Chapter Summaries

Xu Yunfan killed Zhao Yu and realized that incense had manipulated Jiang Jingguo, then learned from Bi Sheng that the attack was part of a scheme within the Dao Sect. Bi Sheng ordered him to leave Chen Hong alive to uncover the larger plot, and Xu Yunfan reflected on his solitary nature and the warning not to be used as a weapon.

• Xu Yunfan confirmed Zhao Yu was sincere, killed him, and suspected someone had used him to provoke the Sword Pavilion.
• Xu Yunfan found an incense burner that could muddle the mind and concluded it had fueled Jiang Jingguo's frenzy.
• Bi Sheng appeared in the courtyard, and Xu Yunfan recognized his advanced Heaven-and-Earth Essence Absorption Method.
• Bi Sheng explained that factions and infiltrators within the Dao Sect had likely arranged the scheme and told Xu Yunfan to keep Chen Hong alive as bait.
• Xu Yunfan accepted Bi Sheng's advice and reflected on his solitary habits and the warning not to let others use him as a weapon.

Xu Yunfan followed Bi Sheng to the Gui Water Position, where they found Su Wanqing guarding the earth-vein altar. Bi Sheng revealed that he knew the Celestial Pivot Sect’s Dragon Vein Map and had helped create the formation, leaving Su Wanqing furious at being deceived.

• Xu Yunfan entered the Lin Stance and considered the hidden logic behind his relationships and recent events.
• Bi Sheng stopped Xu Yunfan from leaving and brought him to the Gui Water Position to investigate the imperial city’s earth vein.
• Xu Yunfan found Su Wanqing at the altar and saw that a secret technique was draining Great Zhou’s national fortune toward the imperial city’s depths.
• Bi Sheng asked Su Wanqing about the Profound Heaven Treasure Record, then revealed that he had helped construct the Kan Li Dragon Conversion Formation.
• Su Wanqing drew her Frost Condensing Sword and accused Bi Sheng of bluffing her.

Bi Sheng pressured Su Wanqing into handing over the Celestial Pivot Sect’s original Profound Heaven Treasure Record, then returned to the Dao Sect residence with Xu Yunfan. There, Bi Sheng revealed the scroll’s Heavenly Demon Script origins and linked it to the Red Eye Demon Lord slain by the Pure Yang Ancestor two thousand years earlier.

• Bi Sheng used the Celestial Pivot Sect’s dependence on the Empress and Su Wanqing’s fear of the consequences to demand the original Profound Heaven Treasure Record.
• Su Wanqing gave Bi Sheng the scroll, relieved that the dangerous cultivation method it contained might no longer lead the sect’s gifted disciples to ruin.
• Bi Sheng confirmed the scroll was original, and Su Wanqing left the altar before he and Xu Yunfan slipped away through the night.
• At the Dao Sect residence, Bi Sheng explained that the scroll’s characters required spiritual qi and identified them as Heavenly Demon Script.
• Bi Sheng told Xu Yunfan that the Red Eye Demon Lord’s body had yielded the treasure record after the Pure Yang Ancestor killed the demon two thousand years earlier.

Xu Yunfan learned why Bi Yuan sought the Profound Heaven Treasure Record and prepared to hide until the Martial Examination, while he focused on cultivating the Ten Extremes Martial Dao. He formed its Primal Chaos True Seed and began strengthening his bones, muscles, and viscera, but had not yet fully entered the Viscera Training Realm.

• Bi Sheng told Xu Yunfan that the Profound Heaven Treasure Record contained a basic Qi Condensation Art used by Heavenly Demons and said Bi Yuan wanted its original to test a new discovery.
• Bi Sheng warned Xu Yunfan to stay hidden until the Martial Examination because his two divine weapons made him a target, and said Bi Yuan was likely preparing a ritual altar to help him advance.
• Xu Yunfan memorized the Qi Eating Technique, then devoted himself to understanding the Ten Extremes Martial Dao through the Attribute Panel.
• Xu Yunfan balanced its ten forces around Primal Chaos Force and formed the Ten Extremes Martial Dao’s Primal Chaos True Seed.
• The resulting energy began transforming Xu Yunfan’s bones, tendons, muscles, and blood, while force started integrating into his kidneys and liver.

