Chapter Summaries

Zhao Li returned to Great Li after failing to find Lin Feng and worked with Ye Yunsheng to reform the dynasty’s laws and restore order. Ten years later, Zhao Li emerged from a two-month spiritual illusion, while Qi Tian wondered why it could no longer enter his illusion.

• Ye Yunsheng dismissed the ministers and reassured Zhao Li that Lin Feng’s rumors did not affect her, though Zhao Li remained determined to kill him if they met again.
• Ye Yunsheng asked Zhao Li to help manage the lands of the three kingdoms he had destroyed, and he proposed revising Great Li’s laws and establishing a stronger legal framework.
• Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng led sweeping reforms, suppressing unrest with force before restoring order through benevolent governance.
• Over ten years, Zhao Li continued studying artifact refining, array formation, cultivation, and reform while Great Li recovered.
• After spending two months in a spiritual illusion, Zhao Li woke and found Qi Tian unable to enter it; he teased the monkey for sleeping through the years.

Zhao Li remained unable to break through the Emperor Realm Soul barrier and resumed cultivation after Qi Tian reminded him that he might be unable to protect Ye Yunsheng. He then brought Yun Shan to Great Gan and agreed to take him back to Aunt Yun the next day, leaving Yun Shan to prepare for the journey.

• Zhao Li discussed his stalled progress toward Emperor Realm Soul with Qi Tian and resolved to keep cultivating until his dantian was complete.
• Qi Tian pointed out that Zhao Li needed to grow stronger in case Ye Yunsheng encountered danger, prompting him to return to secluded cultivation.
• A shattered jade pendant brought Zhao Li to Lin Lan, who reminded him that the ten-year agreement to let Yun Shan return to his aunt had come due.
• Zhao Li found Yun Shan, who had become a Dou Master, and asked whether he wanted to see Aunt Yun.
• After Lin Lan explained the agreement and the choice Yun Shan would eventually face between the Eastern and Northwestern Regions, Yun Shan asked Zhao Li to take him back to Aunt Yun.
• Zhao Li agreed to set off the next day and asked Yun Shan to prepare.

Zhao Li returned to the Jia Ma Empire with Yun Shan, who reunited with Yun Yun and chose to remain there to build his own path. After Zhao Li departed, Yun Shan became the Misty Cloud Sect’s Young Sect Master, while Zhao Li went to visit the Jade Capital Academy he had founded.

• Zhao Li brought Yun Shan back to the Jia Ma Empire and reunited him with Yun Yun at the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Yun Shan told Zhao Li he had decided to stay in the Jia Ma Empire and rely on himself.
• Zhao Li encouraged Yun Shan to do his best and left him at Misty Cloud Mountain.
• Yun Yun appointed Yun Shan Young Sect Master and trained him, but was astonished by the insight Zhao Li had taught him.
• Zhao Li left the Misty Cloud Sect and went to the Jade Capital Academy he had founded.

Zhao Li returned to the declining academy he had founded, where his identity as its immortal founder drove off the youths demanding protection money. He left for the Black Corner Region to pursue several long-considered goals, and a merchant warned him that the lawless region punished the unwary.

• Zhao Li found the academy neglected and listened as youths threatened its old storyteller for protection money.
• The youths recognized Zhao Li from the academy’s portrait and begged him for mercy, while the old gentleman welcomed him back as the Academy Master.
• Zhao Li learned that the academy’s stories had endured but its listeners lacked opportunities to turn their hopes into reality, then left its future to Yun Shan.
• Zhao Li traveled toward the Black Corner Region, intending to investigate the Old Dragon Emperor, the Fallen Heart Flame, and Demonic Flame Valley.
• A merchant approached Zhao Li and warned him that even powerful experts could stumble in the Black Corner Region without caution and cunning.

Zhao Li arrived in Black Emperor City after learning that the Black Emperor Sect was holding an auction, and he dealt with a group trying to frame him outside the city. At the Trade Fair, he asked how much a Mysterious Tier, High Grade Dou Technique would fetch in Gold Coins.

• Zhao Li dismissed a fat merchant who tried to strike up a partnership and learned that visitors were heading to Black Emperor City for the Black Emperor Sect's auction.
• Zhao Li used his Soul Power to follow other travelers and reached the imposing Black Emperor City.
• A woman and her companions tried to frame Zhao Li for molestation, but he made them tear at their own clothes and then entered the city.
• Zhao Li explored the city's trade arrangements and went to the Trade Fair to exchange something for money.
• Zhao Li offered a Mysterious Tier, High Grade Dou Technique and asked the Black Emperor Sect representative how much it was worth in Gold Coins.

