Chapter Summaries

After Chen Ye was identified as Shen Ang’s killer, the prefectural court placed a bounty on him and forces gathered to attack the Grass Witch Cult. Kang Dabao and his Chongming Sect juniors were ordered to join the assault, while the besieging forces faced fiercer resistance than expected and Jia Wenze was injured.

• An investigator concluded that Chen Ye had killed Shen Ang, and Acting Sima Gun issued a bounty for Chen Ye alive or dead.
• Daoist Black Shoes warned Kang Dabao and the Chongming Sect juniors to avoid Chen Ye and help hunt Grass Witch Cult disciples instead.
• Li Sun was flying on his Green Leaf sword when Jiang Qing killed him, and Kang Dabao counted him as their fourth Grass Witch Cult target.
• Kang Dabao’s group stopped injured Rogue Cultivators, questioned them, and learned that the Grass Witch Cult’s formation had devastated the attacking forces.
• Heng Yiban of the Book and Sword Gate found Kang Dabao’s group and led them toward the Grass Witch Cult’s grounds.
• The New Cloud Alliance’s assault on the Grass Witch Cult’s grand formation proved more brutal than the attack on the Five Aspects Sect, and Jia Wenze was injured.

Kang Dabao used a strategy of leaving the Grass Witch Cult an escape route to weaken its defenders’ resolve, then spotted a flaw in the formation and led the alliance’s assault. As the formation began to fail and the cult’s disciples fled, its chief ritual shaman turned his fury on Jia Wenze.

• Jia Wenze asked Kang Dabao to help devise a way to break the Grass Witch Cult’s formation, and Kang Dabao proposed opening an escape route rather than pressing the attack.
• The alliance withdrew most of its forces from one side while Kang Dabao threw the severed heads of Grass Witch Cult disciples against the barrier, unsettling the defenders.
• Kang Dabao tested a combination of Heavenly Thunder Seeds and a Three Talents Formation-Assisting Talisman, while Jia Wenze returned to the field, recovered from his injury.
• A fleeing Grass Witch Cult disciple was killed by the chief ritual shaman’s Black Death Nail, but Kang Dabao stopped Shen Jin and Shen Tu from pursuing him.
• After Jia Wenze’s sword strike disrupted the defenders’ hand seals, Kang Dabao spotted the formation weakening and ordered the alliance to attack.
• The formation began to crack under the assault, Elder Zhao fled, and the chief ritual shaman vowed to kill Jia Wenze in revenge.

The New Cloud Alliance defeated the Grass Witch Cult, divided its spoils, and returned home after heavy losses and a Rogue Cultivator uprising. In the aftermath, Chen Ye killed Shi Xiao and used his Essence Blood in a dangerous blood-swapping ritual to pursue Foundation Establishment.

• Jia Wenze killed the Grass Witch Cult's chief sacrificial shaman with help from Heng Yiban, and Kang Dabao's group helped break the cult's formation and collect spoils.
• Jia Wenze left to recover, and Rogue Cultivators rebelled during the siege; Shen Jin died from scorpion venom before the New Cloud Alliance eventually routed the rebels and fleeing cult disciples.
• Heng Yiban punished the captured rebels, and the surviving alliance members divided the Grass Witch Cult's stores, with the Chongming Sect receiving twenty percent.
• Kang Dabao secured books and formation materials, then returned to the Chongming Sect with his junior brothers.
• Chen Ye killed Shi Xiao, performed the final stages of the Change Yin ritual, and swallowed a blood-infused pill before sitting in meditation.

Kang Dabao’s Chongming Sect gained prestige after Daoist Black Shoes crushed the Auspicious Brocade Gate, and He Yuanbing joined the sect as Jiang Qing’s disciple. On the journey home, the He brothers discussed the cost of supporting Senior Lang and He Degong decided to try opening a new trade route.

• Kang Dabao learned that Jia Wenze had died from his injuries and that Tie Liuyun was hunting down the Grass Witch Cult’s remnants.
• Daoist Black Shoes killed four of the Auspicious Brocade Gate’s six Foundation Establishment cultivators, restoring the New Cloud Alliance’s prestige and drawing gifts and visits to the Chongming Sect.
• Kang Dabao turned away Xue Hu’s request for help, then welcomed the He brothers as they arranged for He Yuanbing to become Jiang Qing’s disciple.
• Jiang Qing accepted He Yuanbing’s tea, gave him artifacts, and had Pei Yi enter him into the Chongming Sect’s register.
• He Degong agreed to try opening a new trade route after he and He Dezong discussed Senior Lang’s rising demands and the cost of sending He Yuanbing to a major sect.

