Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Natal Spirit Flame”

Plot Points and Events

• After Liu Yuanchen survives the Heavenly Tribulation unharmed, the cultivators of Dongyang Divine Prefecture return in high spirits. His success strengthens their confidence in the sect’s future, while ambitious outsiders such as An Changsheng are left frustrated.
• In a private discussion, Zhao Hong asks about Liu Yuanchen’s powerful natal treasure. Liu Yuanchen explains that it comes from the orthodox Earth Immortal Path and specializes in defense and strengthening the spatial barriers of Spirit Realms.
• Liu reveals that he possesses only part of an ancient Earth Immortal Path inheritance. He explains the hierarchy of worlds:
  • World Embryo
  • Minor World
  • Lesser Thousandfold World
  • Middle Thousandfold World
  • Greater Thousandfold World
• A Grotto-Heaven or Blessed Land can evolve into a complete Minor World by developing a Heavenly Dao. This requires forming a Heavenly Dao Embryo from forty-nine different laws.
• These laws can be obtained through personal comprehension, Acquired Spirit Treasures, or Acquired Spirit Roots. Zhang Lingxu concludes that personal comprehension will be the most reliable method, though rare spirit treasures and Thousand-Longevity Flat Peaches may help.
• The group discusses the capabilities of different world levels. A Minor World can create life but cannot produce immortal beings, while a Lesser Thousandfold World can give rise to Innate Deities, Innate Spirit Roots, Innate Spirit Treasures, and immortal cultivators.
• Zhang Lingxu speculates that the Origin Spirit Realm was once a Lesser Thousandfold World but may have declined after an ancient war. He and Zhao Hong nevertheless remain hopeful that advancing their own Grotto-Heavens could eventually help restore the realm.
• The conversation turns to natal spirit flames. Zhang Lingxu demonstrates his Heart-Eroding Venom Flame, while Zhao Hong leaves to avoid its poison.
• Zhang explains that natal spirit flames are formed from essence, qi, and spirit, but their abilities depend on the cultivator’s Immortal Seed and how the flame is nurtured.
• Zhang’s Heart-Eroding Venom Flame gains its poisonous nature from his Heart-Eroding Grass Immortal Seed. Liu’s master possesses the Calamity Fire of War, developed through years of fighting the Demon Race and capable of intimidating enemies, frightening ghostly beings, and inducing inner demons.
• Liu learns that his own Immortal Seed, which extends lifespan, could produce a spirit flame with similar life-prolonging properties. Such a flame could greatly improve lifespan-extending pills and attract the support of ancient Earth Immortal Path cultivators.
• Zhang gives Liu the technique for condensing a spirit flame, warning that the initial flame seed will be weak and must be nourished with suitable treasures such as Hundred-Year Flat Peaches.
• Zhao Hong asks whether Liu knows how to open a Spirit Realm. Liu confirms that he does and promises to guide Meng Tieshan and his junior sister when the time comes. He also warns Meng not to reveal the inheritance or Liu’s breath-concealing technique.

Character Development

• Liu Yuanchen: Gains a clearer understanding of the value of his Immortal Seed and recognizes that a lifespan-extending spirit flame could become a major source of influence. He also assumes greater responsibility as a senior disciple by offering to guide his juniors.
• Zhang Lingxu: Reveals his deep knowledge of the Earth Immortal Path and provides practical guidance on world advancement and spirit flames. His normally calm demeanor briefly breaks when he realizes a Grotto-Heaven can evolve into a Minor World, showing how deeply he desires further cultivation.
• Zhao Hong: Displays confidence in his ability to comprehend the forty-nine laws due to his young age. He remains optimistic about the future of the Origin Spirit Realm and takes on a supervisory role toward Meng Tieshan.
• Meng Tieshan: Remains somewhat absent-minded and fails to understand why he should seek Liu’s guidance, but sincerely promises to keep Liu’s secrets.
• An Changsheng: Is left demoralized after witnessing Liu’s successful tribulation, emphasizing Liu’s growing dominance.

Significant Themes

• The pursuit of higher cultivation: The possibility of evolving Grotto-Heavens into Minor Worlds gives Earth Immortal Path cultivators a new route toward immortality and greater power.
• Knowledge as power and danger: Liu’s inherited knowledge is extraordinarily valuable, but revealing it could make him a target. Secrecy is essential for survival.
• The connection between personal cultivation and inner worlds: A cultivator’s advancement is tied directly to the growth and quality of their Grotto-Heaven or Blessed Land.
• Resources and long-term investment: Cultivation requires enormous material support, whether gathering spirit veins, comprehending laws, or feeding a spirit flame with rare treasures.
• Inherited potential: Liu’s Immortal Seed initially seemed less combat-oriented than those of his elders, but its lifespan-extending power may provide greater strategic and economic value.
• Mentorship and succession: Zhang guides Liu, while Liu prepares to guide the younger generation, showing the transmission of knowledge through the Earth Immortal Path.

Character Interactions

• Liu Yuanchen and Zhang Lingxu: Share a candid master-and-disciple conversation about ancient inheritances, world evolution, and spirit flames. Zhang gives Liu both theoretical insight and the practical flame-condensation method.
• Liu Yuanchen and Zhao Hong: Discuss the requirements for constructing a Heavenly Dao and opening a Spirit Realm. Liu also reassures Zhao that he will help the younger disciples in the future.
• Zhang Lingxu and Zhao Hong: React with excitement to the possibility of advancing their Grotto-Heavens. Their differing ages lead them to express confidence in their ability to comprehend the necessary laws.
• Zhao Hong and Meng Tieshan: Zhao is exasperated by Meng’s lack of awareness and urges him to learn from Liu.
• Liu Yuanchen and Meng Tieshan: Liu promises to teach him how to open a Spirit Realm, while emphasizing the need for secrecy. Meng responds with an earnest pledge to protect Liu’s secrets.

Chapter Summary: "Yin-Yang Spirit Flame"

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Meng Tieshan boasts that he is tight-lipped, prompting Zhao Hong to accuse him of repeatedly betraying him. Zhang Lingxu scolds Zhao Hong, siding with Meng.
• Zhang Lingxu and Zhao Hong urgently leave to advance their Grotto-Heavens, aiming to cultivate beyond the Dao Embryo realm and achieve limitless lifespan.
• Liu Yuanchen, now at the Spirit Platform Realm, reviews his improvements: tribulation lightning produced blood-energy and Soul Origin, which he absorbed to strengthen his Nascent Dharma Form and Earth Book.
• The Dongyang Blessed Land begins expanding, with the First Spirit Nexus unstable and two Spirit Veins about to advance (second reaches upper first grade).
• Liu Yuanchen studies the "Spirit Platform Flame-Nurturing Art" beast-hide book, learning methods and pitfalls of condensing a flame seed.
• He evaluates two fire-source options: self-tempered (takes ~200 years, rejected) and external flames (chosen).
• Selecting the Jadeglow Twofold Ceremonial Lamp (an Acquired Spirit Treasure) as his fire source, he draws out its Yin-Yang Spirit Flame. Initial attempts to merge the flame into his Spirit Platform fail due to mutual repulsion.
• He realizes his grayish-white energy from the Withered Wood Longevity Art could act as a catalyst. He merges the entire grayish-white sphere (over one zhang in diameter) into his Spirit Platform, causing it to grow slightly.
• With the Spirit Platform now hosting the yin-yang energy (black liquid and pale red mist), the Yin-Yang Spirit Flame successfully burrows into it. The first step of nurturing a Natal Spirit Flame succeeds.

2. Character Developments

• Liu Yuanchen: Shows methodical problem-solving and adaptability, testing multiple approaches to condense a flame seed, ultimately using his unique Withered Wood Longevity Art energy to overcome the obstacle. His Spirit Platform expands to two feet one inch in diameter.
• Meng Tieshan: Continues to defend his character, insisting he never lied or leaked sect secrets.
• Zhao Hong: Remains frustrated by his disciple's past antics but is now focused on advancing his Grotto-Heaven.
• Zhang Lingxu: Displays favoritism toward Meng Tieshan, criticizes Zhao Hong's conduct, and prioritizes cultivation advancement.

3. Significant Themes

• Cultivation progression: The complexity of advancing Grotto-Heavens and the intricate process of condensing a Natal Spirit Flame (choosing fire sources, merging energies, forming restrictions).
• Resourcefulness and persistence: Liu Yuanchen's willingness to experiment and his creative use of existing energies to solve cultivation problems.
• Dao alignment: The Yin-Yang Spirit Flame aligns with his Withering and Flourishing path (life and death Dao), emphasizing the importance of choosing methods consistent with one's own Dao.
• Mentorship and inheritance: The value of accumulated sect knowledge (the beast-hide book) and experiences of predecessors.

4. Character Interactions

• Zhao Hong vs. Meng Tieshan: A brief tension over Meng's "tight-lipped" claim, with Zhao calling him a rebellious disciple who set him up multiple times.
• Zhang Lingxu intervening: Defends Meng, calling him a good child and criticizing Zhao's conduct, silencing Zhao.
• Liu Yuanchen with his master/grandmaster: Briefly exchanges cultivation questions; they depart promptly to pursue Grotto-Heaven advancement, leaving Liu to continue his own cultivation work alone.

Chapter Summary: “Reactions from All Sides”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After absorbing the fire source into his Spirit Platform, Liu Yuanchen expects to condense a fire seed soon.
• His next major objective is to enter the Netherworld and seek recognition from the Netherworld’s Coiled Dragon Mountain. He plans to combine its Heavenly Dao Authority with the authority he already possesses in the Yang Realm, potentially greatly increasing his power and allowing him to operate safely in the Netherworld.
• News of Liu Yuanchen’s breakthrough to the Spirit Platform Realm spreads throughout the Human Race. Most factions respond cautiously or favorably, recognizing his extraordinary talent, extensive alliances, and strong prospects for future advancement.
• The Red Wasteland Marquis investigates the mysterious phenomena surrounding Liu Yuanchen’s breakthrough:
  • The enormous tree appears connected to the ordinary Immortal Seed Liu once possessed.
  • Its fruits may increase lifespan and could indicate that the tree is an Innate Spirit Root.
  • The birdman standing on two dragons resembles a damaged statue previously purchased by Xia Longting, suggesting a connection between the statue and Liu Yuanchen.
  • Liu Yuanchen’s natal magic treasure has also developed dramatically, advancing from barely blocking a Peak Sea of Qi attack to resisting three Heavenly Tribulations.
• The Red Wasteland Marquis decides not to spy aggressively on Liu Yuanchen, viewing the Eight Desolations Pavilion as an ally and Liu as a potential asset against the Demon Race. He orders limited intelligence gathering and considers establishing a marriage alliance with him.
• The Nether Soul Sect, now subordinate to the Dragon Race, sends its First Elder, Qin You, to report Liu Yuanchen’s breakthrough to Ao Zhenting at the Demon Cloud Sea.
• Ao Zhenting and his son recognize the birdman as a manifestation of Ancestor Witch Jumang. They suspect Liu Yuanchen has inherited part of the Witch Race’s legacy, though they conclude he is probably not a true Witch-Human.
• Because the Dragon Race lacks sufficient forces to attack Coiled Dragon Mountain directly, Ao Zhenting plans to use the Myriad Gods Sect to attempt an assassination. The Dragon Race may intervene openly only if Liu Yuanchen can be lured outside Human Race territory.
• Ao Zhenting also orders an investigation into the origin of Liu Yuanchen’s mysterious great tree.

Character Developments

• Liu Yuanchen: His breakthrough elevates his political and strategic importance. He is no longer merely a promising junior but a powerful figure with influence across the Human Race and potential authority in both the Yang and Netherworld realms. His mysterious inheritances, Immortal Seed, and magic treasure remain central to his growing strength.
• Red Wasteland Marquis: Demonstrates a pragmatic and politically cautious attitude. Rather than treating Liu Yuanchen as a threat, he prioritizes cooperation, intelligence gathering, and possible marriage ties. He views the Demon Race as the Red Wasteland’s true enemy.
• Qin You: Shows loyalty and dependence on the Dragon Race. He carefully reports the breakthrough and is relieved when Ao Zhenting praises rather than punishes him.
• Ao Zhenting: Appears cautious, calculating, and experienced. He acknowledges Liu Yuanchen as dangerous but refuses to launch an impulsive attack, remembering the failure of Ao Qing’s previous attempt.
• Ao Zhenting’s son: Is more aggressive and fearful of Liu Yuanchen because of the possible Witch Race connection. He wants Liu eliminated immediately but ultimately accepts a more indirect assassination strategy.
• Xia Longting and An Changsheng: Serve as contrasting examples of Liu Yuanchen’s peers: Xia accepts the gap between them, while An bitterly complains about being born in the wrong era.

Significant Themes

• Rising reputation and political influence: Liu Yuanchen’s advancement affects not only his cultivation but also how major factions position themselves around him.
• Pragmatism versus impulsiveness: The Red Wasteland Marquis and Ao Zhenting both favor patience and indirect action, contrasting with more reckless figures such as Ao Qing and the aggressive younger Dragon.
• Alliance-building and factional politics: Human factions seek ties with Liu Yuanchen and the Eight Desolations Pavilion, while the Dragon Race relies on subordinate sects and outside assassins to avoid costly direct conflict.
• Mystery of ancient inheritances: The great tree, birdman, statue, and Witch Race imagery suggest that Liu Yuanchen’s power is connected to forgotten or poorly understood ancient legacies.
• Fear of uncontrollable potential: Although Liu Yuanchen has not openly threatened most factions, his rapid growth and unexplained abilities make both allies and enemies wary.
• Strategic balance of power: The Dragon Race cannot easily attack Coiled Dragon Mountain, while the Human Race factions see Liu Yuanchen as a possible counterweight against the Demon Race.

