Chapter Summaries

Five city Guardians arrived to protect Fang Mo from Shi Yuanhao, while Venerable Qingyun and her disciples discussed Fang Mo’s connections and rapid cultivation. Shi Yuanhao rejected their warnings and began fighting the Guardians, overpowering Feng Hai before Guan Hu stepped in.

• Five Guardians—Feng Hai, Guan Hu, Yuanye Qiuming, Ying Ying, and Fu Hongshan—arrived and declared their support for Fang Mo.
• Venerable Qingyun learned that Fang Mo had earned the Guardians’ gratitude by helping Safe Cities during the Fog Tide and leaving them the spoils from his battles.
• Chi Yu and Nangong Aoyun wagered over whether Fang Mo would reach the True Man Realm, and Venerable Qingyun said he had already advanced.
• Shi Yuanhao accused the Guardians of aiding a traitor, but Feng Hai and Guan Hu defended Fang Mo and warned Shi Yuanhao to stop.
• Feng Hai attacked Shi Yuanhao, who shattered his strike with Prison Thunder Slash and sent him flying; Guan Hu then challenged Shi Yuanhao with Sword Sweeps the World.

Shi Yuanhao overwhelmed six Transcendent Realm guardians who had joined forces to protect the others. He trapped them in his Purple Thunder Sword Domain and vowed to make Fang Mo face it next.

• Guan Hu was knocked back by Shi Yuanhao, but Wu Qingzi caught him as the guardians realized how powerful Shi Yuanhao was.
• Wu Qingzi, Guan Hu, Yuanye Qiuming, Ying Ying, and Fu Hongshan refused to retreat and joined forces against Shi Yuanhao.
• Shi Yuanhao attacked with his Purple Prison Thunder Sword, driving the six guardians back despite their combined assaults.
• Wu Qingzi ordered four guardians to hold Shi Yuanhao while he and Feng Qing attacked from the flanks, but Shi Yuanhao countered their tactics.
• Shi Yuanhao unleashed his Purple Thunder Sword Domain, trapping the guardians in an area more than ten miles wide and suppressing their ability to draw on heaven and earth.
• As the guardians struggled against the endless lightning swords, Shi Yuanhao declared that he would make Fang Mo face his domain next time.

Ji Mingfeng and the others watched Wu Qingzi’s group struggle against Shi Yuanhao’s sword domain, but Gu Yu’s suppression prevented them from sending help directly. Ji Mingfeng went to seek Venerable Qingyun’s aid, and Gu Yu set out to confront her as the battle neared its end.

• Bai Wuchen and Ji Mingfeng recognized that Shi Yuanhao’s sword domain had overwhelmed Wu Qingzi’s group, while Gu Yu’s blockade prevented True Man Realm fighters from intervening.
• Tie Xiaochuan criticized Taichu Peak for refusing to support Fang Mo, and the group discussed how to rescue Fang Mo’s companions.
• Senior Brother Zhai suggested asking Venerable Qingyun for help, so Ji Mingfeng hurried to her training ground.
• Gu Yu watched Shi Yuanhao gain the upper hand and hoped a victory would help him overcome his inner demons and reach the True Man Realm.
• A disciple reported Ji Mingfeng’s visit to Venerable Qingyun, and Gu Yu went to confront her before she could intervene.

Venerable Qingyun explained to Nangong Aoyun why the sect knew about Fang Mo and was letting him face danger in the Yin Ruins. As Shi Yuanhao’s fight with six Guardian City guards neared its end, Ji Mingfeng tried to report the clash, but Venerable Gu Yu arrived and attempted to silence him.

• Venerable Qingyun told Nangong Aoyun that Fang Mo had mastered several powerful techniques and that the sect had learned of him through Ling Cangyan’s report.
• Chi Yu explained that the sect was testing Fang Mo’s worth and that he needed to survive the Yin Ruins to lead Taichu Peak.
• Venerable Qingyun noticed Ji Mingfeng’s arrival and sent Nangong Aoyun to bring him in.
• Ji Mingfeng came to report Fang Mo’s clash with Shi Yuanhao, but Venerable Gu Yu arrived and tried to keep him from speaking.
• Venerable Qingyun invited Ji Mingfeng to explain, and he said Shi Yuanhao was fighting several Guardian City guards and might cause casualties.
• Venerable Gu Yu dismissed the fight as a spar, but Qingyun asked Ji Mingfeng to show her what was happening.

