Ch. 568Calling Dragon-Tiger Mountain to account (VII)

Cheng Xinzhan confronted Zhang Yuanji at Dragon-Tiger Mountain, where the Daoist sects declared the Celestial Master Residence guilty and Cheng imposed a sweeping sentence on the mountain. After Zhang Daojian attacked him, Cheng vanished him with a single word, leaving Zhang Yuanji and the Zhang clansmen facing the consequences of their challenge.

  • Cheng Xinzhan arrived at Dragon-Tiger Mountain and argued with Zhang Yuanji over the evidence of the Celestial Master Residence’s crimes.
  • Zhang Yuanji denied the accusations and claimed Cheng sought to disgrace Dragon-Tiger Mountain so Three Pure Ones Mountain could rule the Daoist Sect.
  • Cheng declared that the Daoist sects had already judged Dragon-Tiger Mountain guilty, and leaders and disciples across the Eastern Daoist Sect shouted their agreement.
  • Zhang Yuanji awakened Dragon-Tiger Mountain’s formation and Celestial Master Sword, but Chief Seat Zhongzheng’s Jingyang Immortal Sword cleared the clouds and snow around the mountain.
  • Cheng sentenced Dragon-Tiger Mountain’s sect to remain within four hundred li of the Celestial Master Residence, stripped Zhang Yuanji of the Celestial Master title, and ordered the Orthodox Unity Alliance lineage to remove his portraits.
  • Zhang Daojian charged Cheng with a flaming hand censer, but Cheng said “Seize!” and made Zhang Daojian, his treasure, and its flames disappear.

Ch. 569Calling Dragon-Tiger Mountain to Account (VIII)

Cheng Xinzhan seized Zhang Daojian with a single Divine Ability, prompting Zhang Yuanji and Dragon-Tiger Mountain’s cultivators to attack as the Haoran Alliance withdrew. Cheng Xinzhan fought Zhang Xianyu with the Jingyang Sword, gaining the advantage and drawing the battle a hundred li from Dragon-Tiger Mountain, where immortal figures suddenly appeared.

  • Cheng Xinzhan ignored Zhang Yuanji’s demand to release Zhang Daojian and declared that the Haoran Alliance would interrogate him.
  • Zhang Yuanji attacked with the Five Thunders Command Token, while Ning Dingyi intercepted its lightning with his thunder pagoda.
  • Zhang Duxian, Zhang Dumo, and Zhang Duo joined the battle as Quan Rongyi used the Great Dharma Director Seal of Lingbao to engage them.
  • Cheng Xinzhan met Dragon-Tiger Mountain’s surging Sword Qi with the Jingyang Sword and fought Zhang Xianyu, who wielded the Evil-Slaying Female Sword.
  • Cheng Xinzhan adapted his swordsmanship, pressed Zhang Xianyu back, and continued fighting as the group reached a boundary a hundred li from Dragon-Tiger Mountain.
  • Layer upon layer of immortal figures appeared in the empty space.

Ch. 570Calling Dragon-Tiger Mountain to Account (IX)

Cheng Xinzhan and his allies used four sect-guarding immortal treasures to trap Zhang Xianyu, while the Three Pure Ones Bell severed his connection to Dragon-Tiger Mountain and left him exposed. Zhang Zhengtong arrived to rescue him, but his attack forced a Divine Empyrean Immortal to defend Quan Rongyi, leaving the battle unresolved.

