Chapter Summaries

After Qingyang Gate defeated Qianyuan Sect, Shen Zhui took over as sect master and began consolidating its new territory while preparing to gather undercover agents. Cang Song tasked him with building a force of enslaved cultivators, and Shen Zhui accepted a likely hostile banquet invitation as Marquis Wu'an learned of his rise.

• Fang Ziyou gave up the sect master position to Shen Zhui after learning Bai Xiaochun had been escorted across the Canglan River, and Shen Zhui took control of Qingyang Gate.
• Shen Zhui renamed Mooncry Mountain Qingyang Mountain, issued proclamations to recruit cultivators and welcome former Qingyang Gate disciples, and announced a grand ceremony ten days later.
• Jin Yi delivered Cang Song's Blood Soul Seal method and orders for Shen Zhui to recruit numerous Soul Servants; Shen Zhui learned that Fang Ziyou had reached the Second-tier Venerable Realm.
• Shen Zhui planned to cultivate before the grand ceremony and invite undercover agents to Qingyang Mountain, then accepted the Blade Sword Sect's invitation to a banquet he suspected was a trap.
• Shui Qingrou reported Qingyang Gate's rise to Marquis Wu'an Zhao Xing, who suspected Fang Liang was Shen Zhui and ordered confirmation.

Shen Zhui attended a banquet in Wulong City, where Liao Wushuang revealed the Blade Sword Sect's allegiance to Six Harmonies Sect and tried to poison him. Shen Zhui resisted, fought the Blade Sword Sect, and ended the chapter with Liao Wushuang's fourth disciple and five Ninth Stage experts enslaved at his side as Liao Wushuang attacked.

• Shen Zhui left Shen Xinlan at Qingyang Gate and traveled to Wulong City with Jin Yi after the Dark Guards took control of Qianyuan Sect's former territories.
• Jin Yi told Shen Zhui about Liao Wushuang's history and suspected that the banquet was meant to reclaim Wuchang City and pursue other aims.
• Liao Wushuang hosted Shen Zhui at the City Lord's Manor, where Wang Qing warned him about the region and Liao explained the Three Great Sects' influence over other sects.
• Shen Zhui asked which Great Sect the Blade Sword Sect served, and Liao Wushuang admitted it had pledged allegiance to Six Harmonies Sect before revealing that the wine was poisoned.
• Shen Zhui resisted the poison, demanded nine cities for Qingyang Gate, and fought back when Liao Wushuang ordered an attack.
• Shen Zhui used Blood Soul Seal to enslave Wang Qing and five Ninth Stage Divine Ability experts, then faced Liao Wushuang's blade strike.

Shen Zhui defeated Liao Wushuang and used the Blood Soul Seal to enslave him, securing the Blade Sword Sect’s nine cities for Qingyang Gate. Cang Song learned of Shen Zhui’s victory and celebrated the expansion of Qingyang Gate’s territory.

• Shen Zhui enslaved Wang Qing and other Blade Sword Sect disciples, then demanded that Liao Wushuang surrender the nine cities.
• Liao Wushuang’s Cave Heaven projection lost to Shen Zhui’s, and the Blade Sword Sect’s guest officials withdrew as Shen Zhui pressed the attack.
• Liao Wushuang used Rule Power to injure Shen Zhui, but Shen Zhui continued striking until Liao Wushuang offered to hand over the cities.
• Shen Zhui crushed Liao Wushuang with the Blood Soul Seal and enslaved him; Liao Wushuang then ordered his followers to stop fighting and accept Qingyang Gate’s standing.
• Cang Song learned that Shen Zhui had subdued Liao Wushuang and declared that the Blade Sword Sect’s territory now belonged to Qingyang Gate.

After returning to Qingyang Gate, Shen Zhui absorbed the Supreme Golden Pill and broke through to the Ninth-tier Divine Ability Realm, greatly strengthening his Cave Heaven World and golden body. Meanwhile, Xia Jing arranged a deal with Corpse King Changsun Qiu to enter the Nine Nether Realm and kill a group of people, offering information about the War of Conferring Kings in exchange.

