Chapter Summaries

Chen Sheng reunited with Chen Xihua in Nine Li Prefecture and learned that Chen Xihua had gained a cultivation partner and hoped they would use the Three Extremes Dao Convention to join a powerful sect. Chen Sheng revealed that he had advanced his Dao Principles to the third stage, leaving Chen Xihua hopeful that they might attract the Three Great Immortal Mansions.

• Chen Sheng arrived in Nine Li Prefecture and reunited with Chen Xihua, who introduced his cultivation partner, Miaoshan.
• Chen Xihua hosted Chen Sheng at his residence and explained the convention’s Prefecture, State, and Domain competitions.
• Chen Xihua recounted how a Southern Pole Immortal Mansion cultivator defeated him using the sect’s Boundless Divine Sand Body secret art.
• Chen Xihua urged Chen Sheng to compete so they could gain sect protection, resources, and access to foundational inheritances.
• Chen Xihua noted that Chen Sheng’s age and talent could attract powerful sects, and Chen Sheng revealed he had reached Dao Principle Third Stage.

Chen Sheng and Chen Xihua trained together for the Dao Assembly, and Chen Sheng lost their sparring match while learning from Chen Xihua’s Void Sword techniques. That night, Chen Xihua and Miaoshan agreed to give Chen Sheng an ancestral sword canon inheritance, which they planned to present the next morning.

• Chen Sheng agreed to attend the Dao Assembly with Chen Xihua and spar with him regularly to improve their Sword Dao.
• Chen Sheng and Chen Xihua began daily sword practice in the Martial Arts Arena, where Chen Xihua demonstrated how his Void Sword Dao had advanced.
• Chen Xihua defeated Chen Sheng with his Void Annihilation Slash, and Chen Sheng later studied the duel to develop new killing moves for his Yin Yang Annihilation Sword Dao.
• Chen Xihua told Miaoshan that he wanted to give Chen Sheng a copy of her ancestral sword canon inheritance to repay his friendship and lifesaving kindness.
• Miaoshan agreed to share the inheritance, and Chen Xihua planned to give it to Chen Sheng the following morning.

Chen Sheng and Chen Xihua exchanged sword inheritances, and Chen Sheng used the Grand Five Elements Terminus Sword Canon to deepen his understanding of the Yin Yang Annihilation Sword Dao. He left the chapter believing he could create a powerful new Sword Skill before the Three Extremes Dao Convention.

• Chen Xihua gave Chen Sheng the Grand Five Elements Terminus Sword Canon, and Chen Sheng gave Chen Xihua the Four Seas Void Atlas in return.
• Chen Xihua accepted the atlas, saying it could greatly advance his Void Sword Dao, and toasted Chen Sheng ahead of the Three Extremes Dao Convention seven years later.
• Chen Sheng studied the sword canon in his secret chamber and realized its Five Elements principles could complete the foundation of his Yin Yang Annihilation Sword Dao.
• The Great Roc Demon Venerable began comprehending the canon to help Chen Sheng's Yang Soul, and their twin Yin Yang souls combined their insights.
• Chen Sheng fused the canon's runes into his Sea of Consciousness and tested a Five Elements-infused Yin Yang Sword Qi that annihilated the inside of a testing stone.
• Chen Sheng resolved to use the Yin Yang Annihilation Sword Dao as the core of a new Sword Skill before the convention.

Chen Sheng, Chen Xihua, and Miaoshan arrived at the Nine Li Pagoda for the Prefecture Competition, where Chen Xihua’s reputation and Venerable Wu Yue’s strength drew attention. After Wu Yue learned that Chen Sheng was stronger than Chen Xihua, he expressed interest in fighting him, and Chen Sheng agreed there would be an opportunity.

• Chen Sheng, Chen Xihua, and Miaoshan flew to the Nine Li Pagoda for the Prefecture Competition.
• Cultivators at the plaza discussed visiting contestants Venerable Shang and Lady Taiyin, then praised Nine Li Prefecture’s Venerable Wu Yue as a leading contender.
• Spectators recognized Chen Xihua from his past three-day duel with Wu Yue and predicted he would place among the competition’s top ten.
• Venerable Wu Yue arrived and greeted Chen Xihua, who noted Wu Yue’s years of secluded cultivation and secret art from an Integration Master.
• Chen Xihua introduced Chen Sheng as his clan brother and stronger than himself, prompting Wu Yue to seek a match with him, which Chen Sheng accepted.

