Chapter Summaries

Fei Tianqin arrived to stop the clash between the Fei Household and the Cloud Marsh Shaman Venerable Hall, forcing Xiang Tianxing to accept a truce while Daoist Peng remained at large. After Fei Tianqin left, Preceptor Huang Mi began considering how Kang Dabao's Pure Spirit Golden Core blood might serve his interests.

• Fei Tianqin questioned Kang Dabao about Daoist Peng, then ordered Preceptor Huang Mi and the Cloud Marsh Shaman Venerable Hall to end the conflict.
• Fei Tianqin threatened Preceptor Huang Mi until Xiang Tianxing arrived and challenged his account of the dispute.
• Fei Tianqin and Xiang Tianxing agreed to end the fighting, with Fei Tianqin promising not to pursue Daoist Peng for now.
• Fei Tianqin left with Kang Dabao and learned that Kang Dabao had destroyed a Third-Tier Upper-Grade bronze corpse and kept its corpse core.
• Xiang Tianxing told Preceptor Huang Mi that the Star-Picking Pavilion would seek justice later, then departed to pursue Daoist Peng.
• Preceptor Huang Mi recalled that Kang Dabao's Pure Spirit Golden Core blood might interest old ghost Pu of the Two Instruments Sect.

Gada cultivated influence in the Office of the Duke of Qin while Buse warned him of a possible threat and sought a Buddhist text. Buse uncovered Gada and Baochai’s plans to manipulate him, then wondered whether the Original Response Temple had a hidden agenda as Kang Da arrived at the Artisan Office.

• Gada sent a message to help Kang Da’s clansmen and arranged for Baochai’s household to move to Fa Prefecture, while Baochai ordered the cleanup of women who had died on Gada’s mandala platform.
• Buse visited Gada, drank blood tea that stained his spiritual power, and warned him that Shu Zhengde had urged the duke’s office to prevent Gada from returning to his sect.
• Buse asked to borrow the Records of the Samye Rainbow Lock Terma, and Gada readily gave him the volume before Baochai used a charm technique on him.
• After Buse left, Gada and Baochai discussed turning him into a sex slave, unaware that Buse overheard them and secretly reconsidered Gada’s position within the Original Response Temple.
• Buse wondered whether Funeng had been the person on the Great Snow Mountain’s true target, while Kang Da arrived at the Artisan Office with Fei Tianqin.

Sect Leader Kang Da visited the Duke of Qin’s Crafts Office with Fei Tianqin to seek a Law Treasure, and Gu Rong agreed to refine Kang’s broken halberd into a powerful weapon. The chapter ended with Kuang Liuting sending warnings about possible threats to the Demon-Locking Barrier in Shannan Circuit.

• Fei Tianqin brought Kang Dabao to the Duke of Qin’s Crafts Office, where they met Chief Craftsman Gu Rong.
• Kang Dabao asked Gu Rong to make him a Law Treasure, but Gu Rong said the duke’s urgent order could keep him occupied for three to five years.
• Gu Rong showed Kang Dabao his defective but powerful Law Treasure, Jade Palace Impurity Breaker, and offered to incorporate the remains of Slaughter and Extermination into it.
• Fei Tianqin promised to ask the duke to excuse Gu Rong so he could finish the halberd for Kang Dabao.
• Kuang Liuting sent messages directing Five Old Mothers Mountain and the Hehuan Sect to watch the Demon-Locking Barrier’s formation foundations and guard against Bai Canhong stirring up demonic chaos.

One year later, You Xiaobao bought a damaged Li Fire Sword after hearing that his son You Wenrui might compete to become Mo Ku’s son-in-law, but news of the sect bell’s seven tolls soon darkened his hopes. At Little Ring Mountain, Zhou Yixiu died among his senior brothers after entrusting his remaining concerns to Sect Leader Kang Da.

