Chapter Summaries

He Song reasoned that Snow Wind Palace’s Ancestor of Snow Wind had a better chance of resisting nearby Nascent Soul factions than the Thick Earth Sect’s Nascent Soul Ancestor, because Snow Wind Palace had prepared for his rise. After You Yun Zi of the Purple Cloud Sect tested the Ancestor of Snow Wind’s aura and acknowledged his strength, he requested a meeting, leaving Snow Wind Palace waiting to learn what the two Ancestors discussed.

• He Song considered how Nascent Soul factions had suppressed the Thick Earth Sect’s Ancestor and concluded that Snow Wind Palace’s long preparations had given the Ancestor of Snow Wind a stronger foundation.
• He Song expected nearby Nascent Soul factions to probe the Ancestor of Snow Wind and decide how to respond based on his true combat strength.
• You Yun Zi appeared outside Snow Wind Palace’s mountain gate, released his Nascent Soul aura, and confronted the Ancestor of Snow Wind’s aura.
• You Yun Zi requested a meeting after the aura confrontation, and the Ancestor of Snow Wind welcomed him into Snow Wind Palace.
• An Ning and the other cultivators returned to Snow Wind Palace while An Ning told He Song she was uneasy about the meeting, whose details she could not know.

The Ancestor of Snow Wind secretly moved Snow Wind Palace’s disciples to Cloud Province, then left to join One Yang on the front lines against the Locking God Sect. He Song learned that their alliance could soon tip the war’s balance.

• The Ancestor of Snow Wind gathered Snow Wind Palace’s disciples, emptied the sect treasury, and led them northwest from Hu Province.
• The Ancestor of Snow Wind settled the group in a concealed location in Cloud Province, formed a protective formation, and departed.
• An Ning told He Song where the Snow Wind Palace group was hidden and speculated that the Ancestor of Snow Wind had approached the One Yang Sect for support or advantage.
• He Song told An Ning to stay hidden and reasoned that the Ancestor of Snow Wind had likely made an agreement with One Yang.
• Meng Guan informed He Song that One Yang had brought the Ancestor of Snow Wind and many Golden Core elders to the front lines, where they were preparing for a major battle against the Locking God Sect.

He Song considered the political consequences of Ancestor of Snow Wind joining forces with One Yang and grew wary of the dangers surrounding his own future breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm. A message from White Crane then invited him to explore a dangerous treasure ground, leaving He Song to consider the opportunity.

• He Song concluded that Ancestor of Snow Wind's arrival gave One Yang a major advantage against the Locking God Sect, though he did not know the terms of their alliance or how the conflict would develop.
• He Song set aside speculation about the war and reflected on how newly advanced Nascent Soul cultivators might be confined by neighboring sects.
• He Song worried that the dangers of a Nascent Soul breakthrough could expose his secret of immortality and leave him trapped or exploited.
• He Song received a letter from White Crane, who credited He Song's advice with improving his cultivation speed and invited him to join an expedition to a treasure ground guarded by an array and possibly puppets.

He Song declined White Crane Real Person’s invitation to join a treasure hunt, choosing to remain in Luofeng Prefecture and continue cultivating while watching the Ancestor of Snow Wind’s rise. White Crane Real Person set out with three other Foundation Establishment combatants, while He Song considered the threat posed by Snow Wind and One Yang joining forces against the Locking God Sect.

• He Song recalled White Crane Real Person’s cautious background and strength, then judged that the treasure ground held little interest for him as a Golden Core cultivator.
• He Song politely declined the invitation, claiming he had gained insight into the Talisman Dao, and suggested White Crane Real Person could visit with any discoveries after the expedition.
• He Song resolved to observe the Ancestor of Snow Wind’s efforts to establish a Nascent Soul Sect and resumed cultivating in Luofeng Prefecture.
• White Crane Real Person told He Song he would hunt for treasure with his white crane, his friend, and another invited cultivator; He Song advised him to be careful.
• He Song received messages from Meng Guan and Wei Fan and concluded that the Locking God Sect’s Nascent Soul Ancestor faced a crushing defeat if the Ancestor of Snow Wind and One Yang joined forces.

One Yang Sect's invasion of the Locking God Sect met almost no resistance, but the Locking God Sect's retreat allowed three neighboring Devil Dao Nascent Soul Sects to seize its territory. One Yang realized that occupying the land would leave his sect exposed to those rivals and turned to Ancestor of Snow Wind as they considered their promised share.

• One Yang Sect rapidly occupied the Locking God Sect's territory, finding its cities and provinces largely abandoned.
• One Yang Sect changed to large-scale offensives to speed its advance, then encountered the Blood Soul Sect and learned that the Double Sha Sect and Poison Snake Valley had also taken Locking God Sect provinces.
• One Yang received six reports of Devil Dao sects obstructing his disciples and realized three Nascent Soul Sects would border the One Yang Sect if it kept its conquests.
• One Yang recognized that the Locking God Sect's retreat had left his sect in a dangerous position, with no easy option to advance or withdraw.
• One Yang recalled his agreement to give Ancestor of Snow Wind land for a new Nascent Soul Sect and turned to him for counsel.