  • Cheng Xinzhan reversed the Jingyang Immortal Sword’s momentum and trapped Zhang Xianyu in a wave of Kan Water sword light.
  • The Shangqing Bilu Mirror disrupted Zhang Xianyu’s apertures, and the Three Pure Ones Bell’s influence kept him from realizing he had been cut off from Dragon-Tiger Mountain.
  • True Person Rongyi sent the Great Dharma Director Seal of Lingbao crashing toward Zhang Xianyu, who discovered he was beyond the Mountain-Guarding Grand Array’s reach.
  • Zhang Xianyu used Spirit-Shouting to awaken the four Dragon-Tiger Mountain cultivators fighting nearby, while Ji Hehe revealed himself with the Three Pure Ones Bell.
  • Zhang Yuanji threw the Purple Tranquility Unified One Ding toward the Lingbao seal, as a Divine Empyrean Immortal appeared with the Five Luminaries Demon-Subduing Fan.
  • Zhang Zhengtong arrived and struck at Quan Rongyi with Sword Qi, prompting the Divine Empyrean Immortal to shield him with the fan.

Ch. 571Calling Dragon-Tiger Mountain to account (conclusion)

Cheng Xinzhan and the Haoran Alliance ambushed Zhang Xianyu beyond Dragon-Tiger Mountain’s protective boundary, destroyed his body, captured his Primordial Spirit, and seized the Evil-Slaying Female Sword. Zhang Zhengtong and the other Zhang Family cultivators escaped with the Celestial Master Seal and Purple Tranquility Unified One Ding, while Cheng Xinzhan publicly declared Zhang Xianyu’s defeat a warning to Dragon-Tiger Mountain.

  • Zhang Xianyu used his treasures to delay the Lingbao Dharma Seal, but the Purple Tranquility Unified One Ding intercepted it in a collision that injured him.
  • Cheng Xinzhan replenished his power with Whale Inhalation, damaged Zhang Xianyu’s Cloud Mountain Diagram, and used the Shangqing Bilu Mirror to make Zhang Xianyu’s right arm turn its sword against him.
  • Zhang Xianyu’s Primordial Spirit escaped his severed body, but Cheng Xinzhan immobilized it as Zhang Zhengtong invoked the Celestial Master Seal and rallied the Zhang Family cultivators.
  • Cheng Xinzhan used the Celestial Master Seal’s power and Five-Colored Divine Light to seize the Evil-Slaying Female Sword, then sealed it inside his Crimson Palace.
  • Cheng Xinzhan captured Zhang Xianyu’s Primordial Spirit and attacked Zhang Zhengtong, while Zhang Zhengtong and Zhang Yuanji retreated toward Dragon-Tiger Mountain with the remaining cultivators.
  • Cheng Xinzhan proclaimed Zhang Xianyu’s punishment across the Yu Zhang Land as a warning to anyone who challenged the Haoran Alliance.

Ch. 572Mountain Chancellor

At Three Pure Ones Mountain, Cheng Xinzhan reviewed the Haoran Alliance’s victory over Dragon-Tiger Mountain and distributed captured treasures among the allied sects. He then arranged rotating watches on Dragon-Tiger Mountain, leaving the alliance united and prepared for retaliation.

  • Daoist Zhongzheng returned to Purple Tenuity Mountain while the other Fifth Realm cultivators and immortals followed Ji Hehe and Cheng Xinzhan to Three Pure Ones Mountain.
  • Cheng Xinzhan explained how the alliance’s plan had captured Zhang Xianyu and the Evil-Slaying Female Sword, established the eight-hundred-li prohibition, and weakened Dragon-Tiger Mountain’s standing.
  • Cheng Xinzhan gave the Zhengyi Dugong Immortal Scripture Talisman to Quan Rongyi and the Cloud Sea Floating Mountain Diagram to Yun Jianxiao, insisting that everyone who helped would share the spoils.
  • Cheng Xinzhan promised shares of the remaining gains to Shi Heyang and the sects that had lent their Immortal Treasures.
  • Cheng Xinzhan assigned Yun Jianxiao, Quan Rongyi, and Ji Hehe to take turns watching Dragon-Tiger Mountain and call the alliance if a major change occurred.

Ch. 573On Immortal Artifacts

After the siege of Dragon-Tiger Mountain, Cheng Xinzhan examined the Three-Five Evil-Slaying Female Sword he had seized and reflected on the ranks and origins of Immortal Treasures and numinous treasures. He concluded that the sword could only serve him if he persuaded it to follow him willingly, and decided to speak with it.

