Chapter Summaries

Chen Du killed the Red Flame King with a single sword stroke, ending the rebel siege of Qingfeng Temple and revealing himself as a true Twelfth Realm cultivator. The Ling Dynasty rewarded the temple, whose fame spread across the land as Chen Du’s era began.

• Daoist Xuanwei recognized that the Red Flame King had forced his cultivation into a pseudo-Twelfth Realm, and Zhao Yuanshan realized Chen Du had killed him with the fourth sword of the Heavenly Tribulation Nine Swords.
• The Red Flame King’s death broke the rebels’ morale, and their army fled Qingfeng Mountain while the temple disciples watched.
• Zhao Yuanshan and the other disciples discovered that Chen Du had reached the true Twelfth Realm, and Daoist Xuanwei watched him sheath his sword with pride and surprise.
• News of the Red Flame King’s defeat spread through the Ling Dynasty, and the imperial court learned that a Qingfeng Temple cultivator had killed him.
• The emperor sent an envoy to grant Qingfeng Temple the title “World-Quelling Pure Sect” and lavish rewards, drawing visitors to the newly renowned temple.
• Chen Du returned his sword to its sheath, and Daoist Xuanwei understood that the temple’s years of silence had ended and his youngest disciple’s era had begun.

Chen Du declined the Ling Dynasty court’s offer to become Protector of the State Dharma Master and continued cultivating at Qingfeng Temple. Months later, he refined his stored Calamity Qi and formed a Twelfth-Tier Divine Sword in his sea of consciousness.

• Chen Du sealed the abundant Calamity Qi from the battle with the Red Flame King instead of using it before his Twelfth Realm foundation had stabilized.
• Vice Minister Zhou offered Chen Du the position of Protector of the State Dharma Master, but Chen Du declined and asked Prefect Qi to deliver the refusal.
• Prefect Qi privately spoke with Vice Minister Zhou, who then left Qingfeng Mountain without recruiting Chen Du.
• Chen Du continued cultivating and waited until several months later, when he felt ready to refine his stored Calamity Qi.
• Chen Du poured the Calamity Qi into Heaven's Way's Gift, forming a Twelfth-Tier Divine Sword with a complete circuit of the Great Dao's laws.

Over five years of secluded cultivation, Chen Du perfected his foundational laws and advanced Heavenly Tribulation Nine Swords to its fifth form, Calamity Annihilation. He also created a new form of Soul Devouring's Wrath before returning to his bamboo courtyard to continue cultivating.

• Chen Du sealed the twelfth-tier divine sword in his sea of consciousness and spent five years cultivating in seclusion at Qingfeng Temple.
• Chen Du used his talents to absorb Qingfeng Temple's Dao Resonance, master its techniques, and avoid or eliminate seven deadly threats.
• Chen Du perfected the Tribulation-Transcending Law and Tribulation Armor Law and deduced Heavenly Tribulation Nine Swords through its fifth sword, Calamity Annihilation.
• Chen Du tested Calamity Annihilation, silently erasing a distant mountain and everything on it.
• Chen Du advanced Soul Devouring's Wrath by creating its eleventh form, Soul Devouring's Wrath's Fall, then returned to his bamboo courtyard.

Chen Du and Daoist Xuanwei exchanged moves beneath the moon, and Xuanwei realized his disciple’s Dao had surpassed his own. After Chen Du chose to remain at Qingfeng Temple while his senior and junior brothers had left, Xuanwei departed, and Chen Du returned to cultivating the sixth sword of the Heavenly Tribulation Nine Swords.

• Daoist Xuanwei invited Chen Du to exchange moves and discovered that Chen Du’s vast Self Star and Dao Domain overwhelmed his own early Twelfth Realm cultivation.
• Xuanwei admitted he could no longer teach Chen Du and explained that several of Chen Du’s senior and junior brothers had left Qingfeng Temple for the mortal world.
• Xuanwei asked Chen Du whether he planned to leave, and Chen Du firmly said he would stay and continue cultivating at Qingfeng Temple.
• Xuanwei praised Chen Du for holding fast to his Dao heart, urged him to stay, and left the bamboo courtyard.
• Chen Du drank the last of the wine and resumed deducing the sixth sword of the Heavenly Tribulation Nine Swords.

