Chapter Summaries

Li Chengyu recounted how he searched a Small World for the swordsmanship genius Shi Qi and finally met him after months of fruitless searching. Shi Qi confronted him over his Sword Intent frightening Auntie Zhang’s hens, and Li Chengyu’s account left the gathered prodigies asking about Shi Qi’s background.

• Lu Jun and the other prodigies stopped Li Chengyu and asked about his encounter with Shi Qi and Shi Qi’s background.
• Li Chengyu recalled subduing Fang Ruyi and ordering him to guide him to the Small World’s sword cultivators.
• After months of searching, Li Chengyu grew frustrated that none of the sword cultivators he found could match his Sword Intent.
• Shi Qi approached Li Chengyu and asked him to stop releasing Sword Intent because it had frightened Auntie Zhang’s hens into not laying eggs.
• Shi Qi said he did not want to fight Li Chengyu and offered to help if Li Chengyu was facing a difficulty.

Shi Qi demonstrated his swordsmanship to Li Chengyu and later passed through the Sword Sect’s Sword Tomb without drawing his sword. His technique impressed the Sword Ancestor, Dugu, and Chen Feng, who exchanged sword intents before departing or returning to meditation.

• Li Chengyu pressed Shi Qi to draw his sword, and Shi Qi agreed after Li Chengyu promised to compensate Aunt Zhang with ten old hens.
• Shi Qi swung a branch, filled Li Chengyu’s vision with peach blossoms, and appeared behind him before asking him to buy the hens.
• Li Chengyu told Lu Jun, Feng Ran, and Cui Yunzheng that he had persuaded Shi Qi to leave the Small World by promising he could find Dugu.
• Shi Qi entered the Sword Tomb passage, where his peach blossoms transformed the Sword Sect’s accumulated sword qi into spring breezes.
• The Sword Ancestor and Dugu acknowledged Shi Qi’s technique, and Chen Feng joined them in a clash of sword intents that split their respective worlds.
• The Sword Ancestor left with bloody wounds, Dugu praised the sword, and Chen Feng returned to meditation.

Shi Qi passed through the Sword Tomb with ease, proving himself the foremost young sword cultivator, then joined Li Changsheng and the others to search for his master. As the group prepared a meal for their journey, Li Changsheng asked Shi Qi what they would face next.

• Shi Qi awakened peach blossoms that softened the Sword Tomb's sword qi and walked past Lu Zijian to reach the broken sword.
• Ning Bei agreed to release Cao Mingxian, while Lin Yao and Li Changsheng discussed the despair top geniuses brought to cultivators.
• Shi Qi emerged and, after Li Changsheng said they knew nothing about his master, agreed to travel with the group and look for clues.
• Shi Qi offered to cook, and Cui Shuo, Cui Yunzheng, and Feng Ran went to gather ingredients.
• Li Changsheng tended the fire and asked Shi Qi what they would face next.

Shi Qi discussed his fearlessness and swordsmanship with Li Changsheng, then admitted to the others that he had known his master’s title and became friends with them. In another realm, Mo Bai completed his thousand and first reincarnation, and “Chen Changsheng” warned that he might lose himself if he continued.

• Shi Qi told Li Changsheng that he was not afraid of danger because necessary things had to be done, and he guessed Li Changsheng was in the Blood Moving or Bone Exchange Realm.
• Shi Qi said he would spar with the group using branches, but would not draw his sword against people who were not sword cultivators or had no grudge against him.
• Li Changsheng shared their conversation through a token, and the group accepted that Shi Qi could surpass the cold-faced sword cultivator in ten years.
• Shi Qi apologized to Feng Ran and the others for pretending not to know his master’s title, and Feng Ran called them friends.
• Mo Bai completed his thousand and first lifetime of reincarnation, and “Chen Changsheng” warned that further reincarnations could make him lose himself and asked what he feared.

Mo Bai confronted his fear of falling behind, abandoned the gains from a thousand reincarnations, and began a new test against ten thousand lifetimes. At the Sword Tomb, Lu Zijian and Cao Mingxian decided to leave the contest for the Virtual World’s qualification slots and offered the others parting words.

