Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• As the Heaven and Earth Barrier weakens, the Chaosblood Army retreats while Divine Martial cultivators move closer, hoping to gain insight from the birth of a new territory.
• Qin Shujian uses his Spirit Eye to examine the chaos behind the barrier. The power harms his eyes, warning him that even observing chaos is dangerous.
• The barrier shatters, unleashing a destructive spirit-qi tide. The Chaosblood Army forms a powerful defensive array, while Qin and Xiao Hong protect themselves with astral qi.
• Earth, water, fire, and wind settle into order, and a new world takes shape. Watching its creation deeply absorbs Qin.
• In the Demon Abyss, a Territorial Gate opens. Evil Fiends fight to enter, but the gate can safely admit only a few before becoming unstable.
• A colossal Evil Fiend forcibly holds the gate open and enters after other powerful attacks stabilize it. The gate then collapses, leaving the remaining fiends behind.
• The newly formed territory connects to the Liangshan region. A rupture in the sky then releases a flood of demonic qi, alarming those present.

Character developments

• Qin Shujian gains a sharper sense of the limits of his Spirit Eye and the danger of probing chaos. The creation of the world also gives him a moment of profound insight.
• Xiao Hong remains cautious and perceptive, indirectly probing Qin about his knowledge while explaining the significance of the event.
• Zhu Yongchi demonstrates command and preparation, ordering the army to retreat and then deploy its formation against the spirit-qi tide.
• The Evil Fiends reveal their desperation and rivalry over the gate; the colossal fiend’s overwhelming power leaves the others terrified.

Significant themes

• Creation and destruction: A violent upheaval gives birth to a new world.
• The limits of power and knowledge: Qin’s brief observation shows that even understanding can carry physical costs.
• Scarcity and rivalry: The gate’s limited capacity turns the Evil Fiends against one another.
• Cosmic danger: The new territory’s arrival brings both opportunity and threats from beyond the known world.

Character interactions

• Xiao Hong discusses the chance for cultivators to gain insight and asks whether the imperial court has sent reinforcements; Qin listens while concealing what he truly knows.
• Zhu Yongchi directs the Chaosblood Army through the crisis, relying on the formation Qin prepared.
• The Evil Fiends attack one another to control access to the Territorial Gate, then halt when its instability makes further entry too dangerous.

Key plot points and events

• Three evil fiends emerge from a spatial rift near the Liangshan Spirit Domain, bringing overwhelming demonic pressure. Qin Shujian recognizes one as the Six Desires Evil Lord, a fiend he had encountered before.
• Cultivators and players retreat, recognizing that the fiends are each comparable to heavenly human realm experts. Fu Moyan chooses not to use his edict against Qin, hoping to keep it if the imperial court fails to contain the threat.
• The Six Desires Evil Lord senses Qin and charges toward him. Qin stands his ground, asking Steward Xiao to withdraw and preparing to fight; Zhu Yongchi also readies the Chaosblood Army’s formation.
• Before Qin or the army can engage, the Marquis of Northcloud, General Mingyuan, and the Prince of Zhennan arrive. Each intercepts one of the fiends.
• The Marquis of Northcloud—Xiao Chengfeng—takes on the Six Desires Evil Lord. The fiend redirects his hatred from Qin to Xiao, whose family’s bloodline recalls the lineage that sealed him away.
• The three heavenly experts battle the fiends with powerful techniques: Xiao uses the Great Nether Profound Heaven, Shan Hao fights with immense strength and golden armor, and Luo Feiyu attacks with thunder. Their combat shakes the surrounding region.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian shows resolve despite being far below the fiends in cultivation, relying on his standing as an Array Dao Grandmaster and refusing to abandon Liangshan without resistance.
• Xiao Chengfeng appears as a composed and formidable protector, meeting the Six Desires Evil Lord directly.
• Zhu Yongchi demonstrates his readiness to fight by summoning the Chaosblood Army’s formation, though he waits once the heavenly experts arrive.
• Fu Moyan acts cautiously, prioritizing the possibility of retaining his powerful edict over attacking Qin amid the larger crisis.
• The players, including Lü Xuanyan, Fu Moyan, and their companions, are awed by the scale of the fiends and the heavenly realm battle, and retreat rather than risk being overwhelmed.

Significant themes

• Courage in the face of overwhelming danger: Qin refuses to yield despite the gap in power.
• The value of strategic restraint: Fu Moyan and the players recognize when retreat is wiser than fighting.
• Power and hierarchy: The battle makes the immense difference between ordinary cultivators and heavenly human realm experts unmistakable.
• Inherited conflict: The Six Desires Evil Lord’s hatred extends beyond his personal defeat to the lineage of those who sealed him.

Plot points and events

• Qin Shujian watches the battle between the imperial court’s Heavenly Humans and the evil fiends. He keeps his prepared formation in reserve, hoping the fighting will not reach a point where it is needed.
• The Marquis of Northcloud initially dominates the Six Desires Evil Lord with his Divine Comprehension Martial Art, Great Nether Profound Heaven, forcing the fiend onto the defensive.
• A fourth and much more powerful fiend appears: the Asura Demon God, whose immense size and aura surpass those of the other evil fiends. Qin recognizes the significance of its name, while the Marquis identifies it as a Demon God.
• The Asura Demon God attacks the Marquis, declaring that it came to establish Demonlands and intends to feast on a Heavenly Being.
• The Marquis sends in the Chaosblood Army to engage the Six Desires Evil Lord. Under Zhu Yongchi’s command, the army combines its strength into a demonic beast and battles the fiend, demonstrating how a military formation can let ordinary soldiers challenge an enemy far beyond their individual abilities.
• The Marquis fights the Asura Demon God with Great Nether Profound Heaven and Ascension Nine Steps. His eighth step wounds the Demon God, but the fiend responds by gathering demonic energy for a devastating counterattack.
• Some players, including Fu Moyan, assume the fiends’ numerical and strength advantage means the mission is nearly complete, which would let them keep the Edict containing a Heavenly Being’s strike.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian remains cautious and observant, choosing not to intervene prematurely. He is impressed by both Heavenly Human power and the Chaosblood Army’s formation.
• The Marquis of Northcloud shows confidence and resolve against a foe stronger than an ordinary Heavenly Human. He fights the Demon God directly while coordinating the army’s attack on the Six Desires Evil Lord.
• The Asura Demon God is arrogant and predatory, viewing Heavenly Beings as food. Its wounds provoke rather than deter it.
• Zhu Yongchi leads the Chaosblood Army into battle, turning the soldiers’ collective strength into a serious threat to the Six Desires Evil Lord.
• Fu Moyan and the other players prioritize completing the mission and obtaining the valuable Edict, rooting for the fiends’ victory rather than the imperial court’s.

