Recaps

Kang Dabao and Jiang Qing accompanied Fei Nanying to a Dao gathering in Meng County, where Guhongzi lectured and Fei introduced them to cultivators serving the Office of the Duke of Qin. The gathering moved to a barter exchange, where Kang Dabao noticed a piece of old silk beside a young woman's hand.

• Fei Nanying brought Kang Dabao and Jiang Qing to a gathering hosted by High Person Three Words at the Myriad Treasures Trading Company.
• Fei warned Kang Dabao that High Person Three Words had gained his cultivation at the cost of many mortal lives and advised him not to offend the cultivator.
• Guhongzi delivered a profound lecture, stopping at a crucial point until High Person Three Words collected additional payment from those who wanted to hear the rest.
• Fei praised Guhongzi's teaching and considered hiring him as a lecturing Attendant for the Fei Household.
• Fei introduced Kang Dabao to several Golden Core cultivators connected to the Office of the Duke of Qin at the barter gathering.
• Kang Dabao spotted a piece of old silk beside a young woman's hand.

At the exchange gathering, Kang Dabao watched Fei Nanying acquire a Golden Core Formation Pill for She Mountain Hall’s alchemist and grew suspicious of a Foundation Establishment pill offered by High Person Three Words. Later, at the Fei Household, Kang Dabao joined two silk fragments and deciphered the words “Outer Sea” and “Jade-Acquiring Pavilion.”

• Kang Dabao admired the rare treasures at the gathering, bought two bottles of Harmony Pills with Fei Nanying’s guidance, and considered raising his Luminous Sword Ape for Anle.
• Xu Lingzhi presented a Golden Core Formation Pill, and Fei Nanying outbid Kang Dabao to obtain it as a reward for Attendant Luan, but Sha Shan offered more and won the pill.
• Fei Nanying told Kang Dabao that Sha Shan’s Buried Spring Mound held a grudge over an old rebellion, and Kang Dabao offered to intervene if Sha Shan caused trouble.
• High Person Three Words sold a golden saber Law Treasure to Xu Lingzhi and offered pills said to improve the chance of Foundation Establishment; Fei Nanying accepted one, while Kang Dabao suspected it resembled a Blood Foundation Pill.
• At the Fei Household, Kang Dabao placed a formation disk beside him and joined two silk fragments, revealing the words “Outer Sea” and “Jade-Acquiring Pavilion.”

Kang Changyi returned to Chongming Sect, where he learned that several senior members were away and invited his family to celebrate his teacher’s newborn son. Meanwhile, Sect Leader Kang Da secured Attendant Luan’s help with the Three Origin Fruits and investigated a clue pointing toward the Jade-Gaining Tower, but hesitated to pursue it while trouble brewed at the Office of the Duke of Qin.

• Kang Changyi gave pastries to the hungry Nurturing Qilin Hall disciples and met Zheng Yuntong while riding his Azure Thunder Crimson Ox up the mountain.
• Kang Changyi met Ye Zhengwen, learned that the sect leader and several elders were away, and delivered an invitation to celebrate his teacher’s newborn son.
• Ye Zhengwen suggested that Fei Shuhe attend the celebration, and Kang Changyi remembered that she was in the sect; Ye Zhengwen also told him that his aunt from the Fei Household had arrived to prepare for Core Formation.
• Sect Leader Kang Da hosted Attendant Luan, who promised to refine the Three Origin Fruits into pills before entering life-or-death seclusion.
• Sect Leader Kang Da studied silk fragments naming the Jade-Gaining Tower, wondered whether it could lead him to Daoist Black Shoes, and then went to visit Kuang Liuting because he could not leave for the outer seas.

Kang Dabao met with Kuang Liuting, who asked how Kang’s family governed Cloud Horn Prefecture without oppressing its people. Kuang Liuting then hinted that Kang might be given responsibility beyond his current territory, pointing to Xian Prefecture in Huangpi Circuit.

