Chapter Summaries

Chen Zhixing continued hiding in the Northern Domain while Great Luo Dao Land, battered by his disasters, began considering peace. One Wonder True Lord remained under pressure to resolve the crisis, while Heavenly Saint Palace struggled to contain the Heavenly Fox and resented the losses caused by Great Luo Dao Land.

• Chen Zhixing reasoned that his attacks could ruin the Heavenly Xuan Realm, but planned to keep pressuring the Three Great Holy Lands and flee if necessary.
• Chen Zhixing left his mountain village with his two disciples and traveled north through the Northern Domain.
• Great Luo Dao Land's Longevity Realm cultivators admitted they could not locate Chen Zhixing's true body and urged One Wonder True Lord to negotiate peace.
• One Wonder True Lord said she would make peace if she encountered Chen Zhixing, though she also promised to resolve the matter.
• Heavenly Saint Palace's elders reported heavy losses fighting the Heavenly Fox and blamed One Wonder True Lord for the crisis in the Southern Domain.

As the spirit realm and Ascension Immortal Sect struggled with mounting crises, Heavenly Saint Palace struck down the Heavenly Fox and cooled the Southern Domain’s earth veins. At Shi Village, Chen Zhixing discussed the weapon’s power with Willow God, who identified Wang Lin’s Little Green Bottle as a sealed treasure and suggested a possible way to restore it.

• A tiger-striped blue ox in the spirit realm grew hungry as souls rained down, while Azure Wood Dao Lord was trapped in the rioting Xuanming Abyss.
• Ascension Immortal Sect’s Longevity cultivators argued over the unrest, the sealed aristocratic families, and whether their sect should aid the spirit-realm Dao Lords.
• Heavenly Saint Palace descended on the Heavenly Fox, struck it out of the Heavenly Xuan Realm, and absorbed earthfire to prevent a Southern Domain eruption.
• Chen Zhixing reasoned that Heavenly Saint Palace’s overwhelming strike likely came at a great cost, and Willow God explained that the weapon had been left to protect the human branch.
• Willow God sensed that Wang Lin’s Little Green Bottle could once control time and had been sealed, then suggested taking it to the Black Coffin on the Snowy Plateau to undo part of the seal.

Chen Zhixing left Chen Moqing in Shi Village and discussed humanity’s ancient origins with Willow God while preparing to enter the Universal Realm. Meanwhile, Great Luo Dao Land restored the volcanic regions, and One Wonder True Lord arranged to deliver Evergreen Tree Fruits to Heavenly Saint Palace after its Emperor Weapon suppressed the Heavenly Fox.

• Shi Hao tried to feed Chen Moqing a giant fruit, then chased and tossed him through the air while Chen Zhixing let the brothers play.
• Chen Zhixing told Willow God he planned to leave the Heavenly Xuan Realm and leave Chen Moqing in Shi Village, and Willow God described an ancient first-generation human race that had pursued every cultivation path.
• After reflecting on the ancient race, Chen Zhixing resumed cultivating and set himself seven years to reach the Longevity Realm before the spatial fissure opened.
• An Evergreen Dao Lord restored two volcanic ranges with giant trees, then died after the trees absorbed the ash and spread their power across the land.
• One Wonder True Lord collected the trees’ fruits, discussed the awakened Dao Lords with Black Bodhi, and ordered him to deliver the fruits to Heavenly Saint Palace after confirming that its Emperor Weapon had suppressed the Heavenly Fox.

Chen Zhixing took Wang Lin, Shi Hao, and Chen Moqing to a sealed underground lava cavern for three months of training without supplies. Shi Hao adapted quickly and found food and shelter, while Wang Lin struggled despite his higher cultivation.

• Shi Hao tried to make Wang Lin and Chen Moqing eat his badly roasted meat, and Chen Moqing endured a large serving without being poisoned.
• Chen Zhixing brought the three disciples underground and left them in a lava cavern, sealing the exits and their storage tools.
• Wang Lin refused to use the Little Green Bottle and led the others to search the cavern for water and food.
• Shi Hao discovered edible lava fish, moss, insects, and roots, then killed a crocodile-like Desolate Beast and made a shelter that could float on magma.
• Wang Lin fought a blind armored-rat-like Desolate Beast and was injured, while Shi Hao proved far more capable at surviving in the cavern.

