Chapter Summaries

Duan Rong took up the pursuit of the Filthy Blood Sect after Yang Sixuan handed him the case files, then immediately left Iron Stone Peak and assigned the department’s work to Xi Men Kan Kan and Shen Mizhi. He pursued the Idol Spirit and considered how offerings of Years of Incense might create mixed Laws of Power.

• Duan Rong arrived at the Judgment and Rectification Department with Xi Men Kan Kan and Shen Mizhi, and Yang Yi summoned him to meet Yang Sixuan.
• Yang Sixuan assigned Duan Rong the long-running pursuit of the Filthy Blood Sect and sent four chests of case files to his pavilion room.
• Duan Rong told Xi Men Kan Kan and Shen Mizhi to handle the Filthy Blood Sect investigation and the department’s other affairs while he left the sect.
• Duan Rong transformed into a Black Ray and left Iron Stone Peak to pursue an Idol Spirit whose Years of Incense might deepen his Law of Power.
• Duan Rong reasoned that worshippers’ intertwined Spiritual Senses and faith caused idols with a thousand years of Years of Incense to contain mixed Laws of Power.

Duan Rong tasked Zhou Can with investigating ancient god statues across Yuan Yang Prefecture and learned that Tongbai County had a Dragon King Statue with four thousand years of incense. He traveled there with Zhou Can and reached the courtyard of hidden operative Ma Genshan, who had been making tofu.

• Duan Rong revealed his identity to Zhou Yushui, whose real name was Zhou Can, and ordered him to investigate god statues that had received incense offerings for more than four hundred years.
• Zhou Can gathered reports from the county operatives and found that Tongbai County had three ancient statues, including a Dragon King Statue with four thousand years of incense.
• Duan Rong asked Zhou Can to accompany him to Tongbai County, and they flew there at great speed.
• Duan Rong learned that the county's hidden operative, Ma Genshan, lived at Ma Family Tofu and brought Zhou Can to his courtyard.
• Ma Genshan lunged at Zhou Can with a dagger, but Zhou Can stopped him and Duan Rong explained that he had ordered the visit.

Duan Rong investigated the Dragon King Statue said to have four thousand years of incense and discovered that the temple’s current statue was only a little over a hundred years old. Searching the Guan River, he found the original statue buried in the riverbed and learned its artifact spirit required Mental Strength Level 23, beyond his current Level 22.

• Duan Rong questioned Ma Genshan about Tongbai County’s Dragon King Statue, and Ma Genshan led him and Zhou Can to the temple by the Guan River.
• Duan Rong inspected the temple statue and accused Ma Genshan of falsely reporting its age; Ma Genshan explained that a flood had swept away the original more than a hundred years earlier.
• Duan Rong ordered Zhou Can and Ma Genshan to wait, then searched the Guan River downstream with his divine sense.
• Duan Rong found the original Dragon King Statue buried beneath about twenty meters of riverbed silt and used Read Artifact Spirit to inspect it.
• Duan Rong learned that the statue’s twenty-third-rank artifact spirit required Mental Strength Level 23 and offered deep comprehension of the Law of Power, which he could not yet devour.

Duan Rong investigated ancient idols in Tongbai County, absorbed the City God idol’s two-thousand-year Artifact Spirit, and continued searching the Miao village mountains. After months of living in the forest with Ayi, he discovered that a newly devoured thousand-year Artifact Spirit had failed to strengthen his Cave of Darkness, leaving him puzzled about why its Laws of Power had dissipated.

• Duan Rong found that the Mountain God Statue held only nine hundred years of incense, then checked the Tongbai County City God Statue and confirmed it had two thousand years.
• Duan Rong warned Zhou Can and Ma Genshan to keep the investigation secret before retreating into the Tongbai Mountains to digest the City God Artifact Spirit.
• After more than a month, Duan Rong concluded that older Artifact Spirits provided deeper and broader Laws of Power, then traveled to Miao Village Prefecture to search for ancient idols.
• Duan Rong rescued Ayi from being burned by her tribe, and she followed him through the forest, guarding him while he meditated.
• Duan Rong opened his eyes after absorbing a thousand-year Artifact Spirit and realized its Laws of Power had dissipated without entering his Cave of Darkness.

