Chapter Summaries

Kong Wenxuan and the others reached Demon-Suppressing Pass as the Bifang Bi Household attacked the Demon Race in the southern mountains. A Nascent Soul Lightning Tribulation revealed that a demon was attempting to advance to the Fifth Tier, leaving the surrounding households waiting anxiously to learn whether it would survive.

• Kong Wenxuan and the others arrived at Demon-Suppressing Pass and saw Ya Zhaoying and the Ya Household watching the Bifang Bi Household's forces sweep through the southern mountains.
• Kong Wenxuan recognized that the Bifang Bi Household had launched an assault to clear out the Demon Race.
• Ya Zhaoying and Kong Wenxuan saw tribulation clouds gather over the mountains, signaling that a demon was attempting to break through to the Fifth Tier.
• Kong Wenxuan inferred that the Demon Race had used its invasion of Cuckoo County to gather bloodline cultivators and their corpses as offerings for the breakthrough.
• Kong Wenxuan, the household patriarchs, Ya Zhaoying, and the Ya Household watched the lightning tribulation, fearing the consequences if the demon survived and escaped.

Ya Zhaoying defended Demon-Suppressing Pass against a vast Demon Beast tide using the Fire Crow Divine Fire Shield formation. The tide continued to grow, but its beasts and birds could not get past her wall of flame.

• A lightning tribulation and the Bi Household's hunt drove countless Demon Beasts and demonic birds from the southern mountains toward Demon-Suppressing Pass.
• Ya Zhaoying ordered the formation raised and refused to retreat, determined to protect Cuckoo Town and her control of its resources.
• Ya Zhaoying invited Kong Wenxuan and his companion to shelter inside the pass, and they brought the Yan, Ma, and Yun Households with them.
• Ya Zhaoying combined her Golden Bell Treasure Artifact with the formation and gathered nine hundred Fire Crow Clones into six enormous scarlet-gold Fire Crows.
• The six Fire Crows unleashed a sea of flame that burned or turned away the approaching Demon Beasts and demonic birds, while Kong Wenxuan watched from within the pass.

Kong Wenxuan watched a Fifth Tier demon survive its lightning tribulation and feared it would threaten the Demon-Suppressing Pass. The Bi Household’s True Lord slew the demon, and the beast tide retreated as the Bi Household army withdrew.

• Kong Wenxuan realized the Fire Crow Divine Fire Shield array could hold off the beast tide unless a Fourth Tier threat intervened, and he watched the Fifth Tier demon’s tribulation anxiously.
• The demon survived the final lightning strike, leaving Kong Wenxuan and the others to fear that it might escape and force their clans to flee.
• The Bifang True Spirit Star sent starlight and a figure into the mountains, where the newly ascended demon roared and fought back.
• A cyan-and-yellow death phenomenon erupted, confirming that the Bi Household’s True Lord had slain the Fifth Tier demon.
• The Bi Household army withdrew from the southern mountains, and the beast tide stopped charging the Demon-Suppressing Pass and fled back into the mountains.

After the Demon Beasts’ attack on Demon-Suppressing Pass ended, Ya Zhaoying ventured into the southern mountains to search the Fifth Tier battlefield for remnants, while Kong Wenxuan stayed behind. Seeing the chance to claim land after the Demon Race’s defeat, the Kong Household decided to prepare for opening Peacock County in three to five years.

• Ya Zhaoying shut down the Fire Crow Divine Fire Shield and rode into the southern mountains to search the battlefield where the Bi Household True Lord had slain a Fifth Tier Demon Race member.
• Kong Wenxuan considered following her to gather resources from the Flying Peaks, but Kong Changgeng warned him that the mountains remained dangerous.
• Kong Wenxuan agreed not to venture out, recognizing that he lacked Ya Zhaoying’s cultivation and protection and could encounter powerful Demon Beasts.
• Kong Wenxuan told Kong Changgeng that the Bi Household’s victory had made future settlement in the southern mountains more feasible for the Kong Household.
• Kong Changgeng confirmed that the Kong Household planned to open up territory and build Peacock County after waiting three to five years for the mountains to settle and for the household to prepare.

