Chapter Summaries

Chen Fan used the Sun-Covering Mirror to locate a Heavenly Scripture Fragment, but a mysterious being sensed him and sent him fragments that completed two spellcrafts. Wary of the being’s intentions, Chen Fan began cultivating Nightmare Invocation and resolved to grow strong enough to overcome any hidden schemes.

• Chen Fan used the Sun-Covering Mirror and the Divine Movement page to search for a Heavenly Scripture Fragment in a distant icy palace.
• A mysterious being with golden pupils froze Chen Fan’s consciousness, recognized him as connected to someone whose name he could not understand, and sent him two fragments.
• Chen Fan woke aboard the flying vessel with a corner and a half-page of Heavenly Scripture, then joined them to complete Divine Movement and Nightmare Invocation.
• Chen Fan worried that the mysterious being’s gift carried a hidden cost and recalled other dangerous obligations and forces connected to him.
• Chen Fan reviewed his idle cultivation slots and assigned the remaining slot to Nightmare Invocation.

After breaking through to Boundless, Chen Fan discovered that Star Hall could amplify his divine sense tenfold, then returned to the Sword Sect and found a hidden, harmful power in Zhang Fan’s body. He removed it and suspected that someone had targeted Zhang Fan to get at him while he was missing.

• Chen Fan used the Star God Seal to unlock Star Hall’s ability to amplify his divine sense tenfold, though the effect consumed enormous energy and could not last long.
• Chen Fan resettled the Lingyun Sect near the Sword Sect and left Du Jun, the artifact soldiers, and a puppet to protect them.
• Chen Fan returned to his cave abode, where Zhang Fan greeted him and Chen Fan discovered a deeply concealed evil power contaminating Zhang Fan’s body.
• Chen Fan used his origin energy to remove the harmful power, warning that it could have slowed Zhang Fan’s cultivation and eventually threatened his life.
• Zhang Fan said Elder Chen Qingru had dispelled rumors of Chen Fan’s death, and that visitors had politely asked about Chen Fan while he was gone.

After returning to the Sword Sect, Chen Fan investigated the hidden Intent of Annihilation that had harmed Zhang Fan and sought help tracing its source. He narrowed the suspects to inner disciples who visited Zhang Fan in the third month of last year, then asked Xuan Yingying to investigate them.

• Chen Fan realized someone had used Zhang Fan to test and provoke him while he was missing, and Zhang Fan recalled that Yu Jin and Xuan Yingying had warned him to stay inside the sect.
• Zhang Fan showed Chen Fan a record of visitors and gifts, and reported that Tao Xian and Fan Zhong had gone to the Plum Gathering in Eclosion Province.
• Chen Fan invited Zhang Fan to accompany him to the Plum Gathering and used the Sun-Covering Mirror to deduce that the sabotage had occurred in the third month of last year.
• Chen Fan contacted Yu Jin, who recommended Xuan Yingying to investigate the inner disciples on the narrowed list.
• Xuan Yingying hurried to Chen Fan's cave residence and accepted the list, understanding that the listed disciples had likely offended him.

Chen Fan had Xuan Yingying investigate the disciples suspected of harming Zhang Fan, then used a clone to spar publicly while his true body infiltrated Huang Shangyun’s cave residence. After discovering evidence through a disciple’s memories, Chen Fan killed him and the other inner disciples there.

• Xuan Yingying investigated Chen Fan’s targets and reported that Huang Shangyun’s dependent was the only one with a notable connection.
• Chen Fan recognized Huang Shangyun as a true disciple he had once defeated and asked Xuan Yingying to spar at the Martial Practice Pavilion.
• Chen Fan sent his clone to spar publicly with Xuan Yingying while his true body used Void Concealment to enter Huang Shangyun’s cave residence.
• Chen Fan found Huang Shangyun’s dependent disciples inside, bound the black-robed disciple who had visited his cave residence, and used the Soul-Searching Technique on him.
• Chen Fan learned what he needed from the black-robed disciple’s memories, killed him, and slaughtered the other inner disciples in the cave residence.

Chen Fan confronted Huang Shangyun and Luo Yunfei after discovering that Huang Shangyun had arranged for the Intent of Annihilation to be planted in Zhang Fan. He overwhelmed Luo Yunfei and searched his memories, but learned that Luo Yunfei had done nothing against him during his two-year disappearance.

