Chapter Summaries

Qian Baoshan and Nangong Wang feared Qing Chen’s growing power while Su Zixuan and Gao Yuliang sent urgent orders to reinforce Qiongzhou. In Linyuan County Town, the Guanyin Tower Master struggled to hold the defenses against Black Miasma True Lord’s poisonous assault as the town awaited Qing Chen’s arrival.

• Qian Baoshan warned Nangong Wang that Qing Chen might target them after dealing with Wu Gui’s armies, then urged him to pursue their dealings with Southern Yue while attention was elsewhere.
• Nangong Wang and Qian Baoshan fled with their Golden Core Elders, while Su Zixuan and Gao Yuliang dispatched military orders to Xiao Canglan, Wei Ting, Chan Master Xuanshan, and Sword Fool.
• Half a day later, the Guanyin Tower Master and sixty thousand Qiongzhou Army cultivators struggled to maintain Linyuan County Town’s formation against Black Miasma True Lord and his eighty-thousand-strong division.
• Black Miasma True Lord unleashed poisonous flames from his poison dragon, killing hundreds of defenders as the Guanyin Tower Master used the four formation flags and her Pure Glazed Pearl to resist.

Qing Chen arrived at the battlefield and unleashed a sudden, powerful attack on Black Miasma True Lord while Guanyin Tower Master’s forces struggled to defend the city. The chapter ended as Black Miasma True Lord faced Qing Chen’s threatening strike.

• Black Miasma True Lord drove his poison dragon drill into Guanyin Tower Master’s defenses, forcing her and the Qiongzhou Army to burn their fortune to hold it back.
• The drill cracked the glazed barrier and killed dozens of defenders with its transmitted force.
• Qing Chen arrived through the poison miasma using Five Elements Transmute Qi, stopping the poison dragon drill and confronting Black Miasma True Lord.
• Qing Chen summoned the Third Demonic Aspect and the Pojun Battle Halberd, then invoked the First Terror—Yang Spirit.
• Black Miasma True Lord recognized the life-threatening power of Qing Chen’s attack and shouted at him.

Qing Chen used the Yang Spirit state to empower his blood path rules and grievously wounded Black Miasma True Lord, whose defenses could not withstand the halberd strike. As Qing Chen and the Guanyin Tower Master moved to finish him, a mysterious pale hand emerged from the poison miasma and erased Qing Chen’s attack.

• Black Miasma True Lord activated his poison miasma rules and Heavenly Miasma Bone Shield to defend against Qing Chen’s ambush.
• Qing Chen used Yang Spirit to channel his blood path rules through the Pojun Battle Halberd, shattering the shield and badly wounding Black Miasma True Lord.
• Qing Chen charged to strike again as the Guanyin Tower Master sent a Buddhist palm at Black Miasma True Lord with the army’s formation power.
• Black Miasma True Lord called for Yinshi Marquis as the two attacks closed in on him.
• A pale hand reached from the poison miasma and dissolved Qing Chen’s blood-red halberd radiance.

Yinshi Lord appeared to stop Qing Chen after Qing Chen nearly killed Black Miasma True Lord, forcing the battle into a desperate clash between the two powerful cultivators. Qing Chen rejected Yinshi Lord’s demand to surrender and charged him, while Yinshi Lord prepared to cripple him.

• Yinshi Lord emerged from the poison miasma and struck Qing Chen back with an overwhelming force.
• Yinshi Lord revealed his power and offered Qing Chen the choice of surrendering or being captured by force.
• Black Miasma True Lord recovered enough to fend off Guanyin Tower Master as the battlefield turned against Qing Chen’s side.
• Qing Chen defied Yinshi Lord, vowed to make Southern Yue pay, and charged at him.
• Yinshi Lord unleashed a deadly attack and vowed to cripple Qing Chen.

Qing Chen charged Yinshi Lord but was overwhelmed by the erosion rules unleashed through the Soul-Seizing Yinshi Cauldron and hurled into a vast trench. He emerged unharmed behind five White Bone Demon Banners, blocking the attack and shocking Yinshi Lord as Linyuan City's defenders regained hope.

