Chapter Summaries

Lu Yang completed his Spirit Immortal true body’s Foundation Establishment Early Stage and advanced to the Middle Stage, then contacted Chongguang with an offer about Covered Lamp Fire and a Grotto-Heaven Fragment. After Chongguang and True Lord Clear Serene Flying Snow seized and searched his controlled messenger, Lu Yang remained hidden and began negotiating face-to-face through the puppet.

• Lu Yang gained the Innate Divine Ability Stubborn Gold Lord and broke through to Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.
• Lu Yang reflected that he had spent three years rebuilding his cultivation, while the Sword Pavilion and Sacred Sect still had not fought over the Jiangnan Ten Thousand Man Pit.
• Lu Yang used Puppet on Strings to control a Qi Refining rogue cultivator and activate a Flying Message Spirit Book, hiding his own karma from Chongguang.
• Lu Yang offered Chongguang a secret involving Covered Lamp Fire, Heavenly Fortune Radiant Light True Lord, and a Grotto-Heaven Fragment in exchange for a superior Spiritual Treasure.
• True Lord Clear Serene Flying Snow traced the Spirit Book’s connection, seized the controlled rogue cultivator, and searched his soul, but found no trace of Lu Yang.
• Lu Yang spoke through the puppet, and Chongguang concluded that his hidden correspondent was a True Person of the Sacred Sect.

Lu Yang traded the location of a Grotto-Heaven Fragment in Jiangnan to Chongguang for the Avici Sword, while concealing his identity and avoiding True Lord Clear Serene Flying Snow’s surveillance. Chongguang and True Lord Clear Serene Flying Snow suspected Lu Yang was an exceptionally powerful Sacred Sect figure, and Lu Yang then contacted Hongyun to sell the information as well.

• Lu Yang told Chongguang that the Grotto-Heaven Fragment lay beneath the sea in Gantang Circuit, Jiangnan, and True Lord Clear Serene Flying Snow confirmed the clue was genuine.
• Chongguang gave Lu Yang the Avici Sword in exchange for another piece of information, and Lu Yang accepted it while hiding that he recognized the sword’s history.
• True Lord Clear Serene Flying Snow escorted Lu Yang to Jiangnan and waited in ambush, but Lu Yang stayed away from his true body and began refining an avatar with the Avici Sword.
• Chongguang and True Lord Clear Serene Flying Snow speculated that Lu Yang might be a Great True Person or even a Golden Core True Lord, and Chongguang realized he had resold the fragment’s location to Hongyun.
• Lu Yang used another Qi Refining independent cultivator’s identity in Jiangbei to contact Hongyun and begin passing on the information.

Lu Yang contacted Daoist Hongyun and traded information about Hongyun’s Grotto-Heaven for a Semi-True Treasure and help subduing a Primordial Dao Abomination. After securing Hongyun’s agreement, Lu Yang immediately offered Chongguang a chance to bury him.

• Lu Yang used a controlled rogue cultivator and Xiao Shiye’s Karma to draw Daoist Hongyun out, while True Lord Clear Serene Flying Snow arrived too late to catch him.
• Daoist Hongyun took Lu Yang to a secluded formation and, after confirming Lu Yang knew the name of his Grotto-Heaven, asked what he wanted.
• Lu Yang demanded the Imperial Golden Seal of Daoshuai True Decree and Daoist Hongyun’s help subduing a Primordial Dao Abomination in exchange for information and a method related to Covered Lamp Fire.
• Lu Yang showed Daoist Hongyun the Cave Void Inner Observation True Explanation and offered a more important secret art for linking with Covered Lamp Fire.
• Daoist Hongyun accepted Lu Yang’s demands, and they exchanged Flying Message Spirit Books before parting.
• Lu Yang messaged Chongguang, offering him an opportunity to bury Daoist Hongyun.

Lu Yang successfully created a Celestial Embryo Clone controlled through a severed strand of Divine Sense, then traveled overseas to meet Hongyun. At the Immortal Alliance Headquarters, he was stunned to see Yu Suzhen alive.

• Lu Yang used a Qi Refining rogue cultivator to oversee the Celestial Embryo Clone’s creation and merged his separated Divine Sense into it.
• Lu Yang traveled to the Biyang Cultivation World and sent messages to Hongyun and Chongguang before Daoist Hongju arrived in Hongyun’s place.
• Chongguang informed Lu Yang that Hongyun had not arrived and the plan was canceled.
• Lu Yang and Daoist Hongju went to the Immortal Alliance Headquarters, where Lu Yang recognized Yu Suzhen and wondered how she could be there.

