Chapter Summaries

After Chunyang Hall sent Elder Yu to summon Zuo Qiudan, Shangguan Tianque and the others abandoned their safer timetable and began evacuating the Pojun Sect. Ren Yanyu agreed to their plan to defect to Soul Suppressing Palace, and the chapter left the sect preparing to flee while some cultivators remained unreachable.

• Elder Yu let Zuo Qiudan delay his departure until the next day, giving Shangguan Tianque and the others time to act.
• Shangguan Tianque ordered Ren Yanyu to leave seclusion, Li Yan to contact Elder Tang and the others, and Zuo Qiudan to seal the sect.
• Ren Yanyu learned that Li Yan and Shangguan Tianque had arranged refuge with Soul Suppressing Palace and agreed that the plan was feasible.
• Li Yan prepared to use the completed teleportation nodes to rejoin Master Lan, Tang Feng, and the others outside the Pojun Sect.
• At night, Shangguan Tianque, Ren Yanyu, Zuo Qiudan, Li Yan, and Yu Banjiang gathered in the sect plaza as the evacuation began, though dozens of cultivators could not be reached.

Pojun Sect secretly evacuated its disciples and resources with help from Master Lan, Elder Tang, and Xue Tieyi. Chunyang Hall discovered the teleportation route had failed and learned that Pojun Sect’s outpost had been abandoned, leaving its fate uncertain.

• Yu Banjiang gathered Pojun Sect’s cultivators at the rear square, where Master Lan put them to sleep and Shangguan Tianque, Ren Yanyu, and Yu Banjiang took them into storage spaces.
• Zuo Qiudan took Bu Luo, while Li Yan had already taken Qianji and Ding Shuying away; Shangguan Tianque divided the remaining evacuation work among three groups.
• Master Lan, Elder Tang, and Xue Tieyi joined the sect leaders in splitting up to retrieve Pojun Sect’s people and goods from its cultivation cities and marketplaces.
• Tang Feng waited in a secluded valley and sensed spatial fluctuations as the others arrived.
• Elder Yu went to Chunyang Hall’s teleportation formation to travel to Pojun Sect, but the array could no longer teleport.
• Chunyang Hall later learned that Pojun Sect’s cultivation city had no guard cultivators and its shops were shut.

After Chunyang Hall discovered that the Pojun Sect had vanished, Elder Shi found evidence of a secret teleportation plan but could not learn where the sect had gone. Elder Tang, Master Lan, and Xue Tieyi reached the Changlin Sect with the Pojun Sect’s people concealed in Spirit Storage Spaces, establishing a refuge beyond Chunyang Hall’s territory.

• Elder Shi and Elder Yu searched the abandoned Pojun Sect, captured looters, and learned they were outsiders who knew nothing about the sect’s disappearance.
• Elder Shi found an intact but unusable teleportation array and concluded that Shangguan Tianque had secretly evacuated the sect after destroying its other arrays.
• Elder Shi suspected Shangguan Tianque had discovered Ma Peijin as a traitor, but she could not determine how the sect had hidden its array’s spatial fluctuations.
• Elder Tang, Master Lan, and Xue Tieyi arrived at the Changlin Sect after leaving Chunyang Hall’s territory with the Pojun Sect’s cultivators stored away.
• The three elders were greeted by Soul Suppressing Palace disciples, who guarded the forest refuge while the Changlin Sect’s original cultivators remained under guard.

Two years after the Pojun Sect and Soul Suppressing Palace began combining their forces, Li Yan asked permission to leave and visit Zi Kun in the Heavenly Demon Grassland. After confirming that the sect could manage without him, Li Yan and Qianji quietly departed.

• Elder Tang brought Shangguan Tianque, Li Yan, and the others to the open valley where the Pojun Sect would settle.
• Over the next two years, the Pojun Sect expanded and built interconnected formations while its leaders managed the alliance with the Soul Suppressing Palace and screened the awakened disciples.
• Li Yan visited Elder Tang and proposed traveling to the Heavenly Demon Grassland to see Zi Kun, estimating that he would return in about ten years.
• Elder Tang approved Li Yan's departure after considering the safeguards and agreements already arranged between the two sects, and Li Yan went to seek Shangguan Tianque's approval.
• That afternoon, Li Yan and Qianji left the Pojun Sect without Ding Shuying, who stayed behind to cultivate.

