Chapter Summaries

Long Xuan entered the Gu-Dueling Tournament’s first duel against Long Ye and used his Flame Clone and enormous Ice Bee swarm to win almost instantly. After the elders praised his insect research, Long Xuan gave Long Ye medicine for his poisoned Gu Insects and left the arena.

• Long Wanli announced the tournament’s assigned matchups, and Long Xuan was called to face Long Ye in the conspicuous Gu Pit Number One.
• Long Xuan sent his Flame Clone to fight, and the clone discovered that the pouch contained the Ice Bee swarm.
• The Flame Clone released more than ten thousand Ice Bees, drawing the spectators’ and elders’ attention to Long Xuan’s unusual swarm-fighting method.
• At Queen Bee Bingbing’s command, the Ice Bees rained regenerating Ice Needles across the pit, disabling Long Ye’s Gu Insects while Long Xuan’s Earthworker pinned Long Ye’s armored Earthworker.
• Long Ye surrendered, and Long Xuan gave him medicine for the bee venom before leaving the arena.

Long Xuan watched the Gu-Dueling Tournament and discovered that Long Chen was an insect-controlled corpse disguised as a living Gu Master. Unable to expose him without revealing his own secret, Long Xuan persuaded Long Lie to report the suspected spy and its threat to the Sacred Tree.

• Long Long conceded immediately to Long Ziyan, while Long Xuan's clone won most of its matches using its bee swarm and powerful Earthworker.
• Long Ziyan's opponents repeatedly surrendered, and she advanced toward first place without fighting.
• Long Xuan noticed that Long Chen's progress appeared inside his head and concluded that an insect had killed and impersonated him.
• Long Chen conceded to Long Xuan's clone before it could test his abilities, leaving Long Xuan unable to expose him directly.
• Long Xuan told Long Lie that he suspected a spy intended to harm the Sacred Tree and asked him to report it instead.

Long Xuan’s warning led the Long Family elders to quietly watch Long Chen, while Long Chao’s secret conversation revealed his plan to slaughter the Lineage’s geniuses and steal Divine Dragon Milk with help from the Soul Clan. The afternoon Gu-Dueling Tournament began, and Long Xuan focused on earning enough points to reach the top twenty.

• Long Xuan told Long Lie that Long Chen might be an infiltrator, and Long Lie warned Long Wanli and the elders.
• The First Elder rejected an immediate arrest and ordered the elders to watch the Sacred Tree and lay a trap.
• Long Chao explained that he planned to kill his competitors, seize the Divine Dragon Milk, and help the Soul Clan attack the Scripture Repository Tower in exchange for the Thatch Gu Recipe.
• The Brain Gu inside Long Chen described how four Spiritual Sea Stage corpses would attack the Sacred Land while the Long Family was distracted.
• Long Xuan saw the elders watching Long Chen and realized his warning had been taken seriously.
• Long Xuan reviewed the tournament rules and calculated that he needed about seven more wins to feel safe reaching the top twenty.

Long Xuan faced Long Panpan, who had equipped her Earthworker with Air-Sealing Insect Armor to counter his bee swarm. He exploited a tournament rule to evade the formation and defeat her, leaving buyers of Air-Sealing Armor with a useless countermeasure.

• Long Xuan discovered that Long Panpan had equipped an Air-Sealing Formation, a new counter to his bee swarm, and realized Insect Armor Smiths had rapidly popularized his invention.
• Long Xuan told Bingbing to lead the bees above the other Gu pits, where they could avoid the formation without being ruled out of bounds.
• Long Panpan hesitated to activate her formation because it could affect other contestants, while the elders allowed Long Xuan's loophole tactic under the rules.
• Long Xuan ordered the bees to sting Long Panpan's Gu pit while his Earthworker ancestor attacked her Earthworker, forcing her to concede.
• Long Xuan stopped the attack, gave Long Panpan a pill bottle, and left as other contestants realized their Air-Sealing Insect Armor would no longer counter his swarm.

