Chapter Summaries

Chu Bai consulted Daoist Zhang about Pang Song’s plan to investigate the Second Squad and received advice on pursuing the case impartially. He learned his senior brother Han Xingmo was stationed at the Three-Bath River and accepted Essence-Consolidating Pills to help him prepare for a breakthrough.

• Chu Bai questioned Hu Hao about Captain Pang Song, learning Pang was restoring control of the Third Squad and wanted to use Chu Bai against the Second Squad.
• Chu Bai worried whether Pang Song’s move had Zhang Cheng’s backing, then visited Daoist Zhang for guidance.
• Daoist Zhang told Chu Bai to investigate the Second Squad impartially, gather solid evidence, and leave the final decision to Zhang Cheng.
• Daoist Zhang revealed that Han Xingmo was stationed near the Three-Bath River and could provide information about the wild god.
• Daoist Zhang recognized Chu Bai was close to breaking through to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer and gave him Essence-Consolidating Pills.

Chu Bai broke through to Qi Refining Mid-Stage and investigated the Three-Bath River with Pang Song, uncovering that the Three-Bath Lady had taken the village children as offerings. The Third Squad began arresting the villagers as Chu Bai suspected someone had helped conceal the child sacrifices.

• Chu Bai reached Qi Refining Fourth Layer, doubling his Divine Sense range to ten zhang.
• Chu Bai read Pang Song's reports and Han Xingmo's warning about the unregistered Three-Bath Lady, then deduced that the Second Squad's extortion protected the fish markets' interests.
• Chu Bai sensed Incense and Fire Prayer Power in the Three-Bath River and found the prosperous but unnaturally quiet Peaceful Fishing Village.
• Pang Song questioned the villagers about the Second Squad's bribes, and Chu Bai noticed that no children were present in the village.
• The old fisherman confessed that the villagers had sent their children to the Three-Bath Lady's Divine Mansion as Spirit Child offerings, and none had returned.
• Pang Song ordered the villagers who had known about the offerings seized and interrogated, while Chu Bai suspected others had concealed the sacrifices.

Chu Bai and Han Xingmo led the fight against the Three-Bath Lady, exposing the Water Office’s possible corruption and killing the Water Monkey that had devoured children. After the battle, Chu Bai acquired a Fate Pattern that let him store prayer power and karmic burden and grant divine investitures.

• Pang Song arrested the temple keepers, learned the Three-Bath Lady’s lair was beneath Ghost-Sorrow Bay, and led ten men underwater without waiting for the Water Office.
• Chu Bai summoned Han Xingmo, who learned of the child sacrifices and joined Chu Bai in pursuing Pang Song into the river.
• The Water Monkey trapped Pang Song’s squad in its underwater formation, but Han Xingmo broke the barrier and suppressed the demon’s control of the river.
• Chu Bai attacked the Water Monkey with Spirit Water Needles, saw through its Drowning Pearl illusions, and resisted its vengeful spirits.
• Han Xingmo sealed the river around the Water Monkey, allowing Chu Bai to destroy it with the Fire-Element Wheel.
• Chu Bai acquired the Golden Edict, Jade Register Bearing Heaven Fate Pattern, which allowed him to store prayer power and karmic burden and grant divine investitures.

After defeating the Water Monkey, Chu Bai absorbed the Three-Bath Lady’s remaining Incense and Fire Prayer Power and reported the Three-Bath River crimes to Zhang Cheng, who ordered an investigation of Second Squad and the Lu Household. As the Demon-Suppression Office moved against the clan, Chu Bai chose the Mystic Accumulation Incantation to expand his combat skills and began cultivating it.

• Chu Bai absorbed the Three-Bath Lady’s Incense and Fire Prayer Power, while Pang Song and Han Xingmo secured evidence and arranged to report the cavern’s crimes.
• Chu Bai presented bloodstained ledgers and tokens to Zhang Cheng, who ordered an inquiry into Second Squad and identified the Lu Household as a likely beneficiary of the river trade.
• Zhang Cheng told Chu Bai to stay out of the coming investigation and sent guards to seal the city and move against the Lu Household.
• Chu Bai visited the Demon-Suppression Office repository and chose the Mystic Accumulation Incantation to help trap and slow enemies.
• Chu Bai returned to his room as the office launched its raids, then began circulating his Five-Element Spiritual Power and preparing to train the new Spell Art.

