Chapter Summaries

Lin Xu prepared to arm his demon soldiers while a dungeon legion led by a level 12 Manticore advanced toward Azure Cloud Mountain. Unaware of the approaching threat, Lin Xu completed the first stage of cultivation and prepared to begin the second.

• Li Yingqiu explained that a reliable supply of skill books would draw adventurers to Lin Xu’s territory, and Lin Xu asked her to prepare a report.
• Lin Xu began refining weapons and armor suited to the different demon soldiers recruited by the Black Tiger Demon.
• A dungeon legion approached Azure Cloud Mountain, with its giant lord and level 12 Manticore leading a powerful mixed force.
• The dungeon lord sensed that the Earth Vein’s disturbance had ended and continued toward Azure Cloud Mountain to investigate.
• Lin Xu’s sea of consciousness expanded after he condensed Mountain God Authority, and his accumulated mana prepared him for the second stage of cultivation.

Lin Xu condensed the Brain Deity at his Heavenly Eye, sharply enhancing his memory, intelligence, and mental abilities. As Qiuqiu’s Evil Eyes attacked monsters near the cave, one blast struck an advancing horde of skeletons, drawing the dungeon lord’s attention to an unseen enemy.

• Lin Xu kindled the Divine Aperture between his brows and formed a green lotus deity that clarified his mind and restored forgotten memories.
• Lin Xu organized his past-life memories into a library and found that his Wisdom Art had reached expert level and his intelligence had risen to 20 points.
• Lin Xu tested his enhanced mental abilities, then decided to meditate while his body adjusted to the Brain Deity.
• Qiuqiu directed three Evil Eye Dharma Protectors to attack monsters near the territory, but their blasts drew a whole monster horde toward the area.
• An Evil Eye’s Soul Shock Blast extinguished the soul flames of more than a dozen skeletons, and the dungeon lord searched for the hidden attacker.

Lin Xu learned that a massive dungeon monster legion led by its half-giant lord was approaching Azure Cloud Cave and prepared to defend the mountain. As the enemy advanced, he used his mountain lord authority to strengthen his allies, repel the first wave with Soul Shock Blasts, summon an eagle yaoguai, and reshape the terrain before battle.

• Qiuqiu warned Lin Xu that dungeon monsters were approaching, and Lin Xu ordered the patrols to fall back and prepare for battle.
• Lin Xu identified a manticore and the half-giant dungeon lord among the attackers, then examined the lord's panel and found its information concealed.
• Lin Xu activated his mountain god authority to strengthen Azure Cloud Mountain's forces and ordered the Dharma Protector Evil Eyes to attack the advancing horde with Soul Shock Blasts.
• The blasts killed some low-level monsters and staggered hundreds, but dark mages raised a Soul Protection Barrier that blocked the next attack.
• Lin Xu used his mountain lord authority to summon an eagle yaoguai to the cave abode and then activated the Illusory Rock Chain Form Spell to reshape the ground for defense.

Lin Xu used the Mountain Lord Authority to build and reinforce a thick granite wall, then prepared Azure Cloud Mountain’s defenders as the dungeon legion advanced. When a Manticore attacked from the sky, Lin Xu left Li Yingqiu in command and met it with a fiery flood dragon.

• Lin Xu raised a long earthen wall, recovered his magic power, and hardened the wall into thick granite.
• Lin Xu embedded inscribed metal plates in the wall to form a protective array, but stopped when his materials ran short.
• Lin Xu assessed his forces as they gathered, while Li Yingqiu arranged the defenders on the wall.
• The dungeon monsters reached the mountain and began climbing as a colossal Manticore dove toward the cave abode.
• Lin Xu ordered Li Yingqiu to take command, then attacked the Manticore with a fiery flood dragon that clashed with its poisonous smoke.

Lin Xu and his allies fought off the giant city lord while the monster army attacked the fortress at the cave abode. The fortress held against the assault, and Li Yingqiu organized a counterattack from the ramparts.

