Chapter Summaries

Zhou Ling left his family and traveled to Cloud Sea Immortal City in the Youyun Star Domain to lead the Dao Alliance’s trial team. There, he agreed to spar with Wild Domain prodigy Qin Yi, and the Heavenly Palace delegation arrived as the four factions gathered for the trial.

• Zhou Ling entrusted family matters to his three wives and parents, reassured his daughter Zhou Ying'er, and departed with the Dao Alliance cultivators.
• Zhou Ling and his team reached Nine Nether Immortal City, where City Lord Xin explained the Youyun Star Domain and escorted them to Cloud Sea Immortal City.
• Zhou Ling met Qin Yi of the Wild Domain, and they agreed to spar once arrangements were made.
• The Immortal Gate delegation led by Jin He and Xia Ruo He arrived at the hall.
• The Heavenly Palace delegation entered, led by a middle-aged man with Wu Dao Yuan, the top-ranked prodigy, behind him.

Zhou Ling and Qin Yi agreed to spar for a wager before departing for Shiyan Barren Star, drawing bets from the other cultivators. As the match was about to begin, Zhou Ling gained a new Thunder Gang Amplification talent that required him to take three Thunder Force attacks.

• Chen Qing Xiao explained that the trial would send the four teams to clear foreign races from outposts on Shiyan Barren Star, and the captains selected their destinations.
• Qin Yi challenged Zhou Ling to spar, and they wagered their Lightning Attribute Spirit Stones and Haoyuan Pills.
• Xia Ruo He and other cultivators placed bets on Qin Yi, while Qi Jian Zhi organized the betting.
• Chen Qing Xiao and Ye Hong Luan came to watch the match as Qin Yi prepared his lightning attack.
• Zhou Ling received the Thunder Gang Amplification talent, then objected to Qin Yi’s suggestion that they spar using their signature techniques.

Zhou Ling fought Qin Yi without using the Sunday Immortal Sword, revealing powerful Purple Firmament thunder techniques that matched and then overwhelmed Qin Yi’s Divine Ape Thunder Body. After Qin Yi’s attacks helped Zhou Ling form Thunder Gang Amplification, Zhou Ling asked whether he still wished to continue the battle.

• Qin Yi challenged Zhou Ling to fight without the Sunday Immortal Sword, and Zhou Ling agreed to rely on other methods.
• Zhou Ling used the Purple Firmament Thunder Art to analyze and break Qin Yi’s Thunder Blast Technique, surprising the watching cultivators.
• Qin Yi transformed into a Thunder Ape and shattered Zhou Ling’s Thunder Flood Dragon, prompting Zhou Ling to condense the Purple Firmament Emperor Manifestation.
• Qin Yi summoned a mountain of lightning, but Zhou Ling pierced through it and blasted Qin Yi backward with a purple lightning palm.
• Zhou Ling gained the third instance needed to form Thunder Gang Amplification and asked Qin Yi whether he wanted to continue fighting.

Zhou Ling defeated Qin Yi in a decisive clash after his newly condensed [Thunder Amplification] talent greatly strengthened the Purple Heaven Emperor Manifestation. Qin Yi conceded and paid Zhou Ling the Thunder Spirit Stones, while the gathered cultivators reevaluated Zhou Ling’s combat strength.

• Qin Yi announced that he would use his strongest strike, Divine Ape Shattering Heaven, and Zhou Ling agreed to face it rather than end the spar as a draw.
• Qin Yi launched a colossal Thunder Flood Dragon, while Zhou Ling used [Thunder Amplification] to strengthen his Purple Heaven Emperor Manifestation and attack with Purple Heaven Sealing Heaven.
• Zhou Ling’s purple lightning palm overwhelmed the Thunder Flood Dragon and broke it apart, defeating Qin Yi in his strongest thunder domain.
• Qin Yi accepted the loss, promised to challenge Zhou Ling again after his Divine Ape Thunder advanced, and handed him the Thunder Spirit Stones.
• The onlookers expressed shock at Zhou Ling’s victory and speculated that his lightning and swordsmanship could rival the other top-ranked cultivators.

After defeating Qin Yi, Zhou Ling was asked by Wu Dao Yuan to compete in killing a Fifth-Tier Foreign Race. Zhou Ling initially refused, but accepted after Wu Dao Yuan offered a rare Five Elements Sword Pellet as the wager, giving Zhou Ling a chance to deepen his Five Elements Sword Intent.