Chen Moqing, Shi Hao, and Wang Lin raided a Black Rat nest and shared the fruits they seized, while Chen Zhixing watched them and later met Clarified Butter True Lord at the ruins of Purple Gold Mountain. Clarified Butter explained the fallout from Chen Zhixing’s actions and revealed that Chen Changfeng had once been courted by the Three Great Holy Lands, leaving Chen Zhixing asking what choice his ancestor had made.

• Chen Moqing helped Shi Hao and Wang Lin escape the Black Rats with a boulder, and Shi Hao forced him to eat a Phoenix Essence Fruit.
• Shi Hao and Wang Lin gave Chen Moqing the red fruits they had gathered, then the three brothers shared the remaining fruit before heading into other tunnels.
• Chen Zhixing’s thought incarnation watched the brothers and reflected on how family upbringing shaped their generosity.
• Chen Zhixing met Clarified Butter True Lord at the former site of Purple Gold Mountain and discussed his confrontation with the Central Region and its consequences.
• Clarified Butter told Chen Zhixing that the Heavenly Fox’s actions had caused disturbances in the spiritual world, then said Chen Changfeng had received offers from the Three Great Holy Lands.
• Chen Zhixing asked Clarified Butter what choice Chen Changfeng had made.

Chen Zhixing rejected Clarified Butter True Lord’s warning, while Clarified Butter left without fighting and told him to stay away from Jiang Province until he grew stronger. Meanwhile, Chen Tianyuan returned to Eastern Continent and negotiated with Ascension Immortal Venerable, who advised him to take Chen Zhixing overseas; Ascension remained unwilling to interfere in the rules and conflicts governing the Three Great Holy Lands.

• Chen Zhixing told Clarified Butter True Lord that he would rise beyond the Heavenly Saint Palace’s power, and Clarified Butter recalled Chen Changfeng’s warning from two thousand years earlier.
• Clarified Butter chose not to suppress Chen Zhixing and left after warning him not to return to Jiang Province before reaching the realm he imagined.
• After Clarified Butter departed, Chen Zhixing reflected on his isolation and hoped that more formidable people would share his path, as enemies or friends.
• Chen Tianyuan arrived at Yandang Mountain and played a game of chess with Ascension Immortal Venerable to gain entry into Eastern Continent.
• Ascension advised Chen Tianyuan to take Chen Zhixing overseas, and promised to protect the Chen Family’s inheritance while he remained Eastern Continent’s warden.
• Ascension reflected that he could not sever his attachments or defy the Three Great Holy Lands’ collective will, and accepted his quiet life rather than pursue Above Longevity.

Chen Tianyuan returned to Ziwei Mountain to spend his remaining days with Chen Zhixing, sharing stories and revealing that Ascension Immortal Venerable owed him a life. He told Chen Zhixing to preserve that debt and call on Ascension Immortal Venerable for help when needed.

• Chen Tianyuan spent the day reminiscing with Chen Zhixing and explained that he was dying after sacrificing much of his cultivation to return to the Eastern Continent.
• Chen Tianyuan asked Chen Zhixing to bury him on a platform atop Second Peak, then fell asleep in a small house Chen Zhixing made for him.
• Chen Tianyuan continued visiting Chen Zhixing over the next few days and revealed that Ascension Immortal Venerable owed him a life.
• Chen Tianyuan said he would let Ascension Immortal Venerable carry the debt even after his death, and urged Chen Zhixing to collect on it if he ever needed help.

Chen Tianyuan gave Chen Zhixing a secret favor from Li Er, then used his final days to teach him how Dao Lords harvested cultivators through the spirit realm. After Chen Tianyuan died, Chen Zhixing left without claiming the favor, and resolved to understand the Dao Lord method for himself.

• Chen Tianchen gave Chen Zhixing Li Er’s promise of a favor and explained why the Chen Family could not make use of it.
• Chen Tianyuan joked about Chen Zhixing’s fearsome reputation, then spent his final days teaching him through the decline and burning of his spiritual body.
• Chen Tianyuan’s spirituality ignited his body, and he died after asking Chen Zhixing to bury him and later return his remains to Ziwei Mountain.
• Li Er explained why Chen Tianyuan’s spiritual body burned out quickly, but Chen Zhixing ignored him and carried the coffin away.
• Li Er watched Chen Zhixing bury Chen Tianyuan, then bowed at the grave and acknowledged the lesson he had received.
• Chen Zhixing concluded that Dao Lords harvested later cultivators by borrowing authority from the spirit realm and believed he could learn the method with enough time.