As cultivators gathered for the Nine Li Prefecture Competition, Prefect Bai addressed the contestants and announced the chance to advance toward the Fortune Treasure Realm. Chen Sheng and Chen Xihua remained focused on joining a great sect and gaining resources and information as the competition began.

• Cultivators rushed to the Nine Li Pagoda, while spectators filled the stands and discussed the favored contestants.
• Void Refining leaders gathered in the Starwatching Hall, where Prefect Bai, General Tu Lie, and Inspector Guan He took their seats.
• Prefect Bai addressed the crowd, urged the young Venerables to compete with distinction, and described the path to the Fortune Treasure Realm.
• Venerable Wu Yue yearned for the opportunity in the Fortune Treasure Realm, while Chen Sheng and Chen Xihua kept their more modest goals in mind.
• Prefect Bai announced the start of the competition, and Chen Sheng, Chen Xihua, their companion, and Venerable Wu Yue followed the other contestants through the gates into the tower.

Chen Sheng and the other competitors were randomly transported to different floors of the Nine Li Pagoda, where General Tu Lie announced a new assessment: each cultivator would face a Nine Refinements Dao Soldier, with rankings based on how long they endured or how quickly they defeated it. Chen Sheng drew number 399 on the thirty-third floor and waited to see how the Dao Soldier performed.

• Chen Sheng arrived on the thirty-third floor without Chen Xihua or Miaoshan and found hundreds of confused cultivators there.
• A Black Armor commander explained that the competition format had changed across all thirteen prefectures of Cloud Province and ordered the competitors to keep the peace.
• General Tu Lie appeared throughout the tower and announced that competitors would fight Dao Soldiers, with the top one thousand advancing to the State Competition.
• General Tu Lie summoned a red-robed Nine Refinements Dao Soldier in a Lesser Realm on each floor, while spectators and Void Refining cultivators discussed the new format.
• General Tu Lie distributed random assessment numbers through the starlight, and Chen Sheng received number 399 on the thirty-third floor.

The contestants faced formidable Dao Soldiers across the Nine Li Pagoda, and the first cultivator on the thirty-third level was forced to concede after his strongest attacks failed. As defeats spread through the levels, a purple-robed cultivator on the forty-ninth level stood out by evading a Dao Soldier for two incense sticks.

• Venerable Blooddrop attacked the red-robed Dao Soldier on the thirty-third level with his Thirty-Six Void-Realm Bloodblade Cage, but the Dao Soldier's golden defense remained unbroken.
• The Dao Soldier shattered Venerable Blooddrop's saber with a palm strike and destroyed all thirty-six of his Blood Shadows, forcing him to concede after one incense stick and a quarter.
• Contestants across the Nine Li Pagoda suffered swift defeats, including a sword cultivator on the eleventh level and a thunder cultivator on the seventy-seventh level.
• Venerable Huoyun and the other Void Refining cultivators assessed the Dao Soldier's Chaos Void Dao Principles and indestructible body, while Prefect Bai considered how few contestants could defeat it.
• A purple-robed cultivator on the forty-ninth level continued evading the Dao Soldier with Space Dao Principles after holding out for two incense sticks.

Chen Xihua entered the Dao Assembly assessment and defeated the Nine Refinements Dao Soldier, taking first place and drawing the Nine Li Prefecture Academy’s support. His result impressed the watching cultivators, while Chen Sheng and Venerable Wu Yue reacted to the news.

• Chen Sheng watched contestants concede to the Dao Soldiers and worried that weak results would reduce the value of the assessment spots.
• Chen Xihua entered the sixty-sixth floor’s Lesser Realm and used his void techniques and swordsmanship to battle the Dao Soldier for more than three incense sticks.
• Inspector Guan He warned the Void Refining cultivators not to target Chen Xihua and ordered that he receive a Nine Li Prefecture Academy token and priority training.
• Chen Xihua unleashed Void Reversal, kill, shattered the Dao Soldier’s golden defenses, and defeated it after thirteen incense sticks and seventeen breaths.
• General Tu Lie announced Chen Xihua’s victory and first-place ranking, prompting cheers as Chen Sheng smiled and Venerable Wu Yue remarked on his improvement.