Lu Yang realized Sky Soaring had accelerated Yu Suzhen’s cultivation and sent her to draw the Primordial Dao Abomination from the Imperial Golden Seal. He stopped her ritual and, suspecting True Lord Clear Serene Flying Snow was keeping Sky Soaring at bay, decided to Transcend Death over Yu Suzhen.

• Lu Yang recognized Yu Suzhen in the Immortal Alliance Headquarters and was astonished that she had reached Qi Refining Great Perfection in only three years.
• Yu Suzhen used the Ten Thousand Spirit Banner to draw the Primordial Dao Abomination from the Imperial Golden Seal of Daoshuai True Decree.
• Lu Yang deduced that Sky Soaring had advanced Yu Suzhen’s cultivation and sent her to obtain the Dao Abomination as an avatar.
• Lu Yang suppressed Yu Suzhen and interrupted her ritual, then wondered whether True Lord Clear Serene Flying Snow’s presence had kept Sky Soaring from intervening.
• Lu Yang decided to Transcend Death over Yu Suzhen to discover what methods Sky Soaring had placed upon her.

Lu Yang entered Yu Suzhen’s memories and discovered that an unknown being had guided her cultivation, while a figure emerged from the memory into her Sea of Consciousness. Sky Soaring revealed his trap, but Lu Yang remained calm as the Netherworld Emissary confronted him and prepared to seize him and the Primordial Dao Abomination.

• Lu Yang searched Yu Suzhen’s memories and saw that a mysterious being in the Ten Thousand Spirit Banner had guided her cultivation.
• Lu Yang recognized the river and central boulder from another person’s memory, then saw a figure emerge from the scene.
• Sky Soaring believed he had lured out his hidden opponent and explained that the Netherworld Emissary’s connection could expose the opponent’s true body.
• Lu Yang used Puppet on Strings to inspect the half-black, half-white figure and reasoned that it was not Sky Soaring himself.
• The Netherworld Emissary called Lu Yang a wicked Yao and declared that it would take him and the wicked Yao outside together.

Lu Yang survived the Netherworld Emissary’s assault on his avatar while Sky Soaring used the battle to steal the Primordial Dao Abomination with the Ten Thousand Spirit Banner. The theft succeeded, but the banner revealed a hidden power tied to Primordial True Person Mu Changsheng’s Fruit Position.

• The Netherworld Emissary shattered Lu Yang’s avatar’s Sea of Consciousness, but Weapon Master let the avatar strike back until Lu Yang severed and restored his Puppet on Strings connection.
• Hongju pulled the Netherworld Emissary out of the avatar’s Sea of Consciousness, and True Lord Clear Serene Flying Snow arrived as Sky Soaring concealed the Ten Thousand Spirit Banner with Perception Barrier.
• Lu Yang saw Sky Soaring use the banner to draw in the Primordial Dao Abomination, but the Perception Barrier hid the theft from everyone else and silenced Lu Yang’s warning.
• An explosive sound shattered the Perception Barrier after the drawing-in was complete, exposing Sky Soaring to True Lord Clear Serene Flying Snow.
• The Ten Thousand Spirit Banner grew heavy, and Mu Changsheng’s voice revealed that he had left Non-Existent Heaven behind; Sky Soaring realized the banner carried the weight of a Fruit Position.

The Fruit of Empty Attainment drew the Immortal Alliance Headquarters into Mu Changsheng’s Non-Existent Heaven, where Lu Yang met an illusory version of the long-dead Primordial True Person. Mu Changsheng explained that Foundation Establishment cultivators could relive his ancient tribulation for a chance to control Non-Existent Heaven and ascend to True Lord.

• Sky Soaring’s Ten Thousand Spirit Banner triggered the Fruit Position, freezing most people at the Immortal Alliance Headquarters and pulling their consciousness into Non-Existent Heaven.
• Sky Soaring and True Lord Clear Serene Flying Snow recognized that other True Lords were present, then turned their attention to comprehending the Fruit Position.
• Lu Yang reconnected with his avatar and encountered Mu Changsheng, who explained that the figure before him was an illusion evolved by Non-Existent Heaven, while his true self had died and been reborn.
• Mu Changsheng explained that the Dao Abomination had escaped before Non-Existent Heaven was complete, but its release through the Ten Thousand Spirit Banner had revealed the realm.
• Mu Changsheng revealed that Non-Existent Heaven recreated the great tribulation he faced five thousand years earlier, and Foundation Establishment cultivators who survived it could gain control of the realm and ascend to True Lord.

