Chapter Summaries

Shi Jian woke after four days unconscious from the battle that killed the wood demon, and Sun Yao concealed the New Wood Myriad Splendors Qi when she explained what happened to Yun Che. The three divided the valley’s spoils, and Shi Jian swallowed the Demon Core to heal and restore some of his lifespan.

• Shi Jian woke in the ruined Gloomy Cloud Valley and learned from Yun Che that he had been unconscious for four days.
• Shi Jian saw the wood demon’s remains and its valuable Demon Core, while Yun Che praised him for defeating a False Core Realm demon.
• Sun Yao recounted the battle to Yun Che but left out the New Wood Myriad Splendors Qi.
• Sun Yao arranged for Shi Jian to receive the Demon Core and useful earth treasures, while she took the wood demon’s remains and some herbs, and Yun Che accepted the other surviving spirit medicines.
• Shi Jian swallowed the Demon Core and began refining its wood-attribute Spiritual Qi to heal his body and restore some lifespan.

After leaving Gloomy Cloud Valley, Shi Jian kept the wood-aspect Heaven and Earth Qi secret and continued toward the secret realm’s core with Yun Che and Sun Yao. He parted from them to investigate lightning Qi in a black mountain ridge and discovered Violet Firmament Golden Lightning Qi atop an ancient tower.

• Shi Jian hid the Heaven and Earth Qi, and the group left Gloomy Cloud Valley for the secret realm’s core.
• Yun Che, Sun Yao, and Shi Jian traveled east, passing the corpses of cultivators killed in a battle.
• Shi Jian sensed residual Lightning Qi near an unmarked black mountain ridge and decided to investigate alone.
• Yun Che arranged to meet Shi Jian at Three-Pronged Peak in three days, while Sun Yao told her ancestor to take care.
• Shi Jian followed the growing Lightning Qi into a mountain basin and found Violet Firmament Golden Lightning Qi rotating atop an ancient stone tower.

Shi Jian discovered a Lightning Spirit trapped inside a tower that was draining its power, and he sought the Violet Firmament Golden Lightning Qi above it. After learning the spirit had killed eleven cultivators who tried to take it, Shi Jian challenged the futility of its resistance and left it considering his words.

• Shi Jian found a tower absorbing Lightning Qi and discovered a Lightning Spirit bound inside by runic chains.
• The Lightning Spirit attacked Shi Jian, but he dodged its lightning strike and realized its power was limited.
• Shi Jian identified himself as a black bear demon and claimed that he kept humans as servants, easing some of the spirit’s hostility.
• Shi Jian asked for the Violet Firmament Golden Lightning Qi, and the Lightning Spirit said it had killed eleven cultivators who tried to take it.
• Shi Jian pointed out that the tower was draining the spirit’s essence and that killing intruders had not freed it, prompting the spirit to ask what he was proposing.

Shi Jian struck a deal with the Thunder Spirit, freed him from the stone tower, and formed a partnership with him. The Thunder Spirit, who called himself Purple Firmament, began instructing Shi Jian in the Dao of Lightning, and Shi Jian set off to hunt for food and lightning-aspect resources.

• Shi Jian offered to free the Thunder Spirit in exchange for teaching him the Thunder Method and helping his bloodline evolve, and they swore a Dao Oath.
• Shi Jian smashed the stone tower, freeing the Thunder Spirit and the Violet Firmament Golden Lightning Qi.
• The Thunder Spirit entered Shi Jian's body and stabilized by drawing on his spiritual power.
• Shi Jian and the Thunder Spirit exchanged names, and Purple Firmament criticized Shi Jian's weak Lightning Origin before agreeing to train him.
• Purple Firmament asked Shi Jian to hunt for lightning-aspect resources to aid his recovery, and Shi Jian headed away from Three-Pronged Peak to hunt.

Shi Jian hunted cultivators and lightning-aligned creatures in the secret realm while Purple Firmament taught him to cultivate lightning and transform his bloodline. After enduring a painful first transformation, Shi Jian resolved to kill as many humans as necessary to gather the spiritual materials he needed.

