Chapter Summaries

Arannis and Jie Ning met the Elf Kaixi and her grandfather Anmu, then learned that the Elf Race hoped to save the last Seed of its dead Sacred Tree. Anmu asked Jie Ning to deliver it to the God of Life, leaving the fate of the Seed in his hands.

• Kaixi tried to drive Arannis and Jie Ning from the forest, but Arannis revealed her Saint Realm strength, prompting Anmu to rush to protect his granddaughter.
• Arannis withdrew her Momentum, and the group settled around a table, where Kaixi and Arannis soon became friendly while Jie Ning discussed the continent with Anmu.
• Kaixi asked whether Arannis and Jie Ning could help her meet the God of Life, then knelt and pleaded for an introduction.
• Kaixi revealed the Sacred Tree’s last Seed, and Anmu explained that it had failed to sprout since the tree withered and died.
• Anmu handed the Seed to Jie Ning and asked him to deliver it to the God of Life, offering any price for the Elf Race’s salvation.

Jie Ning used his Life God Power to revive the Elves’ Sacred Tree Seed, leading Anmu to recognize him as the God of Life. Anmu explained the Seed’s origins and the sacrifices the Elves had made to keep their Sacred Tree alive, while Jie Ning began assessing whether he could help it sprout.

• Jie Ning infused the Sacred Tree Seed with his Life God Power, and the Seed began to show signs of vitality.
• Anmu recognized Jie Ning as the God of Life, and Kaixi and the other Elves knelt before him.
• Anmu explained that the Sacred Tree was the companion divine tree of the Elf Progenitor, whose death had left it gravely injured and caused each later generation of the tree to wither into a Seed.
• Anmu told Jie Ning that the Sacred Tree’s blessing awakened Elves’ Wind Attribute Talent and that the current Seed had been unable to sprout for three hundred years.
• Anmu revealed that Elves’ souls could help the Seed grow, and that the tribe had resorted to deaths and self-sacrifice to supply it with enough energy for a ritual.
• Anmu said Kaixi had stolen the Seed in hopes of getting Jie Ning’s help.

Jie Ning visited the Elves’ settlement and learned that their race was near collapse after losing their Progenitor and Sacred Tree. He agreed to restore the Sacred Tree by the slower method, bringing it to the Life Duke’s Territory, while Arannis gained enlightenment in the valley and then left with him.

• Anmu told Jie Ning that only five Saint Realm experts remained among the Elves and that their Sacred Tree’s decline had left the younger generation without its blessing.
• Jie Ning flew with the Elves to their settlement, met Elder Biss and the other Saint Realm experts, and asked to see where the original Sacred Tree had grown.
• Arannis chased the valley’s Wind Elements and entered a state of enlightenment, so Jie Ning’s Divine Avatar moved the Elves outside while his Sanctuary Main Body guarded her.
• Jie Ning offered two ways to revive the Sacred Tree, and Biss chose the longer recovery method, which would keep the tree in Jie Ning’s City of Life for at least sixty to a hundred years.
• Jie Ning welcomed the Elves to settle in the Life Duke’s Territory, and Arannis finished her enlightenment and told him it was time to go home.

Jie Ning repaired the Tree of Light’s connection between its soul and body and discovered a way to nourish souls through life’s growth and death. His experiments led to an insight into the Death Rule, and the chapter ended with him ascending to godhood again by forming a Death Rule Divine Avatar.

• Jie Ning used Life God Power to reconnect the Tree of Light’s soul and body, allowing its soul to recover.
• Over ten years, the Tree of Light grew in the Hall of Life’s garden while Jie Ning studied its recovery and the Elf Race relocated to the Life Duke’s Territory.
• Jie Ning discovered that life’s growth could nourish souls and tested the method on grass, naming it the Spirit Nourishing Technique.
• Jie Ning found that dying bodies gave their souls a final burst of nourishment and sensed the souls being summoned toward another world.
• Jie Ning entered a three-year realization, then formed a new Divine Avatar of the Death Rule while Arannis guarded him.

After more than ten years cultivating in a forest, Jie Ning strengthened his soul and advanced his understanding of the Life Law, though his Life God Avatar still lacked an insight to become a Middle-God. He and Arannis returned to the City of Life for the Gods' Festival, where they learned Kaixi had become a Saint and Jie Ning checked on the recovering Tree of Light before a letter arrived from Duke Darut's Territory.

• Jie Ning used the seeds, soul power, and Life God Power to cultivate a forest where he and Arannis studied the laws and strengthened their souls for more than ten years.
• Jie Ning observed undead in the Undead Realm and learned that Saint Realm undead could reduce soul depletion by comprehending the Death Rule.
• Jie Ning and Arannis reached limits in their cultivation and left the forest to travel before returning to the City of Life on the day of the Gods' Festival.
• Arannis congratulated Kaixi after discovering that she had become a Saint Realm expert.
• Jie Ning inspected the Tree of Light and estimated that it would awaken in about ten years, then received a letter from Duke Darut's Territory.

