Chapter Summaries

Heavenly God Son revealed the Tian Family’s history and passed its Family Head Guidance to Tian Ling'er, causing the Sky Decree to merge into her body. He then returned to sleep, leaving Zhong Shan to guard the ancestors and warning him about Ying and the collateral-line Tian Family.

• Heavenly God Son brought Zhong Shan and Tian Ling'er into a chamber where seventeen Tian Family ancestors slept while absorbing fate, and explained that Tian Ling'er was the last heir of the direct line.
• Heavenly God Son said the direct line had hidden in the Small Chiliocosm World to escape a powerful collateral branch, and explained that the Sky Decree had been created by their founding ancestor.
• Heavenly God Son placed the Sky Decree on the Inheritance Platform and passed the Family Head Guidance to Tian Ling'er; the Sky Decree then vanished into her body.
• Heavenly God Son recognized Tian Ling'er as having the same physique and destiny pattern as the founding ancestor, then returned to his recess to sleep for at least three thousand years.
• Heavenly God Son warned Zhong Shan not to provoke Ying, told him Quiet Wave Pool belonged to the direct-line Tian Family, and urged him to beware the collateral line before the chamber expelled them.
• Under Heaven Peak withdrew into the mountain, and Heavenly Old bowed to Tian Ling'er as the family head.

Zhong Shan secured Heavenly Old’s allegiance, saw Xuan Yuan depart for the Great Chiliocosm World, and ordered an assault on Great Yong. Great Yong collapsed ten years later, leaving Great Zheng, Great Qin, and Tai Sui to divide the world.

• Zhong Shan appointed Heavenly Old Deputy Director of the Directorate of Celestial Observations and ordered him to move Under Heaven Peak to High Heaven Court.
• Xuan Yuan bid farewell to Zhong Shan and left the Small Chiliocosm World, while Zhong Shan ordered Zhao Suo Xiang and the others to attack Great Yong.
• Zhong Shan cultivated in seclusion and advanced to the tenth layer of the Emperor Realm as the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail devoured the Eternal Evergreen.
• Great Yong suffered defeats and defections, including Heavenly Old joining Great Zheng, Yin Luo Ri leading the tiger clan in rebellion, and the execution of Huan Tu Long.
• Gu Zheng Yi lamented his failures at Gu Shentong’s Tombstone and vowed to prove himself; ten years later, Great Yong collapsed and its lands were divided between Great Zheng and Great Qin.

Zhao Suo Xiang brought Zhong Shan two identical diagrams of Gu Shentong’s Great Luo Heavenly Stars Formation, and Zhong Shan realized that the scattered copies concealed a plot aimed at him. As the formation trapped his will, Gu Shentong’s preserved consciousness revealed its plan to seize Zhong Shan’s body.

• Zhao Suo Xiang reported that he had seized two identical formation diagrams after more than a hundred copies appeared across Divine Land.
• Zhong Shan ordered one diagram sent to NanGong Sheng at the Yi Tian Bureau and secluded himself with the other.
• Zhong Shan studied the formation and realized that Gu Shentong had spread the diagrams to ensnare and possess him.
• Gu Shentong’s will awakened inside Zhong Shan and used the formation to imprison his will, leaving him unable to control his body.
• Zhong Shan challenged Gu Shentong’s identity and plan, but Gu Shentong said he had long calculated the attempt and that Zhong Shan could not escape.

Zhong Shan struggled against Gu Shentong's Residual Thought, which had trapped his mind and tried to force him into the Tian Ji Realm so it could devour him. He realized Gu Shentong had overlooked his origins, leaving the outcome of their struggle uncertain.

• Zhong Shan questioned Gu Shentong about why he had chosen him, and Gu Shentong said Zhong Shan resembled him and revealed that he was trying to sever Zhong Shan's link to his Root Divine Sense.
• Gu Shentong explained that his thought would grow alongside Zhong Shan and eventually devour him when Zhong Shan reached the Tian Ji Realm.
• A woman with the Nine Cauldrons Body began having intercourse with the helpless Zhong Shan, forcing his cultivation toward a breakthrough.
• Gu Shentong said he would absorb the merit Heaven bestowed through Zhong Shan's Divine Court Acupoint when Zhong Shan reached the Tian Ji Realm.
• Zhong Shan realized Gu Shentong had not accounted for his origins and revealed that he had not been a person of this world before the age of twenty-five.

Zhong Shan exposed Gu Shentong’s residual thought as a memory vessel left to comfort Nu Qinghui, then began breaking through to the Tian Ji Realm. His breakthrough triggered celebration across Great Zheng as a new Heaven began forming above the High Heaven Court.

