Chapter Summaries

Zhao Feng traveled with Lu Bing and Li Cheng'en to Mist Spirit Island for the Hidden Sect Grand Assembly, where he encountered the gathered sects and families. He was reunited with Su Qingwan, but she addressed him as a stranger and left him facing the distance between them.

• Li Cheng'en and Lu Bing accompanied Zhao Feng from the capital to the Heavenly Pivot Pavilion on Mist Spirit Island.
• Xu Guanquiong welcomed Zhao Feng, Lu Bing, and Li Cheng'en, then showed them their courtyard and explained the assembly schedule.
• Zhao Feng surveyed the gathering and recognized Ye Wuya, Lu Changhe, Sima Changkong, and Luo Chen among the attendees.
• Zhao Feng saw Abbess Jingxuan arrive with Su Qingwan and Gu Yanran, and learned that Su Qingwan had likely reached the Profound Mastery Realm.
• Su Qingwan greeted Zhao Feng as Mingchen without meeting his eyes, and Zhao Feng hid his reaction before stepping aside.

Zhao Feng entered the Heavenly Mechanism Tower trial amid hostility from Murong Fu and Xiao Wuchen, while Su Qingwan followed him despite his refusal to accept her help. He quickly reached the second floor and defeated the martial artists who attacked him, while his rivals continued toward the third floor.

• Gu Yanran told Zhao Feng that Su Qingwan had broken through to the Profound Mastery Realm and now bore a heavy burden within her sect, but he refused to discuss the sect’s affairs.
• Lu Bing and Li Cheng'en explained the tower’s trials, and Xu Guanquiong announced that the winner would become Fortune's Chosen One before opening the competition.
• Su Qingwan offered to ascend the tower with Zhao Feng for protection, but he rejected her offer; Murong Fu and Xiao Wuchen then warned him they would be waiting inside.
• Zhao Feng and Su Qingwan cleared the first floor and reached the second floor quickly, where Murong Fu and Xiao Wuchen accused Zhao Feng of relying on Su Qingwan.
• Murong Fu and Xiao Wuchen offered rewards to anyone who could stop Zhao Feng, and several martial artists attacked him; Zhao Feng sent the first attacker flying and wounded the next two with his sword.

Zhao Feng and Su Qingwan climbed the Heavenly Mechanism Tower to its fifth floor, where Murong Fu and three allies confronted him over the treasures taken in the Southern Border. Zhao Feng defeated them in turn, leaving Xiao Wuchen as the only opponent still in the tower.

• Zhao Feng and Su Qingwan passed through the third and fourth floors, overcoming the illusory opponents and increasing pressure.
• On the fifth floor, Zhao Feng and Su Qingwan found Murong Fu, Xiao Wuchen, Ye Wuya, and Lu Changhe recovering near the central formation.
• Murong Fu demanded the return of the sect treasures, and Zhao Feng told Su Qingwan to stay out of the dispute.
• Murong Fu attacked with the others, but Zhao Feng pierced his chest with one sword strike, forcing him to crush his Daoist Talisman and leave the tower.
• Zhao Feng knocked Ye Wuya out of the tower with a punch and then defeated Lu Changhe, while Xiao Wuchen remained to face him.

Zhao Feng defeated Murong Fu, Xiao Wuchen, Lu Changhe, and Ye Wuya, then climbed to the Seventh Floor of the Heavenly Mechanism Tower and honed his saber techniques. After his power made the tower tremble and he continued fighting phantom opponents, he met an unfamiliar martial artist named Zhang Fan, whose indifference stirred a warning in him.

• Zhao Feng forced Murong Fu, Lu Changhe, Ye Wuya, and Xiao Wuchen out of the tower, and Murong Fu and Xiao Wuchen identified him as their opponent.
• Su Qingwan went to the Sixth Floor ahead of Zhao Feng, who followed after several dozen breaths and practiced the Seven Heaven-Cleaving Forms against phantom opponents.
• Zhao Feng reached the Sixth Floor's center, encountered Chen Ran, and then ascended to the Seventh Floor without confronting him.
• Zhao Feng's saber strike released the barbarian god's will and made the Heavenly Mechanism Tower tremble, alarming Xu Guanquiong and drawing the attention of Su Qingwan and Luo Chen.
• Zhao Feng fought more phantom opponents on the Seventh Floor, refined his saber forms, and then met Zhang Fan from Thunder God Island, whose demeanor made Zhao Feng wary.

