Chapter Summaries

Kong Wenxuan escaped the Lang Household’s wolf pack by retreating into the persimmon grove, where the Kong Household’s illusion array turned the surrounding cultivators and Demon Beasts against one another. He joined the fight outside the grove and killed a Feng Household cultivator who had once exposed his identity, while the group continued excavating the Vermilion Fruit Tree.

• After Kong Wenxuan killed a Lang Household cultivator, the remaining Lang cultivators summoned gray wolf Demon Beasts and reinforcements to attack him.
• Kong Yuyin called Kong Wenxuan into the persimmon grove, where the Second Tier illusion array unleashed its Peacock Spreads Its Tail killing move.
• The array bewitched the Lang Household, Feng Household, and other nearby fighters, driving them to attack and kill one another.
• Kong Wenzhang explained the illusion array’s power, and Kong Yuyin led Kong Wenxuan and other cultivators out to deal with enemies who might awaken.
• Kong Wenxuan recognized the Feng Household cultivator who had exposed him and killed him with the Yellow Earth Divine Sword as he began to awaken.

Kong Wenxuan and his relatives slaughtered most of the Lang Household cultivators and wolf demons at the persimmon grove, but growing reinforcements forced them to retreat. They escaped under cover of the illusion array, leaving behind a fake Blue Peacock to delay pursuit.

• Kong Wenxuan killed the remaining Feng Household cultivators trapped in the illusion and collected their Storage Bags.
• Kong Wenxuan attacked the Lang Household cultivators and wolf demons, exploiting their vulnerable waists and abdomens to inflict heavy casualties.
• Howling reinforcements awakened some Lang Household fighters, who retreated while sacrificing wolf demons to block Kong Wenxuan and his relatives; only four of the original Lang Household cultivators escaped.
• Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo announced that the vermilion fruit tree had been secured and ordered Kong Wenxuan and the others to withdraw using illusory doubles as decoys.
• Kong Yushuo led the reunited group away from the persimmon grove, leaving a patriarch-made illusion talisman to maintain the appearance of the Blue Peacock.

Kong Wenxuan and the others fled the persimmon grove under cover of an illusion, but the Gray Wolf Lang Household tracked them with wolf demons. The Kong Household hid in a second illusion formation and used its Blue Peacock killing move again, while Kong Yushuo warned that the Lang Household’s main force was still approaching.

• The Lang Household discovered that the Blue Peacock and the Kong Household’s patrols were illusions, then sent wolf demons to track Kong Wenxuan and the others.
• Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo stopped the fleeing Kong Household members and had them set up a Second Tier illusion formation to hide.
• The wolf demons lost the Kong Household’s trail near the formation, but Lang Household cultivators attacked the surrounding area to force them out.
• Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo and the others activated the Peacock Spreads Its Tail killing move, trapping the pursuing cultivators and wolf demons in the illusion.
• Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo realized the enemies caught in the illusion were only cannon fodder and ordered the others to kill them quickly before the Lang Household’s main force arrived.

Kong Wenxuan and the Kong Household used the Blue Peacock’s illusion to ambush the Lang Household’s pursuing force, killing most of its cultivators and wolf demons. They withdrew without further pursuit, leaving the battered Lang Household vulnerable to other lineages.

• Kong Wenxuan and the Kong Household killed the Lang Household scouts trapped in the Blue Peacock’s illusion and collected their spoils.
• The Kong Household lured the Lang Household’s main force into a second illusion, then charged out to attack.
• Kong Wenxuan killed the burly Lang Household leader with his three divine swords and took the man’s Storage Bag and damaged tiger-skin cloak Dharma robe.
• The Kong Household slaughtered more than two-thirds of the trapped Lang Household cultivators and nearly all their wolf demons before withdrawing.
• The surviving Lang Household cultivators and nearby bloodline Lineages did not pursue the Kong Household, while other Lineages turned their attention to the weakened Lang Household.

Kong Wenxuan accompanied Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo and the others to report their expedition to the Du Household and pay taxes at Demon-Suppressing Pass. The Kong Household kept its Vermilion Fruit tree rather than accept the Du Household’s offer, and left with its identity token updated.

