Chapter Summaries

Tang Lan and his companions reached the Soul Devouring Ant queen’s cavern, where he discovered her eggs could rapidly multiply the colony. He destroyed an egg and fought the awakened queen, piercing her barrier with the Overlord Spear as the battle began.

• Tang Lan burned nine Soul Devouring Ant egg caves, leaving one so the clan could preserve its bloodline.
• As the tunnels shook and the ants stirred, Tang Lan, He Xi, and Ning Xian hurried toward the passage’s exit.
• Tang Lan found the enormous ant queen and learned she was laying eggs that would hatch as pure-blooded queens.
• Tang Lan attacked one of the queen’s eggs, waking the ant queen, who showered the cave with corrosive acid.
• Tang Lan defended himself with the Eight Desolations Stele and summoned rock creatures to attack, but the queen’s barrier absorbed their strikes.
• Tang Lan used his Ancient Dragon Wings and Overlord Spear to pierce the queen’s barrier and stab her abdomen.

Tang Lan battled the immortal Soul Devouring Ant Queen and fought through its swarms to reach the Space Channel. After clearing the Third Gate of the Death God Trial, he passed out and awoke in a Void space, where Ning Xian greeted him.

• Tang Lan exploited the Soul Power Storm to wound the Soul Devouring Ant Queen and severed one of her legs with the Black Knife Massacre.
• Tang Lan discovered the Space Channel behind the queen, but she unleashed a swarm and regenerated under the power of the Mark of the Dead.
• Ning Xian urged Tang Lan to escape while the queen recovered, and Tang Lan used a burst of speed to cut through the swarming Soul Devouring Ants.
• The Ancient Dragon Spirit protected Tang Lan as he unleashed a final blade strike and dragged himself into the Space Channel with almost no soul power remaining.
• Tang Lan heard that he had cleared the Third Gate of the Death God Trial, fell asleep, and later awoke in a Void space as Ning Xian greeted him.

After passing the Third Gate, Tang Lan used the black key to enter the Death God Treasure Trove, where he discovered that its seemingly ordinary weapons were divine artifacts. He began searching for one that would accept him, with the fate of his reward still undecided.

• He Xi reminded Tang Lan that he had escaped the Soul Devouring Ant Swarm and passed the Third Gate, and he recalled receiving a black key to the Death God Treasure Trove.
• The key opened a spatial gate, and Tang Lan entered the treasure trove, where the Death God's voice allowed him to take one item and the Soul Devouring Ant eggs.
• Tang Lan explored a hall filled with weapons and treasures, but a pair of Meteor Hammers rejected him and warned him to leave.
• Ning Xian realized the treasures were at least divine artifacts, while Tang Lan accepted that they could choose whether to be taken.
• Tang Lan continued through the hall, looking at items that interested him without yet attempting to communicate with them.

Tang Lan selected a True Dragon Soul from a battered wooden box, and it settled inside one of his acupoints. The Space Gate sent him to the blazing desert of the Death God Trial’s fourth gate, where he built a shelter as night approached.

• Tang Lan found a cheerful presence inside a battered wooden box, and his Ancient Dragon Spirit reacted when he opened it.
• Ning Xian and He Xi identified the palm-sized golden dragon as a fragile True Dragon Soul that resonated strongly with Tang Lan’s Ancient Dragon.
• The True Dragon Soul flew into Tang Lan’s palm and settled in one of his acupoints before the hall instructed him to proceed to the Fourth Gate.
• Tang Lan emerged through the Space Gate into a scorching desert and spotted a vast sand mountain surrounded by flames.
• Tang Lan traveled north, compressed sand into a sturdy shelter with his Baxia Right Palm Bone, and prepared to spend the night inside.

Tang Lan endured the desert’s extreme temperatures and followed signs of a human group, hoping to find clues to passing the Fourth Gate. He found tracks but failed to catch up before nightfall, so he built another Sand House to shelter from the desert’s dangers.

• Tang Lan spotted Crimson Flame Scorpions gathering around his Sand House at night and remained inside until morning.
• Tang Lan cleared away sand that had buried the Sand House and saw a mirage that vanished when he investigated.
• Ning Xian and He Xi urged Tang Lan to pursue distant figures, and he found human and camel footprints in the sand.
• Tang Lan followed the tracks as night fell but stopped when he judged the desert too dangerous to keep searching.
• Tang Lan compressed sand into a sturdy shelter on a high dune for the night.

Tang Lan discovered that the Desert Death Gods were fighting over Earth Soul Crystals, which were tied to the desert’s impending destruction. He left the Sand House, gained a golden Seventh Soul Ring from the Ancient Dragon Spirit, and destroyed two giant worms, leaving him with their crystals.

