Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu opened his Mysterious Pass and began breaking through to the Blood Exchange Realm, enduring Heaven and Earth's tempering and overcoming the Life and Death Barrier. Ji Yongzhao tried to seize Chen Mu's body by sending his soul into the breakthrough, but Chen Mu struck back and left Ji Yongzhao's soul badly cracked as it fled.

• Chen Mu drew the Power of Heaven and Earth into his body, and the signs of Blood Exchange appeared as his soul and Martial Body were tempered.
• Chen Mu faced the temptation to abandon his suffering and escape into Heaven, but his will remained steady.
• Ji Yongzhao sensed Chen Mu's breakthrough, went to the Underwater Cave, and cast his soul out of his body to ride the Power of Heaven and Earth toward Chen Mu.
• Ji Yongzhao's soul collided with Chen Mu's, but Chen Mu's soul endured the attack and repelled him.
• Chen Mu surged his qi and blood to strengthen his soul and struck Ji Yongzhao's soul again, cracking it and forcing it to flee.

Chen Mu stopped Ji Yongzhao from returning to his body, but Ji Yongzhao burned his shattered soul and fused it with Chen Mu’s during the Blood Exchange breakthrough. As their memories and destinies clashed, Chen Mu realized the ordeal was Ji Yongzhao’s tribulation, and his soul began to withstand the flames.

• Chen Mu struck Ji Yongzhao’s abandoned body with Qiankun Finger, destroying its head and cutting off Ji Yongzhao’s escape.
• Ji Yongzhao recognized Chen Mu as his destined tribulation and explained that only one of them could transcend heaven and earth.
• Ji Yongzhao used the Soul Burning Great Art, shattering his soul and merging its flames with Chen Mu’s soul.
• Burning under the Heart Fire, Chen Mu saw Ji Yongzhao’s memories and learned that he was the Jingtai Emperor of Great Xuan.
• Chen Mu realized he was not bound to this world’s Heavenly Mandate and that the ordeal was Ji Yongzhao’s tribulation, while he needed only to endure it and attain Perfection.
• Chen Mu’s thoughts stabilized, and the soul fire began to peel away as the Power of Heaven and Earth tempered his soul.

Chen Mu survived Ji Yongzhao’s Soul Fire and forged an Undying Aura of Light, while Ji Yongzhao vanished and the imperial succession plunged Great Xuan into turmoil. Months later, the Eight Kings and their allies gathered in the Imperial City as the struggle for the throne came to a head.

• Chen Mu’s heart and soul endured Ji Yongzhao’s Soul Fire and condensed an Undying Aura of Light, allowing him to recover from even severe spiritual damage.
• Ji Yongzhao’s Soul Fire was extinguished, and the emperor disappeared without a trace alongside Wei He.
• Four months later, the court discovered their disappearance, and the Eight Kings began fighting openly for the throne.
• Han King and Prince Liang focused on claiming imperial authority to counter the threat posed by Chen Mu, while forces across Great Xuan turned their attention to Zhong Province.
• Cheng Zu arrived at the White Jade Plaza with Xiang Yuan and other experts, where Han King and the other Seven Kings gathered beneath the Heaven and Earth Boundless Formation.

The Eight Kings gathered at White Jade Garden to compete for the Heaven and Earth Cauldron’s recognition as Great Xuan’s next sovereign, while ministers watched from Star Plucking Pavilion. The kings advanced toward the Cauldron under the guard of rival Blood Exchange Realm experts, with Chen Mu’s growing power looming over the succession struggle.

• Prince Jin, Prince Liang, Prince Yan, Han King, and Prince Qi exchanged accusations and recalled how the Eight Kings’ decades of rivalry had left them unable to retreat.
• Prince Liang warned that even a king who gained the throne might not rule securely if Chen Mu mastered the Heaven-Earth Martial Way and became invincible.
• The Eight Kings gathered beneath the Heaven and Earth Cauldron to seek its recognition after Ji Yongzhao disappeared and the imperial house’s neutral branch agreed to support the chosen king.
• Blood Exchange Realm experts from the kings’ factions guarded them as the Eight Kings proceeded deeper into White Jade Garden, where the Heaven and Earth Boundless Formation restricted their power.
• Shangguan Nan, Zhao Lie, and other first-rank officials observed from Star Plucking Pavilion and discussed the Cauldron’s strength and the lost Heaven Severing Sword.

