Chapter Summaries

Zhang Chen left He Lu Temple with Chen Xu to investigate an auspicious passage in the Pacifying Border King's ancestral tomb that resembled the radiance of the Ascension Pool. They entered the tomb through a Mouse Hole, where they reached a brightly lit chamber covered in murals.

• Zhang Chen judged that the spring rain was not yet suitable for Zhang Shicheng's Jiao Dragon Walking and Dragon Transformation and continued practicing his saber arts at He Lu Temple.
• Chen Xu told Zhang Chen that he had found a flaw in the ancestral tomb's Feng Shui Array and a passage with the same phenomenon as an object that had fallen from the Immortal Realm.
• Zhang Chen agreed to investigate, transformed into a stream of qi, and left He Lu Temple with Chen Xu, who took the form of a snake.
• Three days later, Five Six Teacher found He Lu Temple deserted and its Feng Shui Array severed, then sent word to Yellow Dawn Temple about Zhang Chen's disappearance.
• Zhang Chen met Chen Xu near the ancestral tomb, and they entered through a Mouse Hole, with Zhang Chen transforming into a drop of water.
• Zhang Chen and Chen Xu reached the depths of the great tomb, where shining pearls illuminated murals depicting the Pacifying Border Kings.

Zhang Chen entered the underground fissure to reach the Ascension Pool while avoiding the tomb’s traps and the boundary suppressing its energy. He overcame the pool’s defenses with the Yin Yang Millstone and its control incantation, then found only a shallow layer of transformation liquid remaining.

• Chen Xu led Zhang Chen through the tomb’s trap-filled corridor to the boundary surrounding the underground fissure.
• Zhang Chen discovered that ordinary water could cross the boundary, then used the Water Control Technique to teleport inside while Chen Xu waited outside.
• Zhang Chen used the Yin Yang Millstone to absorb the fissure’s scattered Ascension Pool energy and overcome the pressure near the pool.
• Zhang Chen found the Ascension Pool damaged by old attacks and inferred that Purple Firmament Divine Lightning had weakened it.
• Zhang Chen used the control incantation to remove the pool’s colored barrier and saw that its remaining liquid was less than five centimeters deep.

Zhang Chen transformed his left hand with the Ascension Pool’s essence, gaining a Half-Immortal Body and beginning to refine the damaged treasure. After learning the pool was linked to the Northern Lands Dragon Vein, he devised a plan to disrupt Zhang Shicheng’s transformation and gave some essence to Chen Xu to awaken his Heavenly Eye.

• Zhang Chen soaked one hand in the Ascension Pool for three days, transforming it into an Immortal’s Hand that could better perceive the Great Dao and amplify his mystical powers.
• Zhang Chen refined the damaged Ascension Pool and discovered that twenty-four of its forty-eight Innate Restrictions still gathered essence energy each day.
• Zhang Chen realized the pool was linked to the Northern Lands Dragon Vein and planned to expose it so others might disturb the vein and force Pacifying Border King Zhang Shicheng to undergo Jiao Dragon Walking and Dragon Transformation early.
• Zhang Chen collected a drop of essence in a jade bottle and passed through the Feng Shui Array to meet Chen Xu.
• Chen Xu used the essence on his brow, hoping it would unlock and strengthen his Heavenly Eye.

Zhang Chen discovered that the Eight Trigrams Furnace had absorbed most of the Ascension Pool’s energy and was using it to forge the God Smashing Whip. The whip took shape with thirty-six Innate Restrictions, though incomplete materials limited its power, and the Great Sovereign Demon King hinted it could help Zhang Chen claim a fortuitous opportunity.

• Chen Xu used Zhang Chen’s liquid to awaken a Feng Shui secret art through his Heavenly Eye acupoint, then offered to help find a flaw in the Pacifying Border Prince’s Mansion’s Feng Shui Array.
• Zhang Chen explained his plan to expose the Ascension Pool’s phenomenon and make Zhang Shicheng undergo Jiao Dragon Walking and Dragon Transformation early.
• Zhang Chen sensed a change in the Eight Trigrams Furnace and found it had absorbed most of the Ascension Pool’s leaked energy to refine the God Smashing Whip.
• Zhang Chen added thirty-six layers of Innate Restriction to the whip, but its incomplete materials left it able to use only the first twenty-two layers’ power.
• The God Smashing Whip drained energy from the furnace, which in turn drew on the Earth Vein; the Great Sovereign Demon King assured Zhang Chen this would not bring heavenly punishment.
• The Great Sovereign Demon King said the God Smashing Whip could retrieve a fortuitous opportunity and promised to reveal its clues after the treasure was finished.

