Chapter Summaries

True Sun completed Red Dragon, a spirit treasure recognized by heaven and earth, and Qingjun placed the Heavenforged Sect under Azure Cloud Sect’s protection. At Flowing Moon Prefecture, Demon Heaven Lord defeated Xu Chuan’s challenge with a second spirit treasure and forced the Xu Household and Mysterious Moon Sect into a nonintervention pact, leaving Mu Xingzhou to submit the Flowing Moon Sect to the Demon Heaven Trading Company.

• True Sun presented Red Dragon to Flame Dragon after it survived the Spirit Treasure Tribulation, and cultivators from across Southern Heaven gathered to see it.
• Qingjun declared that Azure Cloud Sect would protect the Heavenforged Sect and arranged a Spirit Treasure Assembly for seven days later.
• Zhang Fan and Zhang Daoran arrived as Demon Heaven Lord’s forces broke Flowing Moon Sect’s protective formation, followed by Xu Chuan and Moyue.
• Xu Chuan fought Demon Heaven Lord, but the Thousand-Soul Banner and Black Tortoise Demon-Refining Painting overwhelmed his attacks.
• Zhang Fan confronted Demon Heaven Lord, then agreed with Xu Chuan to stay out of Northwest conflicts involving their factions and the Demon Heaven Trading Company.
• Mu Xingzhou accepted the Demon Heaven Trading Company’s subordination terms, while Xu Chuan secretly returned to ensure he did not choose mutual destruction.

Xu Chuan refined the fifth-tier Dragon Transformation Pill and helped Moyue transform his bloodline, giving him a True Dragon Phantom and strength comparable to a Great Cultivator. As Xu Chuan continued developing the Xu Household and preparing to upgrade the Thousand-Soul Banner, he learned that the Heavenforged Sect had refused requests to refine spirit treasures while relying on Azure Cloud Sect protection.

• After Demon Heaven Lord’s spirit treasure and the Northwest’s shifting balance drew attention at the Spirit Treasure Assembly, Xu Chuan returned to Yunxi and quietly focused on cultivation while the Demon Heaven Trading Company reorganized Flowing Moon Prefecture.
• Xu Chuan created the fifth-tier Dragon Transformation Pill and refined six pills, then brought Moyue into the Xu Clan Cave-Heaven to undergo the bloodline transformation with help from the Qilin Seal and the Xu Household’s clan fortune.
• After enduring seven days and nights of torment, Moyue emerged from a black dragon egg with a fifth-tier bloodline, a fourth-tier middle-stage body, nine drops of vital True Blood, new divine abilities, and a manifested True Dragon Phantom.
• Moyue stabilized his new strength over the next half year while Xu Deling returned upgraded magic treasures and listed the materials needed to improve the Thousand-Soul Banner; Xu Chuan supplied several rare materials and planned to seek cold-yin demon materials.
• Xu Deling told Xu Chuan that Qingjun had asked her master to refine a metal-attribute spirit treasure flying sword, but the Heavenforged Sect had declined that and other requests by relying on Azure Cloud Sect protection.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Chuan confirms that the Azure Cloud Sect accepted his demand for twelve sets of Spirit Treasure materials, to be gathered within a century.
• He meets Black Wind, an assassin in the Other Shore, and proposes helping him become the organization’s deputy leader—and eventually bring the entire organization under the Xu Household’s control.
• Xu Chuan tests Black Wind’s daoheart through an illusion. Black Wind confronts fears of exposure, retaliation, and, ultimately, Xu Chuan himself. Xu Chuan reframes their relationship as one of mutual benefit and gives him three years of periodic trials.
• Black Wind improves quickly, awakening from the illusion within ten breaths. Xu Chuan supplies him with Nascent Soul cultivation insights, a pill to weaken the Golden Core barrier, and a rare wood heart that improves survival chances during the Heart Demon Tribulation.
• Black Wind successfully forms a Nascent Soul, becomes the Other Shore’s third deputy leader, and secures authority over its Northwest operations. Xu Chuan then orders him to create the Zodiac, a secret force of twelve elite killers loyal to the Xu Household.
• In the Blackwater Domain, King Rakshasa reassesses who might be the prophesied “variable” destined to shape the future war. He suspects Xu Chuan, the Xu Household, or a Heavenly Secrets cultivator behind them—not just Zhang Fan.
• Rakshasa persuades the True Demon Palace to exploit Northwest rivalries. He leads forces into the Demon Nether Prefecture and secretly builds influence through local clans, beginning with the Sima Clan.
• Rakshasa’s agent, Yuan Zhou, offers Sima Clan leader Sima Xiangheng a powerful True Demon cultivation method and help achieving Nascent Soul, in exchange for three centuries of obedience. The clan accepts, and Xiangheng begins preparing to adopt the method, which requires blood and living souls.
• Sima Clan forces abduct people and cultivators from the Heavenly Fortune Dynasty. Mei Yun senses worsening tribulation qi in the dynasty’s southwest; Xu Jinghao reports disappearances, signaling a threat that could grow into a major crisis.