• Tang Lan watched the Desert Death Gods kill one another and devour brown crystals, while He Xi identified them as Earth Soul Crystals whose loss threatened the desert with devastation.
• Tang Lan decided to confront the soul beasts, left the Sand House with his Overlord Spear, and drew the attacking worms and a vast swarm of Crimson Flame Scorpions toward him.
• The Ancient Dragon Spirit emerged from Tang Lan, merged into his Soul Rings, and transformed his weapon into the Dragon Soul Overlord Spear, granting him a golden Seventh Soul Ring and raising his total to nine rings.
• Tang Lan used his Seventh Soul Skill, Dragon Soul Overlord Spear True Form, to obliterate two desert giant worms with one strike.
• Tang Lan pulled the two Earth Soul Crystals from the crater and felt their pure earth spiritual energy flow through him.

Tang Lan encountered a thirty-zhang Sand Giant while crossing the frozen desert and learned that a previous Death God trial-taker had died there. The Sand Giant revealed a blood-red Soul Whale inside its body, which Ning Xian and He Xi identified as the Heart of the Earth.

• Tang Lan killed two more desert giant insects with the Dragon Soul Overlord Spear, gathered four Earth Soul Crystals, and fought off waves of Crimson Soul Scorpions.
• Tang Lan fled a freezing sandstorm, strayed from his route, and sensed a massive creature approaching at dawn.
• A thirty-zhang Sand Giant appeared and told Tang Lan that a former Death God trial-taker had failed to save the dying region and never left.
• The Sand Giant stripped away its sand exterior and exposed a blood-red Soul Whale inside its chest.
• Ning Xian and He Xi identified the Soul Whale as the Heart of the Earth, leaving Tang Lan to ask what it was.

Tang Lan and his companions learned that the Sand Giant carried a fragment of the Heart of the Earth and agreed to help it find the other fragments. The Sand Giant carried Tang Lan across the desert to Ash Valley, where a Fire Demon awaited.

• He Xi explained that the Heart of the Earth had shattered into many fragments, and Tang Lan wondered whether recovering them was part of the Fourth Gate of the Death God Trial.
• The Sand Giant offered to give Tang Lan its fragment, but Tang Lan urged it to help search for the others instead.
• The Sand Giant revealed that it sensed other fragment holders and agreed to lead Tang Lan and his companions to them.
• The Sand Giant carried Tang Lan across the desert toward Flame Mountain while the desert creatures fled from it.
• The Sand Giant brought Tang Lan to Ash Valley, where it said the Fire Demon lived, and Tang Lan declared he would deal with anything that blocked his trial.

Tang Lan and the Sand Giant confronted the Ash Lord in Ash Canyon over the Heart of the Earth Fragment. The Sand Giant fought to protect Tang Lan and his companions, and Tang Lan joined the battle, ending the chapter as he powered up for another attack.

• The Sand Giant carried Tang Lan and his companions into Ash Canyon, where the Ash Lord emerged from the lava and mocked their request for his Heart of the Earth Fragment.
• The Sand Giant declared that Tang Lan and his companions were friends who could save the land, but the Ash Lord accused humans of intending to take the Heart of the Earth for themselves.
• The Ash Lord attacked, and the Sand Giant blocked his first strike before assaulting him with enormous hands of sand.
• Tang Lan joined the fight with his Dragon Soul Overlord Spear, but the Ash Lord blocked his attack and kicked him dozens of zhang away.
• Tang Lan activated his Seventh and Eighth Soul Skills, causing his spear to shine and his aura to surge.

Tang Lan and the Sand Giant defeated the Ash Lord and obtained the Heart of the Earth Fragment, which fused with the Sand Giant and increased his strength. As they left Ash Canyon, the Sand Giant led Tang Lan toward the grave of a human from an earlier Death God Trial who had become an elemental spirit.

• The Sand Giant joined Tang Lan in battling the Ash Lord, and they fought for nearly three days until the Ash Lord surrendered the Heart of the Earth Fragment.
• Tang Lan let the Sand Giant keep the fragment, and it fused into his chest, greatly increasing his strength and causing him to accidentally destroy part of the Ash Lord’s home.
• The Ash Lord returned to the magma, and Tang Lan and the Sand Giant left Ash Canyon after learning that elemental spirits used the fragments to accelerate cultivation.
• When Tang Lan asked where they would go next, the Sand Giant said they were heading to a human’s grave; he explained that the woman had obtained a Heart of the Earth Fragment and become an elemental spirit after realizing she could not leave.

