Chapter Summaries

Qing Chen led the Cangming Dao Army northwest from Yunzhou, using his victory at Faneng Temple to cow provincial officials and inspect the Northwestern Circuit along the way. The army continued toward Yanmen Pass as Qing Chen demanded records, recruited cultivators, and displayed its strength at each stop.

• Qing Chen left Mei Zhili and Li Wenbi to face the fallout at Faneng Temple while Xin Bairen, Xu Jiuling, Jia Daoyi, and the others inventoried and loaded the captured treasures, records, and ships.
• After ten days of rest and recreation, the four hundred thousand Cangming Dao Army troops assembled and set out northwest with the captured Faneng Temple ships and Mountain-Carrying Treasure Ships.
• News of Qing Chen's destruction of Faneng Temple spread across the region, and provincial officials grew fearful as his fleet approached their cities.
• At each province, Qing Chen summoned officials to present financial and military records, accepted gifts as troop comforts, and questioned anyone whose accounts seemed doubtful.
• Qing Chen opened recruitment platforms for qualified cultivators and ordered his officers to demonstrate the Cangming Army's formations and coordinated firepower before local officials and troops.

Qing Chen arrived at Yanmen Pass with the Cangming Army and more than fifty thousand newly recruited Dao soldiers, after building support across the Northwestern Circuit. When the Five Great Army Commanders left the gates closed, Qing Chen invoked his authority and proclaimed himself Commander-in-Chief before the pass.

• Qing Chen recruited more than fifty thousand Dao soldiers during his journey, including over a thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators and more than thirty Golden Core cultivators.
• Qing Chen and his forces reached Yanmen Pass, where the newly recruited soldiers and veterans were struck by the scale of the fortress.
• Xu Jiuling reported that Inspecting Censor Li Qingyuan and Circuit Inspector Pei Xuance had entered the pass, but the Five Great Army Commanders had not opened the gates to welcome Qing Chen.
• Xin Bairen offered to lead troops forward to demand entry, but Qing Chen refused to violate the fortress regulations by forcing the gates open.
• Qing Chen flew toward Yanmen Pass, revealed the Northwestern Circuit-Surveying Seal and Golden Imperial Edict, and declared himself the Commander-in-Chief.

Qing Chen arrived at Yanmen Pass and entered its military fortress through the formation after the Northwestern Circuit-Surveying Seal authenticated him. He met Pei Xuance and the five Border Army commanders, then recognized old acquaintances among them and was startled to find Yue Ting commanding the Yueshan Army.

• Border Army soldiers watched Qing Chen approach Yanmen Pass, hoping he would bring change to the northwestern border.
• The pass formation tested Qing Chen's authority, and the Northwestern Circuit-Surveying Seal opened a gateway that admitted him.
• Qing Chen appeared above the Inner City and met Pei Xuance and the five Border Army commanders outside the military headquarters hall.
• Qing Chen saw Qin Wujiang, Dugu Wuqing, Wei Ting, and Wang Yan, who each commanded one of Yanmen Pass's armies.
• Qing Chen recognized Yue Ting as the fifth commander and was bewildered by his nascent soul middle stage peak cultivation and command of the Yueshan Army.

Qing Chen recognized Yue Ting among the Northwestern Border Army’s leaders and wondered how he had risen from an ordinary cultivator to the peak of the Nascent Soul middle stage. At Yanmen Pass, Qing Chen took command and promised the 1.8 million Border Army troops two months of extra pay.

• Qing Chen recalled that Yue Ting had left Qiongzhou to seek a way to save his grievously wounded master, Xie Yu, and was astonished by Yue Ting’s rapid rise to the Nascent Soul middle stage.
• Pei Xuance and the five military chiefs formally welcomed Qing Chen to Yanmen Pass, while Yue Ting kept his head lowered and avoided acknowledging him.
• Qing Chen climbed the Commander-Appointment Platform and addressed all 1.8 million Border Army troops, declaring that he would not revisit Yanmen Pass’s past accounts.
• Qing Chen opened chests of spirit stones and promised every northwestern Border Army soldier two months of extra stipends, to be distributed that day from the Governor-General’s Office Treasury.
• Qin Wujiang silently envied Qing Chen’s wealth and the funds he could spend on demon beast flesh and blood.

