Chapter Summaries

He Sheng slaughtered an Abilities Force that threatened his array, then broke through to the Realm of Controlling Nature. He discovered a mysterious oil lamp in a hidden space and brought it back to the cave, where its power transformed the surroundings and helped Liu Qingying reach the Golden Core realm.

• He Sheng killed the middle-aged leader and all ten thousand Abilities Warriors after they destroyed his Great Array.
• After returning to the cave to cultivate, He Sheng broke through into the Realm of Controlling Nature.
• He Sheng told Liu Qingying about his advancement, and she resolved to cultivate more diligently despite the child in her womb interrupting her.
• He Sheng found a hidden space protected by an Innate Array and discovered that an oil lamp could transform its dim surroundings into a lush green world.
• He Sheng brought the oil lamp to the cave, where it transformed the surroundings and sent spiritual energy surging into Liu Qingying, helping her condense a Golden Core.

Liu Qingying used the oil lamp to enter an illusion, where she fought as a female general and learned a spear technique, then cultivated until she reached Nascent Soul Peak. He Sheng entered a more powerful illusion as a sealed Great Demon, where a woman in red freed him and reunited with him.

• Liu Qingying extinguished the oil lamp and fought through an illusory battlefield, learning a powerful spear technique before returning to the stone cave.
• He Sheng told Liu Qingying that a year had passed in the illusion, and she learned that greater abilities could require thousands of years to comprehend.
• After the oil lamp lit itself and released spiritual energy, Liu Qingying cultivated to Nascent Soul Peak and entered the illusion again.
• He Sheng entered a higher-level illusion as a Great Demon sealed beneath an ancient sect's Black Tower.
• A young disciple brought his red-dressed master to He Sheng, and she entered his body, shattered the sealing chains, and embraced him after freeing him.

He Sheng conquered the world inside the Oil Lamp Illusion and obtained the Forbidden Demonic Scripture, advancing his cultivation. He then helped Liu Qingying recover inside her own illusion, where she continued exploring and reached an illusory gateway.

• Graceful joined He Sheng, and he turned Qinghe into a loyal servant before the Demon Consort’s tribulation spread demonic corruption through the sect and world.
• Golden Light restored Qinghe’s clarity and raised his cultivation, but He Sheng defeated him with Forbidden and subjected him to eternal tribulation.
• He Sheng entered the World Central Hub, received the Forbidden Demonic Scripture, and advanced his Control Realm from the early stage to the middle stage.
• Liu Qingying fought three Calamity Beasts in a Secret Realm, fled from them, and was poisoned by one of their claws.
• He Sheng sent Azure Light into Liu Qingying’s illusion, healing her and dispelling the poison, and she resumed exploring the Secret Realm.
• Liu Qingying reached an illusory gateway in the Secret Realm and heard a cold female voice tell her she had finally arrived.

Liu Qingying inherited the Purple Luan Empress’s position, rose to the Taiyi Peak Realm, and reunited with He Sheng after leaving the Oil Lamp Illusion. The lamp then drew them into another illusion, where He Sheng entered a thatched cottage and suspected he had to experience mortal life.

• Liu Qingying entered the palace and received the Purple Luan Empress’s inheritance, which raised her cultivation to the Great Vehicle Peak.
• The palace officials recognized Liu Qingying as their Empress, and sitting on the throne advanced her to the Golden Immortal Peak.
• Liu Qingying defeated the three Calamity Beasts, absorbed their Beast Souls, and advanced to the Taiyi Peak Realm.
• Liu Qingying gathered treasures, left the Secret Realm, and reunited with He Sheng after ten years of training inside the illusion.
• Half a month later, He Sheng and Liu Qingying entered the Oil Lamp Illusion again, and He Sheng entered a thatched cottage, suspecting it was a trial of mortal life.

He Sheng continued his secluded life, drove away a general, and refused a ruler’s request to help unify the world. After rescuing a badly wounded young woman, he urged her to go home, but she stayed and clung to him while they slept.

• The Azure Armor General whipped He Sheng and struck him with a blade, but neither harmed him, so the general and his soldiers fled.
• Twelve years later, a middle-aged man in a yellow dragon robe asked He Sheng to help unify the world, but He Sheng refused and ignored the gifts he left behind.
• He Sheng discovered a wounded young woman beside a stream among more than a dozen corpses and carried her back to his cottage.
• After the woman woke, He Sheng gave her food mixed with medicinal herbs and told her to leave, but she stayed the night.
• He Sheng urged the woman to return to her family, but she remained and spent the night by his side.
• The next morning, He Sheng found the woman hugging him; she let go and said she had only been cold.

He Sheng accepted Chu Qing’s silver and jade pendant to settle the Karma from saving her, but Chu Qing returned and decided to stay with him. As He Sheng continued his secluded life, the middle-aged man in dragon robes again tried to recruit him, insisting that only an Immortal could save Great Accomplishment.

