Chapter Summaries

Rat Prodigy returned to Cloud-Grasping City transformed by the Golden Spirit Blood, bringing Jiang Chen a piece of Grand Derivation True Gold and valuable inheritances. Its gains improved its prospects and gave Jiang Chen a key resource for his soul flying sword, while he considered a dangerous underground cavern.

• Jiang Chen sensed Rat Prodigy’s return and waited for it atop a mountain in Cloud-Grasping City.
• Rat Prodigy recounted its journey to Golden Spirit Mountain and explained how the Golden Spirit Blood had transformed its body and Dao Foundation.
• Jiang Chen recognized Rat Prodigy’s new potential and learned that the Golden Spirit Blood might grant it another divine ability.
• Rat Prodigy presented Jiang Chen with Grand Derivation True Gold gathered from the Rat King’s stores.
• Rat Prodigy shared the Rat King’s artifact-refining and ore-seeking inheritances, and Jiang Chen considered how its improvements increased their chances of entering a cavern protected by a third-rank grand formation.

Jiang Chen used Rat Prodigy to open a small breach in the Earth-Origin Yang-Earth Formation, then fished through it with the Dragon-Fishing Rod. He successfully hooked and pulled a young Dragon Earthworm from the underground cavern.

• Jiang Chen assessed flaws in the Earth-Origin Yang-Earth Formation that Taoyao had discovered with the Baleful Ghosts’ help.
• Rat Prodigy used its Wishful Treasure Body and golden teeth to tear a small gap in the formation after three days.
• Jiang Chen cast the Dragon-Fishing Rod through the breach and combined its powers with Bird-Tuning and Beast-Gathering to lure dragon-blooded creatures.
• A young Dragon Earthworm followed the illusory call and swallowed the luminous pearl Jiang Chen had presented as bait.
• Jiang Chen lifted the rod and pulled the hooked young Dragon Earthworm out of the cavern.

The Dragon Earthworm Ancestor sensed a vague disturbance but decided the clan could remain safe by hiding behind its True Dragon Horns and formation. Jiang Chen, who had secretly turned many Dragon Earthworms into puppets, resolved to seize the clan’s remaining Dao Foundation members and obtain its Dragon-Transformation Treasure Art.

• The Dragon Earthworm Ancestor woke with a foreboding, surveyed Fallen Dragon Ridge, and concluded that the clan should avoid the coming upheaval.
• The Dragon Earthworm Ancestor reflected on the True Dragon Horns and its own near-Purple Mansion cultivation before falling asleep again.
• Jiang Chen watched the Grotto through puppets whose minds he had seized or destroyed, including a Dao Foundation Dragon Earthworm.
• Jiang Chen learned that the True Dragon Horns contained the Dragon-Transformation Treasure Art and considered how it could aid his effort to become a true dragon.
• Jiang Chen decided to capture the remaining Dao Foundation Dragon Earthworms and swung his Dragon-Fishing Rod again.

Lei Qing revealed himself as the Thunder Roc Clan’s imperial-blood heir and rallied six Purple Mansion cultivators to join his fight against the Impermanence Sect. He left them preparing for battle and searching for fragments of the Ancient Thunder Seal.

• Six Purple Mansion cultivators gathered in an illusion realm as a domineering will descended and revealed Thunder Roc imperial blood.
• Lei Qing appeared as the Little Roc King, and the six cultivators bowed after recognizing his identity.
• Lei Qing announced an alliance with the Jellyfish Palace and asked the cultivators to help him oppose the Impermanence Sect.
• The Poison Dove Clan, the Twin-Tailed Scorpion Clan, and the other cultivators pledged their support.
• Lei Qing told them to prepare for battle and find the fragments of the Ancient Thunder Seal, promising to reward their loyalty.

Taoyao destroyed the insect-demon swarm attacking Cloud-Grasping City, while the scorpion demons behind the assault decided to replace the lost swarm elsewhere rather than risk the Myriad-Insect King Cauldron. The city was safe, but the altar in the Sand Sea sent out a strange pulse.

