Chapter Summaries

Situ Yuan learned that Shen Changchuan had reached Big Bay City in the Tiannan sub-region, exposing how Shen had slipped past his elaborate surveillance net. Situ Yuan inferred that Shen had used a void-traversing flying vessel, leaving him to reconsider how his target had traveled billions of miles.

• Situ Yuan’s collaborators mocked him after news arrived that Shen Changchuan had appeared in the Tiannan sub-region and returned to Big Bay City.
• Situ Yuan realized Shen had evaded the merchant-route surveillance, hidden agents, and intelligence network he had assembled to catch him.
• Situ Yuan recalled that Shen had left his Cave Abode two months earlier, and concluded that the apparent return to seclusion had been a feint.
• Situ Yuan suppressed his anger and reasoned that Shen must have traveled aboard a flying vessel capable of traversing the void.
• Situ Yuan noted that such a precious vessel could only be purchased in the Cultivation World of the Central Continent.

Situ Yuan blamed Shen Changchuan’s escape on an unexpected flying boat and promised to personally pursue him after securing three years of cover from his allies. In Big Bay City, Shen Changchuan failed to extract information from a captured scout, suspected the attackers belonged to a hidden organization within the Yuqing Immortal Sect, and resolved to seek help from his Master while recognizing his need to grow stronger.

• Situ Yuan concluded that someone from Ten Thousand Ren Peak had gifted Shen Changchuan a Void-Escaping Flying Boat, and his associates blamed him for their failed scheme and wasted expenses.
• Situ Yuan agreed to personally go to the Southern Yue Land to kill Shen Changchuan, provided his allies covered for him for at least three years.
• Shen Changchuan searched a captured prisoner’s soul but found no useful information because the scout’s organization had sealed his memories.
• Shen Changchuan suspected that the covert attackers were fellow members of the Yuqing Immortal Sect and decided to ask his Master for help, with Ancestor Qianyuan as a possible next recourse.
• Shen Changchuan left the prison feeling that outside assistance could only help temporarily and that he needed to advance beyond his Out of Body Stage ninth-level peak cultivation.

After consuming Enlightenment Tea, Shen Changchuan found his soul, aptitude, and comprehension greatly improved, bringing his Years True Intent to 4.6%. He planned to rest in Big Bay City before pursuing ten percent True Intent and a possible advance to the Spirit Wandering realm.

• Shen Changchuan saw that his Years True Intent had risen to 4.6% after consuming Enlightenment Tea.
• Shen Changchuan's heightened perception helped him uncover foreign spies in Big Bay City, while the tea strengthened his soul and improved his comprehension and aptitude.
• Shen Changchuan realized he could now sense traces of Great Dao power in the Qiu Long Duo Sheng Mu branch and suspected they could help his Years True Intent.
• Shen Changchuan estimated that his remaining resources could raise his True Intent to eight or nine percent, and considered reaching ten percent before the joint grand competition.
• Shen Changchuan set aside thoughts of advancing early and decided to rest in Big Bay City after nearly two years of cultivation and vigilance.

Shen Changchuan returned to the preserved site of Great Bay Village and reflected on how far he had risen from a vulnerable Qi Gathering cultivator to one of the Tiannan Domain’s strongest. He left the village valuing the security he had gained, even as he fondly remembered his dangerous early struggles.

• Shen Changchuan saw that the Han Family had preserved the old village and its surroundings for his visits.
• Shen Changchuan compared his former weakness with his current status near the top of the Tiannan Domain’s Cultivation World.
• Shen Changchuan walked through the village and recalled the hardships he and the Han clansmen had endured there.
• Shen Changchuan missed the excitement of his perilous early days but affirmed that he would not give up the security he had pursued.

Shen Changchuan returned to his old home in Great Bay Village, where a walk up the mountain unexpectedly cleansed his mind and deepened his Years True Intent. After visiting Big Bay City and learning about the Han Family, he left to see his retired relatives in the hidden Han Family refuge at Yang Family Town.

