Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: Dugu Xiaoxuan Emerges from Seclusion

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming spends the next twenty years using the world as a training ground for his disciples. He arranges continuous battles and trials so they can develop their potential.
• During this period, the Sixth Realm opens, and the Seven-Extremes Woman returns to reclaim several incarnations. Chen Nan discovers that many of the women he loves are incarnations of her, making the period especially painful for him.
• Jiang Ming’s children—Great Demon, Hidden Dragon, and Jiang Wan’er—fight and kill several foreign realm sovereigns, earning reputations of their own. Jiang Ming reaches the Heaven-Defying Rank and begins preparing to advance to the Heaven-Defying King Rank, which would allow him to merge with the Demon Lord.
• Jiang Ming personally removes the Seven-Extremes Woman’s consciousness and gives her the opportunity to reincarnate repeatedly within his world.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan is placed inside the Tongtian Tower. After thirty years of constant combat, she recovers and surpasses her former peak. She eventually breaks through to the Half-Step Heaven-Defying Rank and destroys the tower’s final restraint.
• While searching for the ruins of the Space-Time Great God, the group encounters terrifying incarnations of Heaven, including the enormous Hand or Claw of Yellow Heaven. These manifestations had destroyed countless experts during the ancient calamity.
• The characters spend another decade in chaotic warfare, with most reaching the Heavenly Rank and some advancing to the late Heavenly Rank. They battle Heaven’s incarnations multiple times.
• A peak Heavenly Rank expert called the Demon Master appears to aid them against Azure Heaven. Jiang Ming recognizes him as the younger brother of the Demon Lord, who is one of Jiang Ming’s reincarnations.
• Heaven transforms from a beautiful woman into a monstrous creature with three thousand snake heads, dragon claws, and Kun Peng wings. A mysterious figure eventually kills the incarnation.
• The group realizes they have crossed through time and participated in events from the past before returning to their own era.
• Chen Nan obtains the Life Spring Water but remains uncertain about which Yu Xin should be revived. Jiang Ming advises him that all the Yu Xins may be connected and that he must find them all to learn the truth.
• After another ten years of preparation, the characters ready themselves to travel to the Third Realm and support the coming war against Heaven.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan finally emerges from the Tongtian Tower. Jiang Ming tells her she can now challenge the Heaven-Defying Rank and become a major force in the future battle.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming continues cultivating toward the Heaven-Defying King Rank while pursuing his greater goal: creating an invincible cultivation path that combines Martial Dao and Immortal Dao, potentially surpassing the Heavenly Dao and reaching the Great Dao.
• Great Demon and Hidden Dragon establish themselves through battlefield achievements, killing powerful foreign sovereigns.
• Jiang Wan’er grows closer to her brothers after learning that Great Demon and Hidden Dragon are her previously unknown younger brothers.
• Chen Nan suffers emotionally after discovering the truth about the Seven-Extremes Woman’s incarnations, but Jiang Ming’s guidance helps him loosen his obsession with Yu Xin and continue moving forward.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan grows immensely stronger through years of combat and develops increasing trust in Jiang Ming. She concludes that he is not evil, since he could have killed her long ago if he had been hostile.
• The Seven-Extremes Woman loses control of her consciousness to Jiang Ming but is given a chance to reincarnate and continue her existence.
• The Demon Master is introduced as a powerful ally and as the younger brother of the Demon Lord.

Significant Themes

• Preparation through adversity: Jiang Ming believes true strength can only be forged through repeated battles and danger.
• The struggle against fate and Heaven: The characters gradually realize that their current conflicts are preparation for a future war against Heaven itself.
• Time, reincarnation, and identity: The appearances of multiple Yu Xins, incarnations of the Seven-Extremes Woman, and Jiang Ming’s own reincarnations blur the boundaries between individuality and identity.
• The cost of power: Crossing through time and defying Heaven carry enormous risks, requiring cultivation strong enough to withstand the backlash of space-time, karma, and fate.
• Mentorship and inherited potential: Jiang Ming secretly supports his disciples and children through his bloodline, guiding them toward awakening their deepest abilities.
• The ambiguity of good and evil: Heaven is portrayed as both a source of cosmic order and a selfish, hostile force, while Jiang Ming’s seemingly ruthless actions are ultimately intended to prepare and protect others.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming repeatedly guides and protects his children and disciples without directly revealing every secret.
• He gives Chen Nan carefully limited advice about Yu Xin, refusing to reveal the full truth before Chen Nan reaches the Heaven-Defying Rank.
• Jiang Ming recognizes the Demon Master’s connection to the Demon Lord, linking their personal histories and reincarnations.
• After escaping the Tongtian Tower, Dugu Xiaoxuan embraces Jiang Ming, showing her trust and affection. She then confidently announces her intention to challenge the Heaven-Defying Rank and claim the title of “number one divine maiden.”
• Jiang Ming privately regards Dugu Xiaoxuan more as a “number one demoness,” amused by her arrogance and unconventional behavior.

Chapter Summary: “Entering the Third Realm”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Dugu Xiaoxuan and Jiang Ming enter the Third Realm and reunite with Chen Nan, the Great Demon, Hidden Dragon, Jiang Wan’er, and the others, who have spent decades fighting across nearly all Six Realms.
• The group’s past journey included traveling through time to battle the Old Heaven’s incarnation five thousand years earlier. Only the Third Realm remains unexplored.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan is surprised to learn that Chen Nan has a son and daughter, who are reincarnations of Primordial Antiquity Weapon Souls.
• The Third Realm is revealed to be a devastated prison world for history’s greatest criminals. Its spiritual energy has been drained, forcing its inhabitants to kill and devour one another to survive.
• Countless corpses cover the realm, including the remains of many quasi-Heavenly Rank Twelve-Winged Angels. Some victims have left behind curses against Demon Lord, who forcibly brought them into the realm.
• Great Demon and Hidden Dragon split off to explore independently, while Jiang Wan’er travels with Du Ling and Little Golden Crow.
• Jiang Ming leads Dugu Xiaoxuan toward Demon Lord, believing the answers she seeks are connected to him.
• At the Central Continent, they discover Demon Lord fighting the Time Main God, the Space Main God, and another ancient fiend. A massive God-Demon Taiji Diagram is absorbing the realm’s remaining vital energy.
• Jiang Ming and Dugu Xiaoxuan continue forward fearlessly, relying on their Heaven-Defying Rank strength.

