Chapter Summaries

Qing Chen faced a coalition of major Gouwu Sea factions opposing his plan to form the Gou Wu Whale Army. True Lord Fire Jiao backed Qing Chen and made Jiaogu Island his ally, breaking the deadlock as Abbot Hui'an prepared to leave.

• Qing Chen and his allies confronted a coalition led by the Vajra Zen Sect, which opposed forming the Gou Wu Whale Army.
• True Lord Fire Jiao denounced the coalition and declared his support for Qing Chen.
• True Lord Fire Jiao offered Jiaogu Island’s forces and supplies to Qing Chen and his Demon Lotus Sect.
• Qing Chen accepted Jiaogu Island as an ally, and Abbot Hui'an warned him before announcing his departure.

After the great sects and most visiting forces withdrew from Demon Lotus City, Qing Chen renamed his proposed reserve army the Cangming Army and promised generous ranks and benefits to those who recruited cultivators. He left the remaining crowd weighing his rewards, including the possibility of advancement to Nascent Soul.

• Hui'an and the other powerful visitors departed, and representatives of smaller forces left gifts before fleeing with their followers.
• The crowd outside Demon Lotus City dwindled to Qing Chen’s allies and a small number of forces willing to support him.
• Qing Chen reassured those who stayed and declared that he would raise the Cangming Army under his own name, accepting responsibility for it.
• Qing Chen offered ranks and wartime benefits based on how many qualified cultivators each recruit brought into the army.
• Qing Chen promised the lord of Red Sand Island that recruiting ten thousand cultivators could earn him the benefits of Yanluo and a chance at enfeoffment and Nascent Soul advancement.

Qing Chen offered immense rewards to recruit cultivators into the Cangming Army for a campaign against Penglai Spirit Island and other enemies of humanity. After the recruits began registering, Gong Shisan asked Qing Chen to stay and spoke with him on behalf of the Infinite Extremity Devil Palace.

• Qing Chen displayed spirit stones, pills, and treasures worth over a hundred and fifty million low-grade spirit stones as the Cangming Army’s initial military funds.
• Qing Chen promised the army a share of Penglai Spirit Island’s wealth and invited cultivators to join; Jade Tide Sect, Red Sand Island, and numerous other groups pledged their forces.
• Qing Chen ordered Xu Jiuling, Chi Xuntian, Xin Bairen, and Su Zixuan to register recruits and verify their qualifications for six months.
• Ye Wushang took the Thunder Marsh Sword and its scripture to study, while Jia Daoyi escorted Mad Shark True Lord and Fire Jiao True Lord to a guest pavilion.
• Gong Shisan summoned Qing Chen to speak, and Qing Chen turned to address the Infinite Extremity Devil Palace delegation after its members had remained neutral during the battles.

Qing Chen learned that Yan Moyou had sent Gong Shisan to invite him to a powerful opportunity, while Tie Ming sent a warning about wars and hidden schemes across Great Jin. Tie Ming’s message ended with a cryptic question about the Nine Nether Aristocratic Clan and its Ancient Bloodline.

• Gong Shisan privately told Qing Chen that Yan Moyou had asked him to deliver a personal invitation to a fortuitous opportunity.
• Qing Chen welcomed Gong Shisan warmly and accepted his offer to remain on Cangming Island and lend assistance.
• Tie Xiu delivered Qing Chen a sealed Jade Slip from Tie Ming, which Qing Chen opened and read.
• Tie Ming warned Qing Chen about escalating wars across Great Jin and said the Iron Household could not uncover what Wu Gui was planning.
• Tie Ming asked Qing Chen whether he had heard that the Nine Nether Aristocratic Clan inherited the Ancient Bloodline.

Qing Chen learned that his suspected Nine Netherworlds Qing Household bloodline might qualify him for the Ancient Blood Contest, and realized Gong Shisan was leading him to its site. He agreed to keep the secret as he prepared to leave Cangming Island, while Gong Shisan offered apologies for past conflicts.