• Eldest Brother Kong Wenzhang explained that returning expeditions had to report intelligence and pay a portion of their gains as tax.
• Kong Wenzhang handed a Jade Slip and four ripe Vermilion Fruits to the Du Household cultivator, who accepted the fruits as four months of taxes.
• Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo said the Kong Household had harvested only six ripe fruits and wanted to keep the remaining two.
• The Du Household cultivator offered three years of tax relief and a share of future fruit, or at least three hundred Contribution Points, for the Vermilion Fruit tree.
• Kong Yushuo refused the offer and said the Kong Household would first try to cultivate the tree at Peacock Ridge.
• The Du Household cultivator recorded the tax payment and the team's Contribution Points on its identity token, then returned it to the Kong Household.

Kong Wenxuan’s family entrusted him with the hope of restoring the Kong Household’s Peacock Bloodline and gave him Vermilion Fruits to strengthen his cultivation. After two months of secluded cultivation at the Demon-Suppressing Pass, he had greatly accelerated the refinement of the Crimson Fire Divine Sword and expected to reach Qi Refinement Eighth Layer within three months.

• Kong Yushuo explained that the Kong Household’s weakness left it subject to the Du Household’s exploitation, and said Kong Wenxuan might restore their Peacock Bloodline to Ninth-Grade True Spirit status.
• Kong Yushuo gave Kong Wenxuan two of the four Vermilion Fruits left after the household paid its taxes, crediting him for his fighting against Lang Household cultivators and wolf demons.
• Kong Yushuo told the service squad to remain at the Demon-Suppressing Pass while the household contacted its patriarch and arranged to send the Vermilion Fruit tree back to the lineage.
• Kong Wenxuan secluded himself to consume Vermilion Fruits, refine spirit fire, and advance the Crimson Fire Divine Sword.
• After two months, Kong Wenxuan had refined three and a half portions of spirit fire and more than half the sword, so he left seclusion to relax and learn about the situation outside.

Kong Wenxuan learned that factions across the southern mountains were closing in on the weakened Lang Household and became eager to seize the Dark Iron at Wolf Fang Mountain. After returning from seclusion, he learned the Kong Household had joined the planned siege and rushed back to finish the Crimson Fire Divine Sword before the attack.

• Kong Yuyin told Kong Wenxuan that the Lang Household had suffered heavy losses and that factions were discussing a siege of its ancestral home at Wolf Fang Mountain.
• Kong Wenxuan discovered that Wolf Fang Mountain contained Dark Iron, the First-Tier Superior-Grade metal-element material he needed for the White Metal Divine Sword, and asked Kong Yuyin to alert him if a siege became likely.
• Kong Wenxuan spent two more months in seclusion refining the Crimson Fire Divine Sword, leaving only half of the final spiritual flame unfinished.
• Kong Yushuo told Kong Wenxuan that the Kong Household had joined the alliance against the Lang Household and would wait a month for him to reach the Qi Refinement Eighth Layer before setting out.
• Kong Wenxuan promised to complete the sword within a month and returned to seclusion.

After forging the Crimson Fire Divine Sword and reaching the Qi Refinement Eighth Layer, Kong Wenxuan joined the assault on the Lang Household’s ancestral grounds at Wolf Fang Mountain. As the siege began, the Kong Household faced the strongest defenses at the central peak, and Kong Wenxuan unleashed his sword’s Sword Qi Thunderclap against the attacking wolf demons.

• Kong Wenxuan left Demon-Suppressing Pass with his relatives to join the siege of the Lang Household’s ancestral grounds.
• Kong Wenzhang warned Kong Wenxuan not to attack the factions waiting nearby and explained that they could help probe the Lang Household’s defenses.
• Kong Wenxuan learned that the Kong Household’s assigned target was the central peak, which held the best Dark Iron vein and the strongest defenses.
• A signal launched from a nearby peak marked the start of the general assault, and the Lang Household’s formations raised a copper-and-iron dome that sent wolf demons against the attackers.
• Kong Wenxuan’s Crimson Fire Divine Sword flashed into the wolf demon pack and cut the creatures apart with Sword Qi Thunderclap.