• Shen Changchuan climbed to his old mountain residence and experienced a profound calm that raised his Years True Intent to 4.8%.
• Shen Changchuan savored the restored Half-Mountain Courtyard and its golden Spirit Grain fields, feeling comforted by the place he considered his first home.
• The next morning, Shen Changchuan took a Pure Origin Bright Dao Pill and wandered through Great Bay Village’s former site toward the center of Big Bay City.
• Shen Changchuan met the young Han Family ruler of Big Bay City, declined a welcoming banquet, learned about the city and family, and left without interfering.
• Shen Changchuan traveled to Yang Family Town, where his mother Han Yue'er, his uncle Han Dayong, and other elderly relatives lived in retirement.

Shen Changchuan traveled to Yang Family Town to visit his mother, who lived in a hidden retreat for the Han Family. Reflecting on the vast gulf between his strength and that of greater cultivators, he renewed his resolve to keep advancing and arrived unnoticed at the manor.

• Shen Changchuan recalled that repeated attacks on Great Bay Village had caused losses and that he could not always protect his relatives there.
• Shen Changchuan went to Yang Family Town, a secret retreat where his mother and Han Dayong lived and where Han Qinhu was buried.
• Shen Changchuan passed unseen through the crowded streets and reflected on how far stronger cultivators could treat him as an insignificant being.
• Shen Changchuan resolved to keep cultivating until he reached the peak of the world and transcended it.
• Shen Changchuan entered the guarded manor unnoticed and addressed someone as "Uncle."

Shen Changchuan visited his elderly uncle Han Dayong and listened to his stories of life in Great Bay Village and the Cultivation World. As Han Dayong led him to visit his mother, Shen Changchuan learned she had loved flowers since childhood and reflected on how First Madam had kept her from tending them in Shen Family Manor.

• Shen Changchuan found Han Dayong practicing martial arts and greeted his eighty-year-old uncle, who had reached the Ninth Layer Qi Gathering Peak.
• Shen Changchuan and Han Dayong reminisced about their past, and Han Dayong recounted his adventures in Great Bay Village and the Cultivation World.
• Shen Changchuan listened patiently as Han Dayong's stories helped him gain a little more of True Meaning: Time.
• Han Dayong led Shen Changchuan toward the back mountain and explained that he had returned to live near his father's tomb while Shen Changchuan's mother tended her plants.
• Han Dayong told Shen Changchuan that his mother had wanted a garden since childhood, prompting Shen Changchuan to realize First Madam had likely prevented her from growing plants in Shen Family Manor.

Shen Changchuan reflected on his ties to the Shen Family, then spent seven peaceful days visiting his mother, Han Yue'er, before leaving to return to the Southern Yue Land. During the journey, he discovered that his Years True Intent had advanced to 6.1% after taking a Pure Origin Bright Dao Pill and wondered whether wandering had helped more than secluded cultivation.

• Shen Changchuan considered the possible consequences of killing the Zhou Family members and decided he would help the Shen Family if he ever had the chance, despite his conflicted feelings toward them.
• Han Dayong led Shen Changchuan to Han Yue'er's secluded home, where she happily showed him her garden and the new plant varieties she had cultivated using his ideas.
• Shen Changchuan spent seven carefree days with Han Yue'er, talking with her and helping tend her garden.
• Concerned about the battle in the Southern Yue Land, Shen Changchuan said farewell to Han Yue'er and Han Dayong and left Yang Family Town.
• While flying away, Shen Changchuan saw that his Years True Intent had reached 6.1% and questioned whether wandering after taking a Pure Origin Bright Dao Pill had advanced it more than secluded cultivation.

After refining a second Pure Origin Bright Dao Pill, Shen Changchuan raised his Years True Intent to 6.1% and saw a path toward reaching ten percent before advancing to the Spirit Wandering realm. He decided to sharpen his comprehension through battle in the Southern Yue Land, but first flew back to the Dragon Firmament Sect to learn about the front lines.

