Chapter Summaries

Xu Mingyuan quickly learned to make Fireball Talismans and promised Lu Feng access to valuable pills for serving the Xu Household. As tax day approached, several clans accused the Xu Household of causing the insect plague, while Zhou Shaoyuan refused to intervene and left them to confront Xu Chuan.

• Xu Chuan and the Xu family gave gifts to Xu Chongming, including a Bone-Strengthening Pill, a jade pendant, and magical clothes and boots.
• Xu Mingyuan made a low-grade Fireball Talisman on his sixth attempt, then encouraged Lu Feng to keep serving the Xu Household by offering the prospect of divine-sense and barrier-breaking pills.
• Xu Mingyuan practiced until his Fireball Talisman success rate reached twenty to thirty percent, and he told Xu Chuan and Xu Mingwei that he intended to become a Talisman Master.
• After three months, the Xu Household sold spirit rice to other clans at twice the old price to help them avoid the much larger tax shortfall.
• The Yuan Household and other clans accused the Xu Household of causing the insect plague and asked Zhou Shaoyuan to intervene.
• Zhou Shaoyuan rejected the accusation as unproven, declined to involve the Zhou Household, and told the clans they could question Xu Chuan on tax day at their own risk.

Yuan Chenggang persuaded the Huang and Lu Households to form an alliance against the Xu Household, while Xu Chuan learned of their plans and discussed how to respond with his family. The chapter ended with Xu Chuan hinting that he had a strategy beyond the options his children had considered.

• Yuan Chenggang convinced his elders that the Xu Household threatened their clan grounds, and they agreed to seek allies before attacking.
• At the Zhou Household’s tax gathering, Yuan Chenggang and other clan heads accused Xu Chuan of causing the insect plague; Xu Chuan demanded compensation, and the accusers backed down.
• Yuan Chenggang later persuaded the Huang and Lu Households to swear an alliance against the Xu Household and recruit more clans before making a move.
• Xu Chuan told the Xu siblings and elders about the threat, and they debated striking first, defending Dongxi, or delaying conflict to protect the household’s growth.
• Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan proposed turning the allied households against one another, and Xu Chuan praised their reasoning while implying he had another plan.

Xu Chuan tested his descendants by asking how the Xu Household should handle the Yuan, Lu, and Huang Households’ alliance. Xu Dezhao identified the Yuan Household as the real threat and proposed splitting the alliance with promises, emerging as the leading candidate for clan head.

• Xu Chuan assigned his descendants to devise a response to the three-household alliance as a test for the clan-head position.
• Xu Mingyuan, Xu Mingwei, Xu Mingxuan, Xu Mingshu, Xu Mingxian, and Xu Dezhao each considered the problem, while Xu Mingyuan and Xu Mingwei eventually saw that the alliance could be broken apart.
• Xu Mingwei, Xu Mingyuan, and Xu Mingxuan privately agreed that Xu Dezhao was a strong successor candidate.
• Xu Deling proposed rallying other clans and the Zhou Household, but Xu Mingwei warned that buying their support would cost the Xu Household resources.
• Xu Dezhao explained that the Yuan Household was the alliance’s driving force and argued that the Xu Household could isolate it by promising benefits to the Lu and Huang Households.
• Xu Chuan approved Xu Dezhao’s reasoning, and Xu Mingshu suggested that the clan-head position belonged to him.

Xu Chuan arranged for Xu Dezhao to succeed Xu Mingwei as head of the Xu Household, while rewarding and supporting the household’s cultivators and craftsmen. After Xu Chuan restored Bai Jing’s youth with a precious pill, the succession ceremony began, with Xu Dezhao kneeling before the ancestors as the Patriarch’s Seal was brought forth.

