Chapter Summaries

Luo Chen discussed Xiao Zirui’s disappearance and the coming contest for Remnant Immortal City’s lordship with Xiao Feng, agreeing to join the roster only if needed. After two more months of cultivation, Luo Chen had condensed seventy-two Pill Seeds, and the thunder in the morning sky signaled that Wuyou City’s special envoy was likely arriving.

• Xiao Feng told Luo Chen that Xiao Zirui had vanished and was no longer supporting him in the struggle for the city lord’s seat.
• Luo Chen suggested Xiao Feng secretly have Uncle Tie kill Xiao Yun, but Xiao Feng refused because Xiao Yun was his younger brother.
• Luo Chen agreed to join Xiao Feng’s roster and asked to fight last, while Xiao Feng promised to double his monthly provisions and supply Moxian Smoke.
• Luo Chen stopped cultivating when Soul-Shaking Thunder Sound rolled across the city and noted that he had condensed seventy-two Pill Seeds over two months.
• Luo Chen watched lightning cross the morning sky and predicted that Wuyou City’s special envoy would soon arrive.

Luo Chen learned that the Wuyou Special Envoy had arrived to assess Remnant Immortal City’s experts and considered what drew powerful martial artists to Wuyou City. The envoy judged the city’s Furnace Realm experts as mediocre, ordered his men to inventory the goods, and planned to leave after the martial contest.

• Jing Lan told Luo Chen about the grand banquet for the Wuyou Special Envoy and how the city’s influential figures deferred to him.
• Luo Chen reflected on Wuyou City’s authority over the Seventy-Two Cities and suspected the envoy was assessing experts for a future invitation.
• Jing Lan asked whether Luo Chen would go to Wuyou City, and he said he probably would, but not anytime soon.
• Luo Chen decided to attend Xiao Feng’s private banquet the next day, despite finding it troublesome.
• The Wuyou Special Envoy reviewed a list of Remnant Immortal City’s experts, dismissed them as mediocre, and judged Tie Xiong’s Unleaking Realm breakthrough unstable.
• The Wuyou Special Envoy told his aide to inventory the goods and prepare to return to Wuyou City after the martial contest.

Remnant Immortal City gathered for the Martial Combat to Determine Master, where contenders would decide who became the next city lord. Luo Chen examined the arena’s remarkable construction as others questioned whether he could face Furnace Realm opponents, and Xiao Feng arrived to place his hopes in the fighters.

• Crowds and prominent local merchants gathered for the Martial Combat to Determine Master in Remnant Immortal City.
• Boss Xue told Boss Shen that the Luo Residence had suggested their hired offering would personally fight, and the two joined Boss Yang of Half Moon Tower to watch.
• Luo Chen studied the arena’s materials and formations, admiring the depth of Wuyou City’s artifact-forging and formation inheritance.
• Granny Yu, Chi Huo, Xiao Sanniang, and others secretly assessed Luo Chen and wondered whether his Blood River Realm strength could withstand the Furnace Realm fighters backing Xiao Yun.
• Xiao Feng arrived with Tie Xiong guarding him, bowed to the assembled fighters, and said he placed his hopes upon them.

Xiao Feng and Xiao Yun’s combatants faced off in the contest to decide Remnant Immortal City’s next lord, while Luo Chen watched from the sidelines. Granny Yu lost the opening match to Wood Wolf Divine Lord, and the second battle between Chi Huo and Silver Hand Yama began.

• The Wuyou Special Envoy approved both lineups, and the arena announced the five fixed matchups, including Luo Chen against Iron Futu in the final battle.
• Xiao Feng realized Xiao Yun had recruited Wood Wolf Divine Lord and suspected the Nine Cities Alliance had intervened in the succession contest.
• General Chu explained that Xiao Yun had arranged the match order to target Xiao Feng’s weaker combatants, while Tie Xiong offered Luo Chen intelligence about Iron Futu.
• Granny Yu fought Wood Wolf Divine Lord, but he endured her Aura Silk technique with his wood-like skin and defeated her with a counterattack.
• Xiao Feng accused Xiao Yun of using Tong Huaijin to learn how to counter Granny Yu’s technique, and Xiao Yun implied he had also obtained Chi Huo’s information.
• Chi Huo and Silver Hand Yama stepped onto the arena as the second battle began.

During Chi Huo and Silver Hand Yama’s battle, Luo Chen realized their precise reactions came from Qi Sensing and quickly mastered Active Qi Sensing himself. He surveyed the arena and discovered the hidden strength of several spectators before Tie Xiong volunteered to fight after two consecutive defeats.