Important Character Interactions

• Red Wasteland Marquis and his adviser: They analyze the breakthrough’s phenomena and debate whether to investigate Liu Yuanchen. The Marquis orders restraint and encourages cooperation.
• Red Wasteland Marquis and the wider Human factions: His proposed marriage alliance reflects the broader desire to secure Liu Yuanchen’s loyalty and strengthen ties with the Eight Desolations Pavilion.
• Qin You and Ao Zhenting: Qin You reports the breakthrough and receives approval, rewards, and orders to continue monitoring Liu Yuanchen.
• Ao Zhenting and his son: They debate whether Liu Yuanchen is connected to Ancestor Witch Jumang and whether he should be attacked directly. Ao Zhenting rejects rash action and assigns his son to organize an indirect assassination attempt.
• Dragon Race and the Myriad Gods Sect: The Dragon Race intends to exploit the Myriad Gods Sect’s willingness to accept bribes and use covert methods, preserving Dragon Race forces while still targeting Liu Yuanchen.

Chapter Summary: “The True Body Enters the Netherworld”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Yuanchen prepares to enter the Netherworld, aware that revealing the Immortal Seed and the presence of Jumang Ancestor Witch has attracted the attention of powerful factions, particularly the Demon Race.
• He secures Coiled Dragon Mountain in the Yang Realm by leaving behind a Divine Ability Clone and more than a hundred Golden-Armored Bean Soldiers. With his sect’s support and the protection of his Heavenly Dao Domain, he feels confident that the mountain will remain safe.
• Liu Yuanchen opens a Netherworld Passage and enters the Netherworld with his true body for the first time. He experiences its extremely cold spiritual energy and dense yin qi.
• Upon arriving at the Netherworld’s Coiled Dragon Mountain, he finds that the mountain recognizes him much as its Yang-Realm counterpart did. He plans to claim it formally by imprinting its Spirit Vein onto the Earth Book.
• He discovers that the largest Spirit Nexus lies beneath Coiling Dragon Lake and places the Earth Book, Dongyang Blessed Land, and related treasures there.
• The Jadeglow Twofold Ceremonial Lamp reacts favorably to the Netherworld’s yin energy, igniting on its own and beginning to recover. Liu Yuanchen realizes that the Netherworld can greatly accelerate the lamp’s restoration.
• Qing Sha is brought out and learns that Liu Yuanchen has broken through to the Spirit Platform Realm. Liu Yuanchen explains that they are in the Netherworld and intends to establish a base there for trade between the Yin and Yang Realms.
• Qing Sha reveals that neither the Azure Roc Demon King’s memories nor ancient Demon Race traditions contain any knowledge of the Netherworld. This leads Liu Yuanchen to wonder whether the Netherworld and reincarnation appeared only later in the world’s history.
• Liu Yuanchen orders Qing Sha to send out clones and patrol the area for wandering souls and hostile ghosts.
• He uses a Divine Ability Clone to cast Spring Wind and Rain across the mountain, nurturing vegetation into Scout Spirit Plants. These plants will help him monitor and control the surrounding territory.
• During cultivation, the Netherworld’s yin qi strengthens Liu Yuanchen’s Fire Seed Prototype. However, the overwhelming yin energy begins weakening its yang flame.
• To preserve the balance of the fire seed, Liu Yuanchen draws life force from spirit plants in his Blessed Land. The plants’ inherent lesser-yang energy restores the weakened white flame.
• The Moonwater Demon Lotus inside his Lesser Cosmos also benefits from the Netherworld’s abundant negative energy, producing its first lotus seed. Liu Yuanchen realizes that the Netherworld may allow it to grow toward the level of a Spirit Root.

Character Developments

• Liu Yuanchen becomes more cautious and strategically prepared as his cultivation and importance increase. He establishes safeguards in the Yang Realm before personally entering the Netherworld.
• His breakthrough to the Spirit Platform Realm gives him greater confidence and allows him to cultivate more effectively in the Netherworld.
• He demonstrates expanding authority and ambition by planning to occupy Netherworld Coiled Dragon Mountain, establish a permanent foothold, and facilitate Yin-Yang Realm trade.
• Liu Yuanchen also shows deeper understanding of his treasures and cultivation techniques, adapting the balance of his Fire Seed Prototype by using the life force of plants.
• Qing Sha recognizes Liu Yuanchen’s increased power and accepts a subordinate role. His lack of knowledge about the Netherworld also reveals that the Demon Race’s understanding of the world is incomplete.
• The Jadeglow Twofold Ceremonial Lamp, Fire Seed Prototype, and Moonwater Demon Lotus all undergo significant growth or recovery due to the Netherworld’s unique energies.

Significant Themes

• Preparation and strategic caution: Liu Yuanchen combines clones, Dao Soldiers, sect alliances, and defensive authority to protect his base before taking risks.
• The contrast between Yin and Yang: The Netherworld’s dense yin energy affects cultivation, treasures, plants, and spiritual beings differently, requiring Liu Yuanchen to maintain balance rather than simply absorb power.
• Expansion and territorial control: Claiming Coiled Dragon Mountain and spreading Scout Spirit Plants reflect Liu Yuanchen’s gradual transformation from a cultivator into a regional power.
• Hidden history and world mysteries: Qing Sha’s ignorance of the Netherworld raises questions about the origins of reincarnation, the Netherworld, and their relationship to the Primordial World.
• Adaptation and resourcefulness: Liu Yuanchen turns the Netherworld’s dangers and negative energies into advantages for cultivation, treasure restoration, and the growth of the Moonwater Demon Lotus.
• The potential danger of unchecked power: The Fire Seed’s black flame begins to overwhelm its white flame, showing that benefits from the Netherworld can also create imbalances.

Character Interactions

• Liu Yuanchen mentally evaluates the threat posed by the Demon Race and relies on his sect’s support, clones, and Golden-Armored Bean Soldiers to protect Coiled Dragon Mountain.
• He questions Qing Sha about the Demon Race’s knowledge of the Netherworld. Qing Sha explains that neither the Azure Roc Demon King’s memories nor Demon Race legends mention it.
• Liu Yuanchen gives Qing Sha a direct mission: patrol the area around Coiled Dragon Mountain and report any wandering souls, ghosts, or other threats.
• Liu Yuanchen also uses his Divine Ability Clone to prepare the mountain while he focuses on cultivation, showing how he delegates tasks and manages multiple objectives simultaneously.
• His interactions with the Jadeglow Lamp, Fire Seed, and Moonwater Demon Lotus are largely spiritual and cultivation-based, as he studies their reactions and adjusts his methods to preserve and accelerate their growth.

Chapter Summary: Information on Innate Spirit Roots

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Yuanchen continues cultivating on Netherworld Coiled Dragon Mountain while waiting for:
  • The Earth Book to imprint the mountain’s spirit vein.
  • His developing flame to mature into a true fire seed.
• His Divine Ability clone remains active in the Yang Realm, using Spring Wind and Rain to nourish plants and conducting trade throughout Demon King and Ghost King territories. Because energy can be transferred between his true body and clone, the clone does not tire as long as Liu Yuanchen’s true body supplies it.
• After three months, the flame within Liu Yuanchen’s Spirit Platform evolves into a genuine

Yin-Yang Spirit Flame fire seed

• It can burn True Essence directly.
• It converts True Essence into yin-yang energy, sustaining its black and white flames.
• The white flame is intended to develop life-preserving and lifespan-enhancing abilities.
• The black flame is intended to carry deathly energy and drain vitality.
• Liu Yuanchen uses two Hundred-Year Flat Peaches to nourish the white flame. Their life force temporarily strengthens it, but the energy is quickly consumed, convincing him that cultivating a balanced life-and-death spirit flame will require many more lifespan-enhancing materials and substantial resources.
• Xia Lingkai, Xia Longting, and An Changsheng visit Liu Yuanchen in Dongyang Divine Prefecture. They seek his assistance in investigating a possible appearance of the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach Tree, an allegedly lost Innate Spirit Root whose fruits can extend lifespan indefinitely.
• The visitors explain that the Divine Court detected an abnormal fluctuation in the Heavenly Dao near western Blackcloud Ridge. Divination linked the disturbance to the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach Tree, though its exact location remains unknown.
• Liu Yuanchen questions the reliability of the opportunity and warns that powerful experts from Asking Dao Mountain, the Divine Court, and the Demon Race will likely compete for it.
• Xia Lingkai and An Changsheng believe Liu Yuanchen’s Immortal Seed may help locate the tree ahead of others. They argue that even if they cannot keep the tree, they could exchange it with the Divine Court or Great Xia Academy for enormous rewards and lasting fame.
• Liu Yuanchen suspects the entire event may be a trap designed by the Demon Race, possibly targeting him because of the unusual manifestations associated with his breakthrough. He refuses to act immediately and decides to consult his master and grandmaster while asking An Changsheng to gather more intelligence.

Character Developments

• Liu Yuanchen demonstrates growing mastery over his Yin-Yang Spirit Flame. He gains a clearer understanding of its potential and begins planning how to cultivate separate life and death functions within it.
• He also becomes more cautious and politically aware. Rather than being tempted by the promise of unlimited lifespan, he recognizes the possibility that the opportunity is bait meant to draw powerful human cultivators into danger.
• An Changsheng reveals himself as ambitious and motivated by both cultivation and reputation. He hopes the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peaches will give him and his companions enough time to reach the Longevity Immortal realm, while also earning them historical glory.
• Xia Lingkai acts as the knowledgeable strategist, supplying historical information about Innate Spirit Roots and the Divine Court’s intelligence.
• Xia Longting remains the practical protector and companion of Xia Lingkai, though Liu Yuanchen humorously implies that An Changsheng’s indulgent lifestyle makes him unlikely to have initiated the plan.

Significant Themes

• Innate Spirit Roots and resilience: The chapter emphasizes that Innate Spirit Roots are extraordinarily difficult to destroy. Even severely damaged spirit plants may regenerate, leaving open the possibility that the supposedly destroyed Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach Tree survived.
• Life and death: Liu Yuanchen’s fire seed embodies the balance between vitality and mortality. Its white and black flames represent complementary forces that he hopes to cultivate into powerful abilities.
• Cultivation requires resources: Even Liu Yuanchen’s rare Hundred-Year Flat Peaches provide only a brief supply of life force, highlighting the enormous cost of developing high-level abilities.
• Temptation and danger: The promise of limitless lifespan is powerful enough to attract ancient experts, but the lack of reliable information makes the opportunity suspicious.
• Caution versus ambition: An Changsheng wants to seize the chance before stronger powers arrive, while Liu Yuanchen favors investigation and preparation over reckless action.
• Human-Demon competition: The possible reappearance of the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach Tree could become a major conflict between human factions, the Divine Court, and the Demon Race.

Character Interactions

• Liu Yuanchen welcomes Xia Lingkai, Xia Longting, and An Changsheng as old comrades who have fought alongside him.
• He questions their motives and quickly deduces that An Changsheng probably organized the visit.
• Liu Yuanchen uses humor to criticize An Changsheng’s lavish, pleasure-seeking lifestyle, while An Changsheng openly admits that he is pursuing the opportunity for both personal cultivation and collective benefit.
• Xia Lingkai explains the Divine Court’s evidence and argues that Liu Yuanchen’s unusual Immortal Seed may be uniquely suited to locating the hidden spirit root.
• Liu Yuanchen challenges their assumptions, pointing out that the opportunity’s location is unknown and that stronger cultivators would overwhelm them if they acted openly.
• The discussion ends with Liu Yuanchen agreeing only to investigate further, while An Changsheng promises to obtain more information from his family and the Divine Court.

Chapter Summary: The Truth Behind the Destruction of the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach Tree

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Yuanchen reflects on reports that the supposedly destroyed Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach Tree may have reappeared. Although he does not need its peaches for longevity, he recognizes the far greater value of an Innate Spirit Root: its ability to continuously produce Innate Primordial Qi.
• He summons Qing Sha, who carries memories from the Azure Roc Demon King, and asks what he knows about the tree.
• Qing Sha identifies the tree’s former location as the area around Severed-Head Mountain, near both Crouching Tiger Peak and the Demon Race’s Golden Palanquin Mountain. The region is dangerous, filled with Black Mist and powerful Eerie Creatures, and could easily serve as a Demon Race ambush site.
• Qing Sha explains that the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach Tree was destroyed roughly 170,000 years ago during the conflict between the Witch and Demon Races. The Azure Roc Demon King witnessed the tree being shattered and later died nearby.
• The tree’s destruction was connected to the decline of the Yin-Yang Gourd Vine. Once the vine withered after producing the Yin-Yang Gourd, the Witch Race retained the superior source of Innate Primordial Qi, threatening to overwhelm the Demon Race.
• To prevent their eventual destruction, the Dragon and Phoenix Races launched a surprise attack on the Witch Race’s territory. Unable to seize the tree before Witch Race reinforcements arrived, the Demon Race and Phoenix Race joined forces to destroy it.
• The tree was bombarded by multiple Demon Race experts and burned by a Phoenix Race Innate Spirit Treasure. However, Qing Sha cannot confirm that every fragment and rootlet was destroyed.
• Liu Yuanchen considers the possibility that a surviving root grew again, was hidden in a Grotto-Heaven, or was secretly moved by the Witch Race. He also considers that the Divine Court’s prediction could be genuine—or a trap engineered by the Demon Race.
• He concludes that the Demon Race may be using surviving branches or leaves to deceive Heavenly Dao deductions and lure cultivators into an ambush. Since he lacks the strength to protect an Innate Spirit Root and can obtain Innate Primordial Qi through other means, Liu Yuanchen decides not to investigate personally.

