Chapter Summaries

Ren discussed flight techniques and the limits he would respect in the conflict between the Three Sects, while Yuding Zhenren and Yun Zhongzi planned to secure the Expounding Sect and exploit Ren’s Fossil Theory. Six years passed after the Investiture of the Gods, a busy and important period for Ren.

• Ren asked how he could fly as fast as Lei Zhenzi and Nezha, and Four-Unlike explained cloud-riding techniques, sentient clouds, and mounts.
• Four-Unlike said the Three Xiao could locate sentient clouds, but Ren chose not to use the God-Striking Whip against Jie Sect Disciples because the sects still had a line they would not cross.
• Yuding Zhenren learned of Randeng’s schemes and vowed to uncover his allies, while Yun Zhongzi urged him to stabilize the Expounding Sect before confronting Buddhism and Lu Ya.
• Yun Zhongzi asked Yuding Zhenren to send his Obsessive Thought Corpse to secure fossil resources revealed by Ren’s Fossil Theory, and Yuding agreed.
• Six years passed after the Investiture of the Gods, and Ren’s life during that time had been crucial and hectic.

Ren spent six years practicing swordsmanship and copying Kunlun’s chaotic library texts onto paper, while preparing to enter the Primordial World’s violent struggle for Inheritance Sword Aura. He continued organizing the Library Pavilion and recognized that much of its collection remained uncopied.

• Ren practiced the Jade Cauldron Sword Scripture and Astral Sword Dao, deepening his understanding of the Three Stars while choosing to build his strength before entering the slaughter outside Kunlun.
• Ren made the Primordial World’s first paper from exceptional materials, earning Merit for himself, Lei Zhenzi, Nezha, and Cihang Daoren; the paper became a Merit Spirit Treasure.
• Ren taught Kunlun’s attendants to produce paper and began copying and categorizing the Library Pavilion’s texts.
• Ren finished copying a volume of the Dongting Dao Scripture, and Nezha complained that six years of work had covered only a small part of the collection.

Ren spent six years copying books in Kunlun’s Library Pavilion to strengthen his foundation, then joined Nezha and Four-Unlike for drinks. Yun Zhongzi arrived at the gathering, reuniting with them after a long absence.

• Ren found an adult Ink Kirin skeleton and used its materials to craft the Kirin Set, earning Merit for the world’s first inkstone and ink.
• Ren spent six years copying books while continuing to practice swordsmanship and combat techniques.
• Nezha urged Ren to leave the Library Pavilion and join him for drinks with Four-Unlike.
• Ren explained that copying books helped stabilize his foundation, then agreed to visit Four-Unlike.
• Ren drank with Nezha and Four-Unlike and discussed the years’ events before Yun Zhongzi appeared.

Ren discussed the long-term value of his Four Treasures of the Study with Yun Zhongzi and learned how Yun Zhongzi had confiscated Daoist Randeng’s treasures. Yun Zhongzi warned Ren, Nezha, and Lei Zhenzi to stay in Kunlun as escalating battles across the Primordial World threatened to grow into a major war.

• Yun Zhongzi praised Ren’s work copying the Library Pavilion and explained that the Four Treasures of the Study could gain Merit and Destiny as they spread among the Human Race.
• Yun Zhongzi said Daoist Randeng remained imprisoned and revealed that he had taken Randeng’s Coffin Lamp and other treasures, returning the Interception Sect’s treasures later.
• Ren asked to borrow Randeng’s Treasure-Dropping Money, Measuring Heaven Ruler, and Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Pearls, but Yun Zhongzi promised him a Spirit Treasure only after he reached the Golden Immortal realm.
• Yun Zhongzi warned Ren, Nezha, and Lei Zhenzi to remain in Kunlun for a hundred years unless they became sufficiently powerful Golden Immortals.
• Yun Zhongzi explained that the Inheritance Sword Aura had fueled increasingly deadly battles, growing alliances, and the risk of another Hundred Clans War.

