Chapter Summaries

After the Heaven's Gate Examination ended, Ning Xiaochuan withdrew from the Core Disciple selection and chose to stay at Ten Thousand Swords Palace to help Orchid Fairy recover. He planned to use the competition period to cultivate secretly and break through to the Heaven-Man Realm.

• Palace Lord Qin Yue thanked Ning Xiaochuan for saving Lanxin, while he wondered whether Nie Lanxin had truly died after seeing a familiar gaze from the Jade Crystal Ice Coffin.
• Palace Lord Qin Yue condemned Dongfang Sheng and warned Burning Sword Sect that Demon Moon Palace would settle the matter, while the Heavenly Emperor Crown Prince judged Ning Xiaochuan a potential threat.
• The Heaven's Gate Examination ended with 3,157 candidates becoming Inner Disciples, including 169 from Ten Thousand Swords Palace, as the factions prepared for the Core Disciple selection.
• Ning Xiaochuan told the Three Palace Lords that he would withdraw from the selection, and Second Palace Lord offered him a direct Core Disciple place and the top three's rewards.
• Ning Xiaochuan declined to go to Hundred Herbs Garden and chose to remain at Ten Thousand Swords Palace's cultivation grounds to help Orchid Fairy recover and cultivate in private.

After the tournament, Ning Xiaochuan moved into Bright Sword Pool, where he discovered that Nie Lanxin had returned to life in the Ten Thousand Sound Fairy Queen’s body. Nie Lanxin proposed that they set aside their grudges, and the chapter ended with Ning Xiaochuan taking Nie Lanzhi to meet her elder sister.

• The Second Palace Lord gave Ning Xiaochuan a spiritual land at Bright Sword Pool so he could cultivate and refine pills without paying Merit Points.
• Ning Xiaochuan opened the Jade Crystal Ice Coffin and learned that Nie Lanxin had revived after the Ten Thousand Sound Fairy Queen’s ghost soul merged with her body.
• Nie Lanxin proposed a truce, explaining that they needed allies, and Ning Xiaochuan agreed so long as she did not harm him or his friends first.
• Nie Lanxin asked Ning Xiaochuan not to become Dao Companions with her younger sister, Lan Zhi, and Ning Xiaochuan agreed.
• An Inner Disciple told Ning Xiaochuan that Nie Lanzhi had come to see him, and Ning Xiaochuan led her to Bright Sword Pool to meet Nie Lanxin.

Ning Xiaochuan reunited with Ning Xiner and Yu Qianqian, helped them improve their cultivation, and gave Ning Xiner a powerful weapon. As the Core Disciple selection continued and young experts emerged, he remained focused on cultivating with the Nine Flowers Nectar.

• Nie Lanxin sent Nie Lanzhi away by claiming she would remain at the Ten Thousand Swords Palace for treatment and the Core Disciple selection, then told her she liked Ning Xiaochuan.
• Ning Xiaochuan visited the Yulan Empire's young talents and reunited warmly with Ning Xiner and Yu Qianqian, explaining his rescue of Nie Lanxin while withholding their night together.
• Ning Xiaochuan gave Yu Qianqian an Origin Returning Pill and taught both women the Purple Haze Scripture, helping them transform their essence qi over three days.
• Ning Xiner told Ning Xiaochuan about powerful young cultivators emerging in the selection, and he gave her the Ninth Grade Profound Weapon Single Wheel Star Sphere.
• After helping Ning Xiner learn to use the weapon, Ning Xiaochuan returned to cultivating with the Nine Flowers Nectar while the selection continued.

Ning Xiaochuan cultivated the Heaven and Earth Scripture to the Fifth Step Heavenly Ladder Realm and gathered resources to begin cultivating the Supreme Body. After obtaining a Tear Drop Vermillion Fruit and a token from Palace Lord Qin Yue, he entered the Demon Flame Ruin World, where the chapter left him descending toward its depths.

