Chapter Summaries

Wang Chen opened the jade box and the Mysterious Fox Token sent Hu Jiaojiao back to the Haotian Realm, leaving him to prepare for his own return. After looting Azure Cloud Palace’s secret vault, he demanded three more elders’ heads and confronted the Great Elder when the man considered resisting.

• Wang Chen opened the jade box and revealed the Mysterious Fox Token, which let Hu Jiaojiao contact the Qingqiu Fox Queen.
• Hu Jiaojiao told Wang Chen she had to return to the Haotian Realm first, and he promised to join her after stabilizing his cultivation and passing the heavenly tribulation.
• Hu Jiaojiao kissed Wang Chen, took the Mysterious Fox Token, and vanished in a streak of rainbow light.
• Wang Chen collected over a hundred treasures from Azure Cloud Palace’s secret vault.
• Wang Chen demanded three more heads from the Azure Cloud Palace Great Elder to settle the attack on him at Tribulation Crossing Peak.
• The Great Elder considered using the Azure Cloud Palace Grand Formation, but Wang Chen detected his intent and challenged him to activate it.

After three years of seclusion, Wang Chen awoke to find Chang'an City under attack by two flying dragons and Taiji Palace on the verge of internal revolt. He killed the traitor Gongyang Ji and faced the remaining rebels as the city’s crisis continued.

• After Wang Chen left Azure Cloud Peak, he returned to Taiji Palace and entered three years of secluded cultivation.
• Gao Zhuang woke Wang Chen and reported that two flying dragons were attacking Chang'an City while the City Protection Array was failing.
• Wang Chen learned that Mo Han was struggling to hold the array because Gongyang Ji had led cultivators in turning against Taiji Palace and demanding that the gates be opened to Azure Cloud Palace.
• Wang Chen entered the main hall, rejected Gongyang Ji’s plan, and crushed him with a single gesture.
• The cultivators allied with Gongyang Ji knelt and begged Wang Chen to spare their lives.

Wang Chen retook control of Chang'an City's City Protection Array and crushed the traitors who had gathered in Taiji Palace. He then confronted two flying dragons rampaging through the city, killing the red dragon and badly wounding the black one before it could breathe fire.

• Wang Chen used the City Protection Array to crush nearly a hundred traitorous cultivators and ordered the survivors back to their posts.
• Wang Chen left Taiji Palace and saw a red and a black flying dragon destroying buildings and killing residents in Chang'an City.
• Wang Chen shot the red dragon through the head with the Sunset Bow, killing it as it tried to take flight.
• Wang Chen wounded the black dragon with two arrows, sending it crashing into a crater in the street.
• Wang Chen landed before the black dragon and punched its nose, detonating the flames inside its mouth.

After the dragons devastated Chang'an, Wang Chen learned how Mo Han had struggled to govern during his seclusion and gave him the Sunset Bow before departing. With the world’s rejection of him growing stronger, Wang Chen attacked Azure Cloud Palace and left its defenders facing the collapse of their protection formation.

• Mo Han explained how rumors of Wang Chen’s death had caused disorder in Chang'an, while a hidden force exploited Taiji Palace’s weakness and the two flying dragons attacked.
• Wang Chen absolved Mo Han, entrusted him with the Sunset Bow, and left him to restore order in the city.
• Wang Chen hurried to Azure Cloud Peak as the world’s rejection forced him to spend half his power resisting it.
• Wang Chen repeatedly struck Azure Cloud Palace’s Mountain Protection Great Formation with the Mountain Dharma Seal until it began to collapse.
• An aged voice from Azure Cloud Palace pleaded for Wang Chen to stop and declared its surrender, but Wang Chen enlarged the seal and brought it down on the palace.

Wang Chen prepared to ascend after reaching the peak of the Supreme Grandmaster level and entrusted Chang'an City, Taiwu City, and Taiji Palace to Mo Han. He left Mo Han the palace treasury key and gave Gao Zhuang a Dharma seal to keep Mo Han in check, then left their future uncertain.

• Hunters admired the ruins of Azure Cloud Palace and praised Wang Chen for destroying it, while the young hunter unknowingly sent human-path aura toward Taiji Palace.
• Human-path aura gathered from Chang'an and Taiwu flowed into Lingyan Pavilion, where Wang Chen emerged from cultivation as thunder boomed in the clear sky.
• Wang Chen summoned Mo Han and told him he would soon ascend, entrusting him with Chang'an City, Taiwu City, Taiji Palace, and the key to the palace's secret treasury.
• Wang Chen thanked Gao Zhuang and gave him a Dharma seal that could suppress and kill Mo Han if he acted against the Way, reminding him never to disregard the people's will.

