Chapter Summaries

Lin Yao learned how Sir and the Supreme Sage had discouraged cauldron cultivation in the Chang Sheng Epoch, while Feng Ran explained that the Nether River Ancestor had later killed prominent cultivators who used cauldrons. In the void, Li Changsheng defended his resolve to seek a future for the stagnant Pill Epoch, leaving Li Changming unable to meet his gaze.

• Feng Ran told Lin Yao that Mountain and River Academy rejected people of poor character and that Sir’s forces and the Academy’s graduates helped stigmatize cauldron cultivation.
• Feng Ran said the Nether River Ancestor had reportedly killed high-level cultivators who used cauldrons because he considered them disgraceful Demon Cultivators.
• Li Changming confronted Li Changsheng and condemned his plan to oppose the Li Family’s ancestors and seek a way forward for the Pill Epoch.
• Li Changsheng argued that the Pill Epoch was stagnant and unfair, and challenged Li Changming to name an ideal of his own.
• Li Changsheng explained that Sir had taught him to rely on himself and said he would keep fighting so future generations could realize his vision.
• Li Changming avoided Li Changsheng’s direct gaze after hearing his resolve.

Li Changsheng received Li Changming’s help and prepared to kill Zheng Xuan, while Chen Changsheng refused to intervene on Zheng Xuan’s behalf. In Hundred Flowers World, Li Changsheng decided that the plan needed someone to break Zheng Xuan’s life-saving defenses and volunteered himself.

• Li Changming gave Li Changsheng a map of nearby Teleportation Arrays and information about Zheng Xuan, then accepted payment from the Five Tigers Group and warned that they would be enemies next time they met.
• Chen Changsheng told Star Lord he would not help Zheng Xuan, whom he despised, and argued that Zheng Xuan’s fate depended on his own ability to survive.
• Star Lord questioned Chen Changsheng’s motives, then left after Chen Changsheng challenged him to consider what benefit he could gain from the risks he had taken.
• In Hundred Flowers World, Meng De reported that Zhang Ling had nearly finished the formation and placed eight Heaven-Piercing Talismans, including one at the world’s core.
• Li Changsheng said the plan needed someone to destroy Zheng Xuan’s life-preserving methods and volunteered himself.

Li Changsheng convinced Meng De to let him pursue his plan, leaving Meng De to block the reinforcements. Meanwhile, Wang Hao sent a clone to meet Liu Yidao and proposed exploiting resentment within the great aristocratic clans to secure the third trial’s reward and damage the clans’ reputations.

• Li Changsheng explained to Meng De that he had overcome his doubts and asked to proceed with the plan; Meng De agreed to block the reinforcements and give him twelve hours.
• Wang Hao appeared beside Liu Yidao in a small town and explained that Chen Changsheng’s actions had distracted the Heavenly Dao Society, making it safer for him to enter the Pill Epoch.
• Wang Hao said he wanted the third trial’s reward and offered to help Liu Yidao choose a candidate, steering him away from the Zheng and Lu Families.
• Wang Hao proposed finding someone mistreated by a great aristocratic clan and using that person’s desire for revenge to undermine the clan’s reputation.
• Wang Hao recalled that Chen Changsheng had used the same tactic to dismantle the Wang Family of the Three Thousand Zhou in the Upper Realm.

Wang Hao and Liu Yidao decided to follow the aristocratic families and look for an opportunity to strengthen their weak foundation in the Pill Epoch. Meanwhile, a mysterious figure saved Long Aotian, taught him a body-tempering method, and began explaining how body cultivators could repair their injuries.

• Wang Hao explained to Liu Yidao that their group had to follow the Pill Epoch’s reforms to survive and build their foundation.
• Long Aotian’s injuries worsened after his fight with Lu Jun, and a mysterious figure appeared, saying he had stabilized Long Aotian’s condition.
• The figure asked Long Aotian to help obtain the third trial’s reward and promised him a great opportunity in return.
• The figure restrained Long Aotian, demonstrated a body-tempering method, and said the practice could heal his injuries.
• The figure explained that pills could not remove the underlying damage in a body cultivator’s body, then began describing an older alternative to the medical path.

A mysterious figure taught Long Aotian an ancient Body Tempering Method and hinted that he was a Legendary Pill Master who had reached the peak of body cultivation. Meanwhile, Zheng Xuan was ambushed in transit and emerged in the Hundred Flowers World, where Feng Ran and Li Changsheng confronted him.