• Fei Nanying warned Kang Dabao to control his temper before meeting Kuang Liuting, and Kang promised to be careful.
• Kang Dabao waited with the eunuch Su Chen, treated him courteously, and left him a Second Tier jade pendant before meeting Chu Han and Zhu Tong.
• Kuang Liuting told Kang Dabao that the Hehuan Sect had reported possible traces of a Demon Lieutenant inside the barrier, then asked him how his family’s lands had become peaceful.
• Kang Dabao advised Kuang Liuting that changing Great Wei too quickly could plunge its people into misery, and that reform needed time.
• Kuang Liuting admitted that he had given Ding Prefecture to the Kuang Household and said he had done so partly because Kang deserved a wider sphere of responsibility.
• Kuang Liuting pointed to Xian Prefecture on the map, and Kang Dabao recognized the place.

Kuang Liuting persuaded Kang Dabao to lead Chongming Sect forces against Xian Prefecture, promising territory and military support. Three months later, Chongming Sect routed the defenders, and Xian Prefecture fell after Kang Da killed the Swordless High Cultivator.

• Kuang Liuting ordered Kang Dabao to attack Xian Prefecture and offered him governance of six prefectures, while promising the Ying Mountain Army would guard his territory and reinforce him.
• Kang Dabao agreed after securing assurances about supplies and the likely weakness of his opponents.
• Five families of Immortal Peach Valley struggled through a deadly snowstorm toward Tang County, where the old cultivator learned they had been ordered to join the defense.
• The Chongming Sect broke through Tang County, and its forces advanced on the Ghost Sword Sect's camp before the defenders could organize.
• Kang Da killed the Swordless High Cultivator in three halberd strikes, and Xian Prefecture fell.

After the Chongming Sect took Tang County and most of Xian Prefecture, You Xiaobao received new command duties while Kang Dabao prepared to wait for rival forces to weaken each other. The chapter ended with Kang Dabao wishing to become the one who controlled the game rather than a piece in it.

• You Xiaobao stopped a Pine Wind Volunteer from killing the weeping civilians and was ordered to take over the responsibilities of the fatally wounded Dong Hu.
• He Chang and Tang Jiu directed the Pine Wind Volunteers to clear Tang County and wait before advancing further.
• Kang Dabao shared the Ghost Sword Sect treasury among the Core Masters and assigned Kang Xiangyi to inventory and distribute its contents.
• Kang Dabao explained that he planned to wait while the Rouge Temple and Thousand Buddha Grove fought the Cloud Marsh Shaman Venerable Hall, then confirmed the Fei Household had reinforced Mountain South.
• Kang Dabao reflected that he remained a chess piece and wondered what it would be like to control the game.

Bai Canhong arranged aid for Huang Mi while directing Xiang Tianxing to manage the Star-Picking Pavilion’s dealings with the demon forces. At the Chongming Sect, Duan Yunzhou returned from seclusion as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and Fei Wanqing sought access to the Scripture Repository to advance her Core Formation studies.

• Bai Canhong ordered Xiang Tianxing to send five repaired Third Tier puppets and two copper corpses to help Huang Mi, and told him to check on Pu Honggu and coordinate with Demon Lieutenant Feng Yun.
• Duan Yunzhou emerged from seclusion after reaching Foundation Establishment and learned that his father and the sect leader had captured most of Xian Prefecture.
• Zhou Kun told Duan Yunzhou how the Chongming Sect was working to supply and support the campaign in Xian Prefecture.
• Yuan Jin agreed to let Fei Wanqing study in the Chongming Sect’s restored Scripture Repository.
• Fei Wanqing asked whether her brother-in-law’s notes on Core Formation were there, and Yuan Jin offered to ask the sect leader in Xian Prefecture.

Kang Dabao sent He Degong back with Core Formation notes and ordered Jiang Qing to gather prisoners for the Hehuan Sect in the Three Ting Prefectures. Jiang Qing assigned Jin Shilun and Bian Hu to deliver them to Martial Uncle Lian, while warning them to report any trouble.

• Kang Dabao gave He Degong edited Core Formation notes and told him to buy scarce supplies for the Double Brightness Caravan.
• After receiving a message that the Hehuan Sect wanted cultivators sent to the Three Ting Prefectures, Kang Dabao ordered Jiang Qing to collect prisoners for the trip.
• You Xiaobao met Zhu Yunsheng outside the prison, where Zhu offered to recommend him for a place in the Crimson Zhang Guard.
• Jin Shilun and Liu Ya tried to convert Wu Shigu with an enlistment talisman, while Wu Shigu accused the Chongming Sect of serving the Immortal Dynasty.
• Jiang Qing ordered Jin Shilun to take the prisoners to Martial Uncle Lian and warned him to report any difficulties in the Three Ting Prefectures.

