Chapter Summaries

Meng Zhao reflected on Qiao Nian’s possible role as his fated nemesis and concluded that Qiao Nian was still alive, hidden by the Thunder Marsh Small World’s Heavenly Dao Will. He resolved to stay alert to the danger Qiao Nian might pose.

• Meng Zhao examined the Five-Colored Pearl String and considered the gains he had made in Jianmu Grotto-Heaven.
• Remembering Yan Libing’s suspicions, Meng Zhao reasoned that Qiao Nian’s Destiny Number might be fated to weaken and eventually defeat him.
• Meng Zhao recalled how Wind and Cloud had been destined to bring down Xiong Ba and compared their connection to Qiao Nian’s connection to himself.
• After his Primordial Spirit advanced to the Obtaining God stage, Meng Zhao’s intuition convinced him that Qiao Nian had survived and been hidden by the Thunder Marsh Small World’s Heavenly Dao Will.
• Meng Zhao considered how instinctive choices might shape a person’s destiny and decided not to underestimate Qiao Nian.

Meng Zhao considered ways to grow stronger before vanishing into the darkness to transform. In Ji Prefecture, Beitang Shu brutally killed a maid and consumed her brain fluid, then demanded that Mister Feng find a way to capture Nangong Yao alive.

• Meng Zhao weighed several paths to strengthen himself, including refining the Five-Colored Pearl String into a divine ability, and planned to use the Heaven-Illuminating Divine Mirror to aid his efforts.
• Beitang Shu killed a maidservant for moving too slowly, then savored the brain fluid and bone fragments from her head.
• Chen Siyuan, Fu Fei, and the other members of Prince Fu's Mansion stood in fear as Beitang Shu's erratic cruelty unsettled them.
• Beitang Shu asked Mister Feng to capture Nangong Yao alive and make him kneel before him.
• Mister Feng doubted that strategy alone could overcome Nangong Yao's unmatched strength and ghostlike movements.

Mister Feng urged Beitang Shu to stop targeting Nangong Yao until Prince Fu's Mansion could match his strength and uncover his weaknesses. Beitang Shu explained that the Martial Dao's rapid rise had made individual experts like Meng Zhao more decisive than political power, leaving his court to recognize why he feared the man.

• Mister Feng told Beitang Shu that schemes would not work against Nangong Yao without Great Grandmaster-level force and detailed information about his weaknesses.
• Beitang Shu asked whether Mister Feng thought pursuing Nangong Yao was pointless, prompting the gathered officials to listen closely.
• Mister Feng identified frequent rebellions and easier Martial Dao cultivation as the era's main changes, and Beitang Shu said the Martial Dao's transformation was more important.
• Beitang Shu explained that Great Grandmasters, Celestial experts, and future Gods and Devils could overwhelm political forces and territorial power.
• Beitang Shu said the Meng Family's growing influence came chiefly from Meng Zhao, whom he feared as a Great Grandmaster and one of the Peerless Twin Prodigies.

Mister Feng realized Beitang Shu sought to capture Nangong Yao because Nangong Yao could help him gain the high-level martial power he lacked. After accepting Beitang Shu’s reasoning, Mister Feng proposed gathering intelligence and recruiting a powerhouse to challenge Nangong Yao, and Beitang Shu asked for candidates.

• Beitang Shu’s men agreed that Meng Zhao’s forces and martial strength made him a serious threat, while Mister Feng recognized that supreme martial power had become essential.
• Mister Feng deduced that Nangong Yao was tied to Beitang Shu’s own path to greater martial strength and understood why Beitang Shu was determined to capture him.
• Mister Feng admitted that his earlier thinking was outdated, and Beitang Shu welcomed his change of mind.
• Mister Feng proposed sending more agents to investigate Nangong Yao and seeking Great Grandmasters beyond Prince Fu’s Mansion who could match or defeat him.
• Beitang Shu asked his advisers who could deal with Nangong Yao, while ruling out help from the Beitang Imperial Clan and Beitang Sheng because it could cost him Nangong Yao’s secret and benefits.

Mister Feng proposed Meng Zhao as a powerful candidate to capture Nangong Yao, but Beitang Shu worried about the price and whether Meng Zhao would cooperate. Mister Feng suggested approaching him through Meng Jizu, then introduced a second candidate whose past victory over Xie Wanzhi shocked the hall.