Character Developments

• Dugu Xiaoxuan remains powerful and unruly but reveals a serious, vulnerable side. She worries about having children because the coming war against Heaven may kill her or Jiang Ming, leaving their children helpless.
• Her fears are shaped by her family history: Dugu Baitian’s plans caused immense suffering, including her near-death and Chen Nan’s reincarnation and later death.
• Jiang Ming reassures Dugu Xiaoxuan that the future is not as hopeless as she believes. He is confident that his own path will be easier because he can cultivate steadily and merge with Demon Lord’s reincarnated body.
• Jiang Ming intends to absorb and refine the different cultivation systems into his Great Freedom Dao Scripture, showing his ambition to integrate knowledge rather than merely gain strength.
• Jiang Wan’er, Du Ling, and Little Golden Crow have grown considerably through their travels. Du Ling and Little Golden Crow have reached the early Heavenly Rank, while Jiang Wan’er has reached the late Heavenly Rank.
• Great Demon and Hidden Dragon act independently, showing their confidence and willingness to explore the dangerous Third Realm on their own.
• Jiang Ming’s rules for his Inner Heaven and Earth reveal that he seeks to prevent powerful cultivators from permanently suppressing the weak, using staged battles and advancement to nurture future experts.

Significant Themes

• The cost of war and destiny: The history of the battle against Heaven is built on sacrifice, reincarnation, manipulation, and long-term planning.
• Family and protection: Dugu Xiaoxuan’s concern about future children contrasts with the failures of earlier generations to protect their descendants.
• Survival amid moral collapse: The Third Realm’s depleted energy has reduced existence to brutal predation, especially among criminals who already possess few moral restraints.
• Power beyond established limits: Even Heaven-Defying Rank strength was once insufficient to defeat the Heavenly Dao, emphasizing the need to surpass conventional realms.
• Order versus chaos: Jiang Ming’s controlled cultivation system in his Inner Heaven and Earth contrasts with the uncontrolled slaughter of the Third Realm.
• Transformation and integration: Reincarnation, merging bodies, inherited memories, and the fusion of cultivation systems all reflect the chapter’s focus on growth through combining past and present identities.

Character Interactions

• Dugu Xiaoxuan excitedly comments on Chen Nan’s children and proposes that she and Jiang Ming have children in the future.
• Jiang Ming responds affectionately, stroking her hair and calming her fears.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan questions Demon Lord’s intentions after seeing the devastation left in his wake, while Jiang Ming promises to take her to the place where she can find answers.
• Great Demon and Hidden Dragon briefly coordinate before separating to explore different regions.
• Jiang Wan’er remains silent as Du Ling and Little Golden Crow accompany her.
• Jiang Ming and Dugu Xiaoxuan observe Demon Lord’s battle from afar, with Jiang Ming offering a detached judgment of the ancient fiends’ cruelty and deaths.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Dugu Xiaoxuan praises the Demon Lord, claiming that many female Heavenly Rank experts secretly admire him. She also challenges Jiang Ming to surpass the Demon Lord, playfully testing his reaction.
• The Time Main God and Space Main God, both peak Heavenly Rank experts, attack the Demon Lord using their mastery of time and space. Their assault kills eighteen Heavenly Rank figures beneath the Demon Lord and appears nearly unstoppable.
• The Demon Lord effortlessly neutralizes their attacks by absorbing countless demon souls and shadows into his demonic aura. These spirits are former enemies he defeated and incorporated into his Dao, explaining his title.
• The Demon Lord condemns the two gods as traitors who betrayed and murdered their master, the Space-Time Great God, stealing his Time Heart and Space Heart.
• The brothers reveal weapons forged from those stolen treasures: the Time Key and Spatial Cone. They use them to release Xuan Huang, an ancient and terrifying fiend sealed within the Third Realm, hoping he will kill the Demon Lord.
• Xuan Huang emerges amid yellow mist and fiendish energy. He accuses the Demon Lord of sealing him and preventing him from becoming a lord of the Minor Six Paths.
• The Demon Lord counters that Xuan Huang was unworthy because he had betrayed allies and plotted against his comrades.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan intervenes, using a powerful time technique to age the Time and Space Main Gods nearly to death.
• The Demon Lord is surprised and impressed when he realizes that Dugu Xiaoxuan has broken through to the Heaven-Defying Rank.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Remains calm and observant throughout the conflict. He recognizes the Demon Lord as his reincarnated former body and is subtly aware that his connection to the Demon Lord may eventually be revealed. He allows Dugu Xiaoxuan to intervene without jealousy or hesitation.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan: Displays her mischievous, manipulative “First Demoness” personality by provoking both the Demon Lord and Jiang Ming. Despite her teasing, she genuinely respects the Demon Lord as an elder. Her breakthrough to the Heaven-Defying Rank establishes her as an exceptionally powerful figure.
• The Demon Lord: Demonstrates overwhelming strength even as a supposedly weakened remnant soul. He is revealed to be ruthless toward traitors but also deeply concerned with loyalty and justice. His past role as one of the lords of the Minor Six Paths is further explained.
• Time and Space Main Gods: Are exposed as master-murdering traitors who killed their injured master to steal his divine treasures. Their confidence turns to desperation when the Demon Lord withstands their attacks and Dugu Xiaoxuan overwhelms them.
• Xuan Huang: Appears as a vengeful ancient fiend, but his accusations are undermined by the Demon Lord’s claim that he was sealed for betraying allies.

