Recaps

After slaying two Demon Sect True Lords, Chen Beiwu avoided returning to the Mirror Moon Sect, took Mo Li and Wang Hao under his wing, and considered how to use his growing fortune. He returned to the Immortal Alliance, intent on settling his old conflict with Xiao Yu, while news of his victory spread across the cultivation world.

• Chen Beiwu sensed grave danger in returning to the sect, so he stayed behind to guard Blackstone Gorge while Zhu Jinglong and Xin Yu returned to investigate a suspected traitor.
• Chen Beiwu offered Mo Li a place as his disciple, but she declined to preserve the possibility of a future relationship; when she chose to stay by his side, her great fortune transformed into a Fortune Crimson Dragon.
• Chen Beiwu accepted Wang Hao as an entry disciple and gave both him and Mo Li cultivation method jade slips before entering seclusion.
• Golden Egg, Iron Egg, Xuele, and Zhiling inventoried Yun Xi and Yu Qianpo's spoils, and Chen Beiwu decided not to risk laundering their illicit resources or refining the Ten-Thousand Souls Banner yet.
• Chen Beiwu considered Xiao Yu's Fortune Crimson Dragon fortune and resolved to return to the Immortal Alliance to kill him after completing the Nascent Soul Formation Ceremony.
• News that Chen Beiwu had defeated two opponents and slain two Demon Sect True Lords spread through Diyan, Western Expansion, and Yellow Expansion.

Ning Xuanji recruited the Blood Demon Venerable to kill Chen Zi'ang, while Zhao Caixuan chose to back the Mirror Moon Sect and clashed with Zhu Buwei. At the Jade Purity Immortal Sect, Chen Beiwu completed an initial refinement of the Nascent Soul-Nurturing Liquid and offered Chi Quan the chance to become his disciple.

• Ning Wujiu received news about Chen Zi'ang, sealed his cave, and vowed to form his Nascent Soul, while Ning Xuanji worried that the Mirror Moon Dao Child could damage his Dao Heart.
• Ning Xuanji offered the Blood Demon Venerable a Half-Step Spirit Transformation opportunity in exchange for Chen Zi'ang's life, and the Blood Demon Venerable accepted after demanding an advance payment.
• Zhao Caixuan told Zhu Buwei she would bet on the Mirror Moon Sect and pursue Spirit Transformation with Chen Zi'ang; Zhu Buwei opposed her, and their battle erupted across the Mysterious Female Sect.
• Zhu Shaoyuan and Zhu Qiong reviewed reports of Chen Zi'ang's victories, while Zhu Wuya ordered the punishment of a sect traitor and killed Lin Zimo, who escaped by using the Taiyi Three Truths Corpse-Severing Self-Proving Dao Register.
• Chen Beiwu swallowed the Nascent Soul-Nurturing Liquid and refined it for fourteen days before Yu Zhaohua and Chi Quan arrived ahead of the Nascent Soul Formation ceremony.
• Chi Quan thanked Chen Beiwu for teaching him a Core Formation method, and Chen Beiwu asked him to become his disciple.

Chen Beiwu guided his new disciple Chi Quan in repairing his damaged cultivation foundation and correcting his Crimson Mastiff’s cultivation path, then confronted the political pressures surrounding his Nascent Soul Formation Ceremony. As Chen Beiwu established the honorific True Martial, companion beasts across the Dao-Proving Plaza bowed and roared in homage, revealing the extraordinary reach of his heavenly mandate.

