Chapter Summaries

Zhao Li reflected on his past and kept walking through the darkness of his consciousness, while Huang Wen secured the Gu and Lei clans’ support against Soul Hall. Zhao Li eventually reached an endless ice plain and suspected he was witnessing the Bone Chilling Flame’s memories.

• Zhao Li recognized how his strength and luck had encouraged him to show off, then resolved to continue his journey and earn others’ respect.
• Huang Wen asked the Gu and Lei clans to restrain Soul Hall’s powerful backers while he targeted its known strongholds, and both men agreed.
• Huang Wen vowed to seek justice for alchemists who had disappeared over the past few hundred years.
• Zhao Li fell into despair again, but rose and continued through the darkness rather than give up.
• Zhao Li reached an endless ice plain beneath a sky where the sun and moon never set, then sensed curiosity that he believed belonged to the Bone Chilling Flame.

Zhao Li experienced the Bone Chilling Flame’s growth across countless cycles, discovered its connection to a vast force resembling the Heavenly Dao, and witnessed it gain puppets before another Exotic Flame devoured it. After the Bone Chilling Flame gradually recovered, it erupted across the Ice Plain and consumed everyone nearby.

• Zhao Li studied the Bone Chilling Flame as it wandered the Ice Plain and realized its existence followed a recurring span of time.
• Zhao Li sensed the flame’s connection to the Power of Rules and nearly had his consciousness assimilated by a vast web of threads.
• The Bone Chilling Flame froze a person who approached and turned him into its first puppet, then gathered more puppets across many cycles.
• A black flame devoured the Bone Chilling Flame, leaving only a small wisp to return to the darkness.
• Zhao Li reflected on the loneliness of a long life and resolved to seek friends or opponents as he continued exploring the flame.
• After countless reincarnations, the Bone Chilling Flame recovered its source and erupted across the Ice Plain, devouring everyone around it.

Zhao Li awakened after spending what felt like more than ten thousand years inside the Bone Chilling Flame's consciousness, though only three months had passed in the outside world. After learning about the Little Pill Tower's losses and its campaign against the Soul Hall, he decided it was time to return home.

• Zhao Li realized that Han Shanshan's sacrifice and Yao Chen's awakened bloodline had caused a message sealed within the Bone Chilling Flame to pull his consciousness into its memories.
• Zhao Li awakened in bed, found his vitality intact and his Soul Origin greatly strengthened, and learned from a Venerable Elder that he had been unconscious for more than three months.
• The Venerable Elder told Zhao Li that the Soul Hall had nearly wiped out the Little Pill Tower and that the Tower Master had sent forces to attack its known branch halls, with little success.
• Zhao Li left the Venerable Elder and wandered through Holy Pill City, reflecting on how his long experience had changed his outlook.
• At the Ye Family Villa, Zhao Li decided to return to Danyuan City and wondered how his family and teacher had fared.

Zhao Li left Holy Pill City to find White Cloud City and visit home, using his newly mastered space technique to travel across the Central Plains. He learned the city’s location from Han Zichuan and set off, reflecting on his lingering isolation and how much his power might still grow.

• Zhao Li left Holy Pill City and used Shrinking the Ground into Inches to travel, marveling at his new command of Space Rules.
• Zhao Li realized he did not know where White Cloud City was and returned to the Pill Tower to ask for directions.
• Zhao Li saw the Three Thousand Burning Flame still sealed in the Star Domain before meeting Han Zichuan.
• Han Zichuan told Zhao Li that White Cloud City lay far to the east of the Central Plains, and Zhao Li thanked him before leaving.
• Zhao Li traveled toward White Cloud City by repeatedly stepping through space, improving his technique along the way and considering the heights of power he might reach.

Zhao Li reached White Cloud City to investigate the Yun Family’s near-annihilation and confronted the Bai Clan’s tyrannical young master. After learning the Bai Clan was tied to the Yun Family’s destruction, Zhao Li faced a powerful middle-aged man who arrived to defend the clan.

• Zhao Li learned that the Bai Clan had taken control of White Cloud City after the Yun Family was nearly wiped out, and went to the Yun Family’s former residence to question the Bai Clan.
• A drunken Bai Baitian interrupted a wedding procession and began groping the bride, so Zhao Li severed his hand and dragged him before him.
• Bai Baitian threatened Zhao Li and offered him the bride, but Zhao Li judged him for his cruelty and suspected the Bai Clan had helped destroy the Yun Family.
• Bai Baitian warned Zhao Li about a powerful lord, then a gaunt middle-aged man appeared and challenged him.
• Zhao Li ordered the middle-aged man down and pressed energy toward him.

