Chapter Summaries

Shen Luo and the allied forces defeated the Flame Demon formed from Yousu Chuan, winning their first large-scale battle against the Qingqiu Fox Clan. After his companions questioned his sudden rise in cultivation, the army rested briefly and resumed its advance toward the Qingqiu Kingdom.

• The Flame Demon unleashed a devastating wave of fire, and Bai Xiaotian, Nie Caizhu, and Lu Huaming helped the allied forces withstand it and retreat in order.
• The Flame Demon attacked Jiang and Seven Kills with enormous saber strikes, but Shen Luo’s Golden Pagoda and the Bull Demon King’s phantom blocked them.
• Shen Luo used his Golden Light Sword Formation to split the Flame Demon open, then smashed Yousu Chuan’s skull with the Mysterious Yellow Unity Staff, destroying them both.
• The allied forces celebrated their victory, and Bai Xiaotian questioned Shen Luo about reaching the late True Immortal stage.
• Yan Wushi gave a cover story about Shen Luo receiving secret teachings in Heavenly Mechanism City, and Lu Huaming helped end the questioning.
• After resting, the allied forces set out again toward the Qingqiu Kingdom.

Chapter Summary: “Flat Denial”

Key Plot Points and Events

• In a secret chamber within Qingqiu’s royal city, Grand Elder You Su Strategist learns that Elder Yousu Chuan has been killed by the allied forces. She is surprised but accepts the death as part of Qingqiu’s larger plan.
• Qingqiu’s elders confirm that the invading army contains no hidden Taiyi-level cultivators; its strongest member is Shen Luo, a Late True Immortal cultivator. You Su Strategist suspects the enemy has either sent its younger generation to gain experience or is probing Qingqiu’s defenses before stronger elders intervene.
• She and the other Fox Clan elders decide to exploit the situation, viewing the invading cultivators as a valuable opportunity to inflict losses on the Human and Immortal races.
• The allied forces advance through Chaoyang Valley despite repeated Fox Clan harassment. Because the attacks are relatively weak and the army has suffered few casualties, the allied cultivators become overconfident and believe Qingqiu City will be easy to conquer.
• At the city walls, the invading army finds abandoned tents and scattered belongings, suggesting disorder or a recent evacuation. The ruler of Qingqiu Kingdom remains conspicuously absent.
• Lu Huaming demands that the ruler appear and answer for the Fox Clan’s alleged crimes against Chang’an and the various sects.
• Elder Su Xiao arrives to take command of the city’s defense. He mocks Lu Huaming and attacks the allied army with a powerful Divine Soul technique disguised as demonic music.
• Shen Luo neutralizes Su Xiao’s attack with his own Divine Soul power, revealing that his spiritual strength is comparable to that of an Early Taiyi cultivator. Su Xiao is shocked, especially because Shen Luo appears not to have used his full strength.
• Lu Huaming presents a crystal recording of the Fox Clan’s later attack on Chang’an, offering concrete evidence that Qingqiu cultivators were involved. Su Xiao dismisses the Sky Fox phantom and attempts to cast doubt on the recording’s implications.
• The allied army becomes enraged and begins calling for an assault on Qingqiu City. Lu Huaming restrains them, insisting that their goal is justice and the punishment of the true perpetrators rather than indiscriminate revenge.

Character Developments

• You Su Strategist is revealed as calculating, confident, and willing to sacrifice Qingqiu elders as part of a broader strategy. She deeply distrusts the Human and Immortal races and believes their claims of righteousness conceal hypocrisy.
• Su Xiao emerges as an aggressive and powerful defender of Qingqiu. His confidence is shaken when Shen Luo effortlessly counters his Divine Soul attack, exposing an unexpected imbalance in their assumptions about the enemy.
• Shen Luo demonstrates exceptional spiritual power and restraint. His ability to match Su Xiao without exerting himself establishes him as a major threat despite his apparent cultivation level.
• Lu Huaming shows courage and moral discipline. Although he confronts Qingqiu directly, he refuses to let the allied army descend into uncontrolled slaughter and continues framing the campaign as a pursuit of justice.
• The Qingqiu ruler’s absence becomes increasingly suspicious, suggesting that the visible defense and apparent disorder may be part of a concealed plan.

Significant Themes

• Political deception and strategic manipulation: Both sides use partial truths, staged appearances, and probing attacks to conceal their real intentions.
• Hypocrisy versus justice: You Su Strategist condemns the righteous factions as hypocritical, while Lu Huaming tries to distinguish legitimate justice from vengeance and mob violence.
• Evidence and denial: The chapter questions what constitutes proof, as Su Xiao dismisses both eyewitness testimony and recorded images despite mounting evidence against Qingqiu.
• Overconfidence and hidden power: The allied forces mistake their easy advance for victory, while Qingqiu conceals stronger figures and plans. Shen Luo’s spiritual strength further demonstrates that appearances are unreliable.
• Order versus revenge: Lu Huaming’s attempt to control the army highlights the tension between lawful judgment and the desire to destroy an enemy blamed for widespread suffering.

Important Character Interactions

• You Su Strategist consults with Qingqiu elders about the enemy’s strength and intentions, establishing the clan’s readiness to exploit the invasion.
• Su Xiao rebukes the Fox Clan defenders for their weakness, then assumes authority over the city’s defense.
• Su Xiao and Lu Huaming exchange accusations over Qingqiu’s responsibility for the attacks on Chang’an.
• Su Xiao launches a Divine Soul assault against the allied army, but Shen Luo intervenes and neutralizes it, creating a direct confrontation between the two cultivators.
• Lu Huaming presents evidence to Su Xiao and the Fox Clan, but Su Xiao responds with denial and counterarguments rather than an admission.
• Lu Huaming ultimately restrains his own allies, emphasizing that Qingqiu’s guilty parties—not the entire Fox Clan indiscriminately—should be punished.

Shen Luo realized the Fox Clan had ensnared the allied army in an illusion formation that turned its members against one another. As the formation’s killing intent overwhelmed most of the army, Seven Kills approached Shen Luo but recognized that he alone remained unaffected.

