Chapter Summaries

Xu Qingtong entered a hidden formation with Xiao Bai’s help and explored the structures within. He found a powerful Demon Realm spell recorded on a Jade Slip but could not use it because he had no Demonic Qi.

• Xu Qingtong asked Xiao Bai to locate the formation’s weakest point, and Xiao Bai showed him how to open a passage by adjusting Spatial Power.
• Xu Qingtong entered the formation with Xiao Bai, then used the Pure-Heart Snow Lotus to free Xiao Bai from Demonic Qi corruption.
• Xu Qingtong followed a path through a bamboo grove and discovered three crude stone houses built against the mountainside.
• Xu Qingtong found a black stone drum that sent a frigid chill into his Niwang Palace when he touched it, and the books in the left house crumbled into powder.
• Xu Qingtong opened a stone box and discovered a Jade Slip containing Ice Flame Palm, a powerful spell that required Demonic Qi to cast.

Xu Qingtong discovered and began cultivating Lian Shaocheng’s Demon Transformation Great Method, using a cold soul stone drum to control its dangerous demonic qi. After strengthening his cultivation and helping manage the Qingbing Tribe, he went into the mountains to test his demonic arts, where a demonic wolf attacked him.

• Xu Qingtong found the Demon Transformation Great Method in a jade slip and learned that cold soul stone could prevent its demonic qi from causing cultivation deviation.
• Xu Qingtong cultivated on the cold soul stone drum, reached the middle stage of the first level in a month, and used demonic power to place the drum in his Storage Ring.
• Xu Qingtong left the ruins with Xiao Bai’s help, checked on the Demonic Crystal Mine, and returned to the Qingbing Tribe, where Luosaide reported that its population had grown past ten thousand.
• Xu Qingtong ordered Luosaide to strengthen the tribe and spent the next year cultivating; his incarnation reached the middle-stage Demon General rank while his original body continued its own cultivation.
• Xu Qingtong’s incarnation went into the mountains to test his demonic arts, but a demonic wolf sprang at him.

Xu Qingtong tested several powerful demonic arts before leaving the Qingbing Tribe to seek World-Breaking Fruit in Hanshui City. He entered the city under the name Guo Zirui and asked to join, while Lu Gui'nian began assessing him.

• Xu Qingtong killed a demonic wolf with Ice Flame Palm, then tested Raging Thunder Finger, Demonwind Frenzy, and Overlord Hammer on other beasts.
• Luosaide told Xu Qingtong that World-Breaking Fruit could no longer be refined and might be held by humans in Hanshui City.
• Xu Qingtong left the Qingbing Tribe secretly and flew toward Hanshui City, passing Lian Shaocheng's secluded dwelling without approaching Duo Jie and two companions.
• At Hanshui City's southern gate, Xu Qingtong claimed to be Guo Zirui, a human raised by the Brown Race, and agreed to seek membership in the city.
• Lu Gui'nian told Xu Qingtong that Hanshui City would welcome him if he was human and swore not to betray humanity.

After swearing a Heart Demon oath and joining Hanshui City, Xu Qingtong gathered information about the attack on Yalai Town and learned that Kangse City's Spirit Controlling Clan wanted its demonized garden balsam. He went to sign up for a garrison mission there, leaving his eligibility to be confirmed.

• Xu Qingtong swore not to betray the human race, joined Hanshui City, and chose to explore the city before deciding whether to take a post.
• At a teahouse, Xu Qingtong heard reports of attacks on Swallow Dock and Yalai Town, then met Shi Wenlong, a survivor of the assault on Yalai Town.
• Shi Wenlong told Xu Qingtong that the Spirit Controlling Clan of Kangse City had controlled the magic beasts to seize Yalai Town's demonized garden balsam.
• After hearing that Hanshui City was recruiting Demon Generals to garrison Yalai Town, Xu Qingtong hurried to the City Lord's Manor and asked to sign up as Guo Zirui.

Xu Qingtong visited an artifact refiner’s shop in Hanshui City and learned that the ancient spirit treasure Phoenix Bearing chose its own master. After Xu Qingtong offered his essence blood, the sword acknowledged him, leaving the old man stunned and reaching for a jade slip.

