Chapter Summaries

Li Zhengjun and the Li Household wiped out Daoist Lu’s Devil Cultivators and revealed the Ning Kingdom’s ruler, Yang Xun, as their accomplice. After killing Yang Xun, Li Zhengjun began arranging Spirit Root tests and the Li Household’s work to establish its Dao in the kingdom.

• Li Dongping’s pagoda and Li Zhengjun’s thunder formation killed Daoist Lu and all thirty-seven Devil Cultivators, while Li Yuankai collected their belongings and remains.
• Li Zhengjun promised rewards to the Li Household members and told the kneeling Grandmasters that his clan would spread the true immortal Dao in the Ning Kingdom.
• Li Zhengjun dispelled the devil Qi in the Grandmasters and offered them Spirit Root tests, paid work to clear the Devil Cultivators’ methods and pills, or the freedom to leave.
• Fang Yuan and the other Grandmasters pledged to serve the Li Household and asked to help cleanse the kingdom of the Devil Cultivators’ influence.
• Li Zhengjun exposed Yang Xun’s role in supplying martial artists and soldiers to the Devil Cultivators, and Li Yuankai distributed Jiang Cheng’s confession as evidence.
• Li Zhengjun beheaded Yang Xun and ordered Li Yuankai to test the martial artists for Spirit Roots so those who had them could join the Li Household.

After defeating the Devil Cultivators, the Li Household began recruiting cultivators and organizing the cleanup of their influence across the Ning Kingdom. Li Chenxuan announced Spirit Root testing in the capital as the clan prepared to establish its new base, while Jiang Cheng identified the Devil Cultivators’ strongholds and supplied a detailed report on the realm.

• Li Zhengjun’s group found Spirit Roots in nine of the martial artists, and Li Dongping took them to register for cultivation.
• Li Zhengjun offered those without Spirit Roots Contribution Points for helping remove the Devil Cultivators’ lingering influence, and Li Yuankai gave them pills, body-refining methods, and instructions for the work.
• Li Yuankai announced that people aged six to forty would be tested for Spirit Roots, with routine annual tests for children from age six.
• Li Chenxuan told the people of the capital that Spirit Root testing would begin outside the palace gates the next morning, and he resolved to build a new city for the Li Household.
• The remaining Li Household disciples released Jiang Cheng and made him lead them to Devil Cultivator strongholds in the capital.
• Jiang Cheng’s investigation produced a detailed report on the Ning Kingdom’s population, terrain, products, and distribution of Spiritual Qi.

Li Yuankai reported that Jade Wave Island held abundant Frozen Water spiritual creatures and could support the Li Household’s expansion into the Great Scarlet Realm. After Li Zhengjun arranged for the disciples to write home, Li Yuankai read his mother’s letter and was interrupted by news of an unusual discovery.

• Li Yuankai told Li Zhengjun that Jade Wave Island’s Jade Wave Turtles and the beasts that preyed on them were Frozen Water spiritual creatures, making the island a valuable source for the Li Household.
• Li Yuankai described Gold-Bearing Mountain’s fertile spiritual lands and proposed taking it as the Li Household’s mountain gate after they secured a foothold.
• Li Zhengjun praised the intelligence, planned to return to the Yuyu Realm to report to the True Person, and invited the disciples to write letters home.
• Li Yuankai received and read his mother’s letter, learned how much his parents worried about him, and resolved not to disappoint the Lineage.
• A disciple reported an unusual discovery, and Li Yuankai went to investigate.

Li Zhengchen received representatives from the Luo Household, the Hundred Fei Sect, and other groups who used the Li Household’s recent losses and a poor Frozen Water harvest to demand double the usual price for spirit items. Just as Li Zhengchen appeared ready to negotiate, he sensed a summons from the True Person and hurried away, leaving the talks unfinished.

• Li Zhengchen welcomed Chen Po, Luo Yongying, and six other visitors, recognizing that they had come from groups that supplied Frozen Water spirit items.
• Chen Po and Luo Yongying questioned Li Zhengchen about the Devil Cultivators’ raid, but Li Zhengchen denied that the Li Household had suffered serious losses and challenged Luo Yongying to explain his rumors.
• Chen Po and Luo Yongying claimed the poor harvest left little to spare, then offered to give the Li Household first claim on spirit items in exchange for double the usual price.
• Li Zhengchen said the increase needed further discussion and warned that the Li Household might adjust its own spirit-item dealings if the price stayed too high.
• Li Zhengchen sensed a summons from the True Person, excused himself, and hurried away before Chen Po could continue negotiating.