• Insect demons overwhelmed Cloud-Grasping City's defenders until a perfected Dao Foundation demon emerged, prompting Nian Hua to call on Taoyao.
• Taoyao used the Spirit-Locking Return-to-Origin Grand Formation and Wither and Flourish, Life and Death to wipe out the swarm, including the perfected Dao Foundation demon.
• Nian Hua thanked Taoyao and ordered the cultivators to gather the corpses for the spirit fields, despite the city spending one mountain of spirit stones to power its formation.
• At an altar in the Sand Sea, Azure Scorpion and White Scorpion realized the Myriad-Insect King Cauldron had dimmed because the Cloud-Grasping City swarm was destroyed.
• Azure Scorpion told White Scorpion to replace the swarm elsewhere and avoid risking the cauldron, then stepped onto the altar and sent out a strange pulse.

Jiang Chen completed the Dragon-Fishing Rod’s advancement and launched his plan to seize the Dragon Earthworm Ancestor by taking control of the underground cave’s formation. The Ancestor was caught in Jiang Chen’s spiritual arts and its bloodline power was suppressed, but it called upon the True Dragon Horn for help.

• Jiang Chen learned that insect tides and other dangers had struck across the Western Region, then decided to focus on protecting Cloud-Grasping City.
• After catching three Dao Foundation-level Dragon Earthworms, Jiang Chen advanced the Dragon-Fishing Rod to a supreme-grade spirit artifact.
• Jiang Chen ordered the Dragon Earthworms under his control to seize the Earth-Origin Yang-Earth Formation and open its defenses.
• Jiang Chen used the Bird-Tuning Art, Beast-Gathering Art, and Dragon-Fishing Rod to ensnare the Dragon Earthworm Ancestor in a dream and suppress its bloodline power.
• The Dragon Earthworm Ancestor realized its clan had been infiltrated and called upon the True Dragon Horn, which responded.

Jiang Chen severed Dragon Earthworm's ancestor from the True Dragon Horn, captured it, and uncovered the horn's hidden inheritance. After absorbing the Demon King's remnant soul and learning the Dragon-Transformation Treasure Art, he saw how it could complement his Heavenly Dipper True Form despite its flaws.

• Jiang Chen used Turbid Balefire and the Primordial Unity Great Hand Seal to cut off Dragon Earthworm's ancestor's connection to the True Dragon Horn.
• The Dragon-Fishing Rod suppressed Dragon Earthworm's ancestor, and Jiang Chen reeled it in and placed it in his fish basket.
• Jiang Chen examined the True Dragon Horns and discovered their bloodline mark and the Demon King's hidden treasure art and soul fragment.
• Jiang Chen devoured the Demon King's remnant soul and obtained the Dragon-Transformation Treasure Art's insights.
• Jiang Chen recognized that the art depleted the divine soul, but its inside-out method could complement the Heavenly Dipper True Form.

Jiang Chen stripped Dragon Earthworm Cavern of its resources and transplanted its thousand-year-old Dragonblood Grass before unleashing the Baleful Ghost to destroy the weakened cavern. As the Baleful Ghost devoured the cavern’s life force, it began transforming toward the third rank, though Jiang Chen saw that its advancement differed from a cultivator’s Purple Mansion.

• Jiang Chen ordered Nian Hua to gather the cavern’s resources and Dragon Earthworms for Cloud-Grasping City, then destroy the site.
• Jiang Chen found the mature Dragonblood Grass, recognized its value for refining a Dragon Transformation Treasure Pill, and transplanted it.
• After three days, the cultivators stripped the cavern of its resources and departed, leaving its spirit vein removed and its protective formation gone.
• Jiang Chen used the Baleful Ghost to break the barrier between Dragon Earthworm Cavern and the Sea of Sand, allowing the sand to consume the pocket world.
• The Baleful Ghost devoured the cavern’s life force and began a qualitative transformation, while Jiang Chen observed that its third-rank advancement centered on its soul.

