Chapter Summaries

Wang Daoyuan arranged the Netherworld Sect’s trade with the Half-demons and Demon Race, then secretly traveled to Treasure Cauldron Mountain to prepare for Core Formation. He told True Man Lei Yan that he had comprehended all five elemental laws, and his master gave him supplies for the breakthrough.

• Wang Daoyuan reported the trade proposal to Luo Jiuyou, who favored selling resources openly to the Half-demons and only basic goods to the Demon Race.
• Wang Daoyuan spent about a year comprehending the laws of earth, metal, water, and wood, completing his understanding of the Five Elements laws.
• Wang Daoyuan entrusted Zhou Luan with handling messages and protecting their Lineage before leaving in disguise for Qingli Market.
• Wang Daoyuan boarded a Divine Weapon Pavilion flying boat and arrived at Treasure Cauldron Mountain twenty days later.
• Wang Daoyuan showed True Man Lei Yan that he had comprehended the Law of Fire and all five elemental laws, and True Man Lei Yan gave him preparations for the lightning tribulations of Core Formation.

Wang Daoyuan received defensive treasures and Core Formation guidance from True Man Lei Yan, then began forming his Golden Core in Divine Weapon Pavilion's Heavenly Tribulation Valley. After swallowing the Golden Core phantom, he recovered his strength several times over, but still needed to endure the lightning tribulation to complete Core Formation.

• True Man Lei Yan gave Wang Daoyuan Fourth-order defensive artifacts, an Essence Blood Return Pill, and a Thick Earth Seal to prepare him for tribulation.
• True Man Lei Yan secured permission to use Heavenly Tribulation Valley and led Wang Daoyuan there after confirming his four Natal Artifacts had reached high-grade Third-order.
• Wang Daoyuan spent months gathering and compressing True Essence, then merged his body's essence of blood and qi into the sphere in his dantian.
• Wang Daoyuan condensed a blood-red core and formed the jade-white embryonic Golden Core as a Spiritual Qi Vortex poured spiritual qi into him.
• A Golden Core phantom descended from the sky, and Wang Daoyuan swallowed it, greatly restoring and strengthening his body while leaving the lightning tribulation ahead.

Wang Daoyuan faced an enormous Golden Core tribulation, endured its lightning, and then fought five Divine Beast Phantoms. He destroyed the Azure Dragon Phantom but was badly wounded, while the Azure Dragon reappeared in a weakened form.

• Wang Daoyuan’s Golden Core tribulation cloud expanded to a hundred li, alarming True Man Lei Yan and True Man Yunhe.
• Wang Daoyuan endured nine increasingly powerful lightning tribulations, shattered several artifacts, and formed a true Golden Core.
• Wang Daoyuan countered the five elemental lightning bolts, but five Low-grade Fourth-order Divine Beast Phantoms emerged from the tribulation cloud.
• Wang Daoyuan sent his artifacts to hold back four phantoms and attacked the Azure Dragon Phantom with the White Tiger Blade.
• Wang Daoyuan destroyed the Azure Dragon Phantom but suffered deep chest wounds, and a dimmer Azure Dragon Phantom reappeared ten li away.

Wang Daoyuan repeatedly slew the five Heavenly Tribulation Divine Beasts to replenish his spiritual power, temper his Golden Core, and comprehend their divine essence, despite accumulating severe injuries. The beasts fused into Yinglong, which shattered his defenses and knocked him unconscious, but the tribulation clouds remained and golden spiritual power began to spread over him.

• Wang Daoyuan absorbed the Azure Dragon’s spiritual energy and divine essence, then killed the weakened Azure Dragon again before turning to the Vermillion Bird.
• Wang Daoyuan used his artifacts and techniques to kill the Vermillion Bird and White Tiger, suffering more than fifty wounds as he repeatedly fought the Five Elements Divine Beasts.
• Wang Daoyuan reduced the beasts to peak Violet Mansion strength, gained an initial grasp of their divine essence, and tempered his Golden Core until it showed traces of violet-gold.
• The tribulation clouds strengthened the five Divine Beasts, which merged into Yinglong, a creature with strength close to the late Golden Core stage.
• Yinglong shattered Wang Daoyuan’s Five Elements Subduing Demon Seal and Thick Earth Seal, then broke his bones and knocked him unconscious.
• Wang Daoyin tried to rush toward Wang Daoyuan, but True Man Lei Yan stopped him and said the undispersed tribulation clouds meant Daoyuan was still alive; Yinglong then dispersed as the clouds turned gold.