• You Xiaobao returned to Phoenix Cry Mountain with a Grass Deer and met the peddler surnamed Shui, who offered him a Li Fire Sword and told him Mo Ku planned to choose a son-in-law from among his disciples.
• You Xiaobao bought the sword on credit, securing half its cost with his mushroom fields, intending to take it to You Wenrui at Ma Duo Ridge.
• Dong Hu told You Xiaobao that the higher sect’s bell had rung seven times, a sign of mourning, and You Xiaobao’s heart sank.
• At Little Ring Mountain, Zhou Yixiu asked Sect Leader Kang Da to have the households under their rule mourn for three days and spoke with his senior brothers as he approached death.
• Zhou Yixiu named those he trusted to care for his family and disciples, while Jiang Qing read the sect’s register of Second-Tier Spirit Fields; Zhou Yixiu died with his hand on the spirit soil.

One month after Zhou Yixiu's death, Kang Changyi visited Xuanwei City to collect spirit puppets and assess artifact-refining notes for the Chongming Sect's finances. On the journey back, he learned Kang Changxi planned to seek military merit in the Two Rivers Circuit, and arrived at the sect resolved to accept his own marriage arrangement without resentment.

• Kang Changyi collected five training spirit puppets from the Lu Craftsman Sect's shop and learned its shopkeeper would not buy the artifact-refining notes he brought.
• Kang Changyi sorted the notes by value and gave them to Zhou Xinran to sell or use as featured treasures at the Double Brightness Treasure Gathering.
• Kang Changxi arrived at the Chongming Sect's city office after accompanying Liu Ya to arrest people violating the mourning period, and the brothers set out for home together.
• Kang Changxi told Kang Changyi that he planned to travel to Great Abyss Capital with an imperial guard battalion and seek military merit to help him marry into the Han Household.
• Kang Changyi accepted that his own marriage to a Fei Household daughter served the family's interests and reflected that he had more than his father had when he began.

Six months later, He Yuanyi completed a Second-Tier Middle-Grade defensive Spirit Artifact as a farewell gift for Kang Changxi and joined the Chongming Sect’s disciples for a gathering before Kang Changxi’s journey to the Great Abyss Capital. The feast ended with Kang Changxi drunk and promising to host them again when he returned.

• He Yuanyi crafted a palm-sized tortoise shell shield and prepared to give it to Junior Brother Kang as a farewell gift.
• He Yuanyi rode to Kang Changxi’s courtyard, where guests gathered amid discussion of the sect’s expanding influence and disputes among its households.
• Kang Rongquan and Jin Shilun spoke in the kitchen about Duan Anle’s mediation of a land dispute and Chen Zihang’s progress as an alchemist.
• Jin Shilun served his dishes as He Yuanyi and other disciples arrived, and Kang Changxi eventually came out to welcome the guests.
• Kang Changxi drank heavily, accepted gifts with his brothers’ help, and urged his fellow disciples to gather again when he returned.

Five years after the fighting began, Sect Leader Kang Da reflected on the wars threatening the realm and worried with Fei Shuhe about their son Kang Changxi, who was serving in Two Rivers Circuit. After seeing the sect’s growth and tensions among its disciples, Kang Da decided to fulfill his duty as sect leader.

• Kang Da reviewed the Chongming Sect’s cautious campaign against the Two Instruments Sect and the worsening conflicts across the southwestern circuits.
• Fei Shuhe grieved over Kang Changxi’s dangerous service in Two Rivers Circuit, while Kang Da learned that their son had killed a Golden Core disciple and been promoted to deputy captain.
• Fei Nanying avoided appealing for Kang Changxi after Kuang Zefu executed nearly a hundred noble and meritorious households’ sons who had feigned illness or injury.
• Kang Da concluded that he should not avoid future battles after the Fei Household suffered heavy losses while fighting the Xianyu Household.
• Kang Da and Fei Shuhe visited the Spirit Plant Hall, where Kang Rongquan complained about the treatment of its hard-working disciples.
• Kang Da took out the Spring and Autumn Brush Edge and told Kang Rongquan to summon his fellow disciples, saying it was time to do what a sect leader ought to do.

