Chapter Summaries

Wang Daoyuan and the Demon Race negotiated over territory, especially the Skyrend Mountain Range and the lands north of it, while both sides threatened to resume fighting. The Demon Race accepted human control of everything west of the range, but demanded restrictions on how high-ranking cultivators could intervene.

• A sea turtle and True Man Feng Yi urged both sides to negotiate, while Feng Yi threatened to self-detonate his Nascent Soul if the fighting resumed.
• Wang Daoyuan refused to surrender the Skyrend Mountain Range or the lands north of it, and True Man Mo Yang and True Person Xuan Shuang accused the Demon Race of exploiting past human sacrifices and abandoning the fight against the Devil Race.
• The ice dragon proposed recognizing that the Skyrend Mountain Range was not entirely Demon Race territory, and Wang Daoyuan argued that humans and Half-demons also held claims north of the mountains.
• Fire Phoenix offered to let humans establish industries in the range's peripheral regions, but Wang Daoyuan demanded that everything west of the range belong to humans.
• The ice dragon accepted human control west of the Skyrend Mountain Range, while insisting that Fifth-order demons and Nascent Soul Cultivators stay out of the opposing side's territory and leave lesser disputes to lower-ranking fighters.

Wang Daoyuan negotiated territorial boundaries and restrictions with the Demon Race, securing major concessions while driving a wedge between its factions. After the agreement, he began planning how Yan Kingdom would govern its newly acquired northern and western lands.

• Wang Daoyuan negotiated with Fire Phoenix over Linhai Prefecture, passage along the Wan Chuan River, and the Demon Race west of the Skyrend Mountain Range.
• Wang Daoyuan proposed dividing the northern territory and overlapping lands; Ice Flood Dragon accepted, and a sea turtle agreed that Linhai Prefecture's edge and five thousand li offshore would mark the eastern boundary.
• Wang Daoyuan returned to Qingli City, where True Man Mo Lin and the others celebrated the agreement and discussed how it could buy the human race time.
• Wang Daoyuan and True Person Xuan Shuang assigned responsibility for the northern lands between Yan Kingdom and the Wind Snow Divine Palace, and Xuan Shuang left to report the agreement.
• Wang Daoyuan considered settling Half-demons in the desert as a buffer and struggled with how Yan Kingdom could manage the vast territory west of the Skyrend Mountain Range.

Wang Daoyuan and his family planned how to govern the vast territories the Yan Kingdom gained through the Human-Demon agreement, using some lands to win allies and settle Half-demons and Rogue Cultivators. After Wang Daoyuan returned to cultivation, Zhao Jingguo arrived to negotiate the purchase or exchange of territory south of the Wan Chuan River, leaving the Yan Kingdom’s first land deal to be discussed.

• Wang Mingchen proposed expanding Qingli Commandery and exchanging or assigning other newly acquired territories, and Wang Shouye offered a detailed plan for governing the regions.
• Wang Daoyuan learned that Wang Daochang had left seclusion, and Wang Daochang volunteered to take an official post assisting Wang Mingchen.
• Wang Daoyuan returned to the Underground Cave Mansion beneath Jade Spring to cultivate toward the Nascent Soul Late Stage.
• Zhao Jingguo arrived on behalf of the Zhao Emperor to negotiate for the Yan Kingdom’s lands south of the Wan Chuan River, including Ten Thousand Dragon Mountain.

Wang Daoyuan agreed to sell territory east of Linchuan Commandery and part of Ten Thousand Dragon Mountain to Zhao Kingdom in exchange for Linhai Prefecture. Zhao Jingguo also asked him to upgrade Zhao Kingdom’s Mountain River Seal, and Wang Daoyuan agreed on the condition that Yan Kingdom’s spirit veins would not be affected.

• Zhao Jingguo offered Linhai Prefecture for land east of Linchuan Commandery and a ten-thousand-li-wide section at the northern end of Ten Thousand Dragon Mountain.
• Wang Daoyuan accepted the exchange and agreed that the Thirteen Families of Linhai could relocate or divide their clans, while King of Linhai’s fief would move west of the Skyrend Mountain Range.
• Zhao Jingguo asked Wang Daoyuan to refine Zhao Kingdom’s Mountain River Seal into a Fifth-order Magic Tool in exchange for Gui Shui Divine Thunder.
• Wang Daoyuan agreed to upgrade the Mountain River Seal after confirming that the origins of Yan Kingdom’s spirit veins had already been removed from it.

