Chapter Summaries

Zhou Chun rescued Zhou Yudie and her younger siblings from the She Family’s forced corpse wedding, then brought them to safety outside Zhou City. Yudie begged him to take her as a disciple so she could protect Zhou Family mortals and avenge their dead, but Zhou Chun warned her that her goal was naive.

• Zhou Chun watched She Family warriors kill Zhou Family youths who tried to stop them from taking Zhou Yudie, while a Zhou Family elder drove the remaining mortals away to prevent further deaths.
• Zhou Chun told the elder he would rescue Zhou Jiming’s children, and the elder agreed to arrange their escape from Zhou City; Zhou Chun warned him that the Corpse Demon Sect backed the She Family.
• At the She Family residence, Zhou Yudie was threatened with harm to her siblings and forced to perform wedding rites beside the groom’s corpse.
• A mysterious cultivator attacked the spirit hall, killed the She Family cultivators, poisoned the mortals, and abducted Zhou Yudie; the She Family foundation establishment cultivator dismissed the incident after learning she was a rare spirit maiden.
• Zhou Chun took Zhou Yudie and her siblings to the wilderness, where Yudie begged him to accept her as a disciple so she could avenge their clansmen and protect other Zhou Family mortals.
• Zhou Chun warned Yudie that she could not overcome the She Family through cultivation, but she insisted she could still intervene against its abuse of Zhou Family mortals, and he called her naive.

Zhou Chun rescued Zhou Yudie, a clanswoman with the Three Yin Body, and arranged for her to join the Zhou Family in Jing Kingdom. After returning to Feng Kingdom to attract the Dragon Transformation Sect’s attention, he headed into the Wilderness Expanse and encountered two sect evangelists who tried to rob him before escorting him to a branch altar.

• Zhou Chun took Zhou Yudie to Nine Peaks Ridge and arranged with Zhou Daoyi for Zhou Zhengyong to receive her.
• Zhou Daoyi acknowledged the Zhou Family had failed to protect its remaining mortals in Feng Kingdom and proposed sending clansmen to help any who escaped.
• Zhou Chun returned to Feng Kingdom, made himself conspicuous, killed a Corpse Demon Sect foundation establishment cultivator, and fled toward the Wilderness Expanse.
• Zhou Chun faced several dangerous demonic beasts while crossing the Wilderness Expanse, including two Pig-faced Demon Apes that chased him through the air.
• Two Dragon Transformation Sect evangelists tried to ambush Zhou Chun for his flying magic tool, but his golden shield stopped their attacks.
• Zhou Chun accepted the evangelists’ explanation that they had been testing him, and they escorted him to the nearest branch altar.

Zhou Chun sought refuge with the Dragon Transformation Sect and passed Deputy Hall Master Deng’s interrogation by concealing his true purpose and backing his story with evidence. Although Deng remained unsure whether Zhou was an undercover agent, he decided to send him to the newly established Golden Dragon Hall, where he would be easier to monitor.

• Zhou Chun arrived at the Azure Dragon Branch and was brought before Protector Peng, where he explained his connection to the sect and presented the remains and belongings of an ancient Dragon Transformation Sect cultivator.
• Protector Peng took Zhou Chun to Deputy Hall Master Deng, who subjected him to spiritual interrogation and searched his storage items.
• Zhou Chun resisted the interrogation with his Heart Lotus True Method and explained his powerful soul by claiming he had consumed Seven-leaf Soul Core Grass.
• Deputy Hall Master Deng ordered Zhou Chun to write down his experiences while Protector Peng arranged for his background to be investigated.
• Deng decided to send Zhou Chun to the Golden Dragon Hall, reasoning that the new hall needed manpower and could keep him away from sensitive sect intelligence.

After settling into the newly established Golden Dragon Branch, Zhou Chun studied the Dragon Transformation Secret Manual and quickly asked Great Protector Guan Cheng for Flood Dragon Spirit Blood to begin cultivating it. Hall Master Li Tianxing suspected Zhou Chun might be a spy from Jing Kingdom but decided to give him opportunities and watch his progress, and Zhou Chun began cultivating in Guan Cheng's cave residence.

