Chapter Summaries

Jiang Qian led a group of powerful cultivators in an attempt to break into the Supreme Demon Tomb beneath an ancient well, but the tomb’s killing formation resisted their attacks. As their combined method weakened the formation, Lin Heng appeared and faced Leng Qiansha’s hostility.

• Jiang Qian and four others uncovered the tomb door beneath the ancient well, but their attacks could not break its killing formation.
• Jiang Qian identified the tomb as the Supreme Demon Tomb and persuaded the group to combine their strength, despite Su Wanyue’s doubts and objections.
• Jiang Jingyi watched from Heavenly Prosperity Hall and suspected Jiang Zhenqing had revealed the tomb’s location to Jiang Qian.
• After two and a half days of effort, the group’s combined technique visibly weakened the formation, while Jiang Lan complained about its exhausting cost.
• Leng Qiansha sensed someone watching and sent a dart toward Lin Heng, who caught it and appeared; Leng Qiansha then threatened him.

Lin Heng examined the Supreme Demon Tomb’s black door while Leng Qiansha and the others withdrew to recover their True Yuan. In court, officials argued over Jiang Jingyi’s judgment and the Imperial Strategy Bureau’s influence until Jiang Jingyi noticed something in the image and ordered Lord Xu to look up.

• Lin Heng warned Leng Qiansha to enter the tomb before fighting, and Jiang Qian persuaded Leng Qiansha to leave and conserve his strength.
• Lin Heng tested the black tomb door with a stone and a palm strike, finding that the stone vanished while his attack was destroyed.
• Xu Shiqi criticized Lin Heng and Jiang Jingyi, and other Imperial Strategy Bureau officials called for the Council Pavilion to be restored.
• Lord Qian accused the Imperial Strategy Bureau of failing to expose the Cao, Wei, and Zhao families’ rebellion and possibly covering for them.
• Jiang Jingyi smiled at the officials’ infighting, then spotted something in the image and told Lord Xu to raise his head and look.

Lin Heng passed through the tomb’s absorption barrier and entered the Supreme Demon Tomb, where an ancient presence recognized him as a descendant of Lin Ziqing. He denied any connection, but the presence insisted a prophecy had foretold the arrival of a five-elements cultivator from Lin Ziqing’s line.

• Meng Yutong explained that the barrier absorbed attacks by drawing on the power of the surrounding land, and Lin Heng had entered it by petrifying himself.
• Lin Heng awoke among Demon Beast bones inside the tomb and followed a powerful pressure into a dark cave.
• The pressure crushed the Green Lotus Dao Fire flat and forced Lin Heng to his knees before a towering Demon Beast skeleton.
• A voice from the tomb accused Lin Heng of finally arriving after more than five thousand years and asked which generation of Lin Ziqing’s descendants he was.
• Lin Heng said his father was Lin Zhique and denied any relation to Lin Ziqing, but the ancient presence cited a prophecy about a five-elements descendant coming to find it.

Lin Heng met Crimson Roc’s lingering will, learned that Lin Ziqing’s prophecy had led the Demon Venerable to wait thousands of years with a Bone Sword, and discovered he had to prove himself worthy of taking it. After Lin Heng failed to touch the sword, he read a stele identifying Crimson Roc and provoked its anger by comparing its fame unfavorably with Lin Ziqing’s.

• Crimson Roc mistook Lin Heng for a descendant of Lin Ziqing and pressured him while questioning him about the Heavenly Profound Continent and the Martial Emperor.
• Lin Heng explained that the Martial Emperor had unified the continent and eventually traveled the Starry Sky Ancient Road, prompting Crimson Roc to curse Lin Ziqing for sending him there.
• Crimson Roc revealed that Lin Ziqing had promised a Five Elements Cultivator would come for the Bone Sword, and threatened to keep Lin Heng trapped if he could not take it.
• Lin Heng reached for the Bone Sword but was thrown back by its recoil, then searched the nearby steles for clues.
• Lin Heng read a stele naming Crimson Roc the legendary Demon Venerable and angered it by saying that history remembered Lin Ziqing more than Crimson Roc.

