Chapter Summaries

Zhou Chun accepted his marriage to Su Yuzhen and began changing his outlook after seeing how the Su Family’s protection strengthened the Zhou Family. Zhou Mingde then urged Zhou Daoyi to reconcile with Lin Hongyu before she went to the Yang Kingdom, warning that time was running short.

• The Su Family’s influence drew thirty-five Violet Palace cultivators and the Su Family Ancestor to Zhou Chun and Su Yuzhen’s wedding, while the Li Family and You Family also sent congratulations.
• Zhou Chun thanked the Su Family Ancestor publicly, who affirmed his support for the marriage and advised Su Yuzhen to live harmoniously with Zhou Chun.
• In their bedroom, Zhou Chun told Su Yuzhen he wanted them to begin anew, and she agreed to work toward winning his affection.
• Zhou Chun realized he had been wrong to reject the benefits of powerful allies and decided to rely on the Su Family’s support to protect and advance the Zhou Family.
• Zhou Mingde praised Zhou Chun’s change, then urged Zhou Daoyi to set aside his estrangement with Lin Hongyu and invite her to join the Zhou Family before she went to the Yang Kingdom.

Zhou Chun and Su Yuzhen sorted their wedding gifts, and the Zhou Family received a substantial reward from the Green Lotus Temple for presenting a pill formula. Meanwhile, Ruan Hongzhuang arrived in Jing Kingdom with Golden Core cultivator Liu to seek revenge, and they headed toward Misty Prefecture to investigate the Zhou Family further.

• Zhou Chun and Su Yuzhen divided their wedding gifts, and Zhou Chun took the Youth Preserving Pill after Su Yuzhen said she had already used one.
• Qing Weizi personally delivered the Green Lotus Temple’s reward to Zhou Mingde: a Green Lotus Jade Token, a Talisman Treasure, three Ascension Tokens, and thirty thousand Spirit Coins.
• Zhou Mingde gave Zhou Chun the three Ascension Tokens, and Zhou Chun stored them in the family treasury for possible future use.
• Ruan Hongzhuang entered Jing Kingdom with Golden Core cultivator Liu and gathered information about the Zhou Family at a market.
• Liu and Ruan Hongzhuang suspected that Zhou Mingde had offered some mausoleum relics to the Su Family, but Ruan argued that he still possessed the Primal Chaos Bowl Talisman Treasure.
• Liu agreed to travel with Ruan to Misty Prefecture and gather more information before deciding whether to attack the Zhou Family.

Ruan Hongzhuang infiltrated the Zhou Family to provoke a response, but her attack was stopped by the family and its hidden Golden Core ally. Liu Xi abandoned her when the Su Family Ancestor appeared, and the two Golden Core cultivators began fighting outside Nine Peaks Ridge.

• Liu Xi ordered Ruan Hongzhuang to infiltrate the Zhou Family and gave her a defensive Talisman Treasure and a hidden measure.
• Ruan Hongzhuang entered the Zhou Family disguised as a Rogue Cultivator, but Demon Wolves raised the alarm when she left the Cultivation District.
• Ruan Hongzhuang flew toward Zhou Chun, who escaped into the Ancestral Shrine, while the Fire God Jackal intercepted her.
• Zhou Mingde, Zhou Daoyi, and the Fire God Jackal fought Ruan Hongzhuang as Zhou Jiarui activated the Mountain Protecting Grand Formation.
• Liu Xi mistook the formation’s assault for proof that no Golden Core cultivator was present and rushed toward the Zhou Family, but the Su Family Ancestor confronted him.
• The Su Family Ancestor attacked Liu Xi with his Eight-Edged Treasure Mace, and Liu Xi defended himself with his azure-green Flying Sword.

The Zhou Family survived Liu Xi’s attack after the Su Family Ancestor drove him from Jing Kingdom and promised to guard the family for six months. With the crisis settled, Zhou Daoyi volunteered to travel to Cheng Kingdom, prompting Zhou Mingde to reveal that Daoyi had finally accepted something Zhou Chun did not yet understand.

