Chapter Summaries

After the invasion of the Eastern Forest Great Marsh was repelled, Kong Wenxuan stayed with the Kong Household to recover and strengthen his swords while the patriarch prepared to help reclaim Black Crane County. Kong Wenxuan began upgrading the White Metal Divine Sword with Mithril in the Peacock Secret Realm.

• Kong Wenxuan learned that the Demon Race had taken Origin Fragments into the Heavenly Demon Grotto-Heaven, limiting the damage mainly to the Eastern Forest Great Marsh and Black Crane County.
• With the True Martial Hall destroyed and the Demon Race's main forces gone, the fighting in Bifang Commandery paused and the commandery office stopped summoning cultivators.
• Kong Wenxuan decided to remain with the Kong Household to recover, cultivate, and advance his Azure Wood Divine Sword and White Metal Divine Sword, while the patriarch led members to Black Crane County.
• Kong Wenxuan entered the expanded Peacock Secret Realm and resumed cultivation and sword refinement at the Ancestral Spirit Mountain Peak.
• Kong Wenxuan chose to refine the White Metal Divine Sword first and fed it Third-Tier Mithril from a jade box.

Kong Yushuo advanced to the Third-Tier Purple Mansion Stage, becoming the Kong Household’s third Purple Mansion cultivator, and his success lifted the spirits of the Lineage and Peacock County. After returning to seclusion, Kong Wenxuan completed more than four years of work refining the White Metal Divine Sword, raising it to a Third-Tier Treasure Artifact.

• Kong Yushuo broke through to the Third-Tier Purple Mansion Stage as the Five-Colored Peacock True Spirit’s starlight suppressed and purified his demonic nature.
• Kong Wenxuan congratulated Kong Yushuo, who credited the Lineage’s resources and True Spirit Star alongside his own efforts and battles.
• The Kong Household held a banquet for Kong Yushuo to celebrate his breakthrough and bolster morale after losses in the Eastern Forest Great Marsh battle.
• Kong Wenxuan returned to seclusion and used the final portion of Third-Tier Mithril to complete the White Metal Divine Sword’s refinement.
• The White Metal Divine Sword ascended to a Third-Tier Treasure Artifact, its sharpened edge slicing a gust of wind in two.

Kong Wenxuan tested his newly advanced Third-Tier White Metal Divine Sword, then sensed the Ya Household’s Fire Crow True Spirit Star ascending from the Eighth-Grade True Spirit Heaven. The Fire Crow Star entered the Seventh-Grade True Spirit Heaven, while the Kong and Jiao Households watched.

• Kong Wenxuan used Refining the Sword into Threads to cut apart Third-Tier divine weapons and armor, confirming the strength of his White Metal Divine Sword.
• Kong Wenxuan sensed a disturbance in the Peacock True Spirit Star and discovered that the Ya Household’s Fire Crow True Spirit Star was attempting to ascend.
• Kong Wenxuan recognized that the Jiao Household was also observing the Fire Crow Star through its Wildebeest True Spirit.
• The Ya Household’s Fire Crow Star surged toward the Seventh-Grade True Spirit Heaven, aided by the False Phoenix blood it had acquired from the Du Household.
• The Fire Crow True Spirit Star broke through the zenith of the Eighth-Grade True Spirit Heaven and ascended into the Seventh-Grade True Spirit Heaven.

Kong Wenxuan watched the Fire Crow True Spirit Star pass its advancement trial and rise to the Seventh-Grade True Spirit Heaven, making the Ya Household the first Seventh-Grade True Spirit Lineage in Bifang Commandery. He prepared to attend their celebration, but learned it would be held a year later, likely to give the Ya Household time to nurture Golden Core True Persons.

• Kong Wenxuan watched the Fire Crow True Spirit Star survive its Rank Advancement Trial and stabilize in the Seventh-Grade True Spirit Heaven.
• Kong Wenxuan decided to attend the Ya Household's celebration and seek advice about advancing to the Golden Core Stage and raising the Peacock True Spirit Star's rank.
• Kong Wenxuan asked Kong Changlan to follow news from the Ya Household and sent Kong Yushuo to Cuckoo Town to offer congratulations and inquire about the celebration.
• The Ya Household announced that its rank advancement celebration would take place a year later.
• Kong Wenxuan, Kong Changgeng, and Kong Yushuo concluded that the Ya Household had postponed the celebration to nurture Golden Core True Persons who could preside over it.