Jie Ning and Arannis visited Gru to learn why Korur and Dinar planned to leave for the Supreme Plane and hand over their empires. After hearing the history behind their decision, Jie Ning declined both empires and offered them to Gru.

• Jie Ning and Arannis went to the Temple of the Fire God, where Gru explained that Korur and Dinar wanted to pursue greater strength in the Supreme Plane.
• Gru revealed that Korur and Dinar had become gods before age one hundred, ended the continent's city-state wars, and had reached a bottleneck in their cultivation.
• Gru recounted how the two Highnesses obtained Divine Sparks, including one given to Dinar by the sleeping Divine Beast Dikas, and learned that refining a Divine Spark left no room for further improvement.
• Gru explained that Korur and Dinar wanted Jie Ning and Gru to rule the two empires separately so the continent would remain peaceful and each ruler could retain Faith Power.
• Gru said Duke Darut had concealed his identity and gone traveling after deciding he did not need a Divine Spark, then asked Jie Ning which empire he wanted.
• Jie Ning calmly told Gru that he wanted neither empire and that Gru could have both.

Jie Ning refused Gru’s offer of Faith Power and agreed to help the two Highnesses with his Spirit Nourishing Technique. In Corul City, he met Korur and proposed merging the two empires under the God of Fire’s faith, then offered to share his Secret Art.

• Jie Ning showed Gru that his soul was stronger than Gru’s and explained that he had already solved his soul problem, so he did not need Faith Power.
• Gru asked Jie Ning to use his Spirit Nourishing Technique to help the two Highnesses, and Jie Ning agreed.
• Jie Ning, Gru, and Arannis flew to Corul City and met Korur, who welcomed them into his home.
• Jie Ning told Korur that he and Gru believed the two empires should merge and that the new empire could worship only the God of Fire.
• Jie Ning explained his soul-strengthening method to Korur and offered to share his Secret Art as thanks for Korur’s good deeds.

Jie Ning offered Korur a chance to use his Spirit Nourishing Technique, then reunited with his family and learned how Chris had gained strength while evading Melinda. Later, Jie Ning discovered that a Seed’s Life Force transformed into Soul Power as it matured, leaving him eager to investigate how new souls were created.

• Jie Ning explained his Spirit Nourishing Technique to Korur, who hesitated but agreed to tell Dinar about the offer.
• Jie Ning exchanged cultivation insights with Gru and Korur, then returned to Life Duke's Territory and sent his Divine Avatars into seclusion.
• At a family banquet, Jie Ning questioned Chris's Saint Realm breakthrough, and Haba teased their father before Melinda scolded them both about cultivation and marriage.
• Dale told Jie Ning that Chris had secretly avoided Melinda for years and had comprehended a Dark Element escape mystery while fleeing her supervision.
• Jie Ning examined Seeds in ripening fruit and discovered that their Life Force transformed into Soul Power as they matured.

Jie Ning helped Korur and Dinar begin strengthening their souls by growing modified Seeds infused with their Soul Power. Dinar chose to serve Jie Ning for five hundred years, while Korur swore to perform three tasks for him if they met again, and the work continued as Jie Ning cultivated.

• Jie Ning led Korur and Dinar to an empty plain and showed them how to inject Soul Power into the modified Seeds.
• Jie Ning planted their Seeds and used divine power to grow them, making the souls connected to their Soul Power slightly stronger.
• Dinar decided to postpone his journey to the Supreme Plane and offered to obey Jie Ning for five hundred years.
• Korur chose to travel to the Supreme Plane and swore to perform any three tasks for Jie Ning Darut if they met again.
• Jie Ning stayed nearby to tend the growing plants while his main body returned to the cultivation chamber, and the plain gradually became a forest.

Jie Ning completed the Earth-walking Technique Mystery, became a Middle-God through the Earth Law, and began considering a journey to Hell. After Arannis encouraged him to face the decision, he agreed to go and to have a child with her.

• Jie Ning merged with Earth Elements, completed the Earth-walking Technique Mystery, and fused it with the Earth Element Mystery.
• Jie Ning's Earth God Avatar became a Middle-God, surprising Arannis, Korur, and Dinar.
• Korur invited Jie Ning's Earth God Avatar to travel with him to Hell, and Jie Ning said he needed time to decide and strengthen the avatar's soul.
• Jie Ning told Arannis he wanted to send his Earth God Avatar to Hell, then realized he had no reason to hesitate.
• Arannis asked Jie Ning to have a child, and he agreed.

After decades of cultivation, Jie Ning traveled to Hell with Korur and Dinar, where they encountered the Blade Army and its leader, Beile. Jie Ning joined the force to learn about Hell and protect his companions, then left with the newcomers under Beile’s control.

