Chapter Summaries

Zhang Tie studied the cave’s great formation and learned that it was a worn-down True Immortal formation, then bargained with the imprisoned nine-headed monster over a Three Yuan Chaos Thunder Dao Fruit. The monster offered to help him obtain it in exchange for a blood oath, leaving Zhang Tie to decide whether to accept.

• Zhang Tie attacked the nine-headed monster with ice, but its bloody barrier stopped him, so he used golden blood qi armor and lightning to hold back the monster’s mist.
• Zhang Tie examined the great formation for more than half a month and discovered that it had once been a ninth-tier True Immortal formation but had weakened to seventh-tier power.
• Zhang Tie determined that he could open a temporary gap in the formation, but stopped studying it because the competition would end within a month.
• The nine-headed monster asked Zhang Tie to damage the formation’s nexuses in exchange for a generous reward, and Zhang Tie demanded to hear the offer before agreeing.
• The nine-headed monster revealed that the grotto-heaven contained a Three Yuan Chaos Thunder Dao Fruit and explained that it could help Zhang Tie obtain it if he made a blood oath.

Zhang Tie formed a blood pact with the Nine-Headed Monster, received protection and directions to the Three Yuan Chaos Thunder Dao Fruit, then led his companions toward the core region. There, they found it controlled by three Golden Core experts, and Zhang Tie sent Little Turtle out to confront the blockade.

• Zhang Tie and the Nine-Headed Monster formed a blood pact, but the Indestructible Pearl absorbed Zhang Tie’s pact mark.
• The Nine-Headed Monster condensed a blood-colored barrier from its Blood Path laws and gave Zhang Tie a jade slip before returning to statue form.
• Zhang Tie rejoined Li Chenyuan and the other five, and they set out for the core region.
• Five days later, the group found the core region entrance blocked by a gang demanding spirit herbs on behalf of the Three Great Powers.
• After realizing that dealing with the three Golden Core experts could give him control of most of the spirit herbs, Zhang Tie summoned Little Turtle from the Mountain River Cave Heaven Diagram.

Zhang Tie entered the Lightning Bead Grotto-Heaven’s core region to seize the Three Yuan Chaos Thunder Dao Fruit, only to discover that the Karma Fire Lightning Lion guarding it had baited him. After biting the fruit and unleashing its violent lightning power, Zhang Tie faced the lion in a battle.

• Zhang Tie used a blood-red bead to pass through the barrier into the storm-wracked core region and flew toward the Dao Fruit.
• Zhang Tie found the Three Yuan Chaos Thunder Dao Fruit beside a sleeping Karma Fire Lightning Lion and cautiously approached it.
• Zhang Tie noticed the lion’s mouth twitch and stopped his hand, then lunged forward and bit the fruit instead of plucking it.
• The fruit’s lightning power surged through Zhang Tie, who transformed into a Kunpeng and was knocked back by the giant Karma Fire Lightning Lion.
• Zhang Tie used the Indestructible Pearl to endure the attack and began consuming the fruit’s lightning with the Lightning Devouring Art.

Zhang Tie used the Indestructible Pearl and Kunpeng Transformation to reach the Great Circle of the Hegemon Body Realm and battle the Karma Fire Lightning Lion. After striking the Lion with the Profound Heaven Spirit Extermination Shovel, he escaped the weakened thunder barrier, but the Pearl’s new black energy plunged his consciousness into darkness.

• Zhang Tie boosted his strength with the Kunpeng Transformation while the Indestructible Pearl absorbed the excess energy, but he still could not integrate Dao laws into his body.
• The Karma Fire Lightning Lion attacked with a giant thunderball and lightning, but Zhang Tie dodged and endured the shockwave of their clash.
• Zhang Tie summoned the Profound Heaven Spirit Extermination Shovel and struck the Karma Fire Lightning Lion, sending it crashing into the ground.
• The Karma Fire Lightning Lion exploded into white thunderlight and vanished before Zhang Tie could finish it, so Zhang Tie searched for it and then left.
• Zhang Tie discovered the Three Yuan Chaos Thunder Dao Fruit had disappeared and the Indestructible Pearl had turned dark purple with black patterns.
• The Indestructible Pearl sent black energy toward Zhang Tie’s soul, and his consciousness fell into boundless darkness when he tried to receive it.

