Chapter Summaries

Chen Changsheng urged Mo Bai, Baleful Shadow, and the others to pursue their cultivation paths and keep the courage to challenge the Immortal Emperor. Outside the black mist, Xu Qianzhui and Yuan Yi calmly reunited, and Xu explained why he had spared Yuan Yi after the Dark Turmoil.

• Chen Changsheng explained that Mo Bai’s visualization and Baleful Shadow’s soul technique could help them explore how to touch the soul, though the technique was dangerous and incomplete.
• Chen Changsheng said the Immortal Emperor had surpassed earlier assumptions and urged Mo Bai and Baleful Shadow to believe they could challenge him.
• Chen Changsheng encouraged Li Changsheng, Meng De, and the others to seize their opportunity and keep the courage to draw their swords against the era’s strongest figures.
• Xu Qianzhui welcomed Yuan Yi to tea outside the black mist and admitted he had spent a hundred thousand years avoiding him while wanting to kill him.
• Xu Qianzhui told Yuan Yi he had spared him after the Dark Turmoil to avoid provoking the other Children of the Forbidden Ground and bringing war back to the living.

Xu Qianzhui confronted Yuan Yi about his fear and guilt over killing Zhang Zixuan, then fought back as Yuan Yi attacked him in a rage. Outside the black mist, Chen Changsheng explained that Yuan Yi’s heart had been twisted from the beginning and discussed the Forbidden Ground’s changing approach to cultivation.

• Xu Qianzhui called Yuan Yi a coward who hid his fear behind slaughter and madness, and said Yuan Yi could have survived by admitting his mistake.
• Yuan Yi attacked Xu Qianzhui repeatedly, but Xu Qianzhui remained unharmed and overwhelmed him.
• Liu Yidao, Long Ji, and Wang Hao discussed whether people from the Forbidden Ground and Demon Cultivators could yearn for light and justice.
• Chen Changsheng explained that psychological problems and unstable Dao hearts prevented cultivators from reaching the summit, and said truth, goodness, and beauty mattered to the Forbidden Ground as well.
• Chen Changsheng said Yuan Yi’s heart had been twisted from the very beginning, rather than becoming twisted after he killed Zhang Zixuan.

Chen Changsheng and Wang Hao explained how Yuan Yi’s death helped Xu Qianzhui overcome his grief and mental knot. As the thunder tribulation grew harsher and lasted longer than expected, Chen Changsheng revealed that his hundred-thousand-year-old arrangements were coming to fruition and the Bitter Sea Great Emperor’s exclusive imperial weapon was about to be born.

• Chen Changsheng argued that Yuan Yi’s cruelty came from cowardice and a twisted heart, while Wang Hao explained how conviction could let good people overcome those hardened by suffering.
• Wang Hao said Chen Changsheng had repeatedly given Yuan Yi chances to provoke him, so Xu Qianzhui could see Yuan Yi’s true nature and break free of his grief over Zhang Zixuan’s death.
• Wang Hao explained that Xu Qianzhui’s forgiveness and Yuan Yi’s unavoidable death made his killing an act without karmic blame, prompting Chen Changsheng to stop his elaboration.
• Chen Changsheng asked Wang Hao to assess the ongoing Quasi-Emperor thunder tribulation, and Wang Hao noted that it had grown more vicious and continued beyond Yin Jie’s expected Fourth Heaven tribulation.
• Chen Changsheng concluded that the unusual tribulation confirmed his arrangements from a hundred thousand years earlier had matured, and that the Bitter Sea Great Emperor’s exclusive imperial weapon was about to be born.

Chen Changsheng presented his plans for a new Emperor Weapon made specifically for Bitter Sea Great Emperors and explained the research behind it. He left the gathered experts with a huge trove of materials, then challenged the Daoist Sage to explain why cultivation manuals were not too vague.

• Chen Changsheng told Wang Hao and the gathered experts that he planned to forge an unprecedented Bitter Sea Emperor Weapon based on the God-Slaying Weapon and features of Supreme Weapons.
• Chen Changsheng cited his research with Zhang Bairen and explained that the weapon would be about twenty times tougher than a Heavenly Mandate Emperor Weapon and withstand Great Emperors' bursts of power.
• Ancestor Phoenix questioned whether the Nine Immortal Metals could make such a weapon, and Chen Changsheng explained that his data would let him create the required blended metal.
• Ancient Desolation Forbidden Ground demanded the project's data, and Chen Changsheng said he had already shared the God-Slaying Weapon data before offering the new materials to the Virtual World's supporters.
• Chen Changsheng revealed over a thousand Jade Slips and said the full forging instructions filled 38,763 slips; after Yin Jun Lin asked him to make them more concise, Chen Changsheng scolded him for lazy thinking.
• The Daoist Sage defended cultivation manuals, and Chen Changsheng produced another Jade Slip to challenge his claim.