Lin Heng learned how Crimson Roc Demon Venerable had willingly given his blood and spine to forge the Supreme Bone Sword for the Martial Emperor, then took the sword using his Five Elements power. After leaving the tomb, he emerged from the secret realm to find the others arguing and surprised them by appearing alive.

• Crimson Roc recounted how Lin Ziqing used his blood and spine to forge the Supreme Bone Sword, allowing the Martial Emperor to defeat two Demon Venerables and turn the war around.
• Crimson Roc told Lin Heng that his sacrifice had been his own choice, but asked him to keep the truth from the world so the Martial Emperor would not be criticized.
• Lin Heng used Five Elements power to overcome the Bone Sword's repelling force, removed it from Crimson Roc's skeleton, and left the tomb.
• Lin Heng bowed to the Martial Emperor statues and exited the secret realm after a full day had passed inside.
• Su Wanyue and the others confronted Jiang Qian over her failure to break the killing formation, while Leng Qiansha asked why Lin Heng had entered the pit.
• Jiang Lan claimed Lin Heng had been minced by the formation, but Lin Heng emerged alive and mocked the crowd for believing him dead.

Lin Heng emerged unharmed from the Supreme Demon Tomb and faced questions from the gathered cultivators about what lay inside and how to enter. After mocking them for mistaking the buried formation for a killing array, he revealed how to reach the tomb and fled.

• Murong Ziyan and the court officials were surprised when Lin Heng returned from the tomb uninjured, while Jiang Jingyi remained unsurprised.
• Little Senior Sister called Yun Yao and the others away from their mahjong game to watch Lin Heng, and Jiang Yan took Yun Yao's place at the table.
• Jiang Lan, Su Wanyue, Jiang Qian, and others pressed Lin Heng for information, so he described the underground cave and claimed he had taken only broken bowls and stone statues.
• Lin Heng mocked the group as trash and explained that the supposed killing array could not be buried beneath unharmed soil.
• Lin Heng told them to cover their bodies with Earth Force to enter the tomb, then grinned and fled.

Lin Heng and Xiao Lan searched Immortal Cloud Ancient City, then escaped its Barrier by digging beneath it. Their success was broadcast to the court, where Lin Heng’s insult to the Female Emperor prompted her to consider punishing him.

• Lin Heng reunited with Xiao Lan, inspected the ancient Spirit Stones and demon cores she had found, and decided to stop searching the ruins.
• Lin Heng and Xiao Lan tested the city’s Barrier, but neither his Water Element Body nor Xiao Lan’s bite could break through it.
• Jiang Jingyi watched Lin Heng struggle and privately expected her specially arranged Barrier to stop him.
• Lin Heng and Xiao Lan dug a tunnel beneath the Barrier and escaped Immortal Cloud Ancient City.
• Lin Heng called the Female Emperor an old woman, and his words were broadcast throughout Heavenly Prosperity Hall; Jiang Jingyi decided his public insult required punishment.

Lin Heng escaped the first trial and crossed the fogbound route toward the second trial while Jiang Qian and the others searched for him. He reached the Guangming Ancient Tower, an ancient repository of Literary Path knowledge, before the others had even escaped the first area.

• Lin Heng filled in the tunnel outside the city, then nearly stepped off a cliff before Xiao Lan warned him.
• Lin Heng flew on the Nine Heavens Sword until a force stopped him, then continued across a rope bridge through the fog.
• Jiang Qian and the others were thrown out of Crimson Roc Demon Venerable’s tomb after the guardian soul punished them, and they blamed Lin Heng for their loss.
• Leng Qiansha and the others searched the city for Lin Heng, but found only a freshly dug pit near the barrier.
• Jiang Qian led the group toward the barrier’s formation-breaking points while Lin Heng reached the second trial alone.
• The chapter introduced Guangming Ancient Tower as a seven-story Literary Path treasure pagoda that had once held more than one hundred thousand books.