Pei Yi married the Kuai Household’s youngest daughter in a lively Chongming Sect celebration, where Sect Leader Kang Da reflected on his strained marriage and growing responsibilities. After the feast, he returned to cultivation and tended Little Qi and his Lion Insects before preparing to resume work at the Double Brightness Trade Market.

• Pei Yi married the Kuai Household’s youngest daughter, and Chongming Sect members and their guests celebrated through the night.
• Sect Leader Kang Da watched Fei Shuhe behave graciously at the wedding and maintained the appearance of a devoted husband as she departed.
• Sect Leader Kang Da returned to his quiet courtyard and fed Little Qi Ram’s Horn Coral so he could meditate.
• Sect Leader Kang Da fed his Lion Insects Moon-Reflecting Rock and considered how they might strengthen his combat abilities.
• Sect Leader Kang Da resumed cultivation before his return to the Double Brightness Trade Market in ten days.

He Yuanbing attended Jiang Qing’s scripture lesson, then trained with the sect’s combat puppet to improve his weak fighting skills. After narrowly defeating it, he heard that Duan Anle had returned with news that caught the disciples’ interest.

• He Yuanbing arrived early for Jiang Qing’s scripture lesson, which ended without testing the disciples.
• Mo'er continued helping Jin Shilun in the kitchen after awakening her spirit and becoming a cultivator.
• He Yuanbing used Merit Points to challenge a Qi Refinement Fourth Layer training puppet and defeated it with his saber and bronze mirror.
• Pei Que claimed he could easily beat the training puppet even at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, dampening He Yuanbing’s excitement.
• Duan Anle returned after delivering the sect’s pack team to Lu Xun and brought news that interested the disciples.

Duan Anle told Pei Que and He Yuanbing that a brothel was planned for Double Brightness Trade Market, while Kang Dabao and Ye Zhengwen discovered that its incoming Foundation Establishment guard was the bandit who had once nearly killed them. Fire Dragon Daoist accepted Sima Fei’s orders to guard the market and learned he must obey its officials, especially Kang Dabao.

• Duan Anle told his junior brothers that rogue cultivators planned to open a brothel in Double Brightness Trade Market, and Pei Que and He Yuanbing pretended they had no interest in visiting it.
• Ye Zhengwen scolded the young disciples for discussing brothels, then went to Kang Dabao and revealed that Fire Dragon Daoist had given Kang Dabao the scar on his neck during the Black Ghost Bandits’ ambush.
• Kang Dabao remembered the ambush and realized that Fire Dragon Daoist, whom the prefectural court had recruited, had been a bandit who accepted amnesty.
• Sima Fei ordered Fire Dragon Daoist to guard Double Brightness Trade Market and follow its officials’ instructions, naming Kang Dabao as someone he must not offend.
• Fire Dragon Daoist agreed to obey and left determined to treat Kang Dabao with care.

Han Yundao, Ye Zhengwen, and Zhou Xinran traveled with Kang Dabao to the Double Brightness Trade Market to prepare for the Chongming Sect's business there. Kang Dabao met Fire Dragon Daoist without being recognized, hiding his hostility as he welcomed the cultivator who had once scarred him.

• Han Yundao learned that Pei Yi would take the Black Blood Colt to visit the Kuai Household, so he and little Wu Meng cleaned the golden-haired old donkey instead.
• Duan Anle visited the beast enclosure to prepare pack beasts for Lu Xun's trip to Jin County and showed Han Yundao his Gray Spirit Falcon.
• Kang Dabao set out for the market with Han Yundao, Ye Zhengwen, and Zhou Xinran, whose father Zhou Yixiu reluctantly let her go.
• At the market entrance, Huo Ying appeared as Kang Dabao arrived, but he ignored her and went inside to meet the market officials.
• Kang Dabao respectfully introduced himself to Fire Dragon Daoist, who did not recognize him, while Kang Dabao concealed his resentment over the scar Fire Dragon Daoist had given him.

Kang Dabao, Xu Yingshi, and Deng Baichuan received Sima Fei’s orders for the completed Double Brightness Trade Market and discussed its finances and security. The chapter ended with Kang and Xu facing the challenge of building a bandit-catching office, each considering where to find reliable recruits.

