Chapter Summaries

Li Yan overwhelmed the devil cultivators surrounding him with astonishing speed and strength, while the battle’s spectators and leaders struggled to understand his power. After several devil leaders attacked him, Li Yan escaped with help from Windcool Mountain’s Golden Core cultivators, leaving his enemies convinced he was a Golden Core Realm cultivator.

• Wang Ning and Dantai Dongyue recognized Li Yan’s feats, and Dantai Dongyue led Gong Yuantai and other Windcool Mountain cultivators toward the fight.
• Li Yan vanished from the five devil cultivators’ attacks, killed the fleeing Wu Lü, and seized his devil core.
• Li Yan killed another devil cultivator by cutting his throat, then destroyed a third opponent’s dantian and Purple Mansion with a single palm.
• Several devil leaders mistook Li Yan for a Golden Core cultivator and attacked him, while Windcool Mountain cultivators shouted that he was only a junior disciple.
• Li Yan sensed the danger and fled through the attacks with help from Windcool Mountain’s Golden Core cultivators, though he was struck and left pale.

Li Yan pursued one of the fleeing devil cultivators while Windcool Mountain’s forces struggled against the devils’ strength. Above the battlefield, Wei Zhongran faced the hidden Nascent Soul-level devil general Lei Andao, who interrupted Wei’s rising momentum and attacked with a lightning cauldron.

• Li Yan pursued the short, sturdy devil cultivator he had encountered in Zhouyang Town as the remaining poisoned devils fled.
• The devils charged toward Windcool Mountain’s Foundation Establishment cultivators, and both sides suffered casualties as the battle turned against Windcool Mountain.
• Gong Yuantai, Wuye, Wang Ning, and the others learned that even poisoned devil soldiers remained formidable, while Wang Ning and several other cultivators were injured.
• Wei Zhongran confronted the purple-robed devil cultivator and recognized that he was a Nascent Soul-level devil general who had concealed his cultivation.
• The devil cultivator revealed that his name was Lei Andao and that Teng Wuji had once been his junior martial brother.
• Lei Andao interrupted Wei Zhongran as he built momentum, then summoned a lightning cauldron that darkened the sky with clouds and thunder.

Wei Zhongran battled Lei Andao in the sky, resisting the Purple Lightning Small Cauldron while launching a surprise attack with his warhammers. The clash ended with Wei Zhongran striking the cauldron and tearing a hole through the storm clouds.

• Wei Zhongran and Lei Andao's fight unleashed rain that incapacitated Foundation Establishment cultivators and drove Golden Core Realm fighters beyond its range.
• Lei Andao attacked Wei Zhongran with purple-flame raindrops from the Purple Lightning Small Cauldron, while Wei Zhongran defended himself with a spinning warhammer.
• Lei Andao recognized that Wei Zhongran possessed an unusual realm between False Nascent Soul and Nascent Soul, and revealed that he had come to investigate Teng Wuji's disappearance.
• Wei Zhongran sent one warhammer at Lei Andao, then its spike pierced Lei Andao's lightning-infused hand and forced him to dodge.
• As Lei Andao's hand seals faltered, Wei Zhongran seized the warhammer above him and smashed it toward the Purple Lightning Small Cauldron, ripping open the dark clouds.

Wei Zhongran and Li Yan helped repel the Devil Race assault on Tonggui Ridge, while three hidden Nascent Soul Realm cultivators watched over the battle. After the enemy retreated, Wei explained the hidden contest between the sides and the cultivators discussed how to defend against the Devil Race’s devastating magical treasure.

• Wei Zhongran fought Lei Andao to a draw, while Li Yan killed the short, stout devil cultivator who had fought him.
• Wei Zhongran bowed to three concealed Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, who praised his strength and said the higher-ups would handle any enemy Nascent Soul Realm or Spirit Transformation cultivators.
• Wei Zhongran explained that three Nascent Soul–grade devil generals had followed the army, with two holding back because they feared the three Phantom Sect Martial Uncles.
• The cultivators congratulated Wei Zhongran on nearing Nascent Soul formation, but he urged them to reinforce Windcool Mountain because the Devil Race would attack again.
• A Phantom Sect cultivator argued that the Devil Race’s powerful magical treasure likely had severe limits or costs, and that their seniors were now watching the enemy.

