Chapter Summaries

Zhou Chun contracted and raised the Silver Lightning Thunder Python, which hatched and was named Bai Bai. At a full-month celebration, Zhou Daoyi urged the Zhou Family’s cultivators to have children to strengthen the clan, and Zhou Chun realized he had misunderstood their attitude toward family life.

• Zhou Daoquan explained the Silver Lightning Thunder Python’s potential, returned its egg to Zhou Chun, and gave him a jade slip of care instructions.
• Zhou Chun contracted the egg and, after forty-seven days, welcomed the newly hatched snake and named it Bai Bai.
• Zhou Chun fed and cared for Bai Bai as it grew, while the snake grew accustomed to coiling around his wrist.
• Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong attended Zhou Zhengjie’s son’s full-month celebration on Incense Wood Peak, where Zhou Daoyi named the child Zhou Xinyuan and rewarded his parents.
• Zhou Daoyi urged Zhou Family cultivators to have children so the clan could replenish its ranks, and Zhou Chun saw that his fellow clansmen were considering his words.

Zhou Zhengyong decided to pursue a Daoist companion and asked Zhou Chun to help him pass Sun Yujiao’s father’s test. Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong entered the Red Pine Forest to hunt a Purple Flame Sable, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Zhou Zhengyong argued that fear of losing children should not stop Zhou Chun from seeking a Daoist companion and having descendants.
• Zhou Zhengyong visited Sun Yujiao’s family and agreed to hunt a Purple Flame Sable as the betrothal test set by Sun Lianzhong.
• Zhou Zhengyong asked Zhou Chun to help, and Patriarch Zhou Daoyi promised both men rewards if they succeeded.
• Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong traveled to the Sun Family of Golden Maple Ridge and met Sun Lianzhong, Aunt Lin, and Sun Yujiao.
• Sun Lianzhong set a three-day limit and gave Zhou Zhengyong a rescue firework talisman before Zhou Zhengyong and Zhou Chun entered the Red Pine Forest.

Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong searched the Red Pine Forest for a way to lure out the Purple Flame Sable. Zhou Chun captured a Flame Rat and used it as bait, and the sable finally appeared before fleeing deeper into the forest.

• Zhou Zhengyong proposed luring the Purple Flame Sable with a live rodent Demonic Beast, and he and Zhou Chun split up to search for one.
• Zhou Chun baited and drugged a Flame Rat, captured it, and brought it to Zhou Zhengyong.
• Zhou Zhengyong prepared the Flame Rat as bait and left Zhou Chun concealed nearby with the Crimson Tail Monkey Spirit Pet.
• After waiting through the night, Zhou Chun saw the Purple Flame Sable seize the exhausted Flame Rat and flee into the forest.
• Zhou Chun called for Zhou Zhengyong, released the Crimson Tail Monkey to pursue the sable, and chased after it with a flying artifact.

Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong pursued a Purple Flame Sable into its mountain lair and dug their way inside to defeat it. While excavating, Zhou Chun discovered stones that might indicate a Crimson Radiance Iron Ore vein, leaving the two men with a potentially valuable find.

• Zhou Chun and the Crimson Tail Monkey wounded the Purple Flame Sable, which fled into a mountain cave with several entrances.
• Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong sealed the other entrances and spent a day and a half digging a passage toward the sable’s lair with the Rock Earth Turtle and Crimson Tail Monkey.
• Zhou Chun entered the cave and defended himself against the Purple Flame Sable’s fire while his Moon Blades severed its right hind leg.
• Zhou Zhengyong rushed into the cave after hearing an explosion and found Zhou Chun unharmed and digging through the rubble.
• Zhou Chun showed Zhou Zhengyong blackish-red stones and said he suspected the mountain held a Crimson Radiance Iron Ore vein.

Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong returned from the Sun Family after securing Sun Yujiao and Zhou Zhengyong’s marriage, and Zhou Chun reported his discovery of Crimson Radiance Iron Ore to Zhou Daoyi. The Clan Chief ordered them to keep the possible ore vein secret while he prepared to verify it, and Zhou Zhengyong left promising to repay Zhou Chun’s help.

• Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong brought the Purple Flame Sable’s corpse to Sun Lianzhong, who approved Zhou Zhengyong’s marriage to Sun Yujiao and asked the Zhou Family to send an elder to propose.
• Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong hurried back to Nine Peaks Ridge and reported to Zhou Daoyi, who arranged for Jiapeng to handle the marriage proposal.
• Zhou Chun showed Zhou Daoyi the Crimson Radiance Iron Ore and explained his suspicion that an ore vein lay near the cave where they found the Purple Flame Sable.
• Zhou Daoyi confirmed the ore’s identity, warned Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong that the Zhou Family might not be able to claim the vein alone, and ordered them to keep the discovery secret.
• Zhou Zhengyong thanked Zhou Chun for helping him and promised to stand by him, while Zhou Chun looked forward to attending his wedding.

Zhou Chun accompanied Zhou Daoyi to confirm a Crimson Radiance Iron ore vein, but the Zhou Family lacked the strength to claim it alone and considered joint mining with other families. Over the following months, Zhou Chun progressed in cultivation and trained Bai Bai, then received a summons to Pagoda Peak whose purpose remained unknown.

• Zhou Chun cared for Bai Bai before Zhou Daoyi summoned him to inspect a hidden cave in the Red Pine Forest.
• Zhou Daoyi confirmed that the cave contained a valuable Crimson Radiance Iron ore vein, but explained that the Zhou Family could not safely claim it alone.
• Zhou Chun proposed joining with the Wang, Sun, Mu, and He Families to mine the vein, and Zhou Daoyi agreed that this was the only viable approach to explore.
• Over the next three months, Zhou Daoyi and Zhou Mingde negotiated with other factions, while Zhou Zhengyong married Sun Yujiao after Zhou Chun helped arrange the match.
• Zhou Chun neared Level Nine Qi Refining and trained Bai Bai, which awakened its innate spell and became a First-grade low-tier Demonic Beast.
• Lanlan delivered Zhou Daoyi's summons for Zhou Chun to go to Pagoda Peak, leaving him to wonder what the Clan Chief wanted.

Zhou Chun was assigned to manage the Zhou Family’s new shop at Red Cliff Market alongside Zhou Jiasheng, a post that gave him a safe opportunity to trade spirit herbs. Before leaving, he said farewell to several family members and learned that dragon-blood materials could strengthen his Silver Lightning Thunder Python.

• Zhou Daoyi appointed Zhou Jiasheng as shopkeeper and Zhou Chun as shop assistant at Red Cliff Market, while warning Jiasheng that Zhou Chun could report problems to him.
• Zhou Chun accepted the assignment and celebrated privately because working at the shop would let him buy and sell spirit herbs with less risk.
• Zhou Chun told Zhou Zhengyong about his new post, and Zhou Zhengyong predicted that the reward for discovering the Crimson Radiance Iron ore vein could help him become a Core Clansman.
• Zhou Chun visited the Giant Green-Haired Ape at the Book Repository to say goodbye before leaving the Lineage.
• Zhou Daoquan advised Zhou Chun to watch for Dragon Blood Grass and Dragon Blood Stone to improve his Silver Lightning Thunder Python’s bloodline potential.

Zhou Chun helped open the Zhou Family’s Spirit Beast Hall in Red Cliff Market, where its fixed-price sales approach drew attention but produced modest first-day earnings. Zhou Jiasheng challenged Zhou Chun over the disappointing results, and Zhou Chun argued that the shop’s new reputation would attract customers over time.

• Zhou Jiasheng opened Spirit Beast Hall with a ten percent discount and introduced its spirit beast products, supplies, and purchasing services.
• Zhou Chun greeted customers and explained the shop’s clearly marked prices and refusal to bargain, drawing discussion from visitors but relatively few purchases.
• Customers showed interest in selling demonic beast eggs and information, including reports on female Iron Feather Eagles sought by Zhou Jiapeng.
• Zhou Jiasheng and Zhou Chun counted the day’s sales and purchases, finding that the shop had earned 756 spirit coins and spent 439.
• Zhou Jiasheng asked Zhou Chun what he thought of the results, and Zhou Chun defended the pricing strategy by predicting that word of mouth would bring more customers.
• Zhou Jiasheng responded to Zhou Chun’s argument with a cold smile.

