Recaps

Jiang Yi arrived at the Merit Oversight Court on Sun-Watching Peak and learned he had been appointed its court head, despite being its sole member and facing the dangerous duty of suppressing the Fire Cavern and Water Grotto. He learned the post also gave him discretion over who could use the caverns, but Zhou Fu expected him to stop disciples from bringing their clansmen.

• Jiang Yi entered the Ultimate Merit Academy with Zhou Fu’s jade command token and met a seventh-level Qi Refining Daoist who escorted him to the Merit Oversight Court.
• The old Daoist told Jiang Yi that the court had no other members and that Jiang Yi would take office as its court head.
• The old Daoist explained that Jiang Yi had to suppress the cavern’s rising Bing Fire and Ren Water with his own cultivation to protect Sun-Watching Peak’s Spirit Aura and the Sect Master’s cultivation.
• Jiang Yi gave the old Daoist Talisman Money and learned that he could decide whether fellow disciples could use the caverns to refine artifacts or practice Daoist arts.
• The old Daoist told Jiang Yi that Zhou Fu wanted him to prevent disciples from bringing younger clan members to share the caverns’ benefits.

Jiang Yi practiced in the Bing Fire cavern, enduring its scorching influence while realizing he needed the Nourishment Dao Embryo Nurturing and Essence-Hiding Art to refine it safely. Profound Mystery True Person obtained a mysterious light for him, and Jiang Yi prepared to Supplicate the Heavenly Book as a distant Dao Palace bell rang and an unseen voice demanded to know who was shaking [the Sun].

• Jiang Yi settled into the Merit Oversight Court and asked Profound Mystery True Person to keep their activities hidden from Sect Leader Liu Huan.
• Jiang Yi practiced amid the Bing Fire Qi, using the Mixed Primordial Tempering Fire-Wielding Art to ease its pain while the fire consumed some of his spiritual liquid.
• Jiang Yi concluded that the Nourishment Dao Embryo Nurturing and Essence-Hiding Art was needed to remove the cavern’s turbid Qi and Baleful Intent.
• Profound Mystery True Person assembled a crude ritual altar, dispersed the fire essence jade tablet, caught the resulting light, and pressed it to Jiang Yi’s brow.
• A grand voice of the Dao overwhelmed Jiang Yi, who decided to Supplicate the Heavenly Book instead.
• A bell rang nine times at a distant Dao Palace, and an unknown voice asked who was shaking [the Sun].

Jiang Yi absorbed the Fire Cavern’s Bing Fire Qi, advancing his cultivation and forming an embryonic Dao Embryo. As he and Profound Mystery True Person watched, [Sun] appeared over the Southern Continent, and the cat recognized the manifestation as a True Lord’s shocking intrusion into Demonic Dao territory.

• Profound Mystery True Person worried that Jiang Yi would need a powerful Sect-tier Dharma Lineage to advance safely under [Sun]’s dominance.
• Jiang Yi mastered the body-condensing art and absorbed the cavern’s Bing Fire Qi, raising his Sixth Level of Qi Refining cultivation from fifty-two to seventy-four percent.
• Jiang Yi formed an embryonic Dao Embryo, strengthening his body and increasing his ability to absorb Spiritual Qi.
• Jiang Yi noticed the sky growing brighter near the end of the You Hour and went to investigate with Profound Mystery True Person.
• Profound Mystery True Person recognized the sun hanging over the Southern Continent as [Sun], declaring that a True Lord had manifested there in defiance of the Demonic Dao’s great powers.

Ji Fuyao crossed the Great Void above the Southern Continent in the form of a blazing sun, forcing back two Demonic Dao True Lords and announcing that he knew the Eight Sects’ plans. Wei Guang ambushed his manifestation, but other mighty figures intervened, and Wei Guang withdrew after warning that he could sink Jambudvipa.

