Chapter Summaries

Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi uncovered Zhou Zhengkang’s betrayal and learned through the Mind-Seizing Soul-Taking Insect that he had murdered Zhou Jiahui. After Zhou Mingde secretly executed him, he left for Spirit Beast Manor to demand an explanation.

• Zhou Zhengkang confessed that Spirit Beast Manor had recruited him by promising treasures and Xiao Lingyan as his Dao companion, but he lied about what had happened to Zhou Jiahui.
• Zhou Mingde used the Mind-Seizing Soul-Taking Insect to make Zhou Zhengkang reveal that he had killed Zhou Jiahui after she recognized him following her.
• Zhou Daoyi advised against publicly executing Zhou Zhengkang, and Zhou Mingde agreed to secretly kill him and avoid damaging the family’s reputation.
• Zhou Mingde sent Zhou Zhengkang away without his storage possessions, then had the Fire God Jackal burn him to ashes outside Nine Peaks Ridge.
• Zhou Mingde told Zhou Daoyi that Spirit Beast Manor would answer for Zhou Jiahui’s death and went alone to its mountain gate.

Zhou Mingde confronted Yu Jinghua over Xiao Lingyan and Yu Deguang's role in Zhou Zhengkang's betrayal, securing Jade Spirit Bees and an Azure Condensing Tea Tree as compensation. After Zhou Zhengkang's Foundation Establishment Pill was awarded to Zhou Jiacheng, Zhou Daoyi told Zhou Chun what had happened and promised to support his future Foundation Establishment.

• Zhou Mingde demanded that Yu Jinghua answer for Xiao Lingyan and Yu Deguang luring Zhou Zhengkang away and exploiting him, and Yu Jinghua agreed to compensate the Zhou Family with one hundred Jade Spirit Bees, including a queen, and an Azure Condensing Tea Tree.
• Yu Jinghua lectured Spirit Beast Manor's cultivators after Zhou Mingde left, realizing that many obeyed him only in public and that he needed to cultivate his own trusted aides.
• Zhou Mingde recommended giving Zhou Zhengkang's Foundation Establishment Pill to Zhou Jiacheng, and Zhou Daoyi agreed before Zhou Mingde went into seclusion.
• Zhou Daoyi told Zhou Chun the truth about Zhou Zhengkang's execution and ordered him to keep it secret.
• Zhou Daoyi promised to support Zhou Chun in establishing his foundation once he reached the twelfth layer of Qi Refining, and Zhou Chun gratefully bowed to him.

The Zhou Family welcomed the return of its Jade Spirit Bees, and Zhou Chun gained prominence after Zhou Daoyi appointed him as his personal clerk. Zhou Jiarui successfully established his foundation while Zhou Cheng failed, and Zhou Daoyi helped Zhou Cheng overcome his shame and renewed his hope of serving the Lineage.

• The Zhou Family celebrated the return of its Jade Spirit Bees, which had been taken by Yu Jinghua when the Three Absolute Sect divided.
• Zhou Daoyi appointed Zhou Chun as his personal clerk and assigned him to collect Poison Thorn Fish Mucus, while the Lineage publicized Zhou Chun’s contributions.
• Zhou Jiarui emerged from secluded cultivation after successfully establishing his foundation, and the Zhou Family held a celebration for him.
• Zhou Cheng emerged after failing to establish his foundation and knelt outside the Ancestral Shrine, overcome by shame.
• Zhou Daoyi comforted Zhou Cheng, who resolved to devote himself to the Lineage after hearing he might receive another chance at Foundation Establishment.

Zhou Chun selected two dangerous secret arts and endured months of pain to begin cultivating Xinjin Sword Qi, while his cultivation advanced to Qi Refining Layer 10 over the following years. The chapter ended with Zhou Zhengyong and Sun Yujiao learning that their infant son had Mid-grade Wood and Fire spiritual roots.

