Chapter Summaries

Zhou Xun used Sword Shadow Unity to pierce through True Lord Xuan Feng’s defenses and kill him, then killed the Bald Brute and the middle-aged beautiful woman. While traveling toward the Heaven Talisman Sect, he inventoried their loot, found a Lesser Nascent Soul Pill and three mysterious pills, and identified the latter as Mystic Cloud Pills.

• Zhou Xun merged eighty-one sword lights into his Mystic Thunder Sword, broke through True Lord Xuan Feng’s defenses, and killed him.
• The Bald Brute shoved the middle-aged beautiful woman into Zhou Xun’s sword and fled with a Blood Escape technique, but Zhou Xun caught and killed him.
• Zhou Xun collected the group’s storage pouches and continued toward the Heaven Talisman Sect on the Earth Origin Beast.
• Zhou Xun inventoried the loot, finding spirit stones, damaged magic treasures, cultivation arts, and the Hundred Insect Scripture.
• Zhou Xun found Zhang Baichuan’s Lesser Nascent Soul Pill and tested a plain-looking pill, discovering that a tiny amount equaled ten days of cultivation.
• Zhou Xun searched his pill records and identified the strange pills as ancient Mystic Cloud Pills.

Zhou Xun returned from his journey with the Mystic Cloud Pill, Mystic Gold Essence, and a Wind-Guiding Butterfly that he successfully subdued. Back at Heaven Talisman Island, he settled the butterfly in his cave abode and warned his companions that a greater war between humans and demons was approaching.

• Zhou Xun sorted his spoils and discovered the Mystic Gold Essence and a Wind-Guiding Butterfly, which could eventually rival a Peak Nascent Soul cultivator.
• After half a year of trying, Zhou Xun subdued the Wind-Guiding Butterfly and returned to Heaven Talisman Island.
• Thousand Talisman True Man told Zhou Xun that the Demon Race had launched another assault while he was away, but Senior Ironside True Lord helped repel it.
• Zhou Xun warned Thousand Talisman True Man, Li Daniu, and Wen Yue that the human and demon forces were gathering strength for a future decisive battle.
• Zhou Xun made a nest for the Wind-Guiding Butterfly above the spirit spring in his cave abode and ordered Luo Yuancheng to bring it Tier 2 Spirit Elixir.

Zhou Xun arranged for Luo Yuancheng to care for his Wind-Guiding Butterfly while rewarding him with premium-grade pills. He then traveled to Ringless Island to meet Ironside True Lord, where they shared tea and began discussing spirit materials.

• Zhou Xun received five kinds of Tier 2 Spirit Elixirs from Luo Yuancheng and showed him the Wind-Guiding Butterfly.
• Zhou Xun gave Luo Yuancheng a cave-abode token and instructed him to feed the butterfly monthly, then rewarded him with premium-grade Essence Replenishing Pills.
• Zhou Xun rode the strengthened Earth Origin Beast Feng Zhong to Ringless Island to meet Ironside True Lord.
• Ironside True Lord served Zhou Xun rare Bitter Spirit Tea and explained that Cloud Mountain True Lord had given it to him.
• Zhou Xun and Ironside True Lord turned to discussing the spirit materials Zhou Xun had obtained in Seatown Immortal City.

Zhou Xun gave Ironside True Lord Azure Sky Thunder Jade and asked him to upgrade his Mystic Thunder sword and reforge the Edge of Utmost Sharpness. After two months, Ironside True Lord had raised the thunder sword to a High-Grade Mystic Treasure, and Zhou Xun wondered what he could use to test its power.

• Zhou Xun showed Ironside True Lord Azure Sky Thunder Jade, and Ironside True Lord praised the material and offered to forge him a treasure.
• Zhou Xun asked Ironside True Lord to combine the Edge of Utmost Sharpness with Mystic Gold Essence, and Ironside True Lord proposed reforging it with Geng Yuan Iron.
• Zhou Xun gave Ironside True Lord two Tier 4 Lower Grade Spirit Essence Fruits in return for his help, and Ironside True Lord accepted them.
• Ironside True Lord brought Zhou Xun to his artifact-refining room, where they prepared the materials and began upgrading the Mystic Thunder sword.
• Two months later, Zhou Xun tested the nimble High-Grade Mystic Treasure and thanked Ironside True Lord, then wondered what spirit iron could withstand its power.

