Chapter Summaries

Sun Yao tried to extract the Rain Cloud Flower True Qi while Sun Chengzu, Sun Lin, and the others fought to protect her from Han Yue and the arriving factions. As more cultivators converged on the giant island, Sun Yao continued the slow process, determined to finish before the Heaven and Earth Qi was taken from her.

• Han Yue broke through Sun Chengzu's sword formation and rushed toward the giant island's center, but Lu Xun, Bi Luo, and Sun Chengzu slowed and engaged him.
• Sun Yao began extracting the Rain Cloud Flower True Qi from its pillar, a process that required an incense stick to complete.
• The Vast Righteousness School and the Profound Purity Sect sent forces toward the island, worsening the battle as cultivators across the marshland raced for the treasure.
• Fang Zeyuan attacked Sun Yao with water arrows, and Sun Lin raised wooden walls to shield her.
• Lord Rat sent Kuang Dou and Lei Nu to fight the arriving cultivators, but more groups continued to converge on the island.
• Sun Yao continued extracting the nearly depleted Heaven and Earth Qi, unwilling to stop with her chance at the Golden Core road so close.

Sun Lin sacrificed his blood and lifespan to hold off the Grand Purity Sect's fire spirit puppet while Sun Yao collected the Heaven and Earth Qi. After Sun Qiyan tried to rescue him, Sun Lin died taking a fatal blow, and Sun Yao unleashed a devastating Cloud Dao sword strike against the enemy forces.

• Sun Lin used Spirit Wood Incarnation, spending his Essence Blood and lifespan to restrain the fire spirit puppet while Lu Xun guarded Sun Yao.
• The fire spirit puppet destroyed the giant tree, and Sun Lin collapsed as Sun Yao completed collecting the Heaven and Earth Qi.
• Sun Qiyan arrived and tried to carry the badly wounded Sun Lin to safety, but Sun Lin pushed him away and took the puppet's fatal blow.
• Sun Lin died with his eyes fixed on the secret realm's sky, and Sun Yao cried out in grief.
• Sun Yao gathered the Cloud Dao's power into a hundred-zhang Sword-Ray and struck across the battlefield, forcing Fang Zeyuan to defend himself.

Sun Yao's group fought desperately to escape after her sword strike disrupted Han Yue's attack, while Bi Luo trapped their pursuers with his Green Ape Clan bloodline ability. They fled beneath the marsh as Han Yue broke free and ordered his forces to hunt them down for the Heaven and Earth Qi.

• Sun Yao ordered her group to retreat, and Kuang Dou and Lei Nu traded injuries for kills while Liu Qing and the Azure Light Gate disciples held off their pursuers.
• Sun Chengzu rescued the gravely injured Shi Mo, recalled his flying swords, and vowed revenge on Han Yue and the Wei Kingdom sects.
• Bi Luo spent his Essence Blood to unleash the Green Ape Clan's bloodline ability, trapping Han Yue, Fang Zeyuan, and dozens of cultivators in a cage of giant roots.
• Sun Yao's group escaped underwater through the marsh while Bi Luo staggered from the cost of his divine ability.
• Han Yue broke through the wooden prison and ordered his forces to pursue the fugitives and seize the Heaven and Earth Qi.

With hundreds of cultivators closing in, Sun Yao ordered the survivors to scatter so their pursuers would split up, and entrusted the Heaven and Earth Qi to Shi Pan. The group separated in the marsh, leaving Sun Yao to flee alone while the others tried to survive until the secret realm’s exit reopened.

• Sun Yao sensed hundreds of cultivators approaching and concluded that the weakened group could not escape together.
• Sun Yao ordered everyone to split up and arrange to meet outside the secret realm in three months; Liu Qing led the Azure Light Gate disciples east to draw pursuers away.
• Sun Yao refused Lord Rat’s offer to leave with the Demon Beasts and gave Shi Pan the Heaven and Earth Qi to protect for the sect.
• Lord Rat sent the injured Shi Mo and Shi Pan into hiding, while Bi Luo and the other Demon Beasts headed in separate directions.
• Sun Yao told Sun Chengzu, Lu Xun, and the others to fend for themselves, then fled alone; the remaining cultivators scattered in different directions.