Duan Rong discovered that his growing Laws of Power made weaker idol spirits useless, and after reaching the Mid Cave Illumination Realm, even Three Thousand Years of Incense could no longer advance him. He left the Miao Village Jungle with Ayi, who chose to follow him toward Hongdu Prefecture.

• Duan Rong devoured the Nuo Po God Stone Statue's One Thousand Years of Incense spirit, but its Law of Power dissipated without entering his Cave of Darkness.
• Duan Rong realized that his Cave of Darkness had outgrown the Laws of Power in weaker idol spirits, and he gradually exhausted the Two Thousand Years of Incense spirits as well.
• Duan Rong spent more than a year devouring idols and cultivating in the Miao Village Jungle before reaching the Mid Cave Illumination Realm.
• After the Three Thousand Years of Incense spirit also dissipated, Duan Rong saw Ayi praying with a bloodied forehead and decided to leave the jungle with her.
• Duan Rong carried Ayi to the mountain beyond the jungle and showed her the choice between following him or staying behind; Ayi grabbed his robe, and he flew north with her.

Duan Rong returned to the Taiyi Sect with Ayi, then sought Old Ancestor Lü Yinlin to ask about methods for increasing Mental Strength. Lü Yinlin revealed that the Nine Provinces’ Divine Soul Techniques shared a source in the Garbha Mandala, a secret art created by Master Ci'en from God and Demon cultivation methods.

• Duan Rong brought Ayi to the Lü Family Estate, where Shen'er opened her basket and a Poisonous Snake lunged at him before Duan Rong killed it and Lü Qingzhu rescued Shen'er.
• Lü Qingzhu arranged lodging and simple tasks for Ayi, while Duan Rong reunited with his family and privately considered how to overcome the limits of his cultivation.
• Duan Rong visited Old Ancestor Lü Yinlin, who discovered that Duan Rong had reached the Mid Cave Illumination Realm in three years.
• Duan Rong told Lü Yinlin that miasma served as his medium and asked whether any technique could increase Mental Strength beyond the complete Garbha Sutra.
• Lü Yinlin explained that Master Ci'en created the Garbha Mandala by adapting God and Demon cultivation methods for the Human Race, and that the Nine Provinces’ Divine Soul Techniques originated from it.

Lü Yinlin told Duan Rong about the Dharma Appearance Sect’s powerful Great Vajra Realm Mandala and warned him against trying to obtain it. Duan Rong returned to the Judgment and Rectification Department, then assured Zhu He that he would fulfill his duties and continue investigating the Filthy Blood Sect.

• Lü Yinlin explained that the Garbha Mandala had inspired the Garbha Sutra and that the Dharma Appearance Sect also possessed the twenty-eight-level Great Vajra Realm Mandala.
• Duan Rong learned that the Dharma Appearance Sect had three Nascent Soul Realm experts and resolved to gather intelligence before considering how to obtain its secret art.
• Duan Rong returned to the Judgment and Rectification Department and found Xi Men Kan Kan there while Shen Mizhi worked cases with Yang Yi.
• Xi Men Kan Kan told Duan Rong that Zhu He wanted to see him, so Duan Rong went to Cloud Floating Peak and met his master.
• Zhu He scolded Duan Rong for his long absence and questioned his investigation into idols, while Duan Rong promised to handle his duties and pursue the Filthy Blood Sect case.

Duan Rong investigated Huangpi County Magistrate Wu Mian for ties to the Filthy Blood Sect, but found no trace of the Filthy Blood Divine Skill in his consciousness. After questioning Scholar Zhao about the neglected Five Manifestations God Temple, Duan Rong learned that Master Zhu of the Crude Drug Store had funded most of its construction.

• Duan Rong inspected the dusty Five Manifestations God Temple and suspected its construction might connect to the Filthy Blood Sect.
• Duan Rong secretly monitored Wu Mian throughout the day, then entered his consciousness while he slept and found no source blood light of the Filthy Blood Divine Skill.
• Duan Rong concluded that Wu Mian was probably not a member of the Filthy Blood Sect, though he remained uncertain about the magistrate's role in building the temple.
• Duan Rong met Scholar Zhao the next morning and asked who had contributed most toward the temple's construction.
• Scholar Zhao told Duan Rong that Master Zhu of the Crude Drug Store had provided ninety percent of the funds, prompting Duan Rong to suspect him.

