Chapter Summaries

Tie Ming told Qing Chen that the Immortal Dynasty planned to send five hundred thousand cultivators to the Lingnan Circuit, dividing them between the defense of Lingzhou and raids in Qiongzhou. Qing Chen weighed the dangers and asked about the three forces pursuing him as Tie Ming began identifying them.

• Tie Ming told Qing Chen that two hundred thousand drafted cultivators had been sent to Mysterious Prefecture after the Lingnan Circuit's collapse.
• Tie Ming revealed orders to combine those troops with three hundred thousand from the Gou Wu Whale Army and send them to the Lingnan Circuit to defend Lingzhou.
• Tie Ming explained that one hundred thousand troops from the Gou Wu Whale Army and one hundred thousand elite Dao Soldiers would attack Qiongzhou to disrupt the King of Annan's rear.
• Qing Chen compared the deadly Lingzhou front with the dangerous opportunities of the Qiongzhou campaign as Tie Ming urged him to join forces.
• Qing Chen asked about the groups searching for him, and Tie Ming named the Qing Household, the Infinite Extremity Devil Palace, and the Snake Spirit Way.

Tie Ming offered Qing Chen protection from the Qing Household and the Infinite Extremity Devil Palace in exchange for carving out a foothold in Qiongzhou for the Iron Household. Qing Chen accepted the arrangement by kneeling and swearing loyalty to Tie Ming.

• Tie Ming said his Iron Household connections could secure Qing Chen an independent command and shield him from his enemies as he headed to Qiongzhou.
• Tie Ming proposed an alliance, asking Qing Chen to establish a foundation in Qiongzhou for both the Iron Household and himself.
• Qing Chen recognized that Tie Ming’s offer made him a subordinate pawn, but decided that protection and a chance to gain resources mattered more than pride.
• Qing Chen knelt before Tie Ming and pledged to serve as his loyal general, promising to follow his orders and fight for his cause.
• Tie Ming looked down at Qing Chen and showed genuine satisfaction at his pledge.

Tie Ming accepted Qing Chen as his subordinate and assigned him to lead troops into Qiongzhou, while the Immortal Dynasty’s commanders planned a major campaign to defend Heavenly Abyss Pass and strike into the region. The chapter ended as Wei Ting called for commanders to lead the three Qiongzhou forces.

• Tie Ming revealed his face, praised Qing Chen, and accepted him as a subordinate in exchange for Qing Chen’s support and ambition.
• Tie Ming ordered Qing Chen to lead two hundred thousand detached troops into Qiongzhou, advancing through Yuxi, Miaochong, and Pingnan Prefectures.
• A month later, Qing Chen attended a military council where Wei Ting announced that four hundred thousand troops would reinforce Heavenly Abyss Pass.
• Wei Ting ordered another two hundred thousand detached troops to invade Qiongzhou and described the targets and forces for three separate attacks.
• Wei Ting asked the gathered officers to recommend or volunteer commanders for the three Qiongzhou forces.

As the commanders debated who should lead the perilous campaign into Qiongzhou, Tie Ming nominated Qing Chen, whose ability and experience were challenged by True Lord Yunmiao. Deputy Commander Tie Shou and Chan Master Wuxiang backed the nomination, leaving Qing Chen’s candidacy strongly defended but not yet resolved.

• The commanders argued over candidates to lead the attack on Qiongzhou’s three prefectures while Qing Chen watched from the shadows.
• Tie Ming nominated Qing Chen to command a contingent, prompting surprise and objections from True Lord Yunmiao and others.
• Tie Ming defended Qing Chen by citing his Army Competition victory, Individual Competition results, combat strength, and resolve.
• Tie Shou supported Qing Chen and asked Wuxiang Army Lord to confirm his command experience.
• Chan Master Wuxiang revealed that Qing Chen had helped train soldiers across the divisions, and Tie Shou argued that Qing Chen had enough experience to lead.

