Chapter Summaries

After the Demon Beast tide devastated nearly half of Cuckoo County’s bloodline lineages, the Fire Crow Ya Household planned a two-pronged attack to trap the retreating demons and rescue their captives. Kong Wenxuan joined Ya Zhaoying’s pursuit force, confident that the Kong Household would rebuild its Peacock Dao Soldiers and rise to Eighth-Grade True Spirit.

• A Fire Crow Ya Household cultivator reported that nineteen lineages had been overrun and that the surviving Demon Race members were retreating toward Second Town with more than ten thousand captives.
• The Ya Household cultivator proposed pursuing the demons while sending a force ahead to block Demon-Suppressing Pass, and Ya Zhaoying ordered the Fire Crow Dao Soldiers to cut off their retreat.
• Kong Wenxuan chose to join Ya Zhaoying’s pursuit force, while the Fire Crow Dao Soldiers flew ahead toward the pass.
• Kong Yuluo and the other Kong Household cultivators expressed envy of the Fire Crow Dao Soldiers and confidence that their own legion would be rebuilt soon.
• Kong Wenxuan summoned the Peacock Feather Boat and led the service squad toward Second Town to witness the strength of an Eighth-Grade True Spirit lineage.

Kong Wenxuan and the Kong Household followed the Fire Crow Ya Household’s fleet through Second Town, where the Ya cultivators effortlessly destroyed a group of Demon Beasts with their Fire Crow Clones. The Kong Household continued toward Demon-Suppressing Pass, increasingly wary of the Ya Household’s strength, and soon encountered another group of beasts waiting to intercept them.

• Kong Wenxuan saw Demon Beasts and demon birds charge the Fire Crow Ya Household’s fleet from the ruins of Second Town.
• The Fire Crow Ya Household formed nearly three hundred Fire Crow Clones into a battle formation and overwhelmed the attacking beasts.
• Kong Wenxuan, Kong Changgeng, and the Kong Household watched the display and worried about the power of their prospective neighbor.
• Kong Wenzhang voiced confidence that the Kong Household’s Five Elements Divine Swords could match or surpass the Fire Crow formation when their lineage grew stronger.
• The Fire Crow Ya Household destroyed the beasts at Second Town and resumed its pursuit toward Demon-Suppressing Pass.
• Less than three hundred li farther on, the fleet spotted nearly five hundred more Demon Beasts and demon birds waiting to attack.

Kong Wenxuan followed the Fire Crow Ya Household army to Demon-Suppressing Pass, where they trapped the Demon Race and the abducted civilians. Just as Ya Zhaoying sheltered the civilians and the Fire Crow forces began their attack, a Third Tier demon burst from underground and shattered the protective dome.

• Kong Wenxuan and the Fire Crow Ya Household army reached the fallen Demon-Suppressing Pass and found the Demon Race and over ten thousand abducted civilians trapped by Fire Crow Dao Soldiers.
• Ya Zhaoying formed a flame dome with three hundred Fire Crow Clones, protecting the civilians without harming them.
• Ya Zhaoying ordered the Ya Household cultivators and Fire Crow Dao Soldiers to attack the remaining Demon Beasts and members of the Demon Race.
• The ground beneath Demon-Suppressing Pass shook and split, alarming Kong Wenxuan as he protected his Feather Boat with the Lesser Five Elements Sword Formation.
• A Third Tier demon burst from underground and shattered Ya Zhaoying's protective flame dome around the civilians.

A Third Tier Demon Race earth dragon ambushed the Fire Crow Ya Household at Demon-Suppressing Pass, grievously injuring Ya Zhaoying and scattering the household’s Fire Crow Clones. After grounding the Feather Boats with its gravity ability, the dragon’s attack opened the way for a larger force to assault the stranded cultivators.

