Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming seals his overwhelming cultivation and begins cultivating from the beginning, relying only on his comprehension. He rapidly advances from the First to Fifth Rank within five hours, then reaches the Sixth Rank during his journey.
• Du Ling informs him that powerful figures from the major academies have gathered to explore Death Valley, a forbidden region filled with danger. Jiang Ming decides to accompany her and observe the expedition.
• Jiang Ming and Du Ling travel to the City of Sin, where the four great academies have selected ten young elites to enter Death Valley.
• Jiang Ming warns that even Third Rank prodigies are likely to die there, but claims—deliberately understating his strength—that he is only a Fourth Rank cultivator.
• Ling Yun challenges him by attacking with sword qi. Jiang Ming effortlessly destroys it with his self-created technique, Yin-Yang Scissor Hands, shocking everyone present.
• His warning causes the young experts to hesitate about entering Death Valley. Meng Ke’er argues that the region may be safe if no one interferes with the mysterious being inside.
• Jiang Ming ultimately decides to enter while bringing Du Ling with him. His true goal is to investigate the remains of the forbidden god Dugu Baitian and study his Martial Dao.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming displays extraordinary talent and control, advancing through multiple ranks almost instantly despite suppressing his true power. He remains calm and detached, viewing the world’s strongest experts as insignificant.
• He adopts a protective but unconventional attitude toward Du Ling, choosing to keep her nearby while exposing her to greater truths and danger. He wants her to understand the vast difference between ordinary cultivators and true powerhouses.
• Du Ling admires her brother and is surprised by his rapid breakthrough. She also becomes concerned because he seems subtly changed after cultivation, though she continues to trust him.
• Ling Yun’s confidence and arrogance are challenged when Jiang Ming casually defeats his attack.
• Chen Nan attracts Jiang Ming’s attention because of his future potential to reach the Heavenly Dao level. Jiang Ming already considers how he might guide and manage the world’s strongest figures in the future.
• Meng Ke’er shows caution and insight, suggesting that the danger of Death Valley depends on how the mysterious entity within is treated.

Significant Themes

• Hidden power and humility: Jiang Ming conceals his true cultivation, presenting himself as merely Fourth Rank despite already reaching Sixth Rank and possessing far greater power.
• The gap between mortals and true experts: Jiang Ming repeatedly compares the young prodigies to ants, emphasizing how limited their understanding is compared with his own.
• Dangerous knowledge and destiny: Death Valley is portrayed as a place that only those with the proper fate or purpose should enter. Jiang Ming warns others without revealing the full truth.
• Cultivation through self-reliance: By sealing his power and rebuilding his cultivation from the beginning, Jiang Ming tests his comprehension and creates new techniques.
• Control over future power: Jiang Ming plans to strengthen the world’s cultivation limit but remove its strongest beings elsewhere, showing his desire to regulate and manage the balance of power.
• Learning from ancient legacies: His interest in Dugu Baitian’s remains reflects his pursuit of greater understanding and the refinement of his Immortal Martial Dao.

Character Interactions

• Du Ling eagerly follows Jiang Ming and questions his sudden breakthroughs, while Jiang Ming responds casually and reassures her of his confidence.
• The academy leaders are astonished by Jiang Ming’s claimed Fourth Rank cultivation and treat him as an exceptionally rare young genius.
• Ling Yun attempts to test Jiang Ming’s strength, but Jiang Ming defeats him effortlessly, establishing a clear difference in ability.
• Jiang Ming addresses the assembled elites with warnings, causing them to reconsider the expedition.
• His pointed remarks toward Chen Nan suggest that he knows more about Chen Nan’s future and the deeper significance of Death Valley than he reveals.
• Meng Ke’er offers a different interpretation of the danger, creating a cautious contrast with Jiang Ming’s cryptic warnings.

Chapter Summary: “Heaven-Cutting Finger”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming reflects on Tantai Xuan, founder of the Tantai Ancient Land, who created the unique Dao-Martial cultivation path by combining martial arts and Daoist techniques. Inspired by this, Jiang Ming resolves to create his own path rather than follow hers.
• He also thinks about Tantai Xuan’s connection to the Seven-Extremes Woman and briefly considers Dugu Xiaoxuan, though he has not yet formed a real relationship with her.
• Despite Jiang Ming’s warning, the young prodigies refuse to withdraw from the Death Forbidden Land. They believe their strength and pride make retreat unacceptable, even though the expedition may be using them as expendable scouts for stronger experts.
• The group travels eight hundred li to Death Valley on a Subdragon. Nearing the destination, the dragon becomes frightened by the ominous black clouds and refuses to fly farther, forcing everyone to continue on foot.
• At the entrance, the group encounters dense demonic clouds, deathly darkness, and the fragrance of the deadly Death Flower. Jiang Ming repeats his warning but enters anyway with Du Ling.
• Jiang Ming protects Du Ling by combining black-and-gold Dao power with Martial Dao true qi, creating a yin-yang-like protective barrier.
• Du Ling openly criticizes the others for ignoring Jiang Ming’s advice and points out that the younger generation is likely being used as a group of “stepping stones” before stronger experts enter the forbidden land.
• The group begins dividing into scouting parties. Chen Nan, Meng Ke’er, Hidden Dragon, a masked female mage, and others choose to proceed, while Ling Yun attempts to influence Meng Ke’er’s decision so he can gain her favor.
• Inside the valley, Jiang Ming and Du Ling walk across heaps of bones and through phosphorous flames, emphasizing the enormous number of deaths that have occurred there.
• Chen Nan approaches Jiang Ming, suggesting that they travel together for mutual protection. Jiang Ming remains silent and continues forward, increasing the mystery surrounding him. Chen Nan then remarks to Meng Ke’er that Jiang Ming seems dangerous but trustworthy enough to accompany.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Becomes more confident in his identity and ambitions. He respects Tantai Xuan’s achievement but refuses to imitate her, deciding to forge an original cultivation path. His calmness, strength, and willingness to enter Death Valley despite the danger make him appear increasingly mysterious and authoritative.
• Du Ling: Reveals a sharp, outspoken, and protective side. Though she appears charming, she is perceptive and ruthless when necessary. Her trust in Jiang Ming is absolute, and she actively defends his judgment before the other prodigies.
• Meng Ke’er: Demonstrates independence and confidence by rejecting Ling Yun’s attempt to direct her actions. She chooses to join the dangerous first group rather than remain safely behind.
• Chen Nan: Shows caution and social awareness. Although he distrusts Meng Ke’er because of their previous battle, he recognizes Jiang Ming’s unusual character and seeks to cooperate with him.
• Ling Yun: Is portrayed as self-serving and hypocritical. His concern for Meng Ke’er appears motivated more by a desire to win her favor than by genuine concern for the group.
• Lisa: Establishes herself as a capable dragon rider, though even her powerful Subdragon is frightened by the Death Forbidden Land.

Significant Themes

• Creating one’s own path: Jiang Ming’s decision to develop an original cultivation method reinforces the theme of individuality and innovation over imitation.
• Pride versus prudence: The young experts knowingly enter a terrifying forbidden land because their pride prevents them from retreating, highlighting the danger of arrogance.
• Expendability and manipulation: Du Ling exposes the possibility that the younger generation is being used as disposable scouts for more powerful factions.
• The nature of good and evil: Jiang Ming reflects that “demons” are not necessarily all alike or inherently committed to destroying life, challenging simplistic distinctions between righteous and demonic forces.
• Death and the unknown: The valley’s bones, darkness, Death Flowers, and mysterious god-demon presence create an atmosphere of ancient tragedy and hidden danger.
• Trust amid suspicion: The characters must decide whom to rely on, with Jiang Ming’s strength making him both an attractive ally and an unsettling mystery.

Important Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Du Ling move into Death Valley together, with Jiang Ming actively shielding her from danger.
• Du Ling confronts the other prodigies for disregarding Jiang Ming’s warning and accuses powerful figures of using them as expendable test subjects.
• Meng Ke’er and Ling Yun clash indirectly over their expedition roles; she refuses to follow his safer arrangement and chooses the scouting party instead.
• Chen Nan attempts to form an alliance with Jiang Ming, but Jiang Ming ignores the request.
• Chen Nan discusses Jiang Ming with Meng Ke’er, suggesting that traveling with him may be the safest option despite his mysterious nature.
• The chapter ends with Jiang Ming leading the way deeper into the Death Forbidden Land while the others follow cautiously behind.

