Chapter Summaries

The Sixth Prince arrived at Sanhe Market and used the Mountain River Seal to break the Three Sects' formation, but their hidden reserves turned the battle against the Zhao forces. As the Three Sects mocked him as the Long-legged Prince, the Sixth Prince blamed Wang Daoyuan and threatened the Wang Clan.

• The Sixth Prince traveled to Jiangya Peak aboard his lavishly modified flying warship and approved King of Linhai's plan to use the Mountain River Seal against Sanhe Market.
• After ten more Golden Core Cultivators arrived, King of Linhai led the Zhao forces into battle against the Three Sects' defenders and their formation.
• The Sixth Prince used the Mountain River Seal to destabilize the water veins, forcing the Three Sects to shut down the formation and shattering Sanhe Market's defensive barrier.
• The Three Sects revealed their sect masters, refined corpses, spirit beasts, and flying warships, reversing the balance against the Zhao forces.
• The Three Sects mocked the Sixth Prince as the Long-legged Prince, and he angrily vowed revenge against Wang Daoyuan and the Wang Clan.

Zhao Jingguo arrived to protect the Sixth Prince, but Golden Sun True Person damaged the imperial carriage with the Crimson Sun Sword. The Sixth Prince emerged with the Mountain River Seal as Profound Nether True Person summoned a Netherwater Black Tortoise to face him.

• Zhao Jingguo revealed himself as the Zhao Kingdom's Minister of the Imperial Clan and destroyed a Myriad Spirit Sect flying warship with one sword strike.
• Golden Sun True Person brought out the Crimson Sun Sword and clashed with Zhao Jingguo, whose sword phantom lost the exchange.
• Golden Sun True Person's flaming sword broke through the Sixth Prince's carriage defenses and set its cabin ablaze.
• The Sixth Prince emerged holding the Mountain River Seal and offered pardon and titles to Three Sects cultivators who surrendered or changed sides.
• Profound Nether True Person summoned a mid fourth-rank Netherwater Black Tortoise, which gathered the surrounding river water to meet the Mountain River Seal's attack.

The Sixth Prince and Zhao Jingguo turned the battle against the Three Sects by targeting the Netherworld Sect’s Golden Core cultivators and corpse refinements. As Zhao’s side gained ground, two hidden cultivators ambushed a Zhao family fighter, who self-destructed his Golden Core and killed several enemies, leaving the wider battle unresolved.

• The Sixth Prince followed Zhao Jingguo’s plan, put away the Mountain River Seal, and killed the Myriad Spirit Sect’s Golden Armored Alligator Dragon with the Gui Shui Lightning Sword.
• Gu Chengfeng and Zhao Lingjiang attacked the Crimson Sun Palace and Netherworld Sect fighters while the Linhai Prefecture cultivators held off the other enemies; Zhao Lingjiang and King of Linhai severely wounded Luo Jiuyou and killed a Netherworld Sect cultivator.
• Zhao’s forces killed or disabled most of the Netherworld Sect’s Golden Core combatants, but a Myriad Spirit Sect cultivator intervened and stopped Zhao Lingjiang from finishing Luo Jiuyou.
• Two hidden Mid Golden Core cultivators emerged from Sanhe Market and ambushed a Zhao family cultivator who was already under attack.
• The Zhao family cultivator self-destructed his Golden Core while pursuing his ambushers, killing the gravely wounded Netherworld Sect cultivator and fatally injuring the Myriad Spirit Sect formation controller, whom a Gui Shui Divine Thunder then destroyed.

The Zhao family and the Three Great Sects fought a fierce battle as both sides lost Golden Core cultivators and Linhai Prefecture’s fighters began to flee. The Sixth Prince brought out the Wind Snow Cold Sky Talisman, leaving the Zhao Kingdom’s fate dependent on how many enemies it could kill.