Sect Leader Kang Da used the Spring and Autumn Brush Edge to instruct Duan Anle and other Chongming Sect disciples, while encouraging Duan Anle to change cultivation methods for better prospects. After several months of guidance, the disciples benefited greatly, though their cultivation disrupted sect operations until Duan Anle restored order.

• Jin Shilun arrived at Kang Dabao’s courtyard after struggling with his duties as guardian of the Jia-Chou Military Stronghold.
• Sect Leader Kang Da asked Duan Anle about his lack of progress with the Profound Clear Withering and Flourishing Secret Manual, then tested his understanding of the Green Goat Pine Scripture Treatise.
• The Spring and Autumn Brush Edge recorded Kang Dabao’s corrections, and Duan Anle recognized how much he had misunderstood the treatise.
• Kang Dabao advised Duan Anle to study higher-level cultivation methods and gave him the Crimson Pearl Thoroughly Illuminating True Chapter, along with precious supplies and artifacts.
• Kang Dabao instructed the disciples over several months, and their sudden immersion in cultivation disrupted Chongming Sect operations until Duan Anle put affairs back in order.
• Kang Dabao reflected that the Spring and Autumn Brush Edge could make regular instruction more effective, unaware that Daoist Peng was recovering from injuries in the Cold Crow Mountain Range.

Daoist Peng survived Xiang Tianxing’s attack and regained control of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner after Chen Ye’s ghost officer nearly destroyed his Golden Core. Meanwhile, Duan Anle told Xu Liuxian that Kang Da was away seeking control of Ding Prefecture, leaving the Cold Mountain Sect’s complaint against the Cloud Valley Zhang Household unresolved for now.

• Daoist Peng struggled to heal his wound as lingering golden Qi and a backlash from his Dantian worsened his condition.
• Chen Ye led the ghost officers in attacking Daoist Peng’s Golden Core, but Daoist Peng used a jade pendant to bind them again and erase Chen Ye’s restored consciousness.
• Daoist Peng drew Chen Ye and the remaining ghost officers back into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, then continued taking pills to treat his injuries.
• Xu Liuxian visited the Chongming Sect to complain that the Cloud Valley Zhang Household had provoked trouble and injured Cold Mountain Sect members.
• Duan Anle said Kang Da was away pursuing Ding Prefecture and suggested that Xu Liuxian consider its resources for the Cold Mountain Sect.

Ye Zhengwen oversaw Chongming Sect affairs as the sect weighed its precarious position in Shannan Circuit, then celebrated the ripening of nine Three Origin Fruits cultivated by Kang Rongquan and the Spirit Plant Hall. In Phoenix Cry Prefecture, Kang Dabao learned that Ding Prefecture remained undecided and agreed to attend a Dao gathering with Fei Nanying, hoping to find cultivation resources.

• Ye Zhengwen discussed with Duan Anle the Chongming Sect’s expansion prospects, its lack of reliable allies, and its plans to defend Cloud Horn Prefecture.
• Ye Zhengwen reviewed the sect’s surrounding powers and prepared decisions for Sect Leader Kang Da while managing the sect’s growing affairs.
• Kang Rongquan showed Ye Zhengwen that the Three Origins Vine had ripened nine fruits after years of work by Chongming Sect disciples.
• Ye Zhengwen promised to propose higher allowances for Spirit Plant Hall disciples and ordered the fruits delivered to the sect treasury pending Sect Leader Kang Da’s decision.
• In Phoenix Cry Prefecture, Kang Dabao returned the Jade Palace Impurity Breaker Halberd to Fei Nanying and learned that Ding Prefecture had not yet been promised to the Chongming Sect.
• Fei Nanying invited Kang Dabao and his junior brother to a Dao gathering in ten days, where a Golden Core cultivator would expound the Dao and attendees could exchange goods.

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.