Chapter Summaries

Plot points

• Yu Jianghai confirms the Origin Sect has entered the Listening Sea Sect’s territory. Qin Shujian arrives with a thousand Inner Astral Realm cultivators, while leaders from several other sects gather behind Yu.
• Qin says he has come to settle the score for Yu’s attempt to seize the Origin Sect’s Xiantian Spirit Object. He offers the Listening Sea Sect a choice: submit or suffer the fate of two previously defeated sects.
• Yu argues that the treasure belonged to no one and accuses Qin of using the dispute as an excuse to dominate the true domains. Other sect leaders urge negotiation, hoping to avoid both the Listening Sea Sect’s destruction and an immediate war with the Origin Sect.
• Qin refuses to back down and attacks. His first slash shatters the Listening Sea Sect’s powerful guardian shield, revealing that Thousand Mountain Blood has become a complete Dao Artifact, not merely a Half-Step Dao Artifact.
• The allied sects’ leaders panic and attempt to withdraw, but Qin ignores them. He and his Dao Artifact assault the assembled forces, while the Origin Sect’s troops engage the other sects’ experts.
• Qin unleashes the Divine-tier Great Wilderness Demon-Suppressing Seal repeatedly. He spends life source to raise his cultivation art and replenish his true essence, keeping up the pressure as the enemy leaders are driven back and wounded.

Character developments

• Qin Shujian reveals a ruthless, uncompromising side: his stated purpose is simply to vent his anger, and he refuses to spare opponents once they have joined forces against him. His complete Dao Artifact and resource-burning tactics demonstrate how greatly his power has grown.
• Yu Jianghai begins confident, relying on allied sects and his guardian shield, but the shield’s destruction shatters his confidence. He realizes Qin’s strength is far beyond what he expected.
• Fu Qinghong and the other sect leaders shift from cautious opposition to fear and regret. They had hoped to contain the Origin Sect without risking a decisive battle, but are caught in a fight they cannot easily escape.

Themes

• Power and deterrence: The Dao Artifact transforms the balance of power and exposes how vulnerable the allied sects are.
• Consequences and retaliation: Yu’s earlier attempt to seize the treasure brings the conflict to a point where an apology is no longer enough.
• Political self-interest: The other sects oppose Qin’s expansion but prefer negotiation and strategic delay over immediate sacrifice.
• Escalation and commitment: Once the assembled sects take sides, Qin treats them all as enemies, and the confrontation rapidly becomes a fight for survival.

Character interactions

Qin and Yu trade accusations over the Xiantian Spirit Object, while the other sect leaders try to mediate and distance themselves from the dispute. When Qin attacks, their pleas to withdraw are ignored; the Origin Sect’s forces engage them, and Qin personally overwhelms their leaders.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Shujian and the Dao Artifact Thousand Mountain Blood crush the reinforcements sent by the five allied sects. Qin’s devastating seals cripple and kill their strongest fighters, while Thousand Mountain Blood finishes off the survivors.
• Origin Sect suffers almost no losses. Its forces collect the defeated sects’ Spirit Weapons, manuals, martial arts, and other spoils.
• Qin orders four Elders to lead troops against the remaining allied sects, killing anyone at the True Martial Realm or above and confiscating their supplies. Players join the campaign.
• Qin then takes the remaining force to the Listening Sea Sect. After killing its last defenders and core disciples, he offers the surviving disciples a chance to serve as laborers. He personally executes those whose loyalty is negative.
• The destruction of seven sects—including the five allied reinforcements—spreads rapidly. Other factions are stunned by Origin Sect’s power and its Dao Artifact, and neighboring sects fear that Qin will expand into their territories.
• Origin Sect returns with immense resources and nearly six thousand prisoners, leaving it occupied with consolidating its gains.

Character developments

• Qin Shujian demonstrates overwhelming power and calculated ruthlessness. He spares some defeated disciples only if they submit, but shows no mercy to potential threats or disloyal survivors.
• Thousand Mountain Blood, though still developing its intelligence, acts effectively as Qin’s obedient Dao Artifact and protects him after his final attack.
• Zeng Hong and the other Elders follow Qin’s orders promptly, leading the follow-up expeditions.
• The surviving sect disciples and neighboring factions are left fearful and uncertain, forced to consider submission or resistance.

Significant themes

• Power and deterrence: The Dao Artifact and Qin’s strength make resistance appear futile.
• Conquest and consolidation: Victory is followed by systematic destruction, resource seizure, and recruitment of survivors.
• Fear reshapes political order: The destruction of seven sects signals a major shift in regional power.
• Pragmatism and loyalty: Survivors are judged by willingness to serve and, in some cases, by their loyalty.

Character interactions

• Qin directs Thousand Mountain Blood through their mental connection and relies on it during the battle.
• Zeng Hong reports the spoils and losses to Qin, then receives orders alongside the other Elders.
• Qin confronts the Listening Sea Sect’s survivors with an ultimatum: serve Origin Sect or die; their responses determine who is spared.
• The slaughter and news of Origin Sect’s victories cause other factions to reassess their relationship with Qin’s expanding power.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Shujian discovers that damaged sect-guarding Spirit Weapons can be converted into fortune points. He dissolves the Listening Sea Sect’s shattered shield and the other broken weapons, gaining nearly thirteen points—more than he would get from one Evil Fiend.
• He brings out the Heaven and Earth Bow and its companion, the broken Cloud-Piercing Arrow. The bow, frightened by the disappearance of the other weapons, begs him to spare it.
• Rather than destroy the bow, Qin asks what it can offer. It explains that it is a sentient Xiantian Spirit Object, can fight independently, can detect spirit stones, and can help enrich a sect’s spiritual energy. Its companion arrow can repair itself by absorbing spiritual energy.
• Qin binds the bow with his blood and orders it to address him as “Sect Master.” He places the arrow above buried spirit stones on Liangshan Summit, where it draws in energy; the excess slightly raises the area’s spiritual-energy concentration.
• Qin leaves both objects on the summit while he turns to other urgent matters.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian shows growing knowledge of how fortune works, but remains pragmatic: he is ready to destroy the bow until it demonstrates genuine usefulness. He accepts its service, verifies its claims, and asserts authority by binding it and setting terms.
• The Heaven and Earth Bow is intensely determined to survive. It shifts from panic and pleading to enthusiastic self-promotion, bargaining with promises of strength, knowledge, loyalty, and practical benefits. Once spared, it eagerly adopts a deferential relationship with Qin.
• Qin and the bow establish a master–servant dynamic: the bow seeks protection and a role, while Qin grants it a chance but keeps control.

