Chapter Summaries

Jun Lin finished mastering the Double Pupils and prepared to leave with Wang Hao as the Nether River Forbidden Ground mobilized for an attack on the North Sea Realm. Wang Hao revealed the Forbidden Ground’s strength and secured Jun Lin’s agreement that the Great Shang Dynasty would not target them, leaving Jun Lin to consider why they had hidden away despite their power.

• After three months, Jun Lin fully mastered the Double Pupils but still lacked confidence in choosing a suitable Law Combination, and Wang Hao advised him to find his own path.
• Jun Lin asked whether Wang Hao would join the attack on the North Sea Realm, and Wang Hao said he would not because he might instead target the Eight Desolations Nine Regions or the Great Shang Dynasty.
• As about forty-seven Nether River Forbidden Ground experts emerged, Wang Hao said the Heavens Forbidden Ground had sent eighty and asked Jun Lin to keep the Great Shang Dynasty from targeting the Nether River Forbidden Ground.
• Jun Lin agreed on the condition that the Forbidden Grounds stay out of the Dark Turmoil, and Wang Hao revealed that every emerging expert was an Emperor Realm cultivator with an average age exceeding four hundred thousand years.
• Wang Hao explained that the Forbidden Grounds pursued longevity rather than worldly rule and had withdrawn because they opposed Jun Lin’s lineage’s efforts to protect the weak and make room for others to rise.

Wang Hao explained the Forbidden Grounds’ numbers, the frailty of their ancient cultivators, and their advantage in a coming war to Jun Lin. Jun Lin was left shaken by the scale of their strength and the danger posed by the Lords of the Forbidden Zones.

• Jun Lin challenged Wang Hao’s defense of the Forbidden Grounds, and Wang Hao argued that cultivators had earned the right to seize what they wanted through strength.
• Wang Hao told Jun Lin that six Top Forbidden Grounds held over five hundred Emperor Realm cultivators in total, though many were weakened by long periods in sealed sleep.
• Wang Hao explained that he had destroyed the Dead Sea Forbidden Ground by outlasting its decaying Emperor Realm cultivators.
• Wang Hao estimated that over a hundred and eighty Forbidden Grounds cultivators could still fight during the Dark Turmoil, and said Jun Lin’s allies would likely die even if they killed many of them.
• Wang Hao warned that the Lords of the Forbidden Zones had ample Lifespans and were waiting for Jun Lin’s godfather, whose battle with them could shatter the epoch.
• Wang Hao said the Forbidden Grounds kept ancient cultivators because their deep accumulations might let some break through to the Great Emperor Realm.

Jun Lin declared his resolve to overthrow the Forbidden Grounds, while Wang Hao admitted that he had lost his long-running contest with Chen Changsheng and withdrew. As the Forbidden Grounds mobilized against the North Sea Realm, Chen Xiao prepared to face Emperor Realm opponents and Cui Hao Yu resolved to meet them as an ordinary sword cultivator.

• Jun Lin vowed to fight the Forbidden Grounds to the death, and Wang Hao recalled the Demon Emperor before acknowledging Chen Changsheng had won their contest.
• Wang Hao took Jun Lin through a Teleportation Array after saying Jun Lin would understand their wager when his mastery improved.
• The Heavens Forbidden Ground sent eighty Stone Coffins toward the North Sea Realm, and two coffins destroyed a Small World to harvest materials.
• Chen Xiao told Cui Hao Yu that his growing body might collapse and that he wanted to experience an Emperor Realm cultivator's first attack.
• Cui Hao Yu promised Chen Xiao would withstand the first move and said he had become able to face life and death as an ordinary sword cultivator.

Chen Changsheng met Jun Lin and Wang Hao in the void while the forces began their assault on the North Sea Realm. The North Sea Heavenly Emperor faced the refined man leading the attack, who introduced himself as North Sea.

• Cui Hao Yu told Chen Xiao that confronting certain death had helped him understand the Sword Dao and overcome his fear of death.
• Jun Lin arrived to meet Chen Changsheng, who offered him advice about hiding fear and displaying courage.
• Wang Hao joined them, discussed the planned Dark Turmoil, and left after Jun Lin presented Chen Changsheng with a special Spiritual Plant.
• Jun Lin found a message on his palm declaring that Chen Changsheng must die, but he kept it to himself.
• The refined man confronted the North Sea Heavenly Emperor and revealed that his name was North Sea.

