Chapter Summaries

Xu Yan fought Blue-Faced Ghost Yang Ren and Blood Monster, using his divine sense and demonic techniques to turn their empowered Blood Jade Spirit Python against them. After disrupting Blood Monster’s flute and weakening the python, Xu Yan killed both opponents.

• Yang Ren attacked Xu Yan with the Green-Pupil Divine Light while Blood Monster empowered the Blood Jade Spirit Python with his jade flute.
• Xu Yan shattered Yang Ren’s eye beam with the Soul-Annihilating Demon Needle and chased him as he fled.
• The Blood Jade Spirit Python killed and devoured Yang Ren, reaching the second-tier perfection realm.
• Xu Yan threatened Blood Monster with the Great Sun Golden Blade Talisman, then used his divine sense to disrupt the jade flute and weaken the python.
• Xu Yan pierced the Blood Jade Spirit Python’s vital spot with a Demon Finger and smashed Blood Monster’s head with a punch.

Xu Yan returned to the Crimson Sun Sect after killing Blood Monster and Blue-Faced Ghost, then inventoried their spoils in his Cave Abode. He found valuable blood, spirit stones, medicines, and a Sword-Comprehension Stone, and began examining six bottles of blood energy for a technique that could become a life-saving trump card.

• Xu Yan killed Blood Monster and Blue-Faced Ghost, collected their Storage Rings and the Blood Jade Spirit Python's essence blood, then burned Blood Monster's corpse.
• Gu Santong and Gu Xuanji arrived and discussed Xu Yan's strength and a possible connection to an ancient bloodline, but Gu Xuanji noted that Xu Yan had discarded the marked Purple Jade Token.
• Xu Yan hurried back to the Crimson Sun Sect and installed the Ancient Remnant Formation around his Cave Abode to block Danyangzi's divine sense.
• Xu Yan inventoried Blood Monster's Storage Ring and found Yin-Yang Spirit Flood Dragon essence blood, spirit stones, and a disturbing blood-colored Jade Effigy.
• Xu Yan found cave-mystery iron essence, spirit stones, and a second-realm Sword-Comprehension Stone in Yang Ren's belongings, along with two ingredients for the Five-Phase Essence-Consolidating Pill.
• Xu Yan opened six Jade Bottles containing crimson blood energy, hoping to master the Ancient Demon Slave Talisman technique.

Xu Yan emerged from half a year of seclusion after successfully condensing the Ancient Demon Slave Talisman and learned that Shang Fang was searching for him and that Danyangzi planned to refine the Golden Marrow Jade Dew Pill ahead of schedule. Xu Yan ignored Li Changfeng’s request to meet and returned to cultivating, while Li Changfeng resolved to obtain a divine object said to be located nearby.

• Xu Yan successfully condensed his first Ancient Demon Slave Talisman and decided to reserve it for a crucial target.
• Xu Yan read Li Changfeng’s messages and learned that a Golden Core cultivator from the Jade Radiance Kingdom had searched near the Crimson Sun Sect, while the Gu Household investigated visitors to the Ancient Market.
• Xu Yan suspected Shang Fang could track his approximate whereabouts and decided he needed to eliminate him.
• Xu Yan learned that Danyangzi would refine the Golden Marrow Jade Dew Pill ahead of schedule, but he ignored Li Changfeng’s request to meet and resumed cultivating.
• Li Changfeng resented Xu Yan for not visiting and vowed to make rogue cultivators submit once he attained the Golden Core.
• Li Changfeng recalled Danyangzi’s report of a divine object’s whereabouts and resolved to obtain it.

Xu Yan met with Li Changfeng after completing his cultivation and learned that the Crimson Sun Sect planned to send its Foundation Establishment elders into the Great Evolution Ancient Mine to seize a rare spiritual material. The sect offered Guest Elders pills and contribution points, while Xu Yan suspected they would be used as sacrificial pawns.

• Xu Yan completed three Ginseng Essence-Restoring Pills and cultivated the Thousand Illusions Mirage Art to its sixth level, allowing him to imitate cultivators even Golden Core experts could not see through.
• Xu Yan disguised himself as Li Changfeng and flew to the Crimson Sun Sect's Main Peak, where he found its defensive formations fully activated.
• Li Changfeng told Xu Yan that the sect had discovered signs of a rare spiritual material forming in the heart of the Great Evolution Ancient Mine and that the Patriarch had ordered all Foundation Establishment elders to enter and secure it.
• Xu Yan asked whether the treasure was connected to Danyangzi's Golden Marrow Jade Dew Pills, and Li Changfeng confirmed that the pills were compensation for the expedition.
• Li Changfeng announced that each Guest Elder would receive a Golden Marrow Jade Dew Pill and ten thousand contribution points, and that the sect's Treasure Pavilion would open for exchanges.

