Chapter Summaries

Zhong Shan restrained his hatred of the Sky Splitting Crown Prince, whose army withdrew rather than risk disrupting a greater plan. After Zhong Shan went into seclusion, the Sky Splitting Crown Prince questioned Forget Dust about the Blood Sea Formation.

• The Sky Splitting Crown Prince rescued the Sky Soaring Crown Prince from Zhong Shan’s saber strike, and Zhong Shan faced the man he hated without losing control.
• Zhong Shan’s Red Phoenix Pink Lotus turned blue, warning him of supreme ill fortune, so he endured his urge to attack as the Sky Splitting Crown Prince ordered a retreat.
• The Sky Splitting Crown Prince led his army away, and Zhong Shan spat blood before entering seclusion to recover and collect his thoughts.
• The Sky Splitting Crown Prince told the Sky Soaring Crown Prince that Zhong Shan had held back and explained that killing him would expose secrets and jeopardize His Majesty’s plan.
• After the Sky Soaring Crown Prince left, the Sky Splitting Crown Prince confronted Forget Dust over the Blood Sea Formation and asked why he had not wiped out the group.

Zhong Shan left the Yanhong Imperial Dynasty after refusing its ministers’ offer of treasure and sending Xiao Zhongxing an invitation to meet at the Great Zheng Imperial Dynasty. At the Netherworld Heaven, a mourning-clad man presented a ninth-grade sword and a jade coffin to the Netherworld Heavenly Lord, prompting an urgent response from Jian Ao’s retainer.

• Wangchen explained to Prince Liezhan that he had held back his Blood God Seal to avoid an even fight and to conceal it from Taisui, and Prince Liezhan approved.
• Three days later, Zhong Shan emerged from the main hall and learned from Zhao Suoxiang that twenty members of his force had died.
• Duke Wei offered Zhong Shan access to the national treasury, but Zhong Shan refused and warned the ministers not to take what belonged to the emperor.
• Zhong Shan asked Duke Wei to invite Xiao Zhongxing to meet him at the Great Zheng Imperial Dynasty after the Yanhong and Taisui matters were settled, then left with Zhao Suoxiang.
• At the Netherworld Heaven, a mourning-clad man used a ninth-grade Dharma treasure sword and a top-grade Roland Jade coffin to request an audience with the Netherworld Heavenly Lord.
• Demon Mara Chujiu inspected the sword and coffin at the Sword Hall, recognized their importance, and hurried to bring them to Jian Ao while ordering the man to be treated as an honored guest.

Sword Pride learned that his daughter Sword Red had died and heard Xiao Zhongxing recount how she was killed. Grieving and enraged, he vowed to avenge her and issued an edict ordering Netherworld Heaven to exterminate the Monkey-Ape Race.

• Sword Intent stirred a million divine swords around Sword Hall before Sword Pride flew to Netherworld Heaven’s entrance with Xiao Zhongxing and Sword Red’s coffin.
• Xiao Zhongxing revealed Sword Red’s corpse and told Sword Pride that she had sent it to him so he would see what had happened to her.
• Sword Pride acknowledged Xiao Zhongxing as his grandson, listened to his account, and gently cleaned Sword Red’s body and adorned it with red roses.
• After Xiao Zhongxing shared Sword Red’s final words, Sword Pride wept and swore to avenge her against Shen Qitian.
• Sword Pride decreed that Netherworld Heaven would exterminate the Monkey-Ape Race and declared anyone who befriended them an enemy.

After Zhong Shan returned to the Ten Thousand Pill Convention, he watched as the Dragon-Tiger Pill Saint, Xu Fu, and Bao Er competed to refine supreme divine pills. The Dragon-Tiger Pill Saint completed a Li Yun Pill, while Xu Fu and Bao Er’s results remained unknown.

• The Azure Flame Emperor and his chancellor watched a Memory Crystal of Zhong Shan defeating the Grand Sui Heavenly Dynasty’s army and regretted giving him the Iron Spear Battalion.
• Lan Tianwei congratulated Zhong Shan on driving back the Sky Splitting Crown Prince, and Zhong Shan said he would no longer interfere in the west.
• Zhong Shan reunited with Gu Qian You and shared a Memory Crystal of his battle, having overcome the flaw in his heart.
• A Da told Zhong Shan that twelve alchemists had refined ninth-grade divine pills while he was away, and Zhong Shan saw that the Dragon-Tiger Pill Saint, Xu Fu, and Bao Er were still refining supreme pills.
• The Dragon-Tiger Pill Saint’s dragon and tiger visions entered his furnace, and he completed a Li Yun Pill, famed as a supreme divine pill capable of healing even grave injuries.