Chapter Summary: “Dugu Baitian”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Meng Ke’er and Chen Nan continue their hostile verbal exchange as they travel deeper into Death Valley. Chen Nan jokes provocatively, while Meng Ke’er warns him not to damage her Dao heart or force her into a life-or-death conflict.
• After advancing several miles, the group encounters ancient weapon fragments and bones left from battles ten thousand years earlier. Jiang Ming gains insights from these remains through the Dao Scriptures circulating in his mind.
• Jiang Ming senses that the valley was formed around the remnant body of Dugu Baitian, an existence above the Heavenly Rank. By studying Dugu Baitian’s traces, Jiang Ming believes he is close to breaking through to the seventh rank.
• A terrifying blood-red God-Demon suddenly awakens in the valley, releasing demonic energy and moonlight that immobilize everyone. Jiang Ming uses the Great Dream Heart Scripture to put the group to sleep, leaving only Chen Nan conscious.
• The God-Demon is revealed to be a remnant body of Dugu Baitian, deliberately left behind as bait to mislead the Heavenly Dao into believing that Dugu Baitian had fallen. His true nature is connected to Samsara and multiple Nirvana bodies.
• Dugu Baitian’s remnant speaks in an ancient language and displays signs of madness, repeatedly questioning his identity and what happened ten thousand years ago. Chen Nan is the only one able to communicate with him.
• Jiang Ming spends eight days cultivating beside the remnant. When Dugu Baitian awakens fully, he subjects the intruders to an Illusory Heart Trial to test their character and potential.
• Jiang Ming remains unaffected by the illusion. He secretly alters Du Ling’s dream and corrects her cultivation path, helping her overcome the unhealthy fixation she has on her brother.
• He also protects the others from death and uses the Great Dream Heart Scripture to help them recover their true hearts after they experience despair. Chen Nan and Meng Ke’er become trapped in an embarrassing, repetitive illusion.
• Jiang Ming leaves Death Valley carrying Du Ling. By the time he exits, he has successfully comprehended Dugu Baitian’s Dao traces and naturally breaks through to the seventh rank.
• After Jiang Ming departs, Dugu Baitian realizes that Jiang Ming had been assisting the others. When Jiang Ming reminds him of his mission, Dugu Baitian regains clarity and remembers that his remnant body is meant to distract the Heavenly Dao while his true body prepares a larger scheme.
• Dugu Baitian begins to suspect that Jiang Ming may be the reincarnation of an ancient figure from Primordial Antiquity.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Demonstrates overwhelming spiritual and mental abilities, calmly neutralizing the God-Demon’s pressure, protecting the group, and resisting the Illusory Heart Trial. He advances to the seventh rank by comprehending Dugu Baitian’s cultivation system and shows a more benevolent side by correcting Du Ling’s cultivation and saving the others.
• Dugu Baitian: Is revealed to be far more complex than a seemingly dead God-Demon. His remnant is both a decoy and a fragmented vessel of consciousness. Despite his madness, he retains a vast strategic purpose connected to Samsara and resistance against the Heavenly Dao.
• Chen Nan: Remains bold and outspoken, but becomes astonished and confused by the God-Demon. His ability to speak the ancient language allows him to communicate with Dugu Baitian.
• Meng Ke’er: Maintains her hostility toward Chen Nan and becomes caught in the same humiliating illusion as him.
• Du Ling: Her intense attachment to her brother is exposed through the Illusory Heart Trial. Jiang Ming intervenes to redirect her onto a healthier and more appropriate cultivation path.
• The other cultivators: Gain insight and protection from Jiang Ming, though most repeatedly lose consciousness under Dugu Baitian’s terrifying roars.

Significant Themes

• Deception and hidden strategies: Dugu Baitian’s remnant body is deliberately presented as a corpse to deceive the Heavenly Dao, emphasizing that appearances and apparent death can conceal larger plans.
• Samsara and fragmented identity: Dugu Baitian’s many Nirvana bodies blur the boundaries between life, death, and individuality.
• The Dao heart and moral character: The Illusory Heart Trial tests whether cultivators possess loyalty, integrity, and the strength to resist destructive desires.
• Cultivation through comprehension: Jiang Ming’s breakthrough comes not from force but from absorbing and understanding Dugu Baitian’s Dao traces.
• Power and restraint: Although Jiang Ming possesses the ability to dominate everyone present, he acts calmly and selectively, protecting rather than killing them.
• Conflict with the Heavenly Dao: Dugu Baitian and the Demon Lord of Ages suspect that Heaven itself is abnormal, setting up a broader struggle against the world’s governing force.

Character Interactions

• Chen Nan and Meng Ke’er continue their combative, flirtatious hostility, with Meng Ke’er warning Chen Nan against provoking her.
• Chen Nan communicates directly with Dugu Baitian, while the rest of the group can only endure the God-Demon’s terrifying speech and roars.
• Jiang Ming silently manipulates the dreams of the unconscious cultivators, helping or protecting them according to their needs.
• Jiang Ming and Dugu Baitian exchange calm but meaningful words after Jiang Ming leaves. Jiang Ming’s reminder of Dugu Baitian’s mission restores the remnant’s sanity and causes Dugu Baitian to question Jiang Ming’s true identity.

Chapter Summary: “I’ll Be Back”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming leaves the mind-cleansing illusion with Du Ling after she successfully overcomes it, despite believing she may have failed. Her act of killing everyone within the illusion ultimately counts as success.
• Jiang Ming warns Du Ling about Meng Ke’er and Ling Yun, who abandoned others when disaster struck.
• Over the next three Yue, Jiang Ming rapidly advances to the peak of the seventh rank while developing a new cultivation method: the Martial Dao Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Diagram. The method combines the Heaven, Earth, and Human foundations with the eight elemental Daos.
• Although he reaches the peak of the seventh rank, Jiang Ming delays his breakthrough into the God King realm so he can complete and stabilize his new cultivation system. He is unconcerned about the upcoming God King Tribulation.
• Strange upheavals occur in the Chu Kingdom, drawing powerful cultivators to the imperial city. Jiang Ming and Du Ling travel there and encounter Chen Nan, who has also reached the fourth rank, as well as Meng Ke’er.
• Beneath the imperial palace, a terrifying seventh-rank middle-aged man revives by absorbing the spiritual essence of the world. A sword is slowly pulled from his head, and when it is finally removed, his Battle Soul returns. Jiang Ming recognizes this as the Battle Soul cultivation system, in which an undying Battle Soul can restore a person even after death.
• Jiang Ming reveals that he possesses three Dao Battle Souls: the Heavenly, Earthly, and Human Dao Battle Souls.
• When fighting breaks out, Jiang Ming orders Du Ling to participate so that she can gain experience through actual combat.
• Du Ling challenges the Huntian Little Demon King, using the powerful Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Scripture that Jiang Ming created for her. She overwhelms him, injures him severely, and forces him to flee.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Continues rebuilding his cultivation from the beginning while deliberately pursuing an exceptionally complex path. He demonstrates vast knowledge, confidence, and long-term planning. He also begins treating Du Ling as a useful future ally despite knowing she is not truly his sister.
• Du Ling: Develops strong dependence and loyalty toward Jiang Ming, even being willing to die for him. Her cultivation rises to the middle fourth rank, and her new Four Symbols technique greatly enhances her combat ability. She becomes more confident, aggressive, and eager to test herself.
• Chen Nan: Has advanced to the fourth rank and is now comparable to Du Ling, suggesting continued growth and increased relevance.
• Meng Ke’er: Reappears among the gathered experts but is deliberately ignored by Jiang Ming because of her earlier betrayal.
• Huntian Little Demon King: Remains arrogant and lecherous, immediately attempting to claim Du Ling for his “harem.” His confidence collapses after she defeats him, and he escapes while promising revenge.

Significant Themes

• Cultivation through hardship: Jiang Ming emphasizes that true strength comes from continuous battle and self-tempering.
• Rebuilding and innovation: Jiang Ming’s cultivation is not merely restored; he is creating an entirely new and more demanding system by combining numerous Daos.
• Loyalty and betrayal: Jiang Ming contrasts Du Ling’s devotion with Meng Ke’er and Ling Yun’s abandonment of others during disaster.
• The persistence of the soul: The revived middle-aged man demonstrates that a powerful Battle Soul can survive death and restore its master.
• Confidence versus arrogance: Du Ling’s confidence is earned through ability, while the Huntian Little Demon King’s arrogance is exposed as weakness.

Character Interactions

• Du Ling questions Jiang Ming about the illusion, and he encourages her by explaining its significance.
• Jiang Ming warns Du Ling to remain cautious around Meng Ke’er and Ling Yun.
• He urges Du Ling to fight when battle begins, framing combat as essential to her growth.
• Du Ling confronts the Huntian Little Demon King after he insults and objectifies her, defeating him with her spear and transformed Four Symbols powers.
• The chapter ends with the defeated demon king fleeing and declaring, “I’ll remember you. I’ll be back!”

