Chapter Summaries

Zong Jue used a mysterious black saber to defeat Hua Yan and keep his top-grade battle armor, then gave Shi Hua a battle saber and Qin Yu a top-grade immortal sword. He left Man Gan awkwardly pressured to offer Qin Yu a gift in return for helping his people enter the Ni Yang Realm.

• Hua Yan attacked Zong Jue, but Zong Jue used his movement technique to evade him and then knocked him back with a black saber.
• Man Gan and Yun Ce recognized that Zong Jue's saber was a powerful treasure connected to Lan Shu, while Qin Yu remained unsurprised.
• Hua Yan gave up his claim to Zong Jue's top-grade battle armor after realizing Zong Jue's speed, defense, and saber made him too difficult to defeat.
• Zong Jue gave Shi Hua a top-grade battle saber to comfort him after Shi Bian's death, then gave Qin Yu a top-grade immortal sword.
• Zong Jue reminded Man Gan that Qin Yu had safely brought his people into the Ni Yang Realm and pressed him to give Qin Yu a gift, leaving Man Gan unable to respond.

Man Gan gave Qin Yu a set of top-grade demon artifact battle robes, which Qin Yu passed to Hou Fei for protection. After Hou Fei and Black Feather revealed they would ascend in three days, the group reached Azure Cloud Path, where the inscription warned that only one person could ascend the Ninth Heaven.

• Qin Yu eased Man Gan's embarrassment over giving him a treasure, and Man Gan presented him with a complete set of top-grade demon artifact battle robes.
• Qin Yu accepted the robes and gave them to Hou Fei because his defenses were weak; the envoys then collected high-grade immortal artifacts and set out along the bluestone road.
• Hou Fei and Black Feather told Qin Yu they would ascend in three days, and Qin Yu promised to find them in the Demon Realm someday.
• The group traveled through the Ni Yang Realm's forest, lakes, and swampland before reaching the palace gate of Azure Cloud Path.
• Zong Jue warned that the inscription suggested only one person could ascend the Ninth Heaven, and Yun Ce told Qin Yu that Demon Emperor-level experts guarded the trial.

Qin Yu and the others entered the palace and learned that the Azure Cloud Path was a deadly trial that each person had to face alone. The chapter left them confronting the rules and Immortal Emperor Ni Yang’s warning that death was almost certain.

• Ao Feng urged the cultivators to press onward, and Man Gan led the group through the palace gates.
• Qin Yu asked Hou Fei and Black Feather to wait in the plaza until they ascended, and Yun Ce offered to protect them with a concealment restriction.
• The group entered the palace and saw the jade bridge of the Azure Cloud Path, which Man Gan identified as the route to Immortal Emperor Ni Yang’s Ninth Heaven.
• A stele revealed that only one person could traverse the path at a time and that anyone who failed would die.
• The stele warned that the ten-thousand-li path was packed with restrictions, drained power rapidly, and was almost certain to bring death to those who entered.

Yun Ce and Qin Yu dismissed suspicions that someone had entered the Ni Yang Realm ahead of them, and the factions agreed to send their subordinates first along the Azure Cloud Path. Immortal Ming Shan died almost immediately, and Wu Hei was sent next as the plaza’s fear and uncertainty grew.

• Yun Ce defended himself and Qin Yu against Hua Yan’s insinuation that they had entered the Ni Yang Realm first, and Qin Yu backed him up.
• Ao Feng proposed that each faction send a subordinate to test the Azure Cloud Path before the leaders, and the experts agreed.
• Qin Yu secured permission for himself and Yun Ce to attempt the path last so Qin Yu could spend time with his soon-to-ascend brothers, Hou Fei and Black Feather.
• Hua Yan pressured Immortal Ming Shan to attempt the path first, promising future rewards if he reached the Ninth Heaven.
• Immortal Ming Shan was swallowed by the azure clouds, and his Soul Jade Slip shattered after a beastly roar signaled his death.
• Ao Feng called for Du Zhongjun to send someone next, and Du Zhongjun ordered his subordinate Wu Hei onto the Azure Cloud Path.

Qin Yu and the envoys watched the Azure Cloud Path kill three scouts before Ao Xu attempted it and died despite his formidable defenses. With the trial still ahead and Hou Fei and Black Feather nearing ascension, Qin Yu resolved to protect his brothers while preparing to face the path himself.

