Chapter Summaries

Zhou Feng considered joining Nine Void Mountain’s Tax Gu Division to access its collection of Gu techniques and other resources, knowing the Contract Blood Gu could not truly restrain him. He told Ouyang Qian of his plan, and she reacted with alarm at the danger involved.

• Zhou Feng studied the Contract Blood Gu’s blood-and-qi rules and considered creating his own Gu techniques.
• Zhou Feng recalled that the Tax Gu Division could offer access to Nine Void Mountain’s extensive archives and its Blood Tax Gu and Source Devouring Blood Tax Scripture.
• Zhou Feng confirmed he could use the Sky Swallowing Gu to devour the Contract Blood Gu, making the Tax Gu Division’s restraints a tolerable risk.
• Zhou Feng decided to discuss joining the Tax Gu Division with Ouyang Qian and told her his intention.
• Ouyang Qian questioned Zhou Feng’s judgment and warned that the Tax Gu Division was dangerous because powerful cultivators resisted its taxes.

Zhou Feng persuaded Ouyang Qian to support his plan to join Nine Void Mountain despite its looming crises. They agreed to enter the Tax Gu Division, with Ouyang Qian gathering information and preparing an escape plan.

• Ouyang Qian warned Zhou Feng that Nine Void Mountain faced Person Jiukong's declining lifespan, the Holy Spirit Cult's interest in the Thousand Nest Mother Gu, and unrest among Jiukong's disciples.
• Zhou Feng told Ouyang Qian that he had earned one thousand Heaven Grade Gu Essence and three Silver Scale Gu Spiritual Molts, surprising her.
• Zhou Feng asserted his leadership over Ouyang Qian, and afterward she challenged him about his rough treatment.
• Zhou Feng and Ouyang Qian discussed their options and decided he would join Nine Void Mountain's Tax Gu Division to seek rare resources.
• Zhou Feng told Ouyang Qian to gather useful information and plan an escape route while he handled the rest.

After deciding to focus on escape techniques while Zhou Feng handled other matters, Ouyang Qian let him go to seek a place in the Tax Gu Division. Zhou Feng learned that refugees were fleeing Cloud Dream Marsh forces and that Nine Void Mountain’s new tax rules had made the division so dangerous that joining it was seen as a desperate gamble.

• Ouyang Qian accepted Zhou Feng’s decision to join Nine Void Mountain and chose to focus on refining the Illusion Butterfly Gu and improving her ability to escape.
• Zhou Feng reminded Ouyang Qian to handle logistics, then went to a Tax Gu Division branch to ask Qian Mingming about joining.
• Zhou Feng overheard that people displaced by an aggressive organization from Cloud Dream Marsh were settling in Nine Void Mountain.
• A clerk welcomed Zhou Feng eagerly when he said he wanted to join the Tax Gu Division and arranged for him to wait for Supervisor Qian.
• People in the registration queue explained that a recent five-percent tax increase had made Tax Gu Division work especially dangerous, while membership now offered access to rare resources and the Myriad Laws Pavilion.

Zhou Feng joined the Tax Gu Division, drawn by its cultivation resources and the chance to obtain a Cleverness Gu. After passing a dangerous inspection, he had three Gu insects planted in his body and became a member of the Eastern Hall.

• Qian Mingming warned Zhou Feng that joining the Tax Gu Division required three Gu insects and that leaving would cost a vast amount of resources.
• Qian Mingming described the Division’s benefits, including Earth Grade Gu Essence Chambers, access to the Myriad Laws Pavilion, and a chance to exchange for one of three Cleverness Gu Seeds.
• Zhou Feng chose to join because he hoped the Cleverness Gu would improve his intelligence and comprehension.
• Zhou Feng passed the inspection by concealing his blood qi and keeping the Sky Swallowing Gu feigning death.
• The Tax Gu Division planted the Blood Contract Gu, Spirit Locking Gu, and Blood Tax Gu in Zhou Feng, assigning him to collect taxes in the Eastern Hall.

