Chapter Summaries

Su Cheng took Ye Lin to the Heavenward Imperial Dynasty’s treasury to show him its treasures and the dynasty’s strength. Ye Lin entered the vast treasury, where hundreds of protected treasures awaited his inspection.

• Ye Lin accepted the sword Su Cheng had given him and followed him out of the hall.
• Su Cheng led Ye Lin through a corridor guarded by the Celestial Cycle Star Array and explained that the treasury was heavily protected.
• Su Cheng opened the massive bronze door with a ray of mysterious light.
• Ye Lin saw the treasury’s vast collection of treasures and was astonished by the dynasty’s reserves.
• Su Cheng entered the treasury first and invited Ye Lin to follow.

Ye Lin toured Su Cheng’s treasure vault, showing little interest in its materials and acquired spirit treasures. They reached a star-themed hall containing nine protected treasures, whose nature had not yet been revealed.

• Ye Lin followed Su Cheng through the first level as Su Cheng introduced precious artifact-refining materials and pills.
• Ye Lin remained unimpressed by the materials, which he considered of little use to a quasi-Saint.
• Su Cheng led Ye Lin through the second level and showed him acquired spirit treasure weapons and armor.
• Ye Lin calmly inspected the weapons and armor without showing any desire to obtain them.
• Su Cheng brought Ye Lin to a circular hall where nine treasures floated above platforms arranged around a central dais.

Ye Lin examined the nine treasures in the Heavenward Imperial Dynasty’s hidden treasury as Su Cheng explained their powers. He showed little interest in most of them, but the acquired supreme treasure called the Heavenward Token caught his attention.

• Su Cheng presented the nine treasures as the true wealth accumulated by the Heavenward Imperial Dynasty over millions of years.
• Ye Lin dismissed the Immortal Slayer sword and Wind Thunder Pearl because he already had a stronger sword and had no interest in a consumable treasure.
• Ye Lin considered the All-Things Cauldron but decided alchemy was only an aid to him, then passed over the other treasures.
• Ye Lin noticed the purple-gold Identity Token occupying the highest platform and sensed its apparent ordinariness was unusual.
• Su Cheng identified the token as the Heavenward Token, an acquired supreme treasure, and Ye Lin narrowed his eyes in interest.

Su Cheng revealed that the Heavenward Imperial Dynasty’s true treasure was an ancient jade slip containing incomplete insights into attaining sainthood, and Ye Lin became interested in examining it. The chapter ended with the jade slip exposed in the center of the vault.

• Ye Lin rejected the Heavenward Token, judging its Sixth Heaven Quasi-Saint projection too weak to be useful to him.
• Ye Lin told Su Cheng that none of the nine openly displayed treasures truly interested him.
• Su Cheng formed a hand seal that activated the nine treasures and raised a hidden jade platform from the center of the hall.
• Su Cheng explained that the black jade slip contained an incomplete insight into attaining the Daluo Golden Immortal of the Origin realm, also called a Saint.
• Ye Lin was surprised by the revelation and decided the jade slip was worth examining.

Ye Lin negotiated with Su Cheng for permission to inspect the jade slip, agreeing to help Heavenward Imperial Dynasty for ten years if its contents benefited him. When Ye Lin touched it, his consciousness was drawn into a boundless Void, where he lost all his cultivation and saw a light reveal a seated figure.

• Ye Lin asked to examine the jade slip, and Su Cheng explained that only successive Imperial Lords had been allowed to study it.
• Ye Lin offered to assist Su Cheng for ten years if the jade slip proved useful to him, and Su Cheng agreed.
• Ye Lin touched the jade slip on the white jade platform and was pulled out of the treasure vault.
• Ye Lin awoke in a boundless Void with his cultivation, sacred power, and divine sense stripped away.
• A light filled the Void, revealing a figure seated cross-legged with its back to Ye Lin.