Significant themes

• The gap between realms: Heavenly Humans possess overwhelming power compared with Divine Martial and Manifestation cultivators.
• Collective strength: Military formations allow ordinary soldiers to confront enemies they could never face alone.
• Risk and restraint: Qin keeps his backup formation unused, waiting for a true crisis.
• Power and ambition: The Demon God seeks to establish Demonlands and consume powerful cultivators, while the players weigh the battle in terms of rewards.
• Escalating conflict: The arrival of the Asura Demon God transforms an apparently manageable battle into a far more dangerous confrontation.

Key plot points and events

• The Marquis of Northcloud withstands the Asura Demon God’s assault and lands the ninth strike of Ascension Nine Steps, crushing the demon god to one knee. The demon breaks free, however, and attacks again.
• Refusing to use the Ancestral Weapon, the Marquis draws a Six-Seal Dao Artifact, a bronze war saber, and continues the battle. Qin Shujian recognizes the weapon’s immense power.
• Elsewhere, Luo Feiyu and Shan Hao are close to defeating their respective demon gods, while the Chaosblood Army’s military formation holds back the Six Desires Evil Lord.
• The soldiers refuse to retreat, affirming their duty to defend Great Zhao even without help from Qin Shujian’s formation.
• Fu Moyan’s group realizes the evil fiends are likely to lose unless they intervene. They use the Marquis of Thousand Mountains’ single-use Heavenly Being Edict against the Chaosblood Army, judging it the most vulnerable target.
• The Edict’s beam pierces the army’s military soul beast. The Six Desires Evil Lord follows with another devastating strike, destroying the formation and killing or injuring more than half the soldiers.

Character developments and interactions

• The Marquis of Northcloud demonstrates exceptional strength and restraint: he fights a near-peak Heavenly Human Realm demon god without resorting to the Ancestral Weapon.
• The Chaosblood Army, led by Zhu Yongchi, shows courage and loyalty. The soldiers’ resolve strengthens their formation, and they maintain their stand despite taking heavy damage.
• Fu Moyan consults his companions rather than acting alone. They agree that the Edict should target the army, and Qin Shujian recognizes the danger too late to stop it.
• The Six Desires Evil Lord, frustrated by repeated setbacks, turns his fury on the army once the Edict leaves its formation exposed.

Significant themes

• Duty and sacrifice: The soldiers see defending Great Zhao as their responsibility, regardless of whether others can protect them.
• Strength and restraint: The Marquis’s refusal to use the Ancestral Weapon highlights both his confidence and the gravity of wielding such power.
• Strategy and sudden reversals: A single carefully targeted intervention transforms a battle that seemed to favor the defenders.
• Collective strength and vulnerability: The army’s unity allows it to challenge a Heavenly Being, but destroying its formation leaves the soldiers exposed.

Plot points and events

• Players attack the Chaosblood Army with an unexpectedly powerful weapon, helping defeat it and disrupting the imperial court’s plan to contain the evil fiends.
• Qin Shujian identifies seven players involved and orders the Origin Sect to capture or kill those causing chaos. His runes mark the group, leaving them surrounded.
• The Six Desires Evil Lord abandons the battered army and charges toward Liangshan Spirit Domain after Qin provokes him. As he advances, his demonic qi revives fallen soldiers as demons, forcing Zhu Yongchi and the survivors to fight their former comrades.
• Qin draws the Evil Lord into the Liangshan Spirit Domain and activates the Twelve Star Dipper Formation. The two disappear into its enclosed, star-filled world.
• Using the formation, Qin attacks with falling stars, Wisdom King Karmic Fire, saber qi, and thunder. His Golden Lotus artifact helps block the Evil Lord’s blows, while the formation steadily wears down the demon’s qi.
• The Evil Lord’s overwhelming strength eventually breaks through Qin’s defenses. The formation then summons twelve gigantic star spirits, which charge into battle against him.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian stays outwardly calm despite recognizing the danger of fighting a full-strength Heavenly Human Realm foe. He acts decisively to protect Liangshan, relying on his array mastery rather than allowing the Evil Lord to attack the domain.
• The Six Desires Evil Lord begins by dismissing Qin as an insignificant cultivator, but recognizes the grandmaster-level formation and treats him as a serious opponent. He relies on brute force to escape and overwhelm the formation.
• Zhu Yongchi responds to the demonized former soldiers with grief and fury, leading the survivors into battle.
• The surrounding cultivators are frightened and some withdraw, but Qin’s confidence—and his reputation as an Array Dao Grandmaster—gives many of them hope.
• The players’ attack shifts the battle’s balance and raises suspicion that a powerful, unseen ally is helping them sabotage the imperial court.

Significant themes

• Strategy versus strength: Qin uses preparation, formation control, and artifacts to challenge an opponent vastly stronger than himself.
• The cost of power and war: The fallen Chaosblood soldiers become weapons against their own side, forcing survivors to confront former comrades.
• Courage and reputation: Qin’s willingness to face the Evil Lord steadies others, while his array mastery earns respect even from his enemy.
• Uncertainty and hidden interference: The players’ unexpected capabilities suggest a larger force is manipulating events behind the scenes.

