Chapter Summaries

Chen Changsheng learned that the Yaoguang Holy Son had secretly raised his younger brother after their master murdered their family, and the two struck a bargain over finding a cure for the brothers’ injuries. The Yaoguang Holy Son agreed to help Chen Changsheng at the Heaven's Pride Assembly, which began as Yao Yingying arrived on a divine bird.

• The Yaoguang Holy Son told Chen Changsheng that his master had killed his family and that he had later raised his surviving infant brother in secret.
• The Yaoguang Holy Son explained that he sought Heaven Mending Paste or holy medicine to save his brother, but Chen Changsheng said neither could cure him and revealed he had a jar of Heaven Mending Paste.
• Chen Changsheng said the brothers might still be saved if they found the right holy medicine at the Heaven's Pride Assembly, and the Yaoguang Holy Son promised to clear Chen Changsheng's way in exchange for a chance to find a cure.
• The Yaoguang Holy Son accepted Chen Changsheng's jar as a deposit and revealed that he had personally killed his master five years earlier.
• A horn announced the start of the Heaven's Pride Assembly, and Yao Yingying arrived atop a five-colored divine bird.

Chen Changsheng explained to Gongsun Huaiyu that the Heaven's Pride Assembly would test her through debate as well as combat, after revealing that the Northern Desert Buddha Child had defeated the Three Great Holy Lands' challengers through Dao Debate. The bewildered Gongsun Huaiyu followed as Chen Changsheng carried Xiao Hei toward the assembly.

• Baturu arrived atop a giant elephant with two formidable elders, while Fu Yao and other Heaven's Prides made dramatic entrances.
• Gongsun Huaiyu envied the grand processions, but Chen Changsheng told her to keep a low profile and warned her about the assembly's challenges.
• Chen Changsheng revealed that the Northern Desert Buddha Child had arrived a month earlier, challenged Purple Mansion, Yaoguang, and Kunlun, and overturned nineteen outposts through Dao Debate.
• Gongsun Huaiyu admitted she knew little about Buddhist or Daoist teachings, and Chen Changsheng explained that reading and reflection could help her discover and express her own Dao.
• Gongsun Huaiyu asked Chen Changsheng to explain again, and he carried Xiao Hei toward the Heaven's Pride Assembly.

Chen Changsheng and Gongsun Huaiyu entered the Heaven's Pride Assembly and eagerly plundered its lavish fruit platters. After Chen Changsheng turned down Zi Ning's recruitment offer unless she married him, an unknown speaker insulted him, drawing hostile attention from Ye Hensheng and the others.

• Chen Changsheng told Gongsun Huaiyu to eat and take the Assembly's fruit, and she rushed inside excitedly.
• Gongsun Huaiyu devoured Vermillion Fruits and hid food while Chen Changsheng socialized with the heavenly prodigies and took their Spiritual Fruits.
• Zi Ning offered to recruit Chen Changsheng into Purple Mansion Holy Land and introduce him to prospective Holy Maidens, but he said he would join only if she married him.
• Zi Ning rejected Chen Changsheng's romantic proposal, and he moved on to take food from Fu Yao and other guests.
• Baturu took food from Chen Changsheng's table, and an unknown speaker called Chen Changsheng a country bumpkin, provoking Ye Hensheng and the others.

Chen Changsheng left the Heaven's Pride Assembly after Wan Tong insulted him over the Spiritual Fruits, prompting Jiang Ping to realize Kunlun Holy Land had alienated him. As leaders from the Eastern Wilderness arrived, Chen Changsheng recognized them and tearfully claimed Kunlun Holy Land had bullied him.

• Gongsun Huaiyu rebuked Wan Tong for provoking Chen Changsheng, but Chen Changsheng stopped her from attacking.
• Chen Changsheng apologized to Jiang Ping, paid five hundred jin of divine source for the Spiritual Fruits, and started to leave with Gongsun Huaiyu, Su Tian, and the others.
• The Purple Mansion Holy Maiden, Fu Yao, and Baturu objected to Jiang Ping's treatment of Chen Changsheng, and Jiang Ping ordered Wan Tong to apologize.
• Jiang Ping tried to stop Chen Changsheng, but the rulers of several Central Court powers arrived alongside three leaders from the Eastern Wilderness.
• Chen Changsheng recognized the Eastern Wilderness leaders, burst into tears, and said Kunlun Holy Land was bullying them as he asked to go home.

Chen Changsheng used his supposed mistreatment at Kunlun Holy Land to draw his friends into confronting its Holy Master, who apologized and offered him a haul of food. Mad Dragon Fortress was cast out of the assembly and threatened with destruction before a bald monk arrived to intervene.

