Chapter Summaries

Chen Ning survived Xu Yin’s Wind-Chiming Heavenly Bell by detonating Gui Water Yin Lightning he had planted through the demonic ape, then killed Xu Yin and Gu Ao. He turned his attention to Wolf General Yuan Ming, who was considering retreating.

• Xu Yin rang the Wind-Chiming Heavenly Bell six times, unleashing sound waves that threatened to kill Chen Ning and devastated the surrounding fighters.
• Chen Ning revealed that Gui Water Yin Lightning had been planted in Xu Yin when Xu Yin struck the demonic ape, and the lightning destroyed Xu Yin’s organs and shattered his bell.
• Xu Yin begged Chen Ning and the other cultivators to spare him, but no one intervened, and Chen Ning let Xu Yin die.
• Chen Ning burned Gu Ao to nothing with Eternal Fire after Gu Ao begged for his life.
• Wolf General Yuan Ming lost his will to fight after seeing Xu Yin and Gu Ao fall, and Chen Ning turned his gaze toward him.

Chen Ning drove Yuan Ming to retreat, then fought Yuan Ming and three other Saints at once, killing two and overwhelming the rest. The onlookers abandoned their hopes of claiming the holy medicine, while Sikong Xue and Huang Yuehua watched in shock.

• Chen Ning taunted Yuan Ming, who chose to retreat rather than fight him for the holy medicine.
• Chen Ning stopped Yuan Ming with a suction force and refused to let him leave, prompting Yuan Ming to urge the crowd to join forces against Chen Ning.
• Three Saints agreed to assist Yuan Ming, and the four launched their strongest attacks against Chen Ning.
• Chen Ning used Sword Intent to shatter the White Wasteland City Sword Saint's attack and the fifth level of the Destruction Divine Fist to kill two Saints, while Yi Wood Orthodox Lightning blocked Yuan Ming's spear flashes.
• The onlookers gave up on competing for the holy medicine, and Sikong Xue and Huang Yuehua were stunned by Chen Ning's strength.

Chen Ning defeated the White Wasteland City Sword Saint and killed Yuan Ming after the general fused with a resentful human face. He claimed the Heaven-Draping Azure, while the survivors left wary of the powerful enemies he had provoked, and Huang Yuehua apologized to him.

• Chen Ning broke the White Wasteland City Sword Saint’s ultimate technique with his Sword Intent and killed him with a single strike.
• Yuan Ming fused a blood-lit human face to his own and unleashed its overwhelming resentment against Chen Ning.
• Chen Ning lured Yuan Ming close and used Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning to destroy the resentment and reduce Yuan Ming to ash.
• Chen Ning asked the crowd who else wanted the Saint-grade medicinal herb; they backed down, and he uprooted the Heaven-Draping Azure and stored it in his Heaven-Swallowing Bag.
• The crowd departed, concerned that Greedy Wolf City and Rending Wind City might seek revenge, while Huang Yuehua apologized to Chen Ning for underestimating him.

Chen Ning returned to Lone Smoke City, where Han Qianren publicly welcomed him and offered him the city’s protection. Meanwhile, Han Qianren revealed that he had long known Sikong Xue’s identity and planned to use her to deal with Chen Ning.

• Chen Ning and his companions rode Little Black back to Lone Smoke City after obtaining the saintly herb.
• Han Qianren and the heads of the four remaining great Lineages welcomed Chen Ning, praised his deeds, and offered him the City Lord’s protection.
• Chen Ning declined to stay at the City Lord’s residence and returned to his courtyard with Sikong Xue and Hua Luo.
• Han Qianren’s people abducted Sikong Xue while she went to buy food, and she woke to find him confronting her.
• Han Qianren revealed that he had destroyed the Sikong Household fifteen years earlier and had spread the rumor that the Earth-Burrowing Demonic Lizard’s venom could kill Saints.
• Han Qianren told Sikong Xue he intended to use her against Chen Ning, then challenged her to let her benefactor die.