Zhao Feng fought through the eighth floor by combining the Seven Heaven-Cleaving Forms with the Nine Yang Sword Technique, while the contestants outside learned that four people had reached the floor. After Zhang Fan and Su Qingwan left, Zhao Feng entered the ninth floor, leaving their strained relationship unresolved.

• Zhao Feng wielded a saber in his left hand and a sword in his right, gradually mastering their combined techniques as he defeated the eighth floor’s phantom warriors.
• Outside the tower, Xu Guanquiong reported that four contestants had reached the eighth floor, and Luo Chen was teleported out in fourth place.
• Zhao Feng defeated another pair of powerful phantom swordsmen and reached the eighth floor’s central safe zone, where Zhang Fan arrived soon after.
• Su Qingwan joined Zhao Feng and said she would not proceed to the ninth floor; Zhao Feng left without answering her warning, and she later teleported out.

Zhao Feng reached the Heavenly Mechanism Tower’s Ninth Floor and endured a relentless duel with the Phantom Swordmaster, whose sword was too fast for him to block. By learning to sense and match the swordsman’s speed, Zhao Feng finally struck first and defeated him.

• Zhang Fan emerged from the tower and was identified as a Thunder God Island disciple, drawing approaches from several sects and families.
• Su Qingwan emerged safely and confirmed that the person remaining inside was the Prince of Northern Pacification.
• The crowd saw the final point of light reach the Ninth Floor and realized Zhao Feng was its likely occupant.
• Zhao Feng repeatedly suffered sword strikes from the Phantom Swordmaster but persisted, learning to perceive the blade’s trajectory under the immense pressure.
• Zhao Feng began dodging and blocking the Phantom Swordmaster’s attacks, gradually matching his speed and studying his swordsmanship.
• Zhao Feng struck the Phantom Swordmaster’s throat before it could attack, defeated it, and respectfully bowed to his sword teacher.

After leaving the Heavenly Mechanism Tower, Zhao Feng was accused of cheating but defeated Luo Chen with a single sword strike, securing first place in the Hidden Sect Grand Assembly. With no one else willing to challenge him, Xu Guanquiong began the investiture ceremony.

• Zhao Feng left the Heavenly Mechanism Tower after a white light entered his forehead, and the tower appeared dimmer than before.
• Xu Guanquiong announced Zhao Feng as the trial's first-place finisher, but Luo Chen accused him of cheating and challenged him to a duel.
• Zhao Feng accepted Luo Chen's wager, healed for an hour, and declined the Moonlight Flesh-Regenerating Dew that Su Qingwan offered.
• Gu Yanran and Abbess Jingxuan bet on Zhao Feng as the crowd heavily favored Luo Chen.
• Zhao Feng cut through Luo Chen's Sword Qi with one strike and wounded his shoulder, forcing Luo Chen to concede and withdraw from the rankings.
• With no one else willing to challenge Zhao Feng, Xu Guanquiong began the investiture ceremony.

Zhao Feng discovered that the Heavenly Mechanism Tower’s spirit had recognized him but was still evaluating him because of his low cultivation. After Su Qingwan departed, she left him a chart pointing to the Eastern Sea as the likely location of the Nine Netherworld Divine Lantern’s final fragment, and Zhao Feng practiced combining saber and sword.

• Zhao Feng found the Heavenly Mechanism Tower’s phantom in his sea of consciousness and learned that its spirit was still evaluating him as a potential master.
• Su Qingwan visited Zhao Feng to say goodbye and return to her sect after the tournament.
• Su Qingwan gave Zhao Feng a chart marking the Fallen Star Archipelago and Thunder God Island, where the final fragment of the Nine Netherworld Divine Lantern might be hidden in a secret realm.
• Su Qingwan warned Zhao Feng that Zhang Fan and the young master of the Nine Nether Demon Sect might become involved in the search.
• Zhao Feng watched Su Qingwan leave, then practiced combining the Barbarian God Saber and the Nine Yang Divine Sword until early morning.