• Chengxuan Yuying True Lord attacked Ji Fuyao with a million-mile Xin Metal sword, but Ji Fuyao dissolved it with his Yang power.
• A second Demonic Dao True Lord used Ding Fire against Ji Fuyao, who extinguished the flames with Wood Qi and explained Ding Fire’s weaknesses.
• A mighty voice challenged Ji Fuyao, who refused to fight yet revealed that the Eight Sects planned to install the Zhongyi Sect’s successor and open Yang Qi Taixiang Heaven.
• Wei Guang ambushed Ji Fuyao’s blazing-sun manifestation, shattering it as other powerful figures condemned the attack and gathered in the Great Void.
• Wei Guang threatened to sink the Jambudvipa Vast Land, then left after the others pressed him to stop; he wondered who had inherited the cat’s Dao Inheritance.

A Demonic Dao ambush shattered the Sun, disrupting cultivators across the continents and damaging Jiang Yi’s cultivation, though the surging Bing Fire helped offset his losses. The Immortal Dao Imperial Lord recovered a wisp of silver-white brilliance from the attack and declared that Sun-worshipping cultivators would no longer fear Magnetism’s harm.

• The Sun’s upheaval harmed cultivators across the Southern and Eastern Victory Continents, while Jiang Yi lost cultivation but found the cavern’s Bing Fire had grown stronger.
• Jiang Yi learned that his Qianji Sect Inner Peaks ranking had risen to seventh and resolved to resume cultivation toward the twelfth realm’s summit.
• Profound Mystery True Person stopped trembling and muttered that the Imperial Lord had reacted to his use of [Yang Qi Taixiang Heaven].
• At the White Jade Capital, a purple-robed Daoist praised Patriarch Wei Guang’s Magnetism attack, and the Immortal Dao Imperial Lord acknowledged that Senior Wei had wounded him.
• The Immortal Dao Imperial Lord displayed silver-white brilliance recovered from the attack and decreed that Sun-worshipping Immortal cultivators would no longer fear dissolution by Magnetism.

Ji Fuyao concluded that Yu Shenxiu was likely dead and ordered the Immortal Dao to strengthen its discipline as Demonic Dao lineages grew. Jiang Yi learned why the [Sun] threatened other Dao Lineages and wondered whether his Dharma Lineage also belonged to [Yin-Yang].

• The purple-robed Daoist asked Ji Fuyao whether Yu Shenxiu had truly died, and Ji Fuyao said he should be dead and could no longer threaten the [Sun].
• Ji Fuyao observed that Demonic Dao lineages were flourishing and instructed the purple-robed Daoist to enforce strict laws against wasteful Immortal Dao cultivators.
• Jiang Yi stopped cultivating and asked Profound Mystery True Person whether [Martial Dao] had once reached its greatest flourishing; it confirmed the legend.
• Jiang Yi asked why the Dao Lineages feared the [Sun], and Profound Mystery True Person explained that the Immortal Dao had chosen it to fulfill its ten-thousand-year prophecy and potentially reach the highest realms.
• Jiang Yi stroked Profound Mystery True Person and asked whether his Dharma Lineage, which refined the [Five Qi] while remaining outside the [Five Phases], also belonged to [Yin-Yang].

Jiang Yi learned that his Yin-Yang path would eventually bring him into conflict with Ji Fuyao, and Profound Mystery True Person explained how their lineage might resist the Sun Dao. Meanwhile, Demonic Dao Patriarchs discussed Yu Shenxiu’s lost Dao Inheritance and learned it would appear at the Southern and Northern Dipper Sword in eight years.

• Jiang Yi confirmed that his Dao path belonged to Yin-Yang and would require him to face Ji Fuyao.
• Profound Mystery True Person explained that its former master had antagonized powerful figures and revealed the principle of concealing Yin beneath outward Yang to challenge [Sun].
• Wei Guang entered the Demonic Dao palace and demanded that the Patriarchs respond to Ji Fuyao’s display of power.
• The Patriarchs discussed Yu Shenxiu’s shattered Metal Position and learned that his Dao Inheritance had never reached Xuanchanzi.
• The woman Patriarch calculated that Yu Shenxiu’s Dao Inheritance would appear at the Southern and Northern Dipper Sword eight years later and ordered Wei Guang not to interfere.
• Wei Guang resolved to pressure the Great Talisman Sect and Xiantian Sect into holding a grand welcoming event.