Character Developments

• Liu Yuanchen shows greater strategic caution. Although tempted by the potential benefits of the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach Tree, he prioritizes survival and recognizes that possessing such a treasure without sufficient cultivation would bring disaster.
• His understanding of Innate Spirit Roots deepens: he sees them not merely as sources of longevity, but as foundations capable of continuously improving a faction’s long-term potential.
• Qing Sha proves valuable as a source of ancient knowledge through the Azure Roc Demon King’s memories. However, he also admits the limits of that inheritance, emphasizing that he only knows legends and surface-level secrets rather than the Demon Race’s true plans.
• Liu Yuanchen becomes increasingly suspicious of the Divine Court’s information and the possibility that the Demon Race is manipulating events from behind the scenes.

Significant Themes

• Long-term potential versus immediate power: The Yin-Yang Gourd Vine became an Innate Spirit Treasure, strengthening the Dragon Race immediately but sacrificing the greater long-term benefits of an Innate Spirit Root.
• The strategic value of resources: Innate Primordial Qi influences cultivation, breakthroughs, spirit treasures, and the future strength of entire races. The struggle over the Flat Peach Tree was therefore a struggle over the balance of power.
• Uncertainty and incomplete history: Ancient events are known only through fragmented memories and legends. Even the destruction of the tree may not have been final.
• Caution in the face of opportunity: A seemingly great opportunity may conceal a trap. Liu Yuanchen values reliable survival over pursuing uncertain treasures.
• The rise of the Human Race: Liu Yuanchen notes that humanity’s foundations are shallow compared with those of the ancient Witch and Demon Races, whose inheritances and secrets still shape the present world.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Yuanchen questions Qing Sha about the Flat Peach Tree’s nature, location, destruction, and possible survival.
• Qing Sha provides historical context about the three great Spirit Roots—the Azurefire Parasol Tree, Yin-Yang Gourd Vine, and Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach—and explains how their differing fates altered the balance between the ancient races.
• Liu Yuanchen repeatedly challenges Qing Sha’s account, especially regarding the tree’s complete destruction and the reliability of the Divine Court’s prediction.
• Their discussion allows Liu Yuanchen to combine Qing Sha’s historical knowledge with his own understanding of Innate Primordial Qi, ultimately leading him to reject involvement in what he believes is likely a Demon Race trap.

Chapter Summary: “Netherworld Heavenly Dao Authority”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Yuanchen suspects the Demon Race’s recent “opportunity” is a trap aimed at him. The timing—following his breakthrough into the Spirit Platform Realm and the appearance of the Jumang Ancestor Witch’s image—is too coincidental to ignore.
• Rather than avoid the matter entirely, he plans to turn the trap against the Demon Race by using a clone as bait and arranging for Human Race experts to ambush the demons. A successful attack could cripple the Demon Race of Demon Cloud Sea for decades, as the destruction of Ao Qing’s three thousand elite troops had done previously.
• Because Liu Yuanchen’s main body must remain in the Netherworld and his other clones have important duties, he has Qing Sha split off two clones to take over the Netherworld trade routes and pill business.
• Liu Yuanchen’s second Divine Ability Clone travels to Azure Elixir City and meets his grandmaster, Zhang Lingxu, and master, Zhao Hong, at Pine Spring Residence. He arrives while Zhang Lingxu is teaching Zhao Hong to refine seventh-grade pills. Zhao Hong has achieved a breakthrough but produced mostly defective pills, much to Zhang Lingxu’s disappointment.
• Liu Yuanchen explains the Demon Race’s suspected scheme: they may be using rumors of a Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach to lure him and other powerful Human Race cultivators to Severed-Head Mountain, near Golden Palanquin Mountain, where the terrain and Black Mist favor an ambush.
• Zhang Lingxu agrees that the plan likely originated from the Yantian Divine King and supports Liu Yuanchen’s counterstrategy. They intend to use a clone as bait, gather powerful cultivators under the pretext of seeking the longevity treasure, and surround the Demon Race’s hidden forces.
• Over the next half-year, Liu Yuanchen remains focused on Netherworld Coiled Dragon Mountain. His cultivation advances naturally through the Spirit Platform, the Three-Origin Spirit Platform, and the energy supplied by Dongyang Blessed Land.
• Dongyang Blessed Land expands to a radius of more than ten li and now contains over a thousand Botanical Dao Soldiers, including more than a hundred at the Sea of Qi Realm.
• The Jadeglow Twofold Ceremonial Lamp continues recovering under the influence of the Netherworld’s yin energy.
• Liu Yuanchen discovers that the Earth Book’s Spirit Vein Mark for Yang-Realm Coiled Dragon Mountain has begun absorbing the yin energy of Netherworld Coiled Dragon Mountain. The Yin- and Yang-Realm spirit veins can therefore leave overlapping marks on the Earth Book.
• This development completes the final requirement for Liu Yuanchen to become the Heavenly Dao True God of Netherworld Coiled Dragon Mountain.
• Through meditation and resonance with the mountain, he forms a one-foot-long phantom of Netherworld Coiled Dragon Mountain in his Sea of Consciousness. Its authority is far stronger than that of the Yang-Realm mountain and reaches proper sixth-grade.
• The new authority allows him to use abilities such as Gathering Qi into Stone at an impressive level, instantly creating a boulder over ten zhang in diameter.
• The phantoms of Yang-Realm and Netherworld Coiled Dragon Mountain then draw together and fuse. The Yang-Realm phantom expands to match the Netherworld phantom before the two merge into a single image.
• The fused authority remains at proper sixth-grade rather than weakening, leaving Liu Yuanchen to wonder how the fusion will affect Coiled Dragon Mountain across the two realms.

Character Developments

• Liu Yuanchen becomes more strategic and assertive. Instead of merely defending against the Demon Race, he plans to exploit their trap and inflict a crippling counterattack. His influence and resources have grown enough for him to coordinate with his sect, the Divine Court, and the Red Wasteland Marquisate.
• He also achieves a major spiritual advancement by gaining Heavenly Dao Authority over Netherworld Coiled Dragon Mountain, greatly strengthening his position in the Netherworld.
• Qing Sha demonstrates continued loyalty and usefulness by readily providing clones to replace Liu Yuanchen’s commercial clone.
• Zhang Lingxu acts as a practical strategist and mentor. He recognizes the danger of the Demon Race’s trap but supports Liu Yuanchen’s plan once the clone-based bait strategy is explained.
• Zhao Hong remains comically burdened by his grandmaster’s strict pill-refining instruction. Although proud of producing seventh-grade mid-grade pills, his poor success rate shows that his skills remain underdeveloped. He is relieved when Liu Yuanchen’s arrival interrupts the lesson.

Significant Themes

• Turning danger into opportunity: Liu Yuanchen seeks not merely to survive the Demon Race’s scheme but to reverse it and use their preparations against them.
• Strategic patience and preparation: Rather than rushing toward the rumored treasure, Liu Yuanchen builds his resources, replaces his clone’s duties, consults his elders, and waits for the right moment.
• Power through alliances: The plan depends on cooperation among Liu Yuanchen, his sect, the Divine Court, the Red Wasteland Marquisate, and possibly other longevity-seeking experts.
• The relationship between the Yin and Yang Realms: The overlapping Spirit Vein Marks and eventual fusion of the two mountain phantoms reveal that corresponding locations in the two realms are spiritually connected.
• Growth of authority and legitimacy: Liu Yuanchen’s power does not come only from personal cultivation. By gaining recognition from the Netherworld’s Heavenly Dao, he obtains territorial authority that dramatically enhances his strength.
• The lure of longevity: The rumored Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach demonstrates how fear of death and desire for extended life can manipulate even ancient and powerful cultivators.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Yuanchen and Qing Sha: Liu Yuanchen orders Qing Sha to provide clones for the Netherworld business, and Qing Sha immediately complies.
• Liu Yuanchen, Zhang Lingxu, and Zhao Hong: Liu Yuanchen reports the Demon Race’s scheme to his grandmaster and master. Zhang Lingxu evaluates the situation and endorses the counterattack, while Zhao Hong enthusiastically offers support and is relieved by the discussion.
• Zhang Lingxu and Zhao Hong: Their pill-refining lesson reveals their mentor-student dynamic: Zhang Lingxu is harsh and exacting, while Zhao Hong is eager for praise but still technically unreliable.
• Liu Yuanchen and the two Coiled Dragon Mountains: Through meditation, Liu Yuanchen establishes a deeper connection between the Yin- and Yang-Realm mountains, ultimately causing their Heavenly Dao Authority to fuse into a stronger unified power.

Chapter Summary: Wind-Chant Beast Speech, the Divine Art of Eavesdropping

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Yuanchen examines the Yang Realm through his Divine Ability Clone and discovers that the fusion of the Yin- and Yang-Realm Heavenly Dao Authorities has raised the Enlightening Myriad Spirits Authority to the standard sixth rank.
• The strengthened authority improves the intelligence and cultivation potential of Coiled Dragon Mountain’s inhabitants. Golden-Thread Rice sprouts immediately, and a Yellow-Scaled Pine Dao Soldier breaks through from the Late Qi-Nourishing Realm to the Sea of Qi Realm.
• Liu Yuanchen reinforces the Coiled Dragon Mountain Mark in the Earth Book by transferring Heavenly Dao Authority into it. After spending ten thousand taels of Incense Silver, the mark reaches the maximum power permitted by Coiled Dragon Mountain’s current rank.
• Testing the Earth Book, Liu Yuanchen discovers that the Wind-Chant Beast Speech Authority can hear distant conversations, not only understand the speech of animals. The Earth Book greatly enhances its range, allowing him to listen to sounds from up to two thousand miles away.
• He first eavesdrops on business in Iron-Arm City, then listens to Poison Flood Dragon Demon King’s forces in Salt Marsh. He learns the location of the demon king’s Crystal Palace and discovers that the Netherworld factions are concerned about a mysterious human cultivator occupying Coiled Dragon Mountain.
• Realizing the authority can also function in the Yang Realm, Liu Yuanchen returns there and investigates Golden Palanquin City.
• He overhears a conspiracy involving the Nether Soul Sect, the Demon God Sect, and a high-ranking Dragon Race figure. They intend to fabricate signs that the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach will appear near Severed-Head Mountain, luring powerful human cultivators into an ambush.
• The conspirators specifically target Liu Yuanchen. They plan to kill him or capture him alive, with a doubled reward offered for his capture. Dragon Race-affiliated Half-Demon experts will assist in the attack.
• Liu Yuanchen infers that the Dragon Race of the Origin Spirit Realm may be connected to the Dragon Race of the Primordial World, since they possess records concerning the Ginseng Fruit Tree and recognize the significance of his breakthrough manifestations.
• He decides that his main body must avoid becoming involved directly and continues investigating Severed-Head Mountain, though he hears no suspicious conversations there.

Character Developments

• Liu Yuanchen gains greater confidence in the power of his fused Heavenly Dao Authorities, especially after discovering that the Earth Book can amplify them dramatically.
• He becomes more cautious after learning that his breakthrough has drawn the attention of powerful Dragon Race forces. Rather than seeking confrontation, he resolves to keep a low profile and rely on clones, surveillance, and indirect action.
• His understanding of the wider world expands: he begins connecting the Origin Spirit Realm’s Dragon Race and Demon Race to ancient Primordial World factions.
• Ling Yu notices the sudden strengthening of Coiled Dragon Mountain’s authority and observes the resulting changes in the mountain’s vegetation and Dao Soldiers.
• Poison Flood Dragon Demon King is initially enraged by the apparent occupation of Coiled Dragon Mountain but becomes cautious after learning that the suspected cultivator is human and does not appear connected to rival Netherworld powers.
• Blackscale acts as an informant, reporting unusual activity at Coiled Dragon Mountain.
• Qin You, an elder of the Nether Soul Sect, shows intense loyalty and greed. He is eager to kill Liu Yuanchen and becomes especially motivated when promised double rewards for capturing him alive.
• The unnamed Dragon Race heir is revealed as the planner behind the trap. He is confident, manipulative, and deeply interested in Liu Yuanchen’s hidden potential and inherited secrets.

