Chapter Summaries

Zhao Sheng met Old Daoist Wu Hua in Divine Palace Sky, where Wu Hua explained the dangers of the realm and gave him two mysterious scrolls. Zhao Sheng left with valuable guidance and the Myriad Stars Celestial Map, whose hidden mysteries he was told to explore after returning to the lower realm.

• Zhao Sheng entered the immense stone pavilion and met Old Daoist Wu Hua, who explained that the Myriad Stars Grand Formation had detected his arrival.
• Old Daoist Wu Hua warned Zhao Sheng about the formation and the ongoing covert conflict with the Otherworld Demon Race, then taught him how to travel safely through Divine Palace Sky.
• Old Daoist Wu Hua gave Zhao Sheng the Myriad Stars Celestial Map, which displayed stars, locations, ruins, and Zhao Sheng's own position.
• Zhao Sheng accepted the map and promised to repay Old Daoist Wu Hua for his generosity.
• Old Daoist Wu Hua gave Zhao Sheng a second scroll and told him to open it after returning to the lower realm.

Zhao Sheng returned to the Endless Tower after advancing his cultivation and reunited with Qi Wuyan, then joined Qi Wuyan, Kui Muxiao, and Shi Zhongyu in entering the Reaching Heaven White Tower to recover Qi Wuyan’s ancestor’s remains. After passing through the first gateway, they arrived in another white chamber marked with bloody characters above its gateways.

• Zhao Sheng studied the Ten-Thousand-Mile Landscape Painting, which revealed the Crouching Dragon Mountain Range’s spiritual veins and offered guidance for opening his Dongtian.
• Zhao Sheng cultivated atop an ancient Thunder Whale skeleton in Divine Palace Sky and broke through to the late eighth level of Return to Void.
• Zhao Sheng met Qi Wuyan in the Endless Tower and apologized for missing their agreement while he cultivated.
• Qi Wuyan explained that his clan had paid precious treasures to keep Kui Muxiao and Shi Zhongyu waiting, and the four prepared to enter the Reaching Heaven White Tower together.
• When the tower opened, Qi Wuyan chose the eastern gateway, and the four passed through it into another white chamber with bloody characters above its gateways.

Zhao Sheng and the others chose the northern door despite the Blood Script’s warning that Shi Zhongyu would drown there, and Zhao Sheng emerged in a deadly sea of Weak Water. He and Qi Wuyan found refuge in Kui Muxiao’s giant tree, which searched the water and found something as the chapter ended.

• Zhao Sheng questioned Qi Wuyan about the Blood Script, and Qi Wuyan recalled an ancestral record warning that the White Tower might awaken and that life and death were difficult.
• Shi Zhongyu chose the northern door, and Zhao Sheng, Qi Wuyan, and Kui Muxiao followed him in order.
• Zhao Sheng plunged into Weak Water, where his Willpower Field was devoured and he sank until he escaped with Space-Time Grand Shift.
• Zhao Sheng found Qi Wuyan clinging to a branch of Kui Muxiao, which had grown into a towering tree above the sea.
• At Qi Wuyan’s request, Kui Muxiao searched the sea with its vines and announced that it had found something.

Zhao Sheng, Qi Wuyan, and Kui Muxiao escaped the Weak Water through a hidden gateway and entered a sealed arena where they faced Tuo Hechi and You Jiu. After discovering neither side could leave through the other gateways, Zhao Sheng launched a fight to the death.

• Kui Muxiao guided Zhao Sheng and Qi Wuyan to a hidden gateway beneath the sea, and Zhao Sheng gathered Weak Water into the Immortal Awareness Cauldron before passing through.
• Zhao Sheng entered a white chamber, destroyed a dark-red claw, and killed a green-armored old man who had been attacking Qi Wuyan.
• Tuo Hechi and the One-Eyed Giant You Jiu faced Zhao Sheng and Qi Wuyan until Kui Muxiao arrived, leaving the two sides evenly matched.
• Zhao Sheng and Tuo Hechi agreed to test whether the other gateways allowed passage, but You Jiu and Kui Muxiao both failed to leave.
• Zhao Sheng attacked Tuo Hechi with lightning spears while Qi Wuyan and Kui Muxiao struck at You Jiu, beginning a battle to the death.

Zhao Sheng killed the red-bearded elder and the One-Eyed Giant, then entered a strange chamber where mysterious aura advanced him to Return to Void Great Perfection and transformed Kui Muxiao and Qi Wuyan. The trio chose the Animal Path and arrived in a lifelike world, where Zhao Sheng discovered another Immortal Ruins Traveler had appeared.

