Recaps

Fang Weiyan received congratulatory envoys from five kingdoms, who offered gifts and asked him to suppress demons, accept their vassalage, and open trade. Suspicious of their motives, he agreed to nothing outright as the Jin Kingdom's envoy shifted to probing his temperament and ambitions.

• Fang Weiyan welcomed envoys from five kingdoms and heard them present lavish gifts, then granted each delegation unfamiliar Jiang Kingdom goods in return.
• The Great Zhou, Great Liang, Jin, and other envoys asked Fang Weiyan to pacify demon-infested territories so their kingdoms could expand and gain access to resources.
• The envoys offered their kingdoms as vassals, but Fang Weiyan suspected they were withholding information and said he would consult his ministers before deciding.
• The envoys proposed establishing trade, and Fang Weiyan expressed interest but again deferred his decision until he had discussed it with his ministers.
• The Jin Kingdom's envoy changed tack and began probing Fang Weiyan's temperament and desire to expand.

Fang Weiyan rejected the foreign envoys’ proposal to become vassals and agreed to open trade, after Yunxi explained why neighboring dynasties might seek Jiang Kingdom’s protection. The envoys were astonished by the emperor’s gifts, and a Ministry of Rites minister arrived to question them while they puzzled over the unfamiliar goods.

• Fang Weiyan consulted his ministers about the envoys’ requests, and they advised caution and suggested probing the visitors for information over wine.
• Yunxi told Fang Weiyan that the neighboring dynasties might be submitting because they feared the Human Sovereign and hoped to gain his help against demons.
• Fang Weiyan decided not to accept vassal states but agreed to open trade with the foreign dynasties.
• The envoys opened the Jiang Kingdom’s gifts and marveled at their fine craftsmanship and colorful glass pearls, realizing they seemed far more valuable than their own tribute.
• A minister from the Ministry of Rites visited the envoys and saw them bewildered as they tried to identify the unfamiliar gifts.

Fang Weiyan inspected the Jiang Kingdom’s expanding farms and busy docks, then planned new industrial projects and artillery production. Meanwhile, Mountain Spirit women hurried toward the kingdom to find Weiwei and remove her from danger.

• The Minister of Rites explained the uses of the treasures His Majesty had given the foreign envoys, who realized the gifts were valuable.
• Mountain Spirit women flew toward the Jiang Kingdom, fearing Weiwei might approach its new Human Sovereign to face her tribulation and be captured.
• Fang Weiyan inspected vigorous crops and giant vegetables with Yunxi and Weiwei, while Yunxi reflected on how the farmland had changed since her imperial father’s reign.
• Fang Weiyan visited the busy docks, noted the Jiang Kingdom’s growing national strength, and considered buying more cargo ships.
• After returning to the palace, Fang Weiyan reviewed his plans and decided to pursue industrial projects and seamless steel pipe processes for producing artillery.

At court, Fang Weiyan rejected the foreign envoys’ offer of submission but welcomed trade and announced that Jiang Kingdom would clear demons from the mountain ranges between their nations. He gave the Ministry of Works plans to build an industrial foundation, then returned to the palace as tribute women admired him and marveled at Jiang Kingdom’s comforts.

• The foreign envoys asked Fang Weiyan to accept their nations’ submission after discovering Jiang Kingdom’s cheap grain, cement roads, and prosperity, but he said he wanted trade rather than submission.
• Fang Weiyan announced that Jiang Kingdom would eliminate demons in the intervening mountain ranges, prompting the envoys to agree despite fearing he would claim the cleared territory.
• Fang Weiyan instructed the Ministry of Works to prepare factory buildings and raw materials for steelmaking, while he planned to buy equipment from Earth and seek funds from Su Qingyun.
• Fang Weiyan encountered tribute women collecting scented soap, and they praised his appearance after he left.
• The women recalled their first night in the palace, describing the fragrant soap, fine clothes, comfortable bedding, and other unfamiliar comforts they had experienced in Jiang Kingdom.

Fang Weiyan issued an edict claiming Heavenly Dew Mountain for the Jiang Kingdom, then met Su Qingyun in Wenhai City, gave her a peach, and asked her for five billion in research funds. The civil judge reached Heavenly Dew Mountain to proclaim the edict, but the mountain lord attacked before he could read it.

