Chapter Summaries

Su Yao broke through the Lu Household’s formation, killed the Lake God of Cibi Lake’s chancellor, and rejected Zheng Xuanzhi’s warning about the consequences of attacking the Lu Household. The chapter left Zheng Xuanzhi stunned by Su Yao’s claims about Qixia Temple and its ties to powerful figures.

• Su Yao’s decree battered the Lu Household’s formation, forcing its elders to activate an ancestral formation that protected only the main peak and three nearby peaks.
• Su Yao confronted the Lake God of Cibi Lake’s chancellor, who claimed the lake god was the nephew of the Dragon King of the South Sea.
• Su Yao used Glow Ashes to pierce the chancellor’s water defense and destroy him, then challenged anyone else to come to the Lu Household’s aid.
• Zheng Xuanzhi of the Vast Righteousness Academy urged Su Yao to spare the Lu Household and warned that Lu Shang’s ties to the Langcao Wu Tribe could bring retaliation.
• Su Yao dismissed the warnings and claimed that Qixia Temple could call on the South Sea Dragon Palace’s crown prince, leaving Zheng Xuanzhi astonished.

Su Yao used a thunder talisman and a flaw in White Sand Mountain’s weakened formation to enter it, intent on bringing down the Lu Household. He struck at the patriarch as soon as he appeared, and his sword pierced the old man’s chest.

• Zheng Xuanzhi restored the damage near White Sand Town and left after Su Yao promised not to slaughter mortals but declared the Lu Household must fall.
• Su Yao studied the weakened mountain-guarding formation and used his prism to identify a flaw left by its creator.
• Observers in the Great Void mocked Su Yao and argued over Yin Zhangluo’s interest in his grandson.
• Su Yao threw an arousing-thunder talisman at the formation’s flaw, opening a gap that let him enter White Sand Mountain.
• Su Yao appeared beside the Lu Household patriarch, blocked his token’s fire with Draped in Rosy Radiance, and pierced his chest with the Zhengji sword.

Su Yao overwhelmed the Lu Household’s cultivators, forcing them to rely on their combined fire array. As Su Yao walked unharmed through its flames, the middle-aged woman sacrificed the gathered cultivators’ power to launch a deadly attack and urge Lu Shang to flee.

• Su Yao killed the old man, then split Lu Shang’s witch spear and broke through the middle-aged woman’s pillar of fire.
• Lu Shang blocked Su Yao’s Glow Ashes with a protective Spirit Artifact, while the Lu Household cultivators attacked Su Yao together.
• Su Yao unleashed a rain of rosy light that killed seven cultivators, and the survivors gathered around the ancient seal to form a fire array.
• Su Yao resisted the sea of flames and walked toward the Lu Household, while the middle-aged woman told Lu Shang to find his maternal grandfather.
• The middle-aged woman sacrificed the remaining cultivators to absorb their power and knowledge, then hurled a sphere of dark red light at Su Yao.

Su Yao destroyed the Lu Household after Lu Shang’s mother failed to stop him and Lu Shang fled to the rear mountain. When Lu Shang’s grandfather intervened, a giant crow protected Su Yao, who then killed Lu Shang and left the mountain.

• Su Yao used the Great Yin Dharma Robe to evade the middle-aged woman’s Witch Technique, and she died after urging Lu Shang to run.
• Su Yao collected the woman’s ancient seal, then pursued Lu Shang to a cave in the rear mountain and broke through its formation with Glow Ashes.
• Su Yao killed the two Foundation Establishment cultivators and the Qi Refinement cultivators hiding with Lu Shang, then wore down Lu Shang’s Spirit Artifact with Glow Ashes.
• Lu Shang’s grandfather sent a scarlet hand to intervene, but a giant crow appeared, dispersed the attack, and vanished into the Great Void.
• Su Yao defeated Lu Shang’s failing shield and killed him with Zhengji before turning toward the horizon where the crow had disappeared.

Su Yao prepared to confront the remaining Lu Household cultivators as Gui Hong battled two powerful opponents in the Great Void. Gui Hong revealed a Lesser Yang Law Treasure, forcing nearby Purple Mansion cultivators to flee, while onlookers learned that a Langcao Wu Tribe cultivator had tried to capture Su Yao.