Zhao Li exchanged several Mysterious Tier, High Grade Dou Techniques for five million gold coins, then agreed to stay at the Black Emperor Pavilion after Mo Xuyu intervened in a confrontation with Old Man Yin Shan. He learned that a mysterious piece of news connected to the Central Plains had drawn powerful figures to the auction, but its details remained unknown.

• Zhao Li sold several fabricated Mysterious Tier, High Grade Dou Techniques to the auction house manager for five million gold coins.
• Old Man Yin Shan ambushed Zhao Li and demanded his Storage Ring, but Zhao Li ignored his spatial seal and rendered him afraid to act.
• Mo Xuyu arrived and asked Zhao Li and Yin Shan to end their dispute; Zhao Li demanded sincerity, and Yin Shan readily agreed to back down.
• Mo Xuyu invited Zhao Li to stay at the Black Emperor Pavilion, and Zhao Li accepted to learn more about the auction.
• A maid told Zhao Li that a piece of news related to the Central Plains had attracted powerful experts, though she did not know its details.
• Zhao Li considered whether the news might concern the Dou Di Ruin Space, then reviewed the auction list and noted its many valuable items.

Zhao Li arrived at the Black Emperor Sect's crowded auction and entered through the exclusive passage after the Sect elders recognized him as the supplier of valuable cultivation manuals. He was given a Level One VIP room and settled in to await the auction.

• Zhao Li left the Black Emperor Pavilion and was guided through the packed crowd toward the auction venue.
• The Black Emperor Sect elders recognized Zhao Li, welcomed him into the exclusive passage, and gave him a specially made card.
• The elders discussed Zhao Li's mysterious origins and worried that others might target him for the manuals he had supplied.
• An auction-house maid saw Zhao Li's Emerald Card and escorted him to a Level One VIP room on the second floor.
• Zhao Li admired his private room's view and comfort, then closed his eyes and waited for the auction to begin.

Zhao Li attended the Black Emperor Sect's auction, where the auctioneer introduced the rules and began selling a rare Finger Technique Dou Skill. After the One Sun Finger sold for its capped price, Zhao Li grew bored until a later auction item caught his attention.

• Zhao Li sensed a Dou Sect expert hidden among the crowd and watched the Black Emperor Sect's auctioneer address the venue.
• The auctioneer warned attendees against causing trouble on Black Emperor Sect territory and officially opened the auction.
• The auctioneer presented the One Sun Finger, a high-grade Mysterious Tier Dou Skill, and explained its long-range attack.
• Bidders quickly raised the One Sun Finger's price to the eight-hundred-thousand-Gold-Coin cap, and the auctioneer awarded it to the winning bidder.
• Zhao Li grew bored during the following auction lots, then sat upright when the next item appeared.

At the Black Emperor Pavilion auction, Zhao Li traded a Breakthrough Pill for a strange stone that Qi Tian recognized as an Azure Sky Stone. Qi Tian absorbed it and took physical form as a Stone Monkey, declaring himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

• Qi Tian emerged from the Illusion Spirit Stone and asked Zhao Li to buy the strange stone at auction.
• Zhao Li offered a Breakthrough Pill, valued at eight million Gold Coins, and won the stone after no one raised the bid.
• Qi Tian merged with the stone, which he identified as an Azure Sky Stone that had once been a spirit like him.
• Qi Tian revealed that he had taken form and called himself a Stone Monkey, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
• Zhao Li urged Qi Tian to cultivate instead of sleeping, and Qi Tian quietly developed a will to fight heaven and earth.

Zhao Li watched the Black Emperor Sect auction and bought the chance to hear its long-hyped news after Mo Xuyu revealed that it concerned a legendary Dou Sheng. The venue waited for the buyers to gather as the auction prepared to disclose the information.

• Zhao Li recognized that Sealing Sect Powder only suppressed a Dou Sect expert's strength for an instant, while a young man paid four million Gold Coins for it.
• Zhao Li considered whether the Poison Master path might help his cultivation and thought of Xiao Yi Xian before turning his attention back to the auction.
• Mo Xuyu took over the auction and announced that the Dou Sheng-related news would be sold to multiple buyers for one million Gold Coins or an equivalent item.
• Old Man Yin Shan challenged Mo Xuyu's plan, but Mo Xuyu defended the fixed-price sale and ordered buyers not to spread the news within the Black Emperor Sect's territory.
• Zhao Li offered a Dou Spirit Pill for the chance to hear the news, and Mo Xuyu accepted it as other buyers began paying for their places.

