Chapter Summaries

Xia Manggan, Ji Ning, and the other candidates passed through the Imperial City’s Dao-heart illusion test and gathered for the Immortal Fate Assembly’s second round. After Xia Emperor sent more than two million participants into the Map of Mountains and Rivers to fight for a place among the 207 who would advance, Xia Manggan killed thirteen attackers on a mountain summit, drawing the attention of the watching immortals.

• Xia Manggan, Ji Ning, and Yu Wei passed the Imperial City gate’s illusion formation, while Daoist Cangjiang was eliminated.
• Golden Armored Imperial Guards led the surviving candidates to the plaza, where Xia Emperor announced that 2,073,485 participants had passed the first round.
• Xia Emperor explained the Battle of the Nine Cauldrons rules, including the shrinking battlefield, the nine cauldrons, and the prohibition on using outside treasures and techniques.
• The participants refined their Letter Talismans and were drawn into the Map of Mountains and Rivers as the assembled immortals began watching them.
• Xia Manggan climbed a mountain summit, where he killed thirteen Wanxiang Daoists who had joined forces to attack him and collected their Letter Talismans and treasures.
• True Immortals and Celestial Gods in Tianmang Palace noticed Xia Manggan’s swift victory and began paying attention to him.

At the Immortal Fate Assembly, Xia Manggan caught the attention of powerful Buddhist and Daoist leaders who might become his master, while the organizers prepared for Wujian Sect agents to infiltrate the trials. Inside the Map of Mountains and Rivers, Xia Manggan swiftly killed six contestants and chose to wait as the competition gradually intensified.

• Dao Ancestor Yinglong praised the Immortal Fate Assembly, and Dao Ancestor Chiming promised a reward to the Xia Emperor.
• The Xia Emperor hoped Xia Manggan would impress Jieyin Buddha or Celestial Venerable Wenshi and become one of their disciples.
• Xia Manggan surveyed the Map of Mountains and Rivers, found six unfamiliar Wanxiang Daoists fighting, and killed them with his Flash Step.
• Xia Manggan collected the fallen contestants’ treasures, burned their bodies, and settled down to wait for the trial area to shrink.
• Dao Ancestor Youxiong and Dao Ancestor Chiming discussed the gradual escalation of the trials and the risk of Wujian Sect agents, while Celestial Venerable Wenshi watched Xia Manggan.

True Person Sloppy reunited with Su Xuewei during the Immortal Fate Assembly and reluctantly accepted her as his traveling companion. After the Map of Mountains and Rivers shrank, Xia Manggan began fighting other contestants to temper his techniques, hoping to break through his cultivation bottleneck before the trial ended.

• True Person Sloppy tried to flee from Su Xuewei, but she caught up, joined him aboard his treasure ship, and shared a meal with him.
• Jiu Lian explained that Su Xuewei came from the Twenty-Seven Worlds of Fuji and was the daughter of two Sword Sect Heavenly Immortals.
• As the one-month deadline approached, the Map of Mountains and Rivers shrank and transported contestants from its outer regions into a smaller area.
• Xia Manggan surveyed his new surroundings, sensed 761 people nearby, and approached Monk Longshan to test his palm techniques.
• Xia Manggan fought Monk Longshan while deliberately reducing his power, using the battle to temper his techniques and pursue a breakthrough.

Xia Manggan defeated Monk Longshan, then fought off more than twenty Wanxiang Daoists with two flesh-and-blood clones and powerful lotus, pagoda, and bell techniques. His secret arts puzzled the watching immortals, while Great Emperor Xuanwu and Celestial Venerable Wenshi discussed their interest in another contestant.

• Monk Longshan used his six-armed Mount Sumeru Palms and golden bowl against Xia Manggan, but Xia Manggan overwhelmed him and forced him to concede before the bowl could trap him.
• More than twenty Wanxiang Daoists ambushed Xia Manggan, and he split into two flesh-and-blood clones to fight them.
• Xia Manggan killed several attackers, then used the Taiyu Pagoda and Cosmos Extreme Bell to slow and confine the rest before eliminating them and collecting their treasures and Letter Talismans.
• Xia Mang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu watched from a nearby mountain and recognized that Xia Manggan’s strength made him a dangerous opponent.
• The True Immortal Celestial Gods speculated that the Xia Emperor had taught Xia Manggan his secret arts, while the emperor privately wondered if they came from a Chaos Alien Race inheritance.
• Celestial Venerable Wenshi and Great Emperor Xuanwu discussed the contestants they favored and the wider interest in Xia Manggan’s secret arts.