Yun Zhongzi warned Nezha, Lei Zhenzi, and Ren to stay in Kunlun as the Inheritance Sword Aura fueled widespread slaughter, but Ren saw the chaos as a chance to grow stronger. After entering secluded cultivation, he used his portal to travel to the Shrouding the Heavens World, where he hoped to build on his existing foundation.

• Yun Zhongzi explained that factions were killing and plundering over Formation Arrays and Inheritance Sword Aura, and ordered Nezha, Lei Zhenzi, and Ren to remain in Kunlun or cultivate in seclusion.
• Nezha and Lei Zhenzi agreed to cultivate, while Ren said he would also grow stronger before venturing out and argued that dangerous times forged powerful people.
• Ren entered an unused secluded cultivation palace in Kunlun and reflected that his arrival might have changed the Primordial World and intensified its violence.
• Ren decided to use his advantages to become stronger and opened a portal to another world.
• Ren chose the Shrouding the Heavens World over the Battle Through the Heavens World, judging its cultivation and Great Emperors suitable for his goals.

Ren returned to the Shrouding the Heavens World through a dangerous Spacetime Tunnel and arrived in An Miaoyi’s boudoir during a gathering in the Holy City. After recognizing Ye Fan among the guests, he appeared beside him and assured him that their conversation was shielded from outsiders.

• Ren entered the Spacetime Tunnel after the Trash Station warned him of the danger of traveling between worlds.
• Ren arrived in An Miaoyi’s boudoir, healed his injuries, dressed himself, and recognized her painting of his battle against the Black-Gold Dragon-Pattern Cauldron.
• Ren learned that An Miaoyi was asking the gathered young men about the mysteries of Double Pupils and looked into the hall with his own eyes.
• Ren spotted Ye Fan among the guests and appeared beside him, recognizing his concealed identity.
• Ren told Ye Fan that he had set up a restriction so outsiders could not hear them.

After returning from two years away, Ren caught up with Ye Fan and his companions about the upheavals that followed his departure. He learned that Yan Ruyu was safe, the Shaking Light Holy Land had been destroyed, and Duan De had become notorious for robbing tombs.

• Ye Fan told Ren that he had wrecked Holy Lands’ stone workshops to gather resources for cultivating his Desolate Ancient Sacred Body, and that he had obtained the Eighth-Generation Source Heavenly Master's inheritance.
• Ren lifted the restriction on Ye Fan’s companions, learned their names, and heard Li Heishui and Tu Fei praise his past exploits and popularity among Holy Maidens and imperial princesses.
• Ye Fan assured Ren that Yan Ruyu was safe under the protection of the Jiang Family, the Holy Lands, and several Primordial Imperial Clans, and that she was waiting for Ren in a wedding dress.
• Wu Zhongtian told Ren that the Shaking Light Holy Land had been destroyed and divided among other factions, while Jiang Huairen said Jiang Taixu was well and often spoke of Ren.
• Ren asked about Duan De, and Ye Fan and Tu Fei told him that Duan De had become known as the Depraved Daoist for robbing graves across the major regions and factions.

Ren met with Ye Fan and the others, learned about Duan De and Black Emperor’s grave-robbing spree, and promised to help Ye Fan overcome the Sacred Body’s cultivation obstacles. He kept his return secret while considering how to build allies, then listened as Jin Chixiao challenged the hall’s continued discussion of Ren’s Double Pupils.

• Tu Fei recounted how Duan De and Black Emperor had robbed graves across several regions, earning bounties exceeding thirty million jin of Source while evading their pursuers.
• Ye Fan told Ren that Duan De had used Ye Fan’s identity to claim a bounty, then disguised himself as Ye Fan and attacked the bounty hunters, leaving the Holy Lands blaming Ye Fan.
• Ren explained that he could not reveal his return because Forbidden Zone Supremes might come after him, and Jiang Huairen reported that Old Master Taixu had recovered and might aid Ren.
• Ren promised to help Ye Fan when he reached the Four Extremes Secret Realm, while privately planning to nurture allies for future conflicts in the Primordial World.
• Ye Fan identified Jin Chixiao as a Golden Family member who objected to continued talk about Ren’s Double Pupils, while Ren watched An Miaoyi.