Wang Daoyuan agreed to reforge Zhao Kingdom’s Mountain River Seal in exchange for Linhai Prefecture and the Gui Water Divine Lightning. Linhai Prefecture was handed over to the Wang Clan, and Wang Daoyuan began studying the lightning technique while preparing to refine the seal.

• Wang Daoyuan agreed to remove Linhai Prefecture’s spiritual vein origins from the Mountain River Seal and reforge it, while Zhao Jingguo promised to provide the seal and the Gui Water Divine Lightning.
• Wang Daoyuan assigned Wang Zhian to govern Linhai Prefecture and sent him with a Fifth-order puppet; Wang Mingchen was tasked with handling the handover.
• The Wang Clan took control of Linhai Prefecture, divided it into three commanderies, and moved cultivators and mortals there; Wang Zhian became governor, with Zhao Qinglang and Gu Chengfeng appointed as prefects.
• True Man Xuan Tian delivered the Mysterious Ice Turtle to guard Linhai Prefecture, and Zhao Jingguo brought the Mountain River Seal and its refinement materials to Wang Daoyuan.
• Wang Daoyuan examined the Gui Water Divine Lightning and learned that its cultivation required mastering both lightning and Water Attribute laws.

Wang Daoyuan reforged the Mountain River Seal to the fifth order, advised Zhao Jingguo about the Zhao family's Gui Shui Divine Lightning, and later reached the Nascent Soul Late Stage. He assessed the progress of his spiritual vein, spirit flames, and spirit beasts, with Big Black nearing a breakthrough.

• Wang Daoyuan deduced the fifth-order refinement method and reforged the Mountain River Seal, restoring its materials and nurturing it to greater strength.
• Wang Daoyuan gave Zhao Jingguo the upgraded Mountain River Seal and its refinement method, and explained that the Zhao family's Gui Shui Divine Lightning had taken a powerful but unconventional path.
• Zhao Jingguo and Song Yan both formed Nascent Souls, and Wang Shouye delivered pills to congratulate Zhao Jingguo on behalf of the Wang family.
• After more than thirty years of cultivation and consuming over a hundred Nascent Soul Nurturing Pills, Wang Daoyuan broke through to the Nascent Soul Late Stage.
• The Spirit Pearl Space's spiritual vein reached High-grade Fifth-order, while Wang Daoyuan's spirit flames and dragonfish advanced; Big Black neared a breakthrough as Yunyi and the Soul Chasing Bee Queen remained stuck at the peak of the third order.

Wang Daoyuan studied the Gui Shui and Ren Shui Divine Lightning and began restoring other Five Elements Divine Thunder, hoping to combine them into a power like the five-colored flame pearl from his Nascent Soul tribulation. After more than two years of feeding the Thunder Ape Hundred Fruit Brew, he watched it survive its Golden Core tribulation, but a Horned Thunder Ape bloodline tribulation appeared before it could awaken its lightning-controlling Lesser Divine Ability.

• Wang Daoyuan cultivated the Gui Shui Divine Lightning and deduced the Ren Shui Divine Lightning, then considered using all five Divine Thunder arts to recreate the five-colored flame pearl’s power.
• Wang Daoyuan gave the Thunder Ape Hundred Fruit Brew for more than two years while restoring the Wutu Divine Thunder and Bing Fire Divine Thunder.
• The Thunder Ape awakened and drew heavenly tribulation clouds as it attempted to break through to the fourth order.
• The Thunder Ape endured its Golden Core tribulation with little damage, using only two shields against the final three bolts.
• A giant Horned Thunder Ape descended from the clouds, beginning the Thunder Ape’s bloodline tribulation.

Wang Daoyuan watched the Thunder Ape survive its fourth-order Bloodline Tribulation, then helped several of his spirit beasts absorb the Heaven and Earth Boon. After learning the lightning laws from the Thunder Ape, he derived and tested a fifth-order Gui Water Divine Thunder.

