Recaps

After advancing his cultivation, Chen Ning left So Close Yet Worlds Apart to protect Hua'er while he met with the Light Clan Leader. The Light Clan Leader tasked him with entering a mysterious small world to compete with Li Changsheng for information that could help their clans gain control of it.

• Nalan Yao, Bai Ziyu, Ding Erliang, and Old Man Yang congratulated Chen Ning on his new strength.
• Chen Ning told So Close Yet Worlds Apart to stay with Hua'er while he went alone to meet the Light Clan Leader.
• The Light Clan Leader revealed that the God Clans had discovered a mysterious small world that even clan leaders could not understand.
• The Light Clan Leader explained that only those below the Saint Emperor Realm could enter, and that Chen Ning and Li Changsheng would compete to gather information for their respective clans.
• Chen Ning realized the War God Clan must hate him for killing Ning Gucheng, and the Light Clan Leader confirmed it.

Chen Ning entered the Great Wasteland, where he learned the local cultivation ranks while helping a pursued woman. He hid his true strength as he fought Grandmaster He, who began to suspect that Chen Ning was far more powerful than he appeared.

• Chen Ning landed among enormous plants and found a woman hiding from her pursuers.
• The woman explained that eighth-rank experts and a Grandmaster were chasing her, and Chen Ning revealed enough Essence Power to pass as a ninth-rank cultivator.
• Grandmaster He and eight eighth-rank experts discovered them and attacked, leaving Chen Ning no choice but to fight.
• Chen Ning exchanged blows with Grandmaster He, pretending to struggle while protecting the woman.
• Grandmaster He began to wonder why he had not defeated Chen Ning despite apparently holding the advantage.

Chen Ning killed Grandmaster He and the other attackers, then agreed to hear Zhao Yinyin out after learning she was an imperial princess. She told him about the Golden Leaf Dao Seed and revealed that Celestial Persons stood above Grandmasters in the Azure Heaven Realm.

• Chen Ning used talismans and a strike of Sword Intent to kill Grandmaster He, then helped Zhao Yinyin defeat the fleeing Eighth Rank experts.
• Zhao Yinyin introduced herself as an imperial princess and asked Chen Ning to protect her, explaining that her eldest imperial brother wanted her dead.
• Chen Ning pretended to be a secluded mountain cultivator who knew little about the outside world, and learned that the world was called the Azure Heaven Realm.
• Zhao Yinyin said the Myriad Spirits Imperial Dynasty was guarded by a Celestial Person, a rank above Grandmasters.
• Chen Ning asked Zhao Yinyin what the Golden Leaf Dao Seed was.

Zhao Yinyin explained how farmers and the missing Golden Leaf Rice Seeds shaped the Azure Heaven Realm, while Chen Ning learned about the Myriad Spirits Imperial Dynasty. They left the wilderness and tracked Master Qin to the Carefree King’s residence, where Zhao Yinyin feared the man who owned it.

• Zhao Yinyin told Chen Ning that Golden Leaf Rice Seeds could help anyone who ate their grain reach the Ninth Rank, and that both the seeds and their farmer, Master Qin, had disappeared.
• Zhao Yinyin explained that the Rice Ancestor had empowered the Azure Heaven Realm’s crops and helped the Myriad Spirits Imperial Dynasty unite the realm under its rule.
• Chen Ning asked Zhao Yinyin about the missing seeds and the realm’s power structure, then realized that staying with her would help him learn about the world.
• Chen Ning and Zhao Yinyin left the great wilderness as Zhao Yinyin described how powers recruited farmers and competed to find the lost seeds.
• Zhao Yinyin led Chen Ning to the Carefree King’s residence after her people saw Master Qin there, and asked Chen Ning to sneak inside.

Chen Ning broke into the Carefree King’s courtyard and rescued Master Qin, the farmer who had cultivated the Golden Leaf Rice Seeds. He escaped with Zhao Yinyin and confronted Master Qin in a secluded alley, where Master Qin offered him packets of precious seeds.

