Chapter Summaries

At Princess Ling'er’s Civil Examination, Zhao Tian Sha, Young Flying Marquis, and Carefree Marquis produced works with spectacular illusions, while Zhong Shan presented an ordinary-looking book. Tian Ling'er and Nie Qingqing began judging the four works, leaving everyone wondering what Zhong Shan’s book contained.

• Zhao Tian Sha and Young Flying Marquis wrote their works on the spot while Carefree Marquis prepared a scroll written by The Emperor and Zhong Shan brought a wooden box.
• Zhao Tian Sha’s essay summoned a vast eruption of flames, and Young Flying Marquis’s portrait of Tian Ling'er conjured birdsong and fragrant flowers.
• Carefree Marquis unrolled The Emperor’s essay, creating a grand illusory realm that eclipsed the other works.
• Zhong Shan opened his box and presented Tian Ling'er with an ordinary-looking book he said he had made over the past few days.
• Servants carried all four works into the palace, where Tian Ling'er and Nie Qingqing began judging them and focused on Zhong Shan’s puzzling book.

Tian Ling'er became captivated by Zhong Shan’s comic but awarded first place to Zhao Tian Sha, leaving her feeling guilty and vowing to give Zhong Shan a fair chance next time. Five days later, when she was ready to do so, Zhong Shan did not appear.

• Tian Ling'er read Zhong Shan’s comic about their adventures and ignored the three extraordinary essays and painting at first.
• After Nie Qingqing urged her to follow her heart, Tian Ling'er named Zhao Tian Sha the winner, and Zhong Shan left with Young Flying Marquis.
• Tian Ling'er felt distressed after Zhong Shan departed, then wept in Nie Qingqing’s arms and promised herself she would give Zhong Shan a fair chance next time.
• Five days later, Carefree Marquis, Young Flying Marquis, and Zhao Tian Sha arrived to meet Tian Ling'er, but Zhong Shan was absent.

Zhong Shan traveled with Blazing Fire and Qing Hong to Phoenix Island to find the Nirvana Fire Pool that had sealed Tian Ling'er’s memories. They arrived as Xuan Yuan’s attempt to erase his memories of his wife failed, leaving Zhong Shan to witness the powerful cultivator surrounded by visions of his past.

• Tian Ling'er worried that Zhong Shan had stopped visiting because he was angry with her, while Nie Qingqing reassured her that he would return.
• Nie Fanchen learned that Zhong Shan and Blazing Fire Wolf General had disappeared, and his old eunuch said Zhong Shan had already won Tian Ling'er’s heart.
• Qing Hong flew Zhong Shan and Blazing Fire to Phoenix Island, where she explained that Xuan Yuan was trying to seal away memories of his dead wife with the Nirvana Fire Pool.
• Xuan Yuan’s attempt failed, and his agonized roar released a vast aura that overwhelmed the surrounding birds and beasts.
• Zhong Shan and Blazing Fire followed Qing Hong to Xuan Yuan’s valley, where Zhong Shan saw Xuan Yuan surrounded by illusions of his memories and his wife.

After years of trying to erase his memories of his wife, Xuan Yuan changed course when Zhong Shan urged him to keep her in his heart. Xuan Yuan then broke through to the Tian Ji Realm and gave the merit he received to Zhong Shan.

• Xuan Yuan repeatedly tried to seal away his memories of his wife, but one phantom remained and his memories returned.
• Zhong Shan told Xuan Yuan he did not have to forget his wife and recited two lines that left Xuan Yuan motionless in contemplation.
• After two days, Xuan Yuan shed a tear, triggered a spatial phenomenon, and broke through to the Tian Ji Realm.
• Xuan Yuan gave the enormous cloud of merit he received to Zhong Shan, whose Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail devoured it.
• Phoenixes flew toward Xuan Yuan, and a powerful voice congratulated him on Sky Wolf Island.

After Xuan Yuan bestowed Heaven-and-Earth merit on Zhong Shan, Zhong Shan absorbed it and advanced to the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul Stage before meeting Wu Jiu Tian. Wu Jiu Tian refused to unseal Tian Ling'er's memories, and Xuan Yuan later explained that Emperor Xuan Sha's reputation was why Wu Jiu Tian had treated Zhong Shan as an equal.

