Chapter Summaries

Three months after marrying Dong Miaozhen, Zhao Sheng learned of the Zhao Clan’s plan to seize the Ren Family’s Dark Iron mine and later helped prepare for the clan’s expansion. The chapter left Zhao Sheng defeating Ren Zidong in battle as the operation to carve up the Ren Family began.

• Zhao Degang told Zhao Sheng that the Ren Family possessed a large Dark Iron mine and explained the Zhao Clan’s plan to attack through allied forces and a fabricated grievance.
• Zhao Degang asked Zhao Sheng to eliminate Ren Zidong, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and Zhao Sheng agreed to discuss it with the family head.
• Dong Miaozhen gave Zhao Sheng Weaving Net intelligence and arranged to trade a Mid-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill for three taels of Mercury Crystal Marrow.
• Zhao Sheng delivered the Lightning Avoiding Shuttle to Zhao Xuanjing, and half a year later thunder marked Mountain Dragon’s tribulation; Dong Miaozhen then became pregnant and gave birth to Zhao Huaying.
• Zhao Sheng became Shen Branch Master, and a year later secretly left Rising Dragon City to join the campaign against the Ren Family.
• Zhao Sheng, disguised and wearing a Taotie mask, seized Ren Zidong’s Howling Tiger Spear, destroyed its bond, and struck through Ren Zidong’s abdomen as he tried to flee.

Zhao Sheng destroyed the Ren Family, returned home, and watched his son Zhao Huaying grow into a powerful fighter. At sixteen, Zhao Huaying eagerly left Rising Dragon City with Ancestor Zhao to cultivate at the Earth Treasury Sect, while Zhao Sheng and Dong Miaozhen welcomed their second son.

• Zhao Sheng killed Ren Zidong, then ordered the Dark Division to wipe out the Ren Family and attack its residence.
• Zhao Sheng and the Three Mountains Dao's Sorghum Sect Leader divided the Ren Family's territory, and the Zhao Clan took over its Dark Iron mine.
• Zhao Sheng returned home and met his one-year-old son, Zhao Huaying, whose unusual strength and inherited Barbaric Ancient Battle Body traits astonished him.
• Fifteen years later, Zhao Huaying demolished a first-rank high-grade spirit puppet, and Ancestor Zhao arranged for him to cultivate at the Earth Treasury Sect.
• Zhao Sheng persuaded the pregnant Dong Miaozhen to accept Zhao Huaying's departure, and she later gave birth to their second son, Zhao Huaxiong.
• Zhao Huaying left Rising Dragon City with Ancestor Zhao, taking more than half of the Zhao Estate's possessions; his departure lasted twenty years.

After years of strengthening the Xinglong Zhao Clan, Zhao Sheng urged it to prepare for the coming war between the Sky Pillar World and the Nether Ghost Realm. He sent his son Zhao Huaxiong to the Earth Treasury Sect, arranged for clansmen to train at Heaven Burial Plain, and traveled to Heaven Pillar Mountain on Zhao Xuanjing’s orders.

• After the Zhao Clan lost two Golden Core Ancestors and Zhao Xuanjing disappeared on a secret mission, Zhao Sheng defeated or drew with local Foundation Establishment cultivators to protect the clan’s standing.
• Zhao Sheng advanced to Late Stage Foundation Establishment, then persuaded Dong Miaozhen to let Zhao Huaxiong enter the Earth Treasury Sect ahead of the impending realm war.
• Zhao Xuanjing gave Zhao Sheng his golden plaque and entrusted him with important tasks before departing with Zhao Huaxiong.
• Zhao Sheng convinced the clan elders to send groups of clansmen to Heaven Burial Plain for training, and the first group of fifteen Qi Refining clansmen later departed under a Foundation Establishment Late Stage elder.
• After leaving Rising Dragon City, Zhao Sheng traveled by Moving Mountain Cloud Boat to Heaven Pillar Mountain and flew into Heaven Pillar Grotto.

