Chapter Summaries

Lin Lang hosted an assembly to prepare the Black Tortoise Alliance for war against the Demon Race, then treated an injured little Daoist brought in by a fox demon. The Daoist later offered Lin Lang a formation, while the girl’s candied hawthorns made Lin Lang suspect they had been made from stolen Demon Race treasures.

• Lin Lang told the cultivators that the Black Tortoise Alliance could not hand over the unknown great thief and called on them to prepare for war, but few collected battle tokens.
• A fox demon brought a poisoned little Daoist to the Black Tortoise Alliance, and Lin Lang used his vital essence to cure him.
• Lin Lang arranged for the fox demon and little Daoist to stay while the Daoist recovered, then returned to the Hall of Gathering Talents.
• The little Daoist came back with the girl and offered Lin Lang a formation from a ruin to help the Human Race.
• The girl ate candied hawthorns, and Lin Lang recognized signs that the fruit and honey might have come from Demon Race clans.

Chen Changsheng and Hu Tudou were imprisoned after Chen admitted to stealing the Demon Race’s treasures, while the Black Tortoise Alliance faced Hu Qiuyue’s demand to hand him over. The chapter ended with Hu Qiuyue ordering the Demon Race to breach Black Tortoise City if the alliance did not surrender him within three days.

• Lin Lang sealed Chen Changsheng and Hu Tudou’s escape routes, and they admitted to stealing the Hundred Flavors Fruit and Hundred Flowers Honey before allowing themselves to be imprisoned.
• Chen Changsheng revealed another skewer of sugar-coated haws in the cell, and Hu Tudou eagerly ate it while he rested.
• Hu Qiuyue demanded that Zheng Yi explain the theft and gave the Black Tortoise Alliance three days to satisfy her.
• Lin Lang announced that the thief had been captured and offered Hu Qiuyue half a skewer of sugar-coated haws as evidence, but Zheng Yi slapped him and ordered him back into the city.
• Hu Qiuyue and the other Great Demons examined the skewer and suspected the theft was part of a larger plan.
• Hu Qiuyue ordered the Demon Race to breach Black Tortoise City in three days if the Black Tortoise Alliance did not hand over Chen Changsheng.

In a prison cell, Chen Changsheng explained to Hu Tudou why he had caused a public commotion: he wanted to see how the Human Race would respond to pressure from the Demon Race. He predicted the Human Race would remain dangerously weak in the coming era, and the chapter ended with Hu Tudou falling asleep while Chen Changsheng contemplated the coming turmoil.

• After losing her Sweet Potato Jerky, Hu Tudou asked Chen Changsheng why he had deliberately caused such a big fuss.
• Chen Changsheng said he wanted to test how the Human Race would react to a crisis while facing a stronger Demon Race.
• Hu Tudou reasoned that the Human Race should punish Chen Changsheng for stealing Demon Race treasures but should not hand him over to the Demon Race.
• Chen Changsheng explained that Zhang Bairen and Desolate Heaven Emperor Wu Li had consumed the Human Race's accumulated foundation, leaving it unlikely to produce the next Heaven's Mandate Bearer.
• Hu Tudou doubted Chen Changsheng's prediction, then fell asleep across his knees as he considered the turmoil approaching the Human Race.

Lin Lang betrayed Li Zhengyi and the Black Tortoise Alliance after Li Zhengyi expelled him for wanting to hand Chen Changsheng to the Demon Race. When the Demon Race attacked Black Tortoise City, Lin Lang returned and stabbed Li Zhengyi, revealing a deal with Hu Qiuyue that would make him alliance leader in exchange for Chen Changsheng.

• Li Zhengyi expelled Lin Lang from the Black Tortoise Alliance after Lin Lang argued that Chen Changsheng should be handed over to the Demon Race.
• Li Zhengyi visited Chen Changsheng in his cell, but Chen Changsheng refused to join the battle scheduled for three days later.
• Li Zhengyi refused the Human-Faced Bee Queen's demand to surrender Chen Changsheng and offered compensation instead.
• Hu Qiuyue ordered more than ten Great Demons to attack Black Tortoise City's formation.
• Lin Lang returned to the city walls, then stabbed Li Zhengyi and revealed his agreement with Hu Qiuyue to surrender Chen Changsheng in exchange for becoming alliance leader and ending the attack.
• Li Zhengyi realized the conflict was a test for both races and urged Lin Lang to run because he had entered the game.

