Chapter Summaries

Zhang Tie targeted Ximen Xiao but became suspicious when Ximen Yue emerged from the patriarch’s cave with a drastically changed temperament. After Zhang Tie captured Ximen Yue, Ximen Xiao and two other Taiyi Sect patriarchs pursued him, finding him above Tianyi City.

• Zhang Tie waited for Ximen Yue to visit Ximen Xiao, then followed him after he emerged from the cave dwelling weeks later looking aged and changed.
• Zhang Tie used Move and Fix to seize Ximen Yue, and his Gluttonous Nascent Soul swallowed him as Ximen Xiao attacked from afar.
• Zhang Tie blocked Ximen Xiao’s cyan sword light with the Great Mercy Great Compassion Palm, while a golden bell trapped Ximen Xiao’s flame phoenix.
• Zhang Tie fled when he sensed two more powerful auras approaching, but Ximen Xiao and the other patriarchs tracked him to Tianyi City.
• The three patriarchs appeared above Zhang Tie as he extended his divine sense toward the Land of Immortal Stones, and Zhang Tie shouted Move again.

Zhang Tie escaped Ximen Xiao and discovered from Ximen Yue’s memories that Ximen Xiao had used his descendant as an incarnation to prepare for rebirth. The memories also revealed the Spirit Realm’s sects, the Taiyi Sect’s mining of immortal stones, and how its Spirit Transformation cultivators had evaded heavenly tribulation.

• Zhang Tie vanished before Ximen Xiao’s attack destroyed the inn, and Ximen Xiao sensed that his descendant’s aura had disappeared.
• Zhang Tie reappeared in Ximen Xiao’s cave abode and spent a day sorting through the memories he had obtained.
• Zhang Tie learned that Ximen Yue had been Ximen Xiao’s incarnation, part of a possession plan that Zhang Tie had ruined by devouring and refining him.
• Zhang Tie discovered that the Upper Realm was the Spirit Realm, where powerful sects controlled vast territories and ascension platforms.
• Zhang Tie learned that the Taiyi Sect’s mining of immortal stones was connected to the lower realm’s dwindling spiritual energy, and that its three Spirit Transformation cultivators used Soul Concealing Jade Pendants to avoid heavenly tribulation.

Zhang Tie ambushed Ximen Xiao, sealed away his Nascent Soul, and took his place as Taiyi Sect's patriarch. He entered the Mountain River Cave Heaven Diagram, where Taiyi Sect kept its true treasures and its formation for sending immortal stones to the Spirit Realm.

• Zhang Tie set up an Isolation Array in Ximen Xiao's cave abode and hid there until Ximen Xiao returned.
• Zhang Tie used Witch's Domain to freeze Ximen Xiao, seal his Nascent Soul, and store it in a jade box.
• Zhang Tie transformed into Ximen Xiao and went to Taiyi Sect's Treasure Vault.
• Zhang Tie entered a hidden chamber in the vault and passed through the Mountain River Cave Heaven Diagram.
• Zhang Tie reached the golden palace inside the cave heaven and entered it.

Zhang Tie disabled Taiyi Sect’s protecting formation and refined the golden palace at the core of the Mountain River Cave Heaven Diagram. He took the palace and the diagram into his inner space, leaving a painted copy behind before departing.

• Zhang Tie found Taiyi Sect’s storage treasures and a mysterious formation platform in the golden palace, but left the sect’s accumulated wealth untouched.
• Zhang Tie used Yang Qi’s grandfather’s command token to reach the formation core and identified it as a fifth-rank grand formation connected to underground spirit veins.
• Zhang Tie set up an Isolation Formation, entered the core, and severed its formation platform with seven strikes of his flying sword.
• Zhang Tie refined the golden palace with his Nascent Soul’s flame, divine sense, and essence blood, forming a spiritual connection with it.
• Zhang Tie stored the golden palace and Mountain River Cave Heaven Diagram in his inner space, painted a copy on the wall, and left under the guards’ escort.