Plot points and events

• Shan Hao defeats an Evil Fiend with overwhelming force, then uses a stone spear carrying the aura of an ancestral weapon to pierce and destroy it. The spear is not the true ancestral weapon, but it is powerful enough to kill Evil Fiends; afterward, part of its shaft turns black.
• Shan Hao joins the Prince of Zhennan against another Evil Fiend. Together they prevent its escape and kill it.
• The Asura Demon God battles the Marquis of Northcloud, tears open space, and escapes toward the Demon Abyss—but spatial backlash badly injures him, likely sidelining him for hundreds or thousands of years.
• The Marquis, Shan Hao, and the Prince turn their attention to the last remaining Evil Fiend, trapped inside Qin Shujian’s formation. Meanwhile, the Marquis helps the Chaosblood Army rout the remaining demon calamity forces.
• Inside the formation, the Twelve Star Generals overwhelm the Six Desires Evil Lord. Shaken by sensing the deaths of two Evil Fiends and the Asura Demon God’s disappearance, he becomes vulnerable.
• Qin Shujian escalates the attack: the Star Generals merge into a giant wielding a thunderous war blade. Its clash with the Evil Lord’s counterattack breaks the formation, leaving the battle unresolved.

Character developments and interactions

• Shan Hao proves both his immense combat strength and his willingness to use the spear decisively. He also recognizes the Marquis of Northcloud as a formidable warrior.
• The Marquis of Northcloud earns Shan Hao’s respect by standing against the Asura Demon God. He remains focused on the broader battle rather than accepting praise.
• The Prince of Zhennan and Shan Hao work together to corner and kill an Evil Fiend.
• Qin Shujian shows confidence in his formation and uses the Evil Lord’s fear to press the advantage.
• The Six Desires Evil Lord shifts from fighting confidently to fearing imminent defeat after sensing the other fiends’ losses.

Significant themes

• Power and sacrifice: The stone spear can destroy Evil Fiends, but its blackening hints that its use may carry a cost.
• Fear as a turning point: News of the other fiends’ defeats undermines the Evil Lord’s composure.
• Limits of strength and escape: Even a demon god can flee, but tearing through space exacts a severe physical toll.
• Cooperation in warfare: Human forces coordinate their attacks, allowing them to defeat multiple powerful enemies and contain the wider calamity.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Shujian’s grand array shatters after a fierce battle with the Six Desires Evil Lord. Though exhausted and unable to finish the enemy himself, he has grievously wounded him; General Shan Hao then pins and kills the Evil Fiend with his Stone Spear, which darkens further after the kill.
• The surviving Evil Fiends are killed or driven away, and the newly formed territory begins repairing itself as its spiritual energy disperses the demonic qi.
• The Prince of Zhennan suggests leaving the territory unnamed, since it is expected to merge with the adjacent Liangshan Spirit Domain. The Marquis of Northcloud agrees.
• The Marquis and Origin Sect arrange a joint treasure expedition in three days, after which the sect will lead later expeditions. The Chaosblood Army is ordered to guard the territory and prevent unauthorized entry.
• News of Qin Shujian’s victory spreads, strengthening the belief that a true Array Dao Grandmaster can rival a Heavenly Being—and that Qin is especially formidable. Array Masters in Liangshan City are also energized by the prospect of an upcoming competition.
• After returning to the Origin Sect, Qin spends a day in seclusion. The next day, the sect issues a bounty mission targeting seven Otherworlders. Tracking Tokens identify targets nearby and record evidence; each target’s first hundred deaths earns a reward of one hundred contribution points per kill.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian proves his strength against a Heavenly Being-level foe, though the fight leaves his true essence depleted and his Dao Artifacts damaged. He is frustrated that Shan Hao takes the final kill—and the rewards he had hoped to collect.
• Shan Hao praises Qin’s battle and unknowingly steals his kill. He and the Prince of Zhennan depart after the immediate crisis is resolved.
• The Marquis of Northcloud gains greater respect for Qin after witnessing his power. He coordinates the territory’s defense and shares control of the first treasure expedition with the Origin Sect.
• Zhu Yongchi remains resolute despite heavy losses. He accepts responsibility for guarding the territory, and the surviving Chaosblood Army maintains a strong defensive presence.
• Players/Otherworlders become the targets of an unprecedented NPC-issued bounty, prompting excitement and alarm among them.

Significant themes

• Recognition through action: Qin’s combat feat turns his reputation from rumor into demonstrated fact.
• Power and exhaustion: Even a powerful victory has costs, leaving Qin temporarily unable to finish the fight or pursue its rewards.
• Authority and cooperation: The Marquis, the army, and the Origin Sect negotiate control over the territory and its resources.
• A changing world: New territories bring treasures and opportunities, while the bounty mission marks a new escalation in relations between NPCs and players.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Shujian posts a severe bounty on Fu Moyan and his six companions: players earn 100 contribution points for each kill. Disciples receive free Tracking Tokens that can detect marks Qin had placed on the fugitives, making resurrection unlikely to let them escape.
• Players learn that the seven ambushed the Marquis of Northcloud’s army and helped an Evil Fiend break through the blockade, threatening the Liangshan Spirit Domain and the Origin Sect. The bounty quickly becomes a major topic on the forum, alongside footage of the battle.
• A video of the Evil Fiend’s immense power—and Qin’s saber strike that badly wounds it—astonishes players. Qin’s strength, far beyond their own, reinforces the rumor that he is the reincarnation of a powerful expert.
• Qin meets with the Origin Sect’s branch elders to decide who may enter a newly emerged region. He opens the expedition to anyone in the sect who pays 5,000 contribution points. Participants keep their finds, but must surrender any Xiantian Spirit Objects to the sect in exchange for 20,000 points each.
• The offer triggers a rush: among eligible players, 95 percent pay for a place, hoping valuable discoveries will offset the cost.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian reveals the depth of his anger toward Fu Moyan’s group: their actions threatened the sect’s very foundation, which he sees as inseparable from his own survival and cultivation. He intends to punish them by exploiting the players’ repeated deaths, and trusts his tracking method to keep them from escaping.
• Niu Dali is nearing the Spirit God Realm, a surprising leap from his previous cultivation. Though other sect members look down on him and the Demon Branch, he is content as long as he can sleep undisturbed. Qin discovers that his loyalty score is a high 93.
• The players shift from mocking the bounty to accepting its justification once they learn what the fugitives did. Their awe at Qin’s power contrasts with their own comparatively weak cultivation.
• The elders readily accept Qin’s expedition rules. Niu Dali joins their agreement, though he remains largely indifferent to sect affairs.