Han Qianren coerced Sikong Xue into poisoning Chen Ning with Blood Poison by holding Grandpa Duan hostage, and she gave Chen Ning the poisoned chicken soup. After the poison took effect, Han Qianren appeared and declared that Hua Luo also had to die.

• Han Qianren threatened Sikong Xue with Grandpa Duan’s safety and persuaded her to put his Blood Poison in Chen Ning’s food.
• Sikong Xue brought food to Chen Ning, but hesitated when he was about to drink the poisoned chicken soup before letting him eat it.
• Chen Ning drank the soup, and Sikong Xue tearfully apologized as Han Qianren entered the courtyard.
• Chen Ning tried to counter the Blood Poison with his Poison Dao power, but the poison continued to affect his meridians.
• Sikong Xue begged Han Qianren to spare Hua Luo, but he said Hua Luo had to be killed.

Chen Ning used the Shadow of Chaos and Myriad Transformations to deceive Han Qianren while protecting Sikong Xue, whose family Han had slaughtered. The real Chen Ning remained in the Absolute Void Mountain Range as Han Qianren prepared to make their confrontation public.

• Han Qianren attacked Chen Ning and Hua Luo, but Chen Ning's apparent poisoned body kept crawling toward him while another Chen Ning appeared nearby.
• Chen Ning's clone revealed that the Shadow of Chaos, combined with Myriad Transformations, could convincingly imitate his meridians and Qi sea.
• Earlier, Chen Ning questioned Sikong Xue about her distress and persuaded her to reveal her blood feud against Han Qianren.
• Sikong Xue explained that she had pursued poison as her only way to kill Han Qianren, a Late-Stage Saint, and Chen Ning offered another path by sending his clone back with her.
• Chen Ning warned Sikong Xue to play along with Han Qianren's scheme while he stayed behind in the Absolute Void Mountain Range.
• Han Qianren realized Chen Ning had deceived him, then flew into the sky and declared that he would make some noise.

Chen Ning revealed that he had reached the Saint Realm and defeated Han Qianren after the city lord unleashed an evil art fueled by hundreds of thousands of victims. Han Qianren died beneath Chen Ning’s Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning, leaving Lone Smoke City’s power struggle unresolved.

• Han Qianren attacked Chen Ning with Saint Power while cultivators and the four great clans gathered to watch.
• Chen Ning revealed his Saint Realm cultivation and effortlessly dismantled Han Qianren’s attack, shocking the onlookers.
• Han Qianren unleashed a human-skin evil art that released a vast tide of resentful power and admitted he would kill everyone if necessary.
• Chen Ning summoned Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning and struck Han Qianren from the front and behind.
• The lightning destroyed Han Qianren’s body and divine soul, killing him.

Chen Ning killed Han Qianren and nearly wiped out the Han Household’s experts, then exposed the Mo Clan’s scheme to use him against the City Lord’s Residence. When the Mo Clan’s hidden ancestor appeared, Chen Ning demanded the clan submit or die, and the ancestor chose submission.

• Sikong Xue thanked Chen Ning after he killed Han Qianren and avenged her family.
• The Han Household patriarch ordered an attack, but Chen Ning killed him and the clan’s other leading experts.
• Chen Ning forced Mo Feng to his knees for using him as a weapon, prompting the Mo Clan’s hidden ancestor to rescue him.
• Chen Ning explained that the Mo Clan had steered him into fighting Han Qianren to weaken the City Lord’s Residence and seize control of Lone Smoke City.
• Chen Ning demanded that the Mo Clan become his servants or die, and the Mo Clan’s ancestor agreed to submit.

After taking control of Lone Smoke City, Chen Ning questioned Chu Xuanyuan about the God Clan and learned that the Darkness God Clan ruled the Nine Provinces Realm and eliminated unusually gifted cultivators there. Chu Xuanyuan warned Chen Ning to avoid the clan, but Chen Ning asked him about the Darkness Divine Mark.

