Chapter Summaries

Lingjian Dao Lord failed to send more cultivators into the deadly Ancient Grotto-heaven, drawing Dao Lord Qingfeng and the Second Ice King into a dispute over its ownership. After the three sects agreed to join forces, Heavenly Sword Dao Lord discovered Heavenly Dao Backlash inside the vortex and ordered the slaughter of everyone in the Myriad Severance Mountain Range who was not a disciple of their sects.

• Twenty-three Soul Transformation Cultivators died within half a quarter-hour, and Lingjian Dao Lord urged the gathered cultivators to enter the Ancient Grotto-heaven.
• Qingxuan Heavenly Monarch questioned why Lingjian Dao Lord would not explore the grotto-heaven himself, and Dao Lord Qingfeng arrived to challenge the Divine Sword Sect's claim to it.
• The Second Ice King arrived and asserted the Sacred Heart Sect's share, prompting the three sects to agree to join forces and seal off the surrounding hundred thousand li.
• Heavenly Sword Dao Lord arrived and asked Lingjian Dao Lord about the vortex's danger, then the three Dao Lords attempted to enter and were forced back by its repulsive power.
• Heavenly Sword Dao Lord identified the force as Heavenly Dao Backlash and ordered all non-disciples of the Three Sects in the Myriad Severance Mountain Range killed.

The Three Sects slaughtered cultivators around the Myriad Severance Mountain Range and sealed off the area to monopolize an Ancient Grotto-heaven. After one survivor escaped to spread the news, six Void Refining Dao Lords sent twelve hundred Spirit Transformation Cultivators, including one hundred Heavenly Monarchs, into the Devouring Vortex to investigate.

• Heavenly Sword Dao Lord, Dao Lord Qingfeng, Second Ice King, and Lingjian Dao Lord massacred fleeing cultivators and sealed the region against escape and communication.
• The Three Sects sent reinforcements, including two more Void Refining Dao Lords, and extended their secret blockade across a hundred thousand miles.
• Li Mouren escaped the outskirts of the Myriad Severance Mountain Range and planned to spread word of the Three Sects' attempt to seize the opportunity.
• The Three Sects assembled twelve hundred Spirit Transformation Cultivators, including one hundred Heavenly Monarchs and three Void Refining Seeds, and had them offer their soul blood to monitor their fates.
• The six Dao Lords ordered the assembled cultivators into the Devouring Vortex to investigate the Ancient Grotto-heaven.

The Heavenly Dao poured back into the Nine Provinces, transforming cultivation across the continent and giving thousands a chance to advance. The influx left the Nine Provinces with more than five thousand Nascent Soul cultivators as its people prepared to defend their home.

• Heaven's Scar widened, and the Nine Provinces Heavenly Dao absorbed vast energy and laws from beyond the domain.
• Li Xianhuang and more than a thousand Nascent Soul combatants and Fourth-Tier Great Demons broke through as the returning laws created an unprecedented cultivation opportunity.
• The Human Emperor's decree gathered Late-Stage and Peak Core Formation cultivators beneath Red Flag Mountain to receive the Heavenly Dao's cleansing.
• More than six hundred False Nascent Soul cultivators, including Li Yunmei, formed nascent souls, and over three thousand five hundred Core Formation cultivators advanced to Nascent Soul Early Stage.
• The Nine Provinces reached a total of more than five thousand Nascent Soul cultivators.

As the Nine Provinces Heavenly Dao revived, Li Qingyuan and the Human Emperor prepared for a new invasion and learned that the approaching leaders had undergone Five Elements Nirvana. The enemy force descended at Red Flag Mountain, where the Black Clad Swordsman ordered his Divine Sword Sect disciples to kill every native cultivator.

