Chapter Summaries

Zhang Chen found Yellow Dawn Temple abandoned and learned from Li Donglai that Yellow Heaven Dao had gone into hiding under pressure from the imperial court. Li Donglai revealed his growing steel powers and left with a piece of Earthly Yuan Magnetism Iron, while Zhang Chen declined to join his plans and continued pursuing his own path.

• Zhang Chen searched Yellow Dawn Temple and found its halls, divine aura, and Faith Pool emptied, with signs that its cultivators had fled in haste.
• Zhang Chen met Li Donglai, who explained that the imperial court was cracking down on Yellow Heaven Dao after its northern disaster and the attack on Xie Xuan.
• Li Donglai invited Zhang Chen to leave the north with him and join another Celestial Master's faction, but Zhang Chen declined.
• Li Donglai revealed that devouring a strange Longsword had awakened his steel-controlling power, letting him transform into Fourth Order steel and resist Yang Spirit True Persons.
• Zhang Chen gave Li Donglai a piece of Earthly Yuan Magnetism Iron, and Li Donglai said it could accelerate his bloodline revival more than tenfold.

Zhang Chen searched the flooded northern lands for incense faith, then moved his giant hornets and falcon to a new home after feeding them Dragon Pearl fragments that transformed them into Second Order demon beasts. As the rain began to ease, he feared the floods might recede within months, only for the Demon Race’s calamity to follow.

• Li Donglai thanked Zhang Chen for giving him Earthly Yuan Magnetism Iron and hurried to the cave Zhang Chen had told him about, promising to seek justice from Gu Mingyue after transforming.
• Zhang Chen burned down the Daoist Temple and searched the flooded lands for temples and incense faith, but found the shrines ruined and their divine power gone.
• Zhang Chen visited his secret base, gave Dragon Pearl fragments to his falcon and giant hornet queen, and watched both transform into Second Order demon beasts.
• Zhang Chen grew a new hive with his Wood Authority, moved the hornets onto an ice boat, and set off with the falcon as he considered how to develop his forces.
• Zhang Chen saw the rain easing as the true dragon’s dispersed Dragon Qi was absorbed by living beings and feared that the Demon Race would bring another calamity to the northern lands after the floods receded.

Zhang Chen returned to the Inspection Directorate fleet and joined Little Bean’s breakthrough celebration, sharing a true dragon’s organs with his companions. After learning about Zhou Chuan’s feud with the Gong Family and its deadly Bi Wind, Zhang Chen obtained ancient books of Northern Lands Inspectorate secret arts from Xie Xuan.

• Zhang Chen returned to the fleet with a beehive, and Xie Lingyun told him Cheng Yu was nearing a breakthrough.
• Little Bean emerged from seclusion after reaching the Object Manipulation Realm, and Zhang Chen invited everyone to celebrate with food.
• Zhang Chen served the true dragon’s organs, while Xie Xuan added precious medicines and Xie Lingyun cooked the stew with a special flame.
• Xie Xuan told Zhang Chen that Zhou Chuan had attacked the Gong Family and warned that its Bi Wind could kill even Yang Spirit experts.
• Zhang Chen said he had made a mortal enemy of the Gong Family, then asked Xie Xuan for access to the Northern Lands Inspectorate’s secret arts.
• Xie Xuan gave Zhang Chen ancient books to read on the condition that he return them and not take them outside.

Xie Xuan showed Zhang Chen scrolls recovered from ancient tombs, and Zhang Chen translated the Five Manor Temple’s Qi Guiding Technique while searching for a path to obtain a true qi-refining incantation. After they ate True Dragon offal, the others gained significant cultivation benefits, and Xie Xuan explained that Yang Spirit cultivators faced the Three Calamities.

• Xie Xuan showed Zhang Chen scrolls excavated from three ancient tombs, including the Five Manor Temple’s Qi Guiding Technique.
• Zhang Chen explained the technique’s limits, translated it for Xie Xuan, and warned him not to abandon his more promising cultivation path.
• Zhang Chen considered seeking a qi-refining incantation from the Yellow Heaven Dao or the immortal’s true spirit sealed in Ba Snake Space.
• Xie Lingyun served True Dragon offal, and the meal strengthened Xie Xuan, advanced Cheng Yu’s cultivation, and triggered changes in the Three Little Ones.
• Xie Xuan told Zhang Chen that Yang Spirit cultivators had to temper their bodies to withstand the Three Calamities.

