Chapter Summaries

Zhang Tao kept the Zhang Household’s plans secret while the gathered Golden Core cultivators formed alliances and prepared for the operation. The Thunderbolt arrived with Zhang Ziping, and Liu Yu learned that Central Region spirit ships could let lower-realm cultivators unleash combat power one major realm above their own.

• Zhang Tao refused to reveal the Zhang Household’s countermeasures, and Ran Miaoyin accepted his explanation on behalf of the gathered cultivators.
• Guo Poyun asked Liu Yu and Zhuo Mengzhen to look out for one another, and Liu Yu agreed to work with him.
• The Thunderbolt arrived, alarming the cultivators until Zhang Tao identified it as the Zhang Household’s spirit ship.
• Zhang Ziping greeted Zhang Tao and the gathered cultivators, and Zhang Tao asked whether the mission in Gan Province and Su Province had gone smoothly.
• Guo Poyun explained the tiers and capabilities of Central Region spirit ships to Liu Yu, who realized the Thunderbolt could wield Nascent Soul-level combat power.

Liu Yu learned more about the scarcity and capabilities of high-tier spirit ships as the Zhang Household assembled its forces to attack Lingwu City. The three ships arrived near the city, leaving the cultivators poised for battle.

• Guo Poyun explained that only major Spirit Transformation factions could train ship-refining masters and that the Qian Court and Sacred Lands alone could reliably build fourth-tier spirit ships.
• Kong Lingxiu arrived aboard the fourth-tier Azure Firmament, and Guo Poyun told Liu Yu that Zhang Tao had also brought the middle-fourth-tier Dingnan.
• Zhang Tao addressed the assembled cultivators, framing the uprising as a just cause and urging them to seize the opportunity created by the demon cultivators’ absence.
• Zhang Tao revealed the Dingnan, and the Thunderbolt, Azure Firmament, and Dingnan set out together for Lingwu City.
• Liu Yu examined the ships’ concealment and operation, noting their strength as well as brief sluggishness when they turned.
• The three ships reached a point about seven hundred li from Lingwu City, and the ancient city came into view as the cultivators prepared for battle.

True Person Zhen Lei broke free from his imprisonment by killing Huo Feihong, and the freed Golden Core cultivators launched their coordinated attacks around Lingwu City. Aboard the Dingnan, Liu Yu realized the great battle had begun.

• As the cultivators approached Lingwu City, Huo Feihong taunted the imprisoned True Person Zhen Lei, who secretly gathered lightning energy overhead.
• True Person Zhen Lei unleashed his Ten Thousand Thunders spell, badly wounding Huo Feihong and then killing him with repeated lightning strikes.
• After killing Huo Feihong, True Person Zhen Lei waited as Third Tier Demon Cultivators rushed toward him.
• Distracted demon cultivators left their posts, allowing the imprisoned Golden Core Cultivators to retrieve Defiling Spirit Liquid, escape their restraints, and attack nearby demons.
• Battles erupted at fifteen or twenty locations around Lingwu City, and Liu Yu understood aboard the Dingnan that the great battle had begun.

Three fourth-tier spirit ships rescued True Person Zhenlei and unleashed a surprise attack that devastated the demon cultivators around Lingwu City. As Liu Yu held back while fighting two demons, the fourth-tier demon cultivators finally emerged.

• The Thunderbolt spirit ship crushed the demons’ attacks and crippled a fire lion, forcing the demons to retreat as the three ships rescued True Person Zhenlei.
• Zhang Tao ordered the golden core cultivators aboard the ships to attack, and their overwhelming assault killed many demon cultivators pursuing Lingwu City.
• The three spirit ships split up to assist battles around the city, while Liu Yu left the Dingnan with Zhuo Mengzhen and Guo Poyun to engage two third-tier middle-stage demons.
• Liu Yu told Guo Poyun to follow his signals and secretly held back his strength while the trio fought the demons, avoiding attention from stronger enemies.
• The humans continued killing demons around Lingwu City, but uncontrolled demon beasts slaughtered lower-tier human cultivators; roughly thirty breaths after True Person Zhenlei killed Huo Feihong, the fourth-tier demon cultivators appeared.