• The Nine Provinces Heavenly Dao revived, strengthening spiritual energy and spirit veins across the continent as cultivators celebrated and prepared to break through.
• Li Qingyuan told the Human Emperor and the others that Lingjian Dao Lord had sent Soul Transformation Cultivators to scout the way, and they reasoned that the revived Heavenly Dao might assimilate stronger outsiders.
• The Human Emperor and Li Qingyuan sensed the arrival of twelve hundred Soul Transformation Cultivators, including three leaders who had undergone Five Elements Nirvana.
• Li Qingyuan explained that Five Elements Nirvana strengthened Peak Soul Transformation Cultivators and improved their chances of reaching Void Refinement.
• The Black Clad Swordsman ordered the Divine Sword Sect disciples to leave none of the native cultivators alive.

Li Qingyuan and Miao Le activated the Heaven Imprisoning Great Array, trapping twelve hundred invading Soul Transformation cultivators around Red Flag Mountain. The formation repelled Sword Lord Lin Yuan and split the invaders into isolated groups as Li Qingyuan began the hunt.

• The Daoist Robe Youth, Fairy Bingxuan, and Sword Lord Lin Yuan ordered their sects’ Soul Transformation cultivators to attack the Nine Provinces.
• Li Qingyuan and Miao Le awakened the Jianmu Divine Tree and activated the Heaven Imprisoning Great Array with the help of the Nine Provinces’ cultivators.
• The array sealed heaven and earth, trapping all twelve hundred Soul Transformation cultivators and preventing the three leaders from escaping.
• Fairy Bingxuan urged the invaders to target Li Qingyuan and Miao Le, but Sword Lord Lin Yuan’s attack was shattered by the Jianmu Divine Tree’s power.
• Li Qingyuan’s formation blasted Sword Lord Lin Yuan backward and divided the invading cultivators into scattered groups.
• Li Qingyuan declared that the hunt had begun.

Li Qingyuan and Miao Le used the Heaven Imprisoning Great Array to divide, exhaust, and ambush the extraterritorial Soul Transformation cultivators, while the Human Emperor’s forces killed hundreds of them. As the three enemy leaders realized they faced imminent defeat, Fairy Bingxuan burned her Essence Blood and struck the barrier hard enough to crack it.

• Li Qingyuan and Miao Le unleashed successive Five Elements attacks through the formation, injuring hundreds of extraterritorial cultivators and killing more than ten.
• The Human Emperor and the other twenty-one Nine Provinces combat units appeared behind enemy squads and repeatedly ambushed, killed, and looted them, while Old Zhao harvested their souls.
• The Human Emperor’s forces continued their attacks as the formation shifted them between locations, and the Soul Refining Banner grew stronger from the souls Old Zhao collected.
• The Sword Lord Lin Yuan, the Daoist Robe Youth, and Fairy Bingxuan tried to reach Li Qingyuan, but the formation redirected them and Li Qingyuan and Miao Le repelled their attacks.
• After learning that over seven hundred of their cultivators, including thirteen Late Soul Transformation Heavenly Lords, had died, Fairy Bingxuan burned her Essence Blood to reach the fourth Five Elements Nirvana and attack the barrier.
• Fairy Bingxuan’s Myriad Blades Pierce the Sky shook the Heaven Imprisoning Great Array and opened several tiny cracks, alarming Li Qingyuan.

Li Qingyuan and Miao Le struggled to keep the Heaven Imprisoning Great Array intact as Fairy Bingxuan, Azure Cloud Heavenly Monarch, and Sword Lord Lin Yuan led the extraterritorial cultivators in a coordinated assault. The Human Emperor rallied the Nine Provinces’ cultivators to defend the array and buy time for the Heavenly Dao Revival.

• Li Qingyuan and Miao Le consumed pills and Spirit Stones to restore their magic power, repaired the barrier, and fought back against Fairy Bingxuan and Azure Cloud Heavenly Monarch.
• Sword Lord Lin Yuan rallied the surviving extraterritorial cultivators, while the Human Emperor, Yang Xiaohe, and Zhao Guangzheng killed more than thirty of them during the battle.
• After most of the survivors escaped the spatial cage and gathered, Sword Lord Lin Yuan ordered one group to attack the array core and the others to help break the barrier.
• Sword Lord Lin Yuan used his three sword pellets to unleash a powerful strike, but Miao Le drew power from thousands of Nascent Soul cultivators and the array to meet it.
• The Human Emperor led the Nine Provinces’ Soul Transformation cultivators to protect Miao Le and the array, urging them to hold off the invaders and preserve time for the Heavenly Dao Revival.

