Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu led the destruction of the He Family, killing He Zhengya and He Guangxun and ordering the family’s remaining members executed. As the Yu Family took control of the stronghold and prepared to claim the power left vacant in Jade City, Chen Mu went on to deal with other He Family forces.

• A steward reported that government troops and Yu Family forces were attacking the He stronghold, and He Zhengya accepted that the family had lost.
• Chen Mu defeated and killed He Zhengya, then killed He Guangxun when he begged to serve the Yu Family.
• Chen Mu ordered the He Family women executed, and City Guard soldiers killed them as he left the courtyard.
• Chen Mu asked Yu Zuting about the Yu Family’s Mystic Iron mine and told him to manage the He Family’s captured stronghold and vacant positions.
• Yu Zuting reflected on how Chen Mu’s rise had brought about the He Family’s downfall, while Chen Mu went to deal with other He Family forces.

Yan Jingqing learned that Heavenly Corpse Sect remnants had escaped through Three Paths Pass and that the Profound Mystery Pavilion had tried to exploit unrest in Jade City, while Chen Mu investigated the He Family grounds. Chen Mu took the Gen Mountain Diagram and resolved to gather the Eight Aspects and master Qiankun Power of Intent.

• Yan Jingqing ordered reserve forces to guard Three Paths Pass after learning the He Family forces had vanished and Heavenly Corpse Sect remnants had escaped.
• Yan Jingqing heard how Chen Mu had crushed the He Family rebellion and thwarted the Profound Mystery Pavilion's scheme in Jade City.
• Chen Mu found the He Family's Gen Mountain Diagram in an empty room and took it.
• Chen Mu discovered that the other rooms held only crude copies or no diagrams, leaving him without the Qian Heaven or Kun Earth diagrams.
• Chen Mu reflected on how Power of Intent depended on heavenly timing and terrain, then reaffirmed his goal of mastering Qiankun by gathering the Eight Aspects.

Chen Mu inspected the He Family treasury and found vast stores of wealth, rare ores, medicinal herbs, and a hidden Earth Essence Pearl. He took the pearl and Gold Thread Jade Ore, leaving with several valuable discoveries that could aid his cultivation and benefit Xu Hongyu or Chen Yue.

• Chen Mu entered the He Family treasury and saw its enormous reserves of silver and gold, reflecting on how wealth could fund an elite army but the He Family could not safely build one.
• Chen Mu found Quicksilver Ore and Gold Thread Jade Ore among the stored minerals, then kept the Gold Thread Jade Ore as a possible material for protective armor.
• Chen Mu discovered a large piece of Cold Jade and boxes of rare medicinal herbs, including Thousand-Year Polygonum Multiflorum, and considered using the jade to make a bed for Xu Hongyu.
• Chen Mu found an Earth Essence Pearl hidden in the central box and recognized that it could aid Artistic Conception comprehension and Five Viscera cultivation.
• Chen Mu concealed the Earth Essence Pearl with his Origin Astral Force and kept it, reasoning that it would likely belong to him eventually through the Seven Mysteries Sect.

The Profound Mystery Pavilion divined that Chen Mu's fate was ordinary but unusually long-lasting, and decided to let events unfold. As chaos spread across Jade Province after the He Family's destruction, former associates reflected on Chen Mu's rise and his decisive strike.

• Han Guang, Cheng Houhua, and Steward Liu discussed the He Family's destruction and the failed attempt to kill Chen Mu, then Steward Liu used his heart's blood to divine Chen Mu's fate.
• Steward Liu found no unusual fate for Chen Mu, only that his life would stretch on, and the three decided to let nature take its course.
• An old Daoist above the Profound Mystery Pavilion sensed that fate had become uncertain across Jade Province, wrote in a tattered booklet, and vanished.
• The He Family's sudden destruction sent shockwaves across Jade Commandery, with many people attributing its collapse to Chen Mu.
• Xu Feng recalled Chen Mu's decisive destruction of the Zheng Family and compared it with his later annihilation of the He Family.
• Yin Hong remembered Chen Mu's early days as a head runner and felt relieved that he had never held a grudge against him.

After resolving the He Family’s aftermath, Chen Mu left Jade City with Chen Yue to travel to An Yu County and search for his aunt, Liu Rong. On the road, Chen Yue fought off a band of robbers, while Chen Mu quietly protected her.

• Yan Jingqing praised Chen Mu for stabilizing Jade City after the He Family’s destruction and offered him the vacant Director position, which Chen Mu declined.
• Chen Mu told Yan Jingqing he intended to travel outside Jade City and help pursue the Heavenly Corpse Sect remnants, then arranged matters with Yu Zuyi before departing with Chen Yue.
• Seven or eight days later, Chen Mu and Chen Yue traveled by carriage toward An Yu County, where Chen Mu hoped to find his aunt, Liu Rong, and meet Xu Hongyu.
• When bandits blocked the road, Chen Yue drew her flexible sword and fought them while Chen Mu secretly prevented one from attacking him.
• Chen Yue killed the bandit leader despite his attempt to trade injuries, and Chen Mu praised her resolve as she said she wanted to become as amazing as Xu Hongyu.