• Xu Dezhao agreed to become household head, and Xu Mingwei and the elders approved the succession for the first day after the Year Sacrifice.
• Xu Mingwei entered seclusion, reached Qi Refining perfection, and gained spiritual consciousness after taking a Spirit Ascension Pill; Zhou Shaoyuan then sent Zhou Sen to attend Xu Dezhao’s succession ceremony.
• At the Xu Household’s annual assembly, Xu Chuan rewarded skilled members and gave Wu Mingsheng High-Grade Divine Sense Pills and secret arts in exchange for three Fine-Grade Magical Artifacts.
• Xu Chuan gave Bai Jing a precious pill that restored her youth, and she ordered the servants to keep the transformation secret.
• At the fifth watch, Xu Chuan opened the Ancestral Hall and began Xu Dezhao’s succession ceremony, summoning the Patriarch’s Seal.

Xu Dezhao inherited the Xu Household leadership while Xu Chuan revealed his Rejuvenation Art and gave Xu Mingwei an Azure Radiance Pill for Yang Ronghua. Zhou Sen failed to refine high-grade Minor True Essence Pills and departed, leaving Zhou Zongni to return to Xu Mingxian and discuss his request that they have more children.

• Xu Dezhao accepted the Patriarch's Seal and became the Xu Household head, while Xu Chuan and Zhou Sen went to discuss alchemy.
• Bai Jing's family learned that Xu Chuan's Rejuvenation Art had restored her youth, and Xu Chuan demonstrated the art and explained its limits.
• Xu Chuan gave Xu Mingwei an Azure Radiance Pill for Yang Ronghua, who gained sixty years of lifespan after taking it.
• Xu Chuan trained Zhang Wanqing and Shen Qingyi in alchemy while Zhou Sen repeatedly failed to refine high-grade Minor True Essence Pills and eventually left.
• Zhou Sen questioned Zhou Zongni about Xu Dezhao and urged her to have a son with Xu Mingxian; she returned and told her husband about the request.

The Xu Household’s descendants advanced in cultivation and specialized in different paths while Xu Chuan considered how to strengthen the clan and secure its first Foundation Establishment cultivator. He resolved that someone from the Xu Household had to establish a foundation before Ren Xiaoyao, as he continued preparing for his own breakthrough.

• Xu Deling congratulated Wu Shunan at his wedding, severed her remaining attachment to him, and then rapidly improved her cultivation over the following months.
• Xu Mingshu arranged for Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan to place Spirit-Commanding Restrictions on Tiger One and Tiger Two, who stayed at the Beast Taming Hall for training.
• Xu Deling reached the realm of human-artifact unity, began refining magical artifacts with great success, and created the [Heavenly Origin] and [Red Thread] artifact sets.
• Xu Chuan developed plans for martial-way pills, assessed the clan’s talented descendants, and considered how to prepare the Xu Household for Foundation Establishment.
• Xu Chuan decided that a member of the Xu Household should establish a foundation before Ren Xiaoyao, then steadied his thoughts to guard against developing a heart demon.

Xu Chuan prepared for a future Foundation Establishment attempt while Wu Mingsheng chose to give up his own opportunity in exchange for protection and a place for the Wu Clan beneath the Xu Household. The chapter ended with Xu Chuan agreeing to the arrangement and gaining an artifact-refining inheritance for his clan.

• At the Clan Assembly, Xu Chuan assigned Wu Er, Wu San, Wu Zhen, Lu Feng, and Luo Qianshan to collect Five Elements Qi, and told his family he would attempt Foundation Establishment within three to five years.
• After the meeting, Xu Mingwei revealed that he had reached Qi Refining Perfection, and the Xu family discussed their cultivation progress and confidence in Xu Chuan.
• Wu Mingsheng asked Wu Da, Wu Er, and Wu San to unite their households into the Wu Clan and join the Xu Household as its vassal lineage; all three agreed.
• Wu Mingsheng offered his Foundation Establishment opportunity and artifact-refining inheritance, including the Young Hao True Yang Art, in exchange for the Xu Household protecting the Wu Clan for two hundred years.
• Xu Chuan accepted Wu Mingsheng's proposal and agreed to have the household head preside over the vassal ceremony.

