Chapter Summaries

Chen Daoxuan met Zhang Zhixian, whose family had migrated to Guanhai Immortal City and prospered by selling Talismans amid the war. He introduced Spirit Stone Coins and made clear that the Chen Family set the rules in its territory.

• Chen Daoxuan recognized Zhang Zhixian as an old acquaintance and learned that the Zhang Family had moved to Guanhai Immortal City after refusing recruitment by the Guang'an Immortal Alliance.
• Zhang Zhixian explained that the Zhang Family's Talisman business was thriving because the frontline war had created strong demand.
• Chen Daoxuan reflected on how the Corpse Rebellion had accelerated the Chen Family's rise and brought it substantial profits from supplying the frontlines.
• Chen Daoxuan showed Zhang Zhixian a Spirit Stone Coin and proposed using it for transactions in Guanhai Immortal City, with coins exchangeable for Spirit Stones outside the city.
• Zhang Zhixian agreed that the Zhang Family would comply, believing the Chen Family was collecting Spirit Stones to fund its city.
• Chen Daoxuan told Chen Daochuan that residents had to obey the Chen Family's rules in its territory.

Chen Daoxuan forcibly promoted Spirit Stone Coin in Guanhai Immortal City to prepare for the Chen Family’s industrial expansion. At a military meeting, he exposed and crippled Xia Hong for embezzling funds, then announced plans to replace Spirit Stones with paper currency in the city.

• Chen Daoxuan required families and shopkeepers settling in Guanhai Immortal City to use Spirit Stone Coin, arguing that Spirit Stone shortages could hinder trade and industrial growth.
• Wei Lidao raised concerns about distributing military pay, and Chen Daoxuan accused someone in the West Defense Zone allied forces of embezzling military funds.
• Chen Daoxuan confronted Xia Hong and presented chests found in Xia Hong’s Spirit Mansion, claiming they contained more than a million Spirit Stones.
• Xia Hong accused Chen Daoxuan of framing him, refused to swear an oath, and attacked him with a Flying Sword.
• Chen Daoxuan repelled Xia Hong’s attack and destroyed his Dantian sea of Qi; the remaining chests contained only one Spirit Stone each.
• Chen Daoxuan resumed the meeting and announced that he intended to use paper currency instead of Spirit Stones for transactions in Guanhai Immortal City.

Chen Daoxuan introduced Spirit Stone Coins as military pay for the West Defense Zone allied forces, explaining that soldiers could exchange them for Spirit Stones or spend them in Guang'an Prefecture. When the soldiers received their first banknotes, many doubted their value and hurried toward Changping Central Bank to exchange them.

• Chen Daoxuan distributed one-hundred-denomination Spirit Stone Coins to the commanders and ordered that soldiers receive the new currency as military pay.
• Zhou Mucheng and Wei Lidao worried that the soldiers would revolt, but Chen Daoxuan told them the banknotes could be exchanged at Changping Central Bank or spent at shops in Guang'an Prefecture.
• The next day, Foundation Establishment officers distributed banknotes at six military pay stations and directed questioning soldiers to posted notices.
• Nie Zhong, a late stage of Qi Refining soldier, mistook his five banknotes for talisman paper and protested before reading the notice.
• Nie Zhong learned that the banknotes could be exchanged for Spirit Stones or used in shops, while soldiers nearby feared the bank would run out and hurried to Changping Central Bank.

Nie Zhong discovered that Guanhai Immortal City had switched to Spirit Stone Coin, while Chen Daoxuan investigated Xia Hong’s suspicious past. The chapter ended with Xia Hong dying before he could reveal how he survived the Zhennan Pass Battle.

• Nie Zhong hurried to Guanhai Immortal City and watched soldiers exchange Spirit Stone Coin for Spirit Stones at Changping Central Bank.
• Chen Daochuan and Lei Zhen discussed whether the soldiers would accept Spirit Stone Coin as currency.
• Nie Zhong found that shops accepted Spirit Stone Coin but refused Spirit Stones, and he saw soldiers punish shops that secretly took them.
• Chen Daoxuan confronted the imprisoned Xia Hong, accused him of hiding something, and asked how he had survived the Zhennan Pass Battle.
• Xia Hong threatened that everyone would die, then died before Chen Daoxuan could stop him.