• A Third Tier Demon Race earth dragon burst from the ground and sprayed flesh and blood sludge, contaminating the Fire Crow Clones and causing Ya Zhaoying to suffer a backlash.
• Ya Zhaoying warned the Ya Household cultivators to retreat, but the dragon shattered their formation of three hundred Fire Crow Clones and injured many cultivators.
• Kong Wenxuan realized the earth dragon’s sludge had gained power from the flesh and bones of tens of thousands of abducted people, and inferred that the Demon Race had used them to prepare a trap for the Fire Crow Ya Household.
• The earth dragon released an earthy-yellow halo that increased gravity, dragging the Feather Boats to the ground and further damaging Kong Wenxuan’s Peacock Feather Boat.
• Two to three thousand Demon Beasts and demon birds poured into Demon-Suppressing Pass, including a Third Tier Demon Race eagle demon and four Third Tier Demon Beasts.

Ya Zhaoying fought off a coordinated ambush by two Third-Tier members of the Demon Race and four Third-Tier Demon Beasts while Kong Wenxuan helped defend Demon-Suppressing Pass against a renewed assault. The battle continued with neither side gaining the upper hand in the air, while Kong Wenxuan cut down the advancing Demon Beasts and hidden Demon Race members.

• The Third-Tier eagle demon, four Third-Tier Demon Beasts, and a concealed earth dragon attacked Ya Zhaoying from the air and ground.
• Ya Zhaoying summoned her Fire Crow Divine Fire Shield, merged her Fire Crow Clones into it, and used three powerful Fire Crows to burn and injure the four Demon Beasts.
• Ya Zhaoying summoned the Fire Crow True Spirit Star, but the earth dragon and eagle demon used Demon Banners to resist its suppressive starlight and counterattacked her.
• A renewed Demon Beast tide and members of the Demon Race charged into Demon-Suppressing Pass, drawing Kong Wenxuan and the Kong Household into the fighting.
• Kong Wenxuan summoned the Peacock True Spirit Star and wielded the Five Elements Divine Swords to cut down Demon Beasts and kill Second-Tier members of the Demon Race.

Kong Wenxuan agreed to Ya Zhaoying’s offer and unleashed the Lesser Five Elements Sword Formation to destroy the Demon Beast tide powering the demons’ protective banners. The banners collapsed and Ya Zhaoying brought down the Third-Tier demons, but the earth dragon’s rear half escaped underground.

• Kong Wenxuan protected the Kong Household while its members and the Fire Crow Ya Household fought the Demon Beast tide, which inflicted heavy casualties on the Ya Household cultivators.
• Ya Zhaoying realized the demon banners drew power from the surrounding Demon Beasts and promised Kong Wenxuan either Demon-Suppressing Pass or her help in one future expansion if he killed the tide quickly.
• Kong Wenxuan accepted after Ya Zhaoying promised the Fire Crow Dao Soldiers would protect his kin, and the Kong Household joined their battle formation.
• Kong Wenxuan drove the Lesser Five Elements Sword Formation through the tide, killing Demon Beasts and weakening the banners while Ya Zhaoying kept the earth dragon and eagle demon from interfering.
• After Kong Wenxuan killed more than half the tide, the demon banners collapsed, and Ya Zhaoying brought down the Third-Tier demons; the earth dragon’s rear half survived and burrowed away.

Ya Zhaoying failed to kill the escaping half Earth Dragon, while the Demon Race and its remaining beasts fled the Demon-Suppressing Pass. She rewarded Kong Wenxuan's household for its help, leaving them to decide whether to claim the pass or settle elsewhere.

• Ya Zhaoying's Fire Crow attack blasted the ground, but the half Earth Dragon escaped underground.
• The surviving Demon Beasts, demon birds, and hidden members of the Demon Race scattered, and Ya Zhaoying sent the Ya Household cultivators and Kong Wenxuan's group after them.
• Kong Wenxuan and his companions killed nearly two hundred Demon Beasts and demon birds but found no members of the Demon Race before returning to the pass.
• Kong Wenxuan reflected that the attack had destroyed eighteen bloodline lineages in Cuckoo County and that his household's recent rise had helped it survive.
• Ya Zhaoying offered the Kong Household the Demon-Suppressing Pass as a foothold or one future favor, and Kong Wenxuan said his family would decide later.
• Ya Zhaoying gave the Kong Household half of the Third-Tier Earth Dragon's corpse and the spoils in half the ruined city, and Kong Wenxuan accepted them gratefully.