• Yan Wushi accused the Qingqiu Fox Clan of attacking Heavenly Mechanism City, but Su Xiao’s provocation inflamed Yan Wushi until Shen Luo stopped him and broke the illusion affecting him.
• Shen Luo explained that Su Xiao had manipulated the allies’ emotions, then watched the Pine-Wind Temple Daoist’s sword vanish into an illusion and a floral breeze drive the army into confusion.
• Shen Luo identified a hidden illusion formation near Qingqiu City as the cause of the chaos, but a surge of killing intent from an underground formation turned nearly the whole army against itself.
• Shen Luo resisted the formation with the Buzhou Suppression Divine Art, while Nie Caizhu, Jiang Shentian, and Bai Xiaotian struggled against its influence and Yan Wushi used Puppet Armor to protect Heavenly Mechanism City’s disciples.
• Seven Kills confronted Shen Luo with blood-red eyes but did not attack, observing that Shen Luo alone remained completely unaffected.

Chapter Summary: “Breaking the Formation Alone”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Shen Luo discovers that Seven Kills has also resisted the Divine Thought influencing the battlefield. Seven Kills explains that his overwhelming killing intent protected him, though it has intensified his desire to annihilate the Qingqiu Fox Clan.
• Seven Kills launches an assault on Qingqiu Kingdom, summoning blood clouds and using a demonic seal transformed into a massive black mountain to attack the city walls.
• Su Xiao intercepts the attack and holds back the mountain, revealing his greater cultivation as an Early Taiyi Stage cultivator. Seven Kills, whose aura has risen to the Late True Immortal Stage, responds with the Hundred Ghosts Demon Bow and its tracking technique, “Killing Break.”
• Su Xiao is forced to evade the pursuing arrow by burrowing underground. Although the arrow explodes beneath the earth, Su Xiao emerges largely unharmed and begins pursuing Seven Kills.
• Following Su Xiao’s orders, Elder Hei Li enters the chaotic battlefield to retrieve the badly wounded Elder Youli. Before he can escape with her, Yan Wushi—operating inside an Iron-Eating Beast Puppet Armor—blocks his path with the Kunwu Sword.
• Hei Li considers killing Yan Wushi first but decides that saving Youli is the priority. He sets her down and prepares to fight, intending to destroy the puppet armor and thereby expose Yan Wushi to the formation’s illusion.
• Meanwhile, Shen Luo investigates the invisible barrier surrounding Qingqiu Kingdom. Using the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire and all eleven Pure Yang Flying Swords merged into one attack, he breaks the crystalline restriction.
• The destruction exposes the formation’s runes and formation plates embedded in the city wall. Shen Luo immediately unleashes countless sword lights, destroying the wall and preventing the Magic Formation from repairing itself.

Character Developments

• Shen Luo demonstrates strategic awareness and immense offensive power. Rather than joining the chaotic battle, he focuses on the formation’s weak point and successfully destroys its core structure.
• Seven Kills becomes increasingly consumed by killing intent. His resistance to the Divine Thought comes not from mental stability but from his powerful murderous will, which drives him into a direct assault.
• Su Xiao proves his strength by resisting Seven Kills’ attacks and remaining largely unharmed even after the Hundred Ghosts arrow explodes underground. He also shows confidence in handling the situation despite Seven Kills’ sudden power increase.
• Elder Hei Li reveals deep concern for Elder Youli, suppressing his anger upon seeing her condition and prioritizing her rescue over immediate revenge.
• Yan Wushi displays his formidable combat ability through the Puppet Armor and Kunwu Sword, successfully preventing Hei Li from escaping with Youli.

Significant Themes

• Killing intent as both shield and danger: Seven Kills’ murderous will protects him from mental manipulation, but it also threatens to overwhelm his judgment and push him toward indiscriminate destruction.
• Strategy versus brute force: While Seven Kills and Su Xiao engage in a powerful direct confrontation, Shen Luo wins the larger tactical battle by identifying and destroying the formation itself.
• Conflicting priorities: Hei Li’s choice between rescuing Youli and killing Yan Wushi highlights the tension between personal loyalty, vengeance, and practical battlefield decisions.
• Revealing hidden structures: Shen Luo’s attack exposes the concealed foundation of the Magic Formation, suggesting that apparent barriers and illusions can be defeated through careful observation and precise force.

Character Interactions

• Shen Luo and Seven Kills: Shen Luo learns that Seven Kills resisted the Divine Thought, then accepts his decision to create a diversion while Shen Luo attacks the formation.
• Seven Kills and Su Xiao: Their clash escalates from the demonic mountain attack to a relentless contest between Seven Kills’ tracking arrow and Su Xiao’s evasive abilities.
• Hei Li and Youli: Hei Li’s reaction to Youli’s wounded state reveals his emotional attachment and protective instincts.
• Hei Li and Yan Wushi: Yan Wushi intercepts Hei Li with the Kunwu Sword, forcing him to abandon the immediate escape and prepare for a direct confrontation.
• Shen Luo and the Qingqiu defenders: Shen Luo’s formation-breaking strike terrifies the Fox Clan defenders and culminates in the destruction of the city wall.

Summary: “Divine Artifacts Appear”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Shen Luo breaks the Heart-Confounding Passion-Chaos Formation, but the affected cultivators remain mentally corrupted and continue fighting.
• Su Xiao reveals that the formation’s destruction is meaningless because the cultivators’ hearts have already been thrown into turmoil.
• Qingqiu City’s gates open, and the Fox Clan army launches a surprise attack against the already-disorganized allied forces.
• Lu Huaming and Bai Xiaotian enter the battle to protect the allied cultivators and slow the Fox Clan’s advance.
• Shen Luo uses the Jiuli War Drum instead of allowing Nie Caizhu to freeze everyone with her Indigo Sea ability. Its powerful rhythm redirects the cultivators’ rage toward the Qingqiu Fox Clan.
• The battle rapidly reverses: the allied forces regain their fighting spirit and charge the Fox Clan, forcing the Fox Clan elders to join the fighting.
• Yan Wushi and his Late True Immortal-stage Corpse King Puppet Armor overwhelm Elder Hei Li, gaining a strong advantage.
• Su Xiao realizes that Shen Luo was the key to reversing the battle and regrets not attacking him earlier.
• Jiang Shentian and Seven Kills separately launch attacks on Su Xiao using powerful divine artifacts: the Flying Dragon in Heaven spear and Xingtian’s Rebellion.
• Su Xiao blocks Jiang Shentian’s attack with his nine fox tails, recognizes the spear’s legendary origin, and then confronts Seven Kills directly.

