Chapter Summaries

After the palace battle, Ying Wushuang worried that Zhuge Xiang had outpaced her cultivation, while Zhuge Xiang visited her to ask about exploring the ancient cave of the Twelve Golden Figures. He learned the Flesh Puppet skill from a quest reward and went to seek an audience with the Seventh Prince, Ying Yan.

• Ying Wushuang reflected on Zhuge Xiang's rapid rise and the Emperor's approval of a possible marriage between them.
• Zhuge Xiang barged into Ying Wushuang's bedchamber, teased her, and asked when the group would explore the ancient cave of the Twelve Golden Figures.
• Ying Wushuang said the Sixth Prince had made no plans because of the recent Hungry Ghost Path invasion, then sent Zhuge Xiang away.
• Zhuge Xiang opened his Advanced Skill Treasure Chest and obtained the Flesh Puppet skill, which could turn someone he had killed into a controlled puppet retaining their memories and abilities.
• Zhuge Xiang learned Flesh Puppet and went to the Seventh Prince Ying Yan's palace to request an audience.

Zhuge Xiang killed the Seventh Prince Ying Yan and turned him into a flesh puppet to investigate the Great Qin national fortune. Three days later, the Sixth Prince Ying Dongsheng summoned Zhuge Xiang to discuss the expedition to the ancient grotto of the Twelve Golden Figures.

• Ying Yan agreed to meet Zhuge Xiang privately, believing the prince’s guards would protect him from suspicion.
• Zhuge Xiang killed Ying Yan with the God Slaying Spear and used the Flesh Puppet Technique to revive him as a loyal puppet retaining his memories.
• Zhuge Xiang ordered puppet Ying Yan to search the imperial palace for information about the Great Qin national fortune.
• Three days later, an imperial attendant summoned Zhuge Xiang to meet Ying Dongsheng.
• Zhuge Xiang joined Ying Dongsheng, Ying Yan, Ying Xiaocui, Zhu Xiaoxi, and Zhao Kai, who greeted him respectfully before discussing the expedition.

Zhuge Xiang joined Ying Dongsheng and the other royal heirs on a journey to Mount Xiaoshan to find the Twelve Golden Figures ancient cave. After they entered the hidden cave beneath a lake, the twelve statues’ overwhelming aura threatened Ying Wushuang, and Zhuge Xiang protected her as they faced the figures.

• Zhuge Xiang agreed to set out with Ying Dongsheng and the other princes and princesses after three days of preparation.
• Zhuge Xiang meditated in the imperial palace and sensed flashes of insight into the Heavenly Laws as his Ninth Level Nascent Soul Stage cultivation settled.
• Ying Dongsheng led Zhuge Xiang, Ying Yan, Ying Xiaocui, Ying Wushuang, Zhu Xiaoxi, and Zhao Kai to Mount Xiaoshan and revealed that the cave entrance lay beneath a lake.
• The seven cultivators entered the lake and emerged inside a vast cave containing twelve golden figures, each with an aura comparable to a Great Accomplishment Stage cultivator.
• Ying Wushuang nearly collapsed under the figures’ pressure, so Zhuge Xiang held her hand and shielded her with his aura.

Zhuge Xiang and the Ying royals entered Mount Xiao Imperial Palace after Ying Wushuang’s blood activated its doors and the Golden Man puppets opened them. Inside, they discovered nine Spirit Veins bound to a suspended bronze coffin, whose occupant remained unknown.

• Zhuge Xiang carried Ying Wushuang through the Twelve Golden Figures’ oppressive aura and reached the palace doors.
• Zhuge Xiang failed to push the doors open, and Ying Wushuang found an inscription saying that Ying imperial blood could open them.
• Ying Dongsheng’s blood activated the door formations but did not open the doors.
• Ying Wushuang’s blood triggered a stronger reaction, and the Twelve Golden Man puppets opened the palace doors.
• Zhuge Xiang and the others entered the hall and found nine Spirit Veins suppressed beneath bronze pillars and connected by chains to a floating coffin.

Zhuge Xiang discovered a corpse resembling the emperor of the Great Tang Dynasty inside the bronze coffin in Mount Xiao Imperial Palace, finding a possible lead in his investigation. The emperor of Great Qin arrived and demanded that Zhuge Xiang leave the coffin’s contents alone because they concerned his cultivation.