• The blurry figure taught Long Aotian the Body Tempering Method and patiently explained its verses and key points.
• Long Aotian deduced that the figure was a Legendary Pill Master and a supreme body cultivator who treated pill refinement as a secondary pursuit.
• Zheng Xuan ordered his attendant to conceal his stay in the Hundred Flowers World and demanded that only peerless beauties be brought there.
• Spatial Turbulence swallowed Zheng Xuan after his protective barrier shattered and separated him from his attendants.
• Zheng Xuan emerged injured in the Hundred Flowers World, where Feng Ran and Li Changsheng blocked his escape, and Feng Ran declared that his Path to Longevity ended there.

Zhang Ling used the Heaven-Piercing Talisman and the Hundred Flowers World's defenses to trap and weaken Zheng Xuan, then began using his own Essence Blood to activate a third talisman. A flashback revealed Ruan Su Xian had taught him the dangerous method, and Zhang Ling smiled as he realized his master had prepared for this moment.

• Feng Ran transformed the Hundred Flowers World into a forest, while Zheng Xuan crushed a distress token to summon help.
• Zhang Ling activated the first Heaven-Piercing Talisman, which sealed the world and destroyed Zheng Xuan's distress signal.
• Feng Ran and Li Changsheng attacked Zheng Xuan as Zhang Ling used a second talisman to suppress the Metal Law and weaken him.
• Zhang Ling began drawing a third talisman with his Essence Blood, recalling how Ruan Su Xian had taught him the dangerous technique.
• Zhang Ling smiled at the World Core and realized Ruan Su Xian had anticipated the circumstances he now faced.

Zhang Ling activated his third Heaven-Piercing Talisman while Feng Ran fought Zheng Xuan under a pseudo-Heavenly Mandate, and Lin Yao blocked Zheng Xuan’s attendants outside the Hundred Flowers World. Meanwhile, Baleful Shadow and Mo Bai decided to draw the Zheng Family’s attention by attacking its transportation hub, then compared their powerful treasures before launching the assault.

• Zhang Ling declared he would stop using the Heaven-Piercing Talisman if he could not walk his own path, then activated his third talisman as danger approached Zheng Xuan.
• Feng Ran absorbed a Great Dao Law formed from the Hundred Flowers World’s Lesser Dao Laws and fought Zheng Xuan, trading injuries while trying to kill him.
• Lin Yao blocked two Immortal King Seventh Grade attendants and used his golden body and a Buddhist lion’s roar to attack them.
• Baleful Shadow and Mo Bai entered Zheng Family territory, then agreed to create a commotion at a hub used by around thirty percent of the family’s Teleportation Arrays.
• Baleful Shadow and Mo Bai produced powerful treasures, including a Heaven-Piercing Talisman and a God-Slaying Weapon fragment, and questioned each other about where they had obtained them.

Mo Bai and Baleful Shadow revealed that they had bought powerful weapons from the Forbidden Grounds and planned how to destroy the Zheng Family hub. They decided to use poison to force an evacuation before Mo Bai detonated the Karma Fire Crystal.

• Mo Bai and Baleful Shadow compared their Heaven-Piercing Talisman, Karma Fire Crystal, and Candle Dragon's toxin, then deduced their origins.
• Mo Bai and Baleful Shadow admitted they had bought destructive treasures from the Nether River and other Forbidden Grounds, and Mo Bai said the Three Teachings had bought even more.
• Baleful Shadow and Mo Bai discussed how to destroy the Zheng Family hub while limiting casualties.
• Baleful Shadow proposed releasing poison to prompt the hub's evacuation, after which Mo Bai would detonate the Karma Fire Crystal.

Li Changsheng fought Zheng Xuan in the ruined Hundred Flowers World, sacrificing his treasures and using the Undying Seal Art to keep him occupied. Zheng Xuan began to doubt his mastery of the Great Dao of Karma as Li Changsheng claimed his Reincarnation Return had turned their clash’s karma against him.