Zhou Feng began preparing for his work in the Tax Gu Division and studied the Blood Tax Gu’s supporting techniques. After discovering the limits of the Vein Severing Sealing Technique, he felt he could perfect it.

• Zhou Feng connected Nine Void Mountain’s Cleverness Gu to the possibility of refining a Wisdom Gu and suspected the mountain’s crisis was related to that effort.
• Qian Mingming gave Zhou Feng three days to learn the Tax Gu Division’s rules and techniques, warning him that failed assignments could lead to the Myriad Gu Pit.
• Zhou Feng collected uniforms, a Fine Iron chain, and an Understanding Gu, then returned home to study.
• Zhou Feng used the Understanding Gu to learn the Tax Gu Division’s rules and the Blood Tax Gu’s Vein Severing Sealing Technique and Blood Extraction Technique.
• Zhou Feng learned that the sealing technique’s second and third realms had never been mastered because the Blood Tax Gu could not supply enough Gu Essence or Soul Power, and he felt inspired to improve it.

Zhou Feng mastered Blood Qi Severing in the Vein Severing Sealing Technique and discovered that sealing his blood qi could also temper his body. After struggling to advance Gu Essence Severing, he turned to check on Ouyang Qian, who had chosen to specialize in refining pills for Gu insects.

• Zhou Feng used the Sky Swallowing Gu to sense his blood qi veins and quickly mastered the first level of the Vein Severing Sealing Technique.
• Zhou Feng sealed his own blood qi, then replenished it until the excess forced his body into an Overload State that tempered his physique.
• Zhou Feng spent two days attempting Gu Essence Severing but made little progress because his understanding of Gu essence was shallow and he lacked Gu insects to test it on.
• Zhou Feng decided to leave secluded cultivation, check on the Silver Scale Armor, and visit Ouyang Qian before reporting to the Tax Gu Division.
• Ouyang Qian continued refining pills and chose the Gu Pill lineage, aiming to create pills for Gu insects and use Zhou Feng's Sky Swallowing Gu as a test subject.

Zhou Feng received the completed Silver Scale Armor and Gloves, which merged into his body and began consuming his Gu Essence and blood qi. Meanwhile, Qian Jinjin’s household successfully replicated the Heavenly Heart Gu and discovered it could suppress a rampaging Gu, prompting Qian Jinjin and Hou Min to plan to keep the formula secret and make it their own.

• Niu Dali gave Zhou Feng the finished Silver Scale Armor and Silver Scale Gloves, and Zhou Feng absorbed them into his body.
• Zhou Feng sensed the Silver Scale equipment consuming the Gu Essence and blood qi produced by his Sky Swallowing Gu.
• After forty-nine failed experiments, Qian Jinjin’s Gu Evolutionist used Heavenly Heart Gu essence blood to successfully replicate the Heavenly Heart Gu.
• Qian Jinjin tested the replica on a Gu Person whose Iron Wire Gu had rampaged, and the Heavenly Heart Gu suppressed it enough for the man to move and make a sound.
• Qian Jinjin and Hou Min realized the Heavenly Heart Gu might help control the Fortune Gu’s backlash and decided to claim it for the Qian Clan while keeping it secret.

Zhou Feng began his first tax-collection assignment under Liu Jie and learned that Nine Void Mountain’s succession struggle had divided the Tax Gu Division into rival factions. When three Aristocratic Clan faction collectors tried to take Zhou Feng for themselves, Liu Jie confronted them, leaving the reason for their interest in Zhou Feng unclear.

• Zhou Feng began work at the East City Branch of the Tax Gu Division, where monthly tasks and contribution points offered access to Nine Void Mountain’s resources.
• Liu Jie took Zhou Feng to collect taxes in the eastern district and explained that the Tax Gu Division was split between the Aristocratic Clan and Lone Wanderer factions.
• Zhou Feng learned that the factions were vying for control as True Person Jiukong neared the end of his lifespan, and he accepted that he had been drawn into the conflict.
• Three Aristocratic Clan faction tax collectors blocked Liu Jie and claimed they would help Zhou Feng complete his task.
• Liu Jie told the three men to scram, and they angrily challenged him without making a move.