• Su Yao recognized Gui Hong as a crow born from True Lord Xicheng’s Essence Blood and took Clear Breeze to deal with the Lu clansmen remaining on the main peak.
• Gui Hong fought a blood-red figure and a cyan figure in the Great Void, driving them back with rosy light.
• Li Chaoxue discussed Qixia Temple’s powerful cultivators with a burly man and an old man, then began retching after speaking too freely.
• Gui Hong transformed into a gigantic white-lit crow and unleashed a Lesser Yang Law Treasure, making the nearby Purple Mansion cultivators flee.
• Li Chaoxue asked the fleeing burly man what had provoked Gui Hong, and he said a Langcao Wu Tribe Purple Mansion cultivator had come to capture Su Yao.

A Hepu Witch Tribe woman ambushed Su Yao while he flew toward Golden Ao Mountain, but Nuoli arrived and captured her. In the Great Void, Mystic Crow's white light continued clashing with the scarlet light, while Nanzhao's leaders fled after recognizing that a Law Treasure had been used.

• Scarlet light swept across the battlefield, leaving Yin Zhangluo with only his head and Liu Zhiyuan with half his body as it clashed with Mystic Crow's white light.
• Su Yao killed the Lu Household on White Sand Mountain, took its resources, and flew toward Golden Ao Mountain.
• A Purple Mansion woman pursued Su Yao and revealed that she sought revenge for her ancestors and tribespeople, whom Qixia Temple had killed five hundred years earlier.
• Nuoli appeared, pinned the woman with his great marsh, pierced her with his spear, and sealed her in a jar.
• Meng Shixi and Duan Mingnan recognized the Great Void clash as involving a Law Treasure and hurried toward Nanzhao.

Li Siyi and Liu Yunhe worried that they could not help Su Yao, then witnessed signs that two Witch-path True Persons had fallen near White Sand Mountain. Su Yao returned safely and entered seclusion, leaving them to watch the battle in the sky, where a black-clad youth appeared outside his cave abode.

• Li Siyi lamented her failure to help Su Yao, and Liu Yunhe reassured her that she had tried her best.
• A crimson blood pillar and a murky yellow pillar descended near White Sand Mountain, which Li Siyi and Liu Yunhe recognized as signs of the deaths of a Witch Talisman True Person and an Earth Witch True Person.
• Little Red and Little Orange flew toward White Sand Mountain, and Su Yao arrived at Golden Ao Mountain unharmed.
• Su Yao entered seclusion and ordered Li Siyi and Liu Yunhe to watch the struggle between the Shao Yang light and crimson bloodlight.
• As Li Siyi and Liu Yunhe kept watch outside Su Yao's cave abode, a black-clad youth surrounded by Shao Yang light appeared before them.

After recovering from his injuries, Su Yao inventoried the spoils from the Lu Household and discovered Gui Hong had been keeping watch while making Liu Yunhe and the others serve him. Gui Hong said his fight with the forces behind the Langcao Wu Tribe was not over, leaving Su Yao waiting to learn how long Gui Hong would stay.

• Su Yao finished recovering, examined the Lu Household's Storage Bag, and found Spirit Artifacts, Supreme-Grade Law Artifacts, medicines, and Cultivation Methods.
• Su Yao looked outside and saw Gui Hong lounging while Liu Yunhe roasted meat and Li Siyi massaged his legs, with Little Red and Little Orange fanning the flames.
• Su Yao emerged and confronted Gui Hong, who teased him before Su Yao apologized after Gui Hong held up two fingers.
• Su Yao asked whether matters involving the Langcao Wu Tribe had been settled, and Gui Hong said he had killed two early-stage True Persons and injured a Great True Person.
• Gui Hong said the conflict was not over and explained that no one wanted the Earth Witch and Witch Talisman paths to remain in the Witchcraft Dao; Su Yao asked how much longer Gui Hong would stay.

Su Yao discovered that Little Red and Little Orange had stolen several spirit treasures and punished them by confiscating their food. After cultivating for three days, he met Han Ziyi, whom Gui Hong had brought to Nanzhao, while Gui Hong left to attend to other matters.