The Xu Household expanded its influence across Moon Lake Commandery while the Yuan, Lu, and Huang households prepared to attack it. Xu Chuan confronted the Huang Household and demanded that it turn against the Yuan Household, leaving the Huang leaders to choose between joining the Xu Household and sharing in the Yuan Household’s destruction or risking their own clan’s ruin.

• The Xu Household built a county-wide trading network, gathered intelligence and recruits, and increased its resources through demon-beast expeditions.
• Yuan Chenggang persuaded the Huang and Lu household heads to prepare a joint strike against the Xu Household, while the Zhou Household chose to watch events unfold.
• Xu Mingshu’s birds observed the rival households, and Xu Chuan sent the Azurefire Eagle and two others to watch for signs of an imminent attack.
• After formation barriers rose over the Huang and Lu households, Xu Chuan, Xu Mingwei, and Xu Mingxian visited the Huang Household and demanded that it join them against the Yuan Household.
• Xu Mingwei revealed Xu Chuan’s Pill Hall standing and the Zhou Household’s support; Xu Chuan offered the Huang Household a share of the Yuan Household’s resources and warned that refusal could lead to its destruction.
• Xu Chuan and his sons left the Huang Household and went to make the same offer to the Lu Household, leaving the Huang leaders in tense deliberation.

The Xu Household turned the three-household alliance against the Yuan Household, destroying Yuan Chenggang and wiping out his clan. Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingxian claimed the Yuan Household’s grounds and resources as the Huang and Lu households left to face the consequences of their choice.

• Xu Chuan explained that he had not forced the Huang and Lu households to swear an oath because choosing between their safety and their lineages would torment them.
• Yuan Chenggang led more than a hundred cultivators to Dongxi, but Huang Mingyu and Lu Yuntao suddenly attacked the Yuan Household instead of the Xu Household.
• Xu Mingwei used black lightning arrows to kill the Yuan Household elders, then fired a powerful arrow that disintegrated Yuan Chenggang.
• Xu Chuan agreed that Xu Mingwei would take the Yuan Household’s resources and promised Huang Mingyu and Lu Yuntao fifteen percent each; Zhou Shaoyuan and Zhou Sen arrived and warned him about the consequences of the Xu Household’s actions.
• Huang Mingyu and Lu Yuntao led their forces to exterminate the Yuan Household, while Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingxian watched and then prepared to claim its clan grounds.

After the Xu Household destroyed the Yuan Household and established itself as a major power, Xu Chuan sent Xu Mingwei, Xu Mingshu, and Xu Deling to Qingya Commandery to pursue Blood-Eyed Spider eggs. They joined the battle as the Dongguo Household attacked the spider nest, just as the enormous Foundation Establishment Blood-Eyed Spider emerged.

• Xu Mingxian and Xu Mingwei collected the Yuan Household's resources, while the Huang and Lu Households helped hunt down its surviving members and other clans paid the Xu Household to settle their fears.
• At the spirit tax collection, Xu Chuan explained that the Yuan Household had attacked first and accepted a double tax penalty; the envoy let the Xu Household's destruction of the Yuan Household pass without further punishment.
• Xu Chuan's family welcomed three children, including Xu Mingqing, who was born with a true spiritual root, the [Grand Unity Azure Spirit] talent, and an Eighth-Rank Yi Wood Bloodline.
• Xu Chuan developed the former Yuan Household grounds into a guarded Medicine Garden, while Xu Mingxian installed extensive formations and Xu Deling advanced in artifact refining.
• After Wu Zhen reported a Foundation Establishment middle-stage spider nest in Qingya Commandery, Xu Mingwei, Xu Mingshu, and Xu Deling traveled there and decided to seize the Blood-Eyed Spider eggs with restraint.
• The Dongguo Household led an attack on the nest, and the enormous Foundation Establishment Blood-Eyed Spider emerged from its cave.

