Chapter Summaries

Xiao Xuan and Gu Yuan prepared to confront the Heavenly Tomb Spirit, leaving Xiao Yan, Xun'er, and Xiao Chen in the safety of Xiao Xuan's tomb residence. As the two old friends launched their attack, darkness spread across the Heavenly Tomb and thunder erupted overhead.

• Xiao Xuan explained to Xiao Yan that he and Gu Yuan planned to deal with the Heavenly Tomb Spirit, an unstable threat before the war with the Hun Clan.
• Xiao Yan offered to help, but Xiao Xuan said that he and Gu Yuan could handle the Heavenly Tomb Spirit alone.
• Xiao Xuan and Gu Yuan left Xiao Xuan's tomb residence, where Xiao Yan, Xun'er, and Xiao Chen stayed safe from the coming fight.
• Xiao Xuan and Gu Yuan noticed that chaos Qi and darkness had spread across all three layers of the Heavenly Tomb.
• Xiao Xuan and Gu Yuan recalled their past alliance and soared into the heavens to confront the Heavenly Tomb Spirit, triggering thunderous booms.

Xiao Xuan and Gu Yuan confronted the Heavenly Tomb Spirit, whose rule over the Heavenly Tomb had forced its Energy Bodies to devour one another. Xiao Xuan challenged the Spirit’s claim to be the Heavenly Tomb, leaving Gu Yuan to realize it had been born from the gathered Remnant Souls.

• Xiao Xuan and Gu Yuan unleashed their presences and headed toward the sky as a terrifying soul fluctuation spread through the Heavenly Tomb.
• The Energy Bodies emerged from hiding and knelt to thank Xiao Xuan and Gu Yuan for confronting the Heavenly Tomb Spirit.
• The Heavenly Tomb Spirit appeared as an enormous face and demanded to know whether Xiao Xuan and Gu Yuan meant to break their agreements with him.
• Xiao Xuan told the Heavenly Tomb Spirit that its birth was a mistake and denied that it was the Heavenly Tomb itself.
• Xiao Xuan explained that the Heavenly Tomb Spirit had been formed from the Energy Bodies’ gathered Remnant Souls, and Gu Yuan murmured in surprise.

Xiao Xuan and Gu Yuan fought the Heavenly Tomb Spirit together and gradually overwhelmed it. After Gu Yuan shattered its main body, Xiao Xuan used fiery threads to capture something from the resulting light.

• Gu Yuan refused the Heavenly Tomb Spirit’s offer and joined Xiao Xuan in attacking it.
• The Heavenly Tomb Spirit unleashed a massive Soul Storm, and the battle shook the Heavenly Tomb as Xiao Yan and the others watched.
• Xiao Xuan and Gu Yuan shattered the Heavenly Tomb Spirit’s giant face, forcing its shadowy main body to emerge.
• After fighting for a day and night, Gu Yuan destroyed the Heavenly Tomb Spirit’s main body with the Ancient Emperor Shattering Nirvana Finger.
• Xiao Xuan sent fiery threads into the light around the shattered main body and began pulling out a crystalline ring of light.

Xiao Xuan and Gu Yuan defeated the Heavenly Tomb Spirit and seized its origin, which could help Xiao Yan reach the Emperor Realm in soul power. As Xiao Xuan began erasing the Spirit’s consciousness, Gu Yuan suggested Xiao Xuan take control of the Heavenly Tomb.

• Xiao Xuan and Gu Yuan joined forces, allowing Xiao Xuan to seize the Heavenly Tomb Spirit’s origin.
• Gu Yuan recognized that the origin could help a soul at Heaven Realm Great Perfection break through to the Emperor Realm, and Xiao Xuan said it would go to Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Xuan summoned Xiao Yan, Xun'er, and Xiao Chen, who saw that the matter had been settled.
• The Heavenly Tomb Spirit begged Xiao Xuan to spare him and offered control of the Heavenly Tomb, but Gu Yuan pointed out that Xiao Xuan could take it after the Spirit was dealt with.
• Xiao Xuan began erasing the Heavenly Tomb Spirit’s consciousness, and Gu Yuan joined him when the Spirit tried to resist.

