Chapter Summaries

Ding Ling fought the Black Mountain Old Demon beneath the City of Wrongful Deaths, overcoming his blood and Yellow Springs techniques with thirteenfold-amplified sword and saber arts. He shattered the Black Mountain Old Demon's true body, leaving the demon roaring as the mountain crumbled.

• Ding Ling struck the Black Mountain pyramid while the Black Mountain Old Demon attacked Xi Shi and tried to use puppet talismans, but Ding Ling disrupted his schemes.
• The Black Mountain Old Demon unleashed the Netherworld Blood Shield, Soul-Devouring Blood Python, and Nine Nether Yellow Springs against Ding Ling.
• Ding Ling sent Xi Shi to Yan Chixia, amplified Sword Returns in an Instant thirteenfold, and pierced the Blood Python's skull.
• Ding Ling used Three Revolutions of Reincarnation against the Black Mountain Old Demon's defenses, but mysterious symbols absorbed the saber intent.
• Ding Ling's Falling Leaf, Autumn Chill froze the pyramid's base, and he struck three more times until the Black Mountain Old Demon's mountain body shattered.

Ding Ling defeated the Black Mountain Old Demon after destroying his trump cards, freeing Xi Shi, Wang Zhaojun, Diao Chan, Yang Yuhuan, and the others from his control. As the demon faced destruction, he tried to bargain with a secret, but Ding Ling continued his attack.

• Ding Ling destroyed the Black Mountain Old Demon's Death Blood Python and restored the Nine Nether Yellow Springs to its original form, leaving the demon unable to control either power.
• As Falling Leaf, Autumn Chill shattered his mountain body, the Black Mountain Old Demon summoned a Death God Scythe and tried to kill Xi Shi, but Ding Ling detected and destroyed it with Thunderbolt Slash.
• The Black Mountain Old Demon offered to reveal a secret about the Three Realms and Six Paths, but Ding Ling struck him again with Falling Leaf, Autumn Chill.
• Yan Chixia watched Ding Ling's victory in awe and hoped to learn his powerful Martial Dao True Understanding.
• The Puppet Talismans dissipated as their master died, and Xi Shi, Wang Zhaojun, Diao Chan, Yang Yuhuan, and the others regained consciousness and learned from Yan Chixia that Ding Ling had saved them.

Ding Ling destroyed Black Mountain Old Demon and discovered through his heightened premonition that another enemy was watching from the shadows. He sent Yan Chixia and the others out of the City of Wrongful Deaths, where Nie Xiaoqian and a crowd of newly deceased souls were waiting.

• Xi Shi and the others watched as Black Mountain Old Demon’s many heads pleaded, raged, and cursed, confirming that he had devoured Granny An and others.
• Ding Ling shattered Black Mountain Old Demon, absorbed the surrounding Demon Qi, and used his Sword Domain to search the demon’s memories for a secret about the Three Realms and Six Paths.
• Ding Ling’s premonition confirmed that a hidden enemy was watching, and the sinister chill intensified after Black Mountain Old Demon died.
• Ding Ling sent Yan Chixia and the others out of the City of Wrongful Deaths on sword light as the city’s protective barrier disappeared.
• Nie Xiaoqian, Xiaoqing, and the newly deceased souls gathered outside the city, where players and demonic-path experts stared at the many beauties and approached Yan Chixia with questions.

Yan Chixia told Hou Xibai and the players that Ding Ling had destroyed the Black Mountain Old Demon and rescued Xi Shi and the other beauties. The group wondered why Ding Ling remained inside the City of Wrongful Deaths, suspecting other great demons were still there.

• Hou Xibai approached Yan Chixia and asked whether they were outside the City of Wrongful Deaths.
• Players recognized Yan Chixia, asked about his companions, and were stunned when he named Xi Shi, Wang Zhaojun, Yang Yuhuan, Diao Chan, Li Shishi, Zhao Feiyan, Feng Xiaolian, and Su Xiaoxiao.
• Yan Chixia explained that Ding Ling had destroyed the Black Mountain Old Demon and rescued the beauties, exciting the players and intriguing Hou Xibai and the other demonic-path masters.
• Nie Xiaoqian asked where Ding Ling was, and Yan Chixia said he was still inside the city and wondered whether other great demons remained.

