Chapter Summaries

Shen Changchuan realized Wan Zunli was hiding a lethal soul attack beneath his Mana Torrent and crushed an unknown Jade Talisman to counter it. The talisman summoned a Fire Phoenix that halted Wan Zunli’s attack, leaving him stunned.

• Shen Changchuan recognized that his rapid cultivation gains under Wan Zunli’s pressure were suspicious and decided to break the deadlock.
• Shen Changchuan crushed the Jade Talisman he had taken from Zhou Lingyun, unleashing a divine Fire Phoenix.
• The Fire Phoenix burned away Wan Zunli’s Mana Torrent and stopped his soul attack before he could complete its hand seals.
• Shen Changchuan saw that Wan Zunli had separated his soul from his body to exploit Shen Changchuan’s weaker soul and disrupt his Space Power.
• Wan Zunli stared at the Fire Phoenix and wondered how Shen Changchuan still had another life-saving Jade Talisman.

Wan Zunli’s carefully planned assassination of Shen Changchuan unraveled when Shen’s Fire Phoenix spell revealed the power of a peak Spirit Wandering realm cultivator. Wan Zunli was caught in its attack, while Shen retreated to escape the ensuing inferno.

• Wan Zunli realized Shen Changchuan had a life-saving Jade Talisman despite his calculations that Shen had already used his last one.
• Wan Zunli’s divine soul returned to his body as the Fire Phoenix locked onto him and charged.
• Wan Zunli hastily raised layers of magical-power shields and activated a crystal-skull Spirit Tool to defend himself.
• The Fire Phoenix struck Wan Zunli, unleashing a vast firestorm that split the earth and engulfed the surroundings.
• Shen Changchuan retreated higher into the air as the flames and divine-soul will disrupted his control over Space Power.

Shen Changchuan survived the Fire Phoenix spell’s devastating strike and searched the battlefield for Wan Zunli, but found only a ruined crystal skull. He suspected Wan Zunli had escaped badly injured and flew away, vowing to settle their debts once he grew stronger.

• After the magical storm subsided, Shen Changchuan searched the area but could not detect Wan Zunli’s aura.
• Shen Changchuan found a charred crystal skull where Wan Zunli had stood and realized the Fire Phoenix spell had destroyed its power.
• Shen Changchuan suspected Wan Zunli had survived but was gravely injured and unlikely to threaten him again soon.
• Shen Changchuan vowed to take revenge once his cultivation advanced, then flew away to avoid drawing others to the battlefield.
• Shen Changchuan reflected that the battle had improved his control over his divine soul, magical energy, and the Void Escape Gu’s Space Power.

After surviving Wan Zunli’s assassination attempt, Shen Changchuan returned to Soul Severing City and rested before assessing what the battle had taught him. He resolved to focus on mastering the Treading Air Steps and finished the chapter with its progress at 25%.

• Shen Changchuan reached Soul Severing City safely and worried that his enemies might send other Spirit Wandering realm cultivators after him.
• He decided to prioritize mastering the Treading Air Steps and planned to borrow Master’s flying boat to deepen his understanding of Space Power.
• Shen Changchuan rented a Cave Abode, activated its defensive Formation, and slept for two days to recover from the battle and his tense journey.
• After resting, Shen Changchuan found only Wan Zunli’s charred crystal skull among the battle’s remains and suspected Wan Zunli had escaped alive.
• Shen Changchuan reviewed his gains in magical-power control and Space Power, then saw that the Treading Air Steps had reached 25% progress.

After a life-and-death battle and a month of seclusion in Soul Severing City, Shen Changchuan advanced his Treading Air Steps and solidified his cultivation. His Master, You Longzi, finally contacted him and summoned him to a valley in the Soul Severing Mountain Range, where he warned Shen Changchuan to conceal his tracks whenever he went out.

• Shen Changchuan broke through the Treading Air Steps bottleneck during a life-and-death battle and gained a better understanding of Space Power and the path of immortality.
• Shen Changchuan spent a month in seclusion in Soul Severing City, digesting his gains and raising his Treading Air Steps progress to 28%.
• Shen Changchuan worried when You Longzi did not reply to his Communication Talisman, especially because his Master was caught up in a struggle among Mysterious Pill realm Great Figures.
• You Longzi sent Shen Changchuan a location two hundred li inside the Soul Severing Mountain Range and told him to come find him.
• Shen Changchuan reached a misty valley and paid his respects to You Longzi, who told him to conceal his tracks whenever he went out.

Shen Changchuan told You Longzi that Wan Zunli had ambushed him on the way, prompting his Master to erupt in fury and vow to seize the Corpse Refining Sect’s Old Ancestor. You Longzi’s anger stemmed from the attack nearly costing his most promising disciple his life, and he prepared to make Wan Zunli pay.

