Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• After advancing in cultivation, Jiang Ming’s companions discuss the Qinling Mountains’ many legends of seemingly ordinary people defeating powerful cultivators. The group agrees to explore the region for opportunities.
• Jiang Ming waits for developments at the Immortal Transformation Pool and reflects on the Age-Defying Spring, whose drops can extend life by 2,300 years and may be used repeatedly.
• He discovers that Hua Yunfei, An Miaoyi, Li Xiaoman, and Ye Fan are cultivating at a secluded sect where the Nine Secret: Bing and a legacy of the Ruthless Empress can be found. The women close to Jiang Ming join the sect, while Yan Ruyu stays out: Jiang Ming has already given her the Nine Secret: Bing and taught her the powerful Five-Colored Divine Light.
• At the Qin Sect, five mischievous young disciples accidentally fall into a pit beside a vermilion coffin. The mountain master arrives and, treating the incident as a lesson in discipline, lifts the children and coffin out together.
• Jiang Chanyu intervenes to protect the children just as a jade-green centipede bursts from the coffin. It dissolves more than a thousand birds with its green light. The mountain master’s cloud-based attack fails, and Jiang Chanyu counters the centipede’s beam with the innate true fire she cultivated from a flame given by Jiang Ming. The mountain master then attacks with a green gourd that releases golden water.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Ming remains confident and patient, relying on the Age-Defying Spring and anticipating another breakthrough. He also continues to support those close to him by sharing powerful techniques and treasures.
• Yan Ruyu accepts the Five-Colored Divine Light despite initially intending to refuse it, recognizing its strength and usefulness. Her exchange with Jiang Ming is warm and playful.
• Jiang Chanyu’s sense of justice leads her to protect the frightened children, even though she has only just joined the sect. Her quick intervention also shows the effectiveness of the flame Jiang Ming gave her.
• The mountain master is stern and amused by the children’s misbehavior, but becomes decisive when the centipede threatens the sect. Jiang Chanyu and the mountain master both act to shield others from danger.
• Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu watch the confrontation from above, trading a humorous theory about the centipede’s origin.

Significant themes

• Hidden power and mystery: The Qinling Mountains conceal extraordinary figures, legacies, and dangers beneath an unassuming surface.
• Mentorship and protection: Jiang Ming equips his companions with means to grow and defend themselves; Jiang Chanyu extends that protective instinct to the children.
• Discipline and compassion: The mountain master frames hardship as a lesson, while Jiang Chanyu insists that even troublesome children deserve protection.
• Sudden danger: A childish accident uncovers a deadly creature, turning a comic scene into a serious confrontation.

Key plot points and events

• A jade-green centipede attacks the mountain lord with a Spirit-Communicating Treasure, but Jiang Chanyu’s five-colored treasure kills it with a single strike. The mountain lord laments losing a potential insect king.
• At the Qin Sect, Jiang Chanyu reunites with the Yaochi Sacred Maiden and Fairy Zixia. She boasts that she is the Central Plains’ most beautiful woman; the others tease her about having been away for ten years.
• The women learn that the Qin Sect holds the Spirit-Duelling Art, a legacy associated with the Southern Mountains Great Emperor—an identity once used by the Ruthless Empress. The sect is also rumored to hold one of the Nine Secrets.
• Jiang Ming decides to acquire the Spirit-Duelling Art and sends his three wives to watch Ye Fan, whose extraordinary fortune might lead them to the Nine Secret: Bing.
• Over the next year and a half, Jiang Ming uses the Great Dream Emperor Scripture to enter the dreams of a Qin Sect elder and obtain the art. The elder mistakenly believes he has converted Jiang Ming, while actually converting Jiang Ming’s zombie—a former Golden-Body Arhat. Jiang Ming also turns several strange creatures into followers, including the jade-like Shi Zhongyu, a silver ape, and a wolf with Azure Sky Peng blood.
• Jiang Ming leaves the Qin Sect with the elder obediently acknowledging him as “Master.” Meanwhile, Ye Fan obtains the Nine Secret: Bing after surviving an encounter with five powerful monsters; Jiang Ming had intervened and taken the monsters away.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Chanyu displays overwhelming confidence in her treasure, which can strike without missing and bypass powerful defenses. Her reunion with the other women highlights her playful vanity.
• Jiang Ming remains ambitious and calculating: he pursues the Spirit-Duelling Art to gather loyal followers and pushes his wives toward challenges that could strengthen them. His dream-based scheme shows both his power and his willingness to exploit an opponent’s mistaken beliefs.
• The Qin Sect elder is deceived into thinking he has converted Jiang Ming. His interaction with Jiang Ming turns into an unintended exchange: Jiang Ming gets the art, while the elder gains a powerful zombie follower.
• Ye Fan continues to benefit from remarkable luck and resilience. His encounter with Jiang Ming leaves him astonished at how far Jiang Ming’s strength has surpassed ordinary human limits.
• Jiang Chanyu, the Yaochi Sacred Maiden, and Fairy Zixia share a teasing, familiar dynamic, while the women’s interest in Ye Fan reflects their hope of gaining the Nine Secret: Bing.

Significant themes

• Power and ambition: Jiang Ming seeks not merely strength but a vast following worthy of a future Great Emperor.
• Deception and mistaken perception: Dream and reality blur as Jiang Ming secures the Spirit-Duelling Art without the elder realizing what has happened.
• Fortune and opportunity: Ye Fan’s luck repeatedly draws him into danger and valuable discoveries.
• Legacy and inheritance: The Ruthless Empress’s past identity, the Spirit-Duelling Art, and the Nine Secrets connect present-day characters to powerful histories.

Key plot points and events

• After a year at the Qin Sect, Jiang Ming breaks through in two areas. His Shrouding Method reaches the seventh heaven of Immortal Stage One, and his Great Freedom Dao Scripture advances to its sixth Time-Space Turn.
• During the first tribulation, he transforms into the Hengyu Furnace and refines the lightning into a Great Dao Thunder Pill, which greatly boosts his cultivation. During the second, he absorbs the tribulation into his newly formed Inner Heaven and Earth, a hundred-li pocket realm whose growth he hopes to nurture into a true world.
• Jiang Ming plans to enrich this inner realm with treasures from the Qinling Mountains, including resources from the Eternal Dragon Lair and Immortal Transformation Pool, as well as the elusive Fantasy-grade Divine Marrow.
• The Yaochi Sacred Maiden, Fairy Zixia, and Jiang Chanyu tell him they have obtained Nine Secret: Bing. They also mention a motionless stranger beside a lake, whom Jiang Ming identifies as the Central Emperor, Xiang Yufei.
• The group goes to find the stranger and encounters Ye Fan speaking with the frail old man Gai Jiuyou. Gai is praising Xiang Yufei’s past prowess—and, after Ye Fan compares him to Jiang Ming, grudgingly praises Jiang Ming too.
• Jiang Ming appears just in time to hear Gai’s remarks. He greets Gai with exaggerated admiration, ruining the old man’s chance to continue boasting. Gai pretends not to know him.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Ming shows growing strength and confidence, while treating his Inner Heaven and Earth as both a future sanctuary and a strategic escape route for those he cares about.
• The Yaochi Sacred Maiden and her companions continue exploring the Qinling Mountains and acquire an important Nine Secret inheritance.
• Ye Fan recognizes Jiang Ming as a formidable figure and teasingly redirects Gai Jiuyou’s praise toward him.
• Gai Jiuyou remains proud of his reputation and competitive about Jiang Ming, despite acknowledging his talent. Their encounter is playful, with Jiang Ming’s teasing puncturing Gai’s self-important storytelling.

