Chapter Summaries

Ye Xiaotian learned that the Ten Great Sacred Sects were marching on Heavenly Baleful Valley and called for powerful allies to reinforce him. Meanwhile, Chun Xiaobai mistook the mobilization for preparations to gather his ransom before realizing the factions might be preparing for battle instead.

• Ye Xiaotian heard that five hundred top sects were gathering, then learned the Mystic Ice Palace Master was leading the Ten Great Sacred Sects toward Heavenly Baleful Valley.
• Ye Xiaotian ordered the Pill Alliance, Artifact Refining Alliance, Talisman Masters Association, Ten Thousand Demons Cavern, and Netherworld Hall to send aid.
• Chun Xiaobai worried that Fang Yuan and Xiao Zhang had been captured, but they returned and reported that leaders and sects were mobilizing with Heaven-Tier Magical Treasures.
• Chun Xiaobai initially thought the factions were assembling treasures to pay his ransom, but Bai Jin'er warned they might be preparing for war.
• Chun Xiaobai realized his exorbitant ransom demand may have ended negotiations and blamed Gu Shuangshuang for steering him away from accepting a smaller payment.

Chun Xiaobai learned from Gu Shuangshuang that the Emperor Pavilion watched over the Eastern Region, and he feared its territory might include the land of the powerful woman who had sent him to the Cultivation World. Determined to earn money and grow strong enough to escape, he revised his ransom demands and sent Fang Yuan and Xiao Zhang to deliver them.

• Chun Xiaobai scolded Gu Shuangshuang for disrupting his ransom scheme, and she explained that Qin Ruoxue's status and his high demands had driven the captors to suspicion and brinkmanship.
• Gu Shuangshuang described the Emperor Pavilion as a force that hunted monsters and demons and remained over the Eastern Region's sects after its monsters were gone.
• Chun Xiaobai connected the Emperor Pavilion to the woman who had sent him to the Cultivation World and resolved to earn money and gain strength so he could leave her territory.
• Chun Xiaobai told Gu Shuangshuang to stay in the cave and brushed aside Bai Jin'er's concerns about the Mountain of Ten Thousand Spirits becoming a battlefield.
• Chun Xiaobai reduced his ransom demands and gave revised Message Transmission Talismans to Fang Yuan and Xiao Zhang, who flew off in separate directions to deliver them.

The Thousand Sects Alliance and the Heavenly Baleful Valley faced off over Qin Ruoxue, while Bing Ningyue arrived determined to rescue her disciple. Although the Valley sharply reduced its ransom, the Alliance and the Sacred Sect representatives rejected the offer and prepared to fight.

• Bing Ningyue arrived with the Thousand Sects Alliance at the Mountain of Ten Thousand Spirits and worried about Qin Ruoxue's safety.
• Ling Tianchen received a message that the Demon had reduced the ransom to one Heaven-Tier Magical Treasure, ten million spirit stones, and a tenth of the demanded pills and talismans.
• The Thousand Sects Alliance's leaders initially welcomed the reduced ransom, but the Sacred Sect representatives took offense at being called out without a fight.
• An elder claimed the Demon had backed down out of fear, and Lu Qingshan urged the assembled forces to punish the Valley and bring Qin Ruoxue back unharmed.
• The Alliance's leaders rallied behind Lu Qingshan and called for battle.

The Sacred Sects agreed to join Ling Tianchen’s forces in attacking the Thousand Sects Alliance, while Ye Xiaotian gathered the Heavenly Baleful Valley and six commercial alliances with their own Sacred Sect allies. A message from the opposing side lowered its ransom demand, which Ye Xiaotian’s allies mistook for surrender and took as encouragement to fight.

• Bing Ningyue agreed to let the Sacred Sects attack the opposing forces, and Ling Tianchen ordered a message sent threatening them.
• Ye Xiaotian assembled the Heavenly Baleful Valley, six commercial alliances, and ten Sacred Sect representatives to oppose the Thousand Sects Alliance.
• A representative asked Ye Xiaotian and the alliance leaders to discuss how they would divide the spoils after the battle.
• A Heavenly Baleful Valley disciple delivered a Message Transmission Talisman, and Ye Xiaotian rewarded him for his composure.
• Ye Xiaotian read that the opposing side had reduced its ransom demand from fifty Heaven-Tier Magical Treasures and five hundred million spirit stones to one treasure and ten million spirit stones.
• Ye Xiaotian’s allies interpreted the reduced ransom as a retreat, laughed at the opposing side, and grew more eager to attack.

