Recaps

Chen Qiu learned about the lawless Mystic Heaven Continent and arrived in Great Fate City, where a Heavenly Dao event called Long Night Approaches was about to begin. After hearing that a Spirit Transformation Body might appear outside the city, he reconsidered seeking a high-grade Nascent Soul and discovered a genuine Heavenly Dao Spirit Treasure at a street stall.

• Chen Qiu repaid the hunter with fifty Lower-Grade Spirit Stones, then returned to the Minor World and told the Mocking Heaven Sect disciples to avoid forming Nascent Souls without knowing the method.
• Chen Qiu, Fat Dragon, and Scholar traveled to Great Fate City to seek Nascent Soul information, where Fat Dragon warned that Long Night Approaches would make the area outside the city extremely dangerous after dark.
• Chen Qiu learned the Nascent Soul requirements and initially decided to abandon the Ten-Rank Nascent Soul because it required three Spirit Transformation Bodies.
• While searching street stalls, Chen Qiu overheard Rogue Cultivators say a Spirit Transformation Body might appear during Long Night Approaches and reconsidered pursuing a high-grade Nascent Soul.
• Chen Qiu ignored a vendor’s supposed sword-tip treasure, then used Omniscience to identify a genuine Demon-Exorcising Bracelet at another stall and bought it.

July Cat recognized Chen Qiu at a stall and feared her repeated reincarnations would lead to another death, while Chen Qiu entered the Long Night Approaches event and used his Minor World and powerful lightning spells to collect its treasures. After surviving the night with a Spirit Transformation Body among his gains, he offered a Nascent Soul breakthrough to the Mocking Heaven Sect disciple with the least lifespan.

• July Cat, reincarnated as a stray cat in Great Fate City, recognized Chen Qiu and worried that their repeated encounters would cost her another life.
• Chen Qiu entered his Minor World outside the city as Long Night Approaches began, observing hidden cultivators and their traps before the darkness fell.
• A Fate Sect disciple became the first casualty when his hurried breathing gave away his position, and spells and array traps plunged the area into chaos.
• Chen Qiu blasted the area around each treasure pillar with Thunder Dragons, then seized the spirit treasures and the Spirit Transformation Body while avoiding retaliation from the hidden cultivators.
• At dawn, Chen Qiu counted his gains and revealed the Spirit Transformation Body, then offered a Nascent Soul breakthrough to the Mocking Heaven Sect disciple with only one month of lifespan remaining.

Li Shiyi searched for Chen Qiu and learned that a mysterious Dharma cultivator had dominated Long Night Approaches, while Chen Qiu’s enormous merit ranking made him the target of the Fate Sect. Chen Qiu accepted an invitation to the Su Family’s inheritance secret realm in search of a Spirit Transformation Body and set out for Su City with a Fate Sect disciple, concealing his identity.

• Li Shiyi discovered ancient records of the Mocking Heaven Sect and wondered whether Chen Qiu was its current master, then agreed to help find a powerful Dharma cultivator for an upcoming gathering of Quzhou Sky Prodigies.
• Chen Qiu read a Quzhou Daily report about the mysterious person who took the pillars of light during Long Night Approaches and saw that he ranked third on the Mystic Heaven Continent Merit Rankings and first in Quzhou.
• The Fate Sect posted a bounty for the mysterious person, prompting July Cat to leave after the bald merchant declared that he wanted to join the Fate Sect.
• Li Shiyi saw Chen Qiu atop the Quzhou Merit Rankings, dismissed him as someone with the same name, and resumed cultivating for Prodigy Road.
• Chen Qiu accepted the Su Family’s invitation to attempt its inheritance secret realm for a Spirit Transformation Body, then agreed to travel with a Fate Sect true disciple to Su City.
• The Fate Sect disciple showed off his flying boat, and a woman in magnificent robes arrived with a bald young monk as Chen Qiu checked that his cloak concealed his appearance.