After discovering that Xia Hong was a spy, Chen Daoxuan focused on strengthening the Chen Family and stabilizing Guanhai Immortal City. Chen Daochu and Chen Daolian began Foundation Establishment under his protection, while Chen Xianhe warned him to keep Spirit Stone Coin confined to the city.

• Chen Daoxuan left the prison with proof that Xia Hong was a spy and resolved to build the Chen Family's strength.
• Chen Daoxuan learned Chen Daochu and Chen Daolian had both reached the threshold of Foundation Establishment and arranged for them to break through in his Spirit Mansion.
• Chen Daoxuan brought Chen Daochu and Chen Daolian to Guanhai Immortal City, where they entered separate secluded chambers to undergo Foundation Establishment.
• Chen Xianhe warned Chen Daoxuan not to promote Spirit Stone Coin beyond Guanhai Immortal City because the Chen Family was still too weak.

Chen Daoxuan welcomed Chen Daochu and Chen Daolian after they successfully established their Foundations, then continued the Chen Family’s quiet rise during the war with the Lotus Island Corpse Horde. Three years later, he acquired the Nine Ruins Exquisite Pagoda and reflected on the limits of his cultivation and the ways he could further strengthen himself.

• Chen Daochu and Chen Daolian emerged from seclusion as early stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, and Chen Daoxuan urged them to keep the family’s growing strength secret.
• Over the next three years, Guang'an Prefecture’s forces pushed the Lotus Island Corpse Horde back to its main island, where Zhou Mubai chose to blockade it while leaving an opening toward Cangzhou Immortal City.
• Chen Daoxuan visited Zhang Yu at the Zhou Family Residence and received the Nine Ruins Exquisite Pagoda, purchased with the Chen Family’s accumulated Battle Merit.
• Chen Daoxuan found that the pagoda could not be stored alongside another Magic Artifact using a Seed Space Formation Pattern.
• Chen Daoxuan assessed that his True Yuan had reached its limit and that he would need to advance his Sword Dao, cultivate secret arts, or use external objects to grow stronger; he had reached second-tier Tangible Sword Intent and learned Diamond Body.

Chen Daoxuan returned to Twin Lakes Island with the Nine Ruins Exquisite Pagoda, a treasure the Chen Clan would use to train its elite disciples. He installed it and introduced the fifty-four young Sword Dao students of the Dao Transmission Hall, who had been selected and bound to the family by strict loyalty education and Great Dao Oaths.

• Chen Daoxuan reflected on the Chen Clan’s wealth, Guanhai Immortal City’s growth, and its careful policy of backing every unit of Spirit Stone Coin with reserves.
• Chen Daoxuan returned to Twin Lakes Island and showed Chen Xianhe the Nine Ruins Exquisite Pagoda he had purchased.
• Chen Daoxuan enlarged the pagoda and set it on the prepared grounds as the gathered Chen Clan members watched.
• Chen Daoxuan invited the Fu generation disciples inside and explained that the fifty-four selected children were Sword Dao Class students at the Dao Transmission Hall.
• Chen Daoxuan required Dao Transmission Hall students to undergo strict family loyalty education and swear Great Dao Oaths before receiving the powerful teachings of the Primordial Enlightenment Scripture.

Chen Daoxuan brought the Fu generation cultivators into the Nine Ruins Exquisite Pagoda to train them in combat and battlefield coordination. They faced a Cloud Country force in the first illusory realm, overcame their fear, and won, leaving Chen Daoxuan to reflect on their first battle.

• Chen Xianhe left for the Clan School while Chen Daoxuan led fifty-four Fu generation cultivators into the Nine Ruins Exquisite Pagoda.
• Chen Daoxuan learned from the Pagoda Spirit that the tower's nine levels held configurable illusory realms, then entered the first realm with the cultivators.
• The realm showed the group a fortified battlefield, where one hundred Cloud Country cultivators attacked with a coordinated Sword Formation and frightened most of the Fu generation.
• Chen Fusheng attacked first, and the other Fu generation cultivators joined him, breaking the Sword Formation and killing the Cloud Country force.
• The Fu generation cultivators celebrated their victory, while Chen Daoxuan calmed his anger and accepted their timid start as normal for a first battle.

Chen Daoxuan ordered the Fu generation Sword Dao Class to train harder, then learned that Chen Daochu had developed a Spiritual Energy Network to power the Twin Lakes Island Industrial Zone. As Chen Daoxuan joined the effort to install it, a cultivator awoke inside the Corpse Refining Grounds on Lotus Island.