• Chen Fan searched the black-clad inner disciple's soul and learned that Huang Shangyun had ordered him to implant the concealed Intent of Annihilation in Zhang Fan.
• Chen Fan attacked Huang Shangyun, but Luo Yunfei emerged from the room and intercepted the strike.
• Chen Fan accused Luo Yunfei of involvement and demanded to know who had supplied the special item, but Luo Yunfei denied wrongdoing and challenged him.
• Luo Yunfei unleashed his Dao Domain, but Chen Fan shattered it with the Sword Pellet and pinned Luo Yunfei to the ground with flying swords.
• Chen Fan searched Luo Yunfei's memories with amplified divine sense, then discovered that Luo Yunfei had not acted against him during his disappearance.

Chen Fan learned that Luo Yunfei had secretly targeted him before, while Huang Shangyun had attacked Zhang Fan out of jealousy and possessed a clue to a dangerous hidden cave. After forcing Luo Yunfei and Huang Shangyun to fight for a chance to live, Chen Fan returned to find Luo Yunfei had killed Huang Shangyun.

• Chen Fan soul-searched Luo Yunfei and discovered that Luo had not ordered the attack on his steward, but had previously manipulated an attack against Chen Fan.
• Chen Fan soul-searched Huang Shangyun and learned he had attacked Zhang Fan out of jealousy and had found the Intent of Annihilation in a treasure-filled hidden cave.
• Chen Fan brought Luo Yunfei and Huang Shangyun into Star Hall, then told them only one could survive by fighting the other.
• Chen Fan left after warning Luo Yunfei to clean himself up, and Luo immediately killed Huang Shangyun despite their secret relationship.
• Chen Fan returned and remarked on how decisively Luo Yunfei had killed Huang Shangyun.

After Luo Yunfei killed Huang Shangyun, Chen Fan hid him and kept his own involvement secret while the Sword Sect launched a lockdown and investigation. Xuan Yingying learned that Luo Yunfei was the killer, but she remained unable to connect him to Chen Fan as Chen Fan’s true body and Luo Yunfei were already concealed outside the sect.

• Luo Yunfei admitted to Chen Fan that he had killed Huang Shangyun, and Chen Fan told him to stay hidden in the Star Hall.
• The Sword Sect went into lockdown after Huang Shangyun’s death, and Xuan Yingying visited Chen Fan with news of the investigation.
• Chen Fan denied involvement and revealed to Xuan Yingying that the Sect Master had accepted him as a disciple three years earlier.
• Xuan Yingying reported that the Law Enforcement Hall identified Luo Yunfei as Huang Shangyun’s killer and was searching for him.
• Chen Fan realized the death restriction could transmit information across space, while noting that the Sun-Covering Mirror concealed Luo Yunfei from the Sword Sect’s search.
• Xuan Yingying left Chen Fan’s cave residence, still uneasy about the coincidences but determined to stay close to him.

Chen Fan followed Huang Shangyun’s memories to a hidden cave on Western Liang Mountain, where Wen Bu revealed that he had manipulated those memories to lure Chen Fan into a trap. Chen Fan killed Wen Bu with the sixth level of the Primordial Sword and claimed his cracked Golden Core.

• Chen Fan reached the hidden cave residence on Western Liang Mountain and found Wen Bu waiting behind an illusion of a bronze gate.
• Wen Bu drew Chen Fan into his Mind-Aspect World, where Chen Fan realized Wen Bu had manipulated Huang Shangyun’s memories to lure him there.
• Wen Bu attacked Chen Fan with a golden-lit punch, but Chen Fan activated his full strength and unleashed the sixth level of the Primordial Sword.
• Chen Fan’s sword split Wen Bu’s body into four pieces and ground away the golden light that tried to reassemble him, killing him.
• Chen Fan returned to the valley and took Wen Bu’s cracked Golden Core, noting that even an Immortal Golden Core was not truly immortal.

Chen Fan killed Wen Bu, fed his remains to Hu Jiuguang and the Marauder, and learned that the Plum Gathering had drawn more than 6.3 million martial artists. The Sword Sect lockdown still kept him from leaving, but Chen Fan hoped to travel to Eclosion Province soon.

