Chapter Summaries

Chen Luo found Xue Ning’s hidden crystal in the Water Mansion treasury and recruited Ao Ye, who wanted revenge against Lady Hong and Black Horn King. He revealed his Core Formation strength, drew everyone in the courtyard into an Inner Demon Tribulation, and began turning the Water Mansion’s inhabitants into Demon Seeds.

• Chen Luo found Xue Ning’s Rhombus-shaped Crystal among the treasury’s ordinary-looking items while Lady Hong fought the robbing cultivators.
• Ao Ye asked Chen Luo to accept him as a disciple and revealed that Black Horn King’s Water Mansion concealed a Dragon Tomb opened by a descendant of Black Horn King’s line.
• Chen Luo agreed to take Ao Ye away and offered him a chance to confront Lady Hong personally.
• Chen Luo revealed himself as a Core Formation True Person, scattered Demon Seeds across the courtyard, and used Tribulation Qi to draw the fighters into an Inner Demon Tribulation.
• Chen Luo sent Ao Ye into the tribulation, then altered the Water Mansion’s formation and used its Third-rank Spiritual Vein to begin his first Heart Demon ‘Imparting the Dao.’

Du Qiuxian entered the Divine Lake Immortal Sect with True Person Longevity's token, while True Person Wuwei confronted Ghost Temple cultivators and revealed his growing Inner Demon power. Meanwhile, Chen Luo began a powerful Inner Demon Tribulation using many Demon Seeds and Xue Ning's accumulated treasures, and the chapter left him inside the tribulation with the External Brain reminding him of its nature.

• Ding Xiaoxia welcomed Du Qiuxian to the Divine Lake Immortal Sect after he presented True Person Longevity's token, and offered to guide him.
• Elder Qu told True Person Wuwei that Ghost Temple cultivators had returned, and a third-rank Ghost Cultivator attacked the hall.
• True Person Wuwei used the Inner Demon Ancestor's Finger Bone to defeat the Ghost Cultivator, then encountered a strange man in National Preceptor robes who asked about the Ghost Temple.
• Chen Luo completed a protective formation around the courtyard and entered an Inner Demon Tribulation with the people below, using Xue Ning's treasures to fuel it.
• Chen Luo found himself in a lifelike small town within the tribulation, and the External Brain reminded him that the trial involved transformed Tribulation Qi and an attempt at the Nascent Soul Path.

Chen Luo watched Lu Jie face a choice in the Inner Demon Tribulation and saw him sacrifice his life to save his father by assassinating Zhou Sima. Lu Jie’s resolve nourished Chen Luo’s Demon Seed, while Chen Luo revealed that Ao Ye was his true Main Seedling.

• Chen Luo answered Lu Jie’s questions about scholarship and lived quietly with his sister-in-law, Xin Hong.
• After Lu Jie’s father was falsely imprisoned, Lu Jie resolved to assassinate Zhou Sima to force an investigation and save his father.
• Lu Jie infiltrated Zhou Sima’s birthday banquet, stabbed him, claimed responsibility, and was killed by the guards.
• Lu Jie’s sacrifice cleared his father’s grievance in the tribulation, and the feedback transformed his Demon Seed into a black stone that Chen Luo collected.
• After Lu Jie’s consciousness returned, Chen Luo told him to experience his survival properly and left, noting that Ao Ye was his true Main Seedling.

Chen Luo remained loyal to the Imperial Court through rebellion and upheaval, reuniting with Ao Ye and rising in office under Zuoqiu Long. After the Border Army rebelled against reforms and advanced on the capital, the court split over surrender, leaving Chen Luo watching Ao Ye condemn the officials seeking peace.

• Chen Luo chose to support the Imperial Court and suppress the Southwestern rebellion, where he reunited with Ao Ye and joined forces with him under Zuoqiu Long.
• After the rebellion was quelled, Chen Luo and Ao Ye returned to the capital, rose through the ranks, and later brought Wen Wan and Xin Hong to join Chen Luo.
• Zuoqiu Long became Chancellor and pushed reforms to reorganize the military and reduce military funding.
• The Border Army rebelled, defeated the Imperial forces, and advanced toward the imperial city.
• Ao Ye denounced officials who urged the emperor to accept the rebels’ demands, while Chen Luo observed that most of the court and even the emperor favored making peace.