Jiang Yi refined the Bing Fire Qi in the Fire Cavern and advanced his combined fire-control method to sixth grade, while the altered Spirit Aura crippled Ding Fire cultivators and gave Sui Liushu hope of keeping the Qianji Sect from Liu Huan. The chapter left Xu Yan facing his injured master's demand to find Dao Ginseng so he could live long enough to secure Yuzhu's future.

• Jiang Yi used the Nourishment Dao Embryo Nurturing and Essence-Hiding Art to refine Bing Fire at Mao Hour and calculated that his daily gains were worth roughly seven Essence-Nourishing Pills.
• Jiang Yi's Ding Fire Method Formula changed into the sixth-grade Bing and Ding Fire-Control Art of Combined Refining and Essence Tempering.
• Xu Yan told Sui Liushu that the altered Spirit Aura benefited Metal and Fire, harmed Water, and prevented the Sect Master from attempting Foundation Establishment for a hundred years.
• Sui Liushu rejoiced that Liu Huan was now stuck on Sun-Watching Peak and said Yuzhu could seek Foundation Establishment and a True Disciple position within fifty years.
• Sui Liushu asked Xu Yan to find Dao Ginseng so he could live long enough for Yuzhu to become a True Person and take control of the Qianji Sect.

Sui Liushu sought suitable disciples to cultivate into dao ginseng, while Jiang Yi continued strengthening his Dao Embryo amid the changed spirit aura. After leaving the Merit Oversight Court to visit acquaintances and check on Yang Xun, Jiang Yi discovered that Yang Xun had reached perfection at the Sixth Level of Qi Refining.

• Sui Liushu ordered Xu Yan to seek promising recruits in the Outer Sect and circulate fire-control and pill-fire arts to find a suitable prospect.
• Jiang Yi’s cultivation advanced from 52% to 74% at the Sixth Level of Qi Refining as he absorbed bing fire beside the Fire Cavern.
• Jiang Yi and Profound Mystery True Person discussed breaking through the Divine Gate and exploring the depths beneath the demonic cavern for treasure.
• Jiang Yi left the Merit Oversight Court to visit He Laohun, Widow Qin, and other acquaintances, then went to check on Yang Xun.
• Jiang Yi found that Yang Xun’s Sixth Level of Qi Refining had reached perfection.

Jiang Yi discovered that Sui Liushu had bewitched Yang Xun and planned to consume him as Dao Ginseng to prolong his life. After exposing the scheme, Jiang Yi refused to let his grandfather face Sui Liushu alone and asked whether Yang Xun would use the ancient demonic cultivators’ Dao Ginseng method.

• Yang Xun told Jiang Yi that Sui Liushu had been rewarding him, and Jiang Yi sensed that Yang Xun was under a heart-stirring technique.
• Jiang Yi used the Seven Emotions Incantation to break the technique and warned Yang Xun that Sui Liushu had manipulated him.
• Jiang Yi explained that Sui Liushu might be using Dao Ginseng Consumption to recover from damage to his Primordial Essence and prolong his life.
• Yang Xun realized that Sui Liushu intended to consume him and vowed to fight back, but told Jiang Yi to stay out of the matter.
• Jiang Yi rejected Yang Xun’s plan to face Sui Liushu alone and asked whether he would follow the demonic cultivators of antiquity and consume a portion of Dao Ginseng.

Jiang Yi persuaded Yang Xun to win Sui Liushu’s trust by pretending to be grateful, while urging him to seize the chance to devour Sui Liushu and claim the elder position. After bidding farewell to his old companions and giving each a parting gift, Jiang Yi returned to the sect and watched new recruits line up, where Steward Lin’s deference showed how far Jiang Yi had risen.