• Zhong Shan argued that Gu Shentong’s residual thought held memories but lacked Gu Shentong’s personality and intent, and explained that it had been left to accompany Nu Qinghui.
• Zhong Shan confused the residual thought by pointing out that it did not remember Peacock Empress, then turned his attention to his breakthrough.
• Zhong Shan broke through to the Tian Ji Realm, and thunder and the Nineteen-Clawed Qi Luck Golden Dragon’s joyful roar announced the news throughout Great Zheng.
• The people of Great Zheng celebrated Zhong Shan’s ten-thousand-year lifespan and bowed before him at the High Heaven Court.
• The sky split open above the High Heaven Court, and the Nineteen-Clawed Qi Luck Golden Dragon drew in the lightning as Zhong Shan’s own Heaven began to take shape.

Zhong Shan broke through to the first stage of the Tian Ji Realm, then discovered that Nu Qinghui had escaped from prison after leaving behind a mud substitute and a message. He refused to advance Great Zheng to a Heavenly Dynasty yet, intending to build its Netherworld foundation first, while other powers considered the meaning of his breakthrough.

• Zhong Shan reached the Tian Ji Realm, absorbed Gu Shentong’s Residual Thought with the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail, and gained the body of ten thousand years as purple lightning filled the sky above High Heaven Court.
• Zhong Shan left the secret chamber and found that Nu Qinghui had vanished from the Heaven Number One Prison Cell, leaving a mud body and a message on the wall; he dismissed Liu Wushuang’s apology.
• At morning court, Zhong Shan refused the ministers’ request to advance Great Zheng to a Heavenly Dynasty, saying it was not yet time.
• Three months later, Kong Lietian discussed Zhong Shan’s purple sky omen with Se Kong and Forget Dust, who concealed his loyalty to Zhong Shan.
• Ying heard Li Si’s report and considered Zhong Shan’s decision to delay Great Zheng’s advancement while preparing to expand in the war-torn Netherworld.

Zhong Shan prepared the Great Zheng Emperor Dynasty to conquer the southern Netherworld while Xiao Wang warned Tian Xiao Zi that Great Zheng’s commanders included formidable strategists. A year into the war, Sword Red arrived in Chang Capital with Wei Taizhong’s Nine Dragons Token and a message from an old acquaintance of Zhong Shan.

• Tian Xiao Zi told Xiao Wang that he intended to bring the entire south under his control, and Xiao Wang reported Great Zheng’s new commanders and suspected Yi Yan’s involvement.
• In Chang Capital, Yi Yan identified the Five Colors and Heaven Vein Emperor Dynasties as Great Zheng’s eventual major rivals and recommended attacking four neighboring dynasties first.
• Zhong Shan appointed Lin Xiao, Shui Wuhen, Shui Jing, and Zhao Suo Xiang to lead four armies, while Corpse Mister formed a fifth support army.
• Zhong Shan sent Gu Qian You deep into ghost territory with Yan Chongzhi, King Skeleton, Wine Old Man, and ghost cultivators to carry out a crucial task.
• Three days later, the armies departed, and Gu Qian You left Chang Capital; one year later, Sword Red arrived bearing a Nine Dragons Token and said an old acquaintance had sent her with a message.
• Zhong Shan recognized the token as Wei Taizhong’s.

Zhong Shan received Wei Taizhong’s message through Sword Red and later arranged a decade-long standoff to draw Xiao Wang into Great Zheng. The chapter ended with an envoy from Feather Fan City arriving while Xiao Wang remained determined to hold Dragon Slaughter City.

• Sword Red told Zhong Shan that Wei Taizhong had gone with the Sunflower Old Demon to the Great Chiliocosm World to search for Ying Lan and would meet Zhong Shan there.
• Sword Red declined to see Xiao Wang and stayed at XiaoXiang Courtyard at Zhong Shan’s invitation.
• Four years later, Great Zheng’s army faced Xiao Wang’s forces across the border at Feather Fan City and Dragon Slaughter City.
• Zhong Shan told Yi Yan he had sent Zhao Suo Xiang to help contain Xiao Wang because he planned to defeat him and recruit him.
• The standoff between Shui Jing and Xiao Wang lasted ten years, during which Xiao Wang refused to abandon Dragon Slaughter City despite his adopted son’s complaints.
• Xiao Wang admitted an envoy from Feather Fan City after a guard reported the envoy’s arrival.