Zhao Sheng returned to Cave Heaven City, then went to the Zhao Clan Secret Estate to guard its ancient flat peach tree until its fruit ripened. When the Heaven Pillar Cold Tide began, falling corpses and fleeing cultivators revealed a disturbance higher on the mountain, so Zhao Sheng left the estate to investigate and discovered vast white mist at extreme altitude.

• Zhao Sheng reviewed Cave Heaven City intelligence with Zhao Yangong and warned him to avoid dangerous matters.
• Zhao Sheng reached the Zhao Clan Secret Estate and reunited with Zhao Daochuan, who maintained its formations while Zhao Sheng guarded the flat peach tree.
• Zhao Sheng tempered his body with Mercury Crystal Marrow as the Heaven Pillar Cold Tide swept across the mountain.
• Falling debris and several Foundation Establishment corpses, followed by fleeing cultivators, convinced Zhao Sheng that something had happened above the estate.
• Zhao Sheng changed his appearance, flew upward through the cold tide, and saw a vast expanse of white mist lingering overhead.

Zhao Sheng entered an ancient grotto filled with deadly Space Cracks and advanced toward its palace despite the loss of spiritual energy. Near the palace, he discovered a Stone Tablet bearing the characters “Qingyang,” and lifting it triggered a strange change as rosy light burst from its cracks.

• Zhao Sheng entered the white mist and found himself in an enormous ruin beneath Heaven Pillar Mountain.
• Zhao Sheng uncovered a giant fist-shaped crater and spotted Space Cracks that swallowed his Geng Metal Sword Qi.
• Foundation Establishment cultivators died to hidden Space Cracks, including Senior Brother Ma, while Zhao Sheng cautiously continued using sword lights to detect danger.
• Zhao Sheng activated his Undying Golden Body to slow the rapid loss of Spiritual Power and approached the palace as other cultivators entered ahead of him.
• Zhao Sheng recognized the characters “Qingyang” on a ruined Stone Tablet and struggled to lift it, revealing that it weighed at least fifty thousand jin.
• The Stone Tablet fell back into place, cracked open, and began emitting countless rays of rosy light.

Zhao Sheng uncovered a mysterious crystal plaque, then joined the Cave Heaven City cultivators attacking the barrier around an ancient palace. After the barrier fell, the group entered the palace and discovered spirit stones and a powerful figure’s remains.

• Zhao Sheng cut open a Stone Tablet, removed a rune-covered yellow crystal plaque, and concealed it in his sleeve.
• Zhao Sheng reached the palace plaza, joined the rogue cultivators under Fu Yue and Tie Pan Shang Ren, and helped attack the palace’s Spiritual Power-absorbing barrier.
• The Soul-Serving Old Freak, Wei Yong'an, and Tie Pan Shang Ren attacked the barrier with their Golden Core abilities until it collapsed.
• Gu Jiu Yao proposed opening the palace gates before the factions entered together, and the cultivators agreed despite the murderous aura pouring from within.
• The Soul-Serving Old Freak and the other Golden Core cultivators entered first, followed by Zhao Sheng and the crowd, who found Top-Grade Spirit Stones and a great power’s remains inside.

The cultivators discovered Great Chi Jian’s remains, a True Dragon Skeleton, and the genuine Chi Demon Banner in the ruins. When Jiang Tianlu seized the banner, it unleashed demonic qi that drove the hall’s cultivators mad, while Zhao Sheng resisted with the Hundred Lifetimes Book and found the doors sealed.

• Wei Yong'an identified the Giant’s corpse as Great Chi Jian, prompting the cultivators to fear the consequences of discovering the ruins.
• The cultivators found a massive True Dragon Skeleton embedded in the hall’s ceiling and learned its bones emitted deadly poison.
• Soul-Serving Old Freak declared the ancient Chi Demon Banner genuine, and Jiang Tianlu rushed to seize it.
• The banner awakened and released demonic qi that consumed Jiang Tianlu’s sanity and spread through the hall.
• The Hundred Lifetimes Book’s jade light protected Zhao Sheng’s mind, but he discovered the bronze doors were sealed as other cultivators went mad and were absorbed by the banner.

