Chapter Summaries

Duan Shangmu killed Zhu Yu and led the righteous cultivators in hunting the demonic path, while Han Feiyu remained nowhere to be found. After three days of widespread slaughter, demonic path disciples worried they would be overwhelmed when the righteous sects and Buddhist Sect joined forces, and planned to report Han Feiyu when they escaped.

• Duan Shangmu took the Bitter Cold Flower and Zhu Yu’s Storage Bag, then burned Zhu Yu’s corpse.
• Duan Shangmu decided to hunt demonic path cultivators and let Han Feiyu’s continued hiding disgrace the demonic path.
• Demonic path cultivators used traps based on the Soul-Locking Grand Array to kill ten cultivators, including seven Core Formation Cultivators.
• Righteous cultivators mocked Han Feiyu’s absence while Devil Lord Ye worried the demonic path would be defeated if the righteous sects allied with the Buddhist Sect.
• After three days, two hundred cultivators had died, and Mara Sect disciples condemned Han Feiyu and feared the coming fight at the center.

Su Mu emerged from seclusion after reaching Core Formation and discovered that righteous cultivators were hunting down the Devil Cultivators. He revealed the strength of his Buddha-Slaying Art by killing a righteous cultivator, then killed the Devil Cultivator who told him what had happened.

• Righteous cultivators defeated the remaining Devil Cultivators and continued hunting them.
• Su Mu completed Core Formation, left the river, and saw a righteous cultivator pursuing a wounded Devil Cultivator.
• Su Mu struck the righteous cultivator with the Buddha-Slaying Art, resisted his Solar Essence Fire, and killed him with a second palm strike.
• The wounded Devil Cultivator told Su Mu that most cultivators had gone to the center to fight.
• Su Mu pierced the Devil Cultivator's abdomen and crushed his Golden Core.

Su Mu killed a disrespectful Devil Cultivator, then used the Buddha-Slaying Art to defeat a righteous cultivator and flew to join the surviving Devil Cultivators. After forcing several of them to follow him, he set out to lead them into battle against the righteous and Buddhist cultivators.

• Su Mu killed the Devil Cultivator who had disrespected him, took his Storage Bag, and flew away.
• Devil Lord Ye recognized that Han Feiyu had mastered the Buddha-Slaying Art and mocked the Buddhist monks for lending their fortune to a Devil Cultivation Method.
• Su Mu found the remaining Devil Cultivators and announced that he would lead them against the righteous cultivators, prompting them to scoff at him.
• Su Mu struck down several Devil Cultivators who mocked him, shattering their Law Treasures and warning that the next offender would die.
• Su Mu ordered several leading Devil Cultivators to follow him, and they obeyed after realizing he had reached the Core Formation realm.

Su Mu persuaded the Devil Cultivators to strengthen the Hundred Ghosts Soul-Locking Grand Array with sacrifices and set an ambush for the righteous cultivators at Qingshan Peak. As news drew righteous disciples toward the trap, Han Feiyu tried to recruit the Demon Cultivators to join the fight.

• Su Mu proposed sacrificing Devil Cultivators to empower the array, and Zhan Changping and the others agreed after deciding to blame Han Feiyu.
• The Devil Cultivators arranged to lure the righteous cultivators to Qingshan Peak using Han Feiyu's name, while Zhan Changping spread word of his supposed whereabouts.
• Su Mu led the Devil Cultivators to Qingshan Peak, where they collected array flags and pills before hiding around the area.
• Green Wood Sect cultivators received a message claiming Han Feiyu was on Qingshan Peak and flew there alongside righteous cultivators from other areas.
• Han Feiyu approached the Demon Cultivators and urged them to join forces with the Devil Cultivators against the righteous sects in exchange for a share of the Spirit Stones.

Su Mu persuaded the demon cultivators to join him, then lured nearly six hundred righteous and Buddhist cultivators into a trap at Qingshan Peak. He sacrificed devil cultivators to power the Hundred Ghosts Soul-Locking Formation and used the Life-Claiming Brahma Sound to help slaughter the trapped forces, leaving the battle raging in his favor.

• Su Mu convinced the demon cultivators that the righteous cultivators would target them after defeating the devil path, and led them to Qingshan Peak.
• Su Mu waited alone until Dai Changfu and nearly six hundred righteous and Buddhist cultivators surrounded him, then signaled the demon cultivators to surround them in turn.
• Su Mu activated the Hundred Ghosts Soul-Locking Formation, which restricted the righteous cultivators while leaving the demon cultivators unaffected.
• Xia Jing and other devil cultivators took Heavenly Devil Pills to supply the formation with spiritual power, then realized Su Mu had sacrificed them as pawns.
• Su Mu unleashed the Life-Claiming Brahma Sound, disrupting the trapped cultivators’ spiritual power and minds as the demon cultivators attacked.
• The formation grew stronger as the righteous cultivators fell, while Dai Changfu realized Su Mu might bury his entire force; Zhan Changping hoped the massacre would justify the sacrifice of his fellow disciples.