• Chen Ning learned from the Mo Clan ancestor about the vast Nebula Continent and decided to seek information about the founding sect master.
• Chen Ning visited Chu Xuanyuan in the Black Snake spatial bag and revealed that he had become a Saint and reached the Vast Land.
• Chu Xuanyuan explained that he belonged to the Darkness God Clan, which controlled small worlds to obtain the Power of the World Origin.
• Chu Xuanyuan said he had been the divine envoy for the Shattered Star Realm before being demoted to the Nine Provinces Realm after the Five Saint Sects' crimes.
• Chu Xuanyuan warned Chen Ning that the Darkness God Clan eliminated exceptional cultivators from sealed worlds and advised him to avoid the clan.
• Chen Ning asked about the Darkness Divine Mark, and Chu Xuanyuan admitted that he envied Chen Ning for cultivating one.

Chen Ning learned about the God Clans and heard a clue linking Hua'er to the Heaven-Burying Ancient Land. After reaching the Saint realm, he unlocked a quest that sent him to Brocade Zither City to find a member of the founding sect leader’s mysterious faction.

• Chu Xuanyuan explained Divine Marks, the Darkness God Clan, and the danger posed by even God Clans without living gods.
• Chen Ning questioned Chu Xuanyuan about the dazed woman, and Chu Xuanyuan said she might be the ominous being from the Heaven-Burying Ancient Land, cursed by an unknown god.
• Chen Ning kept Chu Xuanyuan imprisoned but promised he would eventually let him go.
• Chen Ning advanced to the Saint realm and unlocked the mythic-level Dragon-Seeking Sect 2.0 quest.
• The system directed Chen Ning to find the faction’s nearest member in Brocade Zither City on the Nebula Continent, and Chen Ning resolved to go there.

Chen Ning left Lone Smoke City with Hua Luo and the demon ape, then traveled north into the Boulder Domain toward Brocade Zither City. Near the city, Shi Potian accused Chen Ning of attacking him after Chen Ning diverted his rolling form into the city wall, and a yellow-robed young man dismissed Shi Potian as a bully.

• Elder Duan gave Chen Ning a map of the territories north of the Cangxuan Domain and saw him off outside Lone Smoke City.
• Sikong Xue arrived dressed elegantly, said she would remain in Lone Smoke City, and urged Hua Luo and the demon ape to stay safe with Chen Ning.
• Chen Ning and his companions crossed into the Boulder Domain and headed for Brocade Zither City, where powerful figures were gathering to seek the female city lord's hand in marriage.
• Chen Ning noticed a little monk walking toward the city and nudged a man rolling as a stone ball, causing him to crash into the city wall.
• A black-clad young man blamed Chen Ning for the crash, and Shi Potian demanded an explanation while onlookers identified him as a young master of the Shi Household.
• A yellow-robed young man called Shi Potian a lineage-dependent bully and said his older brother, Shi Jingtian, was the more impressive one.

Chen Ning entered Brocade Zither City after the demon ape killed a cultivator who had attacked them, and learned that the city lord, Nalan Yao, was seeking a husband. He and his companions joined the crowd waiting to see her.

• Li Xuanyi ignored Shi Potian and entered Brocade Zither City, while Shi Potian backed down from Chen Ning and the demon ape.
• Chen Ning ordered the black-clad youth to kneel, and the demon ape killed him after its Gui Water Yin Lightning-enhanced power shattered the youth's attack.
• The little monk thanked Chen Ning and offered to take him to Heavenly Light Temple if the Shi Household sought revenge.
• Chen Ning entered Brocade Zither City with the little monk and the demon ape to seek clues about a mysterious faction and its mission reward.
• Chen Ning and his companions went to the southern gathering place, where cultivators awaited Nalan Yao's husband-selection event.