• Chen Daoxuan told Chen Fusheng to bring the Fu generation Sword Dao Class to the Nine Ruins Exquisite Pagoda for daily illusion trials.
• Chen Daochu showed Chen Daoxuan an improved Spirit-Melding Furnace, Centrifugal Wall Breaker, and Spiritual Pressure Device that could power machines through a Spirit Thread Network.
• Chen Daoxuan approved the network plan and arranged for Chen Daolin to buy exhausted Spirit Stones while he helped Chen Daochu’s team replace the industrial machines and install the network.
• The Twin Lakes Island Industrial Zone began its reconstruction to replace Spirit Stone-powered machines with the Spiritual Energy Network.
• A young cultivator sat up inside a hall in the fourth-tier Yin Vein on Lotus Island, and another cultivator announced that he had awakened.

Sun Fu and Sun Mang discovered that the Chen Family supplied pills to the Guang'an Prefecture front line and resolved to act on Zhou Mubai’s plan. Meanwhile, Chen Daoxuan oversaw Twin Lakes Island’s industrial expansion before being summoned to a battle council, where he encountered an old friend.

• Sun Mang tortured and killed two captured cultivators, then learned that the Chen Family of Twin Lakes Island supplied most of the front line’s pills.
• Sun Fu recognized Chen Daoxuan in an ancient bronze mirror, and Sun Mang identified him as the cultivator who had defeated him before.
• Sun Fu decided to follow Zhou Mubai’s plan and fight the Ye Family, despite the group’s dwindling supply of Immortal Blood.
• Chen Daoxuan surveyed the expanded Spirit Thread Network and left Chen Daochu to continue the industrial work.
• Lei Zhen delivered a summons from the Guang'an Prefecture Allied Army Headquarters, and Chen Daoxuan went to the battle council.
• Chen Daoxuan entered the headquarters hall and encountered an old friend he had not seen in years.

Zhou Mubai revealed that the Lotus Island Corpse Horde had been hiding its strength and was now advancing on Cangzhou Immortal City, prompting the cultivators of Cangzhou to unite against it. Chen Daoxuan returned to Twin Lakes Island and, seeing his family’s young cultivators and workers, resolved to protect the Chen Family.

• Zhou Mubai told the Guang'an Prefecture leaders that the Lotus Island Corpse Horde had secretly created Purple Mansion-level zombies and seized the islands on the route to Cangzhou Immortal City.
• The leaders concluded that the Corpse Horde had made Cangzhou Immortal City its true target, where billions of people could be turned into zombies, and agreed that it must be defended despite their grievances against the Ye Family.
• Zhou Minghao called for an alliance of Cangzhou cultivators, and Ye Family members and representatives from other prefectures contacted the Zhou Family to coordinate aid.
• Zhou Mubai set aside his desire for revenge against the Ye Family, while Chen Daoxuan recognized that the Chen Family’s safety depended on defending Cangzhou.
• Chen Daoxuan returned to Twin Lakes Island, saw Chen Xianhe teaching Fu generation students and young clansmen working in the Industrial Zone, and vowed to protect his family.

Chen Daoxuan received reassurance from Chen Xianhe about the Chen Clan’s support and celebrated Chen Fusheng’s early mastery of Sword Intent by gifting him a powerful Flying Sword. Ten days later, Chen Daoxuan led the West Defense Zone forces to Guang'an Prefecture, where Zhou Mubai reunited warmly with the formidable Fire Spirit Daoist.

• Chen Xianhe took Chen Daoxuan to Red Copper Mountain and assured him that the Chen Clan did not blame him and recognized everything he had done for the family.
• Chen Daoxuan discovered that Chen Fusheng had reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining and comprehended Sword Intent before turning ten, then gave him a Third-Tier Upper Grade Flying Sword.
• Chen Daoxuan asked Chen Fusheng to protect the Chen Family when he was away, and Chen Fusheng promised to do so.
• Ten days later, Chen Daoxuan led five hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators aboard five Spirit Void Warships to Guang'an Prefecture.
• Fire Spirit Daoist called out Zhou Mubai, and the two greeted each other like old friends, surprising Chen Daoxuan and the onlookers.