• Mister Feng said Meng Zhao’s peerless cultivation and strength made him an excellent candidate to take down Nangong Yao.
• Beitang Shu agreed that Meng Zhao could defeat Nangong Yao but questioned what it would cost to secure his help and ensure he handed Nangong Yao over.
• Mister Feng suggested asking Earl of Nan'an to approach Meng Zhao through Meng Jizu, using the investigation into the Twelfth Prince’s assassination as a reason.
• Beitang Shu considered the idea but noted that Meng Zhao’s wandering made it difficult to find or rely on him.
• Mister Feng proposed a second candidate, a barbarian who had defeated Xie Wanzhi of the Nine Surnames Xie Family, shocking everyone in the hall.

Mister Feng urged Beitang Shu to recruit Tong Lie, a Savage Tribes Great Grandmaster, as a weapon against Nangong Yao and a powerful future ally. After hearing the case for and against the plan, Beitang Shu recognized that Meng Zhao had also intended to ensnare Tong Lie through their wager.

• Several members of Prince Fu's Mansion rejected cooperating with Tong Lie because he was a Savage Tribesman and could damage Beitang Shu's reputation or prove difficult to control.
• Other advisers argued that Tong Lie's strength could help defeat Nangong Yao and give Beitang Shu a formidable force.
• Mister Feng explained Tong Lie's power, his ties to the Bronze Hammer Tribe, and his chance of surviving a fight with Nangong Yao.
• Mister Feng revealed that Meng Zhao's wager had been designed to make Tong Lie his death warrior if Tong Lie lost.
• Beitang Shu realized Meng Zhao had meant to draw Tong Lie into his service and admired his ambition.

Beitang Shu and Mister Feng weighed how to recruit Xie Wanzhi to deal with Nangong Yao, while considering the risks of approaching him and the Xie Family. They decided that people in Liang Prefecture with close ties to Xie Wanzhi might be their best avenue.

• Mister Feng named Xie Wanzhi as a possible candidate, praising his martial arts and his past efforts against Monk Huikong and Tong Lie.
• Beitang Shu's advisers disagreed over whether Xie Wanzhi could be persuaded by rewards or would only act for the people and the righteous path.
• Mister Feng questioned why the Xie Family had not sought out Xie Wanzhi after learning he was a Great Grandmaster.
• Beitang Shu considered using the Chaos Body's origin to tempt Xie Wanzhi, but feared revealing it and exposing himself to betrayal.
• Mister Feng suggested approaching the local experts and factions in Liang Prefecture who shared deep ties with Xie Wanzhi, and Beitang Shu agreed to try.

Mister Feng proposed Fist Fiend Lu Binglin as a possible expert to contend with Nangong Yao, explaining his remarkable rise and presumed disappearance in a forbidden land. He revealed that someone believed to be Lu Binglin had returned to his martial arts school, though his identity and true cultivation remained uncertain.

• Beitang Shu dismissed the difficulty of recruiting Zhao Rulíng and Yu Changkong, whose loyalties and ties to Beitang Sheng made them poor candidates.
• Mister Feng asked Beitang Shu whether he knew Fist Fiend Lu Binglin and said Lu might still be alive.
• Mister Feng recounted Lu Binglin's humble origins, exceptional physique, obsession with fist techniques, and reputation as a formidable challenger.
• Mister Feng said he had watched Lu Binglin's martial arts school and discovered that it had revived, with a suspected Lu Binglin there whose cultivation was at least Peak Grandmaster and possibly Great Grandmaster.
• Beitang Shu and the others considered Lu Binglin a potential answer to Nangong Yao, but they could not confirm his identity or whether his strength was sufficient.

Beitang Shu ordered Mister Feng to recruit powerful allies against Nangong Yao and address suspicion surrounding the Twelfth Prince’s assassination. He believed his quiet efforts to send Liu An, Yan Libing, Qiao Nian, and Shi Jiawen into the Lei Family's Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm would help clear his name, unaware of the danger awaiting them.