Shi Yuanhao defeated six Transcendent Realm experts and turned his Purple Thunder Sword Domain on Luo Jiangyan and the others. Just as the domain was about to swallow them, an unknown figure appeared and shattered it with a sword strike.

• Ji Mingfeng pleaded with Venerable Qingyun to stop the fight, but Venerable Gu Yu dismissed his concerns until Qingyun noticed someone had arrived.
• Shi Yuanhao overwhelmed Wu Qingzi, Guan Hu, and Feng Hai, leaving all six defenders unable to fight.
• Wu Qingzi and Feng Hai admitted they had done their best, and Shi Yuanhao claimed Luo Jiangyan and the others as his next targets.
• Meng Xiuping and Xiang Yunqing flew over and begged Shi Yuanhao to show mercy, but he expanded his sword domain toward the group.
• An unknown figure appeared before Luo Jiangyan and the others and split the Purple Thunder Sword Domain with a frigid sword strike, sending the Purple Thunder Sword flying.

Xiao Jingsheng intervened to save Luo Jiangyan and the others from Shi Yuanhao, then refused Bai Hai Zhou’s demand to take them away. Mu Haixin and Mu Haichao joined him, forcing Bai Hai Zhou and Shi Yuanhao to retreat as Taichu Peak openly took a stance.

• Xiao Jingsheng struck Shi Yuanhao with his sword, shattered the Purple Thunder Sword Domain, and ordered him to leave.
• Bai Hai Zhou appeared and demanded that Xiao Jingsheng hand over the people wanted by Venerable Gu Yu, but Xiao refused.
• Bai Hai Zhou prepared to fight Xiao Jingsheng until Mu Haixin and Mu Haichao arrived to support Taichu Peak.
• Bai Hai Zhou withdrew, and Shi Yuanhao, Pang Angong, Xu Ying, and the others followed him.
• Xiao Jingsheng rewarded Wu Qingzi and the others with jade bottles and instructed Xiang Yunqing and Meng Xiuping to escort the group back to the Divine Hall.

Venerable Qingyun and Venerable Gu Yu saw a golden dragon appear as Fang Mo opened the eighth level, revealing that the Ascension Ranking had advanced. Gu Yu halted Imperial Sky Peak’s plans against Fang Mo’s clansmen, while people across the Divine Hall and Safe Zones began betting on when Fang Mo would reach the ninth level.

• Venerable Qingyun kept Venerable Gu Yu occupied with a month-long chess game while Taichu Peak intervened on Fang Mo’s behalf.
• Venerable Gu Yu questioned Bai Hai Zhou about Taichu Peak’s intervention and learned that experts from four factions were guarding Fang Mo’s residence.
• Venerable Gu Yu and Bai Hai Zhou saw the golden dragon and the eighth place on the Ascension Ranking light up, and Gu Yu realized the other factions were backing Fang Mo.
• Venerable Gu Yu told Bai Hai Zhou to stop targeting Fang Mo’s clansmen until the Yinxu Trial ended, though Bai Hai Zhou suspected Fang Mo might reach the ninth level.
• People gathered to watch the Ascension Ranking and opened betting pools on how many days Fang Mo would need to enter the ninth level.

Fang Mo defeated the eighth layer’s Spirit Transformation Level guardian and explored its ruins, finding further evidence of the Yin Ruins’ erased history. He suspected the answers lay on the ninth layer and continued toward the secrets of the ancient civilization.

• Fang Mo froze the seventh layer’s lava land with the Archaic Sea Ice Flood Dragon and killed the Archaic Fire Lava Beast.
• Fang Mo’s blood qi coiling dragon devoured the beast’s vital blood and soul, allowing him to condense his seventh battle mark and greatly strengthen his aura.
• Fang Mo collected the Archaic Fire Lava Beast’s valuable materials and entered the void passage to the eighth layer.
• Fang Mo found battle-scarred terrain, skeletons, and decaying weapons, and wondered what civilization had destroyed the Yin Ruins’ ancient martial dao civilization.
• Fang Mo killed a Spirit Transformation Level giant ape with one blade strike and found that the murals in a ruined hall had been deliberately erased.
• Fang Mo became convinced that the Yin Ruins concealed secrets and believed the answers might lie on the ninth layer.