With Xuan Emperor Ji Yongzhao missing for more than half a year, the Eight Kings tested their auras against the Heaven and Earth Cauldron so it could recognize the next monarch. The cauldron unexpectedly chose Prince Han, whose secret art had interfered with its spiritual light, leaving the court factions stunned.

• Zhao Lie and Shangguan Nan said the court officials should not intervene in the imperial family's succession, though many privately favored Prince Jin because his ascension would cause the least upheaval.
• Prince Jin, Prince Chu, and the other kings bowed to the Ji Family elders guarding the Heaven and Earth Cauldron, and Ji Yongheng revealed that Ji Yongzhao had instructed him to choose a successor if the emperor vanished for half a year.
• Ji Yongheng told the Eight Kings to connect their inner breath to the cauldron, and each prince sent a distinct stream of force toward it.
• The cauldron's spiritual light abruptly left the streams of Prince Jin and Prince Chu and enveloped Prince Han, shocking the princes and watching experts.
• Prince Han realized that a secret art he had acquired from the Great Wilderness had interfered with the cauldron's spirituality, while the Profound Mystery Pavilion Master celebrated the outcome as heaven's will.

Prince Han gained the Heaven and Earth Cauldron’s recognition, shifting the struggle for the throne in his favor. After awakening from the Heaven and Earth Body Infusion and studying Ji Yongzhao’s memories, Chen Mu completed his transformation and entered the Blood Exchange Realm.

• The Heaven and Earth Cauldron confirmed its choice of Prince Han Ji Xuanfei, and Prince Dongping Ji Yongheng accepted it as the choice of national fortune.
• Prince Jin, Prince Chu, Prince Zhao, and the other dissatisfied kings left the White Jade Plaza after the Cauldron Guardians upheld Prince Han’s selection.
• Chen Mu regained consciousness after nearly half a year of Heaven and Earth Body Infusion and sorted through Ji Yongzhao’s memories, learning about the Divine Realm and the limits of the Body-Tempering Martial Dao.
• Chen Mu gathered the Power of Heaven and Earth into his Martial Blood and endured the final Eight Trigrams transformations in the underwater cave.
• Chen Mu completed his Blood Exchange transformation and entered the Blood Exchange Realm.

After entering the Blood Exchange Realm, Chen Mu tested his body by tearing open a Void Rift and realized his strength was nearing the peak of the world. He recognized that Blood Exchange was only the beginning of Blood Refinement and began using the System Panel and his resources to pursue the Divine Realm.

• Chen Mu tore open a Void Rift beneath the sea with his bare hand, suffered a deep wound, and healed it instantly.
• Chen Mu concluded that only Celestial Being Realm experts could truly injure him and considered how he compared with the strongest martial artists.
• Chen Mu inspected the System Panel and realized Blood Refinement had stages beyond the commonly recognized end of the Blood Exchange Realm, with the Divine Realm beyond its limit.
• Chen Mu entered the Dragon Blood Pool and absorbed its power until it dried up, gaining 417 experience points.
• Chen Mu poured most of his Seeking Wood Spirit Liquid into a new pool and entered it to continue accumulating experience.

Chen Mu absorbed the Seeking Wood Spirit Liquid and advanced his physique to Major Accomplishment of Blood Refinement, reaching a strength unmatched in the world. After the pool ran dry, he discovered that the System Panel had revealed a new Divine Path entry, the Source Path, and wondered whether he could begin comprehending the Void Dao directly.

• Chen Mu absorbed the Seeking Wood Spirit Liquid for half a month and accumulated enough experience to upgrade his Blood Refinement to Major Accomplishment.
• Chen Mu spent more than two months undergoing the transformation, greatly strengthening his Martial Body and concluding that Blood Refinement Perfection was needed to approach the ninth realm of indestructibility.
• Chen Mu absorbed the remaining Seeking Wood Spirit Liquid, but its 1,337 experience points were insufficient to reach Blood Refinement Perfection.
• Chen Mu found that entering the Blood Exchange Realm gave him the foundation to pursue the third step of Qiankun Power of Intent, though he still needed 100,000 experience points to reach Heaven and Earth United.
• Chen Mu noticed the new Source Path (Divine Path) entry on the System Panel and suspected that his Undying Aura of Light let him touch the Void Path.
• Chen Mu wondered whether he could bypass further Artistic Conception cultivation and directly comprehend the Void Dao.