Significant themes

• Cultivation through challenge: Jiang Ming turns tribulations into resources, making danger part of his advancement.
• Creation and refuge: His Inner Heaven and Earth represents both the gradual making of a world and a means of protecting companions.
• Legacy and reputation: The discussion of past heroes and the Nine Secrets links present cultivation to earlier generations.
• Humor and rivalry: Jiang Ming’s irreverence contrasts with Gai Jiuyou’s pride, creating lighthearted tension amid the chapter’s major breakthroughs.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Fan awkwardly tries to praise the ailing Gai Jiuyou, whose identity he has apparently just recognized, while Jiang Ming’s bluntness makes the moment uncomfortable.
• Gai Jiuyou explains that Central Emperor Xiang Yufei is grieving a woman who died by suicide after believing he had died.
• Jiang Ming calls Xiang Yufei over. Suspicious of the three observers, Xiang Yufei challenges them and invokes the Eight Trigrams legacy of Great Emperor Fuxi.
• Jiang Ming steps forward to fight him, promising to settle matters in one move. Xiang Yufei attacks with the Eight Trigrams Heavenward Palm, but Jiang Ming’s Balance of Void and Reality makes the strike pass through him.
• Jiang Ming counters with the Western Emperor’s Heaven-Sealing Hand. Xiang Yufei’s innate supreme bone breaks through the seal, but he quickly concedes, judging Jiang Ming overwhelmingly dangerous.
• Xiang Yufei joins the others. The conversation reveals that he and Gai Jiuyou belonged to different eras and had never met.

Character developments

• Jiang Ming displays confidence and formidable control: he tests Xiang Yufei with Dao techniques rather than relying on physical force, while his strength is shown to extend to both body and primordial spirit. He also understands the path of his next realm.
• Xiang Yufei is shown as powerful and proud, but practical enough to surrender once he recognizes the danger. His grief over the woman he loved also reveals a vulnerable side.
• Ye Fan has advanced rapidly to the ninth heavenly layer of Dragon Transformation, though Jiang Ming judges him outmatched by Xiang Yufei.
• Gai Jiuyou remains a respected, legendary figure, but is embarrassed by Ye Fan’s direct, lavish praise.

Significant themes

• Power and restraint: Jiang Ming proves his superiority without needlessly injuring Xiang Yufei.
• Grief and the passage of time: Xiang Yufei’s awakening forces him to confront the loss of everyone from his former life, including his beloved.
• Legacy and historical distance: The characters’ differing eras complicate assumptions about who knew whom and emphasize how much history has passed.
• Destiny and cultivation: Jiang Ming’s insight into his next realm suggests that understanding one’s path can make future advancement far more certain.

Character interactions

• Ye Fan’s praise of Gai Jiuyou creates comic awkwardness, which Gai’s cough and Ye Fan’s change of subject only partly relieve.
• Jiang Ming bluntly interrupts Xiang Yufei’s solitude, provoking a challenge that becomes a brief test of strength.
• Jiang Ming and Xiang Yufei meet as powerful peers in temperament, but Jiang Ming’s decisive advantage earns Xiang Yufei’s respect and ends the confrontation quickly.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Ming urges Xiang Yufei to stop being consumed by grief over his lost beloved. If he still believes he can pursue the Great Dao, he should keep striving; perhaps ultimate power will offer a way to defy fate and time. The words also move Ye Fan and Gai Jiuyou.
• Jiang Ming hosts a Dao-discussion over diluted Immortal Brew with Xiang Yufei, Ye Fan, and Gai Jiuyou. Afterward, the group parts ways.
• Ye Fan has advanced rapidly with Jiang Ming’s help, reaching the ninth transformation of Dragon Transformation. Jiang Ming reflects on the many demanding paths and laws he cultivates, but remains confident in his progress.
• Jiang Ming and his four companions set out for Ascension Land, where the Immortal Transformation Pool is about to open. He teaches Fairy Zixia and Jiang Chanyu the Heavenly Emperor Qi-Gazing Art so they can better detect danger, and warns that the perilous land also holds great opportunities.
• Three days into the journey, they encounter Big Black Dog and Nannan. The dog has reached Half-Step Great Ability, partly thanks to Jiang Ming’s previous gifts and teachings; Nannan can identify a safe route.
• Jiang Ming welcomes them, believing they will help the group reach the Immortal Transformation Pool first. He intends to absorb its water into his Inner Heaven and Earth to advance further.

Character developments

• Xiang Yufei is challenged to move beyond mourning and reclaim purpose through cultivation.
• Jiang Ming reveals his pragmatic, fiercely ambitious view of cultivation: seize every useful opportunity, even if doing so is morally questionable. He also takes his companions’ growth seriously, wanting them strong enough to keep pace with him.
• Ye Fan is progressing quickly, though Jiang Ming believes his own complex cultivation will keep him ahead.
• Big Black Dog has grown substantially stronger and is gradually undoing a seal on his powerful body. He remains greedy but loyal, and values Jiang Ming’s generosity.
• Nannan remains affectionate toward Jiang Ming and can guide the group along safer paths.

Significant themes

• Hope and perseverance: The Great Dao may offer answers even to seemingly irreversible loss.
• Cultivation as struggle and appropriation: Jiang Ming sees practitioners as “parasites” who grow by consuming heaven-and-earth resources.
• Power and responsibility: Jiang Ming invests in his companions’ strength so they will not be left behind.
• Ambition and moral compromise: Jiang Ming is increasingly willing to act ruthlessly in pursuit of advancement, confident that his reputation as the Eastern Demon leaves little to lose.

Character interactions

• Jiang Ming gives Xiang Yufei blunt but hopeful counsel, which resonates with Ye Fan and Gai Jiuyou.
• He contrasts his attentive support of his beloveds with Ye Fan’s more hands-off approach, citing his efforts to strengthen the Yaochi Sacred Maiden.
• Jiang Ming reunites warmly with Nannan and Big Black Dog, whose loyalty and gratitude reflect the benefits of their past relationship. The group joins forces to navigate Ascension Land and pursue the Immortal Transformation Pool.

Plot points and events

• Jiang Ming and his companions push through the Immortal Land, where he dispatches numerous ancient corpse-monsters. He burns a powerful red-haired corpse with dragon-vein fire and destroys more than thirty Flying Yakshas by combining Source Arts, star power, and dragon veins.
• Ye Fan’s group spots the celestial display from afar. Ye Fan recognizes Jiang Ming’s handiwork, while Li Heishui, Pang Bo, Ji Haoyue, and Ji Ziyue react with amazement. Ji Ziyue urges everyone to catch up before Jiang Ming claims the treasures.
• The chapter recalls Jiang Ming’s earlier gains and his compensation to Tu Tian after taking the Heaven-Swallowing Devil Jar. The Jar is now an independent Emperor Armament resting in the Desolate Forbidden Land.
• Jiang Ming reaches the paired sites he sought: the Immortal Transformation Pool and the Eternal Dragon Lair. The Pool radiates immense, scorching yang energy; the lair emits cold lunar power and promises great fortune. A quasi-emperor-level Saint Spirit sleeps in the lair, making it too dangerous for Jiang Ming to confront.
• Jiang Ming jokingly proposes sending the Black Emperor alone into the lair while the others use the Pool. The Black Emperor is aghast, but Tingting arrives with Xia Youyu, Tu Fei, and Gu Qingyao. Reassured by Tingting’s affection, the Black Emperor gives her a precious treasure from Purple Mountain.

Character developments

• Jiang Ming demonstrates overwhelming skill with Source Arts and keeps his composure amid lethal dangers, though his teasing of the Black Emperor reveals a mischievous side.
• Pang Bo has advanced to the ninth layer of Dragon Transformation by gnawing through part of the Immortal Emperor’s coffin plank, embracing the cultivator’s practical instinct to seize and use treasures.
• Li Heishui has trained for over four years under Wei Yi and has grown substantially; Wei Yi, meanwhile, has regained enough longevity to be less concerned about imminent death.
• Tingting, now fourteen and at the fourth transformation of Dragon Transformation, has matured into a capable young cultivator. The Black Emperor’s fondness for her is evident.

Character interactions

• Ye Fan identifies Jiang Ming’s distant techniques for his companions; Ji Ziyue’s excitement over catching up contrasts with Ye Fan’s more measured response.
• Jiang Ming deliberately assigns the Black Emperor the most dangerous task, prompting the dog’s wounded disbelief. Tingting playfully calls out her father for bullying him, then receives the Black Emperor’s treasured gift.
• The group’s history with the Immortal Mansion World—especially Jiang Ming’s dealings with Tu Tian—shapes their expectations as they approach another major trove.

Significant themes

• Power and resourcefulness: Jiang Ming’s mastery and Pang Bo’s unconventional use of a rare artifact show different ways of turning opportunity into strength.
• Fortune and danger: Both sites promise enormous gains, but the lair’s sleeping Saint Spirit makes its riches inseparable from risk.
• Loyalty and compensation: Jiang Ming’s repayment to Tu Tian reflects his effort to settle obligations, even after taking a major artifact.
• Affection and humor: The teasing between Jiang Ming and the Black Emperor, softened by Tingting’s kindness, balances the chapter’s high-stakes setting.