• Jiang Yi instructed Yang Xun to pose as Sui Liushu’s devoted benefactor and use their relationship to lower Sui’s guard.
• Yang Xun agreed to follow Jiang Yi’s plan after Jiang Yi appealed to his suffering and promised him the chance to become an elder.
• Jiang Yi visited He Laohun, Old Li, Widow Qin, and their companions as they prepared to leave the mountain, then gave them bundles of gifts.
• He Laohun found medicinal supplies and recipes in his bundle, Old Li and his wife found Talisman Money, and Widow Qin discovered Essence-Nourishing Pills.
• Jiang Yi returned to the sect and encountered a recruitment queue, where Steward Lin recognized him and bowed in fear before the hopeful candidates.

The author recapped November’s writing routine and announced a December monthly-ticket giveaway and a bonus story about Yu Shenxiu. The chapter ended with instructions for entering the giveaway and unlocking the bonus story.

• The author described writing daily and hoped to keep the routine going until before the New Year.
• The author said they owed a League Leader an extra update and hoped to deliver it in December.
• The author announced a giveaway of 20 Christmas gift boxes for readers who cast monthly tickets from December 1 through December 8 at 22:00.
• The author said the bonus story, Yang Qi Taixiang Heaven, followed Yu Shenxiu and previewed the Foundation Establishment system.

Jiang Yi met with Wang Heng, Lu Yun, and Li Ruohan, accepted gifts, and agreed to accompany Li Ruohan to a Pill Assembly. After she left, Profound Mystery True Person offered eccentric cultivation advice and explained that Jiang Yi’s Essence-Blood could help him rear beasts by making him smell appealing.

• Jiang Yi accepted congratulatory gifts from Wang Heng and Lu Yun at a gathering in Heshui Cave.
• Li Ruohan told Jiang Yi she had reached the fourth level of Qi Refining and asked for advice on establishing her Inner Manor, but he postponed the guidance.
• Li Ruohan invited Jiang Yi to accompany her to the Pill Assembly at Sun-Watching Peak, and he agreed as long as it did not fall on the first or fifteenth.
• Profound Mystery True Person urged Jiang Yi to learn the Twelve Golden Gates Origin-Locking Formula and recounted its former master's exploits.
• Jiang Yi asked Profound Mystery True Person about refining and raising three insects, and it said his Essence-Blood would make him smell very good and attract dragon maidens.

Jiang Yi learned the Essence-Blood method from Profound Mystery True Person, cultivated treasure blood, and bonded with three Gu insects. Several days later, Xu Yan found Ding Fire and Yang Xun drinking together and wondered whether his Master had become too absorbed in cultivating Ding Fire.

• Jiang Yi coaxed Profound Mystery True Person into explaining how Essence-Blood condensed Primordial Essence into treasure blood.
• Jiang Yi cultivated twelve drops of treasure blood and learned that the method had been developed after his former master compared Daoist techniques with a Buddhist monk.
• Jiang Yi fed his treasure blood to the Breath-Swallowing Insect, Sound-Concealing Insect, and Trace-Seeking Insect, forming a Divine Sense bond with all three.
• Jiang Yi tested the insects’ abilities to conceal his Qi, silence his voice, and track scents and Spirit Chance.
• Several days later, Xu Yan saw Ding Fire and Yang Xun drinking and joking together at the elder’s residence on Fate-Watching Peak and worried that his Master had become too immersed in cultivating Ding Fire.

Xu Yan accepted a mission to suppress rebellious Clans and rogue cultivators near Lujiang, with Jiang Yi invited to join him. After divining that the journey held no threat to his life but might bring bereavement, Jiang Yi suspected Sui Liushu would target Yang Xun and asked the Heavenly Book for Sui Liushu’s time of death.

