Chapter Summaries

Li Zhengjun awoke in a cave after his uncle, Li Chenwei, rescued him from Devil Cultivators and entrusted him with the Li Lineage’s Purple Mansion spirit item. As two Qi Ingestion cultivators discovered him and prepared to kill him, a mysterious mirror offered him a chance to enter the Great Scarlet Realm, and he accepted.

• Li Zhengjun recovered memories of his identity as a low-level cultivator from a threatened Purple Mansion clan and thanked Li Chenwei for saving him.
• Li Chenwei entrusted Li Zhengjun with the Thawing Ice Bright Jade and the Mysterious Shell Breath-Stabilizing Disc, then left to draw the pursuing Devil Cultivators away.
• Li Zhengjun hid in a cave for three days while cultivators searched the area, enduring a search that shook and injured him.
• Two Qi Ingestion cultivators entered the cave to refine blood food, spotted Li Zhengjun, and restrained him with fire serpents.
• The leading cultivator recognized Li Zhengjun’s Li Lineage clothing and suspected he carried the Purple Mansion spirit item, then attacked him.
• A mysterious mirror appeared in Li Zhengjun’s sea of consciousness and offered to send him to the Great Scarlet Realm, and he agreed.

Li Zhengjun arrived in the Great Scarlet Realm and discovered that its faster passage of time could help him cultivate while the Li Household faced danger in the Yuyu Realm. He killed a Jade Wave Turtle and rescued Fang Yuan and Fang Qing, who thanked him as an immortal.

• Li Zhengjun arrived in the Great Scarlet Realm, confirmed that the Purple Mansion spiritual object was safe, and learned that he could bring clansmen there, though they could never return.
• Li Zhengjun realized the realm's tenfold faster time could give him more time to cultivate and help the Purple Mansion Lineage overcome its crisis.
• Li Zhengjun spotted a Jade Wave Turtle chasing a boat carrying Fang Yuan, Fang Qing, and a short, stout martial artist, and decided to capture the beast as proof that Frozen Water spiritual objects existed there.
• Fang Yuan and Fang Qing tried to rescue Li Zhengjun, but the short, stout martial artist secretly diverted their boat to use Li Zhengjun as bait.
• Li Zhengjun hurled the short, stout martial artist into the Jade Wave Turtle, killed the beast with Law Techniques, and stored its corpse.
• Fang Yuan and Fang Qing bowed to Li Zhengjun and thanked him for saving their lives.

Li Zhengjun discovered that the Ning Kingdom’s capital Immortal Masters were luring Martial Dao Grandmasters into a scheme that damaged their bodies, and recruited Fang Yuan and Fang Qing to investigate while teaching them cultivation. After sending the siblings ahead to the capital, he returned to the Yuyu Realm and was confronted by True Person Yuhong, who demanded to know who had threatened a Li Household descendant.

• Li Zhengjun killed the Jade Wave Turtle, learned about the Ning Kingdom’s cultivators from Fang Yuan and Fang Qing, and offered to test their Spirit Roots.
• Li Zhengjun found that Fang Yuan had four Spirit Roots and Fang Qing had three, then exposed their martial art as a body-damaging method used to prepare Grandmasters as ingredients for pills.
• Fang Yuan and Fang Qing agreed to help Li Zhengjun investigate the capital, and he taught them the Courtyard-Knocking Qi-Receiving Scripture during their journey north.
• Li Zhengjun parted from the siblings near the capital and returned to the Yuyu Realm, where he found two dead Qi Ingestion cultivators in the cave.
• True Person Yuhong appeared in a towering Dharma manifestation and demanded that Li Zhengjun reveal himself for threatening a descendant of the Li Household.

True Person Yuhong rescued Li Zhengjun and recovered the Thawing Ice Bright Jade, then brought his grandson to White Jade Mountain to hear what he had to report. Li Zhengjun promised a way to restore the Li Household’s fortunes, but vanished inside Yuhong’s sealed grand array before explaining, leaving Yuhong stunned.

• True Person Yuhong reached the Lesser Cold River too late to save Li Chenwei from severe injuries, but stabilized his surviving true spirit and killed the Immortal Foundation cultivators who had tortured him.
• Yuhong found Li Zhengjun and the Thawing Ice Bright Jade, then used Entering the Bright Hall to question him about his unexplained disappearance.
• True Person Mingxin warned Yuhong about the coming Radiant Bright Blessed Land and plotted with another cultivator to cut off the Li Household’s Bright Yang Dao Path.
• At White Jade Mountain, Li Zhengjun showed Yuhong the unfamiliar Jade Wave Turtle and asked how many years of lifespan he had left.
• Li Zhengjun claimed he could help the Li Household produce one or more Purple Mansion cultivators, then vanished from Chongming Hall despite Yuhong’s sealed grand array.