• Wang Tongyuan joined Wang Daoyuan to watch the Thunder Ape fight the Tribulation Giant Ape through its Bloodline Tribulation.
• The Thunder Ape survived the tribulation, spoke human language without taking human form, and asked Wang Daoyuan to let Tongyuan and the other spirit beasts absorb the Heaven and Earth Boon.
• Wang Daoyuan sent Yunyi, Big Black, the dragonfish, the Soul Chasing Bee queen, and Wang Tongyuan beneath the auspicious clouds to absorb the boon.
• Wang Daoyuan traded wine with the Thunder Ape while studying its lightning attacks, and mastered the lightning laws after more than a month.
• Wang Daoyuan derived a fifth-order Gui Water Divine Thunder and tested it by reducing a rib from the Gu Eagle to bone powder.

Wang Daoyuan shared his deduced Divine Thunder methods with Wang Mingchen and Wang Shouye, then surveyed the land north of the mountains for a new Wang Clan stronghold. He chose You Nan Mountain as a strategic base for future expansion toward the Purple Gold River valley.

• Wang Daoyuan gave Wang Shouye the deduced Gui Water Divine Thunder methods and gave Wang Mingchen jade slips containing the first six levels of the Bing Fire Divine Thunder.
• Wang Shouye reported the establishment of Guiyan Commandery and Nether King Commandery and asked where to place a new commandery city in the undeveloped lands north of the mountains.
• Wang Daoyuan said the Wang Clan should recruit Rogue Cultivators, settle Half-demons, and prepare to occupy Purple Gold River, then set out to find a suitable site for a new industry.
• Wang Daoyuan sent Soul Chasing Bees through the underground cave and discovered that it connected to the source of the Nether King River near Ghostly Soul Cave.
• Wang Daoyuan selected You Nan Mountain, which had a mid-grade fourth-order spirit vein, as a strategic stronghold and ordered Wang Mingchen to send personnel to establish a Defensive Formation and open Spirit Fields.

Wang Daoyuan surveyed Purple Gold River Valley and sought information about its dangers and inhabitants. After rescuing Zhou Ting from Half-demons, he followed him to Hidden Dragon Market Town.

• Wang Daoyuan instructed Wang Shouze to establish the clan’s operations near You Nan Mountain and secretly protect the underground cave, then left Gray Peng to guard the area.
• Wang Daoyuan inspected the Purple Gold River branch hall, left Zheng Ping seeds and willow branches, and found the hall’s formation intact.
• Wang Daoyuan explored downstream toward the Mirage Sea but turned back when its dense mist restricted his sight.
• Wang Daoyuan disguised himself as Wu Chuan, killed Half-demons attacking Zhou Ting, and learned that a human market town stood nearby.
• Zhou Ting led Wang Daoyuan through an Illusion Formation to Hidden Dragon Market Town.

Wang Daoyuan visited Hidden Dragon Market Town and learned why the Purple Gold River Valley had no Golden Core Cultivators or Fourth-order Demonic Beasts. He left for the west of the Skyrend Mountain Range, planning to return to the valley after making preparations.

• Zhou Ting guided Wang Daoyuan through Hidden Dragon Market Town and offered to introduce him to its Violet Mansion seniors.
• Wang Daoyuan met two Violet Mansion Cultivators and admitted he was an outsider who had arrived through the Mirage Sea.
• Li explained that ancient measures left underground in the Purple Gold River Valley amplified heavenly tribulations and caused qi deviation, preventing cultivation above the Golden Core Realm.
• Wang Daoyuan suspected the measures came from Myriad Beast Valley and considered their effects an advantage for the Wang Clan, though he planned to investigate them later.
• Wang Daoyuan thanked the cultivators, left Hidden Dragon Market Town, and traveled west to the Skyrend Mountain Range.

Wang Daoyuan opened a spirit spring on You Nan Mountain, then watched Big Black survive its fourth-order tribulation and transformation tribulation. Big Black took human form with a face resembling Wang Daoyuan’s eldest brother, Wang Meng, in his youth.

