Chapter Summaries

Yi Yang secretly cultivated the Heart Ape Mind Guarding Art and discovered that he could make progress in a technique no one had mastered for thirteen years. A white-furred monster broke into his quarters, and Yi Yang killed it, finding the mark of the Nine Evil Sect on its severed hand.

• Yi Yang ordered Xu Pei to keep everyone thirty zhang from his quarters while he cultivated the Heart Ape Mind Guarding Art.
• Yi Yang visualized the divine ape and gained sixty points toward initiation, then continued practicing as an intruder crept into the courtyard.
• Yi Yang sensed the intruder, concealed himself, and struck when the white-furred creature entered his room.
• Yi Yang recognized the monster as the killer of former patrol director Su Cheng'an and fought it with Tiger Roar, but its hide resisted his saber and its wounds healed quickly.
• Yi Yang used the Five-Organ Internal Refining Force and the Nine Peaks Saber’s Perfection Peak to split the monster in two.
• Yi Yang found the Nine Evil Sect’s mark on the monster’s severed hand and wondered whether it had been sent by the Incense Master he had been asked to investigate.

Ye Jin’s Strange Ghost failed to kill Yi Yang, exposing the Nine Evil Sect’s presence in White Fish City and prompting Wei Zhao to keep the Wei Family quiet. After investigating the monster’s remains and cultivating through the night, Yi Yang received gifts from several city factions and went to meet their delegations.

• Ye Jin cleaned away the Strange Ghost’s remains, and Wei Zhao rejected his suggestion to confront Yi Yang, deciding instead to send Yi Yang a generous gift.
• Yi Yang killed a tiny worm hidden in the monster’s remains and concluded that Holy Church members were operating in White Fish City.
• Yi Yang cultivated overnight, and Xu Pei visited in the morning to ask about the attack before arranging for Patrol Guards to clean the room.
• Xu Pei reported that the Wei Family, Mo Family, Green Snake Gang, Three Lakes Gang, and White Fish Merchant Association had brought gifts, while the Shallow Water Gang had not come.
• Yi Yang set aside his case files and went to meet the delegations, saying he wanted to see whether their gifts suited his tastes.

Yi Yang accepted gifts from White Fish City's factions, including a valuable offering from Song Liangcheng of the Shallow Water Gang, then publicly sought leads on Director Su's death and the Nine Evil Sect. After the factions left, Xu Pei brought Yi Yang an unsigned envelope from Song Liangcheng.

• Yi Yang received gifts from the Wei Family, Mo Family, Green Snake Gang, Three Lakes Gang, and White Fish Merchant Association, with the Wei Family returning thirty percent of its eastern trade route revenue to the Heaven Patrol Office.
• Song Liangcheng arrived in person and offered Yi Yang a twenty-year-old jadeblood grass from White Dragon Marsh to celebrate his promotion.
• Yi Yang asked the faction representatives to share any information about Director Su's death or the Nine Evil Sect, and offered rewards for valuable leads.
• After the representatives departed, Xu Pei brought Yi Yang an unsigned envelope sent by Song Liangcheng.

Yi Yang used the gifts from White Fish City’s factions and Song Liangcheng’s jadeblood grass to prepare for a breakthrough, while deciding not to investigate White Dragon Marsh until he had more strength. After consuming fifty-three Low-Grade Treasure Pills and the jadeblood grass, he completed the Inner Qi Volume and began transforming his power into the True Astral Realm.

• Yi Yang studied Song Liangcheng’s letter about thirty-seven Shallow Water Gang members disappearing in White Dragon Marsh’s southern region and suspected the Wei Family, the Three Lakes Gang, and the Nine Evil Sect might be involved.
• Yi Yang decided to postpone investigating White Dragon Marsh until he could face Yan Wuyuan’s True Astral Realm Incense Master, and calculated that his available gifts could provide enough cultivation resources to attempt a breakthrough.
• Yi Yang ordered Xu Pei to sell the inner armor, medicinal ingredients, mutant beast materials, and silver for Treasure Pills and treasure herbs, then began secluded cultivation with his existing pills and jadeblood grass.
• Xu Pei returned with fifteen Low-Grade Treasure Pills, and Yi Yang consumed all fifty-three pills over two days, raising his cultivation progress to 413200.
• Yi Yang swallowed the jadeblood grass, reached 500000 progress, completed the Wood-Nurturing Longevity Art’s Inner Qi Volume, and began condensing his internal energy as the True Astral Realm entry appeared on his panel.