Chen Qiu rejected Qi Mei’s attempt to recruit him into the Fate Sect, then survived Qi Mei’s ambush and killed him, Liu Mei, and the monk with his Twelfth-Grade Golden Core. He also defeated a Fate Sect elder who arrived to avenge them, and wondered whether the Sword Cultivator Puppet he had fought before was actually far stronger than an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator.

• Qi Mei tried to recruit Ren Zhi into the Fate Sect, then launched three surprise attacks when Ren Zhi ignored his offer; Ren Zhi blocked them and nearly shattered Qi Mei’s Golden Core.
• Qi Mei called for help while Liu Mei and the bald monk stood between him and Ren Zhi, but Ren Zhi struck them all down with his Twelfth-Grade Golden Core.
• The Fate Sect elder sent his Second-Grade Nascent Soul to attack Ren Zhi, who pierced it with his Golden Core and took the resulting Nascent Soul Pill.
• The elder attacked Ren Zhi with tens of thousands of ice spikes, but Ren Zhi emerged unharmed and blasted him with a Thunderball.
• Ren Zhi crushed the elder’s token at the dying man’s request, then concluded that the Sword Cultivator Puppet he had fought was probably as strong as a Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivator.

Chen Qiu ambushed and destroyed the Fate Sect’s Nascent Soul elders and sect master, then led the Mocking Heaven Sect in taking over the sect and plundering its resources. After learning that a Twelfth-Grade Nascent Soul might be within reach, he discovered the Fate Sect treasury was full of wealth.

• Chen Qiu hid near the Fate Sect’s mountain gate and struck the returning Nascent Souls with five lightning attacks, killing four elders and mortally wounding the sect master.
• Chen Qiu used another heavenly lightning strike to kill the sect master, then joined Fat Dragon, Scholar, and the Mocking Heaven Sect disciples as they broke through the weakened formation and slaughtered the Fate Sect’s resistance.
• Fat Dragon recovered five Nascent Soul Pills, while Chen Qiu reviewed the requirements for a Twelfth-Grade Nascent Soul and realized he already possessed nearly all the required materials.
• Chen Qiu studied the Fate Sect’s records and sent Scholar to break the treasury’s restrictions while the Mocking Heaven Sect disciples and two hundred bears looted the grounds.
• Scholar announced that the treasury restriction had been broken, and Chen Qiu entered to find it filled with spirit stones, treasures, and medicinal herbs.

After annihilating Fate Sect, Chen Qiu and the Mocking Heaven Sect plundered its wealth, buildings, and natural resources, then prepared to sell its territory to the neighboring Grand Dao Sect. Chen Qiu planned to deal with the Grand Dao Sect by force if it refused to pay.

• Zhao Dezhu inventoried Fate Sect’s treasure vault, revealing a fortune of Spirit Stones, treasures, talismans, Nascent Soul Bodies, and Trait Jade Slips, and Chen Qiu stored the haul in his Minor World.
• Chen Qiu secretly celebrated his nearly ten thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones before returning to search Fate Sect, while the Brown Bears and Mocking Heaven Sect disciples carried off the sect’s resources and structures.
• Zhao Dezhu’s martial uncle and Qu Gui considered setting a trap to catch fellow disciples stealing, but the group abandoned the scheme and returned to plundering Fate Sect.
• Chen Qiu and the Mocking Heaven Sect departed after stripping Fate Sect bare, and the first people to inspect the site discovered that the regional overlord had been destroyed.
• Chen Qiu chose to visit the neighboring Grand Dao Sect and offer it Fate Sect’s territory, warning Fat Dragon that he would treat refusal to pay as evil conduct.

Chen Qiu sold the Fate Sect’s territory to the Grand Dao Sect for 3,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, then arrived in Su City to enter the Su Family’s Inheritance Secret Realm. After learning that Fierce Baleful Wood could mend a hole in the sky, he prepared for the secret realm, which opened the next day.

