Chapter Summaries

Xiao Ling survived the Phantom Demon General's Will's ambush, trapped everyone in his Domain of Rules, and suppressed the avatar despite the true body's offer of a chance to become an Emperor. After the avatar possessed him and was erased by a mysterious power in his mind, Xiao Ling returned everyone to the burial chamber, where Tang Huo'er demanded thanks and jokingly offered herself to him.

• The Phantom Demon General's true body fought Dao Chenzi while Tang Huo'er and Cao Ying worried about Xiao Ling in the main burial chamber.
• Xiao Ling followed the Phantom Demon General's Will into the ruins, evaded its peak-strength halberd strike by entering his Creation Space, and watched it believe he had been killed.
• The Phantom Demon General's Will threatened Tang Huo'er and Cao Ying, but Xiao Ling appeared and used his Domain of Rules to transport everyone into it.
• Xiao Ling asked Dao Chenzi to hold back the true body and attacked the Will with Death Gate Suppression, refusing the true body's offer of a chance to become an Emperor.
• The Phantom Demon General's Will self-destructed and sent black light into Xiao Ling's brow, but a golden hand emerged from the depths of Xiao Ling's soul and eliminated it.
• Xiao Ling dismissed the Domain of Rules and returned everyone to the burial chamber, where Tang Huo'er asked why he had not thanked her and Cao Ying, then offered to pledge herself to him.

Xiao Ling protected Tang Huo'er and Cao Ying from the Phantom Demon General, then helped Dao Chenzi turn the battle in their favor. Dao Chenzi began sacrificing his remaining life to reignite the Undying Lightning Flame and suppress the demon, while passing Xiao Ling the Heaven Tier Dou Technique Cauldron Suppresses Mountains and Rivers.

• Tang Huo'er offered Xiao Ling a healing pill and joked that she and Cao Ying would give themselves to him if he shared his collection and helped cripple Bai Ying, but Xiao Ling chose the pill and declined.
• The Phantom Demon General suddenly attacked Tang Huo'er and Cao Ying, and Xiao Ling stepped in to take the blow before stamping a Bagua Seal onto the demon’s brow.
• Dao Chenzi struck the Phantom Demon General repeatedly while Xiao Ling admitted to himself that his injuries were severe, and Tang Huo'er and Cao Ying thanked him and invited him to visit them in the Central Plains.
• Dao Chenzi summoned his Lightning Flame Cauldron and used the fire of his life to rekindle the Undying Lightning Flame, preparing to sacrifice himself to suppress the Phantom Demon General.
• Dao Chenzi passed Xiao Ling the High Heaven Tier Dou Technique Cauldron Suppresses Mountains and Rivers, then sent the enlarged, lightning-wreathed cauldron crashing down toward the demon.

Xiao Ling helped Dao Chenzi restore the Undying Lightning Flame and suppress the Phantom Demon General, while using the System to foil the demon’s attempt to enslave him. Dao Chenzi sacrificed himself to seal the enemy for another hundred thousand years, leaving Xiao Ling with his life experiences and a possible way to awaken him once Xiao Ling became an Emperor.

• The Phantom Demon General secretly sent a Demon Seed toward Xiao Ling, but Xiao Ling used the System to seal it and pretend it had entered his soul.
• Xiao Ling summoned Dragon Sparrow and used the Thunder Origin Rune to draw down lightning, restoring the Undying Lightning Flame and burning away the Phantom Demon General’s demonic energy.
• Dao Chenzi prepared to seal the Phantom Demon General, while Xiao Ling sent Tang Huo'er and Cao Ying out of the cave dwelling with gifts and a promise to keep its secrets.
• Dao Chenzi gave Xiao Ling his life experiences and warned him not to reveal his Domain of Rules before he could protect himself.
• Dao Chenzi entered the spatial rift to suppress the Phantom Demon General for another hundred thousand years, telling Xiao Ling that becoming an Emperor might let him awaken Dao Chenzi.

The cave estate’s survivors emerged as a massive Thunder Punishment Vortex gathered overhead, then vanished after Dao Chenzi apparently suppressed the danger. Tang Huo'er and Cao Ying claimed they had split the inheritance, while Bai Ying tried to expose the mysterious man who had taken pills; the factions departed, leaving Fa Ma and Jia Xingtian to wonder whether the man was Xiao Ling.

