Chapter Summaries

Sun Yuqing prepared to undergo a lightning tribulation before cultivators from across the world, while the Undertaker appeared to prevent anyone from interfering. As Xu Hu and the others watched, Hu Tudou explained the dangers of their future tribulations and contrasted their opportunities with the sealed paths of the previous era.

• Sun Yuqing invited cultivators to witness her lightning tribulation and urged them not to harm common people for selfish reasons.
• The Undertaker appeared with four corpses, warned that anyone who interfered or harbored ulterior motives would die, and told Sun Yuqing to begin.
• Qian Ya asked Hu Tudou whether Xu Hu and the others would face tribulations like the seven Direct Disciples, and Hu Tudou said theirs would be even more terrifying.
• Xu Hu asked whether they could survive their future tribulations, and Hu Tudou said she would give everything to help them because Young Master believed they could succeed.
• Hua Feng said they were not proof for anyone else, prompting Hu Tudou to explain that the previous era restricted people’s growth and offered only three difficult ways to advance.

Hu Tudou explained the responsibility the younger generation inherited from those who had sacrificed themselves to give the world a different path. As Sun Yuqing faced the true trial of her thunder tribulation, Chen Changsheng revealed that she would have to fight the past bearers of Heaven’s Mandate.

• Hu Tudou told the listeners that they must not return to the old path and urged them to remember the teachers who were giving their lives for the future.
• Sun Yuqing unleashed her cultivation and shattered the lightning bolts of her Eight-Nine Thunder Tribulation with her aura and raised hand.
• Chen Changsheng watched the tribulation and suspected that its second stage held the real trial Zhang Bairen had set for all living beings.
• After Sun Yuqing entered the Thunder Sea, she fought Ye Yongxian’s nine phantom images for eight hours and defeated them despite suffering severe injuries.
• A new figure emerged from the Thunder Sea and shattered Chen Changsheng’s Jade Slip, prompting him to tell Sun Yuqing that she must defeat Nalan Xingde and then other Heaven’s Mandate Bearers from history at her same realm.

Sun Yuqing fought the humanoid thunder tribulation for a day and night but could not complete her rebirth after shattering its opponent. Chen Changsheng used Mountain and River Academy’s fortune to invest her as Academy Vice-Sage and disperse the Thunder Sea, while Bai Ze’s appearance signaled that a major change was coming.

• Sun Yuqing took Chen Changsheng’s Vajra Glass Pill and fought the humanoid thunder tribulation, while Chen Changsheng considered how Zhang Bairen had designed paths through it.
• After battling for a day and night, Sun Yuqing shattered the humanoid lightning but was reduced to bloody pulp and could not regenerate through the remaining lightning.
• Chen Changsheng invested Sun Yuqing as Academy Vice-Sage with a golden book made from the academy’s fortune, dispersing the Thunder Sea so she could be reborn.
• Ye Yongxian told Tu JiaoJiao that Sun Yuqing had succeeded only halfway and warned that Chen Changsheng’s use of fortune could bring strife.
• Divine Beast Bai Ze and a masked figure appeared, and the observers bowed toward the academy as they anticipated a sage’s emergence and a great change.
• After the observers departed, Chen Changsheng leisurely finished a bowl of noodles while Hu Tudou wiped his mouth.

Chen Changsheng agreed to personally teach Tu JiaoJiao, Jiang Ling, Hua Feng, Xu Hu, and Ye Yongxian, then explained how thunder tribulations worked and outlined three possible paths through the Thunder Sea. The group was left facing the difficulty of those paths and the prospect of repeated tribulations as they advanced.

• Chen Changsheng told Tu JiaoJiao and Jiang Ling that Sun Yuqing was alive but not yet fully restored, and gave them three days to decide whether to study under him.
• Chen Changsheng explained to Qian Ya that Sun Yuqing had survived through the academy's luck and the Investiture of the Gods, but that this method tied her life to the academy and could only protect against the second stage of a thunder tribulation.
• Chen Changsheng warned Hua Feng and Xu Hu that thunder tribulations could recur from the Divine Sense Realm onward, and that reaching the Immortal Venerable Realm would certainly bring one.
• Chen Changsheng said that the Thunder Sea belonged to the Immortal King Realm and described three possible ways through it: Luck Investiture of the Gods, Sublimation of Extremes, or defeating the Humanoid Thunder Tribulation.
• Ye Yongxian questioned the idea of defeating Humanoid Thunder Tribulations, and Chen Changsheng said the thunder tribulations ranked cultivators by their ability to withstand increasingly difficult trials.

