Chapter Summaries

Hou Niao met his three inexperienced teammates and led Gui Team on its first patrol through the Binxu Desert. After Huang Ruyan sensed something beneath the sand, Hou Niao descended to investigate while the others prepared above.

• Hou Niao met Yuan Shangyuan, Huang Ruyan, and Nan Xiangye and learned that none of them had much experience in the Binxu Desert.
• Nan Xiangye said Gui Team's previous members had all been killed by undead creatures, and Hou Niao urged the new team to support one another.
• Hou Niao visited Sha Shi in Loulan City, then set out three days later with the others to patrol north of the city.
• As the team discussed the undead creatures' weakness to the wood element, Huang Ruyan sensed something beneath the sand.
• Hou Niao told the others to prepare and went down to investigate the suspected undead creature.

Hou Niao and his companions hunted undead creatures in the Binxu Desert, using their complementary abilities to defeat them and grow into a dependable team. After a month of patrols and battles, they had begun to trust one another as their mission continued.

• Hou Niao stomped a dune to expose three buried Hundred-Eyed Monsters, and he, Nan Xiangye, Yuan Shangyuan, and Huang Ruyan destroyed them before they could emerge.
• Nan Xiangye explained how humans classified undead creatures by where their energy gathered and judged the three monsters to be relatively weak Hundred-Eyed Monsters.
• Hou Niao praised Huang Ruyan’s timely ice spell, and the four resumed their patrol with greater confidence in one another.
• Over the next month, the team patrolled from morning to night and fought six battles, defeating every group of undead they encountered.
• Hou Niao recognized Nan Xiangye’s swordsmanship, Yuan Shangyuan’s strength, and Huang Ruyan’s support skills, while his companions came to trust his leadership in battle.

Hou Niao and his party investigated Dragon Whisker Ravine after being ordered to search the ancient riverbed for undead creatures. They detected an underground river but found no other abnormalities, then continued west toward the patrol’s endpoint.

• Hou Niao and his party arrived at Dragon Whisker Ravine and discussed its vanished river and the reported undead activity.
• Hou Niao assigned himself and Yuan Shangyuan to search on the ground while Fairy Huang and Nan Xiangye supported them from the air.
• Yuan Shangyuan detected intermittent water-element fluctuations beneath the sand, and Hou Niao identified them as an underground river.
• After three days of searching, the party found no undead creatures or other abnormalities.
• Hou Niao decided they should continue west and consider searching Dragon Whisker Ravine again on their return.

Gui Team patrolled farther into the desert, where Hou Niao deduced that undead creatures were heading toward Wang Gandang’s mining party. The team raced back to help, but when the others arrived, they found the expedition devastated and no undead left standing.

• Gui Team met Wang Gandang’s mica starstone expedition, accepted his offering, and warned the miners not to linger.
• The patrol continued west and destroyed several groups of Hundred-Eyed Monsters.
• Hou Niao connected the undead sightings and realized they pointed toward Wang Gandang’s mining site.
• Hou Niao raced ahead while Yuan Shangyuan, Nan Xiangye, and Fairy Huang followed in formation.
• The three reached the mining site and found shattered bones and six or seven human corpses, but no undead creatures remained.

After rescuing the mining adventurers from a devastating undead attack, Hou Niao escorted them to Dragon Whisker Ravine and organized a final investigation of the underground river. He descended beneath the sand while his companions spread out in layers to maintain communication and watch for danger.

• Nan Xiangye and Fairy Huang questioned the injured Wang Gandang, who explained that undead creatures had overwhelmed the miners before a streak of sword light slaughtered nearly thirty of them.
• Hou Niao emerged from the sand and told the party to leave, then escorted the miners as far as Dragon Whisker Ravine and instructed Wang Gandang to protect them and handle the dead properly.
• At Dragon Whisker Ravine, Hou Niao decided the team would guard the area for ten days and investigate the underground river rather than pursue the fleeing undead creatures.
• Hou Niao assigned Yuan Shangyuan to maintain communication through his Dharma Appearance, while Fairy Huang and Nan Xiangye watched from the air and Ape Man mapped the route.
• Hou Niao burrowed beneath the sand to follow the underground river as the rest of the team took positions at different heights.

Yu Zhengxing’s forces defended the forest belt near Ancient Loulan when nearly a thousand Undead launched an organized attack. Hou Niao and Gui Team joined the first division as the two armies collided, while the Golden Core cultivators engaged the high-tier Undead elsewhere.