• The King of Linhai killed a heavy sword cultivator with Gui Water Divine Lightning after two Zhao family members joined his attack.
• Luo Jiuyou used a Black Banner to kill a wounded cultivator from Linhai Prefecture, and the King of Linhai then helped kill the Three Sects’ surviving Mid Golden Core cultivator.
• Profound Nether True Person held Zhao Jingguo back while Golden Sun True Person struck at Linhai Prefecture’s fighters, killing three and driving the survivors to flee.
• Golden Sun True Person exhausted his spiritual power, and the Three Sects let the fleeing fighters escape while Zhao Jingguo urged the Sixth Prince to act.
• The Sixth Prince took out the Wind Snow Cold Sky Talisman, a fourth-tier high-grade treasure obtained by Zhao Qingshuang.

The Sixth Prince’s Wind Snow Cold Sky Talisman devastated the Three Sects’ forces but failed to decide the battle, leaving both sides with powerful survivors. Seeing the Zhao Lineage’s position worsen, he fled east with his warship while the other Zhao cultivators followed and the Three Sects turned to pursue them.

• The Sixth Prince’s talisman and a Zhao clansman’s Golden Core self-detonation trapped the Three Sects’ cultivators between the two blasts, killing spirit beasts and freezing two Flying Warships.
• Golden Sun True Person survived the talisman’s full force by sacrificing treasures and empowering the Crimson Sun Sword, but his cultivation fell from near Peak Golden Core to Mid Golden Core.
• The surviving Zhao and Three Sects forces assessed their losses, and the Three Sects retained the advantage despite the talisman’s damage.
• The Sixth Prince sent a message to the other Zhao members, cut away his warship’s cabin to make it faster, and fled east.
• Zhao Lingjiang and Zhao Jingguo broke away from their opponents and followed east, while King of Linhai and another Zhao cultivator also fled in that direction.
• The Three Sects did not immediately pursue the Sixth Prince and instead moved to stop the other two Zhao Golden Core cultivators from escaping.

After Zhao Linghan sacrificed himself to let King of Linhai escape, King of Linhai returned to Wanchuan Market and confronted Zhao Lingtian over his cowardice and the Zhao family's losses. Zhao Jingguo and Zhao Lingjiang sided with King of Linhai and demanded that Zhao Lingtian step down so another ruler could lead the restoration.

• Profound Nether True Person divided the survivors' duties, while Luo Jiuyou urged former affiliated families to surrender and the Myriad Spirit Sect pursued the two Zhao Golden Cores.
• Zhao Linghan gave King of Linhai a jade pendant, told him to escape through the Wan Chuan River, and flew back to hold off the pursuers; an explosion and a spirit bird's shriek followed.
• Gu Chengfeng and the other Golden Cores held Wanchuan Market while gathering their scattered clansmen, and the Sixth Prince, Zhao Jingguo, Zhao Lingjiang, and King of Linhai eventually returned there.
• King of Linhai accused Zhao Lingtian of abandoning the Zhao family's fighters and wasting its strength, then said the Ninth Prince was a better choice to restore the nation.
• Zhao Jingguo and Zhao Lingjiang drew their swords to stop Zhao Lingtian from attacking King of Linhai, and Zhao Jingguo invoked clan law before demanding that Zhao Lingtian step down.

After the Zhao Clan’s defeat, the Sixth Prince abdicated and Zhao Jingguo prepared to install the Ninth Prince while seeking allies. Wang Daoyuan held back from choosing a side, entertaining the Netherworld Sect’s envoy as he waited for the Zhao Clan to offer a better price.

• The Sixth Prince yielded the Mountain River Seal to Zhao Jingguo and agreed to give up the throne after Zhao Jingguo and Zhao Lingjiang threatened him.
• Zhao Jingguo sent King of Linhai to invite the Ninth Prince to inherit the throne and to contact the Wang Clan and Ling Yan for support.
• Wang Daoyuan refined his Vermilion Bird Fire Control Evasion and considered how to prepare for battles with Golden Core Cultivators.
• Zhou Luan told Wang Daoyuan that the Zhao Clan had lost at Sanhe Market and that the Ninth Prince was being prepared to take the throne.
• Wang Daoyuan turned away the Zhao Clan’s Late Violet Mansion envoy and waited for both sides to reveal their strength before committing the Wang Clan.
• Gu Wangzong visited Wang Daoyuan to ask him to return to the Netherworld Sect, and Wang Daoyuan exchanged pleasantries without making a commitment.

