Chapter Summaries

After Zhou Chongshan died, Zhou Chun expanded the Zhou Family’s workforce and training opportunities while negotiations over a frontier-reclamation stronghold remained unresolved. Zhou Mingde, Zhou Daoyi, and Zhou Daoquan returned from Joy Kingdom with two Foundation Establishment Pills and other valuable items, leaving the family with renewed prospects for cultivating its younger members.

• Zhou Chun’s talks with the Li Family and the You Family stalled over how to divide a proposed frontier-reclamation stronghold, so he sought other partners and sent Lin Wan'er to scout locations and gather intelligence.
• Zhou Chongshan used his final moments to ask that his formation knowledge be passed on, then died peacefully; the Zhou Family mourned him for seven days and buried him in the clan cemetery.
• Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi took Zhou Daoquan to Joy Kingdom to fulfill their promise to help him take revenge, while Zhou Chun hired screened Rogue Cultivators and opened opportunities for Zhou Family members to practice cultivation arts.
• After more than a hundred days away, Zhou Mingde, Zhou Daoyi, and Zhou Daoquan returned with two Foundation Establishment Pills, three bottles of spirit pills, and two third-tier upper-grade magical artifacts.
• Zhou Chun learned that the Thousand-Year Yin Lingzhi Mushroom had already been sold by the Tang Family, while Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi said Zhou Daoquan’s revenge had helped ease his resentment.

Zhou Chun arranged for Zhou Zhengyong to obtain one of the Zhou Family’s Foundation Establishment Pills, then focused on cultivation and broke through to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage at forty-eight. The chapter ended with Zhou Jiarui reporting that a dispute over a Mystic Crystal Stone Mine had turned deadly between the Zhou Family’s allies and the neighboring Jiangzhou Su Family.

• Zhou Chun negotiated a three-way division of the Wilderness Expanse’s spoils with the Li Family and You Family and arranged for them to build a stronghold with Zhou Jiarui’s help.
• Zhou Chun helped Zhou Zhengyong meet the Merit Point requirement to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill, and Zhou Zhengyong successfully established his foundation six months later.
• Zhou Chun continued cultivating with a steady supply of pills and broke through to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage at age forty-eight.
• Zhou Jiarui reported that the You Family had discovered a Mystic Crystal Stone Mine near the stronghold and that a fight with the Jiangzhou Su Family over ownership had killed cultivators on both sides.

Zhou Daoyi and representatives of the Li, You, and Su Families negotiated over the Profound Crystal Ore Vein, which both sides refused to surrender. Su Renmei proposed settling their disagreement through spell battles, leaving the mining share to be decided by the results.

• Zhou Daoyi, Zhou Chun, and Zhou Jiarui traveled to the Frontier Outpost, where Zhou Daoyi and Li Qinghe agreed their families wanted to avoid bloodshed while protecting their interests.
• You Liming joined the discussions, and the Three Great Families agreed to seek a peaceful arrangement with the Su Family over the ore vein.
• Su Renmei met with the three families and argued that the Su Family had grounds to claim the vein, while the others insisted they would not give it up.
• Zhou Daoyi proposed joint mining, but Li Qinghe and You Liming rejected Su Renmei's demand for an equal split and offered the Su Family thirty percent instead.
• Su Renmei proposed that each side send Foundation Establishment cultivators into spell battles, with the Three Great Families receiving seventy percent if they won two matches and an even split if they lost two.

The Zhou, Li, and You Families agreed to let Foundation Establishment cultivators decide the division of the Mystic Crystal Stone Mine, and the first match ended in a Li Family defeat. Li Cunhao conceded to Su Maocai after the Su cultivator’s artifacts and spells left him unable to evade a massive stone mountain.

