Chapter Summaries

Chu Jiang annihilated the Heaven Merging experts who besieged him, seized their key artifacts, and refined the Qiongqi Demon King's essence blood. He opened the passage to the Nether Sea, where he planned to seek the God-Slaying Blood.

• Chu Jiang crushed the Four Symbols Heaven Punisher Array and killed the thirty Heaven Merging experts who attacked him, then took the Heavenly Cripple Sword Alliance's Nine Nether Blood Marrow Nail.
• Chu Jiang defeated the Witch King of Demons, seized the Reverse Scale, Divine Elephant Right Hand, and Golden Boat of Salvation, and killed the fleeing Barbarian King.
• Old Ten forced the surviving spectators to pay one thousand High-grade Spirit Stones each before they fled, while Chu Jiang collected the battle spoils.
• Chu Jiang refined the Qiongqi Demon King's essence blood, opening ten thousand particles and reaching a total of twenty-five thousand four hundred.
• Chu Jiang used the four Great Key Artifacts and the secret art passed down by King Qinguang to open the Nether Sea passage.

Chu Jiang charged cultivators for permits to enter the Nether Sea and sold four Subordinate Golden Boats of Salvation after demonstrating that an ordinary boat could not survive the passage. He then led the fleet into the Nether Sea passage.

• Nine-Life Mysterious Consort and the Gold and Silver Star Lords arrived and found Chu Jiang still guarding the Nether Sea passage.
• Chu Jiang demanded five thousand High-grade Spirit Stones per person for passage and offered four Subordinate Golden Boats of Salvation for two hundred thousand each.
• A Heaven Merging Realm cultivator tried to cross in his own Boat of Salvation, but the passage swallowed him and his boat.
• Cultivators bought passage permits and all four boats; the buyers then formed teams to explore the Nether Sea.
• Chu Jiang drove the Golden Boat of Salvation into the passage as the other nine Subordinate Golden Boats followed.

As the Chu Emperor’s final hour approached, Prince Yan prepared to seize the palace, believing the throne would pass to Prince Jin. The Chu Emperor revealed that he had chosen Prince Yan after all, but died before the court could learn the truth, and the chapter ended with news that Prince Yan’s forces had taken the imperial palace.

• Prince Yan’s generals reported that they had secured many Imperial Guards and the Seven Great Camps, and Prince Yan ordered them to seize power before midnight.
• The Chu Emperor refused life-extending medicine and summoned Prince Jin, Prince Qi, several other princes, and senior officials before summoning Prince Yan last.
• The Chu Emperor asked Prince Yan to assist Prince Jin, then revealed that Prince Yan was the son he had chosen to inherit the throne and urged him to treat his brothers well.
• The Chu Emperor died, and the Golden Dragon of Destiny dispersed.
• An old eunuch announced that Prince Yan had rebelled and his men had taken over the imperial palace.

Prince Yan's claim to the throne was confirmed by the late Chu Emperor's genuine imperial decree, and the court reluctantly recognized him as the new Emperor. Prince Yan declared Liu Rushuang would be Empress, just as the mysterious Wu arrived to congratulate them.

• Jin Ge'er and Imperial Guards retreated as Qin An and Prince Yan's forces took control of the Golden Palace Hall, while Li Jing prepared to oppose them.
• Prince Yan announced that the Chu Emperor had passed the throne to him, and General Wu Lin arrived with the imperial decree naming him successor.
• Yan Zheng, Han Fei, and other officials verified that the decree was genuine, and Liu Rushuang framed Prince Yan's seizure of the palace as a test of loyalty so the officials could accept him as Emperor.
• Prince Qi left the palace, while Han Fei speculated that the Chu Emperor's death had begun a larger game and that the realm would descend into chaos.
• Prince Yan embraced Liu Rushuang and declared that he would make her Empress, and the mysterious Wu entered to congratulate them.

After Prince Yan ascended the throne, the Chu Emperor’s death unleashed schemes across the land as factions moved to exploit the turmoil. The Fú Tiān Palace Master saw the news as the start of a larger game, with Chu Jiang’s continued influence still restraining many forces.