• Ning Xiaochuan used the Nine Flowers Nectar to cultivate the Heaven and Earth Scripture to the Fifth Step Heavenly Ladder Realm while Nie Lanxin continued the Core Disciple selection and the Ten Thousand Sound Fairy Queen worked to merge with her body.
• Ning Xiaochuan chose to cultivate the Supreme Body first and determined that he needed a spiritually-connected rare medicine, Earth-Grade Profound Stones, and blood from a Heaven-Man Realm cultivator or demon beast.
• Ning Xiaochuan bought twenty Earth-Grade Profound Stones and Red Tide Demon Beast blood at Ten Thousand Swords Palace's headquarters, then asked Palace Lord Qin Yue for a spiritually-connected rare medicine.
• Palace Lord Qin Yue gave Ning Xiaochuan an eighteen-hundred-year Tear Drop Vermillion Fruit and a token permitting him to enter the fire-element Demon Flame Ruin World.
• Ning Xiaochuan traveled to the Demon Flame Ruin World's entrance in Secluded Canyon and descended underground as the Heaven and Earth Profound Qi grew denser.

Ning Xiaochuan entered the Demon Flame Ruin World to cultivate after showing the guards his Core Disciple token. Lu Qingyuan and Lu Ren followed him with plans to kill him, and Ning was swept through an Earth Vein toward the secret realm.

• Ning Xiaochuan descended into the Underground Palace and encountered Lu Qingyuan and Lu Ren, who mocked him and questioned his right to enter.
• Ning Xiaochuan showed the guards his Core Disciple Holy Land Token, proving he was qualified to use the secret realms.
• Ning Xiaochuan paid one million Profound Stones and entered the Demon Flame Ruin World for a month of cultivation.
• Lu Qingyuan abandoned his plan to help Lu Ren reach Grand Heart Nourisher and followed Ning Xiaochuan into the Demon Flame Ruin World to target him.
• Ning Xiaochuan was carried through an Earth Vein toward the Demon Flame Ruin World.

Ning Xiaochuan lured Lu Qingyuan and Lu Ren into Demon Flame Ruin World and trapped them in the Eight Winds Erosion God Formation. He ambushed Lu Qingyuan with the Six-Armed Tyrant Dragon and the Demon Sword, then launched another powerful strike to grievously wound him.

• Ning Xiaochuan entered Demon Flame Ruin World to temper his body and prepare to deal with Lu Qingyuan and Lu Ren.
• Lu Qingyuan and Lu Ren followed Ning Xiaochuan into the realm, where he activated the Eight Winds Erosion God Formation and trapped them.
• Ning Xiaochuan sent the Six-Armed Tyrant Dragon to attack Lu Qingyuan, then intercepted Lu Qingyuan’s Flowing Gold Finger with the Demon Sword.
• Ning Xiaochuan pursued Lu Qingyuan through the formation and broke the three defensive formations he summoned.
• Ning Xiaochuan gathered his cultivation into the Demon Sword and unleashed a seventy-meter blood-red sword light at Lu Qingyuan’s chest.

Ning Xiaochuan fought Lu Qingyuan in the Demon Flame Ruin World, trying to use the pressure of their battle to awaken his potential while Lu Qingyuan sought to kill him. Lu Qingyuan’s Azure Pagoda shattered the Eight Winds Erosion God Formation, leaving the fight unresolved as the ground split and magma erupted.

• Ning Xiaochuan and Lu Qingyuan’s attacks clashed, and Ning Xiaochuan used the formation to block the Flame Python’s fire while Lu Qingyuan healed his wounds.
• Lu Qingyuan revealed that he had reached the peak of the Middle Heaven Realm and vowed to kill Ning Xiaochuan before he could advance.
• Ning Xiaochuan drank Vast Wave Demon Beast blood and attacked with the Demon Sword and his Figurative Divine Power Battle Swords.
• Lu Qingyuan used his Azure Pagoda to break formation flags, then blocked Ning Xiaochuan’s sword strike with armor formed by eleven Blood Arrays.
• Lu Qingyuan unleashed the Azure Pagoda’s full power, shattered the Eight Winds Erosion God Formation, and caused magma to erupt from the ground.