Kong Wenxuan used his newly refined Crimson Fire Divine Sword to annihilate the copper-iron demonic wolves attacking the Kong Household and frighten away nearby cultivators hoping to steal their spoils. When more wolves charged, he unleashed all four divine swords and killed them, leaving even the remaining onlookers fleeing Wolf Fang Mountain’s other battlefields.

• Kong Wenxuan killed more than ten charging copper-iron demonic wolves with a single Crimson Fire Divine Sword strike, stunning the Kong Household members.
• Nearby cultivator “hyenas” fled toward other peaks after seeing Kong Wenxuan’s sword strike, while a few stayed to watch.
• More than thirty copper-iron demonic wolves emerged from the barrier and charged Kong Wenxuan and the others.
• Kong Wenxuan used the Azure Wood Divine Sword to entangle the wolves, then killed them with his other three divine swords before the Kong Household members could attack.
• Kong Wenzhang said he would switch to the Five Elements True Scripture, and the remaining cultivator “hyenas” fled to other battlefields.

Kong Wenxuan and the Kong Household were nearly overwhelmed by the Lang Household’s Second Tier protective formation on Wolf Fang Mountain, but Kong Yushuo used the Crimson Plume Feather Fan to repel its attack and lead the group to safety. The Kong Household retreated beyond the formation’s range, realizing that the Lang Household’s defenses were far stronger than they had been told.

• Kong Wenxuan killed the copper-iron wolf demons, provoking the Lang Household’s formation to summon a Second Tier copper-iron wolf demon that suppressed the Kong Household’s minds.
• The Five-Colored Divine Light dispelled the force in Kong Wenxuan’s mind, restoring his consciousness as the wolf demon formed a huge set of jaws and lunged at the group.
• Kong Yushuo awakened and used his Bloodline Divine Ability to activate the Second Tier Crimson Plume Feather Fan, summoning a flaming peacock that destroyed the wolf demon’s attack.
• Kong Yushuo ordered the Kong Household to retreat while he recovered from the strain of using the fan, and the group withdrew beyond the formation’s range.
• Kong Yuyin and the others realized the Lang Household’s formation was an offensive Second Tier formation and credited the fan with saving them.

The Kong Household escaped the Lang Household’s Second Tier formation demon, but the demon began attacking the other siege forces and threatened to break the assault. Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo agreed to help the “Shrike” Lao Household hold it back for a quarter of an hour in exchange for a share of the spoils, leaving the Kong Household bound by a contract as the organizers prepared their next move.

• The chapter explained that the Crimson Plume Feather Fan was the Kong Household’s last Bloodline-Inherited Spirit Artifact and that Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo wielded it.
• The Copper-Iron Wolf Demon attacked the forces besieging Wolf Fang Mountain, causing panic and heavy disorder among them.
• Third Aunt Kong Yuyin warned that the siege might fail, and Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo said the outcome depended on the “Shrike” Lao Household’s preparations.
• A cultivator from the Lao Household asked Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo to use a Second Tier illusion formation to restrain the demon.
• Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo negotiated for the Kong Household to become a fifth organizer and receive one-fifth of the Lang Household’s treasury and resources, alongside the dark iron vein.
• Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo and the Lao Household cultivator signed a contract requiring the Kong Household to hold the demon for at least a quarter of an hour unless something unexpected occurred.

The Kong Household’s illusion array held off the Lang Household’s Bronze-Iron Wolf Demon while the Shrike Lao Household destroyed a Wolf Fang peak with Earth-Shaking Talismans. With the Lang Household’s protective array broken, invaders charged into the ancestral grounds, where fighting erupted and a Second Tier chameleon Demon Beast reached the ancestral hall unnoticed.

• Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo and the Kong Household activated the Second Tier illusion array, drawing the Lang Household cultivators and Bronze-Iron Wolf Demon into a battle with the Blue Peacock illusion.
• Kong Wenxuan watched the array as the Shrike Lao Household and its allies used Earth-Shaking Talismans to collapse an outer Wolf Fang peak.
• The damaged peak caused the Lang Household’s protective array and Bronze-Iron Wolf Demon to crack and collapse.
• Sieging cultivators rushed into the Lang Household’s ancestral grounds to loot its resources, while Lang Household defenders fought back.
• A Second Tier chameleon Demon Beast changed its colors as it climbed to the highest peak and reached the Gray Wolf Lang Household’s ancestral hall unnoticed.

