Chapter Summaries

Zhao Chen learned the deeper doctrine of Ruthless Hall and saw its Taiqing Holy Maiden arrive at the Chaotic Ancient World Treasure Gathering. Lin Supervisor then introduced him to Duan Yusheng, the Adventurers' Guild genius, who sized up Zhao Chen and began a conversation with him.

• Zhao Chen reflected on Ruthless Hall's doctrine of cultivating affection before killing one's beloved to transform into an even more ruthless Dao.
• Long Yiting recognized the Taiqing Holy Maiden of Ruthless Hall among the veiled women who entered the gathering, and Zhao Chen observed her from his VIP room.
• Lin Supervisor arrived with Duan Yusheng and brought him into Zhao Chen's VIP room to meet and assess Zhao Chen.
• Zhao Chen judged Duan Yusheng to be a formidable Peak of Third Sequence Realm cultivator whose World Origin Force was merging into Unique World Force.
• Duan Yusheng remarked that Zhao Chen was too young to be a genius from the Chaotic Ancient World and focused his attention on him.

Zhao Chen met Duan Yusheng at the Chaotic Ancient World Treasure Gathering, where Duan offered him a Dark Demonic Lion Tiger Dominator Source Beast Core as an apology and asked for his help. Duan also revealed a crystal of Great World Source Power from the fallen Light World, leaving Zhao Chen to consider a request whose details remained undisclosed.

• Zhao Chen told Duan Yusheng he had come to the gathering to meet exceptional talents and was interested in Dominator Source Beast Cores.
• Duan Yusheng offered Zhao Chen the Dark Demonic Lion Tiger Dominator Source Beast Core as an apology for the trouble Zhao had faced in Chaotic Ancient City.
• Zhao Chen accepted the offer in principle but guessed Duan Yusheng wanted something from him.
• Duan Yusheng said he wanted Zhao Chen's help with one of the Ten Netherworld Ghost Abyss Fiends and offered additional Great World Source Power in return.
• Duan Yusheng revealed that the golden crystal held lingering world will from the Light World, a once-great world obliterated in a Forbidden Zone.

Zhao Chen learned that Duan Yusheng wanted his help obtaining the Demon Xiao Art, an inheritance left by the Primordial Demon Lord, and Duan offered him the Dark Demonic Lion Tiger Dominator Source Beast Core and Light World Source as compensation. Dongfang Jian began explaining the Primordial Demon Lord’s fearsome history, leaving Zhao Chen with more to learn about the inheritance and its dangers.

• Zhao Chen examined the Dark Demonic Lion Tiger Dominator Source Beast Core and Light World Source, then asked Duan Yusheng what help he wanted in exchange for them.
• Duan Yusheng revealed that he wanted the third of the Ten Netherworld Ghost Abyss Fiends, the Demon Xiao Art, and explained that it was an inheritance on a broken flute section protected by Forbidden Curse Power.
• Duan Yusheng said his father had been injured trying to remove the curse, so he needed Zhao Chen’s help to obtain the inheritance at the Chaotic Ancient World Treasure Gathering.
• Dongfang Jian recognized the Primordial Demon Lord’s name and explained that he had been a Peak of First Sequence Dominator, whose flute could destroy countless worlds.

Zhao Chen examined Duan Yusheng’s ancient sealing array and recognized it as an incomplete portion of a powerful formation. Duan Yusheng revealed its full name and its connection to the Primordial Demon Lord’s ambition to raise the Primordial Demon Soil into the Nine God Realm Sea.

• Dongfang Jian realized that the Demon Xiao Art was the Primordial Demon Lord’s youthful cultivation art, and Duan Yusheng explained how difficult it was to reach the Primordial Demon Soil.
• Zhao Chen inferred that Duan Yusheng wanted his help sealing the Forbidden Curse Power associated with a broken xiao, and Duan Yusheng produced an ancient array diagram.
• Zhao Chen identified the diagram as an incomplete sealing and suppression array and used the Asura God’s soul force to imprint its full details into his mind.
• Duan Yusheng confirmed that the formation was the incomplete Ancient Eight Trigrams Heaven Suppression God Sealing Array.
• Duan Yusheng said the Primordial Demon Lord had created the array to ascend with the Primordial Demon Soil and make it the Tenth God Realm Throughout History.

