Chapter Summaries

Chen Fan traveled toward the Ancient Immortal Road after learning that Qin Xian'er had become the Qin Clan's leading prodigy and might be under their control. He encountered Mu Yunshui, who revealed that Qin Xian'er was not doing well and that the Qin Clan had fabricated the rumors about her.

• Chen Fan suspected the Qin Clan controlled the formation eye tied to Qin Xian'er and set out for the heart of the Eastern Wasteland.
• Chen Fan heard that Dugu Han and Bald Bird were waiting near the Ancient Immortal Road, while powerful prodigies and factions gathered there.
• Chen Fan continued through the Eastern Wasteland as rumors spread that factions intended to kill him if he entered the Ancient Immortal Road.
• Chen Fan met Mu Yunshui outside an Ancient City, and she recognized him despite his disguise.
• Mu Yunshui told Chen Fan that she had met Qin Xian'er two years earlier, that Qin Xian'er was not doing well, and that the Qin Clan had fabricated the rumors about her.

Chen Fan learned that Qin Xian'er had suffered the forced carving of a killing formation into her body and vowed to return for revenge after the Ancient Immortal Road opened for twenty years. He reunited with Bald Bird, Little Golden Monkey, and Dugu Han, then entered the sword formation bound for the Ancient Immortal Road.

• Mu Yunshui told Chen Fan that a Qin Clan member had forced a killing formation into Qin Xian'er's body, and Chen Fan vowed to make those responsible pay.
• Chen Fan left Mu Yunshui, and she confirmed to her junior sisters that he was stronger than her.
• Chen Fan reached the fourth Ancient City and found Bald Bird and Little Golden Monkey, then learned Bald Bird had recently stolen back the Nine Palaces Sword Art from Dugu Han.
• Dugu Han arrived and agreed to serve as Chen Fan's Dao Protector on the journey.
• Dugu Han opened a Nine Palaces Sword Formation to the Ancient Immortal Road, and Little Golden Monkey punched Bald Bird into it before the group entered.

Chen Fan and Dugu Han entered the Ancient Immortal Road with Bald Bird and Little Golden Monkey, drawing attention because Chen Fan still seemed to have Nascent Soul Realm cultivation. On the Bone Immortal Road, Chen Fan recognized mysterious restrictions carved into the bones and began studying them just as Mu Yunshui and her Immortal Palace group arrived.

• Chen Fan appeared at the entrance with Dugu Han, Bald Bird, and Little Golden Monkey, and the crowd questioned whether his Nascent Soul Realm cultivation was enough to survive the Ancient Immortal Road.
• Dugu Han told Chen Fan that the road's entrance opened only once every thousand years for twenty years and that the Immortal Palace's protective runes might resemble its restrictions.
• Chen Fan and his companions entered the Ancient Immortal Road, followed soon after by Mu Yunshui and three late Divine Refinement protectors from the Immortal Palace.
• On the desolate Bone Immortal Road, Chen Fan found Supreme Restrictions carved into the ancient bones and recognized similarities to runes from Fat Daoist's secret realm.
• Mu Yunshui's group arrived behind Chen Fan and Dugu Han and found Chen Fan crouched over an immortal bone, studying its restrictions.

Chen Fan studied the Sovereign restrictions on the immortal bones while Dugu Han revealed that the Nine Palaces Elder had named him his final disciple and given him the Nine Palaces Token, making the Immortal Palace protectors abandon their plans to attack. As the group prepared to continue along the Ancient Immortal Road, a crack sounded beneath Little Golden Monkey’s mouth.

• The Immortal Palace protectors learned that Chen Fan was Dugu Han’s junior brother and the Nine Palaces Elder’s final disciple, and Dugu Han revealed Chen Fan had received the Nine Palaces Token.
• Fearing the Nine Palaces Elder’s retaliation, the protectors left with Mu Yunshui, who noticed Chen Fan remained absorbed in studying the immortal bones.
• Chen Fan coughed blood after failing to decipher the Sovereign restrictions, while Dugu Han explained that removing an immortal bone could make the entrance collapse into an unknown abyss.
• Little Golden Monkey kept gnawing on an immortal bone despite Bald Bird’s scolding, until a crisp crack sounded beneath its mouth.

