Chapter Summaries

Lu Qingshan recruited Zhou Qingyi and three male elders for a business trip, offering large payments while keeping referral fees for himself. At the meeting place, Zhang Xuanhe and Zhao Chenshan discovered that Lu had invited five people in total and challenged his claim that he was applying on their behalf.

• Zhou Qingyi agreed to accompany Lu Qingshan after he promised her eight hundred million spirit stones, though she threatened to kill him if he was scheming against her.
• Lu Qingshan replaced the remaining female elders on his list with Han Jiufeng, Sun Wujiu, and Zhao Chenshan, then recruited all three and kept part of their payments as referral fees.
• Lu Qingshan counted that he would pocket two billion two hundred million spirit stones, including the reduced share he kept from Zhou Qingyi's payment.
• The next morning, Zhao Chenshan arrived and questioned whether Lu Qingshan was truly offering five hundred million spirit stones.
• Zhang Xuanhe arrived, recognized Zhao Chenshan, and learned that Lu Qingshan had invited five people; both elders confronted Lu about his claim that he was applying on their behalf.

Lu Qingshan brought Azure Cloud Sect’s five Grand Supreme Elders to meet Chun Xiaobai and his companions, where Chun paid each elder a hundred million spirit stones in tea money. After the elders accepted the job, Chun prepared to set out with them, while Bai Yutang concealed his identity behind a false name.

• Lu Qingshan led Zhang Xuanhe, Zhao Chenshan, Zhou Qingyi, Sun Wujiu, and Han Jiufeng from Azure Cloud Sect to Blackstone Ridge.
• Chun Xiaobai greeted the five elders, and Zhang Xuanhe objected to being summoned to back up a group of juniors.
• Chun Xiaobai gave each elder a Storage Ring containing a hundred million spirit stones, and the five accepted the payment.
• Zhou Qingyi and the other elders found Bai Yutang familiar, but they could not remember where they had seen him.
• Fang Yuan, Bai Jin'er, and Bai Yutang gave the elders the false names Yuan Fang, Hong Jin'er, and Blackboard.
• Zhang Xuanhe asked when they would set out, and Chun Xiaobai agreed to depart with the five elders.

Chun Xiaobai led Lu Qingshan, Bai Jin'er, Bai Yutang, Fang Yuan, and five Spirit Transformation elders to the Spirit Origin Sect, while the elders mistakenly believed he was seeking justice for a lover whose Dao Foundation had been stolen. They reached a hill overlooking the sect, where Lu Qingshan worried that the elders would abandon Chun Xiaobai once they learned the real purpose of the trip.

• Chun Xiaobai rushed the group into the air before Lu Qingshan could explain their mission.
• The group entered Spirit Origin Sect territory, and Zhang Xuanhe and the other elders guessed that the sect had stolen Chun Xiaobai's lover's Dao Foundation.
• Zhang Xuanhe and the four other elders released their Spirit Transformation auras in Spirit Origin City, startling its residents.
• Chun Xiaobai asked the elders to keep a lower profile, but Zhang Xuanhe assured him that they would handle any obstacles.
• Chun Xiaobai led the group to a hill a hundred miles from the sect and watched its gates from the grass.
• Lu Qingshan anxiously feared the elders would quit when Chun Xiaobai revealed the Demonic Artifact.

Chun Xiaobai equipped his group with imitation official armor and prepared them for an operation at the Spirit Origin Sect. The five Azure Cloud Sect elders mistook him for a prince seeking recurring compensation, and the group set out to follow his cues and keep a low profile.

• Chun Xiaobai handed out black regulation armor, and Bai Jin'er and her companions put on their imitation Emperor Pavilion Armor.
• Zhang Xuanhe and the other elders mistook the armor for mortal-dynasty military gear and concluded Chun Xiaobai was a prince because he called himself “this king.”
• Chun Xiaobai called a meeting to plan the operation, but Zhang Xuanhe insisted they should charge straight into the Spirit Origin Sect.
• Chun Xiaobai warned that they needed to keep the sect’s business running for years, and the elders agreed not to push it too far at first.
• When the elders asked whether Chun Xiaobai had visited before, Lu Qingshan hurriedly endorsed his plan, and Chun Xiaobai told everyone to follow his cues and watch their bearing.

