Chapter Summaries

Bai Xiaowen searched the Cangzhou Ancient Road for demons while studying the fading Wood Incarnation manual and learning the skill. As he camped near Ping'an Town, Cecilia appeared in pursuit of fleeing black-clad riders, and Bai Xiaowen prepared to help her.

• Bai Xiaowen asked the innkeeper about other rumored demon sightings along the Cangzhou Ancient Road, then set out to investigate them.
• Bai Xiaowen traveled and camped for more than half a month, studying the bark manual until he learned beginner-level Wood Incarnation.
• Bai Xiaowen found no demons during his search and planned to reach Ping'an Town before heading toward the Supreme Clarity Sect.
• Rageclaw alerted Bai Xiaowen to approaching riders, and Bai Xiaowen recognized Cecilia and told Rageclaw to help.
• A group of black-clad riders fled from Cecilia, arguing over her attacks and the offerings they had lost.

Bai Xiaowen and Cecilia defeated a band of Black Heaven Cult bandits and learned they had been abducting children for a secret stronghold. Cecilia began questioning the survivors to find the stronghold and rescue the children, offering one bandit a chance to live if he confessed first.

• Bai Xiaowen and his summoned creatures ambushed the fleeing bandits, while Cecilia arrived on horseback and killed two with her Stringless Bow.
• Bai Xiaowen struck down the bandits’ leader with Lightning Strike, and Cecilia finished him with an Astral Qi arrow.
• Cecilia reunited with Bai Xiaowen, then questioned the three surviving bandits about their actions.
• Bai Xiaowen identified the survivors’ fear of being reported by one another as the reason they stayed silent.
• Cecilia told the three bandits that only the first to confess would be allowed to live.

Bai Xiaowen and Cecilia uncovered the Black Heaven Cult’s Sand Terrace Mountain branch and set out to infiltrate it. They reached the branch under Bai Xiaowen’s concealment technique, with its members and leaders still ahead of them.

• Cecilia chose to spare Qi Laoliu for leading them to the Black Heaven Cult branch and ordered the other two bandits killed.
• Bai Xiaowen searched the bandits’ gear, took weapons for himself and Cecilia, and discussed their explorations with her.
• Bai Xiaowen invited Cecilia to travel with him and advised her to conceal her appearance while he handled interactions with locals.
• Qi Laoliu led Bai Xiaowen and Cecilia to Sand Terrace Mountain, where Bai Xiaowen let him flee after warning him.
• Bai Xiaowen used Spirit Sense to conceal himself and Cecilia, and they infiltrated the Black Heaven Cult branch together.

Bai Xiaowen and Cecilia infiltrated the Black Heaven Cult’s Sand Terrace Mountain Branch to rescue the abducted children, but Liu Helmsman and Xin Envoy discovered them before they could reach the Blood Pool. The battle began, and Liu Helmsman charged into Bai Xiaowen’s defensive line with a heavy cleaver.

• Bai Xiaowen and Cecilia slipped into the cave to rescue the ninety-nine abducted children without alerting the cultists.
• Bai Xiaowen used Spirit Sense to locate a Blood Pool and heard Liu Helmsman and Xin Envoy discussing their plan to complete the Grievance Spirit Banner with the children’s blood.
• Liu Helmsman and Xin Envoy detected Bai Xiaowen and Cecilia, then ordered Black Heaven Cult disciples to attack them.
• Bai Xiaowen scanned the two bosses and sent his summoned creatures forward while Cecilia and he attacked the cultists.
• Bai Xiaowen and Cecilia helped defeat four cultists, then Liu Helmsman grabbed a Golden-Backed Great Cleaver and launched a crushing blow at the summoned creatures’ defensive line.

Bai Xiaowen’s summoned creatures fought Liu Helmsman and Xin Envoy, whose unfamiliar magic revealed him as a fellow Evolver. The battle continued as Liu Helmsman countered the Baleful Maiden’s illusions, and Bai Xiaowen assigned Kitz to fight him.