Chen Fan and his companions survived the collapse of the Ancient Immortal Road’s entrance and continued toward Thunder Mountain, hoping to reach it before the next lightning storm. Dugu Han warned that the last two cities before the mountain were controlled by hostile Eight Trigrams Sword Sect successors, and Chen Fan agreed to confront them if necessary.

• Little Golden Monkey bit an immortal bone, opening a pit that revealed a dark abyss beneath the Ancient Immortal Road before the surrounding bones crumbled.
• Chen Fan’s group reached the first Ancient City, where the Immortal Palace’s Dao Protectors departed and Dugu Han and Bald Bird argued about a marriage alliance for Chen Fan.
• Dugu Han explained that an Enlightenment God Tree formed from lightning appeared atop Thunder Mountain during storms, and Bald Bird estimated the next storm would arrive in about a month.
• Chen Fan hurried onward, hoping to meet Qin Xian’er at Thunder Mountain and use the lightning tree to reconnect the severed paths of his Great Dao.
• Dugu Han revealed that two hostile successors of the Eight Trigrams Sword Sect controlled the final cities before Thunder Mountain, and Chen Fan said he could handle them if no stronger expert intervened.

Chen Fan reached the forty-fifth Ancient City and accepted a trial against six initial Spirit Refinement prodigies. Though he seemed outmatched at first, he appeared behind two sword cultivators with his blade at their throats.

• Chen Fan and his companions left Mu Yunshui and the younger Immortal Palace disciples behind and continued along the trial road.
• At the thirty-seventh Ancient City, Chen Fan met a mid Spirit Refinement old man who had abandoned hope of finding the Gods and Devils Wall and let the group pass without tribute.
• At the forty-fifth Ancient City, three Human Emperor-level powerhouses demanded tribute or that Chen Fan defeat six initial Spirit Refinement prodigies to pass.
• Chen Fan drew his sword and accepted the challenge, while Dugu Han agreed not to interfere and warned the elders to obey the rules.
• The six prodigies attacked together, breaking several of Chen Fan's Nine Palaces Sword Formation phantoms and pressing him into a disadvantage.
• Two sword cultivators appeared to sever Chen Fan's sword and pierce his throat, but his body was only an afterimage, and Chen Fan appeared behind them with his sword at their throats.

Chen Fan overwhelmed the Ancient City's six Spirit Refining Stage challengers with his speed and sword techniques, leaving the three Emperor-level judges stunned. As they rushed to stop the trial and save the six, Chen Fan's nine swords were poised to strike.

• Chen Fan wounded two sword cultivators with a lightning-fast attack, while the Ancient City's three Emperor-level judges chose to keep watching the trial.
• Dozens of cultivators gathered and watched as Chen Fan attacked the six Spirit Refining Stage standouts again.
• The six standouts formed a Six Harmonies Formation, but Chen Fan's figure and sword vanished from sight.
• Chen Fan reappeared where he had vanished, with nine purple-gold swords before him, and warned the six that he had never left.
• The three Emperor-level judges recognized that Chen Fan's visible figure was an afterimage and rushed to halt the trial and save the six standouts.

Chen Fan defeated six Spirit Refinement prodigies with Nine Swords Into One, then left the Ancient City with Dugu Han. At the forty-ninth city, the City Lord barred the Nine Palaces Sect from entering and provoked Chen Fan, setting the stage for a confrontation.

• Chen Fan broke the Six Harmonies Formation with Nine Swords Into One, and the three city lords stopped the fight after recognizing his potential.
• Dugu Han and Chen Fan departed, and witnesses spread word of Chen Fan’s victory across the Ancient Immortal Road.
• Chen Fan and Dugu Han passed through the forty-seventh and forty-eighth cities as they approached the forty-ninth city before Thunder Mountain.
• The forty-ninth City Lord declared that the Nine Palaces Sect and dogs were forbidden entry, drawing crowds from both cities.
• The City Lord mocked the Nine Palaces Sect and demanded that Dugu Han crawl in and roll out, while Chen Fan challenged his understanding of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams.