Fourth-tier demon cultivators ambushed the Zhang Household’s three spirit ships, and Que Xingye led the assault on the Dingnan. The ships’ defenses and counterattacks kept them alive for now, but Liu Yu saw their spiritual light fading as the attacks continued.

• Liu Yu sensed a Transformed Demon Cultivator’s immense pressure and warned Zhuo Mengzhen and Guo Poyun not to push their opponents too hard.
• Fourth-tier demon cultivators surrounded the Dingnan, the Thunderbolt, and the Azure Firmament, then attacked all three ships.
• Zhang Tao activated the Dingnan’s wind-attribute shield, which initially held back the Fire Sparrow demons’ flames before their fiery talons drove the ship toward the ground.
• Que Xingye renewed his assault with red needles and a dive, while Zhang Tao ordered Zhang Ziping and Kong Lingxiu to attack with the Dingnan’s Force of the Gale and black arrows.
• The fourth-tier demons broke through the ships’ counterattacks and battered them at close range, and Liu Yu noticed that their spiritual light was dimming.

Liu Yu watched True Lord Tianling, a Nascent Soul late-stage great cultivator, turn the battle against the Fire Sparrow Clan’s Demon Kings after the spirit ships were nearly overwhelmed. As Tianling unleashed a secret art that drew on the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, Liu Yu recognized a technique he had not seen in over a hundred years.

• Que Xingye nearly destroyed the Dingnan before True Lord Tianling appeared and struck him with a golden flying sword, severing a claw and piercing his chest.
• Zhang Tao, Zhang Ziping, and Kong Lingxiu recognized Elder Tianling, while Que Xingye and another Demon King joined forces to defend against him.
• True Lord Tianling pressed his attack, and six more Nascent Soul Cultivators arrived to reinforce the spirit ships and gain the advantage over the demons.
• True Lord Tianling formed hand seals and unleashed a growing golden wind that absorbed spiritual energy from its surroundings.
• Liu Yu recognized the golden wind as a secret art similar to Suchness Temple’s Great Light Palm.

True Lord Heavenly Spirit’s golden gale nearly killed Que Xingye and another Fire Sparrow demon king, but a late-fourth-tier Fire Phoenix demon king intervened. The fourth-tier battle erupted and then moved toward the astral wind layer, leaving Liu Yu and the other Golden Core Cultivators amid the devastation.

• True Lord Heavenly Spirit’s golden gale overwhelmed Que Xingye’s Red Shield treasure and broke through the Fire Sparrow demon kings’ defenses.
• A Purple-Eyed Demon King of the Fire Phoenix Clan arrived and stopped the golden gale with purplish-red flames.
• The Zhang Household’s six Nascent Soul True Lords gathered beside True Lord Heavenly Spirit to face the seven demon cultivators led by the Purple-Eyed Demon King.
• True Lord Heavenly Spirit refused to retreat, and the fourth-tier battle began, devastating the land around Spirit Treasure City.
• The true lords and demon kings continued fighting as they flew into the astral wind layer, while Liu Yu and the surviving Golden Core Cultivators remained below.

After a fierce battle in the Astral Wind Layer, the human True Lords and Demon Kings agreed to leave the fight for Lingwu City to the third-tier cultivators. Zhang Tao informed the Golden Core cultivators that they had to breach the city’s formation, leaving many unhappy and anxious.

• The Demon Cultivators activated the Nine-Gate Heavenly Demon Formation around Lingwu City as the surviving human cultivators regrouped aboard the Spirit Ships.
• Zhang Tao told the Golden Core cultivators to wait for word from their elders rather than attack or retreat.
• The True Lords and Demon Kings continued fighting in the Astral Wind Layer, where one cultivator and one Demon King fell.
• The Purple-Eyed Demon King proposed that the higher-tier combatants stop fighting and let the third-tier cultivators decide Lingwu City’s fate, and True Lord Tianling agreed.
• Zhang Tao told the Golden Core cultivators that Elder Tianling had reported the truce and that the battle’s outcome depended on breaching Lingwu City.
• Many cultivators reacted with displeasure and fear, privately resenting that the True Lords had left them to risk their lives.

