Chapter Summaries

Xu Dejing struggled with her parents’ plan for her to marry Wu Tao, so Xu Dezhao advised her to learn more about the marriages and prospects of women in other clans. After speaking with Yang Ruiyao, Dejing left with more to consider about her future and the freedoms she might lose outside the Xu Household.

• Wu Rushan explained to Xu Dejing the risks women faced in aristocratic marriages, while Xu Mingyuan said she was expected to marry Wu Tao at eighteen but could refuse and lose the Xu Household’s protection.
• Xu Dezhao told Xu Dejing that Wu Tao would marry into the Xu Household and urged her to compare its support for women with the prospects available in other clans.
• Xu Dejing asked Xu Deling to accompany her to speak with Yang Ruiyao about arranged marriages and women’s lives in the Commandery Seat.
• Yang Ruiyao explained that clan interests often shaped marriages, that women without family influence could become concubines, and that aristocratic young masters commonly took concubines.
• Yang Ruiyao praised the Xu Household’s strict standards, and Xu Deling ended the conversation and left with Xu Dejing.

Xu Dejing learned why the Xu Household wanted her to marry Wu Tao and began spending time with him, gradually developing feelings. Wu Tao was left unsure how to respond, while the conflict between the Zhou and Su Households continued to intensify.

• Xu Dezhao told Xu Dejing that the Xu Household planned to become a Cultivation Clan and wanted Wu Tao to marry into the family to secure his loyalty.
• Xu Dejing agreed to spend time with Wu Tao and began visiting the Jade-Cold Pool, where they cultivated and walked together for half a month.
• Xu Dejing asked Wu Tao whether he would marry her only to repay the Xu Household, then abruptly left when he could not answer.
• Shen Qingyi told Wu Tao that Xu Dejing had begun to like him, leaving him stunned and uncertain about his feelings.
• The Zhou Household continued raiding the Su Household, which stayed behind its Grand Formation and held out against the attacks.

The Zhou Household and its allies launched their long-planned assault on the Su Household, battering its grand formation until cracks appeared. The Su Household Head sent its strongest fighters out to confront them while the rest worked to seal the breaches.

• The Zhou Household decided to begin an all-out attack on the Su Household, and Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan chose to observe the battle before deciding how to act.
• Xu Chuan gave Xu Mingwei the Lei Clan Token before Xu Mingwei set out for Moon Lake Commandery.
• The Zhou Household gathered its allies and marched on the Su Household, whose supporters had already entered the grounds to help defend them.
• The attacking cultivators and Martial Way experts struck the Su Household's formation for a quarter of an hour until cracks appeared in its barrier.
• The Zhou Household Head urged the attackers to take pills and continue, while the Su Household Head promised rewards to its allies and ordered its strongest fighters to charge out.

The Su Household and its allies retreated into their Grand Formation after a bloody battle with the Zhou-led forces, while Xu Mingwei watched from afar. A Lei Clan Foundation Establishment cultivator arrived, and Su Yuanze proposed a surprise attack on the Zhou Household in exchange for half its cultivation legacy and resources.

• Su Yuanze fought Zhou Shaoyuan and another Zhou cultivator while both sides suffered heavy casualties, including the Yang Household grand elder.
• Su Yuanze ordered the Su forces to retreat into the Grand Formation, and Zhou Shaoyuan withdrew his forces to rest and recover their dead.
• Xu Mingwei observed the battlefield and examined the Su Household’s defensive formation from several dozen li away.
• A Lei Clan Foundation Establishment cultivator met Su Yuanze and the Su Household Ancestor, questioning whether the Su Household could still win.
• Su Yuanze proposed that the Su forces attack again and that Lei ambush the Zhou Household’s Foundation Establishment cultivator, offering him half the Zhou Household’s legacy and resources.