Ye Lin witnessed a Saint create a world with a single gesture and listened as the Saint recited profound truths about the Dao. The chapter left Ye Lin struggling to comprehend the Saint’s words and the Dao they revealed.

• Ye Lin encountered an immeasurably powerful Saint in the Void and recognized the gulf between the Saint and even peak Quasi-Saints.
• The Saint touched the Void with one finger, causing a world to emerge from Chaos and evolve into heaven, earth, and all things.
• Ye Lin realized that the gesture embodied the Dao and that the world’s creation compressed countless ages of evolution into an instant.
• The Saint recited, “The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao,” and continued with teachings about names, Heaven and Earth, and all things.
• Ye Lin endured the impact on his Primordial Spirit and tried to memorize and comprehend the Saint’s words.

Ye Lin experienced the life and Dao insights of the ancient power whose legacy was sealed in the jade slip. After enduring the flood of visions, he received the figure’s final word: “Go.”

• Ye Lin watched images of the Dao and creation unfold as the ancient figure fixed its gaze on him.
• Ye Lin saw the figure comprehend the Dao, create a world, teach across myriad worlds, and eventually fall after sealing its final insight in the jade slip.
• Ye Lin struggled to endure the figure’s memories and insights, determined not to miss the opportunity.
• The visions faded, and the ancient figure spoke its final word to Ye Lin: “Go.”

After experiencing a Saint’s insights through the black jade slip, Ye Lin emerged with a clearer path to sainthood and thanked Su Cheng. He accepted Su Cheng’s proposal, though Su Cheng refused to directly act against the Great Frost Imperial Dynasty.

• Ye Lin awoke before the white jade platform after experiencing three days of visions through the black jade slip.
• Ye Lin realized the visions had given him genuine Saintly insights and a clearer direction for advancing toward sainthood.
• Ye Lin bowed to the ancient power who had shown him the insights.
• Su Cheng congratulated Ye Lin on his gains, and Ye Lin thanked him for making the experience possible.
• Ye Lin agreed to Su Cheng’s earlier proposal, but Su Cheng said he would not directly move against the Great Frost Imperial Dynasty.

Ye Lin stayed in the Heavenward Imperial Dynasty after receiving an acquired supreme treasure and viewing a jade slip containing a saint’s insight. He spent three days and nights reliving the vision and grasped a glimpse of the difference between a quasi-saint and a saint, though he could not yet comprehend its full scope.

• Su Cheng arranged a place for Ye Lin to stay and privately wondered whether his investment in Ye Lin would pay off.
• Ye Lin settled into his residence and spent three days and nights quietly recalling the vision from the jade slip.
• Ye Lin immersed himself in the vision of a figure opening Heaven and felt the Dao’s transformation of Chaos into heaven and earth.
• Ye Lin heard the figure’s teachings clearly and glimpsed the fundamental difference between a quasi-saint within the Dao and a saint who had become one with it.
• Ye Lin returned to reality and concluded that his current cultivation and understanding were still insufficient to grasp the full mysteries of a saint.

After years of meditating on the Void and the figure he had witnessed, Ye Lin broke through the barrier separating him from the Dao and gained his first understanding of it. He tested his insight with a finger that stirred the Void, then realized his growth would now accelerate.

• Ye Lin resumed meditation and spent years absorbing the Void, the figure’s teachings, and the scenes of Heaven-Opening and Earth-Cleaving.
• Ye Lin’s Dao heart transformed as he accepted countless possible paths instead of clinging to a single road.
• Ye Lin realized that the figure, the Void, and every event he had witnessed were all the Dao, and the barrier between himself and the Dao shattered.
• Ye Lin left the stone chamber and saw the Dao revealed in the mountains, clouds, and sky.
• Ye Lin entered the Void and touched it with one finger, producing ripples and phantoms of the world.
• Ye Lin recognized this as his first grasp of the Dao and understood that his cultivation would advance swiftly from then on.