Ning Xiaochuan endured a dangerous breakthrough, revealed his divine and demonic powers, and wielded the Heavenly Emperor Blade against Lu Qingyuan. He left Lu Qingyuan mortally wounded as the Demon Sword drained his blood to temper Ning Xiaochuan’s God-Demon Supreme Body.

• Ning Xiaochuan absorbed the Blood-Dripping Vermillion Fruit and ten Earth-Grade Profound Stones while his bloodline produced three kinds of Supreme Power.
• Lu Qingyuan struck Ning Xiaochuan into a huge crater with the Azure Pagoda, but Ning Xiaochuan survived and attacked him from the magma.
• Ning Xiaochuan appeared with the Demon Sword and Heavenly Emperor Blade, revealed his God-Demon Supreme Body, and told Lu Qingyuan he needed his blood to complete it.
• Ning Xiaochuan overpowered Lu Qingyuan, shattered his defenses, and pierced his heart with the Demon Sword.
• The Demon Sword drained Lu Qingyuan’s blood and returned some of it to Ning Xiaochuan as Lu Qingyuan realized he was going to die.

Ning Xiaochuan killed Lu Qingyuan with the Heavenly Emperor Blade’s power, then faced a heavenly tribulation while forming his Supreme Body. He survived by merging his body with the earth, but his possessions were destroyed, and he fell asleep after drinking Nine Flowers Nectar.

• Ning Xiaochuan explained why he had withheld the Heavenly Emperor Blade’s power, and the blade refined Lu Qingyuan’s Azure Dragon Pagoda in exchange for his half-Supreme Weapon.
• A Tribulation Cloud formed over the Demon Flame Ruin World as Ning Xiaochuan approached completion of his Supreme Body, and the Heavenly Emperor Blade realized the tribulation targeted him.
• Sui Hanyu projected her shadow onto the Demon Sword and urged Ning Xiaochuan to find a thread of life in the human heart, but lightning shattered her projection.
• Ning Xiaochuan endured the lightning strikes, comprehended the Earth Scripture, and merged his body with the earth until the tribulation passed.
• Ning Xiaochuan emerged with a body displaying demonic and divine powers, but the lightning had destroyed nearly all his possessions except the Mystic Beast Appraisal and an azure gourd.
• Ning Xiaochuan drank the Nine Flowers Nectar and fell asleep for three months.

Ning Xiaochuan awoke after three months with a God-Demon Supreme Body and Heaven-Man Realm cultivation, then spent another month mastering his new power. He left the Demon Flame Ruin World with Lu Ren as his Heart Slave and agreed to refine Origin Returning Pills for two elderly Taoists in exchange for Merit Points.

• Ning Xiaochuan awoke after ninety-nine days, and the six Mystic Beasts knelt to congratulate him on reaching the Heaven-Man Realm.
• Ning Xiaochuan turned Lu Ren into his Heart Slave and took his Universe Pouch, deciding to keep him alive as a hidden ally in the Prince's Mansion.
• Ning Xiaochuan gave each of the six Mystic Beasts a mouthful of Nine Flowers Nectar and stored them in the Mystic Beast Appraisal to refine it.
• Ning Xiaochuan spent another month mastering his power, reached the peak of the Initial Realm Heaven, and left the Demon Flame Ruin World with Lu Ren.
• Ning Xiaochuan offered to refine Origin Returning Pills for the two Taoist guards in exchange for six hundred Merit Points, and they eagerly accepted.

Ning Xiaochuan confronted Zi Hanyan about sharing the Purple Haze Scripture with Yu Qianqian and made clear that he would not abandon either woman. Zi Hanyan accepted his choice, and she later told him that the Core Disciple competition had narrowed to 358 finalists competing for 100 places.