Significant themes

• Survival and self-preservation: The bow’s desperate bargaining drives the chapter.
• Pragmatism and usefulness: Qin judges treasures by their immediate value, not merely their potential.
• Power and loyalty: The bow’s submission secures its survival, while Qin’s blood binding formalizes his authority.
• Sect-building through resources: Spirit objects can protect a sect, support its fortune, and improve its spiritual environment—not just serve as weapons.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Shujian reviews his cultivation: the Origin Canon and All-Encompassing Origin-Returning Art have completed their True Martial Chapters. His dantian and true-essence capacity have doubled, but he has not yet reached a limit, which he believes is necessary before breaking the True Martial restriction.
• He rejects moving the Origin Sect to a Spirit Domain. Though powerful in Liangshan, the sect could be overwhelmed by established forces there and risk losing its foundation.
• Qin spends fortune value to strengthen Thousand Mountain Blood. Its pressure briefly makes the Heaven and Earth Bow tremble, revealing that it has become a Dao artifact, though it remains a One-Mark Dao Artifact and the sect does not advance in rank. He also uses life source to improve the Blazing Flame Art, increasing his yang fire and the offensive power of his true essence.
• At a meeting, Xu Yuanming reports the spoils from seven destroyed sects: vast quantities of manuals, weapons, armor, silver, and other valuables. Qin estimates their total worth at roughly thirty million taels—around fifteen to twenty years of the sect’s usual savings.
• Excited by the windfall, some elders propose attacking neighboring True Domains and wiping out more sects. Zheng Fang and Xu Yuanming warn that further aggression could unite the sects against them or draw in Spirit Domain powers. The others accept that the Origin Sect is still too weak for such a campaign.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian continues prioritizing steady growth and the sect’s survival over a risky move to a Spirit Domain. His focus shifts between improving his own power and assessing the Origin Sect’s resources and limits.
• Zeng Hong and other former bandit elders respond to the spoils with enthusiasm and renewed appetite for conquest, proposing further attacks.
• Zheng Fang acts as a pragmatic restraint, challenging the elders’ excitement with a clear warning about the scale of potential opposition.
• Xu Yuanming supports Zheng Fang with both the detailed inventory of the gains and strategic concerns about the sect’s ties to Spirit Domains.
• The Heaven and Earth Bow reacts fearfully to Thousand Mountain Blood’s new Dao-artifact pressure, then resumes cultivating once the danger passes.

Significant themes

• Power versus prudence: Wealth and recent victories tempt the sect toward expansion, but its leaders must recognize the limits of its strength.
• Building a foundation: Qin values securing the Origin Sect’s position in Liangshan rather than gambling it on a Spirit Domain.
• Progress through resources: Cultivation, artifacts, and the sect’s growing treasury all represent major gains, but none erase the danger posed by stronger forces.
• The cost of ambition: The chapter frames aggressive conquest as potentially profitable but likely to provoke a much larger and more dangerous response.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Shujian turns from the recent conquest of seven sects to organizing the Origin Sect. He confirms that 4,213 former sect disciples have been brought back as servants and assigns them to support the new branch lineages.
• He divides the elders into inner and outer ranks, creates a Weapon Hall for exchanging weapons and armor with contribution points, and promotes loyal deacon Zhang Ergou to outer elder to run it.
• Five elders—Zeng Hong, Fu Gang, Qiu Ping, Li Zhongyi, and Cao Sheng—begin establishing branch lineages at their chosen sites. Wang Hu visits Chengyun Trading Company and arranges building supplies for the new branches.
• The Origin Sect’s growing reputation is on display as its carriage, pulled by a powerful tigerlike beast, arrives in Nine Mountains City. Wang Hu meets trading-company manager Gu Feng.
• After players learn that the Origin Sect destroyed seven sects, many players in weaker or nearby sects decide to defect and seek admission to the Origin Sect.
• While branch construction proceeds, Qin cultivates the Great Dream Spirit-Binding Art. Several days pass, and the sect’s recruitment day arrives.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian shows strategic restraint: despite his strength and interest in the spoils, he avoids further expansion that could provoke the imperial court. He also demonstrates confidence in managing former enemies and continues formalizing the sect’s structure.
• Zheng Fang worries that the former disciples may be unsafe, but accepts Qin’s judgment. His reaction also underscores how much more pragmatic and ruthless the sect’s leadership has become.
• Zhang Ergou is elevated from deacon to outer elder because of his strength and proven loyalty.
• Wang Hu and Gu Feng deal cooperatively over supplies, reflecting the Origin Sect’s expanding network and influence.
• Lü Jian and his companion, both Azure Cloud Sect disciples, decide to leave their sect and pursue membership in the Origin Sect, illustrating how its reputation is drawing in outsiders.

Significant themes

• Power tempered by caution: The Origin Sect is dominant locally but avoids actions that could bring intervention from the imperial court.
• Institution-building and growth: New ranks, halls, branches, and labor arrangements show the sect developing from a powerful force into a durable organization.
• Reputation as influence: The destruction of seven sects reshapes player behavior, attracting potential recruits and intimidating rival sects.
• Trust and loyalty: Qin is willing to employ former enemies, while reserving sensitive responsibilities for people he considers absolutely loyal.