Gada weighed the Duke of Qin’s campaign and gave He Degong a Red Heart Stone that could extend a Qi Refinement cultivator’s life, while worrying about the conflict between the Chan Master and the abbot. In Divine Sword City, Kang Dabao learned that Huang Mi had killed a Golden Core cultivator, prompting him to prepare the Chongming Sect to march again.

• Gada asked Wisdom Consort Baochai about the stalled fighting in Si Prefecture and the Kuang Household’s campaign against the Cloud Water Sect.
• Gada received He Degong, gave him a Red Heart Stone, and learned which officials had received gifts on Kang Dabao’s behalf.
• Gada reflected that Kang Dabao was a capable and generous leader, then worried that the campaign would reveal whether the Chan Master or the abbot was right.
• Kang Dabao dined with Chongming Sect cultivators at Songshi Tower, where they discussed Xian Prefecture’s pacification and the new conscripts gathered there.
• Kang Dabao read a message reporting that Huang Mi had defeated the master of Rouge Temple and Master Shexin and killed a Golden Core from Thousand Buddha Grove.
• Kang Dabao told the Chongming Sect cultivators they could not remain in Xian Prefecture and needed to go to war again.

After the battle in Huo Prefecture, He Chang gathered blood spirit grass while Duan Anle redirected Han Xundao and sent Kang Changyan and Kang Changzhao to gain real experience. Jiang Qing then deduced that the Cloud Marsh Shaman Venerable Hall had no powerful cultivators left in Huo Prefecture and hurried to inform his senior brother.

• He Chang harvested blood spirit grass from the battlefield before reinforcements could arrive.
• Han Xundao brought Kang Changyan and Kang Changzhao to search for survivors, but He Chang challenged his attempt to earn them easy merit.
• Duan Anle ordered Han Xundao to transport military supplies and sent Kang Changyan and Kang Changzhao to assist Liu Ya's battalion in hunting routed enemies.
• Duan Anle warned He Chang that loyal forces and a hall master remained in Huo Prefecture, and urged the sect to move quickly toward Le Prefecture as the situation near Si Prefecture worsened.
• Jiang Qing and the capital-region household heads encountered and killed an enemy Core master, after which Jiang Qing concluded the Cloud Marsh Shaman Venerable Hall had no one powerful left in Huo Prefecture.

Fei Wanqing studied Kang Da’s Core Formation thesis and finally discovered the mistake behind her stalled Core, then emerged from seclusion eager to return home. At the Green Lotus Courtyard, Fei Shuhe tested Kang Lingyi’s household-management skills, and Wanqing offered to take her as a founding disciple after forming her Core, but news from outside interrupted them.

• Fei Wanqing recited Kang Da’s Core Formation thesis, endured a painful surge of Spiritual Qi, and realized her mistaken understanding of clarity and turbidity had blocked her Core formation.
• Fei Wanqing emerged from seclusion, learned that Kang Da was still leading the army in Huangpi Circuit, and went with Nanny Tang to find Fei Shuhe.
• Fei Shuhe tested Kang Lingyi on household accounts and praised her attention to detail, while reminding her that household management should not damage personal bonds.
• Fei Wanqing offered to take Kang Lingyi as her founding disciple after forming her Core, and Fei Shuhe welcomed the proposal.
• A gatekeeper’s conversation reached the courtyard, and Kang Lingyi reacted to the news that the Master of the Star-Picking Pavilion had made a move.

Bai Canhong warned True Person Moon Hidden and True Person Crimson Snow that the Star-Picking Pavilion would resist the Kuang family's demands, while both remained committed to supporting the Office of the Duke of Qin. In Huo Prefecture, the Double Brightness Alliance's forces broke through the enemy formation, prompting Sect Leader Kang Da to confront Yu Nian'en.