Key plot points and events

• The group encounters a terrifying ancient corpse, once a Great Accomplished King. Jiang Ming captures it with six powerful corpse soldiers, destroys its remaining consciousness, and adds it to his collection of Dao soldiers.
• Jiang Ming and the others hurry onward before more enemies arrive. Black Emperor offers to teleport them with an Emperor Formation, but Jiang Ming and Tingting distrust his unreliable methods.
• Wang Teng approaches in a Golden War Chariot. Black Emperor reassures Tingting that Ye Fan can handle him, since the dragon veins and terrain favor Ye Fan’s Origin Heaven Art.
• Jiang Ming uses his Source Arts to form a dragon-energy path up the mountain, demonstrating that he has reached the level of a Source Earth Master.
• At the summit, the group finds the vast Immortal Transformation Pool. Jiang Ming warns that its deeper waters can kill even powerful cultivators, but begins drawing water into his Inner Heaven and Earth.
• The others search the safer shallows for treasures. Black Emperor finds Nine Heavens Scarlet Jade King with Nannan’s help; Yan Ruyu retrieves a Green Copper Block; and Black Emperor eventually discovers a thumb-sized fragment of an Emperor Armament.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Ming displays both overwhelming strength and resourcefulness: he captures the ancient corpse for future use, guides the group through the dragon veins, and claims some of the pool’s resources while warning everyone about its dangers.
• Black Emperor is eager to exploit opportunities, but his reputation for being unreliable prompts Jiang Ming to stop his teleportation attempt and Tingting to caution him. He tries to trade for Yan Ruyu’s Green Copper Block, is rebuffed, then eagerly searches for more treasures.
• Tingting shows concern for Ye Fan and skepticism toward Black Emperor. Nannan proves unusually useful at locating treasures and bluntly calls Black Emperor shameless, leaving him dejected.
• Yan Ruyu quietly senses out a Green Copper Block and refuses Black Emperor’s attempted trade.
• Ye Fan is not with the main group at the summit; the others expect him to use his knowledge of the terrain against Wang Teng.

Significant themes

• Power and transformation: The corpse’s strength in life makes it especially fearsome in undeath, while Jiang Ming turns it into a potential asset.
• Risk and reward: The Immortal Transformation Pool offers extraordinary treasures, but its beauty conceals lethal danger.
• Knowledge and opportunity: Source Arts and familiarity with dragon veins give Jiang Ming and Ye Fan an advantage in a perilous environment.
• Ambition and self-interest: The group seeks valuable resources, with Jiang Ming justifying his gains as something he might repay in the distant future.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming begins absorbing the water from the Immortal Transformation Pool into his Inner Heaven and Earth, intending to create his own immortal pool.
• He and Gu Qingyao devise a plan to deal with the Third-Generation Heavenly Origin Master, who has become a Saint-level Evil Corpse. A Grand Dao Golden Core has formed inside him, while an even more dangerous Saint Spirit remains within the Eternal Dragon Lair.
• Gu Qingyao agrees to suppress the Evil Corpse and seize the Golden Core when the opportunity arises. Although she has advanced to Great Saint Third Heaven, she recognizes that the Saint Spirit in the lair may be beyond her power.
• Jiang Ming speculates that the Azure Emperor’s hidden arrangement may be intended to destroy the Saint Spirit rather than merely deal with the Heavenly Origin Master. He believes he will eventually need the Azure Emperor’s help, but intends to free him once he becomes strong enough.
• The group searches the shallows of the Immortal Transformation Pool and obtains numerous treasures, including Nine-Heavens Blue Jade King, Phoenix-Blood Parasol Tree Wood, Immortal Pool Jade Marrow, Mutton-Fat White Jade Divine Iron, and a Chaos Mud Block.
• Jiang Ming obtains a fist-sized piece of Chaos Stone Marrow, an Extreme Dao Immortal Material from the same source as Emperor Wushi’s Chaos Stone bed and Wushi Bell. He decides to use it for his White Lotus Artifact, completing the materials needed for his three lotus weapons.
• Ye Fan arrives late but immediately finds valuable treasures with Nannan’s help, including another Nine-Heavens Jade King and Dragon-Pattern Divine Wood.
• Other cultivators become envious and attempt to persuade Nannan to help them locate treasures. She bluntly refuses one Half-Step Great Ability, calling him a bad person.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming remains composed and strategic. Rather than rushing toward the most obvious opportunities, he focuses on collecting the Immortal Transformation Pool’s water and arranging the coming confrontation. His acquisition of the Chaos Stone Marrow completes the core materials for his White, Black, and Scarlet Lotus artifacts.
• Gu Qingyao demonstrates growing strength and confidence. Having reached Great Saint Third Heaven, she accepts the dangerous task of suppressing the Evil Corpse, though she remains conscious of the threat posed by the Saint Spirit.
• The Black Emperor continues providing knowledge about ancient treasures but also behaves irreverently. After making an inappropriate suggestion involving Fairy Zixia, he quickly retreats when Jiang Ming threatens him.
• Ye Fan remains fortunate and optimistic. Despite arriving after the greatest treasure has already been claimed, he quickly finds rare materials and is pleased that Nannan helps him.
• Nannan shows unusual discernment and loyalty. She deliberately guides Ye Fan to treasures but refuses to help greedy cultivators, recognizing their malicious intentions.
• Yan Ruyu now possesses the Green Copper Block, which Jiang Ming believes suits her better than it would have suited its original destined owner, Ye Fan.

Significant Themes

• Fate and altered destiny: Events differ from their original course, with Yan Ruyu obtaining the Green Copper Block and Jiang Ming claiming the Chaos Stone Marrow that might otherwise have remained for another chosen individual.
• Preparation over recklessness: Jiang Ming emphasizes patience, strategy, and allowing others to draw out the greatest dangers before he acts.
• The dangers of declining eras: The Dharma-Ending Era has caused many cultivators to overestimate their strength, forgetting that figures considered powerful now were once merely minor guardians in earlier ages.
• Treasure and cultivation opportunity: The chapter highlights the value of rare immortal materials and how they can determine the future power of weapons, cultivators, and factions.
• Loyalty and moral judgment: Nannan’s selective assistance contrasts with the opportunism of the surrounding cultivators, showing that kindness and trust matter more than offers of rewards.
• Hidden ancient powers: The Azure Emperor, the Saint Spirit, and the Eternal Dragon Lair represent dangers and schemes far beyond the understanding of ordinary cultivators.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Gu Qingyao discuss how to seize the Grand Dao Golden Core while avoiding direct contact with the Saint Spirit.
• Jiang Ming reflects on his connection to the Azure Emperor through Gu Qingyao and considers relying on him in the coming crisis.
• The Black Emperor admires Jiang Ming’s Chaos Stone Marrow and jokes about him having a child with Fairy Zixia; Jiang Ming angrily rebukes him.
• Nannan helps Ye Fan locate treasures, and Ye Fan gratefully promises to reward her with something delicious.
• When other cultivators try to bribe Nannan into helping them, she rejects them outright, embarrassing and angering the Half-Step Great Ability who approaches her.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Ming forces the crowd away from the Immortal Pool and keeps collecting its water to nourish his Inner Heaven and Earth.
• At the Eternal Dragon Lair, an attempt to seize the Eternal Great Dragon’s Dragon Pearl releases a Red-Haired Monster—the Third-Generation Heavenly Origin Master. Gu Qingyao captures him with a Quasi-Emperor Armament.
• A miniature procession emerges from the lair: a Saint-level chariot driver, eight Dao-Severing jade soldiers, and tiny sacred beasts. Jiang Ming provokes them, while Gu Qingyao uses Azure Emperor’s Nine Slashes to erase the consciousness of all eleven jade spirits and collects their bodies.
• The lair’s Great Completion Saint Spirit awakens, unleashing an aura so overwhelming that everyone nearby collapses.
• At Jiang Ming’s urging, Yan Ruyu calls to Azure Emperor. He manifests from the relics and power within her Sea of Bitterness, then confronts the Saint Spirit and absorbs its oppressive force.

