Chapter Summaries

Chen Yan returned to the Mount Lao battlefield and challenged Jiang Li, defeating his ghostly palm with overwhelming physical strength. As Jiang Li drew the Yin Sha Ghost Head Saber and prepared to strike, Chen Yan’s sudden appearance also earned him the seventy-second place on the Earth Ranking.

• Chen Yan charged Jiang Li using his perfected Embracing Dan physique and the power of the Indestructible Vajra Dao Fruit.
• Tong Xiuyuan learned Chen Yan was alive and declined to place him on the Earth Ranking without the Heavenly Secrets Stele’s recognition.
• The Heavenly Secrets Stele changed, and Chen Yan appeared at rank seventy-two on the Earth Ranking.
• Chen Yan and Jiang Li clashed, and Chen Yan shattered Jiang Li’s giant ghostly palm with a second attack.
• Jiang Li drew the Yin Sha Ghost Head Saber and poured his Magic Power into the Ghost Cry Sect treasure.

Jiang Li attacked Chen Yan with the Yin Sha Ghost Head Saber, but Chen Yan blocked the strike and defeated its ghostly trap. Chen Yan launched a powerful counterattack, leaving Jiang Li beneath a descending crimson saber light.

• Jiang Li unleashed a powerful strike with the Yin Sha Ghost Head Saber as observers feared Chen Yan would not survive.
• Bu Lingxu and the Azure Cloud Sect disciples watched the battle and discussed Chen Yan’s breakthrough and lack of backing.
• Chen Yan drew the Dragon Sparrow Saber and blocked Jiang Li’s attack, astonishing the watching factions.
• Jiang Li activated Myriad Ghosts Devour Heart, immobilizing Chen Yan with the saber’s ghostly wails.
• A burst of crimson light dispelled the ghosts, and Chen Yan moved above Jiang Li to prepare a devastating counterstrike.
• Chen Yan’s crimson saber light descended through the darkened battlefield toward Jiang Li.

Chen Yan killed Jiang Li with a single strike at Mount Lao, defeating the Ghost Cry Sect’s army and securing a great victory. News of his breakthrough and victory spread, and the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion learned that he had appeared on the Earth Ranking.

• Jiang Li unleashed the full power of his Yin Sha Ghost Head Saber, but Chen Yan held back his attack and then countered with the Great Sun Divine Saber.
• Chen Yan’s blade shattered Jiang Li’s high-grade Dao Artifact and vaporized him, leaving no corpse behind.
• Bu Lingxu recognized Chen Yan’s victory, admitted he was no match for him, and departed for Pingzhou with the Azure Cloud Sect disciples.
• Scouts sent reports that Chen Yan had entered Refining Spirit into Void and slain a Yin God Third Refinement cultivator; Chen Yan appeared on the Earth Ranking in seventy-second place.
• Tong Xiuyuan told Guo Tai that Jiang Li was likely dead, and Guo Tai received confirmation that Chen Yan had slain him and the Ghost Cry Sect’s forces had been wiped out at Mount Lao.

After Chen Yan killed Jiang Li, the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion ranked him seventy-second on the Earth Ranking, and news of his unprecedented rise spread throughout the Three Thousand Worlds. Li Shouyi prepared to congratulate him, the Rebirth Cult considered recruiting him as its Holy Son, and Ao Shuang set aside the news to focus on an Inner World passage and the Dao Fruit within.

• Guo Tai reported that Chen Yan had killed Jiang Li, a Yin God Third Refinement cultivator, and Tong Xiuyuan ordered Chen Yan placed seventy-second on the Earth Ranking.
• Heavenly Secrets Pavilion branches updated the rankings, and people across the Three Thousand Worlds reacted with shock to Chen Yan’s rapid breakthrough and victory.
• After confirming the report, Li Shouyi admitted he could not have killed Jiang Li at Chen Yan’s stage and decided to visit Chen Yan with congratulatory gifts.
• The Rebirth Cult Protector ordered Kong Liang to test whether Chen Yan could be recruited, offering him the Holy Son position in the main cult.
• Ao Shuang received news of Chen Yan’s Earth Ranking placement, then turned her attention to an Inner World passage and its Dao Fruit.

After Chen Yan killed Jiang Li, the Ghost Cry Sect army collapsed and Xiang Prefecture won a costly victory at Mount Lao. Chen Yan ordered aid and compensation for his troops, then demanded that the trembling Four-Winged Cold Cicada give him a reason not to kill it.