Chapter Summary:

Dugu Xiaoxuan

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Nan encounters Jiang Ming again after three months and speculates that Jiang Ming has likely reached the peak of the fourth rank or higher.
• Jiang Ming reveals that he has been cultivating quietly. During the six months it took the man with the flying sword in his head to recover, Jiang Ming secretly advanced into the God King realm.
• Two Western sixth-rank experts—a Mage God and a War God, both accompanied by fifth-rank Saint Dragons—arrive in the East. They are secretly Angels from the Western God Realm, with powerful Primordial Spirits exceeding their physical bodies.
• The sixth-rank old monster of Chu fights the two Western experts without being disadvantaged, demonstrating the strength of ancient martial arts practitioners.
• Chen Nan uses the Hou Yi Bow to kill the Western Angels. Du Ling, despite reaching the peak of the fourth rank with Jiang Ming’s help, is stunned by Chen Nan’s ability to defeat sixth-rank enemies.
• Jiang Ming effortlessly kills a Four-Winged Angel with his enormous Scissor Hands, removing its Angel Heart and refining it into a Source Vital-Energy Fruit for Du Ling.
• The Great Demon, who is revealed to be Demon Lord’s son and Jiang Ming’s descendant, awakens and annihilates another Western expert. Rogue Dragon celebrates the Eastern experts’ victory.
• After the Angels are defeated, several mysterious treasures and artifacts—including a White Jade Palm, a Taiji Divine-Demon Diagram, and Chen Nan’s jade pendant—leave the battlefield. Jiang Ming follows them using his teleportation ability, the Nine Palace Gate.
• Jiang Ming encounters Dugu Xiaoxuan, who is connected to Dugu Baitian’s lineage and has not yet recovered her memories. He introduces himself as a friend of her brother and gains her trust.
• When the old monster attempts to seize the Jade Ruyi containing Dugu Xiaoxuan, Jiang Ming casually flicks him on the forehead, leaving a massive, painful bump and humiliating him into retreat.
• The old monster warns Chen Nan that the Human World has become dangerously complicated. Chen Nan laughs when he sees the old monster’s injuries.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming is revealed to have advanced dramatically, reaching the God King realm while concealing his strength. He acts with overwhelming confidence, protecting Du Ling and taking a special interest in Dugu Xiaoxuan.
• Du Ling grows stronger under Jiang Ming’s guidance, reaching the peak of the fourth rank. However, witnessing Chen Nan kill sixth-rank Angels humbles her and shatters her previous arrogance.
• Chen Nan demonstrates that the Hou Yi Bow allows him to challenge and kill enemies far above his apparent rank. His position as a major Eastern force becomes increasingly clear.
• The Great Demon awakens and proves himself a terrifying sixth-rank powerhouse, defending the Eastern lands from Western invaders.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan is introduced as a mysterious young woman with lost memories. She is drawn to Jiang Ming, who deliberately presents himself as a familiar and trustworthy figure.
• The old monster of Chu suffers a humiliating defeat at Jiang Ming’s hands. His fear and confusion reveal how far beyond ordinary sixth-rank experts Jiang Ming has become.
• Rogue Dragon continues serving as comic relief, boasting loudly after the Eastern victory despite the serious dangers surrounding him.

Significant Themes

• Hidden strength and rapid advancement: Jiang Ming’s secret rise to the God King realm emphasizes how deceptive appearances can be in the Human World.
• The growing complexity of the Human World: The arrival of Western Angels and the emergence of concealed Eastern experts suggest that a much larger conflict is approaching.
• Eastern versus Western power: The battle highlights the rivalry between Western divine forces and the ancient, deeply rooted powers of the East.
• Humility through overwhelming power: Du Ling’s confidence collapses after seeing Chen Nan’s strength, while the old monster is forced to recognize that he is no longer among the strongest beings present.
• Family, lineage, and identity: Jiang Ming’s connection to the Great Demon and his interest in Dugu Xiaoxuan reinforce the importance of ancient bloodlines and forgotten relationships.
• Humor amid danger: Jiang Ming’s teasing of Du Ling, Rogue Dragon’s boasting, and the old monster’s absurd injury provide comic relief within an increasingly ominous situation.

Important Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Du Ling: Jiang Ming mentors and protects her, gives her the refined Source Vital-Energy Fruit, and embarrasses her by recalling her childhood bedwetting.
• Du Ling and Chen Nan: Du Ling compares Chen Nan’s strength with Jiang Ming’s and is shocked that Chen Nan can kill sixth-rank enemies.
• Jiang Ming and the Great Demon: Their shared lineage is revealed, though they do not directly discuss it in depth.
• Jiang Ming and Dugu Xiaoxuan: Jiang Ming approaches her warmly and deceives her into believing he is a close friend of her brother, beginning a significant new relationship.
• Jiang Ming and the old monster: Their brief confrontation establishes Jiang Ming’s overwhelming superiority. He humiliates rather than kills the old monster, demonstrating complete control.
• Chen Nan and the old monster: Chen Nan mocks the old monster after seeing his injury, reversing their earlier power dynamic and adding a humorous conclusion to the chapter.

Jiang Ming trained toward the Heavenly Rank while his family and Chen Nan grew stronger amid battles in the Human World. After Great Demon defeated powerful invaders with the aid of a spirit-root peach tree, Jiang Ming planned to help his sons and reunite with their mothers.

• Jiang Ming returned the Jade Ruyi and Taiji Divine-Demon Diagram to Chen Nan and resolved to raise his strength without interfering with Chen Nan's growth.
• Over the next year, Jiang Ming trained Du Ling to the middle of the fifth rank and reached the peak of the God King Rank while Chen Nan searched for Yu Xin and Hidden Dragon and Great Demon pursued their own paths.
• Jiang Ming learned that Hidden Dragon was another reincarnation of his son and planned to help him and Great Demon, while the Demon Lord took Hidden Dragon as his disciple.
• Great Demon discovered a spirit-root peach tree in his Inner Heaven and Earth, then defeated an Upper Realm immortal and a Six-Winged Angel and absorbed their power.
• Chen Nan and Rogue Dragon reached the sixth rank, Du Ling advanced to the peak of the fifth rank, and Chen Nan gained further benefits from the battle as his cultivation surged.

Chen Nan and Jiang Ming traveled west with their companions to the Elves’ Eternal Forest, where the elves welcomed them and asked for help finding their missing holy maiden. After three days, they left for the ominous Forbidden Forest, and Jiang Ming agreed to enter despite the danger.

• Chen Nan told Jiang Ming he was heading west to search for Yu Xin, and Jiang Ming proposed that he and Du Ling travel with Chen Nan’s group.
• Jiang Ming revealed a Three-Legged Golden Crow as his mount, astonishing Chen Nan and the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon.
• The party reached the Eternal Forest, where the elven queen welcomed them and asked them to find the missing elven holy maiden.
• Jiang Ming and the others enjoyed the elves’ hospitality for several days while Chen Nan continued his search for Yu Xin.
• The group reached the Forbidden Forest, sensed its sinister aura, and decided to enter despite Du Ling’s concerns.

Chapter Summary: “Other Shore Flowers on Yellow Springs Road”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The group enters the Forbidden Forest and discovers the terrifying Yellow Springs River, complete with an ancient stone stele marked “Yellow Springs.”
• Chen Nan takes the stele into his Inner Heaven and Earth, where it transforms into a stone mountain, confirming its connection to him.
• A swarm of black, wolf-headed birds attacks. The Rogue Dragon and Little Phoenix destroy them, revealing that the Phoenix has already reached the sixth rank.
• The group discovers that Yellow Springs is surrounded by an invisible restriction that prevents flight.
• Jiang Ming introduces his daughter, Jiang Wan’er, explaining that she is connected to his awakened memories from Primordial Antiquity. He seals her immense cultivation so she can accompany the group and gain experience.
• The travelers reach the Bridge of Helplessness, a bridge made of bones spanning Yellow Springs. Demon Shadows are drawn toward Wan’er and willingly fall into the river.
• When Yellow Springs erupts and produces a gigantic three-headed demon, Wan’er destroys it instantly with the Tathagata Palm.
• After crossing the bridge, the group encounters an endless field of red Other Shore Flowers, legendary blossoms associated with the dead and the memories of their former lives.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming continues revealing aspects of his mysterious past. He admits that many members of the group may have been acquaintances in earlier eras, hinting at their connections to Primordial Antiquity.
• Jiang Wan’er is introduced as Jiang Ming’s daughter and immediately demonstrates overwhelming strength. Although she is powerful enough to rival beings near the Heavenly Dao Realm, Jiang Ming suppresses her cultivation so she can experience danger and adventure.
• Chen Nan gains the Yellow Springs stele, suggesting that it may be important to his destiny.
• The Rogue Dragon remains impulsive and humorous, attempting to fly over Yellow Springs despite the restriction and later complaining about the demon’s foul breath. He also recognizes that Wan’er may be stronger than himself.
• Little Phoenix proves unexpectedly formidable by reaching the sixth rank and destroying the remaining attacking birds.
• Du Ling becomes increasingly uneasy as the group ventures deeper into a realm resembling the legendary underworld.