Chen Changsheng negotiated a reward from Hu Qiuyue as the Human and Demon Races’ battle ended, while Hu Qiuyue exposed Lin Lang’s betrayal and arranged to take him away. Later, Chen Changsheng confronted the captured Lin Lang, who blamed him for his downfall.

• Lin Lang killed Li Zhengyi, claimed leadership of the Black Tortoise Alliance, and announced that Chen Changsheng and Hu Tudou had been captured.
• Hu Qiuyue demanded Chen Changsheng as compensation, bargained with him, and let him return to the Demon Race camp with Hu Tudou.
• Hu Qiuyue restored Li Zhengyi to life, crippled Lin Lang’s cultivation, and declared Qingqiu sealed for three thousand years.
• Li Zhengyi disowned Lin Lang, and Hu Qiuyue took him away after Chen Changsheng requested that he be kept alive.
• Chen Changsheng confronted Lin Lang in the Demon Race army, and Lin Lang accused him of causing his downfall.

Chen Changsheng explained how the conflict between the Black Tortoise Alliance and the Demon Race had served both sides, then revealed to Lin Lang that he came from the Lower Realm and knew the Demon Race’s next Heaven’s Mandate Bearer. Hu Qiuyue killed Lin Lang, and Chen Changsheng discussed the future bearer and his connection to powerful figures.

• Chen Changsheng told Lin Lang that the Black Tortoise Alliance had refused to hand him over to preserve its people’s trust, while Lin Lang’s reckless resistance had been the least effective response.
• Chen Changsheng explained that the Demon Race had staged its demands and mobilized its forces to satisfy its people, capture him, and avoid provoking the wider Human Race.
• Lin Lang recognized the arrangement as a perfect answer sheet and asked who Chen Changsheng was; Chen Changsheng whispered that he came from the Lower Realm and knew the Demon Race’s next Heaven’s Mandate Bearer.
• Hu Qiuyue pierced Lin Lang’s glabella before he could ask more, then asked Chen Changsheng when the Demon Race’s Heaven’s Mandate would descend.
• Chen Changsheng said the position could not pass until the Jade Emperor relinquished it and warned that the next Demon Race bearer was nearly mad and would kill anyone who stood in his way.
• Chen Changsheng revealed that he had taught both the White-Haired Sword God and the coming bearer, while Hu Qiuyue praised his influence on renowned figures.

Chen Changsheng tested Hu Qiuyue’s ambitions and accepted her support for the next Heaven’s Mandate Bearer. After he left with Hu Tudou, Hu Qiuyue warned two demon leaders that opposing him would be disastrous, then challenged the Great Strength Donkey Clan Leader to seek the Heaven’s Mandate himself.

• Hu Qiuyue told Chen Changsheng that she sought power because everyone had to pursue something, and he agreed the Upper Realm Demon Race could expand its territory under her help.
• Chen Changsheng took Hu Tudou home, promising to cook him a feast.
• Hu Qiuyue confirmed to the Great Strength Donkey Clan Leader and the Human-Faced Bee Queen that Chen Changsheng was the White-Haired Sword God and had come to judge whether the Demon Race could rule the world.
• Hu Qiuyue explained that the Upper Realm Demon Race would be vulnerable to Chen Changsheng and his allies, especially if the next Heaven’s Mandate Bearer followed his guidance.
• Hu Qiuyue rejected the idea of choosing another candidate for the Heaven’s Mandate and challenged the Great Strength Donkey Clan Leader to fight for it himself.

Hu Qiuyue stopped the Great Strength Donkey Clan Leader from challenging Chen Changsheng’s judgment, then later asked Chen Changsheng to visit Lingcang Continent. He refused until she revealed that the Divine Beast Bai Ze had been surrounded by the Five Great Zhou, and he agreed to go see it.

• Hu Qiuyue threatened the Great Strength Donkey Clan Leader and forced him to abandon his attempt to provoke her into fighting for the Mandate of Heaven.
• Hu Qiuyue ordered the clans to watch the Wang family of Lingcang Continent while a final stretch of peace remained before the Jade Emperor relinquished the Mandate of Heaven.
• Thirty years after Chen Changsheng arrived in Qingqiu, Yue Ying returned and relayed Hu Qiuyue’s request for him to visit Lingcang Continent.
• Chen Changsheng refused to go until Hu Qiuyue said the Divine Beast Bai Ze had been surrounded by the Five Great Zhou, prompting him to agree.