Lin Heng explored the first four floors of Guangming Ancient Tower and discovered that Lin Ziqing’s hidden legacy lay beyond a Literary Emperor’s restriction. After composing a poem visible only to him, Lin Heng passed through the barrier alone, leaving Xiao Lan behind.

• Lin Heng explored the ancient tower’s first floor, where his Dao Eye revealed a vision of its former literary scholars.
• Lin Heng found the second-floor school of Bai Yangzi and the fourth-floor school of Gong Panzi, while Xiao Lan tried to eat an ancient book.
• Lin Heng reached the stairway above the fourth floor but was stopped by a restriction that outsiders said even supreme lords could not overcome.
• Lin Heng saw an inscription and a prompt invisible to Xiao Lan, then wrote a poem titled “People Far Away, Entrusted to Thought.”
• The restriction dissolved, and Lin Heng entered alone as Xiao Lan struck the barrier and fell from his shoulder.

Lin Heng entered the fifth and sixth floors of Guangming Ancient Tower, where the Mountains and Rivers Map absorbed the Literary Path’s power from ancient books. On the sixth floor, he met Silent, the Chess Immortal, who recognized him through his knowledge of gomoku and asked whether he had obtained the Bone Sword.

• Jiang Jingyi wondered why Lin Heng could enter the upper floors of Guangming Ancient Tower and suspected that her former teacher Lin Ziqing was still alive.
• Lin Heng saw an illusion of Lin Ziqing on the fifth floor, but it faded before he could approach.
• The Mountains and Rivers Map drew golden characters from the books, leaving them in ashes, then flew up to the sixth floor.
• Lin Heng found a chessboard and played gomoku with a white phantom who identified himself as Silent, the Chess Immortal.
• Silent explained that Lin Ziqing had told him to seek someone who knew the game, then asked Lin Heng whether he had obtained the Bone Sword.

Lin Heng learned that the Supreme Bone Sword had to be returned to the Demon Race and that he must not revive the Literary Path before the coming great tribulation. He discovered that his Mountains and Rivers Map was the upper volume of the Mountains and Rivers Scroll, then began refining Five Elements Spirit Stones on the Guangming Ancient Tower’s Seventh Floor to prepare for Jiang Qian and the others.

• The Silent Chess Immortal told Lin Heng to pass the Supreme Bone Sword to the future Demon King and warned that the Demon Race would be needed against the great tribulation.
• The Silent Chess Immortal warned Lin Heng not to reveal the Literary Path artifacts or revive the Literary Path before the tribulation, though Lin Heng’s First Senior Sister could eventually do so.
• Lin Heng learned that the Mountains and Rivers Scroll consisted of the upper-volume Mountains and Rivers Map and the lower-volume Beauty Record, and realized he already possessed half of it.
• The Silent Chess Immortal vanished, and Lin Heng continued to the Seventh Floor of the Guangming Ancient Tower.
• Lin Heng opened five iron chests containing Five Elements Spirit Stones, books, vessels, a pill-refining cauldron, and seeds.
• Expecting Jiang Qian and the others to arrive and confront him, Lin Heng began refining the Five Elements Spirit Stones to strengthen himself.

Lin Heng continued cultivating inside Guangming Ancient Tower while Leng Qiansha and the others found Xiao Lan and injured her. Outside the secret realm, his allies worried about his danger, while Dugu Feng received an invitation from the Female Emperor to visit Dingyang.

• Jiang Qian and the others searched the tower for Lin Heng, found Xiao Lan, and watched Jiang Lan try to capture her.
• Leng Qiansha seized Xiao Lan and threatened to kill her, but Su Wanyue persuaded him to keep her alive as bait for Lin Heng.
• Leng Qiansha agreed to spare Xiao Lan for now and demanded that he alone be allowed to kill Lin Heng when he emerged; Xiao Lan was thrown against a wall and spat blood.
• At Heavenly Prosperity Hall, Leng Qingyun grew furious over Xiao Lan's injuries, while the others worried that Lin Heng would face Leng Qiansha and the rest without help.
• At Ten Directions Hall, Shen Yeting read the Female Emperor's invitation to Dugu Feng and agreed to let him visit Dingyang with only three thousand Spirit Stones.

