Chapter Summaries

Qing Chen revealed that he had deliberately allowed Yue Ting to escape as part of his plan, while Pei Xuance and Yan Zhen pursued him. Qin Wujiang and Luo Chong joined forces to break Qing Chen’s blockade, but Qing Chen remained unmoved as their attacks closed in.

• Qing Chen secretly let the wounded Yue Ting flee so his defection would seem convincing, and trusted him to evade Pei Xuance and Yan Zhen.
• Luo Chong summoned the Taotie demon shadow to devour the surrounding power and strengthen himself.
• Qin Wujiang unleashed his blood god dharma form and hundreds of phantom bodies to strike Qing Chen with a massive blood sun.
• The hall’s onlookers retreated in alarm as Qin Wujiang and Luo Chong combined their powers to try to escape.
• Qing Chen watched their attack approach and declared that their abilities were only a measure of what he had faced before.

Qing Chen overwhelmed Qin Wujiang and Luo Chong with his blood-magnetism domain, demon lotus, and Blood River God-Slaying Spear. He defeated both men and declared that he was apprehending rebels on Heaven’s behalf, challenging anyone in the hall to object.

• Qing Chen used the Mysterious Womb Demon Lotus Platform to disrupt Luo Chong and unleash a domain that fused blood, primordial magnetism, and his Yang Spirit.
• Qing Chen caused Luo Chong’s Taotie Demon Shadow to explode, leaving Luo Chong injured and the Black Bone Yuan-Devouring Banner badly damaged.
• Qin Wujiang drove his blood god dharma form toward Qing Chen, but Qing Chen bound it with primordial magnetism and drew blood essence from its phantom bodies.
• Qing Chen’s Blood River God-Slaying Spear struck Qin Wujiang, shattering his armor and bones and hurling him into the hall wall.
• Qing Chen declared that he was acting on Heaven’s behalf to apprehend rebels and asked whether anyone dared object.

Qing Chen crushed Qin Wujiang and Luo Chong’s attempt to resist, then imprisoned them in blood-magnetism spheres before confronting the silent officials with their jointly signed memorial. The remaining governors and commanders feared they could be implicated as a commotion arose outside the great hall.

• Qing Chen sealed Luo Chong’s escape attempt, dragged his nascent soul back into his body, and incapacitated him after defeating Qin Wujiang.
• Qing Chen trapped Qin Wujiang and Luo Chong in separate blood-magnetism spheres and suppressed their magic power and nascent souls.
• Qing Chen ended his pseudo-domain, displayed the memorial signed by five men, and faced the gathered officials without speaking.
• Dugu Wuqing and Shen Wenzhao feared Qing Chen would punish them next, while the other officials stayed silent under his scrutiny.
• A commotion sounded outside the great hall.

Ye Wushang and Jia Daoyi reported that Yue Ting had escaped after unleashing a talisman that erased everything across dozens of li, killing Yan Zhen and Zhaoshenzi and devastating the pursuing army. Qing Chen erupted at the assembled commanders, accusing them of standing idle while Yue Ting fled.

• Sun Wudi announced that Ye Wushang and Jia Daoyi had returned gravely wounded with urgent military intelligence, and Qing Chen ordered them admitted.
• Jia Daoyi reported that the Cangming Army had seized control of Yue Ting’s Yueshan Army forces while Ye Wushang and Zhaoshenzi helped corner Yue Ting beyond Yanmen Pass.
• Yue Ting crushed a black-and-white talisman that erased a vast area, destroying Yan Zhen and Zhaoshenzi, incapacitating Pei, and killing or wounding thousands.
• Ye Wushang and the surviving troops protected the wounded Pei as Yue Ting escaped through chaotic void; Jia Daoyi and Ye Wushang returned to report to Qing Chen.
• Qing Chen accused the commanders in the hall of standing by while Yue Ting escaped, then silenced Dugu Wuqing and Shen Wenzhao when they tried to answer.

Qing Chen condemned the Northwestern Circuit’s officials for failing to pursue Yue Ting and announced rewards for those killed in the fight. He then presented Jia Daoyi with Nascent-Replenishing Heavenly Fluid, giving him a chance to abandon his Dharma Nascent Soul and attempt to form a true Nascent Soul.

