Chapter Summaries

Ning Zhuo let Ning Jiu Fan take charge of rescuing Ning Ji, but Fei Si’s scheme ensured the rescue failed and Ning Ji died. After Ning Xiangguo delivered Ning Xiaohui and evidence of her kidnapping to Ning Zhuo, Ning Zhuo used the scandal to pressure the Ning Family Patriarch into negotiating a split of the Lineage, ending by asking whether the Patriarch wanted his son to return.

• Ning Zhuo persuaded Ning Jiu Fan that rescuing Ning Ji was a family obligation, and Ning Jiu Fan promised to handle the matter while Ning Zhuo focused on the Palace Trial.
• Ning Xiangguo secretly reported to the City Lord’s Mansion, and Fei Si altered the plan so Ning Ji would die and Ning Xiaohui would fall into Ning Zhuo’s hands.
• Ning Jiu Fan’s rescue team failed, while Ning Xiangguo captured Ning Xiaohui and delivered her with evidence of the kidnapping to Ning Zhuo.
• Ning Zhuo recognized how Fei Si and Ning Jiu Fan had used Ning Ji’s life in their power struggle, then secretly secured the support of other Ning Lineage branches.
• Ning Zhuo summoned the Ning Family Patriarch and threatened to expose Ning Xiaohui’s crime unless the main branch paid a price, then asked if the Patriarch wanted his son returned to the Lineage.

Ning Zhuo negotiated the release of Ning Xiaohui's grandmother in exchange for the Ning Family Patriarch and elders granting him the right to split the family. He persuaded the Branch Family to support the deal, but Ning Ze condemned him for using Ning Ji's death as a bargaining chip and left in grief.

• Ning Zhuo offered to bring Ning Xiaoren back into the Lineage in exchange for the Ning Family Patriarch's support for his independent authority.
• Ning Zhuo explained that he had secured an agreement to release Ning Xiaohui's grandmother, employ Ning Xiaoren, and obtain the right to split the family.
• Ning Ze objected to releasing the murderer, but Ning Zhuo persuaded the gathered Branch Family members that the family split outweighed his desire for revenge.
• Ning Xiangguo, Ning Chen, Ning Yong, and the others celebrated the agreement, while Ning Ze accused Ning Zhuo of turning Ning Ji's death into a tool for profit.
• Ning Ze left the hall, and Ning Zhuo asked the others to take care of his grandparents while he focused on the Palace Trial.

Ning Zhuo clashed with Ning Jiu Fan over establishing a branch family, then won their wager by exposing the Ning Family Patriarch’s complicity in Ning Xiaoren’s crimes. Ning Jiu Fan handed Ning Zhuo the branch family’s founding items, and Ning Zhuo left to meet Lord Zhu while the Palace Trial continued.

• Ning Jiu Fan stopped the main branch from delivering the Bloodline Umbilical Cord, branch family plaque, and ancestral tablets, but Ning Zhuo reaffirmed his resolve to separate.
• Ning Zhuo released Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother and took Ning Xiaoren under his wing, while rumors and pressure from within the branch family mounted.
• Ning Zhuo defeated Sun Lingtong’s Golden Blood Battle Ape Dasheng in the eighteenth question by attacking it with more than twenty Flying Wanderer Hands.
• During the twenty-second question, Ning Zhuo drained Ning Xiaoren’s essence blood for the Blood Road Chart Board and called on the Ning Family Patriarch to demand his son’s sacrifice.
• Ning Zhuo revealed that Ning Xiaoren had colluded with outsiders in the kidnapping case and that he had used the evidence to pressure the Ning Family Patriarch.
• Ning Jiu Fan condemned the Ning Family Patriarch, gave Ning Zhuo the branch family’s founding items, and told him that Lord Zhu was waiting outside.

Ning Zhuo met Zhu Xuanji and gave him a poem as the limit of what he could reveal about Unempty Gate. Afterward, he gathered his followers, celebrated the success of the Ning family branch, and delayed establishing a separate household while preparing for an uncertain operation.