• Chi Huo and Silver Hand Yama fought an explosive, evenly matched battle while Luo Chen wondered how martial artists reacted so precisely without Divine Sense.
• Luo Chen recalled Wang Yuan and Qing Shuang using Qi Sensing and reasoned that it could compensate for his inability to use Divine Thought.
• Luo Chen calmed his qi and blood, mastered Active Qi Sensing, and sensed the people around him, including Tie Xiong’s concealed qi signature.
• Luo Chen surveyed the arena and sensed that the Wuyou Special Envoy surpassed Iron Futu, Xiao Feng had reached the Furnace Realm, and Xiao Zirui was watching.
• Chi Huo lost, and Tie Xiong rose and volunteered to fight after the two consecutive defeats.

Xiao Sanniang defeated Hua Guzi with a dangerous incomplete Forbidden Technique, leaving Hua Guzi crippled and the City Lord succession contest unresolved. In the final match, Luo Chen effortlessly disarmed and defeated Iron Futu, stunning the silent arena.

• Helian Shanque conceded after probing Tie Xiong’s strength, ending the third battle with Tie Xiong’s victory.
• Xiao Sanniang fought Hua Guzi and turned the fight around with Heaven and Earth Inverse Wheel, Furnace Inversion, shattering Hua Guzi’s Qi and Blood Furnace.
• Xiao Yun confronted Xiao Feng over allowing Xiao Sanniang to cultivate an incomplete Forbidden Technique, but Xiao Feng insisted the final battle remained.
• Iron Futu attacked Luo Chen with the Heavy Li Long Saber, but Luo Chen stopped him with a finger flick and disarmed him by dismantling the Futu Battle Armor.
• Luo Chen struck Iron Futu with one palm, making him collapse, then calmly left the arena as the crowd fell silent.

Renji Hall opened a branch under Jing Lan’s management as Luo Chen’s influence continued to grow in Remnant Immortal City. Fang Zhibai gave Luo Chen a Wuyou Token and invited him to seek an opportunity in Wuyou City, while warning him not to touch Moxian Smoke.

• Jing Lan and Boss Xue opened Renji Hall’s new branch, which drew crowds and envy from rival businesses benefiting from Luo Chen’s reputation.
• Jing Lan resolved to manage the shop well and handle matters so Luo Chen could focus on cultivation.
• Xiao Feng waited to receive the Wuyou convoy, but Tie Xiong reported that Fang Zhibai had gone to visit Luo Chen instead.
• Fang Zhibai gave Luo Chen a Wuyou Token and said he could travel to Wuyou City in ninety years to contend for a once-in-a-century opportunity.
• Fang Zhibai warned Luo Chen not to touch Moxian Smoke, then left as Xiao Feng watched from afar and grew displeased at Luo Chen’s independent manner.

Jing Lan discovered that Xiao Feng had sent Luo Chen a chest of top-grade Moxian Smoke, which Luo Chen recognized as a poison that corroded immortal cultivators’ souls and chose to keep for his own purposes. After half a year in seclusion, Luo Chen’s residence stirred with a powerful presence as Xiao Feng and Tie Xiong watched.

• Jing Lan inspected Xiao Feng’s three chests of gifts and warned Luo Chen that Moxian Smoke was dangerous and addictive.
• Luo Chen tested the smoke, realized it targeted the soul and Divine Sense, and ordered Jing Lan to store it while requesting a chest each year.
• Luo Chen told Jing Lan to buy fine smoking pipes to make it appear that he was using the Moxian Smoke, then entered seclusion.
• Over the next half year, Xiao Feng consolidated his control of Remnant Immortal City while keeping watch on Luo Chen, whom he hoped the smoke would weaken.
• Xiao Feng worried that Luo Chen’s Wuyou Token and standing threatened his position, while Tie Xiong admitted his Golden Body flaws remained unrepaired.
• Tie Xiong sensed the Luo Residence awaken with a powerful presence, as though an ancient beast had opened its eyes.

Luo Chen formed 108 Pill Seeds and broke through to the Furnace Realm, discovering that the Great Cataclysm Realm lacked the spiritual qi needed for cultivation. After inspecting his reopened panel and assessing his sealed abilities, he decided to visit the City Lord's Mansion to learn whether the realm held resources for advancing his Martial Dao.