At An Miaoyi’s banquet, Ren recognized Ruthless Emperor’s mark on a bronze cauldron and learned that Jiang Yifei had ties to the Ruthless Lineage. After hearing that the Holy Lands had repeatedly explored Purple Mountain in search of Emperor Wu Shi’s inheritance, Ren stood in anger and condemned their actions.

• An Miaoyi presented an ancient bronze cauldron, and Ren recognized Ruthless Emperor’s face engraved on it.
• Jiang Yifei identified the mark and explained that the Ruthless Lineage had been attacked after its existence was exposed.
• Ren asked Jiang Huairen to arrange a meeting with Jiang Yifei after the banquet.
• Ye Fan explained that the Holy Lands had joined forces to search Purple Mountain for Emperor Wu Shi’s inheritance, and Jiang Huairen blamed Jiang Yichen for leaking the secret.
• Tu Fei recounted that the Holy Lands’ two expeditions had failed despite using imitation Emperor Weapons and then Emperor Weapons.
• Ren stood and angrily declared that exploring Purple Mountain with Emperor Weapons was courting death.

The Wushi Emperor Bell’s furious chimes devastated Holy City after the Holy Lands provoked it in Purple Mountain. Ren protected Tu Fei and the others as the sound waves pierced the city’s barrier, while Ye Fan endured them to temper his body.

• Ren explained that the Wushi Emperor Bell was punishing those who had entered Purple Mountain with Emperor Weapons, then led Ye Fan and the others away from their collapsing pavilion.
• The bell’s chimes shook Holy City, injuring and killing people as Ye Fan, Tu Fei, and Jiang Huairen watched from the sky.
• Holy City’s defensive formation shielded the city from the tremors, but Ren warned that the bell would keep ringing and that other creatures were angry too.
• When another wave struck and passed through the barrier, Ren protected Tu Fei and the others with purple light and told Ye Fan to use the chimes to temper his body.
• Ye Fan endured the sound waves as his body trembled and blood flowed from him.

Ren calmed the Beginningless Emperor Bell and healed Ye Fan with Immortal Wine, then offered Tu Fei’s grandfather a complete Emperor Weapon or Emperor Scripture for the half Devouring Heaven Demonic Jar. He left the group heading to Tu Fei’s grandfather’s courtyard while reflecting on how Emperor Weapons compared with Spirit Treasures.

• The Beginningless Emperor Bell recognized Ren and invited him to visit Purple Mountain, while its fading sound waves left most of the Holy City’s inhabitants injured.
• Ren gave Ye Fan a drop of Four-Unlike’s Immortal Wine, which healed his injuries and refined his body.
• Ren promised Tu Fei and the others that they could drink the wine when their cultivation was strong enough, encouraging them to train for the future fight against the Demon Race.
• Ren noticed that Jiang Yifei, the Great Xia prince, and An Miaoyi had endured the bell’s attack without spitting blood.
• Tu Fei offered to take Ren and the others to his grandfather’s courtyard, and Ren said he wanted to trade for the grandfather’s half of the Devouring Heaven Demonic Jar.
• Ren considered the jar a gift for Ruthless Emperor and reflected that Emperor Weapons’ materials were limited, despite the powerful Great Dao they contained.

Ren offered Tu Fei a complete Emperor Weapon in exchange for his grandfather’s half of the Devouring Heaven Demonic Jar, intending to use the jar for a purpose he kept secret. As the group waited in a Holy City courtyard for Tu Fei’s grandfather, Ren considered the potential of materials from the Shrouding the Heavens World and noticed someone in white approaching.

• Ren offered Tu Fei one complete Emperor Weapon for his grandfather’s half of the Devouring Heaven Demonic Jar, and Tu Fei crushed a jade pendant to summon him.
• Tu Fei led Ren and the others to a courtyard in the Holy City, where Jiang Huairen memorized the location and left discreetly to find Yi Fei.
• Ren explained that he wanted the complete Devouring Heaven Demonic Jar for an important purpose and said Ruthless Emperor might come looking for him if he obtained it.
• Ren watched Ye Fan cultivate as Immortal Wine repaired and tempered his body, then considered whether Divine Materials from this world could improve in the Primordial World.
• Ren noticed a figure dressed in flowing white in the distance.