• Fa Ma and the guardians watched the geniuses get swept out of the cave estate as a huge Thunder Punishment Vortex formed above them.
• Tang Huo'er and Cao Ying emerged together, teased each other, and privately hoped Senior Dao Chenzi would suppress the threat.
• The Thunder Punishment Vortex disappeared, and Tang Huo'er told the guardians that she and Cao Ying had divided the final inheritance after driving away a mysterious man.
• Bai Ying congratulated Cao Ying, then urged the factions to report the mysterious man who had taken seventh- and eighth-tier pills to Danta.
• Fen Old Man defended Burning Flame Valley’s handling of the matter, and the Bai Clan left after its guardian rebuked Bai Ying.
• After the factions departed, Jia Xingtian asked whether the mysterious man might be Xiao Ling, and Fa Ma gave an evasive reply.

Xiao Ling recovered from his shattered dantian and meridians with the system’s treatment plan, then used part of the Soul Heart to strengthen his soul. He broke through to the Spirit Realm, leaving nine portions of the Soul Heart in the system space.

• News spread across the Jia Ma Empire that a mysterious person had taken most of the cave dwelling’s spiritual herbs and pills while making the six great factions suffer.
• Xiao Ling followed the system’s treatment plan for half a month, using painful medicinal baths, breathing cultivation, and special meals to restore his dantian and meridians.
• Xiao Ling fully recovered, finding his reshaped meridians and dantian nearly twice as large and tough, which doubled his overall combat strength.
• Xiao Ling reviewed his cave dwelling gains and asked the system whether he could refine the Soul Heart to help Mittel Aoxue.
• Xiao Ling paid fifty years of lifespan for the system to divide the Soul Heart into ten portions, then refined one portion.
• Xiao Ling’s soul absorbed the Soul Heart’s energy and broke through to the Spirit Realm.

After twenty-five days of cultivation, Xiao Ling’s soul reached the Late Spirit Realm and became physical. He achieved a ninety percent success rate refining Third-grade Pills, then made a Desire Demon Pill and discovered its powder could drive magical beasts to deadly frenzy.

• Xiao Ling emerged from his cocoon with a physical soul and discovered he had reached the Late Spirit Realm.
• Xiao Ling learned he had cultivated for twenty-five days, bathed, and began testing his alchemy.
• Xiao Ling refined ten kinds of Third-grade Pills with a ninety percent success rate.
• Xiao Ling bought the recipe and ingredients for a Desire Demon Pill, then successfully refined his first Fourth-grade Pill.
• Xiao Ling fed Desire Demon Pill powder to two Tier 1 Short-Tailed Rats, and their frenzy caused their heads to burst.

Xiao Ling considered trading five thousand years of lifespan for the method to condense the Devouring Ancestral Symbol, then consulted the pill beasts about providing the lifespan. He released ten pill beasts and tried to recruit their elder sister, but accidentally shattered her barrier and found her naked in human form.

• Xiao Ling confirmed with the System that he could trade for the Devouring Ancestral Symbol’s condensing method, but it cost five thousand years of lifespan.
• Xiao Ling learned the System could plunder lifespan and entered the Pill Cauldron to discuss the matter with the pill beasts.
• Xiao Ling found Dragon Sparrow sharing pills with Dan Yi, then had Dragon Sparrow release ten pill beasts and gave them fourth-grade pills.
• Xiao Ling offered the mist-shrouded Ninth-Grade Medicinal Pill a chance to attain the true Emperor Realm if she cooperated with him.
• Xiao Ling extended his soul power into the barrier, accidentally broke it, and found the naked pill spirit inside, whom he hurriedly covered with a robe.

Xiao Ling used Soul Flame to refine a Grade 8 Pill in an attempt to wake the gravely injured Dan Ling, while Dan Yi and the other Pill Beasts played a game with Dragon Sparrow. Dan Ling awakened on her own, returned the pill, and challenged Xiao Ling over whether he intended to take her blood by force or negotiate fairly.