Kong Wenxuan spent a year refining the Azure Wood Divine Sword with Third Tier Black Water Paulownia Wood, then set out with Kong Household companions for the Fire Crow Ya Household’s rank-advancement banquet. He chose a route through Cuckoo Town to limit travel through dangerous wilderness.

• Kong Wenxuan used nine pieces of Third Tier Black Water Paulownia Wood heartwood to begin advancing the Azure Wood Divine Sword, refining the first piece over the course of a year.
• When the Fire Crow Ya Household’s banquet approached, Kong Wenxuan paused his work and gathered Kong Yuyin, Kong Yuluo, Kong Wenzhang, Kong Wenjun, Kong Huancai, and more than a dozen disciples in Peacock County.
• Kong Wenxuan led the party aboard the Five-Colored Peacock Feather Boat, choosing it over a faster Third Tier cloud boat to represent the Kong Household.
• Kong Wenxuan piloted the boat toward Cuckoo Town before heading to Fire Crow County, avoiding a direct route across the wilderness where scattered Demon Race forces and martial cultivators still posed a threat.

Kong Wenxuan and the Kong Household party traveled to Fire Crow County to attend the Ya Household’s promotion banquet, learning that the household had gained two Golden Core cultivators. After they arrived in Fire Crow County City, Ya Zhaoying invited Kong Wenxuan to meet her.

• Kong Wenxuan’s party stayed in Cuckoo Town, where Ya Xingqu hosted them and shared news of the Ya Household.
• Kong Wenxuan led his party through the wilderness toward Fire Crow County, passing groups of wild bloodline families heading there to seek the Ya Household’s protection.
• After five days, Kong Wenxuan’s party entered Fire Crow County and traveled through its fire-rich lands toward the volcanic county city.
• Kong Wenxuan and his companions arrived at Fire Crow County City and settled into lodgings arranged by the Ya Household.
• A Ya Household cultivator invited Kong Wenxuan to meet Ya Zhaoying, who had advanced to the Golden Core Stage, and he accepted.

Ya Zhaoying invited Kong Wenxuan to discuss the Dao and offered to share her Golden Core breakthrough experience in exchange for his future Nascent Soul insights. The chapter ended with Ya Zhaoying beginning to teach him about core formation.

• Kong Wenxuan visited Ya Zhaoying to congratulate her on reaching the Golden Core Stage, and she welcomed him with Fire Mulberry tea and fruit.
• Ya Zhaoying explained the generations of effort and resources her household had spent rising to Seventh-Grade True Spirit rank, and the dangers of seeking further advancement amid the invasion.
• Kong Wenxuan encouraged Ya Zhaoying to earn merit by fighting the invaders, but she described the risks and proposed another path through an exchange of cultivation experience.
• Ya Zhaoying agreed to share her Golden Core formation experience if Kong Wenxuan later shared his Nascent Soul breakthrough experience with her.
• Kong Wenxuan accepted the deal, and Ya Zhaoying began sharing her core-formation experience and the Ya Household's records and inheritances.

Kong Wenxuan gained Golden Core formation insights from Ya Zhaoying before attending the Ya Household’s peaceful rank advancement celebration. As the Kong Household party left Fire Crow County, its members resolved to cultivate harder and advance to the Purple Mansion Stage.

• Kong Wenxuan spent three days discussing the Dao with Ya Zhaoying, who shared her Golden Core formation experience and materials; he promised to repay her with a discussion of the Nascent Soul Dao.
• The Ya Household held its celebration, where Ya Zhaoying preached about the Dao of Fire and the attending lineages formally exchanged rights and trade shares with the newly promoted seventh-grade lineage.
• The gathered households discussed Demon Race and martial cultivator invasions, but the Bi Household offered no details about the Outer Heaven Battlefield and said the situation was under control.
• Kong Wenxuan left Fire Crow County with the Kong Household party, observing the crowds of wild-bloodline cultivators arriving to join the Ya Household.
• Kong Wenzhang and Kong Yuyin vowed to enter secluded cultivation and reach the Purple Mansion Stage, and Kong Wenxuan led the party toward Cuckoo Town.

