Chapter Summaries

Lord Fuyuan attacked the Martial Saint Manor to draw out its master while the Royal Capital’s factions watched, hoping to learn whether the Martial Saint was still alive. The Martial Saint appeared as a spirit body, destroyed Lord Fuyuan, and left Xiao Wuque to manage the aftermath as he returned to attend to his true body.

• Lord Fuyuan struck at the Martial Saint Manor, but Martial King Xiang Yuan, the State Preceptor’s sword, and Xiao Wuque each tried to stop him.
• Xiao Wuque smashed Lord Fuyuan’s descending leg, but crimson threads restored the clay body as hidden factions continued to observe.
• A figure shrouded in white light appeared, shattered Lord Fuyuan with two punches, and destroyed the dark golden mist that remained of him.
• The Martial Saint told Xiao Wuque that he had appeared only as a spirit body and advised him to keep control of the situation.
• The Martial Saint returned to his true body, while Xiao Wuque hoped his teacher would survive his failing condition.

After Lord Fuyuan’s destruction, the Martial Saint’s appearance heightened Jiang Ning’s fears that turmoil was approaching, while the Black Lotus Holy Mother devoured a stone statue in a ruined temple. Jiang Ning continued training at the Dao Palace, learned the metropolitan martial examination had been postponed, and accepted an invitation to meet State Preceptor Su Qingying.

• The white-cloaked Martial Saint departed after confronting Lord Fuyuan, and Jiang Ning realized the man had noticed his Heavenly Eye watching him.
• The Black Lotus Holy Mother entered a ruined temple, consumed the stone statue, and left its body broken.
• Jiang Ning judged that Lord Fuyuan’s attack had been a deliberate test of the Martial Saint and resolved to grow stronger as the crisis neared.
• Ji Minghao told Jiang Ning that the metropolitan martial examination had been postponed until the first day of the twelfth month.
• A maid told Jiang Ning that the injured State Preceptor, Su Qingying, wished to see him, and Jiang Ning agreed to go with her.

Jiang Ning visited the injured National Preceptor, Su Qingying, who mistook him for a Divine Venerable and asked him how to escape the Heavenly Dao’s control. Jiang Ning agreed to try a method on her, then began cultivating on her powerful Azure Jade bed while Su Qingying recovered.

• A young servant led Jiang Ning through the National Preceptor’s maze formation, but he used his Fire Eye to see through it and guide them out.
• Jiang Ning entered Su Qingying’s bamboo house and learned that Lord Fuyuan had injured her, leaving her to stabilize herself in the Eight-Treasure Azure Jade Marrow.
• Su Qingying asked Jiang Ning for guidance on severing her divine nature and preserving her human nature, believing him to be a Divine Venerable who had achieved that freedom.
• Jiang Ning said he could try a method on Su Qingying but could not guarantee success, and she agreed to his experiment.
• Su Qingying invited Jiang Ning to cultivate on her three-thousand-year Azure Jade bed, and he began absorbing its powerful energy while she continued recovering.

Jiang Ning discovered that he could draw divinity from Su Qingying and ease the shackles binding her, while learning that her past life was born from the Immortal-Slaying Sword forged from the gods’ power. After helping her again the next morning, he used the gained points to strengthen Flesh Regeneration and found himself just short of the Source Energy needed for his next breakthrough.

• Su Qingying told Jiang Ning that her injuries had stabilized and asked him to help free her from the shackles of divinity.
• Jiang Ning sensed Su Qingying’s fragmentary Immortal-Slaying Sword authority and drew divinity from her, easing her shackles.
• Su Qingying explained that her past life had been born from an Immortal-Slaying Sword forged using the power of all the gods, though her memories of the past were hazy.
• The next morning, Jiang Ning drew more divinity from Su Qingying and invested the points in Flesh Regeneration authority.
• Jiang Ning checked his Source Energy and saw that he had 195,677 points, fewer than 5,000 short of the 200,000 needed for his next Indestructible Vajra Body breakthrough.

Jiang Ning refused a prince’s attempt to recruit him, choosing to focus on strengthening himself, then slept for two days at Su Qingying’s residence to recover. After waking, he helped Su Qingying again and left, unaware that a watcher had seen her escort him and planned to report it to a prince.

