Chapter Summaries

Qin Huaian questioned the voice in the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower about the Violet Thorn Great World’s severed connection to the main world and the incomplete laws. The voice offered to help him surpass the world’s limits, while Qin Huaian suspected that powerful beings had arranged the world’s troubles and recalled Luo Xi’s role in disrupting that plan.

• The voice explained that the Violet Thorn Great World had lost its passage to the main world and might have been deliberately isolated or become a drifting duckweed world.
• Qin Huaian asked whether the vanished vortex passage and the Devil Race cultivators encountered in the past were connected to the main world and the void.
• The voice confirmed that the vortex passage had led to the main world and said the earlier encounter with cultivators from another world was likely not accidental.
• Qin Huaian asked where the voice came from and whether the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower had caused the world’s laws to become incomplete.
• The voice said it was a remnant consciousness from a damaged tower and that other factors must have caused the incomplete laws.
• Qin Huaian recalled Luo Xi saying the Nine Tribulations Path to Immortality had been arranged by powerful figures, and suspected the Violet Thorn Great World was part of their scheme.

Qin Huaian questioned the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower’s artifact spirit about the tower’s origins and how to become its master. He learned he could attempt an early trial by reaching the Sage realm within one cosmic cycle, though the artifact spirit doubted the rule would be achievable.

• Qin Huaian asked the artifact spirit who had placed the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower in the secret realm, and learned the realm had been formed to repair the tower using the world’s origin power.
• The artifact spirit explained that nine candidates had to be gathered before the tower selected a master, and Qin Huaian’s name had qualified him as a candidate.
• Qin Huaian revealed that he had comprehended the Spatial Law before reaching the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, surprising the artifact spirit.
• The artifact spirit told Qin Huaian that a candidate could pass an early trial by reaching the Sage realm within one cosmic cycle of having their name inscribed on the tower.
• The artifact spirit said even exceptionally gifted cultivators had taken more than a hundred cosmic cycles to reach the Sage realm, and guessed the original artifact spirit had hoped for a miracle.

Qin Huaian learned that candidates for the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower’s mastership would receive a chance to cultivate in a simulated main-world environment and glimpse the Saint Realm. The new artifact spirit said Qin Huaian was only one step away from meeting the requirements to become a candidate.

• The new artifact spirit explained that a candidate had one yuanhui to reach the Saint Realm before competing to become the tower’s master.
• Qin Huaian asked what benefits candidates received while waiting for the other candidates to be found.
• The artifact spirit said the Violet Thorn Great World could not support a breakthrough to the Saint Realm and that it could not send Qin Huaian to the main world.
• The artifact spirit revealed that the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower could simulate the main world’s cultivation environment and help qualified cultivators glimpse the Saint Realm.
• The artifact spirit told Qin Huaian that official candidates could cultivate in the simulated environment and that he was one step away from qualifying.

Qin Huaian agreed to become an official candidate to inherit the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower after learning that he must swear never to cooperate with the Moonbillow Star Court and kill one of its imperial family members if he ever had the ability. He completed a Great Dao oath with a one-use spiritual treasure, and the energy from his World Tree phantom reacted to the oath’s binding force.

• The new artifact spirit told Qin Huaian that becoming an official candidate required an oath concerning the Moonbillow Star Court.
• Qin Huaian decided the conditions would not hinder him and agreed to become an official candidate.
• The new artifact spirit explained that Qin Huaian had to swear by the Great Dao, not the Heavenly Dao, and provided a Great Dao Contract Lock.
• Qin Huaian used his blood essence and swore the required oath upon the Great Dao.
• The Great Dao Contract Lock dissolved, and energy from Qin Huaian's World Tree phantom flowed toward the oath's golden light.

Qin Huaian discovered that the World Tree could erase the restraints of a Great Dao oath, though doing so cost it nearly a hundred leaves. He learned how formal candidates could cultivate in the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower and asked whether he could use its law worlds to cultivate new laws.

• The World Tree dissolved the Great Dao oath’s binding power inside Qin Huaian, consuming nearly a hundred leaves in the process.
• Qin Huaian wondered about the origins of the Seed Space and its designation as the Number Seven Seed, while the new artifact spirit mistakenly believed the oath still bound him.
• The new artifact spirit explained that formal candidates could enter the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower for a hundred years of cultivation every thousand years.
• The new artifact spirit said candidates could cultivate laws in worlds suited to their cultivation level, at least five times faster than in the outside world.
• Qin Huaian compared the tower’s benefits with the Seed Space and asked whether he could cultivate new laws in the tower’s law worlds.