• Zhao Yinyin told Chen Ning that the Carefree King had captured Master Qin and might use the Golden Leaf Rice Seeds to strengthen his power.
• Chen Ning recognized Li Changsheng leaving the courtyard with the Carefree King and agreed to investigate.
• Chen Ning used poison powder to incapacitate four Ninth Rank guards and found Master Qin, who said he could not reproduce the lost rice seeds.
• Chen Ning hid Master Qin in his sleeve and fled the courtyard with Zhao Yinyin.
• Chen Ning released Master Qin in a secluded alley, where Master Qin offered several packets of seeds in gratitude.

Master Qin revealed that Du, the cultivator of the golden-leaf rice seeds, was in Spirit Fish City after his family was murdered. Chen Ning and Zhao Yinyin were ambushed on their way to find him, but a mysterious voice ordered their attackers to let them go.

• Master Qin begged Zhao Yinyin to protect his family and led her and Chen Ning to his farmhouse.
• Master Qin found his seven family members dead, and his dying mother warned him that the killers were looking for his friend.
• Master Qin revealed that Du had cultivated the golden-leaf rice seeds and was in Spirit Fish City, then gave Chen Ning and Zhao Yinyin an ancient pitcher plant to show him.
• A group of fighters, including two grandmasters, surrounded Chen Ning and Zhao Yinyin as they left the farmhouse; Chen Ning knocked the grieving Master Qin unconscious.
• Zhao Yinyin accused the Carefree King's men of killing Master Qin's family, but Chen Ning suspected they had arrived only after learning Master Qin was missing.
• The grandmasters hesitated to seize Princess Xuanyin, and an unidentified voice ordered them to let Chen Ning and Zhao Yinyin leave.

Chen Ning and Zhao Yinyin escaped the Carefree King's retainers and continued their search for Mr. Du, while Li Changsheng warned Chen Ning that a battle between them was inevitable. At a farm outside Spirit Fish City, two masked men tried to take Mr. Du away, and a mysterious figure intervened just as they were about to kill a child.

• Li Changsheng ordered the grandmasters to let Chen Ning and Zhao Yinyin go, then warned Chen Ning that the Carefree King had secretly sent them to follow him.
• Chen Ning told Zhao Yinyin that Li Changsheng was his former sectmate and rival, and they hurried toward Mr. Du's location.
• Two masked men found Mr. Du tending fruit saplings and waited for him to finish before taking him away.
• A farm boy arrived to call Mr. Du to dinner, and the masked men drew their blades because the child had seen them.
• Mr. Du tried to shield the boy, but a ripple of the Great Dao of Time slowed everything as a figure swept the child to safety.

Chen Ning rescued Zhao Yinyin from her imperial brother’s assassins and confronted the Carefree King’s forces while protecting Mr. Du. He effortlessly killed more than a dozen attackers, leaving the two Grandmasters shocked by his strength.

• Chen Ning saved a little boy and learned that the two masked attackers were Zhao Yinyin’s imperial brother’s men.
• Chen Ning killed the twin Ninth Rank assassins with one punch, then stored them in the Heaven-Swallowing Bag for questioning.
• Chen Ning showed Mr. Du the Ancient Cage Grass, while Zhao Yinyin warned that the Carefree King’s two Grandmasters were nearby.
• The Carefree King’s men surrounded Chen Ning, Zhao Yinyin, and Mr. Du, and the black-clad Grandmaster ordered his subordinates to attack Chen Ning.
• Chen Ning unleashed Sword Intent with one finger and killed more than a dozen Eighth and Ninth Rank experts, startling the two Grandmasters.

Chen Ning faced two Grandmasters who attacked him together, but his peak mastery of the Dao of Earth let him withstand their combined assault unharmed. The Grandmasters resolved to use their full strength to kill him, while Zhao Yinyin watched anxiously.

• The black-robed Grandmaster and yellow-robed Grandmaster attacked Chen Ning together, and Zhao Yinyin tried but failed to protect him.
• Chen Ning stood his ground as the Grandmasters' saber lights and storm palm print engulfed him.
• Chen Ning survived unharmed behind the defense of his peak Dao of Earth, astonishing both Grandmasters and relieving Zhao Yinyin.
• The Grandmasters recognized Chen Ning's peak Sword Dao mastery and decided to eliminate him before he could grow stronger.
• The black-robed Grandmaster unleashed a saber strike accompanied by a black moon, while the yellow-robed Grandmaster formed an even more powerful storm palm print.