• Zhou Daoyi, Li Qinghe, and You Liming accepted Su Renmei’s proposal to settle the mine shares through a Daoist martial arts competition between Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Half a month later, the three families traveled to the wilderness, where Su Renmei presented three late Foundation Establishment cultivators as opponents.
• Li Qinghe sent Li Cunhao to fight Su Maocai, who used a toad phantom to absorb Li Cunhao’s fire attacks and a stone mountain artifact to pressure him.
• Su Maocai struck Li Cunhao with a spell that weighed him down, and Li Qinghe conceded before the stone mountain could hit him.
• Su Maocai halted the stone mountain just short of Li Cunhao, demonstrating precise control.

You Jinyan defeated Su Maorong, and Zhou Chun fought Su Yuzhen, whose formidable water techniques forced him to reveal Bai Bai’s Thunder Flood Dragon form. Zhou Chun broke through her defenses, but when his final attack knocked off her bamboo hat, he recognized her and was left astonished.

• You Jinyan chose to fight Su Maorong and defeated him with a coordinated assault from his three Flying Swords.
• Zhou Chunchun faced Su Yuzhen and deployed Bai Bai and Shi Tou as they exchanged attacks with her.
• Su Yuzhen froze Zhou Chun and Shi Tou with her icy mirror, then pressed Bai Bai with her white silk weapon.
• Zhou Chun shattered the ice, used Ancestor Revival to transform Bai Bai into a Thunder Flood Dragon, and launched a renewed attack.
• Su Yuzhen’s icy beam missed Bai Bai, and Zhou Chun’s Flowing Light Golden Rainbow knocked off her bamboo hat, revealing a familiar face that shocked him.

After the three allied families defeated the Su Family in the contest over the Mystic Crystal Stone Mine, they agreed to share its profits, while the Su Family began plotting a marriage alliance between Su Yuzhen and Zhou Chun. Su Renmei privately invited Zhou Daoyi and prepared to reveal the Su Family’s intentions, leaving the conversation about to begin.

• Zhou Chun defeated Su Yuzhen, and the families agreed that the Su Family would receive thirty percent of the mine’s profits and provide a proportional share of the miners.
• Li Qinghe thanked Zhou Chun and You Jinyan for helping secure the alliance’s victory, and the family leaders agreed to hire Rogue Cultivators for the difficult mining work.
• Zhou Chun and Zhou Daoyi noticed Su Yuzhen’s resemblance to Su Yunniang, while Su Renmei told Su Yuzhen that the Su Family intended to arrange a dual-cultivation marriage with Zhou Chun.
• You Liming surveyed the Mystic Crystal Ore Vein and found it was a productive medium-sized vein, after which all four families signed a general cooperation agreement.
• Su Renmei privately invited Zhou Daoyi to the Su Family stronghold, served him rare Spirit Tea, and prepared to explain his reason for the invitation.

Su Renmei proposed that Zhou Chun become Dao companions with Su Yuzhen, explaining that their dual cultivation could resolve a flaw in her technique and bring benefits to the Zhou Family. Zhou Chun rejected the match, and Zhou Daoyi agreed to take him to the Su stronghold so he could refuse in person.

• Su Renmei asked Zhou Daoyi to arrange a marriage between Zhou Chun and Su Yuzhen, but Zhou Daoyi initially refused to trade Zhou Chun's happiness and cultivation for the Su Family's support.
• Su Renmei explained that Su Yuzhen's technique made Zhou Chun's pure Metal cultivation especially suitable for dual cultivation, and he offered future cooperation and access to a Golden Core Ancestor.
• Zhou Daoyi said Zhou Chun alone would decide whether to accept, despite Su Renmei urging him to persuade the Zhou Family Patriarch.
• After Zhou Daoyi returned, Zhou Chun asked about the invitation and suspected the Su Family had an ulterior motive.
• Zhou Daoyi relayed Su Renmei's explanation, but Zhou Chun refused to become Su Yuzhen's Dao companion without an emotional bond.
• Zhou Daoyi agreed with Zhou Chun's resolve and proposed that they visit the Su stronghold so Zhou Chun could refuse Su Renmei and Su Yuzhen directly.

