Chapter Summaries

Ye Lin and the other prodigies climbed the Trial Heavenly Ladder, where blood-red lightning battered them and tempered their bodies. When a sheet bearing the image of a wooden sword appeared ahead, Ye Lin raced toward it as other sword-path prodigies challenged him for the treasure.

• Ye Lin adjusted to the pressure on the ladder and continued forward, prompting Yun Xuan and the other prodigies to follow.
• Blood-red lightning struck Shangguan Wanyu and the other climbers, while Ye Lin noticed that it strengthened his body.
• A sheet of paper bearing a wooden sword appeared on the steps ahead, and Ye Lin hurried toward it, recognizing it as a treasure.
• Several sword-path prodigies told Ye Lin to back off and claimed the treasure for themselves.

Ye Lin claimed a treasure blueprint from the Heavenly Stairway, then fled as Yun Xuan attacked to take it from him. Yun Xuan unleashed a mass of Sword Qi, but Ye Lin countered with the Thunder Sea technique.

• Ye Lin ignored a warning and rushed to claim a blueprint he sensed was a treasure.
• Yun Xuan arrived and demanded that Ye Lin surrender the blueprint, but Ye Lin stored it in his Spatial Ring.
• Yun Xuan attacked Ye Lin with countless strands of Sword Qi, and Ye Lin fought back before fleeing up the staircase.
• Yun Xuan pursued Ye Lin as the other prodigies followed, drawn by the possibility that the Heavenly Stairway held more treasures.
• Yun Xuan surrounded Ye Lin with Sword Qi and launched it at him, but Ye Lin used Nine Heavens Profound Thunder Sword Art, Thunder Sea to absorb and crush the attack.

Ye Lin faced Yun Xuan on the stairs and matched him in a fierce sword fight despite being only a fifth-level Golden Immortal. Their battle continued evenly as Yun Xuan recognized Ye Lin's unusual strength.

• Yun Xuan summoned the Bixiao Sword and prepared to fight Ye Lin seriously.
• San Zang and the others considered intervening, but Wang Xiaoyun urged them to watch and wait.
• Ye Lin drew the Blooddrinking Sword of the Fallen Emperor and charged at Yun Xuan instead of retreating.
• Ye Lin and Yun Xuan exchanged over ten thousand blows, with neither gaining the upper hand.
• Yun Xuan realized Ye Lin had matched thirty percent of his strength despite Ye Lin's lower cultivation.

Ye Lin and Yun Xuan tested each other in a duel, but Yun Xuan quickly overpowered Ye Lin. After sensing the Four Seas Dragon Clan approaching, Yun Xuan launched a powerful sword attack at him.

• Yun Xuan taunted Ye Lin and sent sharp sword qi at him, but Ye Lin dodged it.
• Ye Lin charged Yun Xuan with the Blooddrinking Sword of the Fallen Emperor, but Yun Xuan blocked his strike with the Bixiao Sword without moving.
• Yun Xuan struck Ye Lin with his palm and sent him flying.
• Yun Xuan sensed the sea clan approaching and pursued Ye Lin.
• Yun Xuan unleashed a vast river of sword qi with his Bixiao Sword toward Ye Lin.

Ye Lin countered Yun Xuan’s Azure Heavens, Yellow Springs with the Nine Heavens Profound Thunder Sword Art, drawing on the mystic realm’s trial lightning to form a powerful blood-colored thunder Dragon. The Dragon tore through Yun Xuan’s Sword Qi River and continued toward him, while spectators doubted Ye Lin could harm Yun Xuan.

• Spectators watched Yun Xuan unleash Azure Heavens, Yellow Springs and sensed the pressure of his sword.
• Ye Lin steadied himself and prepared to face Yun Xuan’s Sword Qi River.
• Ye Lin used the Nine Heavens Profound Thunder Sword Art to draw down the mystic realm’s trial lightning.
• Ye Lin’s blood-colored lightning formed a giant Dragon that destroyed half the Sword Qi River, swallowed the rest, and charged toward Yun Xuan.
• A heaven’s chosen praised Ye Lin’s sword move, but another spectator said it could not harm Yun Xuan.