  • Immortal Jianxiao agreed to take the first watch over Dragon-Tiger Mountain, while Ji Hehe took Zhang Xianyu, Zhang Daojian, and Zhang Xianyu's remains to the Three Pure Ones Grotto-Heaven for questioning.
  • Cheng Xinzhan returned to Bright Governance Mountain and examined the Three-Five Evil-Slaying Female Sword in his Crimson Palace.
  • Cheng Xinzhan reviewed the grades and origins of Immortal Treasures, comparing the Eastern Path's approach of concealing treasures with Xuanmen's practice of giving them to younger disciples.
  • Cheng Xinzhan recalled the Eastern Daoist Sect's known numinous treasures and recognized that such treasures possessed intelligence and had to be approached as equals.
  • Cheng Xinzhan decided to talk with the Three-Five Evil-Slaying Female Sword and persuade it to follow him willingly.

Ch. 574Seal, sword, true script

Cheng Xinzhan subdued the Celestial Master Sword and studied the Lingbao Seal’s Yuanshi Eight-Wealth Dragon Script with its awakened true spirit. The chapter ended when the true spirit realized Cheng Xinzhan had already mastered enough of the script to suppress the sword more efficiently.

  • Cheng Xinzhan removed some of the Celestial Master Sword’s seals, then suppressed its outburst with the Lingbao Seal, the Earth Book, and an incantation.
  • Cheng Xinzhan kept the Lingbao Seal after True Person Rongyi invited him to Gezao Mountain in fifty days to discuss talismans and the Zhengyi Merit Immortal Talisman.
  • Cheng Xinzhan studied the Lingbao Seal’s history, authority, and Yuanshi Eight-Wealth Dragon Script, then respectfully asked its awakened true spirit to teach him.
  • The Lingbao Seal’s true spirit explained the script at length while Cheng Xinzhan listened without interruption.
  • Cheng Xinzhan removed the sword’s seals again and used a newly written Dragon Script talisman to suppress it more quickly and with less magical power.
  • The Lingbao Seal’s true spirit recognized that Cheng Xinzhan had already used the script it had just taught him.

Ch. 575The Story of Patriarch Sa

Cheng Xinzhan taught the Celestial Master Sword about the Zhang Family’s secret Seal-Imprinting and alleged crimes, then asked its spirit to join him in following Patriarch Sa’s precedent. The Sword Spirit doubted Cheng Xinzhan’s virtue, and he began invoking Patriarch Sa and Marshal Wang Lingguan as an example.

  • After learning the Primordial Eightfold Might Dragon Script, Cheng Xinzhan studied seal-making and seal-use from the Treasure Seal’s true spirit for ten more days.
  • Cheng Xinzhan removed the Celestial Master Sword’s sealing script, and its Sword Spirit began speaking with him.
  • Cheng Xinzhan explained that the Zhang Family had used the Celestial Master Seal to imprint seals on outsiders and its own people, and showed the Sword Spirit the Dao Heart Seal of the Heavenly Edict.
  • Cheng Xinzhan told the Sword Spirit about Dragon-Tiger Mountain’s alleged demon-raising, soul-seizing, and Human-Soul Alchemy, prompting it to question what would happen to the mountain.
  • Cheng Xinzhan asked the Sword Spirit to follow him in slaying evil, and cited Patriarch Sa’s precedent of wielding the Celestial Master’s sword against the Zhang Family’s chief wrongdoers.
  • The Sword Spirit questioned whether Cheng Xinzhan could match Patriarch Sa’s righteousness, and Cheng Xinzhan asked whether it knew the story of Patriarch Sa and Marshal Wang Lingguan.

