Chapter Summaries

After Shen Zhui’s promotion to Divine Might Captain, he challenged Xia Hong by scheduling his banquet against King Liang’s Estate’s celebration, then celebrated with Ten Thousand Peaks City’s leading experts. He learned that his auctioned treasures had earned him 336.2 billion High-grade Spirit Stones, though Chanxin reminded him that true wealth was measured in Fortune Coins.

• Shen Zhui invited Xia Hong and King Liang’s allies to a Captain’s banquet scheduled for the same day as Xia Hong’s celebration, and Xia Hong refused to attend.
• Wen Qingfeng advised Xia Hong to send someone to Shen Zhui’s banquet, but Xia Hong kept his celebration as scheduled and privately vowed to eliminate Shen Zhui.
• Xia Hong lost his composure after Wen Qingfeng left, spat blood, and tore up Shen Zhui’s invitation in anger.
• Shen Zhui’s three-day banquet drew Marquis Wu'an, Lu Yuanwei, Hall Master Lei, and many other experts, while King Liang’s Estate’s celebration attracted fewer distinguished guests.
• The Yun Clan Merchant Association informed Shen Zhui that his twenty-five auctioned treasures had sold for 336.2 billion High-grade Spirit Stones, making him a Three-star VIP.
• Chanxin explained that powerful experts used World Stones and Fortune Coins, and warned Shen Zhui that his wealth still amounted to fewer than a hundred Fortune Coins.

Shen Zhui studied the Lotus Dao Fruit and used its Observing Qi Technique to examine the destiny of people across Ten Thousand Peaks City, learning a hard lesson when Marquis Wu'an caught him spying. He then broke through to the Third-tier Divine Ability realm, before a report about Murong Qingxue made him vanish from his secret chamber.

• Shen Zhui told Chanxin that he had entered the Gather Qi stage of the Lotus Dao Fruit but had made no progress with the Exquisite Buddhist Treasury, and Chanxin explained how Ciyun Venerable had used Lotus Dao Fruits to influence Fortune and Destiny.
• Shen Zhui recalled the Lotus Dao Fruit's teachings and used the Observing Qi Technique to view the destiny pillars across Ten Thousand Peaks City, including those of Lu Yuanwei, Xia Hong, and Xia Jing.
• Shen Zhui tried to inspect Marquis Wu'an's destiny, but a purple dragon lunged at him; Marquis Wu'an warned him that spying on powerful figures could be dangerous.
• Shen Zhui's Cave Heaven World expanded as he absorbed the Heart of the World, advancing him and his seven incarnations to the Third-tier Divine Ability realm.
• After receiving a spiritual-sense report about Murong Qingxue, Shen Zhui's expression turned cold and he disappeared from the Secret Chamber.

Murong Qingxue found the final ingredient for her Myriad Poison Yuan Devouring Liquid in Half Moon City, but Liu Rulong seized it by force and injured her protector. Shen Zhui learned what happened and ordered Liu Rulong to appear in Half Moon City within half an hour, leaving Liu Rulong rushing back in panic.

• Murong Qingxue found Viper Three-Leaf Clover at the Hundred Herbs Pharmacy and tried to buy it.
• Liu Rulong outbid Murong Qingxue, dismissed her protector’s appeal, and used his spiritual pressure to make him and Murong Qingxue submit before taking the herbs.
• The injured protector reported the incident to Shen Zhui, who learned Liu Rulong’s identity and confronted his master, Jiang Ming.
• Jiang Ming rebuked Liu Rulong for offending Shen Zhui’s people and ordered him to return to Half Moon City within half an hour or face death.

Shen Zhui secured the Viper Three-Leaf Clover and punished Liu Rulong and his accomplices for bullying Murong Qingxue. After learning that Qingxue’s Body of Great Calamity had plagued her life, Shen Zhui promised to protect her, though Chanxin warned that helping her could bring disaster upon him.

• Jiang Ming returned to Half Moon City with Liu Rulong, who surrendered the stolen herbs and confessed to his crimes.
• Jiang Ming sentenced Liu Rulong to ten years in the Fourth Desolate Prison, revoked his command, and sent his four accomplices to the Third Desolate Prison for a year.
• Shen Zhui accepted the Viper Three-Leaf Clover, refused Jiang Ming’s other compensation, and ordered the Chen Clan Merchant Association to replace the Hundred Herbs Pharmacy’s manager.
• Shen Zhui brought the clover to Murong Qingxue, who explained how her Body of Great Calamity had brought misfortune upon her and those around her.
• Murong Qingxue chose to risk concocting the Myriad Poison Yuan Devouring Liquid to pursue an Extreme Realm Golden Body, and Shen Zhui promised to protect her.
• Chanxin warned Shen Zhui that helping Murong Qingxue withstand her calamities might bring a great disaster upon him.