Li Zhengjun revealed to True Person Yuhong that he could travel between the Yuyu Realm and the Great Scarlet Realm, where time passed ten times faster and cultivation methods worked. After learning that Li Zhengjun could also take members of the Li Household there under strict conditions, Yuhong ordered the household to support his cultivation and begin conquering the other world.

• Li Zhengjun demonstrated his travel between worlds and presented a Jade Wave Turtle from the Great Scarlet Realm as proof.
• True Person Yuhong recognized that Li Zhengjun's ability was beyond his own understanding and learned that the Great Scarlet Realm gave him ten times as much cultivation time.
• Li Zhengjun told Yuhong that he could bring lineage members to the Great Scarlet Realm, though they could not return and would not gain his extended lifespan.
• Li Zhengjun confirmed that Yuyu Realm cultivation methods worked in the Great Scarlet Realm and that the Immortal Mirror indicated its descendants could be brought back.
• Yuhong committed the Li Household to supporting Li Zhengjun and conquering the Great Scarlet Realm, then summoned Li Zhengchen and Li Chenfeng to Chongming Hall.

After Li Zhengjun revealed his ability to enter another realm, Yuhong saw a way for the Li Household to escape its decline and began preparing Zhengjun to lead an expedition. The chapter ended with Yuhong ordering him to cultivate the clan’s seventh-tier high-grade Double Radiance Bright Yang Breathing Scripture, despite its severe demands.

• Yuhong told Li Zhengjun to plan his Dao Path and choose descendants for an expedition, then summoned Li Zhengchen and Li Chenfeng to Chongming Hall.
• Yuhong revealed that Li Zhengjun could cross into another realm, astonishing Li Zhengchen and Li Chenfeng with his apparent ability to cross the Great Void while at the Fetal Breath realm.
• Yuhong ordered Li Chenfeng to select six loyal clansmen and Li Zhengchen to gather resources and choose four formation experts for Zhengjun’s first expedition.
• Yuhong warned that those who entered the other realm could never return, and said unwilling participants must have their memories erased and be released rather than forced to go.
• Yuhong told Li Zhengjun he would cleanse and refine his cultivation and teach him the seventh-tier high-grade Double Radiance Bright Yang Breathing Scripture.

Yuhong reforged Li Zhengjun’s body, taught him the Bright Yang cultivation method, and laid out four principles for establishing the Li Household in the Great Scarlet Realm. As the first group of ten clansmen prepared to depart, Li Zhengchen appointed his eldest son, Li Yuankai, to manage their logistics.

• Yuhong used nine Immortal Foundation spiritual items to remake Li Zhengjun’s body and gave him the Double Radiance Bright Yang Breathing Scripture.
• Yuhong explained that Li Zhengjun must become a ruler in the Great Scarlet Realm before cultivating the method, then advised him to assess powerful forces, justify his campaigns, build local support, and expand cautiously.
• Yuhong revealed that he had at most twenty-three years left to live, while Li Zhengjun resolved to find a way to extend his grandfather’s life.
• Yuhong brought Li Chenfeng and six selected Fetal Breath cultivators from Subduing Tiger Pass, while Li Zhengchen assembled four more clansmen and their resources.
• Li Zhengchen appointed his eldest son, Li Yuankai, governor of the expedition, and Yuankai pledged to help the Li Household establish itself in the Great Scarlet Realm.

True Person Yuhong prepared Li Zhengjun and nine Li Household descendants for their perilous journey to the Great Scarlet Realm, entrusting them with resources and the mission of establishing a foothold there. Before they departed, Li Zhengjun pleaded for his uncle Li Chenwei’s life, and Yuhong promised to preserve Chenwei’s body and true spirit until a Bright Yang spiritual object could save him.

• Yuhong appointed Li Zhengjun as household head in the Great Scarlet Realm and ordered the ten descendants to obey him and protect him.
• Yuhong distributed specialized spiritual resources, including Li Chenfeng’s Seven Luminaries Bright-Subduing Profound Light Pagoda to Li Dongping, and tasked the group with investigating the Ning Kingdom.
• The ten descendants vowed to serve the Lineage and left for the Great Scarlet Realm under Li Zhengjun’s leadership.
• Li Zhengjun asked Yuhong to save Li Chenwei, recalling his uncle’s sacrifices and pleading to repay his kindness.
• Yuhong agreed to preserve Chenwei’s body and true spirit until Li Zhengjun could bring back a Bright Yang spiritual object, then reflected that descendants like these would keep the Li Household safe.

