Chapter Summaries

Ten years after the war, a storyteller and White Cloud Temple officials described how the powers of the Profound Spirit Continent had changed. The Northern Protectorate prepared for a wider conflict as rival kingdoms and sects strengthened their forces.

• Old Man Bao recounted how the Profound Purity Sect drove the North Sea demons back after suffering devastating losses, while it and the Grand Purity Sect formed an alliance against the Clear Blue Kingdom.
• Old Man Bao explained that the Liang Kingdom's four sects had made peace and rebuilt their strength during the decade of turmoil.
• Sun Mao reported to True Person Yun Du that the Northern Protectorate had secured its territory and White Cloud Temple's annual revenue had reached about one million Spirit Stones.
• Sun Mao revealed that the Heavenly Sha Sect's Nascent Soul ancestors had secretly fled the continent with the sect's treasures and core disciples years earlier.
• True Person Yun Du warned that the Clear Blue Kingdom faced pressure from the Profound Purity and Grand Purity Sects and the Liang Kingdom, and ordered further war preparations.

True Lord Fang Yi assessed the Clear Blue Kingdom’s precarious position among rival powers and chose to wait for a chance to strengthen it. Meanwhile, Old Devil Xueling sought an alliance to help the weakened Jin Kingdom survive, and revealed that he had sent gifts to the Grand Purity Sect.

• True Lord Fang Yi learned that the Heavenly Sha Sect had fled to the Boundless Sea and rejected a proposal to attack the weakened Jin Kingdom.
• True Lord Fang Yi warned that the Profound Purity Sect, Grand Purity Sect, and Liang Kingdom posed threats to the Clear Blue Kingdom, and said he would wait for a shift in the balance of power.
• Old Devil Xueling convened the Jin Kingdom’s remaining Nascent Soul cultivators, who argued over whether to resist the Clear Blue Kingdom or flee to the Boundless Sea.
• Old Devil Xueling proposed joining forces with the remnants of the Wei Kingdom and revealed that he had sent lavish gifts to the Grand Purity Sect.

True Person Xuehe failed to secure an alliance with the Grand Purity Sect, whose ancestors chose to let the Clear Blue Kingdom and Jin Kingdom’s devil path weaken each other. Ten years later, White Cloud Temple had grown substantially, and Sun Mao and Zhao Yanshan headed to its main peak to discuss the provincial spiritual tax.

• True Person Xuehe offered the Grand Purity Sect treasures and an alliance against the Clear Blue Kingdom, but the sect refused and sent him away.
• The Grand Purity Sect’s Nascent Soul ancestors agreed to avoid war and let the Clear Blue Kingdom and the Jin Kingdom’s devil path struggle among themselves.
• Sun Qiyan sparred with Junior Brother Li at White Cloud Temple, defeating him with earth techniques while praising his swordsmanship.
• Sun Mao and Zhao Yanshan discussed White Cloud Temple’s growth and the Sun Clan’s influence among its disciples.
• Sun Mao and Zhao Yanshan discussed the growing Black Dog Line and their clans’ ties with the beast factions.
• Sun Mao and Zhao Yanshan went to the main peak for a meeting about the spiritual tax due to the provincial seat.

During a long peace, the Northern Mountain Range’s demons expanded their numbers and influence as Molten Fire Black Hounds became a profitable spirit beast. After Lord Rat broke through to Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, Shi Jian sent him to contact Shi Yin, the hidden white bear in the Supreme Purity Sect.

• Zhao Kuo sold a batch of Molten Fire Black Hound pups to a merchant for five hundred Spirit Stones each.
• Kuang Dou ordered his hounds to keep breeding and directed their earnings toward fire element spirit materials for his cultivation.
• The Northern Mountain Range’s demon bloodlines grew in strength and numbers during the peaceful years.
• Lord Rat broke through to Foundation Establishment Middle Stage in his underground cavern.
• Shi Jian ordered Lord Rat to go to the Supreme Purity Sect’s mountain gate in Qing Province and meet Shi Yin, who had been hidden there for decades.