• Chen Qiu visited the Grand Dao Sect and offered the Fate Sect’s territory, but the sect master explained that taking it would provoke a regional war.
• The Grand Dao Sect’s sect master agreed to pay Chen Qiu 3,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and use the mysterious destroyer’s reputation to deter rival factions.
• Chen Qiu reached Su City, introduced himself as Ren Zhi, and killed a woman who resented him for killing Qi Mei.
• The Su Family’s young master invited Chen Qiu to a Dao discussion gathering and told him that the Inheritance Secret Realm would open the next day.
• Fat Dragon told Chen Qiu that Fierce Baleful Wood was valuable for the Prodigy Road, forging, and mending the sky, while Eight Desolations Fruit could be used to lure heavenly treasures.

Chen Qiu attended the Su Family’s discussion gathering, where he exposed and subdued Meiya after she tried to seduce him. He then entered the Su Family Inheritance Secret Realm with the other Sky Prodigies, while the Su Family head learned that no powerful cultivators had intervened when the Fate Sect was destroyed.

• The Su Family’s young master told Chen Qiu that Quzhou’s Lineages had identified him as the holder of 9.8 billion Merit Value, and Chen Qiu accepted being called by his real name.
• At the discussion gathering, Meiya tried to ensnare Chen Qiu with a beauty trap, but he took her Golden Core and restrained her to inspect its entries.
• The next morning, Chen Qiu left Meiya behind and joined the other Sky Prodigies as the Su Family head opened the Inheritance Secret Realm.
• Chen Qiu entered the secret realm through the white vortex, and the Su Family displayed images of the entrants’ progress.
• A Su Family subordinate reported that no Nascent Soul or Spirit Transformation cultivator had entered Fate Sect territory on the day the sect fell, while nearby forces fought over its lands.

Chen Qiu passed the Su Family Inheritance Secret Realm by destroying its supposedly unbeatable puppet through repeated attacks, then returned to the Minor World to refine his recent gains. He transformed the Heavenly Secrets Umbrella into a bow that could launch his Golden Core or spells at extreme speed, and ended by aiming a Lightning-Channeling Art arrow toward the Mocking Heaven Sect.

• Chen Qiu passed the first four trials, then shattered the fifth trial’s puppet with repeated Lightning-Channeling Art attacks.
• The old man's spirit body revealed that the puppet had been assembled from earlier trial puppets and that contestants could have passed by waiting out the earlier trials without killing them.
• Chen Qiu accepted the Spirit Transformation Body, returned the Su Family ancestor’s spell inheritance to the Su Family's young master, and left Su City.
• Chen Qiu gave Scholar the Sword Flies Like Time trait, inscribed thirteen other traits onto his Golden Core, and learned the Invisibility Technique and Golden Light Body-Protecting Technique.
• Chen Qiu used a Heavenly Illusion Stone to give the Heavenly Secrets Umbrella a longbow form that could fire attacks using Heaven-and-Earth Power.
• Chen Qiu tested the bow by launching his Twelfth-Grade Golden Core, then formed a Lightning-Channeling Art arrow and aimed it toward the Mocking Heaven Sect.

Chen Qiu tested compressed lightning and snow spells, killed a Nascent Soul cultivator by accidentally combining the two, and later led the Mocking Heaven Sect’s new Nascent Soul disciples toward the Heavenly Evolution Forty-Nine secret realm. In Deathknell Town, he repaid the hunter who had once saved him, then secretly killed the bandits the hunter had spared.

• Chen Qiu compressed Lightning-Channeling Art into an arrow that blasted a huge crater, then froze an attacking Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator with an arrow formed from Snowfall Across the Heavens.
• Chen Qiu’s attempt to fuse the snow and lightning arrows caused them to explode, killing the frozen cultivator; he recovered a Second-Grade Nascent Soul Pill and returned to the Minor World.
• Over the next ten days, Chen Qiu cultivated while eight former Golden Core cultivators joined the Mocking Heaven Sect as Nascent Soul Outer Disciples, and he spotted the Heavenly Evolution Forty-Nine secret realm on a bronze mirror.
• Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon arrived in Deathknell Town, where the bearded hunter who had once saved Chen Qiu begged for help after bandits attacked his family and hunting companions.
• Chen Qiu subdued the bandits, healed the injured, and gave the hunter two hundred Spirit Stones; the hunter chose to spare the bandits, but Chen Qiu secretly killed them after they left town.