While traveling from Fire Crow County toward Cuckoo Town, Kong Wenxuan and his party encountered Demon Race members attacking a wild-bloodline lineage. They wiped out the attackers, and Kong Wenxuan reported the incident to Ya Zhaoying, leaving the Ya Household to handle the aftermath.

• Kong Wenxuan sensed a battle ahead and ordered the Kong Household party to prepare for danger.
• Kong Wenxuan found two Demon Race members and more than a hundred Demon Beasts and demon birds overrunning a wild-bloodline lineage's grounds.
• Kong Wenxuan killed both Demon Race leaders with his Third Tier Crimson Fire Divine Sword, and the beasts and birds fled.
• Kong Wenxuan and the Kong Household party attacked the fleeing creatures and wiped them out.
• Kong Wenxuan left Kong Wenzhang and Kong Huancai to assist the survivors and sent Ya Zhaoying a report about the attack.

Kong Wenxuan guarded the Kong Household cultivators attempting to reach the Purple Mansion Stage while refining his sword. Third Aunt Kong Yuyin succeeded, but Sixth Uncle Kong Yushan succumbed to the Demonic Nature Backlash, forcing Kong Wenxuan to kill him.

• After returning to Peacock County, Kong Wenxuan and his companions reported the Demon Race’s presence, and the Kong Household sent out additional patrol teams.
• Kong Wenxuan resumed refining the Azure Wood Divine Sword while Kong Yujin, Kong Yuyin, Kong Yuluo, Kong Yutang, Kong Yuling, Kong Wenzhang, and other cultivators entered seclusion to attempt the Purple Mansion Stage.
• Two years later, Kong Yuyin began her breakthrough, drawing on the Peacock True Spirit Star to suppress the Demonic Nature Backlash as Kong Wenxuan stood ready to intervene.
• Kong Yuyin successfully advanced to the Third Tier Purple Mansion Stage, earning congratulations from Kong Wenxuan and the other members of the Lineage.
• Less than a month later, Kong Yushan failed to suppress the backlash and degenerated into a Third Tier Peacock Demon Beast, so Kong Wenxuan killed him with his Crimson Fire Divine Sword.

After Sixth Uncle Kong Yushan died from Demonic Nature Backlash during his Purple Mansion breakthrough, Kong Wenxuan reflected on the risks of cultivation and let frightened Foundation Establishment cultivators end their seclusion. More than two years later, he completed the Azure Wood Divine Sword’s advancement and reached the Late Purple Mansion Stage.

• Kong Wenxuan mourned Sixth Uncle Kong Yushan, who had fallen to Demonic Nature Backlash and been killed after failing to break through to the Purple Mansion Stage.
• The Lineage buried Kong Yushan at the Ancestral Spirit Mountain Peak, where his flesh, bloodline, and power joined the mountain’s strength.
• Many Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators ended their seclusion after seeing Kong Yushan’s fate, and Kong Wenxuan let them preserve their strength rather than force them to attempt breakthroughs.
• Kong Wenxuan spent more than two years in seclusion refining the Azure Wood Divine Sword with the last piece of Black Water Paulownia Wood heartwood.
• The Azure Wood Divine Sword advanced into a third-tier Treasure Artifact, and Kong Wenxuan broke through to the Late Purple Mansion Stage.

Kong Wenxuan mastered the Third Tier Great Five Elements Sword Formation and considered the risks of advancing to the Golden Core Stage. He rejected raising the Peacock True Spirit Star first and decided to strengthen his cultivation and bloodline before attempting to form a Peacock Golden Core.

• Kong Wenxuan refined the Azure Wood Divine Sword to the Third Tier and mastered the Great Five Elements Destruction Sword Light.
• Kong Wenxuan reviewed the dangers of Golden Core formation for bloodline cultivators and recalled that only two of five Ya Household cultivators had succeeded despite the protection of a Seventh-Grade True Spirit Star.
• Kong Wenxuan considered raising the Peacock True Spirit Star to the Seventh-Grade True Spirit Heaven first, but judged that the Kong Household lacked the strength to pass the Rank Advancement Trial.
• Kong Wenxuan decided to attempt the Golden Core breakthrough himself and later use his Golden Core Law Power to raise the Peacock True Spirit Star.
• Kong Wenxuan resolved to temper his cultivation and strengthen his Peacock Bloodline, relying on the Five-Colored Divine Light for protection as he sought to form a stronger Golden Core.