Chen Luo witnessed Zuoqiu Long refuse the rebels’ offer and die protecting the empire, while Ao Ye survived an assassination attempt and vowed revenge. With the court divided and the Rebel Army still outside the capital, Ao Ye joined the emperor in resisting the Surrender Faction and volunteered to confront General Li.

• Zuoqiu Long and Ao Ye advocated sending an army against the rebels, and the emperor ordered them to lead the campaign.
• Zuoqiu Long burned the rebels’ offer of wealth and influence, and Chen Luo sensed their growing Tribulation Qi.
• Assassins attacked Zuoqiu Long and Ao Ye on their way to court; Zuoqiu Long was beheaded after refusing to betray the empire, and Chen Luo took his Demon Seed.
• After recovering, Ao Ye vowed to avenge Zuoqiu Long and refused to compromise, while many other war advocates joined the Surrender Faction.
• The emperor enlisted Ao Ye and Chen Luo to oppose the rebels and challenged surrendering ministers to guarantee General Li would withdraw.
• Ao Ye volunteered to go to the front lines and persuade General Li to withdraw his troops.

Ao Ye crushed the decades-long rebellion, restored the empire alongside Chen Luo, and later refused a proposal to become regent. As both men retired, Chen Luo understood that the Inner Demon Tribulation tested whether cultivators could remain true to their convictions.

• Ao Ye received imperial permission to suppress the rebels and promised to destroy them or let Zhang Zheng take over if he failed.
• Ao Ye dismissed passive officers, led the imperial army to victory, eradicated the rebel stronghold, and returned to the capital as a celebrated commander.
• At age fifty-seven, Chen Luo returned home and witnessed Xin Hong die during his Inner Demon Tribulation, while Ao Ye mourned that he had fulfilled his teacher’s unfinished work.
• Ao Ye became prime minister, and he and Chen Luo helped restore the empire; years later, after the emperor died, Ao Ye received a proposal to govern as regent.
• Ao Ye burned the regency proposal and chose retirement, and Chen Luo joined him in resigning from office.
• As their carriages left the capital, Chen Luo reflected that overcoming the Inner Demon Tribulation required steadfast conviction and devotion to immortality.

Ao Ye died after a long life, while the National Preceptor recruited True Person Wuwei into the Millennium Ancient Kingdom’s plans for a Soul Transformation Path. At the Water Mansion, Chen Luo survived the Inner Demon Tribulation, collected brains from the dead, and followed Ao Ye to the Dragon Tomb, where a Fourth-tier Formation blocked the way.

• Ao Ye passed away peacefully in winter, seeing his teacher, His Majesty, and Elder Brother waiting for him in the snow.
• The National Preceptor explained that Xue Ning had been his test subject for a Soul Transformation Path and told True Person Wuwei that he had touched the threshold of Spirit Transformation.
• The National Preceptor brought True Person Wuwei to a hall where the emperor and the Three Dukes had prepared something, and True Person Wuwei saw a scene that reeked of blood.
• Chen Luo and the Blood Knife robber cultivator, Lady Hong, Zuoqiu Long, and Ao Ye awoke after the Inner Demon Tribulation, while everyone else nearby lay dead.
• Chen Luo harvested more than ten high-integrity brains and asked Ao Ye to lead him to the Dragon Tomb before Black Horn King returned.
• Ao Ye brought Chen Luo and the others to a concealed well, where Chen Luo identified a Fourth-tier Formation guarding the entrance.

Black Horn King returned to find Chen Luo’s formation blocking his way and attacked it while Chen Luo entered the Dragon Tomb and uncovered the truth about Black Horn King’s Flood Dragon bloodline. Chen Luo emerged to confront Black Horn King, and their battle began in earnest.

• Black Horn King struck Chen Luo’s formation, but the Yin-Yang Black Tortoise Formation held and its backlash killed many of his Shrimp Soldiers.
• Chen Luo used his Chessboard to create a gap in the Fourth-tier Formation and entered the Dragon Tomb, where he found a broken bridge and a Flood Dragon Skeleton.
• Chen Luo read the Flood Dragon’s Lingering Obsession Skull and learned that the Dragon Tomb was a Space Rift, that Black Horn King had gained his Flood Dragon Bloodline from the dead flood dragon, and that the true Dragon Tomb remained inaccessible.
• Chen Luo left the Dragon Tomb and met Black Horn King, whose strike he blocked with a punch.
• Chen Luo unleashed more than a hundred bolts of Yin Lightning against Black Horn King.