After returning to Peacock Ridge, Kong Wenxuan and the Kong Household prepared for their planned campaign into the southern mountains by strengthening their cultivators, bloodlines, and Peacock Dao Soldiers. Kong Wenxuan secluded himself to refine his divine swords, but emerged a year later when his eldest uncle, Kong Yushuo, was ready to attempt Foundation Establishment.

• Kong Wenxuan and the others returned to Peacock Ridge after the Fifth Tier Demon Race member was slain and the Demon Beast tide dispersed.
• Yan Zhiyu, Ma Zhenyu, and Yun Qishen left with their clansmen to prepare their lineages for the Kong Household's future campaign into the southern mountains.
• Kong Wenxuan and Kong Changgeng assigned the Kong Household to strengthen its cultivators, encourage Foundation Establishment breakthroughs, awaken more bloodline cultivators, raise Peacock Spirit Birds, and investigate the southern mountains.
• Kong Changgeng assigned Kong Wenxuan to cultivate in seclusion and improve his cultivation and Five Elements Divine Swords.
• Kong Wenxuan spent a year refining the White Metal Divine Sword with Second Tier Red Copper spirit material, then emerged when Kong Yushuo was preparing to attempt Foundation Establishment.

Kong Yushuo attempted the Foundation Establishment breakthrough under Kong Wenxuan and Kong Changgeng’s watch, successfully reaching the Second Tier Foundation Establishment Stage. He defeated the Peacock Bloodline’s Demonic Nature Backlash with his sword path, becoming the Kong Household’s third Foundation Establishment cultivator.

• Kong Changgeng asked Kong Wenxuan to interrupt his secluded cultivation and guard Kong Yushuo in case the breakthrough triggered a dangerous Demonic Nature Backlash.
• Kong Yushuo summoned the Peacock True Spirit, absorbed Spiritual Qi, and broke through to the Second Tier Foundation Establishment Stage, opening his Sea of Consciousness and gaining Spiritual Consciousness.
• Kong Yushuo’s Demonic Nature Backlash erupted, and Kong Wenxuan readied the Crimson Fire Divine Sword in case he had to stop him from turning into a Demon Beast.
• Kong Yushuo used his sword intent to eliminate the Demonic Nature Backlash, and the Peacock True Spirit returned to its star.
• Kong Wenxuan congratulated Kong Yushuo, and Kong Changgeng praised him as the Kong Household’s third Foundation Establishment cultivator.

After two years in seclusion, Kong Wenxuan refined the White Metal Divine Sword into a Second Tier Spirit Artifact, and his cultivation advanced to the Foundation Establishment Early Stage. He left seclusion eager to test the sword, but had no suitable opponent at hand.

• Kong Wenxuan secluded himself to refine the White Metal Divine Sword and strengthen his cultivation while Eldest Uncle and the clan leader oversaw other clansmen's Foundation Establishment attempts.
• After more than three years of refinement, Kong Wenxuan used the final spiritual restriction to make the White Metal Divine Sword consume the last piece of red copper.
• The White Metal Divine Sword advanced to a Second Tier Spirit Artifact, and Kong Wenxuan's cultivation stabilized at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.
• Kong Wenxuan tested the sword's Golden Light Sword Thread and found it sharper, longer, and more flexible, though he could not determine its true combat strength without a worthy opponent.
• Kong Wenxuan returned the sword to his Dantian Qi sea and ended his seclusion, joking that a keen divine sword had no opponent to test its edge against.

Kong Wenxuan emerged from seclusion to find the Kong Household grieving after Fourth Uncle Kong Yuzhen failed his Foundation Establishment breakthrough and became a Demon Beast. The chapter recounted how the older generation’s breakthroughs had brought three successes and three failures over two years.

• First elder Kong Changsen failed his Foundation Establishment breakthrough and was left gravely injured but alive.
• Second elder Kong Changlan succeeded, while third elder Kong Changfeng failed, degenerated into a Demon Beast, and was slain by the patriarch and Kong Changlan.
• Third Aunt Kong Yuyin and Second Aunt Kong Yujin each succeeded in their first attempts after changing their cultivation methods.
• Fourth Uncle Kong Yuzhen failed his breakthrough, degenerated into a Demon Beast, and was slain, plunging the Kong Household into grief.
• Kong Wenxuan emerged from seclusion smiling and found the household mourning.

