Chapter Summaries

Yang Xiao, the newly arrived Dao-Infant Realm Demon Suppression General, confronted the Yellow Wind Demon King after killing Black Rock. He overwhelmed the demon in close combat, but the Yellow Wind Demon King unleashed a vast sandstorm as the fight continued.

• Yang Xiao ordered the Deputy General and his men to retreat after killing Black Rock, and the Yellow Wind Demon King recognized that Yang Xiao had just entered the Dao-Infant Realm.
• The Yellow Wind Demon King tried to negotiate, but Yang Xiao dismissed its challenge and charged at it.
• Yang Xiao broke the demon king’s steel fork and ancient armor, fractured its arm, then struck its waist and kicked it into a crater.
• The Yellow Wind Demon King recovered enough to unleash its Demon Power, raising a gigantic tornado and engulfing the surrounding area in yellow sand.

Yang Xiao defeated and killed the Yellow Wind Demon King, resisting his Soul-Seizing Bell and destroying his fleeing Demon Infant. After securing the demon’s remains and a golden paper kite, Yang Xiao left Guanlan Commandery and flew toward Qingzhou City, where Master Xuanzhen had entered and Qin Lie was in danger.

• Yang Xiao broke through the Yellow Wind Demon King’s wind-and-sand attacks and drove the Army-Breaking Spear through him into a mountainside.
• The Yellow Wind Demon King used the bronze Soul-Seizing Bell, but Yang Xiao’s [Soul Cleansing] trait steadied his mind and let him keep advancing.
• Yang Xiao ignored the demon’s warning about Master Xuanzhen and Qin Lie, then severed the Yellow Wind Demon King’s head with the Shadowless Blade.
• Yang Xiao pursued and destroyed the Yellow Wind Demon King’s escaping Demon Infant, then collected the Demon Infant and Soul-Seizing Bell.
• Yang Xiao returned to Guanlan Commandery, declared the demon dead, recovered Black Rock’s Demon Core and activated a golden paper kite.
• Yang Xiao flew on the golden paper kite toward Qingzhou City.

As Yang Xiao flew toward Qingzhou City, he unlocked a sixth Equipment Slot for nurturing spirit roots and used the Yellow Wind Demon King’s Demon Infant to replenish his essence and gain Wind Erosion. The Demon Infant completed his twelfth physical transformation, bringing his body into the Dao-Infant Realm, and he continued toward the powerful unfamiliar presence near the city.

• Yang Xiao examined his newly transformed Dao Infant and realized his physical body still remained at the Core Illumination level.
• A sixth Equipment Slot unlocked, allowing him to equip spirit roots and nurture them with Demon Infants or other sources of essence.
• Yang Xiao placed the Yellow Wind Demon King’s Demon Infant in an Equipment Slot, replenished his essence, and gained the Wind Erosion trait.
• The Demon Infant’s essence completed Yang Xiao’s twelfth transformation and raised his physical body to the Dao-Infant Realm.
• Yang Xiao accelerated the paper kite toward Qingzhou City, where he sensed a powerful unfamiliar presence.

Xuan Zhen defeated Qin Lie, but Pei Xuance broke through to the Dao-Infant Realm using demonic Sha and challenged him. After Xuan Zhen struck Pei Xuance down and declared that Qingzhou's fortune ended that day, a golden light streaked toward the Demon Suppression Division.

• Xuan Zhen left Qin Lie gravely wounded, exposing his Dao Infant and leaving him unconscious.
• Pei Xuance shattered his Mystic Core with demonic Sha and emerged with a golden-and-black Dao Infant.
• Pei Xuance shielded Qin Lie and attacked Xuan Zhen with spear lights, but Xuan Zhen bound them with Buddha-light chains.
• Xuan Zhen struck Pei Xuance in the chest, cracking his Dao Infant and leaving him bleeding in the courtyard ruins.
• Xuan Zhen declared that Qingzhou's fortune ended that day, while the Demon Suppression Division's forces were pinned down by his pressure.
• A golden light appeared on the horizon and shot toward the Demon Suppression Division.