Lu Yang learned that Non-Existent Heaven was a cultivation method tied to the Primordial True Person’s Fruit Position, and that mastering it required overcoming five tribulations. The Primordial True Person explained the Millennial Calamity and his conflict with the True Lords before fading away, leaving Lu Yang unconscious.

• Lu Yang recalled the rules of Non-Existent Heaven and learned that breaking its five tribulations would grant divine abilities and control of the realm.
• The Primordial True Person revealed that the Millennial Calamity was a war to conquer Jietian, whose True Lords kept the spoils for their own Grotto-Heavens instead of strengthening Heaven and Earth.
• The Primordial True Person said Heaven and Earth had supported him with Merit, but the True Lords had plotted against him and halted his cultivation at Foundation Establishment.
• The Primordial True Person singled out the First Saint Sect, and Lu Yang claimed he belonged to the Sword Pavilion while Sky Soaring and True Lord Clear Serene Flying Snow gave their own answers about sect loyalties.
• The Primordial True Person faded away after saying he and Lu Yang might discuss the Dao after Lu Yang overcame the Five Calamities, and Lu Yang lost consciousness.

Lu Yang entered Non-Existent Heaven as Primordial True Person and found himself facing the Sacred Sect’s formation that had ruined Primordial True Person’s foundation. He charged into the formation and overwhelmed the Celestial Maidens, leaving the first tribulation looking easy.

• Lu Yang realized Non-Existent Heaven had restricted him to Primordial True Person’s Qi Refining Great Perfection cultivation and identity.
• Lu Yang recognized the Heaven Earth Yin Yang Dragon Tiger Conquest Formation as the cause of Primordial True Person’s damaged true qi.
• Lu Yang rejected the options of resisting the formation’s illusions or killing his way out, and entered his superhuman state to attack the Celestial Maidens.
• Lu Yang defeated wave after wave of Celestial Maidens until the survivors were too afraid to approach him.
• Lu Yang dismissed the formation as an easy tribulation and blamed Primordial True Person’s failure on a lack of ability.

Lu Yang learned that breaking the calamity in Non-Existent Heaven had granted him the Divine Ability Myriad Fragrance Marrow, and he questioned Primordial True Person’s purpose in creating the trials. He suspected Non-Existent Heaven was connected to the Ten Thousand Spirit Banner and considered whether he could eventually use it to attain a Fruit Position.

• Primordial True Person watched True Lord Clear Serene Flying Snow and Sky Soaring break the first calamity, then praised Lu Yang’s stronger method while regretting that Lu Yang seemed unwilling to take the final step.
• Lu Yang’s avatar comprehended the Grand Void Sacrificial Rite, which let him re-enter Non-Existent Heaven at the cost of some Merit Fortune each time.
• Lu Yang manifested Myriad Fragrance Marrow, a Divine Ability awarded for successfully breaking the calamity, and learned that its tier surpassed Unmoving Heart and White Bone Contemplation.
• Lu Yang suspected Primordial True Person might use the identity of anyone who passed the Five Calamities to attain True Lordhood, so he resolved not to attempt the fifth calamity.
• Lu Yang realized Myriad Fragrance Marrow did not occupy one of his Divine Ability slots, then examined a Ten Thousand Spirit Banner and considered whether he could use it to attain a Fruit Position through Empty Attainment.

Non-Existent Heaven manifested in the Real World, astonishing cultivators and thwarting Sky Soaring’s plan to refine the Dao Abomination into an avatar. After Lu Yang identified Sky Soaring to True Lord Clear Serene Flying Snow and Hongju failed to break his tribulation, Hongju offered to trade a strand of Shen Metal Qi for Lu Yang’s method and revealed the Same Fate Fortune-Shifting Ledger.