Qing Chen accepted command of a thirty-thousand-strong force tasked with attacking Miaochong Prefecture, swearing a military pledge before Wei Ting. After assigning commanders for all three fronts and announcing rewards, Wei Ting ordered the armies to prepare for a campaign in four months, and Tie Ming gave Qing Chen intelligence and a token of the Iron Household.

• Tie Shou's recommendation helped convince Wei Ting to ask Qing Chen whether he would lead an assault on Miaochong Prefecture.
• Qing Chen volunteered for the campaign and pledged to die if he failed, then Wei Ting promoted him and appointed him Miao-Conquest Deputy General over thirty thousand troops.
• Wei Ting assigned the Qiong Prefecture and Yuxi Prefecture forces, urged the generals to fight for the Immortal Dynasty, and announced military rewards.
• Wei Ting ordered the armies to prepare for a march on Lingzhou in four months, and the generals left the command tent.
• Qing Chen followed Tie Ming to Black Centipede Cliff, where Tie Ming gave him intelligence about Miaochong Prefecture and a Tiger Tally identifying him as a retainer of the Iron Household.

Qing Chen received Tie Ming’s support and hurried to secure control of the Miao-Conquest Army before the campaign into Qiongzhou. He ordered his officers to prepare the troops, then sought Chan Master Wuxiang’s backing as he began organizing his new command.

• Tie Ming gave Qing Chen a jade slip, a tiger tally, and promised resources for the Miao-Conquest Army, urging him to establish himself in Qiongzhou.
• Qing Chen calculated that he had about a year to secure the thirty-thousand-strong army and recognized that his ten thousand Central Army troops would form its core.
• Qing Chen ordered Lin Changsheng, Xin Bairen, and the others to inspect the troops’ equipment and medicines and place the army on wartime footing.
• Qing Chen assessed which factions might support him and went to seek help from Chan Master Wuxiang rather than ask Tie Ming to select his troops.
• Chan Master Wuxiang congratulated Qing Chen on his promotion and warned him to conduct himself carefully after gaining favor and approaching the rank that carried a Purple Robe.

Qing Chen secured two Central Army divisions for his campaign in Qiongzhou. Meanwhile, Young Master Lingxu and his allies resented Qing Chen’s rise, and Qing Guhong revealed his own grudge against him.

• Qing Chen asked Chan Master Wuxiang for more troops, and Wuxiang offered him Fierce-Eyed Vajra’s First Division and Wuxin Dharma Master’s Seventh Division, bringing his force to thirty thousand.
• Qing Chen thanked Chan Master Wuxiang, accepted the transfer orders, and left more confident about the campaign in Miaochong Prefecture.
• Young Master Lingxu complained about Qing Chen’s promotion, while Qingpeng True Person warned that Qing Chen was protected by the Iron Household and Chan Master Wuxiang.
• Qing Guhong argued that the Iron Household was using Qing Chen as a pawn and disclosed that he had old scores to settle with him.
• Qing Guhong recalled that Gong Shisan had advanced in the Primordial Magnetism Annihilation Great Art and become a Nascent Soul True Lord.

Qing Guhong and his allies discussed how to undermine Qing Chen during his expedition to Miaochong Prefecture, while True Lord Chongxu tacitly allowed their scheme. The chapter ended with Qing Chen’s newly established Miao-Conquest Army encamped tens of thousands of miles away.

• Gong Shisan’s success in forming his Nascent Soul left Qing Chen as the chief suspect in the disappearance of the Magnetic Origin Rule Thread, while his rival resolved to seek it from him.
• Zhaoshenzi and the Three Corpses Devil Lord sided with Qingpeng True Person and disparaged Qing Chen to Qing Guhong.
• Qing Guhong described Miaochong Prefecture as a dangerous, tangled region and implied that Qing Chen’s expedition could end in disaster.
• True Lord Chongxu spoke of fate and duty in a way that signaled he would not oppose efforts against Qing Chen.
• Qing Guhong, Young Master Lingxu, and Qingpeng True Person agreed to exploit Qing Chen’s expedition and potentially take command of his army if he died.
• Qing Chen’s Miao-Conquest Army established its command tent at the edge of the Gou Wu Whale Army’s Central Army encampment.