One Yang decided the four provinces seized from the Locking God Sect were too dangerous to keep and handed them to Snow Wind Palace in exchange for resources. An Ning learned that Snow Wind Palace had settled in Cloudridge Prefecture, but feared the fragile sect could be driven out again at any time.

• One Yang recalled his disciples from the four provinces and considered trading the dangerous territory to Ancestor of Snow Wind for resources.
• Meng Guan and Wei Fan returned to the One Yang Sect, leaving He Song to learn later developments from other sources.
• An Ning told He Song that Ancestor of Snow Wind had moved Snow Wind Palace into Cloudridge Prefecture after joining forces with the One Yang Sect against the Locking God Sect.
• An Ning learned that Snow Wind Palace nominally held four provinces but controlled only Cloudridge Prefecture, while One Yang Sect occupied most of the cities and collected most of their profits.
• An Ning worried that Snow Wind Palace might be driven from its new territory, and He Song had no answer to her concern.

He Song considered Snow Wind Palace’s precarious position and chose to remain safely hidden in Luofeng Prefecture. He learned that Flying Crane Real Person had returned from the treasure hunt with his friend, but their Foundation Establishment companion was missing.

• An Ning continued sending He Song information about Cloudridge Prefecture and Snow Wind Palace as the Ancestor of Snow Wind reformed the sect and left to seek support.
• He Song speculated that the Ancestor of Snow Wind might pursue alliances with One Yang Sect, Purple Cloud Sect, or northern devil sects to protect Snow Wind Palace.
• He Song decided to stay concealed in Luofeng Prefecture, where Golden Snake Sect’s protection and the locals’ cautious nature made life relatively safe.
• Flying Crane Real Person returned to Luofeng Prefecture with his friend after the treasure hunt, but the Foundation Establishment Real Person who had gone with them was absent.

After hearing that a Foundation Establishment Real Person had died in a treasure ground visited by White Crane Real Person and his friend, He Song suspected they were using other cultivators for their own purposes. White Crane Real Person visited to show him treasures and invite him along, but He Song refused and secretly watched him leave.

• He Song heard that White Crane Real Person, White Crane, and White Crane Real Person's friend had escaped a dangerous treasure ground where another Foundation Establishment Real Person died.
• He Song suspected White Crane Real Person and his friend either sought cannon fodder to explore the treasure ground or had fabricated it to lure cultivators into an ambush.
• White Crane Real Person came to He Song's residence, claiming he had brought treasures to show him and asking whether he was still interested.
• He Song refused, saying he was at a critical juncture in drawing Foundation Establishment Spirit Talismans and could not receive White Crane Real Person.
• White Crane Real Person accepted the refusal and left, while He Song returned inside and used his divine sense to observe him departing.

He Song followed White Crane Real Person with his divine sense and secretly entered the array-protected inn where White Crane met his friend, Flying Crane Real Person. He overheard them discussing his alias, True Person Feiyu, and remained hidden as he tried to learn what they intended.

• He Song tracked White Crane Real Person after White Crane concealed himself and left Luofeng Prefecture’s Foundation Establishment district.
• White Crane entered an array-protected inn, and He Song used his Array Dao knowledge to bypass the array and listen unseen.
• A man asked White Crane whether he had managed to invite True Person Feiyu, revealing that the pair knew He Song’s alias.
• White Crane told Flying Crane Real Person that He Song’s cultivation had advanced rapidly and that he had barely managed to speak with him.
• He Song learned that the two Real Persons were friends of comparable strength, but he still did not know why they were discussing him.

He Song overheard White Crane Real Person and Flying Crane Real Person discussing a dangerous treasure land that had killed two Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators. He realized White Crane Real Person had been targeting him and learned that the pair were using their demon-hunting activities to conceal a plan to lure people into the treasure land.

• He Song concluded that White Crane and Flying Crane, with their Foundation Establishment spirit beasts, could pose a threat even to a Perfect Foundation Establishment cultivator, and suspected White Crane Real Person had repeatedly approached him for a reason.
• White Crane Real Person and Flying Crane Real Person described how two Foundation Establishment Late Stage companions had vanished after crossing an invisible danger zone in the treasure land.
• The pair explained that the treasure land's outskirts were safe, but anyone who entered a certain range suffered countless wounds and disappeared, leaving their belongings behind.
• White Crane and Flying Crane realized they could exploit the deadly zone by luring cultivators into it and hoped repeated deaths might weaken its barrier.
• White Crane Real Person traveled widely to hunt demon beasts and bring them to the treasure land, using his public reputation as a demon hunter to hide his plan.

