Chapter Summaries

Wang Ping and his companions learned why sect alliances were breaking apart and received warnings about the ambitions behind them. Gu Heng handed Guangxuan control of the gathering place and withdrew, leaving his disciple to preside over future meetings.

• Huoxing warned Wang Ping that the southern monasteries would close their doors, while Li Lin criticized his caution.
• Gu Heng told Wang Ping and the others that sect alliances centered on opportunities for advancement through the realms.
• Daoist Yucheng warned Wang Ping and Guangxuan not to investigate the people behind their dispute with Wen Hai.
• Gu Heng activated the cave formation, gave Guangxuan its sensing object, and introduced the arriving Yue Ziyu, Old Daoist Wu, and Li Xingwen.
• Gu Heng seated Guangxuan in his place, announced that his disciple would preside over future gatherings, and left the pavilion.

At a gathering, Wang Ping and the others learned that Xia Yao might come south and discussed imperial politics before deciding how to respond to threats from Wufeng Temple and the Single Saber Sect. The group left with a plan to disrupt Wufeng Temple and keep watching Hong Chen.

• Old Daoist Wu arranged to trade a Mountain Suppressing Pagoda with Li Xingwen for a Mystic Tortoise in half a month.
• Yue Ziyu revealed that Xia Yao, an imperial family member and Linshui Prefecture’s Personal Disciple, planned to train at the Daoist Scripture Hall, but Wang Ping, Guangxuan, and Old Daoist Wu warned that she should not come south.
• Yue Ziyu discussed the emperor’s plans and Daoist Yucheng’s strategy for isolating the emperor, then departed after agreeing to collect compensation later.
• Li Xingwen proposed blocking Wufeng Temple’s trade routes and killing its disciples who ventured out, while Daoist Yucheng suggested turning Fuming Prefecture’s rogue cultivators against the Single Saber Sect.
• Wang Ping raised concerns about Hong Chen, and Guangxuan said he would keep watching him.

Wang Ping learned from Daoist Yucheng that their alliance’s bargaining chips were meant to win Lord Xiaoshan’s support for advancing to the Third Realm, amid the possibility of his ascent to the Fifth Realm. Back at Thousand Wood Mountain, Wang Ping reviewed Hu Qianqian’s travel records and learned that Yulian had gone to see her.

• Daoist Yucheng told Wang Ping that Hong Chen had likely betrayed them out of jealousy and warned him not to trust Lord Xiaoshan.
• Daoist Yucheng explained that the alliance aimed to trade its bargaining chips for Lord Xiaoshan’s approval and a path to the Third Realm, and urged Wang Ping to seize the rare opportunity surrounding Xiaoshan’s attempted ascent.
• Wang Ping returned to Thousand Wood Mountain with Yulian, reflected on his master’s words, and received Hu Qianqian’s records from Yang Hou.
• Wang Ping learned that Hu Qianqian had traveled across the Central Continent with the migrating White Fox Tribe, while Yang Hou said he had sent disciples to verify her records.
• Yulian went to see Hu Qianqian, and Wang Ping remained behind to meditate and cultivate.

Hu Qianqian managed Baishui Lake’s construction and dealt with trouble among the aquatic demons while Yulian confronted a Discipline Hall disciple. Back at Thousand Wood Mountain Summit Dojo, Yulian proposed using unruly demons fleeing to Lou County to cause trouble for Wufeng Temple, and Wang Ping agreed to try it.

• Hu Qianqian used a magical artifact to kill two shrimp soldiers who attacked demons carrying stones, then ordered the fleeing demons back to work.
• A shrimp soldier asked to bury the dead soldiers, and Yulian arrived, rebuked Zhang Tao, and allowed the corpses to be taken into the lake.
• A shrimp soldier told Hu Qianqian that some demons planned to leave Baishui Lake for a Mountain Lord in Lou County, and Yulian noted that Shangyang Mountain was there.
• At Thousand Wood Mountain Summit Dojo, Yulian told Wang Ping that unruly demons could be driven to Lou County to cause trouble for Wufeng Temple, and he agreed to try it.

Wang Ping approved Yang Hou’s plan to undermine Wufeng Temple’s businesses, while the Emperor appointed Wang Kang to lead the campaign against Liu Yue. After debating the dangers of court politics with Liu Zixiu, Wang Ping withdrew into meditation, and the chapter ended with reports of a disastrous clash with Wufeng Temple and Yang Ziping’s conviction.