Shen Zhui learned that Murong Qingxue’s rare constitution would bring a devastating calamity and chose to use the dangerous Transferring Flowers and Connecting Trees technique to share her misfortune. After one transfer, a string of disasters had already struck, but his Merit Barrier offered some protection as he prepared to continue.

• Chanxin warned Shen Zhui that Murong Qingxue’s constitution would bring calamity and said that protecting her with Marquis Wu'an’s fortune would be fatal.
• Chanxin revealed that Transferring Flowers and Connecting Trees could let Shen Zhui share Murong Qingxue’s misfortune, potentially forming a Destiny Lotus Heart, but warned of severe risks.
• Shen Zhui decided to protect Murong Qingxue and studied the secret technique while she prepared the Myriad Poison Yuan Devouring Liquid.
• The alchemist repeatedly failed, powerful enemies crossed the Canglan River, and falling meteorites struck Murong Qingxue’s courtyard as Shen Zhui began transferring destiny.
• After completing the first transfer, Shen Zhui suffered misfortune including qi deviation and a falling bamboo, but his Merit Barrier helped protect him.

Shen Zhui prepared Half Moon City for Murong Qingxue’s Heart Fire Circulation, then endured the nine bolts of her Nine Heavens Lightning Tribulation as her misfortune surged. After the lightning passed, a vast manifestation of Yin Demons appeared around the Bamboo Forest, leaving Shen Zhui facing the next disaster.

• Murong Qingxue bowed three times to Shen Zhui, and their exchange caused black misfortune and blue, red, and purple fortune to flow into his Qi Sea.
• Shen Zhui used Transferring Flowers and Connecting Trees nine times to take Murong Qingxue’s misfortune, then arranged for eighty Divine Ability Realm combatants to secure Half Moon City.
• When Murong Qingxue ignited her heart fire, the Nine Heavens Lightning Tribulation formed, and Shen Zhui took the brunt of its nine powerful bolts.
• Shen Zhui resisted the final bolt with the Blood Origin Divine Armor and recovered with a Blood Origin Crystal Core, while Murong Qingxue remained hidden from his divine sense.
• After the clouds cleared, the bamboo began collapsing toward Murong Qingxue’s room, and Shen Zhui used the Qi Observation Method to see a vast army of Yin Demons manifesting from her black fortune.

Shen Zhui used a mysterious Dragon-shaped Jade Carving to draw away Murong Qingxue’s Yin Demons, but the ordeal badly weakened his Spiritual Sense and the carving was destroyed. After the Natural Disaster subsided, Shen Zhui discovered that five Corpse Puppet Sect experts had infiltrated beneath the Bamboo Forest to kill Murong Qingxue and turn her into a corpse puppet.

• Shen Zhui found that he could not harm the Yin Demons until a mysterious voice gave him a Dragon-shaped Jade Carving marked Anning, which drew the demons toward him.
• Shen Zhui endured the Yin Demons’ endless attacks, then used his Merit Barrier as the carving shattered and he awoke with his Spiritual Sense severely weakened.
• Shen Zhui saw that the Yin Demons reaching Murong Qingxue had been reduced by more than half and accepted that she had to endure the rest of her tribulation herself.
• Six coffin-bearing Holy Envoys emerged from a bloody portal at a Sect Alliance military city and vanished underground.
• Shen Zhui detected faint spiritual fluctuations beneath the Bamboo Forest, sent his Earth Clone underground, and confronted five Eighth-tier Divine Ability Realm Corpse Puppet Sect experts as they burst from the ground.

Shen Zhui fought to protect Murong Qingxue from the Corpse Puppet Sect, whose members tried to seize her and awaken the beings inside their coffins. After a blood relative’s golden chains restrained the coffins, an ancient Gate of Creation appeared over Half Moon City.

• The Corpse Puppet Sect’s five Eighth-tier cultivators distracted Shen Zhui while their Ninth-tier leader attacked Murong Qingxue’s courtyard.
• Xiao Huo and Shen Zhui intervened, but the Black Robe Cultivator trapped Xiao Huo and immobilized Shen Zhui before golden chains pierced him and protected Murong Qingxue.
• Chanxin told Shen Zhui that Murong Qingxue had passed the Natural Disaster tribulation and was undergoing her eighth heartfire tempering, while the city was sealed off from outside help.
• The Corpse Puppet Sect tried to open its six coffins and summon the Ba Demon, but Shen Zhui and Xiao Huo disrupted the ritual as the golden chains bound the coffins.
• The Black Robe Cultivator returned in a Second Corpse Body and attacked Shen Zhui, but the black mist dispersed, the coffins shut, and the Gate of Creation descended over Half Moon City.