Xia Manggan relentlessly fought through the Map of Mountains and Rivers, using battle to improve his understanding of Martial Dao while sparing Great Xia geniuses. When the Nine Cauldrons emerged and the trial entered its final stage, he unleashed his full strength to clear a path toward a cauldron.

• Xia Manggan continued killing non-Great Xia opponents and sparing Great Xia geniuses, raising his Fortune Value and Merit Points as he fought without rest.
• The spectators praised Xia Manggan’s effort and mercy while the Xia Emperor watched other powerful contestants emerge as the surviving numbers dwindled.
• Nine Mountain and River Cauldrons appeared once about one hundred thousand Wanxiang Daoists remained, and a voice announced that staying beneath a cauldron for ten breaths would allow someone to refine it and pass.
• Xia Manggan reached a cauldron where True Immortal Heishi was driven out of its light pillar just short of refining it, while other contestants waited for safer chances to collect Letter Talismans.
• Xia Manggan charged into the crowded pillar, transformed into a giant with Three Heads and Six Arms, and swept opponents aside before splitting into two figures and disrupting the remaining fighters with redirected attacks.

Xia Manggan developed the first two forms of his self-created Martial Dao while fighting in the golden pillar, then faced Yantai Cunxue, Huan Wushang, and Wanxiang Daoists carrying Thunder Beads. He passed the trial by completing his Space-Time form, but the Xia Emperor watched the painting with fury.

• After months of battle, Xia Manggan formed the Samsara form and used it to defeat groups of Wanxiang Daoists.
• Xia Manggan developed the Space-Time form’s prototype, while observers in Tianmang Palace praised his talent and anticipated the arrival of stronger challengers.
• Yantai Cunxue broke through Xia Manggan’s spatial confinement and fought his avatar, while Huan Wushang cut through the confinement and attacked with three other Wanxiang Daoists.
• Several Wanxiang Daoists detonated Thunder Beads, forcing Xia Manggan to destroy one avatar and return to his true body; Yantai Cunxue escaped the pillar.
• When three more Wanxiang Daoists detonated Thunder Beads at close range, Xia Manggan completed Space-Time and stopped them before their magic treasures exploded near him.
• The Xia Emperor announced that Xia Manggan had passed the trial, then watched the painting with a grave expression and fury.

Xia Manggan learned that Wujian Sect death warriors had attacked the Immortal Fate Assembly and joined the other Mountain and River Cauldron winners. The twenty finalists paid respects to the Dao Ancestors and learned the upcoming duels would decide who advanced toward the rewards and a chance to become a Dao Ancestor’s disciple.

• The Xia Emperor explained that Wujian Sect death warriors had detonated Thunder Beads inside their divine bodies, and Xia Manggan confirmed he had formed a prototype of his Martial Dao Second Form.
• True Immortal Muchuan, True Person Sloppy, Ji Ning, and the other cauldron winners arrived; True Person Sloppy mourned Su Xuewei, while Ji Ning explained that Yu Wei had withdrawn after facing Shenhuo Chengtian.
• The black-robed Xia Emperor divided the 198 remaining contestants into eleven groups, and each group fought until one survivor remained.
• The White-Faced Elder led the twenty finalists into Tianmang Palace, where they paid respects to the seven Dao Ancestors.
• The black-robed Xia Emperor gave the nine cauldron winners Protective Dao Talismans and outlined the duels, prizes, and chance for a Dao Ancestor to choose a disciple.

Xia Manggan and the other finalists recovered before the arena matches began, while Cangwu Jiu defeated Mi Feng’s confidence with an overwhelming display of speed only to lose the first match. True Person Sloppy then entered the arena to face Zhuanxu Chonglou, determined to honor the person who had sacrificed herself for his chance.

• Xia Manggan and the other finalists drank the immortal brew and spent the day recovering and comprehending the Dao.
• Cangwu Patriarch mocked Celestial Immortal Xuanji, who decided to consider an offer from a mysterious force that promised to help him kill Ji Ning.
• The Xia Emperor began the arena matches, and Cangwu Jiu faced Mi Feng in the first battle.
• Mi Feng outsped Cangwu Jiu, disarmed him, and accepted his surrender without killing him.
• True Person Sloppy entered the arena to fight Zhuanxu Chonglou, resolving to reach the end of the matches and become a Dao Ancestor’s disciple.

