Chapter Summaries

Chu Ming rescued Xiao Jianxin and Han Ji from the Blood Fiend Cult’s ambush, then showed Xiao Jianxin how to control Xiao Wu with the Blood Bell. Xiao Jianxin chose to destroy the bell and lay his son to rest, while Chu Ming continued his cultivation and later told Shen Yu that Commander Xiang had taken Yangjia City.

• Shen Yu told Chu Ming that the Blood Fiend Cult had turned Xiao Jianxin’s son, Xiao Wu, into a Bloodthirsty Guard and ambushed Xiao Jianxin and Han Ji at a logging camp.
• Chu Ming used his Qi and Blood Power to take control of the Blood Bell, halted the four Bloodthirsty Guards, and killed three of them.
• Chu Ming gave Xiao Jianxin the Blood Bell and explained that it could control Xiao Wu, then warned the men that the Blood Fiend Cult had attacked the Prefecture Government Office.
• Xiao Jianxin returned with Xiao Wu, confirmed that his son was dead, and crushed the Blood Bell so Xiao Wu could be laid to rest.
• Chu Ming opened his first six regular meridians, tried unsuccessfully to derive a lower-realm technique, and studied the Wolf Transformation Method.
• Shen Yu returned with Xiao Shan, and Chu Ming told him that Commander Xiang had taken Yangjia City.

Chu Ming learned that officials in Qi Capital were obstructing grain orders for the Tiger Armor Army while Emperor Changqin Wenzheng considered moving against the Prince of North Snow with the Old Ancestors’ approval. Chu Ming forged two true Origin Artifacts, and the chapter ended with Shen Yu warning him about Left Prime Minister Zuo Yuan.

• Shen Yu told Chu Ming that someone in Qi Capital was blocking the grain-transfer order for Pingzhong Prefecture.
• Emperor Changqin Wenzheng questioned Crown Prince Changqin Wushi about the armies, the Blood Fiend Cult, and the Prince of North Snow, then tasked him with building the First Rank Humble Gate and Martial Immortal Alliance.
• Changqin Wenzheng met the two Old Ancestors, who tacitly approved his plans to deal with Changqin Wenshuo while emphasizing that capable rulers must hold power.
• Chu Ming forged a golden short sword and reforged Black Blade as two true Origin Artifacts using origin patterns.
• Shen Yu told Chu Ming that Left Prime Minister Zuo Yuan’s faction had influenced the emperor to delay the grain order and warned him to beware of Zuo Yuan.

Chu Ming learned that the Blood Fiend Cult was shipping Jing Salt and provisions through Hundred Transport Wharf, while Yan Qu declared he would seize West Rong Prefecture within half a year using a treasure beneath the Black Tower. At the wharf, Huang Xiao stopped an overseer from beating an exhausted porter and ordered the workers to come with him, leaving his intentions unclear.

• Xiao He told the supposedly poisoned Baili Xinghua that the Blood Fiend Cult prisoners had killed themselves, after which Baili Xinghua met Blood Attendant Pei Yan and discussed the cult's setbacks and West Rong Prefecture.
• Yan Qu promised to take West Rong Prefecture within half a year and revealed that he had touched a treasure beneath the Black Tower: an object carrying the fortune of a great dynasty.
• Shen Yi and Jiang Jing reported that Hundred Transport Wharf was moving Jing Salt and provisions, and Chu Ming rewarded them before giving Medicine Madman a Meridian Opening technique that secretly tied his Qi and Blood Power to his poison pill.
• Chu Ming went to Hundred Transport Wharf to investigate the cargo, where he saw Huang Xiao stop an overseer from whipping an exhausted porter and order the workers to accompany him.

Chu Ming followed a Blood Fiend Cult fleet carrying Jing Salt, provisions, and armor, uncovering the cult’s links to the Wolf Totem Tribe and two surviving Wind Spirit Tribe women. The fleet headed toward the White River as the Wolf Totem Tribe’s leaders spoke of reclaiming their homeland.

