Chapter Summaries

Cheng Yu and Shen Tian agreed to a desperate plan to preserve the Demon Race, while Cheng Yu suppressed a staged revolt in the Demon Capital. He later summoned Kuang Cang to discuss Nian’s rampage in Baiyue Prefecture.

• Cheng Yu touched Shen Tian’s forehead and revealed a plan, and Shen Tian entrusted its execution to him.
• A group of demons used illusions and accusations to incite the Demon Capital against Shen Yu, but crows of the Heavenly Martial Guard killed dissenters and Cheng Yu dispelled the spectacle.
• Cheng Yu ordered a shadowy subordinate to interrogate the conspirators and deal with them before morning.
• Cheng Yu found Kuang Cang at Mirror Lake and confirmed that Nian’s rampage in Baiyue Prefecture was why he had summoned him.

Cheng Yu sent Kuang Cang to the Southern Continent to weaken the Owl Race while preparing Nian for renewed conflict with Humankind. Meanwhile, Wu Xuan uncovered a terrifying presence within a prisoner and began mobilizing the Heavenly Martial Directorate, as Cheng Yu watched the investigation unfold and identified a Blood Corpse God.

• Cheng Yu assigned Kuang Cang to take command in the Southern Continent and uproot the Owl Race's power there.
• Cheng Yu learned that Nian had nearly recovered and ordered Steward Yu to prepare Nian for the approaching second year.
• Wu Xuan discovered that a prisoner's resistant soul concealed a terrifying being born amid demon corpses, which he sensed had reached at least Emptiness.
• Wu Xuan asked Lord Jin Yang to emerge from seclusion, but Jin Yang remained focused on his breakthrough and sent Wu Xuan and Niu Da to investigate.
• Wu Xuan sent his crows to locate the treasonous demon, while Niu Da agreed to follow one to the target.
• Cheng Yu watched the investigation through Mirror Lake and recognized a faint red glow in a demon corpse as the Blood Corpse God.

Netherworld negotiated with Cheng Yu over the Blood Corpse God and agreed to help the Demon Race in certain matters without incurring Heavenly Dao karma. Cheng Yu then reviewed the Heavenly Dao’s plan to use the creature to weaken the Demon Race and watched the Heavenly Martial Directorate begin its operation.

• A Netherworld subordinate reported strange disturbances in the Reincarnation Transmigration Pool, and Netherworld identified the Blood Corpse God through its waters.
• Cheng Yu offered Netherworld the Blood Corpse God in exchange for a promise of limited assistance, and Netherworld agreed after learning the creature’s fate was tied to the Asura Race.
• Netherworld accused Cheng Yu of trapping him in karmic ties, while Cheng Yu warned that Humankind might threaten the Netherworld Territory and said the Demon Race could be its friend.
• Cheng Yu recalled how the Blood Corpse God was meant to help Humankind seize the Southern Continent and weaken the Demon Race through a chain of disasters.
• Cheng Yu watched the Heavenly Martial Directorate deploy its experts through Mirror Lake and urged them not to fail.

Wu Xuan waited for the Blood Corpse God to make a move, and the creature erupted in the Green District’s slums, attacking demons with spears of flesh. A silver Moon-Gazing White Wolf helped the defenders and sent his grandson to seek help at the Green District Yamen.

• Wu Xuan worried that the Demon Capital had remained too quiet despite his search for signs of the Blood Corpse God.
• A scholar-robed demon sensed danger in an alley and struck at a blood-red flesh spike, but initially found nothing.
• Flesh spears burst from the ground throughout the street, impaling demons and draining their bodies.
• The scholar-robed demon revealed himself as a silver Moon-Gazing White Wolf and gave his grandson a token, ordering him to go to the Green District Yamen.
• The silver wolf used his howl to heal nearby demons and weaken the flesh spears while they fought back.

Can Yue led the survivors of Jia 17th Street through the sky to escape the expanding mass of flesh, but it caught him before the Heavenly Martial Directorate arrived to help. The Directorate severed the tendrils and told him to leave the rest to them.

• Wu Xuan sensed the outbreak near the Green District's east gate and flew there as a crow, while Cheng Yu restored the stars that had trapped the flesh beneath the district.
• A bloodied Silver Wolf reached the Green District branch of the Heavenly Martial Directorate and requested reinforcements before passing out.
• Can Yue used a powerful howl to clear the flesh from the street, then ordered the surviving demons, children, and female demons to retreat on his back.
• Can Yue carried the survivors through the sky while dodging tendrils of flesh, but the tendrils struck him and dragged him down.
• A lean man from the Heavenly Martial Directorate cut the tendrils free and told Can Yue to leave the rest to them.