Chen Changsheng left Qingqiu with Hu Tudou and Yue Ying, taking his time to travel and cook while teaching Tudou along the way. He explained that the Fox Clan’s records about the Fragrant Fox Physique were wrong, and warned Yue Ying that excessive pills and Natural Treasures had killed the previous young Fragrant Foxes.

• Chen Changsheng got Hu Qiuyue’s permission to take Hu Tudou out, and Yue Ying joined them after he refused to leave Tudou behind.
• At the border of Lincang Zhou, Chen Changsheng taught Hu Tudou to cook snake stew after Yue Ying defeated a Life Lamp Realm snake.
• Yue Ying confronted Chen Changsheng about Tudou’s need to grow stronger before danger found her.
• Chen Changsheng said the Fragrant Fox Physique matured through time and a suitable environment, not by piling on pills and Natural Treasures.
• Chen Changsheng told Yue Ying that the last two Fragrant Foxes had died young because overfeeding them powerful treasures had poisoned their bodies.

Chen Changsheng explained to Yue Ying that Hu Tudou’s cookbook was a mild Pill Formula that revealed how to raise a Fragrant Fox safely. As they set off for Lincang Zhou, he warned Tudou about a demon cultivator who ate foxes and disguised her with a tiger-like face.

• Chen Changsheng gave Yue Ying Hu Tudou’s cookbook and asked her to discern its secrets.
• Yue Ying realized the recipes were both nourishing medicinal dishes and a guide to raising a Fragrant Fox.
• Chen Changsheng explained that Tudou’s bodily reactions revealed what she needed and that the Fox Clan’s overfeeding had nearly harmed her.
• Chen Changsheng advised Yue Ying about the importance of insight and strategy alongside cultivation strength.
• Chen Changsheng woke Hu Tudou and warned her about a fox-eating demon cultivator in Lincang Zhou.
• Chen Changsheng wrote a character on Tudou’s forehead and painted whiskers on her face to disguise her as a tiger.

Chen Changsheng, Yue Ying, and Hu Tudou discovered that Wang Hao was the Demon Cultivator behind Lincang Zhou’s troubles and that his plan had trapped the Wang Family. Wang Hao revealed how a woman’s life-costing Bloodline Curse had put the Wang family ancestor into slumber, while Yue Ying’s hatred of Wang Hao erupted.

• Hu Tudou questioned why Lincang Zhou seemed peaceful despite having a Demon Cultivator, and Chen Changsheng explained that the term described cultivators with cruel techniques or methods that consumed living beings.
• At a porridge stall, Chen Changsheng suspected the young server of putting something in the porridge and demanded ten percent of Lincang Zhou’s Life Force in exchange for staying out of his plans.
• The young man led Chen Changsheng, Yue Ying, and Hu Tudou to a formation-filled cave, where Chen Changsheng praised Wang Hao for trapping the Wang Family and went to help finish the formation.
• Wang Hao introduced himself as a direct descendant of the Wang Family and the Demon Cultivator, then told Yue Ying that a woman’s Bloodline Curse had forced the Wang family ancestor into slumber.
• Wang Hao described how he had betrayed and abused the woman who loved him before she cursed him, and Yue Ying smashed a stone table in fury.
• Wang Hao told Yue Ying that she could not kill him and warned that her safety now depended on Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng helped Wang Hao prepare a formation to drain the life force of Lincang Zhou, then refused to save Wang Wenhao and explained why he had never chosen him. The group left as Wang Hao took revenge on his cousin, and Chen Changsheng said the Recipe: Demon Race Chapter was nearly complete before moving on to the Beast Race Chapter.

• Wang Hao explained that he planned to drain the life force of Lincang Zhou to delay his ancestor’s awakening, and Chen Changsheng finished preparing the formation.
• Chen Changsheng encountered Wang Wenhao imprisoned in a cage and refused his plea for rescue.
• Chen Changsheng told Wang Wenhao that he had failed because he never understood his own weaknesses and kept seeking shortcuts.
• Wang Hao told Wang Wenhao he would treat him as Wang Wenhao had once treated him, while Chen Changsheng and the others left the cave.
• Chen Changsheng told Hu Tudou that the Recipe: Demon Race Chapter was nearly recorded and that they would study the Beast Race Chapter next.

