Chapter Summaries

Ye Lin learned that the Path of Invincibility grew stronger by gathering believers’ faith and defeating chosen prodigies, but a single defeat could destroy him and draw every major power against him. He chose the path and recognized that Poison Venerable could advance by bringing all living beings under the influence of poison.

• Ye Lin learned that the Path of Invincibility could gather faith and fortune, but required unbroken victories and would eventually provoke the Star River Cosmos’s major powers.
• Ye Lin decided that the tyrannical, invincible path suited him better than hiding in the shadows.
• Poison Venerable asked whether they were heading to the Hundred Cities Alliance, and Ye Lin questioned him about using poison to control all living beings.
• Ye Lin recalled a predecessor who had nearly controlled half the Star River Cosmos through poison before the top powers and Heavenly Dao joined forces to destroy him.
• Poison Venerable was startled that Ye Lin knew about the poison Dao and asked whether Ye Lin cultivated it too.

Ye Lin revealed the Poison Dao’s secret method to Poison Venerable and proposed fighting openly instead of fleeing. As they traveled toward Dragonhead City, Ye Lin waited for their pursuers to gather, and three old men confronted him.

• Ye Lin explained that the Poison Dao’s ultimate method involved enslaving and sacrificing living beings, then urged Poison Venerable to kill their way forward rather than keep running.
• Ye Lin and Poison Venerable traveled openly through the Central Domain, drawing whispers from onlookers who noted that Divine Mountain’s Grand Elder was waiting in Dragonhead City.
• Three old men emerged before Ye Lin and accused him of arrogance for flaunting himself while dozens of factions hunted him.
• Ye Lin asked the three old men for their names while sensing auras gathering around them, revealing that he had been waiting for more pursuers to arrive.

Ye Lin faced three elders of Divine Mountain after killing their prodigy, mocking them before the gathered onlookers. The elders revealed their True Immortal auras as other factions watched and plotted to seize Divine Mountain’s assets if its leaders fell.

• Ye Lin tightened his mask and decided to keep his identity hidden as more living beings gathered to watch.
• A Divine Mountain elder accused Ye Lin of killing their heir and threatened him, while Ye Lin pretended not to remember the prodigy.
• The three elders erupted with their auras, revealing that two were early-stage True Immortals and one was a late-stage True Immortal.
• Onlookers discussed Divine Mountain’s Grand Elder and Poison Venerable, while a young man ordered his attendant to alert their clan and prepare to claim Divine Mountain’s territory.
• One of the elders vowed to make Ye Lin regret being born.

Ye Lin defeated three True Immortal elders who attacked him, then asked Poison Venerable to handle what remained. He intended to make Poison Venerable his ally and build a faction to support his Path of Invincibility.

• An old True Immortal elder attacked Ye Lin while spatial forces trapped him, but Ye Lin stopped time and tore off the elder’s arm.
• Ye Lin used Great Sun Descends into the Abyss to smash two early True Immortal elders out of hiding and slam them into the ground.
• Ye Lin used Heavenly Heart Art to incapacitate the late True Immortal elder, leaving all three elders defeated.
• Ye Lin told Poison Venerable to take care of the rest while planning to bring him into his faction as a gifted aide.

Ye Lin and Poison Venerable left the defeated Divine Mountain elders behind after Poison Venerable secretly took control of their lives with Parasitic Poison. As they headed toward the Hundred Cities Alliance, Ye Lin hinted that Poison Venerable resembled a legendary poison cultivator, while Poison Venerable wondered why so many True Immortals had appeared.

• Poison Venerable implanted Parasitic Poison in Divine Mountain’s three fallen elders, making their lives and deaths subject to his will.
• Ye Lin left alone for the Hundred Cities Alliance while Poison Venerable pondered his motives and followed.
• Bystanders discussed how Blood Baleful had crippled Divine Mountain’s three True Immortal trump cards in two moves.
• Poison Venerable explained that he would leave the poisoned elders behind until he needed them to sacrifice themselves.
• Ye Lin told Poison Venerable that he resembled a true great power, recalling a legendary poison cultivator who had surpassed Da Luo in combat strength.
• Poison Venerable complained that he had encountered and killed an unusually large number of True Immortals during his journey.

