Chapter Summaries

Su Changsheng cultivated, stockpiled blood food, and searched the Yao Market for suitable demon arts as rumors of a land-clearing expedition spread. After learning that mutant rat demons had recently appeared in the stronghold, he suspected they had infiltrated it much earlier than others realized.

• Su Changsheng abandoned difficult demon arts and techniques, focusing instead on breathing exercises, runes, and using survival points to advance his skills.
• His body grew heavier and stronger as he consumed at least ten jin of blood food daily, while he sold concealment runes to replenish his supplies.
• Su Changsheng noticed an unusual number of sellers trading similar-looking blood food at the busy Yao Market.
• At the Spirit Plant Shop, the Fox Woman told Su Changsheng that mutant rat demons had entered the stronghold three days earlier and that yao were selling their meat.
• Su Changsheng recalled a mutant rat demon that had attacked him nearly a month earlier, suspected the swarm had infiltrated the stronghold long ago, and chose not to reveal what he knew.

Su Changsheng traded runes with Fox Woman and sought demon arts to prepare for possible frontier expansion. He chose the Mental Sense technique, but Fox Woman’s rare book from the human world left him wondering what it contained and whether he could trade for it.

• Su Changsheng gave Fox Woman Concealment Runes and a Little Poison Dragon Shedding Rune, and she praised his talisman-crafting progress.
• Su Changsheng asked Fox Woman for demon arts or techniques suited to his white snake body, and he ate both his own and her meat soup while she considered her options.
• Fox Woman sent a Lesser Yao to fetch two animal-hide scrolls and a rare paper book from the human world.
• Su Changsheng rejected the Bloodthirst Art because its drawbacks did not suit him, but he liked Mental Sense for its passive danger-sensing benefits.
• Fox Woman refused to trade the book outright, leaving Su Changsheng curious about its contents.

Su Changsheng examined a strange human book containing the Demon Art Listening, but grew wary of it and refused the offered arts. He arranged to exchange his runes for supplies and left Fox Woman after she denied him another serving of meat broth.

• Fox Woman gave Su Changsheng a human book after he asked to inspect it, and he found disturbing illustrations and fragmented writings inside.
• Su Changsheng read about the Demon Art Listening, which could sense danger and eventually foretell the future, but its uncanny requirements made him suspicious.
• Su Changsheng refused the book and the other Demon Arts, then asked Fox Woman to exchange his runes for Wraith Beast meat and rune materials.
• Su Changsheng asked Fox Woman for another serving of meat broth, and she told him to get lost.

Su Changsheng searched the Yao Market for a usable Demon Art and learned from a refugee toad Yao that the Left Stronghold was collapsing after a snow disaster. The chapter left him facing the arrival of a growing tide of refugees at the Black Mountain Demon Stockade.

• The Fox Woman defended the Seekers’ pursuit of human-world truths after Su Changsheng left the Spirit Value Stall.
• Su Changsheng lowered his standards while searching the Yao Market for a Demon Art he could use.
• Su Changsheng questioned a toad Yao selling Toad Oil and discovered it had recently fled the Left Stronghold.
• The toad Yao told Su Changsheng that hunger and unrest had devastated the Left Stronghold and that its collapse was unavoidable.
• The toad Yao revealed that its group was only the first batch of refugees heading for the Black Mountain Demon Stockade.

Su Changsheng learned that the Left Stronghold had collapsed and a wave of refugees was heading toward the Main Stronghold, possibly as part of a power struggle among the three Great Yao. He prepared to strengthen his position, bought Toad Oil, and found the Stone-Forging Art, which he planned to practice alongside his existing techniques.

• A toad yao told Su Changsheng that unrest had caused the Left Stronghold to collapse and that many displaced residents were fleeing toward the Main Stronghold.
• Su Changsheng suspected the Great Yao were allowing the refugee crisis to unfold as part of a struggle over control of the three strongholds, and he resolved to stockpile food and prepare.
• Su Changsheng bought ten jars of Toad Oil from the toad yao for five Concealment Runes, but the toad refused to explain how it was extracted.
• Su Changsheng spotted Eagle Yao hurrying away after greeting him from a distance.
• Su Changsheng found the Stone-Forging Art, judged it compatible with his Stone-Shattering Art, and planned to combine it with Toad Oil for body tempering.

