Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “When You Make Me Mad, I’ll Beat Up My Aunt Too”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming and Jin Ling continue their hostile rivalry over their five-year agreement: the loser must become the winner’s mount. With only a little over two years remaining, both believe they will be stronger by the time the agreement expires.
• Jiang Ming initially recognizes that Jin Ling, a Great Ability with Seven Prohibitions combat power, is still beyond his ordinary strength. He therefore avoids rushing into a fight and considers waiting until his cultivation catches up.
• Jin Ling mocks Jiang Ming and insists that if he wants to defeat her, he must do so openly rather than through traps, forced suppression of cultivation, or schemes.
• Jin Ling warmly embraces Yan Ruyu, teasing her and boasting about Jiang Ming eventually becoming her mount. Yan Ruyu escapes by transforming into a tiny Golden Lotus and hides beside Jiang Ming.
• Jiang Ming becomes jealous and irritated by Jin Ling’s flirtatious behavior toward Yan Ruyu, especially because Jin Ling is powerful enough that he cannot yet openly suppress her.
• Jin Ling belittles Jiang Ming’s previous victory over a Ji Family Great Ability, claiming he relied on shameless methods. She then attacks him to teach him the difference between an ordinary Great Ability and a true Holy Master-level combatant.
• Jiang Ming responds with his Divine Spirit Transformation. He activates his Dharma wheel, Zodiac Palaces, the Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit’s Green Willow, the Divine Forbidden Realm, and the Heavenly Eye.
• Using the Wushi Secret Art, Temporal Restart, Jiang Ming reverses the initiative, making it seem as though Jin Ling withdrew her attack while he struck first.
• His palm strike collides with Jin Ling’s and sends her flying more than a hundred miles, demonstrating overwhelming physical and Dao-based superiority. Crow Daoist must intervene to collect the mountains blasted into the air.
• Jin Ling realizes that Jiang Ming truly killed the Ji Family Great Ability through direct strength rather than a hidden weapon or ambush. She recognizes that he has concealed his actual power and has become far more formidable than she expected.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Becomes markedly more confident and powerful. Although he previously believed Jin Ling was still beyond him, his transformation and mastery of the Divine Forbidden Realm allow him to overwhelm her instantly. He also displays jealousy and possessiveness toward Yan Ruyu.
• Jin Ling: Initially arrogant and convinced that Jiang Ming cannot catch up to her within two years, she is shocked by his sudden display of strength. Her confidence is shaken, and she gains a new respect—and likely greater caution—toward him.
• Yan Ruyu: Remains affectionate but bashful, avoiding Jin Ling’s excessive teasing. She cleverly uses the impending agreement to redirect Jin Ling’s attention toward Jiang Ming.
• Crow Daoist: Functions as the practical observer of the confrontation, preventing the surrounding mountains and secret realm from suffering unnecessary destruction.

Significant Themes

• Hidden strength and strategic concealment: Jiang Ming deliberately hides his true capabilities, allowing others to underestimate him until the right moment.
• Rivalry and growth: The conflict between Jiang Ming and Jin Ling is driven by their competitive agreement, with both measuring their progress against the other.
• Arrogance punished by reality: Jin Ling’s confidence leads her to provoke Jiang Ming, only for her to discover that his power has surpassed her expectations.
• Power realms and combat talent: The chapter emphasizes the importance of Seven Prohibitions and the Divine Forbidden Realm, showing how exceptional combat aptitude can overcome differences in cultivation.
• Romantic jealousy and playful intimacy: Jin Ling’s teasing affection toward Yan Ruyu provokes Jiang Ming’s jealousy, adding humor and emotional tension to the confrontation.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Jin Ling: Their banter is antagonistic and competitive, centered on their future master-and-mount agreement. Jin Ling mocks him, while Jiang Ming responds with confidence and concealed threats.
• Jin Ling and Yan Ruyu: Jin Ling behaves like an overly affectionate older sister, embracing and teasing Yan Ruyu. Yan Ruyu is embarrassed and escapes her grasp.
• Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu: Yan Ruyu instinctively hides behind Jiang Ming, while Jiang Ming becomes protective and jealous.
• Jiang Ming and Crow Daoist: Their battle indirectly forces Crow Daoist to preserve the secret realm by collecting the mountains displaced by Jiang Ming’s attack.
• Jiang Ming and Jin Ling in combat: Jin Ling initiates the attack confidently, but Jiang Ming’s transformation, Heavenly Eye, temporal technique, and overwhelming palm strike completely reverse the situation.

Chapter Summary: “The System Is Slandering Me”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jin Ling, humiliated after Jiang Ming’s latest “lesson,” decides to enter seclusion again. Crow Daoist instead advises her to confront the enemies threatening Yaoguang Sacred Land: the Azure Flood Dragon King, Peacock King, and Red Dragon Daoist. She leaves reluctantly, warning Yan Ruyu to be more reserved around Jiang Ming.
• Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu continue cultivating together for five months. Their joint cultivation produces enormous benefits:
  • Jiang Ming advances into the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm.
  • Yan Ruyu reaches the Fourth Transformation and undergoes twenty-nine complete metamorphoses.
  • The Azure Emperor’s Heart is temporarily weakened from supporting their progress.
• Jiang Ming develops an unusual Dragon Transformation foundation. Rather than simply evolving a spinal dragon, he forges his spine into a “Pillar of Heaven,” engraving Ancestral Witch patterns on the vertebrae and reserving the final vertebra for a dragon pattern.
• Jiang Ming immediately undergoes another breakthrough, advancing the Great Freedom Dao Scripture to its fourth turn, the Death-Spirit Turn. His understanding of life-and-death laws, aided by the Willow Tree Vision, allows the process to proceed smoothly.
• During successive tribulations, Jiang Ming’s weapons gain tremendous power:
  • His Life-Bound Sword advances to an Upper-Grade Lower-Tier Spirit Treasure.
  • His lotus artifacts, Lotus Lantern, array flags, and wine gourd also withstand the tribulations and become exceptionally powerful.
• After emerging from cultivation, Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu travel toward Holy City. He learns of several major developments:
  • An Miaoyi has appeared in Holy City, attracting the attention of many young cultivators.
  • God-King Jiang Taixu escapes Purple Mountain using the Lihuo Divine Furnace, killing two Primordial Kings and taking two pieces of Great Divine Source.
• While traveling, Jiang Ming suddenly receives nearly three thousand system notifications awarding him medicinal herbs for the deaths of numerous cultivators. Although he did not directly participate in the battle, his earlier Dao diagram appears to have created enough karma for the system to attribute the deaths to him.
• Realizing that Ye Fan may soon sell or open the Humanoid Undying Divine Medicine, Jiang Ming rushes to Holy City. Along the way, he continues helping Yan Ruyu progress toward the Azure Lotus Dao Body.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming grows substantially stronger, advancing in both the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm and the Great Freedom Dao Scripture. His combat foundation and weapons become increasingly extraordinary. He also becomes more ambitious, considering whether he can obtain secret arts from the Ruthless Empress’s Heaven-Swallowing Demon Canopy.
• Yan Ruyu makes rapid progress through dual cultivation, approaching the Azure Lotus Dao Body envisioned for her by the Azure Emperor. She remains gentle and reserved but becomes increasingly exasperated by Jiang Ming’s teasing and shameless behavior.
• Jin Ling suffers another emotional defeat but demonstrates that she can accept setbacks. She leaves to seek battle elsewhere, partly because Crow Daoist clearly wants to separate her from Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu.
• God-King Jiang Taixu successfully escapes Purple Mountain and proves his formidable strength by killing two Primordial Kings while seizing valuable divine source.
• Crow Daoist acts as a protector and mediator, deliberately encouraging Jin Ling to leave so Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu can continue cultivating undisturbed.

Significant Themes

• Cultivation through transformation: The chapter emphasizes that each realm represents a change in the cultivator’s life level, body, and connection to the Dao.
• Accumulation and preparation: Jiang Ming’s unusual spinal cultivation and Yan Ruyu’s gradual physical metamorphosis show the importance of laying foundations for future breakthroughs.
• Karmic consequences: Jiang Ming’s unexpected system rewards reveal that actions can create distant and indirect consequences. Even though he did not fight at Purple Mountain, his earlier actions made him responsible, in the system’s judgment, for many deaths.
• Power and opportunity amid chaos: Major conflicts between sacred lands, ancient families, and Primordial Kings create danger but also provide opportunities for breakthroughs, treasures, and escapes.
• Humor through misunderstanding and shamelessness: The title reflects Jiang Ming’s disbelief that the system credits him for events he did not personally cause. His relationship with Yan Ruyu and Jin Ling adds a comedic contrast to the chapter’s serious cultivation and political developments.

Character Interactions

• Jin Ling and Jiang Ming: Jin Ling is wounded by Jiang Ming’s actions and prepares to withdraw, while Jiang Ming shows little concern beyond acknowledging that she can accept defeat.
• Jin Ling and Yan Ruyu: Jin Ling treats Yan Ruyu like family because of her connection to the Azure Emperor’s arrangements, but her warning for Yan Ruyu to be “more reserved” embarrasses Yan Ruyu.
• Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu: Their prolonged cultivation strengthens both their powers and their relationship. Jiang Ming frequently teases her and treats their progress as both cultivation and intimate companionship, while Yan Ruyu becomes increasingly embarrassed and annoyed.
• Jiang Ming and the Azure Emperor’s Heart: Jiang Ming remembers the Heart’s contribution and supplies it with Thunder Tribulation Liquid, showing that even his cultivation partners and artifacts benefit from his breakthroughs.
• Jiang Ming and the system: The system repeatedly credits Jiang Ming for the deaths at Purple Mountain, leaving him confused and convinced that it is “slandering” him.

Chapter Summary: “Two-and-a-Half-Star Reward”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming receives a two-and-a-half-star system reward after over one hundred members of the Jiang Family’s faction, including a Great Ability expert, are killed. He obtains thirty drops of Dragon Vein Essence, an exceptionally valuable resource for cultivators in the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm.
• After bathing with Yan Ruyu in an underground spiritual spring, Jiang Ming travels with her to Holy City, which has become a meeting place for powerful factions from across the world.
• Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu enter the city openly, attracting widespread attention. They learn that several prominent young talents—Xia Yiming, Jin Chixiao, and Yao Yuekong—are competing in stone appraisal at Daoyi Sacred Land’s stone-gambling workshop.
• At the workshop, Jiang Ming reunites with Ye Fan, Tu Fei, and Li Heishui, who have already won numerous wagers by cutting valuable Purple Crystal Sources from supposedly ordinary “Watermelon Stones.”
• Jiang Ming’s arrival gives the trio confidence and discourages anyone from attempting to reclaim the Source they have won. They collect their winnings from more than a dozen defeated gamblers, including Xia Yiming, the white-robed nun, Jin Chixiao, and Yao Yuekong.
• The competition escalates as the group moves into increasingly prestigious garden districts. Ye Fan pushes for the Heaven-Class Source garden, where each stone is worth at least a thousand jin of Source and where rare Divine Source or other treasures may be found.
• Xia Yiming, Jin Chixiao, and Yao Yuekong agree to continue gambling. Xia volunteers for the first round, setting a stake of ten thousand jin of Source.
• Ye Fan prepares to use his recently cultivated Source Heavenly Sense to select a valuable stone, clearly aiming to obtain enough resources to support his breakthrough into the Four Extremes Secret Realm.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming remains calm, confident, and courteous despite his overwhelming strength. His presence alone intimidates the younger generation’s elite, and he acts as a powerful protector for Ye Fan, Tu Fei, and Li Heishui.
• Yan Ruyu continues to embody an aloof, elegant, and otherworldly beauty. She speaks little but commands respect, especially because she carries the Azure Emperor Armament.
• Ye Fan is shown to be increasingly ambitious and resource-conscious. Having perfected the five Dao Palace Divine Treasures, he needs an enormous amount of Pure Source to advance and therefore seeks the Heaven-Class garden’s potentially priceless treasures.
• Tu Fei and Li Heishui become even more boastful after Jiang Ming’s arrival. His backing allows them to gamble more recklessly and openly mock their defeated opponents.
• Xia Yiming, Jin Chixiao, and Yao Yuekong display confidence, courtesy, and competitive spirit. Jiang Ming’s presence causes them to show off their abilities and treat the contest as a serious challenge.
• The white-robed little nun views Jiang Ming with curiosity, surprised that the feared Eastern Demon appears gentle and handsome rather than terrifying.