Xiao Xuan and Gu Yuan destroyed the Heavenly Tomb Spirit, freeing the Energy Bodies and securing its essence for Xiao Yan. After refining the essence in seclusion, Xiao Yan broke through to the Emperor Realm Soul.

• Xiao Xuan and Gu Yuan erased the Heavenly Tomb Spirit's consciousness, leaving behind its essence.
• Xiao Xuan told the freed Energy Bodies they could live as they wished within the Heavenly Tomb.
• Xiao Yan accepted the Heavenly Tomb Spirit's essence and began refining it in Xiao Xuan's tomb manor.
• Xiao Yan spent nearly a year in the Heavenly Tomb refining the essence as his soul grew stronger.
• Xiao Yan's soul pressure swept across the Heavenly Tomb, and his soul appeared as a giant after breaking through to the Emperor Realm.

After breaking through to an Emperor Realm Soul, Xiao Yan learned to control its power with guidance from Xiao Xuan and Gu Yuan. Their sparring revealed that he had become invincible below the Nine-Star Dou Saint level and could even threaten an early-stage Nine-Star expert.

• Xiao Yan released his enormous Emperor Realm Soul, whose pressure weakened the Energy Bodies throughout the Heavenly Tomb, until Xiao Xuan urged him to draw it back.
• Xiao Yan withdrew his Soul Body and reunited with Xun'er, while Gu Yuan reacted jealously to their embrace.
• Xiao Yan asked Xiao Xuan and Gu Yuan to teach him how to use his Emperor Realm Soul and sparred with each of them.
• Xiao Xuan and Gu Yuan judged that Xiao Yan had surpassed Lei Ying and Yan Jin, could challenge an early-stage Nine-Star Dou Saint, and was invincible below that level.

After mastering his recent breakthroughs, Xiao Yan prepared to leave the Heavenly Tomb with Gu Yuan and Xiao Chen for the coming alliance meeting against the Hun Clan. Before departing, he proposed a way for Xiao Xuan to leave the tomb without being resurrected and began by asking whether Xiao Xuan could control the Heavenly Tomb.

• Xiao Yan spent about three months mastering his Emperor Realm Soul and his rapid Dou Qi cultivation gains.
• Xiao Yan, Gu Yuan, and Xiao Chen decided to leave the Heavenly Tomb after spending one more day with Xiao Xuan.
• Xiao Yan asked Xiao Xuan whether he had ever considered leaving the Heavenly Tomb, and explained that leaving might not require resurrection.
• Xiao Xuan doubted that such a method could work but agreed to hear Xiao Yan's idea.
• Xiao Yan asked whether Xiao Xuan could control the Heavenly Tomb now that its spirit was dead, and Xiao Xuan said he believed he could.

Xiao Yan proposed moving the Heavenly Tomb to prepare Xiao Xuan to join the final battle against the Hun Clan, but the plan required a Nine-Star Dou Saint and the Gu Clan’s consent. Gu Yuan agreed to help, leaving Xiao Xuan able to take part in the coming battle.

• Xiao Yan explained his plan for treating the Heavenly Tomb as a special space and moving it so Xiao Xuan could participate in the final battle.
• Xiao Xuan said the plan could work if he controlled the inside of the Heavenly Tomb, a Nine-Star Dou Saint controlled the outside, and the Gu Clan agreed to its relocation.
• Xiao Yan decided to ask Gu Yuan for help and went to him with Xiao Xuan.
• Xiao Xuan assured Gu Yuan that he only wanted to fight the Hun Clan and would return control of the Heavenly Tomb to the Gu Clan afterward.
• Gu Yuan said Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan had underestimated him, and both were relieved that he would help.

Xiao Yan proposed refining the Heavenly Tomb into a vessel so Xiao Xuan could join the final battle against the Hun Clan, and Gu Yuan agreed. After they ruled out the Gu Clan’s Ancient Emperor Mirror, Xiao Yan offered to obtain an item left behind by the Yellow Springs Demon Saint, and Xiao Xuan began preparing the Heavenly Tomb for the process.

