Chapter Summaries

The King Conferral Ceremony rankings named Bai Yu the top new king with thirty-two million merit points, while the Beast Domain claimed no places. After the Beast Emperor confronted Bai Yu, the four great treasuries opened for ten days of merit exchanges, and the ceremony ended with the geniuses preparing their requests.

• The monument announced the Ten Kings, with Bai Yu in first place, followed by Di Muxue and Zhuge Gewu.
• The crowd worried the Beast Emperor would retaliate against Bai Yu, but the Beast Emperor praised the Blood Prison Dynasty's good fortune and withdrew his gaze.
• Zhang Daoxuan announced that the four great treasuries would open for ten days, allowing the geniuses to exchange merit points for resources.
• Bai Yu considered the resources he could obtain with his merit points for himself and Yu Linglong's group.
• The ceremony ended, and Di Muxue, Zhuge Gewu, Zhao Mingmei, and Jiang Moyu exchanged looks with Bai Yu as the geniuses departed to plan their exchanges.

After returning to the City of Eternity, Bai Yu learned the hidden history of the Blood Prison Dynasty’s deposed crown prince, Xiao Yuan, then spent his merit points exchanging for resources. His shopping stopped when he found an ancient stone tablet resembling the Divine Baleful Gu he had obtained from Zhang Baidao.

• Bai Yu learned that Xia Chuxue had received the Sage of Letters’ inheritance through empowerment and needed only to digest its knowledge.
• Xia Chuxue explained that Xiao Yuan, the Blood Emperor’s eldest child and one of Midstream’s four foremost prodigies, had been deposed after transforming his body and identifying as a princess.
• Bai Yu decided to divide his thirty-two million merit points among resources for himself, the women, and the Feather Spirit Dynasty, and exchanged for the Space-Rending Ruin Blade he had promised Xiao Juexin.
• Bai Yu exchanged ten million merit points for a spirit stone vein and bought other artifacts, materials, and medicinal herbs as his remaining points dwindled.
• Bai Yu discovered an ancient stone tablet from the Wild Beast Domain’s treasure vault whose appearance resembled the Divine Baleful Gu, leaving him startled.

Bai Yu returned to a thriving Feather Spirit Dynasty, supplied it with resources, and began refining a speed-type Gu and two powerful Blood Corpses. Meanwhile, the Blood Emperor rebuked Xiao Juexin and urged him to compete with his brothers for the throne before entering seclusion again.

• Bai Yu saw that Jing Linghan had made the Feather Spirit Dynasty prosper and supplied it with resources from Divine Mountain.
• Bai Yu identified Spring Breeze Does Not Cross Jade Gate Pass as a speed-type divine Gu and focused on refining it into his natal Gu.
• Bai Yu began using Xia Chuxue's assistance to refine two Blood Corpses from the Saha Heaven Evil Emperor and Demon Emperor's corpses.
• The Blood Emperor criticized Xiao Juexin's crude plan, took the Space-Rending Ruin Blade, and told him that he could claim the throne if he succeeded where his brothers had equal chances.
• The Blood Emperor entered seclusion the next day.

Bai Yu finished refining two Blood Corpses and Spring Breeze Does Not Cross Jade Gate Pass, then learned that the Blood Prison Dynasty’s succession struggle had intensified while he remained away. Xia Chuxue suspected the Blood Emperor was deliberately stirring events to uncover an Esoteric Sect infiltration, leaving Bai Yu aware that an unseen hand was manipulating the conflict.

• Bai Yu buried the Eight-Chi Cauldron beneath Yellow Springs Mountain and checked that his fortune had risen to pale yellow after refining the Blood Corpses and Spring Breeze Does Not Cross Jade Gate Pass.
• Jing Linghan summoned Bai Yu to the imperial study, where she explained that the Blood Prison Dynasty had ordered him to report to the National Preceptor's Residence and that the three imperial princes had been seeking him for two months.
• Xia Chuxue described the Blood Emperor’s renewed seclusion, the princes’ escalating struggle, and the National Preceptor's Residence’s withdrawal from affairs.
• Xia Chuxue proposed that the Blood Emperor might be preparing a successor, suppressing a crisis involving the Evil Calamity Clan, or exposing infiltrators within the Blood Prison Dynasty.
• Xia Chuxue revealed that Xiao Fu had found a black Esoteric Sect statue in the Clear Heart Sect, prompting Bai Yu to conclude that the Blood Emperor was manipulating events.

