Chapter Summaries

Ren explained that Fossils could conceal vast resources and persuaded Yun Zhongzi to keep the discovery secret and share in exploiting them. Yun Zhongzi agreed to involve Yuding Zhenren after the Investiture of the Gods, while his first attempt to crack a Fossil yielded only petrified bones.

• Yun Zhongzi examined the soldiers’ stones but could not distinguish Fossils, so Ren explained that he wanted to keep the discovery limited to trusted allies.
• Yun Zhongzi agreed that only he, Ren, and Yuding Zhenren should know about the Fossil Theory, and erased the soldiers’ memories of what they had seen.
• Ren claimed his innate double pupils let him faintly peer into Fossils and explained that their time-infused Stone Skin resisted divine senses and techniques.
• Yun Zhongzi tried to crack open a Fossil with his whisk, but it crumbled into ash and left behind only petrified bones.

Ren discovered a Western White Tiger bone and received Yun Zhongzi’s remaining five-element treasures to repair his damaged organs and prepare for cultivating the Thirty-Six Heavenly Transformations. As Ren entered seclusion, Yun Zhongzi began smashing open Fossils and uncovered several more treasures.

• Ren uncovered a golden bone from a Western White Tiger, and Yun Zhongzi explained its origins and Geng Metal Qi.
• Ren realized the bone and Phoenix Stone could supply the metal and fire elements needed to strengthen his damaged organs.
• Yun Zhongzi gave Ren Black Tortoise Blood Essence, a Kirin Pearl, and Dragon-Subduing Wood, advising him to absorb the wood first.
• Ren thanked Yun Zhongzi and went into seclusion to repair his organs and form five Divine Residences.
• Yun Zhongzi smashed open Fossils and found a blood-red gem, a fiery-red feather, and a piece of white fur.

Ren strengthened his Nihility Devouring Flame and healed his organs while Ji Fa grew fearful of Zhou losing the immortals’ protection after Jiang Ziya died. Jiang Ziya explained that the Expounding Sect’s disciples would not be easy to win over, leaving Ji Fa without a clear protector for the dynasty.

• Yun Zhongzi examined fossilized White Tiger fur and Phoenix feathers, then marveled that Ren had discovered evidence that could overturn the Primordial World’s order.
• Ren burned Dragon-Subduing Wood with the Nihility Devouring Flame, using its energy to heal his organs and strengthen the Purple Star Qi into a Ziwei Divine Dragon.
• Ji Fa asked Jiang Ziya whether the Expounding Sect’s immortals might threaten Zhou or protect it after the Investiture of the Gods ended.
• Ji Fa feared that he would become another King Zhou and begged Jiang Ziya to find an immortal protector for Zhou.
• Jiang Ziya warned that Yang Jian’s hatred made him dangerous and that Lei Zhenzi would avoid involvement in mortal affairs, leaving Ji Fa distressed.

Ji Fa urged Jiang Ziya to secure a protector for Great Zhou by winning over Ren, and Jiang Ziya agreed before resolving to end his ties with the dynasty in his next life. Meanwhile, Yun Zhongzi struggled to refine materials for the Investiture Altar and asked Jiang Ziya to search the Nine Provinces for a better source of flame.

• Jiang Ziya told Ji Fa that Ren was an influential Expounding Sect disciple who might bring much of the sect to Great Zhou’s side, though Jiang Ziya could not understand him.
• Ji Fa knelt and pleaded with Jiang Ziya to help Great Zhou, and Jiang Ziya agreed despite recognizing Ji Fa’s appeal as political pressure.
• After Ji Fa left, Jiang Ziya reflected that the emperor had become ruthless and vowed to repay Great Zhou one final time before severing their ties in his next life.
• Yun Zhongzi found that his refining flame was too weak to prepare the Investiture Altar materials quickly and wished he could use Ren’s Nirvana Flame.
• Jiang Ziya visited Yun Zhongzi, declined to seek Suiren Fire, and agreed to search the Nine Provinces for flames or other heat-producing objects.