Chen Ning defeated two Grandmasters with his Great Daos and learned why Zhao Yinyin had been hunted. Song Huai revealed that the emperor had arranged the golden-leaf rice seed affair to test the court's factions.

• Chen Ning froze the two Grandmasters and shattered their ice-bound bodies, killing them.
• Zhao Yinyin told Chen Ning that she had witnessed her eldest imperial brother colluding with officials and secretly gathering powerful experts.
• Zhao Yinyin urged Mr. Du to return with her to the imperial palace, but the child who had been injured transformed into an old man.
• Zhao Yinyin recognized the old man as Song Huai, one of the dynasty's three Celestial Persons.
• Song Huai explained that the emperor had arranged the affair and had secretly received the golden-leaf rice seeds to test the court factions.

Emperor Zhao Jin thanked Chen Ning for saving Zhao Yinyin and revealed that he had already arrested the First Prince’s allies. After Zhao Jin refused to explain the Carefree King’s actions, Chen Ning and Zhao Yinyin wondered whether the dynasty’s rumored third Celestial Person was a fabrication meant to restrain the Carefree King.

• Zhao Jin met Chen Ning and Zhao Yinyin, thanked Chen Ning for protecting her, and said the Imperial Guard had arrested the First Prince and his court allies.
• Zhao Yinyin asked whether the Carefree King had acted on Zhao Jin’s orders, but Zhao Jin dismissed her and left the question unanswered.
• Chen Ning told Zhao Yinyin that Zhao Jin was likely wary of the Carefree King and unwilling to confront him directly.
• Zhao Yinyin explained that Song Huai had announced a hidden Celestial Person who guarded the dynasty, though no one besides Song Huai had seen him.
• Chen Ning suggested the third Celestial Person might not exist and that Song Huai had announced him to keep the Carefree King in check.
• Zhao Yinyin agreed the theory could explain why Zhao Jin feared acting against the Carefree King, since Song Huai might be unable to defeat him alone.

Li Changsheng agreed to help the Carefree King pursue the throne in exchange for knowledge about a secret, while Zhao Jin told Zhao Yinyin that the eldest prince had escaped. The chapter left Zhao Yinyin facing an urgent task as the escaped prince's whereabouts remained unknown.

• Li Changsheng told the Carefree King that Song Huai was not the only Celestial Person, and the Carefree King offered to share what he knew about Li Changsheng's secret if he helped him seize the throne.
• The Carefree King revealed that his true ambition was to reach the realm above the Celestial Person realm by cooperating with the forces from Li Changsheng's world.
• Chen Ning remarked that the eldest prince might have made a good emperor if Zhao Jin had named him crown prince sooner, and Zhao Yinyin worried that her father would take offense.
• Zhao Jin arrived and told Zhao Yinyin that the eldest prince had escaped after revealing he had secretly reached the Grandmaster realm.
• Zhao Jin said it would be difficult to track the eldest prince, while Zhao Yinyin asked how he had escaped his guards.

Zhao Jin sent Zhao Yinyin and Chen Ning to Ten Thousand Swords Valley to investigate whether the eldest prince was hiding there, while Chen Ning planned to use the trip to gain access to the imperial library and pursue a hidden mission. They arrived at the valley, where Grandmaster Danxia and the disciples welcomed Zhao Yinyin.

• Zhao Jin told Zhao Yinyin that the eldest prince had joined forces with Ten Thousand Swords Valley and asked her to investigate his whereabouts there.
• Zhao Jin arranged for Chen Ning to accompany Zhao Yinyin, and Chen Ning agreed, eager to test his Sword Dao against the valley's masters.
• Chen Ning received the hidden mission [Soul of Farming], which required him to find a wordless ancient text in the imperial library and promised the Rice Ancestor's Inheritance.
• Chen Ning decided that discovering the eldest prince's hiding place could earn him permission to enter the imperial library without provoking the imperial family.
• Zhao Yinyin and Chen Ning traveled to Ten Thousand Swords Valley, where Grandmaster Danxia and the assembled disciples welcomed Zhao Yinyin.

