Chapter Summaries

As earth veins awakened across Qingzhou, Chu Bai contained the danger in Anping County and maneuvered against local magnates while pursuing the disturbance’s true source. Han Xingmo discovered an earth-lung golden lotus beneath Backwater Bend, and Chu Bai rushed there to seize the opportunity.

• Shi Guanchao reported that golden water erupted from dry wells in Dragon Creek Village, killing villagers and livestock, while the Three-Bath River grew hot and sank.
• Chu Bai ordered a blockade around Dragon Creek Village and sent Han Xingmo to investigate Backwater Bend and attempt Foundation Establishment.
• Chu Bai summoned the Brook Water Earl, empowered him with enfeoffed lord’s fortune, and ordered him to suppress the demonized creatures beneath the river.
• He Wenyan informed Chu Bai that the Qingzhou phenomena signaled the return of spiritual energy and could earn special-class honors in the coming Heavenly Examination.
• Chu Bai exposed the danger of the golden water to Wang Tianyang’s group, then offered them paid distribution rights to Golden Jade Soup while keeping control of the source.
• Han Xingmo reported finding an earth-lung golden lotus beneath Backwater Bend, and Chu Bai flew there to claim it.

After a month of secluded cultivation, Chu Bai strengthened his Dao foundation and used his authority as Lord of Northern Peace to crush an incursion by rogue cultivators at the Three-Bath River. He discovered that Qingzhou’s earth-vein revival was a vast, years-long upheaval and resolved to build his strength in Anping County before it reached its climax.

• Chu Bai comprehended the Origin-Opening Daoist Scripture, strengthened his Cosmic Cycle Wheel, and learned that the earth-lung golden lotus was nearing maturity.
• Su Mu reported that Golden Jade Soup had enriched the county treasury and won the people’s gratitude, while rumors of a great treasure drew cultivators to Anping County.
• Chu Bai ordered tighter security, and Zhao Tie knocked out a rogue cultivator who tried to seize Golden Jade Soup at the People's Benefit Medicine Bureau.
• At Backwater Bend, Senior Brother Han Xingmo used the Water Earl's formation to repel the Hengduan Mountain Rogue Cultivator Alliance, and Chu Bai’s golden decree executed its three Foundation Establishment leaders.
• Chu Bai’s consciousness followed the earth veins across Qingzhou and revealed hundreds of awakening nodes and hidden powerful presences; Han Xingmo reported that the earth-lung golden lotus would take two or three years to mature.
• Chu Bai told Han Xingmo to continue cultivating underwater and resolved to use the coming years to gather vow power and evolve his Cosmic Cycle Wheel into a great divine ability.

Bloodfang Rice appeared in Great Harvest Township and attracted hordes of Gold-Devouring Rats, devastating the Liu Household and the surrounding village. After learning of the crisis, Chu Bai ordered Zhang Cheng to suppress the demons, secure the rice and rat corpses, and use the operation to assert the County Yamen’s authority over Landowner Liu.

• Uncle Fu found crimson Bloodfang Rice in his paddy, cooked it, and discovered that one grain restored his strength and relieved his hunger.
• Landowner Liu’s servants seized Uncle Fu’s pot, then Gold-Devouring Rats attacked Great Harvest Township and slaughtered guards and residents.
• A messenger brought Chu Bai a bloodstained emergency letter and three grains of Bloodfang Rice, which Chu Bai identified as a valuable resource.
• Chu Bai summoned Zhang Cheng and ordered him to lead the Demon-Suppression Office’s Second Squad with Earthshaking Talismans and Demon-Trapping Nets to Great Harvest Township.
• Chu Bai directed Zhang Cheng to protect the common people, let the Liu Household weaken before intervening, and claim all the rat corpses and Bloodfang Rice for the County Yamen.

Zhang Cheng’s forces defeated the Gold-Devouring Rats in Great Harvest Township, and Su Mu announced Chu Bai’s rules for distributing the Bloodfang Rice, winning the villagers’ loyalty. The black baleful qi found on the rat king led Zhang Cheng to send Pang Song and Hu Hao underground to investigate its source, with orders to retreat if the danger proved overwhelming.