Key events

• Six months after its first recruitment, the Origin Sect prepares to open its gates again. Its reputation has grown across Northcloud Prefecture after 1,500 Inner Astral cultivators and a Dao Artifact helped it destroy seven sects, establishing it as a powerful True Domain force.
• Lin Jie and five companions travel to Liangshan seeking refuge. They are survivors of the Lin Family, which the Heavenly Martial Sect destroyed. Lin Jie hopes the Origin Sect can shelter them until they are strong enough to pursue revenge. He urges the others to conceal their identities.
• Former Rock Sect disciples Liu Qinghong and Cao Hong also head to the recruitment, planning to join the Origin Sect for safety and eventually betray Qin Shujian in hopes of claiming valuable drops from killing him.
• Qin Shujian and elder Zheng Fang discuss preparations. The foot-of-mountain village has been cleared to house visitors, though space may be insufficient. Qin plans to expand it later and insists that lodging payments be collected.
• Qin delegates recruitment to the elders, prioritizing character over aptitude and reserving the final evaluation for himself.
• After spending 10,000 life source points, Qin advances the Blazing Flame Art and his yang fire to level five. He then heads to Liangshan Summit to speak with the bow.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Jie emerges as a protective, strategic leader, balancing hope in the Origin Sect with caution about his group’s identity. His companions trust his judgment.
• Liu Qinghong and Cao Hong see the Origin Sect as a useful refuge, but their plan to betray Qin reveals their opportunism and underestimation of him.
• Qin Shujian grows more powerful while shifting routine authority to his elders. He remains practical and financially minded, even as the sect’s reputation attracts visitors.
• Zheng Fang handles administrative preparations and raises concerns about capacity; he accepts Qin’s decisions and manages the recruitment process.

Significant themes

• Reputation and power: The Origin Sect’s military success has transformed it from a little-known sect into a regional destination and a potential refuge.
• Shelter and revenge: The Lin survivors seek protection not just to survive, but to eventually reclaim justice.
• Ambition and deception: Some recruits view the sect as a stepping-stone and secretly plan betrayal.
• Leadership and delegation: Qin’s strength secures his authority, allowing him to delegate operations and focus on cultivation.

Plot points

• The Origin Sect opens its gates to recruit disciples. Mountain-Guarding Elder Niu Feng imposes order, separates applicants by cultivation level, and warns that troublemakers will be expelled or killed. The sect’s Inner Astral cultivators help control the crowd.
• At Liangshan Summit, Qin Shujian questions the Heaven and Earth Bow about sealed evil fiends and Xiantian Spirit Objects. The Bow explains that slain evil fiends are reborn in the Demon Abyss, which may lie beyond the Heaven and Earth Barrier. Only an exceptionally rare Ancestral Weapon can prevent that rebirth.
• The Bow says every Mortal Domain contains a sealed evil fiend. Essence-eroding bone powder, formed when an evil fiend dies, can reveal nearby seals. Qin regrets discarding the powder from the three fiends he previously killed, but resolves to seek it out in the future.
• Qin cultivates the Great Dream Spirit-Binding Art and breaks through to the second level of its True Martial Chapter. Meanwhile, he and the spirit objects draw in so much spiritual energy that it forms a visible vortex.

Character developments and interactions

• Niu Feng displays his increased strength and authority as the sect’s Mountain-Guarding Elder, using his aura and firm rules to manage the recruitment.
• Qin’s stated desire to eliminate evil fiends for the sake of the world is undercut by the Bow’s private suspicion—and Qin’s own thoughts reveal that he is chiefly interested in the fortune value they provide.
• The Heaven and Earth Bow proves far more knowledgeable than Qin expected, sharing insights about evil fiends, the Demon Abyss, and Ancestral Weapons. It also shows a strong instinct for self-preservation and eagerly flatters Qin.
• Qin appreciates the Bow’s usefulness and amusing personality, then coaches it to add “666” to its praise.

Themes

• Knowledge and hidden worlds: The Bow reveals truths beyond what cultivators of Qin’s level normally know.
• Power and rarity: Ancestral Weapons are portrayed as vastly superior to dao artifacts, while remaining almost mythical.
• Self-interest beneath noble claims: Qin’s heroic rhetoric contrasts with his practical pursuit of fortune value.
• Cultivation and ambition: Qin’s breakthrough reinforces his steady drive to grow stronger.

Key plot points and events

• After three days of recruitment, the Origin Sect gathers thousands of candidates for one final trial. Sect Master Qin Shujian arrives beneath the sect’s newly acquired Dao Artifact, the saber Thousand Mountain Blood.
• Qin declares that everyone—including prospective guest elders—must face the same test. The saber releases a remnant of the slaughterous intent of heaven and earth, overwhelming candidates regardless of cultivation.
• Hundreds fail almost immediately, and the numbers dwindle over time. Shi Jianfeng, an Outer Astral cultivator, endures for five minutes before nearly collapsing, revealing a nascent intent that marks him as an exceptional talent.
• Those who remain conscious are accepted as outer sect disciples. Candidates in the True Martial Realm or higher may serve as guest elders, equal in status to inner sect deacons.
• Qin uses Spirit Eye to examine loyalty. He isolates everyone with negative loyalty, including Guo Quan, a spy sent by the Azure Cloud Sect, and players Cao Hong and Liu Qinghong. The two players have extraordinarily high negative loyalty.
• Concluding that these recruits intend to undermine the Origin Sect, Qin commands the saber to kill them. Its blade aura instantly slaughters the suspects, shocking the new disciples and demonstrating the overwhelming danger of a Dao Artifact.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian shows himself to be a decisive, pragmatic leader. He uses the trial not only to test resolve but also to identify potential traitors, and he has no hesitation about eliminating them.
• Shi Jianfeng distinguishes himself through exceptional endurance and the first signs of intent. His performance earns Qin’s admiration and marks him as a rare potential talent.
• Guo Quan is a covert Azure Cloud Sect spy. He wrongly assumes being singled out might mean he is about to receive special training, unaware that Qin has identified his disloyalty.
• Cao Hong and Liu Qinghong are players who resent Qin for reasons he cannot recall. Their hostility is exposed through Spirit Eye, and they are killed alongside the other suspects.
• The recruits begin the ceremony hopeful and deferential, but the trial and executions leave them frightened and acutely aware of the sect master’s power. Players, in particular, show little loyalty compared with the native recruits.