• Envoy Yu showed Zhou Chun the crude stone house assigned to him in the Golden Dragon Branch, where Zhou realized he had been sent to help develop the wilderness rather than learn the Dragon Transformation Sect's secrets.
• Zhou Chun memorized the sect rules, studied the first two layers of the Dragon Transformation Secret Manual, and rebuilt his residence as a walled courtyard.
• Zhou Chun visited Great Protector Guan Cheng and claimed that his strong comprehension had let him quickly understand how to cultivate the Dragon Transformation Secret Manual.
• Guan Cheng sought Flood Dragon Spirit Blood from Hall Master Li Tianxing, who said he would treat Zhou Chun as a possible spy and monitor him while giving him opportunities and tasks.
• Guan Cheng brought Zhou Chun the Flood Dragon Spirit Blood and arranged for him to begin cultivating the Dragon Transformation Secret Manual in a stone chamber at his cave residence.

Zhou Chun entered the first layer of the Dragon Transformation Secret Manual in three days, then joined Qian Wenlong on a mission to retrieve Blood Spirit Grass guarded by a Golden Sword Tiger. The grass was missing, and Qian Wenlong discovered a wounded Second-tier High-grade Winged Tiger near the lair while Zhou Chun battled the Golden Sword Tiger.

• Zhou Chun cultivated the Dragon Transformation Secret Manual and reached its first layer in three days, impressing Guan Cheng.
• Zhou Chun studied the Wilderness Expanse and learned from Envoy Yu about the Golden Dragon Hall’s usual assignments.
• Guan Cheng sent Zhou Chun to help Qian Wenlong retrieve a nine-hundred-year Blood Spirit Grass guarded by a Golden Sword Tiger.
• Zhou Chun agreed to lure out the Golden Sword Tiger while Qian Wenlong went to transplant the Spirit Medicine.
• The Golden Sword Tiger attacked Zhou Chun, who released Bai Bai and fought back after his attempt to flee failed.
• Qian Wenlong found the Blood Spirit Grass missing and encountered a Second-tier High-grade Winged Tiger near the lair.

Zhou Chun survived the mission after Qian Wenlong was killed by the tiger demons, then returned to the Golden Dragon Sub-altar with a contracted Winged Tiger Cub. Great Protector Guan Cheng accused him of embezzling the cub and threatened to punish him with one hundred strikes of the Poison Whip.

• Qian Wenlong and Zhou Chun fought the Winged Tiger and Golden Sword Tiger, but Qian Wenlong fled and was later killed after returning to the tigers’ den.
• Zhou Chun tracked the tigers to their new lair, defeated the wounded Golden Sword Tiger, and took one of its two cubs while leaving the other with the Winged Tiger.
• Zhou Chun used the Soul Control Blood Array to contract the Winged Tiger Cub, then returned to the Golden Dragon Sub-altar with evidence of Qian Wenlong’s death.
• Zhou Chun told Guan Cheng that Qian Wenlong had died because he underestimated the enemy and described his own transformation secret art as a Beast Blood Frenzy Art.
• Guan Cheng said Zhou Chun should have offered the cub to the sub-altar and proposed replacing ten years of forced labor with one hundred strikes of the Poison Whip.

After enduring punishment for keeping the Little Tiger cub, Zhou Chun traveled to the White Dragon Sub-altar, where he contacted a Green Lotus Temple spy and exposed a test meant to identify him as a spy. The Green Lotus Temple and Zhou Family learned that he was stationed at the remote Golden Dragon Sub-altar, and the family began arranging support for him.

• Zhou Chun recovered from two hundred Poison Whip lashes and suspected that the Little Tiger cub was an Innate Mutant because its fur was turning golden.
• Guan Cheng assigned Zhou Chun to escort new sect members from the White Dragon Sub-altar, giving him a chance to contact Green Lotus Temple.
• At the White Dragon Sub-altar, Zhou Chun met a Green Lotus Temple spy working in a medicine shop and learned about a staged attempt to test his loyalty.
• Zhou Chun confronted Sect Envoy Song after discovering Song had arranged the spy test, then continued escorting the new sect members to the Golden Dragon Sub-altar.
• Qing Weizi learned Zhou Chun's assignment and informed the Zhou Family, where Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi planned to send him his magical artifacts and strengthen his Silver Lightning Thunder Python.
• Zhou Daoyi ordered Zhou Zhengyuan to refine a Demonic Spirit Pill within one year to help Zhou Chun.

