Chapter Summaries

Chen Baiqing and her companions waited outside Cloud Dream Marsh while she explained the region’s customs and Cloud Dream Pavilion’s control over it. She arranged for the group to enter cautiously, then sent them toward a nearby settlement to gather information.

• Chen Baiqing considered why she had not sensed demon qi and concluded that Cloud Dream Marsh’s isolation and Cloud Dream Pavilion’s influence made the mission dangerous.
• Chen Baiqing told Cui Hao to care for the spirit horse and ordered the group to conceal their spiritual power when entering the marsh.
• Lu Lingyi reported a settlement thirty li west and offered to contact Wang Chuan and Li Huazhu so they could regroup there.
• Chen Baiqing used her spiritual power to send the spirit horse east after Cui Hao asked how to keep it from wandering.
• Chen Baiqing gave Cui Hao two books on basic cultivation knowledge and warned that she would test him on their contents later.
• Chen Baiqing led Cui Hao toward the western settlement, and Cui Hao assured her he understood why she was pushing him to study.

Chen Baiqing and her companions discussed how Cloud Dream Marsh’s demons used the Incense-and-Fire Divine Path to exploit villagers and shelter evil cultivators, then decided to capture a local demon for intelligence. Their plan began sooner than expected when the temple’s tiger demon arrived.

• Lu Lingyi reported that she had set up a low-grade formation to keep mortals away from the Mountain God Temple.
• Li Zhuhua explained that Cloud Dream Marsh’s demon statues represented demons who demanded incense and sacrifices in exchange for supposed protection.
• Chen Baiqing reasoned that evil cultivators likely traded resources and flesh and blood for the demons’ protection, and proposed supporting a local demon to gather information.
• Chen Baiqing’s group decided they needed to capture a local demon familiar with the Incense-and-Fire Divine Path and its customs.
• A vicious upright-walking tiger demon entered the temple and demanded to know why the five intruders were there so late.

Cui Hao defeated a Tiger Demon who had tried to eat the children and forced him to answer questions about Cloud Dream Marsh. Lu Lingyi took the demon away for interrogation while Chen Baiqing destroyed his Divine Statue, and the group prepared to learn more once they entered the marsh.

• The Tiger Demon pressured the five apparent children and reached for Cui Hao, intending to eat them.
• Cui Hao shattered the Tiger Demon's arm, beat him badly, and made him admit he was full.
• Cui Hao threatened the demon and questioned him about Cloud Dream Marsh, learning that he knew only rumors.
• Lu Lingyi took the Tiger Demon outside to interrogate him, while Chen Baiqing destroyed his Divine Statue.
• Chen Baiqing said the group would learn more inside Cloud Dream Marsh, and Cui Hao nodded.

Chen Baiqing and her group entered Cloud Dream Marsh with the Tiger Demon, Shan Meng, as their guide, intending to inspect the villages and learn more about the demon territory. When a Weasel Demon recognized Shan Meng, Cui Hao pretended they served the local king and warned the Weasel Demon against overstepping.

• Lu Lingyi reported that Shan Meng knew little about the greater demons in Cloud Dream Marsh, where Changshan True Lord reportedly ruled the most villages and neared the Body Integration Realm.
• Chen Baiqing decided to take Shan Meng into Cloud Dream Marsh, asked Cui Hao to handle encounters with others, and set out with the group.
• The group entered Cloud Dream Marsh, and Shan Meng led them toward the villages while explaining that his cave abode lay along their route.
• A Weasel Demon came out from Shan Meng's cave abode and called him a stupid cat, prompting Chen Baiqing to stop Shan Meng.
• Cui Hao told the Weasel Demon that Shan Meng had tried to build a temple in their king's territory and warned him to tell the others not to covet what was not theirs.

Chen Baiqing and Cui Hao visited Flower Marsh Village to investigate Cloud Dream Marsh’s gods and their followers. Chen Baiqing gave an old woman a counterfeit divine crystal to deliver to the Marsh God and proposed a partnership, then vanished with Cui Hao.