Chen Changsheng explained how he planned to forge Bitter Sea Emperor Weapons by letting them absorb Great Dao imprints through lightning tribulations, then inscribing their owners’ Great Daos onto them. The emperor tribulations changed, and humanoid thunder tribulations appeared to challenge everyone undergoing tribulation.

• Chen Changsheng explained an ancient Weapon Refinement method and clarified how its cryptic instructions produced jellyfish crystal stone.
• Chen Changsheng described his plan to awaken magical treasures with lightning tribulations and forge Emperor Weapons perfectly matched to their owners’ Great Daos.
• The True Dragon questioned whether exclusive Emperor Weapons could be lost or pass emperor arts to outsiders, and Chen Changsheng argued that Great Emperors should leave their legacies behind.
• Yin Jie endured the thirty-sixth bolt of his fourth-heaven lightning tribulation, but the tribulation did not end.
• A humanoid thunder tribulation emerged from the Thunder Sea, and Chen Changsheng warned the tribulation-takers that they had to defeat Great Dao imprints to pass.

Pang Tong faced a humanoid thunder tribulation embodying the Supreme Sage’s Great Dao and fought it with fierce resolve. Chen Changsheng explained that the trial was meant to restore cultivators’ passion, while those who delayed their challenge could still advance to the Quasi-Emperor Ninth Heaven before having no retreat left.

• Yin Jie warned Pang Tong that the humanoid thunder tribulation embodied the Supreme Sage’s Great Dao and urged him to protect himself.
• Pang Tong transformed into a young man, charged the thunder tribulation, and fought its golden characters with classic essays and true words.
• Pang Tong broke free of a mountain-shaped suppression and declared that he regretted the ancients could not witness his madness.
• Liu Yidao and Wang Hao praised Pang Tong, and Chen Changsheng refused their requests to recruit him, explaining that Pang Tong came from the Greenwood Epoch.
• Chen Changsheng said he had brought people like Pang Tong to help cultivators recover their passion and explained that cultivators could delay the trial until the Quasi-Emperor Ninth Heaven, where they would have no retreat.

Chen Changsheng explained how humanoid thunder tribulations preserved the Daos of past powerhouses, and Lu Mingyu lowered his cultivation to Quasi-Emperor Sixth Heaven so future cultivators would encounter his imprint. As Lu Mingyu entered his tribulation and other experts began confronting their own, the Li family Ancestor learned that his opponent was Heavenly Emperor Pang.

• Chen Changsheng told Lu Mingyu that humanoid thunder tribulations represented the pinnacle of an era and could preserve a cultivator's Dao imprint.
• Lu Mingyu lowered his aura to Quasi-Emperor Sixth Heaven and declared that future powerhouses above that level would have to face his imprint.
• Lu Mingyu entered the Quasi-Emperor Seventh Heaven tribulation, while Chen Changsheng warned the other experts to prepare for the imprint he would leave behind.
• After hearing their conversation, Yin Jie defeated a humanoid thunder tribulation and chose to leave his own Dao imprint, while Chi Ling triggered a second tribulation.
• The Li family Ancestor asked Ancestor Bai Ze about his fierce humanoid thunder tribulation and learned it embodied Heavenly Emperor Pang's Dao.

Pang Tong defeated his first Humanoid Thunder Tribulation and became a first-heaven Quasi-Emperor, while Chen Changsheng explained how the Epoch Heaven's Mandate judged later tribulations. As Chi Ling and Xuan Hai resumed fighting amid their dangerous trials, Chen Changsheng ordered Cui Tian Rui and the Tiger Guard to clean up the area without destroying it.

• Pang Tong shattered his Humanoid Thunder Tribulation, reached the first heaven of the Quasi-Emperor Realm, and withdrew from the Thunder Sea.
• Chen Changsheng explained that successive Humanoid Thunder Tribulations drew on increasingly powerful Great Dao imprints, with the third trial beyond the others' current abilities.
• Chi Ling was blasted down by the Great Dao of a first-generation Tiger Guard Commander, while Xuan Hai was wounded by the paired imprints of Gui Daoran and Gui Qianjie.
• After Chen Changsheng warned them that their trials could kill them, Chi Ling and Xuan Hai returned to the Thunder Sea and attacked each other instead.
• Chen Changsheng ordered Cui Tian Rui to bring out the little ones and have the Tiger Guard clean up the area, with Bie Chen, Long Ji, and Wang Hao available to assist.