Ye Lin and Poison Venerable approached Dragonhead City after defeating the cultivators who tried to stop them, while a coalition of factions prepared an ambush. Jian Unrivaled waited at the city with his junior sister, expecting the two to arrive.

• Ye Lin learned from Ye Lin that the many True Immortals in the Central Domain were normal for the Demon Domain’s heartland.
• Over three days, Ye Lin and Blood Baleful defeated several challengers, and their names spread throughout the Hundred Cities Alliance.
• Ye Lin wondered where Luo Yao had gone after she slipped away to have fun, but trusted that others could not detect her mysterious trait.
• Poison Venerable warned Ye Lin that more than ten factions had set an ambush ahead, including several peak True Immortals.
• Jian Unrivaled waited near Dragonhead City with his junior sister, telling her not to underestimate Ye Lin and Poison Venerable.

Ye Lin agreed to become a registered disciple of Divine Mountain at the request of its Grand Elder, after the Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar advised him to accept. The Grand Elder placed all of Divine Mountain’s disciples and elders under Ye Lin’s command.

• Jian Unrivaled hoped Ye Lin and Poison Venerable would help him break through his Sword Dao.
• Divine Mountain’s Grand Elder stopped Ye Lin and Poison Venerable as they approached Dragonhead City.
• The Grand Elder explained that Ye Lin had cut Divine Mountain’s destiny in half and asked him to become a registered disciple.
• The Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar advised Ye Lin to accept, and Ye Lin agreed.
• The Grand Elder welcomed Ye Lin as a registered disciple and put Divine Mountain’s disciples and elders under his command.

Li Tian left after welcoming Ye Lin into Divine Mountain, and Ye Lin’s providence grew stronger through the affiliation. Several powerful young cultivators then appeared to challenge him or seek justice, as the old generation acknowledged that the new age belonged to the young.

• Li Tian told Ye Lin that Divine Mountain would stand behind him, introduced himself, and departed.
• Ye Lin sensed that Divine Mountain’s providence had been placed upon him and would rise or fall with his fortunes.
• Lion appeared before Ye Lin with twin blades and declared that he had come to face him.
• Xu Xing arrived in a white jade chair and said he had come to seek justice for his younger brother.
• Xuan Yu appeared on a path of peach blossoms and bowed to Ye Lin, saying she had come to seek his guidance.
• The elder who had teased Li Tian left, reflecting that the great age belonged to the young.

Ye Lin and Poison Venerable faced three True Immortals guarding the way into Dragon Head Mountain. Ye Lin broke free of Xuan Yu’s peach-blossom attack and destroyed the petals, leaving their duel ongoing.

• Ye Lin questioned why only Xu Xing, Xuan Yu, and Lion stood in his way, and Xu Xing dismissed the others hiding nearby as unthreatening.
• Lion challenged Ye Lin to pass their trial, but Poison Venerable intervened and fought Lion and Xu Xing.
• Xuan Yu approached Ye Lin as the two other battles unleashed destructive waves of force.
• Ye Lin summoned the Great Sun, but Xuan Yu revealed that peach blossoms had already wrapped around him.
• Xuan Yu summoned a towering peach tree and unleashed endless deadly petals, but Ye Lin walked out of them and shattered the petals with the Great Sun.

Ye Lin fought Xuan Yu, whose peach-blossom technique nearly deceived him before he countered with his great sun. After breaking through her defenses, he made the descending sun vanish just before it struck her, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Xuan Yu surrounded Ye Lin with peach blossoms and unleashed a killing move that briefly beguiled him.
• Ye Lin protected himself with a great sun and emerged disheveled but unharmed.
• Ye Lin launched his great sun at Xuan Yu, who used a peach tree phantom to defend herself.
• Ye Lin shattered Xuan Yu's peach-petal barrier, causing her pain as blazing suns shone through its cracks.
• Ye Lin's great sun vanished just before it could strike Xuan Yu.

Ye Lin and Poison Venerable survived the attack on Xuan Yu, subdued Xu Xing and Lion with Poison Venerable’s poison bell, and continued to Dragonhead City. There they met Jian Unrivaled, exchanged cups of wine charged with sword Dao essence, and Ye Lin returned his cup with a powerful destruction sword Dao essence.