Chen Zhixing concluded that the ancient Longevity tree in the Withered Plains might be his only viable target for learning spirit world Dao Lord authority, then traveled to Ganzhou with Shi Hao. Shi Hao attended Iron Sword Gate’s Heaven Sword Old Man’s birthday gathering on Chen Zhixing’s orders and was stunned by how weak Ganzhou’s celebrated cultivators were.

• Chen Zhixing ruled out the Three Great Holy Lands and the North Sea black tortoise as targets, leaving the immobile Longevity tree in the Western Region’s Withered Plains as his likely option.
• Chen Zhixing considered the tree’s history: One Wonder True Lord had turned the Polo Kingdom’s sacrifice into Black Bodhi and the ancient tree, which had drained the land and become a recurring source for the spirit world to harvest.
• Chen Zhixing arrived in Ganzhou near the Withered Plains, where Iron Sword Gate was holding an eight-hundredth birthday celebration for its sect master, Heaven Sword Old Man.
• Shi Hao questioned why Chen Zhixing had ordered him to congratulate the aging Nirvana Realm sect master, but still presented himself at Iron Sword Gate in ornate magic artifacts and carrying Spirit Stones.
• At the gathering, Shi Hao heard guests praise Venerable Molo’s True Self Seventh Level cultivation and prospects of reaching Nirvana, and he was appalled by Ganzhou’s standards for genius.

Chen Zhixing forced Heaven Sword Old Man to lend Heaven Sword Gate’s manpower to develop the Withered Plains, and Heaven Sword devised a plan to unite the birthday guests under his influence. Shi Hao was drugged and carried away, then woke to find two women accusing him of forcing himself on them.

• Heaven Sword Old Man returned to Chen Zhixing, apologized, and agreed to put Heaven Sword Gate’s disciples at his disposal in exchange for resources and a life-extending flat peach.
• Chen Zhixing ordered Heaven Sword Old Man to deal with Shi Hao and supplied him with a pile of goods as payment.
• Heaven Sword Old Man drugged Shi Hao with wine, had him carried to a guest room, and announced that he would choose a new sect master from among the birthday guests.
• Heaven Sword Old Man proposed using the selection to form a Heaven Severing Alliance, and Chen Zhixing approved of his strategy.
• Shi Hao woke that evening to find Yue'er and Xin'er accusing him of forcing himself on them.

Shi Hao was left in the Heaven Severing Mountain Range by Chen Zhixing to learn from his mistakes, while Chen Zhixing investigated the Earth Vein Ancient Tree in the Western Continent. He discovered the tree was accumulating deadly fire poison and realized someone might frame him for the coming disaster.

• Shi Hao admitted to Chen Zhixing that he had trusted Heaven Sword Old Man, failed to guard against poison, and acted too softhearted, but Chen Zhixing left him in the Heaven Severing Mountain Range until he understood his mistake.
• Chen Zhixing examined the Earth Vein Ancient Tree and learned that Great Luo Dao Land had made it drain the Western Continent's earth veins to supply spiritual vitality to the spirit realm.
• Chen Zhixing concluded that the tree had only about three months to live after the Western Continent's earth veins were depleted and its spiritual vitality had been harvested.
• Chen Zhixing discovered that the tree was converting magma into cultivation while trapping fire poison inside itself, threatening to poison the Western Continent when it erupted.
• Chen Zhixing suspected someone had engineered the danger to frame him, then accepted that his reputation might be used against him and resolved to collect the debt from whoever was responsible.
• A wisp of flame appeared where Chen Zhixing was touching the Earth Vein Ancient Tree.

Chen Zhixing toppled the Earth Vein Ancient Tree and studied the spirit world's ignition and recycling mechanism as it burned. His observations led him to suspect that Dao Lords absorbed cultivation like magnets and risked being assimilated by their Great Daos over time.

• Chen Zhixing pushed over the Earth Vein Ancient Tree, causing a catastrophic quake across the Western Continent.
• Longevity Realm cultivators gathered their wills above the continent, dismissed Chen Zhixing as acting with Great Luo Dao Land's approval, and watched him prepare a burial rite.
• As the tree's spiritual body ignited, Chen Zhixing comprehended that Karma Fire burned away the remains of powerful beings to prevent them from transforming into dangerous entities.
• Chen Zhixing recognized that the golden fire was derived from the Undying Emperor Lord's Corpse Fire, modified to burn and recycle cultivation.
• After observing the tree burn out, Chen Zhixing concluded that cultivation flowed into the spirit world through gravitational aggregation and was drawn toward Dao Lords according to its attributes.
• Chen Zhixing reasoned that Dao Lords could lose their humanity and be assimilated by their Daos over tens of thousands of years, then wondered about the significance of ten thousand years.