Zhao Feng and Lu Bing traveled by Myriad Treasures Pavilion ship to the Fallen Star Archipelago, where they waited near the entrance to the Falling Star Secret Realm. As the sea and sky changed, the realm’s fissure began to widen, signaling that it was about to open.

• Zhao Feng decided to seek a Fragment in the Falling Star Secret Realm, and Lu Bing accompanied him while Li Cheng'en returned to the palace.
• Zhao Feng and Lu Bing boarded a Myriad Treasures Pavilion ship, where they encountered Fu Yuan and Xiao Wuchen traveling toward the same destination.
• A sea beast attacked the ship during a storm, but a Myriad Treasures Pavilion expert drove it away with a powerful strike.
• Zhao Feng and Lu Bing reached Reefstone Town near the secret realm and recognized Zhou Hui, Murong Fu, and Luo Chen among the other arrivals.
• The sea grew increasingly turbulent, and a dark fissure widened across the secret realm’s waters as its opening approached.

Zhao Feng entered the Falling Star Secret Realm with Lu Bing and searched its seabed passages for the Nine Netherworld Divine Lantern Shard. After fighting exotic beasts and killing a martial artist who tried to claim a corpse’s pouch, he reached an underground gathering where rival sects confronted one another and spotted a half-collapsed room with a circular platform ahead.

• Zhao Feng and Lu Bing entered the newly opened secret realm and split up at a passage fork to search separately.
• Zhao Feng fought several seabed exotic beasts, found a century-old corpse, and killed Ning when he tried to stop him from taking its Mustard Seed Pouch.
• Zhao Feng found directions on a piece of leather in the pouch but no Nine Netherworld Divine Lantern Shard, then continued deeper and collected another pouch.
• Zhao Feng reunited with Lu Bing in an underground open area where Murong Fu, Zhou Hui, Fu Yuan, Xiao Wuchen, Luo Chen, and Eastern Sea martial artists had gathered among treasures and old remains.
• The young master of the Nine Nether Demon Sect arrived, recognized Zhao Feng, and joined the tense standoff between the groups.
• Zhao Feng sensed a half-collapsed room with a circular platform and scattered remains on the far side of the open area.

Zhao Feng and the other martial artists fought to reach the treasure-filled circular platform, but a surge of exotic beasts forced them into its chamber. They found a high-grade Mustard Seed Pouch beside a skeleton, and rival fighters immediately clashed over it.

• Murong Fu and Zhou Hui charged toward the circular platform as Zhao Feng, Lu Bing, Xiao Wuchen, and Fu Yuan became entangled in battles with Demon Sect and Eastern Sea martial artists.
• Luo Chen and Elder Mu joined Zhao Feng and Lu Bing against the Demon Sect, while Murong Fu and Xiao Wuchen coordinated against the Eastern Sea fighters.
• A mass of exotic beasts poured into the cavern, halting the melee and driving the martial artists into the circular platform chamber to search for treasure.
• Zhao Feng retrieved two Mustard Seed Pouches from the rubble while the others spotted a skeleton with a broken iron-gray staff and a higher-grade pouch.
• Murong Fu, Xiao Wuchen, Zhou Hui, an iron-staff wielder, and other fighters contested the pouch beside the skeleton, reigniting the melee.

Zhao Feng was swept out of the collapsing Falling Star Secret Realm and discovered a hidden underwater cave, where the Heavenly Mechanism Tower absorbed an Extraterrestrial Flame. The young master of the Nine Nether Demon Sect then found him there and declared that Zhao Feng could not escape with what he had taken.

• As the circular platform collapsed, someone stole the Mustard Seed Pouch, and Zhao Feng suspected that a familiar figure had taken it.
• The secret realm flooded and collapsed, sweeping Zhao Feng through underwater passages until he reached a hidden cave where the pressure eased.
• Zhao Feng found a blue flame on a stone platform, and the Tower Spirit identified it as an Extraterrestrial Flame.
• The Heavenly Mechanism Tower drew the flame into itself and fell dormant again after warning Zhao Feng to return when he was qualified.
• The young master of the Nine Nether Demon Sect entered the cave, recognized that Zhao Feng had taken something, and said he could not escape with it.