• Wang Ping approved Yang Hou’s plan to disrupt Wufeng Temple’s silk trade and sent Puppet Zi Hong to gather intelligence in Lou County.
• The Emperor appointed Wang Kang General Who Conquers the North and Chief Deliberative Minister, and Liu Zixiu visited Wang Ping to discuss Wang Kang’s precarious position in court.
• Wang Ping and Liu Zixiu disagreed over the importance of human morality, after which Yulian asked whether Wang Ping would save Wang Kang if the Emperor ordered his execution.
• A Martial Arts Academy disciple reported that Wufeng Temple disciples detonated smuggled Power Pills at Shang’an Prefecture’s port, killing many defenders and destroying part of the port.
• Yang Hou received an urgent message that Yang Ziping of the Yang Residence had been convicted for failing to transport military provisions.

Yang Hou reported that Wufeng Temple’s maneuvering had fueled a widening conflict across Nanlin Road, and Wang Ping concluded Wen Hai had engineered the turmoil to secure Wufeng Temple’s foothold. Wang Ping ordered Yang Hou to limit losses and protect their disciples while they awaited mediation from the Daoist Scripture Hall, before Yang Hou began to raise another matter involving Junior Brother Yang.

• Yang Hou investigated reports that Wufeng Temple was smuggling Power Pills, but found no evidence and ordered his disciple to continue investigating.
• Yang Hou warned that the conflict with Wufeng Temple had spread across Nanlin Road, entangling the Single Saber Sect and the Fuming Road Rogue Cultivator Alliance.
• After four months of meditation, Wang Ping found that arduous cultivation had advanced his Spirit Talisman fusion progress to 15/100.
• Yang Hou told Wang Ping that the conflict seemed suspicious and that Wufeng Temple might have provoked their response deliberately.
• Wang Ping reasoned that Wen Hai had used the turmoil to establish Wufeng Temple in Nanlin Road and ordered Yang Hou to protect their disciples and await mediation.
• Yang Hou began to report another matter concerning Junior Brother Yang.

Wang Ping reflected on the cost of his ambitions but resolved to continue pursuing advancement, while Liu Shuang investigated Yang Ziping’s imprisonment and uncovered a plot connected to Wen Hai’s family. The expected mediation did not arrive; instead, Wang Ping received a request to protect the Dragon Lord of Linshui Prefecture’s relative, as Yulian’s water-controlling artifact reached Thousand Wood Temple.

• Wang Ping told Yulian that others might see him as a villain like Lord Xiaoshan, but he would keep following his path, then summoned Liu Shuang.
• Three days later, Liu Shuang visited Yang Ziping in prison and told him Master would protect his family but would not save him.
• Liu Shuang learned Yang Ziping’s case had also cost Su Dun his military command, and Su Dun suspected the Provincial Governor’s Yamen had targeted Wang Ping through ties to Wen Hai’s family.
• Wang Ping received the investigation’s findings and expected the Daoist Scripture Hall to mediate, while focusing on advancing to the Second Realm by fusing with the Huai Tree’s divine soul.
• Five days later, Wang Ping received Xia Yao’s request to watch over the Dragon Lord of Linshui Prefecture’s younger relative, and Yulian’s water-controlling magical artifact arrived at Thousand Wood Temple.

Wang Ping bought Yulian the Water Control Bead, arranged quiet support for the Mountain Lords opposing Wen Hai, and met Liu Chang, a Dragon Clan descendant preparing to travel the waters in Sanhe Prefecture. As the rainy season arrived, Wang Ping prepared to escort Liu Chang but received a summons from Lord Xiaoshan of the Six Hearts Sect.

• Yulian tested the Water Control Bead by drawing Baishui Lake’s water into the sky, and Wang Ping bought it from a Daoist Scripture Hall practitioner.
• Hu Qianqian reported that Wen Hai was refining something with demon blood, so Wang Ping ordered her to supply the Mountain Lords with weapons and pills without exposing her involvement.
• Wang Ping and Guangxuan agreed to set aside the conflict over Wufeng Temple and met Liu Chang, who planned to travel the waters through Sanhe Prefecture.
• Liu Chang explained his planned route, and Guangxuan prepared to arrange support at the necessary locations while Wang Ping left the discussion.
• When the rainy season arrived, Wang Ping prepared to escort Liu Chang but received an invitation summoning him to Lord Xiaoshan of the Six Hearts Sect.