Xu Yunfan refined the Ten Extremes Martial Dao and corrected its flawed circulation routes before setting out for the Great Zhou Martial Arts Grand Ceremony. He arrived at the Seventy-Two Wards’ preliminary stages, where Chen Hong followed him while concealing a cold token.

• Xu Yunfan used the Attribute Panel’s cultivation memories to adjust twelve ineffective qi-circulation routes in the Ten Extremes Martial Dao, strengthening his force qi.
• Seven days later, Chen Hong told Xu Yunfan that the Martial Examination preliminaries were beginning and that the sect had ordered him to start at the Seventy-Two Wards’ Martial Arts Stage.
• Xu Yunfan emerged equipped with numerous divine weapons and questioned why a Dao Sect true disciple had to compete alongside rogue cultivators.
• Chen Hong led Xu Yunfan toward the examination grounds and secretly rubbed a cold token hidden in his sleeve.
• Xu Yunfan and Chen Hong arrived amid the crowds and noise of the Martial Arts Grand Ceremony.

Xu Yunfan entered the Seventy-Two Wards as a Dao Sect True Inheritance Disciple, and his divine weapons and overwhelming aura frightened the martial artists gathered for the Martial Examination. He advanced through seven matches without facing a real fight, leaving the contest and its spectators stunned.

• The Dao Sect convoy entered the Seventy-Two Wards, and the crowds fell quiet when they recognized the True Inheritance carriage.
• Xu Yunfan stepped out wearing Dragon Scale Armor and carrying several divine weapons, unnerving the spectators and martial artists.
• Xu Yunfan entered the arena, where Sun Bing recognized his aura as like that of a ninth-realm grandmaster and conceded without fighting.
• Xu Yunfan completed seven matches as each opponent surrendered or retreated before he could land three moves.

Xu Yunfan overwhelmed opponents at the Seventy-Two Wards arena while sect disciples debated whether his victories were building momentum. At Qingwei Mountain, Bi Yuan began the Dao Sect’s Grand Celestial Ritual despite the cost to the sect’s accumulated virtue and his own position.

• Xu Yunfan won his seventh match and continued fighting, prompting the eighth swordsman to surrender when his sword feared Xu’s Dragon Devouring Mace.
• Luo Qingyang and other sect disciples discussed Xu Yunfan’s arena victories, and the Amitabha Temple monk suspected he was cultivating invincible momentum to suppress them.
• Bi Yuan learned that Xu Yunfan had won seven consecutive matches and ordered the Dao Sect to open the altar, draw the stars, and move the veins.
• A Supreme Elder warned Bi Yuan that opening the Grand Celestial Ritual would cost the Dao Sect accumulated virtue and exhaust the last of his Three Decrees.
• Bi Yuan accepted that he might have to relinquish his position as Sect Master, and the long-browed elder ordered the altar opened.

The Dao Sect activated a vast formation that drew on the Great Zhou dragon vein and sent Mystic Yellow Qi to Xu Yunfan in Jade Capital City. As the Empress protested the loss of the dragon qi, Xu Yunfan began undergoing a powerful physical transformation.

• Shen Wuyai agreed that Bi Yuan deserved the Dao Sect’s support, and Lu Jiuxiao joined the ritual on Qingming Peak.
• Bi Yuan and the elders activated the Myriad Stars Array and the Profound Heaven Treasure Record, drawing on the Dao Sect’s earth meridians and the imperial dragon vein.
• The Three Supreme Elders’ formation sent purple and azure qi through the ritual, rejuvenating the white-haired elder into a youthful beauty who revealed a breakthrough in the Azure Wood Everlasting Spring Art.
• The formation lifted Qingwei Mountain and sent its gathered Mystic Yellow earth qi toward Xu Yunfan in Jade Capital City, enraging the Empress as the dragon vein flowed away.
• Mystic Yellow Qi engulfed Xu Yunfan, strengthening his bones, blood, and physique as he circulated the Ten Extremes Martial Dao to absorb it.

Xu Yunfan absorbed Mystic Yellow Qi and refined a wisp of Innate True Qi, revealing his path of Myriad Arts Return to the Source. To support his cultivation, Bi Yuan used the Dao Sect’s ritual array to draw down stellar essence and alter Jade Capital’s earth veins, at the cost of weakening the world against the heavenly demons.

