Chapter Summaries

Zhou Ling recovered his cultivation, refined the Soul Devouring Beast’s soul flame, and greatly strengthened his soul and defenses. He decided to return to Cloud Sea Immortal City, unaware that Liu Zheng Jia was waiting there for a chance to kill him.

• Zhou Ling used the Azure Lotus Spirit Flame to suppress the Soul Devouring Beast’s demon soul and refine it into the soul flame.
• Zhou Ling fused the soul flame into his Sea of Consciousness, strengthening his Divine Soul Manifestations and gaining a soul flame with devouring, purification, and defensive attributes.
• Zhou Ling decided to return to Cloud Sea Immortal City and told Feng Lan and Qi Jian Zhi to prepare to leave the stronghold.
• Liu Zheng Jia learned that Zhou Ling would return to Cloud Sea Immortal City and decided to attack him personally.

Zhou Ling and his companions traveled toward Cloud Sea Immortal City to join the war against the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race, but Liu Zheng Jia ambushed their vessel. Zhou Ling drew Liu Zheng Jia away and escaped into a Baleful Mist storm, with Liu Zheng Jia pursuing him.

• Zhou Ling warned his companions that the coming battle would be dangerous and instructed them to fight in a sword formation.
• Liu Zheng Jia attacked the war vessel from within the Baleful Mist, and Zhou Ling recognized him by his Purple Firmament lightning.
• Zhou Ling sent Feng Lan and Commander Zhang north to report the ambush to City Lord Chen while he fled south to draw Liu Zheng Jia away.
• Zhou Ling used his sword, flames, and thunder abilities to withstand Liu Zheng Jia's attacks and break through his lightning domain.
• Zhou Ling entered a Baleful Mist storm to escape, and Liu Zheng Jia followed him into it.

Zhou Ling exploited the Baleful Mist Storm to wear down Liu Zheng Jia while City Lord Chen rushed to rescue him. After Liu Zheng Jia’s strength fell to around twenty percent, Zhou Ling launched a counterattack that shattered his thunder domain.

• Zhou Ling used his spiritual flames, pills, and abilities to endure the Baleful Mist Storm while evading Liu Zheng Jia’s weakened attacks and draining his power.
• Qi Jian Zhi, Feng Lan, Yan Yu Tian, and Commander Zhang hurried to Cloud Sea Immortal City, where Commander Zhang warned City Lord Chen that Liu Zheng Jia was pursuing Zhou Ling.
• City Lord Chen left Cloud Sea Immortal City with Commander Zhang and the others, suspecting someone had revealed Zhou Ling’s whereabouts and vowing to save him.
• After observing that Liu Zheng Jia had only around twenty percent of his strength left, Zhou Ling combined the Bright Sun Burning Heaven Flame and Dry Yang True Fire with the Sunday Immortal Sword.
• Zhou Ling’s sword domain overwhelmed and shattered Liu Zheng Jia’s thunder domain, and Zhou Ling pressed the attack with another sweeping Sword Sun slash.

Zhou Ling fought Liu Zheng Jia inside the Baleful Mist, overcame the stronger cultivator by outlasting his spiritual power, and killed him. City Lord Chen rescued Zhou Ling and brought him back to the warship, while Zhou Ling’s injuries and the Liu Family’s influence remained pressing concerns.

• Liu Zheng Jia used his Vast Thunder Seal and Purple Firmament Emperor Manifestation against Zhou Ling, but Zhou Ling held them off while absorbing Thunder Power and replenishing his strength with pills.
• Zhou Ling poured all Five Spirit Flames into the Sunday Immortal Sword and destroyed the Vast Thunder Seal, leaving Liu Zheng Jia unable to maintain his defenses.
• Zhou Ling’s Sword Sun swallowed Liu Zheng Jia and killed him, after which Zhou Ling collected the Vast Thunder Seal and Liu Zheng Jia’s Storage Ring.
• With his spiritual power exhausted and his meridians badly injured, Zhou Ling encountered City Lord Chen in the Baleful Mist and told him he had killed Liu Zheng Jia.
• City Lord Chen praised Zhou Ling, carried him out of the Baleful Mist, and returned with him to the warship, where Qi Jian Zhi and the others checked on Zhou Ling.