Significant Themes

• Growth through fusion and inheritance: The merging of the Yin- and Yang-Realm authorities strengthens both Liu Yuanchen’s abilities and Coiled Dragon Mountain itself.
• The value of intelligence: Wind-Chant Beast Speech transforms from a communication technique into an extraordinary surveillance tool, allowing Liu Yuanchen to uncover hidden plots that ordinary defenses cannot prevent.
• Power and vulnerability: Although Liu Yuanchen’s strength has increased, greater power also attracts stronger enemies. His breakthrough has made him a target of major factions.
• Caution versus ambition: Liu Yuanchen recognizes that openly displaying his abilities is dangerous and chooses concealment over reckless confrontation.
• Hidden connections between worlds: References to the Ginseng Fruit Tree and Primordial World traditions suggest that the Origin Spirit Realm’s major races may possess ancient lineages or ties to a broader cosmic history.
• Manipulation and false opportunity: The supposed emergence of the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach is revealed to be a carefully engineered trap designed to attract and eliminate powerful human cultivators.

Character Interactions

• Ling Yu reacts to the sudden improvement of Coiled Dragon Mountain’s Heavenly Dao Authority, while the mountain’s plants and Dao Soldiers directly benefit from it.
• Liu Yuanchen secretly listens to Qing Sha’s clone negotiating with the Azure Smoke Hall shopkeeper, demonstrating his ability to monitor allies and external affairs from afar.
• Blackscale reports Coiled Dragon Mountain’s unusual activity to Poison Flood Dragon Demon King, prompting a discussion about the mountain’s political importance as a buffer zone.
• In Golden Palanquin City, the Dragon Race heir instructs Qin You on the false Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach scheme and promises rewards for eliminating Liu Yuanchen.
• Liu Yuanchen, having overheard the entire plan, reevaluates his relationship with the surrounding factions and prepares to avoid exposing his true strength.

Chapter Summary: “An Omen”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Yuanchen distinguishes Heavenly Dao Authority from Divine Path Authority. Heavenly Dao Authority can directly invoke laws and has much greater potential, while Divine Path Authority functions more like a powerful spell and can be suppressed by formations.
• He investigates the Demon Race’s strongholds at Severed-Head Mountain and Golden Palanquin Mountain using Wind-Chant Beast Speech but initially finds only fragmented information. The Demon Race’s formations are powerful enough to interfere even with Heavenly Dao Authority.
• Liu Yuanchen reunites with his grandmaster, Zhang Lingxu, and master, Zhao Hong, at Azure Elixir City. He reveals that Severed-Head Mountain is a trap designed to kill him and lure in other Human Race experts.
• He explains that he overheard Qin You of the Nether Soul Sect speaking with a dragon prince. The Demon Race, Nether Soul Sect, Demon God Sect, Blood Bat Sect, and Dragon Race-affiliated Half-Demons are preparing to participate in the ambush.
• Liu reveals that his Wind-Chant Beast Speech became extraordinarily powerful because the Heavenly Dao Authorities of Coiled Dragon Mountain in the Yin and Yang Realms have fused. This gives him unprecedented influence and a strong foothold in the Netherworld.
• Zhang Lingxu advises him to eventually seek an official position in the Netherworld, where he could become a regional lord and gain access to resources, trade, and military power. Liu begins envisioning a future empire spanning both realms.
• The group realizes the Demon Race has spies within the Divine Court and has obtained information about Yantian Divine King’s deductions. Zhang Lingxu decides to contact reliable Divine Court officials directly, preferably the Emperor’s trusted subordinates.
• A highly unusual torrential rain covers Azure Elixir Commandery, including Coiled Dragon Mountain. The rain is recognized as an ominous supernatural sign.
• A powerful fragrance resembling that of a Hundred-Year Flat Peach appears. Zhang Lingxu identifies it as being connected to a spirit object related to the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach, confirming that the Demon Race has prepared something capable of deceiving even the Divine Court’s divinations.
• Later, An Changsheng and the Xia Clan’s Xia Lingkai and Xia Longting visit Liu, eager to pursue the supposed Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach and become heroes.
• Liu warns them that the Peach is bait in a Demon Race trap. Anyone below the Dharma Form Realm who participates will likely die, and even their souls may be destroyed.
• He explains that the fragrance may come from remnants of the destroyed Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach Tree—such as broken branches or withered leaves—rather than the actual divine fruit.
• An Changsheng agrees not to participate directly, but Liu warns that his recent movements may already have attracted Demon Race attention. Liu instructs him to keep searching around Blackcloud Ridge as a decoy while avoiding the area east of Crouching Tiger Peak.
• Liu orders Xia Longting to remain in safe locations, avoid discussing the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach, and claim ignorance if questioned.

Character Developments

• Liu Yuanchen demonstrates growing strategic awareness. He sees beyond the immediate conflict at Severed-Head Mountain and begins planning how to expand his power in the Netherworld, potentially becoming a major lord and cross-realm trader.
• His unique control over the fused Authorities of the Yin-Yang Coiled Dragon Mountains is revealed as a major advantage, making him far more capable than ordinary mountain gods.
• Zhang Lingxu acts as a cautious strategist. He recognizes both the military danger posed by the Demon Race coalition and the threat of Divine Court infiltration, choosing to limit information to trusted officials.
• Zhao Hong remains eager for battle and confident in his recent breakthrough to the Dharma Form Realm. He looks forward to fighting major enemies, especially experts from the Soaring Immortal Sect.
• An Changsheng initially pursues glory and dreams of surpassing his ancestors, but he proves capable of retreating once he understands the danger. His tendency toward dramatic heroism remains a source of humor and concern.
• Xia Lingkai quickly grasps the political and strategic implications of Liu’s warning, while Xia Longting remains confused and requires explicit instructions.

Significant Themes

• Power and hierarchy: The chapter contrasts Heavenly Dao Authority with Divine Path Authority and emphasizes how rare, fused Authority can dramatically alter one’s power and status.
• Strategy versus recklessness: Liu and Zhang Lingxu prioritize intelligence and caution, while An Changsheng initially represents the dangerous desire for fame and heroic recognition.
• Deception and espionage: The Demon Race uses false signs, planted agents, concealed information, and manipulated predictions to lure Human experts into a deadly trap.
• Omens and hidden threats: The unnatural rain and peach fragrance signal a major event, but the chapter stresses that supernatural signs can be manufactured and misinterpreted.
• Expansion and ambition: Liu’s foothold in the Netherworld opens the possibility of building an army, controlling territory, trading between realms, and eventually surpassing his Yang-Realm influence.
• Survival versus glory: The chapter repeatedly warns that fame and opportunity are worthless if they lead to death, especially when the apparent opportunity is deliberately engineered bait.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu reports the ambush to Zhang Lingxu and Zhao Hong, who respond differently: Zhang analyzes the military and political danger, while Zhao becomes excited about the prospect of battle.
• Liu explains his fused Yin-Yang Heavenly Dao Authority, earning admiration from both his master and grandmaster.
• Zhang Lingxu encourages Liu to pursue a future official position in the Netherworld, broadening Liu’s ambitions.
• Liu informs them of the Demon Race’s spies in the Divine Court, prompting Zhang to seek more trustworthy allies.
• Liu confronts An Changsheng and the Xia Clan relatives about the false Peach opportunity. He restrains their enthusiasm and assigns them roles designed to protect Liu’s plans and mislead the Demon Race.
• The closing exchange establishes Liu’s authority over his allies: An Changsheng becomes a decoy, while Xia Longting is ordered to stay away from danger and keep silent.

Chapter Summary: “Grandmaster’s Meeting Gift”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• After Liu Yuanchen discourages An Changsheng and others from competing for the opportunity surrounding the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach, the matter becomes widely publicized. The Demon Race deliberately spreads rumors about the Innate Spirit Root and the peach’s ability to extend one’s lifespan by ten thousand years.
• The news attracts cultivators from across the Red Wasteland and beyond, including Spirit Platform and Primordial Spirit Realm experts. Many gather around Blackcloud Ridge, Coiling Dragon Mountain, and the surrounding cities, hoping to obtain the treasure.
• The influx causes serious disorder. Outside cultivators cause trouble in Coiling Dragon Lake Market, Qinghe County City, and River-Mouth Town, while Blackcloud Ridge is thoroughly searched. Those who enter Golden Palanquin Mountain never return, suggesting the Demon Race has heavily guarded the area.
• Liu Yuanchen strengthens security by deploying more than a hundred Golden-Armored Bean Soldiers and using the market’s formations to suppress unruly cultivators. Second Martial Uncle Ling Yu provides additional deterrence, but after six months the number of experts becomes too great for him alone to control.
• Liu Yuanchen therefore invites his master, Zhao Hong, to help. Zhao Hong’s fearsome reputation and overwhelming aura force the outside cultivators to behave, stabilizing Coiling Dragon Lake Market. The influx nevertheless increases the market’s profits.
• Liu Yuanchen continues monitoring Golden Palanquin Mountain and River-Beheading Mountain through Scout Spirit Plants and Wind-Chant Beast Speech, but learns little. Golden Palanquin City’s weaker defenses allow him to gather intelligence whenever the Demon Race acts.
• Two cultivators then enter the Divine Path Spirit Realm: Liu Yuanchen’s grandmaster, Zhang Lingxu, and the Azure Origin Pill King, Liu Yuanchen’s great-grandmaster. The meeting becomes the central event of the chapter.
• The Azure Origin Pill King gives Liu Yuanchen two valuable gifts:
  • A lower seventh-rank piece of Spirit Stone Marrow, useful for strengthening Dongyang Blessed Land’s spirit veins.
  • The Kun-Origin Thick Earth Seal, a seventh-rank high-grade Spirit Treasure Artifact Embryo with powerful offensive, defensive, and suppressive abilities.

2. Character Developments

• Liu Yuanchen demonstrates growing authority and organizational ability. He manages the rapidly expanding market, handles powerful outsiders, protects local stability, and uses his intelligence-gathering methods to monitor both human and demonic forces.
• His reputation and status within his lineage become clearer. He is recognized as the direct eldest great-granddisciple and the likely future leader responsible for carrying on the Elder Earth Immortal Path inheritance.
• Zhao Hong is shown to be both powerful and mischievous. He uses his reputation to protect Liu Yuanchen’s territory and cleverly pressures the Azure Origin Pill King into giving a sufficiently valuable meeting gift rather than an ordinary item.
• Ling Yu remains an important guardian of Coiling Dragon Lake Market but reaches the limits of what he can control alone, prompting Liu Yuanchen to call in Zhao Hong.
• The Azure Origin Pill King is introduced as an ancient, wealthy, and highly accomplished cultivator. Although he has spent thousands of years cultivating specific laws without reaching the required forty-nine laws for advancing his Grotto-Heaven into a Minor World, he remains optimistic and emotionally mature.
• He is deeply impressed by Liu Yuanchen’s talent and recognizes that Liu Yuanchen has found a promising path toward longevity. His attitude shifts from affectionate elder to respectful benefactor after Liu Yuanchen explains the requirements for Grotto-Heaven advancement.
• Zhang Lingxu acts as the bridge between Liu Yuanchen and the Azure Origin Pill King, helping establish their familial and sectarian relationship.

3. Significant Themes

• Opportunity attracts danger as well as prosperity. The Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach brings wealth and commercial activity but also disorder, violence, and dangerous outsiders.
• Power and reputation are essential for maintaining order. Liu Yuanchen’s formations and soldiers help, but Zhao Hong’s personal reputation ultimately provides the strongest deterrence.
• Inheritance and lineage responsibility are emphasized. Liu Yuanchen is not merely receiving treasures; he is being prepared to uphold and continue the legacy of the Elder Earth Immortal Path.
• Accumulation versus specialization in cultivation is discussed through the Azure Origin Pill King’s regret over focusing too narrowly on certain laws. The chapter suggests that long-term advancement requires breadth, foundation, and sufficient origin power, not merely strength in a few areas.
• Knowledge can be as valuable as treasure. Liu Yuanchen’s explanation of the path from Grotto-Heaven to Minor World helps resolve the Azure Origin Pill King’s doubts and earns him the Kun-Origin Thick Earth Seal.
• Generosity and reciprocity shape cultivation relationships. The Spirit Stone Marrow is a familial meeting gift, while the seal is presented as repayment for Liu Yuanchen’s guidance.

4. Character Interactions

• Liu Yuanchen works with cultivators from major factions while avoiding direct competition for the Flat Peach opportunity.
• He relies on Ling Yu to maintain order, then calls on Zhao Hong when the situation exceeds Ling Yu’s ability to manage.
• Zhao Hong playfully challenges the Azure Origin Pill King, indirectly ensuring that Liu Yuanchen receives a treasure suitable for his future cultivation rather than a common gift.
• The Azure Origin Pill King warmly praises Liu Yuanchen’s talent, defends his use of external resources, and examines the stability of his cultivation foundation.
• Liu Yuanchen respectfully declines the gifts at first, demonstrating humility and awareness of their value, but accepts them once his elders explain the customs and practical reasons involved.
• Liu Yuanchen and the Azure Origin Pill King discuss the requirements for advancing a Grotto-Heaven into a Minor World. Liu Yuanchen reassures him that his previous cultivation was not truly wasted, while the Pill King admits his melancholy over the years spent pursuing an incomplete path.
• The chapter ends with the Azure Origin Pill King explaining the Kun-Origin Thick Earth Seal’s connection to earth-based techniques, defensive formations, and Liu Yuanchen’s Mount Tai Crushes the Crown ability, establishing the item as a major enhancement to Liu Yuanchen’s future power.