Zhao Li subdued Bai Baipo and learned that the Soul Hall had helped instigate the destruction of the Yun Family, then found the surviving Yun family members. He discovered that their eldest sister’s daughter, Yun Xin'er, had fled before the massacre, but the family did not know where she had gone.

• Zhao Li pressed Bai Baipo to the ground and demanded to know how the Yun Family had been destroyed.
• Bai Baipo blamed a Soul Hall figure for driving the Bai and Yun families apart and revealed that Yun Family survivors were hiding in a restaurant.
• Bai Baipo brought an old man and three young Yun family members to Zhao Li, who said his teacher, Lin Lan, had old ties with their family.
• Yun Kong explained that the Bai Family’s Dou Zun-backed attack had killed the Yun Family ancestor and scattered the survivors.
• Zhao Li learned that Yun Kong’s eldest sister had died after her daughter fled, and he asked whether the missing woman was Yun Xin'er.

Zhao Li traced the attack on the Yun Family to Venerate Yin Ming, who had used the survivors to lure Lin Lan. After destroying Soul Hall’s Eastern Region branch, Zhao Li returned to the Bai Family with Yin Ming and asked the Yun Family if they recognized him.

• Zhao Li asked Bai Baipo to contact the lord behind the attack, and Bai Baipo opened a spatial passage to Soul Hall’s branch.
• Zhao Li confronted Venerate Yin Ming, who revealed that he had targeted the Yun Family to draw out Lin Lan, Zhao Li’s master.
• Zhao Li questioned Yin Ming about his grudge with Lin Lan, but Yin Ming collapsed unconscious under Zhao Li’s pressure.
• Zhao Li searched the branch for the Soul Devouring Life Extinguishing Array, found no trace of it, and destroyed the branch’s protectors and chained Soul Bodies.
• Zhao Li collected a cluster of Soul Origin power and returned to the Bai Family with Yin Ming, then asked the Yun Family whether they recognized him.

Zhao Li avenged the Yun Family, forced the Bai Family to return its estate and look after the survivors, and killed the Bai Clan Ancestor when he challenged him. He took Yin Ming toward his teacher, reflected on the risks of growing indifferent to life, and after three months reached the Great Qian Empire.

• Yun Kong and the surviving Yun Family members thanked Zhao Li, who told them to gather their people and reclaim their estate.
• Zhao Li gave the Bai Family a chance to live if they restored their reputation, then killed the Bai Clan Ancestor when he appeared to challenge him.
• Zhao Li ordered Bai Baipo and Bai Baitian to care for the Yun Family, and he left with Yin Ming.
• As he traveled east, Zhao Li considered how power could make him indifferent to life and wondered why the Central Plains had richer energy than the Eastern Region.
• Yin Ming woke and threatened Zhao Li with Soul Hall, but Zhao Li said he was taking him to meet his teacher and later knocked him out for making too much noise.
• After three months of travel, Zhao Li reached the Great Qian Empire.

Zhao Li returned to Danyuan Sect after years away and reunited emotionally with his master, Lin Lan. He brought Yin Ming to Lin Lan, who learned that his past hesitation had led to calamity for the Yun Family.

• Zhao Li reached Danyuan City and decided to bring Yin Ming to his teacher at Danyuan Sect.
• Zhao Li showed his Sect Badge to the mountain gate disciples and walked up Danxia Peak, recalling his home in the sect.
• Zhao Li entered the Sect Master's Grand Hall, knelt before Lin Lan, and embraced him after declaring that he had returned.
• Zhao Li released Yin Ming before Lin Lan and explained the Yun Family matter.
• Lin Lan recognized Yin Ming and lamented that his own cowardice and reservations had contributed to the Yun Family's suffering.

Lin Lan confronted Yin Ming, who had once tormented him and caused the deaths of the Yun sisters. As Lin Lan recalled his past, Yin Ming taunted him about the sisters, and Lin Lan began gathering energy to strike.

• Zhao Li sealed Yin Ming's Cultivation Level and left him with Lin Lan.
• Lin Lan reminded Yin Ming how he had humiliated him and refused to release Sister Yun.
• Yin Ming mocked Lin Lan about Sister Yun's death, and Lin Lan crushed his face beneath his foot.
• Lin Lan recalled how Yin Ming had hunted him and the Yun sisters, captured the younger sister, and drove her to take her own life.
• Lin Lan remembered that Yin Ming had imprisoned the younger sister's soul, which later scattered after Lin Lan wounded Yin Ming in a desperate fight.
• Yin Ming taunted Lin Lan about the elder Yun sister's unhappy life and death, and Lin Lan began condensing energy in his hand.