Lord Rat met Shi Yin outside Clear Heaven Immortal City and received stolen intelligence, including the location of the hidden Nine Winds Valley secret realm. Shi Yin revealed that he had taken control of Zhou Tianle, and Lord Rat left to report to the ancestor so the Demon Beast tribes could plan to seize the realm.

• Lord Rat waited in the rock forest until Shi Yin appeared, then accepted a Storage Bag of intelligence for the ancestor.
• Shi Yin explained that the bag contained sect and provincial personnel records, troop deployments, Demon Beast Pill Formulas, and concealing Cultivation Methods taken through Zhou Tianle.
• Lord Rat read a red Jade Slip revealing that Nine Winds Valley held Wind Dao Heaven and Earth Qi and could be entered only by cultivators below Golden Core.
• Shi Yin told Lord Rat that he had gradually corrupted Zhou Tianle's soul and now controlled him through their beast-taming contract.
• Lord Rat departed for the White Cloud Temple to report the secret realm's location to the ancestor, while Shi Yin vanished into the night.

Shi Jian sent Lord Rat and nine Foundation Establishment demons to seize the resources in Nine Winds Valley, a secret realm hidden beneath Di Prefecture. After two Supreme Purity Sect disciples entered first, Lord Rat led the demons through the entrance to follow them.

• Lord Rat reported the discovery of Nine Winds Valley, and Shi Jian ordered him to lead ten Foundation Establishment demons there while Shi Jian remained in seclusion.
• Lord Rat gathered demons from the five bear lineages, taught them Shi Yin’s breath-concealing method, and led them south toward Di Prefecture.
• At Soul-Severing Ravine, the demons found the secret realm’s entrance but hid when two Supreme Purity Sect disciples arrived.
• The Wang cultivator used a formation disk to reveal the entrance, and he and Junior Sister Lin entered Nine Winds Valley seeking its Heaven and Earth Qi of the Dao of Wind.
• Lord Rat decided to use the two cultivators as pathfinders, then led the nine bear demons into the secret realm.

Lord Rat and his demons followed Wang and Junior Sister Lin through the collapsing secret realm toward Gale Gorge, where the pair were ambushed by Hurricane Demons. Lord Rat positioned his forces to attack as Wang and Lin’s formation came under pressure.

• Lord Rat discovered that flight was forbidden and Divine Sense was restricted, then led the ten great demons through the ruined secret realm behind Wang and Junior Sister Lin.
• Wang and Lin fought through bronze puppet guards and killing formations, searched an empty jade coffin, and learned from a remnant map that the Wind Dao Heaven and Earth Qi lay in Gale Gorge.
• Lord Rat ordered the demons to follow Wang and Lin south, where the wind grew violent as they entered the gorge.
• Dozens of Hurricane Demons attacked Wang and Lin, and Wang protected them with a formation as more than a hundred monsters gathered outside it.
• Lord Rat divided his forces: Shi Mo and Shi Pan would hold off the Hurricane Demons, the Lightning Bear demons would kill Wang when the formation broke, and Shuang Yu would deal with Lin.

Lord Rat and the demons rescued no one as they killed Wang Teng, Junior Sister Lin, and the Hurricane Demons in Nine Winds Valley. They reached a sinkhole and discovered the Wind Dao Heaven and Earth Qi, Mad Firmament Clear Mountain Mist Qi.

• Wang Teng detonated his formation flags to open a path through the Hurricane Demons, but Shi Mo and Shi Pan appeared and blocked his escape.
• Lord Rat declared that Nine Winds Valley belonged to their ancestor, and Wang Teng used a forbidden technique before Lei Nu killed him.
• Shuang Yu froze Junior Sister Lin and killed her as she tried to escape.
• At Lord Rat's command, the demons slaughtered the remaining Hurricane Demons, and Lord Rat took Wang Teng's Storage Bag.
• Lord Rat led the demons deeper into the canyon, where they found Mad Firmament Clear Mountain Mist Qi floating in a circular sinkhole.