Zhao Sheng was caught in the Five Directions Five Elements God Sealing Formation as the Dragon Emperor awakened and destroyed the demonic forces in the hall. After Zhao Sheng resisted a demonic possession, the weakened Dragon Emperor chose him as a physical vessel, but its attempt to enter his Purple Palace was interrupted by a burst of yellow light.

• The Ghost Chi Devil Master and Soul-Serving Old Freak transformed as the demonic corruption spread through the hall, while the True Dragon Skeleton awakened as the Dragon Emperor.
• The Dragon Emperor absorbed the purple poisonous mist and confronted the demonic creatures, but the Five Directions Five Elements God Sealing Formation activated and trapped the cultivators in an ancient formation.
• A demonic shadow resembling Zhao Qingyang tried to merge with Zhao Sheng and overwhelm him with violent thoughts, but jade-colored radiance erased the shadow.
• The Dragon Emperor killed the possessed demons, sealed the Ghost Chi Devil Master inside the Chi Demon Banner, and searched the hall for a body to possess.
• The Dragon Emperor chose Zhao Sheng as its vessel and sent its Primordial Spirit toward his Purple Palace, but brilliant yellow light suddenly burst from Zhao Sheng's body.

Zhao Sheng regained consciousness after the Five Directions Five Elements God Sealing Formation trapped the Dragon Emperor inside the God Sealing Stele and sealed the Extraterrestrial Demon. As the surviving cultivators struggled against a formation that drained their Spiritual Power, Zhao Sheng fought off Tie Pan Shang Ren and proposed a temporary compromise over the treasures.

• The God Sealing Stele appeared above Zhao Sheng, trapped the Dragon Emperor's Primordial Spirit, and fell into Zhao Sheng's robes.
• Zhao Sheng and a few others awoke in the great hall, where most of the cultivators lay dead; Zhao Sheng picked up the stele and discovered a True Dragon inside it.
• Tie Pan Shang Ren and Wei Yong'an eyed the Chi Demon Banner and the dead cultivators' belongings, but their dispute was interrupted when the hall began draining everyone's Spiritual Power.
• Zhao Sheng fought Tie Pan Shang Ren to a standstill with his Fangtian Halberd, then urged Wei Yong'an and the others to work together to escape.
• Zhao Sheng proposed that his group take only some of the dead cultivators' belongings, leaving the Chi Demon Banner and True Dragon Skeleton to the others.

Zhao Sheng and the others divided the relics while trapped in a formation that steadily drained their Spiritual Power. After Fu Yue died trying to retrieve the Chi Demon Banner, Zhao Sheng uncovered clues linking the palace to the Blood God Children and Great Chi Jian, then clashed with Tie Pan Shang Ren before Wei Yong'an proposed escaping through a weakened wall.

• Fu Yue divided the relics among the survivors, and Wei Yong'an and Tie Pan Shang Ren claimed the belongings of Jiang Tianlu and Soul-Serving Old Freak.
• Tie Pan Shang Ren ordered Fu Yue to fetch the Chi Demon Banner, but its blood light consumed Fu Yue when he touched it.
• Zhao Sheng suspected the palace was a prison connected to the Blood God Children, then accidentally caused Great Chi Jian's Golden Body to collapse and collected its head.
• Tie Pan Shang Ren attacked Zhao Sheng, who evaded him and urged Wei Yong'an to join forces against him, but Wei Yong'an stopped them because the formation's Spiritual Power drain was accelerating.
• Wei Yong'an revealed that the palace doors could not be broken but that a cracked section of wall was a weak point, so Zhao Sheng and Tie Pan Shang Ren began smashing through it.

Zhao Sheng escaped the sealed palace after Tie Pan Shang Ren and Wei Yong'an let him leave, but a sword cultivator ambushed him as he emerged from the ruins. Wounded by the attack, he recognized the newcomer's Sword Pellets and realized he had encountered a dangerous inner sword cultivator from the Sky Splitting Sword Dao.