• Qing Chen charged Yinshi Lord, whose Soul-Seizing Yinshi Cauldron unleashed the Heaven Grade Spell Erode Heaven and Cover Earth.
• Yinshi Lord’s erosion sea shattered Qing Chen’s halberd light, damaged his Black Demon Blood Armor, and blasted him into a trench.
• Black Miasma True Lord celebrated Qing Chen’s apparent defeat, deepening the despair among Linyuan City’s defenders.
• Qing Chen rose from the trench unharmed, with five White Bone Demon Banners holding the erosion sea back.
• Linyuan City’s defenders erupted in relief, while Yinshi Lord’s composure broke in shock.

Qing Chen used five White Bone Demon Banners to withstand Yinshi Lord’s rule-powered attacks, shocking the other combatants. Yinshi Lord recognized the banners’ immense significance and warned that they tied Qing Chen to powerful factions, but Qing Chen prepared to continue fighting.

• Yinshi Lord was shocked that Qing Chen had emerged unscathed from Erode Heaven and Cover Earth, then recognized the five White Bone Demon Banners and the Di Jiang Banner among them.
• Yinshi Lord warned Qing Chen that the banners drew the attention of major powers across the nine heavens and ten lands, while greed and suspicion grew in his heart.
• Qing Chen recalled Commander Tie Zhan’s message that no Great Cultivators had mobilized and realized Southern Yue had sent Yinshi Lord despite his preparations.
• Yinshi Lord attacked with erosion rules and the Soul-Seizing Yinshi Cauldron, but Qing Chen’s five banners formed a Demon Gourd that blocked every soul-eroding pillar.
• Black Miasma True Lord and Guanyin Tower Master were astonished as Qing Chen stood unharmed, and Guanyin Tower Master anticipated that his fame would spread beyond Qiongzhou.

After Qing Chen forced Yinshi Lord and Black Miasma to retreat, the Qiongzhou Army celebrated his victory. Nine days later, Hua Tieshou received Dharma Nascent Soul Chongxu at the border camp, where Chongxu’s contempt for the demonic cultivators around Qing Chen was tempered by fear of Qing Chen’s growing reputation.

• Yinshi Lord ordered a retreat after realizing Qing Chen could control the five savage banners, and Black Miasma withdrew his eighty thousand soldiers.
• Yinshi Lord warned Qing Chen that Qiongzhou was beyond his grasp, then left to carry out a plan to pin down Qing Chen’s other armies.
• The surviving Qiongzhou Army cultivators cheered Qing Chen’s victory from the walls.
• Nine days later, Hua Tieshou welcomed Dharma Nascent Soul Chongxu at the Blackstone County teleportation formation and escorted him to the temporary military camp.
• Hua Tieshou departed after introducing Chongxu to the waiting commanders, while Chongxu resented his treatment and worried about Qing Chen’s power and reputation.

Jia Daoyi and Chongxu arrived to join Qing Chen’s forces, where Chan Master Xuanshan handed command authority to Xin Bairen before departing for Anman Prefecture. A message then revealed that the Fist Alliance was sending disciples to assist in the fighting, an unexpected development that concerned Xin Bairen.

• Jia Daoyi arrived before Chongxu and defended his haste, while Chongxu accused him of currying favor with Qing Chen.
• Chan Master Xuanshan urged Chongxu and Jia Daoyi to cooperate, then gave Xin Bairen the command token for the forty thousand troops and left to support Tie Qingniu in Anman Prefecture.
• Jia Daoyi courteously offered to follow Xin Bairen’s guidance, while Chongxu grudgingly accepted the general’s authority.
• Xin Bairen received a message from Su Zixuan reporting that Chen Yan, Qian Dafu, and thirty thousand Prefectural Army troops had been assigned to Qing Chen’s forces.
• Su Zixuan also reported that core disciples of the Fist Alliance would assist in Yuxi Prefecture, prompting Xin Bairen to wonder why the powerful alliance had entered the conflict.

Wuhun True Lord and Black Miasma True Lord planned to exploit Qing Chen’s apparent absence from Yuxi Prefecture and use allied spies to break its defenses, while framing Qing Chen for the loss. Outside Blackstone County, Nangong Wen passed the stolen military intelligence to a jade slip as Qian Ming worried their treason would be discovered.