Taoyao subdued the third-rank spiritual vein and helped secure Cloud-Grasping City’s growth, while Jiang Chen withdrew to prepare a flying sword. Meanwhile, Lei Qing received an Ancient Thunder Seal fragment and pursued the remaining pieces to enter Azure Firmament Mountain.

• Taoyao used the Spirit-Locking Return-to-Origin Grand Formation to bind the third-rank spiritual vein and settle it beneath Lark-Grasping Mountain.
• Jiang Chen observed Taoyao’s success, then withdrew to cultivate astral qi and prepare to forge a soul-bound flying sword with Rat Prodigy’s help.
• Several Demon Race clans began searching the Western Region for Ancient Thunder Seal fragments under the Little Roc King’s guidance and the Dark Feather Cult’s instigation.
• Lei Qing received a Thunder Seal fragment from the Twin-Tailed Scorpion Clan and resolved to gather more fragments to enter Azure Firmament Mountain and find the Thunder Pool.

Jiang Chen recognized that the Spirit-Touched Monkey clan could help advance the Spirit Lord’s authority and used the Mountain-River Possession Secret Record to consume the shattered Incense Divine Domain. As Green Mountain stabilized the Hundred Fruit Garden Secret Realm, the Taihua Heaven-Supporting Secret Record revealed new insights and Jiang Chen’s consciousness fell silent.

• Jiang Chen observed that the spirit monkeys had developed a stable, inheritable bloodline and named them the Spirit-Touched Monkey clan.
• Jiang Chen sensed that the clan’s growth and his seized authority from the Bewitching Heart Empress could help the Spirit Lord reach the third tier of the Divine Path.
• Jiang Chen used the Spirit Lord’s body to shatter the weakened Incense Divine Domain and devour its fragments with the Mountain-River Possession Secret Record.
• The Hundred Fruit Garden Secret Realm grew unstable as Green Mountain released divine light and suppressed it.
• Jiang Chen received insights from the Taihua Heaven-Supporting Secret Record and his consciousness sank into silence.

Jiang Chen gained new insights into the Taihua Heaven-Supporting Secret Record, strengthened his body, and formed the True Dragon Transformation while secluded in Cloud-Grasping City. He returned to cultivation expecting his gang qi to be born within a month, as a ghost calamity erupted in distant Blackwater City.

• The Spirit Lord’s devouring of the Incense Divine Domain helped him understand the Taihua Heaven-Supporting Secret Record and pass new insights to Jiang Chen.
• Jiang Chen grasped at the void and considered how the Spirit Lord’s advancement might help him touch the Great Void’s power at the Dao Foundation level.
• Jiang Chen sensed that his strengthened body had advanced Qi-Sea Nourishing Mysterious Whale and that his gang qi would be born within three days to one month.
• Jiang Chen combined insights from the Taihua Heaven-Supporting Secret Record, the Primordial Unity Qi Art, and other methods to form the True Dragon Transformation.
• Jiang Chen saw dragon qi rising from Buried-Sand Lake and noted its new spirit island and dragon-shaped fields before returning to seclusion.
• A ghost calamity erupted in distant Blackwater City.

Profound Flood Dragon used the ghost calamity to locate the Yin Soil beneath the Sand Sea, then ordered Blackwater City's forces to destroy the invading ghosts and search for their lair. Within the Yin Soil, Fox Ghost discovered that a metal fragment held the power of true intent and began refining it in a pill furnace to advance its cultivation.

• Wu Jun'an reported that he had pinpointed the approximate location of the Yin Soil, and Profound Flood Dragon ordered the ghostly creatures in Blackwater City exterminated.
• Profound Flood Dragon activated the Blackwater Yin Thunder Formation, which killed nearly all the invading ghostly creatures.
• Profound Flood Dragon sent Blackwater City's cultivators toward the depths of the Sand Sea in three groups to find and break through the Yin Soil.
• Fox Ghost opened its pill furnace and examined a metal fragment that had reacted, sensing that it contained the power of true intent.
• Fox Ghost decided to refine the metal fragment into a Golden Core and threw it back into the furnace.

