Chapter Summaries

The Daoist Saint told Zhang Ling about his former Registered Disciple, Ge Hong, while Yin Jie entered the Cosmic Black Hole. Chen Changsheng revealed that the black hole trapped those who entered and gave Bai Ze an upgraded device for directly controlling puppets.

• The Daoist Saint offered to accept Zhang Ling as a Registered Disciple, but Zhang Ling tactfully declined and asked about the Saint's former inheritor.
• The Daoist Saint said that his sole Registered Disciple had been Ge Hong, though their ideas later conflicted and they stopped meeting.
• Yin Jie flew into the Cosmic Black Hole, overcame its outer barrier, and continued inside as unseen eyes watched him.
• Chen Changsheng explained to Bai Ze that the outer defenses protected ordinary cultivators, while the black hole's true danger was that entering was easy but escaping was difficult.
• Chen Changsheng gave Bai Ze an upgraded Divine Sense Connector that let him directly control puppets like an External Incarnation.
• Chen Changsheng said he had kept adding methods to the Cosmic Black Hole and intended to deal with troublemakers, leaving Bai Ze to anticipate Yin Jie's ordeal.

Chen Changsheng prepared three specialized puppets and gave Bai Ze a way to use his origin and the Netherworld Ghost Fire to fight Yin Jie. Inside the Cosmic Black Hole, Yin Jie broke through a giant puppet, studied its design, and continued toward the core as Lin Yao and Feng Ran sensed his battle.

• Chen Changsheng explained that three fused puppets could challenge a Quasi-Emperor Third Heaven expert and gave Bai Ze a bracelet to control them with his Divine Sense Realm.
• Chen Changsheng sent the puppets into the Cosmic Black Hole, and Bai Ze began connecting to them.
• Yin Jie entered the Cosmic Black Hole, found that its formations prevented escape, and failed to break through them.
• A giant puppet attacked Yin Jie, but he struck it down and dismantled it after finding that its divided functions and shock absorbers had limited the damage.
• Crude puppets gathered the giant puppet's scattered parts after Yin Jie left, while Lin Yao and Feng Ran sensed the battle and Lin Yao asked whether they should meet Vice President Yin.

Feng Ran and Lin Yao realized the Imperial Tutor had kept the strongest experts outside the Cosmic Black Hole, leaving Yin Jie in danger. Outside, Shui Yue and Wei Guang prepared to fight Ruan Su Xian, while Hua Feng blocked Xu Qianzhui and explained that he needed a warm-up before Lu Mingyu challenged him.

• Feng Ran told Lin Yao that the Imperial Tutor had likely kept the supreme experts outside the Cosmic Black Hole, and they feared Yin Jie could not overcome the measures inside.
• Ruan Su Xian recognized that the formations trapping him were designed by the Imperial Tutor and agreed to fight Wei Guang and Shui Yue.
• Shui Yue relayed the Imperial Tutor's order that she and Wei Guang should fight Ruan Su Xian with everything they had and that he must earn his own share of the Virtual World rewards.
• Ruan Su Xian declared that he would stop holding back, and Shui Yue drew her trident to face him.
• Hua Feng stopped Xu Qianzhui from entering the Cosmic Black Hole because he wanted its treasure and needed a warm-up before Lu Mingyu came to challenge him.

Hua Feng prepared to fight Lu Mingyu, while Wang Hao challenged Ye Yu to a final battle over a share of the Virtual World. The Buddhist Sage revealed that the Master of the Netherworld Forest was about to return, unsettling powerful figures across the world.

• Hua Feng sealed off the area and fought as a whetstone for those contending for the position of Bitter Sea Great Emperor.
• Wang Hao proposed that he and Ye Yu settle their long-running enmity in a real fight, wagering a share of the Virtual World, and Ye Yu accepted.
• Wang Hao told Ye Yu that he had resisted becoming a sacrifice and now intended to be a good person, while Ye Yu agreed to play the villain in their coming battle.
• Buddha Lord Bai Zhi learned from the Buddhist Sage that the Master of the Netherworld Forest was about to return and was stronger than anyone she knew.