• Tie Ming told Qing Chen that he likely carried the Qing Household bloodline and urged him to join the Ancient Blood Contest.
• Qing Chen guessed the contest was the destination Yan Moyou had arranged for Gong Shisan to lead him to.
• Gong Shisan explained that Yan Moyou needed Qing Chen's magnetic origin rule power to help activate the contest grounds' Primordial Magnetism Node.
• Qing Chen confirmed Gong Shisan had kept the arrangement secret and warned that his departure from Cangming Island must remain hidden.
• Gong Shisan said Ding Busan and Xue Busi had come to apologize for the earlier conflict involving Qing Guhong, and Qing Chen accepted the apology.

Qing Chen welcomed the Infinite Extremity Devil Palace elders and reviewed the growing Cangming Army, then told Lin Changsheng to prepare to form his Nascent Soul. The chapter left Lin Changsheng stunned by his master's unexpected decision.

• Qing Chen accepted Ding Busan and Xue Busi's apology and encouraged Jia Daoyi to maintain ties with his master and the Infinite Extremity Devil Palace.
• Xue Busi gave Jia Daoyi a fourth-tier Infant Transformation Pill and treated him warmly.
• Su Zixuan reported that registration had recorded over 113,000 potential Cangming Army recruits, including Nascent Soul and Golden Core cultivators.
• Lin Changsheng worried that Qing Chen had left him out of the campaign preparations and might assign him to guard Cangming Island.
• Qing Chen asked Lin Changsheng to set aside other concerns and prepare to enter seclusion to form his Nascent Soul.

Qing Chen gave Lin Changsheng two powerful treasures to help him form a Nascent Soul and sent him into seclusion, while Kuang Sha and Fire Jiao True Lord discussed how to use Qing Chen to advance King Wu Gui’s plans. The chapter left Qing Chen’s allies preparing to support him as disturbances in the Gouwu Sea grew.

• Qing Chen revealed the Yin Marrow Bone Pearl and Soul-Suppressing Bell, explaining how they could help Lin Changsheng survive the Nascent Soul trials.
• Lin Changsheng vowed to form a Nascent Soul and reclaim what he had lost, and Qing Chen sent him to seclude himself in Mysterious Yin Cave.
• Fire Jiao True Lord questioned whether Qing Chen could be trusted, and Kuang Sha argued that Xiao Canglan’s obstruction had made Qing Chen a useful ally.
• Kuang Sha explained that King Wu Gui’s Fortune Anchor Plan required turmoil in the Gouwu Sea to tie down local forces and buy time.
• Kuang Sha ordered Fire Jiao to formally ally with Qing Chen and provide him with people and resources, confident the Great King could control any future threat.

Kuang Sha and Fire Jiao met with Qing Chen to discuss an alliance, while Qing Chen tested their intentions with a show of ruthless discipline. Kuang Sha offered lavish gifts on King Wu Gui’s behalf and revealed that the Great King needed Qing Chen’s help changing the Gouwu Sea.

• Kuang Sha told Fire Jiao that King Wu Gui would eventually gain enough power to overcome Qing Chen and other rivals.
• Qing Chen entered and ordered Zhaoshenzi to behead the attendants for neglecting his guests, then redirected his punishment toward the Foundation Establishment furnaces.
• Kuang Sha and Fire Jiao explained that they had dismissed the attendants themselves, and Qing Chen ordered the furnaces taken away and drained to death.
• Qing Chen toasted Kuang Sha and Fire Jiao for their support, then listened as Kuang Sha offered a fourth-tier spirit stone mine vein and ten thousand body cultivators.
• Kuang Sha admitted that King Wu Gui needed Qing Chen’s assistance because the Gouwu Sea could no longer remain as it was.

Kuang Sha and Fire Jiao offered Qing Chen powerful rewards to join Jiaogu Island’s alliance against Great Jin, and Qing Chen enthusiastically agreed while concealing his own intentions. After the alliance’s framework was settled, Qing Chen asked Kuang Sha how different rules could be fused.

