Chapter Summaries

After Zhang Bairen escaped his battle with Wang Hao, he proposed restructuring the Emperor Realm cultivation system to prevent powerful cultivators from making Self-severing Cuts and joining the Forbidden Grounds. Chen Changsheng considered the plan, which would begin with his disciple Chen Shisan.

• Wang Hao's avatar vanished with the Blood Sea, and Zhang Bairen began coughing blood after leaving the battlefield.
• Chen Changsheng treated Zhang Bairen and questioned why he had risked fighting Wang Hao while still recovering.
• Zhang Bairen argued that defeating the Forbidden Grounds required high-level cultivators to sacrifice themselves, but said his plan differed from their current approach.
• Zhang Bairen proposed restructuring the Emperor Realm cultivation system so cultivators would hesitate to make Self-severing Cuts and enter the Forbidden Grounds.
• Chen Changsheng saw promise in the plan, and Zhang Bairen named Chen Shisan as the first to follow this path.

Zhang Bairen questioned Chen Changsheng about Chen Shisan’s mysterious realm and concluded that he had forged a new Emperor Realm System through his pure will and Dao heart. Zhang Bairen revealed that he had developed the Bitter Sea Emperor Realm System to eighty percent and demanded the remaining insights he believed Chen Changsheng possessed.

• Zhang Bairen asked Chen Changsheng to explain Chen Shisan’s realm and his feats during the Ascension Road War and Extinguish Heaven War.
• Chen Changsheng said Chen Shisan remained at Immortal King Ninth Grade because his poor Root Bone prevented him from bearing the Heavenly Mandate or entering the Emperor Realm by established methods.
• Chen Changsheng admitted that neither he nor Chen Shisan understood the source of Chen Shisan’s extraordinary ability to fight above his level.
• Zhang Bairen proposed that Chen Shisan had forged a new Emperor Realm System, activated by his unwavering will and Dao heart in moments of crisis.
• Zhang Bairen revealed that he had forged the Bitter Sea Emperor Realm System but perfected only eighty percent of it, and said the missing insights were with Wu Li and Chen Shisan.
• Zhang Bairen inferred that Chen Changsheng possessed both sets of insights and demanded that he hand them over.

Chen Changsheng and Zhang Bairen exchanged research to advance the Bitter Sea Emperor Realm System, agreeing that a new system must surpass the existing one and free cultivators from reliance on their worlds. They left the remaining challenge—understanding Chen Shisan’s unusual condition—for Chen Changsheng to investigate.

• Zhang Bairen urged Chen Changsheng to choose whether he or Lu Mingyu would take the dangerous path of creating the Bitter Sea Emperor Realm System, and Chen Changsheng agreed to exchange their research with him.
• Chen Changsheng and Zhang Bairen read each other’s Jade Slips and praised the other’s work on the Bitter Sea system.
• As they walked, Chen Changsheng and Zhang Bairen discussed how the new Emperor Realm system should avoid the restrictions of relying on the power of worlds.
• Zhang Bairen explained that he had fought Wang Hao to study the physical body and identified Chen Shisan’s explosive power and unstable condition as essential to making the new system’s limits irreversible.
• Chen Changsheng promised to keep studying Chen Shisan’s condition and help Zhang Bairen complete the system.

Zhang Bairen told Chen Changsheng that the Bitter Sea Emperor Realm System would accelerate the End of Dharma Era, but insisted it would appear regardless. Meanwhile, Qin Liu shared his troubling dreams and concerns with Heng Tian during their mission in the Borderlands.

• Zhang Bairen explained that the Bitter Sea Emperor Realm System would consume more resources, end the benefits of the current Emperor Realm system, and hasten the End of Dharma Era.
• Chen Changsheng demanded that Zhang Bairen delay the system, but Zhang Bairen said its framework was nearly complete and mocked Chen Changsheng with the prospect of inheriting its problems.
• Chen Changsheng attacked Zhang Bairen's disappearing figure and vowed to dig up his grave and whip his corpse.
• Qin Liu sneezed during a Borderlands mission with Heng Tian and asked him to interpret a recurring dream about a crowned man saying that the time was almost here.
• Qin Liu told Heng Tian that he sensed his time was nearly up and urged him to choose his own path instead of remaining trapped by his burdens.