• Lu Yang sensed Non-Existent Heaven expanding, and Foundation Establishment cultivators and True Lords witnessed its untouchable appearance as the Grand Void Sacrificial Rite spread among them.
• Sky Soaring lamented that Non-Existent Heaven had disrupted his plan, then yielded his place to True Lord Clear Serene Flying Snow.
• True Lord Clear Serene Flying Snow asked Lu Yang who Sky Soaring was, and Lu Yang named him; she departed after realizing his identity.
• Hongju woke after failing his first tribulation and complained that Mu Changsheng had survived, while Lu Yang realized Flying Snow had taken the Semi-True Treasure.
• Hongju offered to find Lu Yang a strand of Shen Metal Qi in exchange for the method, then showed him Covered Lamp Fire’s Same Fate Fortune-Shifting Ledger.

Lu Yang used Hongju’s Same Fate Fortune-Shifting Ledger to sense the Shen Metal Qi he needed, then escaped their encounter without trusting the Spiritual Treasure Hongju gave him. A Sword Pavilion summons pointed toward a possible opportunity near the Ten Thousand Man Pit, but Lu Yang chose to send a Wooden Puppet to investigate first.

• Lu Yang gave Hongju the secret art “Supreme Bright Golden Cup Jade Radiance” in exchange for using the Same Fate Fortune-Shifting Ledger to fulfill the Merit Fortune requirement and sense Shen Metal Qi.
• Hongju tried to kill Lu Yang, but Lu Yang resisted with Myriad Fragrance Marrow and claimed he was an avatar made with the Celestial Embryo Worldly Secret Record.
• Hongju gave Lu Yang a mid-grade Spiritual Treasure as an apology, but Lu Yang threw it away and sealed his avatar rather than risk it leading anyone to his true body.
• Xiu Xin True Person delivered a Sword Pavilion summons for Foundation Establishment cultivators, signed by Demon-Queller, who Lu Yang remembered as the person who captured Jiangnan’s Ten Thousand Man Pit in previous lives.
• Lu Yang sensed Shen Metal Qi in the direction of the Ten Thousand Man Pit, checked himself with Cave Illumination Mystique, and decided to send a Wooden Puppet to scout instead of going himself.

Lu Yang observed True Person Demon-Queller Ye Guangji convene Sword Pavilion cultivators to plan an attack on the Ten Thousand Man Pit. Ye Guangji revealed that Yu Shao, a Human Immortal from the Xuanling Realm, had fled there as a refugee, leaving the reason for his flight unexplained.

• Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered at Extreme Heaven Cliff and paid their respects to Ye Guangji.
• Lu Yang recognized Ye Xingfeng and Ye Guyue among the Sword Pavilion cultivators and questioned Ye Guangji’s reputation as a virtuous man.
• Ye Guangji announced that the group would march on the Ten Thousand Man Pit in three days, patiently answering their objections.
• Ye Guyue prompted Ye Guangji to discuss the Xuanling Realm, and he introduced Yu Shao, a Human Immortal from the Baochang Great Kingdom.
• Ye Guangji clarified that Yu Shao had not attacked him or been captured; Yu Shao had escaped the Xuanling Realm as a refugee.

Yu Shao explained the Xuanling Realm’s harsh laws and warned that it planned to invade Jiangnan through the Ten Thousand Man Pit. True Person Demon-Sweeping gathered the Sword Pavilion’s cultivators to stop the invasion and uncover a suspected Demon Sect spy, while Lu Yang contacted Chongguang from Jiangbei.

• Lu Yang realized Yu Shao’s words revealed that True Person Demon-Sweeping had reached Foundation Establishment Perfection and planned to sell the information to Chongguang.
• Yu Shao described how Supreme Huanshi had imposed strict immortal laws on the Xuanling Realm, but the Sword Pavilion cultivators considered those laws reasonable.
• Yu Shao warned that the Xuanling Realm would likely invade Jiangnan, prompting the Sword Pavilion cultivators to condemn the threat as demonic.
• True Person Demon-Sweeping announced that he would go to the Ten Thousand Man Pit to sever its connection to the Xuanling Realm and ordered everyone to stay quiet so Jiangbei would not learn of the plan.
• True Person Demon-Sweeping suspected a Demon Sect spy was among those present and chose Yun as a trustworthy informant to help expose the spy.
• Lu Yang activated his avatar in Jiangbei and used the Flying Message Spirit Book to contact Chongguang.

Lu Yang entered the Ten Thousand Man Pit to search for Shen Metal Qi and learned that rumors about Non-Existent Heaven had made cultivators wary of the Primordial True Person’s possible resurrection. He concluded Mu Changsheng was gambling against the True Lords for a chance to attain the Golden Core Great Dao, then sought intelligence from Chongguang’s agent.

