Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Qingxing, an eighteen-hundred-year-old battle fanatic who became a Transcendent Immortal and cleared Sword-Testing Peak’s third peak, joins East River Palace as its newest personal disciple.
• The East River Palace Lord warns Chen Jichuan that establishing a Dao academy in the Savage Wastes will expose him to demon attacks, including possible strikes from True Immortals. He gives Chen a Golden Wind Talisman and a secret method to return to the sect for protection.
• Chen plans to go alone rather than recruit other True Disciples, believing a larger party would attract attention and complicate his escape. Bu Yin and Snow Valley volunteer to accompany him; he accepts their help but tells Shi Ze to stay behind because he is not strong enough for the danger.
• Chen Mo privately asks Chen Jichuan to take his unborn child as a disciple. Near the end of his lifespan, Chen Mo fears leaving the child unprotected. Chen Jichuan hesitates because he will be away in the Savage Wastes for centuries, but Chen Mo insists he can teach the child until then and bows to plead his case.

Character developments

• Chen Jichuan accepts the dangers of his mission, partly seeing a chance to test himself against True Immortals. He also shows consideration for his fellow disciples, accepting help from Bu Yin and Snow Valley while protecting Shi Ze from a perilous expedition.
• Jiang Qingxing is introduced as reserved and competitive. Seeing the special care Chen receives from their teacher motivates her to measure herself against him.
• The East River Palace Lord demonstrates deep concern for Chen’s safety, supplying powerful protections before he leaves.
• Chen Mo reveals his fear and vulnerability as his life nears its end. His concern for his unborn child drives him to set aside pride and ask his junior brother for help.

Significant themes

• The danger and cost of ambition: Pursuing the chief-disciple position and the resources it offers means exposing oneself to formidable enemies.
• Protection and responsibility: The Palace Lord safeguards Chen; Chen’s fellow disciples offer support; Chen Mo seeks security for his child.
• Mortality and attachment: Even a powerful cultivator nearing death feels loneliness and a strong desire to leave something behind.
• Mentorship and legacy: Chen Mo hopes his child will inherit a stable future through Chen Jichuan’s guidance.

Character interactions

• The Palace Lord cautions Chen about the dangers ahead and equips him with escape measures.
• Snow Valley questions Chen’s preparations and suggests recruiting allies; she and Bu Yin then volunteer to accompany him.
• Chen rebuffs Shi Ze’s offer to join, prioritizing his safety, while teasing him for past jokes.
• Chen Mo and Chen Yu share a tender moment as expectant parents before Chen Mo asks Chen Jichuan to become their child’s master; Chen Jichuan responds with sympathy but hesitates over the responsibility.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Mo asks Chen Jichuan to take his unborn child as a disciple. Chen agrees, setting terms: he will collect the child at ten, teach him personally until twenty, then return him to Golden Wind Mountain Sea and visit every ten years.
• Shen Mo gives Chen Jichuan his first-rank immortal artifact, the Qian-Heaven Flame Spirit Lamp, explaining that he is nearing the end of his life and neither his wife nor his future child could protect it. Chen accepts it for safekeeping, promising to return it when the disciple reaches the fourth realm of Transcendent Immortality.
• Reflecting on Shen Mo’s limited prospects for obtaining enlightenment treasures, Chen Jichuan resolves to earn merit himself.
• Chen applies to establish a Dao academy in the Savage Wastes. Two months later, the Dao Sect approves the plan and assigns him White Turtledove Domain in the Southern Frontier.
• Chen travels with Bu Yin and Snow Valley aboard Bu Yin’s fast Constellation Flying Ship. They learn that the journey crosses hundreds of Dao and wilderness domains and would take about four years by ship.
• In White Turtledove Domain, they inspect the region before choosing a site. They find White Turtledove Lake, a vast and dangerous body of water associated with an ancient demon.
• The three discover that seven Demon King territories are all deserted. Chen proposes searching the domain quickly and capturing a Demon King to learn what has happened.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Mo reveals his devotion to his unborn child and his wish to leave something lasting behind. Though once a brilliant contender for the Dao, he accepts his declining prospects and entrusts his family’s future to Chen.
• Chen Jichuan shows compassion and responsibility, accepting the child as a disciple and planning to oversee his upbringing himself. He also accepts the lamp cautiously, intending it ultimately for his disciple.
• Bu Yin and Snow Valley contribute their experience establishing academies in the wilderness. Both are wary of the missing Demon Kings, while Chen is more willing to seize the opportunity.
• Shen Mo and Chen reconcile after the initial tension over the request; Shen Mo’s gift underscores his trust in Chen.

Significant themes

• Legacy and meaning: Shen Mo finds purpose in caring for his family and ensuring his child’s future.
• Merit, hierarchy, and opportunity: Powerful enlightenment treasures are reserved for those who earn great service, motivating Chen to seek merit.
• Duty and sacrifice: Dao Sect disciples endure danger and hardship to expand the sect’s influence and civilize the Savage Wastes.
• The Dao’s endless expansion: The sect’s work continues beyond any single frontier or generation.
• Suspicion amid opportunity: The Demon Kings’ unexplained absence may make academy-building easier, but it also signals a possible hidden danger.

Plot points and events

• Chen Jichuan, Bu Yin, and Snow Valley learn that two powerful cultivators, Dai Zong and Qizhenzi, have challenged the Black Owl Emperor, a demonic True Immortal, to battle at Xuanyang Mountain.
• The pair have already slain 280 members of the Black Owl Palace, including seven of its ten elite Enfeoffed Heavenly Kings. News of the challenge draws demons, fiends, rogue cultivators, and even the attention of several True Immortals to Xuanyang Mountain.
• Bu Yin and Snow Valley consider going to watch but decide it is too dangerous. Chen Jichuan sees an opportunity: with so many demons gathered elsewhere, he can establish the White Turtledove Dao Academy with less interference.
• The chapter reveals that Dai Zong and Qizhenzi are actually two of Chen Jichuan’s clones. After 1,500 years of cultivation, each has restored powerful abilities: Dai Zong uses the Vajra Spell and Heaven-Mending Seal, while Qizhenzi uses Wind-Thunder Walk and the Five Thunders Orthodox Method.
• Chen Jichuan arranged their challenge both to test himself against a True Immortal and, more importantly, to draw attention away from his plans to establish the academy and advance within the Dao Sect.
• The Black Owl Emperor remains cautious rather than rushing into battle. Unable to determine whether the two challengers have powerful backing, he sends his equally strong Domain Clone to test them while keeping his original body safely in his palace.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Jichuan is shown as patient, strategic, and focused on attaining the Dao. He treats the clones’ likely deaths as an acceptable cost and hopes to use the encounter to observe a True Immortal’s foundations.
• Bu Yin is intrigued by the challengers’ strength but chooses prudence over curiosity, recognizing the danger of entering demon territory.
• Snow Valley shares Bu Yin’s interest in witnessing the fight, while Chen Jichuan redirects their attention toward the academy-building opportunity.
• The Black Owl Emperor is revealed to be calculating and wary, not the enraged tyrant the rumors suggest. He avoids risking his true body until he has tested the situation.
• The two Chen Jichuan clones have distinct reputations and combat styles, but both represent his full fighting strength and have become virtually unbeatable among Fourth Rank cultivators.

