Chapter Summaries

During the battle between the Chongming allied forces and the Lin Household, Kang Dabao overwhelmed a Lin Household Foundation Establishment cultivator with his ocular techniques and Lion Insects, then killed him after surviving his black flames. Lin Kunxue tried to flee after witnessing his kinsman’s death, but a new commotion erupted behind the fighters.

• Ming Zhe urged Duan Anle to join the distant fight, but Jin Shilun explained that the battle was only a probe and they should wait for the decisive moment.
• Kang Dabao released nearly six hundred Lion Insects to overwhelm the reinforcements summoned by the yellow-bearded Lin Household cultivator.
• The yellow-bearded cultivator unleashed pill-fueled black flames, burning many Chongming allies but failing to destroy most of Kang Dabao’s Lion Insects.
• Kang Dabao pierced the yellow-bearded cultivator’s internal organs with the Ink Abyss Flag, becoming the first Foundation Establishment cultivator in the battle to kill an opponent of the same realm.
• Lin Kunxue saw his kinsman die, abandoned the fight against Jiang Qing and Mo Wen, and tried to flee as another upheaval broke out behind the fighters.

Ge Qinglan’s Hundred Corpses Grand Formation turned the battle against the New Cloud Alliance, killing Shen Xing and forcing Hemu Dao to rout before the other factions withdrew or regrouped. As the True Spirit Gate pulled back after striking the Book and Sword Gate, an eagle cry announced that the Snow-Feathered Night Owl had returned.

• Ge Qinglan’s natal spirit zombie froze Shen Xing and shattered his body, while Shen Tu struggled against a Ge Household Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• Ge Qinglan strengthened the Hundred Corpses Grand Formation with blood runes, black smoke, and yellow corpse Qi, making the opposing factions’ attacks less effective.
• Hemu Dao’s formation collapsed, and Li Mingyuan rescued Sect Leader Han as Nanny Sun helped Shan Sheng and Shen Tu withdraw their forces.
• Ye Zhen’s jade tablets killed one True Spirit Gate spirit beast and wounded another, while Ge Qinglan rang her bell to recall the refined corpses.
• The True Spirit Gate’s Iron Scale Cavalry damaged the Book and Sword Gate’s formation and Law Artifacts before withdrawing, and the Snow-Feathered Night Owl’s cry announced its return.

The New Cloud Alliance’s forces clashed with the Changning Sect’s defenders on Old Ox Mountain, suffering setbacks as the Snow-Feathered Night Owl and Chen Ye escaped into the grand formation. Lin Kunxue surrendered to avoid being killed, and Daoist Black Shoes returned carrying Dai Fu’s head.

• The Snow-Feathered Night Owl attacked Zi Maple Valley’s formation, killing many disciples before Shen Tu shielded the survivors with bronze mirrors and the bird retreated into the True Spirit Gate’s formation.
• Chen Ye used a dark conch to unleash black winds and disrupt the Chongming allied forces, then fought Lord Shan and Jiang Qing while Changning Sect disciples withdrew.
• Chen Ye escaped into the Changning Sect’s formation with a Roaming Dragon Talisman, while the New Cloud Alliance’s cultivators surrounded Lin Kunxue.
• Lin Kunxue surrendered to Sect Leader Kang Da, who bound him and took him prisoner.
• Daoist Black Shoes returned to the battlefield carrying Dai Fu’s head.

The Changning Sect remained trapped on Old Ox Mountain as the New Cloud Alliance battered its formation, while Chen Ye promised that the Jingnan Yuan Household's ancestor would bring help. Outside the formation, Kang Dabao's forces continued their assault despite a surprise fire-thunderbolt attack, leaving the siege unresolved.

