Chapter Summaries

Hun Tiandi confronted Ren over the exposure of Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion and launched an attack to kill Ren, Zhukun, and their allies. The battle began with Hun Tiandi fighting Zhukun, Nihility Devouring Flame targeting Ren, and Hun Miesheng leading the assault on the others.

• Hun Tiandi revealed that he had come to the Northwest Continent because Ren and Zhukun had exposed the location of Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion.
• Hun Tiandi declared Ren qualified to know about the cave mansion, but said he would kill him for disrupting his plans.
• Hun Tiandi ordered Nihility Devouring Flame to deal with Ren and Hun Miesheng to kill everyone else, while he took on Zhukun.
• Hun Miesheng and Soul Hall fighters attacked Ren's forces, and Yao Lao and Wind Venerable fought Hun Miesheng.
• Hun Tiandi and Zhukun clashed with tremendous force, and Hun Tiandi vowed that Zhukun would die.

Ren overwhelmed Nihility Devouring Flame with unfamiliar techniques and Purple-Gold Flame that the Heavenly Flame could not Devour, leaving Nihility Devouring Flame’s humanoid body shattered. Zhukun was suppressing Hun Tiandi in their separate battle.

• Zhukun charged at Hun Tiandi with golden light around him and gained the upper hand.
• Ren split Nihility Devouring Flame’s sea of fire with Zhu Xian Sword Aura and forced him to counter with a Fire Dragon.
• Ren used the Dragon-Pattern Cauldron and Hengyu Furnace against Nihility Devouring Flame’s black flames and Fire Dragons.
• Ren struck Nihility Devouring Flame with Six Paths Reincarnation Fist, shattering his black flames and sending him retreating.
• Nihility Devouring Flame failed to Devour Ren’s Purple-Gold Flame, and Ren’s next attack shattered his humanoid form into black flames.

Ren defeated and captured Nihility Devouring Flame, then refined it with Jade Clarity Mana and the Zhu Xian Formation Diagram's suppression. Medusa held off Hun Miesheng as Ren tested his newly acquired black flames.

• Ren used Six Paths Reincarnation Fist to shatter Nihility Devouring Flame's humanoid form and seize its Origin Flame.
• Ren swallowed Nihility Devouring Flame, while Medusa attacked Hun Miesheng and forced him back with her divine power.
• Ren used Jade Clarity Mana to overpower Nihility Devouring Flame and drive it into his dantian.
• The Zhu Xian Formation Diagram suppressed Nihility Devouring Flame, allowing Ren to refine it.
• Ren unleashed Nihility Devouring Flame as black flames rained toward the distant sky.

Ren watched the Soul Hall forces burn away, then joined the battle against Hun Tiandi while Medusa fought Hun Miesheng. Hun Tiandi escaped, and Zhukun chose to face him again in a fair fight as Ren and Zhukun discussed the cultivation system.

• The black flames killed the Soul Hall forces, leaving Hun Tiandi and Hun Miesheng as the only surviving members of the Soul Clan delegation besides the ongoing battles.
• Medusa fought Hun Miesheng while Zhukun battled Hun Tiandi, whose Myriad Souls Worship clashed with Zhukun's Taixu Dragon Roar and wounded people below.
• Yao Chen urged Ren to stop the fight before the soundwaves killed more of the Star Dynasty's ministers, and Ren intervened with his Six Paths Reincarnation Fist.
• Hun Miesheng told Hun Tiandi that Nihility Devouring Flame had been defeated and refined by Ren, and Medusa struck Hun Miesheng as he shouted.
• Hun Tiandi fled through a rift in space after Ren's punch wounded him, while Zhukun declined to pursue him so he could defeat him fairly next time.
• Zhukun praised Medusa's progress with Ren's cultivation system, but said he would wait until reaching the Dou God realm before trying it himself.

Ren returned from the Heavenly Flames World to Kunlun Mountain with a vast amount of Purple Star Qi, having comprehended how to cultivate it for the coming Investiture of the Gods. The Soul Clan withdrew after its invasion failed, while Ren emerged from seclusion and joined Nezha for a drink.