The North Sea Heavenly Emperor learned how North Sea became a Forbidden Ground expert after seeking a way to extend his life, then challenged him over his actions. As North Sea and the Heavenly Emperor prepared to fight, Chen Changsheng explained to Jun Lin that he wanted North Sea dead because his strength and ambition threatened Wang Hao’s position.

• North Sea told the North Sea Heavenly Emperor that he had once ruled the North Sea Realm and fought the Forbidden Grounds before joining them to extend his lifespan.
• North Sea defended the Forbidden Grounds’ pursuit of cultivation resources, but the North Sea Heavenly Emperor rejected his justification and challenged him to settle their dispute by force.
• Chen Changsheng asked Jun Lin to control his emotions while Forbidden Ground experts gathered in the void.
• Chen Changsheng told Jun Lin that North Sea’s strength and dominance made him a threat to Wang Hao, so North Sea had to die now that he had entered the world’s affairs.

Jun Lin learned that Chen Changsheng planned to kill North Sea because his clear-headed opposition threatened the Forbidden Ground’s influence, and that the deaths of Jun Lin’s parents might be used to strike at its heart. Jun Lin accepted the danger and declared that his generation would confront the Forbidden Ground without fear, leaving Chen Changsheng pleased with his resolve.

• Chen Changsheng urged Jun Lin to reason out why he wanted to kill North Sea, and Jun Lin concluded that defeating the Forbidden Ground required attacking its influence over cultivators’ selfish desire for longer lifespans.
• Chen Changsheng confirmed that North Sea was dangerous because he understood the Forbidden Ground’s appeal and could undermine it, and admitted that Jun Lin’s father and others might die as part of his plan.
• Jun Lin asked Chen Changsheng to spare Wu Yang, and Chen Changsheng agreed because she lacked the status and strength to affect the plan.
• Jun Lin said he did not hate Chen Changsheng for the deaths his plan might cause, explaining that his father and others had chosen their course to prevent Chen Changsheng from bearing the consequences alone.
• Jun Lin declared that his generation would become invincible in spirit, stand against the Forbidden Ground, and go to its territory to make trouble even if they died there.
• Chen Changsheng laughed and praised Jun Lin for living up to the name his father had given him.

The Dark Turmoil ravaged the North Sea Realm as Forbidden Ground powerhouses drained resources, destroyed Tian Yuan Sect, and slaughtered its people. Heng Tian learned why ruins formed, while the Water Cloud Heavenly Emperor recalled how his ancestor had urged him to seek the Water Book and avoid the coming calamity.

• An old woman emerged from a Stone Coffin, drained a mountain range’s Spirit Vein, and sealed an Immortal King-level green great serpent into a gemstone.
• A man destroyed Tian Yuan Sect with a colossal bell, killed tens of thousands, and took a Longevity Bloodstone.
• Heng Tian watched the destruction from afar and asked Kong Xuan if they could fight back, but Kong Xuan told him to wait until the time was right.
• The Water Cloud Heavenly Emperor heard the Wooden Sculpture urge him to stop the slaughter and remembered their earlier conversation.
• The Wooden Sculpture had revealed its Water Tribe aura, promised a way to escape with the Water Book, and urged the Water Cloud Heavenly Emperor to help revive their tribe.
• The Water Cloud Heavenly Emperor had told the Wooden Sculpture that the Forbidden Grounds planned to slaughter living beings to extend their lifespans, while he refused to fill the hole they wanted him to take.

The Water Cloud Heavenly Emperor reconsidered his refusal to oppose the Dark Turmoil after the Wooden Sculpture urged him to defend the Human Race. He chose to fight, but three Emperor Realm cultivators confronted him and demanded the Water Book.