Zhou Chun defended clearly marked prices to Zhou Jiasheng by arguing they would build Spirit Beast Hall’s reputation before a rival family opened a competing shop. After the shop’s first month exceeded its sales target, Zhou Jiasheng accepted the results and gave Zhou Chun greater responsibility for appraising goods.

• Zhou Chun argued that clearly marked prices would attract customers and protect Spirit Beast Hall’s credibility against a future competitor, while Zhou Jiasheng challenged his reasoning.
• Over the next half month, cultivators visited the shop, and repeat customers bought more secret-formula beast and insect repellent medicines after seeing that they worked.
• At the end of its first month, Zhou Chun and Zhou Jiasheng found that Spirit Beast Hall had made 2,637 spirit coins in sales, surpassing its 2,000-coin estimate.
• Zhou Daoquan reviewed the shop’s accounts and praised its results before delivering new goods and taking away purchased items.
• After Zhou Daoquan left, Zhou Jiasheng told Zhou Chun to appraise and price incoming spiritual items first, referring uncertain cases to him.

Zhou Chun gained Zhou Jiasheng’s respect through a savvy purchase from a cultivator, then broke through to Level Nine Qi Refining and became a core member of the Zhou Family. With the Crimson Radiance Iron mine now jointly operated by five cultivation families, Zhou Jiasheng tasked him with gathering market opinions about the ore vein.

• Zhou Chun paid Lin twenty spirit coins for three spiritual herbs, knowingly overpaying by one coin for the damaged Candle Flame Grass to encourage Lin to return to Spirit Beast Hall.
• Zhou Chun explained his business strategy to Zhou Jiasheng, who praised his insight and began patiently teaching him appraisal skills.
• After taking his tenth Jade Ginseng Pill, Zhou Chun broke through to Level Nine Qi Refining, greatly increasing his spiritual power, divine sense, and secret arts’ strength.
• Zhou Daoyi promoted Zhou Chun to a core family member and Zhou Zhengyong to an elite member after the five cultivation families agreed to jointly mine the Crimson Radiance Iron vein and divide its profits.
• Zhou Jiasheng gave Zhou Chun a family message about gathering cultivators’ opinions on the mine, and Zhou Chun agreed to handle the task.

Zhou Chun learned that a mysterious faction had driven Rogue Cultivators away from the Zhou Family, forcing the Lineage to prepare for battle and change its shop operations. While guarding the shop, he sold a rare Snake Coiling Branch at a large profit and hoped to find more chances to build his own wealth.

• Zhou Chun gathered rumors about the Crimson Radiance Iron ore vein and bought several spirit medicines at the Stall Market.
• A mysterious faction ambushed Rogue Cultivators traveling to the Zhou Family, and the survivors stopped cultivating there.
• Zhou Jiasheng told Zhou Chun that the Lineage had barred clan members from leaving the mountain, suspended Eagle Dispatches, and ordered the shop to stock wartime supplies.
• Zhou Jiasheng took most of the shop's Spirit Coins to buy talismans and magical artifacts, leaving Zhou Chun to guard the shop and sell goods.
• A Foundation Establishment cultivator in blue bought Zhou Chun's 150-year-old Snake Coiling Branch for 120 Spirit Coins.
• Zhou Chun pocketed the profit after buying the Snake Coiling Branch for 25 Spirit Coins and looked forward to finding more bargains.

The Qi Yun Alliance escalated its attacks on the Zhou Family despite the Five Great Cultivation Families’ warning, bringing the region closer to war. Zhou Daoyi recalled Zhou Jiasheng to help defend the family, while Zhou Chun stayed behind to guard the Spirit Beast Hall.

• The Qi Yun Alliance rejected the Five Great Cultivation Families’ demand to stop provoking the Zhou Family and threatened the other families.
• Zhou Chun calmed Zhou Jiasheng and suggested a discount sale to raise funds for the family, and their shop sold out its best-selling goods in under twenty days.
• Zhou Daoyi arrived at the market, praised Zhou Chun and Zhou Jiasheng, and said one of them had to return to the family to fight.
• Zhou Jiasheng volunteered to return, so Zhou Daoyi took him and left Zhou Chun to guard the shop.

Zhou Chun bought a 200-year-old Red Essence Ganoderma from Liu Qingshan and his daughter, Liu Shiyun, for 135 Spirit Coins. Knowing the Li Family prized the herb for its Crimson Spirit Elixir, he closed the shop early and headed to the Li Family Pharmacy to sell it.