• Zhou Chun persuaded Zhou Daoquan to let him select two secret arts, choosing Xinjin Sword Qi and Blood Burning Spirit Transformation Art for their life-saving potential.
• Zhou Chun struggled through severe pain and meridian injuries while cultivating Xinjin Sword Qi, then finally completed his first cycle and sealed Metal Qi in his right-hand meridian.
• Seven years passed, and Zhou Chun reached age twenty-eight and Qi Refining Layer 10, though pill resistance made him consider taking a break from medicines.
• Zhou Chun joined Zhou Zhengyong and Sun Yujiao as Zhou Zhengyong tested their infant son Lan'er’s spiritual roots.
• Zhou Chun congratulated Zhou Zhengyong and Sun Yujiao after the test revealed that Lan'er had Mid-grade Wood and Fire spiritual roots.

Zhou Chun traveled to an abandoned Essence Gold mine to gather Metal Qi for cultivating Xinjin Sword Qi, disguising himself as the rogue cultivator Han Sanjue. A mature Golden Armored Pangolin stole the gourd holding the Metal Qi, but Bai Bai struck it with lightning, giving Zhou Chun a chance to stand and respond.

• Zhou Xinlan was found to have Mid-grade spiritual root aptitude, and Zhou Zhengyong proudly spread the news through the Zhou Family.
• After attending Zhou Xinlan's first-birthday celebration, Zhou Chun left Nine Peaks Ridge to gather Metal Qi at an abandoned Essence Gold ore vein.
• Zhou Chun disguised himself as Han Sanjue, met the herb-gatherer Geng, and received directions to the Hidden Gold Mountain Range.
• Zhou Chun searched the mine tunnels with Silver Lightning Thunder Python Bai Bai and collected Metal Qi in a special gourd artifact for nearly half a month.
• A mature Golden Armored Pangolin burst through a tunnel wall, grabbed the gourd, and tried to escape.
• Bai Bai struck the Golden Armored Pangolin with lightning, making it drop the gourd while Zhou Chun ended his cultivation and stood up.

Zhou Chun killed the Golden Armored Pangolin with help from Silver Lightning Thunder Python Bai Bai and the Rock Earth Turtle, but the battle cost him supplies and damaged a magic artifact. After Bai Bai found Essence Gold ore in the beast’s lair, Zhou Chun recruited three Rogue Cultivators to retrieve it, leaving them afraid he might kill them afterward.

• Silver Lightning Thunder Python Bai Bai interrupted the Golden Armored Pangolin’s escape, and Zhou Chun struck it with the Minor Thousand Mountain Seal.
• The Golden Armored Pangolin broke free of Zhou Chun’s Locking Gold Ring, destroyed his iron shield, and forced him to summon the Rock Earth Turtle.
• Zhou Chun and the Rock Earth Turtle fought the injured Golden Armored Pangolin for nearly half an hour before it died from internal bleeding.
• Zhou Chun sent Bai Bai into the beast’s tunnel and learned that its lair contained Essence Gold ore, but the narrow, winding passage was too dangerous for him to enter.
• Three Rogue Cultivators arrived searching for the source of the commotion, and Zhou Chun offered the lean old man a job retrieving treasure from the lair.
• The old man agreed to Zhou Chun’s job but pleaded for him to spare their lives afterward.

Zhou Chun returned to the Zhou Family after collecting Metal Qi, learned the origin of his Minor Thousand Mountain Seal, and spent nearly half a year mastering the first layer of Xinjin Sword Qi. Just as he considered cultivating the second layer, Zhou Daoquan’s achievement in beast nurturing drew a crowd to the Beast Garden.