• The Water Cloud Heavenly Emperor told the Wooden Sculpture that Chen Changsheng had abandoned some people to their fate and that he did not want to risk his life alongside him.
• The Wooden Sculpture rebuked the Water Cloud Heavenly Emperor for refusing to protect the Human Race, reminding him that the tribe's strong had always defended the weak.
• The Water Cloud Heavenly Emperor argued that fighting would sever the Water Tribe's bloodline, but the Wooden Sculpture said the Human Race's survival mattered more.
• The Wooden Sculpture explained that Chen Changsheng was working for the Human Race and that the Water Cloud Heavenly Emperor had benefited from his actions.
• The Water Cloud Heavenly Emperor realized that the legendary figures had chosen to die for the Human Race, and decided to act without dwelling on whether it had meaning.
• Three Emperor Realm cultivators surrounded the Water Cloud Heavenly Emperor and demanded that he hand over the Water Book in exchange for his life.

Cui Hao Yu tried to stop a frail old man from reaching a city, but the old man overpowered him and dismissed the Sword Saint’s legacy. Ma Ling’er intervened to teach Cui Hao Yu a sword technique, then left, and Cui Hao Yu healed himself with a pill as the old man reconsidered continuing the fight.

• Water Cloud Heavenly Emperor faced three Emperor Realm Experts who sought the Water Book.
• Cui Hao Yu refused the old man passage to the city, and the old man snapped his sword tip and struck him down.
• Cui Hao Yu rose and attacked with Dragon's Roar, but the old man severed his right hand and mocked the Sword Saint’s strength.
• Ma Ling’er and Sima Lan arrived, and Ma Ling’er demonstrated how to use the Seven Orifices Sword before leaving with Sima Lan.
• Cui Hao Yu reattached his hand, challenged the old man again, and healed his injuries with a pill, making the old man worry that he might be unable to outlast him.

Chen Changsheng confronted the major Forbidden Grounds, then accepted the Jade Emperor’s invitation and agreed to support his rule after praising his ability to balance competing factions. He warned the Jade Emperor not to act first and report later, and the Jade Emperor promised to consult him in future.

• Chen Changsheng told the major Forbidden Grounds not to blame him for Ma Ling'er’s actions and warned them against insulting her husband.
• The Jade Emperor invited Chen Changsheng aboard a warship and led him to a second throne beside his own.
• Chen Changsheng agreed that unifying the world could reduce warfare and offered to help the Jade Emperor hold power.
• Chen Changsheng praised the Jade Emperor for balancing the Heavenly Court and other forces, explaining that this was why he supported him.
• Chen Changsheng pressed down on the Jade Emperor’s shoulder and warned him to consult him before acting on important matters; the Jade Emperor promised to do so.

Chen Changsheng explained to Jun Lin why the Jade Emperor’s ambitions made conflict inevitable and told him he hoped Jun Lin would eventually challenge him for control of the era. In the North Sea Realm, a brawny opponent crushed Cui Hao Yu and Chen Xiao with one palm, then asked whether the Imperial Tutor would enter the fight himself.

• The Jade Emperor accepted Chen Changsheng’s counsel and went to beat the war drums for the Heavenly Court’s forces.
• Chen Changsheng told Jun Lin that kings could not coexist and warned that the Jade Emperor might turn against him if he refused to surrender control of the era.
• Jun Lin promised he would one day take control of the era from Chen Changsheng, who approved and continued watching the North Sea Realm.
• The war drums revived the exhausted cultivators in the North Sea Realm as Cui Hao Yu faced the old man.
• The old man unleashed his full physical strength and defeated Cui Hao Yu and Chen Xiao with a single palm, then asked if the Imperial Tutor would join the battle.

Chen Changsheng bought Chen Xiao and Cui Hao Yu’s lives from the burly man, while Liu Yidao secretly repaired them. Elsewhere, Water Cloud Heavenly Emperor sacrificed the Water Realm’s Mandate of Heaven to continue fighting as the Heavens Forbidden Ground sent more coffins into the North Sea Realm.

• Chen Changsheng offered two immortal pills to the burly man in exchange for sparing Chen Xiao and Cui Hao Yu, and the man accepted before leaving.
• Liu Yidao emerged from the earth and repaired Cui Hao Yu and Chen Xiao, secretly consuming some of Chen Xiao’s qi and blood.
• Water Cloud Heavenly Emperor fought sixteen forbidden ground enemies, then absorbed the Water Realm’s Mandate of Heaven and charged back into battle.
• The Jade Emperor beat the war drum, stirring the Heavenly Court cultivators’ anger and raising their morale.
• The Heavens Forbidden Ground lowered the remaining fifty-odd coffins into the North Sea Realm, threatening to destroy the Heavenly Court’s hope.

