Chapter Summaries

Gu Qingfeng learned how to enter the Nine Provinces Martial Competition and chose to begin at a remote village, following the path the Martial Emperor had once taken. He and Song Yiyan registered at Qingshi Village, where they would compete with other outsiders for two advancement slots.

• Gu Qingfeng heard that competitors could fight their way through the Nine Provinces to meet the Martial Emperor and decided to start in Southern Cuibai Way.
• Song Yiyan joined Gu Qingfeng on his journey, and her master Su Qingqing let her leave after finding her note.
• Gu Qingfeng and Song Yiyan arrived at Qingshi Village near Maple City and chose to register there despite their Innate-stage strength.
• The village chief explained that outsiders would compete for two advancement slots, while five other slots were reserved for villagers.

Song Yiyan and Gu Qingfeng secured Qingshi Village’s competition spots, while a mysterious villager slaughtered more than a hundred thousand people and moved on to the Maple City village battle. Song Yiyan and Gu Qingfeng confronted him as King Cui sensed the danger and rushed toward Maple City.

• Song Yiyan defeated the challengers at Qingshi Village without drawing her sword, securing the village’s competition spot with Gu Qingfeng.
• Song Yiyan and Gu Qingfeng agreed to postpone their spar and planned to visit Maple City before continuing toward Cuibai Main City.
• At a village battle in Southern Cuibai Way, a villager tore apart his opponents, knocked out the crowd with soul force, and devoured the flesh, blood, and souls of more than a hundred thousand people.
• The villager reached the competition grounds near Maple City and began draining the villagers there, drawing the attention of Gu Qingfeng and Song Yiyan.
• Song Yiyan attacked the villager, and Gu Qingfeng hurried after her as he warned that the enemy’s strange methods were difficult to understand.
• King Cui sensed an unusual energy fluctuation near Maple City and flew there with Hu Zhong to investigate.

Gu Qingfeng and Song Yiyan fought a soul-power attacker outside Maple City until King Cui destroyed the attacker’s body, but its malicious divine consciousness possessed Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng survived the ensuing ordeal and began refining the power left inside him, while King Cui learned that the pair were traveling to the Nine Provinces Martial Competition by following the Martial Emperor’s past route.

• A middle-aged villager summoned soul beasts to attack Gu Qingfeng and Song Yiyan, and Gu Qingfeng prepared to use an Ancient Sword Technique before Hu Zhong and King Cui arrived.
• King Cui destroyed the middle-aged villager and a soul beast, but the Star Devouring Dragon’s divine consciousness escaped into Gu Qingfeng.
• King Cui used Song Changming’s soul-targeting talisman to disperse the divine consciousness, leaving Gu Qingfeng overwhelmed by its accumulated soul power and flesh-and-blood energy.
• Gu Qingfeng endured the violent energies and survived, while King Cui warned Song Yiyan to stay back and protected her as the outpost filled with blood energy.
• King Cui encouraged Gu Qingfeng to refine the remaining power, and Gu Qingfeng began cultivating as Song Yiyan confirmed that they were traveling to the Nine Provinces Martial Competition by following the Martial Emperor’s past footsteps.

Gu Qingfeng completed his cultivation after refining the Star Devouring Dragon’s energy, while investigators searched for its remaining divine senses. A year later, Song Changming awakened from his frozen meditation in the far north and began solidifying his fourth Divine Step.

• Lan Jin arrived, questioned Song Yiyan about why she had left the royal capital, and warned her to avoid improper behavior with Gu Qingfeng.
• Gu Qingfeng finished refining the soul power and flesh-and-blood energy, completing his Xiantian cultivation and greatly strengthening his soul and body.
• Chong Er, now possessed by the Star Devouring Dragon’s divine sense, hid underground, sent worms to warn the other divine senses to stay concealed, and avoided confronting human Grandmasters.
• A year later, Yuan San watched over Song Changming in the far north as Song Changming broke free of the ice and began raising his foot onto the fourth Divine Step.

