Chapter Summaries

Chen Changsheng rushed to rescue the gravely wounded Gongsun Huaiyu and joined Fu Yao in defeating a mysterious winged man and his West Continent Demon Race pets. After the fight, Jiang Bufan revealed that the mysterious man came from the Holy Ruins Forbidden Ground, leaving the gathered powers alarmed.

• Chen Changsheng arrived at Butterfly Valley as Gongsun Huaiyu was near defeat, while Fu Yao hurried toward the battle after realizing she and his younger brother might be in danger.
• Chen Changsheng trapped the winged man and the four West Continent Heaven's Pride in a simplified Heaven Earth Life Severing Array, then teamed up with Fu Yao against the man.
• Chen Changsheng swiftly defeated the four pets, while Fu Yao fought the winged man until Chen Changsheng struck him and Fu Yao blasted him into the ground.
• The battle ended after six breaths, and the great powers of Kunlun Holy Land arrived as the winged man recognized that he could no longer fight.
• Nalan Jing questioned Jiang Bufan about the danger to the Heaven's Pride, and Jiang Bufan identified the winged man as a Heaven's Pride from the Holy Ruins Forbidden Ground.

Chen Changsheng defied Jiang Bufan’s restrictions by using a miniature Tri-Color Teleportation Array to leave Kunlun Holy Land. He reached the Divine Source Mine ahead of the competition, intent on turning Jiang Bufan’s scheme against him.

• Nalan Jing challenged Fang Qiancheng’s arrogance, and Fang revealed that he was the last Heavenly Winged Race’s prodigy from five thousand years ago.
• Chen Changsheng threatened Fang Qiancheng for injuring Gongsun Huaiyu, then asked Jiang Bufan about the next Heaven’s Pride Assembly competition: clearing an aberration from a Divine Source Mine three thousand li away.
• Jiang Bufan postponed the competition for five days and forbade the young cultivators from leaving Kunlun Holy Land, hoping to force Chen Changsheng and Fang Qiancheng into conflict.
• Back at the East Barrens Courtyard, Chen Changsheng ordered his allies to guard his room while he entered seclusion, then used his miniature Tri-Color Teleportation Array to escape unnoticed.
• Chen Changsheng flew to the Divine Source Mine, resolved to disrupt Jiang Bufan’s plan, and began examining the surrounding mountains with a Compass.

Chen Changsheng set up a Heavenly Decay killing array around the mineral vein, then discovered that a hidden force was turning the Dragon Vein into a place of misfortune. After investigating underground and barely escaping, he returned to East Barrens Courtyard and asked Fu Yao to protect him at the Heaven's Pride Assembly.

• Chen Changsheng surveyed the land and set up the Heavenly Decay Array around the mineral vein, including the cultivators guarding it.
• Chen Changsheng noticed that mortal geomancy marked the area as a place of great misfortune despite its powerful Dragon Vein, and realized something was changing the terrain.
• Chen Changsheng followed clues from an owl's cry and a tree bleeding red liquid, then infiltrated the ground to investigate the source.
• Chen Changsheng emerged at dawn, frightened by what he had found beneath the mineral vein, and concluded that Kunlun Holy Land was mining divine source above it.
• Chen Changsheng returned to East Barrens Courtyard and asked Fu Yao to protect him at the next day's Heaven's Pride Assembly.

Chen Changsheng persuaded Zi Ning to protect him at the Heaven's Pride Assembly in exchange for teaching her Gongsun Huaiyu's cultivation art. He comforted Gongsun Huaiyu over her mistake and revealed that her beloved Nalan Xingde was Fu Yao's younger brother, leaving her with a warning to keep the secret.

• Fu Yao tactfully refused Chen Changsheng's request for protection and left East Barrens Courtyard.
• Chen Changsheng promised to teach Zi Ning Gongsun Huaiyu's cultivation art if she stayed at his side during the Heaven's Pride Assembly, and Zi Ning agreed.
• Chen Changsheng told Gongsun Huaiyu that her mistake had consequences but urged her to learn from it rather than repeat it.
• Gongsun Huaiyu admitted that Nalan Xingde had saved her five years earlier, and Chen Changsheng accepted their relationship.
• Chen Changsheng revealed that Nalan Xingde was Fu Yao's younger brother and warned Gongsun Huaiyu not to tell him.