• Chen Fan reflected on how much his strength had grown, collected Wen Bu's golden core, and searched the valley for a hidden cave estate.
• Chen Fan brought Wen Bu's remains into the Star Hall and offered them to Hu Jiuguang and the Marauder.
• Chen Fan's split soul discussed the ongoing Sword Sect lockdown with Xuan Yingying, who explained that investigators had found no trace of Luo Yunfei or Huang Shangyun.
• Chen Fan told Xuan Yingying he needed to travel to Eclosion Province, and she described the Plum Gathering's scale and schedule.
• Xuan Yingying revealed that over 6.3 million martial artists were participating in the Plum Gathering, far more than Chen Fan had expected.

Chen Fan learned that an Immortality-level genius named Luo Fu had appeared in the Plum Gathering preliminaries, making the competition more interesting to him. After the Sword Sect lifted its lockdown, Chen Fan prepared to leave for the third preliminary round and revealed that he was still under fifty, leaving Xuan Yingying stunned by the gap between their abilities.

• Xuan Yingying told Chen Fan that a Sword Sect junior had spotted Luo Fu of the hidden Luotian Sect, an Immortality-level expert, during the preliminaries.
• Chen Fan wondered whether other Immortality experts might enter through direct recommendations and became eager to compete in the Plum Gathering.
• Xuan Yingying received word that the Sword Sect's lockdown had been lifted, and Chen Fan said he could finally set off.
• Chen Fan explained that he had been trapped for over two years and had missed the Sword Sect's direct recommendation, so he needed to reach the third preliminary round.
• Xuan Yingying realized Chen Fan was under fifty, and Chen Fan told her not to compare herself or other disciples to him.

Chen Fan traveled with Xuan Yingying and his companions to Dragon Abyss Island for the Plum Gathering. Chen Qingru gave him a participant token and explained that the preliminaries would pit contestants against demonic creatures and one another in the Illusory Dream Realm.

• Chen Fan agreed to let Xuan Yingying travel with him, then set out with Zhang Fan and others on Little Butterfly.
• Chen Fan arrived at Dragon Abyss Island, reunited with Chen Qingru, and followed her to the Sword Sect's residence.
• Chen Qingru gave Chen Fan a token that verified his eligibility for the Plum Gathering, and he successfully refined it.
• Chen Qingru told Chen Fan that each preliminary round placed two million contestants in the Illusory Dream Realm, where they earned points by killing demonic creatures or opponents.

Chen Fan learned how the Plum Gathering preliminaries and the Sacred Hall’s training sequences would work, then discovered that the competition included far more Dao Fruit-level young experts than he had expected. Chen Qingru explained that powerful reclusive sects and special races had sent geniuses who could outmatch even the Eclosion Sect’s disciples.

• Chen Qingru told Chen Fan that only the top fifty thousand of each two-million-person preliminary round would advance, and that the Illusory Dream Realm would suppress everyone’s cultivation to a uniform standard.
• Chen Qingru explained that the Plum Gathering would establish the Sacred Hall, whose Elite Sequence would include the top five thousand competitors divided into nine ranked sequences.
• Chen Qingru said Chen Fan could likely reach the top hundred and might contend for the top fifty, placing him in the third sequence if successful.
• Chen Qingru revealed that more than fifty known competitors under fifty had Dao Fruit cultivation, with others possessing comparable combat strength.
• Chen Qingru explained that returning reclusive sects and special races had produced geniuses backed by longevity and Immortal-level experts.

Chen Qingru told Chen Fan that the Plum Gathering would draw powerful young experts, including Wu Cheng, the half-human son of a Demon God King. Learning about the Sacred Hall’s first sequence, Chen Fan vowed to claim a top-three place and unexpectedly formed the Virtual Fruit.

• Chen Qingru revealed that more than ten Chang Sheng Realm experts were expected at the Plum Gathering, including Wu Cheng, a suspected third-level expert and son of a Demon God King.
• Chen Fan realized that his strength and talent might not match the gathering’s strongest contestants, while Chen Qingru described the Sacred Hall’s resources and sequence rankings.
• Chen Qingru explained that the first sequence had three places, whose holders could hear an expert beyond the level of “Immortals” expound the Dao and might become that expert’s disciples.
• Chen Fan vowed to fight into the top three and enter the first sequence.
• Chen Fan’s Sword Domain contracted and gathered spiritual light as the Virtual Fruit formed, prompting Chen Qingru to congratulate him and say he was nearing the Dao Fruit.