Ch. 576Watching for faults at his side

Cheng Xinzhan visited Juqü Mountain and Sanyuan Mountain, returning borrowed treasures and lecturing at both sects while openly carrying the Celestial Master Sword. The sword spirit followed him under an agreement to watch for faults, and Cheng Xinzhan left Sanyuan Mountain for Gezao Mountain after his lectures.

  • Cheng Xinzhan arrived at Juqü Mountain carrying the Celestial Master Sword in a plain sword bag, and Shangqing disciples praised him while treating the sword’s departure as evidence against Dragon-Tiger Mountain.
  • Daoist Nengyue recognized the sword’s political significance as Cheng Xinzhan explained that its spirit had agreed to follow him openly and inspect his conduct for faults.
  • Cheng Xinzhan returned the Shangqing Bilu Mirror to Daoist Nengyue and gave him recovered treasures in thanks for lending it.
  • Cheng Xinzhan lectured at Thoughtless Cliff for five days on harmonizing internal gods and external sacrifices with a Dao Domain and Dao field.
  • Cheng Xinzhan went to Sanyuan Mountain, returned the Jingyang Sword to Daoist Zhanchang, gave thanks, and lectured for six days on combining Purifying Water with altar methods and ritual ceremonies.
  • Cheng Xinzhan departed Sanyuan Mountain on the first day of the fourth month and headed for Gezao Mountain.

Ch. 577Preaching the Dao, Returning to Eight Gui

Cheng Xinzhan returned the Treasure Seal to Quan Rongyi, spent seven days deciphering the Zhengyi Jade Seal Script with him, and then delivered a seven-day discourse on the Lingbao scripture of Stabilization and Contemplation to a vast gathering at Gezao Mountain. After leaving Gezao Mountain, Cheng Xinzhan headed southwest for Eight Gui, where he intended to check on his place of Union with the Dao and investigate reports of unusual activity beneath the Maowei Ocean.

  • Cheng Xinzhan left Sanyuan Mountain and was welcomed by Numinous Treasure disciples, who escorted him to Gezao Mountain.
  • Cheng Xinzhan returned the Treasure Seal to Quan Rongyi, and the two spent seven days deciphering Zhang Xianyu's Zhengyi Jade Seal Script.
  • Cheng Xinzhan attended Celestial Master Ge's sacred birthday ceremony, then began preaching to a huge gathering of Numinous Treasure disciples at Dew-Bearing Terrace.
  • Cheng Xinzhan expounded the Scripture of Cavern Mystery and Numinous Treasure on Stabilization and Contemplation over seven days, and Quan Rongyi announced that the ancestral court would preserve the commentary as a secret text.
  • Cheng Xinzhan left Gezao Mountain for Eight Gui after learning that the River Lord of the Qin River had reported unusual activity beneath the Maowei Ocean.

Ch. 578The Grand Array Beneath the Sea

Cheng Xinzhan returned to the Maowei Ocean after Cheng Zhaoli discovered a hidden grand array beneath its islands, and he identified it as the work of True Person Long Eyebrow. He entered the seabed array to investigate what had been imprisoned there.

  • Cheng Xinzhan arrived at the Qin River’s mouth, where Cheng Zhaoli explained that her Southern Penglai plan had uncovered an array beneath the Maowei Ocean.
  • Cheng Xinzhan examined Zhaoli’s Earth Qi chart and recognized that the array gathered the fortunes of the river, sea, and islands to imprison and kill something.
  • Cheng Xinzhan ordered everyone away from the site, then descended into the sea while Zhaoli and Lion stayed behind.
  • Cheng Xinzhan followed the array’s Earth Qi to a crescent-shaped ridge and used his Dharma Eye to inspect the hidden restrictions.
  • Cheng Xinzhan recognized the array as True Person Long Eyebrow’s work and used Earth Escape to pass into the seabed.

