Recaps

Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er watched the villagers prepare offerings for an afternoon ritual and learned that a Black Gold Rank Demon Spirit was required. The Scholar told them they would see the deity that night, and they returned to their room to cultivate while preparations continued.

• Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er woke, cultivated, and found the village busy preparing for a ritual.
• The Scholar showed Shen Fei the offerings and explained that the villagers needed a Black Gold Rank Demon Spirit for the ritual.
• Shen Fei told the Scholar they had never heard of a deity, and the Scholar replied that they would see it that night.
• Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er decided not to interfere with preparations and returned to their guest room to cultivate.

Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er attended the Jade Grove Clan’s solemn sacrificial rite at a cave on the village’s eastern edge. A Black Gold Rank Demon Spirit lay among the offerings as the gathered villagers fell silent and the carvings above the cave briefly glowed.

• The Scholar invited Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er to attend the rite and led them to the eastern clearing.
• Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er passed through a gathered crowd of nearly a hundred young villagers toward the cave.
• Shen Fei saw the Chief and Deputy Chief Tie Xiong waiting beside the cave with an offering table and a Black Gold Rank Demon Spirit.
• The villagers fell silent, and the carvings above the cave entrance briefly glowed in the twilight.

Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er watched the Chief perform a ritual that drew faint spiritual power toward a cave, where black mist accepted a Demon Spirit offering. After the mist withdrew and the ritual seemed complete, it emerged again with greater force and drifted toward the crowd.

• The Chief danced before the cave, drawing faint spiritual power from the silent crowd toward its entrance.
• Black mist emerged from the cave, and Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er felt its immense pressure.
• The Chief placed the Demon Spirit before the entrance, and the mist took it into the cave.
• The Chief turned to address the crowd as people began to relax, and Shen Fei prepared to leave with Xiao Ning'er.
• The black mist emerged again, larger and more forceful, and drifted toward the crowd.

A black mist from the cave formed unfamiliar characters that the Scholar interpreted as an invitation from the Deity for Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er to enter. Shen Fei decided they should accept, and he stepped toward the invitation.

• The black mist passed the Chief and the crowd before stopping in front of Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er.
• The mist condensed into two unfamiliar characters that neither Shen Fei nor Xiao Ning'er could read.
• The Scholar wrote that the Deity invited them both inside.
• Shen Fei said they should enter because the Deity likely meant them no harm, and Xiao Ning'er agreed.
• Shen Fei took a step toward the characters.

Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er followed the cave passage to a chamber where a powerful black-mist figure took shape and addressed them in the ancient language of the Empire. Shen Fei explained that they came from Glory City, founded by the Empire’s remnants, and still spoke its language.

• Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er passed through the cave entrance and followed a descending passage to a stone chamber.
• Shen Fei bowed to the black mist above the chamber’s stone platform and asked why it had summoned them.
• The black mist formed an arm-length humanlike figure whose aura seemed stronger than Shen Hong’s and at least Legend Rank.
• The figure spoke in the ancient language of the Empire, surprising Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er.
• Shen Fei told the figure that the Empire had fallen and that he and Xiao Ning'er came from Glory City, whose people still used the Empire’s language.

Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er learned from the little figure that he was a wounded Spirit God who wielded the dark law and had summoned them because their auras held something unusual. The chapter ended with him asking them to do something for him.

• Shen Fei told the little figure that Glory City was about twenty days away.
• The little figure revealed that he was a Spirit God who wielded the dark law and explained how laws governed the world.
• Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er learned that the time law stood above the light and dark laws, and that many Spirit Gods had vanished after the Empire fell.
• The little figure said he had slept beneath the forest for over a thousand years and had awakened after sensing Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er's unusual auras.
• The little figure told Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er that he needed them to do something for him.

Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er agreed to lead the Jade Grove Clan villagers back to Glory City, and Shen Fei persuaded the injured Spirit God to travel with them by showing that Xiao Ning'er knew a powerful cultivation technique. The Spirit God left the chamber as a wisp of black mist, preparing to join them.