After killing Liu Zheng Jia, Zhou Ling recovered from his injuries in Cloud Sea Immortal City while City Lord Chen investigated how Liu Zheng Jia had infiltrated the city. The Liu Family learned of Liu Zheng Jia’s death and chose to endure the loss for now, while Zhou Ling recovered most of his strength and discovered valuable treasures in Liu Zheng Jia’s Storage Ring.

• City Lord Chen promised to investigate Liu Zheng Jia’s ambush, and Zhou Ling requested healing pills before beginning his recovery.
• Zhou Ling repaired his meridians, decided to join the coming battle against the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race, and began removing the imprint from Liu Zheng Jia’s Storage Ring.
• Liu Po Lei told Liu Zhenglong that Liu Zheng Jia’s soul plaque had shattered, and the Liu Family debated how Zhou Ling could have killed him.
• Liu Zhenglong told the Liu Family to avoid trouble and postpone revenge against Zhou Ling until their situation improved.
• After recovering to eighty percent, Zhou Ling examined Liu Zheng Jia’s Storage Ring and found rare Lightning Attribute treasures, including three Earth Grade Spirit Stones.

Zhou Ling recovered from his injuries, advanced to peak Golden Core, and condensed the embryonic Purple Firmament Immortal Thunder Divine Ability. After learning the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race army had arrived and the battle was imminent, he set out for the defenses and learned that three collaborators who had helped Liu Zheng Jia had been sent to the Immortal Gate for investigation.

• Zhou Ling refined Liu Zheng Jia's Fifth-Tier Thunder Stone and Earth Grade Thunder Spirit Stones, causing his Purple Firmament Emperor Manifestation to grow into a ten-zhang Dharma Aspect and awaken the embryonic Purple Firmament Immortal Thunder Divine Ability.
• Zhou Ling broke through to peak Golden Core, tested the divine ability, and found its immense power drained his Lightning Attribute spiritual power too quickly for sustained use.
• After more than twenty days of recuperation, Zhou Ling left the Cultivation Room and thanked Qi Jian Zhi for guarding him.
• Qi Jian Zhi told Zhou Ling that the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race army had arrived outside Cloud Sea Immortal City and the cultivators, including Yan Yu Tian and the other trial participants, were preparing for battle.
• Qi Jian Zhi revealed that commander Wan Xi and two other cultivators had helped Liu Zheng Jia ambush Zhou Ling, and City Lord Chen had sealed their cultivation and sent them to the Immortal Gate for investigation.

After surviving Liu Zheng Jia’s ambush, Zhou Ling met with City Lord Chen and the other cultivators to discuss the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race’s threat to Cloud Sea Immortal City. His advanced Observation and Analysis revealed a possible weakness in the Blood Eye Altar, and the chapter left him poised to advise the city’s defenders.

• City Lord Chen told Zhou Ling that he had sent the three Purple Cloud Sect disciples who had aided Liu Zheng Jia to the Immortal Gate Law Department, and offered to recommend Zhou Ling for the Immortal Gate.
• Wu Dao Yuan, Xia Ruo He, and Qin Yi learned that Zhou Ling had killed the Mid Soul Transformation Liu Zheng Jia and reassessed his strength.
• City Lord Chen showed the gathered cultivators an image of the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race’s Blood Eye Altar, which could summon blood souls and destroy Cloud Sea Immortal City’s defensive formation.
• Zhou Ling’s Observation and Analysis talents advanced, and he deduced that one of the altar’s two Blood Eyes supplied its blood-baleful power and could be destroyed to weaken the altar.
• City Lord Chen said he planned to use the Thunder Seal to break the altar and asked Zhou Ling to share his thoughts.