Wang Chen endured a brutal heavenly tribulation atop Tribulation Crossing Peak as he attempted to ascend from the Mist Mountain Realm. As Chang'an’s people prayed for him, their gathered human aura gave him strength to open the ascension passage, and he vanished into the tribulation lightning.

• Wang Chen used the Magic Treasures from his Sumeru Ring to withstand the increasingly powerful tribulation lightning until they were all destroyed.
• Wang Chen’s Flying Sword angered heaven and earth, provoking a renewed assault of purple-red lightning that he met with repeated punches.
• Wang Chen endured the lightning’s cleansing while the ascension passage slowly expanded, nearing the limits of his strength.
• A voice told the people of Chang'an that Wang Chen was undergoing tribulation, and they gathered to pray for him.
• The people’s human aura strengthened Wang Chen, who punched the ascension passage open and vanished into the tribulation lightning.

Wang Chen returned to the Haotian Realm after defeating the vengeful souls that tried to drag him down. The Fox Queen told him Hu Jiaojiao was in seclusion merging with the Mysterious Fox Token, and Wang Chen decided to form his Golden Core in Qinglan Small Valley while he waited.

• Wang Chen relived memories of his past lives, then used the Great Majestic Heavenly Dragon’s power to destroy the vengeful souls holding him back.
• Wang Chen followed a heavenly beam through the clouds and arrived in the Haotian Realm.
• The Fox Queen told Wang Chen that Hu Jiaojiao had been in seclusion for three months after the Mysterious Fox Token fused into her body, and that her fate depended on whether she could merge it with her natal Magic Treasure.
• The Fox Queen let Wang Chen stay in Qinglan Small Valley, use Green Hill’s Library Pavilion for books below the Golden Core realm, and take the Chaos Bead if Hu Jiaojiao succeeded.
• Wang Chen recognized Qinglan Small Valley as a safe, spirit-rich place and resolved to form his Golden Core there.

Wang Chen prepared to condense a top-grade Golden Core by refining his cultivation and studying Daoist texts, deliberately delaying the process despite the risks. After meeting the little fox Hu Feifei, his state of mind relaxed, and his Mana surged, forcing him to begin core condensation.

• Wang Chen settled in Qinglan Small Valley and refined his Mana each morning while studying Daoist books at Green Hill's Library Pavilion.
• Wang Chen suppressed his restless true qi and delayed core condensation so he could prepare to achieve a top-grade Golden Core.
• Hu Feifei met Wang Chen in the Library Pavilion, fled when she learned he was human, then returned to ask for food.
• Hu Feifei recognized Wang Chen as the man who had seduced Hu Jiaojiao and ran off after teasing him.
• Wang Chen's state of mind relaxed after speaking with Hu Feifei, and his Mana surged as the moment for core condensation arrived.
• Wang Chen returned to the rock beside the pool and resolutely began condensing his core.

Wang Chen refined his Mana and overcame a dangerous disturbance from the Primordial Dao Stele to form a Golden Core. The Fox Queen sensed that he had formed a top-grade core, and Wang Chen emerged from the breakthrough with his senses greatly enhanced and a foothold in the cultivation world.

• Wang Chen cleansed his body, absorbed his False Core into his Qi Sea, and compressed his Mana as he prepared to break through.
• Wang Chen endured memories from both his lives without wavering, but the Primordial Dao Stele disrupted his nearly formed Golden Core.
• Wang Chen spent Human Virtue points to quell the Golden Core’s instability and refine it into a denser, purer core.
• The Fox Queen saw a golden pillar of qi rising from Qinglan Small Valley and recognized that Wang Chen was forming a top-grade core.
• Wang Chen completed his breakthrough, awakened with greatly heightened senses, and found a Golden Core floating in his Qi Sea.

After forming a first-grade Golden Core, Wang Chen learned that he had to leave Qingqiu and received Hu Jiaojiao’s promise that they would meet again at Nascent Soul. The Fox Queen read Wang Chen’s farewell poem and permitted him to stay in Qingqiu for ten more days.

• Wang Chen examined his Cultivation Panel and saw his attributes and lifespan increase, while his techniques and virtue records were simplified or reset.
• The Fox Queen congratulated Wang Chen on forming a top-grade Golden Core and used a Jade Tablet to confirm that his Pill Formation was first-grade.
• The Fox Queen told Wang Chen to leave Qingqiu, and a little girl delivered Hu Jiaojiao’s message that they would meet again at Nascent Soul.
• Wang Chen wrote Hu Jiaojiao a poem promising they would reunite, and the Fox Queen intercepted the little girl to read it.
• The Fox Queen let the little girl go and allowed Wang Chen to remain in Qingqiu for ten more days.