Nalan Yao announced that the husband-selection contest would test contestants’ musical skill by seeing how much they could grow her Divine Scholar Tree Sapling. As several contestants failed to affect it, Chen Ning learned that the little monk had come to deliver advice to Nalan Yao on his master’s orders.

• Nalan Yao welcomed the crowd and announced that her only requirement for a husband was his realm in music.
• Old Freak Huai revealed his mastery of the Dao of Music, having reached its highest realm, Grand Music of the Central Heaven.
• Nalan Yao brought out a Divine Scholar Tree Sapling and explained that whoever made it grow the most by playing music would become her husband.
• Several contestants played, but none changed the sapling because their musical attainments were insufficient.
• Hua Luo remarked that the sapling would make good skewers, and Chen Ning stopped her from trying to take it.
• Chen Ning asked the little monk whom he sought, and the little monk said he had come on his master’s orders to advise Nalan Yao.

Li Xuanyi and Old Freak Huai made the Divine Huai Tree sapling grow dramatically with their music, leaving the crowd convinced Old Freak Huai had won Nalan Yao. Nalan Yao upheld her promise to marry whoever grew the sapling most, while two unidentified voices suddenly interrupted.

• Shi Potian grew a short branch on the Divine Huai Tree sapling with his music, but Li Xuanyi surpassed him by making several branches grow three feet in total.
• Li Xuanyi declared that he would take Nalan Yao home, but Old Freak Huai stepped forward and played a mournful piece that made the sapling grow more than a zhang.
• Chen Ning shielded the little monk, the demonic ape, and Hua Luo from Old Freak Huai's music, and noticed that the little monk was unaffected even without his protection.
• Old Freak Huai's performance discouraged the crowd from continuing the challenge, and Li Xuanyi offered to protect Nalan Yao from him.
• Nalan Yao said she would keep her promise to marry whoever made the sapling grow most, and Li Xuanyi angrily flung his sleeves as Old Freak Huai laughed.
• Two voices were heard conversing, causing everyone present to change color.

Chen Ning and the little monk revealed that Old Freak Huai’s zither music had stolen a trace of vitality from the crowd, leaving the groom selection in turmoil. When Nalan Yao asked Chen Ning to help her escape the forced match, he stepped forward with the Dazzling Suona.

• Chen Ning and the little monk said Old Freak Huai’s music had used sinister methods to steal vitality from those who listened.
• The little monk explained how to sense the stolen vitality, and Li Xuanyi, Shi Potian, and others confirmed they had lost a year of lifespan.
• Old Freak Huai denied the accusation and refused to go with Li Xuanyi, then invoked the groom-selection rules to pressure Nalan Yao into protecting him.
• Nalan Yao asked Chen Ning to help her avoid marrying Old Freak Huai, and Chen Ning stepped forward as the crowd watched.
• Chen Ning studied the divine locust sapling, decided Nalan Yao might help him find the old man’s faction, and produced the Dazzling Suona.

Chen Ning used the Dazzling Suona to unleash a supreme musical realm, making the Divine Sophora Tree grow into a towering ancient tree and overpowering Old Freak Huai. After Old Freak Huai fled, Chen Ning accepted City Lord Nalan Yao’s invitation to her residence, while suspecting she had hidden motives.

• Chen Ning played A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix, making the Divine Sophora Tree grow seven chi but failing to match Old Freak Huai’s one zhang.
• Chen Ning declared that his performance was only beginning as instruments and the sounds of nature gathered around him across the Boulder Domain.
• The Divine Sophora Tree absorbed the sounds and grew to a tremendous height, forcing everyone, including Nalan Yao, to flee its reach.
• The crowd marveled at Chen Ning’s feat, Old Freak Huai lost his confidence and left with Li Xuanyi, and Shi Potian felt relieved he had never offended Chen Ning.
• Nalan Yao thanked Chen Ning and invited him to the city lord’s residence; Chen Ning agreed and considered her apparent distress a possible act.
• Chen Ning entered the city lord’s residence with Hua Luo, the little monk, and the demonic ape.