Significant themes

• Vengeance and loyalty: Qin treats the threat to the Origin Sect as a personal, life-or-death offense.
• Power and perspective: The battle footage exposes the vast gap between the players and the world’s strongest cultivators.
• Risk and reward: Players weigh the steep entry fee against the possibility of discovering treasures worth far more.
• Belonging and security: Niu Dali tolerates disrespect because the sect offers him protection and peace.

Chapter Summary: “A Few Too Many People”

Key plot points and events

• Representatives from the Marquis of Northcloud’s Manor arrive to explore the newly formed territory: Xiao Hong, Su Mingyang, and about thirty others. Qin Shujian greets them on behalf of the Origin Sect.
• Xiao Hong and Qin agree that any disputes over the territory’s treasures should not harm the two organizations’ relationship. Both sides recognize the value of keeping their alliance intact.
• The Marquis’s party is stunned when nearly three thousand Origin Sect members arrive. The chapter’s humor comes from the contrast between their modest group and the Origin Sect’s overwhelming numbers.
• Xiao Hong warns that Divine Martial Realm cultivators and above should stay out, since the territory’s unstable laws could be damaged by powerful battles. Qin accepts the restriction.
• The Chaosblood Army lets both groups pass into the territory. Qin instructs his disciples to prioritize gathering treasures, avoid needless conflict, and leave within three days. Xiao Hong gives his group similar orders.
• The Chaosblood Army plans to withdraw the following day, leaving the Origin Sect to take over responsibility for the area. Qin invites Xiao Hong and Su Mingyang to visit the Origin Sect while the explorers are inside; they accept.
• In the Demon Abyss, the badly wounded Asura Demon God returns after losing an arm. Other fiends sense his weakness and attack, hoping to devour him and claim his status. He kills one fiend, but more than a dozen opponents—including powerful ones—join the fight.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian demonstrates confidence in the Origin Sect’s strength while carefully preserving good relations with the Marquis’s manor. He sets clear rules for his disciples and hosts Xiao Hong and Su Mingyang diplomatically.
• Xiao Hong and Su Mingyang arrive expecting a small expedition, then are taken aback by the Origin Sect’s vastly larger force. Despite their surprise, they maintain a cooperative relationship with Qin.
• Zhu Yongchi acts as the military representative, courteously facilitating entry and explaining the Chaosblood Army’s planned withdrawal.
• The Asura Demon God returns furious and gravely injured. His attempt to intimidate the other fiends exposes both his lingering ferocity and his vulnerability, provoking a desperate battle.

Significant themes

• Power and diplomacy: The Origin Sect’s strength is obvious, but both it and the Marquis’s manor recognize that cooperation is more valuable than needless rivalry.
• Greed and competition: The territory’s treasures invite conflict, while the Demon Abyss shows an even harsher version of competition: the weak prey on the wounded.
• Restraint and responsibility: Qin’s rules and the restriction on powerful cultivators reflect the need to protect a newly formed territory from destruction.
• The shifting balance of power: The Origin Sect’s huge expedition signals its growing influence, while the Asura Demon God’s injury rapidly overturns his standing among the fiends.

Key plot points and events

• In the Demon Abyss, the injured Asura Demon God is attacked by evil fiends eager to devour him and gain a chance at his rank. The other Demon Gods watch without intervening, since his death would leave them more demonic qi. They suspect an Ancestral Weapon in Great Zhao may have driven him back. A mysterious power briefly rises from the Abyss, but is suppressed by an ancient force.
• In a newly emerged region, Origin Sect disciples spread out to search for treasures. Lin Jie leads three fellow members of his ruined clan, hoping to earn contribution points and eventually rebuild the Lin Family. Using a fragment of the family’s Half-Step Dao Artifact, he senses a nearby Xiantian Spirit Object and leads the group to search for it. Elsewhere, treasure hunters are already clashing over discoveries.
• Qin Shujian hosts Xiao Hong and Su Mingyang at the Origin Sect. Their conversation turns to the Otherworlders who attacked the Chaosblood Army. Qin and the Marquis of Northcloud’s Manor have both issued warrants, and Xiao suspects a powerful faction is using them to destabilize Northcloud Prefecture. Qin asks whether the Marquis of Thousand Mountains might be behind it.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Jie has moved beyond his former pursuit of revenge against the Heavenly Martial Sect, which has already fallen. His focus is now on restoring his family, though he knows his current strength is far from sufficient. He works closely with three Lin Family members, while remaining wary of other treasure seekers—even fellow disciples.
• Qin Shujian shows hospitality and practical curiosity, turning the osmanthus flowers from his spirit tree into tea after Su Mingyang points out their potential. He then shifts to the political danger posed by the Otherworlders.
• Xiao Hong praises Qin’s array work and raises the possibility of a larger conspiracy. Su Mingyang appreciates the tea and inadvertently gives Qin the idea to use the osmanthus flowers.
• The Demon Gods’ indifference to the Asura Demon God underscores how little loyalty exists among the fiends; among treasure hunters, similar self-interest makes even sect affiliation no guarantee of cooperation.

Significant themes

• Power and predation: The injured Demon God becomes prey, while others see his vulnerability as a rare chance to rise.
• Ambition and rebuilding: Lin Jie trades vengeance for the long-term goal of restoring his family, knowing it requires resources and strength.
• Scarcity breeds conflict: Xiantian Spirit Objects and other treasures provoke rivalry, regardless of shared affiliations.
• Hidden political threats: The suspected manipulation of the Otherworlders suggests that conflict in Northcloud Prefecture may be orchestrated by a more powerful faction.