• He Sheng refused to take the Broken Silver and jade pendant Chu Qing had left behind until she returned and explained that unresolved Karma threatened her cultivation.
• He Sheng accepted the offerings and declared their Karma settled, and Chu Qing thanked him before leaving.
• Chu Qing returned the next day, said their Karma had only begun, and decided to spend the rest of her life with He Sheng.
• Chu Qing moved into the thatched cottage, managed its household, and cultivated using its limited daily spiritual energy.
• The middle-aged man in dragon robes brought He Sheng lavish gifts and asked him to leave seclusion, but He Sheng refused and ignored the gifts.
• The middle-aged man returned alone and resolved to persuade the Old Immortal to leave because Great Accomplishment was in peril.

He Sheng refused repeated pleas to leave seclusion and save the war-torn realm, while Chu Qing was abducted by her master and later returned after He Sheng’s unseen power killed him. Five years later, the late ruler’s daughter, Empress Xuan Ling, came to recruit He Sheng and offered any price, but he warned that forcing him to intervene would go against Heaven and Earth and again told her to leave.

• A middle-aged ruler knelt outside He Sheng’s cottage for days, collapsed, and was taken away by two generals; he returned once more, but He Sheng again refused to help.
• Five years later, Chu Qing broke through Qi Refining, but her master abducted her and confined her at the temple.
• Chu Qing’s master tried to assault her, discovered she was no longer his intended Flesh Cauldron, and attacked He Sheng, who repelled him and killed him with an Azure Light.
• Chu Qing escaped after her master’s death and reunited with He Sheng at the cottage.
• The middle-aged ruler’s daughter, now Empress of Great Accomplishment, told He Sheng that her father had died and left a decree asking him to save the realm.
• He Sheng refused the Empress’s request, and she followed him to the vegetable garden and offered to pay any price; he warned her not to force him to intervene.

He Sheng continued his quiet life in the mountains while Chu Qing survived repeated tribulations and advanced rapidly in cultivation. After the former Empress died and Chu Qing reached God Transformation Great Perfection, He Sheng still received no answer from Oil Lamp about his own trial, and Chu Qing asked what he would do if she ascended to the Upper Realm.

• Chu Qing survived the Nine-Nine Divine Thunder Tribulation and broke through the Golden Core Realm, while He Sheng carried her back to the cottage to recover.
• The abdicated Empress returned to the mountains with her palace maid, joined He Sheng's secluded household, and died peacefully several years later.
• After the palace maid left the mountains, Chu Qing endured another tribulation, entered the Nascent Soul Realm, and later advanced to Nascent Soul Great Perfection.
• Chu Qing underwent another breakthrough and tribulation, reaching God Transformation Great Perfection while He Sheng wondered why his own trial showed no signs of progress.
• Chu Qing asked He Sheng what he would do if she ascended to the Upper Realm, and he replied, "Make do."

He Sheng completed an Oil Lamp Illusion that showed him a life with Chu Qing, then awakened with Liu Qingying in the cave. They entered a new illusion as Prince Qi and the Royal Consort, where He Sheng discovered the Empress and Empress Dowager were unusually close to him.

• He Sheng’s words, “cold dish,” triggered a transformation that gave him overwhelming power, and he spent five hundred years with Chu Qing before she ascended to become a Heavenly Immortal and he vanished.
• He Sheng awoke in the stone cave, and Liu Qingying described a dream about their children before the oil lamp brought them into another illusion.
• He Sheng and Liu Qingying woke as Prince Qi and the Royal Consort, and He Sheng attended court before the Empress, who resembled one from the previous illusion, called him her Second Uncle.
• The Empress asked He Sheng to accompany her in the garden, where the stern Empress Dowager later dismissed her attendants and seduced him, discussing how they could control the realm from behind the scenes.
• He Sheng returned to Prince Qi’s Residence and told Liu Qingying what had happened; they decided to learn about the original owner’s circumstances before acting.

He Sheng accompanied the Empress into a pleasure house, where she got drunk and woke to an embarrassing surprise. After they left and stopped for lunch, an attacker suddenly accused He Sheng of killing the Jade Family.

• He Sheng and the Empress wandered through the Imperial City and entered a pleasure house on East Street.
• The Empress got drunk and was taken to a guest room, while He Sheng drove off the Madam and attendants who tried to seize her.
• He Sheng let two women stay with the sleeping Empress, who woke at noon and angrily blamed him for not stopping her.
• He Sheng and the Empress left the pleasure house, then stopped at a restaurant for food and wine.
• As He Sheng was about to eat, someone attacked him with a sword and demanded that he answer for the lives of the Jade Family.

He Sheng restored the Jade Family after a woman attacked him over his former identity, then reluctantly took charge of court affairs when the Empress pursued immortal arts. A year later, the Northern Barbarians threatened the frontier with mysterious powers, and He Sheng went there to face them.