Significant themes

• Strategy over force: Chen Jichuan turns a public challenge into a diversion that advances his larger goals.
• Ambition and discipline: Combat, reputation, and political advancement are all treated as means toward attaining the Dao.
• The gulf between ranks: Even exceptional Fourth Rank cultivators face a formidable divide before a True Immortal, a fact that draws spectators and shapes the Emperor’s caution.
• Risk and expendability: Chen Jichuan is willing to sacrifice clones because their loss is recoverable and may yield valuable insight.

Plot points and events

• During three years of waiting for the Black Owl Emperor, Chen Jichuan’s two clones, Dai Zong and Qizhenzi, repeatedly raided the Black Owl Palace’s territories, wrecking its strongholds while its Transcendent Immortals hid.
• The Black Owl Emperor finally arrived and immediately attacked Xuanyang Mountain with a devastating palm infused with black ice and demonic flame.
• Qizhenzi countered with the Five Thunders Orthodox Method, while the mountain’s formations and Dai Zong’s Heaven-Mending Seal helped halt the strike. Together, the pair stopped the True Immortal’s attack and then fought him to a standstill.
• Seeing their abilities, the Black Owl Emperor became eager to capture them and obtain their divine techniques. Qizhenzi evaded his attacks with Wind-Thunder Walk, while Dai Zong endured and recovered from repeated injuries through the Vajra Spell and Heaven-Mending Seal.
• The East River and Qianming Palace Lords watched from afar. Their attention was drawn to the battle, leaving the White Turtledove Domain open for Chen Jichuan, Bu Yin, and Snow Valley to establish the White Turtledove Dao Academy by clearing Demon King lairs and building defensive formations.

Character developments

• Chen Jichuan gains new insight into his divine abilities through the intense battle, especially the Heaven-Mending Seal and Vajra Spell. He recognizes that combat can help advance his techniques.
• Dai Zong and Qizhenzi demonstrate that, despite being Transcendent Immortals, their combined divine abilities can withstand a True Immortal’s power.
• The Black Owl Emperor is revealed as cautious and insecure: he comes without his true body or an immortal artifact, fearing a trap. His greed for the clones’ abilities pushes him to attack again.
• The East River Palace Lord values attaining True Immortality above combat strength, while the Qianming Palace Lord shares his confidence in their disciple Zhou Yan’s potential to attain the Dao.

Themes

• Power versus immortality: Even extraordinary Fourth Rank combat prowess cannot replace attaining the Dao; a True Immortal may outlast even the strongest Transcendent Immortals.
• Growth through struggle: Battle offers Chen Jichuan practical insight into improving his divine abilities.
• Caution, greed, and ambition: The Black Owl Emperor’s fear limits his preparation, while his desire to seize the clones’ techniques draws him into direct conflict.
• Building foundations: While the great battle commands attention, Chen Jichuan and his allies quietly establish a lasting foothold in the White Turtledove Domain.

Character interactions

• The two clones taunt the Black Owl Emperor for years, then coordinate their distinct strengths—Qizhenzi’s mobility and thunder, Dai Zong’s defense and resilience—to confront him.
• The Black Owl Emperor shifts from trying to crush Xuanyang Mountain to attempting to capture the clones alive.
• The East River and Qianming Palace Lords discuss the battle and Zhou Yan’s prospects, balancing admiration for the clones’ strength with the conviction that only True Immortality matters.

Plot points

• Chen Jichuan’s two clones, Qizhenzi and Dai Zong—the “Two Immortals of Xuanyang”—fight the Black Owl Emperor for seven days and nights. Though they withstand him, Chen realizes the gulf between Transcendent Immortals and True Immortals is immense. He concludes that an immortal artifact and deeper mastery of his divine abilities are needed to challenge one reliably.
• Unable to defeat the pair through direct combat, the Black Owl Emperor unveils the Sky-Filth Gourd, an immortal artifact that releases corrupting miasma. Qizhenzi evades its attacks while Dai Zong disappears underground.
• The Emperor destroys Xuanyang Mountain and its defensive formation, then pursues Qizhenzi. His spreading fog kills or contaminates many Demon Kings and demonic cultivators gathered nearby; Dai Zong also takes advantage of the chaos to fight and restore himself.
• The Qianming Palace Lord secretly warns Chen that the Emperor is arranging a vast formation with the miasma. Qizhenzi and Dai Zong rush to escape before it activates. Both break out, but Dai Zong is contaminated and weakened.
• The formation’s eruption harms many cultivators across the region. Chen considers the battle a strategic success: it draws attention toward the Two Immortals and away from his plans in the White Turtledove Domain.
• Qizhenzi flees into the Savage Wastes, while the Black Owl Emperor pursues the slower, tainted Dai Zong. The Qianming Palace Lord intercepts the Emperor and engages him in battle; the East River Palace Lord stays back. Their clash is obscured, and its outcome is unknown.
• The chapter ends with the revelation that the battle at Xuanyang Mountain has brought the Two Immortals’ public story to a close.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Jichuan gains a clearer sense of the power gap between mortal and immortal ranks. He fights cautiously, conceals his strongest technique, and uses the battle’s chaos to advance a larger strategic purpose.
• Black Owl Emperor is revealed as powerful but comparatively inexperienced and reliant on heterodox cultivation, an incomplete divine ability, and his vicious gourd. Frustrated by his inability to win, he resorts to collateral slaughter and a hidden formation.
• Qizhenzi proves fast and resourceful, evading the gourd and breaking out of the formation. Dai Zong survives by earth escape and brute force, but suffers serious miasma contamination.
• Qianming Palace Lord aids Chen with a timely warning, then openly challenges the Emperor to prevent his pursuit. East River Palace Lord recognizes Qizhenzi’s movement technique but declines to intervene directly, apparently mindful of events in the White Turtledove Domain.
• The Emperor’s attack turns bystanders into victims, while the two clones’ evasive tactics steer the battle through crowded areas—showing how their confrontation endangers far more than its principal combatants.

Significant themes

• The hierarchy of power: Even a relatively weak True Immortal overwhelms Transcendent Immortals through sheer rank and accumulated resources.
• Preparation and restraint: Chen recognizes the need to preserve hidden techniques and win through planning rather than force alone.
• Collateral damage and moral ambiguity: The combatants’ strategies expose ordinary cultivators to devastating harm.
• Reputation and misdirection: Chen uses the spectacle to influence who pays attention to his other plans, while the Emperor misreads the Two Immortals as Dao Sect agents.