• Zhou Mingde, Zhou Daoyi, and Su Yuzhen killed Ruan Hongzhuang while the Su Family Ancestor fought Liu Xi outside the Zhou Family mountain gate.
• The Su Family Ancestor defeated Liu Xi’s immediate attack and chased him more than three thousand miles, warning him not to target the Zhou Family again.
• The Su Family Ancestor returned and agreed to remain with the Zhou Family for six months, while Zhou Mingde and Zhou Chun found no sign of Ruan Hongzhuang’s Earth Armored Dragon corpse or Demonic Core in her Storage Bag.
• The Su Family Ancestor’s defense of the Zhou Family strengthened its standing, and Qing Lingzi promised Green Lotus Temple would warn Liu Xi’s faction in Qi Country.
• Zhou Daoyi volunteered to go to Cheng Kingdom and meet Lin Hongyu about the Earth Origin Crystal Jade ore vein, making Zhou Mingde delighted.
• Zhou Chun asked what Zhou Daoyi had finally thought through, and Zhou Mingde began to explain.

Zhou Chun helped Lin Hongyu join the Zhou Family and establish the family’s Earth Origin Crystal Jade mining operation, then focused on improving its Jade Spirit Bee bloodline. After years of experiments and family growth, he prepared to begin optimizing a newly raised queen bee.

• Zhou Daoyi brought Lin Wan'er to meet Lin Hongyu, who agreed to become his Dao companion and the Zhou Family’s honorary Grand Elder and to mine the Earth Origin Crystal Jade vein in Yang Kingdom.
• Zhou Mingde supplied Lin Hongyu with formation tools, magical artifacts, and pills, and she left with Lin Wan'er to establish herself in Yang Kingdom.
• After Su Yuzhen returned to the Su Family, Zhou Chun used the Thousand Spirits Sect’s Insect Breeding Arts to raise Jade Spirit Bee larvae and produced five demonic bees from thirty larvae.
• Zhou Chun artificially raised a queen bee, expanded her swarm, and arranged agreements with twenty-five Cultivation Families to host the Zhou Family’s bees.
• Zhou Zhengtao failed to establish his foundation, and Zhou Chun comforted him, earning his genuine respect.
• Zhou Chun’s Golden Armor Rock Turtle advanced to second-tier mid-grade, while his second-generation Jade Spirit Bee queen grew strong enough for the bloodline optimization experiment.

Zhou Chun learned that the Zhou Family’s Flood Dragon’s Lair had produced its first naturally mutated Dragon-blooded Demonic Beast, a Wind Shadow Dragon Snake. He and Zhou Daoyi confirmed its new abilities and arranged to breed it, leaving the family with a plan to grow its population.

• Zhou Chun’s first attempt to advance a second-generation Queen Bee failed when the Queen Bee died after consuming secret medicine and herbs.
• Zhou Chun learned from Zhou Daoyi that the Zhou Family’s first Dragon-blooded Demonic Beast had appeared and went with him to the Flood Dragon’s Lair.
• Zhou Chun saw that a Green Crown Flying Snake had mutated into a verdant One-horned Flying Snake with wind abilities and stronger venom.
• Zhou Daoyi named the new beast the Wind Shadow Dragon Snake.
• Zhou Chun proposed taking it back as a breeding snake and having its eggs hatch in the Flood Dragon’s Lair to expand the population.

After learning that Zhou Zhengxin and Zhou Xinli had concealed a fight with Yue Family cultivators, Zhou Chun punished them and resolved to review the Zhou Family’s rules and conduct. He planned to gather the elders to discuss rectification and the family’s future development.

• A Yue Family elder visited Zhou Chun to apologize for a clash between his junior and two Zhou Family cultivators.
• Zhou Chun discovered that Zhou Zhengxin and Zhou Xinli had concealed the fight, violating the clan rules.
• Zhou Zhengxin and Zhou Xinli admitted what happened and explained that they had hidden the incident to avoid punishment.
• Zhou Chun suspended both cultivators’ family benefits for five years, confined them to the family stronghold for five years, and posted their punishment publicly.
• Zhou Chun decided to convene the Family Elders to review the family’s conduct, prevent similar incidents, and discuss future development.

Zhou Chun convened the Family Elder Council to address growing arrogance among Zhou Family youths and review the Lineage’s rapid growth. The elders approved new disciplinary rules and discussed the family’s rising population and finances, with a financial report beginning at the end.

• Zhou Chun told the elders about Zhou Zhengxin and Zhou Xinli’s misconduct and proposed stronger clan rules and martial competitions to curb the family’s arrogance.
• Zhou Mingde, Zhou Jiarui, and the other elders discussed the proposals and approved revised punishments and new clan rules, while agreeing to explore martial competitions.
• A clerk reported that the Zhou Family had 285 cultivators, including members of in-law families, and Zhou Chun explained the population’s rapid growth.
• Zhou Zhengyuan asked whether the Lineage could afford its growing expenses, and Zhou Chun assured him that income was strong and expected to increase.
• Zhou Chun began the report on the Zhou Family’s financial situation.