Qing Chen convened the officers of the Miao-Conquest Army and asserted his authority over the former Central Army divisions. He reorganized the divisions and began imposing strict military discipline, leaving the officers to hear the army’s punishments.

• Officers from the former First, Second, and Seventh Divisions gathered outside the command tent, where Lei Bao complained about Qing Chen making them wait.
• Gao Yuliang and Deng Ziyue announced Qing Chen’s command, and the officers entered the tent and paid their respects, though the First Division’s officers were reluctant.
• Qing Chen declared that the three former divisions would form one Miao-Conquest Army under his sole command and renumbered them as the First, Second, and Third Divisions.
• Qing Chen warned that disobedience would be punished under military law, and the officers gave uneven responses.
• Qing Chen ordered Lin Changsheng to read the army’s Thirteen Prohibitions and Thirteen Executions, and the severe punishments unsettled some officers.

Qing Chen enforced the military prohibitions by intimidating Lei Bao into accepting punishment, then began assigning commanders to the Miao-Conquest Army’s divisions. The chapter ended with Qing Chen appointing Lei Bao to lead the Third Division.

• Lin Changsheng read the military prohibitions, and Lei Bao snorted in defiance.
• Qing Chen pressured Lei Bao with his killing intent and the power of heaven and earth until Lei Bao submitted.
• Qing Chen sentenced Lei Bao to ten strokes of the military rod, deferred until he could redeem his offense through merit in battle.
• Qing Chen promoted Ye Wushang to command ten thousand troops in the First Division of the Miao-Conquest Army.
• Qing Chen transferred Wuxin Dharma Master to command ten thousand troops in the Second Division of the Miao-Conquest Army.
• Qing Chen promoted Lei Bao to command ten thousand troops in the Third Division of the Miao-Conquest Army.

Qing Chen consolidated his command by promoting Lei Bao and assigning officers to control the divisions. Months later, as Tie Ming departed for Heavenly Abyss Pass, he confirmed Qing Chen’s supplies were in order and gave him a Storage Ring before Qing Chen’s own army marched.

• Qing Chen promoted Lei Bao to Third Division Gentleman of the Palace, winning his loyalty after Lei Bao had defied him.
• Qing Chen assigned Lin Changsheng, Sun Wudi, Xin Bairen, and Xue Qingxia to command and supervisory posts across the Second and Third Divisions.
• Several months later, Qing Chen reported the army’s ships, talismans, Spirit Stones, and other supplies to Tie Ming as the main force prepared to leave for Heavenly Abyss Pass.
• Tie Ming told Qing Chen that his troops would depart in half a year and that Tie Qingniu would meet him in Anman Prefecture.
• Tie Ming gave Qing Chen a Storage Ring as a parting gift before leaving with the main force.

After Tie Ming gave Qing Chen a black ring containing two low-grade Fortune Spirit Crystals, Qing Chen considered the powerful support and heavy expectations the gift represented. He surveyed his well-trained thirty-thousand-strong army and the improved cultivation of his followers as they prepared to campaign in Qiongzhou.

• Tie Ming gave Qing Chen a black ring, praised his response, and departed aboard a Giant Whale Treasure Ship after telling him to establish himself in Qiongzhou and return alive.
• Qing Chen discovered high-grade spirit stones, rare pills, and two low-grade Fortune Spirit Crystals in the ring, and recognized their value for cultivation and breakthrough.
• Qing Chen weighed the obligation created by Tie Ming’s lavish gift and considered how a Fortune Spirit Crystal could help him reach the pseudo-nascent soul stage.
• Qing Chen looked over his thirty-thousand-strong army, whose soldiers had advanced to late Qi refining or higher during ten years of training.
• Xu Jiuling advanced from pseudo-core to the Golden Core Realm, while Sun Wudi, Lin Changsheng, Xue Qingxia, Xin Bairen, the Spirit Crane, and Guangqi Jinsan had also improved their cultivation.