• Xiao Ling used Soul Flame to melt a Grade 8 Pill and infused its essence into Dan Ling, but she did not appear to wake.
• Dan Yi and the other Pill Beasts disguised themselves as identical girls, and Dragon Sparrow gave each one a Fifth-grade Pill while trying to find Dan Yi.
• Dragon Sparrow finally recognized Dan Yi, while Xiao Ling prepared to sacrifice a second Grade 8 Pill for Dan Ling.
• Dan Ling suddenly appeared awake with the pill in her hand, returned it to Xiao Ling, and said that saving her had repaid his debt.
• Dan Ling asked whether Xiao Ling would take her blood by force or trade fairly, and Xiao Ling insisted he would negotiate.

Xiao Ling secured the Pill Beasts’ essence and traded most of his lifespan for the method to condense the Devouring Ancestral Symbol, only to learn that failed attempts would require enormously costly devouring origin. He then bargained with Pill Spirit for her origin and left her weakened but agreed to provide pills for her recovery.

• Xiao Ling agreed to trade Grade 8 Pills for Pill Spirit’s blood essence and paid her to intervene if he was in danger.
• Xiao Ling negotiated with Dan Yi and the Pill Beasts, who gave him their essence in exchange for Grade 8 Pills and daily Fourth-grade Pills.
• Xiao Ling used the essence to gain 4,500 years of lifespan, then spent 5,000 years to obtain the Devouring Ancestral Symbol method, leaving him with 200 years.
• Xiao Ling learned that a failed attempt would destroy the devouring origin and that replacing it would cost 10,000 years of lifespan.
• Xiao Ling traded Pill Spirit thirty Grade 8 Pills refined with three-color pill lightning and a daily seventh-grade pill for her origin.
• Pill Spirit gave Xiao Ling her origin, weakened herself, and retreated to recover after he promised to honor their terms.

Xiao Ling prepared to condense the Devouring Ancestral Symbol, returned part of the Pill Spirit’s origin, and began searching his sea of consciousness for his life soul. He glimpsed a vast Soul River and nearly lost himself before an unseen voice jolted him back, leaving him aware that something had been hiding there.

• Xiao Ling split the Pill Spirit’s origin, used most of it to trade for Devouring Origin, and kept the remainder to return to her.
• Xiao Ling spent ten days refining pills and preparing himself to condense the Devouring Ancestral Symbol, while his pill-making stirred magic beasts and caused mercenary groups losses.
• Xiao Ling returned the Pill Spirit part of her origin and gave her pills to distribute among the little fellows and use for her recovery; she accepted him as her little brother and promised to help him.
• Xiao Ling began searching his sea of consciousness for his life soul and eventually glimpsed an immense Soul River beneath his soul.
• Xiao Ling nearly became trapped by the river’s murmurs, but a familiar-sounding warning pulled him back; an unseen presence remarked that he had almost discovered it.

Xiao Ling asked the Dao nine times while searching for his life soul, drawing the hidden System’s attention to his possible status as a variable. After discovering his fate soul, he began fusing it with the Devouring Origin, enduring the destruction of his soul as the process reached its final stage.

• Xiao Ling asked the Dao nine times, and the System wondered if he was a variable capable of defying the Heavenly Dao.
• Xiao Ling awakened from his search, found his fate soul, and took out the Devouring Origin to begin merging them.
• Xiao Ling slowly transformed the Devouring Origin into liquid, then endured an invisible force grinding his life soul into it.
• The System watched anxiously as Xiao Ling’s soul was ground away, while the Pill Spirit worried and Dragon Sparrow played with Dan Yi.
• Xiao Ling’s life soul completely merged into the golden-flecked liquid, which formed a talisman brush and began writing runes; a second stroke joined the first into a glowing rune.

Xiao Ling continued drawing the Devouring Ancestral Symbol in his sea of consciousness, overcoming the laws of heaven and earth through the sixth stroke before facing an illusion of Xiao Yu during the seventh. He pierced the illusion and completed the stroke, but the devouring vortex pulled his body dangerously close to its origin as the heart-questioning trial approached.