Significant themes

• Resolve as a measure of worth: Qin treats mental endurance—not merely cultivation—as essential to a cultivator’s future.
• Loyalty, infiltration, and trust: The Origin Sect’s success attracts spies, while Qin’s ability to detect hidden hostility reveals the difficulty of trusting new followers.
• Power and its cost: Thousand Mountain Blood makes the sect’s authority undeniable, but its use turns recruitment into a lethal demonstration of power.
• The divide between players and native characters: The players’ generally low loyalty highlights their detachment from the world and its factions.

Plot points and events

• Cao Hong and Liu Qinghong resurrect after Qin Shujian kills them, each having lost a cultivation level. They conclude that staying near the Liangshan True Domain is too dangerous and decide to seek protection by joining the imperial court, despite its limited opportunities for new recruits.
• The Origin Sect distributes its more than two thousand new disciples among its five branch lineages, since Liangshan cannot house them all.
• Lin Jie and other members of the Lin Family arrive at Liangshan and are impressed by its abundant spiritual energy. They agree to hold off on using their family’s cultivation method until they can assess the Origin Sect’s.
• A packed crowd gathers for a lecture on the Origin Sect’s cultivation method. Deacon Zhao Shanlin quiets them and teaches the full Martial Entry Chapter of the Origin Canon, now available to all outer sect disciples.
• Xu Kai uses his saved experience to advance the Origin Canon to level eight and is delighted by its four traits. Lin Jie judges its foundational chapter at least equal to his family’s inherited method.
• Zhao explains that the sect offers daily lectures, a monthly martial-arts lesson from the Grand Elder of Instruction, and that contribution points are essential for accessing training, guidance, weapons, and other resources.

Character developments and interactions

• Cao Hong’s rage at Qin gives way to practical concern, while Liu Qinghong coolly evaluates their options. Their exchange reveals that Qin’s reputation for resolving problems through violence makes it hard to tell whether their deaths were targeted or arbitrary.
• Lin Jie acts cautiously, directing his relatives not to reveal their family’s method before they understand the Origin Sect’s teachings.
• Xu Kai’s enthusiasm reflects the new disciples’ high expectations of the Origin Canon. Zhao Shanlin establishes authority over the unruly crowd and then introduces them to the sect’s training system.

Significant themes

• Power and insecurity: Qin’s strength makes nearby players feel unsafe, pushing Cao Hong and Liu Qinghong to seek a stronger protector.
• Cultivation and institutional strength: Liangshan’s spiritual energy and the Origin Canon demonstrate how resources and training methods underpin a sect’s power.
• Loyalty versus self-interest: Lin Jie weighs family tradition against the advantages of his new sect, while the former Origin Sect disciples turn elsewhere for security.
• Contribution and advancement: The sect presents progress as structured and merit-based, with contribution points serving as the key to greater knowledge and resources.

Plot points and events

• After completing disciple recruitment, Qin Shujian decides to build a town at the border of Liangshan and Rubble Forest. It will serve future visitors and give disciples a place to trade, while providing the Origin Sect with a lasting source of revenue.
• He visits Flying Leaf City’s lord, Zhang Baicheng, to notify him and seek official approval. Zhang agrees to report the plan to his superiors and expects approval within seven to fifteen days.
• Back in Liangshan, Qin assigns Xu Yuanming to negotiate with the Chengyun Trading Company for construction supplies, adding an order to buy Spirit Tea if available.
• Qin posts a mission seeking alchemy and artifact-refining manuals, and narrows the sect’s general manual-collection mission to works of True Rank or higher.
• He surveys the Library Pavilion and reflects on how much the Origin Sect has grown: its collection and reserves are now substantial enough to sustain the sect for generations.
• Qin consults the Heaven and Earth Bow about granting Thousand Mountain Blood a trace of Ancestral Weapon power. He learns that a statue of the artifact can receive worship, with the resulting power of faith flowing into the artifact. Qin begins preparing to establish this practice.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian takes a more strategic, institution-building role, planning the town, expanding the sect’s resources, and seeking ways to strengthen its Dao Artifact.
• Zhang Baicheng is cooperative and recognizes the Origin Sect’s importance to regional stability, though the costly Spirit Tea he serves highlights the limits of his own position.
• Xu Yuanming accepts Qin’s construction and purchasing assignments, including the unexpected request for Spirit Tea.
• The Heaven and Earth Bow explains the worship-and-statue method and flatters Qin when he identifies the force as faith. Qin remains reserved but is eager to apply the knowledge.

Significant themes

• Institutional growth: The Origin Sect is developing beyond a martial organization into a durable regional power, with infrastructure, trade, and a deepening library.
• Power and legitimacy: Qin seeks official approval for the town even though the sect could likely build without it, showing the value of formal relations with the imperial authorities.
• Faith as power: Worship is presented as a practical means of strengthening a Dao Artifact, linking belief and ritual to material force.
• Long-term planning: Qin’s decisions—from building a town to collecting specialized manuals and empowering Thousand Mountain Blood—focus on the sect’s future strength.