Su Mu left the Land of the Five Elements after the righteous cultivators were wiped out, then learned that both Han Feiyu and his Su Mu identity had huge bounties on them. While searching for a way to restore his Dao Lotus, he spread inflammatory claims about demon cultivators to provoke conflict between them and the righteous sects.

• Su Mu gathered the fallen righteous cultivators' Storage Bags, shared some with the others, and left the Land of the Five Elements with Devil Lord Ye before slipping away.
• The righteous Holy Son dismissed Han Feiyu as an unworthy rival, while righteous sects issued a one-million-spirit-stone bounty for him.
• Disguised in a restaurant, Su Mu learned that his Su Mu identity carried a hundred-million-spirit-stone bounty and that his bare Dao Lotus could not be restored without merit.
• Su Mu discovered his Han Feiyu bounty ranked 1,378th, while the devil path's Holy Maiden ranked 189th and his Su Mu identity ranked first.
• Su Mu claimed demon cultivators had boasted of becoming the foremost beings and urged the righteous cultivators to oppose them, then repeated the story around the city to spread hostility.

Su Mu counted and sorted his spoils, finding valuable spirit herbs and ores as well as a mysterious golden hammer he could not lift. While he stayed in seclusion to avoid the bounty and mounting tensions, clashes between humans and Demon Cultivators escalated toward war.

• Su Mu counted more than seventy million Spirit Stones and organized hundreds of spirit herbs and assorted ores, considering how to take resources back to Earth and Yu Guyue.
• Su Mu discovered a black, urn-headed golden hammer that he could neither lift nor probe with his Divine Sense, so he stored it separately.
• Su Mu decided to lie low rather than risk the bounty mission or get caught in a conflict between humans and Demon Cultivators.
• Cultivators spread Su Mu's remarks about Demon Cultivators, and a furious Nascent Soul Demon Cultivator killed more than a dozen Core Formation Cultivators who repeated them.
• Human cultivators blamed Demon Cultivators for the orthodox faction's destruction in the Land of the Five Elements, and repeated clashes pushed both sides to the brink of war.

Su Mu returned to Earth, heard that America planned military exercises, and considered repairing the concealment formation and completing a Teleportation Array before they began. After Zhou Jianhua learned he had come down from the mountain, he prepared to contact him.

• Su Mu reviewed reports of growing clashes between major sect disciples and Demon Cultivators, then returned from the Immortal Cultivation Realm to Earth.
• Su Mu called his parents, confirmed they were healthy, and went downtown to eat after his personal call handler sent him local snack recommendations.
• At a street stall, Su Mu overheard young men discussing America's upcoming military exercises and considered repairing the concealment formation and setting up a Teleportation Array before they began.
• Su Mu tied back his long hair, finished his meal, and left as the young men wondered why he looked familiar.
• Zhou Jianhua learned that Su Mu had come down the mountain and reached for his phone to call him.

Su Mu discovered ominous black Qi gathering around a busy building and tried to evacuate everyone before the calamity inside could erupt. After using his credentials and setting off the fire alarm, he faced the furious restaurant manager as diners streamed out.

• Su Mu spotted black Qi rising from a building and saw it darken on the faces of people entering.
• Su Mu warned Lin Feng and his family to stay away, then called his operator to send a nearby team and clear the building.
• Lin Feng chose to take his wife and son elsewhere and told his relatives not to come to the restaurant.
• Su Mu showed his credentials to a server, entered the building, and ordered the customers out.
• Su Mu set off the fire alarm, prompting servers and diners to evacuate while law enforcement officers headed to his location.
• The manager turned off the alarm, reassured the diners, and angrily confronted Su Mu for causing trouble.

Su Mu sensed a deadly calamity at a restaurant and forced its evacuation just before the building collapsed, saving everyone inside. After returning to the Qinling Mountains, he arranged with Zhou Jianhua to prepare spirit springs and large mushroom bombs for his next teleportation in half a month.

• Su Mu ordered the restaurant evacuated, and law enforcement officers cleared the building and sealed off the area.
• Su Mu left the building, and it collapsed moments later; he realized the calamity Qi had warned him of the disaster and slipped away.
• Lin Feng and the other witnesses realized Su Mu’s warning had saved the diners, while Zhou Jianhua discussed the collapse with Su Mu.
• Zhou Jianhua told Su Mu that spirit spring power could support future space travel, and Su Mu promised to bring back more spirit springs.
• Su Mu asked Zhou Jianhua to prepare large mushroom bombs for his next teleportation, planned within half a month.
• Su Mu returned to the Qinling Mountains, and an official announcement attributed the collapse to construction defects after an emergency evacuation.