After Lin Heng emerged from the Guangming Ancient Tower, Leng Qiansha and Jiang Lan confronted him over his gains and past offenses. Jiang Lan offered to spare Lin Heng if he surrendered his treasures and submitted, while Leng Qiansha demanded that Lin Heng kneel and apologize to the Wei Family.

• Jiang Qian, Su Wanyue, and three other cultivators abandoned their wait for Lin Heng and left the secret realm trial.
• Jiang Lan threatened Xiao Lan, but the Hanging Gate stirred and Lin Heng finally emerged from the tower.
• Leng Qiansha and four others confronted Lin Heng outside the tower, and the other four stepped aside to let Leng Qiansha handle their grudge.
• Jiang Lan offered to protect Lin Heng if he surrendered his opportunities, apologized, and kowtowed, while hinting that the Jiang Clan could expand into the Western Continent through the Green Pavilion Sect.
• Leng Qiansha rejected Jiang Lan's interference and demanded that Lin Heng kneel and kowtow to the Wei Family before he would spare him for now.

Lin Heng tried to deter Leng Qiansha by claiming backing from the Dugu and Ye families, while observers debated whether his claims were true. Ye Nanbei then exposed Ye Tian as an abandoned son of the Ye Family, contradicting Lin Heng’s claim that Ye Tian would inherit it.

• Lin Heng told Jiang Lan that his mother’s family was the Dugu Family and suggested the Female Emperor had granted him a secret-realm slot to curry favor with them.
• Jiang Lan and the others grew wary, while observers argued over Lin Heng’s claim and Jiang Jingyi considered how she might intervene if he faced danger.
• Leng Qiansha rejected Lin Heng’s threat and declared that he would kill him to avenge the Wei Family.
• Lin Heng warned that his senior brother, Ye Tian, would destroy the Leng Family, claiming Ye Tian would inherit the Ye Family.
• Ye Nanbei denounced Lin Heng’s claim, saying Ye Tian was an abandoned son and that Ye Guang would inherit the Ye Family.

Lin Heng fought Leng Qiansha, enduring his Killing Domain attacks while revealing the strength of his Golden Body and restorative constitution. As Leng Qiansha unleashed his full domain, Lin Heng kept walking toward him, apparently unaffected.

• Yun Yao and Mu Liuxi laughed at Lin Heng’s habit of using Ye Tian’s identity to stir up trouble, while Little Senior Sister anxiously warned that the fighters had begun battling.
• Lin Heng dismissed Leng Qiansha’s threats and challenged him, then dodged his close-range strike and cut his shoulder.
• Leng Qiansha drew the fight into the sky and unleashed hundreds of killing Sword Qi attacks, but Lin Heng blocked them with his Ten-Zhang Golden Body.
• Lin Heng realized his fused Golden Body and Gold Element Body could withstand the assault, while his Wood Element Body and Jade Origin Vine could heal his injuries.
• Leng Qiansha unleashed his Solitary Killing Sword and spread his Killing Domain across a hundred li, frightening Jiang Lan and the others.
• Despite the domain’s harmful effects on onlookers, Lin Heng continued walking toward Leng Qiansha without appearing affected.

Lin Heng defeated Leng Qiansha and refused to yield the opportunities he had found, even after Leng Qiansha used Xiao Lan to threaten him. He revealed the Supreme Bone Sword and its Five Elements restriction, leaving the others afraid to challenge him.

• Lin Heng resisted Leng Qiansha's killing domain, overpowered him, and knocked him from the sky.
• Leng Qiansha seized Xiao Lan and demanded Lin Heng hand over his opportunities, but Lin Heng claimed he was willing to let them make snake soup.
• After Leng Qiansha threw Xiao Lan aside, Lin Heng revealed the Supreme Bone Sword and challenged the group to lift it.
• Leng Qiansha touched the sword and lost his right hand and half his arm to its supreme pressure, while Jiang Lan and the others were blasted back.
• Lin Heng explained that only a Five Elements Cultivator could wield the sword, lifted it himself, and asked who else wanted to demand his opportunity.