After the battle at Tonggui Ridge, Wei Zhongran praised Li Yan’s combat ability and arranged for the Golden Core cultivators to restore the defenses and evacuate the seriously wounded. Wei Zhongran then privately told Li Yan that Nascent Soul ancestors had located the Devil Race’s eight-part magic treasure and explained that Li Yan’s squad had weakened the formation’s defenses, leaving the story with the threat still unresolved.

• Wei Zhongran introduced Li Yan to the Golden Core cultivators and thanked the five who had protected him during the battle.
• The cultivators praised Li Yan’s concealment and fighting skills, including his slaying of eleven devil soldiers, while Elder Peng recognized him from the secret realm.
• Wei Zhongran tasked Elder Ma and Elder Peng with restoring the defenses and escorting the seriously wounded; the group mourned five fallen Golden Core cultivators.
• After the others left, Wei Zhongran told Li Yan that a Nascent Soul-level devil general controlled eight magic treasures from an altar guarded by devil cultivators and human traitors.
• Wei Zhongran said the Nascent Soul ancestors planned to seize or destroy the treasures, then explained that Li Yan’s squad had reduced the Yin-Yang River Boundary Formation’s defensive power by nearly thirty percent compared with its previous defenders.

Li Yan learned that Windcool Mountain’s Nascent Soul ancestors wanted him to lead a small group into enemy territory and place a magic treasure near the Devil Race’s altar. He feared the mission was a death sentence, but after hearing the plan and weighing the danger of refusing, he kept his reaction controlled and doubted anyone would truly save them.

• Wei Zhongran explained that attacking the Nascent Soul devil general guarding the eight magic treasures could expose Windcool Mountain’s plans and trigger a premature decisive battle.
• Wei Zhongran told Li Yan that the Nascent Soul ancestors had chosen him to lead several cultivators toward the enemy’s valley and help destroy the magic treasures.
• Li Yan panicked and refused, arguing that the mission was nearly impossible and would alert the enemy if his group failed.
• Wei Zhongran explained that Li Yan’s aura concealment and low cultivation might let him infiltrate the valley unnoticed, place a Nascent Soul ancestor’s magic treasure near the altar, and escape beyond five hundred li within half an hour.
• Li Yan calmed himself, recognized that refusing could bring severe consequences, and privately concluded that the Nascent Soul ancestors were unlikely to risk saving his group if danger arose.

Li Yan questioned Wei Zhongran about the risks of placing a destructive artifact near the altar, while concealed Nascent Soul cultivators debated whether to force him into the mission. Li Yan sensed one of them’s killing intent and realized he might be attacked at any moment.

• Li Yan asked Wei Zhongran about the guards, the altar, and whether removing the artifact would cause spatial fluctuations.
• Wei Zhongran revealed that over a hundred human cultivators and four Golden Core cultivators guarded the valley, while an array concealed the inner defenses.
• A concealed male Nascent Soul cultivator grew angry at Wei Zhongran’s warning, and a female Nascent Soul cultivator cautioned him against provoking Da Cen.
• Wei Zhongran explained that the artifact would cause no spatial fluctuations unless activated, but he could not confirm the altar’s defenses or the guards’ reach.
• Li Yan sensed a brief burst of killing intent from a hidden fire-element Nascent Soul cultivator and concluded that the powerful observer might be preparing to kill him.

Li Yan realized that a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator was watching him and that refusing the dangerous mission would cost him his life, so he proposed a backup plan to destroy the Devil Race’s powerful magic treasure. Wei Zhongran accepted the plan in principle and asked whom Li Yan wanted to take with him, while keeping a more important assignment to himself.

• Li Yan sensed the hidden Nascent Soul Realm cultivator’s killing intent and pretended to come up with a way to make the mission succeed.
• Li Yan explained that infiltrating the valley and planting a destructive magic treasure would likely expose them to the devil general’s Divine Sense.
• Li Yan proposed that a Nascent Soul Realm senior attack the valley first, drawing the devil general away so Li Yan’s group could enter and plant the treasure during the pursuit.
• Wei Zhongran judged that the enemy might return to the same valley and agreed to report the plan’s requirements to his superiors.
• Li Yan agreed to try the mission, and Wei Zhongran asked whom he wanted to bring along, considering concealed Golden Core Realm cultivators as support.