Wang Daoyuan kept the Wang Clan neutral while waiting to see how many forces the Three Sects lost at Wucheng Pass. Meanwhile, Zhao Lingxiao accepted the throne from the Sixth Prince and began preparing to weaken the Three Sects and win the Wang Clan’s support.

• Wang Daoyuan learned from Zhou Luan that the fighting at Wucheng Pass remained a stalemate and chose to wait before committing the Wang Clan.
• The Sixth Prince’s abdication decree was read, and Zhao Lingxiao accepted the throne after three refusals and three requests.
• Zhao Jingguo gave Zhao Lingxiao the Mountain River Seal, and Zhao Lingxiao received the officials’ worship as emperor.
• The King of Linhai reported the Zhao Clan’s available forces, which Zhao Lingxiao recognized were weaker than the Three Sects’ forces.
• Zhao Lingxiao ordered his followers to attack the Three Sects’ other industries, gather supplies, prepare for a decisive battle, and keep trying to win over the Wang Clan.

Wang Daoyuan accepted territory and titles offered by both the Zhao family and the Netherworld Sect while delaying any commitment to fight for either side. At Wucheng Pass, the Song Kingdom and the Three Sects fought a costly battle before the Three Sects agreed to cede the pass and end hostilities.

• Zhao Lingxiao offered Wang Daoyuan Qingli Commandery and Golden Goose City, while ordering Shi Zhenbang to negotiate with him again.
• Wang Daoyuan told Shi Zhenbang he would support the Zhao family only if its strength could match the Three Sects, then later promised Gu Wangzong troops in exchange for territory.
• Wang Daoyuan occupied northern Heyang Commandery after Gu Wangzong left, but continued delaying his promised military support.
• The Song Kingdom tried to cut off the Three Sects' supply lines, prompting the Myriad Spirit Sect to use spirit birds to resist its Flying Warships.
• The Song Kingdom and the Three Sects fought a daylong battle in which both sides suffered Golden Core Cultivator losses.
• After more than a month of fighting and pauses, the Three Sects ceded Wucheng Pass and both sides ended hostilities.

Wang Daoyuan weighed the growing strength of the Zhao Clan against the Three Sects before hearing the Ninth Prince’s offer to grant the Wang Clan broad autonomy in exchange for joining the campaign against the rebels. He demanded Baichuan Lake and offered to split the Netherworld Sect from within, leaving the Zhao Clan to decide whether to accept his terms.

• Wang Daoyuan learned that the Zhao Clan had revealed two more powerful cultivators, narrowing the gap with the Three Sects and making the Wang Clan’s allegiance decisive.
• Shi Zhizhong visited Jade Spring Peak on the Ninth Prince’s orders and offered the Wang Clan expanded territory, hereditary authority, and protection from Zhao Clan interference.
• Wang Daoyuan agreed to support the Ninth Prince but asked for Baichuan Lake, including Green Willow Continent, and offered to give up northern Heyang Commandery and Golden Goose City.
• Shi Zhizhong explained that the Ninth Prince would personally honor the Wang Clan’s fallen, and Wang Daoyuan offered to turn the Netherworld Sect against itself by cutting off the Netherwater River’s Yin Energy.
• Shi Zhizhong hurried back to report Wang Daoyuan’s demands and plan to the Ninth Prince.

Wang Daoyuan received the Zhao Emperor’s decree and was formally invested as the Qingli County King, while the Zhao court recognized his territorial claims and sought his help against the Netherworld Sect. The chapter ended with the emperor asking whether Wang Daoyuan would take one of his granddaughters as a wife.