Ch. 579Strange

Cheng Xinzhan found Longbrow’s hidden formation beneath the Southern Sea and discovered that it was slowly refining a Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jiao into a Snow-Soul Pearl. After introducing himself as Guangweizi and learning of the Cold Jiao’s history, he was asked how he regarded nonhuman spirits and Emei, while a man at Emei sensed Cheng Xinzhan’s arrival.

  • Cheng Xinzhan entered an undersea fire cavern and found a Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jiao bound above a volcanic crater by Longbrow’s chains and formation.
  • The Cold Jiao attacked Cheng Xinzhan with its Twelve-Cold-Baleful-Intent Form-Extinguishing Divine Light, but he scattered the beams with his sleeve.
  • Cheng Xinzhan recognized that Longbrow had captured the Cold Jiao to refine its essence into a Snow-Soul Pearl, despite the creature having harmed no people.
  • Cheng Xinzhan introduced himself as Guangweizi of Three Pure Ones Mountain and told the Cold Jiao that the Southern Wastes had been reclaimed and Ancestor Haha was missing after Green Robe wounded him.
  • The Cold Jiao asked Cheng Xinzhan how he regarded nonhuman spirits and Emei, while a man in Emei’s Golden Summit Great Hall sensed Cheng’s arrival beneath Maowei Ocean.

Ch. 580Solemn vows

Cheng Xinzhan freed Han Xuan from its five-hundred-year imprisonment and persuaded it to renounce vengeance and swear to perform good deeds under his protection. Han Xuan’s escape became known across the Divine Land, while an Emei elder nearby debated whether to challenge Cheng Xinzhan and reclaim it.

  • Cheng Xinzhan argued that spirits and monsters deserved compassion, and Han Xuan explained how it had abandoned its ancestral feud after finding the North Pole Bright Mirror and cultivating the Great Yin Inheritance.
  • Cheng Xinzhan vowed to protect anyone who sought and practiced goodness, and heavenly signs spread across the Southern Sea and the three Daoist sects.
  • Sweet Dew healed Han Xuan and thunder destroyed the Fire-Cloud Chain and Binding Formation, allowing Han Xuan to break free and erupt from the Maowei Ocean.
  • Han Xuan swore before heaven and sea to follow Cheng Xinzhan, perform good deeds, and forge benevolent ties, as onlookers recognized it as the Ten-Thousand-Year Han Xuan.
  • An old Emei elder watched from the clouds and weighed whether to fight Cheng Xinzhan and recapture Han Xuan.

Ch. 581Doing Good, Defining Evil

Cheng Xinzhan cleared Han Xuan of unproven crimes and freed her, then helped her create a human-shaped jade body so she could travel and do good. He authorized her to oppose evil in Northern Kham, including wicked Xuanmen cultivators, provided she gathered concrete evidence and did not kill innocents.

  • Cheng Xinzhan suspected an Emei Immortal had secretly watched him at the Maowei Ocean, then publicly vouched for Han Xuan and offered to punish anyone who proved she had committed crimes or abandoned goodness.
  • Han Xuan returned with Cheng Xinzhan to Dayao Mountain, where he proposed that she leave her body safely behind and use a human-shaped shell to travel as a primordial spirit.
  • Cheng Xinzhan taught Han Xuan the Corpse Possession technique, and Lion fetched cold jade with golden sinews from Sparrow Mountain despite damaging the White Bone Chan Cloister.
  • Han Xuan carved the jade into a lifelike human figure, and Cheng Xinzhan used talismans to transform it into a body that her primordial spirit could control.
  • Han Xuan proposed going to Northern Kham to destroy the White Bone Chan Cloister, and Cheng Xinzhan cautioned her to recover and investigate before acting.
  • Han Xuan asked whether wicked Xuanmen cultivators should also count as evil, and Cheng Xinzhan told her to oppose indiscriminate killing and act only on concrete evidence.

Ch. 582A year

The chapter recounted the major upheavals of Ming 491 before following Cheng Xinzhan as he visited Han Ningguang and then Shi Tongxuan in the new year. Han Ningguang agreed to settle and help the people of Good Head Town, while Shi Tongxuan explained why he had chosen Earthly Immortality and asked Cheng Xinzhan to remember him if he could one day grant immortality.