Yun Xuan destroyed Ye Lin’s blood-colored thunder dragon with his Yellow Springs Passage technique, then departed after warning Ye Lin that he would return for the item. Ye Lin and the others continued deeper into the secret realm, aware that Ye Lin would need to grow stronger before facing Yun Xuan again.

• Yun Xuan summoned wronged souls as Yellow Springs Sword Qi and completely destroyed the blood-colored thunder dragon.
• Three voices called Yun Xuan out, and he left after telling Ye Lin to hold onto an item until he returned to claim it.
• Ye Lin judged that Yun Xuan had fought with far less than his full strength and admitted he had only matched him by using the secret realm’s heavenly lightning.
• The others checked on Ye Lin and recognized that Yun Xuan had overwhelmed him, leaving them concerned about a future encounter.
• Ye Lin and the others decided to continue deeper into the secret realm in search of treasures.

Ye Lin’s group continued up the Heavenly Stair after deciding to avoid the natives’ conflict, while Shangguan Wanyu went ahead alone to pursue strength. Gu Qingzhi questioned Ye Lin about his connection to Shangguan Wanyu and the child, then followed him as the group prepared to explore the secret realm and leave quickly.

• Ye Lin’s group agreed not to interfere in the natives’ grudges and continued up the stairs.
• Shangguan Wanyu moved ahead alone, and Ye Lin said he understood her desire to become stronger.
• Gu Qingzhi asked whether Shangguan Wanyu and the child were Ye Lin’s family, but Ye Lin refused to explain.
• Gu Qingzhi angrily followed Ye Lin, while Xu Feng and the others wondered whether she had fallen for him.
• The group continued deeper into the secret realm, intending to take what they could and escape before their pursuers caught up.

Ye Lin and the others advanced along the Heavenly Stairway and fought a horde of fourth-layer Golden Immortal creatures whose corpses turned to mist and increased their cultivation. After Ye Lin noticed the secret realm’s strange effects, a blood-red bolt of lightning struck him.

• Ye Lin and his group continued deeper into the secret realm along the Heavenly Stairway as its pressure grew heavier.
• The group encountered monstrous creatures, all at the fourth layer of the Golden Immortal realm, and San Zang ordered everyone to kill them.
• Gu Qingzhi summoned a zither while Ye Lin drew the Blooddrinking Sword of the Fallen Emperor and charged into battle.
• Ye Lin cut down a creature, whose corpse became mist and merged into him, slightly increasing his cultivation.
• A blood-red bolt of lightning descended from the clouds and struck Ye Lin.

Ye Lin fought through the lightning and monsters on the Heavenly Stairway, reaching the gate of the Nine Heavens Mystic Realm. When he tried to help Shangguan Wanyu, an unseen assailant struck him and sent him flying back onto the stairway.

• Ye Lin endured the crimson lightning and increasing gravity as he killed monsters, while the Second Region prodigies joined the battle after learning the creatures could raise their cultivation.
• Ye Lin raced ahead, wary that the other Second Region prodigies could pose a threat if they gathered together.
• Ye Lin reached an enormous gate and saw Shangguan Wanyu fighting a pig-headed, human-bodied monster that seemed unusually weak for the end of the trial.
• Ye Lin cut through the lightning and prepared to help Shangguan Wanyu, but an enraged voice warned the intruders to leave the Nine Heavens Mystic Realm.
• An unseen attacker struck Ye Lin, sending him flying back onto the Heavenly Stairway.

Ye Lin defeated a fifth-layer Golden Immortal monster in the Nine Heavens Mystic Realm and found a pill inside it. He waited at a passage for the others while Shangguan Wanyu revealed that she had reached the third layer of the Golden Immortal Realm.