Zhang Chen learned that his siblings were awakening the Zhang Family bloodline and discovered rumors that its mysterious power came from a Book of Life and Death. He resolved to investigate the Upper Capital Zhang Family once he was strong enough, while Xie Xuan revealed clues about Zhang Chen’s father and the suspicious death of his mother.

• Zhang Chen considered the Three Calamities and the Zhang Family bloodline, while Xie Xuan explained that Mysterious Power could awaken it and that Zhang Chen’s Blood Dao suppressed his own inherited bloodline.
• Xie Lingyun woke after drinking the True Dragon Tonic Soup, having advanced close to the Yang Spirit realm, and Zhang Shi appeared rejuvenated after her bowl.
• Xie Xuan explained that the Zhang Family bloodline could manipulate souls, ghosts, and lifespans, and he relayed rumors about its mysterious book and long-lived elders.
• Zhang Chen recognized the rumored book as the Book of Life and Death and said he would investigate the Upper Capital Zhang Family when he had enough strength.
• Xie Xuan told Zhang Chen that his father had been exiled after a grave mistake, his paternal uncle had taken power, and his mother had died suspiciously during the upheaval; he suggested Zhang Chen seek clues from his maternal grandmother in Jinling.

Zhang Chen searched for the Longevity Tree Coffin and considered ways to extend his dwindling lifespan, then entered the Spiritual World’s Second Heaven to investigate its poisonous ocean. After flying toward its center and returning to the ship, he found Xie Xuan and Xie Lingyun awake and waiting for their looming enemy.

• Zhang Chen failed to locate the Longevity Tree Coffin with the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror and considered upgrading Wood Authority by gathering Experience Points from gods.
• Zhang Chen entered the Second Heaven of the Spiritual World, where the Great Sovereign Demon King explained that its poisonous ocean might have been created by the Water Spirit’s Tears.
• Zhang Chen learned the direction of the Second Heaven’s center and flew there as a Vampire Bat, traveling for twenty hours before his exhausted spiritual power forced him to leave the Spiritual World.
• Zhang Chen gathered moonlight to restore his spiritual power, astonishing Xie Xuan and Xie Lingyun with the vast amount of Taiyin Essence he drew in.
• Zhang Chen emerged from his cabin and spoke with Xie Xuan and Xie Lingyun, who remained awake because a great enemy was approaching.

Zhang Chen prepared to face the approaching Aquatic Clan Army while Tiger Strength Great Immortal plotted to kill him with the Fallen Soul Bell. The Yellow Heaven Dao Celestial Masters learned that Zhang Chen might be able to restrain Tiger Strength Great Immortal and planned to repair their damaged ties with him.

• Xie Xuan urged Zhang Chen to destroy the Pacifying Border Prince's Mansion's ships to save flood victims, and Zhang Chen said he had a way to sink the Naval Force.
• After Xie Xuan warned that the Aquatic Clan Army would arrive in two hours, Zhang Chen freed Blood Blade from its restraints and ordered Gong Bai to kill enemy troops and human experts.
• Tiger Strength Great Immortal admitted privately that he feared Zhang Chen, then gave Chen Sanliang the Fallen Soul Bell and promised to resurrect his wife if Chen used it to kill Zhang Chen.
• The Pacifying Border King and the Yellow Heaven Dao Celestial Masters suspected that Tiger Strength Great Immortal feared Zhang Chen because Zhang Chen could counter him.
• Gu Mingyue confessed that he had sold Zhang Chen out, and Zuo Lianying urged the Celestial Masters to contact Wu Changming and persuade Zhang Chen to return to the Yellow Heaven Dao.

Zhang Chen used his Water Control Technique to turn the waters around the Inspection Directorate’s ships into weak water, drowning the Demon Race’s naval force and sinking the Pacifying Border King’s warships. As Du Guqiu and Tiger Strength Great Immortal prepared to fight, Zhang Chen learned that the Upper Capital Zhang Family might have enabled the attack on him and vowed to seek justice for his father.