Key plot points and events

• After the battle at Xuanyang Mountain, Bu Yin and Snow Valley identify the Dao Sect True Immortal who intervened as the Qianming Palace Lord. They conclude that the Black Owl Emperor was outmatched, despite the extraordinary resistance of the Two Immortals of Xuanyang—Chen Jichuan’s powerful clones.
• Chen Jichuan reflects on what the fight taught him about True Immortals, divine abilities, and his own strength. He plans to use the Two Immortals’ apparent injuries to distract the demons while he and his fellow disciples establish an academy in the White Turtledove Domain.
• Over the next hundred years, the group clears demon lairs, claims resources, builds a headquarters and formations, and recruits mortal disciples. The work proceeds with surprisingly little opposition.
• The White Turtledove Dao Academy is completed, extending Dao Sect territory into the Savage Wastes. Chen hands it over to the sect’s representatives, earning the right to contend for a chief disciple’s seat.
• On the journey back to Golden Wind Mountain Sea, the group learns that their successful mission will bring rewards and free Bu Yin and Snow Valley from further missions for a time.
• At the Twelve Enlightenment Peaks, Lu Guangsheng tells Liu Xing that Zhou Yan (Chen Jichuan) founded the academy in only a hundred years. The news astonishes Liu Xing, who knows how difficult such a task normally is.

Character developments

• Chen Jichuan gains confidence and practical insight from facing a True Immortal, while remaining clear-eyed about his limits. He also demonstrates skill in organizing his many clones and balancing exploration, cultivation, and resource gathering.
• Bu Yin and Snow Valley grow more impressed by Chen’s talent and good fortune. Their difficult mission proves far easier than expected, and they are pleased by the rewards and respite it will bring.
• Liu Xing is shown as a comparatively recent chief disciple who is surprised by Chen’s rapid achievement.
• Lu Guangsheng serves as the source of news about Chen’s success and has become friends with Liu Xing after repeated contests between them.

Significant themes

• Experience over fear: Fighting a True Immortal makes the seemingly unreachable more understandable to Chen.
• Talent, luck, and achievement: Chen’s progress appears almost effortless compared with the hardships others face, prompting both admiration and envy.
• Duty and reward: Dao Sect disciples serve the sect through missions, while successful service earns resources and periods of freedom.
• Strategic cultivation: Chen carefully allocates his clones and effort to pursue several paths of advancement at once.

Character interactions

• Bu Yin, Snow Valley, and Chen discuss the Xuanyang battle, praising the Two Immortals while distinguishing their strength from that of Dao Sect True Immortals.
• Chen sincerely thanks his senior disciples for their guidance and hard work; they respond warmly and credit his fortune and ability.
• Liu Xing and Lu Guangsheng discuss Chen’s rapid return and academy-building success, with Liu Xing’s disbelief highlighting how exceptional Chen’s accomplishment is.

Plot and key events

• Zhou Yan’s return coincides with the aftermath of the Two Immortals of Xuanyang’s battle with the Black Owl Emperor. The fighting and ensuing pursuit have devastated the demons around Black Owl Palace, making it unusually easy for Zhou Yan to establish a Dao academy.
• News of Zhou Yan’s achievement spreads through the Dao Sect. He quickly passes the Thirteenth through Sixteenth Sword-Testing Peaks, then challenges Lu Guangsheng, the eleventh-ranked chief disciple, and defeats him.
• At age 2,420, Zhou Yan becomes a chief disciple, setting a new Dao Sect record.
• The Yucheng Patriarch summons him to Astral Constellation Hall. Impressed by his rapid progress, the Patriarch makes an exception allowing Zhou Yan to enjoy chief-disciple privileges a hundred years early and enter Enlightenment Peak. He also tells him that Zhengyuan will lecture to the chief disciples there in forty years.
• Zhou Yan is given the chance to choose one of the Dao Sect’s seven divine arts and two of its forty-one lesser divine arts. He selects Magnetic Shackles and Five-Element Mountain, intending to develop techniques for capturing and suppressing powerful opponents. The chapter ends as he considers which true divine art to choose.

Character development and interactions

• Zhou Yan continues his extraordinary rise, earning both the chief-disciple position and special recognition from the Patriarch. His choices reveal a strategic, forward-looking mindset: he is already planning how to counter True Immortals and their clones, especially the Black Owl Emperor.
• Liu Xing and Lu Guangsheng discuss Zhou Yan’s return with humor rather than resentment. They wager about which of them he will displace, accepting that his talent is difficult to match. Lu faces Zhou’s challenge calmly and accepts defeat without bitterness.
• Yucheng Patriarch shows both affection for Zhou Yan and respect for institutional rules. He grants him an early opportunity at Enlightenment Peak but does not waive the requirement to establish a Dao academy.
• The Dao Sect’s senior figures treat Zhou Yan as a major prospect, while the other disciples watch closely, speculating about whom he will challenge.

Significant themes

• Exceptional talent and destiny: Zhou Yan’s rapid achievements suggest that he may be destined to become a True Immortal.
• Ambition balanced by discipline: Despite his success, Zhou Yan treats every moment of cultivation as valuable and carefully plans his next steps.
• Preparation against powerful enemies: His chosen techniques reflect a focus not just on defeating opponents, but on capturing and neutralizing them—even opponents with hidden true bodies or replaceable clones.
• Fellowship without envy: Lu and Liu acknowledge Zhou Yan’s superiority without allowing rivalry to sour their relationships.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Jichuan chooses the divine ability Origin Unity Beginning and End, which strengthens his already strong cultivation foundation and provides defense. He also receives the minor divine abilities Five-Element Mountain and Magnetic Shackles.
• As a newly appointed chief disciple, he gains access to Enlightenment Peak, lectures from True Immortals, and precious Three-Autumn Jade Nectar. The Dao Sect also supplies Origin Jade and other cultivation resources.
• Reflecting on Chen Mo’s failure to attain True Immortality despite excellent opportunities, Chen Jichuan recognizes that resources can help but cannot replace personal effort.
• After eleven hundred years of progress and cultivation, he estimates that he has traveled roughly sixteen thousand li along the road to enlightenment, though the end remains unknown.
• He plans to remain in the sect with his true body until he attains True Immortality. If his stored treasures run out, he may contribute some lesser divine abilities to earn merit and obtain more resources—but he delays this, wary of raising questions about their origins.
• Meanwhile, his avatars continue operating outside the sect. After the Two Immortals of Xuanyang recover and disappear, Chen Jichuan travels the East Sea in the identity of Qizhenzi, the Five-Thunder Immortal.
• Rather than pursue ordinary rogue cultivators for modest gains, he decides to find a way into the social circle of Mahayana True Immortals, where rare treasures like Origin Jade and Jade Nectar may be more accessible.

Character development

• Chen Jichuan remains disciplined and ambitious, committing to stay in seclusion until he reaches True Immortality. His confidence is tempered by an awareness that even exceptional resources cannot guarantee success.
• His reflections on Chen Mo deepen his understanding of the psychological burden of failed cultivation and the need to adapt when one’s chosen path stalls.
• He becomes more strategic about balancing his sect identity, hidden resources, avatars, and long-term plans.