Jiang Ziya visited Yun Zhongzi and learned that Ren was enduring dangerous cultivation while refining powerful Five Elements materials in seclusion. As Ren’s Nirvana Fire surged, Jiang Ziya left a message for him, while Ren continued fusing the flame into his heart.

• Jiang Ziya agreed to search the Nine Provinces of the Mortal World for naturally nurtured flames after Yun Zhongzi lamented that his own flames paled beside Ren’s Nirvana Fire.
• Yun Zhongzi told Jiang Ziya that Ren was using Sword Aura to temper his body despite being only at the First Turn, damaging his internal organs and forcing him to repair them with Five Elements energy.
• Jiang Ziya and Yun Zhongzi admired Ren’s resolve, and Yun Zhongzi realized that the rising heat came from Ren refining the Phoenix Stone into Nirvana Fire.
• Yun Zhongzi assured Jiang Ziya that Ren would finish refining the Five Elements objects before the Investiture of the Gods, then agreed to pass along Jiang Ziya’s message when Ren emerged.
• Ren continued cultivating amid clashing Nihility Devouring Flame and Nirvana Flame, refining the Nirvana Fire and fusing it into his heart.

Ren finished refining the Five Elements materials and cultivated all 205 bones into Sword Bones, while five sacred beasts formed in his organs. He then directed their Sword Aura into his spine, which shattered and began reforming as he endured the pain.

• Ren refined the Black Tortoise Blood Essence, emerged from the melting black ice, and unleashed Sword Aura that tore apart his cultivation chamber.
• Yun Zhongzi noticed that Ren had completed refining the Five Elements materials in eight months, faster than expected.
• Ren circulated Jade Clarity Mana through his body with the Shrouding cultivation method, turning all 205 bones into Sword Bones.
• Five sacred beasts formed from Sword Aura in Ren's organs, stirring the Five Elements Sword Aura throughout his body.
• Ren sent the gathered Sword Aura into his spine, shattering its bones and beginning to form them anew.

Ren completed his cultivation of the Immortal Platform realm, strengthening his Primordial Spirit and drawing an unexplained Thunder Tribulation. He fled Chaoge City to protect its residents, then fought the first bolt with the Replica Qingping Sword as Yun Zhongzi watched.

• Ren unified his Sword Bones, absorbed the Sword Aura into his Primordial Spirit, and drew a Thunder Tribulation.
• Yun Zhongzi and Jiang Ziya urged Ren to leave Chaoge City so the tribulation would not endanger its residents.
• Ren flew beyond the city and used Spirit Fruits and the Jade Pure Sage Art to perfect his Primordial Spirit, while the clouds followed him.
• Ren questioned why the tribulation had formed despite his remaining below Golden Immortal, and Yun Zhongzi could offer no clear answer.
• Ren drew the Replica Qingping Sword and struck the first lightning bolt with Sword One, then swung again with Sword Two.

Ren fought a Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation with the Green Duckweed Sword, Nine Secrets: Dou, and his Five Elements Sword. He continued battling the descending thunder while Yun Zhongzi and Jiang Ziya watched in astonishment.

• Ren used the Jade Cauldron Sword Scripture’s methods to sharpen and speed his Sword Aura as he fought the thunder.
• Yun Zhongzi identified Ren’s tribulation as a Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation and judged that Ren’s body and Replica Chaos Bell could withstand it.
• Ren endured thunder strikes and used Nine Secrets: Dou to manifest a White Tiger, then a Phoenix, Azure Dragon, Black Tortoise, and Kirin to battle the storm.
• Jiang Ziya and Yun Zhongzi marveled at the unfamiliar divine ability that manifested five sacred beasts and many battle methods.
• Ren unleashed his Five Elements Sword, first striking with the Geng Metal Sword and then the Profound Water Sword, as his attacks tore through the thunder.

Ren endured the final strike of his Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation and destroyed the Thunder Dragon and tribulation clouds with his Six Paths Reincarnation Fist. Exhausted and baffled by the tribulation, he watched seven-colored light descend from the sky.