• Ning Xiaochuan returned to Bright Sword Pool, where Yu Qianqian told him Zi Hanyan had been looking for him.
• Ning Xiaochuan met Zi Hanyan beneath a waterfall, where she raised concerns about him teaching the Purple Haze Scripture to Yu Qianqian.
• Ning Xiaochuan told Zi Hanyan he would choose Yu Qianqian if she could not accept sharing his affection, and Yu Qianqian secretly overheard them.
• Zi Hanyan chose to accept Yu Qianqian, and Ning Xiaochuan promised to remind her not to reveal the Purple Haze Scripture.
• Zi Hanyan told Ning Xiaochuan that 358 people had advanced to the finals, but only 100 would become Core Disciples, and said she was close to the Heaven-Man Realm but unable to break through.

Ning Xiaochuan helped Zi Hanyan find insight to break through to the Heaven-Man Realm, then discussed the Ten Thousand Sound Fairy Queen’s rebirth and plans for her new life. Yue Mingsong and Situ Jing invited him to the Bright Holy Maiden’s Dao Discussion Assembly, where the young elites of Heavenly Emperor Mountain would face the famed visitor from the Bright Holy Land.

• Ning Xiaochuan shared the artistic conceptions of the Heaven and Earth Scripture and the World Extinction Scripture with Zi Hanyan, who entered seclusion after finding an opportunity to break through to the Heaven-Man Realm.
• Nie Lanxin asked Ning Xiaochuan to find out what the Ten Thousand Sound Fairy Queen intended to do after her soul and body fully fused, and he agreed to ask when she awoke.
• The Ten Thousand Sound Fairy Queen told Ning Xiaochuan that waking after ten thousand years had left her isolated, and he urged her to leave the past behind and join the new world.
• Yue Mingsong and Situ Jing arrived, and Yue Mingsong invited Ning Xiaochuan and the Fairy Queen to the Bright Holy Maiden’s Dao Discussion Assembly.
• Yue Mingsong and Situ Jing explained that the Bright Holy Maiden had emerged first from Heaven’s Gate and was rumored to have wagered with the Sect Leader True Person for a chance to borrow the Heaven Scripture.

Ning Xiaochuan and his companions attended the Bright Holy Maiden’s Dao Discussion Assembly in the Little Bright Hall, where Dongfang Sheng publicly accused Ning of using Orchid Fairy’s soul to control her. The Heavenly Emperor Crown Prince ordered Dongfang Sheng to withdraw, leaving the accusation unresolved before the assembled powers.

• Ning Xiaochuan agreed to attend the Dao Discussion Assembly with the Ten Thousand Sound Fairy Queen and the other young talents from the Ten Thousand Swords Palace.
• The gatekeepers initially refused Ning Xiaochuan and Nie Lanxin entry without invitations, but the Bright Holy Maiden personally welcomed them into the Little Bright Hall.
• Ning Xiaochuan sensed powerful Celestial forces inside and noticed Dongfang Sheng glaring at him.
• Dongfang Sheng accused Ning Xiaochuan of taking a wisp of Orchid Fairy’s soul and using it to threaten her, claiming that this explained her nightly visits.
• Luo Wu warned Dongfang Sheng about the consequences of his accusation, and the Heavenly Emperor Crown Prince ordered him to withdraw.

At the Little Bright Hall, Yan Wen used his Yin Yang Eyes to inspect Orchid Fairy, but the Ten Thousand Sound Fairy Queen struck him down and blinded him. As Heavenly Emperor Mountain’s elders arrived and the Ghost Raising Family demanded an investigation, Dongfang Sheng’s accusation remained unresolved.

