Chapter Summaries

Lu Yuling revealed that the Ice Maiden had split off her three souls to evade a disaster connected to the Asura Sect Great Elder, and her resulting confused state was mistaken for cultivation deviation. After completing his quest and advancing to the fourth layer of the Spell Control Stage, Zhuge Xiang agreed to accompany Lu Yuling to the East China Sea, and learned that Qin Qing was waiting nearby.

• Lu Yuling told Zhuge Xiang that the Ice Maiden had not suffered cultivation deviation; she had lost clarity because she had already split off her three souls.
• Lu Yuling said the Ice Maiden split her three souls to avoid a disaster apparently connected to the Asura Sect Great Elder, though her recovered memories did not reveal the specific reason.
• Zhuge Xiang received a system reward for completing the investigation quest, gaining two levels and Meteor Strike as his cultivation reached the fourth layer of the Spell Control Stage.
• Zhuge Xiang agreed to accompany Lu Yuling to the East China Sea after they left the Hundred Emperors Tomb.
• Lu Yuling revealed that Qin Qing had waited at the foot of the volcano, and led Zhuge Xiang and the others toward her.

Zhuge Xiang reunited with Qin Qing in the Hundred Emperors Tomb and confronted Hundred Flowers Palace cultivators who insulted his companions and tried to order her around. After he revealed his overwhelming strength and identity, one of the cultivators died from fear, leaving the others shocked that the supposedly dead Zhuge Xiang was alive.

• Lu Yuling brought Zhuge Xiang and his companions to meet Qin Qing and the three surviving Hundred Flowers Palace cultivators.
• A Hundred Flowers Palace cultivator disparaged Hua Lingsha, and Zhuge Xiang rebuked the group and told them to leave.
• Qin Qing recognized Zhuge Xiang, and he embraced her and declared that she was his woman.
• When a Hundred Flowers Palace cultivator scolded Qin Qing and challenged Zhuge Xiang, he held the Mad Dragon Sword to her forehead and revealed his Spell Control Stage strength.
• The cultivator recognized Zhuge Xiang as the man who had triggered the Lightning Crystal Dragon Palace, then collapsed and died from fear.
• Lin Tian realized that Zhuge Xiang was the legendary genius rumored to have died, while the surviving Hundred Flowers Palace cultivators recoiled in horror.

Zhuge Xiang’s group pursued a burst of golden light through the Hundred Emperors Tomb and met the injured monk Miwu, who entrusted him with Heavenly Dragon Temple’s lost Great Sun Vajra Mantra. They fled from the cultivators pursuing Miwu, and Zhuge Xiang examined the booklet aboard Lin Tian’s warship.

• Zhuge Xiang’s reputation as a murderous demon frightened a Hundred Flowers Palace cultivator to death, and the two surviving cultivators fled.
• Zhuge Xiang’s group encountered golden light that drove nearby zombies and Fierce Spirits toward its source, so he led them to investigate.
• A wounded monk named Miwu emerged from a cave and recognized Zhuge Xiang as the man his junior brother Mizheng had helped in Shuzhong City.
• Miwu gave Zhuge Xiang the lost Great Sun Vajra Mantra and asked him to return it to Mizheng or Heavenly Dragon Temple.
• Miwu warned that more than a hundred cultivators were pursuing him, so Zhuge Xiang and his companions escaped aboard Lin Tian’s small warship.
• Zhuge Xiang opened the yellowed booklet to inspect the Great Sun Vajra Mantra.

Zhuge Xiang learned the Great Sun Vajra Mantra and discovered its power against Zombies and vengeful spirits. As Ghost and Ying Yan confronted each other over the manual, Zhuge Xiang challenged their assumptions and revealed his remarkable age and cultivation, drawing their attention.

• Zhuge Xiang used a skill point to learn the Great Sun Vajra Mantra and found that it strengthened attacks against evil targets and let weapons strike spiritual entities.
• A three-star mid-grade Fierce Spirit pursued Zhuge Xiang and Lu Yuling, who recognized that someone was controlling it.
• Ghost appeared with two fierce spirits and demanded that Lu Yuling hand over the Great Sun Vajra Mantra.
• Ying Yan, the Eleventh Prince, arrived and warned Ghost to leave, while Ghost questioned why Ying Yan wanted the manual.
• Zhuge Xiang asked why they were fighting over the manual, then introduced himself as a nineteen-year-old Azure Sword Sect cultivator at the fourth layer of the Spell Control Stage.
• Ying Yan and Ghost were surprised by Zhuge Xiang’s age and talent.

