Chapter Summaries

Shen Changchuan accepted Han Qinhu’s choice to remain in Great Bay Village after realizing his grandfather’s life was nearly over, then returned to the Dragon Firmament Sect for secluded cultivation. News of the Elephant Mountain Sect ruins spread in distorted form, and rumors of Shen Changchuan’s strength provoked anger among Immortal Sect Daozi followers.

• Shen Changchuan sensed that Han Qinhu’s lifespan was almost exhausted and understood why he wanted to stay in Great Bay Village, the achievement he had built over thirty years.
• Shen Changchuan agreed to Han Qinhu’s decision but resolved to keep watch over him, then returned to the Dragon Firmament Sect’s mountain gate to cultivate in seclusion.
• Surviving Outer Region prodigies carried news of the Elephant Mountain Sect ruins back into the Cultivation World, but their losses and defeat kept the details from spreading widely.
• Rumors emerged that Shen Changchuan had confronted Shi Mengting and displayed strength comparable to the Spirit Wandering Realm, leaving many cultivators doubtful or impressed.
• Immortal Sect Daozi followers rejected the rumor and angrily called for Shen Changchuan to be taught a lesson.

After Cen Yuantong returned defeated by Shen Changchuan, the Immortal Sect Daozi’s followers argued over how to restore their reputation without provoking a stronger opponent or disturbing their most powerful members. Their president arrived and took the seat of honor, just as the group faced the question of what to do next.

• Cen Yuantong’s defeat by Shen Changchuan spread through the Yuqing Immortal Sect and damaged the standing of the Daozi’s followers.
• The group’s leader warned that Cen Yuantong’s account suggested Shen Changchuan was at least a late-stage Out of Body Stage ninth-level fighter, possibly requiring a Ninth Layer Apex opponent to defeat.
• A follower proposed sending two late-stage cultivators together, but the others rejected the idea as a humiliating show of numbers.
• The group considered awakening their secluded Senior Brothers, who were preparing for the Immortal Sect Grand Competition seven years later.
• The president entered the palace, told the group there was no need, and took the seat of honor.

Xuan Tianxing berated the Xundao Association for its repeated failures against Shen Changchuan and revealed that he had reached the peak of the ninth level of the Out of Body Stage. He decided to deal with Shen Changchuan himself before considering whether to seek protection from Wu Zhen.

• Xuan Tianxing arrived at the Xundao Association’s hall and rebuked its members for allowing Shen Changchuan to put them in a difficult position.
• Xuan Tianxing announced that he would act personally after the association had already failed twice.
• Xuan Tianxing displayed the aura of someone at the peak of the ninth level of the Out of Body Stage, delighting the gathered disciples.
• Xuan Tianxing warned the association’s members that he would expel them if they failed again, and they swore their loyalty.
• Xuan Tianxing considered placing himself under Wu Zhen’s protection from You Longzi’s retaliation, but decided to crush Shen Changchuan first.

Three months after returning to the Dragon Firmament Sect, Shen Changchuan continued cultivating with the jade platform and made progress comprehending Space Power. He discovered the Enlightenment Stone aura powering it was finite, but estimated it would last another two to three years, and left the original stone as a distant possibility.

• News of the Elephant Mountain Sect ruins spread through the Cultivation World, drawing cultivators eager to search for treasures and inheritances.
• Shen Changchuan spent three months using the jade platform’s Enlightenment Stone aura to improve his comprehension of Space Power.
• Shen Changchuan discovered that using the jade platform consumed its mysterious aura, which he had no way to replenish.
• Shen Changchuan estimated the aura could last two to three more years and hoped that would be enough to complete his idea.
• Shen Changchuan considered the legendary Enlightenment Stone, acknowledged he was not ready to seek it, and decided to gather information for the future.

Shen Changchuan spent three months planning how to integrate Space Power into his spells, settling on the Golden Thorn Technique as his first experiment. His initial attempt failed when the Space Power tore the spell apart, leaving him to seek another approach.

• Shen Changchuan focused on studying Space Power and the Enlightenment Stone's aura, but failed to comprehend the aura's essence.
• He decided to begin integrating Space Power into simple spells before attempting to apply it to Divine Ability spells.
• Shen Changchuan chose the Golden Thorn Technique because he understood it thoroughly and its nature made it suitable for attaching to other forces.
• He tried condensing Space Power into a Golden Needle and attaching the Golden Thorn Technique to it.
• The Space Power tore apart the Golden Thorn Technique, causing Shen Changchuan's first approach to fail.

Shen Changchuan used the Enlightenment Stone aura to develop a way to fuse Space Power with the Golden Thorn Technique. He successfully made the attack turn toward a target locked by his Spiritual Sense, marking his first major breakthrough, though the technique remained unstable and difficult to use in battle.

