Chapter Summaries

An Siyan and Jiang Ding ordered the destruction of Baoding Maitreya’s temples and fanatical followers to weaken the Incense Buddha Realm. After the Yongling Temple leaders and the city commandant were killed, amphibious tanks crossed Yongling Island without harming the city and continued toward the sea.

• A Buddha statue in Yongling Temple shattered, and a blood-written warning appeared as the abbot, temple leaders, and city commandant were killed.
• An Siyan explained that incense worship bound gods and worshippers through a contract and proposed eliminating temples and fanatical believers across the East Sea.
• Jiang Ding approved the plan, declaring that the fanatical believers were complicit in the Baoding Maitreya Sect’s oppression.
• Amphibious tanks drove ashore on Yongling Island and passed through without attacking the city or speaking to its officials.

Jiang Ding’s tank army swept across the Baoding Maitreya Sect’s island strongholds, destroying temples and killing fanatical believers while avoiding harm to ordinary people. On Wood Spirit Great Island, Baoding Maitreya and the Buddha’s Eight Divisions tried to convert Jiang Ding, but he resisted their spells and prepared to strike with his flying sword.

• Jin Lingfeng announced the tank army’s arrival at Blackstone Island, where the troops destroyed temples and killed fanatical Buddhist leaders and believers.
• Jiang Ding’s forces defeated the Buddhist Kingdom’s elite army with howitzer fire, then cleared Blackstone Island and set course for Wood Spirit Great Island.
• An Siyan explained that the approaching Kinnara and Gandharva divisions were incense-and-faith creations, led by mid-stage Golden Core kings.
• Baoding Maitreya appeared with the Kinnara King and Gandharva King and used chanting, music, and conversion spells against Jiang Ding.
• Jiang Ding resisted the spells, activated the Magnetic Field Spirit-Energy Slaughter Formation, and formed a Blue-Gold Flying Sword to target the core of the incense-and-faith belief.

Jiang Ding and the Blue-Gold Flying Sword attacked Baoding Maitreya and the Eightfold Buddhist Army, breaking the Buddha’s defenses and killing its kings and followers. Baoding Maitreya charged Jiang Ding in a final attempt to uphold its doctrine, but the sword pierced its heart and destroyed its divine body.

• Baoding Maitreya summoned a mountain-sized swastika rune, but the Blue-Gold Flying Sword shattered it and raced toward its faith core.
• The Gandharva King and Kinnara King led their divisions’ attacks against the sword, but it destroyed their weapons and wounded both kings.
• Baoding Maitreya blocked the sword with its clasped palms, while one hundred thousand division members exploded to bear the impact; Jiang Ding then sent millions of armor-piercing shells against the Eightfold Buddhist Army.
• The Blue-Gold Flying Sword killed the Gandharva King and Kinnara King, who each sacrificed themselves in failed attempts to protect Baoding Maitreya.
• Baoding Maitreya charged Jiang Ding with its broken Buddhist treasures, but he strengthened the Blue-Gold Flying Sword, which pierced its heart and shattered its divine body.

Jiang Ding’s forces destroyed the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace’s outer formations and temples, then waited outside the central formation while the Immortal Sect severed Baoding Maitreya’s sources of power. After two months, the East Sea’s people had rapidly abandoned devout faith, leaving Jiang Ding questioning the Immortal Sect’s rejection of most outstanding figures from minor worlds.

• Jiang Ding ordered the tank army to advance across the East Sea, destroying demonic beasts, temples, and the eighteen outer Black Tortoise formations.
• Jiang Ding’s army shattered the central formation’s eighteen pillars and reached the final formation, where Baoding Maitreya’s Incense Buddha Realm displayed quasi-Nascent Soul-level power.
• An Siyan explained that the Immortal Sect needed to clear subsidiary formations and weaken Baoding Maitreya’s faith before attacking, and Jiang Ding agreed to wait.
• Xue Qian and Jin Chengkong led forces toward the other theaters while Jiang Ding concealed himself near the Incense Buddha Realm.
• After two months of Immortal Sect propaganda, Jiang Ding observed that devout believers had nearly vanished and nonbelievers were rapidly increasing.
• Jiang Ding wondered whether the Immortal Sect had erred by rejecting nearly all outstanding figures from minor worlds.