Chu Bai improved his Mystic Accumulation Incantation while the investigation into the Three-Bath River living sacrifices exposed the Lu Household and corrupt officials. Zhang Cheng ordered an open trial within the hour, leaving Chu Bai to prepare as the case reached its decisive moment.

• Chu Bai considered buying a residence and establishing a Spirit-Gathering Array, but postponed the decision while he continued cultivating.
• After more than half a month of practice, Chu Bai advanced the Mystic Accumulation Incantation to Proficient and demonstrated its binding power to Han Xingmo.
• Han Xingmo told Chu Bai that the Lu Household had forced fishers to provide living sacrifices to the Three-Bath Lady in exchange for abundant catches, and Chu Bai promised to urge leniency for the desperate fishers.
• Pang Song reported that corrupt Second Squad officials were under arrest and announced that Hu Hao had become Third Squad's deputy captain for finding crucial evidence in the Lu Household's manor.
• Pang Song and Hu Hao presented the Lu Household's confession and evidence to Zhang Cheng, who ordered an open court trial of the living-sacrifice case within one hour.
• Zhang Cheng sent Pang Song to interrogate Second Squad officials and Hu Hao to bring the Lu Household's head and direct descendants to court, then told Chu Bai to attend as a witness.

Chu Bai and Zhang Cheng used evidence from the Three-Bath River case to secure the execution of the Lu Household’s leaders and corrupt Second Squad members, despite He Yan’s attempt to interfere. After County Magistrate Qian Shen arrived too late to stop the executions, Chu Bai interpreted his visit as political theater, and Zhang Cheng set out to reform Anping County before the remaining clans could react.

• Pang Song presented the Lu Household’s confession, but He Yan challenged the evidence and accused Chu Bai of forcing confessions.
• Chu Bai revealed the Tribute Child Register, which documented 128 sacrificed children and bore the Lu family head’s fingerprints and the Second Squad’s seal.
• Zhang Cheng rejected He Yan’s objections and ordered Lu Yuanshan and the Second Squad’s principal criminals executed and the Lu Household’s assets confiscated.
• At the execution grounds, the condemned were beheaded, while Chu Bai sensed the children’s resentment disperse; Zhang Cheng said the fishermen’s cases would be handled separately.
• County Magistrate Qian Shen criticized Zhang Cheng for carrying out the executions before a review, and Chu Bai concluded that Qian had arrived too late on purpose to manage appearances with the local clans.
• Zhang Cheng praised Chu Bai’s assessment and ordered him back to the office to help change Anping County’s rules before the remaining great clans could respond.

After Zhang Cheng reorganized the Anping Demon-Suppression Office into two units, Chu Bai won the Demon-Slaying Squad captaincy by defeating Feng Qin and received a Principal Ninth Rank Demon-Slaying Token. The appointment awakened his General Star Destiny, and the chapter left him leading a newly established squad as the office prepared to consecrate its banners.

• Zhang Cheng abolished the office’s three-squad structure, appointed Pang Song captain of the Demon-Slaying Team, and named Chu Bai captain of the Demon-Slaying Squad and a Principal Ninth Rank Demon-Slaying Token holder.
• He Yan, Li Gou, and the former First Squad captain challenged Chu Bai’s appointment, so Chu Bai offered to prove his ability in a fight.
• Chu Bai defeated Feng Qin on the Martial Training Ground, earning Feng Qin’s respect and silencing the objections.
• Zhang Cheng gave Pang Song and Chu Bai their Official Seals, and the Demon-Suppressing Guards acclaimed the new Demon-Slaying Squad.
• Chu Bai’s Fate Destiny changed to General Star Destiny, granting him the ability to permanently increase his Spell Arts’ power by slaying enemies or evil spirits burdened by karma.
• Zhang Cheng told Chu Bai to shoulder the seal’s karma, then ordered a banquet to consecrate the banners and celebrate the office’s rebirth.

Chu Bai reorganized the Demon-Slaying Squad, built it into a capable force, and advanced to Qi Refining Fifth Layer. When the Wu Household offered him a Mid-Grade Magical Artifact and an invitation, he suspected trouble behind their generosity and ordered an investigation.