After the cultivators carrying Cloud Dao Heaven and Earth Qi escaped underwater, the major sects abandoned the chase for a newly appeared Metal Dao Qi, leaving scattered, wounded cultivators vulnerable to smaller forces. Sun Yao survived by hiding in the wasteland, while Lord Rat recovered and began hunting human cultivators.

• Han Yue and the other major sects turned toward the golden pillar of Metal Dao Heaven and Earth Qi, while smaller forces stayed behind to prey on the scattered cultivators.
• Liu Qing held off three pursuing groups with a poison formation for two days before he was killed, and only two Azure Light Gate disciples escaped.
• Zhao Pingchuan was surrounded and killed by Liang Kingdom Rogue Cultivators, while Yun Ci escaped after his two elder brothers died protecting him.
• Sun Qiyan was mortally wounded by two Golden Core clan scions and died thinking of his father’s shop in White Cloud Immortal City.
• Sun Yao reached a barren wasteland, hid in a fissure, and mourned Sun Lin’s death while strengthening her resolve.
• Lord Rat recovered to Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, killed two pursuers, and set his sights on hunting human cultivators.

Lord Rat, Kuang Dou, and Lei Nu spent two months pursuing prey and cultivation opportunities in different parts of the Kunyuan Secret Realm as conflict over Heaven and Earth Qi intensified. Lord Rat then discovered the wounded Heavenly Sword School disciple Xiao An carrying Earth Dao Heaven and Earth Qi and decided to summon the other Demon Beasts rather than attack alone.

• Lord Rat hunted down four cultivators, including a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator, and sensed his cultivation loosening after consuming them.
• Kuang Dou hunted cultivators and native Demon Beasts in the volcanic region, then absorbed an exceptional Fire Dao Demon Core that seemed to enhance his bloodline.
• Lei Nu cultivated in a western lightning marsh, repeatedly drawing in and digesting lightning to temper his body and soul.
• Over two months, the factions fought fiercely over twelve new wisps of Heaven and Earth Qi, and about a hundred Foundation Establishment disciples died.
• Lord Rat watched Xiao An defeat several attackers with the power of Earth Dao Heaven and Earth Qi, then saw him collapse from his injuries and the strain of his final strike.
• Lord Rat judged that Xiao An was too dangerous to fight alone, memorized his presence, and burrowed away to contact the other Demon Beasts.

Lord Rat recruited six Foundation Establishment demons to ambush Xiao An for the Earth Dao Heaven and Earth Qi and his treasures. Meanwhile, Xiao An remained injured and on the run, aware that Qi Wenyuan was using other pursuers to wear him down before attacking.

• Lord Rat persuaded Lei Huan to help capture Xiao An and agreed that the demons would give the Heaven and Earth Qi to their ancestor while dividing Xiao An's other treasures.
• Lord Rat recruited Xiong Shan, Lei Nu, and Shuang Yu, each agreeing for reasons tied to combat, clan interests, or a larger share of resources.
• Lord Rat enlisted the weakened Bi Luo in exchange for Xiao An's Spirit Plant seeds and wood-attribute materials, and gained Bai Ling's help with illusions.
• Lord Rat gathered six Foundation Establishment demons and grinned confidently at the strength of their group.
• Xiao An fled through the secret realm after fighting off three groups of pursuers, while his injuries and depleted reserves continued to weaken him.
• Xiao An realized Qi Wenyuan had leaked his location to the factions so they would exhaust him before Qi Wenyuan made his move.

Wounded and nearly out of spiritual power, Xiao An fled toward safety but fell into an ambush set by seven Foundation Establishment Demon Beasts. Surrounded and unable to escape, he prepared to stake everything on a final fight.

• Xiao An fled north from Strewn Stone Ridge, desperate to find shelter and hide the yin-attribute Heaven and Earth Qi in his Dantian.
• Lord Rat, Bai Ling, Bi Luo, Lei Nu, Xiong Shan, Lei Huan, and Shuang Yu ambushed Xiao An in a dry riverbed.
• Bai Ling disrupted Xiao An’s senses while Lord Rat bit and injured his ankle, and Bi Luo’s vines sealed the riverbed.
• Lei Nu struck Xiao An with lightning, and Xiong Shan attacked him at close range, forcing Xiao An to use Earth Dao Heaven and Earth Qi to wound the bear.
• Lei Huan and Shuang Yu joined the encirclement as the other demons blocked Xiao An’s escape routes.
• Xiao An accepted that he might die and raised his sword, challenging the seven demons to attack.

