Chapter Summaries

Shen Changchuan accepted Han Qinhu’s choice to remain in Dawan Village, knowing his grandfather’s life was nearly over, then returned to the Dragon Firmament Sect for secluded cultivation. Meanwhile, rumors about Shen Changchuan’s power in the Elephant Mountain Sect Ruins spread, provoking the Dao Child’s followers to plan to teach him a lesson.

• Shen Changchuan sensed that Han Qinhu’s vitality was fading and understood that his grandfather had reached the limit of his cultivation and lifespan.
• Shen Changchuan agreed to let Han Qinhu stay in Dawan Village, respecting his wish to remain beside the achievement he had built.
• Shen Changchuan returned to the Dragon Firmament Sect’s mountain gate and began bitter secluded cultivation.
• The surviving Outer Domain Prodigies left the Elephant Mountain Sect Ruins, but kept most details of their defeat secret.
• Rumors spread that Shen Changchuan had fought Shi Mengting and displayed strength comparable to the Spirit Wandering Realm, while others dismissed the claims as fabricated.
• The Dao Child’s followers condemned Shen Changchuan’s rumored boast and called for him to be taught a lesson.

The Dao Child’s followers debated how to avenge Cen Yuantong’s defeat by Shen Changchuan, but feared they lacked anyone strong enough to face him. Their president arrived and took the chief seat, leaving the group waiting to hear his plan.

• Cen Yuantong’s return spread news that Shen Changchuan had defeated him, angering and humiliating the Dao Child’s followers.
• The group’s leader warned that Shen Changchuan might be at the late Ninth Level of Out-of-Body Realm and could require a peak-level opponent to defeat.
• The followers rejected sending two weaker fighters together and hesitated to disturb the senior brothers who were training in seclusion.
• The president arrived at the palace, told the group there was no need to wake the senior brothers, and sat in the chief seat.

Xuan Tianxing returned to the Dao Seeking Society after breaking through to the Peak Ninth Level of the Out-of-Body Realm and rebuked its members for their failures against Shen Changchuan. He decided to confront Shen Changchuan himself, believing he could defeat him easily before considering other plans.

• Xuan Tianxing scolded the Dao Seeking Society members for letting Shen Changchuan drive them into a humiliating predicament.
• Xuan Tianxing revealed his breakthrough to the Peak Ninth Level of the Out-of-Body Realm, delighting the members.
• Xuan Tianxing warned the members that another failure would get them expelled, and they swore to prove their loyalty.
• Xuan Tianxing considered using the conflict with Shen Changchuan to seek protection under Vajra of Angry Eyes Wu Zhen from Roaming Dragon’s retaliation.
• Xuan Tianxing dismissed that plan and decided to crush Shen Changchuan himself before making further plans.

During Shen Changchuan’s three months in seclusion, the Elephant Mountain Sect Ruins drew cultivators from near and far, while he used the Jade Platform’s Enlightenment Stone aura to advance his understanding of the Power of Space. He discovered the aura was finite, but expected it to last long enough for his plans, and left the Enlightenment Stone’s greater mysteries for the future.

• News of the Elephant Mountain Sect Ruins spread widely, drawing countless cultivators hoping to find treasures and inheritances.
• Shen Changchuan spent three months using the Jade Platform’s Enlightenment Stone aura to improve his comprehension of the Power of Space.
• Shen Changchuan realized that using the Jade Platform consumed its aura and that he had no way to replenish it.
• Shen Changchuan estimated that the remaining aura could last more than two to three years, enough time to pursue his plans.
• Shen Changchuan considered investigating the Enlightenment Stone someday, but recognized he was not yet strong enough to seek it.

Shen Changchuan spent three months planning how to integrate the Power of Space into his spells, deciding to begin with the Gold Thorn Technique. His first attempt failed when the Power of Space tore the spell apart, leaving him to seek another approach.

• Shen Changchuan used the Jade Platform and the Enlightenment Stone's aura for three months, failing to understand the aura but making progress on how to work with the Power of Space.
• Shen Changchuan decided to start with a simple spell and gradually develop his method before attempting to integrate the Power of Space into Divine Ability spells.
• Shen Changchuan chose the Gold Thorn Technique because he understood it well and its attachment properties seemed suitable for combining it with the Power of Space.
• Shen Changchuan tried condensing the Power of Space into a Gold Needle and attaching the Gold Thorn Technique to it.
• Shen Changchuan found that the Power of Space tore the Gold Thorn Technique apart, immediately defeating his first approach.

Shen Changchuan abandoned his first attempt to fuse the Power of Space with an attack and spent more than a month developing a second approach. He successfully fused it with the Gold Thorn Technique enough to redirect its strike toward a target locked by his divine sense, marking a crucial first step despite the technique’s remaining limitations.