Chen Mu discovered that the System Panel could measure his progress toward comprehending the Void Dao, then resolved to return to Great Xuan and gather resources while remaining alert to the threat of the Ancient Demon Clan. Before leaving, he ascended beyond the Nine Heavens Astral Winds to reach the Great Xuan World’s boundary at twenty-four thousand fathoms.

• Chen Mu used the System Panel to measure his Void Dao progress at 97 experience points, far short of the 1,000 needed for initial mastery.
• Chen Mu considered the Source Paths and concluded that the Ancient Demon Clan might one day threaten the Great Xuan World.
• Chen Mu decided to return to Great Xuan, retrieve resources from powerful sects and the Ji Family, and check on Hanbei Province and his allies.
• Chen Mu stored the Red Dragon’s corpse, dressed in a precious robe, and shot out of the sea into the sky.
• Chen Mu ascended through the Nine Heavens Astral Winds and endured the void rifts as he climbed above twenty-one thousand fathoms.
• Chen Mu reached the Great Xuan World’s end at twenty-four thousand fathoms, a height no one born in that world had reached before.

After reaching Great Accomplishment in Blood Refinement, Chen Mu crossed the Outer Sea openly, displaying an aura that shocked its experts, and arrived at Listening Tide Cliff. He met Grand Elder Cang Ming to retrieve the Ocean Stabilizing Pearl and view the sect’s martial legacy, while the sect’s leaders prepared the requested items under the pressure of his presence.

• Chen Mu returned from the depths of the Outer Sea at immense speed, and demons and martial experts across the sea region sensed his overwhelming aura.
• Xia Wenyue recognized Chen Mu’s Qiankun aura and concluded that he had entered the Blood Exchange Realm, marveling at his unrestrained return.
• Chen Mu arrived at Listening Tide Cliff, intending to retrieve the Ocean Stabilizing Pearl and observe its martial legacy.
• Cang Ming welcomed Chen Mu, discussed Listening Tide Cliff’s founding ancestor and the cliff’s history, then invited him into the sect.
• Listening Tide Cliff’s Grandmasters and sect master grew tense when Chen Mu entered the sect’s inner territory, and the sect master ordered the requested items brought from the treasury.
• News of Chen Mu’s return and arrival at Listening Tide Cliff spread throughout the Outer Sea.

Cang Ming invited Chen Mu to Listening Tide Cliff to watch the coming Great Tide and discuss the martial way. After they compared their understanding of the tides, motion and stillness, and Qiankun, Cang Ming recognized Chen Mu’s exceptional comprehension and soul strength.

• Cang Ming welcomed Chen Mu to the Tide Watching Pavilion and explained that the centennial Great Tide would arrive in a few days.
• Cang Jun served Chen Mu and Cang Ming Sea Flower Tea, and Chen Mu praised her talent in martial arts.
• Cang Ming demonstrated the Vast Sea Tide Way and explained how it revealed the cycles and transformations of heaven and earth.
• Chen Mu answered with his Myriad Qiankun Forms and explained how motion and stillness ultimately returned to Qiankun.
• Cang Ming praised Chen Mu’s insight and judged that his entry into the Heaven-Human Level was only a matter of time.

Chen Mu and Cang Ming discussed the Divine Realm and the three Source Paths before testing their strength in a brief spar. Chen Mu overwhelmed Cang Ming with one finger, leaving Cang Ming convinced that Chen Mu ranked among the strongest in the world.

• Chen Mu and Cang Ming exchanged insights on the Divine Realm, learning that it required both a God Heart and a Divine Body.
• Cang Ming explained that the Void Dao, Path of Time, and Path of Creation were the three Source Paths, and Chen Mu shared what he knew about the Void Dao.
• Cang Ming asked Chen Mu for a spar, hoping to see how close Chen Mu's physique was to a Divine Body.
• Cang Ming struck with a finger that gathered the Power of Heaven and Earth, but Chen Mu shattered the attack with a single finger of his own.
• Cang Ming thanked Chen Mu for the instruction and recognized that Chen Mu's strength surpassed his own by a vast margin.

