Chapter Summaries

Liu Yu and his companions escaped the Myriad Demon Grand Formation after slaughtering the pursuing demon cultivators, then hid underground to recover from their injuries. They set up Mu Yunyan’s Ice Soul Mystic Light Formation, while resentment and distrust lingered among the group.

• Mu Yunyan used Great Dream Through the Ages to daze a Black Butterfly Demon Cultivator, severed its wings, and bound it, but Liu Yu burned it to ashes with the Azure Yang Demonic Flame and gained one hundred degrees of fuel.
• Liu Yu harvested more fuel from another demon cultivator, bringing the total to eighteen hundred degrees, then ordered the group to leave before reinforcements arrived.
• The four traveled covertly for two days and nights, and Liu Yu proposed hiding to recuperate rather than attempting to cross the demon defenses while injured.
• Mu Yunyan revealed her third-tier middle-grade Ice Soul Mystic Light Formation, and Liu Yu helped ease the others’ resentment toward her.
• The group excavated a temporary cave abode nearly a hundred zhang underground, concealed it with the formation, and settled in to recover.

Liu Yu refined the Purple Poison Lizard’s essence soul into the Ten-Thousand Souls Banner, inventoried the Bitter-Hearted Old Monk’s possessions, and began refining the Arhat Bowl. After resting and studying Flame World, he opened his door to find Mu Yunyan waiting outside.

• Liu Yu extracted the Purple Poison Lizard’s essence soul and refined it into a vicious ghost for the Ten-Thousand Souls Banner.
• Liu Yu refined the Bitter-Hearted Old Monk’s Storage Ring and found spirit stones, Buddhist scriptures, pills, talismans, and two treasures.
• Liu Yu chose to keep and refine the Arhat Bowl, while setting aside the Vajra Bead to trade later.
• Liu Yu cultivated, practiced the Meteor Fist, and slept for two days to recover from exhaustion.
• Liu Yu studied Flame World, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s writings on the life-giving nature of fire.
• Mu Yunyan came to visit, and Liu Yu opened the formation to greet her.

Liu Yu traded a Vajra Bead and eight high-grade spirit stones to Mu Yunyan for the complete Phantom Dream Heart Sutra, then discussed primordial spirit cultivation with her. After studying the sutra, he resolved to use it to improve his Divine Preservation Art and adapt its Great Dream Through the Ages attack for himself.

• Mu Yunyan visited Liu Yu, and they exchanged condolences over Cang Lou’s likely death before discussing the price of the Phantom Dream Heart Sutra.
• Liu Yu offered the Vajra Bead and eight high-grade spirit stones, and Mu Yunyan accepted them in exchange for the complete sutra.
• Liu Yu and Mu Yunyan discussed the yin and yang of primordial spirits for several hours, and she left praising his insights.
• Liu Yu examined the sutra and decided to use the Immortal Mansion to refine the fourth and fifth levels of the Divine Preservation Art rather than switch cultivation methods.
• Liu Yu copied the sutra and began adapting its Great Dream Through the Ages area attack to complement his Spirit-Shocking Thorn.

Liu Yu planted the herbs needed for Phantom Dream Pills, learned that demon cultivators were patrolling too frequently for the group to leave, and refined sixty pills. After his cultivation method’s side effects flared up, he went to Zhuo Mengzhen’s room to exchange cultivation insights, and they spent the next ten to twelve hours together.

• Liu Yu planted the twenty-seven herbs for Phantom Dream Pills in the Immortal Mansion and returned to his room to study Great Dream Through the Ages.
• Liu Yu found third-tier demon cultivators patrolling nearby and told Gao Jianhan, Mu Yunyan, and Zhuo Mengzhen that they should wait a year before venturing out.
• Liu Yu studied Great Dream Through the Ages for two days, then refined sixty Phantom Dream Pills from the ripened herbs.
• Liu Yu’s cultivation-method side effects flared up, and he suppressed his agitation before deciding he needed to exchange yin and yang.
• Liu Yu approached Zhuo Mengzhen under the pretext of discussing cultivation insights, and the two were together in her room for ten to twelve hours.

Liu Yu and his companions reached the Sparkfire Mountain Range after twenty-eight years of hiding and traveling through the Hengduan Mountain Range, then rested before planning how to cross the Fire Phoenix Clan’s territory. Liu Yu remained focused on reaching the Central Region despite Zhuo Mengzhen’s growing feelings for him.