Song Changming broke through to the fourth Divine Step of his Witch God Soul, reached the Witch King realm, and gained the ability to study a Witch King Seal. Meanwhile, Song Yiyan won a qualifying match for the Imperial Front Martial Competition, while Jiang Jing learned that Gu Qingfeng’s swordsmanship surpassed his own.

• Song Changming advanced his Witch God Soul to the fourth Divine Step, then tested its power by traveling to Dark Province and returning to his body.
• Song Changming struck the Black Box with greatly enhanced strength but could not break it, so he studied its Heavenly Capital Wind Whistle Seal instead.
• Song Changming’s panel recorded the Heavenly Capital Wind Whistle Seal, and he planned to leave seclusion after more than a year to return to Yunzhou.
• Song Yiyan defeated Jiang Jing in the under-one-hundred age group and secured one of the two spots for the Imperial Front Martial Competition.
• Jiang Zhuang and Jiang He told Jiang Jing that Gu Qingfeng’s swordsmanship was near the Major Accomplishment stage, leaving Jiang Jing unable to dismiss the comparison.

Visitors from across the Nine Provinces gathered at Tianwu Imperial Palace for the Imperial Front Martial Competition, marveling at its grandeur and awaiting Song Changming. After inspecting the Abyss and receiving the Yun King's message, Song Changming teleported into the hall, where the assembled guests knelt to welcome him.

• Guests from across the Nine Provinces arrived at Tianwu Imperial Palace and entered the flower gardens and palace grounds for the Imperial Front Martial Competition.
• Gu Qingfeng and Song Yiyan walked through the spirit-flower gardens, where Song Yiyan teased him and he resolved to reach the Grandmaster realm.
• The Yun King and Qin Beisheng arrived at the banquet hall, greeted the other provincial kings, and took their seats while the imperial throne remained empty.
• Song Changming checked the Abyss seal, fought another wave of Abyssal Strange Beasts, and learned that remnants of the Star Devouring Dragon's divine consciousness still remained.
• After receiving the Yun King's message, Song Changming opened a light gate into the palace hall, where the gathered guests knelt and welcomed him.

At the Imperial Front Martial Competition, Song Changming praised Song Yiyan and recognized Gu Qingfeng’s exceptional swordsmanship. Gu Qingfeng revealed that he came from Great Lai and was descended from Gu Wenhui, then asked to stay by Song Changming’s side; Song Yiyan pleaded for him as the gathering watched.

• Song Yiyan defeated Gongsun Xiaorou in the under-one-hundred group, and Song Changming approved of her performance.
• Song Changming noticed Gu Qingfeng’s Fish Dragon Swordplay, praised his talent, and invited him to request a reward.
• Gu Qingfeng asked to follow Song Changming, prompting Yan King and other nobles to object to his presumptuous request.
• Song Changming asked about Gu Qingfeng’s origins, and Gu Qingfeng revealed that he came from the other shore and was Gu Wenhui’s great-grandson.
• Gu Qingfeng explained how he left Great Lai’s imperial family to pursue martial arts, reached the Nine Provinces, and learned Fish Dragon Swordplay.
• Song Yiyan descended and pleaded with Song Changming to show mercy to Gu Qingfeng.

After the Imperial Front Martial Competition, Gu Qingfeng left the palace to pursue his own path while Song Changming continued cultivating and searching for the Star Devouring Dragon’s divine sense. Thirty-odd years later, Song Changming and his companions uncovered a Blood Jade that consumed human remains and traced it to a mysterious Venerable, whose visitors disappeared inside his cave.

• Song Changming offered Gu Qingfeng a place in the palace, but Gu Qingfeng departed the next day after deciding he did not need to follow Song Changming’s path.
• Over the next thirty-odd years, Song Changming cultivated and searched the Nine Provinces with Su Qingqing, Girl Huang, and Hya while humanity prospered.
• In Rock Province, a Blood Jade absorbed the flesh and blood of people killed in an ambush, and the Net Organization captured and killed its disheveled owner.
• Su Qingqing defeated the Net Organization members, while Song Changming arrived with Girl Huang and Hya and ordered Hya to interrogate them about the Blood Jade.
• Several Innate martial artists delivered the Blood Jade to a Venerable in a mountain cave, entered through a stone door, and never came back out.