After remaining unconscious for more than twenty days, Zhang Tie awakened with a new understanding of the lightning laws and unleashed a terrifying Heavenly Dao pressure. Two greedy cultivators who tried to steal his storage ring were struck down, leaving Zhang Tie to examine his unharmed body.

• Ye and Zhao discovered Zhang Tie, covered in ice armor and surrounded by black lightning, and decided to wait for him to die so they could take his storage ring.
• After four days, Ye persuaded Zhao to attack Zhang Tie before the competition ended, and the two launched their magic artifacts at his head.
• Black lightning destroyed both artifacts, and Zhang Tie opened his eyes as the Heavenly Dao pressure from his body knocked Ye and Zhao down.
• Zhang Tie examined himself and realized that his soul had undergone a transformation and that he had comprehended the power of the lightning laws.

Zhang Tie found Little Turtle, divided the collected spirit herbs among his companions, and returned to strike the Nine-Headed Monster with black lightning. After the competition ended, he joined the line to submit his herbs for ranking.

• Zhang Tie learned the competition would end the next day, revived the two unconscious youths, and took their storage pouches.
• Zhang Tie found Little Turtle and the others, brought Little Turtle into the Mountain River Cave Heaven Diagram, and had the spirit herbs divided into six equal shares.
• Zhang Tie returned to the pit and blasted away the Nine-Headed Monster's middle head with black lightning, but his follow-up attack left the resulting statue unharmed.
• Zhang Tie waited until the competition ended and was teleported back to the valley, where he learned that only a little over four hundred contestants remained.
• Shang JinSu asked the contestants to submit their spirit herbs for ranking in exchange for half the market price, and Zhang Tie joined the line.

Zhang Tie and his companions passed the first round of the Pill Dao Grand Competition and boarded a warship to the second test, a path through illusion and pressure formations. Zhang Tie quickly reached the stairs and paused to conceal how easily he was progressing.

• Zhang Tie and five others submitted only some of the spirit herbs they had collected, while the Pill Dao Association relaxed the requirements to allow more contestants to qualify.
• Yun Zhiyi and four companions thanked Zhang Tie for helping them pass, then followed him aboard the warship to await the second round.
• Shang JinSu announced that contestants had three days to reach the Pill Dao Plaza at the center of an island, and Zhang Tie recognized the bluestone road and ninety-nine stairs as illusion and pressure formations.
• Zhang Tie warned Li Chenyuan, Yun Zhiyi, and the others about the formations, then entered the road while his companions took pills they had prepared to help them through the test.
• Zhang Tie swiftly overcame the illusions and climbed halfway up the pressure stairs, then pretended to be exhausted and stopped to avoid appearing to finish first.

Zhang Tie reached the Alchemy Dao Plaza and began the third trial, an alchemy competition judged by seven Nascent Soul cultivators. After he refined nine fourth-rank pills with five pill patterns, the Void Refinement Patriarch Xing Yunzi arrived and asked him to become his final disciple.

• Zhang Tie climbed the staircase and became the fifth person to reach the summit before entering the Alchemy Dao Plaza.
• Shang JinSu announced that the one hundred and eight contestants had three days to refine the highest-ranked pill, with pill patterns deciding ties.
• Zhang Tie summoned the Spirit Gathering Cauldron and used the Blood Ash Netherflame Fire to refine his spirit herbs.
• Zhang Tie produced nine fourth-rank pills with five pill patterns, shocking the judges and audience.
• Xing Yunzi flew from a palace to meet Zhang Tie and asked whether he would become his final disciple.

Zhang Tie accepted Xing Yunzi as his martial brother and inherited his Pill Dao knowledge, then advanced to the brink of becoming a Pill Monarch over 180 years. As Xing Yunzi neared death, Zhang Tie struggled with whether to ascend sooner using sorcery or wait until he became a Pill Emperor.