• Fang Weiyan ordered the civil judge to proclaim that Heavenly Dew Mountain belonged to the Jiang Kingdom and left for Earth.
• Fang Weiyan visited the Daoist temple, observed that the koi had grown stronger, and flew to Wenhai City to meet Su Qingyun.
• Fang Weiyan gave Su Qingyun a peach, took its pit after she ate it, and asked her for another five billion in research funds.
• Su Qingyun agreed to provide the funds and invited Fang Weiyan to watch a movie with her.
• The civil judge arrived at Heavenly Dew Mountain, where the mountain lord hurled a boulder at him and then pounced when the judge defied him.

Judge Wen used Fang Weiyan’s imperial edict to claim Heavenly Dew Mountain for the Jiang Kingdom, but the Mountain Lord and other demons began considering resistance. Fang Weiyan returned from Earth to Yanhuai City, visited Yunxi, and then received the returning Judge Wen in the imperial study.

• The imperial edict nullified the Mountain Lord’s spell, and its golden dragon struck him down while declaring Heavenly Dew Mountain part of the Jiang Kingdom.
• After Judge Wen left, the Mountain Lord gathered the mountain demons, and they debated whether to resist the Jiang Kingdom’s claim.
• On Earth, Fang Weiyan accepted a coin from Su Qingyun so he could change her luck, then returned to the Jiang Kingdom with two sundaes.
• Fang Weiyan found Yunxi training the palace maids at Purple Cloud Palace and gave her a sundae before returning to the imperial study.
• Judge Wen returned looking bedraggled and requested an audience, prompting Fang Weiyan to suspect that something had gone wrong.

Fang Weiyan sent Weiwei to bring Heavenly Dew Mountain’s demons under Jiang Kingdom’s control, while Weiwei reunited with her Mountain Spirit sisters and told them about the possible life-extending peaches. At Heavenly Dew Mountain, Weiwei killed the Mountain Lord and cowed the demons into submission.

• Fang Weiyan learned that Heavenly Dew Mountain held many demons and sent Weiwei to negotiate, telling her to avoid fighting if she could not prevail.
• Outside Yanhuai City, Weiwei’s Mountain Spirit sisters prepared to leave after believing she was trapped in the Human Sovereign’s service.
• Weiwei reunited with her eldest sister and explained that Fang Weiyan had not asked her to bestow blessings and that immortal peaches might help preserve their clan.
• Weiwei told her sisters to remain near Yanhuai City until the peaches ripened, then set out to persuade Heavenly Dew Mountain’s demons to submit.
• Weiwei released her presence over Heavenly Dew Mountain, killed the Mountain Lord, and caused the other demons to submit.

Weiwei spared the demons of Heavenly Dew Mountain after ordering them to obey the Jiang Kingdom’s laws, while Su Mu reviewed the kingdom’s mineral resources and planned industrial expansion. The foreign envoys departed Yanhuai City as Su Mu focused on raising iron production and building more cement plants.

• Weiwei questioned the demons of Heavenly Dew Mountain about defying the emperor’s decree and heard their concerns about losing their territory.
• Weiwei allowed the demons to remain on Heavenly Dew Mountain if they stopped harming people and obstructing mining, warning that she would hold them responsible for future crimes.
• Su Mu reviewed the Jiang Kingdom’s ore deposits and considered buying machinery and improving people’s education to support mining and industry.
• A guard told Su Mu that the foreign envoys had left Yanhuai City before dawn, and Su Mu dismissed the news.
• Su Mu noted that the Jiang Kingdom produced only 8,000 tonnes of iron the year before last and planned to increase output and build cement plants in more cities.

Weiwei reported that she had subdued the demons of Heavenly Dew Mountain, while Fang Weiyan reviewed plans for the steelworks and domestic incense and candle production. On Earth, Su Qingyun noticed that she looked younger and learned that two drugs developed from Fang Weiyan’s medicinal rootlets had passed trials with better-than-expected effects.

