Recaps

Ye Lin returned to Nameless Mountain as Taichu prepared to hand the Sect Master position to Li Yixian. The succession gathered the mountain’s disciples and True Lords, many of whom had been beaten and threatened by a mysterious man in black.

• After absorbing the half-finger, Ye Lin advanced to the late stage of Tribulation Transcendence and headed back to Nameless Mountain.
• Taichu told Li Yixian that he would become Sect Master, and Li Yixian vowed to lead the Eastern Continent’s Human Race toward a brighter future.
• Ye Lin arrived at the succession gathering and reflected on how nearly a hundred years had passed since he first became Sect Master.
• Nameless Mountain’s disciples and Dao Integration True Lords assembled as Li Yixian stood on the high platform, while the Tribulation Transcendence Heavenly Lords stayed out of the matter.
• The gathered True Lords concealed their injuries after a black-clad man had attacked and threatened most of them the night before.

Ye Lin handed Nameless Mountain’s Sect Master position and its three treasures to Li Yixian, then prepared to leave and live freely. Dijiang chose to remain and use Nameless Mountain’s fortune to reach the Mahayana realm before seeking Ye Lin out.

• Ye Lin introduced Li Yixian as Nameless Mountain’s new Sect Master and returned the three treasures that represented the position.
• Ye Lin bid farewell to the disciples and mighty figures, then returned to his residence to pack his belongings.
• Dijiang asked Ye Lin what he should do after learning that Ye Lin was leaving Nameless Mountain.
• Ye Lin told Dijiang he could stay or come along, and Dijiang chose to remain until he reached the Mahayana realm.
• Ye Lin gave Dijiang a Jade Talisman so he could contact him later, and Dijiang swallowed it.

Ye Lin prepared to leave Nameless Mountain to pursue the Great Dao without its responsibilities. Hong Batian and Taiyuan met him before he departed, but Ye Lin encouraged Taiyuan to follow his own path instead of accompanying him.

• Dijiang left to make preparations while Ye Lin finished packing and went outside Nameless Mountain.
• Ye Lin told Hong Batian he had decided to leave Nameless Mountain and set aside his responsibilities to pursue the Great Dao.
• Ye Lin praised Hong Batian's growth into the Mahayana realm, and Hong Batian insisted that Ye Lin call him by his new name.
• Taiyuan arrived after crossing twenty prefectures and asked to leave with Ye Lin.
• Ye Lin told Taiyuan to follow his own path and encouraged him to grow independently.

Ye Lin agreed to explore a mysterious bronze gate in the Eastern Sea with Hong Batian, while Taiyuan stayed behind to protect Ye Buqu and secure his own force on Nameless Mountain. Ye Lin and Hong Batian reached the enormous gate, whose secrets remained sealed.

• Hong Batian invited Ye Lin to help open a mysterious bronze gate in the depths of the Eastern Sea, and Ye Lin agreed.
• Taiyuan asked to join them, but Hong Batian refused because the dangers behind the gate could overwhelm Taiyuan's cultivation.
• Ye Lin told Taiyuan to care for Ye Buqu, and Taiyuan promised to do so.
• After Ye Lin and Hong Batian left, Taiyuan headed into Nameless Mountain to find Taichu and stabilize the force he had secretly gathered.
• Ye Lin and Hong Batian arrived at the colossal, rust-covered bronze gate on the deep-sea floor.

Ye Lin and Hong Batian combined their power to open the bronze gate, revealing a golden barrier and a terrifying Mahayana-stage pressure beyond it. After recovering for several days, they prepared to enter.

• Hong Batian struck the bronze gate with a flame-covered fist, opening a crack.
• Ye Lin followed with a powerful sword strike, and he and Hong Batian forced the bronze gate open to reveal a golden barrier.
• Ye Lin sensed Mahayana-stage pressure beyond the barrier, and he and Hong Batian rested to recover their spiritual energy.
• After several days of absorbing Spirit Stones, Hong Batian invited Ye Lin to enter and investigate.