• Tiger Strength Great Immortal told the Pacifying Border King that the Demon Race’s naval force had arrived, and the Pacifying Border King ordered the assault on the Inspection Directorate.
• Zhang Chen controlled the currents within four thousand meters and changed the surrounding waters into weak water, drowning the Sea Race soldiers and sinking the Pacifying Border King’s warships.
• Xie Xuan offered to recommend Zhang Chen as Grand General of the Naval Force, but Zhang Chen declined to become an official.
• Xie Xuan speculated that the Upper Capital Zhang Family had tacitly approved the Pacifying Border King’s plot, and Zhang Chen vowed to avenge his father and seek justice.
• Du Guqiu arrived amid lightning to give the Inspection Directorate’s fifty thousand elites a chance to escape, while Tiger Strength Great Immortal challenged him to fight.

Zhang Chen helped Xie Xuan’s army break the Pacifying Border King’s siege with his water-controlling power, then parted ways with the Xie family to travel on his own. As Zhang Chen sailed away with his companions, Xie Xuan and Xie Lingyun considered how his future actions might help them clear his name.

• Zhang Chen used the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror to capture Du Guqiu’s aura and realized he could use his restriction on Tiger Strength Great Immortal to influence the Demon Race.
• Xie Xuan ordered the Inspection Directorate fleet to break out, and Zhang Chen’s Water Control Technique sank enemy ships until the Pacifying Border King’s army retreated.
• The Inspection Directorate’s fifty thousand troops escaped, and the Pacifying Border King withdrew after Gu Mingyue suggested a natural god had wielded water Divine Authority.
• Zhang Chen parted from Xie Xuan and Xie Lingyun, accepted Xie Lingyun’s letter, and boarded a small boat with Zhang Shi and his companions.
• Xie Xuan and Xie Lingyun discussed waiting for Zhang Chen to make an impact in Jiangnan before seeking to clear his name, while Zhang Chen told Zhang Shi he wanted to earn his future through his own strength.

While sheltering Zhang Shi and the Three Little Ones from the demon invasion, Zhang Chen found the gravely wounded Du Guqiu and used a golden pill to stabilize him. He tricked Du Guqiu’s spear, Judgment, into allowing him to take the life force from the Longevity Tree branch, leaving the branch as dead wood.

• Zhang Chen hid Zhang Shi and the Three Little Ones in a valley cave and summoned Gong Bai to guard them from demon beasts.
• Zhang Chen used the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror to find Du Guqiu, who had been defeated by Tiger Strength Great Immortal and left unconscious in the mud.
• Zhang Chen discovered that Du Guqiu’s injuries were being sustained by a Longevity Tree branch and that Judgment, his Twelfth-Order Mystery spear, protected him.
• Zhang Chen fed Du Guqiu a golden pill, then washed him and his clothes while pretending not to notice the branch or Judgment.
• Zhang Chen secretly took the Longevity Tree branch and drained its life force with the Innate Mosquito’s mouthpart until it crumbled into dead wood.

After extending his lifespan with a piece of the Longevity Tree, Zhang Chen encountered demon beasts slaughtering the people of the northern lands and used his Beast Control Technique to save survivors on one mountain. He hooked Bai Cang’s soul and negotiated to preserve the children of the northern lands, though the Demon Race still planned to slaughter most of the population.

• Zhang Chen gained five years of lifespan from a piece of the Longevity Tree and carried the sleeping Old Eunuch, Du Guqiu, toward his hiding place.
• Zhang Chen found demon beasts massacring people on a mountain and used his Beast Control Technique to make the beasts kill one another, allowing survivors to flee.
• Zhang Chen used Soul Hooking Plunder to pull Bai Cang’s soul before him and demanded that he stop the Demon Race from slaughtering humans.
• Bai Cang refused to protect everyone but offered to preserve some people, explaining that the Demon Race planned to leave only a hundred thousand alive and use the rest as Blood Food for Chen Sanliang’s path to enlightenment.
• Zhang Chen accepted a compromise requiring Bai Cang to preserve the children of the northern lands.

Zhang Chen left the northern lands with the unconscious Du Guqiu, secretly using the Six-Word Mantra to bless him while planning for the danger he might pose later. Du Guqiu awoke on the journey, realized a golden pill was healing and strengthening him, and asked Zhang Chen how he had gained the power to control water.

