Chapter Summaries

Xia Xuanyan and the Heaven Cry Cult Master discussed Jiang Ning’s rise to Nascent Soul Immortal and plotted to have him killed, while drawing other powers into testing him. In the Royal Capital, Jiang Ning learned the enthronement and wedding would take place tomorrow and focused on strengthening his cultivation as rumors made him one of six people sharing the title Second Under Heaven.

• Xia Xuanyan told the Heaven Cry Cult Master that Jiang Ning had reached Nascent Soul Immortal with a Superior Immortal Foundation and ordered her to help kill him when the opportunity arose.
• Xia Xuanyan planned to add Jiang Ning to the Second Under Heaven ranking, hoping Vajra Temple and Qingxu Temple would challenge him, and admitted he feared Jiang Ning might later seek revenge for his schemes.
• Jiang Ning received the Imperial Edict announcing that Ji Minghao’s enthronement and wedding would take place the next day, and asked Luyi to remind him.
• Jiang Ning learned that rumors about his clash with Ji Xuan had made him one of six sharing the title Second Under Heaven and recognized that several factions were spreading them to provoke opposition.
• Jiang Ning reflected on his improved cultivation after reaching Nascent Soul Immortal and continued training the Tai Xu Yin Yang Sword to deepen his understanding of Taiyin and the sun.

Jiang Ning cultivated the Tai Xu Yin Yang Sword in his Inner Scenery and independently grasped a new Dao-level understanding of the technique. Meanwhile, Xia Xuanyan persuaded the Vajra Temple abbot and Master of Qingxu Temple to travel to the Royal Capital and test Jiang Ning, setting the stage for challenges around the enthronement ceremony.

• Jiang Ning used his Origin Points to cultivate the Tai Xu Yin Yang Sword in his Inner Scenery, where the Black and White Dual Qi made the world seem more real.
• The Vajra Temple abbot received Xia Xuanyan’s letter and agreed to visit the Royal Capital to meet Jiang Ning, despite Kong Xiang’s warning that the temple could be drawn into political conflict.
• Xia Xuanyan asked Master of Qingxu Temple to exchange blows with Jiang Ning at the new sovereign’s enthronement ceremony and help make him a target; Master of Qingxu Temple agreed to limit their encounter to three moves.
• Jiang Ning independently developed the Tai Xu Yin Yang Sword into a method that used the sword to form a small world of yin and yang, earning 50,000 experience points.

Jiang Ning broke through the Tai Xu Yin Yang Sword and gained the Heart Sword, which let him examine his cultivation and perceive the world more clearly. On the day of the New Monarch’s enthronement, he headed to Chengtian Hall as the Vajra Temple Abbot and the Master of Qingxu Temple waited to meet him after the ceremony.

• Jiang Ning spent one hundred Origin Points to break through the Tai Xu Yin Yang Sword, forming the Heart Sword and gaining the ability to reflect on his body, Nascent Soul, and cultivation methods.
• Jiang Ning chose not to remove the Flame Authority from Wang Qingtan and the Flesh Authority from the God of Flesh, then used the Heart Sword to review his cultivation ahead of the enthronement ceremony.
• Jiang Ning left the Dongling Marquis Mansion in a palace carriage while Luyi told him that his sister-in-law and Xiao Doubao would remain at the mansion.
• Jiang Ning sensed two powerful auras near the Imperial Palace and suspected their owners had come for him.
• The Vajra Temple Abbot and the Master of Qingxu Temple watched Jiang Ning’s carriage approach, while Jin Chan reflected on how far Jiang Ning had surpassed him.
• Jiang Ning’s carriage passed through the Palace Gate toward Chengtian Hall, where the New Monarch’s enthronement and wedding ceremonies were to be held.

Jiang Ning attended Ji Minghao’s enthronement ceremony, where Ji Minghao took the throne and proclaimed the Jinghe era. As the ceremony continued, Ji Mingyuan drank a cup of wine and died, and Ji Mingyue burst into his courtyard.

• Jiang Ning arrived at Chengtian Hall and took his place among the court’s most honored figures, while officials came to pay their respects.
• Xie Xun announced the auspicious hour, and Ji Minghao emerged in imperial robes and ascended the throne as the officials saluted him.
• Ji Minghao accepted the symbols of imperial authority as the enthronement rites proceeded, while Jiang Ning noticed Ji Mingyuan was absent.
• Jiang Ning sensed Ji Mingyuan in a neglected courtyard, where Ji Mingyuan bitterly mocked Ji Minghao before drinking a cup of wine and dying.
• Ji Mingyue shouted past the guards and broke open the courtyard doors.