Chen Fan and Dugu Han challenged the two Ancient Cities before Thunder Mountain, provoking the Eight Trigrams Sword Sect and its gathered prodigies. Chen Fan demanded that all thirty-plus opponents attack him together as the group prepared to begin the challenge.

• Chen Fan rebuked the city lord, and Dugu Han broke the city lord's Divine Sense pressure and declared that Chen Fan had come to challenge the pass.
• The city lord mocked Chen Fan's chances, while the lord of the Fiftieth City arrived with other Emperor-level powerhouses and belittled the Nine Palaces Sect.
• Dugu Han and the Eight Trigrams Sword Sect's city lord argued over the origins and strength of their sword arts, and Dugu Han praised the future strength of his master, Nine Palaces Elder.
• Chen Fan and Dugu Han mocked the city lords, prompting more than thirty Initial Spirit Refinement Stage prodigies to gather and taunt Chen Fan.
• Chen Fan remained calm and ordered the gathered prodigies to attack him together.

Chen Fan challenged the prodigies guarding the city and revealed overwhelming speed and swordsmanship, killing one with a single strike. He then dragged the thirty remaining Spirit Refining Stage prodigies from the sky, leaving them crashing toward the ground.

• The city’s Human Emperor-level leaders ordered five prodigies to test Chen Fan while they watched for Dugu Han’s possible scheme.
• Chen Fan used Nine Palaces Footwork to evade the five prodigies’ attacks and cut one’s throat with a single sword strike.
• Chen Fan explained that he had attacked openly, but the prodigies had been unable to follow his speed.
• Chen Fan sent crystalline threads skyward and pulled all thirty remaining prodigies down from the air.

Chen Fan confronted thirty-four early-stage Spirit Refining prodigies from two Ancient Cities, using the battle to restore his severed Dao. After revealing his incomplete Life and Death Reincarnation Dao and Nirvana Sword Intent, he unleashed a massive sword strike against them all.

• Chen Fan used the Divine Silkworm Seal to drag the prodigies together, then attacked Liu Wan, the Eight Trigrams Sword Art cultivator.
• Liu Wan countered with the Eight Trigrams Sword Tone, and Chen Fan shattered its soundwaves with a single strike.
• Dugu Han explained to Bald Bird that Chen Fan had come to make his severed Dao whole, not to claim a victory or ranking.
• The prodigies freed themselves and surrounded Chen Fan, who revealed his incomplete Dao and declared that he would fight them at full strength.
• A Human Emperor-level powerhouse realized Chen Fan was mending his Dao through battle and warned the prodigies not to meet it head-on.
• Chen Fan formed a vast black-and-white sword from his Life and Death Reincarnation Dao and slashed it down across all the prodigies.

Chen Fan fought Liu Wan, a red-sword woman, and dozens of prodigies in the Ancient City, restoring half of his severed Great Dao before the city lord disrupted his battle. After refusing to yield, Chen Fan unleashed the Nine Palaces Footwork and sent nine equally powerful figures to attack his opponents.

• Chen Fan’s black-and-white sword strike engulfed more than thirty prodigies, but Liu Wan and the red-sword woman broke through the flames and joined him in battle.
• Chen Fan fought Liu Wan and the woman through dozens of exchanges, and their intense duel helped all three advance their understanding of the Dao.
• The city lord ordered the other prodigies to attack, breaking Chen Fan’s battle and injuring him while Liu Wan and the woman grew exhausted.
• The city lord gave Heaven-Replenishing Pills to Liu Wan and the woman, who quickly recovered and joined the remaining elites in another assault on Chen Fan.
• Chen Fan opened his vertical eye, restored part of his Life and Death Reincarnation intent, and used the Nine Palaces Footwork to surround his opponents with nine figures.
• Chen Fan’s nine figures attacked at once, and one elite was killed by a sword strike before Liu Wan and the others could respond.