• Shen Changchuan realized that his recent experiences in Great Bay Village had aligned his Dao heart and insights with the Years True Intent, helping him refine the pill and gain 1.3% progress.
• Shen Changchuan regretted that he could not easily recreate the state of sudden enlightenment, but judged that his remaining resources could bring his comprehension close to ten percent.
• Shen Changchuan resolved to digest his gains before taking another pill, since rushing would weaken its effects and repeated use would increase resistance.
• Shen Changchuan concluded that battle would best help him master and absorb the Years True Intent, and reaffirmed his decision to go to the Southern Yue Land.
• Shen Changchuan accelerated his Escape Light toward the Dragon Firmament Sect's mountain gate to check the front-line situation before departing.

Shen Changchuan returned to the Dragon Firmament Sect and found its mountain gate largely deserted, with the sect’s leaders stationed at the front lines in the Southern Yue Land. He met Chen Mingdao, the acting manager, whose determination to keep striving despite the gap between them moved him.

• Shen Changchuan heard disciples speculate that the Dragon Firmament Sect might relocate to the Southern Yue Land because its leaders rarely returned from the front lines.
• Shen Changchuan searched the main hall and External Affairs Hall for Senior Sister Wei but found no familiar faces.
• Chen Mingdao, an early Dragon Firmament Sect disciple who had once vowed to surpass Shen Changchuan, told him he was now at the Out of Body Stage Fourth Layer and managing the mountain gate.
• Chen Mingdao praised Shen Changchuan for winning first place in the Immortal Sect internal grand competition, yet vowed to keep striving even if he could never catch up.
• Shen Changchuan was moved by Chen Mingdao’s resolve and told him he thought highly of him.

Shen Changchuan learned from Chen Mingdao that the Righteous Path Alliance had been driven back to Soul Severing Mountain after the Netherworld Sect joined the war. After reviewing the situation and weighing his strength and escape options, Shen Changchuan decided the journey to the Southern Yue Land was feasible.

• Shen Changchuan asked Chen Mingdao about the Southern Yue Land and learned that the Netherworld Sect had joined the war and devastated the Righteous Path Alliance.
• Chen Mingdao explained that the alliance had retreated to Soul Severing Mountain, where Master and Martial Uncle Ming Xuanyang struggled to hold Soul Severing City against the Demonic Path Alliance.
• Chen Mingdao urged Shen Changchuan to stay at the mountain gate because Spirit Wandering realm devil cultivators made travel through the wilderness extremely dangerous.
• Shen Changchuan collected the available intelligence and spent three days studying the enemy forces and battlefield situation.
• Shen Changchuan judged that his strength and escape tools would let him survive the journey, and decided to go to the Southern Yue Land.

Luo Jiuzhang joined Wu Tianhao’s supply fleet to Barbaric City and explained that he had been watching Wu because his fortune had changed. He left after warning Wu of an impending calamity and sensing that a great war would soon engulf the Southern Yue Land.

• Wu Tianhao questioned why Luo Jiuzhang had insisted on joining the fleet, and Luo said traveling with them was more comfortable.
• Luo revealed that he had been studying Wu’s fortune and saw signs that Wu might now have a chance to reach the Spirit Wandering realm, possibly because of his connection to Shen Changchuan.
• Luo wondered whether Shen Changchuan was responsible for the change in Wu’s fate, then decided to wait for their karma to deepen.
• Luo saw an omen of a great war over the Southern Yue Land and hoped to gain benefits from his journey.
• Luo warned Wu that he would soon face a calamity but would ultimately turn it into good fortune, then flew away.

Wei Yuting and the leaders in Barbaric City discussed how worsening Demonic Cultivator attacks threatened their supply routes and the front at Soul Severing City. The meeting ended with news that the Seven Absolute Old Demon’s son, now a Netherworld Sect disciple, was coming to destroy Barbaric City.