Kong Wenxuan returned to Peacock Ridge with a large share of the Demon Beasts and demonic birds slain at Demon-Suppressing Pass and told Patriarch Kong Changgeng about the battle and Ya Zhaoying’s promise. The patriarch weighed the dangers of settling at the pass or exploring farther south, while Second Elder Kong Changlan joined Wenxuan’s return trip to ensure the remaining spoils were handled properly.

• Kong Wenxuan brought nearly a thousand Demon Beast and demonic bird corpses and materials back to Peacock Ridge and reported the battle and Ya Zhaoying’s promise to Patriarch Kong Changgeng.
• Patriarch Kong Changgeng worried about the pass’s depleted resources and the threat of stronger demons farther south, and said the household would investigate before choosing its ancestral land.
• Kong Changlan and her aides processed the first batch of spoils and criticized Wenxuan and the others for carelessly mixing and damaging the corpses and materials.
• Kong Wenxuan invited Kong Changlan, Kong Yujin, Kong Yuzhen, and Kong Wencheng aboard the Feather Boat and headed back to Demon-Suppressing Pass with them.

Kong Wenxuan brought Kong Changlan and other clansmen to the Demon-Suppressing Pass, where their reaction to the battlefield showed how little experience the Kong Household’s younger cultivators had with bloodshed. Kong Changlan ordered them to toughen up, and Kong Wenxuan agreed to bring more clansmen to the front lines before helping her inspect the charred Earth Dragon corpse.

• Kong Wenxuan brought Kong Changlan, Kong Yujin, Kong Yuzhen, and Kong Wencheng to the Demon-Suppressing Pass, where the corpses and Sha Qi left several of them shaken.
• Kong Changlan scolded Kong Yujin, Kong Yuzhen, and Kong Wencheng and ordered them to handle a hundred Demon Beast corpses.
• Kong Wenxuan approved the service squad’s decision to rest while Kong Yujin, Kong Yuzhen, and the others dealt with the corpses.
• Kong Changlan urged Kong Wenxuan to bring young clansmen from the Lineage’s logistical departments to the front lines so they could get used to bloodshed.
• Kong Wenxuan agreed to bring more clansmen to the Demon-Suppressing Pass, then led Kong Changlan to the charred half-corpse of the Third Tier Earth Dragon.
• Kong Wenxuan explained that Ya Zhaoying had burned the Earth Dragon while killing it, and Kong Changlan carefully began handling the corpse.

Kong Wenxuan and Patriarch Kong Changgeng moved the secret realm fragment from beneath Cuckoo Town to Peacock Ridge, where the upheaval exposed a Jade Slip containing the forbidden technique A Hundred Birds Pay Homage to the Phoenix. The chapter leaves them stunned by the unexpected inheritance.

• Kong Wenxuan brought Kong Household clansmen to Demon-Suppressing Pass to expose them to battle and help them overcome their fear of combat.
• The Kong Household spent ten days processing more than a thousand Demon Beast corpses before Kong Wenxuan and Kong Changgeng returned to Cuckoo Town.
• Kong Wenxuan and Kong Changgeng visited Ya Zhaoying, who invited the Kong Household to accompany her to Bifang Commandery City and pay respects to the commandery governor.
• Kong Wenxuan and Kong Changgeng used the Peacock True Spirit Star's power to guide the secret realm fragment through the earth veins toward Peacock Ridge.
• The fragment's journey shook and damaged the secret realm, and Kong Changgeng found a Jade Slip exposed from a fractured red copper ore vein.
• Kong Wenxuan and Kong Changgeng discovered that the Jade Slip recorded the forbidden technique A Hundred Birds Pay Homage to the Phoenix.