Song Changming tracked down and destroyed a Star Devouring Dragon consciousness strand, then returned to Frost Province to complete the Witch King Seal. The seal was finally perfected, unleashing a black gale that shattered glaciers across the icefield.

• A Mountain God Statue lured four wounded martial artists into its cave and absorbed them through Blood Jade, but Song Changming captured the statue and traced its soul connection to its true body.
• The Star Devouring Dragon consciousness in the true statue transferred its stored energy to Chong Er, who escaped as insects before Song Changming and his companions arrived.
• Su Qingqing, Girl Huang, and Hya pinned down and destroyed the remaining consciousness strand, while Song Changming realized other strands might still be gathering energy to break the Abyss seal.
• Song Changming ordered the three women to keep searching the Nine Provinces and entered seclusion in Frost Province to finish refining the Witch King Seal.
• After years of focused refinement, Song Changming completed the seal, and a burst of black qi shattered glaciers across the far northern icefield.

Song Changming completed the Witch King Seal and used it to free Yuan San’s true body from the Black Box. Yuan San agreed to recover his strength over three months before joining Song Changming’s planned battle against the Star Devouring Dragon in the Abyss.

• Song Changming completed the Witch King Seal, becoming a true Witch King and gaining control of the Death Sleep Wind.
• Song Changming removed the Heavenly Capital Wind Whistle Seal from the Black Box and struck it open, releasing Yuan San’s true body.
• Yuan San’s thousand-zhang ghostly form appeared over Frost Province’s far north before returning to the Black Box, and Yuan San’s true body emerged and knelt before Song Changming.
• Yuan San explained that sealing had reduced his strength to less than one-tenth of its peak and that full recovery would take at least a thousand years.
• Yuan San offered to regain twenty percent of his peak strength in three months, and Song Changming agreed to head for the Abyss afterward to fight the Star Devouring Dragon.
• Yuan San left for the Land of Nine Nether to recover, while Song Changming planned to master the Witch King Seal and prepare for the battle.

Song Changming completed his preparations to fight the Star Devouring Dragon, while Yuan San recovered his strength by drawing on the Yin Baleful Intent throughout the Land of Nine Nether. They arrived at the Abyss, where the provincial kings and veteran Talisman Masters were ready to reinforce the seal before the battle.

• Yuan San returned to the Land of Nine Nether in his true body and consumed its Yin Baleful Intent to restore his strength.
• Song Changming ordered the nine provincial kings to keep the Star Devouring Dragon plan secret and protect the ninth-tier Talisman Masters as they reinforced the Abyss seal.
• After three months of preparation, Song Changming examined his lifespan and his Demonbane and Fire Element Heavenly Spirit Body traits.
• Yuan San returned to Song Changming, and the two set out to slay the Star Devouring Dragon.
• Song Changming and Yuan San arrived above the Abyss seal, where King Yun, the provincial kings, Grandmasters, and Talisman Masters waited as Grandmasters killed attacking Abyssal Strange Beasts.

Song Changming entered the sealing space with Yuan San to confront the Star Devouring Dragon, while Gongshan Zhi and the other Talisman Masters stood guard outside. After Yuan San wounded the dragon and Song Changming struck it with his Silent Saber, the dragon counterattacked with crushing black-water arrows, forcing Song Changming to unfold his Star Domain.

• Song Changming used the restored treasure mirror to travel through the Seal Star Grand Array with Yuan San, leaving Gongshan Zhi and the Talisman Masters to guard the seal.
• The Star Devouring Dragon confronted Song Changming and Yuan San, then attacked them with starfire; Song Changming struggled to resist its concentrated blast.
• Yuan San broke through the starfire and wounded the dragon with Yin baleful energy, but the dragon forced him into the black water with crushing pressure.
• Song Changming used Silent Saber to carve a vast, vitality-draining wound into the dragon's head.
• The Star Devouring Dragon turned the black water into heavy arrows that pursued Song Changming, who retreated and unfurled his Star Domain.