The New Artifact Spirit explained how cultivators prepared for Dao Integration and why the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower allowed them to comprehend up to nine laws. Qin Huaian learned that the tower also absorbed cultivators’ insights to evolve, leaving him wondering whether it had become an AI trained through cultivation.

• The New Artifact Spirit explained that cultivators generally cultivated up to nine laws before Dao Integration, since integrating more laws increased both power and the risk of failure.
• Qin Huaian asked why the tower admitted so many cultivators instead of limiting entry to selected geniuses.
• The New Artifact Spirit told Qin Huaian that the tower used cultivators’ law comprehension and flashes of inspiration to evolve.
• Qin Huaian realized the tower could absorb insights without harming cultivators and compared the process to training massive AI models.

Qin Huaian learned that the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower could absorb certain cultivators’ insights to expand its world of laws, but that it posed no risk to Golden Immortals. The New Artifact Spirit confirmed Qin Huaian could cultivate inside without interference, leaving him hopeful that the tower could protect him from the Violet Thorn Great World’s sacred-land cultivators.

• Qin Huaian asked whether the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower absorbed the insights of cultivators who entered its world of laws.
• The New Artifact Spirit explained that the tower absorbed only exceptional insights from cultivators below the Golden Immortal Realm, using them to develop its world of laws.
• Qin Huaian asked whether the tower could cultivate independently, but the New Artifact Spirit withheld its secrets until he became the tower’s master.
• Qin Huaian asked if he could cultivate inside the tower without outside interference, and the New Artifact Spirit confirmed that no one in his great world could enter the world of laws.
• Qin Huaian realized the tower could serve as a safe house and considered using it to uproot the Violet Thorn Great World’s sacred-land cultivators.

Qin Huaian learned the Ninth-Tier Immortality Inquiry Tower’s law world could be entered only once every thousand years, and that the tower would not protect its candidates. After the New Artifact Spirit gave him an entry incantation and left, the protective barrier vanished and his enemies flew toward him.

• The New Artifact Spirit told Qin Huaian that he could enter the law world once every thousand years for up to a hundred years, and could leave early.
• Qin Huaian learned the New Artifact Spirit had raised the barrier to block interruptions, but would not protect candidates or let them use the tower as a refuge.
• The New Artifact Spirit explained that the entry restrictions were meant to keep candidates from depending on the tower and sent Qin Huaian the incantation for opening a passage to the law world.
• The New Artifact Spirit departed, the barrier disappeared, and Qin Huaian's name returned to its ordinary form at the top of the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower.
• Several cultivators below sensed the barrier had vanished and flew upward toward Qin Huaian.

After Qin Huaian returned to the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower and visited its peak, cultivators gathered to investigate a mysterious barrier that had appeared around it. Confronted by Wu Mang and questioned about the tower, Qin Huaian claimed he controlled it and could enter whenever he wished.

• Qin Huaian met Liu Qing, who explained that a barrier had appeared around the tower while Qin Huaian was at its peak.
• Liu Qing warned Qin Huaian that Wu Mang of Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land had tried to pursue him and struck the barrier.
• Wu Mang accused Qin Huaian of killing Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land disciples, while Liu Qing defended Qin Huaian and Star Pavilion.
• Shen Xiaoran questioned Qin Huaian about the barrier, but he denied knowing anything about it.
• Wu Mang accused Qin Huaian of endangering the Violet Thorn Great World, and Qin Huaian claimed the tower was under his control and he could enter it at will.

Qin Huaian confronted Wu Mang and the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land cultivators, then broke their battle formation with his destructive sword technique. Wu Mang and several others were annihilated, leaving the rest of the group defeated.

• Liu Qing told Qin Huaian that Wu Mang was descended from the elder who had once pursued him into a secret realm.
• Qin Huaian taunted Wu Mang, then rushed the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land group with his Golden Roc Wings and shattered their hastily formed barrier.
• Wu Mang rallied the cultivators into a defensive battle formation and met Qin Huaian's sword strike with their combined power.
• Qin Huaian teleported behind the formation and unleashed Grand Void Birth and Extinction, piercing its barrier and annihilating several cultivators.
• Qin Huaian's sword momentum struck Wu Mang, destroying more than half his body along with his Primordial Spirit and consciousness.

Qin Huaian annihilated the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land cultivators who confronted him, then left the onlookers stunned by his strength. After rumors of his past feats spread through the crowd, Shen Xiaoran asked Liu Qing whether Qin Huaian’s earlier claim was true.