• Huang Xiao discovered that two captive women belonged to the Wind Spirit Tribe, killed Huang Sheng to keep the discovery secret, and reported the women to Lang Yu.
• Lang Yu had Huang Xiao killed, then went with other Wolf Totem Tribe members to inspect the women and prepare to transport them.
• Chu Ming followed the fleet from Hundred Transport Wharf and saw that corrupt officials let it pass through a checkpoint on the Grand Canal.
• A second fleet from Pingzhong Prefecture joined the first, bringing more provisions and ships loaded with armor.
• Lang Yu told Lang Ye that he had arranged a route to the White River, and Lang You lamented that the Wolf Totem Tribe had been hiding near the river for nearly a hundred years.

Chu Ming followed a fleet carrying the Blood Fiend Cult and the Wolf Totem Tribe through a secret passage into the White River, where he uncovered the Wind Spirit Tribe’s pursuit and the tribes’ history of conflict. At Mieqi Bay, he found a heavily armed settlement of more than ten thousand people and several powerful fighters, while Lang Yu brought two captured Wind Spirit Tribe women ashore.

• Chu Ming learned that the Wolf Totem Tribe had survived in the White River basin and that the Blood Fiend Cult had promised it West Rong Prefecture.
• Lang Yu led the fleet through a hidden passage into the White River, and Chu Ming discovered that thirty Wind Spirit Tribe members had secretly joined the ships.
• Feng Yao and Feng Zhi discussed the Wind Spirit Tribe members enslaved by the Wolf Totem Tribe, including a hundred captives near the border of West Rong Prefecture and Pingzhong Prefecture.
• Chu Ming reached Mieqi Bay and detected more than ten thousand Blood Fiend Cult and Wolf Totem Tribe members, six Meridian Opening experts, and five inactive Bloodthirsty Guards.
• Lang Yu revealed that Feng Zhu'er and Feng Yi'er belonged to the Wind Spirit Tribe, then refused Lang Ye's offer to buy one of them because he wanted Meridian Opening organs for himself.

Chu Ming discovered that the Wolf Totem Tribe and Blood Fiend Cult had lured the Wind Spirit Tribe into a trap and were using their captives to produce Green Ancient Nectar. As Feng Zhi drew the Tree Prison’s guards away so Feng Yao could free the prisoners, Chu Ming stayed hidden, aware of the valuable nectar beneath the prison’s sapling.

• Lang Ye and Lang Rui killed Lang Yu to seize Feng Zhu'er and Feng Yi'er, but Chu Ming killed them, disguised himself as Lang Yu, and escorted the women into the camp.
• Chu Ming overheard Yan Qian’s plan to let the Wind Spirit Tribe rescue its captives before wiping them out, and learned the Wolf Totem Tribe’s sapling was fake.
• Chu Ming discovered a pool of Green Ancient Nectar beneath the Tree Prison’s sapling and realized the captors were using Wind Spirit Tribe prisoners to produce it.
• Feng Zhi chose to draw the guards away so Feng Yao could rescue the captives, then led Feng Qi, Feng Song, and Feng Yi into battle.
• After Feng Zhi’s group pulled most of the Tree Prison’s guards away, Feng Yao led the Wind Spirit Tribe members inside to free the prisoners.

Chu Ming rescued Feng Yao and helped the Wind Spirit Tribe escape, then secretly attacked the Blood Fiend Cult and Wolf Totem Tribe stronghold to prepare poison. He told Feng Zhi that Feng Yao had rescued their people but the enemy had deliberately let them go, leaving the tribe in danger.

• Feng Yao led the Wind Spirit Tribe out of the Tree Prison while Chu Ming entered, collected the Green Ancient Nectar, and killed Lang Cheng when he was about to kill Feng Yao.
• Chu Ming gave Feng Yao a bottle of Green Ancient Nectar, and Feng Yao led the rescued tribespeople onto a boat that left River Bend as Yan Qian's boats followed them.
• Chu Ming stayed behind to destroy the stronghold, killed Lang Hang and dozens of Wolf Totem Tribe members, and rescued Feng Zhi and Feng Yi.
• Chu Ming gathered medicines from the Medicine Pavilion and brought Feng Zhi and Feng Yi to a hidden place behind the camp to help prepare an improved Soul-Absorbing Bewitching Powder.
• Chu Ming warned Feng Zhi and Feng Yi that Feng Yao had rescued their people only because the Blood Fiend Cult and Wolf Totem Tribe had allowed it, and that their territory was in danger.