• Korur and Dinar agreed to travel to Hell with Jie Ning, while their empires merged into the Gru Empire and named Lord Gru their guardian deity.
• Jie Ning, Korur, and Dinar used a Teleportation Array to reach Hell and met Beile, a High-God who invited them to join the Blade Army.
• Jie Ning accepted Beile’s offer and arranged for Korur and Dinar to become reserve members; he also formed a tentative alliance with Mosang.
• Beile declared that most newcomers were slaves and reserve members of the Blade Army, while explaining that the Teleportation Arrays were fiercely contested by major forces.
• Beile transported the group away, and Jie Ning saw the corpses of newcomers who had left the array area.

Jie Ning and the Blade Army traveled through Hell, sharing stories as they neared their destination. Their journey ended in an ambush by a force led by two High-Gods, and Beile confronted the apparent leader, Qiukadi.

• Kami told Jie Ning and Mosang how he escaped slavery, came to Hell as a Saint, and was summoned by the Army Lord after witnessing an Overgod.
• Jie Ning explained that his Material Plane had been peaceful and that the Overgod had descended there long before he was born.
• Kami estimated that the group still had half a month of travel remaining and warned them that bandits could attack at any time.
• A powerful attack erupted from the mountain range, and Beile countered it before arranging the Blade Army into a defensive formation around the Low-Gods.
• More than twenty enemies, including two High-Gods, flew out from the mountains, and Beile challenged Qiukadi over the attack.

The Blade Army and Black Dragon Fortress clashed after Qiukadi’s group tried to rob them, while Beile engaged the two enemy upper gods. Jie Ning faced Delta, an Earth-element god whose powerful body and force-based attacks threatened his doppelgangers, but Jie Ning’s techniques let a destroyed doppelganger reappear.

• Qiukadi admitted that Black Dragon Fortress had attacked for profit and welcomed the prospect of war, while Kami explained the fortress’s strength and warned that Qiukadi was a battle-obsessed lunatic.
• Kami coordinated the Blade Army’s abilities, and Kala arranged for the group to test their opponents before choosing individual matchups.
• Beile attacked Qiukadi and Mubale, drawing the two upper gods away as the remaining fighters began battling.
• Kala engaged a Lightning-element god, Mosang trapped a Dark-element opponent, and Jie Ning confronted Delta, an Earth-element god.
• Delta shattered one of Jie Ning’s doppelgangers with a forceful punch, but the doppelganger reappeared, surprising him.

Jie Ning defeated Delta by using Earth Seeds to study and drain his power, then helped the Blade Army finish the remaining battles against Black Dragon Fortress. The survivors collected their spoils, and Beile returned after killing Qiukadi while Mubale escaped.

• Jie Ning used his avatars to keep Delta occupied while Earth Seeds secretly took root on Delta and helped Jie Ning study the Mystery of Strength.
• Delta unleashed his Berserk Battle Body, but Jie Ning strengthened his remaining avatars and drained Delta's divine power with the Earth Seeds, killing his Divine Avatar.
• Kala killed her opponent, and Jie Ning helped Mosang defeat his by binding him with earth divine power so Mosang could land a Soul Attack.
• The Black Dragon Fortress fighters fled after Beile returned victorious, and Kala explained that a Sanctuary Main Body could refine a matching Divine Spark after its Divine Avatar died.
• Mosang gave Jie Ning the defeated opponent's Divine Spark, while Jie Ning accepted it after learning how Divine Avatars and Sanctuary Main Bodies preserved combat strength.
• Beile told the group he had killed Qiukadi while fighting two opponents, though Mubale had escaped, and Jie Ning recognized how much Beile enjoyed being praised.

Jie Ning and the others reached Blade City, where Beile registered Jie Ning, Mosang, and Korur as members of the Blade Army. The chapter ended with Beile leading them to their new lodgings after they received their badges and learned how Blade Points and Ink Stones worked.

• Korur broke through to Middle-God and became eligible to join the Blade Army, while Jie Ning and Korur each chose new Reserve Army members.
• Brother Beile led Jie Ning, Mosang, and Korur to Blade City and brought them to Blade Castle to register.
• Beile told Befona that the Blade Army had defeated an attack by Black Dragon Fortress, killing Qiukadi while Mubale escaped; the news excited the people in the hall.
• Befona registered Jie Ning, Mosang, and Korur, awarded Jie Ning and Mosang ten Blade Points each, and explained the Army's badges, currency, and membership rules.
• Jie Ning gave subsidiary badges to Dinar and another Reserve Army member, and Beile led the newly registered members away to find their lodgings.

Jie Ning and his companions chose homes in Blade City, and Jie Ning read the Blade Army Handbook to learn about the army’s ranks, duties, and privileges. He settled in, planning to use Blade City as his starting point for understanding Hell.