• Prince Yan promised Wu the Chu Emperor’s corpse, but Wu took it immediately, prompting Prince Yan to plan his ascension ceremony and intend to become Invincible Under Heaven.
• Bright Temple Fangzhang Master Xuanjing ordered monks to spread Buddhist teachings after the Chu Emperor’s death.
• Heavenly Rooster Star ordered Earth Fiend Hall to capture more humans, develop its experimental serum, and summon the Fiend God from seclusion.
• Taiping Holy Cult Sect Master Zhang Wei urged caution in the west and decided to let rival forces test Chu Jiang’s strength first.
• The Tianhun Sect Master ordered Soul Reaper Envoys to harvest souls in secret.
• After hearing of the Chu Emperor’s death, the Fú Tiān Palace Master declared that the game had begun.

Chu Jiang and his companions entered the Nether Sea, where they encountered other boats and were attacked by the remains of ancient cultivators. After Chu Jiang refused Kumoku’s invitation to explore a floating island, he sailed toward the God-Slaying Blood’s location.

• Chu Jiang, Old Ten, the ferryman clan’s Grand Elder, and Saint Son Jiuyou arrived in the Nether Sea aboard the Golden Boat of Salvation and encountered Kumoku and Demon Cloud Hermit.
• Kumoku invited the passengers on his boat to join him in searching for an inheritance on a floating island, and they agreed to travel with him.
• Ancient cultivator skeletons rose from the sea and attacked all three boats; Old Ten and Chu Jiang easily destroyed the attackers surrounding their boat.
• Kumoku asked Chu Jiang to help repel the skeletons and explore the island, but Chu Jiang refused because he was seeking the God-Slaying Blood.
• Chu Jiang entered the God-Slaying Blood’s coordinates into the Golden Boat of Salvation and sailed away, while Kumoku resolved to pursue him later.

Chu Jiang cultivated the Ziwei Qi Observation Technique and learned to read the fortune of others. Elsewhere, Kumoku sacrificed the cultivators he had deceived to activate a bloody stone platform, which began shaking after devouring them.

• Chu Jiang discovered that the ancient tome contained the great divine ability Ziwei Qi Observation Technique and spent over a million years cultivating it to minor accomplishment.
• Chu Jiang used the technique to observe the Grand Elder’s nearly red fortune and Saint Son Jiuyou’s powerful red fortune.
• Kumoku led the surviving cultivators to a bloody stone platform, claiming it was a teleportation array to a demonic inheritance ground.
• After the cultivators stepped onto the platform, Kumoku escaped with a Talisman Treasure and activated the array.
• The platform devoured the nine cultivators, including two Heaven Merging Realm experts, then began shaking violently.

Kumoku awakened Demon King Tian Hou, who escaped his ancient seal only as a Dharma body and set out to find Demon God Blood. Chu Jiang and several other groups were drawn to Divine Abyss Island, where a colossal creature blocked the cultivators approaching its ancient palaces.

• Kumoku's blood sacrifices and Tian Hou's World-Extinguishing Demon Flame opened a crack in the seal, allowing Tian Hou to send out a Dharma body.
• Tian Hou learned from Kumoku that Great Chu still stood and that Demon God Blood might be found on Divine Abyss Island, then took control of the Boat of Salvation and headed there.
• Chu Jiang sensed the God-Slaying Blood in his Nether Ring resonating with Divine Abyss Island and ordered Saint Son Jiuyou to change course toward it.
• Nine-Life Mysterious Consort, Old Man Mie Sheng, and other groups also steered their Boats of Salvation toward the island.
• Cultivators on Divine Abyss Island began ascending its broken stairways toward the heavenly palaces, but a colossal creature appeared and blocked their way.

Demon King Tian Hou used a flawed formation to rush toward the heavenly palace while the Heavenly Void Kun attacked the cultivators. Chu Jiang secretly crossed through the void, and the chapter ended with Old Ten redirecting a fatal strike onto Tian Hou using the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Changing Talisman.