True Person Sloppy defeated Zhuanxu Chonglou, and True Immortal Muchuan beat Monk Dadian by revealing mastery of three Great Daos. As Xia Manggan prepared to fight Xu Wuyun, Dao Ancestor Ji Dian suddenly arrived, prompting Celestial Venerable Wenshi to suspect a connection between Ji Dian and Xia Manggan’s Space-Time secret art.

• True Person Sloppy defeated Zhuanxu Chonglou with the Great Black Tortoise Divine Ability, and Zhuanxu Chonglou conceded.
• Great Emperor Xuanwu revealed that he had given True Person Sloppy the Great Black Tortoise Divine Ability, while Dao Ancestor Chiming and Jieyin Buddha discussed the upcoming match between True Immortal Muchuan and Monk Dadian.
• True Immortal Muchuan revealed that he had grasped the Great Dao of Wither and Flourish in addition to the Great Daos of Azure Wood and Source Water, then forced Monk Dadian to concede.
• Monk Dadian noticed a gaunt old man who resembled someone from his dream, then left the arena after his defeat.
• As Xia Manggan’s match against Xu Wuyun was announced, Dao Ancestor Ji Dian appeared and said he had come for wine and meat.
• Celestial Venerable Wenshi wondered whether Xia Manggan’s Space-Time secret art had been passed down by Ji Dian.

Xia Manggan defeated Xu Wuyun and used the battle to clarify his future path of fusing the Great Daos through Infinity. The first round ended with Ji Ning and eight others advancing, and the second round would determine the top five.

• Xia Manggan defeated Xu Wuyun after a prolonged fight, then sat down to comprehend the Great Dao of Infinity.
• Xia Manggan realized that Infinity could serve as the source from which his other Daos arose and guide his future cultivation.
• Gaoyang Chen defeated Xia Mang Zishan, while Ji Ning defeated Daoist Ziwei Jiang Tianqi with his eighth sword form.
• Shenhuo Chengtian revealed nine Fire Path Lesser Daos and defeated Yantai Cunxue in the final first-round match.
• The Xia Emperor announced that Mi Feng, True Person Sloppy, True Immortal Muchuan, Xia Manggan, Gaoyang Chen, Ji Ning, Xia Ling, Huan Wushang, True Immortal Jiusi, and Shenhuo Chengtian advanced to the second round.

Ji Ning defeated Huan Wushang with the Three-Foot Sword’s Immortal and Demon stance, while Lu Dongbin lamented that Ji Ning’s sword art might lead him astray. Great Emperor Xuanwu took True Person Sloppy as his disciple, and the chapter ended with Xia Manggan facing Xia Ling’s hidden attack.

• Ji Ning overwhelmed Huan Wushang with his six swords and won their arena match after Huan Wushang conceded.
• Lu Dongbin praised Ji Ning’s potential but regretted that his current sword art was unsuited to him.
• Mi Feng, Shenhuo Chengtian, and True Immortal Muchuan won their matches in the second round.
• Great Emperor Xuanwu revealed that he had long favored True Person Sloppy and accepted him as his disciple.
• Xia Manggan warned Xia Ling about his dangerous Taiyin Great Dao before they began their match.
• Xia Ling transformed, summoned a full moon, and disappeared into Shadow Space as Xia Manggan guarded against his attack.

Xia Manggan killed Xia Ling and advanced through the Immortal Fate Assembly, while the five finalists began their round-robin matches. Ji Ning and Xia Manggan won their second-round bouts, and Ji Dian revealed that Bodhi wanted a finalist to become his junior apprentice-brother.

• Xia Manggan shattered Xia Ling’s Witch Gu secret art, defeated him, and annihilated his body and divine soul when Xia Ling tried to concede.
• Dao Ancestor Chiming announced that he and an old friend would each choose a disciple, and the five finalists began their round-robin battles.
• Ji Ning defeated True Immortal Muchuan, while Shenhuo Chengtian used a fused heavenly-fire secret art to force Mi Feng to concede.
• Xia Manggan defeated True Immortal Muchuan by freezing space-time and crushing his forest world with a barrage of fists.
• Ji Dian told Dao Ancestor Chiming that Bodhi wanted him to bring one finalist back as his junior apprentice-brother.

The Dao Ancestors discussed taking Ji Ning and other promising contestants as disciples while the Immortal Fate Assembly concluded with Xia Manggan winning first place. Ji Ning learned that Patriarch Bodhi intended to claim him, but Jieyin Buddha also declared an interest in another contestant before the chapter left the contestants heading to choose divine abilities.