• Yu Zhengxing expanded the formations and planted a long forest belt near Dragon Whisker Ravine, then gathered more than two hundred cultivators to defend it.
• Scouts reported that an Undead Legion nearly a thousand strong was approaching, and Yu Zhengxing organized the defenders into three divisions.
• Hou Niao’s Gui Team joined the first division, with Wang Gandang newly added after being rescued and won over.
• The human and Undead forces advanced toward one another as the Golden Core cultivators moved to fight more than a dozen high-tier Undead.
• Hou Niao told Gui Team to hold formation as the two armies clashed, with his team relying on its weapons, Dharma Appearance, water techniques, and Law Artifact for defense.

Hou Niao led Gui Team in repeated charges that broke through the Undead Legion and turned the battlefield in humanity’s favor. As the undead fled, the human cultivators were warned not to pursue too far because their mission was to protect, not exterminate.

• Hou Niao kept Gui Team advancing with his flying sword and close-range swordsmanship after Nan Xiangye’s sword needed time to recover.
• Nan Xiangye joined the attack, and Gui Team broke through the undead ranks before charging again at Hou Niao’s command.
• Yu Zhengxing saw that the Heaven-Connecting Realm battlefield was holding and went to join the Golden Core battle.
• Gui Team repeatedly struck where the undead were strongest, rescuing trapped human cultivators and helping shift the battle in humanity’s favor.
• The Undead Legion collapsed and fled once its numbers fell to less than twice those of the human cultivators.
• Experienced cultivators warned the others not to pursue too far because their mission was protection, not extermination.

After the forest-protection corps defeated the Undead, the exhausted volunteers faced the prospect that their unfinished forest belt could not hold back the desert. Yu Zhengxing challenged Hou Niao to question whether he had truly done everything he could, leaving Hou Niao wary of being drawn into another task.

• Yu Zhengxing’s forces won the Golden Core battlefield, though two Undead Eyeless Monsters escaped, and Gui Team’s achievements strengthened Hou Niao’s standing among the cultivators.
• The volunteers realized they had exhausted their Spirit Stones and lacked the resources to finish the forest belt’s remaining stretches.
• Nan Xiangye, Fairy Huang, Yuan Shangyuan, and Wang Gandang lamented their poverty and the uncertainty of completing the wider afforestation plan.
• A cultivator summoned Hou Niao to meet Yu Zhengxing, who walked with him through the still-bare forest belt.
• Yu Zhengxing admitted the project lacked sufficient resources and manpower but said he did not regret beginning it, then challenged Hou Niao to reconsider whether he had truly done all he could.
• Hou Niao accused Yu Zhengxing of setting another trap for him.

Hou Niao proposed using commerce guilds to fund the Binxu Desert’s forest belts and adding contributions to public welfare as a criterion for True Disciple candidates. Yu Zhengxing agreed to help push the plans forward, then asked Hou Niao to take on a difficult task, which Hou Niao accepted only within his cultivation realm.

• Hou Niao urged Yu Zhengxing to attract major trading firms by offering them exclusive rights to trade the Binxu Desert’s specialties.
• Hou Niao suggested using the upcoming Shanmen annual assembly to encourage more Sword Cultivators to serve in the Northwest by adding public-welfare contributions to the True Disciple assessment.
• Yu Zhengxing agreed to help advance the proposal, and Hou Niao suspected that his backing came from the Demon-Entering Faction.
• Yu Zhengxing asked Hou Niao to help with a difficult matter, and Hou Niao agreed on the condition that it stay within his cultivation realm.

Yu Zhengxing told Hou Niao that the Qin and Yue kingdoms were settling their conflict over the Water Spirit Pearl through a contest among Heaven-Connecting Realm cultivators. He urged Hou Niao to infiltrate the search and bring the pearl to their underground river, and promised a way in; Hou Niao still needed to learn how the plan would work.

• Yu Zhengxing explained that the Qin and Yue kingdoms had agreed to limit their dispute over the Water Spirit Pearl to a contest among Heaven-Connecting Realm cultivators.
• Yu Zhengxing said the Flowing Sand water demons also sought the pearl and that it was hidden somewhere along a hundred-li stretch of river near Sand Islet.
• Yu Zhengxing speculated about the pearl’s otherworldly origins and whether other five-element spirit pearls might appear.
• Yu Zhengxing urged Hou Niao to take the Water Spirit Pearl for their underground river, praising his combat strength and underwater experience.
• Hou Niao asked how he could evade the senior cultivators and get the pearl out, and Yu Zhengxing said he could pose as a Qin Sect cultivator with help from an insider.

Hou Niao traveled to the Flowing Sand River to meet a Qin Sect senior and seek a way into the river, where he was expected to seize the Water Spirit Pearl. He arrived at Viewing River Tower and asked for Lin Xiashi, leaving his next move to meet the senior.