The Su Household and Zhou Household began their decisive battle, while their Foundation Establishment ancestors clashed above the battlefield. The Lei Clan cultivator watched for a chance to strike, and Xu Mingwei moved closer to intercept him, leaving the fight poised for a sneak attack.

• The Su Household Ancestor rallied his forces and led them out to face the Zhou Household, while Xu Mingwei recognized that the Su Household had gained a Foundation Establishment ally.
• Zhou Qingfang and the Su Household Ancestor exchanged taunts and fought with their Top-Tier Magical Artifacts, and the Su Household Ancestor strained himself by controlling two artifacts.
• Su Yuanze led the Su Household into battle, and the Zhou Household's forces met them as Xu Mingwei watched from afar and decided not to warn them about the hidden Lei Clan cultivator.
• Xu Mingwei moved closer to the battlefield so he could intercept the Lei Clan cultivator if he attacked Zhou Qingfang.
• Zhou Qingfang and the Su Household Ancestor unleashed powerful attacks, and the Lei Clan cultivator approached, recognizing that their clash had created an opening for a sneak attack.

Xu Mingwei revealed himself as the hidden ally who had saved Zhou Qingfang, then negotiated a share of the Su Household’s resources in exchange for holding off Lei Hekong. He used his father Daoist San Shu’s Lei Clan Token and promise of free alchemy to persuade Lei Hekong to stay out of the fight, while the battle between Zhou Qingfang and the Su Household Ancestor continued.

• A Lei Clan Foundation Establishment cultivator tried to kill Zhou Qingfang with a surprise strike, but Xu Mingwei’s arrow deflected it.
• Xu Mingwei emerged beside Zhou Qingfang and demanded thirty percent of the Su Household’s resources and one of its Top-Tier Magical Artifacts in return for helping defeat the Su Household.
• Zhou Qingfang agreed to the terms and drew the Su Household Ancestor away, leaving Xu Mingwei to face the Lei Clan cultivator.
• Xu Mingwei identified the Lei Clan cultivator’s hidden affiliation and showed him a Lei Clan Token from his father, Daoist San Shu.
• Xu Mingwei promised that his father would refine pills for the Lei Clan three times without payment, and Lei Hekong agreed to stay out of the dispute unless the Su Household Ancestor won.
• Xu Mingwei and Lei Hekong exchanged attacks to maintain appearances, and Lei Hekong gave Xu Mingwei his name.

Zhou Qingfang used a Talisman Treasure to kill the Su Household Ancestor, and Xu Mingwei received the Mystic Ice Awl as promised. As the battle turned against the Su Household, Xu Mingwei killed Su Yuanze with three arrows and discovered two cultivation arts that could help protect the Xu Household.

• Zhou Qingfang unleashed a Talisman Treasure that pierced the Profound Ink Peak's barrier and killed the Su Household Ancestor.
• Lei Hekong returned Xu Mingwei's token and departed, while Zhou Qingfang gave Xu Mingwei the Mystic Ice Awl and flew with him to the battlefield.
• Zhou Qingfang revealed the Su Household Ancestor's corpse and called on the Su Household's supposed allies to join the attack; Yang Wenfeng recognized Xu Mingwei and wondered why he had become a cultivator.
• Su Yuanze confronted Xu Mingwei, who evaded him and killed him with three arrows that broke through the Black Tortoise Seal's barrier.
• Xu Mingwei collected Su Yuanze's artifacts and Storage Pouch, finding the Black Tortoise Seal, Bloodline Guidance, and Soul Restriction.

Xu Mingwei helped destroy the Su Household and secured thirty percent of its resources for the Xu Household before returning home to report to Xu Chuan. The next day, Yang Zhao and Yang Shidao hurried to the Commandery Seat to learn the fate of the Yang Household, while Xu Mingwei suggested that the trip would reveal the Xu Household’s strength.