The Buddhist Sage explained to Bai Zhi why those who believe absolutely in immortality are called Madmen and revealed the origins of the Uncanny and Immortal Destiny. He described evidence for ways to extend life, including Heavenly Silk Nine Transformations and the Founder of the Heavenly Dao Society’s Great Dream Immortal Art, then began to recount the Founder’s conflict with the Master of the Netherworld Forest.

• The Buddhist Sage told Bai Zhi that people who believe immortality is attainable become consumed by desire and will stop at nothing to pursue it.
• The Buddhist Sage said a Madman created the Uncanny while seeking immortality, and that the group evacuated the Chang Sheng Epoch after the Uncanny spread through it.
• The Buddhist Sage explained that Immortal Destiny referred to another path to immortality based on finding something that could greatly extend a cultivator’s lifespan.
• The Buddhist Sage said the first Heavenly Silkworm lived for twenty-eight million years after finding an item that inspired Heavenly Silk Nine Transformations.
• The Buddhist Sage revealed that the Founder of the Heavenly Dao Society possessed the Great Dream Immortal Art and had defeated Divine Beast experts who tried to seize it.
• The Buddhist Sage said he knew about a past conflict between the Founder of the Heavenly Dao Society and the Master of the Netherworld Forest, and began to share what happened.

Bai Zhi questioned the Buddhist Sage about the conflict between Dream and the Master of the Netherworld Forest, then explored why seekers of Immortal Destiny feared finding the Immortals. The Buddhist Sage admitted that they gambled on the possibility that Immortals possessed Chang Sheng, while those who pursued Chang Sheng directly were called madmen.

• The Buddhist Sage told Bai Zhi that the Master of the Netherworld Forest and Dream fought after disagreeing over whether Chang Sheng was possible.
• The Buddhist Sage explained that Chang Sheng believers had no path forward, while Immortal Destiny seekers feared the Immortals might be defeated.
• Bai Zhi challenged the Buddhist Sage to choose between begging the Immortals and seizing Immortal Destiny by force.
• The Buddhist Sage admitted that Immortal Destiny seekers feared their hopes collapsing, since defeating the Immortals would not prove Chang Sheng existed.
• Bai Zhi realized that the seekers gambled on Immortals possibly possessing Chang Sheng, while direct pursuers were called madmen and they were called cowards.

The Buddhist Sage explained how the Master of the Netherworld Forest’s battles with Dream unleashed the Uncanny and recounted Old Man Yao’s pursuit of longevity. He warned Bai Zhi that the Master’s return could bring disaster because madmen might target Dream and the Great Dream Immortal Art without regard for the consequences.

• The Buddhist Sage explained that Dream defeated the Master of the Netherworld Forest in a dream realm, but the Master won their second battle in a special space.
• The Buddhist Sage said the battle cracked the space and released the Uncanny, which the Buddhist forces later fought and contained beneath the Bronze Ancient Hall.
• The Buddhist Sage described Old Man Yao as a longevity seeker who stole immortal pills until Dream drove him away, then provoked the Master of the Netherworld Forest by targeting the Netherworld Forest.
• The Buddhist Sage told Bai Zhi that the Master hunted Old Man Yao for more than thirty thousand years before eventually stopping.
• The Buddhist Sage warned that the Master’s return could lead to a disastrous confrontation with Dream, since madmen might seize the Great Dream Immortal Art at any cost.

The Buddhist Sage explained why the Three Religions Sages pursued immortality and asked Chen Changsheng for greater access to the Virtual World. Chen Changsheng refused to yield, and the Buddhist Sage left him unharmed despite having him within reach.

• The Buddhist Sage told Bai Zhi that immortality was necessary to gain enough time to protect the world from powerful threats.
• The Buddhist Sage contacted Chen Changsheng and asked for more access to the Virtual World to search for Immortal Destiny, but Chen Changsheng refused and dared him to attack.
• The Buddhist Sage appeared beside Chen Changsheng and suppressed Bai Ze, while Chen Changsheng remained defiant.
• Lu Mingyu, Dream, Wang Hao, the True Dragon, the Ancestor Phoenix, the Primordial Qilin, and other powerhouses watched as Chen Changsheng retreated several steps and challenged the Buddhist Sage's claim that he could kill him.
• Chen Changsheng argued that the Buddhist Sage's desire to kill made him unlike the Buddha in people's hearts, while inwardly Chen Changsheng remained extremely anxious.