• Jiang Ning stopped reading after his exhaustion worsened, rejected Xie Feiyan’s invitation to meet an important person, and inferred that a prince was trying to recruit him.
• Xie Feiyan reported Jiang Ning’s refusal to a prince, who suspected Jiang Ning had aligned with the Eighth Highness and ordered that he not be approached for now.
• Jiang Ning went to Su Qingying’s bamboo house to sleep on her nourishing bed and slept for two full days while she kept watch over him.
• After waking, Jiang Ning found Su Qingying’s injuries stabilized, took divinity points from her, and told her she no longer needed to kneel to him.
• A watcher saw Su Qingying escort Jiang Ning from the National Preceptor’s Residence and decided to report the sighting to a prince.

Jiang Ning finished reading the Library Pavilion’s first floor and discovered that the second floor’s books explained the Martial Dao and Inner Landscapes. After learning how Inner Landscapes could strengthen mental power, he returned to the Upper Yang Inner Landscape to study how to open his own, where he unexpectedly met Shen Yue Ru.

• The Fifth Prince ordered two men to pose as street vendors and watch the National Preceptor’s Residence for Jiang Ning.
• Jiang Ning finished the first floor of the Library Pavilion, began reading the second floor, and gained deeper knowledge of the Martial Dao and the body.
• Jiang Ning read a book about Inner Landscapes and learned that opening one could increase mental power and help advance his Martial Dao cultivation.
• Jiang Ning returned to Nine Heavens Tower and used his Shangyang Immortal Sect token to enter the Upper Yang Inner Landscape again, carefully observing the transition.
• Shen Yue Ru greeted Jiang Ning and explained that she had used a divination to choose when to enter so she could meet him.

In the Upper Yang Inner Landscape, Jiang Ning and Shen Yue Ru exchanged cultivation knowledge and sword insights through a mind-link, advancing Jiang Ning’s Grand Void Yin-Yang Sword and revealing a terrifying Dao Ancestor from his memories. The chapter leaves Jiang Ning reflecting on Shen Yue Ru’s exceptional sword talent and his own rapid progress.

• Shen Yue Ru told Jiang Ning that she had become a pure-yang spiritual body, entered the Yang God realm, and risen to be the foremost disciple of the Crimson Radiance Grotto-Heaven.
• Shen Yue Ru explained that refining a Primordial Era sword seed had raised her sword Dao talent to number one in the world, and Jiang Ning told her about seeing a fully grown immortal root.
• At the Yang Pool, Jiang Ning and Shen Yue Ru joined minds, allowing her to transmit Immortal Dao cultivation methods and Grand Void Yin-Yang Sword insights to him.
• Jiang Ning shared the Dao lecture he had witnessed, and Shen Yue Ru identified its source as a titan who had condensed a Dao Fruit.
• Jiang Ning showed Shen Yue Ru the veiled woman beside the moonlit lake, and Shen Yue Ru surmised that she was a Dao Ancestor whose true face could not be remembered.
• After Shen Yue Ru warned Jiang Ning not to provoke such beings, he saw that his Grand Void Yin-Yang Sword had reached Proficient 7373/20000 and wondered how her sword talent compared with his.

Jiang Ning learned how to open his own Inner Landscape Grounds from Shen Yue Ru and opened them in the Nine Heavens Tower. He discovered that the grounds strengthened his spiritual power, expanded under his great sun, and grew more potent after he offered an unknown creature’s tooth to it.

• Shen Yue Ru explained how she had opened her Inner Landscape Grounds and shared her experience with Jiang Ning, warning him about dangerous beings in the spiritual world.
• Jiang Ning returned to the Nine Heavens Tower, considered the Immortal Dao’s focus on strengthening the soul, and decided to devote himself to the Martial Dao instead.
• Jiang Ning opened his Inner Landscape Grounds and felt white motes drifting into him, steadily strengthening his spiritual body.
• Jiang Ning found that sword practice could progress in the grounds, while cultivating the Indestructible Vajra Body had no effect on his physical body.
• Jiang Ning used his great sun’s intent to drive back the mist and double the grounds’ size, increasing the flow of strengthening motes.
• Jiang Ning threw an unknown creature’s tooth into the great sun, which released purifying rain and raised his mental strength another level.

Jiang Ning explored the powers and limits of his Inner Landscape Grounds, gaining swordsmanship insights through prolonged practice. The Fifth Prince, Ji Mingyuan, visited to seek Jiang Ning’s support in the succession struggle, but Jiang Ning refused and asked to remain neutral.