Zhou Chun rejected the Su Family’s proposal that he become Su Yuzhen’s Dao companion, but Su Renmei took him to meet the family’s Golden Core Ancestor. The Ancestor blocked Zhou Chun from explaining his refusal and threatened to enslave him as a cultivation cauldron.

• Zhou Chun told Su Renmei he would not agree to become Su Yuzhen’s Dao companion, and Zhou Daoyi supported his refusal.
• Su Renmei argued that Zhou Chun was the best match for Su Yuzhen and invoked the Su Family Ancestor’s wishes, but Zhou Chun insisted on meeting the Ancestor himself.
• Su Renmei led Zhou Chun and Zhou Daoyi to the Su Family’s mountain gate, where Su Yuzhen was summoned into the Ancestor’s dwelling before Zhou Chun was called in.
• The Su Family Ancestor appraised Zhou Chun as a suitable son-in-law, then used an invisible force to stop him from speaking and threatened to make him Su Yuzhen’s cultivation cauldron.

Zhou Chun survived the Su Family Ancestor’s threats by agreeing to help Su Yuzhen cultivate while postponing any decision about becoming dao companions. After Zhou Chun returned to the Zhou Family, Zhou Mingde angrily urged him to accept Su Yuzhen as a strategic partner in cultivation.

• The Su Family Ancestor threatened to kill Zhou Chun and make the Zhou Family his enemy if Zhou Chun refused to help Su Yuzhen cultivate.
• Zhou Chun agreed to dual cultivate with Su Yuzhen if she wished, but asked to delay deciding whether they would become dao companions, and the Su Family Ancestor accepted with conditions.
• After Zhou Chun left, Su Yuzhen emerged from concealment, and the Su Family Ancestor told her he expected his pressure and the Plain Woman Profound Manual to weaken Zhou Chun’s resistance.
• Zhou Chun told Zhou Daoyi about the encounter on their return, and Zhou Daoyi advised him to accept the situation without taking his resentment out on Su Yuzhen.
• Zhou Mingde scolded Zhou Chun and Zhou Daoyi for mishandling the marriage alliance, then argued that a dao companion should advance one’s cultivation rather than be chosen for romantic love.

Zhou Chun reconsidered his attitude toward choosing a cultivation partner after Zhou Mingde rebuked him, then welcomed Su Yuzhen to the Zhou Family. Su Yuzhen settled into Zhou Chun’s courtyard and gave him valuable intelligence about Jing Kingdom’s cultivators and major families.

• Zhou Chun reflected on Zhou Mingde’s criticism and admitted that his ideas about cultivation partners had been misguided.
• Zhou Chun began preparing to mine the Mystic Crystal Stone Mine at the Frontier Outpost and sent Zhou Jiapeng there to protect the family’s interests.
• Su Yuzhen arrived at the Zhou Family alone, and Zhou Chun escorted her to meet Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi, who exchanged gifts with her.
• Zhou Chun showed Su Yuzhen around the family’s mountain gate and brought her to his courtyard, where she would stay.
• Su Yuzhen gave Zhou Chun jade slips containing trade information, intelligence on Jing Kingdom’s Golden Core cultivators, and details about the Hundred Clans Assembly’s leading families.

Lin Hongyu returned after recovering from her injuries and offered the Zhou Family the promised treasures, while Zhou Mingde tried to persuade her to join the family as Zhou Daoyi’s Dao companion. She agreed only if Zhou Daoyi personally invited her, but he refused, and Zhou Chun later began distributing the demonic beast eggs.