Li Yan and Qianji crossed the Heavenly Demon Grassland toward the Purple God Dragon-Elephant Clan while Qianji trained through dangerous battles. Near the clan, Li Yan spotted Xiang He, who met a concealed figure in a marsh.

• Li Yan guided Ding Shuying in relearning the basic Qi Condensation Stage spells, satisfied that she was practicing sincerely.
• Li Yan and Qianji traveled across the Heavenly Demon Grassland, with Qianji fighting Demon Beasts to strengthen himself while Li Yan avoided dangerous areas.
• After Qianji killed a fifth-rank Demon Beast, Li Yan stopped him from seeking further fights as they neared the Purple God Dragon-Elephant Clan.
• Li Yan noticed the concealed Xiang He flying through the clan's territory and watched him descend into a marsh.
• Xiang He revealed himself to a figure hidden behind a water-like curtain among the marsh plants.

Li Yan and Qianji secretly watched Xiang He meet a shadowy cultivator in the marsh and arrange an attack on an unnamed participant during the clan’s battle-formation assessment. After Xiang He departed, Li Yan told Qianji that he knew Xiang He from an earlier clash with Zi Kun.

• Xiang He met a shadowy cultivator in the marsh and asked him to target an oddity during the battle-formation segment.
• Xiang He gave the cultivator an Ornamental Pendant and a jade slip, explaining that its nearly invisible smoke could penetrate defenses but required eight hours to replenish.
• The shadowy cultivator agreed to cooperate only if the target chose him as an assistant and Xiang He’s side fulfilled the previously discussed conditions.
• Xiang He warned the cultivator to complete the task and survive the individual assessment, then vanished after removing the barrier.
• Li Yan and Qianji left their hiding place, and Li Yan identified Xiang He as a man who had once fought Zi Kun.

Li Yan suspected Xiang He was plotting against Zi Kun and hurried to the Purple God Dragon-Elephant Clan to check on him. After a patrol sent word to Zi Kun, the chapter ended with Zi Kun testing the newly refined Great Dragon-Elephant Array in his courtyard.

• Li Yan told Qianji that Zi Kun had won his fight, then decided to find him after suspecting Xiang He’s plans involved him.
• Li Yan and Qianji reached the clan’s outer territory and stopped before a patrol of white-robed cultivators.
• The patrol leader agreed to notify Zi Kun, and Xiao Shu went to deliver the message.
• Zi Kun tested the Great Dragon-Elephant Array, whose power had grown after Li Yan helped him replace some of its materials.

Zi Kun tested the improved Great Dragon-Elephant Array before Li Yan and the revived Qianji arrived at his residence. After Qianji attacked Zi Kun and they fought, Li Yan asked about the upcoming contest in Zi Kun’s clan, leaving the reason for his question unexplained.

• Zi Kun tested the Great Dragon-Elephant Array, then learned that Li Yan had come to see him.
• Zi Kun welcomed Li Yan and Qianji, but Qianji kicked him in the ribs and challenged him to a fight.
• Li Yan sent Zi Kun and Qianji into Tuban, where they fought until he called them back and judged Qianji’s cultivation weaker.
• Zi Kun explained that his clan master had guided his cultivation and bloodline abilities, while Qianji told him about traveling with Li Yan and working in their shop.
• Li Yan asked whether Zi Kun’s clan had an upcoming contest, and Zi Kun wondered if Li Yan had come because he knew about it.

Zi Kun explained the clan’s sequence ranking assessment and learned that Xiang He had arranged a concealed attack against him during the contest. After Li Yan identified Xiang He’s accomplice, Zi Kun recognized Xiang Fengsheng, a trusted relative of Xiang Qing, and decided to speak with Xiang Qing.

