Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

• Chen Changqing is summoned before Tianyuan Patriarch, who has just advanced from the eighth to the ninth level of Tribulation Immortal. The patriarch’s immense Dao presence inspires instinctive awe in Chen.
• After testing Chen’s composure, Tianyuan praises his steadiness—saying he handled scrutiny better than his master had at the same age. Chen Yuan reacts but does not object.
• Tianyuan explains that the Tribulation Immortal Pill Chen offered saved his life and enabled his breakthrough. Chen modestly says he gave it for Shushan’s sake, but Tianyuan insists on repaying him.
• Tianyuan sends Qingyuan Daoist and Daoist Wuzhen away so he can speak privately with Chen. He warns that news of the breakthrough will draw the Nine Provinces’ attention to Shushan—and to Chen, whose role in providing the pill may become known. People may try to uncover his secrets or seize his opportunities.
• Chen acknowledges the danger but stands by his choice to offer the pill, saying he is prepared to bear the consequences. Tianyuan approves of his resolve.
• Tianyuan presents three gifts. He identifies the first, the Tianyuan Token, as a lifesaving treasure that can summon a manifestation of his divine will, wielding thirty percent of his strength for fifteen minutes—enough to confront an ordinary Tribulation Immortal. The other two gifts are introduced but not yet explained.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Chen Changqing shows deference, self-control, and firm resolve. Though alarmed by the scale of the danger ahead, he accepts responsibility for his decision.
• Tianyuan Patriarch displays gratitude and generosity, while also acting as a mentor by warning Chen of the political and personal risks his gift may bring.
• Qingyuan Daoist and Daoist Wuzhen obey Tianyuan’s request and withdraw, leaving the two alone.
• Chen Yuan is present during the initial audience and reacts subtly to Tianyuan’s comparison between Chen Changqing and his master.

Significant Themes

• Gratitude and repayment: Tianyuan recognizes the life-changing value of Chen’s gift and refuses to leave it unanswered.
• Responsibility and resolve: Chen accepts the consequences of his choice rather than retreating from it.
• Power attracts danger: Tianyuan’s breakthrough—and the pill behind it—will draw attention and potentially provoke attempts to exploit Chen.
• Mentorship and trust: Tianyuan respects Chen’s privacy, choosing not to ask what he obtained in the Heavenly Void Secret Realm, while still warning and protecting him.

Key plot points and events

• The Tianyuan Patriarch rewards Chen Changqing for giving him the Tribulation Immortal Pill, which enabled his breakthrough to the ninth tribulation immortal stage. He gives Chen three powerful treasures:
  • Tianyuan Token: a one-use summon that can unleash thirty percent of his power, enough to challenge formidable Heavenly Lords and even an early Tribulation Immortal.
  • Myriad Transformations Star Method: a primordial-spirit cultivation method that could let Chen increase his existing nine spirits to twelve.
  • Star marrow essence: a potent substance that could improve Chen’s primordial spirits and help him glimpse the Heavenly Lord realm’s Dao charm, but is dangerous to refine before he reaches a higher level.
• The Patriarch tells Chen that, in three days, Chen Yuan will formally announce him as Shushan’s next Sect Leader. Chen Yuan will continue exercising the office’s authority until Chen is ready.
• The Patriarch warns that unrest lies ahead and urges Chen to prepare. He also lightly teases him about his two fiancées, Xuanyuan Xiaoyu and Hua Yao, before offering caution about romantic entanglements in the cultivation world.
• Chen leaves the Ninefold Heavenly Palaces with Chen Yuan and Wuzhen. The other palace elders speculate about the gifts and recognize Chen as a potentially extraordinary figure.
• Less than an hour after returning to Changqing Peak, Chen receives an urgent summons from Wuzhen to Shushan’s rear-mountain Forbidden Grounds.

Character developments

• Chen Changqing receives recognition as Shushan’s future leader and gains resources that could dramatically strengthen him. He remains respectful and modest, accepting the gifts only after the Patriarch insists.
• The Tianyuan Patriarch openly expresses confidence in Chen’s talent and character, while acknowledging his profound debt to him. His breakthrough has given him a renewed sense of purpose.
• Chen Yuan and Daoist Wuzhen are preparing Chen for the succession ceremony, though Chen Yuan appears to have more to say than he actually voices.
• The other palace elders grow increasingly curious about Chen and what his rise might mean for Shushan.