• Bai Canhong challenged True Person Moon Hidden and True Person Crimson Snow over their support for the Office of the Duke of Qin, then threatened to fight them if they continued to oppose the Star-Picking Pavilion.
• True Person Crimson Snow reaffirmed the Hehuan Sect's loyalty, while True Person Moon Hidden accepted that Five Old Mothers Mountain had no way to turn back; she promised to protect his disciples if disaster struck.
• True Person Crimson Snow offered True Person Moon Hidden her sect's intimate-union cultivation method, and the scene shifted to the battlefield in Huo Prefecture.
• Ye Zhengwen ordered the Double Brightness Alliance's forces to deploy their sword puppets and formations as they pressed the Cloud Marsh Shaman Venerable Hall's troops.
• The Chongming Sect's formations broke through the Vajra Battle Formation, and the Double Brightness Alliance surrounded another unit of shaman soldiers.
• Yu Nian'en emerged to oversee the battle, and Sect Leader Kang Da charged forward to meet him.

Kang Rongquan led the Crimson Zhang Guards against the Cloud Marsh Shaman Venerable Hall’s fierce shaman soldiers and Buddhist cultivators, turning the battle after Xu Bing died and Yang Xun was badly wounded. As the Alliance began to gain the advantage, a heavy object came crashing down from the sky.

• Duan Anle took command beneath the great battle standard while False Core Pill Masters joined the fighting across the formations.
• A loose-haired monk killed Xu Bing with a Buddhist handprint, then shielded his allies with lotus petals while A Guman charged the Crimson Zhang Guards.
• A Guman overwhelmed Yang Xun, but Kang Rongquan descended to fight him and summoned a wood demon that crushed him.
• Kang Rongquan, Jin Shilun, and Dai Fuzhi rallied the Crimson Zhang Guards, who broke through the disordered shaman soldiers and battle monks.
• The loose-haired monk saw the Cloud Marsh Shaman Venerable Hall losing ground as a heavy object fell from the vast void.

Kang Da and the Chongming Sect broke the Cloud Marsh Shaman Venerable Hall’s formation, routed its forces, and defeated Yu Nian'en despite his three Third Tier puppets. With Yu Nian'en and the surviving Core Masters captured, Kang Da led the Double Brightness cultivators toward the Hall’s headquarters in Huo Prefecture.

• Yu Nian'en fell to Kang Da’s attack, and the Cloud Marsh Shaman Venerable Hall’s formation collapsed as its soldiers and battle monks lost heart.
• Duan Anle released the five hundred Sky-Treading Cavalry, and Liu Ya led them against the routed enemy while Jin Tanglü helped scatter their ranks.
• Yuan Buwen and the Chongming Sect’s fighters overwhelmed the Hall’s Core Masters, and Kang Dabao defeated Yu Nian'en’s three puppets in battle.
• Kang Da used the Sharpened Spirit Thorn to stop Yu Nian'en’s escape, then captured him and the three puppets as the remaining Core Masters surrendered.
• Kang Da ordered the Double Brightness cultivators to follow him toward the Cloud Marsh Shaman Venerable Hall’s headquarters.

Kuang Liuting sent Buse to Huo Prefecture to aid Kang Dabao, while Buse secured a letter of introduction from Qin Sufu. In Tang County, news that the Rouge Temple and Thousand Buddha Grove were failing prompted Kang Rongquan to assign You Xiaobao’s squad to escort wounded soldiers home.

• Kuang Liuting promised Qin Sufu resources for Core Formation and ordered Buse to travel to Huo Prefecture to support Kang Dabao.
• Buse asked Qin Sufu for a letter to Kang Dabao and gave him an Ancient Treasury Pill in return.
• After leaving Buse’s residence, Qin Sufu wrestled with his doubts about his younger brother’s success and reaffirmed his ambition to advance the Immortal Dynasty’s cause.
• Buse privately worried that Bai Canhong might see through his concealed Lion Hidden Thunder Art and wondered what trump card Kuang Liuting possessed.
• In Tang County, Kang Rongquan received news that the Rouge Temple and Thousand Buddha Grove were in trouble and ordered You Xiaobao’s squad to escort wounded soldiers aboard a flying boat.