Zhao Feng and Zhang Fan joined forces against the young master of the Demon Sect in a desperate battle. Their strongest attacks failed to defeat him, and Zhao Feng lost consciousness as the cave collapsed and seawater flooded in.

• Zhang Fan entered the cave, and Zhao Feng accused him of taking the Mustard Seed Pouch from the stone platform.
• The young master of the Demon Sect tried to stop Zhang Fan from leaving, and Zhang Fan and Zhao Feng struck together to wound him.
• Zhao Feng and Zhang Fan fought in tandem, but the young master gradually regained the advantage and injured them both.
• Zhao Feng and Zhang Fan unleashed their strongest attacks, forcing the young master to respond with overwhelming sword force.
• The young master hurled Zhao Feng and Zhang Fan away, and Zhao Feng blacked out as the cave collapsed and seawater swept in.

Zhao Feng woke after a month unconscious and learned that his Dantian and golden body had been gravely damaged. As Su Qingwan returned with medicine she had risked her life to find, Zhao Feng tried to push her away, but Gu Yanran revealed what she had sacrificed for him.

• Zhao Feng woke in an imperial villa, recounted his encounter with the Demon Sect's young master, and learned that many martial artists had been killed or injured after the secret realm collapsed.
• Zhao Feng found that his Dantian and golden body were badly damaged, and despite a month of treatment, only his Dantian began to recover.
• Su Qingwan visited Zhao Feng, examined his injuries, and left promising to return after he told her that he might never recover.
• Su Qingwan returned with medicine, but Zhao Feng coldly told her to leave and said he planned to resign and return home.
• Gu Yanran arrived and revealed that Su Qingwan had gone alone to the North Pole Icefield, found an Ice Mountain Golden Lotus, and contracted cold poison for Zhao Feng.

Su Qingwan used the North Pole Golden Lotus to reconstruct Zhao Feng’s shattered golden body, but the process unleashed cold poison and worsened the damage to her Pure Moon Zither Heart. As Zhao Feng tried to save her, the Heavenly Mechanism Tower’s Tower Spirit warned that his nine suns true origin could make her condition worse.

• Gu Yanran hinted that Su Qingwan had made sacrifices for Zhao Feng and warned that her cultivation method prevented her from explaining, before leaving.
• Lu Bing told Zhao Feng that Pure Moon Zither Heart could shatter when its cultivator fell in love, and suspected Su Qingwan’s cultivation had regressed.
• Su Qingwan spent three days refining the North Pole Golden Lotus, then used it to repair Zhao Feng’s golden body.
• After the reconstruction, Su Qingwan collapsed with spreading cold poison, which Zhao Feng temporarily eased with his nine suns true origin.
• Su Qingwan told Zhao Feng that her zither heart had cracked and her cultivation would keep regressing, while the Tower Spirit warned him that purging the poison with his true origin could worsen her condition.

Zhao Feng and Su Qingwan began cultivating the Yin-Yang Body Tempering True Scripture together, healing her cold poison and damaged zither heart. After their first session, more than half the poison was gone, and Zhao Feng checked his cultivation progress.

• Zhao Feng told Su Qingwan that dual cultivation of the Yin-Yang Body Tempering True Scripture could heal her cold poison and improve their cultivation, and he confessed that he loved her.
• Su Qingwan agreed to cultivate with Zhao Feng, and they sealed the room before beginning that night.
• Zhao Feng and Su Qingwan circulated their true origin together, dissolving her cold poison and gradually repairing her zither heart.
• By morning, Su Qingwan's body temperature had returned to normal, more than half her cold poison was gone, and her zither heart had begun to mend.
• After Su Qingwan returned to her room, Zhao Feng took an elixir, regulated his breathing, and checked his cultivation panel.

After recovering from his injuries, Zhao Feng reassured the Martial Suppression Bureau and received a private visit from Emperor Jing, who said his plans concerning the Empress Dowager were in place. That night, Zhao Feng and Su Qingwan spoke about their relationship and the punishment she might face from the Pure Moon Convent, and he asked her to meet his parents.