Chen Sheng, competing as Venerable Miesheng, defeated the Nine Refinements Dao Soldier with a sword art combining Yin-Yang Annihilation and Five Elements power, taking first place with a record time. His talent drew the attention of powerful cultivators, and Venerable Wu Yue regarded him as a worthy opponent.

• Venerable Shangyuan, Venerable Chengkong, and Venerable Baifeng defeated their Dao Soldiers in succession, pushing Chen Xihua down to fourth place.
• Chen Sheng entered the thirty-third floor's Lesser Realm and used three Sword Threads to pierce the Dao Soldier's defenses.
• The mighty cultivators learned that Venerable Miesheng was an 881-year-old rogue cultivator and Chen Xihua's clan younger brother, with third-realm-perfection Yin-Yang Annihilation Dao Principles.
• Chen Sheng fused Yin-Yang and Five Elements power into a complete sword art, overwhelmed the Dao Soldier's recovery, and destroyed it.
• General Tu Lie announced that Chen Sheng had defeated the Dao Soldier in half an incense stick and twenty-eight breaths, placing first, while Venerable Wu Yue's battle intent rose.

Venerable Wu Yue demonstrated the power of his Space Realm-Suppressing Art and defeated the Nine Refinements Dao Soldier in seven breaths, taking first place. The Prefecture Competition ended with Miesheng in second place and Chen Xihua in sixth, while Chen Sheng resolved to seek a recording of Wu Yue’s trial.

• Venerable Wu Yue used his Realm-Suppressing Bell and Space Realm-Suppressing Art to destroy the Dao Soldier after seventeen chimes.
• General Tu Lie announced that Wu Yue had defeated the Dao Soldier in seven breaths and taken first place.
• Chen Sheng heard Wu Yue’s result and decided to find a light-and-shadow recording of his trial after returning.
• The competition’s final rankings placed Miesheng second and Chen Xihua sixth.
• Chen Sheng, Chen Xihua, and Miaoshan gathered as cultivators congratulated the two friends on their results.

After the Prefecture Competition, spectators debated Venerable Wu Yue’s chances at the State Competition while Chen Sheng and Chen Xihua joined the other top contenders before Nine Li Prefecture’s authorities. Chen Sheng and Chen Xihua received invitations to the Cloud State Dao Academy and were told they would leave for the state capital in half a month.

• Spectators praised the prodigies’ performances against the Nine Refinements Dao Soldiers and argued over whether Venerable Wu Yue could rank among the State Competition’s top ten.
• A purple-robed cultivator contrasted Nine Li Prefecture’s prodigies with the stronger rivals from Cloud Province, Cloud Foothill, Nine Heavens, and White Thunder Prefectures.
• The Black Armor commander escorted Chen Sheng and Chen Xihua into the hall, where they greeted Venerable Wu Yue, Venerable Bai Feng, Venerable Chengkong, and Venerable Shangyuan.
• Prefect Bai praised the six cultivators who defeated the Dao Soldiers, and Inspector Guan He offered Cloud State Dao Academy tokens to the five contenders other than Venerable Wu Yue.
• General Tu Lie announced that the six would depart for the state capital in half a month and could cultivate on the Nine Li Pagoda’s top floor until then.

Chen Sheng sparred with Venerable Wu Yue and gained insight into the limits of his own understanding of Dao principles. Inspector Guan He then guided the six cultivators on evolving Dao Domains and identified Chen Sheng’s sword art as the path most likely to lead him to one.

• Chen Sheng and Venerable Wu Yue fought in the Nine Li Pagoda’s sparring hall, where Wu Yue’s Space Dao techniques eventually broke Chen Sheng’s Taiji defense and sent him crashing into the protective formation.
• Chen Sheng recognized that Wu Yue’s apparent lack of openings reflected the limits of Chen Sheng’s own understanding, while Wu Yue praised Chen Sheng’s sword art.
• Inspector Guan He explained that evolving a Dao Domain required uncovering the source of Dao principles, and advised Venerable Wu Yue to unite the Space Realm-Suppressing Art with his principles.
• Inspector Guan He told Chen Sheng to refine the flow of Yin and Yang, the linkage of the Five Elements, and the condensed power of annihilation until his sword art and Dao principles became one.
• Venerable Wu Yue and the other prodigies were astonished when Inspector Guan He said Chen Sheng was the one most likely to comprehend a Dao Domain first, and Chen Xihua congratulated him.