• Yun Ce analyzed the Azure Cloud Path's intertwined wards and warned Qin Yu that Wu Hei would likely die, while advising Hou Fei and Black Feather to meditate safely as they awaited ascension.
• Wu Hei's Soul Jade Slip shattered, and Ao Feng ordered Ao Xu to test the path; Ao Xu died after taking only three steps, leaving the envoys unable to learn what had killed him.
• Yun Ce explained that the path's killing moves varied according to each challenger's cultivation, and Qin Yu urged Hou Fei and Black Feather to prepare for ascension.
• The envoys agreed to attempt the trial themselves in turn, beginning with the dragon clan, while Yun Ce warned Qin Yu to study Ao Xu's movements and the wards' patterns.
• Ao Xu fought within the clouds for an incense stick's time, but his Soul Jade Slip shattered, and Qin Yu resolved to protect Hou Fei and Black Feather as he prepared for his own attempt.

Qin Yu watched Hou Fei and Black Feather ascend, then renewed his resolve to create the next Stellar Transformations technique and reunite with them. On the plaza, Man Gan announced that Yu Liang had cleared the Azure Cloud Path and reached the Ninth Heaven, and Zong Jue suggested speed was the key to his success.

• Qin Yu grieved over Hou Fei and Black Feather’s impending departure, while Yun Ce calmed and encouraged him.
• Hou Fei and Black Feather exchanged farewells with Qin Yu, received storage rings from Yun Ce, and ascended to the higher realm.
• Qin Yu suppressed his sorrow and resolved to develop the next stage of his technique so he could ascend and find his brothers.
• Man Gan received word that Yu Liang had crossed the Azure Cloud Path and reached the Ninth Heaven in half an hour.
• Hua Yan disputed Man Gan’s announcement, but Zong Jue recalled Yu Liang sprinting across the path and proposed that speed had let him avoid its dangers.

After Yan Shan and Xue Yu Yang died attempting the Azure Cloud Path, Hua Yan survived its far more difficult trial after swearing a Heavenly Dao oath with the other five leaders. Qin Yu then sensed something unusual near a statue, and Yun Ce quietly urged him to conceal his reaction, hinting that the Flame Mystic Ring could affect the trials.

• Hua Yan challenged Man Gan’s claim that Yu Liang had passed, but Ao Feng accepted the explanation and sent Yan Shan onto the Azure Cloud Path.
• Yan Shan’s Soul Jade Slip shattered after hours without a message, and Xue Yu Yang also died after charging into the path at full speed.
• The six great figures swore to wait for one another in the Ninth Heaven before Hua Yan entered the trial.
• Hua Yan survived after unleashing powerful trump cards, and Man Gan confirmed that he had reached the Ninth Heaven in a battered state.
• Qin Yu sensed an unusual aura near a statue, and Yun Ce shielded him from notice while warning him not to reveal anything.

Qin Yu obtained the Ring of the White Profound Lord, fused it with the Ring of the Black Flame Lord into the Blazing Mystic Ring, and mastered its three domains before entering the Azure Cloud Path. There he encountered its burly trial guardian, who suppressed his cultivation to Qin Yu’s level and prepared to attack.

• After Hua Yan passed the trial, Qin Yu removed the Ring of the White Profound Lord from the statue and learned it could fuse with the Ring of the Black Flame Lord.
• Yun Ce advised Qin Yu to study the fused Blazing Mystic Ring before attempting the Azure Cloud Path, and Qin Yu tested its Heavenly Flame, Azure Mist, and Double Gravity domains.
• Once Qin Yu had mastered the ring’s abilities, Yun Ce warned him about the trial and gave him a jade talisman before Qin Yu entered the Azure Cloud Path.
• Qin Yu crossed the bridge under pressure that halved his speed and met a burly guardian who blocked his way.
• The guardian explained that Qin Yu must defeat him or reach the end, and Qin Yu learned that earlier challengers had passed by fleeing quickly or relying on powerful armor.
• The guardian declared that he would suppress his cultivation but retain his physical advantages, then assumed an attacking stance.

Qin Yu cleared the Azure Cloud Path by using the Blazing Mystic Ring’s gravity domain, his durable body, and rapid healing to overcome the guardian’s attacks. Yun Ce then crossed the path effortlessly with time acceleration and joined Qin Yu on the Ninth Heaven, where he noticed the people who had disturbed him during the trial.

• Qin Yu used the Double Gravity Domain to escape the guardian’s spatial lock and outrun him along the Azure Cloud Path.
• The guardian struck Qin Yu with three golden fist shadows, but Qin Yu endured the blows, quickly healed, and reached the Ninth Heaven.
• Man Gan, Du Zhongjun, Ao Feng, Zong Jue, and Fang Tian cleared the trial, leaving Yun Ce as the final challenger.
• Yun Ce entered the Azure Cloud Path and activated time acceleration through the Hongmeng Stellar Art, leaving the guardian unable to follow his movements.
• Yun Ce passed through the path’s restrictions and dangers without slowing down, then reunited with Qin Yu on the Ninth Heaven.
• Yun Ce noticed Ao Feng, Hua Yan, and the others who had sent him messages during the trial, and coldness flashed in his eyes.