Chu Ming enlisted Feng Zhi and Feng Yi to poison the River Bend encampment while he prepared a plan to defeat the Blood Fiend Cult and Wolf Totem Tribe. The poison began taking effect across the camp, and Lang Nu and Guan Qiu realized they had been poisoned too.

• Feng Zhi realized the Wolf Totem Tribe had tracked him through Feng Yao, then knelt and asked Chu Ming to save his people.
• Chu Ming learned the Wind Spirit Tribe's territory was seven hundred miles away and had Feng Zhi and Feng Yi help prepare poison.
• Chu Ming gave Feng Zhi and Feng Yi poison, antidotes, and safe routes to contaminate the encampment's food and water; Feng Zhi took his pill, but Feng Yi discarded his.
• Feng Zhi and Feng Yi poisoned the food and water, and Chu Ming spread more powder around the camp before giving Feng Yi a prescription when his symptoms appeared.
• Chu Ming placed Ten Polar Star Rings inside five Bloodthirsty Guards as the poison began affecting the camp's occupants.
• A messenger reported the outbreak to Lang Nu and Guan Qiu, who then felt the itching themselves.

Chu Ming killed Guan Qiu and faced Lang, who summoned five Blood Guards to attack him. After the Guards and Lang were destroyed in an explosion, a black hidden weapon began corroding Chu Ming’s glove and hand, but white light appeared around him as Feng Zhi saw him standing on a rooftop at sunrise.

• Chu Ming entered the Medicine Pavilion and killed Guan Qiu after the Blood Fiend Cult expert attacked Feng Zhi and Feng Yi.
• Lang arrived, saw Guan Qiu and his younger brother Lang Ang dead, and fought Chu Ming, who matched his strength.
• Lang rang a Blood Bell to summon five Blood Guards, while Feng Zhi thanked Chu Ming and claimed responsibility for the poison.
• Chu Ming pulled Feng Zhi away and used Ten Polar Star Rings to make the five Blood Guards explode, killing Lang in the blast.
• Lang's final black hidden weapon struck Chu Ming's palm and corroded his Red Qilin Gloves and skin until white light appeared around him.
• Feng Zhi crawled from the ruins and saw Chu Ming standing on a rooftop in the sunrise, surrounded by white glimmers.

Chu Ming explored the Wolf Totem Tribe stronghold, found the Wolf Totem Crown on a chained prisoner, and woke the man to learn its history. The prisoner identified himself as Lang Tu and revealed that the crown was bound to his life and corrupted by Chong Fa.

• Chu Ming directed Feng Zhi and Feng Yi to hunt the surviving enemies, while they searched the ruined Tree Prison and discovered the Wolf Totem Tribe had left a fake Clan Tree.
• Chu Ming broke into an underground fortress, took its treasures and medicines, and found Green Ancient Spirit Dew and a Golden Silk Feather Garment.
• Chu Ming entered a Blood Prison and found a man shackled beneath a Broken Crown that drained his life force.
• Chu Ming fed the man poison, healing pills, and Ten Polar Star Rings to wake him, then learned he was Lang Tu, the Wolf Totem Tribe's chieftain.
• Lang Tu said the tribe's blood sacrifice had sealed its destruction, his younger brother had betrayed him, and Great Yan had taken the Wolf Totem Crown and fed it his flesh.
• Lang Tu revealed that he had bound the Wolf Totem Crown's fate to his own life and that the crown had been corrupted by Chong Fa.

Chu Ming purified the Wolf Totem Crown and the corrupted Wind Spirit Tribe Clan Tree, rescuing Feng Zhi from the Black Jar’s corrosive power. In the Great Qi Dynasty’s Qi Capital, the Second Prince discovered that the Abyssal Black Water had been purified and hurried to report to his master.