Chen Qiu arrived at the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm to find the Evil Race blocking Quzhou cultivators and threatening to invade. After hearing Quzhou’s precarious position, he stepped forward and instantly killed two Evil Race Sky Prodigies, challenging the rest as the Quzhou crowd rallied behind him.

• Chen Qiu secretly planted a tracking Gu worm in the middle-aged man from Deathknell Town, then left for the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm with Fat Dragon and the others.
• Chen Qiu found a hundred thousand Evil Race members occupying the secret realm entrance, backed by three Spirit Transformation powerhouses, while Quzhou’s Sky Prodigies had lost seven matches in a row.
• The Su Family head explained that Evil Prefecture was using the secret realm and the Sky Prodigy challenge to test Quzhou’s defenses and prepare for an invasion.
• After Quzhou cultivators and Evil Race members taunted him, Chen Qiu opened the Heavenly Secrets Umbrella, announced himself as Sect Master of the Mocking Heaven Sect, and killed the Evil Race’s ninth-ranked Sky Prodigy with one strike.
• An Evil Race Sky Prodigy attacked Chen Qiu with twin axes, but Chen Qiu shattered his Golden Core and killed him with another single strike.
• Chen Qiu challenged the Evil Race to attack together, while Quzhou’s cultivators cheered and the Su Family head watched with approval.

After Chen Qiu destroyed the Evil Race’s prodigies, three Spirit Transformation cultivators gravely wounded him, leaving him without an arm. Refusing to retreat or kneel, he spent nearly all his Merit Value on his Merit Attack Token, unleashing heavenly punishment across the Evil Race and Evil Prefecture.

• Su Tianshan found the courage to openly back Chen Qiu as Chen Qiu killed the Evil Race’s charging Sky Prodigies with a thunder strike.
• The Evil Race’s three Spirit Transformation cultivators attacked Chen Qiu, and Su Tianshan blocked most of their power, but the remaining force left Chen Qiu near death and cost him his left arm.
• Su Tianshan gave Chen Qiu a life-saving pill, but Chen Qiu healed his wounds as best he could and insisted on confronting the Evil Race instead of retreating.
• Fat Dragon, Scholar, Scholar's younger brother, and Su Tianshan tried to stop Chen Qiu, but he declared that he had never knelt and continued toward the Evil Race.
• Chen Qiu poured more than 9.7 billion Merit Value into his Merit Attack Token, pinning cultivators across Quzhou, Evil Prefecture, and nearby Jingzhou under immense pressure.
• Millions of heavenly punishment lightning bolts descended on the Evil Race and the entirety of Evil Prefecture, shocking people across the region.

Chen Qiu erased Evil Prefecture and the Evil Race with a Merit Attack Token, earning Heavenly Dao rewards while suffering the loss of his left arm. After sleeping for ten days to recover, he woke as Under-Heaven Strife approached and examined his new titles and fortune.

• Chen Qiu spent 9.7 billion Merit Value to unleash heavenly punishments that annihilated Evil Prefecture and the Evil Race.
• The Heavenly Dao named Chen Qiu both a villain and a peerless prodigy, announced his top place on the Mystic Heaven Continent Heavenly Dao Sin Ranking, and awarded him fortune and a place in the Celestial Palace.
• Chen Qiu, Fat Dragon, and Scholar left the devastated area, while Su Tianshan escaped with his son and reconsidered his limits after witnessing Chen Qiu's power.
• Star Dipper treated Chen Qiu's injuries at the Mocking Heaven Sect, but his extra sleep-inducing ingredients kept Chen Qiu asleep for ten days as Under-Heaven Strife drew near.
• Chen Qiu woke, confirmed that his injuries had healed except for his missing left arm, and examined his Heavenly Dao titles and newly merged Peerless Fortune of Heaven's Chosen.