• Lin Wan'er told Zhou Chun that she had contacted her adoptive mother, Lin Hongyu, and Zhou Mingde went to meet her outside the Zhou Family mountain gate.
• Lin Hongyu gave Zhou Mingde the promised treasures and said she would join the Zhou Family if Zhou Daoyi agreed to become her Dao companion.
• Lin Hongyu refused to return with Zhou Mingde and left for Cheng Country, telling him how to contact her at White Spirit Market.
• Zhou Mingde brought the treasures back and assigned their distribution, while Zhou Chun advised him to delay distributing the two Foundation Establishment Pills.
• Zhou Daoyi rejected Zhou Mingde's proposal to bring Lin Hongyu into the Zhou Family as his Dao companion.
• Zhou Chun summoned the Foundation Establishment cultivators and offered them their choice of the demonic beast eggs.

Zhou Chun learned that the Three Great Sects would offer Mysterious Heart Violet Returning Pills for battle merits, then led the Zhou Family through the exchange and introduced new policies to strengthen the clan. The family celebrated several advances and the Dragon Scale Horses’ first pregnancies, while Zhou Daoquan began a dangerous attempt to open his Violet Palace.

• Zhou Chun placed nine of the twelve Dragon-blooded Demonic Beast Eggs in the family treasury after Zhou Jiahe, Zhou Zhengyuan, and Zhou Zhengyong each chose one.
• Su Yuzhen learned from her aunt Su Yunniang that ten Mysterious Heart Violet Returning Pills would be available for ten thousand battle merits each, then told Zhou Chun.
• After the Three Great Sects announced the exchange list, Zhou Mingde secured a Mysterious Heart Violet Returning Pill and Zhou Chun exchanged for two Foundation Establishment Pills.
• Zhou Chun refused to lower the family Merit Points requirement for Foundation Establishment Pills, but introduced childbirth subsidies and other rewards to encourage family growth and train young cultivators.
• Zhou Daoquan entered seclusion with the Mysterious Heart Violet Returning Pill and Ghost Face Soul Mushroom, while Zhou Mingde’s Fire God Jackal advanced to third-tier mid-grade and Zhou Chun’s Bai Bai advanced to second-tier mid-grade.
• The Dragon Scale Horses began producing pregnant mares after years of taming, showing that they had adapted to the Zhou Family mountain gate.

Zhou Chun inspected the Zhou Family’s Death Warrior Camp and witnessed Xu Fu defeat a powerful Black Wind Leopard, prompting Lin Wan'er to ask permission for him to gain experience outside the clan. After Xu Fu left to roam the Cultivation World, Zhou Chun turned his attention to developing promising Zhou Family juniors.

• Zhou Chun visited the Death Warrior Camp, where Lin Wan'er arranged for Xu Fu to demonstrate his abilities against a First-grade High-tier Black Wind Leopard.
• Xu Fu used his movement skills and three mid-tier magic tools to kill the stronger beast, impressing Zhou Chun.
• Lin Wan'er asked Zhou Chun to let Xu Fu travel outside the clan for three years, and Zhou Chun agreed.
• Xu Fu left the Zhou Family mountain gate with an intelligence cultivator to gain experience in the Cultivation World.
• Zhou Chun reflected on the promising Zhou Family juniors Zhou Xinlan, Zhou Xindie, and Zhou Xintie, whom he was supporting in alchemy, formations, and artifact refining.

Zhou Chun and Su Yuzhen completed three months of dual cultivation before she left to attempt opening her Violet Palace, while Zhou Chun later witnessed the Zhou Family’s fortunes rise as Zhou Daoquan succeeded and became its third Violet Palace cultivator. The chapter ended with Zhou Mingde entrusting Zhou Daoquan with a Blood Flame Dragon Python Egg to raise.

• Su Yuzhen arranged to begin dual cultivation with Zhou Chun, and over three months their cultivation advanced as she refined his mana and he gained from her Yin energy.
• Su Yuzhen left to return to her family and attempt opening her Violet Palace, while Zhou Chun wondered why he felt an inexplicable desire for her despite having no feelings for her.
• Zhou Jiafei failed to establish his foundation after exchanging for a Foundation Establishment Pill with borrowed Merit Points, becoming a warning to other Zhou Family cultivators.
• Zhou Chun helped his Golden Winged Tiger advance to the second rank, where it displayed seven second-rank spells and defeated the Vajra Spirit Monkey in a spar.
• Zhou Daoquan emerged from seclusion after successfully opening his Violet Palace, becoming the Zhou Family’s third Violet Palace cultivator, and the family decided to hold a ceremony in his honor.
• Zhou Mingde gave Zhou Daoquan a Blood Flame Dragon Python Egg, and Zhou Daoquan promised to raise it with care.