Duan Rong investigated Zhu Kun and Wu Ruyue after learning of their ties to County Magistrate Wu Mian, and overheard them discuss Wu Mian’s missing son and his purchase of a rare Blood Lingzhi. The conversation cleared Zhu Kun and Wu Ruyue of suspected ties to the Filthy Blood Sect, leaving Duan Rong more suspicious of Wu Mian and his hidden affairs.

• Duan Rong left Scholar Zhao’s stall after secretly turning nearby pebbles into silver, and Scholar Zhao found and tested the silver before rushing home to hide it.
• Duan Rong used his divine sense to investigate Zhu Kun, learning that Zhu Kun was Wu Mian’s brother-in-law and had contributed most of the money for the Five Manifestations God Temple.
• Duan Rong monitored Zhu Kun and Wu Ruyue as Zhu Kun returned home and asked his wife about Wu Mian’s recent actions.
• Zhu Kun questioned why Wu Mian had bought a rare Blood Lingzhi, and he and Wu Ruyue discussed Wu Xiang’s illness and disappearance, the temple, and Wu Mian’s refusal to remarry.
• Duan Rong concluded that Zhu Kun and Wu Ruyue were not involved with the Filthy Blood Sect, but became more suspicious of Wu Mian after hearing about Wu Xiang and the Blood Lingzhi.

Duan Rong investigated Wu Mian’s connection to the Filthy Blood Sect and became suspicious that Wu Mian’s missing son, Wu Xiang, was the sect’s leverage over him. After Wu Mian brought out the Blood Lingzhi shortly after midnight, Duan Rong watched closely, convinced that someone from the sect might meet him that night.

• Duan Rong used Illusory Bewitchment on Zhu Kun, searched his Luminous Consciousness Sea, and found no sign of the Filthy Blood Divine Skill.
• Duan Rong searched Wu Ruyue’s family letters and Wu Mian’s official papers but found no useful information, then examined the Blood Lingzhi and powdered quicklime hidden beside Wu Mian’s bed.
• Duan Rong suspected that the Filthy Blood Sect had gained control over Wu Mian through Wu Xiang, who had disappeared after contracting a fatal illness, and decided to watch for a meeting.
• Duan Rong monitored Wu Mian, Wu Ruyue, and Zhu Kun throughout the day while waiting for Wu Mian to act.
• After midnight, Wu Mian retrieved the Blood Lingzhi and sat in his study with the box before him, prompting Duan Rong to spread his Divine Sense across Huangpi County in anticipation of a meeting with the Filthy Blood Sect.

Duan Rong watched Wu Mian meet a Filthy Blood Sect Inspector and learned that the Inspector was collecting a Blood Lingzhi for the sect. After the Inspector left Huangpi County, Duan Rong followed him, hoping to trace him to a Grand Altar Dharma Envoy.

• Duan Rong detected a True Qi Realm expert entering Huangpi County and watched him make his way to the county yamen.
• Wu Mian greeted the visitor as a Filthy Blood Sect Inspector and handed him the Blood Lingzhi for the main altar.
• Wu Mian pleaded to see his son, Wu Xiang, but the Inspector told him his son had to continue cultivating at the main altar and promised to send a letter.
• The Inspector left Huangpi County with the Blood Lingzhi, and Duan Rong tracked him toward the wilderness beyond the city.

Duan Rong discovered that Longchang Escort Agency was a Filthy Blood Sect stronghold and followed the Blood Lingzhi Xia Yin'gong was ordered to deliver, hoping it would lead him to Pharmacist Shang, whom he suspected was his former mentor Shang Xiangyu. The Blood Lingzhi reached Renle Pharmacy in Quyang County, but Shang Xiangyu had not appeared by nightfall.

• A Filthy Blood Sect inspector gave Xia Yin'gong a Blood Lingzhi and ordered him to deliver it personally to Shopkeeper Zhou at Renle Pharmacy.
• Duan Rong overheard the order, found a secret chamber beneath Longchang Escort Agency, and suspected that Pharmacist Shang was his former mentor Shang Xiangyu.
• Duan Rong chose to follow Xia Yin'gong and the Blood Lingzhi instead of pursuing the inspector, while Xia Yin'gong led his escort team on a detour to Quyang County.
• Xia Yin'gong delivered the Blood Lingzhi to Zhou Cheng at Renle Pharmacy and left without learning anything further about it.
• Duan Rong watched the pharmacy but found no sign of Shang Xiangyu or a Filthy Blood Sect chamber, then kept the Blood Lingzhi under surveillance through the night.