• After the Su Household’s allies defected and its disciples were killed, Zhou Shaoyuan asked Xu Mingwei about his origins and learned that the Xu Household was promised thirty percent of the Su Household’s resources.
• Xu Mingwei warned Zhou Shaoyuan that the Xu Household would answer forcefully if anyone challenged its share, then departed for the Dongxi Xu Clan in Qingjiang.
• Xu Mingwei returned to the Xu Household with the spoils and told Xu Chuan about the battle, including the magical artifacts and techniques he had obtained; Xu Chuan said his divination had foretold an auspicious outcome.
• Xu Chuan told Xu Mingwei to prepare for the responsibilities of becoming a cultivation clan and advised him to catch up with Yunnu’s cultivation.
• After hearing that the conflict had ended, Yang Zhao and Yang Shidao left for the Commandery Seat to check on the Yang Household, while Xu Mingwei reassured Yang Ronghua that her father would learn about the Xu Household’s strength.
• At the Commandery Seat, Yang Zhao and Yang Shidao heard that households across the city were in mourning and hurried to the Yang Residence.

Yang Zhao and Yang Shidao returned to find the Yang Household devastated by the battle, and Yang Wenfeng revealed that Xu Mingwei had become a cultivator and that the Xu Household had grown powerful enough to rival cultivation clans. At the Xu Household, Xu Chuan distributed magical artifacts and secret arts, then laid out plans to reorganize the clan around cultivation and establish six halls, though the Spirit Beast Hall was folded into the Immortal Arts Hall for now.

• Yang Wenfeng told Yang Zhao and Yang Shidao that most of the Yang Household’s martial experts had died or been injured, while Yang Yan had entered seclusion to break through.
• Yang Wenfeng revealed that Xu Mingwei was a cultivator and warned that the Xu Household had secretly amassed strength and could resist a cultivation clan.
• Xu Chuan presented the Xu Household’s spoils from the Su Household, assigned the Black Tortoise Seal to Xu Mingxian, and promised to seek a stronger offensive artifact for Xu Mingwei.
• Xu Chuan required the household’s cultivators to learn Bloodline Guidance and Soul Restriction, then announced that cultivators would lead the clan while remaining responsible toward ordinary people.
• Xu Chuan proposed six halls for the Xu Household, but after Xu Mingyuan suggested abolishing the Spirit Beast Hall, Xu Chuan agreed to merge it into the Immortal Arts Hall for now.

The Zhou Household debated the costs and spoils of its victory over the Su Household, agreed to honor Xu Mingwei’s thirty-percent share, and warned against provoking the Xu Household. Xu Chuan and the Xu family organized their lineage rules and expanded their training plans; the chapter ended with Zhou Sen delivering the promised resources to Xu Mingwei.

• Xu Chuan assigned his children roles in the Xu Household’s halls and began deliberations on lineage rules.
• Zhou Shaoyuan and the Zhou Elders reviewed their casualties and spoils, then agreed to give Xu Mingwei thirty percent of the Su Household’s wealth.
• Zhou Shaoyuan rejected a proposal to incite conflict against the Xu Household and reduced the rewards promised to the other allied clans.
• Xu Mingwei, Xu Mingyuan, and the others discussed rules, oversight, and training, while the Xu Household expanded its martial arts hall and recruitment of talented children.
• Zhou Sen arrived at the Xu Household with Zhou Shaocheng and four Grandmasters, passed through the Mist Formation, and met Xu Mingwei.
• Zhou Sen presented Xu Mingwei with the Xu Household’s promised share of the Su Household’s resources.

Xu Chuan revealed his identity as the Xu Household’s Grand Elder and offered the Zhou Household a pill-refining deal that could strengthen both lineages. After Zhou Sen’s visit, Xu Chuan explained to Xu Mingshu that cooperation and a possible marriage alliance would help the Xu Household develop safely.