After Bai Yu returned to Blood Prison City, Liu Qingli revealed why the National Preceptor's Residence was withdrawing from court affairs and assigned his Feather Spirit Dynasty to help expose the Esoteric Sect's infiltrators. The chapter ended with Bai Yu ready to hunt them down and use their divine souls to condense his Evil Corpse.

• Bai Yu returned to the National Preceptor's Residence, where Liu Qingli praised his cultivation gains and explained that his Feather Spirit Dynasty could take the Residence's place in the Blood Prison Dynasty.
• Bai Yu asked why the National Preceptor's Residence was withdrawing, and Liu Qingli confirmed that the Blood Emperor was gravely injured and that three Evil Emperors were stirring in the forbidden ground.
• Liu Qingli revealed that the Esoteric Sect had infiltrated the dynasty by using the Breaking Jar Method to seize cultivators' bodies and conceal its members.
• Liu Qingli explained that the Blood Emperor planned to throw the dynasty into chaos so its hidden enemies would expose themselves, with the princes and aristocratic families serving as his blades.
• Liu Qingli tasked Bai Yu's Feather Spirit Dynasty with rooting out the Esoteric Sect's infiltrators and promised to support him from behind the scenes.
• Bai Yu welcomed the chance to kill under imperial decree and said he could use the Esoteric Sect members' divine souls to condense his Evil Corpse.

Bai Yu and Liu Qingli agreed to use the National Preceptor's Residence's withdrawal from court affairs to increase Bai Yu's influence in the Blood Prison Dynasty. Bai Yu openly visited Second Prince Xiao Juexin, leaving the dynasty's factions to reckon with their apparent alliance.

• Liu Qingli closed the National Preceptor's Residence and put its core affairs under Bai Yu's control, making him its spokesperson.
• Bai Yu delayed answering Xiao Juexin's invitation while the announcement of the residence's closure stirred the Blood Prison Dynasty.
• Bai Yu led a grand procession to Juexin Residence, publicly signaling his alignment with Xiao Juexin.
• Xiao Juexin welcomed Bai Yu and introduced him to the Northern Abyss King, the Evil Moon King, the Ice King, and Chen Fei.
• Bai Yu's visit alarmed the dynasty's factions, who feared the new alliance would upset the existing balance of power.

Bai Yu joined Xiao Juexin’s banquet and met the veteran kings Hua Ying and Northern Abyss Child, while Hua Chenfei welcomed him as a fellow member of the National Preceptor’s Residence. The gathering turned to the Esoteric Sect’s infiltration of the Blood Prison Dynasty, leaving Xiao Juexin unsure how to investigate without alienating the factions he needed.

• Bai Yu met Hua Chenfei, who warmly welcomed him and invited him to sit with the other guests.
• Bai Yu greeted Hua Ying and Northern Abyss Child, who recognized his talent and reputation as an eighth-grade Great Apothecary.
• Xiao Juexin celebrated having brought influential figures from the dynasty’s three great powers together at the banquet.
• Northern Abyss Child asked Xiao Juexin what he intended to do about the Esoteric Sect’s infiltration.
• Xiao Juexin admitted he struggled to launch an investigation because it could upset the factions supporting the imperial princes.

Bai Yu offered to investigate the Esoteric Sect with Xiao Juexin’s support, arguing that the dynasty needed decisive action. He proposed starting by wiping out Buddhism, shocking everyone at the table.

• Xiao Juexin refused to act against the Esoteric Sect, citing political complications and the risk of weakening his position among the princes.
• Northern Abyss Child condemned the dynasty’s inaction, while Hua Chenfei tried to smooth over the disagreement.
• Hua Ying invited Bai Yu and Hua Chenfei to share their views, and Bai Yu offered to lead the investigation if Xiao Juexin supplied resources and cooperated with his findings.
• Bai Yu declared that he would target forces supporting the First Prince and the Third Prince, persuading Xiao Juexin that the plan could weaken his rivals.
• Bai Yu said he would begin with Buddhist factions within the Blood Prison Dynasty and announced that he intended to wipe out Buddhism.