• Feng Ran continued fighting despite his injuries until Zheng Xuan used a dazzling pearl to blast him apart and tried to escape.
• Li Changsheng destroyed Zheng Xuan’s Glazed Treasure Pearl with his Natal Flying Sword, then sealed Zheng Xuan’s Great Daos with his black-and-white Great Daos.
• Zheng Xuan and Li Changsheng destroyed another artifact in a mutual clash, but Li Changsheng recovered with Nirvana Turn and resumed fighting.
• Li Changsheng used Dust Transformation Tribulation to survive Zheng Xuan’s attack and taunted him about having comprehended Yin Yang Great Dao.
• Li Changsheng used Reincarnation Return in their next clash and claimed that Zheng Xuan had borne all the karma, making Zheng Xuan’s confidence waver.

Li Changsheng, Feng Ran, and Lin Yao killed Zheng Xuan and escaped the collapsing Hundred Flowers World, while Zheng Xuan’s death brought the Zheng Family after Mo Bai and Baleful Shadow. Baleful Shadow’s enhanced Karma Fire Crystal destroyed most of the pursuing force, leaving the fugitives to realize they had made their feud with the Zheng Family irreparable.

• Li Changsheng taunted Zheng Xuan, giving Feng Ran the chance to ambush him with Wood Thorns.
• Feng Ran, Li Changsheng, and Lin Yao combined their attacks to severely wound Zheng Xuan before escaping through the Teleportation Array as the Hundred Flowers World collapsed and exploded.
• Zheng Xuan died in the flames, and the Zheng Family learned of his death and blamed Mo Bai and Baleful Shadow after they destroyed its Teleportation Array hub.
• Mo Bai and Baleful Shadow fled from an Eighth Heaven Quasi-Emperor, and Mo Bai urged Baleful Shadow to use his Karma Fire Crystal to escape.
• Baleful Shadow’s enhanced Karma Fire Crystal swept through the void, killing eight high-grade Immortal Kings and three low-grade Quasi-Emperors and burning other pursuers.

Mo Bai and Baleful Shadow fled the Zheng Family’s pursuit after destroying its hub and discussed who had killed Zheng Xuan. At a stronghold, Li Changsheng, Zhang Ling, Feng Ran, and Meng De reviewed their successful battle against Zheng Xuan and grew concerned that the Zheng Family had sent no reinforcements.

• Mo Bai worried that the Karma Fire Crystal had made him and Baleful Shadow enemies of the Zheng Family, while Baleful Shadow said they would escape the Zheng Family’s territory first.
• Mo Bai and Baleful Shadow speculated that Zheng Xuan’s killer was likely a friend of theirs who wanted to weaken the aristocratic clans and great families, then fled into the void.
• At a stronghold, Lin Yao praised the group for defeating Zheng Xuan, and Li Changsheng credited Zhang Ling’s talismans and formations and Feng Ran’s revival and final strike.
• Feng Ran explained that the Live Stream Room expert had helped him use the Life Lamp Realm to recreate his body, and he credited Meng De with devising the killing plan.
• Meng De revealed that he had encountered no Zheng Family reinforcements during the seven shichen battle, and Feng Ran suggested Zheng Xuan had come secretly and his call for aid had been intercepted.

Meng De suspected Zheng Xuan had survived the Hundred Flowers World explosion and been killed afterward by an unknown figure, while he and the others divided Zheng Xuan’s spoils. A flashback revealed that a mysterious attacker used a specially prepared magic treasure to burn Zheng Xuan to death and conceal the killer’s identity.

• Meng De explained that Zheng Xuan might have survived because his Bitter Sea, Life Lamp, and Divine Soul had not been destroyed, but noted that the group remained safe twelve hours after escaping.
• Meng De suspected an unknown observer had killed Zheng Xuan before he could call for help, then took Zheng Xuan’s Spatial Ring to divide the spoils.
• After the Hundred Flowers World exploded, Zheng Xuan emerged from a gourd and began regenerating his body and cultivation.
• A mysterious person attacked Zheng Xuan, revealed that Li Changsheng was not the only reason for the killing, and let him speak while the others escaped farther away.
• The mysterious person trapped Zheng Xuan in a fiery-red magic treasure made to disguise the wounds as damage from the Small World explosion, then burned him to death and vanished.

Chen Changsheng explained why he would not intervene after Mo Bai and the others provoked the Zheng Family, then revealed that he suspected a hidden younger-generation fighter had killed Zheng Xuan. At the Longxi Li Clan’s Ancestral Tomb, Li Changming watched a Recording Stone of Zheng Xuan’s death and agreed that Li Changsheng and his companions might not have delivered the fatal blow.