Fang Yuan investigated the capital’s palace examination and warned Jiang Cheng not to take part, then reported his findings to Li Zhengjun and four other cultivators. Jiang Cheng followed him to their farmhouse and revealed himself as a Devil Cultivator, intent on turning the gathered Grandmasters into blood pills.

• Fang Yuan bought a Tiger and Leopard Pill to have the immortal examine it and concluded it was likely refined using Qi and Blood.
• Jiang Cheng offered Fang Yuan superior-grade pills and invited him to attend the palace examination, but Fang Yuan urged him to wait and strengthen his foundation.
• After Fang Qing helped him leave, Jiang Cheng suspected the siblings had discovered the palace’s secret and followed them using a Breath-Concealing Instruction.
• Fang Yuan waited with Fang Qing for Li Zhengjun, then settled in an abandoned farmhouse and gathered information about Grandmasters disappearing inside the imperial palace.
• Li Zhengjun arrived with four cultivators, and Fang Yuan reported that Grandmasters entering the palace had never returned or sent word.
• Jiang Cheng burst into the farmhouse carrying a soul banner and declared that the seven Grandmasters there would make enough blood pills for his Master.

Jiang Cheng was captured by Li Zhengjun's group after attempting to silence the Fang siblings, then revealed the origins and strength of the Devil Cultivators in the capital. His captors learned that Daoist Lu had no reinforcements and was only at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, while Jiang Cheng mistakenly assumed they served a Core Formation True Person.

• Jiang Cheng burst into the farmhouse, but Li Zhengjun's group subdued him with the Law Bell and sealed his retreat.
• Li Dongping confiscated Jiang Cheng's spiritual items, and the group planted truth-enforcing talismans in him.
• Jiang Cheng told Li Zhengjun that Daoist Lu had brought more than thirty disciples to the Ning Kingdom nineteen years earlier and secretly refined blood pills.
• Jiang Cheng revealed that Daoist Lu was at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, had a damaged foundation, and wielded a soul banner, but had no backers or nearby reinforcements.
• Li Yuankai proposed asking the ancestor for Thunder Talismans to eliminate the Devil Cultivators, and Jiang Cheng asked whether they came from Listening to Thunder Island.
• Li Dongping angrily rejected Jiang Cheng's assumption that a Core Formation cultivator could call himself a True Person.

Jiang Cheng revealed Daoist Lu’s crimes, the Ning Kingdom Devil Cultivators’ strength, and their escape methods to Li Zhengjun’s group. Li Zhengjun imprisoned Jiang Cheng and planned a coordinated assault on the imperial palace after further reconnaissance and preparations.

• Jiang Cheng abandoned hope of his master’s victory and eagerly reported Daoist Lu’s crimes to Li Zhengjun’s group.
• Jiang Cheng explained that Daoist Lu planned to capture martial artists at the palace examination to refine blood pills, and described the Devil Cultivators and their formation.
• Jiang Cheng warned that the Devil Cultivators could use Blood Escape Techniques to flee, especially Daoist Lu, who knew the Shattered Star Sea well.
• Li Dongping trapped Jiang Cheng inside a seven-story pagoda on Li Zhengjun’s order, keeping him prisoner for further questioning.
• Li Dongping reported that four Lineage members were surveying the capital, and Li Zhengjun ordered everyone to wait while he sought talismans and a formation to seal the palace.

Li Zhengjun returned to the Yuyu Realm with a Devil Cultivator’s confession and intelligence, and Yuhong assembled experienced Lineage elders to support him. They organized thunder talismans and a simple formation to trap the enemy at the Ning Kingdom imperial palace before the next palace examination.

• Li Zhengjun returned to Chongming Hall, where Yuhong and nine veteran Lineage elders welcomed him and reviewed the confession and intelligence.
• Yuhong introduced the elders as advisers who would help Li Zhengjun manage matters in the Great Scarlet Realm.
• Li Zhengjun explained that Yuankai had recommended powerful thunder talismans and a formation to seal the imperial palace so no enemies could escape.
• Li Chenbin offered to prepare Altar Thunder talismans, while the formation experts proposed creating a suitable trap despite the Lineage lacking a Fetal Breath-level formation.
• Yuhong ordered Zhengchen to gather support from the Talisman Hall and Formation Hall, with the talismans and formation to be delivered before the next palace examination.

Yuhong equipped Li Zhengjun with protective armor, gave him the Luminous Brightness sword and a sword manual, and urged him to kill Daoist Lu during the coming campaign. Li Zhengjun returned to the Great Scarlet Realm to scout Ning Kingdom, while Yuhong resolved to seek help so Zhengjun could continue the family line.

