Chapter Summaries

Luo Zheng tried to kill Si Miaoling despite Cui Xie's threat, while Ning Yu Die used the Ci Lie Beast's Annihilating Magic Eye to counter Cui Xie's attack. Luo Zheng survived Cui Xie's next punch because the barrier he had secretly strengthened with runes blocked it, leaving the sect leaders eager to claim his talents.

• Luo Zheng approached the injured Si Miaoling and ignored Cui Xie's warning to stop.
• Cui Xie attacked Luo Zheng, but Ning Yu Die shattered her crystal and used the Ci Lie Beast's Annihilating Magic Eye to erase his first punch.
• Luo Zheng held his sword to Si Miaoling's neck as Cui Xie launched a second punch at him.
• The Martial Arts Arena's barrier blocked Cui Xie's punch, leaving Luo Zheng unharmed.
• The Void Tribulation Realm experts realized Luo Zheng had strengthened the barrier by altering its runes, and the sect leaders coveted his abilities.

Luo Zheng demanded that Cui Xie release Luo Yan, but when Cui Xie threatened to ravage her, Luo Zheng killed Si Miaoling. Cui Xie’s fury brought the confrontation to the brink of battle, though Hua Tianming believed Luo Zheng might still have a chance to survive.

• Cui Xie recognized Luo Zheng and demanded to know what he wanted after Luo Zheng blocked his attack with the Martial Arts Arena’s barrier.
• Luo Zheng demanded that Cui Xie release Luo Yan and warned that he would kill Si Miaoling if Cui Xie refused.
• Black Crow and Poison Blood Lady urged Cui Xie to release Luo Yan, but Cui Xie silenced them and threatened to use the Heavenly Devil Joyous Union Grand Formation.
• Cui Xie offered to return Luo Yan after taking her Yuan Yin, but Luo Zheng rejected the offer and killed Si Miaoling with a sword strike.
• The alliance leaders and Ning Yu Die prepared for battle as spectators fled, while Hua Tianming reasoned that Si Miaoling’s death could delay Cui Xie’s plans and give Luo Zheng time to grow stronger.

After Luo Zheng killed Si Miaoling, Cui Xie threatened him, but Jade Granny and the World Commerce Alliance’s Ancient Overlord intervened and forced Cui Xie to leave with Luo Yan. Jade Granny then struck Luo Zheng with her cane for drawing the Cloud Hall into danger, while Luo Zheng accepted the blow without backing down.

• Cui Xie prepared to kill Luo Zheng, but Ning Yu Die and Jade Granny stood between them to protect him.
• The Ancient Overlord reminded Cui Xie that the Martial Arts Tournament’s rules left life and death to fate, and Cui Xie agreed not to settle the dispute inside Heavenly Revelation City.
• Cui Xie ordered attendants to collect Si Miaoling’s corpse, then departed with Luo Yan and another woman after warning that he might destroy the Cloud Hall.
• After Old Xiao removed the light-barrier formation, Jade Granny struck Luo Zheng with her cane and blamed him for bringing Cui Xie’s revenge upon the Cloud Hall.
• Luo Zheng reminded Jade Granny that she had told him Si Miaoling would appear at the tournament, while Jade Granny insisted she had never asked Ning Yu Die to intervene.

After killing Si Miaoling, Luo Zheng delayed Cui Xie's plan to activate the Heavenly Devil Joyous Union Grand Formation, but he still needed to grow stronger to rescue Luo Yan. His rune barrier astonished the Central Region's Runemasters and drew the attention of the major sects, while the Martial Arts Tournament faced uncertainty after the Fighting Stage was destroyed.

• Luo Zheng's actions forced Cui Xie to leave without Luo Yan, delaying the formation's activation, and the watching martial artists marveled that he had killed Si Miaoling in front of Cui Xie.
• Poison Blood Lady tried to draw Luo Zheng to Bloodwood Cliff, while Alliance Master Shi asked how he had made the barrier; Luo Zheng claimed he had inherited rune techniques from a senior.
• Tower Master Nie and two other Runemasters examined three Four-Star Runes recovered from the wreckage and were stunned by their unfamiliar, intricate designs.
• Qingxu Daoren and the other Sect Masters considered asking Luo Zheng to help them with runes, then Old Xiao asked what would happen to the tournament's remaining matches.

