Chapter Summaries

Zhou Tong refined the meditation chamber and gained control over most of the Immortal Estate before challenging the ninth floor of the War God Hall. He battled Hong Xue, a Heavenly God avatar, and ended the exchange by piercing its chest and crushing its heart.

• Zhou Tong followed the Yellow-haired Great Bear to the meditation chamber and studied its Pure Yang True Immortal formation.
• Zhou Tong refined the meditation chamber over a day, gaining control of the estate except for the Divine Abilities Hall.
• Zhou Tong went to the War God Hall and chose to challenge its ninth floor, surprising the Yellow-haired Great Bear.
• Hong Xue recognized Zhou Tong's complete Great Dao of Fire and challenged him to prove his combat strength.
• Zhou Tong fought Hong Xue with the Third Cycle Star-Plucking Hand, then let Hong Xue's spear pierce his abdomen so he could crush Hong Xue's heart.

Zhou Tong defeated Hong Xue Heavenly God and chose treasures containing Five Elements Essence to advance his Star-Plucking Hand. He cultivated the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram for a month and reached its sixteenth level, nearing the peak of the Void Return Realm.

• Zhou Tong and Hong Xue Heavenly God exchanged devastating blows, but Hong Xue conceded that Zhou Tong would win because of his superior recovery and strength.
• Hong Xue praised Zhou Tong's talent and warned that he would need to become a Heavenly Deity to make “that group” submit before vanishing.
• Zhou Tong returned to Star Picking Manor and asked Yellow-haired Great Bear for treasures containing Five Elements Essence to cultivate the fourth turn of the Star-Plucking Hand.
• Yellow-haired Great Bear provided Zhou Tong with Immortal-tier treasures, and Zhou Tong began cultivating the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram.
• After a month of cultivation, Zhou Tong reached the sixteenth level of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram, impressing Yellow-haired Great Bear and Black Old Ox.

Zhou Tong completed the fourth revolution of the Star-Plucking Hand and returned to Winged Serpent Lake, where he tested Ji Ning’s swordsmanship in a fierce duel. He revealed his identity as Ji Ning’s master, leaving Ji Ning and his parents astonished.

• Zhou Tong absorbed Five Elements Essence and completed the fourth revolution of the Star-Plucking Hand.
• Zhou Tong appeared behind Ji Ning as he practiced and challenged him with a trace of Killing Intent.
• Ji Ning attacked Zhou Tong with his Bei Ming Swords, but Zhou Tong deflected his strikes with only his sword fingers.
• Ji Yichuan and Yu Chi Xue arrived and watched as Zhou Tong tested Ji Ning’s limits.
• Zhou Tong ended the duel by knocking both swords from Ji Ning’s hands and revealing his true appearance.
• Ji Yichuan recognized Zhou Tong, and Ji Ning cried out to his master.

Zhou Tong returned to instruct Ji Ning for four months, giving him advanced cultivation manuals and a sword technique that embodied the breakthroughs of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram. The chapter left Ji Ning beginning intensive training under Zhou Tong’s guidance.

• Zhou Tong told Ji Yichuan and Ji Ning that he had four months to teach Ji Ning before heading to the royal capital.
• Zhou Tong gave Ji Ning the completed second and third volumes of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram, along with the Immortal-tier Blackwater True Method.
• Zhou Tong revealed that he expected to undergo the Heavenly God Tribulation within ten years, stunning Ji Yichuan, Ji Ning, and Yu Chi Xue.
• Zhou Tong demonstrated a sword strike that fused water and fire, explaining that its moves contained the keys to breaking through several cultivation realms.
• Ji Ning eagerly sought Zhou Tong’s guidance, while Ji Yichuan arranged for the training ground to be reserved for their instruction.

After four months of intensive training, Zhou Tong said farewell to Ji Ning, who gained a profound insight into the Sword Dao after reviewing what his master had taught him. Back in the Crimson Dragon Mountain Range, Zhou Tong reflected on Ji Ning’s potential and continued studying the Dao of this world while awaiting the Yinglong Guard headquarters.

