Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu and the Grandmasters overwhelmed the Spirit Race array, forcing Ling Huan to use a life-draining forbidden technique to become a complete Celestial Being. Chen Mu met Ling Huan in a fierce duel, and Ling Huan’s body began to crack under the strain as he proved unable to match Chen Mu.

• Hong Shida, Superior Zonggang, and the other Grandmasters joined Chen Mu’s assault, while the wounded Ling Ji struggled to reinforce the failing array.
• Ling Huan ordered the Spirit Race members to withdraw, then drew in the Seeking Wood Power and used a forbidden technique to break through the Celestial Being Realm’s restrictions.
• Chen Mu shattered the array, and Ling Huan blocked Hong Shida and the Grandmasters with a vast storm of Seeking Wood branches as Ling Ji and the Spirit Race escaped.
• Ling Huan and Chen Mu exchanged Celestial Being-level fist seals, tearing open spatial rifts as their battle intensified.
• Chen Mu’s wounds healed quickly, while cracks spread across Ling Huan’s body and blood seeped from them, showing that Ling Huan was losing ground.

Chen Mu defeated Ling Huan’s final attack, and the Spirit Race Celestial Being died after merging with the Seeking Wood. With Ling Ji badly wounded and the other Grandmasters surviving, Chen Mu headed for the Core Forbidden Ground while the gathered Grandmasters followed to seize it.

• Ling Huan gathered the Seeking Wood’s power for his final strike, then merged with the tree and sent branches sweeping toward Chen Mu and the Grandmasters.
• Chen Mu used Heaven and Earth United as One to destroy the branch attacking him and slow the others, saving most of the Grandmasters.
• Ling Huan’s spirit faded after he glimpsed the escaped Spirit Race members and thought of home, leaving Chen Mu to wonder where the Spirit Race’s true home lay.
• Yan Hong and the other Grandmasters regrouped, confirmed Ling Huan was dead, and realized Chen Mu had gone to the Core Forbidden Ground.
• The Grandmasters agreed to pursue Chen Mu and entered the Core Forbidden Ground to take advantage of Ling Huan’s death.

After Ling Huan died holding back Chen Mu and the other outsiders, the Spirit Race retreated to its core settlement and prepared to defend the Seeking Wood Sacred Tree. Chen Mu battered the settlement’s formation while the wounded Ling Ji tried to heal and eventually joined his power to the inner formation, hoping to hold the invaders off until they were forced to leave.

• Ling Ji returned to the Spirit Race’s core settlement gravely wounded and ordered its people to mobilize and prepare for battle.
• The Spirit Race sensed heaven and earth mourning and realized that Ling Huan had died.
• Chen Mu reached the core settlement and struck its formation with a stomp and a finger as the Spirit Race elites gathered to resist him.
• Ling Ji tried to heal his injuries with Seeking Wood Spirit Liquid while Chen Mu’s attacks strained the Core Forbidden Ground’s formation.
• Yan Hong, Jiang Han, and the Grandmaster forces joined the assault, and Ling Ji connected his spiritual power to the formation to help hold them back.

Chen Mu and the Grandmasters kept attacking the Spirit Race’s central settlement, forcing the wounded Ling Ji to sustain its powerful formation as the battle neared its decisive point. Outside the Seeking Wood Cave Heaven, seven Blood Exchange Realm experts and hidden allies prepared an ambush for Chen Mu at the Return to Ruins Sea when the Void Tide opened the passage.

• Chen Mu and the Grandmasters intensified their assault, forcing Ling Ji to connect himself to the Seeking Wood Grand Array and stabilize its barrier.
• Chen Mu recognized that the formation’s power transmitted the attackers’ impacts to Ling Ji’s wounded organs, and he resolved to keep attacking until Ling Ji gave out or the fifteen days remaining before the Void Tide passed.
• At the Return to Ruins Sea, the Profound Mystery Pavilion Master, the Blood Shadow Tower Master, Chu Changhua, and four other Blood Exchange Realm experts gathered to ambush Chen Mu.
• The Dragonwood Island Master realized that additional Blood Exchange Realm experts were hidden nearby and that others had moved to prevent Listening Tide Cliff from interfering.
• After nearly fourteen days of fierce fighting, Chen Mu, Yan Hong, Jiang Han, and more than a hundred Grandmasters continued attacking the exhausted Spirit Race defenders as the battle approached its outcome.