• Luo Chen condensed his final Pill Seed and used all 108 seeds to form a Qi and Blood Furnace, reaching the Furnace Realm.
• Luo Chen sensed the Primal Chaos Cauldron responding through his sealed Purple Mansion and wondered whether the Qi and Blood Furnace could help it advance.
• Luo Chen reopened his panel, saw his lifespan had fallen to 2,000 years maximum, and recalled how Qixia Yuanjun's actions had cost him 3,000 years.
• Luo Chen found that his Qi Refining abilities remained unusable while his Martial Dao techniques and Divine Adamantine Battle Qi remained available.
• Luo Chen concluded that he would rely on orthodox Body Tempering and considered seeking Divine Winds and Earth Fiends, so he headed to the City Lord's Mansion to see Xiao Feng.

Luo Chen entered Xiao Manor and confronted City Lord Xiao Feng after being kept waiting all afternoon. When Xiao Feng arrived at Ten Thousand Carp Lake with a group of powerful allies, Luo Chen defeated Tie Xiong and struck down Xiao Zirui, leaving the others at his mercy.

• Luo Chen entered Xiao Manor and asked the guards to summon Xiao Feng, who chose to make him wait while finishing a meeting about Remnant Immortal City's trade route to Mofeng City.
• Xiao Feng secretly summoned Tie Xiong, Xiao Zirui, Iron Futu, Silver Hand Yama, Helian Shanque, and other allies to join him at the manor.
• Xiao Sanniang told Xiao Feng that Luo Chen had taken original martial manuals from the Library Pavilion before waiting at Ten Thousand Carp Lake.
• Luo Chen confronted Xiao Feng at Tide Watching Pavilion and said he had intended to recruit him, but Xiao Feng's show of force revealed his unwillingness to submit.
• Luo Chen used Immortal Returns to Penglai to pierce the defenses of five Furnace Realm experts, then shattered Tie Xiong's arm and sent him crashing into a palace hall with one punch.
• Luo Chen revealed that threads of Aura Silk were connected to the five experts and killed Xiao Zirui by snapping his thread.

Luo Chen forced Xiao Feng to submit while allowing him to remain city lord, then used the resources and martial arts knowledge Xiao Feng provided to deepen his understanding of Body Tempering. The chapter ended with Luo Chen recognizing the baleful qi sealed in the urns delivered to him.

• Luo Chen killed Xiao Zirui and made Xiao Feng kneel and pledge to serve him, then ordered Xiao Feng to gather resources, reserve Moxian Smoke, and hand over breakthrough manuals.
• Luo Chen returned to the Luo Residence, where Jing Lan welcomed him and served him new dishes.
• Xiao Feng sent Luo Chen the Hundred Flaws Technique, his father's cultivation insights, and abundant food; Luo Chen studied the Furnace Realm and rejected the flawed breakthrough method.
• Luo Chen spent half a month consuming the provisions to build qi and blood and strengthen his gang qi.
• Chu Zhaonan watched as Luo Chen opened a sealed urn and calmly controlled the fierce black aura inside, which Luo Chen identified as Baleful Qi.

Luo Chen refined Red Leaf Sha into Red Leaf True Aura, then upgraded it with Nine Tribulation Earth Sha while cultivating in seclusion for ten years. After Chu Zhaonan reported a possible source of Unforgiven Heavenly Wind near Mofeng City, Luo Chen prepared to leave his cultivation behind and investigate.

• Luo Chen asked Chu Zhaonan to seek Nine Tribulation Earth Sha, and gave him the Wuyou Token to help secure it from Wuyou City.
• Luo Chen refined Red Leaf Sha with his Qi and Blood Furnace and fused it into his Gang Qi, realizing that Divine Wind was needed to make the resulting aura more agile.
• In the third year, Xiao Feng sent Luo Chen a gourd of Nine Tribulation Earth Sha from Wuyou City, and Luo Chen used it to transform his Red Leaf True Aura into Nine Tribulation True Aura.
• Luo Chen remained secluded for ten years, while Xiao Feng and Xiao Sanniang discussed the strain his growing supply demands placed on Remnant Immortal City's resources.
• Tie Xiong returned to Xiao Manor with a Flawless Golden Body but one arm missing, and Xiao Feng told his subordinates to meet Luo Chen's demands.
• Chu Zhaonan reported that a barren mountain near Mofeng City might contain Unforgiven Heavenly Wind, and Luo Chen recognized that it was time to act.