• Zhou Tong told Ji Ning his four months of instruction were over, explained that Ji Ning had to forge his own Sword Dao, and departed.
• Ji Ning reviewed the sword techniques and Zhou Tong’s teachings, entering a deep state of Dao comprehension.
• Ji Ning touched upon the Sword Dao, and his sword heart became resolute.
• Zhou Tong returned to his secluded chamber in the Crimson Dragon Mountain Range and considered Ji Ning’s talent and the world’s fortune.
• Zhou Tong awaited someone from the Yinglong Guard headquarters and continued comprehending the Heavenly Dao of Fire.

Zhou Tong was summoned to Yinglong Guard headquarters after breaking through to the Return to Void Realm, and he traveled with Shang Xiang’s recruitment party across Great Xia. At the royal capital, he joined thousands of recruits and drew notice for being a Return to Void divine demon as the group prepared to meet His Majesty.

• Shang Xiang arrived at the Crimson Dragon Mountain Range to collect Zhou Tong, but initially mistook him for an impostor because headquarters’ records were outdated.
• Immortal Gu Yue confirmed Zhou Tong’s identity and explained that he had recently advanced to the Return to Void Realm.
• Shang Xiang told Zhou Tong that headquarters would decide his arrangements, and Zhou Tong agreed to leave immediately.
• Zhou Tong traveled through more than a thousand commanderies as recruits from many races joined the party.
• Shang Xiang’s group reached the Great Xia royal capital, where Shang Xiang was identified by name and a woman questioned why his recruits included a Return to Void divine demon.

Zhou Tong and the other prodigies traveled from Yinglong Divine Mountain to the Heavenly Radiance Hall, where the Great Xia Emperor awaited them. The Emperor learned that one of the newly arrived Void Returning Godfiends was an Innate Divine Demon who had reached that realm before the age of ten, shocking the court.

• Zhou Tong and the others saw the Heavenly Radiance Hall, the Great Xia Emperor’s enormous Dharma Treasure palace across from Yinglong Divine Mountain.
• The group boarded a black dragon-headed ship and traveled to the Heavenly Radiance Hall.
• The three leaders ordered Zhou Tong and the other prodigies to wait outside while they entered the main hall to report to the Great Xia Emperor.
• Shang Xiang reported that 6,206 prodigies had arrived, including three Void Returning Godfiends who had broken through in the past half year.
• Shang Xiang revealed that one of the three was an Innate Divine Demon under ten years old who had reached Void Returning by cultivating the 'Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram,' shocking the Great Xia Emperor and his court.

The Great Xia Emperor discovered that Zhou Tong had reached the Return to Void Realm and wielded third-stage Heart Power, then considered the coming turmoil in the Three Realms and the need to strengthen Great Xia. He granted Zhou Tong and the other two Return to Void Realm Divine Demons permission to choose one divine ability or secret art from the dynasty’s treasury.

• The Great Xia Emperor examined Zhou Tong, but Zhou Tong’s third-stage Heart Power repelled the Emperor’s divine sense.
• The Great Xia Emperor realized Zhou Tong had extraordinary talent and wondered whether he might become an invincible Divine Archer.
• The Great Xia Emperor reflected on the destruction of the Six Paths Reincarnation and feared that great turmoil was approaching the Three Realms.
• The Great Xia Emperor considered the Yinglong Guard prodigies’ merit and destiny, judging that powerful figures would be needed to support Great Xia.
• The Great Xia Emperor allowed Zhou Tong and the other two Return to Void Realm Divine Demons to choose one divine ability or secret art from the Great Xia treasury.

After the Great Xia Emperor ordered a reward for the three strongest newly advanced Void Returning Divine Demons, Zhou Tong, Dong Yun, and Qingyang chose and inherited Candle Dragon's Eye. King Qi made them Yinglong Guards directly under the Emperor and assigned them cave residences high on Yinglong Divine Mountain, where they could cultivate the ability.