• Beitang Shu considered Lu Binglin a potential ally and told his subordinates to investigate him as a key candidate against Nangong Yao.
• Mister Feng proposed recruiting Fire Dragon Cave's four-clawed flood dragon and the Purple Lightning Saber Lord, prompting Beitang Shu to recognize how many Great Grandmasters had emerged across the Northern Lands.
• Beitang Shu put Mister Feng in charge of contacting powerful martial forces and warned his followers not to obstruct the effort to capture Nangong Yao.
• Mister Feng reminded Beitang Shu that the Twelfth Prince's assassination could fuel suspicions against him, and Beitang Shu said he had begun handling the matter in secret.
• Beitang Shu believed his invitation had laid groundwork with Liu An, Yan Libing, Qiao Nian, and Shi Jiawen, but he did not know what awaited them in the Lei Family's Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm.

Beitang Shu learned that Qiao Nian had died in the newly discovered Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm, potentially tying him and Lei Wanche to the disaster. After panicking over the political fallout, he and his strategists concluded the shared secret might help bind them closer to Liu An, Yan Libing, and Shi Jiawen.

• Beitang Shu raged over Qiao Nian’s death and feared it would ruin his plans and make the Blood Robe Marquis Mansion turn against him.
• Mister Feng asked Beitang Shu how Qiao Nian’s death connected him to Lei Wanche and the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm.
• Beitang Shu explained that he had hoped to use the secret realm to build ties with Liu An, Yan Libing, and Shi Jiawen, but Qiao Nian had died and most of the Lei Family had perished.
• Beitang Shu worried that Liu An, Yan Libing, and Shi Jiawen knew of his involvement and could not be silenced without worsening the crisis.
• Mister Tao inferred that Lei Wanche had likely reassured the three surviving scions, and Beitang Shu agreed they could reach a united account of Qiao Nian’s death.
• Mister Feng said Qiao Nian’s death could become a shared secret that bound Beitang Shu, Lei Wanche, and the three scions together.

Beitang Shu and his advisers considered how to use the aftermath of Qiao Nian’s death to secure the Lei Family and bring Liu An, Yan Libing, and Shi Jiawen under their control. Mister Feng proposed framing Meng Zhao for Qiao Nian’s death to provoke the imperial clan and the Emperor into acting against him, while Meng Zhao’s hidden control over the others remained unknown to them.

• Beitang Shu questioned whether Lei Wanche could truly persuade Liu An, Yan Libing, and Shi Jiawen, given their connections and previous refusal to be won over.
• Mister Feng argued that Lei Wanche had to align with Beitang Shu to protect the Lei Family from the Meng Family, and urged Beitang Shu to settle the dangers surrounding Qiao Nian’s death.
• Mister Feng proposed blaming Meng Zhao for Qiao Nian’s death so the Blood Robe Marquis Mansion, the imperial clan, and the Emperor would move against him.
• Mister Feng explained that Meng Zhao’s reputation, influence, and place in the Meng Family obstructed Beitang Shu’s ambitions and made him a threat that needed to be stopped.
• Beitang Shu and his advisers remained unaware that Meng Zhao had already recruited Lei Wanche, Liu An, Yan Libing, and Shi Jiawen and was manipulating their beliefs.

Beitang Shu explained why he and his advisers could not openly frame Meng Zhao for Qiao Nian’s and the Twelfth Prince’s deaths: Beitang Sheng’s secret efforts against Meng Zhao had failed, and an attack could provoke the Meng Family into rebellion. He left Mister Feng and Mister Tao understanding that any move against Meng Zhao would risk plunging Great Yong into widespread chaos.

• Mister Tao agreed that framing Meng Zhao could benefit Beitang Shu but warned that failure to kill him could invite deadly retaliation.
• Beitang Shu told Mister Feng and Mister Tao that Beitang Sheng had secretly tried and failed to deal with Meng Zhao and the Meng Family.
• Beitang Shu explained that the Meng Family had a defiant history and would rebel if openly attacked alongside Meng Zhao.
• Beitang Shu warned that a Meng Family rebellion could draw in allied factions and destabilize Great Yong while unrest persisted elsewhere.
• Beitang Shu concluded that the court would likely ignore even serious accusations against Meng Zhao rather than provoke the Meng Family.

