Chapter Summaries

Jiang Ming found the Tree of Life on the ruined Life Ancient Star and led Ye Fan to the hidden Life Ancient Tree. After outsiders died trying to seize it, Jiang Ming revealed that someone had used the tree as bait and concealed a Great Emperor-level killing formation.

• Jiang Ming took the altar offerings and gave them to Ye Fan, then located the Life Ancient Tree through his perception of karma.
• Jiang Ming crossed the Great Saint-level formation and found the small, radiant willow tree hidden in the mountains.
• Several outsiders entered the formation to seize its treasures, and the formation killed every Saint while injuring the escaping Saint Kings.
• Ye Fan worried that news of the tree would draw more trouble, but Jiang Ming dismissed the danger and revealed the hidden Great Emperor-level killing formation.
• Ye Fan understood that someone had set the Life Ancient Tree as bait to lure people into the trap.

Jiang Ming and Ye Fan entered Emperor's Son Daoyi's trap, but their allies and powerful treasures turned the ambush against him. Jiang Ming took the Life Ancient Tree into his Inner Heaven and Earth while Ye Fan fought Daoyi, leaving Daoyi enraged and his plan in disarray.

• Jiang Ming declared that he would take the Life Ancient Tree, while Daoyi ordered his Great Saint protector to attack him.
• Gu Qingyao blocked Daoyi's armored Great Saint, and Ye Fan confronted Daoyi with the Green Copper Cauldron.
• Fire Qilin Son and Great Saint Yan Qi arrived seeking the Life Ancient Tree, and Daoyi activated his Great Emperor-level Killing Formation, destroying several Saints.
• Jiang Ming moved Ye Fan's women into his Inner Heaven and Earth and took the Life Ancient Tree there.
• Ye Fan kept Daoyi scrambling in their fight, and Daoyi roared when he realized the Life Ancient Tree was gone.

Emperor's Son Daoyi abandoned his ambush and fled after Jiang Ming and his allies turned the trap against him. Fire Qilin Son also withdrew rather than risk a fight, while Jiang Ming's allies continued trading and developing connections across the stars.

• Emperor's Son Daoyi ordered his protector to retreat, then escaped with the Emperor Formation's array disc under the Great Saint's protection.
• Ye Fan and Gu Qingyao did not pursue Daoyi, while Great Saint Yan Qi was relieved to survive the Emperor Formation.
• Fire Qilin Son recognized Ye Fan and suspected Jiang Ming's identity, but chose to leave rather than fight him.
• Jiang Ming's allies, including Huoliner and Yi Qingwu, led trading expeditions to the Ziwei Imperial Star, Earth, and the Divine Martial Ancient Star.

Emperor's Son Daoyi concluded that Jiang Ming’s influence had deterred Fire Qilin Son and worried about the Primordial Race’s ambitions. Ye Fan completed his dealings with Jiang Ming and departed for the Big Dipper Star Domain, planning to reach the Saint King realm before continuing along the Starry Sky Ancient Road.

• Emperor's Son Daoyi and his Great Saint guardian watched Fire Qilin Son leave without fighting, and Daoyi suspected a mysterious Great Saint had made him withdraw.
• Emperor's Son Daoyi abandoned his plan to trap the Primordial Ancestral Kings and considered how Jiang Ming might oppose the Primordial Race’s expansion.
• Ye Fan decided to return to the Big Dipper Star Domain with the Dragon Horse and prepare to refine the Fifth-Stage Evolution Liquid.
• Ye Fan told Jiang Ming that he would leave the Eternal Star Region for good on his next journey, and Jiang Ming said they would meet again after Ye Fan reached the Saint King realm.
• Ye Fan reflected on the Starry Sky Ancient Road and Gai Jiuyou’s recovery to the quasi-emperor realm, which might give Gai Jiuyou another chance to become a Great Emperor.

Over ten years, Jiang Ming and his allies fought off repeated invasions of the Eternal Star Region while building the Immortal Alliance and growing stronger. With the region now more secure, Jiang Ming delayed setting out on the Starry Sky Ancient Road, saying he first wanted to establish a major power worthy of marrying the three Ancient Emperor's Daughters.

