Chapter Summaries

The allied forces of the Demon Race and human cultivators pushed the Purgatory Clan’s front line back through the Blood Baleful Mist, while Infernal Fiend ambushes inflicted heavy losses. As casualties and morale problems mounted, the alliance enforced battlefield discipline, provided rebirth and supply services, and used discounted goods to steady its forces.

• The allied forces defeated the Purgatory fiends in repeated advances, but Infernal Fiends ambushed a western squad, killed its members, and consumed their Nascent Souls and Golden Cores.
• The alliance used disguised Nascent Soul True Lords and great demons to destroy an Infernal Fiend ambush squad, reducing later losses from similar attacks.
• Nascent Souls and demon Nascent Souls gathered at a floating hall to obtain bodies for possession or enter soul-nurturing rooms, while the alliance barred possession of allied soldiers’ bodies.
• The allied forces advanced ten thousand li but suffered heavy casualties, and the Infernal Fiends continued resisting despite their own greater losses.
• A Spirit Transformation Venerable caught and publicly executed cultivators who tried to flee Stone City, then ordered a five-percent discount on Treasure Vault Spiritual Items to lift morale.
• Cultivators of both races exchanged for resources and made cultivation breakthroughs, including the birth of more than a hundred Nascent Soul Realm cultivators.

A Nascent Soul cultivator successfully fused Innate Gang Sha and Earthly Turbid Qi, reaching the Half-Venerable realm and inspiring many more breakthroughs that strengthened the alliance. On the battlefield, a mysterious Golden Core Sword Cultivator attacked the Purgatory fiends with a powerful divine ability, but a Purgatory Clan powerhouse discovered that the attacker was a puppet and moved to pursue its true body.

• Nascent Soul cultivators in Stone City witnessed a vast sky-wide phenomenon and realized that someone was attempting to break through into the Half-Venerable realm.
• The cultivator fused the opposing auras of Innate Gang Sha and Earthly Turbid Qi, succeeded in breaking through, and received visits from cultivators seeking to congratulate and befriend the new Half-Venerable.
• Over the following year, more than ten Nascent Soul True Lords and great demons used Contribution Points to obtain the necessary treasures and advance to the Half-Venerable realm, while the alliance improved its strength and advanced along the front.
• A mysterious Golden Core Sword Cultivator used a great divine ability to kill the Purgatory fiends guarding a battlefield, and the survivors fled deeper into the Blood Baleful Mist.
• A powerful Purgatory Clan figure froze the Sword Cultivator, recognized that it was a puppet, and seized it after spotting the direction of its fleeing true body.
• The Purgatory Clan figure vanished with the puppet and reappeared at the edge of the Blood Baleful Mist.

Cheng Changyuan was captured by a Purgatory Clan divine envoy after his Jade Talisman failed, but Venerable Peach Blossom arrived and challenged the envoy to protect him. As the two Spirit Transformation experts clashed, Cheng Changyuan fled to a safe distance and decided against escaping the area entirely.

• Cheng Changyuan tried to activate his Ancestor's Jade Talisman, but the blood-armored Purgatory Clan divine envoy found him, seized the talisman, and suppressed his attempt to self-destruct.
• The divine envoy began pulling Cheng Changyuan toward him to uncover his secrets, but an unseen human intervened and knocked Cheng Changyuan away from danger.
• Venerable Peach Blossom appeared, and Cheng Changyuan recognized him as a formidable human senior who was even more frightening than the divine envoy.
• Venerable Peach Blossom declared that he would protect Cheng Changyuan, and the divine envoy accepted his challenge rather than retreating.
• Venerable Peach Blossom and the divine envoy exchanged blows, driving away the Blood Baleful Mist across a vast area.
• Cheng Changyuan fled beyond the battle's reach but decided to stay nearby, fearing that escaping might bring trouble from Venerable Peach Blossom's followers.

Cheng Buzheng fought off the Purgatory Divine Envoy and negotiated compensation for the attack on Cheng Changyuan. He recovered Cheng Changyuan’s Soul Puppet and jade talisman, while the Divine Envoy escaped and Cheng Changyuan remained unaware that his rescuer was his Ancestor.