Li Zhengjun returned from the Great Scarlet Realm and reported that the Li Household had wiped out the Devil Cultivators and secured a foothold in the Ning Kingdom. True Person Yuhong ordered the ten warriors honored and their families supported, while the elders prepared to help build the Household’s presence in the other realm; Zhengjun then revealed he had found a Frozen Water spiritual object.

• True Person Yuhong and the Lineage elders worried that Li Zhengjun’s expedition had taken longer than expected and that a high-level cultivator might have noticed it.
• Li Zhengjun appeared in Chongming Hall and reported that the Li Household had killed all thirty-eight Devil Cultivators without losing a warrior, and that no high-level cultivator had come to investigate.
• Li Zhengjun asked that the ten warriors be commended and their families rewarded, and True Person Yuhong ordered their names entered in the Radiant Brightness Pavilion and their kin provided for.
• Li Zhengchen and the Lineage elders agreed to support the ten warriors and help Li Zhengjun establish the Li Household in the Great Scarlet Realm.
• Li Zhengjun announced that he had another piece of good news concerning a Frozen Water spiritual object.

Li Zhengjun reported that Jade Wave Island in the Ning Kingdom had abundant Frozen Water spiritual materials, offering the Li Household a major new source of cultivation resources. True Person Yuhong ordered the elders to assess the island, develop its resources, recruit cultivators, and plan a branch there.

• Li Zhengjun reported that the Ning Kingdom could supply Frozen Water spiritual materials for more than fifty Fetal Breath cultivators, with a strong chance of higher-grade resources in Jade Wave Island's core region.
• Li Zhengchen explained that the Li Household's Frozen Water supplies were dwindling and neighboring powers had demanded double prices, but the Ning Kingdom's output, adjusted for the realms' time difference, could match the Lesser Cold River's.
• True Person Yuhong celebrated the discovery and speculated that other islands in the Shattered Star Sea might hold Frozen Water or Bright Yang spiritual materials.
• Li Zhengjun presented intelligence on Jade Wave Island, and True Person Yuhong directed the elders to map its resources and identify materials suitable for cultivation or breeding.
• Li Zhengjun reported that tests for Spirit Roots were underway among the Ning Kingdom's inhabitants and asked the Lineage to choose cultivation paths and methods for those who qualified.
• True Person Yuhong assigned Li Zhengchen to plan the Li Household's branch in the Great Scarlet Realm and assist Li Zhengjun in establishing it.

The Li Household agreed to review letters from the Great Scarlet Realm and keep its existence secret, fearing the fate of the An Household and the attention of True Person Heaven-Forging. Yuhong approved plans to protect Li Zhengjun and organize the Lineage’s growing two-realm operations, while Li Zhengchen prepared to confront the clans and sects exploiting the Household.

• Li Zhengjun presented letters from the ten young clansmen, and Li Chenbin proposed that at least three elders review all correspondence to prevent leaks about the Great Scarlet Realm.
• Li Zhengchen and Yuhong recalled how True Person Heaven-Forging killed An Siming for cultivating the Quail Fire Dao Path, and the elders agreed that the Li Household must guard its secrets.
• Yuhong explained that Li Zhengjun would need to seek opportunities beyond the Great Scarlet Realm to improve his chances of attaining the Purple Mansion, so the elders needed to plan for his protection.
• Li Zhengchen said the elders could not manage the expanding workload alone and proposed dedicated divisions for conquest, logistics, and intelligence; Yuhong gave him authority to organize them.
• Yuhong told Li Zhengchen to stop yielding to the Luo Household and the Hundred Fei Sect, and Li Zhengchen set out to confront them at the Observing Brightness Terrace.

The Luo Household, the Hundred Fei Sect, and their allies tried to exploit the Li Household’s supposed shortage of Frozen Water spiritual items by demanding a steep price increase. Li Zhengchen refused to yield, and Luo Yongying threatened that the Li Household would be unable to field enough young cultivators for the Radiant Bright Blessed Land expedition.