Zhang Chen gained and upgraded Earth Authority, then met Xie Lingyun and learned that the Northern Lands were sealed off. He later used his new power to shelter Chen Xu, who revealed that fluctuations in the Northern Lands Ancestral Vein had exposed flaws in the Feng Shui Array.

• Zhang Chen picked up Earth Authority from the Heart of the Earth, equipped it, and discovered that its unranked domain controlled earth within ten meters.
• Zhang Chen spent energy from the Ascension Pool to raise Earth Authority to First Rank, expanding its range to fifty meters.
• Xie Lingyun returned after the Pacifying Border Prince's Mansion blocked her attempt to leave the Northern Lands, and she told Zhang Chen that the region was sealed off.
• Xie Lingyun told Zhang Chen that his younger brother and Little Sister had begun martial arts training but were too young to practice the Contemplation Method.
• Zhang Chen used Earth Authority to raise a stone house around himself and Chen Xu, who said a fluctuation in the Northern Lands Ancestral Vein had revealed flaws in the Feng Shui Array.

Chen Xu found the Feng Shui Array’s key node, but Zhang Chen feared Heavenly Punishment and hired starving men to blast the stone instead. The men finished preparing the explosives, leaving Zhang Chen and Chen Xu poised to trigger the blast.

• Chen Xu calculated the array’s key node and identified a ten-meter stone whose destruction could release the array’s energy.
• Zhang Chen stopped Chen Xu from destroying the stone himself, warning that interfering with the Northern Lands Earth Vein could bring Heavenly Punishment.
• Zhang Chen prepared explosives, recruited ten starving men including Zhu Lao Liu, and paid them to blast the stone.
• Zhang Chen explained the dangers of Heavenly Punishment to Chen Xu as the men chiseled holes and placed the charges in the stone.
• Zhu Lao Liu reported that the preparations were complete.

Zhang Chen and Chen Xu broke the Feng Shui Array protecting the Northern Lands Earth Vein and hid in Hook Blue County as cultivators and the Pacifying Border Prince's forces converged on the mountains. With Zhang Shicheng preparing to transform into a dragon amid a worsening storm, Zhang Chen watched the rainwater flow toward the city and recognized that Zhang Shicheng was gathering momentum.

• Zhang Chen and Chen Xu set off explosives that shattered a boulder and broke the Feng Shui Array, then fled to Hook Blue County before the Pacifying Border Prince's forces arrived.
• The Pacifying Border King sealed Hook Blue County while cultivators flooded toward the mountains, and Zhang Chen planned to act when Zhang Shicheng's transformation disturbed the ancestral Earth Qi.
• Five Six Teacher told the Pacifying Border King that gods had come to exploit the turmoil and suspected Zhang Chen had caused the explosion.
• The Pacifying Border King ordered his forces to hold out until the third day of the third month, even at the cost of his entire army, while Five Six Teacher urged him to deal with the Inspection Directorate.
• As torrential rain poured down, Chen Xu noticed the water flowing toward the city outskirts, and Zhang Chen realized Zhang Shicheng was gathering momentum for his transformation.

Xie Lingyun warned Zhang Chen that Zhang Shicheng was likely to transform into a dragon and break with the imperial court, and Zhang Chen promised to secure Commander Xie a chance to kill him. The Pacifying Border King then pressured Xie Xuan and Xie Lingyun to support his cause, demanding an answer within three days.

• Xie Lingyun told Zhang Chen that a Demon Race expert had tied up two Nation Suppressing Divine Artifacts and that Zhang Shicheng was likely to become an Eleventh Order existence.
• Zhang Chen told Xie Lingyun he would secure Commander Xie an opportunity to kill Zhang Shicheng and asked to meet with him face-to-face.
• Xie Lingyun returned to the Inspection Directorate stronghold and found the Pacifying Border King waiting to speak with Xie Xuan.
• The Pacifying Border King proposed that Xie Lingyun marry his son, but Xie Xuan said she should decide for herself.
• The Pacifying Border King threatened that his family would rule the northern lands after Zhang Shicheng transformed into a dragon and gave Xie Xuan and Xie Lingyun three days to send troops to the battlefield.

Zhang Chen met Xie Xuan and arranged a plan to kill Zhang Shicheng after he transformed into a dragon, using the Blood Transformation Divine Blade and Zhang Chen’s soul-hooking ability. As torrential rain flooded the streets and caused destruction in nearby villages, Chen Xu set out to pursue Zhang Shicheng’s body for its power.