• Yun Zhongzi warned Ren that the final thunderbolt could match a Golden Immortal's full-force attack and advised him to use the Replica Chaos Bell.
• Ren's Five-Element Sacred Beasts and Five-Element Sword failed to stop the Thunder Dragon, so he struck it with Double Pupils Opening Heaven and blew apart half its body.
• Ren used the Six Paths Reincarnation Fist, revealing six mysterious spaces and a wheel that Yun Zhongzi recognized as Six Paths Reincarnation.
• Ren's punch shattered the Thunder Dragon and the tribulation clouds, while an unnoticed aura from the mysterious wheel entered his body.
• Ren realized his Primordial Spirit had advanced him from the Heavenly Immortal Realm to the Profound Immortal Realm, cursed the unexpected Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, and saw seven-colored light descending.

Ren recovered from the Heavenly Dao’s reward after surviving the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, then learned that the Merit had been granted because the Heavenly Dao recognized his Shrouding cultivation method as a new system. The revelation showed him that spreading it among the Human Race could draw their Destiny away from Laozi’s Human Sect, leaving Ren wary of the danger ahead.

• Seven-colored Cai Xia restored Ren’s strength and improved his Sea of Bitterness and Primordial Spirit after the tribulation.
• A streak of Merit chased Ren until Yun Zhongzi explained what it was, and Ren stored it in the Chaos Bell instead of using it to strengthen himself.
• Ren learned from the Merit that the Heavenly Dao had recognized the Shrouding cultivation method because it suited the Human Race and consumed fewer resources.
• Yun Zhongzi asked Ren what he had done to attract the tribulation and Merit, while Ren stayed silent before Yun Zhongzi and Jiang Ziya.
• Ren realized that passing down the Shrouding cultivation method could divert the Human Race’s Destiny from Laozi’s Human Sect and provoke a dangerous struggle.

Ren concealed his plans to take a share of the Human Sect’s Destiny while explaining his unusual powers as Bloodline Divine Abilities inherited from his origins at Jade Spring Mountain. Yun Zhongzi and Jiang Ziya accepted his explanation, and the chapter ended by outlining the three categories of divine abilities.

• Ren learned from Yun Zhongzi that the Heavenly Dao followed fixed rules and lacked the intelligence to spread Ren’s Shrouding cultivation method.
• Ren resolved to secretly gain Human Sect Destiny by passing on the method, taking only small amounts to avoid attracting Laozi’s attention.
• Ren told Yun Zhongzi that his powerful abilities were Bloodline Divine Abilities that appeared as his cultivation improved.
• Ren revealed that he had taken form as the Blood Jade Sword on Jade Spring Mountain, and Jiang Ziya realized the connection to Pangu’s bones and Yuding Zhenren.
• Yun Zhongzi and Jiang Ziya celebrated Ren’s arrival at the Profound Immortal realm, while Ren reflected on how he would explain his abilities.
• The narration described Bloodline, Innate, and Acquired Divine Abilities and explained why the Expounding Sect accepted Ren’s account.

Ren used the Nine Secrets: Dou and Formation Arrays to refine materials for Yun Zhongzi’s Investiture Altar, combining artifact-refining and alchemical methods in unconventional ways. Yun Zhongzi was impressed but continued forging the altar while resolving to study Ren’s techniques.

• Yun Zhongzi praised Ren’s Nirvana Flame and began preparing to forge the Investiture Altar as Ren refined the materials.
• Ren used three phoenixes in a Three Talents Formation to melt materials and burn away their impurities, explaining how Formation Art could aid artifact refining.
• Ren summoned ten phoenixes and formed a Golden Crow Formation that concentrated the flames, refining materials far faster.
• Yun Zhongzi concealed his amazement and continued forging the altar while deciding to study formations that concentrated heat.
• Ren combined alchemical methods he had learned from Yao Lao with Formation Arrays to refine the materials, leaving Yun Zhongzi astonished.

Ren joined Jiang Ziya at the Star-Plucking Tower, where he learned that Jiang Ziya had founded the Qi Kingdom but regretted losing the chance to cultivate immortality. Ji Fa arrived amid a response from Ren’s Ziwei Divine Dragon, and Ren guessed that the two had summoned him for a purpose.