Yang Xiao returned to Qingzhou City after killing the Yellow Wind Demon King and confronted Xuan Zhen, who had attacked the Demon Suppression Division. Yang Xiao wounded Xuan Zhen with a spear thrust, and Xuan Zhen decided he could not let him live.

• Yang Xiao arrived at the ruined Demon Suppression Division using Yellow Wind's golden paper kite, and Pei Xuance realized he had killed the Yellow Wind Demon King.
• Yang Xiao confirmed that he had killed Yellow Wind, while Xuan Zhen recognized him as Qingzhou's newly appointed Fourteenth Demon Suppression General.
• Yang Xiao asked Xuan Zhen whether he was from Lotus Flower Temple and declared that he would settle the score for Qingzhou.
• Xuan Zhen attacked Yang Xiao with a golden Buddhist seal, but Yang Xiao dodged it using the Void-Treading Step.
• Yang Xiao thrust the Army-Breaking Spear through Xuan Zhen's Lotus Platform and wounded his chest, prompting Xuan Zhen to decide to kill him.

Yang Xiao battled Xuan Zhen at the Demon Suppression Division, resisting his Buddhist chant and shattering his golden palm with a powerful punch. The fight continued as Yang Xiao broke through Xuan Zhen’s Lotus Platform with his spear.

• Xuan Zhen discovered that Yang Xiao’s spear wound resisted healing and used a Buddhist chant to attack his soul.
• Yang Xiao recovered quickly, traded blows with Xuan Zhen, and forced him to retreat amid the collapsing Demon Suppression Division.
• Xuan Zhen trapped Yang Xiao with a golden Buddhist palm, but Yang Xiao combined his Dao Infant power, blood and Qi, and demon liquid to smash it apart with his fist.
• Yang Xiao’s punch blasted Xuan Zhen through ruined walls and badly injured his hand, while Yang Xiao’s Ten-Thousand-Forged Demon Body quickly healed his own fist.
• Yang Xiao reappeared behind Xuan Zhen and used Eroding-Realm Mystic Light and his spear to crack and shatter the Lotus Platform.

Yang Xiao defeated Xuan Zhen in Qingzhou City, then pursued and destroyed his fleeing Dao Infant. He returned to the Demon Suppression Division with Xuan Zhen's Infant Core, where Li Hanguang confirmed that the threat was over.

• Yang Xiao wounded Xuan Zhen and evaded his frenzied attacks until he found an opening and severed his head.
• Xuan Zhen's Dao Infant escaped toward the city walls, and Pei Xuance offered to pursue it, but Yang Xiao went after it himself.
• Yang Xiao caught up with Xuan Zhen and pierced his Dao Infant with the Army-Breaking Spear, killing him completely.
• Yang Xiao collected Xuan Zhen's Infant Core and returned to Qingzhou City, where Li Hanguang asked if Xuan Zhen was dead.

After defeating Xuan Zhen, Yang Xiao left the injured Pei Xuance and Qin Lie in Li Hanguang’s care and went outside Qingzhou City to recover. He synthesized several prefixes, gaining Mountain-Shaking Astral Force and Dragon Sinews and Tiger Bones as he prepared to strengthen his foundation for future threats.

• Li Hanguang ordered the Demon Suppression Division to seal the streets, impose martial law, and treat the wounded after Xuan Zhen’s pressure vanished.
• Yang Xiao told Pei Xuance to nourish his damaged Dao Infant and saw Li Hanguang arrange care for the badly injured Qin Lie.
• Yang Xiao left the Demon Suppression Division, sat outside Qingzhou City, and examined his newly formed Five-Colored Glazed Dao Infant.
• Yang Xiao synthesized Rock Claw, Scale Skin, and Rockskin into the blue prefix Rock-Splitting Claw, then combined three other green prefixes into Devour Origin to Restore Life.
• Yang Xiao synthesized Bear-and-Bull Shakes the Mountain, Mountain-Crushing Strength, and External Golden Astral Aura into the purple prefix Mountain-Shaking Astral Force.
• Yang Xiao combined Tiger-Bone Rock Body, Flood Dragon Bone Savage Body, and Bloodbath into the purple prefix Dragon Sinews and Tiger Bones, which could mobilize vitality to repair injuries.