Ye Lin and Hong Batian entered the golden barrier and found themselves in a land filled with powerful treasures, where they were confronted by Ye Wen and Golden Crow Empire divine generals. As the pair allowed themselves to be taken away to learn about their surroundings, Ye Lin wondered whether they had arrived in another world or era.

• Ye Lin followed Hong Batian through the golden barrier into a land where even the grass was Mysterious Grade.
• More than a thousand golden-armored cultivators arrived on an auspicious cloud, led by Ye Wen, who demanded to know where the pair had come from.
• Ye Lin’s panel identified Ye Wen as a Golden Crow Empire guardian divine general whose fate ended in execution after a false accusation.
• Ye Wen ordered his divine generals to take Ye Lin and Hong Batian away, and Ye Lin signaled Hong Batian not to fight.
• Ye Lin wondered why the Three Pure Ones were known in this place and whether its cultivation system meant they had entered another world or era.

Ye Lin and Hong Batian were taken by Ye Wen to meet the Inspector after appearing unexpectedly in a world watched by the Heaven-Monitoring Instrument. As they approached the cloud-top castle, Hong Batian judged that none of the people they had encountered could threaten him.

• Ye Wen questioned Ye Lin and Hong Batian about appearing out of nowhere, and a divine general explained that the Heaven-Monitoring Instrument watched over heaven and earth.
• Ye Lin said they did not yet know where they were from, while Ye Wen assumed they were withholding information.
• Ye Wen led Ye Lin and Hong Batian past several cities toward a magnificent castle in the clouds to meet the Inspector.
• Hong Batian quietly told Ye Lin that they seemed to be in another world, but he could handle everyone they had encountered so far.

Ye Lin and Hong Batian met Inspector Fu Heng in the Heavenly God Realm, where he explained the structure and great powers of the Eternal Balance World. Fu Heng began describing the Eight Nations but had not finished when the chapter ended.

• Ye Wen brought Ye Lin and Hong Batian to a golden hall and left them with the Heaven-Monitoring Instrument.
• Fu Heng appeared, introduced himself as an Inspector, and identified Ye Lin and Hong Batian as people from another world.
• Ye Lin asked where they were, and Fu Heng explained that they were in Realm Lord City in the Heavenly God Realm, one of thirty-six realms under the Golden Crow Empire.
• Fu Heng described the Eternal Balance World’s 9,999 realms and named the Three Gods, Four Immortals, and Eight Nations as its strongest powers.
• Fu Heng began explaining the Eight Nations, but the chapter ended before he named them.

Fu Heng offered Ye Lin and Hong Batian a way back to their world using the Heaven-Monitoring Instrument, but demanded that they help the Golden Crow Empire’s Third Prince take the throne and destroy the Qilin Empire. He promised to send them to the imperial capital if they agreed.

• Ye Lin learned from Fu Heng about the Eternal Balance World’s nations and cultivation realms, including its powerful Loose Immortals.
• Fu Heng explained that the Heaven-Monitoring Instrument could use the aura of the Heavenly Dao to send Ye Lin and Hong Batian home.
• Fu Heng demanded that they help the Golden Crow Empire’s Third Prince seize the throne and defeat the Qilin Empire in exchange for sending them back.
• Ye Lin questioned whether the two of them could influence an empire’s struggle, and Fu Heng offered to have them sent to the imperial capital to meet the Third Prince.

Ye Lin and Hong Batian weighed the dangers of joining the succession struggle against the impossibility of leaving the world, then agreed to try. Fu Heng took them to meet the Domain Lord, whose towering figure opened its eyes before them.

• Hong Batian warned Ye Lin that the world held Loose Immortal-level beings and urged them to flee.
• Ye Lin argued that they could not leave without the Domain Lord’s approval and that refusing Fu Heng would trap them.
• Ye Lin and Hong Batian agreed to attempt the succession struggle despite the risks.
• Fu Heng took Ye Lin and Hong Batian to a gray expanse and bowed before the Domain Lord.
• The Domain Lord slowly opened its eyes.