• King Qi summoned Zhou Tong, Dong Yun, and Qingyang and led them to the Great Xia Imperial Clan's treasure vault to choose one Divine Ability or secret technique each.
• The three searched the vault, found no technique surpassing Candle Dragon's Eye, and chose it.
• Zhou Tong received the first inheritance and learned that Candle Dragon's Eye could blind opponents and, more importantly, reveal everything across heaven and earth.
• King Qi led the three back to Yinglong Divine Mountain and made them Yinglong Guards directly under the Emperor.
• King Qi assigned them cave residences high on the mountain, where the abundant Nine Heavens aurora would help them cultivate Candle Dragon's Eye.

Zhou Tong slowly cultivated the Candle Dragon's Eye at Yinglong Divine Mountain while the Crimson Bright Dao Ancestor assessed his talent and origins. The Dao Ancestor decided Emperor Xia should bring Zhou Tong to meet him in a hundred years, after his temperament had been tested by time.

• Zhou Tong continued gathering Nine Heavens Aurora and cultivating the Candle Dragon's Eye, which he expected would take years to master.
• Emperor Xia's second primordial spirit reported to the Crimson Bright Dao Ancestor that Zhou Tong had reached the sixteenth level of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram in less than ten years.
• The Crimson Bright Dao Ancestor examined Zhou Tong's origins and confirmed that he had been conceived by heaven and earth rather than produced by interference with reincarnation.
• The Crimson Bright Dao Ancestor told Emperor Xia to bring Zhou Tong to meet him in a hundred years so he could judge whether Zhou Tong's Dao Heart remained steady.

After ten years of cultivation and Yinglong Guard missions, Zhou Tong broke through to the eighteenth stage of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram and triggered a Heavenly God Tribulation. He calmly endured the Wind Tribulation with his divine body as Emperor Xia arrived, shocked by the tribulation’s power.

• Over five years, Zhou Tong completed Yinglong Guard missions for Emperor Xia, exchanged his merits for cultivation methods, and comprehended thousands of Great Daos in Star Hall.
• Zhou Tong broke through to the seventeenth stage of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram, the highest stage attainable through normal cultivation.
• After another five years, Zhou Tong left the capital and advanced to the eighteenth stage, triggering his Heavenly God Tribulation.
• Emperor Xia sensed the tribulation, rushed to Zhou Tong’s location, and realized that Crimson Bright Dao Ancestor’s estimate of Zhou Tong’s progress had been wrong.
• Zhou Tong stood calmly at the center of the Wind Tribulation and endured its blades with his divine body alone.

Zhou Tong endured the Heavenly God Tribulation’s wind and fire without injury, using the flames to study their power and temper his Phoenix body. As the sky darkened and lightning gathered, he prepared to face the eighty-one lightning tribulations.

• The Heavenly God Wind entered Zhou Tong’s body, but he remained unharmed and observed its effects as Emperor Xia watched.
• The Heavenly God Fire descended, scorching the wilderness and drawing Emperor Xia, princes, Celestial Immortals, and Rogue Immortals to witness Zhou Tong’s tribulation.
• Zhou Tong transformed into his Phoenix True Body and devoured the fire tribulation, including True Sun Fire, while studying Heavenly God Fire for his planned Divine Demon Body Refining Technique.
• The flames dissipated, and Zhou Tong returned to human form unharmed as Emperor Xia explained the nature of the final Heavenly God Fire.
• The sky darkened and lightning gathered while the observers retreated from the tribulation’s pressure; Zhou Tong watched the clouds without a weapon or magic treasure.

Zhou Tong endured an unprecedented Heavenly God Tribulation that escalated to Pure Yang Golden Light Lightning, which finally wounded him but brought his divine body to perfection. The tribulation still had bolts remaining, leaving his ordeal unfinished.