A second-tier chameleon from the Demon Court offered the besieged Lang Household a way to survive by joining the Demon Race. The Lang Household patriarch accepted, and the chameleon prepared to lead them out of the encirclement while promising they could return for revenge later.

• The second-tier chameleon entered the Lang Household ancestral hall unnoticed and found the patriarch activating an array that threatened to destroy Wolf Fang Mountain.
• The chameleon revealed that it belonged to the Demon Court and offered the Lang Household survival in exchange for joining the Demon Race.
• The patriarch learned that the Demon Court could not fight the besieging cultivators without attracting the Du Household, but could help the Lang Household escape.
• The chameleon explained that the Lang Household would embrace its demonic nature during breakthroughs while retaining its intelligence through the Demon Court's methods.
• The patriarch agreed to lead the Lang Household into the Demon Court, and the chameleon promised they could return in one to three years to take revenge on their attackers.

The Lang Household patriarch accepted Long Ke’s help to escape Wolf Fang Mountain and set the Mountain Collapse and Earth Split array to activate after they left. The array devastated the battlefield, while Kong Yushuo protected the Kong Household from the collapsing peaks and eruptions of metal Qi.

• The Lang Household patriarch agreed to leave with Long Ke, who promised answers about the Du Household and Cuckoo County later.
• The Lang Household patriarch changed the Mountain Collapse and Earth Split array to detonate after a delay, then gathered his clansmen and their remaining resources.
• Long Ke led the Lang Household out of the Wolf Fang Mountain battlefield using his Bloodline Divine Ability, and the patriarch introduced him as their rescuer.
• After the Lang Household escaped, the delayed array caused the peaks to collapse and the earth to split, killing and injuring cultivators who were plundering the ancestral grounds.
• Kong Yushuo used a volcanic stone treasure seal to protect the Kong Household from the collapsing ground and metal Qi, while the others fought back.

After Wolf Fang Mountain collapsed, the Kong Household searched for dark iron but discovered the Lang Household had escaped with its treasures. The attacking forces turned against the Kong Household over their diminished spoils, and Kong Wenxuan secretly sent the Crimson Fire Divine Sword away.

• Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo confirmed the Kong Household members were safe and ordered them to search for enemies and gather dark iron for Kong Wenxuan.
• Kong Wenxuan said he needed at least nine portions of First-Tier Superior-Grade dark iron spiritual metal to refine the White Metal Divine Sword.
• The Kong Household found no surviving Lang Household members or additional bodies, and saw that the ancestral tablets and other belongings had been removed from the ruined ancestral hall.
• Kong Yushuo contacted the Shrike Lao Household and other forces, and they confirmed that none had seen the Lang Household escape.
• The gathered forces blamed the Kong Household and demanded that its shares of the dark iron and resources be revoked, while the Shrike Lao Household stayed silent.
• Kong Yushuo glanced at Kong Wenxuan, and the Crimson Fire Divine Sword vanished.

Kong Wenxuan’s sword strike silenced the factions accusing the Kong Household, and the Shrike Lao Household’s representative helped defuse the confrontation. After the others left Wolf Fang Mountain, the Kong Household collected first-tier superior-grade Dark Iron spirit metal from the shattered vein, though the vein was rapidly losing its value.

• Kong Wenxuan cut the throats of the accusing cultivators with a warning strike, frightening them into silence.
• Kong Yushuo asserted the Kong Household’s claim to Wolf Fang Mountain’s resources, and the Shrike Lao Household’s representative redirected the crowd toward searching for the Lang Household fugitives.
• The other factions left, and the Lao cultivator praised Kong Wenxuan before taking his leave.
• Kong Yushuo ordered the Kong Household to search the exposed Dark Iron vein, and they collected more than a dozen pieces of first-tier superior-grade Dark Iron spirit metal.
• The Kong Household found that the Lang Household’s sabotage had caused the vein’s Spiritual Qi and Metal Qi to leak away, threatening to reduce it to ordinary iron within months.