• In Minzhou Commandery, Gu Panpan panicked over Chen Yan's survival while Ye Ming and Yin Mo despaired at the gulf between their strength and his.
• News of Chen Yan's breakthrough and Jiang Li's death stunned forces across the Netherworld Realm as Chen Yan remained at Mount Lao, unconcerned with his reputation.
• With Jiang Li dead, the Ghost Cry Sect army's morale broke, and Chen Yan's forces pursued them through the night, killing nearly forty thousand and taking more than six thousand prisoner.
• Xu Ji reported Xiang Prefecture's casualties, and Chen Yan ordered that wounded soldiers be saved at any cost and that the dead receive double compensation for their families.
• Chen Yan thanked Zhang Yan and Hong Gu for their aid and ordered that assisting cultivators be rewarded, then demanded a reason not to kill the Four-Winged Cold Cicada.

Chen Yan confronted the Four-Winged Cold Cicada over its disobedience, sparing it after it revealed the location of the Golden Mulberry Divine Tree in the Inner World. He then set out to lead an expedition against the Ghost Cry Sect in the Endless Sea, despite the sect’s surviving Yin God Nine Refinements patriarch.

• Chen Yan held the Dragon Sparrow Saber to the Four-Winged Cold Cicada’s throat and demanded a reason to spare it.
• The Four-Winged Cold Cicada revealed that it knew how to reach the Golden Mulberry Divine Tree in the Inner World, and Chen Yan let it live.
• Chen Yan ordered the Four-Winged Cold Cicada to accompany him to the Endless Sea to retaliate against the Ghost Cry Sect.
• The Four-Winged Cold Cicada warned Chen Yan about the Ghost Cry Sect patriarch, but Chen Yan ordered it to obey or die.
• Chen Yan told Wang Lingguan to muster three thousand Dragon Sparrow Army soldiers and left for the Endless Sea with Wang Lingguan and the Four-Winged Cold Cicada.

Han Tong reported that more than thirty thousand Soul Lamps, including Jiang Li’s, had gone out, and Gongsun Yang rushed to inspect the Soul Hall. The fate of Ghost Cry Sect’s army remained unknown as Gongsun Yang confronted the extinguished lamps.

• The chapter described the Endless Sea Minor World, where most cultivators and Ghost Cry Sect’s army had departed for the Nine Provinces cultivation world.
• Han Tong hurried to Ghost Howl Peak to report an urgent matter to Gongsun Yang, Ghost Cry Sect’s Yin God Nine Refinements ancestor.
• Han Tong told Gongsun Yang that more than half the Soul Lamps in the Soul Hall, including the sect master’s, had gone out.
• Gongsun Yang questioned Han Tong about what had happened, then seized him and took him to the Soul Hall.
• Gongsun Yang saw the extinguished Soul Lamps and darkened with shock.

Gongsun Yang learned that Chen Yan had destroyed Ghost Cry Sect’s forces and vowed to kill him before he died. Meanwhile, Chen Yan arrived in the Endless Sea and headed for Ghost Cry Island, where he planned to confront Gongsun Yang.

• Gongsun Yang ordered Han Tong to investigate the disappearance of Jiang Li and the Ghost Cry Sect army, then feared his sect would collapse after his death.
• Han Tong returned with an account of the battle at Mount Lao, and Gongsun Yang discovered that Chen Yan had become the chief culprit behind Ghost Cry Sect’s losses.
• Gongsun Yang regretted not killing Chen Yan years earlier and swore to avenge the dead disciples before his remaining two or three years of life ran out.
• Chen Yan arrived in the Endless Sea with Xu Ji and his group, then ordered the Spirit Ship to head north toward Ghost Cry Island.
• As the Four-Winged Cold Cicada grew nervous about facing Gongsun Yang, Chen Yan told it that he would handle the patriarch while it dealt with the other Ghost Cry Sect disciples.

Chen Yan sailed to Ghost Cry Island aboard the Ghost Cry Sect’s Spirit Ship after destroying Jiang Li’s army, and the sect’s disciples discovered the deaths of their leaders and troops. Gongsun Yang confronted the threat by heading for the mountain gate, where he challenged Chen Yan as the Spirit Ship approached.