Zhou Xun tested his Mystic Thunder Sword and Edge of Utmost Sharpness against Ironside True Lord’s Tier 4 Spirit Iron and protective barrier. He left with confidence that he had gained two more methods powerful enough to threaten Nascent Soul cultivators.

• Ironside True Lord brought out Tier 4 Spirit Iron, and Zhou Xun’s ordinary Mystic Thunder Sword strike penetrated it eight inches, approaching Nascent Soul Early Stage power.
• Zhou Xun used Sword Shadow Unity to merge eighty-one sword lights into the Mystic Thunder Sword, then drove it nearly two feet into the Spirit Iron.
• Ironside True Lord judged Zhou Xun’s enhanced strike stronger than his own, and Zhou Xun realized he had gained another Nascent Soul-level trump card.
• Zhou Xun stabbed the Edge of Utmost Sharpness into the Spirit Iron, and the blade passed through it without resistance.
• Ironside True Lord raised a fourth-tier protective barrier, which Zhou Xun pierced effortlessly with the Edge of Utmost Sharpness.

Zhou Xun learned more about his Edge of Utmost Sharpness and began preparing powerful talismans for the coming Human-Demon war. Meanwhile, the Black Reef Demon King survived his transformation tribulation and set out for the Dragon-Serpent Clan’s ancestral land, while Zhou Xun’s first Tier 3 High-Grade treasure talisman reached the refinement stage.

• Zhou Xun discussed the Edge of Utmost Sharpness and cultivation advice with Ironside True Lord before returning to Heaven Talisman Island.
• The Black Reef Demon King survived his transformation tribulation, absorbed the Emperor Dew, and transformed into a black-robed young man.
• The South Abyss Demon Emperor told his son Black Abyss to stabilize his cultivation and travel to the Dragon-Serpent Clan’s ancestral land for the Dragon Transformation Pool baptism.
• Black Abyss gave up his plan to visit Heaven Talisman Island, entered seclusion for a month, then departed for the ancestral land.
• Zhou Xun began refining Tier 3 High-Grade treasure talismans and successfully drew one, reaching the refinement stage.

Zhou Xun and Song Yiqing traveled to the Cloud Radiance Sect after learning that Lin Xueying planned to attempt Core Formation. They reunited at the mountain gate, where Lin Xueying was preparing to form her core, and the sect hosted a banquet for Zhou Xun.

• Zhou Xun finished refining a precious talisman he expected to rival a Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator’s strike after nurturing it for several years.
• Song Yiqing gave Zhou Xun Lin Xueying’s letter announcing that she would attempt Core Formation in ten days, and they set out for the Cloud Radiance Sect.
• Zhou Xun and Song Yiqing arrived on the Tier 3 Crimson Flame, prompting two gate guards to mistake it for a demon king until Lin Xueying stopped them.
• Lin Xueying welcomed Zhou Xun, who congratulated her, and True Person Jin Hong and True Person Zong Yu greeted him respectfully.
• Song Yiqing reunited with Lin Xueying, who felt a moment of discomfort at Song Yiqing’s cultivation but reminded herself that her Water Moon Spiritual Body would awaken after Core Formation.
• The Cloud Radiance Sect held a banquet in the Cloud Radiance Great Hall to entertain Zhou Xun.

At True Person Zhou’s banquet, Zhou Xun recognized Sun Yuanque and gave him a pill that could repair the injuries blocking his cultivation. The next morning, Lin Xueying said she wanted to leave her First Elder position after forming her core, while Zhou Xun gave her an Essence Crystallization Pill.

• True Person Zong Yu brought the dispirited Sun Yuanque to Zhou Xun’s banquet at the Cloud Radiance Sect.
• Zhou Xun recognized Sun Yuanque and learned that a failed breakthrough had damaged his foundation and ended his prospects for advancement.
• Zhou Xun gave Sun Yuanque a Tier 3 Essence Replenishing Pill, restoring hope for his recovery and earning thanks from Sun Yuanque and True Person Zong Yu.
• At the banquet, Zhou Xun answered the cultivators’ questions about cultivation, then spent the night with Lin Xueying.
• Lin Xueying told Zhou Xun she wanted to leave her First Elder position after forming her core, and Zhou Xun handed her an Essence Crystallization Pill.

