Chapter Summaries

Jiang Ning learned about the power and long lifespan of Primordial Spirit experts, but rejected Xia Xuanyan’s offer to marry into the Xia Family in exchange for Primordial Yellow Essence. He planned to return home before traveling to the Royal Capital for the martial examination, while Shen Wenyuan believed Martial Saint Manor might help him attempt the ninth blood exchange.

• Xia Xuanyan explained that Primordial Spirit experts could influence the world around them and live thousands of years, then offered Jiang Ning Primordial Yellow Essence if he married into the Xia Family and left descendants.
• Jiang Ning recognized the appeal of the offer but decided he did not want to spend his life confined to a Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land; Xia Xuanyan told Xia Wanqin to focus on winning his heart.
• Jiang Ning visited Ye Zhengqi and met Shen Wenyuan, who explained why Xia Xuanyan was called a Primordial Spirit Immortal and asked about his visit.
• Jiang Ning told Shen Wenyuan and Ye Zhengqi that Xia Xuanyan had tried to recruit him, but he rejected the prospect of living under another family’s roof.
• Jiang Ning said he would spend a few days at home and then go to the Royal Capital for the martial examination; Shen Wenyuan speculated that Martial Saint Manor could have a treasure to help him survive the ninth blood exchange.

Jiang Ning returned to Dongling City, tested Jiang Yiming’s martial progress, and gave him golden essence blood to aid his training. He then practiced the Summer Canon in the mountains, where his visualization unexpectedly began to improve.

• Jiang Ning tested Jiang Yiming’s strength and urged him to fight with greater ferocity, learning that he could exert 2,630 jin with one arm.
• Jiang Ning gave Jiang Yiming tea mixed with his essence blood and ordered him to train until he reached the seventh rank while concealing his cultivation.
• Jiang Ning reflected on Xia Xuanyan’s warning that the ninth blood exchange would be difficult and resolved to strengthen his body, reserves, and Martial Dao true intent before attempting it.
• Jiang Ning practiced Sun Overhead in the Dongling Mountain Range, demonstrated its increased power, and extinguished the fire it had started.
• Jiang Ning meditated beneath the setting sun, received Summer Canon experience, and unexpectedly saw a notification for visualization experience.

Jiang Ning perfected the Summer Canon by communing with the rising sun, creating a radiant sun that strengthened those around him. After reaching a new limit break in his swordsmanship, he left Little Doubao with a seed of the sun’s true essence and described the power behind his manifestation as a kind of rule.

• Jiang Ning spent five days training his swordsmanship and strengthening his Sun Suspended in the Sky Conception, while Old Tortoise supervised Jiang Yiming’s practice.
• Jiang Ning used 10,000 source energy to advance the Seven-Star Demon-Subduing Sword to its seventh limit break and upgraded Turning Peril into Fortune.
• Jiang Ning judged further practice of the Seven-Star Demon-Subduing Sword too costly and focused instead on the more efficient Two Forms Hard-Soft Sword before sunrise.
• Jiang Ning perfected the Summer Canon through Visualization and communion with the sun, manifesting a golden sun that nourished Zhong Ling, Linglong, Liu Wanwan, and Little Doubao.
• Jiang Ning placed a seed of the sun’s true essence in Little Doubao and told Linglong and Zhong Ling that his power was a kind of rule.

Jiang Ning discovered that his perfected Sun Overhead conception could restore vitality, then returned to the Shangyang Immortal Sect’s Inner Landscape Grounds and met Bai Li in the Yang Pool. As Jiang Ning began absorbing the pool’s yang energy, Bai Li recognized his unusual ability and moved aside to cultivate.

• Jiang Ning tested his perfected conception in the burned mountain hollow and found that its rule restored life and vitality to the vegetation.
• Jiang Ning cultivated the Summer Canon while, at the border of Five Peaks Prefecture and Guangning Prefecture, a senior brother sent a junior brother to bring Zhong Ling back and warned him about Jiang Ning.
• Jiang Ning entered the Shangyang Immortal Sect’s Inner Landscape Grounds and found Bai Li emerging from the Yang Pool.
• Bai Li welcomed Jiang Ning, gave him an essence of metal, and learned his name.
• Jiang Ning entered the Yang Pool and used his trait to draw in its yang energy, prompting Bai Li to move away and continue cultivating.