Chen Qiu restored the Heavenly Secrets Umbrella, won the materials needed for a Twelfth-Grade Nascent Soul, and discovered the Celestial Palace’s milestone statues before preparing to break through. As the new Heavenly Dao Version, Under-Heaven Strife, approached, powerful sects across the continent sealed their mountains and withdrew from the world, leaving Su Tianshan uneasy and isolated in Quzhou.

• Chen Qiu used Heavenly Dao Fortune to repair the Heavenly Secrets Umbrella and kept the two wisps of Race Fortune unused.
• Chen Qiu crushed two Mid-Grade Heavenly Dao Wheels and chose a First-Grade Spirit Transformation Body, twenty First-Grade Nascent Soul Bodies, five Second-Grade Nascent Souls, and a set of Heavenly Dao Spirit Treasure tea ware.
• Chen Qiu entered the Celestial Palace, found his statue for the One-Man Annihilation milestone, and discovered that another milestone required a Twelfth-Grade Golden Core and Nascent Soul.
• Chen Qiu returned to the Minor World and prepared to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm while Fat Dragon, Scholar, and the others arranged a Spirit-Gathering Array.
• Su Tianshan concluded that Chen Qiu had spent nearly all his Merit Value destroying Evil Prefecture and worried that Chen Qiu could no longer safely undergo a Thunder Tribulation.
• Major factions across the Mystic Heaven Continent announced hundred-year withdrawals ahead of Under-Heaven Strife, and Su Tianshan learned he was the only Spirit Transformation cultivator left in Quzhou.

Chen Qiu broke through to the First Level of the Nascent Soul Realm with a Twelfth-Grade Nascent Soul, triggering a continent-wide heavenly phenomenon that healed and blessed the Lower Nine Provinces. As he claimed the top spot on the Merit Rankings, a Dao Sword Sect elder revealed that Central Province factions had sealed themselves away because ancient prophecies linked the Mocking Heaven Sect’s return to Chen Qiu.

• Chen Qiu used his prepared resources and the four Demon Lotuses to form a Twelfth-Grade Nascent Soul, then left the Minor World to test his new power.
• The Heavenly Dao announced Chen Qiu’s Heavenly Dao Apex Nascent Soul, and rainbow snowflakes healed the Lower Nine Provinces while extending lives; Chen Qiu’s Merit Value rose to 87.9 billion.
• The Heavenly Dao awarded Chen Qiu a Mid-Grade Heavenly Dao Wheel and erected his statue in the Celestial Palace, while Scholar rescued Brown Bears that had fallen into the sea.
• Su Tianshan recognized that Chen Qiu’s Twelfth-Grade Nascent Soul and vast Merit Value made him a major force as the chaotic age approached.
• A Dao Sword Sect elder told Li Shiyi that Central Province factions had entered seclusion because their ancient inheritances warned that the Mocking Heaven Sect’s return would endanger their legacies if they failed to hide for a hundred years.

Chen Qiu returned to the Mocking Heaven Sect with new treasures and planned to expand his Nascent Soul forces before sending them to confront evil sects in Quzhou. Meanwhile, Fat Dragon and eight Nascent Soul disciples arrived in Great Fate City, where they revealed Mocking Heaven Sect’s strength and demanded an audience with the city’s ruler.