Chen Ning learned that his musical harmony realm had risen Above the Great Dao, then discovered that Nalan Yao knew the first sect master and had been told to find him. After agreeing to marry her the next day, Chen Ning completed the first stage of his mythical-grade quest and received powerful rewards.

• Nalan Yao explained that standing above a Great Dao was one condition for becoming a god, and revealed that she had reached Chen Ning's level in musical harmony.
• Nalan Yao pressed Chen Ning to marry her, and he agreed to a wedding the following day while planning to leave that night.
• Chen Ning showed Nalan Yao a portrait of the first sect master, and she confirmed that she knew him and had been told to find Chen Ning.
• Nalan Yao hinted that she would explain more about the first sect master and her origins later, noting that the little monk was present.
• The system announced that Chen Ning had completed the first stage of the mythical-grade quest and awarded him two enhancement opportunities, the musical score Ambush from Ten Sides, and Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils.

Nalan Yao explained that she had killed a member of the Hall of Ten Evils, then defeated and killed Wenren Zhong when he came to Brocade Zither City seeking revenge. Chen Ning witnessed her overwhelming strength and wondered what other gifts the first sect master had left for him.

• Nalan Yao told the young monk that the man she killed was a wicked member of the Hall of Ten Evils and that his father, Wenren Zhong, had shielded him.
• Wenren Zhong challenged the lord of Brocade Zither City, and Nalan Yao went outside with Chen Ning and the young monk to meet him.
• Wenren Zhong revealed that he had returned to secular life to settle a personal grudge, while Nalan Yao questioned his right to avenge his son.
• Wenren Zhong attacked with his sword, but Nalan Yao used the chime on her wrist to overwhelm his defenses.
• Nalan Yao replicated Wenren Zhong's sword techniques and turned them against his strongest strike, killing him and extinguishing his Dao.
• Chen Ning was astonished by Nalan Yao's power and considered her a great gift left by the first sect master.

Chen Ning learned about the little monk’s Buddha Child Physique and the founder’s force in the Vast Land, So Close Yet Worlds Apart. He decided to seek out the force’s scattered members to learn where the founder had gone, but Nalan Yao hesitated.

• Nalan Yao explained that her Dao of Music let her reproduce opponents’ sound-producing techniques with even greater power than the originals.
• Chen Ning learned that Wenren Zhong had died so the little monk could absorb his Buddhist cultivation, and that the Buddha Child Physique could eventually let the monk become a Buddha equivalent to a god.
• Nalan Yao offered to trick the little monk into serving Chen Ning, but Chen Ning refused to force him and left his future choices to him.
• Chen Ning asked about the founder’s force in the Vast Land, and Nalan Yao named it So Close Yet Worlds Apart.
• Nalan Yao said its members had scattered after the founder disappeared, and Chen Ning proposed gathering them to find out where the founder was.
• Nalan Yao asked Chen Ning whether he truly wanted to reunite the group.

Chen Ning learned that the members of So Close Yet Worlds Apart had come searching for him because the first-generation leader claimed he knew the method of becoming a god. After Nalan Yao revealed how dangerous the group could be, Chen Ning summoned them all and discovered that the first-generation leader had already reached the God Realm.

• Nalan Yao warned Chen Ning that seven members of So Close Yet Worlds Apart might torture him if he could not reveal the method of becoming a god.
• Chen Ning asked Hua Luo to protect him when Nalan Yao admitted she wanted the method too and threatened to destroy his divine soul.
• Nalan Yao explained that she had arranged the husband-selection event to find Chen Ning after the first-generation leader said he was on the Nebula Continent.
• Chen Ning ordered Nalan Yao to summon everyone from So Close Yet Worlds Apart so he could meet them.
• Nalan Yao told Chen Ning that she believed he knew the method because the first-generation leader had reached the God Realm.