Chen Mu and Chen Yue reached An Yu County and found their maternal relatives, including their ailing great-aunt Liu Rong. Chen Mu recognized the family and introduced himself, but Liu Rong had little time left.

• Chen Mu and Chen Yue arrived in An Yu County after He Wuyou failed to appear during their journey.
• Chen Mu and Chen Yue visited Liu Rong's poor household, where Song Qi was struggling to care for his sick mother.
• Chen Yue stopped Song Qi from kneeling, while Chen Mu went inside and recognized Liu Rong as his maternal aunt.
• Chen Mu told Liu Rong that he was Liu Ping's son, and Chen Yue tearfully reunited with her great-aunt.
• Chen Mu sent the county officials away and told Song Qi that he had come to recognize family.
• Chen Mu warned Song Qi that Liu Rong did not have much time left and urged him to bring the children inside.

After Liu Rong’s funeral, Chen Mu arranged for Song Qi and his children to settle into work and training in An Yu County, then went to Two Dragons Mountain after learning Xu Hongyu was nearby. Xu Hongyu’s squad gained the upper hand against a Heavenly Corpse Sect ambush until a powerful Fiend Corpse appeared and struck down a White Robe Guard.

• Liu Rong died after recognizing Chen Yue and learning that Chen Mu was Liu Ping’s son, and Chen Yue clung to Chen Mu as she grieved.
• Chen Mu arranged for Song Qi to work at the county yamen and for Song Zhou and Song Miao to train there.
• A Surveillance Department scout reported that Xu Hongyu was hunting Heavenly Corpse Sect remnants near Two Dragons Mountain, so Chen Mu left An Yu County to find her.
• Xu Hongyu and her squad confronted a corpse controller and fought more than twenty Silver Corpses and two Golden Corpses in daylight.
• The corpse controller unleashed a black-misted Fiend Corpse, which appeared behind a White Robe Guard and tore a large, rotten wound into his side.

Xu Hongyu and Xiao He faced Lai Long and his Fiend Corpse, and Xu Hongyu awakened the Kan Water Power of Intent before recognizing the corpse as someone from her family. The Fiend Corpse faltered long enough for them to escape, where they encountered Chen Mu.

• Xu Hongyu and Xiao He abandoned their fights with the Golden and Silver Corpses and attacked Lai Long, but he easily blocked them while the Fiend Corpse and Golden Corpses killed the Demon Subduing Office guards.
• At the brink of death, Xu Hongyu comprehended the Kan Water Power of Intent and struck at Lai Long and the Fiend Corpse, but the Fiend Corpse overpowered her and sent her and Xiao He crashing into a tree.
• Xu Hongyu recognized the Fiend Corpse as a man from her family, and her blood relation stirred its spiritual awareness enough to make it hesitate and resist Lai Long's control.
• Xiao He pulled the dazed Xu Hongyu away, and they escaped while Lai Long focused on the Fiend Corpse's unusually strong spiritual awareness.
• Chen Mu appeared in the forest before Xu Hongyu and Xiao He and asked what had happened to them.

After learning that the He Family had helped the Heavenly Corpse Sect ambush her father, Xu Yichuan, Xu Hongyu returned with Chen Mu and Xiao He to confront Lai Long. Chen Mu destroyed Xu Yichuan’s Fiend Corpse and overwhelmed Lai Long’s other corpses, then left Lai Long grievously wounded.

• Chen Mu comforted Xu Hongyu after Xiao He explained that the He Family had betrayed Xu Yichuan to the Heavenly Corpse Sect, and he resolved to settle the matter with Lai Long.
• Lai Long reinforced his control over Xu Yichuan’s buried Fiend Corpse, but Xu Hongyu and Xiao He returned with Chen Mu.
• Chen Mu scattered the corpse’s Killing Intent and destroyed it with a lightning strike, then pursued Lai Long as he fled.
• Lai Long summoned two more Fiend Corpses, but Chen Mu crushed them both with a combined attack of wind, lightning, and fire.
• Lai Long used the skull orb to unleash the Corpse Fiend Seal, but Chen Mu countered with lightning and fire, blasting Lai Long into an ancient tree and leaving him gravely injured.

Chen Mu defeated Lai Long and helped Xu Hongyu lay her father, Xu Yichuan, to rest after discovering he had become a Fiend Corpse. Back at the county government, Chen Mu comforted Xu Hongyu and their understanding of each other deepened, though he kept many of his own secrets.