• Han Tong recognized the returning Spirit Ship as a sign of an enemy attack and warned the Ghost Cry Sect disciples that Jiang Li was dead.
• Ghost Cry Sect disciples checked the Soul Hall and found that more than thirty thousand Soul Lamps, including Jiang Li’s, had gone out, confirming the army’s annihilation.
• The disciples activated the mountain-protecting formation as Han Tong rushed to Ghost Howl Peak to alert Gongsun Yang.
• Gongsun Yang learned that Chen Yan had arrived and flew toward the mountain gate, confident he could defeat him.
• As the crimson Spirit Ship neared Ghost Cry Island, Gongsun Yang called out to Chen Yan and challenged him to come forward.

Chen Yan led his forces to attack Ghost Cry Island and confronted Gongsun Yang, Ghost Cry Sect’s Yin God Nine Refinements ancestor. After splitting the sect’s black river with the Dragon Sparrow Saber, Chen Yan struck at the mountain-protecting formation, leaving the outcome of his attack unresolved.

• Chen Yan assigned Wang Lingguan and the Four-Winged Cold Cicada to help Xu Ji wipe out the enemies on the island and protect the Dragon Sparrow Army from Ghost Cry Sect’s powerful elders.
• Gongsun Yang stayed inside the mountain-protecting formation and taunted Chen Yan, hoping to lure him into its reach.
• Chen Yan appeared before Ghost Cry Sect, and Gongsun Yang unleashed the formation’s black river to attack him.
• Chen Yan drew the Dragon Sparrow Saber and cleaved the black river apart, revealing the weapon as a supreme-grade Dao Artifact.
• Chen Yan charged the mountain-protecting formation and struck its black river barrier with a powerful blade attack.

Chen Yan shattered the Ghost Cry Sect’s thousand-year mountain-protecting formation and led the Dragon Sparrow Army into battle, then revealed the Dragon Sparrow Saber’s true form to defeat Gongsun Yang. The Dragon Sparrow’s flames killed the Ghost Cry Sect patriarch, leaving the battle raging around the sect.

• Gongsun Yang reinforced the Ghost Cry Sect’s formation and sent a giant black-river palm at Chen Yan, but Chen Yan’s second slash destroyed both the palm and the formation.
• The three thousand Dragon Sparrow Army soldiers charged into the Ghost Cry Sect, with the Four-Winged Cold Cicada and Wang Lingguan leading the assault.
• Gongsun Yang ambushed Chen Yan with a black nail awl while Chen Yan was weakened, but Chen Yan knocked the weapon away with the Dragon Sparrow Saber.
• Chen Yan told Gongsun Yang that his opponent was not him and threw the Dragon Sparrow Saber into the air.
• The Dragon Sparrow Saber transformed into a flaming Dragon Sparrow, melted Gongsun Yang’s high-grade Dao Artifact, and burned Gongsun Yang to ashes.

Chen Yan used the Dragon Sparrow Saber’s Phoenix True Fire to destroy the Ghost Cry Sect and then ordered his forces to occupy and search Ghost Cry Island. After assigning Wang Lingguan to investigate the supreme Yin vein beneath Ghost Howl Peak, the chapter hinted that a major event was unfolding at the distant Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.

• The Dragon Sparrow Saber’s Phoenix True Fire killed Gongsun Yang and burned the Ghost Cry Sect’s disciples while sparing the Dragon Sparrow Army.
• Chen Yan realized the Dragon Sparrow Saber had Yang God-level power but had consumed more than half its stored Dry Yang Departing Fire Fiend in a single brief transformation.
• Chen Yan ordered Xu Ji and two thousand soldiers to take control of Ghost Cry Island and kill any remaining Ghost Cry Sect disciples.
• Chen Yan ordered the Four-Winged Cold Cicada and a thousand soldiers to search the Ghost Cry Sect and collect its hidden possessions.
• Chen Yan took Wang Lingguan to Ghost Howl Peak to seek the supreme Yin vein that could help Wang Lingguan advance his cultivation.
• A major event took place at the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion in the distant Profound Yellow Great World as the Dragon Sparrow Saber killed Gongsun Yang.

Tong Xiuyuan and True Monarch Wuchen discovered that Chen Yan had risen to first place on the Earth Ranking despite remaining at Yin God First Refinement, and deduced that he had likely killed a Yin God Nine Refinements expert. True Monarch Wuchen decided to visit the Netherworld Realm to meet Chen Yan, while Tong Xiuyuan warned him not to act recklessly.