• Bai Cang departed after Zhang Chen accepted that the Demon Race could not be stopped from following the greater tide of events.
• Zhang Chen prepared to leave the northern lands, carried the unconscious Du Guqiu away on an ice boat, and secretly fused the Six-Word Mantra Calligraphy with him.
• Du Guqiu awoke and sensed that the golden pill inside him was healing his injuries and advancing his cultivation.
• Zhang Chen told Du Guqiu that he had saved him with a pill he had found inside a demon beast.
• Du Guqiu asked how Zhang Chen could control water, and Zhang Chen said he had swallowed a purple ball of light during the Great Drought.

Zhang Chen pressured Du Guqiu to let him borrow Judgment, then secretly tried to infuse the spear with his Golden Light of the Righteous God. Judgment released a dangerous power, but it dropped a skill that gave Zhang Chen Time Acceleration, leaving him thrilled while Du Guqiu asked what favor he wanted.

• Du Guqiu insisted on repaying Zhang Chen for saving him, but Zhang Chen first asked him to revive his parents and then demanded Judgment as his reward.
• Du Guqiu refused to give up the spear, offered other weapons and even discipleship, and finally allowed Zhang Chen to borrow Judgment until he left.
• Zhang Chen secretly infused Judgment with his Golden Light of the Righteous God, triggering the spear's power, and Du Guqiu recalled and suppressed it before warning him not to touch it with Mysterious Power.
• Zhang Chen picked up the light ball dropped by Judgment and gained the skill Time Acceleration, which could advance an item's time by one year once per day.
• Du Guqiu noticed Zhang Chen's excitement and asked whether he had decided what favor to request.

Zhang Chen upgraded Time Acceleration and considered how it could help him cultivate the Heaven Reaching Jianmu and gather energy. When Du Guqiu offered to make Zhang Chen his godson, Zhang Chen revealed his identity and claimed his troubles made it dangerous to get close to him.

• Zhang Chen consumed the Ascension Pool's energy to gather ten million points and upgraded Time Acceleration, allowing it to advance an item's time by ten years per use.
• Zhang Chen considered using Time Power to accelerate the Heaven Reaching Jianmu and increase the energy it generated.
• Du Guqiu offered Zhang Chen an ancient ring as proof for claiming promised rewards in the capital, then asked him to become his godson.
• Zhang Chen hesitated to accept Du Guqiu's offer and revealed that he was Zhang Chengke's son.
• Zhang Chen told Du Guqiu that anyone who came near him would be caught up in his troubles, explaining that he had saved him because he felt kinship with him.

Zhang Chen reluctantly acknowledged Du Guqiu as his godfather and received a Golden Book page containing a cultivation method. He learned the page’s origins and the powers of Du Guqiu’s spear, Judgment, while concealing his interest in both.

• Du Guqiu ignored Zhang Chen’s objections and insisted that he become his godson, promising to clear his name and support him.
• Zhang Chen kowtowed and accepted Du Guqiu as his godfather, but declined to go to the capital until he had handled private matters in the south.
• Du Guqiu gave Zhang Chen a Golden Book page depicting nine suns and explained that it recorded the Sun Harvesting Skill, a technique that had burned previous practitioners to ash.
• Zhang Chen noticed that the Golden Pages resonated with his Golden Light of the Righteous God and decided to test their connection later.
• Du Guqiu revealed that the spear was called Judgment, a Twelfth-Order Mystery that could wield lightning and Time Power, but said he could not give it to Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen and Du Guqiu rescued Cheng Yu from Gu Mingyue, but the Yellow Heaven Dao’s ability to track her forced them to flee with Zhang Chen’s family. The group escaped the Stone Cave, only for Du Guqiu to realize their pursuers could still lock onto their aura.