• Medusa killed Hun Miesheng, confirming the Soul Clan's invasion had failed and leaving Hun Tiandi as its sole survivor.
• Hun Tiandi returned to the Soul Clan's ancestral land, ordered the clan to withdraw and stay on alert, and entered seclusion to heal.
• Yao Lao took charge while Zhukun said he would focus on cultivation and that Dragon Island would soon move to the Northwest Continent.
• Ren returned to his Kunlun Mountain seclusion chamber, replenished his magical power, and used Purple Star Qi to break Yuding's seal.
• Nezha noticed Ren's Purple Star Qi, greeted him as he emerged, and took him to a familiar courtyard for a drink.

Ren drank with Nezha, Four-Unlike, and Yun Zhongzi while learning why Yang Jian, Lei Zhenzi, and Nezha were cultivating or struggling to advance. Nezha’s path seemed blocked by his Lotus Body, but Four-Unlike urged him to forge a new one.

• Ren learned that Yuding Zhenren and Yang Jian remained in seclusion, while Nezha explained Yang Jian’s cultivation and Four-Unlike revealed that his first body and reincarnated body were tied to Buddhism’s schemes.
• Nezha said Lei Zhenzi was refining the Wind-Thunder Origin with the Zhou Dynasty’s rising Destiny, and Yun Zhongzi defended his teaching when the others mocked him.
• Nezha lamented that his Lotus Body seemed to limit his future advancement, and Yun Zhongzi explained how Taiyi had rebuilt his body using an Innate Lotus Platform.
• Ren recalled that the great lotus platforms were held by powerful factions or were missing, while Yun Zhongzi suggested that Innate Lotus Seeds could help Nezha improve.
• Four-Unlike encouraged Nezha to forge a new path through perseverance and wisdom.

Ren drank with Nezha, Yun Zhongzi, and Four-Unlike, then discussed his cultivation and the teachings preserved in Kunlun Mountain's Library Pavilion. The chapter left Ren considering new studies after Yun Zhongzi offered to teach him the Artifact Refining Art.

• Ren demonstrated several unusual ways to drink wine, and Nezha, Yun Zhongzi, and Four-Unlike watched and tried to imitate him.
• Four-Unlike asked Ren what he planned to do before the Investiture of the Gods, and Ren explained that his cultivation was not ready to advance.
• Ren asked about Kunlun Mountain's Library Pavilion, and Four-Unlike explained that it preserved teachings from the Human, Interception, and Expounding Sects.
• Four-Unlike and Yun Zhongzi described how Duobao had learned teachings from several sages and accumulated many Spirit Treasures.
• Yun Zhongzi offered to teach Ren the Artifact Refining Art, and Ren showed interest in learning it.

Ren heard how Yun Zhongzi repeatedly used rare treasures to make replicas of famous Spirit Treasures, and he defended Yun Zhongzi’s ambition to study their originals. Yun Zhongzi embraced Ren as a kindred spirit, then explained that his replicas could grow powerful if someone devoted a lifetime to understanding the Dao through them.

• Nezha and Four-Unlike mocked Yun Zhongzi for replicating the Green Duckweed Sword and Taiji Diagram, and Ren learned that he had also made a Chaos Bell replica using a Heaven-Opening Axe Fragment.
• Four-Unlike explained that Yun Zhongzi’s extraordinary luck had made him one of the Three Sects’ richest disciples, but that he squandered treasures on replicas.
• Ren argued that replicas could help people study originals and discover their weaknesses, prompting Yun Zhongzi to promise to treat Ren as a favored disciple and teach him everything.
• Yun Zhongzi joked about making hundreds of Wind-Fire Wheels replicas, and Nezha threatened to destroy his refining cauldron and refused to lend him the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Shield.
• Yun Zhongzi said his replicas were made from excellent materials and could surpass their originals if someone carried one throughout life and poured their understanding of the Dao into it, while Four-Unlike doubted anyone would do so.

After a two-week drinking party, Ren followed Yun Zhongzi to his cave and began learning the Artifact Refining Art. Yun Zhongzi explained how Ren's Double Pupils could aid his craft, then introduced refining methods and the importance of suitable flames.