After completing a mission, Zhou Chun advanced his Dragon Transformation Secret Manual and developed his Golden Winged Tiger, then joined Yang Chi to guard a Purple Striped Golden Peach Tree. He leaves the chapter guarding the tree after killing its poisonous guardian, as the peaches near ripening.

• Zhou Chun and the other envoys escorted sixty-seven converts safely to the Golden Dragon Sub-altar, where Guan Cheng rewarded Zhou Chun with two Dragon Blood Spiritual Items and urged him to reach the second level of the Dragon Transformation Secret Manual.
• Zhou Chun used the Dragon Blood Spiritual Items to improve his cultivation, mastered the entry level of Flowing Light Golden Rainbow, and watched his cub awaken as a First-grade low-tier Golden Winged Tiger.
• Guan Cheng assigned Zhou Chun and Yang Chi to guard a Purple Striped Golden Peach Tree, and Zhou Chun used his shifts to gather spiritual medicines, Demonic Beast Eggs, and fruits for the Zhou Family.
• When the Rust-Spotted Poisonous Python climbed onto the tree, Zhou Chun and Yang Chi agreed to kill it before the peaches ripened.
• Zhou Chun lured the python into attacking, then used his Flying Dragon Snatcher artifact and Bai Bai to kill it; he and Yang Chi stayed to guard the peaches, which were expected to ripen within days.

Zhou Chun learned that the Purple-Patterned Golden Peaches could help certain Demonic Beasts evolve and sought a way to obtain them for the Zhou Family. He then joined Guo Chen’s expedition to the Lin Hai Tribe, where Guo Chen collected aquatic treasures without a fight, before leading the group toward another tribe.

• Zhou Chun and Yang Chi drove off a Golden Winged Iron Feather Eagle that attacked the ripening Purple-Patterned Golden Peaches, then brought the seven fruits to Guan Cheng.
• Guan Cheng rewarded Zhou Chun and Yang Chi and explained that the peaches could help Metal-affinity Low-grade Demonic Beasts evolve and could increase the cultivation of second rank Demonic Beasts or Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Zhou Chun decided to inform the Zhou Family so Patriarch Zhou Daoyi could ask Lin Hongyu to exchange for the peaches, and he subtly spread word about them among sect members.
• Guan Cheng assigned Guo Chen and four other envoys, including Zhou Chun, to search the Scale Frog alien race tribes near Dragon Abyss Marsh for aquatic treasures ahead of Hall Master Li’s eight-hundredth birthday.
• Guo Chen communicated with the Lin Hai Tribe, whose members brought aquatic treasures to the shore, and collected the offerings without a fight.
• Guo Chen led Zhou Chun and the other envoys toward another Scale Frog alien race tribe.

Zhou Chun joined Guo Chen and the other envoys in attacking the Black Spear Tribe, but the assault turned into a deadly ambush when three Silver-patterned Jade Spirit Frogs emerged. As the envoys fled and suffered casualties, Zhou Chun escaped at high speed, seizing a chance to leave the group.

• Zhou Chun persuaded Guo Chen and the other envoys to plan a retreat, then used Guo Chen’s map to determine that he was less than two thousand li from his meeting place with Zhou Daoyi.
• The five envoys reached the Black Spear Tribe, whose seven Second-tier spellcasters agreed to provide aquatic treasures after negotiating with Guo Chen.
• After collecting the offerings, Guo Chen ordered an attack, and Zhou Chun and the other envoys fought the Scale Frog spellcasters and killed or wounded many First-tier members.
• Three Silver-patterned Jade Spirit Frogs ambushed the envoys with powerful water spells, killing the man surnamed Wang and injuring Guo Chen and Zhou Chun.
• Zhou Chun fled while the Scale Frog spellcasters and spirit frogs pursued the group, then used the Flowing Light Golden Rainbow secret art to outrun two pursuers.

Zhou Chun secretly contacted the Zhou Family, then returned to the Golden Dragon Sub-altar with Guo Chen and Envoy Wu after their failed mission at the Black Spear Tribe. The Fourth Protector led them back to destroy the tribe, but after he slaughtered its three Silver-patterned Jade Spirit Frogs, a roar from a cavern left Zhou Chun and the others rushing to his aid.