• Zhang Cheng’s cultivators used Earthshaking Talismans and Demon-Trapping Nets to subdue and kill the Gold-Devouring Rats threatening Great Harvest Township.
• Landowner Liu tried to seize the Bloodfang Rice, but Su Mu read Chu Bai’s order sealing the fields and dividing the harvest between smallholders, tenants, landowners, and the County Yamen.
• The villagers praised Chu Bai, whose surge of their vow power advanced his cultivation and strengthened his divine soul.
• Su Mu brought Chu Bai a severed rat claw containing black baleful qi, and Chu Bai concluded that the qi had driven the rats from underground.
• Zhang Cheng summoned Pang Song and Hu Hao, showed them the baleful qi, and ordered them to investigate the tunnel where the rat king had emerged.
• Pang Song and Hu Hao set out with ten men, instructed to identify the danger and retreat rather than risk their lives if they encountered a stronger force.

Pang Song and Hu Hao traced the Gold-Devouring Rats’ tunnel to the abandoned Old Red Copper Mine, where they discovered Longwind County officials secretly surveying Anping County’s earth veins. After Pang Song invoked Chu Bai’s Fortune Edict and reputation, Zhao Ting withdrew, leaving the dispute for Chu Bai to address.

• Pang Song and Hu Hao descended into the mine and found evidence that human cultivators had excavated its tunnels.
• Pang Song and Hu Hao discovered Zhao Ting and four Longwind County soldiers using a Dragon-Seeking Geomantic Orb to map Anping County’s earth veins.
• Hu Hao accused Zhao Ting of engineering the rat disaster to conceal Longwind County’s theft of Anping’s Geng Metal Qi.
• Zhao Ting threatened Pang Song and Hu Hao with his Foundation Establishment pressure, but Pang Song displayed Chu Bai’s Message Arrow and warned him of the consequences.
• Zhao Ting recalled the Dragon-Seeking Geomantic Orb and retreated with his soldiers, while Pang Song and Hu Hao prepared to report the intrusion to Chu Bai.

Chu Bai uncovered Longwind County’s plan to siphon Anping County’s earth-vein energy and arranged to turn its Meridian-Severing Grand Array against it while notifying Great Wall Prefecture. Sun Bu’er mistook Chu Bai’s preparations for weakness and ordered the array activated, setting the trap in motion.

• Zhang Cheng urged Chu Bai to retaliate after Pang Song and Hu Hao reported Zhao Ting’s tunnel and Dragon-Seeking Geomantic Orb, but Chu Bai identified Sun Bu’er’s plan to drain Anping County’s earth vein.
• Chu Bai ordered Hu Hao to conceal a back door in the tunnel’s defenses so Longwind County could connect its array, then explained that he would reverse the flow and drain Longwind County’s accumulated foundation depth.
• Chu Bai informed Li Dean of the breach and his counterplan; Li Dean warned him to keep the covert conflict from becoming a public scandal and revealed that the county leading the earth-vein development race would receive Grade A merit.
• Lin Xuan installed Chu Bai’s Purple Pole Formation Flag inside the apparent defensive array, turning it into bait that would lock Longwind County’s array to Anping County’s earth vein.
• After a scout reported that Anping County had not destroyed the tunnel or complained to the Prefectural City, Sun Bu’er concluded Chu Bai wanted to avoid trouble and ordered Longwind County’s Meridian-Severing Grand Array fully activated.

Chu Bai turned the Gold-Devouring Rat corpses and Bloodfang Rice into equipment and provisions for a rapidly strengthened Demon-Suppression Office, then allowed Longwind County’s Meridian-Severing Grand Array to siphon baited geng metal qi. The chapter ended with Sun Bu'er ordering the array bound to Longwind County’s own earth vein so it could drain Anping County completely.