• City Lord Chen told Zhou Ling and Qin Yi that they would help defend Cloud Sea Immortal City from a possible Golden-Eyed Spirit Race invasion, and gave them Thunder Yang Pills.
• Zhou Ling defeated Qin Yi, and Qin Yi vowed to challenge him again during the trial.
• Wu Dao Yuan asked Zhou Ling to compete in killing a Fifth-Tier Foreign Race, but Zhou Ling refused because of the danger.
• Wu Dao Yuan offered his Five Elements Sword Pellet as a wager, and Zhou Ling accepted after sensing the Sword Intent could help him complete his Five Elements Bright Sun Sword Heart.

Zhou Ling and three other cultivators wagered treasures on who could kill a Fifth-Tier Foreign Race first, while Zhou Ling’s team prepared to reclaim Shiyan Barren Star. He agreed to cooperate with Xia Ruo He’s team and arrived at Stronghold No. 3, where he began assessing its defenses and forces.

• Wu Dao Yuan, Qin Yi, Xia Ruo He, and Zhou Ling each put up a treasure, agreeing that whoever first killed a Fifth-Tier Foreign Race would claim all the stakes.
• Zhou Ling reviewed Stronghold No. 3’s surroundings with his team, and Pei Qing Shuang advised them to survey the area before choosing where to expand and deploy a Baleful-Removing Array.
• Xia Ruo He proposed that her team at Stronghold No. 2 cooperate with Zhou Ling’s team, and Zhou Ling agreed to support each other against foreign races while competing individually for points.
• Commander Zhang escorted Zhou Ling’s group to Stronghold No. 3 on Shiyan Barren Star and introduced Deputy Commander Gu Xing.
• Zhou Ling learned that the stronghold held 150 cultivators, was protected by a Fifth-Tier Golden Cloud Array, and had repelled three Golden-Eyed Spirit Race attacks before ordering his team to settle in.

Zhou Ling and the others planned how to expand Number Three Outpost and were attacked by the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race before they could begin. Zhou Ling detected the enemy camp through the Baleful Mist and led the first strike, overwhelming its defenders with the Bright Sun Burning Heaven Flame.

• Commander Zhang explained that the outpost had explored only about five hundred li and that Golden-Eyed Spirit Race attacks had caused heavy losses.
• Pei Qing Shuang proposed setting up a Baleful-Removing Array, Yan Yu Tian urged them to eliminate the nearby tribe first, and Feng Lan suggested luring the enemy out.
• When the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race attacked, Zhou Ling used his talents to locate a camp six hundred zhang away and identify its thirty members.
• Zhou Ling led Feng Lan, Yan Yu Tian, and the others out of the defensive barrier, while Commander Zhang and Deputy Commander Gu watched from the outpost.
• Zhou Ling unleashed the Bright Sun Burning Heaven Flame, burning away the Baleful Mist and Baleful Soul Array before swallowing the two Fourth-Order Golden-Eyed Spirit Race members.

Zhou Ling used Bright Sun Burning Heaven Flame to break the Baleful Mist Array and wipe out the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race attacking the outpost, earning the trust of its defenders. He ordered the area secured with formations and planned to clear more mist the next day, aiming to expand the outpost into a future immortal city.

• Zhou Ling unleashed Bright Sun Burning Heaven Flame, killing the two Fourth Order Golden-Eyed Spirit Race leaders and weakening the rest of their forces.
• Qi Jian Zhi, Feng Lan, Yan Yu Tian, and the others charged out and killed the remaining Golden-Eyed Spirit Race members without suffering injuries.
• The outpost cultivators praised Zhou Ling after witnessing his strength, and Commander Zhang agreed to set up a Magic Array across the cleared territory.
• Zhou Ling told Commander Zhang to prepare for another sweep of Baleful Mist and warned the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race might retaliate.
• Commander Zhang sent cultivators to establish the Magic Array and patrol, while Feng Lan led Pei Qing Shuang and others to set up the Green Lotus Sword Formation.
• Zhou Ling let each fighter keep the bone rings of enemies they killed, offered to refine blood medicines into pills, and began studying the Baleful Mist for the next day's expansion.

Zhou Ling used [Intermediate Observation] and [Intermediate Analysis] to discover that Black Baleful Stones could be inscribed to absorb Baleful Mist, then created a new Baleful Qi-Absorbing Inscription through [Illusionary Realm Deduction Simulation]. He tested the resulting Baleful-Removing Stone at the outpost, where it cleared the mist far more effectively than the existing array.