Tang Lan and Sha Li met Qing Zhu, an ancient soul who had become an elemental spirit through a Heart of the Earth Fragment. After learning about the changed Soul Master World and Tang Lan’s goal, Qing Zhu agreed to support him in obtaining the other fragments.

• Sha Li led Tang Lan to Qing Zhu’s thriving bamboo courtyard within Flame Mountain.
• Qing Zhu explained that the Heart of the Earth Fragment representing life sustained the courtyard and gave her control over the land’s elemental power.
• Sha Li told Qing Zhu that Tang Lan believed he could restore life to the barren land and wanted her fragment.
• Qing Zhu asked about the outside world, and Tang Lan described the history and changes of the Soul Master World.
• Qing Zhu decided to support Tang Lan in obtaining the other Heart of the Earth Fragments.

Tang Lan obtained the Heart of the Earth Fragment from Qing Zhu, healing his injuries as the bamboo sanctuary withered, and formed a spiritual contract with her through the Azure Lightning Flute. He followed Sha Li toward Poison Mist Valley to seek another fragment, but his attempt to play the flute failed.

• Qing Zhu gave Tang Lan the Heart of the Earth Fragment, which healed his hidden injuries and stabilized his foundation as the sanctuary withered.
• Qing Zhu entered the Azure Lightning Flute and formed a spiritual contract with Tang Lan, becoming its artifact spirit.
• Qing Zhu told Tang Lan that the Rock Crystal Scorpion King held another fragment in a cave beneath Poison Mist Valley, guarded by millions of aggressive scorpions.
• Tang Lan promised to defeat the Rock Crystal Scorpion King and traveled with Sha Li to Poison Mist Valley.
• Qing Zhu told Tang Lan to play the Azure Lightning Flute to clear a path through the poisonous mist, but Tang Lan blew into it without producing a sound.

Tang Lan used the Azure Lightning Flute to clear the poisonous mist and entered the valley with Sha Li to confront the Rock Crystal Scorpion King. After Tang Lan blinded the creature, Sha Li was poisoned and began burying it underground, warning Tang Lan to stay away.

• Tang Lan played the Azure Lightning Flute and dispersed the poisonous mist from the valley.
• Tang Lan and Sha Li entered the valley, where the Rock Crystal Scorpion King charged at them.
• Sha Li restrained the scorpion king while Tang Lan discovered that its eyes were vulnerable and pierced one of them with his spear.
• Sha Li held the scorpion king down again, allowing Tang Lan to pierce its other eye.
• The blinded scorpion king attacked wildly and flung Sha Li away, leaving him poisoned; Sha Li warned Tang Lan to keep his distance as he prepared to bury the creature underground.

Tang Lan and his companions discovered an inscription in First-Generation Ancient Script that described the aftermath of a war of the gods and hinted at relics deeper in the cave. After Sha Li returned, they entered a hidden spiritual herb garden, where they caught a radish spirit that claimed its missing uncle would return.

• Tang Lan found ancient writing carved into the Rock Crystal Scorpion King's cave wall, and Ning Xian identified it as First-Generation Ancient Script.
• Ning Xian translated the inscription, which spoke of a war of the gods, a shattered continent, and relics left for later generations to find.
• He Xi suggested that a cavern deeper inside held the senior's belongings, and Tang Lan decided to wait for Sha Li before going farther.
• Sha Li returned after transferring the Rock Crystal Scorpion King's poison deep underground, and he joined Tang Lan and the others as they explored the cave tunnels.
• Tang Lan and his companions entered a spiritual herb garden, caught a radish spirit, and learned that it was waiting for an uncle who had left and never returned.

Tang Lan and Sha Li met the Ten Thousand Year Ginseng King, who learned that Cang had been gone for ten thousand years and agreed to leave the secluded place with them. Before they could depart, the sprite led them to the first of Cang’s remaining treasures.

• Tang Lan told the Ten Thousand Year Ginseng King that Cang had likely either ascended or died, and the sprite mourned the loss of his uncle.
• Tang Lan invited the sprite to travel with them, and the sprite agreed after hearing about the outside world.
• Tang Lan warned the sprite to obey him and keep his identity secret, while Sha Li said they first needed to find Cang’s other belongings.
• The Ten Thousand Year Ginseng King led Tang Lan and Sha Li to a stone table, where they found a wooden box containing a Storage Ring set with a blue gemstone.

Tang Lan looted the Immortal Herb Blessed Land and a chamber of rare forging metals before opening Cang's sealed inheritance chamber with his blood. There he met the sentient Star Gold Furnace and discovered three treasures, including a painting titled the Mountains and Rivers Scroll.