Chen Changsheng led Hu Tudou and Yue Ying into Heavenly Silk Zhou, explaining how the Beast Race’s conflicts with the Human and Demon Races shaped its territory. The chapter ended with Yue Ying tracing those grudges to the Human Race’s rise and the Demon Race’s origin.

• Chen Changsheng concealed the group’s auras and ordered Hu Tudou to follow his commands as they entered Beast Race territory.
• Chen Changsheng insisted Hu Tudou come along, telling Yue Ying that the journey would teach them how to survive in dangerous lands.
• In Heavenly Silk Zhou, Chen Changsheng explained that the Heavenly Silk Clan relied on human and demon slaves for labor despite its hostility toward them.
• Chen Changsheng explained that the Beast Race regarded demons as traitors for transforming into humans, while Yue Ying described the ancient conflict between humans and beasts and the origins of demon transformation.
• Chen Changsheng applauded Yue Ying and praised her extensive knowledge.

Chen Changsheng took Hu Tudou to Heavenly Silk Zhou to obtain Five Elements Mulberries and the Heavenly Silk Nine Transformations, using Yue Ying as a distraction and the Golden Silkworm Gu to break through the Heavenly Silk Clan’s defenses. He entered a cave on Five Elements Mountain with Hu Tudou, where he sought the cultivation art to help the Golden Silkworm Gu grow stronger.

• Chen Changsheng told Hu Tudou about the Five Elements Mulberries and said he would make the Heavenly Silk Clan deliver them.
• Chen Changsheng planted a fried Heavenly Silk in Yue Ying’s hand and shouted that she had killed Lord Heavenly Silk, drawing a crowd to chase her.
• Chen Changsheng explained that invisible Heavenly Silk threads protected Five Elements Mountain, then used the Golden Silkworm Gu to bite through them and defeat the guards.
• Chen Changsheng and Hu Tudou entered Five Elements Mountain and reached a cave while the Golden Silkworm Gu battled two powerful Heavenly Silks.
• Chen Changsheng told Hu Tudou to hold onto his clothes and entered the cave, hoping to obtain the Heavenly Silk Nine Transformations for the Golden Silkworm Gu.

Chen Changsheng pressured the Heavenly Silk Clan into handing over the Heavenly Silk Nine Transformations and agreeing to survive the coming great calamity as an affiliated race. The golden cocoon accepted his terms, and three Heavenly Silks returned to the cave.

• Chen Changsheng found the golden cocoon and demanded the Heavenly Silk Nine Transformations, threatening the clan over its weakness and the coming great calamity.
• The golden cocoon asked about the calamity, and Chen Changsheng identified the Human Race, Demon Race, and Heavenly Court as possible sources of trouble.
• The golden cocoon offered the technique in exchange for the clan's survival, obedience without summons, and a fief, but Chen Changsheng rejected the demands as too greedy.
• The golden cocoon's Heavenly Silk threads surrounded Chen Changsheng, but he warned that the Beast Race would face powerful human enemies as well as the calamity.
• The golden cocoon agreed that the Heavenly Silk Clan would survive as an affiliated race, and Chen Changsheng asked it to call back the Heavenly Silks outside.

Chen Changsheng obtained the Heavenly Silk Nine Transformations for the Golden Silkworm Gu and learned why the Heavenly Silk Clan was hunting Bai Ze. He left to find Bai Ze, warning that the conflict over the Ascension Road would lead to a greater war when the Jade Emperor returned.

• The golden silkworm cocoon gave the Heavenly Silk Nine Transformations to the Golden Silkworm Gu, and Chen Changsheng asked why the clan was hunting Bai Ze.
• The cocoon revealed that Bai Ze had raided ancestral graves across many continents while searching for Qiongqi’s tomb, and that the continent lords wanted Chen Changsheng to answer for it.
• Chen Changsheng learned that Bai Ze was still alive because it was an ancient auspicious beast and because the continent lords feared Chen Changsheng’s response.
• Chen Changsheng asked for Five Elements Mulberries and told the Heavenly Silk Clan not to fight him, then rejected the idea of reasoning with the forces pursuing Bai Ze.
• Chen Changsheng said the Ascension Road conflict was only an intermission and warned that a great war would begin when the Jade Emperor returned and the Mandate of Heaven changed hands.
• Chen Changsheng left the cave with Hu Tudou as the golden silkworm cocoon watched him go.