After gaining a pure-yang spiritual body in the Yang Pool, Jiang Ning attended a lecture on the Dao of Space that deepened his understanding without adding a skill to his panel. He found the Heaven-Climbing Stairway and began its pressure-filled climb, while Bai Li followed behind him.

• Jiang Ning absorbed the metal-aspected qi Bai Li had given him and discovered that his body had become a pure-yang spiritual body.
• Jiang Ning attended a lecture on the Dao of Space and gained insight as visions of golden lotuses and celestial music appeared around him.
• Jiang Ning found the Heaven-Climbing Stairway and realized it was likely a former Shangyang Immortal Sect trial site offering rewards.
• Jiang Ning climbed the stairway, adjusting to increasingly powerful waves of mental pressure with each step.
• Bai Li arrived at the stairway and began climbing behind Jiang Ning, reaching a dozen or so steps below him.

Jiang Ning climbed the Heaven-Climbing Stairway, tempered his spirit, and reached its second level, where he chose self-growing soil as his reward. The soil vanished into his palm, leaving him unable to tell where it had gone as he searched his body for any change.

• Bai Li explained that the Heaven-Climbing Stairway tested the spirit, that the hundredth stair brought a reward, and that the two-hundredth could rival an immortal’s strength.
• Jiang Ning climbed through the pressure, felt his spirit grow denser, and reached the ninety-eighth stair while Bai Li advanced to the second level.
• Shen Yue Ru caught up below Jiang Ning and urged him to clear the last two stairs, saying she would meet him on the second level.
• Jiang Ning endured the pressure beyond the hundredth stair and received a choice of three rewards: earth-aspect qi, a Spirit-Soul Crystal, or self-growing soil.
• Jiang Ning chose the self-growing soil for its ability to nurture and accelerate immortal roots, but it sank into his palm and disappeared before he could determine its effect.

Jiang Ning was expelled from the Celestial Ladder after reaching the second level, but the pressure had tempered his soul into a Yang God. He traveled through the night to inspect familiar people and places, then left Shangguan Feilong reassured that he had remained loyal.

• Jiang Ning climbed the Celestial Ladder, where its pressure tempered his mental body, and Shen Yue Ru reached the second level and saw him blasted from the steps.
• Jiang Ning returned to his body after nearly four hours and discovered that his soul had become completely pure yang, allowing him to manifest as a Yang God.
• Jiang Ning flew to the Commandery Governor's Office to visit Wang Qingtan, but she sensed his presence after he left and decided to see him the next day.
• Jiang Ning traveled to Luoshui County and the Blue-Wave Martial Academy, where he checked on Wang Jin and found him healthy.
• Jiang Ning visited the Water-Moon Sword Palace, sensed Xiao Emei's progress and the goddess statue's strange presence, then left for Divine Sword Manor.
• Jiang Ning inspected Divine Sword Manor and told Shangguan Feilong that he had done well, leaving the man relieved that he had not acted disloyally.

Jiang Ning tested the reach of his newly attained Yang God, then discovered that the rewards from the Upper Yang Inner Landscape had transformed and nourished the immortal root in his dantian. After checking his gains and source energy, he went to sleep, leaving his next climb of the Immortal Platform Ladder for the future.

• Shangguan Feilong found the writing erased from his table and feared Jiang Ning's hidden power would keep him from acting recklessly.
• Jiang Ning visited Marquis Wenyuan's residence, where Shen Wenyuan sensed a Yang God but could not locate or see him, so Jiang Ning left without revealing himself.
• Jiang Ning reflected on Lin Qingyi's ability to sense and wound an Earth King's Yin God, and connected it to her special constitution.
• Jiang Ning returned to Dongling City at dawn, confirmed sunlight no longer harmed him, and found his soul had become a pale-gold Yang God.
• Jiang Ning discovered that Self-Growing Soil had entered his dantian and nourished his immortal root, which had grown a silver space-aspected leaf and gathered Metal-aspected aura.
• Jiang Ning checked his panel and found 201333 source energy points, then went to bed exhausted.

Fang Yu of Profound Finger Mountain came to Dongling City to seize Zhong Ling and wounded Zhao Yulong when he refused to reveal Jiang Ning’s residence. At Jiang Ning’s home, Fang Yu demanded Zhong Ling and threatened the household, but Jiang Ning answered with a dazzling surge of golden power as their confrontation began.