Cang Ming asked Chen Mu whether he had seen the path to the Divine Realm, then resolved to explore it when the Great Wilderness opened again. After Cang Ming gave Chen Mu the Ocean Stabilizing Pearl and Supreme Purity Qi, Chen Mu gathered all eight materials and forged a Qiankun Spirit Weapon in the shape of a blade.

• Cang Ming asked Chen Mu if he had seen the road to the Divine Realm, and Chen Mu said it remained ahead for all Martial Warriors to open.
• Cang Ming vowed to enter the Great Wilderness again and explore the path for those who came after him.
• Cang Ming gave Chen Mu an upper-grade Ocean Stabilizing Pearl and lower-grade Supreme Purity Qi, completing the eight materials Chen Mu needed.
• Chen Mu began forging a Qiankun Spirit Weapon at Listening Tide Cliff while Cang Jun watched the process at Cang Ming's urging.
• After two days, Chen Mu shaped the fused spiritual treasures into a blade and named it the Universe Blade.
• Chen Mu tested the Universe Blade with a slash that split the clouds and tore open a fissure in the void.

Chen Mu forged the Universe Blade and gained greatly from comprehending the once-in-a-century Great Tide at Listening Tide Cliff. He met Hua Nongyue and Hua Nongying, learned they had become Marrow Cleansing Grandmasters, and set out with them for Great Xuan to hear about its upheavals.

• Chen Mu demonstrated the Universe Blade's power, impressing Dragonwood Island Master and drawing Cang Ming's congratulations.
• Chen Mu and Cang Ming listened to the Great Tide as it crashed against Listening Tide Cliff, and Chen Mu gained over twenty thousand experience points in his Qiankun Power of Intent Realm.
• Chen Mu thanked Listening Tide Cliff and vanished, prompting Cang Ming to anticipate turmoil in Great Xuan after his departure.
• Chen Mu met Hua Nongyue and Hua Nongying on a nearby island and learned both had advanced to the Marrow Cleansing Realm.
• Chen Mu asked about changes in Great Xuan, then traveled toward it with Hua Nongyue and Hua Nongying as they began recounting the past two years' events.

Chen Mu learned that Great Xuan had divided into nine territories after Ji Xuanfei became emperor, and decided to return to Cold North before settling old grievances. Meanwhile, Ji Xuanfei learned of Chen Mu’s return and considered how to confront him.

• Hua Nongyue told Chen Mu that Ji Xuanfei had become emperor and that six kings had split away to rule separate districts, while Yuan Hong and the Six Paths Alliance controlled the remaining territories.
• Hua Nongying urged Chen Mu to unite the realm, but he said he would first return to Cold North and later settle his grievances with the Profound Mystery Pavilion, the Blood Shadow Tower, Ji Xuanfei, and others.
• News of Chen Mu’s return from the Outer Sea reached Kyoto, where Ji Xuanfei learned that Chen Mu had attained Blood Exchange and might be invincible beneath heaven.
• The Profound Mystery Pavilion Master advised Ji Xuanfei to write Chen Mu a letter and turn their old hostility into peace.

Chen Mu returned from the Outer Sea to the Seven Mysteries Sect, reunited with Xu Hongyu and met his young daughter, Chen Yao. After hearing what had happened during his absence, he prepared to settle old grudges in Zhong Province.

• Ji Xuanfei decided that the Great Xuan Court should avoid making an enemy of Chen Mu while he consolidated his power.
• Chen Mu returned to Jade Province and entered the Seven Mysteries Sect unnoticed, then briefly glimpsed the Path of Time before the insight vanished.
• Chen Mu met Chen Yao, recognized her as his daughter, and carried her to see Xu Hongyu.
• Qin Mengjun sensed Chen Mu's powerful Blood Exchange aura through the Heaven and Earth Locking Dragon Formation, and news of his return spread through Cold North.
• Chen Mu spent two days hearing Xu Hongyu, Chen Yao, Xiao He, and the others recount the past three years, then said he would go to Zhong Province to settle old grudges.

Chen Mu remained in Cold North with Xu Hongyu and Chen Yue while news of his return spread, intending to draw his enemies together before settling old grievances. Prince Jin Ji Xuanchu learned of Chen Mu’s return and weighed whether to wait for a conflict with Ji Xuanfei or join the other princes against him.