Significant themes

• Gratitude and repayment: The Patriarch’s lavish gifts reflect the life-changing debt he feels toward Chen.
• Responsibility and succession: Chen’s elevation to Sect Leader signals both trust in his potential and the burden of leadership.
• Power and risk: The treasures offer extraordinary growth but require careful judgment, especially the dangerous star marrow essence.
• Impending conflict: Warnings of unrest and the urgent summons foreshadow a larger crisis.

Character interactions

• Chen and the Patriarch share a respectful exchange in which the Patriarch refuses Chen’s attempt to decline his gifts and affirms his confidence in him.
• The Patriarch’s teasing about Chen’s fiancées briefly embarrasses Chen, creating a lighter moment amid serious discussions of power and leadership.
• Chen reunites with his master, Chen Yuan, and Wuzhen outside the palace; they escort him back and stress the importance of preparing for the ceremony.
• The other palace elders discuss Chen indirectly, revealing that his actions and prospects are attracting attention throughout Shushan.

Plot points and events

• Chen Changqing is summoned by his grandmaster, Wuzhen, who explains that the Righteous and Demonic Paths will hold the Two Paths Conference in three months inside the Void Emperor Secret Realm. The event is both a contest for rare resources and a test of each faction’s strength.
• Shushan intends to appoint Changqing, soon to be named its next sect leader, to lead its delegation. Wuzhen warns that powerful demonic factions and Changqing’s personal enemies may target him.
• Changqing accepts, viewing the dangerous expedition as a chance to advance his cultivation and prove himself as a leader.
• Back at Changqing Peak, he begins studying the Emperor-tier Myriad Transformations Star Method, a Primordial Spirit cultivation art gifted by the Tianyuan Ancestor. He invests one million AFK Points to accelerate its first stage, initiating a transformation involving his nine Scarlet-Gold Primordial Spirits.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Changqing shows confidence, ambition, and a willingness to face danger rather than remain sheltered. Though he presents his decision as a matter of cultivation and leadership, he also privately welcomes the chance to fight powerful enemies and earn AFK Points.
• Wuzhen is relieved by the Tianyuan Ancestor’s breakthrough and increasingly impressed by Changqing. He offers him a choice rather than forcing the assignment, then promises Shushan’s full support.
• Their conversation shifts from Wuzhen’s friendly reassurance to serious discussion of the conference’s risks, ending with mutual trust and respect.

Significant themes

• Growth through danger: Changqing believes progress requires facing challenges, not hiding from them.
• Duty and ambition: He accepts a role that serves Shushan while also advancing his own cultivation.
• Rivalry and prestige: The conference turns resource gathering into a larger struggle between the righteous and demonic factions.
• Cultivation aided by technology: The system automates the complex, dangerous refinement of Changqing’s Primordial Spirit.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Chen Changqing enjoys a brief period of quiet before his coming ceremony. He sets the Myriad Transformations Star Method to cultivate automatically, expecting it to complete a set of twelve Star Primordial Spirits and greatly increase his strength.
• Word spreads through Shushan that Chen Changqing is to become the next sect master. The announcement draws influential elders and Peak Masters to Changqing Peak, eager to offer gifts and pledge support.
• Chen’s growing influence is evident in Changqing Peak’s strengthened position: former Holy Sons have joined him, and the Titled True Monarch Mo Yuan serves as its steward.
• During the reception, Deputy Peak Master Zhao Wuji objects to Chen’s appointment. He cites Chen’s Middle True Lord cultivation, his many enemies, and his ruthless actions in the Heavenly Void Secret Realm as risks to Shushan’s standing.
• Chen remains calm but responds by unleashing his Invincible Sword Domain. Its pressure overwhelms Zhao Wuji, forcing his protective True Essence back into his meridians.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Changqing is confident in his cultivation and political position. He receives the guests with composure, tolerates their praise, and does not react emotionally to Zhao Wuji’s challenge.
• Mo Yuan acts as Changqing Peak’s formal host, greeting powerful visitors with dignity and accepting their gifts without showing surprise.
• The visiting Peak Masters and elders flatter Chen and bring valuable presents, revealing that they are eager to align themselves with the likely future sect master.
• Zhao Wuji stands apart from the flattering crowd. His stern opposition challenges Chen’s suitability and provokes a tense confrontation.
• Jian Zhenzi and Luofu Tian react protectively to Zhao Wuji’s criticism, but Chen restrains the situation by answering with controlled force rather than anger.