• Xie Lingyun told Xie Xuan that Zhang Chen claimed they could kill Zhang Shicheng even if he reached the Twelfth Order, and Xie Xuan went to meet him.
• Zhang Chen warned Xie Xuan that the Blood Transformation Divine Blade could pierce Zhang Shicheng’s reverse scale and drain the blood of anyone it wounded.
• Zhang Chen and Xie Xuan agreed that Zhang Chen would draw out Zhang Shicheng’s soul while Xie Xuan attacked his body, then Xie Xuan would help destroy the soul and claim the dragon pearl and Dragon Tendon.
• Chen Xu learned of the plan and left to prepare to devour Zhang Shicheng’s true body, despite Zhang Chen warning him of the danger.
• Xie Xuan considered recruiting Zhang Chen into the Inspection Directorate or marrying him to Xie Lingyun.
• Three days later, the torrential rain flooded streets and homes, while mudslides devastated villages in the hills.

Zhang Chen discovered that Zhang Shicheng was channeling floodwaters into a basin to prepare for Jiao Dragon Walking and Dragon Transformation, then learned of a newly exposed underground palace near the Yellow River Dragon Palace. He focused on stopping Zhang Shicheng and securing the Ascension Pool, while the Prince’s forces struggled to defend it from rival experts.

• Zhang Chen and Chen Xu found that Zhang Shicheng was drawing floodwaters into a basin to form a Heavenly Pool and prepare for his transformation into a dragon.
• After the rain weakened, Xie Lingyun told Zhang Chen that flooding had exposed another palace hall beneath the Yellow River, where the Inspection Directorate had lost more than thirty skilled men.
• Zhang Chen decided to postpone exploring the underground palace until Zhang Shicheng’s transformation was dealt with, and he asked Xie Lingyun about the missing Great Manager and the Longevity Tree Coffin.
• At his Eight Trigrams Furnace, Zhang Chen concluded that Colored Realm Fire could destroy Zhang Shicheng’s Dragon Soul and provide material for refining the God Smashing Whip.
• Zhang Chen watched the struggle for the Ascension Pool as the Pacifying Border Prince’s Mansion fought off rival experts, and a messenger reported that another force of three thousand men had been expended.

As the Pacifying Border King sacrificed thousands to secure the Ascension Pool, Zhang Chen prepared for Zhang Shicheng’s impending dragon transformation and coordinated a plan with Chen Xu and Xie Xuan. With the transformation set to begin the next day, Xie Xuan proposed that Zhang Chen marry Xie Lingyun and invited him to join the Inspection Directorate.

• The Pacifying Border King ordered another three thousand soldiers into battle, insisting that the Ascension Pool was worth the lives being lost.
• Zhang Chen watched the slaughter around the Ascension Pool, then waited as the northern lands settled into uneasy calm.
• On the third day of the third month, thunder and lightning signaled that Zhang Shicheng’s dragon transformation was gathering momentum, and Zhang Chen told Chen Xu how to act during the coming seven-day process.
• Zhang Chen traveled to his Eight Trigrams Furnace, where Xie Xuan arrived and discussed their plan to seize Zhang Shicheng’s soul and kill his physical body.
• Xie Xuan offered to arrange Zhang Chen’s marriage to Xie Lingyun, and Zhang Chen agreed if she wanted it.
• Zhang Chen said he planned to settle in Jiangnan and cultivate in seclusion, while Xie Xuan offered him a Hundred Household position in the Inspection Directorate.

Zhang Chen refused Xie Xuan’s offer to join the Inspection Directorate and prepared for the Jiao Dragon Walking and Dragon Transformation at the Heavenly Pool. As a storm gathered, the carp carrying Zhang Chen’s altered bloodline began transforming under the force of the Northern Lands Ancestral Vein.

• Zhang Chen refused Xie Xuan’s offer to make him a Hundred Household Officer, and Xie Xuan withdrew the Inspection Directorate guards from the forest.
• Zhang Chen and Xie Xuan watched the storm gather near Seven Days Passage, while Xie Lingyun rejected her father’s attempt to match her with Zhang Chen.
• The Pacifying Border King released the carp into the Heavenly Pool, and Zhang Chen left Xie Xuan to go to the Ascension Pool.
• Zhang Chen concealed himself near the Ascension Pool as the battle there continued and the rain grew heavier.
• A strange bellow shook the mountains, and dragon-shaped destiny from the Northern Lands Ancestral Vein entered the carp, transforming its body as lightning struck it.

