Chapter Summaries

Li Yan questioned Zuo Qiudan about Wei Zhongran’s visit and learned how the four phoenix clans had crossed realms and settled in the Heavenly Demon Grassland. The chapter left Li Yan reassured about the clans’ safety before he asked Zuo Qiudan to speak frankly about Chunyang Hall’s conscription.

• Zuo Qiudan told Li Yan that Wei Zhongran and Li Yuyin had visited the Pojun Sect and later traveled to the Tianli Clan to look for him.
• Li Yan learned that Zuo Qiudan had crossed realms with help from Ming Feng and the four phoenix clans, who had not revealed Li Yan’s identity.
• Li Yan explained that the Black Devil Race had helped him save the four phoenix clans, resolving Zuo Qiudan’s doubts about his role.
• Zuo Qiudan told Li Yan that the four phoenix clans had settled in the Heavenly Demon Grassland and shared their location with him.
• Li Yan asked Zuo Qiudan for his frank thoughts about Chunyang Hall’s conscription.

Li Yan heard Zuo Qiudan’s plan to enter Chunyang Hall and later flee, but warned him that the escape would require careful planning. He then spoke privately with Bu Luo about the conscription threat and why Chunyang Hall sought to restrain Pojun Sect.

• Zuo Qiudan told Li Yan he intended to enter Chunyang Hall before escaping to another great domain, in part to repay Pojun Sect for its kindness.
• Li Yan said he opposed Zuo Qiudan’s plan as it stood and would consider the dangers and possible contingencies before they acted.
• Li Yan summoned Bu Luo, teased him about his manners, and praised his breakthrough without the Great Fruitless Fruit.
• Li Yan and Bu Luo left Zuo Qiudan’s cave residence and discussed Zuo Qiudan’s conscription and Chunyang Hall’s pressure on Pojun Sect.
• Li Yan explained that Chunyang Hall wanted to curb Pojun Sect’s growth and that Zuo Qiudan’s valuable pills had merely given it an immediate pretext.

Li Yan reassured Bu Luo as they discussed the possibility that Zuo Qiudan might leave Pojun Sect rather than accept Chunyang Hall’s conscription. After returning to his cave dwelling, Li Yan sent Qianji and Ding Shuying to settle in and began weighing the sudden threat to Zuo Qiudan.

• Li Yan told Bu Luo that he had no solution yet, and Bu Luo guessed that Zuo Qiudan might flee alone to keep Pojun Sect from being implicated.
• Bu Luo admitted that he would follow Zuo Qiudan if he left, but would return immediately if Pojun Sect faced trouble; Li Yan accepted his choice and urged him not to feel guilty.
• Bu Luo took Li Yan’s refusal to offer a plan as a sign that he was secretly working on one, while Li Yan left the mountain peak.
• Li Yan returned to his cave dwelling, instructed Qianji and Ding Shuying to choose rooms and focus on cultivation, and told Qianji he would visit Zi Kun later.
• Qianji reassured Ding Shuying that Li Yan would handle the crisis, while Li Yan considered why Chunyang Hall was using forceful conscription against Zuo Qiudan.

Li Yan saw Chunyang Hall’s requisition of Zuo Qiudan as an opportunity to persuade Shangguan Tianque to take the Pojun Sect out from under Chunyang Hall’s control and secretly ally with Soul Suppressing Palace. After weighing the risks, Li Yan went to discuss his plan with Shangguan Tianque.

• Li Yan considered how Chunyang Hall’s treatment of Zuo Qiudan had made Shangguan Tianque dissatisfied and could give the Pojun Sect reason to leave its jurisdiction.
• Li Yan concluded that leaving before the Pojun Sect grew stronger would avoid falling directly under the Moji Dao Sect and facing greater obstacles later.
• Shangguan Tianque reflected on the failed proposal to raise the Pojun Sect’s rank and reaffirmed that Zuo Qiudan could not be allowed to leave.
• Shangguan Tianque sensed Li Yan outside his cave residence and expected him to have a plan about Zuo Qiudan’s requisition.
• Li Yan met Shangguan Tianque and said he wanted to discuss Elder Zuo’s matter in detail.