• Ning Zhuo told Zhu Xuanji that the Ning family would benefit most from supporting the royal family, then handed him a poem that Zhu Xuanji accepted and burned.
• The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit questioned Ning Zhuo about the poem, and Ning Zhuo redirected the conversation by promising to attack Gourd Fire Furnace Forest and destroy the Golden Furnace Ruins within days.
• Ning Zhuo showed his assembled subordinates the Ning family plaque and ancestral tablets, then asked Gang Leader Turtle Shell for intelligence on family members who had spread rumors against him.
• Ning Zhuo ordered his followers to keep the new branch and separate household secret while he examined their loyalties, and tasked them with replenishing a spirit crystal with Ice Spiritual Power.
• Ning Zhuo privately ordered Turtle Shell to monitor Zhu Xuanji and reflected that he was delaying the branch’s establishment to protect his followers from the danger of what he planned next.

Zhu Xuanji investigated the Gold Furnace ruins and discovered that the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was connected to the Magma Immortal Palace’s hidden history. A flashback revealed how the Three Sects Forefathers created the Palace Spirit and separated from the Nan Dou Empress, leaving the empress bound to guard the palace’s inheritance.

• Nascent Soul demon beasts attacked the Magma Immortal Palace while the Black Shadow Demonic Cultivator pursued Yang Chanyu, and Zhu Xuanji arrived as beast waves surged toward the inner ring.
• Zhu Zhen, disguised as Zhu Xuanji, had helped open a path into the Gold Furnace ruins, and the real Zhu Xuanji entered them as Ning Zhuo and the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit unleashed a cannon barrage.
• Zhu Xuanji traced Gold Furnace Number Two’s past and saw the Ten Thousand Miles Swimming Dragon forged from a crystal flood dragon body, leading him to deduce that the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was the problem.
• Zhu Xuanji withdrew and told Zhu Zhen his deduction, then explained the Magma Immortal Palace’s origins through a royal secret about the Three Sects Forefathers and Nan Dou Empress.
• The Three Sects Forefathers had made the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit the Palace Spirit, buried the Magma Immortal Palace to suppress Fire Persimmon Mountain, and left Nan Dou Empress with the Golden Phoenix Mirror to safeguard the palace’s inheritance.
• The Three Sects Forefathers departed after telling Nan Dou Empress that love meant letting go, while she was left unable to move and cried out for him.

Zhu Xuanji and Zhu Zhen discussed the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit’s plan to escape the Magma Immortal Palace and the danger its departure posed. Zhu Zhen began searching the inner ring for the Ten Thousand Miles Swimming Dragon and asked Fei Si for the City Lord’s Mansion’s intelligence on Tassel-Haired Wanderer.

• Zhu Xuanji told Zhu Zhen that the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit wanted to escape the Magma Immortal Palace by destroying it, and revealed the Grand Emperor’s warning about the Palace’s powers and the forbidden My Buddha Heart Demon Seal.
• Zhu Xuanji ordered Zhu Zhen to find the Ten Thousand Miles Swimming Dragon and investigate the ruined Gold Furnace Number Three and Gold Furnace Number Four.
• Zhu Zhen proposed that Tassel-Haired Wanderer might control Unempty Gate’s Five Elements Cannon Tower and Troop Deployment Platform, and suggested examining his As-You-Wish Ropes for clues.
• Zhu Xuanji said he suspected Tassel-Haired Wanderer’s identity but did not explain further, and urged Zhu Zhen to focus on the urgent crisis as the second Palace Trial round neared its end.
• Zhu Zhen searched the Magma Immortal Palace’s inner ring for the Ten Thousand Miles Swimming Dragon but found no trace of it, then wrote to Fei Si requesting all intelligence about Tassel-Haired Wanderer.

Zhu Xuanji uncovered Meng Kui’s secret interest in the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit but concealed the Ten Thousand Miles Swimming Dragon from him, then used a Royal Decree to order powerful defenses against the escape threat. The Palace Trial’s second-round rankings left thirteen contestants, who were swept into the Main Hall as the third round began.