He Song overheard White Crane Real Person and Flying Crane Real Person discussing a barrier whose Evil Wind killed intruders and weakened when living creatures entered. He realized White Crane had invited him there to use his Perfect Foundation Establishment cultivation and take his resources, then resolved to be more careful about what he revealed.

• White Crane Real Person and Flying Crane Real Person discovered that cultivators weakened the barrier's Evil Wind more effectively than ordinary demon beasts, and White Crane began capturing people to reduce its power.
• When nearby evil cultivators and Rogue Cultivators became scarce, White Crane planned to lure Foundation Establishment cultivators from Luofeng Prefecture to the barrier.
• White Crane Real Person invited He Song, while Flying Crane Real Person invited another cultivator, but He Song declined; the three later went together, and only White Crane and Flying Crane returned.
• He Song overheard the pair's conversation and inferred that the missing cultivator had died in the barrier and that White Crane had targeted him for his cultivation, talisman skills, and wealth.
• He Song concluded that his careless remarks had helped draw White Crane's attention and reminded himself to weigh his words more carefully.

He Song decided to secretly track White Crane Real Person and Flying Crane Real Person rather than attack them yet, hoping to learn the location of their treasure ground and study its strange sinister-wind array. He prepared to investigate cautiously, judging from the pair’s years of exploration that the site likely held no other immediate danger.

• He Song placed tracking marks on White Crane Real Person and his White Crane so he could follow them and act if White Crane Real Person attempted to break through to Golden Core.
• He Song became interested in the treasure ground’s concealed array, whose sinister wind had resisted repeated attacks and killed cultivators used to exhaust it.
• He Song dismissed the deaths caused by White Crane and Flying Crane and considered that the pair might eventually face pursuit if their crimes were exposed.
• He Song chose to wait until White Crane and Flying Crane returned to the treasure ground, intending to locate and study the array before deciding what to do with them.
• He Song resolved to investigate with extreme caution and reasoned that the years of exploration by White Crane and Flying Crane suggested the treasure ground probably contained no further danger.

He Song dismissed the Nascent Soul Convention as too dangerous to attend because the Ancestor of Snow Wind might recognize him for looting a Snow Wind Palace True Lord’s grave. He then secretly followed White Crane and Flying Crane toward their treasure ground, leaving a puppet in his residence and hiding beneath the earth.

• He Song recalled that the Ancestor of Snow Wind had announced a Nascent Soul Convention but still had not held it, and decided to stay away in case the Ancestor recognized him.
• He Song remained in seclusion while White Crane and Flying Crane found two Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators to lure to the treasure ground.
• He Song noticed that two separate Perfect Foundation Establishment cultivators were secretly following White Crane and Flying Crane, but chose not to interfere.
• White Crane and Flying Crane left Luofeng Prefecture with the two men, while He Song secretly followed them using the Hidden God Technique.
• He Song left a nearly identical puppet in his residence and extended his announced seclusion to conceal his departure.

He Song cautiously followed White Crane Real Person and the others to the treasure ground, intending to study its Evil Wind Formation while staying hidden. As tracking marks vanished one after another, he inferred that the group had entered a deadly battle, with one Perfect Foundation Establishment cultivator still unaccounted for.

• He Song used tracking marks and the Earth Escape Technique to follow White Crane Real Person and the others from far underground without revealing himself.
• White Crane Real Person and the others reached the treasure ground, but the two Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators following them had not been shaken off.
• The tracking marks on those two cultivators were destroyed almost instantly after the group arrived, leading He Song to suspect they had died in the Evil Wind Formation or during a fight.
• The marks on White Crane Real Person, Flying Crane Real Person, their spirit beasts, and one pursuing Perfect Foundation Establishment cultivator were destroyed in quick succession.
• He Song inferred that White Crane and Flying Crane had fought the pursuers after the Evil Wind killed the two late-stage cultivators, while one Perfect Foundation Establishment cultivator remained at the treasure ground.

He Song reached the treasure ground while White Crane Real Person and Flying Crane Real Person fought a stalemate against a Perfect Foundation Establishment cultivator. Beneath the ground, he found the Evil Wind Array’s nearly invisible boundary and began studying it.

• He Song continued toward the treasure ground as White Crane Real Person and three allies besieged the Perfect Foundation Establishment cultivator who had attacked them.
• White Crane Real Person recovered from his injuries, allowing him and Flying Crane Real Person to coordinate with their spirit beasts and hold the attacker at bay.
• He Song arrived underground and assessed that neither side was likely to win quickly, so the battle might end when they began running low on consumables.
• He Song found the nearly imperceptible boundary of the Evil Wind Array, whose Bone-Scraping Evil Wind destroyed living things that crossed it.
• He Song sat down to study the barrier, hoping to deepen his understanding of formations, but he suddenly noticed a problem.