• Zhong Shan absorbed the merit through the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail and advanced four layers to the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul Stage.
• Wu Jiu Tian arrived with the phoenixes, and Zhong Shan demonstrated his Summoning Contract with the Blazing Fire Wolf General.
• Zhong Shan asked Wu Jiu Tian to undo Tian Ling'er's memory seal and offered the Nether Essence Pill, but Wu Jiu Tian refused.
• Wu Jiu Tian invited Xuan Yuan to Phoenix Palace, but Xuan Yuan declined and returned the Nirvana Fire Pool.
• Xuan Yuan told Zhong Shan that Emperor Xuan Sha had forced the Dragon Clan Supreme to become an immortal and leave the world.

Zhong Shan asked Xuan Yuan to protect him and several friends for half a year while he provoked two Tian Ji Realm experts. In Blazing Fire Holy Capital, a riot drew the guards away from Treasure Viewing Pavilion, allowing Corpse Mister to steal the Nether Essence Pill.

• Xuan Yuan told Zhong Shan that Wu Jiu Tian planned to face Heaven's might within thirty years, and Zhong Shan realized she wanted to take Vermilion Bird to the Immortal World.
• Zhong Shan asked Xuan Yuan to protect his life and those of several friends for half a year because he intended to provoke two Tian Ji Realm experts, and Xuan Yuan agreed.
• Southern Bright Tribute Hall closed Treasure Viewing Pavilion after Shui Wuhen claimed Fragrant Aroma Bodhisattva's disciple had attacked and threatened to seize the Elixir of Eternal Life.
• A massive crowd rioted and bombarded the formations around Southern Bright Tribute Hall, enraging Nie Fanchen as the explosions shook Blazing Fire Holy Capital.
• While Nie Fanchen's dispatched guard was distracted by the riot, Corpse Mister vanished with the Nether Essence Pill.

Corpse Mister escaped with the Nether Essence Pill amid chaos at the Southern Bright Tribute Hall, while Nie Fanchen and the Great Li powerhouses confronted a mysterious blue rune. In the Blazing Fire Holy Palace, Nie Fanchen’s aides concluded that Zhong Shan had engineered the theft, but they could only wonder what he planned next.

• Corpse Mister vanished with the Nether Essence Pill, enraging the lurking powerhouse and triggering a desperate search.
• Nie Fanchen unleashed a storm of heavenly lightning as eight Emperor Realm powerhouses clashed and devastated the Southern Bright Tribute Hall.
• The lurking powerhouse’s attack on the metal cover revealed a powerful blue rune that blocked divine sense, and Nie Fanchen arrived as the eight rivals withdrew.
• After the rune faded, Nie Fanchen, the old eunuch, and the lurking powerhouse disappeared from the ruins while Great Li guards sealed off the area.
• In the Blazing Fire Holy Palace, the lurking powerhouse and the old eunuch told Nie Fanchen that Zhong Shan had arranged Corpse Mister’s escape and used the commotion as cover.

Nie Fanchen investigated a mysterious rune while Blazing Fire Holy Capital searched for Zhong Shan and the missing Elixir of Eternal Life. As Zhong Shan’s plan unfolded in secret, Corpse Mister’s spell stripped the Vermilion Bird of its feathers, and Wu Jiu Tian erupted in fury on Phoenix Island.

• Nie Fanchen ordered an investigation into Zhong Shan and Corpse Mister, protected Ling'er, and moved Zhong Shan's troops into new quarters after recognizing that a rune did not belong to this world.
• People in Blazing Fire Holy Capital suspected Fragrant Aroma Bodhisattva had taken the Elixir of Eternal Life, then concluded Zhong Shan would return for the Four Talents Military Examination and his marriage to Ling'er.
• Corpse Mister activated a spell using the fake Gathering Fire Rice grains Zhong Shan had planted, causing the Vermilion Bird to lose nearly all its feathers while Tian Ling'er watched in alarm.
• Corpse Mister reflected that the Vermilion Bird had only half a year left to live and hoped things would go smoothly for His Majesty as he held the Nether Essence Pill.
• Wu Jiu Tian unleashed her killing intent, freezing the lava in Phoenix Palace and stirring a violent lightning storm across Phoenix Island.

Zhong Shan provoked Wu Jiu Tian and sent Chi Huo and Qing Hong to Blazing Fire Holy Capital, where Wu Jiu Tian learned that the Nether Essence Pill was in Zhong Shan’s hands. She returned to confront him on Phoenix Island, and he pretended not to understand her accusation.