The Miao-Conquest Army drilled its battalions and divisions until their formations showed overwhelming power. The chapter left the thirty thousand cultivators testing a high-grade Fortune Talisman’s might through a unified formation.

• The army drilled its individual battalions, practicing attack, defense, movement, and concealment formations under the command of its Golden Core Commandants.
• Lin Changsheng, Xin Bairen, and Xu Jiuling coordinated the three divisions’ drills through precise instructions relayed by Ye Wushang, Wuxin Dharma Master, and Lei Bao.
• The three divisions combined into ten-thousand-man formations, each displaying power comparable to a Dharma Nascent Soul.
• Lin Changsheng, Xin Bairen, and Xu Jiuling directed all thirty thousand cultivators to form Blood Prison-Overturning the Sea.
• The unified formation activated part of a high-grade Fortune Talisman’s power and manifested a vast Dharma Form phantom as the army shouted, “Kill! Kill! Kill!”

Qing Chen studied the formidable forces and hostile factions around Miaochong Prefecture before receiving Wei Ting’s order to move his army to Anman Prefecture within fifteen days. He ordered the troops to muster and board the ships.

• Qing Chen examined a detailed map of Miaochong Prefecture, its ten counties, and the powerful factions surrounding its capital.
• Qing Chen judged that his thirty thousand soldiers could only establish a foothold and vowed to use the enemy’s remains to empower his Demon Banner.
• Gao Yuliang brought Qing Chen an urgent message from the Gou Wu Whale Army through the Fourth Tier Xuan Yuan Communication Array.
• Wei Ting ordered Qing Chen’s forces to travel by Giant Whale Treasure Ships and reach the designated camp outside Anman Prefecture’s capital within fifteen days.
• Qing Chen ordered the drums beaten and commanded the officers and troops to assemble and board the ships.

Qing Chen led the Miao-Conquest Army’s fleet northwest toward Anman Prefecture, using scouts and strict formations to navigate increasingly war-torn territory. The fleet reached the outskirts of Anman, where signs of ongoing clashes confirmed the region’s danger.

• Qing Chen ordered the eleven Giant Whale Treasure Ships into an arrowhead formation and sent fifty troop transports ahead to scout.
• Qing Chen’s fleet crossed into Qiongzhou and saw fortified settlements, wary travelers, and evidence of war grow more frequent as it advanced.
• Qing Chen’s fleet passed through Pingyin Prefecture, where damaged cities and suspicious garrisons showed the conflict’s toll.
• Thirteen days after setting out, Qing Chen received reports of beacon fires, a suspected engagement, and a miasma-covered valley near Anman Prefecture.
• Qing Chen slowed the fleet and steered it toward its encampment as Anman remained contested by the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty and rebel forces.

Qing Chen confronted Anman Prefecture’s unfinished military encampment and threatened the constable overseeing it with execution and the extermination of three generations for delaying military operations. Jia Daoyi arrived, killed the constable, and publicly pledged to carry out Qing Chen’s wishes, leaving the two officials facing one another.

• Qing Chen inspected the incomplete encampment and ordered Gao Yuliang to record the constable’s name and punish him for neglecting military duties.
• The constable invoked his rank and Anman Prefecture’s authority, while Qing Chen argued that the unfinished defenses endangered the thirty thousand Miao-Conquest troops.
• Gao Yuliang cited the Great Jin Military Code’s punishment of execution and possible extermination of three generations for disobeying wartime orders.
• Qing Chen demanded to know who had instructed the constable to obstruct the work and threatened to exterminate his family if he refused to answer.
• A Dharma Nascent Soul cultivator arrived and killed the constable before he could respond.
• Jia Daoyi introduced himself as Anman Prefecture’s Prefectural Assistant, apologized to Qing Chen, and announced that he would exterminate the constable’s three generations.