• Gu Yuan agreed to Xiao Yan’s plan to refine the Heavenly Tomb into a vessel for Xiao Xuan.
• Xiao Yan explained that Xiao Xuan could control the Heavenly Tomb from within while someone outside helped refine it into an object.
• Gu Yuan said the Gu Clan’s Ancient Emperor Mirror could hold the Heavenly Tomb but could not be risked for the clan’s sake.
• Xiao Xuan said an item left behind by a Nine-Star Dou Saint could suffice because he controlled the Heavenly Tomb.
• Xiao Yan offered to obtain an item left behind by the Yellow Springs Demon Saint, and Xiao Xuan and Gu Yuan accepted it as suitable.
• Xiao Xuan began controlling the Heavenly Tomb while Xiao Yan, Gu Yuan, Xun'er, and Xiao Chen left it.

Xiao Yan retrieved the Yellow Springs Stone Tablet, and Gu Yuan spent more than three months refining the Heavenly Tomb into it with Xiao Xuan’s help from within. As the stone tablet’s golden light faded, an illusory figure appeared before it, leaving everyone staring.

• After leaving the Heavenly Tomb, Xiao Yan told Gu Yuan, Xun'er, and Xiao Chen he would fetch an item to hold it, then left the Gu Clan.
• Xiao Yan returned that evening with the Yellow Springs Stone Tablet, which Gu Yuan recognized as a treasure capable of holding the Heavenly Tomb.
• Gu Yuan began refining the Heavenly Tomb into the stone tablet despite objections from some Gu Clan Elders, while Xiao Xuan assisted from inside.
• After more than three months, Gu Yuan completed the refinement, though the effort left him pale and exhausted.
• The Yellow Springs Stone Tablet shone with golden light, then revealed a strange spatial fluctuation and an illusory figure before it.

After Gu Yuan refined the Heavenly Tomb into the Yellow Springs Stone Tablet, Xiao Xuan emerged briefly as its artifact spirit, astonishing the gathered Gu Clan experts and Xiao Yan. Though he could leave the Tablet’s range for only two hours at a time and wield diminished strength, Xiao Xuan was satisfied to see the outside world again as he recognized old acquaintances.

• More than a hundred powerful figures gathered at the Heavenly Tomb after golden light and surges of energy drew them there.
• The crowd saw an illusory figure beneath the Yellow Springs Stone Tablet, and Xiao Chen recognized him as Xiao Xuan.
• The chapter explained that as the Tablet’s artifact spirit, Xiao Xuan could leave the Heavenly Tomb for about two hours, move only within roughly one kilometer of the Tablet, and wield only Late-Stage Eight-Star Dou Sheng strength that weakened in battle.
• The Gu Clan experts marveled that Xiao Xuan could leave the Heavenly Tomb, realizing this was an effect of Gu Yuan’s refinement of it into the Tablet.
• Xiao Xuan greeted Xiao Chen, looked at Xiao Yan, Xun'er, and Gu Yuan, then surveyed the Gu Clan Elders, many of whom were old acquaintances.

Xiao Xuan left the Heavenly Tomb in the Yellow Springs Stone Tablet and reunited with the Gu Clan, while Gu Yuan warned everyone to keep his return secret. With less than three months until the Emperor Clans convened, Gu Yuan agreed that Xiao Yan could take Xiao Xuan away, and Xiao Yan vowed that the Xiao Clan would attend.

• Xiao Xuan greeted Gu Lie, Gu Dao, and the Gu Clan Elders after leaving the Heavenly Tomb, and Gu Yuan dismissed them with orders not to reveal Xiao Xuan's return.
• Xun'er praised Xiao Yan for making Xiao Xuan's alternative resurrection possible, while Xiao Yan credited Gu Yuan's work refining the Heavenly Tomb into the Yellow Springs Stone Tablet.
• Xiao Xuan explained the limits on how long he could leave the Heavenly Tomb, how far he could travel, and how much strength he could use outside it.
• Xiao Yan asked to take Xiao Xuan home, and Gu Yuan agreed as long as Xiao Yan returned for the Emperor Clans' gathering.
• Xiao Yan declared that the Xiao Clan would attend the gathering because it shared a blood feud with the Hun Clan.