• Zhou Chun reached the family’s contact point, exchanged a Storage Bag of resources for magical artifacts, pills, and a letter, and learned that Zhou Zhengyuan had established his foundation and refined Demonic Spirit Pills.
• Zhou Chun returned to Guo Chen and Envoy Wu, explained his delay with a story about an Earth Splitting Savage Bear, and joined them in deciding to report the failed raid to Great Protector Guan Cheng.
• Guan Cheng berated Guo Chen, then ordered the three envoys to return with the Fourth Protector and raze the Black Spear Tribe.
• The Scale Frog spellcasters attacked Zhou Chun, Guo Chen, and Envoy Wu, but the Fourth Protector killed all three Silver-patterned Jade Spirit Frogs and ordered the envoys to eliminate the spellcasters.
• Zhou Chun and the others killed several spellcasters, while two escaped into the water; when the Fourth Protector roared from a cavern, Guo Chen led the others inside to help him.

Zhou Chun and Envoy Wu entered the Scale Frog alien race’s cavern and found the Fourth Protector being overwhelmed by a Third-tier spellcaster wielding powerful human artifacts. After the spellcaster killed the Fourth Protector, Zhou Chun revealed his identity and turned on Guo Chen and Envoy Wu to win its trust, then began to suspect the spellcaster’s true nature.

• Zhou Chun and Envoy Wu followed Guo Chen into the cavern and found a Scale Frog alien race spellcaster sealing their exit while fighting the Fourth Protector.
• The spellcaster used a thunderous croak to daze its opponents, then stabbed the Fourth Protector through the heart with the Red Dragon Dagger.
• Zhou Chun claimed he was a Jing Kingdom undercover agent named Zhou Chunchun and identified himself as the Zhou Family’s Vice Clan Leader.
• The spellcaster demanded that Zhou Chun kill Guo Chen and Envoy Wu, so Zhou Chun and Bai Bai attacked them; the spellcaster beheaded Guo Chen, and Zhou Chun killed Envoy Wu.
• The spellcaster accepted Zhou Chun’s claim for the moment and destroyed the Fourth Protector’s lingering soul, while Zhou Chun wondered how it knew about soul possession and why it possessed Red Dragon Hall artifacts.

Zhou Chun discovered that the Scale Frog spellcaster was Lu Ran, a former Dragon Transformation Sect protector who had survived by possessing a Scale Frog and hiding in Dragon Abyss Marsh. After explaining his history and how he had resisted Turbid Fiendish Energy, Lu Ran offered Zhou Chun information about the sect and valuable cultivation resources.

• Zhou Chun guessed that the Scale Frog spellcaster had once been a human cultivator, and the spellcaster confirmed it.
• The spellcaster took Zhou Chun through a hidden passage into Dragon Abyss Marsh, ordered the Black Spear Tribe to relocate, and led Zhou Chun to a remote island.
• Zhou Chun told the spellcaster about Jing Kingdom's war with the Dragon Transformation Sect and his mission to investigate the sect's ties to the Flood Dragon clan.
• The spellcaster revealed that he was Lu Ran, a former Second Protector of Red Dragon Hall who had fled persecution by possessing a Scale Frog spellcaster more than a century earlier.
• Lu Ran explained that Soul Cleansing Water from second-rank Soul Cleansing Water Demons had helped him resist Turbid Fiendish Energy, then offered Zhou Chun information about the Dragon Transformation Sect and cultivation resources.

Zhou Chun struck a bargain with Lu Ran, agreeing to seek Green Lotus Temple’s help in exchange for secrets about the Dragon Transformation Sect and its alliance with the Flood Dragon clan. He stayed hidden on the island with the spoils he had collected, while Li Tianxing and Guan Cheng investigated the ruined Black Spear Tribe and chose not to pursue the survivor into Dragon Abyss Marsh.

