Chapter Summaries

Fang Xuan returned to the Martial Temple, where Sun Temple Keeper discussed his new refined wood power and warned that major events might soon unfold in Shang Jing City. The chapter ended with a brocade-robed young man telling Mister Wei that he had completely refined the Golden Pill.

• Fang Xuan told Sun Temple Keeper about his dangerous trip to the Cloud Palace and how he had fused with Sui Mu, while concealing details about the golden bead and black talisman.
• Sun Temple Keeper praised Fang Xuan's progress, considered finding him techniques for his refined wood power, and asked him to spend more time with Li Chengqian and the Linyang Princess ahead of possible upheaval in Shang Jing City.
• Sun Temple Keeper told Xiang Jie, now a Third Rank Plum Envoy, to teach Fang Xuan, and Fang Xuan agreed to seek his insights.
• Xiang Jie told Fang Xuan that the Martial Temple's tense atmosphere recalled the Demon Subjugation War, and Pei Qian joined them for a drink.
• In a Shang Jing City eatery, Mister Wei assured a brocade-robed young man that their people would evade the increased patrols, and the young man said he had completely refined the Golden Pill.

Li Mingyan deployed the Town Protector Army to block Yi Province’s forces while Shang Jing imposed an early curfew and the Martial Temple mobilized to protect the city’s dragon fortune. Fang Xuan and Xiang Jie returned to the Martial Temple, where an imposing woman appeared before the assembled fighters.

• Chu Xin told Li Mingyan that the Town Protector Army could retain the Li name if Li Mingyan cooperated with Shang Jing’s plans, and Li Mingyan ordered his army to defend the northern pass against Yi Province.
• Fang Xuan noticed the early curfew and repeated arrivals of Great Yang Dynasty soldiers in Shang Jing, then asked Xiang Jie about the looming crisis.
• A glowing Jade Slip startled Xiang Jie, who told Fang Xuan they had to return to the Martial Temple immediately.
• Fang Xuan and Xiang Jie carried the drunken Pei Qian to the Martial Temple, where assembled martial artists prepared to protect Shang Jing’s stability and its dragon fortune.
• A silver-gray beam of moonlight illuminated the grandmaster’s chair, and an unidentified woman appeared seated there, silencing the courtyard.

The Goddess of War and the nine Temple Masters sent Martial Temple disciples to hunt bearers of dragon fortune, promising a century of extra life to anyone who captured one. Fang Xuan and Xiang Jie were assigned to guard Golden Luan Hall in the Great Yang imperial palace, where an underground tremor stirred an ancient formation that could distort time.

• The Goddess of War distributed Jade Slips assigning locations and promised to extend the lifespan of anyone who captured a bearer of dragon fortune.
• Fang Xuan learned that he and Xiang Jie were assigned to the Great Yang imperial palace, and Xiang Jie told him to stay close and use his strongest methods if needed.
• Shang Jing's gates closed as armored martial artists sealed off the city, while fighting broke out between Martial Temple disciples and attackers across the streets.
• Fang Xuan and Xiang Jie reached the golden palace and entered Golden Luan Hall, their assigned post.
• Golden Luan Hall shook from an underground tremor, and Xiang Jie warned Fang Xuan that an ancient formation inside could distort their sense of time.

Fang Xuan and Xiang Jie searched the Golden Luan Hall for the formation eye while a memory-distorting formation made them forget their purpose and attack each other. After Fang Xuan destroyed the Turbid Infant powering it, they entered an underground chamber where chanting monks and a strange eye threatened to pull Xiang Jie into the Buddhist Domain.

• Fang Xuan and Xiang Jie discovered carved notes revealing that a formation in the Golden Luan Hall was disrupting their memories and that they had been trapped there for some time.
• Xiang Jie charged Fang Xuan with blood-red eyes, and Fang Xuan realized from the blood on Ink Abyss that he had wounded Xiang Jie.
• Fang Xuan searched the hall, found a light net and a Turbid Infant above the ceiling, and killed the creature to break the formation.
• Xiang Jie identified the Turbid Infant, and he and Fang Xuan descended through the revealed passage toward the palace underground.
• Fang Xuan and Xiang Jie entered a chamber containing a vast Light Array, nine chanting monks, and a floating eyeball with an azure star-shaped pupil.
• Xiang Jie began shaking in agony, but Fang Xuan revived him; Xiang Jie warned him not to listen to the chanting because it would drag them into the Buddhist Domain.