Significant Themes

• Betrayal and loyalty: The central conflict revolves around the Time and Space Main Gods murdering their master and Xuan Huang betraying his allies. The Demon Lord’s hatred of such treachery contrasts with their selfish pursuit of power.
• Overwhelming power and hidden strength: The Demon Lord’s “remnant soul” is still powerful enough to defeat peak Heavenly Rank experts, while Dugu Xiaoxuan’s sudden breakthrough reveals that appearances can conceal immense potential.
• Justice and moral worthiness: The Demon Lord argues that strength alone does not qualify someone to rule; Xuan Huang’s treachery makes him unworthy of becoming a lord of the Minor Six Paths.
• Reincarnation and concealed identities: Jiang Ming’s connection to the Demon Lord remains hidden, while the Demon Lord himself is unknowingly facing a reincarnated version of his former body.
• Romantic rivalry and teasing: Dugu Xiaoxuan’s admiration for the Demon Lord and her relationship with Jiang Ming create playful tension, particularly as she tries to provoke jealousy.

Character Interactions

• Dugu Xiaoxuan teases Jiang Ming by praising the Demon Lord and suggesting that he prove himself superior.
• Jiang Ming sees through her schemes, calling her the true First Demoness, but calmly permits her to join the battle.
• The Demon Lord verbally confronts the Time and Space Main Gods, branding them traitors who murdered their master.
• Xuan Huang challenges the Demon Lord over his past sealing, while the Demon Lord dismisses him as an unworthy traitor.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan attacks the Time and Space Main Gods on the Demon Lord’s behalf, earning his surprise and recognition after revealing her Heaven-Defying Rank cultivation.

Chapter Summary: MVP of the Match: Dugu Xiaoxuan

Key Plot Points and Events

• Dugu Xiaoxuan confidently protects the Demon Lord’s forces, using the Martial Dao abilities Jiang Ming taught her. She sends two troublemakers into the God-Demon Reincarnation Disc with Heaven and Earth Shift.
• Xuan Huang arrives and is shocked to discover that Dugu Xiaoxuan has reached the Heaven-Defying Rank. His own strength has declined after being sealed for countless years, leaving him below his former level.
• The Heavenly Demon, Dugu Xiaoxuan’s elder brother, arrives after recovering most of his strength. Xiaoxuan proudly boasts that she has surpassed him and claims the title of the world’s strongest divine maiden.
• She confronts Xuan Huang alone. Although he still possesses the powerful Xuanhuang Banner, Xiaoxuan uses the Nine Secret: Bing to seize control of it.
• The banner turns against its former master, destroying his defenses and severely weakening him. Xiaoxuan captures the weapon and sends Xuan Huang into the Divine-Demon Diagram as a sacrifice.
• Xuan Huang dies protesting that he was defeated by “a little girl,” while Xiaoxuan declares that she should now be called the Divine Mistress.
• After Xiaoxuan’s victory, the Demon Lord announces that the group will begin determining and mastering Samsara, an essential step in reviving fallen allies and guiding deceased Heavenly Rank Battle Souls back into existence.

Character Developments

• Dugu Xiaoxuan undergoes a dramatic rise, revealing that she has broken through to the Heaven-Defying Rank before Chen Nan. Once considered playful, lazy, and less promising than her siblings, she now proves to be an exceptionally powerful combatant.
• Her personality remains mischievous, arrogant, and theatrical. She constantly boasts about being the strongest and enjoys embarrassing her elder brother.
• The Heavenly Demon is humbled by Xiaoxuan’s breakthrough. Though his strength has recovered to the peak of the Heavenly Rank, he is surprised that his formerly weaker sister has surpassed him.
• Xuan Huang is shown to be greatly weakened from his time in confinement. His reliance on the Xuanhuang Banner becomes his downfall when Xiaoxuan turns the weapon against him.
• Jiang Ming is established as the source of Xiaoxuan’s advanced techniques, including Martial Dao abilities, Heaven and Earth Shift, and the Nine Secret: Bing. He admires her while quietly concealing their marital relationship.
• The Demon Lord enjoys Xiaoxuan’s antics but is also exasperated by her outrageous self-confidence. He recognizes her as an eccentric but formidable member of Dugu Baitian’s family.

Significant Themes

• Unexpected potential and reversal of expectations: Xiaoxuan, once viewed as the least diligent and least likely sibling to achieve greatness, becomes the first to reach the Heaven-Defying Rank.
• Power and arrogance: Her victory demonstrates genuine strength, but her excessive boasting turns the scene into a comic spectacle. The chapter contrasts legitimate power with the immature pride that accompanies sudden success.
• The danger of dependence on weapons: Xuan Huang’s greatest asset becomes his weakness when Xiaoxuan uses his own treasure against him.
• Family rivalry and affection: Xiaoxuan’s teasing of her brother reflects both sibling competition and familial closeness.
• Defiance of death and fate: The coming effort to master Samsara expands the group’s larger goal of overturning heaven, reviving the dead, and restoring fallen comrades.