• Xing Yunzi offered to accept Zhang Tie as a disciple on behalf of his master, and Zhang Tie agreed to become his junior martial brother.
• Xing Yunzi gave Zhang Tie the Pill Dao Association’s Ancestor Token and a jade slip containing his lifelong Pill Dao insights.
• Zhang Tie studied and practiced under Xing Yunzi, becoming a Pill King after more than 130 years and a Pill Saint 20 years later.
• After 180 years, Zhang Tie stood half a step from becoming a Pill Monarch while Xing Yunzi lamented that he might not live to see Zhang Tie ascend to the Upper Realm.
• Zhang Tie considered delaying his ascent until he became a Pill Emperor, but Xing Yunzi’s declining health left him torn over whether to use sorcery and ascend sooner.

Zhang Tie gave Xing Yunzi a seventh-rank Ghost Spirit Ginseng Deer Pill, but Xing Yunzi refused to take it and gave Zhang Tie the Thunder Vine Umbrella for his coming tribulation. Zhang Tie began refining a ninth-grade Desolate Longevity Pill with witchcraft at Pill Dao Square, and the pill emerged as dark clouds gathered overhead.

• Zhang Tie presented Xing Yunzi with a seventh-rank Ghost Spirit Ginseng Deer Pill, but Xing Yunzi said he had decided to enter reincarnation rather than cling to life.
• Xing Yunzi gave Zhang Tie the Thunder Vine Umbrella he had spent a hundred years refining to help him withstand lightning during his ascension tribulation.
• Zhang Tie announced that he would refine a seventh-rank ninth-grade pill, drawing cultivators from across the region to the Pill Dao Association.
• Zhang Tie began refining the Desolate Longevity Pill at Pill Dao Square, where Xing Yunzi watched and urged him not to force himself.
• Zhang Tie used witchcraft to form the pill, suffering severe injuries as the Indestructible Pearl expended half its purple energy to repair him.
• A pill bearing the phantom image of a tiny golden dragon shot from the furnace as dark clouds gathered over Pill Dao Square.

Zhang Tie struggled to withstand the Three-Nine Heavenly Tribulation triggered by the ninth-grade Desolate Longevity Pill while recovering from his injuries and conserving his dwindling divine power. After enduring twenty-four of the twenty-seven strikes, he faced a massive sword formed from golden, cyan, and purple lightning.

• Zhang Tie used the Thunder Vine Umbrella and Profound Heaven Spirit Extermination Shovel to resist the golden tribulation bolts, but the umbrella was destroyed.
• The tribulation shifted to cyan lightning, while the Desolate Longevity Pill drew energy from the void and its golden dragon phantom grew more solid.
• Xing Yunzi watched Zhang Tie's weakening aura and held a palm-sized stone mirror in anxious readiness.
• When his divine power neared exhaustion, Zhang Tie relied on the Lightning Devouring Art and his Indestructible Pearl to endure the lightning with his body.
• Zhang Tie endured four more strikes after the first twenty, then saw three-colored lightning merge into a massive sword descending toward him.

Zhang Tie endured a fatal blow in an illusion, only to awaken in the passage outside the Alchemy Plaza and realize the assessment’s hidden formation had deceived him. The memories and alchemy insight he brought back left him questioning what was real, before a mysterious voice summoned him to the Pill Emperor Tower.

• Zhang Tie used his remaining power to defend himself from the three-colored giant sword, but Xing Yunzi’s stone mirror shattered and Xing Yunzi collapsed after spitting blood.
• Zhang Tie’s shovel and the sword struck him, leaving him gravely crushed; before losing consciousness, he saw Xing Yunzi lying wounded and felt gratitude, regret, and guilt.
• A voice announced the end of the second round, and Zhang Tie awoke in the passage outside the Alchemy Plaza, realizing he had been trapped in an illusion formation and eliminated.
• Zhang Tie recalled his experiences with Xing Yunzi and discovered that the illusion had greatly improved his understanding of alchemy, making him doubt which world was real.
• An aged, mysterious voice summoned Zhang Tie to the Pill Emperor Tower and placed a map in his sea of consciousness.