Chen Changsheng warned Gongsun Huaiyu to avoid conflict and stay out of the mine vein’s depths, then secretly prepared traps and a plan involving a dangerous presence beneath the mine. The prodigies entered the mine, and Gongsun Huaiyu kept the group on the outer route while Chen Changsheng worked alone toward his scheme.

• Chen Changsheng told Gongsun Huaiyu not to clash with anyone, including Fang Qiancheng, or go deep into the mine vein, and she agreed to enforce the rules for the others.
• The prodigies and their guardians gathered at the mine entrances, where Fang Qiancheng taunted Chen Changsheng before leading the West Continent’s prodigies inside.
• At a fork, Gongsun Huaiyu blocked the route deeper into the mine and insisted that the group follow the outer passage, despite Zi Ning’s objections.
• Chen Changsheng planted trapping arrays along the mine’s routes and studied the Kunlun Holy Land’s map.
• Chen Changsheng used Ground Shrinking Golden Light to move underground and began secretly clearing soil and ore toward the terrifying presence beneath the mine.

Gongsun Huaiyu refused to let Zi Ning, Su Tian, and Ye Hensheng enter the mineral vein, causing a rift in the group. Deep inside, Chen Changsheng uncovered the Dragon Vein’s dangerous transformation and prepared to stage a fight with his public enemy.

• Zi Ning confronted Gongsun Huaiyu for repeatedly blocking the way deeper into the mineral vein, but Gongsun Huaiyu maintained Chen Changsheng’s order and refused to explain it.
• Zi Ning gave up on entering, while Su Tian and Ye Hensheng felt that Chen Changsheng did not value their strength, creating a rift in Gongsun Huaiyu’s team.
• Chen Changsheng recalled that opening the Jade Coffin had accelerated the corpse’s transformation and that the Dragon Vein had become an Evil Dragon suppressing it.
• Chen Changsheng revealed that he had hollowed out the ore until only a thin slab separated the Mine Road from the Stone Chamber, setting up a likely confrontation with the Evil Dragon and the corpse.
• Chen Changsheng headed toward the mineral vein’s depths and planned to stage a battle with the birdman so he could appear to be a victim while still participating in the competition.

Fang Qiancheng defeated Chen Changsheng in the mine vein and demanded the Eight Nine Mysterious Technique, while the watching prodigies saw him reach the height of his prestige. After escaping, Chen Changsheng revealed that his grave wound was an act and hurried his companions away before Fang Qiancheng reached the mine’s center.

• Chen Changsheng and Xuan Xin joined forces against Fang Qiancheng, but Fang Qiancheng overwhelmed them and Xuan Xin fled.
• Fang Qiancheng struck Chen Changsheng with the Golden Page, demanded the Eight Nine Mysterious Technique, and warned him that defiance would mean death.
• Fang Qiancheng dismissed Fu Yao and boasted that his Wind and Thunder Wings could defeat Chen Changsheng’s formations.
• Once alone, Chen Changsheng healed his staged wound and realized Fang Qiancheng suspected someone behind him possessed the Eight Nine Mysterious Technique.
• Chen Changsheng met Gongsun Huaiyu and led his group out of the mine vein, leaving other forces shocked by his apparent defeat.

Chen Changsheng faked his defeat to lure Fang Qiancheng and the other forces into the mine vein, where an Evil Dragon awakened and his arrays trapped them. After escaping with Nalan Jing and Zi Ning, Chen Changsheng activated the Sky Desolation Array and revealed that he intended to kill the people inside, though he doubted he could eliminate them all.

• Chen Changsheng pretended to be badly injured and tried to kill himself, while Wanyan Yue took him away from the mine vein.
• Nalan Jing realized Chen Changsheng was acting, announced that he was the Purple Mansion Holy Land’s Holy Son, and left with Zi Ning.
• Fang Qiancheng entered the mine vein’s depths, where falling rocks extinguished the Bronze Oil Lamp and transformed the Dragon Vein into an Evil Dragon.
• Chen Changsheng’s arrays slowed Fang Qiancheng’s escape, and the people following him disappeared one by one.
• Nalan Jing caught up with Chen Changsheng, who admitted his injuries had been fake and explained how to detect deception.
• Chen Changsheng activated the Sky Desolation Array, intending to kill the people inside the mine vein, while Zi Ning feared the consequences for the Purple Mansion Holy Land.