Song Changming unleashed his three Witch General Seals to complete and expand his starfield, weakening the Star Devouring Dragon and shielding himself from the black water. The Star Devouring Dragon remained trapped in the seal but fought back against Song Changming and Yuan San as the battle continued.

• Song Changming used the seal’s suppressive force and his Spatial Eye to immobilize one of the Star Devouring Dragon’s eyes, then shattered it with a powerful slash.
• The Star Devouring Dragon transformed into a humanoid form, fought Song Changming at close range, and sent him plunging into the black water with its Planetary Fall technique.
• Song Changming revealed his Heavenly Sun Seal, completing his starfield and expanding it to a radius of five thousand li as the sunlight burned away the black water’s resentful spirits.
• Song Changming rose from the black water and saw Yuan San battling the Star Devouring Dragon, whose strength fell under the starfield’s influence.
• The Star Devouring Dragon swallowed Yuan San with a phantom dragon head and launched black spears at Song Changming, but the golden sunlight melted them before they reached him.

Song Changming fought the Star Devouring Dragon inside the seal, while King Yun and the talisman masters struggled to keep the damaged seal intact. After Song Changming used the Death Sleep Wind to badly wound the dragon, their battle dragged on for three days and three nights, with the Star Devouring Dragon near exhaustion.

• The Star Devouring Dragon transformed into a river of stars and clashed with Song Changming, while King Yun and the talisman masters repaired the seal as Abyssal Strange Beasts attacked them.
• The Star Devouring Dragon’s planetary bombardment failed to seriously injure Song Changming, and Yuan San attacked it with Thousand Miles of Yin Land before being swallowed and spat back out.
• Song Changming slashed away nearly half the Star Devouring Dragon’s body, then used his soul power to destroy the black dragons it summoned against him and Yuan San.
• Song Changming unleashed the Death Sleep Wind, forcing the Star Devouring Dragon to flee beneath the black water, where the wind erased much of its divine soul and body.
• The wounded Star Devouring Dragon charged Song Changming, but he and Yuan San kept fighting as the dragon weakened, and their duel continued for three days and three nights.

Song Changming killed the Star Devouring Dragon, ending its control over the Abyssal Strange Beasts and its hidden influence across the Nine Provinces. After humanity celebrated its survival and buried Gongshan Zhi, Song Changming met with Li Jinyu and asked him to divine humanity’s future.

• Song Changming ignored the Star Devouring Dragon’s offer to open a passage to the Primordial World, severed its remaining head, and destroyed its last Dragon Soul with Death Sleep Wind.
• The Star Devouring Dragon’s divine-consciousness fragments vanished across the Nine Provinces, killing their hosts; Chong Er’s body collapsed into insects, and the released flesh essence and soul power formed eerie blood mist.
• The Abyssal Strange Beasts stopped attacking and fled as Song Changming and Yuan San emerged from the seal; Song Changming confirmed that the Demon Dragon was dead.
• King Yun kept the victory secret from ordinary people, while the grandmasters recognized that the Star Devouring Dragon’s death had ended the Seal Star Grand Array’s purpose.
• Gongshan Zhi died peacefully a month later, and Song Changming attended his funeral at the Heavenly Dao Academy.
• Song Changming met Li Jinyu beside a waterfall and asked him to divine what fate held for humanity.

After securing peace in the Nine Provinces, Song Changming prepared for a possible journey to the Primal World while weighing the risks of using his treasured mirror to reach it. His annual reward granted him the Golden Physique Trait Born Saber Saint, and he discovered that it greatly strengthened his saber attacks.

• Li Jinyu thanked Song Changming for saving the Nine Provinces and predicted that Song Changming would leave for another world, while he himself would remain behind.
• Su Qingqing, Girl Huang, and Hya asked to accompany Song Changming when he left, and he told them to cultivate diligently before they discussed it again.
• Song Changming studied the treasured mirror and the mote of light from Emperor Abyss, deciding to refine the Primal World’s spatial coordinates before attempting the dangerous crossing.
• The panel named Song Changming Invincible Under Heaven and offered him a choice of four annual rewards, including the Golden Physique Trait Born Saber Saint.
• Song Changming chose Born Saber Saint and found that his saber felt bound to him and produced a blazing golden aura that more than doubled the power of his slash.