Kong Yujin and Kong Wenzhang successfully advanced to the Third Tier Purple Mansion Stage, restoring the Kong Household’s confidence after Kong Yushan’s death. The chapter ended with a Peacock Spirit Bird reaching the Third Tier and becoming another Peacock Dao Soldier.

• Kong Wenxuan saw Five-Colored Starlight descend on the retreats of Kong Yujin and Kong Wenzhang as both attempted to break through.
• Kong Yujin drew on the Azure Cloud Spirit Bamboo to suppress Demonic Nature Backlash and became the Kong Household’s fifth Purple Mansion Stage cultivator.
• Kong Wenzhang faced a dangerous Demonic Nature Backlash, and Kong Wenxuan prepared the Crimson Fire Divine Sword in case he became a Demon Beast.
• Kong Wenzhang suppressed the backlash and became the Kong Household’s sixth Purple Mansion Stage cultivator, prompting cheers from the household cultivators.
• A Peacock Spirit Bird swallowed Five-Colored Starlight and reached the Third Tier, becoming another Peacock Dao Soldier.

Kong Wenxuan decided to temper his cultivation and strengthen his Peacock Bloodline by fighting, first targeting the Qinggeng Commandery battlefield. After learning that Demon Race members and martial cultivators had entered the South Lake Mountains, he went to join his uncle's patrol and found out they had fled from the Ya Household's campaigns in Fire Crow County.

• Kong Wenxuan assessed the Kong Household's new strength and considered how to prepare for forming a core.
• Kong Wenxuan decided that fighting in Qinggeng Commandery could both refine his cultivation and earn him bloodline-enhancing pills.
• Kong Wenxuan learned that Demon Race members and martial cultivators had appeared in the South Lake Mountains and chose to hunt them before going to Qinggeng Commandery.
• Kong Wenxuan sent the commandery office a message asking about fighting in Qinggeng Commandery, then flew to the South Lake Mountains in a Third Tier Wind-Thunder Eagle Treasure Boat.
• Kong Yushuo told Kong Wenxuan that the Demon Race members and martial cultivators had fled from defeats in the Ya Household's wars of expansion in Fire Crow County.

Kong Wenxuan tested the Third Tier Great Five Elements Sword Formation while hunting the defeated forces fleeing through the South Lake Mountains, killing even Third Tier opponents with ease. After clearing most of the threats, he received a reply from the Bifang Commandery office.

• Kong Wenxuan stayed in Peacock County to help clear fleeing enemies from the South Lake Mountains while he awaited the commandery office's response.
• Kong Wenxuan used Sword Light Differentiation with the Great Five Elements Sword Formation to kill fleeing First, Second, and Third Tier enemies.
• Kong Yushuo praised Kong Wenxuan's strength, and Kong Wenxuan said others could use the same method by forming a Great Five Elements Sword Formation.
• Kong Wenxuan tested several sword arts through the formation, finding them powerful enough to kill Third Tier opponents in a single strike.
• The Bifang Commandery office sent Kong Wenxuan a reply.

Aboard the Bifang Cloud Boat bound for Qinggeng Commandery, Bi Yanhong explained how the Geng Household’s formation protected the commandery’s Origin Fragments and why the invasion had lasted for years. Kong Wenxuan and the allied households traveled to join a major campaign against the invaders, while he hoped the battlefield would restore his cultivators’ confidence in pursuing breakthroughs.

• Bi Yanhong explained that the Geng Household had used spirit trees across Qinggeng Commandery to anchor a formation that protected its Origin Fragments.
• Kong Wenxuan learned that invasions and resource plundering had occurred throughout the True Spirit Realm’s long history, and he understood the difference between the Geng Household’s defenses and the Bi Household’s.
• Bi Yanhong said the relief force would help the Geng Household kill or drive out the invaders in exchange for Origin, merit, and medicinal pill rewards.
• The Bi, Kong, Ya, and Jiao Households traveled to Qinggeng Commandery, while the Fu and He Households stayed behind.
• Kong Wenxuan brought Foundation Establishment Late Stage and Late Qi Refining cultivators to the battlefield to temper them and rebuild their confidence in attempting breakthroughs.