The Zhou Family celebrated Zhou Daoquan’s Violet Palace opening, drawing many guests and generous gifts. As the family’s fortunes rose, Zhou Yu asked Zhou Chun to help former Zhou Family members at the Spirit Beast Manor make amends and recover their ancestral possessions, but he remained unmoved.

• Zhou Chun distributed twenty Spirit Coins to each clan member and hosted a Violet Palace celebration attended by representatives of seventeen Cultivation Families.
• Wang Zhixiong presented Zhou Daoquan with a six-hundred-year-old Red Blood Ginseng and reflected on how the Zhou Family’s celebration brought its clan members genuine joy.
• Zhou Jiahe brought Zhou Chun to meet Aunt Zhou Yu, who had left with her Dao partner when the Zhou Family split apart.
• Zhou Yu explained that former Zhou Family cultivators at the Spirit Beast Manor were being suppressed by Xiao Lingyan’s faction and wanted to reclaim ancestral possessions.
• Zhou Chun told Zhou Yu to seek help from Senior Yu or Zhou Zhenkun, but she denounced Zhou Zhenkun and pleaded for him to ask the Nine Peaks Ridge elders to give them a chance to reform.

Zhou Chun investigated Zhou Yu’s plea for help and learned that she and the other Zhou Family cultivators had been ostracized at Spirit Beast Manor after trying to retain control of sect resources. When Zhou Yu and two others defected with the Black Jade Toad, Spirit Beast Manor’s Violet Palace cultivators accused the Nine Peaks Ridge Zhou Family of helping them, and the confrontation at the family gate turned toward battle.

• Zhou Chun told Zhou Mingde about Zhou Yu’s request, and Zhou Mingde ordered him to investigate Spirit Beast Manor discreetly.
• Zhou Chun questioned the Li Family and learned that Zhou Yu and the other Zhou Family cultivators had provoked conflict by trying to control resources at Spirit Beast Manor.
• Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi abandoned the idea of bringing Zhou Yu and her companions back, and Zhou Chun relayed the family’s refusal to Zhou Yu.
• Zhou Yu, Zhou Tong, and another Zhou Family cultivator seized the Black Jade Toad and defected, prompting Zhou Zhenkun, Xiao Lingyan, and Wu Jingting to demand answers at Nine Peaks Ridge.
• Zhou Mingde rejected Zhou Zhenkun’s accusation and summoned the Fire God Jackal as Zhou Daoyi called Qingqing; Zhou Zhenkun released his Silver Horned Rhinoceros and launched the first attack.

Zhou Chun helped the Zhou Family repel Spirit Beast Manor’s attack, but the Black Jade Toad’s disappearance brought lasting hostility between them. As the family searched unsuccessfully for the fugitives, Zhou Chun discovered a boy with Upper-grade Spiritual Root aptitude and prepared to bring him to the family mountain gate.

• Xiao Lingyan’s Wind Demon Spider held Zhou Daoyi and Qingqing at bay, while Zhou Daoquan fell behind in his fight with Wu Jingting.
• Zhou Chun activated the Five Directions Myriad Net Formation, forcing Wu Jingting and the other Spirit Beast Manor cultivators to retreat from Nine Peaks Ridge.
• Zhou Mingde ordered the Zhou Family to search for Zhou Yu and the others, but both the Zhou Family and Spirit Beast Manor failed to find them after more than half a month.
• Yu Jinghua punished those responsible for losing the Black Jade Toad, then visited the Zhou Family; afterward, Spirit Beast Manor openly targeted the family while Yu Jinghua withdrew his support.
• Zhou Zhengxun reported that a boy among the Zhou Family mortals had Upper-grade Spiritual Root aptitude, and Zhou Chun confirmed the result and renamed him Zhou Xin Yan.
• Zhou Chun asked Zhou Xin Yan’s parents for permission to take him to the family mountain gate, and his father agreed.