• Ge Qinglan asked how the Changning Sect could survive the siege, and Chen Ye said the Jingnan Yuan Household's ancestor would arrive in a few days.
• Mo Wen repositioned nine spirit crystal catapults, and the formation's fire dragon swallowed their shells after the New Cloud Alliance drew it away from the barrier.
• Kang Dabao used captured former vassals as expendable attackers, and dozens were roasted by the fire dragon before he recalled them.
• The Changning Sect launched 512 fire thunderbolts at the New Cloud Alliance, killing and injuring many cultivators, including members of Yuan Jin's patrol.
• Kang Dabao pulled the alliance forces farther back, watched for supply runners, and resolved to wear down the formation while wishing for a Second Tier formation-breaking talisman.

Pei Que, Ming Zhe, and the Chongming Sect’s forces rounded up Hemu Dao survivors after the rout, while the households counted their losses. In Xuanwei City, Fei Nanying discussed Shuhe, Kang Dabao, and his own Core Formation ambitions with Lady Han, then considered drawing Daoist Black Shoes and the Chongming Sect into the Fei Household’s orbit.

• Pei Que restrained a fleeing Hemu Dao deacon with Reflecting the Void, and Ming Zhe subdued him with a Spirit-Locking Talisman before they confiscated his equipment for transport.
• Kang Rongquan and Kuai En joined Pei Que and Ming Zhe, and the group gathered its fellow disciples and counted the captives and casualties from the battle.
• Chu Huer led the group searching for more Hemu Dao survivors, captured additional fugitives, and killed the cultivators who had slaughtered members of the Xue Household, giving their Storage Bags to the surviving Xue cultivators.
• Fei Nanying and Lady Han discussed Shuhe’s marriage to Kang Dabao, their concerns for her, and Fei Nanying’s plan to pursue a higher-grade Golden Core despite having East Mountain Jade.
• Fei Nanying resolved to try to draw Daoist Black Shoes and the Chongming Sect toward the Fei Household and its clan lands in Ying Prefecture.

Xiu Ming brought Daoist Black Shoes two Second Tier Formation-Breaking Pearls, prompting the New Cloud Alliance to launch a surprise attack on Old Ox Mountain. The Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Formation fell, and the alliance’s forces poured into the Changning Sect’s exposed grounds.

• Xiu Ming reached the Chongming camp and gave Kang Dabao two Second Tier Formation-Breaking Pearls from his grandfather, Xiu Yuanshan.
• Daoist Black Shoes and Kang Dabao decided to keep the pearls secret and attack Old Ox Mountain that night using Chongming’s forces and the alliance’s Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Shan Sheng inferred that an attack was planned and discreetly warned the Jade Moon Shan Household to prepare.
• Daoist Black Shoes revealed the pearls to the alliance’s Foundation Establishment cultivators and led them to assault the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Formation.
• Kang Dabao and Jiang Qing struck the formation with the pearls, draining its power as Daoist Black Shoes and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators attacked.
• The formation collapsed, Lord Shan rushed in to find Chen Ye, and the alliance’s forces entered Old Ox Mountain.

The Chongming Sect routed the Changning Sect’s forces, while Kang Dabao and Jiang Qing killed a True Spirit Gate cultivator and his Ice-Pupiled Auspicious Lion. As they and their allies cornered Chen Ye, a crimson halberd intervened, and Kang Dabao recognized the newcomer’s cultivation as False Core.

• Yuan Jin, Chu Huer, Kang Rongquan, and the Chongming Sect forces scattered the Changning Sect disciples as Daoist Black Shoes’s alliance crushed those who resisted.
• Kang Dabao killed a True Spirit Gate Foundation Establishment cultivator with the Ink Abyss Flag and Lion Insects, then helped Jiang Qing kill the man’s Ice-Pupiled Auspicious Lion.
• Chen Ye and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators arrived too late to rally the Changning Sect, and Chen Ye called for a united fight when Daoist Black Shoes and Lord Shan charged.
• The True Spirit Gate cultivators and Ge Qinglan’s party fled, leaving Chen Ye to face Daoist Black Shoes, Lord Shan, Jiang Qing, and Kang Dabao.
• Kang Dabao saw through Chen Ye’s black-vapor escape attempt, and Chen Ye summoned his White Bone Demon God as the Lion Insects attacked it.
• A crimson halberd struck Daoist Black Shoes’s flying sword and halted the attack on Chen Ye, prompting Kang Dabao to recognize the unseen arrival as a False Core cultivator.