• Liu Helmsman’s heavy saber strikes badly wounded the Skeleton Champion and killed Terror Knight One, while Bai Xiaowen used the Baleful Maiden’s illusion to make him stop an attack.
• Bai Xiaowen shattered Liu Helmsman’s protective astral qi with a Lightning Strike, but Xin Envoy drove back the summoned creatures with a powerful wind attack.
• Xin Envoy fired successive cyan wind blades at the Baleful Maiden, leading Bai Xiaowen to realize that Xin Envoy was an Evolver using unfamiliar magic.
• Bai Xiaowen ordered his summoned creatures to spread out and attack the Black Heaven Cult members while the Baleful Maiden continued disrupting Liu Helmsman.
• Liu Helmsman closed his eyes and used martial intuition to resist the illusions, so Bai Xiaowen ordered Kitz to handle him.

Bai Xiaowen’s forces pressed their attack on the Black Heaven Cult while Xin Envoy and Liu Helmsman fought back. Cecilia advanced her Stringless Bow, and the chapter ended with her firing at Liu Helmsman after Bai Xiaowen’s attempt to control him failed.

• Kitz distracted Liu Helmsman as the Death Knight led a Legion Charge, but Xin Envoy stopped the charge with wind chains and slammed the Death Knight to the ground.
• Bai Xiaowen sent the Terror Knights to surround Xin Envoy while Cecilia’s arrows killed or badly wounded Black Heaven Cult disciples.
• Cecilia told Bai Xiaowen that her Stringless Bow had advanced and could now fire two Astral Qi arrows at once.
• After Rageclaw killed a Rare Elite cult leader, Bai Xiaowen used a Heart-Confounding Talisman and Butcher to open an attack on Liu Helmsman, but Liu resisted the attempt to control his mind.
• Cecilia fired her Stringless Bow at Liu Helmsman.

Bai Xiaowen and his summons killed Liu Helmsan after surviving his devastating Myriad-Flaying Blade Wheel, then routed the Black Heaven Cult disciples. Xin Envoy tried to flee, but Bai Xiaowen slowed him and surrounded him, leaving him trapped as he begged to talk.

• Cecilia wounded Liu Helmsan with a powerful bow attack, and Rageclaw drove him into the rock wall.
• Liu Helmsan unleashed the Myriad-Flaying Blade Wheel, killing a nearby disciple and injuring Rageclaw and Bai Xiaowen, while Bai Xiaowen Sealed the skill.
• Rageclaw tore off Liu Helmsan's arm, and the Bone Archers finished him off.
• Xin Envoy ordered the Black Heaven Cult disciples to avenge Liu Helmsan, but Bai Xiaowen's Military Prestige frightened them into fleeing.
• Xin Envoy tried to escape, but Bai Xiaowen summoned Yellow Turban Strongmen to slow him while the Death Knight and Terror Knights blocked his way.
• Xin Envoy raised his hands and pleaded to talk.

Bai Xiaowen and Cecilia confronted Xin Feng over his attempt to refine the Grievance Spirit Banner, an evil object made through human sacrifice. Bai Xiaowen refused to let him take it and forced him to pay Spirit Crystals to leave.

• Xin Feng threatened to escape with a Thousand-Li Instant Teleport Jade Talisman, but Bai Xiaowen identified it as a Hundred-Li Instant Teleport Talisman and pretended to believe his claim.
• Bai Xiaowen introduced himself as Luolock, and Cecilia called herself Camille Rockefeller; Xin Feng said he was from the Pan-Asia Alliance and the Great Tang Domain.
• Xin Feng offered three hundred, then five hundred Spirit Crystals to finish refining the Grievance Spirit Banner, but Bai Xiaowen refused because the Divine Court wanted it.
• Bai Xiaowen demanded five hundred Spirit Crystals in exchange for sparing Xin Feng, who negotiated the price down to three hundred and agreed to pay.

After sparing Xin Feng in exchange for 300 Spirit Crystals, Bai Xiaowen and Cecilia found ninety-nine children held captive by the Black Heaven Cult and decided to bring the willing orphans to Bai Xiaowen’s territory as citizens. Most agreed, while a few wanted to check whether their families had survived, so Bai Xiaowen sent Kitz to accompany them home before meeting again at Sand Terrace Mountain.