Chen Luo fought Black Horn King inside the Water Mansion, matching the Flood Dragon’s power with Yin Lightning and control of Heaven and Earth Vital Qi. As the battle escalated, Zuoqiu Long, Ao Ye, Lady Hong, and the Blood Knife tribulation cultivator watched from the edge of the destruction, while Chen Luo tracked Black Horn King’s attacks with his External Brains.

• Chen Luo and Black Horn King exchanged attacks, and each discovered the other was a formidable opponent.
• Lady Hong and the Blood Knife tribulation cultivator recognized Chen Luo’s token as belonging to a Qionghua Sect true disciple.
• Ao Ye praised Chen Luo, prompting Zuoqiu Long, Lady Hong, and the Blood Knife tribulation cultivator to consider asking him to take them as disciples.
• Black Horn King unleashed Flood Dragon phantoms and attacks from all directions, while Chen Luo used Yin Lightning to destroy them.
• Chen Luo used his hundreds of External Brains to pinpoint Black Horn King’s position and defend against the attacks.

Chen Luo survived Black Horn King's Flood Dragon Curse by misleading him with an inner demon, then revealed his arsenal and attacked. Black Horn King fled after being battered, but Chen Luo trapped him in a nine-sword formation.

• Black Horn King used the Life Borrowing Gu's drain as a reason to unleash his Flood Dragon Curse on Chen Luo, whose body withered and appeared to die.
• Chen Luo revealed that Black Horn King had cursed a corpse after Chen Luo had used Inner Demon Qi to turn his killing intent against him, triggering curse backlash.
• Black Horn King brought out his spear, talismans, flags, and pills, but Chen Luo countered with a vast collection of weapons, talismans, insects, souls, poison, and a Silver Armored Corpse King.
• Chen Luo bombarded Black Horn King with spirit talismans, and Black Horn King escaped the explosions by fleeing in his flood dragon form.
• Chen Luo caught up with Black Horn King and trapped him inside a formation made from nine magical swords.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Luo kills the Black Horn King using a combination of his Sword Formation, Poison Bottle, and the Black Horn King's own Demonic Core.
• Chen Luo collects the Black Horn King's Remnant Soul and takes his belongings.
• Chen Luo decides to take Lady Hong, the Blood Saber Robbing Cultivator, and Zuoqiu Long with him, as they have persevered through the Inner Demon Tribulation.
• Lady Hong suggests visiting Crimson Cloud Peak, an Outer Sect Peak of the Qionghua Sect in the Sea Region.

Character Developments

• Chen Luo demonstrates his strength and strategic thinking in defeating the Black Horn King.
• Lady Hong, the Blood Saber Robbing Cultivator, and Zuoqiu Long show their determination and perseverance in overcoming the Inner Demon Tribulation.
• Chen Luo shows mercy and willingness to take in these cultivators, indicating his growth as a leader.

Significant Themes

• Strength and Power: Chen Luo's strength is emphasized, showing the importance of power in the cultivation world.
• Perseverance and Determination: The theme of persevering through adversity is highlighted through the Inner Demon Tribulation and the cultivators' decision to join Chen Luo.
• Legacy and Inheritance: Chen Luo's purpose in the Sea Region is to inherit Xue Ning's legacy, and he now plans to return to the Immortal Sect to digest his gains.

Character Interactions

• Chen Luo and the Black Horn King: A battle of wits and power, ending in the Black Horn King's defeat.
• Chen Luo and the cultivators: Chen Luo shows mercy and willingness to take them in, while the cultivators show their determination to join him.
• Lady Hong and Chen Luo: Lady Hong provides information about Crimson Cloud Peak, hoping to gain Chen Luo's favor.

Chen Luo returned to Divine Lake Immortal Sect and discovered that a false Acting Sect Master had taken control while True Person Wuwei was missing. After learning how the sect had changed, he asked Huang Ying about the people who remained and found that Qiu Xian had been taken away by Cheng Feng.