• Qing Chen berated the provincial governors and military commanders for standing by while Yan Zhen pursued Yue Ting and died, and blamed their inaction for the soldiers’ deaths.
• Qing Chen defended his reforms and threatened the officials, then promised posthumous honors and compensation for Yan Zhen, Zhaoshenzi, and the fallen Cangming Army soldiers.
• Qing Chen summoned Jia Daoyi and revealed a Black Jade Treasure Bottle containing Nascent-Replenishing Heavenly Fluid.
• Li Qingyuan identified the fluid, and Jia Daoyi realized it could give him another chance to form a true Nascent Soul.

Qing Chen rewarded Jia Daoyi and reorganized the Northwestern Circuit’s military and provincial leadership after arresting officials for corruption and collusion. He left the assembled governors facing a joint memorial that would formalize his proposed appointments, with no one willing to oppose him.

• Qing Chen rewarded Jia Daoyi with Nascent-Replenishing Heavenly Fluid for his service in the pursuit of Yue Ting.
• Qing Chen appointed Ye Wushang and Jia Daoyi to lead the Bloodedge Army and placed the Yueshan Army under the Guanyin Tower Master, bringing his command to over a million troops.
• Qing Chen announced that he would temporarily oversee Liangzhou and appointed Xu Jiuling as Acting Liangzhou Prefecture Vice-Governor.
• Qing Chen ordered Mei Zhili to take over Suzhou and investigate Luo Chong’s accounts, then proposed Xu Zhiyin as Acting Yunzhou Governor.
• Qing Chen presented a joint memorial for the governors to sign, and the hall fell silent as no one dared object.

Qing Chen persuaded the northwestern officials to endorse his proposed redistribution of military and civil authority by pledging to strengthen the frontier and raise annual tax remittances. Li Qingyuan added his seal with a warning that he would impeach Qing Chen if the pledge failed, leaving Qing Chen with no remaining official obstacles in the Northwestern Circuit.

• Mei Zhili and Wei Ting agreed to endorse Qing Chen's proposal, while Wang Yan and the other officials remained silent.
• Li Qingyuan objected that Qing Chen could not appoint commanders and governors without the proper recommendations and approval.
• Qing Chen argued that his changes were proposals for stabilizing the frontier and promised to remit at least one billion Spirit Stones annually after five years.
• Li Qingyuan concluded that the Immortal Dynasty had little reason to reject Qing Chen's plan and sealed the joint memorial, warning that he would impeach Qing Chen if he failed.
• Qing Chen declared that he served the country and its people and kept his word.

Qing Chen consolidated control of the Northwestern Circuit after securing the officials’ signatures on his memorial and military pledge. Over the following months, he imprisoned Qin Wujiang and Luo Chong, purged or reassigned their allies, and placed the region’s armies under loyal commanders, leaving him with a force of one and a half million Dao soldiers.

• Provincial governors, military leaders, and senior inspection officials left their magic power marks on Qing Chen’s memorial, which set out appointments, rewards, and his pledge to remit spirit stones.
• Qing Chen imprisoned Qin Wujiang and Luo Chong beneath the Governor-General’s Office instead of sending them to the Divine Capital, claiming their suspected collusion with barbarians was still under investigation.
• Qing Chen dealt with the former leaders’ followers by accepting confessions, imprisoning or killing proven offenders, and transferring or expelling others backed by powerful figures.
• Ye Wushang took command at the Bloodedge Army camp and killed three commandants who refused to surrender their formation flags, while Jia Daoyi and Lei Bao recruited officers to Qing Chen’s side.
• The Guanyin Tower Master, Su Zixuan, and Sun Wudi helped secure the Yueshan Army, while Wei Ting cooperated with the Governor-General’s Office and received troops, equipment, and treasures from Qing Chen.
• Qing Chen’s allies took control of key posts in the Bloodedge, Yueshan, and Thundering Armies, bringing the total force under his influence to one and a half million Dao soldiers.

Qing Chen received Emperor Jingtai’s edict, which approved several appointments and rewards while imposing steep revenue quotas and requiring military victories against the Golden Tent Khanate. The edict also announced Consort Nian’s return to the northwest and appointed the Seventeenth Imperial Prince Ji Chengjing as Protector of the Northwestern Circuit under Qing Chen’s supervision.