• A woman who blamed He Sheng for the Jade Family’s destruction attacked him, and he brought her to the ruined Jade Residence and revived her family with Creation.
• The Empress repeatedly sought He Sheng’s immortal arts, and he eventually taught her a concealment incantation.
• After the Empress stayed away from court, He Sheng governed as Regent until he persuaded her to resume ruling.
• A year later, the Northern Barbarians attacked the Northern Frontier with the aid of a mysterious being, and the Empress ordered He Sheng to lead troops against them.
• He Sheng went to the Northern Frontier that night and spotted a seductive woman among the enemy forces.

He Sheng entered the Northern Barbarians’ camp and persuaded Tuo Da Mingyue to urge the Barbarian King to withdraw, but the king refused. When the barbarian army attacked the frontier city, He Sheng remained calm as Tuo Da Mingyue asked why he had not intervened.

• He Sheng found Tuo Da Mingyue, restrained her spells, and later told her he was Zhao Qinji, Prince Qi.
• Tuo Da Mingyue went to the Barbarian King and urged him to end the invasion, but he and his generals dismissed her warning.
• Tuo Da Mingyue returned to He Sheng and told him the Barbarian King still planned to invade; He Sheng said the invaders would be executed.
• Seven days later, Tuo Da Mingyue accompanied the army in a carriage with He Sheng as the barbarians charged a city defended by a white-haired general.
• As the battle reached the city wall, Tuo Da Mingyue asked He Sheng why he had not acted, and he insisted the city would not fall.

He Sheng secretly empowered the defenders to defeat the Northern Barbarians, then returned to Prince Qi's Residence with Tuo Da Mingyue and introduced her to Chu Qing. After spending time with the Empress Dowager and teaching the Empress a technique, He Sheng received Yu Xiaofu, who asked him to take her in.

• He Sheng secretly boosted the defending soldiers, who routed the Northern Barbarians, and the Azure Armor General recognized him as Prince Qi.
• He Sheng spent three days at the Garrison Residence, then returned to Prince Qi's Residence with Tuo Da Mingyue, whom Chu Qing reluctantly accepted.
• He Sheng went to the imperial palace, where the Empress rewarded him and the Empress Dowager took him to her chambers; Tuo Da Mingyue stayed with them.
• He Sheng taught the Empress a technique in the rear garden, then returned to Prince Qi's Residence.
• Yu Xiaofu visited He Sheng and asked him to take her in for life.

He Sheng uncovered evidence that the former Prince Qi had colluded with foreign barbarians and plotted rebellion, then resolved to purge the corrupt court. He summoned the accused ministers before the Empress and confronted them with their alleged crimes.

• Yu Xiaofu gave He Sheng a list of suspected traitors and revealed that evidence was hidden in Prince Qi's Residence.
• He Sheng and Yu Xiaofu found letters linking the former Prince Qi to court officials, along with a dragon robe, and He Sheng ordered an investigation.
• Yu Xiaofu left to investigate Prime Minister Yu Fenghe, while He Sheng told Consort Cheng he intended to remove corrupt officials from the court.
• He Sheng spent the night in the Empress Dowager's Bedroom Palace, then brought the Empress to preside over court after she tried to remain in seclusion.
• He Sheng called out the officials named in Yu Xiaofu's memorial and accused them of embezzlement, forming factions, and plotting rebellion.

He Sheng was made Emperor of the Xuan Dynasty, expanded it until he unified the world, and returned to the stone cave with Chu Qing after living through nearly a century in the illusion. They soon entered another Oil Lamp Illusion, where He Sheng discovered that he had arrived in an Ancient Sect facing internal strife.

• The Empress abdicated in He Sheng’s favor, and the Empress Dowager led him to the Dragon Throne as the ministers acknowledged him as ruler.
• He Sheng received the Supreme Xuan Huang Holy Scripture, purged the Imperial Court, and had the Prime Minister’s Residence confiscated and his Nine Clans implicated.
• He Sheng formally founded the Xuan Dynasty, strengthened it with new policies, conquered surrounding nations, and unified the world fifty years later.
• He Sheng and Chu Qing returned to the stone cave after more than ten years of traveling, then entered another Oil Lamp Illusion several days later.
• He Sheng learned that he was in an Ancient Sect, where the Sect Master was wary of him, and agreed to attend a disciple admission assessment in three days.
• He Sheng told Chu Qing that the Sect Master concealed killing intent, but said he would take events as they came.

During the Ancient Azure Immortal Sect’s entrance examination, He Sheng recruited Ye Lan after recognizing her hidden Mystic Ice Sacred Body and awakened it, making her his disciple. Ye Lan gained immense power and an Emperor Realm cultivation method, while He Sheng received part of her Mandate Qi Luck.

