Chapter Summaries

True Dragon, Ancestor Phoenix, and Primordial Qilin debated why Chen Changsheng had not rallied the world against the Four Madmen and what he had promised Nether River to defend his contingency. They suspected Chen Changsheng held clues to the Immortal Domain and that the Four Madmen’s power had a hidden origin, leaving True Dragon willing to wait for Chen Changsheng’s explanation before deciding whether to help destroy them.

• True Dragon and Ancestor Phoenix agreed that Chen Changsheng could have summoned forces from several epochs to fight the Four Madmen but had deliberately refrained.
• Primordial Qilin recalled that Nether River had risked his life defending one of Chen Changsheng’s contingencies and wondered what could have persuaded him.
• True Dragon proposed that Chen Changsheng might have promised Nether River Immortal Destiny, but Ancestor Phoenix argued the reward had to be greater, perhaps clues to immortality or the Immortal Domain.
• True Dragon reasoned that Chen Changsheng had faced the Four Madmen, allowed the Virtual World’s destruction, and fueled public anger to prepare for revealing his clues.
• Primordial Qilin suggested the Four Madmen might be guardians of the Immortal Domain and pointed out that nobody knew the origins of their immense power.
• True Dragon accepted that Chen Changsheng would have to reveal the mystery and said he might help encircle and annihilate the Four Madmen if the price was sufficient.

The True Dragon estimated the cost of killing the Beast Ancestor and the other Four Madmen, while Wang Hao secured an alliance with Ye Yu. In the Netherworld Epoch, Chen Changsheng explained why Ma Yuxuan’s jade eyeball could not function as an Eerie Treasure, and Ye Yu wondered whether the Immortal Domain truly existed.

• The True Dragon told the Primordial Qilin that one epoch could not kill a member of the Four Madmen, while two epochs might succeed at devastating cost.
• Wang Hao visited Ye Yu in the Ye family's Great World and persuaded his grandfather to ally with him by arguing that other factions would also betray him.
• After Wang Hao departed, Ye Yu wondered whether the Immortal Domain really existed.
• Ma Yuxuan asked Chen Changsheng about the tier of his jade eyeball, and Chen Changsheng explained that his third senior brother had stripped it of the Origin Qi and lingering obsessions it needed to function.
• Chen Changsheng warned Ma Yuxuan that restoring the eyeball could make it attack its owner, then teased him about giving it away.

Chen Changsheng gave Ma Yuxuan ten hours to decide whether to leave the Great Jing Dynasty with him, while Ma Yuxuan rejected Xue Huan's request to follow him. At the Imperial Palace, Chen Changsheng offered to arrange a perfect future for the pair, but Ma Yuxuan insisted he did not like her.

• Chen Changsheng told Ma Yuxuan to meet him at the Imperial Palace in ten hours, where he would reveal the Great Jing Dynasty's secret before leaving.
• Chen Changsheng took Xue Huan's porcelain bottle and assured her that the dynasty would stop hunting her and that she could return to a peaceful life.
• Xue Huan asked Ma Yuxuan to take her along, confessed that she loved him, and asked to follow him to cultivate; Ma Yuxuan refused and gave her his notes on origin qi cultivation.
• Ma Yuxuan spent ten hours walking before joining Chen Changsheng at the Imperial Palace.
• Chen Changsheng offered to bring Xue Huan along, help her cultivate, and arrange a wedding, but Ma Yuxuan said he did not like her.

Chen Changsheng explained to Ma Yuxuan why his growing ambitions and cultivation would separate him from Xue Huan, who liked him but did not share his convictions. He described loneliness as the cost of pursuing a rare and demanding path, leaving Ma Yuxuan to face the prospect of losing people who could not walk beside him.

• Chen Changsheng told Ma Yuxuan that he could invite Xue Huan to cultivate with them, but Ma Yuxuan explained that she lacked the ambitions and ideals he shared with his other companions.
• Chen Changsheng called Ma Yuxuan's dilemma his first lesson in parting and recalled how his own journey had turned old friends into strangers.
• Chen Changsheng warned Ma Yuxuan that their differences in cultivation, vision, and interests would eventually leave him and Xue Huan with little in common.
• Chen Changsheng described the isolation of powerful sword cultivators, who had few people capable of understanding their sword dao.
• Ma Yuxuan asked whether loneliness could be avoided, and Chen Changsheng said shared convictions could ease it, though few people followed the same path.

Chen Changsheng taught Ma Yuxuan to rely on instinct and experience rather than demand evidence when exploring the truth, using a hypothetical punishment to explain how authority manages uncertain situations. Ma Yuxuan realized their power over the Great Jing Dynasty meant they could use this approach to uncover its secrets.