Ji Mingyue discovered that Ji Mingyuan had died after drinking poisoned wine on Ji Minghao’s orders, then went to take charge of the funeral while Ji Minghao and Shen Mengyun completed their imperial wedding. As the court prepared to celebrate, Vajra Temple Abbot Ku Hai and the Master of Qingxu Temple appeared before Chengtian Hall and turned their attention toward Jiang Ning.

• Ji Mingyue found Ji Mingyuan dead and learned from the Black-Clad Swordsman that he had willingly drunk the wine under imperial orders.
• Ji Mingyue mourned Ji Mingyuan, then told the Black-Clad Swordsman to inform The Emperor that she would personally handle the funeral rites.
• Ji Minghao completed his enthronement, and Shen Mengyun arrived in a phoenix sedan for their wedding ceremony.
• Ji Minghao and Shen Mengyun exchanged greetings, joined hands, and received the officials’ congratulations as Emperor and Empress.
• Vajra Temple Abbot Ku Hai arrived with Jin Chan and Fen Deng, while the Master of Qingxu Temple appeared from the western sky.
• Ji Minghao recognized that Ku Hai and the Master of Qingxu Temple had not come to congratulate him, and Jiang Ning met their gazes.

At Ji Minghao’s enthronement and wedding ceremony, Master Ku Hai and the Master of Qingxu Temple presented gifts before challenging Jiang Ning to a three-move exchange. Jiang Ning accepted and moved with Ku Hai to the Imperial Palace’s eastern martial arts arena, where powerful onlookers gathered as the duel was about to begin.

• Ku Hai and the Master of Qingxu Temple congratulated Ji Minghao and presented him with a Seven-Treasure Glazed Relic and two Three-Turn Heaven-Seizing Pills.
• Ku Hai and the Master of Qingxu Temple praised Jiang Ning’s cultivation and sought to test his Dao through a spar.
• Jiang Ning accepted Ku Hai’s challenge but proposed moving to the eastern martial arts arena so the ceremony could continue undisturbed.
• Ji Minghao ordered Minister Xie Xun to guide them to the arena, while Xiang Yuan, Xiao Wuque, Su Qingying, and other officials left to watch.
• Jiang Ning and Ku Hai took their positions in the arena as the Master of Qingxu Temple and several powerful figures gathered to observe.

Jiang Ning and Master Ku Hai tested their powers in a three-move exchange, with Jiang Ning's yin-yang techniques meeting Ku Hai's Vajra defenses and Buddhist arts. Their second clash unleashed a powerful shockwave that activated the arena's reinforcement formations, leaving the exchange unresolved.

• Ku Hai transformed his body with the Indestructible Golden Body Divine Art and invited Jiang Ning to strike first while he defended.
• Jiang Ning drew on the Taiyin and Sun origins and sent a black-and-white torrent against Ku Hai's golden bell, but Ku Hai's defense remained unshaken.
• Ku Hai summoned the Great Sun Tathagata and sent a Buddha Sun toward Jiang Ning, whose Nascent Soul shielded him from its influence.
• Jiang Ning formed a yin-yang sword and slashed through the Buddha Sun, and their powers exploded against each other.
• The clash's shockwave activated the Martial Arts Arena's reinforcement Formation Patterns.

Jiang Ning broke Master Ku Hai’s mind-targeting Buddhist Divine Ability, prompting Ku Hai to admit that Jiang Ning was his superior and deserved a place among the strongest. The Master of Qingxu Temple then offered a treasured elixir for one move of guidance on Yin and Yang, and Jiang Ning accepted as the Daoist prepared to attack.

• Master Ku Hai unleashed Boundless Sea of Suffering, Turn Back to the Shore, but Jiang Ning shattered its illusion with Yin Yang Profound Light and resisted conversion.
• Ku Hai admitted that Jiang Ning’s immortal realm and spiritual will surpassed his own, then declared that Jiang Ning could stand alongside or surpass those known as Second Under Heaven.
• Jiang Ning and the onlookers recognized that Ku Hai’s admission would spread through the Royal Capital and change Jiang Ning’s standing at court.
• The Master of Qingxu Temple asked Jiang Ning for instruction on Yin and Yang, offering a Nine-Turn Life and Death Pill in exchange for one move.
• Jiang Ning accepted the gift and the one-move limit, and the Master of Qingxu Temple stepped back and prepared to demonstrate his Dao rhythm.

Jiang Ning defeated Master of Qingxu Temple’s Taiji technique with a smaller, more complete Taiji Diagram, prompting the Daoist to acknowledge his superiority and gain new insight into yin and yang. With both Second Under Heaven figures having conceded, Jiang Ning’s standing was firmly established as he remained at the ruined Martial Arts Arena.