• Xu Qingtong registered for recruitment under the name Guo Zirui and received orders to report to Commander Xue in Yalai Town before the You Hour.
• While wandering Hanshui City, Xu Qingtong entered the Ouye Blacksmith Shop and became absorbed in the old refiner’s hammering.
• Xu Qingtong noticed an ancient sword called Phoenix Bearing and learned from the old man that it was a spirit treasure that chose its own master.
• The old man explained that Lord Lian Shaocheng had returned Phoenix Bearing four thousand years earlier because his cultivation method could damage its spirituality.
• Xu Qingtong tested the sword with a drop of essence blood, and Phoenix Bearing absorbed it and manifested a fire phoenix before him.
• The old man reacted with shock and excitement, then shakily took out a jade slip.

Xu Qingtong bonded with the Fengyi Sword and learned that he might be able to find the lost method for refining World-Breaking Fruits in Mokali’s Storage Ring. Ouye Tong asked him to preserve and pass on the Ouye Household’s Artifact Refining Technique, then offered to reveal a secret about the sword.

• Ouye Tong gave Xu Qingtong a Jade Slip and urged him to form a Divine Soul contract with the Fire Phoenix.
• Xu Qingtong bonded with the Fire Phoenix, agreed to its requirements, and placed it inside the Fengyi Sword.
• Xu Qingtong offered artifact refining materials as payment, and Ouye Tong recognized that the materials and sword’s acceptance suggested Xu Qingtong was from the Human Realm.
• Ouye Tong explained the Fengyi Sword’s history and asked Xu Qingtong to take the Ouye Household’s Artifact Refining Technique to the Human Realm and pass it down.
• Ouye Tong said that returning to the Human Realm might require reaching the Demon Venerable Realm, and named Mokali as the Demon Venerable associated with the lost World-Breaking Fruit method.
• Xu Qingtong realized Mokali’s Storage Ring might contain that method, while Ouye Tong identified himself as the last inheritor of his household and offered to share a secret about the Fengyi Sword.

Xu Qingtong joined the third squad in Yalai Town under the alias Guo Zirui and went to guard a mountain pass with Zhang Mengwei. When Magic Beasts attacked, he swiftly killed several of them, ending with a Poison Mist Spider reduced to ash.

• Xu Qingtong agreed to help Ouye Tong, received a jade slip of the Ouye Lineage's artifact refining arts, and left to report to Commander Xue in Yalai Town.
• Commander Xue assigned Xu Qingtong to the third squad, where Ma Yinping introduced him to Liu Qian, Sun Lan, and Zhang Mengwei.
• Ma Yinping sent Xu Qingtong and Zhang Mengwei to guard a mountain pass before dark.
• A third-tier black-bear-like Magic Beast charged the pair, and Xu Qingtong killed it with one blow from the Overlord Hammer.
• Xu Qingtong trapped a Poison Mist Spider with Ice Flame Palm and killed two Demonic Wolves with Raging Thunder Finger.
• Xu Qingtong converted his demonic power into spiritual power and burned the Poison Mist Spider to ash with Flame Dragon Technique.

Xu Qingtong and Zhang Mengwei fought two Fourth Tier magic beasts, and Xu Qingtong killed both despite their powerful abilities. After Zhang Mengwei apologized and questioned his strength, Xu Qingtong sensed trouble before he could answer.

• Xu Qingtong assigned Zhang Mengwei to hold off the Giant-Horned Rhinoceros while he fought the Shadow Wolf.
• The Shadow Wolf’s howl left Zhang Mengwei vulnerable, but Xu Qingtong blocked the rhinoceros and killed the Shadow Wolf with his seals.
• The Giant-Horned Rhinoceros grew larger after unleashing its Innate Divine Ability and resisted Xu Qingtong’s attacks.
• Xu Qingtong used the Fengyi Sword and Fire Phoenix to pierce the rhinoceros’s skull and kill it.
• Zhang Mengwei thanked Xu Qingtong and asked how a mid-stage Demon General could be so strong, but Xu Qingtong abruptly warned that something was wrong.

