Chapter Summaries

Shi Jian endured Heavenly Lightning Body Refinement to draw lightning power into his body and transform his yao core. He survived the storm with a faint ring of silver lightning in his core, a seed of power he had successfully cultivated.

• Shi Jian sent Sun Lin, Lord Rat, and the lesser yao away before preparing to face the heavenly lightning alone.
• As the storm gathered, Shi Jian waited for the stone pillars to guide the lightning toward the center of the stone forest.
• Shi Jian drew the lightning into himself and endured repeated bolts as he forced wisps of lightning source into his yao core.
• The storm subsided, leaving Shi Jian gravely injured but alive, with his yao core intact and a faint ring of silver electricity circling it.
• Shi Jian recognized the silver lightning as a seed of power and rejoiced that his dangerous method had succeeded.

Shi Jian recovered from his injuries in seclusion while studying the new lightning origin in his Demon Core. Sun Lin used the stone forest’s lightning patterns to refine his talisman arts and advanced in cultivation; after emerging, Shi Jian decided the valuable site needed a gatekeeper.

• Shi Jian ordered Sun Lin to place Spirit Stones and crystalline powder around him, then began healing and studying the lightning origin in his Demon Core.
• While Shi Jian remained in seclusion, Sun Lin studied the heavenly lightning marks and incorporated their patterns into his talisman-drawing technique.
• After more than a month of repeated practice, Sun Lin developed a distinctive talisman method and advanced from the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining to the sixth.
• Two months and nine days after entering seclusion, Shi Jian emerged with his injuries mostly healed and learned to guide the lightning power through his body.
• Shi Jian decided to keep using the stone forest as a place to cultivate but recognized that he needed a gatekeeper there.

Shi Jian used Enlightenment to raise a One-Horned Grey Badger’s intelligence and made him a loyal subordinate named Lei Huan. After entrusting him with guarding the stone forest, Shi Jian prepared to leave for his nest with Sun Lin.

• Shi Jian chose a diligent One-Horned Grey Badger to serve as the stone forest’s gatekeeper.
• Shi Jian spent all five uses of Enlightenment to greatly strengthen the badger’s soul and intelligence.
• Shi Jian corrected the badger’s form of address, gave him Thunder Leopard bones, and taught him a Demon Cultivator technique.
• Shi Jian ordered the badger to gather unaffiliated demons and guard the stone forest, then named him Lei Huan.
• Shi Jian left the stone forest and met Sun Lin, who was ready to travel to the nest.

Shi Jian and Sun Lin discovered a Blood Sha Sect group refining a Blood Pearl from thousands of victims, then killed the seven Devil Cultivators and took their spoils. After consuming the pearl, Shi Jian examined a Jade Slip that made his pupils contract, leaving its contents unknown.

• Lord Rat reported a blood-filled valley ahead, where seven Devil Cultivators were operating a blood sacrifice formation among countless corpses.
• Shi Jian and Sun Lin watched as the formation finished condensing a Blood Pearl, and Shi Jian waited until the leader collected it.
• Shi Jian attacked the seven cultivators, killing them with his paws and Yao Qi while Lord Rat blocked the valley exit.
• Sun Lin searched the bodies and found a Blood Sha Sect token, letters, a Jade Slip, and three more Blood Pearls.
• Shi Jian swallowed the Blood Pearl and felt its vitality nourish his Qi and Blood before reading the Jade Slip and reacting with interest.

Shi Jian learned that the Blood Sha Sect's surviving disciples were seeking out hidden infiltrators in the Wei Kingdom, including a Golden Core ancestor, and decided to keep the intelligence secret for future use. After returning home, he distributed the spoils, praised Sun Lin, and entered seclusion to recover and cultivate his growing Lightning Origin.

• Shi Jian read the Blood Sha Sect elder's journal, discovered its network of infiltrators and a hidden Golden Core ancestor, and chose not to report or pursue them yet.
• Shi Jian and Sun Lin collected the cultivators' belongings, consumed the Blood Pearls, and burned the bodies and their hideout before returning home.
• Shi Jian gave Sun Bo'an lightning-attribute Spirit Plants and heavenly lightning crystals, and told him to provide Sun Lin with more resources for talisman and formation study.
• Shi Jian told Sun Bo'an he had dealt with several Devil Cultivators from the Jin Kingdom but concealed the journal's intelligence, then entered seclusion to heal.
• Shi Jian reviewed his progress and cultivated the faint Lightning Origin taking root in his Demon Core as he considered the long road to Golden Core.

Sun Mao supplied Sun Yao with the resources she needed to attempt Foundation Establishment, and she succeeded at White Cloud Temple. True Person Yun Du made her his personal disciple and gave her a powerful role in the temple, securing the Sun Clan a place in its inner circle.