After emerging from seclusion, Kong Wenxuan learned that the Kong Household had grown to six Foundation Establishment cultivators but was running low on the resources that had fueled its rapid development. The elders urged the Lineage to begin expanding into the southern mountains within a year, before it went bankrupt.

• Kong Wenxuan congratulated the elders and aunts on advancing to Foundation Establishment, and told them he had raised the White Metal Divine Sword to a Second Tier Spirit Artifact and stabilized his cultivation.
• The council noted that Kong Yushuo was absent while scouting the southern mountains for a suitable place to establish Peacock County.
• Kong Changlan reported that the Lineage had 169 cultivators, including six Foundation Establishment cultivators, while most newly awakened bloodline members were still too inexperienced to fight.
• Kong Yujin and Kong Yuyin explained that the Lineage’s limited battlefield strength and dwindling supplies made it unable to wait decades for its cultivators to mature.
• Kong Yuyin urged the Lineage to launch a war of expansion within a year to secure spiritual land and resources, especially the Second Tier Five Elements materials needed by Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Kong Wenxuan learned that the Kong Household’s improved bloodline awakenings and cultivation speed had rapidly depleted its supplies, forcing it to plan an expansion war. The patriarch revealed three candidate territories and began describing the first, a broad settlement site whose central peak was occupied by a Third-Tier Green-Winged Eagle king.

• Kong Changgeng explained that the Kong Household’s resources had been consumed faster than expected and that the Lineage needed to expand soon.
• Kong Wenxuan agreed to the expansion war, reasoning that the Household’s six Foundation Establishment cultivators could handle the dangers in the southern mountains.
• Kong Changgeng activated an Illusory Jade Slip and showed Kong Wenxuan a map of three candidate expansion sites gathered by Yushuo.
• Kong Changgeng presented the first candidate, a lone peak amid plains and low hills that could anchor a large settlement.
• Kong Changgeng explained that a flock of Green-Winged Eagles occupied the peak and that their Third-Tier eagle king had kept Yushuo from investigating its resources.

Kong Wenxuan considered three possible sites for the Kong Household’s new territory and favored a mountain formation centered on a Flying Peak, but its unknown population of powerful Demon Beasts made its capture perilous. He postponed choosing until he could inspect all three sites in the southern mountains himself.

• The patriarch described the second site, a lake and mountain range rich in resources but occupied by a Third Tier Stone Disc Turtle.
• Kong Wenxuan examined the third site, whose five peaks suited the Kong Household’s Five Elements True Scripture and could support a county seat and protective formations.
• The patriarch explained that the central Flying Peak’s dense Spiritual Qi attracted thousands of Demon Beasts, with possible Third Tier or Fourth Tier beasts or members of the Demon Race among them.
• Kong Wenxuan decided to visit all three sites before making a final choice, and the patriarch and the others agreed.

Kong Wenxuan visited the gravely injured Grand Elder Kong Changsen at the Lineage school and recounted his Star Inlaying journey to the students and teachers. He left understanding that the Kong Household was rushing to build its territory and county seat partly to fulfill the Grand Elder’s wish before he died.

• Kong Wenxuan visited Grand Elder Kong Changsen at the Lineage school and saw that the Grand Elder’s vigorous appearance masked his steadily worsening injuries.
• Grand Elder Kong Changsen reminisced with Kong Wenxuan about the Lineage and asked him to teach the school’s children.
• Kong Wenxuan told the children and gathered teachers about his Star Inlaying, battles, and achievements, delighting and astonishing his audience.
• Kong Wenxuan left the school and realized that the Kong Household’s efforts to build its territory and county seat were partly meant to fulfill Grand Elder Kong Changsen’s unspoken wish.

Kong Wenxuan paid his respects to two relatives who had died after failing to establish their foundations, then left the ancestral land to meet Kong Yushuo at Demon-Suppressing Pass. His difficult journey on the Crimson Fire Divine Sword reinforced his concern that the Lineage needed more Feather Boats to develop its new territory.

