Chapter Summaries

Liu Yu arrived with the Five Great Sects of Chu at Empty Mulberry Mountain, where their elders began negotiations with representatives from the Qi Kingdom about attacking the Yan Kingdom. While waiting for orders, he attended a gathering of Foundation Establishment cultivators to seek medicinal ingredients and other useful items.

• The Five Great Sects of Chu arrived at Empty Mulberry Mountain, and True Person Changfeng told their Foundation Establishment cultivators to stay within the Hua Household's grounds.
• Liu Yu settled into a temporary cave abode, briefly let Little Green out of its Spirit Beast Bag, then cultivated with a Spirit-Nourishing Pill and studied the Hundred Herbs Pill Book.
• Jiang Qiushui told Liu Yu that cultivators had organized an exchange gathering, and he agreed to attend with her.
• Liu Yu and Jiang Qiushui reached the gathering, where more than three hundred cultivators traded spiritual items and treasures.
• Liu Yu and Jiang Qiushui split up to search the stalls for items on his list, while Liu Yu planned to offer pills such as the Black Jade Limb-Reconnecting Pill and Purple Zhi Pill.

Liu Yu gathered rare spirit plants at an exchange and assessed his strength before the Chu Kingdom’s forces received orders to attack the Yan Kingdom. He boarded the Peregrine Ship with the other Primordial Yang Sect disciples, and the fleet arrived within sight of Ancient Gate City.

• Liu Yu traded his pills for rare spirit plants, disguising himself between visits to avoid drawing attention to the Immortal Mansion’s secret.
• Liu Yu organized his weapons and classified Foundation Establishment cultivators by strength, judging himself an elite cultivator capable of defeating ordinary late-stage opponents.
• Liu Yu, Jiang Qiushui, Yan Kai, and Cui Liang debated how to handle Yan Kingdom cultivation lineages, with Liu Yu and Jiang Qiushui favoring judging local powers individually and accepting those who pledged allegiance.
• The Primordial Yang Sect ordered its Foundation Establishment disciples to board the spirit ships, and True Person Changfeng warned them against fleeing before the enemy.
• The five spirit ships flew toward Ancient Gate City, where Liu Yu saw the city’s bronze walls beneath the night sky.

The Five Great Sects of Chu surrounded Ancient Gate Immortal-Fate City after learning that the White Cloud Temple had colluded with the righteous path. Old Daoist Ziyun tried to deny the charges, but the Chu Golden Core cultivators began assaulting the city’s defensive formation while Liu Yu and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators watched from their spirit ships.

• Liu Yu and the Chu cultivators prepared for battle as Ancient Gate City activated its defensive formation and enclosed itself in an azure curtain of light.
• The Five Great Spirit Ships of Chu surrounded the city, and more than fifty Golden Core cultivators flew forward to confront its defenders.
• Old Daoist Ziyun denied the accusations, but True Person Daoguang said the Chu sects had confirmed the White Cloud Temple’s collusion with the righteous path.
• True Person Sanjie attacked the city wall with his Life-bound Treasure, and Golden Core cultivators from all five Chu sects joined the assault.
• Liu Yu and Yan Kai realized that the Foundation Establishment cultivators would not need to attack the city, while dozens of treasures struck its defensive formation and frightened Old Daoist Ziyun.

The Chu Kingdom’s Golden Core cultivators broke through Ancient Gate City’s defenses, forcing Old Daoist Ziyun and the White Cloud Temple’s elite disciples to flee while the city descended into chaos. Liu Yu joined the occupation forces, used the upheaval to profit from his patrol, and ended the chapter with substantial spoils.

• The Chu Kingdom’s Golden Core cultivators battered the Evergreen Yi Wood Formation, while Old Daoist Ziyun evacuated the White Cloud Temple’s elite disciples and escaped through the teleportation formation.
• After the formation collapsed, cultivators looted and fled amid the chaos, and Liu Yu and the other Chu disciples received orders to seal the gates and maintain order.
• Liu Yu, Jiang Qiushui, and Yan Kai were assigned to patrol the East Market, where Liu Yu said they should kill disorderly cultivators and divide the gains.
• Liu Yu killed seven cultivators attacking a pill shop with his Azure Yang Demonic Flame and collected their Storage Bags.
• During their patrol, Liu Yu and his companions killed looters and other troublemakers, accepted gifts from shopkeepers, and accumulated spoils worth eight or nine thousand Spirit Stones.