• Ji Dian told the Dao Ancestors that Patriarch Bodhi wanted Ji Ning as a disciple because of his connection to Sanshou, and they agreed not to choose Ji Ning themselves.
• Dao Ancestor Chiming selected True Immortal Muchuan as his favored disciple, while Celestial Venerable Wenshi revealed that Xia Manggan had found one of his Nine Scrolls of Guanyinzi and was his chosen disciple.
• Jieyin Buddha interrupted the discussion and said that another child was fated with his Buddhist Sect.
• Ji Ning conceded to Xia Manggan, who had won all four matches and took first place in the Immortal Fate Assembly.
• The Xia Emperor sent Xia Manggan and the other top contestants to choose divine abilities from the Great Xia Treasury, promising they would learn the Dao Ancestors’ decisions afterward.

Xia Manggan learned that Celestial Venerable Wenshi and Buddha Jueming would accept him as a disciple, allowing him to cultivate in both Daoist and Buddhist lineages. Su Xuewei reunited with True Person Sloppy and became Lu Dongbin’s disciple, while the other contestants returned to the hall to hear Xia Manggan’s news.

• The Black-White Academy celebrated Prince Gan’s victory and Ji Ning’s fourth-place finish at the Immortal Fate Assembly.
• Green-Robed Xia Manggan brought Su Xuewei to the gathering, where he revealed that True Person Sloppy had become Great Emperor Xuanwu’s disciple.
• The Xia Emperor told Green-Robed Xia Manggan that Celestial Venerable Wenshi and Buddha Jueming had agreed to accept him as their disciple.
• Lu Dongbin invited Su Xuewei to become his disciple, and she accepted after learning she could meet True Person Sloppy in the Heavenly Realm.
• Green-Robed Xia Manggan paid his respects to Celestial Venerable Wenshi, who assigned his Second Primordial Spirit to the Dao Palace and his true self to Mount Ling.
• Ji Ning and the other contestants entered the hall and heard that Xia Manggan had been accepted by masters from both the Daoist and Buddhist Sects.

At the Immortal Fate Assembly, Dao Ancestor Chiming chose Muchuan and True God Xuanyang chose Mi Feng, leaving Ji Ning disappointed but resolved to rely on his own cultivation. After the assembly ended, Ji Dian took Xia Manggan’s Golden Crow Avatar to Fangcun Mountain so Patriarch Bodhi could accept him as a disciple, leaving all three of Xia Manggan’s avatars away from the Great Xia World.

• Dao Ancestor Chiming accepted True Immortal Muchuan as his disciple, while True God Xuanyang accepted Mi Feng, and Ji Ning was not chosen.
• Ji Ning overcame his disappointment, congratulated Muchuan and Mi Feng, and resolved to forge his own path using Daoist Sanshou’s inheritance and the Water Mansion.
• The Dao Ancestors and assembly participants departed, and Xia Manggan’s Golden Crow Avatar left Ganwang Island to return to the Royal Capital.
• Ji Dian appeared with Ji Ning and Monk Dadian, told Xia Manggan that Patriarch Bodhi wanted him as a disciple, and took him through a spatial passage to Fangcun Mountain.
• Xia Manggan worried that his three avatars were now scattered outside the Great Xia World and planned to send word through his Second Primordial Spirit.

Xia Manggan arrived at Kongming Peak and became Buddha Jueming’s disciple, learning that his master had isolated the peak from the Heavenly Dao to teach him the Dao Origin. Jueming gave Xia Manggan a powerful mace inheritance and access to the Buddha Pagoda, while privately fearing that an impending calamity would soon force him to leave the Three Realms.

• Jieyin Buddha brought Xia Manggan to Kongming Peak and explained Jueming’s rise to power after surviving the Moonlit Pool.
• Jinbo and Muyu welcomed Xia Manggan and guided him through the formation that blocked the Dao and Heaven and Earth essence across the peak.
• Xia Manggan entered the temple, paid respects to Jueming, and heard his explanation of cultivating the power of the Dao Origin.
• Jueming passed Xia Manggan the Snow Demon Mace Technique, which advanced his understanding of the Great Daos of Infinity and Taiji.
• Jueming gave Xia Manggan a token for the Buddha Pagoda and set conditions for entering it, then told him to train until he could pass its fifth floor.
• After Xia Manggan left, Jueming said the coming calamity might force him to break through and leave the Three Realms within a thousand years.

Xia Manggan settled at Buddha Jueming’s temple and began training to strengthen his divine body, while his Golden Crow Avatar arrived at Fangcun Mountain with Ji Ning. There, they met the mysterious Woodcutter, Patriarch Bodhi’s eldest disciple, whom Xia Manggan recognized as the Great God Houyi.