Qing Chen announced reforms at Yanmen Pass, promising full military pay through a new registration and treasury system while calling for a counterattack against the Golden Tent Khanate. He pledged two months’ pay immediately, but the four hundred thousand Cangming Dao Soldiers still had to undergo the pass’s security checks before entering.

• Qing Chen announced that border soldiers would receive their full stipends and introduced the Northwestern Military Register Jade Talisman System.
• Qing Chen established a Border Pay General Treasury where soldiers could collect pay and exchange it for supplies, prompting the troops to cheer for him.
• Qing Chen called for Yanmen Pass to prepare for a counterattack against the Golden Tent barbarians, promising soldiers the spoils of future raids.
• Qing Chen promised to issue two months of military pay immediately, and the assembled soldiers erupted in cheers.
• Qing Chen kept the Cangming Dao Soldiers outside Yanmen Pass until they completed the required identity, weapon, bloodline, and security checks.

Qing Chen inspected the troops entering Yanmen Pass, uncovered spies and suspected traitors, and raised a tower of their corpses to intimidate the region. After consolidating his control over the pass, he secretly went to Yue Ting’s camp, where Yue Ting invited him in to talk.

• Qing Chen established thirty-six Bone-Illuminating Profound Mirror inspection camps and admitted the Cangming Dao Army and newly recruited Dao soldiers in batches over two months.
• The inspections uncovered 379 spies and suspected spies, including two golden core cultivators, whom Qing Chen ordered killed and displayed on the Withered Skeleton Treachery-Illuminating Tower.
• The tower continued to grow as corpses arrived from across the Northwestern Circuit, other circuits, and the Gouwu Sea, while Qing Chen’s forces confiscated property and exterminated clans linked to the treason case.
• Xin Bairen and Xu Jiuling discussed Qing Chen’s methods as the Guanyin Tower Master watched the tower with fear.
• Qing Chen took control of Yanmen Pass’s formation hub and studied its defenses and military units before secretly traveling to Yueshan Military Camp.
• Yue Ting sent Qing Chen a voice transmission and invited him inside for a talk.

Qing Chen confronted Yue Ting in the Yueshan Army command tent and questioned his sudden rise and his ties to Xie Yu. When Yue Ting warned that harming him would alert Yanmen Pass’s other powers, Qing Chen attacked, declaring him a rebel colluding with the Golden Tent.

• Qing Chen entered the Yueshan Army command tent and sat in the commander's chair while Yue Ting kept their conversation formal and disclaimed any personal ties.
• Qing Chen asked about their old acquaintances and Xie Yu, and Yue Ting's composure briefly faltered at Xie Yu's name.
• Qing Chen cited Yue Ting's rapid rise in cultivation, spiritual root quality, alchemy, and military standing, then threatened him with overwhelming murderous intent.
• Yue Ting warned Qing Chen that his subordinates would alert Yanmen Pass's other leaders if he failed to send word within an hour.
• Qing Chen sealed the tent with his Demon Lotus Platform and attacked Yue Ting, claiming he was arresting a rebel who had colluded with the Golden Tent.

Qing Chen overwhelmed Yue Ting in the command tent, but stopped when Yue Ting revealed powerful treasures and claimed they came from the Reincarnation Dead Sea. The chapter left Qing Chen shocked and suspicious about how Yue Ting had survived that dangerous place.

• Qing Chen attacked Yue Ting with a blood-powered palm, shattering his spirit needles, crushing his moon defense, and smashing his medicinal furnace into him.
• Qing Chen halted the palm before it seized Yue Ting when Yue Ting revealed two White Bone Demon Mara Banners and a fifth-tier Golden Tent shaman's totem talisman.
• Yue Ting said he wanted a chance to live and admitted he had considered fleeing, but stayed because his master Xie Yu and his schemes were tied to Yanmen Pass.
• Yue Ting revealed another jade talisman whose sealed power exceeded the Nascent Soul level, making Qing Chen more cautious.
• Yue Ting said he had obtained the treasures in the Reincarnation Dead Sea, leaving Qing Chen disbelieving that Yue Ting could have survived there.