After both sides rejected the ransom negotiations and prepared to fight, Chun Xiaobai realized the Mountain of Ten Thousand Spirits was in danger and his extortion scheme had failed. He searched for another way to recover his losses but concluded that fleeing was his only option.

• Ye Xiaotian ordered his allies to reply to the Sacred Sect, “wash your necks and wait,” and they prepared for battle.
• Chun Xiaobai read the hostile replies and blamed Gu Shuangshuang for ruining his plan to collect ransom.
• Chun Xiaobai beat Gu Shuangshuang, then immobilized her after her resentful stare unsettled him.
• Fang Yuan and Xiao Zhang warned Chun Xiaobai that disciples and demon beasts were already retreating from the Mountain of Ten Thousand Spirits.
• Chun Xiaobai realized the rival factions intended to use the conflict to weaken each other and seize resources, while he faced ruin.
• Chun Xiaobai considered his remaining options and decided that he had to flee.

Fang Yuan and Xiao Zhang sent a final ransom demand for five million spirit stones as the Thousand Sects Alliance prepared to attack the Heavenly Baleful Valley. The alliance dismissed the reduced demand and grew eager to strike, leaving the hostages' fate uncertain.

• Fang Yuan hardened his resolve and sent another ransom message demanding five million spirit stones, his final offer before he killed the hostages and fled.
• The Thousand Sects Alliance finished its preparations to attack and arrange the spoils, while Bing Ningyue worried about rescuing Qin Ruoxue and other leaders fretted over their captive heirs.
• Lu Tianyun urged the alliance to strike, and the Sacred Sect representatives agreed as Bing Ningyue prepared to give the attack order.
• A disciple delivered a new battle report, and Ling Tianchen read the message announcing that the Heavenly Baleful Valley had lowered its ransom to five million spirit stones.
• The alliance and Sacred Sect representatives laughed at the demand, declared that they would not negotiate, and called for an immediate assault on the Heavenly Baleful Valley.

Lu Qingshan proposed paying the Heavenly Baleful Valley five million spirit stones before attacking, while Bing Ningyue approved the plan and the allied army advanced. Meanwhile, Ye Xiaotian hurried the opposing coalition toward battle, hiding his fear for his captured daughter as the forces prepared to clash.

• Lu Qingshan proposed handing over five million spirit stones and then immediately attacking the Heavenly Baleful Valley, winning the elders' approval.
• The chapter recounted how Yun Huoyue killed a young man from the Emperor Pavilion, leaving the Azure Cloud Sect feared and shunned despite the Emperor Pavilion declining to pursue the matter.
• Bing Ningyue gave Ling Tianchen a Storage Ring containing the ransom, and he sent a messenger to deliver it before ordering the allied forces forward.
• More than ten thousand Warships carried millions of disciples toward the Heavenly Baleful Valley as war horns sounded across the Mountain of Ten Thousand Spirits.
• Ye Xiaotian urged the opposing War Puppet legions onward, concealing his worry for his captured daughter while Sacred Sect representatives promised overwhelming force.

Ye Xiaotian’s forces advanced toward the Mountain of Ten Thousand Spirits after he dismissed Chun Xiaobai’s five-million-spirit-stone ransom demand. Chun Xiaobai, furious at getting no payment, took his anger out on the captive Ye Liuli.

• Ye Xiaotian received Chun Xiaobai’s message, mistook the ransom demand for a surrender, and ordered his army to advance at full speed.
• The Sacred Sect representatives and Heavenly Baleful Valley’s elders laughed at the Thousand Sects Alliance’s supposed poverty and agreed that it should fuck off.
• Xiao Zhang returned to Chun Xiaobai and explained that Ye Xiaotian was leading the army north and had rejected the ransom demand.
• Chun Xiaobai grew furious over receiving no spirit stones and rushed into the cave to confront Ye Liuli.
• Chun Xiaobai lifted Ye Liuli’s restriction and slapped her backside as she cursed and struggled against him.