Summary of “Swallowing Spirit Flame”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Yuanchen receives the Kun-Origin Thick Earth Seal from Azure Origin Pill King. Combined with his Wind-Thunder Staff and the mountain god’s Heavenly Dao Authority, the treasure greatly increases his combat strength. He believes he can now defeat anyone below the Soul Condensation Realm around Coiled Dragon Mountain.
• Azure Origin Pill King praises Liu Yuanchen’s talent, comparing him favorably with Liu’s master and stressing that the reputation of their lineage will depend on him.
• The group returns to Coiled Dragon Mountain, where Meng Tieshan and Tie Junlan formally meet their grandmaster for the first time. Azure Origin Pill King is impressed by their awakened Witch Race bloodlines and predicts that both have extraordinary futures.
• Azure Origin Pill King presents Meng Tieshan with the powerful Earth-Fiend Bloodflame, a spirit flame formed in lava and infused with Earth Vein Baleful Intent.
• Instead of refining it cautiously, Meng Tieshan swallows the crystal containing the flame whole. His body erupts with blood-red fire, but his awakened Witch Race bloodline allows him to absorb it safely.
• The flame dramatically strengthens Meng Tieshan. His cultivation rises from the Mid-Condensed Origin Realm toward the Peak Condensed Origin Realm, and the Earth-Fiend Bloodflame fuses into his Immortal Seed as a flame mark appears between his brows.
• Meng Tieshan reveals that he has awakened a Witch Race inheritance: a secret technique allowing him to devour ownerless flames and use them to increase his cultivation.
• Tie Junlan also receives assistance. Azure Origin Pill King gives her a piece of low-grade eighth-rank Geng Metal, correctly reasoning that her Witch Race bloodline can use metal treasures as a cultivation aid. Her aura begins to rise as soon as she accepts it.
• Both Meng Tieshan and Tie Junlan receive storage bags containing materials for opening Spirit Realms and nurturing Blessed Lands, greatly easing their future cultivation.
• Azure Origin Pill King then attempts to study the Jumang Ancestral Shaman Statue, hoping to draw upon its ancient laws as a dual wood-fire cultivator. However, the statue does not manifest Jumang’s image and instead begins pulling toward the east-southeast.
• Liu Yuanchen explains that the statue has displayed this reaction before and suspects another Ancestral Shaman Statue exists in that direction, likely within or near Demon Race territory around Golden Palanquin Mountain. The group decides not to investigate yet, fearing that they could expose the statue and allow the Demon Race to seize it.

Character Developments

• Liu Yuanchen gains a major combat upgrade through the Kun-Origin Thick Earth Seal and becomes increasingly confident in his ability to dominate opponents of the same generation. He also demonstrates caution and strategic judgment by refusing to recklessly pursue the possible Ancestral Shaman Statue.
• Azure Origin Pill King asserts his role as an indulgent but demanding ancestor. He is proud of Liu Yuanchen and generously supports the younger disciples, while also seeking to benefit from the Jumang inheritance himself.
• Meng Tieshan displays the overwhelming physicality and fearlessness associated with his awakened Witch Race bloodline. His ability to swallow and absorb the Earth-Fiend Bloodflame reveals a rare inherited technique and gives him a powerful new path of cultivation.
• Tie Junlan continues developing her Witch Race abilities. Her body and hair show increasingly distinct supernatural traits, and her affinity with Geng Metal suggests that she may cultivate through metal-based resources.
• Zhao Hong remains greedy and outspoken, immediately asking Azure Origin Pill King for more benefits for Tieshan and Junlan. Despite his irreverence, he is genuinely concerned for Meng Tieshan’s safety.
• Ling Yu becomes more assertive, speaking up when he feels Tie Junlan is being overlooked and showing that he has adopted some of Zhao Hong’s willingness to ask for resources.

Significant Themes

• Bloodline inheritance and awakening: Meng Tieshan and Tie Junlan’s rare Witch Race bloodlines grant them unique cultivation methods and extraordinary potential.
• Risk and opportunity in cultivation: The Earth-Fiend Bloodflame could have killed Meng Tieshan, but his daring method transforms it into a tremendous source of power.
• Mentorship and lineage: Azure Origin Pill King takes pride in his descendants and emphasizes that their accomplishments will preserve or elevate the reputation of their entire lineage.
• Resource inequality and support: The younger cultivators lack the materials needed to advance, while powerful elders can dramatically accelerate their progress through gifts.
• Caution versus ambition: Although the possible discovery of more Ancestral Shaman Statues offers immense benefits, Liu Yuanchen recognizes the danger of approaching Demon Race territory and chooses patience over reckless action.
• Ancient legacies influencing the present: The Ancestral Shaman Statue and Witch Race inheritances connect the current characters to powers and conflicts dating back to the ancient Witch-Demon War.

Character Interactions

• Azure Origin Pill King encourages Liu Yuanchen while teasing and reprimanding Zhao Hong for his greed.
• Meng Tieshan and Tie Junlan formally honor their grandmaster, who evaluates their bloodlines and provides them with cultivation resources.
• Zhao Hong anxiously checks on Meng Tieshan after he swallows the spirit flame, balancing his usual greed with genuine concern.
• Ling Yu advocates for Tie Junlan, ensuring she receives a reward comparable to Meng Tieshan’s.
• Liu Yuanchen protects the hall from the destructive heat of the Earth-Fiend Bloodflame and later explains the mystery surrounding the Jumang Ancestral Shaman Statue.
• The chapter ends with the group united in deciding that the potential Ancestral Shaman Statue near Demon territory should remain undiscovered for the time being.

Chapter Summary: “A Strategy for Self-Preservation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Yuanchen realizes that his breakthrough into the Spirit Platform Realm has exposed him to the Demon Race. His possession of both the Witch Race inheritance and the Ginseng Fruit Tree’s Immortal Seed makes it impossible for him to remain hidden.
• He devises a two-part survival strategy:
  1. Strengthen his own backing through the Eight Desolations Pavilion and its connections.
  2. Spread portions of the Witch Race inheritance among the Human Race so the Demon Race cannot concentrate all its attention on him.
• The Demon Race’s trap at Severed-Head Mountain, supposedly related to the emergence of the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach, provides an opportunity to gather powerful allies, attack the Demon Race and Myriad Gods Sect, and search for the second Ancestral Shaman Statue.
• Azure Origin Pill King reveals that he can summon dozens of powerful cultivators, including Patriarch Dragon Fisher, Patriarch Seven Treasures, and Patriarch Wan Shan. Their specialties—combat, spirit plants, and artifact refinement—make them valuable allies.
• Liu Yuanchen proposes that the Divine Court and allied forces confront the Demon Race while the Eight Desolations Pavilion searches for the Ancestral Shaman Statue.
• Zhao Hong initially argues that their lineage should keep the inheritance for itself, but Liu Yuanchen insists that releasing part of it will protect them by forcing the Demon Race to divide its attention.
• Liu Yuanchen distributes three parts of the Jumang Ancestral Witch Inheritance:
  • Artifact-refining methods for Ancestor Witch Puppets and Ancestral Shaman Statues to Zhao Hong.
  • Formation knowledge, including fragments of the Twelve-Celestial Capital Gods and Fiends Formation, to Ling Yu.
  • Witch Patterns and Jumang Tribe battle techniques, which cannot be directly cultivated by most people, to Azure Origin Pill King for study.
• Azure Origin Pill King demonstrates that a single Witch Pattern can produce a powerful growth-related spell and suggests that the patterns may help cultivators comprehend laws and reconstruct the Twelve-Celestial Capital Gods and Fiends Formation.
• Rather than releasing the inheritance immediately, Azure Origin advises first spreading legends and rumors about the Witch Race. Basic techniques can later be exchanged for resources, while advanced knowledge can be used to negotiate with major powers and strengthen the Eight Desolations Pavilion’s influence.
• Liu Yuanchen accepts this approach, recognizing that the inheritance can simultaneously divert the Demon Race, generate resources, and build political alliances.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Liu Yuanchen shifts from cautious, gradual development to a more proactive and strategic approach. He accepts that remaining hidden is no longer possible and begins treating the Witch Race inheritance as a political and economic tool rather than merely a personal treasure.
• Azure Origin Pill King demonstrates strong leadership and extensive connections by organizing a large force of veteran cultivators. He also proves highly perceptive in recognizing the value of the Witch Patterns and proposes a sophisticated plan for controlling their release.
• Zhao Hong is excited by the superior artifact-refining techniques but initially wants to monopolize the inheritance. After Liu Yuanchen explains the danger of the Demon Race’s attention, the broader strategy becomes more persuasive.
• Ling Yu is thrilled by the formation inheritance and believes it may allow him to reach the grandmaster level in formations.
• Meng Tieshan asks whether he can cultivate the Jumang techniques, but Liu Yuanchen explains that his Zhurong bloodline is incompatible with the Jumang inheritance, preventing potentially dangerous cultivation mistakes.
• Zhang Lingxu remains critical of Zhao Hong, reminding him of the damage he and the grandmaster caused to the reputation of the Pill King Lineage. Their exchange reveals continuing internal tension despite their shared goals.
• Liu Yuanchen and his elders cooperate closely, balancing personal cultivation, factional interests, and the larger Human–Demon conflict.

Significant Themes

• Self-preservation through strategy rather than brute strength: Liu Yuanchen cannot immediately overcome the Demon Race through cultivation, so he relies on alliances, information control, and political maneuvering.
• Strength through collective action: The Witch Race inheritance is too dangerous and extensive for one lineage to control alone. Sharing it can strengthen the Human Race while preventing Liu Yuanchen from becoming the sole target.
• Knowledge as power and currency: The inheritance can be used to obtain Spirit Stones, rare resources, allies, and influence within the Great Xia Academy and Eight Desolations Pavilion.
• Managing reputation and factional influence: Liu Yuanchen understands that the disgraced Pill King Lineage cannot attract support directly, so he must act under the broader name of the Eight Desolations Pavilion.
• Controlled revelation and political marketing: Azure Origin’s plan emphasizes creating demand through rumors and partial disclosures before trading advanced knowledge. Liu Yuanchen recognizes this as a way to maximize the inheritance’s value.
• Conflict between secrecy and dissemination: The Witch Race inheritance is both a valuable weapon and a dangerous liability. Keeping it hidden leaves Liu Yuanchen vulnerable, while spreading it forces the Demon Race to confront a broader Human threat.
• Long-term preparation: The characters do not seek immediate victory alone; they aim to weaken the Demon Race, consolidate alliances, and create conditions for future growth.

Chapter Summary: “A Gathering of Experts”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Azure Origin Pill King, Zhang Lingxu, Zhao Hong, and Meng Tieshan joke and bicker about their relationships as grandmaster, master, and disciples. Zhang Lingxu reprimands Zhao Hong for calling Azure Origin Pill King an “old fox,” though the grandmaster indulges his younger disciples.
• A powerful fragrance suddenly penetrates even Coiled Dragon Mountain’s defensive formations. The fragrance carries the force of laws and resembles the effect of the earlier heavenly phenomenon.
• A massive phantom peach tree appears in the southeast, stretching from earth to the heavens and bearing white-and-red peaches. Azure Origin Pill King identifies it as the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach, or at least an imitation created using fragments of the original tree.
• Liu Yuanchen confirms that the Demon Race deliberately used treasured Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach branches as bait to lure him. The Demon Race appears increasingly anxious and intends to activate its plan early because too many Human Race experts are gathering.
• Over the following month, Azure Elixir Commandery becomes crowded with cultivators. Even Spirit Platform and Soul Condensation Realm experts become common, while many powerful Eight Desolations Pavilion elders arrive at Dongyang Divine Prefecture.
• Liu Yuanchen personally receives these elders, most of whom are in the Dharma Form or Dao Embryo Realm. They are impressed that he has become the Heavenly Dao True God of Coiled Dragon Mountain.
• Seven-Treasure Apothecary notices the large number of Condensed Origin Realm Golden-Armored Bean Soldiers on the mountain. Liu Yuanchen explains that he successfully cultivated offspring from the Diamond Beans given to him.
• Liu Yuanchen reveals that his mana contains a special energy that enhances spirit-plant growth and may extend cultivators’ lifespans. Because many of the visiting elders are approaching their ten-thousand-year lifespan limit, this revelation greatly interests them.
• Zhang Lingxu further promotes Liu Yuanchen by mentioning the lifespan-enhancing effects of his Immortal Seed phenomenon and his potential to create a longevity-extending Natal Spirit Flame.
• Liu Yuanchen attributes his Treefolk and Botanical Dao Soldiers to an incomplete inheritance from the ancient Elder Earth Immortal Path. This draws the attention of the Eight Desolations Pavilion experts.
• He then reveals a crucial advancement method: a Grotto-Heaven can potentially transform into a Minor World after gathering forty-nine laws and accumulating sufficient origin. However, the Origin Spirit Realm’s Heavenly Dao may resist the transformation and send tribulations.
• Mountain-Moving Venerable regards this information as a route toward immortality and offers Liu Yuanchen an extremely valuable favor. The other experts follow suit, giving Liu Yuanchen tokens promising assistance.
• Seven-Treasure Apothecary goes even further, declaring that if he fails to survive the ten-thousand-year lifespan limit, he will leave his legacy to Liu Yuanchen.