Long Xuan finished the Gu-Dueling Tournament in eleventh place and followed the victors to the Long Family’s sacred ground, still hoping to steal a branch from the Divine Dragon Tree. There, he discovered the tree’s seemingly infinite lifespan and met the Spirit Sea Peak elder guarding it, who revealed his contentment with his secluded life and his resentment toward Long Wanli’s family-head duties.

• Long Ziyan won all twenty matches and took first place, while Long Qilin ranked second and Long Xuan placed eleventh after deliberately surrendering several matches.
• Long Wanli led the twenty victors to the Divine Dragon Tree, and Long Xuan worried that he still had no plan to take a branch.
• Long Wanli explained that participants with the Evil Dragon Emperor Eye had to wash their eyes on the spot, while Long Xuan could take the Dragon’s Tear away because he lacked that eye.
• Long Xuan saw the Divine Dragon Tree’s progress marked as infinite and realized it was an extraordinarily rare spirit medicine.
• Long Wanli greeted the Spirit Sea Peak elder guarding the tree, who said he preferred his quiet cultivation post and thanked Long Wanli for tampering with the drawing of lots.

Long Wanli revealed that Long Buhui had known about his past cheating, while the Long Family thwarted a Soul Clan raid and exposed Long Chen’s betrayal. After the battle drew everyone away from the sacred ground, Long Xuan’s rabbit secretly stole four branches from the Divine Dragon Tree.

• Long Wanli realized Long Buhui had inferred that he cheated to win the family-head position, and Long Buhui explained how he had guessed.
• Soul Clan Gu cultivators attacked the Long Family from four directions, but Long Wanli sent only a small force to reinforce the peaks, keeping most of the family behind.
• Long Chen summoned twenty Gu cultivators and killed Long Chao, but five hidden Spiritual Sea Stage elders ambushed the attackers.
• Long Buhui and Long Wanli joined the fight, giving the Long Family an overwhelming advantage over the Soul Clan forces.
• Long Xuan urged the fighters to move away from the Sacred Tree, and Long Lie left an opening that allowed the Soul Clan cultivators to flee.
• After everyone left the sacred ground, Long Xuan’s rabbit bit off four branches from the Divine Dragon Tree and escaped with them.

Long Family defeated another group of Soul Clan invaders and learned that Brain Gu had been controlling their corpses. As the elders discussed raising a second Gu King, they discovered the Sacred Tree had been damaged, and suspicion fell on Long Chao, who had been alone at the sacred ground.

• Long Xuan's formation trapped two Spiritual Sea Stage cultivators, delaying their group until the Long Family ambushed and killed them at the Treasure Repository.
• Long Wanli identified Brain Gu in the corpses and learned from the First Elder that the attackers belonged to the Soul Clan of the Western Land.
• The elders discussed preparing a second Gu King, with Long Buhui emerging as the likely candidate and Long Ao's pill-refining ability still in question.
• A cultivator reported damage to the Sacred Tree, and the elders found broken branches and a breached protective formation.
• Long Wanli demanded to know who had left last, and the Long Family members turned toward Long Chao, who had just woken after remaining at the sacred ground.

Long Xuan’s suspicions led Long Chao to be exposed as a traitor who had sabotaged the formation, helped the Soul Clan, and murdered Long Chen, though the Sacred Tree’s broken branch remained missing. After the damaged tree received a blood offering, Long Xuan returned home and found Spiritual Sea Realm intruders trapped in his formation, while Long Wanli planned to give Long Chao’s Evil Dragon Emperor Eye to Long Ziyan and summoned Long Ao to discuss refining the Profound Dragon Pill.

• Long Xuan pointed out that Long Chao had a Cockroach Gu, prompting Long Wanli to find the Gu in Long Chao’s abdomen and order his arrest.
• The Tenth Elder confirmed that Long Chao had betrayed the Lineage, sabotaged the formation, and murdered Long Chen, but Long Chao refused to reveal where he hid the Sacred Tree branch.
• Long Wanli ordered Long Chao punished and proposed awarding his Evil Dragon Emperor Eye to Long Ziyan so she could perfect her Soul Seed transformation.
• The Long Family canceled the eye-washing event and offered cattle and sheep blood to help the injured Sacred Tree recover; Long Xuan thought about raising livestock for his own Divine Dragon Tree.
• Long Xuan returned home, discovered Spiritual Sea Realm Gu Masters trapped in his Rubik's Cube Grand Formation, and hurried away without confronting them.
• Long Wanli asked the Tenth Elder to summon Long Ao and discuss refining the Profound Dragon Pill to help cultivate another Gu King.