• Ren ended the drinking party with Yun Zhongzi, who brought him to his artifact-refining cave to teach him.
• Ren saw Yun Zhongzi's replicas of famous Spirit Treasures, including a damaged replica Qingping Sword made from an Azure Lotus Seed.
• Yun Zhongzi recognized Ren's Double Pupils as an advantage for artifact refining and said Ren might one day surpass him.
• Yun Zhongzi explained the two broad approaches to making Spirit Treasures and taught Ren that tempering materials was the foundation of refining.
• Yun Zhongzi began discussing flames suited to artifact refining and recalled that Jade Pure Immortal Fire could not temper a Heaven-Opening Axe Fragment.

Yun Zhongzi explained the Primordial World's ten greatest fires and why naturally born flames were so rare, prompting Ren to realize his Heavenly Flames could grow into powerful Divine Flames. He then taught Ren about Spirit Treasures and their grades, leaving Yun Zhongzi eager to study Ren's Zhu Xian Sword.

• Yun Zhongzi described the ten greatest fires, their origins, properties, and legendary wielders to Ren.
• Ren asked why the Primordial World had so few naturally born fires, and Yun Zhongzi explained that abundant Spiritual Qi destroyed fragile flame seeds unless they were protected.
• Ren realized his Heavenly Flames had already been protected and could grow into Divine Flames if he gradually fed them Innate Qi and Innate Objects.
• Yun Zhongzi taught Ren that Innate Spiritual Treasures contained Great Daos and divine abilities, and explained their five grades.
• Yun Zhongzi asked Ren to bring him the Zhu Xian Sword to study, but Ren refused and Yun Zhongzi resumed the lesson.

Yun Zhongzi explained how Houtian Spirit Treasures were made and gave Ren the Replica Qingping Sword, which could grow with his Sword Dao. Ren also obtained the Replica Chaos Bell and an Artifact Refining Art bamboo slip, then negotiated for a chance to trade for Yun Zhongzi's other treasures.

• Yun Zhongzi taught Ren about Houtian Spirit Treasures and explained that the Replica Qingping Sword had Supreme Treasure quality but lacked an infused Great Dao.
• Ren asked for the Replica Qingping Sword, and Yun Zhongzi gave it to him, trusting him to cultivate it with his Sword Dao.
• Ren asked Yun Zhongzi for more replicas, and after arguing, received the Replica Chaos Bell, which had been refined from Heaven-Opening Axe fragments.
• Yun Zhongzi gave Ren a bamboo slip containing the Expounding Sect's Artifact Refining Dao and Artifact Refining Art, but refused to give him any more treasures outright.
• Ren offered to trade unusual materials or flames for the remaining treasures, and Yun Zhongzi agreed, promising Ren could choose one if he found a naturally born Divine Fire.

Ren tried to cultivate the Fallen Heart Flame with Innate Spiritual Qi, but its hunger made it grow dangerously violent, so he sent it into the Trash Station. He realized he would have to nurture the Heavenly Flames slowly if he wanted them to transform safely.

• Ren left Yun Zhongzi’s cave abode with the Artifact Refining Art and two Spirit Treasures, while Yun Zhongzi warned him not to expect any more treasures.
• Ren returned to his cave abode and began refining the Replica Qingping Sword and Replica Chaos Bell as he cultivated.
• Ren summoned the Fallen Heart Flame and discovered that it craved Innate Spiritual Qi and could grow by devouring it.
• Ren struggled to control the flame as it absorbed Qi faster and burned more fiercely, then hurled it into the Trash Station before it could explode.
• Ren concluded that cultivating the Heavenly Flames would be dangerous and that he would need to proceed slowly.

Ren spent a year cultivating and studying at Kunlun Mountain before deciding to resume a modified Shrouding cultivation method using Jade Clarity Mana. As he cultivated the Sea of Bitterness, his swords and flames transformed within it, and his Three Thousand Burning Flame formed a starry galaxy that drew upon the Ziwei Star in his Primordial Spirit.