Zhang Tao persuaded the Golden Core cultivators to join the assault on Lingwu City by stressing that they had no safe way out and promising rewards for distinguished service. After assigning squads to attack the Nine-Gate Heavenly Demon Formation’s nodes, he began the siege, and the cultivators advanced toward the city.

• Zhang Tao argued that the cultivators would face the Demon Race’s reckoning whether the Zhang Household’s uprising succeeded or failed, and several cultivators agreed to fight for their shared interests.
• Zhang Tao promised treasures and pills, including the Three Treasures of Nascent Soul Formation, to cultivators who distinguished themselves, while Liu Yu resolved to act cautiously.
• Zhang Tao explained that the Nine-Gate Heavenly Demon Formation depended on nine formation nodes and assigned squads to destroy them while the Dingnan, Thunderbolt, and Azure Firmament attacked head-on.
• Liu Yu, Zhuo Mengzhen, and Guo Poyun were assigned to a squad with four other Golden Core cultivators.
• Zhang Tao launched the three spirit ships’ attacks, but the formation held as the Demon Race intercepted the incoming strikes with red blades of light.
• After the Golden Core cultivators took flight toward Lingwu City, the siege officially began.

Liu Yu led his team into the pale red mist around Lingwu City, where the demon race attacked them as they approached the Nine-Gate Heavenly Demon Formation. He found a formation node and studied how to disrupt it, while remaining cautious about the danger ahead.

• Cultivators flew toward Lingwu City, and demon cultivators and beasts unleashed a barrage of attacks to intercept them.
• Liu Yu entered the pale red mist with Guo Poyun, Zhuo Mengzhen, and four new companions, then instructed the group to conserve strength and adapt to circumstances.
• Liu Yu used the Setting Sun Golden Rainbow Spear to sweep aside the demon race's attacks, convincing the four newcomers to accept his leadership.
• Liu Yu searched through the mist with his divine sense while the three spirit ships attacked the formation and suppressed its offensive power.
• Liu Yu located a formation node beneath a patch of grass and used his Astral Eyes to examine its spiritual-energy source and the circuits feeding the barrier.

Liu Yu and the other cultivators found the Nine-Gate Heavenly Demon Formation’s spiritual power nodes, but their attacks barely affected the barrier. The Zhang Household used a fourth-tier upper-grade Earthshaking Talisman to disrupt the veins feeding the formation, weakening it, though the siege remained far from a breakthrough.

• Liu Yu located a formation node and led Guo Poyun, Zhuo Mengzhen, and the other cultivators in attacking it, but the barrier barely rippled.
• Liu Yu sensed that the cultivators’ combined attacks could not meaningfully damage the formation, while the three spirit ships’ power reserves continued to dwindle.
• The Dingnan unleashed a fourth-tier upper-grade Earthshaking Talisman that disrupted the earth veins and spirit veins, weakening the formation’s power.
• Zhang Tao urged the cultivators to seize the opportunity, and they launched a coordinated attack against the barrier.
• Liu Yu’s Setting Sun Golden Rainbow Spear pierced the demons’ spell barrage and struck the weakened barrier, helping make it tremble, but the formation still held.

Zhang Tao used a Forbidden-Breaking Pearl to disrupt Lingwu City's Nine-Gate Heavenly Demon Formation after the assault stalled. The formation weakened and its controllers needed half an hour to expel the foreign spiritual power, leaving the demon defenders scrambling to protect its nine critical nodes.

• The demon race reinforced the nine critical formation nodes, but Liu Yu and the other cultivators made little progress against the shield.
• As the prolonged stalemate weakened the rebels' morale, Zhang Tao decided to use another measure and activated a five-colored Forbidden-Breaking Pearl.
• The demon cultivators unleashed their strongest attacks to stop the beam, but the three spirit ships countered them, and Zhang Tao's black arrows killed Fire Sparrow Clan defenders who tried to intercept it.
• The beam struck the formation and flooded it with five-colored spiritual power, slowing its operation and interfering with its commands and circulation.
• A formation controller told Que Feiyu that expelling the foreign power would take half an hour, so Que Feiyu ordered the remaining demon cultivators to defend the nine critical nodes.
• The Forbidden-Breaking Pearl's effects fully took hold, further weakening the Nine-Gate Heavenly Demon Formation.