• Chu Bai appointed Hu Hao and Feng Qin as deputy captains, then selected over seventy guards for the Demon-Slaying Squad while Pang Song took the remaining veterans into the Demon-Slaying Team.
• Zhang Cheng stripped the uniforms from the guards neither captain chose and assigned them to the General Affairs Group.
• Over the following half-year, Chu Bai grew the Demon-Slaying Squad to 110 members, while Feng Qin led field operations and Hu Hao managed its internal affairs.
• Chu Bai reached Qi Refining Fifth Layer and raised Mystic Accumulation Incantation to Proficient as his squad's demon-slaying efforts slowly strengthened his Fate Destiny.
• Hu Hao reported that the Wu Household had sent Chu Bai a Mid-Grade Magical Artifact and invited him to visit its Snake Garden.
• After learning that a merchant had nearly been killed by a Wu Household Jade-Scaled Snake, Chu Bai ordered Hu Hao to secure the artifact and investigate the household's accounts and Serpent Caves.

Chu Bai accepted Wu Shang’s private request to capture an intelligent Fox Spirit that had escaped from the Wu Household. After realizing the Fox Spirit should have been detected by Demon-Slaying Tokens, Chu Bai suspected it had a hidden treasure or concealment method and planned to investigate during that night’s patrol.

• Daoist Zhang introduced Chu Bai to Wu Shang, who explained that an intelligent Fox Spirit had escaped and asked Chu Bai to capture it alive.
• Wu Shang revealed that the Wu Household prized the Fox Spirit as a potential guardian and that its search for the creature had contributed to a Serpent Demon incident.
• Chu Bai agreed to capture the Fox Spirit alive unless it showed signs of evil, and accepted the Mid-Grade Magical Artifact as payment.
• After leaving the Zhang Residence, Chu Bai realized the Fox Spirit should have triggered the Demon-Slaying Tokens during his patrols.
• Chu Bai suspected the Fox Spirit or its hiding place concealed its aura, and decided to search for it during the night’s patrol.

Chu Bai investigated why demons had vanished from Anping County’s bustling market district and discovered that a Fox Spirit and an awakened Tree Spirit were concealing themselves together beneath an old locust tree. The Tree Spirit asked Chu Bai whether he saw an immortal or a man, leaving him facing a spirit seeking recognition.

• Chu Bai reviewed five years of case files, noticed the market district had gone six months without its usual demonic incidents, and ordered Hu Hao and Feng Qin to investigate discreetly.
• Chu Bai and the Demon-Slaying Guards searched the market district at night, and Chu Bai spotted a Fox Spirit in Great Locust Alley.
• The Fox Spirit escaped Chu Bai’s pursuit with illusions and its agility, so Chu Bai ordered Hu Hao and Feng Qin to search the surrounding streets.
• Chu Bai returned to Great Locust Alley, concentrated his Divine Sense, and discovered the Fox Spirit’s presence was intertwined with the old locust tree’s vitality.
• The locust tree awakened as a Tree Spirit, and Chu Bai realized it had influenced the Fox Spirit before it asked whether he saw an immortal or a man.

Chu Bai invested the ancient locust tree as the Locust Elder, healing its century-old wounds and appointing it guardian of Anping Alley. He concealed the new divine office from the Demon-Suppressing Guards and left with the captured Fox Spirit to settle its case.

• Chu Bai rejected the Locust Tree Spirit’s demand to be called human or immortal and bestowed the title Locust Tree Duke, ending its hostility and earning its allegiance.
• Chu Bai used Golden Edict to review the tree’s memories, learning it had guarded Great Locust Alley for a century and been poisoned after saving its residents from fiends.
• Chu Bai purified the corpse poison with stored prayer power and invested the tree as Anping Alley God, restoring its strength and granting it a divine office.
• The Locust Elder vowed to protect the district, while Chu Bai ordered it to hide its presence from outsiders.
• Chu Bai learned through Divine Sense that the Fox Spirit had fled the Wu Household to escape life as a controlled Spirit Pet.
• Hu Hao, Feng Qin, and the Demon-Suppressing Guards arrived, and Chu Bai claimed he had tracked down the Fox Spirit with a secret art before leading them away.

Chu Bai negotiated an equal contract between the awakened Fox Spirit and the Wu Household, appointing it their guardian guest elder instead of letting them enslave it. After the contract was signed, Wu Ping gave Chu Bai a residence, and Chu Bai arranged to have the Li Household install a Spirit-Gathering Array there.