• Xiao Ling broke through the laws of heaven and earth to complete the third and fourth strokes, while the black vortex around his body began drawing him inward.
• Xiao Ling completed the fifth stroke before the laws blocked his sixth; the resulting pressure made magic beasts across the Magic Beast Mountain Range bow, and some mercenaries escaped while others died trying to hunt them.
• The golden Dao marks strengthened, shattered the barrier, and let Xiao Ling complete the sixth stroke, leaving the observer expecting the heart-questioning trial next.
• Xiao Ling's seventh stroke met no resistance, but an illusion of Xiao Yu appeared and begged him to stop; Xiao Ling recognized it as an illusion and pierced her with the brush.
• Xiao Ling completed the seventh stroke as the vortex shrank and its suction intensified, pulling his body to within a little over a hundred meters of its origin.

Xiao Ling nearly failed the ninth stroke of the Dao pattern, but his choice not to sacrifice Xun'er transformed the pattern into a half-formed Devouring Ancestral Symbol. He entered the Devouring Realm and continued walking through its endless darkness, determined to survive.

• Xiao Ling saw through the illusion of Xun'er, destroyed the false Xun'er and the spatial wormhole, and completed the eighth stroke.
• Xiao Ling's ninth stroke stalled and began to fail, leaving the System fearing the backlash could kill him.
• The System asked whether Xiao Ling would sacrifice Xun'er to survive, and Xiao Ling said he would rather die than give up his woman.
• The nine-stroke Dao pattern turned into a devouring vortex, and Xiao Ling's consciousness entered it as the pattern became a half-finished Devouring Ancestral Symbol.
• Xiao Ling spent half a year walking alone along a pitch-black path in the Devouring Realm, relying on his determination to survive.

After eighty-five days of cultivation, Xiao Ling emerged with High-level Spirit Rune Master strength and a half-finished Devouring Ancestral Symbol. He reunited with Pill Spirit, then left his secluded retreat at night to test his Devouring Realm.

• Xiao Ling rejected the apparent exit from his trial and continued walking through the darkness until his Devouring Ancestral Symbol formed and brought him back to his sea of consciousness.
• The Devouring Ancestral Symbol began consuming vitality from the Soul River, but She drained the remaining vitality before it could take more.
• The system confirmed that Xiao Ling had successfully cultivated spiritual power and reached the High-level Spirit Rune Master stage, while his incomplete Devouring Ancestral Symbol possessed a Devouring Realm.
• Xiao Ling reunited with Pill Spirit and gave her seventh-grade pills and the little fellows sixth-grade pills, then gave Dragon Sparrow fifth-grade spiritual herbs.
• Xiao Ling left his cave, used spiritual strength to hover above the waterfall, and decided to find a target to test his Devouring Realm.
• The Azure Sea Golden Crystal Lion confronted the battered Black-robed Woman over a stolen spiritual herb and slain underlings.

Xiao Ling searched the Magic Beast Mountain Range for the Amethyst Winged Lion King and encountered the masked black-robed person, whom he secretly marked with the system. After finding two Amethyst Winged Lion Kings mating by a stream, he provoked them and trapped them in his Devouring Realm to test its power.

• Xiao Ling searched caves and gained insight into his mental state while looking for the Amethyst Winged Lion King's lair.
• Xiao Ling narrowly dodged a Dou Zong-level attack from a masked black-robed person emerging from a cave, then used the system to permanently mark him.
• After searching the area for two days, Xiao Ling found two Amethyst Winged Lion Kings by a stream and mocked them into attacking.
• Xiao Ling unfolded the Devouring Realm, making himself and both Amethyst Winged Lion Kings vanish from the surrounding beasts' sight.
• Inside the pitch-black Devouring Realm, the two Amethyst Winged Lion Kings lost their bearings as the male angrily called for Xiao Ling.

Xiao Ling tested his incomplete Devouring Realm against the two Amethyst Winged Lion Kings, whose combined sealing technique broke through it and left all three fighters injured. He revealed his peak Dou Huang strength and demanded they stay, while Father Amethyst Winged Lion King offered his magic core in exchange for one request.

• Xiao Ling trapped both Amethyst Winged Lion Kings in the Devouring Realm, drained their Dou Qi, and provoked Father Amethyst Winged Lion King to test the technique’s limits.
• The two kings combined their innate sealing technique, and its Dao markings broke the Devouring Realm, injuring them and leaving Xiao Ling’s spiritual strength nearly depleted.
• After the kings proposed a truce, Xiao Ling revealed his Heavenly Domain Thunder Wings and peak Dou Huang aura, making them reconsider fleeing.
• Father Amethyst Winged Lion King warned that he could self-destruct and offered his magic core if Xiao Ling agreed to one request.