After Luo Zheng killed Si Miaoling, the major sects recognized that Cui Xie remained a threat to them all, while Ning Yu Die and Jade Granny worried about the danger he posed to the Cloud Hall. Luo Zheng withdrew from the tournament to offer the Cloud Hall a way to defend itself: a Sect Protecting Grand Array.

• Yan Yueshan carried the destroyed Fighting Stage back and set it in place so the remaining matches could proceed.
• Jade Granny warned Ning Yu Die that the Cloud Hall could not withstand Cui Xie, and Ning Yu Die regretted acting impulsively to protect Luo Zheng.
• Luo Zheng told Jade Granny he could deal with Cui Xie, then said he wanted to withdraw from the Martial Arts Tournament to forge a Sect Protecting Grand Array for the Cloud Hall.
• Luo Zheng claimed he was eighty percent certain the array could block Cui Xie, and Jade Granny agreed to provide all the materials and expenses.

Cloud Hall withdrew from the Martial Arts Tournament after Cui Xie threatened it, and Luo Zheng warned the World Commerce Alliance that the Rising Dragon Platform imprisoned entrants without Dragon Clan blood for a thousand years. Back at Cloud Hall, the elders learned Cui Xie was coming and argued over whether to hand Luo Zheng over.

• Xiao Jie drew a Challenge Token hoping to fight Luo Zheng, but Ning Yu Die withdrew Cloud Hall from the tournament before he could challenge him.
• Luo Zheng gave Old Xiao a note revealing that entrants without Dragon Clan blood were imprisoned on the Rising Dragon Platform for a thousand years, shocking Shi Kefan, Yan Yueshan, and Mo Haishan.
• Ning Yu Die returned to Cloud Hall and ordered it placed on alert because a powerful enemy was coming.
• Grand Dream True Person told the elders that Cui Xie was Cloud Hall's enemy and recounted what had happened at the tournament.
• Great Master Zhuo proposed handing Luo Zheng over to appease Cui Xie, while Grand Dream True Person silently supported Ning Yu Die.

Ning Yu Die rejected the elders’ demand to hand Luo Zheng over to Cui Xie and ordered Zong Rui to help Luo Zheng build a new Sect Protecting Grand Array. The chapter left them preparing to start immediately, with Luo Zheng warning that Cui Xie might arrive as soon as the next day.

• Jade Granny left Cloud Sea City’s affairs to Ning Yu Die, while Luo Zheng waited for Zong Rui so they could work on the Sect Protecting Grand Array.
• Great Master Zhuo and several elders demanded that Ning Yu Die surrender Luo Zheng to appease Cui Xie.
• Ning Yu Die argued that Luo Zheng had prevented Cui Xie from establishing the Heavenly Devil Joyous Union Grand Formation, then warned the elders that she would deal with Cui Xie herself.
• The elders withdrew after Ning Yu Die’s anger chilled the palace and her ice phoenix spread its wings.
• Ning Yu Die told Zong Rui to abandon his analysis of the old array and assist Luo Zheng in creating a new one, using Cloud Sea City’s resources.
• Zong Rui questioned the urgency, and Luo Zheng warned that Cui Xie might come knocking the next day.

Luo Zheng began creating Cloud Hall’s Sect Protecting Grand Array after estimating its thousands of divine marks and gathering the required materials. He drew hundreds of marks with remarkable stamina, while Ning Yu Die arrived and watched him work.

• Luo Zheng consulted Azure Dragon and learned that Cloud Hall’s array required 4,901 divine marks and a vast quantity of materials.
• Luo Zheng ordered Zong Rui to gather the materials at any cost, and Cloud Hall collected them all within three days.
• Luo Zheng began drawing the array’s divine marks in Zong Rui’s hall, completing more than two hundred Three-Star Divine Marks in six hours.
• After resting overnight, Luo Zheng resumed drawing, and Ning Yu Die arrived and quietly watched him.