Kong Xuan sacrificed himself to teach Heng Tian not to retreat, while Yan Ziyu became a Confucian Sub-Sage and joined the fight in the North Sea Realm. The North Sea Heavenly Emperor survived being torn apart, but North Sea told him that victory was no longer possible.

• Kong Xuan charged the Forbidden Ground's forces in his colossal peacock form, leaving Heng Tian with a final lesson in courage before his Divine Sense Realm energy disappeared.
• Heng Tian resolved never to retreat after witnessing Kong Xuan's sacrifice.
• Yan Ziyu told Qian Zhu he was proud of him, then shut the Profound Light Mirror and pleaded for the lives of the Common People.
• The North Sea Realm's fortune gathered around Yan Ziyu, transforming him into a Sub-Sage whose Confucianism Dao aura covered half the realm.
• Cui Hao Yu discussed learning the Sword Saint's sword arts, while Liu Yidao warned that a Sub-Sage alone could not overcome the Forbidden Ground.
• The North Sea Heavenly Emperor was torn in half by the combined force of the Five-Colored Divine Light and Confucianism Dao, then reassembled through the Bitter Sea System as North Sea declared his defeat inevitable.

North Sea Heavenly Emperor, Kong Xuan, Yan Ziyu, and Water Cloud Heavenly Emperor sacrificed themselves to seal the North Sea Realm and fight the Forbidden Ground experts. After the realm vanished, Chen Changsheng collected the dead and their belongings, while Heavens Forbidden Ground declared victory and departed.

• North Sea Heavenly Emperor burned his destiny and essence to fight North Sea, while Kong Xuan, Yan Ziyu, and Water Cloud Heavenly Emperor sacrificed their strength to seal the North Sea Realm.
• Heng Tian asked Chen Changsheng to return him to the battle, but Chen Changsheng refused and flew to the North Sea Realm himself.
• The North Sea Realm vanished in an explosion, and Kong Xuan turned to ash as Chen Changsheng arrived with four coffins.
• Chen Changsheng negotiated with the Nether River Forbidden Ground expert for Kong Xuan's Natal True Feather and recovered some of the fallen experts' belongings from North Sea.
• Heavens Forbidden Ground claimed victory because only eighteen of the one hundred and twenty Emperor Realm experts had died, then paid Chen Changsheng for the coffins before its experts withdrew.

After the Forbidden Ground battle, Chen Changsheng planned a revenge scheme that would make his enemies fear being buried, while explaining that his changes to the Heavenly Silk Nine Transformations had caused it to create a new True Spirit. The chapter left Bai Ze preparing to investigate the cultivation technique’s troubling effects.

• Jun Lin apologized to Chen Changsheng, who told him to become stronger before sending him away with the Heavenly Court's warship.
• Chen Changsheng and Bai Ze discussed revenge and planned to make their enemies believe the dead could be reborn, so they would fear having their graves plundered.
• Bai Ze produced a battered wooden sculpture whose immortal occupant begged Chen Changsheng to kill him, but Chen Changsheng admitted he had no way to do so and put him away.
• Chen Changsheng asked Bai Ze to watch over Lu Mingyu because the Golden Silkworm Gu had entered the Chang Sheng Epoch and the Heavenly Silk Nine Transformations had completed its third transformation.
• Chen Changsheng explained that his improved Heavenly Silk Nine Transformations changed the cultivator's True Spirit and gave birth to an entirely new one, leaving Bai Ze alarmed.

Chen Changsheng explained that the Heavenly Silk Nine Transformations changed a cultivator’s essence and might lead to immortality, while he and the system discussed why he had chosen to sleep through the years. He was left considering his past fear of loss and the brevity of two hundred thousand years in an immortal life.

• Chen Changsheng told Bai Ze that the Heavenly Silk Nine Transformations surpassed reincarnation by transforming a cultivator’s essence and removing lifespan limits.
• Chen Changsheng suspected the cultivation art was incomplete and wondered whether its creator had sought immortality and what followed the ninth transformation.
• Bai Ze declined to follow Chen Changsheng’s speculation and left to watch Lu Mingyu, Jian Fei, and the Golden Silkworm Gu.
• Chen Changsheng told the system he was reluctant to sleep, and the system said he had once used slumber to avoid facing partings.
• The system explained that attribute points were an excuse for Chen Changsheng to sleep and said two hundred thousand years was too brief to judge his life.