Long Xuan successfully developed a Cutting Propagation Technique and planted four Divine Dragon Trees, then went to the Long Family market to acquire livestock and fish for his plans on Little Poverty Peak. He met Long Panpan again and offered Mid-Grade Spirit Soil for two rare Golden Dragonfish, leaving her eager to accept the trade.

• Long Xuan successfully propagated four Divine Dragon Trees and resolved to keep his valuable technique secret.
• Long Xuan went to the Long Family market to find spirit beasts for a ranch and browse for other useful goods.
• Long Xuan found Long Panpan selling spirit fish and learned that her sister's fleet had caught five live Golden Dragonfish.
• Long Panpan said she would keep the Golden Dragonfish, but Long Xuan offered her Mid-Grade Spirit Soil for one male and one female fish.
• Long Panpan eagerly considered the offer, and Long Xuan said they could trade immediately if she agreed.

Long Xuan traded for five Golden Dragonfish fry, settled them in his Spirit Spring, and fed them Spirit Insects before joining Old Long to help refine a Third-Grade Profound Dragon Pill. The first attempt exploded, leaving the two coughing in the smoke.

• Long Panpan tricked Long Xuan into trading Mid-Grade Spirit Soil for five tiny Golden Dragonfish fry, and Long Xuan later bought livestock while his clone handled the purchases.
• Long Xuan released the fry into his Spirit Spring and fed them Spirit Insects, then received a letter about Old Long's Thatch Gu house connecting to the Pyramid Hut.
• Long Xuan visited Old Long on Red Jade Peak and learned the Long Family had commissioned him to refine Third-Grade Profound Dragon Pills, for which he needed Long Xuan's help controlling heat.
• Long Xuan read the pill formula and learned the Profound Dragon Pill had only a twenty-percent breakthrough rate for Long Family cultivators, so he expected it would not help him.
• Long Xuan helped Old Long begin refining the pill, but the furnace exploded and filled the room with black smoke.

Long Ao and Long Xuan successfully refined a Profound Dragon Pill after months of effort and the Long Family's full support. Long Wanli gave it to Long Buhui for his breakthrough, and the ancestor called Buhui to begin while promising to guard him.

• Long Ao and Long Xuan ruined many batches of pills as the Long Family poured resources into refining a Profound Dragon Pill.
• Long Ao successfully refined the pill, and the Long Family's elders rushed in to celebrate.
• Long Wanli thanked Long Ao, who explained that the remaining materials could be used to refine more Profound Dragon Pills.
• Long Wanli placed the Profound Dragon Pill in a bottle and gave it to Long Buhui, while Long Ao and the elders encouraged him not to fear failure.
• The ancestor announced that he would guard Long Buhui and ordered him to come forward unless the Lineage faced a life-or-death crisis.

Long Xuan conceived and began developing three body techniques suited to his Purgatory True Demon Art. Three months later, Fifth Elder Long Qian arrived with Long Ruoxue and Long Biao to seek the Far West Long Family’s help in a tournament over a Geng Metal Ore Vein.

• Long Xuan decided to create matching body techniques and devised Steel Fist, Steel Finger, and Bursting Fist by concentrating his whole body's strength into focused attacks.
• Long Xuan returned to his pavilion and smoothly began recording and developing the three techniques.
• Three months later, Fifth Elder Long Qian traveled toward the Far West Long Family with Long Ruoxue and Long Biao aboard a Dragon Boat.
• Long Biao disparaged the Western Land, and Long Qian and Long Ruoxue rebuked him for his arrogance.
• Long Qian explained that his clan had discovered a Geng Metal Ore Vein with the Bai Clan and would contest twelve tournament matches for shares of it.
• Long Qian said he had come to request reinforcements from the Far West Long Family so their combined geniuses could gain an advantage in the tournament.