• Bai Xiaowen accepted 300 Spirit Crystals from Xin Feng and let him leave, then reassured Cecilia that using Camille’s identity would not endanger her.
• Bai Xiaowen and Cecilia found the Grievance Spirit Banner and released ninety-nine children from iron cages near the Blood Pool.
• Cecilia learned that more than eighty children had witnessed their families being killed, and Bai Xiaowen offered to take the willing orphans to his territory as citizens.
• Bai Xiaowen explained that his territory could provide food, shelter, skills, and a chance to take revenge on the Black Heaven Cult, and most of the children agreed to go.
• Bai Xiaowen told Kitz to accompany the few undecided youths home and bring them to Sand Terrace Mountain within two days.

After rescuing the village boys, Bai Xiaowen and Cecilia looted the Sand Terrace Mountain Branch, claiming equipment and valuable materials. They finished the rescue quest and were left to deal with the Grievance Spirit Banner hovering above the Blood Pool.

• Bai Xiaowen had Rageclaw carry the rescued boys toward their villages while Kitz guided them.
• Bai Xiaowen appraised Liu Helmsman's Golden-Backed Great Cleaver, Spatial Ring, Rhinoceros Backplate, and Elkskin Boots, then took the equipment despite being unable to open the ring.
• Bai Xiaowen and Cecilia divided the looted gear, giving most lower-quality equipment to his summoned creatures.
• Bai Xiaowen and Cecilia found the branch warehouse and collected Mithril Ore, Adamantine Ore, herbs, and other valuable materials.
• Cecilia received seventeen Spirit Crystals for completing her rescue quest with an 88% completion rate and an excellent rating.
• Bai Xiaowen and Cecilia faced their remaining problem: the Grievance Spirit Banner floating above the Blood Pool.

Bai Xiaowen recovered from the battle at the Sand Terrace Mountain Branch, improved his Meditation Specialization, and prepared to bring ninety-eight orphaned youngsters to his domain. The chapter ended with the youngsters departing for the domain, where Bai Xiaowen planned to train them into personal guards.

• Bai Xiaowen appraised the incomplete Grievance Spirit Banner and gave it to the Banshee Queen, who gained increased Spirit Force amplification.
• Bai Xiaowen and Cecilia spent more than six hours cultivating to recover their strength, and Bai Xiaowen advanced his Meditation Specialization to Beginner Level 2.
• Bai Xiaowen found that his improved Meditation made his spells and Dark Swipe faster, while Cecilia advanced her Shooting Mastery to Beginner Level 2.
• Kitz returned with Rageclaw and three youngsters, reporting that one had stayed behind and that the other ninety-eight orphans had agreed to join Bai Xiaowen's domain.
• Bai Xiaowen paid 274 Spirit Crystals to transport the ninety-eight youngsters, but the Spirit Realm Rules prevented them from bringing extra supplies.
• Bai Xiaowen sent the youngsters to his domain and planned for Li Shu Yi, Cecilia, and others to train them before they became his personal guards.

Bai Xiaowen considered how to raise native children into a loyal force, then traveled with Cecilia to the Supreme Clarity Sect for its ceremony. At the sect, he assessed its disciples and discovered that an elder watching the guests was a Lord Tier powerhouse.

• Bai Xiaowen concluded that training the ninety-eight native children from a young age could build a loyal force, though it would take years to see results.
• Bai Xiaowen and Cecilia traveled for three days to the Supreme Clarity Sect headquarters beside Dongting Lake and entered with their jade invitation.
• Bai Xiaowen used the Eye of Evolution to assess the sect's outer and inner disciples, noting that Chen Rong's strength was near the limit for disciples of her generation.
• Bai Xiaowen sensed an elder observing guests at the inner valley registration desk and identified him as a level 14 Lord Tier powerhouse.
• Bai Xiaowen reflected that his Scripture of the Grand Void gave him higher priority than a lord's and might place him on par with a King Tier powerhouse.