• Chen Beiwu diagnosed Chi Quan’s damaged foundation, gave him the Taiyi Five-Direction Golden Core Marvelous Method, and advised him to change the Crimson Mastiff’s cultivation method.
• Yu Zhaohua reminded Chen Beiwu of his planned meeting with Yu Zhaozhen, and he left Azure-Ming Peak with her.
• Xiao Yu learned the Ancient God Cult had voided their agreement over the primordial origin true essence, negotiated to continue the trade for a strand of primordial origin heavenly gang true Jie, and paused his plan against Chen Beiwu.
• The Five Great Grotto-Heavens sent their chiefs and lavish gifts to Chen Beiwu’s Nascent Soul Formation Ceremony, where he established the honorific True Martial.
• Chen Beiwu’s Dao resonance caused companion beasts throughout the plaza to kneel and roar in homage, and he sensed a sudden change within Nine-Breath Chaos.

Chen Beiwu turned the purple Qi in Chaos Heaven and Earth into a fortuitous encounter, while the Immortal Alliance prepared for war in the Cangyuan Realm and his fellow disciples chose to join the campaign. He then visited the Jade Purity Immortal Sect’s Cease-War Department to initiate a Life-and-Death Platform Contention against Xiao Yu, and the Spirit Transformation Venerable overseeing it reacted gravely to his choice.

• Chen Beiwu completed his Nascent Soul Formation ceremony, while the Five Great Grotto-Heavens Chiefs learned that the Immortal Alliance would prioritize military merit and combat strength because a powerful Great Thousand World had been discovered.
• Yue Chenfeng, Su Muyu, and the other Evergreen Lineage disciples decided to travel to the Cangyuan Realm to conquer Cloudmist Pool, but Chen Beiwu declined to join them.
• Chen Beiwu saw his parents depart, then watched Xu Ziqing leave for the Nine Refinements Upper Sect after she promised to form her core.
• Chen Beiwu used his divine ability to turn the purple Qi into a fortuitous encounter, exhausting his Primordial Origin True Essence as Golden Egg, Iron Egg, Xuele, and Zhiling replenished it.
• Chen Beiwu went to the Cease-War Department to initiate a Life-and-Death Platform Contention against Law-Breaking True Lord Xiao Yu, and the old Spirit Transformation Venerable asked if he was certain.

Chen Beiwu initiated Life-and-Death Platform Contention against Xiao Yu, and the sect approved the challenge despite Xiao Wangyu’s relation to the Xiao clan. Xiao Yu chose to accept after a dire divination and pressure from his father, while the sect gathered to watch; Chen Beiwu arrived at the Life-and-Death Tower, but Xiao Yu had not yet appeared.

• Xiao Wangyu revealed his ties to the Xiao Household, questioned Chen Beiwu, and confirmed that the Life-and-Death Platform Contention complied with sect rules.
• Xiao Yu received the notice, divined a portent of great calamity, and hesitated before Venerable Xuanyuan urged him not to retreat.
• News of the duel spread through the Jade Purity Immortal Sect, prompting Shen Yuanbao, Yu Zhaohua, Yu Zhaozhen, and Xiao Li to react and prepare to watch.
• Chen Beiwu considered the risks, gathered confidence from Golden Egg, Iron Egg, Xuele, Zhiling, and his fortune, then prepared for the scheduled duel.
• Two days later, Chen Beiwu appeared on the Life-and-Death Platform before a huge crowd, while Xiao Yu had yet to arrive.

Chen Beiwu and Xiao Yu began their Life-and-Death Platform Contention, and Xiao Yu’s companion beasts initially overwhelmed Chen Beiwu before he countered with his own. Xiao Yu then revealed his Heavenly Gang Dragon-Tiger True Form Dharma Form and combined-refining domain, leaving Chen Beiwu facing a far more dangerous battle.

