Chapter Summaries

Xie Lingyu hurried to Heavenly Derivation Peak after learning Bai Xuanling was forcing Perfect Tonic Pills on the Sect Leader. Bai Xuanling emerged satisfied and declared that three bottles of pills had not replenished his Source Qi, blaming his depletion on a lack of restraint.

• Qinghe told Xie Lingyu that Granny Bai was pinning down the Sect Leader and feeding him bottles of Perfect Tonic Pills.
• Xie Lingyu rushed to Heavenly Derivation Peak and found the peaks' leaders watching Bai Xuanling's Sword Formation rather than breaking through it.
• Peak Master Mo and the Law Enforcement Hall elder admitted they were waiting for reinforcements before attempting to rescue the Sect Leader.
• The Sect Leader wailed from inside the formation that Bai Xuanling might as well kill him, and the Sword Formation then retracted.
• Bai Xuanling told Xie Lingyu she had fed the Sect Leader three bottles of superior Perfect Tonic Pills, but they had not replenished his Source Qi.

Cui Hao and Lin Luoyu waited at Desolate Ridge as bait for demons, while their sect joined the campaign against the demon uprising at Origin Mountain. Cui Hao suspected Li Yingling had deliberately placed them in danger, and the chapter ended with him watching the unsuspecting Lin Luoyu.

• A tiger spirit became a Demon King, raised a banner at Origin Mountain, and rallied demons against the Black Tortoise Kingdom.
• The kingdom and several sects sent forces to fight the demons, while Nascent Soul cultivators and most Golden Core cultivators stayed back.
• Chu Xingchen agreed to let his disciples gain experience and equipped them with teleportation talismans and protective Dharma Treasures.
• Li Yingling sent Cui Hao and Lin Luoyu to ambush patrolling lesser demons and capture some for information.
• Cui Hao questioned the exposed ambush site, then concluded Li Yingling meant for him and Lin Luoyu to serve as bait.

A weasel-led patrol squad of lesser demons encountered Cui Hao and Lin Luoyu hiding in the Withered Grass Slope Plains and attacked them. Lin Luoyu killed the wild boar demon with a single sword strike, and the weasel realized the pair were formidable opponents.

• The weasel and its patrol squad discussed their dangerous lives and their hopes for the Demon Kingdom.
• The weasel scented humans hiding in the grass and ordered the squad to fire a volley of crossbow bolts.
• Cui Hao and Lin Luoyu emerged unharmed, and Lin Luoyu agreed to fight while Cui Hao took on the lizard demon.
• Lin Luoyu charged the wild boar demon and wild ox demon, then killed the boar with a swift sword strike.
• The weasel shouted that the humans were tough opponents as the wild boar's world spun away.

Cui Hao and Lin Luoyu served as bait while Li Yingling tracked the fleeing demons to their camp and destroyed it. After seeing the demons’ gruesome treatment of human victims, Li Yingling understood why humans fought them without mercy.

• Lin Luoyu killed a boar demon, and the remaining demons retreated while crossbow bolts slowed her pursuit.
• Cui Hao and Lin Luoyu followed the demons to rocky ridges and realized they had been used to lead Li Yingling to the demons’ camp.
• Li Yingling cut through a mountain with an azure sword strike and devastated the demon camp.
• Cui Hao and Lin Luoyu found Li Yingling standing near the camp, where a pot contained boiled human arms and three wounded demons lay before her.
• Li Yingling recalled Chu Xingchen showing them burned villages and realized the demons had carried human victims away to eat them.

Chu Xingchen attended the wartime alliance assembly in Yunzhou City while keeping Chen Baiqing away from the fighting. Li Yingling returned with captured demons and asked Chu Xingchen to give them pills, leaving their interrogation in his hands.

• The Black Tortoise Kingdom formed a wartime alliance after delays and appointed a government cultivator as its temporary leader.
• Chu Xingchen accepted the government’s arrangement for his sect to hold a prominent seat at the alliance assembly in Yunzhou City.
• Chen Baiqing asked Chu Xingchen why her younger siblings could go but she could not, and he told her she was too young to witness the fighting.
• Chu Xingchen told Chen Baiqing that Li Yingling would return soon, and she eagerly anticipated hearing her senior sister’s stories.
• Li Yingling flew into Yunzhou City with her junior siblings and three wounded demons, then asked Chu Xingchen to give them pills.

Chu Xingchen examined the three demons Li Yingling brought back and used pills and spells to restrain them before questioning them. The wild ox demon began experiencing the effects of the pills as a strange dream, then recognized the place where it had begun while patrolling with the other demons.