Chun Xiaobai led Bai Yutang, Bai Jin'er, Fang Yuan, and five Grand Supreme Elders toward the Spirit Origin Sect at night, presenting their operation as a justice-seeking mission while preparing for a covert raid. The group reached the sect’s back mountain, where Chun Xiaobai sealed the auras of some companions and began scouting the elders’ quarters.

• Chun Xiaobai instructed the five Grand Supreme Elders to control the situation, cover the group’s retreat, and avoid being followed back to their lodging.
• Chun Xiaobai led the group through the vegetation toward the Spirit Origin Sect under cover of night, and the five elders followed after recalling the money they had accepted.
• The group circled to the sect’s back mountain and crouched beside a wall overlooking the illuminated grounds and night patrols.
• Chun Xiaobai used his Heaven-Sealing Finger to conceal Bai Jin'er’s, Bai Yutang’s, and Fang Yuan’s auras, but Zhang Xuanhe refused the help, claiming he could conceal his own aura and need not fear the sect.
• Chun Xiaobai surveyed the Spirit Origin Sect and detected dozens of powerful auras concentrated around a cluster of halls where the elders lived.

Chun Xiaobai led Lu Qingshan and four Azure Cloud Sect elders into the Spirit Origin Sect at night, where his demonic sword terrified the elders and made them suspect he planned something worse than theft. As they tried to edge away, Chun Xiaobai caught them and demanded to know whether they were running.

• Chun Xiaobai led Bai Jin'er and the others through the darkness, while Zhang Xuanhe and four elders noisily climbed onto a hall roof and resisted his orders to hide.
• After Chun Xiaobai threatened to withhold their spirit stones, Zhang Xuanhe and the others lay down and watched him select a passing white-haired elder as their target.
• Chun Xiaobai drew a black, sinister sword, and Zhou Qingyi and the other elders recognized it as a demonic artifact.
• Zhang Xuanhe accused Lu Qingshan of setting them up, but Chun Xiaobai scolded the elders for acting frightened and demanded to know whether they were professionals.
• The five elders realized the danger of being caught with Chun Xiaobai and his demonic artifact, then quietly tried to retreat; Chun Xiaobai noticed and confronted them.

Chun Xiaobai threw the Demonic Sword outside Qian Hesong’s hall and recorded the Core Elder holding it. When Qian Hesong realized it was a demonic artifact and tried to flee, Chun Xiaobai shouted that he was a demon and ordered his companions to seize him.

• Chun Xiaobai stopped Zhang Xuanhe and the other four from running and told them to follow his instructions.
• Chun Xiaobai hurled the Demonic Sword toward Qian Hesong’s hall, where Qian Hesong found it and picked it up.
• Qian Hesong recognized the sword as a possible demonic artifact, dropped it in fear, and prepared to flee.
• Chun Xiaobai recorded Qian Hesong holding the Demonic Sword with an Image Recording Stone.
• Chun Xiaobai shouted that Qian Hesong was a demon and ordered his companions to seize him.

Chun Xiaobai exposed Qian Hesong and the Demonic Artifact at the Spirit Origin Sect, then used the chaos to make the sect’s leaders mistake his group for Emperor Pavilion Envoys. Zhang Xuanhe realized he and the others were impersonating the envoys just as the sect elders begged for mercy.

• Chun Xiaobai shouted that there was a demon in the sect, drawing the Spirit Origin Sect’s elders and Grand Supreme Elders to the rooftop.
• Qian Hesong was found beside the Demonic Artifact, while Zhang Xuanhe and the others gathered behind Chun Xiaobai in their black armor.
• Sect Master He Yunting greeted the apparent Emperor Pavilion Envoys and tried to separate Qian Hesong’s actions from the sect.
• Chun Xiaobai accused He Yunting of harboring a demon and ordered the Nine Heavens Demon-Slaying Formation deployed, causing the sect elders to kneel and plead for mercy.
• Zhou Qingyi prompted Zhang Xuanhe to notice their armor, and he realized they were impersonating Emperor Pavilion Envoys.