Xu Yan learned that he would be forced to enter the Great Yan Ancient Mine and met with Ye Yun and Zhou Li to discuss the dangers there. The chapter left him facing an expedition threatened by powerful demon beasts and formidable rival factions.

• Xu Yan pretended to submit to Li Changfeng’s orders and offered him two thousand low-grade spirit stones, but Li Changfeng refused the gift and warned him not to leave the sect before the expedition.
• Xu Yan returned to Sitting Forgetfulness Peak and found Ye Yun and Zhou Li waiting outside his cave abode to discuss the mine.
• Ye Yun told Xu Yan that Lin Ye had disappeared after openly arguing with Li Changfeng, leading Xu Yan to suspect the Crimson Sun Sect had killed him as a warning.
• Zhou Li explained that the mine’s Inner Region held at least a thousand Second-Tier Supreme-Grade demon beasts and was where the Spirit Treasure had formed.
• Zhou Li warned Xu Yan that the Gu Household, Ten Thousand Fire Sect, and Dark Moon Sect would also send exceptionally powerful cultivators into the mine.

Xu Yan rejected Zhou Li and Ye Yun’s attempt to obtain his Golden Marrow Jade Dew Pill, then agreed to attend a gathering of Crimson Sun Sect Guest Elders. After acquiring most of the ingredients for the Five-Phase Essence-Consolidating Pill, he set out for the gathering to seek the remaining treasures.

• Zhou Li and Ye Yun urged Xu Yan to give Ye Yun his Golden Marrow Jade Dew Pill and travel with them to the Great Yan Ancient Mine, but Xu Yan refused and dismissed them.
• Zhou Li invited Xu Yan to a Guest Elders gathering at Shen Changyun’s cave abode on Sky Pillar Peak, and Ye Yun gave him a Jade Talisman with the details.
• Xu Yan inventoried the ingredients for the Five-Phase Essence-Consolidating Pill and found he still needed seven supplementary herbs.
• Xu Yan traded at the Crimson Sun Sect’s Treasure Pavilion, obtaining the supplementary herbs and a Seven-Winged Fire Spirit Cicada, but he still lacked the metal- and earth-aspect ingredients.
• Three days later, Xu Yan headed toward Sky Pillar Peak to attend the gathering and look for the remaining ingredients.

Xu Yan, posing as Lin Dao, attended Shen Changyun’s gathering of Crimson Sun Sect Guest Elders and traded for the Earth-Spirit Blood Ganoderma he needed. After the cultivators exchanged treasures, Xu Yan had gathered all the ingredients for the Five-Phase Essence-Consolidating Pill, but nine deep bell chimes interrupted the gathering.

• Shen Changyun’s disciple led Xu Yan to the cave abode, where Xu Yan met Shen Changyun, Ye Yun, Zhou Li, and Zhou Qi.
• Shen Changyun offered several treasures for trade, including an Earth-Spirit Blood Ganoderma, and Zhou Li tried to obtain it.
• Xu Yan offered five jin of Cave-Mystery Iron Essence and took the Earth-Spirit Blood Ganoderma, outbidding Zhou Li.
• Xu Yan traded the Blood Jade Spirit Python’s corpse to Ye Yun for Golden-Eyed Spirit Deer antlers and spirit stones, completing his ingredients for the Five-Phase Essence-Consolidating Pill.
• Nine deep bell chimes rang through the cave abode, startling the gathered cultivators.

After the Crimson Sun Sect’s spirit bell summoned its Foundation Establishment elders, Danyangzi paid five Guest Elders to help Li Changfeng secure a spirit treasure in the Great Yan Ancient Mine. Danyangzi revealed that he had spent his essence blood preparing a powerful trump card, and the expedition was set to depart that day.