After Su Yuzhen opened her Violet Palace, Zhou Chun was summoned to help her endure the Tribulation of Love, which made her see him as her beloved and grow possessive. The Su Family Ancestor cast them into the Mortal World, where three years of hardship ended with Su Yuzhen awakening to the tribulation’s delusions as Zhou Chun lay unconscious.

• The Zhou Family celebrated the birth of Zhou Xin Yan, a child with Upper-grade Spiritual Root aptitude, as its population and cultivation industries continued to grow.
• The Su Family Ancestor summoned Zhou Chun and told him that Su Yuzhen had opened her Violet Palace and entered the Tribulation of Love, warning him to stay by her and not take her promises or treasures seriously.
• Su Yuzhen awakened under the tribulation, embraced Zhou Chun, and treated him as her beloved; Zhou Chun recognized that the tribulation had changed her thoughts and temperament.
• Su Yuzhen grew jealous when a female Qi Refining cultivator gave Zhou Chun a jar of fruit wine, and Zhou Chun realized how dangerously the tribulation distorted her behavior.
• After roughly half a year, the Su Family Ancestor sealed Zhou Chun and Su Yuzhen’s cultivation and cast them out of the Su Family mountain gate into the Mortal World.
• After nearly three years of hardship, Su Yuzhen saw through the Tribulation of Love while Zhou Chun lay unconscious at the foot of a cliff.

After Su Yuzhen overcame the Love Tribulation Delusion Barrier, Zhou Chun left the Su Family without agreeing to become her Dao companion and returned to resume leadership of the Zhou Family. He found the family had expanded its resources and cultivated several promising young specialists, and hoped it would have time to continue growing.

• Su Yuzhen thanked Zhou Chun for helping her recover, but Zhou Chun said he needed to return to the Zhou Family and did not intend to become her Dao companion.
• The Su Family Ancestor angrily questioned Zhou Chun, then gave him five Golden Sun Pills and ordered him to leave; Su Yuzhen accepted her grandfather's advice to cultivate peacefully.
• Zhou Chun returned to the Zhou Family, reclaimed the clan head's token from Zhou Jiarui, and reported his experiences to Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi.
• Zhou Chun learned that the family had established Earth Armored Spider breeding and that its Dragon-blooded Demonic Beasts and Mystic Crystal Stone Mine were producing income.
• Zhou Chun found that Zhou Xindie had become a Formation Master, Zhou Xintie could refine First-grade Low-tier magic tools, and Zhou Xinlan could independently refine low-grade pills.

After trading with the Scale Frog alien race, Zhou Chun learned from Qingweizi that a rapidly evolving insect plague had devastated half of Yang Kingdom. Qingweizi asked the Zhou Family to send cultivators to help investigate and eliminate the insects, and Zhou Chun agreed to consult his family.

• Zhou Chun and Zhou Daoquan traded goods with Lu Ran at Dragon Abyss Marsh and returned with aquatic treasures for the Green Lotus Temple to appraise.
• Qingweizi summoned Zhou Chun and asked whether the Zhou Family knew about insect-control techniques, then showed him an unfamiliar demonic insect.
• Qingweizi explained that the insects had ravaged half of Yang Kingdom, multiplied into swarms, and evolved into a powerful Insect King.
• Zhou Chun asked about the insects’ abilities and learned they grew rapidly, burrowed and flew, and could gain attributes by devouring spiritual objects.
• Qingweizi urged the Zhou Family to send cultivators to Yang Kingdom with the sects’ forces, and Zhou Chun said he would discuss the request with the family elders.