After emerging from seclusion, Ye Lin agreed to serve Su Cheng on the Southern Region front lines for the remaining eight years of their arrangement. Su Cheng appointed him deputy commander and sent him to join Nie Zhao as the three Imperial Dynasties’ invasion continued.

• Su Cheng congratulated Ye Lin on his progress and recalled being unable to understand the power of Ye Lin’s strike.
• Su Cheng explained that the Myriad Demon Imperial Dynasty, the Tranquil Heart Imperial Dynasty, and his own Imperial Dynasty had seized four-fifths of the Southern Region, but disagreements had arisen among them.
• Su Cheng asked Ye Lin to oversee the front lines and restrain enemy experts, and Ye Lin agreed to honor their arrangement.
• Su Cheng gave Ye Lin his Identity Token, appointed him deputy commander, and ordered him to join Nie Zhao for the remaining eight years of service.
• Ye Lin took the Identity Token and set off for the Southern Region front lines, intending to repay Su Cheng’s generosity.

Ye Lin traveled to the Southern Region and joined the Heavenward Imperial Dynasty's forces as deputy marshal under Nie Zhao. The three imperial dynasties had surrounded the Great Frost Imperial Dynasty but remained in a stalemate, and Ye Lin arrived as the generals studied a sand table of the region.

• Ye Lin headed to the Southern Region using the map Su Cheng had sent him.
• The three imperial dynasties had seized most of the Southern Region and surrounded the Great Frost Imperial Dynasty, but their armies held back because they distrusted one another.
• Ye Lin presented Su Cheng's Identity Token to a guard and asked to see Marshal Nie Zhao.
• Nie Zhao introduced Ye Lin as the Emperor's personally appointed deputy marshal, and the gathered generals accepted his authority.
• Ye Lin approached the sand table, which depicted the Southern Region's mountains, rivers, cities, and factions.

Ye Lin listened as the generals debated how to defeat the Great Frost Imperial Dynasty while guarding against the other two imperial dynasties, then asked why their Emperors could not simply use their dynasties’ fortune to crush invading armies. The generals had not answered when the chapter ended.

• Ye Lin examined a miniature world that represented the entire Southern Region and asked what the generals were discussing.
• The generals argued over how to attack the Great Frost Imperial Dynasty while preventing the other two imperial dynasties from exploiting the conflict.
• The generals rejected a plan to divide the Great Frost Imperial Dynasty’s territory equally because they distrusted one another and feared betrayal.
• Ye Lin asked why an imperial dynasty’s Emperor could not use its fortune to defeat invading armies, given that Emperors could not enter another dynasty’s territory.

Ye Lin learned why the Great Frost Imperial Dynasty was weakening and why Su Tao could not attack, then offered a plan to help the Southern Region resist the other imperial dynasties. The chapter ended with Nie Zhao eagerly asking Ye Lin to explain his idea.

• Nie Zhao explained that the Great Frost Imperial Dynasty's declining fortune weakened Su Tao, who was already struggling under pressure from the other three dynasties.
• Nie Zhao said Su Tao's strength would likely fall to the third level of Quasi-Saint within half a year, making the dynasty easy to defeat.
• The generals discussed their difficulty resisting the other two imperial dynasties, whose forces were equal in number and strength.
• Ye Lin offered to share a solution, hoping to repay Su Cheng for his gifts and Saint's insights.
• Nie Zhao asked Ye Lin to explain his idea.

Ye Lin proposed settling the three Imperial Dynasties’ struggle for the Southern Region through an Arena betting match, with each side wagering its powerhouses, battle formations, and armies. Nie Zhao accepted the idea and decided to ask the Emperor to have all three Emperors guarantee fair play.

• Ye Lin proposed that the armies, powerhouses, and battle formations of the three Imperial Dynasties compete, with each losing side withdrawing from the Southern Region.
• The generals debated the plan, while Nie Zhao warned that the other side might ignore the rules and attack their home base.
• Ye Lin said the three Emperors should vouch for the match, making the rulers accountable for keeping their promises.
• Nie Zhao approved the plan and decided to send word to the Emperor.