Character Interactions

• Xiaoxuan reassures and protects the Demon Lord, treating him affectionately as “Uncle Demon Lord.”
• She taunts the Heavenly Demon after surpassing him, while he tries to restrain her boasting and reminds her that their mother holds the title of greatest divine maiden.
• Her exchange with Xuan Huang is openly antagonistic and mocking. She dismisses his confidence, defeats him through clever technique, and ridicules his disbelief at being beaten by her.
• The Demon Lord laughs at the quarrel and Xiaoxuan’s outrageous claims, though her behavior also leaves him wishing Dugu Baitian would take responsibility for her.
• Jiang Ming quietly observes Xiaoxuan with affection and pride, while hoping no one discovers that she is his wife.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming remains calm while Dugu Xiaoxuan releases the sealed Heavenly Rank monsters beneath the Sixth Realm. She spends the next ten years slaughtering more than a hundred of them, including peak Heavenly Rank experts and ancient beings who had touched the Heaven-Defying Rank.
• Her actions help establish her reputation as the foremost Demoness, while the deaths of these dangerous beings strengthen the Reincarnation Disc, now fused with the Taiji Diagram and controlled by Demon Lord.
• Another decade later, the heavens begin a new great destruction intended to exterminate all life. Jiang Ming prevents it with a single command: “Freeze.”
• His will overrides the Heavenly Dao’s control of the world. The destruction is halted, the damaged world repairs itself, and more than a hundred Heavenly Rank beings attempting to exploit the chaos are instantly killed.
• Using the Martial Dao imprints and insights left by countless Primordial Antiquity experts, Jiang Ming breaks through to the Heaven-Defying King Rank.
• Jiang Ming’s children—Jiang Wan’er, Great Demon, and Hidden Dragon—have also reached the Heaven-Defying Rank. Together with Chen Nan, Jiang Ming’s sister, and other allies, they suppress the remaining forces causing chaos.
• Jiang restores Chen Ancestor’s body and fully awakens his Battle Soul, allowing him to deal with enemies threatening the Chen Family.
• Demon Lord leads a large group of experts into the cosmic Chaos to destroy the Chaos Remnant Clan, long-standing servants of the Heavenly Dao.
• The Heavenly Dao sends an incarnation, Huang Tian, to attack Jiang Ming. Jiang Ming destroys the enormous descending hand with a glance, and the backlash also annihilates Huang Tian’s true body.
• Jiang Ming looks toward the future, planning to reach the Heavenly Dao Rank, fuse with Demon Lord, absorb the Tomb of Gods World into his Inner Heaven and Earth, and eventually guide its strongest inhabitants into broader worlds for further growth and training.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming becomes even more powerful and confident, demonstrating that the Heavenly Dao and its incarnations are insignificant before him. His breakthrough to the Heaven-Defying King Rank confirms his overwhelming superiority.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan grows into her identity as the foremost Demoness through years of brutal combat. Despite her strength, she increasingly relies emotionally on Jiang Ming, viewing him as an unshakable source of security.
• Jiang Ming’s children and allies continue advancing rapidly, reaching the Heaven-Defying Rank and becoming capable of independently suppressing powerful enemies.
• Chen Ancestor is restored to full strength when Jiang Ming revives his body and awakens his Battle Soul.
• Demon Lord takes a decisive leadership role by organizing the assault on the Chaos Remnant Clan and emphasizing the need for unity against the Heavenly Dao.
• Huang Tian is revealed to be completely powerless against Jiang Ming and is erased after attacking him.

Significant Themes

• Defiance against cosmic authority: Jiang Ming directly overrides the Heavenly Dao, showing that even the highest governing force of the world can be resisted and defeated.
• Power and protection: Dugu Xiaoxuan’s confidence comes from Jiang Ming’s presence, while Jiang Ming protects his family, allies, and the world from destruction.
• Fate and backlash: Huang Tian’s attack triggers fate-based retaliation; by attacking Jiang Ming, he seals his own doom.
• Growth beyond one world: Jiang Ming sees the Tomb of Gods World as only one stage in a much larger existence. He intends for its heroes to explore greater worlds rather than remain confined or become dependent on him.
• Unity against betrayal: The fight against the Heavenly Dao requires all powerful beings to unite, especially against the Chaos Remnant Clan and other traitorous forces.
• Life beyond destruction: Although slaughter is frequent, Jiang Ming prevents the Heavenly Dao’s indiscriminate annihilation, preserving the world so its inhabitants can continue developing.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming reassures Dugu Xiaoxuan throughout the Heavenly Dao’s attempted destruction, telling her to remain calm and kill only those who exploit the chaos.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan’s concern for Jiang Ming after his intervention turns into playful frustration when he pretends to be exhausted. Their exchange highlights their affectionate and teasing relationship.
• Jiang Ming’s children and allies fight across the world while he supports them indirectly, especially by restoring Chen Ancestor.
• Demon Lord and the other experts rally around the shared goal of destroying the Chaos Remnant Clan.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan witnesses Jiang Ming erase Huang Tian with a glance and is left stunned by the extent of his power. Jiang Ming explains that the attack’s failure resulted not merely from strength, but also from the fatal backlash of fate laws.

Jiang Ming trained his children and the Dugu Family in the Red Dust Illusion Realm, where ordinary life tested their character and helped them advance. Dugu Xiaoyue emerged on the verge of breaking through to heaven-defying rank, while several relatives remained trapped inside.

• Jiang Ming’s children Jiang Chixuan and Jiang Ziwei trained in the Red Dust Illusion Realm, and their trials helped them advance to heavenly rank and later heaven-defying rank.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan entered the illusion realm to avenge her children, but she was expelled after robbing a bank and being executed by the realm’s law enforcers.
• After Jiang Ming entered Dao enlightenment, Dugu Xiaoxuan was pulled into the illusion realm again and spent seven years studying before she escaped.
• Dugu Xiaoxuan learned that Dugu Mingyue, Xuanxuan, Heavenly Demon, Dugu Xiaoyue, Dugu Baitian’s disciples, and Chen Nan’s children were trapped in the realm.
• Dugu Xiaoyue emerged from the secret realm and said she felt close to breaking through to heaven-defying rank, prompting Dugu Xiaoxuan to praise Jiang Ming’s trial as an opportunity.

Chapter Summary: What Is Love in This World?

Key Plot Points and Events

• With Jiang Ming’s assistance, Chen Nan and several other allies break through to the Heaven-Defying Rank. Chen Nan’s future advancement to the Heaven-Defying King Rank is assured once he finds the inheritances Dugu Xiaobai left behind.
• Human King Yu Xin battles Tai Shang in a long-awaited confrontation between two Heaven-Defying powerhouses. With help from Chen Nan’s family, Yu Xin and the others kill Tai Shang.
• Five hundred years later, Demon Lord and Dugu Baitian return with another group of Primordial Antiquity experts. When Demon Lord visits Jiang Ming, he realizes the truth of Jiang Ming’s identity and merges his origin essence into him.
• Jiang Ming completes his breakthrough to the Heavenly Dao Rank, the highest realm currently possible within the Tomb of Gods World.
• He captures the entire Tomb of Gods World and places it within his Inner Heaven and Earth. He then uses the will of a higher Heavenly Dao to erase the original Evil Heavenly Dao, leaving only his own will as the world’s governing force.
• Jiang Ming discovers the route back to the Half-Step Primordial Universe containing Shrouding the Heavens, Perfect World, and Sacred Ruins, which he calls the “Red-Haired Monster Universe.”
• He transfers the powerful experts from the Tomb of Gods World into the Immortal Domain, where they encounter a much broader cultivation system and a stronger world.
• Jiang Wan’er explains that this world contains higher realms—Quasi-Immortal Emperor, Immortal Emperor, and Sacrificial Dao—and that four Dark Quasi-Immortal Emperors are currently threatening its living beings.
• The newcomers are instructed to establish themselves first and eventually assist Shi Hao in entering the darkness and defeating the Dark Quasi-Immortal Emperors.
• Jiang Ming cannot personally intervene freely because doing so could awaken ten sleeping Sacrificial Dao-level enemies.
• Meanwhile, Jiang Ming has left to pursue his greatest personal goal: reviving his deceased first wife, Smoke Glow Fairy Gu Lingzhi.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming reaches the Heavenly Dao Rank and becomes the sole Heavenly Dao of the Tomb of Gods World. His power now surpasses everyone around him, extending even into higher worlds.
• Chen Nan advances to the Heaven-Defying Rank, with his path to the Heaven-Defying King Rank secured.
• Demon Lord is revealed to be one of Jiang Ming’s reincarnated bodies. By returning to Jiang Ming’s origin, he enables Jiang Ming’s final breakthrough.
• Dugu Baitian, Chen Zhan, Ghost Lord, Dugu Xiaoxuan, Jiang Wan’er, and the other experts are transported into a much larger universe, where they must adjust to new laws, realms, and dangers.
• Jiang Wan’er becomes the main source of information about Jiang Ming’s identity, the new universe, and the threats awaiting them.
• Jiang Ming is portrayed not only as an overwhelming cultivator but also as a devoted husband whose ultimate purpose is reviving Gu Lingzhi.