Key plot points and events

• After a Demon Calamity is narrowly averted in the Liangshan Spirit Domain, Xiao Hong warns Qin Shujian that the Marquis of Thousand Mountains may target him. As an Array Dao Grandmaster from Northcloud, Qin is a political and military threat to the Marquis.
• Qin recognizes that even his powerful arrays might not protect him from a sudden Heavenly Being Edict. He resolves to keep his Third-Grade Golden Lotus close for defense.
• News of Qin’s achievement—severely injuring a powerful evil fiend with an array—spreads throughout Great Zhao, raising his reputation.
• The Marquis of Thousand Mountains learns that his plan failed. He blames the failed ambush and the loss of his Heavenly Being Edict, then orders bounties on Fu Moyan and the six otherworlders who carried out the operation.
• Fu Moyan and his companions, already pursued by Origin Sect players and weakened by repeated deaths, flee Thousand Mountains Prefecture. They change their Resurrection Point to avoid being trapped by the Marquis’s forces, but their pursuers quickly close in.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian becomes more aware of his vulnerability despite his growing strength. Xiao Hong’s warning prompts him to take precautions, while Su Mingyang openly admires his rapid progress.
• Xiao Hong acts as a cautious adviser, explaining why the Marquis might consider Qin a threat.
• Su Mingyang compares Qin’s present strength with their earlier meeting and expresses sincere respect for his advancement.
• The Marquis of Thousand Mountains shifts from political maneuvering to retaliation. He sees Fu Moyan’s group as expendable after their failure and orders them hunted.
• Fu Moyan suffers severe losses from failed quests and repeated deaths. His anger toward Qin intensifies, and he regrets not using the Heavenly Being Edict against him. Lü Xuanyan urges the group to change Resurrection Points as they flee.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: Qin’s achievements do not make him invulnerable; surprise attacks remain a serious danger.
• Political rivalry and mistrust: Qin’s rise threatens the Marquis’s interests, making conflict seem inevitable.
• Consequences and accountability: The failed scheme costs the Marquis a valuable Edict, while Fu Moyan’s group pays for its failure with lost progress and a bounty on their heads.
• Player mortality and persistence: Resurrection offers a way back, but repeated deaths still carry painful costs and can leave players exposed to further pursuit.

Key plot points and events

• In the Newly Emerged Region, Origin Sect disciples Song Qing and Ye Zheng’an fight over a tier-seven Ghost King Orchid worth 10,000 Contribution Points. Ye argues that treasures belong to the strong, and their duel shows how quickly competition outweighs sect brotherhood.
• On the third day, Qin Shujian arrives at the region’s boundary, where Origin Sect guards report that no outsiders have tried to force their way in.
• Qin manifests his twenty-zhang Spirit God and orders everyone inside to leave within six hours, threatening death for anyone who remains. Most comply; five of the Marquis of Northcloud’s thirty-seven entrants do not return, presumably having died.
• After Xiao Hong and the Marquis’s party depart, Qin orders the guards to cripple and identify any Otherworlders who emerge, then kill them; everyone else is to be killed outright. The command reinforces his uncompromising effort to secure the sect’s authority.
• Back at the Origin Sect, law-enforcement elder Zhang Tieniu collects Xiantian Spirit Objects from disciples, offering 20,000 Contribution Points for each. Seven disciples surrender theirs. Other gains from the region remain theirs to keep.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian displays his growing power: his Spirit God has reached twenty zhang, and his divine-sense message can reach everyone in the region. He uses that strength to enforce strict control, including over his own disciples.
• Xiao Hong recognizes Qin’s advancement and accepts that the situation is under his authority. He leaves with the Marquis of Northcloud’s people after the expedition.
• Zhang Tieniu acts with increasing authority as law-enforcement elder, firmly enforcing the sect’s rules.
• Song Qing and Ye Zheng’an turn from fellow disciples to rivals over the Ghost King Orchid, illustrating the expedition’s harsh competition.
• Lin Jie voluntarily hands over his Xiantian Spirit Object and is told to wait with the others who comply.

Significant themes

• Power and authority: Qin’s strength deters outside interference and lets him impose the sect’s will.
• Strict discipline and fear: Death threats apply to outsiders and sect members alike; obedience is maintained through severe punishment.
• Competition and self-interest: The fight over the Orchid shows that valuable treasures can override personal loyalty.
• Institutional control versus individual reward: The sect claims Xiantian Spirit Objects but lets disciples keep other spoils, balancing centralized resources with personal gains.

Key plot points

• Qin Shujian explains that dao artifacts are not inherently impossible to forge. They require a newly born Xiantian Spirit Object whose innate spiritual qi has not yet faded—an exceptionally rare window of about fifteen days.
• He tests the seven spirit objects and finds that the White Lotus is compatible with his Third-Grade Golden Lotus. Using the system, he fuses them, upgrading it to a Fourth-Grade Golden Lotus. It becomes a stronger two-mark dao artifact, though it gains no third dao seal.
• None of the other five objects match his existing dao artifacts.
• Before beginning a forging attempt, Qin orders the elders to keep the sect calm, bar everyone from Liangshan Summit, and let Grand Elder Zheng Fang manage affairs. He leaves Thousand Mountain Blood behind as protection.
• Qin goes alone to the summit, where the spiritual conditions are best for forging a dao artifact. In the following days, enormous thunderclouds gather over Liangshan, alarming the cultivators nearby.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin demonstrates his deep knowledge of forging and his willingness to experiment with rare materials. He is pleased by the Golden Lotus’s improvement but recognizes that small gains will not meaningfully change the sect’s standing.
• Zheng Fang and the other elders accept Qin’s orders without objection. Privately, they suspect his seclusion may mean he is preparing to enter the Divine Martial Realm.
• Onlookers debate the thunderclouds’ cause. Cheng Lang dismisses the idea that they mark an ordinary Spirit Weapon’s birth, while others cautiously wonder whether Qin is attempting the supposedly impossible task of forging a dao artifact.