• Fang Yu entered Dongling City and told Zhao Yulong that he had come to take Zhong Ling at Grandmaster Mountain-Shaker’s request.
• When Zhao Yulong refused to reveal Jiang Ning’s location, Fang Yu pierced his chest with a finger and then went to Jiang Ning’s residence.
• Jiang Ning sensed Fang Yu’s powerful life force field, brought Linglong with him, and opened the gates to meet Fang Yu while Zhao Yulong followed.
• Fang Yu entered the residence and demanded Zhong Ling, but Jiang Ning refused, saying Zhong Yue had entrusted her to him.
• Fang Yu threatened to kill everyone in the household and shattered the pavilion with his vital energy; Jiang Ning unleashed a radiant golden power that shook Fang Yu’s momentum.

Jiang Ning killed Fang Yu to protect his family, then accepted Zhong Ling’s loan of her mother’s mysterious three-story pagoda, which guarded his soul. After considering the danger posed by the Grotto-Heaven Blessed Lands and the pagoda’s power, he resisted the temptation to refine it and take full control.

• Jiang Ning killed Fang Yu with one punch, burned his remains to ash, and told Zhao Yulong he did not fear Profound Finger Mountain’s retaliation.
• Jiang Ning reassured Zhong Ling and his family, and Zhong Ling lent him her mother’s nameless three-story pagoda to protect his soul.
• Jiang Ning bound the pagoda to himself and placed it in his Spirit Platform, where it shielded his Yang God with golden energy.
• Jiang Ning went to the Dongling Mountain Range and chose a spot from which he could watch the East District and his home.
• Jiang Ning sensed that the pagoda had twenty-seven restrictions and considered refining it, but suppressed his greed and left it as a loan.

Jiang Ning focused on advancing the Summer Canon after killing Fang Yu, while Profound Finger Mountain and the Heaven-Answering Alliance discussed how to respond. The chapter ended with Jiang Ning reaching mastery in the Summer Canon, ready to break through its limit.

• Jiang Ning decided to prioritize the Summer Canon, trained beneath the sun, and later reunited with Wang Qingtan at his courtyard.
• Li Sixiang told Zheng Changfeng and Mountain Lord Yun Shanhai that Jiang Ning had killed Fang Yu.
• Yun Shanhai refused to avenge Fang Yu himself because attacking a prefecture's inspection envoy could bring disaster upon Profound Finger Mountain.
• Li Sixiang agreed to kill Jiang Ning in exchange for Profound Finger Mountain joining the Heaven-Answering Alliance and requested a segment of Divine Bone bearing Yun Shanhai's Mountain-Sea Intent.
• After four days of training, Jiang Ning reached mastery in the Summer Canon and saw that he had 201387 source energy points.

Jiang Ning broke through the Summer Canon’s first limit and gained the purple trait Sun-Yang True Fire, then trained the Two Forms Hard-Soft Sword until it reached the threshold for another limit break. He ended the chapter in the mountains with ample source energy remaining and the sword skill ready for advancement.

• Jiang Ning spent ten thousand source energy points to break the Summer Canon’s first limit, unleashing heat and golden light that set the stone pillar ablaze and melted its surface.
• Zhao Yulong and Su Zhi witnessed the light from Dongling City, and Zhao Yulong said Jiang Ning might be the greatest martial prodigy in centuries and could become a second Martial Saint.
• Jiang Ning discovered that the Summer Canon had granted him the Sun-Yang True Fire innate divine ability, tested its power, and found that it could melt boulders and ores but consumed his essence, qi, and spirit when used directly.
• Jiang Ning checked his progress in Visualization and the Two Forms Hard-Soft Sword, then decided to keep training the sword skill before sunset.
• Jiang Ning practiced through the night until the Two Forms Hard-Soft Sword reached 7000/7000 experience, leaving him poised to spend ten thousand source energy points on its seventh limit break.

Jiang Ning strengthened his swordsmanship and Sun visualization while preparing to travel to the Royal Capital for the imperial martial examination. Meanwhile, Li Sixiang recruited Tyrant Blade Li San to kill Jiang Ning and offered him a segment of divine bone tied to Yun Shanhe’s Mountains and Rivers Finger.