• Qing Chen kept Pei Xuance unconscious and sealed his Nascent Soul, preventing him from exercising the Circuit Inspector’s authority.
• Wei Jin arrived at Yanmen Pass with the Inner Cabinet’s reply and Emperor Jingtai’s sealed imperial edict.
• The edict granted posthumous honors to Yan Zhen and Zhaoshenzi, approved temporary Border Army leadership, and reassigned Mei Zhili and Xu Zhiyin.
• The edict required Qing Chen to remit at least one billion low-grade spirit stones annually after five years and one billion five hundred million after ten years, with formal appointment as Governor-General conditional on meeting the terms.
• Emperor Jingtai ordered Qing Chen to earn verifiable military merits against the Golden Tent Khanate and announced Consort Nian’s planned return to the Northwestern Circuit.
• Emperor Jingtai enfeoffed Ji Chengjing as Pacify-the-West Commandery Prince and appointed him Protector of the Northwestern Circuit, ordering Qing Chen to instruct him.

Qing Chen received imperial decrees appointing Ji Chengjing as his deputy and assigning him to protect a marriage procession to Loulan, while Luan-yang Princess would accompany it. The decrees also confirmed most of Qing Chen’s policies, leaving the northwest’s provincial governors and military chiefs facing the loss of their smuggling profits.

• Emperor Jingtai appointed Ji Chengjing Pacify-the-West Commandery Prince and Deputy Protector of the Western Regions, placing him under Qing Chen’s guidance.
• The imperial court announced that Hening Commandery Princess would marry Loulan’s eldest prince and that Luan-yang Princess would travel with the wedding escort.
• Qing Chen considered how the Loulan mission could help Yue Ting reach Ancient Loulan City and find the Loulan Undying Wood Heart, while worrying about the many political and military demands ahead.
• Qing Chen welcomed Wei Jin and had Xu Jiuling escort him to the Guest Reception Hall with gifts.
• After the imperial officials left, the provincial governors and military chiefs realized the court had accepted nearly all of Qing Chen’s policies and that his control of the passes would cripple their clandestine trade.

Qing Chen enforced the Immortal Dynasty’s decree in the Northwestern Circuit, then met with Ding Buxing, who delivered news of the Eighth Prince’s support and approved appointments. Qing Chen openly pledged his allegiance to the Eighth Prince, while Ding decided to remain in Yanmen Pass as the prince’s spokesman.

• Qing Chen warned the Provincial Governors that anyone who defied the decree would be sent to the Bitter Prison, and they accepted his orders while privately hoping the northwest’s powerful sects would challenge him.
• Qing Chen met Ding Buxing in a secluded pavilion, where Ding reported that the Inner Cabinet had approved Qing Chen’s requested appointments and decrees, including a rising annual payment that would reach one and a half billion low-grade spirit stones in ten years.
• Ding explained that Chief Grand Secretary Zhang Taiyue had proposed two billion spirit stones, but Hu Yong helped reduce the amount after reviewing the circuit’s resources and military needs.
• Qing Chen declared that he would remember the Eighth Prince’s assistance and revealed that the Azure Abyss Marquis’s Manor had joined the prince, with important Northwestern Circuit memorials to be sent to him for review.
• Ding told Qing Chen that he would stay in Yanmen Pass to serve as the Eighth Prince’s spokesman and help establish a lodge there.

Qing Chen learned the Divine Capital’s plans for the northwest and the Western Regions, then discovered that an immense force had struck Yanmen Pass’s defensive formation. He mobilized the armies and raced toward the pass’s highest point as the city prepared for battle.

• Ding Buxing explained that Consort Nian’s family visit would include capable agents, while the Seventeenth Imperial Prince was withdrawing from the succession struggle to take up his fief.
• Ding Buxing described Great Jin’s plans to protect Loulan through a marriage alliance and a troop deployment, and explained Luan-yang Princess’s likely reasons for traveling west.
• A powerful strike hit the Nine Profound Suppression of the North Formation, and Qing Chen realized it approached the strength of a Spirit Transformation Venerable.
• Qing Chen ordered Yanmen Pass’s gates sealed and assigned its armies to defend the formation towers and city sectors.
• Qing Chen transformed into a streak of blood-black magnetic light and flew toward Yanmen Pass’s highest point, while Ding Buxing chose to stay behind.

Qing Chen confronted Carefree Marquis, a newly revealed Spirit Transformation Venerable, who arrived at Yanmen Pass with Dugu Yifang and Xue Wuming to pressure him over recent purges and lost interests. The chapter ended by revealing that Zhu Ritian could not come because he was trapped overseeing the chaotic seal beneath the Taotie Yuan-Devouring Sect’s stronghold.