Liu Yu and the other cultivators battered the weakened Nine-Gate Heavenly Demon Formation, and Liu Yu destroyed one of its nodes before leading his squad toward another. The Forbidden-Breaking Pearl’s effect then wore off, restoring part of the formation’s power and making a breach harder.

• The Forbidden-Breaking Pearl weakened the formation, prompting the cultivators and the three fourth-tier spirit ships to attack it with renewed force.
• Liu Yu, Guo Poyun, Zhuo Mengzhen, and their teammates focused their attacks on a formation node while the demon cultivators defended from behind the barrier.
• Liu Yu’s repeated spear strikes shattered the node, though the surrounding barrier remained intact.
• Liu Yu led his squad toward another node while observing the battlefield and avoiding unnecessary exposure.
• The Forbidden-Breaking Pearl’s effect expired, and the five-colored radiance vanished from the barrier as the formation regained some of its strength.

After the Nine-Gate Heavenly Demon Formation resisted the assault, Zhang Tao sounded a retreat and rallied the cultivators by promising the Zhang Household had more measures. He privately asked Liu Yu to attack a critical formation node, and Liu Yu agreed in exchange for a third-tier spirit-refining pill formula.

• The formation's power recovered, its barrier withstood the cultivators' attacks, and Zhang Tao rang the retreat bell.
• Liu Yu and the other cultivators returned to the Dingnan, where Zhang Tao assured them the operation remained under control and promised further measures and rewards.
• Zhang Ziping and Kong Lingxiu reorganized the teams while Zhang Tao held brief private meetings with selected cultivators.
• Zhang Tao invited Liu Yu into the cabin and asked him to lead a team against one of the formation's critical nodes, offering a Nascent Soul Condensation Pill.
• Liu Yu agreed to help if Zhang Tao provided a third-tier spirit-refining pill formula, and Zhang Tao authorized a copy to be made for him.

Liu Yu agreed to Zhang Tao’s terms and was appointed captain of one of nine squads attacking Lingwu City. The assault broke through the demon forces’ first counterattack and weakened the city’s barrier, but the battle continued.

• Liu Yu and Zhang Tao signed a Supreme Unity Dao Pact, and Zhang Tao reorganized the cultivators into nine squads aimed at crucial formation nodes.
• Zhang Tao named Liu Yu a squad captain; after a cultivator challenged the appointment, Zhuo Mengzhen, Guo Poyun, and others supported Liu Yu, and Zhang Tao defended his strength.
• Liu Yu’s squad joined the renewed assault, and his spear shattered the demons’ spell barrage before the team struck the pale red barrier.
• Zhang Tao used a fourth-tier Forbidden-Breaking Pearl and the three spirit ships’ attacks to weaken the Nine-Gate Heavenly Demon Formation, then deployed talismans and other countermeasures.

Liu Yu led his squad in assaulting the Nine-Gate Heavenly Demon Formation, routed the demons sent to defend their node, and destroyed it with a powerful spear throw. After Zhang Tao coordinated the spirit ships’ attacks to break the formation, Liu Yu charged toward Lingwu City, intent on leading the assault against its demons.

• Zhang Tao’s measures weakened the Nine-Gate Heavenly Demon Formation as Liu Yu and the other squads attacked its critical nodes.
• Que Feiyu sent eleven demon cultivators, including Que Xingye’s Fire Sparrow Clan squad, outside the formation to defend Liu Yu’s node.
• Liu Yu redirected his squad against the demons, killed several of them with the Setting Sun Golden Rainbow Spear, and forced the survivors to retreat into the formation.
• Liu Yu destroyed the squad’s formation node with a powerful spear throw, and Zhang Tao ordered the Dingnan, Thunderbolt, and Azure Firmament to attack the formation’s flaws.
• The three spirit ships pierced and shattered the Nine-Gate Heavenly Demon Formation, and Liu Yu charged toward Lingwu City with his squad.

Liu Yu helped break the Nine-Gate Heavenly Demon Formation and pursued the fleeing demon cultivators, but deliberately let Que Feiyu escape before discovering the ancient Immortal Tear Lake. As Liu Yu and his companions returned to Lingwu City, a Spirit Transformation being’s power gathered across the region, ending with the appearance of a mature primordial spirit.