Ren traded a jar of extraordinary wine in a Divine Material vessel for Jiang Yifei’s incomplete record of the Ruthless Emperor’s Inheritance. After reading it, Ren learned that another person possessed the Heaven Devouring Demonic Art.

• Jiang Yifei greeted Ren respectfully, and Ren asked him to set aside formalities and keep Ren’s return quiet.
• Ren offered to trade for the Ruthless Emperor’s Indestructible Heavenly Technique, and Jiang Yifei explained how he had received the inheritance from the Ruthless Lineage.
• Ren gave Jiang Yifei a jar of wine and an Innate Purple Copper vessel as payment, despite Jiang Yifei’s insistence that the inheritance was worth less.
• Jiang Yifei handed Ren a book containing the incomplete inheritance, and Ren read its techniques, including the Indestructible Heavenly Technique and Myriad Transformations Sacred Art.
• Ren asked whether the book contained the Heaven Devouring Demonic Art, and Jiang Yifei said another person had inherited it and that he knew who it was.

Ren traded an Emperor Weapon for Tu Tian’s half of the Devouring Heaven Demonic Jar and planned to find Duan De to complete it. Tu Tian chose a sword among Ren’s six Spirit Treasures, while Jiang Yifei set off to obtain the Heaven Devouring Demonic Art from Hua Yunfei.

• Ren asked Jiang Yifei to find Hua Yunfei and obtain the Heaven Devouring Demonic Art, and Jiang Yifei left for the Taixuan Sect.
• Ye Fan thanked Ren after discovering that Ren’s wine had healed his hidden injuries and strengthened his foundation.
• Tu Tian arrived, and Ren offered him one of six Spirit Treasures in exchange for his half of the Devouring Heaven Demonic Jar.
• Tu Tian accepted the trade and handed over the jar, which Ren planned to combine with Duan De’s half before meeting the Ruthless Emperor.
• After dismissing Tu Fei’s suggestion to choose a saber, Tu Tian selected the sword and asked Ren what it was called.

After the Wushi Emperor Bell devastated Holy City, Ren learned that the Purple Mountain expedition had failed and that Duan De was hiding there. He left to find Duan De and restore the Devouring Heaven Demonic Jar, while Ye Fan and the others stayed behind to cultivate.

• Tu Tian traded half of the Devouring Heaven Demonic Jar to Ren for a fire-attribute sword, then forced Tu Fei to study and practice calligraphy so he could help establish a cultured family.
• Jiang Huairen told Ren that the Wushi Emperor Bell had repelled eight Emperor Weapons and killed many Purple Mountain explorers after they tried to seize it.
• Jiang Huairen reported that Duan De and a dead dog had been found hiding in Purple Mountain, and Ren decided to seek Duan De to restore the Devouring Heaven Demonic Jar and ask him about other matters.
• Ren told Ye Fan and the others to remain in Holy City and cultivate, and revealed that the Tianxuan Stone Workshop elder was the Old Lunatic's junior brother.
• Ren flew toward Purple Mountain and used Nine Secrets: Jie to greatly increase his speed.

Ren returned to Purple Mountain, where he reunited with Duan De and Black Emperor after they mistook his arrival for an attack. He fed them spirit fruit and meat, leaving the three together inside the mountain.

• Ren reached Purple Mountain and used his Double Pupils to find a route through its restrictions.
• Black Emperor and Duan De argued over how to divide the spoils from the graves they had dug up.
• Ren attacked the pair with Azure Dragon and White Tiger manifestations, which exploded and sent them flying.
• Black Emperor recognized Ren and bit Duan De to confirm that Ren had really returned.
• Ren bound Black Emperor and Duan De with a vine, then gave them spirit fruit and meat from his jade pendant.