• Zhu Zhen told Zhu Xuanji that floating-cloud silk in the As-You-Wish Rope came from the Flying Cloud Kingdom and that Meng Family cultivators had secretly contacted the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit.
• Zhu Xuanji met Meng Kui, pretended not to know of his secret maneuvers, and used a Royal Decree to order the City Protection Array to lock down the void domain and observe Nascent Soul Level beings.
• The second-round Palace Trial rankings placed Zhu Xuanji first, Book Lord second, Zheng Dan Lian third, and Ning Zhuo eleventh, with thirteen cultivators advancing.
• The cultivators gathered before the Main Hall as its doors opened, and a vortex swept all thirteen contestants inside to begin the third round.

Ning Zhuo entered the Magma Immortal Palace’s third trial, the Chance Secret Pavilion, where cultivators explored shifting mechanism rooms for rewards while their cultivation was suppressed. After a turning point scrambled the routes, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit noted that Ning Zhuo and Meng Chong had gained the most and wondered whether Ning Zhuo had immortal aptitude.

• Ning Zhuo entered the first secret pavilion and collected a Hanging Ring without triggering any apparent challenge.
• Sun Lingtong fled a Flame Treading Lizard, while Ning Jiu Fan endured spear wounds and treated himself with the Ning Family Ice Method.
• Ning Zhuo collected a Blood Transformation Pool and a mana-restoring pill, then subdued a Kung Fu Puppet with the Demon-Tainted Blood Tendon Art.
• After Ning Zhuo had explored four pavilions, a minor turning point rearranged the pavilion connections and made his remembered routes useless.
• The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit assessed the cultivators’ gains, placed Ning Zhuo and Meng Chong in the leading tier, and questioned whether Ning Zhuo had immortal aptitude.

The cultivators explored the Chance Secret Pavilion and realized that eliminating rivals could give them more chances to find the way out. Meng Chong challenged Zhou Nong Ying during the first major turn and defeated him, eliminating him.

• Zhu Xuanji reasoned that eliminating other cultivators would improve his odds of escaping, but he let Book Lord leave after they met in a secret chamber.
• Sun Lingtong failed to use her marriage pact to locate Yang Chanyu, while Ning Zhuo gathered five demon-tainted puppets and a Small Flying Box as he explored.
• At the first major turn, Meng Chong encountered Zhou Nong Ying and attacked him, but Zhou used a formation to trap him.
• Meng Chong activated an Exemption from War Token to escape, then returned to confront Zhou Nong Ying again with a collection of mechanism tools.
• Book Lord and Song FuLi joined forces after meeting, while Meng Hu arrived to see Meng Kui.
• Meng Chong defeated Zhou Nong Ying, and Zhou was eliminated from the Palace Trial.

Meng Zhuo used his many Mechanical Creations to drive off a Zixiao Pavilion Golden Core True Disciple and claim a pile of spirit stones, while the defeated cultivator joined Book Lord and Song FuLi in an alliance against him. At Fire Persimmon Mountain, Meng Kui warned Meng Hu to wait for the hidden Taiqing Palace Nascent Soul Cultivator to act first so the Meng Family could avoid political repercussions.

• Book Lord, Zheng Dan Lian, Zheng Shuang Gou, and Meng Family Cultivator A reacted to Zhou Nong Ying's defeat, while Meng Family Cultivator A hurried to find and protect Meng Chong.
• Sun Lingtong searched for Ning Zhuo, worried that Palace Trial announcements could expose their identity flaw if Ning Zhuo fought before they reunited.
• Ning Zhuo intimidated a Zixiao Pavilion Golden Core True Disciple with his squad of Mechanical Creations, took the spirit stones, and cleared the Mechanism Python from the pavilion.
• The defeated Zixiao Pavilion cultivator met Book Lord and Song FuLi, agreed to join forces, and led them back to hunt Ning Zhuo.
• Meng Kui refused Meng Hu's request to confront the hidden Taiqing Palace Nascent Soul Cultivator, insisting they wait for the opponent to act first and provide a defensible excuse.