After selling special Jade Tokens, Mo Xuyu revealed that he had found a hidden Dou Sheng Ruins accessible only to those below Dou Zun and urged the buyers to set out quickly. As Zhao Li prepared to leave, Mo Xuyu stopped him to ask whether he was an Alchemist.

• Mo Xuyu ended the auction and led the Jade Token holders into a secret chamber, where Zhao Li followed with the others.
• Mo Xuyu said he had discovered a hidden Dou Sheng Ruins in the Central Plains and claimed that only those below Dou Zun could explore it safely.
• Old Man Yin Shan questioned Mo Xuyu's motives, but Mo Xuyu explained that powers above Dou Sect Peak could shatter the Ruins space and trigger a dangerous Spatial Storm.
• Mo Xuyu warned the group that reaching the Ruins would take at least three months, so they left to prepare for the journey.
• Mo Xuyu called to Zhao Li as he was leaving and asked whether he was an Alchemist.

After refusing Mo Xuyu’s attempts to recruit him and hire him as an alchemist, Zhao Li realized the Black Emperor Sect planned to target auction winners and left Black Emperor City. He watched the forest ambushes and saw a mysterious Dou Sect expert confronted by a band of robbers.

• Mo Xuyu offered Zhao Li a position as a Guest Elder and then asked him to refine pills, but Zhao Li refused both offers and mocked the Sect Master’s ability to reward him.
• Mo Xuyu ordered his Elders to investigate Zhao Li and secretly follow him, deciding that the Black Emperor Sect should eliminate him rather than let another faction benefit from his alchemy.
• Zhao Li left Black Emperor City, noticed that several people were watching him, and disappeared from their sight.
• Zhao Li entered the surrounding forest and used his Soul Power to spot groups of masked ambushers lying in wait for auction winners.
• Zhao Li observed a mysterious Dou Sect expert surrounded by a dozen robbers led by a Dou Wang, and the expert challenged them to try to stop him.

Zhao Li watched as a mysterious Dou Zong defeated bandits and faced down greedy onlookers, until Mo Xuyu and Old Man Yin Shan arrived. The confrontation paused when Mo Xuyu turned his attention to Zhao Li, who insisted he was only watching.

• The mysterious Dou Zong killed the bandit leader and his men after they tried to rob him.
• The mysterious Dou Zong warned the remaining onlookers to leave, and many withdrew while a few stayed.
• Mo Xuyu and the White-Haired Auctioneer arrived, and Mo Xuyu denied that the Black Emperor Sect had come for the Dou Zong's treasures.
• Old Man Yin Shan mocked Mo Xuyu, who attacked him once before deciding not to continue fighting.
• Mo Xuyu looked toward Zhao Li, who sat nearby eating melon seeds and said he was only watching the show.

Mo Xuyu tried to force Zhao Li to stay with the Black Emperor Sect, then clashed with Old Man Yin Shan after Yin Shan mocked him. As the fight turned against Yin Shan, he knelt before Zhao Li and begged him to save and take him away, offering the Ten-Thousand-Year Agarwood and a Soul Nurturing Method.

• Mo Xuyu cautiously confronted Zhao Li and urged him to remain in the Black Emperor Sect for his own safety.
• Old Man Yin Shan mocked Mo Xuyu, provoking him to attack with deadly force.
• Mo Xuyu and Yin Shan exchanged savage blows, injuring each other as Zhao Li watched and judged Yin Shan to be at a disadvantage.
• Yin Shan realized he might die, knelt before Zhao Li, and offered the Ten-Thousand-Year Agarwood and a Soul Nurturing Method in exchange for rescue.
• Mo Xuyu dismissed Yin Shan's plea and moved to strike him, insisting that he would deal with Zhao Li afterward.

Zhao Li stopped Mo Xuyu’s attack, killed him, and took the Soul Nurturing Divine Wood from Yin Shan. As Zhao Li traveled on with Qi Tian, he explained why he had waited for Yin Shan to offer the wood rather than take it by force.

• Mo Xuyu unleashed the Great Dark Sky Palm at Yin Shan, who stopped resisting and gambled that Zhao Li would intervene.
• Zhao Li pierced through Mo Xuyu’s palm technique with one finger, then killed Mo Xuyu with a wisp of pale-white flame.
• Zhao Li demanded the Agarwood from Yin Shan, who handed it over along with his Soul Nurturing Method; Zhao Li returned the scroll and departed.
• Qi Tian asked why Zhao Li had not simply taken the Agarwood, and Zhao Li explained that doing so would encourage the powerful to imitate that behavior.
• Qi Tian concluded that Zhao Li wanted to become the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and sweep away injustice.