Yue Ting revealed that he had entered the Reincarnation Dead Sea and survived, explaining how it connected to his master, his demon banners, and his alchemy abilities. Qing Chen grew interested in Yue Ting’s rare talents, though he remained prepared to attack him.

• Yue Ting explained that he had returned to Immortal-Severing Island with his master’s coffin after finding a Blood Jiangshi Branch Altar Command Token, and Qing Chen realized Yue Ting had explored the island and its hidden passages before him.
• Yue Ting revealed that the Golden Tent Khanate’s High Priest, Canglang King’s son, had died in the Reincarnation Dead Sea, and that Yue Ting’s fifth-tier Shaman Beast Talisman was connected to him.
• Yue Ting said he had encountered a powerful Demon Lotus Holy Son from the Black Bird Heaven-Bearing Sect and had become a Holy Son of the Immortal-Locking Cult, linking his White Bone Demon Mara Banners to that encounter.
• Yue Ting claimed to be a high-grade fourth-tier Alchemy Grandmaster with a Dao of Alchemy Spirit Body, which had helped improve his spiritual root aptitude.
• Qing Chen recognized Yue Ting’s value and praised his talents, but said he found Yue Ting’s alchemy claims hard to believe.

Yue Ting explained that he had turned his master, Xie Yu, into a powerful blood jiangshi to preserve him, but the corpse qi was consuming Xie Yu’s last trace of consciousness. He asked Qing Chen to help reverse the transformation, and insisted that saving his master mattered more than his own cultivation or safety.

• Yue Ting revealed that he had obtained the Demon Seed Golden Lotus and the Mysterious Yin Corpse-Refining Secret Technique from the Blood Jiangshi Legacy Mansion.
• Yue Ting described how he used the living corpse method to preserve Xie Yu’s soul and rebuild his shattered body, eventually making him a blood jiangshi nearly as strong as a Nascent Soul cultivator.
• Qing Chen determined that Xie Yu’s growing corpse body was corroding his remaining soul, while Yue Ting’s Demon Seed Divine Sense could barely keep it from fading.
• Yue Ting asked Qing Chen to help reverse the living corpse transformation, explaining that Xie Yu’s consciousness might disappear within fifty years.
• Qing Chen warned Yue Ting that weak Demon Seed Golden Lotus cultivators could be refined into demon banners, and Yue Ting said he knew the danger but would not abandon his master.

Yue Ting revealed that he possessed the complete Mysterious Yin Corpse-Refining Secret Technique and a jade slip left by Spirit Venerable Qu Ba, both of which could help restore Xie Yu. He asked Qing Chen to help obtain two rare fifth-tier materials, and the chapter ended with Yue Ting kneeling before him.

• Yue Ting told Qing Chen that he had obtained all twelve levels of the Mysterious Yin Corpse-Refining Secret Technique, including its path to Spirit Transformation.
• Yue Ting showed Qing Chen Spirit Venerable Qu Ba's jade slip, which described a method for reversing the living corpse state and preserving Xie Yu's Dao Path and vitality.
• Yue Ting explained that the method required Nine Netherworlds Soul-Returning Marrow from a yin river controlled by the Black Fox King Tribe and a Loulan Undying Wood Heart from the ancient city of Loulan.
• Qing Chen connected both materials to his plans in the Northwestern Circuit and felt excited as the region's affairs converged.
• Yue Ting said he could not restore Xie Yu without Qing Chen's powerful divine soul, then knelt before him.

Yue Ting offered Qing Chen two White Bone Demon Mara Banners, valuable intelligence about the Reincarnation Dead Sea, and his alchemy services in exchange for help. Qing Chen accepted the gifts and instructed Yue Ting to remain among the Yanmen Pass commanders and secretly monitor their movements, leaving him with eight of the twelve banners.

• Yue Ting offered Qing Chen the Yaoguang and Qiongqi demon banners, and Qing Chen subdued them with the Dijiang Banner.
• Yue Ting promised to provide his Reincarnation Dead Sea records and refine pills for Qing Chen, explaining his alchemical expertise and the legacy he had found.
• Qing Chen agreed to help Yue Ting and told him to keep watch on the other army commanders at Yanmen Pass.
• Yue Ting gave Qing Chen his prepared jade slips, secret techniques, and pill recipe before leaving to recuperate with the Yueshan Army.
• After Yue Ting departed, Qing Chen counted the banners and realized he was four short of collecting all twelve.

