Chapter Summaries

Tie Zhongtang explained the Northwestern Circuit’s wealth and tax shortfalls to Qing Chen, then gave him the true Circuit-Surveying Seal and promised the Iron Household’s support for his path to Spirit Transformation. The seal resonated with Qing Chen’s Primordial Magnetism Cauldron and blood-path aura, hinting at the power he might wield at Yanmen Pass.

• Tie Zhongtang showed Qing Chen that the Northwestern Circuit had at least five hundred million cultivators but collected far less tax than before, leaving its officials and Dao soldiers underfunded.
• Tie Zhongtang told Qing Chen that restoring order in the Northwestern Circuit and Western Regions could bring him abundant resources, and promised the Iron Household would help him attempt Spirit Transformation.
• Tie Zhongtang presented Qing Chen with the true Northwestern Circuit-Surveying Seal, which could channel the circuit’s fortune power and suppress lower-ranking Immortal Officials’ fortune.
• Qing Chen took the seal and saw Yanmen Pass and the distant northern grasslands in his consciousness as the seal branded his palm.
• The seal, the Primordial Magnetism Cauldron, and Qing Chen’s blood-path aura resonated, and Tie Zhongtang glimpsed the potential for Qing Chen to become a formidable iron-blooded Circuit-Surveying Governor.

Qing Chen crossed into the Northwestern Circuit after Tie Zhongtang gave him battle manuals and parting advice. He arrived at Faneng Temple with four hundred thousand Demon Lotus Sect dao soldiers surrounding it, leaving the reason for the encirclement unexplained.

• Tie Zhongtang gave Qing Chen ancient jade slips containing his military tactics and insights, then departed for Shanhai Pass.
• Qing Chen traveled northwest for more than ten days, sensing the Northwestern Circuit’s fortune through the Circuit-Surveying Seal.
• Xu Jiuling reported that the Demon Lotus Sect’s vanguard, central army, and rear army had assembled around Faneng Temple with four hundred thousand dao soldiers.
• Qing Chen’s treasure ship reached Faneng Temple and revealed the temple surrounded by the Demon Lotus Sect’s encampment.

Xin Bairen led the Demon Lotus Army in surrounding Faneng Temple while Yunzhou Governor Mei Zhili challenged the legality of the operation. As Mei Zhili threatened to make the encirclement a matter of unauthorized troop deployment, Xin defended his orders and Chan Master Faneng accused the army of smearing the temple without proof.

• The Demon Lotus Army, led by Xin Bairen, surrounded Faneng Temple as Ye Wushang, the Guanyin Tower Master, Zhaoshenzi, and Jia Daoyi joined the confrontation.
• Mei Zhili demanded that Xin produce official documents authorizing the deployment and warned that the Immortal Dynasty could hold Qing Chen responsible.
• Xin said the army had orders from Governor-General Qing, had been registered in the Governor-General's Office, and rebuked Mei for failing to address his superior by title.
• Mei grew furious and prepared to use his Provincial Governor's Seal, while Chan Master Faneng intervened with a Buddhist invocation.
• Chan Master Faneng accused Xin of condemning Faneng Temple without conclusive evidence and tarnishing its reputation.

Xin Bairen and Mei Zhili clashed over the siege of Faneng Temple, and their forces fought to a standstill. Qing Chen arrived and struck the temple’s protective formation with Primordial Magnetism Annihilation Divine Thunder, leaving the confrontation poised under his overwhelming power.

• A Dharma Nascent Soul Prefect backed Mei Zhili and threatened Xin Bairen with Yunzhou’s Dao Soldiers and Faneng Temple’s monks.
• Mei Zhili invoked his authority as Provincial Governor and ordered Yunzhou’s Dao Soldiers to seize Xin Bairen and his forces.
• Xin Bairen and his commanders used the Demon Lotus military formation to withstand the combined pressure of the Provincial Governor’s fortune, Dao Soldiers, and Faneng Temple’s Buddhist power.
• Qing Chen appeared aboard a Sky-Patrolling Treasure Ship and struck Faneng Temple’s protective formation with Primordial Magnetism Annihilation Divine Thunder.
• The thunder dimmed the temple’s formation and injured monks maintaining it, halting Yunzhou’s troops as Xin Bairen announced that the Devil Master had arrived.

