Chapter Summaries

The Divine Maiden Zhu Lingyun broke the siege at Giant Deer City and forced the demonic sects to retreat, then explained that Jiang Kingdom would receive limited support while the Divine Heart Sect tested the invaders’ intentions. After surviving a day and night of fighting, Ning Fa learned from Cao Xian that the mysterious woman was Zhu Lingyun.

• Zhu Lingyun shattered True Lord Donghua’s Heavenly Fire Cage, then defeated the Moke Sect elder Zhong and drove the demonic cultivators to withdraw.
• Zhu Lingyun told Jiang Kingdom’s Nascent Soul Cultivators that the demonic alliance was testing the Seven Nations of Cloud Wasteland and that the other nations would provide supplies rather than troops unless the invasion escalated.
• Zhu Lingyun gave the four cultivators the Sect Master’s compensation measures and said she would remain in Giant Deer City to alert the Divine Heart Sect if the enemy began a large-scale assault.
• Ning Fa rested on the city wall after killing numerous Foundation Establishment enemies and holding off a concealed Golden Core attacker during the day-and-night battle.
• Cao Xian thanked Ning Fa for saving him and identified the white-robed woman as Zhu Lingyun, Divine Maiden of the Divine Heart Sect.

Ning Fa watched his martial uncle Cheng Zeyuan die after a demonic cultivator mortally wounded him, then promised to protect the Cheng Family. With the family’s standing threatened, True Lord Donghua preserved its place among the Huayu Sect’s four great families for ten years, leaving Ning Fa determined to strengthen himself and secure selection among the Seven Prodigies.

• Cheng Zeyuan, mortally wounded by a Late Golden Core demonic cultivator, asked Ning Fa to help Cheng Ziyi support the Cheng Family, and Ning Fa promised to protect it.
• Cheng Zeyuan privately told Cheng Ziyi his final words and passed away, prompting the Cheng Family to mourn him and the Huayu Sect to hold a grand funeral.
• After Cheng Zeyuan’s death left Cheng Ziyi as the Cheng Family’s only Golden Core Cultivator, the Xia Family sought to replace the Cheng Family among the Huayu Sect’s four great families.
• Ouyang Zhenhua asked True Lord Donghua to approve the Xia Family’s rise, but Donghua ordered the Cheng Family’s position maintained for ten years before reassessment.
• Cheng Ziyi told Ning Fa that the family’s standing was secure for ten years, and Ning Fa vowed to widen the gap between himself and the other candidates for the Seven Prodigies.

As the Jiang Kingdom’s Cultivation World fought the Devil Dao sects, the Merit Hall’s monthly Earth Ranking set off a contest between Ning Fa and Yun Miaomiao. Ning Fa reclaimed first place, while his growing influence and coveted rewards positioned him for greater status in the Huayu Sect.

• The five major Jiang Kingdom sects established the Merit Hall and monthly rankings to reward cultivators fighting the Devil Dao forces.
• Yun Miaomiao entered the hall and used a large increase in military merit to overtake Ning Fa on the Earth Ranking.
• Feng Chi and Xie Heng discussed Yun Miaomiao’s use of an Ancient Treasure, while Xia Mingyang and He Shaoan celebrated Ning Fa’s fall from first place.
• Ning Fa arrived and reclaimed the top position by registering merit from two Moke Sect Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators he had killed earlier.
• Yun Miaomiao angrily left after Ning Fa explained his sudden increase, and he reflected on his planned Seven Elites title and the ranking’s rewards.

Ning Fa received Meng Ruoqi’s completed Second-grade Thunder-Attracting Essence-Forging Array, which could help him temper his body and advance the Mysterious Thunder True Body. After rewarding Meng Ruoqi with a Youthful Appearance Pill, he learned that the Xudong Merchant Guild had offered generous cooperation to the Changfeng Merchant Guild, likely as a gesture of goodwill from He Shaoan.

• Ning Fa left the Earth Ranking gathering after securing his position at the top and arranged to trade Ascending Dragon Pills with Feng Chi and Xie Heng.
• Meng Ruoqi showed Ning Fa the thirty-six Array Disks she had refined for the complete Second-grade Thunder-Attracting Essence-Forging Array.
• Ning Fa explained that the array could help him temper his body with heavenly lightning and accelerate his cultivation of the Mysterious Thunder True Body.
• Ning Fa gave Meng Ruoqi a Youthful Appearance Pill, and she left after Wei Shiqin teased her about her visit.
• Wei Shiqin reported that the Xudong Merchant Guild had offered favorable terms to cooperate with the Changfeng Merchant Guild, and Ning Fa suspected He Shaoan was trying to make peace.