• Demon King Tian Hou arrived at Divine Abyss Island with Kumoku and proposed joining forces with Chu Jiang to break past the Heavenly Void Kun.
• Chu Jiang, Old Ten, and the other cultivators helped Tian Hou activate the Heaven Stabilizing Grand Formation, which restrained the Kun temporarily.
• Tian Hou raced toward the heavenly palace after the formation activated, but the Kun began breaking free after only ten breaths.
• The Heavenly Void Kun killed several cultivators, including Silver Moon Star Lord, who shielded Nine-Life Mysterious Consort from a divine-light strike.
• Chu Jiang concealed himself within the void and advanced toward the heavenly palace without being hit by the Kun's attacks.
• Old Ten crushed the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Changing Talisman, redirecting a blue divine-light strike onto Tian Hou and knocking him from the sky.

Chu Jiang and the surviving cultivators reached the Heavenly Palace, where Netherworld Creatures attacked them with soul assaults. Chu Jiang unleashed the Human Emperor Banner and turned the battle around, sending its million yin souls after the creatures as he set his sights on the Nether Crow King.

• Chu Jiang, Old Ten, and seven other survivors arrived at the Heavenly Palace, where severe suppression prevented flight and limited their strength.
• Chu Jiang sensed God-Slaying Blood in a western palace and prepared to head toward it, but more than a hundred thousand Netherworld Creatures appeared.
• The Netherworld Creatures attacked with soul assaults, while Chu Jiang protected himself with the Heaven Soul Armor and Old Man Mie Sheng shielded his group with an ancient bronze lamp.
• Chu Jiang summoned the Human Emperor Banner, whose Yellow Springs Domain and yin souls overwhelmed the Netherworld Creatures and forced the Nether Crow King to order a retreat.
• Chu Jiang sent the banner’s million yin souls after the fleeing creatures, intending to capture the Nether Crow King as the banner’s Main Soul.

Chu Jiang subdued the Nether Crow King and obtained God-Slaying Blood to help repair the formation suppressing Great Chu’s Seven Divine Beings. God-Slaying Blood revealed that the Heaven and Earth Laws were dissipating, and Chu Jiang left with the looming decline of the Nether Abyss in mind.

• Chu Jiang’s hundred heavenly veins let him wield the Human Emperor Banner’s Soul Devouring Array with overwhelming force, and the Nether Crow King surrendered to become its Main Soul.
• After Chu Jiang departed, Kumoku asked Old Man Mie Sheng for help, but Mie Sheng angrily refused and led the others away.
• Chu Jiang and Old Ten reached a sealed western hall, where a blood-red token opened the doors and revealed the living God-Slaying Blood.
• God-Slaying Blood honored its agreement with Yin Yang and waived the trials, letting Chu Jiang collect blood for the damaged formation at the Ruins Forbidden Land.
• God-Slaying Blood explained that the Heaven and Earth Laws were dissipating, the Nether Abyss’s rules were failing, and spiritual qi would soon vanish; Chu Jiang then asked about the Outer Realm.

Chu Jiang learned that the world had been sealed after the Ancient Gods fell, while the Demon King Tian Hou and Kumoku arrived at the eastern ancient hall seeking its treasures. Chu Jiang killed them both, and the ancient hall's door opened.

• God-Slaying Blood told Chu Jiang that the world had been sealed after the Ancient Gods fell, but could not explain how Yuan Shouyi reached the Outer Realm.
• Demon King Tian Hou escaped the Heavenly Void Kun and headed for the eastern ancient hall to obtain Demon God Blood.
• Old Man Mie Sheng and Nine-Life Mysterious Consort broke the hall's outer restriction as Demon King Tian Hou proposed an alliance with Old Man Mie Sheng.
• Chu Jiang arrived and killed Demon King Tian Hou with a flurry of punches, then killed Kumoku with one punch.
• Chu Jiang smashed Kumoku's head against the hall door, causing it to open.

Chu Jiang entered the Demon Suppression Road to obtain Demon God Blood and overwhelmed its first two trials, using the rewards and demon souls to strengthen himself and the Human Emperor Banner. After passing the Blood Pool Trial and claiming another reward choice, he stood poised to continue deeper into the palace.