Man Gan, Ao Feng, Du Zhongjun, and Hua Yan reached the Nine Heavens Palace and discovered the Ten Thousand Beasts Atlas inside, but an invisible barrier blocked the entrance and severely injured each of them. The four envoys remained determined to claim the treasure, while Hua Yan resolved that obtaining it would help him seize the ultimate prize.

• Ao Feng joined the other six who had crossed the Azure Cloud Path, and the seven set out together for the Nine Heavens Palace.
• Man Gan warned Ao Feng against advancing ahead, though both secretly hurried toward the palace because they suspected a rare treasure lay inside.
• Man Gan and Ao Feng charged the palace gates and were hurled back by an invisible barrier, revealing a golden scroll within the hall.
• Du Zhongjun and Hua Yan each attacked the barrier and were also severely injured while trying to reach the scroll.
• Fang Tian pointed out the stone tablet identifying the scroll as the Ten Thousand Beasts Atlas, and Hua Yan recognized its immense value.
• The four envoys continued to covet the Atlas despite their injuries, and Hua Yan decided it could help him claim the ultimate treasure.

Ao Feng revealed that the Ten Thousand Beasts Atlas was a powerful low-grade divine artifact, while the group at the hall discovered that its doors would not open until every challenger completed the Azure Cloud Path trial. Qin Yu had already survived the trial, and he and Yun Ce prepared to reach the Ninth Heaven as the others waited anxiously for them.

• Ao Feng explained the Ten Thousand Beasts Atlas's immense power, making Fang Tian, Zong Jue, and Yu Liang covet it.
• Yu Liang spotted an inscription stating that the hall's restriction would vanish only after every challenger had completed the Azure Cloud Path trial.
• Man Gan revealed that he had advised Qin Yu to stay in the White Jade Plaza, and he refused Hua Yan's order to make Qin Yu risk the trial.
• Ao Feng sent Qin Yu several urgent messages, but Qin Yu did not respond because he was still escaping the guardian on the Azure Cloud Path.
• Qin Yu reached the path's exit, read the coercive messages, and objected to the others' disregard for his life.
• Yun Ce told Qin Yu to ignore their demands and go with him to the Ninth Heaven, where they would confront the treasure seekers.

Qin Yu reached the Ninth Heaven with Yun Ce and learned that the others were fighting to claim the Ten Thousand Beasts Atlas, a low-grade divine artifact. When the hall’s restriction finally allowed entry, the experts rushed inside, and Hua Yan attacked his rivals with his last three Hundred Ashes Thunder Seal Talismans.

• Qin Yu realized Ao Feng, Du Zhongjun, and Hua Yan wanted him to risk the Azure Cloud Path so they could reach the treasure, and he treated them as enemies.
• Qin Yu and Yun Ce arrived at the Ninth Heaven, where seven experts tried to force their way through the hall gates and were hurled back by the restriction.
• Man Gan explained the Ten Thousand Beasts Atlas’s value to Qin Yu, while the experts tested the gate until Du Zhongjun passed through it.
• The seven experts entered the hall and struggled against its gravity restriction as they raced toward the Ten Thousand Beasts Atlas.
• Hua Yan threw his final three Hundred Ashes Thunder Seal Talismans at Zong Jue, Man Gan, and Du Zhongjun, unleashing purple lightning throughout the hall.

The contenders fought over the Ten Thousand Beasts Atlas as Fang Tian consumed the True Dragon Spirit and gained overwhelming power. Man Gan, Zong Jue, and Du Zhongjun joined forces to stop him, while Qin Yu prepared to reveal Lan Feng.

• Zong Jue blocked the Hundred Ashes Thunder Seal Talisman with the black saber Lan Shu had given him, while Man Gan endured the talisman in his transformed battle armor.
• Fang Tian consumed the True Dragon Spirit, declared the Ten Thousand Beasts Atlas his, and drove Hua Yan away when he tried to seize it.
• Man Gan wielded the divine artifact Heavy Mountain against Fang Tian, but their clashes sent Man Gan flying and left Fang Tian advancing toward the Atlas.
• Zong Jue struck Fang Tian with Lan Shu's black saber and forced him back, surprising him with the weapon's strength.
• Qin Yu prepared to summon Lan Feng as Man Gan, Zong Jue, and Du Zhongjun attacked Fang Tian together, while the others waited for an opening.