Baoding Maitreya’s faith collapsed under the people’s resentment, and Jiang Ding led the Wild Copper Aerospace Army to attack its Incense Buddha Kingdom. As Jiang Ding entered the formation, eight divisions of Buddha troops surrounded him under the command of a six-armed Buddha.

• An Siyan explained that Baoding Maitreya had sealed itself off from outside incense faith and would eventually die, but Jiang Ding ordered an immediate attack.
• Four million tanks advanced on the Black Tortoise Four-Pole Boundary-Sealing Formation as Baoding Maitreya summoned its accumulated fanatic believers to operate artillery.
• Jiang Ding’s forces destroyed the believers and their artillery, then Jiang Ding entered the formation and the Incense Buddha Kingdom.
• Eight divisions of Buddha troops emerged and encircled Jiang Ding, while the formation amplified their strength.
• A six-armed Buddha descended as the core of the Vajra Buddha Formation and took command.

Jiang Ding used the Supreme Clarity Flying Sword and swarms of armor-piercing shells to break Baoding Maitreya’s formations, destroy its karmic fire, and pierce the Karmic Fire Golden Cauldron. Baoding Maitreya lost its believers and relic before Jiang Ding’s final strike annihilated it.

• Jiang Ding repeatedly combined his flying sword’s annihilation Sword Intent with armor-piercing shells to damage the Karmic Fire Golden Cauldron and shatter the Eightfold Buddhist Army’s formations.
• Baoding Maitreya released ash-black karmic fire, but Jiang Ding’s spellbreaking shells and sword reduced it to a fragment and destroyed it.
• Baoding Maitreya burned its incense-offering power and charged Jiang Ding, but the Blue-Gold Flying Sword pierced the Karmic Fire Golden Cauldron.
• The destruction of the cauldron killed the Eightfold Buddhist Army and shattered the core of Baoding Maitreya’s incense-offering relic.
• Jiang Ding struck Baoding Maitreya’s relic with the Supreme Clarity Flying Sword and annihilated its body beyond restoration.

Jiang Ding and the Immortal Sect forces secured control of the minor realm’s spirit veins and completed four Stellar Boundary-Defining Grand Formations to support the Immortal Sect’s war in the starry sky. After a Spirit Transformation-level attack on Jiang Ding was stopped by a spirit-particle beam, he received one Spirit Transformation-level battle merit.

• Jiang Ding watched the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace’s final anchor collapse, revealing an island with a fifth-tier spirit vein, and ordered the Stellar Boundary-Defining Formation deployed.
• Fifteen days later, Jiang Ding and the Immortal Sect cultivators completed four Stellar Boundary-Defining Grand Formations, bringing the realm’s spirit veins and earth veins under their control.
• An Siyan explained that the formations would support the Immortal Sect’s Aerospace Front Army, while Jin Chengkong described the sacrifices involved in past realm-conquest battles.
• Jiang Ding and the assembled officers waited for news as fighting continued in the starry sky.
• A seven-star giant palm struck through the realm wall toward Jiang Ding, but a spirit-particle beam shattered it before the attack could land.
• The Central Array-Spirit Computer awarded Jiang Ding one Spirit Transformation-level battle merit.

After the Immortal Sect captured the Desolate Copper Minor Realm, Jiang Ding spent Spirit Transformation-level military merit to rename it the Ganghan Minor Realm and left the battlefield overwhelmed by sorrow. He returned to Banyan City with the Great Sun Orb from Sun Slayer True Lord, intending to stay home for the next ten to twenty years.

