Chapter Summaries

Su Changsheng completed his breakthrough to sixth-level yao, becoming a colossal Half-Demon Black Snake whose aura shook the stronghold’s Outer Layer. After examining his new strength and discovering an unexplained second experience bar blocking progress toward seventh level, he went to the Peripheral Yao Market to ask Bai Ling for guidance.

• Su Changsheng’s breakthrough released a savage yao aura and a storm of blood and vitality, killing spying yao and establishing him as a supreme overlord of the Lesser Yao Grounds.
• Big Toad, Stone Man, and Black Child sensed the breakthrough in the Half-Demon Grounds, and Black Child identified the aura as belonging to their chief, Lord Eagle Immortal.
• Fox Woman Little Four and the Spirit Plant Shop’s proprietor recognized Su Changsheng’s aura and discussed the discovery of a giant white snake’s remains and nearby Human Yao and Yao Humans.
• Su Changsheng examined his transformed body and attribute panel, then discovered that an unexplained 0/1000 experience bar did not increase with cultivation.
• Su Changsheng traveled openly to the Peripheral Yao Market, where Bai Ling met him and led him toward the stone cave; he also told Eagle Yao Little Chicken to widen the entrance for his size.

Su Changsheng attended the Fox Book Yao Alliance gathering, where his enormous size drew attention and prompted Black Widow and Bai Ling to offer ways to help him control it. Bai Ling explained that advancing beyond the sixth level required discovering one’s Yao Nature, then offered breathing methods and Visualization Methods as ways to seek it.

• Su Changsheng entered the cavern with Bai Ling, and his size and yao aura frightened the gathered yao.
• Bai Ling used a proficient-level Shrinking Rune to reduce Su Changsheng’s size, while Black Widow offered to find him a reliable size-changing demon art craft.
• Fox Woman Little Four reported that the Fox Book Yao Alliance controlled two-thirds of the Outer Layer and that she had advanced to the fifth level.
• Bai Ling explained that sixth-level yao needed to discover and cultivate their Yao Nature to advance, and that Fox Woman Little Four’s Yao Nature was authority.
• Bai Ling named breathing methods and Visualization Methods as ways to discover Yao Nature and asked Su Changsheng what breathing method he used.

Bai Ling explained how sixth-level yao used breathing and visualization methods to find their demonic nature and advance, while Su Changsheng suspected the Great Yao visualizations were a trap. Convinced that leaving the Black Mountain Demon Stockade was his best chance at freedom, he arranged to depart with Bai Ling the next morning.

• Bai Ling explained that sixth-level yao needed mental energy and demonic nature to reach the seventh level, and that visualization methods could help reveal or condense demonic nature.
• Bai Ling offered Su Changsheng a portrait or sculpture of White Madam as a visualization subject, but Su Changsheng secretly planned to visualize the immense green snake he had seen during his breakthrough.
• Bai Ling admitted that the middle- and upper-level yao distrusted visualization methods but said there was no safe alternative, and warned that other methods could cause madness or mutation.
• Su Changsheng realized that the three Great Yao's influence left yao with little choice and resolved more strongly to leave the Black Mountain Demon Stockade.
• Su Changsheng asked when they could depart, and Bai Ling said the preparations were nearly complete and agreed to leave the next morning.

Su Changsheng and Bai Ling prepared the Fox Book Yao Alliance to migrate to the Left Stronghold, while Su Changsheng weighed his supplies and stayed wary of Bai Ling and the dangers ahead. When the migration began at dawn, the missing Black Tiger Yao appeared and attacked Su Changsheng, demanding that no one leave without its order.

• Bai Ling gathered supplies and recruited yao as Su Changsheng guarded the temporary camp ahead of the planned migration.
• Su Changsheng reviewed his cultivation, survival points, runes, and food, and decided to postpone breakthroughs until the journey.
• Three fifth-level yao and other fighters joined Su Changsheng at his tent, where he warned them that enemies might interfere with the migration.
• The night passed without an attack, and Bai Ling and Su Changsheng ordered the yao to begin moving at dawn.
• Su Changsheng announced the migration, but the missing Black Tiger Yao appeared and sent a huge claw toward him.

Su Changsheng faced the Black Tiger Yao, overcame his fear, and used a newly mastered Stone-Shattering Art to injure him and steal one of his balls. The Fox Book Yao Alliance forced the wounded Black Tiger Yao to withdraw, but he imposed limits on its migration before leaving.