Ren reunited with Duan De and Black Emperor in Purple Mountain, where they shared a meal and discussed Black Emperor’s Tengu bloodline and their grave-robbing exploits. Duan De warned Ren about the Forbidden Zone Supremes coveting him, and Ren said he was confident he could fight them as the story ended with his return to the Shrouding the Heavens World.

• Duan De and Black Emperor explained how they had spent years digging up graves and ancestral tombs to gather cultivation resources.
• Black Emperor told Ren that the blood essence Ren gave him had awakened his Olfactory Divine Ability and a growing power to devour Visions, though his bloodline had transformed only ten percent.
• Ren concluded that Black Emperor’s bloodline had awakened more readily because the Shrouding the Heavens World’s incomplete Heavenly Dao did not suppress it as the Primordial World’s Heavenly Dao did.
• Duan De warned Ren that only a handful of Forbidden Zone Supremes believed he held the secret to immortality and that they were unlikely to cooperate against him.
• Ren said his Immortal Platform and physical body were powerful enough to let him contend with one or two Forbidden Zone Supremes, then confidently affirmed his return.

Ren reunited with Duan De and the Black Emperor, discussed Reverse Dao Severing, and resolved to marry Yan Ruyu openly after dealing with the Forbidden Zone Supremes. After Duan De drunkenly gave him the Swallowing Heaven Demon Canopy, Ren reunited it with the jar and went to answer an ancient voice in Purple Mountain.

• Ren praised Duan De for pursuing Reverse Dao Severing, and Duan De explained why it could make Human Race Great Emperors stronger than bloodline-born rulers.
• Duan De told Ren that Yan Ruyu was waiting for him in a wedding dress, but Ren refused to sneak into her valley and vowed to marry her openly after confronting the Supremes.
• Duan De drunkenly handed Ren the Swallowing Heaven Demon Canopy, completing the Devouring Heaven Demonic Jar.
• The completed jar released a powerful Demon Qi aura, while an unidentified mist-shrouded figure in the Desolate Ancient Holy Land noticed its awakening.
• An aged voice called Ren deeper into Purple Mountain, where he found an ancient bell floating above a platform once used by Emperor Wu Shi.

Ren met the Beginningless Emperor Bell in Purple Mountain, learned that his strength let him contend with some Supremes, and agreed to help it find Emperor Wu Shi. The bell joined Ren’s Sea of Bitterness to help perfect his Chaos Bell.

• The Beginningless Emperor Bell told Ren that his body and Immortal Platform let him fight Supremes who had cut away part of their cultivation.
• The Beginningless Emperor Bell asked Ren to search for Emperor Wu Shi, and Ren revealed that the Great Emperor had become a Red Dust Immortal and entered a fragment of the Immortal Domain.
• The Beginningless Emperor Bell believed Ren and asked to accompany him, while Ren let it think he could take it to Emperor Wu Shi.
• Ren showed the Beginningless Emperor Bell his Chaos Bell, and the bell offered to help perfect its form.
• Ren accepted, and the Beginningless Emperor Bell entered his Sea of Bitterness and circled the Chaos Bell as the Green Duckweed Sword gave a faint cry.

Ren absorbed the Beginningless Emperor Bell and Devouring Heaven Demonic Jar into his Sea of Bitterness for refinement, then gave Emperor Weapons to Duan De and Black Emperor. He planned to draw out greedy Forbidden Zone Supremes, leaving Duan De and Black Emperor to protect Yan Ruyu as he went to face them.

• The Beginningless Emperor Bell assured Ren that Purple Mountain would be protected by its two Killing Arrays, then fell silent to refine the Chaos Bell.
• Ren absorbed the Devouring Heaven Demonic Jar into his Sea of Bitterness, where the Nihility Devouring Flame began refining it.
• Duan De and Black Emperor woke stronger and resumed fighting until Ren arrived and gave each of them an Emperor Weapon without a divine spirit.
• Ren asked Duan De and Black Emperor to refine their weapons and protect Yan Ruyu, taking her to the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Zone if danger arose.
• Duan De and Black Emperor warned Ren against provoking the Supremes, but Ren resolved to draw out the greedy ones and make them stepping stones on his path to becoming an emperor.