• Shen Zhui ordered Jin Yi to help Liao Wushuang bring Wulong City and eight other cities under Qingyang Gate, then received Marquis Wu'an's instruction through Shui Qingrou to make trouble in the Guangling and Xuling Two Great Cave Heavens.
• Shen Zhui and Fang Ziyou prepared Qingyang Gate's defenses for the Grand Ceremony, expecting trouble when experts arrived.
• Shen Zhui refined the Supreme Golden Pill, absorbed its energy for a day and night, and advanced to the Ninth-tier Divine Ability Realm as his Cave Heaven World doubled in size.
• Cang Song sensed that the Supreme Golden Pill had been absorbed and resolved to protect Fang Ziyou and Fang Liang.
• Xia Jing visited Changsun Qiu at the Corpse Puppet Sect and offered details about the War of Conferring Kings in exchange for help entering the Nine Nether Realm and killing a group of people.

Shen Zhui confronted Guangling Cave Heaven’s sect leaders over Qingyang Gate’s claim to its ancient territories, provoking a challenge from Yellow Dragon True Person. He defeated and killed Yellow Dragon in front of the assembled sects, leaving the other leaders stunned as Fang Ziyou blocked them from intervening.

• Shen Zhui welcomed representatives from Guangling Cave Heaven’s major sects, including Changsun Qiu of the Corpse Puppet Sect, Meng Wushang of the Tian Jue Sect, and Mei Qing of the Nine Yin Sect.
• Shen Zhui demanded that Qingyang Gate reclaim all territory it had held during the era of its sixth-generation Ancestor, Heaven-Flipping True Lord, and threatened sects that resisted.
• Long Jingu and other leaders challenged Shen Zhui’s claim, while Changsun Qiu declared that the Corpse Puppet Sect would not oppose him.
• Yellow Dragon True Person attacked Shen Zhui, but Shen Zhui’s Qingyang Saber Qi repelled him and forced him back.
• Yellow Dragon urged Lei Tian and Long Jingu to join him against Shen Zhui, but Shen Zhui launched another attack as Fang Ziyou blocked the other sects from interfering.
• Shen Zhui shattered Yellow Dragon True Person’s Small Mountain attack and killed him with a blade strike and the Five Elements Illusion Realm.

Shen Zhui killed Yellow Dragon True Lord, established his authority, and arranged alliances with several sects while secretly pursuing his own plans. A South Pole Sect elder then tried to assassinate him, and Mei Qing revealed that the attacker was a Great Zhou spy targeting Shen Zhui as a rising threat.

• Shen Zhui killed Yellow Dragon True Lord and deterred the gathered sects from challenging him.
• Shen Zhui proposed making Huang Shaoyang the Yellow Dragon Sect’s new sect master and arranging compensation, while secretly sending a Demon Emperor Token clone after the departing Eight Trigrams Gate sect master.
• Several sect leaders agreed to alliances with Qingyang Gate, including the unplanned South Pole Sect elder known as the Wandering Daoist.
• The Wandering Daoist attacked Shen Zhui with a sword and tried to detonate his Cave Heaven World, but Shen Zhui and the three first-rate sects stopped him.
• Mei Qing identified the Wandering Daoist as a Great Zhou spy who had tried to assassinate Shen Zhui because of his extraordinary potential.

Shen Zhui stopped the Sect Realm experts from searching Chang Shuhuan’s soul, revealing that a Great Zhou curse would destroy it. He learned that True Gods had failed to divine his fate and that the Sect Alliance considered him impossible to kill before he became a Venerable; he then asked Mei Qing, Changsun Qiu, and Meng Wushang to give him Chang Shuhuan so Qingyang Gate could claim merit.