• Zi Kun explained that the clan’s sequence ranking battle would determine which disciples received greater cultivation resources, and that the Grand Elder might take him as a nominal disciple if he earned a respectable rank.
• Li Yan told Zi Kun that he and Qianji had witnessed Xiang He meeting with a concealed person outside the clan grounds and suspected the meeting concerned a plot against Zi Kun.
• Zi Kun realized Xiang He might exploit the assessment’s increased risk of death to injure or kill him and asked Li Yan to identify the person who met Xiang He.
• Li Yan gave Zi Kun a jade slip containing the person’s likeness, and Zi Kun recognized him as Xiang Fengsheng, Xiang Qing’s maternal cousin and a former fifteenth-ranked Spirit Transformation sequence disciple.
• Zi Kun said Xiang Fengsheng had been on good terms with him, then resolved to find Xiang Qing about the betrayal.

Zi Kun told Xiang Qing that Xiang Fengsheng might be working with Xiang He against him, and she agreed to investigate her cousin before they decided how to respond. Li Yan remained at Zi Kun’s residence as Xiang Longfei and other clan members treated him more warmly, while Zi Kun showed Qianji around the clan.

• Zi Kun summoned Xiang Qing and explained that Li Yan had uncovered signs Xiang Fengsheng might be involved in Xiang He's plans against him.
• Xiang Qing recalled seeing Xiang Fengsheng and Xiang He at the same tavern, then offered to investigate her cousin herself so she would not alert him.
• Xiang Qing said she needed to verify the matter and left after assuring Li Yan and Qianji that she was not dismissing his warning.
• The next day, Xiang Longfei visited Zi Kun and treated Li Yan more courteously after the clan accepted Zi Kun's bloodline and potential.
• Zi Kun showed Qianji around the clan while Li Yan stayed in the courtyard and met Xiang Longfei and several Void Refinement Realm cultivators over the next seven days.

Li Yan spent seven days in Zi Kun’s courtyard, where Void Refinement cultivators came to meet him and the clan arranged for him and Qianji to watch the sequence assessment. Xiang Qing confirmed that Xiang Fengsheng possessed the suspicious Ornamental Pendant, and the chapter ended as Li Yan arrived at the assessment grounds and recognized him among the sequence disciples.

• Void Refinement cultivators visited Zi Kun’s courtyard, and Li Yan exchanged cultivation insights with them, revealing his formidable body-cultivation knowledge.
• Xiang Longfei told Li Yan that the junior clan elder had arranged for him to watch the assessment battles, and Li Yan accepted the favor.
• Xiang Qing reported that her investigation had linked Xiang Fengsheng to Xiang He and that she had seen him wearing the Ornamental Pendant Zi Kun had described.
• Zi Kun left early to join the sequence disciples, while Xiang Longfei escorted Li Yan and Qianji to the assessment grounds using the clan’s written order.
• Li Yan arrived at the spectator area, recognized Xiang Fengsheng among the sequence disciples, and greeted the Void Refinement cultivators gathered there.

Li Yan attended the Purple God Dragon-Elephant Clan’s assessment and learned the rules while Xiang Fengsheng secretly prepared to use a magic treasure. The chapter ended with Li Yan recognizing that the battle-array duels Xiang Fengsheng would face were exceptionally deadly.

• Xiang Fengsheng finished testing the magic treasure and believed he could use it without being detected during a chaotic fight.
• Li Yan arrived and took his seat among the Void Refinement Realm cultivators, where several questioned him about his background.
• Li Yan sensed powerful concealed auras above the venue but could not determine whether the clan’s Supreme Elders were present or how strong they were.
• A Void Refinement cultivator announced that the assessment would use elimination duels, with a permitted death rate of twenty to thirty percent.
• Li Yan learned that the individual rankings’ top ten would face brutal battle-array duels, then connected the rules to Xiang Fengsheng’s plans.