Fleshy tendrils spread beneath seven streets around Jia 17th Street, prompting the Heavenly Martial Guards and Green District officials to evacuate the Demon Folk. As the crisis spread across the district, Niu Da and Lord Wu Xuan arrived, but the underground masses surged and caused earthquakes and destruction across the affected streets.

• A burly Heavenly Martial Guard discovered the evil creatures stretched beneath seven streets and ordered the guards to split up and evacuate the Demon Folk.
• Zhen received a secret message from Yan Yiyun, reacted with alarm, and wondered what the Prince was trying to do.
• Can Yue led the Demon Folk out of Jia 17th District as Green District authorities mobilized soldiers and raised the alarm.
• Niu Da arrived with reinforcements, learned that the Teleportation Arrays around Jia 17th Street had failed, and chose a route through Jia 25th Street.
• Fleshy spears erupted across Jia 14th through Jia 20th Street, while Lord Wu Xuan's crows rescued residents and attacked the creatures.
• The fleshy masses writhed more violently, triggering earthquakes that collapsed houses and split the ground across the streets.

Wu Xuan tried to reach the Blood Corpse God's true form beneath Jia 17th Street, but his attack failed to kill the enemy. He trapped the Blood Corpse God inside the Four Scarlet Yang Divine Formation while Niu Da's guards searched for another way in.

• Wu Xuan sent a rain of crows to tear through the flesh covering Jia 17th Street and locate the Blood Corpse God's core.
• Wu Xuan transformed into a black crow and dove underground, where the Blood Corpse God summoned powerful monsters to stop him.
• Unable to reach the Blood Corpse God's true form, Wu Xuan detonated his crow body, forcing the Blood Corpse God to retreat deeper underground.
• Wu Xuan ordered the Heavenly Martial Guards to form the Four Scarlet Yang Divine Formation, trapping the Blood Corpse God beneath a crimson pyramid.
• Niu Da recognized the formation as the Heavenly Martial Directorate's and ordered his guards to go around it and resolve the incident.

Wu Xuan trapped the Blood Shura in the Four Scarlet Yang Divine Formation, but its attacks began to overwhelm the Heavenly Martial Guards and crack the barrier. As Wu Xuan neared his limit, Niu Da arrived and called for the formation to be opened so he could fight the Blood Shura.

• Wu Xuan activated the Four Scarlet Yang Divine Formation, trapping the Blood Corpse God underground as it transformed into a Blood Shura.
• The Blood Shura revealed a wheel filled with the souls of Demon Race victims and attacked the formation while Wu Xuan drove its power against him.
• The Heavenly Martial Guards fell one by one as they maintained the formation, and a collision opened a crack that let Great Sun Golden Crow Power escape.
• At a tavern, a refined stranger named Cheng Ming claimed that fewer than ten people in the Eternal True World could tear him apart alive.
• Niu Da arrived with elite Heavenly Martial Guards and told Wu Xuan to open the formation so he could face the Blood Shura.

Niu Da battered Blood Shura inside the Four Scarlet Yang Divine Formation, but the creature continually regenerated and provoked the Demon Race. As Blood Shura taunted the demons, a sun appeared in the sky and a powerful voice defended Shen Yuan and Shen Yu.

• Wu Xuan brought Niu Da into the formation, where Niu Da shattered Blood Shura’s defenses with his axes and forced his body to break into blood-colored crystals.
• Blood Shura’s crystals merged into the fleshy ground, and Niu Da turned frenzied until Wu Xuan activated the formation to restore his lucidity.
• Miniature Blood Shuras emerged and multiplied faster than Niu Da could destroy them, while Blood Shura mocked the Demon Race and demanded Shen Yuan and Shen Yu appear.
• The Great Demons in the Inner Central Manor held back without the Jade King’s approval as Blood Shura continued insulting them.
• A sun appeared in the night sky, and a cold voice condemned Blood Shura for judging Shen Yuan and Shen Yu.

Jin Yang destroyed the Blood Corpse God’s manifested body in the Demon Capital, but suspected the entity had survived. He and Wu Xuan planned to report the incident to the prince, while Cheng Yu left the final task at Mirror Lake to Ghost Venerable.

• Jin Yang arrived as a great sun and annihilated the Blood Shuras, while Wu Xuan and Niu Da escaped the collapsing formation.
• Jin Yang’s sunlight burned the Blood Corpse God’s true body after its divine abilities failed to affect him, but Jin Yang could not sense that it had been completely destroyed.
• Jin Yang unleashed another sun underground, widening the pit and driving out a wisp of smoke from Niu Da’s armor.
• Jin Yang agreed to report the incident to the prince, and Wu Xuan offered to accompany him; Niu Da volunteered but was declined.
• Cheng Yu asked Ghost Venerable whether he wanted help with the finishing touches, and Ghost Venerable insisted on handling them himself.