Murong Qingxue overcame her calamitous constitution, reached the First-tier Divine Ability, and gained immense good fortune as Shen Zhui formed a Destiny Lotus Heart by absorbing her purple destiny. After Marquis Wu'an dealt with the Corpse Puppet Sect, Water Spirit Venerable offered to take Murong Qingxue as her disciple, but she declined and received a token for Shen Zhui instead.

• Murong Qingxue broke through to Spirit Bridge Peak, restored her youthful appearance, and reversed her black misfortune into pure purple destiny, forcing the Corpse Puppet Sect disciples to flee.
• Chanxin urged Shen Zhui to absorb Murong Qingxue's destiny, and he formed a Destiny Lotus Heart in his Cave Heaven World.
• Murong Qingxue completed her breakthrough at the First-tier Divine Ability with an Extreme Realm Golden Body, then thanked Shen Zhui for saving her.
• Marquis Wu'an arrived and revealed that the Corpse Puppet Sect intruders had been slain; he summoned Shen Zhui and Murong Qingxue to Heaven's Heart Hall.
• Water Spirit Venerable offered to take Murong Qingxue as her disciple, but Murong Qingxue refused to leave, and Water Spirit Venerable gave Shen Zhui a Water Spirit Jade token on her behalf.
• Marquis Wu'an warned Shen Zhui to remain in Ten Thousand Peaks City until the Great Xia Academy secret realm opened.

Shen Zhui learned that his godmother had been rescued from the Guiyuan Sect and rushed to bring her home. After reuniting with her aboard the Dragon Head Warship, he learned that his god-sister was still missing, and the group arrived at the Heyuan City government office, where Wei Wenhe recognized Zi Xuan.

• Shen Zhui returned to Falling Snow Peak, reflected on Murong Qingxue, and began cultivating his Cave Heaven World with his seven avatars.
• Huang Li informed Shen Zhui that Ma Hu had returned from the Guiyuan Sect with his godmother, so Shen Zhui and Zi Xuan flew to Phoenix Mountain Ridge to meet them.
• Ma Hu explained how he infiltrated the Guiyuan Sect and brought Shen Clan's Madam Shen out, and Shen Zhui rewarded him with resources for cultivation to the Spirit Bridge Realm.
• Shen Zhui reunited with Shen Clan's Madam Shen aboard the Dragon Head Warship, but she collapsed from physical and mental exhaustion, and Shen Zhui realized his god-sister remained missing.
• Shen Zhui, Zi Xuan, and Shen Clan's Madam Shen arrived at the Heyuan City government office, where Wei Wenhe welcomed them and reacted with surprise when he saw Zi Xuan.

Shen Zhui reunited his adoptive parents, prepared to leave for the Great Xia Academy, and received warnings from Lu Yuanwei about dangers there. On his journey, Shen Zhui discovered three Meng Clan disciples under attack in the wilderness.

• Shen Zhui brought the Shen Clan matriarch to Shen Shan, and the long-separated couple reunited after more than nine years.
• Shen Zhui thanked Wei Wenhe for caring for Shen Shan, learned Wei Wenhe would return to the capital amid political turmoil, and gave him a day of Enlightenment Time before moving his adoptive parents to Falling Snow Peak.
• Lu Yuanwei told Shen Zhui he would enter seclusion, warned him that King Liang's Estate might retaliate, and advised him to be careful at the Great Xia Academy because he had once beaten many of its experts.
• Shen Zhui left for the Great Xia Academy on August tenth, switching from his conspicuous Ruyi Warship to a Flowing Light Flying Ship as he neared Dayuan Prefecture.
• Chanxin alerted Shen Zhui to a fight below, where two black-robed men attacked three low-status Meng Clan disciples and decided to kill them despite the danger of being discovered.

Shen Zhui rescued three Meng Clan disciples from Liu Clan assassins and traveled with them to Dayan Prefecture City, where their destinies fed his Lotus Dao Fruit. After parting from them, he reached the Chen Family Restaurant and reunited with Chen Qingshan outside the Three-Star Deity Hall.