• Zhuge Xiang opened the bronze coffin and saw a corpse surrounded by national fortune, wearing a dragon robe and imperial crown unlike those of Great Qin.
• Ying Dongsheng denied that the corpse belonged to Great Qin, and Zhuge Xiang identified its clothing as Great Tang style and recognized its face as identical to the current Tang emperor.
• Zhuge Xiang suspected the corpse was the true Great Tang emperor and reached to take it away as evidence.
• The emperor of Great Qin recalled the overwhelming experts at the recent banquet and the old man’s claim that Mount Xiao’s Sacred Cave could help him reach the thirteenth layer of the Imperial World Shocking Merit.
• The emperor of Great Qin entered the palace, struck at Zhuge Xiang to stop him, and asked him not to interfere with the important object inside the coffin.

The Great Qin Emperor discovered that the corpse in the bronze coffin was Great Tang Emperor Li Kuo and moved to keep everyone who had witnessed it from revealing the secret. When Zhuge Xiang resisted being detained, the emperor struck him down with the Imperial Seal.

• The Great Qin Emperor arrived at the forbidden land, saw the corpse in the bronze coffin, and identified it as Li Kuo.
• Zhu Xiaoxi and Zhao Kai tried to leave, but the emperor ordered them to stay in Great Qin and placed his princes and princesses under house arrest.
• The emperor told Zhuge Xiang to remain with Ying Wushuang, but Zhuge Xiang refused and braced himself for a fight.
• The Great Qin Emperor attacked with the Imperial Seal, and Zhuge Xiang countered with the God Slaying Spear before being gravely injured.
• The emperor struck Zhuge Xiang a second time with the Imperial Seal and crushed him to death as Zhu Xiaoxi and Zhao Kai watched.

Zhuge Xiang escaped the Emperor of Great Qin’s first attack, but the emperor pursued him and tried to crush him again. As the chase drew the attention of powerful factions, the East Sea Dragon Palace intervened and knocked the Imperial Seal away.

• Zhuge Xiang survived the Imperial Seal with Decoy Straw Man and fled, but the Emperor of Great Qin chased him.
• Void Returning Stage experts recognized the emperor’s pursuit, and news of Zhuge Xiang’s identity alarmed the Heavenly Sword Sect, Heavenly Dragon Temple, and Asura Sect.
• The Emperor of Great Qin caught Zhuge Xiang and pressed him beneath the Imperial Seal, pushing his body to the verge of collapse.
• An azure dragon and a golden dragon arrived, and the azure dragon struck the Imperial Seal away with its tail.
• The Emperor of Great Qin identified the azure dragon as the Dragon King of the East Sea Dragon Palace, while Zhuge Xiang recognized the golden dragon as Ao Bing.

The East Sea Dragon King rescued Zhuge Xiang from the Great Qin Emperor and brought him to the coast, where Zhuge Xiang returned the Dragon’s Eye. The Dragon King then raised the East Sea Dragon Palace’s connection to the Ying clan, leaving Zhuge Xiang poised to learn its origins.

• The East Sea Dragon King defied the Great Qin Emperor’s demand and suppressed his imperial aura, then carried Zhuge Xiang away while the emperor stopped short of pursuing them.
• The East Sea Dragon King praised Zhuge Xiang’s strength, and Ao Bing celebrated until his father flicked him away for boasting.
• Zhuge Xiang thought of Luo Ba’s imprisonment beneath the Jade Bodhi Tree and resolved to seek help from the Golden Winged Corpse King to free him.
• Ao Bing explained that the East Sea Dragon Palace had learned of Zhuge Xiang’s pursuit through its informants monitoring the Great Qin Imperial Family.
• Zhuge Xiang returned the Dragon’s Eye to the East Sea Dragon King, who asked whether he wanted to hear about the Dragon Palace’s origins with the Ying clan.

Zhuge Xiang tried to leave after refusing to hear about the East Sea Dragon Palace’s ties to the Great Qin Imperial Family, but the East Sea Dragon King used his aura to hold him in place and began explaining their history. The chapter ended with Zhuge Xiang realizing the Dragon King knew that Ying Qianshan had framed Qin Shi Huang and taken his place.