• Shi Jian ambushed and killed three Liang Kingdom cultivators, then devoured their bodies and spiritual items.
• With Purple Firmament guiding him, Shi Jian gathered lightning resources, killed a Lightning Eagle, and wiped out four Wei Kingdom cultivators.
• Purple Firmament taught Shi Jian how to circulate Lightning Origin, and Shi Jian’s first successful cycle sped up the lightning around his Demon Core.
• Shi Jian lured a Jin Kingdom Devil Cultivator into a fight and killed him with a newly formed lightning technique.
• Shi Jian and Purple Firmament used a Lightning Heart Stone to begin transforming Shi Jian’s bloodline, leaving him in agony but cracking the barrier to Golden Core.
• Shi Jian vowed to kill hundreds or thousands of cultivators if necessary to obtain enough lightning-attribute materials to refine his bloodline.

Yun Che and Sun Yao gathered spirit herbs on the outskirts of the secret realm while avoiding its deadly central battles. In the east, Shi Jian completed a major transformation through lightning-fueled cultivation and set out to seek one final breakthrough before the realm’s exit opened.

• Yun Che killed a Demon Ape, and Sun Yao collected the Dew-Congealing Grass it had guarded.
• Yun Che and Sun Yao chose to gather overlooked resources on the secret realm’s outskirts, and Sun Yao worried about Shi Jian’s two-month absence.
• Shi Jian consumed lightning-attribute treasures and cultivators’ Qi and Blood, enduring Purple Firmament’s painful method to refine his bloodline.
• Shi Jian reached Foundation Establishment Perfection, developed a powerful lightning-infused body, and gained strength approaching the False Core Realm.
• With two days left before the exit opened, Shi Jian followed Purple Firmament’s directions south to attack cultivators guarding a valuable target.

Shi Jian killed three Crimson Devil Sect cultivators, claimed the Thunderhorn Rhinoceros’s Demon Core and the Thunder Source Fruit, and absorbed the fruit’s power as the secret realm began to close. He looked up at the roiling sky, with little time left before they had to leave.

• Shi Jian rushed into the crater and killed two Crimson Devil Sect cultivators before they could stop him.
• The gaunt cultivator activated his Blood Devil Shield and fled, but Shi Jian pierced it with compressed lightning and killed him.
• Shi Jian ended the dying Thunderhorn Rhinoceros’s suffering and swallowed its Demon Core.
• Shi Jian swallowed the Thunder Source Fruit and uprooted its tree, storing the tree in his Storage Bag.
• Purple Firmament praised Shi Jian’s use of lightning as the secret realm’s closing vortices formed overhead.

Sun Yao fled from Shen Cang after he killed Yun Che, but Shi Jian arrived and defeated the Cold Water Sect prodigy. Shi Jian took Shen Cang’s Water Dao Heaven and Earth Qi and prepared to leave the closing secret realm with Sun Yao and Shi Pan.

• Shen Cang ambushed Yun Che and Sun Yao, and Yun Che died buying Sun Yao time to escape.
• Shen Cang caught up with the wounded Sun Yao and blasted Shi Pan’s hind legs before preparing to kill her.
• Shi Jian appeared and destroyed Shen Cang’s water dragon with Purple Firmament Lightning, then killed him with a single paw strike.
• Shi Jian searched Shen Cang’s Storage Bag and found the Heavenly One True Water Qi, his third wisp of Heaven and Earth Qi.
• Shi Jian told Sun Yao to give the wisp to Yun Du as compensation for Yun Che’s death, then revived Shi Pan and led them toward the secret realm’s exit.

Shi Jian and Sun Yao returned from the Kunyuan Secret Realm without Yun Che, who had died protecting Sun Yao. After receiving the Heavenly One True Water Qi and rewarding Shi Jian with rare lightning ores, True Person Yun Du parted from him at White Cloud Temple, and Shi Jian headed home.

