Chapter Summaries

Murong Huaide negotiated with Wang Chen and Princess Qingyun on behalf of the Ping Tian Army, but Wang Chen rejected an alliance and accepted only non-aggression and trade. Meanwhile, West Sea Prefecture absorbed over a million refugees, and Wang Chen completed the Mountain River Great Formation, scheduling its activation ritual for the third day of the third month.

• Murong Huaide bowed under Wang Chen's pressure and proposed an alliance between the Ping Tian Army and the New Hanhai Army.
• Wang Chen refused an alliance but agreed to a non-aggression pact and mutual trade, then gave Murong Huaide's envoy group five hundred warhorses.
• Wang Chen told Princess Qingyun that the Ping Tian Army might attack Huai Shan Prefecture and said they could be left alone unless they threatened West Sea Prefecture.
• Over the next few months, West Sea Prefecture received more than a million northern refugees and managed the influx with grain and supplies.
• Wang Chen completed the seventy-two Mountain River Pillars and scheduled the ritual to activate the Mountain River Great Formation for the third day of the third month.

Wang Chen activated the Mountain River Great Formation across Hanhai Prefecture, making the altar its core and drawing immense spiritual energy into himself. After sealing his cultivation to avoid ascending, he named Princess Qingyun Wu Zhao and established her as Empress, leaving the formation under his command as his power in the Cangqing Realm grew.

• At the new Imperial Palace, Wang Chen activated all seventy-two Mountain River Pillars, spending his fortune to complete the Mountain River Great Formation.
• Wang Chen gathered the formation’s spiritual energy at the altar, raising his cultivation to the world’s limit before sealing his Dantian to avoid a heavenly tribulation and ascent.
• Wang Chen sent a message talisman and realized he could draw inexhaustible mana from the formation as long as the Cangqing Realm endured.
• Princess Qingyun arrived alone, and Wang Chen explained that the altar would greatly improve her Daoist cultivation.
• Wang Chen drew Princess Qingyun’s blood on the altar, named her Wu Zhao, and declared her Empress as the Mountain River Great Formation roared.

As West Liang prospered under Wu Zhao, Great Yan prepared to invade Hanhai Pass with cannons and the support of the Kunlun Dao Palace. Wang Chen reassured Wu Zhao and decided to confront the threat himself, aiming to settle the conflict once and for all.

• Farmers around Hanhai Prefecture celebrated a promising harvest, which they credited to the Hanhai Dao Palace's influence on the land and rainfall.
• Wu Zhao reviewed a report that Great Yan was moving troops and supplies toward Hanhai Pass, then received news that Yan had cast cannons and gained the Kunlun Dao Palace's support.
• Wu Zhao went to the Hanhai Dao Palace and gave Wang Chen the secret report.
• Wang Chen told Wu Zhao that the Mountain River Great Formation could withstand the Kunlun Dao Palace and that Yan's cannons were inferior imitations.
• Wang Chen said West Liang should send reinforcements and that he would go to resolve the conflict with Great Yan.

Wang Chen led the Western Liang Legion across Hanhai Pass to launch a decisive campaign against Great Yan, while Wu Zhao watched him depart. The army reached Dongwang City, and after its defenders refused to surrender, Wang Chen ordered an assault.

• Wang Chen and Wu Zhao watched the New Hanhai Army march through Hanhai Pass, and Wu Zhao tearfully embraced Wang Chen before he departed.
• Wang Chen led the Western Liang Legion into Yan territory and ordered the generals to capture Dongwang City within three days.
• The Xiliang Army marched to Dongwang City without encountering resistance, and Wang Chen destroyed a grey eagle scouting overhead.
• Dongwang City prepared its defenses and sent an envoy to Wang Chen, who gave the city three hours to surrender.
• When Dongwang City did not raise a surrender flag, Wang Chen ordered the army to attack.

Wang Chen’s Xiliang Army used its Divine Machine Cannon Battalion to devastate Dongwang City and repel a Yan death squad. The Yan defenders surrendered, and Wang Chen left his generals to take control while the captives and civilians were sent to Hanhai City.

• Wang Chen ordered the cannons to bombard Dongwang City, battering its walls and shattering the defenders’ morale.
• The Yan Army sent armored death warriors to attack the cannon battalion, but Xiliang musketeers cut them down before they reached it.
• Wang Chen’s forces blasted through the walls and gates, then fired explosive shells into the city, throwing its defenders and civilians into chaos.
• The Yan Army raised a white flag and surrendered after less than one shichen of fighting; the city’s commanding general had already died while charging the Xiliang artillery.
• Wang Chen ordered his generals to take over Dongwang City, while the captured soldiers and civilians were sent to Hanhai City for resettlement.