At the Ten Thousand Swords Cliff, Wei Han tried to drive Chen Ning away from Princess Xuanyin and attacked him, but Chen Ning subdued him with overwhelming Sword Intent. The onlookers were stunned as Chen Ning left Wei Han kneeling, and a voice urged him to show mercy.

• Zhao Yinyin and Chen Ning went to cultivate at the Ten Thousand Swords Cliff with Grandmaster Danxia's approval.
• Wei Han confronted Chen Ning, warned him to stay away from Princess Xuanyin, and declared he would seek her hand in marriage after reaching the Grandmaster Realm.
• Two disciples tried to seize Chen Ning, but he sent them flying.
• Wei Han accused Chen Ning of causing trouble and attacked him with his sword.
• Chen Ning's Sword Intent knocked Wei Han's sword away and forced him to his knees, shocking the cultivators nearby.
• An airy voice told Chen Ning to spare others when he could.

Chen Ning defeated the Purple Crown Grandmaster in a clash of sword arts at Ten Thousand Swords Cliff, leaving the other Grandmasters to investigate. Grandmaster Danxia then noticed Princess Xuanyin was missing and asked Chen Ning where she had gone.

• The Purple Crown Grandmaster intervened after Wei Han’s defeat, and Chen Ning challenged him with Sword Intent.
• The Purple Crown Grandmaster attacked with his steady, layered sword arts, but Chen Ning combined his Setting Sun and Unyielding Sword Intents, making all the swords on Ten Thousand Swords Cliff ring out.
• Chen Ning’s Sword Intent broke the Purple Crown Grandmaster’s sword and sent him crashing into the cliff, near death.
• Grandmaster Danxia and the Curly-Bearded Grandmaster arrived, and Danxia asked Chen Ning to explain what had happened.
• Grandmaster Danxia asked where Princess Xuanyin had gone, and everyone realized she was missing.

Chen Ning distracted the Grandmasters at Ten Thousand Swords Cliff so Zhao Yinyin could search Ten Thousand Swords Valley for her eldest imperial brother. She found Sect Master Xuanjun guarding a cave behind a waterfall and confronted him, but he blocked her way with Sword Qi.

• Grandmaster Danxia asked Chen Ning where Princess Xuanyin was, and Chen Ning claimed he had been too focused on fighting the Purple Crown Grandmaster to notice her leave.
• Zhao Yinyin searched Ten Thousand Swords Valley for her wounded eldest imperial brother, whom she suspected was hidden in the cave behind the waterfall.
• Zhao Yinyin tried to enter the cave, but Sect Master Xuanjun returned and stopped her with a sweep of Sword Qi.
• Zhao Yinyin warned Xuanjun that sheltering the eldest prince would implicate Ten Thousand Swords Valley in his crime.
• When Xuanjun tried to make Zhao Yinyin leave, she held her sword to her throat and threatened to kill herself.
• Xuanjun let Zhao Yinyin stay but blocked the waterfall with a wall of Sword Qi, declaring that no one could pass while he remained there.

Li Xuanjun revealed that he was protecting the First Prince because of an old debt, and Zhao Yinyin failed to stop them from leaving. Chen Ning appeared just as the First Prince emerged, ready to capture him.

• Zhao Yinyin attacked Li Xuanjun’s Sword Qi barrier and accused him of helping the First Prince rebel, but Li Xuanjun said he intended to repay a past kindness and would accept punishment after ensuring the First Prince’s safety.
• Li Xuanjun used Sword Qi on Zhao Yinyin’s sword to immobilize her and prevent her from taking her own life, then escorted the injured First Prince out from behind the waterfall.
• Zhao Yinyin urged her eldest imperial brother to surrender, but the First Prince refused, saying he would rather rebel than lose his cultivation and live under house arrest.
• As Li Xuanjun and the First Prince prepared to leave, Chen Ning appeared and said he had been waiting for the First Prince to show himself.

