Chapter Summaries

Qing Chen learned that the Impermanence Sect had attacked Mysterious Dawn Island, a vital Condensed Jade Sect Spirit Stone source, alongside Blackwood Island. The island remained in Condensed Jade Sect hands after its First and Sixth Grand Elders fought the invaders to a draw.

• Qing Chen asked Di Huaiyi about another major battle, and Di Huaiyi identified it as the battle of Mysterious Dawn Island.
• Di Huaiyi and Xue Yubing explained that the Impermanence Sect had sent three Core Formation cultivators and numerous Foundation Establishment cultivators to seize the island.
• Di Huaiyi said the attack might have been driven by depleted Spirit Stone veins and the Condensed Jade Sect's uncertain leadership, and revealed that Impermanence True Person had secretly reached late Core Formation.
• Di Huaiyi told Qing Chen that the First and Sixth Grand Elders had defended Mysterious Dawn Island, forcing the attackers into a draw and keeping the island under Condensed Jade Sect control.
• Qing Chen realized that the sect had anticipated the danger and arranged its defenses well in advance.

Xue Yubing explained the Condensed Jade Sect’s two-front war and the threats surrounding its spirit stone mine, leaving Qing Chen worried that the remaining Golden Core power might join the siege. After collecting his Foundation Establishment benefits and settling on Earth Jade Island, Qing Chen prepared to cultivate the Mingwang Scripture, a body-refining method that used baleful energy.

• Xue Yubing described the Mysterious Dawn and Sea Prosperity battlefields, the forces deployed, and the rival sects’ demand for a share of the spirit stone vein.
• Qing Chen considered the sect’s strained position and the danger of another Golden Core power joining the war, then collected three years of stipend and returned to his cave abode.
• Qing Chen reviewed his new Foundation Establishment benefits, including spirit stones, a shield, Celebration Cloud Peak, and a choice of mystic-grade cultivation method.
• Qing Chen decided to strengthen his physique and blood qi because his Mystic Arts depended on them and his previous blood-aperture method was no longer useful.
• Gu Jianchun recommended the Mingwang Scripture, which tempered the body with baleful energy left where living beings died.

After three years of cultivation, Qing Chen reported to the Condensed Jade Sect’s Elder Hall to receive his sect assignment. The Evil-Punishing Elder appointed him a Twelve Routes Inspector over four Second-Level Islands, including Mysterious Mountain Island, and gave him the materials he needed to begin his duties.

• Qing Chen traveled to Condensed Jade Main Peak after receiving the Council of Elders’ decree, hoping to avoid being assigned as a Sect Protector.
• Qing Chen met the Evil-Punishing Elder, who praised his steady cultivation after three years.
• The Evil-Punishing Elder appointed Qing Chen as one of the Condensed Jade Sect’s Twelve Routes Inspectors and assigned him four Second-Level Islands, including the Yue Household’s Mysterious Mountain Island.
• Qing Chen accepted the Command Token and promised to uphold the Sect Laws and protect the sect’s interests.
• The Evil-Punishing Elder gave Qing Chen a Sea Chart and a scroll of Sect Laws, explaining his authority to mobilize nearby Qi Refining disciples or request aid from the sect.

Qing Chen began his new post as Twelve Routes Inspector and visited the Yue Household, whose support had helped secure his appointment. He reunited with old acquaintances and discussed his marriage to Yue Lingshan, leaving the Yue alliance on cordial terms.

• The Evil-Punishing Elder warned Qing Chen about the responsibilities of the Inspector post and gave him an Inspection Jurisdiction Sea Map.
• Qing Chen set out aboard the Mysterious Blood Warship with Gao Yuliang, Xu Xiake, Su Zixuan, Pan Yuelian, and about twenty Qi Refining Stage disciples.
• Yue Xipo and Yue Chengfeng welcomed Qing Chen at Mysterious Mountain City, where he had once stood behind Gu Jianchun as a minor figure.
• Qing Chen greeted Yue Xipo and Yue Chengfeng as Inspector, and the Yue Household pledged its support.
• Yue Xipo raised Qing Chen’s marriage to Yue Lingshan, and Qing Chen addressed him as Father-in-law.

