Chapter Summaries

Zhuge Xiang and the other human cultivators watched a golden-winged man bring an enormous Flaming Mountain into Heaven-Piercing Tower as a gift to the Fire Control Tribe. The Little Fire Phoenix felt a bond with the mountain, while the Fire Control King used its flame power to launch an assault on every human cultivator.

• Zhuge Xiang noticed that demonic Qi had improved the quality of his equipment while he studied smithing in a mountain hollow.
• A spatial vortex opened above the ninth floor, and a vast Flaming Mountain descended through it.
• Lu Yuling explained that the golden-winged man's feat surpassed ordinary mountain-moving because he had brought the mountain across spatial barriers.
• The golden-winged man gave the Flaming Mountain to the Fire Control King in exchange for the tribe's promise to kill the humans and help open a passage out of Heaven-Piercing Tower.
• The Little Fire Phoenix emerged and told Zhuge Xiang that it wanted the mountain because it felt like home.
• The Fire Control King drew power from the mountain and ordered the Fire Control Tribe to slaughter all human cultivators.

The Fire Control Tribe attacked the human cultivators across the ninth floor of the Heaven-Piercing Tower while Zhuge Xiang delivered a ragdoll to Ming Yan on the Flaming Mountain. After the delivery earned Zhuge Xiang a level increase, a new quest tasked him with discovering why the ragdoll mattered to the Fire Control King.

• Ming Yan ordered the Fire Control Tribe to attack, and the human cultivators organized themselves to fight back across the ninth floor.
• Mo Lingna, Wu Zhao, Tie Zhan, Lin Qingyu, and Lu Yuling joined the battle, while Zhuge Xiang spoke with Li Zhi, who asked to be sent to the Altar of Sacrifice for safety.
• Zhuge Xiang sent Li Zhi to the altar and flew to the Flaming Mountain to meet Ming Yan.
• Zhuge Xiang gave Ming Yan the old Fire Control tribesman's tattered ragdoll, completing the quest and gaining 20 million experience points and an Attack-Assault Template Forging Blueprint.
• Ming Yan spared Zhuge Xiang and put away the ragdoll, then Zhuge Xiang received a sequel quest to discover its significance.

After leaving Ming Yan, Zhuge Xiang went to the Altar of Sacrifice and resisted its overwhelming mental pressure to reach the ninety-ninth step. His divine sense collapsed as soon as he stood at the summit, leaving the outcome of his trial uncertain.

• Ming Yan angrily refused to explain why the ragdoll mattered, and Zhuge Xiang left the Flame Mountain.
• Zhuge Xiang reached the Altar of Sacrifice and saw Li Zhi stop at the fortieth step before turning back.
• Zhuge Xiang climbed past Li Zhi and endured the altar’s command to kneel as the pressure damaged his divine sense.
• Zhuge Xiang pressed on through the final steps and reached the ninety-ninth step despite his divine sense nearing collapse.
• Zhuge Xiang’s divine sense shattered under the pressure after he reached the summit.

After crossing the Altar of Sacrifice, Zhuge Xiang’s shattered divine sense and soul remolded into a clearer, more resilient state. He returned to the besieged cultivators, where Li Buling was organizing a formation and preparing to use a jade talisman to open a spatial rift.

• Zhuge Xiang collapsed atop the Altar of Sacrifice as his divine sense shattered, alarming Li Zhi below.
• Zhuge Xiang’s divine sense reorganized and his Purple Mansion Spiritual Platform was rebuilt, strengthening his resistance to inner demons without raising his cultivation realm.
• Zhuge Xiang flew from the altar toward Mo Lingna and the others, who were surrounded by Fire Control Tribe fighters.
• Li Buling rallied the surviving cultivators into a battle formation as Zhuge Xiang saw that fewer than half of the original group remained.
• Li Buling asked Zhuge Xiang to help open a spatial rift, explaining that the Great Tang Imperial Family’s Mother-Child Jade Talisman could tear through space after preparation.

Li Buling began carving an array to contact the outside world while Zhuge Xiang and the others defended him from the Fire Control Tribe. Ming Yan unleashed the Phoenix Tree Divine Wood’s flames and tried to seize the Little Fire Phoenix, but the tree intervened to block him.