Su Mu learned that the Green Bamboo Sect planned to attack the Demon Cultivators of Thunder Spirit Marsh to cultivate heavenly thunder bamboo, and he considered whether its lightning could be useful on Earth. He then visited Myriad Treasures Pavilion to buy a flying Law Artifact and a formation, where he examined several options.

• Su Mu read that the Green Bamboo Sect was preparing a major operation against the Demon Cultivators of Thunder Spirit Marsh to obtain a place to cultivate heavenly thunder bamboo.
• Su Mu wondered whether Earth’s electricity could cultivate heavenly thunder bamboo and studied a map of the area around Thunder Spirit Marsh.
• Su Mu entered Myriad Treasures Pavilion and paid the required eight million Spirit Stones to access its third floor.
• Su Mu asked an elderly Foundation Establishment cultivator for a flying Law Artifact and a formation capable of trapping a Late Core Formation cultivator.
• The old man showed Su Mu a Three-Ring Windward Boat and Wind and Thunder Wings, but Su Mu doubted he could sustain the wings with his Spiritual Power.

Su Mu bought the Windward Boat and Heaven-Stealing Diagram, then began targeting caravans crossing the Red Wilds Plain. During an ambush, he chased down Fang Yu and killed him with his Buddhist cultivation method before escaping with the Storage Bags.

• Su Mu bought the Windward Boat and Heaven-Stealing Diagram at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion for nearly sixteen million Spirit Stones.
• Su Mu observed caravan ambushes on the Red Wilds Plain and decided to target caravans with weak escorts.
• Su Mu joined an ambush on a caravan carrying treasures for the Green Bamboo Sect as its cultivators fled and the attackers gave chase.
• Su Mu used the Windward Boat to catch up with the fast-fleeing Fang Yu, then killed him with a Buddha's palm after Sanskrit chanting disrupted his concentration.
• Su Mu took Fang Yu's Storage Bags and escaped, leaving the pursuing cultivators wary of his speed and strength.

Su Mu continued ambushing caravans to gather resources, then received a message from Devil Lord Ye and went to a guarded valley. There, he discovered that Mi Hongling, the Demonic Sect's holy maiden, had come to meet him.

• Su Mu counted his spoils, then spent more than half a month cultivating and ambushing caravans for resources.
• Rogue cultivators discussed Su Mu's reputation and learned that his holy-son title brought him little support because he belonged to no sect.
• Su Mu amassed ores, Spirit Stones, and other treasures, and postponed activating the Teleportation Array to gather more.
• After receiving a message and an address from Devil Lord Ye, Su Mu traveled to a valley protected by an array.
• Mi Hongling appeared outside the valley, surprising Su Mu and remarking on his recent reputation.

Su Mu learned that the Green Bamboo Sect was transporting Heavenly Thunder Bamboo to Thunder Spirit Marsh, and Mi Hongling asked him to help intercept it. He agreed to join her the next day, while remaining wary of her intentions.

• Mi Hongling told Su Mu that the Green Bamboo Sect planned to plant Heavenly Thunder Bamboo in Thunder Spirit Marsh.
• Mi Hongling explained that Demon Cultivators had sent twenty Nascent Soul Cultivators to intercept the righteous sects, and she proposed that they target the Green Bamboo Sect's Core Formation cultivators.
• Su Mu asked about the Green Bamboo Sect's forces and, after hearing Mi Hongling's estimate, agreed to take part.
• Mi Hongling told Su Mu to leave with her at noon the next day, then entered the valley.
• Su Mu found a place to rest and resolved to stay cautious around Mi Hongling.

Su Mu and Mi Hongling arrived at a standoff between righteous and demonic cultivators, where Mi Hongling confronted the righteous holy maiden, Ruan Wenyou. Su Mu traded insults with Ruan Wenyou, leaving Mi Hongling amused as the confrontation continued.

• Mi Hongling waited for the Nascent Soul Cultivators to approach the encirclement, then led Su Mu toward the disturbance.
• Su Mu and Mi Hongling arrived as the Nascent Soul Cultivators faced off above the grounded Core Formation Cultivators.
• Mi Hongling provoked Ruan Wenyou by mocking her cultivation and asking whether she had perfected her method.
• Ruan Wenyou recognized Su Mu as the Demonic Sect's holy son and condemned his conduct in the Land of the Five Elements and his work with bandit cultivators.
• Su Mu replied that both sides saw sickness in each other, then teased Ruan Wenyou about trying his tongue.
• Ruan Wenyou condemned Su Mu, while Mi Hongling enjoyed his verbal victory and privately resolved to kill him more quickly when the time came.