Qing Chen confronted Yunzhou governor Mei Zhili over accusations that his forces were colluding with the enemy, while Chan Master Faneng tried to defend Faneng Temple and negotiate a face-saving compromise. As Qing Chen waited in silence, Pei Xuance and the Army-Garrison forces arrived from Suzhou.

• The Guanyin Tower Master, Ye Wushang, Jia Daoyi, Zhaoshenzi, and Su Zixuan reflected on Qing Chen’s power and their own ambitions as his treasure ship advanced toward Faneng Temple.
• Qing Chen questioned Mei Zhili about accusing the Commander-in-Chief’s people of treason, and Mei Zhili was too unsettled to answer.
• Chan Master Faneng challenged Qing Chen’s actions in the name of Great Jin law, helping restore the temple monks’ morale.
• Mei Zhili offered to assist an investigation if Qing Chen had evidence and urged him to frame the siege as a temporary investigation rather than an attack.
• Qing Chen waited as Pei Xuance arrived from Suzhou with Army-Garrison forces.

Qing Chen faced the powers gathered outside Faneng Temple and revealed that he had come prepared to expose hidden agents. He named the temple’s revered former abbot Yuantan as a traitor, beginning to present evidence of his collaboration with Great Jin’s enemies.

• Pei Xuance, Li Qingyuan, and Li Wenbi arrived at Faneng Temple as Xue Wuming of the Taotie Yuan-Devouring Sect urged Qing Chen to withdraw and investigate the temple peacefully.
• Mei Zhili realized Qing Chen might have deliberately provoked the gathering powers, rather than seeking an opportunity to retreat with a show of authority.
• Qing Chen produced a black wooden box and explained that it contained a list of former Southern Yue agents obtained through Flying Bear True Lord’s legacy.
• Qing Chen activated the Gray-White Ledger and named Yuantan, Faneng Temple’s seventh-generation Vinaya Hall abbot, as a hidden agent.
• Qing Chen accused Yuantan of betraying Great Jin’s defenses during the battle at White Camel Ridge, and a blood-red Buddhist prayer bead projected a fragmentary scene.

Qing Chen exposed evidence that five senior figures of Faneng Temple had secretly aided Great Jin’s enemies, and Li Qingyuan confirmed that the cited military disasters appeared in the Censorate’s archives. The Border Army generals rallied behind Qing Chen and demanded a thorough investigation.

• Qing Chen showed a projection linking Yuantan to the White Camel Ridge raid, and Li Qingyuan confirmed the old case was recorded in the Censorate’s archives.
• Qing Chen revealed that Fashen had helped Southern Barbarian sorcerers sabotage the Blackstone Gorge arsenal, and Li Qingyuan verified that case as well.
• Qing Chen presented further evidence implicating five Faneng Temple elders in secret dealings with Southern Yue and the Golden Tent Khanate, stirring unrest among the monks and soldiers.
• Qing Chen declared that he had brought back the black wooden box in service of Great Jin and its fallen Border Army soldiers, not for personal gain.
• A Border Army veteran and other frontier generals knelt before Qing Chen, calling for him to investigate thoroughly, while Yunzhou’s Dao Army formation wavered.

Qing Chen rallied the Demon Lotus Army and Border Army against Faneng Temple, accusing it of harboring spies and promising to investigate traitors and pay the soldiers with confiscated resources. The assembled forces prepared to storm the temple after Qing Chen ordered them to spare those who surrendered and kill those who resisted.

• Qing Chen rejected calls to preserve stability and declared that he would destroy Faneng Temple and investigate suspected spies across the Northwestern Circuit.
• Qing Chen promised to use confiscated wealth to pay Border Army stipends, winning the support of the assembled soldiers and officers.
• Chen Huailie, Fan Debiao, and other commandants pledged to follow Qing Chen, while Pei Xuance drew his saber and ordered that no traitors escape.
• Mei Zhili openly distanced himself from Faneng Temple, while Xue Wuming and Li Qingyuan were left unable to influence the troops.
• Qing Chen ordered the troops to spare those who surrendered, kill those who resisted, seal the temple treasuries, and attack Faneng Temple.

Qing Chen’s forces launched a coordinated assault on Faneng Temple, using the Demon Lotus Army’s warships, cannons, formations, and fortune artifacts to break the temple’s defenses. The siege was still underway as Yunzhou’s Dao soldiers sealed the escape routes and hidden Nascent Soul cultivators watched from the clouds.