Chen Changsheng discussed the paradox of immortality with the system and chose to keep living before trying to solve it. After he vanished into the void, the Jade Emperor advised Liu Yidao and Jun Lin to hide in the Black Triangle amid rising tensions.

• Chen Changsheng concluded that immortality was both a practical and philosophical paradox, and told the system he would enjoy life before seeking an answer.
• Chen Changsheng said he expected to have lived enough by the next second, then left and vanished into the void.
• The Jade Emperor questioned Liu Yidao about why Chen Changsheng had left him behind and warned him that he could be in danger.
• Jun Lin asked the Jade Emperor whether they could hide at home, but the Jade Emperor said his plans might make them targets.
• The Jade Emperor suggested that Liu Yidao and Jun Lin hide in the Black Triangle, which Liu Yidao identified as a lawless zone beyond the Heavenly Court's reach.

Jun Lin learned that the Black Triangle was Blood Blade’s headquarters, where powerful figures secretly used the assassin organization to settle grudges. The Jade Emperor sent Heng Tian to lie low there, but Heng Tian challenged his master over Kong Xuan’s death and the sacrifices demanded by the Chang Sheng Epoch’s greater situation.

• Liu Yidao explained that Blood Blade arose after Sky Abyss City was established and operated from the Black Triangle, taking covert assassination work for powerful factions.
• Jun Lin and the others realized that great figures had used Blood Blade as a disguise for actions they could not take openly.
• The Jade Emperor ordered Liu Yidao to take the group to the Black Triangle and then asked Heng Tian to go there with them for safety and training.
• Heng Tian refused a new Dao Protector, saying the greater situation of the Chang Sheng Epoch, not individuals, determined who lived or died.
• Heng Tian questioned whether the Jade Emperor would regret becoming a necessary sacrifice, and the Jade Emperor said Heng Tian still needed to learn how the world worked.

Heng Tian challenged the Jade Emperor’s belief that fate could be accepted, but came to understand that people still had freedom to choose their paths. Meanwhile, Liu Yidao claimed to know secrets far beyond the others’ understanding and challenged Cui Hao Yu’s confidence in a fight.

• The Jade Emperor told Heng Tian that he would willingly become a sacrifice and explained that freedom meant being able to refuse, not doing whatever one pleased.
• The Jade Emperor argued that Kong Xuan had chosen his own path and that his unwillingness at the end came from not having gone farther.
• Heng Tian admitted he would be unwilling to die before fulfilling his wishes but would not regret choosing to join the Golden Age Gathering.
• The Jade Emperor reassured Heng Tian that future generations would keep building toward their ideals and sent him to face new trials in the Black Triangle with a Jade Slip.
• On the deck, Liu Yidao told Jun Lin that he knew things the others could not understand because they had not reached his level.
• Liu Yidao challenged Cui Hao Yu by citing secrets about immortal pills and the Cui family, then questioned whether Cui Hao Yu could win a fight against him.

Liu Yidao explained how Senior Changsheng’s actions shaped the Cui Family’s succession and why Cui Hao Yu had been sent away from the Pill Epoch. He then warned Jun Lin that the group could not safely enter the Black Triangle without Ye Yu’s help, revealing that Ye Yu was its King of Slaughter and that Liu Yidao had exposed the prodigies Ye Yu killed.

• Liu Yidao told Cui Hao Yu that Senior Changsheng’s actions had weakened the rival Cui Family factions and made Cui Xingye’s branch the likely successor.
• Liu Yidao explained that Cui Hao Yu lacked the political skills to lead and that Senior Changsheng and Senior Chen Xiang had arranged his move to protect him and aid Chen Xiao.
• Jun Lin asked about the Black Triangle, and Liu Yidao refused to take the group there because their fame and lack of status would put them in danger.
• Liu Yidao said they would need Ye Yu, the Black Triangle’s King of Slaughter, to enter safely.
• Liu Yidao revealed that Ye Yu had killed one hundred and eighty-seven righteous-path prodigies who secretly colluded with the Forbidden Grounds, and that Liu Yidao had turned them in.