• Sun Mao bought Foundation Establishment resources for Sun Yao and delivered them to her at White Cloud Temple, where she said True Person Yun Du had promised her a Foundation Establishment Pill if she consolidated her foundation.
• Sun Bo'an learned that Yun Du would grant Sun Yao a pill and chose not to disturb the old ancestor, who was recovering from his injuries in seclusion.
• Half a year later, Sun Yao swallowed the Foundation Establishment Pill and combined its effects with the spiritual items her clan had prepared for her.
• Sun Yao succeeded in reaching Foundation Establishment, drawing a surge of Spiritual Qi to White Cloud Temple.
• True Person Yun Du accepted Sun Yao as his personal disciple, bestowed the title Qingyao, appointed her an administrative elder, awarded her a supreme-grade Law Artifact, and placed her in charge of spiritual tax collection across nine counties.

After Sun Yao became a White Cloud Temple executive elder, the Sun Clan celebrated her rise and sent Shi Pan to serve as her companion. The clan then spent heavily on Foundation Establishment preparations and lightning resources to support Shi Jian’s cultivation.

• Sun Bo'an welcomed the news of Sun Yao’s appointments, and the Sun Clan hosted a celebration in Hongtian City that Sun Yao could not attend.
• Sun Mao declared that the Sun Clan’s business rules would remain unchanged, and Shi Jian approved sending Shi Pan to protect Sun Yao at White Cloud Temple.
• Sun Yao formed an equal contract with Shi Pan, who noticed hostile spiritual fluctuations among three onlookers and memorized them.
• Sun Bo'an began preparing for Sun Mao’s Foundation Establishment and approved a costly expansion of the Thunder Essence Fruit orchard and its lightning array.
• Sun Yao found a discounted second-tier Lightning-Guiding Clan-Protecting Grand Array, and Sun Bo'an approved the purchase despite its price of twelve thousand Spirit Stones.

The Cheng Lineage prepared a thunder fruit orchard by planting Lightning-Guiding Spirit Wood, forging Thunder-Storing Pillars, and laying out a second-tier Lightning-Attracting Grand Formation. Sun Chengyue showed promise as a Spirit Plant cultivator, while Sun Lin advanced in cultivation as he devoted himself to the formation.

• Sun Caiya taught the Cheng juniors to plant Lightning-Guiding Spirit Wood, and Sun Chengyue demonstrated a talent for choosing the roots’ orientation and planting them carefully.
• Half a month later, Sun Caiya found that the Spirit Wood planted by Sun Chengyue’s group had a twenty percent higher survival rate and began sharing the Spirit Plant care journal with her.
• Sun Tieshan refined Thunder-Storing Pillars to store and gradually release lightning, completing his twelfth of the thirty-six needed for the main peak.
• Sun Lin studied the formation diagram and planned how the grand formation would draw in lightning and channel purified thunder Spiritual Qi to the herb garden.
• Sun Lin spent half a year laying out the formation, broke through from the Qi Refining Sixth Layer to the Seventh Layer, and discovered that he was deeply suited to formations.

Sun Lin’s Lightning-Attracting Grand Formation created a lightning pool that strengthened the Sun Clan’s lightning plants and cultivation environment, prompting the clan to gather Lightning Dao inheritances. The chapter ended with Sun Bo’an learning that the White Cloud Temple wanted Shi Jian to take one of its places in the Kunyuan Secret Realm, which would open in three months.

• Sun Lin activated the Lightning-Attracting Grand Formation, channeling heavenly lightning into the lightning plants and the stone pool, where it condensed into Lightning Spirit Liquid.
• Shi Jian sensed the influx of lightning spirit Qi, and the silver electrical arcs around his Demon Core began circulating nearly twenty percent faster.
• Sun Caiya tended the medicinal garden while Sun Chengyue learned from her, and the Thunder Essence Fruit Tree’s fruiting cycle shortened from five years to three.
• Sun Bo’an organized a search for Lightning Dao inheritances, and Sun Mao bought an incomplete lightning talisman inheritance for Sun Wanqing to study.
• Sun Yao sent Sun Bo’an a secret letter saying the Kunyuan Secret Realm would open in three months and asking Shi Jian to enter on the White Cloud Temple’s behalf.
• Sun Bo’an considered the secret realm’s history and the temple’s shortage of Foundation Establishment cultivators, then went up the mountain.

Shi Jian agreed to enter the Kunyuan Secret Realm and spent three months strengthening his lightning abilities and body. The Sun Clan commissioned a powerful suit of armor for him, which was completed as the Thunder-Shrouding Mystic Armor.