Chen Fan learned that his breakthrough in Sword Domain had brought him close to condensing Dao Fruits, and he discussed the Plum Gathering and his plans with Chen Qingru and Chen Tiangan. He received his share of the cinema business profits, learned about the Purple Moon Sect’s alliance with the Sword Sect, and discovered that the Azure Sacred Flower he needed was an exceptionally rare treasure kept at the Eclosion Sect.

• Chen Qingru told Chen Fan that his Void Fruit showed he had reached the comprehension needed for the Dao Fruit realm, and Chen Fan realized his ambition to enter the Plum Gathering’s top three could drive his breakthrough.
• Chen Fan met Chen Tiangan, who gave him four or five million Yuan crystals from the Sword Sect’s cinema business and warned him to keep the money secret.
• Chen Tiangan told Chen Fan that the Sword Sect had agreed to cooperate with the Purple Moon Sect and cede it territory, and that the Purple Moon Sect had also sent disciples to the Plum Gathering.
• Chen Fan asked Chen Tiangan about the Unfettered Alliance, and Chen Tiangan said one of its recommended martial artists had reached the Dao Fruit level.
• Chen Fan showed Chen Tiangan the Azure Sacred Flower and asked where to obtain one, and Chen Tiangan revealed that the rare treasure could not be bought and that he had once seen one at the Eclosion Sect.

Chen Fan sought an Azure Sacred Flower to advance his Indestructible Vajra Body, then focused his three streams of consciousness on improving the Blood-Melting Technique. After learning that Yun Xin and the others were in the Illusory Dream Realm and discovering Luo Fangyan’s age and standing, he went to the Purple Moon Sect to ask whether Lanruo was competing in the Plum Gathering.

• Chen Fan asked Chen Tiangan to find an Azure Sacred Flower and decided to devote all three streams of consciousness to comprehending the Blood-Melting Technique.
• Xuan Yingying brought Tao Xian and Fan Zhong to visit Chen Fan, who learned they had not yet entered their third-round preliminaries and might struggle to pass.
• Fan Zhong told Chen Fan that Xiaoxi, Yun Xin, and his other wives were in the Illusory Dream Realm for the second-round preliminaries, where the Star God Seal could not be sensed.
• Chen Fan visited the Purple Moon Sect residence and learned Luo Fangyan had just turned twenty, had reached the second Dao Domain level, and held a direct recommendation.
• Chen Fan asked Zi Yan whether Lanruo was participating in the Plum Gathering.

Chen Fan asked Zi Yan about the Unfettered Alliance and the Azure Sacred Flower, learning that the alliance had survived the Great Tribulation by occupying an Immortal’s cave abode. Chen Tiangan then found another Azure Sacred Flower at the Star-River Pavilion, which demanded a steep price and a Golden Dragon Transcendent Immortal Pill.

• Chen Fan learned from Zi Yan that the Unfettered Alliance had survived the Great Tribulation by occupying the cave abode of an Immortal who had died during it.
• Chen Fan showed Zi Yan an image of the Azure Sacred Flower, but she had never seen one and offered to ask Ziyun or Lanruo.
• Chen Tiangan told Chen Fan that the Star-River Pavilion had an Azure Sacred Flower and was willing to trade it for three mid-grade Dao artifacts, ten Sword Realm slots, and a Golden Dragon Transcendent Immortal Pill.
• Chen Fan agreed to pay ten million origin crystals for each Sword Realm slot, while Chen Tiangan said he would discuss the slots with the Sword Pavilion.

Chen Fan tried to trade for the Star-River Pavilion's Azure Sacred Flower, which he needed to advance his cultivation, and accepted steeply reduced terms. The Pavilion Master then demanded the Golden Dragon Transcendent Immortal Pill again, and Chen Tiangan left without a deal while the old man predicted he would return.