• Li Yingling gave the three demons healing pills, and Chu Xingchen immobilized the weasel demon after it threatened him.
• Chu Xingchen inspected the demons and decided the gentle but dull-witted wild ox demon might be suitable as a disciple.
• Li Yingling left the interrogation to Chu Xingchen, who also restrained the snake demon when it woke.
• The wild ox demon dreamed it had returned to its camp, where the weasel told it to join a patrol across the eastern plain.
• During the patrol, the wild ox demon heard the weasel complain about searching the plain and recognized the bushes where its dream had begun.

The Wild Ox Demon repeatedly relived the patrol squad’s doomed encounter with human ambushers, then watched his warnings go unheeded as the Outpost Camp was destroyed in his visions. At the Teahouse, Chu Xingchen questioned the surviving demons and gave Li Yingling a letter containing far more detailed intelligence than she had extracted.

• The Wild Ox Demon recognized the grass where Old Pig had died in a previous vision and warned the Weasel Demon that powerful humans were lying in ambush.
• The Patrol Squad repeated the encounter, and the Wild Boar Demon was beheaded before the demons fled toward the Outpost Camp.
• The Wild Ox Demon warned the camp about a pursuing Golden Core True Person, but she arrived and destroyed it with one sword stroke.
• The Wild Ox Demon woke from another vision and tried to stop the patrol, while the Weasel Demon dismissed his warning and led the squad toward the Eastern Plains.
• At the Teahouse, Chu Xingchen showed the demons the Wild Ox Demon’s repeating dream and persuaded the Snake Demon to talk.
• Chu Xingchen gave Li Yingling a letter containing the intelligence she had just gathered, then told her to leave professional work to the professionals.

After Chu Xingchen reviewed Li Yingling’s first operation and urged her to rely more on others, she led the next alliance meeting in Yunzhou City in his place. When a sect leader implied that her Sect should provide a Nascent Soul elder, Li Yingling answered by setting Chu Xingchen’s Heavenly Derivation token on the table and challenging him to repeat himself.

• Chu Xingchen told Li Yingling that she had acted too hastily during her first operation and advised her not to handle everything herself.
• Chu Xingchen left the decisions about the coming operations and the three lesser demons to Li Yingling.
• Three days later, Li Yingling attended the alliance meeting in Yunzhou City with Chen Baiqing, Cui Hao, and Lin Luoyu, while Chu Xingchen stayed away.
• Zhao Chun said the alliance needed three more Nascent Soul elders as a safeguard and asked the assembled sects to provide them.
• A middle-aged sect leader suggested the Black Tortoise Kingdom should turn to Li Yingling’s nearby Sect for an elder.
• Li Yingling placed Chu Xingchen’s Heavenly Derivation token on the table and asked the sect leader to repeat what he had said.

Li Yingling used a jade token to prove her connection to the Heavenly Derivation Sect, prompting the gathered sects to accept their assignments for reclaiming lost territory. When they asked why the Heavenly Derivation Sect had become involved, she said the sects of the Black Tortoise Kingdom had chosen to handle the crisis themselves.

• Li Yingling activated the jade token, revealing the Heavenly Derivation Sect's emblem and convincing the assembled sect representatives of its authenticity.
• The middle-aged man who had resisted cooperation and the other sect representatives agreed to take part in the campaign.
• Zhao Chun assigned the sects their tasks, including having the Cloudsky Sect attack from the west and cut off the demon troops' reinforcements.
• Zhao Chun announced that the first phase of the plan would begin in seven days.
• An elderly representative asked whether the tiger demon's rise in Desolate Ridge was connected to demons from Central Province.
• Li Yingling replied that the Heavenly Derivation Sect had not chosen to handle the crisis; the sects of the Black Tortoise Kingdom had chosen to do so themselves.

Tiger Seven and Broken Abacus faced Desolate Ridge’s looming war and planned to escape the Demon Lord’s scheme with a stratagem. Meanwhile, Chu Xingchen received a letter from Central Province as he studied a map and prepared for the conflict.

• Tiger Seven complained to Broken Abacus that Desolate Ridge’s palace was crumbling, food was scarce, and the Black Tortoise Kingdom and Xiazhou Dynasty were preparing to attack.
• Broken Abacus blamed Tiger Seven’s leadership and explained that Desolate Ridge could no longer feed its gathered demons or avoid war.
• Tiger Seven proposed fleeing, but Broken Abacus warned that the Demon Lord would stop them and proposed the Human Book’s stratagem, Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell.
• Tiger Seven worried that demons had no future, and Broken Abacus said humans remembered every grievance against them.
• Chen Baiqing brought Chu Xingchen a letter from Central Province while he studied a map, and Chu Xingchen sighed after reading it.