Lord Rat and the demons secured the Wind Dao Heaven and Earth Qi from Nine Winds Valley and established the secret realm as a hidden outpost for the Demon Race. After returning to Shi Jian, Lord Rat received permission to use the Qi to strengthen the Spirit Rat Line and greater freedom to claim resources beyond their territory.

• Lord Rat sealed the Wind Dao Heaven and Earth Qi in a jade box, hoping it would transform the Spirit Rat Line’s bloodline.
• Lord Rat’s demons surveyed Nine Winds Valley, protected its resources, and left Shu Laosan to guard and manage the secret outpost.
• Lord Rat and eight bear demons concealed the secret realm’s entrance and returned to White Cloud Temple with the Qi and a list of gathered resources.
• Shi Jian dismissed concerns about the deaths of the two Supreme Purity Sect disciples and allowed Lord Rat to merge the Qi into the Spirit Rat Line’s mountain.
• Shi Jian praised Lord Rat’s plan for the outpost and authorized him to make decisions about pursuing resources in other secret realms and Blessed Lands.

Lord Rat built a rudimentary Wind Dao Blessed Land in the valley between the Spirit Rat Line’s two Spirit Mountains, using the Mad Firmament Clear Mountain Mist Qi as its catalyst. Its wind column began growing, but so slowly that Lord Rat left to seek a faster way to develop it.

• Lord Rat chose the wind-channel valley between the two Spirit Mountains and had ten Boulder Bear Demons reshape its floor and cliffs to gather wind Qi.
• Lord Rat linked Spirit Vein branches from both mountains and dug a pit where their Spiritual Qi turbulence could combine with the seasonal winds.
• Lord Rat bought the Zhao Clan’s wind-attributed spiritual treasures for fifteen thousand Spirit Stones and secured first priority on future wind materials.
• Lord Rat planted Wind Spirit Grass, arranged Wind Spirit Crystal Stones and Wind Eye Stones, and buried three wind-attributed Demon Cores around the pit.
• Lord Rat released the Mad Firmament Clear Mountain Mist Qi into the pit, forming a small, steady column of wind and completing the Blessed Land’s rudiment.
• Lord Rat saw the column grow only half a cun or a cun each month and decided to find a way to speed its development.

Lord Rat felt threatened by the Black Dog Line’s rapid growth and recognized that his own Spirit Rat Line had fallen behind. He considered replacing the Blood Dao that was damaging his foundation with the Dao of Hidden Wind, which suited rat demons’ talent for concealment.

• At the demons’ meeting, Lord Rat saw that Kuang Dou had advanced to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage and that the Black Dog Line was flourishing.
• Lord Rat compared the Spirit Rat Line’s limited strength with the Black Dog Line and the five bear lines, and admitted he could not accept falling behind.
• Back in his cave, Lord Rat recalled that Blood Sha had helped him reach Foundation Establishment but was now damaging his foundation and could eventually destroy his mind.
• Lord Rat reasoned that Hidden Wind could enhance the Spirit Rat Line’s concealment and compensate for its weak attack power, and he grew calm about pursuing the Wind Dao.

Lord Rat studied ancient records and decided to abandon his Blood Dao cultivation to rebuild his foundation through the Dao of Wind. He ordered the Spirit Rat Line to change its cultivation path and prepared to enter seclusion, leaving the clan facing a painful transformation.

• Lord Rat worried that removing the Blood Sha fused with his bloodline could cripple his cultivation, and asked the second rat whether sacrificing his power for the Spirit Rat Line would be worthwhile.
• Months later, Lord Rat searched ancient books for a way to change his bloodline and learned of a blood bat that had survived abandoning the Blood Dao, though the process could take years and cause severe pain.
• Shi Jian urged Lord Rat to stop hesitating and either make up his mind or give up on the plan, and Lord Rat returned to his clan determined to proceed.
• Lord Rat ordered the Spirit Rat Line to cultivate the Dao of Wind, assigned the Qi Refining rats to train near a wind-aligned Blessed Land, and moved the pups to a cave where they could grow up exposed to its Spiritual Qi.
• Lord Rat announced that he would enter seclusion to cripple his Blood Dao foundation and rebuild through the Dao of Wind, dismissing the second rat's fears about losing status among the other demon clans.