• Lu Ran told Zhou Chun that possessing a Scale Frog body had begun to affect his soul and asked him to find a way to prevent him from losing control.
• Lu Ran revealed that the Dragon Transformation Sect secretly served the Flood Dragon clan, maintaining its Spirit Cleansing Array and raising Fifth Rank Flood Dragons.
• Zhou Chun agreed to relay Lu Ran’s request and information to Qing Weizi, and Lu Ran gave him a crimson scale as a token for future contact.
• Lu Ran could not stop the Dragon Transformation Secret Manual from allowing the sect to track Zhou Chun, so he advised Zhou Chun to remain on the island for a year or two and promised Soul Cleansing Spirit Water later.
• After Lu Ran left, Zhou Chun kept the Storage Bags and other spoils from Guo Chen and Envoy Wu, then settled down to cultivate using his Purification Stone Jar.
• Li Tianxing and Guan Cheng found the Black Spear Tribe deserted and the bodies destroyed; when Guan Cheng sensed one target in Dragon Abyss Marsh, Li Tianxing decided not to risk pursuing an envoy.

After more than a year in hiding, Zhou Chun returned toward the Zhou Family while fleeing a Golden Dragon Hall pursuer and suffering from a third-rank Demonic Beast’s poison. He reached Nine Peaks Ridge alive, but remained in grave danger and needed urgent treatment.

• After cultivating on the unnamed island for more than a year, Zhou Chun rode Bai Bai toward the mainland and cautiously traveled along the shore.
• The Third Protector sensed Zhou Chun’s movement and pursued him, while Zhou Chun fled into Dragon Abyss Marsh using the Flowing Light Golden Rainbow.
• A third-rank Weird Fish struck Zhou Chun and the Third Protector, but Zhou Chun survived thanks to the Zhou Family’s Defensive Inner Armor and a Potent Detoxifying Spirit Pill.
• The Third Protector withdrew after the Weird Fish attacked him, then sensed that Zhou Chun was still alive and returned to report his identity to Golden Dragon Hall.
• Poisoned and growing weaker, Zhou Chun traveled through the Underground River with Bai Bai, then relied on Little Tiger to carry him across the mountains toward the family.
• After Little Tiger became exhausted, Bai Bai carried Zhou Chun the final stretch to Nine Peaks Ridge, where Zhou Chun finally returned alive.

Zhou Chun returned to the Zhou Family after Qing Weizi purged the poison from his body, then recovered and reunited with his spirit pets. He learned that Lin Hongyu had obtained three Purple-Patterned Golden Peaches but demanded a rare Crimson Sun Flowing Pearl Pill in exchange.

• Zhou Chun reached the Zhou Family mountain gate poisoned, and Zhou Mingde took him to Green Lotus Temple for treatment.
• Qing Weizi removed Zhou Chun's poison, heard his account of the Dragon Transformation Sect's secrets, and postponed removing the Dragon Transformation Secret Manual's traces until he recovered.
• Zhou Chun returned safely to the Zhou Family, while Li Tianxing sent Guan Cheng to search for him; unable to sense him, Guan Cheng concluded Zhou Chun had died and Li Tianxing ordered the other halls to watch for his real faction.
• After resting, Zhou Chun reunited with Bai Bai, the Winged Tiger, and Stone, then asked Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi about his letter and storage bag.
• Zhou Mingde told Zhou Chun that Lin Hongyu had secured three Purple-Patterned Golden Peaches but wanted the Zhou Family to obtain a costly Crimson Sun Flowing Pearl Pill in return.

After recovering with the Zhou Family, Zhou Chun learned that the Jiang Family still demanded Master Jiang’s belongings and promoted the family’s future development and moral education. Qing Weizi later summoned him to return to the Dragon Abyss Marsh with Mingxia to help Lu Ran, promising a secret treasure to conceal Zhou Chun’s Flood Dragon Spirit Blood and help remove the danger afterward.

• Zhou Daoyi told Zhou Chun that Zheng Yuan had joined the Zhou Family as a foundation establishment cultivator, while the Jiang Family demanded Master Jiang’s belongings and Heavenly Mirror Villa remained quiet.
• Zhou Chun described his opportunities to gather resources through Lu Ran and the Wilderness Expanse, while Zhou Mingde warned that a war between Jing Kingdom and the Dragon Transformation Sect could disrupt the family’s growth.
• Zhou Chun listened as Zhou Jiaxian taught the academy students to cultivate upright character, then encouraged the children and gave each one a spirit fruit.
• After spending nearly a month visiting the Zhou Family’s institutions and businesses, Zhou Chun received a summons from Qing Weizi.
• Qing Weizi instructed Zhou Chun to take Mingxia to meet Lu Ran at Dragon Abyss Marsh, promising a secret treasure to conceal Zhou Chun’s aura and help resolve his hidden danger after the mission.