• Xiao Wangyu invoked the sect’s rules and began the life-or-death contest between Chen Beiwu and Xiao Yu.
• Xiao Yu summoned the Black Bear Azure Flood Dragon and Mysterious Netherworld Tiger, and the tiger tore Chen Beiwu’s apparent body apart.
• Xiao Yu’s Heavenly Eye saw through Chen Beiwu’s illusion, but Golden Egg intercepted the flood dragon while Chen Beiwu struck Xiao Yu with the Primordial Origin World-Pacifying Seal.
• The Mysterious Netherworld Tiger protected Xiao Yu, who teleported clear of the seal and unleashed Crimson Radiance Nirvana Fire.
• Xiao Yu combined his dragon and tiger into the Heavenly Gang Dragon-Tiger True Form Dharma Form and spread his combined-refining true domain across the platform.
• Chen Beiwu manifested his Great Sun Shining, Five Qi Revolving, Three Aspects of Heaven and Earth Ascending into the Profound Primordial Origin Chaos Scenery as Yu Zhaozhen warned of Xiao Yu’s domain.

Chen Beiwu defeated and killed Xiao Yu on the Life-and-Death Platform after revealing that Xiao Yu had been trapped in an illusion. As Chen Beiwu was declared the victor, he sensed a brief fifth-tier calamity before it vanished and fourth-tier great fortune appeared in its place.

• Xiao Yu used his Dragon-Tiger True Form Dharma Form to suppress Chen Beiwu, but Xuele's Five-Qi Protection sheltered Chen Beiwu from the domain's erosion.
• Xiao Yu unleashed Dragon-Tiger Chaos-Cavern Great Annihilation True Form, and Chen Beiwu emerged in Five-Qi Gilded Armor with a Three-Pointed, Double-Edged Saber, his presence rising to Nascent Soul Late Stage.
• Chen Beiwu's saber struck Xiao Yu, who countered with the Yin-Yang Sword Formation and trapped him in Dragon-Tiger Law-Breaking, believing he had won.
• Chen Beiwu revealed that Xiao Yu had fallen into an illusion and had already destroyed his Dharma Form; he then annihilated Xiao Yu's body and Nascent Soul with his saber.
• Xiao Wangyu declared Chen Beiwu the victor, and the spectators cheered as Chen Beiwu sensed a black-hole-like calamity Qi before it disappeared and fourth-tier great fortune formed.

After killing Xiao Yu, Chen Beiwu sensed the danger posed by Venerable Xuanyuan and went to the Southern Wasteland to seek strength through battle. A vast ancient gate bearing the words “Grand Void” appeared at One-Line Sky, and Chen Beiwu learned that the Jade Purity Sect was responding to the newly revealed ruins.

• Venerable Xuanyuan accepted Xiao Yu’s death but was warned by the Jade Purity Sect Leader not to retaliate against Chen Beiwu.
• Chen Beiwu sensed lingering Calamity Qi, resolved to grow stronger, and used the Ten Directions Gate to return to the Southern Wasteland.
• At One-Line Sky, a blazing phenomenon destroyed a search party from the Flameburn Sect and revealed an ancient gate marked “Grand Void.”
• Chen Beiwu returned to Blackstone Gorge and learned that Shu You had advanced to Golden Core middle stage after contracting with a Soul-Devouring Beast.
• Clear Abyss True Lord Xin Yu told Chen Beiwu that High Antiquity Dao Lineage ruins had appeared at One-Line Sky.

Xin Yu told Chen Beiwu that a possible Grand Void Formation Sect Dao Formation legacy had emerged at One-Line Sky and invited him to explore it. Chen Beiwu declined after sensing danger, chose to prepare for the fight at Dragon-Breaking Cliff, and then gave his Beast Taming Lineage disciples training materials before entering seclusion.

• Xin Yu explained that the Flame Mountain ruins might be a Dao Formation legacy left by Myriad Radiance Blazing Sun True Venerable and asked Chen Beiwu to accompany her to One-Line Sky.
• Chen Beiwu sensed signs of calamity, declined Xin Yu's invitation, and warned her to be cautious before she teleported away.
• Chen Beiwu ordered Shu You to rest the forces for a week and then march to retake Dragon-Breaking Cliff.
• Yu Pan regretted having held Little Gray back, and Chen Beiwu promised rewards for service before answering the disciples' questions about beast cultivation.
• Chen Beiwu gave five jade slips to the confused disciples and said he would enter seclusion for three days to investigate the Battle-Devouring Demon Ape's knowledge of Blazing Sun True Venerable.