Zhao Chen learned from Duan Yusheng about the Primordial Demon Lord’s failed attempt to transform the Primordial Demon Soil into a Tenth God Realm and the paths dominators could take to reach the Nine Great God Realms. He concluded that the Black Fire Sect had entered the Beast God Realm through recruitment by a native faction.

• Zhao Chen considered how the Primordial Demon Lord had tried to evolve the Primordial Demon Soil into a peak second-tier realm and become a God Realm supreme powerhouse.
• Zhao Chen asked Duan Yusheng whether he knew about the Beast God Realm, and Duan Yusheng explained how ordinary second-tier realms compared with the Nine Great God Realms.
• Duan Yusheng described the ways a dominator could try to enter a God Realm: transform a realm through Heaven Suppression and God Sealing, ascend through a passage and survive the trials, or be recruited by a God Realm faction.
• Zhao Chen realized that the Black Fire Sect had likely been brought into the Beast God Realm by one of its native factions, since the Black Exalted Envoy was not an ascended dominator.

Zhao Chen learned how people from the Nine Great God Realms reached the lower realms and encouraged Duan Yusheng to pursue his ambitions despite the dangers of ascending. After a sign-in mission revealed the name of the Small Eight Trigrams Heaven Suppression Array, Zhao Chen agreed to use it to suppress the curse on Duan Yusheng’s broken flute fragment.

• Duan Yusheng explained that forces founded by former ascenders could connect the Nine Great God Realms to lower realms, while people from the lower realms struggled to enter the God Realms.
• Duan Yusheng grew pessimistic about how difficult it would be to advance after ascending, but Zhao Chen argued that the challenge did not make further progress impossible.
• Duan Yusheng regained his resolve and vowed to reach the first sequence, ascend to the God Realm, and establish a great sect.
• Zhao Chen received a sign-in mission to deploy the Small Eight Trigrams Heaven Suppression Array and agreed to help suppress the Forbidden Curse Power on Duan Yusheng’s flute fragment.
• Duan Yusheng accepted responsibility for finding the array’s required materials and entrusted its incomplete diagram to Zhao Chen.

Zhao Chen received the Small Eight Trigrams Heaven Suppression Array blueprint and two powerful sources from Duan Yusheng, then prepared to refine them before the Chaotic Ancient World Treasure Gathering. He left Dongfang Jian to watch the auction and guard the VIP room as he entered seclusion.

• Duan Yusheng gave Zhao Chen the Small Eight Trigrams Heaven Suppression Array blueprint, the Dark Demonic Lion Tiger Dominator Source Beast Core, and the Light World Source power.
• Zhao Chen assessed his cultivation and combat strength, believing the two new powers could bring a major transformation.
• After Duan Yusheng left to prepare for the Primordial Demon Lord's inheritance, Zhao Chen sealed the VIP room with a rune array.
• Dongfang Jian warned Zhao Chen that the Forbidden Curse Power could be dangerous, and Zhao Chen assured him that anyone scheming against him would fail.
• Zhao Chen gave Dongfang Jian a Cosmos Ring and instructed him to watch the auction and alert him if trouble arose before entering seclusion.

Zhao Chen began refining the Dark Demonic Lion Tiger’s Darkness World Source Power and the Light World’s Light World Source Power to complete his Yin Yang Path. After stripping the Light World’s residual world will from its source power and feeding it to the Great Thousand Holy Tree, he discovered that the Holy Spirit Realm had completely taken shape.

• Zhao Chen gave Dongfang Jian an Array Source Treasure as a defensive trump card and warned the others not to force themselves if trouble arose.
• Zhao Chen entered the Cultivation Room and began refining the Darkness World Source Power and Light World Source Power with the Innate Yin Yang Sutra.
• Zhao Chen used his soul power and White Tiger Divine Seal to crush the Dark Demonic Lion Tiger’s resistance and purify its Darkness World Source Power.
• Zhao Chen reflected on the destruction of the Light World and the vast gap between the Great Thousand World and the strongest realms in the Great Cosmos Star Sea.
• Zhao Chen used Holy Spirit Realm Power to strip the Light World’s residual world will from its source power, then placed the golden crystal in the Nirvana Bitter Sea for the Great Thousand Holy Tree.
• The Great Thousand Holy Tree absorbed the golden crystal, and Zhao Chen sensed that the Holy Spirit Realm had completely taken shape.