• Chen Qiu discovered that someone had entered the Celestial Palace, examined his new Heavenly Dao Spirit Treasure Tea Set, and prepared the Heavenly Secrets Umbrella for its breakthrough.
• Chen Qiu sent Fat Dragon and Scholar to gather intelligence on evil and demonic sects, then returned to the Mocking Heaven Sect with Brown Bear and arranged for more disciples to reach the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Chen Qiu used two Heavenly Dao Wheels to obtain twenty Nascent Soul Bodies and forty Nascent Soul Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills, then prepared to draw his first Nascent Soul Realm Traits.
• In Great Fate City, Fat Dragon and eight Mocking Heaven Sect Nascent Soul disciples heard storytellers embellish tales about Chen Qiu and his feats.
• Fat Dragon demanded that Great Fate City’s ruler appear within ten breaths, while the eight disciples unleashed their Nascent Soul cultivation and alarmed the crowd.

Fat Dragon led Mocking Heaven Sect disciples into Great Fate City to gather intelligence on evil and demonic sects, then took them sightseeing while Central Province Sky Prodigies plotted to recruit Chen Qiu. Back at the sect, Chen Qiu chose a month of tenfold cultivation progress over a trait that would eventually guarantee Immortal Emperor status, and Fat Dragon returned with the intelligence.

• Fat Dragon met the Grand Dao Sect master, who listed Quzhou’s evil and demonic sects at his request.
• Fat Dragon took the Mocking Heaven Sect disciples to a brothel in Great Fate City, where a group of Central Province Sky Prodigies discussed approaching Chen Qiu and one leader boasted that his Thunder-Tribulation Sacred Physique countered Chen Qiu’s lightning spells.
• Zhao Buzhu learned that Qu Gui had won Chen Qiu’s trust by killing the Qu Family head and bringing the family’s accumulated resources to the Mocking Heaven Sect.
• Chen Qiu rejected the Guaranteed Cultivation Trait, which would have advanced him through the realms up to Immortal Emperor, and chose Rapid Progress for tenfold cultivation gains over a month.
• Chen Qiu selected Rapid Growth from his Nascent Soul traits so Little Wolf could mature faster, then sensed Fat Dragon and the others waiting outside the Minor World.

Chen Qiu chose the One Feed, One Pull trait, used a Supreme Heavenly Dao Retrospection Talisman to reclaim Unending Continuity, and accelerated his cultivation while preparing the Mocking Heaven Sect to attack seven evil demon sects. After learning that Kong Ming had formed a Tenth-grade Nascent Soul, Chen Qiu returned to seclusion, while Kong Ming prepared to descend from the mountain and spread Buddhist teachings.

• Chen Qiu selected seven of Quzhou's most wicked sects for the Mocking Heaven Sect to attack after three days, and ordered the others to be offered Redemption Orders.
• Chen Qiu cultivated with Nascent Soul Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills and a Spirit-Gathering Array, breaking through to the second level of the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Chen Qiu chose One Feed, One Pull, fed his Nascent Soul an Eight Desolations Fruit, and received a Supreme Heavenly Dao Retrospection Talisman that let him reclaim Unending Continuity.
• Chen Qiu used Rapid Growth and the Nightmoon Wolf Demon trait to turn Little Wolf into a massive Nascent Soul beast, then returned to cultivation.
• Chen Qiu fed Little Wolf a Fierce Baleful Wood and received a Nascent Soul Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pill, then heard the Heavenly Dao Edict announcing Kong Ming's Tenth-grade Nascent Soul.
• Kong Ming's master urged him to descend the mountain and spread Buddhist teachings, giving him the Ancestor's Sarira for protection.

Chen Qiu advanced to the Fifth Level of the Nascent Soul Realm, gained the Fortune Approaches trait, and began hunting the Ghost Evil Sect. When the Ghost Evil Sect Master trapped him in an evil-qi domain, Chen Qiu unleashed hundreds of thousands of Thunder Dragons across the entire domain.