• Dongfang Sheng challenged Yan Wen to verify whether Orchid Fairy was missing a soul, and Yan Wen used his Yin Yang Eyes to examine her.
• The Ten Thousand Sound Fairy Queen shattered Yan Wen’s beams of light, blinded him, and left with Ning Xiaochuan.
• A black-robed Ghost Raising Family elder blocked their way, while Ning Xiaochuan and Yue Mingsong defended the Ten Thousand Sound Fairy Queen and criticized the elder for intervening.
• Sect Master Mu slapped Dongfang Sheng for airing the accusation before outsiders, then ordered him to return with the Burning Sword Sect.
• The black-robed elder urged Sect Master Mu to investigate Dongfang Sheng’s claim that Ning Xiaochuan had taken one of Orchid Fairy’s souls.

After the Bright Holy Maiden confirmed Nie Lanxin’s soul was unharmed, Palace Lord Qin Yue crippled Dongfang Sheng for attacking Ning Xiaochuan. The next morning, Ning Xiaochuan accepted pill ingredients from Wang Susheng and Xie An, then took Yu Qianqian to Hundred Herbs Garden to learn about refining Human-Grade Pills; a giant guard ordered them to leave.

• The Bright Holy Maiden examined Nie Lanxin’s soul and found it intact and exceptionally powerful, disproving the accusations against her.
• Dongfang Sheng attacked Ning Xiaochuan, and Palace Lord Qin Yue crippled his cultivation before Sect Master Mu carried him away.
• Palace Lord Qin Yue returned to the Demon Moon Palace with the Ten Thousand Sound Fairy Queen, while news of Nie Lanxin’s strength spread throughout Heavenly Emperor Mountain.
• Wang Susheng and Xie An delivered two sets of ingredients for Origin Returning Pills, and Ning Xiaochuan promised to refine them within half a month.
• Ning Xiaochuan brought Yu Qianqian to Hundred Herbs Garden to study Human-Grade pill refinement, but a towering armored guard ordered them to withdraw.

Ning Xiaochuan and Yu Qianqian entered the Hundred Herbs Garden, where they met its spiritually connected medicines and were welcomed as Master Mu Lan’s disciples. Ning Xiaochuan asked for the Origin Returning Pill formula, and Master Mu Lan proposed sending him to face a challenge from a young Heart Nourisher of the Bright Holy Land.

• The Giant Spirit War General escorted Ning Xiaochuan and Yu Qianqian through the formation into the Hundred Herbs Garden.
• The garden’s Spiritually-Connected Rare Medicines gathered around the newcomers, and a six-thousand-seven-hundred-year-old long-armed ape gave Ning Xiaochuan Snow Infant Tree roots and Yu Qianqian jade-green leaves.
• Master Mu Lan arrived and explained that Heart Nourishers and medicinal herbs could help one another, then accepted Ning Xiaochuan and Yu Qianqian as his disciples.
• Ning Xiaochuan asked Master Mu Lan for the Origin Returning Pill formula and said he had a thirty percent chance of refining the pill.
• Master Mu Lan offered to send Ning Xiaochuan into the arena the next day to answer a Bright Holy Land Heart Nourisher’s challenge to the Hundred Herbs Garden.

Ning Xiaochuan learned about the ranks of Grand Heart Nourishers and Human-Grade Pills as Master Mu Lan prepared him for the challenge from Bright Holy Land. Jin Sanfan arrived, argued with Mu Lan, and revealed that they had chosen Jin Fengyi and Mu Cheng to face the rival Heart Nourisher the next day.

• Master Mu Lan asked Ning Xiaochuan how likely he was to refine a Human-Grade Pill, and Ning Xiaochuan said he had a fifty-percent chance of refining an Origin Returning Pill.
• Master Mu Lan taught Ning Xiaochuan and Yu Qianqian about Pill Souls and explained the five grades of Human-Grade Pills and corresponding Grand Heart Nourisher ranks.
• Ning Xiaochuan learned that Mu Lan was an Essence-Level Grand Heart Nourisher and that Heavenly Emperor Mountain had produced no King-Level Grand Heart Nourisher in three thousand years.
• Jin Sanfan entered and argued with Mu Lan over their skills and students, while Ning Xiaochuan and Yu Qianqian listened.
• Ning Xiaochuan stopped the two elders from fighting, and Jin Sanfan said he and Master Xue Qing had chosen Jin Fengyi and Mu Cheng to face the female Heart Nourisher from Bright Holy Land the next day.