Chen Changsheng warned Feiyun and the others that the Demon Court’s efforts to help people survive lightning tribulations would spark conflict, and offered to take the group down a dangerous path suited to prodigies. Three days later, their teachers saw them off at the academy gates as Chen Changsheng prepared to lead them into the wider world.

• Chen Changsheng gave Ye Yongxian a Jade Slip containing an unfinished secret art for repairing foundations.
• Chen Changsheng explained that the Demon Court could invest gods on a large scale, and that competition for luck and resources would likely bring the Human Race, New Demon Race, and God Race into conflict.
• Chen Changsheng warned Feiyun that Ma Guang and others could survive the first stage of lightning tribulations without crossing the Thunder Sea, making them even more dangerous opponents.
• Su Wan'er and Xu Hu voiced their determination to catch up with stronger cultivators, and Chen Changsheng promised to take the group on a perilous path reserved for prodigies.
• Three days later, Jiang Ruyan and the Ice Emperor saw Feiyun and Hu Yan off, while the Ice Emperor reminded Hu Yan to keep her promise to knock out Chen Changsheng's front teeth.
• The Drunken Scholar arrived with Xu Hu, Tu JiaoJiao, and the others as Chen Changsheng waited at the academy gates.

Chen Changsheng set out with his companions and named the Sword Qi Great Wall and Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Spring as destinations. At the spring, Hua Feng and Xu Hu chose to face a deadly trial, while Chen Changsheng left the rest to continue the journey.

• Drunken Scholar gave Xu Hu a bundle and Su Wan'er an ancient zither, then watched Chen Changsheng and the others depart.
• During dinner, Chen Changsheng said he planned to visit the Sword Qi Great Wall and the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Spring.
• Chen Changsheng explained that Hua Feng and Tu JiaoJiao would enter the spring to purify their bloodlines, and that Hua Feng also needed to repair his foundation.
• Xu Hu insisted on entering the spring despite Chen Changsheng warning that he would likely die, and Chen Changsheng allowed him to go after telling him to say farewell to his parents.
• Hua Feng and Xu Hu challenged each other to see who would survive and claim the Vajra Glass Pill, while Chen Changsheng left the group.

Chen Changsheng rebuked Xu Mao for letting Number One Spring Under Heaven ignore the Human Race’s Self-severing Foundation, then learned Xu Hu had entered the dangerous Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Spring to cultivate. The chapter ended with Xu Mao arriving too late to stop his son from jumping in.

• Xu Mao knelt before Chen Changsheng and credited him with Number One Spring Under Heaven’s rise and his own marriage.
• Chen Changsheng accused Xu Mao of neglecting the Human Race’s Self-severing Foundation and said he was unfit to enter the ancestral tomb.
• Xu Mao defended his belief that all living beings should be treated equally, and Chen Changsheng allowed him to follow his own path.
• Chen Changsheng told Xu Mao that Xu Hu had gone to cultivate in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Spring and warned him of the danger.
• Xu Hu opened the protective formation and jumped into the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Spring before Xu Mao could stop him.

Chen Changsheng entered the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Spring to demonstrate how Bitter Sea cultivators could regenerate their bodies through their Life Lamps, while Xu Mao and others waited to learn who survived. Several Life Lamps emerged, but Bo Yuan’s did not, and Chen Changsheng left before the survivors had finished regenerating.

• Xu Mao tried to reach the spring, but Chen Changsheng and a Fox-Ear Girl stopped him and warned that Xu Hu could not be rescued directly.
• Chen Changsheng forced Hua Feng and Tu JiaoJiao into the spring, where they endured several breaths before their bodies dissolved.
• Chen Changsheng explained that cultivators could use their Divine Sense and Life Lamps to regenerate, then entered the spring and rebuilt his body from a tiny piece of flesh.
• Life Lamps emerged for Hua Feng, Tu JiaoJiao, and a final cultivator, while Xu Hu’s lamp did not appear and Bo Yuan was confirmed dead.
• Chen Changsheng told Xu Mao to prepare for Xu Hu’s death and left with the others, warning Jiang Ling that survival in the Cultivation World depended on fate.