• Zhou Chun explored the Golden Armored Pangolin’s lair with Jiang Buping and his two juniors, collected the Essence Gold ore, and gave Jiang Buping ten Spirit Coins as compensation.
• After Zhou Chun left, Jiang Buping used the encounter to warn Luo Dong and Wu Youfu not to trust strangers in the Cultivation World.
• Zhou Chun gathered Metal Qi from the mine tunnels and returned to Nine Peaks Ridge, where Zhou Daoyi inspected the Minor Thousand Mountain Seal and the Golden Armored Pangolin’s corpse.
• Zhou Daoyi explained that the Minor Thousand Mountain Seal imitated a powerful magic treasure and offered to use the corpse and Essence Gold ore to obtain a defensive magic tool for Zhou Chun.
• Zhou Chun endured nearly half a year of painful cultivation and mastered the first layer of Xinjin Sword Qi, storing enough Taibai Xinjin Power for one use.
• Zhou Daoquan’s beast-nurturing achievement caused a sensation in the Zhou Family and drew cultivators to the Beast Garden.

Zhou Chun witnessed the Zhou Family discover a powerful, potentially breedable hybrid demonic monkey, then received two rare defensive magic tools from Zhou Daoyi. After resuming cultivation, he welcomed Liu Shiyun, who arrived with Green Lotus Temple companions to thank him and share potentially useful news.

• Zhou Daoquan introduced the Crimson Flame Vajra Monkey to Zhou Daoyi and the other elders, explaining its abilities and the possibility of breeding more of its kind.
• Zhou Daoyi assigned Zhou Daoquan to expand the Crimson Flame Vajra Monkey population and instructed the family to stop considering it as a pet beast.
• Zhou Chun inspected the Beast Garden and its demonic beast populations, then returned to Pagoda Peak.
• Zhou Daoyi gave Zhou Chun the Golden Scale Soft Armor and Golden Scale Shield, and Zhou Chun decided to resume cultivating the second layer of the Xinjin Sword Qi.
• Liu Shiyun visited Zhou Chun with two Green Lotus Temple disciples, thanking him for helping her and her father and offering to share news that might benefit him.

Liu Shiyun told Zhou Chun that Green Lotus Temple cultivators planned to hunt Flood Dragons nesting in Cloud Prefecture, giving him a chance to seek materials for his spirit pets. Zhou Daoyi sent Zhou Chun, Zhou Jiapeng, and Zhou Zhengyu to investigate, and the three reached the Cangyun River to gather reports of sightings.

• Liu Shiyun shared the secret Flood Dragon news with Zhou Chun and explained how she had become an inner disciple of Green Lotus Temple.
• Zhou Chun told Zhou Daoyi about the news, and Zhou Daoyi ordered him to scout Cloud Prefecture with Zhou Jiapeng and Zhou Zhengyu while maintaining Liu Shiyun's connection for the family's benefit.
• Zhou Chun, Zhou Jiapeng, and Zhou Zhengyu traveled to the lower reaches of the Cangyun River, where Zhou Chun assigned the others to question local cultivation groups while he investigated mortal towns.
• Zhou Chun gathered conflicting reports of Flood Dragon sightings and met Zhou Jiapeng and Zhou Zhengyu at Silver Stone Mountain to compare what they had learned.
• Zhou Jiapeng reported that Flood Dragon sightings were widely known in Cloud Prefecture, but news that the creatures were nesting and preparing to lay eggs had not spread.

Zhou Chun, disguised as the Rogue Cultivator Han Sanjue, investigated Flood Dragon sightings at Sanjiang Pass and met Xu Kaishan and Ding Yizhen. After hearing Xu Kaishan’s plan to scavenge for treasures when cultivators attacked the dragons, Zhou Chun agreed to join them so he could learn more about the scheme and the Flood Dragons.

• Zhou Chun marked three locations for his group to monitor and gather reports of new Flood Dragon sightings.
• At Sanjiang Pass, Zhou Chun met Xu Kaishan and Ding Yizhen, who invited him to discuss the Flood Dragons in a nearby town.
• Xu Kaishan described seeing a black-scaled Flood Dragon raise a flood and said cultivators across Cloud Prefecture were preparing to hunt the dragons.
• Xu Kaishan proposed that a group of Rogue Cultivators collect treasures from the Flood Dragons’ water demon servants while higher-level cultivators fought the dragons.
• Zhou Chun accepted Xu Kaishan’s invitation to join the group and investigate what lay behind his plan.