Yan Yusheng revealed that he had killed the three Princes of the Li Yang Dynasty and challenged Jun Lin to settle their conflict in battle. Elsewhere, Bai Zhi faced Ling Dao while Yuan Yi watched for interference, and Ku Mu confronted Chen Xiao, Zhao Wu Yu, Ruan Su Xian, and Ye Yu as the Borderlands formation fell.

• Yan Yusheng appeared before Jun Lin and admitted that his side intended to kill Heng Tian, while Jun Lin prepared to fight him.
• Yan Yusheng showed Jun Lin the severed heads of the three Princes of the Li Yang Dynasty, then explained that he had killed them after they urged him to kill Jun Lin.
• Jun Lin agreed to fight Yan Yusheng, and the two prepared to settle their conflict in battle.
• Bai Zhi refused to stand aside as Ling Dao challenged him, while Yuan Yi arrived to prevent others from interfering.
• Chen Xiao, Zhao Wu Yu, and Ruan Su Xian confronted Ku Mu, and Ye Yu arrived to join them as Ku Mu warned that the Borderlands formation had been broken.

Chen Feng confronted Lan Yu and faced four powerful cultivators while the border battle worsened, and Heng Tian fought Long Ji and Bie Chen. At the portal exit, Zhang Bairen refused Lu Mingyu’s request to enter the Bitter Sea Emperor Realm System, urging him to stay by Chen Changsheng’s side and protect him.

• At the Borderlands, Xing Kong and Wu Yang fought desperately as the enemy poured through a breach in the city wall.
• Chen Feng demanded that Lan Yu withdraw his troops; Lan Yu departed and left four cultivators to face Chen Feng, warning him about Long Ji and Bie Chen of the Void Forbidden Ground.
• Long Ji and Bie Chen fought Heng Tian, and Bie Chen wounded him while declaring he would kill him within two thousand moves.
• Zhang Bairen refused Lu Mingyu’s request for an opportunity to walk the Bitter Sea Emperor Realm System, saying the road was not ready for him.
• Zhang Bairen warned Lu Mingyu that Chen Changsheng had lost many allies and needed someone to Uphold the Sky and Escort him, leaving Lu Mingyu deep in thought.

Zhang Bairen warned Lu Mingyu that Chen Changsheng’s past Epoch Massacre had nearly provoked powerful enemies to kill him, and that greater dangers would follow the Dark Turmoil. He urged Lu Mingyu to hold back and build his strength so he could protect Chen Changsheng later, leaving Lu Mingyu weighing that advice against his chance to found the Bitter Sea Emperor Realm System.

• Zhang Bairen told Lu Mingyu that Chen Changsheng’s soft heart and impulsiveness had led him into danger, and that the Epoch Massacre had nearly cost him his life.
• Zhang Bairen explained that the Little Immortal Elder, the Forbidden Ground, and other powerful beings might have moved against Chen Changsheng after the Epoch Massacre.
• Lu Mingyu declared that he and Chen Feng would clear every obstacle from Chen Changsheng’s path, but Zhang Bairen warned that they could not recklessly challenge the world’s masters.
• Zhang Bairen advised Lu Mingyu to hold back until the Bitter Sea Emperor Realm System was established, so he could protect Chen Changsheng from dangers after the Dark Turmoil.
• Lu Mingyu understood Zhang Bairen’s reasoning but realized that following it meant giving up his chance to become the founder of the Bitter Sea Emperor Realm System.

Zhang Bairen told Lu Mingyu why he intended to face the coming danger alone and admitted he feared losing himself to time. After choosing to fight in the Chang Sheng Epoch, Lu Mingyu headed for the battlefield, where Qin Liu revealed his identity as the Jade Emperor after Long Ji blasted him into a blood mist.

• Zhang Bairen told Lu Mingyu he had refused to share the task of pioneering the Bitter Sea Emperor Realm System because he had waited two hundred thousand years for the chance, but wanted to help Chen Changsheng before his likely death.
• Zhang Bairen explained that the Dark Turmoil and the struggle against time might destroy him, and said he would rather die fighting than become the founder of a Forbidden Ground.
• Lu Mingyu reflected that the Chang Sheng Epoch’s people met hardship with courage, declared it was where he belonged, and flew toward the battlefield to fight.
• Bie Chen defeated Heng Tian, who was battered and then torn in half, while Long Ji blasted Qin Liu into a mist of blood.
• Qin Liu’s light persisted and formed a phantom, which declared that he was the Jade Emperor of the Heavenly Court.