Fang Xuan witnessed Great Yang’s attempt to strip the dragon fortune from its golden dragon and learned from Sun Temple Keeper that he must absorb the scattered fortune. As Li Yixuan arrived to compete for it and chaos erupted, Li Yuanzheng called upon a powerful monk whom Fang Xuan recognized from White River Temple.

• Fang Xuan and Xiang Jie approached the altar, where Li Yuanzheng and Sun Temple Keeper oversaw a golden dragon bound by a thorn-covered tree.
• Li Yuanzheng asked Fang Xuan to return the Founding Sword, and Fang Xuan handed over the broken weapon in exchange for a promise of payment later.
• Sun Temple Keeper warned Fang Xuan that the golden dragon embodied Great Yang’s dragon fortune and urged him to absorb as much as he could when it dispersed.
• Li Yixuan arrived with a group of formidable allies, while the strange eye overhead stirred chaos among the people around the altar.
• Li Yuanzheng summoned the Grand Sage Master, whose Sanskrit chanting silenced the turmoil, and Fang Xuan recognized him as the old monk from White River Temple.

Fang Xuan watched as the Dragon Fortune was stripped from the golden dragon and absorbed by Li Chengqian, while Li Yixuan moved to claim it for himself. The chapter ended with Li Chengqian confronting Li Yixuan and revealing his Blood Martial Saint aura.

• Fang Xuan fled toward the northern passage as Li Yuanzheng and Li Yixuan’s factions began fighting around the altar.
• The Nine-Headed Dragon Cypress tore Dragon Fortune from the golden dragon, and lightning killed several martial artists who rushed to seize it.
• Li Yuanzheng’s people brought Li Chengqian, Linyang Princess, and three others to the altar, where Li Chengqian absorbed a strand of Dragon Fortune.
• Li Yixuan entered the Cypress’s domain and threatened to kill Li Chengqian and the others to claim the imperial bloodline and Dragon Vein.
• Li Chengqian told his brothers to absorb the Dragon Fortune and charged Li Yixuan, revealing the aura of a Blood Martial Saint.

Fang Xuan fought Xuan Sheng, who tried to seize the Blood Essence Pill for Li Yixuan, while Li Yixuan defeated Li Chengqian and took his dragon fortune. Fang Xuan then used his divine powers to break into the Nine-Headed Dragon Cypress’s barrier.

• Sun Temple Keeper secretly told Fang Xuan to enter the Nine-Headed Dragon Cypress’s range after Li Chengqian was defeated.
• Xuan Sheng demanded Fang Xuan hand over the Blood Essence Pill, but Fang Xuan attacked him and evaded his counterattack.
• Fang Xuan unleashed his Whale Tyrant Killing Fist and Divine Dragon Tail Swing, damaging Xuan Sheng’s robe and forcing him to reveal his giant form.
• Xuan Sheng struck Fang Xuan and sent him crashing across the ground.
• Li Yixuan defeated Li Chengqian and Li Yuanzheng’s other three sons, then absorbed a streak of dragon fortune.
• Fang Xuan summoned golden Dragon Claws and used Whale Leap to enter the golden barrier with another streak of light.

Fang Xuan entered the Nine-Headed Dragon Cypress and challenged Li Yixuan over the dragon fortune, while Linyang Princess and the forces outside the barrier took action. After Fang Xuan seized a strand of dragon fortune and resisted Li Yixuan's spirit attack, Li Yixuan fired three Soul-Seizing Needles at him.

• Fang Xuan passed through the Nine-Headed Dragon Cypress's golden barrier unharmed, and Li Yixuan questioned whether Great Yang Imperial Family blood flowed through him.
• Linyang Princess entered the barrier and urged her cousin Li Yixuan to stop, but he declared that Great Yang needed a new ruler.
• The old monk from White River Temple and the schoolteacher in purple discussed Fang Xuan's hidden origins and his prospects for claiming power over Central Province.
• Li Yuanzheng ordered the upper-realm martial artist of the Chu Family to proceed with their worst-case plan if the dragon fortune was taken.
• Fang Xuan seized a strand of dragon fortune, and Linyang Princess blocked Li Yixuan's attack but was wounded by his folding fan.
• Fang Xuan resisted Li Yixuan's spirit attack and struck with the Wind Thunder Saber Art, but Li Yixuan countered by firing three Soul-Seizing Needles at his chest.