• Chen Baiqing and Cui Hao reached Flower Marsh Village while their companions investigated demons elsewhere.
• The old woman explained that people born in Cloud Dream Marsh could not remain outside it, and said outsiders and marsh-born people could be distinguished by their smell.
• The old woman guessed that Chen Baiqing and Cui Hao were cultivators, and Chen Baiqing warned her that knowing too much could be dangerous.
• Chen Baiqing gave the old woman a counterfeit crystal and asked her to tell the Marsh God to stay in its temple if it wanted to discuss a partnership.
• Chen Baiqing and Cui Hao disappeared, and the old woman examined the crystal before putting it away.

Chu Xingchen persuaded Yuyang Daozi and Xu Jin to steal Sect Leader Lü’s Spring Warmth, assigning Xu Jin to retrieve it while he and Yuyang supported him. When the Sect-Protecting Bell rang, Xu Jin discovered both of his supposed brothers had abandoned him.

• Chu Xingchen apologized to Yuyang Daozi for the trouble he had caused on the Western Ox-He Continent, and Xu Jin asked about his injuries.
• Chu Xingchen proposed stealing Sect Leader Lü’s Spring Warmth, and Yuyang Daozi and Xu Jin agreed to join him.
• Chu Xingchen assigned himself to draw people away, Yuyang Daozi to prepare an escape route, and Xu Jin to retrieve the Spring Warmth.
• A formation triggered the Sect-Protecting Bell, and Xu Jin struggled free of its restraints.
• Xu Jin found that Chu Xingchen and Yuyang Daozi had both vanished, leaving him to face the alarm alone.

In Cloud Dream Marsh, Cui Hao persuaded Chen Baiqing to let him investigate the Wild Boar Demon alone while she continued her own plans. Chen Baiqing gave him a protective Dharma Treasure and warned him to stay safe, leaving his capabilities and the outcome of his mission to be seen.

• Chen Baiqing compiled a detailed relationship chart of Cloud Dream Marsh’s demons, including the Golden Core Wild Boar Demon of Flower Marsh Village.
• Cui Hao asked Chen Baiqing to let him handle the Wild Boar Demon while she looked for another target, but she initially refused because she prioritized bringing him home safely.
• Cui Hao invoked Master’s confidence in him, and Chen Baiqing gave him a protective Dharma Treasure and allowed him to go, warning him to stay safe.
• Lu Lingyi questioned whether Cui Hao could handle the task, and Chen Baiqing said his move, Senior's Great Technique, might make him stronger than Lu Lingyi.
• Chen Baiqing set out with Lu Lingyi to take action and said they should wait and see whether Cui Hao finished the job first.

Cui Hao entered Flower Marsh Village and persuaded the Wild Boar Demon to expand his influence by winning over the people rather than fighting for territory. He revealed Myriad Forms’ overwhelming divine aura, leaving the demon prostrate and showing that Cloud Dream Pavilion could no longer ignore what was happening.

• Cui Hao entered the village shrine and met the Wild Boar Demon, who had been waiting with the crystal Chen Baiqing gave him.
• The Wild Boar Demon recognized the crystal’s divine aura and asked Cui Hao for instructions, hoping to pursue the Great Dao it promised.
• Cui Hao told the Wild Boar Demon to expand his influence by winning the people’s hearts, since Cloud Dream Pavilion would intervene if human affairs erupted into a major incident.
• Cui Hao explained that Cloud Dream Pavilion had ignored the marsh because the Wild Boar Demon’s actions were beneath its notice.
• Cui Hao drew Myriad Forms, and its divine aura overwhelmed the Wild Boar Demon, forcing him to prostrate himself.

Cui Hao forced the Wild Boar Demon to govern Flower Marsh Village benevolently and asked him to watch for Evil Cultivators in Cloud Dream Marsh. Knowing stronger Demon Cultivators could undo his efforts, Cui Hao sent his master an urgent request to pressure Cloud Dream Pavilion and restrain the great demons.