Yuan Buwen arrived to protect Chen Ye and demanded that Lord Yin Shan withdraw, but Lord Shan refused and fought him despite his failing body. As Yuan Buwen gained the upper hand, a short, thin old man arrived, stopped his attack, and urged the Chongming Sect group to pursue Chen Ye.

• Yuan Buwen confronted Lord Yin Shan and offered to spare him if he withdrew from Jingnan, but Lord Shan refused and challenged him.
• Lord Shan unleashed his Core Fire against Yuan Buwen while Daoist Black Shoes, Jiang Qing, and Kang Dabao joined the fight.
• Yuan Buwen broke through their attacks and drove Chen Ye’s pursuers back, while Lord Shan’s Core Fire severely depleted his vitality.
• A short, thin old man arrived, prompting Yuan Buwen to order Chen Ye to flee.
• The old man stopped Yuan Buwen’s halberd, then told Kang Dabao and the others to pursue Chen Ye and challenged the Jingnan Yuan Household.

Yue Lin confronted Yuan Buwen and urged the Yuan Household to surrender White Sand County to Cloud Horn Prefecture Court, while the New Cloud Alliance routed the Changning Sect’s forces. Daoist Black Shoes killed the mortally wounded Chen Ye, whose final thought was that he had died wrong.

• Yue Lin stopped Yuan Buwen from attacking Kang Dabao and argued that the Yuan Household should give up White Sand County rather than resist Cloud Horn Prefecture Court.
• Kang Dabao returned to the formation as the New Cloud Alliance forces pursued and slaughtered the routed Changning Sect forces.
• Kang Rongquan, Yuan Changsheng, and Duan Anle killed a True Spirit Gate disciple and then charged after fleeing Ge Household cultivators.
• Yuan Buwen rejected Yue Lin’s call to surrender, citing the Two Instruments Sect and his household’s desire for peace, but put away his halberd without answering Yue Lin’s demand to yield White Sand County.
• Daoist Black Shoes struck down Chen Ye as Lord Yin Shan and Jiang Qing pursued them, and Chen Ye recalled his family and Shi Li before dying.

After Chen Ye died, a black-robed cultivator captured his remnant soul and turned his body into a pill, which a small beast swallowed. The New Cloud Alliance won the battle at Old Ox Mountain, and Yue Lin returned to Xuanwei City, where he learned his service had earned praise and was summoned by Kuang Liuting.

• Lord Shan left with Daoist Black Shoes for treatment, while Jiang Qing returned to the battlefield.
• A black-robed old cultivator took Chen Ye's remnant soul into his banner, refined his corpse into a pill, and watched a small beast swallow it.
• Jiang Qing and Li Mingyuan fought True Spirit Gate cultivators as the New Cloud Alliance pressed its advantage at Old Ox Mountain.
• Yuan Buwen and Yue Lin ordered both sides to stop fighting, and Yuan agreed that the Changning Sect would withdraw from Old Ox Mountain and the Jingnan Yuan Household would leave White Sand County.
• Yue Lin reached Xuanwei City and heard from Tie Liuyun that the prefecture court had praised his victory; he asked how Zhu Tong and Fei Nanying had reacted.
• Kuang Liuting's attendant summoned Yue Lin to meet the earl.

After the New Cloud Alliance defeated the Changning Sect, Kang Dabao mourned the Chongming Sect’s losses and challenged Ye Zhen over the treatment of captured deserters and the division of spoils. Their dispute nearly turned violent before Yue Feng arrived with news that interrupted the confrontation.