• Zhao Sheng and the others carved through the palace wall, but Tie Pan Shang Ren killed a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator when the breach opened.
• New arrivals entered the palace, and Wei Yong'an persuaded Tie Pan Shang Ren to let Zhao Sheng leave while the two Golden Core cultivators continued pursuing their treasures.
• Zhao Sheng fled the palace, crossed the White Mist, and emerged into a frozen landscape, believing he had escaped the ruins.
• A young man in white struck Zhao Sheng with sword light, leaving a deep wound before a plump, sword-crowned old man arrived beside him.
• Zhao Sheng identified the old man's silver-white Sword Pellets and realized he was a high-level inner sword cultivator from the Sky Splitting Sword Dao.

Zhao Sheng was forced to explain the ancient ruins to Shen Mo and Shen Tianzhen, then faced Vulture Old Freak, who attacked him after suspecting he had hidden information. As Shen Mo and Vulture Old Freak clashed, Zhao Xuanjing rescued Zhao Sheng and brought him deep into Heaven Pillar Mountain.

• Zhao Sheng described the ruins and the treasures inside to Shen Mo and Shen Tianzhen, concealing the Taiqing Nine Suns God Sealing Stele and the True Dragon Primordial Spirit.
• Vulture Old Freak arrived on the Two-Headed Dragon Vulture and demanded to know what Zhao Sheng had found in the ruins.
• Shen Mo raised his sword domain to stop Vulture Old Freak from threatening Zhao Sheng, but the two Nascent Soul cultivators soon clashed.
• Shen Tianzhen shielded Zhao Sheng from the battle's aftershocks, but Zhao Xuanjing pulled Zhao Sheng beneath the earth and carried him to a cavern deep inside Heaven Pillar Mountain.
• Zhao Sheng treated his injuries and told Zhao Xuanjing he had expected the Ancestor to arrive in time.

Zhao Sheng told Zhao Xuanjing about the ruins, Great Chi Jian, and the treasures he had recovered, prompting Zhao Xuanjing to seek help from the Earth Treasury Sect’s East Yang Old Ancestor. After the Old Ancestor ordered Zhao Xuanjing to return to the ruins and promised Zhao Sheng a Core Formation Pill, Zhao Xuanjing brought Zhao Sheng back to the Zhao Clan Secret Estate.

• Zhao Sheng recounted the events at the ruins to Zhao Xuanjing and revealed the True Dragon Primordial Spirit, Great Chi Jian’s head, and the remains of his golden body.
• Zhao Xuanjing identified the danger surrounding Great Chi Jian and the Blood God Child, then decided to keep the True Dragon Primordial Spirit while using Great Chi Jian’s head to account for what had happened.
• Zhao Xuanjing summoned East Yang Old Ancestor through the Spirit Connection Idol, and Zhao Sheng explained how he had found Great Chi Jian’s head.
• East Yang Old Ancestor ordered Zhao Xuanjing to watch the ruins and promised Zhao Sheng a high-grade Core Formation Pill as a reward.
• Zhao Xuanjing used Mountain Dragon to return with Zhao Sheng to the Zhao Clan Secret Estate, where Zhao Daochuan heard Zhao Sheng’s account of the ruins.

Zhao Sheng helped Zhao Xuanjing and Zhao Daochuan conceal the clan’s secret residence, then sorted through the Storage Bags taken from Foundation Establishment cultivators and uncovered several valuable treasures. While he refined a Death-Substitute Doll, the struggle over the White Mist ruins was settled in favor of the Earth Treasury Sect, though Zhao Sheng remained unaware of the developments.

• Zhao Sheng suggested disguising the secret residence, and Zhao Xuanjing covered it with earth and stone while Zhao Daochuan shut down most of its array.
• Zhao Sheng examined more than forty Storage Bags, finding valuable items that included a Top-Grade Spirit Tool, Scarlet Fire Ganoderma, and Purple Qi Ganoderma.
• Zhao Sheng tested a cracked crimson bell that harmed his soul, then refined a Death-Substitute Doll with his blood essence and a wisp of his divine soul.
• Shen Mo and Vulture Old Freak each sent a Foundation Establishment cultivator into the ruins, but neither side received news from them.
• Dongyang Que arrived with two Nascent Soul junior brothers, defeated Shen Mo and Vulture Old Freak, and placed the ruins under the Earth Treasury Sect’s control.
• Zhao Xuanjing revealed himself to explore the ruins while Zhao Sheng recovered from the pain of refining the doll, unaware of what had happened.