• Cui Hao ordered the Wild Boar Demon to end compulsory worship and village restrictions, and drafted demanding guidelines for serving the people.
• The Wild Boar Demon agreed to follow Cui Hao’s provisions after Cui Hao promised to handle any great demons who caused trouble.
• Cui Hao told the Wild Boar Demon that Evil Cultivators had entered Cloud Dream Marsh and asked him to watch for information about them.
• The Wild Boar Demon accepted the request, and the old woman said he no longer had grounds to refuse.
• Cui Hao sent his master an Urgent Message Jade Token asking for aid in pressuring Cloud Dream Pavilion to stop the great demons from striking without restraint.

Xu Jin, Chu Xingchen, and Yuyang Daozi covered for one another after their wine-related incident, and Lü Xuan let them go with a promise of Spring Warmth. Back at the courtyard, Xie Lingyu delivered an urgent message from Cui Hao in Northern Jambudvipa, and Chu Xingchen and the others turned serious.

• Lü Xuan questioned Xu Jin about the incident, while Chu Xingchen and Yuyang Daozi first distanced themselves from it and then claimed responsibility as his brothers.
• Xu Jin accepted the blame, and Lü Xuan told Yan Yun to send Spring Warmth before dismissing the three.
• On the way back to Loving Family Peak, Xu Jin scolded Chu Xingchen and Yuyang Daozi, who defended their behavior as a sign of brotherhood and promised to drink with him.
• Xie Lingyu gave Chu Xingchen an Urgent Message Jade Token from Cui Hao in Northern Jambudvipa, and the three men grew serious.

Chu Xingchen, Xu Jin, and Yuyang Daozi planned to pressure the Cloud Dream Pavilion by inviting its core disciple, Zheng Zhaoling, to a meeting of prodigies. Zheng Zhaoling accepted the invitation and arrived at the Heavenly Derivation Sect, where the name above Loving Family Peak caught her off guard.

• Chu Xingchen read Cui Hao’s request and agreed to help address the problem involving the Cloud Dream Pavilion.
• Chu Xingchen proposed inviting Zheng Zhaoling to a meeting of prodigies, and Xu Jin volunteered to deliver the invitation before Chu Xingchen sent it through a Jade Spirit.
• Three days later, Zheng Zhaoling arrived at the Heavenly Derivation Sect with two Cloud Dream Pavilion cultivators and chose to enter the meeting alone.
• A Heavenly Derivation Sect disciple guided Zheng Zhaoling to Loving Family Peak, where she stared in surprise at the plaque reading “A Loving Family.”

Chu Xingchen told Zheng Zhaoling that the Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect and the Heavenly Derivation Sect planned to establish a presence in Cloud Dream Marsh, whether the Cloud Dream Pavilion agreed or not. Zheng Zhaoling initially denounced the move as banditry, but sat back down when Chu Xingchen offered to explain their reasons.

• Zheng Zhaoling studied the plaque at Chu Xingchen's residence and considered whether his invitation signaled an alliance with the Cloud Dream Pavilion.
• Chu Xingchen welcomed Zheng Zhaoling and explained that the plaque expressed his vision of the sects standing together against powerful enemies.
• Chu Xingchen introduced Zheng Zhaoling to Xu Jin and Yuyang Daozi, and they sat together for tea in a small courtyard.
• Chu Xingchen informed Zheng Zhaoling that the Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect and the Heavenly Derivation Sect would establish a presence in Cloud Dream Marsh, with Bai Xuanling leading the team and Xu Jin and Chu Xingchen joining.
• Zheng Zhaoling accused Chu Xingchen of humiliating the Cloud Dream Pavilion and prepared to leave, but stopped when he asked whether she wanted to hear their justification.
• Zheng Zhaoling returned to her seat, while Xu Jin reflected that Chu Xingchen seemed even less like a good man now that he knew Chu Xingchen had no intention of actually going to Cloud Dream Marsh.