Qing Chen sealed himself in the Governor-General’s Residence to refine the eight demon banners with the Mara Blood-Refining Bone-Transforming Grand Formation. After subduing Yaoguang and Qiongqi and feeding the formation a vast store of corpses and Buddhist remains, he faced resistance from the chanting śarīras as the refinement continued.

• Qing Chen ordered the underground palace sealed and forbade anyone from disturbing his seclusion unless Yanmen Pass faced an imminent threat.
• Qing Chen placed the eight demon banners around the blood pool and used his divine sense and the Di Jiang Banner to crush Yaoguang and Qiongqi’s resistance, erasing Yue Ting’s imprints.
• Qing Chen filled the blood pool with Buddhist corpses, demon beast and cultivator remains, high-rank śarīras, and the remains of Old Man Tianchi and Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord.
• Qing Chen activated the Mara Blood-Refining Bone-Transforming Grand Formation, which began drawing flesh, bones, and killing intent from the corpses into the demon banners.
• The Golden Core śarīras began chanting together, and their Buddhist light scorched Yaoguang and Qiongqi as Qing Chen challenged the dead monks to stop him.

Qing Chen spent more than a hundred days refining corpses and bone essence to strengthen his eight demon banners. He emerged exhausted but exhilarated, with three supreme-grade banners and five high-grade banners, while Di Jiang still hungered for more powerful corpses.

• Qing Chen fed śarīras and bone essence into the formation, advancing the Yaoguang and Qiongqi banners to high-grade.
• Qing Chen fed Old Man Tianchi's and old monster Thunder Flood Dragon's corpses to Xuanming, which advanced to supreme-grade.
• Qing Chen strengthened Di Jiang with more corpses and essence, but it remained far from becoming a quasi-spirit artifact and yearned for stronger prey.
• After more than a hundred days, Qing Chen finished the ritual, consuming the Demon Lotus Sect's accumulated corpses and nearly drying the White Bone Blood Pool.
• Qing Chen surveyed the eight banners and celebrated their increased power: three were supreme-grade and five were high-grade.

Qing Chen tested the combined power of his eight demon banners and found that the Immortal-Burying Coffin could kill even powerful Nascent Soul cultivators. Meanwhile, the great powers of the Northwestern Circuit gathered at Yanmen Pass, where Qing Chen’s ruthless display had left them wary of acting against him.

• Qing Chen reinforced the underground palace and activated all eight demon banners, forming a massive white bone coffin that suppressed the surrounding space with death qi.
• Qing Chen sent a powerful protector puppet into the coffin, where the Red-Haired Blood Hand dragged it inside and reduced it to ashes.
• Qing Chen assessed the coffin’s strength, concluding it could threaten Nascent Soul peak cultivators and even endanger some of the region’s most formidable experts.
• Qing Chen wondered who was secretly scheming against him after the battle at Faneng Temple, then reflected on how his power had changed.
• The powerful figures of the Northwestern Circuit gathered in the Governor-General’s hall at Yanmen Pass, fearful of Qing Chen after he displayed the corpses of spies, enemies, and even former Cangming Army comrades.

Qing Chen’s officials and regional leaders gathered for a governance meeting, but Qing Chen stayed in seclusion and sent Xu Jiuling to announce decrees instead. Xu Jiuling declared that the assembly had not been called to offer opinions, leaving the powerful attendees furious as he began reading the first edict.

• The Provincial Governors and military leaders waited in the hall while Qing Chen’s memorials against him went unanswered by the Imperial Court.
• Xu Jiuling entered with Ye Wushang, Xin Bairen, and Cangming Army enforcers, drawing uneasy reactions from several Provincial Governors.
• Qin Wujiang challenged Xu Jiuling over Qing Chen’s absence, and Xu replied that the Governor-General was in seclusion.
• Xu Jiuling said Qing Chen had ordered him to announce decrees and that the assembly’s opinions were not being solicited.
• Xu Jiuling unfurled the first gubernatorial edict as the Northwestern Circuit-Surveying Seal released its aura through the hall.