• Cheng Changyuan tried to spy on the battle with his divine sense, but the clash tore it apart and left him badly hurt.
• Venerable Peach Blossom gained the upper hand against the Purgatory Divine Envoy, who proposed ending the fight and offered five Class-A rare treasures.
• Cheng Buzheng accepted the treasures but demanded that the Divine Envoy return Cheng Changyuan’s Soul Puppet and jade talisman.
• Cheng Changyuan warned that he could destroy the Puppet, and its telepathic link thwarted the Divine Envoy’s attempts to stop it.
• The Purgatory Divine Envoy returned the Puppet and jade talisman to Cheng Changyuan, then escaped without further resistance.
• Cheng Changyuan thanked Venerable Peach Blossom for saving him, not realizing that the senior was Cheng Buzheng.

Cheng Buzheng rescued Cheng Changyuan from the Purgatory Divine Envoy and staged the encounter to teach him not to fight alone, then returned to the battlefield and grew concerned that the Purgatory Clan’s escalating attacks could disrupt the alliance’s plans. He contacted the other Spirit Transformation cultivators to discuss the rising casualties and stalled advance.

• Cheng Changyuan suspected Venerable Peach Blossom wanted his Soul Puppet and Jade Talisman, so he offered the Jade Talisman in exchange for keeping the puppet.
• Cheng Buzheng pretended to accept the Jade Talisman and threatened to sever Cheng Changyuan’s bond with the puppet, then returned both treasures and urged him to flee.
• Cheng Changyuan escaped, and Cheng Buzheng revealed that he had arranged the crisis to teach him that fighting alone for Contribution Points was unsafe.
• Cheng Buzheng returned to his formation position and noticed that Purgatory Clan casualties and attacks by its powerful envoys and priests were increasing while the alliance’s advance stalled.
• Cheng Buzheng contacted the other Spirit Transformation cultivators, who confirmed the worsening situation and began discussing whether the Purgatory Clan had devised a new scheme.

Cheng Buzheng explained that the Purgatory Clan’s divine envoys and priests had entered the conflict, prompting the Spirit Transformation cultivators to debate whether to escalate the war or proceed cautiously. The meeting leaned toward retreating while tracking and countering attacks, but Demon Venerable Nether Sea privately suspected the hidden powerhouse might have come from the Upper Realm.

• Island-Moving Venerable asked Cheng Buzheng what he had discovered about the upheaval, and Cheng Buzheng recounted encountering a powerful Purgatory Clan member and seeing their envoys and priests near the Blood Baleful Mist.
• The Spirit Transformation cultivators debated whether the Purgatory Clan had broken the unspoken rules because its front line was failing or because it sought to provoke a decisive battle.
• Venerable Wantong and other conservatives argued that their priority was gathering Blood Baleful Mist for the Wild Cauldron and recommended slowing the conflict rather than risking a full-scale war.
• Offensive-minded cultivators argued that the alliance should strike the Purgatory Clan’s envoys and priests, citing the alliance’s greater strength and the danger to their juniors if the front line weakened.
• Demon Venerable Xuanba and other conservatives proposed using Venerable Zongbao’s Heaven-Peering Mirror to track the enemy and retaliating if the Purgatory Clan continued attacking.
• Island-Moving Venerable said the array and four Wild Cauldrons could likely suppress the hidden powerhouse if it was at late-stage Spirit Transformation, while Demon Venerable Nether Sea privately suspected it might have come from the Upper Realm.

The human and demon Spirit Transformation leaders agreed to slow their advance and avoid fully activating their great array while preparing for the Purgatory Clan’s hidden strength. The Purgatory leaders debated the allied armies’ sudden withdrawal, then heard that Venerable Peach Blossom had recently fought one of their Divine Envoys.

• Demon Venerable Nether Sea gripped a golden treasure pearl and drew courage from the gift he had prepared for the mysterious powerhouse.
• Island-Moving Venerable, Venerable Peach Blossom, and Demon Venerable Nether Sea advised the Spirit Transformation leaders to withdraw most forces, preserve their strength, and keep the great array ready.
• The two-clan army received orders to retreat, leaving one-fifth of its troops behind to continue fighting the Purgatory fiends.
• The Purgatory fiends noticed the withdrawal and reported it, prompting the Grand Divine Envoy and High Priest to summon their leaders for a council.
• A blood-armored Divine Envoy revealed that Venerable Peach Blossom had defeated him in a recent fight, and the Purgatory leaders speculated that the allied forces had withdrawn to limit the war’s escalation.

The Purgatory Clan’s divine envoys and priests debated whether to fight the allied human and demon forces, then chose to delay and watch their movements while they waited for the Progenitor to recover. Venerable Zongbao and Island-Moving Venerable tracked their positions, while Cheng Buzheng surveyed the battlefield but could not see into the Blood Baleful Mist.