• Chen Qiu chose Nascent Soul Defense after reaching the Third Level of the Nascent Soul Realm, then consumed his pills and advanced to the Fourth Level.
• Chen Qiu chose Fortune Approaches, stabilized his cultivation, and used the remaining pills to reach the Fifth Level of the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Chen Qiu learned that the Fate Sect storage rings had been cracked, collected their contents, and set out to attack the Ghost Evil Sect.
• Chen Qiu confronted the Ghost Evil Sect Master over the sect's torture and slaughter of mortals, then struck him with Thunder Dragons.
• The Ghost Evil Sect Master hid inside his crude Heavenly Evil Domain and tried to persuade Chen Qiu to leave, but Chen Qiu filled the domain with hundreds of thousands of Thunder Dragons.

Chen Qiu annihilated seven evil sects, then sent Mocking Heaven Sect disciples across Quzhou to sell Redemption Orders while he rested in Great Fate City. After Xia Ruyu of Three Springs Pavilion tried to recruit him and obtain his rapid-cultivation secret, Chen Qiu killed her group’s Spirit Transformation guardian, escalating the conflict with Three Springs Pavilion.

• Chen Qiu razed the Ghost Evil Sect with the Lightning-Channeling Art, leaving no treasure or survivors, then destroyed the Heavenly Demon Sect and six other evil demon sects.
• The Enlightenment Sect surrendered and bought Redemption Orders after Scholar and Fat Dragon listed its alleged sins, while Chen Qiu sent Mocking Heaven Sect disciples across Quzhou to collect sales.
• Chen Qiu rested in Great Fate City as the sect’s disciples competed to sell Redemption Orders and earn promotion to Outer Elder.
• Qiao Jian and Xia Ruyu approached Chen Qiu on behalf of Three Springs Pavilion, inviting him to join them and asking how he had advanced from the First to the Fifth Level of the Nascent Soul Realm in three days.
• When Xia Ruyu’s Spirit Transformation guardian revealed his aura, the head of the Su Family intervened and forced the visitors to leave, but Chen Qiu followed them despite Su Tianshan’s warning.
• Chen Qiu killed the guardian and Xia Ruyu’s group, then cut open the dead guardian’s abdomen to retrieve a Spirit Transformation Pill, shocking the returning head of the Su Family.

After unlocking Eye of True Sight, Chen Qiu explored Qi City by reading cultivators’ Traits before learning that the Heavenly Dao would begin combat rankings for Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Spirit Transformation cultivators. As the Nascent Soul contest approached, he prepared to compete while the chapter revealed Kong Ming, a reluctant tree demon, and a dwindling Dragon Race also facing the event.

• Chen Qiu rerolled his Fifth-Level Nascent Soul Trait, gained Eye of True Sight, and used it to inspect the strange Traits of cultivators in Qi City.
• Chen Qiu followed a female cultivator with the Heavenly Dao Harlot Trait and discovered that she earned a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone by completing its task.
• The Heavenly Dao announced three new combat rankings and revealed that eligible cultivators would be forced into secret realms; Chen Qiu examined the Nascent Soul contest rules and realized first place would complete one of his Milestone Missions.
• Kong Ming prepared for the Nascent Soul rankings, while a sleepy tree demon worried that he would be forced to compete.
• The Dragon Race’s clan chief told Black Dragon to enter the contest without seeking rank, since the aging race was close to extinction and needed to stay out of the coming troubled age.
• Black Dragon reluctantly went to visit another mother dragon, while the clan chief lamented the Dragon Race’s dwindling future.

As the Nascent Soul Combat Rankings approached, cultivators across the continent prepared to compete, including Scholar, Fat Dragon, and a Beast Taming Sect disciple whose master suspected her timid little fox had an extraordinary bloodline. Meanwhile, a transmigrated youth in Great Xia planned to use a famous poem from his past life to impress people at a poetry gathering.