Significant themes

• Power and political allegiance: The rush of visitors shows how quickly influence draws supporters and gifts.
• Leadership and legitimacy: Zhao Wuji questions whether talent and political backing are enough when Chen’s cultivation is comparatively low and his actions have made enemies.
• Composure versus confrontation: Chen’s calm response contrasts with the guests’ opportunistic flattery and his disciples’ anger.
• Strength as authority: Chen’s Sword Domain makes clear that, whatever concerns are raised about his position, his power can silence challengers.

Plot points and events

• Peak Master Zhao Wuji argues that Shushan should avoid making enemies by compromising with rival powers. Chen Changqing overpowers him with the pressure of his domain and rejects compromise, insisting that Shushan must defend its standing through strength.
• Zhao admits his thinking was narrow, and the other Peak Masters’ lingering disdain for Chen Changqing turns to awe.
• After the reception, Elder Willow Wood reports that 136 peaks and halls sent gifts, including spirit treasures, rare herbs, and spirit stones. Chen Changqing orders some resources distributed to core disciples and gives Willow Wood authority over the rest.
• During two quiet days, Chen Changqing continues his cultivation and guides Jian Zhenzi, Ji Changkong, and others in swordsmanship.
• Ran Hua nervously asks whether his family may attend Chen Changqing’s upcoming Sect Leader’s Investiture Ceremony. Chen agrees, gives him a token to arrange their entry, and invites them to stay at Changqing Peak.
• Chen explains that the ceremony will be kept within Shushan rather than turned into a grand public spectacle, since the Nine Provinces are tense and a showy event could draw hostility.

Character developments

• Chen Changqing demonstrates both overwhelming strength and political judgment. He refuses to weaken Shushan for the sake of appearances, but also avoids unnecessary provocation by limiting the ceremony.
• Zhao Wuji is humbled and acknowledges that his cautious outlook was too narrow.
• Ran Hua reveals his anxiety about imposing on Chen, then becomes deeply moved by Chen’s consideration.
• Willow Wood sees his early decision to support Chen validated and receives considerable trust over Changqing Peak’s resources.

Significant themes

• Strength and leadership: Shushan’s reputation, Chen argues, must rest on its ability to defend itself rather than on concessions.
• Restraint amid tension: Chen balances confidence with caution, declining a spectacle that could invite enemies’ scrutiny.
• Loyalty and humility: Despite his rising status, Chen treats longtime followers with warmth and protects their dignity.
• Trust and shared responsibility: Chen delegates the management of resources and relies on loyal allies to help build Changqing Peak.

Character interactions

• Chen confronts and then receives Zhao’s respectful submission, establishing his authority before Shushan’s senior leaders.
• He entrusts Willow Wood with the gifts, rewarding his loyalty with responsibility.
• In a private, friendly exchange, Chen reassures Ran Hua, welcomes his family, and gives him practical help—reinforcing their bond despite the gulf between their former and current positions.

Key plot points and events

• At dawn, nine bells ring across Shushan—the signal for a new sect leader or an existential crisis. The sect gathers in force for the succession ceremony.
• Ran Hua brings his father, Ran Zhenbang, to the VIP seats. Zhenbang is overwhelmed by Shushan’s powerful cultivators and by the prospect that his son’s connection to Chen Changqing could raise the Ran family’s status.
• Sect Leader Chen Yuan addresses the assembly, citing the approaching world-ending tribulation, unrest among the Demonic Sects, and danger from the Otherworldly Race. Believing his cultivation has reached its limits, he formally resigns.
• Chen Yuan names First Sequence Holy Son Chen Changqing as his successor. Changqing arrives with Mo Yuan, the other Sequence Holy Sons, and the elite followers of Changqing Peak, then bows to his master.
• Aware that some may doubt Changqing’s youth and seniority, Chen Yuan announces that he will present Changqing’s battle record to the entire sect.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Yuan steps down after more than two thousand years as leader, framing his decision as a duty to protect Shushan through the coming crisis. His warm, approving response to Changqing underscores their teacher–disciple bond.
• Chen Changqing appears calm and self-assured as he accepts the nomination, while the massive procession behind him demonstrates the strength and loyalty of his faction.
• Ran Zhenbang shifts from anxious awe to hope, imagining how Changqing’s ascent could transform the Ran family’s standing. Ran Hua firmly reassures him, confident in Changqing’s promise.
• The gathered disciples react with shock and debate over Changqing’s qualifications; the ceremony sets up Chen Yuan’s defense of his choice.