Beitang Shu weighed the threat Meng Zhao posed and resolved to seize Nangong Yao’s Chaos Body Essence before returning to the Imperial Capital to compete for the throne. He planned to leave Meng Zhao unchecked in the Northern Lands for now, though his fear had already driven him to abandon his contest for power there.

• Mister Feng and Mister Tao warned Beitang Shu that Meng Zhao’s talent made him a dangerous rival who was difficult to suppress now that he had grown powerful.
• Beitang Shu recalled his failed effort to test and subdue Meng Zhao in Lingwu City, which cost him a capable general and confirmed that Meng Zhao would not be cowed by a prince’s title.
• Beitang Shu suspected Meng Zhao was connected to the Grandmaster’s assassination attempt that had derailed his plan to extend his influence into Liang Province.
• Beitang Shu considered Meng Zhao’s ties to the Tan Family, Tang Ling’er, the Dan Chi Clan, and the Meng Family, and feared the influence Meng Zhao could eventually gather across the Northern Lands.
• Beitang Shu decided to seize Nangong Yao’s Chaos Body Essence, return to the Imperial Capital, and compete with his brothers for the throne before confronting Meng Zhao later.

Beitang Shu ordered Mister Tao to infiltrate the Meng Family while Meng Zhao remained in seclusion. Beyond Heaven Pass, Yu Changkong and Zhao Rulíng recovered from their failed battle against the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord, and Zhao Rulíng warned that his damaged Yin Yang Dao Body left them vulnerable if their enemy pursued them.

• Beitang Shu told Mister Tao to send a hundred moles into the Meng Family to uncover Meng Zhao's background.
• Meng Zhao stayed in seclusion, Lei Wanche focused on resolving Qiao Nian's death, and Beitang Shu refrained from acting against the Meng Family.
• Yu Changkong and Zhao Rulíng assessed the destruction left by their battle with the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord in the Arctic Ice Plains.
• Zhao Rulíng explained that the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord had mastered the Myriad Demon Codex, fused the Demon Emperor Palace into his body, and enhanced Star Tribulation with a powerful divine weapon.
• Yu Changkong asked how they would answer to the Great Emperor after their failed operation, while Zhao Rulíng revealed that his Yin Yang Dao Body was damaged and he had less than one percent of his strength left.

Zhao Rulíng and Yu Changkong planned their retreat after their battle with the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord left them badly wounded. They chose to delay their pursuer by exploiting his search for the Supreme Scepter and aimed to seek Meng Zhao’s help, though Yu Changkong doubted he could face the threat.

• Zhao Rulíng warned Yu Changkong that the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord could recover quickly while their own serious wounds left them vulnerable.
• Yu Changkong proposed retreating to Liang Prefecture, but Zhao Rulíng insisted they first plan a safe route and delay their pursuer.
• Zhao Rulíng reasoned that the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord had not obtained the Supreme Scepter and proposed using rumors about it to keep him occupied.
• Yu Changkong suggested impersonating the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord and provoking the Hundred Clans, but Zhao Rulíng rejected the plan because their alliances were unknown.
• Zhao Rulíng proposed seeking Meng Zhao of the Lingwu Meng Family for help, and Yu Changkong questioned whether Meng Zhao could withstand the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord.

Zhao Rulíng and Yu Changkong fled toward Liang Prefecture while the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord chased rumors of the Supreme Scepter. At a ruined temple, Zhao Rulíng suppressed the energy in his body and proposed using the Imperial Ruyi to mislead and possibly injure their pursuer.

• Zhao Rulíng persuaded Yu Changkong to travel with him toward the Meng Family rather than split up.
• Rumors about the Supreme Scepter drew the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord southwest, giving Zhao Rulíng and Yu Changkong a chance to pass through Heaven Pass and return to Liang Prefecture.
• Zhao Rulíng stopped at a ruined temple to seal the Yang and Yin Energy inside him, temporarily restoring his imposing male form.
• Zhao Rulíng told Yu Changkong that the Imperial Ruyi’s Star Tribulation aura still let the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord track them.
• Zhao Rulíng proposed using the Imperial Ruyi as bait to lure the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord away and possibly wound him again.