• Tang Lan used the vast Storage Ring to take the immortal herbs and Immortal Soil, then collected rare metals from another secret chamber.
• The Little Ginseng Sprite told Tang Lan to smear his blood on the Stone Gate, and his blood opened the sealed chamber.
• Tang Lan entered the tidy Blessed Land and learned from the Little Ginseng Sprite that the furnace was alive and had once threatened to refine it into a pill.
• The Star Gold Furnace introduced itself as a Demigod Artifact and recognized Tang Lan as Cang's descendant.
• Tang Lan examined three treasures on a stone platform: a long wooden box, an incomplete dragon-shaped jade pendant, and a rough Sword Embryo.
• Tang Lan opened the wooden box and found a painting bearing the title Mountains and Rivers Scroll.

Tang Lan found a damaged divine artifact and pill-refining methods in the cave, then persuaded the arrogant Star Gold Furnace to acknowledge him as its master. In his sea of consciousness, the furnace met Ning Xian and He Xi, who revealed that they were also Demigod Artifact spirits.

• Tang Lan discovered that the Mountains and Rivers Scroll was a damaged divine artifact missing a gemstone, then found a booklet describing methods for refining high-grade pills.
• The Star Gold Furnace insisted that only it could refine the pills, but Tang Lan refused to indulge its arrogance and said he planned to leave with the Little Ginseng Sprite.
• After hearing about the outside world, the Star Gold Furnace offered to accompany Tang Lan and help refine pills, then revealed that it had been testing him on Cang's behalf.
• Tang Lan turned to leave, prompting the Star Gold Furnace to offer a Master-Servant Contract and acknowledge him as its master.
• After Tang Lan's blood sealed the bond, the Star Gold Furnace appeared as a boy in Tang Lan's sea of consciousness and met Ning Xian and He Xi, who said they were artifact spirits of Demigod Artifacts.

Tang Lan discovered a silver needle in the Blessed Land and learned it was the Space-Piercing Mystic Needle, an artifact associated with Cang. After it demonstrated its ability to pierce space and transformed into a staff, Tang Lan offered to form a contract with it.

• Ning Xian and He Xi told Star Gold Furnace that the Death God had turned human souls into artifact spirits as rewards for his trial.
• Star Gold Furnace revealed that an embroidery needle was trapped in Ten Thousand Year Heavenly Lightning Wood, and Tang Lan found it.
• Tang Lan provoked the silver needle, which broke free, shattered the wooden stump, and pierced through a cave wall.
• The needle reacted to Cang's name and transformed into a six-foot staff identified by Ning Xian as the Space-Piercing Mystic Needle.
• The Space-Piercing Mystic Needle demonstrated that it could pierce space, and Tang Lan offered to form a contract with it.

Tang Lan contracted the Space-Piercing Mystic Needle and left the sealed passage with the treasures he had found, but he still had no clear way out of the trial. That night, Ning Xian taught him to summon Soul Flame, which let the spirit forms of Ning Xian and He Xi eat roasted immortal grass.

• Tang Lan contracted the Space-Piercing Mystic Needle after a two-hour ceremony, then sealed the tunnel and thanked the unknown senior who had left the treasures.
• Tang Lan left Poison Mist Valley with several pieces of the Heart of the Earth but realized he still needed many more to find a way out.
• Tang Lan continued across the Desert Plain with encouragement from Ning Xian and He Xi, then used the Star Gold Furnace to create a warm shelter from the night wind and sand.
• Ning Xian and He Xi came out of Tang Lan's sea of consciousness and asked for some of the immortal grass he was roasting.
• Ning Xian taught Tang Lan to summon Soul Flame, and He Xi and Ning Xian used it to take and eat the roasted immortal grass.

Tang Lan and Sha Li hunted Soul Beasts for their Heart of the Earth Fragments until Tang Lan had collected seventeen and restored the Earth Soul Crystal to eighty percent. They reached Flame Mountain, where Sha Li sensed the owner of the final fragment waiting at the summit, and began climbing toward her.

• The Star Gold Furnace independently refined fifteen high-quality Revival Soul Pills, though it told Tang Lan it could only make low-grade practical pills on its own.
• At dawn, Tang Lan saw stronger sandstorms and black mist covering Flame Mountain’s summit, then followed Sha Li to hunt Soul Beasts.
• Tang Lan used the Space-Piercing Mystic Needle to kill a Desert Crocodile and collected its shell and meat.
• Over half a month, Tang Lan and Sha Li killed sixteen Soul Beasts carrying Heart of the Earth Fragments, bringing Tang Lan’s total to seventeen.
• Tang Lan reached Flame Mountain with Sha Li, who sensed the final fragment’s owner at the summit, and began climbing the volcanic slope.