• Zhao Sheng crushed the red-bearded elder's Primordial Spirit and killed the One-Eyed Giant, taking the Otherworld Crystal and leaving its giant axe behind.
• Qi Wuyan chose the gate marked Winners Enter, and Zhao Sheng let Kui Muxiao enter first before following him and Qi Wuyan.
• Zhao Sheng absorbed the mysterious aura in the white chamber and advanced from the ninth layer of Return to Void to Return to Void Great Perfection.
• Kui Muxiao transformed from a tree into a young man and gave Zhao Sheng a wooden token, while Qi Wuyan absorbed the aura and greatly increased his cultivation.
• Qi Wuyan chose the gate marked Animal Path, and Zhao Sheng, Qi Wuyan, and Kui Muxiao entered a lifelike world of mountains, rivers, and ordinary creatures.
• Zhao Sheng detected a gate appearing in a distant valley and saw an armored man emerge before the gate vanished, suggesting other Immortal Ruins Travelers had arrived.

Zhao Sheng and his companions explored the Animal Path of the Reaching Heaven White Tower, where night brought a Great Terror that transformed them into weak animals. After witnessing Yao Lan die as a goat and be consumed by a monster, Zhao Sheng saw a smaller, blood-eyed goat emerge from the ground.

• Zhao Sheng, Qi Wuyan, and Kui Muxiao captured Yao Lan and learned that the world was the Animal Path, where a Great Terror came at night.
• Zhao Sheng explored the strange sky and found that the sun never appeared to move, while the group later met Green Staff Elder and his disciple Zhong Balang.
• As Green Staff Elder proposed that they explore together, darkness swallowed the world, and Zhao Sheng realized the sun was an enormous eye before losing consciousness.
• Zhao Sheng awoke as a weak White-Haired Monkey, hid in a tree, and watched a Rabbit-Headed Humanoid kill and devour a white goat that transformed into Yao Lan.
• After the monster left, Zhao Sheng climbed down and saw a smaller, blood-eyed white goat rise from the ground.

Zhao Sheng grew stronger by killing beasts in Beast Heaven, while fighting to keep his humanity from being consumed by his growing beastly nature. He met the Pitch Black Giant Bear, who explained that Immortal Ruins Travelers could escape only by passing through the Gate of Reincarnation, but refused to reveal how.

• Zhao Sheng killed the white goat and absorbed its smoke, strengthening his body as the goat reappeared as a lamb that he could no longer perceive.
• Zhao Sheng slaughtered beastmen and absorbed their blood-colored smoke, growing into a massive beast while suppressing his bloodlust and preserving his reason.
• Zhao Sheng found the Pitch Black Giant Bear at White Bone Mountain and defeated it with a single punch.
• The Pitch Black Giant Bear recovered, called Zhao Sheng a qualified companion, and explained that the Gate of Reincarnation was the only way out of Beast Heaven.
• Zhao Sheng learned that travelers risked losing their humanity to beastly assimilation, but the Pitch Black Giant Bear refused to explain how to pass through the Gate of Reincarnation.

Zhao Sheng and the Pitch Black Giant Bear reached the Gate of Reincarnation, where Phoenix recognized Zhao Sheng as a Divine Beast Envoy and clashed with the White Tiger King. After Lady Octopus and Thieving Rat joined them, they rushed toward a battle with the Sacred Beast Bone Spirit, which appeared as a colossal dragon with nine heads.

• Zhao Sheng and the Pitch Black Giant Bear reached the bloody-lit depths of Skeleton Land, where the giant bear said a Sacred Beast Bone Spirit awaited them at the Gate of Reincarnation.
• Phoenix arrived and identified Zhao Sheng as a Divine Beast Envoy, while Zhao Sheng denied it and the giant bear tried to stop them from fighting.
• The White Tiger King arrived and threatened Phoenix over the death of his Dao companion, but the giant bear urged them to save their strength for the Sacred Beast Bone Spirit.
• Lady Octopus emerged from the Six-Tusked White Elephant corpse and offered Zhao Sheng elephant meat, while Thieving Rat arrived and reported that another group had already found the Sacred Beast Bone Spirit.
• Thieving Rat led the monsters west, and Zhao Sheng followed as they saw a vast skeletal dragon with nine heads spewing torrents of white light.