Zhang Chen seized the Ascension Pool during the chaos and revealed that he had secretly infected Zhang Shicheng with blood filth and Blood God Sons. As Zhang Shicheng’s dragon transformation continued, Du Guqiu arrived to kill him, while the Pacifying Border King tried to stop the imperial eunuch.

• Zhang Chen used Earth Escape to reach the Ascension Pool, shrank it into his hand, and escaped after Chai Chuanxin attacked him.
• Zhang Chen stored the Ascension Pool in the Ba Snake Space and returned to Xie Xuan, who noticed an evil crimson aura on Zhang Shicheng’s transforming body.
• Zhang Chen admitted that he had altered Zhang Shicheng’s body, and Xie Xuan realized the crimson power was connected to Zhang Chen’s Blood Transformation Divine Blade.
• Zhang Shicheng sensed the crimson power devouring his essence but could not remove it while enduring the lightning and pain of his dragon transformation.
• Du Guqiu appeared over the lake, intensified the lightning with his spear, and declared that Zhang Shicheng was a monster who had to be slain.
• The Pacifying Border King ordered Du Guqiu to withdraw, but Du Guqiu dismissed Zhang Shicheng as an evil creature and advanced to attack him.

Du Guqiu fought through the gods and attacked Zhang Shicheng as he underwent dragon transformation, but Zhang Shicheng’s Dragon Pearl withstood their clash. Du Guqiu fled after damaging the pearl, and Zhang Shicheng entered the thunderclouds to complete his tribulation while vowing revenge on the Great Victory Royal Family.

• Du Guqiu killed gods with the Heavenly Punishment Spear until the survivors fled, then approached Zhang Shicheng’s transforming Dragon Body.
• Xie Xuan explained Du Guqiu’s rapid rise to the Yang Spirit realm and the power of his Twelfth-Order Mystery to Zhang Chen.
• Zhang Shicheng tried to recruit Du Guqiu, but Du Guqiu refused and pierced Zhang Shicheng’s dragon claw before the Dragon Pearl blocked his spear.
• Du Guqiu and Zhang Shicheng traded powerful blows until Du Guqiu spat blood and fled into the sea of thunder.
• Zhang Shicheng discovered cracks in his Dragon Pearl, blamed the Great Victory Royal Family, and entered the thunderclouds to complete his tribulation.

Zhang Chen used Soul Hooking Plunder to kill Zhang Shicheng just after he transformed into an Eleventh-Order divine dragon, letting Xie Xuan and the gathered factions loot the dragon’s remains. With the north’s strongest protector gone, the Pacifying Border King prepared to ally with the Demon Race and Taiping Dao to survive the imperial court’s coming purge.

• Zhang Shicheng completed his transformation into an Eleventh-Order divine dragon and set off to seek vengeance on Du Guqiu.
• Zhang Chen activated Soul Hooking Plunder, causing Zhang Shicheng to fall into the lake, where Xie Xuan pierced his reverse scale and drained his blood.
• Zhou Chuan and experts from many factions rushed to seize Zhang Shicheng’s flesh and blood, plunging the lake into chaos.
• The Pacifying Border King asked Five Six Teacher how Zhang Shicheng had died, and Five Six Teacher warned that the imperial court would likely purge the north.
• The Pacifying Border King agreed to open the White Bone Great Wall to the Demon Clan Army and offered to follow Taiping Dao, planning to support the Little Prince as its leader.

Five Six Teacher persuaded the Pacifying Border King to flood the north and use the resulting chaos to expand their power. Meanwhile, Zhang Chen confronted Zhang Shicheng’s captured Dragon Soul and tried to force it into the Eight Trigrams Furnace, but Zhang Shicheng believed Zhang Chen could not make him enter and renewed his threats.

• Five Six Teacher proposed using the gathered waters to drown the Inspection Directorate’s fifty thousand soldiers and spark rebellions across the north, and the Pacifying Border King ordered him to proceed.
• Zhang Chen reminded Zhang Shicheng of the Pacifying Border Prince’s Mansion’s grievances against him, including twice making him substitute his life for Zhang Xiaohua.
• Zhang Shicheng offered rewards and then threatened to become a vengeful ghost, but Zhang Chen revealed the flames inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace.
• Zhang Chen’s chains dragged Zhang Shicheng toward the Stone Cave, and Zhang Chen said he intended to refine his soul into a magical treasure.
• Zhang Shicheng realized Zhang Chen could not withstand the furnace’s flames and claimed Zhang Chen could not force him inside, then threatened Zhang Chen and demanded his submission.