Kong Wenxuan destroyed the inheritance of A Hundred Birds Pay Homage to the Phoenix, warning Patriarch Kong Changgeng that using the forbidden technique could doom the Kong Household and that the Ya Household might be manipulating them. After Kong Changgeng reconsidered his greed, Kong Wenxuan vowed he could lead their Lineage to Eighth-Grade True Spirit status without the technique.

• Kong Wenxuan examined the inheritance and questioned why A Hundred Birds Pay Homage to the Phoenix had been forbidden if its ritual did not require slaughtering other Lineages.
• Patriarch Kong Changgeng urged the Kong Household to use the technique to reach Eighth-Grade True Spirit status.
• Kong Wenxuan crushed the inheritance Jade Slip and warned that using the forbidden technique could bring the Kong Household the same fate as the Cuckoo Du Household.
• Kong Wenxuan raised suspicions that the Fire Crow Ya Household might have planted or supplied the inheritance and could be planning to exploit the Kong Household.
• Patriarch Kong Changgeng admitted he had been too greedy, and Kong Wenxuan promised to raise their Lineage to Eighth-Grade True Spirit status without the forbidden technique.

Kong Wenxuan and the Kong Household arrived in Bifang Commandery City as a newly recognized Ninth-Grade True Spirit Lineage and chose to stay among other True Spirit cultivators in Pill Flame Ward. After settling in, they planned to seek a remedy for Kong Yushuo’s severed limb and sell their Demon Beast materials.

• Kong Wenxuan and four relatives entered Bifang Commandery City through the main gate, then followed Ya Zhaoying’s party to the commandery governor’s residence to deliver calling cards.
• The patriarch, Kong Changgeng, rejected Kong Wenzhang’s suggestion to stay in Gentle Wind Ward, explaining that their new standing made Pill Flame Ward more suitable.
• The Kong Household checked into a costly private courtyard in Pill Flame Ward, where True Spirit cultivators gathered and displayed their lineage status.
• Kong Changgeng planned to take Kong Yushuo to a pill pavilion to seek a pill that could regrow his severed limb.
• Kong Changlan took Kong Wenxuan and Kong Yujin to sell their Demon Beast materials, while Kong Wenzhang stayed behind to watch the courtyard.

Kong Wenxuan and Second Elder Kong Changlan sold Demon Beast materials in Bifang Commandery City and earned eighty thousand low-grade Spirit Stones. After learning that Eldest Uncle could buy either a Fourth-Tier Flesh Regeneration Pill or a more beneficial but costlier Fifth-Tier Nirvana Pill, Kong Wenxuan told the patriarch to secure the Nirvana Pill.

• Second Elder Kong Changlan took Kong Wenxuan and Second Aunt Kong Yujin around Bifang Commandery City to sell the Kong Household’s Demon Beast materials.
• The materials and half the meat from a Third-Tier Earth Dragon brought in eighty thousand low-grade Spirit Stones, bringing the household’s total funds to more than a hundred thousand.
• Kong Wenxuan messaged the patriarch to ask whether they had enough Spirit Stones to buy a pill that could regrow Eldest Uncle’s severed arm.
• The patriarch explained that the Fourth-Tier Flesh Regeneration Pill cost thirty thousand low-grade Spirit Stones, while the more restorative Fifth-Tier Nirvana Pill cost sixty thousand.
• Kong Wenxuan told the patriarch to secure the Nirvana Pill and promised to send the remaining Spirit Stones.

Kong Wenxuan helped his eldest uncle take a Fifth-Tier Nirvana Pill, then shopped with the second elder and Kong Yujin for Five Elements spirit materials and supplies. They secured the materials needed for Kong Wenxuan’s Second-Tier Divine Swords, but their remaining Spirit Stones were too few to cover all the clan’s needs or buy a Third-Tier defensive treasure formation.