• The Dragon Race chief warned Black Dragon to prioritize survival in the secret realm and explained that dragons could not use Trait Jade Slips.
• Scholar told Fat Dragon to stay alive in the rankings, while Fat Dragon lamented that his new Ignore Barriers trait had ruined his dual-cultivation prospects and considered resigning as Grand Elder.
• A dying Beast Taming Sect elder gave his disciple five Nascent Soul Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills and urged her to enter the secret realm carefully with her bonded Nightmoon Wolf Demons.
• The elder explained that the disciple's timid little fox might have a powerful, unknown bloodline, then said Chen Qiu possessed at least seventy percent of his youthful talent.
• A Black Tortoise Sect disciple decided to abolish his Nascent Soul cultivation temporarily so he could compete in the Golden Core rankings.
• A transmigrated youth prepared to present a poem from his previous life at a Great Xia poetry gathering, expecting it to launch his career.

Chen Qiu cleared the first stage of the Nascent Soul Combat Rankings Secret Realm and advanced to the hundred-person melee, where he faced more than twenty powerful Nascent Soul cultivators. After realizing everyone was waiting for someone else to attack, he unleashed his full power to break the stalemate.

• The lord of Flying Fish City showed the lord of Fat City calligraphy and a poem left by the Imperial Preceptor, then insisted the Imperial Preceptor would return to Great Xia.
• The Seventh Prince defeated a Golden Core sparring partner with a fatal sword strike and vowed to join his master within ten years.
• Chen Qiu entered the secret realm, seized its flag after killing a Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator, and cleared the first stage as the others withdrew or surrendered.
• Chen Qiu met Qu Gui, who explained how his illusions and concealment had helped him win the first stage, then withdrew from the hundred-person melee at Chen Qiu’s suggestion.
• After most contestants withdrew and the remaining Nascent Soul cultivators hid rather than fight, Chen Qiu unleashed dark clouds, violent storms, and Thunder Dragons across the chessboard plaza.

Chen Qiu dominated the second stage of the Nascent Soul Combat Power Rankings Secret Realm, then claimed Arena One in the final stage and killed a challenger in a brutal display. The other cultivators recoiled as he introduced himself, while the young monk Kong Ming and the remaining challengers still awaited their chance to act.

• Chen Qiu used his Lightning-Channeling Art to force hidden cultivators into the open, but most withdrew before his attacks landed.
• Chen Qiu defeated a Nascent Soul Peak cultivator and spared a Voidview Temple formation cultivator, whom he planned to recruit later.
• A hidden young man outlasted a Nascent Soul Peak cultivator on another chessboard, delaying the other contestants for three days before the victors entered the final stage.
• Chen Qiu inspected the assembled cultivators, noticed the Five-Clawed Black Dragon above the arenas, and stepped onto Arena One while Kong Ming waited below.
• A Nascent Soul Peak cultivator tried to weaken Chen Qiu with poison needles and a divine-sense attack, but Chen Qiu overwhelmed him and beat him to death with his Twelfth-Grade Nascent Soul.
• Chen Qiu introduced himself to the stunned crowd as the other cultivators backed away from Arena One.

Chen Qiu faced Kong Ming, a young monk with a Ten-Rank Nascent Soul, in the first arena and used his Self-Destruct Trait to strike him with Spirit Transformation-level attacks. Kong Ming survived by relying on his Buddhist treasures and healing light, and Chen Qiu launched another lightning strike as the chapter ended.

• After half an hour passed without challengers, Kong Ming stepped onto Arena One and asked Chen Qiu to make his move.
• Chen Qiu self-destructed a trait to unleash a strike equivalent to a full-force attack from the Fifth Level of the Spirit Transformation Realm.
• Kong Ming survived the lightning strike with his kasaya robe and Buddhist prayer beads, though most of the beads shattered and he suffered injuries.
• A cultivator explained that the rare Self-Destruct Trait consumed another trait to unleash a powerful attack across a major realm.
• Chen Qiu noticed that Kong Ming's Buddhist light could heal his injuries and repair his treasures, then sacrificed his Man with a Missing Heaven trait.
• As Kong Ming prepared to retaliate, Chen Qiu summoned another Spirit Transformation-level lightning strike, and Kong Ming's kasaya robe flared with golden light.