• Kong Wenxuan visited the graves of Third Elder Kong Changfeng and Fourth Uncle Kong Yuzhen in the secret realm fragment and offered fruit before leaving.
• He reflected on the deaths that awaited the Lineage as it grew, then set aside his grief and focused on leading his clansmen toward a brighter future.
• Kong Wenxuan said farewell to the patriarch and his family and departed for Demon-Suppressing Pass to meet Kong Yushuo and inspect three potential sites in the southern mountains.
• Without the Lineage's Second Tier Feather Boat, Kong Wenxuan traveled on the Crimson Fire Divine Sword, taking nearly four days and stopping to recover his Law Power and Spiritual Consciousness.
• Kong Wenxuan considered the Lineage's need for more Feather Boats and entered Demon-Suppressing Pass after passing inspection.

Three years after the Fifth Tier battle, Demon-Suppressing Pass had grown into a bustling hub as cultivators flocked to search the southern mountains for resources. Kong Wenxuan reunited with Kong Yushuo, who described the mountains’ renewed disorder and hinted that his nickname, the Lesser Thunderclap Swordsman, came from clashes with other cultivators.

• Demon-Suppressing Pass prospered as lineage teams and cultivators from across Bifang Commandery gathered to explore the southern mountains.
• Kong Wenxuan met his eldest uncle, Kong Yushuo, at the Wine-Boiling Restaurant after two years apart.
• Kong Yushuo said he had cultivated the Crimson Fire Divine Sword and earned the name Lesser Thunderclap Swordsman.
• Kong Yushuo explained that Demon Beasts had fought over territory and resources after the Fifth Tier battle, and that cultivators had recently returned to the mountains seeking treasures.
• Kong Yushuo warned that some cultivators turned bandit and robbed rival lineages, then revealed that he had earned his nickname by fighting cultivators rather than Demon Beasts.

Kong Wenxuan and Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo left Demon-Suppressing Pass to assess whether the Kong Household could safely expand into the southern mountains. They learned that wild bloodline lineages had survived the recent calamities, but rumors about their supposed gains were stirring up threats, leaving Kong Wenxuan doubtful that expansion was wise.

• Kong Yushuo admitted he was torn between launching an expansion war and the Kong Household’s dwindling funds, and asked Kong Wenxuan to inspect the southern mountains.
• Kong Wenxuan and Kong Yushuo flew openly out of Demon-Suppressing Pass aboard the Feather Boat to survey the territory.
• Kong Wenxuan saw settlements of wild bloodline lineages and asked how they had survived the Demon Race’s invasion and the Demon Beast tide.
• Kong Yushuo explained that some lineages had fled while others hid, then returned after the calamity and recovered resources from abandoned sites.
• Kong Yushuo revealed that rumors portraying the wild lineages as early scavengers were being spread to make other forces covet their supposed riches.
• Kong Wenxuan worried that an expansion campaign could likewise provoke rumors and invite attacks on the Kong Household.

Kong Wenxuan and Kong Yushuo traveled into the southern mountains to inspect a possible site for Peacock County, weighing its resources against the risks of its proximity to Demon-Suppressing Pass. Their first candidate seemed promising but was already Kong Wenxuan’s least favorite when a hidden array trapped them in the hills.

• Kong Yushuo warned Kong Wenxuan to stay cautious in the southern mountains, and they avoided a noisy battle between cultivators and a Demon Beast.
• Kong Wenxuan considered how expanding the Kong Household’s territory could solve its financial problems, then accompanied Kong Yushuo to inspect the first candidate site for Peacock County.
• Kong Wenxuan judged the site’s terrain favorable but worried that its proximity to Demon-Suppressing Pass could bring the Kong Household into conflict with the Ya Household.
• Kong Wenxuan sensed a spiritual-power fluctuation while they inspected the hills and tried to escape with Kong Yushuo.
• A concealed array activated around Kong Wenxuan and Kong Yushuo, trapping them beneath a dome of light charged with lightning and flames.