Kong Wenxuan and the allied household forces reached Qinggeng Commandery and found its border defenses overrun by demons. After wiping out the enemy at Demon-Suppressing Pass, True Person Bi Yanhong ordered the group to enter the commandery and inspect Spotted Ferret County.

• Kong Wenxuan considered why the Jiao and Ya Households had joined the campaign, noting their ambitions to advance their cultivation and lineages.
• True Person Bi Yanhong warned the cultivators that they were nearing the battlefield and ordered them to prepare for an attack.
• The expedition found Demon-Suppressing Pass in Spotted Ferret County reduced to ruins and occupied by Demon Beasts and demonic birds.
• True Person Bi Yanhong ordered the assembled cultivators to attack, and they slaughtered every demon at the pass.
• Kong Wenxuan used his Azure Wood Divine Sword and Crimson Fire Divine Sword to kill several Third-Tier enemies.
• True Person Bi Yanhong ordered the expedition to proceed into Qinggeng Commandery and inspect Spotted Ferret County.

Kong Wenxuan and his companions reached Spotted Ferret County Seat to aid the Hua Household, whose Red Pine Spirit Tree and formation remained intact. The enemy sent an army to stop the reinforcements, and True Person Bi Yanhong led the counterattack with the Bifang Cloud Boat’s Calamity Fire.

• Kong Wenxuan and his companions flew through Spotted Ferret County, striking down Demon Beasts and demonic birds as they headed for the county seat.
• Kong Wenxuan saw that the towering Red Pine Spirit Tree, the county’s formation foundation and eye, still stood above the Hua Household’s ancestral grounds.
• True Person Bi Yanhong and the others sent out their households’ Starlight True Spirit manifestations to signal their arrival, and the Hua Household answered with the Spotted Ferret True Spirit.
• The Demon Race and invading martial cultivators intensified their siege and sent Demon Beasts, demonic birds, and fighters to block the approaching reinforcements.
• True Person Bi Yanhong ordered the others to attack, and the Bifang Cloud Boat unleashed a tide of three-colored Calamity Fire that burned many charging Demon Beasts and demonic birds to ashes.

Kong Wenxuan led his Lineage onto the battlefield, where his Five Elements Divine Swords overwhelmed enemies below the Fourth Tier while he searched for a fight that could temper him. He turned toward the Golden Core battle above Spotted Ferret County Seat and fixed his gaze on a gravely wounded Fourth Tier Demon Beast.

• Ya Zhaoying, Jiao Jing'en, and Kong Wenxuan led their households and Lineage away from the Bifang Cloud Boat to join the battlefield.
• Kong Wenxuan ordered Kong Yuluo and Kong Yuchui to direct the formations and told his relatives to rely on themselves as they sought battlefield experience.
• Kong Yuluo and Kong Yuchui led the younger members in activating their formations, while Kong Wenxuan cut down First through Third Tier enemies with his Five Elements Divine Swords.
• Kong Wenxuan surveyed the Golden Core battle above Spotted Ferret County Seat, where Hua Household cultivators used Giant Transformation to fight Fourth Tier enemies.
• Bi Yanhong and Ya Zhaoying joined the battle and unleashed Calamity Fire and Yang Fire, and Kong Wenxuan watched a gravely wounded Fourth Tier Demon Beast fall from the sky.

Kong Wenxuan challenged a grievously wounded Fourth Tier azure wolf Demon Beast to test his strength and found that his Great Five Elements Sword Formation could withstand its remaining control over heaven and earth. After his sword attacks broke through the beast’s tornado, its Demon Core emerged and unleashed an even greater tornado at him.

• Kong Wenxuan left the Five-Colored Peacock Feather Boat and charged toward the wounded azure wolf, leaving Fifth Uncle Kong Yuluo to defend the boat.
• The azure wolf summoned a gale infused with the power of heaven and earth, but Kong Wenxuan’s Great Five Elements Sword Formation endured until the gale dispersed.
• Kong Wenxuan restored his strength with pills and attacked the beast with successive Great Five Elements Destruction Sword Lights, breaking apart its protective tornado.
• The azure wolf revealed its Demon Core, which shattered Kong Wenxuan’s final sword light and formed a larger tornado that surged toward him.