Xiao Xuan explained the Yellow Springs Stone Tablet’s new abilities after the Heavenly Tomb was fused into it, then returned inside when his time outside ran out. Xiao Yan left the Gu Realm with Xun'er and Xiao Chen to take him home, and Xiao Xuan’s emotions grew as they neared the Xiao Household.

• Xiao Xuan shrank the Yellow Springs Stone Tablet and explained that it could summon him, pull enemies into the Heavenly Tomb, and be used as a weapon.
• Xiao Yan promised to take Xiao Xuan home, and Xiao Xuan was pulled back into the tablet when his time outside ended.
• Xiao Yan stored the tablet and said farewell to Gu Yuan before leaving the Gu Realm with Xun'er.
• Xiao Chen followed Xiao Yan and Xun'er as they flew toward the Xiao Household in the Central Plains.
• Xiao Xuan grew increasingly emotional inside the tablet as they neared the Xiao Household.

Xiao Yan returned to the Xiao Household and revealed that their ancestor Xiao Xuan had returned. The clan welcomed Xiao Xuan with a grand ceremony, while Xiao Zhan retold the Xiao Household’s history to its gathered members.

• Xiao Yan returned to the Xiao Household with Xiao Xuan inside the Yellow Springs Stone Tablet.
• Xiao Zhan summoned the clan members to the Xiao Realm, where Xiao Yan told the leaders about Xiao Xuan’s return.
• Xiao Zhan and the clan leaders welcomed Xiao Xuan as their legendary ancestor, and Xiao Xuan was moved by their affection.
• The Xiao Household held a grand Return Ceremony attended by nearly all its members.
• Xiao Zhan recounted the Xiao Household’s glorious history, stirring pride among the gathered clan members.

Xiao Xuan returned to the Xiao Household, where its members welcomed him and reassured him that they did not blame him for the clan’s decline. Days later, Xiao Xuan asked Xiao Yan why he had not seen Xiao Lin, and Xiao Yan said his grandfather had apparently returned to the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace to cultivate in seclusion.

• Xiao Zhan announced that the descendants of the Xiao Clan welcomed their ancestor’s return, and Xiao Yan summoned the Yellow Springs Stone Tablet.
• Xiao Xuan emerged from the tablet and was welcomed by the Xiao Household, then apologized for the clan’s decline and bowed to its members.
• Xiao Yan and the clansmen told Xiao Xuan they did not blame him for his gamble and instead blamed the Hun Clan for the Xiao Clan’s past.
• After several days at the Xiao Household, Xiao Xuan asked Xiao Yan why he had not seen Xiao Lin.
• Xiao Yan said Xiao Lin had apparently returned to the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace for secluded cultivation.

Xiao Yan coaxed Xiao Xuan into revealing that Xiao Lin had entered the Heavenly Tomb and already possessed an Emperor Realm Soul. By linking that clue with what he knew about the Gu Clan and Supreme Elder Lin, Xiao Yan concluded that his grandfather and Supreme Elder Lin were the same person.

• Xiao Xuan explained that he wanted to meet Xiao Lin because Xiao Lin had helped the Xiao Household rise to prominence.
• Xiao Yan tricked Xiao Xuan into revealing that Xiao Lin had an Emperor Realm Soul, then asked how he knew.
• Xiao Xuan realized Xiao Yan had been fishing for information and indirectly confirmed that Xiao Lin had entered the Heavenly Tomb when it opened before.
• Xiao Yan explained that Gu Yuan's remark had made him suspicious and that he had sought confirmation from Xiao Xuan.
• Xiao Yan connected Xiao Lin's visit to the Heavenly Tomb with Supreme Elder Lin's deal with the Gu Clan and concluded that his grandfather was Supreme Elder Lin.