Chen Changsheng left the second trial, visited Hua Feng, and discussed Feng Zhi’s death before the trial’s aftermath and the successful opening of the Virtual World entrance were recounted. Meng De and Li Changsheng discussed the thunder tribulations, ending with the Vice Dean’s frustration that he had never encountered his father’s Great Dao.

• Chen Changsheng left the ongoing battles and thunder tribulations, saying he would leave an incarnation behind to collect the dead.
• Chen Changsheng visited Hua Feng, who agreed to fight Lu Mingyu, and told him Feng Zhi had died after performing well but being careless.
• The second trial ended with major deaths and breakthroughs, while Zhang Ling gained another Virtual World qualification and the Five Tigers Group opened its Virtual World entrance.
• Meng De and Li Changsheng discussed the Buddhist funeral, the injured Li Family ancestor, and the death of the Bai Ze ancestor.
• Li Changsheng recounted Long Bo, Chi Ling, the Vice Dean, and other cultivators’ thunder-tribulation results, including the Vice Dean’s rise from Quasi-Emperor Third Heaven to Fifth Heaven.
• Meng De explained that the Vice Dean was angry because he had triggered four Humanoid Thunder Tribulations without encountering the previous Yin Emperor’s Great Dao.

Li Changsheng and Meng De discussed the rising prodigies and shifting alliances in the Chang Sheng Epoch, as well as the looming rivalry with the Pill Epoch. They ended with the warning that the Pill Epoch’s prodigies were preparing to challenge the Chang Sheng Epoch, where its residents might no longer hold the advantage.

• Li Changsheng explained that the Vice Dean’s recent rise to the fifth Quasi-Emperor layer still left him overshadowed by stronger experts and threatened by younger prodigies.
• Li Changsheng named Baleful Shadow, Mo Bai, and Feng Ran’s Dao Protector as rising competitors, and Meng De shared what he had learned about Pang Tong’s talent and Nine-Orifice Exquisite Heart.
• Li Changsheng told Meng De that Pang Tong’s companions had received Sir’s guidance and revealed that he had obtained the information from Liu Yidao.
• Li Changsheng described the shifting alliances behind Mo Bai, Baleful Shadow, and Sword Come, while explaining that the Five Tigers Group had limited resources for its prodigies.
• Li Changsheng warned that the Pill Epoch was preparing to clash with the Chang Sheng Epoch and might have the stronger foundation.

Meng De learned from Li Changsheng that the Pill Epoch valued lineage and powerful patrons, making it difficult for many members of the Five Tigers Group to gain respect there. Baleful Shadow asked the group to invest in him, and Meng De accepted him as its number one prodigy.

• Li Changsheng explained that influence and ancestry mattered in the Pill Epoch, and that Meng De’s Five Tigers Group status would not earn him respect there.
• Li Changsheng described the backgrounds of Mo Bai, Long Aotian, Baleful Shadow, Feng Ran, Lin Yao, Zhang Ling, and Sword Come, revealing that Sword Come planned to claim descent from Bai Ze.
• Baleful Shadow arrived and asked the Five Tigers Group to invest in him as its representative figure.
• Baleful Shadow argued that the group needed his strength to compete in the Pill Epoch and that cooperation could help them reach the peak.
• Meng De consulted Li Changsheng, then welcomed Baleful Shadow into the Five Tigers Group as its number one prodigy.

Meng De proposed expanding the Five Tigers Group into the Pill Epoch's medicinal herbs market by opening a passage between it and the Chang Sheng Epoch, and the leaders agreed to provide protection. He pledged his Virtual World entrance shares as collateral and recommended focusing top-tier resources on Baleful Shadow to compete for the Imperial Tutor's Relic.