Zhang Tie finished refining the Mountain River Cave Heaven Diagram and learned it was a powerful defensive cave-heaven treasure. After discovering the Taiyi Sect’s hidden storage treasures were empty, he found and refined Ximen Xiao’s Substitute Death Puppet, then prepared to leave with his new treasures.

• Zhang Tie completed refining the Mountain River Cave Heaven Diagram and learned it could shelter living beings and withstand attacks from Spirit Transformation cultivators.
• Zhang Tie entered the diagram, restored the golden palace inside it, and found that all 108 storage treasures were empty.
• Zhang Tie devoured Ximen Xiao’s Nascent Soul and learned the Taiyi Sect had depleted its high-level resources, leaving the storage treasures as a deception for Nascent Soul cultivators.
• Zhang Tie found the Substitute Death Puppet in Ximen Xiao’s storage bracelet and refined it with his own blood and divine sense mark.
• Zhang Tie searched Ximen Xiao’s remaining belongings, collected the Spirit Stones, and judged that the puppet and cave-heaven treasure made his efforts worthwhile.

Zhang Tie finished repairing his domain ring, collected the remaining immortal stones, and set out to return to the Crimson Fire Kingdom. Meanwhile, Fellow Daoist Xiao led three Core Formation cultivators to hunt a turtle demon in the Eastern Sea, where they suspected a heavenly tribulation was about to begin.

• Zhang Tie sorted his many possessions and counted more than 3.37 million Mid-grade Spirit Stones.
• Zhang Tie spent months repairing his domain ring, then packed away the accessible immortal stones and set up an array to keep the Land of Immortal Stones from collapsing.
• Zhang Tie decided to return to the Crimson Fire Kingdom, settle his affairs, and pursue a breakthrough to the Void Breaking Realm.
• Fellow Daoist Xiao brought three cultivators to an island in the Eastern Sea and ordered them to search for a late third-stage turtle demon.
• After receiving the palace-attired woman's report, Fellow Daoist Xiao flew toward the demon's location and encountered the other three amid violent spiritual fluctuations and dark clouds.
• Fellow Daoist Xiao dismissed their concerns about a possible heavenly tribulation and ordered them to scout while he watched from afar, promising extra Spirit Stones if they helped kill the demon.

After returning from Taiyi Continent, Zhang Tie witnessed a turtle-shaped demonic beast face its Form Transformation Heavenly Tribulation while four Core Formation cultivators tried to kill it. The turtle survived the final lightning strike and advanced to the fourth rank, but the four cultivators turned back toward it.

• Zhang Tie crossed the Eastern Sea and its Sea of Thunder, then spotted a turtle-shaped demonic beast undergoing tribulation.
• The turtle endured repeated lightning strikes and weakened the fourth strike with a blue beam from its mouth.
• Three Core Formation cultivators attacked the turtle during its fifth tribulation, but its demon core raised a barrier that blocked their magical treasures.
• A purple-robed cultivator threw a powerful black orb at the turtle, but an unseen black flash diverted it into the sea.
• The turtle used blue flames to soften the final lightning strike, survived the tribulation, and advanced to the fourth rank.
• The four cultivators turned back and sped toward the newly advanced turtle.

Zhang Tie saved four Core Formation cultivators and a newly advanced turtle demon from a fourth-tier octopus demon, then ordered the turtle to cultivate in seclusion under him. He learned that the white-robed woman was the beggar he had saved over a hundred years earlier and that the purple-robed man came from the Flowing Cloud Sect of the Qin Kingdom.

• The turtle demon completed its tribulation, but the octopus demon demanded its demon core and trapped it alongside the four cultivators.
• Zhang Tie froze the octopus demon, destroyed it with azure lightning, and collected its demon core.
• Zhang Tie named the turtle demon Little Turtle and ordered it to follow him to his sect for a hundred years of secluded cultivation.
• The white-robed woman told Zhang Tie she was the beggar he had saved long ago and offered to serve him in repayment.
• Zhang Tie questioned the purple-robed man about his Thunderclap Bead and learned he was from the Flowing Cloud Sect in the Qin Kingdom.