After Wang Daoyuan survived his tribulation, a rare Heavenly Flowers Scattering boon healed and strengthened him, his companions, and the Spirit Pearl Space. The boon helped True Man Lei Yan recover his damaged foundation and break through to Half-step Nascent Soul, though he remained troubled by his approaching death.

• Golden petals descended after Wang Daoyuan's tribulation, healing his injuries and strengthening his body, divine soul, and Soul Origin.
• The golden energy transformed the Spirit Pearl Space's five spirit veins to Low-grade Fourth-order and restored the Crimson Feather Crow's Natal Feather.
• Wang Daoyuan invited others to share the boon, and True Man Yunhe brought an injured disciple to absorb some of its healing energy.
• After the boon ended, True Man Lei Yan began cultivating, and the restored foundation and his accumulated cultivation allowed him to break through to Half-step Nascent Soul.
• True Man Lei Yan emerged with his new strength but said the breakthrough would not extend his lifespan, and he still expected to die in fifty-odd years.

Wang Daoyuan accepted a Guest Elder position with the Divine Weapon Pavilion so he could gain its protection without abandoning his lineage in the Netherworld Sect. After repairing and upgrading his Natal Artifacts, he prepared to seek the Wutu Essence at Demon Quelling Mountain, while considering how to develop an artifact based on Yinglong.

• True Man Yunhe offered Wang Daoyuan a Guest Elder token, and Wang Daoyuan accepted to protect his lineage while remaining in the Netherworld Sect.
• True Man Lei Yan offered to accompany Wang Daoyuan to Demon Quelling Mountain, but Wang Daoyuan persuaded him to stay behind and agreed to use the Violet Thunder Evil Slaying Token if he faced mortal danger.
• Wang Daoyuan spent nearly a year repairing his four Natal Artifacts at Treasure Cauldron Mountain, while news of his Golden Core and Guest Elder status reached the Netherworld Sect without provoking a response.
• Wang Daoyuan refined the White Tiger Blade with Fourth-order Heavenly Fiend Gold and Grand Unity Essence Gold, raising it to Low-grade Fourth-order.
• Wang Daoyuan realized the Five Elements Divine Beasts' fusion into Yinglong suggested a future path for the Five Elements Subduing Demon Seal, but he lacked a way to comprehend Yinglong's divine charm.

After completing his preparations, Wang Daoyuan traveled to Absolute Heaven Abyss in search of Wutu Essence and sensed two powerful attractions within the abyss. The chapter ended with two mysterious elders noticing movement beneath it and suspecting the remaining Devil Race.

• Wang Daoyuan refined the Azure Dragon Pearl and Vermilion Bird Fan until they were attuned to his will, and the Azure Dragon Pearl became a low-grade fourth-grade artifact.
• True Man Lei Yan gave Wang Daoyuan a Black Demon Robe and a heavy sword before Wang Daoyuan left Treasure Cauldron Mountain.
• Wang Daoyuan traveled through the Southern Wilderness and reached the edge of Absolute Heaven Abyss, where violent black vapor filled the fissure.
• Wang Daoyuan sensed one attraction near the spirit bead’s birthplace and another deep beneath Absolute Heaven Abyss, but he did not enter the dangerous abyss.
• Two elders playing chess beneath a plum tree sensed movement below Absolute Heaven Abyss, and the white-robed elder blamed the remaining Devil Race.

Wang Daoyuan found the Wutu Essence beneath Crescent Moon Valley and took a small piece to forge the Kirin Seal, but a mysterious tracker from the Devil Race discovered his trail. As Wang Daoyuan prepared to defend himself against a strange attack, the confrontation remained unresolved.

• Wang Daoyuan followed Flying Sand Hermit's map underground toward the Wutu Essence while a horned creature tracked him using a black energy mark.
• Wang Daoyuan sent his avatar Cui Ming ahead through a hidden formation and found the Wutu Essence in an underground chamber.
• Wang Daoyuan had Cui Ming cut off five cun of Wutu Essence, leaving a stub so it could continue to grow.
• Wang Daoyuan detected a black light approaching and used Gui Water Nether Flame and the Nether Sound Soul Burying Bell to counter it.
• Wang Daoyuan defended against a second ball of strange black spiritual power with the Black Tortoise Shield and attacked it with the Nether Sound Soul Suppressing Bell.

Wang Daoyuan fought a Devil Race cultivator whose Lesser Divine Ability empowered his attacks, countering them with spirit fire and his other hidden methods. He struck the opponent down with the Five Elements Subduing Demon Seal and left him gravely wounded and trapped within layers of spirit fire.