• Black Miasma True Lord confirmed that Qing Chen remained in Qiong Prefecture after fighting Yinshi Marquis, and Wuhun True Lord ordered him to keep Qing Chen pinned there.
• Wuhun True Lord planned to use maps and inside intelligence from the Nangong Household and Qian Household to attack Yuxi Prefecture and expose Qing Chen to political blame.
• Black Miasma True Lord agreed to delay Qing Chen despite his injuries, while fearing the setbacks caused by Qing Chen and Xiao Canglan’s rise to Spirit Transformation.
• Wuhun True Lord began deploying troops and preparing to join the Eighteen Strongholds of Southern Yue once he received updated defense maps and confirmation of Qing Chen’s location.
• Outside Blackstone County, Nangong Wen copied frontline diagrams and military targets into a jade slip, while Qian Ming warned him to be cautious after Adviser Su’s purge.

Lin Changsheng and Su Zixuan helped Qing Chen deceive enemy collaborators into believing they had obtained Blackstone City's defenses, while Qing Chen prepared a trap for them. The collaborators continued their covert operations, unaware that Qing Chen's forces were guiding them toward a deadly ambush.

• Nangong Wen pressured Qian Ming to hand over a hidden sliver of the Defense Deployment Map, while Lin Changsheng watched them in secret and held back from attacking.
• Qing Yuan used a concealment talisman to record Blackstone City's defenses, and Su Zixuan observed him through a formation mirror.
• Lin Changsheng publicly announced the execution of more than three hundred collaborators, while larger conspirators secretly sent letters beyond the city.
• Su Zixuan reported to Qing Chen that Nangong Wen and Qian Ming had obtained Blackstone City's defense deployments, and Duan Tianya revealed that Jia Daoyi and Li Chenjiang were investigating suspicious activity.
• Qing Chen instructed Su Zixuan to provide convincing intelligence and Duan Tianya to make the defenses appear impregnable as they prepared to draw the conspirators into a trap.

Nangong Wang and Qian Baoshan celebrated their plot to use Southern Yue forces against Qing Chen, unaware of the danger awaiting them. At Linyuan City, Qing Chen answered Black Miasma True Lord’s taunts by launching a Five-Colored Rainbow from the city gate.

• Qian Baoshan told Nangong Wang that Lin Changsheng had killed over three hundred people, including some distantly connected to their households.
• Nangong Wang reassured Qian Baoshan that their deep network and secret soul restrictions would shield them from Qing Chen’s investigation.
• Nangong Wang revealed that they had handed Wuhun True Lord a map of Blackstone County’s defenses and planned to use Southern Yue, the Qing Household, and the Snake Spirit Way to seize Qiongzhou’s lordship.
• Qian Baoshan agreed with Nangong Wang and anticipated gaining resources, lifespan-extending treasures, and a chance to renew their cultivation.
• Black Miasma True Lord harassed Linyuan City with poisonous fire and taunted Qing Chen to come out and fight.
• Qing Chen answered Black Miasma True Lord’s challenge, and a Five-Colored Rainbow burst from Linyuan City’s gate.

Qing Chen revealed his Black Demon Blood Armor and used the Vajra Mound to withstand Yinshi Marquis's full-force attack. Black Miasma True Lord retreated and reported Qing Chen's strength to Wuhun True Lord, who ordered the plan to continue in Yuxi Prefecture.

• Qing Chen merged the Third Demonic Aspect with his body and confronted Yinshi Marquis's attack with the Vajra Mound.
• Qing Chen burned thirty drops of essence blood to hold back Yinshi Marquis's erosion domain, shocking Black Miasma True Lord.
• Black Miasma True Lord withdrew his troops and fled to his camp while Yinshi Marquis vanished into the poison miasma.
• Black Miasma True Lord sent Wuhun True Lord recordings of Qing Chen's battle and warned him about the Buddhist treasure.
• Wuhun True Lord ordered Black Miasma True Lord and Yinshi Marquis to keep Qing Chen occupied while the plan in Yuxi Prefecture proceeded.