• The Great Xia Emperor and the other onlookers realized Zhou Tong’s foundation had mutated the Heavenly God Tribulation into a sea of purple clouds.
• Zhou Tong let the early lightning strikes hit him directly as each bolt strengthened and refined his divine body.
• The Great Xia Emperor compared Zhou Tong’s tribulation to Dong Zhe’s and was shocked by its steadily increasing power.
• Pure Yang Golden Light Lightning appeared at the seventy-third bolt, prompting Zhou Tong to attack it with his Calamity Fire Divine Bow and Arrow Power.
• The lightning shattered after colliding with Zhou Tong’s arrow, but its fragments tore open deep wounds across his body and perfected his divine body.

Zhou Tong endured the final eight bolts of his Heavenly God Tribulation and discovered they awakened a unique Phoenix divine ability centered on overwhelming vitality and rebirth. After the last bolt burned him to a charred husk, he emerged through Phoenix Nirvana, leaving his survival—and likely his transformation—revealed to the onlookers.

• Emperor Xia recognized the lightning as Pure Yang Golden Light Lightning and wondered what would follow the seventy-third bolt.
• As the final eight bolts struck him, Zhou Tong’s Phoenix body developed profound Divine Patterns that awakened and strengthened his innate power.
• Zhou Tong understood that his unique supernatural ability emphasized Phoenix-like vitality and could restore him even without divine power.
• The final bolt merged into Zhou Tong and burned his Phoenix body black, causing the onlookers to fear that he had died.
• Emperor Xia suspected Zhou Tong was undergoing an extraordinary Phoenix Nirvana, and Zhou Tong burst from the charred remains in scarlet radiance.

Zhou Tong passed the heart demon tribulation and became a peak Heavenly Deity with a perfect divine body. He named himself the Calamity Fire Heavenly God, and Xia Mangxun offered to take him to meet the Crimson Bright Dao Ancestor to seek the final volume of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram.

• Zhou Tong resisted the heart demon world’s temptations with his third-realm Heart Power and emerged from the tribulation.
• Heavenly phenomena appeared as Zhou Tong became a peak Heavenly Deity with a perfect divine body, allowing him to skip the Heavenly God Volume of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram.
• Zhou Tong named himself the Calamity Fire Heavenly God after his Calamity Fire Divine Bow.
• Xia Mangxun released Zhou Tong from the Yinglong Guard, and Zhou Tong promised him a favor in return for the benefits he had received.
• Xia Mangxun explained that his master, the Crimson Bright Dao Ancestor, possessed the True God Volume and offered to introduce Zhou Tong to him.

Zhou Tong entered Star Picking Manor, met its seven Heavenly Gods, and learned about the Star Picking Great World and its inhabitants. He rejected their hopes of waging wars for supremacy, but suggested that the manor’s Celestial Immortals and divine fiends could go out to gain experience.

• The Yellow-haired Great Bear welcomed Zhou Tong as the Manor Lord and introduced the seven Heavenly Gods serving Star Picking Manor.
• Primordial Light Heavenly God revealed that he could not learn the Star-Plucking Hand because his realm was too high, while Hong Xue Heavenly God praised Zhou Tong’s prospects of reaching the level of a True God or Dao Ancestor.
• Zhou Tong told the Heavenly Gods that he did not intend to fight for dominance over the Three Realms, disappointing their hopes of returning to battle.
• The Yellow-haired Great Bear brought Zhou Tong and the Heavenly Gods into the Star Picking Great World, which Nuwa had opened within the estate-type magic treasure.
• Zhou Tong sensed the great world’s inhabitants and learned that few had advanced in cultivation during its long isolation.
• Zhou Tong suggested that the Celestial Immortals and divine fiends could go out to gain experience, delighting the Heavenly Gods.

Zhou Tong met Crimson Bright Dao Ancestor, who offered him the final volume of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram and the lower half of the Candle Dragon's Eye in exchange for an oath to support him in a future great war. Zhou Tong swore the oath and received both jade slips.