• Zhou Ling compared existing methods of clearing Baleful Mist and decided to experiment with inscribing Black Baleful Stones to absorb it.
• Zhou Ling entered the mist, collected Black Balefal Stones, and returned to the outpost, where Commander Zhang hosted a banquet in thanks for his victory over the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race.
• Zhou Ling used [Illusionary Realm Deduction Simulation] to create a Third Order Baleful Qi-Absorbing Inscription, turning a Black Balefal Stone into a Baleful-Removing Stone.
• Zhou Ling demonstrated the stone to Commander Zhang, Qi Jian Zhi, Feng Lan, and the others, and it rapidly absorbed the Baleful Mist within a hundred-zhang radius.

Zhou Ling refined Baleful-Dispelling Stones that absorbed baleful mist far more efficiently than existing methods, prompting Cloud Sea Immortal City’s leaders to test the invention and seek its inscription design. City Lord Chen rewarded Zhou Ling with twenty thousand military merits as the city prepared to produce the stones.

• Zhou Ling used the Bright Sun Burning Heaven Flame and a Baleful-Mist Absorbing Inscription to create a reusable Baleful-Dispelling Stone, then allowed Commander Zhang to take it to Cloud Sea Immortal City.
• Commander Zhang demonstrated the stone’s effectiveness to City Lord Chen and the Nascent Soul Cultivators, who saw it clear baleful mist with ease.
• Zhu Shan examined the stone and said its inscription structure was needed for mass production, so City Lord Chen decided to visit Zhou Ling at the stronghold.
• Zhou Ling refined three more stones and had Feng Lan, Qi Jian Zhi, and Pei Qing Shuang use them to clear hundreds of zhang around the camp.
• City Lord Chen arrived at the stronghold, received the inscription design from Zhou Ling, and awarded him twenty thousand military merits.

Zhou Ling’s rapid rise in military merits and the expansion of his outpost astonished cultivators from the Immortal Gate, Wild Domain, and Heavenly Palace. When Xia Ruo He visited, Zhou Ling revealed his Baleful-Mist Absorbing Stone and traded one to her for a Soul Clearing Pill, leaving her to try refining the device overnight.

• Xia Ruo He, Qin Yi, and Wu Dao Yuan each reacted to Zhou Ling’s twenty-two thousand military merits and decided to continue or adjust their plans.
• Zhou Ling’s outpost expanded by several li, and Commander Zhang reported that a warship from another outpost was approaching.
• Xia Ruo He arrived with two Immortal Gate cultivators and asked Zhou Ling how he had dispelled the Baleful Mist so quickly.
• Zhou Ling explained that he had developed the Baleful-Mist Absorbing Stone using a new inscription pattern, and Xia Ruo He examined its composite structure.
• Xia Ruo He traded Zhou Ling her remaining Soul Clearing Pill for the stone and said she would stay overnight to try refining one herself.

Zhou Ling absorbed a Soul Clearing Pill, advanced his soul cultivation to Mid Nascent Soul, and condensed three Divine Soul Manifestations. After testing their amplification and sealing abilities, he began refining a Fourth Order Baleful-Mist Absorbing Stone to clear land around the Camp for an immortal city.

• Zhou Ling absorbed the Soul Clearing Pill, and its power expanded his Sea of Consciousness and raised his Soul Cultivation to Mid Nascent Soul while condensing three Divine Soul Manifestations.
• The sudden manifestation broke through Zhou Ling's barrier and alarmed cultivators across the stronghold, including Feng Lan and Pei Qing Shuang, before he restored the barrier and the apparition faded.
• Zhou Ling tested the Soul Golden Lotus's amplification and the Golden Seed Soul Dharma Aspect's sealing ability on a Blood Thunder Crow, then decided to save the Golden Sword's soul attack for later.
• Zhou Ling considered asking Xia Ruo He about her Soul Clearing Pill formula and concluded that Fourth-Tier Soul Origin Pills could serve as a substitute.
• Zhou Ling took out a Fourth-Order Black Fiend Stone and began inscribing a Fourth Order Baleful-Mist Absorbing Stone to clear the area around the Camp for an immortal city.

Zhou Ling demonstrated that his Fourth Order Baleful-Mist Absorbing Stone could clear the mist far faster than Xia Ruo He's attempt, and exchanged one for her Fifth-Tier Soul Clearing Pill formula. After studying the formula, he found two Mysterious Spirit Fruits among the spoils taken from Golden-Eyed Spirit Race cultivators, giving him a key ingredient for the pill.