As Fang Mo’s eighth-level trial drew widespread betting, Pang Angong grew furious at the attention, while Venerable Qingyun warned Nangong Aoyun and Chi Yu that the Tianli Sect faced threats from rival factions and the Mechanical Empire. The chapter left the sisters aware that the sect’s leaders were focused on the Yin Ruins and its possible secret beyond the Void Comprehension Realm.

• Crowds across the Divine Hall and Safe Zones placed bets on how long Fang Mo would take to clear the eighth level.
• Pang Angong ordered his fellow disciples to stop discussing Fang Mo, then left in anger when they resumed talking and headed for the wilderness to vent.
• Chi Yu told Venerable Qingyun that Nangong Aoyun was upset because betting pools rejected her prediction that Fang Mo would need at least half a year.
• Qingyun warned Nangong Aoyun and Chi Yu to focus on the Red Rock Continent war and explained that rival sword sects were waiting for the Tianli Sect to show weakness.
• Qingyun said the sect intended to destroy the Mechanical Empire and keep it from seizing the Ancient Realm, but its leaders were waiting for the Yin Ruins’ secret to be revealed.

Tao Shang, Xia Fanbai, and Zhan Tiancheng watched as Fang Mo’s prolonged silence on the eighth level ruined gamblers’ bets and weakened support for him. At the Ninth-level Divine Hall, Yan Chenghai questioned Fang Mo’s talent, but Elder Bikong told everyone to wait quietly.

• Tao Shang, Xia Fanbai, and Zhan Tiancheng discussed whether Fang Mo could clear the eighth level in twenty days and watched gamblers place large bets.
• When Fang Mo did not clear the level by twenty, thirty, forty, or sixty days, bettors lost their money and many cursed him.
• Pang Angong celebrated Fang Mo’s apparent failure and set out to tell Shi Yuanhao.
• Yan Chenghai argued that Fang Mo could not clear the eighth level, while Xiao Jingsheng defended him and challenged Yan Chenghai’s motives.
• Elder Bikong ended the argument and told the assembled people to wait quietly.

Fang Mo spent a hundred days strengthening himself in the eighth level of the Yin Ruins, wary of the dangers and mysteries he believed awaited on the ninth. After comprehending the ten-thousand-mile blade scar, he fused his blade techniques into Burning Heaven Absolute Ground and resolved to remain on the eighth level until his Taichu Condense Pill Chapter reached Peak Attainment.

• As the days passed without Fang Mo clearing the trial, observers assumed he had run out of strength, while he continued cultivating and hunting strange beasts in the eighth level.
• Fang Mo examined the Yin Ruins' erased records, fixed Teleportation Gates, and the Tianli Sect's knowledge of the ninth level, concluding that the sect was concealing information.
• After standing before a ten-thousand-mile blade scar for more than ten days, Fang Mo comprehended its blade momentum and unleashed a devastating flaming slash.
• The Bronze Mirror announced that Fang Mo had fused his blade skills into Burning Heaven Absolute Ground, a Profound Understanding-grade skill at Mastery.
• Fang Mo went to test his new blade skill on strange beasts and decided not to advance until his Taichu Condense Pill Chapter reached Peak Attainment.

As the war against the Mechanical Empire consumed the Tianli Sect, the long-awaited ninth level remained unopened and Fang Mo's allies lost their protection. Imperial Sky Peak moved to seize the people at Fang Mo's residence, but just as they began to fight, Ji Mingfeng and Senior Brother Zhai sensed something in the void.

• The Tianli Sect retook Golden Sun Continent and largely subdued Yunjing and Lingxi, while the Red Rock campaign became a costly war of attrition against the Mechanical Empire and the Thirteen Alliances.
• Tao Shang, Zhan Tiancheng, and Xia Fanbai returned wounded from the Red Rock Battlefield and saw that the ninth dragon on the Ascension Ranking still had not lit up.
• Xu Shou told the three that Imperial Sky Peak had come to take everyone from Fang Mo's residence after other peaks withdrew their protectors.
• Tao Shang and Xia Fanbai found Qing Feng injured and guarding the residence against Pang Angong and Imperial Sky Peak's disciples, while Gu Liangyunzong and the others prepared to fight back.
• Ji Mingfeng said the reason to support Fang Mo's people was gone, but then he and Senior Brother Zhai looked up in shock and delight at something in the void.