• Shen Changchuan abandoned his first approach after Space Power repeatedly tore apart his mana.
• Shen Changchuan spent more than a month working on a second approach, using mana as the Golden Thorn Technique's core and Space Power as its outer layer.
• Shen Changchuan stabilized a layer of Space Power around a Golden Needle and fired it at a boulder a thousand zhang away.
• Shen Changchuan discovered that his Spiritual Sense could guide the fused attack to turn and strike a target off its original path.
• Shen Changchuan tested the technique several more times and confirmed that he had taken an initial step toward fusing Space Power with offensive spells.

Shen Changchuan refined his Space Power-infused Golden Thorn Technique, confident that it could give him an overwhelming advantage in the Immortal Sect Grand Competition. After three months of work, however, he had only improved its stability, and its progress remained stuck at 1%, leaving him to suspect a serious flaw in the technique’s structure.

• Shen Changchuan repeatedly tested the fused Golden Thorn Technique and accepted that its early failures were part of improving a new method.
• Shen Changchuan concluded that Space Power could overwhelm ordinary spiritual power and give him confidence in the Immortal Sect Grand Competition.
• Shen Changchuan spent three months refining the technique in his Dragon Firmament Sect Cave Abode, stabilizing its Space Power but leaving many flaws unresolved.
• Shen Changchuan discovered that the improved Golden Thorn Technique had appeared on the Progress Bar Panel at 1%.
• Shen Changchuan found that a month of practice had not raised the technique’s progress and suspected a major flaw in its internal structure.

Shen Changchuan realized that mastering Space Power while in the Out of Body Stage was far beyond his current ability and reflected on how his recent victories had made him arrogant. He set aside his stalled spell research to focus on cultivation, aiming to reach the Out of Body Stage ninth level before the Immortal Sect Grand Competition.

• Shen Changchuan recognized that his progress in fusing Space Power with the Golden Thorn Technique had mainly come from years of accumulated experience, while the Enlightenment Stone’s aura had only helped catalyze it.
• Shen Changchuan reflected on his battle with Shi Mengting and concluded that defeating her had made him overestimate his standing in the cultivation world.
• Shen Changchuan restored his reverence for cultivation and reminded himself that the Out of Body Stage was only the beginning of the path.
• Shen Changchuan paused his stalled spell research and devoted himself to secluded cultivation, hoping to reach the Out of Body Stage ninth level before the Immortal Sect Grand Competition.
• Shen Changchuan heard that Spirit Wandering cultivators had clashed at the Elephant Mountain Sect ruins, but focused instead on news from Great Bay Village and noted that Shi Mengting had not retaliated.

Shen Changchuan suspected that forces were mobilizing after the deaths of prodigies in Enlightenment Cave Heaven and stayed within the Dragon Firmament Sect to cultivate. Three months later, Ming Xuanyang fled a devastating ambush by the Tianmo Sect and worried that the sect had discovered the Yuqing Immortal Sect's plan.

• Shen Changchuan wondered why news of the prodigies' deaths had been overshadowed and suspected a storm was gathering among the major forces.
• Shen Changchuan recalled that his Master had told him to stay inside the mountain gate and treat Ming Xuanyang respectfully if he visited.
• Shen Changchuan reasoned that Shi Mengting might be too occupied to seek revenge and resolved to use the time to grow stronger.
• After three months, a colossal rift tore open the sky as Ming Xuanyang fled the scene of an ambush, badly wounded and pursued by the Tianmo Sect.
• Ming Xuanyang survived after fleeing tens of thousands of miles, then feared the Tianmo Sect had learned of the Immortal Sect's plan.

Shi Mengting’s ambush devastated the Yuqing Sect’s forces, leaving Ming Xuanyang to flee and realize the operation had been a trap. The Tianmo Sect’s Old Ancestor rewarded Shi Mengting by naming her the official Saintess, while she arranged to address her concerns about Shen Changchuan before returning.

• Ming Xuanyang concluded that Shi Mengting had used her space-traversing bracelet to lure the factions into a trap and blamed the Tianmo Sect for breaking the rules by sending a Mysterious Pill realm senior into the battle.
• Ming Xuanyang vowed that the Tianmo Sect would pay and continued fleeing after recovering some mana.
• Shi Mengting bowed to the Tianmo Sect’s Old Ancestor, who praised her for helping kill twenty-three Yuqing Sect Spirit Wandering realm cultivators and promised to make her the official Saintess.
• Shi Mengting thanked the Old Ancestor, who urged her to return quickly before the Yuqing Sect retaliated or her position was threatened.
• Shi Mengting decided to return to the Sacred Sect after arranging some matters and instructed Aunt Song to act on her wariness about Shen Changchuan.

After three months of secluded cultivation, Shen Changchuan reached the eighth-level mid-stage apex and planned to study space-related techniques before the Immortal Sect Grand Competition. He discovered that the Three Thousand Illusory Void Steps Jade Slip taken from Shi Mengting was deliberately missing vital content.