Zhao Chen completed the Holy Spirit Realm, created Phoenix Spirit Immortal, and tasked her and Sword Spirit Immortal with ruling the realm and cultivating its spirit clans. After the two set out to compete for the Holy Spirit Sword, Zhao Chen wondered whether the Light World might be reborn within the Great Thousand Holy Tree.

• Sword Spirit Immortal asked Zhao Chen whether she could reach the Dominator Realm in the Holy Spirit Realm, and he explained that mastering the Holy Spirit Sword would allow it.
• Zhao Chen created a True Phoenix with the Great Spirit Myriad Transformations Divine Art and named her Phoenix Spirit Immortal.
• Zhao Chen instructed Phoenix Spirit Immortal and Sword Spirit Immortal to wield the Holy Spirit Sword, create their spirit races, and help the Holy Spirit Realm flourish.
• Sword Spirit Immortal and Phoenix Spirit Immortal pledged to develop the realm, then flew toward the Holy Spirit Sword to compete for the Dominator Realm.
• Back in the VIP private box, Zhao Chen wondered whether the Light World could be reborn atop the Great Thousand Holy Tree.

Zhao Chen broke through to the Third Sequence Upper-Rank Dominator Realm after refining Dark Realm Power and Light Realm Power. He left cultivation when Long Yiting reported that Dongfang Jian and the others had been trapped, and suspected the Ren Family, the Rune Array Master Guild, and the Chaotic Ancient City Lord's Mansion were behind it.

• Zhao Chen refined Dark Realm Power and Light Realm Power, then used the Chaos Star Stone to advance to the Third Sequence Upper-Rank Dominator Realm.
• Long Yiting anxiously sought Zhao Chen and apologized for interrupting his cultivation before explaining that Dongfang Jian and the others were trapped.
• Long Yiting said the Ren Family and the Rune Array Master Guild had barged into the VIP room and lured Dongfang Jian, Lan Xiaoyan, and the others into the Treasure Gathering Pavilion's underground arena.
• Zhao Chen realized the group had been taken hostage to force him to hand over Ren Qitao and Tu Ren Gu.
• Zhao Chen suspected the Chaotic Ancient City Lord's Mansion was also involved, shocking Long Yiting.

At the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, Zhen Wudi, Ren Qiming, and Eagle One discussed the adventurer team trapped in the arena and the suspected theft of the Two-Winged Frost Demon Dragon’s core. Eagle One revealed that Ren Qitao and Mister Gu might have been killed, and Ren Qiming swore revenge on whoever had killed his elder brother.

• Zhen Wudi told Ren Qiming that the trapped team’s rune array was difficult to break, while Ren Qiming asked whether the escaped girl had been found.
• Eagle One explained that the Demon Eagle Organization had joined the attack because the Eagle King Young Master suspected the team had stolen the Two-Winged Frost Demon Dragon.
• Ren Qiming and Zhen Wudi doubted that Dongfang Jian’s team could have stolen the dragon’s core, but Eagle One argued that another person from the VIP box was likely involved.
• Eagle One challenged Zhen Wudi and Ren Qiming’s belief that Ren Qitao and Mister Gu had only been kidnapped, suggesting that both might have been killed.
• Ren Qiming reacted with excitement at the possibility that Ren Qitao was dead, then declared that he would become the mortal enemy of whoever killed his elder brother.

Zhao Chen confronted Ren Qiming, Zhen Wudi, and Eagle One, revealing that he had suppressed the Ren Family’s forces and killed Ren Qitao and Tu Ren Gu. He demanded that they release their captives, warning that blood would soon flow if they refused.