Significant themes

• Succession and legitimacy: Changqing’s youth raises questions about whether he has the seniority to lead, making his record central to winning acceptance.
• Duty in a time of crisis: Chen Yuan relinquishes power because he believes Shushan needs a leader capable of facing an approaching catastrophe.
• Power, prestige, and loyalty: Changqing’s rise affects not only the sect’s hierarchy but also the fortunes of those associated with him.
• The coming conflict: The Great Tribulation, the Demonic Sects, and the Otherworldly Race loom over the succession, making it more than a ceremonial change.

Plot points and events

• Daoist Chen Yuan publicly recounts Chen Changqing’s rise at Shushan: from an unusually gifted Outer Sect disciple to First Sequence Holy Son, winning major battles and defeating prominent heirs of rival powers.
• He highlights Chen Changqing’s recent first-place victory in the Heavenly Void Secret Realm tournament, arguing that his record makes him the obvious choice to lead Shushan next.
• Chen Yuan asks whether anyone objects. The Peak Masters remain silent, mindful of Chen Changqing’s strength and the consequences of opposing him.
• A huge fissure opens in the sky, and True Lord Qingxiao—one of Shushan’s Nine Elders—arrives. He announces that he has come by the First Ancestor’s decree to witness the ceremony.
• Qingxiao presents Chen Changqing with the Qingxiao Sword Token. It grants access to Shushan’s Treasuries and Scripture Archives and authority to command the Enforcement Main Peak’s Sword Guards. The scene ends as Qingxiao pats Chen Changqing on the shoulder.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Changqing is affirmed as Shushan’s leading candidate through both his accomplishments and the support of its highest authorities. He accepts the token respectfully.
• Daoist Chen Yuan strongly champions Chen Changqing, presenting his achievements as proof that he deserves the succession.
• True Lord Qingxiao shows personal approval of Chen Changqing and backs him with the First Ancestor’s authority.
• The Peak Masters and disciples respond with awe and deference; no one challenges Chen Yuan’s proposal.
• Zhao Wuji, who had recently tested Chen Changqing and been defeated by his domain aura, is relieved that he had already admitted his mistake.

Significant themes

• Strength earns respect: Chen Changqing’s victories establish his standing in a world where power determines influence.
• Merit and succession: His record is used to justify his claim to Shushan’s leadership.
• Authority and hierarchy: The First Ancestor’s decree and Qingxiao’s token give Chen Changqing institutional power as well as prestige.
• Fear and loyalty: The crowd’s silence reflects genuine admiration, but also caution about opposing someone so powerful.

Key events

• Chen Changqing is formally confirmed as Shushan’s next Sect Leader, receiving the Violet Heaven Thunder Seal and the Heavenly Secrets Sword. Drawing the sword briefly unleashes his overwhelming Invincible Sword Intent, prompting the entire sect to bow.
• In his first address, he announces that he will lead Shushan’s disciples into the Void Emperor Secret Realm in three months. He urges them to show no mercy to Demonic Sect enemies and promises to take responsibility for the consequences, inspiring the young disciples.
• Back at Changqing Peak, Chen retreats to cultivate. Having completed the first stage of the Myriad Transformations Star Method, he forms three more Primordial Spirits, bringing his total to twelve. Their combined array helps him break through to the Late True Monarch Stage.
• After a day of recovery, he is interrupted by steward Willow Wood, who reports that Xiaoqian’s aura has vanished.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen’s new leadership is marked by both authority and aggression: he accepts the sect’s symbols of power and sets a bold, confrontational tone for the coming secret-realm expedition.
• His cultivation advances dramatically, strengthening his confidence that he can face ordinary Early Heavenly Lord Stage opponents without relying on the Immortal-Slaying Sword.
• Ran Hua and his father celebrate their family’s connection to the new Sect Leader.
• Willow Wood arrives in distress and reports Xiaoqian’s disappearance. Chen’s shock reflects his personal care for her: he had protected the female ghost when others shunned her, and she had since grown into a powerful Ghost Emperor.