Zhou Ling persuaded City Lord Chen to launch a preemptive strike against the Blood Eye Altar and devised a plan to destroy its Blood Altar. After refining Baleful-Mist Absorbing Stones, the forces set out, with Zhou Ling leading the trial cultivators toward the altar as the battle began.

• Zhou Ling explained that the Blood Eye Altar could threaten Cloud Sea Immortal City's defenses and urged the group to destroy its Blood Altar before the altar was completed.
• City Lord Chen agreed to attack, assigning the Nascent Soul Cultivators to assault the Soul Altar and the trial cultivators to follow Zhou Ling against the Blood Altar.
• Zhou Ling divided the trial cultivators into teams, partnered with Xia Ruo He, and told Wu Dao Yuan and Qin Yi to handle the enemy on the altar's left side.
• Zhou Ling spent two days refining five Fourth Order Baleful-Mist Absorbing Stones, then handed three to City Lord Chen for clearing the mist around the battlefield.
• The two forces departed from Cloud Sea Immortal City, and Zhou Ling's group entered the Baleful Mist while saving its stones for a surprise attack closer to the Blood Eye Altar.

Zhou Ling used Baleful-Mist Absorbing Stones to clear a path through the mist and launched a surprise attack on the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race’s unfinished Blood Eye Altar. The battle began with Zhou Ling confronting the powerful Jin He, while Xia Ruo He and the other cultivators fought the enemy’s forces.

• Head Meng learned that Liu Zheng Jia had tried to assassinate Zhou Ling and that City Lord Chen had sent the conspirators to the Immortal Gate for investigation; the Dao Alliance vowed to uncover how the ambush happened.
• Zhou Ling deployed two Baleful-Mist Absorbing Stones, clearing hundreds of li of mist and enabling the cultivators to attack the Blood Eye Altar without the mist suppressing them.
• Jin He learned that Zhou Ling had killed Jin Gu and led more than two hundred Golden-Eyed Spirit Race members to meet the approaching human forces.
• Xia Ruo He formed the Jin He Sword Formation and attacked Jin He, but his blood-soul strike hurt her, and she asked Zhou Ling to take the lead.
• Zhou Ling fought Jin He with the Sunday Immortal Sword, and their golden sword domain and blood domain clashed as Xia Ruo He, Feng Lan, and the other cultivators engaged the remaining Golden-Eyed Spirit Race members.

Zhou Ling fought Jin He, a Fifth-Tier middle-stage Golden-Eyed Spirit Race commander, and overcame his powerful Blood Eye domains with his soul defenses, five spirit flames, and Five Elements Sword Pellet. He left Jin He completely slain, clearing the way for the humans’ assault on the Blood Eye Altar.

• Zhou Ling used his Golden Sun Sword Domain to challenge Jin He’s Blood Domain while Jin He attacked his Sea of Consciousness with the Blood Eye Soul Domain.
• Zhou Ling’s Soul Devouring Flame consumed Jin He’s Blood Eyes, and the watching Qin Yi, Wu Dao Yuan, and Xia Ruo He recognized his strength.
• Zhou Ling fused five spirit flames into the Sunday Immortal Sword and shattered Jin He’s Golden Eye Blood Domain.
• Jin He burned more than a hundred drops of essence blood to form a stronger Blood Fiend Domain, but Zhou Ling’s Five Elements Sword Pellet and Five Spirit Flames broke through it.
• Jin He summoned blood souls and tried to flee, but Zhou Ling’s Flame Domain sealed his retreat and completely incinerated him.

Zhou Ling killed Jin He by devouring the Golden Eye with his Soul Devouring Flame, which advanced to fifth grade and absorbed Jin He’s memories. He then struck the Blood Eye Altar’s weakness and shattered it before it could fully form.