Significant Themes

• Destiny and ancient connections: The Yellow Springs stele’s bond with Chen Nan and Jiang Ming’s references to former-life relationships suggest that the group’s present journey is tied to ancient destinies.
• Exploration of myth and the underworld: Yellow Springs, the Bridge of Helplessness, Demon Shadows, and Other Shore Flowers transform familiar legends into a tangible, dangerous world.
• Power and restraint: Jiang Ming’s decision to seal Wan’er’s cultivation emphasizes the difference between possessing overwhelming strength and using it responsibly for growth and experience.
• Life, death, and memory: The Other Shore Flowers symbolize the connection between the living and the dead, especially through their ability to awaken memories from past lives.
• Friendship amid danger: Despite the ominous setting, the group’s banter and cooperation—particularly the Rogue Dragon’s humor and Wan’er’s confident intervention—maintain a sense of camaraderie.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming reassures and instructs the group while revealing his past and introducing Wan’er.
• Du Ling questions Jiang Ming about Wan’er, expressing surprise at his having a grown daughter.
• Chen Nan accepts Wan’er into the group and agrees to use her chosen name.
• The Rogue Dragon provides comic relief, clashes verbally with the monstrous enemy, and reacts with astonishment to Wan’er’s strength.
• Wan’er protects the group twice: first indirectly as the Demon Shadows fall under her influence, and then directly by annihilating the demon emerging from Yellow Springs.
• The group collectively reacts with fear and wonder to each new supernatural landmark, ending with their discovery of the Other Shore Flowers along Yellow Springs Road.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The group reaches the Flowers of the Other Shore, which attack by wrapping around their legs and draining their vitality. Du Ling purifies the flowers with Jiang Ming’s modified divine art, Wan’er repels them using her defensive martial arts, and Chen Nan absorbs their energy into his Inner Heaven and Earth. Jiang Ming remains untouched because the flowers instinctively reject him.
• They arrive at the Blood Sea, beside a stele inscribed “Sea of Bitterness.” Chen Nan takes the stele, recognizing that such monuments originated from fragments of weapons.
• To cross the sea, Jiang Ming folds a piece of paper into a boat and transforms it into a massive aircraft carrier through Creation Manipulation. The vessel destroys the ghostly creatures attacking it.
• The group hears a monk chanting Buddhist teachings from within the Blood Sea. Wan’er and Jiang Ming seize two of the monk’s Sariras, while Chen Nan, Dragon Baby, and Rogue Dragon take the remaining ones. Little Golden Crow swallows one. The skeletal monk is left severely weakened and escapes into the sea.
• At a White Bone Temple, a headless winged angel attacks, but the group quickly defeats him and takes his Angel Heart.
• As they continue, Wan’er strips treasures—including demon cores, Soul Fire, demonic infants, Sariras, and Dragon Crystals—from every Blood Sea monster that emerges.
• They reach the Tomb of Gods cemetery, where Jiang Ming becomes unusually quiet because the site is connected to the Demon Lord and, indirectly, to Jiang Ming’s own forgotten past.
• Chen Nan discovers the Generals’ Worship Platform, inscribed with the words: “Billions of living beings shall be soldiers; millions of God-Demons shall be generals!” When he steps onto it, the entire world seems to react and the dead God-Demons begin rising from their graves.
• Jiang Ming suppresses the platform’s power and forces the resurrected beings back into their tombs, preventing the group from revealing too much.
• Jiang Ming tells Chen Nan that his survival is due to having “a good father,” implying Chen Nan’s father possesses enormous hidden power and influence.
• A massive stone inscribed “Demon-Suppressing Stone” suddenly appears. It immediately clashes with the Generals’ Worship Platform, leaving everyone stunned.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming continues to display overwhelming power and calm authority. He casually uses Creation Manipulation, suppresses the resurrection of countless God-Demons, and recognizes the deeper purpose of the Generals’ Worship Platform. His connection to the Demon Lord and his own past becomes increasingly important.
• Chen Nan shows initiative by collecting the Sea of Bitterness stele and confronting the Generals’ Worship Platform, but he is also reminded that he does not understand the true strength or history of his father.
• Du Ling successfully uses Jiang Ming’s modified divine art to defend herself, demonstrating her growing reliance on and mastery of his teachings.
• Wan’er proves highly capable in both defense and offense. Her Golden Bell Shield, Iron Cloth Shirt, and Dragon-Grasping Hand allow her to resist attacks and plunder powerful treasures with ease.
• Little Golden Crow benefits directly from the group’s exploits by consuming a Sarira, potentially strengthening his cultivation.
• The skeletal monk initially appears mysterious and powerful, but the group’s overwhelming aggression leaves him weakened and fleeing.
• The woman within Chen Nan’s Jade Ruyi becomes increasingly curious about Jiang Ming, unable to identify or remember his true origin.

Significant Themes

• The Sea of Bitterness and enlightenment: The monk’s chanting invokes Buddhist ideas about suffering, turning back, emptiness, enlightenment, and directly grasping truth. These ideas contrast with the group’s forceful, almost irreverent approach to crossing the sea.
• Power and suppression: Jiang Ming repeatedly prevents ancient powers from fully awakening, suggesting that restraint and concealment are as important as strength.
• Hidden histories and forgotten identities: Jiang Ming’s connection to the Demon Lord and the cemetery hints at a lost or reincarnated past. Chen Nan’s unexplained lineage is also emphasized.
• Legacy and resurrection: The Generals’ Worship Platform was created to revive ancient God-Demon soldiers for a future battle against the heavens, showing how past powers prepare for conflicts across eras.
• Treasure and opportunism: The group treats dangerous encounters as opportunities to collect cultivation resources, creating a humorous contrast with the solemn, mystical setting.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming guides the group while remaining emotionally detached, often allowing others to act but intervening instantly when danger becomes significant.
• Chen Nan and Jiang Ming share a mentor-like but blunt relationship; Jiang Ming criticizes Chen Nan’s ignorance of his father rather than comforting him.
• Wan’er’s defensive skills protect the group, while her aggressive treasure-taking earns her a reputation as one of the group’s most effective fighters.
• The group collectively humiliates the skeletal monk, behaving more like bandits than respectful visitors before distributing the stolen Sariras.
• The final confrontation between the Generals’ Worship Platform and the Demon-Suppressing Stone introduces a mysterious rivalry between two ancient artifacts and sets up the next major development.

Summary: “Red Cord Binds Dugu Xiaoxuan”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Minor Six Paths becomes the center of a major confrontation. The Generals’ Worship Platform, linked to the Demon Lord’s Primordial Spirit, and the Demon-Suppressing Stone, bearing the blood of the taboo god Dugu Baitian, both appear.
• The Eighteen Levels of Hell descend into chaos as ancient artifacts and powerful forces clash. The Light God Cult uses a fragment of Dugu Baitian’s finger bone for protection.
• Chen Nan is shielded by the Jade Ruyi, while Jiang Ming remains unprotected and calmly observes the conflict. Instead of intervening directly, he studies the laws generated by the artifact clashes and derives a new Heavenly Rank cultivation method combining Tomb of Gods cultivation with Martial Dao.
• The apparent mastermind behind the Minor Six Paths emerges and battles Dugu Xiaoxuan. Jiang Ming recognizes that this figure is only a scapegoat manipulated by the true powers behind the events: Dugu Baitian, the Demon Lord, and the Ghost Lord.
• Chen Nan and Dugu Xiaoxuan cooperate against the scapegoat, attacking him with the Hou Yi Bow. Jiang Ming assists by purifying the scapegoat with a snow-white fire lotus, transforming his essence into a powerful white lotus.
• Jiang Ming gives the lotus to Dugu Xiaoxuan, explaining that it can protect her and help her break through the cultivation barrier that once prevented her from reaching a higher realm.
• Afterward, most of the group leaves the Minor Six Paths. Jiang Ming and Dugu Xiaoxuan remain behind to cultivate.
• Chen Nan’s group continues traveling and causing trouble. When the Western Guardian, the ancient Dragon God Tyrant Kun De, appears, the group is sent into Hell. Jiang Wan’er follows Jiang Ming’s instructions and allows events to unfold naturally while protecting Du Ling and Little Golden Crow.
• Little Golden Crow’s presence illuminates Hell like the arrival of the Supreme Yang.
• Jiang Ming spends roughly eight months in seclusion and finally reaches the Heavenly Rank. His breakthrough is unusually difficult because he possesses twenty-four different law divine abilities.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan also restores part of her former strength, recovering approximately forty percent of her peak cultivation and returning to the early Heavenly Rank.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming remains calm, secretive, and strategically detached. He refuses to reveal the larger truth to Chen Nan, believing that excessive knowledge would endanger him. His cultivation advances dramatically as he reconstructs a broken path to the Heavenly Rank.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan becomes increasingly dependent on and fascinated by Jiang Ming. She initially doubts his identity and suspects he may be connected to her father, but Jiang Ming denies being Dugu Baitian. His gifts enable her to restore her cultivation, while mysterious red cords tied around her wrists and ankles subtly strengthen her favorable feelings toward him.
• Chen Nan is overwhelmed by the unfolding events and seeks answers from Jiang Ming. He begins to recognize that the world’s deepest secrets are dangerous and that he must first grow stronger.
• Rogue Dragon displays unusual caution and common sense, advising Chen Nan not to seek knowledge that could get them killed.
• Jiang Wan’er, Du Ling, and Little Golden Crow continue their journey with Chen Nan. Wan’er follows Jiang Ming’s advice to let events develop naturally, while Little Golden Crow demonstrates his extraordinary power by lighting up Hell.
• The scapegoat mastermind is exposed as merely a pawn in a much larger scheme and is destroyed when Jiang Ming purifies him.