Significant Themes

• Power and reputation: Jiang Ming’s reputation and suppressed aura are enough to shift the balance of power in the workshop. His presence protects his allies without direct confrontation.
• Wealth and cultivation resources: Source and Divine Source are treated as essential to advancement, with gambling functioning as both a contest of skill and a means of obtaining cultivation materials.
• Confidence backed by strength: Tu Fei and Li Heishui’s boldness grows because Jiang Ming’s protection removes the danger of retaliation.
• Competition among rising talents: The stone-gambling contest brings together elite figures from different regions, highlighting the rivalry and display of abilities among the younger generation.
• Skill versus luck: The value of the Watermelon Stones and Ye Fan’s reliance on Source Heavenly Sense emphasize that stone gambling depends on specialized perception rather than simple chance.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu enter Holy City together, reinforcing their close relationship and formidable public image.
• Jiang Ming politely interacts with the Daoyi Sacred Land elder before entering the workshop.
• Ye Fan, Tu Fei, and Li Heishui warmly greet Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu as “Brother Jiang” and “Sister-in-law,” openly associating themselves with Jiang Ming.
• The trio collects gambling debts from their defeated opponents while Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu watch, making resistance impossible without risking humiliation.
• Xia Yiming, Jin Chixiao, and Yao Yuekong focus their attention on Jiang Ming, then agree to extend the competition into the Heaven-Class garden.
• Tu Fei signals Ye Fan to take advantage of the opportunity, while Ye Fan prepares to demonstrate his Source Arts before the gathered elites.

Chapter Summary: “Humanoid Divine Medicine”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After agreeing on their arrangement, Xia Yiming and Ye Fan purchase stones from Daoyi Sacred Land’s Heaven-Grade Stone Garden.
• Ye Fan cuts open a stone and releases a brilliant humanoid apparition known as “Immortal Flying from Stone,” an omen of an extraordinary treasure.
• Jiang Ming seals the apparition with his Divine-Demon Dao Diagram, preventing it from escaping. The old nun also activates the garden’s protective formation.
• As Ye Fan continues cutting, the treasure is revealed to be a severely weakened Humanoid Undying Divine Medicine, preserved inside Variant Ice-Snow Source.
• The medicine consists mostly of roots, a stem, and a tiny humanoid body with little feet. Its condition suggests it would have withered completely within a few decades.
• Powerful elders attempt to buy it, with bids eventually reaching 120,000 pounds of Pure Source. Ye Fan instead gives the medicine to Jiang Ming, trusting him to preserve it and avoid letting others consume it.
• Jiang Ming accepts it and promises to compensate Ye Fan with 200,000 pounds of Pure Source. He later stores the medicine in his Sea of Bitterness beside the Azure Emperor’s Heart, hoping to find a way to revive it.
• Several Half-Step Great Abilities threaten or pressure Ye Fan. Jiang Ming defeats them with a single snort infused with the Great Thunder Heavenly Sound, shocking everyone present.
• The old nun reinforces Daoyi Sacred Land’s rules and warns the elders not to interfere with the stone gambling.
• Yao Yuekong invites Jiang Ming to drink with him, while Xia Yiming also approaches to build a relationship. Ye Fan continues selecting stones, now confident that Jiang Ming can protect any treasures he uncovers.

Character Developments

• Ye Fan: Demonstrates increasing skill and luck in stone gambling. He gains a huge profit from his purchase but willingly gives the divine medicine to Jiang Ming, recognizing both its danger and Jiang Ming’s greater ability to protect and nurture it. He also begins thinking ahead about the enormous amount of Source needed to break through the Four Extremes Secret Realm.
• Jiang Ming: Displays overwhelming strength by gravely injuring three Half-Step Great Abilities with one sound alone. He continues acting as Ye Fan’s protector and benefactor, while also taking responsibility for the dying divine medicine. He worries about its survival and considers how his own resources, including the Azure Emperor’s Heart, might help it recover.
• Xia Yiming: Shows generosity by accepting his loss and giving Ye Fan the three-party source. He recognizes Jiang Ming’s importance and seeks to establish closer ties with him.
• Yao Yuekong: Develops respect and sympathy for Jiang Ming after learning about his difficult rise and seeing his treatment of the divine medicine. He sincerely attempts to befriend him.
• Daoyi Sacred Land’s old nun: Maintains order in the stone garden, protects the treasure with formations, and warns powerful outsiders against violating the gambling rules.

Significant Themes

• Trust and friendship: Ye Fan’s decision to give Jiang Ming the divine medicine reflects their long-standing friendship and mutual trust.
• Power and protection: Jiang Ming’s effortless defeat of powerful elders shows his role as Ye Fan’s shield and establishes his growing dominance.
• The fragility of immortality: The divine medicine is an immortal treasure, yet it is nearly dead because the current world is unsuitable for its survival.
• Greed versus responsibility: The surrounding elders see the medicine primarily as a valuable commodity or something to consume, while Ye Fan and Jiang Ming prioritize preserving it.
• Changing destiny: Jiang Ming’s involvement alters the original course of events, especially Ye Fan’s future breakthrough and his reliance on God-King Jiang Taixu.
• Stone gambling and hidden fortune: The chapter emphasizes how extraordinary treasures may lie concealed within ordinary-looking stones, while also highlighting the danger and uncertainty of obtaining them.

Character Interactions

• Ye Fan relies on Jiang Ming’s presence for security, allowing him to gamble more boldly.
• Jiang Ming protects Ye Fan from coercion and neutralizes the elders who attempt to exploit him.
• Ye Fan repays Jiang Ming’s past assistance by entrusting him with the Humanoid Divine Medicine.
• Xia Yiming and Yao Yuekong both attempt to form closer connections with Jiang Ming after witnessing his strength and character.
• The old nun cooperates with Jiang Ming’s efforts to preserve order, while the other elders respond with envy, greed, or fear.

Chapter Summary: “Nine-Aperture Stone Man”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming chooses the immensely valuable Nine-Aperture Stone Man, a legendary stone believed capable of producing a Saint Spirit. The stone has remained untouched for over nine thousand years and is worth 150,000 jin of Pure Source.
• Jiang Feng, a powerful elder of the Jiang Family, arrives with one million jin of Pure Source and offers to fund Jiang Ming’s stone gambling. His support shows that the family is eager to strengthen its connection with Jiang Ming, despite Jiang Ming’s emotional distance from the clan.
• News spreads that Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu have entered Daoyi Sacred Land’s stone workshop, especially after a Humanoid Divine Medicine is discovered. Numerous prominent figures gather to watch the stone cutting.
• Among those present are An Miaoyi, Hua Yunfei, Li Xiaoman, Jiang Yifei, and elders from several major forces. Jiang Ming’s reputation as the dominant young expert of the Eastern Wasteland causes most people to treat him with caution.
• Jiang Ming welcomes Hua Yunfei warmly and offers him protection. Hua Yunfei has deliberately traveled from the Southern Region to seek Jiang Ming’s help and possibly a way to escape the mysterious power manipulating him.
• Jiang Ming notices Li Xiaoman’s presence and recognizes the hidden danger of Crocodile Ancestor’s consciousness within her. He decides not to expose his knowledge yet, intending to deal with the threat discreetly.
• Jiang Ming begins cutting the Nine-Aperture Stone Man with a small stone sword. When the stone appears empty, several observers begin mocking him.
• He challenges the Ji Family and Yaoguang Sacred Land elders to wagers, betting that the stone will contain something at least as valuable as a palm-sized piece of Great Divine Source. Several elders accept.
• Just as the final portion of the stone is opened, a tiny Dragon-Pattern Black Gold sword bursts from its forehead. It carries terrifying killing intent, resentment, and an ancient aura, flying directly toward Jiang Ming.
• A dark-red stone heart is also revealed inside the Nine-Aperture Stone Man, confirming that the stone contains extraordinary treasures.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming continues to display absolute confidence, dominance, and sharp political awareness. He uses the stone-cutting event to reinforce his prestige, provoke hostile forces, and test the reactions of various factions.
• Jiang Feng openly supports Jiang Ming, signaling that the Jiang Family recognizes his importance and wants to secure his allegiance.
• Hua Yunfei appears increasingly desperate beneath his calm exterior. His decision to come to the Northern Region reflects his fear of the hidden enemy connected to his fate, and Jiang Ming’s welcome gives him temporary reassurance.
• Jiang Yifei remains respectful and cautious around Jiang Ming, feeling that Jiang Ming’s power has grown even more overwhelming. He also appears to be hiding an inheritance connected to the Ruthless Emperor.
• Ye Fan benefits from the attention focused on Jiang Ming, allowing him to cut stones without interference, but Li Xiaoman’s arrival revives his uncertainty and emotional distress.
• An Miaoyi is presented as beautiful, ambitious, intelligent, and strategically minded. She studies Jiang Ming with curiosity, recognizing his unusual position and influence.
• Li Xiaoman remains a source of mystery and danger because of the concealed Crocodile Ancestor consciousness within her.