• A Heavenly Secrets Pavilion disciple summoned Tong Xiuyuan after a startling change appeared on the Heavenly Secrets Stele.
• Tong Xiuyuan found Chen Yan in first place on the Earth Ranking, ahead of every Yin God expert, despite his cultivation still being Yin God First Refinement.
• Tong Xiuyuan contacted True Monarch Wuchen, who came to inspect the ranking and was shocked to learn Chen Yan was not yet thirty.
• Tong Xiuyuan recounted Chen Yan's rise, and True Monarch Wuchen concluded that Chen Yan must have achieved an extraordinary battle record by defeating a much stronger opponent.
• Tong Xiuyuan deduced that Chen Yan may have killed the Yin God Nine Refinements patriarch of Ghost Cry Sect after defeating its army.
• True Monarch Wuchen asked for the Netherworld Realm's coordinates so he could meet Chen Yan, and Tong Xiuyuan warned him against reckless behavior.

After Chen Yan claimed first place on the Earth Ranking at Yin God First Refinement, news of his victory over the Ghost Cry Sect Patriarch shocked cultivators across the Three Thousand Worlds. As Chen Yan’s rivals accepted his overwhelming strength and Netherworld Realm sects feared his power, the Chongming Sect, Heavenly Corpse Sect, and Joyful Sect decided to form an alliance against him.

• Tong Xiuyuan warned True Monarch Wuchen not to act rashly, and True Monarch Wuchen set off for the Netherworld Realm after obtaining its world coordinates.
• Heavenly Secrets Pavilion announced Chen Yan’s rise to first place on the Earth Ranking, shocking its branch managers, including Guo Tai, who judged that Chen Yan had become the Netherworld Realm’s strongest cultivator.
• Li Shouyi and Bu Lingxu heard the news and gave up hope of competing with Chen Yan, while Bu Lingxu joked about Zhao Wuji’s misfortune.
• Zhao Wuji calmly accepted Chen Yan’s achievement, telling Jade Profound Sword Mountain’s leaders that he would accept it from Brother Chen.
• The Chongming Sect, Heavenly Corpse Sect, and Joyful Sect feared Chen Yan after the Ghost Cry Sect’s destruction and decided to form the Demonic Alliance to resist him.

After destroying the Ghost Cry Sect, Chen Yan installed the Peng Family as his proxy on Ghost Cry Island and explored Gongsun Yang’s cave abode for its treasures and supreme-grade yin vein. He left Wang Lingguan to cultivate there with resources to speed his advancement toward the perfection stage of Qi Refinement into Spirit Transformation.

• Chen Yan accepted the Peng Family’s pledge and seventy percent of its wealth, then granted it management of the Ghost Cry Sect’s main peak.
• Chen Yan sent the Four-Winged Cold Cicada, Xu Ji, and a thousand Dragon Sparrow Army soldiers to help the Peng Family subdue the forces around Ghost Cry Island.
• Chen Yan and Wang Lingguan entered Gongsun Yang’s cave abode on Ghost Howl Peak and collected four fourth-grade rare herbs from its medicinal garden.
• Chen Yan emptied the Ghost Cry Sect’s treasure vault, which held magic treasures, pills, talismans, manuals, and cultivation materials.
• Chen Yan and Wang Lingguan found the supreme-grade yin vein beneath Gongsun Yang’s cultivation chamber, and Wang Lingguan estimated he could reach the perfection stage within a year.
• Chen Yan gave Wang Lingguan a Crimson Flame Lotus and five hundred strands of High-grade Earth Fiend Jade Pivot Kan Thunder Fiend to help him advance.

Chen Yan returned from the Endless Sea after destroying the Ghost Cry Sect and establishing control over Ghost Cry Island, leaving Wang Lingguan to cultivate toward Refining Spirit into Void. At Mount Lao, Guo Tai showed him the latest rankings, where Chen Yan discovered that he had unexpectedly taken first place on the Earth Ranking.

• Chen Yan gave Wang Lingguan five hundred strands of Jade Pivot Kan Thunder Fiend and a Crimson Flame Lotus, and Wang Lingguan promised to break through within three months.
• The Four-Winged Cold Cicada, Xu Ji, and the Black Mist Peng Family subdued the factions around Ghost Cry Island, while Chen Yan promised Peng Qiufan Earth Fiends to aid a future breakthrough.
• Chen Yan left two hundred Dragon Sparrow Army soldiers to guard Wang Lingguan at Ghost Howl Peak and returned to Xiang Prefecture with his companions.
• Guo Tai met Chen Yan at Mount Lao, confirmed that Gongsun Yang was dead, and handed him the latest Heaven, Earth, and Human Rankings.
• Chen Yan read the Earth Ranking and found himself listed first, prompting him to ask Guo Tai whether the ranking was really his.