• Jiang Ning sensed Shen Yue Ru’s Inner Landscape Grounds and glimpsed her before witnessing a vast shadow pass through the mist beyond his own grounds.
• Jiang Ning confirmed that practicing the Seven-Star Demon-Subduing Sword in his Inner Landscape Grounds increased his experience, while attempts to strengthen his Sun Suspended in the Sky Conception and Indestructible Vajra Body did not work.
• Jiang Ning spent an unknown amount of time practicing swordsmanship in his Inner Landscape Grounds while Ji Mingyuan waited outside Nine Heavens Tower and discussed winning his support with Lu Qi.
• Jiang Ning opened his door and received Ji Mingyuan, who offered him an imperial position and the title of Duke of Rong in exchange for his support.
• Jiang Ning declined to join the succession struggle and said he wanted to remain neutral, so Ji Mingyuan left him a porcelain bottle and departed with Lu Qi.

Jiang Ning used the Bodhi Mind-Clearing Pill Ji Mingyuan gave him to complete the Seven-Star Demon-Subduing Sword, then stayed at the National Preceptor's Residence to train his Indestructible Vajra Body. He learned that the Yellow Heaven Cult had rebelled after its leader killed the White Horned Dragon and claimed the Human Emperor Sword, leaving the Royal Capital in fear.

• Jiang Ning recognized Ji Mingyuan's connections, swallowed the Bodhi Mind-Clearing Pill, and moved into the National Preceptor's Residence to practice.
• Jiang Ning entered a state of sudden enlightenment and completed the Seven-Star Demon-Subduing Sword, but saved his source energy for the Indestructible Vajra Body.
• Jiang Ning trained at the residence for several days and learned that Wan Jianyi had become a prominent figure after taking first place on the Heaven Ranking.
• Su Qingying told Jiang Ning that the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau had reported an incident at the Luo River, and Jiang Ning worried about the White Horned Dragon and the Yellow Heaven Cult.
• News spread through the Royal Capital that the Yellow Heaven Cult had rebelled, the Yellow Heaven Daoist had killed the White Horned Dragon and obtained the Human Emperor Sword, and the people feared Great Xia's fall.

Jiang Ning returned to Dongling after learning that the Yellow Heaven Cult had rebelled under the Yellow Heaven Daoist, who had slain the Luo River dragon and claimed the Human Emperor Sword. After learning how the sword’s discovery had been orchestrated, Jiang Ning realized Great Xia faced a grave crisis.

• A maid told Jiang Ning that the Yellow Heaven Daoist had killed the White Horned Dragon, found the Human Emperor Sword inside it, and raised the banner of rebellion.
• At Inspection Headquarters, the Blind Elder gave Xiao Wuque an imitation Heaven-Mending Pill that healed most of his injuries, and Xiao Wuque warned that Huang Tian was exceptionally powerful.
• Xiao Wuque and the Grand General agreed to report the rebellion to His Majesty, while Xiao Wuque explained that his teacher could not yet intervene.
• Jiang Ning returned to Dongling City that night and told Zhao Yulong he intended to move his family to safety but would not abandon his post without a fight.
• Zhao Yulong recounted how the Yellow Heaven Daoist had killed the river dragon, revealed the Human Emperor Sword, and rallied the people to his cause.
• Jiang Ning concluded that the Yellow Heaven Daoist had planned the sword’s discovery and that his strength, allies, and claim to Heaven’s mandate threatened Great Xia’s foundations.

Jiang Ning returned to Dongling City after the Yellow Heaven Cult rebelled and warned his family that the empire faced a crisis. He decided to send Jiang Li, Liu Wanwan, Little Doubao, and Jiang Yiming to the Royal Capital while he remained in Dongling Commandery, but Little Doubao learned she would have to leave that day.

• Jiang Ning returned home at night, spoke with Lü Yi about Little Doubao missing him, and greeted Zhong Ling before going to bed.
• Jiang Ning woke to an abrupt snowfall and gave Zhong Ling a fox-fur cloak to keep her warm.
• Jiang Ning told Jiang Li that the Yellow Heaven Cult had rebelled at Luo Water Lake and planned to send the family to the Royal Capital for safety while he stayed in Dongling Commandery.
• Jiang Ning ate breakfast with the family, and Little Doubao ran to him and asked him to stay longer.
• Jiang Ning told Little Doubao that she had to set off for the Royal Capital that day, leaving Liu Wanwan astonished.