• The Black Tiger Yao attacked Su Changsheng and Bai Ling, so Su Changsheng poured all his strength into a punch and broke through to lesser mastery of the Stone-Shattering Art.
• Su Changsheng survived the Black Tiger Yao's blow, realized his opponent was already injured, and launched a relentless counterattack.
• Su Changsheng struck the Black Tiger Yao in the crotch, stole one of his balls, and worsened the corruption spreading through his body.
• Su Changsheng urged the Fox Book Yao Alliance to attack, and Fox Woman Little Four used the Fox Book to threaten the Black Tiger Yao.
• The Black Tiger Yao agreed to let the alliance migrate with one thousand yao, but demanded that it withdraw to the Peripheral Yao Market; Su Changsheng stopped Bai Ling from objecting, and the Black Tiger Yao departed.

Su Changsheng earned the title Great Rock Snake King after confronting the Black Tiger Yao and helping secure the Fox Book Yao Alliance’s migration. He chose to leave for the Left Stronghold with Bai Ling, received rewards for his service, and remained uncertain about the hidden forces shaping events.

• The yao at the Peripheral Yao Market hailed Su Changsheng as the Great Rock Snake King after he fought the Black Tiger Yao and helped Fox Woman Little Four force him to accept the migration plan.
• Su Changsheng told Bai Ling he would not stay in the Black Mountain Demon Stockade, while privately reflecting that he had fought to overcome his fear of the Black Tiger Yao.
• Fox Woman Little Four offered Su Changsheng a Snake Spirit Grass and a Nine-Spirit Pill from the Nine Fox King, and he tried to negotiate for more rewards.
• Su Changsheng collected what remained of his scattered flesh as Bai Ling arranged the migration and more yao sought to join the party.
• Su Changsheng questioned whether hidden actors, humans, or the Black Tiger Yao had engineered the confrontation, and feared the Left Stronghold might lead him into an even greater conflict.

Su Changsheng advanced Finger Condemnation, sealed the Nine-Spirit Pill, and prepared to lead the migration to the Left Stronghold. Bai Ling instead redirected the party to the Right Stronghold because supplies were scarce and an insect swarm had cut off the direct route, leaving Su Changsheng alarmed about Zhou Hu King's situation.

• Su Changsheng advanced Finger Condemnation to the skilled level and tested its greatly increased pressure, but decided not to advance it further yet.
• Su Changsheng chose to seal the Nine-Spirit Pill rather than consume, trade, or discard it, then urged Bai Ling to begin the migration despite his injuries.
• Bai Ling redirected the migrating party toward the Right Stronghold, explaining that the Fox Book Yao Alliance had only supplied enough provisions for a little over a month and could not provide a Blood Beast.
• Bai Ling told Su Changsheng that the Nine Fox King had secured a Blood Beast from the Right Stronghold and that they needed to take the remaining Safe Passage there because an insect swarm had blocked the direct route to the Left Stronghold.
• Su Changsheng connected the news to the unusually large numbers of insects he had just seen and feared that Zhou Hu King had encountered a serious problem.

Su Changsheng led the migration through the wilderness and survived the uncanny Green Grass Clump, where the procession was separated. After he emerged, a familiar human voice and hand appeared behind him.

• Bai Ling led the migration toward the Right Stronghold, and Su Changsheng killed a Black Poison Scorpion that attacked her before using Finger Condemnation to clear nearby threats.
• Su Changsheng ordered the procession of more than two thousand yao into the wilderness, where several members died before they reached Green Grass Clump.
• Bai Ling explained that Green Grass Clump was a forbidden zone in the Safe Passage, and the procession entered it at Zi Hour using a bloody yao offering.
• Su Changsheng became separated from the procession inside Green Grass Clump and followed its passage rules until he emerged the next morning.
• Bai Ling saw something behind Su Changsheng, and a human hand touched his shoulder as a familiar voice called him Changsheng and asked whether he had betrayed them.

Su Changsheng survived Green Grass Clump’s attempt to contact him through an illusion and suspected that a human presence had been manipulating events to bring him there. When the migrating procession reached the Right Stronghold, he exposed and killed a group of Yao Humans disguised as yao, and Bai Ling warned that something might have gone wrong at the stronghold.