After reaching the true astral realm, Yi Yang set out for White Dragon Marsh to investigate the Nine Evil Sect and the disappearances there. The Three Lakes Gang also sailed toward Blackwater Whirlpool, where its leader Chen Tao hoped to find a way to break through his cultivation bottleneck.

• Yi Yang tested his new true astral power, recognized how much stronger he had become, and decided to search White Dragon Marsh for clues and resources.
• Wu Yuanhao told Chen Tao that a Gold-Patterned Black Serpent had attacked his party at Blackwater Whirlpool and killed his companions.
• Chen Tao identified the serpent as the source of the Black-Scale Fruit and ordered Qian Yue to prepare twenty men for an expedition, forcing Wu Yuanhao to guide them.
• Three hours later, Chen Tao's ship headed into the southern region of White Dragon Marsh with Wu Yuanhao aboard.
• Yi Yang told Xu Pei he would be away for three days, then left White Fish City for White Dragon Marsh.

Chen Tao led the Three Lakes Gang into Blackwater Whirlpool to find the Gold-Patterned Black Serpent and claim its Black-Scale Fruit. Yi Yang secretly followed, discovered the serpent’s cave and other treasures, and waited to see how the gang’s confrontation unfolded.

• Chen Tao promised Qian Yue and twenty-two gang members rewards for finding the serpent’s nest and luring the beast out while he handled the fight.
• Yi Yang, newly at the True Astral Realm, followed the gang in secret and decided to let them test the serpent before he risked acting.
• Chen Tao, Qian Yue, and the gang members plunged into the water and found a fissure leading to the serpent’s cave.
• Yi Yang sensed the Gold-Patterned Black Serpent coiled inside the cave over more than a dozen Black-Scale Fruits, along with other unusual plants.
• Yi Yang judged the serpent to be near the True Astral Realm and stayed hidden as Chen Tao and his men approached the cave.

The Gold-Patterned Black Serpent slaughtered the Three Lakes Gang members sent into its cave, leaving Chen Tao alone to face it. Yi Yang watched from hiding, excited by the prospect of the serpent’s medicinal treasures and readying Tiger Roar as Chen Tao’s fight began.

• The Gold-Patterned Black Serpent sensed the approaching group and waited in its cave, hoping to finish its transformation by eating powerful martial artists.
• Qian Yue led six gang members into the cave as bait, where the serpent killed Chen Qiang and Zhao Meng before Qian Yue’s sword strike failed to pierce its scales.
• Chen Tao struck the serpent’s neck but barely wounded it, and the beast turned on the weaker gang members, killing them as Chen Tao struggled to keep up.
• The serpent killed Qian Yue while he fled, leaving all twenty-two gang members dead and turning its attention to Chen Tao.
• Yi Yang watched from three hundred meters away, judged the serpent stronger than expected, and silently placed his hand on Tiger Roar’s hilt.

Chen Tao used a Scarlet Rampage Pill to kill the Gold-Patterned Black Serpent and found the Black-Scale Fruits and other treasures in its lair. Yi Yang then killed Chen Tao before he could claim the fruits, and turned his attention to the haul.

• Chen Tao swallowed the Scarlet Rampage Pill and fought the Gold-Patterned Black Serpent, wounding it and pursuing it into its lair.
• Yi Yang watched from nearby, recognized that Chen Tao’s pill was draining his vitality, and silently followed him.
• Chen Tao endured the serpent’s poisonous mist and killed it with repeated saber strikes.
• Chen Tao found the Black-Scale Fruits, three medicinal herbs, and a serpent egg, then reached for the fruits.
• Yi Yang attacked Chen Tao with Tiger Roar, cut him in half, and turned toward the Black-Scale Fruits.