• Song Yuanshan challenged Jiang Bufan over how Kunlun Holy Land had treated Chen Changsheng, and Chen claimed to be Song's little martial uncle.
• Chen Changsheng named Zuo Xinghe his nephew and Wanyan Yue his cousin, prompting both to defend him and challenge Jiang Bufan.
• Zuo Xinghe offered to pay ten times the price for the fruits Chen had eaten, publicly embarrassing Kunlun Holy Land.
• Jiang Bufan declared that the refreshments were free, promised Chen a large delivery of fruit and pastries, and had his table replenished.
• Kunlun Holy Land removed Wan Tong's seat, and Gongsun Huaiyu threatened to send Seventy-Two Wolf Smokes against Mad Dragon Fortress after the assembly.
• A bald monk appeared at the entrance and asked Wanyan Yue to show restraint.

At the Heaven's Pride Assembly, Chen Changsheng warned Gongsun Huaiyu to avoid the Northern Desert Buddha Child, Xuan Xin, and Baturu tested the monk's strength. Xuan Xin's scripture incapacitated more than half the gathered Heaven's Pride before Baturu's roar broke its influence, and the assembly was about to begin.

• Chen Changsheng warned Gongsun Huaiyu to flee from Xuan Xin or kill him before he could speak.
• Baturu attacked Xuan Xin with his wooden club, but Xuan Xin caught the blow with one hand.
• Xuan Xin chanted Buddhist scripture that bewitched many of the Heaven's Pride and made them want to renounce the world.
• Baturu's Beast Tooth Necklace woke him from the chant's influence, and his roar dispelled the scripture and knocked out more than half the assembly.
• Kunlun Holy Land attendants carried away the unconscious Heaven's Pride as Chen Changsheng explained the assembly's dangers to Gongsun Huaiyu.
• Xuan Xin introduced himself, and Jiang Bufan praised his Buddhist teachings and asked him to take his seat before the assembly began.

Chen Changsheng warned Gongsun Huaiyu about Xuan Xin, a demonic monk who combines Buddhist and demonic methods, before the Kunlun Holy Master explained the newly emerged Heaven's Mandate. The chapter ended with Chen Changsheng realizing the holy lands were recruiting prodigies to identify the Mandate Bearer—or a successor they could install by killing the original.

• Chen Changsheng explained that Xuan Xin could use Buddhist karma to destroy Mad Dragon Fortress himself and make Gongsun Huaiyu bear the resulting evil karma.
• Xuan Xin invited Chen Changsheng to join the priesthood, but Chen Changsheng warned him not to provoke him.
• Jiang Bufan announced that the Kunlun Holy Land would unite the factions to support the Heaven's Mandate Bearer.
• The Yaoguang Holy Master revealed that Heaven's Mandate had been shattered thirty thousand years ago, restricting cultivators' lifespans and cultivation, and that a new Mandate had appeared.
• The Purple Mansion Holy Master said whoever awakened the new Heaven's Mandate would bear it, but another could claim it by defeating the bearer; if the bearer were killed by overwhelming numbers, the Mandate would seek someone new.
• Chen Changsheng realized the holy lands were recruiting prodigies to find the Heaven's Mandate Bearer or a powerful candidate who could inherit the Mandate after the bearer was killed.

At the Heaven's Pride Assembly, Chen Changsheng realized A Li would need a Holy Land's support to contend for Heaven's Mandate and considered arranging a marriage alliance with the Purple Mansion Holy Master. His awkward smile provoked Zi Ning, who challenged him for the Golden Page bearing a fragment of the Eight Nine Mysterious Technique, and Gongsun Huaiyu stepped forward to fight in his place.

• Chen Changsheng concluded that the major Central Court powers would unite against a Heaven's Mandate Bearer outside the Holy Lands and considered seeking the Purple Mansion Holy Land's support for A Li through a marriage alliance.
• Chen Changsheng stared and smiled at the Purple Mansion Holy Master, alarming those at the assembly and angering Zi Ning.
• Jiang Bufan opened the Heaven's Pride Assembly's first event, a Dao Debate, and offered a Golden Page made from Profound Yellow Mother Metal that carried a cultivation technique.
• Zi Ning challenged Chen Changsheng, furious that she believed he had set his sights on her master.
• Chen Changsheng refused to admit defeat because he wanted the Golden Page and told Zi Ning to defeat Gongsun Huaiyu first.
• Gongsun Huaiyu accepted the challenge and wagered that Zi Ning would become Chen Changsheng's bedchamber maid if she lost; Zi Ning countered that Gongsun Huaiyu would leave Purple Mansion Holy Land with a bloodline if she lost.