Character Developments

• Shen Luo demonstrates tactical ingenuity and control over the battlefield. Rather than simply suppressing the affected cultivators, he uses the Jiuli War Drum to convert their chaotic rage into a coordinated offensive.
• Nie Caizhu quickly understands Shen Luo’s plan, showing her close cooperation and mutual understanding with him.
• Lu Huaming and Bai Xiaotian take responsibility for protecting the allied forces and immediately respond to the Fox Clan’s surprise attack.
• Yan Wushi displays the effectiveness of combining his own strength with the Corpse King Puppet Armor, allowing him to suppress Elder Hei Li.
• Su Xiao remains confident and formidable, but his miscalculation regarding Shen Luo causes the battle to turn against him. He is also forced to reveal the extraordinary defensive power of his fox tails.
• Jiang Shentian and Seven Kills reveal powerful divine weapons, emphasizing their status and combat strength. Both take the initiative in attacking Su Xiao.

Significant Themes

• The limits of brute-force solutions: Breaking the illusion formation does not immediately restore the victims’ minds, showing that psychological corruption can outlast its original source.
• Strategy and battlefield control: Shen Luo wins a crucial advantage through clever use of the Jiuli War Drum rather than relying only on direct combat.
• The reversal of power: The Fox Clan attempts to exploit the allied forces’ confusion, but the situation quickly turns against them.
• Divine artifacts and inherited power: The appearance of legendary weapons such as the Flying Dragon in Heaven and Xingtian’s Rebellion highlights the immense resources and ancient legacies possessed by the immortals and demons.
• Cooperation against overwhelming enemies: The allied characters combine their abilities—Shen Luo’s support, Lu Huaming and Bai Xiaotian’s defense, and the attacks of Jiang Shentian and Seven Kills—to challenge Su Xiao.

Character Interactions

• Shen Luo stops Nie Caizhu from using her freezing ability and instead communicates his strategy through the Jiuli War Drum; she immediately understands and supports him.
• Lu Huaming and Bai Xiaotian fight together against the attacking Fox Clan forces.
• Su Xiao recognizes Shen Luo’s role in the battlefield reversal and regrets failing to eliminate him earlier.
• Su Xiao clashes with Jiang Shentian, whose spear he identifies as the transformed divine weapon Flying Dragon in Heaven.
• Seven Kills follows Jiang Shentian with a second assault using Xingtian’s Rebellion, forcing Su Xiao into close combat and demonstrating that the confrontation is escalating.

Chapter Summary: “Limit”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Xiao attempts to seize Xingtian’s Rebellion from Seven Kills, but the weapon’s red dragon manifestations force him back.
• Jiang Shentian and Seven Kills coordinate with Flying Dragon in Heaven to trap Su Xiao beneath the Golden Pagoda.
• Su Xiao reveals his true strength by unleashing a massive Giant Fox Dharma Body, which repels the attackers and destroys the Golden Pagoda.
• His manifestation devastates the battlefield, killing large numbers of allied and Fox Clan cultivators. Shen Luo stops beating the war drum after realizing that continued encouragement would only increase casualties.
• Seven Kills attacks the Giant Fox Dharma Body but is defeated and thrown back, prompting Su Xiao to boast about the overwhelming gap in cultivation.
• Shen Luo enters the fight using the fully refined Minghong Saber, forged from the same furnace as the Xuanyuan Sword.
• His saber strike cuts through the fox manifestation, destroys Su Xiao’s beast-patterned shield and jade-armored gloves, and severely wounds Su Xiao by slicing away half his left shoulder.
• The attack continues through the city defenses, collapsing part of Qingqiu City’s wall and smashing open the city gate.
• Realizing Shen Luo may truly be capable of killing him, Su Xiao abandons the battle and flees. The remaining Qingqiu Fox Clan elders follow, but their retreat leaves the defenders disorganized.
• Encouraged by Su Xiao’s flight, the allied cultivators storm Qingqiu City and slaughter many Fox Clan soldiers who are unable to retreat or resist.
• Shen Luo nearly collapses after the attack. The Minghong Saber’s power has drained his Magic Power and caused severe internal backlash, which he concealed from Su Xiao. Nie Caizhu rushes to tend to him.

Character Developments

• Su Xiao is revealed to possess overwhelming cultivation and destructive power, but his confidence is shaken when Shen Luo’s attack penetrates all his defenses. His decision to flee marks a major loss of authority and morale.
• Shen Luo demonstrates that his refined Minghong Saber gives him the power to threaten even a superior cultivator such as Su Xiao. However, the weapon’s immense strength comes with a serious physical cost, nearly injuring him internally.
• Seven Kills and Jiang Shentian show strong battlefield coordination, but their combined efforts cannot overcome Su Xiao’s Giant Fox Dharma Body.
• Nie Caizhu remains attentive to Shen Luo’s condition and immediately recognizes the toll the battle has taken on him.
• The allied cultivators shift from fear to renewed confidence after witnessing Su Xiao retreat.

Significant Themes

• The limits of power: Shen Luo’s attack proves that extraordinary talent and a powerful weapon can bridge a cultivation gap, but only at enormous personal cost.
• Hidden weakness beneath apparent victory: Although Su Xiao is wounded and driven away, Shen Luo’s victory is not effortless; his body suffers severe backlash.
• Morale and leadership: The battlefield turns when Su Xiao flees. His retreat destroys the Fox Clan’s confidence, while the allied forces regain the will to attack.
• Destructive consequences of battle: The chapter emphasizes the indiscriminate brutality of war, with both sides suffering heavy casualties and the city itself partially destroyed.

Important Character Interactions

• Su Xiao clashes directly with Seven Kills and Jiang Shentian, overpowering their coordinated ambush.
• Shen Luo challenges Su Xiao personally, calling on the Minghong Saber to break through multiple layers of defense.
• Su Xiao’s fear of Shen Luo’s follow-up strike forces him to retreat, despite his earlier arrogance.
• Nie Caizhu provides immediate support after Shen Luo’s hidden injuries become apparent.

Shen Luo and the allied cultivators drove into Qingqiu City, but the Qingqiu Kingdom Lord emerged and forced them back without killing anyone. She admitted the Fox Clan was responsible for the Chang'an Fox Uprising, accepted responsibility as ruler, and pleaded with the allied sects not to destroy her people as the confrontation remained unresolved.

• Shen Luo rested while Yan Wushi captured Elder Hei Li and Jiang Shentian and Seven Kills led the assault on Qingqiu City.
• A fierce wind swept the allied cultivators out of the city, and the Qingqiu Kingdom Lord emerged to face them amid the bodies of the Fox Clan.
• The allied cultivators accused the Qingqiu Kingdom Lord of arriving too late, and Shen Luo persuaded them to hear her explanation.
• The Qingqiu Kingdom Lord admitted that members of her clan had likely caused the Chang'an Fox Uprising and accepted responsibility for their crimes.
• Yan Wushi presented the dying Elder Youli and captive Elder Hei Li, and the Qingqiu Kingdom Lord pleaded that the Fox Clan not be exterminated.