• Lu Mingyu told Chen Changsheng that Mo Bai, Baleful Shadow, and the others faced the Zheng Family’s wrath, but Chen Changsheng refused to rescue them and said he had trusted the Forbidden Grounds’ weapons to protect their Virtual World mission.
• Chen Changsheng told Lu Mingyu that Li Changsheng and the others had served as the overt move at the Hundred Flowers World, while a younger Pill Epoch fighter had secretly killed Zheng Xuan.
• Li Changming visited the Longxi Li Clan’s Ancestral Tomb, which questioned him about investigating Zheng Xuan and helping Li Changsheng; Li Changming swore that he had not killed Zheng Xuan.
• The Ancestral Tomb showed Li Changming a Recording Stone that had been distributed to major factions and recorded Zheng Xuan’s death.
• After watching the recording, Li Changming and the Ancestral Tomb concluded that Zheng Xuan had not been killed by Li Changsheng and the others.

After Zheng Xuan’s mysterious death, Meng De worried that an unknown force was manipulating events and asked Li Changsheng to contact Li Changming. Meanwhile, Cui Yunzheng questioned the Pill Epoch’s upper echelon’s role in the conflict, leaving Lu Jun to consider whether Li Changming’s support had a deeper motive.

• The group broke the restrictions on Zheng Xuan’s Storage Ring and began dividing its abundant pills and magic treasures.
• Meng De told Li Changsheng that he suspected someone else had killed Zheng Xuan and feared they would be drawn into a larger conflict.
• Meng De asked Li Changsheng to contact Li Changming, and Li Changsheng agreed to try and bring back an answer within three days.
• Cui Yunzheng told Lu Jun that Zheng Xuan’s death reflected a contest between the Pill Epoch and the Chang Sheng Epoch.
• Cui Yunzheng questioned whether Li Changming had supported Li Changsheng out of family affection or for another reason.

Lu Jun and Cui Yunzheng compared what they knew about the conflict between the Pill Epoch and the Chang Sheng Epoch, then traced the leak that helped bring down Zheng Xuan. Cui Yunzheng admitted that he had given Li Changming the deployment map of the passages around the Hundred Flowers World.

• Cui Yunzheng challenged Lu Jun's claim that Li Changming had helped Li Changsheng only out of friendship, and Lu Jun revealed that he had been exchanging information with Li Changsheng since he entered the Chang Sheng Epoch.
• Lu Jun said the Chang Sheng Epoch's rapidly changing circumstances had helped Meng De grasp the tide of the age, and suggested a larger scheme lay behind the conflict.
• Cui Yunzheng questioned whether Lu Jun had held back in his battle with Long Aotian, and Lu Jun defended his victory while implying Cui Yunzheng also had concealed motives.
• Lu Jun admitted he had told Li Changsheng about the Hundred Flowers World but denied knowing who supplied the map of its surrounding Teleportation Array passages.
• Cui Yunzheng confessed that he had provided Li Changming with the deployment map of the passages around the Hundred Flowers World.

Cui Yunzheng and Lu Jun discussed the increasingly dangerous conflict between the Pill Epoch and the Chang Sheng Epoch, suspecting powerful forces were secretly involved. They remained unsure how to act as they considered the unknown figures behind recent events and Zheng Xuan’s death.

• Cui Yunzheng explained how he anticipated Meng De’s group would target Li Changming and helped Li Changming and Li Changsheng deal with Zheng Xuan.
• Cui Yunzheng and Lu Jun reasoned that someone within the Pill Epoch might be supporting the Chang Sheng Epoch’s prodigies, possibly amid a conflict between powerful figures above and below.
• Lu Jun pointed to the Imperial Tutor’s disappearance, failed communication devices, and major powers’ refusal to take sides as signs that the conflict was spiraling beyond ordinary control.
• Lu Jun described a mysterious fighter who escaped after battling Mo Bai and Baleful Shadow, and said Zheng Xuan’s death remained unexplained.
• Cui Yunzheng and Lu Jun agreed that neither Meng De’s group nor the people who had wanted to teach Zheng Xuan a lesson seemed likely to have killed him.

Cui Yunzheng proposed that he and Lu Jun seek help from the Eight Hundred Tiger Braves, while Li Changsheng and Li Changming discussed Zheng Xuan’s death and the danger facing their faction. Li Changming refused to join Li Changsheng’s group, but warned them that the Zheng Family was focused on Baleful Shadow and Mo Bai.

