Chapter Summaries

Xiao Ze and the Pill Tower Grand Elder waited at Yellow Spring Pavilion for the Four Pavilions Assembly while news of the Ancient Ruins drew factions from across the Central Plains. As Xiao Ze wondered whether the Ancient Clan would take interest, Xun Er arrived in Ancient Saint City with two elders to explore the ruins.

• Xiao Ze reunited with Elder Chi Huo and introduced him to the Pill Tower Grand Elder, prompting other factions to recognize the significance of the Ancient Ruins and spread the news.
• Venerable Yellow Spring worried that the gathering factions, and possibly the Ancient Clan, could threaten Yellow Spring Pavilion.
• Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder decided to wait for the Ancient Ruins to open, reasoning that the many factions could help reduce the dangers of exploration.
• Xiao Ze received visitors from across the Central Plains and wondered whether the Ancient Clan would send Xun Er to the ruins.
• Xun Er arrived in Ancient Saint City with two elders and thought about whether her cultivation had caught up to Xiao Ze's.

Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder met with Venerable Yellow Spring, who sought information about the Ancient Ruins in the Nether Sea. They learned that the Nine Serenity Deep Ground Python Tribe and the Heavenly Demon Phoenix were also interested, and the Python Tribe arrived at the sea as the ruins drew powerful factions.

• Xiao Ze spoke with the Grand Elder about handling the many people seeking his favor before the Four Pavilions Assembly began.
• Venerable Yellow Spring visited the Pill Tower elders and offered to trade for information about the Ancient Ruins.
• The Grand Elder told Venerable Yellow Spring that the Pill Tower knew nothing about the ruins, and Venerable Yellow Spring revealed that the Nine Serenity Deep Ground Python Tribe and the Heavenly Demon Phoenix had sent people.
• After Venerable Yellow Spring left, the Grand Elder worried that the two magical beast tribes would be formidable rivals, but Xiao Ze agreed they should not give up the site.
• Crowds gathered along the Nether Sea, and the Nine Serenity Deep Ground Python Tribe arrived amid a chill, sinister aura.

Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder attended the Four Pavilions Assembly, where news of the Ancient Ruins drew the Four Venerables and exposed the Pill Tower Grand Elder’s influence. After Venerable Yellow Spring opened the assembly, the young talents began battling on the Water Surface Plaza.

• Xiao Ze asked Elder Chi Huo about Blazing Flame Valley’s interest in the Ancient Ruins, and Elder Chi Huo said he had sent word to the Valley Master.
• Venerable Sword and Venerable Thunder arrived and greeted the Grand Elder in the VIP seats before going to the high platform.
• The crowd learned that two Grandmaster Alchemists from the Pill Tower were attending because of the Ancient Ruins.
• Venerable Wind arrived and also greeted the Grand Elder, leaving Venerable Yellow Spring visibly humiliated.
• Venerable Yellow Spring announced the Four Pavilions Assembly’s rules and started the competition, and the young talents began a chaotic battle on the Water Surface Plaza.

Xiao Ze watched Liu Ling of the Ten Thousand Sword Pavilion win the Four Pavilions Assembly. After the assembly ended, Xiao Ze and the other factions set out for the Nether Sea, where the Deep Sea Ruins were expected to open.

• Xiao Ze watched Liu Ling defeat her opponents with her sword technique and predicted she would win the Four Pavilions Assembly.
• Liu Ling won the assembly, impressing Elder Chi Huo and pleasing Venerable Sword.
• After Venerable Yellow Spring announced the assembly’s end, Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder headed for the Nether Sea, followed by the other factions.
• Venerable Thunder, Venerable Sword, and Venerable Wind departed for the Nether Sea, while Venerable Yellow Spring regretted hosting the assembly.

Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder reached the Nether Sea, where they learned the Ancient Ruins were expected to open in about three days. Xiao Ze visited a trading market and witnessed the dangers of nether qi before a white-haired man from the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan arrived.

• Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder arrived at the Nether Sea and met Elder Mu at the Pill Tower camp.
• Elder Mu explained that a Seabed Great Whirlpool had revealed the Ancient Ruins and that they might open in about three days.
• The Grand Elder decided to enter the ruins with Xiao Ze while Elder Mu stayed behind, and Xiao Ze headed to the coastal Trading Market.
• Xiao Ze saw adventurers suffering from nether qi entering their bodies and recognized that their injuries required high-grade pills to cure.
• A white-haired man entered the Trading Market, and its guards warned each other not to provoke the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan.