Liu Yu and his companions patrolled Ancient Gate City, profiting from their enforcement while seeking valuable shop inheritances. After Liu Yu killed two masked cultivators attacking the Huang Family Pill Workshop, he asked its owner, Huang An, for an alchemy inheritance.

• Liu Yu stopped extorting low-end shops and continued patrolling with Jiang Qiushui and Yan Kai, targeting more valuable legacies and skills.
• The trio reached the Huang Family Pill Workshop and found a masked man and woman attacking its formation.
• Liu Yu and his companions attacked; Liu Yu swiftly killed the wolf-masked man with the Profound Departure Sword and Netherworld Soul-Severing Cone.
• Jiang Qiushui and Yan Kai fought the fox-masked woman until Liu Yu killed her, and the group collected the pair’s Storage Bags.
• Huang An thanked Liu Yu for saving his shop, and Liu Yu claimed he needed Huang An’s alchemy inheritance.

Liu Yu used his power and the Chu Kingdom’s takeover of Ancient Gate City to obtain the Huang Family Pill Workshop’s alchemy inheritance and the Hundred Crafts Tower’s artifact refining inheritance. After completing his patrol with Jiang Qiushui and Yan Kai, he returned to find their district quiet but still anxious under the new rule.

• Liu Yu pressured Huang An into handing over two jade slips containing the Huang Family Pill Workshop’s alchemy inheritance, then promised that Huang An could seek his help with local problems.
• Liu Yu and his companions reached the Hundred Crafts Tower, where its owner, Shopkeeper Qin, handed over a storage bag to avoid a forced search.
• Liu Yu inspected the Hundred Crafts Tower and pressured Shopkeeper Qin into copying the shop’s artifact refining inheritance for one mid-grade spirit stone.
• Liu Yu decided not to target other shops and led Jiang Qiushui and Yan Kai back to inspect their patrol area again.
• The three completed a quiet second patrol, and Liu Yu observed that their harsh crackdown had restored order while the city remained uneasy.

Liu Yu and his companions divided the spoils from their expedition, then he studied two newly acquired cultivation inheritances while Chu Kingdom’s forces secured Ancient Gate City. With massive reinforcements arriving, the war against the Yan Kingdom began in earnest, and Liu Yu’s team debated how cautiously to proceed before his Sect Token stirred.

• Jiang Qiushui appraised the expedition’s spoils at about seventeen thousand spirit stones, and Liu Yu divided them into three shares, keeping the largest portion while allowing Jiang Qiushui and Yan Kai to select Magical Artifacts.
• Liu Yu entrusted Jiang Qiushui with exchanging his share for spirit stones, then examined the Yi'an Alchemy Art and Hundred Crafts Artifact Manual and transcribed both inheritances.
• Over five days, the Chu Kingdom’s five sects purged most White Cloud Temple cultivators from Ancient Gate City and installed a new defensive formation, while Liu Yu, Jiang Qiushui, and Yan Kai patrolled without incident.
• More than fifty thousand Qi Refining Cultivators and over five hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators arrived as reinforcements, and the alliance organized them to patrol the city and hunt White Cloud Temple forces.
• Liu Yu told Jiang Qiushui, Yan Kai, and Cui Liang that the war to destroy the Yan Kingdom had begun; Yan Kai urged them to seize opportunities, while Cui Liang counseled caution, and Liu Yu took out his Sect Token after sensing it move.

Liu Yu learned that the Chu Kingdom’s sects planned to divide the Yan Kingdom’s Eastern Four Provinces and that the Primordial Yang Sect would hold a contest to choose commanders for its cultivator squads. Though Li Changkong expected him to join Li Buyu’s squad, Liu Yu planned to challenge for command himself and sought help from a Yan Household cultivator.