Zhou Chun witnessed the flood dragon’s overwhelming power and learned that Lu Jianqiu had tested it, then refused Xu Kaishan’s invitation to join a gathering of rogue cultivators. Xu Kaishan attacked him with a powerful beast-transformation technique but escaped into the Cangyun River, leaving Zhou Chun wondering who had taught him the secret.

• Zhou Chun completed the second layer of the Xinjin Sword Qi secret technique and traveled downstream when the flood dragon appeared near Sanjiang Pass.
• A silver Flying Sword struck the flood dragon but failed to wound it, and the dragon’s rampage devastated villages along the river.
• Zhou Chun shared news of the encounter, and Xu Kaishan told him the attacker was likely Lu Jianqiu of the Lu Family of Mingjian Mountain.
• Xu Kaishan invited Zhou Chun to meet the other cultivators, but Zhou Chun refused and said he would act alone.
• Xu Kaishan transformed his right hand into a scaled beast claw, attacked Zhou Chun, and raised his cultivation aura to Level Twelve Qi Refining.
• Xu Kaishan fled the inn and escaped Zhou Chun’s pursuit by diving into the Cangyun River.

After Xu Kaishan exposed the sect’s Dragon Transformation Secret Technique to Zhou Chun, he summoned the Black Dragon Emissary, who mobilized people to hunt Zhou Chun. Zhou Chun hid on the Zhou Family patriarch’s orders, while five Violet Palace cultivators began fighting an Azure Flood Dragon on the Cangyun River; the Black Flood Dragon arrived as they were close to killing it.

• Xu Kaishan summoned the Black Dragon Emissary and reported his failed ambush on Zhou Chun, prompting the emissary to organize a search for him.
• Zhou Chun left Sanjiang Pass, disguised himself as Li Hong, and went into hiding while sending intelligence to the Zhou Family.
• Zhou Daoyi warned Zhou Chun to avoid the mysterious force behind Xu Kaishan and secretly investigate it with the Zhou brothers.
• Five Cloud Prefecture Violet Palace cultivators attacked an Azure Flood Dragon on the Cangyun River and drove it into a desperate fight.
• The Black Flood Dragon arrived, leaving the five cultivators uncertain whether to continue attacking the wounded Azure Flood Dragon or retreat.

Zhou Chun learned that the Flood Dragons had defeated a group of Violet Palace cultivators and searched in vain for the Azure Flood Dragon’s blood and scales. After a rumor revealed the dragons’ lair and eggs at Feima Mountain, he sent Zhou Jiapeng to alert the clan and hurried there himself.

• The five Violet Palace cultivators gambled on killing the Azure Flood Dragon, but the Black Flood Dragon intervened, and the dragons killed the green-robed old man as the others fled.
• Zhou Chun arrived too late to witness the battle, then searched the river for Dragon Blood Spiritual Items and asked Zhou Jiapeng to buy any that were found.
• Zhou Chun suspected Xu Kaishan and the force behind him were connected to the Flood Dragons, while hidden beneath the river, the dragons built a lair and gathered dragon-blooded servants.
• After Zhou Chun gave up searching, a rumor claimed the dragons’ lair was beneath Feimashan River Section and that the Azure Flood Dragon had laid eggs.
• Zhou Chun sent Zhou Jiapeng back to inform the clan leader, then hurried toward Feima Mountain as cultivators flocked there.

Zhou Chun was ambushed at Feima Mountain by people connected to Xu Kaishan, escaped with a Wind Riding Talisman, and retaliated by spreading rumors about their faction. The rumors drew the attention of Green Lotus Temple, and Zhou Chun finally reunited with Patriarch Zhou Daoyi.