Yue Lingshan refused to marry Qing Chen, but Yue Xipo threatened Lin Changsheng’s life until she agreed to become Qing Chen’s Dao Companion. She left the encounter feeling that her freedom and affection for her family had been destroyed.

• Yue Lingshan burst into the Reception Hall and declared that she would not marry Qing Chen.
• Yue Xipo took Yue Lingshan to a side hall and insisted that she obey the Yue Household’s marriage arrangement for the Lineage’s interests.
• Yue Lingshan told Yue Xipo that she loved someone and did not want to become Qing Chen’s Dao Companion.
• Yue Xipo threatened Lin Changsheng, revealing that he knew Yue Lingshan loved him and could have him killed.
• Yue Lingshan agreed to marry Qing Chen to protect Lin Changsheng, while Yue Xipo assured her that Lin would remain safe.

Qing Chen received Yue Xipo’s advice on his new Inspector duties and set out to bring the islands in his jurisdiction under control. As he traveled toward Mysterious Constancy Island, he diverted to wipe out the Thirteen Bandits of Yin Mountain, while the Yue Household’s hidden plans remained unclear.

• Yue Xipo explained that Qing Chen’s jurisdiction covered four islands and warned him that the Chang Household on Mysterious Constancy Island might obstruct his inspection.
• Yue Xipo advised Qing Chen to reflect on danger, retreat, and change, and said that bringing the Chang Household to heel would help secure the other islands.
• Qing Chen organized records of the Yue Household’s cooperation and departed for Mysterious Constancy Island.
• Yue Xipo spoke with an unseen elder brother, who called Qing Chen a possible pawn in the Yue Household’s plans.
• Qing Chen changed course aboard the Mysterious Blood Warship and wiped out the Thirteen Bandits of Yin Mountain, drawing questions from Gao Yuliang and praise from Xu Xiake.

Qing Chen arrived at Mysterious Constancy Island, where the Chang Household staged a provocative welcome and presented him with a dismounting stone. He overwhelmed Chang Zhichong with his divine sense and struck Chang Wan down, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Qing Chen counted more than thirty water-bandit cultivators among the corpses aboard the Mysterious Blood Warship and ordered Gao Yuliang and Xu Xiake to prepare to land.
• Qing Chen and the Condensed Jade Sect party found mortals performing a boisterous welcome at the docks, but no cultivators were present.
• Chang Zhichong and Chang Wan arrived with cultivators from the island's lineages and offered Qing Chen a dismounting stone as a gift.
• Qing Chen used his Demon Seed Divine Sense to suppress Chang Zhichong and Chang Wan at once, overpowering Chang Zhichong's defenses.
• Qing Chen struck Chang Wan with a blow that sent him crashing through banner poles and left him badly injured.

Qing Chen forced Chang Zhichong to pay five middle-grade spirit stones, then displayed the heads of the Thirteen Bandits of Yin Mountain to the people of Mysterious Constancy Island. Gao Yuliang declared that Qing Chen’s arrival would bring peace, as the Condensed Jade Sect made its authority clear.

• Qing Chen threatened Chang Zhichong with the Three Yin Sword Formation while Condensed Jade Sect cultivators surrounded him aboard the Mysterious Blood Warship.
• Chang Zhichong tried to settle the confrontation, but Qing Chen demanded five middle-grade spirit stones.
• Chang Silang arrived, apologized on Chang Zhichong’s behalf, and gave Qing Chen the five middle-grade spirit stones.
• Qing Chen withdrew the sword formation and suspended dozens of heads from his Storage Bag, including leaders of the Thirteen Bandits of Yin Mountain.
• Gao Yuliang told the gathered crowd that the bandits had been slain for defying Qing Chen and the Condensed Jade Sect.