Ning Fa rejected He Shaoan’s attempt to make peace, then battled Mo Hai before fleeing when He Sanniang pursued him. Zhu Lingyun rescued him, and she asked whether he was a Huayu Sect disciple named Ning Fa.

• Ning Fa refused to accept He Shaoan’s goodwill because he suspected He Shaoan had been involved in Ning Nanqing’s death.
• Ning Fa fought Mo Hai, one of the Thirteen Sons of Moke, and gained the upper hand with his Silver Lightning arts.
• Ning Fa sensed He Sanniang approaching and fled, while Mo Hai also recognized the Mid Golden Core cultivator and withdrew.
• He Sanniang pursued Ning Fa on an azure giant snake and tried to seize him, but Zhu Lingyun arrived on a Five-Colored Peacock and struck her down.
• Zhu Lingyun spared He Sanniang after warning her not to attack weaker cultivators, and Ning Fa thanked her for the rescue.
• Zhu Lingyun looked at Ning Fa and asked whether he was a Huayu Sect disciple named Ning Fa.

Zhu Lingyun asked Ning Fa to help restore a damaged Lightning Attribute array, explaining that his exceptionally pure Thunder Spiritual Power could meet its needs. At her courtyard, Ning Fa discovered the remnant array had formed a Blue Spirit Deer Array Spirit, which became unexpectedly docile around him.

• Zhu Lingyun learned that Ning Fa had cultivated more than seven Lesser Thunder Sources and asked him to help repair an ancient Lightning Attribute remnant array.
• Ning Fa told Cheng Ziyi about the request, and she reassured him that Zhu Lingyun had an excellent reputation.
• Ning Fa went to Zhu Lingyun's Green Bamboo Courtyard, where she formed an array around the courtyard and gave him a Spirit Descending Talisman to boost his mana.
• Zhu Lingyun released a damaged Blue Spirit Deer made of lightning, and Ning Fa sensed that its body contained array patterns.
• The Blue Spirit Deer approached Ning Fa calmly, surprising Zhu Lingyun and raising her hopes for repairing the array.

Ning Fa helped Zhu Lingyun repair the Blue Spirit Deer, the Array Spirit of a damaged formation, and earned praise and a valuable reward from Ancestor Ouyang. After the deer was fully restored, Zhu Lingyun offered Ning Fa another Spirit Descending Talisman and other rewards, and he asked her to teach him how to draw the talisman.

• Zhu Lingyun suppressed the Blue Spirit Deer, and Ning Fa used a Spirit Descending Talisman to supply the power needed to repair its damaged array body.
• After the first repair session restored nearly one-tenth of the deer, Zhu Lingyun asked Ning Fa to keep returning to help.
• Ning Fa reported the matter to Cheng Ziyi, then met Ancestor Ouyang, who praised him and rewarded him with a Gangjin Yuan Crystal.
• Ancestor Ouyang learned that Ning Fa was assisting Zhu Lingyun and told him to set aside his mission outside the city.
• Over the following days, Ning Fa helped Zhu Lingyun until the Blue Spirit Deer was fully restored, and she gave him her remaining Spirit Descending Talisman.
• Ning Fa asked Zhu Lingyun to pass down the method for drawing a Spirit Descending Talisman.

Ning Fa declined Zhu Lingyun’s invitation to join the Divine Heart Sect but agreed to help her derive the Thunder Derivation Profound Scroll in exchange for cultivation guidance. After studying the costly Spirit Descending Talisman method, he left the city during a storm to test the Thunder-Attracting Essence-Forging Array.