The cultivators of Nine Provinces fought desperately against Sword Lord Lin Yuan and his Soul Transformation forces, holding back the invasion through sacrifice and self-detonation. As Li Qingyuan watched his son die in battle, grief and fury drove him to charge into the fight.

• The Human Emperor, Yang Xiaohe, Zhao Guangzheng, and other Nine Provinces fighters held back waves of Soul Transformation cultivators, while Wang Decai burned his God of Wealth Bloodline to fight three Middle Soul Transformation enemies.
• Ning Wu, Wen Ji, Yu Xiao'er, Tan Yueyi, the Stone Family brothers, Zhao Liuyun, and Nangong Xue sacrificed themselves or exhausted their cultivation to kill or injure foreign Soul Transformation cultivators.
• Hong Yuan lent Li Xianhuang power, allowing her to reach Peak Soul Transformation and hold back three Peak Soul Transformation cultivators.
• Zhang Zhenwu self-detonated to kill an Early Soul Transformation opponent, while Zhenxing and Thousand Jun True Monarch also sacrificed themselves; Li Qingyuan vowed to repay Nine Provinces' blood debt.
• Li Feng charged into an Early Soul Transformation cultivator and died, prompting Li Qingyuan to roar and charge into battle against the enemy.

After Li Xianfeng and many Nine Provinces cultivators sacrificed themselves, Li Qingyuan unleashed his full strength, slaughtered the invading Soul Transformation cultivators, and formed the Earth Marsh Sword Array. He trapped Sword Lord Lin Yuan in its sword world as his power neared that of an Extreme Dao Soul Transformation cultivator.

• Li Xianfeng and other Nine Provinces cultivators self-destructed, driving Li Qingyuan into a fury, while Li Xianhuang, Li Yunfan, Li Yunzhou, and Li Baishi charged at their enemies in grief.
• Li Qingyuan calmed Li Xianhuang, Li Yunfan, Li Yunzhou, and Li Baishi, then killed the Early Soul Transformation cultivator who had slain Li Xianfeng.
• Li Qingyuan used his Green Wood Heavenly Sun Sword and Fortune Artistic Conception to kill twelve of the thirteen Soul Transformation cultivators, while Zhao Guangzheng absorbed their souls through the Soul Refining Banner.
• Li Qingyuan combined the sword and banner’s Yin-Yang power with hundreds of Flying Swords to form the Earth Marsh Sword Array, creating a vast world of sun, moon, seasons, and Sword Qi.
• Li Qingyuan’s sword world destroyed Soul Transformation cultivators across Red Flag Mountain and enveloped Sword Lord Lin Yuan, who recognized its terrifying power.

Li Qingyuan fought Sword Lord Lin Yuan and Fairy Bingxuan with the Earth Marsh Sword Array while Miao Le and the Human Emperor struggled to hold back the attackers. As the battle remained deadlocked, the Three Great Sects assembled 7,100 Spirit Transformation cultivators and sent them into the Ancient Grotto-heaven to seize its inheritance.

• Li Qingyuan shattered Sword Lord Lin Yuan’s sword defense and cracked the Mysterious Turtle Spirit Shield, forcing Lin Yuan to call for Fairy Bingxuan’s help.
• Fairy Bingxuan attacked Li Qingyuan while Azure Cloud Heavenly Monarch moved to kill Miao Le, but the Human Emperor intercepted him and Miao Le strengthened the formation barrier.
• Fairy Bingxuan used the Ice Emperor Art to help Lin Yuan withstand Li Qingyuan’s assault, leaving the two-on-one battle deadlocked as the formation defenders and attackers suffered heavy casualties.
• The Heavenly Dao Vortex intensified, and the six Void Refining Dao Lords gathered 7,100 Spirit Transformation cultivators from the Three Great Sects and their territories.
• The three sects’ forces entered the Ancient Grotto-heaven, seeking the Mahayana Immortal Venerable inheritance.