Xiao An fought off the seven Demon Beasts as their coordinated attacks drained his strength and wounded him. He killed Lei Huan with a powerful sword strike, and Lord Rat ordered the remaining beasts to kill him as the battle continued.

• The seven Demon Beasts attacked Xiao An from every direction, and he wounded Lei Nu and nearly killed Lei Huan while resisting their assault.
• Lord Rat wounded Xiao An's lower leg with a surprise attack, while Shuang Yu's cold further weakened him and his spiritual power fell below twenty percent.
• Xiao An decided to break through the encirclement by targeting Lei Huan, then used the Mountain Intent Sword Domain-fall to cleave open Lei Huan's chest.
• Lei Nu deflected Xiao An's killing blow, but Lei Huan died from his injuries as Lord Rat reached his side.
• Lord Rat grieved briefly before Lei Nu urged him back into the fight, and Lord Rat commanded the remaining beasts to kill Xiao An.

Xiao An used his hidden Yin Dao Heaven and Earth Qi to unleash a devastating sword strike, killing Lei Nu and badly injuring Xiong Shan and Shuang Yu. The technique left his meridians and Qi sea failing, but he forced himself to stand and challenge the remaining Demon Beasts.

• After Lei Nu's lightning orb shattered Xiao An's earthen sword shield, it blasted him into a crater and left him badly burned.
• Xiao An revealed his hidden Yin Dao Heaven and Earth Qi and unleashed the Yin Nether Sword Domain-Nether Slash.
• The black Sword Gang killed Lei Nu, broke Xiong Shan's foreleg, and shattered Shuang Yu's ice armor.
• Lord Rat recognized that Xiao An possessed two strands of Heaven and Earth Qi and charged at him.
• Xiao An suffered severe internal damage from the conflicting energies but stood with his sword and dared the Demon Beasts to attack again.

Xiao An and Lei Nu died in the battle, while Xiong Shan lost a leg. The surviving Demon Beasts recovered Xiao An’s Heaven and Earth Qi and left to recuperate, vowing to avenge their dead.

• Lord Rat, Shuang Yu, Bi Luo, and Bai Ling attacked Xiao An, but his Yin Qi shattered their assaults before Lord Rat’s wind blades tore him apart and killed him.
• Lei Nu also died after protecting his companions and killing a Human Race prodigy, and Lord Rat mourned his companion with hatred for the humans.
• Shuang Yu cut off Xiong Shan’s badly corrupted foreleg and said spirit medicine might still treat the injury.
• Bi Luo searched Xiao An’s Storage Bag and found two strands of Heaven and Earth Qi, which Lord Rat lamented had cost them two lives and a leg.
• Lord Rat stored Lei Nu and Lei Huan’s corpses in Storage Bags, and the surviving demons left to recuperate while vowing future revenge against the Human Race.

After surviving the great battle, Lord Rat and the other Demon Beasts hid in a cave, tended their wounded, and waited for their scattered companions while the secret realm’s final battles raged. Shi Mo, Shi Pan, and Lu Xun reunited with them, and Kuang Dou eventually returned transformed by a bloodline breakthrough, though news of Lei Nu and Lei Huan’s deaths dampened his joy.

• Bi Luo concealed the cave and treated Xiong Shan’s wounded leg while Lord Rat and the others waited for news of Kuang Dou, Shi Mo, and Shi Pan.
• Lord Rat scavenged corpses to recover his strength as Bai Ling and Bi Luo kept passing cultivators from discovering their hiding place.
• Shi Mo and the injured Shi Pan found the cave with Lu Xun, who said Shi Mo had rescued him from three pursuing cultivators and showed that Sun Yao’s tracking light was still present.
• The Demon Beasts waited out the remaining days as Lord Rat reported on the increasingly bloody battles over Heaven and Earth Qi in the secret realm.
• Kuang Dou returned with a larger body, crimson armor, and a transformed bloodline that greatly increased his strength.
• Kuang Dou’s delight faded when he learned that Lei Nu and Lei Huan had died.

The survivors emerged from the Kunyuan Secret Realm, revealing heavy losses among the White Cloud Temple and Azure Light Gate. Shi Jian learned how Lei Nu and Lei Huan had died and urged Lord Rat to learn from his mistakes and cultivate for a future revenge.