After returning from the Ghost Chi Ruins, Zhao Sheng resolved to gather seven spirit flames and the Two Extremes Yuan Magnetic Divine Light so he could refine Golden Crow True Fire and form the highest-grade Golden Core. The Zhao Clan gathered the flames and a Core Formation Pill, but Zhao Sheng was still waiting for the exceptionally rare divine light when unexpected bad news arrived.

• Zhao Sheng harvested thirty-six ripened longevity peaches while he and Zhao Daochuan worried about Zhao Xuanjing’s silence; Zhao Sheng also refined Foundation Establishment Pills and advanced his Star God Thousand Hearts Art to Twenty Thoughts.
• Zhao Xuanjing returned and explained that the Ghost Chi Ruins were a weak point in space tied to Great Chi Jian’s plan to open another passage at Heaven Pillar Mountain.
• Zhao Sheng speculated that the ten sects might be pursuing a hidden cross-realm passage, then told Zhao Xuanjing he intended to gather seven spirit flames and the Two Extremes Yuan Magnetic Divine Light before attempting core formation.
• Zhao Xuanjing agreed to support Zhao Sheng’s plan but urged him to form his Golden Core within twenty years; he also revealed that he would advance his Nascent Soul Tribulation by sixty years.
• After Zhao Sheng returned to Rising Dragon City, the Zhao Clan mobilized to collect the requested materials, obtaining the spirit flames and a Core Formation Pill, but the Two Extremes Yuan Magnetic Divine Light remained elusive despite years of searching.
• Zhao Sheng waited for the rare divine light, but before it arrived, bad news suddenly came.

Zhao Sheng accepted Zhao Huaying and Zu Xiaoyue’s marriage, then mastered the Golden Crow True Fire and began forming his Golden Core. The chapter ended as he drew vast amounts of spiritual energy into his body and refined it with the Golden Crow True Fire.

• Zhao Sheng persuaded Dong Miaozhen to accept Zhao Huaying’s marriage to Zu Xiaoyue, and the couple presented his parents with a Youth Preservation Pill and Two Extremes Yuan Magnetic Divine Light.
• Zhao Sheng gave Zu Xiaoyue a damaged Soul Extinguishing Bell as a meeting gift after she introduced herself without revealing her family background.
• Zhao Huaying and Zu Xiaoyue held a wedding ceremony, and their son, Zhao Xiuqi, was born four months later.
• Zhao Sheng fused the seven kinds of Spiritual Power in his Dantian and successfully formed the Golden Crow True Fire.
• Zhao Sheng entered seclusion to attempt core formation, set up a Spirit Gathering Array, spent three hundred thousand Spirit Stones, and swallowed supplementary pills and a Core Formation Pill.
• Zhao Sheng drew concentrated spiritual energy into his body and began refining it into Golden Crow Spiritual Power.

Zhao Sheng endured an extraordinary Golden Core Tribulation and successfully advanced to become a Golden Core True Person, strengthening the Zhao Clan’s standing across the region. After holding a grand ceremony and returning to seclusion, he spent time with his grandson Zhao Xiuqi, whose attempt to eat a roast rabbit was interrupted by Dong Miaozhen.

• Zhao Sheng faced the Golden Core Tribulation with his bare body, endured its increasingly powerful lightning, and condensed a genuine Golden Core.
• After the final Six-Nine Divine Thunder struck, Zhao Sheng survived, completed his physical transformation, and caused a Spirit Rain that healed and benefited Rising Dragon City’s residents.
• News of Zhao Sheng’s advancement spread, prompting nearby factions to revise their plans, offer gifts, and seek ties with the Zhao Clan.
• A month later, Zhao Sheng briefly appeared at the Golden Core Grand Ceremony, demonstrated techniques, and then returned to secluded cultivation.
• More than half a year later, Zhao Sheng prepared roast rabbit for Zhao Xiuqi, but Dong Miaozhen arrived and ordered the child not to eat.