• Shen Zhui killed two Black Robe Cultivators who were attacking Meng Shan, Meng Jun, and Meng Rou, then agreed to travel with the three disciples to Anchan City.
• Meng Rou explained that the collateral branch members had left the Meng Clan to seek teachers at the Great Xia Academy, and Shen Zhui accompanied them into Dayan Prefecture City.
• Shen Zhui and the Meng disciples entered the bustling East City District, where they met Meng Jun's Sixth Uncle and parted ways after Shen Zhui absorbed the three disciples' destiny power.
• Shen Zhui entered the Chen Family Restaurant using his Three-star VIP Reception Dao Tablet and was escorted toward the Three-Star Deity Hall.
• Chen Qingshan recognized Shen Zhui outside the Deity Hall, and the two greeted each other.

Shen Zhui toured the Great Xia Academy with Chen Qingshan, who explained the academy’s Saint Word Art and how civil officials used Deity Classics to wield power resembling weakened Rule Power. Chanxin recognized the Human Emperor of Great Zhou’s system as a revolutionary alteration of the Great Thousand World’s rules.

• Shen Zhui and Chen Qingshan reunited as friends, and Chen invited him to tour the Great Xia Academy before its secret realm opened.
• Chen showed Shen Zhui the academy’s towering gate, a Sixth-tier Divine Weapon and super formation, and led him through its spatial barrier into the academy grounds.
• Chen used the Saint Word Art to transform a carriage into written characters and explained that the art let practitioners manifest things through writing.
• Chen demonstrated how a civil official recited a passage from the Deity Classics to summon golden-armored soldiers and slay a Flying Winged Tiger using the World's Vital Energy.
• Chen explained that civil officials gained cultivation and abilities through the imperial system and Deity Classics, though their strength could collapse if their rank fell.
• Chanxin praised the Human Emperor of Great Zhou for establishing the Divine Temples and Sacred Canon of Heaven's Laws, and speculated that he had grasped the Heavenly Dao and altered the world's rules.

Chen Qingshan showed Shen Zhui the Great Xia Academy’s tiers of Saint Word Art, from beginners’ paper-bound characters to Spirit Bridge students’ powerful midair battles. Shen Zhui became fascinated by the art, but as they approached Liushan Retreat, a figure appeared and blocked their way.

• Chan Xin praised the Great Zhou Human Emperor’s mastery of the laws and explained how the civil official system could concentrate the realm’s fortune.
• Chen Qingshan explained the challenges of becoming a civil official and clarified that studying Saint Word Art at the academy did not bind students to government service.
• Chen Qingshan brought Shen Zhui to watch lower-tier students practice with characters that emerged from specially crafted pages, and Shen Zhui recognized the art’s potential.
• Chen Qingshan led Shen Zhui to the middle tier, where Spirit Bridge students formed characters in midair and fought with them.
• Chen Qingshan took Shen Zhui toward Liushan Retreat, but a figure appeared at the barrier and stopped them.

Xun Gang confronted Chen Qingshan over the Ciyun World quota and forced him into a deadly arena battle after Bai Luo injured Chen Qing Yu. Chen Qingshan gathered allies for the fight, and Shen Zhui offered to join them.

• Xun Gang accused Chen Qingshan of stealing Maple Leaf Zhai's Ciyun World quota and challenged Liushan Zhai, backed by four Upper Society Students.
• Bai Luo struck Chen Qing Yu with a painful Saint Word Art technique, and Chen Qingshan drove the mark away with his golden codex.
• Chen Qingshan agreed to a five-person arena battle to the death against Xun Gang's group, with the winners claiming the Ciyun World gains or fifty kilograms of Purple Gold Liquid.
• The academy assigned Jiang Nian to preside over the battle, and the martial arena's rules were revealed to suppress opponents to the lower combatant's cultivation level.
• Chen Qingshan's three allies arrived, but their side had only four fighters; Chen offered another fifty kilograms of Purple Gold Liquid, and Shen Zhui volunteered to join the team.

Shen Zhui joined Chen Qingshan’s team for an arena wager battle against Xun Gang’s side, agreeing to the rules and the division of the Purple Gold Liquid. Chen Qingshan initially seemed to dominate their opening match, but Xun Gang used a clone and a powerful Brush Sword to ambush and wound him.

• Shen Zhui agreed to fight alongside Chen Qingshan, and the four allies settled how they would divide the wager’s Purple Gold Liquid.
• Jiang Nian announced the arena rules and contestants, then called Chen Qingshan and Xun Gang to fight the first match.
• Chen Qingshan used his brush and several True Word Arts to block Xun Gang’s attacks and knock him to the arena floor.
• Shen Zhui recognized that the fallen Xun Gang was a fake just before the real Xun Gang appeared behind Chen Qingshan and stabbed him.
• Yao Huo explained Xun Gang’s clone-and-speed ambush, while Kuang Dao identified his sword as a Brush Sword that amplified his Parlor Trick True Word.