• Yuhong brought Li Zhengjun to his armory and gave him the Bright Radiance Evil-Suppressing Mystic Light Armor, which protected its wearer automatically and was effective against Devil Cultivators.
• Yuhong gave Li Zhengjun the Luminous Brightness sword and the One Qi Luminous Radiance World-Suppressing Instruction, explaining how the sword could grow with him and strengthen his cultivation.
• Yuhong advised Li Zhengjun to personally kill Daoist Lu, whose rule over Ning Kingdom had gathered regional fortune that could nourish the sword and benefit Li Zhengjun's cultivation.
• Li Zhengjun and Yuhong discussed preparations to establish a Lineage in Ning Kingdom, and Yuhong asked him to survey its terrain, population, resources, and neighboring forces before returning.
• Li Zhengjun returned to the Great Scarlet Realm, while Yuhong decided to visit True Person Dayu to find methods and spiritual items that could help Li Zhengjun carry on the family line.

Li Zhengjun returned to his cave abode, where the Li Household prepared a concealed formation and planned to trap the Devil Cultivators during the palace examination. After eight days of cultivating the Double Radiance Bright Yang Wheel-Nurturing Scripture, he formed four strands of Bright Yang Qi and prepared to return to the Yuyu Realm for lightning talismans and formations.

• Li Yuankai reported that at least thirty Devil Cultivators would be at the palace examination, and Li Zhengjun ordered the formation masters to map the palace and seal its escape routes.
• Li Yuankai proposed using predicted rain to strengthen the trap with lightning-drawing patterns and counter the Devil Cultivators' Blood Escape Techniques.
• Li Chenxuan and a sentry stopped Li Zhengjun from leaving the cave abode, so he returned briefly to the Yuyu Realm before coming back to cultivate.
• Li Yuankai completed the Profound Subtlety Breath-Concealing Heaven-Veiling Grand Formation, and Li Zhengjun began practicing the Double Radiance Bright Yang Wheel-Nurturing Scripture.
• Li Zhengjun cultivated for eight days, formed four strands of Bright Yang Qi, and estimated that he could reach the Embryonic Breathing Fifth Layer in about half a year.
• Li Zhengjun decided to return to the Yuyu Realm to fetch lightning talismans and formations before the palace examination.

Li Zhengjun received talismans, Law Artifacts, a trapping formation, and a letter for Li Yuankai before returning to the Great Scarlet Realm to lead the campaign against the Devil Cultivators. In the Ning Kingdom, Daoist Lu learned that only forty-three grandmasters had gathered for the palace examination and that Jiang Cheng was missing, but he ordered the examination to proceed.

• Li Zhengjun arrived at Chongming Hall, where Yuhong praised him for condensing four strands of Bright Yang Qi.
• Li Chenbin presented Li Zhengjun with fifty thunder talismans, three powerful Innate Thunder Sha Evil-Slaying Talismans, and Yuhong gave him four Law Artifacts.
• Li Zhengchen gave Li Zhengjun the supplies and instructions for the trapping formation, along with a letter from Li Yuankai's mother, and asked him to wait until after the battle to deliver it.
• Yuhong warned Li Zhengjun to put his life first and return to the Yuyu Realm if anything went wrong, and Li Zhengjun went back to the Great Scarlet Realm.
• Guo Xun reported to Daoist Lu that only forty-three grandmasters had come to the capital and that Jiang Cheng had not returned.
• Daoist Lu suspected Jiang Cheng might be refining blood pills on his own, but ordered the palace examination to proceed before he dealt with him.

Daoist Lu explained to Guo Xun how control over cultivation methods and resources kept disciples and commoners dependent, while preparing to refine Blood Pills from the palace examination’s grandmasters. He planned to use the pills to reach Qi Refinement Great Perfection and challenge the tiger demon occupying Ning Kingdom’s spiritual mountains, as he and Guo Xun remained wary of nearby cultivators discovering their devil-path lineage.

• Yang Xun thanked Daoist Lu for promising to pass him the Dao after the palace examination, but Daoist Lu told Guo Xun he had no intention of giving the emperor their method.
• Daoist Lu promised Guo Xun the third chapter of the True Explanation of Blood Sha Chain Form once the Blood Pills helped him reach Qi Refinement Great Perfection, and rejected using first-rank martial artists as ingredients.
• Daoist Lu taught Guo Xun that Cultivation Methods and skills kept juniors dependent, and Guo Xun knelt and vowed to follow his master's instructions.
• Guo Xun reported that the unfamiliar cultivators from the previous month were Rogue Cultivators passing through, not agents of the Zhulu Immortal Alliance or Listening to Thunder Island.
• Daoist Lu explained that his group lacked the knowledge to cultivate their spirit seeds and had fled to the capital after the tiger demon drove them from the spiritual mountains; he planned to challenge it after taking the Blood Pills.
• Guo Xun assured Daoist Lu that patrols had found no suspicious cultivators nearby and praised his strength and soul banner as protection against intruders.