The Cangzhou Alliance learned that Ye Wudao had abandoned Cangzhou Immortal City, and its leaders prepared to fight the advancing Corpse Tide without him. At the Qianyuan Sword Sect, the elders debated how to respond before Ye Wudao arrived seeking aid, prompting many to leave the meeting.

• Zhou Minghao announced that Ye Wudao had fled Cangzhou Immortal City, and Zhang Xuanling, Zhou Mubai, Fire Spirit Daoist, and others condemned him.
• Zhou Minghao declared that the Cangzhou Alliance had to save the city and could only fight the Corpse Tide directly.
• The Zhou Family coordinated twenty-one families into an alliance of Foundation Establishment cultivators and above, focused on eliminating high-level Zombies.
• Qianyuan Sword Sect leaders debated suppressing the Cangzhou Corpse Rebellion while keeping Divine Absolute True Person from learning about a new passage in the Myriad Star Sea Underworld.
• A messenger reported that Ye Wudao had arrived at the sect seeking aid, and Ye Yin and many other elders promptly took their leave.

The Qianyuan Sword Sect chose Yao'er as bait after Ye Wudao refused, and Ye Yin punished his son for insulting Qin Zhan. As the Cangzhou Allied Forces headed toward Cangzhou Immortal City, Zhou Mubai and the others discussed the larger plot behind the Corpse Rebellion and turned to discussing the Sword Dao.

• The Sect Master of Qianyuan Sword Sect assigned Yao'er to serve as bait after Ye Wudao refused the task.
• Ye Yin slapped Ye Wudao for speaking Qin Zhan's name and killed the maidservants who witnessed the exchange.
• On a Spirit Void Warship, Chen Daoxuan, Zhou Mubai, Zhang Xuanling, and Fire Spirit Daoist discussed how Cangzhou Immortal City was bait for Divine Absolute True Person.
• Zhang Xuanling revealed that the Xuan Qing Dao Alliance had attacked Yunmeng Pass and gathered troops near Chishui Immortal City.
• Zhou Mubai explained that Divine Absolute True Person and the Xuan Qing Dao Alliance were cooperating to pressure the Qianyuan Sword Sect.
• Zhang Xuanling suggested discussing the Sword Dao, and Zhou Mubai and Chen Daoxuan eagerly agreed.

Zhou Mubai, Zhang Xuanling, and Chen Daoxuan discussed their Sword Intents and the limits of branch Sword Intents. The conversation left Zhang Xuanling wondering whether Chen Daoxuan aimed to comprehend the complete Water Element Sword Intent.

• Fire Spirit Daoist left the group because he could not follow their discussion of the Sword Dao.
• Zhou Mubai explained his Geng Metal Sword Intent and demonstrated his Azure Lotus Sword Art.
• Zhang Xuanling demonstrated his Extreme Cold Sword Intent and admitted he had not created a Sword Art of his own.
• Chen Daoxuan revealed his Silk Rain Sword Intent, and Zhou Mubai suggested that his ambition might be to comprehend the complete Water Element Sword Intent.
• Zhang Xuanling reacted with disbelief as the group discussed how fusing branch Sword Intents could lead to the complete Water Element Sword Intent and greater potential.

The Cangzhou Allied Forces reached Cangzhou Immortal City and saw it surrounded by a vast Corpse Horde whose strength overwhelmed their own. Zhang Xuanling cleared the swarm blocking their way, and the forces entered the city, where hundreds of millions of refugees awaited rescue as everyone hoped the Qianyuan Sword Sect would arrive in time.

• Chen Daoxuan, Zhou Mubai, and Zhang Xuanling saw that a huge Corpse Horde had surrounded Cangzhou Immortal City and greatly outnumbered the Allied Forces in Purple Mansion combatants.
• Zhou Minghao warned the fleet of an approaching Flying Zombie Swarm as it attacked the Spirit Boats.
• Zhang Xuanling unleashed his Blue Ice Phoenix sword strike, freezing the swarm and killing hundreds of thousands of zombies.
• The Cangzhou Allied Forces flew into Cangzhou Immortal City's defensive Formation after Zhang Xuanling cleared their path.
• The Ye Family sheltered hundreds of millions of cultivators and mortals in its Small Cave Heaven, while the city's defenders hoped the Qianyuan Sword Sect would arrive before the Corpse Horde broke through.