• Chu Jiang killed Demon King Tian Hou, and the palace gates opened to reveal the Demon Suppression Road.
• Old Man Mie Sheng explained the road’s three trials, and Chu Jiang entered the Soul Devouring Mist Bridge.
• Chu Jiang used the Human Emperor Banner and Nine Yin Heavenly Thunder to defeat the first trial’s black shadow, allowing Nether Crow to begin advancing toward Heaven Transformation.
• Chu Jiang chose the Demonic Shadow Cloak as his first-trial reward and entered the Blood Pool Trial.
• Chu Jiang slaughtered Ancient Blood Demon Remnant Souls across the coffins, passed the second trial, and gained five hundred thousand years of lifespan.
• The trial voice offered Chu Jiang a choice of three rewards for passing the Blood Pool Trial.

Chu Jiang entered the third trial, where he had to defeat the Qiongqi Demon King without external assistance, and fought the ancient fiend with his own abilities. After badly injuring it with a succession of powerful techniques, he pressed forward with another Heaven Collapse Fist.

• Chu Jiang chose the seventh-grade Enlightenment Fruit as his reward and entered the third trial, where he was tasked with defeating the Qiongqi Demon King head-on without outside help.
• The Qiongqi Demon King appeared on the ancient battlefield and attacked Chu Jiang, who met its blows with the Sky Splitting Spear.
• Chu Jiang used Destruction in All Ten Directions and Giant Elephant Trample to break through the Demon King's defenses and send it crashing to the ground.
• The Qiongqi Demon King transformed and unleashed its Xuanming Bone Domain, but Chu Jiang countered with the Extreme Cold Domain and used the Heaven Swallowing Tribulation Eye to wound its soul.
• Chu Jiang's Myriad Manifestations Tread the Heavens overwhelmed the Qiongqi Demon King's Crimson Fiend Swallows Heaven, leaving the fiend bloodied and stunned.
• The Qiongqi Demon King questioned whether Chu Jiang was human or ghost, and Chu Jiang answered by attacking again with the Heaven Collapse Fist.

Chu Jiang defeated the Qiongqi Demon King in the third trial and learned that Demon God Blood had seized some control of the Demon Suppression Palace. Seeking Demon God Qi for his cultivation, he used the Book of Life and Death to suppress Demon God Blood and strip away some of its blood, stunning the Palace Spirit.

• Chu Jiang defeated the Qiongqi Demon King, passed the third trial, and was offered a choice of three rewards.
• The Palace Spirit explained that Demon God Blood had developed consciousness, contested control of the palace, and prevented him from granting access to demonic treasures.
• The Palace Spirit gave Chu Jiang a Monster Gathering Pot and sent him to collect Demon God Qi, while Chu Jiang concealed his human aura with the Demonic Shadow Cloak.
• Chu Jiang gathered two Demon Crystals from the gray mist, then used the Book of Life and Death to suppress Demon God Blood and strip away some of its blood.
• Demon God Blood tried to stop the loss with the Heavenly Demon First Seal but failed to contain it completely, while the Palace Spirit recognized the Book of Life and Death.

Chu Jiang seized eight drops of Demon God Blood, chose Primordial Origin Qi as his reward, and left the Nether Abyss. Before departing, he rescued travelers from the Black Yin Wind and secured promises that the Ferryman Tribe would be protected, while turmoil was brewing outside.

• Chu Jiang used the Judge's Brush to inflict calamities on the Demon God Blood, took eight drops with the Monster Gathering Pot, and escaped with the Palace Spirit.
• The Palace Spirit let Chu Jiang choose Primordial Origin Qi and warned him not to refine the Demon God Blood before reaching Heaven Transformation Perfection and diluting it.
• On the Nether Sea, Old Man Mie Sheng and Nine-Life Mysterious Consort's group were pursued by the unexpectedly early Black Yin Wind, and Chu Jiang rescued them aboard the Golden Boat of Salvation.
• Old Man Mie Sheng and Nine-Life Mysterious Consort pledged to protect the Ferryman Tribe after Chu Jiang asked them to look after it.
• Chu Jiang returned to the Ferryman Tribe, left them resources, and departed the Nether Abyss through the Ancient Teleportation Array as turmoil stirred outside.