• Zhuge Xiang refused to hear why the East Sea Dragon Palace monitored the Great Qin Imperial Family and asked to leave.
• The East Sea Dragon King pinned Zhuge Xiang down with his aura and teased him for supposedly wanting to know the secret.
• The Dragon King claimed that Zhuge Xiang’s friendship with the East Sea Dragon Palace and recovery of Dragon’s Eye meant he deserved to hear the story.
• The Dragon King explained that the East Sea Dragon Palace had helped Qin Shi Huang during his conquest of the Six Nations and praised his talent and power.
• The Dragon King said Qin Shi Huang had been betrayed by his own people and died in disgrace, prompting Zhuge Xiang to realize he knew about Ying Qianshan’s plot.

The East Sea Dragon King revealed that Ying Wushuang was Ying Zheng’s surviving bloodline and sought Zhuge Xiang’s help in restoring her to the throne. Zhuge Xiang agreed to their plan to make her Great Qin’s crown prince and received the Sea Calming Divine Needle, a Half-Immortal Artifact.

• The East Sea Dragon King explained that Ying Qianshan had murdered Ying Zheng and seized the Great Qin throne, and Zhuge Xiang revealed that Bai Qi had already told him the truth.
• The Dragon King proposed restoring Ying Zheng’s bloodline and revealed that the Ninth Princess, Ying Wushuang, was the surviving heir.
• The Dragon King planned to prepare Ying Wushuang for Great Qin’s crown-prince selection in half a year by raising her strength.
• Zhuge Xiang agreed to help the Dragon King, with the Dragon Palace supporting Ying Wushuang while Zhuge Xiang stirred up trouble in Great Qin.
• The Dragon King summoned the Sea Calming Divine Needle and gave the Half-Immortal Artifact to Zhuge Xiang as a weapon suited to his physical strength.

Zhuge Xiang received the Sea Calming Divine Needle from the East Sea Dragon King and headed to the Yin Yang Demonic Sect to seek Liao Wufa’s help rescuing his master. After Zhuge Xiang arrived, Liao Wufa welcomed him and asked about his ties to the dragon king.

• Zhuge Xiang examined the Sea Calming Divine Needle’s Half-Immortal Artifact abilities and rejoiced at its immense attack power.
• The East Sea Dragon King explained that waving the Sea Calming Divine Needle three times toward the East Sea would summon the Dragon Palace’s help.
• The East Sea Dragon King and Ao Bing departed to find Ying Wushuang and strengthen her before the next half-year passed.
• Zhuge Xiang flew to the Yin Yang Demonic Sect, intending to find a way to rescue his master amid the Great Qin Empire’s growing turmoil.
• Liao Wufa welcomed Zhuge Xiang in person and was surprised to learn that the East Sea Dragon King had rescued him.

Zhuge Xiang asked Liao Wufa to help free Luo Ba from the Jade Bodhisattva Tree’s seal, and revealed that Liao Wufa had captured the Golden Winged Corpse King Jin Mingzi. Liao Wufa brought Jin Lingzi to meet Jin Mingzi, leaving the long-separated brothers face to face.

• Zhuge Xiang told Liao Wufa that he had found the current Great Tang Emperor’s corpse in Mount Xiao’s ancient caves, and Liao Wufa’s divination confirmed that the emperor was no longer himself without revealing why.
• Zhuge Xiang learned that Liao Wufa had rescued and captured Jin Mingzi, the Golden Winged Corpse King, and asked him to help free Luo Ba from the Jade Bodhisattva Tree’s seal.
• Liao Wufa said he could not help until he subdued Jin Mingzi, so Zhuge Xiang used Ao Bing’s communication jade talisman to summon Jin Lingzi, the First Generation Sea God.
• Jin Lingzi arrived with the Southern Bright Bird King, and Liao Wufa revealed that he had destroyed the Myriad Buddha Temple and that Jin Mingzi resented him for it.
• Liao Wufa brought Zhuge Xiang and Jin Lingzi into his private space, where Jin Mingzi recognized Jin Lingzi and reacted in shock that his junior brother was still alive.

Liao Wufa explained how Jin Lingzi survived his clash with Liao Wufa and Kui Haixing, and how Jin Mingzi betrayed him by taking his power. He then argued that destiny revealed a person's future choices rather than forcing them, leaving Zhuge Xiang to consider his explanation.