Significant themes

• Effort versus opportunity: Resources and favorable conditions support cultivation, but personal attainment is decisive.
• Perseverance and uncertainty: Chen Jichuan advances steadily without knowing where the path ends.
• Strategic concealment: He weighs the benefits of sharing his hidden abilities against the risk of exposing their origins.
• Ambition and access: His next challenge is not merely gaining strength, but entering the world of those who possess the rarest resources.

Character interactions

• The Yucheng Patriarch formally gives Chen Jichuan his new arts and explains the benefits and limits of chief-disciple privileges.
• Chen Jichuan’s thoughts turn to Chen Mo, whose failure despite ideal conditions helps him assess the risks of relying too heavily on external aid.
• Through the identity of Qizhenzi, Chen Jichuan positions himself to encounter powerful cultivators, while keeping his other avatars free to act independently.

Summary

This chapter is an author’s announcement rather than a narrative installment.

• Key events: The author reports completing five updates totaling over 20,000 words and promises another five updates the following day. Readers are encouraged to use their remaining monthly tickets before they expire at the end of the month.
• Crowdfunding campaign: Qidian has introduced a limited-time monthly-ticket promotion. During evening hours, every 1,500 Qidian Coins in combined tips generates a monthly ticket, with double-ticket bonuses currently active. A single 1,500-coin donation also immediately produces an additional ticket, resulting in four tickets overall.
• Character developments: There are no fictional character developments. The author presents “Demon Monk” as continuing to request reader support.
• Themes: The passage emphasizes reader participation, collective effort, gratitude, and the importance of supporting the work before the monthly-ticket deadline. The phrase about many people gathering firewood highlights how small contributions can combine into a significant result.
• Character interactions: The main interaction is between the author and the readership. The author thanks readers, explains how they can contribute, urges them to spend expiring tickets, and motivates them with the promise of continued frequent updates.

Key plot points and events

• After weighing the risks of acting alone in Divine Land, Chen Jichuan decides he should join a smaller Dao sect to gain access to True Immortals and their networks. He can leave later if the arrangement does not suit him.
• Eight hundred years pass. Chen Jichuan emerges from seclusion and learns that his eldest senior brother, Chen Mo, is near death.
• Chen Jichuan urges Chen Mo to use a secret technique to extend his life by ten thousand years, hoping that a future chance to attain the Dao might arise. Chen Mo refuses: he believes more time would only prolong the inevitable, and he does not want his wife and daughter to suffer while he is sealed away.
• Chen Mo’s fellow disciples return to see him, except Meng Qing, who has been absent for more than two thousand years. Three years later, Chen Mo dies peacefully with his wife and daughter beside him. Chen Jichuan mourns briefly, then resumes cultivation, determined not to leave behind the regrets Chen Mo did.
• The narrative shifts to the East Sea’s Fire-Mirror Dao Gate, a modest sect supported by one True Immortal, Ancestor Xiumeng, and the valuable Lesser Primordial-Yang Realm.
• Chen Jichuan, traveling under the name Qizhenzi, has spent thirty years cultivating there after helping rescue Xiumeng’s Domain Clone. Xiumeng approaches him as he is leaving and reminds him that he had promised him a hundred years in the realm.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Jichuan becomes more pragmatic about building connections with True Immortals. Chen Mo’s death reinforces the cost of an unattained Dao and renews his resolve to pursue cultivation.
• Chen Mo faces death without bitterness or desperation. His generosity is recalled through his decision to yield the chief-disciple position to Liu Hechuan, giving up substantial benefits.
• Shen Qingyi, Chen Mo’s daughter and Chen Jichuan’s disciple, is shown as steady and promising despite progressing slowly. Her grief is evident when the others visit her father.
• Liu Hechuan is deeply affected by Chen Mo’s approaching death and remembers the significant sacrifice Chen Mo made for him.
• Ancestor Xiumeng appreciates Qizhenzi’s help but is also tempted by the opportunity to exploit a powerful Fourth-Rank cultivator in his own realm. His intentions remain uncertain as he offers—or invokes—the promised cultivation period.
• The disciples’ visit to Chen Mo emphasizes their affection and shared grief, while Meng Qing’s prolonged absence sharpens the sense of isolation that accompanies the Immortal path.

Significant themes

• The loneliness and difficulty of the Immortal path: Even talented cultivators may fail to attain the Dao, and companions gradually disappear.
• Acceptance versus prolonging life: Chen Mo chooses a peaceful, dignified end rather than extending life without hope.
• Ambition and regret: Chen Jichuan’s renewed commitment contrasts with Chen Mo’s lifetime of effort and disappointment.
• Pragmatism and trust: Chen Jichuan seeks security through alliances, while Xiumeng weighs gratitude against self-interest.
• The value of generosity: Chen Mo’s sacrifice for Liu Hechuan demonstrates that personal bonds can outweigh material rewards.

Key plot points and events

• After thirty years in the Lesser Primordial-Yang Realm, Chen Jichuan decides further study will not help him much and leaves. Ancestor Xiumeng considers seizing Chen’s divine ability but ultimately lets him go, wary of hidden risks, Dai Zong’s presence, and damage to his reputation.
• Chen reflects on seven centuries in the East Sea: he has gained access to valuable Dao-comprehension sites, but no True Immortal has taken the bait and attacked him, despite his deliberately carrying a divine ability.
• Back on Sumeru Island, Chen receives an invitation from the Kuye Devil Lord. The promised reward is Spiderheart Grass and access to two of Kuye Island’s secret realms. Though he has no use for the dangerous grass, he is eager to enter the Golden Ring Secret Realm, which could help him master the five elements and attain the Dao.
• Chen visits Kuye Island alone. The Devil Lord secretly poisons him in an attempt to control him, but Chen’s body is only a disposable duplicate; it vanishes, leaving behind a deliberately exposed sword.
• The Devil Lord realizes Chen’s unusual survival suggests he has powerful methods and sends a messenger. The two meet again, and the Devil Lord presents Spiderheart Grass and access to the secret realms as evidence of his sincerity.

Character developments

• Chen Jichuan remains confident, strategic, and unafraid of powerful immortals. His many clones let him take risks without much personal cost, and he is willing to bait hostile figures—but insists they face consequences when they act against him.
• Ancestor Xiumeng suppresses his greed and chooses caution over attacking Chen, though he regrets missing the opportunity.
• The Kuye Devil Lord first treats Chen as someone to poison and control, then revises his assessment after Chen’s apparent death proves ineffective. He still behaves arrogantly, but now recognizes Chen’s value and offers substantial incentives.