• Gui Hong said he would assemble a Purple Mansion formation for Su Yao's cave abode and took Su Yao's chain and shield to refine.
• Su Yao learned from Liu Yunhe and Li Siyi that two True Persons had fallen, then ordered Little Red and Little Orange into his cave.
• Su Yao discovered the birds had stolen the Spirit Omens Mystery-Inquiring Tube, the Nine Heavens Auspicious Cloud Banner, and the Flame Domain Flowing Fire Umbrella, and confiscated their food for a month.
• Su Yao sent spirit fruits to Liu Yunhe and Li Siyi, then cultivated with a Crimson Heart Pill for three days.
• Gui Hong brought Han Ziyi of the Blackwater Han Household to Su Yao, then departed to attend to important matters.

Su Yao learned why Han Ziyi and Gui Hong had come to Nanzhao and used divination to consider the dangers surrounding his new branch residence. He named it Pear Garden but ordered the name and its signs kept secret for now.

• Han Ziyi told Su Yao that he and Gui Hong had stayed at Shika Mountain, where Gui Hong had fought off monks and captured a black flood dragon before bringing Han Ziyi to Nanzhao.
• Su Yao thanked Han Ziyi and sent him with Liu Yunhe to choose a cave abode.
• Li Siyi reported that construction on the temple and palace buildings was progressing well and asked what to name the branch residence.
• Su Yao divined three Xun lots and concluded that he would need to proceed through gradual infiltration amid Nanzhao’s competing powers.
• Su Yao named the branch residence Pear Garden, kept Golden Ao Mountain’s name unchanged, and told Li Siyi to conceal the names and leave the plaques and couplets blank.

Su Yao showed his companions around the completed Pear Garden and assigned Liu Yunhe and Li Siyi responsibilities while postponing the mountain’s opening until Gui Hong returned to establish a protective formation. As they rested on Golden Ao Mountain, a visitor approached, and Su Yao sent Liu Yunhe to escort them up.

• Su Yao gave Liu Yunhe a Life-Blooming Pill and praised him for managing Pear Garden’s affairs.
• Han Ziyi asked when they would open the mountain, but Su Yao said they would wait for Gui Hong to establish a Purple Mansion grand formation and postpone the decision until after the New Year.
• Han Ziyi revealed that Gui Hong had said the immortal sects and Dao lineages would head south to Nanzhao once Su Yao opened his residence.
• Su Yao assigned Liu Yunhe to manage external affairs and Li Siyi to organize the Lu Household’s cultivation methods and texts.
• At the mountain pavilion, Liu Yunhe spotted a visitor approaching, and Su Yao sent him down to bring the guest up.

Zheng Xuanzhi visited Su Yao to congratulate him on the new Pear Garden and ask whether he would exchange White Sand Mountain for a Purple Mansion-grade Fu Water spirit object on behalf of Confucian scholars from Langqiong Zhao. Su Yao refused for now, citing his own plans and concerns about the scholars’ motives, but left open the possibility of discussing it after the mountain gate opened.

• Liu Yunhe welcomed Zheng Xuanzhi to Golden Ao Mountain and Han Ziyi led him to meet Su Yao.
• Su Yao dismissed Liu Yunhe, Han Ziyi, and Li Siyi so he and Zheng Xuanzhi could speak privately.
• Zheng Xuanzhi offered Su Yao a complete Purple Mansion-grade Fu Water spirit object in exchange for White Sand Mountain.
• Su Yao refused the exchange, explaining that he had other plans for White Sand Mountain and needed to guard against the Lu Household’s relatives and allies.
• Zheng Xuanzhi denied that the scholars sought revenge for the Lu Household, and Su Yao said they could discuss the matter again after the mountain gate opened.

Su Yao discovered a prophecy that Proclaiming Earth would move south and bring great upheaval, then organized his followers to gather intelligence and prepare for Qixia Temple’s mountain gate opening. A white-haired figure eliminated a Great Void watcher who had grown greedy over the wooden box and appeared outside Su Yao’s cave.