As the Nine Provinces forces faced defeat before 7,100 invading Spirit Transformations, Li Qingyuan began planning to flee and preserve the survivors. Human Emperor Dugu Lei sacrificed himself to summon Thunder Ancestor’s power, then manifested a Void Refining Major Heavenly Tribulation against the invaders.

• The Azure Cloud Heavenly Monarch battered the bloodied Human Emperor, while Li Qingyuan and Zhao Guangzheng held off Fairy Bingxuan and Sword Lord Lin Yuan with the Earth Marsh Sword Array.
• Seven thousand one hundred Spirit Transformations descended through the Heaven Imprisoning Great Array, and their combined aura overwhelmed the Nine Provinces forces.
• Miao Le and the other defenders despaired, while Li Qingyuan considered escaping with his family to preserve Nine Provinces’ future.
• Dugu Lei told Li Qingyuan to protect the surviving cultivators, then burned his body, mana, and Primordial Spirit to invoke Thunder Ancestor’s Dao Mark.
• Dugu Lei invited Thunder Ancestor to possess him, and the resulting power summoned a Five-Colored Thundercloud that the invaders recognized as a Void Refining Major Heavenly Tribulation.

The Human Emperor unleashed the Six-Colored Great Heavenly Tribulation and destroyed the seven thousand-odd extraterrestrial Spirit Transformation cultivators, breaking the Heaven Imprisoning Great Array and bringing down Red Flag Mountain. After entrusting Nine Provinces to Li Qingyuan, Dugu Lei vanished, leaving behind a promise to return to Cangxuan Heaven.

• Dugu Lei drew on the Thunder Ancestor's Will and the Heavenly Dao Vortex to summon a Six-Colored Great Heavenly Tribulation that blocked the cultivators' escape.
• The Five Thunders struck the seven thousand-odd Spirit Transformation cultivators, shattered the Heaven Imprisoning Great Array, and brought down Red Flag Mountain.
• Dugu Lei personally charged into the enemy ranks, and the tribulation reduced the extraterrestrial cultivators to blood mist within three breaths.
• As the lightning faded, Dugu Lei's Thunder God Halberd, Ascending Heaven Tower, and Thunder Ancestor's power vanished, and he told Li Qingyuan to become the next Human Emperor.
• Dugu Lei disappeared after telling the people of Nine Provinces not to mourn him and declaring that he would return to Cangxuan Heaven.

After the Human Emperor vanished while destroying the invading Soul Transformation Cultivators, Li Qingyuan took charge of the wounded Nine Provinces forces and urged them to prepare for future attacks. The foreign Void Refining Dao Lords, shaken by the slaughter, considered asking an Integrated Body Great Talent to intervene.

• The cultivators and people of the Nine Provinces mourned the Human Emperor, while Li Qingyuan remembered the losses suffered by his clan, including his son and grandson Li Yunfan.
• Li Qingyuan distributed surviving resources to the wounded and told them to restore their strength to protect the Nine Provinces; he rejected being called the Human Emperor and warned that the enemy could attack again.
• Li Qingyuan collapsed from his injuries after using the complete Earth Marsh Sword Array, then took Fifth-Tier Treasure Pills and began recovering with the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique and Longevity Seed.
• The six Void Refining Dao Lords at the Myriad Severance Mountain Range discussed how the Human Emperor had killed over seven thousand Soul Transformation Cultivators in three breaths and recalled sensing the power of the Six-Colored Great Heavenly Tribulation.
• The Dao Lords lamented the destruction of their Soul Transformation forces and decided to report the disaster to their Sect Masters and seek help from an Integrated Body Great Talent.

Three Spirit Lords descended to investigate the Grotto-heaven World after thousands of Soul Transformation Cultivators died inside it. Sacred Heart Spirit Lord attacked its Devouring Vortex, but the vortex shattered his Dharma Form and wounded him, leaving the Spirit Lords stunned by its power.