Significant Themes

• Expansion of the world and cultivation path: The characters move from a world where the Heavenly Dao Rank is the ultimate limit into a universe containing several even higher realms.
• Power and responsibility: Jiang Ming’s immense strength allows him to save and relocate entire worlds, but he must restrain himself because of the consequences of disturbing stronger hidden enemies.
• The continuation of struggle: Reaching the peak of one world does not end conflict; it merely reveals broader realms and more dangerous adversaries.
• Love, devotion, and grief: The chapter’s central emotional focus is Jiang Ming’s determination to revive Gu Lingzhi. Her tragic death while searching for medicine for their child transformed her into the deepest wound in his heart.
• Sacrifice and loyalty: The characters are reminded that great power is often built upon the sacrifices of loved ones and the willingness to endure hardship for those they cherish.

Character Interactions

• Demon Lord’s encounter with Jiang Ming leads to his recognition of Jiang Ming’s true nature and his voluntary fusion with Jiang Ming.
• Jiang Wan’er explains Jiang Ming’s identity and strength to Dugu Baitian and the other displaced experts, revealing that Demon Lord was merely one of Jiang Ming’s reincarnations.
• Dugu Baitian struggles with his complicated relationship with Jiang Ming, who is technically the husband of both his daughters, yet is now far beyond his ability to challenge.
• The group repeatedly reacts with shock to the existence of higher realms and multiple Quasi-Immortal Emperor-level enemies.
• Chen Zhan and the others question why Jiang Ming does not simply destroy the enemies, prompting the explanation about karma and the sleeping Sacrificial Dao experts.
• The chapter concludes with the group reflecting on the depth of love, especially the devotion between Jiang Ming and Gu Lingzhi, and the enduring pain caused by her death.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming travels through the River of Time, not immediately to the era of Shrouding the Heavens, but to the past moment when Smoke Glow Fairy—revealed here as Gu Lingzhi—encountered the Lightning Bird flock.
• He witnesses his former self and Gu Lingzhi fleeing through Smoke Glow Ridge while carrying spirit medicine for their critically ill daughter, Jiang Tingting.
• The couple, both only at the Sea of Bitterness Realm, are surrounded by an overwhelming Lightning Bird horde containing cultivators at the Sea of Bitterness, Life Spring, and Divine Bridge realms. Their deaths appear inevitable.
• Jiang Ming’s past self shields Gu Lingzhi and prepares to sacrifice himself, but the present Jiang Ming freezes time and rescues her from the River of Time.
• The rescue triggers enormous backlash from time, space, karma, fate, and the Great Dao. Chains of Great Dao order bind Jiang Ming and attempt to refine him as punishment for altering the past.
• The Black Lotus within Jiang Ming’s body returns to him, and he realizes that his intervention may have been the cause of his past self’s memory awakening and the system’s appearance—creating a closed cycle of fate.
• Jiang Ming sends Gu Lingzhi into his Inner Heaven and Earth, where their daughter Jiang Tingting and her family are waiting. He leaves an incarnation behind to accompany them while his true body remains trapped in the backlash.
• Rather than resisting the Great Dao chains, Jiang Ming decides to use them for cultivation, absorbing and studying the laws of the Red-Haired Monster World.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: His long-standing love and loyalty toward Gu Lingzhi are emphasized. After waiting for countless ages, he finally rescues her, willingly enduring severe backlash. His confidence and power are also clear: even while facing Heavenly Retribution, he remains calm and turns the danger into a cultivation opportunity.
• Gu Lingzhi/Smoke Glow Fairy: Her devotion and self-sacrificing nature are shown through her willingness to stay behind so Jiang Ming can escape with medicine for their daughter. Though initially unable to understand her survival, she immediately recognizes Jiang Ming and accepts his explanation calmly.
• Jiang Tingting: Now an Immortal King with a family of her own, she is reunited with her mother. Jiang Ming acknowledges that she has matured and chooses not to interfere with her relationship with Tongtong, a descendant of the Sun God Emperor.
• Jiang Ming’s past self: His despair and willingness to die protecting Gu Lingzhi reveal the depth of his love and establish the tragedy that shaped Jiang Ming’s later actions.

Significant Themes

• Love enduring across time: Jiang Ming’s thousand-year longing culminates in his determination to retrieve Gu Lingzhi from certain death.
• Fate and causality: His rescue may have caused the very awakening and system events that led to his present existence, forming a paradoxical closed loop.
• The cost of defying destiny: Altering the River of Time brings devastating backlash, demonstrating that even Jiang Ming cannot change the past without consequences.
• Family reunion and sacrifice: Jiang Ming, Gu Lingzhi, and Jiang Tingting are finally brought together, though Jiang Ming must still leave temporarily to resolve his remaining burdens.
• Turning adversity into strength: Jiang Ming uses the Great Dao’s attempt to destroy him as an opportunity to improve his cultivation.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Gu Lingzhi argue over who should escape and who should draw away the Lightning Birds, each prioritizing the other’s survival.
• In the present, Jiang Ming reassures Gu Lingzhi that she is safe and promises to reunite with her soon.
• He instructs Jiang Tingting to care for her mother and explains that he must temporarily leave.
• Jiang Ming deliberately respects Tingting’s independence, accepting her marriage and allowing her life to follow the natural course of fate.