Zhang Tie returned to Hundred Skills Sect with Little Turtle and Chen Qian, after securing Little Turtle with a restriction and inviting Chen Qian to join his sect. He rescued the sect from an attack by Yan Fire Sect’s people and their demon allies, then introduced his companions to the sect, where an unidentified voice objected to Little Turtle’s membership.

• Zhang Tie placed a lethal restriction in Little Turtle’s sea of consciousness and told him it would be removed after a hundred years, then learned Chen Qian’s name and brought her along to Hundred Skills Sect.
• Zhang Tie found more than thirty cultivators besieging Hundred Skills Sect while Old Turtle defended it and refused to abandon the sect.
• Zhang Tie killed the attackers and the shapeshifted Sea Dragon and dragon whale, then used the Myriad Souls Banner to reduce them to bones and collect their souls.
• The Hundred Skills Sect disciples welcomed Zhang Tie back, and he introduced Little Turtle and Chen Qian as new members of the sect.
• An unidentified voice challenged Little Turtle’s worthiness to join Hundred Skills Sect.

Zhang Tie prepared to investigate ascension and the East Sea before confronting a Dragon Whale clan member for information. After learning the clan’s ancestor had reached half-step Spirit Transformation, Zhang Tie ordered the captive to take him to the clan.

• Old turtle objected to trusting little turtle because he was an East Sea demon, but Zhang Tie rewarded old turtle and reassured little turtle that the White Cloud Sect rewarded contributions.
• Zhang Tie discussed the Immortal Cultivation World’s declining spiritual energy and plans for unification, then gave Mo Feng spirit stones and instructions for gathering materials for an isolation array.
• Zhang Tie began collecting records about ascension and traveled alone to the East Sea to investigate its demonic Qi and seek information from the Dragon Whale clan.
• Zhang Tie seized a young tier-3 dragon whale and waited for help to arrive, then captured and slapped a shapeshifted tier-4 dragon whale when it attacked him.
• Zhang Tie questioned the shapeshifted dragon whale, learned that the clan’s ancestor had reached half-step Spirit Transformation, and ordered him to lead Zhang Tie to the clan.

Zhang Tie entered the Dragon Whale clan’s underwater city and met its patriarch, Long Xuan, who agreed to tell him about ascension to the Spirit World in exchange for a favor. Long Xuan asked Zhang Tie to take several Dragon Whale juniors to the Crimson Moon Sect’s Bodhi Road.

• The transformed Dragon Whale led Zhang Tie to Long Liang and Long Shan, who welcomed him on the patriarch’s orders.
• Long Liang and the others brought Zhang Tie through a hidden underwater entrance into the Dragon Whale clan’s city and to the patriarch’s cave dwelling.
• Long Xuan introduced himself and the clan’s leader and elders, while Zhang Tie identified himself as the patriarch of the Hundred Skills Gate.
• Long Xuan revealed that he knew Zhang Tie sought information about the Spirit World and had recognized his cultivation and multiple intents.
• Long Xuan offered to answer Zhang Tie’s request if he took several perfected fourth-rank Dragon Whale juniors to the Crimson Moon Sect’s Bodhi Road.

Zhang Tie negotiated with Long Xuan for access to the Dragon Whale clan’s records about ascending to the Spirit Realm, offering regular Bodhi Road access in exchange. He entered the clan’s sealed archive and began examining its jade slips, including a record of what happened after ascension.

• Long Xuan revealed that his clan’s records linked the Crimson Moon Sect’s fragmented realm to the Bodhi Road and that Zhang Tie’s artistic conceptions convinced him Zhang had entered it.
• Zhang Tie initially denied knowing the Bodhi Road, then admitted he had visited a place where cultivators could comprehend artistic conceptions.
• Zhang Tie demanded access to the clan’s Spirit Realm records and other materials, but Long Xuan refused to reveal restricted contents.
• Zhang Tie offered five Bodhi Road places every fifty years in exchange for access, and Long Xuan accepted on the condition that he stay present during the examination.
• Long Xuan led Zhang Tie through guarded doors into a secret room containing jade slips about the Spirit Realm.
• Zhang Tie probed the jade slips and found that they were written in God-Worshipping Script, including one that recorded the process of ascending to the Spirit Realm.