• Master of Qingxu Temple gathered the Taiyin and solar qi above the Martial Arts Arena and launched his Taiji Return to Origin at Jiang Ning.
• Jiang Ning formed a small Taiji Diagram with a yin-yang sword strike, which assimilated and shattered Master of Qingxu Temple’s attack.
• Master of Qingxu Temple bowed to Jiang Ning, acknowledged that his understanding of yin and yang was inferior, and thanked him for the insight.
• Xiang Yuan, Xiao Wuque, Shen Xiao, and the other witnesses recognized that Jiang Ning’s strength had surpassed their expectations and that his status among the era’s foremost figures was secure.
• Master of Qingxu Temple departed to contemplate his new understanding, and Ku Hai left with Jin Chan and Fen Deng after inviting Jiang Ning to visit Vajra Temple.

Jiang Ning returned to Ji Minghao’s ascension banquet and was granted a seat just below the throne, while Ji Mingyue arrived grieving over Ji Mingyuan’s death. During the Grand Conferment Ceremony, Ji Minghao’s rewards culminated in Jiang Ning being named Prince of Luoshui with an enormous hereditary fief, and the proclamation continued.

• Jiang Ning returned to the banquet, where Ji Minghao seated him just beneath the imperial throne as the court acknowledged his status.
• Ji Mingyue arrived in tears after witnessing Ji Mingyuan’s death, declined Ji Minghao’s invitation to sit beside him, and took a seat beside Jiang Ning.
• Minister of Rites Xie Xun began announcing Ji Minghao’s conferments, granting Shen Xiao the title Duke of State Protection and rewarding other supporters of the new emperor.
• Xie Xun announced that Jiang Ning would be enfeoffed as Prince of Luoshui, with Luoshui County and three surrounding counties, thirty-six cities, and a hereditary fief that would prosper with Great Xia.
• Xie Xun continued reading the unfinished proclamation after the court reacted to the scale of Jiang Ning’s fief.

Jiang Ning received an extraordinary title and wealth from Ji Minghao, becoming Prince of Luoshui, while recognizing that the rewards would draw more danger as the Martial Saint’s eventual passing approached. After parting from grieving Ji Mingyue, he returned to the Dongling Marquis Mansion and shared some of his Immortal Silk with Liu Wanwan, Luyi, and Zhong Ling.

• Xie Xun read Ji Minghao’s decree granting Jiang Ning the title Prince of Luoshui, four commanderies, court privileges, a mansion, wealth, and authority to raise a private army.
• Ji Minghao publicly thanked Jiang Ning and treated him as a brother, cementing Jiang Ning’s exceptional standing at court.
• Jiang Ning reflected that he valued the material rewards as resources for strengthening himself, while future crises would remain inevitable after the Martial Saint passed into meditation.
• Ji Mingyue asked Jiang Ning to spare Ji Minghao if he did not attack first, and Jiang Ning agreed; she then left to arrange Ji Mingyuan’s funeral rites.
• Jiang Ning returned to the Dongling Marquis Mansion, where Luyi, Jiang Li, Liu Wanwan, Xiao Doubao, and Zhong Ling welcomed him.
• Jiang Ning offered Liu Wanwan, Luyi, and Zhong Ling bolts of his Imperial Silk, and Liu Wanwan accepted on their behalf.

After celebrating his new title with his family, Jiang Ning visited the Lishui Imperial Palace bestowed upon him and made its central island his cultivation site. He entrusted the palace’s affairs to Linglong and prepared to refine the Nine-Turn Life and Death Pill in seclusion.

• Jiang Ning told Jiang Li to inventory the gold and Gold Notes, reserving some for the mansion and keeping the rest for his use.
• Jiang Ning reflected that his family’s peace was temporary and resolved to grow stronger before facing Xia Xuanyan and other hostile powers.
• Jiang Ning inspected Lishui Imperial Palace, ordered Chen An to prepare a roster, and prohibited anyone from entering the central island.
• Linglong emerged from the lake as a shapeshifting Dragon Carp, and Jiang Ning assigned her responsibility for palace affairs.
• Jiang Ning reviewed his battles with Ku Hai and the Master of Qingxu Temple, recognized the strength of his Nascent Soul Immortal realm, and decided he needed to accumulate more power.
• Jiang Ning began preparing to enter seclusion on the island and refine the Nine-Turn Life and Death Pill.