• Liu Yu left his gathering with Jiang Qiushui, Cui Liang, and Yan Kai after receiving a summons from Li Changkong.
• At Li Changkong’s cave abode, Liu Yu learned that the Chu Kingdom’s forces would attack the Eastern Four Provinces and that Primordial Yang Sect squads would subdue settlements and cultivation lineages.
• Li Changkong said Li Buyu could be nominated as a commander, Jing Yongqing would need to win a challenge, and Liu Yu should join Li Buyu’s squad.
• Liu Yu agreed outwardly but decided to challenge for a commander’s position when the contest began.
• Liu Yu went to visit a Yan Household cultivator to prepare for the contest.

Liu Yu sought the Yan Household’s support in competing for a team leader position and prepared to reveal some of his strength. After receiving a sect summons, he headed to the meeting with Jiang Qiushui, Yan Kai, and Cui Liang as other sects began deploying their forces.

• Liu Yu visited Yan Wenbin and secured the Yan Household’s help by offering three hundred spirit stones.
• Liu Yu decided that gaining a team leader position would help him obtain resources and raise his standing, so he prepared his artifacts for the selection.
• Liu Yu received a sect message summoning Foundation Establishment cultivators to a meeting two days later.
• Jiang Qiushui, Yan Kai, and Cui Liang joined Liu Yu on the way to the eastern part of Ancient Gate City.
• Liu Yu recognized the Snowfall Pavilion’s Snow Plum and the Void Clarity School’s Far-Reaching Ship departing, then saw Crescent Moon Valley and Hehuan Sect cultivators gathering as they traveled.

Liu Yu attended the Primordial Yang Sect’s gathering, where True Person Changfeng announced the formation of twelve Azure Edge Squads and opened contests for their leaders. Liu Yu hinted that he might challenge, and the first cultivator finally stepped forward as the contest began.

• Liu Yu arrived at the plaza with Jiang Qiushui, Yan Kai, and Cui Liang and greeted fellow sect disciples, including Li Buyu and Jing Yongqing.
• True Person Changfeng and eight other Golden Core elders arrived and announced the sect’s campaign strategy against the White Cloud Temple and the creation of twelve Azure Edge Squads.
• True Person Changfeng named twelve provisional squad leaders, including Li Buyu, and invited other Foundation Establishment cultivators to challenge them for their positions.
• The elders set out twelve combat platforms and explained the contest rules, while Liu Yu waited to see how the challenges unfolded.
• Yan Kai asked whether Liu Yu intended to compete, and Liu Yu answered with a slight nod and a faint smile.
• After a short wait, a cultivator stepped forward to challenge for a team leader position.

Liu Yu watched Chang Haosi defeat Zhai Ning and studied the ensuing challenges to the twelve Combat Platforms, waiting until he found a suitable opponent. As the fifth two-hour period began, he stepped onto the third Combat Platform on the right to issue his challenge.

• Zhai Ning challenged Chang Haosi, who overwhelmed him with sharp sword qi until Zhai Ning conceded.
• Liu Yu assessed Chang Haosi's strengths and considered how his own artifacts and techniques would fare against him.
• Several cultivators challenged the platform champions, and Wei Xiaoqin was the only challenger to win during the first four two-hour periods.
• Liu Yu observed the duels to identify a suitable opponent and avoid revealing too many of his own abilities.
• At the start of the fifth two-hour period, Liu Yu nodded to Jiang Qiushui, Yan Kai, and Cui Liang, then leaped onto the third Combat Platform on the right.

Liu Yu challenged Liang Dong for a leadership position and used two High-Grade Spirit Artifacts to steadily overwhelm the late-stage cultivator. After half an hour, Liu Yu destroyed Liang Dong’s Purple Short Whip, and Liang Dong conceded to protect his remaining weapon.

• Liu Yu leaped onto the Combat Platform and challenged Liang Dong, choosing him because he belonged to the Master-Disciple Line.
• Liu Yu immediately attacked with the Profound Departure Sword and Netherworld Soul-Severing Cone, forcing Liang Dong to the platform’s edge and slightly injuring him.
• Liu Yu calmly countered Liang Dong’s spells and artifacts while Jing Yongqing grew jealous and left to challenge someone on another platform.
• Liu Yu’s companions watched the battle, with Jiang Qiushui supporting him, Yan Kai hoping to join his squad, and Cui Liang feeling left behind.
• After half an hour, Liu Yu destroyed Liang Dong’s Purple Short Whip with the Netherworld Soul-Severing Cone.
• Liang Dong conceded to Liu Yu rather than risk losing his Yellow Flying Sword as well.