Chun Xiaobai punished Ye Liuli and Gu Shuangshuang after their actions ruined his ransom plan, then prepared to deal with Qin Ruoxue. Fang Yuan’s excited claim that they were rich interrupted him, and Chun Xiaobai feared the fatty had betrayed him.

• Chun Xiaobai restrained his anger toward Ye Liuli but tore her dudou, kissed her to silence her insults, and shoved her away after complaining about her breath.
• Chun Xiaobai released Gu Shuangshuang’s seal and slapped her, blaming her advice for costing him a hundred million.
• Gu Shuangshuang mocked Ye Liuli, prompting the two women to clash until Chun Xiaobai angrily ordered them both to shut up.
• Chun Xiaobai turned toward Qin Ruoxue, but Fang Yuan shouted from outside that they were rich.
• Chun Xiaobai suspected Fang Yuan had defected and readied himself to flee from the cliffside cave.

Chun Xiaobai discovered a tracking mark on the five million spirit stones and ordered everyone to flee before Bing Ningyue’s forces arrived. As the group escaped with their hostages, he freed Qin Ruoxue but stopped to spank her after she threatened him with the Mystic Ice Palace.

• Chun Xiaobai used his Treasure-Seeing Divine Eye to spot a hidden blue halo on the Storage Ring, then destroyed Bing Ningyue’s divine soul mark and took the spirit stones.
• Bing Ningyue sensed that her mark had vanished, feared a powerful cultivator was nearby, and ordered her forces to advance at full speed.
• Chun Xiaobai packed the spirit stones, hurried Fang Yuan, Xiao Zhang, and Bai Jin’er into carrying the hostages, and ordered them to leave the cave abode.
• Chun Xiaobai released Qin Ruoxue’s restriction, but when she threatened him with the Mystic Ice Palace, he pulled her over and spanked her.

Chun Xiaobai collapsed the cave to erase evidence, then escaped with Fang Yuan and the others to a hidden hideout where they planned to disguise themselves as victims. Qin Ruoxue and Ye Liuli vowed to pursue him, while Chun Xiaobai split up his group until the danger passed.

• Chun Xiaobai dressed Qin Ruoxue, Ye Liuli, and Gu Shuangshuang, then used Hidden Dragon Piercing the Abyss to collapse the cave and conceal its traces.
• Chun Xiaobai took Fang Yuan and the others away, leaving Qin Ruoxue, Gu Shuangshuang, and Ye Liuli at the cliff; Qin and Ye vowed not to let him escape.
• Chun Xiaobai brought his group to a hidden cave three hundred li away, where more than forty sealed people could help them pose as victims.
• Chun Xiaobai told Fang Yuan and the others to change into their old disciple uniforms and pretend to wake alongside the other captives.
• Chun Xiaobai ordered the group to separate and regroup later at their departure point in Heavenly Baleful Valley.

Chun Xiaobai and his companions planned to split up after escaping, while the Thousand Sects Alliance and Heavenly Baleful Valley mobilized for battle over competing accusations of kidnapping and extortion. Both armies halted ten li apart, each convinced its scheme had succeeded and ready to fight.

• Chun Xiaobai told Fang Yuan and the others to assess the situation outside, then either split up and lie low or flee amid the fighting.
• Ling Tianchen spotted Heavenly Baleful Valley’s approaching army and ordered the Thousand Sects Alliance to prepare for battle, believing the valley had used negotiations to stall them.
• Ye Xiaotian and Zheng Tianyuan concluded that the Thousand Sects Alliance had also staged its bargaining to catch the valley off guard.
• Both armies advanced, spread into battle formations, and stopped ten li apart as weapons and war puppets were readied.

The Thousand Sects Alliance and Heavenly Baleful Valley traded furious accusations of kidnapping and extortion as both sides tried to claim the moral high ground before battle. Envoy Zhang turned his accusations toward the Sacred Sect representatives supporting Heavenly Baleful Valley, leaving them stunned by the Alliance’s shameless rhetoric.