Significant themes

• Authority and responsibility: Chen accepts Shushan’s leadership and pledges to bear the consequences of his decisions.
• Power and ambition: His public authority is matched by rapid personal advancement.
• Loyalty and protection: Chen’s relationship with Xiaoqian stands apart from the prejudice others show toward ghosts.
• Rising conflict: His hard-line stance toward the Demonic Sect signals escalating tension ahead of the secret-realm gathering.

Key plot points and events

• Daoist Chen Yuan gives Chen Changqing a Soul-Guarding Jade pendant to protect him from the Nine Nether Ghost Domain’s corrosive yin energy. He orders Changqing to return to Shushan within a month for the Orthodox and Demonic Assembly, warning him not to risk Shushan’s future unnecessarily.
• Changqing sets out to find Xiaoqian, whose soul lamp remains intact but whose presence has vanished. He suspects she may have been lured into the Nine Nether Ghost Domain or taken there by force.
• To avoid attracting attention, Changqing disguises his formidable cultivation as Foundation Establishment and travels toward Separation Fire City to use its teleportation network.
• Just before entering the teleportation hall, his Heaven-Treading Immortal Emperor Inheritance Token reacts, revealing another inheritor somewhere in the city. Changqing postpones his journey and follows the token’s signal west.
• The signal leads him to an abandoned mine, where he hears a battle involving Golden Core cultivators and looks down to investigate. The chapter ends before he sees who is fighting.

Character developments

• Chen Changqing is determined to rescue Xiaoqian, but also mindful of secrecy and the one-month deadline. The token’s reaction awakens his opportunistic interest in gaining more inheritance fragments.
• Daoist Chen Yuan shows concern beneath his sternness: he supports Changqing’s mission but prioritizes his disciple’s safety and Shushan’s future.

Significant themes

• Duty versus personal attachment: Changqing must balance his concern for Xiaoqian against his responsibilities to Shushan.
• Secrecy and caution: He conceals his identity and avoids provoking other territories while traveling.
• Power and ambition: The inheritance token tempts Changqing to pursue another inheritor, reflecting his growing pursuit of the Immortal Emperor’s legacy.

Character interactions

• Chen Yuan gives Changqing protective gear, sets a firm return deadline, and cautions him against reckless sacrifice.
• Changqing accepts his master’s instructions respectfully, then acts independently—first pursuing Xiaoqian, and later diverting toward the token’s signal.

Key plot points and events

• In an abandoned mine, Chen Changqing finds a bloodied young girl surrounded by seven or eight Golden Core cultivators from Black Tortoise Hall, a faction under the True Martial Immortal Sect.
• The attackers demand that she surrender a valuable object. She refuses, fights back with a damaged sword, and is badly wounded.
• Chen immobilizes the cultivators with his overwhelming presence, then kills them all with a single casual gesture.
• Afterward, he notices that the copper pendant worn by the girl matches a Legacy Token he carries. He approaches her, and she cautiously thanks him and asks his name.

Character developments

• Chen Changqing displays effortless, immense power and a detached attitude toward the attackers, whom he dismisses as “ants.” His interest shifts from the fight to the girl’s pendant.
• The girl proves fiercely determined: despite being outnumbered and badly injured, she refuses to surrender. After witnessing Chen’s strength, she remains wary even while expressing gratitude.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: The girl’s struggle against superior numbers contrasts sharply with Chen’s effortless defeat of experienced cultivators.
• Defiance and resolve: Her refusal to yield persists even when her sword breaks and she is gravely wounded.
• Mystery and inheritance: The matching pendants hint at a connection between the girl and Chen’s Legacy Token.

Character interactions

• The Black Tortoise Hall cultivators threaten and attack the girl, claiming her possession of the valuable object is unjustified.
• Chen intervenes without negotiation, silencing their threats and killing them.
• The girl then faces Chen with guarded gratitude, uncertain whether the overwhelming stranger is safe to trust.

Chen Changqing claimed the fifth Legacy Token from Ye Ling and promised to destroy the Zhengyang Sect in exchange for it. After learning who he was, Ye Ling accepted his healing pill and led him toward the sect.