Character developments

• Jiang Ming remains fearless and calculating: he uses provocation to deepen his enemies’ karmic ties to him, and trusts that Azure Emperor will resolve the danger.
• Gu Qingyao shows decisive combat skill and caution, capturing the Red-Haired Monster and swiftly disabling the jade spirits, though she senses a deeper threat in the lair.
• Yan Ruyu reveals the strength of her bond with Azure Emperor, whose presence answers her call.
• Azure Emperor appears as a calm, overwhelming power capable of neutralizing the Saint Spirit’s pressure.

Significant themes

• Power and hierarchy: Even beings of immense rank can be outmatched by figures with superior artifacts or greater power.
• Cunning alongside strength: Jiang Ming’s taunts and Gu Qingyao’s tactical surprise attacks shape the conflicts as much as raw force.
• Legacy and connection: Yan Ruyu’s inherited bond with Azure Emperor enables his return.
• Greed and danger: The pursuit of treasures at the lair triggers the awakening of a threat far beyond the crowd’s control.

Character interactions

• Jiang Ming dismisses the opportunistic crowd and later urges Gu Qingyao to treat the jade spirits as toys for Nannan.
• Gu Qingyao questions Jiang Ming’s confidence, but follows his tactical suggestion and disables the spirits.
• Jiang Ming prompts Yan Ruyu to call Azure Emperor “Father,” strengthening the emotional and spiritual connection that brings him forth.
• Azure Emperor faces the awakened Saint Spirit, immediately shifting the balance of power.

Chapter Summary: “Nine-Petaled Merit Golden Lotus”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming receives system rewards for contributing to the deaths of several powerful enemies, including a Great Accomplished King, the Jade Elf of the Ninth Heaven of Sainthood, and a Quasi-Emperor-level Saint Spirit.
• An Ancient Emperor-like Saint Spirit emerges from an ancient dragon carriage, claiming to be the Immortal Emperor of the Central Plains and the true inheritor of the Eternal Dragon Lair’s Fortune.
• Jiang Ming openly mocks the Saint Spirit and orders his father-in-law, Azure Emperor, to kill him. Azure Emperor effortlessly erases the Saint Spirit’s consciousness with one finger while preserving its body and dragon carriage.
• Azure Emperor also destroys a strange blood-red monster created from a Heavenly Origin Master, apparently eliminating a possible remnant of Source God and Source Ghost.
• Jiang Ming privately speaks with Azure Emperor’s surviving killing intent and learns that Azure Emperor’s true body may be trapped inside the Desolate Pagoda. Azure Emperor confirms that the trapped figure left behind contingencies and should remain safe.
• Jiang Ming gives Azure Emperor one hundred drops of Age-Defying Spring. Fifty drops nourish Azure Emperor’s Heart within Yan Ruyu, while the remaining fifty are used to nourish the Green Copper Block and Azure Emperor’s remnant.
• Trying to preserve Azure Emperor’s killing intent for future emergencies, Jiang Ming persuades him to remain instead of dispersing. He transfers Azure Emperor into the intact immortal weapon Five-Element Mountain, which offers better nourishment than the damaged Green Copper Block.
• Jiang Ming then shamelessly asks Azure Emperor for the Demon Emperor’s cultivation arts so he can strengthen his followers.
• After the battle, the system rewards Jiang Ming with the innate Spirit Treasure Nine-Petaled Golden Lotus, an eight-star treasure considered comparable to an Immortal Emperor Armament.
• The chapter explains that the original Twelve-Petaled Golden Merit Lotus lost three petals after being drained by the Bloodthirsty Black Ant Mosquito following the Investiture of the Gods. Its weakened state is why Jiang Ming can obtain it.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming becomes increasingly fearless and irreverent, openly insulting an Ancient Emperor-level existence because he trusts Azure Emperor to protect him. He also demonstrates concern for Azure Emperor’s survival, willingly sacrificing all of his Age-Defying Spring to preserve him.
• Azure Emperor displays overwhelming power, killing both major enemies effortlessly. Despite being only a surviving remnant or killing intent, he retains his dignity, intelligence, and emotional resistance to Jiang Ming’s shameless manipulation.
• Yan Ruyu gains a deeper connection to Azure Emperor through the Age-Defying Spring and reflects on her complicated feelings toward him: she regards him as a father because of his inheritance and protection, though they never truly knew each other.
• The Saint Spirit is revealed to be powerful but arrogant and ultimately helpless before Azure Emperor. Its death destroys the Fortune it had obtained from the Eternal Dragon Lair.
• The blood-red monster is shown to possess some awareness and recognizes Azure Emperor, hinting at deeper connections to Source God and Source Ghost, but it is destroyed before revealing more.

Significant Themes

• Overwhelming power and hierarchy: Even a Saint Spirit nearing Great Completion is insignificant before Azure Emperor, emphasizing the vast gap between ordinary supreme beings and true Emperor-level figures.
• Fortune and karmic consequences: The Saint Spirit’s death destroys the Fortune of the Eternal Dragon Lair, while Jiang Ming’s reward is increased because of the enemy’s danger and the heavy karma involved.
• Inheritance and survival: Azure Emperor’s remnants, treasures, and contingencies preserve his influence across generations, allowing his legacy to continue even while his true body is trapped.
• Shamelessness as strategy: Jiang Ming’s irreverence is comedic but also practical. He uses flattery, emotional appeals, and relentless bargaining to secure Azure Emperor’s continued existence and obtain more resources.
• The burden of age and mortality: The repeated use of Age-Defying Spring highlights the struggle of ancient powerhouses to remain alive and the limited time available to resolve old conflicts.
• Legacy and familial bonds: Although Yan Ruyu barely knew Azure Emperor, his protection and inheritance make him a father figure to her. Jiang Ming further strengthens this bond by treating Azure Emperor as family.

Important Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming provokes the Ancient Saint Spirit and orders Azure Emperor to execute it.
• Azure Emperor kills the Saint Spirit and the blood-red monster while Jiang Ming observes and directs attention toward possible threats.
• Jiang Ming privately questions Azure Emperor about his trapped true body and offers Age-Defying Spring to sustain him.
• Jiang Ming and Azure Emperor argue over whether Azure Emperor can continue appearing as a protective trump card.
• Jiang Ming appeals to Azure Emperor’s desire to live long enough to meet his future grandson, leaving Yan Ruyu embarrassed and speechless.
• Jiang Ming transfers Azure Emperor into Five-Element Mountain and immediately asks for additional cultivation arts, reinforcing their humorous but mutually beneficial relationship.

Key plot points and events

• After killing the Third-Generation Heavenly Origin Master, Jiang Ming receives Phoenix Blood Scarlet Gold and a Half-Step True Immortal-level Black Tortoise Armor. He also keeps the Saint Spirit and the Heavenly Origin Master’s body, which contains a rare Grand Dao Golden Core capable of aiding longevity and advancement toward the Saint and Saint King realms.
• Back at the Immortal Transformation Pool, Jiang Ming decides to gather more pool water and dragon energy before the Eternal Dragon Vein escapes.
• Wang Teng challenges Jiang Ming over the opportunities he has claimed. Jiang Ming asks Xiang Yufei, the Central Emperor, to deal with him in exchange for a future opportunity. Xiang Yufei agrees and attacks Wang Teng.
• At the Eternal Dragon Lair, the Holy Prince discovers Fantasy-grade Divine Marrow. Monkey strikes its branches, releasing many animal-shaped fruits that send the gathered cultivators scrambling for them.
• Jiang Ming recognizes the Divine Marrow’s true prize: its World Tree-like root. He grabs it, intending to take it back to his Inner Heaven and Earth, but the sentient root flees through the earth with Jiang Ming clinging to it.
• The others collect dozens of valuable fruits, including some rare varieties. Jiang Ming’s family and companions laugh at his unexpected “ride,” while Gu Qingyao reassures his daughter that he will be safe.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Ming remains ambitious and acquisitive, dismissing his new reward as less useful than an Emperor Armament and then risking a chase to claim the Divine Marrow’s root.
• Xiang Yufei shows himself to be principled and dependable: he honors his promise to fight Wang Teng, while also expecting Jiang Ming to repay him with an opportunity.
• Wang Teng’s envy fuels his confrontation with Jiang Ming, but Xiang Yufei keeps him occupied and out of the scramble for treasures.
• Gu Qingyao and the other women focus on the fruits and later tease Jiang Ming for riding the fleeing root. Gu Qingyao also reassures Jiang Ming’s daughter, who is concerned for her father.