• Kang Dabao learned that Chu Huer had been mortally wounded, heard his final words, and ordered Pei Yi to take the wounded and Chu Huer’s body back to be buried beside Martial Uncle Li.
• Kang Dabao assured Shao Meng that her late husband’s compensation would be paid and discussed a leaders’ meeting with Ye Zhen.
• At the meeting, Kang Dabao refused Ye Zhen’s request to release the Hemu Dao deserters, and Li Mingyuan struck Sect Leader Han when he tried to borrow Ye Zhen’s authority.
• Kang Dabao demanded sixteen thousand Spirit Stones for the Chongming Sect’s Formation-Breaking Pearls, but Ye Zhen refused and their disagreement escalated into a tense standoff.
• Yue Feng entered the hall and announced good news, interrupting the confrontation between Ye Zhen and Kang Dabao.

After the New Cloud Alliance defeated the Changning Sect, Kang Dabao arranged rewards and proposed that its member households collect taxes from powers in White Sand County. At the prefecture court, officials discussed rewarding Kang Dabao and placing False Core households in the county, just as Black Shoes arrived with an injured monkey.

• Yue Feng announced that the Yue Household would reward the New Cloud Alliance with fifty thousand Spirit Stones and promised to seek additional recognition for Kang Dabao.
• Kang Dabao deducted the cost of his sect's Formation-Breaking Pearls from the spoils and assigned the alliance households powers in White Sand County from which they could collect taxes.
• Ye Zhen objected to the plan's risks, while Shan Sheng asked Kang Dabao for a Foundation Establishment spiritual item as a loan secured by his household's ancestral land.
• Kang Dabao ordered Jiang Qing to give Mo Wen five thousand Spirit Stones and told Nanny Sun to distribute compensation before she went to Xuanwei City.
• At the prefecture court, Kuang Liuting approved plans to appoint officials and consider rewards, while Yue Lin proposed stationing False Core households in White Sand County.
• Black Shoes arrived at the council hall carrying a hairy-faced monkey whose breath was faint.

Half a month after Lord Shan’s rescue, Kang Dabao met Qin Sufu, who praised Kuang Liuting’s honorable treatment of Daoist Black Shoes and warned that Cloud Horn Prefecture’s rival powers were maneuvering for influence. Qin Sufu revealed that the Yue Household wanted Daoist Black Shoes to marry into their family and offered Han City as the dowry, leaving Kang Dabao startled by the scale of their proposal.

• Qin Sufu told Kang Dabao that Kuang Liuting had refused Daoist Black Shoes’s offer of a hundred years of service in exchange for saving Lord Shan, and Daoist Black Shoes was now accepting invitations from local officials and clans.
• Kang Dabao learned that Tie Liuyun’s Xiezhi Guard had returned the Tanggu County Spirit Stone mine intact, while Qin Sufu said Tie Liuyun had obtained a Core Formation spiritual object from the prefecture court’s treasury.
• Qin Sufu visited Old Sect Leader He’s grave with offerings, praised Kang Dabao’s work rebuilding the Chongming Sect, and warned him to be wary of dangerous political rivalries in Cloud Horn Prefecture.
• Qin Sufu urged Kang Dabao to befriend the Yue Household and disclosed that they wanted to arrange a marriage with Daoist Black Shoes.
• Qin Sufu said the Yue Household would give all of Han City as the dowry if Daoist Black Shoes accepted, and Kang Dabao was shocked by the offer.

Sima Fei instructed Nanny Sun to tell Kang Da that the Zheng Household would take over White Sand County, while granting Kang expanded authority and support in Pingrong and Jin counties. Lord Shan urged Daoist Black Shoes to take Kang Da into Mountain-Viewing Cave and to remember the common people, leaving Daoist Black Shoes resolved to put Kang Da to the test.