Li Yan argued that Pojun Sect was trapped between submitting to Chunyang Hall and resisting its pressure, and warned that rising to second-rate status would only draw the Moji Dao Sect’s demands. He proposed breaking free of that cycle, but Shangguan Tianque feared the plan would destroy the sect and suspected Li Yan meant to take it to Wangliang Sect.

• Li Yan laid out the costs of submitting to Chunyang Hall or reporting it to the Moji Dao Sect, then challenged Shangguan Tianque to consider Pojun Sect’s future.
• Li Yan warned that even if Pojun Sect became a second-rate sect, it would face the Moji Dao Sect’s control and demands for resources and war.
• Shangguan Tianque realized Li Yan was considering betraying Chunyang Hall and the Moji Dao Sect, and urged him not to risk the sect’s destruction.
• Li Yan explained that Pojun Sect was trapped in a cycle whether it handed over Elder Zuo or tried to raise its rank.
• Shangguan Tianque objected that the sect could not escape Chunyang Hall’s pursuit, even with help from Wangliang Sect, and suspected Li Yan planned to take Pojun Sect there.
• Li Yan asked whether Shangguan Tianque thought he intended to take Pojun Sect to Wangliang Sect, and Shangguan Tianque stared at him without answering.

Li Yan explained to Shangguan Tianque that he wanted Pojun Sect to cooperate with Soul Suppressing Palace and leave Chunyang Hall’s jurisdiction. Shangguan Tianque reconsidered the proposal after learning about Li Yan’s ties to the powerful soul-cultivation sect and asked where Pojun Sect could relocate.

• Li Yan clarified that he wanted Pojun Sect and Soul Suppressing Palace to cooperate, not to place Pojun Sect under Wangliang Sect’s control.
• Li Yan recounted how he encountered Soul Suppressing Palace in the Dizhen Domain and helped its members escape, leading him to consider a partnership.
• Shangguan Tianque learned that Soul Suppressing Palace had powerful Body Integration Realm cultivators and could support Pojun Sect’s departure.
• Li Yan proposed relocating Pojun Sect to territory controlled by Soul Suppressing Palace, or finding and taking suitable territory together.

Li Yan persuaded Shangguan Tianque to cooperate with the Soul Suppressing Palace, offering the Pojun Sect a chance to secure its future through an alliance with soul cultivators. Shangguan agreed to meet them in person, and the two set out immediately, leaving the story at the edge of their dangerous mission.

• Shangguan Tianque weighed the risks of Li Yan’s proposal and agreed that the Pojun Sect should ally with the Soul Suppressing Palace as an equal partner.
• Li Yan invited Shangguan Tianque to accompany him, and Shangguan’s offer to go showed that he intended to cooperate openly and trusted Li Yan.
• Li Yan and Shangguan Tianque left the cave residence at once to contact the Soul Suppressing Palace before the Chunyang Hall could issue a forced conscription.
• The narration described the Heavenly Demon Grassland as a vast, lush forest concealing deadly dangers.

Li Yan and Shangguan Tianque secretly left Pojun Sect to travel to Soul Suppressing Palace and discuss the Chunyang Hall situation. Li Yan reached a hidden entrance in the Heavenly Demon Grassland and teleported into Soul Suppressing Palace, where its guarded plaza revealed how carefully the Dizhen Domain protected access to the outside.

• Li Yan and Shangguan Tianque told Zuo Qiudan they were leaving to seek acquaintances and resolve the matter involving Chunyang Hall, then secretly departed Pojun Sect.
• After entering the Heavenly Demon Grassland, Shangguan Tianque asked Li Yan to keep him in the Spirit Storage Space so he would not learn the route to Soul Suppressing Palace.
• Li Yan reached a concealed passage opened by Tang Feng and used a token and soul power to teleport into Soul Suppressing Palace.
• Li Yan arrived alone on a plaza surrounded by teleportation arrays and learned that soul cultivators faced strict limits on traveling outside the Dizhen Domain.
• Nascent Soul guards and hidden Spirit Transformation and Void Refinement cultivators probed Li Yan as he arrived at the heavily protected gateway.