• Liu Yu left Zhuo Mengzhen after their dual cultivation and studied the secret art Great Dream Through the Ages.
• Liu Yu comprehended Great Dream Through the Ages and began cultivating it while the group waited for demon patrols to ease.
• After twenty-eight years in the Hengduan Mountain Range, Liu Yu, Zhuo Mengzhen, Mu Yunyan, and Gao Jianhan reached the outskirts of the Sparkfire Mountain Range.
• Liu Yu encouraged the exhausted group to cross the Fire Phoenix Clan’s territory and continue toward the Great Tang’s Annam Protectorate.
• Zhuo Mengzhen invited Liu Yu to her room, and after they were together he noticed her poem expressing her longing for him but left without responding.
• After resting for two days, Liu Yu and his companions gathered to discuss how to cross the Sparkfire Mountain Range.

Liu Yu and his companions reached the Sparkfire Mountain Range, where the Fire Phoenix Clan’s territory and powerful defenses made gathering information dangerous. Liu Yu went ahead alone to scout the region and observed the clan’s fire phoenixes, leaving the group waiting in their cave abode.

• Liu Yu decided that he and his companions would gather information before planning their route through the Sparkfire Mountain Range.
• Liu Yu stopped Gao Jianhan, Mu Yunyan, and Zhuo Mengzhen from leaving the Ice Soul Mystic Light Formation, warning that the Fire Phoenix Clan might see through the Azure Soul Gauze.
• Liu Yu flew alone toward the mountain range and concealed himself behind a rock roughly a hundred li away.
• Liu Yu used Astral Eyes to examine the volcanic terrain, its powerful spirit veins, and the fire-element demon beasts living there.
• Liu Yu observed the Fire Phoenix Clan and noted how their strength and darkening feathers seemed to command increasingly large hosts of demons.

Liu Yu surveyed the Sparkfire Mountain Range, suspecting humans had built the demons’ palaces, but found no cultivators during seven days of reconnaissance. He discovered a Fire Sparrow carrying an iron essence cage likely meant for immortal cultivators, followed it to a guarded area, and returned before his companions’ deadline.

• Liu Yu noticed the enormous palaces throughout the Sparkfire Mountain Range and wondered whether humans had built them, but his searches found no trace of any people.
• Liu Yu spent nearly seven days observing the mountain range, learning some of its terrain and demon activity while finding no opening to cross it.
• As Liu Yu prepared to return to the temporary Cave Abode, a third-tier Fire Sparrow passed nearby without detecting him, carrying a large iron essence cage fitted with human-sized shackles.
• Liu Yu followed the Fire Sparrow for roughly fifteen hundred li and watched it use a token bearing a true spirit phoenix to pass demon guards who feared the Third Princess.
• Liu Yu concluded that the cage likely held immortal cultivators, but stopped following when he encountered the guarded area and returned toward his companions.

Liu Yu found the former Changnan Ancient Road and spent three months scouting its defenses before bringing Gao Jianhan, Mu Yunyan, and Zhuo Mengzhen to consider a breakthrough. As a third-tier Fire Phoenix appeared and turned its attention toward him, the group’s plan was left in immediate danger.

• Liu Yu discovered wheel ruts near the Silent Volcanoes and suspected they marked the ruins of the Changnan Ancient Road, a possible route toward the Central Region.
• Liu Yu told Gao Jianhan, Mu Yunyan, and Zhuo Mengzhen about the route and rejected their suggestion to use Little Green to bluff past the demons again.
• Liu Yu spent three months studying the defenses and led his companions to the ancient road’s weakest point, urging them to attempt a breakthrough.
• The group watched a third-tier Fire Sparrow carry imprisoned human cultivators through the demon defenses after showing its token.
• A third-tier Fire Phoenix arrived, and the Fire Sparrow recognized it as the Third Princess.
• Liu Yu tried to withdraw his divine sense and shield the group, but the Fire Phoenix’s gaze turned toward him and filled him with terror.

Liu Yu and his companions were discovered by Third Princess Fire Phoenix in the Sparkfire Mountain Range, and their combined attack failed against her overwhelming strength. As her divine-sense flames threatened to kill Zhuo Mengzhen, Liu Yu began using Great Dream Through the Ages to defend his companions.