Zhao Li reached Peace Town on the border of the Black Corner Region and saw how Jia Nan Academy’s force kept its dangerous neighbors in line. After wandering through the town, he crossed the Primeval Forest and reached Jia Nan City at dusk, still intent on finding the Ancient Emperor’s Cave Dwelling and Zhu Kun.

• Zhao Li arrived at Peace Town and watched Black Corner Region fighters obey Jia Nan Academy’s rules as they entered.
• Zhao Li saw the corpses hanging from the Undead Tree and recognized it as a warning backed by Jia Nan Academy’s past battles.
• Jia Nan Academy’s Enforcement Squad arrived at the town gate, and Zhao Li slipped away from the crowd to avoid drawing attention.
• Zhao Li strolled through Peace Town and admired its calm streets, then crossed the dangerous Primeval Forest.
• Zhao Li reached Jia Nan City after nightfall.

Zhao Li explored Jia Nan City and its surrounding forest, then entered Jia Nan Academy’s Inner Academy. There, Elder Bai urged Hu Po to cultivate an Earth Tier method in hopes of breaking through the Dou Emperor Barrier.

• Zhao Li wandered through Jia Nan City, reflecting on the academy and memories of his youth.
• Zhao Li saw older students beating a younger student but chose not to interfere.
• Zhao Li searched the forest for Zi Yan, failed to find her, and located the Inner Academy’s hidden entrance.
• Zhao Li passed through the spatial barrier into the Inner Academy.
• Elder Bai told Hu Po to cultivate a method that might help him break through the Dou Emperor Barrier.

Qian Mu, Bai Lie, and Hu Po discussed the rumored Dou Sheng Ruins and the danger Zhao Li might bring to the Black Corner Region, while deciding to prepare and keep trying to contact the Dean. Zhao Li entered Jia Nan Academy’s Inner Academy and headed toward the Heavenly Blazing Qi Refining Tower to investigate the Fallen Heart Flame.

• Qian Mu gave Hu Po a cultivation method and urged him to try breaking through to Dou Zong, though Hu Po doubted his chances.
• Bai Lie warned Qian Mu that pursuing the rumored Dou Sheng Ruins would likely be futile and dangerous, and Qian Mu abandoned the idea.
• Bai Lie and Qian Mu worried that Zhao Li and the Black Emperor Sect could destabilize the Black Corner Region, so they agreed to prepare and contact the Dean.
• Zhao Li entered the Inner Academy without alerting anyone and sensed a powerful Fire Attribute Energy fluctuation to the north.
• Zhao Li crossed a thousand li through the forest, observed the strong Inner Academy students, and spotted the tower where the Fallen Heart Flame was sealed.

Zhao Li entered the Heaven Blazing Qi Refining Tower after the academy reopened it, then explored its levels and learned how its seals and design harnessed the Fallen Heart Flame. At the bottom, he saw the imprisoned fire python and regarded its treatment with pity.

• An Elder announced that the disturbance had been dealt with and ordered the Heaven Blazing Qi Refining Tower opened.
• Zhao Li entered the tower with the students, sensed that its Heart Flame was too weak to affect him, and began exploring.
• Zhao Li descended through the tower and admired how its construction and Formations directed the Fallen Heart Flame's energy to cultivators of different strengths.
• At the lowest level, Zhao Li found the magma sea and saw the Fallen Heart Flame as a gigantic fire python trapped beneath the tower.

Zhao Li entered the underground Magma World to seek Zhu Kun and encountered the Fallen Heart Flame and its Flame Lizardmen guardians. After killing a Half-Saint lizardman and driving the others away, he reached the Spatial Barrier and began wondering why Xiao Yan could pass through it while Zhu Kun remained trapped.

• Zhao Li restrained the Invisible Fire Python and sealed the Fallen Heart Flame, suppressing his desire to let the Bone Chilling Flame devour it.
• Zhao Li encountered a Half-Saint Flame Lizardman and killed it with a Soul Power attack and a fiery punch, collecting its Energy Orb.
• Zhao Li threatened the Flame Lizardmen with another Energy Orb, and they scattered after warning him that he might awaken their guardian.
• Zhao Li reached the Spatial Barrier and tested it, then suspected Xiao Yan had passed through because he possessed one-eighth of the Tou She Ancient God Jade.