• After refining all the materials in the courtyard, Ren accepted Jiang Ziya’s invitation to go with him.
• Jiang Ziya took Ren to the Star-Plucking Tower and praised his cultivation, abilities, coming Merit, and appointment as Ziwei Great Emperor.
• Ren learned that Ji Fa had granted Jiang Ziya the Qi-Lu Land, where Jiang Ziya founded the Qi Kingdom.
• Jiang Ziya lamented that ruling the Qi Kingdom had cost him the chance to become an immortal.
• Ji Fa arrived and promised to provide whatever Jiang Ziya wanted in the Mortal World, while Ren’s Ziwei Divine Dragon and Purple Star Qi reacted to Ji Fa’s Imperial Qi.

Ren saw that the Investiture Altar had been completed, and Jiang Ziya revealed that he would die once the Investiture of the Gods ended. Jiang Ziya and Ji Fa asked Ren to protect the Zhou Dynasty and Ji Fa’s descendants, but Ren refused until Jiang Ziya offered him future Purple Star Qi, then took over negotiating the price.

• A blast and Seven-Colored Radiance appeared over Chaoge City, and Jiang Ziya realized the Investiture Altar was complete and the Investiture of the Gods would begin within days.
• Jiang Ziya told Ji Fa that he would die after completing his duty and asked Ren to support the Zhou Dynasty after his death.
• Ji Fa knelt and begged Ren to keep his bloodline from dying out, but Ren declined because involvement with a mortal dynasty risked Karma and Destiny backlash.
• Jiang Ziya argued that Ren could unite powerful Expounding Sect members behind him, but Ren still turned to leave.
• Jiang Ziya offered Ren all the Purple Star Qi produced by the Qi Kingdom in exchange for his help, and Ren said the offer was insufficient.
• Ji Fa offered to find whatever Ren wanted, while Jiang Ziya told him to return to governing and leave the negotiations to him.

Jiang Ziya gave Ren the Six Strategies as payment for protecting Ji Fa's line and asked him to free Shen Gongbao from the Sea Eye so Jiang Ziya could have a chance to return to life. He offered Ren another payment, revealing that a small sword held the Spirit of the God-Striking Whip.

• After Ji Fa left, Jiang Ziya showed Ren the Merit Spirit Treasure he had made from the Six Strategies and explained how it could grow in power.
• Jiang Ziya gave Ren the Six Strategies in exchange for protecting Ji Fa's line, and Ren promised to make it the forefather of military texts.
• Jiang Ziya asked Ren to persuade Yuanshi Tianzun to release Shen Gongbao from the Sea Eye, explaining that Shen Gongbao's survival could preserve Jiang Ziya's True Spirit.
• Jiang Ziya offered Ren a three-foot sword as payment for helping him, then revealed that it contained the Spirit of the God-Striking Whip.

Ren received Jiang Ziya’s three-foot sword, which concealed the recovering Artifact Spirit of the God-Striking Whip and could help him control the Interception Immortals and gain influence over the Investiture List. Jiang Ziya revealed that Lu Ya had destroyed his cultivation and Divine Position, and Ren vowed to avenge him despite Lu Ya’s formidable power and allies.

• Jiang Ziya explained how the God-Striking Whip’s Artifact Spirit recovered and how he hid it inside a three-foot sword to protect it.
• Jiang Ziya urged Ren to nurture the Artifact Spirit so he could control the Interception Immortals and possibly refine the God-Striking Whip and Investiture List.
• Ren promised Jiang Ziya he would fulfill his wishes, and Jiang Ziya said he wanted to live, grow stronger, and kill an enemy.
• Jiang Ziya named Lu Ya as the enemy who had ruined his cultivation and Divine Position and left his Primordial Spirit tainted.
• Ren recalled Lu Ya’s likely identity as Dijun’s last Golden Crow and considered the powerful demon allies and connections that would make killing him difficult.

Ren promised Jiang Ziya that he would destroy Lu Ya and avenge the Wu Clan, then watched Jiang Ziya leave for the coming Investiture of the Gods. After discovering that Ji Fa’s submission had greatly strengthened his Purple Star Qi, Ren returned to the artifact-refining courtyard, where his uncontrolled power startled Yun Zhongzi.