• Li Buling started carving an array with the mother-child jade while Zhuge Xiang and the others held back the Fire Control Tribe.
• Fire Control Tribe experts attacked Li Buling, but Mo Lingna, Lu Yuling, Zhuge Xiang, and the others protected him.
• Ming Yan summoned the Phoenix Tree Divine Wood, whose divine fire strengthened the Fire Control Tribe.
• The Little Fire Phoenix flew toward the Phoenix Tree Divine Wood, drawing the attention of the Fire Control Tribe and Ming Yan.
• Ming Yan tried to grab the Little Fire Phoenix, but the Phoenix Tree Divine Wood formed a benevolent old man’s face and blocked his hand.

Phoenix Tree Divine Wood protected Little Fire Phoenix from Fire Control King Ming Yan, while the battle below neared the collapse of the cultivators’ formation. Zhuge Xiang unleashed Heavenly Demon Zen Sound to buy them time, and its power spread across the ninth layer of Heaven-Piercing Tower.

• Phoenix Tree Divine Wood awakened and blocked Ming Yan from seizing Little Fire Phoenix, then explained that it would shelter the bird if it did not choose to leave.
• Ming Yan tried to persuade Little Fire Phoenix to travel with him, but it refused because he had attacked it.
• The Fire Control Tribesmen pressed their assault with the aid of Phoenix Tree Divine Wood’s flames, pushing the cultivators’ defensive formations to the brink of collapse.
• Zhuge Xiang saw that the formation could not hold and chose to unleash Heavenly Demon Zen Sound despite the danger of drawing the Fire Control Tribesmen’s attention.
• Zhuge Xiang’s deep Zen sound spread throughout the ninth layer and began melting away the evil thoughts and evil qi within those who heard it.

Zhuge Xiang’s Heavenly Demon Zen Sound weakened the demonized Fire Control Tribe and drew Ming Yan’s murderous attention. Ming Yan attacked Zhuge Xiang, who escaped the first flame sword with Decoy Straw Man, but Ming Yan prepared to strike again.

• Zhuge Xiang’s Heavenly Demon Zen Sound dissolved the demonic energy and rapidly weakened the thousands of demonized Fire Control Tribe members, astonishing the cultivators around him.
• Ming Yan felt his own demonic power being suppressed and decided to kill Zhuge Xiang before the younger cultivator could grow stronger.
• Ming Yan abandoned his fight with the Phoenix Tree Divine Wood and Little Fire Phoenix, then attacked Zhuge Xiang with a giant palm of flames.
• The Phoenix Tree Divine Wood refused Little Fire Phoenix’s plea to help Zhuge Xiang, while Ming Yan paused his attack to argue that he had honored his promise to spare Zhuge Xiang’s life.
• Ming Yan sent a sword of flame at Zhuge Xiang, whose Ice Barrier shattered before Decoy Straw Man helped him escape the attack.
• Ming Yan recognized that Zhuge Xiang had survived and raised another flame sword, locking its aura onto him again.

Zhuge Xiang endured Ming Yan’s flame swords with the little fire phoenix’s power, then used a Random Teleport Stone to escape the fourth strike. He reappeared on the ninth floor only twenty-odd miles away, where Ming Yan sensed him again and hesitated to attack.

• Zhuge Xiang grafted the little fire phoenix’s fire resistance onto himself with Devourer’s Treasure, but Ming Yan’s second flame sword still left him badly burned.
• Ming Yan summoned a third flame sword while Zhuge Xiang tried to stall for time and glance toward Li Buling’s nearly completed formation.
• Ming Yan interrupted Zhuge Xiang and brought down the third strike as cultivators and Fire Control Tribe members watched their battle.
• Zhuge Xiang used a Random Teleport Stone to vanish just before Ming Yan’s fourth flame sword hit, avoiding the attack.
• Zhuge Xiang reappeared twenty-odd miles away on the ninth floor, and Ming Yan locked onto him again but hesitated to strike.

Ming Yan nearly crushed Zhuge Xiang with a flame mountain, but the Phoenix Tree Divine Wood intervened because the Little Fire Phoenix inside Zhuge Xiang would die with him. Li Buling completed the formation, and the three National Preceptors arrived in time to save him, leaving Ming Yan furious as he accused the Great Tang Dynasty of persecuting his clan.