• Shen Changchuan rejected his first fusion method after the Power of Space repeatedly tore apart his magical power.
• Shen Changchuan tried using the Power of Space as a shell around the Gold Thorn Technique, but struggled to control and stabilize it.
• After more than a month of contemplation, Shen Changchuan stabilized a thin layer of spatial power around a golden needle.
• Shen Changchuan threw the needle straight ahead and used his divine sense to redirect it, piercing a boulder a thousand zhang away to the front-left.
• Shen Changchuan tested the technique repeatedly and confirmed that he could make it turn toward a target locked by his divine sense.
• Shen Changchuan recognized that the fusion remained unstable and slow, but considered the breakthrough a crucial step in developing offensive uses for the Power of Space.

Shen Changchuan spent three months refining his space-enhanced Gold Thorn Technique, which he believed could give him an edge in the Immortal Sect Grand Competition. Although he stabilized the technique enough to stop most casting failures, its progress remained stuck at 1%, leaving him bewildered about its flaws.

• Shen Changchuan repeatedly tested the fused Gold Thorn Technique and grew confident in its destructive power and ability to threaten Spirit Wandering Realm cultivators.
• He recognized that the technique still had many shortcomings and continued working to improve it.
• After three months of experiments in his Dragon Firmament Sect cave residence, Shen Changchuan had stabilized the Power of Space attached to the technique and reduced its casting failures.
• Shen Changchuan discovered that the Progress Bar Panel recognized the technique as the Modified Gold Thorn Technique at 1%.
• After a month of intensive practice failed to raise its progress, Shen Changchuan suspected the technique had serious structural flaws or that he had chosen the wrong approach.

After failing to make progress fusing space power with the Gold Thorn Technique, Shen Changchuan reflected on his arrogance and chose to focus on raising his cultivation before the Immortal Sect Grand Competition. The Elephant Mountain Sect Ruins remained the center of attention, but the Heavenly Demon Sect's Saintess Candidate had still not sought revenge.

• Shen Changchuan realized his earlier progress with space power had depended on years of accumulated understanding, and the Enlightenment Stone's aura had only acted as a catalyst.
• Shen Changchuan reconsidered his confidence after recognizing how difficult it was for an Out of Body Realm cultivator to apply space power, and reminded himself to respect the cultivation path.
• Shen Changchuan set aside his stalled attempt to fuse space power with the Gold Thorn Technique and devoted himself to cultivation, aiming to reach the Ninth Level of Out-of-Body Realm before the Immortal Sect Grand Competition.
• Shen Changchuan heard that the Elephant Mountain Sect Ruins had grown more chaotic, with rumors that Spirit Wandering Realm cultivators had clashed there.
• Shen Changchuan monitored news about Dawan Village and felt relieved that Shi Mengting had not yet come to take revenge.

Shen Changchuan suspected that forces were moving in response to the deaths in the Elephant Mountain Sect Ruins and stayed within the Dragon Firmament Sect to cultivate. Three months later, Ming Xuanyang barely escaped a Heavenly Demon Sect ambush and feared the sect had learned of the immortal sect’s plan.

• Shen Changchuan recalled that his master had warned him to remain inside the mountain gate and sensed that upper-level forces were stirring over the prodigies slain in the Enlightenment Cave Heaven.
• Shen Changchuan concluded that Shi Mengting was likely too occupied to seek revenge on him for now and resolved to grow stronger through cultivation.
• Three months passed before a tremendous upheaval tore open the sky and spread darkness across an unknown region.
• Ming Xuanyang fled the collapsing sky, wounded and terrified, after the Heavenly Demon Sect ambushed Spirit Wandering Realm cultivators involved in an operation.
• Ming Xuanyang survived and wondered whether the Heavenly Demon Sect had learned of the immortal sect’s plan.

After the Heavenly Demon Sect’s ambush devastated the Jade Clarity Sect’s joint retaliatory force, Ming Xuanyang realized Shi Mengting had been bait in a larger scheme. The Heavenly Demon Sect’s ancestor rewarded Shi Mengting with the promise of official Saintess status, while she prepared to deal with Shen Changchuan before returning.

• Ming Xuanyang concluded that Shi Mengting’s bracelet and her apparent escape had lured the Jade Clarity Sect forces into the Heavenly Demon Sect’s trap, then fled while threatening that the sect would pay for breaking the rules.
• The Heavenly Demon Sect’s ancestor praised Shi Mengting for helping kill twenty-three Jade Clarity Sect Spirit Wandering cultivators and promised to make her an official Saintess.
• Shi Mengting thanked the ancestor and agreed to return to the Holy Sect quickly to secure her position before the Jade Clarity Sect acted.
• Shi Mengting recalled Shen Changchuan with deep apprehension and quietly instructed Aunt Song to make arrangements before they returned.