• Kong Wenxuan and the Kong Household members pooled sixty thousand low-grade Spirit Stones to buy his eldest uncle a Fifth-Tier Nirvana Pill from a Bi Household shop.
• The clan leader took Kong Wenxuan’s eldest uncle to their rented courtyard, where he took the pill and began his nirvana transformation while the clan leader stood guard.
• Kong Wenxuan explained the Fire Element True Scripture to his eldest uncle, then left with the second elder and Kong Yujin to shop for Five Elements materials.
• Kong Wenxuan bought the Second-Tier earth and fire materials he needed, completing his stock of materials for advancing the Five Elements Divine Swords, and the group also bought First-Tier materials for the clan.
• The group spent fifteen thousand low-grade Spirit Stones on materials, leaving thirty-five thousand for pills, artifacts, talismans, formations, and other supplies.
• Kong Wenxuan considered buying a Third-Tier defensive treasure formation but set the idea aside because the remaining Spirit Stones were insufficient.

Kong Wenxuan and Patriarch Kong Changgeng visited Bifang Commandery’s offices and met Governor Bi, who recognized the Peacock Kong Household’s restored Ninth-Grade status. He asked whether they intended to return to the Central Domain and serve the Azure Luan Luan Household, leaving Kong Wenxuan to reflect on the lineage’s hidden history.

• Kong Wenxuan and Kong Changgeng waited at the commandery offices while Ya Zhaoying met privately with Governor Bi.
• Kong Wenxuan noticed that Ya Household members could readily offer talismans to officials, while the Kong Household had only gained the standing to do so after being admitted to the visitors’ hall.
• Governor Bi summoned Kong Wenxuan and Kong Changgeng and lifted them upright with an invisible force, revealing the gulf between their cultivations.
• Governor Bi praised the Kong Household for regaining Ninth-Grade status and asked whether it planned to return to the Central Domain to serve the Azure Luan Luan Household.
• Kong Wenxuan recalled that the Kong Household had fled the Central Domain after becoming entangled in power struggles within the Azure Luan Luan Household.

Kong Wenxuan received the official seal for the Kong Household’s new Peacock County and learned the duties of a county magistrate. He and Patriarch Kong Changgeng then reported the events in Cuckoo County to Commandery Governor Bi, who focused on the Demon Court’s involvement and the presence of Third-Tier Demons.

• Patriarch Kong Changgeng told Commandery Governor Bi that the Kong Household had settled in the Southern Region and wanted to establish another Peacock County.
• Commandery Governor Bi created a magistrate’s official seal, and Kong Wenxuan used the Peacock True Spirit Star to refine it and take control of it.
• Kong Wenxuan examined the seal’s powers and duties, while Commandery Governor Bi noticed that the Kong Household’s Peacock True Spirit Star was high-grade Ninth-Grade.
• Kong Wenxuan and Patriarch Kong Changgeng recounted what they had witnessed in Cuckoo County without sharing their suspicions about the Ya Household or the secret-realm inheritance.
• Kong Wenxuan confirmed that a Third-Tier Earth Dragon and a Third-Tier eagle Demon had fought at Demon-Suppressing Pass, and Commandery Governor Bi said the Demon Court needed another purge.

Kong Wenxuan learned how much autonomy the Kong Household would have as Peacock County’s ruling lineage and why the Demon Race drew the commandery governor’s attention. He returned to the inn and found that Kong Yushuo had completed his nirvana transformation, leaving him poised to advance toward Foundation Establishment.

• Commandery Governor Bi dismissed Kong Wenxuan and Patriarch Kong Changgeng after hearing their account of the Du Household’s calamity and the Demon Race’s appearance.
• Kong Wenxuan reflected that True Spirit Lineages had to conquer and defend their own territories, while their superiors generally intervened only against threats such as the Demon Race.
• Kong Wenxuan and Patriarch Kong Changgeng left the commandery office and planned to return with Ya Zhaoying’s party to protect their newly purchased supplies.
• Kong Wenxuan and his companion returned to the inn and discovered that Kong Yushuo had refined the Nirvana Pill, regrown his arm, and emerged from seclusion.
• Kong Wenxuan sensed that Kong Yushuo had gained an initial grasp of the Fire Element True Scripture and could soon prepare to attempt Foundation Establishment.