Dragon-Tiger Pill Saint completed the Li Yun Pill and studied Bao Er and Xu Fu’s unfamiliar alchemical methods as they finished their own pills. Both pills triggered a Pill Tribulation and appeared to be immortal pills, leaving the assembled alchemists stunned.

• Dragon-Tiger Pill Saint completed the Li Yun Pill, shared his techniques with the alchemists, and told Lan Tianwei to focus on the Myriad Antiquity Emperor Path.
• Dragon-Tiger Pill Saint watched Bao Er and Xu Fu refine their pills and asked Zhong Shan about their unfamiliar techniques.
• The alchemists waited as Bao Er and Xu Fu reached the final stages of refinement and thunderclouds gathered above the Eternal Sacred Platform.
• Dragon-Tiger Pill Saint identified the storm as a Pill Tribulation, and the crowd realized an immortal pill had been refined.
• Bao Er and Xu Fu opened their furnaces, releasing towering pill auras that revealed both had seemingly refined immortal pills.

The Eternal Sacred Platform destroyed the Pill Tribulation by channeling its merit and providence, revealing a power that intensified Zhong Shan’s desire to obtain it. Bao Er and Xu Fu unveiled their immortal pills, and Bao Er revealed that her Soul Return Pill could restore the dead to life.

• The Azure Flame Emperor withdrew Blazing Flame City’s protective formation as the Pill Tribulation gathered overhead.
• The Eternal Sacred Platform’s merit and providence combined into a dazzling light that erased the Pill Tribulation, and Zhong Shan resolved to obtain the platform.
• Xu Fu revealed his Star Pill, a Weapon Pill that multiplied into countless defensive forms around him.
• Bao Er produced two identical immortal pills and named hers the Soul Return Pill.
• Bao Er explained that anyone who took the pill within seven days of death could have their soul restored to their body and return to life.

Bao Er revealed that her Soul Return Pill could revive the dead, while Nie Fanchen arrived at the Ten Thousand Pill Convention and claimed the Eternal Sacred Platform through the Great Li’s possession of three Eternal Pill Sect treasures. As Bao Er and Xu Fu prepared to challenge his claim, an ambush struck Nie Fanchen, and the Ten Golden Crows appeared above Blazing Flame City.

• Bao Er explained that the Soul Return Pill could restore a person’s soul and bring them back to life, shocking the pill masters.
• Ling Er returned to Zhong Shan after the Vermilion Bird, Xiao Hong, reentered her body when it ran out of food.
• Nie Fanchen arrived with an old eunuch and declared that he wanted the Eternal Sacred Platform, prompting Ling Er to protest.
• Nie Fanchen showed Xu Fu the Purple-Gold Gourd, the Mutton Fat Jade Purifying Vase, and the Five Fires Seven Birds Fan, claiming their ownership gave him the right to take the platform.
• Zhong Shan told Bao Er that he wanted the Eternal Sacred Platform, and she prepared to assert her authority as the Eternal Pill Sect’s sect master.
• Two figures ambushed Nie Fanchen, and the Ten Golden Crows appeared as a group surrounded him in the sky.

The Grand Sui Heavenly Dynasty attacked the Ten Thousand Pill Convention, trapping the old eunuch in the Ten Suns Across the Sky Great Array and surrounding Nie Fanchen with three Tian Ji Realm powerhouses. As Se Kong threatened the gathered alchemists on the dynasty’s behalf, he spotted Zhong Shan and fled by claiming he had diarrhea.

• The Ten Crown Princes and Ten Golden Crows activated the Ten Suns Across the Sky Great Array around the old eunuch, setting Blazing Flame City ablaze as he fought back from within.
• Lu Guitian, Divine Crow Dao Lord, and Wu Huan surrounded Nie Fanchen while Se Kong and other Grand Sui forces tried to seize the alchemists at the convention.
• Se Kong told the alchemists that the Grand Sui Heavenly Dynasty would take them to discuss pill dao, and Dragon-Tiger Pill Saint rebuked him for invading the Azure Flame Emperor Dynasty.
• Se Kong noticed Zhong Shan watching him, panicked, and told the Grand Tutor he had diarrhea before fleeing the scene.