• Xin Bairen ordered the Demon Lotus War Treasure Ships to bombard Faneng Temple’s mountain-guarding golden bell, while the Demon Lotus Army and Qiongzhou’s Dao soldiers advanced.
• Xin Bairen and Xu Jiuling coordinated the armies’ formations and attacks, using fortune artifacts and spirit crystals to strengthen the soldiers and target the temple’s defenses.
• The Demon Lotus Army shattered sections of the golden bell formation and drove back the monk soldiers with cannon fire, crossbow bolts, and the Blood Lotus Arrowhead Formation.
• Xin Bairen’s forces trapped and wounded a Nascent Soul monk who charged out to defend the gates.
• Pei Xuance’s deputies led Yunzhou’s Dao soldiers around Faneng Temple to block potential escape routes, while Qing Chen and Pei Xuance held back.
• More than a dozen concealed Nascent Soul cultivators gathered in the clouds to observe the assault, and Qing Chen let them watch.

Qing Chen led the Demon Lotus Army and Yunzhou Dao Soldiers in an assault that destroyed Faneng Temple, while Ye Wushang killed its abbot in battle. By dusk, the temple had fallen and Qing Chen stood amid the aftermath, with Li Qingyuan anticipating a political storm over the massacre.

• Qing Chen rejected Xue Wuming’s request to stop the attack, saying Faneng Temple’s enshrinement of traitorous rebels had made the conflict one that could only end in death.
• The Abbot of Faneng Temple attacked Qing Chen’s Treasure Ship, but Ye Wushang intercepted him and killed him with the Thunder Marsh Sword after a prolonged duel.
• Xu Jiuling and the armies blocked Faneng Temple’s escape routes as its Monk Soldiers’ morale collapsed and the Mountain-Guarding Grand Formation shattered.
• Xin Bairen ordered the Demon Lotus Army and Yunzhou Dao Soldiers into the temple, and Faneng Temple was swept and slaughtered before dusk.
• Qing Chen descended from his Treasure Ship as his forces celebrated, while Li Qingyuan considered the uproar the massacre would cause at the Censorate.

After Faneng Temple fell, Qing Chen and Xu Jiuling organized the enormous stores of treasure and remains they had seized, displaying two treasure ships’ riches while guarding a third ship of corpses and Śarīras. Qing Chen was pleased that the remains would provide materials to strengthen his Body Cultivator Army.

• Xin Bairen and Xu Jiuling found that Faneng Temple’s treasures were too numerous and bulky to sort into Storage Rings, so Xu Jiuling summoned two Mountain-Carrying Treasure Ships.
• The first ship carried mountains of Spirit Stones and vast quantities of spiritual materials, while the second held hundreds of thousands of pills, talismans, weapons, and other treasures.
• Qing Chen deliberately let the two ships’ treasure radiance shine for his troops and for the powers watching from afar.
• Demon Lotus Sect cultivators gathered the battlefield dead and loaded them, along with Faneng Temple’s enshrined Śarīras, onto a guarded third ship.
• Xu Jiuling gave Qing Chen a Jade Slip listing more than twenty high-ranking Śarīras, over four hundred Golden Core-grade Śarīras, a suspected Great Cultivator’s Golden Body, and countless other remains.
• Qing Chen welcomed the blood materials as a supply for his Brahma Demon-Refining Art and the Body Cultivator Army within the Nine-Luminaries Glazed Vidyaraja Pagoda.

After Faneng Temple fell, Qing Chen ordered its spoils distributed among his forces, winning the Cloud Province Dao Soldiers’ favor. He then called out hidden onlookers and faced Dugu Yidao and Yuwen Jinghong, whose purpose remained unclear.

• Qing Chen realized Faneng Temple’s śarīra and bones could strengthen his demon banners and praised Xu Jiuling for securing the spoils.
• Qing Chen ordered Faneng Temple’s treasures inventoried and distributed on the spot, allocating most mid- and low-grade spirit stones to the Demon Lotus Army and fifteen percent to the Cloud Province Dao Soldiers.
• The soldiers cheered at the enormous rewards, while Pei Xuance recognized Qing Chen’s growing influence and Mei Zhili worried about losing the troops’ loyalty.
• Qing Chen sensed concealed cultivators in distant clouds and called on them to reveal themselves.
• Dugu Yidao of the Dugu Aristocratic Clan and Yuwen Jinghong of the Yuwen Aristocratic Clan appeared, and Qing Chen wondered what the Nine Nether Aristocratic Clan members intended.