Chen Changsheng taught Yue Ying how diplomacy and Imperial Technique could help leaders manage enemies and factions. Yue Ying thanked him and asked whether the Human Race's Supreme Sage would let a demon study at Mountain and River Academy, and Chen Changsheng said the Sage taught without distinction.

• Chen Changsheng gave the battle-worn Yue Ying Five Elements Mulberries and explained that enemies could negotiate when each side understood what the other wanted and held enough leverage.
• Chen Changsheng asked why Yue Ying obeyed him, and she realized his carefully controlled methods left her unable to resist without provoking a worse outcome.
• Chen Changsheng taught Yue Ying that leaders had to balance force and diplomacy, and explained that he had learned Imperial Technique from mortals.
• Yue Ying performed the ceremonial bow of taking a master and thanked Chen Changsheng for his guidance.
• Chen Changsheng recommended Mountain and River Academy, and told Yue Ying that the Human Race's Supreme Sage would welcome her because he taught without distinction.

Chen Changsheng told Yue Ying that he might connect the Upper and Lower Realms, then set off with Hu Tudou to seek dragon and phoenix descendants and Jade Nectar. In Hidden Dragon Zhou, Bai Ze escaped a Beast Race ambush, but its pursuers planned to trap it and eliminate the person supporting it.

• Chen Changsheng stopped Hu Tudou from eating more Five Elements Mulberries and promised her Dragon Liver Phoenix Gall and Jade Nectar as the next meal.
• Chen Changsheng explained that they could find prey among the casualties of the coming conflict and obtain Jade Nectar by finding Divine Beast Bai Ze, then left with Hu Tudou.
• Yue Ying watched Chen Changsheng and Hu Tudou depart and realized her instincts warned her to stay away from Chen Changsheng.
• In Hidden Dragon Zhou, Bai Ze mocked an aged flood dragon and escaped the Beast Race's attack using a Dao Pattern.
• The flood dragon said the Heaven Trapping Array would prevent Bai Ze from leaving and that the Heaven Piercing Seal could overcome its formations.
• The flood dragon dismissed concerns about Bai Ze's backer and said the Upper Realm's forces would deal with him and the Lower Realm's protectors.

Chen Changsheng reasoned that Bai Ze had hidden its stolen treasures and Qiongqi Tomb clues outside Hidden Dragon Zhou to create a chance to escape the Beast Race’s trap. He explained that Bai Ze could lure its captors out, spring another trap, and return to Hidden Dragon Zhou to claim the tomb.

• Chen Changsheng realized Bai Ze had stayed in Hidden Dragon Zhou because it likely contained the Qiongqi Tomb, despite the Heaven Trapping Array.
• Chen Changsheng asked Yue Ying and Hu Tudou how Bai Ze might protect its treasures while trapped, and Hu Tudou suggested hiding them somewhere secret.
• Chen Changsheng revealed that Hu Tudou had hidden her snacks outside Qingqiu with Hu Duoduo’s help, but he had already sent someone to confiscate them.
• Chen Changsheng explained that Bai Ze had likely hidden its treasures and tomb clues outside Hidden Dragon Zhou so its captors would need to take it out to retrieve them.
• Chen Changsheng said Bai Ze could spring an outside trap, escape its captors, and return to Hidden Dragon Zhou with the crucial item for opening the Qiongqi Tomb.

Chen Changsheng deduced that Bai Ze had hidden its items on a Human Race continent and took Yue Ying and Hu Tudou to Danggui Zhou to investigate. At Number One Spring Under Heaven, he destroyed the sect’s plaque and attacked its disciples, demanding that its leader come out.

• Chen Changsheng explained that Bai Ze likely used the Human Race as outside help and identified a continent Bai Ze had repeatedly passed without visiting.
• Chen Changsheng set out with Yue Ying and Hu Tudou to reach the suspected hiding place before the God Race or Beast Race discovered Bai Ze’s plan.
• In Danggui Zhou, Chen Changsheng chose the largest sect, Number One Spring Under Heaven, as the place to begin investigating.
• Yue Ying presented the Qingqiu Fox Clan’s visiting card at the sect gate while Chen Changsheng studied a featureless statue in the plaza.
• Chen Changsheng crushed the sect’s plaque, struck the disciples beneath the statue, and demanded that the person in charge appear.