Li Yan returned to the Soul Suppressing Palace and discovered that Elder Hao had made him its revered ancestor and placed its forces under his lead. After confirming that Elder Hao and Elder Tang were present, Li Yan contacted the palace to arrange a discussion about the major decisions ahead.

• Li Yan passed the Soul Suppressing Palace's identity check and left the teleportation valley.
• Wu Xingguan and Zeng Yidie followed Li Yan, and he confronted them on the mountain path.
• Li Yan learned that Elder Hao had revealed his status as the first ancestor's disciple and ordered the palace and its affiliated forces to follow his lead.
• Li Yan identified himself to Wu Xingguan and Zeng Yidie and told them not to attract attention.
• Wu Xingguan told Li Yan that Elder Hao, Elder Tang, and the old sect master were in the palace, and Li Yan sent a message through his token.

Li Yan returned to the sect’s main hall and found its leaders had advanced greatly in cultivation and were treating him as their Ancestor. He asked them to call him Elder Li instead, then prepared to hear about the sect’s affairs.

• Li Yan rushed to the main hall after receiving replies from Tang Feng and Elder Tang, but none yet from Elder Hao.
• Elder Tang, Xue Tieyi, Master Lan, Tang Feng, Elder Liu, and Elder Hua welcomed Li Yan as their Ancestor and offered him the central seat.
• Li Yan thanked the group for managing the North Ice Continent and the Soul Suppressing Palace while he was away, then congratulated Xue Tieyi, Master Lan, Elder Liu, and Elder Hua on their cultivation breakthroughs.
• Xue Tieyi began to update Li Yan on the sect, but Li Yan stopped him and asked everyone to address him as Elder Li rather than Ancestor.

Li Yan learned that the Dizhen Domain now had far more powerful cultivators than he had realized, with fifteen Body Integration Realm cultivators and more potential breakthroughs ahead. After asking about the seven subordinate sects, he learned that Elder Hao was in seclusion attempting to reach the Tribulation Transcendence Realm.

• Xue Tieyi told Li Yan that the Soul Suppressing Palace had six newly advanced Body Integration Realm cultivators and two more elders away traveling.
• Master Lan revealed that subordinate sects had seven Body Integration Realm cultivators and many Void Refinement Realm cultivators who might still break through, leaving Li Yan stunned by the Dizhen Domain's strength.
• Li Yan reflected on how little he knew about the returned sects and admitted that the transformed Dizhen Domain had made him feel trapped again by his limited understanding.
• Li Yan asked about the seven subordinate sects and then asked where Elder Hao was.
• Elder Tang said Elder Hao was in seclusion after gaining insight and was attempting the difficult breakthrough to the Tribulation Transcendence Realm.

Li Yan learned how Elder Hao and Master Lan had stabilized and quietly overseen the Soul Prison Clan after leaving the North Ice Continent. After catching up on the Soul Suppressing Palace's growth, Li Yan admitted that he had returned because he needed something.

• Elder Tang explained that Elder Hao had entered seclusion to pursue a breakthrough to the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, and Li Yan said he believed Elder Hao could succeed.
• Master Lan told Li Yan that Elder Hao and Master Lan had integrated the three clans, secretly monitored them, and supplied the Soul Suppressing Palace before returning to the Immortal Spirit Realm.
• Master Lan explained that Elder Hao and Master Lan had told the palace leadership about Li Yan's wishes and planned to restore the Soul Prison Clan name gradually.
• Li Yan reflected on the Soul Suppressing Palace's rise from the weakened Dizhen Domain and considered why he still lacked the strength to lead the clan openly.
• Elder Tang asked why Li Yan had returned, and Li Yan admitted that he needed something.

Li Yan proposed that the Soul Suppressing Palace cooperate openly with the Pojun Sect to secure resources and intelligence, rather than rely on secretly controlled sects. He explained the Pojun Sect’s predicament under the Chunyang Hall and asked the elders for their views, while assuring them he had other ways to help if they refused.