• Lu Yang arrived at the Ten Thousand Man Pit’s Marketplace in his Celestial Embryo Clone and found that it had not prepared for the Sword Pavilion’s reported attack.
• Lu Yang heard cultivators discuss Non-Existent Heaven’s tempting trials and rumors that the Primordial True Person might use them to resurrect through a cultivator.
• Lu Yang suspected the rumors were deliberately spread to make Foundation Establishment cultivators fear advancing through too many calamities.
• Lu Yang concluded that the Primordial True Person and Mu Changsheng were gambling against the True Lords to seize a path to the Golden Core Great Dao.
• Lu Yang went to Secret Pavilion Street, resisted Qihe’s dark-light attack, and asked Chongguang’s agent for intelligence about the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches near the Ten Thousand Man Pit.

Lu Yang asked Qi He to gather spiritual materials and learned that the Sacred Sect used Favored of Fortune to collect items and recruit talented cultivators. Qi He then revealed that he planned to rob two Foundation Establishment True Persons with Lu Yang, who suspected he was the real target.

• Qi He examined Lu Yang’s token, said no Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches had appeared, and agreed to gather the requested spiritual materials within three days.
• Qi He explained that the Sacred Sect created Favored of Fortune to obtain spiritual items and recruited any who achieved Foundation Establishment.
• Qi He described how True Persons who opened halls on Secret Pavilion Street competed to protect their own profits.
• Qi He began sealing the shop with formations and proposed capturing two Foundation Establishment True Persons to obtain Lu Yang’s materials.
• Lu Yang asked whether Qi He intended to besiege and kill him instead.

Lu Yang was ambushed by True Person Qihe and two rogue cultivators, but revealed his Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivation and killed Kuigang with one punch. Qihe tried to bargain, then fled when he realized he did not know Lu Yang’s identity and could not threaten him afterward.

• Lu Yang exposed True Person Qihe’s sinister intentions, and Kuigang and Gouyue entered the shop to block his escape.
• True Person Qihe revealed that he had reached Foundation Establishment Middle Stage and ordered Kuigang and Gouyue to attack Lu Yang.
• Kuigang and Gouyue combined their Lifebound Divine Abilities, but Lu Yang used his Dharma Body and Stubborn Gold Lord to kill Kuigang with a single punch.
• Gouyue and True Person Qihe realized Lu Yang was at Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, and Qihe offered his assets and the requested spiritual items as an apology.
• Lu Yang asked Qihe whether he knew who he was, and Qihe, unable to identify or threaten him, activated a talisman and fled.

Lu Yang fought True Person Qihe, who sought to kill him for Shen Metal Qi, and captured him after destroying his escape route. Soul-searching revealed that Qihe had already obtained the Shen Metal Qi, leaving Lu Yang shaken by the coincidence.

• Lu Yang used Myriad Fragrance Marrow and Mountain Moving True Method against True Person Qihe, who countered with Carrying All Things.
• Lu Yang killed Gouyue, refined her into the Ten Thousand Spirit Banner, and awakened Banner Spirit Chen Xin'an.
• True Person Qihe detonated his superior-grade Spiritual Treasure shop, but Lu Yang endured the blast to strengthen his Qian Tian Total Control Myriad Forms Dharma Body.
• True Person Qihe tried to flee on his Boundless Golden Bridge, but Lu Yang severed it and broke his Dao Foundation.
• Lu Yang transformed True Person Qihe and had Chen Xin'an search his soul, learning that Qihe had already obtained the Shen Metal Qi.

Lu Yang obtained the Earthly Fiend Shen Metal and discovered that True Person Qihe had marked it for the Xuanling Realm after betraying the world to prolong his life. As Lu Yang realized the Shen Metal could expose him and draw danger, the Supreme in the Xuanling Realm noticed that it had changed hands.

• Lu Yang took True Person Qihe's Storage Pouch and found the Earthly Fiend Shen Metal inside.
• Lu Yang worried that handing the Shen Metal to his Spirit Immortal true body could expose him to True Lords or other watchers.
• Lu Yang examined True Person Qihe's memories and learned that Qihe had betrayed the world for the Xuanling Realm to extend his lifespan.
• Lu Yang discovered that Qihe had marked the Shen Metal with a Xuanling Realm secret art, making it trackable and difficult to unmark.
• The Supreme in Lingxiao Hall sensed that the Shen Metal had changed hands.