• The Spirit God asked Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er to take the Jade Grove Clan villagers to Glory City and offered to teach them laws in return.
• Shen Fei agreed to help the villagers and invited the Spirit God to return to Glory City with them, where someone might help with their recovery.
• At Shen Fei's request, Xiao Ning'er recited the opening section of her cultivation technique for the Spirit God.
• The Spirit God judged the technique exceptionally powerful and agreed to travel with Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er while avoiding the use of their powers.
• The Spirit God shrank into a wisp of black mist and drifted into a crack in the chamber wall.

Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er received the Dark Law and Law of Thunder, then began absorbing them to strengthen themselves for protecting the migrating villagers. Shen Fei’s Shadow Mantis absorbed the Dark Law and unleashed a strange, enduring slash within his Soul Sea.

• A mysterious voice gave the Law of Thunder to Xiao Ning'er and the Dark Law to Shen Fei, allowing them fifteen days to digest the laws and grow strong enough to protect more than a thousand villagers.
• Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er sat down to absorb their respective spheres after preparing themselves.
• Shen Fei guided the Dark Law’s aura into his Soul Sea, where his Shadow Mantis awakened and merged with it.
• The Shadow Mantis grew denser and sharper, then made a slash that left a weighty dark afterimage in Shen Fei’s Soul Sea.

Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er spent fifteen days absorbing the dark and thunder laws, strengthening their spirits and advancing their cultivation. Shen Fei broke through to black gold rank 3-star, while Xiao Ning'er stabilized at black gold rank 1-star as they prepared for the journey back through the Dark Forest.

• Shen Fei watched Mantis absorb the dark law while Xiao Ning'er guided the thunder law through her meridians and strengthened the Wind-Thunder Sky Sparrow.
• During the first seven days, Mantis greatly improved his speed and Shadow Stealth, while Xiao Ning'er formed Thunder Spears faster and made them split in flight.
• On the twelfth day, Mantis had absorbed about eighty percent of the dark law as Shen Fei neared black gold rank 2-star, and Xiao Ning'er broke through to black gold rank 1-star.
• On the evening of the fourteenth day, Mantis absorbed the rest of the dark law and Shen Fei advanced to black gold rank 2-star, while Xiao Ning'er completed her thunder-law integration and stabilized at black gold rank 1-star.
• Early on the fifteenth morning, Shen Fei opened his eyes, circulated the Dark Prison Reincarnation Art, and discovered that he had reached black gold rank 3-star.

After finishing their cultivation, Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er met Mingyu, who learned their names and told them to leave the stone chamber. They emerged into the clearing, where a guard spotted Mingyu and ran toward the village shouting.

• Shen Fei assessed his new strength and joined Xiao Ning'er as she woke from cultivation.
• Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er nearly approached each other before Mingyu's cough interrupted them.
• Mingyu introduced itself by name, learned Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er's names, and sent them out.
• Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er left the cave and found the Chief, Deputy Chief, Scholar, and several guards waiting in the clearing.
• A young guard saw Mingyu hovering behind them, panicked, and ran toward the village shouting.

Mingyu decided to leave the dangerous cave and travel with Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er to the village, though they would decide later whether to stay. The Chief and his companions began preparing to move, and Mingyu set their departure for the next day.

• The Chief, Deputy Chief Tie Xiong, and the Scholar arrived and knelt before Mingyu.
• Mingyu used spiritual power to help the three men stand, then announced that they would go to the village together.
• Mingyu told the Chief that whether they stayed would depend on the circumstances, and the Chief eagerly accepted.
• Mingyu sent the Chief, Deputy Chief Tie Xiong, and the Scholar to make arrangements and pack.
• Mingyu told Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er to rest because they would leave the next day.