• You Longzi advised Shen Changchuan to stay cautious on the Immortal Path and was impressed by his rapid cultivation progress, believing he could reach the top hundred at the Immortal Sect Grand Competition.
• Shen Changchuan asked whether You Longzi already knew about the danger he had faced, then explained that Wan Zunli had ambushed him during his journey.
• You Longzi flew into a rage, shattered a chair with his palm, and vowed to seize Wan Zunli and give Shen Changchuan an explanation.
• You Longzi recalled sparing Wan Zunli after their earlier fight outside Jue Tian Valley, hoping Shen Changchuan could settle the matter himself later.
• You Longzi realized the attack had nearly killed Shen Changchuan, his most valued disciple and the person he hoped might one day inherit the Dragon Firmament Sect’s legacy.

You Longzi urged Shen Changchuan to let him deal with Wan Zunli, fearing the Spirit Wandering cultivator would kill him in another ambush. After hearing Shen Changchuan describe the fight and demonstrate how he wielded Space Power with the Void Escape Gu, You Longzi realized his disciple was far stronger than he had assumed and saw a possible opportunity.

• You Longzi vowed to kill Wan Zunli and destroy the Corpse Refining Sect after learning that Shen Changchuan had survived another assassination attempt.
• Shen Changchuan asked You Longzi to spare Wan Zunli so he could take revenge himself in the future.
• You Longzi warned that Wan Zunli would strike more carefully next time and offered to kill him on Shen Changchuan's behalf.
• Shen Changchuan explained that he was confident he could face Wan Zunli and recounted the details of the attack.
• Shen Changchuan demonstrated how he used the Void Escape Gu to wield Space Power, astonishing You Longzi and making him recognize a possible opportunity.

Shen Changchuan told You Longzi how he had used the Void Escape Gu to withstand Wan Zunli and temper his cultivation, leaving his master astonished. You Longzi agreed to spare Wan Zunli so Shen Changchuan could challenge him later, then warned his disciple that his talent would attract enemies and urged him to stay cautious.

• You Longzi marveled that Shen Changchuan had used the Void Escape Gu to contend with Wan Zunli across a realm gap and break through under pressure.
• Shen Changchuan asked You Longzi to spare Wan Zunli so he could use the Spirit Wandering realm cultivator as a whetstone and eventually defeat him himself.
• You Longzi agreed to let Wan Zunli live until Shen Changchuan grew stronger and could personally settle their grievance.
• You Longzi praised Shen Changchuan's talent and ambition, then warned him that others might envy him and urged him to avoid leaving an easy trail for ambushes.

You Longzi warned Shen Changchuan that factions within the Yuqing Immortal Sect might target him, and Shen Changchuan accepted the need to be more cautious. After hearing Shen Changchuan’s plans to use the Ten Thousand Miles Empty Boat to improve his Treading Air Steps, You Longzi offered a different opportunity that required Shen Changchuan to risk everything.

• You Longzi explained that internal factions in the Yuqing Immortal Sect could view Shen Changchuan as a threat and attack him in secret.
• Shen Changchuan admitted that carelessness had allowed Wan Zunli to ambush him and promised to hide his trail more carefully in the future.
• Shen Changchuan demonstrated his Treading Air Steps and told You Longzi he hoped to borrow the Ten Thousand Miles Empty Boat to comprehend Space Power.
• You Longzi agreed to lend Shen Changchuan the boat but warned that its resonance would help only once and would not deepen his comprehension on later uses.
• You Longzi offered Shen Changchuan another opportunity that he said the disciple could barely handle, asking whether he was willing to stake everything on it.

After a month of studying the chaotic void and the Ten Thousand Miles Empty Boat, Shen Changchuan failed to gain insight into Space Power and gave up. With Treading Air Steps only 30% complete and the Immortal Sect Joint Grand Competition approaching, he recognized how important You Longzi’s ancient inheritance opportunity would be.

• Shen Changchuan spent a month using You Longzi’s Ten Thousand Miles Empty Boat and the Enlightenment Stone’s aura to study Space Power, but gained nothing.
• Shen Changchuan gave up trying to comprehend Space Power and noted that Treading Air Steps had reached 30% progress.
• Shen Changchuan estimated that completing Treading Air Steps without an opportunity would take more than ten years, too long before the Immortal Sect Joint Grand Competition.
• Shen Changchuan recalled You Longzi’s offer to take part in an ancient inheritance assessment on the Southeast Continent, where successful cultivators could earn ancient treasures and Divine Items.
• Shen Changchuan recalled that the Immortal Sect Daozi’s reward from the inheritance had helped geniuses across the regions condense Divine Ability Seeds when they entered the Out of Body Stage.