• Third Princess Fire Phoenix detected Liu Yu, Mu Yunyan, Gao Jianhan, and Zhuo Mengzhen, then attacked them with deep-red fireballs that the four dodged.
• Liu Yu ordered the group to attack and led a combined assault, but Third Princess Fire Phoenix resisted their spells, repelled his spear, and burned away much of their attacks.
• Third Princess Fire Phoenix unleashed golden-red spirit flames that scorched divine sense; Liu Yu blocked them with a Divine Sense Wall while Gao Jianhan, Mu Yunyan, and Zhuo Mengzhen struggled.
• As Zhuo Mengzhen began bleeding from her facial orifices and her spirit pressure weakened, Liu Yu gathered his divine sense and activated Great Dream Through the Ages.

Liu Yu and his companions fled into the Silent Volcanoes after he matched the Fire Phoenix Third Princess’s spiritual flames, while she was still recovering from the clash. He carried the unconscious Zhuo Mengzhen and faced five Demon Cultivators blocking his way, ending the chapter as he launched a desperate counterattack.

• Liu Yu’s pale blue divine-sense ripples clashed evenly with the Fire Phoenix Third Princess’s golden-red flames, injuring both of them and freeing Gao Jianhan and Mu Yunyan from the flames.
• Liu Yu swept the unconscious Zhuo Mengzhen into his arms and fled toward the Silent Volcanoes, while Gao Jianhan and Mu Yunyan escaped along separate routes.
• Ten Demon Cultivators pursued the group, and five of them converged on Liu Yu as he continued carrying Zhuo Mengzhen.
• Liu Yu transformed into his true form, placed Zhuo Mengzhen in his pocket, and used Wither to weaken the five Demon Cultivators.
• Liu Yu shattered a rock divine ability with the Setting Sun Golden Rainbow Spear, then swung the spear and his fist toward the attacks closing in around him.

Liu Yu fought through the Demon Cultivators and killed a Fire Bear, but Third Princess Fire Phoenix ambushed him with deceptive attacks and badly injured Zhuo Mengzhen. As a Transformed Demon Cultivator appeared nearby, Liu Yu fled with Zhuo Mengzhen and prepared to use an ancient talisman.

• Liu Yu broke through the Demon Cultivators’ attacks, tore his spear from a demon tiger’s grasp, and killed a Fire Bear with his frost beams and Heart-Piercing Spear.
• Liu Yu escaped the remaining Demon Cultivators, then realized Third Princess Fire Phoenix had vanished and might be stalking him with a concealment ability.
• Third Princess Fire Phoenix ambushed Liu Yu with illusions and a barrage of fiery feathers, overwhelming his defenses and damaging Zhuo Mengzhen’s Mystic Yin-Yang Needles.
• Zhuo Mengzhen awakened and tried to protect herself, but her life-bound treasure was damaged, her cultivation fell to the Golden Core early stage, and Liu Yu shielded her from the remaining feathers.
• Liu Yu exchanged blows with Third Princess Fire Phoenix, suffered deep claw wounds, and considered using the Ruined Sword before sensing a Transformed Demon Cultivator approaching.
• Liu Yu shrank to his normal size, carried the weakened Zhuo Mengzhen, and took out an ancient talisman while continuing to flee.

Liu Yu and Zhuo Mengzhen escaped the demon cultivators in the Sparkfire Mountain Range by activating the Instant Thousand-Mile Talisman. After teleporting, Liu Yu recognized the Myriad Demon Grand Formation on the southern horizon and realized they had arrived somewhere unexpected in the Hengduan Mountain Range.

• Liu Yu tore the Instant Thousand-Mile Talisman as the Third Fire Phoenix Princess and a Transformed Demon Cultivator closed in on him and Zhuo Mengzhen.
• The talisman's Spatial Barrier halted the demon cultivators' attacks while Liu Yu and Zhuo Mengzhen waited for the teleportation to begin.
• The talisman teleported Liu Yu and Zhuo Mengzhen away as Liu Yu declared that he would return to the Sparkfire Mountain Range.
• Liu Yu checked the area for pursuers and tracking methods, then concealed himself and Zhuo Mengzhen with the Divine Sense Wall.
• Liu Yu spotted the Myriad Demon Grand Formation on the southern horizon and realized they had not returned to the Black Dragon Mountain Range.