Yang Xiao synthesized several traits, gaining defensive and stealth abilities before creating the golden trait Three Calamities Entangling the Body, a powerful ranged attack. After learning that higher-level synthesis required equipping a spirit root, he examined Xuan Zhen’s Dao Infant Core, failed to extract its spirit root, and set out for the Demon Suppression Division.

• Yang Xiao combined Sinking Stance, Sandridge Armor, and Sand Wall into Thick Earth Rock Robe, then combined Wind Riding, Wind-Chasing Scent Tracking, and Shadow Affinity into Shadow-Chasing Without a Trace.
• Yang Xiao fused Flame-Burning, Freezing Frost, and Wind Erosion into the golden trait Three Calamities Entangling the Body and tested its devastating ranged erosion.
• Yang Xiao tried synthesizing golden traits but learned that golden traits were the highest grade at his current stage and that he needed to equip a spirit root first.
• Yang Xiao inspected Xuan Zhen’s Dao Infant Core, noticed its spleen shone more brightly, and failed to damage the core or extract a spirit root.
• Yang Xiao withdrew his divine sense and planned to return to the Demon Suppression Division.

Yang Xiao learned that advancing his Dao Infant required five Spiritual Roots and that demon-slaying merits could help him obtain them. He prepared to travel to Cuiyun Circuit with Li Hanguang, while Pei Xuance stayed in Qingzhou to stabilize his Dao Infant and warned Yang Xiao not to mention his dealings with Lotus Flower Temple.

• Yang Xiao read the Cuiyun Circuit debriefing report and saw that Pei Xuance had credited him with the major victories in Qingzhou.
• Pei Xuance explained that he had to remain in Qingzhou to stabilize his fused Dao Infant and asked Yang Xiao to take Governor Qin to the headquarters for treatment.
• Pei Xuance told Yang Xiao that advancing his Dao Infant required Five Elements Spiritual Roots, which he could obtain through meritorious service, demon slaying, or the dangerous Hundred-Thousand Demon Mountains.
• Li Hanguang offered to accompany Yang Xiao to Cuiyun Circuit and investigate blessed grounds so Qingzhou could restore access to them.
• Pei Xuance warned Yang Xiao not to mention his dealings with Lotus Flower Temple, and Yang Xiao set out determined to seek Spiritual Roots.

Yang Xiao and Li Hanguang brought the gravely injured Qin Lie to the Cuiyun Circuit headquarters in Lanzhou, where suppression commissioner Luo Zheng treated him with a Spirit Nourishing Pill. Luo Zheng then demanded to know how Qin Lie had been injured and asked why Pei Xuance had not come to see him.

• Yang Xiao, Li Hanguang, and Qin Lie traveled by carriage for fifteen days from Qingzhou to Lanzhou because Yang Xiao's golden paper kite could carry only two people.
• Li Hanguang presented the Qingzhou official seal at the Cuiyun Circuit headquarters and reported that Governor Qin was gravely injured.
• Luo Zheng arrived, checked Qin Lie's breathing, and ordered a quiet room and emergency divine soul medicine.
• Luo Zheng gave Qin Lie a Spirit Nourishing Pill, which steadied his breathing and strengthened the light of his Dao Infant.
• Luo Zheng ordered the soldiers to carry Qin Lie to a quiet room, then asked Li Hanguang what had happened and whether Pei Xuance still feared meeting him.

Li Hanguang reported Qingzhou’s crisis and the Lotus Flower Temple’s role to Luo Zheng, while Yang Xiao’s achievements were verified. The chapter ended with Li Hanguang confronting Luo Zheng over why the Cuiyun Circuit had ignored Qingzhou’s repeated requests for aid.

• Li Hanguang told Luo Zheng that Pei Xuance was gravely wounded and explained how Xuan Zhen and the Lotus Flower Temple had conspired with the Yellow Wind Demon King against Qingzhou.
• Li Hanguang revealed that Yang Xiao had killed Xuan Zhen and the Yellow Wind Demon King, prompting Luo Zheng to condemn the Lotus Flower Temple and record the matter for a future report to the capital.
• Luo Zheng questioned Yang Xiao about killing the Yellow Wind Demon King, then sent the report booklet and Qi-Gathering Bottle for verification.
• An elderly clerk confirmed that the report matched the sealed Yao Qi, and Luo Zheng acknowledged how difficult Qingzhou’s years of fighting had been.
• Li Hanguang presented copies of Qingzhou’s old requests for aid and demanded to know why the Cuiyun Circuit had never responded.