• Shi Zhizhong told Wang Daoyuan that the Zhao Emperor had agreed to let the Wang Clan manage northern Heyang Commandery and incorporate Baichuan Lake into Qingli Commandery, with Green Willow Continent to follow after the old capital was recovered.
• Wang Daoyuan prepared for the Zhao Emperor’s visit, and the emperor arrived at Jade Spring Peak with Crown Prince Zhao Qingxuan and a retinue to honor the Wang Clan’s ancestors.
• Zhao Jingguo read the sacrificial text and the decree investing Wang Daoyuan as Qingli County King, and the Zhao Emperor bestowed the royal seal, the County King’s Sword, an Iron Certificate of Immunity, and the County King’s regalia.
• Wang Daoyuan told the Zhao Emperor that he could divert the source of the Netherwater River’s Yin Energy and offered to sever it within three days, after publicizing the threat to unsettle the Netherworld Sect.
• The Zhao Emperor praised Wang Daoyuan’s plan and asked whether he would consider marrying one of his granddaughters.

Wang Daoyuan proposed that the Zhao court avoid a decisive battle at Sanhe Market and instead weaken the Three Sects by targeting the Netherworld Sect’s sources of Yin Energy and winning over its cultivators. The Zhao Emperor approved his strategy and entrusted him with cutting off the Netherwater River’s Yin Energy, while Zhao Qingxuan recognized how it could preserve the Zhao family’s strength.

• Wang Daoyuan declined to marry the Zhao Emperor’s granddaughter himself and recommended Wang Mingshan as a suitable match; the Zhao Emperor agreed to arrange the marriage after the war.
• Wang Daoyuan advised the Zhao Emperor not to attack Sanhe Market because the terrain and the Three Sects’ top-tier combatants could make a decisive battle costly and uncertain.
• Wang Daoyuan proposed attacking the Nine Nether Profound Crystal Mine, harassing the other sects’ industries, and using the Netherworld Sect’s resulting isolation to encourage defections and surrender.
• The Zhao Emperor authorized Wang Daoyuan to make promises to Three Sects cultivators who defected and assigned him to cut off the Netherwater River’s Yin Energy.
• After the Zhao Emperor departed, he asked Zhao Qingxuan about Wang Daoyuan’s strategy; Zhao Qingxuan explained how it could reduce Zhao’s losses, and the Emperor cautioned him against suppressing Wang Daoyuan.

Wang Daoyuan consolidated his authority in Qingli Commandery, helped strip the Netherwater River of its Yin Energy, and watched the Netherworld Sect's factions begin seeking a way out. As the Zhao Family's forces gathered at Golden Goose City to attack the Nine Nether Profound Crystal Mine, Wang Daoyuan arrived to command the coalition.

• Wang Daoyuan handed the transition to the Prince's Mansion to Twelfth Uncle, and the commandery's lineages declared their obedience and moved to occupy vacant spirit mountains.
• Wang Daoyuan assigned Cui Ming to damage the Gui Water Nether Spring, and Cui Ming completed the task; news soon spread that the Netherwater River had lost its Yin Energy.
• Luo Jiuyou offered Wang Daoyuan Qingli Commandery, Heyang Commandery, and the Netherworld Sect Master position if he restored the river's Yin Energy, but Wang Daoyuan rejected him.
• Zhong Yaoting, Gu Wangzong, and Ming Huai sent messages of goodwill, while Wang Daoyuan informed the Zhao Emperor that most of the Netherworld Sect was ready to abandon its resistance.
• The Zhao Emperor assembled forces at Golden Goose City, and Wang Daoyuan went there with five third-tier Flying Warships to take command alongside Zhao Lingyan, Zhao Jingguo, and Sixth Prince.

Wang Daoyuan accepted command of the Zhao family’s campaign against the Nine Nether Profound Crystal Vein and led the attack on its defenses. As his forces battered the mine’s formation, Luo Jiuyou accused him of betrayal, and Wang Daoyuan answered by recounting the Netherworld Sect’s mistreatment of his clan and challenging Luo Jiuyou to fight.