Significant themes

• Caution versus temptation: Xiumeng and the Devil Lord respond differently to the lure of Chen’s power, while both weigh risk and reward.
• Appearances and hidden strength: Chen’s apparent vulnerability conceals his clone-based survival strategy.
• Ambition and the cost of advancement: Spiderheart Grass offers a desperate, potentially lethal shortcut to immortality; Chen, unlike aging cultivators, has time and does not need to gamble his life.
• Status and respect: Though Chen can match True Immortals in battle, his lower rank leads them to treat him as a subordinate—something he tolerates only up to a point.

Character interactions

• Chen and Xiumeng part politely, though each privately recognizes the other’s motives and caution.
• Chen’s repeated dealings with True Immortals show his frustration with their condescension, but also his ability to use their greed and assumptions to his advantage.
• Chen confronts the Kuye Devil Lord’s covert attack directly by refusing to play along; after the Devil Lord recognizes his unusual means of survival, their second meeting shifts toward negotiation, though their unequal and tense dynamic remains.

Chapter Summary: “Devil Lord’s Third Invitation, Outer Starry Expanse!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Jichuan openly challenges the Kuye Devil Lord’s trustworthiness, pointing out that the Devil Lord’s earlier “test” nearly killed him without compensation.
• He demands a large payment—three hundred catties of Origin Jade or Spiderheart Grass, plus access to the Ten Realms of Kuye. The Devil Lord refuses the full demand but compensates him with thirty catties of Origin Jade.
• The Devil Lord reveals the true purpose of the meeting: he has discovered a ruin in the Outer Starry Expanse whose treasures can only be accessed by powerful Fourth-Rank cultivators. Because Chen Jichuan is Fourth Rank but possesses Fifth-Rank combat strength, he is an ideal candidate.
• Both sides distrust one another. The Devil Lord proposes giving Chen Spiderheart Grass in advance while secretly poisoning him and restricting the grass, but Chen rejects this arrangement, correctly reasoning that the Devil Lord could kill him after obtaining the treasure.
• Chen leaves, forcing the Devil Lord to invite him back a third time. They eventually reach a compromise: the Devil Lord gives Chen two hundred catties of Origin Jade in advance, plus the original thirty catties of compensation. After the mission, Chen can exchange the Origin Jade for Spiderheart Grass, and he will receive further rewards for each treasure retrieved.
• Chen returns to Sumeru Island to secure the Origin Jade, discovers that the Devil Lord secretly poisoned it, and removes the poison. He sends an avatar to hide the jade while returning to Kuye Island himself.
• The Devil Lord is surprised that Chen detected and neutralized the poison but pretends that poisoning the jade was merely an oversight. Chen chooses not to press the matter, recognizing that the Devil Lord has already paid a substantial advance.
• The Devil Lord summons a ten-zhang domain avatar, carries Chen beyond the heavens, and begins taking him toward the Outer Starry Expanse.
• The chapter explains the vastness and wealth of the Outer Starry Expanse, where stars may contain treasures, secret realms, ancient ruins, or entire worlds. The major Dao Sects and Heavenly Court possess enormous wealth because generations of True Immortals have mapped and explored it.
• Forty-four thousand years earlier, the Kuye Devil Lord discovered a ruin containing valuable treasures. However, its restrictions permit only Fourth-Rank Upper Immortals to enter, preventing the Devil Lord himself from accessing it. His attempt to force entry nearly destroyed his domain avatar.

Character Developments

• Chen Jichuan demonstrates increasing confidence, assertiveness, and political cunning. He refuses to accept vague promises and negotiates aggressively despite facing a powerful True Immortal.
• He proves highly cautious and perceptive by rejecting the Devil Lord’s poisoned Spiderheart Grass arrangement and detecting the poison hidden in the Origin Jade.
• Chen also shows restraint and practical judgment. Rather than demand additional compensation after discovering the poison, he accepts the large advance and preserves the deal.
• The Kuye Devil Lord is revealed as suspicious, manipulative, and pragmatic. He tests Chen repeatedly, secretly poisons the payment, and worries that Chen might steal the treasures or flee.
• At the same time, the Devil Lord is flexible enough to compromise when necessary. His repeated invitations show that he urgently needs Chen’s abilities and places great importance on the hidden ruin.

Significant Themes

• Mutual distrust and transactional cooperation: Neither Chen nor the Devil Lord believes the other will honor a promise without safeguards, making negotiation a contest of leverage.
• Power and survival: Chen’s lower cultivation but exceptional combat ability allows him to negotiate with a True Immortal, while the Devil Lord relies on schemes rather than straightforward domination.
• Cunning versus brute force: Both characters use testing, deception, and compromise. Chen counters the Devil Lord’s schemes through vigilance and calculation.
• The dangers and opportunities of the unknown: The Outer Starry Expanse represents both immense wealth and extreme peril, containing unexplored worlds, ruins, and treasures.
• Reputation and trust: Chen insists that his good reputation is valuable, while the Devil Lord’s lack of trustworthiness makes every agreement difficult.

Character Interactions

• Chen and the Kuye Devil Lord repeatedly confront one another over compensation, payment security, and the possibility of betrayal.
• Their exchanges are hostile but increasingly respectful: the Devil Lord recognizes Chen’s courage and abilities, while Chen recognizes the Devil Lord’s importance and willingness to negotiate.
• The Devil Lord’s poison test becomes a silent contest of intelligence. Chen discovers the trap, and the Devil Lord realizes that Chen is even more capable than expected.
• Their final agreement creates an uneasy partnership based not on trust, but on mutually beneficial guarantees and Chen’s desire for Spiderheart Grass and Origin Jade.

Plot points

• Kuye Devil Lord has spent over 40,000 years exploring a ruin, using enslaved Peak Transcendent Immortals to search for treasure. He wants powerful artifacts and abilities, not the lesser treasures they have found.
• Two other True Immortals—Mountain-Pulling Hermit and Zheyou Immortal Matron—have also discovered the ruin. Because they could rival Kuye’s claim to its treasures, he is in a hurry to recruit Chen Jichuan, despite having endured pressure from Five-Thunder Immortal Qizhenzi.
• Kuye takes Chen across the Outer Starry Expanse by drawing on the River of Time. Observing this journey gives Chen a major insight into the Great Expansion Divination Method.
• At the ruin, Kuye reveals the Changshan Tower, where True Immortals cannot enter but Peak Transcendent Immortals can earn treasures by advancing through its floors. The highest known achievement is the tenth floor.
• Chen enters the tower and finds himself in a bleak realm where cultivation and Dao comprehension are blocked. As he approaches the entrance, a badly wounded man emerges, celebrating that he cleared the eleventh floor.
• Chen recognizes the man as an old enemy and tries to stop him, but realizes they occupy different times and spaces and cannot interact. He sees Zheyou collect the man and leave, then turns angrily into the tower.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Jichuan grows through his exposure to the River of Time, gaining a significant divinatory insight. He remains confident despite Kuye’s warnings about the other True Immortals and is determined to make the Changshan Tower his path to enlightenment.
• Kuye Devil Lord reveals his true urgency: rival True Immortals threaten his long-running search. He protects Chen from their probing attacks and urges him to prioritize attaining the Dao over immediate rewards, hoping Chen will trade valuable finds for enlightenment aids.
• Mountain-Pulling Hermit and Zheyou Immortal Matron appear through magic-power incarnations. The Hermit attempts to intimidate Chen, while Kuye dismisses both and warns that Zheyou is especially dangerous.
• Chen’s recognition of the injured man—and his fury at seeing Zheyou take him away—introduces a personal grudge that pushes him into the tower.