Lan Feng defeated Fang Tian and took the Ten Thousand Beasts Atlas, while Qin Yu and Yun Ce maintained a cover story about their ties to him. With the others intimidated and subdued, Yun Ce led the group toward the remaining levels of the Nine Heavens Grand Hall.

• Fang Tian blasted Man Gan, Zong Jue, and Du Zhongjun aside and reached for the Ten Thousand Beasts Atlas.
• Lan Feng appeared and used the Sixth Sword: Void-Breaking Strike to defeat Fang Tian and shatter his golden warblade.
• Lan Feng took the Ten Thousand Beasts Atlas as Qin Yu revealed that Lan Feng was his martial uncle and Yun Ce was Lan Feng’s junior brother.
• Lan Feng claimed he had entered the Ni Yang Realm earlier and taken some of the Top-Grade Spirit Essence Stones, persuading the others to accept his claim to the atlas.
• Yun Ce warned the group to follow his arrangements through the remaining levels, then led Qin Yu and Lan Feng toward the staircase as the others followed.

On the second floor of the Nine Heavens, Qin Yu and the others learned that surviving the Heaven-Breaking Sword Qi trial was the only way to leave and reach the Ni Yang Realm’s greatest treasures. While the other challengers rushed ahead to compete, Qin Yu began mastering the Ten Thousand Beasts Atlas, and a long-trapped man on the fourth floor awaited the trial’s conclusion.

• Yun Ce warned Qin Yu that the other challengers might take desperate risks as they continued through the Nine Heavens.
• The group read that the Scroll of Bewildering Gods lay on the ninth floor and that the seventh through ninth floors each held a divine artifact.
• Lan Feng assured the challengers he would not take every treasure, then led them to the stele’s reverse side, where they learned that failing the Heaven-Breaking Sword Qi trial meant death and that the top three would reach the highest floors.
• Du Zhongjun and the other challengers hurried to the third floor, while Yun Ce stayed behind with Qin Yu and suggested studying the Ten Thousand Beasts Atlas first.
• Qin Yu bonded with the Ten Thousand Beasts Atlas, learned its three worlds could command demon beasts of increasing power, and opened its first level.
• A lean, dark-skinned man trapped on the fourth floor sensed that the challengers had reached the third floor and anticipated his eventual escape, while Yun Ce waited for Qin Yu to master the atlas.

Qin Yu learned that the Ten Thousand Beasts Atlas held a formidable force of spirit beasts, then joined the Nine Heavens trial with Yun Ce and Lan Feng. The trial began with Hua Yan, Ao Feng, Yu Liang, and Man Gan, leaving Qin Yu waiting to challenge a room and claim first place.

• Shuo Yan explained that most talented beasts had advanced to the Atlas's second level, leaving more than two thousand powerful beasts in the first level and over a thousand Demon Kings above them.
• After the Nine Heavens called everyone to the third level, the dark, gaunt guardian inspected Lan Feng, recognized him as a powerful puppet, and ordered Hua Yan to choose first.
• Hua Yan chose Room One and survived three strands of sword qi after the guardian revealed that challengers from the Immortal Realm faced triple difficulty.
• Ao Feng cleared Room Three and Yu Liang cleared Room Two, while Man Gan emerged uninjured from Room Seven and surpassed six levels.
• The guardian expelled Hua Yan for ranking last and sent Man Gan, Ao Feng, and Yu Liang to wait in the fourth-level hall; Qin Yu planned to challenge the highest-level room.

Du Zhongjun, Fang Tian, Yun Ce, Zong Jue, and Qin Yu completed the Nine Heavens trial as the rankings shifted and several challengers were expelled from the Ni Yang Realm. Qin Yu won first place and was set to enter the ninth level for its core treasure, while Wu Lan hinted that Qin Yu could help him return to his homeland.

• Du Zhongjun used the Blood Spirit Pu to survive Room Six, temporarily took second place, and caused Yu Liang to be expelled from the Ni Yang Realm.
• Fang Tian passed Room Five, but Du Zhongjun’s higher-level challenge left Fang Tian in third place, and Ao Feng was expelled.
• Yun Ce deliberately passed Room Four and left the Ni Yang Realm to protect the Qin Family from possible retaliation.
• Zong Jue survived Room Six with help from the black war saber given by Uncle Lan, took second place behind Man Gan, and displaced Fang Tian, who was expelled.
• Wu Lan told Qin Yu that he believed Qin Yu and Lan Feng could help him return to his homeland, but withheld further details.
• Qin Yu used Lan Feng to pass Room Seven, earned first place after surpassing sixteen levels, and was selected to enter the ninth level for its core treasure.