Gongsun Huaiyu defeated Zi Ning in a circle-bound spar by using a cultivation method that allowed her Divine Sense Realm to leave her manifestation and fight independently. Her victory left the gathered experts wondering what Chen Changsheng could do with the system he had helped create.

• Jiang Bufan drew two small circles and declared that Zi Ning and Gongsun Huaiyu would spar without weapons, losing if either stepped outside her circle.
• Zi Ning and Gongsun Huaiyu clashed their cultivation manifestations, and Zi Ning's Azure Sea Blue Sky began to falter against Gongsun Huaiyu's golden Bitter Sea.
• Zi Ning transformed her manifestation into a version of herself and scattered the Bitter Sea, but an azure lotus bloomed and revealed Gongsun Huaiyu within it.
• Gongsun Huaiyu's True Self emerged from the manifestation and fought Zi Ning, demonstrating that her Divine Sense Realm could wield Spiritual Power and spells.
• Gongsun Huaiyu's True Self knocked the injured Zi Ning out of the circle, and Gongsun Huaiyu returned to Chen Changsheng to claim praise.
• The gathered experts recognized the cultivation system's potential and suspected Chen Changsheng had created it with Gongsun Huaiyu.

Chen Changsheng kept the other cultivators focused on him while Gongsun Huaiyu won the first Dao Debate, then stepped in when Yao Yingying and Demon Monk Xuan Xin challenged him. Fu Yao faced Yao Yingying in a battle within his sea of consciousness, and her ruthless aura left Gongsun Huaiyu shaken by the strength of her Dao.

• Chen Changsheng warned that Gongsun Huaiyu would meet future challengers with killing intent, discouraging the assembled heaven's prides from fighting her.
• Jiang Bufan declared Gongsun Huaiyu the winner of the first Dao Debate after no one else stepped forward.
• Yao Yingying and Demon Monk Xuan Xin volunteered to challenge Chen Changsheng, but Chen Changsheng told Gongsun Huaiyu to rest and went to face Xuan Xin himself.
• Fu Yao stood between Yao Yingying and Chen Changsheng, revealing that he had joined forces with Chen Changsheng to clear away obstacles.
• Yao Yingying accepted Fu Yao's invitation to battle inside his sea of consciousness and warned Gongsun Huaiyu that her borrowed Dao could not defeat her.
• Gongsun Huaiyu felt her soul freeze at Yao Yingying's glance and realized she had underestimated the strength of her peers.

Chen Changsheng challenged Xuan Xin to a Dharma debate, using Daoist teachings to counter his Buddhist answers. By facing life’s sufferings rather than seeking to transcend them, Chen Changsheng advanced along his own Great Dao.

• Gongsun Huaiyu realized Chen Changsheng had foreseen that she needed to comprehend her own Dao.
• Chen Changsheng told Xuan Xin he had debated a little monk who lost to him for twenty years, then revealed nine Buddha Relics.
• Wanyan Yue recognized the Relics and remembered Monk Yixiu, wondering what he and the Longevity Fairy might have become if they had lived through the intervening millennium.
• Chen Changsheng insisted on debating Xuan Xin with Daoist teachings and argued that all living beings were Buddha.
• Chen Changsheng explained that Daoists face life’s sufferings by following their true hearts, and his Divine Bridge widened as he advanced along his Great Dao.

Chen Changsheng defeated Xuan Xin in a debate over whether the Northern Desert monk’s actions saved people or stirred them toward violence. As Xuan Xin conceded and returned to his seat, Yao Yingying also acknowledged the Yaoguang Holy Son’s victory over her.

• Chen Changsheng challenged Xuan Xin’s claim to be a Buddha, arguing that his actions had caused people to take up the butcher’s knife in their hearts.
• Xuan Xin’s demonic nature surfaced as Chen Changsheng pressed him to confront the harm caused by his mission, and Ye Hensheng explained the debate to Gongsun Huaiyu and Su Tian.
• Xuan Xin spat blood, admitted defeat, thanked Chen Changsheng for revealing the knife in his heart, and returned to his seat.
• The contest between the Yaoguang Holy Son and Yao Yingying ended when Fu Yao’s light returned to Yao Yingying.
• Yao Yingying conceded that the Yaoguang Holy Son deserved his reputation and returned to her seat, impressing Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng won the Dao Debate and received invitations from powerful factions, then met with Wanyan Yue, Song Yuanshan, and Zuo Xinghe. He revealed that he wanted Wu Li to fight for the Mandate of Heaven and planned to kill Jiang Bufan to protect his secret, with his old friends offering their support.