Character Developments

• Liu Yuanchen demonstrates increasing political and strategic skill. Rather than revealing all his secrets, he shares carefully selected information to win the support of powerful elders and create protection against the Demon Race.
• He is shown to be humble and tactful, repeatedly refusing excessive praise and favors, while internally recognizing the immense value of the experts’ support.
• Azure Origin Pill King is portrayed as experienced, perceptive, and willing to use unusual methods. He correctly identifies the peach-tree phenomenon and recognizes the Demon Race’s bait.
• Zhang Lingxu acts as a protective and politically astute master. He disciplines Zhao Hong but also deliberately publicizes Liu Yuanchen’s abilities to strengthen his position among senior experts.
• Zhao Hong remains outspoken and irreverent, though he quickly becomes cautious when Zhang Lingxu turns hostile. He also assists Liu Yuanchen by explaining the forty-nine-law method.
• Mountain-Moving Venerable develops from skeptical curiosity to deep gratitude after learning that Liu Yuanchen may have shown him a path to immortality.
• Seven-Treasure Apothecary shifts from examining Liu Yuanchen’s cultivation achievements to openly valuing him as a potential source of longevity and advanced cultivation knowledge.

Significant Themes

• Strategic revelation and political protection: Liu Yuanchen deliberately exposes only selected abilities so that influential experts will support him without learning his deepest secrets.
• The pursuit of longevity and immortality: The approaching ten-thousand-year lifespan limit motivates the elders and makes Liu Yuanchen’s abilities exceptionally valuable.
• Knowledge as power: Information about the Elder Earth Immortal Path, Botanical Dao Soldiers, and the transformation of Grotto-Heavens into Minor Worlds gives Liu Yuanchen enormous influence.
• Luck versus ability: The elders acknowledge that Liu Yuanchen’s opportunities may involve luck, but converting those opportunities into real power proves his genuine talent.
• Rising conflict between the Human and Demon Races: The Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach bait signals that the Demon Race is preparing to close its trap, while the gathering of Human experts threatens to disrupt its plans.
• Mentorship and loyalty: The banter among the older generation contrasts with their serious willingness to protect and support Liu Yuanchen once they recognize his value.

Important Character Interactions

• Zhang Lingxu scolds Zhao Hong for disrespecting Azure Origin Pill King, reinforcing the playful yet hierarchical relationships among the generations.
• Azure Origin Pill King praises Liu Yuanchen’s judgment and confirms the Demon Race’s use of Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach fragments.
• Dragon-Fishing Venerable praises Liu Yuanchen for becoming a Heavenly Dao True God and openly acknowledges his future potential.
• Seven-Treasure Apothecary investigates Liu Yuanchen’s beans, mana, and Treefolk, becoming increasingly impressed by his unusual abilities.
• Zhang Lingxu and Zhao Hong actively help Liu Yuanchen present his strengths to the visiting experts.
• Mountain-Moving Venerable questions Liu Yuanchen about his Immortal Seed and later offers him a priceless favor after learning about the Minor World transformation.
• The gathered experts collectively pledge support, while Seven-Treasure Apothecary promises Liu Yuanchen his legacy if he cannot overcome his lifespan limit.

Summary: Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach Roots

Key Plot Points and Events

• Seven-Treasure Apothecary, a renowned Spirit Apothecary, offers to inherit Liu Yuanchen’s knowledge of the Divine Farmer Art. Zhang Lingxu initially worries that Seven-Treasure will take Liu as a direct disciple, but they agree on a form of “dual succession,” allowing Liu to preserve both the Pill King and Spirit Apothecary lineages.
• Seven-Treasure gives Liu a book containing his insights into cultivating Diamond Beans. Mastering these methods could significantly improve the beans and strengthen the Golden-Armored Bean Soldiers refined from them.
• Liu reveals information about the ancient Witch Race, its war with the Demon Race, the Twelve Ancestor Witches, and the legendary Twelve-Celestial Capital Gods and Fiends Formation. He explains that the Witch Race once controlled the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach, but the Demon Race destroyed it during the ancient war.
• Mountain-Moving Venerable becomes fascinated by the Witch Race inheritance and its formation techniques. Zhang Lingxu explains that the Eight Desolations Pavilion intends to distribute lesser parts of the inheritance publicly, research the best portions internally, and cooperate with allied forces on the intermediate sections.
• Mountain-Moving Venerable decides to remain in the Red Wasteland and offers to guide Ling Yu. His presence will enhance Coiled Dragon Mountain’s reputation and may lead to improvements in its defensive formations.
• Seven-Treasure asks whether Liu has discovered any remains of the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach or other ancient plants. Liu recalls an enormous, jade-like ancient tree root beneath Bluestone Mountain, which he had previously used to form a Wood Spirit Nexus.
• Seven-Treasure immediately leads Liu and the others to investigate. They find that foreign cultivators have already excavated much of the root, but a substantial portion remains embedded in the rock.
• Using a specialized growth spell, Seven-Treasure extracts the remaining root. After applying an inscription rune, the root produces a phantom of the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach Tree.
• Seven-Treasure identifies the object as a rootlet of the original Innate Spirit Root. Although its vitality has diminished after more than 170,000 years, its Dao Resonance remains.
• Seven-Treasure believes the rootlet can be used to determine whether the true Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach Tree is still alive—and possibly lead them to its surviving main body.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Liu Yuanchen gains both a valuable cultivation inheritance and a deeper connection to Seven-Treasure Apothecary. He also realizes, with regret, that an ancient root he once overlooked was actually an extraordinarily precious fragment of an Innate Spirit Root.
• Seven-Treasure Apothecary demonstrates his generosity, expertise, and intense enthusiasm for rare spirit plants. His eagerness to investigate the root leads him to act immediately rather than rest at Coiled Dragon Mountain.
• Zhang Lingxu protects Liu’s status while accepting the dual-succession arrangement. He also strategically reveals the Eight Desolations Pavilion’s plans for the Witch Race inheritance.
• Mountain-Moving Venerable becomes intrigued by the Witch Race’s ancient formations and chooses to stay in Liu’s territory, strengthening their relationship and potentially improving Coiled Dragon Mountain’s defenses.
• Zhao Hong is left behind to guard Coiled Dragon Mountain while the others investigate the root, despite his reluctance.
• The group’s collective reaction to the root transforms the expedition from a search for ordinary ancient vegetation into a potentially world-shaking discovery.

Significant Themes

• Inheritance and succession: The chapter explores how legacies can be preserved through multiple disciples and overlapping lineages rather than exclusive master-disciple relationships.
• Value of knowledge and expertise: Seven-Treasure’s cultivation methods and the Witch Race inheritance show that specialized knowledge can be as valuable as wealth or treasures.
• Ancient history resurfacing: Long-forgotten conflicts between the Witch and Demon Races continue to influence the present through surviving formations, inheritances, and spirit-plant remnants.
• Hidden value and missed opportunities: Liu’s earlier failure to recognize the root’s true nature highlights how treasures may remain concealed until the right expert examines them.
• Cooperation and strategic influence: The Eight Desolations Pavilion plans to control and distribute the Witch Race inheritance carefully, using it to build alliances and increase its influence.
• Hope amid destruction: Though the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach was believed destroyed, the surviving rootlet suggests that ancient life, power, and possibility may endure beneath apparent ruin.

Overall Significance

The chapter expands the importance of the Witch Race inheritance and establishes Mountain-Moving Venerable’s closer involvement with Liu’s forces. Its central revelation is that Liu’s forgotten ancient tree root is actually a surviving rootlet of the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach. This discovery creates the possibility that the legendary tree was not completely destroyed and may still exist somewhere in the Red Wasteland or beyond.

Chapter Summary: Deceiving the Divine Court

Key Plot Points and Events

• Venerable Qibao reveals a secret technique that can trace the surviving Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach using the lingering Dao Resonance within its separated roots.
• He believes the roots’ unusually depleted Dao Resonance indicates that the original Innate Spirit Root may still be alive. A living tree would be vastly more valuable than its remains.
• The Eight Desolations Pavilion decides to keep this information secret until the Demon Race’s ambush at Severed-Head Mountain begins, since revealing the Peach’s location too early would force them to share control and profits with other factions.
• While the Pavilion waits, many cultivators attempt to force their way into Severed-Head Mountain and are killed. The Pavilion remains calm because it understands the mountain is a trap.
• The Pavilion’s members spend the waiting period productively:
  • Dragon-Fishing Venerable fishes at Coiled Dragon Lake.
  • Venerable Qibao manages the spirit fields and Yellow-Scaled Pine Dao Soldiers.
  • Mountain-Moving Venerable and Ling Yu study the Twelve-Celestial Capital Gods and Fiends Formation.
  • Others study witch patterns with Azure Origin Pill King.
  • Zhao Hong investigates the location of a second Ancestral Shaman Statue.
• Xia Linfeng visits on behalf of the Divine Court to verify whether Severed-Head Mountain is a Demon Race trap and to negotiate cooperation.
• Liu Yuanchen explains that he learned the truth through his combined Heavenly Dao Authority over the Yang-Realm and Netherworld Coiled Dragon Mountains.
• Zhang Lingxu proposes that the Eight Desolations Pavilion attack the dangerous Severed-Head Mountain while the Divine Court attacks Golden Palanquin Mountain.
• Xia Linfeng suspects the Pavilion is hiding the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach and attempting to monopolize it. Believing he has seen through their plan, he insists that the Divine Court attack Severed-Head Mountain instead.
• The Pavilion deliberately accepts this arrangement. The Divine Court will draw the Demon Race’s forces toward Severed-Head Mountain, while the Pavilion attacks Golden Palanquin Mountain, where Zhao Hong believes the second Ancestral Shaman Statue is located.
• After Xia Linfeng leaves, the Pavilion acknowledges that he was deceived by his own assumptions and the Divine Court’s distrust of them.
• Liu Yuanchen confirms that he has become a Heavenly Dao True God of the Netherworld. He plans to build a city on Netherworld Coiled Dragon Mountain, trading Yang-Realm spiritual goods for Netherworld treasures.
• Mountain-Moving Venerable offers to construct the city and send his descendants to manage it, giving Liu Yuanchen valuable protection and support.

Character Developments

• Liu Yuanchen demonstrates increasing strategic sophistication. He conceals the full truth about the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach while using accurate information to manipulate the Divine Court’s decisions.
• Venerable Qibao proves his value as a specialist in spiritual plants and Dao Resonance, providing the key method for locating the Peach.
• Zhao Hong becomes more useful as an investigator, using the Jumang Ancestral Shaman Statue to identify the likely location of the second statue.
• Xia Linfeng is portrayed as capable but overconfident. His suspicion is reasonable, but he misinterprets the Pavilion’s intentions and allows himself to be maneuvered into taking the most dangerous assignment.
• Mountain-Moving Venerable shifts from observer and formation researcher to an important future ally in Liu Yuanchen’s Netherworld plans.
• The Eight Desolations Pavilion functions increasingly as a unified political and strategic force, balancing secrecy, profit, military action, and long-term development.

Significant Themes

• Strategic deception and information warfare: Accurate information can be used deceptively when only part of the truth is revealed.
• Greed and competition among factions: The Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach becomes a source of immense political and economic conflict.
• Trust and institutional prejudice: The Divine Court’s longstanding distrust of the Pavilion causes it to reject reliable intelligence and fall into a trap.
• Long-term planning: The Pavilion prioritizes securing the Peach and the Ancestral Shaman Statue while avoiding unnecessary losses.
• Expansion of power and influence: Liu Yuanchen’s Netherworld authority allows him to extend his influence beyond the Yang Realm and establish a cross-realm commercial base.
• Strength through alliances: Liu Yuanchen continues building relationships with powerful figures, particularly Mountain-Moving Venerable, whose support will protect and strengthen his Netherworld enterprise.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Yuanchen and Venerable Qibao: Liu carefully verifies whether Qibao’s tracing method can locate the Peach, while Qibao explains the spiritual logic behind it.
• Dragon-Fishing Venerable and the Pavilion: He initially urges immediate action but accepts the need for secrecy once the risks are explained.
• Liu Yuanchen and Xia Linfeng: Liu reveals enough of his Heavenly Dao Authority to establish credibility, impressing Xia and strengthening his negotiating position.
• Dragon-Fishing Venerable and Xia Linfeng: Dragon-Fishing bluntly mocks Yantian Divine King, creating an awkward but revealing moment that underscores the Pavilion’s independence from the Divine Court.
• Zhang Lingxu and Xia Linfeng: Their negotiation becomes a contest of apparent concessions. Zhang pretends to worry about the Divine Court’s safety, encouraging Xia to insist on attacking Severed-Head Mountain.
• Liu Yuanchen and Zhao Hong: Liu relies on Zhao’s investigation to confirm that Golden Palanquin Mountain is connected to the second Ancestral Shaman Statue.
• Liu Yuanchen and Mountain-Moving Venerable: Their discussion leads to a practical alliance: Mountain-Moving will help build and defend a Netherworld city, while Liu gains another powerful backer.