Character development and interactions

• Xu Chuan shows himself to be a strategic patron: he invests heavily in Black Wind but makes clear that aid is transactional and loyalty is essential. He is expanding the Xu Household’s influence through hidden organizations and carefully chosen agents.
• Black Wind moves from wary subordinate to committed ally. His daoheart trials expose his fear of Xu Chuan’s control, but Xu Chuan’s offer of power and advancement wins his loyalty. His successful breakthrough elevates him from assassin to regional leader.
• Rakshasa shifts from focusing chiefly on Zhang Fan to considering a broader strategic explanation for the Northwest’s rapid changes. He uses diplomacy, proxy factions, and covert support rather than launching an open invasion.
• Sima Xiangheng weighs the danger of serving an unknown power against his clan’s need for a Nascent Soul protector. The clan’s vote—and his eventual acceptance—show ambition overcoming caution.
• Mei Yun and the Xu Household’s officials respond to the disappearances, connecting local reports to a larger danger through Mei Yun’s detection of tribulation qi.

Significant themes

• Power built through loyalty and investment: Xu Chuan and Rakshasa both strengthen their positions by cultivating subordinate factions, though their methods and aims differ.
• Ambition versus risk: Black Wind and Sima Xiangheng accept dangerous paths to greater power, relying on preparation, resources, and outside patrons.
• Hidden forces and uncertain destiny: The true identity of the prophesied variable remains unresolved, while rival powers act on competing interpretations.
• The cost of advancement: Nascent Soul formation demands spiritual and material resources; Sima Xiangheng’s new path also entails morally troubling raids and abductions.
• Private schemes becoming public crises: Covert maneuvering eventually affects ordinary people, as the Sima Clan’s pursuit of power produces disappearances and a growing threat to the Heavenly Fortune Dynasty.

Xu Jinghao uncovered the Sima Clan’s abductions and the True Demon Palace’s involvement, while Xu Chuan prepared the Xu Household for the coming conflict. As Blackwater Domain’s Heavenly Prides began challenging Southern Heaven’s factions, Xu Chongxi stepped into the arena against Fan Yuan at the Mysterious Moon Sect.

• Xu Jinghao infiltrated a Sima Clan prison, discovered that its disciples were harvesting essence blood and living souls, killed them, and rescued the captives.
• Xu Chuan divined that the True Demon Palace had returned and was using the Sima Clan to advance its plans in the Northwest; the Sima Clan later settled its dispute with the Demon Heaven Trading Company through compensation.
• Southern Heaven’s factions agreed to let Blackwater Domain’s Heavenly Prides travel through their territory and challenge local cultivators, with the Golden Core Gathering’s results determining future access between the domains.
• The Xu Household advised its allies to use the Demon Heaven Trading Company’s protection and to avoid killing Blackwater Domain’s challengers unless necessary.
• The Heavenly Baleful Sect and Fan Household defeated cultivators from the Sun Clan and Cloudmist Sect before challenging the Mysterious Moon Sect.
• Xu Chongxi took the arena against Fan Yuan after Xu Mingxian arranged for her to fight, and Fan Yuan recognized the Xu Household name.

Xu Chuan entered the Western Wasteland Great Swamp with Moyue to hunt for a Transformation Stage Netherworld Beast, while Ye Fan and Xu Deyue strengthened their cultivation for the coming Heavenly Pride Gathering. After drawing a huge blood mosquito swarm into a spatial passage, Xu Chuan prepared to deal with it on his own ground.