• Cui Yunzheng told Lu Jun they needed a benefactor and identified the Eight Hundred Tiger Braves as their best chance.
• Li Changsheng met Li Changming, who warned that Zheng Xuan’s death had drawn the attention of the great clans and might force him to hand Li Changsheng over.
• Li Changsheng said his group had tried to kill Zheng Xuan but did not know whether they had succeeded, and Li Changming revealed that a Recording Stone of the killing had been sent to every major faction.
• Li Changming explained that the Ancestral Tomb had ordered him to seize something from Mo Bai and Baleful Shadow and discover who killed Zheng Xuan.
• Li Changsheng invited Li Changming to join his group, but Li Changming declined, saying they could not walk the same path without endangering each other.
• Li Changming told Li Changsheng to inform Meng De that the Zheng Family was focused on Baleful Shadow and Mo Bai, leaving Li Changsheng’s group temporarily unthreatened.

Li Changming explained why the Zheng Family suspected a powerful hidden figure was behind Zheng Xuan’s death and was using Mo Bai and Baleful Shadow as a test of the Chang Sheng Epoch’s intentions. Li Changsheng realized the crisis could involve the Ancient Lineage or the Imperial Tutor, and the two decided to wait for the situation to become clear.

• Li Changming told Li Changsheng that evidence suggested he had not killed Zheng Xuan, since Zheng Xuan’s unused Yin Yang Gourd should have survived the battle.
• Li Changming explained that Zheng Xuan’s death resembled Mo Bai’s, since both deaths seemed too consequential to have been caused by ordinary fighters without someone powerful pulling strings.
• Li Changming warned that the Zheng Family might suspect the Ancient Lineage of the Chang Sheng Epoch or the Imperial Tutor had arranged Zheng Xuan’s death.
• Li Changsheng concluded that the Zheng Family was detaining Mo Bai and Baleful Shadow to buy time and test whether the Chang Sheng Epoch would protect them.
• Li Changsheng and Li Changming agreed to wait for the powerful figures above them to break the deadlock.

Lu Mingyu asked Chen Changsheng to predict what Cui Yunzheng and Lu Jun would choose amid the turmoil of the Pill Epoch, and Chen Changsheng challenged his assumptions about Lu Jun’s motives. Their discussion turned to Lu Mingyu’s own audacious ambition when he first sought Chen Changsheng as his master.

• Lu Mingyu asked Chen Changsheng what Cui Yunzheng and Lu Jun would ultimately choose, and Chen Changsheng predicted they would act against Lu Mingyu’s expectation that they would preserve themselves.
• Chen Changsheng overturned their chessboard to explain that people could defy established patterns, and he argued that Lu Jun had changed with his circumstances.
• Chen Changsheng told Lu Mingyu that he could not know Lu Jun’s path because Lu Jun had not yet discovered his own true purpose.
• Lu Mingyu wondered why Lu Jun had not asked for the Fighting Saint Technique, and Chen Changsheng suggested Lu Jun might not believe he was the strongest or most suitable candidate.
• Chen Changsheng recalled that Lu Mingyu had sought him out with a piece of Bright Immortal Rock and an ambition to become the Imperial Tutor’s disciple, despite being a sickly invalid.

Chen Changsheng told Lu Mingyu that understanding ordinary people—and identifying Zheng Xuan’s killer—would help him overcome his greatest flaw. He revealed that Zheng Xuan’s death was an accident caused by an unknown person, while Dream was the only one who knew the killer’s identity, and Star Lord questioned whether the timing could truly have been coincidence.

• Chen Changsheng challenged Lu Mingyu to understand ordinary people and said identifying Zheng Xuan’s killer would help him take that step.
• Lu Mingyu asked about the Recording Stones, and Chen Changsheng admitted he had arranged them to record the prodigies’ battles but had not captured Zheng Xuan’s killer.
• Chen Changsheng said Zheng Xuan’s death had been accidental and that Dream alone knew the killer’s true identity, while he had only a rough guess.
• Star Lord appeared and warned Chen Changsheng not to direct blame at the Zheng Family, then questioned his claim that Zheng Xuan’s death was an accident.
• Chen Changsheng suggested an insignificant person might have struck at a critical moment without deliberately arranging the timing.