• Zhong Shan asked Xuan Yuan to help with his scheme and sent Chi Huo and Qing Hong to assist Lin Xiao at Blazing Fire Holy Capital.
• Wu Jiu Tian examined the sick Vermilion Bird, told Tian Ling'er to care for it, and learned that the Nether Essence Pill had disappeared two days earlier.
• Wu Jiu Tian asked Nie Fanchen about the pill and learned that Zhong Shan had it, then vanished in a fury.
• Zhong Shan calmly discussed his plan with Xuan Yuan while they played chess, until Wu Jiu Tian arrived and unleashed her anger at him.
• Wu Jiu Tian demanded the Nether Essence Pill, but Zhong Shan feigned ignorance and asked her to explain what he had done.

Zhong Shan negotiated with Wu Jiu Tian over the Nether Essence Pill, Tian Ling'er, and the Phoenix Clan, while the martial examination approached. At the camps, Young Flying Marquis heard that his wife still grieved for him and canceled his army’s participation, choosing to return home to his family.

• Zhong Shan confronted Wu Jiu Tian about Tian Ling'er’s sealed memories, thanked her for saving Ling Er, and promised to help the Phoenix Clan flourish before preparing to state his conditions.
• As the martial examination neared, Lin Xiao represented Zhong Shan at the princesses’ palace and said Zhong Shan was handling an important matter connected to Tian Ling'er.
• Tian Ling'er grew despondent when Zhong Shan failed to appear, but Lin Xiao’s promise that Zhong Shan would make her his happiest bride restored her spirits.
• Bing Bing told Young Flying Marquis that her mother had been crying and calling for him in her sleep, and Young Flying Marquis embraced her as they both wept.
• Young Flying Marquis told Bing Bing that their family would stay together and ordered Xiao Ma to cancel the martial examination and take the soldiers home.

The martial trial’s eve was shaken by Young Flying Marquis’s withdrawal, leaving the Zhong Family Army, Zhao Tian Sha, and Carefree Marquis’s forces to compete. Lin Xiao rallied the Zhong Family generals and explained Zhong Shan’s plans to cultivate Shui Wuhen before the trial began and the three armies advanced into battle.

• Young Flying Marquis withdrew his eight hundred thousand troops, prompting speculation among spectators and scouts about why he had abandoned the trial.
• Tian Ling'er dismissed concerns about the Zhong Family Army, while Zhao Tian Sha and Carefree Marquis each grew confident that their remaining rivals were vulnerable.
• Lin Xiao rallied the Zhong Family generals, warned them to obey orders, and urged them to win for Zhong Shan.
• Lin Xiao told Shui Wuhen that Zhong Shan was cultivating him and instructed him to observe Lin Xiao’s command during the coming war.
• At the Yin Hour, a horn announced the martial trial, and the three armies advanced under Lin Xiao, Zhao Tian Sha, and Carefree Marquis.

Lin Xiao used careful predictions and tactics to make the Zhong Family Army turn Carefree Marquis’s and Zhao Tian Sha’s forces against each other while keeping his own troops largely safe. Ten days into the battle, both enemy armies were nearly broken, though Lin Xiao remained dissatisfied with his own losses.

• Lin Xiao arranged twelve chaotic engagements, predicting that his forces would avoid losses while Nie and Zhao’s troops fought each other.
• Zhong Family Army soldiers began surrendering unharmed, while Carefree Marquis’s and Zhao Tian Sha’s wounded troops and injured Emperor Realm experts emerged from the battlefield.
• Carefree Marquis and Zhao Tian Sha each reported hundreds of thousands of losses, and Zhao learned that the Zhong Family Army had helped his troops defeat Carefree Marquis’s forces.
• Shui Wuhen compared Lin Xiao’s predicted battle map with the scouts’ map and found them nearly identical, then began studying information about the opposing commanders and their subordinates.
• Nie Fanchen’s eunuch reported that the Zhong Family Army had suffered no deaths, prompting Nie Fanchen to recognize Lin Xiao as its commander.
• Ten days later, Lin Xiao told Shui Wuhen that each opposing force had fewer than one hundred thousand fighting troops remaining, while the Zhong Family Army still had fewer than five hundred thousand men.

Lin Xiao led the Zhong Family Army to defeat the Carefree Marquis and Zhao Tian Sha in the military examination, revealing that most of his troops had survived. As Tian Ling'er declared Zhong Shan the winner, the Carefree Marquis and Zhao Tian Sha objected because Zhong Shan had not appeared.