Li Yan agreed to carry Destroying Linglong alone to a valley and bury it beneath the altar’s defensive formation before dawn, while Wei Zhongran prepared to command the threatened position. The chapter left Li Yan holding a dangerous mission whose success was crucial to the sect’s plans.

• Li Yan refused to bring helpers on his mission and asked Wei Zhongran who would take over the defenses after he left.
• Wei Zhongran said he would personally command the position and expected the Devil Race to send powerful cultivators to seize Tonggui Ridge and Windcool Mountain.
• A mysterious voice ordered Li Yan to carry out his plan immediately and place an object about a hundred zhang beneath the valley altar.
• The voice gave Li Yan Destroying Linglong and a jade slip marking the valley, warning that he had to complete the task by dawn.
• Wei Zhongran explained that Destroying Linglong was a devastating treasure refined by Qianfang Shu, but using a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator could provoke a Spirit Transformation cultivator and trigger full-scale war.

Wei Zhongran explained the power of Annihilation Linglong and gave Li Yan the Sentient Sky Vine to help him escape danger during his mission behind enemy lines. Li Yan departed for the Devil Race army, wary that his journey would soon become more dangerous as the Nascent Soul cultivators following him had to conceal themselves.

• Wei Zhongran told Li Yan that Senior Thousand Releasing Trees had created Annihilation Linglong, a powerful artifact that could change the balance between the Four Great Sects if it fell into the wrong hands.
• Li Yan noticed Annihilation Linglong increased the circulation of his wood spiritual power, then put it away without revealing his reaction.
• Wei Zhongran gave Li Yan the Sentient Sky Vine and its art formula, explaining that it could trap a middle-stage Golden Core cultivator long enough for Li Yan to flee.
• Wei Zhongran secretly told Li Yan to abandon the mission and return if the situation became impossible, and Li Yan agreed to do his best before departing.
• After Li Yan left, Wei Zhongran suffered bleeding from the mouth after using a secret voice-transmission art beyond his cultivation level.
• Li Yan traveled toward the Devil Race army while cautiously scouting for Divine Sense, suspecting Nascent Soul cultivators from Windcool Mountain were secretly following him.

Mo Qing learned that Li Yan had been sent to destroy the Devil Race’s magical treasure and reluctantly came to Fengliang Mountain to protect him. Meanwhile, Li Yan advanced cautiously toward the nameless valley and chose where to hide until Fengliang Mountain’s Nascent Soul cultivators attacked.

• Mo Qing recalled that Wei Zhongran had asked him to preserve Li Yan’s life, and he had scolded Wei Zhongran before coming to Fengliang Mountain.
• Mo Qing questioned Xiao Yaoyuan about the devil general in the valley, and Xiao Yaoyuan shared what he knew while the Nascent Soul cultivators monitored Li Yan from a distance.
• Li Yan avoided Devil Race scouts and advanced through the forest, stopping repeatedly to check for danger.
• Li Yan reasoned that the devil general would guard the area around the nameless valley and chose a position about a hundred li from it as a suitable place to wait.
• As night deepened, Li Yan concealed himself among the forest shadows and continued toward the valley.

Li Yan hid near the nameless valley and decided to wait for the Nascent Soul cultivators rather than risk approaching the Devil Race stronghold. Two defectors arrived at a nearby cave, where Li Yan recognized a woman from his past and overheard Zheng Xingfan trying to seduce her with promises of Tie Dong’s favor.

• Li Yan counted more than a hundred human cultivators patrolling within fifty li and realized they had sided with the Devil Race.
• Li Yan abandoned his plan to approach the nameless valley and concealed himself to await the Nascent Soul cultivators’ move.
• Two figures entered a nearby cave, and Li Yan recognized the woman’s voice as belonging to the beautiful woman in green gauze who had pursued Su Hong a year earlier.
• Zheng Xingfan told the woman he had Tie Dong’s backing and showed her an Iron Devil Token while promising her a place under Tie Dong’s command.
• The woman questioned Zheng Xingfan’s claims and worried that Venerable Wan would punish them if he learned of their affair.