After three months of secluded cultivation, Shen Changchuan reached the peak of the mid Eighth Level of the Out-of-Body Realm and planned to deepen his understanding of the Power of Space. Studying Shi Mengting’s Three Thousand Void-Illusion Steps, he discovered that the technique’s jade slip had important content removed and could endanger anyone who tried to use it.

• Shen Changchuan completed three months of secluded cultivation and advanced to the peak of the mid Eighth Level of the Out-of-Body Realm.
• Shen Changchuan decided to stabilize his cultivation and build his spell knowledge, especially his understanding of the Power of Space.
• Shen Changchuan took out Shi Mengting’s jade slip and began studying her Three Thousand Void-Illusion Steps and cultivation insights.
• After three days of study, Shen Changchuan determined that the technique was incomplete and that following it could cause a cultivator to be crushed by the Power of Space.

Shen Changchuan discovered that Shi Mengting’s jade slip and stored resources might contain hidden traps, so he began studying the incomplete Three Thousand Void-Illusion Steps to develop a spatial movement method of his own. A message from Wei Yuting then revealed a deadly ambush and an upcoming Immortal Sect competition that could offer him a chance to advance his cultivation.

• Shen Changchuan noticed concealed omissions in the Three Thousand Void-Illusion Steps and realized Shi Mengting might have planted traps in her pills and treasures.
• Shen Changchuan decided to have the stored resources appraised before using them and began studying the spell fragment and Shi Mengting’s cultivation insights.
• Wei Yuting sent Shen Changchuan news that Ming Xuanyang and accompanying Spirit Wandering Realm cultivators had been ambushed by a Heavenly Demon Sect Mystic Core Realm True Person, leaving more than twenty cultivators dead.
• Wei Yuting reported that the Jade Clarity Immortal Sect planned an internal competition in three years, with the top one hundred prodigies receiving precious cultivation opportunities.
• Shen Changchuan welcomed the competition as a test of his strength and hoped to obtain an opportunity that could advance his cultivation beyond the Ninth Level of the Out-of-Body Realm.

After six months of cultivation, Shen Changchuan created the flawed but promising Void-Stepping Technique and decided to perfect it to deepen his understanding of the Power of Space. He emerged from seclusion to learn more about the ambush and arranged for Shi Mengting’s seized treasures to be sold, then returned to his plans for cultivation.

• Shen Changchuan spent six months studying the Three Thousand Void-Illusion Steps and developed the Void-Stepping Technique, whose progress reached 5%.
• Shen Changchuan decided that perfecting the Void-Stepping Technique was worth the time because it might help him learn to fuse the Power of Space with spells.
• Shen Changchuan visited Senior Sister Wei, thanked her for keeping him informed, and heard more details about the ambush.
• Shen Changchuan asked Senior Sister Wei to post a sect task to appraise and sell the treasures in Shi Mengting’s bracelet space for cultivation pills and Spirit Stones.

After the Dragon Firmament Sect prospered from its victories, Shen Changchuan reflected on his grandfather’s approaching death and resolved to pursue immortality. When his Void-Stepping Technique stalled at 20%, he headed to Southern Yue to seek a way to deepen his understanding of space.

• The Dragon Firmament Sect gained resources and more than twenty disciples advanced to the Out of Body Realm, allowing Shen Changchuan to delegate a mission involving the Heavenly Demon Sect’s Saintess Candidate’s spoils.
• Shen Changchuan secretly visited Dawan Village and saw that the Han Clan had returned, while his grandfather Han Qinhu had grown frail and needed a cane.
• Shen Changchuan resolved to pursue immortality and returned to the Dragon Firmament Sect to cultivate the Void-Stepping Technique.
• Over three months, Shen Changchuan raised the technique’s progress to 20% and tested it against late-stage Out-of-Body Realm monster beasts, but then hit a bottleneck.
• Shen Changchuan decided to seek out his master Roaming Dragon’s space-shuttling Flying Boat and headed to Southern Yue to use it with the Enlightenment Stone.

While traveling toward Southern Yue, Shen Changchuan reflected on his progress with the Power of Space and how it had strengthened him. The Corpse Refining Sect's Old Ancestor, Wan Zunli, ambushed him from above, leaving Shen Changchuan trapped beneath a lethal attack.

• Shen Changchuan judged that his slow progress with the Power of Space had still improved his combat strength and tempered his cultivation.
• Wan Zunli suddenly attacked Shen Changchuan with a crushing palm and terrifying soul pressure.
• Shen Changchuan recognized Wan Zunli as the Spirit Wandering Realm Old Ancestor of the Corpse Refining Sect.
• Wan Zunli revealed that the Heavenly Demon Sect's Saintess had offered him intelligence support and that he planned to bring Shen Changchuan's head to her.
• Wan Zunli intended to leave Southern Yue for the Western Heaven Domain after killing Shen Changchuan, beyond Roaming Dragon's reach.