Zhong Shan realized that the Grand Sui Heavenly Dynasty’s ambush on Nie Fanchen could ignite a war across all of Shenzhou. Nie Fanchen revealed the Rivers and Mountains Shrine Painting, and the chapter ended with Xu Fu agreeing to hold back Wu Huan while Nie Fanchen faced the other two attackers.

• Se Kong fled, while Zhong Shan studied the four Tian Ji Realm figures and concluded that Nie Fanchen’s death could plunge Shenzhou into chaos.
• Nie Fanchen confronted Lu Guitian, who explained that the ambush targeted Nie Fanchen and that his allies were absent.
• Nie Fanchen produced the Rivers and Mountains Shrine Painting, one of the Ten Ancient Great Magical Treasures.
• Nie Fanchen called on Xu Fu, whose hidden cultivation proved that he was another Tian Ji Realm expert.
• Xu Fu agreed to honor the alliance between their dynasties by holding back Wu Huan, but refused to help Nie Fanchen escape or fight the other two attackers.

Xu Fu checked Wu Huan’s advance and helped Nie Fanchen even the odds, but Divine Crow Dao Lord and Lu Guitian began their attack. As the Grand Sui forces moved against Tian Ling’er and Zhong Shan, a mysterious white-robed figure appeared to protect them.

• Xu Fu’s Star Pill matched Wu Huan’s Soul Falling Bell and persuaded Wu Huan to stay out of the fight while Nie Fanchen faced Divine Crow Dao Lord and Lu Guitian.
• Nie Fanchen told Tian Ling’er to summon the Vermilion Bird, but Divine Crow Dao Lord recognized the plan and ordered his subordinates to kill her.
• Divine Crow Dao Lord used the Slaying Immortal Flying Knife against Nie Fanchen, who survived the strike with only a piece of his dragon robe cut away.
• Nie Fanchen, Divine Crow Dao Lord, and Lu Guitian unleashed their heavens and began battling above the ruins.
• Zhong Shan stepped in front of Tian Ling’er as the Grand Sui forces advanced, but an arriving powerhouse struck at him.
• A white-robed figure suddenly appeared before Zhong Shan and blasted the attacker backward.

Emperor Xuan Sha arrived and stopped the Grand Sui Heavenly Dynasty’s experts from attacking Zhong Shan, then declared that he had come to collect Zhong Shan and the Great Zheng Imperial Dynasty. Zhong Shan refused to leave before the contest for the Eternal Sacred Platform was settled, leaving the four factions entangled in the dispute.

• Emperor Xuan Sha appeared before Zhong Shan and drove back the Grand Sui Heavenly Dynasty’s experts with his aura alone.
• Emperor Xuan Sha’s arrival disrupted the battle among Nie Fanchen, Divine Crow Dao Lord, and Lu Guitian, while Tian Ling’er summoned the Vermilion Bird.
• Emperor Xuan Sha told Divine Crow Dao Lord that he had come to collect the emperor of the Great Zheng Imperial Dynasty.
• Zhong Shan refused to leave because the victor had not yet been decided and he still sought the Eternal Sacred Platform.
• Lu Guitian urged Zhong Shan to take the platform and leave, but Xu Fu refused.

The Ten Golden Crow Crown Princes killed the old eunuch, forcing Nie Fanchen’s enemies to prepare for another attack. Sky Soaring Crown Prince then challenged Zhong Shan, disrupting the ambush and leaving Nie Fanchen laughing as the attackers’ plan fell apart.

• Divine Crow Dao Lord called to Sky Splitting Crown Prince, who intensified the Ten Suns Across the Sky Great Array and killed the old eunuch.
• The Ten Golden Crow Crown Princes flew toward the imperial palace with the old eunuch’s corpse, and Nie Fanchen caught it after his opponents intercepted his strike.
• Divine Crow Dao Lord and Lu Guitian prepared to attack Nie Fanchen while the Ten Golden Crow Crown Princes guarded against Emperor Xuan Sha.
• Sky Soaring Crown Prince threatened Zhong Shan, turning the others’ attention to the risk of making Emperor Xuan Sha an enemy.
• Nie Fanchen laughed as the ambush collapsed, grieving the death of his old friend.

After the Grand Sui Heavenly Dynasty withdrew from Blazing Flame City, Zhong Shan offered to try saving Nie Fanchen’s dead old Eunuch with the Soul Return Pill. The pill restored the Eunuch’s life, and Dragon-Tiger Pill Saint’s Li Yun Pill healed his body, leaving him awake and alive.