Significant Themes

• Hidden manipulation and layered conspiracies: Those who appear to control events are themselves being used by deeper powers.
• Knowledge versus survival: Jiang Ming emphasizes that learning too much too soon can be fatal; true understanding must come through strength and experience.
• Cultivation and innovation: Jiang Ming does not merely follow existing paths but reconstructs a lost method by combining different systems of cultivation.
• Fate, influence, and emotional control: The mysterious red cords binding Dugu Xiaoxuan suggest that her growing affection for Jiang Ming may be supernatural rather than entirely voluntary.
• Patience and strategic restraint: Jiang Ming’s decision to observe rather than interfere shows his preference for long-term planning over immediate action.
• Inheritance and reincarnation: Dugu Xiaoxuan’s concern for Chen Nan is deepened by his connection to her younger brother’s reincarnation, linking the present crisis to ancient figures and past lives.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Dugu Xiaoxuan communicate mentally, with Jiang Ming guiding her while maintaining his mysterious identity.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan joins Chen Nan in attacking the scapegoat, demonstrating cooperation and mutual concern.
• Jiang Ming protects and empowers Dugu Xiaoxuan by giving her the purified white lotus.
• Chen Nan questions Jiang Ming about the hidden events, but Jiang Ming refuses to explain, warning him that greater knowledge would bring greater danger.
• Rogue Dragon supports Jiang Ming’s cautious philosophy and discourages Chen Nan from asking further questions.
• Jiang Ming arranges for Wan’er, Du Ling, and Little Golden Crow to accompany Chen Nan while he enters seclusion.
• After cultivation, Dugu Xiaoxuan and Jiang Ming remain together, with her fascination and attraction toward him becoming increasingly pronounced.

Jiang Ming gave Dugu Xiaoxuan two life-preserving Martial Dao abilities, and the pair grew close while discussing their pasts and plans. After a kiss lasting a year, they headed to the Tantai Ancient Land to see the escaped Evil Ancestor, and Jiang Ming gave Dugu Xiaoxuan a powerful Innate Spirit Treasure.

• Jiang Ming taught Dugu Xiaoxuan a recovery ability and the Karmic Dao Escape Technique, then learned she wanted to seek out her old acquaintances.
• Jiang Ming told Dugu Xiaoxuan that her family lived on one of the three moons and spoke of his unresolved karmic ties to Smoke Glow Fairy, Gu Lingzhi.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan embraced and kissed Jiang Ming, and the kiss lasted a year before a tremor startled them.
• Chen Nan returned to the Human World, while the Evil Ancestor escaped his seal beneath the Tantai Ancient Land and drew powerful figures there.
• Jiang Ming and Dugu Xiaoxuan set out to see the Evil Ancestor, and Jiang Ming gave her a Seven-Colored Hairpin that recognized her as its master.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The escape of the Demon-Suppressing Stone from the Eighteen Levels of Hell causes widespread chaos. The Light God Cult had previously used one of Dugu Baitian’s finger bones to suppress the unrest, but the finger bone now bursts free, carrying immense demonic power and apparently responding to the Evil Ancestor’s emergence.
• Jiang Ming recognizes the finger bone as belonging to Dugu Xiaoxuan’s father, Dugu Baitian, and explains that Dugu Baitian is carrying out a vast plan involving all living beings. Jiang Ming hints that he himself is a crucial piece in this “grand game.”
• The Demon-Suppressing Stone and the Generals’ Worship Platform arrive, followed by the Tomb Guardian Old Man, whose true form is the World-Destroying Disc. The old man recognizes Dugu Xiaoxuan and jokingly praises her beauty, irritating Jiang Ming.
• Numerous powerful God Emperor-level figures gather around the Tantai Sacred Land to observe the Evil Ancestor’s escape. Among them are Kund, the Sick Qilin, a gigantic ape, several mysterious experts, and Redlao, the Western Earth Totem, who escapes from the Twelfth Level of Hell.
• Chen Nan becomes one of the central figures in the confrontation, determined to kill the Evil Ancestor. Jiang Ming warns that the gathering is part of a larger scheme intended to lure away the Human World’s strongest experts and leave the world vulnerable to a future invasion.
• The Tomb Guardian Old Man proposes attacking Dugu Baitian’s finger bone, believing it contains a dangerous remnant soul. After fighting it, the group realizes that the true suspicious object is the Demon-Suppressing Stone and redirects its attacks.
• Jiang Ming explains that the Demon-Suppressing Stone contains a powerful existence that must be suppressed, while the nine drops of blood on its surface are connected to one of Dugu Baitian’s avatars and currently control the stone.
• Chen Nan encounters Jiang Ming and Dugu Xiaoxuan after several years apart. He has advanced from the sixth to the seventh rank, while Jiang Wan’er has become a God King and helped him survive numerous dangers.
• The chapter ends with the Rogue Dragon questioning why Jiang Ming is not helping seal the Evil Ancestor if they are supposedly allies.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Reveals extensive knowledge of Dugu Baitian’s plans and the hidden nature of the Demon-Suppressing Stone. He presents himself as a central participant in the cosmic struggle and demonstrates overwhelming power by injuring Redlao merely for attempting to inspect him.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan: Becomes increasingly worried about her father’s mysterious plans. Her relationship with Jiang Ming appears close and affectionate, and she trusts him to protect her.
• Tomb Guardian Old Man: Remains mischievous, meddlesome, and prone to provoking conflict. He is protective of Dugu Xiaoxuan but also acts impulsively, first targeting the wrong enemy and then stirring up the attack on the Demon-Suppressing Stone.
• Dugu Baitian: Although absent, his influence dominates the chapter. His finger bone and avatar-linked blood suggest that he is manipulating events on an enormous scale.
• Chen Nan: Has grown stronger and more determined, focusing on preventing the Evil Ancestor’s escape. His encounter with Jiang Ming and Xiaoxuan reconnects him with major figures from his past.
• Jiang Wan’er: Has rapidly risen to God King status and has become an important ally to Chen Nan, helping him avoid danger.
• Redlao and the assembled experts: Their strength is emphasized, but they are also shown to be vulnerable to greater forces and potentially susceptible to being manipulated into leaving the Human World.

Significant Themes

• Manipulation and hidden schemes: The apparent battle over the Evil Ancestor masks a larger plan involving Dugu Baitian, the Demon Lord, the Demon-Suppressing Stone, and the depletion of the Human World’s strongest experts.
• The cost of power and protection: The powerful beings gathered at the scene may unknowingly be sacrificing the future security of their world by being drawn into the conflict.
• Uncertainty between friend and foe: Characters struggle to identify the true enemy, first mistaking Dugu Baitian’s finger bone for the main threat and then turning against the Demon-Suppressing Stone.
• Fate and grand design: Jiang Ming suggests that the conflict is part of a game involving all life, with himself occupying a decisive position.
• Family and loyalty: Dugu Xiaoxuan’s concern for her father, Jiang Ming’s promise to protect her, and Chen Nan’s continued connections to powerful allies all reinforce the importance of family bonds amid cosmic warfare.
• Comic irreverence amid epic conflict: The Tomb Guardian Old Man’s flirtatious jokes, bad ideas, and deliberate troublemaking contrast with the chapter’s apocalyptic stakes.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Dugu Xiaoxuan discuss Dugu Baitian’s mysterious plan, with Jiang Ming teasingly withholding information while assuring her of his importance and protection.
• Jiang Ming clashes verbally with the Tomb Guardian Old Man, accusing him of flirting with his own grand-disciple. The old man is suspicious of Jiang Ming’s identity and powers.
• Jiang Ming humiliates Redlao when the Western Totem attempts to see through his true form, then accepts Redlao’s apology after warning him against probing others recklessly.
• The Tomb Guardian Old Man and Dugu Xiaoxuan exchange voice transmissions about the finger bone. Despite realizing it may belong to her father, the old man still attacks it out of resentment and protectiveness.
• Jiang Ming explains the Demon-Suppressing Stone’s connection to Dugu Baitian to Xiaoxuan, deepening her anxiety about her father.
• Chen Nan notices Jiang Ming and Xiaoxuan together and reflects on his own recent growth and Jiang Wan’er’s assistance.
• The Rogue Dragon challenges the apparent inconsistency between Jiang Ming’s claimed alliance with them and his failure to help seal the Evil Ancestor.

Jiang Ming watched Dugu Xiaoxuan and the others fight over the Demon-Suppressing Stone, which shattered and was devoured by the blood before fusing with a finger bone. After Evil Ancestor was sealed and stripped of much of his cultivation, Jiang Ming hinted that Chen Nan would learn the secrets surrounding his weapons when he found his father, while Rogue Dragon regained his dragon essence and became a God King.