Ning Yu Die endured Cloud Hall’s pressure to keep Luo Zheng drawing divine marks while Cui Xie searched for a way to repair Cui Yun’s Martial Heart. After Luo Zheng completed the first of the three crucial Five-Star Divine Marks, opponents of Ning Yu Die stormed the hall and disrupted his work.

• Ning Yu Die faced elders and vassal leaders demanding that she hand Luo Zheng over, but she held to her decision to rely on him against Cui Xie.
• Luo Zheng pushed himself through days of drawing divine marks, aided by a Soul Nurturing Jade pendant and soul-nourishing pills, while Cloud Hall tracked Cui Xie’s search for a cure for Cui Yun.
• On the nineteenth day, Luo Zheng completed the four thousand nine hundred lesser divine marks and began drawing the three Five-Star Divine Marks needed for the Sect Protecting Grand Array.
• Luo Zheng finished the defensive Five-Star Divine Mark called “Full Water Light,” impressing Zong Rui with its power and Law of Power.
• A group of Cloud Hall members arrived, accused Ning Yu Die of hiding, and demanded Luo Zheng be seized or handed over; Zong Rui angrily confronted them.

As Cloud Sea Hall panicked over the threat of Cui Xie, Luo Zheng continued preparing its Sect Protecting Grand Array while a hostile crowd gathered to seize him. He completed the Thunder Punishment Wrath and began drawing the Chaotic Trap, whose illusion ensnared Zong Rui and the others.

• Rumors about Luo Zheng's encounter with Cui Xie spread through Cloud Sea City, and growing fear led Ning Yu Die to retreat into seclusion.
• Great Master Zhuo stirred elders, clan heads, and Sect Masters into confronting Luo Zheng at Zong Rui's hall.
• Luo Zheng ignored the crowd and completed the Five-Star Divine Mark Thunder Punishment Wrath with Azure Dragon's help.
• Luo Zheng began drawing the Chaotic Trap and broke free from the illusion of Ning Yu Die without assistance.
• Zong Rui and the others stared blankly into the mist as the Chaotic Trap's illusion drew in their souls.

Luo Zheng completed a Five-Star divine mark whose illusions overwhelmed Cloud Hall’s elders and deacons, then rejected Great Master Zhuo’s demand that he leave. As he prepared the remaining runes for Cloud Hall’s protective array, he told the wavering elders he was eighty percent confident it could keep Cui Xie out.

• Luo Zheng completed the Chaos Trap divine mark, using Azure Dragon’s soul power to overwhelm the people in the hall with alluring illusions and murderous pressure.
• The illusion ended, and Great Master Zhuo realized Luo Zheng was no ordinary Spirit Illumination Realm cultivator and renewed his intent to kill him.
• Great Master Zhuo demanded that Luo Zheng leave Cloud Hall to spare it from Cui Xie, but Luo Zheng refused and told the elders to leave.
• Luo Zheng sorted the divine marks needed to build Cloud Hall’s protective array and said it could keep Cui Xie outside.
• When the elders asked how confident he was, Luo Zheng answered, “Eighty percent.”

Luo Zheng reassured the elders that his Sect Protecting Grand Array could withstand much of Cui Xie's power, then spent nearly a month building the Small Great Cycle Three Kill Array over the Cloud Hall. The array activated successfully, and its defensive barrier absorbed a Void Tribulation Realm elder's spear strike without breaking.

• Luo Zheng ignored Great Master Zhuo's taunts, warned Ning Yu Die that Great Master Zhuo might cause trouble, and began setting up the Sect Protecting Grand Array with Zong Rui.
• Azure Dragon explained that Luo Zheng's reduced formation imitated the Great Cycle Three Kill Array, one of three great wondrous arrays, and Luo Zheng and his assistants arranged its divine marks across the Cloud Hall.
• After nearly a month, Luo Zheng completed the four thousand nine hundred and three divine marks and used the formation disk to activate the Small Great Cycle Three Kill Array.
• The formation's Thunder Punishment Wrath fired, its Chaos Trap settled into place, and its Full Water Light formed a barrier over the Cloud Hall.
• An elder thrust his Black Spear at the barrier, but it only rippled, leaving him shocked and delighted.