• Su Changsheng rejected the illusion in Green Grass Clump, destroyed the false Bai Ling, and escaped without turning toward the human voice.
• Su Changsheng suspected the Mirage Art and the tomb beneath Green Grass Clump were connected to the human presence that had been steering him toward the formation.
• The migrating procession crossed Red Bamboo Forest and Purple Gold Peak, losing several dozen yao before reaching the plain near the Right Stronghold.
• A welcoming party led by Zhu Lie approached Su Changsheng, who recognized the trap, killed Zhu Lie, and attacked the others.
• The eight disguised yao shouted human slogans and exploded, revealing corpses that looked almost human; Bai Ling urged Su Changsheng to hurry because the Right Stronghold might be in trouble.

Su Changsheng learned that Yao Humans pursued human nature as a path to power and that they had approached Bai Ling because she had once served White Madam. He tried to abandon the trip to the Right Stronghold, but Bai Ling revealed that White Madam’s condition and the stronghold itself might be tied to a deeper conspiracy.

• Bai Ling explained that Yao Humans gathered human nature to replace yao nature and reach the seventh level, but became dangerously contaminated; she also clarified how Black Tiger Yao’s human nature differed.
• Su Changsheng questioned why the Yao Humans had targeted Bai Ling, and she said White Madam’s enormous corpse had been found among dead Human Yao and Yao Humans, though she did not believe White Madam was truly dead.
• Bai Ling revealed that she belonged to White Madam’s clan and had once been one of her three thousand concubines, which might explain why the Yao Humans sought information from her.
• Su Changsheng decided to avoid the Right Stronghold and asked Bai Ling for the Safe Passage, while eyeing the migrating yao as a possible food supply.
• Inside the Right Stronghold, a white tiger and an aged voice ordered Wailing Ghosts to search for a traitor, discussed Black Tiger Yao’s dangerous inner human, and sought to confirm what had happened to White Madam and Black Mountain Yao King.
• Bai Ling told Su Changsheng that White Madam might have had a problem long ago, Zhou Hu King could be their last hope, and they needed to confirm the Right Stronghold’s condition, leaving Su Changsheng horrified.

On the way to the Right Stronghold, Bai Ling revealed that White Madam was tied to the Left Stronghold’s collapse and explained that the migration and repeated trials were meant to test Su Changsheng and establish a foothold in the Right Stronghold. Su Changsheng accepted his role in the Fox Book Yao Alliance while planning to grow stronger, then met Yellow Immortal at the stronghold’s gate.

• Bai Ling told Su Changsheng that White Madam’s strange behavior and the vanished White Snake Corpse pointed to her involvement in the Left Stronghold’s disasters.
• Bai Ling revealed that the Fox Book Yao Alliance had tested Su Changsheng’s loyalty and purity, and that the migration had always been intended for the Right Stronghold.
• Bai Ling explained that Su Changsheng’s purity made him valuable as the Earth-Probing Pillar and that the Fox Book’s power would expose hidden Yao Humans in the Right Stronghold.
• Su Changsheng resolved to use the Fox Book Yao Alliance’s resources to strengthen himself before eventually escaping its control.
• The migration party reached the Right Stronghold, where Bai Ling greeted Yellow Immortal, who approached Su Changsheng and asked whether he looked like a human or a yao.

Yellow Immortal exposed hidden threats among the migrating yao through a series of bluffs and agreed to guard the party, but the Right Stronghold’s leaders opposed its settlement. He explained that they were stalling until the Black Mountain Demon Stockade’s situation became clear, then revealed that the Black Tiger Yao was about to give birth, startling Su Changsheng.

• Yellow Immortal tested Su Changsheng, exposed several fleeing yao, and used layered deceptions to draw out traitors before Su Changsheng wounded the final group that tried to escape.
• Yellow Immortal revealed that the apparent traitors and wraith beast had been illusions, then said he planned to use the migration’s arrival to confront fiends inside the Right Stronghold.
• Yellow Immortal joined the migration party with his subordinates, but told Bai Ling that the Right Stronghold’s upper ranks opposed letting the Fox Book Yao Alliance settle there.
• Yellow Immortal explained that Zhou Hu King and the Nine Fox King were occupied elsewhere, allowing the Right Stronghold’s leaders to delay the migration, and revealed that the Black Tiger Yao was about to give birth.
• Su Changsheng was stunned because he had recently removed one of the Black Tiger Yao’s testicles.

Yellow Immortal and Bai Ling explained that the Black Tiger Yao was nearing the birth of a dangerous human formed from his Forked Path Demon Arts, a process the stronghold’s leaders might exploit to advance by eating humans. After Su Changsheng questioned Bai Ling, she revealed that she was White Madam too, but a demon, while the other White Madam was human.