Long Qian explained why the Far West Long Family counted as part of the Western Land Long Family and brought Long Ruoxue and Long Biao to recruit its geniuses for an upcoming contest against the Bai Clan. At the Far West clan tournament, he spotted Long Yan and Long Bao as potential replacements for two of his clan’s candidates.

• Long Qian told Long Biao that the Far West Long Family had split from the Western Land Long Family two centuries earlier, making its members blood relatives rather than outside reinforcements.
• Long Qian said the Far West Long Family had several powerful geniuses and warned that two were invincible within their realms, while Long Biao remained determined to challenge their strongest.
• Long Qian arrived with Long Ruoxue and Long Biao at Long Wanli’s clan and requested several geniuses for the Western Land Long Family’s arena contest against the Bai Clan.
• Long Wanli invited Long Qian to observe the ongoing clan tournament, where Long Yan and Long Bao fought with contrasting strengths and strategies.
• Long Qian recognized Long Yan and Long Bao as promising candidates who could replace two of his clan’s selected contestants.

Long Qian assessed the Far West Long Family’s candidates for a contest against the Bai Clan and settled on several required selections, though several top talents were absent for unusual reasons. After the tournament, Long Biao challenged Long Xuan to a duel, and Long Wanli accepted the prospect of a match.

• Long Qian praised Long Bao and Long Yan’s abilities and said his Insect Armor could help them win, while Long Wanli kept the identity of the technology’s creator secret.
• Long Yan’s Earthworker knocked Long Bao’s Earthworker off the arena, but Long Bao dragged Long Yan off with him, and the referee declared their match a draw.
• Long Qian learned that Long Ziyan skipped tournaments because opponents conceded to her, Long Xuan stayed away because he did not need the rewards, Long Chao was dead, and Long Qilin had gone to find materials for Thatch Gu.
• Long Qian chose Long Ziyan, Long Xuan, Long Qilin, Long Bao, and Long Yan as mandatory candidates for the contest, while Long Biao waited without entering the tournament.
• After the tournament ended, Long Biao challenged Long Xuan to a duel, and Long Qian rebuked him while Long Wanli showed confidence in his clan’s geniuses.

Long Wanli brought Long Qian, Long Ruoxue, and Long Biao to Long Xuan’s Little Poverty Peak, where they entered the Rubik’s Cube Grand Formation. As Long Qian and Long Ruoxue became trapped in its shifting maze, Long Wanli revealed that he intended to turn their rescue into a favor owed.

• Long Xuan continued cultivating his body technique, while his Flame Clone advanced his cultivation to the Mid Marrow-Cleansing Stage.
• Long Wanli led Long Qian and the others to the Rubik’s Cube Grand Formation, where Long Qian and Long Ruoxue admired its design and Long Biao dismissed it as fragile.
• Long Qian entered the formation with Long Ruoxue to study and challenge it, and Long Biao followed them inside.
• Long Wanli revealed that he had deliberately provoked Long Qian into entering and planned to trap him before arranging his escape in exchange for a favor.
• Long Ruoxue realized that the maze’s terrain continually changed and concluded that finding its underlying pattern might let them escape.

Long Qian and his companions struggled to find a way through the shifting maze while Long Wanli’s group waited outside. Meanwhile, Long Xuan finished making and wearing the invisible Heavenly Dream Soul Armor, which fused to his body and protected even his eyes.

• Long Qian concluded that the maze’s changing worlds concealed a single Life Gate, while Long Biao shivered in the ice plains and Long Ruoxue began mapping their route.
• After two days without the group emerging, the elders discussed releasing them so they would not miss their match with the Bai Clan, and Long Wanli sent a letter by Thatch Gu.
• Long Xuan finished weaving the Heavenly Dream Soul Armor from Soul Silkworm Thread and put it on, causing it to fuse with his skin and become invisible.
• Long Xuan realized the armor formed a protective energy membrane over his whole body, including his eyes.