• Xu Yan and the other elders hurried to the Main Peak after the spirit bell chimed nine times, where Li Changfeng summoned them into the Council Hall.
• Xu Yan sensed that Danyangzi had less than a year to live and resolved to find a chance to leave the sect after the expedition.
• Danyangzi gave Xu Yan and the four other Guest Elders Golden Marrow Jade Dew Pills and ordered them to help Li Changfeng obtain the spirit treasure.
• Danyangzi named Li Changfeng leader of the expedition and handed him an expendable magic treasure capable of unleashing three attacks at Danyangzi’s full strength.
• Danyangzi ordered everyone to prepare and gather again in two hours before departing for the Great Yan Ancient Mine.

Xu Yan and the Crimson Sun Sect cultivators traveled to the Great Yan Ancient Mine on Danyangzi’s enormous spirit turtle, Qingxuan. They reached the ancient formation’s blood-colored barrier, where another group arrived on a Flood Dragon.

• Xu Yan returned to his cave abode, packed his Spirit Treasures, and suspected Danyangzi had called everyone to depart early because something had changed.
• Xu Yan saw a mountain-sized turtle emerge from its disguise as a low peak, and the Crimson Sun Sect cultivators greeted it as Martial Uncle Qingxuan.
• Xu Yan recognized Qingxuan as a Mountain-Bearing turtle with a powerful heavenly demon bloodline and judged its strength and potential to be extraordinary.
• Danyangzi arrived on Qingxuan’s head, ordered the cultivators onto its back, and led them toward the Great Yan Ancient Mine.
• Danyangzi explained that the blood-colored barrier contained the Great Evolution Sect’s Slaughter Formation, which would annihilate cultivators above Foundation Establishment.
• Xu Yan and the others dismounted before the barrier as a middle-aged man in yellow robes arrived riding an enormous Flood Dragon.

Danyangzi and the other sect leaders gathered with Gu Tianrong’s forces to enter the Inner Region and claim a rare Spirit Treasure. After the four leaders agreed to face the dangers ahead, they used their Formation Banners to begin breaking the blood-colored barrier.

• Danyangzi angrily rejected the Ten Thousand Fire Sect’s offer to absorb the Crimson Sun Sect, while the Yellow-Robed Middle-Aged Man warned that his sect would not be intimidated.
• A hunched elder from the Dark Moon Sect arrived and taunted Danyangzi, who suspected the two sects might join forces against his sect.
• Gu Tianrong’s Eighteen Black-Scaled Riders arrived, followed by Gu Tianrong and Gu Xuanji; Danyangzi and the other sect leaders greeted Gu Tianrong as a senior.
• Gu Tianrong reminded Danyangzi, the Yellow-Robed Middle-Aged Man, and the Dark Moon Sect’s elder that the agreement allowed for deaths and injuries while seizing the Spirit Treasure.
• Gu Tianrong and the three sect leaders produced their Formation Banners and sent four streaks of azure light toward the blood-colored barrier.

Xu Yan and the other cultivators prepared to enter the Great Yan Ancient Mine, whose opening would last three months. A drawing of lots set the factions' entry order, and Gu Tianrong sent the Gu Household in first.

• Gu Tianrong warned that the cultivators had to leave the Great Yan Ancient Mine within three months, or the entrance would close for three years.
• Gu Tianrong had one Foundation Establishment disciple from each of the three sects draw a lot to determine the entry order.
• Danyangzi chose Elder Qi, while the Ten Thousand Fire Sect chose Zhuang Wuya and the Dark Moon Sect chose Xuan Wuchang.
• The lots placed the Gu Household first, the Ten Thousand Fire Sect second, the Crimson Sun Sect third, and the Dark Moon Sect fourth.
• Gu Tianrong ordered Gu Xuanji to lead the Gu Household cultivators into the Great Yan Ancient Mine.

Xu Yan entered the Great Yan Ancient Mine with the Crimson Sun Sect and learned that its deadly Slaughter Formations could be triggered by his Ancient Demon Nine Prohibitions. After the group reached the sect’s valuable mining area, Fang Shan demanded Xu Yan’s Golden Marrow Jade Dew Pill under the pretense of an exchange, and Xu Yan challenged him.

• Danyangzi told Gu Tianrong that the Crimson Sun Sect had only glimpsed the Spirit Treasure deep in the Ancient Mine’s Inner Region.
• Xu Yan entered the Great Yan Ancient Mine with the other Crimson Sun Sect cultivators, and Li Changfeng warned them about its Slaughter Formations.
• Li Changfeng demonstrated the Two-Yi Silver Blade Formation, and Xu Yan discovered that circulating the Ancient Demon Nine Prohibitions caused a nearby formation to stir.
• Xu Yan considered using the formations to kill the four Rogue Cultivator Guest Elders and take their Golden Marrow Jade Dew Pills.
• The group reached the Crimson Sun Sect’s mining area, where Fang Shan demanded Xu Yan’s pill in exchange for a Spirit Treasure, and Xu Yan accused him of trying to seize it.