Chen Changsheng revealed that he had turned the mine’s Dragon Vein into a deadly formation to expose the corpse buried beneath it, but the Nameless Ancient Corpse erupted and overwhelmed the assembled Central Court powers. He escaped with the survivors through a Tri-Color Teleportation Array as the corpse tried to seize him, while Jiang Bufan and the others fled as well.

• Chen Changsheng told Nalan Jing that a Nameless Ancient Corpse beneath the mine was transforming and that his formation had turned the corrupted Dragon Vein into a Ferocious Dragon.
• The Divine Source Mine exploded, revealing the golden-furred corpse and leaving fewer than thirty of the more than five hundred gathered powerhouses alive.
• The corpse devoured the Yaoguang Holy Master’s Essence Blood and began revealing jade-white bones as it transformed toward an Imperishable Bone.
• A shriveled old man appeared and unleashed the Heavenly Decay Grand Formation, which began drawing Essence Blood from the survivors into the corpse.
• Chen Changsheng ordered everyone into his Teleportation Array and escaped through an enhanced Tri-Color Teleportation Array as the corpse tried to drag him back.
• With the corpse distracted, Jiang Bufan and the other survivors fled.

After escaping the Heavenly Decay Grand Formation, Chen Changsheng reached Purple Mansion Holy Land with his companions and arranged for his Eastern Wilderness friends to return home. He began his new role as Holy Son by securing cultivation resources for the people he had brought back.

• Chen Changsheng and his companions escaped the Nameless Ancient Corpse by teleporting five times to Purple Mansion Holy Land.
• Nalan Jing left with part of Purple Mansion Holy Land's reserves to aid the factions affected by the disaster.
• Chen Changsheng gave Wanyan Yue, Song Yuanshan, and Zuo Xinghe Teleportation Platforms and cultivation insights for their return to the Eastern Wilderness, then told his younger companions to call him “Sir.”
• Purple Mansion Holy Land's elders welcomed Chen Changsheng as their Holy Son and promised to protect him.
• Chen Changsheng persuaded the Grand Elder to use Purple Mansion Holy Land's resources to cultivate the people he brought back, citing Gongsun Huaiyu's connections and the future positions of the Eastern Wilderness Heaven's Prides.

Chen Changsheng arranged for Gongsun Huaiyu and his companions to become Registered Disciples of the Purple Mansion Holy Land with Inner Sect privileges. The elders weighed the danger of Chen Changsheng’s suspected involvement in the Heaven’s Pride Assembly disaster and decided the Holy Land would protect him unless anyone produced evidence.

• The Grand Elder welcomed Gongsun Huaiyu and the others as Registered Disciples with Inner Sect privileges, and Zi Ning agreed to explain the Holy Land’s rules.
• The elders gathered on Back Mountain to assess Chen Changsheng’s strength, talent, mysterious origins, and ties to Seventy-Two Wolf Smokes.
• The Grand Elder recounted Nalan Jing’s report that an Evil Dragon had emerged beneath a mine and that most of the Central Court’s powerful figures had likely died.
• The elders discussed suspicion that Chen Changsheng was involved in the Heaven’s Pride Assembly disaster, but the Grand Elder argued that no one could accuse the Purple Mansion Holy Land’s Holy Son without evidence.
• The Grand Elder urged the elders to face the danger and opportunity with the breadth of mind needed to recruit a talent like Chen Changsheng.

Purple Mansion Holy Land’s elders weighed the benefits of recruiting Chen Changsheng and decided to secure him while the Holy Master prepared to confront Seventy-Two Wolf Smokes. Gongsun Huaiyu learned how the Holy Land’s rewards worked and eagerly anticipated earning resources through missions.

• The Grand Elder convinced the elders that recruiting Chen Changsheng could link Purple Mansion Holy Land with Seventy-Two Wolf Smokes and powerful nations in the Eastern Wilderness.
• The Grand Elder revealed that the Holy Master intended to lead an expedition against Seventy-Two Wolf Smokes and personally face Wu Li if they attacked.
• The elders proposed directing resources toward a city where Seventy-Two Wolf Smokes appeared, but the Grand Elder insisted they first secure Chen Changsheng.
• Zi Ning explained that disciples earned Points through missions and that Holy Sons and Holy Maidens could freely draw on resources worth less than five hundred thousand catties of divine source.
• Gongsun Huaiyu became excited about earning Points through missions, comparing the comfortable arrangement favorably with risking her life for resources at Seventy-Two Wolf Smokes.