• Xu Chongxi defeated Fan Yuan and Ding Wuyou in sparring matches, while Xu Mingxian and Xu Dewen ended their duel without a clear victor.
• Xu Dewen reached Golden Core perfection, later broke through his spiritual consciousness into the Nascent Soul realm and his body into the middle third rank, while Xu Mingxian, Xu Deyue, and Ye Fan also advanced their cultivation.
• Xu Chuan gave Ye Fan a Lightning-Attracting Stone to temper his body; Ye Fan eventually reached peak third rank, perfected the Heaven-Breaking Fist, and gained enough strength for Xu Chuan to approve Xu Deyue’s participation in the Heavenly Pride Gathering.
• After learning of a Transformation Stage Netherworld Beast in the Western Wasteland Great Swamp, Xu Chuan traveled there with Moyue and hunted the swamp’s demon beasts as they searched for it.
• Xu Chuan and Moyue encountered a vast blood mosquito swarm led by a black-winged blood mosquito, and Xu Chuan drew them into a spatial passage before declaring that they had entered his territory.

Xu Chuan captured and tamed the Black-Winged Blood Mosquito swarm, then raided the Western Wasteland Great Swamp and killed six Nascent Soul cultivators from the Heavenly Ghost Sect and Corpse Yin Sect. After defeating two late-stage Netherworld Beasts, he and Moyue were summoned to a mysterious black willow, which revealed a palace and spirit treasure beneath its lake; the chapter ended with the willow questioning how Xu Chuan had judged its cultivation level.

• Xu Chuan used the Xu Clan Cave-Heaven’s power to capture the Blood Mosquito swarm, tamed its third-rank leader, and stored the swarm in the replica Heavenly Passage Tower.
• Xu Chuan and Moyue plundered demon-beast lairs in the Inner Area, then watched the Heavenly Ghost Sect and Corpse Yin Sect fight the Netherworld Beasts and saw two late-stage beasts appear.
• Xu Chuan and Moyue ambushed and killed six Nascent Soul cultivators, including True Lord Wuxie and Shang Daozhen, before the two sects could escape.
• Xu Chuan and his companions killed two late-stage Netherworld Beasts, harvested their lair’s treasures, and heard a distant voice summon them deeper into the swamp.
• Xu Chuan and Moyue met a black willow beside a lake; it offered two spirit treasures in exchange for one beneath the lake and admitted that a restriction kept it and the swamp’s demon beasts from taking human form.
• Xu Chuan deduced that the willow’s restriction and the hidden palace were connected, and the black-robed youth asked how Xu Chuan had estimated its cultivation level.

Xu Chuan escaped the Western Wasteland Great Swamp after swearing a future bargain with the black willow, then oversaw the forging of the Ten-Thousand-Soul Banner and arranged for Xu Jinghao to become the Demon Heaven Lord’s disciple. As the Heavenly Pride Gathering approached, the Xu Household finalized its rules for Azure Dragon Prefecture’s preliminary selection, which was set to begin in Yunxi.

• The black willow explained its imprisonment and the palace’s dangers, and Xu Chuan agreed to help free it in the future under mutual Daoheart and Heavenly Dao oaths.
• Xu Chuan and Moyue left the swamp, while Great Cultivators from the Heavenly Ghost Sect and Corpse Yin Sect were driven away by three transformation late-stage demon beasts.
• Xu Deling and True Sun forged the Ten-Thousand-Soul Banner from a late-transformation-stage Netherworld Beast, and Xu Chuan placed it in the Xu Clan Cave-Heaven to be nourished.
• Xu Jinghao became the Demon Heaven Lord’s Personal Disciple under the name Mei Hao, gaining the status of young master of the Demon Heaven Trading Company.
• The Northwest factions agreed on plans for the Heavenly Pride Gathering, and the Xu Household finalized its Azure Dragon Prefecture selection rules and announced that the preliminary selection would begin in Yunxi.

The Xu Household helped shape the Heavenly Pride preliminaries, then sent its cultivators to the Northwest finals, where they dominated the Secret Realm hunt. The chapter ended with Xu Mingxian, Ye Fan, and Xu Deyue taking the top three point totals.