Yan Chixia and the others watched the City of Wrongful Deaths rise and collapse into radiant light, opening a passage between the Underworld and the Human Realm. With Ding Ling missing, Nie Xiaoqian and Xi Shi stayed behind to search for him while Yan Chixia was escorted out.

• Yan Chixia warned that he could not help Ding Ling and said he could no longer freely leave the Underworld without him.
• The City of Wrongful Deaths arched upward, collapsed into multicolored light, and tore open a passage to the Human Realm.
• Yan Chixia searched the site for Ding Ling, but the city and Ding Ling had vanished as the Yin-Yang Road began to close.
• Nie Xiaoqian and Xi Shi chose to stay and search for Ding Ling, while Diao Chan and the others escorted Yan Chixia out.
• Yan Chixia reached the Human Realm with Hou Xibai and remained shaken by the city’s destruction and Ding Ling’s disappearance.

Ning Caichen witnessed a mysterious rainbow light that influenced nearly everyone in Guobei County, while Fu Tianchou and his companions worried about their weakness and trusted Ding Ling to protect the world. He then mistook Fu Qingfeng for Nie Xiaoqian and pleaded with her, leaving her confused and angry as she denied knowing him.

• A dazzling rainbow light appeared over Guobei County at dawn, drawing most of its residents into the streets and leaving them unable to explain what had happened.
• Chief Zuo, Fu Tianchou, Fu Yuechi, and Fu Qingfeng discussed their helplessness and placed their hopes in Ding Ling after hearing players recount his legendary deeds.
• Ning Caichen spotted Fu Qingfeng and called her Xiaoqian, then grabbed her arm as he rushed over.
• Fu Qingfeng rejected Ning Caichen and said she did not know him, while Fu Yuechi demanded that he leave her sister alone.
• Ning Caichen insisted that he would wait for Xiaoqian and remember their promise.

Ning Caichen mistook Fu Qingfeng for Nie Xiaoqian, was humiliated, and resolved to cultivate and become an official. In the Underworld, Xi Shi and Nie Xiaoqian found a rebuilt City of Wrongful Deaths and a being wearing Ding Ling’s form, who captured them and planned to refine the first one’s power.

• Fu Tianchou told Ning Caichen that Fu Qingfeng was his daughter, not Nie Xiaoqian, but Ning Caichen insisted they were the same person.
• A player mocked Ning Caichen for confusing Fu Qingfeng with Nie Xiaoqian, and Ning Caichen attacked him before being slapped to the ground.
• Ning Caichen realized Fu Qingfeng and Nie Xiaoqian had different temperaments, then returned to the inn determined to cultivate and become an official.
• In the Underworld, the City of Wrongful Deaths rebuilt itself, and a mountain formed at its entrance.
• A man wearing Ding Ling’s form emerged from the mountain, identified himself as more powerful than the first one, and seized Xi Shi, Nie Xiaoqian, and the other beauties.

Ding Ling took Xi Shi and Nie Xiaoqian into the City of Wrongful Deaths while pretending to be their dead hero, but a mysterious light struck him and carried him to the moon. He regenerated his body with spirit pills, advanced his cultivation, and was left wondering where he had landed and what the light was.

• Ding Ling claimed Great Hero Ding was dead and carried Xi Shi and Nie Xiaoqian toward the City Lord's Mansion, but Xi Shi refused to become his wife.
• A powerful light burst from the City of Wrongful Deaths, shattered Ding Ling's body, and carried him through the void to the moon while a protective divine power kept him alive.
• Ding Ling restored his body with his Martial Dao True Understanding and three spirit pills, which also advanced his cultivation.
• Ding Ling stood on the moon, looked up at the sky, and froze.