With the Yellow Heaven Cult’s rebellion threatening Dongling Commandery, Jiang Ning sent his family toward the Royal Capital under Linglong’s protection and chose to remain behind. After they departed, he focused on training so he could complete nine blood changes and become a second-rank grandmaster.

• Jiang Ning warned Liu Wanwan and Jiang Li that the Yellow Heaven Cult’s powerful leader could threaten Dongling Commandery, and arranged for them to stay at Su Qingying’s National Preceptor’s Residence.
• Jiang Ning told Jiang Li that he had awakened memories of a peaceful past life, then discussed the growing unrest and the possibility of a new dynasty.
• Jiang Ning sent Liu Wanwan, Jiang Li, Little Doubao, and Jiang Yiming toward the Royal Capital, with Linglong and Old Tortoise accompanying them.
• After the carriages left, Jiang Ning stayed home with Lü Yi and Zhong Ling and began training his Indestructible Vajra Body in the falling snow.
• Jiang Ning decided to prioritize completing nine blood changes and reaching the ranks of second-rank grandmasters.

Jiang Ning advanced his Indestructible Vajra Body and practiced the Grand Void Yin-Yang Sword while the Yellow Heaven Cult expanded its influence through benevolent rule and supernatural feats. After Zhao Yulong warned him about the cult’s growing reach and reminded him of the upcoming martial examination, Jiang Ning concluded that an age of chaos was approaching.

• Jiang Ning trained the Grand Void Yin-Yang Sword in his Inner Landscape Grounds, strengthening his understanding and spirit, then continued cultivating his Indestructible Vajra Body in the snow.
• Jiang Ning met Zhao Yulong, who explained that the Yellow Heaven Cult had secured West Sand Commandery by distributing food and making the region warm and fertile.
• Zhao Yulong told Jiang Ning that the Yellow Heaven Cult had also gained control of two prefectures in Nan'an Prefecture, bringing its known holdings to at least three prefectures.
• Jiang Ning and Zhao Yulong discussed how the heavy snowfall hindered travel but worsened the hardship of neighboring commanderies, making the cult’s prosperous territory more appealing to their people.
• Zhao Yulong urged Jiang Ning to attend the martial examination in the Royal Capital in eleven days, and Jiang Ning said he would think about it.
• Jiang Ning reflected on the Yellow Heaven Cult’s strategy and the Yellow Heaven Daoist’s power, then concluded that an age of chaos was coming.

Jiang Ning completed another limit break of Indestructible Vajra Body, gaining the Unbreakable Golden Body trait as the Yellow Heaven Cult’s expansion and the deaths of two first-rank experts heightened the danger. He prepared to leave for the Royal Capital, then went into Dongling Mountain Range to begin his final blood exchange and grow stronger.

• Jiang Ning spent more than two hundred thousand source energy points to break through Indestructible Vajra Body’s fourth limit and gained the light-gold Unbreakable Golden Body trait.
• Jiang Ning discussed the approaching Martial Examination provincial test with Lü Yi and said he planned to leave the next day.
• Zhao Yulong told Jiang Ning that the inspectors of Nan'an Prefecture and Zeshan Prefecture had been killed and that the Yellow Heaven Cult had taken Great Granary City.
• Jiang Ning and Zhao Yulong concluded that the Yellow Heaven Cult was targeting Nan'an Prefecture and that the deaths might be connected to the attempt on King Huai'an Lu Zhan.
• Jiang Ning told Zhao Yulong he would go to the Royal Capital to learn what the authorities planned.
• Jiang Ning tested his new strength in Dongling Mountain Range and began preparing for his final blood exchange.

Jiang Ning consumed the Immortal Phoenix Blood, absorbed heaven-and-earth spiritual essence, and began the ninth blood change. As his body and life force collapsed, he seized his true spirit imprint and revived through the blood’s power, undergoing a profound transformation.

• Jiang Ning swallowed the Immortal Phoenix Blood, and its life energy nourished his body and strengthened his vitality.
• Jiang Ning manifested a great sun and drew spiritual essence into his golden inner core until it reached its limit.
• Jiang Ning returned the inner core to his dantian, where its spiritual essence nourished his Immortal Root sapling and caused a fourth leaf to unfurl.
• Jiang Ning began the blood transformation, releasing golden-red blood mist that formed a crimson dragon as his body withered and his consciousness sank toward darkness.
• Jiang Ning grasped his true spirit imprint, and his inner core and Immortal Phoenix Blood revived his heart, blood, organs, and body.
• Jiang Ning regenerated his flesh and hair as his blood and qi surged, beginning the life evolution of the ninth blood change.