• The Mysterious Moon Sect and several other prefectures adopted Azure Dragon Prefecture's preliminary selection rules, and the Xu Household's contestants earned top ratings and places on the rankings.
• Bing Gan became a Nascent Soul True Lord, and Mysterious Thunder True Lord recovered his strength and reached the Nascent Soul middle stage.
• Xu Chuan, Ye Fan, and Xu Deyue arrived in Mysterious Moon City for the Eight Prefectures finals, where True Lord Qingxuan announced the arena and Secret Realm rounds.
• The Xu Household's contestants entered the Secret Realm hunt alone, defeating or evading groups that targeted the Heavenly Prides; Tang Qianqian also repelled a large group of attackers.
• Ye Fan eliminated Zhang Xuanzhi, Xu Deyue eliminated Sun Zhantian, and the three surviving Golden Core contestants left the hunt with their points secured.
• Xu Mingxian finished first in points, followed by Ye Fan in second and Xu Deyue in third.

Xu Chuan joined the Heavenly Pride Gathering in Azure Cloud City, learned that Black Phoenix Ridge might hold Phoenix Blood Flowers, and agreed to help the Heavenly Elixir Sect improve a rare pill formula. The gathering’s artifact spirit began the White Jade Heavenly Ladder trial, where Xu Household youths advanced near the leading contestants as the chapter ended with the top climbers nearing the trial’s upper steps.

• True Lord Qingxuan announced the Northwest competition results, and the Xu Household’s contestants claimed many top Foundation Establishment and Golden Core places before the qualified cultivators departed for the Southern Region.
• Zhang Fan, Xu Chuan, and the Northwest delegation arrived in Azure Cloud City, where Xu Chuan learned the Blackwater Domain’s contestants had arrived and that Mu Qingfeng had emerged from seclusion.
• True Lord Chang Song invited Xu Chuan to help derive a New Nine-Revolution Profound Origin Pill formula, and Xu Chuan asked him to search for a fifth-tier Phoenix Blood Flower for Xu Deling.
• Meiji told Xu Chuan that Black Phoenix Ridge was a powerful Demon Race faction in the southern Blackwater Domain, possibly home to phoenix-blooded beasts and the rare flower he sought.
• At Cloudmirror Plaza, the Heavenly Pride Artifact Spirit appeared, announced new gathering rules, and summoned the White Jade Heavenly Ladder for the first trial.
• Yu Langxuan, Mu Jianyi, Xu Deling, Xu Dewen, and other leading contestants climbed to the upper steps, while the Xu Household’s cultivators advanced near the front without openly challenging the strongest factions.

The Heavenly Pride Gathering’s second trial tested contestants by making them endure the backlash of the Heavenly Pride Drum, and Xu Mingxian and Xu Deyue used it to strengthen their bodies. The third trial sent Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators into a dangerous secret realm, where Xu Mingxian, Xu Deling, Ye Fan, and Xu Deyue joined forces to gather rare treasures and defeat rivals.

• Xu Chuan deflected questions about his top divine ability, then the contestants finished the White Jade Heavenly Ladder trial and prepared for the drum trial.
• Yan Kuangtu endured nine rebounds from the Heavenly Pride Drum, qualified as a Heavenly Pride, and was saved by Xu Chuan; Xu Mingxian and Xu Deyue later reached third-rank physical bodies by enduring the drum’s force.
• The Heavenly Pride Artifact Spirit announced that the third trial would be survival in a secret realm until only thirty-six Golden Core and seventy-two Foundation Establishment cultivators remained, and Xu Chuan supplied his group with formations, talismans, and other safeguards.
• Xu Mingxian located Xu Deling, Ye Fan, and Xu Deyue, and the four coordinated their strengths to seize rare spirit medicines, including a Nine-Color Treasure Lotus guarded by a powerful python.
• The four continued collecting treasures while other contestants fell to demon beasts, and they defeated an alliance led by Yu Langxuan and Su Qinfeng after two opponents died and the rest fled.

Xu Chuan’s household sorted its secret-realm harvest and prepared for the Heavenly Pride Ranking battles, where Xu Deyue and Ye Fan secured platforms and faced challenges from rival sects. The contests continued into the night, with the top Earthly Baleful platform still under challenge.

• Xu Mingxian and his companions returned rare spirit medicines and treasures from the secret realm, and Xu Chuan assigned the most valuable finds to the Xu Household’s needs.
• Xu Chuan set the household’s ranking strategy, then traded at Azure Cloud City and acquired several rare spirit herbs, including a Nine-Treasure Ganoderma seedling.
• The Heavenly Pride Artifact Spirit summoned guardian puppets and required contestants to defeat them before occupying ranking platforms and defending them against challenges.
• Xu Deyue defeated a fourth-level Heavenly Dipper guardian puppet, then defended her platform against Wang Tianxiong and a Summer Household cultivator before fighting Li Chanyi.
• Ye Fan defeated a second-level Heavenly Dipper guardian puppet, challenged Yu Langxuan, and fought him as other leading contestants began testing the platforms.
• Xu Dewen held back from challenging the top-ranked puppet, while a Heavenly Baleful Sect Foundation Establishment cultivator attacked the top Earthly Baleful platform.