Ding Ling explored the ruins of the Celestial Palace on the moon and met the lingering soul of Jiang Ziya, who explained the ancient war that had devastated their world. Jiang Ziya revealed that the evil god’s emotional power had targeted Ding Ling after he wounded Black Mountain Old Demon, but could not directly possess him.

• Ding Ling recognized three Earth-like spheres in space and discovered extensive ruins on the moon.
• Jiang Ziya appeared and identified himself to Ding Ling as Jiang Taigong, also known as Jiang Ziya.
• Jiang Ziya explained that the moon’s eastern Celestial Palace had been ruined in a centuries-long war against gods from beyond the realms.
• Jiang Ziya told Ding Ling that the evil god’s emotional power was sealed in an iron coffin and restrained by the sacrificed power of fallen gods and immortals.
• Jiang Ziya explained that the evil god’s power had targeted Ding Ling after he wounded Black Mountain Old Demon, but could only possess Black Mountain Old Demon because the demon’s body had been formed from that power.

Jiang Ziya revealed that the Gods and Celestials had sacrificed their remaining power to save Ding Ling and entrusted him with destroying the Evil God’s Emotional Power. In the Hall of Universal Brightness, Ding Ling received the Divine Whip and quickly mastered its seals, surprising Jiang Ziya as he prepared to teach him the Jade Clarity Immortal Method.

• Jiang Ziya explained that he had used the Gods and Celestials’ remaining power to protect Ding Ling, whose merit gave humanity a final chance.
• Ding Ling accepted responsibility for destroying the Evil God’s power, though he worried it exceeded the world’s limits.
• Jiang Ziya led Ding Ling to the Hall of Universal Brightness and gave him the Divine Whip, which weighed more than ten thousand jin.
• Ding Ling told Jiang Ziya about the Martial Dao True Understanding, and Jiang Ziya praised its potential.
• Jiang Ziya began teaching Ding Ling to refine the Divine Whip with the Jade Clarity Immortal Method, but Ding Ling mastered the talisman seals with ease.
• Jiang Ziya asked whether Ding Ling believed he could learn the Immortal Dao as well as the Martial and Sword Dao, and Ding Ling confidently agreed.

Jiang Ziya passed the Jade Clarity Immortal Method to Ding Ling, who mastered it instantly and reached Great Perfection. Ding Ling opened his Upper Dantian and gained nine strands of Jade Clarity Immortal Qi, while Jiang Ziya celebrated the Jade Clarity Palace’s new successor.

• Jiang Ziya agreed to teach Ding Ling the methods he knew and warned him not to force himself to learn unsuitable arts.
• Ding Ling paid respects to the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning and became a disciple of the Jade Clarity Palace before Jiang Ziya recited the Jade Clarity Immortal Method.
• Ding Ling instantly comprehended the Jade Clarity Immortal Method to Great Perfection, astonishing Jiang Ziya.
• Ding Ling opened his Upper Dantian and formed nine strands of Jade Clarity Immortal Qi as the method reached max level.
• Ding Ling explained his understanding of the Upper Dantian to Jiang Ziya, who admitted he had never mastered the method and rejoiced that the Jade Clarity Palace had a successor.

Jiang Ziya taught Ding Ling the arts and secrets he knew, and Ding Ling mastered them all before refining the Divine Whip as its new owner. Jiang Ziya revealed that the Investiture of the Gods was an imitation that had vanished, while the genuine treasure was said to be in the Boundless Greater World, a place his Senior Brothers feared to enter.

• Jiang Ziya taught Ding Ling a vast range of arts, techniques, and secret manuals, which Ding Ling instantly mastered to Great Perfection.
• Jiang Ziya accepted Ding Ling as his junior brother on behalf of Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning.
• Jiang Ziya guided Ding Ling in refining all eighty-four talisman seals and imprinting himself as the Divine Whip's new master.
• The Divine Whip's spirit revealed its power to strike and scatter souls, and Ding Ling asked Jiang Ziya about the Investiture of the Gods.
• Jiang Ziya said the Investiture of the Gods had vanished and was only an imitation, while the genuine article was believed to be in the Boundless Greater World.
• Jiang Ziya told Ding Ling that his Senior Brothers feared traveling to the Boundless Greater World because anyone who went there would die.