Mingyu reflected on humanity, its former comrades, and the uncertain future before returning to the cave for the night. The next morning, Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er joined the Jade Grove Clan’s orderly procession as it left the village and entered the Dark Forest.

• Mingyu watched the village lights and wondered what would happen when the Jade Grove Clan reunited with the people of Glory City.
• Mingyu thought about its former spirit god comrades and whether any of them remained alive, then returned to the cave as a mass of black mist.
• The Chief led the Jade Grove Clan’s villagers in preparing their carts and supplies for the journey.
• Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er joined the procession, which protected the elderly, women, and children in its middle.
• Mingyu hovered near the procession’s midpoint as the villagers left their homes without looking back.
• The procession followed the road from the village into the Dark Forest.

Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er escorted the villagers through the Dark Forest, avoiding and fighting demon beasts along the way. As they neared the forest's outer reaches, Mingyu detected a fast-approaching peak black gold rank 5-star beast, and the two left camp to intercept it.

• Mingyu detected a pack of Gray-Furred Wolves, and Shen Fei guided the procession around them.
• Tie Xiong and the guards dealt with stray demon beasts as the group continued through the forest.
• Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er helped the guards kill six Red-Mane Beasts that charged into the procession.
• The villagers grew more accustomed to the journey, and by the tenth day the procession had reached the Dark Forest's outer reaches.
• Mingyu warned Shen Fei that a peak black gold rank 5-star beast was approaching too quickly for the group to evade.
• Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er left camp and merged with their demon spirits to confront the approaching beast, while Mingyu stayed behind.

Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er fought a Peak Black Gold Rank 5-Star Demon Beast in the Dark Forest. Xiao Ning'er struck it with a lightning ball from inside its mouth, leaving it staggering but still alive.

• Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er found the flaming Demon Beast and prepared to fight despite its superior rank.
• Xiao Ning'er blocked its claw with a Thunder Spear while Shen Fei cut the joint of its right foreleg.
• Xiao Ning'er threw a Thunder Spear at its eye, then dodged the fireball it blasted at her.
• As the Demon Beast charged, Xiao Ning'er compressed lightning into a ball and hurled it into its open mouth.
• The lightning tore through the Demon Beast's throat and digestive tract, making it stagger as Xiao Ning'er retreated to safety.

Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er killed the powerful Demon Beast and returned to camp, where Mingyu gave Xiao Ning'er a Spear Manual. As they recovered, Mingyu concluded that they would surpass it and help the Human Race rise again.

• Shen Fei severed the Demon Beast's injured foreleg, and Xiao Ning'er pierced its organs with a Thunder Spear.
• Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er combined their law powers to shatter the Demon Beast's spine and kill it.
• Shen Fei took the Demon Crystal and several scales from the corpse while Xiao Ning'er treated her wounds.
• Shen Fei told the Chief, Deputy Chief Tie Xiong, and Mingyu that the Demon Beast had been dealt with.
• Mingyu praised their teamwork, gave Xiao Ning'er an intermediate Spear Manual, and advised her to improve her spear technique.
• As Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er recovered, Mingyu said they would surpass it and help the Human Race fight its way back from the bottom.

Mingyu gave Shen Fei its clan’s supreme treasure, an ink-black sword, hoping he might awaken its power. When Shen Fei accepted it, the sword drew him into his soul sea, where it moved just as he reached for its hilt.

• At night, Mingyu approached Shen Fei in the camp and summoned an ink-black sword.
• Mingyu told Shen Fei that the sword was its clan’s supreme treasure, though even Mingyu could not bring out its power.
• Shen Fei accepted the sword, and black mist enveloped him, cutting him off from the camp.
• The mist pulled Shen Fei’s consciousness into his soul sea, where the sword descended and stood at its center.
• Shen Fei approached the sword and reached toward its hilt, but the sword moved.

Shen Fei survived Ink Cloud's attempt to drain his Soul Sea by replenishing his power with the Dark Prison Reincarnation Art, and the sword acknowledged him as its master. He returned to camp determined to grow strong enough to protect the Jade Grove Clan and help humanity reunite.