• Jiang Ning spent source energy to break through the Two Forms Hard-Soft Sword, gaining the Ocean Embracing a Hundred Rivers trait and improving his sword arts.
• Zhao Yulong and Bai Luoyu visited Jiang Ning to congratulate him on his advancement, and he shared a drink with them.
• Jiang Ning told Lü Yi that he would travel alone to the Royal Capital for the martial examination, but planned to delay leaving in case Profound Finger Mountain retaliated for Fang Yu’s death.
• Jiang Ning advanced his visualization skill and made progress in the Summer Canon and Two Forms Hard-Soft Sword through cultivation.
• Li Sixiang met Tyrant Blade Li San by the Luo River and asked him to kill Jiang Ning, then offered him a segment of divine bone containing the intent of mountains and rivers.

Tyrant Blade Li San entered Dongling City and challenged Jiang Ning, first testing him with a blade strike that could not harm him. Li San then crushed a jade box and unleashed a mountain-sized finger attack that transformed the street into a rushing river and swallowed Jiang Ning, leaving Zhao Yulong stunned.

• Tyrant Blade Li San entered Dongling City, and the gate captain recognized him as an imperial wanted criminal and alerted the Inspection Office.
• Jiang Ning learned that Li San was heading to his residence, suspected Profound Finger Mountain had sent him, and moved his household to Dongling Mountain.
• Zhao Yulong watched as Jiang Ning confronted Li San in the empty street and heard Li San declare that he had come to test the Heavenly Rankings’ fourth-ranked inspector.
• Li San unleashed a powerful blade strike, but Jiang Ning’s Indestructible Vajra Body left him unharmed.
• Li San crushed a jade box and released a mountain-sized finger attack that formed a river and swallowed Jiang Ning while Zhao Yulong watched in shock.

Jiang Ning killed Tyrant Blade Li San and recovered a mysterious finger bone that Shen Wenyuan identified as a Divine Bone bearing the Mountains and Rivers Finger. After learning that Profound Finger Mountain’s Yun Shanhe was the titled Mountain River Marquis, Jiang Ning asked about the balance of power in Five Peaks Prefecture and learned its Prefect was nearly his equal.

• Jiang Ning used his Six-Foot Golden Body to withstand Tyrant Blade Li San’s finger strike, then killed him and took the finger bone from his hand.
• Zhao Yulong joined Jiang Ning, suspected the attack came from Profound Finger Mountain, and said Shen Wenyuan might identify the finger bone.
• Jiang Ning went to the Marquis Residence, where Shen Wenyuan identified the technique as Yun Shanhe’s Mountains and Rivers Finger and explained Yun Shanhe’s title and strength.
• Shen Wenyuan identified the finger bone as a Divine Bone from a fallen god and said Jiang Ning had endured an attack comparable to a titled grandmaster’s full-strength strike.
• Jiang Ning asked about the situation in Five Peaks Prefecture, and Shen Wenyuan said its Prefect was a titled powerhouse only a hair’s breadth weaker than Yun Shanhe.

Jiang Ning traveled to Celestial City to meet the Marquis of Five Peaks Prefecture, rested, and reforged a blade blank into a sword embryo before visiting the Marquis's residence. The Marquis and Zhong Yue were preparing to draw out Profound Finger Mountain, and they recognized Jiang Ning when his arrival was reported.

• Jiang Ning crossed into Five Peaks Prefecture and entered Celestial City, where he located the Marquis's residence and rented a room at Spring Breeze Tower.
• After resting overnight, Jiang Ning used Sun-Yang True Fire to reforge his blade blank into a sword embryo and sealed it with his blood.
• Jiang Ning went to the Marquis's residence and introduced himself as Dongling Commandery's inspector.
• In the rear garden, the Marquis told Zhong Yue he planned to make the first move against Profound Finger Mountain and had invited someone to help draw out its hidden force.
• A gate guard reported Jiang Ning's arrival, and the Marquis and Zhong Yue recognized his name before the Marquis ordered the guard to present Jiang Ning's identity token.

Jiang Ning met the Violet-Clad Marquis and Zhong Yue, learned that Profound Finger Mountain had already sent an attack against him, and agreed to join the Marquis's planned assault. After arriving at the manor, he trained the Grand Void Yin-Yang Sword until he performed a strike that split light into dawn and dusk, leaving him close to mastering the art.