• Shi Jian read the account of the Kunyuan Secret Realm and agreed to go, despite Sun Bo'an's concerns about the dangers.
• Shi Jian learned that Sun Yao and the sword cultivator Yun Che would also enter the secret realm.
• Shi Jian consumed Thunder Essence Fruits and Lightning Spirit Liquid, refining his lightning power and toughening his body.
• Sun Mao gathered rare lightning-attribute ores while Sun Yao persuaded the White Cloud Temple's Artifact Forging Hall head to craft armor.
• A month later, Shi Jian received the completed Thunder-Shrouding Mystic Armor, a supreme-grade Law Artifact built to suit his bear form.

True Person Yun Du brought Sun Yao, Yun Che, Shi Pan, and Shi Jian to the Kunyuan Mountain Range aboard the Silver Plume Boat for the secret realm opening. Shi Jian spotted two Devil Cultivators with Blood Qi linked to the Blood Sha Sect, and the chapter ended as the Kunyuan Secret Realm opened.

• True Person Yun Du took the group aboard the Silver Plume Boat and flew for three days to the Kunyuan Mountain Range.
• Shi Jian sensed the immense spiritual pressure of the mountain range and saw thousands of cultivators gathered in the basin.
• True Person Yun Du went to meet the Supreme Purity Sect's sect master, leaving Sun Yao, Yun Che, Shi Pan, and Shi Jian in the camp.
• A cultivator from the Heavenly Secret Pavilion mocked White Cloud Temple and Shi Jian, while Sun Yao answered that the secret realm would reveal who was useful.
• Shi Jian searched the Jin Kingdom's Devil Cultivator camp, found two people whose Blood Qi matched that of the Blood Sha Sect cultivators, and memorized their faces and positions.
• A golden streak struck Kunyuan Mountain's main peak, and an aged voice announced that the Kunyuan Secret Realm had opened.

Before the secret realm opened, Yun Du gave Sun Yao, Yun Che, and Shi Jian sensing discs and maps, then warned them about its dangers and rules. Shi Jian learned that Heaven and Earth Qi might help him break through to the Golden Core, and the three were transported into the realm as Yun Du worried whether they would return alive.

• Yun Du gave Sun Yao, Yun Che, and Shi Jian sensing discs that could locate one another and maps marking resources and dangerous areas.
• Yun Du warned them that flying was forbidden, powerful Demon Beasts inhabited the realm, and Heaven and Earth Qi was their primary objective.
• Shi Jian realized that obtaining lightning-attribute Heaven and Earth Qi could help him break through to the Golden Core and overcome his bloodline's shackles.
• Yun Du told them the secret realm would remain open for three months and that anyone who failed to leave in time would be trapped for a hundred years.
• Sun Yao placed Shi Pan in her spirit beast pouch, and Yun Du transported the three into the secret realm.
• Yun Du watched them disappear into the vortex and hoped they would return alive.

Shi Jian entered the secret realm, found a Thunder-Infused Orchid guarded by a level 3 Demon Beast, and decided to attack the demon lizard protecting it. He launched himself forward in a burst of lightning.

• Shi Jian woke in a Spiritual Qi-rich secret realm and found that Sun Yao and Yun Che had landed far away from him.
• Shi Jian used his map to locate a nearby Starlight Stone Mine and a Thunder-Infused Orchid, then set off toward the orchid.
• Shi Jian detected the scent of blood nearby but ignored it and traveled swiftly across the grassland.
• Shi Jian found the Thunder-Infused Orchid growing beside a fire-filled den occupied by a level 3 demon lizard with a trace of dragon blood.
• Shi Jian chose to risk exposing his strength, charged at the demon lizard, and gathered lightning around his paws.

Shi Jian defeated the dragon-blooded Demon Lizard, collected the Thunder-Infused Orchid and its Demon Core, then was ambushed by two Heavenly Secret Pavilion disciples. He killed one attacker in a burst of fury as the other fled.

• Shi Jian fought the Demon Lizard and killed it by piercing its head with a lightning-charged paw.
• Shi Jian dug up the Thunder-Infused Orchid and swallowed the Demon Lizard's Demon Core to replenish his Spiritual Qi.
• Two Heavenly Secret Pavilion disciples ambushed Shi Jian with a poisoned flying needle and a restraining electric net.
• Shi Jian broke free of the net and crushed the cultivator holding the formation plate with one blow.
• The other cultivator froze, then turned and fled.

Shi Jian killed and devoured two Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators, collected valuable materials from a demon lizard, and set off toward Sun Yao. Three hundred li away, Sun Yao and the wounded Shi Pan were surrounded by five Devil Cultivators, who launched an attack as she prepared to detonate her Law Artifact.

• A cultivator fled from Shi Jian but was crushed by the secret realm’s rules when he tried to fly, then killed and devoured by Shi Jian.
• Shi Jian devoured the other Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator and refined the toxin in his injured paw with the resulting Qi and Blood.
• Shi Jian harvested valuable parts from the demon lizard, stored them in two Storage Bags, and checked the sensing disk.
• Shi Jian saw Sun Yao’s signal moving three hundred li to the southeast and raced toward her, while Yun Che’s signal had vanished beyond the disk’s range.
• Five Devil Cultivators surrounded Sun Yao and the badly wounded Shi Pan in a jagged-rock forest, then attacked them together.
• Sun Yao drew on her last spiritual power and prepared to detonate her Law Artifact rather than surrender.