• The Purgatory Clan’s divine envoys and priests weighed the risks of battle and concluded that the Progenitor was probably too injured to act.
• The Grand Divine Envoy and High Priest urged the group to avoid a decisive battle, wait for the Progenitor to recover, and closely monitor the allied forces.
• The divine envoys and priests agreed to activate sleeper agents and report any important movements by the allied human and demon forces.
• Venerable Zongbao used the Sky-Peering Mirror to track the Purgatory Clan’s divine envoys and priests, and Island-Moving Venerable saw that they remained far behind the front lines.
• Cheng Buzheng surveyed the battlefield with his divine ability but could not locate the Purgatory Clan’s leaders inside the Blood Baleful Mist.

Cheng Buzheng used a new soul-control technique to turn a Purgatory fiend into a living puppet and infiltrate the Blood Baleful Mist’s core. After passing the Purgatory Clan’s identity and travel-permit checks, he was poised to enter Purgatory Continent.

• Venerable Zongbao sent Cheng Buzheng a panoramic map, and he chose a route toward two distant Purgatory Clan forces in the north.
• Cheng Buzheng used the Soul-Burning Origin Tracing technique to replace a Purgatory fiend’s consciousness with his own and control its body as a living puppet.
• Venerable Peach Blossom protected the puppet as it crossed the front lines and traveled through the Blood Baleful Mist toward its core.
• A Purgatory Clan Half-Venerable inspected the puppet, verified its identity by its blood on a bronze scroll, and checked its pass token.
• The Half-Venerable returned the pass token and departed, leaving Cheng Buzheng at the edge of the crimson sea above Purgatory Continent.

Cheng Buzheng entered the Blood Baleful Ocean and discovered that its seawater contained a concealed power of law origin alongside Blood Baleful power. After correcting a dangerous flaw in his secret art, he continued toward Purgatory Continent and reached a pale stretch of sea where the pressure vanished and the forces in the water were much weaker.

• Cheng Buzheng sent his living puppet into the Blood Baleful Ocean and found that pressure increased as it descended.
• When his divine sense collapsed while examining a drop of seawater, Cheng Buzheng used the Creation Small Plate to create Article 108, which removed the secret art’s sudden backlash but shortened its duration.
• Cheng Buzheng detected a concealed power of law origin in the seawater and concluded that it was connected to the Blood Baleful power and the ocean’s immense pressure and corrosiveness.
• Cheng Buzheng continued through the ocean, testing the living puppet’s immunity to the corrosive seawater as the surrounding water grew paler.
• Cheng Buzheng entered the pale region, where the pressure disappeared and each drop contained far less Blood Baleful power and law origin than the dark-red water above.

Cheng Buzheng investigated the devouring force in the Blood Baleful Sea but chose to prioritize finding the mysterious powerhouse hidden in Purgatory Continent. He reached Blood Sacred Mountain’s Sacred City and, while observing the gate rules, remained unsure whether his living puppet would have to pay an entry fee.

• Cheng Buzheng discovered that a growing force was draining Blood Baleful power and law origin from the seawater, but decided to investigate the mysterious powerhouse first.
• Cheng Buzheng crossed the pale seawater and entered Purgatory Continent, then flew toward Blood Sacred Mountain to gather intelligence.
• Cheng Buzheng traveled for several days and reached the city surrounding Blood Sacred Mountain, observing the steady stream of Purgatory Clan cultivators entering it.
• Cheng Buzheng saw gatekeepers charge a lower-tier cultivator blood-colored crystals for a temporary stay permit while allowing powerful cultivators to pass without inspection.
• Cheng Buzheng suspected his living puppet might not need to pay, but chose to observe the rules further and noted that the crystals resembled Blood Spirit Crystals.

Cheng Buzheng entered Blood Sacred City, used a local guide to learn about its eastern market, and rented a residence in Sacred Mountain Estate. After choosing the Cave Mansion on the 863rd floor, he headed to the Teleportation Plaza to reach it.

• Cheng Buzheng entered Blood Sacred City after reasoning that Blood Spirit Crystals were accepted as the entrance fee.
• A young Purgatory Clan cultivator offered to guide Cheng Buzheng through the eastern market and explained recent changes in the city.
• Cheng Buzheng asked about Sacred Mountain Estate, frightened the guide with his pressure, then rewarded him with several hundred Blood Spirit Crystals.
• Cheng Buzheng checked the available Cave Mansions at the Rental Pavilion and rented the cheapest suitable one, on the 863rd floor.
• Cheng Buzheng went to the Teleportation Plaza and found the array marked for the 863rd floor.