He Song weighed whether to scan the unknown treasure ground with his divine sense, study the Evil Wind Array without doing so, or leave. He chose to stay and study in seclusion, setting up concealment, cultivation, and defensive formations to protect himself.

• He Song realized that scanning the treasure ground could save him nearly ten years of studying the Evil Wind Array but might alert a hidden powerhouse.
• He Song rejected scanning the area because he valued safety over speed and decided not to abandon the treasure ground, since he could cultivate while studying the array.
• He Song deployed a Phantom Maze Array to conceal himself and a Complete Spirit Gathering Array to maintain his cultivation speed.
• He Song set up a Heavenly Dipper Divine Thunder Array near his retreat as a safeguard, in addition to the one he had left several hundred li away.

While studying the Evil Wind Great Array, He Song discovered that it contained dense Yin energy and an unusual second channel at the center of the treasure land. Aboveground, White Crane and Flying Crane returned with the Perfect Foundation Establishment cultivator who had previously watched their battle, along with two unfamiliar cultivators, leaving He Song alarmed by their arrival together.

• He Song concealed himself and began carefully studying the Evil Wind Great Array while keeping watch on the cultivators outside.
• The five Foundation Establishment combatants eventually ended their battle and left the treasure land’s outskirts; the marked Perfect Foundation Establishment cultivator later entered briefly, then traveled toward Luofeng Prefecture.
• He Song suspected the Perfect Foundation Establishment cultivator might reveal the treasure land’s location, but he set aside speculation and focused on the formation.
• He Song discovered the Evil Wind Great Array was likely a Golden Core formation, with dense Yin energy and two distinct channels through which energy circulated.
• Five cultivators arrived at the treasure land: White Crane, Flying Crane, the Perfect Foundation Establishment cultivator who had watched their earlier battle, and two unfamiliar Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators.

He Song watched White Crane Real Person and his accomplices sacrifice two Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivators to the Evil Wind Array and discovered that it absorbed their blood qi to nourish an unknown existence or heal someone. He concluded the array’s source could be no stronger than Golden Core, but remained unsure whether studying it was worthwhile as White Crane’s group left to lure more victims.

• He Song inferred that White Crane Real Person, Flying Crane Real Person, and a Perfect Foundation Establishment cultivator had joined forces to lure two unfamiliar Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivators into the treasure ground.
• White Crane Real Person and the others let the Evil Wind kill the two cultivators, then collected the belongings left behind.
• He Song observed Yin energy carry the dead cultivators’ blood qi toward the array’s center, where the blood qi dissipated and some Yin energy was consumed.
• He Song reasoned that the Evil Wind Array was a demonic sect array nourishing an unknown existence or aiding someone’s recovery, and that its creator could be no stronger than a Golden Core cultivator.
• He Song weighed whether the array was worth further study while White Crane Real Person and his accomplices departed to seek more victims.

He Song completed his study of the Demonic Sect array and learned that it could nourish injuries, talisman treasures, or other things by consuming blood vitality. He left the array’s occupant unresolved, but considered how he might use the formation without attracting a Nascent Soul Sect’s pursuit.

• He Song cautiously scanned the array with his divine sense while protecting himself, then used what he learned to accelerate his study.
• He Song lost track of White Crane and the others and decided he would stop them if their blood offerings threatened to release the array’s occupant before he finished studying it.
• White Crane and the other two consumed more than half the array’s yin energy, then vanished before He Song could act.
• He Song continued studying the weakened array instead of forcing his way inside, since he was close to mastering it.
• He Song finally comprehended the Demonic Sect array and discovered that it used yin energy and blood vitality to nourish its occupant, making it useful for healing, restoring talisman uses, and cultivating other things.
• He Song resolved to keep the formation secret and consider modifying it, since feeding it cultivators’ blood vitality on a large scale could bring a Nascent Soul Sect after him.

He Song stayed to watch White Crane Real Person and his companions break the array, hoping to uncover what lay within. After they depleted its Yin energy and entered the treasured land, a blood-red mist and enormous hand trapped them.

• He Song mastered the array, considered leaving, then decided to stay when White Crane Real Person, Flying Crane Real Person, and a Perfect Foundation Establishment cultivator returned.
• White Crane Real Person and the others fed corpses into the array until its Yin energy ran out and the Evil Wind stopped.
• Flying Crane Real Person sent a spirit beast to fetch Qi Refining stage Rogue Cultivators, whom the three forced to test the path ahead.
• A blood-red mist killed the Rogue Cultivators and corroded the three Foundation Establishment cultivators’ defenses while draining their spiritual power.
• A massive blood-red hand seized White Crane Real Person and the others and began crushing them together.