After learning about the Spirit Realm, Zhang Tie prepared for his eventual ascension by organizing the sect, planning a trial, and ordering materials for defensive armor. He began cultivating the Vajra Art but discovered that his physical strength already surpassed its highest level, so he turned his attention to advancing his divine sense.

• Zhang Tie reviewed the Dragon Whale clan's records about the Spirit Realm, including its ascension procedures, dangers, factions, and cultivation methods.
• Zhang Tie decided to prepare thoroughly before ascending, avoid untested spatial nodes, and arrange a meeting with Long Xuan in three months for the Bodhi Road trial.
• Zhang Tie returned to the sect, heard that Yan Fire Country was being unified smoothly, set Nascent Soul as the minimum level for trial candidates, and ordered the sect to search for materials for battle armor.
• Zhang Tie studied the Vajra Art and tried to cultivate it, but after three days he found that his physical strength already exceeded the technique's seventh level.
• Zhang Tie decided to cultivate the second level of the Soul Splitting Spirit Nurturing Technique instead.

Zhang Tie completed another stage of splitting his spiritual sense and emerged from seclusion as the Hundred Skills Sect rapidly unified the Crimson Fire Kingdom. He prepared the participants for the Bodhi Road trials and gave Mo Feng a Longevity Pill, watching as he swallowed it to test its effects.

• Zhang Tie cultivated the second layer of the Soul Splitting Spirit Nurturing Art and split his spiritual sense into three secondary souls after more than two months in seclusion.
• The Hundred Skills Sect secured the surrender of sects across the Crimson Fire Kingdom by promising safety to those who cooperated and punishing those who concealed assets.
• The Hundred Skills Sect announced new rules for selecting talent and geniuses, causing the sect to expand rapidly.
• Zhang Tie received the list of people chosen for the Bodhi Road trials and ordered Mo Feng to gather them at the sect plaza the next morning.
• Mo Feng reported that most requested materials had been collected, and Zhang Tie gave him a Longevity Pill before monitoring him as he swallowed and refined it.

Zhang Tie gathered the Hundred Skills Sect cultivators and two demons for the Bodhi Road trial, then joined them with Long Xuan’s Dragon Whale group at the Crimson Moon Sect’s fragmented realm. He explained how the Intent Towers worked and sent the participants to begin the trial.

• After Mo Feng absorbed the pill, Zhang Tie watched his body grow younger and sent him off safely.
• Zhang Tie brought eight Nascent Soul cultivators, Old Turtle, and Little Turtle aboard his warship and instructed them to stay calm during the Bodhi Road trial.
• At the fragmented realm entrance, Zhang Tie met Long Xuan and five fourth-rank Dragon Whales, including Long Liang and Long Shan.
• Zhang Tie teleported both groups into the realm and led them through the formation to the white jade plaza surrounded by black Intent Towers.
• Zhang Tie explained that the towers tested divine sense and intent, then arranged for the Hundred Skills Sect members and Dragon Whales to enter the trial in turns.

After completing an Isolation Formation and finishing his preparations to break through to the Void Breaking Realm, Zhang Tie went to the Eastern Sea thunderstorm region to temper his body with the Lightning Devouring Art. He endured the lightning for over a month and emerged with a body that could withstand its strikes, leaving him ready to continue preparing for his breakthrough.

• Zhang Tie led the trial participants back, but nobody from the Hundred Skills Sect or the Dragon Whale clan had comprehended an artistic conception.
• After Mo Feng gathered the materials, Zhang Tie spent thirty-five years and four failed attempts completing the Isolation Formation in the Hundred Skills Sect's back mountain.
• Zhang Tie mastered the second layer of the Soul Splitting Spirit Nurturing Technique, completing his preparations to attempt the Void Breaking Realm breakthrough.
• Zhang Tie traveled to the Eastern Sea thunderstorm region to strengthen his body with the Lightning Devouring Art.
• After more than a month of enduring lightning, Zhang Tie shed his charred skin and revealed an uninjured body that could withstand the strikes.