• The Carefree Marquis and Zhao Tian Sha believed the Zhong Family Army had been nearly wiped out, while Lin Xiao secretly kept two hundred and fifty thousand troops in reserve.
• Lin Xiao and Zhao Tian Sha joined forces against the Carefree Marquis, and their battered armies fought until both sides were weakened.
• Lin Xiao revealed his hidden troops and aimed hundreds of thousands of Armor Piercing Arrows at the Carefree Marquis and Zhao Tian Sha, forcing their surrender.
• The judges brought the Carefree Marquis and Zhao Tian Sha out as prisoners, and the public learned that the Zhong Family Army still had hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
• Tian Ling'er announced Zhong Shan as first in the military examination, but the Carefree Marquis and Zhao Tian Sha objected because Zhong Shan had not appeared.

As Tian Ling'er faced pressure to accept Zhao Tian Sha as the Civil Examination’s victor, Zhong Shan returned with a phoenix cry that restored her lost memories and announced his arrival. He descended toward the Blazing Fire Holy Capital atop a seven-colored phoenix, leading ten thousand phoenixes and countless birds.

• Carefree Marquis insisted that Zhao Tian Sha was the winner and that Tian Ling'er had to marry him, leaving Tian Ling'er heartbroken over Zhong Shan’s absence.
• Zhong Shan’s voice rang out across the city, and Tian Ling'er and her allies realized he had returned.
• A phoenix used Phoenix Song Ascending the Nine Heavens, stunning the crowd and restoring Tian Ling'er’s memories of her promise and marriage to Zhong Shan.
• Tian Ling'er opened her eyes and saw ten thousand phoenixes and countless birds filling the sky as Zhong Shan approached on a seven-colored phoenix.

Zhong Shan returned to Blazing Fire Holy Capital with ten thousand phoenixes and staged a grand wedding procession to bring Tian Ling'er home. As billions watched and blessed them, Carefree Marquis's attempt to interrupt was met with a citywide roar that left him spitting blood.

• Zhong Shan arrived at Central Plaza atop a seven-colored phoenix, leading ten thousand phoenixes and drawing the attention of the city.
• Nie Fanchen, Wu Jiu Tian, and Xuan Yuan discussed Gu Shentong's ambitions, Zhong Shan's unusual subordinate Corpse Mister, and the need to gather every phoenix to rescue the Vermilion Bird.
• Nie Fanchen gave Wu Jiu Tian a bamboo flute sent by Gu Shentong through Zhong Shan, and Wu Jiu Tian vowed to summon every phoenix in the world.
• Zhong Shan presented Tian Ling'er with a vast heart-shaped display of billions of written blessings, told her he had come to take her home, and lifted her into his arms.
• Carefree Marquis tried to stop Zhong Shan, but Zhong Shan, Lin Xiao, the Zhong Family Army, and spectators shouted for him to get lost until he spat blood under the force of their abuse and karmic backlash.

Zhong Shan renewed his marriage vows with Tian Ling'er before a vast crowd, then left the Blazing Fire Holy Capital with her and his companions. After parting from Nie Qingqing, he traded an Immortal Talisman with Nie Fanchen for one of the Immortal Steles.

• The Carefree Marquis and Zhao Tian Sha fled as the crowd jeered, and Zhong Shan publicly reaffirmed his marriage to Tian Ling'er.
• Zhong Shan revealed that the Elixir of Eternal Life had gone to the Phoenix Supreme, then departed the Blazing Fire Holy Capital with Tian Ling'er and the Zhong Family Army.
• After ten days of travel, Nie Qingqing bade farewell to Zhong Shan and Tian Ling'er, and Zhong Shan sent Tian Ling'er ahead before meeting Corpse Mister and Nie Fanchen's group.
• Wu Jiu Tian took the Nether Essence Pill, and Nie Fanchen demanded the Immortal Talisman in exchange for a promise Zhong Shan had made.
• Zhong Shan offered Nie Fanchen an Immortal Talisman for one of the Immortal Steles, and Nie Fanchen agreed.

Zhong Shan learned that the Immortal Steles were prepared to challenge the heavens and might resemble the Great Luo Dynasty’s seven sects, then discovered that Tian Ling’er’s Vermilion Bird mark was speeding up her cultivation. On the journey home, Gui Yuan Buddha used his fate to pressure Zhong Shan’s party and invited him to Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, but Tian Ling’er remained unaffected and refused the invitation.