Jiang Chen used gang qi to begin cultivating the True Dragon Transformation, combining twelve dragonkind demon hides in Buried-Sand Lake. After suppressing their lingering wills, he completed his first true dragon form, whose immense might stirred the lake and changed the weather.

• Jiang Chen formed gang qi and decided he could begin the True Dragon Transformation.
• Jiang Chen went to Buried-Sand Lake, where the Mist Flood Dragon had gathered and attuned twelve dragonkind demon hides.
• Jiang Chen entered the lake with the True Dragon Horns and repeatedly refined the demon hides until he found the right balance.
• Jiang Chen merged the eleven other demon hides into his flood dragon body, transforming his appearance, divine soul, and dragon nature.
• Jiang Chen used gang qi to suppress the demon hides’ lingering wills and unite their powers.
• Jiang Chen completed his true dragon form, unleashing dragon might that churned Buried-Sand Lake and brought lightning, thunder, and torrential rain.

Jiang Chen completed the True Dragon Transformation, tested its strength, and returned to Buried-Sand Lake to refine his dragon horn and prepare to improve the Flood-Covering Flood Dragon Armor. Meanwhile, Rat Prodigy began smelting Grand Derivation True Gold with eight other ores to forge Numinous Bright Gold and a divine soul sword embryo.

• Jiang Chen discovered that his true dragon form greatly strengthened his water arts and physique, and he tore open the Great Void through sheer force.
• Jiang Chen assessed that he could contend with Purple Mansion cultivators but still needed true intent and a suitable transformation-path earth treasure to advance further.
• Jiang Chen returned to Buried-Sand Lake and began refining his true dragon horn, intending to combine it with the Flood-Covering Flood Dragon Armor.
• Jiang Chen's aura awakened dragon blood in spirit fish around Buried-Sand Lake, while Rat Prodigy felt his dragon might but was protected by a power in its bloodline.
• Rat Prodigy used the Gold-Fusing Treasure Furnace to smelt Grand Derivation True Gold with eight ores, and the minerals began to fuse as its aura merged with the furnace.

Blackwater City's cultivators invaded a three-layered Yin Soil, where Fox Ghost attacked them with illusions and Cold Moon Foxfire. As Profound Flood Dragon neared defeat and Wu Jun'an sensed a chance to find a ghost inheritance, Jiang Chen recognized the danger and set out to intervene.

• Profound Flood Dragon led Blackwater City's cultivators into the Yin Soil after they destroyed its barrier, and the cultivators began fighting the ghosts within.
• Fox Ghost abandoned its pill-making and used an illusion to ensnare the invaders, but Profound Flood Dragon broke the spell with his dragon nature and Soul-Calming Orb.
• Fox Ghost unleashed its third-rank Cold Moon Foxfire, badly burning Profound Flood Dragon and tearing flesh from his body as he fought back.
• Wu Jun'an regained clarity on the second layer and felt joy at the prospect of finding the ghost inheritance he had sought.
• Jiang Chen sensed the danger through his connections with Wu Jun'an and Profound Flood Dragon, then tore through the Great Void to reach the Yin Soil.

Jiang Chen attacked Fox Ghost in Yin Soil and discovered that the ghost’s apparent body was only part of a dual illusion realm. Fox Ghost’s true body emerged from the silver moon to resist Jiang Chen, but Jiang Chen tore through his foxfire as the mist sealed off their escape.

• Fox Ghost watched the blood sacrifice fuel the refinement of a metal fragment while Profound Flood Dragon struggled against his restraints.
• Fox Ghost realized Profound Flood Dragon’s gaze had changed, but Jiang Chen, transformed into a true dragon, tore into the illusion realm and struck him with Primordial Unity Qi.
• Jiang Chen crushed Fox Ghost’s false body and used Thousand Tribulations Cold Radiance to force his true body to appear within the silver moon.
• Fox Ghost blocked Jiang Chen’s attack with Cold Moon Foxfire and discovered that mist had sealed off Yin Soil.
• Jiang Chen’s dragon claws ripped apart the foxfire as immense pressure bore down on Fox Ghost.