Key plot points and events

• Peng Qing kills his thirteenth True Martial Realm cultivator for an inheritance quest requiring 10,000 kills within three years. His progress is slow, so Blade Servant advises him to hunt in a Spirit Domain, where True Martial cultivators are more numerous and their deaths less likely to provoke a united response.
• Peng Qing accepts the risk. His Bloodweeping Blade grows stronger with each life it takes, and his power is already beyond what his True Martial First Level suggests.
• Across the True Domain, sects investigate the disappearance and deaths of several elders. Zhang Jiye assumes a rival sect is responsible, unaware that Peng Qing is the likely cause; he rules out Otherworlders because the victims have not revived.
• Cheng Zhong, a former follower of Marquis Yifeng, seeks pardon from the Marquis of Northcloud and presents the dead heir’s remains. Despite Cheng Zhong’s apparent cooperation, the Marquis orders him executed, then has the heir’s remains buried.
• The Marquis approves the Origin Sect’s request to build a city. He sees the sect’s restraint after destroying seven rival sects as evidence that Qin Shujian knows when to stop.
• The Origin Sect begins buying enormous quantities of construction materials through the Chengyun Trading Company. Qin Shujian personally carves seven large stone statues modeled on the Dao Artifact Thousand Mountain Blood, hoping worship and offerings will benefit the artifacts.
• The Heaven and Earth Bow envies the prospect of receiving worship, but knows the Origin Sect is unlikely to honor a Spirit Weapon when it already possesses a Dao Artifact. The chapter ends by noting that war has broken out elsewhere.

Character developments and interactions

• Peng Qing shifts from hesitation to resolve after Blade Servant explains the advantages of hunting in a Spirit Domain. Their exchange highlights Peng Qing’s growing confidence and the blade’s role as mentor and strategist.
• Zhang Jiye grows suspicious and fearful as his sect loses elders, but his mistaken assumptions lead him to focus on rival factions rather than the true danger.
• The Marquis of Northcloud shows both political calculation and a trace of melancholy over Marquis Yifeng’s extinguished bloodline. His courteous manner masks a ruthless decision to punish Cheng Zhong.
• Cheng Zhong tries to portray himself as repentant and loyal, but his self-serving betrayal earns him no mercy.
• Qin Shujian takes personal responsibility for carving the statues, while his measured conduct wins the Marquis’s respect. Gu Feng eagerly supports the city project, anticipating the commercial rewards.

Significant themes

• Power and risk: Peng Qing must venture into a more dangerous realm to meet an immense goal.
• Misjudgment and hidden threats: Zhang Jiye’s assumptions obscure the real cause of the killings.
• Loyalty, betrayal, and political survival: Cheng Zhong’s opportunism fails to save him.
• Restraint as strength: Qin Shujian’s decision not to expand aggressively helps secure official approval.
• Worship and spiritual growth: The statue project explores how belief and offerings can strengthen spiritual weapons.

Plot points and events

• The Marquis of Thousand Mountains’ army besieges Mountain-Guarding City. Defenders use Astral-Shattering Arrows, but the city is trapped by a Heaven-Sealing Earth-Locking Formation that disables its Teleportation Gate. City Lord Cui Zhen realizes they may be isolated, though he tells the troops reinforcements are coming to keep morale up.
• With the city’s forces occupied at the walls, some players begin looting and causing panic inside the city. Cui Zhen responds by offering generous rewards to players who restore order and kill troublemakers.
• The competing quests create a player-versus-player conflict: Marquis-aligned players are tasked with plunging the city into chaos, while city-aligned players are tasked with stopping them. Because the city’s players can identify faction affiliations and work in groups, they gain an early advantage.
• Jiang Wenquan, a Marquis-aligned player, loots shops while causing disorder. Jiang Qing and three allies hunt him down and kill him, taking his dropped items.
• Ji Yuan questions Li Shaoxing, confirms that he belongs to the Marquis’s faction, and explains that their side is losing progress as city-aligned players suppress the unrest. The two agree to organize their faction’s scattered players into squads.

Character developments and interactions

• Cui Zhen shifts from defending the city to managing an internal crisis. He pragmatically recruits players when his own troops are unavailable.
• Jiang Wenquan treats the siege as an opportunity for loot and quest rewards, but underestimates the danger of opposing players and is killed.
• Jiang Qing leads her group decisively, coordinating an attack and pressing on to find more targets.
• Ji Yuan emerges as an organizer, identifying the strategic disadvantages his faction faces and proposing cooperation. Li Shaoxing joins his effort after being reassured he is among allies.

Significant themes

• War and desperation: The city is surrounded, cut off, and forced to rely on uncertain defenses.
• Competing incentives: Rewards turn players into combatants on opposing sides, even amid a larger war.
• Cooperation versus individualism: Marquis-aligned players’ isolation leaves them vulnerable, prompting Ji Yuan to organize them into teams.
• Chaos within chaos: The siege destabilizes the city, while player conflict further complicates the defenders’ efforts.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• The Marquis of Thousand Mountains’ army continued its assault on Mountain-Guarding City. The city’s rune-protected walls withstood attacks, while defenders rained arrows and rocks on the besiegers.
• City Lord Cui Zhen killed numerous elite cultivators with his bow until Yang Mingxun, the rebel commander, intercepted one of his arrows. Yang offered to spare Cui and let him remain city lord if he surrendered; Cui rejected him and urged the rebel soldiers to abandon their cause.
• Yang countered by revealing that the Marquis had established a vast Heaven-Sealing Earth-Locking Formation, allegedly disabling the city’s Teleportation Gate and cutting it off from reinforcements. Cui denied this and threatened severe punishment for anyone who lost heart, restoring the defenders’ resolve.
• Though his deputy suggested relying on a siege, Yang ordered constant assaults because he feared the imperial court might intervene before the rebels secured their position.
• Yang and Cui clashed directly. Cui used Mountain-Guarding City’s Dao Artifact bow to withstand an Edict drawn from the Marquis’s power, but Yang followed up with a halberd strike that wounded Cui and forced him back to the wall.
• Cui concealed the severity of his injury and declared that the city would not fall, encouraging its defenders. Yang ordered continued attacks and summoned Players from across the region to help capture the city.
• Players shared battle footage online, attracting widespread attention. The war became a major faction event, though participation was largely limited to Thousand Mountains Prefecture.
• Within the city, Players on both sides fought fiercely. The rebels’ Players, initially disadvantaged, began cooperating and neutralized the defenders’ advantage.
• With their quest progress stalled, Ji Yuan proposed splitting up: some Players would try to reach the Inner City, while others distracted the defenders. He identified the Teleportation Gate there as the likely key to causing wider disruption.