Chun Xiaobai and his companions used a staged formation to convince the Spirit Origin Sect that they were facing Emperor Pavilion forces, while the sect's leaders denied having anything to do with the Demonic Artifact. The standoff ended with the sect pleading its case and Chun Xiaobai recognizing that evidence would be needed to prove their guilt.

• Zhang Xuanhe's startled outburst drew the Spirit Origin Sect elders' attention, and they began recognizing him and his companions.
• Fang Yuan ordered the five men to take positions for the Nine Heavens Demon-Slaying Formation, but they hesitated because they could not actually set it up.
• Fang Yuan secretly used a fifth-tier Spirit-Gathering Talisman, allowing the five to arrange their familiar Five Phases formation and make it seem powerful.
• He Yunting mistook the combined auras for ten Spirit Transformation experts and begged Chun Xiaobai to spare the Spirit Origin Sect.
• He Yunting and the elders insisted that the Demonic Artifact was a misunderstanding and denied the sect had dealings with Demon Cultivators.
• Chun Xiaobai dismissed their pleas as self-interested and recognized that evidence was needed to establish the sect's guilt.

Chun Xiaobai used the Image Recording Stone to make He Yunting believe the Spirit Origin Sect had been caught sheltering a demon and hiding a demonic artifact. As Chun Xiaobai ordered the sect arrested and Qian Hesong subjected to Soul Searching, He Yunting killed Qian Hesong and revealed that he had reached peak spirit transformation.

• Chun Xiaobai showed He Yunting the Image Recording Stone, whose footage appeared to show Qian Hesong examining a demonic sword, and declared the evidence conclusive.
• He Yunting feared the Spirit Origin Sect would be destroyed, while Chun Xiaobai ordered the gates sealed and everyone on the sect's rolls detained for trial.
• Chun Xiaobai ordered Qian Hesong taken for Soul Searching, prompting He Yunting to kill him with a single palm strike.
• He Yunting denounced Qian Hesong as a traitor, and Zhang Xuanhe and the others realized He Yunting had concealed his peak spirit transformation cultivation.

Chun Xiaobai used his fake Emperor Pavilion authority to pressure He Yunting, who offered secret intelligence about demon cultivators in exchange for leniency. Chun Xiaobai separated the intelligence from the cost of his investigation, and He Yunting offered fifty billion spirit stones to cover the expenses.

• Chun Xiaobai moved closer to Zhang Xuanhe and the other four Spirit Transformation cultivators after suspecting He Yunting might turn hostile.
• Chun Xiaobai ordered guards to summon reinforcements and take everyone from the Spirit Origin Sect back for questioning, prompting He Yunting to offer vital intelligence.
• He Yunting said the Spirit Origin Sect had secretly helped track demon cultivators and asked Chun Xiaobai to report its leads and speak in its favor.
• Chun Xiaobai and Bai Jin'er insisted that the intelligence could not cancel out the expenses of their three-year investigation.
• He Yunting agreed to cover those expenses and presented Chun Xiaobai with a Storage Ring containing fifty billion spirit stones.

Chun Xiaobai’s group extorted sixty billion spirit stones from the Spirit Origin Sect by framing it for colluding with Demon Cultivators. After the group departed, He Yunting realized the sect’s own Demonic Path methods and crimes could be exposed, so he ordered everyone to evacuate and destroy evidence.

• He Yunting gave Chun Xiaobai another ten billion spirit stones, bringing the total payment to sixty billion.
• Chun Xiaobai told He Yunting to deliver the sect’s intelligence to Spirit Origin City, then left with the Image Recording Stone after Bai Yutang claimed another Demon Cultivator had fled.
• He Yunting and the elders suspected the visitors were not genuine Emperor Pavilion Envoys, but He Yunting silenced them because the recording still implicated the sect.
• He Yunting revealed that the Spirit Origin Sect’s cultivation method came from the Demonic Path and that its crimes had left evidence throughout the sect.
• He Yunting ordered the Spirit Origin Sect to evacuate immediately and destroy anything they could not take.