• Su Yao read the wooden box’s new poem and interpreted it as a sign that Earth Virtue and Qixia Temple’s Dao lineages would enter Nanzhao amid coming upheaval.
• Su Yao assigned Han Ziyi to investigate local signs and Earth Virtue cultivators, Liu Yunhe to compile a list of nearby factions, and Li Siyi to patrol the area.
• Su Yao gave Han Ziyi a copied Daoist talismanic decree, the Black Armor Golden Screen to Li Siyi, and the Scarlet Jiao Lock to Liu Yunhe, while Little Red and Little Orange joined their tasks.
• After teaching Han Ziyi how to use the decree, Su Yao returned alone to his cave abode.
• A Great Void watcher lost the ability to monitor Su Yao when the wooden box appeared and tried to seize it, but a white-haired figure made him vanish and collected his treasures.
• The white-haired figure appeared outside Su Yao’s cave abode on Golden Ao Mountain.

True Person Mianning visited Golden Ao Mountain and spoke with Su Yao, whose unusual resistance and outstanding talent for Law Techniques caught his attention. Mianning left the conversation promising to teach Gui Hong another lesson when they next met.

• True Person Mianning’s arrival put every living being within a hundred li to sleep, and Su Yao resisted the force compelling him to leave his cave.
• Su Yao recognized Mianning as the Young Master of Jade Void Palace, changed into Qixia Daoist robes, and greeted him before they walked down the mountain.
• Mianning compared Cibi Lake with other famed lakes and asked why Gui Hong had not set up the formation.
• Mianning said he had come to see the person favored by the Rainbow Cloud Fruition and praised Su Yao’s Immortal Foundation and talent for Law Techniques.
• Su Yao mentioned Gui Hong’s fear of Mianning, and Mianning recalled plucking Gui Hong’s black feathers before vowing to teach him a proper lesson next time.

Mianning questioned whether Su Yao had exterminated the Lu Household in a fit of anger or after weighing the consequences, and offered a wager over his answer. Su Yao told the Mind-Clarifying Mirror that he had acted deliberately to protect his disciples and secure Proclaiming Earth's journey south, and accepted sole responsibility as he awaited its judgment.

• Mianning recounted Jingxuan's criticism of Su Yao for killing every cultivator in the Lu Household and condemning the family from entering the Dao for twenty years.
• Mianning revealed that he, Jingxuan, and Jiangzhen had wagered precious treasures on whether Su Yao's actions were calculated or impulsive.
• Su Yao answered the Mind-Clarifying Mirror that he had considered the consequences and would accept punishment from any authority.
• Su Yao argued that he had destroyed the Lu Household to deter future attacks, protect his disciples, and keep Proclaiming Earth's journey south undisturbed.
• Su Yao declared that he alone would bear the blame and waited for the mirror's judgment.

Mianning rewarded Su Yao for his answers beneath the Mind-Clarifying Mirror by inscribing plaques and couplets for the Pear Garden and setting up a powerful mountain-protecting formation. He then asked Su Yao to fight a Foundation Establishment cultivator, promising to remove the demonic seed from Su Yao’s Qi sea if he won, and took him into the Great Void.

• Mianning praised Su Yao and inscribed plaques and couplets for the Pear Garden, including a warning for visitors not to disturb the retreat.
• Mianning summoned Yellow Turban Strongmen to set up a Fallen Soul Formation on Golden Ao Mountain, using the Flame Domain Flowing Fire Umbrella and a replica of the Soul-Dropping Bell as its foundation.
• Mianning explained that the formation could confuse and weaken intruders while protecting the mountain without taking lives.
• Mianning asked Su Yao to represent his Dao lineage in a Foundation Establishment fight against someone chosen by Jiangzhen, promising to remove the demonic seed in Su Yao’s Qi sea if he won.
• Mianning placed a hand on Su Yao’s shoulder and took him into the Great Void.

Mianning took Su Yao toward Mount Ziyi and tested his understanding of the Spring and Autumn Concealed Sundial Feather Robe and the Golden Core path. Su Yao explained how fate, timing, and the trials of cultivation shaped the Su Household clansman’s failure, and realized Mianning had been testing him all along.