Chen Mu shattered the Seeking Wood Grand Array and entered the Spirit Race’s central forbidden ground to claim its resources. He found a vast pool of Seeking Wood Spirit Liquid and Ling Ji’s lifeless body inside the tree’s trunk.

• Ling Ji struggled to maintain the damaged formation as Chen Mu and more than a hundred Grandmasters continued their assault.
• Chen Mu sensed the formation weakening and destroyed it with Heaven and Earth United as One.
• Jiang Han, Hong Shida, and the Grandmasters attacked the Spirit Race forces while Chen Mu headed for the Seeking Wood trunk.
• Chen Mu reached the central forbidden ground and entered a hollow within the trunk.
• Chen Mu found the shattered formation stones, a pool of Seeking Wood Spirit Liquid, and Ling Ji’s corpse.

Chen Mu survived Seeking Wood’s awakening and agreed to help it return to its homeland if he reached the Divine Realm and mastered the Void Lineage. Seeking Wood gave him a rare Life Fruit, and Chen Mu left with a new lead on cultivation beyond the eighth realm.

• Ling Ji awakened the formation and called on Seeking Wood to kill Chen Mu, but Seeking Wood’s power killed Ling Ji instead.
• Seeking Wood spoke to Chen Mu through soul intent and asked him to enter the Divine Realm, cultivate the Void Lineage, and help it return to its homeland.
• Chen Mu cautiously accepted the agreement and said the spirit pool’s resources were of little use to him.
• Seeking Wood ripened a Life Fruit with over three thousand jin of Seeking Wood Spirit Liquid and gave it to Chen Mu to strengthen his soul.
• Chen Mu accepted the fruit and solemnly promised to honor the agreement if he reached the required cultivation level.

Chen Mu made an agreement with Seeking Wood, collected its spirit liquid and Crimson Spirit Fruit, and escaped the sealing Tree Heart Passage. Seeking Wood withdrew into slumber with a small hope that Chen Mu could eventually help it, while the Grandmasters left in awe of its power.

• Chen Mu took the remaining Seeking Wood Spirit Liquid and the Crimson Spirit Fruit before leaving the tree hollow as Seeking Wood sealed the passage behind him.
• Chen Mu warned Jiang Han and the other Grandmasters that the Spirit Ancestors were dead and that they must not anger the living Seeking Wood.
• Jiang Han, Hong Shida, and the other Grandmasters realized Seeking Wood was an immensely powerful lifeform and left its trunk to search for resources elsewhere.
• Seeking Wood pondered Chen Mu’s potential and the crude cultivation of the other Grandmasters, then returned to slumber hoping Chen Mu might offer a glimmer of hope.

At Seeking Wood Cave Heaven’s boundary, Chen Mu contemplated the void while Grandmasters gathered and recognized that he had become an enemy none could afford to oppose. As the Void Tide began to stir, the gathered martial artists prepared for the passage back to the Outer Sea.

• Chen Mu failed to comprehend the void at Seeking Wood Cave Heaven’s edge and reflected that his realm was still too low to grasp its mysteries.
• Liu Qingyan greeted Chen Mu, thanked him for saving her, and expressed confidence that he would reach the summit despite the enemies waiting beyond the Grotto-Heaven.
• Grandmasters gathered at the boundary and concluded they must warn their factions not to oppose Chen Mu, whose strength could rival a Celestial Being Realm expert.
• Yan Hong repaid Chen Mu with the remaining Seeking Wood Spirit Liquid she owed him and promised him a welcome in Zhong Province.
• Chen Mu sensed a growing ripple in the void, and the Void Tide arrived.

Chen Mu crossed from Seeking Wood Cave Heaven into the Return to Ruins Sea and escaped a formation designed to collapse the void passage around him. He found seven Blood Exchange Realm experts waiting to kill him, including Cheng Zu, Chu Changhua, Lie Yuan, and Xiang Yuan.