The Heavenly Pride Gathering concluded with Xu Deling defeating the Number One Guardian Puppet and claiming the top rank, while the leading Heavenly Prides received fortune and tailored rewards. Back at the Xu Household, Xu Chuan began identifying the rewards and distributing resources, including a powerful sword treasure, bloodline pills, supreme yin qi, and a body-tempering cultivation method.

• The Heavenly Pride Artifact Spirit announced limits on platform conquests and challenges, while Li Chanyi withdrew from Xu Deyue's arena and Su Qinfeng also challenged her before she left to recover.
• Xu Deling defeated the Number One Guardian Puppet, and Ye Fan defeated Yu Langxuan; the ensuing battles settled the Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend rankings, with Xu Deling taking first place.
• The Heavenly Pride Artifact Spirit awarded fortune and reward boxes to the top ten, then the cultivators left the platforms and Qingjun kept the ranking in the Azure Cloud Sect's custody.
• Xu Chuan brought the Northwest cultivators back to Yunxi, rewarded the Xu Household members, and granted Xu Deling's branch two Core Formation quotas while Tang Qianqian received a high-grade Golden Core Formation Pill for her household.
• Xu Chuan and Murong Yun identified Xu Wenxiao's Sword Pill Embryo and Blood-Origin Pill, then identified Tang Qianqian's Plain Maiden Supreme Yin Scripture and supreme yin qi, which Xu Deyue accepted.
• Xu Chuan identified Ye Fan's Crimson Thunder Dominator Body Art and several pills, including a high-grade Tribulation-Surmounting Pill and a Nirvana Pill.

Xu Deling refined the essence of burning fire and became the Xu Household’s second Nascent Soul cultivator, while Xu Mingxian also formed his nascent soul and returned to the Xu Household, sparking rumors of a rift with the Mysterious Moon Sect. As rival factions plotted to exploit the tension and provoke conflict in Cangshan Prefecture, the Xu Household learned that someone had already begun stirring up trouble.

• Xu Chuan examined the Heavenly Pride rewards, ordered the family to conceal the essence of burning fire, and arranged for Xu Mingxian and Xu Deling to cultivate in seclusion.
• Tang Qianqian gave the Tang Household a high-grade Golden Core Formation Pill and then successfully formed her core; Xu Wenxiao also refined the Blood-Origin Pill and formed his core.
• Xu Deling refined the essence of burning fire, strengthened her bloodline and divine abilities, then formed her nascent soul in the Blackwind Mountains under Xu Chuan’s protection.
• Xu Deling tested her Blazing Vermilion Bird against Xu Chuan’s Xiantian Withering-and-Blooming Finger, and Xu Chuan later tasked her with finding a phoenix blood flower in the Blackwater Domain.
• Xu Mingxian formed his nascent soul and returned to the Xu Household, prompting rumors of discord with the Mysterious Moon Sect as the sect consolidated control over several prefectures.
• Rakshasa and Yuan Mo planned to widen the Xu Household–Mysterious Moon Sect rift by provoking conflict in Cangshan Prefecture, and the covert guards reported that someone had already started stirring up trouble.

Xu Deyue and Ye Fan both formed Nascent Souls, while Ye Fan endured a brutal transformation to reach a fourth-tier physical body before breaking through. Xu Dewen also succeeded in forming his nascent soul at the Heavenly Baleful Sect, bringing the Xu Household’s total to five Nascent Soul cultivators and leaving him to receive further support from Xu Chuan.