Significant themes

• Opportunity and greed: Great treasures draw nearly every cultivator into competition, while Jiang Ming’s desire for the root eclipses the fruits.
• Promises and reciprocity: Xiang Yufei honors his bargain, expecting Jiang Ming to honor his in turn.
• Life emerging from opposing forces: The Heavenly Origin Master’s Golden Core embodies yin giving rise to yang, life emerging from death, and the transformation of extremes.
• Sentience and survival: The Divine Marrow acts to protect its most valuable parts and ultimately flees, pursuing its own potential to become a true World Tree.

Chapter Summary:

Seven-Turn Divine Power: Eternal Emptiness

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming leaves the battlefield aboard the World Tree, confident that Gu Qingyao can protect the others. Gu Qingyao uses the Azure Emperor’s Weapon to escort the women away, discouraging the enemy forces from attacking.
• Ye Fan is targeted because he obtained five Little Animal Fruits and possesses Fantasy-grade Divine Marrow. However, Gai Jiuyou, Wei Yi, Cai Duyi, and Gu Qingyao secretly or openly intervene to protect him from powerful figures using Emperor Armaments.
• Cai Duyi, Jiang Ming’s nominal master, returns to the outside world after eight thousand years. Having survived a death tribulation and broken through to the Fourth Heaven of the Great Saint realm, he supports Ye Fan’s growth and recognizes the importance of Ye Fan and Jiang Ming backing each other on the Emperor’s Path.
• After everyone departs, Central Emperor Xiang Yufei realizes that Jiang Ming has not yet delivered the fortune he promised, leaving him worried that Jiang Ming may have abandoned the debt.
• Over the next three months, Jiang Ming travels through the Dragon Veins with the Fantasy Divine Marrow transformed into a World Tree. He fights numerous dangers, including a Dao-Severing King-level Flying Yaksha, which he destroys after entering the Third-Turn Demon God Transformation.
• When the Shrouding Method is close to breaking through, Jiang Ming forces the Fantasy Divine Marrow to submit by threatening to perish together with it during a heavenly tribulation. Tempted by a drop of Age-Defying Spring, it becomes part of his Inner Heaven and Earth.
• Jiang Ming reaches the Eighth Heaven of the Half-Step Great Ability realm and gains numerous Great Dao fragments nurtured by the Divine Marrow.
• Five days later, he comprehends the seventh turn of the Great Freedom Dao Scripture: the Time-Space Turn divine power, Eternal Emptiness.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming grows substantially stronger. He obtains the World Tree, advances in cultivation, and develops a powerful technique capable of suppressing opponents’ cultivation by manipulating time and space.
• Gu Qingyao is established as a Saint-level figure whose presence alone prevents powerful factions from recklessly using Emperor Armaments.
• Ye Fan gains the protection and support of multiple Saints and senior Human-race figures. His future as a potential Great Accomplished Sacred Body is emphasized, as is his partnership with Jiang Ming.
• Cai Duyi is revealed to have defied death and advanced to the Fourth Heaven of the Great Saint realm. His relationship with Jiang Ming and his hopes for Ye Fan’s future deepen his role as a protector and elder.
• Xiang Yufei provides comic relief after the crisis, focusing less on the escape of the others than on whether Jiang Ming will fulfill his promised reward.

Significant Themes

• Protection of future hope: The older Saints protect Ye Fan because the Human race may one day depend on a Great Accomplished Sacred Body.
• Alliance over factional conflict: Jiang Ming and Ye Fan’s sworn-brother relationship is presented as a major source of future strength on the Emperor’s Path.
• Defying fate and death: Cai Duyi survives a tribulation that should have killed him, while Jiang Ming develops powers involving resurrection, time reversal, and the manipulation of destiny.
• Power through creation and mastery: Rather than merely inheriting techniques, Jiang Ming must personally create divine powers from the Great Freedom Dao Scripture.
• Control over reality and spacetime: The chapter increasingly frames Jiang Ming’s cultivation as the creation of a personal world and laws capable of affecting realms, Dao techniques, and even the passage of time.

Character Interactions

• Gu Qingyao protects the women and deters the major factions from fighting, while Yan Ruyu also carries an Emperor Armament.
• Gai Jiuyou and Wei Yi secretly assist Ye Fan, refusing to let senior Human-race cultivators bully him with inherited weapons.
• Cai Duyi supports Ye Fan because of his bond with Jiang Ming and believes the two will help each other advance.
• Jiang Ming subdues the Fantasy Divine Marrow through a mixture of coercion and negotiation, ultimately placing it within his Inner Heaven and Earth as the World Tree.
• Xiang Yufei waits for Jiang Ming’s promised fortune and suspects he may have fled without paying.

New Divine Powers and Abilities

• Eternal Emptiness: A spacetime technique that reverses time, plunders space, seals an opponent’s Dao and techniques, and can drastically reduce their cultivation—even lowering a powerful opponent to the level of a child.
• Inner Heaven and Earth: Jiang Ming’s personal domain, which suppresses enemy laws, cuts off their connection to the outside world, and may eventually evolve into a true world under his absolute control.
• Resurrection from Death: A fusion of the third and fourth turns that can revive someone dead for less than half a day, though the cost increases with the person’s cultivation.
• Wisdom Sword: A soul-attacking technique derived from the second turn.
• Yin-Yang Reversal: Jiang Ming’s most frequently used technique, whose power continues to grow with his cultivation.
• Jiang Ming then begins cultivating the Fate Turn, hinting that his next self-created divine power may be even more formidable.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming spends a year cultivating while walking in harmony with the world and the Great Dao.
• He breaks through to the ninth transformation of the Half-Step Great Ability realm and reaches the ninth turn of the Great Freedom Dao Scripture.
• During this period, he partially comprehends the eighth-turn destiny divine ability, Golden Words and Jade Decrees: Heaven’s Edict on the Tongue. When activated, his words become immutable laws capable of determining life and death.
• Jiang Ming unknowingly arrives near the ruined Yin-Yang Sect, which has already suffered devastating damage from Ye Fan’s assault and tribulation.
• Mistaken for a savage because of his wild appearance, Jiang Ming is driven away by a Yin-Yang Sect disciple. Before leaving, he curses the sect and predicts that its divine wall will collapse.
• His destiny ability appears to activate through his words. The Yin-Yang Sect is struck by another terrifying lightning tribulation, and the damaged divine wall collapses, crushing the disciple who insulted him.
• The Yin-Yang Sect’s remaining divine cities collapse, symbolizing the decline of a once-powerful sacred-land faction. Observers interpret its destruction as the consequence of its long-standing conflict with Ye Fan.
• The chapter reflects on the changing era: established sacred lands can no longer oppress rising individual cultivators without consequence.
• Jiang Ming’s earlier gains from the Immortal Transformation Pool are discussed. Although many were resentful, his connections to powerful figures and the backing of the Jiang Family prevented anyone from challenging him.
• His allies and possible supporters include Gu Qingyao, Cai Duyi, Gai Jiuyou, God-King Jiang Taixu, Fairy Caiyun, and the Azure Emperor, who protected everyone from a nearly mature Saint Spirit.
• Princess Yueling realizes that the strange destruction of the Yin-Yang Sect may have been caused by the ragged “savage.” She recognizes him as Jiang Ming and becomes suspicious about why he has appeared there.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Advances dramatically in cultivation and gains the terrifying ability to impose destiny through speech. His year of solitary wandering deepens his understanding of the Dao and causes him to merge naturally with heaven and earth. Though he appears disheveled and detached, his casual words now carry catastrophic power.
• Ye Fan: Though absent from most of the immediate events, his earlier assault has left the Yin-Yang Sect severely weakened. His conflict with the sect has become a major symbol of the rising power of individual cultivators.
• Princess Yueling: Develops greater awareness and curiosity regarding Jiang Ming. Her cultivation allows her to perceive the abnormal connection between his words and the disaster that follows.
• Yin-Yang Sect disciple: His arrogance toward Jiang Ming leads to immediate misfortune when the collapsing divine wall crushes one of his legs.
• The Yin-Yang Sect: Its decline becomes nearly irreversible, demonstrating the consequences of provoking powerful enemies and failing to recognize emerging threats.