The Blood Corpse God fled the Demon Capital but was captured by the Ghost Venerable in the Netherworld Territory. Cheng Yu met with Cheng Ming, then sent word to the Heavenly Martial Directorate that it needed more training.

• The Blood Corpse God burrowed underground, only to find himself trapped in the Ghost Venerable's palm within the Netherworld Territory.
• Cheng Ming arrived at the Jade King's Residence and told Cheng Yu that his father had refused to leave seclusion but had sent a message asking why Cheng Yu went to such lengths.
• Cheng Yu told Cheng Ming that he had never believed in fate and arranged for a black-clad man to guide him around the Demon Capital.
• Cheng Yu declined to meet Lord Jin, Lord Wu, and Lord Niu, praising their work while ordering them to strengthen the Heavenly Martial Guard's training.
• Steward Yu relayed Cheng Yu's message, and Niu Da asked whether His Highness was angry.

Cheng Yu explained to Kuang Cang and Nian how the Demon Dynasty’s Five Capitals balanced the Demon Race’s strengths and vulnerabilities. Kuang Cang identified Southern Capital City’s proximity to Humankind’s Baiyue Prefecture as a concern, and Cheng Yu asked for his full opinion.

• Cheng Yu summoned Kuang Cang and Nian, then took them to Southern Capital City.
• Cheng Yu described how Beijing City, Southern Capital City, Western Capital City, Tokyo City, and the Demon Capital each served a distinct purpose in the Demon Dynasty’s Five Capitals system.
• Cheng Yu asked Kuang Cang and Nian for their views, and Nian admitted he did not know.
• Kuang Cang assessed the security of the capitals and pointed out that Southern Capital City shared the Southern Continent with Humankind’s Baiyue Prefecture.
• Cheng Yu told Kuang Cang to stop hiding his abilities and asked for his opinion as Azure Owl.

Cheng Yu appointed Kuang Cang to reclaim military authority over the Southern Continent despite Kuang Cang’s concerns about the risks to the Demon Race. After Kuang Cang accepted the Monster Emperor’s Edict, the Southern Continent’s fortune began to change, and Azure Owl noticed it as well.

• Azure Owl greeted Cheng Yu, Kuang Cang, and Nian at the banquet, then left after Cheng Yu declined his invitations to tour Southern Capital.
• Cheng Yu explained that the Owl Race controlled a fifth of the Demon Race’s fortune and that force against them could weaken the Demon Race.
• Cheng Yu asked Kuang Cang to handle the Southern Continent, and Kuang Cang warned that failure could harm the entire race.
• Cheng Yu appointed Kuang Cang Commander of Southern Capital, Chief Governor of the Southern Continent, and Great General Who Pacifies the South, granting him command over the region’s troops.
• Kuang Cang accepted the Monster Emperor’s Edict, and both Cheng Yu and Azure Owl sensed the Southern Continent’s fortune begin to change.

Cheng Yu used the Demon Race’s fortune to reveal how little loyalty the Southern Continent still held for the Demon Dynasty and appointed Kuang Cang to restore its control. He also demanded Nian’s life for an undisclosed purpose, and Kuang Cang began to understand the burden and urgency behind Cheng Yu’s actions.

• Azure Owl saw one-fifth of the Demon Race’s fortune surge from the Southern Capital toward the Demon Capital, while Kuang Cang felt his strength increase and discovered prayers hidden in the fortune.
• Cheng Yu explained that the Owl Race and Southern Continent tribes had grown estranged from the Demon Dynasty, and revealed his plan to complete the late emperor’s unfinished effort to reclaim the region.
• Cheng Yu appointed Kuang Cang to resolve the Southern Continent’s troubles, and Kuang Cang vowed to restore it with the Demon Dynasty’s support.
• Kuang Cang argued that the tribes’ distance from the Demon Dynasty had roots in its past inability to defend or unite them, and Cheng Yu agreed that the dynasty’s neglect had contributed to the crisis.
• Nian asked how he could help, and Cheng Yu insisted that he wanted Nian’s life; Nian willingly agreed to give it for Cheng Yu and the Demon Race.
• Kuang Cang recognized the Heavenly Dao Shackles and the world’s malice surrounding Cheng Yu, and understood why Cheng Yu acted with such desperate urgency.

Cheng Yu returned to the Demon Capital while Kuang Cang took command of the Southern Continent’s Demon forces and confronted the tribes’ human-eating customs. Kuang Cang found the military camp in disarray and began asserting his authority over its soldiers.

• Cheng Yu returned to the Demon Capital and worried that Nian might cause trouble in the Southern Continent.
• Kuang Cang accepted Azure Owl’s banquet invitation and challenged the leaders over their continued practice of eating humans.
• Azure Owl and the tribal leaders agreed to obey Kuang Cang’s military command while preserving their freedom over other matters.
• Kuang Cang vomited after the banquet, inspected the lax camp, and ordered the soldiers to assemble in the main hall within fifteen minutes.
• Kuang Cang released the aura of a Heaven-Peering Mirror Great Demon before the undisciplined soldiers.