• Meng De brought Baleful Shadow and Li Changsheng to the Five Tigers Group's internal meeting after Baleful Shadow agreed to join.
• Meng De reported on the group's Virtual World entrance plan and talent reserves, then proposed converting those assets into resources by pursuing the Imperial Tutor's Relic and entering the Pill Epoch's medicinal herbs market.
• Meng De explained that connecting the Pill Epoch and the Chang Sheng Epoch would let the group trade pills and medicinal herbs, despite Jun Lin's objections about the plan's difficulty and cost.
• Meng De offered to gather the necessary resources and resolve trade and communication issues himself, asking the leaders to protect the group from external forces and their own backing factions.
• Lu Mingyu agreed to provide protection, and Meng De pledged his Virtual World entrance shares if the plan failed.
• Meng De proposed directing the group's top-tier resources toward Baleful Shadow to help secure the Imperial Tutor's Relic, surprising Baleful Shadow.

Lu Mingyu accepted Meng De’s life and Baleful Shadow’s Soul Secret Method as collateral for their wager, then discussed the medicinal herb market plan and the ambitions of the Epochs’ leaders. He left Meng De and the other prodigies to carry the plan forward while the leaders prepared for the contest to become Bitter Sea Great Emperor.

• Baleful Shadow offered a Soul Secret Method as collateral alongside Meng De’s life, and Lu Mingyu accepted both for the Five Tigers Group’s wager.
• In the void, Jiang Shan questioned whether the prodigies could handle the plan, and Lu Mingyu said they deserved the chance to prove themselves.
• Wang Zhigao explained that Liu Yidao wanted to enter the medicinal herbs market and that opening the passage between the Two Great Epochs could satisfy demand from the Pill Epoch.
• Jun Lin said the Great Shang Dynasty should unify the Demon Race, and Wang Zhigao accused him of stirring up a past dispute over the Wuzhi Qi Bloodline.
• Jun Lin asked whether Meng De and the others needed help, but Lu Mingyu said the leaders should leave the plan to them while preparing to compete for Bitter Sea Great Emperor.

Meng De defended his risky plan to seize the medicinal herb market, arguing that the prodigies had to pursue power rather than accept lives as pawns. The hall remained divided as he began explaining why controlling the market was their only viable path to authority.

• Meng De asked the prodigies to assess his plan, but Lin Yao and Li Changsheng questioned its scale and urgency.
• Meng De argued that the group would lose its chance to rise if they did not act while the Two Great Epochs and the Virtual World drew others' attention.
• Long Aotian challenged Meng De, and Baleful Shadow threatened to fight him until the others persuaded Long Aotian to sit down.
• Meng De declared that the Five Tigers Group had to obey orders and said he would kill anyone who tried to stop his gamble.
• Meng De asked the prodigies whether they were willing to remain chess pieces after witnessing the power of legendary figures, and they fell silent.
• Meng De said seizing the medicinal herb market would give them a share of the world's authority, then argued that winning through martial strength was unlikely for most of them.

Meng De proposed that the Five Tigers Group take down the Demon Race Alliance to secure medicinal herbs and gain leverage with the Pill Epoch. Meanwhile, Mo Bai told the Primordial Qilin he wanted to build a force independent of the Kirin Clan’s support, and his father encouraged him to seek out Chen Changsheng.

• Meng De warned the Five Tigers Group about the risks of failure and proposed defeating the Demon Race Alliance to secure medicinal herbs.
• Li Changsheng questioned whether the group could take on the Demon Race Alliance, and Meng De said someone else would deal with them.
• Mo Bai told the Primordial Qilin that he envied Meng De and the others because he wanted to prove himself beyond his father’s shadow.
• Mo Bai explained that he planned to found a force of his own without relying on the Kirin Clan’s power.
• The Primordial Qilin agreed to support Mo Bai’s plan and advised him to seek out Chen Changsheng.

Primordial Qilin explained why Mo Bai should seek Chen Changsheng’s guidance in building an independent force and told him to share the truth about the Divine Continent Spiritual Chapter. Mo Bai left to meet Chen Changsheng, whom Primordial Qilin privately urged to teach him well as the future of the Divine Beast lineage.

• Mo Bai questioned why Primordial Qilin had changed his mind about contact with the Imperial Tutor Lineage, and Primordial Qilin said Chen Changsheng’s abilities made him the best teacher for building a force.
• Primordial Qilin cited Chen Changsheng’s role in Lu Mingyu’s rise and explained how his influence had changed the great powers’ treatment of unsuccessful disciples and clansmen.
• Mo Bai asked how he could find Chen Changsheng, and Primordial Qilin said Chen Changsheng needed his support to swallow the Ferocious Beast lineage.
• Chen Changsheng appeared outside the door, and Primordial Qilin told Mo Bai to seek his guidance and share the truth about the Divine Continent Spiritual Chapter.
• Mo Bai offered Primordial Qilin the Soul Secret Method, but Primordial Qilin told him to keep it and develop the soul path for his generation.
• As Mo Bai departed, Primordial Qilin silently asked Chen Changsheng to teach him well because he was the future of the Divine Beast lineage.