Xiao Yan gathered the Heavenly Mansion Alliance’s forces and set out for the Gu Clan’s Emperor Clan Alliance Gathering. As the invited factions prepared to attend, the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace’s leaders wondered whether Lin Xiao would emerge from secluded cultivation in time.

• Xiao Yan arranged for Xiao Xuan to accompany him as a hidden combat asset and planned for the Xiao Household’s Xiao Ding, Xiao Li, and Xiao Chen to attend separately.
• Xiao Yan assembled nearly a hundred Heavenly Mansion Alliance experts, including more than a dozen Saint Realm experts, and led them toward the Gu Clan.
• Xiao Ding, Xiao Li, and Xiao Chen departed for the gathering after the Heavenly Mansion Alliance set out.
• Reports of Lin Xiao’s Emperor Realm Soul and at least Late-Stage Eight-Star Dou Sheng cultivation spread, drawing increased attention to the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace.
• Ji Li presided over a meeting of the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace’s leadership, where an elder asked whether Lin Xiao had finished his secluded cultivation.

With Xiao Lin still in seclusion, Ji Li prepared to lead the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace to the Emperor Clan alliance meeting against the Hun Clan. Xiao Lin’s breakthrough to Late-Stage Nine-Star Dou Saint had made the Realm of Formations too oppressive for anyone else to enter.

• The Myriad Formation Spirit Palace’s Leadership discussed joining the alliance, aware that the Hun Clan and the Soul Hall were already mortal enemies of their sect.
• Ji Li announced that he would lead the group to the Gu Clan in three days, meeting the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan and Sound Valley at the Cloud Summit Mountain Range.
• Ji Li ordered the sect to send only experts above the Dou Venerable level, and the Leadership summoned them to prepare for departure.
• The Myriad Formation Spirit Palace gathered more than a hundred Dou Venerables, while several younger disciples had reached Half-Saint or Dou Venerable realms.
• Xiao Lin’s breakthrough filled the Realm of Formations with Astral Power and forced Ling Miao, Bodhi, and Xuan Ting to leave, leaving Xiao Lin alone inside.

Xiao Lin’s breakthrough to the Late-Stage Nine-Star Dou Saint level flooded the Realm of Formations with Astral Power, keeping him isolated as the Emperor Clan gathering approached. Ji Li led the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace’s delegation toward the Gu Clan, leaving Bodhi to guard the sect and tell Xiao Lin to catch up if he emerged in time.

• Xiao Lin’s breakthrough caused Astral Power to fill the Realm of Formations, forcing Ling Miao, Bodhi, Xuan Ting, Ji Li, and the Saint Realm Elders to leave.
• Ji Li decided to attend the Emperor Clan gathering without Xiao Lin, who remained immersed in his breakthrough.
• Three days later, more than a hundred Dou Venerable-level and stronger experts prepared to travel from the Myriad Formation Spirit Palace to the Gu Clan.
• Ji Li instructed Bodhi to guard the sect and relay that the delegation had departed, then left Bodhi behind.
• Ji Li led the delegation toward the Cloud Summit Mountain Range to meet the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan and Sound Valley before continuing to the Gu Clan.

After nearly a year of seclusion in the Realm of Formations, Xiao Lin absorbed the Astral Power surrounding him and broke through to the Late-Stage Nine-Star Dou Saint realm. He emerged with strength on par with Gu Yuan, Hun Tiandi, and Zhukun, and a newfound perspective.

• Xiao Lin remained immersed in Astral Power as illusory stars followed the paths of the stars in the heavens around him.
• Xiao Lin traced a circle with his hands, causing the illusory universe to evolve as stars were born, grew, and perished.
• Xiao Lin opened his eyes and drew the illusory stars and the Realm of Formations' Astral Power into his body.
• The Cangwu Ancient Tree swayed its branches as Xiao Lin reached a peak of power and the starlight faded.
• Xiao Lin announced that he had finally reached the Late-Stage Nine-Star Dou Saint realm after nearly a year in seclusion.