Shen Changchuan escaped Wan Zunli’s surprise attack by using the Void-Stepping Technique, leaving Wan Zunli furious and determined to pursue him. The chapter revealed that Shen Changchuan had learned the technique through his recent studies and research into Shi Mengting’s methods.

• Wan Zunli ambushed Shen Changchuan with a full-power strike, believing he had confirmed that Shen was traveling alone.
• Shen Changchuan used the Void-Stepping Technique to break Wan Zunli’s divine sense lock and escape several li away.
• Wan Zunli’s palm strike missed and devastated the surrounding land, while Shen Changchuan recovered on a distant boulder.
• Wan Zunli demanded to know how Shen Changchuan had escaped, and Shen taunted him instead of explaining.
• Shen Changchuan recalled that the Enlightenment Stone had heightened his comprehension and that he had studied methods for evading divine sense locks after taking Shi Mengting’s Storage Bracelet.

Shen Changchuan used the spatial power hidden in the Three Thousand Void-Illusion Steps to escape Wan Zunli’s divine-sense lock, then faced the Spirit Wandering Realm elder head-on. After spotting signs of Wan Zunli’s lingering injury, Shen Changchuan powered up and launched a punch against his giant palm.

• Shen Changchuan discovered that the Three Thousand Void-Illusion Steps could use spatial power to evade even a Spirit Wandering Realm expert’s divine-sense lock.
• Wan Zunli mistook Shen Changchuan’s escape for the effect of a protective Jade Talisman and attacked again with the Heaven-Overturning Palm Seal.
• Shen Changchuan used the True Insight Pupil to identify disharmony in Wan Zunli’s aura caused by his previous injury.
• Shen Changchuan activated the Golden Wind Jade Dew Gu’s overclocked state, reached the Ninth Level of Out-of-Body Realm, and brought forth the Eternal Wood Body.
• Shen Changchuan punched Wan Zunli’s descending giant palm, and the two attacks collided.

Shen Changchuan used the Power of Space to withstand Wan Zunli’s attacks and turn the battle around. He struck Wan Zunli from the sky into a massive crater, leaving his opponent’s fate unclear.

• Shen Changchuan blocked Wan Zunli’s heaven-veiling palm despite being in the eighth level of the Out of Body Realm.
• Shen Changchuan broke through Wan Zunli’s attack and charged forward with a golden, space-wreathed fist.
• Wan Zunli tried to meet the punch with his Spirit Wandering Realm magic power, but Shen Changchuan’s Power of Space shattered it.
• Wan Zunli realized Shen Changchuan’s earlier escape and powerful strikes had also relied on the Power of Space.
• Shen Changchuan punched Wan Zunli in the face and sent him crashing into the earth, forming a massive crater.

Shen Changchuan wounded Wan Zunli with a space-powered punch, but knew the Spirit Wandering Realm cultivator could survive physical damage through his independent soul. Wan Zunli unleashed his full power to kill Shen Changchuan, who met the attack head-on with the Power of Space.

• Shen Changchuan smashed Wan Zunli into the earth and caved in most of his head with the Power of Space.
• Shen Changchuan recognized that Wan Zunli's Spirit Wandering Realm soul could survive grave bodily injuries and restore his body.
• Wan Zunli emerged from the crater, praised Shen Changchuan's ability, and declared that he would kill him before he became a greater threat.
• Wan Zunli stopped suppressing his injuries, released his full Spirit Wandering Realm power, and launched a massive attack at Shen Changchuan.
• Shen Changchuan questioned Wan Zunli's strategy, then gathered the Power of Space around his hand and punched back.

Shen Changchuan battled Wan Zunli by countering his Spirit Wandering Realm attacks with fists imbued with the Power of Space. Trapped in the destructive storm, Shen Changchuan grew more focused and controlled the power more smoothly as the fight continued.

• Shen Changchuan realized he could imbue his fists and palms with the Power of Space to confront stronger cultivators head-on.
• Shen Changchuan shattered Wan Zunli’s mana fist and suspected that the newly advanced Spirit Wandering Realm cultivator had not mastered its techniques.
• Wan Zunli repeatedly attacked from thousands of zhang away, and Shen Changchuan met each blow with space-infused punches.
• Shen Changchuan endured the destructive storm by covering himself with the Power of Space while struggling to control the Void-Escaping Gu.
• Shen Changchuan’s focus and control over the Power of Space improved under the pressure of the life-threatening battle.