• Ink Cloud drained Shen Fei's Soul Force for two hours while he used the Dark Prison Reincarnation Art to replenish his Soul Sea and keep it from collapsing.
• Ink Cloud stopped absorbing power, and Shen Fei summoned it from his Soul Sea into his hand.
• Mingyu named the sword Ink Cloud and told Shen Fei that it belonged to him because it had acknowledged him as its master.
• Mingyu sent Shen Fei back to camp and urged him to practice often.
• In his tent, Shen Fei reflected on Mingyu's hopes and resolved to grow stronger to protect the Jade Grove Clan and humanity.

Shen Fei brought the Jade Grove Clan villagers to the city, where Ye Zong arranged temporary shelter and supplies for them. Nie Li spoke with the Chief in the clan’s language, while Ye Mo noticed Shen Fei’s dark-law aura and briefly studied Mingyu.

• Over five days of travel, Xiao Ning'er fought off Silver Rank beast stragglers while Shen Fei finished any that got past her.
• Shen Fei identified himself at the city gate, and the guards opened it for him and the Jade Grove Clan villagers.
• Nie Li greeted the Chief in the clan’s language, spoke with him for nearly half a quarter-hour, and eased the villagers’ tension.
• Ye Zong promised the villagers barracks in the Inner City along with food and medicinal supplies.
• Ye Mo told Shen Fei that he carried the aura of dark law, then looked toward Mingyu without commenting.

Shen Fei returned to the City Lord's Mansion after the Jade Grove Clan was settled in the Inner City, and introduced Nie Li to Mingyu, the living Spirit God. Nie Li discussed the clan's arrangements and the dangers ahead, then assessed Shen Fei's growing strength.

• The stewards and City Guard escorted the Jade Grove Clan villagers to their new home on the eastern side of the Inner City, while Tie Xiong followed behind them.
• As Shen Fei, Xiao Ning'er, and Nie Li returned to the City Lord's Mansion, Shen Fei told Nie Li that Mingyu was a wounded Spirit God who had slept for three hundred years.
• Shen Fei summoned Mingyu in Nie Li's room, where Mingyu asked whether Nie Li was also a descendant of the Empire.
• Nie Li reported that the Jade Grove Clan had been settled and that food and medicinal supplies would arrive the next morning, then urged Shen Fei to keep Mingyu's identity secret.
• Shen Fei said he would let the clan settle and keep watch on the Dark Guild and the Demon Lord, and Nie Li assessed his dark law cultivation and combat strength.

Nie Li introduced Yu Yan to Mingyu, and the two surviving Spirit Gods reunited after believing each other lost when the Empire fell. Yu Yan explained that she had survived by sealing herself in a Fire Crystal, and Mingyu learned that Nie Li had concealed her aura; they ended the chapter facing one another in silence.

• Nie Li called Yu Yan out from behind the screen and introduced her to Mingyu.
• Mingyu recognized Yu Yan and reacted with shock, repeating her name.
• Yu Yan told Mingyu that she had nearly dispersed when the Empire fell, but survived by sealing herself inside a Fire Crystal until Nie Li found her.
• Mingyu realized Nie Li had hidden Yu Yan from its perception, and Nie Li explained that his inscriptions suppressed her fire-law aura.
• Mingyu asked whether Yu Yan was safe, and Yu Yan assured it that she was.

Nie Li concealed Mingyu’s aura and arranged for him to recover with Yu Yan in the City Lord’s Mansion while warning Shen Fei that other factions threatened Glory City. He then pointed out Shen Fei’s physical weakness and gave him Body Tempering Pills, leaving Shen Fei to focus on strengthening his body alongside clan affairs.