Liu Jie took Zhou Feng to Blood Tiger Mountain to collect taxes and explained the mountain’s quota system and the risks and compromises involved in tax collection. They arrived during the Blood Tiger Festival, where Blood Tiger Gu Beasts were being kept wild to preserve the quality of their blood.

• Fang Heng intervened in the standoff between Liu Jie and the others, ordered Liu Jie to finish the assignment, and Liu Jie took Zhou Feng away.
• Liu Jie explained that Blood Tiger Mountain owed thirty percent of its output, including Blood Tiger Gu Pills, White Gu Essence, and Blood Tiger Gu insects, and described how tax officials and local factions negotiated around quotas and deadlines.
• Liu Jie asked what Gu insects Zhou Feng specialized in, and Zhou Feng claimed he used the Blood Tax Gu and had begun learning the Vein Severing Sealing Technique.
• Liu Jie and Zhou Feng reached Blood Tiger Mountain and heard tiger roars mixed with human screams.
• Liu Jie identified the occasion as the Blood Tiger Festival, when the mountain’s Blood Tiger Gu Beasts were kept wild to maintain the quality of their blood.

Zhou Feng and Liu Jie witnessed Blood Tiger Mountain’s human-sacrifice ritual and accepted its tax shipment despite Bloodmark’s ban on audits. Zhou Feng detected that the shipment was fraudulent and stopped their departure.

• Liu Jie warned Zhou Feng to keep quiet as they entered Blood Tiger Mountain during the Blood Tiger Festival.
• Bloodmark ordered living captives sacrificed to feed the Blood Tigers and strengthen their Gu.
• Bloodmark demanded that the Tax Gu Division accept the full tax quota without auditing the mountain for three months, and Liu Jie agreed.
• Zhou Feng noticed the Gu Pills and juvenile Gu were inferior while powerful adult Blood Tiger Gu were being concealed.
• After Liu Jie confirmed the shipment and prepared to leave, Zhou Feng stepped forward and called, "Wait!"

Zhou Feng challenged Blood Tiger Mountain after the Sky Swallowing Gu sensed a divine treasure hidden there, and he exposed Bloodmark’s fraudulent tax tribute. The chapter ended with Bloodmark’s killing intent rising and Liu Jie realizing they were in grave danger.

• Liu Jie tried to silence Zhou Feng when he called out at Blood Tiger Mountain’s altar.
• The Sky Swallowing Gu reacted to a mysterious aura deep within the mountain, leading Zhou Feng to suspect a divine treasure lay there.
• Zhou Feng decided to expose Blood Tiger Mountain’s scheme to earn merit and secure his future within Nine Void Mountain.
• Liu Jie tried to drag Zhou Feng away, but Zhou Feng stood firm and revealed that the Gu Pills were empty shells and the juvenile Gu were defective.
• Bloodmark’s contempt turned to shock and then murderous intent, while Liu Jie’s legs went weak with fear.

Zhou Feng exposed Bloodmark’s secret and killed him before he could decide whether to silence Zhou Feng and Liu Jie. The Sky Swallowing Gu then devoured the Blood Marrow Tiger Jade and the accumulated power of Blood Tiger Mountain.

• Bloodmark reacted furiously to Zhou Feng’s accusation, and Liu Jie realized that Zhou Feng had uncovered a grave secret.
• Bloodmark considered killing Zhou Feng and Liu Jie to protect the Blood Marrow Tiger Jade, but hesitated as either choice risked Blood Tiger Mountain’s destruction.
• Zhou Feng struck Bloodmark with the Gold Devouring Demonic Hand and killed him instantly.
• The Blood Tiger Mountain cultivators and Liu Jie stood frozen in shock at Bloodmark’s death.
• The Sky Swallowing Gu awakened and drained the Blood Marrow Tiger Jade, Blood Tiger Mountain’s earth-vein energy, and Bloodmark’s accumulated Gu Dao power into Zhou Feng.