• Barbaric City filled with retreating Righteous Path cultivators as Demonic Cultivators overran outposts and attacked supply convoys.
• Wei Yuting warned the assembled faction leaders that enemy forces were nearing the city and might soon strike the route from the Tiannan Domain.
• Gu Xuanqing proposed shifting escorts from the Soul Severing City route to protect the rear route, but the leaders argued that reducing the existing escort would endanger supplies.
• Patriarch Ouyang said the Righteous Path Alliance could not solve its crisis without matching the Demonic Cultivators’ high-end strength.
• Patriarch Ouyang revealed intelligence that the Seven Absolute Old Demon’s son, a Netherworld Sect disciple, had set out to destroy Barbaric City.

The Righteous Path Alliance learned that Zuo Jiuyin was heading for Barbaric City and prepared to defend the city while seeking reinforcements. Two days later, Wu Tianhao’s fleet was ambushed by high-level Netherworld Sect cultivators.

• Patriarch Ouyang reported that Zuo Jiuyin was traveling from Soul Severing City toward Barbaric City, and the alliance leaders accepted the notarized intelligence as genuine.
• Shen Yingxia and the other leaders feared Barbaric City could not withstand Zuo Jiuyin, so Patriarch Ouyang asked Wei Yuting to seek reinforcements from the Immortal Sect.
• Wei Yuting decided to notify her master, suspend logistical transport, inspect the city’s defenses, and prepare Barbaric City to hold out.
• Two days later, a black beam struck Wu Tianhao’s leading flying ship three thousand li from Barbaric City.
• Wu Tianhao spotted two powerful Netherworld Sect Devil Cultivators rising from the forest and realized the fleet was facing a high-level ambush.

Wu Tianhao’s transport fleet was ambushed by two powerful Netherworld Sect Devil Cultivators, and his escape seemed hopeless after he used his life-saving Jade Talisman. Shen Changchuan arrived in time to cut through the darkness and save him.

• Wu Tianhao realized the attackers were high-ranking Netherworld Sect Devil Cultivators and ordered the fleet to scatter.
• The tall, thin Devil Cultivator attacked the fleet while the squat, fat one charged Wu Tianhao.
• Wu Tianhao used a Jade Talisman containing an attack from his Master, apparently pulverizing both attackers before fleeing.
• The Devil Cultivators survived, and the tall, thin one trapped Wu Tianhao in black mist while his elder brother pursued the other ships.
• As Wu Tianhao gave up hope, Shen Changchuan’s sword light pierced the darkness and broke the Devil Cultivator’s technique.
• Shen Changchuan appeared beside Wu Tianhao and asked whether he was all right.

Shen Changchuan rescued Wu Tianhao by effortlessly killing a Netherworld Sect Out of Body Stage ninth level devil cultivator, leaving Wu Tianhao stunned by the gulf between their powers. After they reunited, another Shen Changchuan returned carrying a captured high-ranking devil cultivator, and Wu Tianhao learned that he was an incarnation.

• Shen Changchuan appeared beside Wu Tianhao after killing the tall, thin Netherworld Sect devil cultivator with an Azure Wood Sword Light.
• Wu Tianhao greeted Shen Changchuan and marveled that his former junior had grown far beyond his ability to understand.
• Shen Changchuan modestly credited his strength to small tricks and respectfully addressed Wu Tianhao as Senior Brother.
• The two flying boats returned with another Shen Changchuan holding the short, fat high-ranking Netherworld Sect devil cultivator.
• Wu Tianhao asked about the second Shen Changchuan, and Shen Changchuan explained that it was an incarnation secret art.