Master Mu Lan persuaded Master Jin Pan to let Ning Xiaochuan represent Heavenly Emperor Mountain in its contest against the Bright Holy Land after Ning impressed Jin Pan with his pill knowledge. After Jin Pan tried to recruit him, Ning reaffirmed his loyalty to Mu Lan, then comforted a jealous Yu Qianqian.

• Master Mu Lan argued that Ning Xiaochuan should represent Heavenly Emperor Mountain instead of Jin Fengyi or Mu Cheng, and Jin Pan tested Ning by asking him to identify the ingredients and method for refining the Dragon Beard Pill.
• Impressed by Ning's answers, Master Jin Pan offered him wealth, protection, and four beautiful disciples if he joined the Jin branch, but Ning refused to betray Master Mu Lan.
• Master Jin Pan and Master Mu Lan agreed that Ning could represent Heavenly Emperor Mountain in the contest against the Bright Holy Land, pending discussion with Master Xue Qing.
• After the masters left, Jin Yushu, Jin Yiwan, and the other two young women crowded around Ning to ask about pill refinement, angering Yu Qianqian.
• Yu Qianqian confessed that she feared Ning would forget her as other women gathered around him, and Ning assured her that there was only one Yu Qianqian.

The Bright Holy Land’s Heart Nourishers visited the Hundred Herbs Garden for an alchemy contest, and Ning Xiaochuan recognized the veiled Lin Yueji as the Bright Holy Maiden. Lin Yueji then revealed Ning Xiaochuan’s hidden Heaven-Man Realm cultivation, leaving the gathered masters and Heart Nourishers shocked.

• Lin Yueji presented the Hundred Herbs Garden with a Crimson Dragon Scale Map, explaining that she hoped Heavenly Emperor Mountain would retrieve the treasure it indicated.
• Master Mu Lan sent Ning Xiaochuan to discuss alchemy with Lin Yueji, and Ning Xiaochuan identified her as the Bright Holy Maiden despite her disguise.
• Lin Yueji confirmed her identity, and the three masters conceded that the Hundred Herbs Garden could not compete with her overwhelming talent.
• Lin Yueji revealed that Ning Xiaochuan possessed Heaven-Man Realm cultivation, astonishing both holy lands.
• Ning Xiaochuan admitted to concealing his cultivation and asked the three masters to punish him.

Ning Xiaochuan and Lin Yueji faced off in a pill-refinement contest, each tasked with completing an ancient, incomplete formula and successfully creating a pill. The chapter ended as Lin Yueji began refining with a Supreme Weapon-level Heart Nourishing True Cauldron and the Azure Lotus Sacred Flame, stunning the onlookers.

• Master Jin Pan praised Ning Xiaochuan for concealing his strength, and Master Mu Lan claimed he had known Ning Xiaochuan's secret all along.
• Master Yu Zi presented an incomplete ancient pill formula and set Ning Xiaochuan and Lin Yueji the challenge of completing it and refining a pill.
• Ning Xiaochuan and Lin Yueji studied the formula, gathered their chosen ingredients, and identified the different pills their ingredients could produce.
• Ning Xiaochuan falsely claimed a ten-out-of-ten chance of success to pressure Lin Yueji, but she remained composed and matched his confidence.
• Lin Yueji summoned a Supreme Weapon-level Heart Nourishing True Cauldron and revealed her Azure Lotus Sacred Flame, astonishing the gathered Heart Nourishers.