Shi Jian arrived at the Jumbled Stone Forest and slaughtered the five Foundation Establishment Devil Cultivators who had attacked Shi Pan and Sun Yao. After helping Shi Pan and Sun Yao recover, he vowed to hunt down everyone in their sect.

• A level four great demon appeared at the Jumbled Stone Forest, and Scarface recognized it as Shi Jian before trying to flee.
• Shi Jian killed two Devil Cultivators with lightning-charged strikes and pierced two more with streams of demonic Qi.
• Scarface unleashed a blood-colored talisman treasure, but Shi Jian charged through its attack and crushed him, wiping out all five Devil Cultivators.
• Shi Jian fed demon lizard flesh to the badly wounded Shi Pan, whose wounds began to heal.
• Shi Jian gave Sun Yao meat to restore her spiritual power and demanded to know where the attackers came from so he could destroy their sect.

Shi Jian and Sun Yao traveled to Hidden Cloud Valley, a rumored Blessed Land that might contain Heaven and Earth Qi. They found the valley’s life mysteriously drained, and Shi Jian sensed an ancient Dao resonance in its depths.

• Sun Yao told Shi Jian that the five slain cultivators were the Crimson Flame Sect’s only members in the secret realm, and she destroyed their bodies with a fire talisman.
• Shi Jian healed Shi Pan and decided the demon lizard meat could help strengthen his bloodline.
• Sun Yao explained that Hidden Cloud Valley might contain Heaven and Earth Qi and valuable spiritual ingredients, so she and Shi Jian set out for it.
• After traveling for two days, Shi Jian and Sun Yao entered Hidden Cloud Valley through a concealed passage behind a waterfall.
• Shi Jian noticed the valley was unnaturally quiet and found that the spirit carp had lost their vitality.
• Shi Jian sensed an ancient Dao resonance deep in the fog and suspected the valley’s Heaven and Earth Qi had already been born.

Shi Jian and Sun Yao discovered a giant wood demon refining New Wood Myriad Splendors Qi to break through toward the Golden Core Realm. When the demon attacked them with its spiritual pressure, Shi Jian charged at it to stop its breakthrough.

• Shi Jian and Sun Yao entered the mist-filled valley, where the mist blocked Divine Sense and the plants looked unnaturally perfect.
• They found an enormous lingzhi beneath an emerald waterfall, with a wisp of wood-attribute Heaven and Earth Qi above it.
• Sun Yao realized the lingzhi was a wood demon attempting to form a core, and Shi Jian identified its state as the False Core Realm.
• The lingzhi sensed them and unleashed its spiritual pressure, but Shi Jian shielded Sun Yao with his divine demon soul.
• Shi Jian transformed and charged at the lingzhi to keep it from refining the Heaven and Earth Qi.

Shi Jian and Sun Yao fought the wood demon in Gloomy Cloud Valley, with Sun Yao trapping it in the Cloudsky Heavenly Palace while Shi Jian struck at its core. The clash left both sides grievously injured, and the battle remained unresolved.

• Shi Jian endured the wood demon’s poisonous spore barrage, but its vines bound him and began crushing his armor.
• Sun Yao used Cloud Mist Qi and a cloud tornado to cut at the vines, drawing the wood demon’s attention and prompting it to attack her with a water arrow.
• Shi Jian broke free with a burst of lightning and shielded Sun Yao from the water arrow, taking a severe wound before ordering her to target the wood demon’s Dao foundation.
• Sun Yao summoned True Person Yun Du’s Cloudsky Heavenly Palace talisman, which trapped the wood demon and restrained the Heaven and Earth Qi it was refining.
• Shi Jian attacked the wood demon’s cap with all his Lightning Origin as it countered with a hand of wood spiritual Qi, leaving both combatants grievously injured.

Shi Jian burned his blood essence and lifespan to destroy the wood demon in Gloomy Cloud Valley, then collapsed beside the unconscious Sun Yao. Yun Che arrived afterward, found both of them alive, and gave them pills.

• The wood demon drained the valley’s Spirit Plants to stabilize its Dao foundation and force a breakthrough.
• Shi Jian ignited his Blood Qi and lifespan, then launched a final attack against the wood demon.
• Shi Jian broke through the demon’s defenses and destroyed its body and soul, claiming the New Wood Myriad Splendors Qi before losing consciousness.
• Sun Yao also passed out, and Gloomy Cloud Valley fell silent.
• Yun Che arrived, found Shi Jian and Sun Yao alive, and fed each of them a pill.