Significant themes

• Enlightenment versus material gain: Kuye argues that becoming a True Immortal matters more than collecting treasures.
• Knowledge through rare experience: Chen’s direct exposure to the River of Time advances his understanding and divination.
• Competition and secrecy: The ruin’s exceptional formations conceal its location, but repeated exploration leaks traces that attract rivals.
• The limits of power and perception: True Immortals can manipulate time’s currents, yet even they cannot enter the tower; inside it, people who appear together may be separated by time and space.

Plot points and events

• Chen Jichuan enters Changshan Tower and recognizes Meng Qing, a former fellow disciple, serving Zheyou Immortal Matron. He realizes she has used dual cultivation to strengthen Meng Qing for her own purposes and resolves to rescue him, while postponing any confrontation with her.
• On the tower’s first floor, Chen discovers the Tribulation Armor divine ability. Its immense potential depends on combining Soldier, General, and King Armors—but the tower’s apparent rewards conceal a plan to cultivate and harvest those armors.
• Chen clears the first twelve floors, collecting increasingly valuable treasures and learning the Soldier Armor method. The thirteenth floor is inaccessible until he condenses a Soldier Armor, so he leaves the tower.
• Kuye Devil Lord, eager for Chen to continue and obtain higher-floor rewards, provides the necessary materials and two hundred catties of origin jade. Chen promises to master the armor within a century.
• Chen fulfills that promise. Returning to the tower, he passes the thirteenth-floor barrier and discovers the General Armor method. He climbs higher, collecting rare Dao-enlightenment treasures and consuming them alongside the origin jade.
• With these resources accelerating a lifetime of accumulated cultivation, Zhou Yan reaches a breakthrough on Enlightenment Peak and attains the Dao. The chapter ends with his fellow chief disciples reacting in astonishment.

Character development and interactions

• Chen Jichuan/Zhou Yan is strategic and ambitious: he prioritizes Meng Qing’s survival, recognizes the danger behind the tower’s gifts, and uses Kuye Devil Lord’s urgency to secure resources. His exceptional comprehension lets him master the Soldier Armor in a hundred years and finally complete his long pursuit of the Dao.
• Meng Qing is revealed to have become stronger through Zheyou’s dual cultivation, but remains under her influence. Chen believes she will keep him alive while he continues to be useful.
• Kuye Devil Lord shifts from frustration at Chen’s early withdrawal to eager support, paying for his rapid progress because he wants access to the tower’s greater treasures.
• Zheyou Immortal Matron is presented as manipulative and treasure-driven. Chen plans to alert the East River Palace Lord and eventually free Meng Qing, but does not act yet.
• The chief disciples witness Zhou Yan’s breakthrough and are stunned by his attainment.

Significant themes

• Opportunity carries a price: the tower’s gifts are tied to cultivating armor that its creator may ultimately harvest.
• Cunning and leverage: Chen turns Kuye’s desperation into a source of resources.
• Long preparation meets a decisive opportunity: Zhou Yan’s nine lifetimes of experience and years of cultivation culminate when rare treasures ignite his accumulated insight.
• Power and responsibility: Chen’s concern for Meng Qing shapes his priorities even while he pursues his own advancement.

Plot and key events

• Zhou Yan—also identified as Chen Jichuan—survives the Wind-Fire Tribulation and becomes a True Immortal, the second person in the current era to do so.
• True Immortals from across the realm gather at the Golden Wind Mountain Sea to celebrate. His achievement is especially significant because producing even one True Immortal is extraordinarily rare, despite generations of effort and abundant resources.
• After returning to his cave, Chen Jichuan reflects on the many lifetimes of cultivation and struggle that brought him here. His accumulated experience, his work within the One Origin Dao Gate, and his efforts beyond it finally bear fruit.
• He studies his new powers and the changed nature of his body, spirit, and magic power. He enters the Mahayana Resonance Realm, gains a clearer grasp of Five-Elements True Intent, and discovers the True Immortal’s Dharma Domain, which can be used to create a Domain Clone.
• He also learns that True Immortals do not age, but must endure recurring tribulations. Surviving ten thousand could lead to the Earth Immortal Rank. Rather than be discouraged, Chen Jichuan resolves to continue striving.
• After several months of contemplation, he visits the One Origin Dao Palace, where forty-six True Immortals have gathered. The sect master welcomes him and assigns him a seat.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Jichuan/Zhou Yan moves from the Dao Gate’s foremost disciple to a True Immortal, feeling both joy at his achievement and curiosity about the path ahead. He shows respect to the assembled elders, then begins to relate to them as fellow immortals.
• The East River Palace Lord, Duan Donghe, is openly delighted that his disciple has become a True Immortal; their master-disciple bond is a source of pride and envy among the others.
• The Qianming Palace Lord jokes that Chen’s connection to Duan Donghe makes him reluctant to call Chen a junior brother, prompting laughter and highlighting the immortals’ easy camaraderie.
• Sect Master Fudan Zi formally welcomes Chen into the Dao Palace’s gathering, marking his new standing among the Dao Gate’s True Immortals.

Significant themes

• Achievement through long accumulation: Chen’s breakthrough draws on effort across many lives and years, not talent alone.
• The rarity of transcendence: Even privileged disciples may fail to become True Immortals, underscoring how much the Dao depends on opportunity, experience, and persistence.
• No final summit: Becoming a True Immortal brings freedom from aging but also new dangers and higher goals.
• A new community and identity: Ascension changes Chen’s place in the Dao Gate; he now joins the small circle of immortals who share long lives, common challenges, and equal standing.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Jichuan attends a gathering of the One Origin Dao Gate’s True Immortals after his ascension. Sect Master Fudan Zi introduces the forty-six present and notes that the sect has seventy-five True Immortals in total.
• Chen receives the True Immortal Register, which records the roughly 1,050 known True Immortals of Divine Land. He learns that the One Origin Dao Gate leads the major factions with seventy-five True Immortals.
• The register includes the Azure Stone Ranking, a ranking of True Immortals’ combat strength. One Origin Patriarch ranks first, followed by the demonic Scarlet Blood Patriarch. Chen studies the standings of his teacher, other Dao Gate figures, and several foes and acquaintances.
• Fudan Zi assigns Chen Earthheart Cliff in the East Sea as his cultivation domain and gives him a token controlling its protective formations. He may remain at the sect for now while learning to use his new realm.
• Chen chooses to found a True Immortal Palace and cultivate disciples. The sect swiftly creates a new domain for it, and Chen names it Dongqi Palace, after his origins at Dongqi Dao Academy.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen’s perspective broadens: he now grasps the immense scale of the True Immortal world and feels eager to test himself among its ancient, powerful figures. He is proud to belong to the leading Dao Gate and grateful for the support that helped him rise.
• He gains new respect for Yucheng Patriarch and Patriarch Zhengyuan, realizing they have survived more than forty True Immortal calamities.
• Chen and his teacher, East River Palace Lord, share a close relationship. The teacher quietly approves of Chen establishing a separate palace, avoiding awkward competition between their disciples.
• Fudan Zi welcomes Chen’s decision, praising his potential to nurture future talent for the sect. Dongyang Palace Master shares the Dao Gate’s pride in its standing.