Wang Teng waited at Broken Soul Mountain for his duel with Su Mo, but Su Mo never appeared. Three messengers reported that Su Mo had slaughtered Wang Teng’s entire family, leaving Wang Teng demanding to know if it was true.

• Wang Teng and Su Mo agreed to settle their feud in a duel at Broken Soul Mountain, with their Tribulation Transcendence Realm masters backing them.
• Crowds gathered at the mountain, but Su Mo failed to arrive as the hours passed.
• Wang Teng’s master tried to contact Su Mo after growing concerned about his absence.
• Three messengers rushed in and told Wang Teng that Su Mo had slaughtered all 13,483 members of his family.
• Wang Teng turned on the messengers and demanded to know whether their report was true.

Ye Lin used a story about Su Mo and his master being shamed for generations to warn that even the Emperors could suffer lasting disgrace. He believed the three great Emperors would support his proposal to avoid that fate.

• Wang Teng's master accused Su Mo of betraying Wang Teng and slaughtering his clan, then left with Wang Teng as other cultivators looked down on Su Mo's master.
• Su Mo returned to the sect and proudly told his master how he had tricked Wang Teng, so his master severed their bond and crippled his cultivation.
• Su Mo's master endured years of ridicule from fellow Tribulation Transcendence cultivators, and both he and Su Mo became infamous as disgraces in history.
• Ye Lin reasoned that the three great Emperors would back his proposal rather than risk becoming objects of eternal shame.

Nie Zhao relayed Su Cheng’s orders to hold a competition instead of attacking the Great Frost Imperial Dynasty, and the three imperial dynasties prepared an Arena outside its gates. The Great Frost experts endured the public taunts, knowing they could not safely retaliate.

• Nie Zhao told the gathered generals that Su Cheng had ordered them not to attack the Great Frost Imperial Dynasty yet and to set up an Arena outside its gates.
• Nie Zhao invited the marshals of the other two imperial dynasties to discuss the competition, and they finalized its date for three days later.
• Experts transported treasures and built a massive Arena from materials that even third-level Quasi-Saints could not shake.
• The three imperial dynasties sent cultivators to announce that the competition would decide how to divide the Great Frost Imperial Dynasty’s territory.
• The Great Frost experts were enraged by the taunts but chose not to attack because they knew they would be overwhelmed.

Great Frost Imperial Dynasty officials demanded a counterattack after the enemy’s provocations, but Su Tao warned that acting now would destroy the dynasty and told them to trust his preparations. The officials returned to their duties and waited, leaving Su Tao’s plan unknown.

• Great Frost Imperial Dynasty officials furiously urged Su Tao to lead them into battle against the enemy.
• Su Tao praised their courage but said that fighting now would result in the dynasty’s destruction.
• Su Tao told the officials to carry on with their lives, leave the response to him, and trust his preparations.
• After Su Tao left, the officials abandoned their pleas and returned to their duties, ignoring the enemy’s provocations.

Nie Zhao announced the contest rules, and the three imperial dynasties gathered to begin their struggle over the Southern Region. As the armies faced off, a colossal arena forged from stellar gold rose from a vast chasm, leaving the contest poised to begin.

• Nie Zhao explained that the three factions would start with ten points each, and the first to lose all its points would be excluded from deciding how the Southern Region was divided.
• After the other marshals left, Heavenward Imperial Dynasty’s officers and soldiers expressed confidence in victory, while Nie Zhao warned them not to underestimate their rivals.
• At dawn, the three armies assembled in the Southern Region, where their marshals’ auras clashed before the contest began.
• The earth shook and split into a vast chasm as golden mist rose from its depths.
• A massive black arena made from stellar gold emerged from the chasm, stretching for more than ten million miles.