• Sima Fei told Nanny Sun that the Zheng Household would settle in White Sand County and warned Kang Da to respect and cooperate with them.
• Sima Fei promised Kang Da control over new officials in Pingrong and Jin counties, support from Foundation Establishment powers, and an opportunity to restore Pingrong County's Spirit Vein.
• Sima Fei thanked Nanny Sun for her son's service in the Valor Battalion and promised him a Foundation Establishment Pill within ten years.
• Daoist Black Shoes refused the Yue Household marriage proposal and explained that he sought the Dao and freedom rather than wealth or influence.
• Lord Shan examined Daoist Black Shoes's Bright Moon Token and urged him to take Kang Da into Mountain-Viewing Cave instead of Brother Qing.
• Lord Shan urged Daoist Black Shoes to spare thought for ordinary people, and Daoist Black Shoes decided to put Kang Da through his paces.

Fei Shuhe returned to the Chongming Sect with a large contingent of guards and skilled cultivators, while Daoist Black Shoes instructed Kang Dabao to improve conditions for Pingrong County’s mortals and prepare for a dangerous journey. Ye Zhengwen then sought Foundation Establishment resources in exchange for valuable appraisal knowledge and revealed a token from the Fearless Tower.

• Fei Shuhe returned with Kang Changyi and numerous guards and skilled cultivators, and Kang Dabao warmly welcomed her before Daoist Black Shoes amused the child by letting him tug his beard.
• Daoist Black Shoes ordered Kang Dabao to attend to all the mortals in Pingrong County and warned him to improve his cultivation for a potentially deadly journey in a few years.
• Nanny Sun told Kang Dabao that Sima Fei wanted him to submit replacement officials for the two counties, and Kang Dabao began considering how to use their resources and manpower.
• Ye Zhengwen told Kang Dabao that his old injuries were unlikely to heal despite reaching the Qi Refinement Ninth Layer, and he sought Foundation Establishment resources in exchange for Merit Points.
• Ye Zhengwen offered his appraisal treatise and other valuable possessions, and Kang Dabao released a spiritual treasure in exchange.
• Ye Zhengwen produced a gold-framed, black-faced token bearing a strange beast and identified it as coming from the Fearless Tower.

Ye Zhengwen entrusted Kang Dabao with the Jiang Household’s Fearless Tower token before entering seclusion to pursue Foundation Establishment. Meanwhile, Pei Que received gifts from Qin Sufu, Pei Yi rejected a proposed marriage for him, and Yue Lin abandoned efforts to recruit Daoist Black Shoes while ordering the Yue Household to pressure the Chongming Sect and strengthen its position in the Double Brightness Trade Market.

• Ye Zhengwen explained the Fearless Tower and gave Kang Dabao the token, asking him to protect the Jiang family and maintain its gray-robed associate position if Ye Zhengwen failed to return.
• Ye Zhengwen entered seclusion after Kang Dabao gave him rare Second Tier pills, while Kang Dabao studied his map of Cloud Horn Prefecture.
• Qin Sufu gave Pei Que Qi Refinement pills and a high-grade Law Artifact, and Pei Yi told Lady Kuai to abandon the marriage proposal for Pei Que and focus on her own cultivation.
• Yue Lin told the Yue Household leaders that Daoist Black Shoes had refused their offer and ordered them to have Tie Liuyun and the New Cloud Alliance restrain the Chongming Sect.
• Yue Lin assigned Yue Feng additional Foundation Establishment support for the Double Brightness Trade Market and agreed to consider Gui Xiang as a son-in-law for a legitimate Yue daughter.

Kang Dabao planned to pacify Ping and Jin counties by eliminating bandit cultivators, registering households and cultivators, and imposing strict rules. He forced He Wanying and Feng Wan toward an amicable divorce to protect the sect from the Yuan Household, then left Daoist Black Shoes determined to carry out his duties.