After Kong Yushuo recovered through a Nirvana Pill, the Kong Household celebrated while reflecting on the sacrifices the Crimson Plume Feather Fan had demanded and the hardships that built their lineage. The feast left Kong Wenxuan appreciating his elders’ contributions, even as he remained committed to sending them to the Demon-Suppressing Pass to strengthen their combat skills.

• Kong Changgeng celebrated Kong Yushuo’s recovery with a feast, where Kong Yushuo returned the Crimson Plume Feather Fan after severing his connection to it.
• Kong Changgeng said he hoped the lineage could seal away the blood-sacrifice artifact forever, while preserving it as a last resort if the Kong Household declined again.
• Kong Changlan, Kong Yushuo, Kong Yujin, Kong Wenzhang, and the others recalled the lineage’s wandering years, its battles with the Du Household, and the hardships of settling in Cuckoo County.
• Kong Yushuo, Kong Yujin, and their fellow Yu-generation cultivators remembered developing Peacock Ridge’s spirit-bamboo, spirit-bird, spirit-wine, and artifact industries through repeated failures and experiments.
• Kong Wenxuan recognized the elders’ contributions to the lineage’s growth but did not regret sending them to the Demon-Suppressing Pass to gain combat experience.

After celebrating Kong Wenxuan’s appointment as Peacock County magistrate, the Kong Household visited the Ya Household and arranged to return to Cuckoo Town with them after a few days. Kong Wenxuan and Kong Changgeng also introduced the Kong Household to the True Spirit Lineages of the other three counties, beginning their dealings as peers.

• At the feast, Kong Changgeng played a bamboo flute while Kong Yujin and other relatives performed the Peacock Dance beneath starlight summoned by Kong Wenzhang.
• The next day, Kong Changgeng and Kong Wenxuan visited Ya Zhaoying, presented gifts, and agreed to wait a few days before returning with the Ya Household.
• Ya Zhaoying advised them to visit the commandery city residences of the other counties’ True Spirit Lineages.
• Kong Wenxuan and Kong Changgeng prepared gifts and visited the Jiao, He, and Fu Households, whose representatives showed that they already knew about the Kong Household.
• The Kong Household introduced itself respectfully to the three lineages, establishing the first courtesies between future peers.

After returning to Peacock Ridge, the Kong Household celebrated its gains and reassured its three servant cultivator Lineages that it would delay expanding Peacock County. A Bifang True Spirit Star then appeared above Cuckoo Town and sent Dao Soldiers toward Demon-Suppressing Pass, prompting Kong Wenxuan and the patriarchs to hurry there.

• Ya Zhaoying escorted the five Kong Household members back to Cuckoo Town, where they returned to Peacock Ridge with their purchases and celebrated Kong Yushuo's healed arm and the Peacock County Magistrate's Official Seal.
• Yan Zhiyu, Ma Zhenyu, and Yun Qishen visited the Kong Household, and Patriarch Kong Changgeng assured them that expansion would wait three to five years while the Lineages recovered and the southern mountains were investigated.
• Kong Wenxuan heard strange birdcalls while refining the White Metal Divine Sword, but the Peacock True Spirit's cry in his Sea of Consciousness roused him from visions of Calamity Fire.
• Kong Wenxuan saw the Bifang True Spirit Star appear in the sky and watched its starlight transport Bifang Dao Soldiers toward the south, in the direction of Demon-Suppressing Pass.
• Kong Wenxuan asked to borrow the Feather Boat, and Patriarch Kong Changgeng took him and the Yan, Ma, and Yun patriarchs toward Demon-Suppressing Pass.