Duan Rong followed Zhou Zhang from Renle Pharmacy to a secluded Mountain Stronghold, where the pharmacy’s medicines were being delivered to Pharmacist Shang. Hidden in the cave, Duan Rong discovered that the pharmacist was his old acquaintance Shang Xiangyu.

• Duan Rong watched Zhou Cheng and Zhou Zhang prepare a jar containing the Blood Lingzhi and other rare medicines for the Mountain Stronghold.
• Duan Rong secretly pursued Zhou Zhang into the mountains and followed him through the stronghold gate and into a cave concealed behind vines.
• Zhou Zhang delivered the jar to the guards and entered the sealed stone chamber where Shang Xiangyu was refining medicine.
• Duan Rong slipped into the chamber unseen and hid as Shang Xiangyu emerged from the firelit cave.

Duan Rong discovered that Shang Xiangyu’s hidden medicine-refining site was likely serving Filthy Blood Sect Leader Fu Yi, so he stayed concealed to learn more. At dawn, he saw the sect’s attendants extract five Blood Fetuses from pregnant women and watched Shang Xiangyu lead the processed ingredients toward the enormous medicine furnace.

• Shang Xiangyu accepted Zhou Zhang’s medicinal ingredients and sent him to Lu Rang for a reward.
• Duan Rong secretly explored the caves, found the earthfire, and concluded that Shang Xiangyu’s medicine was likely being refined for Fu Yi.
• Duan Rong transformed into a pine tree on the mountain peak and kept watch over the stronghold through the night.
• Zhou Zhang saw attendants cut open five pregnant women and remove their fetuses, then fled in horror.
• Shang Xiangyu gathered the attendants and the Blood Fetuses and led them to the cave containing the medicine furnace.

Shang Xiangyu completed a furnace of nine high-grade Blood Food Pills and handed them to Envoy Ding to present to Fu Yi, the Filthy Blood Sect Leader. Duan Rong learned that the pills were destined for Fu Yi and saw a chance to track him down, while Shang Xiangyu anticipated being rewarded with the fourth layer of the Filthy Blood Divine Skill.

• Shang Xiangyu directed his attendants through three days of carefully heating ingredients and adding Blood Fetuses and herbs to the pill furnace.
• After Li Yan sent a message to Envoy Ding by hawk, Duan Rong read it with his consciousness and let the bird fly on.
• Ding Ze arrived at the Mountain Hollow and entered the pill-refining cave, where Shang Xiangyu and the attendants greeted him.
• Shang Xiangyu opened the furnace and produced nine high-grade Blood Food Pills, then presented them to Ding Ze for the Sect Leader.
• Duan Rong realized that following Ding Ze could lead him to Fu Yi, while Ding Ze promised to request a reward for Shang Xiangyu.

Duan Rong secretly followed Ding Ze to discover Fu Yi’s hiding place, then used a thread of Divine Sense to avoid alerting the Filthy Blood Sect leader. After Fu Yi revealed his Blood Infant and it sensed the faint trace of Spiritual Sense, Duan Rong escaped with Divine Shadow Escape.

• Shang Xiangyu gave Ding Ze nine high-grade Blood Food Pills, then looked forward to obtaining the fourth layer of the Filthy Blood Divine Skill.
• Duan Rong followed Ding Ze from the Mountain Hollow, deciding that his Divine Shadow Escape and Garbha Sutra cultivation gave him a chance to track Fu Yi safely.
• Ding Ze rode for three days before entering a remote mountain valley, where Duan Rong followed at a distance and attached a fine thread of Divine Sense to him.
• Ding Ze entered a cave and presented the pills to Fu Yi, confirming the Sect Leader’s hiding place to Duan Rong.
• Fu Yi manifested his Blood Infant, and Ding Ze trembled; Duan Rong sensed the reaction, detached his Divine Sense, and prepared to withdraw.
• The Blood Infant detected a faint Spiritual Sense fluctuation and rushed out of the cave, but Duan Rong vanished using Divine Shadow Escape before it could find him.