• Chen Mu uprooted the tree trapping Lai Long and brought him back to Xu Hongyu, who killed him without asking questions.
• Xu Hongyu faced Xu Yichuan's corpse, and Chen Mu burned it to ashes as she mourned her father.
• Chen Mu returned with Xu Hongyu and Xiao He to the county government, where Chen Yue greeted them and let Xu Hongyu rest.
• Chen Mu later reassured Xu Hongyu that her efforts and Kan Water Power of Intent would have made her father proud.
• Xu Hongyu asked whether Chen Mu had hidden things he wanted to say, and he promised to tell her some of them in the future while keeping his deepest secrets to himself.

On the return journey to Jade City, Chen Mu comprehended Gen Mountain Power of Intent while studying the diagram. The carriage continued onward, but Chen Mu sensed a new change in the world and identified it as the approaching Tide Disaster.

• Chen Mu let Xu Hongyu and Chen Yue study the Gen Mountain Diagram, while he used the System Panel to begin a deduction after accumulating enough experience.
• Chen Mu comprehended Gen Mountain Power of Intent, and its heavy force spread through the carriage before he withdrew it.
• Chen Mu considered the strength of different Power of Intent realms as Chen Yue chatted with Xiao He at the front of the carriage.
• Chen Mu sensed a change in heaven and earth, and Xu Hongyu noticed that water intent was growing denser.
• Chen Mu realized that the Tide Disaster had begun as spring arrived and the rivers thawed.

The Profound Mystery Pavilion prepared to exploit the approaching Tide Disaster for buried treasures and agreed to let He Wuyou pursue Chen Mu while he was away from Jade City. As Chen Mu escorted Xu Hongyu, Chen Yue, and Xiao He back through the flood-threatening weather, he ordered them to remain in the city and considered how to respond to the disaster.

• Liu Su announced that the Tide Disaster had begun, and the Profound Mystery Pavilion assigned its people to search the earth veins along Jade Commandery’s rivers and streams.
• He Wuyou demanded a chance to kill Chen Mu, and Liu Su persuaded the Pavilion’s leaders to allow an attempt while Chen Mu was away from Jade City.
• Protector Duanmu Chun approved the plan and left to secure resources in a crucial area.
• Chen Mu traveled toward Jade City through heavy rain and mist, then told Xu Hongyu and the others to stay in the city after they returned.

Chen Mu escorted Xu Hongyu, Xiao He, and Chen Yue to Jade City, then hurried toward the Qingping River to oversee preparations for the Tide Disaster. On the way, four Five Viscera Realm experts, including He Wuyou and Cheng Houhua, ambushed him, leaving him surrounded as the chapter ended.

• Chen Mu brought Xu Hongyu, Xiao He, and Chen Yue to Jade City, then left without entering the city to take charge of the Qingping River area.
• Chen Mu assessed the flood danger along the Qingping River and hurried toward the low-lying areas of Jingnan and Jingzheng Townships as the rain intensified.
• Chen Mu evaded a Sword Qi ambush and recognized Steward Liu of the Profound Mystery Pavilion as his attacker.
• Cai Jiusheng emerged and joined Liu Su, while Chen Mu sensed He Wuyou and a fourth presence nearby.
• Cheng Houhua and He Wuyou revealed themselves, completing the ambush of Chen Mu by four Five Viscera Realm experts.

Chen Mu revealed that he had entered the Five Viscera Realm with a Jade Bone foundation and killed He Wuyou with one slash during the Profound Mystery Pavilion’s ambush. He then attacked Liu Su, beginning a fight with the remaining experts.

• Cheng Houhua froze the rain and mist around Chen Mu while Liu Su and He Wuyou launched a coordinated attack.
• Chen Mu blocked Liu Su’s Sword Qi, shattered He Wuyou’s Yuangang True Force, and cut him in half with a blade aura.
• He Wuyou died in disbelief as Cheng Houhua and the others realized Chen Mu’s Yuangang True Force came from entering the Five Viscera Realm with a Jade Bone body.
• Chen Mu ignored the Profound Mystery Pavilion’s words and struck at Liu Su, who met his saber with a condensed Sword Qi.

Chen Mu used his second-step Wind and Thunder Artistic Conceptions, along with Fire, to defeat the four martial artists who had surrounded him. After killing Cai Jiusheng and Liu Su, he pursued Cheng Houhua and killed him at the Qingping River, leaving none of the four alive.

• Chen Mu used lightning spreading through the rain to kill Cai Jiusheng, while Liu Su and Cheng Houhua fled.
• Chen Mu unleashed a thunderfire blade and killed Liu Su as he tried to escape.
• Chen Mu used Relying on Wind Guidance and Trigram Thunder to catch up with Cheng Houhua, who swallowed a pill to boost his strength and repeatedly raised ice walls to stall him.
• Chen Mu broke through Cheng Houhua's ice defenses and pursued him to a branch of the Qingping River.
• Cheng Houhua leaped toward the river, but Chen Mu pierced him with the Quicksilver Saber and killed him with thunderfire power.