• Chen Changsheng told Ma Yuxuan that clues and experience could reveal the truth even without concrete evidence.
• Chen Changsheng used a missing pill and Xiao Hei to show how someone could be punished without proving who took it.
• Ma Yuxuan recognized that Chen Changsheng's method also served as a way to manage people and assess subordinates.
• Chen Changsheng explained that an authority figure might reward a wrongly treated subordinate who endured unfairness, but be cautious of one who kept demanding redress.
• Ma Yuxuan concluded that because the Great Jing Dynasty posed no real threat to them, they could best uncover its truth by guessing from instinct and experience.

Chen Changsheng explained his theory about the Great Jing Dynasty’s drought and the Imperial Jade Seal, then entered the palace with Ma Yuxuan to confront the man in the black dragon robe. He recognized the man as an old enemy who had once escaped his Sword Formation.

• Chen Changsheng guessed that the Great Jing Dynasty’s founding emperor had been extracting the region’s water law and that outside experts had intervened, leading to the emperor’s death and the empress’s death eighteen years ago.
• Chen Changsheng connected the hidden Imperial Jade Seal and the Bone-Skin Specter in Mountain Hollow Village to a final scheme for revenge.
• Ma Yuxuan and Chen Changsheng entered the palace, where Wei Xuanyi and others stood beside a man in a black dragon robe.
• Chen Changsheng recognized the man as someone who had escaped his Sword Formation in the past and asked whether he had been afraid when Chen Changsheng arrived.

Chen Changsheng secured the injured man's agreement to three conditions and questioned him about Mountain Hollow Village. Ma Yuxuan learned that Great Jing's founding heroes had known the truth about the emperor's death and let events unfold, then left with Chen Changsheng, who guessed the emperor had drained the dynasty's Water Law to pursue cultivation.

• Chen Changsheng made the man agree to ensure favorable weather, improve people's lives, and abandon the Origin Qi System when necessary.
• The man explained that he had killed the Great Jing emperor, whose final counterattack caused what happened in Mountain Hollow Village, and agreed to protect Xue Huan.
• Chen Changsheng left Ma Yuxuan with Wei Zhou and the other founding heroes to ask his questions.
• Wei Zhou told Ma Yuxuan that he had guided him to Mountain Hollow Village because he did not want the empress to become a complete anomaly, and admitted the others had known the truth.
• Ma Yuxuan joined Chen Changsheng outside the palace and called the revelation a tragedy of old friends parting ways.
• Chen Changsheng guessed that the emperor had drained Great Jing's Water Law to overcome a cultivation bottleneck, and Ma Yuxuan questioned whether cultivation mattered so much.

Chen Changsheng restored the Water Law to the Great Jing Dynasty and left with Ma Yuxuan, while Zhang Bairen prepared his allies to face the Four Madmen. Their next destination was the Heavenly Gate Epoch, where Zhang Bairen hoped to recruit someone who had defeated the Four Madmen.

• Chen Changsheng explained why Wei Zhou and the others had tolerated the emperor’s schemes, then chose Zhu Ge’s territory as their next destination.
• Chen Changsheng broke the seals on a porcelain bottle, used the skeleton and Jade Seal to reshape the Great Jing Dynasty, and restored its Water Law, bringing life-giving rain.
• Ma Yuxuan waved farewell to Xue Huan as he and Chen Changsheng departed.
• Zhang Bairen welcomed Hua Feng back after his cultivation was restored, and Lu Mingyu reported that the Buddhist Sage had been revived.
• Zhang Bairen, Lu Mingyu, and the Sword Ancestor discussed preparing to fight the Four Madmen and agreed to visit the Heavenly Gate Epoch to recruit someone who had defeated them.

Zhang Bairen explained that the Immortal Domain was the source of the Four Madmen’s extraordinary legacy and planned to use its secrets to lure hidden, long-lived experts into helping defeat them. He recounted how the Immortal Domain first entered the Cultivation World’s history, leaving Hua Feng questioning whether it truly held the secret of immortality.

• Zhang Bairen told Lu Mingyu and Hua Feng that hidden experts nearing the ends of their lives could help defeat the Four Madmen, and revealed his plan to lure them out with the Immortal Domain.
• The Sword Ancestor demanded the secret Zhang Bairen had promised, and Zhang Bairen explained that the Four Madmen’s unusual longevity and cultivation methods suggested they had obtained a legacy from the Immortal Domain.
• Zhang Bairen said that people had once fallen through rifts into the Cultivation World from a different world, bringing cultivation arts and treasures that extended lifespans.
• Zhang Bairen explained that the Cultivation World tortured those newcomers for information, learned the name Immortal Domain, and spread the belief that it held the secret of immortality.
• Hua Feng questioned whether the Immortal Domain was truly more than a special world or space, then asked what if it could grant immortality.