• Shi Mo and Shi Pan healed, while Xiong Shan's sword-injured limb remained beyond Bi Luo's ability to treat; Lu Xun devoted himself to cultivation as the survivors awaited the realm's opening.
• Three days later, the Kunyuan Secret Realm reopened, and Lu Xun, Shi Mo, Shi Pan, Sun Chengzu, Yun Ci, and others emerged.
• Shi Jian counted eight Demon Beasts returned from ten, while Yun Du counted five White Cloud Temple disciples returned from ten; the Azure Light Gate had only four survivors from fifteen, and Liu Qing was missing.
• Lord Rat returned Lei Nu's and Lei Huan's bodies in Storage Bags and confessed his role in the failed ambush against Xiao An.
• Shi Jian accepted that Lord Rat's fault was not total, urged him to avoid repeating his mistakes, and told him to cultivate so they could seek revenge.
• Shi Jian mourned Lei Nu, whom he had raised for nearly a hundred years, as the rift closed.

After returning from the secret realm, Shi Jian buried Lei Nu and Lei Huan, appointed Lei Zhen as the Lightning Bear Line’s new leader, and distributed the expedition’s gains. Shi Pan received the Earth Dao Heaven and Earth Qi and, after Shi Jian purified his bloodline with Essence Blood, entered seclusion to attempt Core Formation.

• True Person Qingshan mourned Liu Qing and asked Yun Du to support Azure Light Gate in the future.
• Shi Jian buried Lei Nu and Lei Huan, then appointed Lei Zhen to replace Lei Nu as line master.
• Yun Du distributed the secret realm’s spoils, giving Sun Yao the Cloud Dao Qi, Shi Pan the Earth Dao Qi, and Lord Rat the Yin Dao Qi.
• Shi Jian used his Essence Blood to cleanse Shi Pan’s bones and improve his mixed bloodline.
• Shi Pan entered seclusion with the Earth Dao Heaven and Earth Qi to attempt Core Formation.

Lord Rat gave Shu Laosan Yin-attribute Heaven and Earth Qi, allowing him to establish Yin Wind Valley as a Blessed Land and lead the Yin Rat Line. Meanwhile, Bi Luo rallied the Sacred Blood Sect in Liang Kingdom, and Shi Mo told Shi Jian he might risk a Core Formation breakthrough without Heaven and Earth Qi.

• Lord Rat brought Shu Laosan Yin-attribute Heaven and Earth Qi and ordered him to establish a Blessed Land in Nine Winds Valley, which would become Yin Wind Valley.
• Several months later, Shu Laosan fused the Heaven and Earth Qi into the earth vein, established the Blessed Land, and transformed the Yin Spirit Rat race into the Yin Rat Line.
• Bi Luo returned to Liang Kingdom and urged the Sacred Blood Sect to revolt against the great sects and create a new kingdom.
• Shi Jian told Shi Mo to let Kuang Dou vent his excess fire, then heard Shi Mo say he might attempt Core Formation without Heaven and Earth Qi.
• Shi Jian sighed at Shi Mo's nearly hopeless odds but accepted that Shi Mo had to make his own choice.

Over ten years of peace, Shi Jian and the surrounding sects and demon clans grew stronger while old Daoist Yun Du devoted himself to White Cloud Temple’s inheritance and Blessed Land. Shi Jian woke from a long period of cultivation and learned how his subordinates had fared, with Purple Firmament estimating that his next breakthrough remained decades away.

• Xiong Shan recovered his severed leg but lost his potential, so he trained the Primordial Line’s young bear demons while Bai Ling raised two gifted foxes born with illusion pupils.
• Shi Jian cultivated peacefully for years as the Clear Blue Kingdom recovered, the Supreme Purity Sect gained two Nascent Soul True Lords, and the Wei Kingdom’s Grand Purity and Profound Purity sects focused on nurturing their younger cultivators.
• Yun Du strengthened White Cloud Temple and accelerated construction of its Cloud Dao Blessed Land, while Sun Chengzu sharpened his sword intent in the Return to Origin Sword Tomb.
• Lu Xun advanced to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, became an enforcement elder, and received a Law Treasure Embryo tailored to him.
• Shi Jian woke after ten years beside the lightning pool, and Purple Firmament said he needed another fifty or sixty years to reach the Golden Core Late Stage.
• Purple Firmament reported that Shi Pan remained in seclusion, Kuang Dou had improved the Molten Fire Black Hound bloodline, and the Yin Rat Line in Di Province had the potential to rival the Black Dog Line.