• Su Mu showed Chu Bai the Metal-Averting Soft Armor, Bone-Piercing Nails, and Qi-Breaking Crossbow Bolts forged from Gold-Devouring Rat remains, along with Blood-Qi Rice Porridge that accelerated workshop production.
• Chu Bai ordered Zhang Cheng to reequip the Demon-Suppression Office within ten days, while the soldiers’ intense training and resources helped a young soldier break through to Qi Refining Mid-Stage.
• Zhang Cheng equipped two hundred elite soldiers with soft armor, black heavy armor, crossbows, and Bone-Piercing Nails, forming them into a disciplined force.
• Hu Hao reported that Longwind County’s Meridian-Severing Grand Array had connected to the Purple Pole Formation Flag, and Chu Bai used the Origin-Opening Daoist Scripture to observe the array and feed it pure geng metal qi as bait.
• Sun Bu'er mistook the incoming geng metal qi for a successful theft of Anping County’s earth-vein energy and ordered the array maximized and bound to Longwind County’s own earth vein.

Chu Bai used Anping County’s earth-vein resources to feed and train its common people, while explaining that their growing strength would build the county’s foundation despite restrictions on ordination. As the people’s gratitude strengthened his fortune golden body, he welcomed a complaint from the Liu Household and turned his attention toward Longwind County.

• Chu Bai sensed Sun Bu'er and the formation masters enjoying their gains in Longwind County, then vowed to borrow Changfeng’s fortune once his forces and Dao foundation were ready.
• Su Mu distributed free Golden Jade Soup and Bloodfang Rice at the Anping Martial Hall, where Li Er rapidly strengthened his blood and qi and the crowd began training.
• Zhang Cheng questioned Chu Bai’s decision to spend resources on ordinary people, and Chu Bai defended it as returning the earth-vein’s gifts to Anping County’s residents.
• Shi Guanchao warned that ordination limits would prevent most people from advancing beyond the qi refining third layer, but Chu Bai believed the spiritual resurgence would change the rules and strengthen Anping’s foundation.
• Wang Tianyang warned that the Liu Household planned to complain to Great Wall Prefecture, but Chu Bai welcomed the threat as an opportunity to draw out powerful opponents.
• The people’s gratitude flowed into Chu Bai’s official seal and solidified his fortune golden body, and he vowed to sweep away those who preyed on commoners as he looked toward Longwind County.

Sun Bu'er drained Anping County’s earth-vein energy to empower himself, leaving Longwind County’s people in a devastating drought. Chu Bai prepared to redirect the stolen energy through the Locust Elder, binding the spirit to him and ordering its roots to spread through Anping County’s earth veins.

• Sun Bu'er and Zhao Ting celebrated the golden spiritual energy stolen from Anping County while Longwind County’s crops and wells dried up and people suffered; Sun Bu'er dismissed the deaths and began absorbing the energy to break through.
• Chu Bai secretly visited the Locust Elder, an ancient tree spirit trapped at qi refining perfection, and offered him the energy needed to establish his foundation in exchange for serving as its vessel and taking the blame.
• The Locust Elder accepted Chu Bai’s offer and swore to bear the consequences in return for a chance to advance.
• Chu Bai branded the Locust Elder’s soul with a drop of his blood, gaining control over his life and cultivation.
• Chu Bai ordered the Locust Elder to spread his roots through Anping County’s underground spirit-vein nodes and prepare to receive the energy from Longwind County.

Chu Bai turned Longwind County’s attempt to siphon Anping’s spiritual energy against Sun Bu’er, draining his private reserves and strengthening Locust Elder into a Foundation Establishment demon. After Anping’s guards subdued the baleful spirits unleashed by the earth-vein struggle, Chu Bai publicly legitimized Locust Elder as the county’s guardian deity, winning the people’s devotion.

• Sun Bu’er’s formation disturbed Anping’s buried baleful qi, unleashing wraiths and yin beasts across the town, and Chu Bai ordered Zhang Cheng to deploy the Black-Armored Guards.
• Pang Song and the Black-Armored Guards swept through Anping, destroying the monsters without casualties.
• Chu Bai reversed the Purple Pole Formation Flag, reclaimed the spiritual energy Sun Bu’er had stolen, and siphoned away his private spirit pool and associated spirit veins.
• Chu Bai sent Anping’s turbid baleful qi into the formation nexus, while the recovered spiritual energy surged into Locust Elder and pushed him into Foundation Establishment.
• Chu Bai calmed the townspeople, declared Locust Elder a legitimate guardian spirit, and invested him as Anping County’s deity.
• Locust Elder swore to protect Anping and serve Chu Bai, while the townspeople cheered and pledged their devotion to their magistrate and guardian deity.