Chen Beiwu sparred with the Battle-Devouring Demon Ape in the Heavenly Evolution True Realm but could not overcome its overwhelming strength. Impressed by Chen Beiwu’s potential, the demon ape agreed to give him the inheritances and required him to spar again every hundred years.

• Chen Beiwu and his companions met the Battle-Devouring Demon Ape, which invited him to fight and recognized his growth to the Nascent Soul early stage.
• Golden Egg, Xuele, and Iron Egg supported Chen Beiwu, but the demon ape’s attacks broke through his defenses and its body withstood his counterattacks.
• Chen Beiwu entered the Myriad Spirits Calamity Transformation state and attacked with the Three-Pointed, Double-Edged Saber, but still failed to injure the demon ape and ended the spar.
• Chen Beiwu asked for the Heavenly Evolution True Realm’s inheritances, and the demon ape agreed in exchange for a spar every hundred years.
• The Battle-Devouring Demon Ape took Chen Beiwu to the Inheritance Stele and opened its space, telling him he could take whatever he wanted.

Chen Beiwu tried to claim the Heavenly Evolution Star-Dipper Disk, but its artifact spirit Xinling rejected him after testing his formation skills. When Chen Beiwu revealed star sand that could help the disk advance, Xinling accepted him as her master, and he demanded that she teach him the disk’s supreme-grade formation.

• Chen Beiwu entered the giant stele and encountered the Heavenly Evolution Star-Dipper Disk, whose artifact spirit Xinling tested his resolve and formation skills.
• Xinling’s Star-Dipper Life-Breath Seven-Kill Grand Formation overwhelmed Chen Beiwu’s spiritual avatar, and the disk rejected his attempt to become its master.
• Golden Egg trapped the disk with its Revolving Three Lights True Domain, but Xinling refused to yield, insisting that Chen Beiwu pass her trial.
• Chen Beiwu offered three grains of star sand, and Xinling recognized that they could help her advance the disk into a heaven-piercing profound treasure.
• Xinling accepted Chen Beiwu as her master, and he told her to teach him the Star-Dipper Life-Breath Seven-Kill Grand Formation.

Chen Beiwu bound the Heavenly Evolution Star-Dipper Disk, found the Five Aggregates Fruit, and offered the Battle-Devouring Demon Ape a cultivation method while seeking information about the Grand Void Formation Sect. Back at Blackstone Gorge, he learned that a Nascent Soul True Lord had died near Flame Mountain and prepared to lead his expedition to Dragon-Breaking Cliff.

• Chen Beiwu bound the Heavenly Evolution Star-Dipper Disk and began studying the four Formation Dao inheritances Xinling offered.
• Xuele found a Five Aggregates Fruit, and Chen Beiwu entrusted it to Xuele to cultivate; Golden Egg also found a genuine Nascent Soul Formation Pill.
• Chen Beiwu asked the Battle-Devouring Demon Ape about the Grand Void Formation Sect Ruins, learned that it would die if it left the Heavenly Evolution True Realm, and gave it the first level of the Great Freedom Chaos-Heaven Battle-Devouring Immortal Art.
• At Blackstone Gorge, Shu You told Chen Beiwu that the Azure Spirit Sect's True Lord Fuli, Jiang Buyao, had died after entering Flame Mountain and that the Grand Void Formation Sect's gates had not opened.
• Chen Beiwu noted that Dragon-Breaking Cliff now had only two stationed Nascent Soul cultivators as he prepared to lead the expedition there.

Chen Beiwu led the Mirror Moon Sect army to attack Dragon-Breaking Cliff, where Mo Buyun and Sun Tianyi prepared to defend against him. After the cliff’s formation trapped the vanguard in freezing baleful radiance, Chen Beiwu mounted Golden Egg and charged straight toward Mo Buyun.