• Weiwei told Fang Weiyan that she had killed the strongest demon, a tiger demon, and that the other powerful demons were around the Spirit Platform Realm.
• Fang Weiyan praised Weiwei and let her leave, then reviewed the Ministry of Works’ report that two smelting plant buildings were expected to be finished by month’s end.
• Fang Weiyan confirmed that the court had begun organizing incense and candle production and considered how the steelworks and cloud iron ore might be used.
• Su Qingyun, having transferred five billion to Fang Weiyan, noticed that her skin looked clearer and that she seemed younger.
• Su Qingyun learned by phone that the first two drugs developed from Fang Weiyan’s medicinal rootlets had passed clinical trials without adverse reactions and performed better than expected.

Su Qingyun learned that clinical trials for two drugs, including a potential diabetes cure, had succeeded and planned to submit them for registration and invite Fang Weiyan to celebrate. In Great Qian, its Human Sovereign investigated Fang Weiyan’s rise and sent the findings to Empress Wanxi, who considered the coming battle in the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings.

• Su Qingyun received reports confirming that the two drugs had passed their clinical trials and ordered her staff to prepare the registration applications.
• Su Qingyun decided to invite Fang Weiyan to a celebration banquet because he held shares in her company.
• Great Qian’s Human Sovereign heard that Fang Weiyan had restored the Jiang Kingdom and raised its national strength, then questioned how he had learned Universe in the Sleeve.
• Great Qian’s Human Sovereign ordered a Wind Luan to carry Fang Weiyan’s information to Empress Wanxi.
• Empress Wanxi read the report and reflected on the approaching opening of the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings and the battle ahead.

The Dragon King and Weiwei told Fang Weiyan that the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings opened each year, sending powerful, seemingly undying creatures toward the Human Sovereign’s dynasty. Fang Weiyan began preparing the Jiang Kingdom’s Yin Gods and soldiers for the coming defense, then returned to Earth to consider buying weapons.

• The Dragon King warned Fang Weiyan that he had to defend the passages into the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings when the Golden Crow weakened, or its creatures would invade the Jiang Kingdom.
• Fang Weiyan learned from Yunxi that most local Yin Gods were only at the Transformation stage and ordered the remaining purple-grade incense given to Fude, the City God of Pingshui City.
• Fang Weiyan asked Tao Lingluo about the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings, and Weiwei explained that its creatures appeared in many forms, numbered immensely, and could be no weaker than the Transformation stage.
• Tao Lingluo promised to help fight the creatures after taking a peach tree as her body, and Fang Weiyan agreed to send her.
• Fang Weiyan returned to Earth to consider purchasing weapons for the Jiang Kingdom’s soldiers.

After arranging to buy weapons overseas, Fang Weiyan prepared Jiang Kingdom’s forces to enter the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings by ordering more training and plans for a defensive wall. At the arms dealer’s warehouse, he challenged armed men to Russian roulette, and the dealer arrived and ordered them to accept.

• Fang Weiyan agreed to attend Su Qingyun’s company celebration and asked her to connect him with an overseas arms dealer; she found a contact for him.
• Back in the Jiang Kingdom, Fang Weiyan ordered Lin Liyun to intensify the soldiers’ training, confirmed Weiwei’s sketch of the passage, and arranged to stockpile cement and train builders for a city wall.
• Fang Weiyan obtained a passport, contacted the arms dealer about a large purchase, and flew abroad to meet him.
• At the warehouse, armed men surrounded Fang Weiyan and mocked him, so he challenged them to Russian roulette, offering to use five bullets while they used one.
• The armed men refused until a voice from outside ordered them to agree, and Fang Weiyan turned to see who had arrived.

Fang Weiyan bought heavy weapons and ammunition from an arms dealer, moved them to a warehouse in the Jiang Kingdom, and returned to assess their effect on the kingdom’s strength. In Great Qian, its ruler learned about the Jiang Kingdom’s high-yield crops and found seeds brought back by a spy.

• Fang Weiyan played a round of Russian roulette with the tattooed brute, survived, and went inside with the arms dealer to negotiate.
• Fang Weiyan bought heavy machine guns, Gatling-type guns, rifles, and ammunition, then secretly transported the crates to the Jiang Kingdom.
• Fang Weiyan inspected the weapons and Yanhuai City’s pale cyan fortune, and learned that the new smelting plant had begun operating.
• The ruler of Great Qian read a secret report about corn and sweet potatoes yielding nearly ten thousand jin per mu and realized they could ease his kingdom’s food shortages.
• The ruler of Great Qian searched for the seeds his spy had brought back and found bags containing corn, rice, and vegetable seeds.