Xuanwei recalled how he had rescued Li Xuan from a death trap tied to the Zhao Clan and spent decades fearing the hidden forces that might come for him. Seeing Li Xuan reach the perfected Twelfth Realm on his own, Xuanwei finally let go of his burden and found peace.

• Xuanwei remembered finding newborn Li Xuan abandoned in the snow with a jade token bearing the character Zhao.
• Xuanwei took Li Xuan in as his disciple and spent decades protecting him from the danger surrounding his imperial bloodline.
• Xuanwei recalled failing to persuade a great reclusive sect to shelter Li Xuan and returning home with him.
• Xuanwei remembered years of watching for threats and fearing that Li Xuan would either be killed or forced to hide forever.
• Xuanwei reflected that Li Xuan had independently cultivated to the perfected Twelfth Realm and surpassed him.
• Xuanwei breathed out his decades of worry and realized Li Xuan had already broken free of the death trap by his own strength.

Chen Du reflected on the hidden forces behind his birth and took responsibility for guiding Qingfeng Temple’s young disciples while its senior members were away. Zhao Yuanshan returned maimed after escaping a deadly court conspiracy, then left again to settle unfinished business as reports of turmoil across the Ling Dynasty reached the temple.

• Chen Du concluded that powerful forces had secretly arranged the crown prince’s substitution but remained unafraid of what lay ahead.
• With several senior members absent, Chen Du taught the young junior brothers Daoist scriptures and cultivation, taking on the role of senior brother.
• Hunters brought Zhao Yuanshan back to Qingfeng Temple with his right arm missing after he survived an assassination order in the Ling Dynasty’s Capital.
• Zhao Yuanshan told Chen Du about his court ordeal and asked him to care for their master and the younger disciples while he pursued unfinished business.
• Zhao Yuanshan left before dawn, and Chen Du returned to lead the morning lesson as rumors of a murderous fiend and rising court turmoil spread.

Chen Du used Calamity Warning to expose a false letter meant to lure him into a deathtrap guarded by a Twelfth Realm cultivator, and he stayed safely on Qingfeng Mountain. The resulting calamity granted him 250,000 years of Calamity Qi, which he spent through Heaven's Way's Gift to perfect the sixth sword of the Heavenly Tribulation Nine Swords, Tribulation Domain.

• Chen Du activated Calamity Warning and learned that the letter falsely claimed his senior brother was in danger and was part of a trap at Withered Bones Gorge.
• Chen Du refused to leave Qingfeng Temple, recognizing that the enemy had prepared an ambush overseen by a Twelfth Realm great cultivator.
• Several days later, Chen Du received 250,000 years of Calamity Qi as Heaven's Way's reward for the deadly scheme against him.
• Chen Du sealed the Calamity Qi in his Dao foundation, then poured all of it into Heaven's Way's Gift.
• Heaven's Way's Gift granted Chen Du profound insights into the Dao of calamity and sublimated his Tribulation-Transcending Law and Tribulation Armor Law.
• Chen Du used those insights to perfect the sixth sword of the Heavenly Tribulation Nine Swords, Tribulation Domain.

Chen Du perfected his sixth sword, Tribulation Domain, and used its reach to destroy the Twelfth Realm cultivator lying in ambush at Withered Bones Gorge. He remained at Qingfeng Temple, stronger and ready to answer those plotting against him.

• Chen Du perfected Tribulation Domain, deepening his foundation and gaining power to suppress and annihilate foes within its reach.
• Chen Du spread his sword intent across three thousand li, covering Withered Bones Gorge with a tribulation-path domain.
• The black-robed Twelfth Realm cultivator and the hidden deathsworn were overwhelmed as their powers and laws were suppressed.
• Chen Du withdrew his sword intent and silently annihilated the black-robed cultivator with a single strike.