• Nie Li used inscriptions to conceal Mingyu’s aura and told him and Yu Yan to stay in the City Lord’s Mansion.
• Nie Li told Shen Fei that the Dark Guild could no longer do much against Glory City, but other forces were also involved.
• Nie Li assigned Shen Fei to handle Sacred Family affairs, Lu Piao and Du Ze to gather materials, and himself to watch the Jade Grove Clan.
• Nie Li explained that Mingyu’s complete dark law made him exceptionally powerful once he recovered, and Shen Fei said keeping Mingyu and Yu Yan together would help them both.
• Nie Li warned Shen Fei that his body lagged behind his growing power and gave him Body Tempering Pills to strengthen it.

Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er went to the City Lord's Mansion's Martial Arts Arena to build their physical strength through sparring without Soul Force or other abilities. After trading several blows, they paused when Shen Fei admitted Xiao Ning'er's kick hurt less than it would have a month earlier.

• Shen Fei suggested that he and Xiao Ning'er improve their physical strength by fighting using only their bodies.
• Xiao Ning'er agreed to spar with Shen Fei in the City Lord's Mansion's Martial Arts Arena.
• They chose blunt practice weapons and suppressed their auras, Spiritual Power, laws, and Demon Spirits.
• Shen Fei charged first, and Xiao Ning'er deflected his sword and countered with her spear, but neither gained an advantage.
• Xiao Ning'er attacked again, and Shen Fei endured her kick before ramming his shoulder into her and forcing her back.
• Xiao Ning'er asked if the kick had hurt, and Shen Fei said it had hurt less than it would have a month earlier.

Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er sparred without Spiritual Power, then took Body Tempering Pills and cultivated. Shen Fei concluded that daily training could bring his physical strength close to his cultivation within a month, and he ended the night with further exercises before sleeping.

• Shen Fei won the spar after catching Xiao Ning'er's spear and placing his sword at her neck, and Xiao Ning'er conceded.
• Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er swallowed Body Tempering Pills and circulated their cultivation arts, strengthening their muscles and meridians.
• Shen Fei estimated that daily sparring and pill use could raise his physical strength to peak Black Gold Rank in about a month.
• Xiao Ning'er agreed to spar with Shen Fei again the following night and left the arena.
• Shen Fei returned to the Sacred Family estate, practiced stance training and punches without Spiritual Power, circulated the Dark Prison Reincarnation Art, and fell asleep.

Shen Fei woke at dawn, considered the need to strengthen his meridians, and went to the study after learning the Second Elder wanted to speak with him. There, he confronted memories of his father Shen Hong and the time Shen Hong dismissed his warnings about the Dark Guild.

• Shen Fei assessed his cultivation and recognized that his meridian walls remained too weak for his black gold rank 3-star spiritual power.
• The old steward told Shen Fei that the Second Elder had asked to speak with him once he awoke.
• Shen Fei crossed the residence to the study, where Shen Hong's robe and unfinished documents remained undisturbed.
• Shen Fei remembered confronting Shen Hong with secret letters about the Dark Guild and being forbidden to interfere in clan affairs.

After returning to the Sacred Family, Shen Fei met with Shen Kun to review the clan’s affairs and learn that unfamiliar, powerful observers had appeared along the trade routes. Shen Fei suspected they belonged to the other forces Nie Li had mentioned and left the investigation to Nie Li’s side while he focused on clan business and training.

• Shen Fei sat in the quiet study and considered the clan matters that had accumulated during his absence.
• Shen Kun reported that routine affairs were stable, the Third Elder had been working diligently, and the First Elder had stayed secluded without contacting outsiders.
• Shen Kun told Shen Fei that shipments had traveled safely and the Dark Guild had not recently intercepted them.
• Shen Kun reported seeing unfamiliar people with restrained auras near key freight depots, and Shen Fei suspected they belonged to forces beyond the Dark Guild.
• Shen Fei decided not to investigate the strangers himself and planned to focus on clan affairs and training while Nie Li’s side kept watch.