• Ye Fan traveled farther along the Starry Sky Ancient Road with Dragon Horse and several women, while Jiang Ming continued to defend the Eternal Star Region from invading forces.
• Jiang Ming and his companions killed numerous invading Saints and Great Saints, and many of his women reached the ninth heaven of Saint or Saint King cultivation.
• The Dragon Emperor's Daughter, Golden Heavenly Maiden, and Huoliner strengthened their rule over three Primordial Imperial Clans, while Fire Qilin Son and Jiang Ming left the Big Dipper for the Starry Sky Ancient Road.
• The Holy Prince stayed on the Big Dipper to fight extraterritorial prodigies, including the Son of the Celestial Emperor, whom Jiang Ming had allowed to escape.
• Jiang Ming reached the Saint King seventh heavenly layer in the Shrouding Method and the fourth revolution of the Great Freedom Dao Scripture, while the Immortal Alliance expanded to encompass a third of the Eternal Star Region's forces.
• The Dragon Emperor's Daughter and Huoliner asked Jiang Ming to set out for the Starry Sky Ancient Road, but he chose to wait until he had built a major power of his own.

Jiang Ming used his newly created Dragon-Controlling Sacred Art to punish the Golden Heavenly Maiden, Huoliner, and Dragon Emperor's Daughter, then considered his cultivation limits and growing true body. He piloted his newly completed Great-Saint-Grade Spaceship and reflected on the advanced crafting methods he had commissioned from his allies.

• The Golden Heavenly Maiden asked whether Jiang Ming wanted to control the Jiang Family and the Ancient China Dynasty, and Jiang Ming said he would leave both alone.
• Jiang Ming transformed into a nine-headed serpent with his Dragon-Controlling Sacred Art, and the three women later returned to their Spaceships after a month with him.
• Jiang Ming planned to give the Heavenly Jade Saintess Seventh-Stage Evolution Liquid and considered using eighth-stage Evolution Liquid to help Gu Qingyao reach the quasi-emperor realm.
• Jiang Ming reflected on how his three-thousand-zhang body and twelve ancestral witch divine forms affected his strength and potential.
• Jiang Ming piloted the Great-Saint-Grade Spaceship that Gai Jiuyou had spent five years refining, and he recalled how the Martial Emperor and Gu Qingyao also crafted vehicles and mecha for him.

The Heavenly Jade Saintess reflected on her recovered memories and life with Jiang Ming after he visited her following his seclusion. A month later, she began refining the nourishment he had given her, marveling at its effects as she prepared for another retreat.

• The Heavenly Jade Saintess recalled her past as a Desolate Slave and how Jiang Ming had led her into a new life among the stars.
• Jiang Ming reunited with the Heavenly Jade Saintess and offered to guard her when she used Seventh-Stage Evolution Liquid to break through to Great Saint.
• The Heavenly Jade Saintess said she wanted to study the ninth heaven of Saint for two years, then spent time with Jiang Ming.
• A month later, Jiang Ming left, and the Heavenly Jade Saintess refined the nourishment he had given her, estimating that it could extend her lifespan by eight hundred years.
• The Heavenly Jade Saintess reflected on her expanding lifespan and complained that Jiang Ming had spent his half-year seclusion demonstrating a strange new divine ability instead of creating a killing art based on Xiangliu’s Dao traces.

Jiang Ming reunited with his eight companions, shared a lavish feast with them, and promised to lead them along the Starry Sky Ancient Road in five years. He then turned to his remaining responsibilities, including a coming encounter with Gu Qingyao and the aftermath of the Martial Emperor’s challenge to Gai Jiuyou.