• The Yellow-haired Great Bear brought Zhou Tong to a hidden chamber, but Zhou Tong could not open it because his Star-Plucking Hand had not reached its fifth transformation.
• Xia Mangxun escorted Zhou Tong through a teleportation formation to Crimson Bright Dao Ancestor's mountain retreat.
• Crimson Bright Dao Ancestor praised Zhou Tong's rapid cultivation and explained that turmoil threatened the Three Realms after Six Paths Reincarnation collapsed.
• Crimson Bright Dao Ancestor offered Zhou Tong the two jade slips if he promised to stand on his side in a future great war, and Zhou Tong agreed.
• Crimson Bright Dao Ancestor gave Zhou Tong the final volume of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram and the lower half of the Candle Dragon's Eye.

Zhou Tong studied the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram and learned how True Gods forged their divine bodies around a Great Dao, though he concluded its water-and-fire path did not suit his own fire-centered cultivation. After returning to Great Xia with Xia Mangxun, he heard about perilous regions and opportunities across the Three Realms, leaving him with new places to explore.

• Zhou Tong studied the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram and learned the requirements and process for advancing from Heavenly Deity to True God.
• Zhou Tong concluded that the technique's water-and-fire core did not suit his own divine body, whose core should be fire.
• Xia Mangxun's second primordial spirit met Zhou Tong, confirmed he had obtained the technique, and offered him commanderies in Great Xia.
• Zhou Tong declined the offer and asked Xia Mangxun about dangerous and unusual places throughout the Three Realms.
• Xia Mangxun described perilous regions including the Ancient Ruins and Moonlit Pool, then told Zhou Tong about Five Treasures Mountain and Dao Ancestor Fu Ju's swordsmanship.
• Zhou Tong and Xia Mangxun traveled back to Great Xia through a teleportation array while discussing the Three Realms.

After fifteen years of traveling through Great Xia and deepening his understanding of the Great Dao, Zhou Tong returned to the capital when the Immortal Destiny Assembly was announced. He reunited with Ji Ning and revealed that he had become a Calamity Fire Heavenly God.

• Zhou Tong discussed the Dao with Xia Mangxun, then traveled through Great Xia for fifteen years, visiting scenic places and exploring the residences of deceased Celestial Immortals.
• News spread that Emperor Xia would personally preside over the upcoming Immortal Destiny Assembly, prompting Zhou Tong to return to the Great Xia Capital to see Ji Ning.
• Ji Ning and Yu Chi Xiyue discussed the assembly and Ji Ning's preparations while floating on a lake in Yan King's Manor.
• Zhou Tong appeared aboard their boat, and Ji Ning greeted his master with joy.
• Zhou Tong told Ji Ning that he had passed the Heavenly God Tribulation fifteen years earlier and was now a Calamity Fire Heavenly God, astonishing Yu Chi Xiyue.

Zhou Tong strengthened Ji Ning’s chances at the Immortal Destiny Assembly by teaching him the second revolution of the Star-Plucking Hand and imparting his swordsmanship insights. After Ji Ning awakened, Zhou Tong told him to refine his understanding and conceal his sharpness, then said they would leave Great Xia together if Ji Ning won.

• Zhou Tong taught Ji Ning the second revolution of the Star-Plucking Hand and supplied Five Elements Peacock feathers so he could master it.
• Zhou Tong explained the divine ability’s power and its history, then told Ji Ning he would protect him from stronger cultivators but would not interfere in fights against peers.
• Zhou Tong transmitted his swordsmanship insights to Ji Ning, who spent seven days battling shadowy figures and learning their techniques in his mind.
• King Yan visited Zhou Tong, who declined to meet the emperor and ordered that he not be disturbed before the Immortal Destiny Assembly.
• Ji Ning awakened with his sword techniques vividly imprinted in his mind, and Zhou Tong told him to study and conceal his sharpness.
• Zhou Tong told Ji Ning to leave Great Xia with him after winning the Immortal Destiny Assembly.