Li Yuanzheng sacrificed the Imperial Jade Seal to awaken the Witch God beneath the imperial palace, unleashing a force that devoured vitality and threatened to destroy Shang Jing City. As the survivors fled or moved to confront the Witch God, the Goddess of War appeared and summoned four blazing suns.

• Li Yuanzheng used the Imperial Jade Seal to open a vortex and revealed that the Great Yang Dynasty had sealed the Witch God beneath the palace.
• The Witch God's awakening drained vitality across the area, and Fang Xuan fled with the wounded Linyang Princess while telling Li Yixuan to take the dragon fortune.
• The Nine-Headed Dragon Cypress collapsed, the golden dragon dispersed, and the Purple-Robed Teacher urged Li Yixuan to escape Shang Jing City.
• The Purple-Robed Teacher and the old monk charged toward the vortex, while the Goddess of War ordered the Martial Temple to withdraw and confronted the Witch God.
• The Goddess of War formed seals, causing four blazing suns to appear overhead.

Fang Xuan and Xiang Jie escaped Shang Jing as a gray sea consumed the city, but the Witch God’s power targeted Fang Xuan and nearly overwhelmed him with strange memories. Xiang Jie saved him at the cost of a century of lifespan, and the Linyang Princess sealed Xiang Jie in Ice Jade while they searched for an Immortal Herb.

• Xiang Jie rescued Fang Xuan from the spreading gray sea, and Fang Xuan learned that Pei Qian had already been taken out of Shang Jing by the Tai Xuan Sect.
• A gigantic eye appeared over Shang Jing and pulled Fang Xuan into a vortex, where visions of his past and unfamiliar memories of the Evil Emperor flooded his mind.
• Xiang Jie used talismans to suppress the strange power affecting Fang Xuan, but his body began to rot as he lost a hundred years of lifespan.
• Fang Xuan fled with the Linyang Princess, then searched for medicine to restore Xiang Jie’s lifespan while Xiang Jie reassured him that the Martial Temple would endure as long as Fang Xuan lived.
• The Linyang Princess used a Jade Slip to seal Xiang Jie’s declining life force in Ice Jade and said he could recover if they found an Immortal Herb.

After Shang Jing was sealed, Fang Xuan took Linyang Princess with him into the mountains and prepared to break through to the upper realm. Meanwhile, Yun Jingxuan and Gu Chengxuan learned of the Witch God's revival and Shang Jing's fate, and Wang Simian urged Gu Chengxuan to seize the chance to control Great Yang's elite troops.

• Fang Xuan found a cave, revealed his identity as Dragon Whale Army commander to Linyang Princess, and agreed to let her follow him while he cultivated.
• Yun Jingxuan learned that the Witch God had returned and Shang Jing had been sealed, then ordered Cloud Palace to send its young disciples out to train.
• Gu Chengxuan told his trusted subordinates that the Witch God had revived and Shang Jing was sealed, and said they were trying to contact Great Yang's three hundred thousand elite troops.
• Wang Simian called Shang Jing's sealing an opportunity and urged Gu Chengxuan to seize the elite troops and use Central Province and Wan Province as a base to contend for the Nine Provinces.

After recovering from his battle in Shang Jing, Fang Xuan refined a Blood Essence Pill and broke through to the Upper Realm. He returned to the mountaintop as a true Upper Realm martial artist, and the Linyang Princess congratulated him.

• Gu Chengxuan rebuked Wang Simian and ordered his ministers and generals to focus on reclaiming the three hundred thousand Da Yang Elite Troops in Central Province.
• After three days of recovery, Fang Xuan began refining the Blood Essence Pill, but its immense vitality tore through his body.
• Fang Xuan divided the pill’s vitality among more than three hundred meridians and absorbed it over several days.
• Fang Xuan broke through the Heart Knocking Gate and ascended above the clouds as he advanced to the Upper Realm.
• An old beggar in Wan Province sensed Fang Xuan’s breakthrough and remarked that he had a Guardian of the Dao.
• Fang Xuan returned to the mountaintop, and the Linyang Princess congratulated him on entering the transcendent realm.