• Lu Guitian ordered the Grand Sui Heavenly Dynasty’s forces to retreat after the Sky Soaring Crown Prince’s feud with Zhong Shan made attacking too dangerous.
• Nie Fanchen thanked Zhong Shan, then ordered Wu Jiu Tian to gather the Group Phoenixes as Great Li prepared to send out its army.
• Zhong Shan asked to treat the old Eunuch, and Bao Er brought out the Soul Return Pill while Dragon-Tiger Pill Saint agreed to provide a Li Yun Pill.
• Bao Er gave Nie Fanchen the Soul Return Pill to restore the old Eunuch’s soul, and Nie Fanchen then fed him the Li Yun Pill to heal his wounds.
• The old Eunuch’s body recovered, and he opened his eyes as the pill masters cried out that he was alive.

Nie Fanchen’s old Eunuch returned to life through Bao Er’s Soul Return Pill, and Nie Fanchen rewarded Zhong Shan’s party with the Three Treasures and an alliance between Great Li and Great Zheng. Bao Er was recognized as a Pill Saint alongside Dragon-Tiger Pill Saint, and the chapter ended with Zhong Shan inviting Dragon-Tiger Pill Saint to seek refuge in Great Zheng if the Azure Flame Emperor Dynasty fell.

• The old Eunuch awakened after Bao Er’s Soul Return Pill revived him, and Nie Fanchen confirmed his identity with a secret exchange.
• Nie Fanchen thanked Zhong Shan’s party, gave them the Three Treasures, and promised that Great Li would ally with Great Zheng and spare no effort to help them.
• Xu Fu declared Bao Er the new Pill Saint because she had refined two Soul Return Pills, and Bao Er proposed that Dragon-Tiger Pill Saint also retain the title.
• Xu Fu departed with Bai Ye, and Dragon-Tiger Pill Saint ended the Ten Thousand Pill Convention as the alchemists dispersed.
• Zhong Shan warned Dragon-Tiger Pill Saint that the Azure Flame Emperor Dynasty might face disaster and invited him to Great Zheng; after seeing Bao Er shrink the Eternal Sacred Platform, Dragon-Tiger agreed to come if that day arrived.
• Zhong Shan and his group left the city, joined Zhao Suo Xiang, and returned to court in triumph.

Zhong Shan received reports of a coming age of chaos and prepared Great Zheng for conflict while moving people between the mortal world and underworld through Yin Yang Hall. After sending his family and allies to the underworld, he took the Brain-Eating Beast east toward Emperor Xuan Sha's residence.

• Emperor Xuan Sha escorted Zhong Shan and his group to the east of Shenzhou, where they found Zhao Suo Xiang.
• Sky Splitting Crown Prince ordered Se Kong to attack the Azure Flame Emperor Dynasty and left Forget Dust in charge of domestic affairs while he went to meet Divine Crow Dao Lord.
• Nie Fanchen declared Great Zheng an allied dynasty of Great Li and told his aides that a chaotic age had arrived.
• Zhong Shan and Gu Qian You discussed Sword Pride's edict, the rise of four former Great Luo princes to emperor status, and possible threats near Qing Province; Gu Qian You agreed to go to the underworld with Zhong Zheng.
• At Yin Yang Hall, Zhong Shan sent Mud Bodhisattva, King Skeleton, three ghost artisans, Gu Qian You, Zhong Zheng, and two Great Rong Merchant Guild members through Yin Yang Road, then ordered the guild expanded across the underworld.
• Mud Bodhisattva presented Zhong Shan with the Brain-Eating Beast, and Zhong Shan flew east toward Emperor Xuan Sha's residence.

Zhong Shan used the Brain-Eating Beast’s soul to strengthen Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail and advance his cultivation and techniques. The newly manifested tail destroyed the deserted island and devastated the surrounding sea before returning to Zhong Shan.

• Zhong Shan asked Emperor Xuan Sha to guard him while he cultivated in a secluded place outside Sky Wolf Island.
• Zhong Shan opened the bottle, and Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail swallowed the Brain-Eating Beast’s soul.
• As Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail digested the soul, Zhong Shan advanced from the fifth to the tenth level of the Emperor Realm and improved the Red Phoenix Heavenly Scripture and Heavenly Devil Body Tempering Great Technique.
• Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail took physical form and unleashed spatial shockwaves that shattered the formation and destroyed the deserted island.
• Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail’s power devastated the sea within three hundred thousand li, killing the seabed creatures, then returned to Zhong Shan.