  • Jiupanpo survived her failed tribulation as a Wandering Immortal and intensified the Northern Faction’s siege of Mount Kongtong, while Xu Wan became an Earthly Immortal and seized Mount Beimang for the Ghost Kingdom.
  • Li Yingqiong destroyed Bingling Temple and moved to White Emperor City, while Zhou Qingyun took her place at Min Mountain; Han Ningguang later destroyed the White Bone Chan Cloister and rescued its imprisoned mortals.
  • Shi Tongxuan achieved Union with the Dao at Langshan Mountain and entered the Fifth Realm as a True Person.
  • Cheng Xinzhan visited Han Ningguang at Sedan Chair Mountain, instructed her to help settle the rescued people, restrain her methods, and remain in Eight Gui for now.
  • Cheng Xinzhan congratulated Shi Tongxuan at Langshan Mountain and asked whether he intended to become an Earthly Immortal; Shi Tongxuan explained his reasons and told Cheng Xinzhan not to feel responsible for his choice.
  • Shi Tongxuan asked Cheng Xinzhan to deliver him into immortality if Cheng Xinzhan someday gained that power, and Cheng Xinzhan left for Kuizhou.

Ch. 583Thunder Marshal Palace

Cheng Xinzhan visited True Martial Temple and learned that White Dragon had gone to Hehuang in connection with the Heavenly Demon Tower, then continued to Kuizhou and met Marshal Kui at Thunder Marshal Palace. He began discussing his purpose for the visit with the Marshal.

  • Cheng Xinzhan stopped at True Martial Temple, learned that the Heavenly True Boy was away in Kuizhou, and asked Ji Kaiming to keep watch over White Dragon.
  • Ji Kaiming told Cheng Xinzhan that White Dragon had gone from Longxi to Hehuang and might be pursuing the Heavenly Demon Tower, so Cheng Xinzhan gave him a voice-transmitting bell.
  • Cheng Xinzhan reflected on White Dragon's relentless travels before flying over the Three Gorges and reciting a poem about the Yangtze River cutting through the mountains.
  • Cheng Xinzhan arrived at Thunder Marshal Palace, brought the reluctant lion inside, and met Marshal Kui in Five Thunders Hall.
  • Marshal Kui told Cheng Xinzhan that Li Yingqiong's arrival at White Emperor City had driven local flood dragons and snakes to seek refuge, and described her purple chi-dragon.
  • Cheng Xinzhan told Marshal Kui that he had come to discuss a matter with him.

Ch. 584Annexation before demon-slaying, guarding against the Dao more than rivers

Cheng Xinzhan asked Marshal Kui about the North, and Marshal Kui argued that the Righteous Path’s decline came less from the Northern Faction’s strength than from Emei’s self-serving policies and the Northern Path’s failure to exert itself. He concluded that Emei prioritized annexation and guarding against other Daoist sects over fighting demons, then Cheng Xinzhan asked for his assessment of the Northern Path.

  • Cheng Xinzhan asked Marshal Kui to assess the situation north of the river, and Marshal Kui called the Righteous Path there weak and divided.
  • Marshal Kui and Cheng Xinzhan discussed how internal figures and rivalries had weakened Dragon-Tiger Mountain and Emei, especially Xun Lanyin’s influence at Emei.
  • Marshal Kui described how Emei’s expansion had alienated Azure City, Crane-Cry, Green Bamboo Nunnery, Azure Goat Palace, Longquan Mountain, and other sects, while Cheng Xinzhan supplied details about their withdrawal.
  • Marshal Kui argued that Emei had allowed the Profound Yin Sect and Red Heart Cult to remain threats so it could pressure the Guangyuan Sword Sect and Batai Mountain into submission.
  • Marshal Kui said Emei guarded against the Dao more than the rivers and focused its forces on controlling southern and eastern sects rather than defeating demons; Cheng Xinzhan asked whether the Northern Path had also failed to exert itself.
  • Marshal Kui teased Cheng Xinzhan about the Azure Cord Sword and Shi Yiniang, then explained that Emei’s deployments showed it feared his westward ambitions and the Imperially Commissioned Thunder Marshal Palace.