• Mo Bai admitted that Baleful Shadow’s progress and the strength of other geniuses had made him doubt himself, then resolved to abandon what he had gained through a thousand reincarnations.
• Mo Bai dissipated his accumulated realizations, while the figure of "Chen Changsheng" merged into him.
• In his first reincarnation, Chen Changsheng defeated the Heavenly Emperor, then told the Bodhi Tree he had recovered his memories from birth and wanted a harder trial.
• The Bodhi Tree said Chen Changsheng might be defeated only by time and set a challenge of ten thousand reincarnations; Chen Changsheng eagerly accepted.
• At the Sword Tomb, Lu Zijian and Cao Mingxian announced they would not proceed to the third checkpoint, choosing instead to pursue other work in the Pill Epoch.
• Cao Mingxian told the others he had a few parting words to offer them for their future journeys.

Cao Mingxian and Lu Zijian fell while helping a group of aristocratic-family rebels break through to the Pill Epoch’s third Virtual World trial. Bai Ze persuaded Qing Xuzi to leave the Underworld and defend Dragon Tiger Mountain’s legacy after Cao Mingxian’s death.

• Cao Mingxian led the group along the Road to the Heavens as the Sword Sect’s ancestor sent sword qi to escort them.
• Lu Zijian fought Wang Zhen while Cao Mingxian confronted Li Changming, allowing the group to continue onward.
• Li Changming killed Cao Mingxian, and Lu Zijian fell after his immortal sword broke; True Meaning fought six quasi-Emperors and took away Lu Zijian’s shattered Life Lamp.
• Bai Ze urged Qing Xuzi to act, reminding him of Cao Mingxian and Dragon Tiger Mountain’s declining lineage.
• Qing Xuzi learned that Cao Mingxian had been killed by a Li Family expert and vowed to remember it.

Bai Ze persuaded Qing Xuzi to join the effort in the Pill Epoch, reminding him that Chen Changsheng still remembered him and that his humanity made him a potential Dao Sect Corpse Ancestor. Sword Come convinced Long Bo to seek justice for Ao Tian, and Long Bo arranged to travel to the Pill Epoch with Feng Ling in ten days.

• Bai Ze explained that Qing Xuzi could become a Dao Sect Corpse Ancestor by enduring orthodox mystic arts and washing away the Underworld’s yin energy.
• Qing Xuzi agreed to join the journey and show the younger generations how the old comrades had fought in the past.
• Sword Come pleaded with Long Bo to personally seek justice for Ao Tian, and Long Bo agreed to go to the Pill Epoch.
• Long Bo contacted Feng Ling, proposed that they ask Chen Changsheng to help establish a precedent for Dragon and Phoenix intermarriage, and invited her to travel with him.
• Feng Ling agreed to meet Long Bo at the Epoch exit in ten days, while Sword Come recognized her voice and silently kept the conversation to itself.

Sword Come learned that Long Bo and Feng Ling planned to ask Chen Changsheng to help unite their Dragon and Phoenix bloodlines, while Chen Changsheng discussed sword cultivators and Shi Qi with his companions. The chapter ended with Chen Changsheng leaving Hundun with Guan Ping after Xuan Huo and Lu Mingyu criticized or evaded his questions.

• Long Bo warned Sword Come not to listen to or share what he had heard, then let him leave the Dragon Race's territory.
• Sword Come told Xiao Hei that Long Bo and Feng Ling planned to travel to the Pill Epoch and ask Chen Changsheng to help them overcome their clans' ban on intermarriage.
• Xiao Hei praised the news and urged Sword Come to hurry to the Academy, where the Teachers should respond to the students' troubles.
• Chen Changsheng told Guan Ping that Long Bo and Feng Ling wanted him to serve as their matchmaker, then asked Chen Feng to assess his chances against the Sword Ancestor and Dugu.
• Xuan Huo accused Chen Changsheng and Dugu of misleading Shi Qi into choosing the extreme path of sword cultivation, while Lu Mingyu pretended not to hear Chen Changsheng's question.
• Chen Changsheng complained about his companions' lack of support, then left Hundun with Guan Ping.

Chen Changsheng enlisted Hua Feng to help defend the Virtual World Project against the Pill Epoch’s powerful factions and the uncertain intentions of the Heavenly Dao Society. He then called Wu Li and Little Immortal Elder for reinforcements, asking Little Immortal Elder to bring two fighters strong enough to face members of the Heavenly Dao Society.