The Xiliang Army held off Great Yan’s vastly larger force on the Wuding Plain with its cannons and muskets. When Kunlun Dao Palace tried to summon rain to disable the weapons, Wang Chen redirected the storm, leaving the Xiliang formations dry and the Yan cultivators stunned.

• Xiliang’s guns and muskets shattered repeated Yan cavalry charges, inflicting heavy losses on the Great Yan Army.
• Yan Wuhui forced his troops to keep attacking and personally punished officers who fled.
• More than thirty Xiliang field cannons fired grapeshot into the Yan cavalry, breaking another assault.
• Wang Chen spotted thousands of Kunlun Dao Palace cultivators raising a storm over the battlefield to soak Xiliang’s gunpowder weapons.
• Wang Chen used a hand seal to redirect the storm, sending torrential rain onto the Yan Army’s rear camp instead of Xiliang’s formations.

Wang Chen used the Mountain River Great Formation to defeat Zhang Jiushan’s magic and lead West Liang to annihilate the Great Yan army. After the realm learned of West Liang’s overwhelming victory, an Azure Dragon rose from Hanhai City, heralding a new development.

• Zhang Jiushan’s formation attack failed, and Wang Chen traced its aura back to strike the Kunlun cultivators with lightning, badly injuring Zhang Jiushan and his disciples.
• Wang Chen ordered West Liang’s cannons to bombard the Yan Army, whose ranks fell into chaos under the long-range explosive shells.
• West Liang’s cavalry charged from both flanks as Wang Chen joined the battle, and the Great Yan army collapsed and fled.
• West Liang suffered fewer than three thousand casualties while nearly annihilating four hundred thousand Yan troops, and news of the victory terrified the nations of the Cangqing Realm.
• Wang Chen looked toward Hanhai City and saw an Azure Dragon rising into the sky.

After Xiliang's victory over Great Yan increased his fortune, Wang Chen created an External Incarnation from Yan Wuhui's corpse so it could help protect Wu Zhao after he returned to the Haotian Realm. The incarnation awakened and moved under his control, but Wang Chen still needed to grant it true spirituality.

• Wang Chen and Wu Zhao watched Hanhai City's celebration after the Xiliang Army returned victorious, having captured seven cities of Great Yan.
• Wang Chen told Wu Zhao he would enter seclusion, then went to the cultivation chamber beneath the Dao Palace to refine Yan Wuhui's corpse into an External Incarnation.
• Wang Chen separated a Divine Soul true seed and pressed it into Yan Wuhui's brow, then spent days purifying and reshaping the corpse with spiritual energy.
• Wang Chen awakened the transformed incarnation, which resembled him and moved naturally under his control.
• Wang Chen concluded that the incarnation still needed true spirituality.

Wang Chen introduced his powerful external incarnation, Ling Zhiyuan, to Wu Zhao to help her rule while he continued cultivating in seclusion. As West Liang expanded across Great Liang and Ling Zhiyuan became its feared commander, Qin Qingxuan visited Wang Chen, leaving their conversation poised to begin.

• Wang Chen introduced Ling Zhiyuan as Wu Zhao’s junior brother and told her he would help her hold the realm if Wang Chen was away.
• Three months later, Wu Zhao’s West Liang Army conquered three prefectures, then halted its advance to consolidate its rule.
• Ling Zhiyuan crushed rebellions and invading forces, and over the next three years West Liang conquered seven more prefectures and killed Prince Ming.
• Emperor Yuanjing allied with Great Qi and secured its army’s support as West Liang prepared to face its final major rival.
• Wang Chen remained in seclusion, gaining Fate points from Ling Zhiyuan’s victories and exploring the world’s essence.
• Qin Qingxuan visited Wang Chen at Hanhai Dao Palace and struggled to speak as she felt the gulf between them.

Qin Qingxuan pledged Yuhua Sword Manor’s allegiance to West Liang after Wang Chen confirmed its ambition to unite the realm. As the campaign to restore Great Liang began, Ling Zhiyuan prepared to lead the army against Emperor Yuanjing.

• Qin Qingxuan asked whether West Liang intended to conquer the realm, and Wang Chen answered that it did.
• Qin Qingxuan declared that Yuhua Sword Manor would emerge from seclusion and serve West Liang, and Wang Chen directed her to approach Wu Zhao.
• Ling Zhiyuan appeared and said he planned to lead the army against Emperor Yuanjing, while Wang Chen agreed to hold down the rear and shared his cultivation insights with him.
• At the beginning of August, Wu Zhao appointed Ling Zhiyuan Mighty Great General and ordered him to lead 370,000 Xiliang Army soldiers north to punish Emperor Yuanjing.
• Wu Zhao’s declaration to avenge Emperor Shaowu and restore Great Liang stirred the kingdom and drew the realm’s attention.