Chen Qingshan defeated Xun Gang after turning the power of Xun Gang’s brush-sword against him, then declined to continue because he was injured. Xun Gang sent the mysterious Ruan Shan into the arena, revealing that he belonged to the rare Manka Clan and had combat power comparable to a thousand-win War God.

• Kuang Dao and the others watched as Chen Qingshan endured Xun Gang’s brush-sword attacks and gradually recovered with Medical Texts.
• Chen Qingshan used his Natal Sacred Word to reverse and amplify Xun Gang’s Myriad Transformations of the Stars, defeating him and forcing him to concede.
• Jiang Nian stopped the attack, restored Xun Gang’s limbs, and announced Chen Qingshan as the winner of the first battle.
• Chen Qingshan declined to fight again because his injuries left him unlikely to defeat the remaining Third-tier Divine Ability experts.
• Xun Gang sent Ruan Shan to fight, explaining that Ruan Shan was a Manka Clan member whose combat power matched a thousand-win War God.

Ruan Shan revealed himself as a powerful Man Ka illusion-and-sword cultivator, destroying Kuang Dao’s body in one move and defeating Xue Ji as well. Xun Gang then taunted Chen Qingshan and demanded that he kneel and beg to dissolve the arena contract, leaving the remaining two fighters in danger.

• Shen Zhui recognized Ruan Shan as a member of the rare Man Ka Clan but kept his suspicions to himself before the match began.
• Ruan Shan overwhelmed Kuang Dao with an illusion technique and Sword Qi, destroying his body before Chen Qingshan admitted defeat on his behalf.
• Kuang Dao explained that Ruan Shan’s illusion had overcome even his Perfected State of Mind, while Chanxin warned Shen Zhui not to underestimate illusion cultivators.
• Xue Ji challenged Ruan Shan with her Ice Sky Snow Land illusion, but Ruan Shan shattered her illusion and body, and she admitted defeat.
• Xun Gang appeared through Chen Qingshan’s dao token, demanded that Chen Qingshan kneel and beg to dissolve the contract, and threatened the remaining two fighters.

Demonfire chose to fight Ruan Shan despite Chen Qingshan’s warnings, but Ruan Shan defeated him with overwhelming illusions. Shen Zhui then took the stage, and the chapter ended with him catching Ruan Shan’s sword just before it struck his forehead.

• Xun Gang threatened Shen Zhui and Demonfire after Chen Qingshan refused to beg, and Chen Qingshan urged them to concede rather than risk their lives.
• Demonfire rejected retreating without a fight and challenged Ruan Shan, using the Calm Heart True Word to resist his illusions.
• Ruan Shan overwhelmed Demonfire with illusions and Sword Qi, and Chen Qingshan conceded on Demonfire’s behalf.
• Shen Zhui told Chen Qingshan to prepare the Purple Gold Liquid and stepped onto the arena with the God Slaying Saber and Mysterious Spirit Battle Armor.
• Ruan Shan attacked Shen Zhui with illusions and his Golden Snake Sword, but Shen Zhui caught the sword just before it reached his forehead.

Shen Zhui broke through Ruan Shan’s illusion and defeated him, shifting the balance of the contest in Chen Qingshan’s favor. Xun Gang ordered Feng Ye to test whether Shen Zhui could be won over with the wager’s rewards and an additional divine weapon.

• Ruan Shan’s illusion overwhelmed Shen Zhui’s senses, but the Tower of the Void and Blood Origin Divine Armor protected his soul as he cut through the illusion with his will.
• Shen Zhui caught Ruan Shan’s Golden Snake Sword with his bare hand, then used his Thunder Art and saber technique to destroy Ruan Shan’s body before Jiang Nian stopped the fight.
• The people supporting Chen Qingshan celebrated Shen Zhui’s victory, while the Venerables discussed his strength and learned that he belonged to the Wu'an Army under Marquis Wu'an Zhao Xing.
• Xun Gang’s companions warned him to concede rather than risk provoking Shen Zhui, and Xun Gang agreed to follow the rules and have them admit defeat.
• Xun Gang told Feng Ye to test whether Shen Zhui could be won over, offering him the wager’s rewards and an additional fifth-tier mid-grade divine weapon if he voluntarily conceded.