• Chen Changsheng and Hua Feng agreed to fight side by side again, and Hua Feng received a Jade Slip listing the project’s enemies and obstacles.
• Chen Changsheng told Guan Ping that he feared some members of the Heavenly Dao Society might attack while he was vulnerable, so he had summoned Hua Feng as extra protection.
• Chen Changsheng contacted Wu Li, who promised to return within two years to help hold the fort.
• Chen Changsheng persuaded Little Immortal Elder to come help by offering a share of the resources, while warning him not to enter the Pill Epoch.
• Chen Changsheng asked Little Immortal Elder to bring two helpers capable of facing members of the Heavenly Dao Society without being defeated, and Little Immortal Elder questioned the high requirement.

Chen Changsheng explained to Guan Ping that the Virtual World and Qilin Communicators would connect countless worlds, spread information, and bring enormous profits, while acknowledging that this amounted to robbery. He called the upheaval inevitable and summoned his allies to share in the coming harvest.

• Chen Changsheng asked Little Immortal Elder to bring people back, and Little Immortal Elder agreed after deciding the opportunity was profitable and not too dangerous.
• Chen Changsheng told Guan Ping that the Virtual World would reach beyond the Pill Epoch and Chang Sheng Epoch to plunder opportunities across many worlds.
• Chen Changsheng explained that Qilin Communicators could connect distant epochs quickly and let people trade information and cultivation techniques.
• Guan Ping questioned whether worlds would allow such exploitation, and Chen Changsheng said people could not be stopped from seeking ways to grow stronger.
• Chen Changsheng admitted that his plan was robbery but argued that changing times could not be stopped and criticized the Old Guard Faction for fearing change.

Chen Changsheng explained why he was gathering allies to control the Virtual World, called Zhang Bairen and his wife Li Niansheng back, and sent Guan Ping to prepare pills. Meanwhile, Baleful Shadow’s wounded team hid in the aristocratic clans’ heartland as their pursuers sealed off the world.

• Chen Changsheng told Guan Ping that he needed allies to keep the Virtual World from falling under the Three Teachings, divine beasts, Forbidden Grounds, and Heavenly Dao Society’s control, and urged her to manage the Pill Domain.
• Chen Changsheng contacted Zhang Bairen, who agreed to return, and then called Li Niansheng, who also promised to come back.
• Guan Ping questioned Chen Changsheng’s obvious favoritism toward Li Niansheng, and he asked her to make Pain-Relief Pills and strawberry-flavored Beautifying Pills.
• Several meteors struck the aristocratic clans’ heartland, and a Quasi-Emperor ordered the world sealed while his experts searched for the fallen traitors.
• Baleful Shadow’s badly injured team hid in a mountain cave after a month of fighting through the aristocratic clans’ heartland.

Shi Qi investigated the Great World and learned it was the Nine Splendors World, guarded by the Nine Splendors Emperor Lord. As Shi Qi returned from the city, Shangguan confronted him, and his sword strike wounded her crystal body.

• Cui Yunzheng identified the weapon that injured the group as a new Pill Epoch war artifact, and Li Changsheng sent Shi Qi to investigate while the others recovered.
• Shi Qi entered a city and learned from a cultivator that the world was the Nine Splendors World and its strongest cultivator was the Nine Splendors Emperor Lord.
• Shi Qi reported what he learned to Li Changsheng, then bought fresh ingredients before heading back to the cave.
• Shangguan confronted the cultivator who had spoken to Shi Qi, threatened the Nine Splendors Emperor Lord, and made him leave.
• Shi Qi noticed Shangguan following him and lured her away from the cave; when she threatened his companions, he struck her with his branch and wounded her crystal body.

Shangguan accidentally grievously wounded Shi Qi when he attacked her, then rushed him to Li Changsheng and the others for treatment. After learning how little Shi Qi had been taught and how inexperienced he was, Shangguan realized she had badly misjudged the situation.