Lin Xueying attempted Core Formation with the super-grade Essence Crystallization Pill Zhou Xun had given her, initially reaching only a Mid-Grade True Core. As she forced herself to continue, her Water Moon Spiritual Body released a surge of water essence that eased the strain and accelerated her cultivation, and the chapter ended on the seventh night of her breakthrough.

• Zhou Xun gave Lin Xueying a super-grade Essence Crystallization Pill, which she mistook for a premium pill.
• Two days later, the Cloud Radiance Sect sealed its territory while Zhou Xun, Song Yiqing, and the sect's Core Formation True Persons guarded Lin Xueying's cave residence.
• Lin Xueying swallowed the pill and began Core Formation, drawing a vast Spiritual Qi vortex that attracted the sect's disciples.
• She condensed her liquid mana into a Low-Grade True Core and refined it until it reached the Mid-Grade level.
• As Lin Xueying pushed past her limit, her Water Moon Spiritual Body released pure water essence that nourished her Dantian, relieved her pain, and doubled her Spiritual Qi absorption.
• The breakthrough continued into the night of the seventh day.

Lin Xueying’s Water Moon Spiritual Body accelerated her cultivation, while Zhou Xun used a Mystic Cloud Pill to advance close to Core Formation completion. After emerging from two years of seclusion, he praised Luo Yuancheng’s progress and promised to accept him as a registered disciple once he formed his core.

• Lin Xueying told Zhou Xun that her cultivation had accelerated more than threefold after forming a Half-Step Golden Core.
• A month later, Lin Xueying held her Core Formation ceremony and returned to Forgetful River Lake with Zhou Xun and the others.
• Zhou Xun refined a Mystic Cloud Pill for two years and advanced to just short of Core Formation completion, placing a Nascent Soul breakthrough within reach.
• Zhou Xun emerged from seclusion and found Luo Yuancheng caring for the Wind-Guiding Butterfly, which had grown stronger during his absence.
• Zhou Xun praised Luo Yuancheng’s Foundation Establishment progress and promised to accept him as a registered disciple after he formed his core, teaching him the Talismans Infusion Art.

After accepting Luo Yuancheng as his sixth disciple, Zhou Xun left seclusion to visit Ironside True Lord and seek guidance on forming a Nascent Soul. He then inspected the Bloodfiend Spawn and strengthened them, leaving them to mature for several more years.

• Zhou Xun revealed his true name to Luo Yuancheng, accepted him as his sixth disciple, and said they would hold a formal ceremony after Luo Yuancheng formed his core.
• Zhou Xun traveled to Ringless Island, where Ironside True Lord noticed his rapid cultivation progress and gave him a Jade Slip of Nascent Soul formation insights.
• Ironside True Lord spent seven days explaining his own Nascent Soul formation process and the difficulties he had overcome.
• Zhou Xun traveled to the Land of Four Yin and entered the formation concealing the Bloodfiend Spawn.
• Zhou Xun inspected the seventeen Bloodfiend Spawn, infused them with blood essence talismans, and returned them to their pits to continue maturing.

Zhou Xun received True Lord Tian Ci’s guidance on forming a Nascent Soul and learned that a new Demon Race Void Treasure had caused the deaths of four Human Nascent Soul Cultivators. As war loomed, he strengthened his preparations, delivered a Tier 4 Peak-Grade Blood Flame Fruit to his main body, and returned to the Southern Sea with treasure talismans.

• Zhou Xun sent Luo Yuancheng to deliver a sealed letter seeking True Lord Tian Ci’s advice on Nascent Soul formation.
• After a year of cultivation, Zhou Xun received True Lord Tian Ci’s detailed reply, which described the deaths of four Human Nascent Soul Cultivators following the Demon Race’s acquisition of a jade-green Void Treasure.
• Zhou Xun urged Luo Yuancheng to attempt Core Formation soon and resumed secluded cultivation as the conflict between humans and demons intensified.
• Two years later, Zhou Xun took a Tier 4 Peak-Grade Blood Flame Fruit and a completed set of Tier 3 High-Grade treasure talismans to the Heavenly Mystery Secret Realm, giving the fruit and wood-element demon cores to his main body.
• Zhou Xun returned to the Southern Sea disguised as Wang Lin and summoned the Earth Origin Beast.