• Jiang Ming visited Yan Ruyu and found his eight companions cultivating together, while Xia Jiuyou and her daughter remained away on the Starry Sky Ancient Road.
• Jiang Ming shared Quasi-Emperor White Tiger dishes and Immortal Brew with the women, then demonstrated his Xiangliu Precious Technique as Fan Xian teased him.
• The eight women rejoiced at Jiang Ming’s affection, and he told them to reach Saint King within five years before joining him on the Starry Sky Ancient Road.
• Jiang Ming sent Gu Qingyao a voice transmission and prepared for another battle, recognizing her efforts in overseeing the Immortal Alliance.
• The Martial Emperor returned dispirited after challenging Gai Jiuyou, and Jiang Ming reflected on Gai Jiuyou’s formidable path to Quasi-Emperor.

Jiang Ming cultivated with Gu Qingyao for two months and told her of his plans to refine Eighth-Stage Evolution Liquid and explore the Starry Sky Ancient Road with his other companions. Afterward, Gu Qingyao advanced in the Heaven-Mending Scripture and Heaven-Mending Technique, while Jiang Ming concluded his physical transformation was progressing toward breaking through to Quasi-Emperor strength.

• Jiang Ming told Gu Qingyao he planned to help her reach the quasi-emperor realm and send his other companions along the Starry Sky Ancient Road, while she guarded the Eternal Star Region.
• Jiang Ming used his Dragon-Controlling Sacred Art with Gu Qingyao, bringing her into profound comprehension of the Dao.
• After two months, Jiang Ming left Gu Qingyao's secluded grounds and decided his three-thousand-zhang body was transforming in the right direction.
• Gu Qingyao refined her gains, completed the sacred sacrifice of the Heaven-Mending Scripture, entered the heavenly god domain, and achieved minor mastery of the Heaven-Mending Technique.

Jiang Tingting, Xia Jiuyou, and Jin Ling arrived at the First Pass of the Human Race on the Starry Sky Ancient Road, where they unexpectedly encountered Ye Fan and the women traveling with him. The groups recognized one another as they waited for the ancient city to open.

• Jiang Ming finished cultivating with Gu Qingyao and resolved to work harder, while Gu Qingyao planned to strengthen her body and Primordial Spirit before reaching the Quasi-Emperor realm.
• Jiang Tingting and Xia Jiuyou traveled to the First Pass of the Human Race on Jin Ling's back, and Jin Ling transformed into human form when they reached the gates.
• The three women found the ancient city crowded with powerful cultivators and mounts, all waiting for its monthly opening.
• Ye Fan and the women close to him waited in three separate groups, disguising themselves after facing danger along the Starry Sky Ancient Road.
• Ye Fan's group recognized Jiang Tingting, Xia Jiuyou, and Jin Ling, while the newcomers recognized Ye Fan's companions.

Ye Fan and his companions learned the rules for entering the First Pass of the Human Race and waited with hundreds of gathered talents for the city gates to open. The gates finally opened, and the crowd began entering beneath the watch of Saint-level soldiers.

• Jiang Tingting learned that entry depended on a Guide Envoy recognizing a seed-level talent, and that the pass opened only every six months.
• Ye Fan chose to keep a low profile while the Thirteen Riders of the Wilds focused their attention on Xia Jiuyou, Jiang Tingting, and Jin Ling.
• The wolf-eyed leader of the Thirteen Riders of the Wilds stared at Xia Jiuyou, while Ye Fan and the Dragon Horse anticipated trouble if he provoked Jiang Tingting.
• Three days later, the ancient bronze gates opened to reveal Saint-armored soldiers guarding the entrance.
• The gathered talents urged their mounts forward or walked through the gate passage into the city.

Jiang Tingting, Xia Jiuyou, Jin Ling, Ye Fan, and the Dragon Horse entered the First Pass of the Human Race, where a guard’s covetous thoughts toward the women were exposed. The women left after warning him, while the guard nursed a bitter grudge.