Yi Yang gathered rare medicinal plants and valuable parts from the Gold-Patterned Black Serpent, then followed blood flowing through a hidden passage to a water eye filled with drained corpses. He discovered two true astral realm auras beneath its blood-red whirlpool just as both unleashed attacks.

• Yi Yang collected three ripe Black-Scale Fruits, several precious medicinal plants including a deepwater orchid, the Snake Egg, and valuable materials from the Gold-Patterned Black Serpent.
• Yi Yang searched Chen Tao's corpse, found no valuables, and concluded that the serpent could not explain the Southern Region's many disappearances.
• Yi Yang noticed blood flowing toward a narrow crack and followed it through a passage into an enormous underwater space.
• Yi Yang found a whirlpool surrounded by more than a hundred shriveled corpses, including dozens of missing Southern Region martial artists.
• Yi Yang sensed two true astral realm auras beneath the blood-red whirlpool, and two attacks erupted from its depths.

Yi Yang hid among corpses in the Blood Vortex and discovered that a Nine Evil Sect Incense Master was pursuing Profound Sword Pavilion members alongside Rampage Killer and Qin Wuli. After the Incense Master exposed Yi Yang, he escaped to the surface of White Dragon Marsh, where he faced Qin Wuli on a floating log.

• Yi Yang concealed himself among the corpses as two Profound Sword Pavilion members fled the vortex and the Incense Master ordered Rampage Killer to kill them.
• The Incense Master detected Yi Yang and sent Qin Wuli after him, forcing Yi Yang to abandon his hiding place and flee.
• Yi Yang dodged Qin Wuli's attacks underwater, then took one attack on his armor as he surged toward the surface.
• Yi Yang burst out of White Dragon Marsh and landed on floating deadwood, where Qin Wuli confronted him and accused him of being from the Heaven Patrol Office.
• Yi Yang wiped away his blood and gripped Tiger Roar's hilt as he prepared to fight Qin Wuli on the water's surface.

Yi Yang killed Qin Wuli in a fierce battle at White Dragon Marsh, though Qin Wuli left him with a severe shoulder wound. Yi Yang hid the corpse and fled toward White Fish City with his mission complete, while an unknown figure rose from the blood-colored vortex beneath the marsh.

• Qin Wuli attacked Yi Yang with iron beads and sword strikes, but Yi Yang countered with his saber and wounded Qin Wuli with the Gold-Patterned Black Serpent's venomous fangs.
• Qin Wuli used a forbidden art to burn his life force and gained greater speed, but Yi Yang endured a deep wound to his left shoulder and drove Tiger Roar through Qin Wuli's heart.
• Yi Yang searched Qin Wuli's body, took pills and silver notes, and sank the corpse beneath White Dragon Marsh.
• Yi Yang retreated toward White Fish City, intending to treat his wounds, consume the Netherwater Orchid, and report his findings to Yan Wuyuan.
• A figure rose from the blood-colored vortex beneath the marsh and watched the direction Yi Yang had gone.

After returning wounded from White Dragon Marsh, Yi Yang sent the Nether Spring Office a report about a powerful Nine Evil Sect Incense Master, then used a netherwater orchid to advance his mental cultivation. Rumors that he was gravely injured spread through White Fish City, while Yi Yang secretly recovered and let the factions underestimate him.

• Yi Yang returned to the Heaven Patrol Office with a wounded shoulder, noticed a likely faction spy among the Patrol Guards, and told Xu Pei he would recover behind closed doors.
• Yi Yang sent the Nether Spring Office a message describing the Nine Evil Sect Incense Master, the drained corpses, and Qin Wuli's death.
• Yi Yang consumed the netherwater orchid and advanced the Heart Ape Mind Guarding Art, strengthening his perception and increasing his combat ability.
• Patrol Guards leaked news of Yi Yang's apparent grave injury, and Xu Pei failed to stop it from spreading.
• Wei Zhao, the Xue Family head, the Green Snake Gang leader, the White Fish Merchant Association scholar, and Song Liangcheng chose to watch rather than act immediately.
• Yi Yang continued healing and cultivating in private while allowing White Fish City's factions to believe he was near death.