• Mianning and Su Yao traveled through the Great Void, and Su Yao marveled that Golden Ao Mountain had vanished into the gray haze.
• Mianning asked whether Su Yao was confident against a Penglai cultivator of heavenly lightning, and Su Yao said he feared no peer without a disparity in treasures.
• Near Mount Ziyi, Mianning offered to restore Su Yao’s Shengyu egg if he won and suggested Brother Jingxuan might reforge his feather robe.
• Mianning recognized the robe as the Spring and Autumn Concealed Sundial Feather Robe and asked Su Yao why the Greater Yin Su Household had sought help for a clansman gifted in Rainbow Clouds.
• Su Yao recounted the clansman’s ties to a Spring and Autumn Heavenly Venerable and explained how the clansman failed to attain the Great Dao despite extensive support.
• Su Yao described the role of fate, timing, and trials in seeking the Golden Core, then realized Mianning had been testing his knowledge of the robe.

Su Yao traveled to Mount Ziyi to face Ji Jie, a Penglai disciple sent by the young master of Biyou Palace to exchange pointers. Their battle began with Su Yao defending against Ji Jie’s lightning and counterattacking, but Ji Jie’s higher-grade cultivation threatened to overwhelm him.

• Mianning offered Su Yao the magic sword Autumn Steed if he won, and Su Yao agreed while jokingly promising to honor Mianning with a statue.
• Mianning sent Su Yao to the Great Void, where he arrived near Mount Ziyi and met Ji Jie, who said he had come to exchange pointers on the young master of Biyou Palace’s orders.
• Su Yao summoned Guarding Unity Rosy Cloud Robe, and Ji Jie’s first bolt of purple lightning failed to pierce its rosy defenses.
• Ji Jie attacked with three converging lightning bolts, but Su Yao redirected them into a mountain and destroyed half its peak.
• Su Yao struck at Ji Jie with Glow Ashes, but Ji Jie’s forest-like defense wore away the Sword Qi before he unleashed lightning dragons empowered by his Immortal Foundation, Rebuke the Disloyal.
• Su Yao countered with rosy light and Li Fire Sparrows, but he realized that Ji Jie’s seventh-grade cultivation gave his attacks greater killing power, and their techniques clashed in the air.

Su Yao fought Ji Jie with Clear Breeze and his wind techniques, but Ji Jie's Heavenly Thunder Immortal Foundation steadily overwhelmed him. As their Law Power dwindled, Su Yao remained under the thunder spear's attack, waiting for Ji Jie to weaken first.

• Su Yao switched from Zhengji to Clear Breeze and used his swordsmanship and Glow Ashes to attack Ji Jie, but Ji Jie blocked the strike with his forest shield.
• Ji Jie summoned the Rebuke the Disloyal Immortal Foundation's thunder-wielding figure and drove its spear against Su Yao's Golden Palace Morning Clouds defense.
• Su Yao evaded Ji Jie's attacks and countered with Sword Qi, while Ji Jie noticed that something was suppressing Su Yao in his Qi sea.
• The two fought on as Su Yao's rosy-light techniques struggled against Ji Jie's Heavenly Thunder and forest shield, and both began to run low on Law Power.
• Ji Jie struck with the thunder spear at full strength, forcing Su Yao down as he blocked, while Su Yao waited for Ji Jie's power to falter.

Su Yao and Ji Jie fought a draining duel, each spending their remaining strength on one final attack. Su Yao won, and after Ji Jie invited him to Penglai for wine and another bout, Su Yao anxiously looked to the sky.

• Ji Jie summoned nine pillars of crimson-gold lightning, and Su Yao defended himself with Rosy Cloud Embers while replenishing his Law Power through the rhombic prism in his Qi Sea.
• After the lightning dispersed, Ji Jie proposed one final strike, and Su Yao agreed.
• Ji Jie’s lightning spear shattered against Su Yao’s sword, which stopped three inches from Ji Jie’s chest.
• Ji Jie admitted defeat, praised Clear Breeze, and invited Su Yao to visit Penglai and drink with him before they fought again.
• Su Yao accepted Ji Jie’s invitation, watched him disappear into the mountain forest, then looked anxiously into the sky.