• Shi Jian and Sun Yao emerged from the secret realm, while Yun Che failed to return.
• True Person Yun Du took Shi Jian and Sun Yao aboard the Silver Plume Boat and questioned Sun Yao about Yun Che.
• Sun Yao explained that Shen Cang had killed Yun Che and presented the sealed jade box containing the Heavenly One True Water Qi.
• True Person Yun Du accepted the treasure and gave Shi Jian three chests of valuable lightning-attribute ores.
• Shi Jian declined Yun Du's invitation to stay, asked Sun Yao to care for Shi Pan, and set off for home.

Shi Jian returned to the Sun Clan’s ancestral grounds and ordered Sun Bo'an and Sun Mao to use his resources to strengthen the clan’s Spirit Vein, prepare Sun Mao for Foundation Establishment, and expand the lightning pool. He then organized his personal treasures and began preparing for Core Formation, while explaining to Purple Firmament why he distrusted the humans around him.

• Shi Jian summoned Sun Bo'an and Sun Mao and gave them piles of Spirit Plants, spirit ores, and Demon Beast materials.
• Shi Jian ordered Sun Mao to nourish the main peak’s Spirit Vein with thick earth essence and Spirit-Nurturing Stones.
• Shi Jian instructed Sun Bo'an to sell materials for a Foundation Establishment Pill and ordered Sun Mao to enter seclusion once he obtained it.
• Shi Jian told the Sun Clan to use lightning-attribute ores and formations to transform the main peak into a lightning-attribute Blessed Land.
• Shi Jian sorted his own treasures and prepared for Core Formation, keeping his two wisps of Heaven and Earth Qi sealed in jade boxes.
• Shi Jian told Purple Firmament that he guarded against the Sun Clan because human loyalties could change, especially while he was weakened during Core Formation.

Shi Jian distributed cultivation resources and future roles to his three trusted Demon Beasts before entering long-term seclusion to pursue Golden Core. As the Sun Clan expanded its preparations around the mountain, Shi Jian began refining his bloodline while Purple Firmament watched over him.

• Shi Jian gave Lord Rat Blood Dao and Sha Dao treasures for a dangerous bloodline transformation, Shi Mo Metal Dao resources to temper his body, and Shi Yin an ice crystal and cold treasures to cultivate concealment and extreme cold.
• Shi Jian ordered the three Demon Beasts to cultivate in seclusion and guard him during his future heavenly tribulation, killing intruders and wiping out the Sun Clan if it rebelled.
• Shi Jian settled down to refine the treasures and Violet Firmament Golden Lightning Qi in his body, telling Purple Firmament to direct Lightning Qi into him once the Sun Clan completed the Spirit Vein and lightning pool.
• Sun Bo'an left Hongtian City to seek Foundation Establishment Pills, while Sun Mao and the Sun Clan mobilized workers to build the mountain formations and expand the lightning pool.

Five years after Shi Jian’s return, the Sun Clan prospered as Sun Mao reached Foundation Establishment and became its leader. The clan’s growth and Beast Valley’s strength continued under the ancestor’s plan, while Shi Jian remained secluded in the thunderous rear mountain.

• Hongtian City expanded, the Sun Clan’s Spirit Vein advanced to mid-grade second-tier, and its lightning pool began producing deep-purple second-tier Lightning Spirit Liquid.
• Sun Mao emerged from three years of seclusion as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and Sun Bo'an welcomed him as the clan’s third Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• Sun Mao asked whether the ancestor had ended his seclusion, then paid his respects after Sun Bo'an said the rear mountain had been closed for five years.
• Sun Bo'an reported the clan’s prosperity, and Sun Mao saw the Cheng generation training alongside spirit beasts as the clan embraced beast-taming.
• Sun Mao toured Beast Valley, where the black dog and spirit rat clans supported the Sun Clan and the bear clan had grown into five lineages.
• Sun Mao saw that Shi Mo and Shi Yin had both reached Foundation Establishment and vowed to protect the Sun Clan’s lineage.

Lord Rat completed his transformation to Foundation Establishment as Sun Bo'an was ambushed and killed by three masked cultivators, then reanimated as their puppet. After Lord Rat detected the impostor and learned that more enemies had infiltrated White Cloud Commandery, he and the giant bears prepared to respond without disturbing the old ancestor.