• Wang Daoyuan dug a channel from an underground water vein to irrigate the Spirit Fields on You Nan Mountain.
• Big Black emerged from the Spirit Pearl Space and swallowed most of its fourth-order tribulation lightning, then defeated the tribulation’s black dog apparition and recovered with the Heaven and Earth Boon.
• Wang Daoyuan sent the clansmen, Cloudwing, the Dragonfish, and the Soul Chasing Bee Queen to absorb the Heaven and Earth Boon.
• Big Black announced that it would undergo a transformation tribulation and swallowed all three bolts of lightning.
• Big Black transformed into a nine-chi-tall man whose face resembled Wang Meng in his youth.

After Wang Yan transformed, Wang Daoyuan learned about his swallowing ability and sent him to visit places tied to his past. Wang Daoyuan settled near You Nan Mountain, where he began developing puppets to support the Yan Kingdom’s Spirit Fields and taught the Lineage’s craftsmen how to make them.

• Wang Yan explained that he had chosen the eldest young master's appearance to remember him and could store, refine, or spit out what he swallowed.
• Wang Yan recalled his life with his master, received the name Wang Yan from Wang Daoyuan, and left to visit Jade Spring Peak, Qingxi Village, and Dragon Fall Ridge.
• Wang Daoyuan opened a cave abode near You Nan Mountain and refined a Low-grade Second-order puppet that could cast the Sweet Rain Technique on Spirit Fields.
• After the puppet successfully watered a Spirit Field, Wang Daoyuan summoned Zhao Liang, craftsmen, and Wang Shouze to study Puppet Art.
• Wang Daoyuan dismantled his old spirit-grain-harvesting puppet and explained its parts to the Formation Masters and Artifact Refiners.

Wang Daoyuan oversaw Yunyi, the dragonfish, and the Soul Chasing Bee queen as they underwent tribulations and reached the fourth order. He healed the battered beasts, while Wang Dezhao absorbed their Heaven and Earth Boons, and the queen bee’s request to undergo transformation was refused.

• Wang Daoyuan arranged for Yunyi, the dragonfish, and the Soul Chasing Bee queen to undergo their tribulations along the Nether King River, and Wang Dezhao arrived to join them and learn puppet refinement.
• Yunyi survived its lightning tribulation, defeated the Soul Devouring Nether Tiger that appeared afterward, and recovered through the Heaven and Earth Boon.
• The dragonfish and the queen bee underwent lightning tribulations simultaneously; the queen bee endured hers, while the dragonfish fled into Ghostly Soul Cave and emerged gravely injured after its Lesser Divine Ability Tribulation.
• Wang Daoyuan healed the dragonfish, and Wang Dezhao continued absorbing its Heaven and Earth Boon after the queen bee’s boon ended.
• The Soul Chasing Bee queen asked Wang Daoyuan for permission to undergo its transformation tribulation, but he returned it to the Spirit Pearl Space and refused.

Wang Daoyuan named the transformed black dragonfish Wang Minglong and shared puppet-making knowledge with the Wang Lineage. Wang Minglong then revealed that an earthy-yellow spring at Mirror Lake Oasis had awakened memories of a Yin-rich river populated by beasts like him.

• Wang Dezhao chose to strengthen his body before undergoing tribulation and left for the Green Willow Secret Realm with Twelfth Uncle's dragonfish.
• The black dragonfish passed its transformation tribulation, became a young man, and Wang Daoyuan named him Wang Minglong.
• Wang Daoyuan gave Wang Shouze a puppet-making inheritance and assigned Zhao Liang's Artifact Refining Hall to produce Spirit Gathering Beads.
• After refining puppets for over a month, Wang Daoyuan heard Yunyi explain that he had stopped Wang Minglong from entering a spring at Mirror Lake Oasis.
• Wang Minglong told Wang Daoyuan that the spring had awakened inherited memories of a Yin-rich river filled with Demon Beasts related to his bloodline.

Wang Daoyuan learned that Wang Minglong’s awakened Nether Dragon memories described the perilous Netherworld and warned him not to enter it. He then refined a fourth-order Sword Cultivator Puppet and summoned Wang Minglong and Cloudwing to spar with it.