Ch. 585Three ancestral courts, seven branches

Marshal Kui explained how Quanzhen’s three ancestral courts and seven branches had become divided, weakening the Northern Path during the Demon Tide. He described the Dragon Gate Sect’s split with Liaodong, the destruction of several Quanzhen branches, and left Cheng Xinzhan asking what had happened to the ancestral courts and surviving sects.

  • Marshal Kui outlined the Northern Path’s history and divided its Daoist sects into three categories, identifying Quanzhen as the strongest Northern religion.
  • Marshal Kui explained how the Seven Quanzhen Sons founded separate branches and how Yongle Palace, Chongyang Palace, and Everlasting Spring Palace became Quanzhen’s three ancestral courts.
  • Marshal Kui traced Dragon Gate’s growing arrogance to its strength and its decision to hold ceremonies at Everlasting Spring Palace, prompting Liaodong Dragon Gate to break away and seal Mount Yan.
  • Marshal Kui recounted how Everlasting Spring Palace’s estrangement from Jade Spring Abbey left the abbey without timely aid during the Demon Tide, while the Mount Hua Sect perished defending Chongyang Palace.
  • Cheng Xinzhan asked whether Chongyang Palace and Yongle Palace had fallen to the Demon Path and what the surviving Quanzhen sects were doing.

Ch. 586A difficult scripture to recite

Marshal Kui explained to Cheng Xinzhan why the Northern Path’s sects had struggled to resist the demonic tribulation, detailing their history, doctrines, locations, and limited resources. After Cheng Xinzhan asked what he proposed, Marshal Kui concluded that they should take action themselves.

  • Marshal Kui explained that the Northern Faction had spared Chongyang Palace to weaken Quanzhen Dao’s unity and keep the palace as leverage.
  • Marshal Kui described Quanzhen Dao’s doctrinal, historical, and geographical reasons for responding poorly to the demonic tribulation.
  • Marshal Kui recounted how Laoshan had blended many Daoist lineages while contributing to demon eradication without committing its entire sect.
  • Marshal Kui explained that Wudang’s lack of strong successors left it focused on preserving its status rather than taking a major role in the Demon Tide.
  • Cheng Xinzhan asked Marshal Kui what he intended to do, and Marshal Kui answered that they should act themselves.

Ch. 587No time like the present

Cheng Xinzhan and Marshal Yuan decided to attack the Red Heart Cult, with Cheng seeking Wudang’s help rather than leading the assault himself. At Wenfeng Temple, Tianzhen agreed to strike that very day, revealing he had the True Martial Sword and had prepared for years to attack Ghost Valley Ridge.

  • Cheng Xinzhan agreed with Marshal Yuan that the south should take the initiative against the Northern Faction and chose the Red Heart Cult as its first target.
  • Marshal Yuan proposed sending the lion to fight, but Cheng Xinzhan instead planned to ask Tianzhen of the True Martial Temple to lead the attack while he provided support.
  • Cheng Xinzhan left the lion with Marshal Yuan, who began questioning him about his training until the lion collapsed in fear.
  • Cheng Xinzhan walked up Wenfeng with Tianzhen and Yang Guishan, using the river and their slow climb to urge Wudang not to fall behind in the demon-slaying campaign.
  • Tianzhen said he had the True Martial Sword and had secretly prepared to attack Ghost Valley Ridge, then proposed they destroy the Red Heart Cult that day.
  • Cheng Xinzhan agreed to go with Tianzhen and told him to wield his sword freely while Cheng handled the rest.
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