Chapter Summaries

Zhang Chen’s family killed Xu Lie and the other White Tooth Academy disciples after they tried to seize the family’s carriage and supplies. Chen Sanliang then arrived in pursuit of a damaged ruler that could connect to the Spiritual World, which he hoped to use to find the Immortality Elixir and save Zhang Chen’s master.

• Zhang Chen overheard Xu Lie and the other scholars condemn Chen Sanliang for dismantling White Tooth Academy and drawing scholars into his Great Harmony Nation.
• The next morning, Xu Lie demanded Zhang Chen’s horse, carriage, food, and pearl, but Cheng Yu, Zhang Tuowei, and Zhang Fei killed him and the other scholars.
• Zhang Tuowei searched the bodies and found more than thirty Purple Night-Shining Pearls, which Zhang Chen pocketed.
• Chen Sanliang appeared in the snowy wilderness and explained that he had pursued the White Tooth Academy disciples because they might have fled with a damaged Twelfth-Order Mystery ruler.
• Chen Sanliang said the ruler could absorb energy from the Spiritual World and might lead to the Immortality Elixir he needed to save Zhang Chen’s master.

Zhang Chen reunited with Chen Sanliang, who warned him that Yellow Heaven Dao was hunting him and urged him to keep their acquaintance secret. After traveling through the blizzard, Zhang Chen decided to attempt entering the Spiritual World's Third Heaven and appeared in the Second Heaven to search for its Gate of Heaven and Earth.

• Chen Sanliang told Zhang Chen about his campaign to spread the Great Dao of Enlightenment and warned that Yellow Heaven Dao was searching for him.
• Chen Sanliang asked Zhang Chen to pretend not to know him if they met in public, then departed into the snow.
• Zhang Chen burned the corpses to ash with the Eight Trigrams Furnace, and the group continued through the blizzard in their carriage.
• Zhang Chen gave Zhang Fei the brazier, then left the carriage and sheltered underground while he considered how to reach the Third Heaven.
• Zhang Chen entered meditation, appeared atop Buzhou Mountain in the Second Heaven, and searched the clouds for the Gate of Heaven and Earth.

Zhang Chen used four million Experience Points to advance to the Third Heaven and discovered it was a world sealed in ice, where a powerful treasure’s cold threatened his mind and body. The Great Sovereign Demon King explained how Zhang Chen’s Elixir Furnace could protect his physical body and, through their connection, help shield his mind as he entered.

• Zhang Chen failed to find the Gate of Heaven and Earth on Buzhou Mountain, and the Great Sovereign Demon King sensed it lay to the north near the North Sea.
• Zhang Chen spent four million Experience Points to advance to the Third Heaven and walked through the Spiritual World toward it.
• The Great Sovereign Demon King was shocked by Zhang Chen’s Mind Realm and said the frozen Third Heaven likely held a treasure of immense power.
• Zhang Chen worried that entering the Third Heaven would freeze his mind and harm his physical body, and learned his Elixir Furnace could not enter the Spiritual World.
• The Great Sovereign Demon King said the Elixir Furnace could protect Zhang Chen’s physical body from the cold, allowing that protection to help shield his mind.

Zhang Chen learned that his Contemplation Method contained an unusable spatial divine power and later entered the frozen Third Heaven of the Spiritual World with the Elixir Furnace. The furnace’s heat reached his mental body and saved him from freezing, leaving the Great Sovereign Demon King eager to explore the preserved world.

• The Great Sovereign Demon King told Zhang Chen that a mature Heaven Reaching Jianmu sapling might let him enter the Spiritual World bodily.
• Zhang Chen discussed the possible origins of his Contemplation Method and its hidden spatial technique with the Great Sovereign Demon King.
• Zhang Chen built a shelter for his family in the blizzard, and they warmed themselves and ate hotpot lamb inside.
• Zhang Chen entered the frozen Third Heaven of the Spiritual World, where the extreme cold overwhelmed his thoughts and froze his mental body.
• The Elixir Furnace released heat that traveled into Zhang Chen’s mental body, melted the ice around him, and prompted the Great Sovereign Demon King to plan a search for preserved creatures and his frozen incarnations.