• Jiang Bufan awarded Chen Changsheng the Profound Yellow Mother Metal and invited him to admire the moon, while the Purple Mansion Holy Master and other factions invited him to meet that night.
• Wanyan Yue, Song Yuanshan, and Zuo Xinghe took Chen Changsheng to East Barrens Villa, where Zuo Xinghe asked about his father and Chen Changsheng said he had buried him.
• Chen Changsheng scolded Wanyan Yue and the others for failing to advance their cultivation system and warned that their lifespans were nearly over.
• Chen Changsheng said he would not fight for the Mandate of Heaven himself and named Wu Li as a strong candidate.
• Chen Changsheng explained that Jiang Bufan had once blamed Wu Li after Chen Changsheng stood him up, and said he planned to kill Jiang Bufan to keep his secret safe.
• Wanyan Yue and Song Yuanshan pledged to help Chen Changsheng, and Zuo Xinghe declared that Xuanwu Kingdom would stand against Jiang Bufan as well.

Chen Changsheng warned that the missing West Continent prodigies and strange disturbances at ancient forbidden sites might signal the rise of terrifying forces. When he learned that a palm print and a wooden carving he had made for Nian Sheng had appeared in the Bronze Ancient Hall, he recognized the carving but could not identify who had left the print.

• Chen Changsheng told Song Yuanshan, Zuo Xinghe, and Wanyan Yue that he sensed a major event approaching and questioned why no West Continent prodigies had appeared at the Heaven's Pride Assembly.
• Chen Changsheng suspected that the emergence of Heaven's Mandate might draw terrifying beings out of hiding, and Zuo Xinghe reported that a woodcutter had seen a coffin fly from the direction of the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Ground.
• Wanyan Yue revealed that a palm print had appeared on the Bronze Ancient Hall wall three years earlier while she and Song Yuanshan were nearby, despite the hall being heavily guarded.
• Song Yuanshan showed Chen Changsheng a rubbing of the palm print and a wooden carving, which Chen Changsheng recognized as one he had carved for Nian Sheng when she was seven.
• Chen Changsheng compared the print with an identical rubbing he had obtained from another Bronze Ancient Hall, explaining that its Calamity had vanished and that a message beside the print read, 'Eliminating a great scourge, congratulations to all beneath heaven.'
• Chen Changsheng said the other hall was in Wu Li's hometown, whose location and guarding race he had still not identified.

Chen Changsheng explained that the wooden carving linked the Longevity Fairy to him, prompting Song Yuanshan to realize she had pursued immortality to stay by Chen Changsheng’s side. Chen Changsheng then visited the Purple Mansion Holy Master, but Zi Ning’s presence spoiled his plan to tease her.

• Song Yuanshan pressed Chen Changsheng to reveal who had owned the wooden carving.
• Chen Changsheng explained that Yixiu had given the carving to the Longevity Fairy at his request, and that he and Yixiu had known each other before he joined Supreme Clarity Temple.
• Song Yuanshan realized the Longevity Fairy had pursued longevity so she could remain beside Chen Changsheng, while Wanyan Yue watched him leave.
• Chen Changsheng brought tea to the secluded residence and prepared to tease the Purple Mansion Holy Master.
• Zi Ning opened the door and led Chen Changsheng to the veiled Purple Mansion Holy Master, leaving him disappointed that she was present.

Chen Changsheng rejected the Purple Mansion Holy Master's attempt to recruit him through Zi Ning and instead proposed matching her with Wu Li. The Purple Mansion Holy Master agreed to support Wu Li if Chen Changsheng stayed at Purple Mansion Holy Land for three hundred years.

• The Purple Mansion Holy Master praised Chen Changsheng's talent and tried to recruit him by offering Zi Ning as a match.
• Chen Changsheng declined the match, saying he wanted the Purple Mansion Holy Master instead, and Zi Ning angrily drew her sword before her master ordered her to leave.
• The Purple Mansion Holy Master rejected Chen Changsheng as a romantic prospect but invited him to make another request.
• Chen Changsheng proposed that the Purple Mansion Holy Master pursue Wu Li, describing him as a dominant Heaven's Pride who could help Purple Mansion Holy Land challenge Kunlun Holy Land.
• The Purple Mansion Holy Master worried that backing Wu Li would make her sect a target, so Chen Changsheng offered to reside there for three hundred years.
• The Purple Mansion Holy Master accepted Chen Changsheng's terms and agreed to support Wu Li.