• The Thirteen Riders of the Wilds charged into the ancient city, while Jiang Tingting, Xia Jiuyou, and Jin Ling recorded their journey with a Brainphone.
• Ye Fan killed a Daoist nun’s Golden-Winged Roc mount and took its body, then received a warning from the city guards against fighting inside the city.
• Jiang Tingting recorded the First Pass of the Human Race and told Jiang Ming that its grandeur could not be captured by her Brainphone.
• A guard warned Jiang Tingting, Xia Jiuyou, and Jin Ling to be cautious, then grew angry when Xia Jiuyou rebuffed him.
• Jiang Tingting and Xia Jiuyou read the guard’s covetous thoughts, and Jiang Tingting told him to behave like a proper soldier before the three women left.
• The guard became livid and secretly wished to torture Jiang Tingting, Xia Jiuyou, and Bai Ling.

Chapter Summary: “Killing in the City”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Tingting, Xia Jiuyou, and Jin Ling enter the First Pass of the Human Race and ignore an offensive gate guard. They refrain from attacking because violence against city officials is forbidden within the city.
• The women observe that the city was constructed from meteorites engraved with ancient Formation Patterns. The First Pass is part of the Starry Sky Ancient Road, an ancient route designed to train Human Race prodigies and potentially produce Great Emperors.
• The city lord, acting as the Jieyin envoy, appears above the gate and announces the rules:
  • Not everyone will be allowed to continue, as a trial will determine who qualifies.
  • The city gate is a safe zone.
  • Fighting and violent conflict are forbidden, except in legitimate self-defense.
• The group explores the ancient city, discovering that it resembles a prosperous ordinary world, with common people, shops, vendors, and street stalls. Many residents are descendants of cultivators who settled there generations ago, though most descendants lack cultivation talent.
• Jiang Tingting, Xia Jiuyou, and Jin Ling enjoy the city’s exceptionally luxurious food, including ancient spirit beasts, rare meats, and thousand-year-old medicines.
• Their leisure is interrupted when the Thirteen Riders of the Wilds charge through the crowded streets on horseback, displaying arrogance and disregard for the city’s residents.
• Ye Fan deliberately stands in their path rather than yielding. The riders provoke him, hoping he will attack first and violate the city’s rules, but he refuses to be manipulated.
• The three women insult the riders’ behavior, and Ye Fan’s companions join in. The riders respond by viciously insulting the women.
• Two of the riders and their mounts are suddenly cut in half and frozen before they can react. The Thirteen Riders become the Eleven Riders, while Ye Fan realizes that the attack occurred inside the city and may lead to serious consequences.

Character Developments

• Jiang Tingting, Xia Jiuyou, and Jin Ling: Remain confident, sharp-tongued, and contemptuous of arrogant behavior. Their willingness to confront the Thirteen Riders shows that they are not intimidated by the reputation of the Starry Sky Ancient Road’s prodigies.
• Ye Fan: Demonstrates restraint and strategic awareness. He refuses to attack first, understands the city’s rules, and attempts to force the riders into revealing their intentions. His calmness contrasts with their recklessness.
• The Thirteen Riders of the Wilds: Are portrayed as arrogant, uncivilized, and eager to exploit the rules for their own advantage. Their reckless provocation ultimately leads to the deaths of two members.
• The Jieyin envoy/city lord: Establishes himself as an authority who values order but gives little patience to excessive questioning.
• The city’s residents: Reveal that the Starry Sky Ancient Road is not merely a battlefield for cultivators but a long-established society containing ordinary people and hereditary communities.

Significant Themes

• Order versus violence: The city’s laws are intended to restrain powerful cultivators, but the riders’ provocation exposes how easily rules can be manipulated.
• Restraint and strategy: Ye Fan’s refusal to strike first illustrates the importance of patience and tactical thinking in a dangerous environment.
• Arrogance and consequences: The Thirteen Riders’ pride and abusive behavior cause them to underestimate their opponents, resulting in the sudden deaths of two members.
• The legacy of ancient cultivators: The First Pass represents the ambition of the Human Race’s ancient sages and their effort to cultivate future Great Emperors.
• Cultivators and ordinary people: Despite its reputation as a training ground for prodigies, the ancient city contains a large ordinary population, emphasizing that cultivators remain a minority.
• Civilization amid danger: The city combines immense cultivation resources and ancient power with everyday commerce, food, and ordinary life.