Meng Kui used a prophecy as cover while he provoked a Nascent Soul demon ape, triggering a beast assault that shattered the Magma Immortal Palace’s outer defenses. Inside the Chance Secret Pavilion, Ning Zhuo avoided Zheng Dan Lian, who was then surrounded by pursuers, while Sun Lingtong and Yang Chanyu encountered Meng Chong.

• Meng Kui recited a Prophecy Poem to Meng Hu and sent a hidden Magic Treasure flying stone to injure and awaken the Old Ape.
• The Fire Melt Demon Ape, Fire Walking Snake, and Flame Treading Lizard attacked the Magma Immortal Palace, and their assault broke its barrier and collapsed part of its foundation.
• Cultivators, mechanical defenses, and formations battled the Crimson Flame Demon Beasts as Zhu Zhen spotted an opportunity near the golden furnace.
• Ning Zhuo found Zheng Dan Lian in a Chance Secret Pavilion but shut the door and took another route to seek Sun Lingtong.
• Book Lord, Song FuLi, and a Zixiao Pavilion Golden Core True Disciple tracked Ning Zhuo to Zheng Dan Lian and attacked him amid the Mechanical Traps.
• Sun Lingtong and Yang Chanyu found Meng Chong recovering from his injuries and restoring his Five Elements Power.

Meng Chong attacked Sun Lingtong and Yang Chanyu, forcing them to flee through the Chance Secret Pavilion while Sun Lingtong avoided fighting to protect Ning Zhuo’s plans. As the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit tried and failed to use My Buddha Heart Demon Seal, a Nascent Soul Level Fire Melt Demon Ape blasted a ravine through the Magma Immortal Palace and struck its Main Hall.

• Meng Chong attacked Sun Lingtong and Yang Chanyu with Raging Thunder Rush after they refused to fight him, and the pair used Space Piercing Art to escape.
• Meng Chong pursued Sun Lingtong and Yang Chanyu through three secret pavilions, while Yang Chanyu prepared to seal space and Sun Lingtong defended her.
• The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit worried that Sun Lingtong might eliminate Meng Chong, then tried to seize My Buddha Heart Demon Seal to send him guidance but was driven back by its defenses.
• A Nascent Soul Level Fire Melt Demon Ape fired a white-hot beam through the Magma Immortal Palace, annihilating everything in its path and striking the Main Hall.

The restrictions in the Magma Immortal Palace weakened after the Main Hall was struck, restoring cultivators’ strength and letting them use their items again. As alliances and battles shifted, Zheng Dan Lian used the Night Rain Demon Soldier to defeat his opponents, while Meng Chong, Zhu Xuanji, and Ning Zhuo moved toward new confrontations.

• The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit warned Meng Chong that Yang Chanyu had regained Foundation Establishment strength, prompting Meng Chong to retreat while Sun Lingtong urged Yang Chanyu to find Ning Zhuo.
• Ning Zhuo sensed Sun Lingtong through Life Hanging by a Thread and hurried toward her, while Zheng Dan Lian summoned the Night Rain Demon Soldier and severed the Zixiao Pavilion Golden Core True Disciple’s arm.
• The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit directed Zhu Xuanji toward Sun Lingtong and Yang Chanyu, and Zhu Xuanji confronted them as they prepared to retreat.
• Ning Jiu Fan and Zheng Shuang Gou encountered Meng Chong and the Meng family Golden Core Cultivator, and both sides took battle stances.
• The Night Rain Demon Soldier defeated Book Lord and drove Song FuLi away, after which Book Lord and the Zixiao Pavilion Golden Core True Disciple were eliminated.

After the secret pavilion’s restrictions weakened, Meng Chong and his grandfather fought Ning Jiu Fan and Zheng Shuang Gou. Ning Jiu Fan’s layered ice spells trapped Meng Chong, but Zheng Shuang Gou suddenly stabbed him with the Moon Hook.