• Ren Qiming ordered his men to capture Long Yiting, but Zhao Chen stepped in front of her and sealed the charging Ren Family members inside a silver-purple Space Card.
• Eagle One recognized Zhao Chen as the man who had taken the Two-Winged Frost Demon Dragon and considered calling the Eagle King for reinforcements.
• Zhao Chen admitted killing Ren Qitao and Tu Ren Gu, then revealed that Mister Gu of the Rune Array Master Guild had secretly been the pirate Tu Ren Gu.
• Zhen Wudi questioned Ren Qiming about the Ren Family’s alleged cooperation with Tu Ren Gu, while Ren Qiming tried to shift the blame onto the Rune Array Master Guild.
• Zhao Chen gave the group one last chance to release their captives or face bloodshed at Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

Zhao Chen rescued Dongfang Jian and the others by effortlessly suppressing Ren Qiming, Zhen Wudi, and Eagle One. The Eagle King confronted him over the Two-Winged Frost Demon Dragon, and Zhao Chen mocked him as useless.

• Ren Qiming, Zhen Wudi, and Eagle One charged Zhao Chen, but he restrained and sealed all three in a silver-purple Space Card.
• Zhao Chen freed Dongfang Jian, Lan Xiaoyan, and the others from Zhen Wudi’s rune array.
• Dongfang Jian warned Zhao Chen that the Eagle King was at the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, but Zhao Chen said he was no threat.
• The Eagle King descended into the arena and accused Zhao Chen of stealing the Two-Winged Frost Demon Dragon from him at Ice Valley.
• Zhao Chen admitted he had taken the beast and taunted the Eagle King for being useless.

Zhao Chen confronted the Eagle King at Treasure Gathering Pavilion as Luo Jiusi intervened after the VIP box intrusion. Zhao Chen accepted Luo Jiusi’s offer to pay for an auction item, while the Eagle King’s demand for the Two-Winged Frost Demon Dragon’s treasures remained unresolved.

• The Eagle King recognized Zhao Chen as the person he had been investigating and faced Zhao after Zhao subdued Zhen Wudi, Ren Qiming, Eagle One, and the others.
• Zhao Chen called out Luo Jiusi, who descended and denied directing the men to intrude on the VIP box.
• Luo Jiusi called for Treasure Gathering Pavilion to take responsibility, and a steward fell from the upper floors and died.
• Luo Jiusi offered Zhao Chen compensation in the form of an auction item, while the Eagle King demanded Eagle One, the Dominator Source Beast Core, and the Two-Winged Frost Demon Dragon’s blood.
• Zhao Chen accepted Luo Jiusi’s offer and said he would leave the auctioned treasure to him.

Zhao Chen accepted Luo Jiusi’s offer of compensation after the Treasure Gathering Pavilion manager’s staged death, while the Eagle King was forced to leave without recovering his Demon Dragon core. Zhao Chen and his companions returned to their room as the Chaotic Ancient World Treasure Gathering was about to begin, wary that Luo Jiusi and the city’s powers had further plans.

• Luo Jiusi offered Zhao Chen a free treasure as compensation, and Zhao Chen accepted.
• The Eagle King threatened Zhao Chen, but a White-Haired Old Man restrained him; the Eagle King left after warning Zhao Chen he would remember him.
• Zhao Chen assessed the White-Haired Old Man’s half-step cultivation and suspected Luo Jiusi was delaying for his own purposes.
• Zhao Chen concluded that the dead manager might have been a scapegoat and suspected the Chaotic Ancient City Lord’s Mansion had ties to pirates.
• Dongfang Jian warned Zhao Chen that Luo Jiusi was dangerous, and Zhao Chen led his companions back to their room before the gathering began.

Duan Yusheng explained his long-running feud with Luo Jiusi, who had targeted him through pirate forces and tried to pressure him by approaching Zhao Chen. Zhao Chen reaffirmed his agreement with Duan Yusheng, and Duan offered the group useful items as compensation and to strengthen their relationship.

• Duan Yusheng apologized for Luo Jiusi’s intrusion and told Zhao Chen that Luo was the Young City Lord and had ties to pirate forces across the Chaotic Ancient Star Region.
• Duan Yusheng said Luo Jiusi had repeatedly tried to kill him after Duan won an item that Luo wanted, and that Luo had targeted Zhao Chen to pressure him.
• Zhao Chen joked that Luo Jiusi could not win him over and pointed out that he already had conflicts with several powerful factions.
• Duan Yusheng relaxed when Zhao Chen confirmed he would keep their agreement to seal the Forbidden Curse Power on the broken flute.
• Duan Yusheng noticed Zhao Chen’s aura had grown stronger and offered the group useful items he had collected on adventure missions.