• Shen Changchuan emerged from three months of cultivation at the eighth-level mid-stage apex and considered reaching the ninth level before the Immortal Sect Grand Competition.
• Shen Changchuan decided to strengthen his spell knowledge and understanding of Space Power to advance his fusion of space with basic spells.
• Shen Changchuan took out Shi Mengting’s Jade Slip and began studying her Three Thousand Illusory Void Steps and cultivation insights.
• After three days of examination, Shen Changchuan realized the Three Thousand Illusory Void Steps recorded in the Jade Slip had crucial omissions that could cause cultivators to be crushed by Space Power.

Shen Changchuan discovered that Shi Mengting’s Jade Slip contained a concealed trap and began studying the incomplete Three Thousand Illusory Void Steps to devise a teleportation method of his own. A message about a deadly ambush also revealed an upcoming Yuqing Immortal Sect competition that could give him a chance to claim powerful cultivation opportunities.

• Shen Changchuan used his spell knowledge and the Enlightenment Stone’s aura to uncover concealed omissions in the dharma gate recorded in the Jade Slip.
• Wary that the pills and treasures in Shi Mengting’s storage bracelet might also be trapped, Shen Changchuan decided to have them appraised and not use them himself.
• Shen Changchuan began comprehending the incomplete Three Thousand Illusory Void Steps and Shi Mengting’s insights to create a movement technique that could work with the Void Escape Gu.
• Senior Sister Wei Yuting informed Shen Changchuan that Ming Xuanyang survived a Tianmo Sect ambush that killed more than twenty Spirit Wandering realm cultivators.
• Shen Changchuan learned that the Yuqing Immortal Sect would hold an internal competition in three years and reward its top one hundred young prodigies with major opportunities, including access to the Spirit Transformation Pool.
• Shen Changchuan welcomed the competition as a chance to test his strength and potentially advance beyond the ninth level of the Out of Body Stage.

Shen Changchuan spent six months developing the Treading Air Steps and decided to devote the next one or two years to mastering them, hoping to deepen his understanding of Space Power. He emerged from seclusion to thank Senior Sister Wei and arrange for the valuables seized from Shi Mengting to be appraised and sold for cultivation resources.

• Shen Changchuan reflected that the immortal sect's internal grand competition was an opportunity to earn resources, while the joint grand competition remained his true goal.
• Over six months, Shen Changchuan used the Enlightenment Stone's aura and his accumulated knowledge to create the flawed but functional Treading Air Steps, whose progress reached 5%.
• Shen Changchuan decided that mastering the Treading Air Steps could help him learn to fuse Space Power with spells, and revised his cultivation plans accordingly.
• Shen Changchuan emerged from seclusion, thanked Senior Sister Wei for warning him about the upheaval, and heard more about the ambush.
• Shen Changchuan asked Senior Sister Wei to post a sect mission to appraise the valuables in Shi Mengting's bracelet storage space and sell them for pills and Spirit Stones suited to his cultivation.

After securing the Dragon Firmament Sect’s spoils and checking on Great Bay Village, Shen Changchuan resolved to pursue immortality and returned to secluded cultivation. When his Treading Air Steps stalled at 20%, he headed to the Southern Yue Land to seek insight into Space Power using You Longzi’s flying vessel and Enlightenment Stone.

• The Dragon Firmament Sect gained abundant resources and more than twenty disciples advanced to the Out of Body Stage, allowing Shen Changchuan to assign a disciple to handle valuable spoils while he cultivated for the grand competition.
• Shen Changchuan secretly visited Great Bay Village and found the Han Family had returned, though they had left some of their bloodline hidden; he saw that Han Qinhu had grown frail and feared dying of old age himself.
• Shen Changchuan resolved to become an immortal and returned to the Dragon Firmament Sect to cultivate the Treading Air Steps.
• Over the next three months, Shen Changchuan raised the Treading Air Steps to 20% and tested it against Out of Body Stage Late-stage Demon Beasts, but his progress hit a bottleneck.
• Shen Changchuan thought of using You Longzi’s space-traversing flying vessel and the Enlightenment Stone to deepen his comprehension of Space Power, then set off for the Southern Yue Land.

Shen Changchuan reflected on his progress with Space Power while flying toward the Southern Yue Land, then was ambushed by Wan Zunli, the Corpse Refining Sect's Old Ancestor. Wan Zunli attacked with overwhelming force, intending to kill him and use his head to gain favor with the Tianmo Sect's Saintess.