• Zhou Ling trapped the Golden Eye as it tried to flee, then devoured it with his Soul Devouring Flame, advancing the flame to fifth grade and recovering soul power.
• Zhou Ling discovered he had gained Jin He’s memories, collected the fallen cultivator’s storage ring, and took pills to recover.
• Zhou Ling assessed the battles: Wu Dao Yuan fought a Fifth Grade commander, Qin Yi faced two late Fourth Grade opponents, and Xia Ruo He and Feng Lan’s formations inflicted heavy losses.
• Zhou Ling told Wu Dao Yuan, Qin Yi, and Xia Ruo He to hold their opponents while he approached the Blood Eye Altar and used his talents to find its weakness.
• Zhou Ling shielded himself with the Soul Devouring Flame and Golden Bell Divine Soul Manifestation, then struck the altar’s weakness with the Sunday Immortal Sword.
• Zhou Ling’s strike shattered the unfinished Blood Eye Altar, scattering its blood fiend aura into the sky.

After Zhou Ling destroyed the Blood Eye Altar, the humans seized the advantage and City Lord Chen defeated the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race chieftain, forcing his army to retreat. Zhou Ling escaped the chieftain’s attack and returned to Cloud Sea Immortal City with his companions, where he learned Bu Yang and Chu Jing were seriously injured.

• Zhou Ling’s destruction of the Blood Eye Altar weakened the blood domain, and City Lord Chen ordered the human cultivators to counterattack.
• City Lord Chen clashed with the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race chieftain while human forces charged the exposed Golden-Eyed Spirit Race camp.
• Zhou Ling told Wu Dao Yuan, Xia Ruo He, and Qin Yi to retreat, then blocked the chieftain’s distant blood-domain attack with the Soul Devouring Flame.
• City Lord Chen’s lightning dragon broke through the Blood Domain, and the chieftain destroyed the Blood Eye before retreating with his strength greatly diminished.
• The Golden-Eyed Spirit Race army scattered as the humans pressed their attack, while Zhou Ling returned to Cloud Sea Immortal City.
• Qi Jian Zhi told Zhou Ling that Bu Yang and Chu Jing were seriously injured, and Zhou Ling led his group back to recover.

Zhou Ling received the foremost military merit award and won the trial championship after helping Cloud Sea Immortal City defeat the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race. With the trial over, he prepared to return to the Dao Alliance and agreed to meet Wu Dao Yuan, Qin Yi, and Xia Ruo He in Tianxia Immortal City three months later.

• City Lord Chen awarded Zhou Ling one hundred thousand military merit for killing a Fifth-Tier commander and destroying the Blood Altar, and gave Wu Dao Yuan, Xia Ruo He, and Qin Yi additional rewards for their contributions.
• City Lord Chen announced Zhou Ling as the trial champion with seventy-one thousand points, followed by Wu Dao Yuan, Xia Ruo He, and Qin Yi; he confirmed the trial had ended after the Golden-Eyed Spirit Race on Shiyan Barren Star was eliminated.
• City Lord Chen privately told Zhou Ling that the Immortal Gate Law Department would investigate the Purple Sky Sect traitors and the Liu Family, and offered to send his junior brother to the Dao Alliance.
• Zhou Ling prepared to return home, thanked the cultivators who came to bid him farewell, and reminded Qin Yi to repay the Lightning Attribute Spirit Stone.
• Wu Dao Yuan offered a fifth-grade Lightning Attribute Sword Stone as a wager for a future match, and Zhou Ling agreed to inspect it before deciding whether to compete.
• Zhou Ling, Wu Dao Yuan, Qin Yi, and Xia Ruo He agreed to meet in Tianxia Immortal City three months later.

Zhou Ling received the Dao Alliance’s rewards for winning the trial, then reported Liu Zheng Jia’s ambush to its leaders. He returned to the Zhou family, met his newborn son Zhou Xing’an, and set out with his family to visit his master.