• Ming Yan sealed the ninth floor and pressed a flame mountain toward Zhuge Xiang, but Zhuge Xiang could not use his Random Teleport Stone and called on Liao Wufa for help.
• Liao Wufa refused to intervene, predicting that Zhuge Xiang's misfortune contained good fortune, and the Phoenix Tree Divine Wood stopped the flame mountain to protect the Little Fire Phoenix inside Zhuge Xiang.
• Li Buling completed the formation, which caused Ming Yan to sense danger, and Ming Yan attacked him with a pillar of fire.
• Three National Preceptors of the Great Tang Dynasty entered the ninth floor and blocked Ming Yan's attack on Li Buling.
• Ming Yan accused the Great Tang Dynasty of using the Heaven-Piercing Tower as a trial ground and killing Fire Control Tribe members who might reach the Void Realm, while Niu Dali challenged him to fight.
• The cultivators regrouped with Lu Yuling, and Mo Lingna checked Zhuge Xiang's injuries as the Great Tang Dynasty's cultivators relaxed at the National Preceptors' arrival.

The Golden Winged Corpse King appeared in the Heaven-Piercing Tower and effortlessly overwhelmed National Teacher Niu Dali, revealing himself as the force behind Ming Yan’s demonic transformation. He offered Ming Yan a demonic heart so he could become a true demon, leaving the three national teachers and the surviving cultivators stunned.

• Niu Dali suppressed Fire Control King Ming Yan, while the White National Teacher warned that Ming Yan’s strength could not explain the demonic Qi filling the tower.
• The Golden-Winged Man tore open space, blocked Niu Dali’s hammer with one finger, then struck him away with a single punch.
• Zhuge Xiang recognized the Golden-Winged Man as the Golden Winged Corpse King he had encountered in the lost Myriad Buddha Temple.
• The Golden Winged Corpse King asked Ming Yan whether he would settle the human grievances himself, and Ming Yan requested the demonic heart he had previously refused.
• The Golden Winged Corpse King gave Ming Yan a beating demonic heart and explained that it would make him a true demon able to ascend directly to the Demon Realm.

Ming Yan prepared to fuse with the demonic heart, so Zhuge Xiang and Wu Zhao tried to stop him by bargaining with the Phoenix Tree Divine Wood. Wu Zhao joined the fight under the protection of national destiny, startling the Golden-Winged Corpse King and the three grand preceptors.

• Ming Yan accepted the demonic heart so he could become a true demon, fulfill his promise to the Golden-Winged Corpse King, and avenge his clansmen.
• Wu Zhao urged Zhuge Xiang to seize the demonic heart before Ming Yan transformed, and suggested trading his Ascending Heaven Divine Tree branch for the Phoenix Tree Divine Wood's help.
• Zhuge Xiang gave the branch to the Phoenix Tree Divine Wood in exchange for a year of protection, and the tree attacked Ming Yan before he could fuse with the heart.
• Ming Yan fought back and suppressed the Phoenix Tree Divine Wood, while the Golden-Winged Corpse King held off the three Great Tang grand preceptors and overpowered them.
• Wu Zhao charged into the battle, and a dragon-shaped phantom appeared behind her, revealing a powerful defense granted by national destiny.

Wu Zhao’s National Destiny and Zhuge Xiang’s Heavenly Demon Zen Sound helped the Phoenix Tree Divine Wood gain the upper hand against Ming Yan, while the three Grand Preceptors struggled to hold off the Golden Winged Corpse King. The chapter ended with Ming Yan knocked down and his bloodstained cloth doll exposed as the Golden Winged Corpse King invoked his hatred of humans.

• Wu Zhao used the protection of National Destiny to shield the Phoenix Tree Divine Wood from Ming Yan’s attacks, helping it fight him to a standstill.
• Zhuge Xiang unleashed the Heavenly Demon Zen Sound, purifying demonic qi and weakening Ming Yan while drawing the Golden Winged Corpse King’s attention.
• The three Grand Preceptors fought defensively against the Golden Winged Corpse King as both battles became a test of endurance.
• The Golden Winged Corpse King reminded Ming Yan of the Fire Control tribe’s suffering and the deaths of his wife and child.
• The Phoenix Tree Divine Wood struck Ming Yan into the ground, and his bloodstained cloth doll fell from his embrace, split in two.