• Heavenly Sword Dao Lord, First Ice Emperor, and Dao Lord Ziyue summoned three Spirit Lords to the Myriad Severance Mountain Range.
• Heavenly Sword Dao Lord reported that more than seven thousand Soul Transformation Cultivators had died within three breaths of entering the Grotto-heaven World.
• Dao Lord Ziyue reported signs of Heavenly Dao Disorder and a Great Heavenly Tribulation within the grotto-heaven, while First Ice Emperor explained that Void Refining cultivators could not enter.
• Sacred Heart Spirit Lord tried to freeze the Devouring Vortex with Ice Law, but it swallowed the attack and struck back with overwhelming Great Dao Power.
• The Devouring Vortex broke Sacred Heart Spirit Lord's Dharma Form and made him spit blood, shocking all three Spirit Lords.

Divine Sword Spirit Lord and two other Body Integration Spirit Lords discovered that a Devouring Vortex concealed an Ancient Grotto-heaven, but their attempt to break through it triggered a devastating backlash. As more Spirit Lords and the three domain rulers arrived, the Mahayana Dao Venerables joined forces to open the grotto-heaven.

• Divine Sword Spirit Lord attacked the Devouring Vortex, but its stronger Heavenly Dao Power shattered his sword qi and injured him.
• Divine Sword Spirit Lord, Sacred Heart Spirit Lord, and Purple Green Spirit Lord tried to conceal the grotto-heaven, but five other Body Integration Spirit Lords arrived and disrupted their seal.
• Golden Kui Spirit Lord and Purple Clad Spirit Lord assessed the expanding vortex as the Three Domains' cultivators gathered at Myriad Severance Mountain Range.
• Divine Fire Dao Venerable, Heavenly Frost Dao Venerable, and Seven Profound Dao Venerable arrived and suppressed the gathered cultivators' powers.
• Divine Fire Dao Venerable, Heavenly Frost Dao Venerable, and Seven Profound Dao Venerable combined their perfected Laws to attack the vortex and open a gate of teleportation.

Divine Fire Dao Venerable, Heavenly Frost Dao Venerable, and Seven Profound Dao Venerable realized the Devouring Vortex marked the revival of the lost Nine Provinces Celestial Domain, but its Heavenly Dao backlash forced them to abandon a direct assault. They planned to exploit the Hundred Regions War in a century to capture Nine Provinces Spirit Transformation cultivators and steal their memories, then concealed the incident and entered secluded cultivation.

• The Devouring Vortex repelled the three Mahayana Dao Venerables and triggered Nine-Colored Heavenly Punishment, which they survived at great cost.
• Seven Profound Dao Venerable recognized the vortex as the returning Nine Provinces Celestial Domain, lost in a battle a hundred thousand years earlier and traditionally guarded by the Yang Immortal Clan.
• The three Dao Venerables plotted to seize the Divine General Heavenly Eye and Nine Provinces inheritances, but decided they could not risk another attack or expose the domain to rival Mahayana cultivators.
• Seven Profound Dao Venerable proposed capturing Nine Provinces Spirit Transformation cultivators during the Hundred Regions War in a hundred years and extracting their memories.
• The three Dao Venerables erased witnesses' memories, sealed the Myriad Severance Mountain Range, and entered secluded cultivation.

Li Qingyuan cultivated for a hundred years beneath the Heavenly Dao Vortex, advancing to the Middle Soul Transformation Stage as the Nine Provinces flourished. Just as he worried that extraterritorial powers might cross Heaven's Scar, the Tai Cang Immortal Mirror appeared and began scanning the Nine Provinces cultivators, heralding the Hundred Regions War.

• Li Qingyuan used his hoard of Top-grade Spirit Stones to cultivate while Zhao Guangzheng and Yang Xiaohe absorbed the Heavenly Dao's power and improved their strength.
• Over the next hundred years, Heaven's Scar and the Heavenly Dao Vortex expanded, Spirit Veins spread across the Nine Provinces, and the population of cultivators grew rapidly.
• Li Qingyuan advanced to the Middle Soul Transformation Stage, joining Ao Run and Miao Le, while Li Xianhuang reached the Nascent Soul Early Stage and other allies increased their cultivation.
• Li Qingyuan worried that Void Refining Dao Lords might cross domains before he reached the Void Refinement Stage.
• An enigmatic power entered through the Heavenly Dao Vortex, and the Tai Cang Immortal Mirror appeared and scanned the Nine Provinces Soul Transformation Cultivators.
• Yang Xiaohe identified the mirror and warned that it marked the once-in-ten-thousand-years Hundred Regions War.