Sun Yao attempted to form a Golden Core after ten years of seclusion, but her grief and obsession kept her from controlling the Cloud Dao Heaven and Earth Qi. She died through Dao Dissolution, leaving Sun Mao as the sole surviving member of the Sun Clan’s second generation.

• Sun Yao's attempted Core Formation brought a dark, oppressive celestial phenomenon over White Cloud Temple, and Yun Du realized something was wrong.
• Inside her meditation chamber, Sun Yao failed to condense a nascent core as the Heaven and Earth Qi shattered her meridians and drained her life force.
• As Sun Yao lay dying, she remembered her childhood, the destruction of the Sun Clan, her master's guidance, and Sun Lin's final plea.
• Sun Yao apologized to her master and ancestor before her body dissolved into cloud and mist.
• After Sun Yao's death, Sun Mao remained the only living member of the Sun Clan's second generation.

Sun Yao died during Dao Dissolution, returning her cultivation to White Peak Cloud Gorge and hastening the formation of Cloud Dao Qi. Her death deepened the Sun Clan’s decline, and Sun Mao fell gravely ill as he entrusted the clan to Sun Chengzu.

• Sun Yao’s Dao Dissolution enriched the sea of clouds in White Peak Cloud Gorge and shortened the time until more Cloud Dao Qi formed.
• White Cloud Temple mourned Sun Yao’s failed Core Formation, while disciples feared the Sun Clan would lose its place in the sect.
• Sun Mao entrusted the Sun Clan to Sun Chengzu after losing Sun Yao, Sun Lin, and Sun Qiyan.
• Sun Mao fell ill from grief, and Shi Jian reflected that he would protect the Sun Clan only for the remaining years of their agreement.
• Sun Mao remained bedridden, asking Sun Chengzu about the clan’s affairs and passing on his concerns.

After Sun Mao died, Sun Chengzu inherited leadership of the declining Sun Clan and resolved to attempt Core Formation. He purged clan members who expected the old ancestor to rescue them, stabilizing the Lineage but leaving its recovery uncertain.

• Sun Chengzu visited Sun Yao’s sealed quiet chamber and reflected on the Sun Clan’s repeated failures to achieve Core Formation.
• As Sun Mao’s illness worsened, he entrusted the clan’s affairs to Sun Chengzu and told him to shoulder the clan’s burdens before entering seclusion.
• Sun Mao died, and Sun Chengzu accepted that he would attempt Core Formation despite the risk of failure.
• After Sun Chengzu succeeded Sun Mao as clan head, an elder urged him to ask the old ancestor to secure assets for the clan, and Sun Chengzu killed the elder with a sword.
• Sun Chengzu purged powerful third-generation elders, members of the Qi generation, and fifth-generation disciples, then promoted new managers and halted the clan’s internal decline.

After Sun Chengzu entered seclusion to prepare for Core Formation, Shi Jian continued building the Demon Race’s strength and planned to expand its influence through the Azure Light Gate. As the Clear Azure Kingdom moved troops west and the Supreme Purity Sect prepared for war, Yun Du shifted White Cloud Temple’s business toward the growing demand for supplies.

• Sun Chengzu returned to the Return to Origin Sword Tomb to cultivate with the Sword Dao Heaven and Earth Qi, while Yun Ci became White Cloud Temple’s next candidate to inherit the Cloud Dao Heaven and Earth Qi.
• Shi Jian continued strengthening the Demon Race through its lines within White Cloud Temple, the Yin Wind Valley Secret Realm, the Sacred Blood Sect, and Beast Pasturing Mountain.
• Shi Jian planned to train Lu Xun into a Golden Core cultivator and have him lead the Azure Light Gate, potentially alongside Shi Pan, to extend their influence in Ming Province.
• News reached Shi Jian that the Clear Azure Kingdom was moving troops west and the Supreme Purity Sect had sent seven Nascent Soul True Lords to the front.
• Shi Jian judged that Ming Province would avoid major battles for now, while war would increase demand for supplies and bring more Spirit Stones.
• Yun Du began adjusting White Cloud Temple’s business strategy as rumors of war spread.