Chen Fan used Nine-Nine Restoration to kill all thirty-five elites in the Ancient City, while Dugu Han held off the city’s Human Emperor powerhouses. Chen Fan and his companions continued toward Thunder Mountain, as Mu Yunshui’s group learned of his victories and approached the final two cities.

• Chen Fan unleashed Nine-Nine Restoration, killing twenty-seven elites in three cycles while Dugu Han blocked the Human Emperor powerhouses’ attacks.
• Chen Fan killed the wounded Liu Wan and the woman, leaving none of the thirty-five elites alive.
• Dugu Han challenged the furious city lords, who withdrew rather than fight him, then led Chen Fan, Bald Bird, and Little Golden Monkey onward.
• Mu Yunshui and Immortal Palace’s three Dao Protectors heard that Chen Fan had forced his way through the forty-fifth city and wondered how he would fare against the final two cities.
• The group crossed three more Ancient Cities, and a Dao Protector expected Chen Fan’s party to still be stuck outside the forty-eighth city.

Mu Yunshui and the Immortal Palace Dao Protectors learned that Chen Fan had defeated thirty-five outstanding talents in Forty-Ninth City, then left for Thunder Mountain with his reputation transformed. Chen Fan began climbing the mountain to seek enlightenment, with Little Golden Monkey joining him as Dugu Han sensed the monkey carried a familiar aura.

• Mu Yunshui and the three Immortal Palace Dao Protectors entered Forty-Ninth City and learned Chen Fan had defeated thirty-five talents while Dugu Han held off the two City Lords.
• Human Emperor experts confirmed Chen Fan had overwhelmed Liu Wan and another Eight Trigrams inheritor using powerful arts and repairing his severed Great Dao through battle.
• Mu Yunshui and the Dao Protectors passed the final two Ancient Cities, while Mu Yunshui reflected that Chen Fan had surpassed them.
• Chen Fan and his companions reached Thunder Mountain, where Dugu Han warned him not to underestimate the other talented cultivators seeking enlightenment there.
• Chen Fan leapt up Thunder Mountain, and Little Golden Monkey grabbed his robe and climbed with him.
• Chen Fan placed Little Golden Monkey on his shoulder and promised to take it away if the lightning became too much, while Dugu Han remarked that the monkey's aura seemed familiar.

Chen Fan and Mu Yunshui waited on Thunder Mountain for the semiannual thunderstorm, while Chen Fan wondered why Qin Xian'er had bypassed the mountain. When the storm began, the prodigies prepared to fight for the few places beneath the Enlightenment God Tree.

• Chen Fan reached Thunder Mountain, found no trace of Qin Xian'er, and sat where the lingering lightning essence was strongest.
• Chen Fan sat beside a Western Desert monk and tempered the Chaos Qi he was shaping into a sword sheath.
• Mu Yunshui arrived, asked Chen Fan about Qin Xian'er, and sat beside him after learning she had not come to Thunder Mountain.
• Below the mountain, Dugu Han stopped Bald Bird from provoking the Immortal Palace Dao Protectors, warning that Chen Fan should avoid making enemies.
• At dawn, the thunderstorm began, and Chen Fan, Mu Yunshui, and the other prodigies rose as killing intent spread across the mountain.

Chen Fan and Mu Yunshui endured the Divine Soul-attacking lightning as the Enlightenment God Tree descended on Thunder Mountain. When prodigies rushed to claim the places beneath it and attack them, Chen Fan and Mu Yunshui fought back, and the tree took root with ten prayer mats appearing beneath it.

• Chen Fan warned Mu Yunshui that the lightning threatened cultivators' Divine Souls, and she deflected a bolt with her sword.
• The lightning intensified across Thunder Mountain, killing unprepared prodigies as Chen Fan, Mu Yunshui, and the monk defended themselves.
• The lightning-formed Enlightenment God Tree descended, and the prodigies charged toward the place where it would take root.
• Chen Fan and Mu Yunshui fought off the attacking cultivators, and Chen Fan killed a Body Connection cultivator.
• The Enlightenment God Tree took root and ten prayer mats woven from electric light appeared beneath it.