• Zhou Ling showed Xia Ruo He and the gathered cultivators his Fourth Order Baleful-Mist Absorbing Stone, which rapidly cleared a wide area of Baleful Mist.
• Xia Ruo He traded Zhou Ling the Soul Clearing Pill formula for a Baleful-Mist Absorbing Stone and offered to help construct the Immortal City Magic Array.
• Zhou Ling examined the formula and learned that refining the Soul Clearing Pill required rare Fifth-Tier ingredients and a difficult Soul Flame Method.
• Zhou Ling removed the restrictions from two Golden-Eyed Spirit Race cultivators' bone rings and discovered two Mysterious Spirit Fruits, along with Blood Medicine, Blood Soul Stones, and other valuable materials.

Zhou Ling's camp completed its Fifth-Tier Golden Cloud Sword Array, establishing an Immortal City Stronghold and earning him twenty thousand points. The other trial participants were stunned by his lead, while Zhou Ling prepared for the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race's retaliation.

• Commander Zhang told Zhou Ling that the great array was finished, and Xia Ruo He explained how she had strengthened it with Sword Cloud attacks and Golden Cloud Radiance that could block some soul attacks.
• Zhou Ling thanked Xia Ruo He and gave her the Fourth Order Baleful-Mist Absorbing Stones before she left to establish her own stronghold.
• Commander Zhang warned Zhou Ling that the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race would likely attack the newly established stronghold, and Zhou Ling assigned patrols and ordered preparations for defense.
• Zhou Ling checked his jade token and found that his total had risen to forty-two thousand points, putting him far ahead of Qin Yi and Wu Dao Yuan.
• Qin Yi and the other trial participants learned that Zhou Ling had established an Immortal City Stronghold and reacted with disbelief at his enormous lead.

The Golden-Eyed Spirit Race attacked Zhou Ling’s Immortal City Stronghold under a powerful Fifth-Tier leader whose Blood Eye Domain threatened to overwhelm the defenses. Zhou Ling flew out to confront him, and the chapter ended as Zhou Ling’s Bright Sun Burning Heaven Slash cut through the Blood Eye Domain toward the leader.

• Zhou Ling learned that the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race was approaching and joined Qi Jian Zhi at the stronghold’s walls.
• Commander Zhang identified the attacking force as a large tribe led by a Fifth-Tier Golden-Eyed Spirit Race member, whose Blood Eye Domain battered the Golden Cloud Array and harmed the defenders.
• Zhou Ling used his spirit flames to dispel a Blood Soul attack, then analyzed the Blood Eye Divine Ability and identified its three rules: Blood Rupture, Blood Illusion, and Soul Devouring.
• Zhou Ling ordered the cultivators to attack while he broke through the Blood Eye Domain, despite Commander Zhang’s warnings about the leader’s strength.
• Zhou Ling flew above the stronghold, protected himself with the Earth Spirit Land Fire, and unleashed Bright Sun Burning Heaven Slash with the Sunday Immortal Sword at the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race leader.

Zhou Ling killed the Fifth-Tier Golden-Eyed Spirit Race Leader with the Sunday Immortal Sword, then led the defenders of the Immortal City Stronghold to defeat the invading force. After the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race was wiped out, Commander Zhang reported the victory and Zhou Ling ordered compensation for the human casualties.

• The Golden-Eyed Spirit Race Leader burned his blood souls to form a Golden Eye Blood Domain, but Zhou Ling fused two Spirit Flames into the Sunday Immortal Sword and destroyed him.
• Zhou Ling ordered the cultivators to attack, while Feng Lan led Qi Jian Zhi, Yan Yu Tian, and others in the Green Lotus Sword Formation against five Fourth-Order Golden-Eyed Spirit Race members.
• Feng Lan's formation killed all five Fourth-Order enemies, and the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race fled as Commander Zhang and the other cultivators pursued and wiped them out.
• Commander Zhang reported that the humans had killed 273 Golden-Eyed Spirit Race members and suffered 20 casualties; Zhou Ling ordered double compensation, and Commander Zhang promised triple military merits for the fallen cultivators' families or descendants.

After killing a fifth-tier Golden-Eyed Spirit Race member, Zhou Ling reached fifty-eight thousand points and recovered while opening the commander’s bone ring. Qin Yi, Wu Dao Yuan, and Xia Ruo He learned of his lead and headed to Stronghold No. 3, while Zhou Ling discovered a vast store of valuable resources and rare beast skeletons.