Character developments and interactions

• Cui Zhen remains defiant and focused on morale. He rejects Yang’s offer, counters his claims about the city’s isolation, and hides his injury so the defenders will not panic.
• Yang Mingxun proves both forceful and pragmatic. He exploits the Marquis’s Edict to wound Cui, refuses to waste time on a passive siege, and mobilizes Players to accelerate the attack.
• Ji Yuan shifts from frustration to tactical planning, recognizing that the rebels’ unified forces have become too easy to track and proposing a divided strategy.
• The confrontation between Cui and Yang is both a physical duel and a battle of persuasion: each tries to shape the soldiers’ beliefs about the Teleportation Gate, reinforcements, and the likely outcome.

Significant themes

• Morale and propaganda: Both commanders use public declarations to influence troops, while uncertainty about reinforcements threatens to undermine the defenders.
• Urgency versus attrition: Yang chooses a costly continuous assault over waiting for the city to run out of supplies because delay could expose the rebels to imperial counterattack.
• Resistance and sacrifice: Cui’s refusal to surrender—and his effort to conceal his wound—embodies the defenders’ determination to hold the city.
• Collective action and strategy: The Players’ cooperation changes the balance of their fighting, while Ji Yuan’s proposal highlights the need to adapt when strength in numbers becomes a liability.

Chapter summary

Key events

• The imperial court approved Origin Sect’s plan to build a city after only five days, likely with help from the Marquis of Northcloud. Qin Shujian welcomed the support, recognizing that good relations with the court would help the sect’s future.
• Construction began immediately. More than four thousand captured disciples from seven defeated sects were assigned as laborers. They could earn 500 contribution points to become Outer Sect Disciples or leave.
• Qin Shujian completed seven massive stone saber statues, each infused with an aura linked to his Dao Artifact, Thousand Mountain Blood. One was placed at the Origin Sect, one at each branch sect, and one at the future town.
• He ordered all disciples to pay respects to the statues daily and issued players a recurring quest that rewarded a small amount of experience and one contribution point.
• With life source supplied by the sect’s disciples, Qin Shujian raised the Blazing Flame Art to the tenth level of its True Martial Chapter. He then began pouring his remaining life source into the Great Dream Spirit-Binding Art.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian continues consolidating the sect’s power: he uses the imperial approval to begin city construction, organizes the statues and their worship, and advances his cultivation. He also trusts Lin Daozhen with overseeing the laborers and tracking their contribution points.
• Lin Daozhen is content with his role as foreman. His loyalty to Qin Shujian stems from believing the sect leader indirectly saved his life during the Demon Calamity—a debt he has kept private.
• The Marquis of Northcloud remains a useful political ally, though Qin Shujian believes he will only be taken seriously by the marquis if he reaches a higher realm.
• The Elders accept Qin Shujian’s orders without understanding the statues’ purpose. Players, meanwhile, welcome the easy, repeatable quest.

Significant themes

• Power and political pragmatism: Qin Shujian accepts the marquis’s aid and avoids antagonizing the imperial court to secure the sect’s development.
• Loyalty and gratitude: Lin Daozhen’s devotion grows from a personal sense of indebtedness.
• Control through incentives: Laborers are kept compliant with a path to freedom, while players are guided by system rewards.
• Worship and authority: The statues turn Qin Shujian’s power into a daily ritual for the sect and its branches.

Plot points and events

• The Marquis of Thousand Mountains launches a major rebellion, capturing 1,936 cities in three days. The fighting kills over ten million people, including more than a dozen Divine Martial Realm cultivators. He defeats Mountain-Guarding City’s lord, Cui Zhen, despite Cui wielding the Dao Artifact Moon-Chasing Bow, and displays his severed head.
• Qin Shujian recognizes the revolt as a sign that Great Zhao may be weakening—or that the marquis has a powerful advantage—but decides Liangshan is unlikely to be affected for now. The scale of the conflict nevertheless makes him feel the gap between his own strength and the world’s strongest cultivators, so he returns to cultivation.
• Over the next five days, Qin continues practicing the Great Dream Spirit-Binding Art and drawing on insights gained from studying multiple cultivation methods. His Heaven and Earth Bow and Cloud-Piercing Arrow absorb spiritual energy, while Thousand Mountain Blood stands guard.
• In the Lion-Tiger Plains, the growing number and strength of players leave them short of monsters to hunt. They begin attacking the plentiful beasts there, overwhelming the Bull Demon Lord’s territory in repeated waves.
• Though the Bull Demon Lord has advanced to the True Martial third level and can revive his cave’s beasts after three days, he fears being killed and losing the Bull Demon Cave’s faction token. Remembering that he has paid the Origin Sect for protection, he travels to Liangshan to seek help.
• Qin receives a system warning that the Bull Demon Lord has entered Liangshan Territory. He instructs Niu Feng to receive him and have him come to the Martial Inheritance Hall. Niu Feng goes to meet the visitor himself.
• At the foot of Liangshan, players recognize the Bull Demon Lord, though they remember him as a giant blue bull rather than the horned man standing before them. Niu Feng identifies himself as an elder and tells the gathered disciples and players to stand aside.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian responds to the rebellion with measured caution: he understands its implications but does not overestimate his own power or abandon his cultivation. He also treats the Bull Demon Lord’s visit as a matter to handle through the sect.
• The Bull Demon Lord shifts from a complacent, reluctant defender to an anxious petitioner. He is proud of his potential and wants to avoid dying at the hands of the players, so he turns to the Origin Sect for the protection he believes he has earned.
• Niu Feng takes responsibility for receiving the visitor personally, establishing the Origin Sect’s authority and controlling the potentially tense encounter.
• The players treat the Lion-Tiger Plains’ beasts as a source of experience, overriding their nominal ties to the Origin Sect. Their repeated attacks force the Bull Demon Lord to seek outside support.