The First Prince tried to recruit Chen Ning by revealing a spirit liquid that could extinguish the land’s vitality, weaken powerful cultivators, and help him seize the Azure Heaven Realm. Chen Ning refused, leaving the First Prince to regard his choice as foolish.

• The First Prince praised Chen Ning’s strength and offered him power and status if he joined his cause.
• The First Prince demonstrated spirit liquid that withered the land and claimed its spread would weaken Grandmasters and Celestial Persons, letting him and Chen Ning rule the realm.
• Li Xuanjun confirmed that his cultivation had fallen to the Ninth Rank when the land’s vitality was extinguished, then returned to the Grandmaster Realm after the First Prince restored it.
• The First Prince said his plan involved the Rice Ancestor and asked Chen Ning to kill his seventh sister as proof of loyalty.
• Chen Ning rejected the offer, and the First Prince called his choice foolish.

Chen Ning fought Li Xuanjun, the Azure Heaven Realm’s greatest Grandmaster, while using Draw the Ground as a Prison to keep the First Prince from escaping. Their Sword Qi clashed across Ten Thousand Swords Valley as Chen Ning struggled against Li Xuanjun’s superior Sword Dao, and the disciples gathered to witness the fight.

• Zhao Yinyin and the First Prince tried to persuade Li Xuanjun to let them leave, but Li Xuanjun refused and said he would hold them off.
• Chen Ning confined the First Prince with Draw the Ground as a Prison, forcing Li Xuanjun to defeat him before the prince could leave.
• Chen Ning and Li Xuanjun fought using only their Sword Dao, and their Sword Qi filled the sky above Ten Thousand Swords Valley.
• Li Xuanjun praised Chen Ning’s talent but unleashed an even greater sea of Sword Qi, saying that only a Celestial Person could defeat him.
• Grandmaster Danxia, the Curly-Bearded Grandmaster, and the disciples of Ten Thousand Swords Valley arrived and realized Chen Ning was fighting their sect master.

Chen Ning fought Li Xuanjun in Ten Thousand Swords Valley and pushed his Unyielding Sword Intent further, forcing the sect master to draw the Divine Sword of Calamity Annihilation. After their next clash, Chen Ning admitted he could not sustain many more such strikes but warned that swordplay was not all he knew.

• Li Xuanjun unleashed an ocean of Sword Qi, and Chen Ning drew the Heaven-Slaying Sword to face it.
• Chen Ning’s sword heart became crystal clear, and his Unyielding Sword Intent cleaved Li Xuanjun’s Sword Qi in two.
• Li Xuanjun drew the Divine Sword of Calamity Annihilation and struck Chen Ning with a far stronger jade-green Sword-Ray.
• Chen Ning met Li Xuanjun’s strike, and their clash sent Sword Qi through Ten Thousand Swords Valley, destroying many buildings.
• Li Xuanjun questioned how many such strikes Chen Ning could unleash, and Chen Ning conceded that he would eventually lose if they continued before hinting at his other abilities.

Chen Ning defeated Li Xuanjun by combining several Great Daos with the Ruyi Jingu Bang, then secured the eldest prince’s surrender. Li Xuanjun stepped down as valley master, and Zhao Yinyin spared Ten Thousand Swords Valley from punishment while Li Xuanjun faced the consequences of his alliance.

• Chen Ning used lightning, music, fire, and frost techniques to push Li Xuanjun onto the defensive and force him to acknowledge Chen Ning’s many mastered Great Daos.
• Li Xuanjun unleashed Azure Nether Slash, but Chen Ning summoned the Ruyi Jingu Bang and suppressed the attack, disarming Li Xuanjun without killing him.
• Li Xuanjun conceded defeat and agreed that Chen Ning could take the eldest prince away, leaving the prince terrified of being returned to the imperial palace.
• Li Xuanjun resigned as valley master and warned the Curly-Bearded Grandmaster not to seek the Carefree King’s help.
• Grandmaster Danxia offered Li Xuanjun to the imperial family, and Zhao Yinyin waived punishment for Ten Thousand Swords Valley while holding Li Xuanjun personally responsible.