Ying Yan told Zhuge Xiang that a Phoenix Egg was rumored to be hidden in the Evil Flame Forest and explained why the Great Sun Vajra Mantra could help reach it. After Zhuge Xiang revealed his Buddhist power, Ying Yan invited him to join his party, and they set out to meet Ying Yan’s ten companions.

• Ying Yan revealed that the Phoenix Egg was believed to lie in the Evil Flame Forest, where the Great Sun Vajra Mantra could counter an evil elemental spirit.
• Ying Yan threatened the ghost, who mocked him and then left the Hundred Emperors Tomb.
• Ying Yan asked Zhuge Xiang to let him make a rubbing of the Great Sun Vajra Mantra, but Zhuge Xiang questioned how anyone could master it in time.
• Zhuge Xiang displayed Buddhist power, surprising Ying Yan and Lu Yuling.
• Ying Yan invited Zhuge Xiang to travel with him, and Zhuge Xiang agreed.
• Ying Yan led Zhuge Xiang and the others to meet the ten cultivators he had brought into the Hundred Emperors Tomb.

Eleventh Prince Ying Yan introduced Zhuge Xiang to his ten talented followers, including Lei Qianjun, who recognized him from Canghai Commandery. After Lei Qianjun connected Zhuge Xiang’s arrival with the rumored death of the legendary Zhuge Xiang, Ying Yan suspected his guest had concealed his identity and saw an opportunity to recruit a remarkable genius.

• Ying Yan brought Zhuge Xiang before his ten followers, all young Spell Control Stage geniuses, and Zhuge Xiang recognized Lei Qianjun among them.
• Lei Qianjun greeted Zhuge Xiang and was astonished that his cultivation had reached the fourth-layer Spell Control Stage.
• Ming Ying linked Zhuge Xiang to the young genius who had triggered the Lightning Crystal Dragon Palace, and Gu Mei challenged him before changing her attitude when she heard of his aptitude.
• Zhuge Xiang playfully accepted Gu Mei’s advances, but Ying Yan clarified that he was supposedly a different Zhuge Xiang from the Asura Sect of Yanling Commandery.
• Lei Qianjun noted that Zhuge Xiang had come from Yanling Commandery around the time the legendary Zhuge Xiang was reported dead, prompting Ying Yan to suspect Zhuge Xiang had hidden his identity.

Zhuge Xiang entered the Evil Flame Forest with Ying Yan’s group to search for the Phoenix Egg, while Qin Qing traveled separately with Lu Yuling. After examining the possible locations, Zhuge Xiang persuaded the group to search the Bear Fire Parasol Tree before the Valley of Termination, and they reached the enormous tree.

• Zhuge Xiang sent Qin Qing with Lu Yuling toward the heartland of the Hundred Emperors Tomb and entered the Evil Flame Forest with Ying Yan and the others.
• Ying Yan asked Zhuge Xiang to use the Great Sun Vajra Mantra, but Zhuge Xiang explained that casting it would impair his cultivation.
• Ying Yan showed the group a map marking Evil Flame Mountain, the Bear Fire Parasol Tree, and the Valley of Termination as possible Phoenix Egg locations.
• Zhuge Xiang argued that the group should inspect the nearby Bear Fire Parasol Tree first, then go to the Valley of Termination while rival teams were occupied fighting.
• Ying Yan and the group accepted Zhuge Xiang’s plan, fought their way through the forest, and reached sight of the giant Bear Fire Parasol Tree.

Zhuge Xiang and his companions found a crowd stymied by the Bear Fire Parasol Tree’s deadly flames while searching for the Phoenix Egg. Ninth Princess Ying Wushuang arrived and used her Jade Banana Fan to open a passage through the fire, then entered the tree.

• Cultivators testing the Bear Fire Parasol Tree’s flames were burned or forced back, and their water spells and physical strength failed to overcome the fire.
• Ying Yan explained that ancient records said Divine Ability Stage cultivators could withstand the tree’s flames, though the fire was now far more dangerous.
• Ying Wushuang arrived, and Zhuge Xiang identified her as a tenth-layer Spell Control Stage Gold Boss-class cultivator and Ying Yan’s Ninth Sister.
• After learning the Phoenix Egg might be inside the tree, Ying Wushuang flew toward it despite Zhuge Xiang’s warning.
• Ying Wushuang used her Jade Banana Fan to blow a passage through the flames and entered the Bear Fire Parasol Tree to search for the Phoenix Egg.