• Chen Fan urged Chen Tiangan to bargain down the Star-River Pavilion's price for the Azure Sacred Flower, even if he had to pay more to advance another sequence.
• Chen Tiangan reported that the Pavilion had reduced its demands to one four-star Dao artifact, three Sword Realm slots, and ten top-grade Void Saint pills instead of a Golden Dragon Transcendent Immortal Pill.
• Chen Fan agreed and prepared the Primordial Demon Mirror and ten pills, but Chen Tiangan kept the mirror and offered another four-star Dao artifact in its place.
• Chen Tiangan told Chen Fan that the Pavilion Master had raised the price after claiming another buyer wanted the flower, then demanded a Golden Dragon Transcendent Immortal Pill again.
• Chen Fan refused to give up his pill, and Chen Tiangan rejected the Pavilion Master's demand and left.
• The Pavilion Master told an elderly woman he expected Chen Tiangan to return within a month, and said the Pavilion could accept the earlier offer if he did not.

Chen Fan received the Azure Sacred Flower from Bai Zhi and Luo Fangyan, then used it to strengthen his body while arranging for his clone to compete in the preliminaries. After the second round ended, he reunited with Yun Wei, Ye Yunxin, Xiaoxi, and Zhao Yajie at the Purple Moon Sect encampment.

• Chen Fan learned that Bai Zhi and Luo Fangyan had brought him the Azure Sacred Flower on Lanruo's behalf, and he accepted it as a favor without paying a price.
• Chen Fan confirmed that his clone could use the competitor's token, then swallowed the Azure Sacred Flower and began refining its power.
• Two days later, the second round of preliminaries ended, and four women returned to the Purple Moon Sect encampment disappointed with their results.
• Chen Fan emerged from the inner room and reunited with Ye Yunxin, Xiaoxi, Yun Wei, and Zhao Yajie.
• Chen Fan noticed that Xiaoxi had reached the peak of the sixth level, and she said she still lagged behind Ye Yunxin.

Chen Fan reunited with Xiaoxi, Ye Yunxin, Yun Wei, and Zhao Yajie, learned how they had fared in the Illusory Dream Realm preliminaries, and gauged the steep score threshold for advancing. He then entered the third preliminary round, where Bai Fengyu explained the rules before Chen Fan was transported into the Illusory Dream Realm.

• Chen Fan warned Xiaoxi not to be complacent about her cultivation and told her she could no longer call Ye Yunxin “auntie.”
• Chen Fan learned that Yun Wei and Zhao Yajie had become Grandmasters, with Zhao Yajie reaching the eighth level, and heard their scores and rankings from the previous preliminary round.
• Xiaoxi and Ye Yunxin described surviving by hiding in neutral zones, while Yun Wei and Zhao Yajie shared their higher scores and rankings.
• Zhao Yajie told Chen Fan that a ninth-level martial artist with over six hundred thousand points had nearly ranked among the top fifty thousand, and Yun Wei revealed that the second-round leader had over one billion points.
• Chen Fan arrived at the third preliminary venue with Tao Xian and Fan Zhong, where Bai Fengyu of the Eclosion Sect explained that contestants would enter the Illusory Dream Realm for three months with fabricated bodies and unlimited rebirths.
• A few contestants withdrew before a vortex appeared, and Chen Fan found himself standing in a forest inside the Illusory Dream Realm.

Chen Fan explored the startlingly realistic Illusory Dream Realm, tested its rules, and avoided hunting for points while other contestants surged ahead. After reaching a Neutral Zone, he killed an ambusher and discovered that the man had accumulated far more points than expected.

• Chen Fan found his avatar's treasures missing and investigated the realm, where his divine sense could reach ten kilometers and his cultivation was suppressed.
• Chen Fan killed a dog-headed ferocious beast and learned that its death added one thousand points to his contestant plaque.
• Chen Fan failed to kill himself because a force in the realm stopped him, then spent a day exploring and found a Dao Artifact longsword without killing any more beasts.
• Chen Fan saw that Duo Ge's score had climbed past ten million and decided to save his effort for a later opportunity to take points from a wealthy target.
• Chen Fan approached a Neutral Zone and killed a seventh-level martial artist who had ambushed him near its barrier.
• Chen Fan saw that the ambusher's death gave him over five thousand points and realized the man had accumulated more than ten thousand.