Ming Yan transformed into a demon with the demonic heart and overwhelmed Wu Zhao and the Phoenix Tree Divine Wood, but Zhuge Xiang used the Heavenly Demon Zen Sound to exploit his intensified demonic nature and suppress him. With Ming Yan being purified and losing power, the Phoenix Tree Divine Wood joined the three Grand Preceptors against the Golden Winged Corpse King.

• Ming Yan remembered his slain wife and child, burned the broken cloth doll to ashes, and replaced his own heart with the demonic heart.
• Ming Yan fully transformed into a demon, shattered the Phoenix Tree Divine Wood’s branches, and sent a black sun crashing down on Wu Zhao.
• Zhuge Xiang unleashed the Heavenly Demon Zen Sound, causing Ming Yan to scream, fall from the sky, and roll on the ground as his demonic Qi was dissolved.
• Zhuge Xiang asked the Phoenix Tree Divine Wood to assist the three Grand Preceptors, and it charged at the Golden Winged Corpse King.
• Ming Yan’s screams weakened as the Heavenly Demon Zen Sound purified him and reduced his cultivation below the Void Realm.

Zhuge Xiang used the Heavenly Demon Zen Sound to purify Fire Control King Ming Yan, who repented and chose a Buddhist life. With Ming Yan no longer fighting alongside him, the Golden Winged Corpse King withdrew after recognizing Zhuge Xiang from their past meeting.

• Zhuge Xiang's Heavenly Demon Zen Sound weakened Ming Yan and reduced his cultivation to the tenth layer of the Void Core Stage.
• Ming Yan knelt before Zhuge Xiang, repented for his hatred, and asked to join the Buddhist path.
• Zhuge Xiang helped Ming Yan up and realized the Heavenly Demon Zen Sound could forcibly convert its targets.
• The Golden Winged Corpse King asked Ming Yan whether he had truly chosen Buddhism, and Ming Yan confirmed he had awakened from his demonic path.
• The Golden Winged Corpse King recognized Zhuge Xiang from the Myriad Buddha Temple and left the Heaven-Piercing Tower, promising to remember him next time.

After the Heaven-Piercing Tower crisis, Zhuge Xiang accepted an invitation to the Great Tang imperial palace and learned the story behind Ming Yan’s ragdoll. Completing the quest earned Zhuge Xiang a level, a breakthrough to the Fifth Layer of the True Essence Realm, and a Skill Jade Talisman, which he gave to Mo Lingna before the warship reached Chang'an City.

• The Golden Winged Corpse King departed, and the three grand teachers arrived to check on Li Buling and address the rescued cultivators.
• Ming Yan agreed to face judgment in the Great Tang Dynasty and urged the Fire Control Tribesmen to abandon their hatred.
• Zhuge Xiang asked about Ming Yan’s fate, then accepted the White National Teacher’s invitation to visit the imperial palace with Wu Zhao.
• Aboard the warship, Ming Yan explained that the ragdoll had belonged to his deceased son, completing Zhuge Xiang’s Ragdoll quest.
• Zhuge Xiang received a Skill Jade Talisman and gave it to Mo Lingna to improve her Nine Beast Forbidden Canon.
• Grand Teacher Niu announced that the warship had arrived at Chang'an City.

The emperor of the Great Tang Dynasty heard the report on the Heaven-Piercing Tower and sentenced Ming Yan and the Fire Control Tribe to a century of exile at South Departure Mountain. After learning the origins of Wu Zhao’s National Destiny, she invited Wu Zhao and Zhuge Xiang to join the Hall of Honored Guests.

• The three National Teachers brought Zhuge Xiang, Wu Zhao, and Ming Yan before the emperor, who pardoned Zhuge Xiang for failing to kneel.
• White National Teacher reported that the Second Prince was safe and explained the mission’s events to the emperor.
• The emperor sentenced Ming Yan and the Fire Control Tribe to a century at South Departure Mountain, and Niu Dali explained why it suited them.
• The emperor asked Wu Zhao about her National Destiny, and Wu Zhao said she had gained the combined destinies of six fallen nations.
• The emperor invited Wu Zhao and Zhuge Xiang to become honored guests of the Great Tang Dynasty.