Ying Wushuang discovered a Phoenix Egg absorbing the flames of the Bear Fire Parasol Tree and guarded it from the gathered cultivators. Their attacks knocked the egg away and cracked its shell, and as Ying Yan and Zhuge Xiang moved to seize it, the story left the egg’s fate unresolved.

• Ying Wushuang used the Jade Banana Fan to clear a path through the Bear Fire Parasol Tree’s flames, while Ying Yan bristled at the cultivators’ comparisons between them.
• Zhuge Xiang noticed the flames gathering around a black stone, which broke open to reveal a Phoenix Egg.
• A cultivator grabbed the Phoenix Egg, but Ying Wushuang killed him with the combined force of the Samadhi Divine Wind and the tree’s flames.
• Ying Wushuang placed the egg back on the tree to absorb its flames, while Ying Yan, Lei Qianjun, Ming Ying, Gu Mei, and other cultivators prepared to take it.
• The cultivators attacked the Phoenix Egg together, knocking it out of the flames and cracking its shell; Ying Wushuang rushed after it as Ying Yan launched his Thunder God Hammer and Ming Ying tried to stall her.
• Zhuge Xiang flew toward the Phoenix Egg, hoping to claim it as a pet.

Zhuge Xiang seized the Phoenix Egg amid a chaotic battle and used Xiao Yue’s abilities to escape the cultivators pursuing him. Ying Wushuang followed with Wind Chain, and a dominant voice emerged from the void as Zhuge Xiang tried to flee.

• Ying Yan grabbed the Phoenix Egg, but a mysterious vine struck him and pulled the egg into the void.
• Ying Wushuang and the other cultivators attacked the vine until it snapped, causing the Phoenix Egg to fall into the crowd.
• Zhuge Xiang used Three Consecutive Slashes to take the Phoenix Egg from another cultivator, then fled under a barrage of attacks.
• Zhuge Xiang summoned Xiao Yue, activated Devourer's Treasure and Indestructible Vajra Body, and broke out of the battle zone.
• Ying Wushuang caught up to Zhuge Xiang with Wind Chain, while the pursuing crowd followed behind them.
• A gigantic shadow began emerging from the void and demanded that the humans hand over the Phoenix Egg.

Zhuge Xiang and Ying Wushuang encountered a branch of the Ascending Heaven Divine Tree guarding the nearly hatched Phoenix Egg. Zhuge Xiang crippled it with one sword strike but fled when its rapid regeneration made clear he could not finish it off.

• The Ascending Heaven Divine Tree blocked Zhuge Xiang and demanded that he surrender the Phoenix Egg, but he refused, and Ying Wushuang proposed taking the tree as a potted plant.
• The tree attacked Zhuge Xiang and Ying Wushuang with a dozen vines.
• Zhuge Xiang used the Sword of Judgment to reduce the Ascending Heaven Divine Tree's two million HP to roughly twenty thousand.
• Zhuge Xiang pretended to ready another strike, then escaped through the gap in the severed vines while the tree recoiled in fear.
• The Ascending Heaven Divine Tree restored its HP with Myriad Woods Return to Spring and pursued Zhuge Xiang and Ying Wushuang with vines and emerald flames.
• Zhuge Xiang dodged the flames and kept fleeing, explaining that the tree was rapidly recovering and was too powerful for him to kill.

Zhuge Xiang fled the Ascending Heaven Divine Tree into a Zhao military camp, where he used the Tiger Tally to turn the Zombie army against it. The arrival of Zombie Marshal Lian Po set the two powerful foes against each other, giving Zhuge Xiang and Ying Wushuang a chance to slip away.

• Zhuge Xiang escaped the Ascending Heaven Divine Tree's pursuit with Ying Wushuang's help as the Phoenix Egg neared hatching.
• Zhuge Xiang spotted the Zhao military camp and used his Tiger Tally to command its Zombies to attack the Ascending Heaven Divine Tree.
• Ying Wushuang warned Zhuge Xiang that the Tiger Tally could command only one hundred thousand Zombies and that a Zombie Marshal likely led the rest.
• Lian Po emerged with nine Zombie Generals and ordered his forces to attack the Ascending Heaven Divine Tree.
• Zhuge Xiang and Ying Wushuang quietly retreated while Lian Po's forces and the Ascending Heaven Divine Tree fought.

After escaping the Zombie swarm, Zhuge Xiang and Ying Wushuang watched a weak, newly hatched Fire Phoenix emerge from its egg and call them its parents. Ying Wushuang grew attached to it and tried to buy it from Zhuge Xiang, who refused to hand it over.