• Lord Rat swallowed the Blood Sha Dagger and endured a violent transformation that raised him to Foundation Establishment.
• Three masked Foundation Establishment cultivators ambushed Sun Bo'an, destroyed his Dao foundation, and killed him with a Soul-Locking Nail.
• The attackers reanimated Sun Bo'an's body and ordered him to lead them to the bear demon.
• More than ten Foundation Establishment cultivators from Fenghe Commandery secretly infiltrated White Cloud Commandery.
• Lord Rat detected the deathly Blood Sha scent on the returned Sun Bo'an and warned Shi Mo and Shi Yin that he was an empty shell.
• Lord Rat told the bears not to attack yet, since the old ancestor had forbidden anyone from entering the back mountain while the formation remained intact.

The Sun Clan’s spirit beasts sealed the main peak while “Sun Bo'an” planned to exploit the ancestor’s possible breakthrough and attack. Messages summoned Lei Huan’s lightning beasts and Sun Yao to guard the ancestor, leaving the forces converging on Hongtian City.

• Lord Rat and Shi Mo barred “Sun Bo'an” and Sun Mao from entering the sealed main peak, warning that the ancestor was cultivating and that intruders would be killed.
• Sun Mao rebuked clan stewards who insulted the guardian beasts, while “Sun Bo'an” volunteered to handle a trade-route problem and secretly planned an attack when the formation faltered.
• Lei Huan received Lord Rat’s message, gathered more than a hundred lightning-touched Demon Beasts, and led them toward Hongtian City to guard the ancestor.
• Sun Yao received a blood-marked message ordering her to return, then left White Cloud Temple with Shi Pan to protect the ancestor.

As the bear demon began Core Formation, a group of black-robed Foundation Establishment cultivators launched an attack on the Sun Clan, aided by a disguised traitor. The clan’s outer formation fell, and Sun Mao prepared to fight as Lord Rat revealed that his grandfather was already dead and being controlled.

• At an abandoned temple, a disguised agent told the black-robed cultivators that a bear demon was undergoing Core Formation and described the guards at the main peak.
• The black-robed leader planned to attack when the formation weakened, kill the demon for its core, and wipe out the Sun Clan under True Person Yan Qiu’s orders.
• The Core Formation celestial phenomenon gathered Spiritual Qi above Hongtian City, and Sun Mao ordered the Sun Clan to retreat inside and activate its backup defensive formation.
• The disguised Sun Bo'an stabbed Sun Mao with a poisoned spike and crushed a formation disk, collapsing part of the outer defensive formation.
• More than a dozen black-robed cultivators broke into the Sun Clan grounds and attacked, while Lord Rat told Sun Mao that his grandfather was dead and that Sun Bo'an was a controlled puppet.
• Sun Mao rose to fight, and a black-robed cultivator declared that True Person Yan Qiu had ordered the Sun Clan’s destruction and that the attackers would take the bear demon’s core.

As Shi Jian began forming a Lightning Dao Core in Hongtian City, Yan Qiu blocked True Person Yun Du from intervening by engaging him in a Golden Core battle. On the Sun Clan’s back mountain, Sun Yao and five great demons fought eighteen Foundation Establishment cultivators in a brutal battle that remained unresolved.

• True Person Yun Du set out to help Shi Jian, but Yan Qiu stopped him and forced him into a Golden Core duel.
• Eighteen Foundation Establishment cultivators broke through the back mountain’s defenses, and Shi Mo emerged to block their advance, killing one with a single blow.
• Lei Huan struck a cultivator with lightning, Lord Rat attacked with a blood Sha dagger, and Shi Yin’s frost weakened the invading cultivators.
• Sun Yao arrived with Shi Pan, who split the battlefield with stone pillars, and the five demons joined Sun Yao and the wounded Sun Mao against the attackers.
• Both sides resumed their fight, suffering heavy losses as the battle turned increasingly savage.