Lin Lan killed Yin Ming and chose to visit White Cloud City, while Zhao Li returned to the Zhao Clan after reuniting with his master. Zhao Li’s homecoming drew the attention of the guards, who recognized him as a legendary figure of the clan.

• Lin Lan killed Yin Ming, then grieved over the people he had lost thirty years earlier.
• Lin Lan reassured Zhao Li, praised his progress, and warned him not to become complacent.
• Lin Lan accepted Zhao Li’s Storage Ring and left for White Cloud City, while Zhao Li prepared to return home.
• Zhao Li appeared at the Zhao Clan estate, where Uncle Li and the other guards welcomed him as the clan’s celebrated Young Master Li.
• Uncle Li sent the guards back to their posts and promised to tell them stories about Zhao Li after their shift.

After returning home, Zhao Li reunited with Han Xiangyu and learned how the Zhao Clan had grown stronger during his ten years away. He warned that he would deal harshly with clan members who abused the resources he had provided, while his father remained away from home.

• Zhao Li rested in the courtyard and fell asleep in Zhao Lingxiao's rocking chair.
• Han Xiangyu returned, mistook Zhao Li for Zhao Lingxiao, then joyfully embraced her son after recognizing him.
• Zhao Li asked about his father, and Han Xiangyu said Zhao Lingxiao had reached Dou Emperor before returning to his lazy ways.
• Han Xiangyu described the Zhao Clan's cultivation gains, including its new Dou Zong, three Dou Emperors, and more than ten Dou Kings.
• Han Xiangyu warned that some clan members had grown arrogant, and Zhao Li threatened to punish anyone who misused his resources.

After returning home, Zhao Li confronted the Zhao Clan’s decline, reunited with his parents, and reached Nine-Star Dou Venerate while considering how to advance further. He visited the school he had founded and met Zhao Yannian, who eagerly asked about the world outside.

• Zhao Li reassured Han Xiangyu that the clan’s problems could still be addressed before they caused greater trouble.
• Zhao Li drank with Zhao Lingxiao, who drunkenly hinted that he knew Zhao Li had become powerful, and Zhao Li pretended he had broken through further.
• Zhao Li reflected on the warmth of being home after ten years and resolved to protect that happiness through cultivation.
• Zhao Li reached Nine-Star Dou Venerate and considered using Heavenly Flames to speed up the Nine Revolutions to Sainthood, but decided to cultivate steadily instead.
• Zhao Li went to the school he had established, where Zhao Yannian asked him about his travels and imagined Sword Immortals and fox spirits.

Zhao Li attended a lesson at the Zhao Clan schoolhouse and watched students compare Great Gan with the world described in The Immortal Yang. Their debate left him satisfied that they were beginning to think about society, though the chapter ended before the discussion reached a conclusion.

• Zhao Li encouraged Zhao Yannian to try persuading his father to let him see the outside world, then promised he would take him if he got the chance.
• Zhao Li listened as an old teacher told the schoolhouse students the story of Zhu Yi in The Immortal Yang.
• The old teacher asked the students how Great Gan compared with the Great Zhou in the story, and a young woman said both were man-eating worlds.
• The students argued over the outside world's dangers, Master Yi's plans for change, and whether everyone could truly be treated as an equal.
• Zhao Li approved of the students' differing opinions and reflected that cultivation had eclipsed many other systems and professions.

Zhao Yannian explained to Uncle Zhao Li that the school embodied the idea of Everyone Like a Dragon, and Uncle Zhao Li grew impressed enough to consider taking him as a disciple. After the lesson ended, Uncle Zhao Li accompanied Zhao Yannian home, where his introduction at the gate revealed his identity and stunned the boy.

• Zhao Yannian told Uncle Zhao Li that Everyone Like a Dragon meant equality in personhood and the ability of the weak to challenge the strong and become stronger.
• Zhao Yannian credited Uncle Zhao Li’s school with giving people the freedom and protection to discuss change, prompting Uncle Zhao Li to consider taking him as a disciple.
• The old gentleman ended the lesson after urging everyone to remember their views and revisit them as they gained experience.
• Uncle Zhao Li promised to take Zhao Yannian out and went with him to visit his father, Zhao Ze.
• At the gate, Uncle Zhao Li told the guards to announce Zhao Li’s visit, and Zhao Yannian realized the visitor was Uncle Zhao Li.