• Chen Luo brought Blood Knife, Lady Hong, Ao Ye, and another companion to Divine Lake Immortal Sect after explaining his connection to the sect.
• Huang Ying was repeatedly denied access to True Person Wuwei and learned that the new Acting Sect Master, True Person Yulian, had shifted the sect toward insect cultivation and taken its resources.
• True Person Yulian and a demonic gatekeeper discussed sparing Huang Ying because the National Preceptor's conditions forbade harming her, then decided to warn her.
• Chen Luo spotted Huang Ying in the market, removed a parasitic poisonous insect from her hair, and used his Soul Parasite Gu to control it.
• Huang Ying told Chen Luo that True Person Wuwei had gone missing, the supposed junior brother Yulian was in charge, and many original disciples had been displaced.
• Huang Ying told Chen Luo that Cheng Feng had taken Qiu Xian away after accepting a sect task.

True Person Yulian’s insect-raising rule over Dao Comprehension Peak was challenged by Chen Luo, who tested him with Baleful Souls before ambushing him with a curse and the Three Dukes' Chessboard. The chapter ended with True Person Yulian’s head repeatedly struck and his strength suppressed, leaving his fate uncertain.

• True Person Yulian brooded over why his cultivation had not advanced and decided he needed to eat more people.
• True Person Yulian fought off a swarm of Baleful Souls, revealing his White Jade Centipede form and destroying several attackers, including the Seed Demon Sect Master and Ye Feng's master.
• Chen Luo watched from hiding after sending the Baleful Souls to probe True Person Yulian.
• True Person Yulian searched for the hidden Ghost Cultivator and stirred the Shadow Worms, but Chen Luo remained concealed.
• Chen Luo cursed True Person Yulian and struck his head from behind with the Three Dukes' Chessboard.
• True Person Yulian recognized the artifact, but his curse kept him from fighting at full strength as Chen Luo struck his head again.

After killing True Person Yulian, Chen Luo secured the Divine Lake Immortal Sect, sent his companions south, and returned to Gu Demon Mountain to cultivate. He reunited with his Registered Disciples, approved their daughter’s training, and began examining the resources he had brought back.

• Chen Luo collected the White Jade Centipedes and Shadow Worms, then sealed the ruined Divine Lake Immortal Sect behind a formation and sent Huang Ying, Ding Xiaoxia, and others to Crimson Cloud Peak.
• Chen Luo traveled south with Lady Hong, Zuoqiu Long, Ao Ye, Blood Knife, and the others, then decided to return to Gu Demon Mountain rather than visit the Qionghua Sect.
• Chen Luo reunited with Sun Yanyan and Ding Zhao, learned their daughter was named Ding Yao, and allowed her to stay on the mountain and cultivate.
• Chen Luo entered his Cultivation Chamber, found the materials Ding Zhao had stored for him, and tested one of the four stones from his Inner Demon Tribulation, which increased his cultivation.

Chen Luo used the treasures of True Person Yulian and Black Horn King, along with the fruit of the Inner Demon Tribulation, to refine five demonically modified third-rank Profound Qi Pills. He swallowed one to cultivate, but its immense power nearly overwhelmed him before the Dried Corpse Brain took control and consumed the remaining four pills.

• Chen Luo gathered True Person Yulian's Bug Qi, Black Horn King's Blood Shoot, and the Inner Demon Tribulation fruit to refine pills.
• Chen Luo used the Dried Corpse Brain's alchemy knowledge to guide the difficult refinement, producing five unfamiliar pills after half a month.
• Chen Luo recovered, swallowed one pill, and used its Heavenly Tribulation Feedback-like power to rapidly increase his Jade Liquid Spiritual Power.
• Chen Luo's cultivation surged beyond what his body could safely handle, and the Inner Demon Ancestor's Brain struggled to control the spiritual power.
• The Dried Corpse Brain took over, quelled the danger, and swallowed the remaining four pills.

Chen Luo broke through to mid-stage Core Formation after the Dried Corpse Brain guided his cultivation, then learned that Su Linlin was in trouble at Fox Mountain. He read her request for help but had not yet decided how to respond.

• The Dried Corpse Brain drew in the Spirit River’s power and expanded Chen Luo’s cultivation circulation beyond his body, raising him to mid-stage Core Formation.
• Winter brought a busy trading day to Gu Demon Mountain as tensions grew among the Southern Sky Region’s major sects.
• The Sun Family Head told Ding Zhao that Fox Mountain had sought help for Su Linlin, but they hesitated to disturb Chen Luo’s seclusion.
• Chen Luo contacted the two men through Divine Sense and learned that Su Linlin had reached the final battle of the Saintess Selection and wanted his help.
• Chen Luo read Su Linlin’s letter, which bore the mark of the Fox Clan Ancestral Land and mentioned the Fortune Demon Art.