• Mo Buyun learned that Chen Zi'ang, the Mirror Moon Dao Child known as True Martial True Lord, was advancing with four thousand cultivators, and Sun Tianyi volunteered to lead the allied army against him.
• Chen Beiwu’s army camped outside Dragon-Breaking Cliff, and Shu You explained that traitor Lin Ziqian had once surrendered the pass to the Blood Fortune Sect before Blood Marrow True Lord killed him.
• Chen Beiwu announced military rewards for taking the cliff and ordered his army to attack directly the next morning, despite warnings about the Six-Yin Clear Radiance Dragon-Breaking Absolute Formation.
• The five Rising Moon Generals led the Waning Moon Dao Soldiers into the formation, where Six-Yin Baleful Radiance froze their advance as the rest of the army provided support.
• Chen Beiwu mounted Golden Egg and charged past the trapped vanguard toward True Lord Bloodsource above Dragon-Breaking Cliff.

Chen Beiwu charged Dragon-Breaking Cliff while Mo Buyun and the allied cultivators tried to kill him and break the Mirror Moon Sect army. Chen Beiwu and his companions seized control of the battle, but the Three Sects’ allied forces still held the pass behind their defenses.

• Mo Buyun redirected the Blood-Transforming Pagoda Life-Slaying Platform toward Chen Beiwu, but Golden Egg shattered its blast and Xuele purified the resulting corrosion.
• The Scarlet Sun Sect launched Flame-Refining Nine Heavens at the Mirror Moon army, and Iron Egg blocked the arrows with his Great Heaven Pure Hell Aspect.
• Iron Egg absorbed and reflected the attack as a stronger crimson-gold rain of fire, forcing True Lord Scarlet Dragon to abandon his ambush and raise a defensive barrier.
• Chen Beiwu seized control of the Six-Yin Clear Radiance Dragon-Breaking Absolute Formation with Xinling’s help, freeing the Mirror Moon army and freezing Dragon-Breaking Cliff.
• The Azure Spirit Sect raised the Ten-Thousand-Green Everlasting Spirit Ancient Wall, while Iron Egg’s flames devastated the Scarlet Sun Sect forces and left barely over a thousand of its three thousand cultivators alive.

Chen Beiwu used the battle at Dragon-Breaking Cliff to test the Three Sects’ defenses, nearly destroying their stronghold before withdrawing his army. After assessing the casualties and the fortune he gained, he considered how to capture the cliff and received an offer of help from Xinling.

• The Waning Moon Dao Soldiers attacked Dragon-Breaking Cliff’s gates, but True Lord Scarlet Dragon sent out the Crimson Fire Chi Dragon to stop them.
• Chen Beiwu detonated the Six-Yin Severing Formation’s pivot, while Zhiling transported more than three thousand Mirror Moon Sect cultivators a hundred li away from the ensuing danger.
• Chen Beiwu attempted to strike True Lord Scarlet Dragon but withdrew when the Three Sects activated their defensive formations, then ordered the Mirror Moon army to retreat.
• Mo Bujun and True Lord Scarlet Dragon blamed each other for the heavy losses as the Three Sects’ allied army counted more than two thousand dead.
• Shu You reported the Mirror Moon Sect’s casualties, and Chen Beiwu ordered compensation for the fallen and treatment for the wounded before reviewing the fortune and calamity aura he had gained.
• Chen Beiwu considered how to capture Dragon-Breaking Cliff, and Xinling told him she had a way to help.

Chen Beiwu withdrew the Mirror Moon Sect army, then secretly acquired a formation-breaking treasure and infiltrated Dragon-Breaking Cliff with Xuele. He used a hidden soul-killing technique to kill Mo Buyun and left to target True Lord Scarlet Dragon next.