Xu Mingwei stole seven Blood-Eyed Spider eggs and escaped Ancestor Dongguo’s pursuit with Xu Mingshu and Xu Deling. After they returned to the Xu Household, the chapter followed the family’s growth and cultivation over the next two years.

• Ancestor Dongguo fought the Foundation Establishment Blood-Eyed Spider while Xu Mingwei and a Dongguo cultivator entered its cave to take the eggs.
• Xu Mingwei took seven of the eight eggs and fled as the spiders broke free; Ancestor Dongguo rescued his clansman and pursued Xu Mingwei.
• Xu Mingwei stalled Ancestor Dongguo with a powerful shot from the Ink Flood Dragon Bow, and Ancestor Dongguo eventually abandoned the chase.
• Xu Mingwei, Xu Mingshu, and Xu Deling returned to the Xu Household, where Xu Mingshu began incubating the eggs and Bai Jing and Yang Ronghua started martial arts training with Wu Rushan.
• Two years passed as Xu Household members advanced in cultivation and developed their skills in artifact refining, talisman making, and formations.

Xu Chuan refined Voidbreak Pills for the Lei Clan, including a high-grade pill, and the Lei Clan considered recruiting him while offering the Xu Household a Black Radiance Grand Assembly recommendation slot. Xu Mingwei accepted the offer only provisionally, and the chapter ended with Wu Mingsheng praising De Ling for helping him refine a Fine-Grade Magical Artifact.

• Xu Chuan developed pills for cultivation, breakthroughs, children, spirit beasts, and bloodlines, strengthening the Xu Household's resources.
• Lei Hekong visited the Xu Household and asked Xu Chuan to refine Voidbreak Pills, combining three outstanding commissions into one.
• Xu Chuan refined thirty-six Voidbreak Pills from ten sets of ingredients and kept most of them as payment.
• Lei Hekong returned the pills to the Lei Clan, whose head praised the high-grade pill and proposed offering the Xu Household a Black Radiance Grand Assembly slot.
• Lei Hekong offered the slot to Xu Mingwei, who accepted it provisionally and said the Xu Household would decide later.
• Wu Mingsheng praised De Ling for helping him refine a Fine-Grade Magical Artifact with only three sets of materials.

Xu Chuan accepted Wu Mingsheng’s Black Baleful Flag and watched the Xu Household expand through new marriages before emerging from years of cultivation with his Foundation Establishment bottleneck weakened. He resolved to attempt the breakthrough and learned that Zhou Sen had come to see him.

• Wu Mingsheng presented Xu Chuan with the Black Baleful Flag, and Xu Deling declined to keep it so Xu Chuan could reserve it for a future attendee of the Black Radiance Grand Assembly.
• Xu Mingxuan asked Xu Mingshu to save him an Azurefire Eagle offspring, while she continued tending the household’s spirit beasts and insects.
• Xu Dewen asked Yang Ronghua to help him marry Li Ruoxi, and Xu Mingwei approved; Xu Dewen married Li Ruoxi, followed by Xu Derui, Xu Deheng, and Xu Dejun marrying in the following year.
• After another three years of cultivation, Xu Chuan sensed that only a small gap remained in his Foundation Establishment bottleneck and decided to move forward with a breakthrough.
• Xu Chuan emerged from seclusion, reunited with his son Xu Mingqing, and learned that Zhou Sen had come to see him.

Xu Chuan agreed to let Xu Mingwei represent the Zhou Household in a three-match contest against the Feng Household, then sought Zhou Qingfang’s guidance on Foundation Establishment. After learning about spiritual root purity and receiving a record of breakthrough experience, Xu Chuan prepared to attempt Foundation Establishment within three months, while the contest was about to begin.