Zhou Xun returned toward Heaven Talisman Island with Feng Chong and tested the power of the Junmang spear, a lightning-attribute High-Grade Mystic Treasure. Elsewhere, Jiang Wanning and Lingzhu fled an Azure Scale Seahorse demon, and Jiang Wanning used her last lightning talisman to injure it as the chase continued.

• Zhou Xun set off for Heaven Talisman Island on Feng Chong and examined the Junmang spear and his newly prepared Celestial Talisman Formation.
• Zhou Xun discovered the spear’s lightning affinity and destroyed an island with a single throw, judging that its power could threaten even a Tier 4 Demon Emperor.
• Jiang Wanning and the wounded Lingzhu fled an Azure Scale Seahorse demon, while Jiang refused to abandon her companion.
• Jiang Wanning used her golden bowl to shield their vessel from the demon’s blue beam, but the barrier began to crack.
• Jiang Wanning activated her final lightning talisman and struck the Azure Scale Seahorse, which screamed in pain and threatened revenge.

Jiang Wanning and Mo Rong Lingzhu fled a powerful Hippocampus Great Demon until Zhou Xun arrived and killed it. He invited them to Heaven Talisman Island, where Jiang Wanning recovered before leaving for Seatown Immortal City.

• Jiang Wanning’s talisman failed to seriously injure the Hippocampus Great Demon, and she struggled to keep their flying boat ahead of it.
• As Jiang Wanning prepared to sacrifice herself, Zhou Xun arrived on the Earth Origin Beast and killed the pursuing Hippocampus Great Demon with a lightning spear.
• Jiang Wanning introduced Mo Rong Lingzhu and explained how they had become separated from their group while on a mission behind Sea Clan lines.
• Zhou Xun gave Mo Rong Lingzhu a healing elixir and invited both women to rest at his Heaven Talisman Island residence, offering to write to his friend True Lord Tian Ci.
• Jiang Wanning stayed at Zhou Xun’s cave residence for two months, helped care for the Wind-Guiding Butterflies, and then departed for Seatown Immortal City.

After twenty years of cultivation, Zhou Xun completed his Core Formation and advanced his arts, while his main body reached Late-Stage Core Formation. He emerged from seclusion to find Luo Yuancheng ready to form his core and his Wind-Guiding Butterfly nearing its next breakthrough.

• Jiang Wanning left for Seatown Immortal City with Zhou Xun's letter for True Lord Tian Ci after learning True Lord Tai Yan had returned gravely injured.
• Zhou Xun raised his spiritual root aptitude to ninety points, refined Bloodfiend Crystals for his Bloodfiend Spawns, and broke through to the eighth level of the Divine Thunder Body Tempering Method.
• After hearing from Ironside True Lord that fourth-tier demons had repeatedly attacked Ringless Island, Zhou Xun returned to Heaven Talisman Island and entered seclusion.
• During twenty years of seclusion, Zhou Xun completed his Core Formation, advanced his main body's cultivation to Late-Stage Core Formation, and became a Tier 3 High-Grade talisman master and Pill Refinement Master.
• Zhou Xun emerged and learned that Luo Yuancheng planned to form his core in two months, then promised to hold the apprenticeship ceremony after Luo Yuancheng succeeded.
• Zhou Xun examined the late-second-tier Wind-Guiding Butterfly, which flew over and perched on his shoulder.

Zhou Xun tested the Wind-Guiding Butterfly’s illusion on Luo Yuancheng, then visited Ironside True Lord to discuss preparing for Nascent Soul formation. Ironside warned him about his foundation and state of mind and suggested living as a mortal before attempting the breakthrough.

• Zhou Xun tested the Wind-Guiding Butterfly’s illusion arts on Luo Yuancheng, who briefly believed he had formed an Immortal Golden Core.
• Zhou Xun tested the butterfly’s illusion on himself, felt an urge to break through to Nascent Soul, and suppressed it.
• The Earth Origin Beast met Zhou Xun, who promised to help him seek a Tier 4 Demon Emperor inner core once he reached tier 3 top grade.
• Zhou Xun visited Ironside True Lord, drank his Dan Yuan Wine, and received the recipe on a jade slip.
• Ironside True Lord warned Zhou Xun that his rapid cultivation might leave his foundation unstable and his state of mind unprepared for the Inner Demon Tribulation.
• Ironside True Lord suggested Zhou Xun seal his cultivation and live as a mortal before attempting Nascent Soul formation.