Significant Themes

• Destiny and causality: Jiang Ming’s words become instruments of fate, illustrating the terrifying relationship between speech, causation, and inevitable consequences.
• Sowing and reaping: The Yin-Yang Sect’s destruction is presented as the result of its accumulated injustices and enmity, especially its conflict with Ye Fan.
• The rise of individual power: Sacred lands and ancient factions can no longer assume they are untouchable. Exceptional cultivators now possess enough strength to challenge entire institutions.
• Changing eras: The collapse of the Yin-Yang Sect signals the transition from an old age dominated by established powers to a new age whose leading figures have yet to emerge.
• Hidden identity and appearances: Jiang Ming’s savage-like appearance conceals his extraordinary cultivation and status, causing others to underestimate him.
• Power and protection: Jiang Ming’s privileged position differs from Ye Fan’s because he possesses the support of a powerful family and influential allies.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming clashes verbally with the Yin-Yang Sect disciple after being ordered to leave. His seemingly casual insults become prophetic curses through his destiny ability.
• The disciple’s arrogance contrasts with Jiang Ming’s calm indifference, emphasizing how easily the latter can now influence events.
• The watching cultivators, including Princess Yueling, observe the Yin-Yang Sect’s destruction and reflect on the consequences of its actions.
• Princess Yueling connects Jiang Ming’s words to the subsequent disaster and recognizes him despite his altered, ragged appearance.
• The chapter also recalls Jiang Ming’s relationships and associations with powerful figures such as the Azure Emperor, Gai Jiuyou, God-King Jiang Taixu, Fairy Caiyun, Gu Qingyao, and Cai Duyi, explaining why others dare not target him.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After a year of enlightenment, Jiang Ming prepares to travel to the Eastern Wasteland, having mastered both Mind-Reading and Heavenly Ear.
• He learns that Ye Fan’s recent rise during the battle at the Immortal Transformation Pool was matched by Ji Ziyue, whose Origin Spirit Body and improved cultivation allowed her to fight alongside Ye Fan.
• While traveling, Jiang Ming practices the Nine Secrets: Xing, using it to cross millions of miles each day. He reflects on improving it by combining the Laws of Time and Space.
• Jiang Ming considers eventually creating a movement technique superior to Chen Nan’s Nearness and Ends of the Earth, one that could separate opponents into different spacetimes. However, he recognizes that such a technique will require reaching the Saint realm.
• He travels to the Ji Family because he wants to obtain the Void Scripture, believing that studying different emperor scriptures will help him develop his own Dao. He also hopes to eventually acquire the Wushi Scripture from Purple Mountain.
• After five days, Jiang Ming reaches the Southern Region of the Eastern Wasteland. He discovers that his Black Tortoise Totem Deity has already found the mysterious Stone King and retrieved a gourd containing a weapon-repairing deity. The gourd may even be an Emperor Armament.
• Meanwhile, Ye Fan enters the Desolate Forbidden Land for the third time. Instead of taking the small Bronze Coffin as protection, he unexpectedly finds the complete Heaven-Swallowing Devil Jar placed before the Bronze Coffin.
• Although the jar originally belonged partly to Jiang Ming and partly to Tu Tian, Ye Fan decides to keep it temporarily as a powerful trump card. Its appearance leads him to suspect that the Ruthless Emperor may still be alive and sleeping within the Desolate Forbidden Land, perhaps as the Desolate Lord.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming continues to grow through independent cultivation. He increasingly focuses on creating his own techniques rather than merely copying existing secret arts.
• His mastery of the Nine Secrets: Xing and understanding of the Dao of Time demonstrate his expanding command of movement and temporal laws.
• Jiang Ming shows long-term ambition: he wants to comprehend multiple emperor scriptures and eventually forge a unique path beyond inherited techniques.
• Ji Ziyue has developed far more rapidly than in the original storyline because she began taking cultivation seriously. Her Origin Spirit Body now gives her tremendous combat power, and she can significantly strengthen Ye Fan in battle.
• Ye Fan becomes more willing to seize opportunities and rely on powerful treasures. His decision to keep the Heaven-Swallowing Devil Jar reveals both his practical survival instincts and his discomfort over taking an item connected to his friends.
• Ye Fan also grows more perceptive, forming the bold theory that the Ruthless Emperor may not truly be dead.

Significant Themes

• Forging one’s own path: Emperor scriptures and inherited techniques provide guidance, but true advancement requires personal comprehension and innovation, especially upon reaching the Saint realm.
• Time and space: Jiang Ming’s cultivation increasingly revolves around manipulating distance, movement, and spacetime, hinting at future techniques that could place opponents in separate temporal realities.
• Opportunity and possession: Both Jiang Ming and Ye Fan benefit from unexpected treasures, but their discoveries raise questions about ownership, loyalty, and whether found artifacts should be returned.
• Hidden immortality and mystery: The Heaven-Swallowing Devil Jar’s appearance suggests that powerful ancient figures may still survive in secret, particularly the Ruthless Emperor.
• Changed destiny: Ji Ziyue’s improved cultivation and the altered circumstances surrounding the Emperor Armament show that events are diverging from the original storyline.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming’s relationship with Ye Fan and Tu Fei/Tu Tian creates Ye Fan’s hesitation over keeping the Heaven-Swallowing Devil Jar.
• Ji Ziyue and Ye Fan now function as a highly effective combat partnership, with her Origin Spirit Body amplifying the Sacred Body’s strength.
• Jiang Ming has an indirect connection to Wang Teng, having previously arranged for the Central Emperor to beat him up, though he later abandoned the Central Emperor by riding away on a tree.
• Jiang Ming’s Black Tortoise Totem Deity continues acting on his behalf, successfully completing the search for the Stone King and recovering the mysterious gourd.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Ji Family receives Jiang Ming, who arrives a day before Wang Teng’s scheduled marriage proposal.
• The family has rejected most suitors but is seriously considering Wang Teng because of his extraordinary background and potential to become a Great Emperor. His father recounts how celestial cranes repeatedly took Wang Teng away for training during his childhood, transforming him each time.
• The Ji Family sees Wang Teng as a possible safeguard against the coming Dark Cataclysm and the threats posed by Undying Mountain and other forbidden zones.
• Ji Haoyue’s failure to dominate the current era has weakened the family’s confidence in relying solely on him. Although he possesses the Divine King Body, the rise of numerous exceptional talents, Ancient Princes, and Ancient Emperor descendants has diminished its advantage.
• Many prominent figures have gathered at the Ji Family, including Xiang Yufei, Yan Ruyu, several sacred maidens and princesses, and Gu Qingyao. Xiang Yufei is waiting for Jiang Ming to reveal the extraordinary opportunity he promised.
• Ji Haoyue and Ji Ziyue personally come out to welcome Jiang Ming because of their close relationship with him.
• Jiang Ming’s young daughter, Jiang Tingting, attracts attention as an exceptionally powerful prodigy. At only fourteen and a half, she has reached the Sixth Transformation of Dragon Transformation and defeated many major young experts.
• Ji Ziyue jokingly asks whether Jiang Ming has also come to propose. He teases her, then gives her Saint Spirit blood essence and urges her to cultivate seriously so she can control her own fate.
• Jiang Ming reminds Ji Ziyue of an embarrassing childhood declaration, causing her to panic. He also notes that she once chose him as a bride for her brother, making her especially significant to him.
• Jiang Ming observes the Bronze Ring Ji Ziyue wears, recognizing it as the Ruthless Empress’s true weapon and sword, containing deep emotion and longing.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming is shown as increasingly influential, trusted by powerful figures, and deeply protective of Ji Ziyue. His affection for her has evolved into a brotherly bond, though it is complicated by memories from his previous life.
• Ji Ziyue remains playful and outspoken, but her recent confinement and tears reveal her distress over the forced marriage situation. She is also criticized for relying too much on carefree behavior instead of cultivating.
• Wang Teng is established as a terrifyingly gifted rival and a politically advantageous marriage candidate. His family’s claims and his childhood experiences make him appear capable of becoming a future Great Emperor.
• Ji Haoyue is portrayed as increasingly pressured and overshadowed. His Divine King Body, once expected to make him invincible, is no longer enough to guarantee the Ji Family’s future.
• Jiang Tingting emerges as one of the strongest young cultivators of her generation, making other factions envious and reinforcing Jiang Ming’s extraordinary influence.
• Xiang Yufei demonstrates strong faith in Jiang Ming, continuing to wait for the promised opportunity despite losing out on recent treasures.
• Yan Ruyu gains greater mystery and importance after the appearance of the Azure Emperor’s manifestation and Jiang Ming’s apparent connection to him.