Chen Changsheng faced the Buddhist Sage, who threatened to kill him over the search for Immortal Destiny, but Yun Ya Zi intervened and drove the Sage away. Chen Changsheng encouraged Bai Zhi to follow her path and then agreed to show Yun Ya Zi the Sword God's sword Dao in exchange for Bai Ze's remaining resource.

• The Buddhist Sage challenged Chen Changsheng and revealed his intent to defeat him utterly, but Chen Changsheng prepared to fight back.
• Yun Ya Zi appeared behind Chen Changsheng and wounded the Buddhist Sage with a sword strike, forcing him to withdraw after warning Chen Changsheng of a future crushing defeat.
• Chen Changsheng called Bai Zhi and urged her not to fear the Sages, rekindling her confidence in the path ahead.
• Chen Changsheng confronted the Buddhist Sage before he vanished, then thanked Yun Ya Zi and called him brother.
• Yun Ya Zi asked whether his sword was stronger than the Sword God's, and Chen Changsheng said Thirteen's final sword had been half a step stronger.
• Chen Changsheng offered to let Yun Ya Zi witness the Sword God's sword Dao, and Yun Ya Zi gave Bai Ze his old sword as a gift.

Chen Changsheng and the cold-faced man watched a recording of Thirteen’s swordsmanship, and Chen Changsheng explained why Thirteen’s sword of the heart surpassed the pursuit of technique. The cold-faced man returned to the Pill Epoch, leaving Chen Changsheng to realize that its inhabitants had nowhere safe to go.

• Bai Ze gave the cold-faced man a Recording Stone containing three recordings of Thirteen.
• The cold-faced man watched Thirteen split the Candle Dragon with a sword and later destroy its soul with one finger, then realized Thirteen had never sought to become Number One Under Heaven.
• Chen Changsheng told the cold-faced man that Thirteen’s strength came from wielding his heart rather than a tangible sword, and advised him to enjoy the journey instead of being tormented by an endless pursuit.
• The cold-faced man explained that Dream could consume the Pill Epoch’s inhabitants, but that they could not simply flee because some stayed for immortal pills and they had nowhere else to go.
• The cold-faced man returned to the Pill Epoch to protect Yun Ya Zi, and Chen Changsheng understood that its inhabitants were like homeless children.

Chen Changsheng recruited Lu Mingyu and Hua Feng to help confront the dangerous experts gathering against him, and announced that he intended to reach the Bitter Sea Great Emperor realm. He ended the chapter angry and determined to kill anyone who refused to behave, using any means necessary.

• Chen Changsheng thanked Dugu for his help and promised to ransom him and Yun Ya Zi when the time came.
• Chen Changsheng contacted Lu Mingyu and Hua Feng, who eagerly agreed to join his fight.
• Chen Changsheng told Lu Mingyu not to confront the Buddhist Sage and revealed that he planned to enter the Bitter Sea Great Emperor realm.
• Chen Changsheng told Hua Feng to retrieve something he had left in the Cosmic Black Hole and then began meditating.
• Chen Changsheng admitted to Bai Ze that he was angry and said he would kill his enemies by any means necessary.

Chen Changsheng argued with Bai Ze over his decision to fight personally and declared he would kill anyone who pursued immortality at any cost, including Wu Li and Bai Ze. Bai Ze stormed off, while Chen Changsheng later controlled three Metal Puppets to drive Yin Jie out of the Cosmic Black Hole’s core region.

• Chen Changsheng told Bai Ze he would personally face their enemies rather than let Lu Mingyu and the others risk their lives for him.
• Chen Changsheng said he would kill anyone who pursued immortality by any means, even Wu Li, Nian Sheng, or Bai Ze, and Bai Ze threw down the Divine Sense Connector bracelet and left.
• Yin Jie reached the Cosmic Black Hole’s core and demanded the Imperial Tutor’s relic from Nine-Headed Xiang Liu, which refused him and called out three Metal Puppets.
• Chen Changsheng took control of the three Metal Puppets and had them attack Yin Jie with coordinated techniques.
• The three Metal Puppets overwhelmed Yin Jie and drove him out of the core region as Chen Changsheng vented his anger through them.