Chu Bai turned Anping County into a prosperous, heavily guarded center by exploiting Longwind County’s stolen spiritual resources, defeating the Lu Household’s attempt to seize a mine, and forging a five-phase Divine Ability Prototype. Three months later, he welcomed fifty thousand starving refugees from Longwind County as work-relief laborers, leaving Sun Bu’er’s county near collapse and Anping poised to attract Qingzhou’s attention.

• The old locust tree’s breakthrough produced spirit rain that healed residents and helped cultivators advance, while powerful observers accepted Chu Bai’s cover story and Sun Bu’er’s stolen spiritual reserves were replaced by poisonous baleful qi.
• Chu Bai’s resources transformed Anping County, and the Lu Household’s elders attacked its mine; Zhang Cheng’s Black-Armored Guards defeated them and confiscated the caravan’s property.
• Chu Bai completed his Fortune Golden Body and condensed a five-phase Divine Ability Prototype that silently pierced a reinforced wall.
• Over three months, Anping prospered while drought and a locust plague devastated Longwind County, and Sun Bu’er’s oppressive taxes helped spark a mass uprising.
• Chu Bai ordered Anping’s gates opened to fifty thousand refugees, offering food and Golden Jade Soup in exchange for labor and further weakening Longwind County.

The Brook Water Earl discovered mystic origin breath soil beneath the Three-Bath River, whose fragrance drew thousands of wild water demons toward Anping County. Chu Bai trapped and slaughtered the demons, claimed the soil, and ordered it spread through the county’s fields to transform them into spirit fields.

• The Brook Water Earl found mystic origin breath soil beneath the earth-lung golden lotus and warned Chu Bai that thousands of water demons were attacking Anping County’s downstream formation.
• Chu Bai summoned four hundred Black-Armored Guards and ordered the Water Earl to withdraw the outer barrier and lure the demons into Backwater Bend.
• The Water Earl sealed Backwater Bend with the Draw the Ground into a Prison formation while the Black-Armored Guards fired crossbows and killed the trapped demons, including an Ironclad Giant Crocodile at Qi Refining Great Perfection.
• Chu Bai collected the mystic origin breath soil and gave it to Su Mu, ordering him to dilute it and spread it through Great Harvest Township and Anping County’s reclaimed fields.
• Su Mu and the Black-Armored Guards swore their loyalty as Chu Bai declared that every acre of Anping County would become supreme-grade spirit fields before the following spring.

Han Xingmo, Hu Hao, and Pang Song returned to Anping County after achieving Azure Ordination and Foundation Establishment, rejecting offers from Great Wall Prefecture's factions and pledging their loyalty to Chu Bai. After reorganizing Anping's leadership, Chu Bai learned that the Purple Register Heavenly Examination would begin in one year and resolved to prepare for it.

• Han Xingmo placed ninety-eighth on the Azure Ordination Ranking, while he, Hu Hao, and Pang Song were named Foundation Establishment cultivators, giving Anping County three major results from thirty candidates.
• Great Wall Prefecture's clans and officials offered the three men wealth, posts, and status, but they refused to abandon Anping County and rode home.
• The trio found Anping transformed by vast spirit fields, fortified walls, and powerful defenses, then knelt before Chu Bai and reported their success.
• Chu Bai rewarded the returning cultivators with key posts in the Water Office, Demon-Suppression Office, and Black-Armored Guards, and ordered the Military Academy reopened and the guards expanded.
• Chu Bai read Zhu Wuji's top-secret message, which revealed that the Purple Register Heavenly Examination would begin in one year and warned of its extreme danger.
• Chu Bai resolved to strengthen Anping and refine his abilities so he could compete for the Purple Abode in the coming examination.