Significant themes

• Possibility versus accepted limits: What is called impossible may actually be possible under rare conditions and with sufficient skill.
• Rarity and timing: Forging a dao artifact depends on obtaining and using an innate embryo before its spiritual protection fades.
• Power and ambition: Qin pursues a breakthrough in forging, while acknowledging how difficult it is for the sect to advance beyond its current level.
• Leadership and trust: Qin delegates responsibility and prepares safeguards before undertaking a risky, isolated task.

Key plot points

• Thunderclouds hang over Liangshan for seven days, postponing a competition and drawing Forge Masters to Liangshan City. They cannot enter the Origin Sect to witness Qin Shujian’s work, so they watch the sky instead.
• A three-day lightning tribulation strikes Liangshan Summit, with 720 increasingly powerful bolts. Afterward, auspicious seven-colored light appears.
• Qin Shujian has successfully forged the Dustless Immortal Garment, a two-mark Dao Artifact. He stores it rather than wearing it, intending to pair its protection with his Fourth-Grade Golden Lotus against threats such as a Heavenly Being’s Edict.
• Forging the garment consumes three Xiantian Spirit Objects. Their spiritual foundations are gone, so Qin burns them with Wisdom King Karmic Fire, turning them into three Fire Lotuses that modestly strengthen his spirit god.
• Qin considers hunting more Evil Fiends to gain fortune, life source, and energy. He rules out entering the Demon Abyss for now, recognizing that its heavenly-human-level Evil Fiends would overwhelm him. He also notes that dealing with Evil Fiends in Northcloud’s higher-level domains requires coordination with the imperial court.
• Qin asks the Heaven and Earth Bow what can contain a grandmaster-level array. It explains that high-grade spirit objects—especially spirit stones, and lesser jade stones—can hold Heavenly Being-level power.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian takes pride in breaking the supposed barrier that Dao Artifacts cannot be forged. The achievement strengthens his confidence and security, while his ambitions to hunt Evil Fiends grow—but he remains aware of practical and political limits.
• The Heaven and Earth Bow is astonished and envious: it spent a thousand years as a middle-grade spirit weapon before Qin helped it advance. It praises Qin extravagantly, then serves as his source of technical knowledge.
• Qin’s banter with the Bow reveals their familiar dynamic: he bluntly interrupts its long explanation, and the Bow, confused by his remark, quickly returns to the question.

Significant themes

• Innovation and mastery: Qin challenges an accepted limit in the forging world and redefines what makes a true Forging Master.
• Power and preparation: The new Dao Artifact gives Qin added protection, but his plans are still constrained by his current strength.
• Ambition tempered by prudence: Evil Fiends offer valuable rewards, yet Qin avoids reckless action and recognizes the need to consult the imperial court.
• Knowledge and companionship: The Bow’s experience remains useful to Qin even as its combat value declines.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• After completing the Dustless Immortal Garment, Qin Shujian announces changes to the Origin Sect’s structure and incentives.
• The sect will open its gates for recruitment, and Liangshan City will host forging and array competitions. Qin also formally establishes an array branch.
• Alchemy, forging, and array specialists will receive monthly contribution points based on their skill level, provided most complete assigned tasks. Grandmasters are exempt from the task requirement.
• Shen Yuqing is appointed judge of the forging competition. He has recently advanced to High-Grade Forge Master, making him eligible for the highest non-grandmaster reward tier.
• The next day, recruitment begins under Grand Elder Zheng Fang. Meanwhile, the competitions draw large crowds outside Liangshan City.
• The forging competition accepts only Mid-Grade Forge Masters or above. The array competition has no grade requirement, but participants must compete to advance.
• Array contestants receive jade containing different inscribed miniature arrays. They must unravel them within two hours; the first thirty to succeed reach the final. The arrays may be dangerous, including potentially lethal killing arrays.
• After participants scramble for the limited jade pieces, Zuo Jin enters the array contained in his jade. He finds himself in a vast, empty space, recognizes the array’s boundary, and suspects the work of a grandmaster. Unsure of the array’s nature and with time passing, he finally takes his first step.

Character developments

• Qin Shujian takes a more strategic leadership role, delegating recruitment and strengthening the sect’s supporting disciplines rather than handling every matter himself.
• Shen Yuqing has quietly advanced to High-Grade Forge Master and is trusted to judge the forging contest.
• Zuo Jin shows caution and analytical skill as he studies the unfamiliar array, but curiosity and the pressure of the deadline eventually push him to act.

Significant themes

• Institution-building: The sect seeks balanced growth by developing specialist branches alongside cultivation.
• Incentives and merit: Contribution rewards encourage expertise and practical service, while task requirements ensure specialists contribute to the sect.
• Risk and opportunity: The array contest offers valuable exposure to advanced techniques, but participants may face serious danger.
• Authority and order: The Origin Sect’s rules are firm, and contestants must meet requirements and accept the competition’s risks.

Character interactions

• Qin Shujian directs the elders and appoints Shen Yuqing as a judge; Shen accepts his command.
• Shen Yuqing and Zhang Tieniu address the gathered contestants and enforce the separate competitions’ rules.
• Contestants compete for the limited jade pieces, while Zuo Jin confronts the array alone.

Key plot points and events

• Zuo Jin enters a lethal Slaying Array formed by twelve sword phantoms. He realizes the array may be nested within another and uses his spiritual sense to build and continually reinforce a defensive formation while searching for a weakness.
• The competition’s first round continues as contestants attempt to break the arrays in their jade stones. One Mid-Grade Array Master dies, while two others suffer severe spiritual-sense injuries and withdraw.
• Several contestants break through and advance. Zuo Jin eventually destroys the sword phantoms, escapes the array, and qualifies with about a quarter of the allotted time remaining.
• At the two-hour deadline, Zhang Tieniu uses a jade stone to release those still trapped. Latecomers who failed are removed, despite one pleading for another chance.
• Zhang announces a two-hour rest before revealing the finals’ format. Meanwhile, the separate forging competition proceeds, requiring contestants to make a first-grade sharp weapon within two hours; experienced High-Grade Forge Masters advance quickly.