• Lin Xu used the Glazed Spirit Lamp to burn the Manticore as the giant city lord charged toward the cave abode.
• The black tiger demon, Qiuqiu, and the four Evil Eye Dharma Protectors struck the giant city lord, briefly knocking it into a crater.
• Lin Xu’s fire flood dragon, the black tiger demon, and Ghost Bride attacked the giant city lord, and the dragon’s final strike blasted it back to the foot of the mountain.
• The monster army attacked the stone fortress, but the Iron Wall Formation absorbed the Dark Battle Qi and left the inner granite layer intact.
• Lin Xu formed stone balls for the defenders, and Li Yingqiu ordered the monsters to hurl them while two Qi Refining cultivators attacked the monster archers with Sword Qi.

Lin Xu and the defenders of Azure Cloud Mountain fought off the city lord’s forces at a fortified wall, using wind magic, illusions, and close combat against the monsters. The attackers eventually reached the battlements, where dark witches began casting spells behind their advancing allies.

• The monsters reached the fortress wall, but their attacks failed to break through, so the Half-Giants began directing the assault.
• The Dharma protectors used their Sharp Wind Flags to strike the monsters, while the Dark Mage Corps raised a barrier that limited the damage.
• Lin Xu directed the elite vengeful soul to trap several Vampires in an illusion, preventing them from attacking the defenders from the air.
• Li Yingqiu and the defenders repelled the Dark Elf archers, dragged climbing spiders from the wall, and fought off Fire Salamanders; a Leopard Spirit killed one of the lizards.
• The dark warriors urged monsters to pile up against the wall, while dark witches climbed over it and began casting spells from behind their allies.

Lin Xu and his defenders fought the dungeon monster legion on Azure Cloud Mountain, using the mountain lord authority to exhaust their enemies’ mana and Battle Qi. He redirected Yan Jingshu and Hu Da toward the cave abode fortress, where the fighting against the monsters continued.

• Qiuqiu coordinated the Evil Eye Dharma Protectors and an eagle demon, keeping the enemy flyers occupied while the monsters’ spells drained their reserves.
• Lin Xu lured the enraged Manticore away with a fire wyrm and focused on wearing down the giant city lord’s Battle Qi.
• The giant city lord battered Hu Da and repeatedly struck Yan Jingshu’s spirit body as she held him back.
• Lin Xu ordered Yan Jingshu and Hu Da to leave the giant and reinforce the cave abode battlefield.
• At the stone wall, demon soldiers and Fallen Demons fought the monsters that reached the top while Dharma Protector Daoists hurled stone balls down at those still climbing.

The defenders of Azure Cloud Mountain struggled against the dungeon legion until Hu Da and Yan Jingshu returned to the wall and helped turn the fight around. Lin Xu destroyed the vampires’ escaping bats and then transformed the Manticore’s poisonous tornado into a firestorm, leaving the beast screaming at the storm’s center.

• Li Yingqiu ordered the Dharma Protector Daoists to use the Gale Flags against the dark mage corps, stabilizing the defenders’ line on the wall.
• Hu Da returned to the battlements and killed a dark warrior with a single axe blow, while Yan Jingshu attacked the dark witches and vampires.
• Lin Xu sensed the vampires’ escaping bats and burned those Yan Jingshu had missed, easing the pressure on the defenders.
• The wounded Manticore formed a vast poisonous tornado over Azure Cloud Mountain and tried to draw the fire flood dragon into it.
• Lin Xu sent the fire flood dragon into the storm, turning it into a gigantic firestorm that consumed the poison and trapped the Manticore in flames.

Lin Xu used his authority and spells to wear down the giant city lord while his forces defeated the monster legion. The battle turned against the giant, but he struck back at Lin Xu to save his trapped Manticore.