Jiang Ming endured Heavenly Retribution while recovering memories of his past life as Wutian Buddha and continuing to comprehend the Tomb of Gods Method. In his Inner Heaven and Earth, Gu Lingzhi reunited with Jiang Tingting and learned how Jiang Ming had lived after her disappearance.

• Jiang Ming endured the backlash from changing fate and awakened memories of his past life as Kinnara Bodhisattva and Wutian Buddha.
• Gu Lingzhi cultivated beside the lotus pond in Jiang Ming's Inner Heaven and Earth and broke through to the life spring realm.
• Jiang Tingting took the form of a little girl and ran to Gu Lingzhi, calling her mother.
• Jiang Tingting showed Gu Lingzhi Recording Stones of Jiang Ming's life, and Gu Lingzhi asked what had happened to her and Jiang Ming.
• Jiang Tingting explained that Gu Lingzhi was inside Jiang Ming's world and said he would visit her soon.
• Jiang Tingting told Gu Lingzhi about Jiang Ming's family and the many descendants who had made the Jiang Family a great power in the Immortal Domain.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming realizes that the “cheat” and awakened memories possessed by his past self were ultimately gifts from his future self, creating a complete causal loop. His efforts to save Gu Lingzhi also fulfill the conditions that allowed his earlier self to grow.
• He identifies Black Lotus’s likely true origin as Wutian, the Demon Ancestor, though he considers this revelation a matter for the future.
• With Gu Lingzhi rescued and the temporal loop completed, Jiang Ming turns his attention to protecting Willow God in the Perfect World era and observing whether figures such as Dugu Baitian, Chen Zhan, Ghost Lord, and Chen Nan can mature into powerful beings.
• Jiang Ming remains occupied with resisting the backlash of the Great Dao and the River of Time while refining his techniques and understanding the laws of the Red-Haired Monster World.
• Gu Lingzhi begins cultivating in Jiang Ming’s specially created system and an exceptionally favorable environment. Over ten years, she advances from the Life Spring stage to the Third Transformation of the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm.
• Another twenty years pass. Gu Lingzhi reaches the Ninth Heaven of the Second Immortal-Tier Great Ability, an extraordinary achievement compared with her former cultivation speed.
• During this period, Jiang Tingting grows from a child into an eighteen-year-old-looking young woman and remains devoted to caring for her mother.
• Gu Lingzhi learns that Jiang Ming has several romantic companions. Jiang Tingting gradually introduces them, beginning with Yan Ruyu, followed by the former Yaochi Sacred Maiden, Yi Qingwu, the Heavenly Jade Saintess, and Fairy Zixia.
• Yan Ruyu and the Yaochi Sacred Maiden personally visit Gu Lingzhi, treating her respectfully as their elder sister. Gu Lingzhi ultimately accepts Jiang Ming’s other relationships, though the sheer number of them leaves her emotionally overwhelmed.
• At the end of the chapter, Gu Lingzhi realizes that she has focused so much on learning about Jiang Ming’s romantic history that she has neglected to ask about Jiang Tingting’s own relationships and family.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Having completed the causal loop surrounding his past and present selves, he moves from rescuing Gu Lingzhi toward broader responsibilities across different worlds and eras. He continues enduring the Great Dao’s backlash and preparing for future threats.
• Gu Lingzhi: She adapts to her new life, embraces cultivation, and experiences astonishing growth under Jiang Ming’s methods. Although initially curious and somewhat surprised by Jiang Ming’s many companions, she gradually becomes accepting and rational about them.
• Jiang Tingting: She matures into a graceful young woman while remaining deeply filial. For ten years, she patiently accompanies and teaches her mother, carefully revealing Jiang Ming’s history and relationships in stages.
• Yan Ruyu and the other women: They are presented as powerful, accomplished figures who nonetheless show humility and respect toward Gu Lingzhi, acknowledging her position as Jiang Ming’s first partner.

Significant Themes

• Causality and closed loops: Jiang Ming’s future actions create the circumstances that empowered his past self, emphasizing the chapter’s circular view of time and destiny.
• Cultivation and transformation: Gu Lingzhi’s rapid progress illustrates how proper techniques, environment, guidance, and accumulated potential can completely reshape a person’s abilities.
• Family and reconciliation: The chapter focuses on restoring Gu Lingzhi’s place within Jiang Ming’s family and allowing her to reconnect with her daughter and extended group of companions.
• Acceptance of unconventional relationships: Gu Lingzhi gradually comes to accept Jiang Ming’s multiple romantic partners as a normal feature of their world and as a reflection of his extraordinary status.
• Time and personal change: Decades pass, causing Jiang Tingting to grow up and Gu Lingzhi to confront how far life has moved forward since she was separated from Jiang Ming.

Character Interactions

• Gu Lingzhi and Jiang Tingting develop a close mother-daughter routine centered on cultivation, storytelling, and emotional support.
• Jiang Tingting comforts Gu Lingzhi by assuring her that Jiang Ming will return once he finishes dealing with the River of Time’s backlash.
• Gu Lingzhi questions Jiang Tingting about Jiang Ming’s romantic history, prompting her daughter to reveal the identities and backgrounds of his companions one by one.
• Yan Ruyu, the Yaochi Sacred Maiden, and the other women respectfully acknowledge Gu Lingzhi as their elder sister, helping her gradually accept their place in Jiang Ming’s life.
• By the conclusion, Gu Lingzhi begins shifting her attention toward Jiang Tingting’s own romantic life, suggesting a new phase in their family relationship.