• Ren balanced cultivating his Spirit Treasures and flames with studying the Artifact Refining Art.
• Ren visited Kunlun Mountain's disorganized Library Pavilion, found that paper books did not exist in this era, and began sorting its collection.
• After a year, Ren had controlled the Purple Star Qi and increased his mana, but his Primordial Spirit had not grown stronger.
• Ren decided to cultivate a modified Shrouding method using Jade Clarity Mana and began reopening his Sea of Bitterness.
• Jade Clarity Mana expanded Ren's Sea of Bitterness as three thousand divine swords, the Replica Qingping Sword, and both flames took shape within it.
• The Three Thousand Burning Flame formed a galaxy above the Sea of Bitterness and drew upon the Ziwei Star Ren envisioned within his Primordial Spirit.

Ren emerged from two years of cultivation and learned that preparations for the Investiture of the Gods had begun. Yang Jian discovered that Ren’s Sword Aura was damaging his internal organs, so they went to the Jade Void Palace to seek advice, where Guangchengzi glared at Ren, Lei Zhenzi, and Yun Zhongzi.

• Ren formed a Sea of Bitterness and spent two years cultivating the Shrouding method in seclusion.
• Yang Jian visited Ren and explained that Jiang Ziya was preparing the Investiture of the Gods, which was still a few years away.
• Ren learned that he would need to give a drop of blood essence to receive the Ziwei Great Emperor divine position.
• Yang Jian’s Heavenly Eye revealed Sword Aura gathering in Ren’s organs, and Ren explained that he had been tempering his body with Sword Aura.
• Ren and Yang Jian flew to the Jade Void Palace to ask the martial uncles how to address Ren’s damaged organs.
• At the Jade Void Palace, Guangchengzi looked angrily at Ren and Lei Zhenzi before fixing his gaze on Yun Zhongzi.

Ren met Jiang Ziya at the Jade Void Palace as the Expounding Sect gathered to arrange the remaining Divine Positions for the Investiture of the Gods. Yun Zhongzi revealed that the Gouchen Great Emperor position had already been assigned to Lei Zhenzi.

• Ren greeted Jiang Ziya respectfully, while Yang Jian introduced him as Yuding’s newly accepted disciple.
• Guangchengzi rebuked Jiang Ziya for making a commotion, and Yang Jian warned Ren not to provoke Guangchengzi while Yuding remained in seclusion.
• Guangchengzi urged the assembly to arrange the vacant Divine Positions, and Jiang Ziya listed more than thirty-three unassigned positions, including two Great Emperor positions.
• Guangchengzi directed Jiang Ziya to ask Yun Zhongzi about the assignments, and Yun Zhongzi said the Zhou Dynasty’s fortune had stabilized and the Investiture of the Gods was near.
• Yun Zhongzi announced that Lei Zhenzi would hold the position of Gouchen Great Emperor.

Jiang Ziya learned that Lei Zhenzi and Ren had been appointed the Gouchen and Ziwei Great Emperors, then watched the remaining Divine Positions get assigned. Ren and the other disciples chatted through the meeting and realized it had ended when the hall fell quiet.

• Yun Zhongzi revealed that Lei Zhenzi would become the Gouchen Great Emperor and deflected Jiang Ziya's question about the Ziwei Great Emperor by asking Ren about his artifact refining.
• Ren confirmed he would take the position of Ziwei Great Emperor, and Yang Jian explained that his junior brother had been given the post.
• Jiang Ziya congratulated Ren, while Guangchengzi angrily left after lamenting that the two Great Emperor positions had been taken from him.
• Yun Zhongzi urged Jiang Ziya to settle the vacant Divine Positions, and the group confirmed the candidates for the remaining appointments.
• Nezha complained that Ren's two years in seclusion had left him without a drinking companion, and Lei Zhenzi and Yang Jian chided him for being restless.
• Ren and the other disciples chatted while the meeting proceeded, then noticed everyone watching them and Yang Jian asked whether the discussions were finished.

Ren, Yang Jian, Nezha, and Lei Zhenzi had their blood essence entered into the Divine Ranking as they were invested as gods in the flesh. Ren then traveled with Jiang Ziya and Yun Zhongzi to help refine the Investiture Altar, where he learned that the altar would draw on the Zhou Dynasty’s fading Destiny and wondered whether the Hundred Schools of Thought had once competed to claim it.