Chen Changsheng took Mo Bai aboard his flying vessel and explained why Mo Bai should not focus on the Divine Continent Spiritual Chapter. The chapter ended with Chen Changsheng teaching him the basics of cultivation foundations and the differences between cultivation methods, systems, Secret Techniques, and divine abilities.

• Chen Changsheng picked up Mo Bai and brought him aboard the flying vessel, where Bai Ze was resting on the deck.
• Bai Ze asked Mo Bai about the Divine Continent Spiritual Chapter, then tried to get Chen Changsheng to examine it.
• Chen Changsheng tied Bai Ze to the prow and sealed his mouth before Mo Bai asked for guidance with the scripture.
• Chen Changsheng explained that the Divine Continent Spiritual Chapter was a Secret Technique and warned that mastering it could provoke Divine Continent.
• Chen Changsheng told Mo Bai that a modern cultivation foundation depended on both stable realms and cultivation knowledge, then began teaching him the distinctions among cultivation arts.

Chen Changsheng explained to Mo Bai why the Divine Continent Spiritual Chapter was an incomplete secret-art fragment rather than a cultivation method, and advised him not to pursue it yet. The Primordial Qilin confirmed Chen Changsheng’s deduction and told Mo Bai to follow his guidance.

• Chen Changsheng taught Mo Bai how cultivation systems, methods, and secret arts differed, then explained that the Divine Continent Spiritual Chapter he held was incomplete.
• Chen Changsheng reasoned that Mo Bai’s ability to practice the fragment despite his Bitter Sea System foundation meant it had been interpreted and altered by others.
• Chen Changsheng urged Mo Bai to ask the Primordial Qilin about the chapter instead of guessing.
• The Primordial Qilin confirmed that several generations had interpreted the original fragment, which was incomplete and indeed a secret art.
• The Primordial Qilin praised Chen Changsheng’s insight and told Mo Bai to disregard his earlier guidance and follow Chen Changsheng’s advice.
• Mo Bai asked whether his father and the others had truly interpreted the Divine Continent Spiritual Chapter incorrectly.

Chen Changsheng explained to Mo Bai why understanding a cultivation method’s origins and studying seemingly unrelated knowledge mattered, then urged him to pursue his own achievements in the Pill Epoch. Chen Changsheng and Mo Bai went to collect Baleful Shadow and prepare for the journey there.

• Chen Changsheng told Mo Bai that his elders had misunderstood the Divine Continent Spiritual Chapter because they lacked knowledge of its origins and relied on their own cultivation philosophy.
• Chen Changsheng explained that old prodigies often reached the peak despite flawed methods through extraordinary talent and fortune, and said he was prouder of students who would not have succeeded without his guidance.
• Chen Changsheng urged Mo Bai to seek truth through rigorous study and surpass the achievements of earlier generations, then said the Pill Epoch was the best place for him to grow.
• Chen Changsheng led Mo Bai to Meng De and announced that he had come to pick up Baleful Shadow, the second-round victor, and take them to the third round in the Pill Epoch.
• The gathered cultivators envied Baleful Shadow for the chance to travel with Chen Changsheng and receive his guidance.

Chen Changsheng took Baleful Shadow aboard his flying ship and offered cultivation guidance to him and Mo Bai before their journey to the Pill Epoch. He recommended different techniques and opportunities for each, leaving Baleful Shadow eager to pursue the methods suggested for Mo Bai instead.

• Chen Changsheng transported Baleful Shadow onto the flying ship, while Meng De told the others to prepare to leave for the Pill Epoch in three days.
• Chen Changsheng refused Baleful Shadow's request to bring the others aboard and began guiding Baleful Shadow and Mo Bai in the Soul Secret Method.
• Chen Changsheng advised Baleful Shadow to pursue the Heavenly Lotus Sacred Method and enlightenment beneath the Heavenly Lotus Sect's Ten Thousand Years Bodhi Tree to address his ferocious blood.
• Chen Changsheng told Baleful Shadow about the Heavenly Dao Society and warned him not to mention its members or founders in the Pill Epoch.
• Chen Changsheng recommended the Original True Understanding and Fighting Saint Technique to Mo Bai, then explained that Baleful Shadow could seek those methods while Mo Bai pursued the Heavenly Lotus Sacred Method.