Luo Chen traveled with Xiao Feng’s convoy to Mofeng City, completed the Forbidden Technique Heaven and Earth Inverse Wheel, and sensed a powerful Returnee in the city. He then headed toward the dangerous Huifeng Mountain Range to seek Divine Wind and refine his own Divine Adamantine Battle Qi.

• Xiao Feng told Luo Chen that former rulers who had gone to Wuyou City were returning, and said he was traveling to negotiate with them; Luo Chen learned that his father, Xiao Lin, had not returned.
• During the journey, Luo Chen studied and completed Heaven and Earth Inverse Wheel, altering it so it could multiply his power without its original costs.
• The convoy reached Mofeng City, where Luo Chen sensed an aged Returnee; the old man felt pressure from Luo Chen’s presence.
• Xiao Feng arrived secretly that night, confirmed that the convoy had avoided contact with Mofeng City officials, and asked Chu Zhaonan to take Luo Chen to Huifeng Mountain the next day.
• Luo Chen and the others rode to Huifeng Mountain, where Chu Zhaonan explained that lingering Heavenly Wind made the range a deadly forbidden zone; Luo Chen eagerly sought the Unforgiven Heavenly Wind within it.

Luo Chen entered the Huifeng Mountain Range to refine Unforgiven Heavenly Wind into golden Gang Qi, while six injured city lords waited for a chance to ambush him. After ten years, they prepared to storm the basin valley, but a dragon-like howl interrupted them.

• Luo Chen entered the Huifeng Mountain Range, and seven powerful figures followed his trail and discussed killing him to divide his Primordial Spirit.
• The Mofeng City Lord refused to join the attack, while the other six headed toward the mountains.
• Luo Chen found a basin valley filled with pale-gold Unforgiven Heavenly Wind and began refining it into Unforgiven Heavenly Aura.
• After several days, Luo Chen compared the golden aura with his Nine Tribulation True Aura and continued cultivating in the valley.
• Ten years later, six city lords were still waiting for Luo Chen to emerge, and the Xilong City Lord proposed storming the valley.
• A dragon-like howl rang across the land, startling the gathered city lords.

After refining two powerful kinds of Gang Qi, Luo Chen defeated six experts who had come to seize his Primordial Spirit and forced Xiang Fei to explain the Return to Ruins. Her account revealed a possible way out through the Gate of Annihilation, and ended with news that the realm’s supreme powers had once besieged a Great Vehicle Heavenly Venerate.

• After twenty years of cultivation, Luo Chen reached the Late Stage of the Furnace Realm and prepared to test a new technique on the six experts surrounding him.
• The six experts attacked Luo Chen, but he captured Xiang Fei and used his Heaven and Earth Inverse Wheel to kill the other five.
• Luo Chen questioned Xiang Fei, who explained that the Return to Ruins encompassed the Great Cataclysm Realm, the Corpse Immortal Domain, and the Sea of Stars.
• Xiang Fei described the Gate of Annihilation, the Nine Rings, and the rumor that crossing the Gate could allow someone to escape the doomed world.
• Xiang Fei explained that martial artists sought cultivators’ Primordial Spirits as a means of escape, and said that supreme beings had once joined forces to attack a Great Vehicle Heavenly Venerate.

Luo Chen returned to Remnant Immortal City, killed Xiao Feng for betraying him, and installed Jing Lan as the new city lord with Xiang Fei’s help. A year later, he began using Source Blood to merge his two types of Gang Qi into a unique Blood Refinement Divine Aura.

• Luo Chen questioned the injured Mofeng City Lord about the Nine Rings of Annihilation and learned that Chaos Energy could shatter a martial artist’s Qi and Blood Furnace.
• Xiao Feng feared Luo Chen’s return after the seven experts he had sent to kill him failed to report back, and he kept his fighters close while considering using Jing Lan as leverage.
• Luo Chen appeared on the street before Xiao Feng’s group, killed Xiao Feng with a strand of golden Gang Qi, and ordered Xiang Fei to kill the others.
• Luo Chen appointed Jing Lan city lord of Remnant Immortal City and told Xiang Fei to assist her, then moved into the former Xiao Manor.
• A year later, Luo Chen used a remaining drop of Source Blood to begin merging his Heavenly Phoenix and Nine Tribulation True Auras into Blood Refinement Divine Aura.

Luo Chen completed the Blood Refinement Divine Aura, treated Xiang Fei’s injuries, and left Remnant Immortal City for Red Leaf Ridge. There he discovered the supposed Red Leaf Tree was a Dreamwood and began planning a formation to attract stronger Ghost Nightmares.