Chu Xingchen warned Li Yingling that humans from other forces might exploit the Desolate Ridge conflict, and she revealed her plan for the coming counterattack. Meanwhile, Lin Luoyu and Cui Hao traveled undercover through Desolate Ridge with Li Yingling, where Cui Hao discovered she had overheard his complaints.

• Chu Xingchen read Bai Xuanling's intelligence, which said Central Province was uninvolved in the Desolate Ridge incident but other Southern Jambu Continent forces might be plotting to take advantage.
• Chu Xingchen showed Li Yingling the letter and warned her to act carefully; he reframed the potential human schemers as demons wearing human skin.
• Li Yingling told Chu Xingchen she had ideas for the counterattack in two days, developed with Chen Baiqing's help, and promised to make the sect's name resound.
• At night, Cui Hao and Lin Luoyu traveled through Desolate Ridge disguised in foul-smelling clothes and complained about Eldest Senior Sister's arrangements.
• Li Yingling silently appeared beside Cui Hao as he complained about her, and he asked her to forgive his shallow thinking.

Li Yingling led Cui Hao and Lin Luoyu on a surprise attack against the Great Wu Demon King, relying on Chen Baiqing’s interrogation of captured demons to learn about the enemy’s weak, isolated position. As the assault began, an owl demon spotted three demons approaching the front line.

• Li Yingling explained that the concealment orbs hid their appearance but not their scent, then told Cui Hao and Lin Luoyu to stop lesser demons from escaping while she stirred up trouble.
• Cui Hao praised their master’s advice to ambush enemies and avoid fighting fair, and Li Yingling approved of his understanding.
• Chen Baiqing had interrogated three demons until they revealed that the Great Wu Demon King was a newly established Golden Core water buffalo with few troops and reduced strength in the dry Desolate Ridge.
• Li Yingling prepared to strike the Great Wu Demon King with Zhao Chun’s main force positioned behind her, hoping to break through the Demon Race’s front line.
• An owl demon on the quiet front line saw three demons racing toward it and remained confident that its ability to fly would let it escape if fighting began.

Cui Hao, Li Yingling, and Lin Luoyu reached the Front Line trench and convinced the demons there that they had escaped a Golden Core cultivator. The water buffalo offered them a foul basin of food while keeping a hand near its saber, leaving the three facing a suspicious welcome.

• The owl demon spotted Niu Er, the weasel captain, and the old snake approaching, and alerted the water buffalo squad leader.
• Cui Hao used the password to gain entry, and Li Yingling led the group into the trench.
• The water buffalo questioned them about their survival, and Cui Hao claimed they had fled a Golden Core True Person by taking a long detour.
• Cui Hao asked to report intelligence to the Great Wu Demon King, but the water buffalo insisted they eat first.
• A lesser demon brought a stinking basin of wild grasses and animal remains as the water buffalo rested a hand on its saber and urged them not to fight over the food.

Li Yingling, Cui Hao, and Lin Luoyu got the Water Buffalo Demon to reveal the Great Wu Demon King's location, though he suspected they were not ordinary demons and sent Owl to warn the king. Li Yingling intercepted Owl, and she explained that the Water Buffalo Demon only needed to send a messenger, whether or not the warning arrived.

• Li Yingling and Cui Hao refused the Water Buffalo Demon's grass soup, while Lin Luoyu avoided eating it after Cui Hao claimed she could only eat dry food.
• The Water Buffalo Demon gave the trio directions to the Great Wu Demon King's pool and sent Lin Luoyu off with hay.
• After the trio left, the Water Buffalo Demon told Owl he suspected them and ordered him to report their arrival to the Great Wu Demon King.
• Owl flew out at night but Li Yingling struck him down and brought him to where Cui Hao and Lin Luoyu were hiding.
• Li Yingling told Lin Luoyu that the Water Buffalo Demon had sent Owl merely to show he had warned the Great Wu Demon King.

Li Yingling’s group recruited an owl demon and headed for the Great Wu Demon King’s territory, while Chu Xingchen secretly followed to watch over their attack. The owl, tricked into taking a pill disguised as poison, reluctantly guided them toward the oasis.

• Cui Hao teased the captured owl with jerky, and Li Yingling fed him after he cooperated.
• Lin Luoyu questioned whether they should bring the owl along, but Li Yingling used a Perfect Tonic Pill hidden in jerky to frighten him into compliance.
• The owl told Li Yingling that the Great Wu Demon King’s territory lay near a small oasis and suggested she attack directly.
• Li Yingling, Lin Luoyu, Cui Hao, and the owl traveled toward the oasis while discussing Li Yingling’s plan.
• Chu Xingchen watched from above, deciding to oversee the operation because it targeted a Demon King.