• The Central Array-Spirit Computer announced the Immortal Sect's victory and reported that Golden Light Heavenly Lord had escaped after his physical body was destroyed.
• Jiang Ding exchanged one Spirit Transformation-level military merit for the right to rename the Desolate Copper Minor Realm the Ganghan Minor Realm.
• After confirming the battle had ended, Jiang Ding left without joining Jin Lingfeng and Siyan's celebration, while the soldiers and officers cheered their victory.
• Jiang Ding said he wanted to go home, looked once more at Clearwind University, and boarded an aerospace fighter for Banyan City.
• Senior Sun Slayer sent Jiang Ding the Great Sun Orb and a message saying he would enter seclusion, asking Jiang Ding to kill twenty-seven enemies if he failed to return.
• Jiang Ding arrived at his residential complex in Banyan City, planning to stay home for the next ten to twenty years.

Jiang Ding returned to the banquet after the Immortal Sect announced its acquisition of the Ganghan Minor Realm, reuniting with his family and former teachers. The celebration eased the family’s grief over their short lives, and Jiang Yuan revealed that she planned to marry soon.

• The guests watched an emergency broadcast announcing the Immortal Sect’s acquisition of the Ganghan Minor Realm, and Lin Gang reflected on the honor of being remembered by future generations.
• Jiang Ding arrived and reassured Lin Gang and Grandma that his dangerous mission had ended satisfactorily.
• Grandma, Lin Wanqiu, and Lin Gang pinched Jiang Ding’s cheeks, while Jiang Yuan held back after noticing his gaze.
• At dinner, Grandma asked about Jiang Ding’s love life, and Jiang Yuan said she planned to marry her boyfriend and settle in Banyan City.
• After the meal, Jiang Ding noticed that his former teachers had grown old and carried tea over to their table.

After hosting a banquet for his family, neighbors, and former teachers, Jiang Ding sent the kingfisher to deliver Foundation Establishment Pills to his teachers. In Tushan Demon City, he calculated his annual income at over thirty-four million low-grade spirit stones and decided his capital needed a better formation.

• Jiang Ding reunited with his former teachers at the banquet and used magnetic threads to clean the residential complex after the guests left.
• Jiang Ding gave the kingfisher Foundation Establishment Pills to deliver privately to Zhang Dingjun, Guo Kui, Wang Lan, and the other teachers.
• Fifteen years later, Jiang Ding surveyed the prosperous Tushan Demon City and assessed the Demon Nation’s industries and expenses.
• Jiang Ding calculated that his annual income exceeded thirty-four million low-grade spirit stones and resolved to upgrade the capital’s formation.

Jiang Ding presided over the Tushan Daoist Grounds’ council and decided how to handle bandits, taxes, enforcement, and other affairs. After the three-day meeting ended, Li Qingyun told him that a Golden Core cultivator from the Northern Plains might have sent a visiting card.

• Jiang Ding inspected his Molten Gold Fruit harvest and considered saving it to help refine his future natal magic treasure after forming his core.
• Li Qingyun reported that Northern Plains bandits had killed Xia Baoling and occupied White Jade Mountain, and Jiang Ding ordered the Enforcement Hall to summon nearby cultivators and kill them.
• Li Qingyun proposed putting second-tier spirit vein cave abodes up for bidding every ten years and increasing the Enforcement Hall’s personnel by fifty percent, and Jiang Ding approved both proposals.
• Jiang Ding and the Foundation Establishment cultivators handled reports on trade, public security, agriculture, and other matters during a three-day council.
• After the council ended, Li Qingyun told Jiang Ding that a Golden Core senior had sent a visiting card and might be a cultivator who had fled from the Northern Plains.

Jiang Ding learned that Golden Core cultivators fleeing the Northern Plains’ war might bring unrest to the Three Kingdoms, then rejected Yellow Leopard Daoist’s attempt to join the Tushan Daoist Grounds as a guest elder. The chapter ended with Jiang Ding insisting that newcomers could settle in Tushan Immortal City only by following its laws and earning their place.