Fang Weiyan inspected Jiang Kingdom’s new steelworks and shipyard, then learned that the imperial peaches could extend his lifespan. Weiwei confirmed the peaches’ power and brought the Mountain Spirit Clan to pledge allegiance, while Fang Weiyan realized they had been wary of the cost of their blessings.

• The ruler of Great Qian planted seeds stolen from Jiang Kingdom to test their reported yield and wondered whether Jiang Kingdom could defend the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings.
• Fang Weiyan inspected the operating steelworks and the shipyard’s new ability to build small vessels.
• Weiwei urged Fang Weiyan to eat a ripe peach, and she sensed that his lifespan had increased after he ate it.
• Weiwei visited her hidden clanswomen and told them the peaches could extend life, prompting them to accompany her to the palace and offer their allegiance.
• Fang Weiyan questioned Weiwei’s motives, and she admitted that the Mountain Spirit Clan had come because he possessed immortal peaches and did not need their blessings.

Fang Weiyan welcomed the Mountain Spirits into the Jiang Kingdom and discovered that their presence greatly increased his national strength. As Lin Liyun arrived to train with firearms, the national strength above Yanhuai City reached cyan, leaving Fang Weiyan eager to learn how powerful his kingdom could become.

• Fang Weiyan accepted Weiwei and the Mountain Spirits, and they became Flower Blooming Realm experts while beginning their Human Tribulations.
• Fang Weiyan saw that the Mountain Spirits had raised the Jiang Kingdom’s national strength and urged Weiwei to summon more of her clan members.
• Weiwei sent several sisters to find the other Mountain Spirits, while Fang Weiyan turned his attention to checking on factories commissioned by the Ministry of Works.
• Lin Liyun arrived at Yanhuai City, and Fang Weiyan demonstrated firearms and Gatling guns before ordering Lin Liyun’s soldiers to train with them.
• Fang Weiyan worried about the cost of ammunition and considered buying a production line to make the Jiang Kingdom more self-sufficient.
• Fang Weiyan saw that the national strength above Yanhuai City had reached cyan and wondered how it compared with other dynasties ruled by Human Sovereigns.

Fang Weiyan left the Jiang Kingdom after seeing Lin Liyun’s soldiers become combat-ready and attended Su Qingyun’s celebration banquet for Starlight Pharmaceuticals. There, Su Qingyun introduced him as a major shareholder to business figures and officials, while Starlight’s promising new drugs drew the attention of Wenhai City’s leaders.

• Fang Weiyan observed Lin Liyun’s trained soldiers and hoped they would be ready for the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings, though Tao Lingluo remained in seclusion refining the peach tree.
• Fang Weiyan said goodbye to Yunxi, promised to bring her sundaes and cake, and traveled to Earth for Su Qingyun’s banquet.
• Su Qingyun greeted Fang Weiyan at the winery and led him around, drawing jealous looks from women at the gathering.
• Su Qingyun introduced Fang Weiyan as a major shareholder in Starlight Pharmaceuticals to a jealous man, disrupting his plans to gain influence over the company through her.
• Su Qingyun introduced Fang Weiyan to prominent business figures and officials, and a senior Wenhai City official praised Starlight’s new drugs and offered his support.

At a celebration banquet, Fang Weiyan reunited with Su Qingyun, discussed weapons and medicinal-rootlet supplies with her, and later returned to the Jiang Kingdom with desserts for Yunxi. He checked on Tao Lingluo’s progress refining a peach tree before reading a memorial about an inspector who had captured a demon bird seeking revenge.