• Xu Yunfan absorbed Mystic Yellow Qi, bringing his five viscera into balance as his many martial forces threatened to erupt.
• Xu Yunfan’s Primal Chaos True Seed drew in his turbulent astral qi and produced a wisp of true qi that began swallowing the Mystic Yellow Qi.
• The three Supreme Elders on Qingwei Mountain recognized Xu Yunfan’s cultivation as Myriad Arts Return to the Source, built on multiple martial arts.
• Bi Yuan endured severe injuries as he activated the gilded bronze pillar and summoned the Myriad Stars Array.
• Stellar essence raced toward Jade Capital, and the elders realized Bi Yuan was forging Xu Yunfan a Road to Heaven while opening the world to the heavenly demons.

Xu Yunfan reached the Ninth Realm at the Seventy-Two Wards arena as Bi Sheng fought an Imperial City Bureau expert who tried to kill him. Xu Yunfan realized the arena was Jade Capital’s dragon-eye formation and that winning there could let him seize Great Zhou’s dragon qi from the Demon Hag.

• Xu Yunfan broke through to the Ninth Realm, manifesting Ten Extremes True Qi as the martial artists at the arena watched.
• An Imperial City Bureau expert launched a spear at Xu Yunfan, but Bi Sheng intercepted it with his rusty sword and began fighting the attacker.
• Xu Yunfan considered how little was known about cultivation beyond the Ninth Realm and continued absorbing Mystic Yellow Qi as his breakthrough progressed.
• Dugu Jiu watched Xu Yunfan’s breakthrough and realized that the Dao Sect’s method had enabled him to form a flawless Ninth Realm foundation.
• Xu Yunfan recognized the Seventy-Two Wards arena as the Kan Li Dragon Conversion Formation and understood that continued victories could help him take Great Zhou’s dragon qi from the Demon Hag.

Xu Yunfan realized the Dao Sect had wagered its future on his success, while the Empress resolved to resist the scheme and ordered a crackdown on the Dao Sect in Jade Capital. As forces gathered against him, Xu Yunfan remained unaware of the danger approaching.

• Xu Yunfan understood that the Dao Sect had tied its fate to his rise and that his failure could destroy the sect.
• The Empress learned that the Kan Li Dragon Conversion Formation had linked Xu Yunfan and the Seventy-Two Wards to Great Zhou’s dragon veins.
• Guo Lang warned the Empress that severing the earth veins could ruin Great Zhou or destroy Jade Capital, and said the court had to defeat Xu Yunfan openly to reclaim the Mystic Yellow Qi.
• The Empress ordered the Heavenly Wolf Guard to purge hidden Dao Sect agents and sought support from Amitabha Temple to challenge Xu Yunfan.
• Imperial forces and martial monks began arresting hidden Dao Sect disciples, while Xu Yunfan remained unaware of the danger.
• Chen Wei, unable to gain an advantage against Bi Sheng, received a flying message and gave a cold snort.

As Xu Yunfan absorbed Great Zhou’s national fortune and advanced rapidly toward the Ninth Realm, Chen Wei warned that Dao Sect disciples across Jade Capital City would be targeted. Bi Sheng summoned the disciples but accepted that many might die, while the Imperial City Bureau began its purge; Xu Yunfan ultimately reached the Ninth Realm Qi Refining.

• Chen Wei withdrew after failing to stop Xu Yunfan and warned Bi Sheng that Dao Sect disciples elsewhere in Jade Capital City were vulnerable.
• Xu Yunfan feared for the Dao Sect disciples, but Bi Sheng said their lives were being spent on the sect’s thousand-year plan and summoned them to gather.
• The Empress chose to purge Dao Sect disciples under the pretext of rooting out rebels, while Bi Sheng acknowledged he could protect only some of them.
• Imperial City Bureau forces attacked Dao Sect disciples in a teahouse and across Jade Capital City as Xu Yunfan heard the violence from within the Mystic Yellow Qi.
• Xu Yunfan absorbed the dragon vein’s energy, perfected the Classic of Change Marrow Cleansing Skill, and entered Ninth Realm Qi Refining.

After Bi Sheng led the wounded Dao Sect disciples out of Jade Capital, Xu Yunfan learned that his next imperial examination match would be held the following morning at the Black Tortoise Martial Arts Stage. Chen Wei and three hundred Imperial Guards arrived to escort him back to the inn under armed watch, while Xu Yunfan remained composed.