Wang Ping met Lord Xiaoshan, who discussed his cultivation and appointed him an inspector of the Daoist Scripture Hall on Nanlin Road. When Wang Ping returned home, Yulian told him that his mother had died while he was away.

• Wang Ping waited three days at Heart Questioning Hall before Lord Xiaoshan emerged and invited him to talk over a meal.
• Lord Xiaoshan praised Wang Ping's insight into the Huai Tree Soul, offered cultivation advice, and urged him to read the Annotation of Heaven and Man.
• Lord Xiaoshan warned Wang Ping not to teach a future Personal Disciple to sense the Huai Tree Soul's emotions, since his Eldest Senior Brother had wasted more than a Hundred Years trying.
• Hong Chen told Wang Ping that Lord Xiaoshan had appointed him inspector of the Daoist Scripture Hall on Nanlin Road and escorted him to receive a new ID Badge.
• Wang Ping flew back to his Daoist temple, where Yulian told him his mother had died on the second day of his absence.

Wang Ping and Guangxuan watched Liu Chang undergo the dangerous Flood Crossing ritual through Sanhe Prefecture’s rivers while enduring attacks from Water Spirit Qi and repeated Lightning Tribulations. As Liu Chang reached the final stretch, he sacrificed his spiritual veins to block a lightning strike, and Wang Ping’s Light Screen Panel reacted.

• Wang Ping visited his mother’s grave and then traveled to Sanhe Prefecture after Daoist Yucheng approved how he had handled Lord Xiaoshan’s summons.
• Wang Ping and Guangxuan discussed Wen Hai’s suspected deal with the Single Saber Sect as Liu Chang began his Flood Crossing through the river.
• Water Spirit Qi tore at Liu Chang’s scales and Qi Sea as he crossed the first two stretches, and a Lightning Tribulation struck him after a day.
• Liu Chang recovered from the first strike and continued swimming for three days toward the final stretch while another Lightning Tribulation gathered.
• Liu Chang used his spiritual veins to form a barrier that deflected the second lightning strike, and Wang Ping noticed his Light Screen Panel react.

Wang Ping learned how Nine Heavens True Thunder could be cast while watching Liu Chang near the end of his water passage. Liu Chang survived the final stretch of the passage but fell under another Lightning Tribulation, and Wang Ping considered using a forest to divert the next strike.

• Wang Ping studied the Light Screen Panel's instructions for casting Nine Heavens True Thunder and learned that he could use a spell altar as an alternative to cultivating an inner universe.
• Yulian explained that Liu Chang was a malformed being whose survival depended on following a path the laws of Heaven and Earth had left him.
• After ten days, Liu Chang crawled toward the estuary, where his parents watched from the boundary between the rain and the sunshine.
• Liu Chang surged toward the estuary, but the Lightning Tribulation struck him and left him stiff in the riverbed; Yulian confirmed that he was still alive.
• As another Lightning Tribulation gathered and Liu Chang lost consciousness, his mother cried for him to rise, and Wang Ping considered growing a forest to divert the lightning.

Wang Ping helped Liu Chang survive his Lightning Tribulation, then studied the costly Thunder Law altar and reunited with his mortal brothers and younger Wang Family descendants. He assembled his first altar and began preparing to test it, while Daoist Tongyu questioned how he had obtained Yuqing Sect’s secret method.

• Wang Ping planted a forest to draw away the Water Spirit Qi pressing down on Liu Chang, and Liu Chang escaped the final tribulation by severing his tail after crossing the sea outlet.
• Yang Shu thanked Wang Ping for saving Liu Chang, promised that Liu Chang would repair Sanhe Prefecture’s losses and guard it for a century, and gave Wang Ping a bronze token.
• Wang Ping studied the Nine Heavens True Thunder and calculated that building its altar could cost tens of thousands of taels of silver or more than a million with Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.
• Wang Ping welcomed his two younger brothers and more than ten younger descendants, including Wang Li, who had a low-to-middle-grade Spiritual Root, and assigned Wang Li to Liu Shuang.
• Wang Ping arranged the Thunder Law casting altar on an isolated island, and Daoist Tongyu asked how he had obtained Yuqing Sect’s closely guarded Lightning Law Altar method.