Ye Lin and Hong Batian were brought before the Third Prince of the Golden Crow Empire and learned they were expected to help him. Fu Heng revealed that their task was to assist Chu Yang until he claimed the imperial throne.

• The Domain Lord punished Ye Lin and Hong Batian for arriving without permission, then questioned Fu Heng about whether they were truly the ones destined to face the tribulation.
• Fu Heng persuaded the Domain Lord to send Ye Lin and Hong Batian to the Third Prince's residence.
• Ye Lin and Hong Batian followed Fu Heng inside and wondered what the Domain Lord meant by their being destined to face the tribulation.
• Chu Yang introduced himself as the Third Prince of the Golden Crow Empire and welcomed Ye Lin and Hong Batian as his helpers.
• Fu Heng shielded the room with a ray of light and told Ye Lin and Hong Batian to assist Chu Yang until he claimed the imperial throne.

Chu Yang asked Ye Lin and Hong Batian to help him compete for the Golden Crow Empire’s throne, but they tried to leave after learning how little power he had. Fu Heng revealed that Chu Yang had the Emperor’s favor and only needed to secure the final imperial decree after the Emperor fell.

• Ye Lin questioned why Chu Yang lived in a remote residence with almost no support.
• Fu Heng explained that Chu Yang had only one Heavenly God-level guardian and three thousand Silver Armor Army soldiers.
• Ye Lin and Hong Batian decided to leave, believing Chu Yang’s lack of power made the struggle hopeless.
• Fu Heng told them Chu Yang was the Emperor and Empress’s son, while his eight rival princes were born to imperial consorts.
• Fu Heng said their task was to get the Emperor’s final decree safely to Chu Yang, after which Golden Crow Pass would help him suppress the rebels.

Ye Lin and Fu Heng discussed protecting the Third Prince and delivering the Emperor’s final edict so he could claim the throne, despite the princes’ permitted struggle for it. Fu Heng explained why the Third Prince lacked support: his mother, the Empress, had died after giving birth to him, and the Emperor’s old grief contributed to his fatal qi deviation.

• Fu Heng explained that Ye Lin and Hong Batian needed to protect the Third Prince until the Emperor’s edict reached him and Golden Crow Pass acknowledged him as Emperor.
• Ye Lin learned that after the Emperor fell, the princes could fight over the edict, leaving the Third Prince vulnerable to repeated assassination attempts.
• Ye Lin asked why the Emperor’s legitimate son had so little support, and Fu Heng revealed that the Empress had died after giving birth to him.
• Fu Heng said the Emperor’s qi deviation had brought back his old grief, leaving him little time to live.

Ye Lin agreed to help the Third Prince build support among the empire’s families and other forces, despite the danger posed by Golden Crow Pass. Fu Heng left the two men to plan, and Chu Yang pledged to follow Ye Lin’s instructions.

• Ye Lin understood that the Third Prince had been left without allies because the Empress had no powerful maternal family and the other princes relied on theirs.
• Ye Lin considered how Golden Crow Pass held greater power than the Emperor and how even an imperial heir could be killed without anyone intervening.
• Ye Lin agreed to help the Third Prince court families and forces that might support his claim to the throne.
• Fu Heng thanked Ye Lin for agreeing and left so Ye Lin and Chu Yang could discuss their plans.
• Chu Yang bowed to Ye Lin and promised to carry out his instructions carefully.

Ye Lin assessed the Golden Crow Empire’s rival factions and advised Chu Yang to recruit the overlooked minor forces to build support for his bid for the throne. Chu Yang went to gather allies, while Ye Lin persuaded Hong Batian to stay by promising access to the empire’s wealth and cultivation methods.