Chen Changsheng sent Gongsun Huaiyu and Zi Ning to compete in completing missions, promising Zi Ning a new cultivation method if she surpassed Gongsun Huaiyu. He then entered the Purple Mansion Holy Land’s Sea of Learning to investigate Heaven’s Mandate Bearers and opened an ancient Beast Hide Book.

• Gongsun Huaiyu led Su Tian and the others to the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion to accept missions after Chen Changsheng gave his permission.
• Chen Changsheng challenged Zi Ning to complete more missions than Gongsun Huaiyu to earn the new cultivation method he had promised her.
• Zi Ning questioned why she should follow Chen Changsheng’s orders, then accepted his authority and went to claim missions.
• Chen Changsheng entered the Sea of Learning to search for Ancient Texts concerning Heaven’s Mandate Bearers.
• Chen Changsheng used the Grand Elder’s token to enter a sealed Stone Chamber and opened a dusty Beast Hide Book.

Chen Changsheng studied records of Heaven's Mandate Bearers and uncovered clues linking their disappearances to the Bronze Ancient Hall, while the Purple Mansion Holy Land's history remained suspiciously incomplete. He left the Sea of Learning Pavilion to find Gongsun Huaiyu, Zi Ning, and others accused of taking most of the sect's missions, and the disciples asked him to settle the dispute.

• Chen Changsheng read a record that placed Hundred Defeats Immortal's battle with Limitless Celestial thirty thousand years earlier.
• After spending two months studying the Stone Chamber's books, Chen Changsheng found that Heaven's Mandate Bearers had lived progressively shorter lives, disappeared after bearing Heaven's Mandate, and returned injured.
• Chen Changsheng suspected the Heaven's Mandate Bearers' absences were connected to the Bronze Ancient Hall and questioned why the Purple Mansion Holy Land's records omitted it.
• Gongsun Huaiyu called for Chen Changsheng's help as he left the Sea of Learning Pavilion and found her, Zi Ning, and their companions surrounded by Purple Mansion Holy Land disciples.
• A disciple told Chen Changsheng that Gongsun Huaiyu, Zi Ning, and two others had accepted seventy percent of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion's missions, leaving the remaining disciples without work.
• The disciples said the elders had placed all affairs in Chen Changsheng's hands until the Holy Master returned, and they asked him to uphold justice.

Chen Changsheng investigated the lack of missions at the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion and learned that rumors blamed him for luring out the Imperishable Bone. After tracing the rumors to Mad Dragon Fortress, he offered twenty million divine sources to fund a mission to wipe it out.

• Chen Changsheng led the disciples to the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion to investigate why few missions were available.
• The elder showed Chen Changsheng mission records dominated by Gongsun Huaiyu, Zi Ning, Ye Hensheng, and Su Tian, leaving few opportunities for other disciples.
• Chen Changsheng proposed creating new demand and asked what had happened in the Central Court.
• The elder reported rumors that Chen Changsheng had lured out the Imperishable Bone and said they originated from Mad Dragon Fortress, though no evidence supported them.
• Chen Changsheng asked Gongsun Huaiyu about Mad Dragon Fortress and learned she had not yet sent the Seventy-Two Wolf Smokes after it.
• Chen Changsheng pledged twenty million divine sources of his own to issue a mission to wipe out Mad Dragon Fortress.

Chen Changsheng rallied Purple Mansion Holy Land’s disciples to attack Mad Dragon Fortress without accompanying elders, promising them a greater share of the spoils. The Council of Elders approved his authority and the mission terms, and challengers stepped forward to contest the appointed leaders.

• Chen Changsheng rejected the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion elder’s advice to delay the attack and insisted the disciples could wipe out Mad Dragon Fortress without elders.
• Chen Changsheng rallied the disciples with an impassioned speech, and thousands roared their support for the mission.
• Chen Changsheng changed the spoils arrangement so the disciples would receive seventy percent, while the remaining thirty percent would repay the Holy Land.
• The Council of Elders authorized Chen Changsheng to command the mission, cover its rewards, and count participating disciples as passing their assessments whether the mission succeeded or failed.
• Chen Changsheng named Zi Ning, Gongsun Huaiyu, Ye Hensheng, and Su Tian as leaders and invited disciples to challenge them; challengers soon emerged, especially against Ye Hensheng and Su Tian.