• Chen Mu sensed that the Void Tide came from Seeking Wood Cave Heaven and the Great Xuan World drawing near, then entered the newly opened passage before Liu Qingyan could scout ahead.
• The passage shattered just after Chen Mu entered, leaving Liu Qingyan and the other Grandmasters stranded in Seeking Wood Cave Heaven.
• Chen Mu emerged above the Return to Ruins Sea into the Chaotic Void Array, evaded the collapsing passage, and called out the ambushers.
• Cheng Zu revealed that the area was sealed by formations and that seven Blood Exchange Realm experts had gathered to hunt Chen Mu.
• Chen Mu recognized Cheng Zu, Chu Changhua, and Lie Yuan, while Lie Yuan offered him a chance to die by his own hand and Xiang Yuan mocked Lie Yuan’s promise.

Chen Mu faced an ambush by seven Blood Exchange Realm experts, while Dragonwood Island Master and other outsiders watched from afar. He effortlessly resisted Xiang Yuan’s Six Harmonies True Words and struck him down in one blow, leaving the other attackers stunned.

• Dragonwood Island Master and experts from Pure Sea Palace and Vast Sea Pavilion watched the ambush from a distance, expecting Chen Mu to be overwhelmed.
• Purple Bamboo Old Man revealed that the area had been arranged as a formation, while Chen Mu sensed seven Blood Exchange Realm experts had sealed off his escape.
• After the void stabilized, Xiang Yuan enlarged his body and attacked Chen Mu with the Six Harmonies True Words.
• Chen Mu calmly endured Xiang Yuan’s attack, then struck him with a palm that broke his Sixteen Feet Sacred Body and sent him flying.
• The Profound Mystery Pavilion Master, Chu Changhua, Lie Yuan, and the others were shocked by Chen Mu’s strength and searched for the Blood Shadow Tower Master.

Chen Mu fought off an ambush by seven Blood Exchange Realm experts, defeating Xiang Yuan and injuring several others despite remaining in the Marrow Cleansing Realm. The Blood Shadow Tower Master exploited an opening to strike Chen Mu, leaving a spiderweb of blood-red marks on his arm.

• The Profound Mystery Pavilion Master attacked Chen Mu with Years Cycle, but Chen Mu shattered the technique and struck him flying with a single palm.
• Chu Changhua, Purple Bamboo Guest, and another expert attacked together, but Chen Mu used Heaven and Earth Cycle to slow their techniques and evade them.
• The Blood Shadow Tower Master and Ghost Underworld Gate Master launched a coordinated assassination, and Chen Mu trapped the Void Flying Needle and drove the Ghost Underworld Gate Master into the sea with a palm strike.
• The Blood Shadow Tower Master closed in while Chen Mu was crushing the Ghost Underworld Gate Master and pierced Chen Mu's arm with Blood Shadow One Finger, leaving a spreading red mark.

Chen Mu fought seven Blood Exchange experts in the Non-Action Formation, revealing a Martial Body whose vitality and strength astonished everyone. As Dragonwood Island Master and the other outsiders reconsidered whether to aid him, two distant Heaven and Earth United auras collided, interrupting the battlefield.

• Chen Mu countered Blood Shadow Tower Master's Blood Shadow Finger, shed the affected flesh, and healed his wound almost instantly.
• Chu Changhua, Purple Bamboo Old Man, Lie Yuan, Xiang Yuan, and the other attackers renewed their coordinated assault under the Non-Action Formation, while Chen Mu continued fighting all seven without falling behind.
• Dragonwood Island Master and the other observers recognized that Chen Mu's Marrow Cleansing Realm strength overturned their assumptions, and they considered whether to support him.
• A distant Heaven and Earth United aura approached and began interfering with the battle, but another ancient aura rose and collided with it across the Vast Sea.

Chen Mu survived the ambush by seven Blood Exchange Realm experts, killed three, and forced the others to flee after his Heaven and Earth Wheel Seal collapsed the void. With the Celestial Being Realm threat gone and Cang Ming acknowledging his strength, Chen Mu emerged with his momentum established and stood close to reaching Blood Exchange.