• The cultivators shattered the Nine-Gate Heavenly Demon Formation, and demon cultivators inside Lingwu City split between resisting and fleeing.
• Liu Yu ordered a pursuit, then deliberately held back while chasing Que Feiyu and eventually stopped far from the city.
• Liu Yu discovered that Immortal Tear Lake contained lingering power resembling the rules embodied by spirit treasures, and Guo Poyun recounted its history as the site of the Sage Martial Emperor’s battle with Eldest Princess Fire Phoenix.
• On the return journey, Liu Yu harvested low-tier demon beasts until he had collected eight thousand units of fuel for the Azure Yang Demonic Flame.
• As Liu Yu, Zhuo Mengzhen, and Guo Poyun approached Lingwu City, Liu Yu sensed spiritual energy gathering across hundreds of li and recognized the appearance of a mature primordial spirit.

Liu Yu witnessed a Fire Phoenix Clan Spirit Transformation cultivator destroy Lingwu City and kill dozens of Golden Core cultivators with one strike, then fled as the demon prepared to attack again. A human Spirit Transformation cultivator appeared to oppose it, and the two powers erupted into battle above the city.

• Liu Yu concealed his aura with Zhuo Mengzhen and Guo Poyun as a thousand-zhang Fire Phoenix primordial spirit appeared above Lingwu City.
• The Fire Phoenix Spirit Transformation cultivator formed an enormous flaming claw and killed dozens of trapped Golden Core cultivators in a single strike.
• Zhang Tao ordered the surviving cultivators to retreat, and Liu Yu fled with Zhuo Mengzhen while Guo Poyun escaped separately.
• Liu Yu considered fleeing into the Immortal Mansion World with his primordial spirit if the next attack targeted him.
• A golden human primordial spirit appeared above Lingwu City, confronted the Fire Phoenix, and began clashing with it after their brief exchange failed.

Liu Yu fled Lingwu City with Zhuo Mengzhen while observing the clash between two Spirit Transformation beings, discovering clues that divine thought controlled spiritual energy through spirit particles. The Zhang Household’s Spirit Transformation drove back the Fire Phoenix Clan’s opponent, and Liu Yu returned toward the ruined city, planning to collect Demonic Flame fuel and leave the Annam Six Provinces.

• Liu Yu tried to observe the Spirit Transformation battle and realized divine sense could not penetrate its power, but he glimpsed spirit particles moving under the beings’ influence.
• Liu Yu deduced that divine thought could affect spirit particles and might explain how Spirit Transformation cultivators controlled the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
• The Zhang Family Spirit Transformation gained control of the battle, knocked back the Fire Phoenix Primordial Spirit, and forced the Fire Phoenix Clan’s cultivator to retreat.
• The Zhang Household’s six Nascent Soul Cultivators appeared above Lingwu City and summoned the juniors back to the ruined city.
• Liu Yu turned back toward Lingwu City with Zhuo Mengzhen, intending to find Zhang Tao and leave the Annam Six Provinces, while burning surviving low-tier Demon Beasts for Demonic Flame fuel.

After the Battle of Lingwu City, Liu Yu gathered demon beasts to strengthen his Azure Yang Demonic Flame, then received the promised Nascent Soul Condensation Pill and Soul-Congealing Pill formula from Zhang Tao. He tried to leave with the treasures, but an aged voice stopped him before he reached the door.

• Liu Yu hunted the remaining low-tier demon beasts around Lingwu City and raised his Azure Yang Demonic Flame to the peak of the second grade.
• Liu Yu and Zhuo Mengzhen entered Lingwu City as the Zhang Household repaired its defenses and gathered cultivators for the expected Demon Race counterattack.
• Liu Yu met Zhang Tao at the City Lord's Mansion and demanded the rewards promised for his service in the battle.
• Zhang Tao gave Liu Yu a Nascent Soul Condensation Pill and a jade slip containing the Soul-Congealing Pill formula, which Liu Yu confirmed and accepted.
• Liu Yu decided to leave Lingwu City with the treasures, but an aged voice called for him to wait.