• Zhu Lingyun invited Ning Fa to join the Divine Heart Sect so he could help her complete the Thunder Derivation Profound Scroll, but he refused to leave his master and the Cheng Family.
• Zhu Lingyun asked Ning Fa to assist with deriving the scroll while she remained nearby, and he accepted her offer of cultivation guidance as compensation.
• Ning Fa told Cheng Ziyi and Ancestor Ouyang that he would visit Zhu Lingyun to help with arrays, and Ancestor Ouyang urged him to cooperate and promised additional military merit.
• Ning Fa studied the Spirit Descending Talisman’s materials, sent Hei Yu to seek them, and considered whether the Source-Crossing Heavenly Book could trace them back to their source.
• Ning Fa led his team out during a thunderstorm, found a suitable mountain peak, and set up defensive and Thunder-Attracting Essence-Forging arrays.

Ning Fa tempered his body with heavenly lightning and discovered that the dangerous method greatly accelerated his cultivation. At the Huayu Sect assembly, True Lord Donghua announced Ning Fa as the new candidate for the Seven Prodigies of the Sect.

• Ning Fa used his Lightning Evasion Divine Ability to endure heavenly lightning and temper his body, then left the array after two cycles in severe pain.
• Ning Fa concluded that the method worked exceptionally well but required recovery time and could only be used a few times each year.
• The Huayu Sect gathered on Tai Lan Mountain to memorialize fallen disciples and announce compensation for their families and the wounded.
• The sect began selecting a replacement for Su Hao among candidates Ning Fa, Bai Lilan, and Song Rui, with Ning Fa favored by his battlefield record.
• Six current members of the Seven Prodigies took the high platform, and True Lord Donghua announced Ning Fa as the new candidate.

Ning Fa was celebrated across the Huayu Sect after becoming one of its Seven Prodigies, strengthening the Cheng Family’s position and drawing attention from allies and rivals alike. After a month of banquets and meetings, he remained too busy to receive Ning Jing'an, who was turned away by Hei Yu.

• Ning Fa joined the Seven Prodigies of the Sect and received the Golden Feather Robe from True Lord Donghua amid cheers from the disciples.
• Cheng Ziyi and the Cheng Family celebrated Ning Fa’s rise, while Duanmu Pojun and Duanmu Hong showed regret and Duanmu Ling briefly appeared before leaving.
• Ning Jing'an and Ning Farong received congratulations from fellow disciples, who hoped to use their connection to meet Ning Fa.
• Ning Fa spent the next month attending celebrations and gatherings with influential sect members and the other Seven Prodigies.
• Ning Jing'an visited Ning Fa’s residence in Maple Leaf Market, but Hei Yu said Ning Fa had no time to see him and sent him away.

Ning Fa learned that Duanmu Ling had awakened but faced a failing soul and planned to risk cultivating the Black Phoenix Soul Canon. She asked him to help her, then began an intimate ritual inside a five-colored lotus.

• Ning Fa refused to attend Ning Jing'an's banquet and spent time with Cheng Susu beneath a grape arbor.
• Ning Fa received a message that Duanmu Ling had awakened.
• Duanmu Ling told Feng Jue that her Innate Soul Lotus was exhausted and that the Black Phoenix Soul Canon was her only hope of advancing.
• Duanmu Ling explained that Ning Fa's unusual soul made her feel connected to him and could give her a chance to cultivate the Nirvana Soul Reincarnation Art.
• Ning Fa arrived, learned Duanmu Ling wanted his help healing her body, and agreed.
• Duanmu Ling formed a five-colored lotus around them and began removing her clothes.

Ning Fa and Duanmu Ling entered spiritual communion through her Innate Divine Ability, Illusionary Divine Dream, strengthening and refining both their Divine Souls. After cultivating to consolidate the gains, Ning Fa advanced his Moon God Heart to sixty percent and sensed something wrong with his body.

• Duanmu Ling used Illusionary Divine Dream to enter spiritual communion with Ning Fa, explaining that the ability could be used only once before she achieved Nascent Soul Formation and that she had used it to save herself.
• Duanmu Ling offered to become Dao Companions with Ning Fa if he abandoned his other confidantes, but he remained silent, and she sent him away to cultivate and heal her injuries.
• Duanmu Ling reflected that the illusory soul state increased her chances of successfully cultivating the Soul Reincarnation Art by another ten percent.
• Ning Fa cultivated the Moon God Art for a day and night, increasing his Divine Soul strength by about twenty percent and expanding his divine sense from ten li to twelve li.
• Ning Fa rebuilt the Full Moon in his Sea of Consciousness until his Moon God Heart reached sixty percent, then sensed that something was wrong with his body.