• Sui Liushu welcomed Yang Xun warmly while Xu Yan reported that Lujiang Clans had joined rogue cultivators in privately minting Talisman Money and reclaiming spirit fields.
• Xu Yan secured permission to lead the mission with ten members of the Merit-Collecting Academy, and Sui Liushu persuaded Yang Xun to send Jiang Yi along.
• Sui Liushu made Xu Yan address Yang Xun as Uncle Yang, and Xu Yan left in frustration.
• Jiang Yi discussed the conflicts between Dao Lineages and Dharma Lineages with Profound Mystery True Person while waiting for his divination.
• The Heavenly Book foretold no danger to Jiang Yi’s life but possible bereavement, leading him to suspect Sui Liushu planned to harm Yang Xun.
• Jiang Yi resolved to deal with the threat before leaving and asked the Heavenly Book when Sui Liushu would die.

Jiang Yi weighed his chances against Sui Liushu and sought the Sect Master’s stance before acting. He learned that Liu Huan had supplied Ren Water Heavy Turbid Qi, while Sui recounted the old betrayal that had ruined his attempt to advance.

• Jiang Yi asked Profound Mystery True Person to assess his chances against ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator Sui Liushu, and the cat explained the outer face and inner core of Five Phases methods.
• Jiang Yi decided to visit the Ultimate Merit Academy to learn Sun-Watching Peak’s position before killing Sui Liushu.
• Drunk Sui Liushu told Yang Xun that Liu Cheng had promised him control of the Qianji Sect and given him half the Talisman Edict.
• Sui Liushu revealed that Liu Cheng had secretly mixed Ren Water Heavy Turbid Qi into his breakthrough resources, ruining his chance to reach the tenth level of Qi Refining.
• At the Ultimate Merit Academy, Jiang Yi found that Senior Sister Zhou had left him Ren Water Heavy Turbid Qi and understood that Liu Huan wanted Sui Liushu eliminated.

Sect Leader Liu Huan told Zhou Fu that he planned to complete the Dharma Lineage Talisman Edict and sell the Qianji Sect to secure a spirit grotto for his attempt at Foundation Establishment. He sent Zhou Fu to help Jiang Yi hold Xu Yan back, while Sui Liushu learned that Yang Xun had arrived with Jiang Yi.

• Zhou Fu reported that Jiang Yi had taken the ren water heavy turbid Qi and that Elder Sui intended to refine Yang Xun into dao ginseng.
• Liu Huan explained that Jiang Yi’s death was necessary to protect Zhou Fu and revealed his long-standing hatred of Sui Liushu.
• Liu Huan admitted that he planned to sell the Qianji Sect after completing the Dharma Lineage Talisman Edict, in exchange for a spirit grotto and a place for Zhou Fu in the Illuminating Nether Sect.
• Liu Huan asked Zhou Fu to help Jiang Yi hold Xu Yan back, then privately considered the disciples as spirit chances he could sell.
• Sui Liushu mocked Liu Huan’s inability to achieve Foundation Establishment and learned that Yang Xun had brought Jiang Yi to pay his respects.

Jiang Yi and Yang Xun lured Sui Liushu into a trap and used Ren Water Qi to weaken him before killing him. The chapter ended with Jiang Yi burning Sui Liushu’s body and spiritual light to ash, while Xu Yan faced Zhou Fu’s sudden challenge elsewhere.

• Sui Liushu welcomed Jiang Yi and agreed to let him accompany Xu Yan on a mission, planning to use the trip to get rid of Yang Xun.
• Xu Yan felt a warning from his Life-Bound Heartblood, but Zhou Fu appeared and attacked him with her sword.
• Yang Xun and Jiang Yi shared wine with Sui Liushu, then revealed Ren Water Heavy Turbid Qi had weakened his Ding Fire cultivation.
• Jiang Yi exposed Sui Liushu’s hidden defenses and secrets while Yang Xun kept him trapped behind the Bright Flame Mirror.
• Jiang Yi destroyed Sui Liushu’s mirror, overpowered him, and burned his body and spiritual light to ash.

Jiang Yi secured Liu Huan’s approval after helping kill Sui Liushu, asking him to grant Yang Xun the position of Fate-Watching Peak’s elder and to give Jiang Yi a letter for the Southern and Northern Dipper Sword. Liu Huan agreed to the elder appointment and promised the letter if Jiang Yi survived the coming calamity.