• Head Meng awarded Zhou Ling doubled military merits, a Heavenly-Grade Nascent Soul Pill, thirty Earth Grade Spirit Stones, a Fifth-Tier Treasure Tool, and fifty li of clan territory for taking first place in the trial.
• Zhou Ling told Head Meng, Head Lin, and Head Hu how Liu Zheng Jia had ambushed him and explained that City Lord Chen had sent three Purple Firmament Sect cultivators to the Immortal Gate.
• Head Meng and the other leaders discussed investigating the Liu Family, but Head Hu said there was not yet evidence to bring it down; Head Meng asked him to continue the investigation and warn the family.
• Zhou Ling returned to Purple Cloud Peak, reunited with his parents and wives, and met his son Zhou Xing’an for the first time.
• Zhou Ling left with Wang Xin, Wang Qingshang, and Zhou Ying'er to visit his master at the Lingxiao Sect and discuss Liu Zheng Jia’s death.

After returning to Lingxiao Sect, Zhou Ling reported his trial victory and Liu Zheng Jia’s ambush to Fairy Zi Ling, who warned him about the Liu Family’s power. That night, Zhou Ling and his wives inventoried an enormous haul of treasures taken from Golden-Eyed Spirit Race cultivators and Liu Zheng Jia.

• Zhou Ling returned to Zi Ling’s Courtyard with Zhou Ying'er and told Fairy Zi Ling that the Dao Alliance had won the Four Great Grotto-Heavens trial, where he earned 170,000 military merits.
• Fang Yu Yun read the bulletin listing Zhou Ling’s achievements, including killing two Golden-Eyed Spirit Race commanders and destroying a sixth-tier Blood Eye Altar.
• Zhou Ling told Fairy Zi Ling that Liu Zheng Jia had ambushed him in Cloud Sea Immortal City and that he had killed him during a Baleful Mist Storm.
• Fairy Zi Ling warned Zhou Ling about the Liu Family’s influence and its Void Refinement ancestor, while saying the family would have to be dismantled gradually.
• Zhou Ling gave Fairy Zi Ling fifteen Earth Grade Spirit Stones, then later showed Wang Xin, Wang Qingshang, and Gong Yi the treasures he had collected.
• Zhou Ling and his wives inventoried a vast haul of Blood Spirit Stones, Blood Medicines, ores, Demonic Beast remains, and other treasures, including a golden Blood Eye.

After returning from the Four Great Grotto-Heavens trial, Zhou Ling secured a mutated Golden Eye and gave the Zhou Family a vast store of resources. The Immortal Gate then announced it would arrest Liu Zheng Sheng for orchestrating Liu Zheng Jia’s ambush, leaving Head Lu, Head Meng, and Head Hu to move against the Liu Family.

• Zhou Ling discovered that a Fifth-Tier Golden Eye contained a Soul Sword Domain and planned to refine it once his spirit flames recovered.
• Zhou Ling gave Wang Qingshang a Storage Ring filled with treasures for the Zhou Family, and he spent the night with his three wives.
• Visitors flocked to Zhou Ling after he returned as the undefeated champion of the Four Great Grotto-Heavens trial, keeping him busy for half a month.
• Head Lu questioned Zhou Ling about Liu Zheng Jia’s ambush and reported that the suspects had confessed to acting under Liu Zheng Sheng’s instructions.
• Head Lu declared that the Immortal Gate would arrest Liu Zheng Sheng for colluding with alien races, and Head Meng and Head Hu agreed to assist.

Zhou Ling learned that Liu Zheng Sheng had been arrested, but Head Lu warned that the Liu Family could continue targeting him under the guise of a dispute over the Purple Sky Sect’s orthodox lineage. More than ten days later, Zhou Ling risked refining a Peak Fifth-Tier Golden Eye and, with his spiritual flames and talent, fused it into his divine soul.