Qin Yu reached the ninth floor, where Immortal Emperor Ni Yang revealed that the trial rankings had been a ruse to bring the holder of the Ten Thousand Beasts Atlas to him. Qin Yu promised to avenge Ni Yang against Emperor Yu and Emperor Xuan, learned that Ni Yang had died from poison in a Divine Realm insect, and collected the treasures before preparing to leave the Ni Yang Realm.

• Wu Lan expelled Du Zhongjun and sent Man Gan and Zong Jue to the eighth and seventh floors, while Qin Yu was secretly sent to the ninth floor.
• On Golden Wood Island, Hua Yan persuaded the expelled cultivators that Qin Yu had won first place with Lan Feng's help and proposed threatening the Qin Dynasty to seize Qin Yu's divine artifact and Scroll of Bewildering Gods.
• Immortal Emperor Ni Yang told Qin Yu that Wu Lan had been ordered to send the holder of the Ten Thousand Beasts Atlas to the ninth floor, regardless of the trial results.
• Immortal Emperor Ni Yang asked Qin Yu to make Emperor Yu and Emperor Xuan suffer, and Qin Yu promised to avenge him after ascending to the Immortal, Devil, and Demon Realm.
• Immortal Emperor Ni Yang explained that a dead venomous insect from the Divine Realm had poisoned his soul and caused his death after a thousand years of struggle.
• After Ni Yang's phantom vanished, Qin Yu stored the hall's immortal artifacts, pills, and three core treasures in the Blazing Mystic Ring.

Qin Yu collected Immortal Emperor Ni Yang’s treasures, including two divine artifacts and the sealed Scroll of Bewildering Gods, while Hua Yan, Du Zhongjun, Ao Feng, and Yu Liang plotted to use his family to force Lan Feng to hand over divine artifacts. Lan Shu appeared and gave Qin Yu the Jiang Lan Realm, telling him that mastering it would qualify him to see Li'er, leaving Qin Yu with a clear goal.

• Hua Yan, Du Zhongjun, and Ao Feng agreed to use Ao Feng’s bewildering formation to trap Lan Feng and threaten him through Qin Yu, while Fang Tian refused to join and Yu Liang agreed to take part for top-grade immortal artifacts.
• Qin Yu gathered the treasures on the ninth level, then bound the Heaven-Breaking Sword and Black Condensed Snow battle robes to himself and stored the Scroll of Bewildering Gods without opening it.
• Qin Yu grew anxious when he found no message from Lan Shu, but Lan Shu appeared and explained that Li'er’s father had tried to force her into a political marriage and that her existence with Qin Yu had to remain secret.
• Lan Shu gave Qin Yu the Jiang Lan Realm and told him that fully controlling it would qualify him to see Li'er, while protecting her would require even greater strength.
• Qin Yu accepted the Jiang Lan Realm and resolved to master it so he could reunite with Li'er.

Qin Yu blood-bound the Jiang Lan Realm and learned that opening its first space required far greater strength, renewing his determination to cultivate until he could see Li'er. After leaving the Ni Yang Realm, he concealed his treasures, parted ways with Man Gan and Zong Jue, and hurried back to the Qin Dynasty to reunite with his family.

• Qin Yu blood-bound the Jiang Lan Realm and learned it contained three enormous spaces with time ratios and energy densities of 10:1, 100:1, and 1000:1.
• Qin Yu failed to open the first-level space, and Lan Shu told him he needed the strength of a Level Five or Six Golden Immortal; Lan Shu also urged him to continue along his unique cultivation path before his avatar vanished.
• The Nine Heavens teleported Qin Yu to Golden Wood Island, where Man Gan and Zong Jue were waiting; Qin Yu pretended Lan Feng had helped him win and arranged for Lan Feng to collect the treasures in public.
• Qin Yu declined Lan Feng's invitation to return with him, explaining that he wanted to see his family in the Qin Dynasty; Lan Feng departed with the treasures secretly stored in Qin Yu's Qingyu Immortal Mansion.
• Man Gan used five crystals and talismans to open a passage to the Immortal, Devil, and Demon Realm, then left for the Demon Realm; Zong Jue said he expected to ascend within ten years.
• Qin Yu and Zong Jue parted on Golden Wood Island, and Qin Yu raced toward the Qin Dynasty to see his family and resume cultivating for Li'er.