• Xu Mingyuan reported that an unknown faction had disrupted the Xu Household’s plan in Cangshan Prefecture, and Xu Chuan divined that the True Demon Race was responsible.
• Qian Qiushi and Xia Mingyuan asked the Demon Heaven Trading Company to inflame conflict between the Xu Household and the Mysterious Moon Sect, but Xiao Zhan deferred the decision to Senior Bone.
• Xu Deyue condensed a false Nascent Soul, then Xu Chuan took her to the Blackwind Mountains, where she successfully formed her nascent soul under careful protection.
• Ye Fan endured nine rounds of the thousand-bone grass’s destructive effects, used Heavenly Saint Milk to recover, and transformed his body into the fourth tier before forming a nascent soul.
• Xu Chuan established the Thunderbolt Treasure Ground in the Xu Clan Cave-Heaven, providing lightning cultivation and thunder liquid for the Xu Household.
• Xu Dewen formed his nascent soul at the Heavenly Baleful Sect, surrendered his high-grade Tribulation-Surmounting Pill to Heavenly Baleful Peak, and received Xu Chuan’s promise of armor, a secret art, and true demon qi.

Xu Deling traveled to the Blackwater Domain seeking a spirit medicine for Xu Chuan, while Xu Dewen gathered intelligence about the region’s dangers and demon beast factions. The chapter ended with Xu Deling preparing to leave Cloudshadow Tower after receiving his findings.

• Xu Chuan sent Xu Deling toward the Blackwater Domain with protective treasures and disguised her appearance, while Ye Fan and Xu Deyue planned a journey of their own.
• Xu Wenyan revealed that he intended to marry Lin Qing'en and used his reward to secure a Core Formation opportunity for his mother, Chen Yulian.
• Sima Xiangheng held a Nascent Soul ceremony and introduced Yuan Zhou, whose strength impressed Xiao Zhan and White Bone High Person; Xu Chuan identified him as a likely agent connected to King Rakshasa’s demonic cultivators.
• Xu Deling reached the Blackwater Domain, survived the Four-Winged Chongming Bird’s tribulation, and settled at Cloudshadow Tower, where Xu Dewen visited her.
• Xu Dewen questioned Primordial Baleful True Lord about the region and learned of the True Demon Palace, dangerous demon beast factions, and the Dantai Household’s retaliation against anyone who harmed its members.
• Xu Dewen sent Xu Deling intelligence about Blackwater Domain’s powerful factions, and she told him she would leave Cloudshadow Tower in two days.

Xu Deling and Chongyuan traveled through Blackwater Domain, uncovered the Black Moon Family’s plan to ambush them, and followed its elders back to their clan grounds when a Golden-Robed Young Man attacked. The intruder exposed their concealed strength and proposed dividing the Black Moon Family’s wealth, leaving Xu Deling and Chongyuan facing a partnership with a powerful stranger amid the clan’s destruction.

• Xu Deling left Heavenly Baleful City with Chongyuan, who swore the Heavenly Phoenix Oath and agreed to serve as her Guardian Daoist while concealing his strength.
• At Black Moon Market, Xu Deling and Chongyuan traded with Blackmoon Xuanfeng, then learned he and other Black Moon Family elders planned to use a cave abode as bait to rob them.
• Xu Deling and Chongyuan agreed to explore the cave abode with Blackmoon Xuanfeng, but a message about an attack on the Black Moon Family interrupted their plan.
• The pair followed Blackmoon Xuanfeng back to the clan grounds, where the Golden-Robed Young Man slaughtered hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators and killed five Golden Core cultivators.
• The Golden-Robed Young Man saw through Xu Deling and Chongyuan’s disguises, revealed their true strength, and proposed that they divide the Black Moon Family’s wealth; Chongyuan demanded a thirty-percent share, which he accepted.

Xu Deling and Chongyuan helped Tantai Ming destroy the Black Moon Family, then considered whether he belonged to the Spirit Transformation Tantai Household. Elsewhere, Ye Fan fought the Cloud Roc King and invited him to join the Xu Household, leaving Xu Chuan planning to unify the region’s demon beasts while Ye Fan and Xu Deyue continued their travels.

• Xu Deling and Chongyuan stopped the Black Moon Clan Chief and Grand Elder from escaping, and Tantai Ming sealed the grounds and slaughtered the rest of the Black Moon Family.
• Xu Deling and Tantai Ming divided the Black Moon Family’s treasure, then parted ways; Xu Deling later told Chongyuan she suspected Tantai Ming belonged to the Spirit Transformation Tantai Household.
• Ye Fan and Xu Deyue met the Cloud Roc King, and Ye Fan fought him to a draw while urging him to join the Xu Household.
• Ye Fan and Xu Deyue reported back to Xu Chuan, who planned to gather information on Northwest demon beasts and eventually subdue the Cloud Roc King himself.
• Xu Chuan assigned Xu Chonghui to investigate form-transforming demon beasts, while Ye Fan and Xu Deyue traveled to Southern Heaven and the Xu Household continued cultivating its younger talents.