• With the shop quiet and the Lineage out of reach, Zhou Chun spent his days cultivating, practicing spells, reading, and trading spirit medicines.
• Liu Qingshan and Liu Shiyun came to Spirit Beast Hall to sell a Red Essence Ganoderma they claimed to have obtained while fighting a Crimson Flame Python.
• Zhou Chun examined the 200-year-old herb and negotiated its price up from 120 to 135 Spirit Coins.
• After Liu Qingshan and Liu Shiyun left, Zhou Chun realized the Li Family would pay a high price for the herb because it was a key ingredient in their Crimson Spirit Elixir.
• Zhou Chun closed the shop early and went to the Li Family Pharmacy.

Zhou Chun sold a rare Red Essence Ganoderma to Li Siyuan for a large payment, then used his newfound wealth to buy and test the powerful Minor Thousand Mountain Seal. He left satisfied with its strength but concerned about its heavy magic-power consumption.

• Zhou Chun showed Li Siyuan a two-hundred-year-old Red Essence Ganoderma and negotiated a deal of four hundred Spirit Coins plus two bottles of Yellow Cloud Pills.
• Zhou Chun told Li Siyuan that he had bought the Ganoderma for only 135 Spirit Coins, leaving Li Siyuan frustrated by the profit he had lost.
• Zhou Chun went to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion and tested the Minor Thousand Mountain Seal against a defensive formation shield.
• The Minor Thousand Mountain Seal nearly shattered the shield, but Zhou Chun found that his Level Nine Qi Refining cultivation let him use it for only three attacks.
• Zhou Chun decided to buy the Minor Thousand Mountain Seal despite its high magic-power consumption.

Zhou Daoyi led the Five Great Cultivation Families in a surprise assault on Wild Wolf Ridge, where they uncovered a Spirit Eye Spring. The chapter ended with the attack underway and Zhou Daoyi and the Fire God Jackal fighting Zhang Zixuan, the Qi Yun Alliance’s Violet Palace cultivator.

• Zhou Daoyi and nine Foundation Establishment cultivators attacked Wild Wolf Ridge, aiming to break its defenses and kill the Qi Yun Alliance cultivators before reinforcements arrived.
• The attackers shattered the Guardian Formation, but Zhang Zixuan emerged as a Violet Palace cultivator and threatened to overwhelm them.
• Zhou Daoyi released Zhou Mingde’s Fire God Jackal and joined it with the Azure Cloud Python to hold Zhang Zixuan at bay.
• The other nine Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Five Great Cultivation Families attacked the Qi Yun Alliance fighters, killing qi refining cultivators and pressing the defenders back.
• A Foundation Establishment cultivator entered Zhang Zixuan’s cave dwelling and discovered a Spirit Eye Spring.

After the Spirit Eye Spring beneath Wild Wolf Ridge was exposed, Zhou Daoyi and the other families feared Qi Yun Alliance retaliation, but the Alliance instead moved to seize the Crimson Radiance Iron ore vein. The Five Great Cultivation Families gathered 173 cultivators and marched out to meet them in a head-on battle.

• Zhou Daoyi withdrew from Wild Wolf Ridge after discovering the Spirit Eye Spring, and Zhang Zixuan reported the secret to the Qi Yun Alliance.
• Zhou Chun learned that the Spirit Eye Spring had likely been the reason the Qi Yun Alliance attacked the Mu Family, while Zhou Daoyi and the Zhou Family Elders prepared for retaliation at Nine Peaks Ridge.
• Green Lotus Temple sent a Golden Core cultivator to Wild Wolf Ridge to relocate the Spirit Eye Spring, while the Qi Yun Alliance mobilized and headed for the Crimson Radiance Iron ore vein.
• The Five Great Cultivation Families decided to reinforce the mine and assembled 173 cultivators, including fifteen Foundation Establishment cultivators and three Violet Palace cultivators.
• After a scout reported the Qi Yun Alliance force was one hundred li away, the fair-faced middle-aged Daoist ordered the families' cultivators to march out and meet them.