Bai Yu proposed tracking the Esoteric Sect through Buddhist connections, despite the danger to innocent cultivators, and secured support from the Northern Abyss Sect, Hua Ying, and Xiao Juexin. After Bai Yu left for the Feather Spirit Dynasty, Xiao Juexin soberly decided to seek an audience with his eldest brother amid the approaching turmoil.

• Bai Yu argued that Buddhist sects could lead them to the Esoteric Sect and said they should target the forces backing the First and Third Princes to find evidence.
• Northern Abyss Child and Hua Ying agreed to face the pressure with Bai Yu, while Hua Chenfei privately resented being drawn into the plan.
• Xiao Juexin offered support from behind the scenes and promised resources, which he doubled for Bai Yu's Heavenly Demon Army.
• Bai Yu told Xiao Juexin he was returning to the Feather Spirit Dynasty and promised good news before departing the Xiao Residence.
• After Bai Yu's carriage left, Xiao Juexin dropped his drunken act and ordered his attendants to arrange a meeting with his eldest brother.

Bai Yu prepared to strike Buddhist sects suspected of ties to the Esoteric Sect, with the Red Dust Heart-Tempering Sect chosen as his first target. He sent word that he was coming to discuss a Great Medicine deal, while Monk Yan Kong sensed danger.

• Bai Yu assembled the Heavenly Demon Army in Feather Spirit City and gave Dugu Yan command of the Nine Dragons War God Tower.
• Xia Chuxue identified the Vajra Demon-Subduing Sect, Bodhi Heart Academy, and Red Dust Heart-Tempering Sect as nearby targets.
• Dugu Yan argued that the Red Dust Heart-Tempering Sect was likely a place the Esoteric Sect would seek to occupy.
• Bai Yu ordered a message sent to the Red Dust Heart-Tempering Sect announcing his visit to discuss cooperation over Great Medicine, then traveled toward it.
• Monk Yan Kong received Bai Yu's message and grew wary, suspecting that Bai Yu's visit carried hostile intentions.

Bai Yu arrived in Satian City in disguise to inspect the Red Dust Heart-Tempering Sect’s territory and consider how to take control of its vital teleportation hub. While investigating the city’s poorer districts, he and his companions encountered Scholar Chen, whose neighbors mocked him about his wife.

• Bai Yu changed his plans after learning the Red Dust Heart-Tempering Sect was waiting for him and entered Satian City in disguise with Xia Chuxue and Li Shuyu.
• Bai Yu examined the city’s major teleportation array and discussed with Xia Chuxue the possibility of controlling Satian City and building a loyal force there.
• Bai Yu teased Xia Chuxue and comforted Li Shuyu, who leaned against him, before leading them into the city’s disorderly districts.
• Bai Yu and the two women stopped at a lively tavern, where Li Shuyu listened to the patrons’ conversations with curiosity.
• Scholar Chen entered the tavern and ordered rough wine and fried beans, while drinkers mocked him about his wife visiting a Buddhist temple.

Bai Yu learned that Great Red Dust Temple selected women as Buddha slaves and imposed harsh terms on the men who married them. Reports of a sinister eight-armed asura led Xia Chuxue to suspect the Esoteric Sect, and Bai Yu considered provoking the hidden threat into revealing itself.

• Tavern patrons mocked Scholar Chen for spending his family’s fortune to marry a former Buddha slave, and Scholar Chen defended his wife and his hopes for the future.
• Bai Yu asked a merchant about Buddha slaves and learned that Great Red Dust Temple required their husbands to pay large sums, worship its Buddha statue, and support the women.
• The merchant said Scholar Chen’s elderly father worked hauling manure while Scholar Chen took several jobs to support his wife.
• The merchant recounted that a blind fortune-teller saw an eight-armed black asura in his mind after visiting Scholar Chen’s home, then went insane and disappeared.
• Xia Chuxue identified the asura as Mahakala Bodhisattva and suspected the Esoteric Sect, while Bai Yu considered stirring up trouble to expose the hidden demons and monsters.