• Luo Yongying and Chen Po decided to press the Li Household for a higher price, hoping to profit from its apparent weakness and learn about True Person Yuhong’s condition.
• Li Zhengchen returned to the negotiations with Li Zhengjun, whom Chen Po and the other visitors dismissed as an ordinary Fetal Breath cultivator.
• Li Zhengchen asked the factions to name their price, then rejected Chen Po’s proposed eighty-percent increase.
• Chen Po lowered the increase to seventy percent, but Li Zhengchen again refused and cited the damage to the Lesser Cold River and the cost of rebuilding.
• Luo Yongying warned that the Radiant Bright Blessed Land would open in three months and claimed that the Li Household might lack enough young cultivators to take part.

Li Zhengchen rejected Luo Yongying’s attempt to use the Li Household’s troubles to demand places in the Radiant Bright Blessed Land, and accused the Luo Household of spying. He declared the trade deal over, warned the gathered powers not to target the Li Household, and ordered the guests escorted out.

• Luo Yongying offered to lower the price of Frozen Water spiritual items if the Li Household surrendered places in the Radiant Bright Blessed Land.
• Li Zhengchen accused Luo Yongying of spreading rumors or planting spies in the Li Household, then denounced his interference in its affairs.
• Li Zhengchen canceled the deal and declared that the Li Household would no longer buy Frozen Water spiritual items from Luo Yongying’s households.
• When Chen Po and representatives of the other six households tried to calm him, Li Zhengchen warned that the Li Household would strike down anyone who coveted its holdings.
• Li Zhengchen called in the Li Household guards and ordered them to show the guests out.

The Li Household rejected the neighboring households’ attempt to exploit its Frozen Water shortage, and Li Zhengchen taught Li Zhengjun how to gather Frozen Water spiritual resources before his departure. As Li Zhengjun prepared to establish the clan in the Ning Kingdom, True Person Yuhong ordered him to find worthy consorts and continue the family line.

• Chen Po and Luo Yongying blamed each other after the Li Household refused their deal, then planned to report its stance and target its descendants in the Radiant Bright Blessed Land.
• The other six households regretted offending the Li Household and worried about losing their spiritual crystal income.
• Li Zhengchen taught Li Zhengjun to identify and harvest Frozen Water spiritual resources and explained that the clan would keep the method for combining the gathered Qi secret.
• Li Chenbin gave Li Zhengjun an outline for founding and managing the clan in the Ning Kingdom.
• True Person Yuhong gave Li Zhengjun fertility pills and Cultivation Methods, then ordered him to seek worthy consorts and carry on the family line.

Li Zhengjun returned to the Great Scarlet Realm, praised Fang Yuan and Fang Qing for advancing in cultivation, and organized the Li Household’s new branch in the Ning Kingdom. He announced the Lineage’s urgent order to find spouses and have children, leaving Fang Qing newly determined to pursue him.

• Li Zhengjun found Fang Yuan and Fang Qing had reached the Fetal Breath realm and explained that the courtyard guard method advanced faster near cultivators of the Bright Yang Dao Lineage.
• Li Zhengjun gathered the ten Li Household descendants and told them their conquest of the Ning Kingdom had earned them recognition in Radiant Brightness Pavilion and helped resolve a spiritual-material shortage.
• Li Zhengjun appointed Li Yuankai governor of the Li Household in the Ning Kingdom and learned that seventy-four people of suitable age had Spirit Roots.
• Li Zhengjun ordered the first group of Spirit Root children to cultivate the Frozen Water Dao Path and the rest to learn the courtyard guard method.
• Li Zhengjun announced that all Li Household descendants must seek spouses and have children immediately, prompting Fang Yuan to consider earning merit and Fang Qing to decide she would pursue Li Zhengjun.

Li Zhengjun announced the Li Household’s plans to establish families in the Great Scarlet Realm, and Fang Qing confessed her feelings for him. He accepted her, and she fled the hall after Li Yuankai unexpectedly interrupted them.

• Li Zhengjun distributed cultivation resources and explained the clan’s marriage plans, rewards, and two branches of work to gather spiritual items and establish families.
• Fang Yuan left the hall after realizing Fang Qing wanted to speak privately with Li Zhengjun.
• Fang Qing asked whether she would make a suitable partner, and Li Zhengjun eventually realized she meant him.
• Fang Qing confessed that she would accept being one of his many partners, and Li Zhengjun gave her a dual cultivation method and promised to arrange her recognized status.
• Li Yuankai burst into the hall and interrupted them; Fang Qing fled after giving Li Zhengjun a protective charm, while Fang Yuan understood from her expression that she had been accepted.