Chapter Summary: Footprint Emperor

Key Plot Points and Events

• Gu Lingzhi gradually learns about the extraordinary events surrounding Jiang Ming and his many powerful companions. She becomes especially overwhelmed by the increasingly unusual backgrounds of his confidantes, including Nannan, who searches for him by entering the River of Time.
• The Ruthless Empress hopes Jiang Ming may be able to retrieve her brother from the River of Time, while she continues questioning whether Ye Fan is truly her brother’s reincarnation.
• Jiang Ming finally breaks free from the Great Dao’s backlash after an eighty-year slumber. He immediately travels to his Inner Heaven and Earth to reunite with Gu Lingzhi, sealing his cultivation to the Immortal King realm.
• Jiang Ming and Gu Lingzhi share an emotional reunion. Although Gu Lingzhi has felt isolated and almost as if she died once, seeing Jiang Ming makes her resentment and sorrow disappear.
• Jiang Ming spends ten years solely accompanying Gu Lingzhi rather than cultivating. With his assistance, her cultivation advances rapidly from the Great Accomplished King realm to the Great Emperor realm.
• Gu Lingzhi becomes pregnant again, this time with quadruplets—two sons and two daughters—partly to give her companionship after their daughter Tingting has grown up.
• Jiang Ming then leaves for the Age of Chaos to settle karmic matters, once again incurring backlash from the Great Dao due to reversing spacetime.
• In the Chaotic Ancient Era, Shi Hao returns from the Emperor’s Fall Era as a Red Dust Immortal. He learns that the balance of power in the Immortal Domain has changed significantly.
• Several Immortal Kings connected to Shi Hao or Jiang Ming have been revived, strengthening the forces of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
• A mysterious group of Immortal Kings, including the father-and-son battle maniacs Chen Zhan and Chen Nan, fought Ao Sheng, Yuan Chu, Tai Shi, and other Immortal Domain powers, forcing them to retreat. Chen Zhan and Chen Nan later went to the Border Wasteland and appear aligned with Shi Hao’s side.
• Their investigations reveal that the world contains numerous hostile forces, including invaders from the Other Realm, enemies in the Immortal Domain, powerful beings in the Boundary Sea, and at least four Quasi-Immortal Emperor-level figures.
• The chapter ends by emphasizing Jiang Ming’s lasting influence through the traces he left behind—his “footprints”—earning him the title Footprint Emperor.

Character Developments

• Gu Lingzhi becomes more accepting of her transformed circumstances and Jiang Ming’s vast, complicated world. Her emotional pain lessens after their reunion, and her cultivation rises dramatically under his guidance.
• Jiang Ming emerges from his prolonged backlash and demonstrates his devotion to Gu Lingzhi by spending ten years with her instead of pursuing cultivation or other urgent affairs. He later resumes his larger mission of resolving karmic ties across spacetime.
• Shi Hao returns as a Red Dust Immortal, representing the development of a new cultivation path. He must now reassess the changing political and military situation of the Immortal Domain.
• The Ruthless Empress remains emotionally connected to her missing brother and continues to question Ye Fan’s identity, adding uncertainty to their relationship.
• Chen Zhan and Chen Nan are introduced as powerful new allies of the Lower Realm and Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, openly challenging the Immortal Domain’s hostile forces.

Significant Themes

• Reunion and devotion: Jiang Ming’s return to Gu Lingzhi highlights the emotional importance of companionship after immense spans of time and separation.
• The scale of time: Eighty years is both nearly a lifetime for ordinary people and only a brief interval for ancient cultivators, underscoring the radically different perspective of immortals.
• Fate, spacetime, and identity: The River of Time, reincarnation, vanished spacetime traces, and the possibility of retrieving lost people reinforce the chapter’s focus on whether destiny can be altered.
• Power and cosmic conflict: The Immortal Domain, Other Realm, Boundary Sea, and Nine Heavens and Ten Earths are becoming increasingly entangled in a larger war involving Quasi-Immortal Emperor-level beings.
• Legacy: Jiang Ming’s physical presence may be temporary, but the “footprints” he leaves across the world establish his enduring reputation as the Footprint Emperor.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Gu Lingzhi share the chapter’s central emotional reunion. He comforts her, embraces her, feeds her personally, and spends a decade helping her recover emotionally and advance her cultivation.
• Gu Lingzhi and Jiang Tingting discuss Gu Lingzhi’s apparent “death” and explain that Jiang Ming preserved her by removing her from the original spacetime.
• The Ruthless Empress and Ye Fan remain linked by the unresolved question of whether Ye Fan is her brother’s reincarnation.
• Shi Hao and the revived Immortal Kings are connected through their shared allegiance to the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, while Chen Zhan and Chen Nan’s actions suggest they will become important allies in the developing conflict.

Chapter Summary: “The Missing Scumbag”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Shi Hao returns from the Emperor’s Fall Era after cultivating for hundreds of thousands of years. He has become a True Immortal and created a new cultivation path based on using the body as the seed, opening the Red Dust Immortal route.
• His greatest surprise is learning that his master, Jiang Ming, has not returned. Everyone confirms that Jiang Ming disappeared after entering the Emperor’s Fall Era.
• Shi Hao reunites with Yun Xi and many old companions, including Skyhorned Ant, Cao Yusheng, Mu Qing, Shi Zhong, Emperor Butterfly, God-Beating Stone, and Big Black Dog.
• Several former Immortal Kings—including White-Clothed Immortal King, Palm-Bone Immortal King, Eyeball Immortal King, and Skull Immortal King—also appear. They reveal that Jiang Ming helped restore their lives and bodies.
• The Immortal Domain’s political situation has changed dramatically:
  • Ao Sheng, Yuan Chu, and Tai Shi represent the old ruling faction.
  • Pan King, Primordial Unity Immortal King, and Kun Peng King lead the conservatives.
  • Dugu Baitian, Chen Zhan, Ghost Lord, Chen Nan, and a mysterious female Immortal King form the Pro-War Faction.
• Ao Sheng Immortal King survived after going to the Otherworld but was severely defeated by Chen Zhan and escaped only through powerful Immortal King treasures.
• Many ancient experts have returned, restoring the strength of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths to something resembling its Immortal Ancient-era condition.
• Jiang Ming’s allies speculate that he followed mysterious footprints from the Emperor’s Fall Era toward the Boundary Sea or beyond the Boundary Sea Dam. This is especially concerning because Jiang Ming himself warned others not to enter that region without sufficient strength or companions.
• Di Yao reveals that she encountered Jiang Ming in the Emperor’s Fall Era when she was still an egg, and he once held her.