Zhuge Xiang and Wu Zhao joined the Great Tang Dynasty’s Hall of Honored Guests and settled into adjacent courtyards. Their quiet evening was interrupted by Die Wu, an eccentric guest searching for a Treasure Seeking Rat, who discovered the little fire phoenix.

• Zhuge Xiang and Wu Zhao accepted the emperor’s invitation to join the Hall of Honored Guests in exchange for contributing their special abilities when needed.
• The head eunuch led Zhuge Xiang and the others to the Hall of Honored Guests, where Zhuge Xiang and Wu Zhao chose adjacent courtyards.
• Lu Yuling went to meditate, while Mo Lingna flirted with Zhuge Xiang and he carried her toward a room to rest.
• The Phoenix Tree Divine Wood took root in Zhuge Xiang’s courtyard, and the little fire phoenix settled on its branches.
• Die Wu crawled into the courtyard through a hole in the wall and asked Zhuge Xiang whether he had seen her golden Treasure Seeking Rat.
• The little fire phoenix appeared holding the golden rat in its beak, and Die Wu excitedly noticed the juvenile phoenix.

Zhuge Xiang and Mo Lingna met Die Wu, an honored guest whose strange medical ability let her graft body parts and even souls, memories, and knowledge. Zhuge Xiang questioned whether a person remained themselves after such changes, leaving Die Wu uncertain.

• Die Wu tried to seize the Little Fire Phoenix, but the Phoenix Tree Divine Wood blocked her, and Zhuge Xiang refused to give the bird to her.
• Die Wu rescued her Treasure Seeking Rat, then invited Zhuge Xiang and Mo Lingna to her courtyard after introducing herself as a doctor.
• Die Wu showed them creatures altered through her grafting, including a dog with human legs and a person bearing two heads.
• Die Wu explained that she could graft souls, memories, and knowledge, potentially turning an ordinary person into a powerhouse.
• Zhuge Xiang asked whether a person remained themselves after their personality and memories changed, and Die Wu admitted she did not know.

Zhuge Xiang and Mo Lingna visited Die Wu, where they learned that she had grafted many abilities onto the child Xiao Dou and Zhuge Xiang sensed a frightening danger within him. After Die Wu learned how Zhuge Xiang had earned entry to the Hall of Honored Guests, Hu Xian'er arrived and said she had come to find him.

• Die Wu showed Zhuge Xiang and Mo Lingna around her courtyard, then asked Xiao Dou to serve them tea while she tidied herself.
• Xiao Dou explained that Die Wu had grafted a tea master's knowledge and many other abilities onto him, prompting Mo Lingna to ask for the same treatment.
• Zhuge Xiang warned Mo Lingna that grafted abilities could imprint other souls onto her own and change her personality, and he sensed something dangerous inside Xiao Dou.
• Die Wu returned and asked Zhuge Xiang how he had qualified for the Hall of Honored Guests despite his True Essence Realm cultivation.
• Mo Lingna explained that Zhuge Xiang had converted a true demon and reduced its cultivation, and Die Wu understood why he had been admitted.
• Hu Xian'er arrived, said she had come to find Zhuge Xiang, and left him wondering why.

Zhuge Xiang visited Die Wu and warned her that the Soul Grafting Technique had overwhelmed Xiao Dou’s young soul with other people’s imprints. Die Wu realized that the child she had tried to perfect might no longer be himself and broke down in grief.

• Hu Xian'er told Zhuge Xiang that King Fenghe had invited him, Lu Yuling, and Wu Zhao to a gratitude banquet in three days.
• Die Wu asked to study the Little Fire Phoenix, but Zhuge Xiang refused and agreed only to let her collect its shed feathers in exchange for a future favor.
• Die Wu revealed that Xiao Dou was her deceased younger sister’s son and that she had used the Soul Grafting Technique to give him the abilities of accomplished people.
• Die Wu asked Zhuge Xiang to assess Xiao Dou, and he explained that grafted souls also carried imprints that could overwhelm the child’s own soul.
• Die Wu concluded that Xiao Dou was no longer himself and cried that she had killed him.