Zhou Chun and Daoist Mingxia waited at Dragon Abyss Marsh for Lu Ran, who eventually agreed to meet Zhou Chun alone and trade information. Lu Ran revealed that the Dragon Transformation Sect secretly sacrificed its own cultivators to help the Flood Dragon clan raise Fifth Rank Flood Dragons, leaving Zhou Chun with a recorded account of the sect’s arrangement.

• Zhou Chun and Daoist Mingxia traveled through Misty Smoke Marsh to the former Black Spear Tribe settlement and waited for Lu Ran for a year and a half.
• A Scale Frog alien race spellcaster delivered Lu Ran’s jade slip, which demanded that Zhou Chun act as intermediary because Lu Ran refused to meet Daoist Mingxia.
• Daoist Mingxia gave Zhou Chun a secret art, pills, the Mystic Light Recording Mirror, and a defensive talisman before he followed a Rank 2 Scale Frog alien race spellcaster into Dragon Abyss Marsh.
• Zhou Chun met Lu Ran on a remote island, explained Daoist Mingxia’s recording device, and began their recorded exchange.
• Lu Ran revealed that the Dragon Transformation Sect sacrificed cultivators who had practiced its secret manual to nourish Flood Dragons, including Golden Core cultivators used to help them reach the Fifth Rank.

Zhou Chun learned from Lu Ran that the Dragon Transformation Sect sacrificed cultivators to Flood Dragons and that its leaders used Flood Dragon resources to advance their cultivation. He exchanged for Lu Ran’s secrets and treatments, then negotiated for further techniques and a chance to obtain Thousand Year Grass; they planned to discuss the expedition after Zhou Chun dealt with Green Lotus Temple.

• Lu Ran revealed that his master had died resisting the Dragon Transformation Sect’s plan to feed him to a Crimson Fire Flood Dragon, and explained that the sect’s elders were constrained by Dragon Soul Heart Seeds.
• Lu Ran explained that the sect’s leaders and Deputy Sect Leaders used fourth-tier Flood Dragons as the foundation for advancing their Dragon Transformation Secret Manual, and Zhou Chun traded him a jade slip and pills for these revelations.
• Zhou Chun asked Lu Ran for the foundation-transfer technique and the inscription-reading incantation; Lu Ran agreed to provide the technique if Zhou Chun brought him his Lineage’s undeciphered secret inscription.
• Lu Ran offered Silver Star Soul Jade and the location of a Foundation Building Fruit Tree in exchange for Zhou Chun’s help obtaining Thousand Year Grass guarded by an Azure Flame Dove.
• Zhou Chun negotiated for ten aquatic treasures in addition to the other items, and agreed to revisit the deal after dealing with Green Lotus Temple.

Zhou Chun returned to the Zhou Family with evidence exposing the Dragon Transformation Sect, then helped the family obtain and examine its secret manual. The Zhou elders planned to use the manual to build a force of dead warriors, while Green Lotus Temple prepared to use the evidence to rally support for a campaign against the Dragon Transformation Sect.

• Daoist Mingxia rushed back to Green Lotus Temple with Zhou Chun’s recording mirror and left him to return alone, while Zhou Chun reached the Zhou Family ahead of her.
• Zhou Chun and Zhou Daoyi met Lu Ran, who deciphered their Mystic Foil and gave them the method for transferring the Dragon Transformation Secret Manual’s foundation.
• Zhou Chun, Zhou Daoyi, and Zhou Mingde confirmed that the Mystic Foil contained the manual’s first four layers and several related arts, then discussed the danger of secretly cultivating them.
• Zhou Daoyi proposed training mortals with Spiritual Roots as family dead warriors and recruiting captured Rogue Cultivators to cultivate the manual and work in the Wilderness Expanse.
• Zhou Mingde approved beginning recruitment, and Zhou Chun stayed behind to study the Blood Transformation Dragon Art and adapt his Flood Dragon bloodline.
• Qing Weizi reviewed Zhou Chun’s evidence and planned to expose the Dragon Transformation Sect’s human sacrifices to rally support for an attack on its main altar.