• Xu Chuan visited the Zhou Household and agreed that Xu Mingwei would fight in its late-stage Qi Refining match against the Feng Household in five days.
• Xu Mingwei welcomed the chance to fight, and Xu Chuan revealed that he planned to attempt Foundation Establishment within three months.
• Xu Chuan and Xu Mingwei traveled with Zhou Sen to Cloud Mountain Commandery, where the Zhou and Feng households gathered for their contests.
• Xu Chuan met Zhou Qingfang, who explained spiritual root purity and how his own true spiritual root and rare snow dragon ginseng had helped him establish his foundation.
• Zhou Qingfang gave Xu Chuan a Jade Token containing his Foundation Establishment experience, and Xu Chuan left with the contests about to begin.

Xu Mingwei fought Feng Qingyang in the final wagered match between the Zhou and Feng Households, revealing his true cultivation and formidable archery skills. After Xu Mingwei unleashed a three-arrow technique against Feng Qingyang’s Great Rivers, the Feng Household ancestor intervened with a shield, leaving the clash unresolved.

• A Zhou Household cultivator won the first match by killing his opponent, then died from burning his life force; Zhou Shaoyuan conceded the second match and advanced to the late-stage match.
• The Feng Household ancestor wagered a high-grade magical artifact with Zhou Qingfang on how long the final match would last, and Xu Chuan joined by betting that Xu Mingwei would win within nine arrows.
• Xu Mingwei revealed his Ink Flood Dragon Bow and nine high-grade arrows, then fought Feng Qingyang in the air.
• Xu Mingwei pierced Feng Qingyang’s stream sword with his first arrow, forcing Feng Qingyang to recognize his hidden Qi Refining perfection cultivation.
• Xu Mingwei broke Feng Qingyang’s Great Rivers technique with two arrows, then prepared a three-arrow attack as Feng Qingyang unleashed Great Rivers again.
• The Feng Household ancestor flew beside Feng Qingyang and raised a dark green shield to block Xu Mingwei’s Three Stars Reflecting the Moon.

Xu Chuan overcame his doubts, established a furnace-shaped Immortal Foundation, and reached Foundation Establishment, then learned a powerful cultivation method from the Clan Genealogy and began preparing the Xu Household for its future. As Xu Chuan trained his family and mourned Chen Ergou, Xu Deling prepared to attempt Foundation Establishment next.

• Xu Mingwei defeated Feng Qingyang in the wager, and the Feng Household conceded while Zhou Qingfang took Ye Xuehua as his disciple.
• Xu Chuan entered secluded cultivation, overcame his dependence on fate talents, condensed an Immortal Foundation shaped like an alchemy furnace, and broke through to Foundation Establishment.
• The Clan Genealogy bestowed the Five Elements Spirit Art and related techniques, and Xu Chuan learned that Xu Deling and Xu Mingqing had unusually high spiritual root purity.
• Xu Chuan chose Xu Deling to attempt Foundation Establishment next and ordered Xu Mingxuan to disperse his cultivation and restart with the Five Elements Spirit Art ahead of the Black Radiance Grand Assembly.
• Xu Chuan visited Chen Ergou's grave to mourn his departed friends, then taught the new techniques and disciplines to members of the Xu Household.
• Four or five months later, Xu Deling prepared to attempt Foundation Establishment.

Xu Deling resolved her lingering feelings for Wu Shunan and established her foundation, while Xu Chuan strengthened the Xu Household and traveled to the Imperial Capital to gather cultivation resources. As Xu Chuan stocked up at the Pill Hall, Bai Household cultivators ambushed a Ge Household trader outside Dongxi, triggering the red lotus warning.

• Xu Deling visited Wu Shunan, found peace after seeing his family, and returned to establish her foundation successfully.
• Xu Mingxian opened a permanent crack in the Three-Absolute Dragon-Locking Grand Formation to raise the spiritual energy at the Xu Household’s clan grounds, and Xu Chuan pressed the trapped Flood Dragon to consider serving the household.
• Xu Chuan developed the Xu Household’s cultivation, trade, and crafting efforts, then left for the Imperial Capital because Foundation Establishment pills were running low.
• At the Pill Hall, Xu Chuan met Yun Zhongzi, defeated Wei Dao in an alchemy contest, and secretly accumulated pills while completing assignments.
• Bai Household cultivators ambushed the Grand Elder of the Ge Household’s Fourth Branch after he traded with Xu Mingyuan, and Dongxi’s guards raised the red lotus warning.