After the Great Wall Prefecture rewarded Chu Bai for taking in Longwind County’s refugees, Zhu Wuji warned him that demons had massacred Pingling and that the Great Zhou could no longer protect its counties. Chu Bai turned Anping County into a wartime fortress and ordered its resources, defenses, and army mobilized for the coming demon calamity.

• Su Mu reported that Anping County had resettled fifty thousand refugees from Longwind County, and Chu Bai sensed their gratitude strengthening his fortune.
• Hu Hao delivered the Great Wall Prefecture’s verdict: Sun Bu'er would lose his Azure Ordination and cultivation, while Chu Bai received spirit stones, weapons, rune arrows, and a major merit for sheltering the refugees.
• Chu Bai explained to Hu Hao that the authorities punished Sun Bu'er for destroying the people’s livelihood but rewarded Chu Bai for preserving humanity’s fortune.
• Chu Bai read Zhu Wuji’s warning that a demon army had massacred Pingling and that the Prefectural City could not reinforce the counties.
• Chu Bai summoned Zhang Cheng, Hu Hao, Pang Song, Han Xingmo, and Su Mu, declared Anping County a fortress of war, and ordered emergency controls, stronger defenses, and an elite eight-hundred-man army.

A demon tide attacked Anping County’s harvest, and the Water Earl sacrificed himself to shield the commoners before their faith and Chu Bai’s Golden Edict helped him break through to Foundation Establishment. After the Water Earl defeated the demons, Chu Bai appointed him River-Quelling Great General and ordered the demon corpses collected as medicine.

• Han Xingmo sensed a demon tide emerging from the Three-Bath River and tried to close the water network as the Sea-Covering Black-Scaled Python led the demons toward the harvesters.
• The Mystic Guards formed a defensive line, but the python broke through and drove the commoners into danger.
• The Water Earl fought the demon tide, was badly wounded, then burned his divine origin to form an ice wall between the demons and the people.
• The commoners prayed for the Water Earl, and their humanity's willing force resonated with the mystic origin breath soil and Chu Bai’s Golden Edict, allowing the Water Earl to establish a Dao foundation and reach Foundation Establishment.
• The Water Earl killed the Sea-Covering Black-Scaled Python and the other demons with water blades, then knelt before Chu Bai and reported that he had protected Anping.
• Chu Bai appointed the Water Earl Anping County’s River-Quelling Great General and ordered Hu Hao and Pang Song to collect the demon corpses for medicine.

As demon tides devastated Great Zhou, Chu Bai opened Anping County’s gates to hundreds of thousands of refugees, imposing strict laws and putting them to work in exchange for food and protection. Their labor built a vast Outer City, and their devotion transformed Chu Bai’s fortune into a five-clawed golden dragon as he set his sights on the Purple Abode.

• Chu Bai ordered Anping County’s gates opened to the starving refugees and declared that residents must work, obey his laws, and rogue cultivators must serve in the Vanguard Camp.
• When rogue cultivators incited a riot, Pang Song killed them, and Su Mu organized the refugees into lines to register and receive spirit porridge.
• Chu Bai and Su Mu assigned the refugees to construction, farming, and logistics while Hu Hao’s men placed restrictions on rogue cultivators and put them to work.
• The refugees completed a fortified Outer City around Anping County, where they became devoted to Chu Bai and generated immense Humanity’s Willing Force.
• Chu Bai absorbed the gathered fortune, manifested a five-clawed golden dragon, and declared his ambition to attain the Purple Abode and safeguard the land.

Li He revealed that demons had devastated Lingchang Prefecture after its leaders tried to seize newly exposed spirit stone veins and herb gardens. Chu Bai rejected his generals’ proposal to exploit the crisis for territorial expansion and instead prepared Anping County to answer Great Wall Prefecture’s expected conscription order while protecting its people.