• After three months of work, Luo Chen successfully merged Nine Tribulation Earth Sha and Unforgiven Heavenly Wind into the Blood Refinement Divine Aura, which destroyed the Tide Watching Pavilion with a tremor.
• Xiang Fei told Luo Chen that Ghost Nightmares gathered around the Red Leaf Tree during Ghost Rain, and Luo Chen decided to investigate it with Chu Zhaonan and the Mystic Armor Army.
• Luo Chen examined Xiang Fei’s severe injuries and promised to draw out the Chaos Energy in her body before departing, extending her lifespan.
• The next day, Luo Chen left Remnant Immortal City with Chu Zhaonan while Jing Lan and Xiang Fei stayed behind to gather martial cultivation resources and pressure Sanxiang City for Yan Zhi Oil.
• During the journey, Luo Chen refined Chaos Energy inside his body and increased his qi and blood.
• At Red Leaf Ridge, Luo Chen recognized the supposed Red Leaf Tree as a Dreamwood and began planning a formation to reshape the terrain and attract more powerful Ghost Nightmares.

Luo Chen reshaped Red Leaf Ridge with primitive formations intended to undo the Divine Soul Seal, then returned to Remnant Immortal City and realized he wanted to reach the Xuan World. After Xiang Fei explained the Furnace Realm breakthrough, Luo Chen sealed a major acupoint in an instant, astonishing her.

• Luo Chen ordered the evacuation of the area around Red Leaf Ridge and began reshaping its mountains and waterways to establish three formations.
• Over ten years, Remnant Immortal City gathered the materials Luo Chen required, and he completed the foundations of the formations before returning with the workers.
• At a New Year’s meal, Luo Chen worried over Jing Lan’s declining health and decided that he wanted to travel to the Xuan World.
• Xiang Fei explained how Furnace Realm cultivators tempered their acupoints to prepare for the Unleaking Realm.
• Luo Chen used Blood Refinement Divine Aura to form a qi membrane in a major acupoint almost immediately, leaving Xiang Fei stunned.

Luo Chen’s cultivation had slowed because his Blood Refinement Divine Aura consumed immense resources, and he refused Wuyou City’s demand to stop extracting them from nearby cities. Special Envoy Fang Zhibai offered him an Immortal Yuan Stone in exchange for restraint and invited him to Wuyou City, leaving Luo Chen pondering the stone and the mysteries of the Return to Ruins.

• Luo Chen spent decades tempering his acupoints, slowing his progress when the resources needed to sustain his Gang Qi became scarce.
• Fang Zhibai attended Jing Lan’s seventieth birthday celebration, then visited Luo Chen and asked him to stop using force and unequal trade to take resources from other cities.
• Luo Chen refused to stop, and Fang Zhibai warned him that Wuyou City could send Martial Dao Human Immortals against him.
• Fang Zhibai offered Luo Chen an Immortal Yuan Stone, explaining that his Old Ancestor hoped Luo Chen would restrain his resource demands, grow stronger, and help find a way out of the Return to Ruins.
• Luo Chen used a sound-based technique to make Fang Zhibai reveal his true intentions, then learned that Fang Zhibai’s Old Ancestor was the Wuyou Realm Master and wanted Luo Chen to visit Wuyou City.
• After Fang Zhibai left, Luo Chen recognized the stone box as Empty Bud Crystal and wondered why the Return to Ruins contained both it and the Immortal Yuan Stone.

After twenty years of seclusion, Luo Chen refined the Immortal Yuan Stone and achieved the Flawless Golden Body, then mourned Jing Lan and visited her grave. He went to Red Leaf Valley to begin a formation using condemned prisoners as Ghost Rain arrived.

• Luo Chen spent twenty years refining the Immortal Yuan Stone and broke through to the Fourth Realm of Body Refining, forming the Flawless Golden Body and awakening changes in his Thunder Bone.
• Xiang Fei told Luo Chen that Jing Lan had died, and he learned that she had chosen Xiao Yuxin as Remnant Immortal City's new city lord.
• Luo Chen read Jing Lan's letter and inscribed her nameless gravestone as the tomb of his grateful friend.
• Luo Chen and Xiang Fei went to Red Leaf Ridge, which had become Red Leaf Valley, where he ordered condemned prisoners brought into the valley for Ghost Rain.
• Luo Chen sent Xiang Fei away, activated the Blood River Demonic Cloud Great Array and Dream Bubble Formation, and began the ritual as the first raindrop fell.