Zi Kun began his sequence disciple duel against Xiang Qiong, who had awakened three powerful innate divine abilities. As Xiang Qiong approached and struck, Zi Kun became entranced by an illusion of Xiang Qing in a misty forest.

• A Void Refinement cultivator explained the battle formation assessment rules before the sequence battles began.
• Xiang Qing and Xiang Fengsheng defeated their opponents, and Xiang Fengsheng warned Zi Kun that Xiang Qiong had mastered three innate divine abilities.
• Zi Kun entered the arena to face Xiang Qiong while Li Yan watched and Qianji shouted encouragement.
• Xiang Qiong spoke seductively to Zi Kun and used an illusion that made him see Xiang Qing waiting for him in a forest.
• Xiang Qiong floated toward Zi Kun and pressed her clawed hand at his abdomen.

Zi Kun resisted Xiang Qiong’s Purple-Pupil Forest Realm illusion and brutally defeated her in their arena match. He returned to cheers from his branch while the elders discussed his remarkable strength and his standing as Xiang Yanxiu’s disciple.

• Xiang Qiong trapped Zi Kun in an illusion and lunged for his abdomen, but Zi Kun recognized the deception and seized her wrist.
• Zi Kun used his strength to slam Xiang Qiong into the arena, break her arms, and kick her head, leaving her gravely injured before the adjudicator stopped him.
• The adjudicator declared Zi Kun the winner, and a Void Refinement Realm elder treated Xiang Qiong while Zi Kun returned to his branch.
• Qianji privately criticized Zi Kun for appearing vulnerable to Xiang Qiong’s temptation, while Zi Kun’s branch celebrated his victory.
• The Body Integration Realm elders discussed Zi Kun’s robust vitality, blood essence, and soul, and Xiang Yanxiu reflected on his disciple’s hidden gifts.

Zi Kun placed third in the single combat sequence rankings, impressing Xiang Longfei's branch with his power and potential. As the clan prepared for the battle array assessment, Xiang He turned his hopes toward confronting Zi Kun there, while Zi Kun began choosing trusted assistants.

• Zi Kun fought through the single combat matches and took third place, behind two veteran Spirit Transformation cultivators whose strength reached the peak of early Void Refinement.
• Li Yan realized Zi Kun had not used his Zhili Poison and judged that he had held back to avoid killing opponents during an assessment of his potential.
• Xiang He, who placed fifth, vowed to face Zi Kun in the battle array assessment after failing to draw him as an opponent.
• Xiang Fengsheng placed eleventh, missing the top ten and losing his chance to choose Zi Kun as an assistant for his own battle array assessment.
• During the two-hour recovery period, Zi Kun began selecting four assistants and chose the injured Xiang Qing as his first pick.

Zi Kun selected Xiang Fengsheng for his battle formation after receiving a private instruction from Xiang Longfei, though he remained suspicious about how Xiang Longfei knew. During the formation contests, Zi Kun’s team battled Xiang He’s and gained the upper hand, leaving Xiang He unable to steady his swaying formation as Zi Kun’s weapon transformed and thrust toward him.

• Zi Kun chose three companions and, after Xiang Longfei urged him through a voice transmission, selected Xiang Fengsheng as the final member.
• Zi Kun kept Xiang Longfei’s transmission from Xiang Qing, wary of revealing that he knew Xiang Fengsheng’s circumstances were under scrutiny.
• The battle formation contests began, and Xiang He quickly challenged Zi Kun’s formation.
• Zi Kun’s purple warhammer formation clashed repeatedly with Xiang He’s silver spear formation, and Zi Kun’s superior bloodline power began to suppress his opponent.
• Xiang He struck at Xiang Mei, but Zi Kun reinforced her defense, while the force of the attack injured two of Xiang He’s formation members.
• Zi Kun knocked Xiang He’s formation aside and transformed his hammer handle into a spear, thrusting at Xiang He while he struggled to stabilize the swaying formation.

Zi Kun killed Xiang He during the battle-array assessment after Xiang Fengsheng tried to use a hidden attack against him. The assessment ended with Zi Kun ranked second, and Xiang Longfei later confronted Xiang Fengsheng over his betrayal and seized him for the clan elders.