Chen Du completed the first of the Self Star’s nine transformations, greatly strengthening his power and bringing him to the pinnacle of the early Twelfth Realm. Several days later, his Calamity Warning awakened and completed a causal simulation and deduction.

• Chen Du used his perfected Tribulation-Transcending Law and Tribulation Armor Law to trigger his Self Star’s first transformation.
• Chen Du endured the star’s dangerous collapse and eruption as its origin energy, size, and Dao Resonance increased.
• Chen Du realized his transformed star made him overwhelmingly stronger than ordinary cultivators in the same realm and placed him near the middle stage of the Twelfth Realm.
• Chen Du reflected that eight Self Star transformations remained before he could pursue the Thirteenth Realm.
• Several days later, Chen Du’s Calamity Warning triggered and completed its causal simulation and deduction.

Chen Du thwarted a Tianyan Sect ambush at Qingfeng Temple’s mountain gate with one perfected Tribulation Domain sword strike, exposing and defeating all four Twelfth Realm cultivators. He warned them to tell whoever sent them that another attempt to enter or cause trouble would be met with a killing blow.

• A black-robed Tianyan Sect elder arrived at Qingfeng Temple and demanded entry, claiming a disciple had stolen the sect’s supreme treasure, while three attackers remained concealed in his Void-Hiding Pouch.
• Chen Du came to the gate, recognized the pouch, and unleashed the perfected sixth sword of Heavenly Tribulation Nine Swords, the Tribulation Domain.
• The Tribulation Domain shattered the pouch’s concealment and forced the three hidden cultivators out beside the elder.
• The four cultivators joined their auras and formed a defensive shield, but Chen Du’s tribulation lightning shattered it and sent them crashing onto the mountain path.
• Chen Du spared the four and warned them to tell their leader not to provoke Qingfeng Temple again; they fled in the carriage, leaving behind a damaged Void-Hiding Pouch.

After Chen Du repelled a Tianyan Sect ambush with his perfected Tribulation Domain, the sect master ordered an investigation into his power. Chen Du gained more than six hundred thousand years of Calamity Qi, refined his sword technique, and advanced his laws and seventh sword, while the threat beyond Qingfeng Mountain remained.

• The four wounded Tianyan Sect cultivators returned to the sect and reported that Chen Du had broken their ambush, damaged the Void-Hiding Pouch, and shattered their combined-attack formation.
• The Tianyan Sect master deferred their punishment, kept the damaged pouch to study its tribulation Dao imprint, and ordered a fresh investigation instead of another surprise attack.
• Chen Du received more than six hundred thousand years of Calamity Qi and reviewed the battle, refining the perfected sixth sword to reduce its power consumption.
• After several days, Chen Du invested all the Calamity Qi into [Heaven's Way's Gift], gaining three hundred thousand years of insight into each of the Tribulation-Transcending Law and Tribulation Armor Law.
• The two laws neared a Mid-Level Core Eighth-Tier Law, and Chen Du formed the complete framework of the seventh sword before returning to his quiet cultivation at Qingfeng Mountain.

Chen Du read that the King of Nanli had been gravely wounded in an assassination that matched the hidden force’s methods, while contradictory imperial edicts revealed a growing seizure of power across the Ling Dynasty. That night, Xuanwei explained the King of Nanli’s history and influence, leaving the danger to the imperial clan and realm in sharper focus.

• Old Liu brought Chen Du a court gazette reporting that the King of Nanli had been ambushed and gravely wounded, with every assassin dead and no clues left behind.
• Chen Du recognized the attack as the work of the force behind the palace child exchange and concluded that it was eliminating obstacles among the imperial clan.
• Chen Du read three conflicting imperial edicts ordering an investigation, moving Northern Border troops toward the Capital, and rewarding elderly ministers, and inferred that hidden forces controlled the emperor and were tightening their grip on the court.
• Chen Du dismissed the junior brothers from their lesson and privately examined how the attack and edicts fit into a sixteen-year plan to seize power.
• Xuanwei joined Chen Du for wine that night and recounted how the King of Nanli had lost the crown prince contest, built a strong base in the Southern Border, and gained support among court officials.