• Wang Daoyuan agreed to lead the operation, with Zhao Jingguo as his deputy, and arranged for Golden Goose City and the supply route to be guarded.
• Wang Daoyuan, Gu Chengfeng, and the Zhao family’s Golden Core Cultivators marched to Returning Origin Mountain, where Zhao Lingyan stayed behind while Wang Daoyuan and four others advanced toward the mine.
• Zhao Lingjiang shattered the mine entrance’s third-order defensive barrier, and the attackers began destroying the formation eyes and striking the fourth-order formation.
• Luo Jiuyou shouted from inside the mine that Wang Daoyuan had betrayed the Netherworld Sect, and Wang Daoyuan listed the sect’s abuses against him and the Wang Clan before challenging Luo Jiuyou to fight.

Wang Daoyuan and the Zhao family’s cultivators confronted reinforcements from the Three Sects near the Nine Nether Profound Crystal Mine. Wang Daoyuan nearly defeated Luo Jiuyou before True Dragon Tamer intervened, and the Zhao side ended the first battle with the advantage.

• Gu Chengfeng mocked Luo Jiuyou while he and Wang Daoyuan attacked the mine’s defensive formation, and Luo Jiuyou refused to fight them.
• Three Golden Core reinforcements, including True Dragon Tamer and True Man Fei Yu, arrived, so Wang Daoyuan ordered the lower-ranked cultivators to withdraw and led his group east.
• Wang Daoyuan assigned opponents to the Zhao cultivators, then faced Luo Jiuyou while the two sides’ other fighters battled.
• Wang Daoyuan trapped Luo Jiuyou in Black Tortoise Purgatory and, with the Crimson Feather Crow and Vermilion Bird Fan, burned his corpse refinement to ashes.
• True Dragon Tamer broke Wang Daoyuan’s Black Tortoise Purgatory, allowing Luo Jiuyou to escape, and the Three Sects’ cultivators retreated toward the mine tunnel.

Wang Daoyuan helped the Zhao Clan pressure the Three Sects, then returned to the battle at the Nine Nether Profound Crystal Vein and nearly killed Luo Jiuyou. A golden, lifeless figure emerged from the mine’s formation and revealed itself as a Golden Armored Corpse.

• True Dragon Tamer and the other Three Sects cultivators regrouped, and True Dragon Tamer assigned Luo Jiuyou to fight Gu Chengfeng while Yan Yang faced Wang Daoyuan.
• Wang Daoyuan proposed striking the Myriad Spirit Sect’s industries, and the Zhao Emperor led an attack on a major Spirit Stone mine in Linchuan Commandery.
• The Zhao Emperor’s assault drew True Dragon Tamer away from the crystal mine, so Wang Daoyuan led four Golden Core cultivators in another attack there.
• Wang Daoyuan evaded Yan Yang and pursued Luo Jiuyou, trapping him in Black Tortoise Purgatory and wounding him with sword shadows.
• A golden figure burst from the mine’s Defensive Formation, shattered Black Tortoise Purgatory, and endured Wang Daoyuan’s attacks without injury; Wang Daoyuan recognized it as a Golden Armored Corpse.

Wang Daoyuan and his allies fought the Golden Armored Corpse and Luo Jiuyou to a stalemate until Luo Jiuyu emerged and ordered the enemy to retreat. Back at Returning Origin Mountain, Wang Daoyuan suspected that Luo Jiuyu was a Half-Human Half-Corpse, prompting Zhao Lingjiang to ask about the secret art that created one.

• Wang Daoyuan used the Crimson Feather Crow’s fire and the Vermilion Bird Fan against the Golden Armored Corpse, but Luo Jiuyou helped suppress the flames and the two sides remained locked in a stalemate.
• Zhao Jingguo gained the advantage over Qian Yang and Jin Shan, but a plume of black smoke forced him to redirect his sword strike toward an incoming attacker.
• Luo Jiuyu emerged from the smoke with a ruined defensive artifact and ordered Qian Yang and Jin Shan to retreat.
• Wang Daoyuan led his companions back to Returning Origin Mountain, where Zhao Jingguo assessed Luo Jiuyu’s strength as comparable to Zhao Lingjiang’s.
• Wang Daoyuan suspected Luo Jiuyu was a Half-Human Half-Corpse, and Zhao Lingjiang asked whether he meant the secret art that transformed a living person with Corpse Qi and death Qi.