Chen Sheng and the other Nine Li Prefecture cultivators traveled to Cloud Province Prefecture for the State Competition and marveled at its immense city and powerful defenses. As the competitors settled in, Chen Sheng learned how formidable the field was, but he and Chen Xihua remained hopeful about joining Cloud State Dao Academy.

• Prefect Bai warned the Nine Li Prefecture competitors to be cautious in Cloud Province Prefecture before leading them through the Teleportation Formation.
• Chen Sheng and the others arrived in Cloud Province Prefecture and saw its vast city, guarded by 365 stars and the Great Celestial Star-Dipper Radiant Light Immortal Formation.
• Venerable Wu Yue introduced Chen Sheng and Chen Xihua to Cloud State Dao Academy geniuses, who welcomed them warmly after learning of their achievements.
• Chen Xihua told Chen Sheng and Miaoshan that Cloud Province Prefecture had over five hundred cultivators who had defeated Dao soldiers, making the State Competition difficult.
• Chen Sheng and Chen Xihua discussed the challenge posed by Dao Academy disciples but agreed that joining the academy would fulfill their goal, even if they missed the top hundred.

At the State Competition, the Nine Refinements Master announced that only cultivators who had defeated a Dao Soldier could enter the battle-platform matches, while everyone else would be judged by how many formations they cleared in a golden scroll. Chen Sheng realized the shortened competition left him little time to improve before competing for a place among the top hundred.

• The nine Dharma Lords arrived above the Martial Arts Arena, and Chen Sheng felt the power of their Integration-level Dao laws.
• The Nine Refinements Master unfurled a vast golden scroll and announced that cultivators who had not defeated a Dao Soldier would compete inside its formations.
• The Nine Refinements Master summoned one hundred battle platforms for the qualified cultivators to fight in pairs, with the victors advancing toward the top hundred and the Domain Competition.
• Cultivators who had failed to defeat Dao Soldiers protested or despaired, while Chen Xihua privately thanked Chen Sheng for having earned his qualification.
• Chen Sheng and Chen Xihua speculated that the early selection might lead to training or secret-realm opportunities, but Chen Sheng worried that the compressed schedule hurt his chances.

Chen Sheng fought Liu Xuan in the first battle, breaking through Liu Xuan’s Mountain-River State-Society Mini Formation Diagram with his sword Dao and annihilation principles. He won the duel but emerged injured and exhausted.

• Liu Xuan unleashed his Mountain-River State-Society Mini Formation Diagram and sent waves of killing formations against Chen Sheng.
• Chen Sheng countered Liu Xuan’s formations with the Azure Nether Sword, using Yin-Yang Five Elements power and annihilation principles while sharpening his swordsmanship.
• Liu Xuan activated his Nine Heavens Thunderfall Formation as his ultimate attack.
• Chen Sheng pierced the formation’s core with a six-colored sword rainbow, collapsing the diagram and stopping his sword at Liu Xuan’s throat.
• Liu Xuan admitted defeat and was teleported away, while Chen Sheng spat blood and reflected on how hard he had fought to win.

Chen Sheng recovered from his first fight, won his second and third battles, then was decisively defeated by Mu Yu. Watching from above, Master Hong Jue recognized Chen Sheng’s annihilation sword Dao as kin to his own lineage and claimed him as a prospective disciple.

• The battle platform’s formation restored Chen Sheng’s Mana, and he defeated Zhao Yun by collapsing the Mixed-Cavern True Force with his Yin-Yang Five Elements sword art.
• Chen Sheng defeated Zhou Yuan after withstanding the Flowing Cloud Secret Art’s wind-and-thunder attacks.
• Mu Yu suppressed Chen Sheng with his Heaven-Refining Secret Art’s Dao domain and beat him in a single move.
• The Integration Masters watching the competition praised Chen Sheng’s original annihilation sword Dao and noted its flaws.
• Evergreen Master offered to guide Chen Sheng, but Master Hong Jue insisted that Chen Sheng’s annihilation Dao belonged with his Cloud Foothill Dao Lineage.

After the Cloud Province State Competition ended, Chen Sheng received an Inner Sect jade tablet from Master Hong Jue and was summoned to meet him. Master Hong Jue accepted Chen Sheng as his disciple, gave him a tailored annihilation secret art, and began correcting the flaws in his Sword Dao.