Significant Themes

• Marriage as political survival: The Ji Family considers Ji Ziyue’s marriage not merely a personal matter but a strategy for protecting the entire clan from future catastrophe.
• The limits of bloodlines and constitutions: Ji Haoyue’s Divine King Body is no longer enough to ensure supremacy in an era filled with exceptional geniuses.
• The burden of destiny: Wang Teng’s upbringing and Ji Ziyue’s family situation show how individuals are pressured to fulfill expectations tied to their potential and heritage.
• Strength and independence: Jiang Ming stresses that Ji Ziyue must become strong enough to control her own future rather than depend on family decisions or outside protection.
• Affection across family-like bonds: Jiang Ming’s relationship with Ji Ziyue combines teasing, tenderness, and protectiveness, emphasizing their sibling-like closeness.
• Hidden history and emotional relics: The Bronze Ring represents the Ruthless Empress’s concealed feelings and links present events to deeper mysteries surrounding her past.

Character Interactions

• The Ji Family elders discuss Wang Teng’s suitability with his father and weigh the proposal against the clan’s desperate need for protection.
• Xiang Yufei remains at the Ji Family specifically to meet Jiang Ming and claim the opportunity he was promised.
• Ji Haoyue and Ji Ziyue personally greet Jiang Ming, reflecting their friendly relationship with him.
• Ji Ziyue playfully asks Jiang Ming if he has come to propose, while Jiang Ming responds with affectionate teasing and encouragement.
• Jiang Ming gives Ji Ziyue Saint Spirit blood essence, advises her to cultivate harder, and jokes about her childhood wish, prompting embarrassment.
• Jiang Ming reflects on Ji Ziyue’s connection to the Ruthless Empress through the Bronze Ring, hinting at the emotional and historical significance of the artifact.

Key plot points

• Northern Emperor Wang Teng has not arrived, but Jiang Ming and Central Emperor Xiang Yufei come to the Ji Family, drawing attention because of their closeness to Ji Ziyue.
• The Ji Family hopes Jiang Ming might marry Ziyue, but he makes clear he regards her as a younger sister. He jokes that Ye Fan would be a better match and that he would favor him over Wang Teng.
• Xiang Yufei has come to collect on Jiang Ming’s promised “tremendous opportunity,” not to court Ziyue. Jiang Ming assures him he will keep his word and considers offering him Dragon-Pattern Black Gold for a weapon.
• Jiang Ming asks to visit the Void Ancient Hall to honor the Void Great Emperor. The Ji Family’s supreme elder welcomes him and Xiang Yufei.
• Jiang Ming and Xiang Yufei jokingly compete over who should be Ziyue’s eldest brother, nearly turning the dispute into a strength contest. Xiang Yufei declines to fight, saying he is not competing for Ziyue and that a real battle would be risky.
• At the hall, Jiang Ming’s daughter, Jiang Tingting, calls out that he has overlooked her. He recognizes her beauty and resemblance to her mother, Smoke Glow Fairy, and is overwhelmed by memories and regret.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Ming is playful and irreverent with the Ji Family and Xiang Yufei, but his reunion with Tingting reveals deep affection, guilt, and unresolved sorrow about her mother.
• Xiang Yufei remains courteous and measured, reminding Jiang Ming of his promised reward while avoiding a potentially dangerous fight.
• Ji Haoyue is irritated by Jiang Ming’s presumptuous “older brother” jokes, though he agrees that Ye Fan is an admirable prospect for Ziyue.
• Ji Ziyue is close to Jiang Ming but is embarrassed by the marriage speculation and pretends not to notice his blunt request to visit the hall.
• Jiang Tingting directly demands her father’s attention, prompting the chapter’s emotional turn.

Significant themes

• Family and belonging: Xiang Yufei’s isolation from his lost era contrasts with Jiang Ming’s complicated bond with his daughter.
• Honor and obligation: Jiang Ming’s promise to Xiang Yufei shapes the visit and reflects his commitment to repay favors.
• Humor amid tension: The mock rivalry over Ziyue’s “eldest brother” keeps the gathering light, even as the men’s reputations and strength loom in the background.
• Regret and the past: Jiang Ming’s memories of Smoke Glow Fairy expose the emotional cost of choices and opportunities he feels he missed.

Chapter Summary: Eternal Blue Gold

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming enters the Void Great Hall with Gu Qingyao, Ye Fan, Ji Ziyue, and members of the Ji Family. The hall resembles an endless starry universe and contains the lingering presence of the Void Great Emperor.
• Upon touching the hall’s entrance, Jiang Ming enters a brief state of enlightenment. He experiences visions of cosmic creation and hears the Void Scripture being expounded.
• The Ji Family becomes anxious, fearing that Jiang Ming may inherit their ancestor’s scripture. However, no one dares interrupt him because Gu Qingyao is extremely powerful and disrupting another cultivator’s enlightenment could create a deadly feud.
• Ji Ziyue defends Jiang Ming’s right to receive the inheritance, suggesting that if the Void Great Emperor acknowledges him, the Ji Family should accept it.
• After only five minutes, Jiang Ming successfully obtains the complete text of the Void Scripture and nine ancient characters left by the Void Great Emperor, though he does not receive the emperor’s secret techniques.
• Jiang Ming is satisfied, believing that self-created abilities and one’s own Dao are ultimately more valuable than techniques inherited from others.
• A palm-sized fragment of eternal blue gold suddenly falls from the hall’s starry expanse. It carries the Void Great Emperor’s blood and the aura of the Void Mirror.
• Recognizing it as a fragment of a Supreme’s weapon from the Undying Mountain—possibly the weapon that injured the Void Great Emperor—Jiang Ming attacks it with the Five-Element Mountain rather than touching it.
• He warns the Ji Family that the fragment may contain hidden dangers or curses and urges them to have the Void Mirror inspect it. Jiang Ming refuses to claim it, remembering that similar material corrupted Wang Teng in the original timeline.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming demonstrates his extraordinary comprehension and earns the Void Scripture’s recognition. His growing confidence is balanced by caution: he values his own cultivation and understands the dangers of suspicious treasures.
• Gu Qingyao reinforces her authority and protective role. Her reputation as a living Great Saint prevents the Ji Family from interfering with Jiang Ming’s enlightenment.
• Ji Ziyue shows increased maturity and loyalty toward Jiang Ming and Ye Fan. She recognizes that Jiang Ming’s former criticism helped motivate her cultivation and now appreciates his concern for her future.
• The Ji Family reveals its internal conflict: it fears losing control of the Void Scripture but also respects the dangers of opposing Jiang Ming or Gu Qingyao.
• The Void Great Emperor remains influential despite being absent, apparently acknowledging Jiang Ming as worthy while withholding his most powerful secret arts.

Significant Themes

• Strength and self-reliance: Jiang Ming seeks to become powerful enough never to experience helplessness again.
• Inheritance versus personal Dao: The Void Scripture is valuable, but Jiang Ming believes true greatness comes from creating and surpassing one’s own techniques.
• Caution toward power: Rare treasures are not automatically desirable; the eternal blue gold fragment may conceal lethal dangers.
• Recognition by the past: The Void Great Emperor’s lingering will or spiritual presence can still judge and assist later generations.
• Family duty and individual worth: The Ji Family must balance protecting its ancestral legacy with respecting Jiang Ming’s right to pursue enlightenment.

Character Interactions

• Gu Qingyao commands the group not to disturb Jiang Ming, and her authority is immediately respected.
• Ji Ziyue reassures the Ji Family elders that accepting Jiang Ming’s inheritance would honor rather than insult their ancestor.
• Jiang Ming’s earlier guidance to Ji Ziyue influences her development, strengthening their mutual trust.
• Jiang Ming warns the Ji Family about the blue-gold fragment, prioritizing their safety despite refusing any personal benefit from it.