• Ning Jiu Fan urged Zheng Shuang Gou to retreat and seek allies, but Meng Chong charged them before they could leave.
• Meng Chong’s speed let him evade their attacks while his grandfather overwhelmed Zheng Shuang Gou in a close fight.
• Ning Jiu Fan built an ice valley and used ice sculptures, wind, and snow pythons to slow and trap Meng Chong.
• Meng Chong’s grandfather struck Zheng Shuang Gou hard, while Ning Jiu Fan focused on maintaining the spell that had turned the fight against Meng Chong.
• As Zheng Shuang Gou praised Ning Jiu Fan’s spellcasting, he stabbed him in the abdomen with the Moon Hook.

Zhu Xuanji trapped Sun Lingtong and Yang Chanyu with the official art Seclusion, then overwhelmed them with the Golden Mountain Stance and Jade Pillar Foundation. Ning Zhuo joined the fight on Zhu Xuanji’s side, but secretly attacked him with Ru Die Niang, leaving the outcome uncertain.

• Zhu Xuanji used a Royal Decree to activate Seclusion, preventing Sun Lingtong and Yang Chanyu from escaping, and resisted their attacks with the Golden Mountain Stance.
• Zhu Xuanji revealed the Jade Pillar Foundation as well and nearly struck Sun Lingtong with the Fire Punishment Iron Ruler, but the Golden Blood Battle Ape Dasheng blocked the blow.
• Zhu Xuanji defeated the Golden Blood Battle Ape Dasheng and destroyed its head, while Sun Lingtong recalled it and released Nether Envoy Qi Bai to attack with soul ghosts.
• Ning Zhuo entered the secret pavilion, appeared to side with Zhu Xuanji, and fought Sun Lingtong, Yang Chanyu, and Qi Bai with his mechanical creations.
• Ning Zhuo struck Zhu Xuanji from behind with Five Qi Torrent, then summoned the concealed Ru Die Niang to pierce through the torrent with seven-colored glass shards.

As the beast tide battered the Magma Immortal Palace, Zhu Xuanji revealed Golden Branches Jade Leaves and confronted Ning Zhuo in the Chance Secret Pavilion. Ning Zhuo defended his actions as a response to the Monarch’s Recruitment Order, while Zhu Xuanji accused him of betraying his Lineage and expectations.

• Meng Kui used the Fire Melt Demon Ape’s attacks to damage the Magma Immortal Palace while the Golden Core cultivators tried to protect its mechanism buildings.
• Zhu Zhen searched for the Ten Thousand Miles Swimming Dragon and noticed the beast tide nearing the Gourd Fire Furnace Forest.
• Zhu Hou recalled teaching young Zhu Xuanji that mastering a Talent’s principles could elevate it into a divine ability, and that Golden Branches Jade Leaves would complement his chosen abilities.
• Zhu Xuanji stood unharmed after Ru Die Niang’s attacks and revealed the official-path divine ability Golden Branches Jade Leaves.
• Zhu Xuanji accused Ning Zhuo of betraying Li Leifeng, his expectations, and his Lineage, while Ning Zhuo claimed he had come to compete for the Magma Immortal Palace and had only formed alliances as a struggle of interests.

Ning Zhuo and his allies fought Zhu Xuanji, whose linked divine abilities and official arts overwhelmed them. Ning Zhuo escaped into Ru Die Niang’s array but ultimately admitted defeat and was eliminated, while Zhu Xuanji left after receiving news of the other battles.