• Bi Sheng ordered the Dao Sect disciples to leave Jade Capital and told Xu Yunfan that he had to win the arena contest to protect Great Zhou's national destiny.
• Xu Yunfan noticed that Chen Hong was the only departing disciple whose clothes were untorn, then asked the remaining officials when the next match would begin.
• Chen Wei arrived with three hundred Imperial Guards and threatened Xu Yunfan, while an official announced that the next match would take place tomorrow morning at Jade Capital City's central square.
• Xu Yunfan asked whether Chen Wei intended to fight him, but Chen Wei said he had come under His Majesty's decree to escort him back to the inn.
• Xu Yunfan dismissed Chen Wei's suspicions and walked away from the arena as Spirit Devouring Crossbows aimed at him from the rooftops.

After confronting Chen Wei, Xu Yunfan examined the limits of his Ninth Realm cultivation and activated the Jade Slip he had obtained from Jiang Xu. He discovered it contained the Silent Extinction Dust Heart Sutra, a foundational method that transformed spiritual power by severing human emotions.

• Xu Yunfan forced Chen Wei and the Imperial Guards to let him leave, then warned Chen Wei that he was no match for him even without Great Zhou's Mystic Yellow Qi.
• Xu Yunfan cultivated in a deserted pavilion and considered how his Ten Extremes True Qi circulated through his flesh and blood rather than through meridians.
• Xu Yunfan wondered how to break beyond the Ninth Realm and considered asking his master, Bi Yuan, for guidance, but he could not leave Jade Capital City.
• Xu Yunfan startled the bald Ginseng Baby by eyeing it as a possible meal, then set the thought aside while he focused on the imperial examination matter.
• Xu Yunfan infused the Jade Slip from Jiang Xu with true qi and discovered the Silent Extinction Dust Heart Sutra, a technique that required its cultivator to sever emotions and desires.

Xu Yunfan discovered that ordinary people lacked the meridian network described in the Silent Extinction Dust Heart Sutra, leaving him with questions to take back to Bi Yuan. At the Black Tortoise Martial Arts Stage, the Great Zhou court matched him against the Ninth Realm eunuch Lu Hou, whose listed age was thirty despite evidence he had served the court sixty years earlier.

• Xu Yunfan tested several unconscious thugs and found none had the meridians described in the Silent Extinction Dust Heart Sutra.
• Xu Yunfan arrived at the Black Tortoise Martial Arts Stage, where his aura shattered objects held by Monitoring Heaven Bureau officials and alarmed the gathered martial artists.
• The disciples of the other sects noticed Amitabha Temple monks burning Bone Eating Incense, while Su Wanqing stood with her sword attendants.
• The Old Steward announced Xu Yunfan's first opponent as Lu Hou, an elderly eunuch who claimed to be thirty years old.
• Xu Yunfan questioned Lu Hou's age after he revealed an ordination certificate from sixty years earlier, then invited him to begin.
• Lu Hou suddenly sprang into action.

Xu Yunfan defeated Lu Hou in the Great Zhou imperial examination arena, revealing the power of his divine armor, weapons, and martial arts. After Lu Hou was smashed to death, Chen Wei watched in shock and wondered whether he could defeat Xu Yunfan.

• Lu Hou's attacks failed to penetrate Xu Yunfan's Eighth Order Divine Armor, and the spectators recognized the Dao Sect's extraordinary protection.
• Xu Yunfan wielded the Crimson Fire Dragon Devouring Mace and countered Lu Hou's soft sword, hidden weapons, and attempts to strike his weak points.
• Xu Yunfan crushed Lu Hou with Ten Extremes, Return to One, leaving his remains in a deep crater.
• The crowd fell silent as Xu Yunfan surveyed the arena, while Chen Wei watched and questioned whether he could win against him.

Xu Yunfan's victory drew more Mystic Yellow Qi from Great Zhou's Dragon Vein, making him stronger as the martial demonstration was delayed to one match per day. At Qingwei Mountain, Bi Yuan continued a ritual to draw the Dragon Vein's power, hoping Xu Yunfan's wins would help Li Haomiao overthrow the Empress and let Xu Yunfan approach the Land Immortal realm.