Zhong Zheng delivered Shui Jing’s humiliating gift to Xiao Wang, who endured the insult by wearing the pink dress rather than killing the envoy. Zhong Shan revealed that his schemes involved the Nether Corpse Emperor Dynasty, and three months later Xiao Wang waited as its attacks began, still holding off on mobilizing against Feather Fan City.

• Zhong Zheng mocked Xiao Wang’s refusal to accept challenges and presented him with a pink dress, prompting Xiao Yuanfeng to draw his sword.
• Xiao Wang stopped Xiao Yuanfeng from killing Zhong Zheng and put on the dress, then told the envoy to thank Shui Jing.
• Xiao Wang explained that the humiliation had inflamed his officers and that he was still waiting for the right opportunity to take Feather Fan City.
• Zhong Zheng reported the encounter to Zhong Shan, Shui Jing, and Zhao Suo Xiang, and Zhong Shan hinted at Corpse Mister’s plans involving the Nether Corpse Emperor Dynasty.
• Three months later, Xiao Yuanfeng reported that the Nether Corpse Emperor Dynasty had begun attacking nearby cities, but Xiao Wang ordered his forces to wait and sent out more scouts.

Zhong Shan outmaneuvered Xiao Wang and captured Feather Fan City by exploiting Xiao Wang’s impatience and misleading him about the Nether Corpse Emperor Dynasty. Xiao Wang surrendered to protect his generals, while Xiao Yuanfeng led the army back to defend Dragon Slaughter City.

• Xiao Wang waited for reports confirming that Mister Shui Jing had secretly left Feather Fan City, then believed the city was vulnerable and ordered an attack.
• After ten days of fighting, Xiao Wang’s forces breached Feather Fan City, only to find its gates sealed and Zhao Suo Xiang’s troops surrounding them.
• Zhong Shan revealed that the Nether Corpse Emperor Dynasty had been under his control for five years, exposing Xiao Wang’s mistaken belief that it threatened Great Jing.
• Xiao Wang recognized that Zhong Shan had exploited his impatience, surrendered without resistance, and asked him to spare the generals.
• Zhong Shan allowed Xiao Wang’s army to withdraw, and Xiao Wang ordered Xiao Yuanfeng to lead the troops back to defend Dragon Slaughter City.

Zhong Shan let Tian Xiao Zi take Xiao Wang, confident that Xiao Wang would eventually join Great Zheng, then returned to Chang Capital and found Hao Meili grieving over the Western Poison Emperor’s death. Hao Meili blamed someone from the Eternal Youth Realm and demanded revenge, and Zhong Shan asked her to explain what had happened.

• Zhong Shan ordered Xiao Wang executed, but Tian Xiao Zi arrived with two Tian Ji Realm experts and asked to take him away.
• Zhong Shan allowed Tian Xiao Zi to leave with Xiao Wang, explaining that Xiao Wang could not be subdued yet and would eventually join Great Zheng.
• Tian Xiao Zi told Xiao Wang he had a plan to strike Great Zheng, affect the Eternal Youth Realm, and deal a devastating blow to the Five Colors Emperor Dynasty.
• A guard told Zhong Shan that an old acquaintance had arrived, and Zhong Shan recognized the haggard visitor as Hao Meili.
• Hao Meili clung to Zhong Shan and revealed that someone from the Eternal Youth Realm had killed the Western Poison Emperor.
• Zhong Shan asked Hao Meili to explain how her master had died, while she demanded that he help her take revenge.

Hao Meili and the Western Poison Emperor confronted the Eternal Youth Realm, seeking the Curse Demon Master and the eleven Immortal Steles said to be there. After Hao Meili’s Myriad Evil Body injured anyone who harbored hostility toward her, Ye Qingcheng emerged to face them, and Hao Meili demanded the Immortal Steles.

• Hao Meili told Zhong Shan that the Curse Demon Master had killed her master and that she wanted revenge.
• Hao Meili explained that she and the Western Poison Emperor had learned the Eternal Youth Realm held eleven Immortal Steles and traveled there two years earlier.
• Hao Meili and the Western Poison Emperor arrived at the Eternal Youth Realm and demanded to see the Curse Demon Master.
• Hao Meili’s Myriad Evil Body caused cultivators who cursed her or formed hostile thoughts about her to vomit blood and collapse.
• Ye Qingcheng emerged with two companions, recognized the danger of Hao Meili’s Myriad Evil Body, and asked why they had come.
• Hao Meili declared that she had come to reclaim her ancestor’s Immortal Steles and demanded that Ye Qingcheng hand them over.