• Ning Zhuo used the Golden Core mechanical ape and Azure Iron Han Armor to fight Zhu Xuanji, but Zhu Xuanji’s attacks and golden-needle barrage steadily damaged the armor.
• Yang Chanyu ambushed Zhu Xuanji and drew blood, but he bound and injured her with Nation Lock and Golden Pupil Glint Needles, triggering her elimination.
• Zhu Xuanji destroyed most of the Golden Core mechanical ape and split Nether Envoy Qi Bai in two, while Ru Die Niang used her Light Bending Shadow Weaving Array to evade him.
• Ning Zhuo shoved Sun Lingtong toward an exit and escaped into Ru Die Niang’s array, but Zhu Xuanji’s tracking attacks wounded him as he fled through its shifting paths.
• Sun Lingtong left the pavilion, and Ning Zhuo admitted defeat and was eliminated after Zhu Xuanji heard that Ning Jiu Fan and Zheng Shuang Gou had also been defeated.

Zhu Xuanji assessed the other contenders after defeating Ning Zhuo, Sun Lingtong, and Yang Chanyu, while Meng Chong debated whether to challenge him. The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit plotted to guide Meng Chong toward the Main Hall, and Sun Lingtong reappeared beside a badly weakened Yang Chanyu.

• Zhu Xuanji concluded that the Zheng Family had betrayed his alliance and decided not to recruit Song FuLi, trusting his own strength to handle the remaining contenders.
• Meng Chong and the Meng Family's Golden Core Body Cultivator discussed Zhu Xuanji's victory, and the body cultivator persuaded Meng Chong to follow Meng Kui's strategy rather than challenge Zhu Xuanji.
• The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit secretly used the weakened restrictions to guide Meng Chong, hoping he would reach the Main Hall first and become the Magma Immortal Palace's master.
• Sun Lingtong emerged in the Magma Immortal Palace and was saved from a Crimson Flame Demon Beast by Yang Chanyu, who appeared gravely weakened.

After recovering from Zhu Xuanji’s attack, Ning Zhuo used the chance to advance through all three levels of Foundation Establishment at once. The Dharma Transmission Bell rang throughout the Magma Immortal Palace, leaving the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit alarmed by his sudden rise.

• Sun Lingtong refused Yang Chanyu’s suggestion to withdraw because Ning Zhuo was still inside the Chance Secret Pavilion.
• Ning Zhuo woke inside an ice block, realized his feigned death had fooled Zhu Xuanji, and reflected on the need to conceal his strength.
• Ning Zhuo recovered from his injuries, then used the Zhou family array plate and spirit stones to gather spiritual energy for cultivation.
• Ning Zhuo passed the Essence, Qi, and Spirit levels in succession, achieving harmonious Three Dantian Foundation Establishment.
• The Dharma Transmission Bell rang across the Magma Immortal Palace, and the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit panicked at Ning Zhuo’s breakthrough.

Ning Zhuo entered the Foundation Establishment Realm and repaired his mechanisms while the Chance Secret Pavilion’s shift exposed the Magma Immortal Palace to attack. With the cultivators’ powers restored and Meng Chong racing toward the exit, Zhu Xuanji prepared to intercept him and investigate material from Number Three Gold Furnace.

• Ning Zhuo assessed his new Foundation Establishment abilities, resolved to keep pursuing the Immortal Palace Master position, and began repairing the Golden Core Level mechanism ape and Nether Envoy Qi Bai.
• The Chance Secret Pavilion shifted after the cultivators passed thirty-six pavilions, separating them and prompting the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit to guide Meng Chong toward the Main Hall.
• A Nascent Soul Level Five-Tailed Fire Fox attacked the Magma Immortal Palace, but Meng Hu tracked down its Taiqing Palace controller and attacked him.
• The fire forced the Chance Secret Pavilion into the open and weakened its restrictions, restoring the cultivators’ Golden Core Level cultivation and allowing them to communicate across the pavilions.
• A Meng family cultivator moved to hold Zhu Xuanji back while Meng Chong followed the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit’s directions; Zheng Dan Lian also headed toward Zhu Xuanji, who set out to intercept Meng Chong.
• Zhu Zhen sent Zhu Xuanji materials identified as coming from Number Three Gold Furnace, and Zhu Xuanji used Heavenly Golden Eyes and Tracing the Source to examine them.