• Xinling proposed using star sand to strengthen the Heavenly Evolution Star-Dipper Disk and help break Dragon-Breaking Cliff's formations, but Chen Beiwu refused to rely on the plan.
• Chen Beiwu ordered the Mirror Moon Sect army to retreat to Blackstone Gorge, while Mo Buyun mocked the withdrawal and gave True Lord Scarlet Dragon a Grand Void Formation Sect true disciple token.
• Chen Beiwu returned to the Immortal Alliance, negotiated with Immortal Tortoise, and bought an Earth-Aspect Origin-Returning Pearl for five thousand five hundred upper grade spirit stones.
• Three days later, Chen Beiwu used Xuele's concealment ability to infiltrate Dragon-Breaking Cliff and began searching for the formation pivot nodes.
• Chen Beiwu silently killed Mo Buyun with the Silence Illuminates Myriad Forms Profound Light Thorn, then killed the female cultivator who witnessed it.
• Chen Beiwu vanished from the hall with Xuele and set his next target as True Lord Scarlet Dragon.

Chen Beiwu ambushed Sun Tianyi at Dragon-Breaking Cliff, but the Crimson Fire Chi Dragon and the three sects’ forces threatened to overwhelm him. Xuele turned the pass’s formations against their masters, letting Chen Beiwu kill Sun Tianyi, while the Crimson Fire Chi Dragon offered to end their grudge.

• Sun Tianyi survived Chen Beiwu’s first soul attack with his Soul-Guarding Profound Pendant, while Iron Egg’s Karmic Fire Heeding Sin was suppressed by the Crimson Fire Chi Dragon’s true domain.
• Chen Beiwu and his beasts fought Sun Tianyi and the Crimson Fire Chi Dragon as the dragon considered switching partners and the allied forces gathered around them.
• The three sects’ formations sealed Chen Beiwu and his companions in, but Xuele activated the Earth-Aspect Origin-Returning Pearl and sent Dragon-Breaking Cliff’s earth veins and formations out of control.
• Chen Beiwu appeared behind Sun Tianyi and killed him, then took his storage bag as the allied forces were devastated by the rampaging earth veins.
• The Crimson Fire Chi Dragon chose not to stop Chen Beiwu and asked to end its grievances with him now that Sun Tianyi was dead.

Chen Zi'ang seized Dragon-Breaking Cliff alone, killed True Lord Scarlet Dragon Sun Tianyi, and secured the Crimson Fire Chi Dragon's shed reverse scale before ordering the Three Sects' survivors captured. News of his victory reached the Earth Evolution Realm Five Great Sects, whose leaders doubted the reports and looked to Zhu Wuya for an explanation.

• Shu You's army reached Dragon-Breaking Cliff, and Yu Pan reported that Chen Zi'ang had supposedly destroyed its formations and killed two Nascent Soul True Lords alone.
• Chen Beiwu demanded the Crimson Fire Chi Dragon's shed reverse scale, and the dragon agreed to surrender it in exchange for settling their grievances.
• Chen Beiwu refused to slaughter the fleeing Three Sects' cultivators and ordered Shu You and Jiang Yuyan to capture them and bring them to Blackstone Gorge.
• The Five Great Sects' leaders discussed the Eight Desolations Sect's plans for the Grand Void Formation Sect Ruins and debated whether to bring in another Spirit Transformation power.
• A report claimed that Chen Zi'ang had defeated the Three Sects' army and taken Dragon-Breaking Cliff, prompting the sect masters to doubt the news and turn toward Zhu Wuya.

After Chen Zi'ang captured Dragon-Breaking Cliff, the sect leaders weighed the threat his growing reputation posed while turning their attention to the Grand Void Formation Sect Ruins. On the journey back to Blackstone Gorge, Chen Beiwu watched his fortune surge and wondered how much more he could gain by unifying the Earth Evolution Realm.