After destroying the Ghost Cry Sect, Chen Yan learned that Pavilion Master Wuchen wanted to meet him for a drink and ordered his subordinates to establish a foothold in the Inner World. Back on Mount Lao, he discovered that Lu Da had completed an initial design for a Yang God-level Bing Fire Thunder God Cannon.

• Guo Tai told Chen Yan that Pavilion Master Wuchen planned to lower his cultivation and descend into the Netherworld Realm to meet him for a drink.
• Chen Yan accepted the invitation and reflected on the need to strengthen himself as the Inner World opened and challenges to his Earth Ranking position loomed.
• Chen Yan ordered Xu Ji to lead the Dragon Sparrow Army into the Inner World with the Four-Winged Cold Cicada and establish a foothold.
• Chen Yan returned to Mount Lao and met Lu Da, who excitedly revealed his initial design for a Yang God-level Bing Fire Thunder God Cannon.

Chen Yan learned that Lu Da had devised a concept for a Yang God-level Bing Fire Thunder God Cannon powered by Five-Elements Divine Thunder Incantations. The design required a huge supply of refined Red Copper, so Chen Yan set out to find a lost mine in the Inner World and left Lu Da awaiting his answer.

• Chen Yan reviewed why existing Bing Fire Thunder God Cannons could not reliably threaten Yang God True Monarchs and recalled asking Lu Da to develop a stronger design.
• Lu Da showed Chen Yan a blueprint for a Super Thunder God Cannon that used five mutually restraining Five-Elements Divine Thunder Incantation patterns to amplify its power.
• Lu Da explained that the cannon required an exceptionally durable barrel, and Chen Yan suggested copper after learning that even highly refined iron would fail.
• Lu Da identified Red Copper as a suitable material but said the cannon required so much that they would need a large Red Copper Ore mine.
• Lu Da told Chen Yan that old records placed a lost Red Copper Ore mine in the northern Inner World, where it had been buried with the destroyed Demon Refining Sect.
• Chen Yan decided to investigate the Demon Refining Sect and the mine, regarding Lu Da's talent as more valuable than the strength of a Yang God True Monarch.

Chen Yan returned to his cultivation chamber, asked Guo Tai to investigate Red Copper Ore and the Demon Refining Sect, then checked his Heavenly Book of Merit and discovered that destroying the Ghost Cry Sect had earned him one million merit. The Heavenly Book offered Fortunate Star Shining as a new reward, and Chen Yan eventually made a decision about whether to exchange for it.

• Chen Yan sent Guo Tai a message asking him to investigate Red Copper Ore and the thousand-year-old Demon Refining Sect, and Guo Tai agreed to look into both.
• Chen Yan inspected his personal panel in the Void Space and saw that his merit had reached 1,020,000 after the Ghost Cry Sect's destruction.
• Chen Yan considered targeting the remaining demonic sects, but recognized that they would not yield as much merit as the Ghost Cry Sect because their crimes were less extensive.
• Chen Yan opened the newest page of the Heavenly Book of Merit and learned that one million merit could obtain Fortunate Star Shining, a one-time increase in fortune and luck.
• Chen Yan weighed Fortunate Star Shining against ten Heavenly Official's Blessings before finally making his decision.

Chen Yan oversaw Xiang Prefecture’s growing Inner World stronghold and sent Wang Lingguan, Huai Qing, and the Four-Winged Cold Cicada to search for the Golden Mulberry Divine Tree. Unable to find a way to advance his Martial Path to Seeing God, he visited White Horse Temple to seek Patriarch Bodhidharma’s notes and was summoned to meet an unexpectedly powerful figure.

• Chen Yan’s forces developed their Inner World stronghold into a small town, gathered abundant resources, and grew stronger under his generous support.
• Before Wang Lingguan and Huai Qing departed to search for the Golden Mulberry Divine Tree, Chen Yan threatened the Four-Winged Cold Cicada with its natal divine soul and ordered it to bring them back unharmed.
• After several days, Chen Yan emerged from seclusion without progress on the Martial Path to Seeing God and decided to seek Patriarch Bodhidharma’s notes at White Horse Temple.
• At White Horse Temple, a voice that only Chen Yan could hear addressed him by name, and a young novice monk led him toward the back mountain.