• Shi Qi attacked Shangguan, who instinctively struck back and sent him flying with a palm strike that left him near death.
• Shangguan used her divine power and Life Lamp to preserve Shi Qi, then carried him to the group sheltered beneath the Primordial Bell and demanded a Soul-Returning Pill.
• Li Changsheng gave Shi Qi a pill from Cui Shuo and angrily confronted Shangguan, who explained that she had not meant to fight Shi Qi and had struck back on instinct.
• Lu Jun, Cui Yunzheng, and Feng Ran explained that Shi Qi was only twenty-three, had barely learned anything beyond basic cultivation and sword arts, and had almost no experience fighting cultivators.
• Shangguan fell silent as Feng Ran blamed her for striking an inexperienced young cultivator, while Shi Qi remained under treatment.

After learning that the Nine Splendors World belonged to Lu Jun, the group planned to enter Nine Splendors Mountain to heal Shi Qi, while Wang Lan warned them of the Old Aristocratic Families’ attacks. Shangguan went ahead to handle the Nine Splendors Emperor Lord, and Qian Ya vowed to retaliate against the families despite claiming to be nearly broke.

• Cui Yunzheng suggested taking Shi Qi to Nine Splendors Mountain, and Wang Lan revealed that the Nine Splendors World and its Emperor Lord belonged to Lu Jun as a reward for his breakthrough.
• Wang Lan warned that the Old Aristocratic Families had surrounded Green Mountain World and attacked the God of Wealth Hall, but Tiger Guard and the Talisman Emperor had rescued Qian Ya.
• Li Changsheng said the group would force their way into Nine Splendors Mountain, and Shangguan volunteered to deal with the Nine Splendors Emperor Lord before departing.
• Lu Jun and Cui Shuo discussed Shangguan’s frightening strength and how difficult she was to kill.
• At the New God of Wealth Hall, Qian Ya vowed to kill the Old Aristocratic Families’ attackers, while Hua Feng pointed out that the families had deployed three Destiny Emperors and warned that no one would take a contract against them.

Hua Feng talked Qian Ya into seeking revenge with the besties' group and outside protectors rather than disrupting Sir's plans. Meanwhile, Shangguan confronted the Nine Splendors Emperor Lord and demanded to borrow Nine Splendors Mountain, threatening a fight beyond the heavens if he refused.

• Hua Feng warned Qian Ya that pulling Wang Hao or other assigned experts away could endanger the Epoch Passage and leave them vulnerable to reinforcements.
• Hua Feng proposed that he and Qian Ya recruit the besties' group, with Nine-Headed Xiang Liu and Flying Dust Supreme providing protection.
• Qian Ya agreed to contact the group and vowed to retaliate against those who had provoked her.
• Shangguan punched cracks into Nine Splendors Mountain's protective formation, and the Nine Splendors Emperor Lord opened it to let him in.
• Shangguan demanded to borrow Nine Splendors Mountain and challenged the Nine Splendors Emperor Lord to settle the matter beyond the heavens within one double hour if he refused.

Nine Splendors Emperor Lord offered to heal Shi Qi and the injured group at Nine Splendors Mountain, while Wang Lan revealed his history and questioned his true strength. Shi Qi began recovering in the spring, and the group learned that Nine Splendors Emperor Lord might be far stronger and more enigmatic than he appeared.

• Shangguan accepted Nine Splendors Emperor Lord's offer to heal Shi Qi, but warned him against trying anything and told the others to stay cautious.
• Nine Splendors Emperor Lord explained that the hot spring gathered Nine Splendors Mountain's leyline energy, and Cui Yunzheng and Lu Jun placed Shi Qi in it to help him absorb the elixirs.
• Nine Splendors Emperor Lord said Shi Qi should wake in about five hours, then vanished after inviting the injured group to recover in the spring and meet him at the mountaintop.
• Li Changsheng tested the spring and confirmed it was safe, while Wang Lan contacted him with information about the Nine Splendors World.
• Wang Lan explained that Nine Splendors Emperor Lord had once cultivated the Heavenly Mandate system, helped his Small World become a Great World, and later joined the Lu Family as a guest protector.
• Wang Lan concluded that Nine Splendors Emperor Lord's recorded Third Heaven Quasi-Emperor realm did not match his likely strength, and warned Lu Jun that he seemed to have stayed hidden during the Pill Epoch's turmoil.