Chapter Summary: “Each Shows Their Divine Abilities”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Yuanchen agrees to let the disciples and descendants of several Eight Desolations Pavilion ancestors work at Coiled Dragon Mountain. Mountain-Moving Venerable and Dragon-Fishing Venerable promise that their juniors will obey Liu Yuanchen completely, strengthening Coiled Dragon Mountain’s ties with nearly half the Pavilion’s factions.
• The group discusses the Demon Race’s delay in activating its trap at Blackcloud Ridge. They learn that the Demon Race is waiting for reinforcements requested from the Dragon Emperor, which are expected within a month.
• Liu Yuanchen eavesdrops on Golden Palanquin City using Wind-Chant Beast Speech. He discovers that:
  • More than ten Dao Embryo Realm and over thirty Dharma Form Realm experts are gathered at Coiled Dragon Mountain.
  • The Divine Court has assembled at least thirty thousand elite troops near Crouching Tiger Peak.
  • The Demon Race intends to wait for reinforcements before trapping and destroying the Human Race forces in the Red Wasteland.
• The Human Race decides it cannot delay. They plan to attack before the Demon Race receives reinforcements, avoiding a larger war that could cause heavy losses to the Eight Desolations Pavilion.
• The Divine Court and the Human Race agree to act in five days. The Divine Court attacks Severed-Head Mountain while the Eight Desolations Pavilion detours around it and strikes Golden Palanquin Mountain, catching the Demon Race off guard.
• Liu Yuanchen prepares multiple escape options: his true body hides in the Divine Path Spirit Realm, one clone joins the assault, another remains in Azure Elixir City, and the Jumang Ancestral Shaman Statue is entrusted to Azure Origin Pill King.
• When the Divine Court launches its attack, the Pavilion forces move toward Golden Palanquin Mountain. Azure Origin Pill King surrounds the mountain with enormous trees, Zhang Lingxu spreads poisonous Heart-Eroding Grass, and Zhao Hong attacks in the form of a giant flaming ape.
• Mountain-Moving Venerable destroys Golden Palanquin Mountain’s defensive barriers with his enormous jade seal. The mountain’s formations collapse rapidly, and Azure Origin Pill King’s roots begin tearing into its foundations.
• The Myriad Gods Sect defenders panic and attempt to flee. Dragon-Fishing Venerable captures an escaping Golden Flood Dragon with his Dragon-Fishing Rod.

Character Developments

• Liu Yuanchen demonstrates strategic foresight by turning Coiled Dragon Mountain into a shared base for numerous powerful factions. He also carefully prepares clones and escape routes, showing caution despite his growing influence.
• Mountain-Moving Venerable and Dragon-Fishing Venerable actively support Liu Yuanchen, offering manpower and political backing. Their willingness to let their descendants serve under him signals growing trust.
• Azure Origin Pill King displays overwhelming control over wood-based divine abilities, transforming the battlefield by encircling the mountain with trees and destabilizing its foundations.
• Zhang Lingxu reveals the destructive power of Heart-Eroding Grass, using poison and wind to eliminate Eerie Creatures around the battlefield.
• Zhao Hong remains impulsive and competitive. He complains about carrying Liu Yuanchen’s clone, then eagerly transforms into a flaming ape and launches a powerful attack.
• The Demon Race’s heir apparent is revealed as ambitious and calculating. He is willing to risk delaying the operation in hopes of annihilating the Human Race and claiming the Red Wasteland for his allies.
• Qin You acts as the heir apparent’s informant and subordinate, reporting accurately but showing fear and eagerness to please.

Significant Themes

• Alliance-building and shared interests: Liu Yuanchen strengthens Coiled Dragon Mountain by involving major Pavilion factions, ensuring that any future attack against it will affect the entire Eight Desolations Pavilion.
• Strategy versus brute force: The Human Race wins the initiative through intelligence and timing, striking before the Demon Race’s reinforcements arrive.
• Preparation and contingency planning: Liu Yuanchen’s clones and escape routes emphasize the importance of survival and flexibility amid large-scale conflict.
• Power and battlefield coordination: Each senior cultivator contributes a specialized ability—trees, poison, fire, sealing, and capture—showing the strength of collective action.
• Overconfidence and miscalculation: The Demon Race delays its attack because it trusts its spirit treasure and incoming reinforcements, allowing the Human Race to seize the advantage.
• Political and territorial ambition: The Demon Race hopes to use the conflict to destroy the Red Wasteland Marquisate and divide the territory among its allied forces.

Important Character Interactions

• Mountain-Moving Venerable and Dragon-Fishing Venerable assure Liu Yuanchen that their juniors will obey him and accept punishment if necessary.
• The Pavilion ancestors debate the Demon Race’s unexplained delay and agree that waiting longer would be dangerous.
• Liu Yuanchen shares the intelligence from his eavesdropping, prompting Zhao Hong and the others to demand immediate action.
• Zhang Lingxu and Azure Origin Pill King coordinate their attacks, competing indirectly as each demonstrates a powerful battlefield technique.
• Zhao Hong teases and criticizes Liu Yuanchen’s clone but still carries it into battle.
• Liu Yuanchen warns Azure Origin Pill King that the defenders are fleeing, allowing the group to respond.
• Dragon-Fishing Venerable captures the escaping Golden Flood Dragon, humorously lamenting that his famed weapon caught only a Flood Dragon rather than a true Dragon.

Chapter Summary: Replica Sea-Calming Pearl

Key Plot Points and Events

• Dragon-Fishing Venerable captures the Golden Flood Dragon with his Dragon-Fishing Rod and places him into his seemingly tiny fish basket. He then subdues a Fire Sparrow Demon who attempts to escape Golden Palanquin Mountain using fiery sword beams.
• Azure Origin Pill King’s tree-based technique forms an enormous cage around Golden Palanquin Mountain while its roots steadily erode the mountain.
• Venerable Sea Severing unleashes his Sea-Severing Dragon Whale Dharma Form, using dark clouds, torrential rain, and a massive whale charge to devastate Golden Palanquin Mountain. The attack destroys the Dragon-Shaking Formation beneath it.
• Azure Origin Pill King retrieves an almost intact Zhurong Ancestor Witch Statue from beneath the mountain, along with treasures from several buried corpses. He and Venerable Sea Severing jokingly argue over who deserves credit and a share of the inheritance.
• After discovering that the battle at Severed-Head Mountain is still ongoing, the Eight Desolations Pavilion heads there—not only to assist the Divine Court Army, but also to compete for the Demon Race’s Spirit Treasures.
• Venerable Ten Thousand Mountains deploys the powerful Ten Thousand Mountains artifact embryo, covering Severed-Head Mountain and suppressing the weaker Demon Race soldiers while allowing Divine Court soldiers to withdraw safely.
• A horned Dragon Race expert known as Golden Armor appears and uses a powerful Replica Sea-Calming Pearl to knock away Ten Thousand Mountains. Liu Yuanchen recognizes that it is not the genuine innate Spirit Treasure but concludes that the Dragon Race likely possesses the true Sea-Calming Pearl.
• Golden Armor’s Pearl clashes with Xia Linfeng’s golden seal. Neither gains an advantage, but the combined attacks of the Divine Court Army and Eight Desolations Pavilion overwhelm the Demon Race.
• Golden Armor orders a retreat. As more than ten Dao Embryo Realm cultivators surround him and attempt to seize the Pearl, he prepares to detonate it.
• A powerful mountain phantom descends from the heavens, accompanied by the Myriad Spirits Submit authority, and an unknown voice asks the Human Race to spare Golden Armor. Liu Yuanchen realizes the power belongs to a Heavenly Dao True God and suspects that Blackcloud Ridge may possess such an entity.

Character Developments

• Dragon-Fishing Venerable demonstrates overwhelming control over both dragon and non-dragon Demon Race cultivators. His Dragon-Fishing Rod is especially effective against weaker opponents, even though its strongest restraint is directed toward the Dragon Race.
• Azure Origin Pill King displays mastery over a newly comprehended law involving enormous tree constructs. He also shows his opportunistic side by expertly looting the ruins and claiming the Zhurong statue.
• Venerable Sea Severing reveals his legendary combat form and formidable history, recalling his past reputation for killing a True Dragon in close combat. His relationship with Azure Origin Pill King is competitive but cooperative.
• Venerable Ten Thousand Mountains reveals the nearly completed Spirit Treasure artifact embryo, Ten Thousand Mountains, establishing his exceptional status as an artificer.
• Liu Yuanchen continues to observe and analyze events from his avatar’s perspective. His knowledge allows him to identify Ten Thousand Mountains, the White Tiger Soul-Reaping Sword, and the connection between the Replica Sea-Calming Pearl and the legendary genuine treasure.
• Xia Linfeng proves capable of confronting Golden Armor and resisting the Replica Sea-Calming Pearl. He commands the Divine Court forces efficiently while battling the Dragon Race expert directly.
• Golden Armor is introduced as a powerful Dragon Race combatant whose Pearl gives him a major advantage, though he is eventually forced to retreat when surrounded.

Significant Themes

• Generational rivalry and pride: The older experts constantly boast about their disciples, techniques, and achievements, even during a major battle.
• The value of Spirit Treasures: Both the Human and Demon Races prioritize acquiring rare treasures. The Eight Desolations Pavilion’s “support” is partly motivated by the chance to claim or profit from Spirit Treasures.
• Power concealed behind replicas and artifacts: The Replica Sea-Calming Pearl demonstrates that even an imitation of an innate Spirit Treasure can threaten an advanced artifact embryo, while the existence of the genuine Pearl hints at an even greater future danger.
• Cooperation amid competition: The Human Race factions work together against the Demon Race, but each group remains focused on personal or factional gains.
• The growing importance of Heavenly Dao Authority: The chapter emphasizes the difference between ordinary cultivation, law-based abilities, Dao Embryos, and the authority wielded by true divine beings.
• Uncertain alliances and hidden powers: The intervention on Golden Armor’s behalf suggests that Blackcloud Ridge contains a previously unknown Heavenly Dao True God, raising the stakes of the conflict.

Important Character Interactions

• Azure Origin Pill King and Venerable Duan Hai exchange boastful remarks about their disciples and descendants.
• Azure Origin Pill King and Venerable Sea Severing compete over whose techniques are more impressive and who deserves credit for destroying Golden Palanquin Mountain.
• Venerable Sea Severing reminds Azure Origin Pill King that he expects a share of the Zhurong inheritance.
• The Eight Desolations Pavilion coordinates with Xia Linfeng and the Divine Court Army, though their shared objective is also to claim Demon Race treasures.
• Xia Linfeng engages Golden Armor directly, while the other Human Race experts attack the remaining Demon Race forces.
• An unidentified Heavenly Dao True God intervenes to protect Golden Armor, creating a new mystery surrounding Blackcloud Ridge and its connection to the Dragon Race.

Chapter Summary: Zhurong Ancestor Witch Inheritance

Key Plot Points and Events

• The battle at Severed-Head Mountain reaches a turning point when a mysterious demon expert claims to be the Heavenly Dao True God of Blackcloud Ridge and unleashes “Mount Tai Crushes the Crown.”
• The technique summons the pressure of Blackcloud Ridge’s mountain range, suppressing nearly everyone below the Dharma Form Realm and severely weakening the Human Race’s attacks.
• Azure Origin Pill King counters with a forest-form technique, revealing that the demon is not truly the mountain god of all Blackcloud Ridge. Instead, he is likely the Heavenly Dao True God of one of its branch ranges and is borrowing that branch’s connection to the main mountain range.
• The demon orders Ao Ming, the golden-armored commander, to escape. Ao Ming enters the Replica Sea-Calming Pearl, which uses its powerful defensive and suppressive abilities to break through the Human Race’s blockade.
• Although the Human Race damages the pearl, it cannot destroy it. Ao Ming escapes, causing the remaining Demon Race forces to lose their morale and flee.
• Fewer than half of the demon experts survive, while all demon soldiers are either killed or captured. The Human Race realizes that the supposed Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach at Severed-Head Mountain was only a deception.
• Back at Coiled Dragon Mountain, the group discusses the Sea-Calming Pearl. Liu Yuanchen explains that it is a replica of the Dragon Race’s Mid-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure, which contains fifteen Innate Treasure Restrictions.
• Liu Yuanchen reveals that the true Sea-Calming Pearl was once severely damaged during the Witch-Demon War, when the twelve Ancestor Witches used the Twelve-Celestial Capital Gods and Fiends Formation to kill the First-Generation Dragon Emperor.
• The group concludes that if all twelve Ancestral Shaman Statues can be gathered, the formation may be powerful enough to destroy even the Replica Sea-Calming Pearl.
• Azure Origin Pill King reveals a crimson statue found at Golden Palanquin Mountain. It resembles Zhurong Ancestor Witch, but no ordinary fire cultivator can activate it.
• Liu Yuanchen successfully awakens the statue using his unique combination of True Essence, Soul Origin, and Origin Astral Force. He receives the Zhurong Ancestor Witch Inheritance, just as he previously received Jumang’s inheritance.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Liu Yuanchen demonstrates increasing understanding of Heavenly Dao authority, spirit treasures, and Witch Race inheritances. His ability to activate both the Jumang and Zhurong statues establishes him as uniquely compatible with the Ancestral Shaman legacy.
• Xia Linfeng remains skeptical and confrontational, correctly challenging the demon’s claim to be Blackcloud Ridge’s true mountain god.
• Azure Origin Pill King helps expose the demon’s limited authority and later unsuccessfully attempts to activate the Zhurong statue. His ability to transform into a giant tree also proves crucial in resisting the mountain-pressure technique.
• Ao Ming is established as the Demon Race commander at Severed-Head Mountain. He relies on the Replica Sea-Calming Pearl to escape rather than continue the battle.
• Venerable Ten Thousand Mountains reveals that his spirit treasure was damaged but can recover within decades. His interest in the Sea-Calming Pearl highlights the rarity and superiority of Innate Spirit Treasures.
• Mountain-Moving Venerable becomes excited by the possibility of reconstructing the Twelve-Celestial Capital Gods and Fiends Formation.
• Zhao Hong and other fire cultivators attempt to activate the Zhurong statue but fail, emphasizing that mere fire affinity is insufficient.
• Liu Yuanchen’s interaction with the statue produces a vision of Zhurong emerging from a vast lava lake. Zhurong’s phantom then enters Liu Yuanchen’s Sea of Consciousness as an inheritance seed.