Zhang Bairen returned to Heng Tian’s body, drove off Bie Chen and Long Ji, and helped Heng Tian recover before hearing him confess that he could finally let go of his burden. Meanwhile, Chen Feng cornered the last enemy at the Borderlands and declared that the Immortal King must die.

• Qin Liu possessed Heng Tian, struck Bie Chen with mortal martial arts, and forced Bie Chen and Long Ji to retreat before returning to Zhang Bairen.
• Chen Mengjie stitched Heng Tian’s body together and treated him, and he soon revived.
• Zhang Bairen explained that Qin Liu had been a complete person whose remaining attachment had kept him alive, and Heng Tian asked him to pass on a message of regret and understanding.
• Heng Tian said he felt relieved because he had fought with all his might and could leave with a clear conscience; Zhang Bairen told him his tribulation came because he had never lost.
• At the Borderlands, Chen Feng defeated three Title Immortal Venerables and refused the remaining First Grade Immortal King’s plea for mercy, declaring that he must die.

Chen Feng overcame the obsession that had constrained his swordsmanship and killed an Immortal King Realm cultivator with a single draw. As Lan Yu and his allies tried to retreat, Liu Yidao blocked them and declared that he would spare Lan Yu but kill everyone below.

• Chen Feng resolved that his sword should cut down whatever stood before him, not distinguish between opponents by strength, and that he would use it to keep Chen Changsheng on the righteous path.
• Chen Feng drew his sword and instantly cut the Immortal King Realm cultivator in two, with the sword aura also wounding Lan Yu from ten miles away.
• Chen Feng ordered Lan Yu and the others to retreat, but Liu Yidao appeared and stopped them from escaping.
• Liu Yidao explained that he had uncovered how righteous prodigies had secretly helped suppress the Li Yang Dynasty, then said he would spare Lan Yu but kill the others.
• Blood surged from the ground, and dozens of figures shot into the sky.

After Wang Shanhuo’s death, Liu Yidao accepted his inner conflict and resolved to kill evil people in hopes of comprehending life and death. At the same time, Jun Lin fought Yan Yusheng in the Wilderness, where their clash continued after Yan Yusheng urged him to leave.

• Liu Yidao mourned Wang Shanhuo, and an apparition of her told him that her death had rooted humanity in his heart and left him unable to fully follow the Demon Cultivator Great Dao.
• The apparition urged Liu Yidao to kill evil people and comprehend life and death, and he embraced becoming a Demon Cultivator who killed villains as the Buddhist Dharma imprint vanished from his body.
• On the Borderlands battlefield, Lan Yu withdrew, and Liu Yidao asked Chen Feng if he could kill more people before Chen Feng charged into battle.
• In the Wilderness, Jun Lin and Yan Yusheng fought for several thousand moves without either gaining the upper hand.
• Yan Yusheng warned Jun Lin that Long Ji and Bie Chen would soon return and advised him to leave, but Jun Lin attacked him with a giant golden bell.

Lu Jin killed Yan Yusheng at the cost of his own life, leaving Jun Lin a message and resources intended to help Wu Yang claim the throne. Meanwhile, Gu Yi’s plot against Ku Mu briefly distracted the Forbidden Ground’s experts, and the chapter ends with the fallout from Yan Yusheng’s death.

• Yan Yusheng survived the golden Great Bell’s first strike with a protective artifact and a bead, but his jade sword destroyed the bell before his body, Divine Soul, and True Spirit were annihilated.
• Lu Jin charged the Emperor Realm Dao Protector of the Heavens Forbidden Ground and was killed after handing Jun Lin a Jade Slip.
• Jun Lin heard Lu Jin’s message explaining that he had killed Yan Yusheng for the Li Yang Dynasty and wanted Wu Yang to establish her own dynasty.
• Jun Lin received Lu Jin’s stored supplies and list, realizing that Lu Jin had diverted resources and protected Wu Yang’s supporters while preparing to kill a Child of the Forbidden Ground.
• Gu Yi revealed himself to Ku Mu and used a spell to defeat him, prompting the Holy Ruins Forbidden Ground to react; the experts’ brief distraction gave the golden Great Bell time to kill Yan Yusheng.

The battle around the Book of Wonders Competition ended with the Li Yang Dynasty’s resistance bringing devastating consequences, and Jun Lin struggled to understand its choice. Yin Qi urged him to see the Li Yang Dynasty’s resolve as the backbone of ordinary people, leaving Jun Lin determined to try to preserve it.