Chun Xiaobai and his companions escaped the Spirit Origin Sect with sixty billion spirit stones. On a hilltop, they discovered Lu Qingshan had kept half their promised payment as a fee, and the furious group beat him while Bai Yutang awkwardly claimed he had come to help.

• The Spirit Origin Sect hurriedly removed its treasures and erased traces as Chun Xiaobai and the others fled through the night.
• After reaching a hilltop, Chun Xiaobai counted sixty billion spirit stones and promised Zhang Xuanhe and the others a billion each.
• Zhou Qingyi revealed that Lu Qingshan had told them the job paid eight hundred million, and Lu Qingshan admitted he had kept half as an introduction fee.
• Zhang Xuanhe, Han Jiufeng, Sun Wujiu, and the others attacked Lu Qingshan, with Zhou Qingyi slapping him as well.
• Bai Yutang moved to join the beating, but the others stopped and left his fist in front of Lu Qingshan's face.
• Bai Yutang told Lu Qingshan he had come to save him from being hit too hard.

After the Spirit Origin Sect robbery, Lu Qingshan tried to regain his dignity, then switched to praising Chun Xiaobai when Chun threatened to dismiss him. Chun Xiaobai refused to raise the five elders’ shares, and their confrontation ended with Chun asking whether Fang Yuan had sent back the recording.

• Lu Qingshan accused Bai Yutang of disrespecting elders, but Chun Xiaobai stopped them and ordered Fang Yuan to settle Lu’s share and send him away.
• Lu Qingshan praised Chun Xiaobai’s plan to infiltrate the Spirit Origin Sect and extort sixty billion spirit stones, impressing Zhang Xuanhe and the other elders.
• Zhang Xuanhe and Han Jiufeng asked Chun Xiaobai to increase their one-billion-spirit-stone shares, citing their Spirit Transformation cultivation and help during the robbery.
• Chun Xiaobai angrily criticized the five elders for hesitating and complaining during the operation, prompting them to close in on him with their auras.
• Chun Xiaobai asked Fang Yuan whether the recording had been sent back, and Fang Yuan confirmed that he had sent it long ago.

Chun Xiaobai used a recording of the Spirit Origin Sect scheme to make Zhang Xuanhe and the other four accept their payment and leave. After they departed, he gave the remaining spirit stones to Bai Jin'er, who suggested cutting the others’ shares.

• Chun Xiaobai threatened to expose the five elders’ impersonation, extortion, and Demonic Artifact scheme if they caused trouble.
• Bai Jin'er scolded Zhang Xuanhe and the others for doing little work, and Chun Xiaobai ordered her to pay them five billion spirit stones.
• Zhang Xuanhe reconsidered the danger they had faced, but Chun Xiaobai and Bai Jin'er warned that the elders would take the blame if the scheme was exposed.
• Zhang Xuanhe and the other four left with one billion spirit stones each, while Lu Qingshan relaxed after fearing they would beat him again.
• Chun Xiaobai handed the remaining spirit stones to Bai Jin'er, who suggested the elders should have received only one billion each.

Chun Xiaobai gave Bai Jin'er and the others five billion spirit stones, while Zhang Xuanhe and his four companions realized their first extortion job had paid too little and decided to work with him again. The five returned to the hilltop, where Bai Jin'er and the others eyed them warily.

• Chun Xiaobai told Bai Jin'er and the others that their spirit stones were meant to help them raise their cultivation, and Lu Qingshan felt relieved that the beating had earned him a share of five billion spirit stones.
• A hundred li away, Zhang Xuanhe realized that his group had taken a grave risk for only one billion spirit stones, and Sun Wujiu and Han Jiufeng proposed returning to Chun Xiaobai for more jobs.
• Zhang Xuanhe argued that Chun Xiaobai had the Spirit Origin Sect trapped with the Image Recording Stone of Qian Hesong holding the Demonic Artifact, and the others agreed the sect could not safely expose the extortion.
• Zhang Xuanhe persuaded the four that working with Chun Xiaobai offered greater rewards than dangerous missions, and they turned back toward the hilltop.
• Bai Jin'er and the others hid their Storage Rings when Zhang Xuanhe and the four returned, and they watched the group warily.