• Xiang Fengsheng tried to use a concealed wisp of smoke to ambush Zi Kun, but Zi Kun left the formation eye, swept the smoke toward Xiang He, and killed him with a vajra pestle.
• Zi Kun concealed his suspicions about Xiang Fengsheng and won second place in the battle-array assessment, while Xiang Fengsheng put away the Ornamental Pendant and believed his involvement had gone unnoticed.
• Li Yan and Zi Kun left the assessment as Xiang He's branch bore a grudge, and Xiang Yun's group also showed hostility toward Li Yan.
• Xiang Qing told Xiang Longfei what had happened, and Xiang Longfei summoned Xiang Fengsheng and demanded the Ornamental Pendant.
• Xiang Fengsheng confessed that he had sold branch secrets to Xiang He, and Xiang Longfei seized him and took him to the clan elders.

Xiang Qing explained why Xiang Longfei had sent Xiang Fengsheng into Zi Kun’s battle formation, and why he later brought him before the clan elders. As Li Yan prepared to leave the clan, Zi Kun received an alert that an outsider had invaded and rushed to respond.

• Xiang Qing told Zi Kun that her aunt had suggested giving either Zi Kun or Xiang Fengsheng another chance to improve their sequence ranking.
• Xiang Longfei realized his elder sister might have been exploited and decided Xiang Fengsheng’s actions needed a thorough investigation by the clan elders.
• Xiang Qing left to learn the investigation’s result, while Li Yan told Zi Kun that he and Qianji would leave early the morning after next.
• Li Yan decided to leave quickly because Xiang Yun and Xiang He’s relatives might target him to hurt Zi Kun, and he warned Zi Kun to stay cautious.
• Zi Kun received a red alert on his token that an outsider had invaded, opened the courtyard gate, and set off to respond.

Li Yan learned how the Purple God Dragon-Elephant Clan fought territorial wars against the Black Wind Ghost Eagle Clan and asked Xiang Longfei to let him join the battle. As the two armies faced each other, Xiang Longfei and Zi Kun understood that Li Yan had come to protect Zi Kun from a possible attack amid the fighting.

• Li Yan stopped Zi Kun to ask about the invasion, and Zi Kun explained the Black Wind Ghost Eagle Clan’s tactics and the limits clans observed to prevent a war of annihilation.
• Li Yan asked Xiang Longfei whether he could join the battle, and Xiang Longfei agreed after understanding that Li Yan wanted to protect Zi Kun.
• Li Yan surveyed the Purple God Dragon-Elephant army and saw the approaching Black Wind Ghost Eagle force beneath storm-dark skies.
• The clans deployed large numbers of third-order fighters, making the conflict their largest kind of battle short of a final decisive war.
• Xiang Longfei switched places with a Void Refinement Realm elder and went to the front, while the elder remained behind to guard the clan.

Li Yan learned that the Black Wind Ghost Eagle Clan had timed its attack to exploit the Purple God Dragon-Elephant Clan’s recent sequence assessment and internal divisions. As the battle erupted, Xiang Wentian and his allies prepared to use the chaos to kill Zi Kun, while Li Yan stayed with the reserve army to watch over him.

• Xiang Longfei warned Li Yan that Xiang Yun, Xiang Wentian, and Xiang Jiehuo might target Zi Kun, and explained that the Black Wind Ghost Eagle Clan had chosen the moment to exploit the clan’s weakened forces and infighting.
• Qianji joined Zi Kun on the battlefield, and Zi Kun agreed to fight beside him while Xiang Qing watched their unusual banter.
• Xiang Wentian, Xiang Jiehuo, and Xiang Yun discussed killing Zi Kun during the battle, with Xiang Yun warning that the plan was risky and Xiang Wentian determined not to miss his chance.
• The battle erupted, and Xiang Longfei flew to fight the sixth-order Black Wind Ghost Eagles while Li Yan remained at the reserve army to watch over Zi Kun.