Zhang Tie spent years tempering his body in the Sea of Thunder, gradually adapting to increasingly destructive lightning and strengthening his physical body and azure lightning. After more than three months in the storm’s deepest region, a sudden sense of crisis struck just as he prepared to leave, and an unexpected change began.

• Zhang Tie endured black lightning deep in the Sea of Thunder, suffered internal injuries, and repeatedly left to recover before returning to continue tempering himself.
• After adapting to the black lightning, Zhang Tie advanced farther into the storm and sensed an unseen watcher whose presence he could not locate.
• Zhang Tie spent twelve years progressing through the storm, reaching blue lightning that damaged his divine sense and greatly slowed his cultivation.
• Over the next three years, Zhang Tie gradually extended how long he could endure the blue lightning, while his physical body and azure lightning grew stronger.
• After more than three months in the deepest region, Zhang Tie felt an intense crisis and prepared to leave, but an unexpected change occurred.

Zhang Tie battled a Lightning Peng guarding a lightning-attributed Spirit Stone mine, but discovered that his attacks could not destroy it. He decided to devour the bird and appeared before it again, while the Lightning Peng watched him mockingly.

• A Lightning Peng ambushed Zhang Tie in the thunderstorm, and he escaped after realizing he was too weakened to defeat it.
• A month later, Zhang Tie returned to the battle site, descended into the sea, and discovered a lightning-attributed mid-grade Spirit Stone mine.
• The Lightning Peng attacked Zhang Tie near the mine, but his punch made it dissolve into blue light before it reappeared unharmed.
• Zhang Tie offered to take only the high-grade Spirit Stones, but the Lightning Peng refused and claimed the mine as its territory.
• Zhang Tie repeatedly immobilized and struck the Lightning Peng, yet it kept reappearing, so he decided to devour it.

Zhang Tie refined the Lightning Peng’s lightning origin, greatly strengthening his body and learning of a powerful object beneath the Spirit Stone Mine Vein. After enduring the immense pressure to reach it, he touched the golden, volcano-like object and lost consciousness.

• Zhang Tie swallowed the Lightning Peng with his Taotie phantom and refined its lightning power, while the Indestructible Pearl repaired the damage to his body.
• Over three months, Zhang Tie completed his tempering, raised his physical strength by a major level, and increased his azure lightning power severalfold.
• Zhang Tie learned from the Lightning Peng’s memories that it was a lightning spirit sustained by its Lightning Source and that it coveted something beneath the Spirit Stone Mine Vein.
• Zhang Tie returned to the thunderstorm’s center and burrowed beneath the mine vein, where his Taotie Nascent Soul sensed both fear and greed.
• Zhang Tie endured the golden object’s pressure for more than a month and discovered it was a living volcano of lightning-attributed spiritual energy.
• Zhang Tie activated the Witch Domain and touched the golden object, then lost consciousness after a piercing shriek entered his sea of consciousness.

Zhang Tie survived the Golden Boulder’s assault when the Indestructible Pearl absorbed a golden lightning phantom, but the ordeal damaged his divine sense and erased some memories. After merging a divided soul to recover, he set out to return to the Hundred Peaks Sect and prepare for his breakthroughs.

• When Zhang Tie touched the Golden Boulder, a golden lightning phantom shattered part of his consciousness sphere, but the Indestructible Pearl trapped and absorbed it.
• After half a year, Zhang Tie awoke in pain and received a vision of a golden Kunpeng fighting a Three Heads Six Arms serpent-man he believed was Rahula.
• Zhang Tie realized the boulder might contain Kunpeng’s blood and that the Indestructible Pearl had saved his life, though his divine sense was nearly gone and some memories were missing.
• Zhang Tie merged a divided soul into his sea of consciousness, restoring his divine sense and memories after more than half a month.
• Zhang Tie decided to return to the isolation formation in the back mountain of the Hundred Peaks Sect to prepare for breaking through to the Soul Transformation Realm and the Void Breaking Realm.