Chun Xiaobai’s five Azure Cloud Sect Grand Supreme Elders returned and asked to join his scheme again, promising to follow his orders. He accepted them and called everyone together for a meeting, while Bai Jin'er remained wary and Lu Qingshan hid behind him.

• Zhang Xuanhe and the other four returned to Chun Xiaobai and asked to be included in his next job.
• The five apologized for panicking during their previous job and promised to obey Chun Xiaobai, despite the risks and modest pay.
• Chun Xiaobai tested their resolve by laying down rules, then agreed to give them another chance.
• Bai Jin'er warned Chun Xiaobai that the five might have returned with bad intentions, but he dismissed her concerns.
• Chun Xiaobai summoned Lu Qingshan and the others for a meeting, while Lu Qingshan hid behind him from the five elders.

Chun Xiaobai and his companions targeted the Red Glow Sect, a sect that refined pills from living people, and extorted sixty billion spirit stones by posing as Emperor Pavilion Envoys. After the Red Glow Sect fled to avoid investigation, the group continued making deals across the Western Province.

• Zhang Xuanhe identified the Red Glow Sect as their next target and described its practice of refining people into pills.
• Lu Qingshan backed the plan, and Chun Xiaobai affirmed his loyalty to the Black Wind Stronghold despite his flaws.
• Two days later, the group reached the Red Glow Sect and learned that it kept mortals away because it used unsupported visitors as pill ingredients.
• Zhang Xuanhe and the other four led a nighttime operation, and the Red Glow Sect's leaders surrendered sixty billion spirit stones to the supposed Emperor Pavilion Envoys.
• The Red Glow Sect moved away to avoid an investigation, while Chun Xiaobai and his companions completed four more extortion deals across the Western Province over the next month.

Chun Xiaobai and his companions continued their lucrative tour of the Eastern Region while Mu Qinglan investigated the mysterious overnight disappearances of several sects. As fear spread, she tried to summon Azure Cloud Sect elders to investigate, only to learn that they were both away.

• Chun Xiaobai and his companions headed from the Western Province to Chong Province, planning to visit all thirty-six provinces and earn at least five trillion spirit stones.
• Mu Qinglan reviewed the Azure Cloud Sect’s increased wealth and strength, gains produced by following Chun Xiaobai’s methods.
• Mu Qinglan read reports that the Ten Thousand Flowers Sect, Spirit Origin Sect, Red Glow Sect, Mystic Yin Sect, and Black Water Gate had vanished without a trace, prompting sects across the Eastern Region to strengthen their defenses.
• Mu Qinglan summoned Grand Supreme Elder Zhang Xuanhe to investigate, but a disciple reported that he had gone out and not returned.
• Mu Qinglan then asked for Zhou Qingyi, learned she was also away, and ordered the disciple to summon Han Jiufeng instead.

Mu Qinglan discovered that Zhang Xuanhe and four other Grand Supreme Elders had vanished and locked down the Azure Cloud Sect amid a wave of sect disappearances. Meanwhile, Chun Xiaobai and the five elders split a huge extortion haul, and he began to regret taking them along.

• Mu Qinglan learned that Zhang Xuanhe, Han Jiufeng, Sun Wujiu, Zhao Chenshan, and one other Grand Supreme Elder were absent, with no one knowing where they had gone.
• Mu Qinglan contacted the sect’s other Grand Supreme Elders and Ancestors, confirmed they knew nothing, and ordered an investigation into the five elders’ movements.
• Mu Qinglan activated the Sect-Guardian Formation, doubled mountain patrols, and ordered the Azure Cloud Sect to verify all visitors and seal its checkpoints.
• On a nameless hill in Chong Province, Chun Xiaobai split three hundred billion spirit stones among himself and the five elders, giving each elder three billion.
• Zhang Xuanhe and the others celebrated their growing fortunes and asked Chun Xiaobai where they would take their next job, while Chun Xiaobai began to regret bringing them along.