Zhou Chun reviewed the Zhou Family’s growing finances, inspected its Death Warrior Camp, and began organizing a joint Daoist martial arts competition to strengthen ties with other families. The Su Family Ancestor agreed to support the event but warned Zhou Chun not to turn it into an alliance, leaving Zhou Chun feeling reluctant to lose the guidance of his Golden Core backer.

• The Zhou Family’s financial report showed more than eighty-seven thousand Spirit Coins saved, and Zhou Chun explained that rising income and falling expenses would improve the family’s finances.
• Zhou Jiarui asked why the family was training outsider death warriors, but Zhou Mingde declared their purpose a family secret.
• Zhou Chun inspected the Death Warrior Camp, where Xu Fu commanded forty-eight cultivators, and told Xu Fu that the group might soon be put to use.
• Zhou Chun planned a joint Daoist martial arts competition to build ties with other families and visited the Su Family Ancestor to seek support.
• The Su Family Ancestor agreed to send participants but warned Zhou Chun not to involve Golden Core families or form an alliance, and instructed him to report the event to the Green Lotus Temple.
• Zhou Chun left feeling dejected after the Su Family Ancestor told him to visit only when he had something important to discuss.

Zhou Chun organized a Joint Daoist Martial Arts Competition to strengthen the Zhou Family’s standing, persuading sixteen other families to participate with generous prizes. As the assembled contestants vastly outnumbered the Zhou Family’s thirty arena defenders, the defenders began to doubt whether they could hold the arena.

• Zhou Chun abandoned plans to invite the Pill Li Family and Formation You Family after the Su Family Ancestor warned that doing so might draw Green Lotus Temple’s suspicion.
• Zhou Chun offered valuable Zhou Family treasures as prizes, which helped him secure the participation of sixteen families and finalize the competition’s rules.
• The Zhou Family held an internal competition, and Zhou Chun selected thirty cultivators to defend the arena and urged them to bring honor to the family.
• The participating families arrived at Nine Peaks Ridge, bringing more than two hundred people in total.
• The Zhou Family’s thirty defenders wavered when they realized they faced opponents eight or nine times their number.

Zhou Chun hosted the leaders of sixteen clans for the Joint Daoist Martial Arts Competition, where the Su Family’s cultivators demonstrated their strength against the Zhou Family. After the Su Family earned seventeen points, its final challenger overwhelmed Zhou Zhengqing, leaving the contest ongoing.

• Zhou Chun welcomed the clan patriarchs, and they drew lots to determine the competition order before heading to the arena.
• Su Mingchi defeated Zhou Xinyi with powerful lightning spells, then won two more matches before losing to a third Zhou Family defender.
• The Su Family’s first thirteen cultivators earned seventeen points, prompting Zhou Chun to ask Su Yudong whether they were the clan’s best young fighters; Su Yudong said they were not.
• Su Mingfu used paired golden-and-silver swords and a powerful Sword Qi attack against Zhou Zhengqing, forcing Zhou Jiarui to stop the match and send Zhou Zhengqing off the arena.

Zhou Xinlan defeated Su Mingfu, ending the Su Family’s run and drawing praise for the Zhou Family’s younger generation. As other families challenged the arena, Zhou Chun discussed the Zhou Family’s governance with visiting patriarchs, leaving them impressed by his openness.

• Zhou Xinlan and his Crimson Flame Vajra Monkey overwhelmed Su Mingfu’s defenses until he conceded, raising the Zhou Family’s standing with Su Yudong.
• Zhou Chun explained that the Crimson Flame Vajra Monkey was a mixed-blood species bred by the Zhou Family, and Su Yudong praised their beast-taming skill.
• The He Family and five other small families challenged the arena, but their results remained modest.
• The Wang Family scored seventeen points, and Wang Zhixiong admitted he had adopted Zhou Chun’s policies to help his family recover.
• Zhou Chun welcomed Liu’s request to learn about Zhou Family governance and offered to show him the clan’s rules and policies.

The Xie Family and other clans competed against the Zhou Family, with Xie Cunrui defeating Zhou Xindie before losing to Zhou Xinlan. The Wen Family then pressed for first place, and the chapter ended as Zhou Xinlan attempted a dangerous fusion of two fire talismans against Wen Liangyu.