• Su Qingyun introduced Fang Weiyan to the banquet guests, then teased him after several women tried to get his contact details and he returned to her side.
• Su Qingyun drove Fang Weiyan away from the estate and asked about his weapons purchase and the supply of medicinal rootlets; he said the purchase was handled and promised to look into increasing production.
• Fang Weiyan bought desserts for Yunxi, returned to the Jiang Kingdom, and found her delighted with the treats.
• Fang Weiyan visited Tao Lingluo in the imperial garden and learned that she had only partly refined the unusual peach tree, so he told her to take her time.
• Fang Weiyan read the inspector’s memorial and learned that the inspector had taken in an injured demon bird, which later tried to kill him to avenge an official the inspector had killed.

Fang Weiyan opened a passage to the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings and ordered Lin Liyun’s troops to guard it. As Yin Spirits began stirring beyond the passage, the Corpse Emperor plotted to keep it open long enough to invade the Land of Eternal Radiance, while Fang Weiyan noticed the Golden Crow’s light fading.

• Fang Weiyan reviewed requests for imperial funds and planned to boost revenue through regional trade, factories, salt, paper, and Kaiping Treasure Currency.
• The imperial jade seal revealed that the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings was about to open, so Fang Weiyan went to the guarded valley outside Yanhuai City.
• Fang Weiyan warned Lin Liyun that the passage could unleash incorporeal evil entities, then opened it as soldiers and craftsmen prepared to enter and fortify the area.
• The passage’s foreign presence awakened the dead in the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings, and the Corpse Emperor ordered his forces to attack continuously so the passage would remain open for half a year.
• Other Human Sovereigns let Fang Weiyan’s passage draw the first wave of evil entities, while Fang Weiyan sensed the Golden Crow’s light weakening after the passage opened.

Fang Weiyan led Jiang Kingdom forces into the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings and began building fortifications as they waited for sinister creatures to emerge. After learning that Jiang Kingdom’s grain could yield over ten thousand jin per mu, Empress Wanxi decided to open her own passage and send a warning to Fang Weiyan to win his goodwill.

• Fang Weiyan entered the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings with Lin Liyun and ordered fortifications built around the passage.
• Fang Weiyan returned to the Jiang Kingdom, ordered Weiwei and her clanspeople to help guard the passage, and sent construction supplies to the site.
• Empress Wanxi delayed opening her passage because the creatures in the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings seemed increasingly organized.
• Empress Wanxi learned from a letter that Jiang Kingdom’s crops yielded over ten thousand jin per mu and decided the report might be true.
• Empress Wanxi ordered a Yin God to warn Fang Weiyan about the dangers of opening a passage early, then began preparing to open her own passage.

Fang Weiyan prepared the Jiang Kingdom for the coming attack from the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings while Weiwei and Lin Liyun oversaw the defenses inside. As strange sounds heralded the enemy’s awakening, a Yin God serving Empress Wanxi arrived in the palace, leaving Fang Weiyan to ask why he had come.

• Fang Weiyan arranged to buy cement from Earth and reassured Yunxi that his preparations did not mean the danger was immediate.
• Lin Liyun’s company commander heard strange roars, and Weiwei explained that sinister things were waking and would attack once fully prepared.
• Weiwei and another Mountain Spirit worried about the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings, though Weiwei trusted Fang Weiyan’s preparations and the city under construction.
• Fang Weiyan sent cement, fuel, and other supplies into the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings and accelerated preparations after hearing that the strange sounds were growing more frequent.
• A Yin God serving Empress Wanxi arrived at the Jiang Kingdom’s palace, and Fang Weiyan asked what had brought him there.

The Yin God warned Fang Weiyan that opening the first passage had brought him greater pressure and that the sinister creatures in the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings seemed to be growing more intelligent. After inspecting the land with Weiwei, Fang Weiyan discovered a vast force of creatures and withdrew, uncertain how difficult they would be to stop.

• The Yin God delivered Empress Wanxi’s warning about the dangers of opening the first passage and offered cooperation, which Fang Weiyan cautiously accepted.
• The Yin God warned that the sinister creatures seemed more intelligent than before, and Fang Weiyan went to the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings to investigate.
• A deputy general showed Fang Weiyan gold ore found nearby, but Fang Weiyan dismissed mining it as too dangerous while the creatures threatened the passage.
• Fang Weiyan asked Weiwei whether she knew the creatures possessed intelligence, and she said she had never heard that before.
• Fang Weiyan and Weiwei discovered countless sinister creatures gathering ahead, then retreated to avoid provoking them before the defenses were ready.