Chen Changsheng advised Jiang Ling and Xu Mao before splitting the young travelers into separate groups for three years of training. He took Su Wan'er and Yang Feiyun west, where Feiyun eventually asked him to teach swordsmanship and was teased about his weight.

• Chen Changsheng told Jiang Ling that her fixation on death prevented her cultivation from reaching completion, then criticized Xu Mao for demanding that his son follow every rule.
• Hu Tudou explained to Hu Yan that the group felt lost because they were growing up and would have to rely on themselves.
• Chen Changsheng arranged for Hu Yan to travel with Hu Tudou, Jiang Ling with Ye Yongxian, and Su Wan'er and Yang Feiyun with him, with everyone set to reunite at the academy in three years.
• Ye Yongxian bound Jiang Ling and carried her away, while Chen Changsheng said she would be safer with him than on Chen Changsheng's harsher path.
• After half a year of traveling without lessons, Yang Feiyun asked Chen Changsheng to teach him swordsmanship so he could become the Number One Under Heaven Sword Immortal.
• Chen Changsheng agreed to teach Feiyun but joked that his weight would keep him from becoming a cool Sword Immortal.

Chen Changsheng took Su Wan'er and Feiyun to the Sword Qi Great Wall, where he made Feiyun train with Chen Shisan's rusted sword. After exploring the desolate land beyond the wall, Chen Changsheng questioned the System about the world's edge and wondered who Zhang Bairen had guarded against, leaving the mystery of Fu Yao unresolved.

• Chen Changsheng confirmed that Su Wan'er had only sensed desolation from Meng Yu's Startling Goose Sword and explained that mastering Snow Flurries in the Mortal Realm required experience.
• Chen Changsheng transported Su Wan'er and Feiyun to the Sword Qi Great Wall and corrected Feiyun's account of its history.
• Chen Changsheng left Feiyun to remove the rust from an Iron Sword using only his own Sword Intent, and Feiyun's attack barely removed a speck before the sword's qi badly wounded him.
• Su Wan'er told Feiyun that the Iron Sword belonged to Chen Shisan, and Feiyun realized it was the White-Haired Sword God's personal sword.
• Chen Changsheng asked the System whether the world had an end, then wondered why Zhang Bairen had moved the Sword Qi Great Wall and whether Nalan Fuyao had helped him.

After Hua Feng completed her transformation, Xu Mao explained how she, Xu Hu, and Hu Yan could develop the remaining cultivation realms. Xu Hu then finished forging his Star Life Lamp, reconciled with his father, and left for the Sword Qi Great Wall.

• Hua Feng emerged from Number One Spring Under Heaven with her five-colored divine ability fully developed, and Xu Mao described how she and the others would deduce the remaining realms.
• Xu Mao watched Xu Hu’s Life Lamp transform into a Star Life Lamp and his body take shape in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Spring.
• Xu Hu confronted Xu Mao about his Self-severing Cut and his father’s refusal to teach him the strongest techniques.
• Xu Mao explained that he had tried to protect Xu Hu from risking his life for glory, and Xu Hu apologized for misunderstanding his father’s love.
• Xu Mao urged Xu Hu to surpass Hua Feng and told him to visit home, then Xu Hu left for the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Wang Hao persuaded the Great Strength Donkey Clan to target the Human Race and draw out Chen Changsheng, while Chen Changsheng recovered and headed for the Sword Qi Great Wall. Feiyun and Su Wan'er sensed his return was near, and an old farmer resolved to wield one final sword for him.

• Wang Hao convinced the coffins of the Great Strength Donkey Clan to target the Human Race and test Chen Changsheng, then revealed he still intended to kill his charming ancestor.
• Feiyun continued tempering his Sword Intent on the Sword Qi Great Wall, while Su Wan'er sensed that Chen Changsheng would soon return as the Startled Swan seemed close to awakening.
• Chen Changsheng recovered in a barren land and set out for the Sword Qi Great Wall, determined to confront his enemies before the great battle began.
• An old farmer heard the faint Sword Intent and, urged on by the half of the Broken Sword named Meng Yu, decided to strike one final sword for Sir.