Key plot points and events

• The Ji Family is startled when Jiang Ming refuses to touch the eternal blue gold fragment, warning that it may be dangerous. He asks them to use the Void Mirror instead.
• Ji Zi, the awakened son of the Void Great Emperor, arrives and uses the Mirror’s power to reveal and destroy a strand of blue hair infused with black energy hidden inside the fragment. The fragment also contains traces of the Great Emperor’s blood.
• Jiang Ming refuses all the recovered treasure. Ji Zi distributes the fragment and the blood essence among Bright Moon and Purple Moon, despite the elders’ preference that he keep them.
• Ji Zi explains that the treasures would do little for him: his bloodline and talent already give him a clear path to great power, while surpassing his father remains his true challenge.
• Jiang Ming privately invites Ji Zi to join him on a journey aboard the Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin. Ji Zi agrees.
• Jiang Ming prepares for a journey to Purple Tenuity Star and describes the steps he has taken to strengthen and deploy his Totem Deities. He also plans to use the Void Ancient Hall to merge a weapon deity with the Immortal-Slaying Gourd.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Ming demonstrates restraint and respect by declining the treasures, and expresses admiration for the Void Great Emperor and hope for the Ji Family’s future. He sees Ji Zi as a potential friend and companion.
• Ji Zi emerges earlier than planned after sensing the Void Mirror’s response to Jiang Ming. Though powerful, he is modest about the value of the treasure and generous in sharing it. He is intrigued by Jiang Ming’s unusual mind-reading ability.
• The Ji Family elders are embarrassed by their initial suspicion of Jiang Ming and uneasy about Ji Zi giving away the valuable items, but they defer to his authority.
• The exchange between Jiang Ming and Ji Zi establishes mutual respect: Jiang Ming invites him on an adventure, and Ji Zi accepts.

Significant themes

• Integrity and generosity: Jiang Ming refuses valuable spoils, while Ji Zi shares them rather than claiming them for himself.
• Legacy and personal ambition: Ji Zi’s great challenge is not gaining power but surpassing the legacy of his father, the Void Great Emperor.
• Trust and alliance: Jiang Ming’s respect for the Great Emperor shapes his willingness to trust Ji Zi and build a friendship.
• Preparation for looming danger: Jiang Ming’s preparations and concern about the coming Dark Cataclysm underline the larger threat ahead, even as its outcome remains uncertain.

Key events

• Jiang Ming and Ji Zi discuss the teachings left in a fragment of eternal blue gold. Jiang Ming advises Ji Zi to treat them as supplementary, since the Void Great Emperor’s methods are superior, and declines to study them himself.
• Jiang Ming reflects on Ye Fan’s chances against Wang Teng and suspects Ye Fan may have acquired the Heaven-Swallowing Devil Jar.
• Ji Zi serves Emperor Wine brewed by the Void Great Emperor. Its effects, together with Jiang Ming’s Immortal Brew, lead the guests into deep states of Dao enlightenment.
• After three days, Jiang Ming advances to the second heaven of great ability. Ji Haoyue, Ji Ziyue, and several other companions also improve; Gu Qingyao is poised to advance as well.
• Jiang Ming rewards Xiang Yufei with dragon-pattern black gold and Saint Spirit blood essence. Xiang offers to fight Wang Teng, but Jiang Ming says Ye Fan will handle the coming confrontation.
• Meanwhile, Ye Fan advances to half-step great ability sixth heaven after finding five-colored blood essence in the Desolate Forbidden Land.
• Wang Teng arrives with his father and family elders to formally propose to Ji Ziyue. He hopes the marriage will help him obtain the Void Scripture and weaken Ye Fan’s resolve.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Ming remains generous and strategic: he shares opportunities, supports Ye Fan’s growth, and encourages Ji Haoyue and Ji Ziyue to cultivate without imposing unrealistic expectations.
• Ji Zi and Jiang Ming bond over wine and cultivation. The wine also benefits Gu Qingyao, Jiang Ming’s companions, and the young Ji siblings, as well as Xiang Yufei.
• Ye Fan is driven to grow stronger because he fears losing Ji Ziyue to Wang Teng.
• Wang Teng presents himself as focused on the Great Dao rather than romance, but he also views marrying Ji Ziyue as a way to damage Ye Fan. His father’s boast that Wang Teng could become a Great Emperor adds to his fame, though Wang Teng prefers a quieter image.
• Xiang Yufei’s offer to fight Wang Teng shows his gratitude to Jiang Ming, though Jiang Ming suspects he may be eager to benefit from further rewards.

Significant themes

• Cultivation through opportunity and effort: Powerful inheritances, rare materials, and Dao-enlightening wine accelerate progress, but each character’s ambition and preparation matter.
• Legacy and limits: The Void Great Emperor’s teachings and wine preserve his influence, while his short life and failed attempt at a second life underscore the cost of constant conflict.
• Ambition and rivalry: Wang Teng’s proposal is both a pursuit of power and a move against Ye Fan, turning marriage into another front in their struggle.
• Loyalty and generosity: Jiang Ming strengthens allies through gifts and guidance, shaping the balance of power ahead of the coming confrontation.

Key plot points and events

• Northern Emperor Wang Teng arrives at the Ji Family to seek marriage with Ji Ziyue. Though the elders welcome him, the young ancestor Ji Zi now controls family affairs.
• Jiang Ming is away refining his Immortal-Slaying Gourd. With help concealing its Dao fluctuations, he successfully fuses it with a Weapon-Forging Deity; the damaged weapon spirit must recover over time. He plans to let the Black Tortoise Totem Deity cultivate with the gourd on Ziwei Imperial Star.
• Big Black Dog and Nannan explore a Life Restricted Zone, but without Jiang Ming they find few valuable resources. The dog frames his collecting as preparation to protect the world from the future threat of the Primordial Creatures.
• Wang Teng finds himself unexpectedly outmatched in influence: Xiang Yufei has advanced to Great Ability Seventh Heaven, while Yan Ruyu’s combat ability rivals Wang Teng’s despite her lower cultivation. Ji Zi announces that suitors will compete for Ziyue’s hand, with a one-month window.
• Ji Ziyue privately tells Ji Zi that, if she must marry, she wants Ye Fan. Ji Zi agrees to oversee the match and judge Ye Fan for himself.
• Five days later, Ye Fan arrives carrying a coffin and secretly bringing the Heaven-Swallowing Devil Jar, signaling his determination to fight Wang Teng. A Wang Family Great Ability is waiting nearby, hoping to kill Ye Fan before he reaches the estate.

Character developments

• Wang Teng remains outwardly courteous, but is unsettled by the Ji Family’s changed power dynamics and by the strength of Jiang Ming’s circle. He accepts the contest rather than risk offending the family.
• Ji Zi asserts authority over family decisions and takes a personal interest in evaluating Ye Fan, partly because Jiang Ming and Xiang Yufei respect him.
• Ji Ziyue makes her preference for Ye Fan clear.
• Ye Fan demonstrates resolve through his coffin-bearing arrival, while retaining the practical option of retreat if he cannot win.
• Big Black Dog continues to gather resources and sees himself as preparing for a dangerous future.
• Jiang Ming advances his weapon project and arranges for the gourd’s damaged spirit to recover.

Significant themes

• Power and authority: Ji Zi’s authority displaces the old elders, while Wang Teng discovers that reputation alone does not guarantee dominance.
• Preparation for future threats: Big Black Dog’s resource-gathering and Jiang Ming’s weapon plans reflect concern about coming dangers.
• Resolve balanced by pragmatism: Ye Fan’s coffin symbolizes willingness to risk death, but his readiness to retreat shows a strategic sense of survival.
• Marriage and personal choice: The contest is framed as a formal route to marriage, while Ziyue’s private preference shapes the decision.

Character interactions

• Xiang Yufei needles Wang Teng about competing for Ziyue, boasting of his own strength and enjoying his new advantage.
• Wang Teng questions Ji Zi’s authority but ultimately accepts the one-month contest, choosing restraint over confrontation.
• Ji Zi consults Ziyue, learns her preference, and positions himself as both decision-maker and judge of Ye Fan.
• Jiang Ming’s allies support his work: the Purple Palace Sacred Maiden helps conceal the gourd’s aura, while the Black Tortoise Totem Deity is assigned to cultivate with it.