• Xu Hongyu warned Chen Mu that Zhong Province’s court and sect powers could make an attack dangerous, while Chen Yue and Xiao He agreed that the family should stay at the Seven Mysteries Sect.
• Chen Mu said he would wait for word of his return to spread, then deal with his enemies together; he promised to instruct Chen Yue and Xu Hongyu and shared news of the Seeking Wood Spirit Liquid he had brought back.
• Several days later, reports of Chen Mu’s return reached the great powers, and Prince Jin Ji Xuanchu received a black paper crane describing Chen Mu’s return and meeting with Cang Ming.
• Ji Xuanchu judged Chen Mu to be among the world’s strongest and considered whether to let him clash with Ji Xuanfei or unite the princes against him if Chen Mu sought the Ji Family’s realm.
• Ji Xuanchu regretted that his earlier failure to support Qin Mengjun after her ambush had left him unable to use the Qin Family to draw Chen Mu to his side.

Prince Chu Ji Xuanming set aside his struggle for power and entered seclusion after realizing he could cross into the Blood Exchange Realm. Meanwhile, North Suppressing King Yuan Hong visited the Seven Mysteries Sect, where Chen Mu sensed his arrival and suspected he had come to see him.

• After hearing that Chen Mu had returned to Great Xuan, Ji Xuanming reflected on the realm’s upheaval and realized his heart had become clear enough to cross the Life and Death Barrier.
• Ji Xuanming ordered the military governors to manage East Lin during his seclusion and gave Yan Hong command of its armies, instructing her to receive Chen Mu if he came.
• Yuan Hong arrived at the Seven Mysteries Sect’s mountain gate in plain clothes, and Sect Guardian Yu Cheng recognized him as the North Suppressing King.
• Grand Elder Yin Heng welcomed Yuan Hong and led him through the Heaven and Earth Locking Dragon Formation into the sect.
• Chen Mu and Qin Mengjun sensed Yuan Hong’s arrival, and Chen Mu guessed that the North Suppressing King had come to visit him.

Chen Mu advised Chen Yue to focus on perfecting her Mountain-Water Way and gave Chen Yao a Qiankun Cube to play with. The North Suppressing King Yuan Hong arrived in plain clothes to meet Chen Mu, and Yin Heng and Qin Mengjun suspected they would discuss the great tide of the realm.

• Chen Mu advised Chen Yue to strengthen her foundation instead of pursuing more artistic conceptions beyond her abilities, and Chen Yue accepted his guidance.
• Chen Mu made Chen Yao a Qiankun Cube, which she and Chen Yue struggled to solve.
• Qin Mengjun told Chen Mu that the North Suppressing King had arrived in plain clothes, and Chen Mu went to meet Yuan Hong.
• Chen Mu and Yuan Hong exchanged greetings, then walked together through the air among the mountains.
• Yin Heng and Qin Mengjun watched them leave and speculated that Yuan Hong wanted to discuss the divided realm with Chen Mu.

Chen Mu and Yuan Hong discussed the divided realm and agreed that peace should be preserved, but Chen Mu still intended to settle his old grudges. After destroying an imperial decree and killing its messenger, Chen Mu set out for Zhong Province, beginning a journey that made the world watch and earned him the name Martial Saint.

• Yuan Hong told Chen Mu how he had followed the human path to reach Heaven and Earth United, and said he hoped the realm would flourish rather than seeking the throne.
• Yuan Hong explained that he wanted to preserve the realm's division into nine so the common people could recover, and Chen Mu agreed that the arrangement was acceptable for now.
• Chen Mu and Yuan Hong saw palace eunuch Zhao Quan heading to the Seven Mysteries Sect with an imperial decree, and Zhao Quan announced that Ji Xuanfei had made Chen Mu the hereditary North Cold King.
• Chen Mu accepted the decree, crushed it to dust, and disintegrated Zhao Quan with his power, rejecting reconciliation with Ji Xuanfei and his allies.
• Chen Mu told Qin Mengjun and Yin Heng to guard the sect, then flew toward Zhong Province to settle his old grudges.
• On the seventh month, eighth day of Great Xuan Calendar year 1439, Chen Mu left Cold North for Zhong Province, and the world began to revere him as the Martial Saint.