Character Interactions

• The three women collectively dismiss and criticize the Thirteen Riders’ behavior.
• Ye Fan confronts the riders physically by blocking their path but verbally challenges them to make the first move.
• Jin Ling mocks the riders, while Xia Jiuyou and Jiang Tingting add further insults concerning their manners and conduct.
• Ye Fan’s female companions support the confrontation from the crowd, intensifying the riders’ anger.
• The riders respond with misogynistic abuse, triggering the lethal retaliation that kills two of them.
• Ye Fan reacts with concern rather than celebration, recognizing that the killing violates the city’s prohibition against violence and could create trouble for everyone involved.

After the Thirteen Riders of the Wilds lost two members, city guards tried to arrest Jiang Tingting, Xia Jiuyou, and Bai Ling for killing in the street. Jiang Tingting disarmed the captain, and the guiding envoy ended the confrontation, leaving the surviving Riders wary of what awaited them in the trial grounds.

• City guards arrived after the sixth and eleventh of the Thirteen Riders of the Wilds were killed, and their captain ordered the three women seized for breaking the city's rules.
• Bai Ling used her Saint Weapon whip to hold off the eight guards, then Jiang Tingting shattered their sacred spears and warned them not to provoke her.
• The captain charged Jiang Tingting with his Black Iron Saint Spear, but her Quasi-Saint King Weapon broke it into three pieces.
• The guiding envoy stopped the fight and ruled that the dead Riders had brought their fate upon themselves by seeking trouble.
• The guiding envoy recalled Gai Jiuyou's warning about Jiang Ming and his daughter, while the surviving Riders feared for their prospects in the trial grounds.

After assassins attacked Jiang Tingting, Xia Jiuyou, and Jin Ling in the First City, the guide envoy opened the trial road early, where Ye Fan and the women prepared to confront the Eleven Riders of the Desolate Heaven. Four years later, Jiang Ming completed the Eighth-Stage Evolution Liquid and prepared to help Gu Qingyao break through to Quasi-Emperor.

• Three Saint experts ambushed Jiang Tingting, Xia Jiuyou, and Bai Ling, but Jiang Tingting and Xia Jiuyou killed them.
• Jin Ling criticized the First City's security, and the guide envoy opened the trial road ahead of schedule to send the women away.
• Ye Fan and his companions revealed their killing intent toward the Eleven Riders of the Desolate Heaven as the gifted elites entered the ancient island.
• Jiang Ming continued refining the Eighth-Stage Evolution Liquid while planning to help Gu Qingyao reach the Quasi-Emperor Realm.
• Four years later, the evolution liquid finished transforming in the Hengyu Furnace, and Jiang Ming urged Gu Qingyao to approach her breakthrough calmly.

Four years after Jiang Ming’s steady cultivation progress, Gu Qingyao prepared to use the Eighth-Stage Evolution Liquid to break through to the Quasi-Emperor Realm. After three months of transformation, her breakthrough reached a critical moment as she emerged in armor made from Nine-Heavens Jade King.

• Jiang Ming advanced his Great Freedom Dao Scripture to the fifth revolution and reached the Saint King Eighth Heavenly Layer in the Shrouding Method.
• Gu Qingyao prepared for her breakthrough with her ice-fire twin lotus Dao Fruit and guidance from Gai Jiuyou.
• Two months later, Gu Qingyao entered her Pyramid and absorbed the Eighth-Stage Evolution Liquid while Jiang Ming, his companions, Gai Jiuyou, and the Martial Emperor stood watch.
• Gu Qingyao spent three months undergoing the transformation required for her breakthrough.
• Gu Qingyao appeared in armor made from Nine-Heavens Jade King as a tremendous boom marked the next stage of her breakthrough.

Gu Qingyao completed her breakthrough to the Quasi-Emperor Realm, revealing the Pyramid’s true form and gaining control of the ancient armament. As Jiang Ming celebrated her achievement, he reflected on the different paths his daughter and disciple were taking toward their Dao Fruits.