• Chen Sheng and Chen Xihua discussed their losses as the State Competition's duels grew more difficult.
• Chen Sheng finished the competition with forty-one wins and fifty-nine losses, placing two hundred and ninety-seventh, while Venerable Wu Yue placed eighty-seventh and Venerable Mu Yu took first.
• An attendant delivered Chen Sheng a jade tablet marking him as an Inner Sect Disciple under Master Hong Jue, whose Way of Annihilation shared an origin with Chen Sheng's Sword Dao.
• The jade tablet transported Chen Sheng to a starry expanse, where he knelt and performed the rite of taking Master Hong Jue as his master.
• Master Hong Jue inscribed Chen Sheng's tablet, granted him the , and pointed out flaws in his Sword Dao through images of his battles.

After formally becoming Master Hong Jue’s disciple, Chen Sheng learned he would leave for Yunlu Dao Palace in five days. Venerable Wu Yue revealed that Cloud Province’s top hundred cultivators would train in the Cang Yuan Dao Realm for ten years with guidance from Dharma Lords, leaving the others eager to pursue similar opportunities.

• Chen Sheng returned to the council hall and told Prefect Bai and the Nine Li Prefecture cultivators that he had joined Master Hong Jue’s sect and would go to Yunlu Dao Palace in five days.
• Prefect Bai congratulated Chen Sheng, urged him to cultivate diligently, and departed to handle State Competition matters.
• Chen Sheng and Chen Xihua spoke about their coming separation, while Venerable Wu Yue and the others voiced hopes of meeting again on their cultivation paths.
• Venerable Shangyuan asked what the Dharma Lords had discussed with the top hundred cultivators, and Venerable Wu Yue explained that they would enter the Cang Yuan Dao Realm for ten years before the next Domain Competition.
• Venerable Wu Yue said the State Lord and Dharma Lords would personally guide the cultivators each month, prompting awe and envy among the gathered cultivators.
• Venerable Wu Yue explained that Dao Academy students could earn merit for a chance to enter the Cang Yuan Dao Realm, renewing the others’ determination to cultivate.

Chen Sheng studied the Yin Yang Five Elements Annihilation Calamity Solution, a top-tier secret art that clarified his cultivation path but demanded mastery of a Dao Domain for its first layer’s completion. After Master Hong Jue summoned him, Chen Sheng traveled through a Star-Track Tunnel to Yunlu Dao Palace, where he was introduced to its Seven-Star Yaoguang Immortal-Slaying Array and assigned to cultivate on Celestial Pivot.

• Chen Sheng examined the Yin Yang Five Elements Annihilation Calamity Solution and realized it organized his sword Dao and could guide him toward Void Refining perfection.
• Chen Sheng learned that the secret art’s first layer required a Dao Domain and began cultivating its Yin Yang and Five Elements Dao principles.
• Master Hong Jue summoned Chen Sheng from meditation and told him to return to Yunlu with him.
• Master Hong Jue opened a Star-Track Tunnel, and Chen Sheng followed him safely through it to Yunlu.
• Master Hong Jue showed Chen Sheng the Seven-Star Yaoguang Immortal-Slaying Array and said Chen Sheng would cultivate on Celestial Pivot.

Chen Sheng arrived at Yunlu Dao Palace, where Master Hong Jue sent him to the Purple Mist Secret Realm and told him to challenge the Star Tower to determine his cultivation resources. After learning the tower’s rules and the Dao Palace’s affairs, Chen Sheng set out to challenge it.

• Master Hong Jue told Chen Sheng to challenge the Star Tower, then assigned an attendant to take him to the Purple Mist Secret Realm.
• The attendant brought Chen Sheng through the Seven-Star Teleportation Formation to Tianji Star and showed him his residence in Purple Mist Palace.
• Chen Sheng learned that only direct disciples and Inner Sect Disciples were addressed as “Your Highness,” and that Master Hong Jue had three direct disciples, 177 Inner Sect Disciples, and 5,881 registered disciples.
• The attendant explained that the Star Tower had seventeen floors and that cleared floors determined both rewards and the rank of a disciple’s daily cultivation resources.
• After asking about the Dao Palace’s rules and routines, Chen Sheng headed for the Star Tower.