Significant Themes

• Power and reputation: Jiang Ming’s overwhelming fame shapes how every major figure interacts with him. Even powerful elders hesitate to confront him directly.
• Hidden identities and altered fate: Hua Yunfei’s appearance in the Northern Region shows that events are diverging from the original storyline. Jiang Ming’s actions are creating a new, less predictable future.
• Political alliances and protection: Jiang Ming’s interactions with Hua Yunfei and Jiang Yifei demonstrate how personal relationships can become strategic alliances in the struggle among sacred lands, ancient families, and hidden enemies.
• Risk and confidence: The stone wagers highlight Jiang Ming’s willingness to gamble publicly while relying on his abilities and knowledge to humiliate his opponents.
• Secrets beneath appearances: The harmless-looking stone hides deadly treasures, while seemingly gentle characters such as Hua Yunfei and Li Xiaoman conceal dangerous circumstances and deeper motives.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming respectfully greets Jiang Feng, who promises to finance his stone gambling.
• He exchanges greetings with An Miaoyi and notices her interest in him.
• Jiang Ming warmly addresses Hua Yunfei by his former alias, “Brother Sanzang,” recalling their past musical collaboration and strengthening their bond.
• He publicly promises to protect Hua Yunfei in the Northern Region, giving Hua Yunfei a sense of safety.
• Jiang Ming invites Jiang Yifei to drink with him, treating the younger family member with unusual warmth.
• He deliberately provokes the Ji Family and Yaoguang Sacred Land elders into making wagers, turning their hostility into a public contest.
• Ye Fan watches the event with mixed feelings: relief at being overlooked, amazement at the stone’s contents, and unease over Li Xiaoman’s presence.
• The chapter ends with the Dragon-Pattern Black Gold sword emerging violently from the stone, transforming the gambling match into a potentially dangerous confrontation.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming confronts a resentful Dao sword nurtured by a Saint Spirit. His divine-sense avatar, supported by the Five-Colored Dao Diagram, Nine Purple True Dragons, and Guardian Dao Pagoda, destroys the sword’s killing intent and captures it.
• The sword is revealed to be a Dragon-Pattern Black Gold Sword, made from Extreme Dao Immortal Material. Jiang Ming also receives a system reward: a sixty-thousand-year Medicine King, along with the Fortune of the slain Saint Spirit.
• Jiang Ming wins a stone-gambling wager and receives two hundred thousand jin of Source, which he gives to Ye Fan. The spectators are shocked by his powerful avatar and Heritage Saint Weapon.
• Ye Fan chooses the enormous Immortal-Burying Stone Coffin in the Daoyi Sacred Land workshop. Li Heishui and Tu Fei organize bets over whether the stone contains anything valuable.
• Ye Fan cuts out a large Divine Source, a severed jade arm, and a Purple Tenuity Jade Hammer, a genuine King-tier weapon. The discovery makes him, Li Heishui, and Tu Fei enormous winners.
• The severed arm suddenly comes to life and attacks Ye Fan. It contains the remnant consciousness of a female Primordial Antiquity Great Accomplished God King, who attempts to possess Ye Fan.
• Jiang Ming transforms into his terrifying demonic state and, aided by Yan Ruyu, suppresses the remnant using the Azure Emperor’s secret techniques, Temporal Restart, and Nine Secrets: Jie. He destroys the consciousness before it can possess Ye Fan.
• Jiang Ming’s demonic aura affects many spectators, causing them to lose control and display violent symptoms. He quickly returns to normal and gives the arm and hammer to Ye Fan.
• Hua Yunfei offers three thousand jin of Pure Source to purchase the severed arm.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming demonstrates overwhelming combat power and increasingly precise control over his demonic nature. Although his transformation remains frightening, he insists that he can now control it.
• His reputation shifts further from “Eastern Emperor” toward “Eastern Demon,” as witnesses recognize the terrifying nature of his demonic power.
• Yan Ruyu proves herself a capable combat partner, immediately coordinating with Jiang Ming and using the Azure Emperor Secret Method to attack the remnant divine sense.
• Ye Fan gains a valuable King-tier weapon and a strange ancient arm, but the encounter exposes him to the danger of possession and leaves him deeply unsettled.
• Li Heishui and Tu Fei profit from their betting scheme and celebrate their victory, though they are terrified when forced to handle the lifelike severed arm.
• Hua Yunfei reveals his interest in the arm, recognizing its extraordinary value.

Significant Themes

• Fortune through danger and conflict: Jiang Ming gains both a system reward and Heaven-and-Earth Fortune by defeating a fellow “Saint Spirit,” showing how opportunity can arise from deadly confrontations.
• The risks of stone gambling: The chapter emphasizes both the enormous rewards and hidden dangers of gambling on ancient stones.
• Lingering power after death: The severed arm and surviving divine sense demonstrate that powerful cultivators may remain dangerous even after bodily destruction.
• Demonic power and self-control: Jiang Ming’s transformation inspires fear, but his ability to withdraw from it highlights his struggle to master rather than be consumed by his demonic nature.
• Friendship and protection: Jiang Ming protects Ye Fan from possession, while Ye Fan shares the spoils with his companions. Their relationships are strengthened through mutual assistance.
• Value beyond wealth: The King-tier hammer is priceless not merely because of its market value, but because it can serve as a sect or family’s foundational treasure.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Ye Fan interact as close allies, with Jiang Ming gifting Ye Fan his gambling winnings and later saving him from possession.
• Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu fight in coordination, reflecting their deep trust and understanding of one another.
• Ye Fan, Li Heishui, and Tu Fei celebrate their successful wager together, but their humor turns to panic when handling the cursed-looking arm.
• The spectators and great-family elders react with envy to Ye Fan’s treasures and attempt to buy the hammer or arm.
• Hua Yunfei directly approaches Ye Fan with an offer for the severed arm, setting up a possible dispute over its value and significance.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hua Yunfei purchases the severed arm of a Great Accomplished King from the Primordial Royal Clans for one thousand jin of Pure Source. Because he cultivates the Heaven Devouring Demon Art, the arm is an enormous opportunity for him, comparable to half a Medicine King Fruit.
• Li Heishui accidentally receives far more than expected when Hua Yunfei immediately pays with three Source fangs instead of negotiating.
• Jiang Ming and Ye Fan stop cutting stones at Daoyi Sacred Land’s gambling workshop after obtaining several valuable treasures. They conclude that the remaining stones are worthless and plan to try the Yaoguang Sacred Land’s workshop in the future.
• The group is invited to separate banquets by the Great Xia Prince, Xia Yiming, and Yao Yuekong. Jiang Ming unites the guests at Drunken Immortal Pavilion, while tactfully refusing Jiang Yifei’s participation to prevent a confrontation between him and Hua Yunfei over their shared cultivation technique.
• An Miaoyi takes interest in Ye Fan, sensing that he is unusual and connected to Jiang Ming, but she recognizes that Jiang Ming already has Yan Ruyu beside him and instead privately contacts Ye Fan.
• The group travels to Drunken Immortal Pavilion, an extravagant restaurant suspended above a sea of clouds. Its heavenly scenery prompts discussions about immortals, loneliness, and the ancient Heavenly Court.
• Jiang Ming reveals that a true Heavenly Court may have existed during the Mythological Era and suggests that the ancient Heavenly Venerables connected to the Nine Secrets may know its secrets.
• The group learns that Yao Yuekong recently injured Jin Chixiao in a fair duel, explaining Jin Chixiao’s absence and poor condition.

Character Developments

• Hua Yunfei acts decisively and shows how valuable the Heaven Devouring Demon Art is to his growth. His acquisition of the Great Accomplished King’s arm significantly strengthens his prospects.
• Jiang Ming continues to display foresight, restraint, and social influence. He recognizes when to stop gambling, manages the evening’s guest list, prevents a possible conflict between Hua Yunfei and Jiang Yifei, and offers cryptic knowledge about the Mythological Era.
• Ye Fan gains further prestige through his valuable treasures, especially the King-Tier Divine Weapon and shattered Divine Source. He also reflects emotionally on his missing parents and the burden of pursuing immortality.
• Yan Ruyu becomes increasingly devoted to Jiang Ming, openly sharing his reflections on immortality and loneliness while tightly holding his hand.
• An Miaoyi reveals her longing for immortality and a life partner, but accepts that Jiang Ming is unavailable and turns her attention toward Ye Fan.
• Yao Yuekong appears confident after defeating Jin Chixiao and remains unconcerned about dining at the Golden Family’s establishment.
• Xia Yiming is shown to be wealthy, ambitious, and eager to build alliances that may benefit him as a future Holy Master.

Significant Themes

• The pursuit of immortality: The characters desire eternal life, but Jiang Ming emphasizes that immortality may bring unbearable loneliness and the loss of one’s humanity.
• Power and opportunity: Hua Yunfei’s purchase illustrates how powerful physiques, bloodlines, and cultivation techniques determine access to strength and advancement.
• Fate versus restraint: Jiang Ming and Ye Fan know when to stop after their successful stone-cutting, showing that wisdom is as important as daring.
• Ancient mysteries: The possible existence of the Ancient Heavenly Court, the Mythological Era, and the relationship between the Nine Secrets and the Heavenly Venerables deepen the chapter’s larger mystery.
• Friendship and political alliances: The banquet brings together powerful young cultivators whose friendships may shape future struggles and provide political advantages.
• The cost of transcendence: The discussion suggests that becoming an immortal may separate one from family, friends, and ordinary human emotions.

Character Interactions

• Li Heishui attempts to bargain with Hua Yunfei but is shocked when Hua Yunfei instantly pays an excessive price.
• Jiang Ming and Ye Fan jointly decide to leave the gambling workshop after their successful harvest.
• Jiang Ming coordinates with Xia Yiming and Yao Yuekong to combine their invitations into one gathering.
• Jiang Ming deliberately excludes Jiang Yifei to prevent him and Hua Yunfei from recognizing each other as enemies.
• An Miaoyi compares Jiang Ming and Ye Fan, ultimately approaching Ye Fan because Jiang Ming is already committed to Yan Ruyu.
• Yan Ruyu supports Jiang Ming during the conversation about immortality, revealing her emotional attachment to him.
• Li Heishui teases Yao Yuekong about dining in the Golden Family’s restaurant after his duel with Jin Chixiao, but Yao Yuekong dismisses the concern.
• Xia Yiming and the others become deeply intrigued by Jiang Ming’s comments about the Ancient Heavenly Court and the Mythological Era.

Chapter Summary: How to Cross the Starry Sky

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming arranges a banquet at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion and deliberately invites Jin Chixiao, hoping to either resolve their conflict or force the beginning of an open feud.
• The group chooses the snow-covered Winter Garden, where they dine on rare spirit foods and extremely expensive wine purchased with thousands of jin of Pure Source.
• During the meal, the drunken little nun reveals secrets about the Western Desert and Shakyamuni. Jiang Ming explains that Shakyamuni was the sentient corpse of the Buddhist Great Emperor Amitabha, who had once traveled to the Western Desert but was rejected as a demon.
• Jiang Ming further reveals that powerful corpses can develop consciousness after death, even mentioning phenomena such as Yin Soldiers and Yin Horses. Xia Yiming warns everyone not to repeat these secrets because of the Western Desert’s terrifying influence.
• The discussion turns to the starry sky beyond their world. Jiang Ming identifies their planet as the Big Dipper Burial Emperor Star and reveals that humanity’s ancestral star is the Ziwei Emperor Star, where several Great Emperors originated.
• Jin Chixiao arrives late but brings a precious three-thousand-year wine as an apology. He shares that many other life-bearing stars contain cultivators and that the Primordial Ancient Creatures originally came from other starfields.
• Ye Fan asks how one can cross the starry sky physically. Jiang Ming explains that one must reach the Saint realm—Immortal Stage Four—after successfully Dao Severing at Immortal Stage Three.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming continues to establish himself as the most knowledgeable and mysterious person present. He acts casually, but his revelations concern ancient history, cosmic geography, Buddhist secrets, and the requirements for interstellar travel.
• Ye Fan becomes increasingly focused on the secrets of Earth and the possibility of returning there. His questions reveal both his homesickness and his determination to one day cross the starry sky.
• Jin Chixiao shows that he is direct rather than malicious. Although wary of Jiang Ming, he chooses cooperation over hostility and makes a respectful gesture by bringing valuable wine.
• Li Xiaoman retains some independent awareness despite being controlled by Crocodile Ancestor. Her consciousness and Crocodile Ancestor’s memories confirm that Earth remains deeply mysterious and that the old monk who suppressed Crocodile Ancestor may still exist.
• Hua Yunfei displays increasing interest in ancient corpses and other worlds, partly because he hopes to escape his current situation and continue cultivating through the Heaven Devouring Demon Art.
• The little nun becomes unusually candid while drunk, revealing information she normally keeps hidden. Her behavior also shows her growing comfort with the group.
• Yao Yuekong and the others participate in the relaxed banquet, while Xia Yiming takes on the cautious role of warning everyone about dangerous taboos.