The elders explained the cultivation realms beyond Longevity and revealed the Heavenly Saint Palace’s ancient origins and the death of its Above Longevity predecessor. At Great Luo Dao Land, One Wonder True Lord resented the forces that had constrained her and Ascension, while anticipating that Chen Zhixing and other future powers might disrupt their control of the Heavenly Xuan Realm.

• The elders said Dao Lords could complete their Dao and reach Above Longevity, though even those figures could be killed, as the former master of the Heavenly Saint Palace had been.
• The elders said the Heavenly Saint Palace had brought the realm’s peoples from the void, but they refused to discuss its split and the resulting holy lands and schools.
• One Wonder True Lord told Ascension Immortal Venerable to leave Emperor Trampling Mountain, but he persuaded her to wait for him and she eventually agreed to give him more time.
• One Wonder True Lord complained to Black Bodhi that the Emperor Lord and Ascension had surpassed her, and she blamed Ascension for failing to resist the forces that had suppressed her chance to become immortal.
• One Wonder True Lord explained that she had disrupted the Star Palace’s support for Chen Zhixing to prevent him from replacing Huayu, then wondered whether hidden forces could keep controlling the Heavenly Xuan Realm for the next million years.

Chen Zhixing reached the Summit Eighth Level after the Earth Vein Ancient Tree fell, while Shi Hao was beaten and lectured by Heaven Sword Old Man in the Heaven Severing Mountain Range. Heaven Sword Old Man ended by revealing that the Sikong family had been exterminated after taking part in the last Eastern Profound Grand Competition.

• The Earth Vein Ancient Tree burned out and became a mountain range, while visiting Longevity True Lords paid tolls to Ascension Immortal Venerable as their Divine Senses departed Eastern Xuan Province.
• Chen Zhixing considered the origins of several cultivators’ cheats, judged Shi Hao to be a genuine Heavenly Pride, and advanced to the Summit Eighth Level.
• Shi Hao was tied up and repeatedly beaten by Heaven Sword Old Man, who explained Ganzhou’s scarcity of resources and praised the old man’s own combat strength.
• Heaven Sword Old Man claimed he could have won the last Eastern Profound Grand Competition and warned Shi Hao that the event was beneath someone of his standing.
• Heaven Sword Old Man revealed that the Sikong family had been wiped out after participating in the last Eastern Profound Grand Competition.

Shi Hao saw the fallen Earth Vein Ancient Tree and learned that One Wonder Holy Master had planted it, while Chen Zhixing returned to Heaven Severing Mountain Range and discovered Iron Sword Gate was rebuilding and planning to unify Ganzhou. Heaven Sword Old Man asked Chen Zhixing to lend his name to the plan, leaving Ganzhou’s fate in his hands.

• Heaven Sword Old Man took Shi Hao to Yellow Dragon Peak, where Shi Hao saw the fallen Earth Vein Ancient Tree lying like a new mountain beside the Heaven Severing Mountain Range.
• Heaven Sword Old Man told Shi Hao that One Wonder Holy Master had planted the tree just over one hundred and seventy years earlier, and Shi Hao was stunned by the scale of a Longevity True Lord’s power.
• Chen Zhixing observed Iron Sword Gate disciples building a city below Heaven Severing Mountain to shelter disaster-struck commoners and help them live safely.
• Chen Zhixing reflected that Iron Sword Gate’s city might prosper, but Ganzhou lacked the resources to support a Longevity True Lord.
• Chen Zhixing noticed Heaven Sword Old Man rebuilding Iron Sword Gate on an ambitious scale and suspected he planned to unify Ganzhou.
• Heaven Sword Old Man asked Chen Zhixing to let him borrow his name to unite Ganzhou and prepare for the future annexation of the Western Continent.

Sword God Old Man won Chen Zhixing’s permission to consolidate Ganzhou’s small sects into the Iron Sword Sect, and explained to Shi Hao that uniting the province’s cultivators and resources could give them the strength to grow. The consolidation began without resistance, setting off a province-wide struggle in which smaller forces would be absorbed by larger ones.