Zhou Feng devoured Blood Tiger Mountain’s cultivators, Gu insects, and energy, enduring and healing the backlash as the Sky Swallowing Gu and his other Gu transformed. He left with Liu Jie under his control, planning to report a fabricated victory and use the recovered treasures to conceal what happened.

• Zhou Feng unleashed the Sky Swallowing Gu at full force, draining Blood Tiger Mountain’s cultivators and Gu insects until the mountain was left barren.
• Zhou Feng’s body suffered severe backlash from the immense energy, but his passive abilities healed him and tamed the power within him.
• The Sky Swallowing Gu transformed and fell temporarily dormant, while the Gold Devouring Demonic Hand Gu and Silver Scale Gloves also changed.
• Zhou Feng told Liu Jie to report that they had subdued Blood Tiger Mountain’s tax resistance and recovered the taxes, using the intact treasure vaults to support their story.
• Zhou Feng implanted a Sky Swallowing Sub-Gu in Liu Jie, placing his life and secrecy under Zhou Feng’s control.

Zhou Feng and Liu Jie concealed the destruction of Blood Tiger Mountain and passed off its treasures as the spoils of a successful tax mission. After someone began covertly suppressing Zhou Feng at Nine Void Mountain, he suspected the Heavenly Heart Gu formula had drawn their attention and considered exploiting the factional conflict.

• Zhou Feng and Liu Jie stripped Blood Tiger Mountain of its intact treasures and staged evidence that Bloodmark had destroyed the sect while secretly practicing forbidden Gu.
• The two submitted their report and seized goods to the Tax Gu Division, whose overseer approved their mission without investigating.
• Zhou Feng and Liu Jie returned to work, but Zhou Feng found his resources, assignments, and access to sect materials increasingly restricted.
• Liu Jie warned Zhou Feng that a hidden force was coordinating the suppression, though he could not identify its source.
• Zhou Feng suspected the incomplete Heavenly Heart Gu formula had attracted powerful people and decided to use Nine Void Mountain's factional infighting to seize an opportunity.

A mysterious attack on Nine Void Mountain’s Back Mountain Forbidden Grounds left a core heir dead and exposed rumors that True Person Jiukong had secretly used the sect’s heirs to cultivate a Wisdom Gu. The higher-ups suppressed the rumors, but Zhou Feng saw the turmoil as a chance to seize the legendary Gu and advance his own plans.

• An unknown force attacked the Back Mountain Forbidden Grounds, and a core heir was found dead after his cultivation and Gu insects had been drained away.
• Rumors spread that Nine Void Mountain had secretly cultivated a Wisdom Gu for centuries and used its heirs as living vessels to nurture it for True Person Jiukong.
• The revelation enraged and frightened disciples who had fought for the inheritance, while greed and suspicion spread throughout the sect.
• Nine Void Mountain’s higher-ups mobilized the Patrol Division, imprisoned people discussing the secret, and publicly denied that the sect was cultivating a Wisdom Gu.
• Zhou Feng recognized the upheaval as an opportunity and resolved to pursue the Wisdom Gu for its power to improve his cultivation.

As the Lineage and Technical factions fought for control of Nine Void Mountain’s key posts, Zhou Feng realized he could no longer remain neutral in the East City Tax Gu Branch. A new chief arrived to take charge of the branch: Li Qiulan of the alchemy lineage.

• The Lineage and Technical factions seized positions and resources across Nine Void Mountain after the Wisdom Gu scandal shattered the sect’s balance.
• The Tax Gu Division was split between the two factions, and neutral clerks were pushed out or sent to dangerous border posts.
• Liu Jie warned Zhou Feng that the East City branch would soon be taken over and that remaining neutral would leave him vulnerable.
• A transfer order appointed a sect chief to control East City’s personnel, tax audits, and resource allocation.
• Li Qiulan arrived at the East City Tax Gu Division, and the clerks recognized her as a member of the alchemy lineage.