• Lang Tu separated the Wolf Totem Crown from his flesh, then died as the poison took effect; Chu Ming used Qi Rhyme White Radiance to dispel the crown’s corruption and stored it.
• Chu Ming searched the underground fortress, collected its treasures and a Wolf Totem Tribe cultivation technique, then joined Feng Zhi and Feng Yi at the entrance to the space beneath the tree prison.
• Feng Zhi and Feng Yi found their corrupted Clan Tree growing in a dried-up Blood Pool, and Feng Zhi touched it despite Chu Ming’s warning, allowing the black qi to consume his finger and spread through his body.
• Chu Ming intervened, purified the Black Jar and the Clan Tree with Qi Rhyme White Radiance, and stopped Feng Zhi’s decay.
• The Second Prince sensed that the Abyssal Black Water had been purified, saw that his bead had turned from black to white, and hurried to a secret chamber to address his master.

Chu Ming saved the Wind Spirit Tribe’s Clan Tree, was recognized by its Tree Spirit as clan leader, and arrived in time to defeat the Blade-Horned Red Deer King. With the Wolf Totem Tribe and Blood Fiend Cult approaching, he prepared to lead the Wind Spirit Tribe into battle.

• The Second Prince reported that Abyssal Black Water had been purified, and the man in the black-and-gold robe ordered him to investigate while suspecting a millennium upheaval was beginning.
• Chu Ming purified the Wind Spirit Tribe’s Clan Tree, whose Tree Spirit merged with his radiance and acknowledged him as master; Feng Zhi and Feng Yi accepted him as their chieftain.
• Chu Ming and the two elders traveled toward Wind Spirit Water Valley, where he opened seven meridians using Green Ancient Spirit Dew and detected the approaching enemy fleets through his Sword Gourd Spiritual Sense.
• Chu Ming reached the Wind Spirit Tribe as the Blade-Horned Red Deer attacked, killed their king and several powerful beasts, and helped turn the battle in the tribe’s favor.
• The Wind Spirit Tribe recognized Chu Ming as clan leader after Feng Jun sensed the Tree Spirit, and Feng Zhi explained that the Wolf Totem Tribe and Blood Fiend Cult were nearing their territory.
• Chu Ming said he would face the Blood Fiend Cult’s strongest experts while the Wind Spirit Tribe fought the remaining enemies, then asked about a gorge near the river and produced more than ten large sacks.

Chu Ming led the Wind Spirit Tribe to defeat the Blood Fiend Cult and Wolf Totem Tribe, restore their Clan Tree, and recover supplies from the River Bend outpost. He returned to West Rong Prefecture with Feng Yao, where Shen Yu revealed that he was struggling to hold out in Chu Ming’s absence.

• Chu Ming gave Feng Zhi and Feng Yi poison to scatter through the gorge, then joined the Wind Spirit Tribe as Feng Yao led a desperate attack against the pursuing fleet.
• Chu Ming ambushed the enemy fleet, killed Yan Da and Yan Qian, and helped the Wind Spirit Tribe defeat and capture its poisoned attackers; Feng Yi broke through to the Meridian Opening Realm.
• The Tree Spirit reunited the Wind Spirit Tribe’s Clan Tree, and Chu Ming distributed Green Ancient Nectar to the tribe before studying its cultivation techniques and learning that the Wolf Totem Tribe held the missing half of their Meridian Opening method.
• Chu Ming took Feng Zhi and Feng Yao to seize supplies from the River Bend outpost, killed fifty Blood Fiend Cult members who arrived there, and began deducing a Meridian Opening technique.
• Chu Ming sent Feng Zhi back with the fleet and brought Feng Yao with him to West Rong Prefecture, where Shen Yu welcomed him back and revealed that he could no longer hold out much longer.

• Xiang Yue returns to West Rong Prefecture, receives an imperial decree ordering him to go to Qi Capital, and leaves with Fang Xiao.
• Xiang Yue gives Chu Ming a Red Falling, a life-saving treasure capable of withstanding a single blow from someone in the Marrow Cleansing Realm, and asks him to seek out General Xiao Yu of the Eastern Expedition Army if anything happens.
• Chu Ming gives Xiang Yue a cultivation technique for the lower stage of the Meridian Opening Realm and a bottle of Green Ancient Nectar.
• The Prefecture Government Office issues a grain transfer order for Pingzhong Prefecture, which Chu Ming decides to oversee personally.
• Chu Ming sends Yao Qi to infiltrate the Hundred Transport Wharf and dispatches a hundred Wind Spirit Tribe tribesmen to secretly head to Pingzhong Prefecture.
• Chu Ming and Shen Yu set off for Pingzhong Prefecture, accompanied by Ye Hong and his men for protection.

