Recaps

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.

At a banquet celebrating his breakthrough to Qi Refining Late-Stage, Chu Bai earned the respect of Anping County’s powerful families and refused their marriage overtures. He also declined a promotion so he could focus on the Qingzhou Heavenly Examination, confirming his ambition to Zhang Cheng.

• Chu Bai hosted a banquet at Wind-and-Moon Residence, honored his parents and Daoist Zhang, and received gifts and congratulations from Anping County’s powerful figures.
• Li Feng offered to maintain Chu Bai’s Spirit-Gathering Array, Han Xingmo pledged the Water Office’s support, and Pang Song presented him with the Hundred-Battle Armor on behalf of the Demon-Suppression Office.
• Chu Bai rejected marriage proposals and learned from Han Xingmo that officials had concealed the Three-Bath Lady’s crimes, prompting plans to assign the region an Orthodox Brook Water Earl.
• After the banquet, Zhang Cheng offered Chu Bai a promotion to Subordinate Eighth Rank Demon-Suppression Commandant, but Chu Bai refused to avoid the duties and political entanglements.
• Zhang Cheng realized Chu Bai meant to take part in the Qingzhou Heavenly Examination, and Chu Bai confirmed that he would try.

After Chu Bai committed to the Qingzhou Heavenly Examination, Zhang Cheng explained the deadly trials awaiting him and promised to ease his duties so he could prepare. Chu Bai began tempering his body with Mountain-Pacifying Platinum, then resolved to strengthen his cultivation, Divine Sense, and Spell Arts before the examination.

• Chu Bai told Zhang Cheng he intended to pursue Azure Ordination through the Qingzhou Heavenly Examination, and Zhang Cheng accepted him as a Mentor and reduced his Demon-Slaying Squad duties.
• Zhang Cheng warned Chu Bai that the Heavenly Ladder took place in a wild secret realm beyond the Law Net, where only a few hundred of tens of thousands of cultivators earned Azure Ordination and casualties exceeded thirty percent.
• After returning to Clearwind Courtyard, Chu Bai used the Iron-Bone Body-Tempering Method and Mountain-Pacifying Platinum to strengthen his bones through the night.
• Chu Bai's precise use of Divine Sense helped him repair minute flaws in his bones, improve his body-tempering proficiency, and unleash a powerful punch using only physical strength.
• Chu Bai donned the Hundred-Battle Armor and decided to combine his body, Divine Sense, and Spell Arts to prepare for the Heavenly Examination.

After the Principal Eighth Rank Brook Water Earl was assassinated near Anping County, Chu Bai was ordered to lead the Demon-Slaying Squad in sealing the Three-Bath River and investigating the attack. He reached the wrecked Divine Ship and guarded the scene as he waited for investigators from Great Wall Prefecture.

• At Han Xingmo’s promotion banquet, Chu Bai said he planned to leave daily Demon-Suppression Office duties to his subordinates and focus on the Heavenly Examination.
• Han Xingmo told Chu Bai that the newly appointed Brook Water Earl was traveling down the Three-Bath River and would soon arrive in Anping County.
• Chu Bai learned that the Water Earl’s Divine Ship had been split apart at First-Line Gorge and that the Water Earl, his escorts, and two Judges had all been killed.
• Zhang Cheng ordered Chu Bai to lead the elite Demon-Slaying Squad in securing the river and screening Rogue Cultivators and powerful clans near First-Line Gorge.
• Chu Bai left Pang Song in charge of public order while Han Xingmo’s River-Patrolling Strongmen sealed off the river and Chu Bai’s forces searched the banks.
• Chu Bai reached the wrecked Divine Ship, sensed sinister power in the black mist, and guarded the site as several watchers fled from his presence.

Chu Bai discovered that the Water Earl’s damaged Divine Dao Seal remained intact and suspected Qi Pan had been sent to destroy it. After capturing Qi Pan, Chu Bai entered the deadly black mist to retrieve the seal before it was lost.