Shen Changchuan returned to the Southern Yue Land and learned from Wu Tianhao that the Righteous Path Alliance had been driven back to a handful of major cities. As they arrived at Barbaric City, Shen Changchuan realized his strength alone could not reverse the war against the Demonic Path Alliance’s overwhelming Spirit Wandering realm advantage.

• Wu Tianhao watched Shen Changchuan’s duplicate capture a peak Out of Body Stage eighth-level Netherworld Sect Devil Cultivator and accepted Shen Changchuan’s request for guidance.
• Wu Tianhao explained that the Righteous Path Alliance had suffered repeated defeats since the Netherworld Sect joined the battlefield, retreating to cities such as Soul Severing City and Barbaric City.
• Shen Changchuan captured a distant Demonic Cultivator scout and struck at others with an Azure Wood Sword Light as his fleet traveled toward Barbaric City.
• Shen Changchuan learned that the Righteous Path Alliance controlled fewer than five major cities and that its Spirit Wandering realm forces faced more than twice as many enemies.
• Shen Changchuan concluded that he could not overcome the enemy’s numerical advantage alone and worried that the collapsing front would ruin Master’s plans.

The damaged supply fleet reached Barbaric City as the city prepared for an impending attack, and its crew described how Shen Changchuan had rescued them from powerful Netherworld Sect cultivators. Their accounts further spread his reputation as an Out of Body Stage cultivator with Spirit Wandering realm combat power.

• The supply fleet landed in Barbaric City and received an unusually enthusiastic welcome because it was the only fleet to arrive amid reports that other supply ships had gone missing.
• The crew recalled being attacked by two powerful Netherworld Sect cultivators and said Shen Changchuan had saved them and helped deliver their cargo intact.
• The fleet members described Shen Changchuan defeating the attackers, including one he killed through a clone, and marveled at his strength.
• People at the docks discussed Shen Changchuan's feats and his first-place finish in the Immortal Sect Grand Competition, spreading his fame further.
• Cultivators admired Shen Changchuan's rise from modest beginnings and treated him as an example of success achieved largely through his own efforts.

Shen Changchuan arrived at Barbaric City to help the Righteous Path Alliance, but Wei Yuting urged him to return because the city faced an imminent attack by Zuo Jiuyin. He persuaded her to let him stay and help defend the city, while she made him promise to obey orders and avoid unnecessary risks.

• Shen Changchuan told Wei Yuting he had returned from the Immortal Sect Grand Competition to help in the war.
• Wei Yuting warned Shen Changchuan that he remained a high-priority target for the Devil Dao and urged him to return to the Tiannan Domain to cultivate and support the sect.
• Wei Yuting explained that Zuo Jiuyin, a powerful Spirit Wandering realm devil, threatened Barbaric City, whose defenses lacked a Spirit Wandering realm cultivator.
• Shen Changchuan reassured Wei Yuting that he would stay inside Barbaric City and help defend it rather than leave alone.
• Wei Yuting allowed Shen Changchuan to stay but ordered him to obey the City Lord's Mansion, prepare for battle, and withdraw if the situation turned dangerous.

Wei Yuting warned Shen Changchuan to prioritize his safety, leading him to realize Barbaric City faced a grave crisis. After seeking information from Shen Yingxia, he learned that Zuo Jiuyin was approaching and had already defeated two powerful opponents.

• Wei Yuting changed her mind about Shen Changchuan leaving Barbaric City and repeatedly urged him to flee if danger arose.
• After Wei Yuting left to handle City Lord's Mansion business, Shen Changchuan realized her warnings suggested Barbaric City might be breached or destroyed.
• Shen Changchuan decided to learn more about the danger and went to ask Shen Family Third Elder Shen Yingxia for information.
• Shen Yingxia told Shen Changchuan that Zuo Jiuyin, a third-level Spirit Wandering cultivator, had defeated the combined forces of the Shen Family Old Ancestor and the Ancient Sword Sect's Supreme Elder.
• Shen Changchuan pondered whether his strength would be enough to face Zuo Jiuyin.