Chen Ning revealed to Zhao Jin that he came from the Vast Land to investigate the Azure Heaven Realm, which the larger world had noticed and might seek to control. Zhao Jin accepted that killing Chen Ning would not avert the danger and began considering how the realm’s secret could serve as leverage.

• Li Xuanjun praised Chen Ning and learned that Chen Ning might help him see the wider world beyond the Azure Heaven Realm.
• Chen Ning returned to the imperial palace with Zhao Yinyin, who credited him for defeating Li Xuanjun and stopping the eldest prince’s conspiracy.
• Zhao Jin dismissed Zhao Yinyin and questioned Chen Ning about his origin and intentions, while Song Huai revealed himself behind the throne.
• Chen Ning admitted that he was not from the Azure Heaven Realm and explained that the Vast Land had noticed it, though a rule barred experts above the Saint Emperor realm from entering.
• Song Huai urged Zhao Jin to kill Chen Ning, but Zhao Jin argued that doing so could not prevent the Vast Land from threatening their realm.
• Zhao Jin asked what the Vast Land wanted and suggested that the secret of the Azure Heaven Realm could be used as a bargaining chip.

Chen Ning warned Zhao Jin that the Carefree King had allied with a rival from the Vast Land, leaving the emperor vulnerable unless he cooperated. He offered Zhao Jin a choice between serving the faction behind him or serving Chen Ning in exchange for lifting the Azure Heaven Realm’s restrictions, but Zhao Jin questioned whether Chen Ning could deliver.

• Chen Ning told Zhao Jin that another person from the Vast Land had arrived and was cooperating with the Carefree King to seize control of the Azure Heaven Realm.
• Zhao Jin realized the Carefree King threatened his life and dynasty, and asked Chen Ning what assurances he could offer.
• Chen Ning promised that Zhao Jin could remain emperor under the faction’s control, with his descendants succeeding him, in exchange for the secret of the realm’s rules and absolute control.
• Chen Ning called Zhao Jin powerless and offered him another path: serve Chen Ning directly, and have the Azure Heaven Realm’s restrictions lifted so its people could pursue realms beyond the Celestial Person.
• Song Huai was shaken by the promise, while Zhao Jin questioned how Chen Ning could fulfill it and why he should trust him.

Chen Ning earned Zhao Jin’s trust by revealing that he had escaped a small world ruled through oppression, then learned that the Azure Heaven Realm’s secret was tied to a blank book left by the Rice Ancestor. Using Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils, Chen Ning uncovered the book’s hidden text, leaving Zhao Jin eager to hear what it said.

• Chen Ning told Zhao Jin and Song Huai that he came from a small world whose rulers eliminated its most gifted people, and that he had escaped to help its people become gods.
• Zhao Jin pledged his allegiance to Chen Ning for the sake of the Azure Heaven Realm.
• Zhao Jin explained that the Rice Ancestor’s blank ancient book held the realm’s secret, and Chen Ning asked to examine it.
• Zhao Jin led Chen Ning to the imperial library while Song Huai stayed behind to guard it.
• Chen Ning used Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils to reveal hidden writing in the book and read its astonishing contents.
• Zhao Jin asked Chen Ning to reveal what the Rice Ancestor had written.

Chen Ning learned from the Rice Ancestor’s diary that the Rice Ancestor was a god from the mysterious Heavenly Ruins Realm who had protected the Azure Heaven Realm from outside dangers. After Zhao Jin pledged his loyalty, Chen Ning received the Rice Ancestor’s inheritance and left the imperial library with new farming knowledge.

• Chen Ning read that the Rice Ancestor came from the Heavenly Ruins Realm, had advanced cultivation in the Azure Heaven Realm, and had warned its people against seeking other worlds.
• Chen Ning told Zhao Jin what the diary revealed, and Zhao Jin accepted the truth and pledged to serve him if he kept the Azure Heaven Realm standing.
• Chen Ning completed the hidden mission [Soul of Farming] and received the Rice Ancestor’s inheritance.
• Chen Ning gained a rice-ear mark, fragments of memory, and knowledge of powerful crops from other worlds.
• Chen Ning set aside plans to test the new crops and had Zhao Jin lead him out of the imperial library.