The Qingqiu Kingdom Lord chose Martial Disintegration to atone for the Qingqiu Fox Clan and prevent further slaughter, while warning You Su Strategist not to destroy the kingdom or its people. Tu Xue arrived too late to save her mother, and You Su Strategist prepared to take control after revealing the death served her plans.

• Shen Luo asked the Qingqiu Kingdom Lord why You Su Strategist had not appeared, prompting the Fox Clan elders and citizens to call for their grand elder.
• The Qingqiu Kingdom Lord told Shen Luo that You Su Strategist had deliberately provoked the crisis and asked him to prevent the sects from slaughtering Qingqiu City after her death.
• The Qingqiu Kingdom Lord sealed the Fox Clan inside the city, announced her Martial Disintegration, and entrusted the clan's future to You Su Strategist while warning her against its destruction.
• Tu Xue rushed in and tried to extinguish the flames consuming her mother's soul, but the Qingqiu Kingdom Lord died in her arms.
• You Su Strategist watched the death from a secret chamber, said the Kingdom Lord's sacrifice had helped her plans, and ordered the elders to prepare to take the stage.

Chapter Summary: “Compensation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tu Shan Xue lands outside Qingqiu City while carrying the dying Qingqiu Kingdom Lord. Once they touch the ground, the Kingdom Lord’s body rapidly ages, decays, and turns to dust, leaving only her Storage Bracelet behind.
• Shen Luo learns that Tu Xue is actually Tu Shan Xue, the Kingdom Lord’s daughter and the rightful heir to Qingqiu Kingdom and the Tu Shan Clan.
• The allied forces accuse the Qingqiu Kingdom Lord of causing the Chang’an Fox Uprising and condemn her death as insufficient compensation. Lu Huaming declares that her sacrifice settles the conflict and that the Great Tang Government Office will no longer hold enmity toward Qingqiu Kingdom.
• The sects nevertheless demand repayment for their losses, revealing that many joined the campaign less out of justice than out of a desire to plunder Qingqiu City.
• You Su Strategist openly exposes their greed, then tells them that everything they want is inside Qingqiu City. She begins chanting a sinister spell, apparently disregarding the peace purchased by the Kingdom Lord’s death.
• A deathly aura spreads through Chaoyang Valley. The corpses of fallen Fox Clan cultivators rise and attack the allied forces, becoming nearly unstoppable undead soldiers.
• Ordinary attacks and fire fail to stop the corpses, though Seven Kills destroys those in his path with Xingtian’s Rebellion.

Character Developments

• Tu Shan Xue suffers the devastating loss of her mother and is forced to assume her identity as Qingqiu’s rightful heir. Her grief quickly hardens into hatred toward the allied cultivators and perhaps toward those within her own clan who failed to protect her mother.
• Shen Luo recognizes Tu Shan Xue’s true identity and feels sympathy for her. His anger toward You Su Strategist intensifies, though he restrains himself because of the Kingdom Lord’s final wishes.
• You Su Strategist reveals herself as increasingly ruthless and manipulative. Rather than honor the Kingdom Lord’s sacrifice, she exploits the sects’ greed and initiates a terrifying corpse-reanimation scheme.
• Lu Huaming attempts to end the conflict honorably by declaring Qingqiu’s punishment complete, but he cannot control the allied forces once compensation becomes the focus.
• The allied sects are exposed as opportunistic. Many are motivated by profit and the chance to loot Qingqiu rather than by a sincere desire for justice.
• Su Xiao reappears beside You Su Strategist, reinforcing Shen Luo’s suspicion that the two are connected to the conspiracy.

Significant Themes

• Sacrifice and betrayal: The Kingdom Lord dies to end the conflict, but her sacrifice is immediately undermined by You Su Strategist and the greedy sects.
• Grief turning into hatred: Tu Shan Xue’s mourning gives way to a silent promise of vengeance as she memorizes the faces of those involved.
• Justice versus greed: Although the campaign was supposedly meant to punish the Fox Clan, the allied forces reveal that they primarily want compensation and plunder.
• Manipulation and political opportunism: You Su Strategist uses the situation to reignite violence, showing how easily noble resolutions can be corrupted by those seeking power.
• Death and the refusal to let the dead rest: The reanimated corpses symbolize the conflict’s continuation and the destructive consequences of unresolved hatred.

Character Interactions

• Shen Luo watches Tu Shan Xue grieve but cannot find words to comfort her, showing his emotional concern and helplessness.
• Shen Luo and You Su Strategist remain locked in unspoken hostility; he suspects her of orchestrating the entire crisis but holds back from attacking because of the Kingdom Lord’s request.
• Lu Huaming formally addresses the allied forces and attempts to establish peace between the Great Tang and Qingqiu Kingdom.
• The sects challenge Lu Huaming’s settlement by demanding compensation, transforming the battlefield into a dispute over spoils.
• You Su Strategist confronts the sects by accusing them of seeking to loot Qingqiu City, then deliberately invites them to enter.
• Tu Shan Xue silently looks over the allied cultivators, briefly meeting Shen Luo’s gaze before retreating into Qingqiu City, while the Fox Clan elders avoid her hatred-filled eyes.
• The chapter ends with the newly risen fox corpses attacking the allied forces, turning the attempted settlement into a renewed supernatural battle.

Shen Luo and the allied forces were caught in the Ten Thousand Fox Annihilation Formation, surrounded by countless Fox Spirit Evil Ghosts and powerful spirits. After their attacks held the army back, Shen Luo organized the cultivators into a formation to fight their way out of Chaoyang Valley.

• Fox Clan members identified the spirits rising from the corpses and ground as the Ten Thousand Fox Annihilation Formation, which also sealed the sky with dead souls.
• A gigantic Taiyi Fox Spirit in the clouds killed several cultivators, while two enormous fox-headed spirits and an army of armored Fox Clan ghosts advanced from Chaoyang Valley.
• Jiang Shentian attacked the ghost army with the Exquisite Pagoda, and Bai Xiaotian led Huasheng Temple disciples in Buddhist chants that destroyed hundreds of spirits.
• Shen Luo decided the allied forces should break out of the valley, assigning Jiang Shentian and Seven Kills to lead and Yan Wushi's disciples to cover the rear.
• Lu Huaming arranged the cultivators into a spindle-shaped formation, with Mount Putuo disciples freezing enemies at the front and other sects guarding the flanks and center.