• Jin Lingzi met Jin Mingzi and said his guilt over their past had kept him from dying, while Liao Wufa and Zhuge Xiang left them alone to talk.
• Liao Wufa told Zhuge Xiang that his divination foretold danger in the Great Qin Empire followed by safety, and Zhuge Xiang recounted how he had met Jin Lingzi.
• Liao Wufa recalled that he and Kui Haixing had fought Jin Lingzi on the East Sea shore, where Kui Haixing's secret technique helped them defeat him at great cost.
• Liao Wufa explained that Jin Mingzi had seized Jin Lingzi's power after learning the temple abbot planned for Jin Lingzi to absorb his own, while Jin Lingzi survived his fall into the East Sea.
• Liao Wufa revealed that Jin Lingzi later sought a divination about his spiritual breakthrough, and that Zhuge Xiang's meeting with him had resolved Jin Lingzi's knot of guilt.
• When Zhuge Xiang objected that destiny made people puppets, Liao Wufa explained that divination merely foresaw choices people would make of their own will.

Jin Lingzi ascended to the Immortal Realm through the South Heaven Gate, accompanied by the Southern Bright Bird King, after reconciling with Jin Mingzi. Jin Mingzi and Liao Wufa put aside their old grievances, while Jin Mingzi offered to retrieve the Jade Bodhi Tree for Zhuge Xiang.

• Zhuge Xiang learned from Liao Wufa that destiny reflected the choices people would make rather than predetermining their actions.
• The South Heaven Gate appeared in the sky, and Jin Lingzi and Jin Mingzi arrived with divine auras as flowers and immortal music heralded an ascension.
• Liao Wufa congratulated Jin Lingzi, who thanked him and Zhuge Xiang for helping him sever his mortal ties; Jin Lingzi and Jin Mingzi also spoke of meeting again in the future.
• Jin Lingzi ascended to the Immortal Realm with the Southern Bright Bird King, while Liao Wufa and Jin Mingzi reflected on his departure and Jin Mingzi's unresolved path to ascension.
• Jin Mingzi apologized to Liao Wufa for their past clashes, and Liao Wufa forgave him; Jin Mingzi then promised to retrieve the Jade Bodhi Tree for Zhuge Xiang.

The Great Qin Emperor absorbed the Emperor’s Aura from the Great Tang Emperor’s corpse, bringing his Imperial World Shocking Merit close to its thirteenth tier. Meanwhile, Zhuge Xiang, Liao Wufa, and the Golden Winged Corpse King freed Luo Ba from the imperial palace’s seal, where Luo Ba confronted the Great Qin Emperor about hunting his disciple.

• The Great Qin Emperor absorbed the Great Tang Emperor’s Emperor’s Aura and felt the barrier to the thirteenth tier of his Imperial World Shocking Merit weaken.
• Zhuge Xiang, Liao Wufa, and the Golden Winged Corpse King arrived at the Great Qin imperial palace and broke its defensive array.
• The Golden Body Bodhisattva retrieved the Jade Bodhi Tree, freeing Luo Ba from its suppression.
• Zhuge Xiang told Luo Ba that the Great Qin Emperor had chased him for thousands of miles the previous night.
• The Great Qin Emperor confronted the group, and Luo Ba demanded an explanation for why he had hunted Zhuge Xiang.

After the Great Qin Emperor backed down from his pursuit of Zhuge Xiang, Luo Ba warned that war with the empire was approaching. Zhuge Xiang and his allies set out to recruit Bai Qi by reaching the Hundred Emperors Tomb, where he remained trapped.

• Luo Ba confronted the Great Qin Emperor over his pursuit of Zhuge Xiang, and the emperor claimed he had only wanted to keep Zhuge Xiang in the palace because he knew a dangerous secret.
• Zhuge Xiang went along with the emperor’s explanation, and Luo Ba led the group away from the palace without escalating the dispute.
• After they stopped outside Xianyang City, Luo Ba told Zhuge Xiang that the Asura Sect needed to prepare for war against the Great Qin Empire.
• Liao Wufa proposed seeking Bai Qi’s help, and Zhuge Xiang explained that Bai Qi was trapped in the Hundred Emperors Pagoda within the Hundred Emperors Tomb.
• The Golden Body Bodhisattva located the roaming Undying Great Roc and tore open space so the group could enter the void and travel toward the tomb.