After Zhong Shan gained insight into Heaven and Earth principles, the Great Zheng Imperial Dynasty began preparing to advance to an emperor dynasty. The chapter ended with Zhong Shan learning that Bei Qing Si had been forced to marry True Lord Bing Xuan and had urgently asked him for help.

• Zhong Shan saw patterns of fire and water principles through the Red Phoenix Heavenly Scripture’s Breaking Illusions level, then returned to Sky Wolf Island with Emperor Xuan Sha.
• Yi Yan told Iron Blood and the other strategists that Great Zheng had appointed Yan Chongzhi and Zhao Suo Xiang as legion commanders and would prepare to advance to an emperor dynasty.
• Zhong Shan asked Emperor Xuan Sha to help with the advancement preparations, and Emperor Xuan Sha agreed on behalf of the wolf race.
• Bei Qingyan delivered Zhong Shan a letter from Bei Qing Si that read, “Come save me at once!”
• Bei Qingyan told Zhong Shan that True Lord Bing Xuan had forced Bei Qing Si into marriage, and Zhong Shan recognized Bing Xuan as the man who had pursued her before.

Zhong Shan learned that Bei Qing Si was being forced to marry the newly enthroned Ice Seals Emperor Bing Xuan and vowed to rescue her. After ordering the Bei Clan to leave the Eternal Life Realm for Great Yu, he prepared to depart for the Ice Seals Emperor Dynasty with King Skeleton.

• Bei Qingyan told Zhong Shan that the Water Lineage was arranging Bei Qing Si's marriage to Bing Xuan to secure ties with the Ice Seals Emperor Dynasty and the Black Tortoise Clan.
• Bei Qingyan relayed Bei Qing Si's plea to see Zhong Shan before the wedding and explained that her cultivation had been sealed, though an Immortal relic kept most people away from her.
• Zhong Shan vowed to rescue Bei Qing Si and kill those who had harmed her, then urged Bei Qingyan to bring the Bei Clan to Great Yu.
• Bei Qingyan said the wedding would take place in Ice Seals City in four months and flew back to inform the Bei Clan's head.
• Zhong Shan reassured the resentful Bao Er that Bei Qing Si was his only other lover.
• The next day, Zhong Shan summoned King Skeleton and ordered him to set out for the Ice Seals Emperor Dynasty.

The Black Tortoise Clan and the Eternal Life Realm prepared a trap for Zhong Shan, with Jing Xueshen and Bing Xuan planning to seize Bei Qing Si’s treasure and destroy Great Zheng. After sending a letter to Zhong Tian, Zhong Shan reached One Line Sky to intercept Bei Qing Si’s wedding procession and faced its million-man escort.

• In Black Tortoise Palace, the old ancestor and the young master discussed an unexplained destruction in the east and the clan’s plan to become a vassal of the Eternal Life Realm ahead of a coming chaotic age.
• Jing Xueshen told Bing Xuan that Bei Qingyan had been released to lure Zhong Shan into a trap involving the Ice Seals Emperor Dynasty, the Black Tortoise Clan, the Eternal Life Realm, and Dao Lord Nu Qinghui.
• Two months later, Zhong Shan and King Skeleton arrived in Ice Seals Emperor Dynasty territory, where Zhong Shan sent a letter to Zhong Tian through several Great Rong Merchant Guild contacts.
• Zhong Shan and King Skeleton went to One Line Sky and waited for the wedding procession to pass through its gorge.
• When the million-man procession approached, Zhong Shan ordered King Skeleton not to act and watched as the leading general halted the army before him.

Zhong Shan used the might of Heaven to subdue a million-man army and found the bridal sedan empty. He learned that Bei Qing Si had been taken to Ice Seals City to lure him into a conspiracy.

• Zhong Shan confronted the wedding procession and demanded that it leave the bridal sedan behind.
• Zhong Shan unleashed heavenly might, immobilizing the army, then opened the sedan and discovered that Bei Qing Si was missing.
• Zhong Shan killed the commander and threatened his ghost until it revealed that Dao Lord Nu Qinghui had taken Bei Qing Si to Ice Seals City.
• The ghost explained that the procession was designed to draw Zhong Shan toward Ice Seals City and that Xuan Yan had been used to help deliver the message.