Li Zhengjun learned that Ye Xiufan had unusual signs of cultivation and may have killed a Qi Refinement Devil Cultivator, so he ordered him secretly watched and considered using him. Meanwhile, Ye Xiufan discussed the Li Household with Elder Jiang, who warned him not to trust their intentions.

• Li Yuankai reported that Ye Xiufan had traces of Spiritual Qi despite not having begun cultivating and that a Devil Cultivator assigned to watch him had disappeared.
• Li Zhengjun concluded that Ye Xiufan had likely killed the Devil Cultivator and ordered Dongping to keep watching him without raising suspicion.
• Li Zhengjun decided that Ye Xiufan might be useful to him if he proved talented.
• Ye Xiufan told Elder Jiang that the Li Household had wiped out the Devil Cultivators and was distributing effective detoxification pills for free.
• Elder Jiang warned Ye Xiufan that the Li Household would likely use Spirit Root bearers as laborers and withhold its superior methods.

Ye Xiufan joined the Li Household’s new cultivators to learn the Frozen Water cultivation method, while Elder Jiang expected it to be a low-grade technique. After hearing Ye Xiufan recite it, Elder Jiang realized the method could reach Foundation Establishment and might even lead to Core Formation.

• Elder Jiang warned Ye Xiufan that the Li Household would not share its best cultivation methods and urged him to retrieve a spirit object from Gold-Bearing Mountain.
• Ye Xiufan went to Hanyuan Hall, where Li Zhengjun announced that Hall Master Li would teach the gathered Spirit Root youths to cultivate.
• Li Zhengjun assigned water Spirit Root youths the Cold River Qi-Guiding Scripture and gave other youths the Knock on the Court and Receive Qi Instruction, with Contribution Points available for completing tasks.
• Li Dongping led Ye Xiufan and the other water Spirit Root youths to the riverbank to sense Frozen Water spiritual force and begin cultivating.
• Elder Jiang asked Ye Xiufan to recite the Fetal Breath method of the Frozen Water Dao Path, then fell silent before declaring that it could lead to Foundation Establishment and perhaps Core Formation.

Ye Xiufan learned that the Li Household’s cultivation method purified water-aspected Qi, and he and Elder Jiang focused on earning Contribution Points for its later sections. After three months, Li Zhengjun formed the Jade Capital Wheel, awakened Divine Sense, and asked Li Yuankai about Ye Xiufan’s recent actions.

• Elder Jiang explained that the Li Household’s method let cultivators with mixed Spirit Roots refine only water-aspected Qi, and Ye Xiufan learned that later sections could be exchanged for Contribution Points.
• Ye Xiufan and Elder Jiang decided to cultivate the method and seek Frozen Water spiritual items, while Li Dongping secretly recorded their actions.
• Over three months, Ye Xiufan reached Fetal Breath ahead of his peers, with Elder Jiang concealing his progress and helping him search for spiritual items.
• Li Zhengjun completed the Jade Capital Wheel, reached the Fetal Breath Fifth Layer, and awakened Divine Sense, which increased his confidence about confronting the tiger demon at Gold-Bearing Mountain.
• Li Yuankai congratulated Li Zhengjun on his breakthrough, and Li Zhengjun asked what had happened in the Ning Kingdom and whether Ye Xiufan had acted unusually.

Li Zhengjun received reports on the Li Household’s progress in the Great Scarlet Realm, including the search for spiritual materials, a possible Three Yang source, and Ye Xiufan’s cultivation. He married Fang Qing before returning to the Lineage, leaving her resting after their wedding night.

• Li Yuankai reported that the household had collected a year’s supply of Frozen Water spiritual materials for more than thirty cultivators in three months.
• Li Yuankai described Gold-Bearing Mountain’s spirit-field potential, its Peak Qi Refinement tiger demon, and a presence resembling Three Yang spiritual materials; Li Zhengjun planned to deal with the demon.
• Li Yuankai told Li Zhengjun that Ye Xiufan had entered Fetal Breath and was exchanging gathered materials for Contribution Points, and Li Zhengjun decided to consult the True Person about him.
• Li Yuankai reported that the younger clansmen had taken wives and concubines and urged Li Zhengjun to marry before returning to the Lineage.
• Li Zhengjun married Fang Qing in a celebration across the Ning Kingdom, and the newlyweds spent the night together.
• Li Zhengjun left to attend to Lineage affairs while Fang Qing rested in bed and smiled after he had gone.