Hao Meili demanded the Immortal Stele from Ye Qingcheng and confronted the Curse Demon Master, whose powers resisted her curses. The Western Poison Emperor sacrificed his lifespan and soul to save Hao Meili, gave her the Plague Sect Master Token, and died after she finally called him Master.

• Hao Meili demanded the Immortal Stele, and Ye Qingcheng summoned the Curse Demon Master after learning she bore the Myriad Evil Body.
• The Curse Demon Master refused to hand over the Immortal Stele and demanded that Hao Meili reveal its secret.
• Hao Meili unleashed the Doomsday Torrent, but the Curse Demon Master blocked her curse and severed her connection to Heaven and Earth.
• The Western Poison Emperor used the Plague of Life Flame to imprison the Curse Demon Master and gave Hao Meili the Plague Sect Master Token.
• As the Western Poison Emperor's body began to vanish, he asked Hao Meili to call him Master, and she tearfully did so.

Zhong Shan promised Hao Meili he would help her destroy the Eternal Youth Realm when the time was right, then continued managing Chang Capital and refused to let Sword Red approach Xiao Wang. He fell into a strange dream where Bald Ye Qingcheng appeared as the monk Fahai, and Zhong Shan recognized the scene as an illusion involving Nian Youyou.

• Zhong Shan persuaded Hao Meili to cultivate before taking revenge on the Curse Demon Master and learned she possessed thirty-six additional Immortal Steles.
• Zhong Shan reflected on the Eternal Youth Realm's formidable forces and continued plotting against it while governing Chang Capital for five months.
• Sword Red offered to persuade Xiao Wang to surrender, but Zhong Shan refused and explained that Xiao Wang was acting under pressure because Ru Yan remained with the Netherworld Tian Family.
• An old eunuch found Zhong Shan asleep over his memorials and ordered the guards not to disturb him.
• Zhong Shan awoke within a vision of Leifeng Pagoda, where Nian Youyou called for help and Ye Qingcheng appeared as Fahai; Zhong Shan recognized that he was dreaming.

Zhong Shan learned through Xiaoqing’s dream that Ye Qingcheng had imprisoned Nian Youyou after attempting to seize the Ancestor God Beast, and he prepared to act while tracking the beast’s whereabouts. Three months later, Ye Qingcheng joined Tian Xiao Zi to seek Xiaoqing, while the beast appeared at Chang Capital as Zhong Shan discussed Qianyou’s successful return.

• Zhong Shan awoke from Xiaoqing’s dream and saw Ye Qingcheng capture Nian Youyou after she used the Thousand Shapes Grand Magic to deceive him and help Xiaoqing escape.
• Xiaoqing confirmed that Ye Qingcheng had imprisoned Nian Youyou, and Zhong Shan gave it fortune while considering how long ago the events had happened.
• Three months later, Tian Xiao Zi told Ye Qingcheng that the Tian Household had tracked Xiaoqing and invited him to come along.
• At Chang Capital, Zhong Shan told Yi Yan and the other ministers that Qianyou would return in two months and ordered them to prepare.
• Xiaoqing suddenly rushed into Zhong Shan’s arms, and Zhong Shan suspected Ye Qingcheng had arrived.

Ye Qingcheng and Tian Xiao Zi confronted Zhong Shan in Chang Capital over the Ancestor God Beast, but Zhong Shan proposed a three-round duel with the Immortal Steles as stakes. The duel was set for the Black Sea one year later, leaving Great Zheng preparing for a contest Zhong Shan expected the Tian Family to influence.

• Zhong Shan met Ye Qingcheng and Tian Xiao Zi in Chang Capital, where NanGong Sheng's presence as a Great Zheng minister surprised both visitors.
• Ye Qingcheng demanded the Ancestor God Beast, and Zhong Shan countered by demanding the Immortal Decapitation Sword; Hao Meili arrived and restrained herself from attacking Ye Qingcheng.
• Ye Qingcheng offered to exchange the Eternal Youth Realm's eleven Immortal Steles for the Ancestor God Beast, and Zhong Shan proposed a three-round duel with both as stakes.
• Zhong Shan, Ye Qingcheng, and Tian Xiao Zi agreed to hold the Black Sea Duel in one year, with Tian Xiao Zi serving as referee.
• Zhong Shan ordered Yi Yan to coordinate the armies, directed Yin Luo Ri to publicize the duel, and told Hao Meili to prepare through cultivation.

Tian Xiao Zi planned to exploit the Black Sea Duel between Zhong Shan and Ye Qingcheng, while Zhong Shan arranged Ru Yan’s reunion with Xiao Wang and prepared his own strategy. As the duel began before a vast crowd, Zhong Shan arrived with Emperor Xuan Sha, leaving the spectators and his opponents wondering who the stranger was.