Kong Wenxuan used his upgraded White Metal Divine Sword to escape a Lightning-Fire Spirit Formation and kill a Foundation Establishment attacker. Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo defeated another attacker with the Crimson Fire Divine Sword, revealing the fighting style he had developed over the past two years.

• Kong Wenxuan cut through the Second Tier Lightning-Fire Spirit Formation with the White Metal Divine Sword, and he and Kong Yushuo escaped its explosion on the Crimson Fire Divine Sword.
• Kong Wenxuan attacked the ambushers and killed a burly Foundation Establishment cultivator after his sword threads bypassed the man's shield and sliced through his weapons, armor, and body.
• Kong Yushuo's Crimson Fire Divine Sword was stopped by another Foundation Establishment cultivator's defensive armor, prompting Kong Wenxuan to prepare to assist him.
• Kong Yushuo used Peacock Spreads Its Tail to disrupt his opponent's defenses, then repeatedly struck the same point with the Crimson Fire Divine Sword and killed him.
• Kong Wenxuan recognized that Kong Yushuo had developed a combat style combining illusion techniques with rapid, repeated sword strikes.

Kong Wenxuan and Kong Yushuo defeated an ambush by cultivators from wild bloodline lineages outside Demon-Suppressing Pass. As they considered why the lineages had attacked, Kong Wenxuan suspected someone was framing the Kong Household and deliberately sowing discord.

• Kong Yushuo used his Crimson Fire Divine Sword's rapid attacks to kill two Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Kong Wenxuan trapped the last Foundation Establishment attacker in an illusion and killed him with a flurry of sword strikes.
• Kong Yushuo's Crimson Fire Divine Sword cut down the dozen or so Qi Refinement cultivators following the attackers.
• Kong Wenxuan and Kong Yushuo searched the bodies and gathered their Law Artifacts, Spirit Artifacts, and Storage Bags.
• Kong Yushuo explained that the attackers were likely wild bloodline cultivators who had suffered losses to him in the southern mountains.
• Kong Wenxuan suggested the attackers might believe the Kong Household was targeting their ancestral lands, and warned that someone might be framing the household to sow discord.

Kong Wenxuan and Kong Yushuo considered who might be spreading rumors to turn the Kong Household against the wild-bloodline lineages, then abandoned their ruined first candidate site and headed for the second. They left cautiously after the battle disturbed the Green-Winged Eagles on Lone Peak.

• Kong Wenxuan listed possible conspirators behind the rumors, including the Du Household, the Ya Household, rival lineages, and surviving members of the Demon Race.
• Kong Yushuo resolved to investigate who had spread the rumors after they returned, while Kong Wenxuan suggested they might exploit the situation for their own gain.
• Kong Yushuo burned the slain cultivators’ corpses, following the southern mountains’ custom of preventing Demon Beasts from feeding on them.
• Kong Wenxuan and Kong Yushuo found that the first candidate resource site had been harvested and ruined, but salvaged components from the damaged second-tier Lightning-Fire Spirit Formation.
• After Green-Winged Eagles flew out around Lone Peak, the pair avoided approaching it and left on the Crimson Fire Divine Sword before later taking the concealed Feather Boat toward the second candidate site.

Kong Wenxuan and Kong Yushuo surveyed the second candidate site, Crescent Moon Lake and its surrounding mountain range, finding it well positioned and rich in resources. They left the Second Tier Demon Beasts alive to guard the sites and reached the lake, where Kong Yushuo believed a Stone Disc Turtle was the only Third Tier Demon Beast.

• Kong Wenxuan judged the second candidate site’s distance from Demon-Suppressing Pass to be suitable for the Kong Household’s future expansion and trade.
• Kong Yushuo circled the site with Kong Wenxuan to check for traps and formations before entering.
• Kong Wenxuan inspected the mountain range, found the Shoushan Stone deposit and other resources, and collected samples.
• Kong Wenxuan and Kong Yushuo encountered several Second Tier Demon Beasts but left them alive to guard the resource sites.
• Kong Wenxuan and Kong Yushuo descended to Crescent Moon Lake, where Kong Yushuo recalled seeing a Stone Disc Turtle and suspected it was the lake’s only Third Tier Demon Beast.