• Yu Zhengxing explained that his Qin Sect contact could help Hou Niao enter the Flowing Sand River and sent him to pursue the Water Spirit Pearl.
• Hou Niao flew for five days toward the river, switching from his conspicuous Sword-Riding Technique as he neared the border.
• Hou Niao surveyed the vast river and considered the threat posed by both the Qin and Yue Sects and the powerful Water Race.
• Hou Niao reached Viewing River Tower near Suchness City and learned that Lin Xiashi was in the Wind Room on the seventh floor.

Hou Niao asked Lin Xiashi to help him enter the Flowing Sand River and steal the Water Spirit Pearl to strengthen the Ancient Loulan shelterbelt. Lin Xiashi agreed to provide an opening and a Yue Sect Token, but warned that taking the pearl away would be nearly impossible.

• Hou Niao showed Lin Xiashi the shelterbelt and explained its progress, the battle with the Undead Legion, and the need for more support.
• Lin Xiashi confessed his regret at neglecting his homeland’s restoration and resolved to join the work at the shelterbelt once local matters were settled.
• Hou Niao revealed his plan to steal the Water Spirit Pearl and place it in the underground river, asking Lin Xiashi to help him enter the Flowing Sand River.
• Lin Xiashi agreed to help Hou Niao enter and gave him a Yue Sect Token, while explaining how cultivators could sense the pearl and how difficult it would be to escape with it.
• Lin Xiashi required Hou Niao not to reveal that he was a Sword Cultivator or wantonly kill Qin Sect disciples, and Hou Niao agreed.

Yin Qingsi joined the Qin Sect’s search for the Water Spirit Pearl in the Flowing Sand River, despite the danger posed by the Yue Sect and the river itself. After leaving Yin Zhilong on the bank, she entered the water and used Water Escape to begin sensing for the treasure.

• The Qin and Yue sects deployed Heavenly Connection Natural Realm cultivators along a hundred-li stretch of the Flowing Sand River to search for the Water Spirit Pearl.
• Yin Zhilong asked Yin Qingsi to let him join the search, but she refused and warned him that the underwater mission was deadly.
• Yin Zhilong warned Yin Qingsi that six of the Yue Sect’s seven True Disciples had arrived; she replied that she was a True Disciple too.
• A signal flashed in the sky, and Yin Qingsi told Yin Zhilong to study while she was away before slipping into the river.
• Yin Qingsi activated Water Escape and used her water affinity to sense nearby creatures and search for the Water Spirit Pearl’s distinctive power.

Yin Qingsi searched her assigned stretch of the Flowing Sand River for the Water Spirit Pearl, using mystic water waves and gifts to keep the Water Race from disrupting her. After two days, she reached a Yue Sect cultivator who had been slowed by demon harassment and wrongly suspected she had searched carelessly.

• Yin Qingsi used Mystic Water Wave Technique to search the riverbed for the Water Spirit Pearl.
• When three curious water demons approached, Yin Qingsi gave them trinkets and kept them occupied with stories so they would not report her or summon more trouble.
• Yin Qingsi searched steadily and confirmed that the areas she had covered held no trace of the Water Spirit Pearl.
• After crossing seventy percent of the river's width, Yin Qingsi approached the Yue Kingdom bank and encountered a Yue Sect cultivator being harried by water demons.
• The Yue Sect cultivator saw the demons following Yin Qingsi and concluded that she must have searched carelessly because he had barely made progress himself.

Hou Niao persuaded the Flowing Sand Lord to support using the Water Spirit Pearl to restore the Snow River and plant forests in the Binxu Desert. The river wyrm agreed to guard the pearl on behalf of the Brocade Continent, though it denied being a hero or pioneer.

• The Flowing Sand Lord questioned whether Hou Niao could keep the Qin Sect and Yue Sect from interfering with the plan.
• Hou Niao argued that the forest project would benefit the Northwest, protect the Flowing Sand River, and win support from cultivators across the continent.
• Hou Niao proposed showing others the Ancient Loulan Protective Forest and placing the Water Spirit Pearl in the Snow River's underground channel for a hundred years.
• The Flowing Sand Lord realized that its Water Race would guard the pearl for everyone rather than own it, and Hou Niao argued that this arrangement would keep the treasure safe.
• Hou Niao urged the river wyrm to see itself as a defender of nature, and the Flowing Sand Lord agreed to his proposal while disclaiming any heroic ambitions.

Hou Niao and Yin Qingsi used the Water Spirit Pearl to withstand a three-sided assault while practicing the Five Elements Cultivation Method. With the Flowing Sand Lord and Lin Xiashi helping steer events, the pearl moved toward the western route to the Snow River Underground River, where the narrow passage could favor their escape.