The Xu Household fought off the Bai Household’s accusations and threats as Feng Xiuyuan arrived with Bai cultivators to demand compensation. With the Zhou Household buying them an hour, Xu Mingyuan proposed a deal to Zhou Qingfang to join forces against the Feng Household, while Xu Mingxian refused to release the flood dragon at the Jade-Cold Pool.

• Xu Mingwei and the other Xu cultivators killed the Bai elders attacking Ge Yanzhong outside Dongxi, then prepared for retaliation from the Bai and Feng Households.
• Feng Xiuyuan and the Bai Household forces arrived at the Xu Household, where Xu Mingyuan challenged their claims and refused their demands for a Daoheart Oath and compensation.
• Ge Yanyun brought Ge Household cultivators to support the Xu Household, but withdrew when Feng Xiuyuan threatened them, ending the households’ alliance.
• Zhou Qingfang arrived with Zhou cultivators and secured an hour to negotiate, while Xu Mingyuan proposed that the Zhou and Xu Households cooperate to defeat and annex the Feng Household.
• At the Jade-Cold Pool, Xu Mingxian rejected the flood dragon’s offer to help and warned that the Xu Household could leave and return centuries later to use its remains as materials.

The Xu Household and Zhou Household destroyed Feng Xiuyuan’s forces after trapping them, and Ren Xiaoyao returned in time to kill Feng Xiuyuan. Xu Mingyuan then led a small party to Guangling Commandery to claim the Feng Household’s grounds, where the Wei Household Ancestor and Wei Changkong arrived.

• The Xu Household and Zhou Household battled the Feng and Bai Households until Xu Mingyuan activated the hidden formations and trapped their enemies.
• Xu Mingwei and the others unleashed powerful magical artifacts, killed the enemy cultivators, and Xu Mingxuan stopped the Bai Household Grand Elder from self-detonating.
• Xu Mingwei’s Four Divine Beasts Strangulation forced Feng Xiuyuan onto the defensive, and Ren Xiaoyao appeared and killed him with a five-colored sword.
• The Feng Household Ancestor learned of Feng Xiuyuan’s death, ordered his core members and elites to flee Guangling Commandery, and left thirty percent of the household’s resources behind.
• Xu Mingyuan and Zhou Qingfang arrived at the Feng Household grounds, divided the remaining resources, and ordered the Feng clansmen to leave so the Xu Household could take over.
• The Wei Household Ancestor and Wei Changkong arrived with dozens of cultivators as the Xu and Zhou households took control of the Feng Household’s territory.

The Xu Household occupied the Feng Household’s clan grounds in Guangling Commandery, established a collateral branch, and reshaped local relations through trade and a life-and-death arena. After Xu Chuan learned of the branch’s success, Yun Zhongzi warned him about the demon calamity and entrusted him with a Pill Dao legacy.

• Xu Mingyuan negotiated the Feng Household’s clan grounds and remaining resources with the Wei Household, then stationed Ren Xiaoyao and other Xu Household members there.
• Ge Xuanhong delivered apology gifts from the Ge Household, and Xu Mingyuan accepted them while ending large-scale trade between the households.
• Xu Mingxian established a second-tier grand formation, and the Xu Household opened its mountain gate and announced a branch in Guangling Commandery.
• Xu Mingwei defeated the Wei Household head in the arena, and Xu Mingyuan proposed life-and-death matches to settle old grudges and limit future conflict.
• The Xu Household developed its Guangling branch and trading company, while Xu Chuan learned through divination that the branch had been established.
• Yun Zhongzi explained that the next demon calamity was expected in a little over sixty years, warned Xu Chuan about the dangers facing the Xu Household, and gave him a jade token containing his Pill Dao legacy.