• Yellow Immortal explained that the Black Tiger Yao’s mastery of two Forked Path Demon Arts could create human personas and souls, leading to the birth of a powerful human.
• Su Changsheng realized that powerful yao might be allowing the human’s descent so they could consume it and advance, and Bai Ling described other human entities hidden across the Black Mountain Range.
• Bai Ling said the humans summoned through Forked Path Demon Arts were believed to come from underground, while Yellow Immortal sealed their conversation with a Silence Talisman.
• Su Changsheng asked Bai Ling why she knew so much and whether she was one of White Madam’s concubines, prompting her to reveal that she had once been beyond the fourth level.
• Bai Ling told Su Changsheng that she was White Madam, then clarified that the other White Madam was also White Madam but was human, while she was a demon.

Su Changsheng secretly resisted Yellow Immortal’s Silence Talisman while pretending to fall under its influence, then used the experience to connect the talisman to earlier curses and White Madam. He suspected that his repeated bond coupling with Bai Ling had a hidden cause and turned his attention to the Green Snake Breathing Method left by his predecessor.

• Bai Ling revealed that she was White Madam’s yao self, and Yellow Immortal used the Silence Talisman to make Su Changsheng forget their conversation and grow attached to Bai Ling.
• Su Changsheng used the Mirage Art to block the talisman’s influence, then feigned infatuation so Bai Ling and Yellow Immortal would believe it had worked.
• After the migrating group settled outside Right Stronghold City, Su Changsheng maintained his act until the talisman’s red membrane faded on the seventh night.
• Bai Ling told Yellow Immortal that Su Changsheng might be a pawn connected to a hidden figure who had remained concealed for over a decade.
• Su Changsheng connected Yellow Immortal’s talisman to Wu Niao and Wu Nü’s curse, and reasoned that snake spirit grass could counter it because it had absorbed White Madam’s aura.
• Su Changsheng reviewed his repeated bond coupling with Bai Ling, ruled out his known arts and runes, and suspected the Green Snake Breathing Method left by his predecessor.

Su Changsheng studied the Fox Book Yao Alliance’s rune materials while planning a new identity and a way to escape Bai Ling’s influence. After experimenting with the Purification Talisman through the rainy season, he considered combining it with the Flame Rune.

• Su Changsheng brooded over the possible links between his predecessor, Black Blood, and the Yao Humans, then resolved to focus on cultivation.
• Yellow Immortal gave Su Changsheng rune supplies and study materials to keep him occupied and away from Bai Ling, and Su Changsheng used them to learn about talent runes and rune-making.
• Su Changsheng planned to develop a Half-Demon White Snake identity as a backup, possibly using it to leave Bai Ling, and considered seeking a duplicate-making or corpse-controlling technique.
• Su Changsheng studied the Purification Talisman’s structure and began experimenting with ways to direct its power toward purifying other forces, including mental contamination.
• Heavy rain flooded Su Changsheng’s cave, so he moved to a hill between the Temporary Camp and the Right Stronghold and continued his experiments.
• After repeated failed attempts to modify the Purification Talisman, Su Changsheng considered combining its structure with the Flame Rune to create a Flame Purification Talisman.

Su Changsheng refined his Purification Talisman into a fierce sun-fire rune that cleansed his body and Sea of Consciousness, then uncovered the hidden Authority over Life and Death within his Green Snake Breathing Method. The original occupant’s voice awakened and questioned Su Changsheng’s identity.

• Bai Ling told Yellow Immortal that her human body had returned and joined Zhou Hu King to rout the Insect Swarm’s vanguard, while warning that the balance among the Great Yao would not last.
• Su Changsheng tested his upgraded Purification Talisman, enduring its scorching power as it tempered his body and spirit and burned away impurities.
• Su Changsheng advanced the Purification Talisman Rune and formed a sunlike flame in his Sea of Consciousness that exposed and cleansed hidden spiritual traces in his runes.
• The flame revealed that the Little Poison Dragon Shedding Talisman and Shrinking Rune carried traces of White Madam’s spirit, while Su Changsheng’s other inspected arts showed no problems.
• The flame uncovered Authority over Life and Death beneath the Green Snake Breathing Method, and the original occupant’s voice awakened, asking who Su Changsheng was.

Su Changsheng discovered that the previous owner's soul had hidden within Authority over Life and Death, and used the Great Sun Flame to destroy it before it could seize control. His gains revealed a troubling memory linking Tushan Ya, Fox Woman Little Four, and the Spirit Plant Shop's stallholder, leaving him wary of Tushan Ya and closer to confronting the mysteries of Zhuyin Academy and the Longevity Dao Lord.