After learning that his true Immortal Golden Core could overcome key obstacles to Nascent Soul formation, Zhou Xun prepared to begin cultivating, strengthening Heaven Talisman Island’s spiritual energy and studying Nascent Soul insights. Meanwhile, a massive beast tide reached the Southern Sea, and Ironside True Lord called on Zhou Xun for help against two Tier 4 Demon Emperors approaching Ringless Island.

• Ironside True Lord explained that cultivators with Immortal Golden Cores had souls resistant to heart demons and had always reached the Nascent Soul Realm, prompting Zhou Xun to plan his own breakthrough.
• Zhou Xun spent a month on Ringless Island, then returned to Heaven Talisman Island and installed a Tier 3 High-Grade Array that greatly increased the island’s Spiritual Qi.
• Cao Feiyu, Li Daniu, and Wen Yue asked Zhou Xun about the array, and he then studied more than twenty Jade Slips containing Nascent Soul formation insights.
• A vast beast tide advanced on Southern Sea strongholds, where Perfected Lord Tianyi, Old Devil Yin Ji, and other powerful cultivators prepared to face seven Tier 4 Peak-Grade demon beasts.
• Ironside True Lord saw two Tier 4 Demon Emperors approaching Ringless Island and sent for Zhou Xun’s aid, fearing that the island’s array would not hold against them.

As demon forces threatened Ringless Island, Liu Qingzhi tried to recruit Ironside True Lord to the Demon Race, but Ironside demanded better terms. Meanwhile, Zhou Xun’s Earth Origin Beast rescued He Feng and attacked a Demon Alligator for its demon Dan.

• Ironside True Lord activated the Five Elements Heavy Cloud Grand Formation as the demon beasts reached Ringless Island.
• Liu Qingzhi entered the formation as a Demon Race envoy and offered Ironside a High-Grade Mystic Treasure and spiritual medicines in exchange for defecting.
• Ironside rejected the initial terms as insufficient and sent Liu Qingzhi back to negotiate with the Demon Emperor Sovereigns.
• A Tier 3 Lower Grade Demon Alligator pursued He Feng near Heaven Talisman Island, and He Feng called for help from the Earth Origin Forefather.
• The Earth Origin Beast arrived, bound the Demon Alligator with four tornadoes, and declared that it wanted the beast’s demon Dan.

After learning that the Sea Clan’s forces had reached Heaven Talisman Island, Zhou Xun prepared the island’s defenders and hurried to Ringless Island to support Ironside True Lord. There, Ironside continued to feign interest in surrendering while demanding better terms from the Demon Emperors.

• Feng Zhong killed the Demon Alligator, and He Feng rushed back to report the Sea Clan’s attack to Cao Feiyu.
• The Earth Origin Beast told Zhou Xun that a beast horde led by a Tier 3 Great Demon had crossed Ringless Island, and Zhou Xun summoned Cao Feiyu, Li Daniu, Wen Yue, and Luo Yuancheng.
• Zhou Xun ordered Cao Feiyu to activate the island’s protective formation, assigned Wen Yue and Li Daniu to prepare against Tier 3 Great Demons, gave Luo Yuancheng control of the formation, and left Feng Zhong to guard the island.
• Zhou Xun flew toward Ringless Island to support Ironside True Lord, while the Demon Emperors doubled their offer and sent Liu Qingzhi back to negotiate.
• Ironside True Lord rejected the doubled terms as insufficient and demanded that the Demon Emperors improve their offer or go to war.

Ironside True Lord delayed the Demon Race’s attack on Ringless Island while Liu Qingzhi secretly offered to help him. Zhou Xun rushed to the island for support, but the two Demon Emperors began their assault as the chapter ended.

• Liu Qingzhi recognized that Ironside True Lord was stalling and offered to delay reporting him, hoping to prove his loyalty to the Human Race.
• Ironside True Lord promised Liu Qingzhi a chance to become a hidden agent and return to Central Continent if the plan succeeded.
• Zhou Xun encountered Lan Yanping, learned that two Demon Emperors and dozens of Tier 3 Great Demons threatened Ringless Island, and hurried to aid it.
• After Liu Qingzhi delivered Ironside True Lord’s demands, the Demon Emperors realized he was stalling and ordered their forces to attack.
• Ironside True Lord activated the island’s array while its defenders fired spiritual crossbows, but the two Demon Emperors transformed and charged toward Ringless Island.