• Xu Yunfan swallowed a Qi Replenishing Pill and absorbed Mystic Yellow Qi, growing so powerful that his uncontrolled true qi shattered the arena and unnerved Chen Wei and the officials.
• Xu Yunfan demanded another round, but the Old Steward announced that only one match would be held each day for the next three days before the final martial demonstration before the Empress.
• Xu Yunfan privately doubted the Empress would still hold the throne by the time the demonstration took place, while the Old Steward feared the delay would give her time to prepare.
• At Qingwei Mountain, Bi Yuan performed a ritual on the Luotian Dharma Altar to draw Mystic Yellow Qi from Jade Capital City's Dragon Vein.
• Bi Yuan saw that Xu Yunfan had won another round and hoped three victories would let Li Haomiao remake the world and help Xu Yunfan approach the Land Immortal realm.
• Bi Yuan plunged his Peach Wood Sword into the cauldron and used nine jade nails to suppress the nine dragons formed from the Mystic Yellow Qi.

Amitabha Temple’s three masters tested the Dao Sect’s defenses on Qingwei Mountain but withdrew when Ling Xiaozi arrived. They then joined forces with Great Zhou officials to plot an attack on a Dao Sect earth vein and prepare to kill its guardian.

• Ci Ku, Ci Nan, and Ci E confronted Bi Yuan on Qingwei Mountain and secretly tried to disrupt the altar’s flow of Mystic Yellow Qi, but Bi Yuan’s formation stopped them.
• Ling Xiaozi arrived with Broken Edge and forced the three Amitabha Temple monks to retreat rather than risk a fight with the Dao Sect.
• Ci Ku and Ci Nan discussed attacking Qingwei Mountain, while Ci E warned them to heed the emperor’s instructions.
• Cui Yu delivered the Mystic Yin Soul Slaughtering Blade, and Yan Tieshan revealed a map of the Mystic Nether Eye, an earth vein near Qingwei Mountain.
• Ci Ku planned to exploit the guardian’s brief sluggishness when Mystic Yellow Qi entered his body, while the hunchbacked eunuch offered Thousand Machine Powder and Ci Nan volunteered to strike.

Xu Yunfan rejected the Great Zhou court’s attempt to stall him and attacked its defenders, killing Chen Wei before confronting a Ninth Realm eunuch. He began crushing the eunuch’s defenses with his hammer, and the fight remained unresolved.

• Cui Yu revealed that he had the Dragon Suppressing Seal, which could temporarily suppress Mystic Yellow Qi, and urged Ci Nan and the others to seek the qi by defeating Xu Yunfan.
• Xu Yunfan declared that he would clear the obstacles in his path and attacked Chen Wei with the Mountain Shaking Sea Suppressing Hammer.
• Xu Yunfan broke Chen Wei’s spear, then killed him with a crushing blow that sent Imperial Guards cavalry and horses sprawling.
• Xu Yunfan’s attack sent the crowd fleeing, and a white-haired old eunuch revealed himself as another Ninth Realm expert.
• Xu Yunfan called the eunuch a false realm and struck at him, while the eunuch raised Nether Blue Ghost Fire in an attempt to counter the hammer’s force.

Xu Yunfan killed the old eunuch and accused Guo Lang of helping sacrifice thirty million people to prolong the Empress’s life. Mountain Gazing Taoist intervened on the Mystic Truth Sect’s behalf, and Xu Yunfan realized the Dao Sect’s bid to sever Great Zhou’s dragon vein had turned the other major sects against it.

• Xu Yunfan crushed the old eunuch with his hammer, killing him and wrecking the Martial Arts Stage.
• Xu Yunfan denounced Guo Lang for building the Star Gazing Platform and sacrificing thirty million people, then attacked him with the Crimson Fire Dragon Devouring Mace.
• Mountain Gazing Taoist intercepted Xu Yunfan’s mace and revealed that the Mystic Truth Sect had been ordered to guard Jade Capital’s earth veins.
• Mountain Gazing Taoist explained that the sects depended on Great Zhou’s resources, while Xu Yunfan understood that the Dao Sect’s plan to sever the dragon vein threatened the balance among the major sects.
• Xu Yunfan listed the sects aligned with the Empress and the Nine Luminaries Sect’s tendency to play both sides.