Ling Zhiyuan’s Xiliang Army defeated the Yuanjing Army, captured Guang'an and Great Ye, and helped Wu Zhao establish Great Zhou. While Wang Chen deepened his connection to the Cangqing Realm’s Origin, Ling Zhiyuan conquered the Southern Barbarians, and Wang Chen triggered the Spirit Communicator to return early.

• On August 26, Ling Zhiyuan led the Xiliang Army to defeat the Yuanjing Army south of Shangqiu after the Qingzhou Iron Cavalry retreated into Guang'an and shut the gates.
• Ling Zhiyuan rejected the Qingzhou Army’s offer to surrender Guang'an and used siege cannons to breach the city, where he killed Gao Yuan and captured the stronghold.
• Ling Zhiyuan marched north and entered Great Ye after local aristocratic families opened the gates; Emperor Yuanjing blew himself and his children up with explosives in the imperial palace.
• Wu Zhao took control of Great Liang’s remaining territories, moved the capital to Great Ye, and renamed the state Great Zhou, while Wang Chen received fortune and deepened his contact with the Cangqing Realm’s Origin.
• Ling Zhiyuan led a campaign against the Southern Barbarians that lasted more than half a year, and Wang Chen triggered the Spirit Communicator to return ahead of schedule.

Wang Chen sensed an emergency in the Haotian Realm, entrusted Hanhai Dao Palace to Xi Jun, and used his Daoist marker to return. Back in Nameless Valley, he rapidly advanced to the seventh level of Golden Core before struggling to control the spiritual power forced into his body.

• Wang Chen warned Xi Jun that he was entering seclusion, left her a letter for Wu Zhao, and gave her a jade ruyi scepter to protect herself and control the Mountain River Great Formation.
• Wang Chen sealed himself inside the cultivation chamber and sent his Divine Soul through the world’s origin toward the Haotian Realm.
• Wu Zhao arrived at Hanhai Dao Palace, read Wang Chen’s letter, and wept as she realized he might be gone for a long time.
• Ling Zhiyuan led his army toward the northern border prefectures previously ceded to Great Qi after wiping out the southern barbarian tribes.
• Wang Chen returned to Nameless Valley, where an immense force drove his cultivation up to the seventh level of Golden Core.
• Wang Chen circulated the Innate Five Elements Technique for three hours to regain control of his overflowing spiritual power.

Wang Chen returned from the Cangqing Realm with the transformed Cangqing Ring and discovered that Nameless Valley was under attack. He strengthened the failing formation and recognized Lu Hongye among the invaders, who then used a Rank Four Array Breaking Talisman against the valley.

• Wang Chen saw that his cultivation and attributes had increased, and learned that his Sumeru Ring had become the Cangqing Ring, which could connect to the Cangqing Realm.
• Wang Chen left the secret chamber and learned from Su Ziling that cultivators had breached Nameless Valley’s outer defenses and were attacking the Cave Mansion.
• Wang Chen charged the weakening Six Harmonies Xuan Yuan Great Formation with his mana and used the formation to observe the attackers.
• Wang Chen recognized Lu Hongye among the Golden Core cultivators besieging the valley and recalled their past conflict over Su Ziling.
• Lu Hongye concluded that a precious treasure lay beneath the valley and used his Rank Four Array Breaking Talisman to strike its defensive barrier.

Wang Chen lured Lu Hongye and the Lu Family cultivators into the damaged Six Harmonies Xuan Yuan Great Formation and used its power to neutralize their attacks. He activated the Six Harmonies Great Seal to suppress them, leaving the trapped cultivators unable to move or circulate their Mana.

• Lu Hongye broke through the pool’s apparent protective barrier with a fourth-tier talisman, but a hidden grand formation trapped him and the other cultivators.
• Wang Chen appeared and revealed that he had deliberately lured Lu Hongye’s group into the formation.
• Lu Hongye attacked Wang Chen, but the formation weakened his palm strike before it could reach him.
• Lu Hongye and the other Lu Family cultivators launched spells, weapons, and talismans at Wang Chen, but the formation stopped their attacks.
• Wang Chen sent out the Six Harmonies Great Seal, suppressing the Lu Family cultivators and locking down their Mana.

Wang Chen used the Six Harmonies Xuan Yuan Great Formation to wipe out Lu Hongye and the Lu family cultivators, then fled Nameless Valley with Su Ziling concealed in his treasure diagram. After he destroyed the valley and escaped, a mysterious figure arrived, recognized the Lu family dead, and suddenly panicked.