• Xuan Yu realized she had survived as Poison Venerable’s attack knocked Xu Xing and Lion to the ground.
• Poison Venerable afflicted Xu Xing and Lion with his poison bell, then walked toward Ye Lin.
• Xuan Yu thanked Ye Lin and left, while Ye Lin called into the canyon and then continued toward Dragonhead City with Poison Venerable.
• Hidden men decided not to stop Ye Lin and Poison Venerable, calling them the second and third Jian Unrivaled, and withdrew.
• Jian Unrivaled welcomed Ye Lin and Poison Venerable with wine carrying terrifying sword Dao essence, which Ye Lin drank and Poison Venerable caught.
• Ye Lin thanked Jian Unrivaled and flung his cup back, infusing it with destruction sword Dao essence.

Jian Unrivaled tested Ye Lin and Poison Venerable with deadly wine cups, then shared his prized wine with them as cultivators gathered to watch their challenge. After the wine ran low, Jian Unrivaled asked which of the two would fight him first.

• Jian Unrivaled sent a wine cup carrying destructive sword intent toward Ye Lin, who dispelled the intent with Sword Qi and caught the cup.
• Jian Unrivaled sent Poison Venerable a cup filled with monstrous poison, and Poison Venerable caught it before reversing its effects.
• Jian Unrivaled opened a rare wine jar, and Ye Lin and Poison Venerable joined him for a drink atop the city gate.
• Jian Unrivaled asked Ye Lin to reveal his face, but Ye Lin said he stayed guarded while traveling abroad.
• Cultivators gathered to watch Jian Unrivaled, Ye Lin, and Poison Venerable, anticipating a battle and discussion of the Dao.
• Jian Unrivaled sealed away his nearly empty wine jar and asked Ye Lin and Poison Venerable who would fight him first.

Poison Venerable challenged Jian Unrivaled to a duel, and the two began exchanging attacks before an audience that included Blood Baleful. Jian Unrivaled’s sword techniques overwhelmed Poison Venerable’s opening moves, leaving Poison Venerable wary of his strength.

• Poison Venerable stepped forward to fight Jian Unrivaled, and they moved a hundred li away to face each other.
• Jian Unrivaled used his sword art to annihilate Poison Venerable’s many figures and cleave a huge ravine into the earth.
• Poison Venerable appeared behind Jian Unrivaled and struck, but his palm passed through an afterimage.
• Jian Unrivaled appeared behind Poison Venerable and slashed; Poison Venerable dodged, while the sword light destroyed a distant mountain.
• Poison Venerable recognized Jian Unrivaled’s terrifying strength after their brief exchange.

Poison Venerable and Jian Unrivaled fought as Jian Unrivaled used the power of heaven and earth to overwhelm him. Poison Venerable transformed through the Poison Dao and shattered Jian Unrivaled’s Sword Qi, leaving Jian Unrivaled thrilled to face a worthy opponent.

• Jian Unrivaled controlled the power of heaven and earth, trapping Poison Venerable and crushing his green-mist beasts with Sword Qi.
• Jian Unrivaled unleashed immense Sword Qi, and Poison Venerable praised his mastery of the sword path but said he still fell short.
• Poison Venerable drew life force from the withering trees and used his body to enter the Poison Dao.
• Poison Venerable’s poisonous radiance shattered Jian Unrivaled’s incoming Sword Qi.
• Jian Unrivaled declared that Poison Venerable had earned his serious attention and rejoiced at meeting a true opponent.

Onlookers explained how Poison Venerable had entered the Poison Dao with his body and touched the power of laws, putting him ahead of Jian Unrivaled in their battle. Ye Lin listened and concluded that entering the Dao with one’s body was a higher form of battle consciousness, not comprehension of laws.

• Spectators said Poison Venerable’s mastery of entering the Dao with his body made the duel’s outcome uncertain.
• A cultivator explained that exceptional True Immortals could touch a trace of law power by deeply comprehending their own Dao.
• The crowd learned that Poison Venerable had reached this state while Jian Unrivaled had not fully entered the realm of unity with the sword.
• Ye Lin reflected on entering the Dao with one’s body and judged it to be advanced Dao comprehension rather than mastery of laws.