Cheng Buzheng explored his lavish residence and Blood Sacred City while managing a dangerous conflict between his will and living puppet body. In Ping'an City, Murong Wanwan's breakthrough stirred a vast celestial phenomenon, and Cheng Ping'an hurried to ask his father what was happening.

• Cheng Buzheng teleported to the 863rd floor of Blood Sacred Mountain, inspected his residence, and found its chambers and cultivation resources exceptionally luxurious.
• Cheng Buzheng entered a Quiet Room when his living puppet's magic power began to ripple, then circulated a secret art nine times to suppress the conflict between his will and body.
• Cheng Buzheng explored the western market and the lower levels of Blood Sacred City, gathering knowledge while his disguise went unnoticed.
• A celestial phenomenon appeared over Ping'an City as Murong Wanwan approached a breakthrough, and Cheng Buzheng's true body realized she might be entering the Half-Venerable Realm.
• Cheng Ping'an came to the courtyard and asked Cheng Buzheng whether the phenomenon meant his mother had broken through or his father was cultivating a powerful divine ability.

Cheng Buzheng waited with Cheng Ping'an as Murong Wanwan broke through to the Half-Venerable Realm, then reunited with her after she emerged from seclusion. Murong Wanwan wanted to travel and help Cheng Buzheng with his plans, but he allowed her only to travel inland and urged her to focus on mastering her divine abilities.

• Cheng Buzheng and Cheng Ping'an watched the celestial phenomenon for more than half a month until a Phoenix phantom entered Murong Wanwan's Quiet Room, confirming her successful breakthrough.
• Cheng Buzheng told Cheng Ping'an to prepare a clan ceremony to celebrate Murong Wanwan's breakthrough and reassure the Secret Realm's younger generation.
• Murong Wanwan emerged from seclusion, and Cheng Ping'an left the courtyard while Cheng Buzheng reunited with his wife.
• Cheng Buzheng told Murong Wanwan about the human and demon races' plans to attack the Purgatory Clan and his own preparations involving his Dharma bodies.
• Murong Wanwan asked to travel and help Cheng Buzheng investigate the Forbidden Sea and Purgatory Continent, but Cheng Buzheng restricted her travels to inland regions and told her to master her divine abilities.

Cheng Ping'an prepared a grand ceremony for Murong Wanwan after her breakthrough and visited his parents to invite them. He reunited with his mother, endured his parents’ affectionate bickering, and still carried resentment toward Cheng Buzheng for humiliating him in front of the clan.

• Cheng Ping'an decorated Ping'an City and raised a brilliant pavilion as the clan’s grand ceremony approached.
• Two young Cheng Immortal Clan cultivators discussed the sealed Teleportation Hall, their hidden Ancestors, and hopes for ceremony rewards.
• Cheng Ping'an waited outside his parents’ courtyard until Cheng Buzheng opened the formation and invited him inside.
• Murong Wanwan hurried to embrace Cheng Ping'an, but Cheng Buzheng’s stern look made him hesitate until Murong Wanwan scolded her jealous husband.
• Murong Wanwan offered Cheng Ping'an Spirit Pills, and he asked her to tell him before her next breakthrough so he could guard her.
• Cheng Ping'an explained that he had arranged the ceremony and recalled that Cheng Buzheng had previously sent him flying in front of his descendants, leaving him resentful.

Cheng Buzheng and Murong Wanwan held a lavish celebration in Ping'an City for her breakthrough, while Cheng Buzheng’s living puppet gained a Purgatory Clan contact who offered access to the [Blood Sacred Treasure Vault] in exchange for battlefield resource-point information. The two swore Heart Demon Great Oaths and left together to carry out their deal.

• Cheng Buzheng changed the subject to the ceremony after noticing Cheng Ping'an’s resentment, and Murong Wanwan backed him up as the couple left the courtyard.
• Cheng Buzheng and Murong Wanwan hosted a celebration in Ping'an City, awarding the younger generation numerous treasures and Foundation Establishment Pills despite the shortage of Spirit Fruits.
• Cheng Buzheng’s living puppet, posing as Ming Qi, attracted the attention of Mai Bao by selling many Demon Race treasures in Blood Sacred City.
• Mai Bao asked Ming Qi for the locations of battlefield resource points and offered to recommend him to the [Blood Sacred Treasure Vault] along with a top-grade Purgatory treasure.
• After Mai Bao explained that Divine Temple insiders could recommend only one fellow-rank Mortal Cultivator, Cheng Buzheng agreed to negotiate the exchange.
• Cheng Buzheng and Mai Bao swore Heart Demon Great Oaths and left the restaurant together.