• Head Lu told Zhou Ling that Liu Zheng Sheng had been arrested and invited him to join the Immortal Gate, but Zhou Ling chose to remain with the Dao Alliance.
• Head Lu warned Zhou Ling that Liu Zheng Sheng had claimed his attack stemmed from a struggle over the Purple Sky Sect’s orthodox lineage, making future interference harder to challenge.
• Zhou Ling consulted Fairy Zi Ling, who dismissed the lineage dispute as a Liu Family delaying tactic and said the Dao Alliance would keep weakening the family.
• More than ten days later, Zhou Ling tried to refine the Peak Fifth-Tier Golden Eye, but it broke through his spiritual flames and attacked his Sea of Consciousness.
• Zhou Ling unleashed both Soul-Devouring Spirit Flame and Dry Yang True Fire, and his Stronger from Adversity talent helped him suppress and refine the Golden Eye.
• The Golden Eye fused into Zhou Ling’s little divine soul figure, which grew larger and gained a Golden Eye on its forehead.

Zhou Ling merged with the Golden Eye, advancing his Soul Cultivation to the late nascent soul stage and preparing to pursue a Heaven-Grade Nascent Soul. Head Meng then nominated him to compete for the vacant Head of the Xuan Army Division, with a battle strategy exercise scheduled in half a month.

• Zhou Ling used the Golden Eye to form a soul domain and Golden Sword Soul Manifestation, then discovered it greatly strengthened and refined his Divine Soul cultivation.
• Zhou Ling decided to prepare for a Heaven-Grade Nascent Soul and considered where to undergo the thunder tribulation while guarding against interference from the Liu Family.
• Zhou Ling left his Cultivation Room and joined Wang Xin in teaching their daughter Zhou Ying'er to set up a Qi-Gathering Array.
• Head Meng told Zhou Ling that he had nominated him as a candidate for the vacant Head of the Xuan Army Division.
• Head Meng explained that Zhou Ling would compete against three other candidates in a simulated battle strategy exercise using divine souls, scheduled for half a month later.

Zhou Ling prepared to compete for the Head of the Xuan Army Division by studying his rivals and refining Soul Clearing Pills, while continuing to oversee his family and work. Gong Yi told him she was pregnant, and the chapter ended as He Zijian and He Lingyun came to discuss something with him.

• Head Meng warned Zhou Ling about the dangerous month-long soul trial and introduced his competitors, including Liu Zheng Shang, Zhang Yan, and Hu Xiong.
• Zhou Ling reviewed the contest information, refined four Soul Clearing Pills with Three Pill Patterns, and kept up with his family, Workshop, and Dao Alliance duties.
• Gong Yi told Zhou Ling she was pregnant, and he urged her to pause her Dao Academy work while she focused on the baby.
• Zhou Ling and Gong Yi told Li Ru the news, and Zhou Ling took Zhou An out into the courtyard.
• He Zijian and He Lingyun approached Zhou Ling to discuss something with him, and he invited them to the main hall.

Zhou Ling gave He Zijian treasures to aid his Golden Core breakthrough and learned that the Xuan Army Division competition would take place in the Mountain Sea Virtual Realm. The Liu Family planned to exploit the soul-only contest to kill Zhou Ling and secure the division head position.

• He Zijian told Zhou Ling he planned to attempt a Golden Core breakthrough, and Zhou Ling gave him a Heaven-Grade Jade Returning Golden Pill and promised Five Elements Pure Yang Pill Qi while seeking Lightning Essence Dew.
• Zhou Ling failed to find Lightning Essence Dew at the Dao Alliance Treasury, then learned from Head Meng that the competition would take place in the Mountain Sea Virtual Realm, an ancient human domain haunted by evil entities.
• Zhou Ling told his family about the competition, reassuring his worried wives and making arrangements for the household.
• Liu Zheng Shang argued that the soul-only realm would deprive Zhou Ling of his usual treasures and make him easy to kill, and the Liu Family Head ordered him to win the competition.