After Shang Jing was sealed, Chu Xin urged Li Mingyan to act before the Great Yang’s remaining royal troops became unreachable. Meanwhile, Fang Xuan and the Linyang Princess arrived in Ten Thousand Demons Town seeking a Millennial Saint Essence Branch, where they learned Kunwu Mountain had joined the hunt and met its prodigy Feng Tang.

• Chu Xin told Li Mingyan that Shang Jing had been sealed and everyone inside had vanished, then urged him to take control of the Central Province’s three hundred thousand troops despite the missing Imperial Jade Seal.
• Sixteen days later, Fang Xuan and the Linyang Princess reached Ten Thousand Demons Town after changing course to search for a Millennial Saint Essence Branch.
• Fang Xuan and the Linyang Princess saw a bloodstained hunter carrying a giant demon corpse as they listened to townspeople discuss Shang Jing’s fate.
• The townspeople said the Soaring Sky Sect and Kunwu Mountain were pursuing the Millennial Saint Essence Branch.
• Feng Tang of Kunwu Mountain descended into town and warned the martial artists to stop discussing the sect’s plans.

Feng Tang recruited warriors to scout the Primordial Secret Cave, while Fang Xuan declined to follow Kunwu Mountain and prepared to enter the cave with Linyang Princess. On the way, he reassured her about her family and explained why rare herbs had become scarce, leaving her wondering whether immortals ruled above the Nine Provinces.

• Feng Tang offered Profound Yellow Armor to warriors willing to scout the Primordial Secret Cave, recruited more than a dozen, and led them toward Kunwu Mountain.
• Fang Xuan declined Linyang Princess's suggestion to follow Feng Tang, bought a cave map and a small ark, and returned to the inn.
• Linyang Princess asked whether her father and the others might still be alive, and Fang Xuan said he doubted the Great Witch had killed Old Sun and the others, especially since the Goddess of War had acted.
• Linyang Princess offered Fang Xuan the five strands of Dragon Fortune she had absorbed, but he refused to accept them.
• Fang Xuan and Linyang Princess traveled by ark toward the teleportation array leading to the Primordial Secret Cave, and Fang Xuan explained that increased demand from martial artists had depleted rare herbs.
• Linyang Princess wondered whether immortal beings ruled above the Nine Provinces, and Fang Xuan said he did not know whether realms beyond the Upper Realm existed.

Fang Xuan and the Linyang Princess entered the Primordial Secret Cave, where Fang Xuan planned to follow others to find an Immortal Herb. Meanwhile, Feng Tang led a group of Rogue Cultivators toward the cave’s interior, but the formation ahead vanished and he realized they had walked into a trap.

• Fang Xuan and the Linyang Princess entered the Primordial Secret Cave and found its buildings in ruins and its Spiritual Power abundant.
• Fang Xuan gave the Linyang Princess a black cloak to conceal her aura and said they could let others search for them.
• Feng Tang led more than a dozen Rogue Cultivators through the cave while Zhang Kai followed a map toward a secret cave.
• Zhang Kai questioned why the area was so quiet after the Millennial Saint Essence Branch appeared, but Feng Tang told him not to ask.
• Feng Tang checked a malfunctioning formation with a guiding instrument, but the Light Array suddenly vanished and he declared it was a trap.

Fang Xuan and the Linyang Princess arrived as the Flame Demon Beast trapped Feng Tang and his companions in powerful formations. Feng Tang's Bi Fang Bloodline and fire lotuses could not overcome the beast's formation skill, leaving him at a disadvantage.

• Feng Tang was wounded by the Flame Demon Beast's attack and restrained by cyan tassels hidden in a formation.
• Feng Tang burned away the tassels and summoned three blazing crimson lotuses to challenge the beast.
• Fang Xuan and the Linyang Princess arrived and recognized Feng Tang, while the Flame Demon Beast identified his awakened Bi Fang Bloodline.
• The Flame Demon Beast activated the surrounding formations, trapping Feng Tang and the martial artists behind him as more cyan tassels spread across them.
• Feng Tang struggled against the high-grade formations, several of his companions died, and Fang Xuan watched the beast's movements.