• Ye Yu and Ruan Su Xian left the battle site, while the surviving Children of the Forbidden Ground were protected and the enemy army withdrew.
• Wu Yang collapsed after reading the Jade Slip, and Chen Feng explained to Liu Yidao that their lives had been shaped to serve others’ goals; Liu Yidao left to prepare for the struggle ahead.
• Yin Qi told Jun Lin that the Li Yang Dynasty had resisted out of indignation and backbone, then said Jun Lin must decide for himself whether and how to preserve it.
• Chen Changsheng announced that the Book of Wonders Competition had ended and told Yan Ziyu that resolving the Dark Turmoil was the current generation’s responsibility.
• Zhang Bairen joined Chen Changsheng to watch the footage, and the two departed together.

The Forbidden Grounds agreed to mobilize more than half their strength to eliminate the Undertaker's lineage and divided their targets. Meanwhile, Chen Changsheng explained his plans for exclusive weapons for Bitter Sea Emperor Realm cultivators and announced that he wanted to forge a Supreme Emperor Weapon.

• The Forbidden Grounds decided that the Undertaker's lineage had to be destroyed and agreed to commit more than half their strength to the assault.
• Reincarnation Forbidden Ground claimed the Great Shang Dynasty, Desolate Ancient Forbidden Ground claimed the Heavenly Court, Zhang Bairen, and an Underworld, and Holy Ruins Forbidden Ground claimed Chen Xiang and a share of fertile lands.
• Heavens Forbidden Ground took responsibility for the remaining Four Heavenly Emperors, while Void Forbidden Ground and Desperate Valley took the other experts; they agreed to kill the Undertaker at any cost if he intervened.
• Zhang Bairen teased Chen Changsheng about surrendering the Water Book, and Chen Changsheng admitted that he had done so as a strategic retreat.
• Chen Changsheng explained that he was developing weapons suited to the stronger Bitter Sea Emperor Realm cultivators and said he wanted to forge an indestructible Supreme Emperor Weapon.

Chen Changsheng explained his plan to raise the standards for Emperor Realm cultivators by replacing ordinary Origin Emperor Weapons with weapons forged from Nine Immortal Metals and imprinted with their owners' Great Daos. He left Zhang Bairen responsible for advancing the idea through the Bitter Sea Emperor Realm System.

• Chen Changsheng told Zhang Bairen that ordinary Origin Emperor Weapons often failed in battles between Emperor Realm cultivators and could cause severe backlash if damaged.
• Chen Changsheng showed Zhang Bairen several powerful weapons and proposed that every Emperor Realm cultivator should have a weapon of comparable strength.
• Zhang Bairen objected that Supreme Weapons required Epoch Heaven's Mandate and rare materials, but Chen Changsheng proposed using an Emperor Realm cultivator's Great Dao instead.
• Chen Changsheng declared that Nine Immortal Metals would become the standard for Emperor Weapons and explained that they could extend and preserve a cultivator's Great Dao.
• Chen Changsheng said weapons imprinted with an entire Great Dao could act like simple avatars, exert their owner's pressure, and repair themselves without needing Essence Blood.
• Chen Changsheng told Zhang Bairen that the Bitter Sea Emperor Realm System could make this possible and placed the future of Emperor Realm cultivators in his hands.

Chen Changsheng introduced Zhang Bairen to the Heavenly Dao Society and revealed that Zhang had created a Bitter Sea Emperor Realm System stronger than the Heaven’s Mandate system. After securing permission to view footage of the Wang family ancestor’s battle, Zhang learned that Chen had helped build a limited cross-Epoch transmission channel and warned him of the dangers of drawing the Society’s attention to the Chang Sheng Epoch.

• Chen Changsheng and Zhang Bairen met the seventeen members of the Heavenly Dao Society, and Chen offered five drops of Essence of All Things while discussing the price of their past assistance.
• Chen Changsheng proposed Zhang Bairen’s discovery of a new realm beyond the Immortal King Realm as payment for his remaining debt, and the Society accepted the information.
• Chen introduced Zhang Bairen as the Heavenly Court’s founder, and Zhang said the Bitter Sea Emperor Realm System was at least twice as powerful as the Heaven’s Mandate system.
• Zhang offered the seventeen members gifts and asked to view footage of the Wang family ancestor’s battle, and Dream granted permission before the Society departed.
• Zhang questioned Chen about the cross-Epoch transmission channel, and Chen explained that it could only send a few objects with Dream’s support.
• Zhang warned Chen that Epoch wars could have terrible consequences, but Chen said he would investigate the truth himself and would start an Epoch War if nothing else could end the Dark Turmoil.