• Lin Xu redirected the Manticore’s flame vortex and trapped it in a cage of fire, while the giant city lord endured repeated attacks without injury.
• The giant city lord recognized that his forces were losing and charged toward the battlefield at the mountain wall.
• The giant’s Earth-Splitting Slash tore through a wind dragon and shattered part of the stone wall, killing defenders and opening a breach.
• The black tiger demon Hu Da and the demon soldiers held the breach against the advancing dark warriors as Lin Xu’s flame wyrm kept the giant occupied.
• The giant city lord saw his troops faltering and found his Manticore trapped in the fiery storm cage, then swung a massive Sword Qi toward Lin Xu.

Lin Xu gravely wounded the Manticore and pursued the retreating giant city lord as the monster army withdrew and Alaites tried to bring the dark mage corps over to the defenders. The giant unleashed a desperate Sword Qi strike at Yan Jingshu, forcing Lin Xu to turn his fire dragons aside to intercept it.

• Lin Xu redirected the firestorm and used a spell to send the Manticore tumbling into the giant city lord’s Sword Qi, leaving the beast mortally wounded.
• The giant city lord ordered a retreat and fled, while Lin Xu sent fiery flood dragons after him.
• Alaites asked Li Yingqiu to let him persuade the dark mage corps to surrender, and she ordered Xu Mingyuan’s dharma protector Daoists to pressure them without killing them.
• The monster army retreated as the Dharma Protector Evil Eyes picked off their former companions in the sky.
• Lin Xu repeatedly attacked the giant city lord with exploding fire dragons, badly injuring him and costing him his left hand.
• The enraged giant city lord launched a deadly Sword Qi strike at Yan Jingshu, and Lin Xu sent two fire dragons to intercept it.

Lin Xu’s forces defeated the dungeon legion on Azure Cloud Mountain, drove off the giant city lord, and killed the Manticore. With the dungeon badly weakened and Xuanwei Monastery’s prospects changed, Lin Xu turned to gathering the million merit points needed to become an executive elder.

• Lin Xu drove the giant city lord away while the dungeon’s mages cooperated with Alaites and the vampires fled.
• Yan Jingshu surveyed the battlefield, where the dungeon legion had suffered heavy losses and many survivors had surrendered.
• Lin Xu burned the Manticore to death and gained enough Source Fire to exceed a thousand, dealing a major blow to the dungeon’s strength.
• Lin Xu reflected that the victory had weakened the dungeon and changed the balance between it and Xuanwei Monastery.
• Lin Xu refined dark iron ore and said he needed to gather a million merit points to become an executive elder.

After defeating the Manticore, Lin Xu was appointed master of Xuanwei Monastery’s Incense Offering Hall and began planning how to bring adventurers to Azure Cloud Mountain. He prepared to craft magical artifacts for Li Yingqiu’s recruitment efforts while the mountain’s defenders remained weakened.

• Daoist Xuanzhen visited the battlefield, praised Lin Xu for killing the Manticore, and appointed him master of the Incense Offering Hall, granting him a seal, a robe, and three volumes of the True Explanation of Incense Offerings.
• Daoist Xuanzhen postponed Lin Xu’s promotion ceremony because a great battle was approaching, then returned to the frontline camp.
• Li Yingqiu asked to bring her former adventurer group to Azure Cloud Mountain and establish a real-world trade route, and Lin Xu approved the plan.
• Lin Xu proposed that adventurers with implanted Dharma Seeds might reach Azure Cloud Mountain by giving up their existing Spirit Realm Bonds, and offered magical artifacts as an incentive.
• Lin Xu agreed to craft artifacts for Li Yingqiu to use in cautious trials with Daoists who had Dharma Seeds and opened Divine Apertures, then looked at the prisoners in the cave as he reflected on the defenders’ heavy losses.