At a chaotic Trading Market, Xiao Ze acquired a fire-control method before a white-haired member of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix clan attacked him over the aura in his Storage Ring. Xiao Ze broke the man’s hand, and the dispute escalated when Elder Huang Xuan arrived to inspect the ring.

• Xiao Ze punished a pickpocket and traded a Dou Zong Breaking Pill for a dark-red scroll containing a fire-control method.
• A white-haired man tried to seize Xiao Ze’s Storage Ring, and Xiao Ze struck him with the Great Vast Sea Palm, breaking his hand.
• The white-haired man claimed the ring carried the aura of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix clan and demanded that Xiao Ze hand it over.
• Xiao Ze dismissed the claim, while the white-haired man waited for clan elders to arrive and the market’s two Dou Zong guards stayed away.
• Elder Huang Xuan appeared and said he would inspect Xiao Ze’s Storage Ring.

Xiao Ze was nearly attacked by Huang Xuan after the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan accused him of hiding one of their members, but the Pill Tower's First Elder intervened. Later, the Deep Sea Ruins began opening as a massive whirlpool appeared in the Nether Sea, drawing the gathered experts toward the ruins.

• Huang Xuan tried to force Xiao Ze to hand over his Storage Ring, but the First Elder arrived and blocked his attack.
• The First Elder stood up for Xiao Ze, and Huang Xuan left with the white-haired man after warning the Pill Tower.
• Xiao Ze told the First Elder that he had found two Heavenly Demon Phoenix Puppets in the Ancient Ruins, both Five-Star Dou Zun.
• Xiao Ze studied pill recipes and mastered the Mystic Fire Art, improving his control over ordinary flames.
• A massive undersea whirlpool appeared in the Nether Sea, signaling that the Deep Sea Ruins were about to open.
• Xiao Ze and the First Elder watched as nether energy poured from the whirlpool, making it deadly to approach.

Xiao Ze watched Nether Qi destroy cultivators and give rise to a Nether Slave, learning that the creatures were trapped in the Nether Sea and could regenerate unless their Nether Core was damaged. As a lone Dou Venerate fought the creature, the First Elder suggested he had a hidden motive.

• Xiao Ze saw Nether Qi overwhelm and dissolve cultivators who charged toward the Seabed Great Whirlpool.
• A Nether Slave emerged from the Nether Qi, absorbed it, and rose from the Dou Huang Realm to Dou Zong.
• The First Elder explained that Nether Slaves were born from Nether Qi, could survive only in the Nether Sea, and regenerated unless their Nether Core was damaged.
• A lone Dou Venerate used Space Strangulation to split the Nether Slave, but it recovered by rejoining its body with Nether Qi.
• The lone Dou Venerate attacked the Nether Slave, and the First Elder told Xiao Ze that the fighter seemed to have another motive.

Xiao Ze learned that Nether Cores could absorb Nether Qi and help cultivators enter the Ancient Ruins, then watched the final eruption reveal more than a hundred Nether Slaves. As the factions rushed to seize their cores, Xiao Ze set out and encountered the white-haired Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan man who had challenged him before.

• The First Elder explained Nether Cores to Xiao Ze, and they predicted that the next Nether Qi eruption would bring out sleeping Nether Slaves.
• A lone Dou Venerate seized a Nether Core, forced out its Nether Qi, and returned to shore as the Seabed Great Whirlpool fell quiet.
• The sea trembled, and a final eruption revealed more than a hundred Nether Slaves, including one at Peak Dou Zong strength.
• Huang Xuan urged the factions to divide the Nether Slaves, and their experts and lone cultivators rushed to claim Nether Cores.
• Xiao Ze volunteered to fight, flew toward a Dou Zong-level Nether Slave, and found the white-haired Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan man targeting the same one.

Xiao Ze repeatedly battered the white-haired man from the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, claimed Nether Cores, and drove off a pursuing elder with help from the First Elder. As the fighting subsided, the First Elder warned Xiao Ze to stay close once they entered the Deep Sea Ruins.

• The white-haired man awakened his Heavenly Demon Phoenix bloodline and challenged Xiao Ze, but Xiao Ze's Great Vast Sea Palm overwhelmed his Heavenly Phoenix Tyrant Fist.
• Xiao Ze repeatedly struck the white-haired man with Great Vast Sea Palms while using his Illusion Sea Domain to crush a Nether Slave and take its Nether Core.
• Xiao Ze controlled and crushed a second Nether Slave, took its Nether Core, and frightened off the old man who had chased it.
• A black-robed old man appeared near Xiao Ze, but the First Elder confronted him and threatened to keep him from leaving if he attacked Xiao Ze.
• The black-robed old man ordered the white-haired man to hunt more Nether Slaves, then left; the First Elder warned Xiao Ze to stay by his side in the ruins.