• Chu Yang explained that the Prime Ministers, Four Great Families, and ministers had backed rival princes, while the three grand marshals had not chosen sides.
• Ye Lin told Chu Yang to unite the minor forces that the other princes had ignored and build his foundation one ally at a time.
• Chu Yang accepted Ye Lin’s advice and left to recruit those forces.
• Hong Batian complained that the political struggle was boring and suggested they leave.
• Ye Lin argued that helping Chu Yang become Emperor could earn them the Golden Crow Empire’s resources and cultivation methods.

Ye Lin planned to use high-rank cultivation techniques and help Chu Yang build support among the smaller factions. As the three headed to a dinner with those factions, a loyal guardian continued watching over the Third Prince after refusing to abandon him, while Hong Batian sensed someone observing them.

• Ye Lin and Hong Batian discussed obtaining cultivation techniques from the new world, with Ye Lin saying they would need Chu Yang to secure high-rank methods.
• Chu Yang reported that thirteen smaller factions had agreed to attend a gathering at Vast Martial Restaurant that evening, while the great factions had refused his invitations.
• Ye Lin told Chu Yang that winning over the smaller factions would give him a foundation for the next stage of their plan, and the three left the courtyard together.
• An elderly man confronted the middle-aged guardian watching the Third Prince and threatened to kill him for refusing to abandon his post.
• Hong Batian told Ye Lin that someone was watching them, and that the gaze made him uncomfortable.

Ye Lin accompanied Chu Yang to Vast Martial Restaurant, where Chu Yang met with thirteen influential people. Ye Lin asked them to state the cultivation realm of the strongest person under their command.

• Ye Lin warned his companions not to act rashly, suspecting that a powerful protector was watching them.
• Chu Yang led Ye Lin and the others through the Golden Crow Empire to Vast Martial Restaurant.
• Chu Yang entered a private room and greeted thirteen people, who welcomed him and offered him the seat of honor.
• Chu Yang deferred to Ye Lin, prompting the guests to wonder who Ye Lin was.
• Ye Lin asked everyone to briefly state the cultivation realm of the strongest person under their command.

Ye Lin recruited thirteen family heads to help the Third Prince by spreading word that he had hidden forces and trump cards. He sent them to investigate the imperial capital’s layout while they began carrying out his plan.

• The family heads told Ye Lin that their strongest ancestors had reached the Forging God realm.
• Ye Lin used his Demigod aura to pressure the family heads and warned them not to betray the Third Prince.
• Ye Lin ordered them to casually spread word that the Third Prince commanded concealed forces and trump cards.
• Ye Lin told the thirteen family heads to use their influence to investigate the imperial capital’s layout, and they left to carry out his orders.

Ye Lin arranged for Hong Batian to reveal his strength, strengthening the impression that Chu Yang had powerful backing. As visitors began gathering at the Third Prince’s residence, Chu Yang reported that several powerful experts and their factions had offered support.

• Ye Lin told Chu Yang that they still had one matter to handle, and Hong Batian revealed himself to kill a hidden watcher.
• A young man in a golden robe learned that the Third Prince had a Heaven God-level expert and summoned the Seventh Prince, Fifth Prince, and Eighth Prince to discuss it.
• Over the next three days, prominent figures visited the Third Prince’s residence.
• Chu Yang told Ye Lin that three Demigod-level experts and one Heaven God-level expert, along with their factions, had agreed to support him.

Chu Yang and Ye Lin secured Blood Sword Manor’s support after Yan Yang offered help in exchange for borrowing the Heaven-Answering Stele for three days. Chu Yang accepted the deal, though he worried that Golden Crow Pass would never allow it.