After the Three Lakes Gang returned from White Dragon Marsh without Chen Tao, White Fish City assumed Yi Yang had killed him and was gravely wounded. The city’s powerful families agreed to divide the gang’s assets and suspend payments to the Heaven Patrol Office, while Yi Yang secretly recovered and waited for them to act.

• The Three Lakes Gang’s surviving men found scraps of clothing from Chen Tao, Qian Yue, and the gang’s elites, confirming they had all died in White Dragon Marsh.
• White Fish City residents concluded that Yi Yang had fought Chen Tao, killed him and the gang’s fighters, and returned badly wounded.
• Mo Qianhe, Wei Zhao, Zhou Xiong, and Song Liangcheng agreed to divide the Three Lakes Gang’s holdings among four powers and suspend payments to the Heaven Patrol Office until Yi Yang recovered.
• Song Liangcheng left the meeting knowing his letter had led Yi Yang to White Dragon Marsh, where Chen Tao died.
• Yi Yang’s shoulder continued healing, and he waited for the city’s powers to seize the Three Lakes Gang’s assets so he could see who would expose themselves.

After Chen Tao’s death left the Three Lakes Gang leaderless, rival factions descended on its funeral and seized its properties. Their fighting spread across White Fish City, where Green Snake Gang men also assaulted Heaven Patrol Office guards.

• At Chen Tao’s hastily arranged funeral, Leng Sheng forced his way into the Three Lakes Gang headquarters and demanded 536,000 taels on a purported debt, threatening to take its southern docks.
• When Zhang San and Liu protested, Leng Sheng’s men attacked, killed or injured many Three Lakes Gang members, and looted the headquarters; afterward, Zhang San privately asked Leng Sheng if he had done well.
• The Wei Family, Mo Family, and White Fish Merchant Association quickly took over Three Lakes Gang shops and properties, while rival groups fought over an alley and the southern docks.
• During the citywide turmoil, Han San and Green Snake Gang members assaulted an old gatekeeper at a Three Lakes Gang warehouse.
• Two Heaven Patrol Office guards tried to stop the beating, but Han San struck them down and mocked their nearly dead director.

While Yi Yang cultivated, he ordered the Green Snake Gang to answer for attacking Heaven Patrol Guards, but Zhou Xiong secretly retaliated against their families. Meanwhile, Wei Zhao and Ye Jin learned that Rampage Killer would arrive in White Fish City, bringing their plan to collect blood essence into the open.

• Yi Yang told Xu Pei to demand Han San's arm, compensation for Zhao Liang and Sun Xu, and warned Zhou Xiong that he could destroy the Green Snake Gang.
• Zhou Xiong outwardly agreed to compensate the guards but ordered his men to attack their families instead.
• Masked men severed Zhao Liang's wife's arms, and an attacker killed Sun Xu's elderly mother; Xu Pei vowed to report the crimes to Yi Yang.
• Wei Zhao and Ye Jin received a letter saying their operation had been discovered and Rampage Killer would arrive in one day.
• Wei Zhao and Ye Jin decided to stop hiding, finish collecting blood essence, and use Rampage Killer to kill the man who had ruined Ye Jin's plans.

After discovering that the Beastskin Paper contained the Four Symbols Six Directions Saber, Yi Yang learned that the Green Snake Gang had attacked his subordinates’ families. He led the Heaven Patrol Office to the gang’s headquarters, maimed Zhou Xiong, and ordered him to summon White Fish City’s other gang and lineage heads.

• Yi Yang used his mental power to decipher Wang Gongqin’s Beastskin Paper and learned the beginner-level Four Symbols Six Directions Saber.
• Xu Pei reported that masked men had severed Zhao Liang’s wife’s arms and killed Sun Xu’s elderly mother after warning the Patrol Guards to stay out of the Green Snake Gang’s affairs.
• Yi Yang ordered Xu Pei to gather the Heaven Patrol Office and led the Patrol Guards to surround the Green Snake Gang’s headquarters.
• Yi Yang accused the gang of colluding with an evil sect and brutalizing the people, then cut off Zhou Xiong’s right arm when Zhou denied responsibility.
• Yi Yang ordered Zhou Xiong to summon every lineage and gang head in White Fish City within the time it took an incense stick to burn.