Daoist Lu remained wary of unexplained Spiritual Qi fluctuations and ordered extra precautions for the palace examination, though Guo Xun treated the warning casually. On examination day, Li Zhengjun and the Li Household disciples entered the palace disguised as captured grandmasters, while Li Zhengjun noticed the Devil Cultivators checking entrants.

• Daoist Lu told Guo Xun that the Void-Observing Mirror had detected unexplained Spiritual Qi fluctuations and ordered him to place it at the palace gate and seize anyone suspicious.
• Guo Xun set the Void-Observing Mirror at the gate and tested it, but dismissed Daoist Lu’s concerns and returned to secluded cultivation.
• The palace examination began in heavy rain, and Fang Yuan and Fang Qing spotted Li Zhengjun and the disguised Li Household disciples among the assembled grandmasters.
• Li Zhengjun had persuaded Li Yuankai and Li Chenxuan to support his plan, while Li Dongping arranged for the group to impersonate abducted grandmasters using Law Artifacts.
• As the grandmasters entered the palace, Li Zhengjun noticed cultivators checking their identities and recognized the Devil Cultivators’ caution.

Li Zhengjun and the other Li family members entered Daoist Lu’s palace, where they discovered his supposed cultivation gathering was a trap to refine grandmasters into Blood Pills. Daoist Lu began the slaughter, leaving the captives terrified and helpless as the Li family’s plan outside remained undiscovered.

• Li Zhengjun and the Li family passed beneath the Void-Observing Mirror undetected, while Li Yuankai and the others prepared a trapping formation nearby.
• The Li family surveyed the palace and found it guarded by weak Devil Cultivators before meeting Daoist Lu in the throne hall.
• Daoist Lu shut the hall doors, surrounded the grandmasters with green flames, and summoned a Pill Furnace.
• Daoist Lu declared the grandmasters were ingredients for his Blood Pills and threw one of them into the furnace.
• The trapped grandmasters realized Daoist Lu had deceived them, while Guo Xun understood how their fear and resentment strengthened the Blood Pills.

The Fang siblings used Heart-Clearing Pills to break Daoist Lu’s enchantment, and Li Zhengjun revealed himself by attacking the Devil Cultivators with thunder talismans. As the Li family fought to contain the palace, Li Zhengjun confronted Daoist Lu, who launched a fiery attack at him.

• The Fang siblings crushed Heart-Clearing Pills, freeing the grandmasters from Daoist Lu’s enchantment and sending them scrambling for an escape.
• Li Zhengjun struck Daoist Lu with a barrage of thunder talismans, forcing him to use the Blood Escape Technique and damaging his foundation.
• Li Yuankai and the other three activated an array that surrounded the palace and gathered lightning for Li Zhengjun to command.
• The Li family disciples and Daoist Lu’s followers clashed while Li Dongping secretly guarded Li Zhengjun.
• Li Zhengjun broke away from the battle to challenge Daoist Lu, who judged him an inexperienced junior and attacked with flames.

Li Zhengjun defeated Daoist Lu in the imperial palace after using his Law Artifacts to suppress the devil cultivator’s techniques and reveal his strength. The battle ended when Li Zhengjun’s Core Formation Law Treasure immobilized Daoist Lu, and Luminous Brightness beheaded him.

• Li Zhengjun dodged Daoist Lu’s fire techniques with his spirit wings and used the fight to assess the Great Scarlet Realm’s techniques for the Lineage.
• Daoist Lu unleashed his soul banner, but Li Zhengjun suppressed its vengeful souls with the Mountain-Suppressing Seal, the Radiant Yang Ruyi, and the Devil-Suppressing Spirit Lock.
• Daoist Lu tried to flee, but a lightning-patterned formation sealed the imperial palace, so he transformed into a giant elk and attacked Li Zhengjun at close range.
• Daoist Lu charged with his strongest attack, but Li Zhengjun’s Bright Radiance Evil-Suppressing Mystic Light Armor stopped him and revealed itself as a Core Formation Law Treasure.
• Li Zhengjun killed Daoist Lu with Luminous Brightness and saw destiny flow from the dead cultivator into the sword and his own body.