• Zheng Tianyuan accused the Thousand Sects Alliance of kidnapping Heavenly Baleful Valley’s Saintess, Ye Liuli, and threatened to destroy them.
• The Thousand Sects Alliance’s leaders rebuked Envoy Zhang for letting Zheng Tianyuan speak first, and Envoy Zhang accused Heavenly Baleful Valley of abducting Alliance prodigies and abusing female disciples.
• Ye Xiaotian roused Zheng Tianyuan, who accused the Alliance of seeking Heavenly Baleful Valley’s Puppet Secret Art and demanded the return of Ye Liuli and the Core Disciples.
• Envoy Zhang accused Heavenly Baleful Valley of repeated extortion and vowed to reclaim its gains, then condemned the Sacred Sect representatives for supporting the valley.
• The Sacred Sect representatives realized the Thousand Sects Alliance was adept at disguising its own kidnapping and extortion as righteous conduct.

The Thousand Sects Alliance and Heavenly Baleful Valley accused each other of kidnapping disciples, Saintesses, and relatives, while both sides struggled to make sense of the identical claims. Bing Ningyue suspected a hidden Spirit Transformation cultivator had orchestrated the kidnappings, but she could not work out who was behind them or why.

• A Sacred Sect representative demanded that Heavenly Baleful Valley return its Saintess and core disciples, prompting both armies to notice that their accusations mirrored each other.
• Ling Tianchen and other Alliance leaders demanded their people and ransom back, while Ye Xiaotian dismissed their claims as lies.
• Bing Ningyue and leaders on both sides sensed that their enemies' anger seemed genuine, but they suppressed their doubts and continued trading accusations.
• Bing Ningyue recalled that someone had erased her divine soul imprint from a Storage Ring, a feat that required a powerful Spirit Transformation cultivator.
• Bing Ningyue wondered whether an unknown force had kidnapped Qin Ruoxue and the others, and feared that the culprit might know Qin Ruoxue's identity and be willing to provoke the Emperor Pavilion.

Ye Xiaotian and Ling Tianchen ordered searches for a possible third party near the Mountain of Ten Thousand Spirits while their forces traded accusations. Lu Qingshan accused the opposing side of colluding with the Devil Race, and Ye Xiaotian immediately turned the charge back on the Thousand Sects Alliance, leaving both armies terrified of the Emperor Pavilion’s response.

• Ye Xiaotian suppressed his urge to attack and ordered an elder to investigate whether a third party was near the Mountain of Ten Thousand Spirits.
• Ling Tianchen ordered a similar search, and a Nascent Soul True Lord from each side left to investigate.
• As the two sides continued shouting accusations, Lu Qingshan declared that the opposition was colluding with the Devil Race and trying to frame the Thousand Sects Alliance.
• The crowd fell silent as the accusation raised the threat of an investigation by the Emperor Pavilion’s Heavenly Patrol Guards.
• Bing Ningyue told Lu Qingshan to shut up, while Ye Xiaotian accused the Thousand Sects Alliance of abducting his daughter and disciples to conceal its own dealings with the Devil Race.

Lu Qingshan’s accusation that both factions were colluding with demons pushed the Thousand Sects Alliance and Heavenly Baleful Valley to the brink of battle. Two Nascent Soul True Lords arrived just in time to announce that the missing Core Disciples had been found, and the returning Qin Ruoxue and Ye Liuli began searching the opposing ranks for Chun Xiaobai.

• Lu Qingshan’s words left both sides believing they had to fight or risk being branded demon collaborators, and Ling Tianchen and Ye Xiaotian prepared to give the attack order.
• Two Nascent Soul True Lords arrived and urged the factions to stop, but Ling Tianchen and Ye Xiaotian insisted that battle was unavoidable.
• The two True Lords announced that the missing Core Disciples had been found, freezing the battlefield before the factions could attack.
• Qin Ruoxue and Ye Liuli returned with the other sect scions, and Bing Ningyue and Ye Xiaotian rushed to check on them.
• Qin Ruoxue and Ye Liuli ignored their anxious elders and scanned the opposing ranks for Chun Xiaobai.