Su Tian and Ye Hensheng fought a prolonged battle against Purple Mansion Holy Land Inner Sect Disciples while Chen Changsheng watched. The elders debated how to treat Chen Changsheng and his cultivation system, and Zi Ning predicted Su Tian and Ye Hensheng would eventually lose.

• Su Tian and Ye Hensheng fought numerous challengers as Chen Changsheng watched and urged them to master their cultivation arts.
• The Grand Elder warned the elders not to pressure Chen Changsheng for his cultivation system, and the Second Elder cautioned them against underestimating him.
• The Second Elder said the Third and Fifth Elders would test Chen Changsheng, while Chen Changsheng would test whether the Purple Mansion Holy Land deserved his support.
• Gongsun Huaiyu and Zi Ning defeated their challengers, but Su Tian and Ye Hensheng remained locked in battle.
• Zi Ning told Gongsun Huaiyu that Su Tian and Ye Hensheng were likely to lose because the strongest Inner Sect Disciples had not yet fought.

Su Tian and Ye Hensheng struggled against powerful Purple Mansion Holy Land disciples while Zi Ning and Gongsun Huaiyu argued over Chen Changsheng’s promised cultivation method. Su Tian finally understood the true nature of the Tiangang Body Tempering Art and unleashed a powerful aura, turning the battle’s momentum.

• Feng Yuxiu attacked Su Tian with the Star Plucking Hand and began breaking through his Star Power defenses.
• Zi Ning explained Feng Yuxiu’s strength and described Yang Feng’s Mad Demon Fist Technique and its risk of demonic deviation.
• Zi Ning told Gongsun Huaiyu that she had completed thirty more tasks and claimed Chen Changsheng would teach her a new cultivation method.
• Su Tian and Ye Hensheng were beaten and struggled to find the insight that could turn their fights around.
• Su Tian realized the Tiangang Body Tempering Art fused Star Power with Spiritual Power as an internal cultivation method, and his aura surged.

Su Tian defeated Feng Yuxiu after Feng conceded, while Ye Hensheng failed to defeat Yang Feng before time ran out, canceling the fourth team leader position. Chen Changsheng assigned three leaders for the Mad Dragon Fortress mission and urged them to accept the responsibility of protecting those who trusted them.

• Feng Yuxiu conceded to Su Tian, and Chen Changsheng recognized Feng's talent and considered whether a different cultivation system could help him surpass the prodigies.
• Ye Hensheng understood that he needed to unite himself with the Invincible Daoist's fist technique as his duel with Yang Feng continued.
• Chen Changsheng stopped the duel when time ran out, canceled the fourth team leader position, and named Gongsun Huaiyu, Zi Ning, and Su Tian as the mission's leaders.
• Chen Changsheng gave the Purple Mansion disciples an hour to prepare for the assault on Mad Dragon Fortress and choose which leader to follow.
• Chen Changsheng told Gongsun Huaiyu, Zi Ning, and the others that they must learn to manage their followers and bear responsibility for the lives entrusted to them.

Chen Changsheng organized 1,080 Purple Mansion disciples into an assault on Mad Dragon Fortress and assigned their commanders a dangerous, coordinated plan. The troops marched out, with Zi Ning tasked with striking the fortress, Su Tian ordered to draw out its defenders and form a pincer, and Gongsun Huaiyu told to block outside interference.

• Ye Hensheng accepted his defeat and joined Su Tian's team as an ordinary member.
• More than a thousand disciples assembled, and Chen Changsheng appointed Su Tian to lead the central army, Zi Ning the left, and Gongsun Huaiyu the right.
• A Heavenly Secrets Pavilion disciple reported that Mad Dragon Fortress was expanding despite losing the support of Kunlun Holy Land and Yaoguang Holy Land.
• Chen Changsheng ordered Zi Ning's two hundred disciples to bypass the defenses and strike Mad Dragon Fortress's heart.
• Chen Changsheng directed Su Tian to feint, form a pincer through Fierce Wind Inn and Golden Light Cave, and turn the feint into the main assault.
• Chen Changsheng assigned Gongsun Huaiyu to hold a strategic route, support both armies, and stop other forces from intervening for three hours.