Lin Xu healed twelve captured Evil Eyes, strengthening Azure Cloud Mountain’s defenses, and Qiuqiu advanced into a level-five purple-quality Evil Eye Captain. With the mountain’s patrol force rebuilt, Lin Xu turned his attention to a captured dark witch and a group of dark mages.

• Lin Xu praised Qiuqiu for leading the Evil Eyes to victory and agreed to heal twelve captured Evil Eyes.
• Lin Xu used his spirit lamp to calm the Evil Eyes’ consciousness seas, allowing Qiuqiu to pass on Dharma Seeds and transform them.
• Lin Xu gave Qiuqiu Spirit Grain Pills and placed all the Evil Eye Dharma Protectors under his command.
• The twelve transformed Evil Eyes joined the patrol force, bringing Azure Cloud Mountain’s elite Evil Eye defenders to twenty-one.
• Qiuqiu advanced to level five and purple quality, gaining the Captain and Dark Pupil Soul Seizure talents.
• Lin Xu finished rebuilding Azure Cloud Mountain’s defenses and turned his attention to a captured dark witch and a group of dark mages.

Lin Xu turned the captured dark mages into the Gloomlamp Mage Corps and returned to Xuanwei Monastery with supplies. Daoist Xuanzhen prepared to attack the dungeon while Lin Xu was ordered to remain behind and supply the army.

• Alaites reported that the captured dark mages would serve Lin Xu if they had a quiet place to cultivate and their library collection was recovered, and Lin Xu ordered him to enlighten them.
• Alaites advanced to level 5 and gained the [Learning] talent as he transformed all 23 captured mages, bringing the Gloomlamp Mage Corps to 25 members.
• Lin Xu left Li Yingqiu at Azure Cloud Mountain and told Yan Jingshu to replenish her ghosts before departing with the mage corps, Guardian Daoist Corps, and supply wagons.
• At the army camp, Daoist Xuanzhen announced a decisive attack on the dungeon and ordered Lin Xu to remain at the monastery to ensure the army had ample supplies.
• Lin Xu returned to the monastery with the wounded and supplies, passing Peach Tree Village, where villagers and militiamen cultivated newly opened fields.

Lin Xu recruited a group of bandits with Source Fire while traveling to Xuanwei Monastery. In Cloud Ridge City, Li Yingqiu invited her former teammates to join a Spirit Realm territory, but Duan Wei faced pressure from Meng Xu to work for him instead.

• Lin Xu captured bandits ambushing the road and recruited them by spending six Source Fire on each, then ordered them to follow the convoy.
• Li Yingqiu told her teammates about a newly developed Spirit Realm territory and demonstrated a fire spell she had learned there.
• Yang Hui, Wang Peng, and Dong Haochuan agreed to join Li Yingqiu, while Duan Wei hesitated because of his family's situation.
• Li Yingqiu let Duan Wei go home to consider the offer, and Yang Hui learned that Meng Xu's group had also approached him.
• Meng Xu confronted Duan Wei in a narrow street and offered him a monthly salary, but Duan Wei said he had already promised Li Yingqiu.

Lin Xu took charge of the Incense Offering Hall and recruited its full allocation of new personnel to expand its workforce. He discovered that inner disciple Chen Xuanli had a rare talent for gathering incense and spreading faith, and began assessing the rest of the recruits.

• Lin Xu inspected the Incense Offering Hall and learned it had five inner disciples, fifteen outer disciples, and sixty menial workers, with most others sent to the front lines.
• Lin Xu reviewed the hall's resources and recruitment limits, then recruited all 144 available menial workers, 36 outer disciples, and four inner disciples.
• Lin Xu examined the new inner disciples' attributes and found that Chen Xuanli possessed the purple talent [Incense Offering Spirit Communion].
• Lin Xu recognized that Chen Xuanli's talent greatly improved incense absorption and missionary work, then turned to inspect the outer disciples and menial workers.

Lin Xu planned to reorganize the Incense Offering Hall’s five villages and improve their farming output. He assigned disciples to oversee four villages and began refining magical farm tools for distribution.