Li Hanguang learned that Qingzhou’s pleas for help had gone unanswered because Cuiyun Circuit’s inspector posts were vacant, and Luo Zheng agreed to restore Qingzhou’s access to Treasure Ground places. After Li Hanguang left, Luo Zheng offered Yang Xiao an inspector post, giving him a chance to pursue cultivation beyond Qingzhou.

• Luo Zheng explained that the inspector posts had remained vacant since the previous inspectors disappeared in the Hundred-Thousand Demon Mountains, leaving provincial pleas for help unanswered.
• Li Hanguang asked Luo Zheng to restore Qingzhou’s access to the Treasure Ground, and Luo Zheng told him to submit candidates through the proper roster arrangements.
• Li Hanguang thanked Luo Zheng and left after resolving Qingzhou’s requests and Qin Lie’s treatment.
• Luo Zheng asked Yang Xiao about his plans, and Yang Xiao said he wanted to find a Spiritual Root.
• Luo Zheng recognized that Pei Xuance had arranged for Yang Xiao to leave Qingzhou and offered him one of the vacant inspector posts.

Yang Xiao accepted the inspector post in Cuiyun Circuit after learning about its authority, duties, and Spiritual Roots. Luo Zheng showed him around headquarters and warned him to avoid offending the Xuandu Abbey cultivators staying there.

• Luo Zheng explained that an inspector could oversee local powers and act first before reporting, and Yang Xiao asked whether that authority extended to Lotus Flower Temple.
• Luo Zheng warned Yang Xiao about Lotus Flower Temple's Dao-Infant Realm veterans and told him to kill only those proven deserving, while never betraying Great Zhou.
• Luo Zheng explained the grades of Spiritual Roots and offered to find Yang Xiao a high-grade one if he helped quell the Demon Plague in Cuiyun Circuit.
• Yang Xiao realized his Spirit Nurturing slot might raise a Spiritual Root's grade, then accepted the inspector post.
• Luo Zheng showed Yang Xiao around headquarters and warned him that Xuandu Abbey cultivators sometimes stayed in the rearmost courtyard and should not be offended.

Yang Xiao received the Silver Xiezhi Tally and Inspector's uniform after Luo Zheng appointed him Inspector, and Luo offered him a cultivation technique from the inner armory. Yang Xiao then met Li Hanguang, who acknowledged him as his superior.

• Luo Zheng took Yang Xiao to the inner armory to collect his Inspector's credentials and uniform.
• Yang Xiao received the Silver Xiezhi Tally and discovered it contained a storage space ten zhang across.
• Luo Zheng allowed Yang Xiao to choose a Dao-Infant Realm cultivation technique from the inner armory as a welcome gift.
• Luo Zheng and Yang Xiao went to find Li Hanguang, who had gone to Qin Lie's quiet room.
• Li Hanguang saw Yang Xiao's tally and formally saluted him as Lord Inspector.

Yang Xiao accepted Qin Lie’s remaining Merit to exchange for a low-grade Spiritual Root, allowing Qin Lie to repay him for his service to Qingzhou. Yang Xiao and Li Hanguang reached the inner vault, where the Silver Xiezhi Tally opened the doors.

• Luo Zheng learned that Qin Lie had briefly awakened and left after confirming his condition had stabilized.
• Li Hanguang told Yang Xiao he planned to return to Qingzhou and register candidates for suitable Treasure Grounds, while Yang Xiao said he would stay.
• Qin Lie thanked Yang Xiao for what he had done for Qingzhou and offered to exchange his remaining Merit for a low-grade Spiritual Root.
• Yang Xiao accepted Qin Lie’s offer and promised to help Qingzhou if it needed him in the future.
• Yang Xiao used the Silver Xiezhi Tally to open the inner vault so he and Li Hanguang could exchange for the Spiritual Root.