• Qin Huaian broke Wu Mang’s battle formation with one slash, killing nearly all the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land cultivators.
• Qin Huaian pursued and killed the two fleeing cultivators, then slew the last survivor and collected their Storage Rings and magical treasures.
• Qin Huaian asked the gathered cultivators whether anyone had questions, then flew toward Immortal Inquiry City when no one answered.
• The onlookers discussed Qin Huaian’s power, and one cultivator recounted rumors that he had killed more than 160 cultivators in a single move.
• Shen Xiaoran asked Liu Qing whether Qin Huaian’s earlier claim was true, while nearby cultivators listened for his answer.

After discussing Qin Huaian’s connection to the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower and the threat posed by the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land, the cultivators learned he had razed its base in Immortal Inquiry City. Qin Huaian declared that the destruction was only a little interest collected for his grudge against the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land.

• Liu Qing and the other cultivators debated whether Qin Huaian had gained control of the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower and whether he could withstand the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land.
• Feng Cen argued that Qin Huaian was no match for the strongest Immortal Venerables or the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land’s forces, and Liu Qing mocked him for not having joined the earlier fight.
• A cultivator announced that the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land’s base in Immortal Inquiry City had been destroyed, prompting the gathered factions to hurry toward the city.
• Qin Huaian revealed that he had demolished the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land’s sprawling base and killed the cultivators stationed there.
• Qin Huaian addressed the watching crowd and said he had only come to collect a little interest from the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land.

Qin Huaian destroyed the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land's compound in Immortal Inquiry City and declared war on the sect for its years of persecution. As he left, onlookers speculated that the great powers coveted his opportunities, and powerful figures arrived to witness the aftermath.

• Qin Huaian reduced the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land's compound to ruins, killing its disciples except those who escaped.
• Qin Huaian told the gathered cultivators that the sect had targeted him and the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect, then warned its members to prepare for his revenge.
• Qin Huaian apologized to the people of Immortal Inquiry City and flew away while surviving Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land disciples hid among the crowd.
• Cultivators discussed whether the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land and other great powers had hunted Qin Huaian to seize his opportunities.
• Experts from other powers and Rogue Cultivators arrived in Immortal Inquiry City after hearing that the compound had been destroyed.

Shen Xiaoran, Liu Qing, and other cultivators learned how Qin Huaian had annihilated the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land stronghold in Immortal Inquiry City. Qiu Yi arrived with over a hundred experts to avenge the dead, while Liu Qing secretly sent Qin Huaian a message, prompting him to change direction.

• Zhang Wei described how Qin Huaian surrounded the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land stronghold with Taiji Yin-Yang Fish and killed its inhabitants in a dozen breaths.
• Qiu Yi led more than a hundred Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land experts to Immortal Inquiry City and found the stronghold reduced to ruins.
• Surviving disciples begged Qiu Yi to avenge the dead, and he ordered them to handle the aftermath while promising to kill Qin Huaian.
• Qiu Yi learned that Qin Huaian had flown west about the time it took to drink a cup of tea earlier.
• Liu Qing secretly sent Qin Huaian a message, and Qin Huaian changed direction and disappeared beyond the horizon.

Qiu Yi gathered Feng Cen and Jia Xiuming to learn how Qin Huaian had killed Wu Mang and destroyed the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land’s stronghold. After hearing about Qin Huaian’s mysterious sword strike, Qiu Yi dismissed concerns about his strength and asked Feng Cen what had happened when Qin Huaian reached the tower’s peak.

• Qiu Yi met Feng Cen and Jia Xiuming, then asked them to recount Qin Huaian’s attack at the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower.
• Feng Cen explained that Qin Huaian broke Wu Mang’s battle formation with a strange sword strike and killed Wu Mang and the surviving disciples.
• Qiu Yi told the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land cultivators not to fear Qin Huaian, arguing they could exhaust his Immortal Essence Power with their powerful battle formation.
• Feng Cen asked whether Sacred Lord Duan would personally capture Qin Huaian, but Qiu Yi said the Sacred Lord need not intervene.
• Qiu Yi asked Feng Cen what had caused the powerful barrier to appear around the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower when Qin Huaian flew to its peak.

Feng Cen told Qiu Yi that a powerful barrier had appeared around the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower when Qin Huaian reached its summit, suggesting he had a special connection to the tower. Qiu Yi revealed that the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land’s Sacred Lord would stay on the Parasol Tree Continent to secure its growing influence, leaving them to lure Qin Huaian into an encirclement and kill him.