Significant themes

• Political instability and the limits of power: The rebellion shows that even a great empire and formidable cultivators can be challenged; possession of a Dao Artifact does not guarantee victory.
• The personal impact of upheaval: Though distant from the rebellion, Qin feels newly aware of his own limitations and renews his commitment to cultivate.
• Conflicting incentives: Players prioritize experience over alliances or consequences, while the Bull Demon Lord must contend with their relentless, game-driven behavior.
• Protection, loyalty, and survival: The Bull Demon Lord’s appeal to the Origin Sect tests what protection means when its interests collide with the players’ ambitions.

Key plot points and events

• The Bull Demon Lord, Niu Dali, visits Qin Shujian after players repeatedly attack the Bull Demon Cave while hunting beasts in the Lion-Tiger Plains. He has advanced from martial entry to the true martial third level, but remains badly outmatched by the powerful Origin Sect.
• Qin agrees to warn the players but explains that he cannot protect the Bull Demon Cave constantly. He also points out that the cave is too weak to survive in the long term without stronger cultivators.
• Choosing security over independence, Niu Dali offers to bring the Bull Demon Cave into the Origin Sect. Qin accepts, appoints him an elder, and establishes the Demon Branch. Niu keeps the Lion-Tiger Plains as its territory.
• The merger modestly increases the Origin Sect’s fortune, though not enough to raise its rank. Qin hopes to achieve a major increase when the sect advances to Spirit Domain status.
• Players, who had planned to raid the Bull Demon Cave, are frustrated by the merger and redirect their anger toward the plains’ beasts. Niu then declares every beast in the Lion-Tiger Plains a member of the Demon Branch, making the area effectively off-limits to them.
• With their favored hunting ground gone, players turn toward the more dangerous Endless Mountains, where powerful demon beasts—and the risk of losing cultivation levels upon death—make hunting hazardous.

Character developments

• Niu Dali proves pragmatic and survival-minded: despite wanting to rule independently, he submits to the Origin Sect rather than risk being killed. His loyalty is high, and he quickly adapts his territory’s status to protect its inhabitants from players.
• Qin Shujian shows both confidence and strategic restraint. He accepts Niu’s submission, incorporating a new branch into the sect, but recognizes that the merger is only a small gain toward his larger ambition of strengthening the Origin Sect.
• The players are shown as persistent and opportunistic. When one target becomes inaccessible, they seek another, though the dangers of the Endless Mountains force them to weigh rewards against the cost of repeated deaths.

Significant themes

• Security versus independence: Niu gives up his sovereign status to preserve his life and territory.
• Power and protection: The Origin Sect’s strength makes affiliation more valuable than ruling alone, while its protection remains limited by practical constraints.
• System-driven conflict: Players’ pursuit of experience and loot disrupts local powers, and game rules shape their choices.
• Adaptation and unintended consequences: Niu’s quick reclassification of the plains’ beasts blocks the players’ workaround, redirecting their activity toward a more dangerous region.

Character interactions

• Qin treats Niu as a respected ally but is frank about the limits of his protection. Niu responds respectfully, ultimately asking to join the sect.
• The players react to Niu’s new status with resentment, especially when he prevents them from hunting the plains’ beasts. Their frustration contrasts with his relief at securing the Bull Demon Cave’s future.

Plot points and events

• The Liangshan True Domain’s spiritual energy surges and causes the neighboring Nineleaf Mortal Domain to advance automatically into a true domain, merging with Liangshan. Players hoping to become domain lords there are frustrated and leave to seek other mortal domains.
• Qin Shujian learns of the merger and suspects the Origin Sect’s many powerful cultivators helped accelerate it by circulating spiritual energy. He decides to wait before considering how the newly absorbed territories might be governed.
• With nearby regions largely under Origin Sect control, a group of inner sect players heads into the dangerous Endless Mountains to find stronger opponents and gain experience.
• Liu Dazhong leads them toward a wolf pack they believe they can defeat. Instead, they find the pack slaughtered, including its True Martial third-level wolf king.
• A huge, three-headed bird attacks. The players realize it is far beyond their strength, flee, and try to reach the mountains’ edge, believing the creature will not pursue them outside.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian responds pragmatically to the domain merger, recognizing the Origin Sect’s influence but avoiding a hasty claim over territory held by other factions.
• Liu Dazhong, despite his questionable reputation, is treated as an experienced guide because of his repeated trips into the Endless Mountains. He identifies the wolves’ territory but cannot anticipate the bird’s attack.
• Wang Jiu initially judges the wolf pack manageable, then abandons any idea of fighting after his saber strike fails and his weapon breaks.
• The players shift quickly from confidence to alarm. They cooperate enough to assess danger, but once the bird attacks, each prioritizes escape.

Significant themes

• Unintended consequences of power: Liangshan’s spiritual energy transforms a neighboring domain and disrupts players’ plans.
• Power and hierarchy: The players’ strength is meaningful against ordinary monsters but insignificant before a much stronger creature.
• Risk and ambition: Seeking experience pushes the players into a perilous region, where caution and survival become more important than rewards.
• Territorial expansion and control: Liangshan’s growth raises questions about authority over lands already held by other factions.