• Xu Mingwei accepted a Mid-Grade Storage Pouch from Zhou Sen in place of the Su Household’s spirit fields, then returned San Shu’s guest-elder token and revealed that San Shu was his father, Xu Chuan.
• Zhou Sen visited Xu Chuan, who offered to refine second-tier pills for one-third of their value in payment; Zhou Sen said he would consult Zhou Qingfang.
• Zhou Sen introduced Zhou Shaocheng to Xu Mingshu, then warned his grandson that she was a Qi Refining cultivator and beyond his match.
• Xu Chuan told Xu Mingshu that his pill deal could ease tensions with the Zhou Household and that they might seek a marriage alliance; he promised to consider the options and respect their wishes.
• Xu Chuan and Xu Mingwei sorted the Su Household’s delivered wealth and decided to build a Daoist Canon Pavilion for the Xu Household’s texts.

Xu Chuan negotiated pill-trading and a marriage alliance between the Xu and Zhou Households, securing cooperation as both clans pursued their own growth. The Xu Household strengthened its defenses, and Yang Zhao and Yang Shidao arrived at Dongxi, where the chapter left them facing the mist-shrouded clan grounds.

• Xu Chuan cultivated his medicine field and prepared to grow spirit rice while the Zhou Household discussed his identity and proposed pill trade; Zhou Qingfang approved cooperation and ordered the clan to treat the Xu Household courteously.
• Zhou Sen and Zhou Xilin visited the Xu Household to arrange cooperation and a marriage alliance, and Xu Mingxian agreed to marry Zhou Zongni.
• Xu Mingshu complained that Xu Mingxian had broken their promise to grow old alone together, then returned to cultivate as he dismissed marriage as a diversion from cultivation.
• The Xu Household distributed magical artifacts, trained Zhang Wanqing in alchemy, and improved its defenses as other clans stopped sending investigators after discovering its strength.
• Yang Zhao and Yang Shidao arrived at Dongxi and found the Xu Household hidden behind a Mist Formation, where they rang the bell to alert the Patrol Guard.

Yang Zhao told his family that the Xu Household was preparing to become a Cultivation Clan and warned Wen Jing not to use the connection to approach them. Later, Xu Chuan revised the betrothal gifts for the Zhou Household, and Xu Mingxuan arrived at their Clan Grounds to deliver them, where he met Zhou Sen and the Zhou Household Head.

• Yang Zhao revealed that Xu Mingwei was a powerful cultivator and cautioned Wen Jing against trying to connect the Wen Household to the Xu Household.
• Xu Chuan removed magical items and other costly goods from the betrothal list and added martial and cultivation pills, including a High-Grade Divine Sense Pill.
• Xu Chuan inspected the spirit rice field, reviewed the household members’ cultivation progress, and noted that Xu Mingxian had reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining.
• Xu Chuan decided the Xu Household should develop more openly and use its marriage alliance with the Zhou Household to deter other clans.
• Xu Mingxuan led nine Xiantian Martial Artists to the Zhou Household with the betrothal gifts and met Zhou Sen and the Zhou Household Head.

Xu Mingxian’s betrothal to Zhou Zongni revealed Xu Chuan’s identity as Master San Shu and strengthened the Xu Household’s standing. Xu Chuan recruited Wu Mingsheng and his apprentices, then returned to the Pill Hall to explain his obligations to the Xu Household and arrange supplies.

• Xu Mingxuan presented the Zhou Household with a betrothal gift list featuring a High-Grade Divine Sense Pill, and the households set the betrothal for three months later.
• At the betrothal banquet, Zhou Shaoyuan revealed that Xu Chuan was the renowned alchemy grandmaster Master San Shu, shocking the gathered clans.
• Xu Chuan invited Wu Mingsheng to join the Xu Household as an artifact-refining guest elder, and Wu Mingsheng and his apprentices later moved to Dongxi after the apprentices passed the household’s assessment.
• Xu Chuan asked Wu Mingsheng to upgrade the household head’s Ink Flood Dragon Bow, then traveled to the Imperial Capital to obtain materials.
• Xu Chuan told Yun Zhongzi his real name and explained that he could no longer regularly serve the Pill Hall; Yun Zhongzi allowed him to keep his Guest Elder Token but ended his share of the Divine Sense Pill proceeds.