Wang Ping cultivated his lightning art and monitored the growing unrest around Wufeng Temple while the northern war reached its conclusion. After Wang Kang died capturing North Pass, Liu Zixiu asked Wang Ping whether he would go to Capital City, but advised him to see and hear nothing.

• Wang Ping used a Lightning Law Altar to unleash dozens of lightning bolts, then noted its long casting time and the artifact's rapid wear.
• Wang Ping reviewed Zi Hong's memories of a poison-seeking Demon Race participant and later learned that Wufeng Temple's activities had stirred chaos and united Lou County's Demon Race.
• Wang Ping told Zi Hong to stop investigating because he expected Wen Hai to cause trouble soon.
• Wang Ping declined Xia Yao's invitation to Capital City after learning from Liu Zixiu that the northern war was nearing its final battle.
• Liu Zixiu told Wang Ping that Wang Kang had died from wounds sustained while leading the Vanguard Battalion to capture North Pass, then asked if Wang Ping would go to Capital City.

Wang Ping mourned Su Dun and later investigated the destruction of Shangyang Mountain with Zuo Xuan. Their search uncovered signs that Wen Hai’s attempt to forge an Earth Vein weapon involved something more disturbing than Demon Race flesh and blood.

• Daoist Yucheng accepted a new Disciple named Xingshan and kept him for personal instruction.
• Su Dun visited Wang Ping while gravely ill, refused treatment, and died two months after returning home; Wang Ping entered death seclusion after hearing the news.
• Wen Hai slaughtered thousands of Demon Race members and used their flesh and Earth Vein power to build a Mountain Suppressing Pagoda, after which a Great Demon attacked Wufeng Temple and several cultivators disappeared.
• The Daoist Scripture Hall sent Zuo Xuan to accompany Wang Ping as he investigated Wufeng Temple and the ruined Shangyang Mountain.
• Wang Ping sensed chaotic thoughts and a foul blood aura underground, while Zuo Xuan explained how Artifact Cultivators attempted to advance to the Third Realm.

Wang Ping and Zuo Xuan explored the buried halls beneath Wufeng Temple, following traces of a battle between the Great Demon and the temple’s disciples. They uncovered a blood pool beneath the collapsed grand hall, but its purpose remained unknown.

• Wang Ping and Zuo Xuan cautiously entered the underground cavern and found two dead disciples in Blue Daoist Robes.
• Zuo Xuan used the needles in her prosthetic left arm to clear rubble, and Wang Ping continued along the corridor with vines supporting its cracked ceiling.
• Wang Ping and Zuo Xuan followed the signs of the Great Demon’s passage to a spiraling stairway leading down to a collapsed grand hall.
• Zuo Xuan identified black stones in the hall as the Demon Race’s blood, and Wang Ping used vines to lift away the ceiling and rubble.
• Wang Ping and Zuo Xuan discovered a deep pool that had been used to hold blood.

Wang Ping and Zuo Xuan uncovered a torture chamber beneath Wen Hai’s workshop and completed their report on the blood-pool formation. Zi Luan assigned Wang Ping to bring an Immortal Realm cultivator of the Single Saber Sect to answer for the case and warned him that the Great Demon’s intervention might have been arranged to expose the conspirators.

• Wang Ping recorded the blood-pool formation while he and Zuo Xuan searched the ruins for evidence.
• Wang Ping and Zuo Xuan found and reassembled the shattered workbench, then uncovered a hidden chamber filled with tortured bodies and sacrificial formations.
• Wang Ping submitted his case file to Zi Luan, who explained that the Earth Cave Sect had used demon and human flesh and blood in place of Earth Spirit spiritual objects.
• Zi Luan told Wang Ping that the Prefect had ordered a crackdown on human sacrifice, Taiyin Evil Cultivators, and followers of First Day.
• Zi Luan ordered Wang Ping to bring the Single Saber Sect’s Immortal Realm cultivator in to answer for the crime, and said Zuo Xuan would accompany Wang Ping as his source of Daoist Scripture Hall news.
• Zi Luan questioned whether the Great Demon had deliberately arrived to catch the conspirators red-handed, leaving Wang Ping to wonder whether Hu Qianqian was involved.