Zhang Chen finished forging the God Smashing Whip, sealed the Eight Trigrams Furnace, and went to the lake where powerful beings fought over the fallen true dragon. After retrieving the Blood Transformation Divine Blade, he was confronted by Chen Ming and other White Lotus Sect scions demanding the weapon.

• Zhang Chen jumped into the Eight Trigrams Furnace, and its chains dragged Zhang Shicheng inside until his screams faded.
• The furnace forged the God Smashing Whip, which Zhang Chen examined and absorbed into the Azure Lotus formed from his mana.
• Zhang Chen sealed the Eight Trigrams Furnace and saw rain fall as powerful beings battled over the true dragon's remains at the lake.
• Zhang Chen retrieved the Blood Transformation Divine Blade from the true dragon's body and noted that its blood had not repaired the weapon.
• Chen Ming and six companions confronted Zhang Chen and demanded the blade, and Zhang Chen asked whether the White Lotus Sect was famous.

Zhang Chen fought the White Lotus Sect youths who tried to seize his treasure, killing Chen Ming and several others with the Blood Transformation Divine Blade and Water Escape Technique. As a Ninth-Order elder attacked him, Zhou Chuan intervened, and the elder questioned the surviving youths about what had happened.

• Zhang Chen dismissed the White Lotus Sect’s standing, prompting Chen Ming to attack him with a blade and protective talisman.
• Zhang Chen killed Chen Ming with the Blood Transformation Divine Blade, then slew more White Lotus Sect youths as they tried to flee across the lake.
• The surviving youths begged for mercy, but Zhang Chen continued his attack until a Ninth-Order god’s palm descended on him.
• Zhang Chen discovered that the divine power had disrupted the Five Elements energy and blocked his Water Escape Technique.
• Zhou Chuan appeared, shattered the attacking palm with a punch, and challenged the White Lotus Sect’s authority.
• The elder arrived, learned that Chen Ming had been killed, and asked the survivors to recount the events.

Zhang Chen avoided a confrontation with the White Lotus Sect, then tried to assassinate the Pacifying Border King after overhearing a plot to flood the Inspection Directorate’s army. His strike was stopped by the King’s powerful fortune, and Zhang Chen escaped, leaving the Pacifying Border King determined to uncover his secret.

• San Zhu questioned Zhang Chen about the White Lotus Sect disciple’s death, but Zhang Chen refused to reveal his name, and Zhou Chuan took responsibility for his brother’s actions.
• Zhou Chuan explained the White Lotus Sect’s immense power and returned to the battlefield to claim more of the true dragon’s remains while Zhang Chen watched from afar.
• Zhang Chen overheard Zhang Shicheng and Five Six Teacher planning to breach Hundred Li Lake and drown the Inspection Directorate’s fifty thousand troops in seven or eight days.
• Zhang Chen attempted to stab the Pacifying Border King with the Blood Transformation Divine Blade, but the King’s fortune blocked the attack.
• Zhang Chen escaped with the Earth Escape Technique as the Pacifying Border King and Five Six Teacher discussed gathering Incense Faith and discovering Zhang Chen’s secret.

Zhang Chen warned Xie Lingyun that Pacifying Border King planned to flood the northern lands, then watched the battle over the true dragon’s remains erupt into a fight for its dragon pearl. Chai Chuanxin seized the pearl and scattered the Golden Wind Flower, which Zhang Chen had secretly switched with the Jade Dew Flower, weakening the Demon Race as the human forces prepared to strike.

• Zhang Chen used the Trust Incense to warn Xie Lingyun that Pacifying Border King intended to breach a lake and flood the Inspection Directorate’s army, and Xie Lingyun left to prepare boats for rescuing civilians.
• Bai Cang cut a dragon pearl from beneath the true dragon’s jaw, prompting human and Demon Race experts to abandon their duels and fight over it.
• Bai Cang lost the dragon pearl amid the chaotic battle, while Zhang Chen stayed back and watched the experts slaughter one another.
• Chai Chuanxin obtained the dragon pearl and crushed the flower in his sleeve, scattering its powder over the Demon Race experts.
• Zhang Chen recognized that he had secretly switched the Golden Wind Flower for the Jade Dew Flower, so the powder reduced the Demon Race’s combat strength by thirty percent.