Shen Changchuan reflected on the Divine Ability Seeds possessed by Outer Region prodigies and learned that they belonged to a special generation shaped by an opportunity once gained by the Immortal Sect Daozi. He considered the possibility of facing Daozi, then set aside his worries and waited for Master to bring him to the Ancient Inheritance Assessment.

• Shen Changchuan recalled suppressing an Outer Region prodigy and discovering that many Outer Region prodigies had condensed Divine Ability Seeds.
• Shen Changchuan remembered You Longzi calling them a special generation and realized their Divine Ability Seeds were connected to the Immortal Sect Daozi's ancient opportunity.
• Shen Changchuan wondered whether he could defeat Daozi but trusted his Progress Bar Panel and accepted that he might lose to a superior genius.
• Shen Changchuan reasoned that Daozi might not intervene in his conflict with the Xundao Association, whose connection to Daozi seemed uncertain.
• Shen Changchuan regretted wasting his Qi Induction realm chance to enter the Ancient Ruins assessment and waited for Master to return and take him to the Immortal Sect.

Shen Changchuan spent months cultivating in Soul Severing City, but Treading Air Steps remained stuck at 40% even as his Cultivation Realm advanced to the late eighth level of the Out of Body Stage. You Longzi finally returned and told him to come pay respects to their Patriarch.

• Shen Changchuan continued secluded cultivation for half a year, studying Space Power, practicing spells, and absorbing High-grade Spirit Stones while waiting for his Master.
• Shen Changchuan found that Treading Air Steps had stalled at 40%, leaving him concerned about his future competitions and his chance to advance to the Spirit Wandering realm.
• Shen Changchuan kept cultivating despite the bottleneck, and after another three months he broke through to the late eighth level of the Out of Body Stage.
• Shen Changchuan used up his High-grade Spirit Stones, then received one hundred more after a task runner sold off Shi Mengting's spoils.
• You Longzi returned and told Shen Changchuan to come pay respects to their Patriarch.

At the Shen Family estate, Zhou Tianhai celebrated the Zhou Family's success in securing a crucial slot, while First Madam warned that Shen Chong could disrupt their scheme. Zhou Tianhai blamed her for letting Shen Chong and Shen Changchuan grow into threats, and she admitted she had failed to eliminate them.

• Zhou Tianhai celebrated receiving confirmation that the Zhou Family had obtained the slot needed for its plan.
• First Madam warned Zhou Tianhai that Shen Chong had likely wiped out another Zhou Family team and could interfere with their operation.
• First Madam revealed that she wanted her maternal family’s support to eliminate Shen Chong and Shen Changchuan before the Zhou Family departed.
• Zhou Tianhai berated First Madam for failing to kill the two Shen brothers while they were weak and for causing the Zhou Family’s losses.
• First Madam admitted fault but said her earlier attempts to have the brothers hunted down had failed.

Zhou Tianhai decided to probe Shen Chong for the powerful inheritance he suspected had made him so strong, while ruling out an attack on Shen Changchuan because of You Longzi. Meanwhile, Shen Changchuan followed You Longzi into the Yuqing Immortal Sect’s secret realm and met the unseen presence of his Grandmaster.

• First Madam asked Zhou Tianhai how the Zhou Family should deal with Shen Chong, and Zhou Tianhai suspected Shen Chong had gained a powerful inheritance rather than a hidden Master.
• Zhou Tianhai chose to focus on the Ancient Inheritance Assessment while probing Shen Chong, but refused to provoke Shen Changchuan because You Longzi stood behind him.
• Shen Changchuan followed You Longzi aboard the Ten Thousand Miles Empty Boat to the Yuqing Immortal Sect and entered a profound Cave Heaven Secret Realm.
• You Longzi brought Shen Changchuan into the dangerous void at the heart of the secret realm and respectfully greeted his own Master.
• Shen Changchuan sensed a powerful presence hidden within the dark vortex and stood respectfully beside You Longzi.

You Longzi asked his Master to secure Shen Changchuan a place in the Ancient Inheritance Assessment, offering to give up his next chance at the Seven Sons of the Immortal Sect selection. Meanwhile, Shi Mengting told the Tianmo Sect Old Ancestor that a cultivator wielding Space Power had thwarted her and requested a dharma gate to avenge the humiliation.

• The ancient voice in the void identified Shen Changchuan’s cultivation methods and asked You Longzi why he had come.
• You Longzi asked his Master for a place for Shen Changchuan in the Ancient Inheritance Assessment, but his Master said his declining influence made it difficult to help.
• You Longzi offered to surrender his next Seven Sons of the Immortal Sect selection opportunity in exchange for the slot, and his Master agreed.
• At the Tianmo Sect, Shi Mengting told the Old Ancestor that someone using Space Power had disrupted her Sky Control Bracelet and nearly taken advantage of her.
• Shi Mengting asked the Old Ancestor to bestow a dharma gate so she could avenge her humiliation if she encountered that person again.