• Tang Feng detailed the Soul Suppressing Palace’s control of twenty-seven small sects and its cautious efforts to infiltrate four third-rate sects.
• Li Yan said the Palace’s covert control was risky and proposed a willing partnership with the Pojun Sect to obtain resources and intelligence.
• Li Yan explained his close ties to Shangguan Tianque and his wife, the Pojun Sect’s growth, and its conflict with the Chunyang Hall over a pill cultivator.
• Elder Tang asked what would happen if the Soul Suppressing Palace refused to offend a first-rate force.
• Li Yan said he had other ways to help the Pojun Sect and had come to hear the elders’ opinions because they would handle the partnership’s practical affairs.

Li Yan secured the Soul Suppressing Palace’s agreement to cooperate with the Pojun Sect and negotiated terms that would keep the two sects balanced. He concealed his status from Shangguan Tianque and arranged for Elder Tang and the other elders to lead the negotiations.

• Elder Tang agreed to Li Yan’s plan to help the Pojun Sect, and he rebuked Tang Feng for questioning his sudden change of attitude.
• Li Yan raised concerns about relocating the Pojun Sect, evading Chunyang Hall, facing Chunyang Hall and the Moji Dao Sect, and dividing responsibilities and benefits.
• Li Yan and the elders spent more than an hour discussing conditions, with Li Yan rejecting some proposals and shaping the agreement to prevent either sect from becoming the other’s vassal.
• Li Yan revealed plans for the Soul Prison Clan’s expansion and a possible independent territory on the border between the Heavenly Demon Grassland and Human Race cultivators.
• Before inviting Shangguan Tianque out, Li Yan gave the highest seat to Elder Tang and explained that the Pojun Sect must not learn his true identity in the Dizhen Domain yet.
• Elder Tang realized Li Yan had been hiding his status from the start, and he took the central seat as Li Yan went to bring Shangguan Tianque into the negotiations.

Li Yan arranged negotiations between the Soul Suppressing Palace and Shangguan Tianque’s Pojun Sect, which agreed to abandon its old path and move under the Palace’s covert support. They chose the Changlin Sect as the faction to replace, and the chapter ended with the reasons its remote, demon-beast-haunted territory had remained unwanted.

• Li Yan brought Shangguan Tianque out of the Soul Suppressing Palace’s secret realm and introduced him to Master Lan after they reached the edge of the Heavenly Demon Grassland.
• Shangguan Tianque and Elder Tang’s side negotiated for more than two days before the Pojun Sect agreed to leave its current position and pursue a new path.
• The negotiators ruled out searching for an unclaimed location and instead decided that the Pojun Sect would replace one of the twenty-seven factions controlled by the Soul Suppressing Palace.
• After weighing resources and the risk of provoking powerful backers, Shangguan Tianque selected the Changlin Sect, one of eight small factions without outside support.
• Elder Tang recommended the Changlin Sect, whose evil cultivation method used spirit-rich bones and whose territory lay in forested mountains plagued by low-level demon beasts.

Shangguan Tianque and the others planned to relocate the Pojun Sect to the Changlin Sect’s remote grounds and prepare for the Chunyang Hall’s eventual pursuit. Li Yan learned the Soul Suppressing Palace was already preparing to emerge openly by having its cultivators practice ordinary cultivation methods, giving the Pojun Sect a way to conceal its ties to soul cultivators.

• Shangguan Tianque approved the Changlin Sect’s location and planned a secret teleportation escape, with Master Lan and Tang Feng building the arrays and their allies helping subdue the Changlin Sect.
• Shangguan Tianque expected the Pojun Sect to expand the grounds, hide its name at first, and face discovery by the Chunyang Hall within roughly twenty to forty years.
• Li Yan proposed bringing in cultivators from the Phoenix Four Clans to disguise the Pojun Sect’s backing, but Elder Tang revealed the Soul Suppressing Palace already had a plan to emerge into the world.
• Elder Hao and Elder Tang ordered Soul Suppressing Palace cultivators to learn ordinary body- or spell-cultivation methods alongside soul cultivation, both to increase their strength and conceal their identities.