• Kang Dabao, Xu Yingshi, and Deng Baichuan heard Fire Dragon Daoist deliver Sima Fei’s order to choose an auspicious opening date and report it to the Sima’s office.
• Deng Baichuan summoned Feng En, who reported that the market’s shops were leased and that rents had recovered ninety percent of construction costs.
• Deng Baichuan gave Kang Dabao and Xu Yingshi golden Storage Bags containing rewards from the two Simas, and both men accepted them.
• Feng En reported that preparations for the market’s bandit-catching office had not begun, prompting Kang Dabao and Xu Yingshi to consider how they would command its armed force.
• Deng Baichuan said Acting Sima Gun wanted the bandit-catching office established before making further decisions, while Kang Dabao and Xu Yingshi wondered where to find reliable recruits.

Han Yundao and Pei Que searched Great Crow Ridge for the bandits who had robbed a traveler, but found only mortal bandits and spirit herbs until an injured Round-Horned Rabbit led them to a Rogue Cultivator carrying Orchid Spirit Charcoal. They captured him and followed him to the bandits’ lair, where they found the bandits dead and a bloodstained scholar approaching.

• Han Yundao and Pei Que searched Great Crow Ridge for the reported Bandit Cultivators but found several groups of mortal bandits instead.
• Pei Que spotted an injured first-tier middle-grade Round-Horned Rabbit, and the brothers hunted it down and killed it.
• The brothers captured the short-bearded Rogue Cultivator who owned the arrow lodged in the rabbit and found Orchid Spirit Charcoal in his Storage Bag.
• Han Yundao recognized the charcoal as a clue linking the Rogue Cultivator to the Bandit Cultivators and made him lead them to the lair.
• The brothers found the bandits’ bodies scattered through the lair, and a bloodstained scholar emerged to meet them.

Han Yundao and Pei Que joined Xie Liusheng in exploring a bandit hideout, where they discovered a sealed cultivator's cave abode. Yuan Jin and Wei Gu arrived, broke the formation, and claimed most of the treasures; Kang Dabao then seized Xie Liusheng and told him he was not leaving.

• Xie Liusheng introduced himself to Han Yundao and Pei Que, who recognized him as a disciple of Master Fish Mountain and explained their ties to the Chongming Sect.
• The three searched the bandits' den and found little, but the captive short-bearded Rogue Cultivator broke free and attacked them with the Blood-Burning Great Method before Xie Liusheng killed him.
• Han Yundao and Pei Que spotted a hidden cave-abode formation, sent a message for help, and warned Xie Liusheng that Martial Uncle Jiang was on his way.
• Yuan Jin and Wei Gu arrived; Yuan Jin shattered the formation, and the group found Law Artifacts, a cultivator's remains, and annotated cultivation methods inside.
• Yuan Jin allocated Xie Liusheng two mid-grade Law Artifacts, then took him back to the Double Brightness Trade Market, where Kang Dabao grabbed him and said he must stay.

Kang Dabao recruited Xie Liusheng and negotiated for Shao Meng’s stronghold to join the Thief-Catching Office. Pei Yi’s attempt to recruit the cultivators of Shandu Ridge initially failed, but Chu Huer and several others later agreed to join, leaving Kang Dabao intent on confronting Zheng Xibei over using the Chongming Sect’s name.

• Kang Dabao invited Xie Liusheng to join the Thief-Catching Office and encouraged him to bring capable members of the Fish Mountain Fellow Cultivators Association.
• Shao Meng agreed to bring her brother and their stronghold to Kang Dabao within ten days in exchange for an Alchemist to treat their injuries.
• At Shandu Ridge, Zheng Xibei and Chu Huer proposed making Pei Yi their sect leader, but turned against him when he explained that he had returned to Pingrong County and was recruiting for Kang Dabao.
• Chu Huer heard Pei Yi’s account of Lü Wen’s framing and Kang Dabao’s loyalty, then agreed to join the Thief-Catching Office with several companions.
• Kang Dabao welcomed Chu Huer and the others with valuable Law Artifacts, securing their agreement to stay.
• Kang Dabao decided to challenge Zheng Xibei for using the Chongming Sect’s name.

Kang Dabao prepared to organize a thief-catching unit and confronted Zheng Xibei’s newly founded Chongming Sect over its name and claim to Martial Uncle Li’s legacy. By offering the Shandu Ridge cultivators a path into the established sect and paid work, Chu Huer turned the gathering against Zheng Xibei’s leadership.

