Chapter Summaries

Ye Zhen turned the battle by killing Life Reaping Lady Feng Ting and preventing Gongsun Li’s sacrifice from breaking the array, triggering an explosion that wiped out most of the trapped allied forces. The Crimson Fire Branch Hall began routing and slaughtering the survivors, but Hong Jiayin suddenly screamed a warning to Ye Zhen.

• Ye Zhen destroyed Life Reaping Lady Feng Ting’s fleeing Innate Soul, while Little Cat killed Ren Tiannan with a charge.
• Gongsun Li used his life-bound Verdant Demon Blade to draw the Demon Extermination Spirit Arrows toward the Nine Heavens Sealing Spirit Array, and Ye Zhen ordered Yu Qianlou to open it.
• The arrows struck the Verdant Demon Blade and detonated, devastating the array and killing or vaporizing over a thousand trapped Soul Sea Realm martial artists.
• The explosion destroyed Gongsun Li’s Verdant Demon Blade and badly injured him, while the allied forces lost their will to fight and began fleeing.
• The Crimson Fire Branch Hall overwhelmed the remaining allies, and Shang Lingqi was swallowed by a barrage of attacks.
• Hong Jiayin celebrated the victory, then screamed for Ye Zhen to watch out.

Yun Pochuan and Zhou Muqing transformed themselves into giant monsters by devouring Spirit Crystals and Monster Cores, then attacked Ye Zhen. Their power surged beyond control, and their bodies exploded in a blast that swept across the battlefield.

• Yun Pochuan and Zhou Muqing appeared above Ye Zhen and charged at him while consuming High-grade Spirit Crystals, Monster Cores, and spiritual medicines.
• Yun Pochuan and Zhou Muqing transformed into enormous monsters as their cultivation and Soul Power rapidly increased.
• Ye Zhen dove toward the ground and ordered everyone to scatter, while Xiao Mao attacked Zhou Muqing to protect him.
• Zhou Muqing struck Xiao Mao, breaking his bones and sending him flying, then continued pursuing Ye Zhen.
• Yun Pochuan and Zhou Muqing’s power reached the ninth level of the Palace Opening Realm, and their bodies exploded in a massive blast.

Yun Pochuan and his wife’s self-destruction devastated Tiger Mouth Gorge, but Ye Zhen survived and rejoined the Crimson Fire Branch Hall. As the Heavenly Net Sect and Longevity Sect survivors fled, Ye Zhen noticed two black, fruit-like objects hovering nearby and asked where Gongsun Li was.

• Yun Pochuan and his wife self-destructed, killing or injuring hundreds and expanding the pit until it ruptured an Earthly Meridian.
• Hong Jiayin, Yu Qianlou, and Zuo Xiong searched the enormous pit for Ye Zhen, while Zuo Xiong demanded that the others look for him.
• Hong Jiayin realized that Cloud Winged Tiger King Xiao Mao’s survival meant Ye Zhen was likely alive.
• Ye Zhen emerged battered but alive, took healing pills, and fed more than ten bottles of pills to the injured Xiao Mao.
• Hong Jiayin told Ye Zhen that the surviving Heavenly Net Sect and Longevity Sect martial artists had fled during the explosion.
• Ye Zhen asked about Gongsun Li, then noticed two black, fruit-like masses of light hovering in the air.

Ye Zhen survived Yun Pochuan and his wife’s devastating self-destruction by using layered defenses and Earth Escape, then discovered two black radiances containing immense, sinister Soul Power. As he tried to collect them, an unseen Palace Opening Realm King threatened him from the void.

• Ye Zhen recalled how he survived the self-destruction by crushing twelve Heaven Grade defensive talismans, activating the Green Mother Green Light Mirror and Thousand Vine Luo, and burrowing underground with Earth Escape.
• The shockwave tore through Ye Zhen’s defenses and earth, but he escaped its path underground, narrowly survived an explosion in a fire vein, and emerged alive.
• The martial artists around Ye Zhen marveled that he had survived and answered that the two black clusters appeared after the monsters self-destructed.
• Ye Zhen sensed that the black clusters contained extremely pure Soul Power and a sinister force, and he decided to collect them.
• As Ye Zhen sent Spiritual Light toward the two Black Soul Spirit Fruits, an unseen King threatened to chop off his hands.

Ye Zhen confronted Yu Du, a Black Crown King from Black Fiend Island, who tried to claim the Black Soul Spirit Fruits and extort the Crimson Fire Branch Hall. After Ye Zhen trapped Yu Du with Demon Extermination Marshals and ordered them to fire, Yu Du was badly wounded, and a giant tiger claw struck at him.

• Yu Du emerged from the void, admired the Black Soul Spirit Fruits, and revealed that Black Fiend Island had supplied the Black Demon Spirit Burning Pills used by Yun Pochuan and his wife.
• Yu Du demanded five million Mid-grade Spirit Crystals from Ye Zhen and threatened to destroy the branch hall if he was not paid.
• Ye Zhen collected the Black Soul Spirit Fruits and revealed that he and the Crimson Fire Branch Hall were Yun Pochuan and his wife's enemies.
• Demon Extermination Marshals surrounded Yu Du, and Ye Zhen ordered Yue An and Zuo Xiong to fire twenty Demon Extermination Spirit Arrows when Yu Du tried to flee.
• The barrage left Yu Du badly wounded, and as he threatened Black Fiend Island's revenge, Ye Zhen told him to look above him before a giant tiger claw struck.

After defeating Yu Du, Ye Zhen ordered a rapid assault on Flying Tiger Hall’s territories and led a force toward Chihuo Martial City. A sudden eruption behind his army and a flood of intelligence signals at Flying Tiger Hall’s headquarters left both sides in alarm.

• Ye Zhen took Yu Du’s Storage Ring and captured his Innate Soul Light for later soul searching.
• Hong Jiayin and Yue An reported their forces’ losses, and Ye Zhen ordered Hong Jiayin to seize Flying Tiger Hall’s seven vital territories within two hours.
• Ye Zhen promised Yue An’s Brotherhood twenty percent of Flying Tiger Hall’s territory, then led their combined forces toward Chihuo Martial City.
• A violent explosion sent crimson magma skyward behind Ye Zhen’s departing army, while Flying Tiger Hall’s leaders received a rush of intelligence Talisman Signals.

Flying Tiger Hall’s leaders received reports of the Crimson Fire Branch Hall’s victories and abandoned their plan to seize Chihuo Martial City. The chapter ended with Ye Zhen leading a force toward Flying Tiger Hall, whose Hall Master He Zixiong prepared to face the advance.

• He Zixiong and the Tiger Guard commanders learned that the Crimson Fire Branch Hall had trapped nearly two thousand allied Soul Sea Realm martial artists in the Nine Heavens Sealing Spirit Array.
• Further reports said Brotherhood fighters had switched sides, Ye Zhen had nearly killed Shang Lingqi and badly wounded Gongsun Li, and the Cloud Winged Tiger King had killed two allied leaders.
• He Zixiong considered attacking the weakened Crimson Fire Branch Hall after Yun Pochuan and his wife self-detonated, but a report revealed that Ye Zhen had survived the blast.
• He Zixiong ordered Flying Tiger Hall to strengthen its defenses and warned the commanders that it could no longer expect to unify Chihuo Martial City.
• He Zixiong learned that Ye Zhen was leading a hundred Pulse Forging Realm martial artists toward Flying Tiger Hall and vowed to resist him.

Ye Zhen discovered that a battle had exposed multicolored Spiritual Light Pillars, suggesting a rare treasure or secret mansion deep beneath Tiger Mouth Gorge. After five eager martial artists plunged into the superheated pit and suffered fatal or crippling burns, he led his forces toward the Flying Tiger Hall while leaving scouts to watch the site.

• Yu Qianlou explained that the multicolored Spiritual Light Pillars signaled either a rare treasure or a complex formation beneath Tiger Mouth Gorge.
• Ye Zhen realized the possible secret mansion lay more than one thousand one hundred meters underground and feared the treasure would fracture his forces or distract them from their attack.
• Ye Zhen allowed the Brotherhood to send five eager Pulse Forging Realm martial artists toward the pit, and all five were burned; Wang Chao died, and the other four emerged gravely injured.
• Yue An calmed the Brotherhood by urging them to focus on attacking the Flying Tiger Hall and promised they could return to search for treasure afterward.
• Ye Zhen led his forces toward the Flying Tiger Hall and secretly ordered scouts to monitor the erupting pit and report any changes.

Ye Zhen led his small force toward Flying Tiger Hall headquarters, while Hall Master He Zixiong activated the hall-protecting array and prepared to wait for reinforcements. When Brotherhood leaders Zhou Wei and Yan Zu tried to turn the warriors against the attack, Ye Zhen confronted them and struck as they called for their brothers.

• He Zixiong recalled his dispatched forces and ordered Flying Tiger Hall to retreat behind its powerful hall-protecting grand array.
• Jiang Biao and Li Jiang warned He Zixiong about Ye Zhen’s Demon Extermination Marshals, Cloud Winged Tiger King, and True Lord Black Water, prompting him to avoid fighting in the wilderness.
• He Zixiong entered the array and resolved to hold out for two days until reinforcements arrived, while Jiang Biao and Li Jiang worried Ye Zhen’s direct assault might conceal a plan.
• As Ye Zhen’s force approached headquarters, Brotherhood warriors objected to attacking and demanded that Chief Yue An let them leave.
• Ye Zhen confronted Zhou Wei and Yan Zu, ordered them escorted away, and then struck at them when they tried to take the other Brotherhood warriors with them.

Ye Zhen forced the Brotherhood to join his attack on the Flying Tiger Hall, then confronted Hall Master He Zixiong at the hall’s protective formation. After He Zixiong refused to surrender, Ye Zhen ordered two Demon Extermination Marshals to fire at the formation, and the chapter ended as their arrows flew toward it.

• Ye Zhen killed Zhou Wei and Yan Zu after they challenged his orders, then threatened the Brotherhood into joining his campaign and promised a share of the spoils.
• Yue An calmed the Brotherhood by offering compensation to the dead men’s families and dangling rewards from the coming victory.
• Ye Zhen’s force reached the Flying Tiger Hall and found its more than two thousand fighters sheltering behind a powerful formation, while his own side numbered just over eight hundred.
• He Zixiong offered to share Chihuo Martial City, but Ye Zhen rejected the offer and demanded the Flying Tiger Hall surrender to the Sun Moon Divine Cult.
• When He Zixiong’s fighters laughed at Ye Zhen’s demand, Ye Zhen had Zuo Xiong and Yue An prepare two Demon Extermination Marshals and ordered them to fire at the formation.

Ye Zhen used a second, much stronger volley from the Demon Extermination Marshals to destroy Flying Tiger Hall’s protective array. The bombardment devastated the headquarters, leaving the fate of He Zixiong and his forces unclear beneath the settling dust.

• He Zixiong saw the array withstand the first volley and believed Flying Tiger Hall could endure Ye Zhen’s attacks.
• He Zixiong mocked Ye Zhen, while Zhu Huayu boasted that their assembled forces could repel even Palace Opening Realm Kings.
• Zuo Xiong and Yue An secretly loaded two Supreme-grade Attribute Spirit Crystals into each Demon Extermination Marshal.
• Ye Zhen ordered the Marshals to fire, and four unusually powerful arrows shattered the turtle-shaped phantom before the remaining sixteen arrows struck.
• The explosions destroyed all sixty-four array nodes, hurled the defenders through the air, and left the gathered martial artists staring at a scene of devastation.

Ye Zhen’s forces attacked Flying Tiger Hall, killing He Zixiong and devastating the headquarters with a Demon Extermination Spirit Arrow. He secured the surviving hall members’ surrender, killed those who had tried to flee and then surrender, and won the Crimson Fire Branch Hall martial artists’ fierce loyalty.

• Ye Zhen ordered the Crimson Fire Branch Hall and Brotherhood to surround Flying Tiger Hall and accept surrender from anyone who had not resisted.
• The blast had killed He Zixiong and many of his followers, leaving about 1,600 Flying Tiger Hall martial artists alive, most of whom surrendered as Ye Zhen’s forces sealed their spiritual power and bound them.
• Nearly a hundred Flying Tiger Hall martial artists tried to escape, but Cloud Winged Tiger King Xiao Mao caught and killed four Pulse Forging Realm fighters, prompting the rest to surrender.
• Ye Zhen ordered his forces to kill the nearly hundred martial artists who had fought before kneeling, and they were slaughtered after dropping their guard.
• The surviving Crimson Fire Branch Hall martial artists looked to Ye Zhen with fervent loyalty, ready to follow his commands over Jian Qianxiong’s if the orders conflicted.

Ye Zhen captured Flying Tiger Hall’s forces, forced its commanders to surrender, and learned that the Sun Moon Divine Cult coveted a rare treasure found in the hall’s vault. The chapter ended with Ye Zhen discovering four Earth Core Crimson Fire Diamonds, while Cult Master Jian Qianxiong prepared to ask him for them.

• Yu Qianlou reported that Ye Zhen’s forces had captured sixty-three Pulse Forging Realm martial artists, one thousand five hundred and fourteen Soul Sea Realm martial artists, and Flying Tiger Hall’s commanders Jiang Biao and Li Jiang.
• Ye Zhen ordered Flying Tiger Hall’s assets inventoried, let Yue An’s Brotherhood keep its hidden spoils, and had Jiang Biao and Li Jiang send signals urging the defense zones to surrender.
• Ye Zhen offered Jiang Biao and Li Jiang the choice of becoming his puppets or being killed, and both agreed to open their divine souls to him.
• Jian Qianxiong learned of Ye Zhen’s victory and heard that Flying Tiger Hall’s treasury held four Earth Core Crimson Fire Diamonds, then sent Ye Zhen a Talisman Signal to ask for the treasure.
• Ye Zhen reached the underground treasure vault and found four Earth Core Crimson Fire Diamonds whose energy aura dwarfed that of a Supreme-grade Attribute Spirit Crystal.

Ye Zhen agreed to hand four Earth Core Crimson Fire Diamonds over to the Sun Moon Divine Cult after learning they were too powerful to use or store safely. He took control of Flying Tiger Hall’s wealth and tiger-type Monster Beasts, then faced the question of what to do with sixteen hundred captives.

• Yu Qianlou revealed that he was a Shadow Moon Guard and had secretly informed Cult Master Jian Qianxiong about the diamonds.
• Ye Zhen agreed to surrender the diamonds in exchange for learning their purpose, but Jian Qianxiong said he would explain at the Jiazi Divine Sacrifice and appointed Ye Zhen an assistant sacrificer.
• The diamonds shattered a Mid-grade Treasure Ring and a High-grade Treasure Ring, and the Divine Sect informed Ye Zhen that they required a High-grade Spirit Weapon Storage Ring.
• Ye Zhen learned that Flying Tiger Hall’s spoils exceeded sixty million Mid-grade Spirit Crystals and gained control of more than sixty Heaven-tier tiger-type Monster Beasts.
• Zuo Xiong asked Ye Zhen how he intended to deal with the sixteen hundred captives.

Ye Zhen established strict measures for handling the Flying Tiger Hall captives and handed the Earth Core Crimson Fire Diamonds to Wu Ying, the Shadow Moon Guard Commander. As Hong Jiayin helped process the captives, a brilliant five-colored rainbow appeared over Tiger Mouth Gorge, leaving him and Ye Zhen stunned.

• Ye Zhen ordered the captives to receive Soul Burst Talisman Seeds, disclose family ties, and swear renewed Soul Oaths before being assigned separately.
• Ye Zhen gave Jiang Biao and Li Jiang healing pills and told them to be ready to help by nightfall.
• Wu Ying arrived on the Cult Master's orders, collected all four Earth Core Crimson Fire Diamonds, and departed using a technique that rapidly carried him back toward headquarters.
• Hong Jiayin returned from the campaign and accelerated the processing of the captives, estimating it would be finished in three hours.
• Hong Jiayin began to raise an urgent matter, but he and Ye Zhen saw five-colored radiance forming a rainbow above Tiger Mouth Gorge.

Ye Zhen failed to enter the magma-sealed depths beneath Tiger Mouth Gorge, where a rare treasure or secret abode might lie. With powerful martial artists expected to converge on the site, he ordered a strategic withdrawal and put Hong Jiayin in charge of securing Chihuo Martial City before entering emergency seclusion.

• Ye Zhen investigated beneath Tiger Mouth Gorge with Earth Escape but found the crimson barrier and surrounding magma impassable, then returned without learning what lay below.
• Ye Zhen ordered the Crimson Fire Branch Hall’s troops and miners to withdraw from the Spirit Crystal Mine defensive zone into Chihuo Martial City.
• Zuo Xiong warned Kong Yu that many Palace Opening Realm Kings and other powerful martial artists might come for the treasure, supporting Ye Zhen’s decision to retreat.
• Ye Zhen ordered Hong Jiayin to take complete control of Chihuo Martial City within a day and gave him authority over the Crimson Fire Branch Hall.
• Ye Zhen announced that he would enter emergency seclusion and said Little Cat could appear in his place when needed.

Ye Zhen strengthened his Soul Power and investigated the growing rush toward the treasure at Tiger Mouth Gorge, where powerful factions were converging on Chihuo Martial City. After handling city business and warning the Sun Moon Divine Cult to send at least two Palace Opening Realm Kings, he returned to seclusion to soul-search Yu Du.

• Ye Zhen refined Feng Ting's Innate Soul Light, then refined Yu Du's until his own Soul Power advanced to the second level of Innate Soul Light.
• Hong Jiayin organized Chihuo Martial City as its city lord's manor, and Ye Zhen briefly met the city's major commercial firms and answered Talisman Signals from Qinglan Martial Capital.
• Ye Zhen learned that Palace Opening Realm Kings from several factions were heading toward Chihuo Martial City and that three had already inspected Tiger Mouth Gorge.
• Ye Zhen told Cult Leader Jian Qianxiong that Sun Moon Divine Cult forces could come seek the treasure only if they brought at least two Palace Opening Realm Kings.
• Ye Zhen estimated that twenty or thirty Palace Opening Realm Kings might gather around Chihuo Martial City, then returned to seclusion and began soul-searching Yu Du.

After searching Yu Du’s soul, Ye Zhen learned about the Outer Sea of Death, Black Fiend Island, and the deadly Black Demon Transformation. He tried drawing power from the Black Soul Spirit Fruit, hoping the Mirage Dragon Pearl could purify it, but its icy power immediately filled his body.

• Ye Zhen sorted through Yu Du’s memories and learned about the vast, dangerous Outer Sea of Death and the strength of Black Fiend Island.
• Ye Zhen discovered that Yun Pochuan and his wife had used the Black Demon Transformation to gain immense power, becoming instinct-driven Black Demon Monsters that exploded within ten breaths.
• Ye Zhen learned that the Black Soul Spirit Fruit contained abundant Innate Soul Light alongside deadly negative energy, and that the Black Fiend Island Lord used the fruit to improve his cultivation.
• Ye Zhen considered whether the Mirage Dragon Pearl could purify the Black Soul Spirit Fruit and cautiously drew a wisp of its power into his body.
• Ye Zhen felt the fruit’s power turn his body and organs icy, and his expression changed dramatically.

Ye Zhen discovered that the Mirage Dragon Pearl could refine the Black Soul Spirit Fruit’s dangerous liquid into four-colored Innate Soul Light, greatly strengthening his Soul Power. He gained control over the fruit’s flow and began draining it while resisting its deadly cold and Negative Energy.

• Ye Zhen drew a strand of Black Soul Spirit Liquid from the Black Soul Spirit Fruit, but it kept pouring into his body and threatened to destroy his right arm.
• The Mirage Dragon Pearl refined the first strand, removing its Negative Energy and compressing its Innate Soul Light into a grain-sized clump of four-colored light.
• Ye Zhen sent the four-colored Innate Soul Light into his Soul Sea, where it overwhelmed the three-colored light around his Innate Soul and rapidly nourished it.
• Ye Zhen directed the incoming Black Soul Spirit Liquid into the Mirage Dragon Pearl and used rapid blood flow, spiritual power, and a fire-attribute High-grade Attribute Spirit Crystal to withstand its chilling effects.
• Ye Zhen used his new four-colored Innate Soul Light to control the fissure in the fruit, regulating the flow as the Black Soul Spirit Fruit shrank and his Soul Power grew stronger.

Ye Zhen refined both Black Soul Spirit Fruits, raising his soul cultivation to the fifth layer of Innate Soul Light while learning how much harder future advances would be. As Palace Opening Realm Kings gathered at Tiger Mouth Gorge and violence spread, an urgent message reported that Supreme Grand Elder Nian Sijing had been injured.

• Ye Zhen refined the first Black Soul Spirit Fruit and discovered that the Mirage Dragon Pearl compressed his soul power into stronger Four-colored Innate Soul Light.
• Ye Zhen tempered his remaining Three-Colored Soul Light, dropping his cultivation to the third layer, then refined the second fruit and advanced to the fifth layer.
• Ye Zhen realized that the quality of his Four-colored Innate Soul Light would make future advances far more demanding, and resumed polishing it.
• More than twenty-four Palace Opening Realm Kings gathered at Tiger Mouth Gorge, where their clashes killed or injured numerous Pulse Forging Realm martial artists.
• An urgent message interrupted Ye Zhen's cultivation and reported that Supreme Grand Elder Nian Sijing had been injured.