• Kang Dabao gathered Chongming Sect leaders and ordered them to clear out bandit cultivators, register households, and compel local families to provide men and grain.
• Sun Fu warned Kang Dabao that the people and bandits were closely entangled, but Kang Dabao resolved to use force and take responsibility for any mistaken killings.
• Qin Sufu told Kang Dabao that he had seen He Wanying and asked whether the brothers would remain allies despite relying on different households.
• Kang Dabao demanded that He Wanying and Feng Wan divorce, citing the threat from the Jingnan Yuan Household and the danger to the sect; Feng Wan agreed and received a Storage Bag and a possible escape route.
• Daoist Black Shoes warned that the Yuan Household might pursue Feng Wan despite his official appointment, and Kang Dabao said he would prioritize the sect over his junior sister.
• Daoist Black Shoes urged Kang Dabao to fulfill his plan for the counties, and Kang Dabao vowed not to fail the trust placed in him.

Kang Dabao mobilized Pingrong County’s factions to eradicate bandits and Evil Cultivators, imposing strict military oversight and rules for seized goods. Lu Yunniang’s household defeated its assigned targets and uncovered the devastation they had inflicted on a town; after returning to the county office, she found Kang Da busy killing people.

• Kang Dabao assembled fifty-one factions, assigned them districts and targets, and ordered them to eliminate all Evil Cultivators and bandit cultivators within two months.
• Kang Dabao warned the faction leaders against tipping off their targets or harming military inspectors, and required three-tenths of seized goods for the county office.
• Lu Yunniang and her household killed the leader of the Five Heroes of Tall Wood Cave, then handed the captured Storage Bags to Officer Fu for inspection and recording.
• Lu Yunniang and Officer Fu visited a ruined town where fewer than a thousand people remained, and Officer Fu summoned the Wu Household to arrange aid for the survivors.
• Lu Yunniang took her household’s captured goods to the He Household’s warehouse, then returned to the county office with Officer Fu the following day.
• Kang Da did not receive Lu Yunniang and Officer Fu because he was busy killing people.

Kang Dabao executed cultivators from three households and distributed their property and rewards, then imposed five policies to bring Pingrong County’s households under county and Chongming Sect control. County Deputy Gui accepted his dismissal, and Kang Dabao planned to turn his attention to Jin County before going into seclusion.

• Kang Dabao rejected County Deputy Gui’s plea for mercy and ordered the execution of more than twenty cultivators from three households.
• Kang Dabao ordered the three households’ property confiscated and distributed their spirit lands and remaining resources among meritorious households.
• Kang Dabao finalized Pingrong County’s territorial map after Ingenious Craftsman Fort, Hemu Dao, and the other household heads agreed to it.
• Kang Dabao announced five policies requiring households to protect their territories, care for mortals, send eligible immortal seedlings to the Chongming Sect, report productive holdings for taxation, and settle disputes through the county offices.
• Kang Dabao sent County Deputy Gui back to the prefectural court and resolved to focus on Jin County before going into seclusion.

After two years in seclusion, Kang Dabao emerged with improved body-refining strength and learned that Fei Shuhe had taken charge of the Green Lotus Courtyard’s affairs. He handled a dispute involving the courtyard’s guards, then reconciled with his jealous wife, who took charge of their relationship.

• Kang Dabao completed two years of introductory cultivation in the Northern Night Palace Primordial Ancient Body True Explanation and tested his hardened body against a Lion Insect.
• Kang Dabao left seclusion, learned that Duan Anle was temporarily managing the sect, and congratulated Wu Meng on his upcoming marriage.
• Duan Anle and Kang Rongquan reported that Green Lotus Courtyard guards had beaten laborers from the Kuai Household, and Fei Shuhe ordered Nanny Sun to punish the guards.
• Kang Dabao learned that Fei Shuhe had sent Nanny Sun to seal the Illusory Sword Alliance grand elder’s Dantian and have him exiled.
• Fei Shuhe confronted Kang Dabao for visiting Lady Huo after seclusion, but accepted his clumsy explanation, and the two made up.