• Nie Fanchen sent an old eunuch to bring Zhong Shan eleven Immortal Steles after Zhong Shan handed over a jade talisman.
• Xuan Yuan told Zhong Shan that the Immortal Steles were prepared by Hao Tian to oppose the heavens and suggested the Great Luo Dynasty’s seven sects might help alter its emperor’s fate.
• Tian Ling’er told Zhong Shan that Xiao Hong had become a Vermilion Bird mark on her arm and was increasing her cultivation even when she did not train.
• After two months of travel, Xuan Yuan sensed a Buddha in the desert, where Gui Yuan Buddha transformed the landscape into a green expanse and suppressed the group with his fate.
• Fragrant Aroma Bodhisattva invited Zhong Shan to Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, while Tian Ling’er resisted the pressure and angrily refused on his behalf.

Gui Yuan Buddha misread Tian Ling'er's innocent gestures as claims that she came from the upper realm and broke his Silent Immovable Meditation. After Gui Yuan Buddha and Fragrant Aroma Bodhisattva left, Tian Ling'er explained that she had only been refusing an invitation to eat, and Zhong Shan planned to spread the story later.

• Fragrant Aroma Bodhisattva demanded that Zhong Shan and Tian Ling'er return to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, but Xuan Yuan silenced her with his aura.
• Gui Yuan Buddha and Tian Ling'er exchanged gestures that Xuan Yuan interpreted as a contest of claims about fate, death, and the upper realm.
• Gui Yuan Buddha broke his Silent Immovable Meditation by asking Tian Ling'er her surname, then bowed and left with Fragrant Aroma Bodhisattva after she told him to go.
• Xuan Yuan explained his interpretation of their gestures, while Tian Ling'er revealed that she thought Gui Yuan Buddha was inviting them to eat and had refused.
• Zhong Shan praised Tian Ling'er as his lucky star, and he decided to spread the story to anger Gui Yuan Buddha after they entered the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty.

Zhong Shan parted ways with Xuan Yuan, received the Sky Lightning Transformation, and gained Corpse Mister’s wholehearted allegiance. At Kaiyang Sect, Tian Ling’er learned about her family’s mysterious Sky Decree and heritage, then began a new life with Zhong Shan.

• Zhong Shan sent Shui Wuhen ahead with the army and told Lin Xiao, Chi Huo, and Qing Hong to protect it from the shadows.
• Xuan Yuan escorted Zhong Shan, Tian Ling’er, and Corpse Mister to the Eastern Sea, gave Zhong Shan the Sky Lightning Transformation, and departed.
• Corpse Mister declared his allegiance to Zhong Shan, saying he would help him unify the world.
• At Tian Xingzi’s grave, Xuan Xinzi gave Tian Ling’er a Jade Box that her father had left for her and Zhong Shan.
• Tian Xingzi’s recording revealed that the Sky Decree belonged to the Heaven family, whose ancestors included twelve immortals, and urged Tian Ling’er to remember her surname.
• After Tian Ling’er’s grief eased, Zhong Shan made her Osmanthus Cake and carried her into his courtyard for the night.

After breaking through to the Body Integration Realm through dual cultivation with Tian Ling'er, Zhong Shan returned to the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty and received a promotion and a major military assignment from Gu Shentong. The chapter left him preparing to command the eastern front in a three-dynasty assault on the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

• Zhong Shan broke through to the Body Integration Realm after dual cultivation with Tian Ling'er, then brought her to Xuan Capital and introduced her to Bao Er.
• Zhong Shan ordered Ying Lan and Yi Yan to lead the Second Legion and Third Legion into the Divine Continent to seize two Chaotic Zones for the Great Zheng Imperial Dynasty.
• After spending four months with Bao Er and Tian Ling'er, Zhong Shan returned to the Ancient Saintly Capital and learned that Gu Shentong had urgently summoned him.
• Gu Shentong promoted Zhong Shan to Second-rank Duke of the East and heard his account of delivering the bamboo flute and Jade Slip to Nie Fanchen.
• Gu Shentong revealed plans for the Great Luo, Great Li, and Great Qin Heavenly Dynasties to attack the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss in two years and assigned Zhong Shan the eastern front.