Xu Chuan prepared the Xu Household to become a cultivation clan, and an Immortal Inspector officially registered it as the Dongxi Xu Clan in the Great Wei Immortal Register. The Xu Household gained cultivation-clan privileges and received Spirit Rice seeds, while Xu Chuan declined a fifth-rank Immortal Official post.

• Xu Chuan demonstrated his pill-refining skill to Wei Dao, then visited True Person Yunding and discussed the challenges of building a clan.
• Steward Chen gathered pill ingredients and artifact-refining materials, which Xu Chuan gave to Wu Mingsheng to craft a magical artifact for Xu Mingwei.
• After preparing the Xu Household’s resources, Xu Chuan applied to elevate it into a Qi Refining Clan, and the Immortal Inspector arrived to assess it.
• The Immortal Inspector judged the Xu Household eligible as a fifth-rank Qi Refining Clan, and Xu Chuan declined its fifth-rank Immortal Official post.
• The Immortal Inspector explained the Xu Household’s Spirit Rice taxes, gave it four varieties of rice seeds, and registered it as the Dongxi Xu Clan in the Great Wei Immortal Register.

After entering the Immortal Register, the Xu Household prepared an Immortal Ascension Celebration that would also mark Xu Mingxian’s wedding, drawing attention from clans across the commandery. As the celebration approached, the Yuan Household plotted to damage the Xu Household’s reputation, while other clans searched for valuable gifts to win its favor.

• Xu Chuan announced a celebration in three months, with martial and cultivation contests, and arranged for Xu Mingxian’s wedding to take place on the same day.
• Xu Mingxuan visited the Zhou Household, which agreed to the wedding plans, while vassal families offered congratulations and discussed the contests.
• Rumors about Xu Chuan and his children spread through Qingjiang, and Xu Chuan told his family to observe the celebration’s rites carefully.
• The Yuan Household decided to hire rogue cultivators to attack Xu Household servants during the celebration and embarrass the family.
• The Chang Household considered offering its treasured spirit ore to seek healing for its Grand Elder, while the Yang Household selected a piece of ore containing a dormant Elder Spirit Insect as a gift.
• Three months passed as the Xu Household and its vassal families prepared for the celebration.

The Xu Clan held Xu Mingxian and Zhou Zongni’s wedding and formally declared itself a cultivation clan, while Xu Mingwei exposed the strength he had kept hidden by stopping an attack on the ceremony. The celebrations continued with a martial contest, where the Huang Household won the Grandmaster Martial Pills.

• Over three months, Xu Mingwei, Xu Mingshu, and Xu Mingxuan advanced their Qi Refining cultivation while concealing their true levels, and other Xu Household members also made progress.
• Xu Mingxian and Zhou Zongni married at the white stone altar, where Xu Chuan announced the Xu Household’s Immortal Ascension Celebration and its contests.
• Three gray-robed cultivators attacked the ceremony with fire spells, but Xu Mingwei intercepted their spells, wounded them with the Ink Flood Dragon Bow, and captured them.
• Xu Chuan led the Xu Clan through its offering rites and declared it a Cultivation Clan of Moon Lake Commandery; the clans congratulated the Xu Household, and Xu Chuan warned the Yuan Household over the attackers’ deaths.
• Li Zhi defeated Zhou Shaocheng in the martial contest, but Huang Zhenlong beat Li Zhi and the Huang Household ultimately won the six Grandmaster Martial Pills.

After the Xu Household’s celebration, the Chang and Yang Households offered valuable gifts and pledged to follow the Xu Household in exchange for support. Xu Chuan treated the Chang Household’s Grand Elder and brokered reconciliation between the two families, while Xu Mingxian and Zhou Zongni began married life together.