• Jiang Ming told Dugu Xiaoxuan to attack the Demon-Suppressing Stone but avoid the nine drops of blood suppressing it.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan struck the Demon-Suppressing Stone with her Jade Ruyi and Seven-Colored Hairpin, shattering it; the blood devoured the stone and fused with the finger bone.
• The Tomb Guardian Old Man, Western Totem, and Dugu Xiaoxuan each borrowed part of Evil Ancestor's cultivation, and Ye Fan took his Heaven-Binding Chains.
• Chen Nan asked about the weapons surrounding his demonic shadow, but Jiang Ming and Dugu Xiaoxuan told him he would learn the truth when he found his father and grew stronger.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan returned Rogue Dragon's borrowed dragon essence, and he broke through to the God King Realm.

Chapter Summary: Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure

Key Plot Points and Events

• Rogue Dragon absorbs the dragon essence and restores his former peak strength, breaking through first to the God King Realm—even before Chen Nan.
• The Gravekeeper Elder sends Evil Ancestor into the Immortal Realm because he cannot kill him due to Chen Ancestor’s influence. Evil Ancestor is expected to disrupt the Heavenly Realm and eliminate many of the Heavenly Dao’s followers there.
• As the major powerhouses leave the Tantai Ancient Land, a Primordial Black Demon Ape attacks Chen Nan. At the same time, Tantai Xuan forcibly descends from the Heavenly Realm into the mortal world.
• Chen Nan and Rogue Dragon attempt to fight the Demon Ape but are badly outmatched. Jiang Wan’er intervenes, wounding it with her seven-colored sword and demonstrating her superior combat ability.
• The newly advanced God Emperor, the Great Demon, arrives to assist and traps the Demon Ape within his Five Yin Demon Prison. Nalan Ruoshui also joins the battle, though her strength is limited compared with the others.
• Tantai Xuan completes her descent and attacks the rampaging Demon Ape. The group gradually lures the creature away from the Tantai Ancient Land.
• Jiang Ming and Dugu Xiaoxuan secretly observe rather than intervene, believing that younger cultivators need opportunities to grow through hardship. Jiang Ming also teaches Dugu Xiaoxuan the Great Void Technique, a powerful spatial ability that goes far beyond simple concealment.
• The battle leads to the revelation of a tragic history involving the Demon Ape, the Holy War Angel Tribe, and an old Ancient God. The Demon Ape was once the Ancient God’s lover, and their son—born with six heads and Battle Angel wings—was mutilated by the Angel’s brothers.
• The mother Demon Ape became the infamous Black Demon Ape while seeking revenge. Once the misunderstanding is resolved, she transforms into a beautiful woman.
• Chen Nan discovers that he is connected to the pair through his benefactor and learns more about his father, who is suffering under an incurable Blood God Curse.
• Jiang Wan’er offers to cure the curse using a White Lotus, one of the five Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasures created from Jiang Ming’s Inner Heaven and Earth after it advanced toward a Primordial World.

Character Developments

• Rogue Dragon regains his former God King-level power and becomes more confident, though he remains unable to harm the Demon Ape.
• Chen Nan realizes that strength alone is not enough and understands why Jiang Ming and Dugu Xiaoxuan deliberately refused to end the conflict immediately.
• Jiang Wan’er establishes herself as a powerful, compassionate figure. She defeats the Demon Ape’s attack and later volunteers to cure the Blood God Curse.
• Jiang Ming continues acting as a hidden guide rather than solving every crisis directly. He demonstrates both strategic wisdom and mastery of spatial techniques.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan becomes increasingly curious about Jiang Ming’s abilities and enjoys observing the unfolding drama, treating the conflict almost like a spectacle.
• The Great Demon reaches the God Emperor Realm, aided by Jiang Ming’s secret support, and displays his new power through the Five Yin Demon Prison.
• Tantai Xuan returns to the mortal world after ten thousand years and immediately participates in suppressing the Demon Ape.
• The Black Demon Ape and the Ancient God move from apparent enemies toward reconciliation as their tragic shared history is revealed.

Significant Themes

• Growth through hardship: Jiang Ming believes younger characters must face danger themselves in order to mature.
• The danger of premature judgment: The apparent battle against a monstrous enemy is revealed to stem from grief, misunderstanding, and past injustice.
• Love, loss, and vengeance: The Black Demon Ape’s terrifying reputation originates from the loss and mutilation of her child and her enduring love for the Ancient God.
• Compassion and redemption: Jiang Wan’er’s willingness to cure the Blood God Curse shows that mercy can succeed where violence cannot.
• Hidden strength and restraint: Jiang Ming and Dugu Xiaoxuan possess overwhelming power but deliberately remain concealed, allowing events to unfold naturally.
• Transformation: The Black Demon Ape’s return to human beauty symbolizes the release of hatred and the restoration of her original identity.

Important Character Interactions

• Dugu Xiaoxuan questions Jiang Ming about their destination and later asks to learn his concealment technique.
• Jiang Ming explains his philosophy of allowing younger cultivators to struggle and agrees to pass the Great Void Technique to Dugu Xiaoxuan.
• Jiang Wan’er protects Chen Nan and Rogue Dragon from the Demon Ape, then offers hope to the afflicted Ancient God.
• The Great Demon aids the Demon Ape’s opponents while demonstrating his newly gained God Emperor strength.
• Nalan Ruoshui joins Chen Nan in battle because of her relationship with him.
• Chen Nan connects the revealed family history to Jiang Ming and Dugu Xiaoxuan’s earlier refusal to intervene.
• Jiang Wan’er’s White Lotus becomes the chapter’s central artifact, representing both Jiang Ming’s growing power and the possibility of healing the Ancient God’s curse.

Chapter Summary:

The Chen Family—Strong on the Outside, Weak Within

Plot Points and Major Events

• Jiang Wan’er uses the Purifying World White Lotus, an Innate Spirit Treasure that instantly dissolves and purifies the Blood God Curse afflicting the ill-fated lovers. Her natural kindness and love of seeing couples reunited are emphasized.
• The Ancient God recounts the tragic history of

Chen Zhan

• Chen Zhan rejected the Chen Family’s plan to turn him into the “ninth person” and refused to let his son, Chen Nan, become the “tenth person.”
• After leaving the family, his memories were sealed, but he restored his cultivation and broke free.
• He became embroiled in conflicts over the damaged Perfect World Seed, leaving an avatar behind to protect Chen Nan while his true body fought powerful enemies.
• Chen Nan was later deceived and killed, prompting Chen Zhan and Dugu Baitian to begin a plan to resurrect him and prepare for a future struggle against Heaven.
• Chen Nan learns that his father is trapped in the Eighteen Levels of Hell and immediately wants to rescue him. The Ancient God and Rogue Dragon urge patience, advising him to reach the God King Rank first.
• Tantai Xuan arrives searching for Meng Ke’er, whose Primordial Spirit originated from her. Jiang Ming and Dugu Xiaoxuan infer that the Chen Family likely abducted Meng Ke’er because she is pregnant with Chen Nan’s child. They suspect the family intends to make the child the future “eleventh person.”
• Over the next several years:
  • Jiang Ming and Dugu Xiaoxuan grow closer while studying the Laws and developing a Heaven-Defying Rank cultivation method.
  • Chen Nan reaches the God King Rank and begins preparing to enter the Eighteen Levels of Hell.
  • Jiang Ming advances to the middle stage of the Heavenly Rank and gains deeper insight into the Life Great Dao.
• Chen Nan and his allies battle the Western Main Gods, killing several and eventually breaking into the Eighteen Levels of Hell.
• Jiang Ming’s son, Great Demon, secretly assists them. Despite being only at the middle stage of the God Emperor realm, he comprehends the powerful Star Shift Law, which reflects an opponent’s techniques back at them.
• Inside Hell, the group discovers Chen Zhan’s demonic body, which has transformed into land inhabited by living beings. One of his War Demon Avatars has already reached the Heavenly Rank and easily overwhelms several Chen Family elders.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan realizes that Chen Zhan has created his own path by dividing his cultivation into divine and demonic aspects, rather than merely following the Chen Family’s techniques.

Character Developments

• Jiang Wan’er is shown to be compassionate and benevolent, using her powerful treasure to save others without hesitation.
• Chen Nan becomes more disciplined after initially reacting impulsively to news of his father. He accepts that he must grow stronger before attempting the rescue.
• Chen Zhan is established as an extraordinarily independent and rebellious genius who rejected the Chen Family’s control and developed a unique Dao of his own.
• Great Demon demonstrates exceptional potential by comprehending a Heavenly Rank-level Law far earlier than normal.
• Jiang Ming and Dugu Xiaoxuan deepen both their romantic relationship and their cooperation in cultivation, studying the Laws together.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan becomes increasingly perceptive about the Chen Family’s hypocrisy and internal weakness.