Zhang Chen explored the frozen Third Heaven and learned that an ancient power had sealed the world, rendering his usual abilities ineffective. After discovering the source of the cold was about three thousand li away, he prepared to travel there but began to wonder whether he could gain a skill capable of resisting or cutting through the ice.

• Zhang Chen revived from the ice and learned from the Great Sovereign Demon King that reaching the world's center in his Vampire Bat form could take a hundred years because the cold suppressed his Bloodline Power.
• Zhang Chen found tens of thousands of frozen Sea Race shrimp soldiers and failed to break their ice; the Innate Mosquito mouthparts were dormant, his Water Control Technique could not move the frozen moisture, and melting the ice with Sun Charcoal Fire was impractical.
• The Great Sovereign Demon King urged Zhang Chen to seek the origin object responsible for the freezing, locating its source about three thousand li away.
• Zhang Chen used his body heat and Water Control Technique to make an ice sled, but the Frost Qi began invading his soul and the Great Sovereign Demon King told him to retreat.
• Zhang Chen stayed in the frozen world, wondering whether he could gain a skill from it and whether his Golden Twisting Scissors could cut through the ice.

Zhang Chen discovered that a crystal hand had caused the Third Heaven’s endless winter, but its lingering cold nearly froze him after a single glance. He questioned the Great Sovereign Demon King about the hand’s origin while concealing his suspicions about the demon king’s motives.

• Zhang Chen replenished the Sun Charcoal Fire and traveled through the Spiritual World’s Third Heaven, where he found a gigantic crystal hand lying across the plains.
• The hand’s cold extinguished the charcoal and nearly froze Zhang Chen’s body and spiritual will, forcing him to withdraw; his Blood Dao Power absorbed the lingering cold.
• The Great Sovereign Demon King urged Zhang Chen to refine the hand, secretly hoping its power would trap Zhang Chen in the Third Heaven and free him.
• Zhang Chen pretended to consider the plan and pressed the Great Sovereign Demon King for information, learning that the hand’s owner controlled Severe Winter and may have come from the same place as the demon king.
• The Great Sovereign Demon King said he remembered only descending from the Thirty-Three Heavens, and Zhang Chen challenged him to reveal whether he was hiding anything else.

Zhang Chen used the Buzhou Seal and Divine Might to resist the extreme cold in the Third Heaven and sent the Golden Twisting Scissors toward the crystal hand. After the scissors accidentally nicked it and dropped a blue light, Zhang Chen risked advancing through the freezing zones to retrieve it, but fear and doubt overwhelmed him near his limit.

• Zhang Chen entered the Third Heaven with the Buzhou Seal protecting him from the hand’s Frost Qi.
• Zhang Chen sent the Golden Twisting Scissors toward the crystal hand, but the cold stopped them one meter short.
• The frozen scissors bounced off the ground and accidentally struck the hand, causing a blue ball of light to fall.
• Zhang Chen raced toward the fallen light, using the Buzhou Seal and Divine Might to endure successive temperature drops.
• Zhang Chen began to freeze as he approached his limit and doubted whether the fallen light was worth risking his life for.

Zhang Chen survived the Great Sovereign Demon King's freezing palm by using the Nine Bends Yellow River Grand Formation, then picked up and upgraded the Source of Cold Qi Fragment while absorbing the surrounding cold. He gained a one-meter Ice Domain that could make him undying while it remained intact, and tested it as the Great Sovereign Demon King sensed its danger.

• Zhang Chen formed the Nine Bends Yellow River Grand Formation to withstand the palm's cold aura and reached the fallen ball of light.
• Zhang Chen picked up the Source of Cold Qi Fragment and absorbed the cold aura after putting away the formation.
• Zhang Chen upgraded the skill through Ice Seal, Freeze, and Ice Body as the cold aura filled his body.
• Zhang Chen advanced the skill to Fourth Order and gained an Ice Domain that froze anything entering it.
• Zhang Chen upgraded the skill to Fifth Order and gained Formless Gathering and Scattering, which let him regenerate as long as his Ice Domain survived.
• Zhang Chen spread the Ice Domain around himself, and the Great Sovereign Demon King sensed its danger as Zhang Chen asked what it could freeze.