Chen Changsheng’s Metal Puppet defeated Yin Jie and nearly killed him before Chen Xiao rescued him. Yin Jie recovered from his wounds, but Chen Xiao discovered that a deadly Yansheng Art curse was turning his body into paper money.

• Chen Changsheng’s Metal Puppet reassembled after Yin Jie melted it, then used a sword formation to cut Yin Jie apart and unleash a fatal strike.
• Chen Xiao blocked the Metal Puppet’s Fishing Rod and escaped with the severely injured Yin Jie.
• Yin Jie regenerated, and Chen Xiao scolded him for entering the dangerous area.
• Chen Xiao identified the paper money spreading across Yin Jie’s chest as the Copper Coin Curse, a Yansheng Art that made the body’s destruction injure its victim.
• Chen Xiao said Yin Jie’s great-grandfather had once suffered from the same curse.

Chen Xiao explained that the Cosmic Black Hole was no trial and warned Yin Jie that Chen Changsheng treated everyone inside as an enemy. After Chen Xiao was poisoned by Gold Devouring Insects, he and Yin Jie discussed Chen Changsheng’s lethal skill and the danger it posed to Quasi-Emperors.

• Chen Xiao told Yin Jie that the Cosmic Black Hole could shape the Chang Sheng Epoch and that Chen Changsheng would show no mercy to opponents.
• Chen Xiao said Earth Blood, Earth Bone, and Earth Flesh from the Reincarnation Forbidden Ground could remove Yin Jie's Yansheng Art.
• Gold Devouring Insects burst from a wound in Chen Xiao, and Yin Jie captured them in a gourd.
• Chen Xiao explained that a hidden gu poison had spread through his body and that using divine power would hasten the insects’ hatching.
• Chen Xiao refused to enter seclusion because Chen Changsheng controlled the Cosmic Black Hole and more killer puppets could attack.
• Chen Xiao warned Yin Jie that Chen Changsheng had killed many Heavenly Emperors during the Slaughter Epoch and founded the Bitter Sea System.

Hua Feng and Shui Yue defeated Xu Qianzhui and Ruan Su Xian, keeping them from entering the Cosmic Black Hole while Chen Changsheng recorded the battles. Back at the Meteorite Cluster, Chen Changsheng told Bai Ze that he would not let his companions sacrifice everything in pursuit of immortality, and reflected on whether endless life could survive the loneliness of outliving everyone.

• Hua Feng defeated Xu Qianzhui after a ten-day battle and told him to recover rather than enter the Cosmic Black Hole.
• Shui Yue defeated Ruan Su Xian, carried the injured Wei Guang away, and warned Ruan Su Xian not to pursue them.
• Ruan Su Xian accepted his defeat, and Chen Changsheng recorded several battlefields.
• Bai Ze returned to Chen Changsheng with Spiritual Fruit, and they ate together.
• Bai Ze asked whether Chen Changsheng would someday kill them, and Chen Changsheng explained that he would not let them pursue immortality at the cost of everything they cherished.

Chen Changsheng explained that he had beaten his descendants to temper them and planned to challenge nearly everyone competing to become the Bitter Sea Great Emperor, including Bai Ze. In the Cosmic Black Hole, Lin Yao and the others split up to confront four arriving cultivators, and Chen Xiao intervened to save Long Aotian from a deadly puppet attack.

• Chen Changsheng told Bai Ze that he had beaten Yin Jie and the others to sharpen their skills before facing him and the other challengers.
• Chen Changsheng agreed to fight Bai Ze, who backed away from an immediate battle after learning Chen Changsheng was three minor realms below him.
• Lin Yao and Feng Ran divided the four incoming cultivators among themselves and assigned the remaining two to Vice President Yin and Mo Bai.
• Long Aotian smashed a Metal Puppet with his bare hands, then found himself targeted by a faster mantis-like puppet.
• Chen Xiao caught the puppet's scythe between two fingers and urged Long Aotian to run.

Long Aotian trained to escape the relentless mantis puppet while Chen Xiao pushed him to move faster. At the Cosmic Black Hole, Feng Ran told Li Changsheng that the Imperial Tutor’s relic site was a deadly trap, and Li learned that even its Quasi-Emperor puppets were protected by lethal hidden methods.