Chu Xingchen challenged Zheng Zhaoling over the demons and mortal suffering in Cloud Dream Marsh, then asked her to investigate its conditions for three months. Zheng Zhaoling agreed to go, and Chu Xingchen told Xu Jin he would have to apologize too if they were wrong.

• Chu Xingchen questioned Zheng Zhaoling about demons running rampant in Cloud Dream Marsh, and she explained Cloud Dream Pavilion's old agreement with the great demons and its jurisdiction over the region.
• Zheng Zhaoling defended the protection Cloud Dream Marsh's demons gave its people and described the hunger and hardship she had experienced as a child.
• Chu Xingchen apologized for his earlier remarks, then said the situation he had heard about seemed worse than Zheng Zhaoling had described and might involve a misunderstanding.
• Chu Xingchen asked Zheng Zhaoling to investigate Cloud Dream Marsh in person for three months and promised that he and his companions would apologize if he was mistaken.
• Zheng Zhaoling agreed to go, and Xu Jin asked whether he would have to apologize too; Chu Xingchen said he would.

Zhu Tu feared the Cloud Dream Marsh demons would punish him for Cui Hao’s reforms, but the Cloud Marsh God issued a decree protecting humans from territorial demons. After hearing that Zheng Zhaoling of Cloud Dream Pavilion had arrived on an inspection, Zhu Tu became convinced Cui Hao’s influence was far greater than he had realized.

• The Wild Boar Demon, Zhu Tu, urged Cui Hao to let him abandon the reforms before powerful demons carried out their ultimatum.
• Cui Hao told Zhu Tu to keep his word and wait two days, insisting that his connections would resolve the danger.
• A messenger arrived with the Cloud Marsh God’s decree forbidding territorial demons from harming, insulting, or restricting humans.
• Zhu Tu bribed the messenger, who said Zheng Zhaoling, a Current Core Disciple of Cloud Dream Pavilion, had arrived to inspect the marsh.
• Zhu Tu returned to Cui Hao and concluded that a powerful force had covered Cloud Dream Marsh in darkness.

Cui Hao used his backing to push Zhu Tu to develop Flower Marsh Village, while Chen Baiqing ordered her group to investigate Zheng Zhaoling and sow discord among demons linked to evil cultivators. Zheng Zhaoling attended a three-day banquet in Cloud Dream Marsh as she began her open inspection, suspecting the hosts were hiding something.

• Cui Hao told Zhu Tu to increase publicity, provide subsidies, clear farmland, build roads, and follow a development plan and new regulations.
• Chen Baiqing learned Zheng Zhaoling had arrived to inspect Cloud Dream Marsh and ordered Wang Chuan to investigate her purpose and movements.
• Chen Baiqing told Li Zhuhua to let her junior brother act freely and ordered her to use the eagle demon to stir up trouble among demons who traded with evil cultivators.
• Zheng Zhaoling attended the Cloud Marsh God's banquet for three days and suspected the daily festivities were meant to conceal information from her.
• Zheng Zhaoling looked at the banquet's food and recalled Chu Xingchen's warning that hunger and cold must not be forgotten.

Zheng Zhaoling refused the Cloud Marsh God's banquets and began inspecting villages across Cloud Dream Marsh to investigate the Incense-and-Fire Divine Path and suspicious demon dealings. On the twenty-sixth day, she found Flower Marsh Village unusually lively and greatly expanded, leaving her unsure whether it was staged or truly anomalous.

• Zheng Zhaoling declined the Cloud Marsh God's invitation to further banquets, and the Cloud Marsh God privately ordered its demons to prepare.
• Zheng Zhaoling considered Chu Xingchen's warning and reviewed the intelligence about demons trading with unidentified outsiders.
• Zheng Zhaoling visited villages across Cloud Dream Marsh, observing residents and questioning them, but they all claimed their lives and worship were satisfactory.
• Zheng Zhaoling arrived at Flower Marsh Village and saw that it had grown from roughly a hundred households to more than three hundred, with new homes and reclaimed fields.
• Zheng Zhaoling concealed herself and entered Flower Marsh Village to investigate its unusual appearance.