Xu Qingtong rescued Sun Lan from three powerful magic beasts, revealing combat strength that surprised Captain Ma and the others. After the group returned to town, Commander Xue summoned him.

• Xu Qingtong rushed to Sun Lan’s aid and used the Houtu Seal to shield her from two Demon Hounds.
• Xu Qingtong killed the Demonic Wind Leopard with a Divine Sense Thorn and Ice Flame Palm, then killed one Demon Hound with the Xuanming Seal and Raging Thunder Finger.
• Xu Qingtong and Sun Lan joined forces to kill the last Demon Hound, and Sun Lan thanked him for saving her.
• Captain Ma arrived and heard Sun Lan’s account of Guo Zirui’s strength, then remarked that they had underestimated him.
• Xu Qingtong recovered beside the mountain pass, helped repel a later wave of beasts, and returned to town with the others the next day.
• Captain Ma returned from seeing Commander Xue and told Xu Qingtong that the commander wanted to see him.

Xu Qingtong was summoned by Commander Xue, who tested his strength and offered him the deputy commander position. Xu Qingtong accepted after negotiating higher pay, then went to settle into the study behind Commander Xue’s courtyard.

• Captain Ma told Xu Qingtong that Commander Xue had summoned him for a new assignment, while Zhang Mengwei and Sun Lan protested his transfer.
• Commander Xue tested Xu Qingtong by attacking him with a powerful black hand, then explained that Captain Ma had praised his strength.
• Xu Qingtong angrily rejected Commander Xue’s offer at first and said he had come only for money.
• Commander Xue raised the deputy commander’s pay to eight hundred demon crystals a day, and Xu Qingtong accepted.
• Commander Xue gave Xu Qingtong the Deputy Commander Token and assigned him to inspect garrison personnel, rescue those in danger, punish shirkers, and assist against Demon Marshal-level magic beasts.
• Xu Qingtong went to the quiet two-story building behind the courtyard to rest.

Xu Qingtong learned that the Spirit Controlling Clan was behind the magic beast crisis in Yalai Town and discovered that earth milk could replenish demonic power. He headed out to take up his patrol post with the Ninth Squad, where someone challenged him.

• Xu Qingtong read about the Spirit Controlling Clan's magic beast taming and fusion techniques in a book in the rear courtyard.
• Xu Qingtong told Commander Xue he suspected the Spirit Controlling Clan was behind the crisis, and Commander Xue confirmed it while explaining the limits of their fusion technique.
• Xu Qingtong considered his combat abilities and tested earth milk, discovering that the Demon Transformation Great Method could convert it into demonic power.
• A guard summoned Xu Qingtong to patrol, and he used the Shadowless Evasion Technique to travel to the Ninth Squad's post.
• Someone stopped Xu Qingtong at the Ninth Squad's camp and demanded to know who he was.

Xu Qingtong inspected the garrison camps and found the Eleventh Squad neglecting its duties, then brought its squad leader and a disobedient subordinate before Commander Xue. He challenged the blue-robed subordinate to a spar, and as the man’s shield began to crack beneath Xu Qingtong’s attack, the fight remained unresolved.

• Xu Qingtong showed his Deputy Commander Token at the Eleventh Squad, where the blue-robed man refused to obey his orders and questioned the token’s authenticity.
• Xu Qingtong struck the blue-robed man with a Divine Sense Thorn and sent two squad members to take him to Commander Xue for replacement.
• Xu Qingtong froze the drunken squad leader in an Ice Wall and handed the garrison post over to Hu Dongxin of the Second Squad.
• Xu Qingtong reported the squad leader’s absence and the blue-robed man’s insolence to Commander Xue, who left Xu Qingtong to decide the subordinate’s fate.
• Xu Qingtong challenged the blue-robed man to survive three moves; he froze the man’s Mountain-Cleaving Axe and pressed a Raging Thunder Finger against his shield until it began to crack.

Xu Qingtong inspected the defenses as magic beasts attacked, then faced a fifth-tier Black Obsidian Demon Ape after signaling for help. He killed the beast but depleted his magic power, while its furious master flew toward him.