• Xie Cunrui defeated Zhou Xindie with a powerful secret art, leaving her injured and unable to compete for a day or two.
• Xie Cunrui defeated another Zhou Family defender but lost to Zhou Xinlan, tying the Xie Family with the Su Family at the top of the standings.
• The Qin, Yu, and Li Families each scored fewer points, while the Wen Family entered determined to win the competition for Fragrant Spirit Musk.
• Wen Liangyu used his Steel Armored Rock Pig to pin down Zhou Xinlan's Crimson Flame Vajra Monkey and gain the advantage.
• Zhou Xinlan activated two high-tier Fire Snake Talismans and began fusing their power, prompting Zhou Chun to consider intervening while Zhou Zhengyong urged him to wait.

Zhou Xinlan’s final attack failed to defeat Wen Liangyu, giving the Wen Family first place in the Joint Daoist Martial Arts Competition. After the guests departed, Zhou Chun warned the Zhou Family cultivators against arrogance and rewarded those who defended the arena, while beginning to consider Foundation Establishment for promising young descendants.

• Zhou Xinlan fused two Fire Snake Talismans into a powerful fireball, but Wen Liangyu survived the blast with the help of his defenses and won the match.
• Zhou Jiarui declared Wen Liangyu the winner, and Zhou Chun congratulated the Wen Family Clan Leader as the competition results were finalized.
• Zhou Chun announced the family rankings and distributed prizes before hosting the visiting cultivators for a banquet and two days of exchanges.
• Zhou Chun shared family-governance experiences with visiting clan leaders, then escorted them out of Nine Peaks Ridge as they departed.
• Zhou Chun warned the Zhou Family cultivators not to act arrogantly or abuse their family’s backing, and Zhou Jiarui explained his admonition.
• Zhou Chun awarded arena defenders one hundred Merit Points each in addition to their match rewards and began considering Foundation Establishment for Zhou Xinlan, Zhou Xindie, and other promising youths.

After the Zhou Family’s growth overwhelmed Nine Peaks Ridge, Zhou Chun approved developing Dragon Rise Valley as a new outpost. The chapter ended with Zhou Chun and Zhou Daoyi escorting the outpost’s new residents through the Underground River to Dragon Abyss Marsh under sealed senses.

• Zhou Chun mastered the method of evolving the Jade Spirit Bee Queen, while Zhou Mingde advanced to the mid Violet Palace Stage.
• The Zhou Family’s growing population of cultivators and Demonic Beasts strained Nine Peaks Ridge, so Zhou Chun ordered Zhou Zhengxun to limit low-potential species in the Beast Garden.
• Zhou Chun proposed opening Dragon Rise Valley, and Zhou Mingde and the other Grand Elders agreed after consulting Zhou Daoquan and Zhou Daoyi.
• Zhou Daoyi and Zhou Xindie activated Dragon Rise Valley’s protective formation, while Zhou Chun prepared dead soldiers, elderly elders, and permanent residents for the outpost.
• Zhou Chun and Zhou Daoyi led more than sixty people through the Underground River on Qingqing and Bai Bai, sealing the travelers’ senses until they reached Dragon Abyss Marsh.

The Zhou Family established Dragon Rise Valley as a concealed base in the Wilderness Expanse and began gathering its abundant resources. At Nine Peaks Ridge, Zhou Chun learned that the fugitive Zhou Yu wanted to trade the stolen Black Jade Toads for a Foundation Establishment Pill, and he planned to use the meeting to track her down.

• Zhou Chun and Zhou Daoquan reassured the Zhou Family members about Dragon Rise Valley, where Zhou Daoyi and Zhou Xindie set up the Spirit Cleansing Array before Zhou Chun and Zhou Daoyi left the base in Zhou Daoquan and Zhou Zhengyong’s care.
• Zhou Zhengyong organized construction and exploration at Dragon Rise Valley, and Xu Fu’s team mapped nearby spiritual medicines and other valuable resources.
• A Rogue Cultivator delivered Zhou Yu’s letter to Zhou Chun, offering to return the Black Jade Toads in exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill at an Underground Treasure Exchange in Jinchang Market.
• Zhou Chun told Zhou Mingde that Zhou Yu would only meet with Zhou Jiahe and proposed using his Blue Moon Butterfly to track her after the exchange.
• Zhou Mingde agreed that Zhou Chun should accompany Zhou Jiahe and decided to wait outside Jinchang Market to protect them.

Zhou Chun entered an Underground Treasure Exchange in Feng Kingdom and watched cultivators trade rare goods. When a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator offered Rotten Corpse Moth eggs, Red Fox challenged him over the danger of trading them, leaving the hall’s mood tense.

