water cultivators grew a forest through Capital City, overcoming its golden barrier with water mist and ice as the Artifact Cultivators attacked from range.
• The attackers revealed citizens gathered around an altar whose Divine Art Array was extracting their spirituality, and Min You explained that the rest of the city’s people had been moved north.
• The Third Realm Gold cultivators charged and killed the sacrificial captains defending the city.
• Silver-white spikes and a large black umbrella appeared near the Imperial Palace, beside a middle-aged man in a python robe, prompting the Gold cultivators to withdraw into the forest and recover.

Yu Zuo and the rebels attacked the imperial palace, swallowing Capital City with a spreading forest as Emperor Yuanding awakened and struck back once. As the palace barrier began to fail, Emperor Yuanding prepared to pass the inheritance to Xia Yao and told her to withdraw north afterward, since the Xia Family had lost its place in the Central Plains.

• Jiang Cun and the palace defenders held behind the golden barrier as Yu Zuo ordered the Third Realm cultivators to force their way in.
• The Wood Cultivators unleashed a composite array, and their forest consumed the northern district and its citizens before a golden streak erupted from the ground.
• Daoist He Feng recognized the aura of a divine kingdom and said Emperor Yuanding had awakened, while Lord Xiaoshan ordered the attack to continue.
• Yu Zuo expanded his banyan tree and sent the forest and freezing mist toward the palace, swallowing the inner city and covering the barrier.
• Emperor Yuanding's cracked body cycled between destruction and repair as he prepared Xia Yao to inherit the Xia ancestors' foundation.
• Emperor Yuanding warned Xia Yao to retreat north after the inheritance and told the sacrificial captain that rebels were already attacking the palace walls.

Yu Zuo’s coordinated Third Realm cultivators battered the Imperial Palace barrier with earth, poison, and water attacks while its sacrificial captains struggled to hold them back. With the barrier close to collapsing, Xia Yao sent Jiang Cun and the nearby cultivators out to stop the assault as the succession ceremony continued.

• Emperor Yuanding’s sacrificial captains attacked the Third Realm cultivators, but they were repeatedly beaten back and restored by the Imperial Palace’s Divine Art Array.
• Yu Zuo coordinated his squad to activate an Earth Vein array, making the surrounding terrain surge toward the Imperial Palace and sending waves of earth back toward Capital City.
• Lord Xiaoshan refused Daoist Wanzhi’s offer to seize the palace, while Wang Ping judged Yu Zuo’s squad capable of overwhelming an equal number of uncoordinated opponents.
• Black, poisonous vines and an endless rain of Ice Spikes pinned the sacrificial captains to the barrier, and Jiang Cun warned that it might collapse within a quarter hour.
• Emperor Yuanding and Xia Yao agreed to delay the attackers until the succession ceremony, and Xia Yao asked Jiang Cun to stop them.
• Jiang Cun rallied the nearby Third Realm cultivators and led them through the barrier to confront Yu Zuo’s forces.

Chu Kingdom and Imperial Court Cultivators fought a fierce battle around the Imperial Palace, with Earth Vein and artifact techniques transforming the battlefield. Yu Zuo’s side brought out three Gold cultivators to attack the middle-aged man in the python robe as Yu Zuo urged his allies to fight to the death.

• Three Earth Vein cultivators cast the Earth Turning Art, raising an inverted stretch of land above the battlefield.
• Chu Kingdom Cultivators advanced the inverted land toward the Imperial Court forces while Jiang Cun transformed into a Flood Dragon and sent a celestial river surging against it.
• Yu Zuo directed his allies to target the middle-aged man in the python robe as artifact formations clashed across the battlefield.
• Three Gold cultivators emerged from talismans and repeatedly struck the middle-aged man in the python robe, forcing him backward.
• Yu Zuo urged his side to stop holding back and use their last blood to fight.