Qin Ruoxue and Ye Liuli explained that a mountain bandit had kidnapped them and the other disciples, revealing that the two camps had nearly fought because they blamed each other. As the leaders pieced together the bandit's ransom scheme, they were left astonished by his strength and cunning.

• Qin Ruoxue and Ye Liuli learned that the assembled forces had come to rescue them after both camps blamed each other for the kidnappings.
• Qin Ruoxue and Ye Liuli told their elders that a mountain bandit had ambushed them during the trial, held them in a Cave, and demanded ransom.
• The two Saintesses described the bandit's unusual techniques and admitted that he had kidnapped many other disciples as well.
• The Sacred Sect representatives realized the bandit had captured even the strongest young disciples and dared to demand ransom from the region's most powerful figures.
• The gathered leaders pieced together how the bandit had used early releases and gradually reduced ransom demands to make his scheme succeed.

The Eastern Region’s sect leaders learned that a young thief had kidnapped their disciples, extorted ransom, and manipulated both sides into nearly starting a devastating war. With the threat of war lifted, the leaders remained too embarrassed to be the first to call off the confrontation.

• The captives insisted their kidnapper was a young man, leaving the sect leaders amazed by how thoroughly he had deceived them.
• Lu Yunfei described the bandits’ torture methods, prompting the Sacred Sect representatives to realize how badly they had been outmaneuvered.
• Ling Tianchen and Ye Xiaotian struggled with shame as they considered how their reputations had been ruined by the thief.
• Ye Liuli and Qin Ruoxue realized the thief’s cunning and recalled how he had violated their dignity.
• Gu Shuangshuang praised the thief, planned to find him and work with him, then slipped away unnoticed.
• Both sides realized the thief had not been working with demons and felt relieved that war could be avoided, but neither dared to propose stopping the confrontation.

Ye Xiaotian and Ling Tianchen tried to get witnesses to claim Chun Xiaobai had powerful backing, but Ye Liuli and Qin Ruoxue insisted he was a seasoned mountain bandit. When Bing Ningyue stopped them from pressuring Qin Ruoxue, the sect leaders looked for someone to blame and turned their attention to Lu Qingshan.

• Ye Xiaotian winked at Ye Liuli and urged her to say an expert had guided the bandit, but she insisted he was an unaided outlaw and demanded that Mountain of Ten Thousand Spirits be sealed.
• Ling Tianchen tried to guide the Thousand Sects Alliance witnesses toward a face-saving explanation, but they described Chun Xiaobai as a vicious, experienced bandit.
• Qin Ruoxue said Chun Xiaobai was young, practiced in robbery, and likely from a notorious bandit den, then urged the leaders to seal off the mountain.
• Bing Ningyue unleashed a freezing aura that silenced the leaders when they tried to pressure Qin Ruoxue to change her account.
• The sect leaders decided they needed a scapegoat and turned their attention to Lu Qingshan, who feared they were about to beat him again.

Ling Tianchen and the other alliance leaders accused Lu Qingshan of secretly helping the outlaw by repeatedly giving advice that benefited him. Lu Qingshan invoked the Emperor Pavilion to stop the elders from attacking, and Ling Tianchen intervened just as one elder prepared to strike again.

• Ling Tianchen realized Lu Qingshan's past advice had repeatedly helped the outlaw, and an elder accused him of being in league with him.
• The elders listed Lu Qingshan's actions, including diverting suspicion from the Heavenly Baleful Valley and urging the alliance to pay the ransom, as evidence that he had sabotaged them.
• Lu Qingshan denied the accusations and insisted that his advice had been meant to help the alliance, though he secretly feared the consequences for his sect.
• When the elders crowded around him, Lu Qingshan accused them of using the incident to retaliate against his Azure Cloud Sect and curry favor with the Emperor Pavilion.
• The elders hesitated to attack Lu Qingshan for fear of offending the Emperor Pavilion, but one elder prepared to charge anyway.
• Ling Tianchen ordered the elders to stop before they could strike Lu Qingshan.