Lord Rat destroyed his Blood Dao foundation and spent four years cleansing the blood-Sha power from his body and rebuilding his cultivation through the Dao of Wind. He left seclusion with repaired meridians, cultivation near the Foundation Establishment threshold, and a transformed appearance.

• Lord Rat assigned Second Brother to manage the Spirit Rat Line's affairs while he entered seclusion to pursue a new path.
• Lord Rat shattered his supreme-grade Law Artifact, destroying the foundation of his Blood Dao cultivation and beginning to strip away its power.
• After nine months of severe pain, Lord Rat used Sha-Cleansing Spirit Pills to remove the blood-Sha Qi, leaving him with cultivation around the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.
• Lord Rat found that Dao of Wind spiritual power suited his rat bloodline, gradually healing his meridians as he rebuilt his foundation.
• Over the next four years, Lord Rat recovered to the Qi Refining Peak Stage and came close to Foundation Establishment.
• Lord Rat emerged from seclusion with gray-blue fur, a longer tail, and cyan spiritual light curling around its tip.

Lord Rat emerged from seclusion with improved wind abilities and established a new cultivation path for the Spirit Rat Line. The clan began adapting to the Dao of Wind, while Lord Rat hoped its growth would eventually let it catch up to the Black Dog Line.

• Lord Rat emerged at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage and demonstrated a powerful wind blade and concealment ability to Rat Second and the other rat yao.
• Lord Rat named the clan's new path and shared the Concealing Wind Instruction, which combined wind Spiritual Qi with the rats' innate concealment.
• The first pups born near the Dao of Wind Blessed Land developed bluish fur, glowing tail tips, and nearly silent movement, so Lord Rat named them Wind Rats.
• Rat Second found that the technique had improved his ability to sense Spirit Veins, allowing him to trace them fifty zhang underground.
• Lord Rat planted Wind Spirit Grass on the Spirit Rat Line's two spirit mountains and reshaped their cave passages to draw wind through them, creating small cultivation grounds.

Lord Rat rebuilt the Spirit Rat Line around the Dao of Wind while his cultivation recovered and the Sun Clan supplied spiritual materials. After three peaceful years, the ancestor broke through on Purple Firmament Peak, sending a terrifying surge of lightning and Spiritual Qi across the region.

• Lord Rat emerged from four years of seclusion with his cultivation reduced by a minor realm but a transformed spirit and bearing.
• Lord Rat focused his reform on young Wind Rat pups, while allowing the older generation to continue their existing cultivation paths.
• Over the next three years, the wind pillar grew to nine feet with help from the Sun Clan, and Lord Rat steadily recovered his cultivation.
• Thunderclouds swelled over Purple Firmament Peak as lightning and Spiritual Qi surged, forcing spirit beasts across the Northern Mountain Range to prostrate themselves.
• Lord Rat realized the ancestor had broken through, and disciples of White Cloud Temple saw the purple-gold light from the north.

Shi Jian broke through to the Golden Core Middle Stage, and Yun Du visited to congratulate him and ask for his help. Shi Jian agreed to stand guard when Yun Tianfan attempted Core Formation in half a year, though Tianfan lacked the Heaven and Earth Qi needed for a safe breakthrough.

• Shi Jian advanced to the Golden Core Middle Stage on Purple Firmament Peak, and Purple Firmament praised his cunning survival among humans.
• Yun Du arrived with Dao Transformation Essence-Gathering Dew and discussed the peaceful state of the surrounding kingdoms and sects with Shi Jian.
• Yun Du explained that Yun Tianfan, a Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator over two hundred years old, planned to attempt Core Formation without Heaven and Earth Qi.
• Yun Du asked Shi Jian to stand guard in case Yun Tianfan suffered Qi Deviation or a celestial backlash, and Shi Jian agreed.
• Yun Du said Yun Tianfan would begin his attempt in half a year, then left as Shi Jian returned to the summit.