Xiao Ze and the First Elder entered the Deep Sea Ruins through the Seabed Great Whirlpool after Nether Qi receded, though they suspected the easy passage was a trap. Xun Er arrived with two Dou Venerates and entered the ruins as well, unaware that Xiao Ze had already passed below.

• Xiao Ze and the First Elder learned how Nether Cores absorbed Nether Qi and watched the Seabed Great Whirlpool clear a safe path into the ruins.
• Xiao Ze and the First Elder questioned why the ruins seemed to be inviting cultivators inside, then followed the other factions into the whirlpool.
• Elder Mu worried about the First Elder and Xiao Ze as the shore emptied, then noticed a spatial ripple over the Nether Sea.
• Xun Er appeared with two old men, and Elder Mu recognized them as members of the Ancient Clan and feared the consequences if anything happened to her.
• Xun Er and her companions entered the Seabed Great Whirlpool while Xiao Ze drifted deeper into its current without knowing she had arrived.

Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder entered the Deep Sea Ruins and discovered that Nether Slaves had infiltrated the damaged spatial seal. They reached the factions gathered before the main hall, where more than a dozen Dou Venerate-level Nether Slaves blocked the way, leaving the factions poised to cooperate.

• Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder traveled through the seabed whirlpool into the vast Deep Sea Ruins and headed toward its main hall.
• Xiao Ze sensed that the outer palaces had been plundered and found little treasure before Nether Slaves emerged from the ruins.
• Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder realized that Nether Slaves had infiltrated the space and fought their way toward the main hall.
• Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder reached the basin where the major factions faced a plaza packed with Nether Slaves, including more than a dozen at the Dou Venerate level.
• The factions turned their attention to the arriving Pill Tower, recognizing that their strongest experts would have to join forces.

Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder negotiated with the gathered factions to clear the Nether Slaves blocking the palace, then joined the battle. After killing a Dou Venerate-level Nether Slave, Xiao Ze turned to slaughtering the Dou Zong-level Nether Slaves and collecting their Nether Cores.

• The Grand Elder challenged the factions' proposed division of Nether Slaves, then agreed to the plan after they settled the dispute.
• The factions woke the Nether Slaves and began fighting their assigned opponents.
• Xiao Ze drew a tall Nether Slave away from the basin and destroyed it with the Emperor Seal Technique, leaving its Nether Core intact.
• Xiao Ze considered using Nether Core shells in pill refinement and returned to the ongoing battle.
• Xiao Ze charged into the Dou Zong Nether Slaves, crushing them with his Illusion Sea Domain and collecting their Nether Cores, shocking the gathered experts.

After helping defeat the Nether Slaves, Xiao Ze explained that he wanted to use their Nether Cores to develop a new pill, while the Grand Elder warned him about enemies targeting him in the main hall. The group reached the palace entrance, but powerful attacks from a lone Dou Venerate and Venerable Yellow Spring failed to break its formation.

• Xiao Ze returned to the Grand Elder after collecting Nether Cores and said he wanted to use one as the core material for a new pill.
• The other factions finished fighting the Nether Slaves with casualties and exhaustion, while Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder remained largely unharmed.
• The Grand Elder warned Xiao Ze that the Pill Tower's enemies might target him during the struggle for the main hall's treasures, and Xiao Ze resolved to stay alert.
• As the nether aura faded, a solitary Dou Venerate attacked the palace gates but failed to damage them, and Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder identified a defensive formation.
• Venerable Yellow Spring struck the formation with his Yellow Spring Corpse Arm, but the runes erased his attack and the blue hall remained sealed.

Xiao Ze studied the deep-blue hall’s protective formation and discovered that one shifting rune connected its defenses. He placed a Soul Seal on it and drew the hall’s runes into his hand, leaving the assembled Dou Venerates stunned.

• Venerable Yellow Spring attacked the hall again, but its protective formation stopped his Dou Technique.
• Xiao Ze identified an anomalous rune and told the Grand Elder he had a possible idea; the Grand Elder encouraged him to try.
• Xiao Ze approached the hall as Venerable Yellow Spring sarcastically told him to step aside, then used his soul perception to search the formation.
• Xiao Ze found the shifting rune and realized it could be refined, then placed a Soul Seal on it instead of restricting access to the hall.
• Xiao Ze opened his palm, and the rune drew in the runes covering the hall as the onlookers watched in amazement.