Zhang Tie met Ling Shanzi at the Pill Emperor Tower and learned that the tower’s Enlightenment Illusion Mirror had reacted to him in an unprecedented way. When Zhang Tie revealed that Xing Yunzi had given him an Ancestor Token in the illusion, the token appeared in his storage ring, and Ling Shanzi knelt to acknowledge him as a Martial Ancestor Uncle.

• Zhang Tie met Ling Shanzi atop the Pill Emperor Tower and learned that the Alchemy Dao Association had investigated him and suspected he came from the Upper Realm.
• Ling Shanzi said the tower’s Enlightenment Illusion Mirror had manifested outside the tower for Zhang Tie, a phenomenon absent from its records for hundreds of thousands of years.
• Zhang Tie described meeting Xing Yunzi in the illusion, and Ling Shanzi reacted with shock at the name.
• Zhang Tie said Xing Yunzi had given him an Ancestor Token, then discovered the token in his storage ring as Ling Shanzi knelt and addressed him as Martial Ancestor Uncle.
• Ling Shanzi explained that the Pill Emperor Tower had been Xing Yunzi’s natal magic treasure and that its missing Tower Spirit token had kept him from controlling it; Zhang Tie asked how the token had appeared in his possession.

Zhang Tie learned that Xing Yunzi’s remnant soul had chosen him to challenge the Pill Dao Association’s control of pill dao and discovered the Pill Emperor Tower’s abilities. He decided to take the tower and began placing restrictions on the Tower Spirit to secure its loyalty.

• Ling Shanzi pleaded with Zhang Tie not to take the tower, warning that its removal would sever the realm’s path to ascension.
• Zhang Tie entered the Pill Emperor Tower alone and summoned the Tower Spirit with the jade token.
• The Tower Spirit explained that Xing Yunzi’s remnant soul had chosen Zhang Tie to break the Pill Dao Association’s control over pill dao.
• The Tower Spirit revealed that the tower increased pill-refining success rates, recorded the entire refining process, and concealed those inside from outside detection.
• Zhang Tie ordered the Tower Spirit to record pill dao insights on jade slips and decided to take the tower away.
• After the Tower Spirit finished recording more than seventy jade slips, Zhang Tie began placing restrictions on its soul.

Zhang Tie subdued the Tower Spirit, took the Profound Spirit Pill Tower, and shared its legacy through the founding of the Dan Hai Alliance. Three years later, he began preparing for his ascension tribulation on a remote island as tribulation clouds gathered overhead.

• Zhang Tie planted 173 soul restrictions in the Tower Spirit and ordered it to put away the Profound Spirit Pill Tower.
• Zhang Tie gave Ling Shanzi the tower’s 33 jade slips containing its recorded insights, then took the tower with him.
• Zhang Tie proposed an alliance among the Liu family and three major sects, promising to leave the jade slips with them and build a defensive grand formation.
• The Dan Hai Alliance was established a year later and opened part of its Pill Dao legacy to independent cultivators.
• Three years later, Zhang Tie prepared for his ascension tribulation and refined a ninth-grade seventh-rank Bloodflame Guiyi Pill as tribulation clouds gathered.

Zhang Tie broke the final lightning bolt of his tribulation and ascended through the heavenly stairway to the Spirit Realm. After joining the Blood Bone Sect’s Pill Hall and receiving a lavish cave abode, he wondered what the sect would demand in return and planned to assess the situation before considering how to leave.

• Zhang Tie tested the lightning tribulation, healed his injuries with a Jianmu Guiyuan Pill, and destroyed the ninth bolt with a punch.
• Zhang Tie sealed away the transformed Bloodflame Guiyi Pill and climbed the golden heavenly stairway, feeling his body and soul grow stronger.
• Zhang Tie passed through the palace gate and met Lu Jinghuai, who welcomed him to the Spirit Realm.
• Zhang Tie registered with the Blood Bone Sect, received an identity token, and was assigned to its Pill Hall.
• Zhang Tie chose a well-appointed cave abode with territory spanning one million li, along with generous monthly resources and the option to select an ancient treasure.
• Zhang Tie questioned the Blood Bone Sect’s generous terms, decided to assess the situation before making plans to leave, and began setting up formations in his cave abode.

