Chapter Summaries

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.

Xiu An arrived at Yangming Mountain, where Kang Dabao appointed him the new master of Ingenious Craftsman Fort and gave him his father’s notes and support for the fort’s business. Kang Dabao told him to remain safely behind when the Chongming Sect returned to Ink Cloud Marsh in ten days.

• Chongming Sect members restored Yangming Mountain’s formation, training grounds, medical station, and supply camp after the battle.
• Duan Anle welcomed Xiu An, explained that he would inherit Ingenious Craftsman Fort, and introduced him to Kang Changyan, who gave him a valuable pill.
• Duan Anle assured Xiu An that the Chongming Sect would honor his father’s contributions and help him.
• Kang Dabao named Xiu An the new master of Ingenious Craftsman Fort and handed him a token and Xiu Ming’s notes on running the fort and improving puppets.
• Duan Anle told Xiu An that the Myriad Treasures Trading Company would prioritize the fort’s Law Artifact orders for six months.
• Kang Dabao instructed Xiu An to stay in the rear rather than fight when the Chongming Sect set out for Ink Cloud Marsh in ten days.

The Fei Household and Double Brightness Alliance countered the Rouge Temple and Thousand Buddha Grove’s intervention while the Ying Mountain Army attacked the Cloud Marsh Shaman Venerable Hall. Fei Donggu captured Preceptor Shexin and the other Thousand Buddha Grove preceptors, then learned that Kang Dabao had slain Huang Mi and hurried to the central lake.

• Kang Dabao shared Gada’s account of Huang Mi’s Mahamudra weaknesses, helping Fei Nanying and Fei Donggu defeat Huang Mi’s battle monk formation.
• Fei Nanying assigned Fei Donggu to stop Thousand Buddha Grove while the Double Brightness Alliance guarded against the Rouge Temple.
• Fei Donggu used the Seven Absolutes Law-Breaking Talisman, Spirit-Purifying Sand, and Nirvana Thunder Sound Vajra to break Thousand Buddha Grove’s formations and defeat its preceptors.
• Fei Donggu’s forces captured Preceptor Shexin, Preceptor Chijie, Preceptor Huineng, Preceptor Fakong, and Preceptor Yuantong as the remaining warrior monks surrendered.
• Duan Anle told Fei Donggu that Kang Dabao had broken the Cloud Marsh Shaman Venerable Hall’s formation and slain Huang Mi, and Fei Donggu went to the central lake.

Kang Dabao killed Huang Mi and helped the Double Brightness Alliance defeat the Shaman Venerable Hall, while Fei Nanying let him take the captured sect’s property. At the Star-Picking Pavilion, Bai Canhong learned of the defeat and ordered Xiang Tianxing to tell three allied forces they no longer needed to hold back.

• Fei Donggu arrived at Ink Cloud Marsh and found that Kang Dabao had slain Huang Mi and the Shaman Venerable Hall’s remaining forces had been captured.
• Kang Dabao explained how he had exploited Huang Mi’s weakened foundation and credited Fei Nanying, Fei Donggu, and others for helping secure the victory.
• Fei Nanying asked Kang Dabao to decide what to do with the captives, required him to surrender three hall masters, and granted him the Shaman Venerable Hall’s property.
• Xiang Tianxing told Bai Canhong that the Shaman Venerable Hall, Rouge Temple, and Thousand Buddha Grove had been wiped out, and that Kang Dabao had killed Huang Mi.
• Bai Canhong ordered Xiang Tianxing to inform the Xianyu Household, the Cloud Water Sect, and the Two Instruments Sect that they could stop holding back, then began writing to Cloud Trust.

Lian Xuepu welcomed Duan Anle and Kang Rongquan as they brought thousands of captured cultivators to the Hehuan Sect, earning the sect’s gratitude and rewards. After healing from her defeat by Bai Canhong, True Person Crimson Snow assigned new tasks and warned that war might return, while Lian Xuepu prepared supplies for Duan Anle to take back.

• Lian Xuepu welcomed Duan Anle, who reported that Kang Rongquan was escorting more than two thousand two hundred captives to the Hehuan Sect.
• Lian Xuepu hosted Duan Anle and Chen Huanggu, then checked the arriving captives against the register and informed True Person Crimson Snow.
• True Person Crimson Snow finished healing and summoned Lian Xuepu, rewarding the delivery of three thousand elite cultivators and ordering Senior Brother Chi to distribute resources.
• True Person Crimson Snow ordered her disciples to earn merit, investigate the Fei Household Alchemist Attendant surnamed Luan, prepare for possible war with Bai Canhong, and investigate an unfamiliar True Person from the outer seas.
• Lian Xuepu collected supplies from the storehouse and stopped Duan Anle and Kang Rongquan as they prepared to return.

After another half year of cultivation, Jiang Qing used the Luminous Sword Ape’s imitation of his sword moves to realize that he could combine the strengths of his many sword classics. He created Primordial Unity Suppresses the Firmament and made progress toward Core Formation, but the brocade box containing his Core Formation treasure left him troubled about Lian Xuepu’s hardships.

• Jiang Qing returned to his cave abode and refined his final Three Talents Origin-Nourishing Pill, touching the barrier between Foundation Establishment Peak and Core Formation.
• Over the next half year, Jiang Qing continued cultivating and practicing swordsmanship while the Luminous Sword Ape stayed by his side.
• The Luminous Sword Ape imitated Jiang Qing’s sword moves, prompting him to see how the principles of his different sword classics could complement one another.
• Jiang Qing combined the classics’ techniques with the ape’s Luminous Spiritual Qi and created a cyan-gold sword shadow that broke through the cave wall’s restrictions.
• Jiang Qing named his new sword art Primordial Unity Suppresses the Firmament, and his Core Thesis began to grow clearer.
• Jiang Qing looked at the unopened brocade box containing his Core Formation treasure and worried about the hardship Lian Xuepu had endured, resolving to help his eldest senior brother shoulder more burdens.