Significant themes

• The vastness of the immortal world: Chen moves from local prominence to a realm of more than a thousand True Immortals and millennia-spanning rivalries.
• Power, history, and hierarchy: The register and ranking reveal how age, ability, faction, and reputation shape Divine Land’s order.
• Institutional strength and belonging: The Dao Gate’s backing gives Chen confidence, while its network of domains and palaces extends its influence.
• Legacy and cultivation: By founding Dongqi Palace, Chen takes on the role of mentor and contributes to the Dao Gate’s future.

Key plot points and events

• After attaining the Dao at age 3,320, Chen Jichuan becomes Divine Land’s youngest True Immortal and establishes Dongqi Palace. His new status brings celebration and a surge of ambition among Dao Sect disciples, though the palace itself remains nearly empty.
• The East River Palace Lord explains that Divine Land is only one of more than 8,600 comparable worlds. Beyond them lie twelve Great Heavens populated by Ancient Immortals, and an immense cosmos of stars and other realms. Chen is thrilled by this revelation and longs to explore the wider universe.
• At a gathering of the East River Palace Lord’s disciples, Chen reflects on his late senior brother Chen Mo, who died just a century before Chen attained the Dao. He also recalls how Meng Qing’s sword art and Shi Ze’s intervention helped set him on the path to becoming an immortal.
• Meng Qing is absent. When the East River Palace Lord tries to locate him, his fate proves obscured. A divination by the Lord of Thousand Cedar Palace reveals that Meng Qing is entangled with Zheyou, a demoness who bewitches Fourth-Rank cultivators and drains their vitality.
• The East River Palace Lord angrily decides to confront Zheyou himself, warning Chen not to fight her before he has refined a Domain Clone.

Character developments

• Chen Jichuan: His ascension transforms him from an overlooked Fourth-Rank cultivator into an equal among True Immortals. He remains modest and grateful, but the newly revealed scale of the cosmos awakens a much broader ambition. He is also protective of those who helped him, especially Meng Qing.
• East River Palace Lord: Proud of Chen and newly willing to engage with him as a peer, he demonstrates both a pragmatic outlook toward risk and fierce loyalty when one of his disciples is threatened.
• Meng Qing: Though absent, his uncertain situation becomes central. His entanglement with Zheyou may be dangerous, but could also conceal an opportunity to advance.
• Chen Mo: His death sharpens Chen’s awareness of how narrowly different lives can diverge—and how unpredictable the timing of success and loss can be.
• Shi Ze: He modestly acknowledges his role in recognizing Chen’s talent, while Chen makes clear that he remembers and values the help.

Significant themes

• The vastness of existence: Divine Land is only a small part of a far greater cosmos, making the Fourth-Rank perspective seem tiny beside that of True Immortals.
• Status and perspective: Chen’s ascension changes how others relate to him, illustrating the gulf between struggling to attain the Dao and pursuing the wider universe.
• Fate, timing, and uncertainty: Chen’s rise comes shortly after Chen Mo’s death, while Meng Qing’s obscured fate may hold either peril or opportunity.
• Gratitude and loyalty: Chen remembers the people whose guidance and kindness shaped his journey and is unwilling to abandon Meng Qing to his danger.
• Risk and opportunity: The East River Palace Lord accepts that dangerous circumstances can offer a chance for growth, while Chen believes he can provide Meng Qing a safer path.

Character interactions

• The East River Palace Lord shares cosmic knowledge with Chen and treats his newly ascended disciple as a peer.
• Chen speaks warmly of Chen Mo and credits Meng Qing and Shi Ze with helping him enter the Dao Sect’s path of cultivation; Shi Ze downplays his own contribution.
• When Meng Qing’s danger becomes apparent, Chen urges intervention, and the East River Palace Lord takes responsibility for confronting Zheyou—while cautioning Chen to avoid premature combat.

Chapter summary

Plot points and events

• After attaining the Dao by clearing Changshan Tower’s twenty-second floor, Chen Jichuan spends four months beneath the tower before finally emerging.
• He tells Kuye Devil Lord that he obtained two incomplete divine abilities in the tower: Nine-Yin Ice Soul and Heavenly Demon Poison-Gathering Banner. Kuye is especially eager for the latter because it suits his poison cultivation.
• Kuye offers six hundred catties of Origin Jade for both abilities. Chen accepts, gives him Nine-Yin Ice Soul, but holds back the poison ability until Kuye fulfills his earlier promise to provide Spiderheart Grass.
• Chen arranges for Dai Zong, the Vajra Immortal, waiting outside Kuye Island, to receive the grass. Kuye reluctantly sends it out; Dai catches it and leaves.
• Chen then tries to escape. Kuye had been guarding against him, but Chen’s wind-and-thunder charge briefly catches him off guard and breaks through his blockade.
• Kuye retaliates with his Myriad Poisons True Body, swarms of venomous scorpions, poisonous vapor, and concealed Whitegold Thorns. Chen answers with the Five Thunders Orthodox Method, but the thorn poison is difficult to purge and badly injures him. His Vajra Spell and Heaven-Mending Seal help him endure and recover.
• Their fight draws Mountain-Pulling Hermit and Zheyou Immortal Matron. After recognizing Chen as the Five-Thunder Immortal, Mountain-Pulling urges a quick attack to keep the ruins secret. Zheyou joins in, hoping Chen might be useful to her, while Kuye presses the attack.
• Outnumbered and weakened, Chen falters under the three True Immortals’ combined assault. When Mountain-Pulling’s mountain strikes him, Chen stops hiding his strength and reveals that he is actually a Saint-Entering High True Immortal.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Jichuan shows patience and strategic cunning in the negotiations, using Kuye’s desire for the poison divine ability to secure the Spiderheart Grass. His attempted escape turns into a fierce test of his newly attained strength; when pushed to the brink, he abandons his disguise and reveals his true cultivation.
• Kuye Devil Lord is driven by greed for Heavenly Demon Poison-Gathering Banner and resentment at Chen’s maneuvering. He first tries to turn Dai Zong against Chen, then pursues Chen in fury, intent on recovering the Origin Jade and the withheld ability.
• Dai Zong fulfills his role as Chen’s ally by collecting the Spiderheart Grass and disappearing before Kuye can interfere.
• Mountain-Pulling Hermit recognizes Chen and chooses to help Kuye, prioritizing secrecy around the ruins and the chance to claim Chen’s treasures.
• Zheyou Immortal Matron is intrigued by Chen’s unusual strength and considers winning him over, but sides with the others when Mountain-Pulling argues that Chen has already been through the tower.
• The chapter’s central interaction shifts from a tense bargain between Chen and Kuye to a three-on-one battle, with Chen’s concealed identity becoming the final turning point.