Xiao Ling forced the Father and Mother Amethyst Winged Lion Kings to submit, bound them with a contract, and named them Zi Shi and Zi Yi. After giving them pills and Soul Jades, he agreed to help them confront their enemy, the Di Ku Underworld Tiger, and led their group toward its territory.

• Xiao Ling refused to accept the Father Amethyst Winged Lion King's proposed condition and threatened to kill both lions unless they submitted.
• The Father and Mother Amethyst Winged Lion Kings signed Xiao Ling's binding contract and received Soul Jades and Seventh-Rank Imperial Extreme Pills.
• Xiao Ling named the lions Zi Shi and Zi Yi, then told Zi Shi to keep the nearby Magical Beasts quiet.
• Zi Shi told Xiao Ling that the Peak Sixth Tier Di Ku Underworld Tiger had long threatened their territory, and Xiao Ling agreed to confront it.
• Zi Shi and Zi Yi led Xiao Ling and dozens of Magical Beasts toward the Di Ku Underworld Tiger's territory.

Xiao Ling accompanied Zi Shi and Zi Yi to confront the Di Ku Underworld Tiger, then killed him and his legion with a single move. After assigning the cleanup to the Amethyst Winged Lion Kings, Xiao Ling hunted magical beasts for lifespan and encountered a Black-robed Woman by a river.

• The Di Ku Underworld Tiger ordered his legion to prepare for Zi Shi and Zi Yi’s arrival, intending to seize their magic cores.
• At the tiger’s cave, Zi Shi struck the guards and challenged the Di Ku Underworld Tiger, who wounded him and demanded the couple’s magic cores.
• Xiao Ling offered to kill the Di Ku Underworld Tiger in one move, then destroyed the charging Underworld Tiger Legion and killed their leader with Sword Finger.
• Xiao Ling gained 160 years of lifespan, while Zi Shi and Zi Yi realized the full extent of his strength and agreed to gather medicinal herbs for him.
• Xiao Ling left the cleanup to Zi Shi and Zi Yi, hunted magical beasts on his way back, and stopped when he spotted a Black-robed Woman lying beside a river.

Xiao Ling found the gravely injured Yun Yun outside his cave and brought her inside, pretending to be a youth named Ling Xiao. He cleaned and treated her wounds while they awkwardly navigated her vulnerability, and Yun Yun was left recovering in his care.

• Xiao Ling recognized Yun Yun when he found her unconscious and decided to save her because she had suffered while protecting him.
• Xiao Ling carried Yun Yun to his cave, but she woke as he was about to clean her wounds and asked him to move his hands.
• Yun Yun introduced herself as Yun Zhi and allowed Xiao Ling to clean her wounds, warning him not to look or touch improperly.
• Xiao Ling turned Yun Yun over and treated her injuries with Blood Coagulation Powder while the two exchanged embarrassed warnings and thanks.
• Xiao Ling finished applying medicine to Yun Yun's wounds and told her they would heal without scars after several days of rest and further treatment.

Xiao Ling treated Yun Yun's injuries and cared for her in a cave while she recovered, though neither knew the full danger of the poison in her meridians. Yun Yun accepted his help and invited him to join the Misty Cloud Sect, while a beast-led pursuit spread through the Magic Beast Mountain Range that night.

• Xiao Ling gave Yun Yun a sixth-grade Pulse-Renewing Pill and asked her to repay him with one favor; Yun Yun agreed and said she had been ambushed while searching for a spiritual herb.
• Xiao Ling explained that he had come to train, then caught fish and cooked a meal for the injured Yun Yun.
• Yun Yun offered to introduce Xiao Ling to the Misty Cloud Sect, but he declined because he preferred to remain free.
• Xiao Ling kept watch outside the cave as Yun Yun discovered that Desire Poison still rampaged through her meridians and vowed to tear apart the Azure Sea Golden Crystal Lion.
• A pursuit spread from the Azure Sea Golden Crystal Lion's territory, and magic beasts attacked mercenary squads in the inner region.