The Purple Mansion Holy Master explained Heaven's Mandate and revealed the Sacred Beetle, which detected fortune and identified those tied to the Heaven's Mandate Bearer. When the beetle shone overwhelmingly red in Chen Changsheng's hand, she realized he was likely the true bearer and offered to seal the beetle to hide his and Wu Li's identities.

• Chen Changsheng asked the Purple Mansion Holy Master what Heaven's Mandate was and learned that its bearer could become the strongest of the age and might even level a Forbidden Ground.
• The Purple Mansion Holy Master brought out the Sacred Beetle and explained how its changing colors revealed fortune and its scarlet light signaled a Heaven's Mandate Bearer or someone closely connected to one.
• Chen Changsheng held the Sacred Beetle, which blazed with blood-red light despite having shown only a little red when the prodigies were tested earlier.
• The Purple Mansion Holy Master reasoned that Heaven's Mandate had awakened after the tests, when Chen Changsheng had left Kunlun Holy Land and escaped surveillance.
• The Purple Mansion Holy Master concluded that Chen Changsheng was likely the Heaven's Mandate Bearer and said she could seal the beetle to conceal his and Wu Li's identities from the other holy lands.

Chen Changsheng arranged for the Purple Mansion Holy Land to help conceal Wu Li’s identity, while Nalan Jing named Chen Changsheng Holy Son and assigned Zi Ning to stay by his side. After visiting the other factions to make agreements, Chen Changsheng headed to Boundless Hate Pavilion, leaving Kunlun Holy Land and Jiang Bufan for last.

• The Golden Silkworm Gu devoured the Sacred Beetle, leaving the Purple Mansion Holy Land without its only Sacred Beetle.
• Chen Changsheng and Nalan Jing agreed to use Chen Changsheng as a decoy to distract other factions from Wu Li, and he suggested Seventy-Two Wolf Smokes kidnap Nalan Jing so she could meet its awakened Heaven’s Mandate Bearer.
• Nalan Jing named Chen Changsheng Holy Son of the Purple Mansion Holy Land and ordered Zi Ning to protect him without leaving his side.
• Nalan Jing reasoned that Chen Changsheng’s mystery and strength could help hide Wu Li’s identity and buy him time to grow stronger.
• Chen Changsheng reviewed the factions he had visited and crossed Boundless Hate Pavilion off his list before heading to its encampment, saving Kunlun Holy Land and Jiang Bufan for last.

Chen Changsheng met Extinction Master, who offered him the Boundless Hate Pavilion’s Blood Hand Treasure Ginseng and Yao Yingying as rewards for killing Xuan Xin. He rejected her plan and left to meet Jiang Bufan, reflecting on how his path through the Cultivation World exposed him to its ugliness.

• Extinction Master invited Chen Changsheng to the Boundless Hate Pavilion encampment and offered him the Blood Hand Treasure Ginseng to kill Xuan Xin.
• Extinction Master revealed that she wanted Chen Changsheng to kill Xuan Xin so Yao Yingying could bear his child and sever her remaining attachment to Xuan Xin, allowing her to master the Ruthless Heavenly Book.
• Chen Changsheng condemned Extinction Master for plotting against Yao Yingying and refused to kill Xuan Xin, warning that he would interfere if he witnessed her scheme.
• Chen Changsheng left the encampment, spoke to the Wooden Sculpture about the ugliness of his path, and headed to meet Jiang Bufan.

Jiang Bufan told Chen Changsheng how Wu Li had helped him rise to power and demanded that Chen scout the way by dealing with rival geniuses. He threatened Chen when he refused, then revealed Gongsun Huaiyu fighting while badly injured.

• Chen Changsheng arrived at Jiang Bufan’s pavilion, where Jiang said he had invited him only to reminisce rather than recruit him.
• Jiang Bufan recounted how he defeated the Holy Son and became Holy Master, explaining that Wu Li’s strength had helped him gain power in Kunlun Holy Land.
• Chen Changsheng identified Wu Li as Jiang Bufan’s greatest contributor, and Jiang admitted that they had used each other to grow stronger.
• Jiang Bufan demanded that Chen Changsheng scout the way by taking on several rival geniuses, and threatened to eliminate him if he refused.
• Jiang Bufan dismissed the concealing formation and revealed Gongsun Huaiyu, in her Heaven and Earth Avatar, fighting fiercely while covered in blood.