After crossing the Demon Royal Court’s second Myriad Demon Grand Formation, Liu Yu and Zhuo Mengzhen recovered in a hidden cave abode and cautiously traveled north. They reached a road leading to an ancient city, bringing them closer to the Annam Protectorate.

• Liu Yu used the Ruined Sword’s power to sever the demons’ tracking connections to his and Zhuo Mengzhen’s shed blood and flesh, then carried her away to a hidden cave abode.
• Liu Yu gave Zhuo Mengzhen a Spirit-Nourishing Pill and healed the foreign flame power in his wounds before cultivating through their recovery period.
• After three months, Zhuo Mengzhen emerged from her room and worried that she was too weak to reach the Central Region, but Liu Yu encouraged her to continue.
• Liu Yu and Zhuo Mengzhen destroyed their temporary cave abode and flew north under the protection of his Divine Sense Wall, noticing fewer demon beasts and cultivators along the way.
• After ten days of cautious travel, Liu Yu spotted a broad road and an ancient city in the northern mountains.

Liu Yu and Zhuo Mengzhen reached ruined Changnan City and found it controlled by the demon race, where human cultivators were enslaved. They chose new aliases and Liu Yu abducted Yu Feiyan to question her about the Central Region.

• Liu Yu and Zhuo Mengzhen identified the ruined city as Changnan City and saw demon beasts and cultivators wearing spirit-sealing collars and chains.
• Liu Yu decided to learn more about the situation by capturing a cultivator, while Zhuo Mengzhen proposed that they adopt new aliases.
• Liu Yu chose the alias Ancient City, and Zhuo Mengzhen chose Colorful Butterfly.
• Yu Feiyan struggled to haul purple ore while a Fire Sparrow watched, and an overseer whipped her for slowing down.
• A Fire Sparrow killed Yu Feiyan's friend, then attacked Yu Feiyan as she fell behind the group.
• Liu Yu burned the Fire Sparrow to death, and Yu Feiyan pleaded for his help before he rendered her unconscious.

After learning from Yu Feiyan’s memories that all six provinces of Annam had fallen to the demon race, Liu Yu and Zhuo Mengzhen gathered intelligence around Changnan City and prepared to infiltrate it. They entered the city disguised as enslaved Foundation Establishment cultivators, where Liu Yu witnessed the demon race’s brutal treatment of captives.

• Liu Yu searched Yu Feiyan’s soul, learned that Great Qian and the demon race controlled the Central Region and Annam’s six provinces respectively, and burned her remains.
• Liu Yu told Zhuo Mengzhen that they would investigate Changnan City and seek the former Annam Protectorate’s contacts, while they gathered more information by searching the souls of captured cultivators.
• After three days of observation, Liu Yu and Zhuo Mengzhen used Phantom Dream to kill two Foundation Establishment cultivators unseen, took their Spirit-Sealing Rings, and assumed their identities.
• Liu Yu and Zhuo Mengzhen joined a procession of captive cultivators hauling ore toward Changnan City, concealing their Golden Core cultivation with their rings and the Spirit-Concealing Art.
• At the city gate, tiger demons devoured several exhausted laborers, and Zhuo Mengzhen struggled to hide her anger before Liu Yu calmed her.
• Liu Yu and Zhuo Mengzhen continued toward Changnan City disguised among the captives.

Liu Yu and Zhuo Mengzhen infiltrated Changnan City and spent a month posing as enslaved Foundation Establishment Cultivators while gathering intelligence. After witnessing the city’s brutal labor system, Liu Yu set out in a blizzard to seek contact with the Zhang Household and stopped outside Jiren Study.

• Liu Yu and Zhuo Mengzhen passed the city gate by disguising themselves and evading the third-tier demon cultivator’s inspection.
• Liu Yu observed the enslaved workers, the construction projects, and the armored demon beasts before using the Azure Yang Demonic Flame to complete his ore-purification quota with ease.
• Liu Yu considered the danger of remaining in Changnan City and watched an overseer send a cultivator who missed his quota away to become food for the demon nobility.
• After submitting his assignment, Liu Yu planned to scout for Annam Protectorate cultivators while Zhuo Mengzhen continued gathering intelligence on Changnan and other cities.
• Liu Yu traveled through the blizzard after misleading the city’s watchers and stopped outside Jiren Study.