• Wang Daoyuan used the Gui Water Nether Flame to burn away the strange spiritual power masses that attacked him, realizing his hidden opponent wielded Law Power through a Lesser Divine Ability.
• After Wang Daoyuan neutralized a black saber, a hooked-nosed Devil Race cultivator with a black horn appeared and questioned which devil cultivator lineage Wang Daoyuan belonged to.
• Wang Daoyuan and the Devil Race cultivator exchanged attacks, and Wang Daoyuan used flames to monitor the opponent and wear down his divine sense.
• Wang Daoyuan summoned his Natal Artifacts and formed the Five Elements Subduing Demon Seal as the Devil Race cultivator launched a black skull spell at his brow.
• Wang Daoyuan burned away the black skull with the Crimson Sun True Fire and dodged its near-fatal strike while the Five Elements Subduing Demon Seal gravely wounded and pinned the Devil Race cultivator.
• Wang Daoyuan surrounded the immobilized opponent with Gui Water Nether Flame and a thick outer layer of Crimson Sun True Fire.

Wang Daoyuan subdued Shi Ling, a Yin Demon Soul Devouring Demon, and learned about the Devil Race and its soul arts. Safe inside the hidden formation, he refined the Kirin Seal and completed the Five Elements Subduing Demon Seal.

• Wang Daoyuan exhausted Shi Ling's spiritual power with the Crimson Sun True Fire, suppressed its True Demon phantom with the Five Elements Subduing Demon Seal, and merged Tu Youming's Split Soul into its devil soul.
• Cui Ming found no other Devil Race members nearby, and two days later the Split Soul took control of Shi Ling's body.
• Wang Daoyuan learned from Shi Ling's memories that he was a Soul Devouring Demon whose inherited Soul Devouring Technique could strengthen and repair souls, and that Shi Ling had come alone to hunt him.
• Wang Daoyuan learned that the Devil Race remnants were hidden in the Absolute Heaven Abyss and that Shi Ling's divine ability combined penetration with soul devouring.
• Wang Daoyuan stored Shi Ling in the Spirit Pearl Space, then entered the stone chamber and forged the Kirin Seal from Heaven Suppressing Stone and Wutu Essence.
• After more than a year of condensing its artifact patterns, Wang Daoyuan completed the Kirin Seal and assembled all five Natal Artifacts into the Five Elements Subduing Demon Seal.

Wang Daoyuan reached the cave where the Spirit Pearl had been born and released it to absorb the grayish-purple liquid that had nurtured it. The pearl’s crack began to shrink, but the repair disturbed Skyrend Mountain Range and Absolute Heaven Abyss, leaving the consequences unfolding.

• Wang Daoyuan completed refining the Five Elements Subduing Demon Seal, then traveled with Devour Spirit’s guidance toward the Spirit Pearl’s birthplace.
• Wang Daoyuan reached Skyrend Mountain Range and found the sealed cave near Absolute Heaven Abyss, where the Spirit Pearl in his Sea of Consciousness began to tremble.
• Wang Daoyuan spent two months digging through a deep fissure to reach the cave and found grayish-purple liquid beneath a spirit-vein crystal pillar.
• Wang Daoyuan released the Spirit Pearl into the stone platform’s depression, and it absorbed the liquid as its crack began to shrink.
• Dark clouds gathered, spiritual energy grew violent, and Skyrend Mountain Range trembled as the mountain bridge absorbed black qi from Absolute Heaven Abyss.

Wang Daoyuan’s restored Spirit Pearl caused a vast disturbance that destabilized spiritual veins and formations near the Absolute Heaven Abyss, but the Heavenly Dao warned powerful observers not to interfere. After the Spirit Pearl healed, Wang Daoyuan concealed it and later joined True Man Lei Yan and True Person Wujian to investigate, leaving the disturbance unexplained.

• The Black Robe Elder and the white-robed elder sensed the growing disturbance, but a Heavenly Dao lightning bolt warned them against investigating.
• Falling spiritual energy weakened the formations near the Absolute Heaven Abyss, and blood-red lightning struck down Devil Race cultivators who tried to cross them.
• Wang Daoyuan discovered the Spirit Pearl had caused the disturbance, waited for it to heal, recalled it into his Sea of Consciousness, and escaped west before investigators could find him.
• After two days in a stone chamber, Wang Daoyuan’s Violet Thunder Evil Slaying Token vibrated, summoning him to meet True Man Lei Yan and True Person Wujian.
• Wang Daoyuan accompanied his master and senior brother to investigate the Skyrend Mountain Range, where they found only traces of slain Devil Race cultivators and recovering spiritual energy.
• True Person Wujian blamed the disturbance on a powerful Devil Race cultivator, and the three returned to their respective sects without learning the truth.