• Tian Xiao Zi persuaded Tian Chen Zi to lend him eight people so the Tian Family could attack whichever dynasty lost most in the Black Sea Duel, then ordered Xiao Wang to accelerate preparations when news of the duel spread.
• Ru Yan thanked Zhong Shan for rescuing her from the Tian Family, and Zhong Shan promised to send her to Xiao Wang with Sword Red after she stayed in Chang Capital.
• Gu Qian You explained that Xiaoqing’s disruption of the Tian Family had helped them secretly replace Ru Yan with a false ghost, and Zhong Shan ordered her to coordinate the remaining plan with Yi Yan.
• Ye Qingcheng borrowed the Immortal Stele and Curse Demon Master’s Life-Protecting Talisman, while Curse Demon Master warned him that the stele bore traces of the Witch Clan.
• A year later, Ye Qingcheng and two Tian Ji Realm Dao Monarchs arrived at the Black Sea, where crowds gathered to watch the duel over the Ancestor God Beast and Immortal Stele.
• Zhong Shan arrived on a Dragon Throne with the Ancestor God Beast and Emperor Xuan Sha, joking that the crowd had underestimated his companion.

Xiao Wang realized that Zhong Shan had arranged for Sword Red and Ru Yan to confront him, while Zhong Shan’s forces prepared a surprise attack on Eternal Youth Realm. At the Black Sea, Zhong Shan and Ye Qingcheng began their duel as the larger operation remained underway.

• Xiao Wang learned that Sword Red was leading Great Zheng troops against his city, then met Gu Qian You, Heavenly Old, Sword Red, and Ru Yan in the negotiation hall.
• Xiao Wang recognized Ru Yan and accepted that he was no match for Zhong Shan, while Xiao Yuanfeng greeted Ru Yan and Sword Red as his adoptive mothers.
• Zhong Shan ordered Mud Bodhisattva to destroy the Yin Yang Road, NanGong Sheng to seal Eternal Youth Realm’s merit, and Zhong Tian to collect it; he also assigned forces to contain the realm’s defenders.
• Zhong Shan explained that the Black Sea duel would draw powerful observers away while Ye Qingcheng was absent from Eternal Youth Realm, then ordered the assault to begin.
• At the Black Sea, Zhong Shan and Ye Qingcheng faced each other before the gathered spectators, and Zhong Shan asked Ye Qingcheng to present his item for the duel.

The wagered battle between Zhong Shan and Ye Qingcheng began, with Emperor Xuan Sha facing Dao Lord Hong Jian in the first duel. Emperor Xuan Sha evaded and countered Hong Jian’s attacks, then forged a sword and used Great Flood Swordplay, leaving Hong Jian stunned by his mastery.

• Ye Qingcheng placed eleven Immortal Steles on a floating island, and Zhong Shan sent the Ancestor God Beast to join them as the wagered battle began.
• Zhong Shan chose Emperor Xuan Sha to face Dao Lord Hong Jian, while the spectators recognized Hong Jian as a renowned swordsman.
• Hong Jian attacked with Great Flood Swordplay, but Emperor Xuan Sha dodged his strikes throughout a day and night without counterattacking.
• Hong Jian used Void Rend to tear open space in eight directions, but Emperor Xuan Sha matched him by opening eight spatial rifts with his hand.
• Emperor Xuan Sha melted a copper hammer into a broad sword and used Great Flood Swordplay more skillfully than Hong Jian, shocking Hong Jian and the onlookers.

Emperor Xuan Sha defeated Dao Lord Hong Jian by using and improving the Great Flood Swordplay, breaking Hong Jian’s confidence and leaving him gravely injured. Zhong Shan claimed the first match, then Emperor Xuan Sha prepared to face Blade Maniac in the second match.

• Emperor Xuan Sha matched Dao Lord Hong Jian’s Great Flood Swordplay and demonstrated altered moves that made Hong Jian lose confidence.
• Dao Lord Hong Jian unleashed his unfinished final move, Heavenly River Rushing, but Emperor Xuan Sha used an even stronger version and left him unconscious and seriously injured.
• Zhong Shan declared the first match his victory, and Ye Qingcheng accepted the result.
• Zhong Shan chose Emperor Xuan Sha to represent his side in the second match against Blade Maniac.
• Emperor Xuan Sha melted his sword into a blood-red saber modeled after Blade Maniac’s weapon, startling the onlookers.