Significant Themes

• Friendship versus enmity: Jiang Ming’s banquet is an attempt to transform a potential enemy into an ally, emphasizing how relationships among powerful young cultivators can determine future conflicts.
• Hidden history and forbidden knowledge: The truth about Amitabha, Shakyamuni, the Western Desert, and corpse transformation shows that official religious histories conceal dangerous realities.
• The vastness of the universe: The revelation of multiple life-bearing stars expands the characters’ understanding of the world and suggests that their current planet is only one part of a much larger cosmic landscape.
• Homesickness and destiny: Ye Fan’s thoughts of his parents and Earth contrast with his current life among cultivators, while his desire to cross the stars gives his journey a clear long-term goal.
• Power and survival: The chapter emphasizes that only Saints can travel through the starry sky physically, while ancient races survive by preserving bloodlines and preparing for catastrophes such as the Dark Cataclysm.
• The danger of arrogance: Jiang Ming warns that seemingly ordinary planets may hide terrifying experts, reminding the characters not to underestimate unknown civilizations.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming directly reaches out to Jin Chixiao, framing the banquet as a chance for reconciliation. Jin responds cautiously but respectfully by attending and offering rare wine.
• Yan Ruyu follows Jiang Ming’s relaxed lead during the feast, reinforcing their closeness and marital relationship.
• The little nun confides in Yan Ruyu while intoxicated, while Ye Fan listens eagerly whenever the conversation involves Shakyamuni or Earth.
• Ye Fan repeatedly questions Jiang Ming, seeking information about Earth, other stars, and interstellar travel.
• Hua Yunfei also presses Jiang Ming for information, especially about corpses gaining sentience and civilizations beyond their world.
• Xia Yiming attempts to restrain the conversation, warning that discussing the Western Desert’s secrets could bring disaster.
• Jiang Ming observes Hua Yunfei, Ye Fan, and Li Xiaoman closely, suggesting that he understands their hidden motives and personal histories.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming enjoys an extravagant feast at Prince Xia Yiming’s gathering, eating roasted Divine Phoenix wings and drinking rare wine. Yan Ruyu also appreciates the meal, while the others expect Jiang Ming to mediate between Yao Yuekong and Jin Chixiao—but he makes no attempt to reconcile them and simply leaves.
• Jiang Ming, Yan Ruyu, Hua Yunfei, and Li Xiaoman travel to the Jiang Family’s Phoenix Tower. The tower is a massive palace complex shaped like a phoenix and surrounded by flames.
• Jiang Ming separates Hua Yunfei from Li Xiaoman. He sends Li Xiaoman to Phoenix-Wing Palace while bringing Hua Yunfei to a sealed hall for a private conversation.
• Jiang Ming openly reveals that he knows Hua Yunfei possesses the Ruthless Empress’s Heaven Devouring Demon Art. He assures Hua Yunfei that he does not want the technique and explains that it has limitations, particularly for those with less extraordinary physiques.
• Jiang Ming warns Hua Yunfei about the coming chaos involving the Primordial Royal Clans and Primordial Imperial Clan. He advises Hua Yunfei to remain in the Holy City, avoid reckless trouble, and promises to eventually take him to see the sleeping Primordial Creatures.
• Jiang Ming’s true objective is Li Xiaoman, whose body contains a remnant consciousness of the Crocodile Ancestor. His Vermilion Bird Totem Deity continues accompanying Hua Yunfei while Jiang Ming’s true body prepares an ambush in Phoenix-Wing Palace.
• Once Li Xiaoman enters the palace, Jiang Ming activates the formations, seals the area, and uses Yaochi Fairy corpses, a Seven-Story Glazed Pagoda, and Water-Element Dao Soldiers to suppress her.
• Li Xiaoman resists with a Great Ability-level Lotus Battle Garment, a bronze Buddha statue, and the protective Buddha image in her consciousness. These treasures prevent the Crocodile Ancestor from fully erasing her consciousness.
• Jiang Ming transforms into his powerful Divine Spirit Transformation state and sends his divine sense into Li Xiaoman’s Sea of Consciousness. He claims he intends to remove the “crawling creature” inside her and says he is acting at Ye Fan’s request to save her.
• The Crocodile Ancestor’s remnant consciousness emerges as a massive Golden Divine Crocodile. Although only a fragment remains, it still possesses strength comparable to a Great Accomplished God King.
• Realizing the danger, Jiang Ming immediately retreats. The Crocodile Ancestor attacks and declares that it will convert him, while Buddha’s light barely prevents Li Xiaoman’s Sea of Consciousness from collapsing.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Becomes more openly calculating and proactive. He reveals that he has been targeting the Crocodile Ancestor’s remnant consciousness and deliberately uses deception, separation, and layered formations to attack it. However, he quickly recognizes the remnant’s terrifying power and chooses retreat over reckless confrontation.
• Yan Ruyu: Continues to remain close to Jiang Ming and displays quiet appreciation for human cuisine. Her inheritance of the Azure Emperor’s Law is presented as a powerful alternative to the Heaven Devouring Demon Art.
• Hua Yunfei: Is exposed as the inheritor of the Heaven Devouring Demon Art. Initially nervous that Jiang Ming knows his secret, he gradually relaxes after Jiang Ming explains that he does not covet the technique. He also learns that the Primordial Creatures represent a far greater future threat than he had understood.
• Li Xiaoman: Is shown to be much more dangerous and well-equipped than an ordinary captive. Her treasures and Buddha protection allow her to resist both Jiang Ming’s suppression and the Crocodile Ancestor’s possession.
• Crocodile Ancestor: Despite losing most of its divine sense, it remains an extremely powerful and intelligent entity. Its remnant is not a mindless spirit but a conscious, hostile presence with the strength of a Great Accomplished God King.

Significant Themes

• Power and caution: Jiang Ming’s willingness to retreat emphasizes that confidence must be balanced with accurate judgment of an enemy’s strength.
• Hidden identities and manipulation: Nearly every major character conceals something—Hua Yunfei’s inheritance, Li Xiaoman’s possession, and Jiang Ming’s true plan—creating an atmosphere of strategic deception.
• The coming age of chaos: The Primordial Creatures and their powerful bloodlines foreshadow major conflicts that will surpass the current struggles among human cultivators.
• Competing paths of cultivation: The chapter contrasts the Heaven Devouring Demon Art, the Azure Emperor’s Law, Jiang Ming’s many Ancient Scriptures, and Buddhist suppression techniques, suggesting that no single method guarantees ultimate success.
• Survival versus morality: Jiang Ming frames his attack on Li Xiaoman as an effort to save her, but his methods are aggressive and potentially fatal, leaving the boundary between rescue and exploitation uncertain.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu share a relaxed, companionable meal, contrasting with the political tension surrounding the gathering.
• Jiang Ming speaks directly and candidly with Hua Yunfei, combining reassurance with warnings about the future. Their relationship becomes more trusting, though Jiang Ming still withholds his true intentions.
• Jiang Ming deliberately separates Hua Yunfei from Li Xiaoman to prevent interference.
• Jiang Ming attempts to communicate with Li Xiaoman before attacking, invoking Ye Fan’s name to weaken her resistance and prevent her from cooperating with the Crocodile Ancestor.
• The chapter ends with Jiang Ming facing the Crocodile Ancestor’s overwhelming remnant consciousness, creating a cliffhanger as the struggle inside Li Xiaoman’s Sea of Consciousness begins.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Crocodile Ancestor attempts to control Jiang Ming and Li Xiaoman through Buddhist chanting and spiritual-sense techniques. Its divine radiance forms countless star-like worlds filled with Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats, while salvation light begins eroding Jiang Ming’s consciousness.
• Jiang Ming’s Nine Heavens Ziwei Pagoda and Heaven-Swallowing Demon Canopy protect him by devouring or blocking the invading spiritual power. Realizing Crocodile Ancestor is too cautious to attack directly, Jiang Ming abandons his original ambush plan.
• Using Temporal Restart, the Nine Secrets: Jie, Azure Emperor’s Nine Slashes—Soul Wound, and Ye Fan’s God-Beating Whip, Jiang Ming launches a direct assault on Crocodile Ancestor’s remnant spiritual sense.
• The God-Beating Whip severely damages Crocodile Ancestor’s consciousness. Jiang Ming’s spiritual sense, temporarily strengthened by the Divine Forbidden Realm and Nine Secrets: Jie, surpasses the weakened remnant’s quality.
• Crocodile Ancestor’s enormous Dharma body shatters, revealing its true form as a nine-meter-long crocodile. The fragment is only a portion of its original power, roughly at the level of a Great Accomplished God King.
• When Crocodile Ancestor attempts a desperate spiritual-sense counterattack, Jiang Ming reverses time again and interrupts it. He combines the God-Beating Whip with two Great Emperor-level techniques—Azure Emperor’s Nine Slashes—Soul Wound and Hengyu Secret Art—Six Desires Devour the Heart.
• After repeated attacks reduce Crocodile Ancestor’s remnant to roughly one meter, it begs Jiang Ming for cooperation and offers a secret technique. Jiang Ming refuses, suppresses it with the Supreme Yin Dao Soldier and Seven-Story Glazed Pagoda, and erases it with the Hengyu Scripture.
• The system rewards Jiang Ming with a 70,000-year Phoenix-Blood Lingzhi, while warning that he has incurred the enmity of the Great Saint-level Crocodile Ancestor.
• Jiang Ming allows the Supreme Yin Dao Soldier to devour the remaining fragment rather than investigate its memories or techniques.
• He examines Li Xiaoman and discovers that Crocodile Ancestor left behind a spiritual seed in her consciousness. Jiang Ming destroys it, freeing her from Crocodile Ancestor’s influence, though the process severely damages her vitality.
• Jiang Ming advises Li Xiaoman to continue cultivating Shakyamuni’s Buddhist inheritance. The scattered remnants of Crocodile Ancestor’s unconscious spiritual power may ultimately strengthen her cultivation.
• After returning to the physical world, Jiang Ming removes the Water-Element Dao Soldiers, gives Li Xiaoman control of the room’s isolation formation, and leaves.
• The chapter ends with Jiang Ming speaking more openly with Hua Yunfei. He reveals that Yaoguang Sacred Son is the person connected to Hua Yunfei’s dangerous cultivation situation and encourages Hua Yunfei to grow stronger and seek other inheritances.
• Jiang Ming then leaves to cultivate with Yan Ruyu, intending to help her increase her cultivation.

2. Character Developments

• Jiang Ming demonstrates tactical flexibility, ruthlessness, and overwhelming combat ability. He quickly changes strategies when Crocodile Ancestor refuses to expose itself, using time reversal and chained attacks to prevent any counterattack. He also shows confidence and emotional detachment, treating the battle and its risks as worthwhile so long as he gains benefits.
• Crocodile Ancestor is portrayed as extremely cunning and experienced, initially avoiding Jiang Ming’s trap and attempting indirect control. However, once trapped and repeatedly injured, it becomes desperate, revealing its fear and willingness to bargain. Its fragment is ultimately destroyed before it can use its strongest techniques.
• Li Xiaoman is revealed to have been psychologically and spiritually dominated by Crocodile Ancestor. Although ambitious and adaptable, she was powerless against the demon’s influence. After Jiang Ming removes the spiritual seed, she regains her freedom and gratitude toward him.
• Hua Yunfei remains insecure about his future and his relationship to Yaoguang Sacred Son. Jiang Ming reassures him that the struggle is not predetermined and that numerous inheritances and opportunities could allow him to reverse his situation.
• Ye Fan, though absent, influences events through the God-Beating Whip and his connection to Li Xiaoman. Jiang Ming views Li Xiaoman’s fate as part of Ye Fan’s unresolved emotional responsibility.

3. Significant Themes

• Cunning versus overwhelming power: Crocodile Ancestor survives initially through caution and deception, but Jiang Ming’s adaptability and superior offensive pressure eventually overcome it.
• Freedom from control: Li Xiaoman’s spiritual enslavement reflects the danger of powerful beings treating weaker individuals as vessels or puppets. Her liberation marks a recovery of personal agency.
• Inheritance and transformation: Shakyamuni’s Buddhist inheritance, Crocodile Ancestor’s imitation of it, and the possibility of corpses developing new spirits all emphasize that inheritances can be acquired, reshaped, or corrupted by later beings.
• The cost of cultivation and ambition: Characters constantly pursue stronger techniques, treasures, and opportunities, often accepting danger, betrayal, or moral compromise as the price.
• Cause and effect: Jiang Ming’s victory grants him valuable rewards but also creates a future enemy in Crocodile Ancestor’s main body. His intervention in Li Xiaoman’s fate may likewise create consequences for Ye Fan.
• Moral ambiguity: Jiang Ming saves Li Xiaoman, but mainly because doing so helps him obtain benefits. His thoughts about women and relationships reveal that he is not acting from pure altruism.

4. Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Crocodile Ancestor: Their interaction is a battle of spiritual techniques, strategy, and willpower. Crocodile Ancestor tries to dominate through Buddhist salvation light, while Jiang Ming counters with defensive treasures, time reversal, and specialized attacks. The encounter ends with Jiang Ming destroying and devouring the remnant.
• Jiang Ming and Li Xiaoman: Jiang Ming frees her from Crocodile Ancestor’s control, checks her consciousness, and offers practical cultivation advice. Li Xiaoman responds with obedience and gratitude, recognizing that she has no power to oppose him.
• Jiang Ming and Hua Yunfei: Jiang Ming speaks more candidly than before, identifying Yaoguang Sacred Son as Hua Yunfei’s rival and encouraging him to seek strength through other inheritances.
• Jiang Ming and Ye Fan: Though Ye Fan does not appear, Jiang Ming uses his God-Beating Whip and claims to be acting partly under his instructions. Jiang Ming also regards Li Xiaoman’s future troubles as Ye Fan’s responsibility.
• Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu: Their interaction is only briefly mentioned at the end, as Jiang Ming departs to cultivate with her and help advance her strength.

Chapter Summary: “Another Saint King of the Present Age”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu finish cultivating, dress in matching black robes, and prepare to visit the Heavenly Jade Holy Land Stone Gambling Workshop.
• Jiang Ming brings a large quantity of food and specially brewed wine, intending to treat the Mad Old Man and an old Saint of the Heavenly Jade Holy Land to a meal.
• Hua Yunfei accompanies them, having decided to trust Jiang Ming despite the danger surrounding his cultivation of the Heaven Devouring Demon Art and his connection to the Ruthless Empress’s inheritance.
• The group arrives at the abandoned Heavenly Jade Holy Land workshop, a place surrounded by rumors of ghosts, mysterious weeping, and unexplained phenomena.
• Jiang Ming meets Wei Yi, an apparently frail old man who is secretly a powerful Saint King and a descendant of the former Heavenly Jade Holy Land servants.
• Wei Yi reveals that the Madman has returned and has been living in the rear garden for more than four years.
• Jiang Ming, Yan Ruyu, Hua Yunfei, and Wei Yi proceed toward the Madman while Jiang Ming warns Wei Yi that the Primordial Creatures sleeping within Divine Source Veins across the world will soon awaken.

2. Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Displays affection and confidence in his relationship with Yan Ruyu, while also showing loyalty toward his old friends. He deliberately prepares emotionally for meeting the Madman, whose condition reminds him of his own grief over his dead wife, Smoke Glow Fairy Lingzhi. He continues acting as a source of foresight, warning others about the coming awakening of the Primordial Creatures.
• Yan Ruyu: Appears pleased and more captivating in her new black dress. Her relationship with Jiang Ming is portrayed as intimate and affectionate; she readily supports his plans and physically assists Wei Yi.
• Hua Yunfei: Takes an important step toward trusting Jiang Ming. His fear of being hunted for possessing the Heaven Devouring Demon Art remains, but he chooses companionship and protection over isolation.
• Wei Yi: Initially appears to be a nearly lifeless old man, but his true identity and strength are hinted at. He carries deep memories of the Heavenly Jade Holy Land, the Desolate Forbidden Land, and the tragic fate of the Madman and Heavenly Jade Saintess.
• The Madman: Though not yet seen, he is revealed to have survived and returned to the ruined workshop. His condition is implied to be extremely poor after becoming a Desolate Slave and losing his sanity.

3. Significant Themes

• Loyalty and companionship: Jiang Ming’s visit emphasizes his commitment to old friends, even those who are broken or forgotten by the world.
• The burden of the past: The ruined Heavenly Jade Holy Land and Wei Yi’s memories reflect the lasting consequences of the sect’s destruction and its failed expedition into the Desolate Forbidden Land.
• Hidden power and identity: Wei Yi’s frailty conceals his Saint King cultivation, while Hua Yunfei’s dangerous inheritance forces him to hide his true abilities.
• Grief and remembrance: Jiang Ming’s memories of Smoke Glow Fairy Lingzhi and his intention to emotionally prepare himself before seeing the Madman show that past losses continue to affect him.
• Impending catastrophe: The awakening of the Primordial Creatures foreshadows a major crisis that may reshape the entire world.
• Physical constitution versus personal achievement: The discussion of powerful physiques contrasts them with the Ruthless Empress, whose ordinary body did not prevent her from becoming a Great Emperor.

4. Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu share a warm, married-like relationship, admiring each other’s appearance and cooperating naturally.
• Jiang Ming treats Hua Yunfei as a trusted companion and is willing to let him accompany him despite the danger of Hua Yunfei’s inheritance.
• Jiang Ming addresses Wei Yi familiarly as “Brother Wei,” surprising the old Saint and immediately establishing a connection through the Madman.
• Yan Ruyu quietly supports Wei Yi as he walks, demonstrating her kindness and practical support for Jiang Ming’s friends.
• Jiang Ming speaks enthusiastically about sharing wine with the Madman, using food and drink to reconnect with the survivors of the old Heavenly Jade era.
• The chapter ends with Jiang Ming presenting Wei Yi with a warning about the coming return of the Primordial Creatures, shifting the meeting from personal reunion to concern over a looming world-wide threat.

Chapter Summary: “Reunion with Madman”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming, Yan Ruyu, Hua Yunfei, and Wei Yi travel through the ancient grounds of Heavenly Jade Holy Land to meet Madman.
• Jiang Ming jokes with Wei Yi about his ability to suppress a Primordial Ancestral King, highlighting Wei Yi’s hidden strength and Jiang Ming’s playful arrogance.
• They find Madman beside an ancient waterfall. Although Madman had once appeared as a frail, white-haired old man, he has transformed into a powerful-looking middle-aged man.
• Jiang Ming realizes that Madman’s rejuvenation is connected to the Saint Fruit he obtained from the Desolate Forbidden Land. Madman had also received the inheritance of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Fist there.
• Jiang Ming welcomes Madman with specially prepared wine containing Immortal Brew, top-grade spirit wines, and Yaochi Divine Spring Essence Liquid.
• He distributes the wine among Madman, Wei Yi, Yan Ruyu, Hua Yunfei, and himself, then produces an extravagant feast of 108 dishes made from rare beasts and delicacies purchased from Holy City’s finest restaurants.
• The meal and wine greatly benefit Wei Yi and Madman. Wei Yi visibly becomes younger, while both receive an estimated two hundred additional years of life.
• Jiang Ming also sends portions of the feast to Gu Qingyao and Jiang Tingting and invites them to Holy City after their secluded cultivation, anticipating future events at Myriad Dragon Nest and the Yaochi Sacred Land Stone-Appraisal Gathering.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Demonstrates generosity, wealth, culinary skill, and his increasingly deep connections with powerful figures. He treats Madman and Wei Yi warmly, while strategically using precious resources to extend their lives. His confidence and irreverent humor remain prominent.
• Madman: Reveals a dramatic physical rejuvenation, shifting from an aged, unstable figure into a vigorous middle-aged man. His transformation suggests advancing cultivation and the effects of the Saint Fruit, though he still retains a simple, straightforward personality.
• Wei Yi: Shows his powerful but aging state and his humorous irritation with Jiang Ming’s teasing. The longevity-enhancing wine rejuvenates him and improves his condition. He jokingly promises to acknowledge Jiang Ming as his “little brother.”
• Yan Ruyu: Quietly observes the reunion and enjoys seeing Jiang Ming interact with his old acquaintances. Her familiarity with Madman and the Primordial Ruins emphasizes her status and connection to the group.
• Hua Yunfei: Becomes increasingly impressed and bewildered by Jiang Ming, benefiting greatly from the feast and witnessing the strength of figures from the Northern Region.

Significant Themes

• Rejuvenation and longevity: The chapter emphasizes the value of life-extending treasures and the possibility of reversing age through cultivation, Saint Fruits, and divine ingredients.
• Friendship and loyalty: Jiang Ming’s reunion with Madman is affectionate and sincere, grounded in shared history and mutual trust.
• Wealth and generosity: Jiang Ming freely spends extraordinarily valuable resources on his companions, presenting generosity as both a sign of friendship and a reflection of his powerful position.
• Strength hidden beneath appearances: Wei Yi looks like an ordinary old man, while Madman’s true cultivation and transformation are far beyond what their appearances suggest.
• The survival law of cultivation: The rare feast, made from powerful beasts and divine bloodlines, reinforces the chapter’s reminder that the strong consume and dominate the weak.
• The connection between food, wine, and cultivation: The banquet is not merely celebratory; its ingredients directly improve cultivation, health, and lifespan.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming repeatedly teases Wei Yi, while Wei Yi responds with mock annoyance and good-natured humor.
• Jiang Ming greets Madman familiarly, calling him “Brother Madman” and offering him the first jar of wine.
• Madman responds without formality, immediately drinking the wine and eating the roasted Qilin leg, reflecting his uncomplicated and hearty nature.
• Wei Yi and Madman accept Jiang Ming’s gifts without excessive modesty, creating a relaxed atmosphere among old friends.
• Yan Ruyu remains calm and observant, enjoying both the feast and Jiang Ming’s relationships.
• Hua Yunfei watches these exchanges with growing admiration and confusion, realizing that Jiang Ming’s connections reach far deeper than he had understood.

Chapter Summary

• Planning a raid on Myriad Dragon Nest: After feasting together, Jiang Ming proposes visiting the sleeping grounds of the Primordial Royal Clans, especially the Myriad Dragon Nest, to obtain Divine Source and other treasures before the Primordial Creatures awaken. Wei Yi is tempted by the prospect of Divine Source, while Madman calmly agrees, though they decide to wait until current affairs in Holy City are settled.
• Jiang Ming’s ambitions and humor: Jiang Ming imagines eventually traveling through the stars in impressive fashion, preferably riding the Dragon Emperor’s Daughter or Huoliner so that he will not be outshone by Ye Fan. His thoughts reveal both his grand ambitions and his playful, shameless personality. He also intends to explore the wider universe rather than remain permanently on the Big Dipper Burial Emperor Star.
• Searching the stone workshop: With Wei Yi’s reluctant permission, Jiang Ming searches the former Heavenly Jade Holy Land Stone Gambling Workshop. He successfully cuts open several valuable stones:
  • A human-head-sized piece of Golden Divine Source, worth roughly fifty thousand jin of Pure Source.
  • A basin-sized piece of Variant Scarlet Fire Source, worth around thirty thousand jin.
  • A Human Origin Fruit, which can later be auctioned.
  • A precious Stone Dragon Pearl, worth more than seventy thousand jin of Pure Source.
• Gift to Yan Ruyu: Jiang Ming gives the Stone Dragon Pearl to Yan Ruyu, explaining that its dragon qi can nourish the body, physique, and soul. She accepts it without hesitation and stores it in her Sea of Bitterness, showing the trust and familiarity between them.
• The dangerous stone and the Saint’s finger: Jiang Ming’s next choice unexpectedly contains a severed crystalline finger carrying terrifying saintly might. Madman immediately suppresses it, erases the remaining divine consciousness, and removes its hostile aura. The finger belonged to a nonhuman Saint whose brutal and murderous nature convinced Madman that it could not be allowed to revive.
• Hua Yunfei gains a major opportunity: Hua Yunfei asks for the Saint’s finger because he can consume it with the Heaven Devouring Demon Art. After recently refining the arm of a Primordial God King, he believes the finger could greatly strengthen his origin, improve his combat ability, and help him reach the Seven Forbidden Domain. Jiang Ming gives it to him freely, recognizing that Hua Yunfei cannot afford its true value.