Xu Yan used Li Changfeng’s authority to deter the Crimson Sun Sect cultivators as the group set out for the Inner Region of the Great Yan Ancient Mine. They discovered that an ancient formation was steadily closing in on the mining areas, and Li Changfeng explained that a surviving Formation Spirit might be repairing it.

• Fang Shan accused Xu Yan of slandering him and demanded an apology, but Li Changfeng silenced him with his powerful aura and warned everyone against attacking fellow sect members for their Spirit Treasures.
• Shen Changyun offered Fang Shan a Golden Marrow Jade Dew Pill in exchange for a Spirit Treasure, but Fang Shan refused, and Xu Yan recognized Shen Changyun’s calculated attempt to signal goodwill.
• Elder Qi ordered the group to head into the Inner Region, and Xu Yan followed while looking for a chance to leave and refine his Five-Phase Essence-Consolidating Pill.
• The group carefully crossed the mining area, avoiding the Slaughter Formation’s shafts, until they spotted countless tiny swords of dark light sweeping through the space on either side of their passage.
• Li Changfeng explained that the sword-filled region had narrowed over the past century and that the ancient formation might eventually consume all four sects’ mining areas because a surviving Formation Spirit was repairing it.

Xu Yan and the others learned that a Spirit Treasure lay deep in the Great Yan Ancient Mine, then encountered a deadly Slaughter Formation in an area the Crimson Sun Sect believed safe. Elder Qi ordered Xu Yan and Zhou Li to lead the way through the dangers, leaving Zhou Li protesting.

• Li Changfeng explained that a Spirit Treasure had been found in the Inner Region after a mining cultivator triggered a Teleportation Formation and died.
• Xu Yan distrusted Li Changfeng’s account and worried that Danyangzi’s Jade Seal would obstruct his attempt to seize the Spirit Treasure.
• A Blood-Devouring Sword Lotus killed a Crimson Sun Sect Foundation Establishment cultivator, revealing that dangerous Slaughter Formations had appeared in the supposedly explored Mining Area.
• Li Changfeng warned the group that conditions in the Great Yan Ancient Mine had changed and that he could no longer guarantee their safety.
• Elder Qi pointed to Xu Yan and Zhou Li and ordered them to lead the way, prompting Zhou Li to protest.

Elder Qi killed Zhou Li after he refused to scout ahead, then forced Xu Yan to take his place. Xu Yan secretly welcomed the assignment, using the journey into the Great Yan Ancient Mine to study its hidden Slaughter Formations, until a group of Black-Scaled Riders and Ten Thousand Fire Sect cultivators appeared ahead.

• Shen Changyun and Ye Yun backed Elder Qi’s demand that Zhou Li lead the way, so Zhou Li fled toward the mine’s exit.
• Elder Qi pursued Zhou Li, killed him, and took his Storage Ring.
• Xu Yan agreed to lead in exchange for Zhou Li’s Golden Marrow Jade Dew Pill, which Elder Qi handed over.
• Xu Yan led the group deeper into the mine, secretly probing the void and learning to judge the strength of its Slaughter Formations.
• Over three days, the group traveled more than forty li into the Inner Region; a formation killed one Crimson Sun Sect elder and severed another’s arm, while Xu Yan faked an injury.
• Xu Yan stopped when he spotted the Eighteen Black-Scaled Riders ahead, with Ten Thousand Fire Sect cultivators following them.

Xu Yan and the Crimson Sun Sect were caught between a massive beast tide and powerful Demon Beasts, forcing them to take shelter alongside the Gu Household and the Ten Thousand Fire Sect. As the factions joined forces inside a formation, an unseen observer watched them from behind the horde.