• Jiang Ming considered how rewards for killing Great Saints had declined as his cultivation increased and recalled the valuable materials he had collected from their deaths.
• Gu Qingyao expanded to fill three Solar System-sized star systems, endured the great dao shackles, and completed her breakthrough after half a year.
• Gu Qingyao formed gold and purple quasi-emperor dao fruits, overcame the Great Dao Heart Inquiry with Jiang Ming’s Heaven-Mending Hand, and gained the ability to transform the Pyramid.
• Jiang Ming and his companions congratulated Gu Qingyao, while the Dragon Emperor's Daughter, the Golden Heavenly Maiden, and Huoliner recognized how rare a Quasi-Emperor was.
• Jiang Ming compared the elderly Human Demon's yin-yang dao fruit with the path he had prepared for Jiang Tingting, and considered Tongtong’s search for his own Dao and his hopes of becoming a Great Emperor.

Jiang Ming left Gu Qingyao to stabilize the Eternal Star Region while he set out for the Starry Sky Ancient Road. There, Ye Fan and his companions prepared to confront the Yan Clan, whose influence seemed to hide a deeper backing.

• Gu Qingyao reached the Quasi-Emperor Realm, and Jiang Ming left her in charge of the Eternal Star Region before departing for the Starry Sky Ancient Road.
• Jiang Tingting, Xia Jiuyou, and Jin Ling learned that the slain Thirteen Riders of the Wilds had followed the Great Demon God, a powerful prodigy who had reached the road's farther stretches.
• Ye Fan advanced to the ninth heaven of Saint, mastered the Divine Forbidden Realm, and continued fighting alongside his five lovers.
• Ye Fan insisted that they attack the Yan Clan because it colluded with outsiders and tyrannized the Human Race's Starry Sky Ancient Road.
• Li Xiaoman questioned whether they should move against the Yan Clan, while Ji Ziyue warned that the clan seemed to have powerful backing.

Ye Fan and his allies raided the Yan Clan over its alleged collusion with alien races, only to find the law enforcer protecting it. When the law enforcer tried to seize Ye Fan and brand the group rebels, they resisted and demanded an end to the Starry Sky Ancient Road’s corruption, leaving the Second Pass reception envoy unwillingly caught in the confrontation.

• Ye Fan contacted Jiang Tingting, Xia Jiuyou, and Jin Ling, and they joined him in a nighttime assault on the Yan Clan with other human prodigies.
• Jiang Tingting accused Grand Commander Yan Yu of colluding with aliens and killing human prodigies, while Yan Yu revealed that the law enforcer was at his residence.
• The law enforcer appeared in Saint King armor, declared that he would take both the aliens and the attackers, and tried to capture Ye Fan with a Saint King Weapon chain.
• Ye Fan caught the chain, and Jiang Tingting, Xia Jiuyou, and Jin Ling donned Saint King Mecha Armor as Jiang Tingting denounced the Starry Sky Ancient Road and its corrupt factions.
• The law enforcer summoned the Second Pass reception envoy to suppress the group, but the envoy resented being dragged into a fight with people the garrison commander had ordered him to watch.

Ye Fan and Jiang Tingting killed Liu Ye, the garrison commander, and the Alien Race members connected to Di Tian after exposing their abuse of authority. The Exiled Immortal, Qing Shi, reunited with Xia Jiuyou, declined to travel with the group, and played them a farewell tune as they prepared to continue along the Starry Sky Ancient Road.

• Ye Fan shattered Liu Ye's heirloom armor and exposed him as an impostor abusing his uncle's authority.
• Xia Jiuyou killed the garrison commander with the Nine Nether Immortal Melody, and Jiang Tingting killed Liu Ye with the Heaven-Cutting Finger.
• The group slaughtered the remaining Alien Race members, who were connected to Di Tian.
• The Exiled Immortal, Qing Shi, met Xia Jiuyou again and explained that she would continue her journey alone.
• Qing Shi played a farewell melody on her jade flute for Xia Jiuyou and the others.