Zhao Sheng battled the Nine-Headed Dragon King Venerable’s defenses, grew stronger by absorbing a fallen beast’s blood light, and searched for the Gate of Reincarnation. After finding the real Stone Gate, he forced his way through and escaped while the other beasts fought to enter.

• Zhao Sheng watched the Nine-Headed Dragon King Venerable unleash torrents of white light and awaken countless skeletal monstrosities across Skeleton Land.
• Zhao Sheng killed a Wild Bull, absorbed its blood light, regained part of his strength, and activated his Giant Spirit Battle Body.
• Zhao Sheng clashed with Phoenix, then found an ordinary wooden Gate of Reincarnation that proved false before an azure dragon directed the beasts to search elsewhere.
• Zhao Sheng found the real Stone Gate and began opening it, but Lady Octopus struck him aside and entered first as the Gray-Haired Giant Rat slipped through.
• After the Nine-Headed Dragon King Venerable froze the battlefield and white torrents killed several beasts, Zhao Sheng used Space-Time Grand Shift to reach the Stone Gate and force it open with the White Tiger King.
• Zhao Sheng curled into a ball and crashed through the Stone Gate, escaping despite a flaming claw that left five marks on his body.

After awakening in the body of Zhao Gongzhu, Zhao Sheng discovered that his cultivation had been sealed and joined forces with Nangong Wuliang to gather other fellow cultivators in Mingxi Town. The group found a possible Immortal Realm treasure, the Vajra Ring, and suspected the town held more secrets.

• Zhao Sheng awoke in the body of eighteen-year-old Zhao Gongzhu, learned about his wealthy family, and went out with Chen San despite his father's warning.
• Zhao Sheng spotted a blood-red Seal character on Nangong Wuliang's forehead, met him, and agreed to attract their fellow cultivators by making a disturbance.
• Zhao Sheng and Nangong Wuliang raised a column of smoke, drew other sealed cultivators to them, and gathered a group of seven to exchange information.
• The Young Lady revealed a golden collar she had found on an intelligent Big Yellow dog, and Zhao Sheng identified it as a Vajra Ring.
• Nangong Wuliang said the Vajra Ring was rumored to come from the Immortal Realm, leading the group to suspect Mingxi Town concealed other treasures.

Zhao Sheng investigated the secrets of Mingxi Town, prepared to gather information, and spent the night reading its chronicles, but he then awoke on the day he had first entered the town. Realizing events had repeated, he waited for the Middle-aged Scholar and invited him to talk.

• Zhao Sheng and the Middle-aged Scholar concluded that a hidden fellow traveler would likely target the Little Beggar, while Zhao Sheng declined to join the Scholar in watching the confrontation.
• The Hall Master learned that Zhao Sheng was Squire Zhao's son, then led his men to ambush the Little Beggar, who was killed after his escape was blocked.
• After reuniting with Chen San, Zhao Sheng outlined the dangers facing the travelers, recruited the Zhao Estate servants to gather information, and obtained books and a saber for his investigation.
• Zhao Sheng read through the Local Chronicle, County Chronicles, and other books through the night, then woke again on the day he had first awoken and recognized that something was wrong.
• Zhao Sheng met his parents and repeated the day's events, then waited on the bridge for the Middle-aged Scholar and invited him to talk.

Zhao Sheng and Nangong Wuliang used a lion dance to draw Immortal Ruins Travelers together, but Zhao Sheng’s attempt to follow the Young Lady failed. On the way back to the Zhao Estate, Zhao Sheng and Chen San were cornered by armed hooligans, and a swordsman struck Chen San.

• Zhao Sheng discovered that Nangong Wuliang remembered none of yesterday, and the two agreed to draw fellow cultivators together with a lion dance.
• Zhao Sheng noticed that the Little Beggar’s Blood Script had vanished, then saw a fire break out west and left with Nangong Wuliang to meet the other cultivators.
• Zhao Sheng, Nangong Wuliang, the Young Lady, the Middle-aged Shopkeeper, and the Woodcutter gathered in a teahouse, where the Young Lady showed them the Vajra Ring.
• Zhao Sheng followed the Young Lady after she left, but she entered a rouge shop and escaped his watch; Zhao Sheng then headed home with Chen San.
• Several armed hooligans blocked Zhao Sheng and Chen San in an alley, and their leader slashed at Chen San after Chen San threatened them.

Zhao Sheng killed eight swordsmen, accepted a jade cup from Su Heihu, and formed an alliance with him. As he traveled toward Ten Kings Temple, Zhao Sheng realized that other fellow practitioners might have been reincarnating through Mingxi Town for years without knowing it, while he alone was aware.