Qing Chen destroyed the Thirteen Bandits of Yin Mountain and used their deaths to establish his authority before the crowd, turning the Chang Household’s attempt to put him in his place against them. He faced Chang Silang as the crowd hailed him as a just and honorable lord.

• Qing Chen dropped the bandits’ severed heads before the crowd, and people who had suffered under them vented their anger on the remains.
• Qing Chen reflected that the bandits had secretly served the Chang Household and that killing them had strengthened his authority.
• Qing Chen had used the Mysterious Blood Warship, the Three Yin Sword Formation, Su Zixuan’s formation expertise, and the Spider-Mantis Essence-Devouring Formation to defeat the bandits and break through their island’s defenses.
• Qing Chen and the Condensed Jade Sect cultivators killed all the Thirteen Bandits of Yin Mountain.
• Qing Chen stood opposite Chang Silang as someone remarked, “Inspector Qing, what an imposing official you are.”

Qing Chen arrived on Mysterious Constancy Island and confronted the Chang Household’s influence over the inspector’s residence. After finding the residence abandoned except for Deng Ziyue, he ordered Gao Yuliang to arrest the absent disciples at the Chang estate, leaving the conflict with the Chang Household poised to escalate.

• Chang Silang welcomed Qing Chen to the city with veiled hostility, then discussed striking back with Chang Zhichong.
• Qing Chen found the inspector’s residence dilapidated and learned that the previous inspector had lived in luxury at the Chang Household’s estate.
• Qing Chen ordered his disciples to search the residence and found only Deng Ziyue, who said the other stationed disciples were at the Chang estate.
• Qing Chen sent Gao Yuliang with the Command Token to arrest the absent disciples and treat the Chang Household as an accomplice if it obstructed him.
• Qing Chen entered the inspector’s residence, explaining that he would stay there but could not move in easily while the Chang Household opposed him.

Qing Chen arranged for Su Zixuan and Pan Yuelian to carry out a plan on Hidden Spirit Island, then publicly punished the Mysterious Constancy Island Inspector's residence disciples for neglecting their duties. After Qing Chen executed their defiant leader, the gathered disciples rushed to report his crimes to save themselves.

• Qing Chen explained his Hidden Spirit Island plans to Su Zixuan and Pan Yuelian, gave Su Zixuan a Storage Bag, and warned them to prioritize their safety.
• After receiving a Voice Transmission Talisman, Qing Chen went outside with the two women and found Gao Yuliang and Xu Xiake holding the stationed disciples accountable before a crowd that included Chang Zhishen and the three great lineages.
• Qing Chen ordered Gao Yuliang to execute a defiant disciple who claimed powerful family connections and had neglected his duties.
• When the captive tried to resist, Qing Chen used a Three Yin Sword Formation to kill him, then ordered the other stationed disciples to report his crimes within fifteen minutes.
• The frightened stationed disciples hurriedly accused the dead cultivator of further offenses, while the Chang, Liu, and Cao Household disciples were cowed by Qing Chen's methods.

Qing Chen summoned Mysterious Constancy Island’s lineage heads to assess their forces and proposed a joint campaign against the Black Tiger Water Stronghold. When they refused to spare Foundation Establishment cultivators, he settled for a campaign against lesser river bandit strongholds, departing in one month.

• Qing Chen assigned Deng Ziyue to manage the Inspector’s Manor and ordered the island’s lineage heads to assemble in seven days.
• Qing Chen demanded reports on each lineage’s cultivators and the forces sent to the two battlefields.
• Qing Chen proposed a joint operation against the Black Tiger Water Stronghold, but Chang Silang and other lineage heads said they could not spare Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Qing Chen ordered the lineages to send Qi Refining Stage cultivators to attack lesser river bandit strongholds in one month, then left the hall.

Qing Chen ordered Gao Yuliang to coordinate hidden agents and monitor the island’s major Lineages. At a Market Ward, a young cultivator bid on two supposed ancestral treasures as the stall owner kept raising their price, until a disguised seventh-layer qi refining cultivator revealed himself and joined the bidding.