Wang Chen used his ten-day stay in the Green Hill Library Pavilion to master Daoist arts and store the texts he read in the Primordial Dao Stele. After the Fox Queen sent him away, he returned to Thousand Stars Immortal City and headed home to see how Su Ziling was doing.

• Wang Chen used Spiritual Rhinoceros Finger to animate a wooden puppet, then recalled its spirituality and cleared away the pieces.
• Wang Chen discovered that the Primordial Dao Stele stored and organized the True Script Runes he imprinted from Daoist books.
• Wang Chen spent the rest of his ten days reading books in the pavilion, with their contents accumulating in the Primordial Dao Stele.
• The Fox Queen's force sent Wang Chen out of the pavilion, and he thanked her before flying toward Thousand Stars Immortal City.
• Wang Chen arrived in the city before sunset and headed home, wondering whether Su Ziling had been safe.

Su Ziling was threatened by two Golden Hook Gambling House guards over her dead father's gambling debt, but Wang Chen returned to the Magic Tool shop as a Golden Core True Person and saved her. He drove the guards away after proving Su Ziling had been sold to him and burning the gambling contract.

• Su Ziling mourned Wang Chen's year-long absence while guarding the nearly empty shop.
• Two Golden Hook Gambling House guards demanded one hundred thousand Spirit Stones from Su Ziling and tried to take her when she could not produce proof that she had severed ties with her father.
• Wang Chen appeared, cut off one guard's hand, and struck the other as Su Ziling recognized her master.
• Wang Chen revealed his Golden Core cultivation and showed the onlookers Su Ziling's contract of sale, establishing that she was under his protection.
• Wang Chen learned that Su Wenhui was dead, burned the gambling contract, and ordered the guards to leave.

After learning that Su Ziling’s father had died in an underground gambling den and been discarded at the Chaos Burial Mound, Wang Chen accompanied her there and destroyed the zombie his corpse had become. When they returned to Thousand Stars Immortal City, Wang Xinchen of the San Qun Wang Family was waiting outside Wang Chen’s shop.

• A thug from the Golden Hook Gambling House told Su Ziling that her father, Su Wenhui, had been beaten to death after being caught cheating at an underground gambling den, and his corpse had been dumped at the Chaos Burial Mound.
• Su Ziling declined Wang Chen’s offer to avenge her father, and Wang Chen offered to accompany her to perform rites and settle their karma.
• Wang Chen used Su Ziling’s blood to trace her father’s remains, then told her to wait while he followed the Spiritual Light into the burial mound.
• Wang Chen found that Su Wenhui had become a zombie, destroyed it with a Fire Crow spell, and performed the Rebirth Incantation.
• Wang Chen and Su Ziling returned to the city, where they found Wang Xinchen and a group of people waiting outside the Magic Tool shop.

Wang Chen accepted an extravagant congratulatory gift from Wang Chenming, a Golden Core member of the Third Quadrant Wang Clan, and attended his banquet at Wangjiang Tower. After Wang Chen made clear he did not intend to join the ancestral clan, Wang Chenming revealed his real offer: to sponsor him for the Thousand Stars Gathering.

• Wang Xinchen delivered Wang Chenming’s congratulatory gifts and invited Wang Chen to meet his master at Wangjiang Tower.
• Wang Chen accepted the invitation but decided to remain cautious about Wang Chenming’s motives.
• Wang Xinchen escorted Wang Chen to Wangjiang Tower, where Wang Chen met Wang Chenming and attended a lavish banquet.
• Wang Chen told Wang Chenming he had no intention of returning to the ancestral clan.
• Wang Chenming dismissed the attendants, raised a soundproof barrier, and offered to sponsor Wang Chen for the Thousand Stars Gathering.

Wang Chenming explained that cultivators had to repay Heaven and Earth karma before forming Nascent Soul, which could be done by harvesting Spirit Communicator from lower realms. He offered Wang Chen a chance to descend to an unexplored small world if he joined the Third Quadrant Wang Clan, and Wang Chen left the decision open.

• Wang Chen refused Wang Chenming's invitation to join the Thousand Stars Gathering because he wanted to remain independent.
• Wang Chenming told Wang Chen that cultivators had to repay Heaven and Earth karma to form Nascent Soul, or risk a heavenly tribulation.
• Wang Chenming explained that repaying karma involved descending to lower realms and harvesting Spirit Communicator, though access to those worlds was difficult and limited.
• Wang Chen recalled the Mist Mountain Realm and wondered whether he could return there, while suspecting that harvesting Spirit Communicator involved hidden dangers.
• Wang Chenming offered Wang Chen a slot in an unexplored small world if he joined the Third Quadrant Wang Clan, in exchange for half the Spirit Communicator he harvested.
• Wang Chen asked for time to consider the offer, and Wang Chenming agreed.