Chu Ming and Xiao Wen traveled to Shan County, where Tang Xuan and Baili Xinghua’s scheme sought to frame them with banned books and forbidden items. Chu Ming discovered the trap and read the foreign books, while a crowd of young men confronted him at dawn as the group prepared to leave.

• Xiao Wen joined Shen Yu and Chu Ming on their journey, while he assured Shen Yu that reinforcements would stabilize West Rong Prefecture.
• Baili Xinghua planned to frame Chu Ming with banned books and Xiao Wen with forbidden items, and Yan Qu approved a banquet in Shan County to set the scheme in motion.
• Tang Xuan presented Xiao Wen with a Purple Sandalwood sculpture hiding an imitation Wolf Totem Crown, while Chu Ming recognized the danger and later found thirty-six banned books among the books placed in his room.
• Chu Ming read 597 books through the night, discovered that many came from foreign kingdoms, and asked the Wind Spirit Tribe for Purple Watch Round Wood so he could replace Xiao Wen’s sculpture.
• At dawn, Tang Xuan’s young relatives crowded the courtyard to challenge Chu Ming, and Xiao Wen confronted Tang Xuan as Han Ji and Han Jin moved to block the students.

Chu Ming uncovered Tang Xuan’s plot to frame him and Xiao Wen, then discovered that the Great Evolution Sect may have been destroyed for refusing to join the Martial Immortal Alliance. As Li Yan led the sect’s remaining disciples back to their mountain, the alliance and Blood Fiend Cult prepared to close in.

• Chu Ming humiliated Zhang You and accepted Tang Xuan’s gifts, then learned Tang planned to frame him and Xiao Wen with forbidden books and objects.
• Chu Ming investigated the Great Evolution Sect’s destruction, found burned provisions containing Prosperous Essence Silk, and discovered Blood Fiend Cult members hiding more contraband nearby.
• Chu Ming sent Feng Zhi and Feng Yi to investigate the Great Evolution Sect, carved replacement Sandalwood Sculptures, and arranged for Medicine Madman to return the real forbidden items to the Zhang Family.
• Medicine Madman told Chu Ming that the Great Evolution Sect had likely been targeted because its Ancestor, Li Yan, refused to join the Martial Immortal Alliance; Chu Ming urged him to leave West Rong Prefecture with his companions.
• Li Yan and the surviving Great Evolution Sect disciples climbed back toward their ruined sect, while Blood Face and another masked figure revealed that Li Yan had been betrayed by his grandson and disciples.

Chu Ming rescued the gravely wounded Li Yan after the Blood Fiend Cult and the Martial Immortal Alliance destroyed Great Evolution Sect, then used Li Yan’s knowledge to plan a raid on provisions carrying valuable materials. Meanwhile, Zhao Qing tried to recruit the White River bandit leader Langli Xiong into the Black Crow Branch, and Langli weighed the offer.

• Li Yan discovered that Li Dong and the disciples had conspired with Xie Qing, rejected the Martial Immortal Alliance, and fought Xie Qing as Blood Widow and Blood Face attacked the hall.
• Kong Chao crushed the hall and pursued Blood Widow; Li Dong died, Xie Qing died at Blood Face’s hands, and Blood Face took the Great Evolution Sword before Chu Ming killed him and took Li Yan away.
• Li Yan told Chu Ming about river bandits along the White River, so Chu Ming ordered Feng Zhi and Feng Yi to take over two gangs and use them to divert the escort guarding a provision shipment.
• Li Yan volunteered to guide Chu Ming’s men through the bandits’ difficult terrain, while the story shifted to Yangdu Ferry, where Zhao Qing offered Langli Xiong a general’s post in the Black Crow Branch.
• Zhao Qing explained that the Black Crow Branch had seized and developed Zhengxi City, and Langli Xiong asked whether the branch accepted just anyone.