The Tai Cang Immortal Mirror selected Li Qingyuan and the Nine Provinces’ Soul Transformation Cultivators for the Hundred Regions War, revealing the scale of Cangxuan Heaven and the Nine Provinces Domain’s former strength. Li Qingyuan left his people with leaders, resources, and instructions to protect and develop the homeland before departing for the Tai Cang Immortal Realm.

• Yang Xiaohe and Zhao Guangzheng explained that the Tai Cang Immortal Mirror gathered cultivation opportunities and selected qualified Soul Transformation Cultivators from Cangxuan Heaven’s 108 regions once every ten thousand years.
• Li Qingyuan learned that the Nine Provinces Continent had shrunk because the Nine Provinces Domain was sunk and shattered, and that its land would reunite when the domain revived.
• Li Qingyuan told the Nine Provinces Nascent Soul Cultivators and great demons that he would lead the Soul Transformation cultivators into the Hundred Regions War while they remained behind to develop the homeland.
• Li Qingyuan left the Blood Shadow Clone to protect the Li Clan and Nine Provinces, appointed new provincial kings, and gave his people his cultivation resources and instructions to honor the Human Emperor.
• Li Qingyuan and the other Soul Transformation Cultivators and Fifth-Tier Great Demons departed for the Tai Cang Immortal Realm as the Nine Provinces answered his farewell with calls for the domain to revive.

Li Qingyuan and the Nine Provinces cultivators entered the Tai Cang Immortal Realm for the Hundred Regions War, where they faced overwhelming competition from more than a million Soul Transformation Heavenly Chosen. Determined to strengthen the Nine Provinces within a hundred years, Li Qingyuan disguised himself as a rogue cultivator named Zhen Youde.

• Li Qingyuan and the selected Nine Provinces Soul Transformation cultivators were teleported away, leaving his Blood Shadow Clone behind to guard the Li Family as the Nine Provinces entered a golden age of cultivation.
• Li Qingyuan arrived in the Tai Cang Immortal Realm, followed by Miao Le, Ao Run, and the other Nine Provinces cultivators, bringing their total force to thirty-five.
• Li Qingyuan summoned Zhao Guangzheng, who explained that the Hundred Regions War was a rare opportunity but warned that the Nine Provinces' small, mostly Early Soul Transformation force was badly outmatched.
• Li Qingyuan learned that the Hundred Regions War would last one hundred years and urged the group to reach at least the Middle Soul Transformation Stage to help the Nine Provinces.
• Li Qingyuan changed his appearance and told his companions to pose as Cangxuan Heaven rogue cultivators, introducing himself as Zhen Youde.

Li Qingyuan hid his allies in the Mysterious Feminine Space when a huge force of cultivators appeared, then fled as seven powerful Soul Transformation cultivators pursued him. The pursuers left him to their disciples and continued toward a Beast Pool to collect Beast Crystals for the upcoming Taicang Baptism.

• Zhao Guangzheng sensed a large group of cultivators approaching, so Li Qingyuan sent the Nine Provinces Soul Transformation cultivators into the Mysterious Feminine Space.
• Li Qingyuan took Miao Le and Ao Run into the space, then used his Wind Thunder Wings to flee from the approaching force.
• Five Peak Soul Transformation cultivators chased Li Qingyuan, and two Five Elements Nirvana disciples joined the pursuit after their Senior Disciple Brother ordered them to capture him alive.
• Li Qingyuan disguised his increased speed as the result of burning Essence Blood while Zhao Guangzheng secretly aided him from the Soul Refining Banner.
• The Senior Disciple Brother led the main force toward a Beast Pool, where they intended to seize Beast Crystals for the Taicang Baptism.