As Allied Army reinforcements arrived in Cangzhou Immortal City, Zhou Minghao and Ye Hongsheng clashed over command of its defenses. Ye Xiuyuan exposed Ye Wudao’s flight and died by his own hand, but the Ye Family still had to yield command to the stronger Allied Army.

• Zhou Minghao demanded to know where Ye Wudao was, and Ye Hongsheng said the Old Ancestor had gone to seek aid from the Qianyuan Sword Sect.
• Lei Zhen mocked the Ye Family, and Ye Xiuyuan challenged him to a fight before denouncing Ye Wudao as a deserter and swearing to sever ties with him.
• Ye Xiuyuan kowtowed to Ye Hongsheng, crippled himself with a Flying Sword, and died, moving the Allied Army cultivators to distinguish the Ye Family from Ye Wudao.
• Zhou Minghao rejected Ye Hongsheng’s claim to command the defense, and Ye Hongsheng bowed and pleaded for mercy for the million Ye Family cultivators before yielding command.

Chen Daoxuan joined Yang Linyuan and Yang Gongwan to defend Cangzhou Immortal City as they discussed the Qianyuan Sword Sect’s factions and the need for reinforcements. When the city withdrew its defensive Formation, the Corpse Horde surged against the Forty-Third Defense Sector, beginning the battle.

• Chen Daoxuan inspected the Forty-Third Defense Sector and reported to Yang Linyuan that its soldiers were prepared.
• Yang Linyuan told Chen Daoxuan and Yang Gongwan that they needed to hold out for reinforcements from the Qianyuan Sword Sect, whose Sect Master and Elder factions opposed each other.
• Yang Gongwan noted that Ye Wudao’s ties to Cangzhou could also bring the Qianyuan Sword Sect to its defense, and Yang Linyuan agreed the factions shared an interest in defeating Divine Absolute True Person.
• An alarm sounded, and Yang Linyuan led Chen Daoxuan and Yang Gongwan to the walls as the Fifth-Order Defense Formation was deactivated.
• The Corpse Horde and Flying Zombie Swarms attacked the Forty-Third Defense Sector, and Yang Linyuan opened the fight with a sweeping sword strike.

Chen Daoxuan held the Forty-Third Defense Sector against a massive zombie horde with a Sword Qi Rain Curtain, sustaining the attack far longer than Sun Fu expected. After Chen Daoxuan killed nearly ten million zombies, Sun Fu ordered the corpse tide to retreat, leaving Yang Linyuan and Yang Gongwan stunned.

• Chen Daoxuan unleashed a Sword Qi Rain Curtain that nearly wiped out the zombies in the Forty-Third Defense Sector and protected it alone.
• Sun Fu directed more zombies toward Chen Daoxuan, but Chen Daoxuan continued destroying the horde, including powerful Foundation Establishment Late Stage zombies.
• Yang Gongwan realized Chen Daoxuan's strength far exceeded what she had expected, while Chen Daoxuan's third-grade White Lotus of Creation supplied vast reserves of True Yuan.
• Chen Daoxuan maintained his attack for ten hours, killing nearly ten million zombies as the other defense sectors struggled.
• Sun Fu ordered the corpse tide to retreat, and Chen Daoxuan turned to find Yang Linyuan and Yang Gongwan staring at him in shock.

After Chen Daoxuan helped the Forty-Third Defense Sector slay nearly ten million Zombies, Zhou Minghao asked him to serve as a mobile force supporting Cangzhou Immortal City's defenses. Chen Daoxuan agreed to form a Battle Rescue Team with Zhou Mubai, leaving him as a crucial variable in the war.

• Yang Linyuan and Yang Gongwan questioned Chen Daoxuan about his immense True Yuan reserves, and he attributed his endurance to his group-attacking Sword Intent.
• Zhou Minghao told the gathered commanders that the allied forces had slain over fifty million Zombies, including nearly ten million in the Forty-Third Defense Sector.
• Chen Daoxuan declined to explain to Yang Linyuan why the Forty-Third Defense Sector had achieved such an extraordinary tally.
• Zhou Minghao asked Chen Daoxuan to support any Defense Sector in danger of being breached, with Zhou Mubai protecting him.
• Chen Daoxuan agreed to serve with Zhou Mubai as a Battle Rescue Team, and Zhou Minghao called him the war's greatest variable.