Character developments

• Jiang Ming displays extraordinary luck and stone-cutting ability, along with generosity toward his companions and confidence in his future.
• Madman remains quiet, powerful, and decisive, instantly dealing with the dangerous Saint’s remnant without hesitation.
• Wei Yi is practical and visibly exasperated by Jiang Ming’s repeated successes, especially since Jiang Ming appears to be taking advantage of their hospitality.
• Yan Ruyu receives a valuable treasure that may aid her cultivation.
• Hua Yunfei gains hope of overcoming his previous combat limitations and challenging stronger rivals such as the Yaoguang Sacred Son.
• Ending interaction: Jiang Ming tries to pay for the treasures with the Golden Divine Source, emphasizing that he is not a freeloader. Wei Yi refuses the payment, saying the amount is insignificant to them—but then angrily claims the stone Jiang Ming is sitting on, making it clear that he remains irritated by Jiang Ming’s opportunistic behavior.

Significant Themes

• Opportunity and preparation: The group seeks treasures while the Primordial Royal Clans remain dormant, emphasizing the importance of acting before rivals and enemies awaken.
• Power through resources: Divine Source, rare fruits, and ancient remains are treated as strategic assets capable of extending life, strengthening cultivation, and enabling survival in the wider universe.
• Companionship and mutual benefit: Although Wei Yi complains and Madman remains distant, the group shares food, treasures, protection, and cultivation opportunities.
• Ambition and competition: Jiang Ming’s desire to surpass Ye Fan and Hua Yunfei’s determination to close the gap with stronger geniuses show the constant pressure to improve in a world governed by cultivation and combat strength.
• Danger hidden within opportunity: Stone gambling may produce priceless treasures, but it can also conceal deadly remnants, as shown by the hostile Saint’s finger.

Chapter Summary: “Are You Looking Down on Great Abilities?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wei Yi uses Star Shift to teleport Jiang Ming, Yan Ruyu, and Hua Yunfei a thousand miles away from the Heavenly Jade Holy Land’s stone-gambling workshop.
• After they leave, Wei Yi cuts open a stone Jiang Ming had repeatedly examined and discovers a massive Divine Source, revealing that Jiang Ming had likely sensed its value. Wei Yi is delighted and uses the source as a seat to nourish his body.
• Hua Yunfei realizes that Jiang Ming may possess genuine stone-appraisal abilities rather than merely relying on Madman’s protection. He decides to stay at Jiang Ming’s Phoenix Tower and later enters seclusion to refine the opportunity gained from an Alien Race Saint’s finger.
• Jiang Ming spends several pleasant days with Yan Ruyu before attending the Holy Master-level auction at the Heavenly Demon Treasure Pavilion.
• To raise money, Jiang Ming puts the Human Origin Fruit he obtained from a stone up for auction, refusing to give it away merely because members of the Jiang Family or Demon Race might want it.
• Jiang Tingting arrives and is now an elegant, fiery-armored cultivator who has reached the Other Shore Realm. Jiang Ming plans her future cultivation using the Yaochi, Hengyu, Primordial Emperor, and Supreme Yin scriptures.
• Gu Qingyao appears younger and poses as Jiang Tingting’s protector. She has been treated well by the Jiang Family and is rapidly advancing toward the peak of the Saint King realm.
• Yao Yuekong personally invites Jiang Ming’s group into a VIP room. The auction attracts powerful figures from all five regions, including Western Desert monks, Ye Fan and the Thirteen Bandits, Central Plains imperial clans, and other major forces.
• The auction begins with sixteen transformed demon women presenting treasures. The first item, the Golden Light Mirror, is purchased by Ji Haoyue for one hundred thousand catties of Pure Source.
• A Great Ability’s handwritten scroll sells for one hundred and twenty thousand catties, prompting Jiang Ming to wonder whether Gu Qingyao could earn immense wealth by writing a Dao-Severing King-level scroll.
• Gu Qingyao teasingly suggests that Jiang Ming may look down on Great Abilities because of his unusually high ambitions.
• The next auction item is a piece of Desolate Antiquity Jade, beginning at one thousand catties of Source.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming remains confident, resourceful, and increasingly ambitious. He demonstrates an eye for valuable treasures, seeks wealth through the auction, and thinks carefully about his daughter’s long-term cultivation. His casual comparison of powerful treasures and techniques shows how high his standards have become.
• Yan Ruyu remains close to Jiang Ming, accompanying him through Holy City and the auction. Their relationship becomes more openly affectionate once Hua Yunfei leaves.
• Wei Yi is shown to be extremely powerful and perceptive. He quickly recognizes the value of the stone Jiang Ming had examined and enjoys the resulting Divine Source.
• Hua Yunfei gains a deeper understanding of Jiang Ming’s abilities and takes advantage of the opportunity to cultivate, leaving Holy City to undergo tribulation.
• Jiang Tingting has grown significantly in both appearance and cultivation, reaching the Other Shore Realm under Saint King guidance. Her father is confident in her future potential.
• Gu Qingyao has regained a younger appearance, settled comfortably among the Jiang Family, and is progressing rapidly after breaking through her Saint King bottleneck. Her playful remark reveals her familiarity with Jiang Ming’s unusual worldview.
• Ye Fan and the Thirteen Bandits continue to strengthen their connections and reputation through Source Arts and their presence at the major auction.
• Ji Haoyue displays wealth and decisiveness by immediately offering an exceptionally high price for the Golden Light Mirror.
• Xia Yiming is introduced as a powerful Central Plains cultivator whose mastery of the Primordial Emperor Scripture produces Imperial Dao Dragon Qi.

Significant Themes

• Hidden power and perception: Jiang Ming’s repeated attention to the stone suggests his ability to recognize extraordinary treasures, while Wei Yi’s actions confirm that seemingly frail figures may possess terrifying strength.
• Ambition and standards: Jiang Ming’s casual attitude toward Great Ability-level treasures and techniques highlights how his aspirations exceed ordinary cultivators’ expectations.
• Cultivation and inheritance: The chapter emphasizes the importance of Ancient Scriptures, secret techniques, bloodlines, and carefully planned cultivation paths across generations.
• Wealth and opportunity: Divine Sources, Pure Source, auction treasures, and rare fruits function as both resources and symbols of power. Even major figures must compete for valuable opportunities.
• Protection and family responsibility: Jiang Ming actively supports Yan Ruyu, Jiang Tingting, Gu Qingyao, and his retainers, providing them with powerful resources and planning for their futures.
• The convergence of forces: The auction brings together elites from all five regions, demonstrating the growing importance of Holy City and the increasingly tense gathering of major powers.

Important Character Interactions

• Wei Yi indirectly confirms Jiang Ming’s sharpness by cutting open the stone Jiang Ming had inspected.
• Jiang Ming and Hua Yunfei exchange blunt remarks about lodging and the upcoming auction, reflecting their direct personalities.
• Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu share an affectionate moment while exploring Holy City.
• Jiang Ming supports Crow Daoist with rare treasures, while Yan Ruyu rewards him with Azure Emperor’s essence blood, showing their generosity toward loyal allies.
• Jiang Ming considers Jiang Tingting’s cultivation and future, revealing his role as a protective and forward-thinking father.
• Gu Qingyao jokes with Jiang Ming about his attitude toward Great Abilities, creating one of the chapter’s most memorable exchanges.
• The arrival of Ye Fan, the Thirteen Bandits, Western Desert monks, and Central Plains imperial figures establishes a broad network of alliances and rivalries at the auction.
• Ji Haoyue’s aggressive bidding demonstrates how quickly status and wealth can determine the outcome of elite competitions.

Chapter Summary: Qilin Divine Medicine

Key Plot Points and Events

• At the auction, a jade fragment connected to the Wushi Emperor is displayed. Jiang Ming recognizes it as similar to Ye Fan’s Emperor Jade, but Gu Qingyao senses its hidden Dao Patterns and has Jiang Tingting purchase it for 3,000 jin of Pure Source.
• Jiang Ming buys a damaged bronze bell for 200,000 jin of Pure Source. Though plain and broken, it was forged by a Half-Saint and could potentially be repaired into a Half-Saint or even Saint Weapon.
• Jiang Ming reveals that the Emperor Jade can activate a teleportation formation inside Purple Mountain, potentially saving its holder during a crisis. He also explains that he and Ye Fan once entered Purple Mountain and helped rescue Jiang Taixu, the Jiang Family’s God King.
• Jiang Tingting gives Gu Qingyao a jade talisman containing the Nine Secrets: Dou, obtained by Jiang Ming and Ye Fan in Purple Mountain. Gu Qingyao accepts it and prepares to enter seclusion to comprehend the technique and repair Jiang Ming’s bell.
• Two Human Origin Fruits are auctioned for a combined 250,000 jin of Pure Source. Jiang Ming sells two Great Ability-grade weapons, earning a substantial profit after accounting for the bell.
• Ye Fan and his companions clash verbally with members of the Tuoba Family and arrange a Source-cutting contest at the Ji Family Stone Gambling Workshop ten days later.
• Jiang Ming takes Yan Ruyu and Jiang Tingting to the Yaoguang Sacred Land’s Stone Workshop in disguise. After cutting open several pieces of Divine Source, he discovers a Qilin Divine Medicine seed.
• The seed resembles a tiny purple qilin, radiates Primordial Purple Qi, and possesses immense life force. Its appearance immediately attracts the attention of a Great Ability from the Yaoguang Sacred Land, who seals the area and asks Jiang Ming to sell it.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming remains calm and confident, showing little interest in most auction items but recognizing the value of the Emperor Jade and bronze bell. He continues to conceal the extent of his knowledge and abilities while quietly strengthening those close to him.
• Gu Qingyao proves perceptive and knowledgeable by sensing the Emperor Jade’s hidden patterns. Her relationship with Jiang Ming and Jiang Tingting deepens, and she willingly accepts the Nine Secrets: Dou while preparing to help repair the bell.
• Jiang Tingting becomes more involved in important matters despite her young age. She helps obtain the Emperor Jade and personally presents the Nine Secrets to Gu Qingyao, strengthening their master-disciple bond.
• Ye Fan is shown to be resourceful and perceptive, using his Source Heavenly Eye to observe events. His earlier role in saving Jiang Taixu is acknowledged, and he prepares for a Source Arts confrontation with the Tuoba Family.
• Yan Ruyu accompanies Jiang Ming and Jiang Tingting during their disguised visit to the stone workshop.
• Gu Qingyao’s view of Jiang Ming changes further as she begins to regard him as someone who continually brings luck and opportunities to those around him, though Jiang Ming privately doubts this interpretation.

Significant Themes

• Hidden value and perception: Ordinary-looking objects, such as the Emperor Jade and broken bell, conceal extraordinary power. True value can only be recognized through insight and specialized knowledge.
• Inheritance and destiny: The Wushi Emperor’s legacy, the Nine Secrets, and Jiang Taixu’s survival emphasize how ancient inheritances pass to those with the proper fate or connection.
• Trust and mutual exchange: Jiang Ming does not simply give Gu Qingyao the Nine Secrets; Jiang Tingting presents it as a meaningful exchange, strengthening their relationship and preventing one-sided dependence.
• Rising conflict over ancient treasures: Purple Mountain, the Wushi Emperor’s inheritance, Source Arts, and divine medicines are drawing increasingly fierce competition among major forces.
• Fortune and danger: Jiang Ming appears to bring opportunities to those around him, but he recognizes that great treasures also attract deadly conflicts and calamity.