Su Mu praised Mi Hongling’s beauty in a poem that formed a calligraphic treasure, enraging Ruan Wenyou and delighting Mi Hongling. When Ruan Wenyou ordered an attack, the Green Bamboo Sect disciples fled with the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo, and Su Mu pursued the disciple he suspected was carrying it.

• Su Mu compared Ruan Wenyou unfavorably with Mi Hongling and recited a poem praising Mi Hongling, causing Righteous Qi to gather into a calligraphic treasure.
• Mi Hongling gathered the Righteous Qi and told Su Mu she was starting to like him, while Ruan Wenyou grew furious at the comparison.
• Ruan Wenyou ordered her side to attack, then remembered the Green Bamboo Sect had to escort the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo and told its disciples to head for Stone Seat Market.
• Mi Hongling charged at Ruan Wenyou and told Su Mu to pursue the Green Bamboo Sect disciple wearing three silver stripes, who might have the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo.
• Su Mu set off after the fleeing disciple as the Green Bamboo Sect members escaped from the larger group of Nascent Soul Demon Cultivators.

Su Mu pursued Ning Yun and killed him with the Heaven-Stealing Diagram after Ning Yun’s jade talisman failed to protect him from the Life-Claiming Brahma Sound. Ning Yun had no heavenly thunder bamboo, so Su Mu lamented his costly gamble before flying toward Mi Hongling and Ruan Wenyou’s battle.

• Su Mu caught up with Ning Yun, who blocked his Buddha palm and attacked with green bamboo swords.
• Su Mu disrupted Ning Yun with the Life-Claiming Brahma Sound, but Ning Yun used jade and a fan to escape his follow-up strike.
• Su Mu trapped Ning Yun in the Heaven-Stealing Diagram and wore down the green jade protecting him with continued chanting.
• After the jade shattered, Su Mu’s Brahma Sound drove Ning Yun’s Spiritual Power into chaos, and Su Mu killed him inside the diagram.
• Su Mu found no heavenly thunder bamboo in Ning Yun’s Storage Bag and judged the loot worth only three million Spirit Stones at most.
• Su Mu flew southwest and found Mi Hongling and Ruan Wenyou locked in a fierce battle.

Su Mu disguised himself as Ning Yun and tricked Ruan Wenyou into handing over the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo, then escaped the area and returned to Earth. After recovering in a rented cave abode, he arranged with Zhou Jianhua to begin the teleportation the next day.

• Su Mu, disguised as Ning Yun, convinced Ruan Wenyou that he had defeated Han Feiyu and urged her to leave with the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo.
• Ruan Wenyou gave Su Mu the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo while fending off Mi Hongling, and Su Mu fled with it.
• Su Mu changed direction and appearance, then traveled to a city and used a Teleportation Array to escape the area.
• Su Mu rented a secure cave abode, recuperated for nearly three days, and returned to Earth.
• Su Mu called Zhou Jianhua, who said preparations were complete but the teleportation would begin the next day.

Su Mu bought spiritual springs and materials to repair Aerospace Island’s formations while Zhou Jianhua prepared a major power outage on Earth. Huaxia announced the next day’s outage, and the public celebrated in anticipation of another light show as foreign officials wondered what Huaxia was testing.

• Su Mu returned to the Immortal Cultivation Realm and bought spiritual springs and materials for Aerospace Island’s formations.
• Zhou Jianhua coordinated preparations for the next day’s large-scale power outage and ordered security around the transfer site.
• Huaxia announced outages in several provinces, prompting speculation that another light show was coming.
• A university teacher told her students the outage would resemble the previous two, and the students cheered.
• People across Huaxia celebrated the announcement, while foreign officials questioned what Huaxia was testing.

Su Mu collected two nuclear weapons and used a newly built power grid to activate the Teleportation Array during Huaxia’s scheduled blackout. A huge pillar of light appeared, but what it would bring remained unseen.

• Su Mu arranged with Zhou Jianhua for a power grid and collected two nuclear weapons from a secret base.
• Su Mu stored the weapons away, startling the engineer who had shown him how to use them.
• Su Mu met Zhou Jianhua and the engineers at the teleportation site, where they waited for the scheduled blackout.
• Su Mu set up the Teleportation Array, and the engineers cut power across several provinces so it could absorb the electricity.
• The array activated and sent an enormous pillar of light into the clouds as people watched across Huaxia.