• Ye Lin saw Luo Yao and faced a monster with fifth-layer Golden Immortal cultivation, then suspected the realm contained a supreme treasure.
• Ye Lin defeated the monster with the Nine Heavens Profound Thunder Sword Art and found a pill within its gray light.
• Ye Lin put away the pill and went to the passage, carrying Luo Yao and waiting for the others before entering.
• Shangguan Wanyu raised her aura to the third layer of the Golden Immortal Realm and told her defeated monster it was no longer useful.

Shangguan Wanyu finished tempering herself by fighting a huge creature, and Ye Lin’s group gathered on the platform after battling through monsters. Ye Lin led them onward, keeping them separate from the Second Region’s prodigies.

• Shangguan Wanyu defeated the huge creature after using it to temper herself, then joined Ye Lin.
• San Zang and the others fought their way to the platform, while Bao Xiaotou and Wang Tian arrived later after hiding and dodging monsters beyond their strength.
• Ye Lin told everyone to leave, and the group agreed to avoid mingling with the Second Region’s prodigies.
• Shangguan Wanyu led the way as Ye Lin followed close behind.

Ye Lin and the others entered a strange realm without space, time, or laws, where streams of light appeared to contain laws. Xu Feng seized an Imperial Dao Law and gained a deeper understanding of it.

• The Second Region prodigies followed Ye Lin's group through the gate, believing the opportunities inside should belong to them.
• Ye Lin, Xu Feng, and Gu Qingzhi found themselves in a void where divine sense could not be used and no laws could be detected.
• A white stream of light flashed across Ye Lin's arm, and he sensed that it carried an unfamiliar law.
• Xu Feng recognized a yellow light as the Imperial Dao Law and placed it between his brows.
• Xu Feng received information about the Imperial Dao Law and quickly improved his comprehension.

Xu Feng told the group that consuming the laws around them would let them comprehend them instantly, and the Golden Immortals began searching for laws suited to their cultivation. When the Second Region geniuses arrived, one discovered the opportunity and spread the news, sending everyone off to search.

• Xu Feng urged everyone to devour the laws and comprehend them instantly.
• Ye Lin searched for the Sword Dao Law while the others sought laws matching their own paths.
• The Second Region geniuses arrived and moved toward Ye Lin's group to demand an explanation.
• A streak of light entered one genius's glabella, giving him a vast ocean of knowledge and revealing the opportunity.
• The Second Region geniuses learned what had happened and scattered to search for laws.

Ye Lin pursued the Sword Dao Law, but a woman in a purple gown scared it away, prompting him to attack her. The two clashed in the Void, and the woman unleashed a powerful icy chill against Ye Lin’s Thunder Sea.

• Ye Lin nearly caught the Sword Dao Law, but the purple-gowned woman’s laughter made it vanish.
• Ye Lin threatened the woman and attacked her with the Blooddrinking Sword of the Fallen Emperor.
• The woman evaded his strike by transforming into snow and questioned why he was attacking her.
• Ye Lin used the Nine Heavens Profound Thunder Sword Art to create a Thunder Sea and force her to reappear.
• The woman froze the surrounding Thunder Sea with an icy chill as she turned to fight back.

Ye Lin broke free from Han Bingruo’s Nine Nether Frigid Air with his Beginningless True Flame and counterattacked. Han Bingruo launched another icy sword strike, and Ye Lin sent a flaming Three-Legged Golden Crow charging at her.

• Han Bingruo attacked Ye Lin with the Ice-Sealing Sword and froze him into an ice sculpture using the Nine Nether Frigid Air.
• Han Bingruo turned away, believing Ye Lin would die as the frigid air froze his body and Primordial Spirit.
• Ye Lin’s Beginningless True Flame melted the ice and freed him, shocking Han Bingruo.
• Han Bingruo fired another frigid Sword Qi attack at Ye Lin.
• Ye Lin summoned a Three-Legged Golden Crow of Beginningless True Flame and sent it charging toward Han Bingruo.

Ye Lin overwhelmed Han Bingruo’s Nine Nether Frost Qi with his Beginningless True Flame and killed her despite her threat that Yun Xuan would retaliate. He absorbed the strange frost flame from her Primordial Spirit and left with her Spatial Ring.