Sun Yao, Lord Rat, and the demons fought to protect the Sun Clan as the black-robed cultivators overwhelmed them, forcing a retreat into the clan-protecting grand array. Shi Jian completed the first trial, and a gigantic eye of Purple Firmament Divine Lightning opened in the sky to begin the second.

• Sun Yao directed the defenders while Shi Pan, Lord Rat, Lei Huan, Shi Mo, and Shi Yin held back the black-robed cultivators, but Shi Mo was injured and the enemy leader wounded.
• Sun Mao fought on despite his wounds until a flying-shuttle Law Artifact pierced his abdomen, while two cultivators blasted Lei Huan from the sky.
• Lord Rat withdrew the defenders into the clan-protecting grand array, and Sun Yao activated it to cover the main peak in lightning.
• Shi Jian completed the Spiritual Qi Trial as his Demon Core condensed into a solid core flickering with dark-purple lightning.
• A violent thundercloud vortex formed over Hongtian City, and a gigantic eye of Purple Firmament Divine Lightning opened in the sky as the second trial began.

As black-robed cultivators attacked the failing formation, Shi Jian faced the Purple Firmament Golden Lightning and endured its transformation. He shed his black bear bloodline and became a Lightning Bear, a Heaven and Earth Variant Species, while the battle outside remained unresolved.

• The black-robed cultivators' leader urged them to break the formation, hoping to claim Shi Jian's Demon Core and Heaven and Earth Qi.
• Lord Rat and the battered Demon Beasts defended the formation while Sun Yao used her Condensed Dew Pill to keep Sun Mao alive and poured her remaining spiritual power into the formation disc.
• Shi Jian left the underground cave abode and confronted the giant lightning eye as Purple Firmament warned him to absorb the Heaven and Earth Qi.
• Shi Jian summoned the Lightning Bear phantom and drew the Purple Firmament Divine Lightning into his body, which remade his flesh, bones, and meridians.
• Shi Jian expelled his remaining black bear bloodline and became a five-zhang Lightning Bear bearing the origin will of the Purple Firmament Divine Lightning.

Shi Jian completed Core Formation as a Level 5 Demon General and used his new power to destroy the cultivators attacking the mountain. After exposing and killing a spy connected to Yan Qiu, he turned his attention toward the distant battle between two Golden Core True Persons.

• Purple Firmament Divine Lightning refined Shi Jian's bloodline, and he formed a nine-pattern Purple-Gold Lightning Core.
• Shi Jian's roar shattered the Lightning-Attracting Grand Formation, and his lightning vaporized six attacking Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Shi Jian killed the fleeing late-stage Foundation Establishment leader and trapped the remaining attackers in a Lightning Prison, where he slaughtered them.
• Shi Jian confronted the puppet Sun Bo'an, seized the escaping black divine soul, learned it belonged to one of Yan Qiu's people, and devoured it.
• Shi Jian gazed toward the distant fight between two Golden Core True Persons and vowed to kill Yan Qiu.

Shi Jian arrived just as Yan Qiu was about to defeat Yun Du, revealed that he had reached the Golden Core realm, and joined Yun Du to fight the elder. After Shi Jian destroyed Yan Qiu’s shield and severed his arm with Thunder Roar, Yan Qiu summoned a blood-fired Heaven and Earth Furnace to pull Shi Jian in.

• Yan Qiu overpowered Yun Du with his tribulation fire and formed a giant sword to strike him down.
• Shi Jian appeared before Yun Du, revealed that Yan Qiu’s people were dead, and attacked Yan Qiu with Purple Firmament Divine Lightning.
• Yan Qiu unleashed nine fire dragons, while Yun Du used the Cloud-Dispelling Heaven-Locking Formation to restrain Yan Qiu and the dragons.
• Shi Jian charged through the fire dragons and blasted Yan Qiu with Thunder Roar, shattering his shield and severing his right arm.
• Yan Qiu drew out his origin Essence Blood and summoned the Heaven and Earth Furnace, whose suction began dragging Shi Jian toward it.