Wang Daoyuan returned to Jade Spring Peak after forming his Golden Core and awaited Netherworld Sect’s decision on Wang Clan’s future. Luo Jiuyou arrived and proposed moving the Wang Clan into the sect, leaving Wang Daoyuan to weigh the threat to his clan’s independence and survival.

• True Man Lei Yan inspected Wang Daoyuan’s Five Elements Subduing Demon Seal and acknowledged its power.
• Wang Daoyuan returned to Jade Spring Peak, where Wang Daochang welcomed him and asked about holding a Golden Core Ceremony.
• Luo Jiuyou visited Jade Spring Peak and praised Wang Daoyuan’s Core Formation and his position as Divine Weapon Pavilion’s Guest Elder.
• Luo Jiuyou offered to settle Wang Clan cultivators near Netherworld Sect’s sect gate and make Wang Daoyuan Vice Sect Master.
• Wang Daoyuan recognized that relocating would strip Wang Clan of its local industries and threaten the clan’s long-term survival.

Wang Daoyuan rejected Luo Jiuyou’s offer to join the Netherworld Sect’s Native Faction and instead accepted a feudal appointment to govern Yannan Commandery. The sect lifted restrictions on the Wang Clan’s flying boats but withheld approval for Flying Warships, and Wang Daoyuan became a Supreme Elder and Yannan Governor.

• Wang Daoyuan told Luo Jiuyou he would not abandon the Wang Clan’s ancestral foundation, so Luo offered him authority over central and northern Qingli Commandery, Golden Goose City, and Returning Goose Market.
• Wang Daoyuan accepted the appointment and asked to expand the Wang Clan’s business into Wanchuan Market and build Flying Warships to defend against Beast Tides and threats north of the mountains.
• Luo Jiuyou approved the Wanchuan Market request and lifted restrictions on the Wang Clan’s flying boats, but said he could not approve Flying Warships without consulting the other Supreme Elders.
• The Netherworld Sect divided Qingli Commandery, placing its central and northern regions and Golden Goose City in the newly formed Yannan Commandery.
• The Netherworld Sect announced that Wang Daoyuan had become its sixth Supreme Elder and appointed him Yannan Governor with full authority over the commandery.

Wang Daoyuan received his investiture as the Netherworld Sect’s sixth Supreme Elder and Yannan Governor, then returned to Jade Spring Peak to prepare for his clan’s rise and let Yannan’s families choose their allegiance. He left the chapter waiting quietly at home after announcing that the Military Governor’s Mansion would be established in Qingli Market.

• Wang Daoyuan traveled to the Netherworld Sect’s mountain gate, where Zhong Zhenyang formally invested him as Supreme Elder and Yannan Governor and presented him with his credentials.
• Wang Daoyuan paid respects at the Patriarch Hall, then exchanged two million Contribution Points for a profound alchemy inheritance from True Lord Hundred Spirits’ cave abode.
• Wang Daoyuan returned to Jade Spring Peak, consulted his third brother, and set the date of the Wang Clan’s Golden Core Ceremony for half a year later.
• Wang Daoyuan announced that the Military Governor’s Mansion would be established in Qingli Market, then stayed at Jade Spring Peak without revealing his other personnel plans as Yannan’s families considered whom to follow.

Wang Daoyuan assessed Yannan Commandery’s cultivation lineages and promised roles in the new Military Governor’s Mansion to those who visited Jade Spring Peak. As his Golden Core Ceremony approached, most lineages had chosen whether to support the Wang Clan, and guests began gathering for the event.

• Wang Daoyuan reviewed the fifty-three lineages in Yannan Commandery and learned that Shen Zhaoxing of the Shen Family had recently become a Violet Mansion Cultivator.
• Yang Yulin, Liang Zipeng, and Huang Mingchen visited Jade Spring Peak, and Wang Daoyuan promised to announce positions in the Military Governor’s Mansion after his Golden Core Ceremony.
• Shen Zhaoxing visited Wang Daoyuan and received a hint that the Shen Family would be given an important responsibility.
• More than ten lineages pledged themselves to the Wang Clan, over thirty others visited cautiously, and five Outsider Faction lineages stayed away.
• As the Golden Core Ceremony drew near, Jade Spring Peak prepared to host guests from Yannan Commandery and beyond, while rogue cultivators also headed to Qingli Market to attend.