At Prince Yan’s first court assembly, officials reported widespread rebellions and foreign threats, while ministers argued over whether to use Chu Jiang’s forces. Prince Yan then issued a decree naming Liu Rushuang of the Destiny Observatory as Empress, provoking fierce objections from officials who cited Great Chu’s ancestral prohibition.

• Officials reported uprisings across Great Chu, along with threats from demonic forces, Buddhist monks, barbarians, and neighboring states.
• Minister of War Sun Wu urged the court to appoint Chu Jiang to suppress the rebellions, but Grand Chancellor Liang Long and Minister of Rites Su Wen opposed relying on him.
• Han Fei warned that enemies were preparing to attack Yunzhou, while Liang Long proposed transferring Chu Jiang’s three thousand personal guards away from the region.
• Prince Yan ended the ministers’ quarrel and proclaimed Liu Rushuang Empress by imperial decree.
• Officials objected that the Destiny Observatory was forbidden by ancestral precept, and Vice Minister of Rites Zhou Xuanli threatened to dash himself against a bronze pillar if the decree stood.

At his first court session, the New Emperor resisted objections to his marriage and appointed Wu Xuanji Protector of the Nation Xuanzun with sweeping powers intended to check the Regent. Yang Jisheng condemned the decree as a threat to Great Chu and Xiang rule, then struck his head against the hall floor in a death remonstrance.

• Prince Yan ordered Zhou Xuanli stripped of his court robes and dismissed for opposing the establishment of an Empress.
• The New Emperor decreed Wu Xuanji Protector of the Nation Xuanzun, granting him extraordinary authority, a new office, personal guards, and shared control of major state and military decisions with the Regent.
• A Ministry of Revenue official challenged Wu Xuanji's appointment, and court officials feared it would undermine the Grand Secretariat and the Regent.
• Yang Jisheng warned that the appointment would put divine authority above the state and accused the New Emperor of endangering Great Chu for personal reasons.
• Yang Jisheng demanded that the decree be rescinded, then slammed his head against the hall floor and began bleeding.

Prince Yan forced through his plan to establish an Imperial Advisor despite fierce opposition, while secretly cultivating with the power of destiny. As Chu Jiang emerged from the Nether Abyss and reached the Ruins Forbidden Land, Marquis Zhentian and True Lord Taixu came out to meet him.

• Prince Yan dismissed Yang Jisheng and overruled officials who demanded that he retract the decree establishing an Imperial Advisor.
• Han Fei told Sun Wu that Prince Yan meant to divide power and warned that Chu Jiang’s return could bring bloodshed.
• Prince Yan cultivated in Golden Palace Hall with the power of destiny, unaware that black destiny gathered around him and a strange crimson-haired presence hid within his body.
• Elder Jiang urged Prince Qi to intervene against Prince Yan, but Prince Qi chose to follow his father’s instructions and remain uninvolved.
• The Heavenly Venerates learned that the Demon King vanguard would arrive in less than a month and resolved to kill Chu Jiang when he returned.
• Chu Jiang emerged from the Nether Abyss, crossed the North Sea, and reached the Ruins Forbidden Land, where Marquis Zhentian and True Lord Taixu flew out to meet him.

Chu Jiang helped Marquis Zhentian and True Lord Taixu restore the Sea Covering Demon Subduing Array at the Ruins Sea Eye while killing demons that emerged from its breach. After the array was repaired, his system offered him the Bodhi Pure World Thunder and Heaven Burning Nine Tribulations Saber.

• Chu Jiang gave Marquis Zhentian God-Slaying Blood and nine Top-grade Spirit Stones, then traveled with him and True Lord Taixu to the Ruins Forbidden Land.
• Marquis Zhentian and True Lord Taixu began repairing the Sea Covering Demon Subduing Array, while Chu Jiang guarded against demons escaping through the breach.
• Chu Jiang killed waves of demons that emerged from the breach, including a Demon Marshal Tenth Level octopus king with the Nether God's Spear.
• The Sea Covering Demon Subduing Array was restored, and Chu Jiang received a system offer of the Bodhi Pure World Thunder and Heaven Burning Nine Tribulations Saber.