Major Themes

• Compassion and salvation: Jiang Wan’er’s actions reflect the value of mercy and the desire to reunite lovers despite the harshness of the cultivation world.
• Individuality versus family control: Chen Zhan’s refusal to obey the Chen Family highlights the conflict between personal freedom and oppressive traditions.
• The dangers of manipulating genius: The Chen Family has repeatedly sabotaged its own most talented descendants in an attempt to control or exploit them.
• Preparation against overwhelming power: Chen Nan’s need to cultivate before rescuing Chen Zhan reflects the importance of patience and strength in confronting larger forces.
• Defiance of Heaven: The characters continue preparing for the Heavenly Dao’s coming attempt to suppress powerful beings and destroy living creatures.
• Strength versus appearance: Although the Chen Family seems powerful and controls an entire moon, its true foundation is weak. Its elders are only half a step into the Heavenly Rank, while its strongest younger talents were deliberately ruined.

Important Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Dugu Xiaoxuan discuss the lovers saved by Jiang Wan’er, then investigate Meng Ke’er’s disappearance and the Chen Family’s plans for her child.
• The Ancient God and Rogue Dragon counsel Chen Nan to control his anger and strengthen himself before attempting to rescue his father.
• Chen Zhan and Dugu Baitian form an alliance after Chen Nan’s death, beginning a major resurrection and anti-Heaven scheme.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan and Jiang Ming analyze Chen Zhan’s cultivation and criticize the Chen Family elders for their hypocritical treatment of him.
• Chen Nan’s group battles the Western Main Gods and enters Hell, where they encounter Chen Zhan’s powerful War Demon Avatar.
• The chapter closes by revealing the Chen Family’s central weakness: it destroyed or suppressed its own geniuses and is now vulnerable despite its intimidating reputation.

Chapter Summary: “Demonic Chen Zhan”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Tomb Guardian Old Man intervenes when the Chen Family’s Fourth Ancestor clashes with Chen Zhan. He mocks the Fourth Ancestor by reminding him that he used to discipline him as a child, intensifying the humiliation.
• With the Old Immortal’s help, Chen Zhan’s sealed head is freed and reunites with his body. His demonic energy erupts across the heavens, transforming the sky into darkness.
• Chen Zhan ascends directly to the Heavenly Rank as Demonic Chen Zhan. It is revealed that once his divine and demonic natures merge, he will likely reach the Heaven-Defying Rank.
• The Chen Family’s Fourth and Fifth Ancestors fight Chen Zhan. Although they possess Heavenly Rank-level bodies and have created Heaven Rank Laws, they are defeated by Chen Zhan’s technique, “Eternal Emptiness,” which seals their cultivation and reduces them to helpless children.
• The Rogue Dragon and Tomb Guardian Old Man mock and beat the transformed ancestors. Chen Nan eventually intervenes, places both ancestors in his Inner Heaven and Earth, and imprisons them.
• Jiang Ming and Dugu Xiaoxuan observe the growing conflict and expect Demonic Chen Zhan’s presence to attract hidden ancient powers.
• The Chen Family’s First and Second Ancestors use one of the Old Demon’s eyeballs to suppress Chen Zhan, but their action instead draws several powerful beings to the battlefield, including a severed finger, the recovering Western Totem, and eventually the Demon Lord.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan wants to question the Demon Lord about Chen Zhan’s true body, but Jiang Ming warns her that the Demon Lord’s condition is abnormal and that he may not respond.

Character Developments

• Chen Zhan fully embraces or manifests his demonic nature, becoming a Heavenly Rank expert. His transformation establishes him as an overwhelming force and foreshadows an even greater future breakthrough.
• Chen Nan demonstrates loyalty and independence. He refuses the Fourth Ancestor’s manipulative offer of protection and later saves the defeated ancestors despite their hostility, choosing to preserve them rather than abandon them.
• The Fourth and Fifth Ancestors are humbled from powerful elders into childlike forms with sealed cultivation. Their defeat reveals the vast gap between them and Chen Zhan.
• Jiang Ming remains calm and detached, observing events while revealing hidden truths about the characters’ pasts and future karmic consequences.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan continues to act boldly and curiously, eager to involve herself in the unfolding confrontation. Her self-confidence is humorously emphasized.
• The Demon Lord enters as an immensely imposing figure whose mere presence shakes the seventeenth level of Hell, establishing him as a supreme and possibly unstable power.

Significant Themes

• The cycle of karma and retribution: Jiang Ming explains that past actions inevitably produce future consequences, particularly through the tangled history of Tantai Xuan, Meng Ke’er, and Chen Nan.
• Family conflict and inherited grudges: The Chen Family’s internal struggle shows how blood ties can coexist with betrayal, manipulation, and violent rivalry.
• The duality of divinity and demonic nature: Chen Zhan’s transformation suggests that divine and demonic forces are not necessarily mutually exclusive; their eventual union may create an even higher existence.
• The limits of power: Even experts with near-Heavenly Rank strength are helpless before someone who has truly reached the Heavenly Rank.
• Humiliation and reversal of status: Formerly dominant elders are reduced to children, while younger figures such as Chen Nan gain moral and practical authority.
• The persistence of past identities: Meng Ke’er’s origins as Shen Ji and Jiang Ming’s recognition of his former self as a true demon emphasize how past lives and former identities continue to shape the present.

Important Character Interactions

• The Tomb Guardian Old Man ridicules the Fourth Ancestor by invoking their childhood relationship, then joins the Rogue Dragon in tormenting the defeated ancestors.
• Chen Nan rejects the Fourth Ancestor’s attempt to use him as leverage against Chen Zhan, showing that he understands the elder’s true motives.
• Chen Nan later protects both ancestors by imprisoning them in his Inner Heaven and Earth.
• Jiang Ming explains to Dugu Xiaoxuan how Tantai Xuan, Meng Ke’er, and Chen Nan are connected through betrayal, reincarnation, possession, and karmic debt.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan asks to approach the Demon Lord, but Jiang Ming discourages her and refuses to reveal himself because he recognizes the Demon Lord as an old acquaintance and senses that the situation is dangerous.

Chapter Summary: “Eternal Demon Lord”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Western Land Totem recognizes the newly appeared figure as the legendary Eternal Demon Lord, revealing that this is an ancient and immensely powerful existence who surpasses even Chen the Old Demon.
• The Demon Lord begins a massive operation to remove all experts of the Half-Step Heavenly Rank and above from the Human World and Heavenly Realm, forcibly sending them into the dangerous Third Realm.
• Jiang Ming explains to Dugu Xiaoxuan that this is part of a larger plan: the Third Realm is being used to gather immense spiritual power needed to repair the Samsara Gate and receive experts from Primordial Antiquity without damaging the living worlds.
• The Generals’ Worship Platform summons powerful figures one after another, including the Tomb Guardian Old Man, the Western Totems, the Chen Family ancestors, Zixiao Ancestor, Jueqing Ancestral God, Huntian Ancestral God, and others. Those who resist are beaten and forced into the Third Realm.
• The sealed Heavenly Demon is also taken away. Jiang Ming reveals that the Heavenly Demon had willingly allowed himself to be sealed.
• The Time and Spatial Ancestral Gods resist bitterly, accusing the Demon Lord of abusing outside power, but the Demon Lord and Chen Zhan suppress them with the aid of the God-Demon power within Chen Nan.
• The Demon Lord’s incomplete soul and deliberately limited cultivation are explained as a method of avoiding detection and premature punishment by the Heavenly Dao. Other supreme beings, including the Ghost Lord, have similarly divided or dismembered themselves to conceal their strength.
• After gathering the major hidden experts, the Demon Lord and Chen Zhan enter the Third Realm as well. The passage closes, leaving the Human World without any Heavenly Rank experts.
• Chen Nan’s father, Chen Zhan, bids him farewell and urges him to cultivate diligently. Chen Nan senses that his father’s demonic nature has disappeared and that the original Chen Zhan has returned.
• The chapter ends with Chen Nan and Du Ling wondering about the whereabouts of the mysterious First Divine Maiden and Jiang Ming’s “mysterious brother.”

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming remains calm and confident, treating the upheaval as part of a predetermined chess game. He demonstrates deep knowledge of the Demon Lord’s plan and hints that he will reveal more once Dugu Xiaoxuan reaches the Heaven-Defying Rank.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan becomes increasingly curious and emotionally expressive. She worries about her father and resents the Demon Lord for sending her brother and other relatives into the Third Realm, though she gradually accepts that the operation has a larger purpose.
• The Eternal Demon Lord is established as an ancient, overwhelming figure with authority over nearly every major expert. Despite his incomplete soul and Heavenly Rank cultivation, he possesses enough power—especially in cooperation with Chen Zhan—to forcefully control the situation.
• Chen Zhan regains consciousness and actively assists the Demon Lord. His final exchange with Chen Nan shows that he has recovered his true self and parental affection.
• Chen Nan is left behind in the Human World and encouraged to treat the coming ten thousand years as an opportunity for cultivation. His emotional recognition of his father marks an important personal moment.
• The Tomb Guardian Old Man resists being exiled, arguing that the Human World will need protection after the barrier between the Immortal Realm and Human World has opened. His warnings foreshadow future catastrophe.
• The Western Totems and other summoned experts lose their freedom and are forced into the Third Realm, creating a major shift in the balance of power.