• Xu Qingtong defeated the blue-clad man, spared him, and ordered the frozen squad captain handed over for punishment.
• Xu Qingtong inspected the camps and temporarily replaced an injured member of Hu Dongxin's second squad.
• After sensing a fifth-tier beast approaching and its controller more than twenty li away, Xu Qingtong launched a signal into the sky.
• The Black Obsidian Demon Ape struck Xu Qingtong hard, but he killed it with the Fengyi Sword.
• Xu Qingtong swallowed earth milk to restore his magic power as the black-robed Demon Marshal flew toward him, vowing revenge.

Xu Qingtong fought Ji Yiping, the Demon Marshal who came to avenge his slain Demonic Ape, and used Witch Clan arts to weaken him until Commander Xue arrived and captured him. At Xue Lin’s residence, Lu Gui'nian heard the report and asked which Deputy Commander Guo had killed the ape.

• Xu Qingtong recovered his magic power and waited for Commander Xue while a black-robed Demon Marshal arrived and vowed to avenge the Demonic Ape.
• Xu Qingtong used the Witch Clan’s Lightning-attracting Technique, Summoning Technique, and Turtle-Speed Technique to injure and slow Ji Yiping.
• When Commander Xue entered the area, Xu Qingtong switched to familiar spells, and Xue Lin joined the fight and sealed Ji Yiping’s cultivation.
• Xue Lin saw that the Demonic Ape had been beheaded, then took Ji Yiping back to town after learning that Lu Gui'nian had arrived.
• Lu Gui'nian listened as Xue Lin reported the battle and asked which Deputy Commander Guo had slain the Demonic Ape.

After recognizing Xu Qingtong as a human-realm incarnation, Lu Gui'nian gave him a protective treasure and discussed his path back and Mokali's remains. The next day, Lu Gui'nian released Ji Yiping and ordered him to return, alarming Commander Xue.

• Xu Qingtong met Lu Gui'nian, who praised his battle against the Black Obsidian Demon Ape and Ji Yiping before privately identifying his body as an incarnation from the Human Realm.
• Lu Gui'nian gave Xu Qingtong the Heart-Guarding Mirror and warned him to destroy any World-Breaking Fruits, while explaining that reaching the Demon Venerable Realm could let him return home.
• Xu Qingtong told Lu Gui'nian about his bargain with Demon Venerable Mokali and the remains and Demon Venerable Token he had kept hidden; Lu Gui'nian advised him to bring them to Hanshui City after the Kangse City matter was settled.
• Xu Qingtong refined the Heart-Guarding Mirror and meditated on his recent battles until Lu Gui'nian appeared in the courtyard the following day.
• Lu Gui'nian released Ji Yiping's seal and told him to return, prompting Commander Xue to object.

Lu Gui'nian revealed that Kangse City had admitted to invading Yalai Town and agreed to compensate it under Demon Emperor Cang Yan's orders. In Hanshui City, he and Xu Qingtong exposed Mokali's hidden fallback and captured his phantom, then examined the Demon Venerable Token for the secret of refining World-Breaking Fruits.

• Lu Gui'nian told Xu Qingtong and Commander Xue that Tu Changyuan had admitted to invading Yalai Town, and that Demon Emperor Cang Yan had ordered compensation and a lower seed price instead of war.
• Lu Gui'nian sent Yalai Town's residents home, warned Xu Qingtong that the Spirit Controlling Clan knew of him, and took him to Hanshui City.
• Lu Gui'nian found a hidden white bead inside Mokali's skeleton and summoned Mokali's phantom with it.
• Xu Qingtong tricked Mokali into revealing that the World-Breaking Fruit method was likely inside the Demon Venerable Token, while Lu Gui'nian trapped Mokali's phantom in the Soul-Seizing Pearl.
• Xu Qingtong handed Lu Gui'nian the Demon Venerable Token, and Lu Gui'nian opened its internal space, releasing a heap of items and demon crystals.