• The formation crushed the Lu family Purple Mansion cultivators, while Lu Hongye burned his Golden Core to protect the other Golden Core cultivators and help them attempt an escape.
• Wang Chen used the Six Harmonies Great Seal to shatter Lu Hongye’s Golden Core, then called down lightning that killed every remaining Lu family cultivator.
• Wang Chen collected the Lu family’s possessions, returned to the cavern, and told Su Ziling that the damaged formation made Nameless Valley unsafe.
• Wang Chen hid Su Ziling inside the Grand Mystic Mirage Dragon True Form Diagram, teleported away, and destroyed the valley and Cave Mansion before fleeing hundreds of li with Myriad Mile Leisurely Court.
• A mysterious figure appeared above Nameless Valley, recognized the Lu family corpses, calculated something, and vanished in apparent panic.

After fleeing Nameless Valley, Wang Chen hid underground, assessed his rapid cultivation growth and the treasures he had taken from Lu Hongye’s group, and stabilized his realm. He then set out for Luodu Immortal City to find a place to cultivate toward the Golden Core peak and eventually attempt Nascent Soul.

• Wang Chen realized a Nascent Soul cultivator had used the Heavenly Secret Art to investigate him, then excavated a hidden cavern more than a thousand li away.
• Wang Chen concluded that his connection to the Cangqing Realm gave him a foundation for future cultivation and that the Haotian Realm’s feedback had rapidly raised his cultivation to the seventh level.
• Wang Chen decided not to spend his more than two hundred thousand Heavenly Merit points on attributes after discovering he could exchange them for fortune.
• Wang Chen and Su Ziling sorted through the spoils from Lu Hongye’s group, including vast quantities of spirit stones, treasures, and supplies, and Wang Chen gave Su Ziling an unmarked Storage Ring.
• Wang Chen cultivated in seclusion for seven days to stabilize his realm, then left for Luodu Immortal City to seek a place to cultivate for eight or ten years.

Wang Chen reached Luodu Immortal City seeking a safe place to cultivate, but learned that his Thousand Stars Immortal City registry plaque was not valid there. He began investigating the entry and residency requirements with Su Ziling, though their registration remained unresolved.

• Wang Chen evaded a stranger who called out to him and continued on to Luodu Immortal City.
• Two city guards stopped Wang Chen and told him his Thousand Stars Immortal City plaque could not be used; he needed to apply for a temporary passage plaque.
• Wang Chen released Su Ziling from the Grand Mystic Mirage Dragon True Form Diagram so they could handle their registrations together.
• Wang Chen paid a menial cultivator a Medium Spirit Stone to explain the Household Registration Department's procedures.
• The menial cultivator explained that outsiders needed passage plaques to enter or leave the city, with temporary plaques valid for three days and long-term plaques costing one thousand Lower Spirit Stones.

Wang Chen chose an immortal residence in Luodu Immortal City and bought it from the widow of its late owner. After completing the transaction, he moved into his new home the following morning.

• Wang Chen inspected an immortal residence in eastern Luodu and decided he liked its surroundings.
• Wang Chen waited with Su Ziling while the broker addressed a dispute inside the residence.
• Wang Chen offered the widow and her brother one hundred thirty-five thousand Medium Spirit Stones, and they accepted.
• Wang Chen paid for the residence, completed the property transfer, and paid the broker's commission.
• Wang Chen moved into his new home the following morning.

Wang Chen and Su Ziling settled into a new residence in Luodu Immortal City, where Wang Chen planned to cultivate in seclusion while finding ways to earn Spirit Stones. He began raising his cultivation technique and ended the chapter making rapid progress through its levels.

• Su Ziling eagerly explored the spacious new home with Wang Chen, and they bought furniture to furnish it.
• Wang Chen and Su Ziling toured Luodu Immortal City's commercial districts, sold surplus treasures and supplies, and bought household goods and cultivation resources.
• Wang Chen decided to earn Spirit Stones through artifact refining and use the residence's empty storeroom as a workshop.
• Wang Chen cleansed the residence's defensive array, refined two array tokens, and gave one to Su Ziling.
• Wang Chen cultivated in seclusion while occasionally going out with Su Ziling, and his Innate Five Elements Technique advanced rapidly toward its fifth level.

Wang Chen acquired four precious Pills and successfully sent them through the Cangqing Ring to Ling Zhiyuan in the lower realm for Wu Zhao and Xi Jun. With that concern settled, he turned his attention to cultivating toward Nascent Soul, then received an invitation to True Person Huangfu’s celebration.

• Wang Chen collected two Longevity Pills and two Youth Preserving Pills from Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
• Wang Chen used the Cangqing Ring to transmit all four Pills to Ling Zhiyuan in the Cangqing Realm, intending them for Wu Zhao and Xi Jun.
• After the transmission succeeded, Wang Chen resolved to focus on breaking through to the Nascent Soul great realm.
• Su Ziling gave Wang Chen an invitation from True Person Huangfu to celebrate his taking a Dao companion.
• Wang Chen asked Su Ziling to learn about True Person Huangfu’s new Dao companion so they could prepare an appropriate gift.