• Zhu Wuya heard the sect leaders discuss Chen Zi'ang's victory and warned that the Earth Evolution Realm's scarce Spirit Vigor made reaching Spirit Transformation difficult.
• Zhu Wuya proposed bringing in the Heavenly Craft Talisman Sect, explaining that its aging Spirit Transformation Venerable might be tempted by treasures and inheritances in the Grand Void Formation Sect Ruins.
• Mo Zijin, Sun Wenshi, and the Azure Spirit Sect's master blamed one another for the allied forces' disastrous defeat at Dragon-Breaking Cliff until Ning Hongye restored order and refocused them on the ruins.
• Zhuo Buwei considered secretly backing Junior Sister Zhao and resolved to seek a Spirit Transformation Pill in the ruins so he could attempt Spirit Transformation himself.
• On the way back to Blackstone Gorge, Chen Beiwu saw his fortune keep rising after the capture and imagined how much he might accumulate by conquering the Earth Evolution Realm.

Chen Beiwu returned to Blackstone Gorge with four thousand prisoners and began assigning seized resources to his companions. He ordered Shu You to recruit at least half the prisoners into the Beast Taming Lineage, leaving her stunned but obedient.

• Chen Beiwu brought the captured Three Sects cultivators and seized resources back to Blackstone Gorge, where the Mirror Moon cultivators welcomed his victory.
• Chen Beiwu let Zhiling choose a token that could enable fixed-point teleportation and suspected it was connected to the Grand Void Formation Sect Ruins.
• Shu You reported that the prisoners had been settled and explained the sect’s usual ways of handling captives.
• Chen Beiwu asked how many prisoners could join the Beast Taming Lineage and declared that he wanted at least half of them recruited.
• Shu You accepted Chen Beiwu’s order and promised to carry it out despite her doubts.

Chen Beiwu announced plans to turn Blackstone Gorge into Protectorate City, using merit-based household registration and fair treatment of prisoners to build support for the Beast Taming Lineage. After prisoners received Azure Rice and learned they could earn advancement, freedom, or entry into the lineage, Chen Beiwu promised that Protectorate City would protect anyone who obeyed its posted laws.

• Chen Beiwu ordered Shu You to rename Blackstone Gorge Protectorate City, establish craft offices, and create merit points and a seven-grade household registration system for disciples and allied prisoners.
• Chen Beiwu forbade guards from abusing prisoners, and Mirror Moon cultivators distributed Azure Rice to the captives that night.
• Li Quan and other prisoners ate the rice, while the Golden Core captives inferred that Chen Beiwu still considered them useful.
• Chen Beiwu explained the registration system to the gathered prisoners, offering paths from hard labor to freedom or service in the Beast Taming Lineage.
• Chen Beiwu promised that eligible true servants could become his named disciples or receive his guidance on Core Formation.
• Chen Beiwu assured Li Quan that Protectorate City would be an absolutely safe zone for those who obeyed its laws, and that he would personally suppress anyone who attacked within it.

Chen Beiwu oversaw the creation of Protectorate City before receiving a mandatory ten-year garrison assignment at Ten Thousand Layer Mountain. At the sealed Ten Thousand Layer Fief, he discovered a beast claw in the ancient well and realized the supposedly dead being beneath it was still alive.

• Shu You held a Reporting Assembly, and reports against fellow cultivators led to 821 allied prisoners being made penal servants while 2,837 agreed to help build Protectorate City.
• Chen Beiwu gave Shu You plans for Protectorate City and its defensive formation, then returned to the Immortal Alliance as construction began.
• Chen Beiwu received a mandatory ten-year mission as garrison envoy of Ten Thousand Layer Mountain and traveled to Earth Abyss Xidong.
• Liu Yuanming reported that Ten Thousand Layer Mountain and its fief were quiet, and Chen Beiwu went with him to inspect the fief.
• Chen Beiwu saw purple Qi and a beast claw inside the sealed ancient well, realizing that the being beneath Ten Thousand Layer Mountain was alive.