Shen Luo and the allied cultivators fought through Chaoyang Valley as the Qingqiu Fox Clan watched from the city walls. A Taiyi-level fire fox emerged from underground and overwhelmed their defenses, while Jiang Shentian and Seven Kills advanced to confront two giant fox-headed evil spirits.

• Yan Wushi sealed Elder Hei Li inside a Humanoid Puppet Armor and sent it to attack the fox spirit army.
• Shen Luo split the ground with the Minghong Battle Saber, but a Taiyi-level fire fox burst out and attacked the allied force.
• The fire fox destroyed two Heavenly Mechanism City puppet armors and resisted Shen Luo's Pure Yang Flying Swords, though he noticed its chest wound had not healed.
• The allied cultivators pressed through Chaoyang Valley as their magic power and lightning talismans ran low and the fox spirit army approached from ahead.
• Jiang Shentian hurled the Exquisite Pagoda at one giant fox-headed evil spirit while Seven Kills attacked the other with the demonic seal, and both grew to a thousand feet tall.

Chapter Summary: “No More Killing”

Key Plot Points and Events

• With Jiang Shentian and Seven Kills occupied with powerful Fox Spirits, the allied cultivators are forced to confront the Fox Spirit Evil Ghost army directly. The pressure becomes overwhelming.
• Lu Huaming leads the Great Tang Government Office disciples in a powerful sword formation, killing hundreds of Evil Ghosts. However, repeated use rapidly exhausts the formation.
• Mount Putuo disciples use Universal Salvation to restore the cultivators’ physical strength, while Huasheng Temple disciples use Buddhist light to replenish their Magic Power. These displays reveal the superiority of the major sects and greatly raise the army’s morale.
• Shen Luo resumes his battle against the Fire Fox Evil Spirit. Using his Cloud-Chasing Lightning-Pursuing Boots, the Golden Light Sword Formation, and a Pure Yang Flying Sword, he exploits the wound previously created by the Minghong Saber.
• When the Fire Fox attacks, Shen Luo deliberately leaves himself exposed. Yan Wushi recalls a Puppet Armor to intercept the blow, saving Shen Luo but leaving Elder Hei Li’s body badly injured and apparently lifeless.
• Shen Luo drives his Pure Yang Flying Sword into the Fire Fox’s chest. The Vermilion Bird Sword Spirit and Pure Yang Sword Qi burn the Evil Spirit from within, allowing the remaining swords to pierce its body and destroy it completely.
• After reaching the valley’s exit, Shen Luo briefly speaks with Yan Wushi before moving to the front lines.
• Jiang Shentian kills the axe-wielding Fox Spirit with the Exquisite Pagoda and his spear, while Seven Kills forces another Fox Spirit back toward the valley entrance and eventually slays it.
• Encouraged by these victories, the cultivators abandon caution and slaughter the advancing Evil Ghosts in large numbers.
• Shen Luo notices the dark clouds descending and uses the Netherworld Ghost Eye to inspect them. Two enormous green lights appear within the clouds, revealing that the accumulated green motes from the dead Evil Ghosts are triggering a terrifying development.
• He realizes that the group must stop killing, but his warning comes too late: Seven Kills kills another powerful Fox Spirit, sending even more green motes into the sky and causing an overwhelming aura to descend over the battlefield.

Character Developments

• Shen Luo demonstrates courage, tactical intelligence, and a willingness to take extreme risks. He successfully destroys the Fire Fox Evil Spirit but begins to recognize that the battle’s apparent victories may be worsening the true crisis.
• Yan Wushi proves dependable and quick-thinking by sacrificing the Puppet Armor to save Shen Luo. His concern contrasts with Shen Luo’s reckless combat style.
• Elder Hei Li is seriously injured when his Puppet Armor blocks the Fire Fox’s attack, leaving his fate uncertain.
• Lu Huaming displays strong leadership and mastery of coordinated sword formations, though the technique’s heavy consumption limits its sustained use.
• Jiang Shentian and Seven Kills continue to serve as the battlefield’s strongest combatants, defeating major Fox Spirits and inspiring the allied forces.
• The disciples of Mount Putuo and Huasheng Temple reveal the crucial supportive abilities of their sects, restoring the alliance’s stamina and Magic Power.

Significant Themes

• The danger of celebrating incomplete victories: The cultivators believe that killing the Evil Ghosts is bringing them closer to escape, but each death releases green motes that appear to feed a greater threat.
• Cooperation among sects: The battle can only be sustained through the combination of offensive formations, healing, spiritual restoration, and individual strength.
• Courage versus recklessness: Shen Luo’s daring tactics save the battle, but his willingness to endanger himself repeatedly highlights the fine line between bravery and self-destructive behavior.
• Hidden consequences: The enemy’s true mechanism remains concealed until Shen Luo notices the connection between the slain spirits and the dark clouds.
• Escalating supernatural danger: The descending clouds and enormous green “eyes” signal that the battle is entering a far more dangerous phase.

Important Character Interactions

• Shen Luo and Yan Wushi exchange mutual recognition after their coordinated attack on the Fire Fox. Yan criticizes Shen Luo’s dangerous behavior, while Shen Luo thanks him and asks him to protect the retreating cultivators.
• Yan Wushi’s intervention saves Shen Luo but costs Elder Hei Li the destruction of his Puppet Armor and leaves him gravely wounded.
• Jiang Shentian and Seven Kills’ victories boost the morale of the entire allied force, prompting everyone to attack more aggressively.
• Shen Luo attempts to warn the cultivators to stop killing, but the ongoing momentum of the battle—and Seven Kills’ final strike—prevents his warning from taking effect.

Chapter Summary: “Thunder Bathed in Fire”

Key Plot Points and Events

• A colossal Fox Spirit emerges from the dark clouds, using enormous claws as pillars to seal the valley entrance. It has absorbed the remnants of countless slain Fox Spirits and grown stronger than the Mid-Tier Taiyi realm.
• Lu Huaming realizes that the elders of Qingqiu deliberately allowed the cultivators to kill the Fox Spirits so their souls could strengthen this final guardian.
• The allied cultivators lose hope, believing that the hidden elders of the major factions will save them. However, those powerful figures are unable to intervene because they are occupied elsewhere.
• Shen Luo, Jiang Shentian, and Seven Kills refuse to surrender and encourage the others to fight despite the overwhelming odds.
• The Fox Spirit attacks with a devastating pillar of green flame. Nie Caizhu and the Mount Putuo disciples counter with a massive wave of freezing water, while the Buddhist cultivators and Lu Huaming’s group follow with a golden palm and a powerful sword formation.
• Although the combined attacks weaken and disperse the flames, the Fox Spirit immediately opens a vortex within its mouth and begins pulling the entire army toward it.
• Several cultivators are dragged into the maw and killed, with even their souls destroyed. Panic spreads as the group becomes trapped in a chaotic retreat and appears certain to be consumed.
• At the last moment, Nie Caizhu steps forward and uses her Time Witch Power to slow the movement of everything around her. Shen Luo reaches her, summons the Destruction Wisdom King Puppet Armor, and attacks with the Blazing Sun Battle Axe.
• The armor’s purple lightning combines with the axe’s blazing flames and surges toward the Fox Spirit’s mouth, ending the chapter in a massive collision of thunder and fire.