Chen Mu killed Cheng Houhua and claimed his Clear Cold Sword before a near-Tier Five Black Demon Catfish attacked him in the river. After slaying the demon, Chen Mu escaped as its impact triggered an eruption of Earth Vein Force.

• Chen Mu shattered Cheng Houhua's body with his Quicksilver Saber, then took the Clear Cold Sword and considered trading it because it did not suit his cultivated Powers of Intent.
• Chen Mu encountered a Black Demon Catfish near the riverbed and identified it as a powerful demon creature borrowing the river's force.
• The Black Demon Catfish attacked with a torrent of water, but Chen Mu split the blast with his saber and stabbed through its crown.
• Chen Mu stood atop the dying catfish as it rampaged, then fled when it crashed into the riverbed.
• Earth Vein Force erupted from the riverbed, blasting the Black Demon Catfish into flesh and blood and sending water, mud, and sand skyward.

After an Earth Vein Eruption opened a brief path underground, Chen Mu entered the hollow and retrieved three rare items before the passage began to close. He identified the finds as Mystic Fire Ore, a high-quality Earth Essence Pearl, and Blood Ganoderma, then continued along the river toward his destination.

• Chen Mu evaded the Earth Vein Eruption, then dove back into the river and entered the hollow it had left behind.
• Chen Mu tore through the earth-vein barrier and searched the warm underground cave, taking three objects before the passage began closing.
• Chen Mu escaped to the riverbank with the objects and identified one as Mystic Fire Ore that could improve his Quicksilver Saber.
• Chen Mu recognized the larger Earth Essence Pearl as useful for tempering his viscera and planned to replace his inferior pearl with it.
• Chen Mu identified the blood-rich Flesh Ganoderma as a medicine that could help Xu Hongyu and the others, then continued along the river.

Chen Mu rescued Zhao Lao Han and Hong Er from a flooded hill, punished Bao Yinlin for pushing them into the water, and promised the stranded villagers safety. After signaling for help and lighting a fire, he killed a fish demon that attacked a child.

• Bao Yinlin shoved Hong Er and Zhao Lao Han into the floodwaters after they touched his robe and challenged him.
• Chen Mu crossed the river on a reed, rescued Hong Er and Zhao Lao Han, and threw Bao Yinlin into the water when villagers confirmed what he had done.
• Chen Mu identified himself as a Commandant of the Surveillance Department, promised to evacuate the roughly thousand people on the hill, and fired a signal arrow.
• Chen Mu lit a fire for the soaked Zhao Lao Han and Hong Er, then learned that their family had left them behind while fleeing the flood.
• A fish demon lunged at a child, and Chen Mu killed it with a pebble before it could attack.

Chen Mu protected a group of villagers from water monsters and prepared to evacuate them during the Tide Disaster. He carved two giant trees into boats, then used his powers to carry the first boatload away, leaving Yu Jun stunned by his strength and abilities.

• Chen Mu killed several monsters attacking the cliffside villagers and restored order after saving villagers who were slipping down the slope.
• Yu Jun and other officials arrived by dugout canoe, and Chen Mu ordered them to guard the survivors while he arranged their evacuation.
• Chen Mu hollowed out two ancient trees, dried the wood with Li Fire Power of Intent, and joined the trunks into a large vessel.
• More than a hundred villagers boarded the vessel in an orderly manner, and Chen Mu set off with them, propelling the boat with Xun Wind Power of Intent.
• Yu Jun watched Chen Mu depart and realized that Chen Mu had mastered multiple advanced Powers of Intent.

Chen Mu ferried villagers through the flood and killed the Black River God with one slash. He encountered Gu Hong and the Heaven Sword Sect on the river, where Gu Hong rebuked Lu Yuan for suggesting they kill Chen Mu and continued toward the Qingping River in search of a treasure.

• Chen Mu split the Black River God's attack and killed it with a single slash, impressing the villagers aboard his ship.
• Chen Mu reassured Hong Er that he was a Martial Warrior, then continued ferrying the villagers toward shore.
• Chen Mu spotted Gu Hong and a group of Heaven Sword Sect disciples riding downstream on a log, and they recognized his mastery of the second step of the Trigram Wind Power of Intent.
• Lu Yuan suggested that Gu Hong kill Chen Mu before he became a future enemy, and Gu Hong injured Lu Yuan with a burst of Heart Sword power.
• Gu Hong dismissed Chen Mu as no great enemy and directed the Heaven Sword Sect group to continue searching the Qingping River for a precious earthly vein treasure.