Bai Xiaowen and Cecilia stayed in the Supreme Clarity Sect’s inner grounds to cultivate until a cry drew them to a murdered disciple. Elder Tang sent them away, but Chen Rong later visited Bai Xiaowen privately, hinting that she had more to tell him.

• Bai Xiaowen and Cecilia settled into a quiet room and cultivated while waiting for the Supreme Clarity Ceremony.
• Bai Xiaowen heard someone cry out late at night and followed the sound with Cecilia.
• Bai Xiaowen found Chen Rong and Elder Tang beside the corpse of a Supreme Clarity Sect inner disciple.
• Elder Tang ordered Bai Xiaowen and Cecilia to return to their room, and Chen Rong signaled that she would speak with Bai Xiaowen later.
• Chen Rong visited Bai Xiaowen in his room and greeted him, appearing less worried than before.

Chen Rong asked Bai Xiaowen to secretly investigate the killings of Supreme Clarity Sect disciples, suspecting a traitor. Bai Xiaowen accepted the quest and received a route map and a concealment cloak, while Cecilia was told to stay behind.

• Chen Rong explained that Zhou Wu had been killed by having his neck snapped and that two other Supreme Clarity Sect disciples had also died recently.
• Chen Rong said the sect would hold its ceremony as planned to protect its reputation, despite the danger and her suspicion of an internal traitor.
• Bai Xiaowen accepted the quest to investigate the serial killer after securing a map of safe routes through the Mountain-Guarding Grand Formation.
• Chen Rong gave Bai Xiaowen the Fish-Patterned Garment, which concealed him from sight and Spirit Sense within the formation's range.
• Bai Xiaowen asked for a second cloak for Cecilia, but Chen Rong refused and asked that Cecilia stay in the room.
• After Chen Rong left, Cecilia wondered whether she disliked her because she was in love with Bai Xiaowen, and he denied it.

Bai Xiaowen examined Zhou Wu’s soul fragment and uncovered a clue about the disciple who lured him to his death, but he found no evidence identifying the killer. He and Cecilia realized they needed to investigate the monkey-faced disciple without revealing Bai Xiaowen’s forbidden soul-capturing methods.

• Bai Xiaowen explained to Cecilia that the Death God's Visage could absorb Zhou Wu’s soul and preserve his memories.
• Bai Xiaowen entered Zhou Wu’s final memory and saw a monkey-faced Supreme Clarity Sect disciple lead Zhou Wu to a secluded spot.
• Bai Xiaowen watched an unseen killer ignore Zhou Wu’s protective Origin Force and snap his neck.
• Bai Xiaowen told Cecilia that the killer was likely at least as strong as Elder Tang and that the monkey-faced disciple was a key lead.
• Bai Xiaowen refused to offer Zhou Wu’s soul fragment as evidence because the Supreme Clarity Sect might condemn him for using a forbidden art.

Bai Xiaowen confronted Lu Sanding in Sword-Test Valley over Zhou Wu’s murder, and Lu Sanding revealed that he was involved in a Holy Church plot. When Lu attacked with a soul-draining banner, Bai Xiaowen’s Eye of Evolution countered and left Lu suffering cultivation deviation.

• Bai Xiaowen had Cecilia attend the Dao discussion while he approached Lu Sanding, the disciple who had called Zhou Wu away on the night he died.
• Lu Sanding guided Bai Xiaowen to Sword-Test Valley and claimed he was troubled by an unrequited romance.
• Bai Xiaowen accused Lu Sanding of luring Zhou Wu away and conspiring with others to kill him.
• Lu Sanding confessed that the Holy Church’s plan could not be disrupted, sealed off the valley with four Spell Talismans, and attacked Bai Xiaowen with a pale banner.
• Bai Xiaowen resisted the banner’s soul-draining effect, and the Eye of Evolution’s counterattack made Lu Sanding bleed and suffer cultivation deviation.