Character Developments

• Lu Huaming remains responsible and steadfast, attempting to rally the frightened cultivators even while knowing that the expected elders cannot come to their aid.
• Bai Xiaotian accurately assesses the group’s dire disadvantage, highlighting how exhaustion and the Fox Spirit’s growth have made the battle nearly hopeless.
• Shen Luo demonstrates decisive leadership, refusing to accept defeat and ultimately taking direct action when the army is on the verge of annihilation.
• Jiang Shentian and Seven Kills support Shen Luo, showing courage and a willingness to stand at the front despite the danger.
• Nie Caizhu emerges as the crucial savior of the group. By using her Time Witch Power, she creates the opening Shen Luo needs and proves her strength and composure under extreme pressure.
• The various cultivators shift from confidence to despair, then back toward resistance when the younger leaders take action.

Significant Themes

• Despair versus courage: The chapter contrasts the cultivators’ collapse in morale with the determination of a few leaders who continue fighting despite nearly impossible odds.
• Sacrifice and responsibility: Shen Luo, Nie Caizhu, Lu Huaming, Jiang Shentian, and Seven Kills step forward because someone must protect the larger group.
• Manipulation and hidden schemes: The Qingqiu elders have used the cultivators’ battle against the Fox Spirits to strengthen the final guardian, revealing that the expedition was part of a larger trap.
• Unity under crisis: Although initially divided and reliant on outside protection, the cultivators combine their abilities when faced with extinction.
• The power of timing and cooperation: Nie Caizhu’s time manipulation and Shen Luo’s thunder-and-fire attack demonstrate how coordinated abilities can challenge an enemy far stronger than any individual fighter.

Important Character Interactions

• Lu Huaming and Bai Xiaotian discuss the Fox Spirit’s advantage and the absence of their elders.
• The frightened sects pressure Lu Huaming and Bai Xiaotian to reveal or summon hidden reinforcements.
• Shen Luo, Jiang Shentian, and Seven Kills unite at the front, countering the army’s growing panic.
• Nie Caizhu protects the entire group with her time-manipulation technique, allowing Shen Luo to reach her.
• Shen Luo acknowledges her effort—“You’ve worked hard”—before joining her in the decisive counterattack.

Chapter Summary: “No Retreat (Happy Lunar New Year)”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Shen Luo’s explosive attack devastates the entrance to Chaoyang Valley, severely damaging the Fox Spirit and interrupting its devouring spell. Nie Caizhu’s time sorcery also collapses.
• The enraged Fox Spirit attempts to kill Shen Luo, but the Destruction Wisdom King blocks it. Shen Luo then uses his Mystic Yang Demon Transformation Body, Chi You’s Grapple, and the Minghong Battle Saber to deliver a final, devastating strike.
• The Fox Spirit’s spiritual body is split apart and disintegrates completely. With its destruction, the dark clouds over Chaoyang Valley vanish and daylight returns.
• The Destruction Wisdom King disappears, and Nie Caizhu catches the exhausted Shen Luo. The surviving cultivators celebrate their escape and return to camp.
• In Qingqiu City, the Fox Clan elders are shocked that the Ten Thousand Fox Annihilation Formation has been broken by cultivators they believed were only at the True Immortal Stage.
• You Su Strategist rejects an immediate attack on the weakened allied forces. She explains that the Fox Clan has also suffered heavy losses and that the enemy must remain alive to bear the Fox Ancestor’s Rage. She also correctly predicts that the allied forces will not retreat because of their losses, ambitions, and concern for reputation.
• At the camp, the allied forces argue over whether to withdraw, but ultimately decide to wait for reinforcements and continue the assault on Qingqiu City. Shen Luo, Lu Huaming, Bai Xiaotian, and others enter seclusion to recover.
• That night, Tu Shan Xue secretly enters the Fox Clan altar while mourning her mother. A fire-dragon guardian confronts her, but her grief gradually transforms into intense hatred, causing the dragon to retreat.
• Meanwhile, You Su Strategist meets with the surviving Fox Clan elders, including two powerful Taiyi Realm elders who had secretly imprisoned the Qingqiu Kingdom Lord and later released him to die in apology.
• You Su Strategist, now effectively holding both political and religious authority, declares that the Three Realms are entering a new era. She condemns the Human and Immortal Races for dominating the world and suggests that the Fox Clan’s actions are part of a larger struggle to overturn the existing order.

Character Developments

• Shen Luo exhausts nearly all his strength but successfully delivers the decisive blow against the Fox Spirit, demonstrating both tremendous power and willingness to risk himself for the group.
• Nie Caizhu supports Shen Luo throughout the crisis, first through her time sorcery and later by catching and caring for him after the battle. Their bond and mutual reliance are emphasized.
• You Su Strategist is revealed as a highly calculating and confident leader. She has manipulated the Qingqiu crisis, sacrificed the Kingdom Lord when necessary, and understands the political motivations binding the allied forces to the conflict.
• Tu Shan Xue undergoes an important emotional shift. Her mourning and sorrow harden into hatred, suggesting that she may soon become an active force in the conflict.
• The Fox Clan elders increasingly defer to You Su Strategist, whose authority and arrogance have grown after the Kingdom Lord’s downfall.

Significant Themes

• Survival and sacrifice: The victory over the Fox Spirit comes only through extreme exertion and the willingness of the cultivators to risk their lives.
• No retreat and commitment: Both sides remain locked into the conflict. The allied forces cannot abandon their investment, while the Fox Clan continues despite severe depletion.
• Political manipulation: You Su Strategist exploits the enemy’s pride, losses, and ambitions, using them to ensure the war continues on terms favorable to the Fox Clan.
• Grief transformed into hatred: Tu Shan Xue’s mourning illustrates how personal loss can become a source of vengeance and future conflict.
• The collapse of the old order: You Su Strategist frames the battle as part of a broader upheaval in the Three Realms, with the Fox Clan challenging the dominance of the Human and Immortal Races.
• Victory amid ominous developments: Although the heroes win a major battle, the chapter closes with signs that the deeper conflict is only beginning.