• Ye Lin told Chu Yang that the powerful forces were still watching and the real test had not begun.
• Yan Yang, Deputy Manor Lord of Blood Sword Manor, appeared and offered support for Chu Yang’s bid for power in return for three days with the Heaven-Answering Stele.
• Ye Lin agreed to Yan Yang’s condition, and Chu Yang followed his master’s lead.
• Yan Yang promised that Blood Sword Manor’s reinforcements would arrive within a day, then vanished.
• Chu Yang told Ye Lin that Golden Crow Pass would never approve lending the imperial treasure, even if he agreed.

Ye Lin accompanied Chu Yang to the palace after the princes received an urgent summons, as the ailing emperor’s condition threatened to plunge the Golden Crow Empire into chaos. They reached the golden hall, where the princes were to meet their father.

• Ye Lin asked Chu Yang to gather only high-grade cultivation manuals, and Chu Yang agreed.
• Chu Yang received word that all the princes had been urgently summoned to the palace and feared his father was near death.
• Ye Lin decided to accompany Chu Yang, while Hong Batian followed them through streets filled with soldiers and powerful auras.
• At the palace gates, a eunuch ordered the princes’ followers to remain behind and warned them to behave inside.
• Ye Lin and Chu Yang walked the long golden corridor and arrived before the hall, guarded by golden-armored soldiers.

The Emperor of the Golden Crow Empire summoned his nine sons and condemned them for their schemes against one another, especially rebuking Chu Zheng. Ye Lin noticed that the Emperor was gravely ill and surrounded by an aura of death.

• Chu Zheng led the princes into the great hall, while Ye Lin and Chu Yang entered together.
• The Emperor dismissed the old eunuch and addressed his nine sons about their rivalry and schemes.
• The Emperor angrily rebuked Chu Zheng for being the most ruthless of his sons.
• Ye Lin noticed black qi around the Emperor and realized he was forcing himself to remain standing.

The dying Emperor of the Golden Crow Empire named Chu Yang as his successor and warned his other sons against interfering. He gave Chu Yang the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's command token, leaving him to face the struggle for the throne.

• Chu Yun announced that he had chosen the Third Prince, Chu Yang, as the next emperor and ordered his other eight sons not to interfere.
• Chu Yun ordered the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to protect Chu Yang and dismissed the other princes, who left while glaring at him with killing intent.
• Chu Yun told Chu Yang that he had chosen him because of the debt he owed Chu Yang's mother and because his brothers would not let him live peacefully.
• Chu Yun criticized Chu Yang for being too weak and said his fate was now in his own hands.
• Chu Yun gave Chu Yang the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's command token, which let its holder command the entire bureau.

Chu Yang left after Chu Yun gave him the Identity Token, while the dying Emperor prepared to secure his third son's succession. Chu Yun sent his trusted eunuch to help the Third Prince and issued a final decree granting him authority to kill the new Emperor if he became a tyrant.

• Chu Yun explained the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's purpose and handed Chu Yang its Identity Token before dismissing him and Ye Lin.
• After Chu Yang and Ye Lin left, Chu Yun spat black blood and revealed that a heart demon had shattered his dantian and divine soul, leaving him close to death.
• Chu Yun told his trusted eunuch to follow and assist the Third Prince, but to kill him if he became a foolish tyrant.
• Chu Yun gave the eunuch his final imperial decree, which Golden Crow Pass would recognize if the Third Prince had to be killed.
• Chu Yun ordered the eunuch to gather the officials for court the next day and help his third son one final time.

Ye Lin protected Chu Yang from an assassination attempt after learning that Chu Yang’s guardian and Hong Batian had been held back. The First Prince and Fifth Prince were behind the attack, and Chu Yang and Ye Lin fled the capital with three pursuers close behind.

• Ye Lin shoved Chu Yang aside and dodged a black-light strike aimed at him.
• Ye Lin learned that Chu Yang’s guardian and Hong Batian were each being restrained by three Mahayana Half-Immortals.
• Ye Lin grabbed Chu Yang and fled the capital through the void as three black shadows followed them.
• The First Prince and Fifth Prince discussed their plan to assassinate Chu Yang before he could gain control of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.