Zhang Chen strengthened his Ice Domain by absorbing the cold qi around the fallen god’s palm, gaining the Ice Hell skill and discovering that his domain could make him nearly impossible to kill. He remained rooted in place as he continued absorbing power, eyeing the vast trove of Experience Points scattered around the palm.

• Great Sovereign Demon King recognized the Source of Cold Qi around Zhang Chen and warned that it could threaten even Twelfth Order beings if it grew stronger.
• Zhang Chen realized that his Ice Domain let him regenerate and remain undying within its boundary, then asked whether the palm’s owner might still be alive.
• Great Sovereign Demon King said the owner must be dead because the world could no longer contain beings beyond the Twelfth Order, and he judged the owner stronger than Emperor’s Daughter.
• Zhang Chen chose to absorb the inexhaustible cold qi before collecting the Experience Points scattered around the palm, while Great Sovereign Demon King watched him closely.
• After two days, Zhang Chen upgraded to Sixth Order and gained Ice Hell, a void that could imprison targets and track them down after they escaped.
• Zhang Chen continued absorbing the Cold Tide, hoping to raise his skills further, but noted that his Ice Domain was tiny and left him unable to move.

Zhang Chen discovered that the crystal palm in the Third Heaven still held a remnant soul and began looking for a way to contain it. The Great Sovereign Demon King proposed refining the entire Third Heaven into Zhang Chen’s Ice Hell, leaving Zhang Chen asking whether he could help make that possible.

• The Great Sovereign Demon King noticed the crystal palm twitch, and Zhang Chen confirmed it with Soul Hooking Plunder, which could not hook its soul.
• The Great Sovereign Demon King concluded that the palm’s remnant soul had survived by entrusting itself to the Third Heaven’s laws.
• Zhang Chen considered trapping the palm in Ice Hell with the Nine Bends Yellow River Grand Formation and Six-Word Mantra Calligraphy, then sent the Great Sovereign Demon King inside to inspect it.
• The Great Sovereign Demon King judged that those abilities could seal the palm but could not explain how to bring it into Ice Hell.
• The Great Sovereign Demon King suggested refining the entire Third Heaven into Ice Hell, and Zhang Chen asked whether he knew how to do it.

Zhang Chen and the Great Sovereign Demon King planned to lure the severed palm into Zhang Chen’s Ice Hell, risking its awakening. As Zhang Chen gathered five billion Experience Points, he prepared to spend them first on upgrading his Suppression Talisman.

• The Great Sovereign Demon King offered to imitate the palm’s soul fluctuations and draw it toward its other body parts, warning Zhang Chen that the plan could awaken its will.
• Zhang Chen accepted the risk while the Great Sovereign Demon King began analyzing the palm’s aura, and Zhang Chen withdrew his Ice Domain to collect the scattered Experience Points.
• Zhang Chen used the Nine Bends Yellow River Rune Formation to block the cold, transformed into a Vampire Bat to cross the frozen terrain, and returned after three days with five billion points.
• Zhang Chen weighed upgrading skills including Invisibility, Wood Authority, Soul Hooking Chains, and Time Acceleration, but decided to prioritize the Suppression Talisman.

Zhang Chen spent Experience Points upgrading Suppression Talisman and Invisibility Talisman, then merged Great Sun Essence with Sun Charcoal Fire to create Sun Perception. He focused next on Wood Authority to pursue greater lifespan, unlocking new abilities as he upgraded it.

• Zhang Chen upgraded Suppression Talisman to Law Grade, discovering its runes had changed and that it could resist the effects of Time Power.
• Zhang Chen upgraded Invisibility Talisman to Ninth Order and decided against paying the 1.6 billion points needed to advance it further.
• Zhang Chen upgraded Sun Harvesting Skill into Great Sun Essence and merged it with Sun Charcoal Fire, creating Sun Perception, which let the fire absorb solar essence and produce Emperor Fluid automatically.
• Zhang Chen chose to prioritize Wood Authority for the sake of his lifespan, upgrading it to First Order and then Second Order.
• Zhang Chen learned that Second Order Wood Authority granted Instant Seed Bloom and Reverse Seed Growth.