Important Character Interactions

• Shen Luo and the Destruction Wisdom King cooperate to withstand the Fox Spirit’s attack, allowing Shen Luo to land the finishing strike.
• Nie Caizhu protects and cares for Shen Luo, catching him after his final attack and helping him recover.
• You Su Strategist overrules suggestions of an immediate assault, persuading the Fox Clan elders to remain patient and exploit the enemy’s continued commitment.
• The allied cultivators debate withdrawal but ultimately unite around continuing the campaign.
• Tu Shan Xue confronts the altar’s fire-dragon guardian without speaking; her growing hatred effectively drives the guardian away.
• You Su Strategist dominates the meeting of the Fox Clan elders, presenting herself as the ideological leader of a coming revolution against the established order.

Summary of “Three Fox Spirit Jades”

Key Plot Points and Events

• You Su Strategist reveals her plan to overthrow the existing order of the Three Realms and make the Qingqiu Fox Clan independent rather than subordinate.
• She argues that other oppressed groups—especially the Dragon Race and various demon clans—also resent the Human and Immortal Races. She cites humiliations suffered by several Dragon figures as evidence that rebellion is likely.
• You Su Strategist explains that she deliberately helped create the catastrophe in Chang’an by recovering the Jing River Dragon King’s remnant soul and disrupting the Great Tang Dragon Vein. She also arranged for Qingqiu to become the target of attacks so that other demon clans would view the Human and Immortal Races as oppressive.
• Although Qingqiu was initially responsible for the conflict, she believes the continued assault after the Qingqiu Kingdom Lord’s death will make the other demon clans sympathetic and provoke a wider rebellion. In the resulting chaos, Qingqiu could rise to power.
• She reassures the elders that Qingqiu has allies and emphasizes that the Qingqiu Fox Clan specializes in direct assault and slaughter rather than illusion.
• After the elders leave, You Su Strategist meets Tu Shan Xue, who clearly suspects her role in her mother’s death.
• You Su Strategist announces that Tu Shan Xue will become the next Qingqiu Kingdom Lord and claims that Tu Shan Xue is more capable than either herself or her mother.
• Tu Shan Xue demands the Fox Spirit Jade held by You Su Strategist. She reveals that she already possesses two Jades, including one obtained from Shen Luo in exchange for Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Qilin Wood.
• You Su Strategist gives her the third Jade, allowing all three to be assembled. She then directs Tu Shan Xue to the sealed Ancestor Spirit Altar and gives her a diamond-shaped jade token needed to reach it.
• Tu Shan Xue immediately flies toward the mountain summit, while You Su Strategist ominously remarks that events have happened sooner than expected.

Character Developments

• You Su Strategist is revealed as a calculating revolutionary who engineered Qingqiu’s current crisis to provoke broader resistance against the dominant races. She is willing to sacrifice Qingqiu’s ruler and manipulate her own clan for a larger political objective.
• Tu Shan Xue develops from a grieving daughter into a decisive potential successor. Though she distrusts You Su Strategist, she takes control of the Fox Spirit Jades and pursues her own mysterious plan.
• The Qingqiu elders are initially uncertain about You Su Strategist’s strategy, but her arguments gradually unite them behind rebellion.
• The Qingqiu Kingdom Lord is portrayed as having misunderstood You Su Strategist’s ambitions: her death and transfer of power were meant to calm the conflict, but You Su Strategist’s plans are much larger.

Significant Themes

• Revolution and the creation of a new order: You Su Strategist believes prolonged peace has preserved an unjust hierarchy and that chaos is necessary for change.
• Oppression and historical resentment: The grievances of the Dragon Race and demon clans are used to show how accumulated humiliation can fuel rebellion.
• Political manipulation and propaganda: You Su Strategist intentionally turns Qingqiu’s persecution into evidence that the Human and Immortal Races are cruel and tyrannical.
• Morality versus power: Although Qingqiu began the conflict, You Su Strategist argues that the opposing factions’ continued violence gives Qingqiu the moral advantage.
• Inheritance and responsibility: Tu Shan Xue is placed in control of Qingqiu’s future, despite her personal hatred toward the person responsible for her mother’s death.
• Mystery and sacrifice: The gathering of the three Fox Spirit Jades and the journey to the Ancestor Spirit Altar suggest that Tu Shan Xue intends to undertake a dangerous ritual or transformation whose cost may be severe.

Important Character Interactions

• You Su Strategist persuades the elders by connecting Qingqiu’s struggle to the Dragon Race’s grievances and the broader mistreatment of demonkind.
• She speaks openly with Tu Shan Xue about her hatred, acknowledging responsibility without apologizing and insisting that her actions serve Qingqiu’s future.
• Tu Shan Xue confronts You Su Strategist indirectly by demanding the Jade and exposing that she already possesses the other two.
• Despite their mutual distrust, the two cooperate: You Su Strategist relinquishes the final Jade and provides access to the Ancestor Spirit Altar, while Tu Shan Xue proceeds with her plan.

Chapter Summary: “What Is a Demon?”