• Zhao Feng discussed the missing Nine Nether Demon Sect and his prospects for reaching the Profound Mastery Realm with Lu Bing.
• Emperor Jing visited Zhao Feng, urged him to recuperate in the capital, and confirmed that he had put Zhao Feng's suggested arrangements concerning the Empress Dowager in place.
• Zhao Feng returned to the Martial Suppression Bureau and restored the confidence of its Martial Dao experts before handling official business.
• Zhao Feng found Su Qingwan gazing at the moon, and she admitted she hated how fate had led her to fall in love with him.
• Su Qingwan said she would accept punishment from the Pure Moon Convent, while Zhao Feng threatened to surround it with troops if it kept her from him.
• Zhao Feng asked Su Qingwan to meet his parents the next day, and she blushed.

Zhao Feng brought Su Qingwan home, where she discovered that Qiao'er might have a spirit body and Abbess Jingxuan confirmed it. The group uncovered that the Empress Dowager might be using a shamanic formation to resurrect someone through the late emperor's corpse, and Zhao Feng later broke through to the Profound Mastery Realm.

• Zhao Feng introduced Su Qingwan to his parents, and Yang Shi welcomed her warmly before asking when they could marry.
• Su Qingwan examined Qiao'er and suspected she had a spirit body; Abbess Jingxuan confirmed it and agreed to take her to the Pure Moon Convent.
• Zhao Feng showed Su Qingwan and Abbess Jingxuan the tomb's array rubbings and described the strange eyes in the Palace of Compassionate Tranquility portrait.
• Abbess Jingxuan identified the patterns as a Spirit Puppet Soul-Locking Formation that could link a remnant soul to a corpse, and Su Qingwan concluded the Empress Dowager's search for the lantern fragments might be a smokescreen.
• After Qiao'er left for the sect with Abbess Jingxuan, Zhao Feng cultivated for over a month and broke through to the Profound Mastery Realm.

The young master of the Nine Nether Demon Sect learned that Zhao Feng had recovered and advanced, while warning against trusting the Barbarian God Hall. At the Barbarian God Hall, Ying Yang heard of Zhao Feng’s recovery and was told that the plan involving Great Yan’s Palace of Compassionate Tranquility might soon need to begin.

• The Left Guardian Dharma Protector reported that Zhao Feng had recovered with Su Qingwan’s help and reached the Profound Mastery Realm, while Zhang Fan’s fate remained unknown.
• The young master said Zhang Fan seemed more dangerous than Zhao Feng, planned to let someone else gather the God Lamp Fragments, and cautioned that the Northern Barbarians could not be trusted.
• Ying Yang practiced with his newly regrown arm as the master of the Barbarian God Hall told him Zhao Feng had reached the Profound Mastery Realm.
• Ying Yang accepted Zhao Feng as a worthy opponent, and the master said the woman in Great Yan’s Palace of Compassionate Tranquility was running out of time and their plan might soon begin.

The Empress Dowager and the Barbarian God Hall prepared upheavals against Great Yan, and during the Qingming mausoleum rites Emperor Xian emerged from his tomb to demand the throne from Emperor Jing. When Emperor Xian attacked Emperor Jing, Great Yan’s hidden guardian appeared and shattered his strike.

• The Barbarian God Hall Master told Ying Yang that their threats had forced them to awaken a sealed servant early, and assigned Ying Yang and Moro Ke to carry out the plan under the Ancestral High Shaman’s supervision.
• The Empress Dowager confirmed that her allies were settled in the Imperial Mausoleum and the Three Great Camps were ready to raise troops at her signal.
• During the grand mausoleum rites, Emperor Xian of Yan emerged from the underground palace, and officials split between those who welcomed him and those who remained loyal to Emperor Jing.
• Emperor Xian claimed he had faked his death to cultivate the Dao, while the Empress Dowager backed his claim and demanded that Emperor Jing abdicate.
• Emperor Xian used his overwhelming pressure to make officials kneel, then sent a massive palm strike toward Emperor Jing.
• Great Yan’s hidden guardian appeared and shattered Emperor Xian’s attack, ending the pressure as Emperor Xian recognized him.