• Lin Xu identified Chen Xuanli, Zhao Lingyue, and Zhang Bing as the core of the Incense Offering Hall, with roles in sacrificial refinement, incense supplies, and preaching.
• Lin Xu reviewed Peach Tree Village’s management panel, realized its offerings had not been adjusted to account for developed farmland, and saw an opportunity to expand village resources.
• Lin Xu sent Meng Yaoguang, Meng Yaohua, Chen A'niu, and Liu Jiayao to oversee four of the five villages and ordered preparations for distributing spirit-patterned farm tools.
• Lin Xu used the Artifact Refining Hall’s facilities and Qianyuan Artifact Refining Cauldron to refine magical tools for tilling, sowing, irrigation, and composting.

Lin Xu assessed the shortage of cultivators needed to operate his new farming implements and decided to recruit monastery menial workers for his agricultural expansion. He sent thirteen suitable workers to the villages with an escort, ordering the patrol leaders to clear the roads and bring back useful people and yao.

• Lin Xu reviewed the captured defector disciples and unorthodox cultivators, noting their attributes and collecting their cultivation techniques as potential inheritances.
• Lin Xu summoned the Incense Offering Hall’s 204 menial workers and found that thirteen were suitable for immediate recruitment, while the rest would need to cultivate before learning his advanced technique.
• Lin Xu assigned the menial workers the Lampwick Spirit Refinement Method and Brain Spirit Essence Tempering Method as their initial training.
• Lin Xu sent the thirteen workers and spirit-patterned farming implements to the villages with Xu Mingyuan, Alaites, Meng Yaoguang, and Meng Yaohua as escorts.
• Xu Mingyuan and Alaites agreed to clear wild monsters along the routes, capture useful humans or yao, and eliminate the rest.

Lin Xu recruited villagers and expanded several villages, then inspected Xuanwei Monastery’s stores and found a clue to its weakness compared with the dungeon. He began replenishing incense offerings as he considered how the monastery’s history explained the power gap.

• Lin Xu sorted captured NPCs into recruits, Dharma Seed converts, and laborers for Azure Cloud Mountain, keeping useful individuals aside.
• Lin Xu received reports on four villages, recruited villagers in West Willow Tree Village, and ordered houses, fields, and Dharma Seed training.
• Lin Xu upgraded West Willow Tree Village, discovered that resource-rich territories could unlock new buildings, and built a weaving workshop.
• Lin Xu recruited people and upgraded the other four villages, expanding their territories and identifying a restriction on automatically generated buildings.
• Lin Xu inspected the Incense Offering Hall’s warehouse and found that its incense offerings had accumulated over roughly ten years.
• Lin Xu compared Xuanwei Monastery’s apparent strength with the dungeon’s, then had incense offerings brought out to replenish the monastery’s supply.

Lin Xu refined incense fire into Incense Fire Heaven Silver and set Xuanwei Monastery’s villages to focus on farming and spirit rice. He led a supply convoy toward the front to learn how the war had gone, then found the dungeon legion’s ruined camp and chose to avoid it.

• Lin Xu used the level-one Incense Fire Altar to refine one hundred bottles of incense fire into a ten-tael ingot of Incense Fire Heaven Silver, while keeping the rest in reserve.
• Lin Xu directed the five subordinate villages to focus on clearing land, farming, and producing spirit rice as Xuanwei Monastery developed on its own.
• Lin Xu took the Gloomlamp Mage Corps, fifty militiamen, fifteen loaded ox carts, and more than twenty prisoners to the frontline camp.
• Lin Xu found the frontline camp abandoned and concluded that his side had won the battle, then followed his compass toward the dungeon.
• Lin Xu spotted the ruined dungeon legion camp a hundred thousand meters ahead and ordered the convoy to go around it after seeing shadowy shapes in the mist.