• Shen Zhui partly lifted Chang Shuhuan’s restraints while Mei Qing warned that the Wandering Daoist had been tracking them and possessed extraordinary swordsmanship.
• Chang Shuhuan refused to reveal Jizhou Army spies in Guangling Cave Heaven, and Meng Wushang prepared to search his soul.
• Shen Zhui blocked the soul search and identified a Soul Severing Curse that would destroy Chang Shuhuan if anyone searched his mind; Chang Shuhuan’s shocked reaction convinced the others.
• Meng Wushang and Changsun Qiu told Shen Zhui that True Gods had been injured while divining Shen Zhui’s fate, leading the Sect Alliance to forbid solo assassination attempts against him before he reached the Venerable Level.
• Shen Zhui asked to buy Chang Shuhuan and transfer the merits from capturing him to Qingyang Gate, and Mei Qing asked to discuss the offer with the others.

Shen Zhui tried to save Chang Shuhuan while posing as Fang Liang, but Changsun Qiu used the gathering to expose hidden military agents and test Shen Zhui’s loyalties. After accusing him of being the Wu'an Army’s Divine Might General, Changsun demanded that Shen Zhui kill Sun Baihai, leaving him trapped under scrutiny.

• Shen Zhui negotiated with Mei Qing, Changsun Qiu, and Meng Wushang, paying them fifteen Fortune Coins to take Chang Shuhuan.
• Changsun Qiu offered to sell intelligence about Wu'an Army agents, but Shen Zhui refused after Chanxin warned him that the offer might be a test.
• Changsun Qiu attacked the gathered sect masters and elders, identified eight hidden agents, and killed three when they detonated their divine souls.
• Changsun Qiu accused Shen Zhui of betraying the agents and being the Wu'an Army’s Divine Might General, but Shen Zhui denied the claims while disguising his alarm.
• Changsun Qiu placed Sun Baihai’s restrained divine soul before Shen Zhui and urged him to kill the agent for merit.

Shen Zhui was pressured to kill Sun Baihai and the other captives to prove his identity as Fang Liang, but they self-detonated before he could act. He turned the crowd against Changsun Qiu, then watched Supreme Envoy Cang Song intervene and destroy one of Changsun Qiu’s corpse puppets before summoning Shen Zhui and Fang Ziyou.

• Changsun Qiu tested Shen Zhui’s identity and demanded that he kill the captives, while Shen Zhui sensed powerful observers nearby and prepared for a possible confrontation.
• Sun Baihai and the other three captives self-detonated, destroying the Black Coffin and leaving Shen Zhui grieving their sacrifice.
• Fang Ziyou and Shen Zhui accused Changsun Qiu of engineering the incident, rallied the crowd, and attacked him.
• Cang Song arrived, declared that Changsun Qiu had been arresting spies, and destroyed one of his corpse puppets as punishment.
• Changsun Qiu revealed his true body’s Venerable Third Tier strength and departed, while Shen Zhui sent his Wind Clone to follow him and went with Cang Song alongside Fang Ziyou.

Shen Zhui and Fang Ziyou learned that Cang Song had used Changsun Qiu to test Qingyang Gate’s loyalty, while Cang Song shared intelligence about Great Zhou spies and offered Qingyang Gate a Dragon Roc Warship. Meanwhile, Shen Zhui sent disguised Demon Emperors to intercept Changsun Qiu, and they began their attack as Changsun Qiu traveled toward Silver Moon Cave Heaven.

• Cang Song admitted Changsun Qiu was one of his people and explained that the attack had tested Qingyang Gate’s loyalty.
• Cang Song showed Shen Zhui and Fang Ziyou intelligence about Great Zhou spies and discussed Qingyang Gate’s plans to expand its territory.
• Shen Zhui ordered Snow Fox, Demon Eye, and Golden Cup to capture Changsun Qiu and obtain the intelligence he carried.
• Cang Song declined Shen Zhui’s request for another Supreme Golden Pill but gave Qingyang Gate a Dragon Roc Warship.
• Changsun Qiu flew toward a boundary-wall teleportation array with intelligence he had secretly kept for himself.
• Golden Cup poisoned and pierced Changsun Qiu with his stinger, then Snow Fox and Demon Eye appeared and activated their illusions.