Jiang Ning refined the Nine-Turn Life and Death Pill, boosting his reserves of vitality and Origin Points, then entered the Shangyang Inner Scenery Ground to claim a place among its Ten Great Sequence True Disciples. After he accepted, the nine vacant Great Suns resonated with him, and he began to understand the authority that came with occupying one.

• Jiang Ning swallowed the Nine-Turn Life and Death Pill and absorbed its vast vitality, increasing his Origin Points to 96.7.
• Jiang Ning concluded that improving his cultivation and immortal foundation required more Origin Points, and decided to sell Ji Minghao's gold and jade discs while keeping the Immortal Silk.
• Jiang Ning activated his Shangyang Immortal Sect Disciple Token and entered the Shangyang Inner Scenery Ground in the form of his Nascent Soul.
• The nine vacant Great Suns resonated with Jiang Ning's Supreme Grade immortal foundation and Nascent Soul Immortal realm, and the Inner Scenery Ground offered him a place among the Ten Great Sequence True Disciples.
• Jiang Ning agreed to occupy one of the Great Suns and sensed that doing so would grant him a mark, high permissions, and authority over the Inner Scenery Ground.

Jiang Ning achieved a Superior Immortal Foundation, took his place among the Ten Great Sequence True Disciples, and became a Sun Lord of the Shangyang Immortal Sect. After choosing the Daoist title Xuanyang, he declined Haoyang’s invitation to visit the Dachi Immortal Sect for now and considered the possible danger behind it.

• Haoyang projected himself into the Inner Scenery Ground and was shocked to find Jiang Ning had achieved a foundation surpassing his own.
• Jiang Ning occupied a Great Sun, gained the authority of a Sun Lord, and learned he could control the Inner Scenery Ground and summon Direct Disciples.
• Jiang Ning manifested a Nine-Layered Heavenly Palace and Jade Pool, then declined to reveal the details of his Immortal Foundation when Haoyang probed him.
• Jiang Ning chose the Daoist title Xuanyang and told Haoyang he would contend for the sect master’s inheritance only if fate allowed.
• Haoyang invited Jiang Ning to visit the Dachi Immortal Sect, but Jiang Ning postponed the visit while he familiarized himself with his new authority.
• After Haoyang departed, Jiang Ning considered the Dachi Immortal Sect and the risks that might lie behind the invitation.

Jiang Ning used his new authority as a Sequence True Disciple to send his Nascent Soul to the Crimson Radiance Grotto-Heaven and visit Shen Yue Ru. The sect’s elders discovered his presence, and Shen Yue Ru learned that he had become a Nascent Soul Immortal and ranked among the Shangyang Immortal Sect’s Ten Great Sequence True Disciples.

• After becoming a Sequence True Disciple, Jiang Ning sensed the marks left by other Direct Disciples and chose Shen Yue Ru’s as the safest link to follow.
• Jiang Ning crossed into the Crimson Radiance Grotto-Heaven and explored the Crimson Radiance Sword Sect while remaining invisible to its ordinary disciples.
• Cang Yue sensed an anomaly, and the white-haired Ancestor detected Jiang Ning hiding in the third level of space and recognized his exceptional Yin-Yang foundation and mastery of spatial techniques.
• The white-haired Ancestor and Cang Yue watched as Jiang Ning approached Shen Yue Ru, judging that he had come for her and deciding to wait before intervening.
• Shen Yue Ru noticed Jiang Ning, who explained that he had reached the Nascent Soul realm and gained authority to manifest wherever a Direct Disciple was located.
• Jiang Ning told Shen Yue Ru that he had become one of the Shangyang Immortal Sect’s Ten Great Sequence True Disciples, leaving her astonished.

Jiang Ning met the living Immortal ancestor of Crimson Radiance Grotto-Heaven, who welcomed him and invited him to Zhaobi Cliff after his tour. Shen Yue Ru showed him the sect’s treasures and facilities, while the ancestor and Cang Yue discussed how to treat the remarkable visitor.

• Shen Yue Ru warned Jiang Ning that the Crimson Radiance Sword Sect might mistake his visit for an intrusion, but the white-haired ancestor appeared and reassured them.
• The ancestor recognized Jiang Ning’s Supreme Immortal Foundation and abilities, then invited him to tour the sect and meet her at Zhaobi Cliff for tea.
• Cang Yue joined the ancestor, and they judged Jiang Ning an exceptional outsider whose ties to the Shangyang Immortal Sect made it wiser to form a good connection than an enemy.
• Shen Yue Ru led Jiang Ning through the Ten Thousand Sword Platform, Crimson Smelt Valley, and Hundred Herb Heavenly Ladder, showing him the sect’s sword-making and spirit-herb resources.