Chen Fan fought through the chaos beneath the Enlightenment God Tree and secured a meditation cushion for Mu Yunshui, then confronted the War Clan siblings Zhan Yuewu and Zhan Chuge as they blocked his path. The chapter ended with Chen Fan unleashing his Taiji diagram and challenging the siblings head-on.

• Chen Fan dodged a Monster Beast's attack and led Mu Yunshui toward the cushions, cutting a path through the battling prodigies.
• Chen Fan pushed Mu Yunshui onto a cushion, then blocked a hidden assassin's divine technique and killed him with Sword Qi.
• Zhan Yuewu and Zhan Chuge emerged from hiding and began slaughtering prodigies as they fought for the cushions.
• Chen Fan charged toward the path guarded by the War Clan siblings despite Mu Yunshui's warning.
• Zhan Chuge and Zhan Yuewu recognized Chen Fan and attacked him, while he invoked his Taiji diagram and declared that he did not need their acknowledgment.

Chen Fan defeated Zhan Chuge and Zhan Yuewu in the fight for the meditation cushions beneath the Enlightenment God Tree and claimed one for himself. After two days of fighting, all ten cushions were occupied, and a month later the lightning stopped as the prodigies continued comprehending the Dao in peace.

• Chen Fan fought Zhan Chuge and Zhan Yuewu at once, using his speed and sword techniques to drive them back.
• Chen Fan bound Zhan Yuewu's banner, broke her golden boot, and then battered Zhan Chuge away from the meditation cushion.
• Chen Fan claimed a cushion and began comprehending the Dao as Mu Yunshui joined him.
• Zhan Chuge and Zhan Yuewu returned to the battle and seized two cushions, while the monk from the Western Desert also advanced toward one.
• Two days later, prodigies occupied all ten meditation cushions, and a month later the lightning stopped.

Chen Fan continued his enlightenment beneath the Thunder Enlightenment God Tree as the War Clan siblings waited to confront him and Mu Yunshui moved to protect him. When the tree vanished, Chen Fan seized and pulled down all its remaining blue radiance, surrounding himself with an overwhelming Dao resonance.

• Chen Fan’s Great Dao, vitality, Life and Death Reincarnation realm, and Nirvana Sword Intent gradually recovered and took shape beneath the divine tree.
• Several months later, as the Enlightenment God Tree faded, talents began leaving their meditation cushions, while Zhan Yuewu and Zhan Chuge stayed to confront Chen Fan.
• Mu Yunshui approached Chen Fan and told the War Clan siblings she would repay his past kindness, despite Zhan Chuge warning her not to harm relations between their factions.
• The Enlightenment God Tree exploded into blue radiance, and Chen Fan opened his eyes as his cushion and lightning protection vanished.
• Chen Fan used his taiji diagram and a hand seal to seize the escaping radiance and pull it down from the clouds, enveloping himself in powerful Dao resonance.

Chen Fan forcibly retained the Enlightenment God Tree’s blue radiance and used it to restore most of his severed Dao, enduring hours of immense pressure. After his comprehension ended, the War Clan siblings attacked, and Chen Fan countered them before pursuing the fleeing prodigies down Thunder Mountain, leaving the Dao Protectors below stunned.

• Chen Fan used the Divine Silkworm Seal to retain the Enlightenment God Tree’s blue radiance and refined it while comprehending the Dao.
• The gathered prodigies expected the Heavenly Dao to punish Chen Fan, but no lightning struck, and they watched him endure the radiance for hours.
• Chen Fan reconnected most of his severed Dao before reaching his limit and releasing the blue radiance back into the sky.
• Zhan Yuewu and Zhan Chuge attacked Chen Fan as the radiance escaped, but he blocked their strikes and counterattacked with a powerful sword strike.
• Chen Fan pursued the War Clan siblings and dozens of prodigies down Thunder Mountain, while Mu Yunshui watched in shock.
• The Dao Protectors below Thunder Mountain saw dozens of prodigies flee down the mountain and stood stunned.