• Jiang Ning met the Violet-Clad Marquis, the head of the Five Peaks Inspection Office, and received his identification token.
• Jiang Ning showed them a divine finger bone containing the Mountains and Rivers Finger's intent and explained that someone had used it to ambush him.
• Zhong Yue revealed that Profound Finger Mountain had tried to abduct Zhong Ling, and the Violet-Clad Marquis agreed that Jiang Ning's strength made him a crucial ally.
• The Violet-Clad Marquis told Jiang Ning that he and Zhong Yue had prepared to attack Profound Finger Mountain, and Jiang Ning agreed to cooperate while concealing his identity.
• After resting at the manor, Jiang Ning trained the Grand Void Yin-Yang Sword and performed a strike that divided light into day and night, bringing the sword art close to the proficient level.

Jiang Ning attended a family banquet hosted by the Purple-Robed Marquis, where Madam Xu discovered he was already engaged and abandoned her matchmaking plans. Back in his courtyard, Jiang Ning broke through to the proficient level of the Grand Void Yin-Yang Sword, studied its spatial distortions, and prepared to rest before tomorrow’s battle at Profound Finger Mountain.

• Jiang Ning arrived at the Purple-Robed Marquis’s family banquet, where Zhou Tuo was told to address him as Uncle Jiang.
• Madam Xu asked Jiang Ning whether he was betrothed, and he said he already had a marriage engagement, ending her matchmaking plan.
• Jiang Ning practiced the Grand Void Yin-Yang Sword and advanced from beginner to proficient, while his immortal root grew into a seven-inch-eight-tenths sapling.
• Jiang Ning tested the proficient sword art and found that it twisted space, distorted perception, and made his attacks difficult to track or intercept.
• Jiang Ning noticed that the sword art consumed golden mist from his dantian and decided to conserve it before the battle at Profound Finger Mountain the next day.

Jiang Ning received Dark Frost Weave clothing and a silver mask from the Violet-Clad Marquis, then set out with him toward Profound Finger Mountain. The Marquis explained his military arrangements and said his chances of destroying the mountain depended partly on whether the Mysterious Origin Blessed Land intervened.

• Madam Xu brought Jiang Ning the Marquis's Dark Frost Weave outfit and silver mask, while Ronger praised Jiang Ning and admitted she thought herself unworthy of him.
• Jiang Ning dressed in the protective, identity-concealing outfit and joined the Violet-Clad Marquis, who left Madam Xu and Zhou Tuo behind with orders to remain at the residence.
• Jiang Ning revealed a needle-thin sword he had forged himself and said he would use swordsmanship to conceal his identity.
• The Violet-Clad Marquis and Jiang Ning flew toward Profound Finger Mountain, and the Marquis described how Inspection Office martial artists and the Phoenix Cry Army were approaching in scattered units.
• Jiang Ning promised he could hold back a top grandmaster, and the Violet-Clad Marquis estimated his chances of wiping out Profound Finger Mountain at sixty percent if the Mysterious Origin Blessed Land stayed out of the fight and eighty percent if it sent people.

The Violet-Clad Marquis and Jiang Ning arrived at Profound Finger Mountain to demand Gongsun Zhi from Yun Shanhe, while the two mountain leaders agreed to fight. As the Marquis followed Yun Shanhe into the sky, Fang Daoquan battled Feng Zhen and Zhong Yue, overpowering them and forcing Feng Zhen to keep fighting.

• Fang Daoquan confronted Feng Zhen and revealed that his mental pressure showed he was close to becoming a second-rank Grandmaster.
• The Violet-Clad Marquis arrived with Jiang Ning, then used precise mental pressure to intimidate Fang Daoquan and summoned Yun Shanhe.
• Yun Shanhe appeared, refused to hand over Gongsun Zhi, and challenged the Violet-Clad Marquis to a match.
• The Violet-Clad Marquis followed Yun Shanhe into the sky after telling Jiang Ning not to hold back.
• Feng Zhen and Zhong Yue attacked Fang Daoquan, but Fang Daoquan knocked Feng Zhen's staff away and injured Zhong Yue with a single blow.
• Feng Zhen charged Fang Daoquan again, knowing he had to keep him occupied because no one else could match him.