Zhang Bairen and the Sword Ancestor explained the history of immortal destiny, the Immortal Domain’s fallen survivors, and Dream’s legacy. Hua Feng learned that Dream had inherited his master’s remnant, destroyed it to prevent it from possessing him, and spent much of his life recovering from injuries.

• Zhang Bairen said immortal destiny let cultivators live far beyond their natural limits, sparking wars that shattered worlds and eras.
• Zhang Bairen explained that the Immortal Domain’s fallen survivors grew powerful, retaliated against those who stole their immortal destiny, and were eventually wiped out along with many ancient beings.
• Hua Feng guessed that the Four Madmen were the survivors, but the Sword Ancestor pointed out that their timeline did not match.
• The Sword Ancestor said the Immortal Domain appeared fifteen to sixteen million years ago and that its survivors were hunted down after a long war and a further search.
• The Sword Ancestor revealed that Dream found his master’s legacy after the master died, then destroyed the master’s remnant when it tried to seize his body.
• The Sword Ancestor said Dream was badly wounded by destroying the remnant, injured again in fights with the Master of the Netherworld Forest, and later caught up in another affair two hundred thousand years ago.

Zhang Bairen argued that the Four Madmen might be immortals from the Immortal Domain and that Chen Changsheng had discovered evidence of their identities. Lu Mingyu refused to join Zhang Bairen’s plan, and Chen Changsheng then exposed that Zhang had been listening through an activated communicator.

• Zhang Bairen proposed that the Four Madmen had survived from the group connected to the Immortal Domain, possibly as its immortals, while the Sword Ancestor rejected his conjecture.
• Zhang Bairen suggested Chen Changsheng had identified the Four Madmen and was waiting for the right moment to strike, and he asked Lu Mingyu whether he agreed.
• Lu Mingyu denied sharing Zhang Bairen’s view and said he would not take part in the revenge without a sufficiently tempting lure to draw the others into fighting the Four Madmen.
• Lu Mingyu received a call from Chen Changsheng, who demanded to speak to Zhang Bairen and accused him of listening nearby through his communicator.
• Zhang Bairen grinned and revealed the already activated communicator inside his robes.

Chen Changsheng berated Zhang Bairen and the Sword Ancestor over their handling of secrets about the Immortal Domain, then explained to Ma Yuxuan that Longevity City’s safety and prosperity came at an enormous cost. He left Ma Yuxuan to reckon with the city’s staggering resource consumption.

• Chen Changsheng told Zhang Bairen that the Four Madmen were immortals of the Immortal Domain, warned him to keep the secret, and said he would share the Immortal Domain’s location once he found it.
• Chen Changsheng scolded the Sword Ancestor for revealing information to Zhang Bairen and warned them both to act cautiously before ending the call.
• The Sword Ancestor asked Lu Mingyu about Chen Changsheng’s temper, and Zhang Bairen admitted he had drawn the Sword Ancestor into sharing the blame.
• Ma Yuxuan returned from exploring Longevity City and praised it, but Chen Changsheng explained that seven Great Worlds sustained the city and that its apparent safety relied on consuming lives and resources.
• Chen Changsheng estimated that Longevity City burned through at least 1.6 million divine source each day and had done so for nearly two hundred thousand years.

Ma Yuxuan learned that Longevity City’s lavish spending had drained the Netherworld Epoch’s resources, and Chen Changsheng revealed that he had authorized the sale of Netherworld mortals to other epochs. The chapter ended with Chen Changsheng explaining that those factions bought them to reclaim harsh frontier worlds, where their own people faced a high death rate.

• Ma Yuxuan estimated Longevity City’s spending at 116 trillion divine source, and Chen Changsheng explained that the Netherworld Epoch had exchanged 2,320 trillion in material resources to obtain it.
• Chen Changsheng told Ma Yuxuan that the Netherworld Epoch’s favorable exchange rate attracted immense spending from other epochs.
• Ma Yuxuan suspected Chen Changsheng had sold the Netherworld Epoch’s people, and Chen Changsheng admitted he had authorized the trade after being told they could survive elsewhere.
• Chen Changsheng explained that other epochs bought Netherworld mortals to reclaim frontier territory and develop it into small worlds.
• Ma Yuxuan described how food, spirit herbs, medicines, and spiritual-beast farming could create a virtuous cycle, while Chen Changsheng explained that harsh conditions and high death rates made other epochs reluctant to send their own people.

Chen Changsheng explained how the Netherworld Epoch’s people protected and profited from mortals, leaving Ma Yuxuan troubled by the cruelty behind Longevity City’s wealth. He then took Ma Yuxuan to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, where Ma discovered Chen had sold him and demanded a ransom for his release.