• Zhou Chun and Zhou Jiahe traveled separately to Feng Kingdom, where Zhou Chun gave her the Foundation Establishment Pill and obtained his own exchange token.
• Zhou Chun entered the Underground Treasure Exchange through a well beneath the Black Flame Refining Shop and joined more than seventy cultivators.
• Red Fox explained the exchange rules and began trading, while a horse-faced Violet Palace cultivator exchanged three treasures after lowering his demands.
• After waiting through several exchanges, Zhou Chun took interest when a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator offered Rotten Corpse Moth eggs and Seven-Leaf Corpse Gallant Orchid seeds for a fire-attributed magic tool.
• Red Fox warned the cultivator that he had nerve to trade the eggs, but the man claimed they were spoils from an adventure, making the hall’s atmosphere strange.

Zhou Chun attended the Underground Treasure Exchange, where Zhou Jiahe traded a Foundation Establishment Pill for Zhou Yu’s Black Jade Toads and Zhou Chun acquired a Cloud Water Swan egg. After Zhou Mingde identified the toads as having greatly diminished vitality, Zhou Chun used the Blue Moon Butterfly to track Zhou Yu and waited near the Cultivation District for her to emerge.

• A masked cultivator traded a Phoenix Feather Fan for Rotten Corpse Moth eggs, allowing Red Fox to defuse a dispute over the exchange rules.
• Zhou Jiahe exchanged a Foundation Establishment Pill with Zhou Yu for a pair of Black Jade Toads, while Zhou Chun later traded for a Cloud Water Swan egg.
• After the exchange ended, Zhou Chun and Zhou Jiahe left separately, then met at Zhou Chun’s inn with the Black Jade Toads.
• Zhou Mingde inspected the toads and discovered that their vitality had greatly declined, prompting him to suspect Zhou Yu had damaged them.
• Zhou Chun released the Blue Moon Butterfly to track Zhou Yu and waited outside the Cultivation District for her to come out.

Zhou Chun waited nearly eighty days in Jinchang Market before Zhou Yu emerged with her grandson, whose attempt at Foundation Establishment had failed, and pursued them as they fled. With tensions rising across Feng Kingdom over the Corpse Demon Sect’s ban on Rotten Corpse Moths, Zhou Chun confronted Zhou Yu in the air and prepared to fight her.

• Zhou Chun concluded that Zhou Yu was guarding a descendant’s attempt at Foundation Establishment, so Zhou Mingde left him in Jinchang Market with the Fire God Jackal while Zhou Jiahe returned to the family mountain gate.
• Zhou Chun tracked Zhou Yu’s rented cultivation room and kept watch there as the Corpse Demon Sect’s ban on Rotten Corpse Moths intensified conflict with other Feng Kingdom factions.
• After roughly eighty days, Zhou Yu left the Cultivation District with her grandson, Zhen'er, and promised to help him try Foundation Establishment again after his failure.
• Zhou Chun followed Zhou Yu and Zhen'er out of the market, pursued them aboard his azure flying boat, and sent the Golden Winged Tiger after Zhen'er while Silver Lightning Thunder Python Bai Bai flew beside him.
• Zhou Yu refused to surrender and released her Second-tier High-grade Jade-faced Golden Cat, while Zhou Chun summoned a swarm of pale golden flying insects for the confrontation.

Zhou Chun defeated Zhou Yu with his demonic insects, spirit beasts, and artifacts, then killed her and her grandson after refusing her offer to reveal why the Black Jade Toad’s vitality had declined. As he gathered the spoils and prepared to return to the clan, an unexpected situation arose.

• Zhou Chun released swarms of Black-Armored Golden Feathers and Flying Sky Fire Scorpions, while Bai Bai struck Zhou Yu’s golden civet with lightning.
• Zhou Yu used her Fire Dragon Talisman and silver-thread artifact to fend off the insects and attack Zhou Chun, but his golden gourd wounded her gravely.
• The Flying Sky Fire Scorpions poisoned the golden civet, and Zhou Chun’s lightning brought Zhou Yu down, where his insects restrained her.
• Zhou Yu offered hidden savings and information about the Black Jade Toad in exchange for her grandson’s life, but Zhou Chun refused and had the insects kill her.
• Zhou Chun had the Golden-Winged Tiger kill Zhou Yu’s grandson, collected the spoils, and encountered an unexpected situation as he prepared to leave.