• Jiang Yi told Yang Xun that Fate-Watching Peak was his to search, while saving Sui Liushu’s private treasury for later.
• Liu Huan arrived, retrieved the remaining half of the Dharma Lineage Talisman Edict, and reflected on Sui Liushu’s death.
• Liu Huan praised Jiang Yi for killing Sui Liushu and asked whether he feared revenge from the Xiantian Sect; Jiang Yi answered that he had no use for fear.
• Jiang Yi asked Liu Huan to make Yang Xun the Elder of Fate-Watching Peak, and Liu Huan granted the request.
• Jiang Yi asked for a letter to the Southern and Northern Dipper Sword, and Liu Huan promised it if Jiang Yi survived the calamity.

Jiang Yi received an invitation to the Southern and Northern Dipper Sword and gave Sui Liushu’s natal Qi to Yang Xun, while Liu Huan warned that chaos would soon engulf the region. Elsewhere, Xuanchanzi fought off the Xiantian Sect’s attempt to capture him and massacred its disciples, as Lou Zhenxiao watched the conflict unfold.

• Liu Huan explained that Sui Liushu’s natal Qi had been preserved in the Dharma Lineage Talisman Edict and offered it to Jiang Yi as a means to advance his cultivation.
• Jiang Yi asked Liu Huan to give the natal Qi to Yang Xun, who needed it to break through the seventh level, and Liu Huan granted the request while warning of coming chaos.
• Liu Huan destroyed Sui Liushu’s remaining followers on Fate-Watching Peak, then departed; Jiang Yi and Yang Xun prepared to leave the mountain.
• Xuanchanzi confronted a group of Xiantian Sect cultivators who demanded he submit to twenty years of suppression, and he attacked them instead.
• Xuanchanzi killed the golden-crowned youth, the white-dressed woman, and numerous other Xiantian Sect cultivators before escaping.
• Lou Zhenxiao surveyed the deaths from the Great Talisman Sect’s Exquisite Dharma Tower and welcomed the prospect of the conflict spreading across the three ridges and four waters.

Lou Zhenxiao watched the slaughter tribulation spread across the Southern Continent as Dao Lords agreed to let their juniors contend to begin the eternal demonic tribulation in the north. Jiang Yi learned that Sui Yuzhu would soon die in Dangyin Ridge and announced he was ready to break through, but Profound Mystery True Person stopped him with something it had not yet explained.

• Lou Zhenxiao considered the competing plans of Xuanchanzi and Dingzhenzi and saw black Qi spreading from Northern Mang Ridge toward the Huai River.
• The Nine-Spirit Brahma-Mystery Dao Lord and a gray-robed Daoist agreed to leave the contest over the Sun and the start of the eternal demonic tribulation to the younger cultivators.
• Jiang Yi used the Heavenly Book to learn that Sui Yuzhu was alive but would meet a slaughter tribulation in Dangyin Ridge within days.
• Jiang Yi wondered whether Sui Yuzhu's fate and the turmoil in Northern Mang Ridge were connected to Xuanchanzi and the Zhongyi Sect's revival.
• Jiang Yi told Profound Mystery True Person that he could break through to the seventh level of Qi Refining, but Profound Mystery True Person said there was something important it had not explained.

Jiang Yi learned that his flawless Dao Inheritance could bring unpredictable tribulations, then strengthened his cultivation and Dao embryo with spiritual objects and Mingtang Qi. As dawn arrived, he prepared to descend the mountain with Senior Brother Xu and learned about the prestigious Cinnabar Essence Dharma Assembly.