• Zhao Sheng killed the eight swordsmen who attacked him and confronted their burly leader, Su Heihu.
• Su Heihu offered Zhao Sheng a white jade cup as an apology and proposed an alliance to return to the Lower Realm; Zhao Sheng accepted and introduced himself as Zhao Gongzhu.
• Zhao Sheng warned Chen San not to tell anyone what had happened, then sent him back toward Zhao Estate while keeping the jade cup.
• Zhao Sheng took a covered boat toward Ten Kings Temple and considered that fellow practitioners might have reincarnated through Mingxi Town hundreds or thousands of times without realizing it.

Zhao Sheng investigated the Ten Kings Temple, where he suspected a dangerous Immortal Ruins Traveler might be hiding, and exchanged information with Gong Xueqing. After surviving an ambush and examining the temple’s uncanny Hell Beings Paintings, he became convinced they concealed a secret.

• Zhao Sheng reasoned that Mingxi Town’s repeating days could have produced a veteran killer who preyed on successive groups of Immortal Ruins Travelers, and he suspected the Ten Kings Temple was connected to the threat.
• At the temple, Zhao Sheng noticed several possible fellow travelers and met Gong Xueqing, whom he invited to exchange information in a shrine hall.
• Zhao Sheng traded the identities of four travelers for information from Gong Xueqing, then left without acting on his suspicion of her.
• A Hat Guest ambushed Zhao Sheng in the western hall, but Zhao severed his hand and struck him with a thrown blade; the attacker escaped, leaving blood behind.
• Zhao Sheng studied the vivid Hell Beings Paintings, found that they exerted a strange influence, and noticed two more suspected travelers arriving at the temple.

Zhao Sheng investigated Ten Kings Temple, learned of its ancient tomb and the three founding clans, and discovered that the Bright Moon Reflection Cup came from the tomb. After returning to Mingxi Town, he heard that the Woodcutter had been caught setting the fire and suspected another Immortal Ruins Traveler was involved.

• Zhao Sheng entered Ten Kings Temple and nearly clashed with a strange old man in hemp before Old Madam Chen and Temple Master Qin emerged.
• Temple Master Qin told Zhao Sheng that a young scholar and Old Madam Chen had also asked about Ten Kings Temple that day, then recounted its founding and the three clans' history.
• Zhao Sheng showed Temple Master Qin the Bright Moon Reflection Cup, learned it came from the Nameless Tomb, and was directed to Old Scholar at Literary Pavilion to decipher its writing.
• Temple Master Qin described the Qin, Chen, and Li clans' specialties and said the Li clan's painter had died, leaving only a young grandson.
• Zhao Sheng returned to Mingxi Town with another boat following him and heard that the Woodcutter had been arrested for setting the fire.
• Zhao Sheng concluded that Constable Liu was not an Immortal Ruins Traveler and suspected someone else had captured the Woodcutter.

Zhao Sheng investigated the old master’s murder and discovered that the mysterious scholar Lin Heng had stolen the Yellow Springs Shore Painting. At Ten Kings Temple, Zhao Sheng and Lin Heng allied and learned that killing an Immortal Ruins Traveler unsealed a portion of one’s will, revealing that the town’s cycle was built around repeated slaughter.

• Zhao Sheng followed Shopkeeper Chen to Chen Residence, where he found that the old master had died and the Yellow Springs Shore Painting and three antiques were missing.
• A woman described the scholar who had visited the old master, and Zhao Sheng connected him to the mysterious young scholar from Ten Kings Temple and learned that Li Zhi had painted the missing work.
• The next day, Zhao Sheng found new ghosts appearing in several Hell Beings Paintings and met the scholar, who introduced himself as Lin Heng.
• Zhao Sheng and Lin Heng formed a temporary alliance and visited the temple master together.
• Lin Heng directed Zhao Sheng to kill a Hat Guest, and Zhao Sheng discovered that killing an Immortal Ruins Traveler unsealed a sliver of his will.
• Zhao Sheng realized that the unsealing secret could trigger repeated massacres in Mingxi Town, producing an invincible monster unless someone escaped the cycle.

Zhao Sheng uncovered the link between the Hell Beings Paintings and dead Immortal Ruins Travelers, then used his rapidly expanding Willpower Light to hunt them across Mingxi Town. He watched Lin Heng steal the Yellow Springs Shore Painting and search the Nameless Tomb, while the other travelers remained unaware that Zhao Sheng was observing them.