• Qing Chen saw the Nine Profound Suppression of the North Formation activate and mobilized the forces at Yanmen Pass after sensing three powerful arrivals outside.
• Qing Chen recognized Carefree Marquis as a Blood God Sect elder who had advanced to Spirit Transformation, and identified Dugu Yifang and Xue Wuming beside him.
• Qing Chen suspected Zhu Ritian might be hiding nearby and searched the surrounding area, but found no trace of him.
• Zhu Ritian remained in Hezhou, where recurring Devouring Anomaly Tides and the unstable seal kept him from leaving the sect’s stronghold.
• Qing Yuanjia’s earlier actions had contributed to the seal’s turmoil, indirectly preventing Zhu Ritian from supporting Xue Wuming at Yanmen Pass.

The Carefree Marquis demanded that Qing Chen release Qin Wujiang, Luo Chong, and the detained disciples, restore their posts, and make amends. Qing Chen invoked both Great Jin law and his authority in the Origin-Initial Devil Sect, then left Yanmen Pass’s formation to face the Marquis directly, supported by the pass’s military and formation power.

• The Carefree Marquis pressured Yanmen Pass with his blood moon and demanded the release of the detained disciples, restored posts, and an apology.
• Qing Chen challenged the Marquis’s authority and insisted he withdraw his rule domain while he investigated the cases.
• Qing Chen invoked his Deputy Branch Master token and warned that the Marquis was challenging the Origin-Initial Devil Sect; he also rebuked Xue Wuming.
• The Carefree Marquis threatened Qing Chen with his Spirit Transformation power and questioned whether he would dare confront him without the formation.
• Qing Chen left the Nine Profound Suppression of the North Formation and stood before the Carefree Marquis, backed by Yanmen Pass’s military and formation power.

Qing Chen confronted the Carefree Marquis at Yanmen Pass and declared his ambition to become a Spirit Venerable, but Dugu Yifang revealed his hidden strength and challenged him. Dugu Yifang struck directly at Qing Chen’s divine soul, and Qing Chen countered with the Mystic Womb Demon Lotus as the chapter ended.

• Qing Chen told the Carefree Marquis that his achievements and standing qualified him to speak as an equal and that he could one day become a Spirit Venerable and contend for the Origin-Initial Heavenly Devil position.
• The two million Dao Soldiers’ military might surged behind Qing Chen, while Xue Wuming mocked his claims.
• Dugu Yifang unleashed his hidden aura, revealing a profound transformation after refining a quarter portion of Divine Ability Realm Ancient Bloodline.
• Dugu Yifang challenged Qing Chen to withstand his attacks, and Qing Chen summoned the Blood River God-Slaying Spear and refused to dodge.
• Dugu Yifang vanished and used the first of the Nine Kills, Soul Annihilation, to attack Qing Chen’s divine soul.
• Qing Chen invoked Mystic Womb Wuxiang, Demon Lotus Soul Suppression as Dugu Yifang’s sword struck within his sea of consciousness.

Qing Chen fought Dugu Yifang and was driven onto the defensive as Dugu’s nine-kill domain took shape around them. Qing Chen refused to retreat, welcoming the chance to test himself against Dugu Yifang’s full strength.

• Qing Chen trapped Dugu Yifang’s Soul-Smiting Sword Light in the Mystic Womb Demon Lotus and met his counterattack with the Blood River God-Slaying Spear.
• Dugu Yifang struck Qing Chen with successive killing arts, wounding his body and then overwhelming his defenses with five linked attacks.
• Qing Chen repeatedly countered with his spear, magnetic powers, and fortune rules, but Dugu Yifang kept him at a disadvantage.
• Carefree Spirit Venerable noticed that Qing Chen was holding back his formations and the Northwestern Circuit-Surveying Seal, while Dugu Yifang grew furious at his restraint.
• Dugu Yifang formed a nine-kill world around Qing Chen and gathered its power into a decisive sword strike.
• Li Qingyuan urged Qing Chen to retreat into the formation, but Qing Chen refused and prepared to face Dugu Yifang’s full strength.

Qing Chen used the Northwestern Circuit-Surveying Seal and the armies of Yanmen Pass to raise his domain to the threshold of a first-tribulation domain and clash with Dugu Yifang. Dugu Yifang forced Qing Chen’s spear radiance back by burning his blood, but Carefree Spirit Venerable sensed that Qing Chen had laid a trap.