Zheng Zhaoling visited Flower Marsh Village and questioned Cui Hao about the regulations he had drafted for its shrine. Cui Hao explained that he hoped the rules would give people hope and make the great demons compete to keep their followers, leaving Zheng Zhaoling to consider how the rules might change the village even after she left.

• Zheng Zhaoling saw Flower Marsh Village’s villagers looking hopeful and read the new regulations being carved into the shrine walls.
• Inside the ancestral hall, Cui Hao’s sword sensed Zheng Zhaoling’s concealment, and she revealed herself and asked whether he had proposed the regulations.
• Cui Hao admitted he had drafted the regulations to draw people to the village and plant a seed of hope.
• Zheng Zhaoling warned that the other great demons would not accept the rules and might cause bloodshed, but Cui Hao said her presence would keep them from oppressing people and force them to compete for followers.
• Cui Hao argued that the regulations would leave a lasting change by showing people they could rely on themselves and that gods should exist as though they were not there.

Zheng Zhaoling agreed to help Cui Hao pursue a gradual plan to weaken the demons’ exploitation of Cloud Dream Marsh by giving villagers a better way to live and encouraging purer wish power. She left to handle her own affairs, promising to return in a few days and protect Cui Hao.

• Cui Hao persuaded Zheng Zhaoling to join him in addressing the demons’ control of the villages, and she agreed while warning she could not stay constantly.
• Cui Hao explained that villagers needed to experience a better life for themselves so they would resist returning to the demons’ rule.
• Cui Hao showed Zheng Zhaoling that his village’s wish power was unusually pure and argued that higher-ranking demons would favor it, gradually driving out demons who sought only short-term gains.
• Zheng Zhaoling asked about Cui Hao’s sect and gave him a Jade Token to contact her if he ever wanted to join the Eighteen Immortal Sects.
• Zheng Zhaoling promised to return in a few days and keep Cui Hao safe, then left to attend to her own affairs.

Cui Hao’s strict promises and subsidies helped trigger a mass migration and fierce competition among Cloud Dream Marsh’s demons, transforming the region in a month. He prepared to redirect the competition toward wish power purification as Lu Lingyi realized he had orchestrated the upheaval.

• The Cloud Marsh God imposed a severe crackdown on violence and harm to mortals after Zheng Zhaoling pressured it, while Zheng’s promise to monitor the marsh spread fear among the demons.
• Lesser demons began offering subsidies to attract villagers, and the resulting migration drove shrines across Cloud Dream Marsh to compete with increasingly extravagant benefits.
• Cui Hao established laws and regulations in Flower Marsh Village and told Zhu Tu that keeping promises would build lasting credibility better than making wild boasts.
• Cui Hao told Zhu Tu to spread word about wish power purification so the competition would benefit the future rather than remain desperate undercutting.
• Lu Lingyi overheard Cui Hao and recognized that he had caused the upheaval across Cloud Dream Marsh.

Lu Lingyi delivered Chen Baiqing’s orders to Cui Hao, asking him to delay the Evil Cultivators’ withdrawal from Cloud Dream Marsh. After reviewing the intelligence, Cui Hao decided to ask Zheng Zhaoling to handle the difficult task.

• Chen Baiqing sent Lu Lingyi to question Cui Hao about the upheaval in Cloud Dream Marsh and to seek his help holding back the Evil Cultivators.
• Lu Lingyi met Cui Hao at the Shrine in Flower Marsh Village and privately relayed Chen Baiqing’s orders and intelligence.
• Cui Hao insisted he had reported what he could, then heard that Chen Baiqing expected him to keep the Evil Cultivators from leaving.
• Cui Hao told Lu Lingyi that Zheng Zhaoling was not targeting them, and she agreed to pass the message along.
• After reading the intelligence, Cui Hao took out Zheng Zhaoling’s token and activated it, intending to leave the task to him.