Yang Xiao exchanged Qin Lie’s remaining Merit for a Yellow Sprout Stone Ganoderma and selected the Spirit-Concentrating Sea-Illuminating Art to strengthen his divine soul. At his new residence, he placed the Spiritual Root in an Equipment Slot and began nurturing it with essence from Xuan Zhen’s Infant Core.

• Li Hanguang accompanied Yang Xiao to the storeroom, where Yang Xiao exchanged the remaining Merit for a Yellow Sprout Stone Ganoderma.
• Yang Xiao stored the Spiritual Root in the Silver Xiezhi Tally, and Li Hanguang bowed farewell before returning to Qingzhou.
• Yang Xiao chose the Spirit-Concentrating Sea-Illuminating Art from the inner vault to improve his divine soul cultivation.
• Yang Xiao settled into a courtyard prepared for Inspectors and placed the Yellow Sprout Stone Ganoderma in his sixth Equipment Slot.
• Yang Xiao invested essence from Xuan Zhen’s Infant Core into the Spiritual Root, and its tender shoot began to lift as its cap gained a warm sheen.

Yang Xiao nurtured a low-grade Spiritual Root into a high-grade Jade Marrow Earth Ganoderma and refined it into his Dao Infant. The new spleen-based trait let him synthesize his first red trait, Heaven-Devouring Essence Refining, which could refine Spiritual Power and the flesh and blood of remains into essence.

• Yang Xiao used Xuan Zhen's Infant Core to raise the Yellow Sprout Stone Ganoderma to a high-grade Jade Marrow Earth Ganoderma.
• Yang Xiao learned he could refine the Spiritual Root into his Dao Infant while keeping its Spirit Nurturing link, and chose to do so.
• The Jade Marrow Earth Ganoderma merged with Yang Xiao's Dao Infant spleen, improving his perception of Spiritual Qi and strengthening his refining and absorption abilities.
• Yang Xiao identified Circuit Spirit Refining and Heaven-Melting Treasure Furnace as compatible with Spleen Earth Spiritual Pivot and placed all three Golden Traits in Equipment Slots.
• Yang Xiao synthesized the traits to obtain the red trait Heaven-Devouring Essence Refining, which let him refine Spiritual Power and the flesh and blood of remains into essence.

Yang Xiao tested his new Heaven-Devouring Essence Refining trait and equipped the Spirit-Concentrating Sea-Illuminating Art, gaining an abyss-like sea of consciousness and powerful control over objects. At headquarters, he began reviewing provincial aid requests, while Liangzhou General Wu Xu learned of his appointment and hurried to meet him.

• Yang Xiao refined surrounding Spiritual Qi, nourishing his Dao Infant, Jade Marrow Earth Ganoderma, and body with the essence.
• Yang Xiao equipped the Spirit-Concentrating Sea-Illuminating Art, rapidly condensing his soul into a deep, stable sea of consciousness.
• Yang Xiao used his strengthened spiritual sense to perceive his courtyard in detail and lift and control multiple objects at once.
• Yang Xiao went to headquarters' records room to review the provinces' requests for aid, where clerk Wang Zhihuan showed him the stored letters.
• Wu Xu learned that Yang Xiao was the newly appointed Inspector and strode toward the records room to pay his respects.

Yang Xiao responded to Wu Xu’s plea for help by setting out for Liangzhou to confront two invading Demon Kings. At the Liangzhou border, he saw a massive stream of refugees as Wu Xu prepared to explain the crisis in more detail.

• Yang Xiao sorted and read the aid requests at headquarters, but found none from Cloud Province.
• Wu Xu told Yang Xiao that an elder and a younger Dao-Infant Realm Demon King had seized three of Liangzhou’s seven great commanderies while its Governor-General and Demon Suppression Generals struggled to stop them.
• Yang Xiao immediately agreed to accompany Wu Xu to Liangzhou, and Wang Zhihuan provided them with two Demon Horses.
• Yang Xiao and Wu Xu reached Liangzhou after three days and encountered crowds of people fleeing the Demon Plague.
• Wu Xu told Yang Xiao that he would explain Liangzhou’s situation in greater detail.