• Qing Chen seized the Northwestern Circuit-Surveying Seal, declared the Northwestern Circuit belonged to the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty, and challenged Dugu Yifang to fight.
• Qing Chen ordered the northwest armies to form up, and more than 1.8 million Dao Soldiers poured their military might into the seal.
• Qing Chen absorbed the seal’s fortune and formed the Mystic Womb Lawless Blood-Magnetism Prison-Suppressing Domain, briefly bringing its power to the threshold of a first-tribulation domain.
• Qing Chen’s domain slowed Dugu Yifang’s Nine-Kill Domain and disrupted his bloodline, allowing Qing Chen to break several of his killing patterns with a spear strike.
• Dugu Yifang burned his qi and blood, restored the killing patterns, and compressed his domain into a concentrated sword that pushed Qing Chen’s spear radiance back.
• Carefree Spirit Venerable sensed that Qing Chen had scattered something around the perimeter, while Qing Chen smiled as Dugu Yifang pressed his attack.

Qing Chen revealed that he had secretly surrounded Dugu Yifang with eight White Bone Demon Mara Banners and summoned the Immortal-Burying Coffin’s Red-Haired Blood Hand. As the hand crushed Dugu Yifang’s nine-kill domain, the Blood River God-Slaying Spear pierced toward his chest.

• Qing Chen summoned all eight White Bone Demon Mara Banners, sealing Dugu Yifang inside their encirclement.
• The Immortal-Burying Coffin rose from the sea of blood and death qi, and Dugu Yifang’s sword strike cracked its surface but could not reach it.
• Qing Chen unleashed the Star-Burying Immortal-Seizing Blood Hand, trapping Dugu Yifang with the coffin, blood magnetism, and the fortune of the Fifteen Northwestern Provinces.
• Dugu Yifang burned his ancient bloodline and struck at the hand, but the attack shattered his killing runes and the White Bone Chains invaded his domain.
• Qing Chen’s Blood River God-Slaying Spear pierced the Nine-Kill Sword Edge as the nine-kill domain collapsed, leaving Dugu Yifang gravely wounded and the spear racing toward his chest.

Qing Chen defeated Dugu Yifang at Yanmen Pass, forcing the Carefree Marquis to intervene before Dugu could be gravely harmed. The Carefree Marquis acknowledged Qing Chen could speak with him, and Qing Chen insisted that Qin Wujiang and Luo Chong face judgment and that the Northwestern Circuit’s edicts remain in force.

• Dugu Yifang’s unstable Nine-Kill Domain left him vulnerable, but the Carefree Marquis blocked Qing Chen’s spear and blood hand with his Blood Moon Rule Domain and rescued Dugu.
• Qing Chen withdrew the Immortal-Burying Coffin after warning Dugu, while the witnesses at Yanmen Pass were stunned by his strength.
• Dugu claimed Qing Chen could not have beaten him without the Dao soldiers and Sky-Patrolling Dao Seal, and Qing Chen replied that those resources and his authority were part of his power.
• The Carefree Marquis recognized Qing Chen as someone who could influence the Northwestern Circuit’s balance of power and said he was barely qualified to converse with him at Yanmen Pass.
• Qing Chen declared that Qin Wujiang and Luo Chong would not be taken away and that the two Northwestern Circuit edicts would not change.

Qing Chen invited Spirit Venerable Carefree and Dugu Yifang into a sealed formation to discuss a lucrative new trade route, while excluding Xue Wuming. He offered the Blood God Sect and the Dugu Household double their former profits, but had not yet explained the route.

• Qing Chen secretly told Spirit Venerable Carefree and Dugu Yifang that Qin Wujiang could be spared, the Dugu Household’s losses could be reversed, and they could earn more through a new deal.
• Qing Chen sealed the airspace above Yanmen Pass to block sound, divine sense, and recording, then invited Spirit Venerable Carefree and Dugu Yifang inside.
• Spirit Venerable Carefree accepted the invitation, and Dugu Yifang entered after recovering from his injuries.
• Xue Wuming tried to enter the formation but bounced off its barrier, and Qing Chen mocked him before sealing the formation completely.
• Qing Chen recalled his past connections to the Blood God Sect and the Dugu Household, then offered both factions double their previous profits.