Zhao Li reunited with the Zhao Clan and offered to take Zhao Yannian as his disciple and protect him when he traveled. The family gathered for drinks, where they praised Zhao Li’s cultivation method and discussed its demanding talent requirements.

• Zhao Li revealed his identity to Zhao Yannian and promised to persuade Zhao Ze to let him broaden his horizons.
• Zhao Li offered to teach Zhao Yannian, and Zhao Ze agreed to let his son travel under Zhao Li’s protection.
• Zhao Ze, Zhao Ning, Zhao Hongyu, and Zhao Li shared drinks while Zhao Yannian endured their stories and fetched more wine.
• Zhao Ze praised the body-tempering method Zhao Li had left for the clan, and Zhao Li explained that few people had enough talent to master it well.
• Zhao Ning teased Zhao Li for lowering cultivation thresholds with his method while still seeming dissatisfied.

Zhao Li shared plans for the Zhao Clan to inherit his improved cultivation methods and revealed that he had reached Dou Zun. He accepted Zhao Yannian as his disciple, setting the stage for the boy to leave home and learn from him.

• Zhao Li told Zhao Hongyu he would pass three tiers of his cultivation method to the Zhao Clan, with access controlled by contribution and a trial.
• Zhao Li confirmed to Zhao Ze and the others that he was a Dou Zun, leaving them astonished.
• Zhao Ze told Zhao Yannian that Zhao Li wanted to take him as a disciple, and Zhao Yannian eagerly knelt to accept.
• Zhao Li warned Zhao Yannian to behave while traveling with him, and the family gathered late into the night.
• Zhao Ze urged Zhao Yannian to learn from Zhao Li, and Zhao Yannian joked that he would surpass his master.

Zhao Li visited the Myriad Techniques Pavilion and added a trial-bound cultivation technique Jade Token to its sealed collection. Afterward, he examined his father Zhao Lingxiao’s cultivation and considered holding lessons for the clan.

• Zhao Li finished his morning cultivation and reflected on the need to find ways to gather Dou Qi for a future Cave Heaven and Blessed Land.
• Zhao Li entered the Myriad Techniques Pavilion, passed its guards and defenses, and surveyed the clan’s collection of cultivation techniques.
• Zhao Li placed a Technique Transmission Jade Slip containing an illusion trial beside the technique he had left in the Pavilion ten years earlier.
• After lunch, Zhao Lingxiao privately asked Zhao Li to check his cultivation, and Zhao Li considered teaching a remedial class for the clan.

Zhao Li finished guiding the Zhao Clan in cultivation and took Zhao Yannian out to see the world, setting him the challenge of reaching the Danyuan Sect before sunset. Zhao Yannian reached the sect with help from his grandfather, Zhao Zhiwen, and began exploring its grounds.

• Zhao Li held a cultivation course for the Zhao Clan and gave his family members additional guidance.
• After two months of handling clan affairs, Zhao Li took Zhao Yannian out and challenged him to reach the Danyuan Sect by sunset using any method.
• Zhao Yannian returned to the Zhao Clan and asked Zhao Zhiwen to take him there on a Third Tier Flying Eagle, but Zhao Zhiwen refused and carried him himself.
• Zhao Zhiwen brought Zhao Yannian to Danxia Peak in less than half an hour, and Zhao Yannian looked around the Danyuan Sect square.

Zhao Li brought Zhao Yannian to the Danyuan Sect and taught him that Dou Qi could be transformed between attributes, giving him hope of becoming an alchemist despite his Water Attribute. Zhao Yannian began practicing how to sense and convert Dou Qi, while Zhao Li explained the principles behind the process.

• Zhao Zhiwen left Zhao Yannian in Zhao Li's care after Zhao Li warned Yannian to consider what he owed others when borrowing their support.
• Zhao Li took Zhao Yannian through the Danyuan Sect, where Yannian watched Li Ling teach alchemy and longed to learn it himself.
• Zhao Li demonstrated changing his Dou Qi through different attributes and asked Zhao Yannian to consider what attribute Dou Qi had before cultivation transformed it.
• Zhao Yannian produced unconverted Dou Qi and tried to change it to Fire Attribute, but Zhao Li explained that he first needed to sense the attributes within it.
• Zhao Yannian asked Zhao Li how he had thought of transforming Dou Qi between attributes.