Lin Heng took the Bone Sword and drove off Jiang Lan, Leng Qiansha, and the others, while Leng Qiansha vowed to restore his honor. Outside the secret realm, Jiang Jingyi revealed that the sword had to be returned to the Demon Race and sent Jiang Yan to learn what Lin Heng knew.

• Lin Heng pointed the Bone Sword at Jiang Lan and the others, then took Xiao Lan and left without attacking them.
• Gu Yue Nianwei warned Jiang Lan that Lin Heng's strange abilities made him dangerous, then fled; Jiang Lan and the others also departed.
• Leng Qiansha tore off the rest of his injured arm and resolved to eliminate Lin Heng rather than return to the Leng Family in disgrace.
• Jiang Jingyi told Jiang Yan that the Bone Sword had to be returned to the Demon Race and asked him to find out what Lin Heng had learned.
• Jiang Yan teased Jiang Jingyi about meeting a young man, and she slapped him and ordered him to call her Supreme.

Mu Li joined Meng Yutong and the others as they watched Lin Heng enter the Extraterrestrial Battlefield, explaining its history and dangers. Lin Heng explored the battlefield with the sulking Xiao Lan, who eventually grew into its larger snake form and led him onward.

• Mu Li arrived, teased Meng Yutong about Lin Heng, and identified the third trial as the dangerous Extraterrestrial Battlefield.
• Mu Li explained that the battlefield held ruins from three historical periods and described the clashes with cultivators from the Heavenly Action Continent.
• Lin Heng examined the first battlefield ruin, finding star fragments, lingering fires, and traces of powerful Dao might.
• Xiao Lan sulked over Lin Heng's earlier remarks about cooking it, and Lin Heng told it to help him find treasures.
• Xiao Lan enlarged into its icy blue snake form and moved ahead as Lin Heng followed, collecting Star Iron along the way.

Lin Heng and Xiao Lan collected Star Stones in the Extraterrestrial Battlefield, where King Le, Jiang Qian, proposed that they cooperate to gather Star Sand. The chapter ended with Jiang Qian demonstrating the Spatial Banner and asking Lin Heng to use his Five Elements Force to draw out the Star Sand.

• Lin Heng teased Xiao Lan about eating her, then explained that he had only pretended to threaten her to keep Leng Qiansha and the others from using her against him.
• Lin Heng and Xiao Lan searched the ruins for more treasure and encountered a strange, space-warping cascade of glowing particles at the edge of the battlefield.
• King Le, Jiang Qian, told Lin Heng that the cascade was Star Sand and proposed they gather it together and divide the yield.
• Lin Heng questioned why Jiang Qian wanted to cooperate with him, and she praised his strength, judgment, and influence with Jiang Jingyi and Prince Qi.
• Jiang Qian demonstrated that her Spatial Banner could protect its bearer from the Star Sand’s spatial pressure, then asked Lin Heng to use his Five Elements Force to draw the sand out.

Lin Heng discovered a hidden space beyond the Star Sand current and used the Heaven and Earth Cauldron to collect Star Sand. After returning to the others, he hurriedly took Jiang Qian with him, leaving his next move unclear.

• Su Wanyue arrived and mocked Jiang Qian and Lin Heng, then left after Lin Heng disappeared into the Star Sand current.
• Lin Heng passed through a hidden space barrier and realized it concealed the fourth trial.
• Lin Heng used the Heaven and Earth Cauldron and the power of the five elements to collect Star Sand for two hours, storing it in the System Space.
• Lin Heng stopped collecting before he drew too much attention, then reappeared with the Spatial Banner.
• Jiang Qian was relieved to see Lin Heng alive and followed him when he urged her to come with him.