• Chu Bai dismissed Hu Hao and Feng Qin from patrols around Great Locust Alley, keeping the Locust Elder's existence secret while discussing the Fox Spirit's future.
• The Fox Spirit told Chu Bai through Divine Sense that it feared enslavement and would accept his decision as long as it did not become a servant.
• Chu Bai proposed that the Wu Household engage the Fox Spirit as a guardian guest elder through an equal contract, and Wu Ping agreed to the arrangement.
• The Wu Household signed a contract promising the Fox Spirit spiritual resources and a Quiet Chamber in exchange for protecting the family if its survival was threatened.
• Wu Ping gave Chu Bai the deed to an unoccupied residence, and Chu Bai asked him to arrange for the Li Household to install a Spirit-Gathering Array.

Chu Bai arranged for Li Feng to build a Five-Element Spirit-Gathering Array at Clearwind Courtyard so he could cultivate faster. After learning he would need elemental spiritual objects to power it, Chu Bai bought water-and-earth-rich Half-Pond Silt and arranged for regular deliveries.

• Chu Bai inspected Clearwind Courtyard and met Li Feng, an Astronomical Bureau array master sent by the Wu Household.
• Chu Bai asked Li Feng to design a Five-Element Spirit-Gathering Array, and Li Feng agreed to build it for about five hundred taels of silver in roughly half a month.
• Li Feng surveyed Clearwind Courtyard, marked the five array-core sites, and explained that spiritual objects would be needed to supply the elements.
• Chu Bai decided to seek water and earth spiritual objects at the Cultivator Market because those energies were lacking in his Five-Element Cycle.
• At the Treasure Pavilion, Chu Bai bought three catties of Half-Pond Silt from Shopkeeper Liu and arranged for the shop to set some aside for him each month.

Chu Bai earned Zhang Cheng’s approval, collected the Jade-Nurturing Gourd, and began cultivating in Li Feng’s completed Five-Element Spirit-Gathering Array. The array pushed his Origin Return Formula beyond Perfection into Subtlety, transforming his control over spiritual energy.

• Zhang Cheng praised Chu Bai’s record, accepted his explanation of his ties to the Wu Household, and authorized him to collect the stored magical artifact.
• Zhang Cheng told Chu Bai that his outstanding annual assessment was likely and urged him to pursue the Heavenly Ladder and Azure Ordination.
• Chu Bai retrieved the Jade-Nurturing Gourd from the Demon-Suppression Office storeroom and added it to his magical artifacts.
• Chu Bai returned to Clearwind Courtyard, placed Half-Pond Silt at the water and earth nodes, and cultivated in Li Feng’s completed array.
• Chu Bai’s Origin Return Formula reached Subtlety, giving him finer perception and control of spiritual energy.

Chu Bai discovered that his Fate Destiny let him advance Spell Arts beyond Perfected Level and accelerated his cultivation. During Anping County’s year-end Merit Assessment, he defended his record before the Heart-Inquiring Mirror, and his genuine achievements secured an expected excellent rating.

• Chu Bai realized his Fate Destiny could break the mastery limits of cultivation methods and Spell Arts, and found that his Subtlety-level Origin Return Formula increased his cultivation speed.
• More than two months later, the Merit Envoy arrived in Anping County to assess the officials’ yearly records, and Pang Song worried that his rejected welcome gift had harmed his rating.
• Chu Bai entered the audit and reunited with his former classmate Lü Qing, now a Merit Envoy, while the Deputy Commissioner questioned his reported achievements.
• Chu Bai affirmed that he had killed the Three-Bath River’s Qi Refining Late-Stage demon, and the Heart-Inquiring Mirror showed no sign of falsehood.
• The Deputy Commissioner accepted Chu Bai’s account, and Lü Qing said Chu Bai had earned an excellent rating and could receive additional rewards after the new year.

Chu Bai received an outstanding evaluation, a rare Earthly Treasure, and chose a body-tempering secret art as he prepared for the Azure Ordination Heavenly Examination in three years. He used the Mountain-Pacifying Platinum to strengthen his Spirit-Gathering Array and began cultivating with far greater efficiency, while organizing patrols to protect Anping County during the New Year.

• Chu Bai told Lü Qing he planned to attempt the Azure Ordination Heavenly Examination in three years, despite its demanding competition.
• The Merit Office awarded Chu Bai an outstanding rating, three hundred taels of silver, a secret art, and the Earthly Treasure Mountain-Pacifying Platinum.
• Chu Bai chose the Iron-Bone Body-Tempering Method from the Demon-Suppression Office's secret arts repository and resolved to seek the Shadow-Hiding Trace-Erasing Art later.
• Chu Bai assigned Feng Qin and Hu Hao to patrol high-risk areas and watch for evil spirits during the New Year celebrations.
• Chu Bai placed the Mountain-Pacifying Platinum in his Five-Element Spirit-Gathering Array, accelerating its cycle and greatly increasing his cultivation speed.