Xu Jiuling announced Qing Chen’s land-survey and transport-tax edicts, which would place spirit property records and cross-province trade under the Governor-General’s Office. Yan Zhen and Shen Wenzhao challenged the decrees, arguing that they threatened long-standing property rights and stripped the provincial governors of their authority.

• Xu Jiuling read Qing Chen’s edict requiring all spirit fields, mines, and related properties to be registered and sealed anew, warning that unreviewed holdings would become ownerless.
• Xu Jiuling announced the transport-tax edict, abolishing provincial checkpoints and requiring permits for large cross-border shipments, with most tax revenue allocated to Yanmen Pass.
• Yan Zhen objected that the survey threatened lands awarded to military cultivators and their descendants, calling the demand to review them all unreasonable.
• Shen Wenzhao supported Yan Zhen and argued that the Governor-General’s Office was bypassing provincial institutions and taking control of taxation, property reviews, and trade permits.

Provincial governors and military commanders opposed Qing Chen’s two decrees and submitted a joint memorial challenging his authority as acting Governor-General. Qing Chen welcomed their protest, hinting that their unified move had suited his plans.

• Shen Wenzhao and Luo Chong joined Yan Zhen in criticizing Qing Chen’s orders, while Qin Wujiang demanded repayment of the Bloodedge Army’s unpaid wages and Dugu Wuqing argued the decrees could be refused.
• Yan Zhen, Shen Wenzhao, Luo Chong, Qin Wujiang, and Dugu Wuqing signed a joint memorial opposing the measures.
• Pei Xuance recognized the memorial as a major challenge to Qing Chen, while Li Qingyuan suspected that someone had deliberately steered events toward this confrontation.
• Xu Jiuling struggled under the five officials’ pressure until Qing Chen spoke from within the blood mist and said the memorial had saved him effort.
• Qing Chen denied intending to punish the officials and claimed he would not kill anyone over loyal counsel that grated on the ear.

Qing Chen exposed Yue Ting’s secret dealings with the Black Fox King Tribe and began revealing widespread illicit trade involving the Northwestern Border Army and provincial powers. He ended by presenting evidence that the Bloodedge Army had diverted spirit iron to the Blood God Sect, Western Regions merchants, and the Iron Wolf King Tribe.

• Qing Chen appeared on the Governor-General’s throne and declared that he would apprehend traitors.
• Qing Chen presented records linking Yue Ting to private dealings with the Black Fox King Tribe, including a direct-line token and exchanges of military supplies for cultivation resources and intelligence.
• Qing Chen confronted Yue Ting before the assembled officials, and Yue Ting rose to his feet but could not explain himself.
• Qing Chen displayed ledgers and records exposing secret trade routes and unregistered shipments involving the Border Army, provincial administrations, and Western Regions merchants.
• Qing Chen revealed that the Bloodedge Army had concealed spirit mines and diverted spirit iron to the Blood God Sect, merchant associations, and the Iron Wolf King Tribe, shocking Qin Wujiang.

Qing Chen exposed evidence of treason and smuggling against Qin Wujiang, Luo Chong, and Yue Ting, then ordered their arrest. Yue Ting escaped the hall despite being wounded, and Qing Chen sent Pei Xuance and Yan Zhen after him, authorizing them to bring him back dead or alive.

• Qing Chen accused Luo Chong of secretly shipping military supplies to enemy nations and embezzling provincial funds, then declared he would arrest suspected traitors rather than determine their guilt.
• Qing Chen unleashed a blood sea and ordered Qin Wujiang, Luo Chong, and Yue Ting seized for suspected treason.
• Qin Wujiang summoned his Blood God dharma form, Luo Chong used his Black Bone Banner to devour the blood dragon, and Yue Ting deployed four talismans to flee.
• Qing Chen used magnetic-origin power to trap Yue Ting, but Yue Ting's strange talisman severed the blood dragon before Qing Chen's blood needles wounded him.
• Yue Ting escaped into the snow beyond the Governor-General's Office, and Qing Chen ordered Pei Xuance and Yan Zhen to pursue him and return him dead or alive.