Chen Changsheng explained that Feiyun’s accumulated fat had stored life force and helped him absorb the Sword God’s Sword Intent, then told Su Wan'er he would not fall in love until he knew whom he could commit to for life. Hua Feng and Xu Hu arrived with their auras transformed, and Chen Changsheng said Potato would provide the secret arts they still lacked.

• Chen Changsheng told Feiyun that his weight stored life force, aided his recovery, and had been consumed to grind the rust from the sword and transform the Sword God’s Sword Intent into strength.
• Chen Changsheng warned Su Wan'er that he would never fall for anyone until he knew who belonged in his heart and could accompany him to the end.
• Chen Changsheng reassured Su Wan'er that time would bring her answers and said he would take her somewhere good.
• Hua Feng and Xu Hu arrived at the Sword Qi Great Wall, and Hua Feng reported that they had exchanged their comprehended secret arts but still lacked arts for the Divine Bridge Realm and Divine Sense Realm.
• Chen Changsheng said Potato would provide Hua Feng and Xu Hu with the missing secret arts.

Chen Changsheng brought Feiyun and the others to the Demon Emperor's Fallen Land, where Xu Hu and Hua Feng tested themselves against a Sun Race member's head serving as a light in the sky. After explaining his proposed ranks for Immortal Kings, Chen Changsheng teased Yang Feiyun for probing him about who could name cultivation realms.

• Chen Changsheng dismissed Feiyun's reluctance and transported the group to the Demon Emperor's Fallen Land with a three-colored array platform.
• The group found themselves on a scorched Ancient Battlefield beneath a floating head that Chen Changsheng identified as belonging to the Sun Race.
• Xu Hu and Hua Feng attacked the head, but its sunlight badly burned them and forced them to retreat.
• Chen Changsheng estimated that the Sun Race member had possessed the strength of a Second Grade Immortal King and explained why he believed cultivation realms needed ranks.
• Chen Changsheng caught Yang Feiyun trying to draw out more information and threatened him with Fried Heavenly Silk, prompting Yang Feiyun to deny knowing anything.

Chen Changsheng left Yang Feiyun and the others to cultivate and explore the dangerous Ancient Battlefield, while Feiyun reflected on the coming Golden Age and the significance of Chen Changsheng’s identity. Chen Changsheng then examined the battlefield where the Extinguish Heaven War had been fought and sat before a seated man.

• Chen Changsheng gave Yang Feiyun a formation platform that could teleport once and warned that he would be trapped there if he could not reach it.
• Hua Feng and Xu Hu debated their different paths to strength, then cautiously began exploring together.
• Yang Feiyun told Su Wan'er that he sensed an unprecedented Golden Age approaching as cultivation methods and realm standards changed.
• Feiyun explained that his ancestor had warned the appearance of the Undertaker would signal great changes, and that Chen Changsheng’s identity had awakened him.
• Chen Changsheng surveyed the Ancient Battlefield, judged the Extinguish Heaven War’s scale greater than the first Ascension Road War, and sat down across from a man.

Chen Changsheng met Tian Xuan, who regretted the wars and deaths he had caused, and asked him to name Linglong’s child. Tian Xuan named the baby Yin Qi and offered his corpse to help Chen Changsheng give Thirteen a final, glorious end.

• Tian Xuan stopped Chen Changsheng from pouring out the Hundred Flower Wine and confessed his guilt over the wars and the deaths of Linglong, Meng Yu, and others.
• Chen Changsheng told Tian Xuan that he had come to collect his corpse and ask him to name the infant in the Longevity Bloodstone.
• Tian Xuan suggested the name Hope, but Chen Changsheng gave the child the surname Yin and the given name Qi.
• Tian Xuan returned the Longevity Bloodstone and offered his corpse to help Chen Changsheng, arguing that Thirteen was waiting for a reason to die with the splendor of a sunset.