Xuanwei and Chen Du discussed the dangers of imperial power, and Chen Du explained why he had never regretted giving up the throne. When a severe drought devastated the region around Qingfeng Mountain, Chen Du saw refugees crowding Qingfeng Temple and activated Calamity Warning.

• Xuanwei warned Chen Du that those closest to a person could be their deadliest enemies and asked if he regretted losing his claim to the throne.
• Chen Du said he had never desired imperial power and described emperors as prisoners trapped in the palace.
• Xuanwei laughed with relief, then lamented that Chen Du’s imperial father had failed to see through the palace’s game.
• A prolonged drought dried streams, wells, and rivers, destroyed crops, and drove people from their homes.
• Refugees gathered at Qingfeng Temple, the only nearby place with a flowing spring, and begged for help.
• Chen Du saw the suffering below the mountain, returned to the bamboo courtyard, and activated Calamity Warning.

Chen Du traveled to Azure Pool and killed the Water-Running Jiao King, ending the drought across a thousand li. Rain returned to Qingfeng Mountain and the surrounding lands, while Chen Du gained Calamity Qi and continued to hone his seventh sword amid the unresolved schemes of the Ling Dynasty's Capital.

• After the calamity warning identified the Water-Running Jiao King as the cause of the drought, Chen Du left Qingfeng Temple and flew to Azure Pool.
• Chen Du provoked the Jiao King, who admitted he had imprisoned the region's water to punish people for failing to make offerings.
• Chen Du unleashed the nascent seventh sword, Calamity Devour, shattered the Jiao King's defenses, and killed him with a final stroke.
• Chen Du took the Azure Water Pearl back to Qingfeng Mountain, where it released water vapor and gentle rain across the drought-stricken region.
• Chen Du received 970,000 years of Calamity Qi and returned to his bamboo house to refine the seventh sword as political schemes continued in the Ling Dynasty's Capital.

After slaying the Water-Running Jiao King, Chen Du used the Calamity Qi from the drought disaster to combine the Tribulation-Transcending Law and Tribulation Armor Law into the new middle-core Eighth Stage Tribulation Source Law. Its formation awakened his long-silent Self Star, whose patterns began to break apart and reform.

• Chen Du returned to Qingfeng Mountain with the Flood Dragon Pearl and absorbed nine hundred and fifty thousand years of Calamity Qi from the calamity he had ended.
• He poured the Calamity Qi into [Heaven's Way's Gift] and gained profound insights into the Tribulation-Transcending Law and the Tribulation Armor Law.
• Chen Du spent five months tracing both laws to their shared origin and discovered the primordial Source of Tribulation pattern.
• He fused the two perfected Ninth Tier laws into the middle-core Eighth Stage Tribulation Source Law.
• Chen Du emerged to find the drought ended and the displaced people returning home, then his newly formed law caused his Self Star to tremble and its patterns to reassemble.

Chen Du completed his self star’s third transformation, created the Star-Shattering Tribulation Bomb, and perfected the eighth sword of the Heavenly Tribulation Nine Swords. After concealing his new power and returning to Qingfeng Temple’s dining hall, he saw Xuanwei reading a court bulletin with a furrowed brow, suggesting another disturbance was approaching.

• Chen Du completed his self star’s second and third transformations, giving birth to a vastly more powerful threefold-transformed star.
• Chen Du tested the Star-Shattering Tribulation Bomb and erased a barren mountain with a single strike.
• Chen Du completed the eighth sword of the Heavenly Tribulation Nine Swords and used it to annihilate a vast expanse of land.
• Chen Du assessed his new strength and its limits, then concealed his aura and headed to the dining hall.
• Chen Du saw Xuanwei reading a newly delivered court bulletin with a furrowed brow.

Chen Du used Qingfeng Temple’s Mist Illusion Array to confront the Tianyan Sect master, whose Stellar Fifth Metamorphosis could not withstand Chen Du’s Heavenly Tribulation Nine Swords. After the sect master knelt and begged for his life, Chen Du dispersed the attack and began questioning him.