• Hou Niao persuaded the Flowing Sand Lord to lead the Water Race after him through the western whirlpool, forcing the Qin Sect and Yue Sect to follow.
• The Flowing Sand Lord invited the three little demons into its Water Mansion, and they eagerly agreed to continue the journey.
• The Qin Sect, Yue Sect, and Water Race attacked the Water Spirit Pearl’s barrier while Hou Niao and Yin Qingsi channeled its power and learned more about the five elements.
• The Water Race quietly pushed the barrier toward the edge of the underground lake, despite a Yue Sect cultivator’s objection.
• Lin Xiashi recognized Hou Niao’s plan to change the Water Spirit Pearl’s surroundings and admired his decisive approach.

Lin Xiashi and the Qin Sect joined the pursuit of the Water Spirit Pearl into the underground river, while the Yue Sect realized it had been excluded and followed. Hou Niao and Yin Qingsi entered the crowded passage with the pearl, and Hou Niao wondered how to lead everyone back to the surface and reveal what they had accomplished.

• Lin Xiashi persuaded the Qin Sect’s senior brother to follow the Water Spirit Pearl into the underground river and accept responsibility for the decision.
• The Yue Sect’s leading Golden Core cultivator discovered the river led to the former Snow River and ordered his people to stop attacking and follow the others.
• The Water Spirit Pearl entered the whirlpool, and cultivators from the three forces crowded into the underground river after it.
• Yin Qingsi broke free of Hou Niao’s embrace and warned him that she would fight him once she regained her freedom.
• Hou Niao considered how to bring the cultivators to the surface near Ancient Loulan, protect the Water Spirit Pearl, and explain his actions.

Yu Zhengxing prepared the outnumbered defenders of Dragon Whisker Ravine to fight the approaching Undead Legion rather than abandon the shelterbelt. With aid scarce and more than ten thousand Undead closing in, he and Senior Brother Wan accepted that the battle would begin with a direct confrontation.

• Scouts reported that over ten thousand Undead, including many Golden Core Eyeless Monsters, were approaching Dragon Whisker Ravine, where fewer than six hundred human cultivators held the shelterbelt.
• Nan Xiangye warned Yu Zhengxing that the defenders had only a dozen or so Golden Core cultivators against more than a hundred Golden Core Eyeless Monsters.
• Senior Brother Wan urged Yu Zhengxing to use mobile warfare rather than risk heavy casualties defending a fixed stretch of shelterbelt.
• Yu Zhengxing explained that cultivators from Zhongshan, Shangcai, Shaji, and other small nations had arrived, while the Qin Sect and Yue Sect were occupied by a standoff over a Water Spirit Pearl.
• Yu Zhengxing proposed meeting the Undead head-on with roughly a thousand defenders before adapting their strategy, and Senior Brother Wan reluctantly accepted.

Yu Zhengxing and Senior Brother Wan prepared to defend the forest belt against the approaching Undead Legion, despite their shortage of troops and uncertainty about the enemy’s intentions. Yu Zhengxing gathered the human cultivators at Dragon Whisker Ravine, where the Undead began charging their defensive formation.

• Yu Zhengxing rejected Senior Brother Wan’s suggestion to take the fight to the Undead and explained the risks of defending the long forest belt with too few cultivators.
• Yu Zhengxing revealed that he had sent Hou Du to retrieve the Water Spirit Pearl and admitted that no one was left to protect the underground river.
• Yu Zhengxing and the Golden Core cultivators deployed nearly six hundred human cultivators along the forest belt as the Undead Legion approached.
• Scouts confirmed that fewer than seven thousand Undead were advancing together, so Yu Zhengxing ordered the humans to assemble at Dragon Whisker Ravine.
• Senior Brother Wan volunteered to lead the front as the humans formed a defensive square, and the Undead Legion charged them.

The Undead Legion used massed spell bombardment to keep the human cultivators occupied while Yu Zhengxing and the Golden Core cultivators realized the battle might be a diversion. They suspected thousands of Undead and Eyeless Monsters had gone through the underground river, leaving Yu Zhengxing to choose between defending the sky and risking a disastrous fight below.

• The Undead Legion formed a single battle formation and traded massed attacks with the human cultivators, gaining only a slight advantage.
• Yu Zhengxing questioned how many Eyeless Monsters were directing the Undead, and Senior Brother Wan warned that their tactics might conceal an abnormal plan.
• Yu Zhengxing noted that the scouts had reported ten thousand Undead, while only seven thousand appeared on the battlefield, and the cultivators suspected the missing force was using the underground river.
• The Golden Core cultivators recognized that the battle above the Protective Forest kept them from tracking activity underground, where the Undead might be attacking their vital route.
• Yu Zhengxing considered sending forces to defend the underground river but feared that few cultivators could fight effectively there against thousands of Undead and dozens of Golden Core Eyeless Monsters.