The city’s major powers received invitations to meet at the Green Snake Gang’s headquarters, but found the gang deserted and Zhou Xiong severely injured. Yi Yang appeared with Zhou Xiong in tow and said he had called everyone together to settle a few matters.

• Mo Qianhe received an invitation from the Green Snake Gang and set out with several guards.
• Song Liangcheng learned that the Heaven Patrol Office had mobilized toward the Green Snake Gang and decided to go alone.
• Wei Zhao and Ye Jin suspected the gathering was not Zhou Xiong’s idea and headed to the Green Snake Gang with four guards.
• Mo Qianhe, Song Liangcheng, Wei Zhao, and Ye Jin arrived to find the headquarters empty, with drag marks and spilled wine inside.
• Yi Yang emerged dragging the badly wounded Zhou Xiong and told the assembled powers he had called them together to clear up a few things.

Yi Yang confronted White Fish City's factions and killed Mo Qianhe, Wei Zhao, and Ye Jin after they resisted him. He claimed the city's rules for the Heaven Patrol Office as a mounted figure approached White Fish City in the darkness.

• Yi Yang demanded that the factions triple their annual tribute, return the Three Lakes Gang's properties, and hand those properties over to the Heaven Patrol Office.
• Chen Ping attacked Yi Yang and was killed by a single palm strike, revealing Yi Yang's third inner qi completion cultivation.
• Mo Qianhe, Ye Jin, and Wei Zhao attacked together, but Yi Yang killed Mo Qianhe with a saber strike while Song Liangcheng left the courtyard.
• Wei Zhao and Ye Jin tried to attack Yi Yang after he exposed their ties to the Nine Evil Sect; Yi Yang killed them both, while Ye Jin offered to reveal the sect's plans.
• Yi Yang ordered Xu Pei to clean up the courtyard and declared that he would set White Fish City's rules starting tomorrow, as a mounted figure rode toward the city.

Rampage Killer arrived in White Fish City to rendezvous with Wei Zhao and Ye Jin, but learned that Yi Yang had killed them and destroyed the Nine Evil Sect’s local strongholds. He went to attack the Heaven Patrol Office, where two hidden true astral realm fighters ambushed him and revealed they had been waiting for him.

• Rampage Killer entered White Fish City and found that the Wei Family estate and Ye Jin’s residence had been sealed by the Heaven Patrol Office.
• Rampage Killer overheard vendors say that Yi Yang had killed Wei Zhao, Ye Jin, and other leaders of White Fish City’s major powers.
• Rampage Killer decided to avenge his allies and headed alone to the Heaven Patrol Office to kill Yi Yang.
• Rampage Killer entered the office’s rear courtyard and was confronted by a masked man and woman, both of whom had true astral realm auras.
• Rampage Killer fought the pair, but their coordinated sword attacks wounded him and revealed that they had set an ambush for the Nine Evil Sect.

Rampage Killer fell into Yi Yang’s trap and was slain by two True Astral Realm Shadow Guards after attempting to break through to the room where Yi Yang waited. With White Fish City’s threats largely dealt with, Yi Yang worried about Yan Wuyuan’s dangerous confrontation with the Nine Evil Sect Incense Master in White Dragon Marsh.

• Rampage Killer realized the Wei Family had exposed him and tried to escape the Heaven Patrol Office courtyard, but the two Shadow Guards blocked him.
• Rampage Killer abandoned escape and charged toward Yi Yang’s door, hoping to kill him before dying, but the Shadow Guards impaled him with their sabers.
• Yi Yang sensed the entire fight from inside and opened the door after Rampage Killer’s aura disappeared.
• The male Shadow Guard told Yi Yang that Yan Wuyuan had gone to White Dragon Marsh to confront the Incense Master and had left the two guards to assist him.
• Yi Yang thanked the Shadow Guards and reflected that the real danger remained in White Dragon Marsh, where Yan Wuyuan might be gravely wounded.