Li Zhengjun discovered that two concealed spirit beasts were spying on the Li Household and followed one to its handlers. The beast tamers revealed their plans while torturing Guo Pingjiang, and Sun Xing ordered him killed as the scouting bird returned.

• Li Dongping told Li Zhengjun that he and Li Yuankai had detected an unknown presence near the capital's protective formation.
• Li Zhengjun found a concealed waterbird and an owl watching the Li Household's cultivators, and identified them as reconnaissance spirit beasts controlled by a hidden beast tamer.
• Li Zhengjun, Li Yuankai, and Li Dongping secretly followed the waterbird from the capital toward the hills.
• Sun Xing and Wan Xun tortured Guo Pingjiang for information about the Li Household, but Guo Pingjiang refused to betray it.
• Sun Xing and Wan Xun discussed their intelligence on Jade Wave Island and the approaching Lineage expedition as the Reed-Hidden Sandpiper returned.
• Sun Xing ordered Guo Pingjiang killed.

Li Zhengjun rescued Guo Pingjiang and captured Sun Xing and Wan Xun, whose confession exposed the Sun Household’s interest in Jade Wave Island and the tiger demon on Gold-Bearing Mountain. As Li Zhengjun questioned their motives, more Sun Household cultivators arrived in the capital to discuss the mountain with Li Yuankai.

• Li Zhengjun broke into the cave, killed Sun Xing and Wan Xun’s spirit beasts, captured the two men, and rescued Guo Pingjiang.
• Li Zhengjun brought Guo Pingjiang back to the capital and promised the Li Household would make the Sun Household men pay.
• Sun Xing and Wan Xun confessed that they belonged to the Sun Household, a powerful vassal of the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect on Red Maple Island.
• Li Zhengjun questioned why the Sun Household had ignored the Devil Cultivator on Jade Wave Island and focused its reconnaissance on the tiger demon at Gold-Bearing Mountain.
• Li Dongping reported that Sun Household cultivators had arrived in the capital and were discussing Gold-Bearing Mountain with Li Yuankai.

Li Zhengjun received Sun Ming and learned that the Sun Household wanted to capture the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger on Gold-Bearing Mountain. The two households agreed to search together in mid-spring, and Li Zhengjun prepared to return to the Yuyu Realm.

• Li Zhengjun and Li Dongping went to Hanyuan Hall after learning that Sun Ming and four Sun Household cultivators had arrived.
• Li Zhengjun rebuked Sun Ming's claim that the Sun Household had come to wipe out the Devil Cultivators, and Sun Ming concealed his plans to assess the Li Household.
• Sun Ming explained that the Sun Household had long sought a Ginseng-Cloud Tiger on Gold-Bearing Mountain as a spirit pet for their second young master.
• Li Zhengjun and Sun Ming agreed to join forces to capture the tiger in mid-spring.
• After Sun Ming left, Li Zhengjun warned that the Sun Household could not be underestimated and said he would return to the Yuyu Realm.

Li Zhengjun returned from the Great Scarlet Realm with news of his rapid breakthrough and the Li Household’s growing foothold there. After discussing plans to capture the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger on Gold-Bearing Mountain, the Lineage elders proposed using Yuyu Realm spirit-binding methods to control the Great Scarlet Realm’s unintelligent Demon Beasts.

• Li Zhengjun returned to Chongming Hall, where Yuhong recognized that he had formed the Jade Capital Wheel in half a month.
• Li Zhengjun reported that the Li Household’s first descendants in the Great Scarlet Realm were expected in about a month and that Frozen Water spiritual materials were being gathered steadily.
• Li Zhengjun asked the Lineage to provide a detection Law Artifact and Spirit Plant farmers for the planned capture and development of Gold-Bearing Mountain.
• Li Zhengjun told Yuhong and the Lineage elders that the Sun Household wanted to join the Li Household in capturing the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger for their young master.
• Li Chenxiao explained that Great Scarlet Realm Demon Beasts appeared to remain unintelligent and in beast form, unlike Yuyu Realm demons that developed intelligence after forming the Brightness-Bearing Wheel.
• Yuhong agreed with Li Chenxiao that the Li Household could use Yuyu Realm spirit-binding methods to control Great Scarlet Realm Demon Beasts, including the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger.