Chapter Summaries

Ding Ling fought Xiong Ba, whose body had become a fire-wreathed monster that resisted physical attacks and survived a mental assault. Xiong Ba fled toward the Western Regions, and Ding Ling suspected he had become a Fire Zombie.

• Ding Ling confronted Xiong Ba amid the scorched wasteland, but Xiong Ba attacked him with flames and ignored sword wounds.
• Ding Ling used the Mental Killing Sword to knock Xiong Ba down, then extinguished the tenacious flames with the Xiao Xiao Freezing Rain.
• Ding Ling approached Xiong Ba, who suddenly rose and struck at him, but Ding Ling blasted him away with the Awakened Thunder Fist.
• Xiong Ba fled toward the Western Regions at tremendous speed, while Ding Ling pursued him with the Soaring to Immortality Steps and Ground Shrinking Step.
• Ding Ling concluded that Xiong Ba might be a soulless, immortal Fire Zombie described in an ancient text.

Ding Ling tracked the Fire Zombie Xiong Ba to the buried Loulan Ancient Kingdom and discovered a nested alternate dimension. At a Dragon Turtle’s shell, he learned Wuqiu Yi Jue and gained a vast array of techniques.

• Ding Ling pursued Xiong Ba across the Western Regions and concluded that the Fire Zombie had to be destroyed before it could endanger the Nine Provinces.
• Xiong Ba plunged into an alternate dimension beneath the Loulan ruins, and Ding Ling used his skills and amplified internal energy to follow him.
• Ding Ling found a second alternate dimension at a gigantic turtle shell and recognized the inscriptions on it as an extraordinary art.
• Ding Ling recalled the characters, mastered Wuqiu Yi Jue’s internal and external skills, and gained techniques including Star Shift, healing methods, and varied sword arts.

Ding Ling mastered the Wuqiu Yi Jue and entered a desolate dimension where he confronted Xiong Ba and discovered the source of the Fire Zombies. He drove back the woman’s blood as it attacked him, but the blood remained powerful and continued toward him.

• Ding Ling mastered the Wuqiu Yi Jue, raising his True Force Value to 86 and improving his swordsmanship to supernatural perfection.
• Ding Ling entered a barren dimension and repelled Xiong Ba’s ambush with his Awakened Thunder Fist.
• Xiong Ba pleaded for mercy, then led Ding Ling to a grave surrounded by hundreds of zombies and five recently mutated Fire Zombies.
• Xiong Ba identified the woman in the coffin as the source of the blood that had caused the zombies to mutate.
• The woman’s blood flew toward Ding Ling, and he struck it with Five Thunders Strike the Crown, but it quickly recovered and attacked again.

Ding Ling encountered Nüba, who explained that she was guarding the portals between the Demon Realm and the Divine Realm as her strength failed. After seeing the released demonic qi, Ding Ling considered her account and learned that Nüba hoped his mastery of the Devil Path Scripture could help protect the Nine Provinces.

• Ding Ling struck Nüba’s blood with the Shi Huang Sword, dispersing its divine essence and waking her.
• Nüba identified herself as the daughter of the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan and explained that her blood had instinctively tried to turn Ding Ling into a Fire Zombie.
• Nüba explained that Xiong Ba escaped because his strong will and Innate talent let him retain some consciousness, while other humans became mindless Fire Zombies.
• Nüba moved the coffin, exposing the Demon Realm Portal and the adjacent Gate of the Divine Realm, and warned that demonic qi would flood the human world if she died.
• Nüba recognized Ding Ling’s martial achievements and Great Perfection in the Devil Path Scripture, then asked his name.
• Ding Ling told Nüba that his name was Ding Ling.

Ding Ling entered the God Realm Portal after Nüba opened it, leaving her to suppress the Demon Realm Portal and deal with Xiong Ba. On the Ascension Road, Ding Ling encountered Half God, who had traveled upstream through the River of Time and blamed him for changing the future.

• Nüba gave Ding Ling access to the God Realm Portal and told him the God would teach him the Devil Subduing Method.
• Ding Ling returned the Fire Finger to Nüba, then entered the portal.
• Nüba used Xiong Ba to complete a Six Harmonies Formation with the five other Fire Zombies and strengthen the coffin's suppression of the Demon Realm Portal.
• Ding Ling climbed the Ascension Road and saw a vast river split into two strange waterways.
• Half God attacked Ding Ling from the sea, but the Ascension Road blocked his palm strike.
• Half God revealed that he had followed the River of Time upstream and said Ding Ling's actions had caused the future to become chaotic.

Ding Ling escaped Half God by climbing the Sky Ladder and reached a desolate God Realm. There, Mahavairocana revealed that he could not stop the demon without becoming a Demon Buddha and sent Ding Ling to seek the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan’s Xuanyuan Heart Sutra.

• Ding Ling fled up the Sky Ladder while Half God pursued him and attacked from outside its defenses.
• Ding Ling passed through dimensional worlds and reached a desolate realm filled with ruined palaces.
• Mahavairocana appeared and told Ding Ling that he had been waiting for him to end the demon in the Lower Realm.
• Mahavairocana explained that acting himself would turn him into a Demon Buddha capable of destroying all worlds.
• Mahavairocana said Ding Ling needed the Xuanyuan Heart Sutra and could find it by seeking the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan in the Heaven Realm.

Mahavairocana explained the destruction of the realms and Nüba’s sacrifice, then taught Ding Ling three powerful mantras before his Demonic nature forced him to disappear. Following a golden guide, Ding Ling entered the Heaven Realm to seek Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan and the Xuanyuan Heart Sutra, arriving at the center of its main hall.

• Mahavairocana told Ding Ling that the Demon Realm was repairing itself under a dark power and that Nüba guarded its gateway at great cost.
• Mahavairocana taught Ding Ling the Devil Subduing Method, the Mahavairocana Cleansing Mantra, and the Jeweled Lotus Mantra, which Ding Ling mastered immediately.
• Mahavairocana began teaching the Heaven and Earth Righteous Energy Mantra, but his Demonic nature erupted and he vanished before explaining more.
• Ding Ling recalled that Mahavairocana had directed him to seek Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan and the Xuanyuan Heart Sutra in the Heaven Realm.
• A golden line guided Ding Ling through a gateway in the God Realm, and he followed it into the Heaven Realm’s enormous palace.

Ding Ling reached Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan’s remains in the Heaven Realm and received the Xuanyuan Heart Sutra before Xuanyuan’s remnant soul vanished. After promising to sweep through the Demon Realm, Ding Ling left to return to the God Realm, hoping to ask Mahavairocana about his cultivation method.

• Ding Ling entered the main hall and found Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan’s remains seated at its highest position.
• Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan appeared as a golden figure, taught Ding Ling the Xuanyuan Heart Sutra, and watched him master it at Great Perfection.
• Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan passed on the task of sweeping through the Demon Realm, then dispersed, leaving Ding Ling to suspect he had been a remnant soul.
• Ding Ling sensed that the Heaven Realm’s righteous qi was being consumed to protect the world and vowed to fulfill Xuanyuan’s wishes.
• Ding Ling left the Heaven Realm and reached the God Realm, hoping to meet Mahavairocana and learn his cultivation method.

Ding Ling found the Sky Ladder to the Lower Realm missing and learned that the Heaven Realm’s other routes were sealed to contain the Demon Realm. He descended into the Demon Realm and used the Devil Path Scripture to absorb its demonic energy.

• Ding Ling abandoned the idea of seeking Mahavairocana and discovered the Sky Ladder to the Lower Realm was gone.
• Ding Ling asked Buddha for directions, then found that the Heaven Realm’s passageways to other realms were sealed while the route to the Demon Realm remained open.
• Ding Ling realized the Heaven Realm gathered righteous energy from several worlds to help Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan’s remains suppress the Demon Realm.
• Ding Ling descended the Demon Realm’s Sky Ladder, saw the worlds and alternate spaces below, and found that the surrounding void could not be entered.
• Ding Ling landed in the Demon Realm and circulated the Devil Path Scripture, which began absorbing the demonic energy around him.

Ding Ling purified and absorbed the demonic qi of the Heavenly Soldier Demons in the Demon Realm, using it to strengthen himself. After breaking through to the Perfection Realm of the Shattering Realm, he moved through the demons with overwhelming speed.

• Ding Ling used the Clairvoyance Art to spot armored demons and drove them back with the Jeweled Lotus Mantra and Mahavairocana Cleansing Mantra.
• Ding Ling recognized the demons as corrupted Heavenly Soldiers and realized that many heroes from the ancient war had likely been assimilated by the Demon Realm.
• Ding Ling changed tactics, draining demonic qi from each demon before purifying its sinister nature with the Mahavairocana Cleansing Mantra.
• Ding Ling absorbed demonic qi from the Heavenly Soldier Demons as he sped among them with the Soaring to Immortality Steps.
• Ding Ling broke through to the Perfection Realm of the Shattering Realm and began overwhelming the Heavenly Soldier Demons.

Ding Ling slaughtered demons in the Demon Realm and absorbed their energy, advancing first to the Paragon Shattering Realm and then increasing his cultivation further. He discovered that several of his techniques’ amplifications weakened as he grew stronger, but he continued hunting Heavenly General Demons to raise his power.

• Ding Ling suppressed Heavenly Soldier and Heavenly General Demons, purified their demonic energy, and raised his True Force Value to 100.
• Ding Ling broke through to the Paragon Shattering Realm at a True Force Value of 101 and realized that the Black Tortoise Divine Art and Divine Form Power amplifications had weakened.
• Ding Ling concluded that he needed Divinity to strengthen his Divine Form, while the Breathing Method and Immeasurable Crossing retained their full amplification.
• Ding Ling continued slaughtering demons and found that his cultivation could rise beyond the limits he had expected.
• Ding Ling seized and absorbed Heavenly General Demons, increasing his True Force Value to 102 as the demons proved unable to harm him.

Ding Ling fought Feng Bo, a demonic palace master and former member of the God Clan, while turning Feng Bo’s storms and demonic qi into fuel for his cultivation. He approached the Martial Golden Core Realm, which required at least 191 points of True Water to form a First Grade Golden Core.

• Ding Ling chased the fleeing heavenly soldiers, generals, and demons, capturing and refining some of them to grow stronger.
• Feng Bo ambushed Ding Ling with a violent wind, but Ding Ling countered with Coiling Dragon Entwines the Moon and identified his opponent.
• Ding Ling urged Feng Bo to remember his ties to the God Clan, but Feng Bo rejected them and attacked as a master of the Demon Realm.
• Ding Ling endured Feng Bo’s tornado storms and used the Xuanyuan Heart Sutra, Buddhist mantras, and Devil Path Scripture to purify and absorb the demonic qi.
• Ding Ling’s True Force reached 111 points, and he learned that the next stage was the Martial Golden Core Realm, whose First Grade required at least 191 points of True Water.

Ding Ling refused to condense a Golden Core prematurely and used Feng Bo and the demon army to keep strengthening himself. After killing Feng Bo, he hunted down the demons and reached 121 points of True Force.

• Ding Ling halted his attempt to form a Golden Core and continued refining demonic qi, while Feng Bo realized Ding Ling had used their battle to advance and charged at him in fury.
• Ding Ling amplified his techniques and unleashed the Mahavairocana Cleansing Mantra, purifying nearby demonic qi, strengthening himself, and badly wounding Feng Bo.
• Feng Bo fled, but Ding Ling caught him, struck him down, and absorbed his demonic qi, raising his True Force to 113 points.
• Ding Ling pursued the Heavenly Soldier and Heavenly General Demons, draining and refining their demonic qi as they scattered before him.
• Ding Ling's True Force reached 121 points, and his growing aura knocked demons to the ground as he continued hunting them.

Ding Ling pursued demons in the Demon Realm and refined their demonic qi to increase his True Force, reaching 181 drops of True Water. After his power surged, he continued seeking stronger demons, leaving his next breakthrough dependent on finding suitable prey.

• Ding Ling pursued fleeing demons, reasoning that the Demon Realm offered rare resources for condensing a high-grade Golden Core.
• Ding Ling absorbed Heavenly Soldier and Heavenly General Demons, gaining diminishing amounts of Inner Force as his strength increased.
• Ding Ling killed thousands of demons and raised his True Force Value from 121 to 181 points, adding 93 drops of True Water.
• Ding Ling realized his strength had multiplied and inferred that Half God had reached the Martial Golden Core realm.
• Ding Ling searched for stronger demons and sped through the demon groups with the Xuanyuan Heart Sutra, Mahavairocana Cleansing Mantra, and Soaring to Immortality Steps.

Ding Ling slaughtered demons in the Demon Realm, grew stronger, and fought a powerful assassin who was revealed to be the corrupted Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman. He left her injured but regenerating after she broke free of her seal and tried to kill him.

• Ding Ling used the Mahavairocana Cleansing Mantra to kill demons until his kill count reached one million, driving the survivors into hiding.
• Ding Ling entered a mountain cave full of demon beasts, including corrupted divine beasts, and fought through them while gaining Inner Force Value and True Water.
• Ding Ling continued killing higher-quality beasts until his True Force Value reached 191, enough to condense a First Grade Golden Core, but he kept seeking greater strength.
• A hidden attacker stabbed Ding Ling from behind, but he countered with the Mountain Sea Fist Sutra and smashed her skull with Fist Tilting the World.
• The attacker regenerated and demanded to know how Ding Ling had detected her Mysterious Woman Sword; a system notice identified her as the corrupted Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman, newly freed from her seal by the Demonic Blood.

Ding Ling resisted Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman’s allure, defeated her in battle, and pursued her into the depths of a mountain. There he discovered the Devil Emperor Palace and confronted Li Mu, who identified himself as its guardian.

• Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman’s bewitching power failed to affect Ding Ling, so she attacked him with the Mysterious Woman Ascending Immortal Diagram.
• Ding Ling broke the diagram, disarmed Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman, severed her left arm, and took her Mysterious Woman Sword.
• Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman fled into a cave with her severed arm, and Ding Ling pursued her through the mountain, cutting through demonic beasts.
• Ding Ling entered a vast underground grotto and encountered a towering spear-wielding man outside the Devil Emperor Palace.
• The man introduced himself as Li Mu, the Devil Emperor’s guardian, and Ding Ling challenged him for aiding evil.

Ding Ling condensed a First Grade Golden Core while fighting Li Mu and five other demon guards in the Demon Realm. After defeating and absorbing their power, he grew stronger and earned an achievement medal, leaving him near the world’s numerical limit.

• Li Mu ordered the five demon guards to join him in attacking Ding Ling, who realized he was outmatched by six Martial Golden Core experts.
• As the demons attacked, Ding Ling condensed his 195 drops of True Water into a First Grade Golden Core.
• Ding Ling struck all six demon guards with Wrath of the Firmament, heavily wounding them.
• Ding Ling absorbed and purified the six guards’ demonic power, gaining 24 drops of True Water and increasing his True Force Value to 219 points.
• Ding Ling sensed he was nearing the world’s numerical limit and obtained the C-Rank Achievement Medal: Intimidating Li Mu.

Ding Ling escaped the Devil Emperor’s attack with Nüba’s help and returned to the Alternate Dimension, where she praised his success and explained how cultivation limits varied between worlds. The chapter left him learning that the God Realm, Heaven Realm, and Demon Realm could reach Martial Nascent Soul, while Nüba could use her ancient divine blood to transcend local limits.

• Ding Ling discovered that Li Mu, Chang Xian, and Da Hong had fallen to demonic corruption, then killed them and concluded that Golden Core-level cultivation preserved clarity of mind.
• Ding Ling deduced that Feng Bo ruled the Eastern Devil Palace and that the Devil Emperor Palace occupied the central region of the Demon Realm.
• Nüba opened a portal and warned Ding Ling to escape before the Devil Emperor attacked him.
• Ding Ling entered the portal just before the Devil Emperor’s enormous palm struck the palace, and the Devil Emperor recognized that Ding Ling had inherited powers from Mahavairocana, the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan, and Chi You.
• Ding Ling returned to the Alternate Dimension, where Nüba congratulated him and recognized that he had reached the Martial Golden Core realm.
• Nüba explained that different worlds had different cultivation ceilings and that her divine blood let her retain her strength despite those limits.

Ding Ling learned from Nüba why the Devil Emperor could not leave his palace and why the Demon Realm’s power was limited, then asked her about Chi You and the ancient gods who had joined the Devil Path. Before returning to the Human Realm, Ding Ling received Nüba’s extensive teachings and quickly mastered countless cultivation and Fire Dao methods.

• Nüba explained that she sensed Ding Ling near the Demon Realm Portal and that her presence kept the Devil Emperor confined beneath it.
• Nüba told Ding Ling that only one Nascent Soul realm expert could exist in the three realms at a time, and that demonic nature magnified people’s desires and obsessions.
• Nüba revealed that Chi You’s body had been divided and buried in several places, including Lingyun Grotto, and urged Ding Ling to destroy his remaining parts.
• Ding Ling said he wanted to return to the Human Realm, and Nüba agreed while asking him to resolve her father’s lingering concern about Chi You.
• Nüba taught Ding Ling the methods she knew, including the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon and numerous Fire Dao arts, which he raised to max level as she explained them over three days and nights.

Ding Ling received Nüba’s teachings, greatly advancing his Martial Furnace and earning recognition from both Nüba and Xiong Ba. He returned to Luoyang after discovering that three days had passed, and planned to teach Diao Chan and the others life-prolonging techniques once his mission was complete.

• Nüba warned Ding Ling that the Devil Emperor would target him and urged him to grow stronger in the Human Realm, while her teachings raised his Martial Furnace three-leg progress to 80%.
• Ding Ling earned achievement medals from Nüba and Xiong Ba, then left the Fire Zombie origin land as Xiong Ba watched him go.
• Ding Ling accepted the Heavenly Dao’s suppression of his strength, protected the Dragon Turtle’s back with formations, and left the Loulan Ruins for the Human Realm.
• Ding Ling returned to Luoyang and learned from Guan Yu and Wang Bodang that he had been gone for three days.
• Ding Ling resolved to teach Diao Chan and the others the Xuanyuan Heart Sutra after completing his mission, and told Guan Yu that Xiong Ba had been dealt with.