• Chu Bai noticed Qi Pan’s suspicious eagerness to dive into the black mist and learned that Qi Pan had recovered miraculously from a near-fatal injury two years earlier.
• Chu Bai used his Divine Sense to find the damaged Divine Dao Seal beneath the wreckage and realized it could preserve evidence of the Water Earl’s killer.
• Qi Pan tried to dive into the river, but Chu Bai trapped and captured him while Han Xingmo froze the authority of Qi Pan’s River-Patrol Token.
• Chu Bai sent Zhang Cheng an urgent message about the intact seal, then plunged into the black mist and pushed toward the wreckage.

Chu Bai recovered the damaged Brook Water Earl Seal and refused to surrender it when Wei Chuan arrived claiming authority over the case. As the two sides prepared for a confrontation, officials in Anping debated the vacant Divine Seat, and Shi Guanchao suddenly rushed out after receiving a message.

• Chu Bai retrieved the cracked Brook Water Earl Seal from the wreckage and questioned captive Qi Pan, who warned that the seal was a death warrant and hinted at powerful forces behind the assassination.
• Han Xingmo stopped Chu Bai from probing further and urged him to preserve the scene until Office Head Zhang arrived.
• Wei Chuan arrived with Great Wall Prefecture officials and demanded Chu Bai hand over the evidence and prisoner, but Chu Bai refused and called for Zhang.
• Chu Bai and Han Xingmo rallied the Demon-Slaying Guards and River-Patrolling Strongmen against Wei Chuan, who sealed the local Law Net and threatened to seize the seal by force.
• At the County Yamen, Qian Shen rebuked office heads for arguing over the Water Earl’s vacant Divine Seat before the case was solved.
• Shi Guanchao received a message on his transmission token, turned grim, and hurried out of the County Yamen.

Chu Bai resisted Wei Chuan’s attempt to seize the golden seal and fought him to a draw despite the Foundation Establishment decree and Wei Chuan’s higher cultivation. Zhang Cheng arrived, broke the decree’s restriction, and arranged for both sides to return to the Anping Demon-Suppression Office to resolve the case.

• The Inspector’s Token invoked a Foundation Establishment decree that drove the guards back, but Chu Bai remained standing under its pressure.
• Wei Chuan attacked Chu Bai and demanded the seal, while Chu Bai used his defenses, body-tempering, Divine Sense, and precise Spell Arts to withstand him.
• Chu Bai and Wei Chuan fought through a hundred exchanges without either gaining the upper hand, as Wei Chuan’s inspectors confronted the local guards.
• Zhang Cheng arrived on his flying shuttle, broke the Law Net restriction, and challenged the Inspection Office’s treatment of Chu Bai.
• Zhang Cheng took the Divine Dao Seal, explained that the Water Earl’s spirit remained, and proposed that both sides return to the Anping Demon-Suppression Office.
• The token’s voice accepted Zhang Cheng’s proposal, Wei Chuan sheathed his blade, and Zhang Cheng ordered Han Xingmo to bring Qi Pan and the others to depart.

At the Anping Demon-Suppression Office, Qi Pan confessed that a rogue cultivator faction had ordered him to destroy the Brook Water Earl Seal, while Zhang Cheng suspected the Inspection Office had acted opportunistically rather than arranging the attack. Shi Guanchao revived the Water Earl’s remnant, but the god awoke without his memories and could not identify his attacker.

• Chu Bai reported the confrontation at First-Line Gorge, and Zhang Cheng concluded that Lord Sima likely tried to seize the seal after the attack rather than ordering the Water Earl’s assassination.
• Zhang Cheng used his Divine Sense to force Qi Pan to confess that rogue cultivators had recruited him after saving his life and ordered him to destroy the seal with a secret art.
• Qi Pan revealed that the faction had operated for decades beyond the Law Net’s reach and might have a Foundation Establishment cultivator behind it, prompting Zhang Cheng to warn Chu Bai to guard the seal.
• Shi Guanchao arrived and used his Pure Netherwater Dao Foundation and Official Seal to revive the Water Earl’s weakened divine form.
• Zhang Cheng activated the Merit-Recording Mirror and questioned the Water Earl, but the apparition asked who he was and Shi Guanchao discovered that his memories were gone.