Xu Qingtong learned and destroyed the World-Breaking Fruit refining method, then accepted a post as Yalai Town’s garrison commander and storekeeper so he could find suitable Demonized Garden Balsam seeds. He arrived in town and met Magistrate Zhou Zhiren, leaving Zhou to handle the town’s other affairs.

• Lu Gui'nian confirmed that the Demon Venerable Token contained the World-Breaking Fruit refining method and warned that its spread could lead to another war between humans and demons.
• Xu Qingtong memorized the method, crushed its Jade Slip, and promised to warn the Human Realm’s cultivators.
• Lu Gui'nian appointed Xu Qingtong Yalai Town’s garrison commander and storekeeper, and Xu took the high-grade Demon Crystals from the City Lord's Manor.
• Xu Qingtong traveled to Yalai Town, presented his Garrison Token, and went to the Garrison Manor.
• Xu Qingtong told Zhou Zhiren that he would handle town security and Demonized Garden Balsam while leaving the rest of the town’s affairs to the magistrate.

Xu Qingtong took charge of Yalai Town’s garrison, imposed strict rules, and punished Feng Wuji for missing his shift by crippling his cultivation and expelling him. The news alarmed Zhou Zhiren, who worried about how Inspector Feng would react.

• Xu Qingtong asked Zhou Zhiren to assign two assistants and gather information on demonized garden balsam, then Guan Ke and Yin Sheng joined the Garrison Manor.
• Xu Qingtong assembled the guards, announced new rules and penalties for missing duty, and promised a ten percent pay increase for compliance.
• Guan Ke brought Xu Qingtong information revealing that Yalai Town’s premium demonized garden balsam seeds came from land between Netherfire Peak and the Yalai River and generated over a million demon crystals annually.
• Yin Sheng reported that Feng Wuji had skipped his shift to gamble, so Xu Qingtong found him at a tavern, crippled his cultivation, and ordered him expelled from Yalai Town.
• After word of Feng Wuji’s punishment spread, Zhou Zhiren worried that Inspector Feng would demand an explanation.

After crippling Feng Wuji, Xu Qingtong faced his uncle, Inspector Feng Butong, who came to Yalai Town seeking revenge. Xu Qingtong burned his blood to raise his cultivation and wounded Feng Butong with the Fengyi Sword, then prepared to attack again.

• Zhou Zhiren sent a Jade Talisman to Feng Butong and arranged for two men to escort Feng Wuji to Hanshui City.
• Xu Qingtong refined an ink-black lotus and raised his Demon Transformation Great Method cultivation to the peak of mid-stage Demon General.
• Feng Butong arrived with Zhou Zhiren, identified himself as Feng Wuji's uncle, and challenged Xu Qingtong to personal revenge.
• Feng Butong's demonic wolf phantom shattered Xu Qingtong's Ice Flame Palm and struck him with the Houtu Seal, injuring him.
• Xu Qingtong cast the Blood-Burning Spell, raised his strength to early-stage Demon Marshal, and used the Fengyi Sword to slash Feng Butong deeply.
• Xu Qingtong drank two drops of earth milk and drove the Fengyi Sword at Feng Butong again.

Xu Qingtong recovered from his costly fight with Feng Butong, then went to Hanshui City to report the inspector’s abuse of authority to Lu Gui'nian. Lu Gui'nian removed Feng Butong from his post and sent Xu Qingtong away with sound transmission talismans and a flying Demonic Artifact.

• After injuring Feng Butong, Xu Qingtong returned to the Garrison Manor and spent seven days recovering from the damage to his blood and origin qi.
• Xu Qingtong visited Lu Gui'nian in Hanshui City and reported how Feng Butong had attacked him over his nephew’s crippled cultivation.
• Feng Butong admitted fighting Xu Qingtong, and Lu Gui'nian relieved him of his inspector post, reassigning him as a Garrison Camp commander.
• Xu Qingtong explained how he had gained the Fengyi Sword’s recognition and reported that Yalai Town was secure, while Lu Gui'nian warned him to keep Zhou Zhiren under control.
• Xu Qingtong claimed he was an honest man while hinting that he needed a flying artifact, and Lu Gui'nian gave him a Demonic Artifact.