• Qing Chen told Gao Yuliang to contact hidden agents and closely watch the Chang, Cao, and Liu Households.
• An elderly stall owner in the Market Ward offered a low-grade shield Dharma Artifact and two supposed ancestral treasures to a young cultivator.
• The stall owner raised the price of the two treasures to one hundred spirit stones, and the young cultivator agreed to buy them.
• A boorish cultivator offered one hundred and twenty spirit stones, prompting the young cultivator to bid one hundred and fifty.
• The boorish cultivator removed his human-skin mask and revealed his seventh-layer qi refining cultivation.

A member of the Three Pythons Bandits stole a supposed treasure map and abducted a young cultivator, sparking rumors about the map’s destination. The Chang Household chose the bandits as a target for its suppression assignment and planned to use the operation to undermine Qing Chen.

• The third leader of the Three Pythons Bandits seized an incomplete scroll from an old man, knocked out a young cultivator, and escaped with him.
• Cultivators in Mysterious Constancy City spread conflicting rumors that the scroll mapped a treasure site, including a ruin linked to a Condensed Jade Sect elder.
• A young cultivator of the Chang Household overheard the rumors and hurried back to report them.
• Chang Zhishen and Chang Silang discussed choosing the Three Pythons Bandits as a target while avoiding the private troops of major lineages.
• Chang Silang approved the plan to defeat and recruit the bandits, hoping to find the map and use the assignment to put Qing Chen in a difficult position.

Chang Wan led Mysterious Constancy Island’s allied forces to Three Pythons Island, where they found the Three Pythons Bandits apparently slaughtered by a powerful demonic cultivator. Suspecting the Treasure Map was involved, the cultivators searched the island for plunder, unaware that a hidden observer was watching them.

• Chang Silang ordered Chang Wan to command the allied forces against the Three Pythons Bandits while Gao Yuliang explained that Qing Chen was recuperating in seclusion.
• Chang Wan led six Flying Boats and forty or fifty cultivators to Three Pythons Island, where they found the island’s formation inactive and the settlement eerily deserted.
• The cultivators found battle traces and dead mortals but no bandit corpses, and they suspected a powerful Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator had attacked.
• Chang Wan suggested the Treasure Map might have motivated the attack and ordered the cultivators to search the island while claiming they had defeated the bandits.
• The cultivators spread across the mountain stronghold, while a concealed shadow watched them with killing intent.

Qing Chen manipulated Chang Ping'an into uncovering the bandit chief’s hidden room, then used the ensuing fight to draw cultivators together while he slipped away. He focused on increasing his strength through upgraded formation flags, body tempering, and corpse puppets.

• Qing Chen used the White Bone Demon Mara Banner to guide Chang Ping'an to a hidden room containing a Beast-Skin Scroll, a damaged Jade Pendant, and a glowing Jade Slip.
• Liu Dahe and Cao Liang arrived and attacked Chang Ping'an over the treasures, wounding him before other cultivators came to investigate.
• Chang Wan and the other cultivators found the disorder as Qing Chen quietly left, satisfied that events had unfolded as planned.
• Qing Chen resolved to improve the Spider-Mantis Essence-Devouring Formation by having Su Zixuan refine Foundation Establishment-level grudge soul threads into stronger formation flags.
• Qing Chen abandoned the life-corpse path after the Brahma Demon-Refining Art obstructed his progress, choosing the Mingwang Scripture for body tempering and planning to make hairy jiangshi and armored corpses.

Qing Chen returned from Three Pythons Island after secretly eliminating the rogue cultivators involved and rewarding Gao Yuliang. At a victory banquet, the island’s household heads claimed a mole had helped the bandits and proposed sending only part of their forces to attack Black Tiger Water Stronghold while Foundation Establishment cultivators guarded Mysterious Constancy Island.