Liu Yu reached the Jiren Study and used the coded phrase “Six Notes from the Rong Studio” to make contact with Zhang Tao, a cultivator of the Annam Protectorate. Zhang Tao revealed that the study was the protectorate’s last contact point and began explaining its history and current situation.

• Liu Yu visited the Jiren Study in Changnan City and searched its shelves for six hours while the other guests left.
• Liu Yu asked Zhang Tao for “Six Notes from the Rong Studio,” and Zhang Tao recognized the phrase as a secret signal.
• Zhang Tao led Liu Yu through a hidden passage into a protected meeting room beneath the study.
• Liu Yu told Zhang Tao that he came from Southern Heaven, and Zhang Tao explained that the Annam Protectorate had continued trying to contact it for over a hundred thousand years.
• Zhang Tao revealed that the Jiren Study was the protectorate’s last contact point and would close within ten years, then asked Liu Yu’s name and background.
• Liu Yu introduced himself as Ancient City and revealed his middle Golden Core cultivation; Zhang Tao began explaining the protectorate’s history.

Liu Yu learned that the Zhang Household planned to seize Lingwu City during the demon race’s Royal Court Assembly, creating a route north toward Great Qian. Zhang Tao asked him to retrieve spirit liquid needed to free Zhang Household cultivators from Spirit-Sealing Chains, and Liu Yu agreed only if Zhang Tao provided a second-tier spirit flame.

• Zhang Tao recounted the history of the Annam Six Provinces and explained that Lingwu City was the only safe route north, but it was heavily guarded by demon forces.
• Zhang Tao revealed that the Zhang Household planned to attack Lingwu City during the Royal Court Assembly, when many demon cultivators would be away.
• Zhang Tao asked Liu Yu to travel to Lingwu City in about half a month and retrieve spirit liquid that could dissolve Spirit-Sealing Chains.
• Liu Yu weighed the dangers and negotiated for a second-tier spirit flame in exchange for taking the mission.

Liu Yu negotiated with Zhang Tao for a second-grade spirit flame in exchange for helping the Zhang Household’s operation to cross Lingwu City, and Zhuo Mengzhen agreed to join him. Three days later, Liu Yu absorbed the essence of the Mandala Blood Flame, advancing the Azure Yang Demonic Flame to the second grade.

• Liu Yu refused to risk his life for the Zhang Household without compensation, and Zhang Tao agreed to provide him with a second-grade spirit flame in three days.
• Zhang Tao explained the mission and a safer route to Ling Province, and Liu Yu memorized the details before leaving the Jiren Study.
• Liu Yu told Zhuo Mengzhen about the operation and let her decide whether to participate; she agreed to join him.
• Three days later, Liu Yu began draining the Mandala Blood Flame’s spiritual power so he could extract its essence.
• Liu Yu repeatedly drew out the Mandala Blood Flame’s essence and merged it into the Azure Yang Demonic Flame, which advanced to the second grade as the Mandala Blood Flame vanished.

After advancing the Azure Yang Demonic Flame, Liu Yu and Zhuo Mengzhen accepted Zhang Tao’s mission to escort Defiling Spirit Liquid toward Lingwu City. As they flew north through the snowbound Annam Six Provinces, Liu Yu saw widespread devastation and the collapse of the mortal population.

• Liu Yu examined the Azure Yang Demonic Flame’s new second-grade power and watched it stabilize before returning it to his dantian.
• Liu Yu and Zhuo Mengzhen met Zhang Tao in the Jiren Study, where he briefed them on the Defiling Spirit Liquid mission and urged them to depart immediately.
• Zhang Tao escorted Liu Yu and Zhuo Mengzhen out, then returned to prepare his treasure and resolved to take part in the uprising himself.
• Liu Yu and Zhuo Mengzhen traveled north through Yi Province and into Gua Province, avoiding demon cultivators along Zhang Tao’s route.
• Liu Yu used his Blackwind Wings and carried Zhuo Mengzhen to increase their flight speed toward Lingwu City.
• Liu Yu surveyed the snow-covered Annam Six Provinces and saw abandoned farmland, roaming demon beasts, and mortals living amid widespread misery.