• Zhou Chun arrived at Feima Mountain, avoided searching for the Flood Dragon's Lair, and watched the area from a mountain peak.
• Three Qi Refining cultivators attacked Zhou Chun, and a middle-aged couple arrived to help them; Zhou Chun recognized them as accomplices of Xu Kaishan and escaped with a Wind Riding Talisman.
• After recovering and disguising himself, Zhou Chun spread rumors that Flood Dragon agents could transform into half-dragon monsters and prey on cultivators.
• A middle-aged Daoist in azure robes suspected that a secretive religion had returned to Jing Kingdom and alerted his friends and Green Lotus Temple.
• After about four days at Feima Mountain, Zhou Chun was joined by Patriarch Zhou Daoyi.

Zhou Chun stayed with Zhou Daoyi to witness Green Lotus Temple’s assault on the Black Flood Dragon and learned why powerful cultivators generally did not intervene in conflicts between lower-tier humans and demons. The Green Lotus Temple cultivators diverted the Cangyun River, exposed the dragon’s lair, and resumed their attack, leaving the battle still underway.

• Zhou Daoyi gave Zhou Chun a concealing bamboo hat and made him promise not to get involved in the coming battle.
• Five Green Lotus Temple Violet Palace cultivators and twelve Foundation Establishment cultivators arrived at Feima Mountain and attacked the Black Flood Dragon.
• Zhou Daoyi explained the tacit understanding that limited intervention by Golden Core cultivators and fourth-tier demons, even when lower-tier cultivators or mortals were killed.
• The Green Lotus Temple cultivators coordinated their attacks and severely wounded the Black Flood Dragon, which escaped into its river lair.
• The twelve Foundation Establishment cultivators activated the Two Dragons Dividing Water Formation, diverting the Cangyun River and exposing the dragon’s lair.
• The Black Flood Dragon emerged after its wounds healed, and the black-robed sword cultivator renewed his attack.

The Black Flood Dragon escaped the Green Lotus Temple cultivators while the Azure Flood Dragon fled its lair through a hidden passage. Two masked Dragon Transformation Sect cultivators tried to help it, but Green Lotus Temple and Cloud Prefecture forces exposed them and surrounded the trio, leaving their escape uncertain.

• The Black Flood Dragon used its inner core to break through the Green Lotus Temple cultivators’ encirclement and fled into the Cangyun River, drawing them away from the lair.
• Cloud Prefecture Violet Palace cultivators attacked the lair, driving out its Water Demons and burying the entrance while the Azure Flood Dragon escaped through a hidden passage to a distant pool.
• An azure-robed cultivator bound the weakened Azure Flood Dragon with a chain, and a scarlet-robed woman struck it with a beheading blade before the pair tried to communicate with it.
• Three Green Lotus Temple cultivators identified the masked pair as Dragon Transformation Sect remnants, then conscripted three Cloud Prefecture Violet Palace cultivators to help surround them and the Azure Flood Dragon.
• The azure-robed cultivator freed the Azure Flood Dragon and gave it a pill, and the trio attempted to break through as the six Violet Palace cultivators attacked.

Six Jing Kingdom Violet Palace cultivators ambushed two Dragon Transformation Sect protectors and the Azure Flood Dragon, but the battle turned when the protectors used their secret techniques. Zhou Daoyi explained the Dragon Transformation Sect’s forbidden history to Zhou Chun as the sect’s reappearance threatened to plunge Jing Kingdom into turmoil.

• The Dragon Transformation Sect female cultivator used her secret technique to overpower two opponents, then helped the injured Azure Flood Dragon break through the encirclement.
• The female cultivator escaped after the Green Lotus Temple cultivators wounded her, while the male protector swallowed a black orb and used the Dragon Ascension Art to transform into a berserk Flood Dragon.
• The Dragon Ascension Art drove the Jing Kingdom cultivators to flee, but the black-green Flood Dragon attacked them, forcing two Green Lotus Temple Daoists to defend their fellow disciple.
• Zhou Chun asked Zhou Daoyi about the technique, and Zhou Daoyi explained that it destroyed its user's body and sense of self while revealing the Dragon Transformation Sect’s forbidden history and persecution.
• Zhou Daoyi warned Zhou Chun to avoid the Dragon Transformation Secret Manual and predicted turmoil in southern Jing Kingdom now that the sect had reappeared.