Ning Fa discovered that using the Primordial Soul Split Spirit Art had left a sinister Soul Seed-like shadow in his divine soul, which his transformed Moon God Heart destroyed. Elsewhere, Ning Daozhen and Dan Hongzi removed a Soul Seed from Ning Daozhen, then discussed their past identities, their alliance, and the trap Ning Daozhen had set to keep cultivators out of the Underground Palace.

• Ning Fa detected and destroyed a shadow in his divine soul, traced it to the Primordial Soul Split Spirit Art, and sealed away the Jade Slip containing the technique.
• Ning Fa credited Senior Sister Duanmu with helping him avoid greater harm and promised to repay her if she ever faced trouble.
• Ning Daozhen used blood-colored flames while Dan Hongzi bound and extracted the black vine Soul Seed from him.
• Ning Daozhen accused Dan Hongzi of trying to turn him into a Primordial Soul avatar, and Dan Hongzi explained how he survived his own Soul Seed and was reborn through Dugu Huan's remnant soul.
• Dan Hongzi warned that Black Spirit belonged to the Ancient Spirit Alliance, while Ning Daozhen said he was using Black Spirit to open the Underground Palace.
• Ning Daozhen revealed that he had planted Heavenly Gu Talismans on two Core Formation Cultivators, whose sudden deaths frightened the Righteous and Demonic Alliances away from the Underground Palace.

Ning Daozhen identified Ning Fa as the cultivator who removed a Soul Seed and suspected he had inherited Thunderwood Palace, while the sects began maneuvering over the Underground Palace beneath Sunset Ancient City. At a Ning Clan banquet in Giant Deer City, Ning Fa celebrated Ning Zonglie’s Foundation Establishment and presented him with two spirit artifacts.

• The white-robed old man sensed that another Soul Seed had been removed, and Ning Daozhen concluded that Ning Fa was responsible.
• Ning Daozhen and the old man discussed Ning Fa’s possible inheritance of Thunderwood Palace, but Ning Daozhen declined to approach him for now and prepared to enter the Underground Palace.
• Wen Ran told Madam Li and Xiao Ying that negotiations over the Underground Palace had failed after Heavenly Spider Valley joined the other sects, and he hurried back to Huazhen Sect.
• Ning Fa attended a banquet celebrating Ning Zonglie’s Foundation Establishment and gave him a red spear and a blue triangular shield.

Ning Fa learned that the Ning Clan’s Main Family wanted his branch to return to the clan and help the Black Obsidian Merchant Guild expand into Jiang Kingdom. He initially refused to cooperate, but Ning Jingfu offered him Dragon Whale essence blood, leaving negotiations open.

• Ning Fa gifted Ning Zonglie two precious treasures and urged Ning Zhongyuan to focus on cultivation amid the demonic sect invasion.
• Ning Zhongyuan told Ning Fa that the Main Family in Feng Country wanted the branch to rejoin the clan and cooperate with the Black Obsidian Merchant Guild.
• Ning Fa resisted the proposal, but agreed to meet the Main Family’s envoy after Ning Zhongyuan warned him of the family’s strength and Jiang Kingdom’s uncertain future.
• Ning Jingfu asked Ning Fa to help the Black Obsidian Merchant Guild establish itself in Jiang Kingdom, but Ning Fa demanded compensation and prepared to leave.
• Ning Jingfu presented Ning Fa with a drop of third-rank Dragon Whale essence blood, which he recognized as a valuable body-refining material.

Ning Fa rejected Ning Jingfu’s proposal to secure his descendants, while investigating the Main Family’s interest in him and strengthening his cultivation. Three years later, the allied forces had driven the devil sects back to Qingfeng City, but halted before destroying the Black Spirit Church as Ning Fa helped Zhu Lingyun inscribe a complex formation.

• Ning Jingfu offered Ning Fa more spiritual materials if he would father children with talented Ning clan women, but he refused and left.
• Ning Fa concluded the Main Family wanted his branch to return because of his potential and his connection to Zhu Lingyun, then asked Hei Yu to gather information about the Main Family in Feng Country.
• Hei Yu delivered spiritual materials, including an eight-hundred-year-old Essence Fire Date, which Ning Fa planned to use for Burning Origin Pills; Zhu Lingyun then summoned him.
• Heavenly Spider Valley joined the devil sects, prompting the Divine Heart Sect and other powers to send reinforcements that turned the war against the devil sects and Black Spirit Church.
• Three years later, the allied forces had recaptured Qingfeng City and breached Shuoyang Pass, but halted their advance as Ning Fa channeled silver lightning through an artifact while Zhu Lingyun inscribed a formation.