Fang Xuan used the Linyang Princess to break the Flame Demon Beast’s formations and demanded the Millennial Saint Essence Branch, forcing the beast to flee. Feng Tang and the surviving martial artists escaped the trap and continued deeper into the Primordial Secret Cave.

• Fang Xuan asked the Linyang Princess to shatter the formation eyes with force-qi-infused stones, and she followed his coordinates to break the formations.
• The Flame Demon Beast lost its connection to the formations, spotted Fang Xuan, and fled through a spatial formation after he demanded the Millennial Saint Essence Branch.
• Feng Tang and five surviving martial artists fell free when the formation broke, and Zhang Kai thanked Feng Tang for saving them.
• Feng Tang clarified that he had not broken the formation, while he and the others mistook the departing Linyang Princess for a Tai Xuan Sect expert.
• Feng Tang warned the five martial artists that pressing onward could be dangerous, but they chose to continue, and he led them into another spatial formation.

The Flame Demon Beast returned to its hidden cave and told Wang Mu that someone may have entered the Primordial Secret Cave from the Tai Xuan Sect. After eating a captive martial artist, it discussed the Millennial Saint Essence Branch before an icy voice addressed it.

• The Flame Demon Beast opened a hidden spatial formation and returned to its cave, where Wang Mu asked whether Tai Xuan Sect disciples had entered the Primordial Secret Cave.
• The Flame Demon Beast warned Wang Mu not to mistake their partnership for authority and said it would not risk fighting an opponent it could not defeat.
• Wang Mu led the Flame Demon Beast to a chamber of captive martial artists, and the beast chose one and devoured him.
• The Flame Demon Beast learned that Kunwu Mountain had suffered heavy losses while searching for a box and that the Millennial Saint Essence Branch remained uneaten.
• An icy voice spoke beside the Flame Demon Beast and said it knew where the Millennial Saint Essence Branch was.

Fang Xuan confronted the Flame Demon Beast in its cave and battled it alongside the old man, who controlled a powerful lightning formation. After Fang Xuan killed the old man and battered the beast, the Flame Demon Beast surrendered and said it was willing to give him the Millennial Saint Essence Branch.

• Fang Xuan demanded the Millennial Saint Essence Branch from the Flame Demon Beast in exchange for its life.
• The Flame Demon Beast attacked Fang Xuan, who blocked its strike and revealed his strength as a Martial Venerable.
• Fang Xuan overwhelmed the Flame Demon Beast with his flames and Dragon Emperor Seals, then the beast called on Lao Wang for help.
• Lao Wang trapped Fang Xuan in a lightning array, but Fang Xuan escaped with Whale Leap and killed him with Heart Burning Flame Palm.
• Fang Xuan battered the Flame Demon Beast until it recovered with its Demon Core, then drew Ink Abyss as the beast surrendered.

Fang Xuan infiltrated Lingxi’s dwelling with the Flame Demon Beast to take the Millennial Saint Essence Branch for Xiang Jie, but the Flame Demon Beast betrayed him by trying to seize the treasure for itself. Meanwhile, Lingxi was ambushed by Ning Gu and other Kunwu Mountain fighters, who revealed they had sent juniors to steal the branch and provoked Lingxi into a furious pursuit.

• Fang Xuan learned that Lingxi was a powerful Martial Venerable and had the Flame Demon Beast lead him to Lingxi’s dwelling, concealing his aura with one of its Demon Cores.
• Fang Xuan used the Crimson King Eyes to confirm Lingxi was away, then entered the dwelling with the Flame Demon Beast and found the Millennial Saint Essence Branch growing in a pool of Immortal Herbs.
• As Fang Xuan prepared a concealment formation and told the Flame Demon Beast to pluck the branch, the Flame Demon Beast decided to seize more of the treasure for itself.
• Ning Gu and three other Kunwu Mountain figures attacked Lingxi, demanding the Millennial Saint Essence Branch or a mysterious box, and drove him toward his dwelling.
• Lingxi learned that Kunwu Mountain had sent juniors to steal the branch and swore to stop the attackers, even at the cost of his thousand years of cultivation.