• Chen Changqing recognized Ye Ling’s heirloom as a genuine Legacy Token and took it after she explained its family history.
• Chen Changqing offered to fulfill one request in exchange for the token, and Ye Ling asked him to destroy the Zhengyang Sect.
• Ye Ling warned Chen Changqing that the Zhengyang Sect was backed by the True Martial Immortal Sect and had a True Monarch as its supreme sect master, but he agreed to attack it.
• Chen Changqing revealed his identity as Shushan’s Holy Son and gave Ye Ling a Flesh-Regenerating Bone-Reviving Pill to heal her injuries.
• Ye Ling swallowed the pill, thanked Chen Changqing, and offered to serve him as she prepared to lead him to the Zhengyang Sect.

Chen Changqing brought Ye Ling to the Zhengyang Sect to settle her family’s murder, then shattered the sect’s protective array and crushed its four elders with one palm. Song Yuanqiao barely escaped the strike, leaving him badly wounded as Chen Changqing’s attack continued.

• Chen Changqing carried Ye Ling to the Zhengyang Sect and demanded that its master come out to die.
• Song Yuanqiao recognized Ye Ling, accused her of being a wanted criminal, and invoked the True Martial Immortal Sect to threaten Chen Changqing.
• Ye Ling accused Song Yuanqiao of coveting her family’s ancestral treasure and slaughtering her household, including its children.
• Chen Changqing dismissed Song Yuanqiao’s threats and used the Heaven Collapse Style to break the Mountain Protection Array, killing many disciples in the backlash.
• The four elders’ treasures shattered against Chen Changqing’s golden palm, and the elders were crushed; Song Yuanqiao barely escaped, gravely wounded.

Chen Changqing killed Song Yuanqiao after destroying the Righteous Sun Gate, then confronted the sect’s awakened guardian, True Lord Blazing Flame. Blazing Flame revealed he was an honorary elder of the True Martial Immortal Sect, but Chen Changqing captured his fleeing primordial spirit.

• Chen Changqing identified himself to Song Yuanqiao and rejected his plea for mercy, beheading him with Sword Qi.
• The Righteous Sun Gate’s disciples fled as its three-thousand-year-old guardian, True Lord Blazing Flame, emerged from seclusion.
• True Lord Blazing Flame attacked Chen Changqing with a molten claw, but Chen revealed his late True Monarch cultivation and stopped the attack.
• Blazing Flame tried to escape through a spatial rift, declaring himself an honorary elder of the True Martial Immortal Sect.
• Chen Changqing’s Invincible Sword Domain severed the spatial laws and destroyed Blazing Flame’s body, then Chen seized his escaping primordial spirit.

Chen Changqing annihilated True Lord Blazing Flame and confronted Elder Tianying, who had arrived to avenge the Righteous Sun Gate. After learning Chen was Shushan’s Young Sect Leader, Elder Tianying tried to withdraw, but Chen trapped him and demanded his life; Elder Tianying fought back with a Quasi-Immortal Artifact.

• Elder Tianying arrived through a spatial rift and demanded that Chen Changqing release True Lord Blazing Flame and cut off his own arm as an apology.
• Chen Changqing crushed True Lord Blazing Flame’s primordial spirit and identified himself as Chen Changqing of Shushan.
• Elder Tianying recognized Chen as Shushan’s Young Sect Leader, abandoned his threats, and tried to retreat into the void.
• Chen Changqing sealed the space with his Invincible Sword Domain and told Elder Tianying to leave his life behind.
• Elder Tianying erupted with his full power, summoned his Black Tortoise manifestation, and attacked with the Mountain-Suppressing Ruler.

Chen Changqing defeated and killed Elder Tianying, destroyed the Righteous Sun Gate, and gave Ye Ling the means to seek Shushan's protection. While traveling to northern Central Province, he joined five Heaven-Stepping Token fragments, gaining cultivation insights that strengthened his techniques and primordial spirits.

• Chen Changqing cut apart Elder Tianying's Mountain-Suppressing Ruler and Black Tortoise Faxiang, then killed him after searching his memories.
• Chen Changqing took Elder Tianying's storage ring and led Ye Ling to the Righteous Sun Gate's hidden treasury, where he claimed more than half its resources.
• Chen Changqing gave Ye Ling the remaining resources and a Shushan jade talisman before leaving for Separation Fire City.
• Chen Changqing paid to use the cross-region Teleportation Array and traveled toward northern Central Province in a Void Shuttle.
• Chen Changqing joined five Heaven-Stepping Token fragments, receiving cultivation insights that improved the Invincible Immortal Ascension Method and strengthened his twelve primordial spirits.