• Yang Jian, Nezha, Lei Zhenzi, and Ren each gave a drop of blood essence to the Divine Ranking, and Jiang Ziya inscribed their names and Divine Positions.
• Jiang Ziya asked Yun Zhongzi to travel to the Zhou imperial capital and refine the Investiture Altar, and Yun Zhongzi insisted Ren accompany them to practice artifact refining.
• Ren joined Yun Zhongzi and Jiang Ziya on an auspicious cloud, then asked why the altar had to be made in the Mortal World.
• Yun Zhongzi explained that the altar would use the Zhou Dynasty’s Destiny as an offering to Heaven, and Jiang Ziya said Ji Chang had secured only 550 years of the dynasty’s potential thousand-year fortune.
• Yun Zhongzi told Ren that the sacrificed Destiny would eventually disperse and become available for anyone of the Human Race to gather, prompting Ren to suspect the Hundred Schools of Thought had competed for it.

Ren considered competing for Destiny and gained confidence from Yun Zhongzi’s promise of protection. While visiting King Wu Ji Fa to refine the Investiture Altar, Ren unknowingly absorbed some of Ji Fa’s Ziwei Qi, and his own Ziwei Qi doubled.

• Ren decided that he might pursue Destiny through the future Hundred Schools of Thought, and Yun Zhongzi warned him to know his limits before promising that he and Yuding Zhenren would protect him.
• Jiang Ziya recognized Ren’s growing importance in the Expounding Sect as Yun Zhongzi and Ren arrived before King Wu Ji Fa.
• Ji Fa welcomed Ren as Yang Jian’s junior brother and revealed his dense Ziwei Qi, which spread alongside Ren’s.
• Jiang Ziya led Yun Zhongzi and Ren to a quiet courtyard to refine the Investiture Altar, and Ren unknowingly carried away some of Ji Fa’s Ziwei Qi.
• Yun Zhongzi urged Ren to draw in his Ziwei Qi, and Ren discovered that the Ziwei Qi in his body had doubled as footsteps sounded outside.

Ren recognized that a seemingly ordinary piece of Black Metal concealed a treasure, revealing that the Primordial World also had Source Stones like those in the Shrouding the Heavens World. He left Yun Zhongzi astonished and realized the overlooked stones could become a vast source of cultivation resources.

• King Wu, Ji Fa, sent Yun Zhongzi a large collection of precious materials for refining the Investiture Altar, and Yun Zhongzi explained how the Human Race had accumulated them.
• Ren considered gathering resources from the Nine Provinces, but Yun Zhongzi warned him against taking from the Human Race.
• Yun Zhongzi dismissed a heat-radiating Black Metal as ordinary iron, but Ren stopped the soldiers from removing it and asked them to bring him other unidentified unusual objects.
• Ren cut into the Black Metal with Sword Aura, exposing a flash of fiery red light and proving to Yun Zhongzi that it concealed a treasure.
• Ren concluded that the Black Metal contained a Source Stone and recalled how ancient battles could have buried damaged treasures and the remains of living beings underground, forming overlooked treasures.

Ren uncovered a Phoenix Stone inside Black Metal using the Source Heavenly Art, and Yun Zhongzi explained its power and the danger of the Phoenix Clan reclaiming it. Ren then revealed his fossil theory to Yun Zhongzi, who promised to support his cultivation through the Seventh Turn of the Nine-Turn Mysterious Technique.

• Ren cut open the Black Metal and revealed a Phoenix Stone, astonishing Yun Zhongzi.
• Yun Zhongzi explained that the stone held a Phoenix and could produce the powerful Nirvana Flame or help Ren practice the Thirty-Six Heavenly Transformations.
• Yun Zhongzi warned Ren that the surviving Phoenix Clan might pursue him to revive the Phoenix within the stone, then recounted the histories of the Five Ancient Clans.
• Ren asked Yun Zhongzi for resources, and Yun Zhongzi promised to provide what Ren needed to reach the Seventh Turn of the Nine-Turn Mysterious Technique.
• Ren explained that the Black Metal was a fossil formed around the Phoenix Stone, and Yun Zhongzi learned how the treasure had remained preserved.