• At the Double Brightness Trade Market meeting, Xu Yingshi blocked Kang Dabao from taking Fire Dragon Daoist to recruit fighters, so Kang decided to go with Pei Yi and Yuan Jin instead.
• Ye Zhengwen identified a mysterious jade tablet as a high-rank spirit crystal likely tied to the mountain barbarian royal family, while Chu Huer offered to help Kang if Shandu Ridge cultivators who remembered their loyalty could live and join the Chongming Sect.
• Zheng Xibei celebrated his inauguration as sect leader of the Ji County Chongming Sect until Kang Dabao arrived with Pei Yi carrying Martial Uncle Li’s spirit tablet.
• Kang Dabao challenged Zheng’s claim to be Martial Uncle Li’s disciple and defended his own authority with the Chongming Sect’s lineage records and succession tokens.
• Chu Huer offered the Shandu Ridge cultivators a chance to enter the thief-catching office for pay and later formally join the sect, leaving Zheng Xibei realizing he had lost their support.

Kang Dabao recruited and organized cultivators from Shandu Ridge and two other groups to form the Thief-Catching Office, then prepared to compete with Xu Yingshi. Acting Sima Gun promoted Xu to magistrate of Jin County and gave Kang Dabao’s faction greater control of Double Brightness Trade Market before turning to a separate matter assigned to Deng Baichuan.

• Zheng Xibei accepted a place as an external affairs disciple after Kang Dabao mediated his dispute with Spirit Sword Mountain Manor, while Zheng dismissed his river bandits.
• Kang Dabao brought the Shandu Ridge cultivators to Double Brightness Trade Market and combined them with the cultivators Xie Liusheng and the Shao siblings had recruited.
• Kang Dabao selected eight cultivators to pursue cultivation crafts and organized the remaining fifty-one into a unit under Yuan Jin.
• Acting Sima Gun inspected the forces, awarded them Spirit Stones, and announced that Xu Yingshi would become magistrate of Jin County; Xu chose ten men to accompany him.
• Acting Sima Gun made Deng Baichuan acting commandant and let Kang Dabao appoint junior brothers to the vacant chief clerk and chief constable posts, leaving Kang Dabao’s faction with three of the market’s five offices.
• Acting Sima Gun asked Deng Baichuan how the matter he had assigned him was progressing.

Kang Dabao struggled to take command of Xu Yingshi’s remaining men, and a dispute over leadership turned into a fight between Cultivator Qin and Chu Huer. As Cultivator Qin ignored Kang Dabao’s order to stop and nearly crippled Chu Huer, a young man in black arrived, defeated Qin with a sword attack, and demanded to know why he had disobeyed the sect leader.

• Kang Dabao assigned Ye Zhengwen and Yuan Jin to the market’s vacant posts but worried that Xu Yingshi’s forty-odd men would refuse to follow him.
• At the drill ground, Cultivator Qin refused to accept Chu Huer as his superior and challenged Kang Dabao’s authority.
• Kang Dabao ordered Chu Huer to test Cultivator Qin, and the two fought with their Daoist arts and Law Artifacts.
• Cultivator Qin gained the advantage and continued attacking Chu Huer despite Kang Dabao’s repeated orders to stop, while both groups moved toward a confrontation.
• A young man in black struck Cultivator Qin down with a sword net, then confronted him for ignoring Kang Dabao’s command.

After Jiang Qing’s victory brought order to the Thief-Catching Office, Kang Dabao attended the Double Brightness Trade Market opening and received an invitation to Tie Xishui’s Foundation Establishment ceremony. Kang Dabao and Jiang Qing reached the Tie Household for the ceremony, where Kang Dabao saw Huo Bing among the guests and an acquaintance came to seek him out.

• Kang Dabao arranged treatment for Cultivator Qin, Shao Wei, Shao Meng, and the second son of the Feng family, while Yuan Jin drilled the Thief-Catching Office’s cultivators.
• Kang Dabao welcomed Acting Sima Gun and other powerful guests to the Double Brightness Trade Market opening, and Tie Liuyun invited him to Tie Xishui’s Foundation Establishment ceremony.
• Buse and Gun Shide asked Kang Dabao about Daoist Black Shoes, and Gun Shide promised to send him Clear Eyes Treasured Liquid if he found more.
• After spending the night with Huo Ying, Kang Dabao left with Jiang Qing for White Sand County and reflected on the Zhai Household’s decline at its market.
• Tie Liuyun welcomed Kang Dabao and Jiang Qing to the Tie Household, where Tie Xishan seated them near the front for the ceremony.
• Kang Dabao noticed Huo Bing among the Foundation Establishment guests, and an acquaintance approached him after he composed himself.