• Zhao Sheng realized the ghosts in the Hell Beings Paintings represented dead Immortal Ruins Travelers and killed Old Madam Chen and several others, greatly expanding his Willpower Light.
• Zhao Sheng sensed Su Heihu, the Middle-aged Scholar, the Woodcutter, the Young Lady, and other travelers throughout Mingxi Town, then watched Lin Heng meet Old Shopkeeper Chen.
• Lin Heng waited until Old Shopkeeper Chen died, stole several treasures and the Yellow Springs Shore Painting, and left the Chen Residence unnoticed by its servants.
• Lin Heng examined the Yellow Springs Shore Painting but could not find the true other shore, while Zhao Sheng secretly watched him.
• Lin Heng searched the Nameless Tomb and left disappointed; Zhao Sheng returned to Mingxi Town and observed the frightened travelers searching through the night.

Zhao Sheng discovered that painting a Bridge of Helplessness pulled him back into the cycle, then suspected the author of Record of Soul Return held the key to escape. He gained access to the book again at the Chen Residence, where the chapter left him investigating its origin.

• Lin Heng used the Gold-Inlaid Brush and the Yellow Springs Shore Painting to enter Ghost Gate Pass, but Zhao Sheng later confirmed that Lin Heng had not escaped.
• Zhao Sheng noticed that no new ghosts had appeared in the Netherworld Sea of the Dead Painting and concluded that painting a Bridge of Helplessness might provide a way out.
• Zhao Sheng killed the woman in green, the Middle-aged Scholar, and the Middle-aged Shopkeeper, then stole the Record of Soul Return, Gold-Inlaid Brush, and Yellow Springs Shore Painting from the Chen Residence.
• Zhao Sheng painted a stone arch bridge on the Netherworld Sea of the Dead Painting and was drawn into it, only to awaken back in the familiar place.
• Zhao Sheng suspected the author of Record of Soul Return was crucial to his escape and visited Old Shopkeeper Chen, who gave him the book.

Zhao Sheng investigated Li Zhi’s grave and found it empty, then bought Li Zhi’s courtyard and collected his belongings, including a broken brush. After killing Su Heihu and capturing an Immortal Ruins Traveler, Zhao Sheng used the brush to paint a Bridge of Helplessness, awakening a mysterious power that brought a jade book from his Soul Sea.

• Zhao Sheng learned that Li Zhi had written Record of Soul Return, visited his grave, and discovered that the coffin was empty.
• Zhao Sheng killed Su Heihu with a sudden series of strikes, freeing a fraction of his Willpower Light.
• Zhao Sheng found Li Wuhui in Li Zhi’s old courtyard and bought the property for one hundred taels.
• Zhao Sheng returned with Li Wuhui, claimed the dog’s collar and several of Li Zhi’s painting tools, and took the broken brush.
• Zhao Sheng killed an intruding boatman with a willpower fluctuation, brought him to the King of Hell’s Temple, and used his blood and the broken brush to paint the Bridge of Helplessness.
• The Hell Beings Painting blazed with light, a crystalline drop of blood emerged from the broken brush, and a jade book rose from Zhao Sheng’s Soul Sea to dissolve the blood-red light.

Zhao Sheng escaped the Endless Tower with a five-colored flame curse inflicted by a powerful woman, then struggled to suppress it as the Zhao Clan’s territory withered and nearby factions grew suspicious. At the Kun Yuan Gathering, Zhao Xuanjing unexpectedly appeared as a Body Integration Realm great power, establishing the Zhao Clan as an Immortal Clan.

• The Hundred Lifetimes Book destroyed the blood bead and suppressed the Broken Brush, sending Zhao Sheng and the other survivors back to the Endless Tower.
• A feather-robed woman struck Zhao Sheng with an Immortal Seal that ignited five-colored flames in his body, then reported to her lord that he was a Kui Ox Divine Beast Envoy and received an order to capture him.
• Zhao Sheng fled to the lower realm and submerged himself in the Jade Void Spring Eye, drawing in Profound Essence Source Qi to fight the flames.
• As Zhao Sheng remained beneath Dragon Head Peak, its spiritual energy drained away, prompting Zhao Sanyue and Zhao Xiandu to declare the surrounding area forbidden while rival factions suspected Thunder God had suffered cultivation deviation.
• At the Kun Yuan Gathering, Zhao Xuanjing arrived after a thousand years, revealed his Body Integration Realm cultivation, and received the honored seat from Huang Shi Gong.