Chen Beiwu learned about the sealed ancient well and the Heaven-Grade Mist Calamity expected in nine years, then discovered the city’s grand formation could withstand a powerful demon attack until reinforcements arrived. While Liu Yuanming and two other officials secretly agreed to a scheme timed around the calamity, Chen Beiwu sensed a growing danger and set out to explore Ten Thousand Layer Mountain City in secret.

• Chen Beiwu questioned Liu Yuanming about the ancient well and learned that a Heaven-Grade Mist Calamity might strike in nine years, bringing powerful demons into the Earth Abyss.
• Liu Yuanming showed Chen Beiwu the Two Forms Heavenly Splendor Heaven-Transforming Grand Formation, which could hold off even a Fifth-Realm Demon Venerable for a quarter of an hour.
• Liu Yuanming, Bai Yi, and Chang Ming secretly agreed to carry out a deal for the Tianyuan Xiao Clan shortly before the calamity, despite the risk of being exposed.
• Chen Beiwu refined fortune from the cultivators who had pledged allegiance to him and learned that Golden Egg, Iron Egg, Xuele, and Zhiling felt drawn toward something deep in the Earth Abyss.
• Chen Beiwu sensed that Ten Thousand Layer Mountain concealed secrets and set out with Golden Egg and the others to explore the city unseen.

Chen Beiwu discovered that officials in Ten Thousand Layer Mountain were secretly exploiting the outer city's Spirit Clans to cultivate Blood Amber Orchids and began investigating the scheme. After confronting the Garrison Office's senior officers, he suspected they knew more than they admitted.

• Chen Beiwu brought his Companion Beasts into the outer city, where they saw Spirit Clans teaching, a Half-Spirit woman, and injured Demon Beasts being taken away.
• Chen Beiwu found Li Yuan and a gray-robed cultivator processing captured Demon Beasts for the Pure Fire Bureau, killed the gray-robed cultivator, and forced Li Yuan to reveal the scheme.
• Chen Beiwu secretly investigated the names Li Yuan provided and traced the Blood Amber Orchid operation to mid-ranking members of the Pure Fire Bureau, Healing Bureau, and Garrison Office.
• Chen Beiwu summoned Liu Yuanming, Bai Yi, and Chang Ming and confronted them with evidence that officials had harmed Spirit Clans to supply blood and materials for Blood Amber Orchids.
• Liu Yuanming, Bai Yi, and Chang Ming denied knowing about the crimes, but Chen Beiwu suspected them because their sinful karma was considerable.

Chen Beiwu disciplined three officials over the Blood Amber case and remained in seclusion while Protectorate City expanded in the Southern Wasteland. When he learned the Heavenly Craft Merchant Association had reserved Illuminating Heart Marrow for True Lord Shangyu, he summoned steward Zhao Yikun and offered Nascent Soul insights to bring a negotiator with authority; Zhao was left weighing the extraordinary offer.

• Chen Beiwu rejected Golden Egg’s suggestion to kill Liu Yuanming, Bai Yi, and Chang Ming without evidence, and reassigned them pending investigation while barring them from leaving Ten Thousand Layer Mountain City.
• Liu Yuanming, Bai Yi, and Chang Ming left the Garrison Office appearing relieved, believing their plan to hand over buried problems had gone smoothly.
• Chen Beiwu entered seclusion, while restless cultivators in Ten Thousand Layer Mountain City began stirring again.
• Chen Beiwu visited Protectorate City and told Shu You to focus on building the Protector-General Marketplace, promising to attract powerful cultivators after it opened.
• Shu You reported that the Heavenly Craft Merchant Association held the only available portion of Illuminating Heart Marrow, already reserved for True Lord Shangyu, so Chen Beiwu arranged a meeting with steward Zhao Yikun.
• Chen Beiwu demanded that Zhao bring an authorized negotiator and offered insights into forging a Pure Yang Nascent Soul, leaving Zhao stunned and tempted by the prospect of promotion.