Significant Themes

• The opening of a larger era of chaos: Jiang Ming declares that the true plot has begun, suggesting that the removal of the strongest figures is only the first move in a much larger conflict.
• Power and sacrifice: The Demon Lord’s plan requires sacrificing freedom and separating powerful beings from the living worlds to protect the larger realms and repair the Samsara Gate.
• Concealed strength and strategic patience: Several supreme beings deliberately weaken or divide themselves to avoid the Heavenly Dao’s attention, emphasizing the importance of hiding one’s true power.
• Fate versus choice: Jiang Ming views events as pieces moving on a chessboard, while characters such as the Tomb Guardian Old Man and Dugu Xiaoxuan struggle against the consequences of decisions imposed upon them.
• Loss and gain through cultivation: Chen Zhan’s advice to Chen Nan emphasizes that losing time or suffering hardship may ultimately create opportunities for growth.
• Family bonds amid cosmic conflict: Despite the vast-scale plot, the farewell between Chen Zhan and Chen Nan provides an emotional focus, showing the restoration of their father-son relationship.

Important Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Dugu Xiaoxuan: Jiang Ming explains the Demon Lord’s motives and controls her curiosity with measured, cryptic answers. Their exchange highlights his superior understanding and her growing dependence on him for information.
• The Demon Lord and the summoned experts: He treats resistance with force, demonstrating absolute authority. The Western Totems and other ancient beings are unable to challenge his decision.
• The Demon Lord and the Tomb Guardian Old Man: The old man protests that the Human World needs him, but the Demon Lord refuses, stating that he cannot spare him while being unable to detect Jiang Ming.
• Chen Zhan and Chen Nan: Their final father-son farewell is the chapter’s most emotional interaction. Chen Zhan urges Chen Nan to cultivate, while Chen Nan recognizes that his father has returned to his former self.
• Chen Nan and Du Ling: After the passage closes, they discuss the unresolved mysteries surrounding the First Divine Maiden and Jiang Ming’s identity, reinforcing the chapter’s atmosphere of uncertainty.

Chapter Summary: “Guiding Fortune”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming tells Dugu Xiaoxuan that they should wait and cultivate rather than act immediately. He brings her into his Inner Heaven and Earth, an enormous self-contained world far superior to the Tomb of Gods World.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan is astonished by the scale of Jiang Ming’s Inner Heaven and Earth. Even after flying for three days and nights, she cannot find its limits. She also discovers that the world suppresses her destructive power and prevents her from tearing open space.
• Jiang Ming leaves Dugu Xiaoxuan to explore and train. She travels throughout the world, encountering many races and unfamiliar cultivation systems, some of which are highly powerful.
• Over the following years, Jiang Ming also brings his son Hidden Dragon into the Inner Heaven and Earth. Hidden Dragon had previously endured brutal training under the Demon Lord, including being forced to kill and consume his fellow disciples.
• Hidden Dragon cultivates Jiang Ming’s improved Nine Transformations of God-Demons alongside the Shrouding Method. He rapidly reaches the initial God Emperor realm, surpassing Chen Nan’s progress in the outside world.
• Jiang Ming warns Hidden Dragon that chaos is about to erupt in the Human World and urges him to advance quickly. Hidden Dragon chooses to enter the Tongtian Tower, a trial realm that grants rewards and allows cultivators to strengthen themselves through combat.
• Jiang Ming sends Hidden Dragon into the tower using Cosmic Shift. Hidden Dragon may eventually gain Heavenly Rank or even True Immortal-level combat power if he possesses sufficient determination.
• Meanwhile, the Great Demon has reached the peak of the God Emperor realm and created two powerful laws: Six Paths Demon Prison and Three-Life Samsara. He is close to entering the Half-Step Heavenly Rank.
• At the Seven Tongtian Pillars, the seals imprisoning the Primordial Seven Demons begin to weaken, apparently due in part to changes made by the departing Demon Lord.
• Jiang Ming recognizes that the Seven Demons could be used as instruments in a larger scheme to stimulate Chen Nan’s growth, but refuses to allow them to be released and massacre ordinary beings.
• Instead, Jiang Ming seizes their fortune and uses the Seven Tongtian Pillars to draw Source power from the demons. The power heals and strengthens Chen Nan, the Great Demon, the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon, Dragon Baby, Long Wu, Du Ling, the Little Golden Crow, and Little Phoenix.
• The Primordial Seven Demons realize in horror that they are being drained and used as nourishment rather than escaping.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming demonstrates increasing control over his Inner Heaven and Earth, using it as both a training ground and a means of protecting weaker beings. His actions show that he is willing to interfere with larger schemes when innocent lives are at risk.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan begins broadening her experience beyond the Tomb of Gods cultivation system. Her exploration helps her understand the vastness and diversity of Jiang Ming’s world.
• Hidden Dragon grows rapidly after escaping the Demon Lord’s cruel training. He accepts Jiang Ming’s guidance, develops stronger determination, and deliberately seeks the Tongtian Tower to reach the Heavenly Rank.
• The Great Demon advances toward the Half-Step Heavenly Rank and becomes increasingly formidable through the creation of new laws.
• Chen Nan and his companions receive an unexpected strengthening through the power extracted from the Primordial Seven Demons.

Significant Themes

• Protection versus survival of the fittest: Jiang Ming rejects the idea that ordinary lives may be sacrificed simply because they are weak or insignificant.
• Guidance and cultivation: Jiang Ming acts as a mentor and protector, providing carefully structured opportunities for Dugu Xiaoxuan and Hidden Dragon to grow.
• Power and responsibility: The chapter contrasts those who use weaker beings as tools with Jiang Ming, who restrains dangerous forces and redirects their power toward protecting others.
• Fortune and manipulation: The Primordial Seven Demons may be part of a larger plan to drive Chen Nan’s development, but Jiang Ming takes control of their fortune and alters the intended outcome.
• Endless potential: Hidden Dragon’s progress and the opportunities within the Tongtian Tower emphasize that talent, willpower, and proper guidance can radically change one’s destiny.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming reassures and instructs Dugu Xiaoxuan, placing her in a safe environment where she can cultivate and gain experience.
• Jiang Ming communicates with Hidden Dragon through a mysterious guiding voice, encouraging him to advance while concealing his identity.
• Hidden Dragon responds by requesting access to the Tongtian Tower, showing his resolve to surpass the limits imposed by the Demon Lord.
• Chen Nan and the others anxiously observe the weakening seals at the Seven Tongtian Pillars.
• The Primordial Seven Demons plead for mercy when they realize that Jiang Ming has turned their impending escape into a source of power for his allies.

Jiang Ming empowered his allies and assigned them the task of reaching heavenly rank, while leaving the Primordial Seven Fiends to reincarnate in his Inner Heaven and Earth. Ten years later, several of his protégés had reached heavenly rank, and Jiang Ming prepared to open a passage to the dangerous Fifth Realm.

• Jiang Ming sacrificed the heavenly-rank warhorses to strengthen Chen Nan, Du Ling, and the others, then gave them fragments of the Primordial Seven Fiends' memories and ordered them to prepare to fight Heaven.
• Jiang Ming left the Seven Fiends remnant souls to reincarnate in his Inner Heaven and Earth, while Dugu Xiaoxuan agreed to challenge the Tongtian Tower.
• Over the next ten years, Chen Nan and the Great Demon reached heavenly rank, Jiang Wan'er reached heavenly rank through the Tomb of Gods Method, and Jiang Ming reached the heavenly-rank peak.
• Du Ling moved the Du Family away from its dangerous Mystic Realm, opened a new Profound Realm, and discovered that Jiang Ming had unearthed the Western Dharma Ancestor and Golden Chrysalis beneath the old one.
• Jiang Ming planned to open a passage to the Fifth Realm and gave Rogue Dragon, Dragon Baby, Little Phoenix, Little Golden Crow, Du Ling, and the others ten years to reach heavenly rank, with Golden Chrysalis and the Western Dharma Ancestor guiding them.

Jiang Ming prepared the younger generation for the coming invasion and opened a passage from the First Realm to the Fifth Realm. Fifth Realm monarchs emerged and found several young heavenly-rank experts waiting for them, but neither side had acted yet.

• Hidden Dragon completed seven more years in the Tongtian Tower, reaching the mid heavenly rank before Jiang Ming sent him back to the outside world.
• Chen Nan struggled with two demon embryos formed from his cultivation of the Demon-Summoning Scripture and the Supreme Emotionless Record, while the Heart of Space-Time and Space-Time Treasure drew the group toward the Minor Six Paths.
• Jiang Ming opened a passage in the Du Family Mystic Realm, allowing the Fifth Realm's heavenly-rank experts to enter the First Realm.
• Du Ling sensed the arrivals and took up a guarded position with her Seven-Colored Divine Sword as Little Golden Crow and Great Demon also responded.
• Several Fifth Realm monarchs emerged, including De Meng, and met Great Demon, Hidden Dragon, Jiang Wan'er, and the troubled Chen Nan without immediately attacking.