Long Xuan agreed to travel to the Western Land after learning that the Western Land Long Family wanted him to help in its arena match against the Bai Clan. He then defeated Long Biao with one Steel Fist, leaving the visiting family embarrassed and Long Biao unconscious.

• Long Xuan learned from the family head’s letter that the Western Land Long Family wanted to recruit him, and he decided to make the journey himself.
• Long Qian and Long Ruoxue emerged exhausted from Long Xuan’s formation, and Long Wanli arranged for Long Xuan to meet the visiting family’s genius.
• Long Biao introduced himself as a Heavenly-Grade Aptitude genius and challenged Long Xuan to a sparring match.
• Long Xuan used his unfinished Steel Fist to strike Long Biao, who was sent flying and knocked unconscious.
• Long Qian tried to excuse Long Biao’s loss, Long Ruoxue was embarrassed, and the gathered relatives fell silent.

Long Qian gathered six Long Family geniuses to compete for the Geng Metal Ore Vein, promising Geng Metal to spur them to fight. Long Wanli also sent Long Qian a Spatial House that could teleport people between the two clans, and sought ten percent of the vein’s mining rights in return; Long Qian agreed to advocate for the deal, while Long Wanli looked forward to visiting the Western Land again.

• Long Qian assembled Long Ziyan, Long Qilin, Long Yan, Long Bao, Long Xuan, and Long Panpan, and promised each victor enough Geng Metal to build a Thatch Gu House.
• Long Xuan asked whether he could dig at the Geng Metal Ore Vein himself, and Long Qian said he could if he won.
• Long Lie boarded the Dragon Boat to escort the group, while Long Wanli presented Long Qian with a Spatial House that could teleport living beings between the clans.
• Long Wanli asked for ten percent of the ore vein’s mining rights in exchange for the Spatial House, and Long Qian promised to persuade his Lineage to accept.
• Long Qian stored the Spatial House, then the geniuses departed aboard the Dragon Boat as Long Wanli said he wanted to visit the Western Land.

Long Xuan refused Long Ruoxue’s request to see his cave-protecting formation diagram, then traveled east aboard the Dragon Boat with his companions. During a rest stop, he dove into the sea and followed an infinity-marked sign of progress to the seafloor, where he suspected a buried ancient tomb lay; he was left considering how to reach its treasures without flooding it.

• Long Ruoxue praised Long Xuan’s World Maze formation and asked to see its Formation Diagram, but Long Qian reminded her of the Gu World’s taboo and Long Xuan refused.
• Two months later, Long Qian explained to Long Qilin why their small Dragon Boat was flying low along the coast instead of crossing the deep sea.
• Long Qian landed the Dragon Boat on a small island for a rest, and the travelers went ashore to hunt, gather supplies, and start a fire.
• Long Xuan dove into the sea and swam to the seafloor after spotting an infinity symbol that indicated extraordinary progress at that location.
• Long Xuan found scattered signs of buried treasures and suspected a massive ancient tomb, but worried that digging into it would let seawater flood inside.

Long Xuan discovered a Lighthouse Jellyfish whose ability could grant endless rejuvenation, but the recipe progress showed that refining it would require an absurd number of materials. Back at camp, he watched Long Ziyan sparred and listened as Long Qian began explaining a myth about the origins of the Gu World and the limits on becoming immortal.

• Long Xuan found a Lighthouse Jellyfish while swimming and saw that its rejuvenation Gu Recipe had only 0.0000001% progress, so he destroyed the recipe and kept the jellyfish in his Insect-Rearing Pouch.
• Long Xuan returned to camp, where he grilled the spirit fish his clones had caught and watched Long Ziyan and Long Ruoxue spar.
• Long Qian explained that Long Ziyan’s Innate Sword Bone made her an exceptionally powerful sword cultivator, though the Gu World lacked a complete sword-cultivation inheritance.
• Long Xuan asked why other cultivation professions had disappeared, and Long Qian began recounting a myth about the Desolate Realm being divided into the Three Thousand Worlds.
• Long Qian said that immortality required obtaining a Divine Position, and that each kind of power could have only one god at a time.