Li Qiulan took command of the East City Tax Gu Branch and quickly suppressed its factional conflicts, giving Zhou Feng a chance to strengthen himself. At the Myriad Laws Pavilion, he studied the Cleverness Gu and Wisdom Gu and investigated how to build permanent Gu-skin armor from Silver Scale Gu molts, leaving him considering how to acquire more.

• Li Qiulan took charge of the East City Tax Gu Branch and declared that merit would be rewarded and wrongdoing punished.
• Li Qiulan reviewed the branch's personnel and accounts, punished corruption without regard to faction, and restored order within two days.
• Zhou Feng used the calm at the branch to visit the Myriad Laws Pavilion and study the Cleverness Gu manual and records about the Wisdom Gu.
• Zhou Feng investigated Silver Scale Gu Relic Molt and concluded that its material could form permanent armor fused with his body.
• Zhou Feng considered buying Silver Scale Gu molts from the Molt Heaven Pavilion of the Live Gu Workshop and wondered whether to rob it.

Zhou Feng saw Qian Lu’s offer to help perfect the Heavenly Heart Gu formula as a chance to obtain scarce cultivation resources, while secretly planning to exploit the Qian Household. As Qian Lu departed, Zhou Feng’s Intelligent Brain warned him of an ominous sign, revealing that the invitation to the Qian Clan’s Tribal Land was a trap.

• Zhou Feng abandoned his plan to keep a low profile and decided to use the Qian Household’s interest in Heavenly Heart Gu to bargain for Silver Scale Gu Spiritual Molts and other rare resources.
• Qian Lu approached Zhou Feng in the Myriad Laws Pavilion and proposed that they work together to complete the Heavenly Heart Gu formula and cultivate a Perfected Heavenly Heart Gu.
• Qian Lu offered Zhou Feng Superior Gu Essence, three Silver Scale Gu Spiritual Molts, contribution jade tokens, and further support if Zhou Feng visited the Qian Clan’s Tribal Land.
• Zhou Feng said he would consider the offer, while privately weighing how to use the Qian Household’s urgency to his advantage.
• As Qian Lu left, Zhou Feng’s Intelligent Brain produced an ominous warning, and Zhou Feng realized the Qian Household intended to lure him into its territory.

After recognizing that the Qian Household’s offer was a trap, Zhou Feng decided to rob its treasure vault during Nine Void Mountain’s lockdown. He warned Ouyang Qian to be ready to flee, but his preparations stalled when he could not obtain information about the Qian Clan’s defenses and found a promising concealment Gu he still needed to acquire.

• Zhou Feng realized that Qian Lu’s offer was designed to lure him into the Qian Household’s territory and rejected schemes that would leave him vulnerable to its influence.
• Zhou Feng decided to rob the Qian Household’s treasure vault while Nine Void Mountain was under lockdown, planning to conceal himself and exploit the mountain’s turmoil.
• Zhou Feng warned Ouyang Qian that chaos might break out within days and told her to escape immediately if unusual events occurred.
• Zhou Feng failed to uncover useful details about the Qian Clan Tribal Land because its guards had tightened security and outsiders were being watched.
• Zhou Feng searched remote Black Market shops and found Corpse Remnant Gu, a concealment Gu that consumed its user’s flesh, but he had not yet worked out how to obtain it.

Zhou Feng decided he could not buy a Corpse Remnant Gu without leaving a trace, so he sought a way to seize one temporarily. The early opening of Nine Void Mountain’s Trading Black Market gave him a plan to take a concealment Gu amid the crowd, then raid the Qian Household Treasury.

• Zhou Feng rejected buying the Corpse Remnant Gu because the transaction could link him to the Qian Household Treasury theft.
• Zhou Feng planned to use the Sky Swallowing Gu to seize a Corpse Remnant Gu temporarily, but worried that harming its owner would leave evidence.
• Zhou Feng considered three Rogue Cultivators who possessed Corpse Remnant Gu, then struggled to devise a traceless way to take one.
• Zhou Feng overheard vendors say that Nine Void Mountain’s Trading Black Market had opened early.
• Zhou Feng decided to seize a concealment Gu amid the market’s chaotic crowd and head directly to the Qian Household Treasury.