Ding Ling learned from Jiang Ziya about the Upper Realm, the incarnations of the immortals, and the Final Battle of the Gods against Zeus and other beings from beyond the outer realms. Jiang Ziya helped him retrieve a scroll called the Mountains and Rivers State Diagram, which Ding Ling believed was a powerful counterfeit, leaving its true nature uncertain.

• Ding Ling asked Jiang Ziya about the Upper Realm, and Jiang Ziya explained that only Heavenly Immortals could ascend and that the other Senior Brothers feared returning because their true bodies would absorb their experience and make their incarnations vanish.
• Jiang Ziya told Ding Ling that Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning had fought Zeus, Hades, Titans, Death Serpents, and other monsters in the Final Battle of the Gods, then disappeared into the outer void.
• Jiang Ziya said he was his true body and had never sensed that he was an incarnation, unlike the Senior Brothers.
• Ding Ling lifted the Jade Emperor's throne and struck the void with the Divine Whip, revealing a black hole that released a hidden scroll.
• Jiang Ziya identified the scroll as the Mountains and Rivers State Diagram and urged Ding Ling to use it to save all living beings.
• Ding Ling said the diagram was a counterfeit based on the legends he knew, and Jiang Ziya agreed it might be one while noting its great power.

Ding Ling entered the Mountains and Rivers State Diagram with the Divine Whip to search for the immortals’ trump card and emerged in Pengze. After learning about nearby monsters from a fishing family, he decided to return with them to Yangxian.

• Jiang Ziya sent Ding Ling into the Mountains and Rivers State Diagram with the Divine Whip and urged him to find the true trump card before his remnant soul faded.
• Ding Ling followed a water-tornado passage and emerged from a lake fountain in Pengze, startling Zhu Ba, Zhu Shi, and Zhu Xiaofang.
• Ding Ling reassured the family that he was human, retrieved their fishing net, and asked them where he was.
• Zhu Ba told Ding Ling that a Jiaolong haunted the Yixing River and a White-browed Tiger preyed on people near South Mountain.
• Ding Ling searched Pengze with his Divine Meditation Technique, found no fierce beasts there, and decided to return to Yangxian with the family.

Ding Ling received a powerful foundation-building gift from the Map Spirit of the Mountains and Rivers State Diagram and learned that he must help fulfill the Queen Mother's edict. He traveled to Yangxian to meet Zhou Chu, whose arrival confirmed the villagers' fear of him.

• The Zhu family sincerely hoped Ding Ling would eliminate the three scourges, awakening the Map Spirit, which sent him Spiritual Light and instantly raised his cultivation to Foundation Establishment.
• Ding Ling learned that the Queen Mother's edict required him to find a Moon Laurel Tree fragment and awaken Wu Gang, while a later step remained unknown.
• Zhu Ba told Ding Ling about Zhou Chu's reckless behavior, and Ding Ling set out to meet him, wondering whether Zhou Chu might be Wu Gang.
• Ding Ling carried the Zhu family and their fish to Yangxian, where the frightened residents showed how much the three scourges had harmed the county.
• A towering man rode through the streets with a group of young men, whipping at people and laughing; Zhu Ba identified him as Zhou Chu.

Ding Ling confronted Zhou Chu and his gang after they menaced Zhu Ba’s family in Yangxian Township. He easily defeated Zhou Chu, leaving him kneeling before him as Zhou Chu’s companions stared in shock.

• Zhou Chu and his companions rode up to Zhu Ba’s family and challenged Ding Ling for entering Yangxian Township without permission.
• One of Zhou Chu’s companions whipped at Ding Ling, but Ding Ling caught the riding crop and sent the youth flying with its rebound.
• Zhou Chu attacked Ding Ling, who blocked his punches and slapped him across the face.
• Ding Ling kicked Zhou Chu’s legs out from under him, leaving him injured and kneeling before Ding Ling.
• Zhou Chu’s companions watched in disbelief as Ding Ling’s strength was praised as that of a great hero.