• The Ascending Heaven Divine Tree fled through spatial ripples after the Zombies overwhelmed it, and Zhuge Xiang stopped in a secluded valley with Ying Wushuang.
• The Phoenix Egg hatched, and Zhuge Xiang’s Data Eye revealed that the Fire Phoenix had a congenital deficiency from not absorbing enough flame power.
• The Fire Phoenix called Zhuge Xiang and Ying Wushuang its father and mother, winning Ying Wushuang’s affection with its pitiful questions.
• The clever Fire Phoenix privately asked Zhuge Xiang for a reward after pretending to reconcile him with Ying Wushuang.
• Zhuge Xiang prepared to leave, but Ying Wushuang demanded the Fire Phoenix and offered up to three hundred high-grade Spirit Stones and a damaged Spirit Weapon; Zhuge Xiang refused.

Zhuge Xiang refused to give Ying Wushuang the Little Fire Phoenix and continued through the Hundred Emperors Tomb to its spiritual-qi-rich hinterland. There he disguised himself as a Buddhist disciple and joined forces with a Demonic Path cultivator, while Lu Yuling’s group and the Ascending Heaven Divine Tree also entered the area.

• Zhuge Xiang refused Ying Wushuang’s offer for the Little Fire Phoenix, comforted the chick after Ying Wushuang left, and collected its nourishing eggshell.
• Zhuge Xiang put the Little Fire Phoenix into his second pet slot and fought through the zombies and Fierce Spirits toward the tomb’s hinterland.
• Zhuge Xiang entered the smoke-filled hinterland, where Dragon Qi Crystals lay scattered and cultivation experience increased a hundredfold.
• Zhuge Xiang watched a disguised Demonic Path cultivator kill a monk and steal his Dragon Qi Crystals, then disguised himself as a Buddhist lay disciple and approached him.
• Lu Yuling led Qin Qing and the others deeper into the hinterland, while the Ascending Heaven Divine Tree entered as well, now stronger than before.

Zhuge Xiang teamed up with the disguised demonic cultivator Mo Wentian to kill demonic cultivators and take their Dragon Qi Crystals. After revealing that he was also a demonic cultivator, Zhuge Xiang invited Mo Wentian to join forces, and they settled on a two-eight split.

• Fa Wu urged Zhuge Xiang to attack demonic cultivators for their Dragon Qi Crystals, and they agreed to strike together.
• Zhuge Xiang and Fa Wu killed the demonic cultivators, but Fa Wu tried to ambush Zhuge Xiang while pointing out a large Dragon Qi Crystal.
• Zhuge Xiang blocked the attack and exposed Fa Wu as Mo Wentian, a demonic cultivator in disguise.
• Mo Wentian begged for his life, and Zhuge Xiang revealed his own demonic aura and proposed that they join forces.
• Mo Wentian tried to negotiate for a larger share, and Zhuge Xiang insisted that Mo Wentian take two shares while he took eight.

Zhuge Xiang and Mo Wentian reached the Hundred Emperors Pagoda and intervened when Kongming fought Leng Ningxiang, disguising themselves as Buddhist disciples. Their ruse was exposed when Kongming revealed he was a genuine monk from Fahua Temple, and the assembled cultivators attacked them.

• Zhuge Xiang and Mo Wentian collected Dragon Qi Crystals and raised Zhuge Xiang's cultivation to the fifth tier of the Spell Control Stage.
• Zhuge Xiang and Mo Wentian reached the center of the tomb and saw the forbidden Hundred Emperors Pagoda.
• Zhuge Xiang recognized Leng Ningxiang fighting Kongming and joined the encounter with Mo Wentian, disguised as Buddhist disciples.
• Kongming summoned four cultivators, then exposed Mo Wentian's false claim to be from Fahua Temple.
• Kongming and the four cultivators attacked Zhuge Xiang, Mo Wentian, and Leng Ningxiang; Leng Ningxiang and Mo Wentian fought back as Zhuge Xiang faced Kongming and another cultivator.

Zhuge Xiang and his companions reached the Hundred Emperors Pagoda after defeating the cultivators who tried to seize their Dragon Qi Crystals. There, Zhuge Xiang reunited with Qin Qing and the others, clashed with Ye Luohua, and received unexpected support from Ninth Princess Ying Wushuang.