Soul Suppressing Palace and Pojun Sect secretly prepared to defend against Chunyang Hall by disguising Soul Cultivators as ordinary cultivators and arranging a concealed escape route. Meanwhile, Ma Peijin grew suspicious and fearful after learning Li Yan had returned, and continued monitoring him and Zuo Qiudan.

• Elder Tang explained how Soul Suppressing Palace could use cultivators trained in ordinary techniques to disguise its forces and defend Pojun Sect, so Li Yan agreed there was no need to involve the Phoenix Four Clans for now.
• Pojun Sect and Soul Suppressing Palace spent nearly three days settling their plans, and Shangguan Tianque later returned to Pojun Sect with Li Yan and secretly informed Zuo Qiudan and Yu Banjiang of their arrangements.
• Shangguan Tianque arranged for Master Lan to stay in the sect's rear forbidden area while a secret teleportation formation was built, with Yu Banjiang secretly delivering the materials.
• Ma Peijin reflected on Li Yan's return and feared the powerful cultivator might threaten him, so he ordered his subordinates to watch the sect master's great hall and Li Yan's cave dwelling.
• Ma Peijin learned that Li Yan had left with Zuo Qiudan for Zuo Qiudan's cave dwelling before later appearing at his own cave dwelling.

Li Yan confronted Ma Peijin in his cave residence after uncovering his secret ties to Chunyang Hall and his betrayal of Pojun Sect. He effortlessly stopped Ma Peijin’s attempt to fight back and declared that he would kill him, leaving Ma Peijin helpless and terrified.

• Ma Peijin grew suspicious of Li Yan’s silence and worried that he and the others were secretly coordinating over the conscription.
• Li Yan suddenly appeared inside Ma Peijin’s cave residence despite its defensive formation, and Ma Peijin recognized him.
• Li Yan asked Ma Peijin to handle a matter concerning Elder Zuo, revealing that he knew of Ma Peijin’s connection to Chunyang Hall.
• Ma Peijin tried to activate his formation and summon his magic treasure, but Li Yan instantly stopped his magic power and left him unable to speak.
• Li Yan rejected Ma Peijin’s pleas and said he wanted him dead, while Ma Peijin realized Li Yan had controlled him without any visible spellcasting.

Li Yan used the Brain-Eating Gu to take control of Ma Peijin, leaving him conscious only as a puppet who could pass along false information. After returning to his cave, Li Yan learned from Ma Peijin’s memories that the spy served Chunyang Hall’s second-largest faction, which was backed by a Body Integration Realm ancestor.

• Li Yan frightened Ma Peijin with the Brain-Eating Gu, then struck his forehead and took control of him.
• Ma Peijin bowed respectfully as Li Yan left, then resumed his usual behavior and received a request for an audience from Ye Lou.
• Li Yan returned to his cave and recalled how he and Shangguan Tianque had decided to deal with Ma Peijin without raising Chunyang Hall’s suspicions.
• Li Yan explained that the gu insect had erased Ma Peijin’s consciousness, allowing him to control the spy and feed Chunyang Hall false information.
• Li Yan learned from Ma Peijin’s soul that the spy had joined Chunyang Hall’s second-largest faction, after the leading faction had rejected him.

Li Yan and Pojun Sect continued secretly preparing a relay teleportation route to Changlin Sect while keeping Ma Peijin’s movements under control. After five and a half years, Chunyang Hall sent Elder Yu to requisition Zuo Qiudan, forcing their plan into a more urgent phase.

• Li Yan arranged for Ma Peijin to direct his subordinates toward harmless investigations while Yu Banjiang planted convincing problems in the places they searched.
• Master Lan and Tang Feng spent years constructing a relay teleportation route, but after five years they still had not completed the connection to Changlin Sect.
• A special envoy from Chunyang Hall arrived at Pojun Sect and ordered Shangguan Tianque to meet him.
• Elder Yu demanded that Zuo Qiudan accompany him, and Zuo Qiudan persuaded him to wait until the following day so he could prepare.
• Shangguan Tianque and Zuo Qiudan returned to Li Yan’s cave dwelling, where Shangguan Tianque explained that Chunyang Hall had finally moved to requisition Zuo Qiudan.