Fu Yi and the Blood Infant narrowly avoided detection while cultivating in their cave, but Lü Yinlin led Taiyi Sect’s strongest cultivators to their hiding place. Lü Yinlin entered the cave and found them at a critical moment in their cultivation, where his divine consciousness had been unable to sense them.

• The Blood Infant sensed a faint Spiritual Sense fluctuation in the cave, but Fu Yi believed it was an illusion caused by its injury and helped it take a Blood Food Pill.
• Fu Yi gave Ding Ze the fourth-level Filthy Blood Divine Skill manual to reward Shang Xiangyu for seven years of medicine refining.
• Duan Rong led Lü Yinlin, Gu Daoling, Chu Wushang, and Chu Qiushan to the valley where he had tracked Fu Yi.
• Lü Yinlin and the others searched the valley and found the cave empty, while Fu Yi and the Blood Infant remained hidden from their divine consciousness.
• Lü Yinlin entered the cave and found Fu Yi and the Blood Infant unable to flee immediately without disrupting their critical cultivation.

Lü Yinlin captured Fu Yi after Duan Rong wounded him and destroyed the Blood Infant with his Seed Character. After the others departed, Duan Rong returned to Fu Yi’s cave to inspect the seemingly ordinary items left behind.

• Fu Yi tried to escape underground, but Lü Yinlin drove him back into the valley as the others learned he could evade Divine Sense Scans.
• Fu Yi sent the Blood Infant to distract Lü Yinlin and attempted to break through by attacking Duan Rong, who teleported aside and struck Fu Yi with Seventy-nine Laws of Power.
• Gu Daoling hit the injured Fu Yi, and Lü Yinlin destroyed the Blood Infant with the Seed Character uttered by his Nascent Soul before carrying the unconscious Fu Yi away.
• Duan Rong gave Chu Wushang a silk scroll detailing Filthy Blood Sect strongholds and a medicine-refining site, asking him to deliver it to Zhu He.
• After Chu Wushang and the others left, Duan Rong flew into Fu Yi’s cave to examine the objects everyone else had dismissed as miscellaneous.

Duan Rong devoured the artifact spirits in Fu Yi’s cave and learned that Fu Yi had betrayed the Taiyi Sect after Lü Yinlin turned his wife, Jiang Yun'er, into a puppet. He also discovered Fu Yi’s Myriad Crow Separation Fire Scarf and left with fewer suspicions about Lü Yinlin.

• Duan Rong found Fu Yi’s Blood Food Pills, travel notes, portraits of Jiang Yun'er, and a chest of women’s clothes in the cave.
• Duan Rong devoured the artifact spirits of the cave’s objects and pieced together Fu Yi’s memories and hidden history.
• Duan Rong learned that Jiang Yun'er was Fu Yi’s wife and that Lü Yinlin had implanted a Nightmare Seed in her, turning her into a puppet.
• Fu Yi killed Jiang Yun'er after discovering what Lü Yinlin had done, then later betrayed the Taiyi Sect and founded the Filthy Blood Sect to seek revenge.
• Duan Rong learned that Fu Yi had stayed in Qing Province because the Myriad Crow Separation Fire Scarf concealed him from Divine Sense scans.
• Duan Rong felt less wary of Lü Yinlin, though he still did not fully trust him.

Duan Rong joined Zhu He and Wu Shidao at a Filthy Blood Sect stronghold, where he used Illusory Bewitchment to subdue its members and enable their capture. He then confronted his former master Shang Xiangyu, who realized Duan Rong had grown far stronger than he had imagined.

• Duan Rong flew to the Mountain Hollow near Quyang County and found Zhu He and Wu Shidao preparing to surround the Filthy Blood Sect stronghold.
• Zhu He praised Duan Rong for helping expose the sect's strongholds and capture its leader, Fu Yi, while Duan Rong proposed capturing the stronghold's members directly.
• Duan Rong used mass Illusory Bewitchment to control the Filthy Blood Sect members and make them gather at the stronghold entrance, where Wu Shidao's group chained them.
• Duan Rong entered the cave where Shang Xiangyu was resting and revealed that he was Shang Xiangyu's former disciple.
• Shang Xiangyu tried to attack Duan Rong, but Duan Rong immobilized him and said they would return to the sect to discuss the Filthy Blood Sect.