Ye Lin realized that entering the Dao with one’s body meant approaching the Dao through combat awareness, not comprehending laws, and suspected Poison Venerable had inherited the ancient Poison Venerable’s legacy. During their duel, Jian Unrivaled used Poison Venerable to temper his sword and finally entered the Dao with his body, leaving Poison Venerable convinced he could no longer match him.

• The Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar explained to Ye Lin that entering the Dao with one’s body was a state of combat awareness rather than mastery of laws.
• Ye Lin suspected Poison Venerable had inherited the ancient Poison Venerable’s legacy and resolved to investigate him.
• Poison Venerable turned the battle around and pressed Jian Unrivaled, who used the fight to hone his Sword Dao.
• Poison Venerable recognized Jian Unrivaled’s attempt to enter the Dao and intensified his attacks, but Jian Unrivaled continued to draw closer to the threshold.
• Jian Unrivaled entered the Dao with his body, thanked Poison Venerable, and declared that all things were swords while he himself was both the sword and not the sword.

Jian Unrivaled defeated Poison Venerable in a spar by using Moon Rises Over the Sea, while Ye Lin watched from the city wall. After Poison Venerable departed, Jian Unrivaled called out to Ye Lin.

• Jian Unrivaled used Moon Rises Over the Sea, and Poison Venerable countered with Ten Thousand Poisons Devour the Heart.
• The immense force of their techniques drove the watching cultivators to flee, while Ye Lin observed from the city wall.
• Jian Unrivaled severed the venom dragon with a single motion, and Poison Venerable admitted defeat.
• Poison Venerable thanked Jian Unrivaled for showing mercy and departed, keeping his unused trump card secret.
• Jian Unrivaled turned toward Ye Lin and asked why he still had not come over.

After Poison Venerable fought Jian Unrivaled, Ye Lin arranged to face Jian Unrivaled three days later. Ye Lin examined Poison Venerable’s panel and wondered whether Transcendence Da Luo was the highest realm before Dragonhead City filled with gathered geniuses.

• Ye Lin declined to fight Jian Unrivaled while Jian Unrivaled’s immortal power was unstable, and they agreed to battle three days later.
• Jian Unrivaled secretly felt relieved, while spectators regretted that the fight had not happened and stayed in Dragonhead City for the rematch.
• Poison Venerable told Ye Lin that he had not fought Jian Unrivaled with all his strength and praised Jian Unrivaled’s talent and comprehension.
• Ye Lin read Poison Venerable’s panel and wondered why the recorded futures ended at Transcendence Da Luo.
• Poison Venerable asked whether Ye Lin was confident about the coming battle, and Ye Lin replied that he would find out by trying.
• Three days passed, and geniuses from across the Hundred Cities Alliance gathered in Dragonhead City.

As the great age began and fortune gathered in Dragonhead City, Jian Unrivaled prepared to face Ye Lin in a battle that could bring the winner the first thread of fortune. The Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar explained the coming struggle for fortune and the Paths of Transcendence, while Ye Lin recognized the scale of the challenges ahead.

• Jian Unrivaled watched golden fortune gather over Dragonhead City and prepared to fight Ye Lin for a chance to advance.
• Ye Lin opened his eyes in the inn as the Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar told him that winning would earn the first thread of fortune.
• The Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar explained that the great age would strengthen spiritual energy and Immortal Qi, bring forth ancient powers and prodigies, and send down three Paths of Transcendence.
• The Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar reminded Ye Lin that he needed to build his strength step by step before contending with the descendants of ancient powers.
• Ye Lin listened and acknowledged the formidable opponents he would face.

Ye Lin learned how contenders sought Transcendence Da Luo before meeting Jian Unrivaled at the center of Dragonhead City. With a crowd gathered, Ye Lin agreed to begin their long-awaited battle.

• The Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar explained that candidates needed immense fortune and had to fight their way along the Path of Transcendence to compete for one of three places in each great era.
• Ye Lin reached Dragonhead City's central plaza and saw a hundred-zhang statue of Jian Unrivaled surrounded by stone swords.
• Jian Unrivaled arrived, stood on his statue's shoulder, and faced Ye Lin as prodigies from major clans gathered to watch.
• Ye Lin agreed to start the fight and stamped his right foot against the ground, spreading a blood-red pattern outward.