Liu Yu won the final duel and was formally appointed leader of an Azure Edge Squad, then began choosing his teammates. After recruiting Jiang Qiushui, Yan Kai, and Cui Liang, he considered Leng Yuexin for the last place.

• Liang Dong conceded to Liu Yu after his spirit artifacts gave Liu the advantage, and Liu Yu became the victor on Combat Platform Twelve.
• Liu Yu recovered his magical power, defeated his final challenger, and secured a squad leader position as one of twelve appointed leaders.
• Liu Yu noticed Jing Yongqing's hostility and remembered the threat while the newly appointed leaders began selecting teammates.
• Liu Yu invited Jiang Qiushui, Yan Kai, and Cui Liang to join his squad, and all three accepted.
• Liu Yu spotted the isolated Leng Yuexin and considered recruiting her to fill the squad's remaining place.

Liu Yu recruited Leng Yuexin into the Azure Edge Squad, judging her strength and lack of sect ties useful for the expedition. After the squad leaders received their assignments and strict orders from the elders, Liu Yu left the City Lord's Mansion to prepare for the campaign.

• Liu Yu invited Leng Yuexin to join his squad, and she accepted after suspecting he wanted her to handle dangerous or unsavory work.
• Liu Yu introduced Leng Yuexin to Jiang Qiushui, Yan Kai, and Cui Liang, while other disciples questioned his choice.
• True Person Changfeng announced that the twelve Azure Edge Squads would depart in half a day to attack the next immortal city.
• Liu Yu told his squad to prepare for a long absence, then went to the City Lord's Mansion for the squad leaders' briefing.
• True Person Changfeng, Elder Qi Yuntian, and Elder He Rulong assigned missions and ordered the leaders to limit casualties and protect the sect's larger plans.
• Liu Yu and the other squad leaders affirmed they would obey, then withdrew from the hall.

Liu Yu prepared his Azure Edge Squad for its mission, watched Ancient Gate City purge most of its cultivators, and boarded an Origin Returning Boat with his squad and assigned Subordinate Forces. The fleet departed south linked by the Child-Mother Spirit Light Formation, leaving Liu Yu in command of the boat and its passengers.

• The twelve Azure Edge Squad leaders exchanged Voice-Transmitting Talismans, and Liu Yu secured Li Buyu's promise of help and formed a verbal alliance with Wei Xiaoqin.
• Liu Yu met his squad members at a teahouse and watched patrols expel most of Ancient Gate City's cultivators, killing those who resisted.
• The Primordial Yang Sect disciples boarded the fleet's vessels, and Liu Yu led Jiang Qiushui, Yan Kai, Cui Liang, and Leng Yuexin onto the Origin Returning Boat marked with the rune for ten.
• A fellow disciple handed Liu Yu control of the boat, and Meng Wenxing and four other Foundation Establishment cultivators from Subordinate Forces introduced themselves and pledged to serve under him.
• The Peregrine Spirit Ship connected to the Origin Returning Boats through the Child-Mother Spirit Light Formation, and the fleet flew south together.

Liu Yu reorganized his squad and prepared to begin its independent mission after the Primordial Yang Sect fleet reached You Province. He chose the Mang Mountain Market Ward as the squad’s first target, leaving them poised to attack it.

• Liu Yu divided the 150 subordinate Qi Refining cultivators into thirty squads and placed three companies under Yan Kai, Cui Liang, and Leng Yuexin.
• Liu Yu appointed ten subordinate cultivators as squad leaders, completed the reorganization, and discussed the group’s abilities with his companions.
• As the fleet approached its destination, Liu Yu encouraged Jiang Qiushui and the others by promising opportunities to gain resources and territory.
• Liu Yu received the order to depart, detached his Origin Returning Boat from the fleet, and steered it west.
• Liu Yu told Yan Kai and the others that their first target was Mang Mountain Market Ward, ruled by the Foundation Establishment middle-stage Many-Eyed Daoist.
• Liu Yu explained that he chose Mang Mountain because it was weaker than nearby Phoenix Mountain, offered a manageable first battle, and lay farther from Golden Gate Market Ward.