Chen Changqing reached Xuanming City while searching for a way into the Nine Nether Ghost Domain to find Xiaoqian. After learning that the Nine Provinces Auction House would auction five Domain-Entry Tokens, he went to its Xuanming branch and was asked to show his credentials.

• Chen Changqing arrived in Xuanming City, a frontier settlement near the Nine Nether Ghost Domain, and explored its streets.
• Chen Changqing entered the Yama Restaurant to gather information about entering the Ghost Domain.
• A ghost cultivator told a companion that the Nine Provinces Auction House would auction five Domain-Entry Tokens discovered near the Ghost Domain.
• Chen Changqing decided to use his Supreme VIP Token and headed to the Nine Provinces Auction House's Xuanming branch.
• Two guards stopped Chen Changqing at the entrance and asked him to present an Invitation Letter or Member Token.

Chen Changqing used his Supreme Token to enter the Nine Provinces Auction House and secured a private room for the auction of entry tokens to the Nine Nether Ghost Domain. As the auction began, he waited for the five tokens, hoping to find Xiaoqian and gain an opportunity to advance.

• Chen Changqing showed his Supreme Token, and Qingyue welcomed him after sensing his late True Monarch cultivation.
• Chen Changqing asked about the Nine Nether Ghost Domain entry tokens and learned that five would be auctioned, each starting at thirty million top-grade spirit stones.
• Chen Changqing reflected that finding Xiaoqian in the Ghost Domain could help him advance before the Righteous and Demonic Assembly.
• After six hours, Chen Changqing received the auction catalog and saw that the five entry tokens were the final lots.
• Hu Jiu opened the auction, and bidding began on the first lot while Chen Changqing rested, uninterested in the early items.

Chen Changqing won two Domain-Entry Tokens at the Nine Provinces Auction House and hurried toward the Nine Nether Ghost Domain. As he reached its bleak outskirts, he called out to the unseen person who had been following him.

• Chen Changqing checked his AFK cultivation progress and saw that he would reach true lord peak in about six months.
• Hu Jiu auctioned five Domain-Entry Tokens, which sold for increasingly high prices.
• Chen Changqing bid one hundred million top-grade spirit stones for the fourth token and one hundred twenty million for the fifth, securing both.
• Qingyue delivered the tokens and told Chen Changqing that the fastest route to the Ghost Domain took about two days, while the safer Netherworld Ancient Road took three.
• Chen Changqing left Xuanming City and flew north at full speed toward the Nine Nether Ghost Domain.
• Chen Changqing reached the desolate outskirts and demanded that the person following him reveal themself.

Chen Changqing was ambushed by the Thirty-Six Ghost Fiends, who sought his spirit stones, Nine Nether Tokens, and Immortal-Slaying Sword. After killing one attacker with a single stroke, he faced their formation by summoning five late True Monarch avatars armed with powerful divine weapons.

• Twenty-three ghost cultivators led by the scar-faced elder surrounded Chen Changqing and demanded his possessions.
• Chen Changqing dismissed the brigands, and the wiry thirty-fifth brother attacked him.
• Chen Changqing killed the attacker instantly with the Immortal-Slaying Sword, startling the ghost cultivators.
• The scar-faced elder ordered the remaining twenty-two ghost cultivators to form the Ten Thousand Ghosts Devouring Heaven Formation and attack together.
• Chen Changqing used the Invincible Avatar Technique to summon five late True Monarch avatars, each wielding a supreme divine weapon.

Chen Changqing and his five avatars slaughtered the twenty-three ghost cultivators sent by the Thirty-Six Ghost Fiends. After using the Violence Character Art to reach the half-step Heavenly Monarch realm, he returned to late True Monarch and collected the attackers’ storage rings.

• Chen Changqing’s five powerful avatars and their immortal artifacts overwhelmed the ghost cultivators, killing more than half of them within moments.
• Chen Changqing activated the Violence Character Art and absorbed the fallen cultivators’ vital blood and remnant souls, raising himself and his five avatars to the half-step Heavenly Monarch realm.
• Chen Changqing and his avatars shattered the black skull shield and annihilated the scar-faced elder and the three remaining late True Monarch experts, wiping out all twenty-three ghost cultivators.
• Chen Changqing dispelled the secret art, returned his avatars and immortal artifacts, and collected the ghost cultivators’ storage rings as a system notification sounded.