• Gu Xuanji and the fleeing Black-Scaled Riders and Ten Thousand Fire Sect cultivators approached Xu Yan's group, pursued by danger from within the mine.
• Gold-Devouring Green Porcupines burst from the ground as a vast swarm of Black-Tailed Poison Bees swept toward the cultivators.
• Elder Qi used his Blood-Colored Spirit Bowl to shelter the group, but more than a dozen powerful Demon Beasts surrounded them from behind.
• Gu Xuanji proposed that the factions fight together, and Li Changfeng set up a great formation that admitted the Black-Scaled Riders and Zhuang Wuya's surviving Ten Thousand Fire Sect cultivators.
• A Ten Thousand Fire Sect elder died after being stung by poisonous bees, while a cold, sinister gaze watched the three factions from behind the beasts.

Xuan Wuchang used his demon bloodline’s innate ability to command the beast tide, hoping to devour the cultivators trapped in the Great Yan Ancient Mine. As the formation neared collapse, Gu Xuanji pressured Zhuang Wuya and Li Changfeng to reveal their trump cards, and the two brought them out while Gu Xuanji activated a damaged puppet.

• Xuan Wuchang revealed his supreme-grade heavenly demon bloodline and used his innate ability to command the beast tide, despite the weakness it would cause him.
• The cultivators’ final formation cracked under the beast tide, leaving the survivors fearing an imminent breakthrough.
• Gu Xuanji warned Zhuang Wuya and Li Changfeng that they had to use their hidden trump cards before the formation collapsed.
• Zhuang Wuya produced the third-tier Nine-Dragon True Fire Talisman after his sect’s cultivators pleaded with him.
• Li Changfeng brought out his Jade Seal despite his desire to save it for the calamity-averting yuan magnetism, and Gu Xuanji activated a damaged puppet.

Gu Xuanji, Zhuang Wuya, and Li Changfeng unleashed powerful treasures to break through the Demon Beast horde, allowing the cultivators to flee. Xu Yan escaped alone, avoided several Slaughter Formations, and found a deep underground nest where he planned to hide.

• Gu Xuanji’s puppet, Zhuang Wuya’s Jade Talisman, and Li Changfeng’s Jade Seal broke the formation and devastated the Demon Beasts with their attacks.
• The cultivators fled through the gap in the horde, and Xu Yan used the opportunity to separate from them.
• Xu Yan dodged a Slaughter Formation’s sword light but suffered a shoulder wound, which he treated with a Healing Pill.
• After fleeing for two hours and avoiding more Slaughter Formations, Xu Yan stopped where no Demon Beasts were in sight and dug underground.
• Xu Yan killed a group of Gold-Devouring Green Hedgehogs and followed their tunnel to a nest about a thousand zhang below the surface.

Xu Yan refined a Five-Phase Essence-Consolidating Pill and set out into the Great Yan Ancient Mine, hoping to find a Golden Marrow Jade Dew Pill and improve his chances of claiming the Spirit Treasure. He discovered a corpse beside a Slaughter Formation and lured Ye Yun into chasing him, intending to use the formation against the stronger cultivator.

• Xu Yan refined a second-tier supreme-grade Five-Phase Essence-Consolidating Pill and stored it in a Jade Bottle.
• Xu Yan considered which of the surviving cultivators to target for a Golden Marrow Jade Dew Pill, then headed toward the mine's Inner Region.
• Xu Yan found a Dark Moon Sect elder's corpse near what appeared to be a Slaughter Formation and sensed a sinister strand of divine sense.
• Ye Yun appeared, and Xu Yan pretended to flee; Ye Yun took the corpse's Storage Ring and pursued him.
• Xu Yan realized Ye Yun had followed and continued leading him onward, hoping the Slaughter Formation would kill the stronger cultivator.

Xu Yan lured Ye Yun into a hidden Slaughter Formation and killed him, taking his Storage Rings and essence blood. With three Golden Marrow Jade Dew Pills in hand, Xu Yan found a secluded underground refuge and prepared to break through.

• Ye Yun pursued Xu Yan, intent on killing him and taking his Golden Marrow Jade Dew Pills, while Xu Yan pretended to flee and searched for a powerful Slaughter Formation.
• Xu Yan led Ye Yun into a second-tier supreme-grade formation, whose Frost-Soul Silver Blades grievously wounded Ye Yun despite his Defensive Jade Talisman.
• Xu Yan killed Ye Yun with the Demon Finger, collected his essence blood and Storage Rings, and burned his corpse.
• Xu Yan flew to a collapsed mountain peak, found no Demon Beasts, and entered a deep underground hole to set up a second-tier Defensive Formation.
• Xu Yan took out the two Storage Rings, which contained enough Golden Marrow Jade Dew Pills to bring his total to three.