Yun Tianfan prepared to attempt Core Formation without Heaven and Earth Qi, a perilous gamble that could kill him. With Shi Jian and Yun Du standing guard, he entered his cave abode after entrusting Yun Du with sect plans and naming promising young disciples.

• Shi Jian reflected on the deadly odds of attempting Core Formation without Heaven and Earth Qi and understood why Yun Tianfan had to take the risk.
• Half a year later, White Cloud Temple's disciples gathered as Yun Du and Shi Jian arrived to guard Yun Tianfan's breakthrough.
• Yun Du ordered the disciples to withdraw ten li and warned the hall deacons to protect them if unusual changes appeared in the heavens.
• Yun Tianfan emerged from his cave abode, gave Yun Du Jade Slips containing his hall notes and a thirty-year sect plan, and named Sun Chengzu, Lu Xun, and Lin Ruoshui as promising disciples.
• Yun Tianfan entered the cave abode, and its stone door closed behind him.

Yun Tianfan attempted Core Formation but could not gather the Heaven and Earth Qi needed to stabilize his core embryo. After the embryo shattered and destroyed his Dantian, he died and his Cloud Dao cultivation returned to White Cloud Temple’s mountains and rivers.

• Yun Tianfan passed the first Core Formation trial, condensing his spiritual power into liquid.
• Yun Tianfan failed to gather the Heaven and Earth Qi needed for the second trial and used his Essence Blood and remaining strength to form a core embryo.
• The core embryo shattered, destroying Yun Tianfan’s Dantian and causing his spiritual power and life force to disperse.
• Yun Tianfan remembered his life at White Cloud Temple and left final requests concerning the sect, Sun Yao, and the grounds he had tended.
• Yun Tianfan dissolved into clouds that spread over White Cloud Temple, returning his cultivation to the land.

After Yun Tianfan dissolved into the Dao, the White Cloud Temple mourned the loss of its Grand Elder. Sun Yao resolved to pursue Heaven and Earth Qi in the Kunyuan Secret Realm rather than risk Core Formation without it.

• Yun Du and Shi Jian watched Yun Tianfan’s final cloud vanish, while disciples of the White Cloud Temple mourned his death.
• The White Cloud Temple held a funeral without a body, and Yun Du placed a memorial tablet for Yun Tianfan in the council hall.
• Sun Yao emerged from seclusion and realized Yun Tianfan had attempted Core Formation without Heaven and Earth Qi because his lifespan was running out.
• Sun Yao concluded she could not wait for White Peak Cloud Gorge to produce Heaven and Earth Qi and resolved to seek it in the Kunyuan Secret Realm when it opened in thirty years.
• Sun Yao returned to seclusion to advance her cultivation, review her Cultivation Method, and study Secret Methods in preparation for the secret realm.

After Yun Tianfan's Dao Dissolution, Yun Du chose to abandon hopes of reaching the Nascent Soul realm and devote himself to nurturing White Peak Cloud Gorge and strengthening White Cloud Temple. As the sect's disciples competed for scarce Heaven and Earth Qi, Shi Jian settled into quiet cultivation while preparing to grow strong enough to protect himself and his kind.

• Yun Du told Shi Jian he would use the rest of his life to nurture the Blessed Land in White Peak Cloud Gorge and carry on White Cloud Temple's legacy rather than pursue the Nascent Soul realm.
• Yun Du asked Shi Jian to allocate more Northern Protectorate spiritual taxes to White Peak Cloud Gorge, and Shi Jian agreed with limits.
• After Yun Tianfan's death, White Cloud Temple's disciples grew more competitive over Heaven and Earth Qi; Sun Chengzu trained in the Return to Origin Sword Tomb, Lu Xun eyed the Thunder Pool Blessed Land, and Sun Yao entered death seclusion.
• After the mourning banners came down, Yun Du put Yun Tianfan's thirty-year plan into action and increased investment in the sect's Blessed Lands and facilities.
• Shi Jian continued cultivating on Purple Firmament Peak and resolved to become strong enough to protect himself and his kind before dormant forces erupted.