Character development

• Zuo Jin demonstrates composure and resourcefulness under mortal danger, but also recognizes that his Mid-Grade Array Master skills are not exceptional among Liangshan City’s competitors. He remains focused on joining the Origin Sect and gaining guidance from its Array Dao Grandmaster, hoping to advance his craft.
• Zhang Tieniu remains calm and firm, overseeing the dangerous competition, allowing withdrawals, enforcing the deadline, and offering no special exceptions to failed contestants.

Significant themes

• Risk and ambition: Advancement offers opportunity, but the array trial can cost contestants their lives.
• Skill and humility: Zuo Jin’s prior standing does not make him the best in a larger field; there are always more capable practitioners.
• Merit and harsh fairness: The competition rewards ability and results, regardless of age or seniority, and does not grant extra chances.
• Persistence and limits: Contestants must balance effort against the danger of spiritual exhaustion and injury.

Character interactions

• Zuo Jin reports his success to Zhang Tieniu, then exchanges courteous greetings with the other qualifiers, viewing connections as potentially valuable despite their future rivalry.
• Contestants and spectators react with alarm and discussion after the Han Family expert’s death.
• Injured contestants respectfully withdraw; unsuccessful contestants question the outcome and ask about future competitions, while Zhang gives a firm but measured response.

Plot points and events

• The Forge Masters’ finals require Mid-Grade competitors to make weapons that can cut through supplied weapons, while High-Grade competitors must forge a Spirit Weapon within three days. Array Masters must survive inside a supplied array for two hours. Forging draws public attention, especially when successful Spirit Weapons trigger lightning tribulations.
• The Origin Sect finishes recruiting 12,786 people, including 7,653 Otherworlders. Of the non-Otherworlder recruits, 1,367 are at True Martial Realm or above, including 126 Spirit Martial and 13 Divine Martial cultivators.
• Qin Shujian orders recruits at Spirit Martial Realm or above to be considered for Guest Elder positions. He also sets strict training standards for exceptionally gifted children, dismissing those who fail to meet them.
• Qin offers Spirit Martial cultivators Red-Stamped Guest Elder status and Divine Martial cultivators Gold-Stamped status. As he inspects them, one Divine Martial cultivator attacks with a Heavenly Human Edict, then tries to escape.
• Qin survives through his defensive artifacts and arrays, restrains the attacker, and kills him with a single saber strike. The newcomers are shaken into greater respect.
• After searching the assassin’s empty corpse, Qin recognizes the attack’s connection to the Marquis of Thousand Mountains. He concludes the marquis was behind the attempt and is angered enough to consider aligning with the imperial court.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian demonstrates both strategic leadership—organizing the growing sect and setting recruitment policies—and overwhelming combat power. His calm welcome to the new Guest Elders gives way to decisive violence when the assassination begins; afterward, his anger toward the marquis becomes explicit.
• The new recruits and Guest Elders join for the Origin Sect’s prospects and the status they can gain, but some initially look down on its weaker members. Witnessing Qin’s strength quickly changes their attitude.
• The assassin pretends to be a recruit but has extremely low loyalty and launches a prepared attack using a rare Heavenly Human Edict. Qin identifies and kills him before he can escape.
• Zhao Shanlin reports recruitment results and receives Qin’s instructions for assigning and training recruits.

Significant themes

• Strength as authority: Qin’s power is central to the Origin Sect’s standing and keeps ambitious newcomers in check.
• Growth and institutional responsibility: The sect’s rapid expansion forces Qin to establish ranks, standards, and pathways for advancement.
• Betrayal and political danger: A recruitment gathering becomes an assassination attempt, revealing that external rivals are willing to sacrifice powerful agents and rare resources.
• Retaliation and shifting loyalties: The marquis’s repeated attacks push Qin toward a more direct political alliance with the imperial court.

Plot points and events

• A Divine Martial Realm assassin wielding a heavenly human edict attacked Qin Shujian in the Martial Inheritance Hall. Qin defeated the assassin, though the hall was left badly damaged.
• Zheng Fang apologized for failing to prevent the attack, but Qin dismissed his concern and moved on to the results of the sect’s recruitment competitions.
• Ten Forge Masters—seven High-Grade and three Mid-Grade—and thirteen Array Masters qualified to join the Origin Sect as retained experts.
• Qin welcomed the Forge Masters into the existing Forging Hall, led by Shen Yuqing. He also announced the creation of an Array Hall. In three days, he will hold a competition to choose its Hall Master; the winner will become an Inner Sect Elder, while the others will serve as retained experts.
• Among the Array Masters, Zuo Jin stood out: he passed the demanding test despite being only a Mid-Grade Array Master, suggesting unusual talent.
• Qin decided that the Origin Sect would stop recruiting for the foreseeable future and focus on stabilizing and strengthening what it had already gained.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian remains composed after the assassination attempt and turns promptly to sect business. He carefully evaluates the recruits’ loyalty and potential, while taking particular interest in Zuo Jin.
• Zheng Fang accepts responsibility as Grand Elder for the security failure; Qin reassures him that the incident was not his fault.
• Shen Yuqing and Zhang Tieniu report the competition results. Shen Yuqing is confirmed as head of the Forging Hall, while Zhang Tieniu identifies Zuo Jin as the exceptional Array Master.
• The new specialists show respect for Qin and accept their placements, drawn by his reputation as a grandmaster of both forging and arrays.