Wang Daoyuan and his allies prepared for a renewed battle at the Nine Nether Profound Crystal Mine, where he used his fire techniques to destroy the Golden Armored Corpse. The Three Sects’ cultivators retreated into the mine, and the exhausted allies returned to Returning Origin Mountain.

• Wang Daoyuan suspected Luo Jiuyu was becoming a refined corpse, and Zhao Jingguo arranged to summon Zhao Lingxu as reinforcement.
• Wang Daoyuan and Gu Chengfeng exchanged cultivation techniques, learning the Kirin Evil Suppressing Art and Flying Dust Evasion.
• After Zhao Lingxu arrived, the six allies returned to the mine and fought the Three Sects’ cultivators, with Wang Daoyuan and Gu Chengfeng joining forces against the Golden Armored Corpse.
• Wang Daoyuan lured the Golden Armored Corpse away, then trapped it in a vast sea of fire while Gu Chengfeng blocked its escape.
• After hours of burning, Wang Daoyuan reduced the Golden Armored Corpse to ashes, and the Three Sects’ cultivators fled into the mine.
• Wang Daoyuan and his allies, too exhausted to pursue them, returned to Returning Origin Mountain.

Wang Daoyuan and the Zhao family fought the Three Sects again, driving their cultivators to flee or surrender. With Qian Yang yielding and the Netherworld Sect weakened, they prepared to force its surrender and hunt down the two fugitives hiding in the mine tunnels.

• Wang Daoyuan told Zhao Jingguo that killing Luo Jiuyou and Luo Jiuyu could break the Three Sects’ resistance, and Zhao Jingguo agreed to relay his strategy to the Zhao Emperor.
• Seven days later, Wang Daoyuan fought Qian Yang while the Crimson Feather Crow held off Luo Jiuyou and Zhao Jingguo wounded Luo Jiuyu, who escaped into the mine tunnels.
• True Man Fei Yu and Jin Shan fled, Zhong Zhenyang escaped in black smoke, and True Man Yan Yang self-detonated his Golden Core after Wang Daoyuan evaded him.
• Qian Yang asked to surrender, and Wang Daoyuan accepted because the Zhao Emperor had decreed that those who surrendered would be spared.
• The Zhao family turned its attention to forcing the Netherworld Sect to surrender and dragging the two fugitives out of the mine tunnels.

Wang Daoyuan and his allies burned Luo Jiuyou and Luo Jiuyu to death inside the Nine Nether Profound Crystal Mine. After learning that the Netherworld Sect had purged its holdouts and sought surrender, Wang Daoyuan let Zhao Jingguo lead the acceptance on behalf of the Zhao Emperor.

• Wang Daoyuan proposed drawing Yin Energy from the mine and filling it with fire, while Zhao Lingyan and Qian Yang supplied the Fire Control Gourd.
• Wang Daoyuan drained the mine’s Yin Energy and filled its tunnels with Crimson Gold Flame, which the Vermillion Bird Phantom strengthened.
• Luo Jiuyou tried to surrender at the mine entrance, but Qian Yang struck him back into the flames; Luo Jiuyou and Luo Jiuyu both died.
• Wang Daoyuan’s Soul Chasing Bees and Zhao Jingguo’s secret technique confirmed that no one had escaped the mine.
• Zhong Zhenyang reported that the Luo Family’s last Golden Core Cultivator had been slain and the Netherworld Sect’s Zhong, Gu, and Ming families had purged holdouts and begged to surrender.
• Wang Daoyuan asked Zhao Jingguo to lead the acceptance of surrender, and the group headed for the Netherworld Sect’s mountain gate as Zhao Jingguo informed the Zhao Emperor.