• Beile showed Jie Ning, Mosang, and Korur the southwestern residential district and explained how to choose or build homes.
• Kala advised the group about traces left by former owners, and Korur chose a vacant house that had belonged to a Lightning-element Mid-level God.
• Jie Ning moved into a house with no traces of its previous owner and received useful gifts from Blade Army acquaintances.
• Korur arranged for Dinar to stay in his house, and Jie Ning agreed.
• Jie Ning read the Blade Army Handbook and learned about its ranks, mission requirements, Blade Points, and authority in the city.

Jie Ning learned that Overgod's Envoys wielded formidable sets of Sovereign Artifacts, then spent decades cultivating in Blade City. When Kala revealed that the Blade Army was rapidly expanding and preparing for an unknown threat, Jie Ning joined his friends in planning to take missions and strengthen themselves.

• Jie Ning bought books about Hell and cultivation, explored Blade City's shops, and purchased a Gravity Bead while surveying the outer district.
• After more than thirty years of cultivation, Jie Ning learned that Dinar had become a Middle-God.
• Mosang and Korur told Jie Ning that Blade Castle would sell Combat Projections, including rumored recordings of Seven-star Demon battles, and that Blade Army members were rushing to earn Points.
• Kala revealed that the Blade Army would massively expand by lowering its recruitment threshold to Middle-Gods and would offer Combat Projections and High-level Divine Artifacts to attract recruits.
• Kala said upcoming missions would target bandit forces near Blade City, and Jie Ning agreed to join him, Mosang, Korur, and Dinar in taking missions.
• Jie Ning helped Dinar register with the Castle, but Dinar could no longer choose a personal Reserve Army subordinate.

Jie Ning’s Life God Avatar discovered how gathered elements could gain spirituality and used the Tree of Light to recreate an Elf Divine Beast, while also reaching mid-level godhood. In Blade City, the insight helped Jie Ning complete the Mystery of the Power of Life and transform his soul, which might eventually form a Soul Divine Artifact.

• Jie Ning’s Life God Avatar planted a prepared Tree of Light cutting, and the surrounding offspring trees helped gather Wind Elements above the Mother Tree’s crown.
• After years of tending the Wind Element Cluster, Jie Ning watched it gain spirituality and realized that the laws of Heaven and Earth could give energy a soul.
• Jie Ning’s Life God Avatar flew away to keep Heavenly Law’s fluctuations from disturbing the new Elf’s gestation, then reached mid-level godhood and learned to convert divine power into Soul Power.
• In Blade City, Jie Ning used the insight from his Life God Avatar to merge with Earth Elements and felt the earth nurture and protect his soul.
• Jie Ning completed the Mystery of the Power of Life and formed a vitality-filled garment around his soul that might one day become a Soul Divine Artifact.

Jie Ning, Kala, and their companions took missions to eliminate bandits, earning Points and large sums of Ink Stones over more than ten years. Kala explained that the Blade Army had cleared powerful bandit factions from its territory, leaving the group with few nearby targets for future missions.

• Kala arranged for Kachishan to select missions for the group in exchange for five Points, then led them to ambush a bandit gang with four Middle-Gods and a dozen Low-Gods.
• Jie Ning blocked the bandits’ opening attack and spotted a hidden Middle-God, allowing Korur and Dinar to ambush him while the group fought the others.
• Jie Ning and Kala quickly defeated their opponents, and Korur helped Mosang kill Eagle-Nose Man as Dinar and the Reserve Army subdued the Low-Gods.
• The group divided the bandits’ spoils, including more than three million Ink Stones, and went on to complete four more missions before returning to Blade City.
• After more than ten years of repeated missions, Kala revealed that the Blade Army had driven High-God-backed factions from its territory, while nearby bandit groups had largely been wiped out.

Kala revealed that the Blade Army’s coming expansion might be tied to a Fire Element Sovereign, and Jie Ning foresaw the spread of faith leading to conflict. Jie Ning worried that the Bana Continent could become a battleground and ended the chapter with a new understanding of Fate.

• Kala told Jie Ning, Korur, Mosang, and Dinar that the Blade Army planned to recruit everyone who came and showed them a fire magic grimoire from the Army Lord.
• Kala explained that the grimoire’s spells matched those given to him by a Sovereign, and he suspected the Army Lord had become an Overgod's Envoy and was preparing the Blade Army to spread faith.
• Jie Ning concluded that Sovereigns might imitate the Blade Army’s expansion, causing a War of Faith, but focused on surviving the immediate danger.
• Jie Ning’s true self worried that the Bana Continent might be selected for spreading the Fire Element Sovereign’s faith and that this could provoke the Four Divine Beasts.
• Jie Ning imagined the Bana Continent becoming the eye of a conflict between Sovereigns, then stopped himself and sensed a new understanding of Fate.