• Zhou Ling celebrated reaching fifty-eight thousand points, judged that the others could not catch up, and began recovering his depleted strength and spirit flames.
• Wild Domain cultivators reacted to Zhou Ling’s points, and Qin Yi decided to visit Stronghold No. 3 to learn how he had gained them.
• Wu Dao Yuan learned that Zhou Ling had won their wager and set out to see him, while privately considering how to reclaim the Five Elements Sword Pellet.
• Xia Ruo He accepted that Zhou Ling had surpassed her expectations and decided to visit Stronghold No. 3.
• Zhou Ling erased the seal on the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race commander’s bone ring and found stores of Blood Spirit Stones, Blood Medicines, ores, and beast skeletons.
• Zhou Ling identified a Soul Flame inside a Mid Fifth-Tier Soul Devouring Beast Skeleton and decided to wait until his soul recovered before trying to subdue it.

After Zhou Ling killed a Fifth-Tier Golden-Eyed Spirit Race commander, cultivators from the other trial strongholds visited him to see the battle record and verify his strength. Zhou Ling collected the wagers he had won, including the Five Elements Sword Pellet, leaving him poised to strengthen his Five Elements Bright Sun Sword Heart.

• City Lord Chen ordered supplies and support sent to Stronghold No. 3, and warned Zhou Ling to guard against retaliation from the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race.
• Qin Yi and Wu Dao Yuan arrived at Zhou Ling's stronghold and were astonished by its size; Xia Ruo He and other trial cultivators also came to visit.
• Zhou Ling agreed to show the visitors the Image Recording Jade of his battle, and the recording revealed how he used five Spirit Flames and the Sunday Immortal Sword to kill the Fifth-Tier Golden-Eyed Spirit Race commander.
• After watching the battle, Qin Yi conceded defeat and gave Zhou Ling Fifth-Tier Purple Thunderwood, while Xia Ruo He handed over two Soul Clearing Pills.
• Wu Dao Yuan presented Zhou Ling with the Five Elements Sword Pellet and warned that it contained his ancestor's sword intent and could attack those outside the Wu Family.

Zhou Ling suppressed the Five Elements Sword Pellet with his Bright Sun Sword Domain, erased the Wu Family ancestor's imprint, and claimed the weapon after winning it from Wu Dao Yuan. He then revealed that his rapid construction of an Immortal City Stronghold relied on Baleful-Mist Absorbing Stones made with his own inscription, leaving the Heavenly Palace and Wild Domain cultivators astonished.

• Wu Dao Yuan tossed the Five Elements Sword Pellet to Zhou Ling, whose Bright Sun Sword Domain suppressed its sword qi and erased the Wu Family ancestor's imprint.
• Zhou Ling took the Five Elements Sword Pellet, while Wu Dao Yuan accepted that he was unlikely to recover it.
• Qin Yi asked Zhou Ling how he had built his Immortal City Stronghold so quickly.
• Zhou Ling said he had used Baleful-Mist Absorbing Stones, and Xia Ruo He explained that he had created their inscription.
• The Heavenly Palace and Wild Domain cultivators reacted with astonishment at Zhou Ling's self-made inscription and talents.

Zhou Ling demonstrated the Baleful-Mist Absorbing Stone, sold Qin Yi six of them on credit, and received supplies and rewards from Commander Qi. Commander Qi warned that Jin Gu’s death could draw a fierce reprisal and announced a massive Golden-Eyed Spirit Race assault on Cloud Sea Immortal City next month; Zhou Ling and the others agreed to help defend it.

• Qi Jian Zhi activated Zhou Ling’s Third Order Baleful-Mist Absorbing Stone, rapidly clearing a wide area of Baleful Mist and astonishing the Heavenly Palace and Wild Domain cultivators.
• Qin Yi bought six Third Order Baleful-Mist Absorbing Stones from Zhou Ling for twelve high-grade Lightning Attribute Spirit Stones, signing an IOU; Zhou Ling said he would refine the remaining five when his spirit flames recovered.
• Commander Qi delivered supplies and rewards from City Lord Chen to Zhou Ling’s stronghold, and Zhou Ling entrusted the supplies to Commander Zhang for distribution.
• Commander Qi revealed that the slain Jin Gu was an ancestral-bloodline heir to the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race patriarch and warned Zhou Ling to consider returning to Cloud Sea Immortal City.
• Commander Qi announced that the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race army would attack Cloud Sea Immortal City next month, and Zhou Ling, Qin Yi, Xia Ruo He, and Wu Dao Yuan agreed to assist in its defense.