Jiang Qing received the forty-two Three Talents Origin-Nourishing Pills and went to cultivate at Yangming Mountain while the Chongming Sect's war continued. There, Ye Zhengwen learned that supply shortages across the region were worsening and urged Cloud Horn Prefecture to send whatever resources it could spare.

• Attendant Luan reported that he had refined the nine Three Origin Fruits into forty-two Three Talents Origin-Nourishing Pills, and Kang Dabao assigned every pill to Jiang Qing.
• Jiang Qing traveled to Yangming Mountain with his Luminous Sword Ape, where Ye Zhengwen arranged his cultivation and oversaw the station's defenses and supplies.
• Ye Zhengwen questioned Zhu Yunsheng about the latest shipment from the Double Brightness Merchant Alliance and learned that it lacked many requested items, especially Second-Tier supplies.
• He Degong explained that the prolonged war had left the surrounding prefectures short of pills, weapons, talismans, and other supplies, and that Yuan Jin had struggled to gather even the incomplete shipment.
• Ye Zhengwen asked He Degong to tell Yuan Jin to levy the local militia and use its inferior armor and weapons to ease the shortage at the front.

Sect Leader Kang Da led the Double Brightness Alliance’s difficult advance into Ink Cloud Marsh, where the Cloud Marsh Shaman Venerable Hall’s defenses and counterattacks inflicted heavy losses. After the alliance had fought its way halfway through the marsh, Kang Da learned that the hall’s army was returning from Si Prefecture.

• After Yu Nian'en died, Preceptor Huang Mi quickly rallied the Cloud Marsh Shaman Venerable Hall, and Xia Ming returned from Si Prefecture with two copper corpses.
• Kang Dabao scouted Ink Cloud Marsh alone, encountered Xia Ming by the sect’s hidden mountain gate, and escaped after the Shaman Ancestor Banner was not activated in time.
• Kang Da used conscript soldiers to clear a path through the marsh and won support from Huo Prefecture families by treating them leniently.
• Huo Prefecture volunteers suffered heavy casualties amid the miasma and marsh traps, while Kang Rongquan’s crop masters planted purifying Spirit Plants to maintain a safe route.
• Xia Ming sent sect disciples to harass the advancing alliance, and Kang Da pursued and killed a False Core cultivator after the cultivator’s jade token shattered.
• As the alliance struggled halfway through the marsh and Kang Rongquan’s seeds ran low, Kang Da received word that the Cloud Marsh Shaman Venerable Hall army was returning from Si Prefecture.

Sect Leader Kang Da ordered the Double Brightness Alliance to withdraw from Ink Cloud Marsh, where Xia Ming’s counterattack forced a difficult retreat before the two armies separated. Back at Little Ring Mountain, Fei Shuhe rebuked Yuan Xiyue and arranged for the younger Kang children to pursue training and study in Ying Prefecture.

• Sect Leader Kang Da ordered the offensive halted, directed Elder Ye to fortify Yangming Mountain, and led the Double Brightness Alliance in a gradual retreat.
• Xia Ming used a spirit pearl to thicken Ink Cloud Marsh’s miasma, while Kang Rongquan and the alliance’s guards worked to keep the retreating troops moving in formation.
• Xia Ming attacked with spirit fish and the Shaman Ancestor Banner, but Duan Anle coordinated the Azure Jue Guard’s defense as Kang Dabao fought him back.
• Kang Dabao and Xia Ming broke off their clash, and Kang Da led the alliance toward Xian Prefecture to regroup and prepare for battle.
• Fei Shuhe told Yuan Xiyue to send the younger boys to Ying Prefecture and arranged for Lingyi to study under Wanqing after Wanqing’s Golden Core attainment.

Yuan Jin ordered Chongming Sect to prepare aid for Xian Prefecture and assigned Duan Yunzhou to recruit volunteers with improved rewards. As the recruitment surged, veteran disciples Mo Ku and Du Qing brought their families and supplies to serve, leaving Duan Yunzhou humbled by their loyalty to the sect.