• Wang Minglong described the Netherworld from his inherited memories, including its river, wandering souls, and powerful Nether Dragons.
• Wang Daoyuan warned Wang Minglong not to enter the Netherworld until he could accompany him at the Mahayana Realm.
• Wang Daoyuan gave Wang Minglong and Cloudwing Ink Jade Nether Lotus seeds and Demon Soul Grass before continuing his puppet work.
• Wang Daoyuan refined a fourth-order middle-grade Sword Cultivator Puppet, altering a Fierce Blood Pig’s soul and helping it master sword intent and sword spells.
• Wang Daoyuan summoned Wang Minglong and Cloudwing to spar with the new puppet, and they relaxed when they learned that was the reason he had called them.

Wang Daoyuan drilled his new Sword Puppet against Yunyi and Wang Minglong, then named it Yellow Armor. He later refined a fifth-order Sword Puppet with a tracking artifact and prepared Gray Peng as its sparring partner.

• Wang Daoyuan made Yunyi and Wang Minglong spar with the Sword Puppet, testing its sword array and their defenses.
• Wang Daoyuan trained the puppet daily for a month until it could wield its sword spells well and defeat Wang Minglong.
• Wang Daoyuan named the puppet Yellow Armor and planned to refine fifth-order puppets to help defend the Wang Clan.
• Wang Daoyuan asked Zhou Luan to find fourth-order Demon Beast souls, and Wang Daojian later received ten souls in Ghost Path storage artifacts.
• After a year of work and several failed attempts, Wang Daoyuan refined a Low-grade Fifth-order Sword Puppet and a Returning Origin Sword for it, then chose Gray Peng as its sparring partner.

Wang Daoyuan completed two Fifth-order Sword Puppets, Xuan Bing and Xuan Ding, and prepared them to investigate the Mirage Sea. The puppets flew east into the fog as Wang Daoyuan used panoramic perception to observe their journey, but they found only mist and open water.

• Wang Daoyuan tested his newly refined puppet against Gray Peng, judged its performance sufficient, and named it Xuan Bing.
• Wang Daoyuan refined a second puppet and, after Gray Peng trained both, fused Split Souls into them to create the avatars Xuan Bing and Xuan Ding.
• Wang Daoyuan returned to Returning Goose City, recalled the Split Souls from Fang Hu and Yao Long, and kept their bodies for simple work in the Spirit Pearl Space.
• Wang Daoyuan left Gray Peng to guard You Nan Mountain and took Xuan Bing and Xuan Ding to the Purple Gold River.
• Wang Daoyuan sent the two puppets east aboard a flying vessel to investigate the Mirage Sea, where they traveled more than ten thousand li through fog without finding islands or Demon Beasts.

Wang Daoyuan explored the Mirage Sea and found the remains of Myriad Beast Valley’s White Tiger Hall, hoping its higher status meant it held valuable manuals or treasures. He uncovered a hole beneath the hall’s foundation, but its contents remained unknown.

• Xuan Bing investigated a small island and found ruined buildings, bones, and traces of fifth- and sixth-order formations.
• Wang Daoyuan examined the island himself, found a broken stele marked “Purple Gold River,” and sent the puppets farther east.
• The puppets discovered a much larger island, and Wang Daoyuan followed to explore its ruined buildings.
• Wang Daoyuan pieced together a stele identifying the site as White Tiger Hall of Myriad Beast Valley.
• Wang Daoyuan burned through the great hall’s foundation and exposed a large hole beneath it.

Wang Daoyuan followed an escape passage from White Tiger Hall to a vast island that he suspected had been Myriad Beast Valley’s headquarters. He sent thousands of Soul Chasing Bees to scout the island, then set out with the Queen Bee and two Sword Puppets after several bees were killed instantly.

• Wang Daoyuan searched White Tiger Hall’s underground chamber and found it empty, then discovered an escape passage leading more than ten thousand li east.
• Wang Daoyuan followed the passage to a small island and continued east past ruined islands marked first with White Tiger Hall’s name and then with Myriad Beast Valley’s name.
• Wang Daoyuan reached a vast island with Low-grade Fifth-order spiritual energy and began investigating its coastline.
• Wang Daoyuan released the Queen Bee and more than ten thousand Soul Chasing Bees to search the island for spirit plants, beasts, formations, and ruins.
• The Queen Bee reported that several Soul Chasing Bees in the northeast had been killed instantly, and Wang Daoyuan headed there with her and the two Sword Puppets.