Wang Tie’s breakthrough to the Origin Core Realm made the Xu Household’s Martial Way known across several regions, prompting major factions to recruit and study martial artists. Xu Chuan discussed the path’s future with Xu Jingwu, while Xu Deling continued toward Black Phoenix Ridge and gathered the materials needed to cultivate the Vermilion Bird Karma Flame.

• Xu Chonghui appointed Wang Tie an elder of the Martial Way Hall, gave him the Origin Core cultivation method, and arranged his marriage to Xu Wenchan.
• News of Wang Tie’s breakthrough spread, leading sects and clans across Southern Heaven and beyond to recruit martial artists and investigate the Martial Way’s origins.
• Xu Chuan summoned Xu Jingwu, who explained the Origin Core Realm’s cultivation methods and revealed his progress with the Five Elements and his own Divine Abilities.
• Ye Fan and Xu Deyue heard rumors of the Origin Core Realm martial artist, watched a martial artist recruitment tournament, and continued their journey toward Flame Crow Valley.
• Xu Deling found villagers transformed into walking corpses, collected their resentment and death energy, then tracked down and killed the rogue cultivator refining them.
• Xu Deling and Chongyuan searched the surrounding region for more corpse-refining sites before continuing their journey toward Black Phoenix Ridge.

Xu Deling and Chongyuan reached Black Phoenix Ridge seeking Phoenix Blood Flowers and learned that they could obtain one by attending the Blackflame Phoenix Clan’s Phoenix Blood Sacrifice. After the flowers bloomed, the Phoenix Clan Chief announced that the junior demon beasts would compete for a flower.

• Xu Deling and Chongyuan visited the Ma Household, where the Seventh Elder described Black Phoenix Ridge’s dangers and its once-every-two-hundred-years Harvest Moon.
• At the market, Tantai Ming confirmed that Phoenix Blood Flowers grew in the inner region and explained that the Blackflame Phoenix Clan guarded them through a blood-offering ceremony; Xu Deling rejected his proposal to become Dao companions.
• Xu Deling and Chongyuan entered Black Phoenix Ridge, joined the migrating phoenix-blooded demon beasts, and were admitted to the Phoenix Blood Sacrifice after Chongyuan revealed their powerful Phoenix Clan bloodline.
• The Blackflame Phoenix Clan’s Phoenix Clan Chief allowed Xu Deling to participate and promised her an opportunity to obtain a Phoenix Blood Flower.
• The demon beasts’ essence blood caused three Phoenix Blood Flowers to bloom, and the Phoenix Clan Chief began the juniors’ sparring matches to determine who would compete for one.

Xu Deling secured a Ten-Thousand-Year Phoenix Blood Flower for the Xu Household by trading Life-Creation Jade Dew with the Blackflame Phoenix Clan, then stayed at Black Phoenix Ridge to cultivate and offer artifact-refining services. The chapter left her preparing to refine treasures and search for flames that could strengthen Zhaoheng.

• Xu Deling learned that challengers had to fight the winning clan’s demon beast, then consulted Xu Chuan, who prepared Life-Creation Jade Dew and advised her on negotiating for a Ten-Thousand-Year Phoenix Blood Flower.
• Tantai Ming challenged the Azure Phoenix Clan patriarch but lost after the patriarch assumed his true form, while Xu Deling forfeited her chance to fight.
• After the other guests departed, Xu Deling demonstrated that Life-Creation Jade Dew could bloom a Ten-Thousand-Year Phoenix Blood Flower and negotiated a thousand-year exchange with Feng Changge for one flower and future deliveries of dew and another flower.
• Xu Deling revealed that she was from the Southern Heaven Xu Household, received the flower and a Blackflame Phoenix Clan Guest Elder Token, and accepted Feng Changge’s invitation to cultivate at Black Phoenix Ridge.
• Xu Deling brought the flower to Xu Chuan, who planted it in the Xu Clan Cave-Heaven and prepared to make it bloom; he also asked her to seek flames for Zhaoheng and refine armor and treasures for the Xu Household.
• Half a month later, Xu Deling asked Feng Xiao for an artifact-refining site and offered to refine top-tier magic treasures in exchange for materials, prompting Feng Xiao to spread the news through the sacred land.