Chen Luo traveled to Fox Mountain after reaching mid-stage Core Formation, hoping to answer the Fox Clan’s plea for help and meet its Old Ancestor. He arrived after the mountain passage had closed for the day and settled into an inn’s Earth Character Courtyard, where he asked for books on Puppet Technique.

• Chen Luo assigned Lady Hong and two others to gather alchemy resources and search for promising brains, and promised to take them into Qionghua Sect if they performed well.
• After inspecting five Registered Disciples and handling their affairs, Chen Luo flew north and crossed Boundary Mountain into Demon Race territory.
• Chen Luo reached Fox Mountain, entered the town at its foot, and learned from a Puppet Girl that the passage up the mountain had closed for the day.
• At the inn, Chen Luo sensed Senior Gu and two other Core Formation Cultivators, then asked who occupied the Fire Character Courtyard before choosing the Earth Character Courtyard.
• Chen Luo asked the Puppet Girl to bring him books on Puppet Technique, and she went to fetch them.

Chen Luo stayed at Fox Mountain while a sudden demonic storm and freezing rain engulfed the town, revealing that someone was manipulating the Heaven and Earth Vital Qi. After the rain, an unseen killer struck the inn, and Gu Changkong led the others to investigate.

• Chen Luo inspected the Earth Character Courtyard, received introductory Puppet Books, and learned that the Fire Character Courtyard was ready, but chose to stay put.
• During the night, Chen Luo sensed that the Watchman was a puppet, then observed a sudden storm turn rain into hail and transform the inn lanterns’ words.
• Chen Luo joined Gu Changkong, Sikong Bo, and Chen Yu in the Metal Character Courtyard, where they confirmed that the strange rain was being controlled by someone stronger than them.
• After the rain weakened, Cold Mist froze the Puppet Girl until her body shattered, and a scream came from the inn despite the cultivators’ divine senses covering it.
• Chen Luo found no trace of a Ghost Cultivator, and Gu Changkong led the group toward the inn to investigate the unseen killer.

Key Plot Points & Events

• The group enters an inn and senses something amiss; the interior is filled with an eerie red light.
• They discover the inn is filled with puppets disguised as drunkards.
• The inn's lights go out, and the group proceeds upstairs, only to find puppets mimicking them.
• Chen Luo discovers three Core Formation cultivators have been replaced by puppets.
• He finds a frozen in time middle-aged man in a room and a headless corpse in another.
• An orange-yellow light appears, and Ning Chenye, a puppet, ascends the stairs.

Character Developments

• Chen Luo demonstrates his observational and analytical skills by noticing the puppets and the changes in the inn.
• Ning Chenye, a puppet, shows no signs of Spiritual Energy and acts friendly towards Chen Luo.

Significant Themes

• The cycle of life and death, as seen through the frozen in time middle-aged man and the headless corpse.
• The theme of deception and mimicry, with puppets replacing cultivators.

Character Interactions

• Chen Luo interacts with the puppets mimicking his companions and later with the Ning Chenye puppet.
• The group of cultivators discusses their observations and suspicions about the inn and the enemy they face.

Chen Luo fled Ning Chenye through a deadly corridor inside the Past Inn, while the inn’s mysterious owner confronted the powerful pursuer. Ning Chenye abandoned the chase when she called him her husband, leaving Chen Luo outside the inn’s window with the meaning of the sign still unclear.

• Gu Changkong, Chen Yu, and Sikong Bo encountered a woman whose Lifespan Burning Divine Ability drained vitality, and Gu Changkong suspected she was the Yin Yang True Lord.
• Chen Luo evaded Ning Chenye’s attacks through a corridor controlled by the Yin Yang Two Qi Formation as the External Brains searched for an escape route.
• Chen Luo cut Ning Chenye in two with his sword, but Ning Chenye rejoined his body and struck Chen Luo, draining some of his lifespan.
• Chen Luo used the fourth-tier chessboard to smash through a window and escape the corridor, discovering the Past Inn sign outside.
• The This Life Inn Owner approached Ning Chenye and called him her husband, causing him to flee instead of continuing to pursue Chen Luo.