• Ye Lin’s Three-Legged Golden Crow broke through Han Bingruo’s Nine Nether Frost Qi, leaving her unable to fight back.
• Ye Lin approached Han Bingruo and slashed her with the Blooddrinking Sword of the Fallen Emperor as she begged for her life and invoked her brother Yun Xuan.
• Ye Lin pretended to let Han Bingruo go, then stabbed her through the chest as she turned to flee.
• Ye Lin shredded Han Bingruo’s Primordial Spirit and discovered a white, freezing flame within it.
• Ye Lin took Han Bingruo’s Spatial Ring, let his Beginningless True Flame swallow the strange frost flame, and destroyed her corpse.

Ye Lin's Beginningless True Flame evolved into the Purgatory Ice Flame, which combined blazing heat with bone-piercing cold. After Han Bingruo's companion confronted him, Ye Lin sent the new flame after him and left to search for Sword Dao laws.

• Ye Lin watched the Beginningless True Flame transform into purple Purgatory Ice Flame and saw its new trait appear on his status panel.
• Ye Lin decided to find someone to test the Purgatory Ice Flame on.
• A young man blamed Ye Lin for killing Han Bingruo and threatened to avenge her.
• Ye Lin sent a strand of Purgatory Ice Flame toward the young man, who turned and fled.
• Ye Lin left to search for Sword Dao laws while the fleeing young man cursed and regretted confronting him.

Ye Lin tested the power of his Purgatory Ice Flame and learned it could burn a fourth-layer Golden Immortal to death, then pursued the escaped Sword Dao law. The chapter ended with a warning that Yun Xuan was no match for the Four Seas Dragon Clan.

• The young man planned to use news of Han Bingruo's death to gain favor with Yun Xuan, but Ye Lin's purple flame spread over him and burned him to nothingness.
• Ye Lin realized that his Purgatory Ice Flame could burn even laws and might badly injure a sixth-layer Golden Immortal.
• Ye Lin recognized the escaped Sword Dao law and immediately chased after it.
• Someone told Yun Xuan that his strength and methods were insufficient to challenge the Four Seas Dragon Clan.

Yun Xuan learned that Han Bingruo had died and, gravely weakened by their shared Life-and-Death Parasite, left the Four Seas Sea Clan’s blockade. The land prodigies entered the secret realm, while the Four Seas leader explained why he had chosen not to kill Yun Xuan.

• Yun Xuan, devastated by Han Bingruo’s death and reduced to less than one-tenth of his strength, vowed revenge against the Four Seas Dragon Clan and left.
• The Four Seas leader taunted Yun Xuan and let him go, while the land prodigies rejoiced that the foremost swordsman of the Crimson Wasteland had been badly wounded.
• After Yun Xuan left, the land prodigies entered the secret realm rather than remain at the blockade.
• Three Four Seas figures questioned their leader about not killing Yun Xuan, whose death the elders had ordered.
• The Four Seas leader said killing Yun Xuan would be costly and would release the swordsmanship fortune he suppressed, strengthening the Eight Desolations.

The Four Seas' four great kings decided not to kill the wounded Yun Xuan, reasoning that his enemies among the sword-path prodigies would attack him and that sparing him would bring greater benefit. They entered the secret realm with tens of thousands of sea-race prodigies, intent on killing the land creatures, while Yun Xuan continued along the Trial Heavenly Ladder in a bloodthirsty rage.

• One of the Four Seas' four great kings argued that killing Yun Xuan would invite trouble and that wounded sword-path prodigies would seek to challenge him.
• The four kings concluded that Yun Xuan's past dominance over the sword-path fortune of the Eight Wastelands had made many prodigies eager to defeat or kill him.
• The four kings led tens of thousands of sea-race prodigies into the secret realm and ordered them to kill every land creature they encountered.
• Yun Xuan continued toward the end of the Trial Heavenly Ladder, shouting that he would kill someone as a group of prodigies followed him fearfully.