Shi Mengting asked the Tianmo Sect's Old Ancestor to strengthen her Sky Control Bracelet after explaining how Shen Changchuan had disrupted it and defeated her. Two months before the Ancient Inheritance Assessment, she prepared to target the Yuqing Sect, while Shen Changchuan made progress cultivating Treading Air Steps.

• Shi Mengting recalled her defeat by Shen Changchuan and concluded that she had lost because she panicked when he disrupted the Sky Control Bracelet and Three Thousand Illusory Void Steps.
• Shi Mengting told the Old Ancestor that Shen Changchuan, a disciple of You Longzi, had wielded Space Power to interfere with her techniques.
• The Old Ancestor explained that strengthening the Sky Control Bracelet would reduce her control over it, and Shi Mengting chose to accept that trade-off.
• The Old Ancestor announced that the Ancient Inheritance Assessment would begin in two months and urged Shi Mengting to deal with the Yuqing Sect's attendees.
• Shi Mengting resolved to use the assessment to take revenge on the Yuqing Sect, while Shen Changchuan saw that his Treading Air Steps had reached 50% progress.

Shen Changchuan made major gains from Old Ancestor Qian Yuan’s guidance, advancing Treading Air Steps and stabilizing his cultivation. After traveling with You Longzi to the junction of four great domains, they arrived at a vast, desolate Absolute Spirit Land.

• Shen Changchuan raised Treading Air Steps to 50% progress after receiving seven days of instruction from Old Ancestor Qian Yuan.
• Old Ancestor Qian Yuan showed Shen Changchuan the power of severed space and helped resolve flaws in his spiritual power.
• Shen Changchuan’s cultivation rose as he approached the peak of the Out of Body Stage eighth level.
• You Longzi piloted the Ten Thousand Miles Empty Boat with Shen Changchuan to the junction of four great domains.
• Shen Changchuan and You Longzi found the region to be a vast Absolute Spirit Land without spiritual resonance or Heavenly Treasures.

Shen Changchuan discovered an Absolute Spirit Land and learned about its ancient trial, then listened as You Longzi explained the Southeast Continent and the distant relationships between its great-domain powers. The two continued onward with Shen Changchuan gaining a broader understanding of the world around him.

• Shen Changchuan found that he could not sense any spiritual energy in the region and realized it was an Absolute Spirit Land.
• You Longzi explained that a thousand years earlier, a Mysterious Pill realm expert had failed to establish spiritual mountains and veins there, and that the ancient assessment might drain the surrounding spiritual energy.
• You Longzi told Shen Changchuan that cultivators lost cultivation by staying in the Absolute Spirit Land, and that immortal sects kept others away because of the ancient inheritance.
• You Longzi described the six great domains of the Southeast Continent and explained that their immense distances limited the influence of their hegemonic forces.
• Shen Changchuan learned that the Yuqing Immortal Sect and Tianmo Sect were bitter enemies, while other top forces generally had little contact and needed a pretext for exchanges.

Shen Changchuan reviewed his improved abilities and decided to save the Ascending Origin Pill until after the Ancient Inheritance Assessment. He waited with You Longzi at the jade platform that served as the gathering point, where a Buddhist participant arrived in a flash of golden light.

• Shen Changchuan noted that his Treading Air Steps had reached 55% and his improved Golden Thorn Technique had reached 5%, giving him a powerful new attack.
• Shen Changchuan considered using the Ascending Origin Pill to break through to the Out of Body Stage ninth level but decided to wait until after the assessment.
• You Longzi brought Shen Changchuan to the vast jade platform used as the gathering point and entrance for the ancient inheritance assessment.
• A Buddhist participant arrived amid shaking space, golden light, and chanting, and apologized to You Longzi for being late.

You Longzi and Master Bu Chi reunited and introduced Shen Changchuan to the Suspended Temple monk Wu Hua before the other factions arrived for the Ancient Inheritance Assessment. Shen Changchuan recognized Shi Mengting among the arrivals and remembered how much stronger she was than him.

• Bu Chi arrived on a golden alms bowl, greeted You Longzi, and praised Shen Changchuan as a natural talent.
• Bu Chi introduced Wu Hua as a fellow Suspended Temple disciple and one of its most outstanding young geniuses.
• Shen Changchuan sensed a chill from Wu Hua and secretly guarded against him.
• The factions' flying vessels arrived as the Ancient Inheritance Assessment's competitors gathered.
• Shen Changchuan recognized Shi Mengting of the Tianmo Sect and recalled her overwhelming strength at the Elephant Mountain Sect ruins.