• Xia Manggan placed his Portable Immortal Mansion in the temple’s rear courtyard and learned that the Demon Suppression Pagoda held six True Immortal Celestial God Asura Demon Kings.
• Muyu gave Xia Manggan the latter half of the Vairocana Corpse Body cultivation art, and Xia Manggan shut himself inside his mansion to cultivate.
• Xia Manggan began drawing True Lunar Water and True Sun Fire to break through the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map and strengthen his body.
• Ji Dian brought Xia Manggan, Ji Ning, and Monk Dadian to Fangcun Mountain, where Xia Manggan and Ji Ning continued toward Patriarch Bodhi’s temple.
• Xia Manggan and Ji Ning met the Woodcutter, who introduced himself as Patriarch Bodhi’s eldest disciple, and Xia Manggan recognized him as Great God Houyi.

Xia Manggan waited at Fangcun Mountain to meet Patriarch Bodhi and hoped to learn the Houyi Archery Technique so he could master Heart Force. After Ji Ning met the Patriarch, Xia Manggan was summoned inside, where Patriarch Bodhi immediately asked about his Time Secret Art and Universe Secret Art.

• Ji Ning arrived at Fangcun Mountain with Yu Wei and his spirit beasts, then entered Patriarch Bodhi's temple to acknowledge him as master.
• Xia Manggan revealed that he had also come to acknowledge a master, startling Yu Wei, White Water Marsh, the Kongqing Snake, and the temple attendants with the possibility that his three avatars served three Dao Ancestors.
• Heavenly God Golden Crow arrived and asked Xia Manggan to let him meet Patriarch Bodhi first because his true body was being pursued by the Three Demon Gods of Swallowing Dragon Mountain.
• Patriarch Bodhi called to Heavenly God Golden Crow and gave him a way to escape the Heavenly Realm, then Ji Ning came out and told Xia Manggan to enter.
• Patriarch Bodhi asked Xia Manggan where he had learned his Time Secret Art and Universe Secret Art.

Xia Manggan became Patriarch Bodhi’s registered disciple and, after experiencing the complete Dao of Space-Time, made a breakthrough in the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. He began exploring Fangcun Mountain and saw Ji Ning lose to a Puppet in the Battle Arena.

• Xia Manggan told Patriarch Bodhi that he learned his Space-Time secret arts from the Cosmos chapter of the Supreme Fist Sutra, and Bodhi accepted him as a registered disciple, promising to make him a personal disciple after he became a Heavenly Immortal.
• Patriarch Bodhi used A Dream of a Thousand Years to let Xia Manggan experience the Dao of Space-Time, and Xia Manggan saw its evolution from a singularity and awakened able to perform Void Great Teleportation.
• Patriarch Bodhi said Xia Manggan’s Great Dao of Heaven and Earth was close to major completion, warned him that his tribulations would be exceptionally dangerous, and directed him to study Fangcun Mountain’s Dao Palaces.
• Heavenly God Golden Crow showed Xia Manggan around Fangcun Mountain and explained that the Immortal Palace’s higher-level methods could be earned by defeating its Puppets, while the Three Realms Palace required special permission.
• Xia Manggan and Heavenly God Golden Crow went to watch Ji Ning challenge a Puppet, but Ji Ning was swiftly thrown across the Battle Arena and crashed into its restriction.

Ji Ning recovered from his one-move defeat by an Eighth-Rank Puppet and won narrowly against a Seventh-Rank Puppet, earning access to the Immortal Palace’s seventh floor. Xia Manggan then arrived and announced that he would challenge the strongest Ninth-Rank Puppet, leaving the gathered immortals and fiends stunned and doubtful.

• Celestial God Yinyue apologized for matching Ji Ning with an Eighth-Rank Puppet, and Ji Ning chose to challenge a Seventh-Rank Puppet instead.
• Ji Ning fought the Seventh-Rank Puppet, improved under its pressure, and won by piercing its chest with a streak of sword-light.
• Heavenly God Golden Crow brought Xia Manggan to meet Yinyue, who announced that Xia Manggan was also Patriarch Bodhi’s newly accepted disciple.
• Yinyue explained the five broad levels of Heavenly Immortal strength and how the Immortal Palace’s Seventh-, Eighth-, and Ninth-Rank Puppets corresponded to them.
• Xia Manggan declared that he would challenge a Ninth-Rank Puppet, and the surrounding disciples reacted with disbelief.