Bai Yu exposed the Red Dust Heart-Tempering Sect’s use of commoners in a scheme tied to the Esoteric Sect, then gave Scholar Chen pills to provoke resistance. After Scholar Chen rushed out in fury, Bai Yu and his companions set off for the sect to reveal its infiltration.

• Scholar Chen mourned his failure to awaken literary qi before a figure appearing as the Sage of Letters gave him two pills and destroyed a sinister aura in his courtyard.
• Xia Chuxue identified the power of desire as the Esoteric Sect’s Joy Sutra, and Bai Yu explained why he suspected the Red Dust Heart-Tempering Sect was using commoners as materials.
• Li Shuyu asked whether the souls of suffering proved the sect’s ties to the Esoteric Sect, and Bai Yu said he intended to expose the infiltration without appearing to target Xiao Xiaofeng.
• Scholar Chen rushed out of his home with bloodshot eyes after receiving the pills, and Bai Yu left with Xia Chuxue and Li Shuyu for the Red Dust Heart-Tempering Sect.

Bai Yu arrived at the Red Dust Heart-Tempering Sect, where Monk Yan Kong and its leaders tried to conceal their concerns about his visit. At a banquet, Bai Yu spotted the unusual Buddhist Son Zen Spirit and asked about the story behind his name.

• Monk Yan Kong and the sect’s ancestor discussed Bai Yu’s arrival and agreed to keep him appeased while hiding their plans.
• Bai Yu arrived at the sect with Li Shuyu and Xia Chuxue, and Yan Kong welcomed him with formal praise and an invitation to dine.
• Bai Yu used his Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes to identify two newly advanced Void Refinement experts and notice that Zen Spirit contained an ancient, worn soul absorbing a young one.
• Yan Kong introduced Zen Spirit as the sect’s Buddhist Son, and Bai Yu asked what story lay behind his Buddhist name.

Bai Yu tested Zen Spirit and the Red Dust Heart-Tempering Sect by proposing a discussion of Zen, while negotiating the great apothecary business. He revealed Black Charcoal’s strange Buddhist power, leaving the sect’s monks shocked by the demonic gu.

• Monk Yan Kong explained Zen Spirit’s pure Zen physique and the Red Dust Heart-Tempering Sect’s hopes for him, and Bai Yu surprised the monks with his understanding of Buddhist principles.
• Bai Yu claimed he had learned from a Buddhist-minded gu insect and challenged the monks to discuss Zen, prompting Zen Spirit to propose comparing their Buddhist power.
• Bai Yu assured Zen Spirit and Monk Yan Kong that he could negotiate the great apothecary business, while Monk Yan Kong warned Zen Spirit to keep the encounter moderate.
• Zen Spirit displayed Buddhist power that formed lotus flowers and a Buddha projection, but Bai Yu’s Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes revealed desires beneath its holy appearance.
• Bai Yu summoned Black Charcoal, whose cyan Buddhist flames and eerie chants shocked the Red Dust Heart-Tempering Sect when they recognized it as a Spirit Transformation-level demonic gu with power akin to the Esoteric Sect.

Bai Yu’s Black Charcoal confronted Zen Spirit in a clash between their Buddhist kingdoms, revealing its power to balance Buddha and demon. When Zen Spirit’s Buddha began to overpower it, the Ksitigarbha Gu reinforced Black Charcoal, which transformed its realm into Hell and halted the Buddha’s attack.

• Zen Spirit coveted Black Charcoal after recognizing its perfect union of Buddhist and demonic qualities.
• Black Charcoal’s Demon-Buddha Kingdom clashed with Zen Spirit’s sacred Buddha kingdom, unsettling the onlookers and disturbing Zen Spirit’s mind.
• Zen Spirit activated his Tranquil Zen Body, and his Buddha pressed down on Black Charcoal’s kingdom.
• Bai Yu summoned the Ksitigarbha Gu to reinforce Black Charcoal as its kingdom transformed into Hell.
• A middle-aged monk appeared in Black Charcoal’s realm, stopped the giant palm, rebuked Zen Spirit, and invoked the Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon.