Bai Xiaowen captured the Black Heaven Cult protector disguised as Lu Sanding and uncovered the cult’s plan to steal the Supreme Clarity Treasure Register. He returned to the guest room with the disguised infiltrator under his control, while the cult’s broader scheme remained unknown.

• Bai Xiaowen defeated Lu Sanding with his summons and used the Heart-Confounding Talisman to bring him under control.
• Bai Xiaowen found a complete Grievance Spirit Banner and learned from Lu Sanding’s memories that he was a Black Heaven Cult protector impersonating the real Lu Sanding.
• Bai Xiaowen discovered that the Black Heaven Cult planned to have Deng Yingnan win the Martial Dao Debate and claim the Supreme Clarity Treasure Register.
• Bai Xiaowen tried to open Lu Sanding’s storage ring and searched for evidence, but found no identity token.
• Bai Xiaowen returned to the guest room and heard Cecilia describe how the Dao Discussion Assembly had improved her understanding of the Star River Chart.

Bai Xiaowen suspected the Black Heaven Cult planned to seize the Supreme Clarity Treasure Register by force, while its infiltrator Deng Yingnan entered the Martial Dao Tournament disguised as Di Hui. Chen Rong defeated him in the final, revealing that the Supreme Clarity Sect had already taught her the superior talisman arts from the Treasure Register.

• Bai Xiaowen told Cecilia that the Black Heaven Cult might resort to force and planned to contact Chen Rong to profit from the coming conflict.
• The Martial Dao Tournament began, and Bai Xiaowen recognized the standout disciple Di Hui as the infiltrator Deng Yingnan.
• Bai Xiaowen realized the Black Heaven Cult had arranged Zhou Wu's assassination to help Deng Yingnan advance in the tournament.
• Deng Yingnan reached the final after winning his matches, while Shang Zhen voluntarily conceded to Chen Rong in the semifinals.
• Chen Rong faced Deng Yingnan in the final, and Bai Xiaowen realized her superior talisman arts showed that the sect had taught her the Supreme Clarity Treasure Register or part of it.

Chen Rong used her knowledge of the Supreme Clarity Treasure Register to take control of Deng Yingnan’s Big Dipper Talisman Formation and win their match. Deng Yingnan conceded but accused the Supreme Clarity Sect of rigging the succession, just as a sinister voice spoke from among the guests.

• Deng Yingnan trapped himself and Chen Rong inside a Big Dipper Talisman Formation, boosting his Spirit Force and strengthening his talismans.
• Chen Rong used two talismans to seize control of the formation and redirect its Seven-Star Power to herself.
• Chen Rong blocked Deng Yingnan’s Seven-Star Sword Talisman and explained that the formation now empowered her while still consuming his Origin Force.
• Deng Yingnan conceded the match, then protested that Chen Rong had been chosen in advance as the next Sect Master and accused the contest of being a farce.
• A Supreme Clarity Sect elder ordered Deng Yingnan to leave, and a sinister voice among the guests accused the sect of dirty business.

At the Supreme Clarity Ceremony, Black Heaven Cult infiltrators attacked with the Soul Refining Formation and tried to seize Chen Rong as the living Supreme Clarity Treasure Register. As the cult began combining its Grievance Spirit Banners, one stream of black mist suddenly reversed course and threw the formation into chaos.

• Chen Zhihe challenged the unseen heckler, and Qiu Zhenli revealed himself by crushing Chen Zhihe’s Sword Talisman with his Blood Demon Hand.
• Qiu Zhenli summoned twelve hidden Black Heaven Cult experts, while Snake Princess activated the Soul Refining Formation and suppressed the righteous guests’ Spirit Force.
• Bai Xiaowen received a Spirit Realm notice that his high priority weakened the formation’s effects on him, and he chose not to clear his Vengeful Soul stacks.
• Qiu Zhenli seized Chen Rong with a Blood Demon Hand as the Supreme Clarity Sect elders attacked him, and Snake Princess ordered the cult to unite its Grievance Spirit Banners.
• As Snake Princess raised the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, one stream of black mist reversed course, causing the streams to collide and explode.