Wang Chen weighed his options for reaching Nascent Soul while continuing to refine spiritual artifacts and supporting Su Ziling’s cultivation. Just as he settled into a quiet routine, an imposing visitor named Lu arrived at his shop, and Wang Chen sensed trouble.

• Wang Chen returned to his residence, reassured Su Ziling about her cultivation, and restrained his desire to protect her future Dao path.
• Wang Chen sent a message to the Qingqiu Fox Queen asking about Nascent Soul formation, then resumed refining spiritual artifacts at his reopened shop.
• The Qingqiu Fox Queen warned Wang Chen that he could not safely return to the Mist Mountain Realm for Spirit Communicator and advised him to join a great sect to form Nascent Soul.
• Wang Chen rejected the great sect route as impractical and decided to set aside the Nascent Soul question while he was still at the first layer of Golden Core.
• An imposing man named Lu visited Wang Chen’s Magic Tool shop, and Wang Chen immediately sensed that trouble had arrived.

Lu Huaizhen tried to recruit Wang Chen into the Lu Family, using the Wang Clan’s precarious position to persuade him. Wang Chen refused to join either clan, but Wang Chenming arrived soon after and admitted that Lu Huaizhen’s claims about the Wang Clan were true.

• Lu Huaizhen offered Wang Chen a Golden Core guest elder position and promised him a lower-realm quota.
• Lu Huaizhen claimed the Wang Clan’s Nascent Soul ancestor was near death and that Wang Hongyi needed Spirit Communicators to attempt forming a Nascent Soul again.
• Wang Chen decided not to join the Lu Family, the Wang Clan, or any other great family clan.
• Wang Chenming hurried over and asked whether Lu Huaizhen had visited Wang Chen.
• Wang Chen challenged Wang Chenming about the Wang Clan’s situation, and Wang Chenming admitted Lu Huaizhen’s claims were true.

Wang Chen left Thousand Stars Immortal City with Su Ziling to avoid being drawn into the Wang Clan and Lu Family’s conflict, and searched the mountains for a secluded place to cultivate. After finding a promising valley, he sensed something hidden beneath its pool and prepared to fight.

• Wang Chen decided to leave after realizing the Wang Clan and Lu Family were treating him as a bargaining chip in their struggle.
• Su Ziling quickly packed their belongings, and Wang Chen bought supplies before they departed Thousand Stars Immortal City.
• Wang Chenming hurried after them but arrived too late to stop Wang Chen’s Flying Ship from disappearing into the distance.
• Wang Chen searched the mountains for several days and found a secluded valley with a pool and an underground stream.
• Wang Chen sensed something watching him from beneath the pool, stored Su Ziling in the Grand Mystic Mirage Dragon True Form Diagram, and drew the Dragon Abyss Sword when the hidden presence failed to emerge.

Wang Chen killed a black python in the pool and discovered a hidden cavern with abundant spiritual energy. He decided to make the cavern his new home with Su Ziling.

• Wang Chen used the Dragon Abyss Sword to kill the black python and gained 3000 Human Virtue.
• Wang Chen disintegrated the python’s corpse, refined its demon core, and gave the water-element core to Su Ziling to aid her cultivation.
• Wang Chen and Su Ziling descended into the pool, where the demon core repelled the water around them.
• Wang Chen found a submerged cave entrance and let its suction pull him and Su Ziling into a hidden cavern.
• Wang Chen explored the cavern, saw its rich spiritual energy, and told Su Ziling it would be their home.

Wang Chen created skeletal servants to help Su Ziling clean the Cave Mansion, then risked taking control of its powerful formation. After spending most of his Spirit Stones, he claimed the Six Harmonies Great Seal and concealed and protected the dwelling.

• Wang Chen animated five skeletons as servants and gave them to Su Ziling to command while she cleaned the Cave Mansion.
• Wang Chen investigated the Cave Mansion's formation and discovered that its core lay in the cultivation chamber and that destroying it could collapse the dwelling.
• Wang Chen connected his Divine Sense and true essence to the formation, learning that it was the weakened Six Harmonies Xuan Yuan Great Formation.
• Wang Chen poured Spirit Stones into the altar's sacrificial basin until the formation's control art was complete and the Six Harmonies Great Seal appeared.
• Wang Chen used the seal to conceal the valley and activate the Cave Mansion's defenses, securing control of the formation.