• Chen Xiao knocked the mantis puppet away and urged Long Aotian to improve his escape speed, prompting Long Aotian to burn his Essence Blood and break through.
• Li Changsheng arrived west of the Cosmic Black Hole, where Feng Ran warned him not to use his Divine Sense Realm or divine power.
• Feng Ran told Li Changsheng that Vice President Yin and the Sage Emperor were trapped and gravely injured, and that the Cosmic Black Hole was a killing trap rather than a trial.
• Feng Ran explained that the regions were guarded by powerful puppets and other threats, including Netherworld Ghost Fire and the Nine-Headed Xiang Liu.
• Feng Ran revealed that Vice President Yin had destroyed a puppet but suffered worse injuries because the puppets carried poisons, curses, sorcery, venomous insects, and other dangerous tricks.

Feng Ran explained that the Virtual Worlds were needed to activate the six Array Cores and suppress Nine-Headed Xiang Liu, while Chen Xiao warned that the group had to follow the Imperial Tutor’s plan. Mo Bai rejected Feng Ran’s cautious approach and proposed that he take the central region while the others handled the remaining four.

• Feng Ran told Li Changsheng that puppets attacked anyone who used Divine Power or Divine Sense, and that Mo Bai had discovered the six Array Cores could suppress Nine-Headed Xiang Liu.
• Feng Ran explained that Virtual Worlds were needed to activate the Array Cores and led Li Changsheng to the others gathered in the cave.
• Chen Xiao warned Long Aotian and the group that forcing their way into the core region could be fatal and that he could not accompany them.
• Long Aotian said the outside battle could bring powerful cultivators into the Cosmic Black Hole within a month, and the Virtual Worlds announced that the contestants would fail if they did not obtain the Five Spirits before Nine-Headed Xiang Liu broke free.
• Chen Xiao said the group would learn the truth by gathering the Five Spirits and left them to proceed without his help.
• Mo Bai dismissed Feng Ran’s caution, challenged the others to risk their lives for the relics, and offered to take the central region while they divided the other four.

Mo Bai and the other Virtual World users split up to investigate the Array Cores while Chen Changsheng prepared to broadcast their journey to cultivators across the Chang Sheng Epoch. Wang Hao tried to sell the Bai Ze Clan broadcast rights, and the clan leader considered whether to take the risky offer.

• Mo Bai, Long Aotian, Lin Yao, Feng Zhi, and Zhang Ling each chose a direction to investigate, while Li Changsheng and Feng Ran agreed to rescue whoever lost first.
• Chen Changsheng told Bai Ze that they would broadcast the users’ entire journey to promote the Virtual World, then coordinated with Liu Yidao.
• Liu Yidao placed a special artifact in the Qilin Communicator array core, sending cultivators across much of the Chang Sheng Epoch an invitation to watch the Virtual World users’ footage.
• Wang Hao visited the Bai Ze Clan to offer broadcast rights, and the Bai Ze Clan Leader questioned why the clan should pay when one of its members had a Virtual World slot.
• Wang Hao urged the Bai Ze Clan Leader to seize the opportunity and said he had returned to be a good person, while the clan leader held on to him and weighed the risks of cooperating with the Forbidden Ground.

Chen Changsheng earned a fortune by selling broadcasts of chosen geniuses’ battles and planned to use them to promote the Virtual World. Meanwhile, Jun Lin and Lu Mingyu discovered that Meng De possessed a Large Connector and offered him support in exchange for sharing it, leaving Meng De to weigh the deal.

• Wang Hao gave the Bai Ze Clan Leader a note and told him to continue secluded cultivation so the Five Spirits mission could proceed without the protagonist appearing too early.
• Wei Guang and the others negotiated broadcast prices with various factions, earning Chen Changsheng an enormous sum.
• Chen Changsheng explained to Bai Ze that authentic combat footage would attract buyers and help fund the Virtual World’s framework.
• Jun Lin and Lu Mingyu approached Meng De, but he initially denied possessing anything special related to the Virtual World.
• Lu Mingyu’s hints prompted Meng De to reveal that he owned a Large Connector, and Jun Lin pretended not to know what it was to gain an advantage.
• Lu Mingyu offered Meng De a thousand years of backing from the Pill Epoch Lu Family and the Chang Sheng Epoch Great Shang Dynasty in exchange for sharing the Large Connector and its profits.