Cheng Buzheng entered the Blood Sacred Treasure Vault and discovered that its starry collection contained supreme Purgatory Clan arts and numerous law Spiritual Items. He left off astonished by the vault’s abundance, still unsure why such priceless treasures were available for exchange.

• Mai Bao guided Cheng Buzheng through the Temple’s inspections and procedures until he qualified to enter the Blood Sacred Treasure Vault.
• Four powerful Purgatory Clan guards opened a light gate, and Cheng Buzheng entered the vault’s star-filled space of treasures.
• Cheng Buzheng examined the [Blood Prison Space] and [Progenitor's Divine Bestowal] secret arts, weighing their value for understanding cultivation principles and preserving a legacy for his clan.
• Cheng Buzheng discovered that the [Ice Soul Heart] was a law Spiritual Item requiring 99,999 first-class merits, and he questioned why such a treasure was openly available.
• Cheng Buzheng found law Spiritual Items of several attributes, including all five elements, ice, and wind, and counted at least nine in the vault.

Cheng Buzheng discovered that the [Blood Sacred Treasure Vault] held nine law Spiritual Items and many rare treasures, but he resisted raiding it while the mysterious powerhouse on Purgatory Continent remained unknown. He left a beacon in the vault and departed with a few rare materials, planning to return after investigating further.

• Cheng Buzheng examined the vault's treasures and inheritances, realizing his merits were insufficient to obtain more than a small portion of them.
• Cheng Buzheng cultivated the Heavenly Luo Divine Eye inside his living puppet and used it to inspect the vault's defenses and identify numerous spatial Spirit Restrictions.
• Cheng Buzheng weighed whether to seize the vault's treasures or preserve his chance to investigate the mysterious powerhouse, then chose to remain cautious.
• Cheng Buzheng split off a trace of his will to leave a beacon in the sea of stars and exchanged merits for several rare Spirit Materials and Spirit Medicine.
• Cheng Buzheng departed the vault, promising himself he would return to take the law-based Spiritual Items and supreme secret arts.

Cheng Buzheng emerged from the Treasure Vault, gave Mai Bao the promised resource-point coordinates, and traded intelligence while searching Blood Sacred City for news of a mysterious powerhouse. After three years of changing living-puppet bodies and gathering little useful information, he realized his current wisp of will was weakening and set himself a three-year deadline to find the expert’s whereabouts.

• Cheng Buzheng emerged from the Treasure Vault and reassured Mai Bao that he would honor their agreement.
• At an inn, Cheng Buzheng gave Mai Bao the precise coordinates of the resource point, and the two exchanged news about recent events.
• Cheng Buzheng entered Blood Sacred City’s high-ranking Mortal Cultivator circles and attended trading meets to seek information about a mysterious powerhouse.
• Over three years, Cheng Buzheng repeatedly replaced his living-puppet body as his will conflicted with each host, while the human and demon clans advanced and the Blood Baleful Mist thinned.
• Cheng Buzheng inspected his newest living puppet, noticed his wisp of will was weakening, and decided he had to learn the mysterious expert’s whereabouts within three years.

Cheng Buzheng attended a Blood Sacred Mountain trade fair in the guise of Shi Sang, hoping to gather useful intelligence before his fading consciousness ran out of time. After Yi Situ announced his upcoming frontline deployment and the group exchanged battlefield news, a returning cultivator described being cast out near a mysterious formation, prompting Yi Situ to identify the Blood Abyss Forbidden Ground.

• Cheng Buzheng calculated that his weakened wisp of consciousness could cast its secret art only six more times and resolved to gather information before it vanished.
• Cheng Buzheng went to Yi Situ’s trade fair on Blood Sacred Mountain, where he greeted familiar cultivators and was introduced to several newcomers.
• Yi Situ revealed that he had received a frontline conscription order and invited cultivators nearing the end of their rest periods to travel with him.
• Yi Situ asked the attendees to exchange intelligence, and cultivators recently returned from the western front described the latest battlefield situation.
• The final returning cultivator recounted entering a formation space filled with immense Blood Baleful Mist before a Divine Hall expert expelled him.
• Yi Situ inferred that the cultivator had emerged near the Blood Abyss Forbidden Ground, surprising the others.