Su Changsheng mastered the beginner stage of the Stone-Forging Art and used it to strengthen his body and improve his Stone-Shattering Art. As he continued cultivating in hiding, reports from the Bird Yao revealed that arriving residents from the Left Stronghold were worsening unrest in the Black Mountain Demon Stockade.

• Su Changsheng spent three days practicing the Stone-Forging Art and reached its beginner stage.
• Su Changsheng tested the art and found that it had increased his strength and defenses and made the Stone-Shattering Art easier to control.
• Su Changsheng combined the Stone-Forging Art with Toad Oil and stones to keep tempering selected parts of his body.
• Su Changsheng continued cultivating, crafting runes, studying, and gathering blood food while advancing toward becoming a fourth-level half-demon.
• The Bird Yao told Su Changsheng that arrivals from the Left Stronghold had intensified overcrowding and violence in the Half-Demon Grounds and Lesser Yao Grounds.

Su Changsheng continued cultivating through the turmoil in Black Mountain Demon Stockade and brought his Stone-Forging Art close to a breakthrough. After going outside for sunlight, he learned from Wu Nü that the Yao Market had reopened, leaving him surprised and eager to know what had changed.

• Su Changsheng stayed in seclusion as unrest forced the Yao Market to close and snow threatened the stronghold.
• The snow stopped falling, and Su Changsheng's Stone-Forging Art reached beginner 80/100 after nearly doubling the defense of his scales.
• Su Changsheng reviewed his survival points and planned to save them for improving the Green Snake Breathing Method.
• Frustrated by his inability to advance the Stone-Forging Art, Su Changsheng went outside and greeted Wu Nü.
• Wu Nü told Su Changsheng that Wu Niao had gone to the Yao Market, which had reopened after being closed for over half a month.

Su Changsheng learned that the Yao Market had reopened amid growing tensions in the Half-Demon Grounds and went there to trade and seek information. He discovered that the market had changed and now charged an entry fee, while a powerful guard warned him to obey its rules.

• Su Changsheng asked Bird Woman about recent news, and she told him that tensions between outsider yao and locals had worsened and a toad yao family had moved in next door.
• Su Changsheng worried that the new neighbors might connect him to the Toad Oil he had bought, then wondered why they had settled in a place where no stone house stood.
• Su Changsheng decided to inspect his neighbors later and headed for the Yao Market to trade talismans with Little Four, the Fox Woman, and look for useful materials and cultivation arts.
• Su Changsheng found that the reopened Yao Market had more stalls, guards, and an entry fee, which he paid with a Hair-Shedding Talisman.
• A level-three guard with black snake heads and fox tails warned Su Changsheng to follow the market rules and told him it would keep watch over him.

Su Changsheng visited the reopened Yao Market, then three days later the Black Tiger Yao returned and clashed with the Wolf Yao, plunging the Half-Demon Grounds into chaos. Trapped by a deadly stampede, Su Changsheng retreated into a tunnel beneath the mountain and left his survival to fate.

• Su Changsheng found the reopened Yao Market more orderly and full of goods, but he could not afford the lapis lazuli offered by a stone yao and found none of his usual acquaintances.
• Three days later, Su Changsheng sensed the Black Tiger Yao's terrifying aura and sealed the entrance to his underground home.
• Wailing Ghosts filled the sky as the Black Tiger Yao and Wolf Yao began fighting, shaking the Half-Demon Grounds and leaving a growing stench of blood.
• Su Changsheng opened his door, saw corpses falling and a panicked yao tide trampling residents, then retreated rather than join the stampede.
• Su Changsheng found the tunnel exits blocked by fleeing yao and chose the deeper tunnel beneath the mountain, reflecting that his strength was no match for the pureblood yao.

As the Black Tiger Yao and the Wolf Yao fought through the night, Su Changsheng realized the stronghold’s leaders were letting the Half-Demon Grounds’ residents die, possibly to cull the population. He remained hidden in a tunnel until his last Concealment Rune crumbled, leaving him exposed to the battle’s deadly forces.

• The Black Tiger Yao and the Wolf Yao’s battle devastated the Half-Demon Grounds, while Su Changsheng recognized how far their strength exceeded his own.
• The stronghold’s higher-ups failed to intervene, and Su Changsheng concluded they might be using the battle to eliminate surplus residents.
• Su Changsheng consumed his stored Concealment Runes to hide from the battle’s shock waves and deadly creatures.
• After the fighting outside paused for four hours, Su Changsheng ran out of Concealment Runes and faced imminent danger.