• Pang Song brought the exhausted rogue cultivator Li He to Chu Bai after Li claimed to know why demons had massacred Lingchang Prefecture.
• Li He told Chu Bai that greedy officials and Profound Fire Sect elders had tried to claim two spirit stone veins and ancient herb gardens, provoking demon kings to destroy Pingling County and surround Lingchang Prefecture’s capital.
• Chu Bai predicted that Great Wall Prefecture would send troops both to contain the demon threat and to seize Lingchang’s resources, and Hu Hao proposed using the resulting opening to take over neighboring counties.
• Chu Bai showed his generals the homes of Anping’s refugees and explained that he sought strength to protect them, not to conquer other territories; the generals swore to defend Anping.
• Chu Bai anticipated a harsh conscription order from Great Wall Prefecture and decided that Anping County would obey it and join the expedition to Lingchang Prefecture.

Chu Bai prepared Anping County for the coming war by gathering intelligence on Lingchang Prefecture’s demon forces and uncovering the Lu Household’s plan to sacrifice his troops. He devised a strategy to turn the Lu Household into the demons’ target while Anping seized Lingchang’s resources, then watched the conscription envoy arrive.

• Pang Song and Hu Hao screened refugees from Lingchang Prefecture for intelligence, while Su Mu and Locust Elder gathered reports on Great Wall Prefecture’s preparations.
• Chu Bai assessed the demon tide, including its half-step purple abode commander, the Azure-Eyed Golden-Pupiled Ape, and revealed poisoned arrows designed to exploit its vulnerabilities.
• Chu Bai learned that Grand Elder Lu intended to force Anping County’s troops into the vanguard and use their deaths to weaken the demons before the Lu Household claimed Lingchang’s resources.
• Chu Bai ordered Anping’s forces to feign defeat, draw the demon tide into the Lu Household’s formation, and bypass the battle to seize or destroy Lingchang’s resources.
• Three days later, the Lu Household’s flying boat arrived with Great Wall Prefecture’s conscription decree, and Chu Bai refused to kneel as he welcomed the envoy into his trap.

Chu Bai confronted Lu Mingyuan, who arrived with the Great Wall Prefecture governor’s conscription order, and asserted his rights as the Lord of Northern Peace while Anping County’s forces threatened the envoy. After learning the army was assigned to the vanguard under Grand Elder Lu, Chu Bai accepted the order, burned it, and led Anping’s troops toward Lingchang Prefecture to carry out his plan against the Lu Household and the demons.

• Lu Mingyuan arrived at Anping County with the governor’s decree and demanded that Chu Bai and the county’s officials kneel, but Chu Bai refused and invoked his title as Lord of Northern Peace.
• When Lu Mingyuan ordered Anping’s soldiers to kneel, Pang Song, Hu Hao, and the other commanders mobilized five Foundation Establishment fighters and eight hundred Black-Armored Guards against his flying vessel.
• Lu Mingyuan read the order requisitioning Anping’s eight hundred guards as the Vanguard Camp under Grand Elder Lu and requiring them to march to Soul-Severing Valley within three days.
• Chu Bai accepted the order and warned Lu Mingyuan that Anping’s army would charge ahead of the Lu Household’s elites when they met the demons.
• Lu Mingyuan fled for the Prefectural City, and Chu Bai burned the decree before ordering Anping County’s army to march toward Lingchang Prefecture.

Chu Bai led Anping County’s battle-hardened army into the Left Route Army’s luxurious, faction-ridden camp, where he quietly repelled the Lu Household’s probing and established camp at its isolated edge. After collecting gifts while evading rival factions’ offers, Chu Bai ordered his troops to remain armed and distrust everyone as the army prepared for the coming conflict.

• Chu Bai led eight hundred Black-Armored Guards into the Left Route Army’s lavish camp, shocking its residents with their discipline and murderous aura.
• Grand Elder Lu and other commanders probed Chu Bai’s chariot with divine sense, but Chu Bai absorbed their attack and chose the remote Northwind Pass for his camp.
• Pang Song and Hu Hao reported that the Lu Household sought the Spirit Stone Vein, other Aristocratic Clans planned to plunder Lingchang Prefecture, and the County Magistrates were competing for military merit ahead of the Purple Register Heavenly Examination.
• The Li Household, Wang Household, and neighboring County Magistrates visited with gifts and offers, but Chu Bai accepted their presents while refusing to commit to their alliances or schemes.
• Chu Bai ordered his commanders to keep every soldier armored and armed, and to ignore anyone who approached them.