Wang Ping gathered forces from Thousand Wood Temple and Sanhe Temple to confront the Single Saber Sect, only to find its Immortal Realm cultivator still there and its stronghold populated like a city. He sent Liu Shuang to deliver a calling card and learned that Hu Qianqian had leaked information that led a Great Demon to Wen Hai.

• Wang Ping told Zuo Xuan to track Wen Hai and ordered Yang Hou and Guangxuan to bring a hundred Inner Sect disciples each to the Single Saber Sect.
• Ten days later, Wang Ping, Zuo Xuan, and Guangxuan arrived at the sect gate, where armed defenders faced two hundred Qi practitioners and tens of thousands lived within the fortified stronghold.
• Zuo Xuan explained that Artifact Cultivators used family ties or occupations to resist madness, and said she earned money through embroidery.
• Wang Ping realized the Single Saber Sect's Immortal Realm cultivator had not fled and chose to send a calling card before using force.
• Wang Ping gave Liu Shuang a Jia Talisman and directed the assembled disciples to keep order, then questioned Hu Qianqian privately.
• Hu Qianqian admitted she had leaked information hoping a Great Demon would retaliate against sects, and Wang Ping told her to inform him first if she did so again.

Wang Ping captured Leng Wu, dealt with the Single Saber Sect’s assets, and spent years completing the Nine Extremes Great Array while pursuing news of Wen Hai. The chapter ended with Old Daoist Wu arriving to plead for Wen Hai and Daoist Xuanhe.

• Wang Ping sent Zuo Xuan and Guangxuan to capture Leng Wu, and they defeated him with help from the spirit cat while Wang Ping protected the city below.
• Yang Hou and Lin Chen repelled the Single Saber Sect’s soldiers, and Wang Ping later sentenced Leng Wu to the Dungeon Prison with an additional twenty years.
• Wang Ping delegated the Single Saber Sect’s assets to Yang Hou and Liu Shuang, continued cultivating, and watched years pass as his brothers died and his fusion with the Spirit Talisman advanced.
• Wang Ping and his allies completed the Nine Extremes Great Array, while Zuo Xuan’s investigation traced Wen Hai to Central Island with his Master, Daoist Xuanhe.
• Wang Ping asked the Central Island Daoist Scripture Hall to investigate Wen Hai and wrote to Xia Yao, then Old Daoist Wu arrived to plead for Wen Hai and Daoist Xuanhe.

Wang Ping agreed to help Old Daoist Wu stabilize the Mystic Tortoise's soul in exchange for an Earth Spirit vein and three future favors, then completed the Nine Extremes Great Array. After years of development, the array reached its activation threshold, and Wang Ping successfully started it before Thousand Wood Temple's gathered Disciples.

• Old Daoist Wu offered Wang Ping an Earth Spirit vein and three favors in return for help stabilizing the Mystic Tortoise's soul when he advanced, and Wang Ping asked him to monitor Daoist Xuanhe and his Disciple.
• A year later, Old Daoist Wu delivered the Earth Spirit vein as the connecting formations for the Nine Extremes Great Array were completed.
• Liu Shuang successfully reached Foundation Establishment, and over the following years Thousand Wood Temple expanded as more Disciples established foundations or left the mountain to pursue their paths.
• Wang Ping learned that the array's spiritual energy density had reached 71/100 and announced that it could be activated.
• With Yucheng watching over the process, Wang Ping joined his consciousness and Qi Seas with Yulian's and activated the Nine Extremes Great Array, linking its formations in a cycle of Five Elements energy.

Wang Ping completed the Nine Extremes Great Array, reunited with his disciples and grand-disciples for Spring Festival, and learned that Hu Qianqian was about to condense a False Core. He went to Baishui Lake to guard her as she prepared to begin that night.

• Wang Ping spent three years powering the Nine Extremes Great Array until it could operate on its own, while Yulian and Daoist Yucheng meditated nearby.
• Daoist Yucheng and the academy heads visited Wang Ping, and the heads arranged a competition to decide who would occupy the Earth Academy.
• Liu Shuang brought Wang Ping's branch disciples to pay their respects, and Wang Ping agreed to receive Liu Ling's disciples on the third day of Spring Festival.
• Wang Ping welcomed his disciples and grand-disciples for the holiday, then returned to his cultivation and studies after they departed.
• Yulian told Wang Ping that Hu Qianqian would condense a False Core, so Wang Ping went to Baishui Lake and promised to guard her that night.