Li Yan discovered that the azure-gauzed woman was deliberately using Zheng Xingfan to replenish her cultivation, then seized an opening to act. The woman collapsed after a sudden attack, while a gray-robed man stood at the cave entrance beside the fallen Zheng Xingfan.

• The azure-gauzed woman pretended to resist Zheng Xingfan while secretly welcoming him, intending to absorb his yang essence through the Seven Mysteries Yin Maiden Art.
• Li Yan waited outside the cave, realized the Devil general rarely searched the area with Divine Sense, and began considering a plan.
• Mo Qing and Xiao Yaoyuan watched Li Yan’s progress and decided to wait before intervening near Windcool Mountain.
• Zheng Xingfan collapsed against the azure-gauzed woman, and she turned to find a gray-robed man watching from the cave entrance.
• The azure-gauzed woman tried to summon her clothes, but a sudden pain drained her spiritual power and left her collapsing to the ground.

Li Yan secretly poisoned Zheng Xingfan and the beautiful woman in azure gauze, leaving them unable to resist. He then used a red flame from his folding fan to burn through Zheng Xingfan’s body, and the chapter ended as the fire climbed up his leg.

• Li Yan opened a hole in the cave’s warning formation with the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief and waited before entering under Night Concealment Stealth.
• Li Yan released the poison Drive the Tiger to Devour the Wolf, weakening Zheng Xingfan and the beautiful woman in azure gauze until they could not use their spiritual power.
• Li Yan covered the woman with Zheng Xingfan’s robes and approached Zheng Xingfan, who recognized him as a poison cultivator.
• Li Yan mentioned the mysterious force that had once existed on the Desolate Moon Continent and produced a folding fan.
• Li Yan sent a grain-sized red flame into Zheng Xingfan’s foot, and it began burning upward through his leg as he writhed in pain.

Li Yan tortured Zheng Xingfan to death, destroyed his golden core, and searched his Storage Pouch while the beautiful woman lay helpless in the cave. An unknown attacker ambushed Li Yan at the entrance, drawing him outside in pursuit and leaving the poisoned woman alone, uncertain whether anyone would return.

• Li Yan burned Zheng Xingfan alive, took his golden core, and crushed it into powder when Zheng Xingfan tried to beg for mercy.
• The beautiful woman pretended to remain unconscious as Li Yan collected both Storage Pouches and examined Zheng Xingfan's possessions for information about a pale golden magical treasure.
• Li Yan turned toward the cave entrance when he heard something approaching, then dodged a Demon Beast's beak thrusting inside.
• Li Yan pursued the retreating attacker outside, and the brief clash ended with both sides rushing away from the mountaintop.
• The beautiful woman waited in the cave, hoping the attacker might offer a chance to escape while fearing Li Yan or the newcomer would return.

The beautiful woman in green regained some spiritual power but discovered that the poison in her body was consuming it, so she used spirit stones to delay its effects and fled after covering up Zheng Xingfan’s death. Li Yan watched her leave, then prepared to move toward the area near a Nascent Soul demonic cultivator.

• The beautiful woman in green refined a trace of spiritual power, took pills, and tried to force the poison out of her body.
• The poison devoured her recovered spiritual power, so she used spirit stones to keep it from disappearing completely.
• The beautiful woman gathered her belongings and Zheng Xingfan’s possessions, burned his remains, and fled after forming a cover story.
• Li Yan emerged from the wall after the woman left, while the Snow Mosquito King praised its help and then begged to return to Tuban.
• Li Yan sent the Snow Mosquito King away and checked the cave before hoping that his plan would go smoothly.

Li Yan’s deception drew Zhong Mengyin into the valley with a fabricated poisoning story, while a clash between Nascent Soul Cultivators’ divine senses helped conceal his position. Fairy Red Candle tried to treat Zhong Mengyin, but her strongest antidotes worsened the unknown poison, leaving her horrified and unable to help.