• Shen Changchuan considered the slow progress of Treading Air Steps and the improved Golden Thorn Technique, but recognized that his training had strengthened him and tempered his Cultivation Realm.
• A crushing force and soul pressure suddenly descended on Shen Changchuan as he flew on Little Wind.
• Shen Changchuan recognized the attacker as Wan Zunli, the Spirit Wandering realm Old Ancestor of the Corpse Refining Sect.
• Wan Zunli revealed that he had waited more than half a year for Shen Changchuan to travel without You Longzi beside him, and launched a concealed, full-strength attack.
• Wan Zunli recalled that the Tianmo Sect's Saintess had offered him intelligence support and planned to present Shen Changchuan's head to her so he could join the Tianmo Sect and escape to the West Heaven Domain.

Wan Zunli ambushed Shen Changchuan with a lethal palm strike, but Shen escaped by using the Treading Air Steps to break free of Wan Zunli’s Spiritual Sense lock. Wan Zunli found him several miles away, and the two faced off as Shen kept the source of his escape secret.

• Wan Zunli launched a full-force surprise attack on Shen Changchuan, hoping to kill him and secure his future with the Tianmo Sect's Saintess.
• Silver light spread around Shen Changchuan, severing Wan Zunli’s Spiritual Sense lock, and Shen vanished before the palm strike hit the ground.
• Wan Zunli sensed Shen several miles away, where Shen stood on a boulder and cursed about his narrow escape.
• Shen recalled that his heightened comprehension from the Enlightenment Stone had helped him use the Treading Air Steps to evade the attack.
• Wan Zunli demanded to know how Shen had escaped his Spiritual Sense lock, but Shen mocked him and prepared to face him without revealing the method he had learned to seek.

After escaping Wan Zunli’s ambush with the spatial principles hidden in the Three Thousand Illusory Void Steps, Shen Changchuan faced another attack from the Spirit Wandering realm expert. He identified an injury left by his Master and charged forward to meet Wan Zunli’s giant palm with a powered-up punch.

• Shen Changchuan discovered that the flawed Three Thousand Illusory Void Steps could use Space Power to break a Spiritual Sense lock, and realized he had used it to escape Wan Zunli’s earlier ambush.
• Wan Zunli mistook Shen Changchuan’s escape for the effect of a protective Jade Talisman and attacked again with a giant palm.
• Shen Changchuan used his Insightful True Eyes to spot an irregularity caused by his Master’s injury in Wan Zunli’s qi circulation.
• Shen Changchuan activated the Golden Wind Jade Dew Gu’s overclocked state and his Indestructible Wood Body, then punched Wan Zunli’s incoming palm head-on.

Shen Changchuan blocked Wan Zunli’s full-force palm and revealed that he wielded Space Power. He used it to break through Wan Zunli’s defenses and smash him into the ground, leaving the outcome of the battle unresolved.

• Shen Changchuan stopped Wan Zunli’s palm strike, astonishing the Spirit Wandering cultivator.
• Shen Changchuan charged through Wan Zunli’s attack and struck at him with a golden-lit fist.
• Wan Zunli’s mana failed to stop Shen Changchuan’s fist, and he recognized the Space Power surrounding it.
• Wan Zunli recalled Shen Changchuan’s earlier escape and realized he had mistaken the use of Space Power for a Jade Talisman.
• Shen Changchuan smashed Wan Zunli’s head with his fist, sending him crashing into a crater in the ground.

Shen Changchuan smashed Wan Zunli’s head with Space Power but knew a Spirit Wandering cultivator could survive severe bodily injuries if the divine soul remained unharmed. Wan Zunli unleashed his full strength to kill Shen Changchuan, who met his attack with another Space Power punch.

• Shen Changchuan struck Wan Zunli and caved in more than half of his head, but stayed alert because the blow had not damaged Wan Zunli’s divine soul.
• Wan Zunli emerged from the crater and declared that Shen Changchuan would die, recognizing him as a future threat.
• Wan Zunli released his full Spirit Wandering realm strength and punched toward Shen Changchuan.
• Shen Changchuan questioned why Wan Zunli was relying on an attack that Space Power could counter, then gathered Space Power around his fist and punched back.

Shen Changchuan used Space Power to withstand Wan Zunli’s relentless Spirit Wandering realm attacks, suspecting that his opponent had not yet mastered the realm’s techniques. Trapped in the destructive storm, Shen Changchuan entered a heightened state of focus and felt his control over Space Power grow smoother.

• Shen Changchuan shattered Wan Zunli’s mana fist by infusing his own strike with Space Power.
• Shen Changchuan suspected Wan Zunli had only recently advanced to the Spirit Wandering realm and decided to use him as a whetstone.
• Wan Zunli launched a continuous barrage of long-range punches, forcing Shen Changchuan to defend rather than use his unfinished Treading Air Steps to escape.
• Shen Changchuan repeatedly countered with Space Power while shielding himself from the destructive energy storm.
• Shen Changchuan’s focus sharpened under the threat of death, and his control of the Space Power wielded through the Void Escape Gu became smoother.