As Great Jin prepared for battle elsewhere, Qing Jie led the Eighteen Caves’ Bone Cave Warship to a frontier town and ordered its destruction to destroy a node of fortune. The town’s defenses collapsed under the attack, leaving its people at the mercy of the bandits.

• Rogue cultivators in the town worried over rising spirit field taxes and conscription as the residents finished their work at sunset.
• The Bone Cave Warship and its flying boats appeared, and panic spread as the townspeople recognized the Eighteen Caves’ bandits.
• Qing Jie revealed that he had come to destroy the node of fortune beneath the town and ordered his forces to kill everyone and seize their resources.
• The bandits unleashed their attacks, quickly breaking the town’s defensive formation and demolishing its walls and houses.
• Amid the burning town and the residents’ screams, a bandit in blood-red vine armor crushed a herdboy’s Hollow-Cry Cicada.

Qing Jie slaughtered Blackstone County's town mayor and guards, then ordered his forces to destroy fortune nodes and push toward Yuxi Prefecture. Four hours later, Wuhun True Lord's army reached Blackstone City, where Li Chenjiang appeared on the walls beside Chongxu and Jia Daoyi.

• Qing Jie killed the town's Foundation Establishment mayor and a dozen Qi Refining guards by draining their five-element essence.
• Qing Jie ordered his men to loot the town, destroy its fortune node, and then advance toward Yuxi Prefecture, striking down his deputy when he questioned the plan.
• Sixty thousand troops from Southern Yue's Soul-Devouring Department arrived at Blackstone City after gathering in secret with help from the Nangong Household and Qian Household.
• Wuhun True Lord demanded Blackstone City's surrender and unleashed soul pressure against its defenders.
• Li Chenjiang appeared atop the gate tower beside Dharma Nascent Soul Chongxu and Jia Daoyi, calmly addressing Wuhun True Lord.

Li Chenjiang confronted Wuhun True Lord and the Firepit Cave Lord outside the city, then used the Dragon-Subduing Fist to shatter the Firepit Cave Lord’s attack. Wuhun True Lord stopped Li Chenjiang’s counterattack, and Li Chenjiang declared that their road was closed.

• Wuhun True Lord warned Li Chenjiang against interfering in the conflict and invoked Qin Jundi’s reputation.
• The Firepit Cave Lord attacked Li Chenjiang with a colossal palm of fire, threatening the defenders on the city wall.
• Li Chenjiang answered with the Dragon-Subduing Fist and broke apart the fiery palm, sending his fist force toward the Firepit Cave Lord.
• Wuhun True Lord intercepted Li Chenjiang’s fist force with black beams that corroded it away.
• Wuhun True Lord recognized Li Chenjiang’s fist technique and emerging rules, while the Firepit Cave Lord watched him with fear.
• Li Chenjiang faced the two True Lords and declared, “This road is closed.”

Li Chenjiang noticed suspicious gaps in Blackstone City's defenses as Southern Yue troops gathered, while Qing Chen broke away from Linyuan City to aid Yuxi Prefecture and was pursued by Yinshi Marquis. Qing Chen was left trapped in a worsening battle far from his intended route.

• Li Chenjiang questioned how sixty thousand Southern Yue troops had crossed Blackstone City's territory without any sentries or patrols raising the alarm.
• Jia Daoyi reported that reinforcements led by Xin Bairen, Lin Changsheng, and Sword Fool True Lord were heading toward Blackstone City.
• Qing Chen broke through the encirclement at Linyuan City and raced toward Yuxi Prefecture, but Yinshi Marquis blocked him with the Soul-Seizing Yinshi Cauldron.
• Qing Chen tore through Yinshi Marquis's Eroding-Heaven Domain and continued fleeing as the two fought their way toward Pingnan Prefecture and Annan Province.
• Yinshi Marquis attacked again with a stronger domain while Black Miasma True Lord kept the Guanyin Tower Master pinned inside Linyuan City, leaving Qing Chen isolated and slowed.

Wei Ting arrived to aid Qing Chen against the Yinshi Marquis, revealing that he had feigned injury and grown stronger. As the Marquis tried to escape, Qing Chen unleashed his bloodline power and used the Vajra Mound to seal him in place.