On New Year’s Eve, Chu Bai returned to Chu Family Village to celebrate with his family, but his divine sense revealed Year-End Wraiths feeding on villagers. He tracked them to a nest in an abandoned timber yard and summoned the Demon-Slaying Squad to stop them from merging into a Great Wraith.

• Chu Bai returned to his renovated family home and shared a peaceful New Year’s Eve feast with Chu Xianglin, Li, Xiao Man, and his younger brother.
• While cultivating his divine sense, Chu Bai detected a Year-End Wraith draining vitality from a neighbor’s household and used his Demon-Slaying Iron Token to summon nearby guards.
• Chu Bai followed the wraith to the Abandoned Timber Yard, where dozens of Year-End Wraiths gathered and began merging into a Great Wraith.
• More than a dozen Demon-Slaying Guards arrived, and Chu Bai ordered them to destroy every wraith before the creatures could cause an epidemic.

Chu Bai and the Demon-Slaying Guards destroyed the Year-End Wraiths gathering at the Abandoned Timber Yard, then Chu Bai learned from Zhang Cheng why Great Zhou had restricted Edict Investitures. The account of an immortal True Spirit imprisoned for teaching cultivation left him contemplating the Alleyhead God he had secretly invested.

• Chu Bai led the Demon-Slaying Guards in defeating the Year-End Wraiths and destroying the Greater Year-End Wraith before it could threaten Anping County.
• Chu Bai returned home at dawn, greeted Chu Xianglin, and later patrolled Anping County with his squad until noon.
• Zhang Cheng told Chu Bai that Edict Investitures had declined after Primordial Origin, Beneficent Waters True Spirit secretly taught cultivation and caused the Grace-Bearing Rebellion.
• Zhang Cheng explained that incense offerings had changed the True Spirit's nature, and that the court had imprisoned it on God-Severing Peak, where it endured daily destruction and nightly rebirth.
• Chu Bai left the office reflecting on the danger of investiture and the Alleyhead God he had secretly invested.

Chu Bai kept the Locust Elder hidden as a guardian of Great Locust Alley, then spent six months tempering his body and cultivating. By midsummer, he had reached Qi Refining Sixth Layer and defeated Pang Song with a vastly improved Spirit Water Needle.

• Chu Bai learned that the Locust Elder had hidden for fear of being branded an Improperly Worshipped Wild God and ordered him to guard the market district from the shadows.
• The Locust Elder said he had dragged a Year Fiend into his roots and destroyed it, keeping Great Locust Alley safe on New Year's Eve.
• Chu Bai practiced the Iron-Bone Body-Tempering Method and the Origin Return Formula, enduring intense pain and hunger as his body grew stronger.
• Over six months, Chu Bai cultivated in Clearwind Courtyard and reached Qi Refining Sixth Layer while advancing his body cultivation.
• At the Anping Demon-Suppression Office, Chu Bai sparred with Pang Song and shattered his Water Dragon Vortex using more than a thousand Spirit Water Needles.
• Chu Bai revealed that his Spirit Water Needle had reached Subtlety and that he had used only half his strength.

Chu Bai spent a year and a half strengthening his cultivation, Divine Sense, and body while Anping County enjoyed peace. He broke through to Qi Refining Seventh Layer and prepared to face the upcoming Heavenly Examination.

• Chu Bai used his hundred-yard Divine Sense and efficient patrols to help the Demon-Slaying Squad keep Anping County free of demons and evil spirits.
• Chu Bai received a Good Merit Assessment and Qi-Transforming Pills, then continued cultivating in Clearwind Courtyard while trading demon remains for body-tempering materials.
• After completing his accumulation at Qi Refining Sixth Layer, Chu Bai swallowed the pills and used his Subtlety-level Origin Return Formula and Iron-Bone Body-Tempering Method to withstand the breakthrough.
• Chu Bai reached Qi Refining Seventh Layer, transformed his body, and expanded his Divine Sense to two hundred and twenty yards.
• Chu Bai looked ahead to the Heavenly Examination, which was a year and seven months away, and vowed to show the realm's young talents how he would advance.