Jiang Chen fought the fox ghost, whose attacks reached the Purple Mansion realm, and overcame its soul-killing technique with Soul-Calming Hall. He captured the fox ghost’s soul with the Heart Mirror and suppressed its body with Primordial Unity Qi, leaving it unable to escape.

• The fox ghost swallowed an yin pill, grew three tails, and attacked Jiang Chen with Cold Moon Foxfire.
• Jiang Chen endured the fox ghost’s attacks with his True Dragon body and astral qi armor.
• The fox ghost unleashed Cold Fox Swallows the Moon, tearing through Jiang Chen’s astral qi, but his True Dragon Horn extinguished the flames.
• The fox ghost struck at Jiang Chen’s soul with Soul-Annihilating Life-Ending Thorn, but Soul-Calming Hall blocked and overwhelmed the attack.
• Jiang Chen captured the fox ghost’s soul with Heaven-Mirroring Soul Capture and suppressed its empty body with Primordial Unity Qi.

Jiang Chen explored the Yin Soil, discovered a third-rank ghost-path inheritance within its yin vein, and devoured every ghost there. Before leaving, he branded his True Dragon transformation insight into Profound Flood Dragon and entrusted him with guarding the Yin Soil.

• Jiang Chen reached the ruined Daoist temple and found a third-rank yin vein containing the Ninefold Passage to the Netherworld Art.
• He suspected the Fox Ghost could not have created the inheritance and considered whether someone had deliberately left it behind.
• Jiang Chen devoured all the ghosts in the Yin Soil, using his astral qi to wear away their yin energy.
• He used the Dao Heart Demon-Seeding Method to pass his True Dragon transformation insight to Profound Flood Dragon, whose True Dragon Life Bone stirred in response.
• Jiang Chen left Profound Flood Dragon to guard the Yin Soil, and the awakened Blackwater City cultivators remembered winning the battle under his leadership.

Jiang Chen devoured ghosts to strengthen his soul, then refined the Fox Ghost and absorbed its soul, gaining a substantial increase in soul power. He also uncovered two third-rank inheritances and planned to investigate the Fox Ghost’s past.

• Jiang Chen swallowed the ghosts in Cloud Palace and absorbed their soul liquid and fragments of true intent, gaining insight into ghostly cultivation and slightly strengthening his soul.
• Jiang Chen brought out the Soul-Calming Hall and finished refining the Fox Ghost, leaving behind soul liquid and two strands of true intent.
• Jiang Chen identified the strands as the third-rank Moon-Worshiping Method and Moon-Fox Alchemical Canon, learning about the Fox Ghost’s Cold Moon Foxfire and incomplete cultivation inheritance.
• Jiang Chen decided to investigate the Fox Ghost’s origins through the Impermanence Sect and absorb both inheritances for his cultivation and alchemy.
• Jiang Chen devoured the Fox Ghost’s soul and increased his soul power by at least ten percent, then resolved to restrain himself from relying too heavily on devouring souls.

The Gale Demon King destroyed Jade Mountain City while pursuing an Ancient Thunder Seal fragment, killing everyone inside. After the Impermanence Sect’s Purple Mansion cultivators discussed the growing danger in the Western Region, Illusory Dream True Person arrived with authority to take charge and announced that the sect would respond to the demon clans.

• Old Xu returned to Jade Mountain City with metal fragments he had taken from a slain Foundation Establishment demonic creature.
• The Gale Demon King used its compass to confirm that an Ancient Thunder Seal fragment was in Jade Mountain City and decided to seize it.
• The Gale Demon King unleashed its wind divine ability, shattered Jade Mountain City’s protective formation, and destroyed the city.
• Four Impermanence Sect Purple Mansion cultivators discussed the attack and the sect’s limited ability to respond to unrest in the Western Region.
• Illusory Dream True Person arrived with a sect dharma decree, took charge of Western Region affairs, and said the Impermanence Sect would help stir the demon clans into action.