The Five Great Cultivation Families fought Tang Yuan’s Qi Yun Alliance over the Crimson Radiance Iron ore vein, and Zhou Daoyi’s Azure Cloud Python transformed into a Flood Dragon and killed three Foundation Establishment cultivators. With the family forces winning the lower-level battles but Sun Yaowu losing to Tang Yuan, Zhou Mingde left his own fight to assist him.

• Tang Yuan rejected his subordinate’s suggestion to attack the Five Great Families’ scouting eagles and led the Qi Yun Alliance to the Red Pine Forest.
• Sun Yaowu challenged Tang Yuan, and the Violet Palace cultivators, Foundation Establishment cultivators, and Qi Refining cultivators of both sides began fighting.
• The Five Great Cultivation Families’ stronger cultivators and plentiful talismans gave them the advantage in the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining battles.
• Zhou Daoyi used Cloud Dragon Transformation on the Azure Cloud Python, which became a Flood Dragon and killed three Qi Yun Alliance Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Tang Yuan forced Sun Yaowu onto the defensive, so Zhou Mingde agreed to leave Zhang Zixuan and help Sun Yaowu.

The Five Great Cultivation Families won a costly battle against the Qi Yun Alliance, then surrounded its headquarters but stopped short of committing to a full assault. Zhou Chun learned of Zhou Daoyi’s Azure Cloud Python temporarily transforming into a Flood Dragon and anticipated using the same secret technique with his Silver Lightning Thunder Python.

• Sun Zhongping reported that the Five Great Cultivation Families had killed eleven Qi Yun Alliance Foundation Establishment cultivators and suffered heavy losses of their own.
• Zhou Mingde urged the families to exploit Tang Yuan’s severe injuries and destroy the Qi Yun Alliance, but most leaders opposed another costly battle.
• The Five Great Cultivation Families surrounded the Qi Yun Alliance headquarters to intimidate its members, leaving Vice Alliance Leaders Wei Feng and Zhang Zixuan anxiously waiting for their absent leader.
• Zhou Chun heard that Zhou Daoyi had used a Flood Dragon to kill three Foundation Establishment cultivators and reasoned that it was the patriarch’s Azure Cloud Python transformed by a secret technique.
• Zhou Chun anticipated that his Silver Lightning Thunder Python might also temporarily transform into a Flood Dragon once it reached the second rank.

After the Qi Yun Alliance crisis ended, Zhou Jiasheng returned to Red Cliff Market and told Zhou Chun about the Zhou Family’s losses. More than a month later, Zhou Chun’s Rock Earth Turtle advanced, and Zhou Chun set out with his Spirit Pets to hunt for food.

• The Heavenly Mirror Rogue Cultivator revealed that Tang Yuan was his registered disciple, ending the Five Great Cultivation Families’ siege of the Qi Yun Alliance.
• Zhou Jiasheng returned to Red Cliff Market and told Zhou Chun that the Zhou Family had lost three clansmen and suffered other casualties in the battle.
• Zhou Jiasheng examined the shop accounts and accepted Zhou Chun’s explanation that he had used personal funds to profit from reselling Red Essence Ganoderma.
• After more than a month, Zhou Chun’s Rock Earth Turtle awakened as a First-grade High-tier Demonic Beast and gained several Earth Element Spells.
• When Bai Bai showed Zhou Chun that it was hungry, Zhou Chun decided to take both Spirit Pets hunting and asked Zhou Jiasheng for leave.

While hunting in the Red Rock Mountain Range, Zhou Chun heard Liu Shiyun fighting and killed her attacker, then hurried to rescue her father, Liu Qingshan. He arrived as Liu Qingshan was about to be killed and pursued the fleeing Guo Dahu while the Rock Earth Turtle held off the bald cultivator.

• Zhou Chun hunted wild animals deep in the mountains and heard a battle nearby after releasing his Spirit Pets to eat.
• Zhou Chun recognized Liu Shiyun’s voice, went to investigate, and killed He Sangu with his Moon Blade Meteor Wheel.
• Liu Shiyun told Zhou Chun that two Rogue Cultivators were attacking Liu Qingshan, so Zhou Chun flew to help him.
• Zhou Chun arrived in time to shield Liu Qingshan and released the Rock Earth Turtle as the bald cultivator attacked him.
• Liu Qingshan warned Zhou Chun that Guo Dahu was escaping, and Zhou Chun pursued him while the Rock Earth Turtle fought the bald man.