• Chen Du learned that the Tianyan Sect master had come to seek revenge after Chen Du defeated four of the sect’s elders.
• The Tianyan Sect master entered Qingfeng Temple and became disoriented inside Chen Du’s Mist Illusion Array.
• Mistaking Chen Du for an ordinary Daoist boy, the sect master demanded directions and then attacked him with a killing blow.
• Chen Du countered with the Eighth Sword of Heavenly Tribulation Nine Swords, locking the sect master beneath nine pillars of tribulation lightning.
• The Tianyan Sect master fell to his knees, begged for mercy, and promised that Tianyan Sect would never offend Qingfeng Temple again.
• Chen Du withdrew the lightning and mist, then told the kneeling sect master that it was his turn to ask questions.

Chen Du captured Zhao Heng and forced him to reveal that a mysterious figure called Heaven Slayer had ordered him to lure Qingfeng Temple’s expert from the mountain. Zhao Heng explained Heaven Slayer’s power and the rewards that had persuaded him, then revealed that Heaven Slayer had secretly taken him into the heavily guarded Ling Dynasty Imperial Palace.

• Chen Du suspended Zhao Heng with an invisible force, questioned him, and learned he was the master of the Tianyan Sect.
• Zhao Heng confessed that Heaven Slayer had threatened to destroy his sect and shattered its thousand-year-old protective formation with one palm strike.
• Zhao Heng described Heaven Slayer’s masked, unfathomable cultivation and said he had been ordered to lure Qingfeng Temple’s expert down the mountain.
• Zhao Heng declared Chen Du far stronger than Heaven Slayer, describing Chen Du’s power as a force that locked down his Dao heart, cultivation, and life.
• Zhao Heng admitted that Heaven Slayer had promised him a divine pill and vast resources in exchange for his help.
• Zhao Heng revealed that Heaven Slayer had taken him into the Ling Dynasty Imperial Palace, where every restriction and formation had gone dormant before him.

Zhao Heng revealed that Heaven Slayer commanded A-Fu, a Stellar Fifth Metamorphosis eunuch who had served the Ling Dynasty's founding emperor. After Zhao Heng secretly tried to contact Heaven Slayer from Qingfeng Temple, Chen Du exposed the attempt and prepared to kill him.

• Zhao Heng told Chen Du that Heaven Slayer's servant A-Fu was an ancient eunuch and a Stellar Fifth Metamorphosis cultivator who called Heaven Slayer master.
• Zhao Heng reflected on how Heaven Slayer, A-Fu, and the young Daoist at Qingfeng Temple had shattered his confidence in his own strength.
• Zhao Heng secretly formed a wisp of spiritual sense to warn Heaven Slayer, but Chen Du crushed it with the power of the Dao.
• Chen Du told Zhao Heng that he had seen through the attempted transmission and had learned everything he needed from Zhao Heng's confession.
• Zhao Heng begged for his life and offered information about Heaven Slayer's strongholds, but Chen Du summoned a divine sword as Dao restraints pinned him in place.

Chen Du killed Tianyan Sect Master Zhao Heng and gained three million years of Calamity Qi, while Heaven Slayer learned of Zhao Heng’s death and ordered an investigation into Qingfeng Temple. As Heaven Slayer prepared to expose the hidden crown prince, Chen Du reviewed the conspiracy’s clues and braced for the storm ahead.

• Chen Du killed Zhao Heng, erased every trace of the body, and returned to the bamboo courtyard.
• A guard discovered that Zhao Heng’s soul lamp had shattered, and the Tianyan Sect elders gathered in alarm.
• Heaven Slayer and A-Fu arrived at the Ancestral Hall, where Heaven Slayer ordered a full investigation of Qingfeng Temple.
• Heaven Slayer concluded that the mysterious Qingfeng Temple expert was the deposed crown prince and vowed to expose him.
• Chen Du gained three million years of Calamity Qi and reviewed what Zhao Heng had revealed about Heaven Slayer, A-Fu, and the Ling Dynasty’s hidden schemes.