At Tie Xishui’s Foundation Establishment ceremony, Kang Dabao received a valuable pill in exchange for delivering a sealed letter to Buse. After sharing Tie Xishui’s teachings with the Chongming Sect, Kang Dabao used the pill to break through to the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining.

• Kang Dabao and Jiang Qing attended Tie Xishui’s Foundation Establishment ceremony, where Tie Xishui expounded a Dao scripture and answered cultivators’ questions.
• Tie Xishui gave Kang Dabao a sealed letter for Buse and a Three Dew Azure Cloud Pill as payment for delivering it.
• Kang Dabao returned to the Double Brightness Trade Market and had Jiang Qing explain the scripture to the Chongming Sect members.
• Kang Dabao secluded himself and swallowed the pill, which strengthened his spiritual power and helped him break through to the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining at age thirty-nine.

At Pei Yi’s celebration feast, Kang Dabao learned that Daoist Black Shoes had emerged from seclusion, then reported the region’s affairs to him. On the way to seek news from the Book and Sword Gate, Daoist Black Shoes investigated the praised Immortal Dongguo and recognized the supposedly virtuous hermit as Chen Ye.

• Pei Yi celebrated the birth of his son, and Kang Dabao returned to the Chongming Sect with Jiang Qing and Yuan Jin for the feast.
• Kang Dabao heard a cultivator surnamed Han complain that Martial Uncle Black Shoes had not returned to Hemu Dao or met with his martial nephews.
• Lu Xun asked Zhou Yixiu to marry Lu Yunniang, but Zhou Yixiu refused because he preferred beautiful women.
• Daoist Black Shoes emerged from seclusion, heard Kang Dabao’s report, and decided to visit the Book and Sword Gate for news about Chen Ye and the Three Incense Cult.
• Daoist Black Shoes stopped in Xiao Household Village, heard villagers praise Immortal Dongguo, and went to the hermit’s temple to investigate.
• Daoist Black Shoes recognized Immortal Dongguo as Chen Ye and drew his flying sword.

Daoist Black Shoes found Chen Ye, a Grass Witch Cult elder who had been hiding in the wilderness, and fought him despite their old history. After breaking Chen Ye’s defenses and nearly killing him, Daoist Black Shoes was stopped by an unknown newcomer, who flung Chen Ye away.

• Chen Ye recognized Daoist Black Shoes and recalled how he had once spared him after the He Household paid compensation for an old killing.
• Daoist Black Shoes accused Chen Ye of trafficking in boys’ Essence Blood and decided to kill him despite the past and the bounty.
• Chen Ye summoned the White Bone Demon God, but Daoist Black Shoes’ sword strikes damaged the demon and tore Chen Ye’s White Bone Banner, forcing Chen Ye to reveal his true appearance.
• Chen Ye unleashed Witch Beasts and drew a black-and-white flying sword from his back, but Daoist Black Shoes overcame his attacks and left him gravely injured.
• Daoist Black Shoes knocked Chen Ye’s sword aside and aimed to kill him, but a large dark hand seized the flying sword before flinging Chen Ye to safety.
• Daoist Black Shoes put away his sword and faced the unknown newcomer.

Song Xueqiao tried to take the unconscious Chen Ye back to Black Sand Peak, but Daoist Black Shoes and Lord Yin Shan fought to stop him after learning Chen Ye had used a Blood Foundation Pill made from an entire city’s people. Song Xueqiao was forced to withdraw after Yue Lan intervened, while Lord Yin Shan was wounded and Daoist Black Shoes fled with him and Qin Sufu.

• Song Xueqiao shrank unconscious Chen Ye to doll size and prepared to leave, but Daoist Black Shoes attacked to stop him.
• Lord Yin Shan joined the fight and used his demon flame to burn Song Xueqiao’s skulls, while Daoist Black Shoes pressed the attack with his flying sword.
• Song Xueqiao invoked the Two Instruments Sect’s power, but Lord Yin Shan revealed that Chen Ye’s Foundation Establishment relied on a Blood Foundation Pill made from the people of an entire city, and the fight continued.
• Song Xueqiao summoned nearby sect disciples as he fought Daoist Black Shoes and Lord Yin Shan, and Qin Sufu arrived to help.
• Yue Lan’s blade disrupted Daoist Black Shoes, allowing Song Xueqiao to wound Lord Yin Shan, and Daoist Black Shoes fled with Lord Yin Shan and Qin Sufu.
• Yue Lan stopped Song Xueqiao from pursuing them, then departed, and Song Xueqiao returned toward Reed Creek Mountain with Chen Ye.