Fang Weiyan and Empress Wanxi prepared their forces around their passages as the sinister creatures in the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings awakened and attacked. Machine guns held the Jiang Kingdom’s city walls, and Fang Weiyan decided to keep monitoring the battle before committing more Yin Gods.

• Fang Weiyan returned to the city with Weiwei, inspected the machine guns and supplies, and asked where the other Human Sovereigns were stationed, but Weiwei did not know.
• Empress Wanxi learned that the Jiang Kingdom’s Human Sovereign acknowledged owing her a favor, then ordered her soldiers to fortify the passage and prepare defenses.
• Three days later, the sinister creatures awakened together and charged toward the passages; Lin Liyun and Weiwei’s forces prepared to defend the city.
• Lin Liyun ordered the machine guns to fire, and the bullets repeatedly brought down the charging creatures, while Weiwei and her clanswomen watched in surprise.
• Lin Liyun tested incendiary bottles, but the creatures ignored the flames, so he stopped the fire attack and continued relying on the machine guns.
• A scout reported the battle to Fang Weiyan, who was reassured that firearms could delay the creatures and chose to keep the Yin Gods outside to protect the Jiang Kingdom’s cities.

Lin Liyun’s troops repelled the first assault in the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings, while Fang Weiyan received news of their success and considered ammunition supplies and trade with neighboring countries. The Corpse Sovereign learned that one passage was unusually difficult to conquer because the Jiang Kingdom’s weapons destroyed his forces before they could reach it.

• Lin Liyun’s soldiers rested and resupplied after repelling the creatures of darkness, and he praised them for standing firm against the attack.
• The soldiers declared their loyalty to Fang Weiyan and the Jiang Kingdom, citing the emperor’s relief efforts and the improved lives of their families.
• Lin Liyun ordered the troops to keep watch and checked how much ammunition remained after the battle.
• Fang Weiyan learned that the first wave had been repelled with no soldier casualties apart from one burn, then reviewed neighboring countries’ requests to open trade.
• The Corpse Sovereign heard that most passages might take a month to occupy, but the passage formerly belonging to the Great Li Kingdom resisted his forces.
• The general told the Corpse Sovereign that the new Human Sovereign’s unfamiliar weapons wiped out the undead soldiers before they could reach the positions.

Fang Weiyan honored his trade agreement with Uncle Bai and increased the monthly rootlet supply in exchange for fertilizer. On Earth, Fukanglingding reached pharmacies as a diabetes cure, giving a mother and her son hope that he could recover without insulin.

• The Corpse Sovereign dismissed the metal-firing weapons as a minor threat and ordered his general to capture the passageways and keep Yin Qi flowing into the Land of Eternal Radiance.
• Fang Weiyan agreed to Uncle Bai's trade and increased the quota, accepting one million rootlets in exchange for ten portions of fertilizer.
• A pharmacy doctor introduced a worried mother to Fukanglingding, and a customer who had taken two boxes said she was close to recovering from diabetes.
• The mother bought three boxes, checked reports confirming the medicine's effectiveness, and brought it home for her son.
• After verifying the news himself, the son realized his diabetes could be cured and celebrated the prospect of no longer needing insulin injections.

Weiwei and the Mountain Spirits struggled to hold the passage against a massive force of sentient Yin Gods, who tried to cut them off from reinforcements. Tao Lingluo emerged and turned the battle with her lightning-struck peach wood, leaving the Mountain Spirits stunned by her strength.

• Weiwei and the Mountain Spirits found themselves overwhelmed by more than two hundred Yin Gods and debated whether to seek reinforcements while defending the passage.
• A Yin God revealed that the creatures were sentient and announced their plan to seize the passage and invade the Land of Eternal Radiance.
• The Yin Gods surrounded Weiwei and her clanswomen, blocking their attempts to send someone for help.
• Tao Lingluo appeared and destroyed countless Yin Gods with lightning from her peach wood weapon.
• Tao Lingluo explained that His Majesty had helped make the lightning-struck peach wood powerful, and Weiwei realized the Mountain Spirits were no match for her.