Ding Ling discovered that nine golden shackles sealed a powerful soul within Zhou Chu, and the first shackle’s destruction healed Zhou Chu and raised his strength to the Great Grandmaster realm. Ding Ling swiftly defeated him again, subdued his companions, and carried them toward Yangxian as the locals watched in awe.

• Zhu Xiaofang and her family celebrated as Ding Ling forced Zhou Chu to kneel, but a golden light suddenly healed Zhou Chu and freed him from Ding Ling’s grip.
• Ding Ling used his Heavenly Eye and the Sword Spirit’s Spirit Eyes to see that nine golden shackles sealed a soul in Zhou Chu’s Sea of Consciousness, and the first broken shackle had raised Zhou Chu’s strength to the Great Grandmaster realm.
• Ding Ling struck Zhou Chu’s companions with a small bolt of Jade Clarity Immortal Lightning, leaving them sprawled and frightened.
• Zhou Chu charged at Ding Ling, who struck him down with a Great Seal before he could land his kick.
• Ding Ling used invisible Great Seals to seize Zhou Chu and his companions and carried them toward Yangxian, while the locals spread word of his power.

Ding Ling took charge of Zhou Chu and his gang’s trial after discovering Upright Official Wan Hai was compromised. Zhou Chu broke his second Golden Light Lock, regained his strength, and challenged Ding Ling, who wagered that Zhou Chu would have to apologize to everyone he had hurt if he lost.

• Ding Ling learned that Wan Hai’s son, Wan Tang, was among Zhou Chu’s gang and removed Wan Hai from the trial after striking him.
• Ding Ling took the Upright Official’s seat and began trying Zhou Chu and the others as Yangxian’s people gathered to watch.
• Seeing his mother Zhou Shi weep as the crowd condemned him, Zhou Chu broke his second Golden Light Lock and reached the pinnacle of the Shattered Realm.
• Zhou Chu challenged Ding Ling, declaring that he would prove himself the real hero and defeat the White-browed Tiger and Jiaolong.
• Ding Ling wagered that Zhou Chu would apologize to everyone he had hurt if he lost, and Zhou Chu accepted and asked where they would fight.

Ding Ling challenged Zhou Chu and defeated him with one palm, then began judging Zhou Chu’s companions for their crimes. Their confessions exposed how they had exploited Zhou Chu and abused the people of Yangxian, and the chapter ended with Old Man Li attacking Bi Qianli over his daughter’s fate.

• Ding Ling struck Zhou Chu with the Heaven Flipping Palm, overwhelmed him, and withdrew the attack before it could kill him.
• Zhou Chu agreed to apologize to the villagers once his friends were safe, but Ding Ling ordered him aside and began passing judgment.
• Using the Soul Transfer Technique, Ding Ling made Wan Tang and Bi Qianli confess their murders, assaults, and other crimes.
• Bi Qianli admitted that he and the others had manipulated Zhou Chu into helping them eliminate their enemies.
• Old Man Li rushed forward, knocked Bi Qianli down, and beat him for abducting and violating his daughter.

Ding Ling brought Bi Qianli, Wan Tang, and their accomplices to justice, then studied Yangxian’s ancient martial arts manuals. With Martial Dao True Understanding Version 2.0 nearly complete, he prepared to continue his journey.

• Bi Qianli panicked when Ding Ling exposed his crimes, and Old Man Li and other victims’ relatives beat him and his accomplices.
• Ding Ling judged Zhou Chu and the others, then approved the people’s call for fifteen of the worst offenders to be executed by slow slicing.
• Old Man Li volunteered as executioner, while Wan Hai refused to save Wan Tang and Zhou Chu rejected his former allies.
• Bi Qianli, Wan Tang, and the others were executed, and Ding Ling judged Wan Hai and appointed a respected elder as Yangxian’s new official.
• Ding Ling studied the town’s ancient manuals, mastered the Ancient Clan Cultivation Method and Hidden Dragon Heart Locking Art, and advanced Martial Dao True Understanding Version 2.0 to 99%.