Kong Wenxuan continued forging the White Metal Divine Sword when Du Zhimin arrived at Wolf Fang Mountain with the Cuckoo Du Household. The Shrike Lao Household revealed it had offered the damaged Dark Iron vein to the Du Household, whose leader suppressed the protesting factions and threatened to destroy them.

• Kong Wenxuan forged the White Metal Divine Sword with the white Peacock Feather and estimated he could finish the sword and reach the Qi Refining Ninth Layer within a year to a year and a half.
• Du Zhimin arrived at Wolf Fang Mountain aboard the Cuckoo Du Household's Second-Tier Feather Boat with Du Household cultivators.
• Lao Zerui welcomed Du Zhimin and confirmed that the Shrike Lao Household would give the damaged Dark Iron vein to the Du Household.
• The factions that had joined the Lao Household in taking Wolf Fang Mountain protested that the Lao Household had no right to sell the vein without their consent.
• Du Zhimin used his Spiritual Consciousness to suppress the protesters, claimed the vein for the Du Household, and threatened to send troops to raze their Lineages and factions.

Du Zhimin warned the Kong Household by granting it a smaller tax reduction than the Lao Household for surrendering the damaged Dark Iron vein. He and the Du Household used the Cuckoo True Spirit Star to move the vein from Wolf Fang Mountain into the Cuckoo Secret Realm.

• Du Zhimin asked Kong Yushuo whether the Kong Household would offer its damaged Dark Iron vein to the Du Household, and Kong Yushuo agreed.
• Du Zhimin granted the Lao Household three years of tax relief and the Kong Household a year and a half, signaling his displeasure with the Kong Household.
• The Du Household spent several days preparing arrays and restrictions to move the damaged Dark Iron vein while the Kong and Lao Households watched.
• Du Zhimin drew power from the Cuckoo True Spirit Star, causing the Kong and Lao cultivators to feel its influence on their bloodlines and Dantian Qi seas.
• The Dark Iron vein transformed into a starlight python, flew to Cuckoo County, and entered the secret realm beneath the county seat.

Kong Wenxuan completed the White Metal Divine Sword, reached the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, and mastered its ability to refine the sword into threads. After coming out of seclusion, he learned that large numbers of Demon Beasts were rampaging south of Demon-Suppressing Pass and might gather to attack it.

• Kong Wenxuan finished refining the White Metal Divine Sword from the white peacock feather and broke through to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.
• Kong Wenxuan tested the sword’s Refining the Sword into Threads ability and practiced controlling all five Five Elements Divine Swords.
• Kong Wenxuan left seclusion and thanked Kong Wenzhang and Kong Wenjun for standing guard while he cultivated.
• Kong Wenxuan learned that the Du Household and other forces had remained peaceful, while Kong Yushuo and the others had been safely gathering resources beyond the pass.
• News arrived that large numbers of Demon Beasts were rampaging south of Demon-Suppressing Pass, causing casualties and showing signs of forming a horde to attack.

As Demon Beasts surged toward Demon-Suppressing Pass, Kong Wenxuan learned that his eldest uncle and the others might be trapped near Black Snake Valley. Despite his family’s objections, he set out at night to search for them and received a talisman to protect himself.

• Kong Wenxuan watched the mountains fall into chaos as Demon Beasts clashed with cultivators and worried about his relatives beyond the pass.
• Kong Wenjun reported that the garrison office had ordered an investigation into the uprising, while Kong Wenzhang said a team had heard a peacock cry near Black Snake Valley.
• Kong Wenzhang used a Jade Slip map to show Kong Wenxuan where Black Snake Valley lay and suspected his relatives were in danger after using a powerful attack.
• Kong Wenxuan insisted on leaving immediately to rescue them, arguing that delay would increase the danger and that he could defend himself.
• Kong Wenzhang gave Kong Wenxuan a Second-Tier bone talisman, and Kong Wenxuan rushed into the mountains at night.