Chen Changsheng and Zhang Bairen entered a memory in which Chen Changsheng spoke with the Wang Family ancestor about the conflicts in the Pill Epoch and the reasons behind his actions. The ancestor revealed that he spread the Wang Family curse to eliminate geniuses he feared might surpass him.

• Chen Changsheng explained that he had used Dream's methods to make the Pill Epoch believe he had left, easing conflicts while its political balance changed.
• Chen Changsheng met the Wang Family ancestor, who forced him to sit and offered him tea and answers.
• The Wang Family ancestor said the Bronze Ancient Hall had sparked his conflict with the Heavenly Dao Society, whose control and Dream's surveillance he resented.
• Chen Changsheng asked about the family curse, and the Wang Family ancestor admitted he had spread the rumor to erase geniuses who might surpass him.
• Chen Changsheng acknowledged that the ancestor's immense cultivation gave him the power to toy with an entire epoch.

Chen Changsheng explained why he opposed the Wang family ancestor, and the ancestor fought Lu Mingyu inside the dream realm. After Lu Mingyu survived thirty breaths before Yun Ya Zi rescued him, the Wang family ancestor challenged Chen Changsheng to reveal what had sustained the young man.

• Chen Changsheng told the Wang family ancestor that he opposed him because Guan Ping and his disciple sought revenge and the Heavenly Dao Society wanted him dead.
• The Wang family ancestor recognized that Chen Changsheng and the old man had trapped him in the dream realm, then challenged their ability to kill him.
• Lu Mingyu attacked the Wang family ancestor, who shifted the battle into the starry sky and overwhelmed him with an enormous dharma manifestation.
• Lu Mingyu endured the ancestor's assault and vowed to defeat him, but his Heaven and Earth Avatar and Immaculate Body shattered after thirty breaths.
• Yun Ya Zi rescued the severely wounded Lu Mingyu, and the Wang family ancestor asked Chen Changsheng what had helped Lu Mingyu endure.
• Chen Changsheng told the Wang family ancestor to defeat him if he wanted the answer.

The Wang family ancestor fought Yun Ya Zi in Xing Kong, reversing the River of Time to restore his youth. Chen Changsheng fashioned a powerful body and challenged him, leaving the two locked in close combat after Chen Changsheng struck him with a formidable punch.

• The Wang family ancestor exposed Chen Changsheng's apparent body as a decoy and expanded Xing Kong, while Yun Ya Zi trapped him in a pill furnace.
• The Wang family ancestor broke out to fight Yun Ya Zi, severed the River of Time, and reversed it to become young again.
• Chen Changsheng had a Chaos Body, a Supreme Bone, and Double pupils created for him, then entered the body and forged a sword from a metallic star.
• Chen Changsheng's sword strike drew blood from the Wang family ancestor, but the ancestor countered and broke Chen Changsheng's sword.
• Chen Changsheng used a fist technique to punch the Wang family ancestor flying, and the two began fighting at close range.

Chen Changsheng and Yun Ya Zi fought the Wang family ancestor for 176 days but could neither kill nor permanently defeat him. A hidden team finally wounded the ancestor with a God-Slaying Weapon, and Zhang Bairen questioned Chen Changsheng about the attack and the missing treasures he had plundered.

• The Wang family ancestor knocked Chen Changsheng away, but Chaos Qi restored Chen Changsheng while the ancestor also recovered from his wounds.
• Chen Changsheng and Yun Ya Zi discussed how to kill the ancestor, then battled him for 176 days without gaining a lasting advantage.
• The Wang family ancestor blew apart Chen Changsheng and wore down Yun Ya Zi until a hidden swordsman struck, Yun Ya Zi restrained the ancestor, and Chen Changsheng hooked his Great Dao foundation with the Fishing Rod.
• A woman joined the assault with the Bodhi Giant Tree and Moon God's Flower God Body, but the ancestor broke the five experts' seal and the scene abruptly changed.
• Zhang Bairen stopped the scene and questioned Chen Changsheng about the ancestor's fatal chest wound and the God-Slaying Weapon.
• Zhang Bairen accused Chen Changsheng of withholding the Heavenly Dao Society's full reward and asked where the epoch's plundered treasures had gone.