Cloud Hall tested its new Full Water Light barrier, and Jade Granny’s approval strengthened Luo Zheng’s standing there. After three months without Cui Xie’s attack, Ning Yu Die summoned Luo Zheng about the World Commerce Alliance’s invitation to the Heavenly Vast Immortal Tomb, whose treasures included items they both wanted; as they considered whether the tomb was a trap, a powerful pressure descended over Cloud Hall.

• Cloud Hall’s elders attacked the Full Water Light barrier but could not break it, and Jade Granny confirmed that it had withstood her full-strength strikes.
• Jade Granny called Luo Zheng Cloud Hall’s lucky star, and the sect stayed alert while Cui Xie remained absent for three months.
• Luo Zheng reached the seventh level of the Spirit Illumination Realm and went to meet Ning Yu Die, who showed him the World Commerce Alliance’s Lantern Festival invitation.
• Ning Yu Die said she wanted the Life and Death Flower, while Crimson Dragon reminded Luo Zheng that the Immortal Jade Bone could help him open the eighth level of the Dao Platform.
• Luo Zheng questioned whether the Heavenly Vast Immortal Tomb and its Spirit Lamps were a trap, and Ning Yu Die considered the possibility.
• A powerful pressure suddenly enveloped the sky above Cloud Hall, alarming Luo Zheng and Ning Yu Die.

Cui Xie returned to the Central Region after seeking treatment for Cui Yun and confronted Cloud Palace, demanding revenge for his son and Si Miaoling. As Cui Xie gathered power to attack, Luo Zheng stood behind the barrier while Jade Granny and Ning Yu Die prepared to defend Cloud Palace.

• Cui Xie’s overwhelming might struck Cloud Sea City after he returned from a three-month trip to the South Sea with Cui Yun.
• Cui Xie arrived at Cloud Palace and told Jade Granny that he would avenge Cui Yun and Si Miaoling, regardless of who had been at fault.
• Luo Zheng faced Cui Xie across the barrier and refused to hand himself over, even when Cui Xie threatened to bury Cloud Palace with him.
• Cui Xie gathered Heaven and Earth Essence to attack, while Jade Granny restored her youthful appearance and Ning Yu Die donned ice armor and raised her Mystic Ice Halberd.
• Cloud Palace’s elders took up battle formation as Luo Zheng remained motionless behind the barrier.

Luo Zheng watched as Cui Xie tested Cloud Hall’s Sect Protecting Grand Array with increasingly powerful attacks, but Full Water Light blocked them all. When the array counterattacked with illusionary smoke and lightning, Cui Xie realized it could threaten even his life.

• Cui Xie’s Shattered Firmament punch struck Full Water Light, which absorbed the force without harming Luo Zheng.
• Ning Yu Die and Cloud Hall’s elders recognized the barrier’s immense value, while Cui Xie was shocked that his punch had failed.
• Cui Xie drew the Nameless Ring Blade and unleashed Wrathful Void Slash, leaving a deep mark on the barrier but failing to break it.
• As Cui Xie prepared another attack, illusionary smoke spread toward him and a powerful bolt of lightning struck nearby.
• Cui Xie evaded the array’s attacks and realized Cloud Hall’s grand array could kill him.

Luo Zheng and Zong Rui nearly trapped Cui Xie in the Cloud Hall’s formations, forcing him to retreat after Luo Zheng demanded that he release Luo Yan. Cui Xie vented his humiliation by destroying Cloud Sea City’s outer walls before leaving, and the Cloud Hall relaxed after surviving the attack.