Song Changming unleashed his Heavenly Sun Seal against the Star Devouring Dragon, completing his starfield and weakening both the dragon and the sealing array’s effects on himself. He returned to the battle with Yuan San, while the enraged dragon swallowed Yuan San and launched black spears that melted in Song Changming’s sunlight.

• Song Changming fought the Star Devouring Dragon as their clash activated Emperor Abyss’s sealing array, which drained and suppressed them both.
• Song Changming solidified one of the dragon’s eyes with his Spatial Eye, then struck it with a slash combining starlight, moonlight, and lightning, destroying the eye.
• The Star Devouring Dragon took human form, struck Song Changming into the black water, and nearly overwhelmed him with its speed and power.
• Song Changming used his Heavenly Sun Seal, expanding his starfield to a radius of five thousand li and evaporating the resentful spirits in the black water.
• Song Changming rose from the water and joined Yuan San’s fight against the dragon, weakening it with the completed starfield.
• The Star Devouring Dragon swallowed Yuan San into the black water and hurled black spears at Song Changming, but the sunlight melted them before they reached him.

Song Changming used his annual rewards to transform the damaged God Devourer Blade into a powerful silver-white saber and raise his Grandmaster cultivation to 120 droplets of Grandmaster Essence Blood. A century later, the Nine Provinces had prospered, but nine funeral bells from the capital announced that the provincial king had died.

• Song Changming claimed the Heavenly Wood Supreme Spirit Body, then spent 16,000 years of lifespan to repair and upgrade the God Devourer Blade, transforming it and its blade spirit into silver-white forms.
• Song Changming tested the upgraded saber in Frost Province and found it could channel all his powers with ease.
• Song Changming spent another 16,000 years of lifespan to raise his Grandmaster Essence Blood from 112 droplets to 120.
• Over the next century, the Nine Provinces’ population grew beyond 50 billion as roads and cities expanded.
• On a road to the capital in Leizhou, an old man explained that nine tolls of the funeral bell meant the provincial king had died, while generals and commanders rushed toward the capital.

After Pei Xinyuan’s funeral, Song Changming prepared to leave the Nine Provinces and enter the Primal World, seeking a higher spiritual-energy environment to advance his stagnant cultivation. He crossed through a newly opened light gate alone, leaving Yuan San to protect the Nine Provinces.

• At Pei Xinyuan’s funeral, Song Changming confirmed Chu Wushuang as Leizhou’s next provincial king and told King Yun he intended to travel to the Primal World.
• Song Changming concluded that the Nine Provinces’ limited spiritual energy had stalled his martial cultivation and decided to investigate the route to the Primal World alone before bringing Su Qingqing, Girl Huang, and Hya.
• After Su Qingqing and Little Phoenix emerged from seclusion, Song Changming reassured them and left the Imperial Palace through a light gate.
• In Frost Province’s far north, Song Changming locked onto the distant coordinates with his Witch God Soul and asked Yuan San to protect the Nine Provinces.
• Song Changming opened the treasured mirror’s light gate and crossed into the unknown as spatial turbulence distorted the area; Yuan San watched him disappear and murmured about the Primal Land.

Song Changming claimed rewards that restored and transformed the God Devourer Blade into the Silver White Blade, then increased his Grandmaster cultivation. A century later, as the Nine Provinces prospered, the capital’s funeral bell announced that the provincial king had died.

• Song Changming claimed the Heavenly Wood Supreme Spirit Body and used a reward to repair and upgrade the damaged God Devourer Blade.
• The blade became silver-white, and its transformed blade spirit emerged in a gentler form before returning to merge with its new body.
• Song Changming tested the Silver White Blade in Frost Province, then raised his Grandmaster Essence Blood from 112 drops to 120.
• Over the following century, the population and prosperity of the Nine Provinces grew as roads were built across the land.
• A funeral bell tolled nine times near the capital, and an old man told his grandchildren that the provincial king had died as generals and commanders flew toward the city.