Plot and key events

• A powerful monster, the Three-Headed Azure-Feather Kite, pursues players through the Endless Mountains. It kills many after one player’s taunting attack drives it beyond the mountains’ boundary.
• Qin Shujian senses the violent aura and goes to confront the creature, ordering the Origin Sect’s other experts to stay back.
• The Kite attacks with ice, fire, and poisonous breath. Qin withstands its assault, batters it with the Mountain-Moving Seal, then draws his Dao Artifact, Thousand Mountain Blood, and severs all three heads in a single strike.
• The surviving players are stunned by Qin’s overwhelming victory. Qin takes the heads but leaves the carcass for the players to harvest.
• Back at the Origin Sect, Qin asks the Heaven and Earth Bow what the heads are useful for. It can only identify them as belonging to a powerful demonic beast, leaving Qin unimpressed.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian is shown as calm, decisive, and vastly stronger than the Kite; he protects the players and defeats the threat with little effort. His interest in the creature’s unusual heads is practical curiosity.
• The players shift from panic to confidence when Qin appears, then to awe at how quickly he wins. They cooperate in fleeing, but one player’s reckless provocation worsens the danger. Afterward, they salvage the valuable carcass.
• The Origin Sect’s experts obey Qin’s instruction not to intervene and are relieved when he returns safely.
• The Heaven and Earth Bow offers no useful insight, prompting Qin’s irritation.

Significant themes

• The gulf in power: Qin’s effortless defeat contrasts with the Kite’s slaughter of ordinary cultivators.
• Panic and reckless choices: The fleeing players’ desperation—and one player’s provocation—turns an apparent escape into further danger.
• Authority and trust: Qin’s reputation reassures the players and keeps the Sect’s experts from acting without his direction.
• Practicality and opportunity: Qin takes only what interests him, while the players quickly claim the abandoned corpse.

Key plot points and events

• After Qin Shujian kills the Three-Headed Azure-Feather Kite with one slash, players recognize how enormous the gap remains between him and even the strongest True Martial cultivators. A recording of the fight spreads widely online.
• The newly expanded Liangshan True Domain settles into calm. Leaders from the incorporated Nineleaf Mortal Domain visit the Origin Sect, and Qin meets them mainly because he has time to spare.
• Meanwhile, Great Zhao grows unstable. The Marquis of Thousand Mountains rebels and uses a vast sealing formation to block teleportation across much of his prefecture, complicating the imperial response. His defensive successes encourage other lords to rebel and ease pressure on existing uprisings.
• Qin stays informed through Origin Sect disciples traveling abroad and sect-run shops that report news from other regions. The sect’s growing strength also leads it to develop commercial operations of its own.
• Qin’s life source reaches nearly 110,000, largely thanks to increasingly powerful players. He spends 100,000 to advance the Ming King Prison-Splitting Blade from Heaven-Man Unity to Dao Entry.
• The breakthrough merges that blade art with the Black Tiger Saber Technique, creating the special ability blade intent, initially at two-tenths. Though his cultivation level does not change, Qin realizes his combat ability has improved.
• Qin learns that the Cloud-Piercing Arrow should be fully repaired in about a month; its visible cracks are slowly healing.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian continues growing stronger while remaining mostly at the Origin Sect. The Dao Entry breakthrough gives him a more intuitive command of his blade techniques and deepens his blade understanding.
• The players are impressed—and humbled—by Qin’s overwhelming power, while their growing strength supplies him with more life source.
• Origin Sect representatives and visiting faction leaders reflect the sect’s expanding reach: Qin receives leaders from the newly incorporated territory and gathers intelligence through his network.
• The Heaven and Earth Bow senses Qin’s breakthrough as a threatening blade presence, then enthusiastically praises him. Qin is amused and pleased by its flattery before asking about the Cloud-Piercing Arrow’s recovery.
• The Cloud-Piercing Arrow remains damaged but is steadily restoring itself through the surrounding spiritual energy.

Significant themes

• The widening gap between the powerful and the rest: Qin’s effortless victory exposes how far even elite players remain from his level.
• Power and gradual growth: Life-source accumulation enables Qin’s breakthrough, while the arrow’s repair demonstrates slower, incremental progress.
• Political instability and opportunity: Great Zhao’s weakened control encourages rebellion and shifts the balance of power.
• Institutional expansion: The Origin Sect develops its own information and trade networks as its influence grows.
• Mastery beyond technique: Qin’s new blade intent transforms his understanding from following set moves to wielding the blade more freely.

Plot points

• Qin Shujian receives a letter from Lin Wanyou, chief manager of the Chengyun Trading Company in the Xuanxu True Domain, and leaves the Origin Sect to investigate its contents.
• On the way, he uses his life source to raise the Great Dream Spirit-Binding Art to its sixth level, strengthening his true essence and reinforcing his belief that life-source upgrades outpace ordinary cultivation.
• He reaches Bifeng City in two days, pays the ordinary entrance fee, and attracts notice from players who recognize him as the feared Liangshan Stronghold Chief.
• At the trading company, Lin explains that a surviving disciple of a fallen sect is auctioning its inherited cultivation methods and martial arts to obtain resources and escape pursuit. The sect was renowned for pill refining and equipment forging but was destroyed by stronger enemies.
• Lin had delayed the auction until Qin arrived; it will take place the next day. Qin asks to meet the seller, but Lin recommends waiting until after the auction to protect client confidentiality. Qin agrees.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin remains confident and practical. He enjoys a brief break from cultivation, avoids flaunting his status in the city, and accepts the trading company’s rules without pressing Lin.
• His reputation has grown sharply after he destroyed seven sects. Lin treats him warmly but recognizes that Qin’s power has shifted their former balance of status.
• The players who recognize Qin are intimidated and quickly look away, illustrating how feared he has become.
• Lin acts as both a cordial contact and a cautious business intermediary, steering Qin toward a meeting only after the auction.

Significant themes

• Power and reputation: Qin’s rapid rise affects how sects, businesses, and ordinary players respond to him.
• Cultivation and shortcuts: His life-source upgrade highlights the contrast between painstaking training and rapid advancement.
• Survival and loss: The ruined sect’s survivors are forced to sell their heritage to buy a chance to live.
• Pragmatism and discretion: Qin avoids needless displays of authority, while Lin protects his clients’ confidentiality.