Qing Chen faced the Blood God Sect’s Blood Nascent Soul Boy, Mount Taibai Sword Sect’s Wenren Zhaoxue, and Thunderclap Temple’s Chan Master Jinchi after destroying Faneng Temple. He refused Jinchi’s attempt to limit the investigation and declared that Thunderclap Temple must respect Great Jin’s laws, the Border Army dead, and justice.

• Blood Nascent Soul Boy arrived and jokingly tried to recruit Qing Chen, while eyeing the concealed Mountain-Carrying Treasure Ship.
• Wenren Zhaoxue arrived and praised Ye Wushang’s swordsmanship, prompting Qing Chen and Ye Wushang to recognize his formidable strength.
• Chan Master Jinchi arrived on Thunderclap Temple’s behalf and urged Qing Chen not to implicate other Buddhist temples.
• Qing Chen challenged Jinchi to clarify whether he wanted the investigation to stop or other Buddhist temples spared.
• Qing Chen declared that Thunderclap Temple had to show respect for Great Jin’s Immortal Arts, the unjustly slain Border Army soldiers, all living beings, and justice.

Qing Chen answered Xue Wuming’s challenge by revealing the authority of the Northwestern Circuit-Surveying Seal and drawing on the combined power of five hundred thousand Dao soldiers. His fortune domain overwhelmed the gathered Nascent Soul cultivators, leaving Xue Wuming’s cauldron struggling under the pressure.

• Chan Master Jinchi defended his concern for Faneng Temple, but Qing Chen rebuffed him and silenced the gathered cultivators.
• Xue Wuming warned Qing Chen that the Northwestern Circuit could not be ruled by sharpness alone and challenged him to show what he relied on.
• Qing Chen summoned the Northwestern Circuit-Surveying Dao Seal and ordered the Cangming Army and Cloud Province Dao Soldiers to form their battle formations.
• The five hundred thousand soldiers empowered the Dao seal, allowing Qing Chen to manifest a vast fortune domain alongside his own rules pseudo-domain.
• Qing Chen’s overwhelming might forced Dugu Yidao and the other Nascent Soul cultivators to brace themselves, while Xue Wuming’s Black Copper Cauldron struggled to withstand the pressure.

Qing Chen used the Northwestern Circuit-Surveying Seal and his army to cow the region’s powerful Nascent Soul cultivators, including Xue Wuming, into silence. After ordering more rewards for his soldiers, he watched Xue Wuming attempt to escape just as the sky suddenly darkened.

• Qing Chen challenged Xue Wuming and the other powerful cultivators to oppose his authority, but none dared answer.
• Qing Chen declared that anyone obstructing him would be punished for treason and advanced his five hundred thousand Dao soldiers.
• Xue Wuming and the other Nascent Soul cultivators chose not to fight Qing Chen, recognizing that they could not safely challenge him.
• Qing Chen ordered registration and treasure distribution to continue, adding medicinal pills and Dharma artifacts for the cultivators.
• Xue Wuming tried to leave in his Black Copper Cauldron, but heaven and earth suddenly darkened.

Zhu Ritian, Sect Master of the Taotie Yuan-Devouring Sect, arrived at Faneng Temple and used his devouring domain to suppress Qing Chen’s forces. The chapter ended with Zhu Ritian confronting Qing Chen as the assembled armies and officials feared an imminent clash with a Spirit Transformation Venerable.

• A boundless darkness covered Faneng Temple, and a taotie phantom bit away parts of Qing Chen’s pseudo-domain and swallowed the fortune power sustaining his phantom mountains and rivers.
• Zhu Ritian’s taotie phantom inhaled, destabilizing the military might of the five hundred thousand Dao soldiers and swallowing Ye Wushang’s sword qi.
• Yuwen Jinghong and another cultivator recognized Zhu Ritian, while Xue Wuming greeted the Sect Master with relief.
• Zhu Ritian emerged from the darkness and advanced, steadily devouring the edge of Qing Chen’s pseudo-domain.
• Zhu Ritian accused Qing Chen of destroying Faneng Temple, opposing Thunderclap Temple, and suppressing Xue Wuming, then challenged him to kill a Spirit Transformation Venerable.
• The Cangming Army fell silent, and Li Qingyuan and Mei Zhili showed fear as Zhu Ritian confronted Qing Chen.