• Cang Ming stopped a Celestial Being Realm expert from Great Xuan from entering the battle near the unstable Return to Ruins Sea.
• The Profound Mystery Pavilion Master, Lie Yuan, the Ghost Underworld Gate Master, and the others unleashed desperate techniques, but Chen Mu killed Chu Changhua and mortally wounded the Purple Bamboo Old Man.
• The Non-Action Formation collapsed, and Chen Mu used the Heaven and Earth Wheel Seal to overwhelm the five attackers, killing Lie Yuan when the void collapsed around him.
• The Profound Mystery Pavilion Master and the other survivors fled, leaving three of the seven attackers dead and Chen Mu victorious.
• Chen Mu faced the distant Celestial Being Realm auras, thanked Cang Ming, and heard Cang Ming say that Chen Mu's strength had reached perfection.

Chen Mu survived the ambush, drove off the Celestial Being Realm expert Yang Qingshan, and left the Return to Ruins Sea on the verge of entering the Blood Exchange Realm. After the others learned what he had accomplished, they realized that his rise would change the balance of the world.

• Cang Ming blocked Yang Qingshan, offered Chen Mu a visit to Listening Tide Cliff, and Chen Mu accepted the invitation.
• Chen Mu suppressed his urge to break into the Blood Exchange Realm, deciding to find a safe place before attempting the breakthrough.
• Chen Mu asked the Dragonwood Island Master for a high-grade Ocean Stabilizing Pearl and gave him Seeking Wood Spirit Liquid before leaving.
• The Dragonwood Island Master reopened the passage to the Seeking Wood Cave Heaven, and Grandmasters including Jiang Han, Yan Hong, and Liu Qingyan emerged.
• The Outer Sea experts and the returning Grandmasters learned that Chen Mu had killed three of the seven Blood Exchange Realm ambushers and driven the others away.

Chen Yue learned that Chen Mu had survived an ambush by seven Blood Exchange Realm experts and killed three, while news of the battle shook Great Xuan. The chapter ended with the imperial court and princes stunned and panicked by his victory.

• Chen Yue practiced sword forms on Upper Ling Xuan Peak and worried about Chen Mu’s dangerous journey to the Outer Sea.
• Jin Ling'er told Chen Yue that the Profound Mystery Pavilion Master, the Blood Shadow Tower Master, and seven Blood Exchange Realm experts had ambushed Chen Mu.
• Jin Ling'er reported that Chen Mu had broken through the ambush and killed three attackers, though it was unclear whether he had entered the Blood Exchange Realm.
• News of Chen Mu’s battle spread across Great Xuan, where people wondered whether he had reached Blood Exchange or possessed Heaven’s mandate.
• The news left the imperial capital in silence, while Han Ji Xuanfei, Ji Xuanzhen, and the other princes reacted with shock and panic.

Prince Jin, Han King, and the other Eight Kings reacted to Chen Mu’s survival and growing power, while Xuan Emperor Ji Yongzhao awoke from his long seclusion after successfully completing his secret art. Learning of Chen Mu’s extraordinary strength, Ji Yongzhao declared that he, not Chen Mu, was the Heavenly Mandate.

• Prince Jin Ji Xuanchu wondered how Chen Mu had crossed two realms and gained the power to battle Celestial Beings, overturning his expectations for the struggle among the Eight Kings.
• Han King Ji Xuanfei regretted joining Prince Liang in the failed ambush and decided the Profound Mystery Pavilion should help stop Chen Mu before he broke through to the Blood Exchange Realm.
• The other Eight Kings grew anxious after learning of Chen Mu’s survival and strength.
• Wei He confirmed that Xuan Emperor Ji Yongzhao had awakened safely, and Ji Yongzhao revealed that his Soul Fusion and Body Seizing secret art had succeeded.
• Wei He explained that Ji Yongzhao had deliberately allowed the court and Great Xuan to descend into chaos while he slumbered, so he could retain power and restore order upon awakening.
• After hearing of Chen Mu’s martial achievements, Ji Yongzhao called him interesting and declared, “I am the Heavenly Mandate!”