• Hu Bugui’s escape: Hu Bugui disguises himself as Su Xiao and successfully leaves Qingqiu City without being challenged by the fox soldiers. Once outside the valley, he sheds the disguise and departs under a layer of gray light, suggesting a secret mission or escape.
• Tu Shan Xue discovers the ancestral altar: Guided by You Su Strategist’s jade token, Tu Shan Xue reaches a hidden altar on a mountaintop. The token reveals the altar’s true location, where ancient white-jade pillars, eternal lamps, and murals honor the Nine-Tailed Immortal Fox and depict the Fox Ancestor fighting alongside the Yellow Emperor against Chi You.
• The Fox Ancestor is summoned: Tu Shan Xue places three Fox Spirit Jades into the altar. This activates the pillars and lamps, causing an Immortal Fox statue and the ethereal spirit of the Fox Ancestor to emerge. Tu Shan Xue kneels and begs the ancestor to return to life and save the Qingqiu Fox Clan from extinction.
• Tu Shan Xue’s true motivation: The Fox Ancestor sees through her immediately and asks whether she seeks revenge. Tu Shan Xue admits that revenge—not merely the survival of the clan—now drives her, particularly after the ruler of Qingqiu Kingdom was forced into Martial Disintegration. Her hatred and determination convince the ancestor that she is a suitable recipient of its power.
• The nature of demons: The Fox Ancestor reveals that demons are not a branch of devils, as commonly believed. They originated from beasts, which themselves were formed from the powerful emotions of the primordial god Pangu. Each Beast Race embodies a particular emotion, and demons gain physical form by absorbing spiritual energy. Their tremendous strength derives from these primal emotions, though most demon races have sealed or severed this ancestral power.
• Ancestral Return Power: The Fox Ancestor explains that the lost power of demons is called Ancestral Return Power. It grants immense strength by awakening a demon’s original emotional essence, but it threatens the user’s reason and gradually transforms them into a beast. For the Fox Clan, the core emotion is jealousy, which produces related emotions such as resentment, greed, and hatred. The purer and stronger these emotions are, the greater the power—and the faster the loss of self.
• Tu Shan Xue accepts the inheritance: Despite the danger, Tu Shan Xue declares that she is willing to sacrifice anything for revenge. The Fox Ancestor transfers the inheritance into her mind. A violent wave of jealousy overwhelms her consciousness, turning her vision blood-red and beginning her physical transformation: her ears enlarge, fur grows over her body, and her teeth sharpen. Though her appearance becomes increasingly beastlike, she experiences overwhelming power and even bliss, signaling that her humanity and reason are already under threat.

Key Themes and Character Development

• Revenge versus identity: Tu Shan Xue willingly sacrifices her humanity and self-control for vengeance, showing how completely hatred has overtaken her.
• The true nature of demons: Demons are portrayed as embodiments of primal emotion rather than inherently evil beings, complicating the usual distinction between humans, gods, demons, and beasts.
• Power and corruption: Ancestral Return Power offers extraordinary strength but steadily consumes the user’s reason, making power inseparable from psychological and physical corruption.
• Hidden histories and inherited power: The Fox Ancestor’s revelation reframes demon origins and introduces an ancient inheritance that has been suppressed or forgotten by most demon races.
• Character interactions: The Fox Ancestor acts as both judge and tempter, testing Tu Shan Xue’s motives before offering power. Tu Shan Xue responds with unwavering determination, while Hu Bugui’s covert departure in the opening provides a contrasting thread of secrecy and impending developments.

Tu Shan Xue unleashed the Fox Ancestor’s Ancestral Return Power across Qingqiu, driving the Fox Clan into madness, while You Su Strategist used the surge to reverse a hidden formation’s flow. The black light and stolen spiritual energy returned to the Fox Ancestor Statue as the battle in Chang’an continued to devastate the city.

• Tu Shan Xue activated the Fox Ancestor Statue, sending red halos across Qingqiu that transformed and drove the Fox Clan into a frenzy.
• A gray-robed figure used Earth Escape to reach an underground cavern, where You Su Strategist and the Fox Clan were operating a formation connected to a second Fox Ancestor Statue showing the battle in Chang’an.
• Blood-jade pendants shielded the Fox Clan members in the cavern from the red halos, while the gray-robed figure remained unaffected.
• You Su Strategist marked the statue with a blood-colored rune and ordered the formation reversed, drawing spiritual energy and returning the black light flowing through the earth veins.
• In Chang’an, the Four Symbols Celestial Timing Formation contracted around the western district as Yuan Tiangang, Li Jing, Master Kongdu, and Qinglian Fairy fought the Black Giant Fox and four mysterious figures, leveling much of the area.

The Black Giant Fox drew strength from underground and overwhelmed Yuan Tiangang and Li Jing before devouring the power of the Seven Emotions across Chang'an. Li Jing recognized the fox’s ability as one belonging to the ancestors of beasts and wondered whether it was the Fox Clan’s ancestor.

• Yuan Tiangang, Li Jing, Master Kongdu, and Qinglian Fairy fought the Black Giant Fox and its allies while the Four Symbols Celestial Timing Formation supported them.
• Li Jing struck the staff-wielding black figure with a lightning sword and sent it flying, as the formation’s side gained the advantage.
• The Black Giant Fox drew black light from underground, then held off Yuan Tiangang’s Heavenly Scripture of Subduing Demons and Li Jing’s Heaven-and-Earth Profound Fire Tower with phantom claws.
• The Black Giant Fox struck Yuan Tiangang and Li Jing with its eight tails, injuring Li Jing and knocking both men back.
• The Black Giant Fox drained emotion power from people in eastern Chang'an and the nearby cultivators; Li Jing identified the ability as the power of the Seven Emotions and asked whether the fox was the ancestor of the Fox Clan.

The You Su Strategist awakened the Fox Ancestor by feeding its statue emotion power collected from cities across the world, causing the Fox Clan to transform and lose control. As the clan stabilized in the underground cavern, Shen Luo sensed something and entered the Free-and-Easy Mirror.

• Black fox heads appeared beneath major cities and devoured the people’s emotion power while the Black Giant Fox continued consuming emotions in Chang’an City.
• The You Su Strategist merged a second statue into the Fox Ancestor Statue, greatly intensifying its power and driving Tu Shan Xue and the Fox Clan into dangerous transformations.
• The You Su Strategist transported the surviving Fox Clan members into the cavern and used the black formation and a bone bead to stabilize their power and preserve their reason.
• Misu sat up unnoticed in the cavern with blood-red light in her eyes as the Fox Ancestor’s lingering halos spread beyond Qingqiu City.
• Shen Luo weighed the impending slaughter and the hidden force behind the conflict, then vanished into the Free-and-Easy Mirror.

Fire Spirit Child finished refining Shen Luo’s Blood Soul Origin Banner and Shrinking Earth Ruler, giving both treasures new abilities. Shen Luo tested the ruler’s spatial travel and learned it could place undetectable Spatial Marks, though the chapter ended before their use was revealed.

• Fire Spirit Child completed the Blood Soul Origin Banner’s sixty-four fused restrictions and gave it the Blood God Possession ability, which boosted Shen Luo’s strength by thirty percent without harmful aftereffects.
• Fire Spirit Child modified the Shrinking Earth Ruler by incorporating the Ink Soul Brush and Azure Sky Inkstone, making it easier for Shen Luo to refine.
• Shen Luo used the partly refined Shrinking Earth Ruler to escape the Free-and-Easy Mirror and travel forty or fifty miles in one leap.
• Fire Spirit Child explained that the Shrinking Earth Ruler had gained Spatial Mark, and Shen Luo placed a green pattern into the space before him.