• Zhang Chen and Du Guqiu reached the Stone Cave and found Gu Mingyue trying to take Cheng Yu for the Yellow Heaven Dao.
• Du Guqiu attacked Gu Mingyue with the Judgment Spear, forcing him to abandon Cheng Yu and flee; Du Guqiu pursued him.
• Zhang Chen checked Cheng Yu and his family, healed Zhang Shi’s broken ribs, and wondered how the Yellow Heaven Dao had found them.
• Du Guqiu chased Gu Mingyue to the Demon Race’s Base Camp, then returned to the cave after Demon Race experts drove him off.
• Du Guqiu warned Zhang Chen that Gu Mingyue was returning with helpers, so the group fled the cave with Zhang Shi, Cheng Yu, and the children.
• After an hour of flight, Du Guqiu stopped and realized their pursuers could still track their aura.

Du Guqiu diverted Yellow Heaven Dao by disguising Xu Er Niu’s aura, allowing Zhang Chen to hide his family in the Stone Cave. While sheltering there, Zhang Chen tested his Time Power on the Jianmu sapling and alarmed the Great Sovereign Demon King, who suspected Zhang Chen had an extraordinary identity.

• Du Guqiu used Xu Er Niu’s hair and a straw man to mislead Yellow Heaven Dao, then told Zhang Chen to meet him in the capital.
• Zhang Chen took Zhang Shi and the Three Little Ones back to the Stone Cave and built a hidden underground home to wait out the danger.
• Zhang Chen used the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror to locate Du Guqiu, but dense Dragon Qi in the imperial palace blocked the image.
• Zhang Chen tried using Time Power to age the Jianmu sapling by ten years, but it remained unchanged and gained no extra Innate Essence Qi.
• The Great Sovereign Demon King emerged from Zhang Chen and demanded to know how he had mastered the forbidden power of time.

Zhang Chen studied the Longevity Ancestor’s books and used his Golden Pages to acquire and advance the Sun Harvesting Skill. After absorbing the sun’s essence through the day, he reached great mastery and prepared to upgrade it further.

• Zhang Chen read and burned the Longevity Ancestor’s books for a month while his Time Power nurtured a tender bud on the Heaven Reaching Jianmu.
• Zhang Chen discovered that feeding mana into Du Guqiu’s Golden Book revealed the Sun Harvesting Skill, then picked it up and spent points to raise it to beginner.
• Zhang Chen absorbed dawn Great Sun Essence and learned that it cleansed his soul, while morning sunlight transformed it with vitality.
• Zhang Chen advanced the Sun Harvesting Skill to minor mastery, absorbed the morning sun’s power until noon, and then raised it to great mastery.
• Zhang Chen chose to upgrade the Sun Harvesting Skill again, and a surge of heat transformed his soul.

Zhang Chen perfected the Sun Harvesting Skill and discovered that Supreme Yang Emperor Fluid could strengthen Sun Ember, giving him a path toward a ninth-tier skill. He then learned that Zhang Tuowei and Zhang Fei had awakened powers to control souls, while the third child remained asleep.

• Zhang Chen upgraded the Sun Harvesting Skill to perfection, condensed Supreme Yang Emperor Fluid, and found that a drop granted Sun Ember one hundred thousand Experience Points.
• Zhang Chen decided to focus on improving Sun Harvesting Skill and Sun Ember, then returned to the cavern after hearing the children awaken.
• Zhang Tuowei revealed that he could control living souls and wanted to eat them, so Zhang Chen gave him Yellow Springs Water to nourish his bloodline.
• Zhang Chen found the other two children still asleep and sensed that their bloodline powers were about to awaken.
• Three days later, Zhang Fei awakened and demonstrated that he could capture, control, and command the souls of the dead.

Zhang Chen gathered his family to head south after Cheng Yu awakened Lightning Power, then retrieved Han Su Zhen’s body and departed with it. Chen Sanliang revealed his guilt and warned Zhang Chen to beware of the Great Noble Clans, while resolving to mediate the crisis in the north.

• Cheng Yu awakened Lightning Power, and Zhang Chen decided to lead his family south.
• Zhang Chen visited Han Su Zhen’s grave, where Chen Sanliang confessed his guilt and warned him that nobles treated ordinary people like livestock.
• Zhang Chen took Han Su Zhen’s body from her grave, promising to find a way to revive her, and asked Chen Sanliang to help save people in the northern lands.
• Chen Sanliang watched Zhang Chen leave and reflected that sparing him was the little conscience he had left.
• Zhang Chen gathered his family and their possessions, then set out south to find a place to settle.