• Yuan Jin briefed Chongming Sect’s elders on preparations for Xian Prefecture, warned them to stay alert, and told them not to spread the news deliberately.
• Yuan Jin let Duan Yunzhou take charge of recruiting volunteers, raising Merit Points rewards and allowing promises of supplies, Spirit Veins, and cave abodes.
• Duan Yunzhou recruited volunteers under Kang Dabao’s reputation, and applications from Cloud Horn Prefecture and neighboring territories quickly exceeded half the quota.
• Mo Ku and Du Qing brought younger members of their families to enlist, while Mo Ku donated their stored supplies to Chongming Sect.
• Mo Ku rebuked Duan Yunzhou for treating their contribution as something to report for credit, then explained how scattered Chongming disciples were supporting the sect’s crisis effort.
• Mo Ku asked Duan Yunzhou to give his family’s young members a chance to serve, and Duan Yunzhou recognized the depth of the veteran disciples’ loyalty.

Kang Dabao and the Chongming Sect prepared to withstand the Cloud Marsh Shaman Venerable Hall’s renewed assault on Yangming Mountain as both sides counted heavy losses. Kang Dabao gained the upper hand in his duel with Preceptor Huang Mi, but the enemy army launched a brutal attack on the formation, and fighting flared elsewhere in Mountain South and Mountain North.

• Kang Dabao reviewed the casualties and shortages with Ye Zhengwen and Duan Anle, ordered support for the wounded and the Stone Mountain Sect, and warned Duan Anle to keep Kang Rongquan from risking himself at the front.
• Preceptor Huang Mi learned that his forces had suffered major casualties and defections, then ordered his commanders to force their troops into battle without retreating.
• Kang Dabao met Preceptor Huang Mi outside the formation and used his halberd, Golden Eyes, and battle arts to drive the old monk back, though Huang Mi survived and withdrew to his ranks.
• Xia Ming and Gou Shier led an assault on the grand formation with bronze corpses, spirit puppets, battle monks, and shaman soldiers, causing Chongming Sect forces to suffer heavy casualties.
• As the battle at Yangming Mountain began, fighting also changed unexpectedly before the forces conducting feint attacks in Mountain South and Mountain North.

The Cloud Marsh Shaman Venerable Hall attacked Yangming Mountain, and Wei Gu’s Mysterious Yellow Encircling Veins Formation held off repeated assaults before the main banner was destroyed. Kang Da’s forces fought through a brutal battle until Preceptor Huang Mi ordered a retreat, while a message talisman reached a living thing in a secret chamber at Rosy Lake Mountain.

• Ye Zhengwen recorded the defenders’ deeds as the Mysterious Yellow Encircling Veins Formation battered the attacking battle monks and shaman soldiers.
• Preceptor Huang Mi brought out third-tier crossbow cannons, and one formation master died as the main and auxiliary banners took damage.
• Wei Gu’s formation dispersed a third-tier formation-breaking bolt, but the main banner then exploded and the formation collapsed.
• Duan Anle organized the Crimson Zhang Guard and Azure Jue Guard as Kang Da’s forces fought the invading battle monks and shaman soldiers in a bloody melee.
• Preceptor Huang Mi withdrew after his forces suffered heavy losses, while Kang Da’s battered defenders tended their wounded beneath the moonlight.
• A message talisman reached a secret chamber at Rosy Lake Mountain, where an indescribable living thing breathed heavily.

Kuang Liuting questioned Fei Tianqin about True Person Tiger Spring’s failure to support the Immortal Dynasty and sent messages to the Great Abyss Capital and the open sea. At Yangming Mountain, Kang Dabao’s forces counted their losses, prepared to rebuild their defenses, and learned that reinforcements had arrived in Cloud Horn Prefecture.

• Kuang Liuting heard that the Rouge Temple and Thousand Buddha Grove had withdrawn from Si Prefecture, then asked Fei Tianqin what True Person Tiger Spring had promised and whether True Person Cloud Trust might have betrayed him.
• Kuang Liuting assigned Fei Tianqin to assist the Marquis of Martial Peace in Xian Prefecture and help the Ye Prefecture Yang Household, then wrote and sent a lengthy message in two directions.
• Kang Dabao and Duan Anle assessed Yangming Mountain’s casualties; Duan Anle reported that Xiu Ming had died, and Kang Dabao ordered the Ingenious Craftsman Fort to choose a new sect leader.
• Kang Dabao treated the gravely wounded Wei Gu, who gave him a Jade Slip containing notes on repairing the Mysterious Yellow Encircling Veins Formation before losing consciousness.
• Kang Dabao and Buse learned that the Marquis of Martial Peace and the Marquis of Fengcheng had driven the Two Instruments Sect’s forces back a hundred li, while the Marquis of Gucheng and the Ying Mountain Army were on their way.