Tiger Seven and Broken Abacus headed to the Great Wu Demon King's oasis, hoping to involve other demons in their dangerous plan. As Li Yingling prepared to strike the Great Wu Demon King, she sensed a powerful demon approaching and revised her plan to protect her junior siblings.

• Tiger Seven worried that their plan would get him killed, but Broken Abacus urged him to seek allies and use Cowardly Bull as a fallback if things went wrong.
• Li Yingling, Cui Hao, Lin Luoyu, and Owl reached the Great Wu Demon King's heavily guarded pool, where Owl's unease aroused suspicion from a Foundation Establishment buffalo demon.
• Cui Hao challenged the buffalo demon over the poor treatment of the front-line troops, and Li Yingling forced the buffalo demon to back down with her aura.
• Li Yingling sensed a Golden Core-level Spiritual Energy fluctuation coming from the east and warned Cui Hao and Lin Luoyu that a tough opponent was approaching.
• Li Yingling prepared a surprise attack and signaled her junior siblings to ready their Teleportation Talismans so they could escape after she struck.

Li Yingling and her companions faced the arrival of Tiger Seven, the Kunshan Demon King, and she realized her master had secretly refined the pearl that kept them from being recognized. Tiger Seven came to meet the Great Wu Demon King, who mistook the meeting as a chance to arrange an escape from the front line.

• Li Yingling, Cui Hao, Lin Luoyu, and Owl waited as a Foundation Establishment bull demon threatened them, while Li Yingling sensed a powerful aura approaching from the east.
• Tiger Seven arrived with an old fox and called for the demons to unite, not realizing Li Yingling and the others were humans.
• Li Yingling concluded that her master had refined the pearl and was protecting their identities.
• The Great Wu Demon King rushed to embrace Tiger Seven and complained that other Demon Kings had abandoned it on the front line.
• The old fox hinted that Tiger Seven had come to fulfill the Great Wu Demon King's dream of building the Demon Kingdom, and the bull demon invited them inside to talk.

Owl warned Kunshan Great King that humans had come to ambush the demons, prompting Li Yingling to reveal her Golden Core power. The old fox silenced Owl and guided the Demon Kings into camp, leaving Owl wounded and abandoned.

• Owl saw Tiger Seven and recognized the humans’ danger, but forced himself to warn Kunshan Great King that they had come to ambush the demons.
• Cui Hao and Lin Luoyu turned on Owl as Li Yingling summoned her Spirit Treasure and faced Tiger Seven and Great Wu Demon King.
• The old fox accused Owl of spreading nonsense, dragged him forward, and stabbed him repeatedly.
• The old fox welcomed Li Yingling as the Little Dragon Demon King, and Great Wu Demon King and Kunshan Great King entered the camp without looking back at Owl.
• Li Yingling approached the wounded Owl with a pill, put it away, and walked into the camp.

Li Yingling met with the old fox, Tiger Seven, and the Great Wu Demon King, who offered to help her undermine the Demon Kingdom in exchange for a way to survive. After agreeing to their proposal, Li Yingling told her companions she still intended to kill the demons herself.

• The old fox recognized Li Yingling as a human Golden Core sword cultivator and realized she was too dangerous to confront directly.
• Li Yingling rejected the old fox's formalities and demanded he explain his proposal.
• The old fox offered information and operational help against the Demon Kingdom in exchange for a chance for the demons to escape later.
• After an hour of negotiations, Li Yingling left with her companions, while Tiger Seven questioned how easily the deal had been reached.
• The old fox warned Tiger Seven not to trust humans and asked the Great Wu Demon King to let him handle matters.
• On the way back, Li Yingling told Lin Luoyu she still planned to kill the demons, comparing them unfavorably to a dog she had once cared for.

While the war against the demons continued, Chu Xingchen waited in Yunzhou City with Chen Baiqing and Lin Luoyu, then met Bai Xuanling to receive payment for the pills she had sold. Bai Xuanling urged him to produce more, leaving him to decide whether to stay in the city or go with her.

• Chen Baiqing served tea to Chu Xingchen while Lin Luoyu sat silently, troubled by her emotions.
• Chu Xingchen wondered why Bai Xuanling had not arrived on the seventeenth, and she appeared at the teahouse soon afterward.
• Bai Xuanling gave Chu Xingchen a storage ring containing payment for the pills she had sold through the Heavenly Derivation Sect and other buyers.
• Bai Xuanling assured Chu Xingchen that she had kept his identity secret and told him to hurry with the next batch of pills.
• Bai Xuanling suggested that Chu Xingchen wait in Yunzhou City for a few quarters of an hour if he could not leave with her.