Zhang Tie reported to the Alchemy Hall and chose to be assessed as a seventh-tier alchemist. After two elders arrived to witness the test, he began refining a Blood Spirit Pill, leaving the assessment underway.

• Zhang Tie registered at the General Affairs Hall and received directions to the Assessment Hall.
• Zhang Tie asked about the Alchemy Hall's highest rank and requested a seventh-tier alchemist assessment.
• The long-haired elder sent out transmission talismans and summoned the Sixth Elder and Seventh Elder as witnesses.
• The long-haired elder gave Zhang Tie three sets of Blood Spirit Pill ingredients and a formula, explaining the conditions for passing or failing.
• Zhang Tie summoned the Spirit Gathering Cauldron, ignited it with Blood Ash Netherflame Fire, and began adding the spirit herbs.

Zhang Tie passed the Pill Hall’s assessment by refining three tier-7 Blood Spirit Pills and became its Eighth Elder. After struggling to fuse the power of laws for several months, he received a summons to a Pill Hall Elder Hall discussion.

• Zhang Tie refined three tier-7 Blood Spirit Pills, including two lower-grade pills and one middle-grade pill, and the Seventh Elder declared that he had passed the assessment.
• Fang Du congratulated Zhang Tie and gave him a sound-transmission jade slip, while Kong Jingxia left without staying to speak with him.
• Zhang Tie collected his assessment proof and elder token, read the Pill Hall rules, and identified fusing the power of laws, finding tier-7 demonic beast blood essence, and leaving the Blood Bone Sect as priorities.
• Zhang Tie repeatedly failed to fuse the power of laws into his void apertures, then spent several months studying the Ice God Art to calm himself and deepen his understanding.
• Zhang Tie received a sound-transmission sword talisman summoning him to a Pill Hall Elder Hall discussion the next day at the hour of Chen.

Zhang Tie volunteered for a dangerous Alchemy Hall mission to help the Azure Flood Dragon Sect refine pills in exchange for a million contribution points. He received a jade slip and headed to Blood Bone Peak to meet the Sect Master, while a white-haired elder ominously warned him to stay alive.

• The First Elder told the Alchemy Hall elders that the Sect Master required a seventh-rank alchemist to assist with pill refinement at the Azure Flood Dragon Sect for a million contribution points.
• The First Elder revealed that the pill required a living late seventh-rank demonic beast with ancient black dragon blood, and that Integration stage experts from both sects would guard the process.
• After the elders stayed silent, Zhang Tie volunteered for the dangerous mission, and the First Elder accepted his offer and promised an extra two hundred thousand contribution points if he returned safely.
• The First Elder gave Zhang Tie a jade slip and directed him to meet the Sect Master at Blood Bone Peak.
• A short white-haired elder warned Zhang Tie that he needed to survive to spend his contribution points, but Zhang Tie ignored him and flew toward Blood Bone Peak.

Zhang Tie and Di Huangwan traveled into the Azure Flood Dragon Sect’s territory, where Zhang Tie learned that his separated clone and Zhao Daosheng were still alive. After local cultivators escorted them to Qingjiao Hall, Elder Qingshan welcomed them with the sect’s green-scale fruits.

• Di Huangwan told Zhang Tie about three recent events: a giant insect that vanished after devouring hundreds of millions, a Jiaochi cultivator’s ascension, and the Cannibal Twin Demons.
• Zhang Tie learned that the Cannibal Twin Demons were still alive and felt reassured that his Nascent Soul clone had Zhao Daosheng’s Vermillion Bird True Fire.
• Zhang Tie and Di Huangwan crossed into Azure Flood Dragon Sect territory, where three Nascent Soul cultivators recognized their status and escorted them to Qingjiao Hall.
• Elder Qingshan welcomed Zhang Tie and Di Huangwan and served them green-scale fruits, which Zhang Tie found tasty but nearly useless for strengthening his body.