Zhao Sheng handled the Zhao Clan’s affairs, strengthened his cultivation, and prepared to travel to the Shattered Star Sea in search of refuge and materials for his Natal Treasure. After receiving Zhao Xuanjing’s connections and arranging matters at home, he secretly left Rising Dragon City.

• Dong Miaozhen stopped Zhao Sheng from feeding Zhao Xiuqi meat, then received news that Zhao Huaying and Zu Xiaoyue had been detained by the Bashan Sect; Zhao Sheng sent a Taotie Dark Envoy to secure their return.
• Zhao Sheng’s alchemy reached master level, and he refined a Core Formation Pill while the Zhao Clan’s strength and fortunes grew.
• Zhao Xuanjing returned and told Zhao Sheng he intended to enter death seclusion to attempt forming a Nascent Soul; Zhao Sheng revealed his plan to visit the Shattered Star Sea.
• Zhao Xuanjing traveled with Zhao Sheng across the Southern Border and Central Continent, introducing him to old Golden Core friends and handing over his connections.
• Zhao Sheng returned to Rising Dragon City, settled clan affairs, took the Sinking Star Seven Spirits Sword for temporary use, and prepared his Haoyang Mirror as his planned Natal Treasure.
• Zhao Sheng secretly departed Rising Dragon City for the Shattered Star Sea, with only Dong Miaozhen and the clan elders knowing where he had gone.

Half a year later, Zhao Sheng and the other Golden Core cultivators agreed to help the Vast Righteous Sect’s Sea Suppression Cloud Boat escape a Thunder Insect Disaster in exchange for rewards. Their intervention briefly eased the attack, but a Rank Six Thunder Mother and several other high-rank Thunder Mothers appeared, leaving Zhao Sheng facing two Rank Three Thunder Mothers as the chapter ended.

• A vast tide of self-detonating Thunder Light Cloud Mothers battered the Sea Suppression Cloud Boat as it struggled through the Heavenly Astral Aura.
• Yao Fang and Wind Howl Daoist asked Zhao Sheng, Jiao Zuo, and Yelü to intervene, and each Golden Core cultivator negotiated a reward with the Vast Righteous Sect.
• Zhao Sheng, Yelü, and the others attacked the thunder insects, easing the pressure on the cloud boat until a Rank Six Thunder Mother emerged from the clouds.
• Jiao Zuo unleashed his Fire Crow Treasure Bottle, while Zhao Sheng used the Sinking Star Seven Spirits Sword to destroy large numbers of thunder insects.
• Yao Fang and Wind Howl Daoist engaged the Rank Six Thunder Mother, and the cloud boat accelerated away, leaving Zhao Sheng, Jiao Zuo, and Yelü behind to face five more high-rank Thunder Mothers.
• Jiao Zuo and Yelü each held off one Thunder Mother, while Zhao Sheng prepared a five-tiered Zhou Tian Talisman Disc to confront two Rank Three Thunder Mothers.

Zhao Sheng helped the Sea Suppression Cloud Boat escape a Thunderstorm Cloud Mother swarm, then reached Star God Island after the rest of the voyage passed safely. He entered Star City and arrived at the Sky Turtle Island Zhao Clan’s headquarters, where his token revealed his identity to two guards.

• Zhao Sheng fought off thunder insects and helped the Sea Suppression Cloud Boat break through the thunderclouds without killing the fifth-rank Thunderstorm Cloud Mother.
• Yao Fang explained the danger of provoking the swarm and discussed the promised rewards with Zhao Sheng, Jiao Zuo, and Yelü.
• After more than half a month, Zhao Sheng, Jiao Zuo, and Yelü arrived at Star God Island and parted ways.
• Zhao Sheng explored Star City, noted the power of the Star God Palace, and found the Sky Turtle Island Zhao Clan’s nine-story headquarters.
• Zhao Sheng presented a token bearing the character Zhao, and the two Zhao Clan guards recognized it with excitement.