• Su Changsheng found the previous owner's soul concealed in Authority over Life and Death, where it claimed to be both a Half-Demon Green Snake and the Longevity Dao Lord.
• The previous owner tried to mislead Su Changsheng and then unleashed a mass of black mist, but Su Changsheng burned it away with the Great Sun Flame and purified the mark of Authority over Life and Death.
• Su Changsheng discovered that his cultivation aptitude and physical strength had more than doubled, and learned that the Great Sun Flame could purify his Sea of Consciousness.
• Su Changsheng examined fragmented memories and saw Tushan Ya with Fox Woman Little Four and the Spirit Plant Shop's stallholder near the Male Fox's stone house.
• Su Changsheng suspected Tushan Ya belonged to the Fox Book Yao Alliance and reconsidered her offer of a Forget Emotions Pill, while wondering whether she could see him across time and space.
• Su Changsheng resolved to remain cautious as he grew stronger and approached the secrets of Zhuyin Academy and the Longevity Dao Lord.

Deep in the Black Mountain Range, a blood-colored figure and a giant black turtle discussed a returning companion and their plans to exploit the chaos around the Black Mountain Demon Stockade. Su Changsheng reviewed the changes after eliminating his predecessor, recognized new dangers and opportunities in his abilities, and discovered that the Purification Talisman had given him the Candleflame talent.

• A blood-colored figure drew blood from a giant black turtle while discussing a companion who had reversed life and death and their plan to use the coming chaos as nourishment.
• Su Changsheng examined his changed status and realized his predecessor had hidden three years of life and nearly twenty thousand realm experience from him.
• Su Changsheng found that his Green Snake Breathing Method had gained experience and that his predecessor had raised Authority over Life and Death to proficiency.
• Su Changsheng reasoned that the Mirage Art and Authority over Life and Death might draw human nature and yao nature respectively, and decided to delay advancing Authority over Life and Death until he found a safe opportunity.
• Su Changsheng discovered that advancing the Purification Talisman Rune had granted him the new Candleflame talent.

Su Changsheng advanced Candleflame to lesser mastery, triggering a dramatic bloodline evolution that strengthened his body and produced bloodline essence blood. The chapter ended with Candleflame settled in his sea of consciousness and Su Changsheng considering whether he could use it to visualize the Great Sun.

• Su Changsheng invested survival points to improve Candleflame, discovering that its stronger light could cleanse and protect his sea of consciousness while revealing traces of his instincts and bloodline.
• After preparing his hidden cave and escape routes, Su Changsheng received 2,300 survival points for eliminating the threat of his predecessor.
• Su Changsheng spent 3,000 survival points to advance Candleflame to lesser mastery, and its flames absorbed sunlight and the energy of his Purification Talismans and Flame Runes.
• Candleflame’s flames coursed through Su Changsheng’s body, purifying it and driving his bloodline to evolve as his powers of fire, ice, and poison reached equilibrium.
• Su Changsheng developed bloodline essence blood, grew stronger and larger, and realized Candleflame might let him form a Great Sun Visualization Method.
• Candleflame returned to Su Changsheng’s sea of consciousness like a miniature sun, while a magma-bright line traced his spinal snake bone.

Su Changsheng completed a major bloodline and Candleflame breakthrough, gaining powerful fire, ice, and poison abilities before arriving at the Temporary Camp. He found Bai Ling and Yellow Immortal confronted by Bai Cang and the Wolf Pack, then stepped in to protect Bai Ling and challenge the six striped tigers.

• Su Changsheng advanced Candleflame to lesser mastery and found that his bloodline breakthrough greatly increased his strength, defenses, and control over fire, ice, and poison.
• Su Changsheng concealed his changes, used a Shrinking Rune, and headed to the Temporary Camp after deciding he needed to find a shrinking craft.
• Su Changsheng saw Bai Ling and Yellow Immortal facing Bai Cang, a seventh-level werewolf, and six sixth-level striped tigers claiming the Fox Book Yao Alliance had occupied Wolf Pack territory.
• Bai Cang ordered the six tigers to attack Bai Ling, who hesitated to reveal her hidden strength as the tigers closed in.
• Su Changsheng rushed in and blocked the tigers with his tail, then asked Bai Ling whether he could beat them to death.
• Su Changsheng tore through the tigers' combined demonic aura and challenged them to choose how they wanted to die.