Chu Ming oversaw a grain shipment that bandits attacked, secretly killed their leaders, and recovered hidden materials with help from the Wind Spirit Tribe. After the shipment reached West Rong Prefecture, the State Supervision Office accused Chu Ming, Xiao Wen, and Tang Xuan of colluding with the Blood Fiend Cult and began searching their luggage, while Chu Ming suspected Baili Xinghua had helped frame them.

• Zhao Qing persuaded Langli Xiong to join him in raiding a grain shipment, and Feng Zhi and Feng Yi reported the plan to Chu Ming.
• Chu Ming ordered the Wind Spirit Tribe to retrieve the hidden Prosperous Essence Silk and Crimson Light Treasure Water while he let the bandits attack the escorted fleet.
• Chu Ming killed Langli Xiong and Zhao Qing during the battle, and Yao Qieming's guards routed the bandits without losing any provisions.
• The Wind Spirit Tribe cleared out the bandits' lairs, and Chu Ming reflected on expanding his power before identifying a Black Crow feather linked to Zhengxi Town.
• Jiang Zhan took over the provisions in West Rong Prefecture, while Chu Ming spotted State Supervision Office agents watching him.
• Liu Bingmu accused Xiao Wen, Tang Xuan, and Chu Ming of colluding with the Blood Fiend Cult, then ordered searches of Chu Ming's and Shen Yu's luggage as Chu Ming suspected Baili Xinghua was involved in the frame-up.

Chu Ming, Xiao Wen, and the Tiger Armor Army were cleared when the State Supervision Office found none of the alleged contraband or armor-making materials, while Liu Bingmu began to suspect Baili Xinghua. The chapter ended with Shen Yu suspecting Baili had orchestrated the plots and boasting that he had condensed six strands of Qi and Blood Power.

• The State Supervision Office searched Chu Ming and Shen Yu's belongings, the docks, and the ships, finding no prohibited items; Liu Bingmu then learned that Xiao Wen had also been cleared after his sandalwood sculptures were smashed and found empty.
• Zhong Yang told Xiao Wen that the State Supervision Office was investigating Xiang Yue for secretly manufacturing armor, and Liu Bingmu led Xiao He, Chu Ming, and Shen Yu toward the Tiger Armor Army's garrison.
• Liu Bingmu ordered an inspection of Jiang Zhan's provisions wagons, and the Supervision Envoys found no armor-making materials; Baili Xinghua secretly fumed over the missing Prosperous Essence Silk and Crimson Light Treasure Water.
• After the inspection, Baili Xinghua fainted, and Liu Bingmu had an envoy watch his carriage while the others returned to the city.
• At home, Shen Yu told Chu Ming he suspected Baili Xinghua had arranged both the contraband frame-up and the plot against the provisions, then revealed that he had condensed six strands of Qi and Blood Power.

Chu Ming prepared to leave for Qi Capital, arranged for Li Yan and Medicine Madman to take Zhengxi Town, and learned that Commander Xiang faced new accusations. Before departing, he met Hong Ying, who offered him the upper section of the Red Flame Casting Method if he joined her at the Golden List Hundred Knowledge Competition and challenged Tang Bai’s disciples.

• Chu Ming gave Feng Yao a refined cultivation manual and sent him to bring Li Yan to the Treasure Medicine Pavilion, where Chu Ming directed Li Yan and Medicine Madman to seize Zhengxi Town from the Black Crow Branch in exchange for an antidote.
• Liu Bingmu concluded that Baili Xinghua had faked his injuries and ordered Hu Han to watch him, while Xiao He told Chu Ming that Commander Xiang was being accused of colluding with the Yan Rong Branch to capture Shao Rong.
• Chu Ming joined the First Rank Humble Gate and decided to travel to Qi Capital, then warned Shen Yu that powerful forces might be using the gate and the Martial Immortal Alliance against the great clans.
• Chu Ming left Xiao Shan in Shen Yu’s care and went to meet Hong Ying, who revealed that she belonged to the Red Flame Tribe and asked him to travel with her to Qi Capital.
• Hong Ying offered Chu Ming the upper section of the Red Flame Casting Method if he entered the Golden List Hundred Knowledge Competition and defeated several of Tang Bai’s disciples, and Chu Ming examined the red silk manuscript.