Chen Mu traveled into the remote Outer Sea to find a secluded place to break through to Blood Exchange, settling near an undersea volcano. He killed a powerful Ninth Rank Heavenly Demon Red Dragon and sealed himself with its corpse in a cave to begin cultivating.

• Chen Mu traveled more than a hundred thousand li into the Outer Sea and searched for a place with abundant Power of Heaven and Earth.
• Chen Mu found an undersea volcano and chose its outskirts as a suitable place to enter seclusion and charge into Blood Exchange.
• Chen Mu sensed a prime Ninth Rank Heavenly Demon Red Dragon living in a cave and shattered its lair with a finger.
• The Red Dragon attacked Chen Mu, but he seized its claw, dragged it from the cave, and killed it with his Heaven and Earth Wheel Seal.
• Chen Mu moved the Red Dragon's corpse to a ravine, carved out a Mountain Cave, and sealed himself inside to cultivate.

Chen Mu refined the Crimson Life Fruit in seclusion to strengthen his heart and soul before attempting Blood Exchange. Meanwhile, the Profound Mystery Pavilion Master and other powerful enemies gathered with Yang Qingshan to divine Chen Mu’s location and ambush him before he broke through.

• Chen Mu drained the Crimson Dragon’s blood into a pool and prepared to use it during his future Blood Exchange.
• Chen Mu swallowed the mature Crimson Life Fruit, whose effects nourished and gradually strengthened his heart and soul while leaving his already perfected Martial Body unchanged.
• Chen Mu remained in seclusion for several days as turmoil spread throughout Great Xuan.
• The Profound Mystery Pavilion Master, Xiang Yuan, Yang Qingshan, and other Blood Exchange experts assembled on an Outer Sea island to locate Chen Mu and attack him before his breakthrough.

The Profound Mystery Pavilion Master tried to divine Chen Mu’s whereabouts but collided with the fate of Seeking Wood, destroying the Profound Mystery Mirror and leaving him gravely injured. The Xuan Emperor also traced Chen Mu to the Outer Sea, though his Heavenly Fate Compass shattered from the backlash, and he managed to capture a few traces.

• The Profound Mystery Pavilion Master used the Profound Mystery Mirror to search for Chen Mu’s whereabouts in the Outer Sea.
• His divination revealed Seeking Wood, whose immense karma shattered his consciousness and destroyed the mirror, leaving him badly injured and aged.
• The Profound Mystery Pavilion Master realized Chen Mu had formed a powerful karmic connection with Seeking Wood.
• Xuan Emperor Ji Yongzhao arrived near Chen Mu’s secluded cave and used the Heavenly Fate Compass to locate him.
• The Heavenly Fate Compass shattered from the backlash, but Ji Yongzhao used Great Xuan’s fortune to withstand it and capture a few traces of Chen Mu.

Xuan Emperor Ji Yongzhao concealed himself near Chen Mu, intending to use the Soul Fusion Seizing Technique when Chen Mu attempted Blood Exchange and take his Qian Kun Martial Body. After more than two months of refining the Crimson Life Fruit, Chen Mu strengthened his mind and soul beyond the level of ordinary Blood Exchange experts and began his breakthrough.

• Ji Yongzhao sensed Chen Mu in the Underwater Cave and recalled how he had used the Soul Fusion Seizing Technique to seize a body and awaken in the Blood Exchange Realm while retaining his Celestial Being Realm power.
• Ji Yongzhao decided to wait for Chen Mu to attempt Blood Exchange so he could seize Chen Mu's body, believing Chen Mu could not resist his technique.
• Chen Mu continued refining the mature Crimson Life Fruit, which strengthened his mind and soul and expanded his Qiankun Domain to two hundred and thirty zhang.
• Chen Mu finished absorbing the fruit's power and prepared to cross the Blood Exchange Realm threshold.
• Chen Mu gathered his will at the Mysterious Pass atop his skull and stepped into heaven and earth to begin the breakthrough.