Jiang Ning visited the Crimson Radiance Grotto-Heaven and met its immortal ancestor, learning about immortal bodies and the limits of what lower-level beings could remember about the Ancient Era. He agreed to bring her a Ten Domains Patrol Envoy Identity Token on a future visit, but left without learning the cause of the ancient world’s upheaval.

• Jiang Ning and Shen Yue Ru met Cang Yue and the white-haired ancestor, who offered Jiang Ning tea and confirmed that she was an Immortal.
• Jiang Ning used his Heavenly Eye to inspect the ancestor’s wrist and saw that her immortal body consisted of condensed energy particles rather than ordinary flesh and blood.
• The white-haired ancestor explained how Immortals could have descendants and asked Jiang Ning about Great Xia, the world he came from.
• The ancestor asked Jiang Ning for a Ten Domains Patrol Envoy Identity Token, and Jiang Ning agreed to bring one on his next visit.
• Jiang Ning asked why heaven and earth had changed in the Ancient Era, and the ancestor said the truth was too high-level for them to understand and retain.

Jiang Ning received the Shangyang Sect Master's Sun scripture inheritance at the Sermon Platform, but its power left his yin and yang dangerously imbalanced. He returned to the Shangyang Inner Scenery Ground aware that he had to find a way to restore balance before the temporary protection of Words Manifesting Law faded.

• Jiang Ning promised the Crimson Radiance Immortal Sect's white-haired woman a Ten Domains Patrol Envoy Token in exchange for spirit herbs and Heavenly Materials, then left Screen Wall Cliff.
• At the Sermon Platform, Jiang Ning encountered the Shangyang Sect Master's lingering manifestation, which recognized his Sun Lord status and passed on the Sun scripture.
• The inheritance flooded Jiang Ning's Nascent Soul with yang energy, threatening to destabilize his yin-yang foundation, so the Sect Master used Words Manifesting Law to make extreme yang give birth to yin.
• Hao Yang sensed the change in the Shangyang Inner Scenery Ground, realized he could not enter, and resolved not to surrender his Great Sun Lord position to Jiang Ning.
• The Sect Master's manifestation warned Jiang Ning that the balance-restoring effect would weaken and that he needed a Taiyin Origin object or a suitable Dharma Gate to nourish his yin energy.
• Jiang Ning confirmed that his Nascent Soul was still imbalanced and decided to return before remaining outside his body for too long.

Jiang Ning cultivated the Sun Scripture, intensifying the imbalance between yin and yang within his Nascent Soul. He brought the Ten Domains Patrol Envoy token to Fairy Yingxue, who identified Mysterious Yin Jade Marrow in the Cold Moon Pool as a possible way to nourish his yin and extend his balance.

• Jiang Ning realized his Sun Scripture inheritance had strengthened his yang energy and that his dwindling yin would eventually cause his Nascent Soul foundation to collapse.
• Jiang Ning cultivated the Sun Scripture and produced a Great Sun of Golden Light that was visible across the Royal Capital, but gained Experience Points only very slowly.
• Jiang Ning concluded that the Sun Scripture’s cultivation was worsening his imbalance and decided to seek guidance from Crimson Radiance Patriarch and accumulate more Origin Points.
• Jiang Ning traveled to Crimson Radiance Grotto-Heaven with the Ten Domains Patrol Envoy token and met Fairy Yingxue, Cang Yue, and Shen Yue Ru.
• Jiang Ning explained his condition to Fairy Yingxue and handed over the token; she recommended the Mysterious Yin Jade Marrow at the bottom of Cold Moon Pool as a possible source of pure yin origin.

Jiang Ning gathered Mysterious Yin Jade Marrow and Deep Profound Nether Herbs in Crimson Radiance Grotto-Heaven, then carried their refined energy back to his body to temporarily restore balance to his Nascent Soul. Realizing the relief would not last, he remembered his Taiyin Stone fragments and opened the flask of Emperor Flow Paste, drawing Linglong and the lake carp to him.

• Yingxue led Jiang Ning to Cold Moon Pool and gave him a drop of Mysterious Yin Jade Marrow, then took him to collect three Deep Profound Nether Herbs.
• Jiang Ning discovered he could not carry physical objects between realms, but he could bring refined energy with his Nascent Soul.
• Jiang Ning returned to Lishui Imperial Palace and refined the yin energy, easing his Nascent Soul’s imbalance and raising his Origin Points to 158.7.
• Jiang Ning recognized that the balance was temporary because the underlying lack of Taiyin Origin remained.
• Jiang Ning remembered the Taiyin Stone fragments, opened his flask of Emperor Flow Paste, and attracted Linglong and the lake carp with its fragrance.