• Ren reassured Jiang Ziya that he knew Lu Ya’s true form and could call on the Wu Clan or powerful fighters from myriad worlds to defeat the Demon Race.
• Jiang Ziya, moved by Ren’s promise, left the Star-Plucking Tower to prepare for the Investiture of the Gods.
• Ren reflected that hardship suited him, then realized Ji Fa’s submission had given him nearly a hundred times more Purple Star Qi.
• Ren went to the artifact-refining courtyard, where Yun Zhongzi showed him the completed Investiture Altar and explained its powers.
• Ren’s Purple Star Qi reacted defensively when Yun Zhongzi patted his shoulder, summoning the Ziwei Divine Dragon and leaving Yun Zhongzi stunned by Ren’s strength.

Ren prepared for the Investiture of the Gods as the assembly gathered outside Chaoge, where Yuding Zhenren praised Ren’s cultivation and discovered that he had advanced to Profound Immortal. The chapter left Ren receiving congratulations from Yang Jian and Nezha.

• Ren told Yun Zhongzi that he had absorbed Ji Fa’s Purple Star Qi and planned to preserve Ji Fa’s bloodline by guiding a descendant into cultivation.
• Yun Zhongzi warned Ren to avoid interfering in mortal dynasties and told him to prepare for the Investiture of the Gods, which would begin when the immortals arrived in two days.
• The immortals gathered outside Chaoge as Ji Fa led his ministers and army from the city, and Jiang Ziya greeted Yuding Zhenren before the Investiture began.
• Yuding Zhenren examined Ren and praised his progress in cultivating Purple Star Qi and tempering his body with Sword Aura.
• Yuding Zhenren explained that Ren had refined his bones and Primordial Spirit with Sword Aura, reaching Profound Immortal, and Yang Jian congratulated Ren on his talent.

Ren met with Yang Jian, Nezha, and Lei Zhenzi as the Investiture of the Gods approached, learning that Buddhism was behind much of Yang Jian’s family’s suffering. The gathered cultivators then welcomed the Jade Emperor, whose grand arrival drew Ren’s attention to the Heavenly Court’s weakness.

• Ren praised Yang Jian’s physical cultivation, greeted Nezha, and learned that Lei Zhenzi had gone to notify Buddhism and other senior figures about the Investiture of the Gods.
• Lei Zhenzi returned complaining that the Buddhist monks had smiled and chanted while taking natural treasures along the way, and Nezha teased him.
• Ren learned that Buddhism had schemed behind Yang Jian’s mother’s marriage to a mortal and had drawn Yang Jian’s elder brother into its ranks, leaving Yang Jian unable to fight him.
• Yuding Zhenren introduced Ren to assembled cultivators, and the war drums sounded as the Jade Emperor descended amid heavenly soldiers and maidservants scattering petals.
• Nezha and Lei Zhenzi criticized the Jade Emperor’s pomp and said the Heavenly Court lacked real experts, while Ren recalled reading about Heaven’s Immortalization Pool.

At the Investiture of the Gods, the Jade Emperor welcomed the assembled immortals, and the projections of Laozi, Yuanshi Tianzun, Nuwa, and Tongtian arrived. Tongtian called for his Interception Sect, and more than a thousand followers gathered behind him, leaving Ren impressed by their loyalty.

• Ren recognized that the Immortalization Pool had become a curse that granted immortality but prevented further growth.
• The Jade Emperor welcomed the immortals to the Investiture of the Gods, but they focused on the arriving saints.
• Yuanshi Tianzun’s projection called the Expounding Sect to his side, and Nuwa arrived on a Golden Phoenix.
• Tongtian’s projection demanded to know where the Interception Immortals were, despite the sect’s defeat and near destruction.
• Hundreds of Interception Immortals answered Tongtian and gathered behind him, with Wudang Holy Mother kneeling to greet her master.
• Tongtian told Wudang Holy Mother that the Interception Sect would rather die standing than weep on its knees, and Ren admired the sect’s spirit.