Ning Fa helped Zhu Lingyun derive a Second-Tier Stealth Thunder Derivation Talisman, then agreed to join Liang Ruicheng on a journey to ancient ruins that might hold a Thunderwood Palace inheritance. As Ning Fa prepared to leave, the Blue Beast Egg hatched, revealing a powerful young blue beast.

• Zhu Lingyun thanked Ning Fa for helping derive the Second-Tier Stealth Thunder Derivation Talisman and gave him a Third-Tier Pill Master Inheritance.
• Xu Yi reported that three sects had agreed to send a limited group into the Underground Palace beneath Sunset Ancient City, then left Zhu Lingyun an Azure Light Eagle inner core.
• Ning Fa met Liang Ruicheng and agreed to depart the next morning for ancient ruins where they hoped to find a Thunderwood Palace inheritance.
• Ning Fa sensed the Blue Beast Egg stirring, returned to his residence, and watched it hatch into a small blue beast with a powerful bloodline aura.

Ning Fa welcomed the recovered Blue Qilin Beast, named it Blue Lightning, and traveled with Liang Ruicheng toward Misty Lake to explore ancient ruins. Meanwhile, the Black Spirit Church and Divine Heart Sect entered a mysterious structure in Sunset Ancient City, and Zhang Zhilong appeared there a day later.

• Ning Fa welcomed the newly hatched Blue Qilin Beast, named it Blue Lightning, and put it in his Spirit Beast Bag with Little Ice.
• Ning Fa and Liang Ruicheng departed Qingfeng City for Misty Lake, where Liang Ruicheng planned to meet the other cultivators he had invited to explore ancient ruins.
• At Sunset Ancient City, six Black Spirit Church bishops and Ning Daozhen gathered before a triangular structure as five Divine Heart Sect Golden Core Cultivators arrived under Qin Yan.
• The Black Spirit Church group entered a blood-red vortex after Qin Yan questioned why Ning Daozhen had been brought along, and Qin Yan's group followed.
• A day later, Zhang Zhilong appeared near the structure, and the city's dark-yellow radiance slid past him.

Ning Fa reunited with Yun Ying at Misty Lake, where Liang Ruicheng gathered a group to seek the Ancient Ruins. The group fought through waves of Black Winged Snakes and reached a small island deep in the lake.

• Zhang Zhilong used a Blood-Colored Token to open the triangular wall's vortex and entered it.
• Ning Fa and Liang Ruicheng arrived at Misty Lake and found Yun Ying, Qi Han, and Shen Hao waiting there.
• Yun Ying recognized Ning Fa but ignored him, while her glance warned him to be cautious.
• Liang Ruicheng told Ning Fa that Shen Hao was a notorious former Golden Core evil cultivator and warned him to watch out for Shen Hao.
• Qi Han revealed that Shen Hao had replaced another participant, and the group set out to find the Ancient Ruins' entrance.
• The group fought off repeated attacks from Black Winged Snakes and reached a small turtle-shaped island deep in Misty Lake.

Liang Ruicheng led Ning Fa and the others through a hidden gate to an ancient inheritance site guarded by two powerful Demon Spirits. After splitting into two groups to fight the weakened Golden Dragon Birds, Ning Fa wounded one with his Dragon-Breaking Spear as the other group began battling its own target.

• Liang Ruicheng used an array to reveal a golden gate on the barren island, and the group opened it together and entered.
• Ning Fa and the others saw two enormous golden trees, a Golden Grand Hall, and a pair of Demon Spirits nesting in the branches.
• Liang Ruicheng explained that the Demon Spirits were weakened during this point in the nine-year cycle and vulnerable to attacks combining wood and lightning, then divided the group between them.
• Ning Fa sent a black tiger Puppet Beast toward one Demon Spirit, but the Golden Dragon Bird destroyed it with a lightning bolt.
• The Golden Dragon Bird attacked Ning Fa and Liang Ruicheng with green arrows, then charged; Ning Fa struck it with his Dragon-Breaking Spear and wounded it as the other group began fighting the second bird.