Zhao Rulíng and Yu Changkong planted Imperial Ruyi as an explosive trap near Fire Dragon Cave, then fled toward Lingwu City. The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord found the relic and triggered the trap, unleashing catastrophic destruction, though he protected himself with his Myriad Dharma Body and Star Tribulation.

• Zhao Rulíng convinced Yu Changkong to abandon Imperial Ruyi as bait despite the risks of losing its protection and offending Beitang Sheng.
• Zhao Rulíng buried Imperial Ruyi in an underground Yin-Yang Nether Acupoint near Fire Dragon Cave and set a delayed ambush powered by the relic’s self-destruction.
• Zhao Rulíng and Yu Changkong erased their trail with Primordial Spirit Power and fled toward Lingwu City.
• The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord followed Imperial Ruyi’s aura to the buried relic and suspected Zhao Rulíng and Yu Changkong had devised a scheme.
• The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord’s probing voice triggered Zhao Rulíng’s restriction, causing Imperial Ruyi to erupt with destructive divine power.
• The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord activated his Myriad Dharma Body and used Star Tribulation to defend himself as the blast split the earth and caused a massive earthquake.

A massive earthquake triggered Fire Dragon Cave’s protective formation and awakened its crimson flood dragon, while Tang Ling’er remained absorbed in her longing for Meng Zhao. Injured by Imperial Ruyi’s self-destruction, the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord realized Zhao Rulíng had outmaneuvered him and struggled to locate Zhao Rulíng and Yu Changkong.

• The earthquake activated Fire Dragon Cave’s mountain-protecting formation, shielding the sect from the destruction outside.
• The crimson flood dragon awoke, and Fire Dragon Cave disciples pursued it, hoping to earn its favor.
• Tang Ling’er ignored the disturbances and stabbed at a portrait of Meng Zhao, whose fame had deepened her feelings for him.
• The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord blamed Zhao Rulíng for leading him into a trap and recognized that Zhao Rulíng’s abilities had advanced.
• The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord resolved to kill Zhao Rulíng before he could return to Imperial Capital City, but could not determine where Zhao Rulíng or Yu Changkong had gone.

The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord weighed whether to pursue Zhao Rulíng and Yu Changkong toward Lingwu City, but decided against provoking Meng Zhao and considered ambushing the pair on their way to Imperial Capital City. After the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord departed, True Monarch Fire Dragon and several Grandmasters arrived at the devastated site of Imperial Ruyi's Self-Destruction.

• The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord suspected Zhao Rulíng and Yu Changkong were heading to Lingwu City to seek Meng Zhao, but feared Meng Zhao's unknown strength and potential Favor of Destiny.
• The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord reasoned that killing Meng Zhao could benefit Beitang Sheng, whom he hated, and chose not to pursue the pair toward Lingwu City.
• The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord considered ambushing Zhao Rulíng and Yu Changkong along their route to Imperial Capital City, though finding the Supreme Scepter remained his more urgent task.
• Zhao Rulíng's schemes had made the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord cautious and bought him and Yu Changkong a chance to survive.
• The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord vanished, and True Monarch Fire Dragon arrived with three old Grandmasters and a flood dragon to inspect the devastation caused by Imperial Ruyi's Self-Destruction.

True Lord Fire Dragon identified traces of supreme Demonic Qi and imperial Humanity Power at the ruined site and urged Fire Dragon Cave to retreat and seal its mountain. The Crimson Flood Dragon absorbed the remaining Human Dragon Qi, which True Lord Fire Dragon believed could strengthen its foundations for a future transformation.

• True Lord Fire Dragon used the Crimson Dragon's Eye to identify demonic and imperial forces intertwined in the destruction beneath Fire Dragon Cave.
• True Lord Fire Dragon warned the three elders that a powerful demonic expert might still be nearby and urged them to return to the mountain and recall the disciples.
• The Crimson Flood Dragon searched the devastated ground, then sucked streams of golden substance into its mouth.
• True Lord Fire Dragon recognized that the Crimson Flood Dragon was benefiting from the residual power and told the three elders not to disturb it.
• The Crimson Flood Dragon absorbed Human Dragon Qi left by Imperial Ruyi's Self-Destruction to deepen its foundations for a possible future breakthrough.