• Chang Wan secured the three treasures and persuaded the gathered cultivators to return to Mysterious Constancy Island without revealing what had happened.
• Qing Chen questioned Gao Yuliang, learned that the operation’s participants had been dealt with, and gave him the Red Bone Armor.
• Seven days later, Chang Silang lamented the Chang Household’s losses at a victory banquet, while Liu Lie claimed a mole had revealed the island’s plans to the bandits.
• Cao Yuan said the Three Pythons Bandits had allied with Black Tiger Water Stronghold and that Feilong had helped them escape defeat.
• Qing Chen feigned outrage and agreed to lead an assault on Black Tiger Water Stronghold with Chang Zhishen.
• Chang Silang proposed that Chang and Cao each send one Foundation Establishment cultivator to lead the attack while the other cultivators stayed to defend Mysterious Constancy Island.

Chang Silang and Mysterious Constancy Island’s lineages deceived Qing Chen while secretly assembling an allied force to claim a treasure site. The army reached Hidden Spirit Island, where Cao Zheng and Chang Zhan recognized signs of a concealed manor and prepared to search it cautiously.

• Chang Silang persuaded Qing Chen to remain on Mysterious Constancy Island while the lineages secretly organized their expedition.
• Chang Silang and the lineage heads hosted Qing Chen with banquets and gifts as their forces departed in small groups.
• Qing Chen recognized that the Jade Slip and Treasure Map pointed to Hidden Spirit Island, the site of Cao Banxian’s former visit.
• The allied army gathered near Hidden Spirit Island, whose grand array concealed its spiritual energy and the abandoned manor within.
• Cao Zheng and Chang Zhan sensed the island’s hidden secrets and warned Household Head Liu that the False Core Demonic Cultivator’s manor could be dangerous.
• Chang Silang led the allied forces in pursuit of the manor’s treasures and cultivation methods, backed by nearly two hundred Qi Refining cultivators and four hundred Force Martial Artists.

Mysterious Constancy Island's allied force attacked the cave abode's restored restrictions, while Qing Chen and Su Zixuan revealed that they had prepared an elaborate ambush. The battle formations' spells overwhelmed the defenses, leaving the restrictions flickering under pressure.

• Chang Zhan, Cao Zheng, and Liu Lie led Mysterious Constancy Island's large force toward the cave abode of a Pseudo-Core demonic cultivator.
• Su Zixuan told Qing Chen that the enemy force exceeded expectations, and Qing Chen welcomed the chance to spring the trap they had prepared at great cost.
• The allied force arranged its Qi Refining cultivators into battle formations and unleashed Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens, Heaven-Sealing Ice, and Quicksand Burial Realm against the restrictions.
• The restrictions retaliated with a rain of arrow-light, and the force-wielding martial warriors took heavy casualties while shielding the battle formations.
• The three battle formation spells battered the restrictions until their light flickered and their self-repair began to falter.

Qing Chen and Su Zixuan used the Cave Abode’s defenses and formations to ambush Chang Zhan, Liu Lie, Cao Zheng, and their forces after the attackers broke through the ward. The chapter ended as the three Foundation Establishment cultivators formed a Three Powers Formation to face thirteen enormous Spiritual Power pythons.

• Chang Zhan, Liu Lie, and Cao Zheng combined their attacks to shatter the Cave Abode’s ward and lead their remaining forces inside.
• Qing Chen told Su Zixuan that the Spirit Restriction had exposed the attackers’ hidden cards and that more traps awaited them.
• Qing Chen released hundreds of Grudge Ghosts and over a hundred White Bone Demon Soldiers, forming the Hundred Ghosts Walk at Night and Hundred-Demon Battle formations.
• Su Zixuan activated the restored Thirteen-Road Spirit Snake Formation, raising thirteen enormous Spiritual Power pythons to attack the intruders.
• Chang Zhan, Liu Lie, and Cao Zheng formed a Three Powers Formation as the pythons lunged at them.