Shen Zhui interrogated Changsun Qiu and uncovered Xia Jing’s betrayal and the King Liang’s Estate’s dealings with the Sect Realm. After killing Changsun Qiu, Shen Zhui misdirected Cang Song’s suspicions toward Mei Qing and Meng Wushang, but Shen Xinlan privately questioned whether he was responsible.

• Snow Fox and Demon Eye subdued Changsun Qiu, and Shen Zhui discovered a cache of corpse puppets inside his Black Coffin.
• Changsun Qiu revealed the names of seventy-two Great Zhou spies and said Xia Jing had provided the intelligence and exposed the War of Conferring Kings.
• Shen Zhui viewed Changsun Qiu’s memory of meeting Xia Jing and learned that the King Liang’s Estate had also traded slaves and betrayed Border Army officers.
• Shen Zhui ordered Snow Fox to kill Changsun Qiu, then left the valley with his companions.
• Cang Song learned that Changsun Qiu had died, and Shen Zhui steered his suspicions toward Mei Qing and Meng Wushang.
• After Cang Song left, Shen Xinlan asked Shen Zhui whether he had killed Changsun Qiu.

Shen Zhui persuaded and tested the wounded Chang Shuhuan before revealing his identity and entrusting him with evidence of the betrayal for Marquis Wu'an. As Chang Shuhuan set out for the Wu'an Army, Shen Zhui prepared a clone to cover his departure and learned that Chanxin had finished refining a supreme treasure.

• Shen Xinlan deduced that Changsun Qiu's death benefited Shen Zhui and the Great Zhou Border Army, and Shen Zhui admitted his motives while adding that he had avenged Sun Baihai and the others.
• Shen Zhui stopped the wounded Chang Shuhuan from self-destructing and tried to make him talk, but Chang Shuhuan refused to divulge information.
• Shen Zhui revealed that he was Shen Zhui of the Wu'an Army, and Chang Shuhuan confirmed his identity with a token.
• Shen Zhui explained that Xia Jing had betrayed the undercover agents and gave Chang Shuhuan a Mirage Pearl containing evidence to deliver directly to Marquis Wu'an.
• Shen Zhui taught Chang Shuhuan a concealment technique and sent him toward the Canglan River, while a Gold Clone took Chang Shuhuan's appearance to conceal his escape.
• Chanxin announced that he had finished refining the first supreme treasure of the second layer of the Seven Absolute Heavens.

Shen Zhui fused with Yansheng Mountain, strengthening his Cave Heaven and gaining the ability to wield part of a Sixth-tier Divine Weapon’s power. As Qingyang Gate swept through northwestern Guangling Cave Heaven, Shen Zhui secretly amassed a force he planned to turn against the Sect Alliance when the War of Conferring Kings began.

• Chan Xin revealed that Yansheng Mountain could suppress Shen Zhui’s Cave Heaven and let him unleash part of a Sixth-tier Divine Weapon’s might, and Shen Zhui fused with it.
• After Cang Song’s attempts to intercept Mei Qing and Meng Wushuang failed, he ordered Shen Zhui to expand Qingyang Gate’s territory, and several nearby sects fell.
• Guiyuan Ancestor sent cultivators and Venerables to assist Shen Zhui and Fang Ziyou, who destroyed or subdued more sects as their forces swept through the region.
• Puyangzi rejected the Divine Contract applications of Hehuan Sect, Molong Sect, and Haitian Sect, leaving them exposed to Qingyang Gate’s advance.
• Shen Zhui enslaved Hehuan Sect’s master and disciples, then prepared to subdue Molong Sect and Haitian Sect as his force grew to thirty thousand people.
• Shen Zhui and Fang Ziyou discussed the Sect Alliance’s ambitions and the coming War of Conferring Kings, and Shen Zhui hinted that he would turn his Soul Servants against the Alliance on the battlefield.