• Li Qingyun warned Jiang Ding that the Northern Plains war was driving cultivators south and that Yellow Leopard Daoist’s arrival might be a probe for influence.
• Li Qingyun told Jiang Ding his service term had ended and recommended Monk Fazheng as his successor; Jiang Ding agreed and gave Li Qingyun five million low-grade spirit stones.
• Jiang Ding visited Yellow Leopard Daoist in his guest-room cave abode and exchanged greetings with the Initial Golden Core cultivator.
• Yellow Leopard Daoist offered to become a guest elder and help Jiang Ding resist other Golden Core cultivators, but Jiang Ding declined and offered to refer him to the Blood Slaughter Hall or Seven Feathers Sect.
• Jiang Ding told Yellow Leopard Daoist that Tushan Immortal City welcomed outsiders who obeyed its laws, then reflected that newcomers had to work for their place rather than claim authority and offerings.

Jiang Ding expanded the Tushan maid corps’ training and set new standards for advancement while continuing to build the Tuo Kingdom’s forces. After the maidservants departed, Wuma Kong arrived with a report.

• Gong Caiyu, Xia Tu, and Winter Snow reported that the maid corps had greatly increased its collection of spiritual-material specimens through purchases and Spirit Treasure Commerce.
• Jiang Ding gave the three maidservants four foundational jade-slip inheritances and made mastery of their subjects a requirement for promotion.
• Jiang Ding ordered the maidservants to teach the inheritances to the entire corps within a month and announced that he would teach them every seven days.
• Wuma Kong appeared before Jiang Ding, corrected his form of address to Martial Uncle, and was asked what he had to report.

Jiang Ding received proof that several officials had embezzled spirit stones and ordered punishments, then continued his quiet home life with his family. When Jiang Yuan invited him to her engagement, he declined because he avoided emotional attachments to preserve his dao heart, leaving her disappointed but reassured that she could still visit home.

• Wuma Kong reported corruption by Liu Hongshao, Li Xiu, and other officials, and gave Jiang Ding the investigation record.
• Jiang Ding ordered Liu Hongshao executed, sent Li Xiu to Heavenly Thunder Peak with additional spirit stones, and assigned Fazheng to handle the remaining cases.
• Jiang Ding used his renovated room to cultivate while maintaining a daily routine at home, including preparing breakfast for his family.
• Jiang Yuan invited Jiang Ding to attend her engagement, but he refused because he followed a cultivation path of avoiding worldly attachments.
• Jiang Ding encouraged Jiang Yuan to keep cultivating after marriage, and she and Lin Wanqiu left for school.

Jiang Ding visited his grandparents and spent the day caring for his family, cooking spirit food with the Supreme Clarity Flying Sword. He encouraged Lin Yuanwang’s preparations for Foundation Establishment and left after the family shared dinner.

• Jiang Ding traveled by bus to his grandparents’ home, tended to Grandma with spiritual power, and asked Lin Yuanwang about his Foundation Establishment preparations.
• Lin Yuanwang said he expected to finish his preparations within two years and believed his chances were good, while the family discussed their ancestors and cultivators.
• Jiang Ding used his divine sense to buy ingredients and asked each family member what they wanted to eat.
• The Supreme Clarity Flying Sword prepared several spirit dishes, and Jiang Ding sent his Foundation Establishment heartfire into the kitchen to help process the ingredients.
• Jiang Ding assured Grandma that Grandpa and Uncle Lin Yong could drink safely, then spent the day with the family until evening.
• Several months passed.

Jiang Ding dealt with affairs at Tushan Daoist Grounds, then searched the Immortal Gate Library for a sword-based cultivation technique to build a force under his command. He chose to adapt a Great Sun Sword Pavilion Daoist soldier technique and learned that Zhang Junsheng had found leads on the Great Sun Core-Formation Secret Art.

• Monk Fazheng reported that Liu Hongshao had escaped, and Jiang Ding ordered him and the involved disciples to lose half a year of pay.
• Jiang Ding learned that Senior Huang had rented a cave dwelling and instructed Fazheng to treat him normally without secretly monitoring him.
• Jiang Ding avoided extending his divine sense toward his family’s gathering for Jiang Yuan’s engagement and searched the Immortal Gate Library for a cultivation technique to train his own force.
• Jiang Ding found the Radiant Sun Sword Canon, a Great Sun Sword Pavilion Daoist soldier technique, and decided to have its Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment portions radically revised to suit him.
• Zhang Junsheng called Jiang Ding and reported leads on the Great Sun Core-Formation Secret Art, while complaining that people working in his laboratory kept beating him up.