Zhao Chen accepted Dominator-level treasures from Duan Yusheng and clarified that he was not the young master of the Zhao Family. As the Chaotic Ancient World Treasure Gathering began, Zhao Chen learned about the four Star Pride Rankings prodigies and chose to avoid drawing attention to himself.

• Zhao Chen accepted treasures from Duan Yusheng and picked some out for Dongfang Jian, Long Yiting, and the others.
• Duan Yusheng asked whether Zhao Chen was the young master of the Zhao Family, and Zhao Chen clarified that he planned to visit the Dark Phoenix Star Region.
• Duan Yusheng warned Zhao Chen that the Chaotic Ancient World Treasure Gathering was beginning as the four top Star Pride Rankings prodigies arrived.
• Duan Yusheng described the gap between himself and the top prodigies, especially Dugu Liuming and Qiao Xuerong.
• Zhao Chen said he had no interest in the Star Pride Rankings and preferred to keep a low profile while growing stronger.

Duan Yusheng explained that the Star Pride Rankings were a divine artifact and the entry requirement for the Ascension to the God Realm trial. Zhao Chen realized that ascension was extraordinarily rare and wondered whether the Nine Great God Realms were deliberately restricting the Myriad Demons Star Sea.

• Zhao Chen asked Duan Yusheng whether the Star Pride Rankings had any significance beyond fame.
• Duan Yusheng described the scarce second-class great worlds and revealed that only those on the Star Pride Rankings could enter the Ascension to the God Realm trial.
• Duan Yusheng explained that the rankings were a Divine Decree sent by the Nine Great God Realms and that competitors had to face prodigies from across the Great Cosmos Star Sea.
• Duan Yusheng said that only a handful of people from the Myriad Demons Star Sea had ascended over hundreds of thousands to millions of years.
• Zhao Chen connected the restriction to the Primordial Demon Lord's attempt to create a Tenth God Realm and wondered if the Nine Great God Realms had closed off the path to advancement.

Duan Yusheng explained the near-impossibility of ascending to the God Realm and described Myriad Demons Divine Mountain, where the Star Pride Rankings and ascension trial were tied. The Chaotic Ancient World Treasure Gathering began, opening with the auction of a Second Sequence master artifact, the Immortal Slaying Gourd.

• Duan Yusheng told Long Yiting and the others that even top prodigies had only a slim chance of ascending to the God Realm.
• Duan Yusheng explained that the Star Pride Rankings hung on Myriad Demons Divine Mountain and that the God Realm ascension trial began once every ten thousand years.
• Duan Yusheng warned Zhao Chen that people entering the God Realm through lower realms could be stripped of their cultivation and forced to labor as miners.
• Duan Yusheng and Zhao Chen turned their attention to the Chaotic Ancient World Treasure Gathering, where the Purple-Robed Old Man explained private bidding backed by the Chaotic Ancient City Lord's Mansion.
• The Purple-Robed Old Man unveiled the Immortal Slaying Gourd as the gathering's first item, identifying it as a lower-grade Second Sequence master artifact.

Zhao Chen had Dongfang Jian buy the damaged Immortal Slaying Gourd for 58,000 source crystals, despite its single remaining use and inevitable decline to the Third Sequence. After claiming it, Zhao Chen opened the gourd and revealed a wisp of dense azure power that Duan Yusheng recognized as Innate Life Source.

• Duan Yusheng judged the damaged Immortal Slaying Gourd difficult to repair, and the auctioneer explained that it had one use left before falling to the Third Sequence.
• Zhao Chen asked Dongfang Jian to bid up to 60,000 source crystals, and Dongfang Jian won the gourd for 58,000.
• Luo Jiusi noticed the Adventurers' Guild's winning bid but dismissed the idea that Zhao Chen or Duan Yusheng wanted the gourd.
• Zhao Chen examined the gourd in the VIP box and said it was valuable as it was, puzzling Duan Yusheng, Dongfang Jian, and Long Yiting.
• Zhao Chen opened the gourd, releasing azure power, and Duan Yusheng exclaimed that it was Innate Life Source.