Kuang Cang asserted his command over the Admiral's Residence and challenged Azure Owl with his aura. After the other Southern Continent leaders left, Azure Owl prepared to retaliate by withholding grain from Kuang Cang.

• Kuang Cang forced the late guards to roll to the prefect's residence, ordered the assembled guards to restore the Admiral's Residence before dawn, and promoted Du Bao to Chief Steward.
• Kuang Cang recognized that his aura had begun a contest with Azure Owl, then left to rest.
• Kuang Cang's aura knocked down nearly every leader in the prefect's residence, while Azure Owl held his ground and suppressed the pressure.
• Azure Owl admitted he was weaker than Kuang Cang but warned the Southern Continent leaders against siding with the Demon Dynasty, then sent them home.
• After revealing his internal injury from the clash, Azure Owl took a ledger and said the Southern Continent had no grain to spare for Kuang Cang.

Kuang Cang took command of the guards in the Southern Continent and prepared to move them to the military camp. In the Demon Capital, Jin Yang recruited Can Yue as the Heavenly Martial Directorate’s Southern Continent Commander and used a red light to help him regain his youth and strength.

• Kuang Cang revealed his appointments to the guards, and Du Bao recognized him as the former general who guarded the First Great Wall.
• Kuang Cang ordered the guards to arm themselves and follow him to the military camp outside the city.
• Jin Yang offered Can Yue and his grandson Pureblood Pills and proposed that Can Yue become the Heavenly Martial Directorate’s Southern Continent Commander.
• Can Yue swallowed a Pureblood Pill, and Jin Yang’s red light restored his fading aura and rejuvenated his body.
• Can Yue accepted command of the Southern Continent, then kept the remaining Pureblood Pill for his grandson to take later.

Cheng Yu explained why the Heavenly Martial Directorate needed to oversee the Southern Continent, while Kuang Cang began purging corruption from the army camp outside Southern Capital City. After exposing widespread fraud and killing clan scions who challenged him, Kuang Cang faced a plea for mercy from a powerful clansman.

• Cheng Yu told Jin Yang that the Heavenly Martial Directorate would help prevent separatism and support Kuang Cang’s efforts to reshape the Southern Continent.
• Kuang Cang ordered officers to prove their worth in a trial after discovering that many were powerful clan scions with poor combat ability.
• Kuang Cang found that the camp’s actual troop count was only about one twentieth of its reported number and killed the quartermaster after uncovering his theft and corruption.
• Kuang Cang told the generals who rejected their trial results that they could pass by surviving one move from him.
• Kuang Cang’s enormous claw struck down the clan scions who challenged him, and he told a nearby middle-aged man that he had forgotten how to stop once he struck.

Kuang Cang asserted the Demon Dynasty’s authority in the Southern Continent and tightened control over his army camp after confronting Yun Jiang. In the Southern Capital, Azure Owl tried to recruit Nian, but learned that Nian already knew the truth from Prince Yu and remained committed to the Demon Race.

• Kuang Cang confronted Yun Jiang over his nephew’s death and forced him to concede that the Demon Dynasty’s laws applied in the Southern Continent.
• Kuang Cang ordered Du Bao to kill anyone who entered or left the camp without authorization.
• Several finely dressed visitors went to the army camp after guards told them Kuang Cang was away, while Azure Owl watched them depart with Nian.
• Azure Owl warned Nian that his karma tied to the Heavenly Dao threatened his life and hinted that there was a solution.
• Nian rejected Azure Owl’s attempt to recruit him, saying he would give his life for the Demon Race and revealing that Prince Yu had already told him the truth.

After Azure Owl’s attempt to deal with Nian failed, he withheld the Southern Capital Camp’s military pay to undermine Kuang Cang. Kuang Cang exposed Azure Owl’s role and promised the soldiers an answer within three days, then enlisted a clan-connected officer to identify the city’s warehouses.

• Azure Owl left Nian’s tavern, while Nian considered the Demon Dynasty’s prospects and recalled the white-clad figure who meant to defy fate.
• Du Bao told Kuang Cang that an unfamiliar old demon had handled the camp’s annual salary payments, and Kuang Cang ordered the pay distribution to proceed as usual.
• The soldiers found the Quartermaster Office empty, and Kuang Cang concluded that Azure Owl had arranged for their pay to disappear.
• Kuang Cang apologized to the soldiers and promised to demand their pay from Azure Owl or appeal to the Demon Dynasty within three days.
• Kuang Cang asked a commanding officer from a clan close to Azure Owl to reveal every warehouse location known to his clan.