Wang Daoyuan hosted his Golden Core Ceremony on Jade Spring Peak as families, rogue cultivators, and powerful sects arrived to offer congratulations. The Netherworld Sect and the Northern Abyss Cultivation World’s major powers showed their support, while five Yannan families stayed away, leaving Wang Daoyuan determined to crush the Netherworld Sect’s attempt to test him.

• Wang Daoyuan noticed that five Yannan Foundation Establishment families had failed to attend and concluded that the Netherworld Sect was using them to test his response.
• Wang Daoyuan received the attending families, affiliated old families, rogue cultivators, and six rogue Violet Mansion Cultivators, including Lu Yuan, who offered five third-order Demon Beast inner cores.
• Gu Wangzong arrived on behalf of the Netherworld Sect and presented a fourth-order magic tool, five top-grade third-order magic tools, and fifty Violet Rhyme Pills.
• Zhou Jingyuan, Crown Prince of Zhou, arrived with gifts of five fourth-order magic tools and five fourth-order talismans.
• Xuan Jiuxiao of the Heavenly Secret Sect arrived, followed by representatives of Divine Weapon Pavilion and the Taiyi Sword Sect, surprising the guests with the strength of Wang Daoyuan’s backing.

Wang Daoyuan celebrated his Golden Core Ceremony with guests from several sects, ancestral rites, and a Dao lecture that showcased the Wang Clan’s restored standing. After the guests departed, Lu Yuan asked to serve under him, and they recognized each other from an encounter more than a century earlier.

• Yu Boqing, True Person Wujian, and Kui Jian arrived for Wang Daoyuan’s ceremony and presented gifts, including the Taiyi Divine Sword Diagram and valuable refining materials.
• Wang Daoyuan and the other Golden Core Cultivators discussed the Dao before the Wang Clan performed ancestral rites celebrating its return as a Golden Core lineage.
• Wang Daoyuan, True Person Wujian, Yu Boqing, and Gu Wangzong lectured on the Violet Mansion Realm and the laws before the guests dispersed.
• True Person Wujian asked Wang Daoyuan to help if trouble arose in the Southern Wilderness, while Yu Boqing and Kui Jian stayed behind.
• Lu Yuan asked Wang Daoyuan for a position, and they recognized each other as the cultivators who had exchanged a sword hilt and a piece of Mysterious Ice Jade Marrow at Mirror Lake Oasis more than a hundred years earlier.

Wang Daoyuan arranged the Military Governor's Mansion's personnel to balance Yannan Commandery's factions and investigated Lu Yuan before appointing him Garrison Envoy of Returning Goose Market. He also spared Tie Rusong in exchange for service, then announced the four market commanders and their stipends, leaving the integration of the Wang Clan and the Mansion unresolved.

• Wang Daoyuan offered Lu Yuan a position in the Military Governor's Mansion and asked Zhou Luan to investigate his background.
• Tie Rusong confessed that the Jin Family elders had persuaded him to oppose the Wang Clan, and Wang Daoyuan sent him to Returning Goose Market to redeem himself through meritorious service.
• Zhou Luan reported that Lu Yuan had a good reputation north of the mountains and no known ties to other forces, so Wang Daoyuan approved him for service.
• Wang Daoyuan appointed Yang Yulin to Qingli Market, Shen Zhaoxing to Golden Goose City, Liang Zipeng to Hundred Spirits Mountain Market, and Lu Yuan to Returning Goose Market.
• Wang Daoyuan set stipends and staffing requirements for the four markets, then turned to the unresolved question of integrating the Wang Clan with the Military Governor's Mansion.

Wang Daoyuan organized the Military Governor’s Mansion and recruited cultivators for its halls, prompting Shi Zhenbang to consult his ancestor about the Wang Clan’s growing influence. The ancestor urged him to strengthen ties with Wang Daoyuan, and Shi Zhenbang sent him a message requesting a meeting.

• Wang Daoyuan established the Military Governor’s Mansion’s Garrison and Finance Halls, assigning Wang Clan members to key posts and recruiting outsiders for four craft halls.
• The Kong Clan of Rocky Peak and the three clans of Returning Wind Valley refused to send cultivators, while the Tie Family joined the Garrison Hall in force.
• Shi Zhenbang dismissed a young cultivator’s call to oppose Wang Daoyuan and sought guidance from his ancestor in an artificial secret realm.
• Shi Zhenbang’s ancestor told him to meet Wang Daoyuan, deepen the clans’ relationship, and expand their business dealings.
• The Wang Clan members at Mirror Iron Mountain delivered Wang Daoyuan a jade talisman from a cultivator claiming to be an old acquaintance from Cloud Hidden Isle.