Qing Chen prepared to face Zhu Ritian despite knowing the Spirit Transformation Venerable was stronger, and Zhu Ritian began to unleash his devouring domain. A distant black pillar of light and an unknown roar interrupted the confrontation, drawing Zhu Ritian’s attention away from Qing Chen.

• Qing Chen resolved to test his strength against Zhu Ritian, relying on his seal, Dao Soldiers, and concealed Primordial Magnetism Cauldron while judging that Zhu Ritian would not dare kill him publicly.
• Zhu Ritian mocked Qing Chen’s courage and raised a hand to form a devouring rune as the taotie phantom pressed down on the valley.
• Ye Wushang, Xin Bairen, Xu Jiuling, Li Qingyuan, Chan Master Jinchi, and Mei Zhili prepared for the impending clash.
• A black pillar of light appeared on the distant horizon, followed by a roar that made the taotie phantom turn toward it and caused Zhu Ritian’s smile to disappear.

Qing Yuanjia had engineered a clash between Qing Chen and Zhu Ritian to draw Zhu away from the Taotie Yuan-Devouring Sect’s headquarters, where Qing Yuanjia attacked the Foreign Race Heavenly Gate. Zhu returned toward Hezhou, while Qing Chen realized a hidden enemy had manipulated events and Qing Yuanjia’s plan remained underway.

• A surge of power from the Taotie Foreign Race Heavenly Gate distracted Zhu Ritian, who realized someone had lured him away from Hezhou and left Qing Chen to return to the sect headquarters.
• Zhu Ritian withdrew from Snow Valley, and Qing Chen put away the Sky-Patrolling Dao Seal and resolved to find the person who had schemed against him.
• At the Taotie Yuan-Devouring Sect’s headquarters, Qing Yuanjia stood before the Foreign Race Heavenly Gate after killing three Nascent Soul elders guarding its seal.
• Qing Yuanjia’s forty years of refining ancient bloodline power had greatly strengthened him, but he had avoided confronting Qing Chen directly because the outcome was uncertain.
• Qing Yuanjia revealed that he had helped spread news of Qing Chen’s plans against Faneng Temple to provoke the old powers and draw Zhu Ritian away from the headquarters.

Qing Yuanjia exploited Zhu Ritian’s absence to open the Taotie Heavenly Gate, convinced that the opportunity within would let him advance to Spirit Transformation and restore the Qing Household’s glory. In Snow Valley, cultivators weighed Qing Chen’s power and wondered what had given him the confidence to face Zhu Ritian.

• Qing Yuanjia used the Bronze Compass and his six threads of heavenly wave rules to break the Taotie Yuan-Devouring Sect’s sealed formation.
• Qing Yuanjia opened the Taotie Heavenly Gate and declared that he would restore the Qing Household as the Nanhua Realm’s foremost lineage.
• Cultivators in Faneng Temple’s Snow Valley remained shaken by Zhu Ritian’s display of devouring-domain power.
• The Nascent Soul True Lords judged that Qing Chen had grown powerful enough to rival Dugu Yifang and possibly Xue Wugui.
• The cultivators questioned why Qing Chen had stood his ground against Zhu Ritian, suspecting that he possessed hidden support or Spirit Venerable-grade protection.

Qing Chen ordered the Northwestern Circuit’s governors, army commanders, and major lineages to prepare for a governance meeting at Yanmen Pass, using the public aftermath of Faneng Temple’s destruction to make defiance harder. He left Mei Zhili, Li Wenbi, and Pei Xuance responsible for spreading and enforcing the order, then declared he would rather die at his post than fail the Northwestern Circuit.

• Qing Chen ordered Mei Zhili to secure Faneng Temple’s case files and summon the Northwestern Circuit’s provincial governors, five great army commanders, and major lineages to Yanmen Pass within a year.
• Mei Zhili worried that relaying the order would bind him to Qing Chen’s camp, but accepted under Qing Chen’s pressure.
• Qing Chen ordered Chief Secretary Li Wenbi to remain in Yunzhou and supervise Mei Zhili’s dispatches.
• Qing Chen told Pei Xuance to have the Cloud Province Dao Soldiers report what they witnessed and to inform the five great Border Army commanders.
• Qing Chen proclaimed that neither mighty powers nor Spirit Transformation Venerables could sway him, and vowed to die at his post if he failed to govern the Northwestern Circuit well.