Significant Themes

• Authority versus deception: The false claim of being Blackcloud Ridge’s mountain god shows how Heavenly Dao authority can be borrowed or partially wielded without possessing complete control.
• The importance of inheritance: Ancient Witch Race legacies remain powerful enough to influence the balance between the Human and Demon Races.
• Human adaptation and innovation: Although the Demon Race possesses older and deeper inheritances, the Human Race can learn from other traditions and develop new methods, potentially allowing it to surpass the demons over time.
• The power of ancient formations and treasures: The damaged Sea-Calming Pearl and the Twelve-Celestial Capital Gods and Fiends Formation reveal the immense destructive power left over from the Witch-Demon War.
• Compatibility and destiny: Liu Yuanchen’s unique constitution and astral force allow him to unlock inheritances that others cannot, suggesting that he is becoming an important successor to the Ancestor Witches.
• Defense and preparation: The Human Race begins to believe that gathering the twelve statues could provide adequate protection against the Demon Race’s spirit treasures.

Zhurong Ancestor Witch Inheritance

The inheritance mirrors the structure of Jumang’s inheritance and includes:

• Cultivation methods such as the Guiding Technique, Astral Condensation Formula, and methods for absorbing fire qi from lava to strengthen the body and condense astral force.
• Techniques for refining Ancestral Shaman Statues and puppets.
• Portions of the Twelve-Celestial Capital Gods and Fiends Formation.
• Witch Patterns and Witch Race battle techniques.
• Two major Divine Abilities:
  • Blazing Fire Illuminating Heaven: A domain technique that raises the surrounding temperature, eventually transforming entire regions into lava fields.
  • Myriad Flames Paying Homage: A technique that condenses an Origin Spirit Flame, allowing it to devour other spirit flames and inherit their unique abilities.
    The latter technique is extremely powerful but requires an innate fire-type physique—ideally the Fire Witch Bloodline—and a body capable of enduring the refinement of numerous spirit flames.

Chapter Summary: “Second Immortal Seed Fusion”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Yuanchen studies the inheritance within the Zhurong Ancestor Witch statue and discovers:
  • An Astral Force cultivation method
  • Witch Patterns and Zhurong Tribe battle techniques
  • Two portions of the Twelve-Celestial Capital Gods and Fiends Formation
  • Two Divine Ability Realms, including one related to devouring spirit flames
• He cannot personally cultivate or describe the Divine Ability Realms because he lacks a fire-element constitution and Witch Race bloodline. However, he realizes that the Zhurong inheritance may still allow him to access fire-related powers indirectly.
• Meng Tieshan, who possesses strong Witch Race bloodline, is summoned to inherit the statue. He successfully obtains the Zhurong cultivation method and both Divine Ability Realms, including a more complete version of the spirit-flame-devouring ability he already possessed.
• When Meng Tieshan channels Astral Force into the statue, its damaged parts regenerate completely. This reveals that Ancestral Shaman Statues can use the qi and blood of their descendants to repair themselves.
• The elders discuss the value of the Zhurong formation inheritance. Although they cannot reconstruct the complete Twelve-Celestial Capital Gods and Fiends Formation, the Zhurong and Jumang portions may help improve Human Race formations.
• Liu Yuanchen records the non-Divine Ability portions of the inheritance for the sect before withdrawing to cultivate privately.
• Using Soul Origin and the Zhurong inheritance’s visualization method, Liu Yuanchen successfully forms a Zhurong Ancestor Witch True Form Diagram.
• The diagram initially causes violent and aggressive impulses because of Zhurong’s fiery and explosive nature. Liu Yuanchen summons the Ginseng Fruit Tree Immortal Seed and Jumang True Form Diagram to suppress it.
• Zhurong is eventually subdued and merges into the Ginseng Fruit Tree Immortal Seed, becoming its second integrated Ancestor Witch inheritance.
• Liu Yuanchen tests the fusion by drawing fire-element spiritual energy into the Immortal Seed. He successfully refines it into fire-element spiritual power, confirming that he can now cultivate fire-related techniques indirectly.

Character Developments

• Liu Yuanchen gains a deeper understanding of Divine Ability Realms and their four methods of acquisition: personal comprehension, inheritance, bloodline transmission, and verbal instruction by supreme experts.
• He successfully integrates Zhurong Ancestor Witch into the Ginseng Fruit Tree Immortal Seed, greatly expanding its potential and giving him access to fire-element spiritual energy and future fire-law comprehension.
• Liu Yuanchen remains cautious about changing his primary cultivation method. He chooses to continue cultivating Jumang’s inheritance while using Zhurong mainly to support fire-control techniques, pill refinement, and comprehension of fire-related laws.
• Meng Tieshan receives a major cultivation breakthrough by awakening and obtaining a complete Zhurong inheritance. His Witch Race bloodline allows him to use abilities that Liu Yuanchen cannot cultivate directly.
• Meng’s development also provides a practical method for restoring damaged Ancestral Shaman Statues.
• The elders recognize that acquiring more statues will require cooperation with the wider Human Race rather than relying solely on their own search.

Significant Themes

• Inheritance and compatibility: Powerful inheritances cannot always be learned simply by receiving them; bloodline, constitution, and personal cultivation determine whether they can be used.
• Integration of different traditions: Human, Witch, and Demon Race inheritances can complement one another and overcome limitations in existing cultivation and formation systems.
• Balance of power and attributes: Liu Yuanchen realizes that his future Minor World must contain all five elemental attributes. Relying solely on Wood-Attribute laws would restrict its development.
• Suppression and harmony: The clash between Zhurong’s fire and Jumang’s wood symbolizes the need to control destructive forces through balance rather than rejecting them.
• Long-term ambition: By merging all twelve Ancestor Witches into the Immortal Seed, Liu Yuanchen may eventually gain access to their abilities and perhaps operate the Twelve-Celestial Capital Gods and Fiends Formation himself.
• Cultivation through cooperation: The elders plan to enlist others to locate the remaining Ancestral Shaman Statues, turning the search into a broader Human Race effort.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Yuanchen and Azure Origin Pill King: Liu reports the inheritance, while Azure Origin explains the nature and limitations of Divine Ability Realms and advises against greed.
• Liu Yuanchen and Mountain-Moving Venerable: They discuss how Zhurong’s formation inheritance could strengthen Human Race formation arts.
• Liu Yuanchen and Meng Tieshan: Liu gives Meng the Zhurong statue, trusting him to inherit what others cannot. Meng’s success confirms the importance of Witch Race bloodline.
• Meng Tieshan and the Zhurong Statue: Meng’s Astral Force restores the statue, demonstrating that descendants can repair ancestral artifacts.
• Jumang and Zhurong True Form Diagrams: Within Liu Yuanchen’s body, Jumang’s wood-aligned power suppresses Zhurong’s fiery aggression, after which both become integrated into the Ginseng Fruit Tree Immortal Seed.
• Liu Yuanchen and the elders: Their cooperation establishes a plan to spread knowledge of the Witch Race and enlist others in finding the remaining twelve statues.

Chapter Summary: “Distributing the Spoils”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Yuanchen considers studying fire-based Minor Divine Abilities, since he currently possesses only the Wood and Fire Ancestor Witch inheritances.
• Azure Origin Pill King summons the elders to distribute the spoils taken from the battles at Golden Palanquin Mountain and Severed-Head Mountain.
• Venerable Ten Thousand Mountains claims two fiery longswords belonging to the Fire Sparrow, compensating the others with Spirit Stones. The swords contain incomplete Acquired Treasure Restrictions and may eventually become Acquired Spirit Treasures.
• The group discusses how to handle two captured demons: a Golden Flood Dragon and a Fire Sparrow. Dragon-Controlling Venerable agrees to take them for beast-taming purposes, but Venerable Sea Severing insists they should first be interrogated.
• The Fire Sparrow reveals that the Dragon Race’s Sea-Calming Pearl is a damaged Mid-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure. Liu Yuanchen supplements this information by naming the other four known Innate Spirit Treasures belonging to the four imperial demon clans.
• The Fire Sparrow states that the Witch-Demon War ended roughly 130,000 years ago, but he does not know whether the Witch Race was destroyed or escaped. The four other Innate Spirit Treasures have not appeared since the war.
• Liu Yuanchen investigates the origins of the Netherworld. The Fire Sparrow’s ignorance, combined with information from the Azure Roc Demon King’s memories, leads Liu Yuanchen to suspect that the Netherworld arose after the Azure Roc Demon King’s death 170,000 years ago.
• The captured demons are put away, and the remaining storage bags are opened and examined.
• Most of the first storage bag contains evil-path artifacts and secret arts from the Nether Soul Sect. These are deemed useless or dangerous and will be destroyed or reforged, while several dozen Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones are divided among the elders.
• A jade box contains a Raging-Flame Flower, whose fragrance provokes anger. Because it may help Liu Yuanchen condense one of the Seven Po Souls after reaching the Soul Condensation Realm, the elders give it to him.
• Several Spirit Treasure Artifact Embryos are discovered and purchased by Venerable Ten Thousand Mountains for fair compensation.
• The most valuable discovery is an Innate Dragon Embryo, a treasure formed within a Dragon Vein. Though it can no longer become a True Dragon after leaving its birthplace, it can nurture Dragon Veins, strengthen Spirit Veins, and improve the future development of a Blessed Land.
• Since Liu Yuanchen’s intelligence made the operation possible, Venerable Ten Thousand Mountains gives him the Innate Dragon Embryo and instructs him to place it within the Spirit Nexus of his Spirit Realm.

Character Developments

• Liu Yuanchen demonstrates extensive knowledge of ancient history, demon treasures, cultivation methods, and rare spiritual materials. His understanding of the Innate Spirit Treasures surprises the Fire Sparrow and reinforces his growing importance to the elders.
• He becomes increasingly perceptive, using inconsistencies in the Fire Sparrow’s knowledge and the Azure Roc Demon King’s memories to form a new hypothesis about the origin of the Netherworld.
• Liu Yuanchen also receives resources specifically suited to his future cultivation: the Raging-Flame Flower for Soul Condensation and the Innate Dragon Embryo for developing his Spirit Realm.
• Dragon-Fishing Venerable shows a ruthless, intimidating side while interrogating the demons, whereas Dragon-Controlling Venerable is more practical and specializes in suppressing and taming powerful beasts.
• The Fire Sparrow proves cowardly and pragmatic, abandoning any claim to Phoenix pride to preserve his life. The Golden Flood Dragon, in contrast, maintains its arrogance and refuses to cooperate, resulting in brutal restraint.
• The elders continue to recognize Liu Yuanchen’s contributions, treating him generously despite his lower cultivation and directing especially useful treasures toward his future growth.

Significant Themes

• The value of information: Liu Yuanchen’s intelligence is as important as combat strength, allowing the group to understand the threat posed by Innate Spirit Treasures and earn him a major reward.
• The unknown past: The chapter deepens mysteries surrounding the Witch Race, the Witch-Demon War, the disappearance of ancient treasures, and the origin of the Netherworld.
• Pragmatism versus pride: The Fire Sparrow survives by submitting, while the Golden Flood Dragon’s racial pride leaves it helpless. The chapter suggests that survival often requires abandoning status and ideals.
• Resource distribution and collective fairness: The elders divide the spoils according to usefulness, compensating one another at market value while awarding particularly meaningful treasures to those who can benefit from them.
• Cultivation and long-term preparation: Even seemingly modest items, such as the Raging-Flame Flower and Dragon Embryo, are valuable because they support future breakthroughs and the growth of Liu Yuanchen’s Blessed Land.
• Decline and preservation of ancient power: The damaged Sea-Calming Pearl, fading Dragon Embryo, and lost Witch-Demon-era treasures reflect the gradual decline of ancient civilizations and spiritual resources.

Important Character Interactions

• Azure Origin Pill King leads the distribution and gives Liu Yuanchen the Raging-Flame Flower.
• Venerable Sea Severing urges the group to interrogate the captured demons rather than immediately selling or taming them.
• Dragon-Fishing Venerable threatens the demons and questions the Fire Sparrow about the Sea-Calming Pearl.
• Dragon-Controlling Venerable intervenes when the Golden Flood Dragon resists, torturing and restraining it before taking both demons into custody.
• Liu Yuanchen challenges the Fire Sparrow with detailed knowledge of the demon clans and the Witch-Demon War, forcing the demon to answer cautiously.
• Mountain-Moving Venerable identifies the jade box’s formation, explains the uses of the Raging-Flame Flower, and recognizes the Innate Dragon Embryo.
• Venerable Ten Thousand Mountains gives Liu Yuanchen the Innate Dragon Embryo in recognition of his intelligence and reminds him how to cultivate it within his Spirit Realm.