• Chen Zhixing agreed to let Sword God Old Man pursue his plans, and Sword God Old Man left to organize the merger and name the new sect.
• Shi Hao called Sword God Old Man spineless, prompting Chen Zhixing to tell him that backbone mattered and to remember his words.
• Sword God Old Man explained to Shi Hao that gathering small sects would preserve their techniques, concentrate resources, and let Ganzhou cultivators withstand greater risks.
• Sword God Old Man began absorbing the cultivators around the Heaven Severing Mountain Range, prompting other sects to follow suit rather than risk being swallowed.
• Sword God Old Man’s backing from Chen Zhixing deterred outside powers and internal opposition, leaving Ganzhou’s factions to compete in a contest of big fish eating little fish.

Wang Hao learned that Mang Cang Gate would likely submit to the Iron Sword Sect, despite its members' talk of resistance, and discovered that his master He Qiang was quietly preparing for the takeover. The chapter ended with Wang Hao continuing his cultivation as the Iron Sword Sect's people arrived.

• Wang Hao listened as Mang Cang Gate's elders and stewards debated resisting the Iron Sword Sect's annexation and heard that a Nirvana Realm cultivator backed it.
• Wang Hao questioned He Qiang in the ancestral hall, and He Qiang admitted the elders' protests were partly a show to secure spiritual treasures before the takeover.
• He Qiang told Wang Hao that joining the Iron Sword Sect could benefit his cultivation and urged him to welcome its people when they arrived.
• Wang Hao noticed Mang Cang Gate's members removing spiritual resources while the elders argued with He Qiang about a secret realm and family inheritance.
• Wang Hao continued cultivating on Mang Cang Mountain until the Iron Sword Sect's people arrived.

Shi Hao arrived at Mang Cang Mountain as Iron Sword Gate moved to take it over, while two Mang Cang elders secretly entered Moon Lake to seize its hidden treasures. Wang Hao followed them into the lake and discovered a blessed land, where He Qiang and He Zhen were fighting Elder Huang; the battle was still raging when the chapter ended.

• Huzi ignored Shi Hao's warning and led his men up Mang Cang Mountain to take some Spiritual Bamboo.
• Elder Guo and Elder Huang agreed to force their way into Moon Lake, hoping to claim its secret realm and Mang Cang Gate's treasures.
• Wang Hao followed the elders underwater, using his Crescent Artifact to hide from them as they fought and killed two giant pythons.
• Wang Hao passed through an underwater opening and discovered a Small World with a sun overhead, realizing Moon Lake concealed a blessed land.
• Wang Hao saw He Qiang and He Zhen fighting Elder Huang alongside two Spirit Wandering Realm pythons, but Elder Huang held his own against all four.

Wang Hao was captured by the wounded Elder Huang, who persuaded him to cooperate by promising cultivation resources and a chance to enter the Moon Lake Secret Realm. The two slipped past He Qiang under the Crescent Artifact’s protection and entered the secret realm, where they saw He Zhen among black snakes and bamboo-eating bears.

• Elder Huang fought He Qiang and his forces, but a swarm of Black Serpents and the golden ring knocked him into the lake.
• Elder Huang found Wang Hao, forced him to shelter them with the Crescent Artifact, and argued that He Qiang had favored He Zhen while hiding the secret realm’s treasures.
• Elder Huang offered Wang Hao resources and influence if he helped seize the secret realm, and Wang Hao agreed on the condition that his master and senior brother be spared.
• Wang Hao and Elder Huang used the Crescent Artifact to pass unseen by He Qiang and enter the Moon Lake Secret Realm.
• Wang Hao and Elder Huang saw He Zhen leading black snakes through a bamboo forest, where black-and-white bears were eating moon bamboo.

Wang Hao and Elder Huang discovered that the Flower Bears in the Moon Lake Secret Realm were Moon Bears, then encountered the powerful Moon Bear King and Shi Hao. Realizing the secret realm belonged to someone far beyond their power, they decided to leave, still wondering why He Qiang had fought them instead of revealing the truth.

• Wang Hao and Elder Huang followed He Zhen’s snake swarm into the bamboo grove and saw Spirit Wandering Realm Flower Bears eating Black Serpents.
• Elder Huang identified two enormous silver bears as True Self Realm Moon Bears and urged Wang Hao to search for their nest and cubs.
• Shi Hao tried to persuade the Nirvana Realm Moon Bear King to give him its infant son, but the Bear King said the cub could leave only when it reached adulthood in a hundred years.
• The Moon Bear King carried Shi Hao past Wang Hao and Elder Huang, who realized the secret realm had a powerful owner and decided to leave.
• Wang Hao and Elder Huang questioned why He Qiang had fought them and killed Elder Guo instead of simply telling them the secret realm was occupied.