• Feng Cen described how the tower’s barrier appeared as Qin Huaian reached the summit and said the sects suspected his name being inscribed there had triggered a special opportunity.
• Qiu Yi considered Qin Huaian’s many secrets and possible status as a Child of Fortune, but decided the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land should still kill him.
• Qiu Yi dismissed Feng Cen and the other cultivators, then explained that the Sacred Lord had chosen to remain on the Parasol Tree Continent rather than come to the Violet Thorn Domain.
• Qiu Yi said the Sacred Lord believed the Parasol Tree Continent would surpass the Violet Thorn Continent, making control of it more important than Qin Huaian’s pursuit.
• Qiu Yi ordered the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land cultivators to lure Qin Huaian into their formation and trap him.

Qiu Yi planned to lure Qin Huaian into an ambush using captured Yellow Mountain Sword Sect cultivators and a decoy squad. Qin Huaian appeared in the Violet Thorn Mountains, where Ma Jianling’s patrol spotted him and called for reinforcements.

• Qiu Yi proposed using the captured Yellow Mountain Sword Sect cultivators as bait and offering supreme-grade Dao artifacts to recruit a fast-moving decoy squad.
• A cultivator reported that Qin Huaian had appeared in the Violet Thorn Mountains.
• Ma Jianling led his ten-man squad toward the disturbance and confirmed that Qin Huaian had entered the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land’s surveillance range.
• Ma Jianling ordered his squad to alert nearby patrols and send word to Qiu Yi.

Qin Huaian ambushed a ten-person squad of Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land cultivators in the Violet Thorn Mountains and tested their powerful battle formation. After gauging its strength and evading their attacks, he launched a close-range sword strike charged with sixty percent of his Immortal Essence Power, leaving the squad’s fate unresolved.

• Qin Huaian learned from Liu Qing that Qiu Yi and much of the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land’s core forces had gone to the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower, so he entered the Violet Thorn Mountains to weaken the sect.
• Ma Jianling formed a ten-person battle formation when Qin Huaian approached, and its barrier withstood his opening sword strike.
• The squad counterattacked, but Qin Huaian evaded their combined blast and repeatedly struck their barrier while Ma Jianling tried to keep him occupied until reinforcements arrived.
• Qin Huaian used his Mirror Bodies to replenish his Immortal Essence Power as he assessed the formation and decided to finish the fight before more squads arrived.
• Qin Huaian evaded another coordinated attack, appeared beside the formation, and sent a close-range invisible sword beam charged with sixty percent of his Immortal Essence Power at the ten cultivators.

Qin Huaian annihilated Ma Jianling’s squad but fled the Violet Thorn Mountains before reinforcements arrived. He hid in a nameless mountain range to recover, while Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land’s leaders gathered in a grim Central Hall.

• Qin Huaian broke Ma Jianling’s battle formation, fatally wounded Ma Jianling, and killed the two late-stage Immortal Venerable cultivators who tried to flee.
• Qin Huaian caught and slew the squad’s last great-perfection Immortal Venerable cultivator before reinforcements arrived.
• Two squads reached the battlefield, learned Ma Jianling had been killed, and reported Qin Huaian’s strength to Elder Qiu.
• Senior Brother Zhang ordered the squads to return to the Central Hall so Qin Huaian could not pick them off individually.
• Qin Huaian escaped the Violet Thorn Mountains, hid in a cave, and began recovering his Immortal Essence Power as Qiu Yi sat in a grave Central Hall.

After Ma Jianling's death, Qiu Yi and Jiang Heyu discussed the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land's plans to consolidate its forces on the Parasol Tree Continent and defend its base. Qin Huaian hid in a cave and cultivated for ten years, focusing on the Fire-Attribute Law.

• Qiu Yi told the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land's cultivators to avoid fighting Qin Huaian unless they had a strong chance of winning and to patrol in groups.
• Qiu Yi explained that Sacred Lord Duan Linchuan planned to move most of the Heavenly Treasure Sacred Land's forces to the Parasol Tree Continent, which could become the center of the Violet Thorn Great World.
• Qiu Yi said the Sacred Land would station three squads permanently at the Nine Tribulations Immortal Inquiry Tower to protect its rebuilt base.
• Qin Huaian recovered in a hidden cave, decided to cultivate rather than risk another attack, and used the Seed Space to advance his understanding of the Fire-Attribute Law.
• Qin Huaian and his Mirror Bodies cultivated for ten years.