Significant themes

• Consolidation over expansion: With more than twenty thousand members, the Origin Sect has reached the size Qin considers sustainable. Continued rapid growth could alarm the imperial court and attract the attention of powerful regional forces.
• Strength must match scale: The sect has grown faster than its members’ cultivation and leadership capacity. Qin intends to let it develop steadily before taking further steps.
• Talent and institutional growth: The new experts allow the sect to establish an Array Hall and strengthen its specialized institutions, while Qin weighs talent and loyalty in assigning responsibility.
• Long-term perspective: Qin’s immense lifespan makes decades of gradual development seem brief, even though he has spent less than five years in this world.

Key plot points

• News spreads that a Divine Martial Realm cultivator was killed and that a Heavenly Human Edict was used against Qin Shujian. Qin survived, protected by two Dao Artifacts, strengthening his reputation as a formidable Array Dao Grandmaster.
• The Marquis of Northcloud concludes that the Marquis of Thousand Mountains was likely behind the assassination. He believes the attack will push Qin closer to the imperial court and anticipates a new Human Emperor decree requiring Northcloud to mobilize.
• Northcloud’s investigation into the faction supporting Gu Changqing has yielded few leads and cost several cultivators their lives. The Marquis considers the Demon Race a possible culprit, while questioning whether its long-injured Demon Emperor might have recovered.
• Qin focuses on building the Origin Sect rather than retaliating immediately. He establishes the Array Hall, appoints a Hall Master, and identifies the young Zuo Jin as a promising talent. He also assigns thirty Array Masters from Northcloud Manor to the hall, honoring his promise to train two Upper-Grade Array Masters within three years.
• The sect announces Contribution Point rewards for members of its Alchemy, Forging, and Array Halls, prompting disciples—especially players—to pursue those professions.
• Qin spends a million life-source points to issue a large-scale mission: players are to enter Thousand Mountains Prefecture and kill the Marquis’s forces. The highest-tier reward—two-mark Dao Artifact and one million Contribution Points—requires killing a Heavenly Human Realm cultivator or an Array Dao Grandmaster.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian emerges from the assassination attempt more influential and protected, but keeps his attention on developing the sect. He recognizes Zuo Jin’s exceptional promise and mobilizes the players against the Marquis of Thousand Mountains.
• The Marquis of Northcloud sees Qin as a valuable ally and interprets the attack as a political mistake by his rival. His exchange with his adviser reveals both his suspicion of the Marquis of Thousand Mountains and his concern about a possible Demon Race threat.
• Zuo Jin is introduced as a young, highly capable cultivator and Array Master whose talent may eventually make him a major asset to the Origin Sect.
• Origin Sect disciples and players respond eagerly to the new profession-based rewards and the dangerous mission, viewing even an epic-level objective as potentially achievable.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: Even a Grandmaster’s strength depends on preparation, but Qin’s Dao Artifacts make him exceptionally difficult to assassinate.
• Political maneuvering and unintended consequences: The attack intended to weaken Qin instead risks driving him toward the imperial court and Northcloud.
• Institution-building and talent cultivation: Qin prioritizes training specialists and expanding the sect despite the external conflict.
• Uncertainty about hidden threats: The Demon Race’s strength and the fate of its wounded emperor remain unresolved, hinting at dangers beyond the current feud.

Chapter summary

Plot points and events

• Qin Shujian’s assassination mission offers substantial experience and Contribution Points for killing powerful cultivators. Though killing an Array Dao Grandmaster remains extremely difficult, the mission also rewards targets at lower levels, making it attractive to players short on missions and points.
• Song Qing reluctantly agrees to join forces with Ye Zheng’an, a former rival from their earlier fight over the Ghost King Orchid. They decide to hunt a Spirit Martial Realm target together, leaving the Origin Sect the next day.
• Many players take up the mission and travel through the newly established Teleportation Gate to cities across the Liangshan Spirit Domain.
• The chapter shifts to Thousand Mountains Prefecture, where the imperial court and the rebellious Marquis of Thousand Mountains control opposing halves. Neither side wants to risk a major war, so intermittent clashes continue amid a tense, temporary calm.
• In Yinhai City, Song Qing and Ye Zheng’an spend several days discreetly assessing the city’s defenses. They learn that it has a Manifestation Realm city lord, two Sky-Soaring Realm deputies, more than a dozen Spirit God Realm officers, and a thousand True Martial Realm elite soldiers among its garrison.
• Song Qing also discovers that the Zhang clan patriarch will celebrate his nine-hundredth birthday in eight days, and that the city lord is expected to attend. Ye Zheng’an sees the information as a possible opportunity, though the chapter ends before he explains his plan.

Character development

• Song Qing remains wary of Ye Zheng’an because of their past betrayal, but recognizes his ability and agrees to cooperate for the rewards. He is cautious and practical, insisting they investigate first and abandon the plan if the risk is too great.
• Ye Zheng’an shows confidence and strategic judgment. Song Qing now regards him as more capable than his formerly unremarkable appearance suggested. Ye Zheng’an is willing to work with Song Qing and quickly considers how the birthday banquet might help them.
• The Origin Sect’s players are portrayed as highly motivated by scarce missions, experience, and Contribution Points, but many prefer to work independently rather than coordinate with other players.

Significant themes

• Risk versus reward: The mission promises valuable gains, but even a city’s lower-ranking experts are backed by overwhelming forces.
• Pragmatism and uneasy cooperation: Old grievances can be set aside when a partnership offers a realistic advantage, though trust remains limited.
• Tension before conflict: Thousand Mountains Prefecture’s apparent peace is fragile, with both sides preparing for a larger confrontation.
• The value of information: Song Qing and Ye Zheng’an prioritize reconnaissance, recognizing that knowledge of the city’s forces and events may create an opening.

Character interactions

• Song Qing and Ye Zheng’an negotiate a partnership despite their history, agreeing to travel and investigate together.
• In Yinhai City, they share intelligence and divide their reconnaissance. Other Origin Sect players recognize one another but deliberately avoid interaction, reflecting the competitive, largely individual nature of the mission.
• Their conversation about the Zhang patriarch’s birthday shifts their focus from the city’s raw military strength toward a possible tactical opportunity.