Chen Changsheng agreed to prepare Tian Xuan for one final battle, knowing the process would consume his body and leave nothing behind. Tian Xuan warned him about Nalan Fuyao and pledged to help Thirteen clear obstacles, while Chen Changsheng was left confronting the cost of sending them to their deaths.

• Tian Xuan asked Chen Changsheng to help him fight once more, and Chen Changsheng warned that the effort would destroy him.
• Chen Changsheng placed Tian Xuan in Hundred Defeats Immortal's Stone Coffin and explained how formations would preserve his Divine Sense and turn his flesh and blood into power for one battle.
• Tian Xuan accepted the cost, asked Chen Changsheng to leave a cenotaph for his son, and warned him that Nalan Fuyao stood behind the lightning tribulation and the Extinguish Heaven War.
• Tian Xuan offered to join Thirteen in suppressing the forces left from the Extinguish Heaven War and forcing Nalan Fuyao to reveal his Trump Cards.
• Chen Changsheng promised that the young people outside would survive, and Tian Xuan closed his eyes as the coffin lid shut.
• Chen Changsheng watched the coffin and realized that he had personally driven Tian Xuan and Thirteen toward death by nurturing them into powerful protectors who cared for others more than themselves.

Chen Changsheng left the Ancient Battlefield and returned to Mountain and River Academy, where he recruited Qian Ya into a scheme spanning the Nine Regions. He tasked her with breaking from the God of Wealth Lineage, connecting with the God Race and New Demon Race, and spreading his array within a year and a half, warning that the conspirators would become notorious traitors.

• Chen Changsheng reflected on immortality and time as an endless Sea of Bitterness, then put away the Stone Coffin and left the Ancient Battlefield.
• Qian Ya told Chen Changsheng that Mountain and River Academy had become a sought-after source of godhood and that Black Market Points had doubled in value.
• Chen Changsheng offered Qian Ya three paths to wealth, and she chose the second, after which he assigned her three tasks to complete within a year and a half.
• Chen Changsheng told Qian Ya to leave the God of Wealth Lineage, establish contact with the God Race and New Demon Race, and spread his array throughout the Nine Regions.
• Chen Changsheng explained that the God Race and New Demon Race would help Qian Ya and that she could fund the plan with money she took from the God of Wealth Lineage.
• Chen Changsheng warned Qian Ya that Xu Hu, Hua Feng, and the others would betray their races and sects, leaving the conspirators notorious and shunned.

After completing her three-year body reconstruction, Tu JiaoJiao emerged from seclusion and discovered that the Nine Regions had changed, including the arrival of the Qilin Communicator. She bought a deluxe communicator and set out to learn more about the outside world.

• Ma Guang passed the Six-Nine Thunder Tribulation, defeated eighteen Mountain and River Academy disciples, and declared he would retrieve the Imperial Weapon in a year.
• Tu JiaoJiao completed her body reconstruction at Number One Spring Under Heaven, and Xu Mao warned her to stabilize her realm and be cautious about changes in the Nine Regions.
• Tu JiaoJiao left for Mountain and River Academy but stopped in a city to ask about the Qilin Communicator.
• A young cultivator showed Tu JiaoJiao how the communicator worked, and she used it to order a Lotus Pill from the Flower Region.
• After confirming the pill arrived, Tu JiaoJiao followed the cultivator to a shop and bought a deluxe Qilin Communicator for eighteen thousand divine source.

Chen Changsheng used the Qilin Communicator to learn that Ma Guang would challenge Mountain and River Academy, and arranged for Tu JiaoJiao to oppose him. He told Old Pen to obstruct the New Era’s rising young cultivators while he stayed out of their struggle and drew out hidden enemies.

• Tu JiaoJiao read that Ma Guang planned to challenge Mountain and River Academy in three days and flew toward the academy.
• Chen Changsheng told Old Pen that Tu JiaoJiao would face Ma Guang and explained that Xu Mao had reported her emergence from seclusion through the Qilin Communicator.
• Chen Changsheng said he would not interfere in the New Era’s rise, but would use the conflict to draw out hidden enemies.
• Chen Changsheng ordered Old Pen to obstruct the New Era’s development and strike its young cultivators with lethal force.
• Old Pen asked for a latest-model Qilin Communicator, and Chen Changsheng gave him one and told him how to obtain future samples.