Venerable Qingyun defied Venerable Gu Yu to protect Fang Mo’s group, while Imperial Sky Peak’s forces attacked them at Villa No. 133. Chi Yu and Nangong Aoyun arrived in time to stop Pang Angong from taking the survivors away.

• Venerable Gu Yu questioned Venerable Qingyun’s resolve to protect Fang Mo, and she insisted he should show mercy because Fang Mo was Junior Brother Ling’s only disciple.
• Venerable Qingyun confronted Venerable Gu Yu as Chi Yu and Nangong Aoyun rushed to Villa No. 133 to protect the people there.
• Gu Liangyunzong and the others fought Imperial Sky Peak’s Heavenly Human Realm experts, but most of them were quickly wounded and defeated.
• Pang Angong struck Gu Liangyunzong from behind and sent Tao Shang and Xia Fanbai staggering back when they tried to intervene.
• Chi Yu and Nangong Aoyun arrived and ordered Pang Angong to leave, holding him back with their power and sword intent.

As Imperial Sky Peak moved to seize Fang Mo and his allies, Ji Mingfeng intervened under the Divine Hall’s rules, betting that the Secret Realm still favored Fang Mo. The ninth level of the Ascension Ranking opened, confirming Fang Mo had cleared the trial, and Ji Mingfeng hurried back to guard him from those who might now try to claim him.

• Shi Yuanhao arrived with Xu Ying and other powerful cultivators, demanding that Chi Yu and Nangong Aoyun surrender Fang Mo’s people.
• Ji Mingfeng activated the Divine Hall barrier to stop Imperial Sky Peak from attacking, while Venerable Qingyun confronted Gu Yu.
• The ninth dragon pattern on the Ascension Ranking lit up, announcing that the ninth level had opened.
• Gu Yu and Qingyun left the Divine Hall, and Yan Chenghai and others reacted in shock to Fang Mo’s apparent success.
• Senior Brother Zhai told Ji Mingfeng he had bet correctly, then warned that someone might try to take Fang Mo, prompting Ji Mingfeng to rush back.

After absorbing the Nightmare Beast of the Desolate Soul, Fang Mo entered the ninth layer and found a shattered battlefield filled with the remains of powerful beings. Following a mysterious pull, he reached nine colossal pillars surrounding enormous ruins, where he saw something that shocked him.

• The Bronze Mirror destroyed the Nightmare Beast of the Desolate Soul, and the Blood Dragon consumed its essence blood and battle soul, strengthening Fang Mo.
• Fang Mo reviewed his cultivation progress, judged himself ready to face even a Form Transformation Level beast, and entered the ninth layer.
• Fang Mo arrived in a ruined battlefield with blood-red skies, shattered land, and the bones of beings stronger than Form Transformation Level.
• Fang Mo found the void passage back had vanished and traveled deeper into the battlefield, enduring increasing pressure.
• Fang Mo reached nine enormous dark cyan heavenly pillars and spotted vast ruins at their center.

Fang Mo discovered the Divine Corpse of Yao Huang guarding the Nine Heavens Divine Pillars and learned that the pillars sealed the destructive Void Darkness. Yao Huang recognized the Bronze Mirror’s aura and urged Fang Mo to inherit his legacy and reinforce the weakening seal, leaving Fang Mo to ask what he should do.

• Fang Mo found a giant corpse seated above a golden sealing formation, with a black Demonic Beast pinned beneath it.
• The Divine Corpse opened its golden eyes and overwhelmed Fang Mo with divine pressure, but he resisted with his battle marks and cultivation.
• Yao Huang identified himself as the realm’s guardian and revealed that he and Void Darkness had perished together in the battle that sealed the demonic source.
• Yao Huang sensed an extraordinary treasure within Fang Mo and said it could reinforce or purify the weakening seal.
• Fang Mo weighed accepting the inheritance against confronting the danger, then asked Yao Huang what he should do.