• Zong Rui’s Chaos Trap and Thunder Punishment Wrath nearly caught Cui Xie, but Cui Xie escaped the formation’s attacks.
• Cui Xie recognized Luo Zheng as a potential opponent, while Luo Zheng told him to release Luo Yan or be killed.
• Luo Zheng ordered Zong Rui to drive Cui Xie away, and Thunder Punishment Wrath forced Cui Xie to retreat from the Cloud Hall.
• Cui Xie destroyed Cloud Sea City’s outer walls, killing or injuring hundreds, then left the city.
• Jade Granny returned to her aged appearance, and the Cloud Hall’s elders and disciples relaxed after Cui Xie departed.

After Luo Zheng drove Cui Xie away with Cloud Hall’s Sect Protecting Grand Array, his reputation spread across the Central Region. On the Lantern Festival, several powerful figures lit their Immortal Tomb Spirit Lamps, while the World Commerce Alliance’s Ancient Overlord predicted that the ninth lamp had appeared.

• News of Cloud Hall’s array and Luo Zheng’s confrontation with Cui Xie spread, and people debated Luo Zheng’s strength and prospects.
• Cloud Hall’s people began treating Luo Zheng like an elder, while rumors about his relationship with Ning Yu Die circulated in private.
• A hidden Life and Death Realm expert lit his Immortal Tomb Spirit Lamp for the seventy-seventh Lantern Festival and watched its six marks glow.
• The Ancient Overlord told the World Commerce Alliance leaders to light their lamp and summon the elders, and Yan Yueshan lit the seventh mark.
• Cui Xie prepared to travel to the Heavenly Vast Immortal Tomb with six Void Tribulation Realm followers and lit the eighth mark on his lamp.

Ning Yu Die and Luo Zheng lit the ninth Immortal Tomb Spirit Lamp, opening a teleportation gate to the Heavenly Vast Immortal Tomb. The Cloud Hall group arrived safely at its entrance, where Grand Dream True Person sent a puppet through the sole passageway to check for danger.

• Ning Yu Die and Luo Zheng lit the final Immortal Tomb Spirit Lamp, and lamps across the Central Region ignited as well.
• The Heavenly Vast Immortal Tomb began glowing, and a human face formed from black substance in a secret chamber inside it.
• Luo Zheng and the Cloud Hall group entered the teleportation gate and emerged inside a barrier surrounding the tomb, where a Deep Sea Demon Kun struck the barrier and swam away.
• Grand Dream True Person sent a puppet into the only passageway to scout ahead.
• Grand Dream True Person confirmed that the passageway was safe, and the group prepared to enter.

Martial artists from the Central Region and the Four Divine Kingdoms entered the Heavenly Vast Immortal Tomb, where a powerful force suppressed everyone’s cultivation. Luo Zheng discovered that his Xun token protected him from the suppression, and the group reached the passageway entrance as Jade Granny warned of something ahead.

• Martial artists from several Central Region forces emerged from the lamps, while a woman in black and her companions from the Four Divine Kingdoms entered through another passage.
• The woman in black declared she would kill anyone who tried to take the thing she sought, then charged into the passage with the handsome man and their guards.
• A powerful suppressive force reduced every entrant’s cultivation by a major realm, including Ning Yu Die, Fei Han, and Jade Granny.
• Luo Zheng realized his cultivation had not been suppressed and traced the protection to the glowing Xun token inside Ning Yu Die’s Sumeru Ring.
• The Cloud Hall group reached the passageway entrance, where Jade Granny warned them that something was ahead.

The Cloud Palace group encountered powerful Yin Corpses in the Heavenly Vast Immortal Tomb, where their cultivation was suppressed. As the elders fought off a horde, Luo Zheng revealed he could destroy a Yin Corpse with one sword strike.

• Jade Granny warned the group as a Yin Corpse attacked Grand Dream True Person’s puppet and tore it apart.
• Great Master Zhuo killed the Yin Corpse with a spear thrust that exploded its head.
• The Cloud Palace group discovered hundreds of Yin Corpses behind railings that retracted into the passage walls, unleashing them.
• Jade Granny ordered the group to fight, and the elders protected the weaker Cloud Palace disciples as they struggled against the Yin Corpses.
• Luo Zheng destroyed a Yin Corpse attacking him with one strike of his Saint Grade Low Rank sword, stunning the nearby elder and disciples.