• Chen Changsheng told Ma Yuxuan that selling mortals had made them valuable, leading Netherworld cultivators to protect the population and suppress threats to it.
• Chen Changsheng explained that most Origin Qi Cultivators could restrain themselves from killing mortals, but often targeted weaker people because they were unlikely to face punishment.
• Chen Changsheng took Ma Yuxuan to Longevity City’s Ever-Coming Ward and entered the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, telling Ma to enjoy himself while he handled something.
• Ma Yuxuan meditated until he realized Chen Changsheng had taken his Storage Bag and other Storage Magical Artifacts.
• The Hundred Flowers Pavilion manager told Ma Yuxuan that Chen Changsheng had sold him for a hundred million divine source and that he would need to pay ten times that amount to leave.

Ma Yuxuan sought a billion Divine Source from his third senior brother after the Hundred Flowers Pavilion demanded payment, while Chen Changsheng explained to Ma Xu'an why he had sent Yuxuan there to learn to vent his emotions. The chapter ended with Ma Xu'an admitting he planned to make those around him die with him, and Chen Changsheng demanding that Xiao Yunshu be left for him.

• The Hundred Flowers Pavilion manager demanded a billion Divine Source from Ma Yuxuan and agreed to wait as long as Yuxuan stayed within sight.
• Ma Yuxuan contacted his third senior brother, Lu Mingyu, to ask for a billion Divine Source.
• Ma Xu'an challenged Chen Changsheng for sending Ma Yuxuan to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, and Chen Changsheng said the experience would teach Yuxuan to vent his emotions.
• Chen Changsheng told Ma Xu'an he had recognized that Ma Xu'an had entrusted Yuxuan to him before planning to die alongside certain people.
• Ma Xu'an admitted he intended to drag everyone around him down with him, and Chen Changsheng demanded that he leave Xiao Yunshu's life to him.

Chen Changsheng explained to Ma Xu'an that he wanted Ma Yuxuan to learn to act on his own and keep his guard up, so he had arranged for him to be sold to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion as a trial. Ma Yuxuan had yet to confront Chen Changsheng, leaving his fate in the pavilion uncertain.

• Chen Changsheng said he wanted to bring his disciples and wife with him despite the risk because he did not want them to suffer after his death.
• Ma Xu'an explained that the Immortal Domain had forbidden the pursuit of eternal life after concluding that desire for immortality caused calamities.
• Chen Changsheng said Ma Yuxuan was too calm and trusting, and that the Hundred Flowers Pavilion ordeal was meant to teach him to protect himself.
• Ma Xu'an worried that Ma Yuxuan could not escape after Chen Changsheng had cut off his avenues for help, but Chen Changsheng said survival depended on Ma Yuxuan's abilities.
• Chen Changsheng insisted the Netherworld Epoch was meant to limit Ma Yuxuan's talent for devising strategies and force him to learn to fight.

Chen Changsheng left Ma Yuxuan in Longevity City as his final test, and Ma Yuxuan was captured after a devastating battle. As Chen Changsheng traveled onward, Xiao Hei confronted him about the danger he had exposed Ma Yuxuan to, and Chen Changsheng hinted that Xiao Hei was hiding trouble in the Divine Land Epoch.

• Ma Xu'an accepted Chen Changsheng's decision to leave Ma Yuxuan to walk his own path while Chen Changsheng continued searching for the Immortal Domain.
• Ma Yuxuan failed to borrow money at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, whose manager moved to claim him as a valuable captive.
• Chen Changsheng left Longevity City after silently telling Ma Yuxuan goodbye, and Ma Yuxuan fought the city's cultivators for a day and night before being subdued.
• Longevity City's expert ordered Ma Yuxuan restrained, silenced, and prepared as a cultivation cauldron.
• Xiao Hei berated Chen Changsheng for leaving Ma Yuxuan in danger, and Chen Changsheng challenged Xiao Hei's attempt to conceal the worsening situation in the Divine Land Epoch.

Chen Changsheng confronted Xiao Hei about secretly helping Ma Yuxuan and accepted that they would now oppose each other over reforming the Divine Land Epoch. Meanwhile, Gu Yi’s group prepared to continue their struggle without Chen Changsheng’s support, and Nalan Zi Ping met Nalan Fuguang again at Mountain and River Academy.

• Chen Changsheng revealed that he knew Ma Yuxuan and Xiao Hei had been working against his plans, and said they would have to face each other as opponents.
• Chen Changsheng told Xiao Hei he would not kill him or Ma Yuxuan but would let the Divine Land Epoch determine the consequences of their struggle.
• After Chen Changsheng ended the call, Gu Yi said the group had lost their greatest source of help and decided they would move to another base.
• Nalan Zi Ping met Nalan Fuguang at Mountain and River Academy, and Nalan Fuguang asked him to call him Literary Sage rather than confuse him with his other self.
• Nalan Zi Ping gave Nalan Fuguang a book written by his father.