• The Yinshi Marquis transformed halfway into a Hui Dragon and prepared to strengthen the Soul-Seizing Yinshi Cauldron against Qing Chen.
• Wei Ting struck from the north with the Sea-Splitting Axe, shattering the Nine Flood Dragons Soul-Devouring Stele’s phantoms and forcing the Marquis back.
• Wei Ting revealed his peak nascent soul middle-stage cultivation and confronted the Marquis over the ambush from three hundred years earlier.
• The Marquis realized he was outmatched by Wei Ting and Qing Chen, recalled his stele, and burned his natal true essence to prepare an escape technique.
• Qing Chen ignited two hundred drops of essence blood and sent his power into the Vajra Mound, whose sealing rules descended around the Marquis.

Qing Chen and Wei Ting wounded Yinshi Marquis so severely that he fled, then split up to respond to threats in Yuxi Prefecture and Qiong Prefecture. At Blackstone City, the defenders discovered their surrounding fortune nodes had been destroyed, suggesting an insider had aided the Southern Yue assault.

• Qing Chen combined his treasures' powers with Wei Ting's axe strike to break Yinshi Marquis's defenses, crack his cauldron, and shatter nearly half of his erosion rules.
• Yinshi Marquis burned his vital essence to escape, warning Qing Chen that Southern Yue had taken the border of Yuxi Prefecture and that the Miao Frontier Gu Tribe wanted him dead.
• Qing Chen sent Wei Ting to Yuxi Prefecture and then Heavenly Abyss Pass, while he headed for Qiong Prefecture.
• At Blackstone City, True Person Wuxin reported that all the surrounding fortune nodes had gone silent after repeated assaults by Southern Yue forces.
• Lei Bao suspected an insider had revealed the nodes' locations, while Hua Tieshou suspected Lin Changsheng and Xin Bairen's departure was connected to the Devil Master's test.

Blackstone City’s defenders struggled to hold the damaged protective formation as Southern Yue forces attacked and hidden agents sabotaged the city from within. More formation-breaking talismans suddenly flew toward the defenses, leaving the city’s leaders caught off guard.

• Hua Tieshou warned that the city’s formation was failing, and explosions at internal nodes further weakened it.
• Daoist Chongxu berated True Person Wuxin and Lei Bao, while Jia Daoyi secretly conserved power and searched for an escape route.
• Li Chenjiang recognized that traitors had infiltrated Blackstone City and prepared to act while relying on Qin Jundi’s protection.
• Wuhun True Lord and Cave Lord Firepit launched coordinated attacks, and Li Chenjiang, Daoist Chongxu, and Jia Daoyi fought back to protect the city.
• As the formation faltered after nearly a hundred exchanges, hidden agents launched three Geng Metal Armor-Piercing Talismans and a Yin Baleful Thunder Jue Talisman from inside the city.

Southern Yue forces breached Blackstone City's barrier, forcing Li Chenjiang to destroy the formation and evacuate the surviving defenders aboard war treasure ships. Hua Tieshou rallied the Demon Lotus Sect and former Miao-Conquest Army to hold off the invaders while the ships escaped.

• Three Geng Metal Armor-Piercing Talismans and a Yin Baleful Thunder Jue Talisman shattered the barrier above Blackstone City's gate, and Wuhun True Lord ordered his troops to charge through.
• Li Chenjiang deployed defensive talismans and a starlight barrier, then ordered True Person Wuxin, Lei Bao, and the formation masters to detonate the city-protecting formation.
• The formation's self-destruction killed nearly a thousand Southern Yue cultivators, and Li Chenjiang ordered the surviving defenders to board the ten hidden War Treasure Ships.
• Wuhun True Lord sent vengeful souls after the ships, while Daoist Chongxu and Jia Daoyi held back the attackers and the three True Lords fought to buy time.
• Hua Tieshou rallied the Demon Lotus Sect and former Miao-Conquest Army with promises of rewards from the Azure Abyss Marquis, then led them toward the breach to hold the enemy back as the ships withdrew.