Jiang Ning completed a perilous blood exchange, reached Martial Dao legend, and discovered that his mastery greatly improved his Five Animals Fist training. He left for the Royal Capital to prepare for his family’s arrival and pursue the martial champion title.

• The Blind Elder learned that a ninety-three-foot crimson dragon of blood and qi had appeared over Zeshan Prefecture and ordered the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau to keep the news secret.
• Jiang Ning completed his blood exchange in the Dongling Mountain Range, felt his strength and speed multiply, and found that his True Spirit had merged with his soul.
• Jiang Ning practiced the Five Animals Fist, gained substantial experience, and realized energy points were now the main limit on his advancement.
• Jiang Ning decided to travel to the Royal Capital to visit Su Qingying and prepare for Jiang Li and Liu Wanwan’s family, then reassured Lü Yi and Zhong Ling before leaving home.
• Jiang Ning told Wang Qingtan he was going to the Royal Capital for the postponed martial examinations, spent time with her, and departed that night.

After reaching Upper Capital at dawn, Jiang Ning met with Su Qingying and learned more about the threat posed by the Yellow Heaven Cult. He left planning to stay in the capital and help Su Qingying while weighing the danger of the Prince Who Stands Shoulder to Shoulder with the Emperor.

• Jiang Ning raced from Dongling City to Upper Capital in less than a night and concluded that Zeshan Prefecture would be the Yellow Heaven Cult's main target.
• Jiang Ning slipped over Upper Capital's wall, erased the crimson mark placed on his soul by the city's defenses, and entered the city unnoticed.
• Jiang Ning reunited with Su Qingying, who sensed that he had completed the final blood exchange and congratulated him on reaching the realm of Martial Dao myth.
• Jiang Ning asked Su Qingying to protect his elder brother and sister-in-law when they arrived in the Royal Capital, and she agreed.
• Jiang Ning asked Su Qingying about the court's response to the Yellow Heaven Cult, and she told him that Xiao Wuque had been defeated by the Yellow Heaven Daoist and that the old Prince Who Stands Shoulder to Shoulder with the Emperor might match him.

Jiang Ning visited the Martial Saint Manor, where Xiao Wuque and the Blind Elder discovered how extraordinary his recent breakthrough was. The Martial Saint appeared and praised Jiang Ning’s potential but said he could not take him as a disciple or guide him, leaving Jiang Ning to rely on himself.

• The Blind Elder told Xiao Wuque that an unusual young man was coming, and Xiao Wuque learned the elder had identified him by seeing him outside the Inspection Headquarters.
• Jiang Ning arrived at the Martial Saint Manor, where the Blind Elder recognized his nine-zhang-and-two-chi scarlet qi-and-blood dragon and explained that the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau’s compass had detected his breakthrough.
• Xiao Wuque told Jiang Ning that he had broken the record for entering the Martial Dao myth realm at the youngest age, a record Xiao Wuque had previously held, and discussed Jiang Ning’s True Spirit imprint and Immortal Phoenix Blood.
• The Martial Saint’s spirit incarnation appeared, praised Jiang Ning’s immense potential, and revealed that he could not take Jiang Ning as a disciple because it was too late.
• The Martial Saint asked about Jiang Ning’s second-rank cultivation method, learned he practiced the Spiritual Altar Illumination of the True Self Method, and told him he would have to rely on himself.

After learning that becoming a Martial Saint required breaking his shackles and beholding his own heaven and earth, Jiang Ning began cultivating the Spiritual Altar Illumination of the True Self Method and made rapid progress. He was then mysteriously taken to the Moon Lake Inner Landscape Grounds, where a woman told him to complete the final step for Lin Qingyi.

• Jiang Ning recalled the Martial Saint's guidance, while Xiao Wuque and the Blind Elder discussed whether Jiang Ning might forge his own path.
• Jiang Ning cultivated the Spiritual Altar Illumination of the True Self Method, gained experience rapidly, and exhausted his spiritual power.
• Jiang Ning fell asleep in Su Qingying's room and awoke beside a moonlit lake, where a mysterious woman said she had brought him there to complete Lin Qingyi's final step.
• Su Qingying discovered that Jiang Ning had vanished from the National Preceptor's Residence without disturbing its formations.
• Jiang Ning found Lin Qingyi naked within the moon and, under the mysterious woman's influence, the two joined together as she watched from beside the lake.