Qing Chen confronted Jia Daoyi over Anman Prefecture’s failure to finish the army camp and provide supplies, using Wei Ting’s orders and military law to force a response. When Jia Daoyi asked for fifteen more days, Qing Chen ordered his officers to prepare to enter the treasury, while Jia Daoyi found himself overwhelmed by the killing intent of the thirty thousand troops.

• Qing Chen recognized that Jia Daoyi was a fellow disciple of Qing Guhong and suspected their connection explained the obstruction and neglect.
• Qing Chen invoked Wei Ting’s orders and threatened to report Jia Daoyi to the battle inspector if Anman Prefecture delayed the camp further.
• Jia Daoyi asked for fifteen more days, explaining that the prefectural manpower had been reassigned to border fortifications.
• Qing Chen rejected the delay and ordered Xu Jiuling and Gao Yuliang to confirm that the meeting had been recorded.
• Qing Chen ordered Ye Wushang, Wuxin, and Lei Bao to assemble their troops and accompany him to Anman’s treasury to collect the army’s supplies.
• Qing Chen threatened to report Anman Prefecture for delaying military operations and aiding the enemy, while the soldiers’ killing intent left Jia Daoyi alarmed.

Qing Chen brought the Miao-Conquest Army to Anman Prefecture to collect its promised supplies, and the fleet’s threatening approach put the city’s defenders on alert. Tie Qingniu intervened to open the way and personally offered to lead Qing Chen to the treasury, leaving Jia Daoyi resentful.

• Jia Daoyi promised Qing Chen the supplies and led the Miao-Conquest Army toward Anman Prefecture.
• Anman Prefecture activated its defensive formation and deployed warships as Qing Chen’s fleet approached.
• Jia Daoyi urged the city’s defenders to let the army through, but a general hesitated and asked for the prefect’s authorization.
• Qing Chen warned that obstructing the supply collection would amount to aiding the enemy.
• Tie Qingniu came out of the city, rebuked the hesitant defenders, and offered to lead Qing Chen to the treasury.

Qing Chen brought his fleet into Anman Prefecture City to collect supplies for his army, where the battered, heavily guarded city reflected the strain of war. He began loading construction materials from the prefectural treasury, and Tie Qingniu provided a Mountain-Carrying Treasure Ship to carry the immense cargo.

• Jia Daoyi welcomed Tie Qingniu, and the city defenders opened the western passage for Qing Chen’s fleet.
• Qing Chen sent Ye Wushang and Xu Jiuling into the city to collect supplies while Wuxin, Lin Changsheng, Lei Bao, and Xin Bairen guarded the perimeter with the remaining ships.
• Tie Qingniu led Qing Chen’s five Treasure Ships through the tense city to its underground treasury.
• Qing Chen ordered Ye Wushang and Xu Jiuling to inspect and load the supplies as his soldiers moved construction materials out of the storerooms.
• Tie Qingniu brought over a Mountain-Carrying Treasure Ship to transport the enormous volume of materials.

Qing Chen secured supplies and a Mountain-Carrying Treasure Ship in Anman Prefecture, then led his fleet toward rebel-held Wind-Splitting Gorge. He also ordered a report accusing Jia Daoyi of failing to prepare the army’s camp, backed by a Projection Recording.

• Xu Jiuling’s soldiers loaded the allotted supplies and extra Spirit Stones and Fortune Talismans, while Tie Qingniu helped Qing Chen take a Mountain-Carrying Treasure Ship on loan.
• Jia Daoyi protested the removal of the treasure ship, but Tie Qingniu insisted it was only being lent to support the Miao-Conquest Army.
• Qing Chen reviewed the supplies and ordered the fleet to change course for Wind-Splitting Gorge in Miaochong Prefecture.
• Xu Jiuling voiced concern about advancing into rebel territory, but Qing Chen reaffirmed his order, and the fleet headed south.
• Qing Chen summoned Ye Wushang, Wuxin, and Lei Bao and ordered them to report Jia Daoyi’s failure to prepare the camp to the Sea-Calming General and the Lingnan Circuit Ministry of War.