Jiang Ding learned that forming a Great Sun Core required the Great Sun Celestial Pool, and Zhang Junsheng told him it would open in eighty years. Afterward, Jiang Ding joined his family for a meal and learned that Jiang Yuan would marry next year.

• Zhang Junsheng explained that the Great Sun Sword Pavilion's Core-Formation method relied on Great Sun Soulflame from the Celestial Pool to protect sword cultivators during the dangerous process.
• Zhang Junsheng told Jiang Ding that the damaged Great Sun Celestial Pool remained in a secret realm and would open in eighty years, where Taiyin Sword Sect cultivators and a Taiyin Sword Heir might also appear.
• Jiang Ding discussed the possibility of obtaining the Great Sun inheritance from the Taiyin Sword Heir, then ended the communication and cultivated.
• Jiang Ding joined his family for dinner, where his relatives told him that Jiang Yuan's wedding had been set for the same day the following year.
• Jiang Ding looked at the shy Jiang Yuan and reflected that she had grown from a little girl into an adult.

After a year spent with his family, Jiang Ding watched his sister leave for her wedding, then returned to his duties at Demon Palace and Tushan Immortal City. He completed an upgrade to the city’s defensive formation before learning that the Red-Clothed Raiders had killed the new Enforcement Hall Master.

• Jiang Ding watched his sister depart in her wedding car and reflected on the farewells of a cultivator’s life.
• At Demon Palace, Jiang Ding taught formation fundamentals to his attendants and assigned the senior attendants to supervise and educate the younger girls.
• Jiang Ding completed the upgrade of Tushan Immortal City’s grand formation, demonstrating its upper third-order power.
• Monk Fazheng reported that Chen Sansheng and more than twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators had been defeated by the Red-Clothed Raiders, with only three survivors returning.
• Jiang Ding dismissed Fazheng, who suspected that an outsider in the third-order caves might be the Golden Core cultivator whose death he needed.

Jiang Ding used the Blood-Soul Pursuit Arrow to track the aura left by the Enforcement Hall massacre to a Gobi valley. There, he found Liu Hongshao and the Nine-Skull Old Devil with a group of demonic cultivators, and his arrival froze them in terror.

• Jiang Ding activated the Blood-Soul Pursuit Arrow, found faint traces of aura, and sent the arrow after them.
• The Nine-Skull Old Devil celebrated the stolen spirit stones and artifacts with more than thirty demonic cultivators.
• The Nine-Skull Old Devil questioned Liu Hongshao about defecting from Tushan Immortal City, and she blamed the city’s unfair treatment and a pretty boy.
• Liu Hongshao left the valley, and the Nine-Skull Old Devil and the other demonic cultivators hurried to gather their spoils and depart.
• Jiang Ding appeared in the sky and used Annihilation Sword Intent to lock onto Liu Hongshao and the demonic cultivators.

Jiang Ding killed Liu Hongshao and a gathering of demonic cultivators, including the Nine-Skull Old Devil, after they attacked him. He then sensed two Golden Core cultivators nearby.

• Liu Hongshao begged Jiang Ding for mercy, then attacked him with her red sash and peach-blossom miasma, but Jiang Ding killed her with sword qi.
• More than thirty Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators attacked Jiang Ding, but his sword lotuses shattered their weapons and spells.
• The surviving demonic cultivators fled, and Jiang Ding’s sword qi pursued and killed them across the Gobi.
• The Nine-Skull Old Devil emerged from the sand, sent his nine skulls at Jiang Ding, and tried to escape, but Jiang Ding destroyed him with two sword lotuses.
• Jiang Ding sensed the faint auras of two Golden Core cultivators in the sky.