• He Sheng attended the entrance examination and watched the applicants begin climbing the Immortal Sect Stairway.
• He Sheng ignored the other Peak Lords’ mockery and took Ye Lan, who had stopped to meditate on the tenth step, to Azure Blue Peak.
• He Sheng recognized Ye Lan’s hidden Mystic Ice Sacred Body, awakened it, and watched her cultivation surge to Golden Core Great Perfection.
• He Sheng gave Ye Lan an Emperor Realm cultivation method, and she kowtowed to him as her master, transferring part of her Mandate Qi Luck.
• He Sheng arranged lodging for Ye Lan and returned to Chu Qing; as Ye Lan studied, she heard sounds from his room and wondered what they were.

After Ye Lan’s cultivation surged, she underwent Golden Core Transformation and faced a Nascent Soul Tribulation on Azure Blue Peak. He Sheng revealed that she possessed a Mystic Ice Sacred Body, leaving the sect’s leaders regretful, while Ye Lan’s feelings for her Master continued to grow.

• Ye Lan remained flustered by what she had seen in He Sheng’s room, and the sect’s disciple assessment ended with more than a thousand new disciples joining the Ancient Azure Immortal Sect.
• As the Sect Master and the peak masters mocked He Sheng, a Tribulation began over Azure Blue Peak, where Ye Lan was undergoing Golden Core Transformation into the Nascent Soul Initial Stage.
• He Sheng watched Ye Lan face the Tribulation Lightning, then told the arriving leaders that she possessed a Mystic Ice Sacred Body after they questioned how she had advanced so quickly.
• The Sect Master and the peak masters left regretful after He Sheng rebuked them, and Ye Lan successfully passed her Tribulation and bowed to her Master.
• Ye Lan returned to her room still blushing, while He Sheng reunited with Chu Qing and the sounds from his room left Ye Lan struggling with her feelings again.

The sect leader possessed Ye Lan to attack He Sheng, but He Sheng exposed him and killed him publicly, leaving the Eight Peaks Peak Lords to fight over the vacant position. Seven days later, Ye Lan reached the Early Stage of the Spirit Transformation Realm, and the Peak Lords came to Azure Blue Peak to seek He Sheng’s support.

• The sect leader, consumed by demonic qi and jealous of He Sheng, possessed Ye Lan and sent her to lure He Sheng into a trap.
• He Sheng saw through the scheme, expelled the sect leader from Ye Lan’s body, and bound him.
• He Sheng brought the demonic sect leader before Central Hall and killed him in front of the sect, prompting the Peak Lords to contend for the vacant position.
• He Sheng returned to Ye Lan’s chamber, and seven days later she broke through to the Early Stage of the Spirit Transformation Realm.
• The Peak Lords congratulated He Sheng and sought to win his support in their struggle for the sect leader’s position.

He Sheng became the Ancient Azure Immortal Sect’s sect master and took Chu Qing to investigate the Imperial Court’s declining National Fortune. After a spoiled young noble targeted Chu Qing, He Sheng killed him and the soldiers and elder who attacked them, then faced a voice descending from the sky.

• He Sheng claimed the sect master position, and the eight peak lords accepted him as their new leader.
• At his succession ceremony, He Sheng heard the Imperial Court’s request for the sect’s protection but decided to investigate its National Fortune first.
• He Sheng and Chu Qing visited the Imperial City, where they saw a white-robed young man abduct and assault a woman in a purple skirt; she later killed herself.
• When the young man tried to touch Chu Qing, He Sheng killed him, then destroyed the soldiers who attacked them and an elder who tried to flee.
• A voice from the sky accused He Sheng of killing its son and demanded his life.

He Sheng forged ties with the Mortal Dynasty by accepting its aloof eldest Princess as his disciple, though the National Fortune initially had little effect on his cultivation. Back at the Ancient Azure Immortal Sect, he investigated a hidden mountain and slipped into a lake, where someone cried out that something was in the water.

• He Sheng killed the middle-aged man who attacked him, then appeared with Chu Qing in the Diligence Palace and impressed Empress Fu Hua with his comments about the National Fortune.
• Fu Hua welcomed He Sheng and Chu Qing, made the Mortal Dynasty a subordinate of the Ancient Azure Immortal Sect, and hosted them as they traveled through the dynasty.
• The aloof woman returned to the Imperial City, met He Sheng at a tavern, and asked him to take her as his disciple; He Sheng accepted her because of the National Fortune and gave her a cultivation manual.
• The National Fortune gradually strengthened and eventually advanced He Sheng's cultivation when the eldest Princess inherited the throne a hundred years later, though its effect remained far weaker than the oil lamp trial.
• He Sheng went to a hidden mountain in the Immortal Sect's rear mountains, passed through an illusory wall into a lake, and prompted a woman to shriek that something was in the water.