Zhou Chun left Feima Mountain after witnessing the battle with the Dragon Transformation Sect and was stopped by Green Lotus Temple searchers, who let him go after checking his identity. As he hurried toward Misty Prefecture, he saw two Green Lotus Temple Foundation Establishment cultivators fight a Dragon Transformation Sect envoy, who escaped into a river.

• The black-green Flood Dragon died when the Dragon Ascension Art ended, and Green Lotus Temple’s white-haired Daoist promised the Cloud Prefecture cultivators rewards before pursuing the Azure Flood Dragon.
• Zhou Daoyi sent Zhou Chun back to the family and left, while Zhou Chun watched Foundation Establishment cultivators excavate the Flood Dragon’s Lair and then descended the mountain alone.
• A Green Lotus Temple Foundation Establishment Daoist stopped Zhou Chun and inspected him, then let him go after he explained that he had come to seek Dragon Blood Spiritual Items for his elder.
• Zhou Chun saw several suspected Dragon Transformation Sect members being killed, then fled the troubled area by flying toward Misty Prefecture.
• Zhou Chun watched two Green Lotus Temple Foundation Establishment cultivators trap and freeze a black-robed Dragon Transformation Sect envoy, who broke free and plunged into a river to escape.

Zhou Chun discovered the wounded Black Dragon Envoy hiding by the river and risked attacking him to seize the magic tools the Foundation Establishment cultivators had taken. After a dangerous battle, Zhou Chun struck the envoy with two Taibai Xinjin sword qi, leaving the fight’s outcome poised on his lethal wounds.

• The Green Lotus Temple Daoist and the white-robed woman failed to find the Black Dragon Envoy, divided his seized magic tools, and left Zhou Chun unharmed.
• Silver Lightning Thunder Python Bai Bai detected the injured envoy near the river, and Zhou Chun decided to attack him.
• The Black Dragon Envoy recognized Zhou Chun and fought him with spells, while Zhou Chun countered with his magic tools and Spirit Pets.
• The envoy trapped Zhou Chun and the Rock Earth Turtle, then rushed in to finish Zhou Chun with a dragon claw.
• Zhou Chun unleashed two Taibai Xinjin sword qi that pierced the envoy’s chest and face.

Zhou Chun killed a wounded Dragon Transformation Sect envoy, took his valuable possessions, and returned to Nine Peaks Ridge. Meanwhile, Zhou Daoyi nearly secured the Azure Flood Dragon and its killer, but the female cultivator ambushed him, leaving him naked and disoriented.

• Zhou Chun burned the envoy’s corpse, escaped to a mortal market town, and searched the envoy’s Storage Bag after restoring his magic power.
• Zhou Chun found recruitment records, more than six hundred and fifty Spirit Coins, eight magic tools, and valuable spiritual materials, including Dragon Blood Stone and Dragon Blood Grass, but not the Dragon Transformation Secret Manual.
• Zhou Chun returned to Nine Peaks Ridge, reported the Feima Mountain events to the elders, and helped Zhou Chongshan manage family affairs while concealing that he had killed a Foundation Establishment envoy.
• Zhou Daoyi tracked the Azure Flood Dragon and watched the Dragon Transformation Sect’s female cultivator defeat it, then fatally wound it herself during a conflict.
• Zhou Daoyi collected the Azure Flood Dragon’s inner core and soul remnant before the apparently unconscious female cultivator released pink mist at him.
• Zhou Daoyi awoke naked beside the also-naked female cultivator, who faced his Azure Cloud Python and appeared to have recovered considerably.