• Kuang Sha and Fire Jiao described their grievances against Great Jin’s allied powers and proposed that Qing Chen join forces with Jiaogu Island to attack the Gouwu Sea.
• Qing Chen hesitated over betraying his official ties to Great Jin, so Kuang Sha offered spirit items, a spirit stone containing the power of fortune, and a secret technique for establishing fortune nodes.
• Qing Chen accepted the alliance with exuberant praise for the Great King, while privately deciding that he would pursue any scheme if the rewards were worthwhile.
• Qing Chen asked Kuang Sha how to fuse different rules, and Kuang Sha explained that their powers of law had to reach a dynamic balance.

Kuang Sha explained how Spirit Transformation cultivators fused rules and how Body Cultivators nurtured Primordial Spirits, advising Qing Chen to focus on Dharma cultivation. Qing Chen then asked about rules killing moves and advancement to the Nascent Soul late stage, learning that a rules thread marked the threshold for becoming a Great Cultivator.

• Kuang Sha explained that Spirit Transformation Venerables formed Primordial Spirits and could integrate secondary rules into their primary rule domains.
• Kuang Sha described how Body Cultivators opened grotto-heavens to nurture Primordial Spirits, and advised Qing Chen that his body cultivation had reached its limit without one.
• Qing Chen thanked Kuang Sha for his guidance, then persuaded him to stay and explain rules killing moves.
• Kuang Sha described killing moves based on mastering one set of rules or fusing rules, citing Venerable Kongming and Wu Gui as examples.
• Qing Chen asked how to advance to the Nascent Soul late stage and Spirit Transformation, and Kuang Sha explained that condensing a rules thread was the threshold for becoming a Great Cultivator.

Qing Chen learned about rules tribulations and the dangers of advancing toward Spirit Transformation, then examined Penglai True Lord’s storage ring and found an enormous haul of techniques, treasures, and spirit stones. He discovered three supreme-grade spirit stones, including one containing fortune power.

• Kuang Sha and Fire Jiao explained rules tribulations, the requirements for Spirit Transformation, and the strength gained through transforming rules.
• Kuang Sha departed with Fire Jiao, and Qing Chen entered a sealed stone chamber to inspect Penglai True Lord’s storage ring.
• Qing Chen found Penglai’s Thunder Arts techniques and spells, along with three high-grade magic treasures: the Xun Wind Banner, Eight Trigrams Qian-Gang Shield, and Purple Mansion Thunder Cauldron.
• Qing Chen discovered fifty thousand high-grade spirit stones and three supreme-grade spirit stones: one each containing lightning, fire, and fortune power.

Qing Chen inventoried Penglai True Lord’s immense wealth, then chose to recover and consolidate his recent breakthrough instead of rushing to attack Penglai Spirit Island. He began restoring his physique and refining Scarlet Marrow Infant Pills to stabilize his Nascent Soul middle-stage cultivation.

• Qing Chen found Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones containing rule traces, many valuable pills and medicines, and a Nascent Soul Formation Pill among Penglai True Lord’s belongings.
• Qing Chen decided not to lead an attack on Penglai Spirit Island and left Kuang Sha and Wu Gui to take the lead, while he focused on improving his cultivation.
• Qing Chen laid three layers of restrictions and crushed a thousand high-grade Spirit Stones to prepare for cultivation.
• Qing Chen swallowed Scarlet-Blood Dragon-Pattern Purple Ginseng, which healed his hidden injuries and strengthened his physique over several months.
• Qing Chen swallowed a Scarlet Marrow Infant Pill and circulated the Brahma Demon-Refining Art to consolidate his Nascent Soul middle-stage cultivation.

The Cangming Army besieged Tianshui Island, using coordinated battle formations and Fortune Talismans to overwhelm its defenses. Just as True Lord Tianshui prepared to risk the island’s foundations, Xin Bairen halted the assault and surrounded the island on three sides, leaving the north open.

• Zhaoshenzi and Hua Tieshou watched the Cangming Army attack Tianshui Island while its defenders suffered heavy losses.
• Xin Bairen coordinated the army’s battle formations and used Fortune Talismans to strengthen its cultivators.
• True Lord Tianshui struggled to hold the island against Zhaoshenzi, Hua Tieshou, and the advancing army.
• After receiving reports of fallen defenses, True Lord Tianshui ordered the Azure Sea Tide-Rising Grand Array activated, despite the damage it could cause to the island’s spirit vein.
• The Cangming Army halted its attack, regrouped into three large formations, and surrounded Tianshui Island on three sides while leaving the north open.