Zhang Chen and the Great Sovereign Demon King lured the awakened hand toward his Ice Domain so he could imprison it. The hand entered the domain, seized control of it, and caused Zhang Chen’s body to explode.

• Zhang Chen upgraded his skill to Grass and Wood Body but decided to save his remaining points for a later attempt to address his missing lifespan.
• After three days, the Great Sovereign Demon King emerged with its lotus at the fifth rank and agreed to lure the hand into Ice Hell.
• The Great Sovereign Demon King imitated signals from the hand’s body, and after half a month the hand awakened, shrank to a woman’s hand, and demanded its body back.
• When the hand circled outside Zhang Chen’s domain, the Great Sovereign Demon King suggested that Zhang Chen pretend to close it to draw the hand inside.
• The hand rushed into the Ice Domain, began controlling it with a fingertip, and caused Zhang Chen’s body to explode as it pushed farther in.

Zhang Chen trapped the terrifying severed palm in the Nine Bends Yellow River Grand Formation and stabilized it with his Six-Word Mantra Calligraphy and Suppression Talismans. With the palm contained and Ice Hell quiet, he turned his attention to the frozen Third Heaven and its mysterious inhabitants.

• The severed palm entered Ice Hell, realized the Great Sovereign Demon King had deceived it, and attacked him with freezing power that could affect space and time.
• Zhang Chen opened a passage so the Great Sovereign Demon King could escape, then trapped the pursuing palm inside a void barrier.
• The palm cracked the barrier, so Zhang Chen reinforced it with the Nine Bends Yellow River Grand Formation, which the palm continued to batter.
• Zhang Chen placed his Six-Word Mantra Calligraphy and four Suppression Talismans on the formation, stabilizing it and containing the palm.
• After Ice Hell showed no further disturbance, Zhang Chen closed his Ice Domain and wondered how much he could gain by devouring the frozen Third Heaven's inhabitants.

Zhang Chen traveled toward the Central Plains while discovering that his Elixir Furnace could absorb Great Sun Essence and produce Emperor Fluid. He spent points to upgrade Time Acceleration, leaving its new capabilities unrevealed.

• After the palm's force vanished, the world beyond Buzhou Mountain crumbled into dust, and Zhang Chen flew toward the mountain as a Vampire Bat.
• Zhang Chen left the underground chamber, reunited with his family on the road, and learned they were nearing the Qinling Mountains and the bandits there.
• Zhang Chen discovered that his Elixir Furnace absorbed Great Sun Essence in sunlight and formed a drop of Emperor Fluid.
• Zhang Chen considered how to spend his points on Time Acceleration, Sun Ember, and Wood Authority while traveling through the rain.
• Zhang Chen spent one hundred million points to upgrade Time Acceleration, and the Golden Finger Interface began refreshing.

Zhang Chen used his upgraded Time Power and forged travel documents to lead his family toward Jiangnan. He got them through Qin Mountains Pass by unleashing a swarm of hornets, then considered how to continue toward Jinling.

• Zhang Chen upgraded Time Acceleration to affect an item for fifty years and tested it on a small tree, growing it into a towering tree.
• As his family approached the Qin Mountains, Zhang Chen learned they needed a Travel Permit to cross the guarded pass and had the Blood God Sons find a forger.
• Zhang Chen obtained local passage documents and led his family to Qin Mountains Pass, where an official questioned their accents.
• Zhang Chen sent great yellow hornets swarming over the pass, creating enough chaos for his family to cross while the guards fled.
• After the hornets returned to Zhang Chen, Zhang Shi warned him to be cautious in Jiangnan, and he asked whether they should travel by land or water.

Zhang Chen's family reached a dock and paid to join a Jinling-bound Shen Family merchant convoy with genuine-but-deniable Travel Permits. As they prepared to depart, Zhang Chen learned that Jiang Nan, the Shen Family's granddaughter, was aboard and that her father, Salt Inspector Jiang Zehai, had been targeted by the Cao Gang.