Fang Mo received the Ancient Desolate Tribe’s inheritance as Yao Huang used the Nine Heavenly Pillars to grant him two new battle souls and reveal the path to the Primordial Ancestral Dragon Art. The abyss then stirred, and a terrifying consciousness approached as Fang Mo remained unable to move.

• The Nine Heavenly Pillars lit up with images of the Ancient Desolate Tribe, and a streak of blood qi immobilized Fang Mo and poured into him.
• Fang Mo gained the Desolate Time Void Beast as a battle soul, and a voice told him he needed nine beasts to reach the supreme stage and ten to reach the divine stage before cultivating the Primordial Ancestral Dragon Art.
• Yao Huang used his blood-red blade to destroy the bizarre monster and send its energy into Fang Mo, who gained the Desolate Dark Demonic Dragon as his tenth battle soul.
• Yao Huang revealed that the tribe’s inheritance was sealed in its bloodline and said he had only a thousand years left; Fang Mo promised to come to him in the Ancestral Dragon Realm.
• Black energy surged from the abyss beneath the Divine Seat, and an icy consciousness drew near, leaving Fang Mo frozen with terror.

Fang Mo witnessed the Nine Heavenly Pillars refine dark energy into Primal Spirit Fragments and suppress a fresh eruption from the abyss, but many fragments escaped and a pair of eyes watched him from the depths. As the exhausted Divine Corpse’s confrontation ended, its blood-red saber entered Fang Mo’s Dantian and the corpse whispered to him.

• A deep voice and the Nine Heavenly Pillars rescued Fang Mo from the soul-corroding Void Darkness, then blood-red lightning refined the dark energy into Primal Spirit Fragments.
• Fang Mo watched the Ancient Desolate Tribe’s forces battle the abyssal monsters and suspected their power was fading after enduring the struggle for a million years.
• A terrifying force surged from the abyss, scattering the Primal Spirit Fragments; the Divine Corpse trapped many in its formation, but roughly a third escaped.
• Fang Mo sensed that the escaped fragments carried an evil, chaotic aura that might create a new Fog Tide, then saw cold eyes staring at him from the abyss before they withdrew.
• After the Nine Heavenly Pillars dimmed and the Divine Corpse appeared close to exhaustion, its blood-red saber flew into Fang Mo’s Dantian and the corpse whispered to him.

Powerful figures gathered as the ninth level of the Yin Ruins drew attention across the Tianli Sword Domain, while Gu Yu and Mo Xinghe worried that Fang Mo might survive and threaten Imperial Sky Peak. The chapter ended as a terrifying wave of energy erupted from the Yin Ruins.

• Ji Mingfeng realized that Venerable Qingyun had taken Fang Mo's clansmen to her dojo, and he worried about explaining their disappearance to Fang Mo.
• True Monarch Qingshui returned with Spirit Roaming Realm experts, and Gu Yu recognized how far he still was from the Secret Realm's most powerful figures.
• Mo Xinghe returned from the front lines and learned that Fang Mo had cleared the trial, renewing his hatred of him.
• Gu Yu and Mo Xinghe discussed preparing for the possibility that Fang Mo survived and became too powerful to suppress, then left to speak privately.
• A terrifying wave of energy burst from the Yin Ruins, shaking heaven and earth and stopping Gu Yu and Mo Xinghe in their tracks.

True Monarch Qingshui and the other experts debated whether opening Yinxu’s ninth level would reveal its secrets, but a violent upheaval erupted inside the ruins. As scarlet lightning and spiritual mist spread across the world, countless stars escaped Yinxu, leaving the experts fearing that a catastrophe was beginning.

• True Monarch Purple Zenith and True Monarch Red Leaf pressed True Monarch Qingshui for what the Tianli Sect knew about Yinxu, but he said their knowledge was limited.
• The experts noticed Yinxu trembling as scarlet lightning flashed through its black clouds and a terrifying aura spread across the world.
• True Monarch Qingshui connected the upheaval to the ninth level’s opening, while the gathered experts and spectators watched Yinxu anxiously.
• A second wave of energy darkened the sky, and scarlet lightning surged through Yinxu with enough power to alarm even the Void Comprehension Experts.
• Pale gray spiritual mist spread across a million li as countless stars burst out of Yinxu, with scarlet lightning destroying many while the rest scattered across the world.