Zhuge Xiang, Liao Wufa, and the Golden Body Bodhisattva returned to the Hundred Emperors Tomb and made their way through its dangers with ease. Zhuge Xiang climbed the Hundred Emperors Pagoda, gained enough experience to reach the Dao Seeking Stage, and the chapter ended with his breakthrough.

• Zhuge Xiang, Liao Wufa, and the Golden Body Bodhisattva evaded the charging Undying Great Roc and entered the Hundred Emperors Tomb.
• The Golden Body Bodhisattva chanted the Sutra of Rebirth for the fallen soldiers’ zombies and resentful ghosts, but their attachments kept them from reincarnation.
• Liao Wufa led the group toward Bai Qi, and the three passed through the tomb unimpeded as its undead fled from their power.
• Zhuge Xiang and his companions entered the Hundred Emperors Pagoda, where Zhuge Xiang destroyed the Golden Core Stage puppets on each floor.
• Zhuge Xiang gained over six million experience points by the fifty-first floor and advanced to Level 1 Dao Seeking Stage.

After entering the Dao Seeking Realm, Zhuge Xiang joined Liao Wufa and the Golden Body Bodhisattva in meeting Bai Qi in the Hundred Emperors Pagoda. Liao Wufa revealed that Bai Qi had been trapped there by Ying Qianhan’s scheme, and the group prepared to help him break free.

• Zhuge Xiang entered the Dao Seeking Realm and met Liao Wufa and the Golden Body Bodhisattva on the fifty-first floor of the Hundred Emperors Pagoda.
• Bai Qi recognized Liao Wufa, and they discussed why neither had ascended despite reaching the final step of cultivation.
• Bai Qi greeted Zhuge Xiang and the Golden Body Bodhisattva, learning that the former abbot of the Myriad Buddha Temple had become their fellow Daoist.
• Liao Wufa told Bai Qi that they had come to take him out, but Bai Qi explained that he had stayed to protect Ying Zheng’s remains from the fallen soldiers’ obsessions.
• Liao Wufa revealed that Ying Qianhan had deliberately gathered the fallen soldiers to create a trap that would keep Bai Qi imprisoned.
• Liao Wufa proposed that the four of them work together to break Bai Qi free, and Bai Qi agreed that no one in Qin could kill him.

Golden Body Bodhisattva gathered the fallen soldiers’ obsessions and brought forth a blood-haired man whose power surpassed the others’. After they failed to defeat him individually, Zhuge Xiang urged the group to join forces, and all four prepared their transformed bodies for battle.

• Golden Body Bodhisattva used the Jade Bodhi Tree to gather the obsessions of the dead throughout the Hundred Emperors Tomb.
• The obsessions formed a blood-haired man, who attacked Bai Qi and easily withstood blows from Bai Qi, Golden Body Bodhisattva, and Liao Wufa.
• Zhuge Xiang struck the blood-haired man with the Sea Calming Divine Needle, forcing him to block with both hands before countering with blade Qi.
• Zhuge Xiang concluded that they had to attack together, and Liao Wufa, Golden Body Bodhisattva, Bai Qi, and Zhuge Xiang each unleashed their enlarged bodies.

Zhuge Xiang and his allies attacked the blood-haired man, but his He Shi Bi absorbed and reflected their strikes. Unable to kill him, they decided to suppress him with Zhuge Xiang’s Heavenly Dragon Town Evil Pagoda.

• Bai Qi, the Golden Body Bodhisattva, Liao Wufa, and Zhuge Xiang attacked the blood-haired man with their strongest techniques.
• The blood-haired man summoned the He Shi Bi, absorbed three attacks, and reflected them into the Golden Body Bodhisattva’s Buddha’s Palm Realm, injuring his palm.
• The blood-haired man explained that the Undying Great Roc had found the He Shi Bi in the void and that he had retrieved it through their shared origins as the lingering wills of fallen soldiers.
• Liao Wufa explained that the He Shi Bi could absorb and reflect any attack, so Zhuge Xiang proposed sealing the blood-haired man instead of trying to kill him.
• Liao Wufa identified Zhuge Xiang’s Heavenly Dragon Town Evil Pagoda as a suitable means of suppression, and Bai Qi agreed that Zhuge Xiang should use it.