• Profound Mystery True Person told Jiang Yi that his perfect Dao Inheritance could draw any kind of tribulation, and Jiang Yi decided to build a stronger foundation to withstand it.
• Jiang Yi crushed spiritual objects from Fate-Watching Peak’s storehouse and absorbed their Ding Fire essence, raising his cultivation to ninety percent and forming a post-heaven Ding Fire body.
• Jiang Yi absorbed Grandpa Yang Xun’s Mingtang Qi in an instant, bringing his cultivation to ninety-nine percent and nearing the Seventh Level of Qi Refining.
• Jiang Yi confirmed through the Supplicating the Heavenly Book that world-shocking foundations could help him endure tribulations through sheer strength.
• Jiang Yi concealed his power and packed his belongings for his first descent from the mountain with Senior Brother Xu to confiscate property and exterminate a clan.
• Profound Mystery True Person told Jiang Yi that the Cinnabar Essence Dharma Assembly gathered the four great Dao Lineages’ leading talents, who were regarded as seeds of True Lords.

Jiang Yi accepted an assignment to Lujiang and set out with Han Li after Xu Yan was injured in a duel with Zhou Fu. On the journey, Han Li explained how Dharma Lineages assessed mortal livelihoods and described the origins of the principle of manifesting the Dao and valuing life.

• Jiang Yi received the Bright Flame Mirror and Divine Fire Ring from Li Ruohan, then registered for the Lujiang assignment at Qigong Court.
• Han Li told Jiang Yi that Xu Yan could not accompany him because Zhou Fu had challenged him to a fight that left Xu Yan injured.
• Jiang Yi agreed to travel with Han Li, and the two flew toward Lujiang without gathering other junior cultivators.
• Han Li explained that Dharma Lineages were assessed on Dao Talents, resources, and mortal populations, and said some lineages had been destroyed for failing major assessments.
• Han Li said the Immortal Dao had adapted the older principle of manifesting the Dao and valuing life, then recast it as a claim that the Immortal Dao valued life while condemning the Demonic Dao.

Han Li and Jiang Yi investigated Hanyang Prefecture’s suspected clans by summoning its Earth God and City God, who revealed that disasters had reduced the mortal population and pointed to Swan Mountain as a site of bloodshed linked to the Huang and Wang clans. Han Li rode into the city to probe the clans, while Jiang Yi waited outside and felt a sudden throbbing between his brows.

• Han Li taught Jiang Yi that Dharma Lineage cultivators periodically rooted out rebellious clans and warned him to watch and learn during his first assignment.
• Han Li summoned Hanyang Prefecture’s Earth God, who reported floods, epidemics, and a roughly twenty-percent decline in the mortal population over five years.
• Han Li summoned the City God, who identified blood Baleful Intent and death Qi at Swan Mountain and connected the site to the Huang and Wang clans.
• Han Li decided to enter the city and test the clans’ strength, instructing Jiang Yi to stay outside and seek reinforcements if he did not return by late the next day.
• Jiang Yi waited in the City God temple, then felt the space between his brows throb and wondered whether something had changed during Han Li’s trip.

Jiang Yi used the Heavenly Book to investigate a coming calamity in Hanyang Prefecture and sacrificed the Divine Fire Ring to speed up the divination. While awaiting the result, he learned from Profound Mystery True Person about the ancient Devil Ancestor who had claimed [Sheji], then received a list of forces tied to the danger.

• Jiang Yi divined that Hanyang Prefecture faced a great calamity, identified Cold Pine Lodge and Swan Mountain as dangerous locations, and learned that Han Li faced no mortal danger.
• Jiang Yi asked which Law Artifact would best reduce the divination time and sacrificed the Divine Fire Ring, cutting the wait to six hours.
• Jiang Yi reasoned that neither his life nor Han Li's was in danger and decided to await the Heavenly Book's answer before choosing what to do.
• Profound Mystery True Person explained how an ancient Demonic Dao ancestor had attained [She] and [Ji], raised [Sheji], and helped make earth-phase inheritances rare.
• The Heavenly Book revealed that the calamity involved the ancient Demonic Cultivator Dharma Lineage Nether Spring Sect, Lujiang's Huang and Wang clans, the Illuminating Nether Sect, a hidden Dao Lineage, and Fengdu.