Hua Tieshou challenged Xin Bairen over withdrawing from Tianshui Island, but Xin explained that the Sect Leader had ordered the vanguard to contain the enemy rather than destroy it. Meanwhile, Fire Jiao True Lord confronted Cangming’s leaders over the stalled campaign, and Qing Chen appeared as tensions threatened to erupt.

• Hua Tieshou demanded to know why Xin Bairen had ordered a withdrawal when Tianshui Island’s defenses were weakened.
• Xin Bairen reminded Hua Tieshou that the Sect Leader had ordered the Three Route Vanguard to surround the enemy and stall rather than annihilate them.
• Fire Jiao True Lord stormed into Demon Lotus City and demanded to see Qing Chen, accusing the Cangming Army of delaying its promised attack on Penglai Spirit Island.
• Su Zixuan explained that the army had attacked three subordinate islands, while Fire Jiao dismissed her account and criticized the campaign’s strategy.
• Ye Wushang’s sword-path power of laws made Fire Jiao retreat, but Fire Jiao continued demanding that Qing Chen attack Penglai Mountain Gate.
• Qing Chen appeared behind the hall’s screen wall and asked Fire Jiao whether he wanted to fight to the death.

Qing Chen revealed how much stronger he had become and rejected Fire Jiao True Lord’s complaints about the campaign against Penglai Spirit Island. He left Fire Jiao True Lord buried in the ruins of the Sea-Viewing Tower after striking him with a devastating punch.

• Qing Chen’s Di Jiang Banner advanced into a supreme-grade demonic treasure, strengthening his cultivation and magnetic origin rule power.
• Fire Jiao True Lord complained that Qing Chen’s army had failed to attack Penglai Spirit Island despite Jiaogu Island providing a spirit stone vein and troops.
• Qing Chen blamed Fire Jiao True Lord for the campaign’s difficulties and demanded more consideration for the costs and obstacles he had faced.
• Qing Chen activated No-Sentient-Beings Aspect and the God-Shocking Battle Technique, then struck Fire Jiao True Lord through his defenses.
• Fire Jiao True Lord crashed into the Sea-Viewing Tower, bringing it down, and lay injured in the rubble as his body began to heal.

Qing Chen drove Fire Jiao from Jade Rock Mountain and refused to return Jiaogu Island’s spirit stone mine. After reviewing reports on the vanguard armies and the Vajra Zen Sect, he concluded that Hui’an had understood his intention to avoid a direct conflict over Penglai Spirit Island.

• Qing Chen spared Fire Jiao because he had once spoken up for him, but refused to give back the spirit stone mine and threatened him with the Cangming Army and Demon Lotus Sect.
• Fire Jiao left Cangming Island with his retainers rather than risk another fight with Qing Chen.
• Jia Daoyi reported Fire Jiao’s departure, and Su Zixuan briefed Qing Chen on the vanguard armies’ raids and the seized spoils and corpses.
• Su Zixuan reported that Hui’an had joined other sects in attacking Jiaogu Island’s strongholds while making no unusual moves against the Demon Lotus Sect or Penglai Spirit Island.
• Qing Chen recognized that Hui’an had understood his restraint toward Penglai Spirit Island and that he had effectively sold Jiaogu Island out along the way.

Old Monk Hui'an ordered the Vajra Zen Sect to seize territory in the Star Sea Region while Qing Chen cultivated in seclusion and strengthened his powers. After emerging with the Blood River God-Slaying Spear, Qing Chen ordered Su Zixuan to tell Xin Bairen to prepare their next target.