After the Qingyang Gate conquered its northwestern rivals, Shen Zhui received orders to find and kill Xia Jing in the Nether Sea Secret Realm. He persuaded Cang Song to let him go and secured a precious divine-sense severed body for protection, then entered the secret realm.

• The Qingyang Gate’s victories spread across Guangling Cave Heaven, establishing it as the dominant second-rate sect in the northwest.
• Shui Qingrou told Shen Zhui that Chang Shuhuan had returned and ordered him to find Xia Jing in the Nether Sea Secret Realm and kill him after discovering his plans.
• At the Qingyang Great Hall, Shen Zhui asked Cang Song for permission to enter the Nether Sea Secret Realm, despite Cang Song urging him to stay and cultivate.
• Shen Zhui and Fang Ziyou persuaded Cang Song to give him a divine-sense severed body and ten Soul Servants for protection.
• Before dawn, Shen Zhui entered the Nether Sea Secret Realm and flew off along the shore.

Shen Zhui searched the Gods and Demons Battlefield for Xia Jing, but discovered that the Demon Emperor Token provoked the battlefield’s skeletons and triggered a strange summoning that also distressed the Golden Cup Bee Emperor. Meanwhile, Xia Jing and the Standard Bearers encountered Blood Demon Generals behaving erratically, and Xia Jing ordered them to press on.

• Shen Zhui sent his avatars and followers to search Dead Sea Mountain and the Gods and Demons Battlefield for Xia Jing, a Venerable First Tier.
• Xia Jing entered the Gods and Demons Battlefield with the Standard Bearers Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow, intending to reach its inner region.
• Shen Zhui searched the battlefield’s outer perimeter for three days but failed to identify Xia Jing among the Venerables he encountered.
• Shen Zhui discovered that displaying the Demon Emperor Token made thousands of skeletons attack him, while putting it away stopped them.
• The Demon Emperor Token began trembling and calling toward the depths, and the Golden Cup Bee Emperor said it sensed a threat of death.
• Xia Jing and the Standard Bearers encountered more than a hundred Blood Demon Generals acting collectively and violently, and Xia Jing ordered the group to observe before continuing forward.

Shen Zhui followed the Demon Emperor Token’s summons into the Ghost Ship Sea while Xia Jing’s party crossed the same dangerous region on their way to the Land of Fallen Gods. Shen Zhui found Xia Jing but chose to watch him rather than attack, leaving their encounter unresolved.

• Shen Zhui decided to investigate the disturbance in the red mist and summoned his clone and Venerable servants to scout ahead.
• Xia Jing told the four Standard Bearers that he intended to cross the Ghost Ship Sea and enter the Land of Fallen Gods, then continued along their safe route.
• Shen Zhui entered the Ghost Ship Sea with his servants and followed the growing summons deeper into the wreck-strewn region.
• Shen Zhui spotted Xia Jing fighting alongside the four Standard Bearers against ten Blood Demon Generals, but chose to hide and observe instead of attacking.
• The four Standard Bearers defeated the Blood Demon Generals, and Xia Jing ordered the group to continue without stopping at warship strongholds.

Shen Zhui followed Xia Jing to the Land of Fallen Gods, where a living True God and soul-devouring ghosts guarded a blood-red planet that called to his Demon Emperor Token. After using the token to trigger a ghost riot, Shen Zhui took a dead Venerable Sixth Tier’s Star Chasing Plate and disguise, then slipped through the barrier toward the planet.