Significant themes

• Deception and strategic bargaining: Chen and Kuye each try to gain an advantage, and their deal collapses once Chen insists on the Spiderheart Grass.
• Power and hidden identity: Chen’s apparent Fourth Rank status conceals a far greater cultivation level, and his revelation overturns the others’ assumptions.
• Risk, resilience, and adaptability: Despite facing stronger opponents and insidious poison, Chen uses several abilities and protective treasures to survive.
• Greed and self-interest: Kuye’s fixation on the divine ability, and the others’ willingness to attack Chen for possible rewards, drive the conflict.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Jichuan reveals that he has advanced from Fourth-Rank Upper Immortal to True Immortal, stunning Kuye Devil Lord, Mountain-Pulling Hermit, and Zheyou Immortal Matron.
• He refuses Mountain-Pulling Hermit’s offer to negotiate and launches himself at all three immortals. His stronger Five Thunders Orthodox Method, combined with Wind-Thunder Walk, lets him contain them in a storm of lightning and resist their attempts to escape.
• During the chaotic battle, Chen destroys parts of the star below and discovers underground chambers holding Peak Transcendent Immortals enslaved by Mountain-Pulling Hermit and Zheyou. He rescues many, including Meng Qing, though Mountain-Pulling Hermit reclaims some.
• Zheyou is desperate to escape because her true body is being attacked elsewhere. She persuades Mountain-Pulling Hermit to pin Chen down with Vajra Mountain, then strikes his soul with the Dark Yin Twenty-Five Soul-Slaying Blade.
• As Chen’s Primordial Spirit is nearly destroyed, he recognizes that Kuye has secretly infected him with a corrupting poison that could spread through his clone to his true body.
• Rather than risk the poison reaching his true body, Chen disperses the badly damaged clone and immediately replaces it with another. His Cloning Technique allows him to survive and continue the confrontation.

Character developments

• Chen Jichuan reveals his new True Immortal status and fights with reckless confidence, but the clash teaches him how dangerous veteran immortals’ secret arts and artifacts can be. He identifies his lack of post-advancement training and equipment as weaknesses, while remaining confident he can close the gap with time.
• Kuye Devil Lord shifts from hostility to attempted conciliation once he realizes Chen is a True Immortal, but continues using concealed poison to gain an advantage.
• Mountain-Pulling Hermit tries to calm the conflict, then cooperates with Zheyou to restrain Chen using his powerful Vajra Mountain.
• Zheyou Immortal Matron moves from apparent composure to panic as pressure on her true body mounts; when escape fails, she resorts to a lethal soul-targeting weapon.

Significant themes

• Power and preparedness: Advancement alone does not erase the danger posed by experienced opponents, secret techniques, and immortal artifacts.
• The value of caution: True Immortals’ hidden methods make even a brief lapse potentially fatal.
• Survival through versatility: Chen’s clones let him sacrifice a damaged body without exposing his true self, turning apparent defeat into continued resistance.
• Self-interest and shifting alliances: The three opponents’ willingness to negotiate, cooperate, or attack changes according to their immediate interests.

Character interactions

• Chen rejects Mountain-Pulling Hermit’s attempts at peace and forces all three immortals into battle.
• Kuye tries to bargain with Chen while secretly poisoning him.
• Zheyou works with Mountain-Pulling Hermit to trap Chen, using his restraint as an opening for her Soul-Slaying Blade.
• Chen retaliates against Zheyou’s escape attempt, prevents the immortals from withdrawing, and rescues captives from their underground chambers.

Key plot points and events

• Kuye Devil Lord’s hidden poison plan against Qizhenzi is spoiled when Zheyou Immortal Matron’s attack exposes the poison. Chen Jichuan then deliberately disperses his clone, wiping away the preparations and warning Qizhenzi.
• Zheyou’s Dark Yin Twenty-Five Soul-Slaying Blade wounds Qizhenzi, but his Deathless Technique restores him. She cannot finish him, and Qizhenzi repeatedly blocks her attempts to flee.
• When Zheyou learns her true body is in danger, she uses the costly Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method to escape. Chen Jichuan cannot stop her, but uses the Soul-Swaying Bell to slow her flight and captures her treasures, including the blade, pills, Dao-enlightenment treasures, and origin jade.
• With Zheyou gone, Chen Jichuan withdraws rather than continue fighting Kuye and Mountain-Pulling Hermit. They let him go, unwilling to risk exposing Changshan Tower. Kuye resents his losses, while Mountain-Pulling Hermit regrets losing the sword.
• Three months later, East River Palace Lord reports that he attacked Zheyou’s lair and wounded her true body. She told him Meng Qing had been taken by Qizhenzi, so the Palace Lord heads to the East Sea to retrieve her.
• Chen Jichuan reflects on his gains and his new status as a True Immortal. He intends to cultivate with his haul and conceal some of his abilities by reserving them for other identities.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Jichuan/Qizhenzi proves difficult to kill, fights strategically, and chooses a prudent retreat once his main goals are achieved. His confidence grows with his True Immortalhood, though he recognizes that his shallow Dao attainment limits his travel and power.
• Kuye Devil Lord shifts from confidence in his poisoning scheme to fury and frustration. He loses a large amount of origin jade and spiderheart grass, and secretly vows to kill Qizhenzi.
• Zheyou Immortal Matron is forced into desperate flight when her true body is threatened. Her escape leaves her treasures in Chen Jichuan’s hands.
• Mountain-Pulling Hermit fights alongside Kuye but avoids pursuing Chen Jichuan, prioritizing secrecy; he laments the loss of Zheyou’s blade.
• East River Palace Lord acts as Chen Jichuan’s teacher and ally, taking responsibility for recovering Meng Qing.

Significant themes

• Strategy and restraint: Chen Jichuan wins not by defeating every opponent outright, but by disrupting plans, securing his objectives, and withdrawing before risks outweigh rewards.
• The cost of survival: Zheyou’s escape requires a severe sacrifice, while Chen Jichuan’s ability to endure attacks depends on an unusual defensive technique.
• Power, wealth, and cultivation: Immortal artifacts and origin jade are crucial resources, and Chen Jichuan’s windfall promises major future growth.
• Secrecy and identity: Chen Jichuan carefully limits which abilities he reveals under each persona, protecting himself from scrutiny and stronger enemies.
• Loyalty and responsibility: East River Palace Lord’s willingness to seek Meng Qing reflects his bond with Chen Jichuan and his role as her teacher.