• Hui'an sent Chan Master Wuxiang to the Star Sea Region to join Wuchen and take islands and mine veins from Jiaogu Island.
• Qing Chen refined blood path and magnetic origin rule power in Moro Cave while the six demon banners consumed resources gathered by the Cangming Army.
• Qing Chen emerged from seclusion with surging strength and formed the Blood River God-Slaying Spear from the blood pool.
• Qing Chen used the Minor Five Elements One-Origin Evasion Art to leave the cave and appeared before Su Zixuan and Jia Daoyi at Jade Rock Mountain.
• Qing Chen told Su Zixuan to send word to Xin Bairen to prepare the next target, Tianshui Island.

Qing Chen left Su Zixuan and flew toward Tianshui Island as unrest spread across the Gouwu Sea. At Miao Gu Mountain, leaders from the Miao Gu Clans, Southern Yue, and the Ten Thousand Saints Demon Kingdom confronted Golden Toad Granny over Wu Gui’s secretive actions and the growing appetite of the Ten Thousand Gu Source Cauldron.

• Qing Chen flew toward Tianshui Island, and Su Zixuan ordered the front to be told that the Sect Leader was coming in person.
• At Miao Gu Mountain, Golden Toad Granny hosted a secret gathering of Miao Gu, Southern Yue, and Ten Thousand Saints Demon Kingdom leaders.
• Azure-Faced Lion King accused Wu Gui of hiding his plans despite their blood oath to divide the Southern Borderlands’ fortune.
• Heavenly Hook True Lord reported that tens of thousands of Southern Yue cultivators had disappeared and their soul tablets had shattered.
• Yinshi Marquis and Wuhun True Lord warned that the Ten Thousand Gu Source Cauldron’s growing appetite was suspicious.
• Crimson-Chain Serpent Demon demanded that Golden Toad Granny explain Wu Gui’s intentions and warned the Miao Gu Clans not to ruin the undertaking.

Golden Toad Granny and the allied powers confronted one another over the Ten Thousand Gu Source Cauldron until the Miao Frontier Gu Tribe’s High Priest revealed that they might intervene in the Nine Netherworlds Ancient Bloodline Contest. The revelation shocked the gathering, but Heavenly Hook True Lord warned that Daoist Spirit Abyss’s forbidden land was too powerful and dangerous to break open.

• The Azure-Faced Lion King and Yinshi Marquis pressed Golden Toad Granny to explain the Ten Thousand Gu Source Cauldron, while Heavenly Hook True Lord’s spiritual pressure stirred the Soul-Devouring Gu inside Qing Jie.
• Golden Toad Granny defended the Miao Frontier Gu Tribe’s sacrifices in the war and challenged the other forces’ complaints.
• Golden Toad Granny bowed and made way for the white-haired High Priest, who announced that they might intervene in the Nine Netherworlds Ancient Bloodline Contest.
• The Azure-Faced Lion King and Heavenly Hook True Lord explained that only members of the Nine Nether Aristocratic Clan could normally enter the contest.
• The High Priest said the Heavenly Devil Ancient Bloodline Forbidden Land had drifted to Annan Province in Lingnan Circuit, creating a chance to change the rules.
• Heavenly Hook True Lord warned that breaking the forbidden land’s Void Refinement-level defenses could provoke Daoist Spirit Abyss.

The white-haired woman revealed her fifth-tier Heart-Rending Gut-Breaking Gu and invited qualified cultivators to Annan Province to compete for a chance at the Nine Netherworlds Ancient Bloodline. Qing Chen arrived at Tianshui Island, where Hua Tieshou greeted him as his master.

• The white-haired woman summoned the Heart-Rending Gut-Breaking Gu, terrifying Qing Jie and the others with its fifth-tier aura.
• She invited cultivators with Nascent Soul-level cultivation to come to Annan Province in Great Jin's Lingnan Circuit for the Nine Netherworlds Ancient Bloodline matter.
• Qing Jie sensed a fragment of information through the terrified Marrow-Devouring Gu.
• Qing Chen received messages from Master Budong, who had spent over a year waiting outside Penglai Spirit Island for its last two Nascent Soul True Lords to emerge.
• Qing Chen crossed the Gouwu Sea and found Tianshui Island surrounded by warships and treasure ships.
• Hua Tieshou knelt on the tower ship and welcomed Qing Chen as his master.