Li Changsheng gave Shangguan the Virtual World qualification in exchange for her help, then realized that his Dao was not bound to the Virtual World. At the mountaintop, he shared that realization with Chen Changsheng, who teased him about his poetic reply.

• Shangguan demanded the Virtual World qualification and warned that the group would not reach Green Mountain World safely without her help.
• Lin Yao tried to challenge Shangguan, but Li Changsheng stopped him and agreed to give her the qualification.
• Cui Yunzheng intercepted the qualification, then returned it to Shangguan after Li Changsheng explained that he would not confine his Dao to the Virtual World.
• Li Changsheng left the spring for the mountaintop and asked Nine Splendors Emperor Lord for a Qilin Communicator.
• The communicator received a signal telling Li Changsheng to follow his heart, and he told Chen Changsheng that giving up the qualification had brought him clarity in the Great Dao.

Li Changsheng reunited with Chen Changsheng, who praised his progress and said he had nothing left to teach him. The Nine Splendors Emperor Lord revealed why he had hidden his power and then sacrificed his peaceful life to protect the Nine Splendors World, leaving everyone to face the consequences of his intervention.

• Chen Changsheng praised Li Changsheng's understanding of the Great Dao, bid him farewell, and ended their call.
• The Nine Splendors Emperor Lord told Li Changsheng and the others how he had once reached the peak of one world, feared the wider Great Dao, and sought only a quiet life.
• The Nine Splendors Emperor Lord explained to Lu Jun that neither the Old nor New Aristocratic Families offered him a path to survival, since the era's upheaval would consume even powerful cultivators.
• The Nine Splendors Emperor Lord unleashed his Imperial Might, attacked a Third Heaven Quasi-Emperor who had been watching them, and revealed strength at the Eighth Heaven Quasi-Emperor realm.
• Li Changsheng explained that the Nine Splendors Emperor Lord had chosen to protect his world rather than join their cause, and Baleful Shadow recognized that his attempt to preserve his home had ended in tragedy.

The group discussed how the Pill Epoch’s great clans and sects controlled powerful Loose Cultivators, leaving Feng Ran furious at the clans’ coercive methods. Lin Yao contrasted this with the Chang Sheng Epoch, where gifted cultivators could choose the Heavenly Court or Academy, and the conversation ended on those alternatives.

• Feng Ran asked what would happen to an Eighth Heaven Quasi-Emperor Loose Cultivator in the Pill Epoch, and Cui Yunzheng explained that the great clans and Four Sects would try to control them.
• Lu Jun said the great clans forced powerful Loose Cultivators to marry into their families, and Cui Shuo and Cui Yunzheng confirmed that the Imperial Tutor’s marriage to a Cui Family woman was recorded in their genealogies.
• Cui Yunzheng explained that refusing the great clans would make a Loose Cultivator their enemy, while even secluded cultivators could not escape because all land belonged to someone.
• Li Changsheng explained why the Nine Splendors Emperor Lord would receive poor treatment in the sects, and Lin Yao said he would have fought the great clans if he were in the Emperor Lord’s place.
• Ning Bei asked how the Chang Sheng Epoch treated gifted Loose Cultivators, and Lin Yao described the Heavenly Court’s contribution-based advancement and the Academy’s flexible teaching work.

Lin Yao and Feng Ran explained to Ning Bei and the others how the Chang Sheng Epoch supported Rogue Cultivators through free exploration zones, paid work, and pathways for advancement. Ning Bei was left astonished by how much more developed the system seemed than the Pill Epoch.

• Lin Yao explained that the Heavenly Court accepted cultivators for low-level positions and that those unable to qualify could live freely as long as they caused no trouble.
• Lin Yao said Rogue Cultivators received seventy percent of resources found in exploration zones, and Feng Ran described the Academy’s policy of preserving their numbers for the world’s stability.
• Feng Ran explained that the model benefited powers by reducing search costs and earning revenue from transportation fees rather than low-grade herbs.
• Feng Ran said Rogue Cultivators could also earn resources through basic work, including herb cultivation and raising low-level Spiritual Beasts.
• Feng Ran described how mid-level cultivators could join Academies or explore dangerous battlefields, while powerful Rogue Cultivators could register with the Heavenly Court and receive a Small World to develop.