• The female cultivator surnamed Mu sensed Zhong Mengyin approaching and tried to sweep the perimeter with her divine sense, but Xiao Yaoyuan intercepted it.
• Li Yan remained hidden as the two Nascent Soul Cultivators’ divine senses clashed and narrowly avoided being exposed.
• Zhong Mengyin showed Fairy Red Candle her token and claimed a poison cultivator had ambushed her and killed Zheng Xingfan.
• Fairy Red Candle ordered the watching cultivators back to their posts, then took Zhong Mengyin aside to examine her severe injuries.
• Fairy Red Candle gave Zhong Mengyin three of the Red Cicada Sect’s best antidotes, but the poison grew worse and overwhelmed the pills’ energy.

Fairy Red Candle begged the female cultivator surnamed Mu to save the poisoned Zhong Mengyin, and Mu agreed for Venerable Wan’s sake. Their appeal was interrupted when Xiao Yaoyuan and other Nascent Soul cultivators confronted three Devil Generals above the valley, while Li Yan remained hidden under a mysterious cultivator’s protection.

• Fairy Red Candle failed to draw the unknown poison from Zhong Mengyin and pleaded with the female cultivator surnamed Mu to help her.
• The female cultivator surnamed Mu crushed Fairy Red Candle and Zhong Mengyin with her pressure, then relented and allowed Fairy Red Candle to bring Zhong Mengyin to the altar for Venerable Wan’s sake.
• As Fairy Red Candle approached the altar, the female cultivator surnamed Mu sensed Xiao Yaoyuan spying on the valley and attacked him with Divine Sense.
• Xiao Yaoyuan, Tie Dong, Mo Qing, and other powerful cultivators revealed themselves, bringing three Nascent Soul cultivators from Wind Cool Mountain face-to-face with three Devil Generals.
• Li Yan hid using Hidden Night Stealth as a Wind Cool Mountain Nascent Soul cultivator repeatedly guarded his location from the Devil Generals’ Divine Sense.

Windcool Mountain’s Nascent Soul cultivators and the Devil Race clashed through manifested Divine Senses, as Xiao Yaoyuan and Mo Qing coordinated a surprise attack. The chapter ended with Mo Qing’s Heaven-Shaking Thunder striking the unconscious woman in azure gauze, leaving Tie Dong shocked and furious.

• Xiao Yaoyuan, Mo Qing, and the Windcool Mountain female cultivator fought Tie Dong and two other devil generals in a contest of Divine Sense.
• Xiao Yaoyuan feinted against Tie Dong and sent his severed arm toward the spear-wielding devil general, giving Mo Qing an opening to hold back the spear.
• Tie Dong seized Xiao Yaoyuan’s forearm and tore away its manifested Divine Sense, injuring Xiao Yaoyuan despite his golden circlet protecting him from greater harm.
• Mo Qing withdrew one silver hook and fired a cold light at the unconscious woman in azure gauze, forcing the female cultivator surnamed Mu to divert her defense.
• The cold light struck the woman in azure gauze without harming her or Red Candle Fairy, and Tie Dong identified it as Heaven-Shaking Thunder.

Li Yan’s scheme detonated the concealed Exterminating Exquisite in the unnamed valley, destroying the Heaven-Shaking Thunder and everyone nearby while he escaped among the fleeing cultivators. Tie Dong realized the explosion had also served to protect hidden operatives and sent his Divine Sense after Li Yan’s former hiding place.

• The Exterminating Exquisite erupted from the beautiful woman in azure gauze’s Storage Pouch, killing her and Fairy Red Candle and obliterating the valley as the female cultivator surnamed Mu escaped into the sky.
• Li Yan fled through the mountains with the other cultivators as the explosion’s shockwaves collapsed peaks and destroyed the surrounding region.
• The female cultivator surnamed Mu found the altar and everyone in the valley gone, then concluded that the enemy had concealed a powerful magic treasure by poisoning its bearer.
• Tie Dong realized the chain of events had also protected people hidden near Windcool Mountain and swept his Divine Sense toward the mountain range where Li Yan had been hiding.
• Li Yan blended into the fleeing crowd and headed southeast toward the Devil Race army, reflecting on how he had planted Exterminating Exquisite among Zheng Xingfan’s spirit stones.