Liu Yu led his team toward Mang Mountain Market Ward and chose to gather intelligence before attacking, wary of a possible White Cloud Temple ambush. After interrogations confirmed the ward’s defenses had only recently tightened, he ordered the team to advance and demand surrender, leaving the force closing in on Mang Mountain.

• Liu Yu had Jiang Qiushui steer the Origin Returning Boat and landed his team seven or eight li from Mang Mountain to avoid detection.
• Liu Yu rejected Yan Kai’s suggestion to attack immediately and assigned Yan Kai and Cui Liang to gather intelligence while Meng Wenxing and the others watched their surroundings.
• Yan Kai captured local cultivators and Cui Liang abducted a market ward guard; their interrogations revealed stricter security but no other unusual developments.
• Liu Yu ordered the captives killed to prevent information from leaking, then decided the team would surround the ward and demand its surrender before resorting to force.
• Liu Yu’s team advanced openly toward Mang Mountain Market Ward, with the ten foundation establishment cultivators leading the way.

Liu Yu surrounded Mang Mountain Market Ward and demanded that the Many-Eyed Daoist prove his loyalty to the Nine Kingdoms Alliance. When Many Eyes tried to delay, Liu Yu ordered an attack, and Many Eyes offered to submit as the magical artifacts struck toward the ward.

• Liu Yu deployed his forces around Mang Mountain Market Ward and ordered them to stop anyone from leaving or spreading news.
• The Many-Eyed Daoist emerged and offered gifts, claiming he had no ties to White Cloud Temple.
• Liu Yu invoked the Nine Kingdoms Alliance and demanded that Many Eyes surrender his Storage Bag and seal his dantian acupoints to prove his allegiance.
• Many Eyes asked for more time, but Liu Yu gave him half an incense stick and then ordered his forces to attack when he still hesitated.
• Jiang Qiushui, Yan Kai, Meng Wenxing, and the others launched eighteen top-grade magical artifacts at the formation, prompting Many Eyes to declare that he would submit.

Liu Yu’s group broke the Many-Eyed Daoist’s formation, killed him, and seized control of the Mang Mountain Market Ward. They contained the guards and residents, then arranged patrols and sentries to keep news of the takeover from spreading.

• The Many-Eyed Daoist pleaded for mercy as Liu Yu’s nine cultivators battered his formation, but Liu Yu ordered them to switch from magical artifacts to second-tier spells.
• Jiang Qiushui, Yan Kai, Meng Wenxing, and the others cast fire spells that evaporated the yellow mist and destroyed the formation, leaving the Many-Eyed Daoist badly injured by backlash.
• Liu Yu ordered the group to kill the Many-Eyed Daoist, and the nine cultivators overwhelmed him and took his storage bag.
• Yan Kai reassured the market ward’s cultivators that the Primordial Yang Sect would spare the uninvolved, while Liu Yu ordered the Qi Refining disciples to capture or kill the guards who resisted or fled.
• Jiang Qiushui reported that Liu Yu’s people had taken over the market ward, posted patrols and sentries around Mang Mountain, and blocked anyone from leaving.

Liu Yu reviewed intelligence on the White Household of Phoenix Mountain, including the threat posed by Bai Lianhua and the mysterious Bai Caihuang, then divided the spoils from Mang Mountain Market Ward. He left to deal personally with the surrendered guards, intending to use them to replenish the Azure Yang Demonic Flame.

• Jiang Qiushui reported that the White Household had six Foundation Establishment cultivators, led by the powerful talisman master Bai Lianhua, and a superior-grade mountain-protecting formation.
• Jiang Qiushui described Bai Caihuang’s early Foundation Establishment and rumored special talent, prompting Liu Yu to keep her potential strength in mind.
• Yan Kai reported that the Mang Mountain Market Ward spoils totaled about nineteen thousand spirit stones, and Liu Yu assigned shares to the Foundation Establishment cultivators and Qi Refining disciples.
• The group accepted Liu Yu’s distribution plan, and Jiang Qiushui handed out the resources.
• Leng Yuexin asked what to do with the surrendered guards, and Liu Yu said he would deal with them personally to replenish his Azure Yang Demonic Flame.