Important Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Gu Qingyao discuss the Emperor Jade and its connection to Purple Mountain.
• Jiang Ming explains to Gu Qingyao how he and Ye Fan rescued Jiang Taixu.
• Jiang Tingting gives Gu Qingyao the Nine Secrets: Dou, prompting Gu Qingyao to embrace her and affirm their master-disciple relationship.
• Ye Fan and his companions confront the Tuoba Family and arrange a future Source-cutting contest.
• Jiang Ming, Yan Ruyu, and Jiang Tingting disguise themselves while exploring the Yaoguang Stone Workshop.
• After the Qilin Divine Medicine seed is revealed, the Yaoguang Sacred Land immediately attempts to claim it, setting up the chapter’s next conflict.

Chapter Summary: “A Lesson for Jiang Tingting”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming and his companions uncover a Qilin Divine Medicine Seed in the Yaoguang Sacred Land’s garden.
• The Yaoguang Sacred Land seals the garden and claims it merely wants to purchase the treasure, but its threats reveal an intention to seize the treasure and kill the group afterward.
• Yan Ruyu exposes their duplicity, while Jiang Ming uses the situation to teach Jiang Tingting an important lesson about the danger posed by fellow cultivators.
• When the Yaoguang forces attack, Jiang Ming, Yan Ruyu, the Black-Patterned Blood Mosquito, and the Supreme Yin Dao Soldier counterattack.
• Jiang Ming uses multiple transformations—Divine Spirit Transformation, Demon Transformation, and Third-Turn Demon God Transformation—along with Temporal Restart to overwhelm the enemy.
• Yan Ruyu kills a Half-Step Great Ability with her King-Tier Seven-Colored Heavenly Net Umbrella. The Black-Patterned Blood Mosquito ambushes and devours several others, while the Supreme Yin Dao Soldier eliminates more opponents.
• Jiang Ming defeats the Yaoguang Supreme Great Ability in close combat, shattering his arms, seizing his Dragon-Patterned Black Gold Cauldron Replica, and killing him with Four Symbols True Fire.
• The group escapes the sealed garden, taking the Qilin Divine Medicine Seed, additional stone materials, several treasures, and seemingly the Divine Silkworm Princess and Holy Prince as well.
• Back at the Jiang Family’s Phoenix Tower, Jiang Ming gives Jiang Tingting the Wushi Secret Art. Yan Ruyu gives Jiang Ming the Azure Emperor’s Dragon-Fighting Art, a powerful body-refinement technique.

Character Developments

• Jiang Tingting becomes more mature and less naïve. She recognizes that the Yaoguang cultivators intend to rob and silence them, learning that human cultivators can be more dangerous than beasts or monsters.
• Jiang Ming acts both as protector and teacher. He deliberately allows Tingting to witness the betrayal so she will understand the dangers of the cultivation world. His overwhelming battle demonstrates his confidence and growing strength.
• Yan Ruyu remains cold, decisive, and fiercely protective. She immediately sees through Yaoguang’s false politeness and uses her King-Tier weapon to kill one of the attackers.
• The Black-Patterned Blood Mosquito shows tremendous growth and loyalty. It successfully ambushes and devours multiple powerful enemies, gaining enough strength to approach a major advancement.
• The Supreme Yin Dao Soldier has also grown stronger after absorbing Crocodile Ancestor’s divine sense power and proves effective through surprise attacks.
• The Yaoguang cultivators are exposed as hypocritical and ruthless, disguising coercion and murderous intent behind the language of negotiation.

Significant Themes

• The danger of fellow cultivators: The chapter emphasizes that betrayal, greed, and calculated murder from humans can be more frightening than natural monsters.
• Power and justice: Yaoguang attempts to exploit its superior position, but Jiang Ming overturns the power imbalance through overwhelming strength.
• Parental guidance and hard lessons: Jiang Ming uses a real crisis to prepare Jiang Tingting for the dangers she will face in the future.
• Ruthlessness as protection: Jiang Ming accepts the Black-Patterned Blood Mosquito’s brutal methods because they help protect the kind-hearted Jiang Tingting.
• Taking advantage of enemies’ greed: Since Yaoguang chooses to escalate the conflict, Jiang Ming takes not only the original treasure but also additional materials and artifacts.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming calmly confronts the Yaoguang Supreme Great Ability, while the latter uses polite language to conceal threats.
• Jiang Tingting initially questions Yaoguang’s behavior but gradually understands the hidden murderous intent.
• Yan Ruyu openly mocks the Yaoguang cultivators and warns that surrender would not guarantee survival.
• Jiang Ming addresses Jiang Tingting as a father, explaining the lesson behind the conflict and urging her to remember it.
• The Black-Patterned Blood Mosquito operates as Jiang Tingting’s vicious protective pet, returning to her hand after feeding and later resting in her Hundred Beasts Bag.
• After returning home, Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu exchange cultivation resources and techniques, strengthening one another and supporting Jiang Tingting’s future development.

Chapter Summary: The Young Ruthless Empress

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming’s system rewards him for cursing powerful enemies to death, granting him several hundred-year-old spirit medicines.
• He confirms that he has taught his daughter, Jiang Tingting, enough life-saving techniques. In the future, he plans to let her rely on her own cultivation and experience, while reserving the Nine Heavens Ziwei Jade Pagoda as a protective trump card.
• Jiang Ming realizes that his Fate Pattern is growing stronger alongside his cultivation. It may already be approaching the three-and-a-half-star level, while his Fortune and charm have also increased.
• After failing to obtain another Wushi Secret Art from the Emperor Jade, Jiang Ming enters seclusion to study the Heaven-Devouring Demon Canopy and seek an inheritance from the Ruthless Empress.
• His meditation triggers a mysterious vision. He travels upstream through the river of time and awakens in an unfamiliar valley, where he finds an injured, masked woman lying unconscious beside a spirit lake.
• Recognizing the copper ring on her finger and her extraordinary aura, Jiang Ming suspects that the woman is the young Ruthless Empress, Nannan.
• Twelve exceptionally powerful young cultivators pursue the injured woman. Jiang Ming picks her up and attempts to escape using the Xing secret art.
• The pursuers include Lin Jiuxiao, the lightning-bodied Holy Son of the Nine Heavens Holy Land; the Feathered Deity Holy Maiden; and the Blood Moon Holy Son, a descendant of a Primordial Creature.
• Jiang Ming boldly claims that Nannan is his wife and refuses to surrender her. Though Nannan has awakened, she remains still to observe him while recovering from her injuries.
• The Blood Moon Holy Son attacks with a Blood Sea and Blood Moon technique, but Jiang Ming counters by manifesting the World-Overturning Demon Ape, which clashes symbolically with a Golden Crow Heavenly Emperor.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Becomes increasingly confident in his power, Fortune, and ability to manipulate Fate Patterns. His protective feelings toward his daughter are clear, but he now intends to let her grow independently. In the temporal vision, he acts decisively and fearlessly, immediately protecting Nannan despite not knowing her identity for certain.
• Jiang Tingting: Has received multiple powerful secret arts and is being prepared for future adventures. Jiang Ming believes she is strong enough to begin developing through real-world experience.
• Yan Ruyu: Her relationship with Jiang Ming has strengthened his charm and influence. Jiang Ming’s confidence is reinforced by his ability to suppress even her powerful natural charisma.
• Nannan/Ruthless Empress: Though severely injured, she remains cautious and perceptive. She awakens while Jiang Ming carries her but chooses not to reveal this, observing whether he is trustworthy and why he is helping her.
• The Pursuers: The chapter establishes them as extraordinary prodigies from a new Golden Age, each possessing rare physiques, powerful bloodlines, and cultivation at the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm.

Significant Themes

• Fate and destiny: Jiang Ming’s growing Fate Pattern influences his strength, Fortune, charm, and perhaps his connection to the Ruthless Empress.
• Inheritance and cultivation: The chapter emphasizes the value of ancient inheritances, secret arts, and the legacies of figures such as Wushi Emperor and the Ruthless Empress.
• Protection versus independence: Jiang Ming balances protecting Jiang Tingting with allowing her to mature through her own struggles.
• The emergence of a Golden Age: The powerful young pursuers suggest an era filled with unprecedented prodigies and intense competition.
• Mystery and historical connection: Jiang Ming’s journey through time links him directly to the early life of the Ruthless Empress and hints that he may influence an important moment in her past.

Character Interactions

• Yan Ruyu privately speaks with Jiang Tingting before Jiang Ming begins his seclusion.
• Jiang Ming encounters the injured Nannan and physically protects her from the pursuing forces.
• He taunts and confronts the pursuers, especially the Blood Moon Holy Son, openly insulting his Primordial Creature heritage.
• Lin Jiuxiao and the Feathered Deity Holy Maiden demand that Jiang Ming surrender Nannan, while Jiang Ming defiantly declares her his wife.
• Nannan silently studies Jiang Ming from his arms, intrigued by his identity, motives, and willingness to oppose twelve powerful enemies for her sake.

Chapter Summary: “A Forced Kiss for the Maiden Ruthless Nannan”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming’s vision of the Demon Ape Ravaging the Heavenly Court appears and annihilates the Blood Moon Holy Son with a single staff strike. He then incinerates the Holy Son’s remains in the Four Symbols Cauldron Furnace.
• Jiang Ming arrogantly declares that he has no need to flee, even while carrying the unconscious Nannan.
• The Hundred Flowers Princess, a beautiful but notoriously ruthless woman, attempts to seduce Jiang Ming and offers to become his follower. Jiang Ming insults her appearance and rejects her viciously, comparing her unfavorably to his wife.
• Humiliated, the Hundred Flowers Princess persuades the gathered prodigies to attack Jiang Ming and Nannan together. The Feathered Deity Saintess offers everyone ten days of cultivation in the Ascension Immortal Heavenly Pool as a reward.
• Eleven Saint Sons, Saintesses, imperial descendants, and other prodigies—including the Nine Heavens Saint Son and the spatially gifted Azure Sky Peng—join forces. They unleash powerful visions and attacks, believing Jiang Ming may be a Half-Step Great Ability.
• Despite his earlier boasting, Jiang Ming immediately uses the Xing Secret and Gu Race techniques to escape. His sudden retreat surprises and frustrates the attackers.
• The supposedly dead Blood Moon Holy Son reappears through a blood-moon vision and blocks Jiang Ming’s escape. Jiang Ming responds by revealing his own terrifying visions:

A Blade of Grass Slashes the Stars

Auspicious Dragon-Phoenix Diagram

Demon Ape Ravages the Heavenly Court

Opening Heaven, a Green Willow Is Born

Three Heads and Six Arms

• To heal Nannan, Jiang Ming offers her self-made Immortal Brew. When she refuses, he forcibly transfers it into her mouth through a kiss. The wine rapidly heals her physical and Dao injuries.
• The chapter ends as Jiang Ming’s visions and the gathered attacks cause the surrounding Void to tremble and hundreds of miles of land to be reduced to ash.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming is portrayed as overwhelmingly powerful, arrogant, irreverent, and unpredictable. He effortlessly kills the Blood Moon Holy Son, mocks the Hundred Flowers Princess, and reveals that his apparent cowardice is actually a tactical retreat. His many visions imply an extraordinary and mysterious cultivation background.
• Nannan remains cautious and distrustful of Jiang Ming, initially pretending to be unconscious and refusing his wine. However, the forced kiss and the healing effect of the Immortal Brew leave her shocked and emotionally conflicted.
• The Hundred Flowers Princess is established as both exceptionally beautiful and terrifyingly ruthless. Her pride is deeply wounded by Jiang Ming’s insult, motivating her to organize the collective attack.
• The assembled prodigies demonstrate ambition and caution. Although they are powerful and normally concerned with status and pride, Jiang Ming’s destruction of the Blood Moon Holy Son convinces them to cooperate.
• The Blood Moon Holy Son reveals himself to be treacherous and difficult to kill, returning through his Blood Moon vision after appearing to have been destroyed.