• Zhuge Xiang and Leng Ningxiang killed the five Spell Control Stage cultivators, and Zhuge Xiang shared Dragon Qi Crystals with Leng Ningxiang and Mo Wentian.
• Leng Ningxiang spoke openly of her interest in Zhuge Xiang, but he changed the subject and led her and Mo Wentian toward the Hundred Emperors Pagoda.
• Zhuge Xiang, Leng Ningxiang, and Mo Wentian fought off more cultivators and arrived at the pagoda, where over a thousand people had gathered.
• Zhuge Xiang reunited with Qin Qing, Lu Yuling, Liu Rufang, Su Huayu, and Hua Lingsha, then told Ye Luohua to scram when he approached condescendingly.
• Xiao Yue mocked Zhuge Xiang as a subordinate of the Eleventh Prince, and Ye Luohua joined in until Ying Wushuang appeared and defended Zhuge Xiang.

At the Hundred Emperors Pagoda, Ying Yan accused Zhuge Xiang of stealing the Fire Phoenix and rallied a thousand cultivators against him. As his allies fought to cover his escape, the Ascending Heaven Divine Tree blocked his way, forcing Zhuge Xiang to break into the forbidden Hundred Emperors Pagoda.

• A veiled ghost accused Zhuge Xiang of taking the Phoenix Egg, prompting the cultivators to demand he surrender the Fire Phoenix.
• Pei Yingxiao, Dongfang Yan, Ming Chihuo, and Zhang Kang challenged the ghost's claims, but Ying Yan appeared and accused Zhuge Xiang of stealing the egg he had supposedly entrusted to him.
• Ying Yan called on the gathered cultivators to reclaim the young phoenix for the Great Qin imperial family, and they turned against Zhuge Xiang.
• Zhang Kang, Pei Yingxiao, Dongfang Yan, Ming Chihuo, Leng Ningxiang, Su Huayu, and Liu Rufang stepped in to protect Zhuge Xiang, while Wu Zhao urged him to escape.
• Lu Yuling used Ice Heaven Snow Earth to slow the attackers, and Zhuge Xiang tried to flee before the Ascending Heaven Divine Tree sealed his escape routes.
• Unable to escape, Zhuge Xiang cleaved open space with his sword and entered the forbidden Hundred Emperors Pagoda.

Zhuge Xiang and Wu Zhao fled into the Hundred Emperors Pagoda, where the loss of access to heaven and earth yuan qi left them at a disadvantage against the Ascending Heaven Divine Tree. The pagoda produced copies of its intruders, and Zhuge Xiang faced his own puppet as the battle began on the first floor.

• Zhuge Xiang charged into the Hundred Emperors Pagoda to escape the cultivators surrounding him, and Wu Zhao followed after the Ascending Heaven Divine Tree struck her through the entrance.
• The Ascending Heaven Divine Tree entered the pagoda in human form, while the cultivators outside hesitated to follow because no one who had entered the forbidden zone had returned alive.
• Zhuge Xiang discovered that the pagoda prevented cultivators from mobilizing heaven and earth yuan qi, and he fled with the injured Wu Zhao as the Ascending Heaven Divine Tree pursued them.
• A puppet matching the Ascending Heaven Divine Tree emerged from the wall and restrained her, while two more puppets appeared with Zhuge Xiang's and Wu Zhao's appearances.
• The Zhuge Xiang and Wu Zhao puppets attacked their originals, and Zhuge Xiang raised the Mad Dragon Sword to fight his copy.

Zhuge Xiang and Wu Zhao fought their way through the Hundred Emperors Pagoda, where each floor added more puppets, and Zhuge Xiang urged Wu Zhao not to give up. After lending her the Blood Drinking True King Chain to help her survive, they continued battling upward and reached the fiftieth floor.

• Zhuge Xiang and Wu Zhao defeated the puppets on the early floors, while the Ascending Heaven Divine Tree devoured its opponents to steadily improve its cultivation.
• As the number of puppets increased, Zhuge Xiang gained nearly forty million EXP and broke through to the sixth layer of the Spell Control Stage, while Wu Zhao grew exhausted and lost confidence.
• Zhuge Xiang told Wu Zhao he would keep fighting even without confidence, and she chose to follow him as his companion.
• Zhuge Xiang gave Wu Zhao the Blood Drinking True King Chain, whose life-steal effect helped her endure the later battles.
• Zhuge Xiang and Wu Zhao continued advancing floor by floor, resting between fights, and reached the fiftieth floor after about ten days as Zhuge Xiang rose to the eighth layer of the Spell Control Stage.