Bai Yu defeated Zen Spirit in their exchange of Buddhist intent through Black Charcoal’s grand vow, then proposed opening two great medicine businesses in Satian City with the Red Dust Heart-Tempering Sect. He rejected Monk Yan Kong’s proposed profit split and countered with twenty percent.

• Black Charcoal’s linen-clad monk phantom shattered Zen Spirit’s Sacred Spirit Buddha and collapsed his Buddhist kingdom.
• Zen Spirit accepted his defeat after sensing Black Charcoal’s grand vow, while Bai Yu recalled the gu and claimed his victory was luck.
• Bai Yu proposed that the Feather Spirit Dynasty supply Great Apothecaries and medicines for two shops in Satian City, asking the Red Dust Heart-Tempering Sect to name its terms.
• Monk Yan Kong offered to handle transportation, sales, and locations in exchange for pricing authority and half the profits after the Feather Spirit Dynasty’s base profit.
• Bai Yu rejected the offer and countered that the Red Dust Heart-Tempering Sect should receive twenty percent.

Bai Yu negotiated a medicine partnership with Monk Yan Kong, who countered by offering a captive Buddhist prodigy as a personal gift. The reveal exposed Yan Kong’s hidden ambition to use Bai Yu’s influence to escape Zen Spirit’s control.

• Bai Yu demanded that the Feather Spirit Dynasty receive twenty percent of the profits, leaving Monk Yan Kong conflicted over the terms.
• Monk Yan Kong sent Li Shuyu and Xia Chuxue away, then described the philosophical and personal connections he claimed linked his sect to Bai Yu.
• Monk Yan Kong revealed Ling Yao, a powerful Buddhist prodigy sealed inside amber, as his special gift to Bai Yu.
• Zen Spirit recognized Ling Yao and realized Yan Kong had kept her hidden for years despite Zen Spirit’s interest in claiming her.
• Monk Yan Kong decided that offering Ling Yao and accepting Bai Yu’s terms could help him break free of Zen Spirit’s control and rise within the Esoteric Sect.

Bai Yu negotiated a great medicine partnership with Yan Kong while securing Ling Yao in amber, but Scholar Chen suddenly stormed the Red Dust Heart-Tempering Sect and exposed the slaughter of its disciples and the Esoteric Sect’s hidden contingencies. The chapter ended with Bai Yu demanding that Yan Kong explain the Esoteric Sect-marked statue.

• Bai Yu inspected the amber containing Ling Yao and rejected Yan Kong’s proposed fifty-fifty split, insisting on forty percent instead.
• Yan Kong accepted Bai Yu’s terms, and Bai Yu produced a contract promising seventh-grade and eighth-grade great medicines for their partnership.
• As Yan Kong prepared to sign, Scholar Chen attacked the sect, hurling black literary qi, severed heads, and hidden Esoteric Sect statues into the hall.
• Zen Spirit fled outside and found Scholar Chen standing among the corpses of Great Red Dust Temple and Red Dust Heart-Tempering Sect members.
• Bai Yu recognized the Esoteric Sect’s aura on a statue and demanded an explanation from Yan Kong.

Scholar Chen battled Monk Yan Kong and the Red Dust Heart-Tempering Sect’s cultivators, repeatedly recovering as a sixth-grade Great Medicine transformed his body. As his attackers pressed on, memories of the Sect’s atrocities against his family resurfaced, and a voice jolted him awake.

• Monk Yan Kong attacked Scholar Chen after Bai Yu exposed the Red Dust Heart-Tempering Sect’s hidden arrangements and statues.
• Scholar Chen split Yan Kong’s golden hand seal and endured his attacks, recovering rapidly from grievous injuries.
• Bai Yu realized Scholar Chen was absorbing the sixth-grade Great Medicine with extraordinary efficiency as Ye Shuying and Ye Wanyun appeared beside him.
• Yan Kong called two more Void Refinement cultivators to help attack Scholar Chen, whose power continued to swell.
• Scholar Chen remembered finding his wife and four Great Red Dust disciples eating his parents, then heard a voice call him useless and jolted awake.