On Yangming Mountain, Kang Dabao’s forces trained, repaired the damaged formation, and struggled to treat the wounded while preparing for Preceptor Huang Mi’s return. Yuan Buwen saw Kang Changyan and Kang Changzhao grow through their work, and the chapter ended with the mountain’s people becoming its strongest defense.

• The volunteers drilled under the Crimson Zhang Guard’s harsh discipline as formation masters and Alchemists worked to restore the mountain’s defenses and treat its wounded.
• Yuan Buwen reflected on the Xuanlin Yuan Household’s alliance with Kang Dabao and watched Kang Changyan and Kang Changzhao assist in the Alchemy Chamber.
• Kang Changzhao and Kang Changyan hurried to prepare medicine after Chen Zihang warned that shamanic poison was killing more wounded cultivators.
• Kang Dabao showed Yuan Buwen protective jade pendants for his sons and explained that they still needed to endure danger and become stronger.
• Qi Ke made a batch of pills that could save twenty people, the formation masters restored part of the Mysterious Yellow formation, and the volunteers sharpened their spear formation.
• Yuan Buwen wrote home praising the brothers’ progress, while Kang Dabao watched the people of Yangming Mountain prepare for Preceptor Huang Mi’s approaching counterattack.

Daoist Black Shoes entered Billowing Dream Palace, where Deputy Envoy Changxiao offered sea patrol lieutenants an assignment to aid Yangming Mountain, but Black Shoes declined to return to Shannan Circuit. At Yangming Mountain, Bone-Eroding Flying Locusts broke through the formation until the Ying Mountain Army arrived and turned the battle in the defenders’ favor.

• The palace general recognized Daoist Black Shoes for killing a Heavenly Lance Flame Beast and warmly welcomed him into Billowing Dream Palace.
• Deputy Envoy Changxiao presented the lieutenants with an assignment to assist a junior of the palace master in the southwest, and Daoist Black Shoes saw repeated references to Chongming Sect and Yangming Mountain.
• Daoist Black Shoes told Deputy Envoy Changxiao he had to attend talent-selection ceremonies and training-ground reviews, then destroyed the assignment details with Sword Qi.
• The Shaman Venerable Hall unleashed Bone-Eroding Flying Locusts against Yangming Mountain, while Jin Shilun killed a shaman priest and Qi Ke and Gun Fangmu were unable to save a poisoned volunteer follower.
• The Ying Mountain Army arrived under Fei Enwen, burned the locusts, and helped Kang Dabao kill Xia Ming and Buse bind Gou Shier.

After the Fei Household army routed Huang Mi’s forces, Kang Dabao’s Chongming Sect began rebuilding Yangming Mountain while the Ying Mountain Army pursued the Cloud Marsh Shaman Venerable Hall into Ink Cloud Marsh. Kang Dabao dealt with deserters from two allied households, and the story left the campaign ongoing as the sect recovered and the army struggled to advance.

• Fei Nanying and Fei Donggu led the Ying Mountain Army in breaking Huang Mi’s formation, forcing him to flee to Ink Cloud Marsh with fewer than half his battle monks.
• Kang Dabao thanked the Fei elders for their aid, and Fei Nanying and Fei Donggu promised support and rewards while warning him not to settle at Yangming Mountain permanently.
• Ten days later, the Fei elders departed with the three captured hall masters, while the Ying Mountain Army made little progress through Ink Cloud Marsh and Kang Dabao oversaw the Chongming Sect’s recovery.
• Yang Xun and Wei Gu directed battlefield cleanup and repairs when a report arrived that more than a hundred deserters from the Wind Stone Fang Household and Cloud Valley Zhang Household had been found.
• Kang Dabao told the two household heads to take their deserters back and deal with them, and the heads slaughtered the routed soldiers outside the hall.