Xiao Ze claimed the ancient hall’s protective array and entered its treasure tower with the Grand Elder, collecting pill formulas as they climbed. They reached a powerful barrier on the final floor, where Xiao Ze anticipated what lay beyond.

• Xiao Ze refined the protective array’s core rune, and the Grand Elder deterred anyone from trying to take it.
• Venerable Yellow Spring opened the hall doors, and the gathered factions rushed inside.
• Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder followed a western path toward traces of medicinal pills, while Xiao Ze kept a stone bead that had bypassed his Illusion Sea Domain.
• Xiao Ze activated the treasure tower’s selection formation, then entered with the Grand Elder before the other cultivators poured in.
• Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder climbed the tower, collected pill formulas, and stopped before the sturdy barrier on its final floor.

Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder entered the treasure tower’s top floor and collected its hidden treasures, only to awaken a seemingly fragile skeleton that reassembled and attacked. A faint soul warned them of great danger, and they fled down the tower.

• Xiao Ze used the core rune to open the treasure tower’s energy barrier, and he and the Grand Elder entered the top floor.
• Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder examined an uncracked skeleton on a stone platform while Xiao Ze gathered the valuable items from the shelves.
• The skeleton’s eyes began to glow, and the Grand Elder warned Xiao Ze to hurry.
• The Grand Elder struck the skeleton, shattering its bones, but ghostly light made them reform and the skeleton charged at Xiao Ze.
• Xiao Ze closed the energy barrier as the skeleton halted, and a faint soul voice warned him and the Grand Elder to run.
• Xiao Ze removed the core rune and fled down the tower with the Grand Elder.

Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder escaped the treasure tower as a terrifying skeleton destroyed it and pursued them toward the main hall. At the entrance, Xiao Ze reunited with Xun Er, but the skeleton’s aura was closing in on them.

• Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder fled the treasure tower after sensing the skeleton’s danger, while many cultivators ignored their warning and stayed behind.
• The skeleton emerged, killed the greedy cultivators with black aura, and blasted the treasure tower into dust before heading east toward the main hall.
• Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder reached the main hall entrance and concluded that the Ancient Ruins had been corrupted by Nether Slaves since ancient times.
• Xiao Ze sensed a familiar presence in distorted space and caught Xun Er as she flew into his arms; two Ancient Clan elders recognized him as a famed master alchemist and descendant of Xiao Xuan.
• A terrifying aura approached the blue palace entrance, and Xiao Ze realized the skeleton had followed them.

Xiao Ze and Xun Er realized the Ancient Ruins were a trap and joined forces to fight the pursuing skeleton. They weakened it until Xiao Ze could suppress it, leaving the group ready to continue toward an exit.

• Xun Er told Xiao Ze that nether aura was gathering around the ruins and that her group suspected the ruins were a trap.
• Xiao Ze and Xun Er agreed to stop fleeing and confront the skeleton pursuing them.
• Xiao Ze used the Illusion Sea Domain to blunt the skeleton’s attacks and suppress its black energy while the others struck with powerful Dou Techniques.
• Xun Er’s Golden Emperor Incinerating Heaven Slash and repeated attacks from the group depleted the skeleton’s residual Dou Saint power.
• The skeleton’s fists shattered and its aura collapsed, allowing Xiao Ze to immobilize it with the Illusion Sea Domain.

After the group destroyed the skeletal remains, they discovered that all their exit marks had vanished and began searching the Ancient Ruins for a way out. Xiao Ze’s stone bead transformed into a golden-haired woman, who revealed that she was Nether Holy Spirit Liquid and that their entrapment was connected to her.

• Xiao Ze ground the crumbling skeletal remains into powder after Xun Er and the elders lost contact with their marks leading out of the Ancient Ruins.
• Xun Er offered to use her Space Jade Slip to summon help, but Xiao Ze told her to save it while they searched the ruins for another solution.
• Xiao Ze took out the stone bead, which absorbed points of light from the bone powder and transformed into a brilliant golden Glazed Bead.
• A golden-haired woman emerged from the Glazed Bead and thanked Xiao Ze for saving her.
• The woman told Xiao Ze and the others that she had been Nether Holy Spirit Liquid nurtured by the Nether Sea, and that their entrapment was related to her.