• Shen Zhui followed Xia Jing through the Ghost Ship Sea and learned that the summons he sensed came from a blood-red planet in the Land of Fallen Gods.
• A True God’s divine sense swept across the meteorite belt, awakening ghosts that devoured several cultivators, while Xia Jing vanished into the Land of Fallen Gods.
• Chan Xin advised Shen Zhui to obtain a Star Chasing Plate, disguise himself as a Venerable Sixth Tier, and enter amid a disturbance.
• Shen Zhui’s clone exposed a Demon Emperor Token, provoking a massive ghost riot that spread through the meteorite belt and drew the True Gods’ attention.
• A Ghostly Soul King and its horde killed a Purple-robed Daoist, allowing Shen Zhui to take the Star Chasing Plate and the Daoist’s relics.
• Shen Zhui disguised himself as a Venerable Sixth Tier and used the Star Chasing Plate to pass through the barrier into the Land of Fallen Gods.

Shen Zhui followed Xia Jing into an inverted pyramid deep in the Land of Fallen Gods, where the Merit Barrier protected him from deadly Rule Power. Inside, he discovered the remains of a vast battle involving true gods and ancient divine beasts, and ended his advance upon finding a lifelike corpse.

• Shen Zhui was pierced by a Rule Power-laden sandstorm, activated his Merit Barrier, and followed the Star Chasing Plate’s summons west.
• Xia Jing used his Everlasting Lamp and blood-red Jade Compass to navigate the Divine Tower Continent toward a true god’s tomb.
• Shen Zhui spotted Xia Jing entering an inverted pyramid and followed him through its mist-filled portal.
• Inside, Shen Zhui crossed a broken Long Bridge and saw enormous true-god remains, ancient divine-beast bones, and shattered high-tier weapons and warships.
• After walking for half an hour through the wreckage, Shen Zhui encountered a lifelike corpse with flesh and blood.

Shen Zhui followed Xia Jing to the throne at the end of the Long Bridge, where Xia Jing tried to break a barrier and inherit a mysterious will. After Shen Zhui attacked and failed to harm him, Xia Jing revealed he had known about Shen Zhui and the Formless Divine Skill, leaving Shen Zhui convinced that the man before him was King Liang, Xia Wudao.

• Shen Zhui crossed a battlefield littered with human and Demon Race corpses and reached a pyramid with an empty throne that intensified his sense of being summoned.
• Shen Zhui failed to use the Eye of Insight on Xia Jing, then used the Five Senses Shifting Great Method to listen as Xia Jing tried to break the barrier with the Glazed Lamp and Blood Guide Compass.
• Xia Jing invoked the Grand Formation of Boundless Profundity, weakening himself as a blood-colored figure spread across the golden barrier.
• Shen Zhui launched a full-power attack, but Xia Jing blocked it without moving and identified Shen Zhui despite not turning around.
• Xia Jing said he had discovered Shen Zhui long ago and knew the Formless Divine Skill, then turned to face him as the barrier flickered.
• Shen Zhui recognized the domineering figure as King Liang, Xia Wudao, rather than Xia Jing.

Shen Zhui saw through Xia Wudao’s illusion, entered the golden barrier, and used his seven clones to attack the weakened King Liang while he approached the throne. A strange heartbeat stopped him halfway up the steps, and Xia Wudao warned him not to touch what lay there.

• Xia Wudao pressured Shen Zhui to kneel and offered him power and rank, but Shen Zhui resisted and pretended to ask questions before striking the illusion with a golden sword.
• Shen Zhui explained that Xia Wudao’s willingness to reveal his plans and entertain a dying man’s questions gave away the illusion, and Xia Wudao admitted he had talked too much.
• Shen Zhui revealed that his true body had entered the barrier, while Xia Jing remained outside; he summoned his seven clones and trapped Xia Wudao in the Five Elements God Sealing Array.
• As the clones attacked Xia Wudao, Shen Zhui struggled toward the throne at the pyramid’s peak, where a heartbeat made him spit blood and halted his advance.
• Xia Wudao warned Shen Zhui not to touch the throne and promised they could both live if Shen Zhui withdrew; Shen Zhui paused and asked what the place was.