• The Zhou Household won the Immortal Way competition, and the Chang Household presented Xu Chuan with millennium lightning-struck peachwood in exchange for treatment of its injured Grand Elder.
• Xu Chuan diagnosed the Grand Elder’s yin-baleful contamination and gave the Chang Household an Evil-Breaking Pill formula, while making clear that the household would serve the Xu Household.
• Yang Zhao offered Xu Mingwei a jade case containing spirit insects and asked the Xu Household to shelter the Yang Household; Xu Chuan accepted the gift and ordered the Yang and Chang Households to cooperate.
• Xu Mingxian and Zhou Zongni agreed to pursue the Immortal Way together, and Zhou Zongni received Mid-Grade Qi-Nourishing Pills from Xu Chuan after the wedding tea ceremony.
• Xu Chuan refined Evil-Breaking Pills and gave Chang Haowen medicine for his grandfather; after the Grand Elder recovered, the Chang and Yang Households restored their marriage alliance and set off changes among the Commandery Seat’s clans.

Xu Chuan’s family celebrated Xu Dezhao’s marriage and welcomed the fourth generation when Xu Dezhao’s son, Xu Chonghui, was born with strong potential. As the Xu Household quietly built influence through the Moon Lake Martial Alliance, Xu Chuan assigned the new generation’s fate talents and summoned Xu Deling to give her [Thousand Temperings].

• Xu Mingyuan proposed secretly using the Chang and Yang Households to break up the Jade Truth Alliance and establish a Moon Lake Martial Alliance under the Xu Household’s control, and Xu Mingwei and Xu Chuan approved the plan.
• Xu Dezhao began cultivating as an immortal, reached the sixth layer of Qi Refining, and married Shen Qingyi; Xu Chuan also planned to use the wedding to apply Soul Restrictions to attendees.
• The Jade Truth Alliance collapsed, its leading clans were destroyed, and more than half its member clans joined the Moon Lake Martial Alliance led by the Chang and Yang Households.
• Xu Dezhao and Shen Qingyi had a son, Xu Chonghui, whose genealogy entry showed a peak ninth-rank false fire virtue bloodline and mixed spiritual root aptitude; Zhou Zongni also revealed that she was expecting a child.
• Xu Chuan examined the fourth generation’s four fate talents, bestowed [Withering and Flourishing] on himself, and chose Xu Deling to receive [Thousand Temperings].

Xu Chuan offered the Zhou Household a cheaper pill formula in exchange for Zhou Qingfang’s lifelong protection of the Xu Household and access to some of its cultivation lore. As Zhou Qingfang weighed the bargain, Xu Sen judged that cooperation could benefit both clans and let the Xu Household develop without fear of the Zhou Household.

• Xu Chuan approved Xu Deling’s choice to pursue Wu Shunan if he married into the Xu Household, then bestowed [Thousand Temperings] on her and told her to study the clan’s Artifact Refining Classics.
• Xu Dejing married Wu Tao, and Xu Mingxian and Zhou Zongni later had a daughter, Xu Deyue, whom Xu Chuan identified as a candidate for [Moon-Cold Yin Essence].
• At Xu Deyue’s full-month celebration, Xu Chuan offered Zhou Sen a pill formula with sixty to seventy percent of the True Essence Pill’s efficacy in exchange for Zhou Qingfang’s promise to protect the Xu Household and permission to select texts from the Zhou Household’s repository.
• Zhou Sen brought the offer to Zhou Shaoyuan and Zhou Qingfang, explaining that the formula could let the Zhou Household support its ancestor without relying on Xu Chuan’s supplies.
• Zhou Sen assessed that Xu Chuan wanted security for the Xu Household and that the bargain could benefit both clans; Zhou Qingfang and Zhou Shaoyuan continued weighing its risks and gains.