Chu Bai preserved the Water Earl’s Divine Seal, thwarting Wei Chuan’s attempt to seize it, and the case was eventually handed over to Great Wall Prefecture. After months of quiet cultivation, Chu Bai reached Qi Refining Eighth Layer and received another Excellent merit rating.

• Zhang Cheng praised Chu Bai for protecting the Divine Seal, while Shi Guanchao took Qi Pan and the witless Water Earl into Water Office custody.
• Anping County staged a Welcoming the God Ceremony, placing the damaged seal inside a golden statue as the people’s prayers began to nourish the Water Earl’s remnant soul.
• Great Wall Prefecture took over the investigation, and Wei Chuan was demoted for improper procedure, though the true culprit remained unknown.
• Zhang Cheng explained that Wei Chuan had likely tried to transfer the vacant Divine Seat to a favored cultivator and warned Chu Bai that Lord Sima might resent them.
• Chu Bai cultivated to Qi Refining Eighth Layer during the ensuing peaceful months, while Lü Qing was promoted to a Merit Office steward in the Prefectural City.
• The Merit Envoy assessed Chu Bai’s record and awarded him an Excellent rating for protecting the seal and keeping his jurisdiction calm.

After balancing his Five-Element Cycle and learning the Shadow-Hiding Trace-Erasing Art, Chu Bai learned that the Legacy of the Dharma Transmitters had gathered at Chaos Bone Ridge. He led two hundred guards there and began a surprise attack, leaving the battle against Black Sheep poised to begin.

• Zhang Cheng gave Chu Bai the Abyssal Spring Pearl and a token to choose another secret art, and Chu Bai selected the Shadow-Hiding Trace-Erasing Art.
• Chu Bai used the Mountain-Pacifying Platinum and Abyssal Spring Pearl to perfect his Five-Element Cycle and strengthen his cultivation.
• Pang Song told Chu Bai that the Legacy of the Dharma Transmitters operated from Chaos Bone Ridge under a leader called Black Sheep.
• Chu Bai assembled two hundred guards and led them toward Chaos Bone Ridge, where he sensed more than a dozen Rogue Cultivators gathered near a dry well.
• Chu Bai concealed himself, killed a Qi Refining Fifth Layer sentry with a Spirit Water Needle, and signaled Pang Song and the guards to close the net.

Chu Bai led the Demon-Suppression Office troops in an assault on Chaos Bone Ridge and defeated Black Sheep’s initial attacks. Black Sheep fused himself with the Earth Vein to keep fighting, while Chu Bai’s relentless elemental Spell Arts wore him down and left him close to defeat.

• Chu Bai and two hundred guards attacked the True Spirit Society’s outpost at Chaos Bone Ridge, and Chu Bai dismantled Black Sheep’s vine attacks with precise Spirit Water Needles.
• Black Sheep trapped Chu Bai in Ten Thousand Trees Prison, but Chu Bai escaped with Firestep Dash and Formless Cloud Hand, then broke through Black Sheep’s defenses and wounded his shoulder with Golden Eye Illusion-Breaker.
• Black Sheep used Ancient Wood Suppresses the Origin to bind himself to the Earth Vein and ordered his surviving Rogue Cultivators to flee west with a talisman-wrapped long box.
• Chu Bai stopped Black Sheep from pursuing the escaping group, while Feng Qin and Hu Hao led the guards after the Rogue Cultivators and the treasure.
• Black Sheep became a massive wooden body sustained by the Earth Vein, but Chu Bai’s repeated fire, metal, and water attacks steadily burned and shredded him despite his rapid regeneration.