• Zhang Shi chose a water route to Jiangnan, and Zhang Chen took the family to a nearby dock to find passage without valid Travel Permits.
• A young dockside broker offered to arrange passage and permits for one hundred taels, but returned sixty taels after Zhang Chen paid and later brought five genuine-but-deniable Travel Permits.
• The broker secured places for Zhang Chen's group on the Jinling Shen Family merchant convoy, and the family boarded its passenger ship.
• Zhang Chen and Zhang Fei settled into a communal bunkroom and learned the ship could carry thousands of passengers.
• Three days later, passengers saw Jiang Nan's carriages board the largest ship, and a local scholar explained that she was the Shen Family's granddaughter and that the Shen Young Master had come to address attacks on Jiang Zehai.

Zhang Chen learned that the Blood Sea had emerged in the Material World, then heard that its power had helped the Demon Race capture Tiger Soul Pass and invade the northern lands. As his ship continued toward Jinling, Zhang Shi proposed visiting a young lady from Guangji to secure help for the family.

• Zhang Chen heard that the Salt Gang had grown powerful, colluded with the Cao Gang, and opposed the Shen Family over water transport.
• Zhang Chen sensed the Blood Sea emerging and watched blood-red clouds spread across the sky, realizing that the Blood Sea Grand Formation had brought its power into the Material World.
• Travelers reported that the Demon Race had flooded Tiger Soul Pass with a river of blood, forcing Jin Dou to abandon the pass and allowing a million Demon Race troops into human territory.
• Zhang Chen felt responsible for the invasion because the Blood Sea Grand Formation drew on Blood Dao power, though he reasoned that the conflict was a tide of the times.
• Zhang Shi suggested that the family visit a young lady from Guangji aboard the ship so they might have someone to help them after reaching Jinling, and Zhang Chen hesitated.

As Zhang Chen sailed toward Jiangnan, he scolded Zhang Fei and Zhang Tuowei for neglecting martial cultivation in favor of Yin Spirit methods. His anger coincided with the sudden start of Seven Days Passage, and he collapsed into a living-corpse state before he could explain what was happening.

• Zhang Chen refused Zhang Shi's suggestion to seek out the Jiangnan relatives ahead of time, preferring to acknowledge kinship without appearing to ingratiate himself.
• Two months later, Zhang Fei and Zhang Tuowei questioned why they needed martial training when Yin Spirit cultivation and their Bloodline Power seemed more rewarding.
• Zhang Chen rebuked the boys for seeking shortcuts and warned that their bodies could become weaknesses against equally powerful opponents.
• As Zhang Chen's anger rose at noon, his Primordial Spirit completed its formation and drew in his trace of true yang, unexpectedly beginning Returning Elixir Enlightenment and Seven Days Passage together.
• Zhang Chen lost consciousness, and his body stopped breathing and beating as he entered the seven-day living-corpse state.

Zhang Chen suddenly collapsed and appeared to die, leaving Zhang Tuowei, Zhang Fei, Zhang Shi, and Cheng Yu devastated. Cheng Yu suspected he had been secretly harmed, and Zhang Shi set out to ask the Shen Family for an elixir to preserve his body while Cheng Yu guarded him.

• Zhang Chen collapsed on the deck, and Zhang Tuowei and Zhang Fei found that his heartbeat and breathing had stopped.
• Zhang Fei ran to summon Zhang Shi and Cheng Yu, who hurried to Zhang Chen and confirmed that his body and soul showed no signs of life.
• Cheng Yu refused to believe Zhang Chen had died from being angered and suspected he had been secretly harmed or suffered a cultivation mishap.
• Zhang Shi proposed asking the Zhang Family to retrieve Zhang Chen's soul, while Cheng Yu suggested obtaining the Shen Family's Seven Treasures Heart-Locking Elixir to preserve his body.
• Zhang Shi, Zhang Tuowei, and Zhang Fei went to ask the Shen Family for help, while Cheng Yu stayed behind to guard Zhang Chen's body.