Significant Themes

• Absolute strength versus numbers: The prodigies believe their combined power will overwhelm Jiang Ming, but his individual strength and mysterious techniques challenge their assumptions.
• Arrogance and humiliation: Jiang Ming’s extreme insults provoke the Hundred Flowers Princess and intensify the conflict, showing how pride drives the characters’ decisions.
• Deception and unpredictability: Jiang Ming’s boasts, sudden escape, and hidden visions make it impossible for his enemies to accurately judge him.
• Beauty versus character: The chapter contrasts outward beauty with cruelty and personality, especially through the Hundred Flowers Princess’s reputation and Jiang Ming’s deliberately insulting rejection.
• Forced intimacy and emotional conflict: Jiang Ming’s kiss is presented as both an act of healing and a violation of Nannan’s consent, leaving her confused and unsettled rather than simply grateful.
• Hidden identities and potential: Jiang Ming’s visions suggest a deeper origin and power far beyond what the surrounding cultivators understand.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming humiliates the Hundred Flowers Princess after she openly offers herself to him.
• The Hundred Flowers Princess and the Feathered Deity Saintess cooperate to rally the other prodigies against Jiang Ming and Nannan.
• The prodigies coordinate their attacks despite mutual distrust and competitive pride.
• Jiang Ming confronts the returning Blood Moon Holy Son and counters the latter’s Blood Sea and Blood Moon vision.
• Jiang Ming forcibly kisses the suspicious Nannan to deliver Immortal Brew, healing her injuries while leaving her emotionally shaken.

Chapter Summary: “Touching Her Skull”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming launches a devastating attack against the Blood Moon Holy Son and eleven other prodigies. His four great visions overwhelm and destroy their visions, while his formation flags seal off the battlefield.
• The Blood Moon Holy Son uses the Scarlet Radiance Jade King Pearl, a King-Tier Divine Weapon, to defend himself. Jiang Ming counters with Azure Emperor’s Nine Slashes and the Azure Emperor’s Dragon-Fighting Art, seizing control of the pearl and destroying the Holy Son’s skull.
• Nannan refines the Blood Moon Holy Son’s corpse using a rudimentary Great Dao Treasure Vase, demonstrating the inheritance and techniques she gained from the Desolate Forbidden Land.
• Jiang Ming suddenly prepares to leave. Before departing, he massacres most of the remaining prodigies, killing five with a palm strike, beheading three with his sword, and severely injuring the last three.
• He gives Nannan four jade talismans containing powerful inheritances: two of the Nine Secrets, the Seventy-Two Transformations, a secret art resembling Kun Peng techniques, and the Heavenly Emperor Qi-Gazing Art.
• Jiang Ming also entrusts Nannan with a Humanoid Immortal Medicine, asking her to help it grow. He disappears before explaining his identity or reasons for leaving.
• Nannan immediately undergoes the Myriad Dragons Tribulation after absorbing the fallen prodigies’ origins. The tribulation also affects their Dao-Severing King protectors, who are judged to have interfered.
• After surviving, Nannan hides in a canyon and examines Jiang Ming’s gifts. She realizes she has gained an extraordinary opportunity, including several techniques she desperately needed.
• Jiang Ming returns to his own time and begins recovering with Divine Source. He successfully refines Dreamlike Flying Immortal, a movement technique derived from Ruthless Empress’s inheritance that complements his incomplete understanding of Nine Secrets: Xing.
• Meanwhile, news spreads that Yaoguang Sacred Land’s Heaven-Class stone district was robbed by an elderly couple and a beautiful woman. The incident causes widespread uproar and a massive bounty.
• Jiang Ming later joins Ye Fan, Yan Ruyu, and Jiang Tingting at the Ji Family Stone Gambling Workshop to watch Ye Fan’s scheduled wager against the Tuoba Family. Tu Fei and Li Heishui provoke the Tuoba expert with mocking remarks before the competition begins.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming displays overwhelming combat power, defeating multiple top prodigies and a King-Tier weapon with ease. He also demonstrates greater mastery of his transformation technique, extending its duration from three to ten seconds.
• He becomes increasingly concerned with Nannan’s future, giving her life-saving techniques and the Humanoid Immortal Medicine. His actions reveal deep affection, though he hides his identity and cannot remain with her.
• Nannan proves that she is no longer merely receiving inherited power. She has adapted the Six Paths of Reincarnation Fist and Kun Peng-related inheritances to create techniques of her own.
• Nannan’s strength rises sharply after absorbing the Blood Moon Holy Son’s essence and other origins. She reaches the brink of a breakthrough, possesses combat power at the Eight Prohibitions, and survives a powerful tribulation.
• Nannan is emotionally affected by Jiang Ming’s departure. His disappearance recalls the earlier loss of someone important to her, causing sorrow and uncertainty.
• Ye Fan, Tu Fei, and Li Heishui appear as a bold, irreverent group preparing to challenge the Tuoba Family through a high-stakes stone-gambling contest.
• Yan Ruyu and Jiang Tingting receive limited instruction in Source Arts, relying mainly on the Heavenly Emperor Qi-Gazing Art to identify valuable and safe stones.

Significant Themes

• Inheritance and opportunity: Even the greatest talents require encounters, teachers, and inheritances to advance. Nannan’s growth reflects how opportunity completes innate talent.
• Separation and emotional loss: Jiang Ming and Nannan form a powerful connection but are forced apart. Their parting echoes Nannan’s earlier trauma of losing someone who never returned.
• Identity and destiny: Jiang Ming deliberately withholds his identity, while Nannan tries to understand who could possess and freely give away such extraordinary techniques.
• Power and preparation: The chapter emphasizes the importance of protective weapons, secret arts, tribulations, and accumulated resources in the struggle among prodigies.
• Time and cultivation: Jiang Ming’s return to his own era and his cultivation of Dreamlike Flying Immortal connect the plot to time, movement, and the possibility of crossing or defying temporal limits.
• Humor amid danger: The deadly battles are followed by the playful verbal sparring surrounding Ye Fan’s stone-gambling match, creating a contrast between high-stakes conflict and comic provocation.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Nannan fight together briefly, with Jiang Ming handling the main assault and Nannan finishing the Blood Moon Holy Son.
• Jiang Ming gives Nannan both precious treasures and personal responsibility, especially the Humanoid Immortal Medicine, strengthening the emotional bond between them.
• Nannan reacts privately to Jiang Ming’s gifts and departure, touching her lips and mask as she struggles with affection, confusion, and grief.
• Jiang Ming later reunites with Ye Fan’s circle at the stone-gambling event, while Tu Fei and Li Heishui taunt the Tuoba Family’s expert into an angry exchange.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Tuoba Family’s elderly Source Arts master challenges Ye Fan to gamble on ordinary stones around Spirit Lake, boasting that Ye Fan and Li Heishui are unqualified to enter the Heaven-Class District.
• The lakeside stones are merely decorative rocks, but the old man and Ye Fan nevertheless use their Source Arts to cut out fist-sized pieces of Scarlet and Blue Variant Source, each worth about 1,500 jin of Pure Source.
• Jiang Ming secretly guides Yan Ruyu and Jiang Tingting toward better stones using his concealed mind-to-mind communication technique.
• The two women buy cheap “Watermelon Stones” and unexpectedly discover extraordinary treasures:
  • Jiang Tingting cuts out a shot-put-sized piece of Scarlet Variant Source, worth roughly 10,000 jin of Pure Source.
  • Yan Ruyu discovers twelve pieces of cyan Divine Source, collectively worth about 36,000 jin of Pure Source.
• Yan Ruyu generously gives her Divine Source to Jiang Tingting to support her cultivation. The discovery humiliates the two experienced Source Arts masters and demonstrates the women’s astonishing luck—or Jiang Ming’s superior guidance.
• Embarrassed, the Tuoba elder insists that the real contest take place in the Heaven-Class District rather than among the lakeside decorations.
• The group travels to the Ji Family’s Heaven-Class District, a beautiful island filled with ancient Lingxi Trees, spiritual springs, rare stones, and more than a thousand expensive stone materials.
• The Ji Family has reluctantly agreed to host the contest because it knows valuable treasures lie within its stones, though even its own experts have been unable to identify them.
• Numerous powerful young cultivators and prominent figures gather, including Ji Haoyue, Ji Ziyue, Hua Yunfei, Li Xiaoman, An Miaoyi, Jiang Yifei, the Yaoguang Sacred Maiden, and others.
• The chapter ends as the younger generation exchanges polite greetings while the older experts provoke one another and urge Ye Fan to uncover more treasures.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Reveals increasingly impressive mastery of Source Arts, comparable to a Source Earth Master. He discreetly guides Yan Ruyu and Jiang Tingting while concealing his involvement.
• Yan Ruyu: Displays generosity by giving her valuable Divine Source to Jiang Tingting. Her calm success further establishes her exceptional fortune and status as the Demon Emperor’s descendant.
• Jiang Tingting: Shows youthful enthusiasm and pride. Her successful gamble produces a massive piece of Variant Source, validating her confidence and providing vital cultivation resources.
• Ye Fan: Remains determined to obtain enough Pure Source to fund his cultivation. He recognizes that Jiang Ming’s Source Arts likely surpass his own and aims to win a much larger prize in the Heaven-Class District.
• Tuoba Family’s elder: Begins arrogant and confident but is visibly embarrassed after being outperformed by two young women. He hastily redirects the contest to the more prestigious Heaven-Class District.
• Hua Yunfei: Has advanced greatly in cultivation and experienced a major improvement in his origin, becoming more confident and less melancholy.
• Li Xiaoman: Has grown more beautiful and serene through Amitabha Buddha’s Ancient Scripture. She remains unaware of Ye Fan’s identity but possesses tremendous potential, an Emperor Scripture, and a Quasi-Emperor Forbidden Artifact.

Significant Themes

• Humility versus arrogance: The elderly Source Arts master’s contempt for the younger generation is overturned when Yan Ruyu and Jiang Tingting find better treasures than he and Ye Fan do.
• Luck, talent, and hidden guidance: The chapter contrasts genuine Source Arts expertise with extraordinary luck, while revealing that Jiang Ming’s secret assistance plays a decisive role.
• Wealth and cultivation: Source functions as a crucial resource for advancement, making stone gambling both an intellectual contest and a means of acquiring immense cultivation wealth.
• Generosity and familial affection: Yan Ruyu’s decision to give away her Divine Source highlights her tenderness toward Jiang Tingting and the importance of supporting younger cultivators.
• Appearance versus reality: Ordinary-looking stones conceal priceless treasures, just as seemingly young or underestimated characters may possess extraordinary ability.
• Social and generational rivalry: The gathering combines polite interactions among the younger cultivators with intense competition and provocation among the older generation.

Character Interactions

• The Tuoba elder openly insults Ye Fan and challenges him to a Source Arts competition.
• Jiang Ming communicates privately with Yan Ruyu and Jiang Tingting, guiding them without allowing others to detect their conversation.
• Jiang Tingting and Yan Ruyu cooperate in selecting and cutting stones, though Jiang Tingting initially believes her own find is superior.
• Yan Ruyu gives her Divine Source to Jiang Tingting, strengthening their aunt-and-niece-like bond.
• Ye Fan and the Tuoba elder are forced into an awkward comparison after both are surpassed by the two women.
• Ji Haoyue, Ji Ziyue, Ji Biyue, and Ji Haiyue help host the gathering and receive the visiting prodigies.
• Ji Ziyue eagerly joins Jiang Ming’s group and acts as their hostess, while Hua Yunfei and Li Xiaoman remain nearby.
• The younger cultivators maintain a courteous atmosphere, contrasting with the older experts’ provocative remarks and attempts to intensify the Source Arts showdown.