Character Developments

• Shi Hao has grown enormously stronger. He is now at least a True Immortal, and White-Clothed Immortal King believes he is powerful enough to defeat ordinary True Immortals and even challenge Quasi-Immortal Kings.
• Shi Hao remains deeply loyal to and confident in Jiang Ming, refusing to believe that his master has been defeated. However, his confidence is mixed with growing concern over Jiang Ming’s unexplained disappearance.
• Yun Xi and Shi Hao’s old companions are overjoyed by his return, showing that their bonds have endured despite the passage of time.
• The former Immortal Kings have been revived or restored through Jiang Ming’s intervention, emphasizing his immense power and influence.
• Ao Sheng Immortal King, once a dominant figure, has suffered a major loss of status and power after Chen Zhan’s defeat of him.
• Di Yao has advanced to the Quasi-Immortal King level and continues to develop rapidly due to her connection with a powerful Golden Fusang.

Significant Themes

• Mystery and absence: Jiang Ming’s disappearance becomes the chapter’s central mystery. His whereabouts are unknown even to those closest to him.
• Growth through time: Shi Hao’s long cultivation demonstrates how time, perseverance, and an unconventional path can transform someone into a major power.
• Changing world order: The Immortal Domain is no longer controlled by one faction. The return of ancient experts has created a tense balance among conservatives, old rulers, and those seeking war.
• Legacy and protection: Jiang Ming’s previous actions—reviving Immortal Kings and arranging favorable conditions for Shi Hao—continue to shape the world even while he is absent.
• Danger beyond known boundaries: The Boundary Sea and the dark world beyond its dam represent unknown, potentially fatal realms that even powerful experts should not enter recklessly.
• Hope amid uncertainty: Although Jiang Ming is missing, the world is stronger and more stable than before, giving Shi Hao the opportunity to continue growing.

Character Interactions

• Shi Hao and Yun Xi share an emotional reunion after his long absence.
• Shi Hao and his old friends reconnect, but their gathering is overshadowed by the news that Jiang Ming has not returned.
• White-Clothed Immortal King and Shi Hao discuss Jiang Ming’s possible survival and assure Shi Hao that the revived Immortal Kings will protect him until he reaches the Immortal King realm.
• Shi Hao and the Immortal Kings discuss the condition of the Immortal Domain and the fate of Ao Sheng.
• The Immortal Kings and other ancient figures acknowledge that their restoration was a gift from Jiang Ming, reinforcing their respect and gratitude toward him.
• Jiang Ming’s companions and allies—including Willow God, Shepherd King, Ancient Female Double Pupils, and others—share fragmented memories and theories about his disappearance.
• Di Yao’s recollection provides another personal connection to Jiang Ming and suggests that he had an influence on her even in the distant past.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming remains missing for another three hundred years. His women and confidantes search for him, but can only confirm that he left behind traces before disappearing.
• His companions angrily condemn him as a notorious womanizer whose relationships span four historical eras. Despite this, they learn that he is alive and is attempting to resurrect a dead woman—possibly his first wife.
• Shi Hao stops waiting for Jiang Ming and begins rebuilding the Heavenly Court. He prepares a campaign to rescue Gu Ancestor and other descendants of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths from the Other Realm.
• The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths launch a major invasion of the Other Realm with nine Immortal Kings, including Gu Ancestor. They rescue captives and survivors from shattered worlds.
• Gu Ancestor purges members of his own race who have truly defected to the Other Realm, demonstrating his ruthless determination to restore the Gu Race’s honor.
• Immortal King Wushang proves nearly invincible against several powerful opponents because he can negate magical abilities. However, Mysterious Maiden King, now possessing two strands of Quasi-Immortal Emperor Light, severely wounds him and forces his retreat.
• Gu Ancestor finally returns to the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths after an entire era. He is delighted to find that Mysterious Maiden King survived and has grown vastly stronger.
• The heroes begin repairing the damaged Nine Heavens and Ten Earths using fragments recovered from the Other Realm and the Boundary Sea. Jiang Wan’er assists alongside Chen Zhan, Dugu Baitian, and others.
• White-Clothed Immortal King and several allies guard the Immortal Domain Gate, ensuring that it remains open and preventing future interference.
• Heaven-Defying Rank experts enter the Boundary Sea to aid reconstruction. Some even use the dangerous Strange Ominous Substance as a means of cultivation.
• After another two hundred years, the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths recover to roughly half their former strength and can once again support breakthroughs to the True Immortal realm.
• Boundary Sea Immortal Kings attempt to enter the restored world, but the defenders refuse them entry, fearing their cruelty, disorder, and willingness to sacrifice mortals for cultivation.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Remains absent and infamous for his prolonged romantic history, but his effort to revive his deceased wife reveals a deeply devoted and serious side beneath his irresponsible reputation.
• Shi Hao: Matures into a leader and founder, shifting his attention from searching for Jiang Ming to rebuilding the Heavenly Court and strengthening the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
• Mysterious Maiden King: Emerges as one of the strongest figures in the chapter. Her attack decisively injures Immortal King Wushang, proving that she has surpassed the ordinary Immortal King Colossus realm.
• Gu Ancestor: Returns after enduring an era of apparent betrayal and shows extreme ruthlessness by exterminating members of the Gu Race who have genuinely embraced the Other Realm.
• Jiang Wan’er: Participates in repairing the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, demonstrating her growing importance despite being only a Peak Immortal King.
• The Tomb of Gods powerhouses: Continue to embody defiance and responsibility, repairing heaven and earth rather than accepting the damaged world as fate.

Significant Themes

• Reputation versus true character: Jiang Ming is mocked as the greatest scumbag in history, yet his attempt to resurrect his wife suggests genuine loyalty and emotional depth.
• Restoration and renewal: The reconstruction of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths symbolizes recovery after prolonged destruction and war.
• Loyalty and betrayal: Gu Ancestor’s return exposes how prolonged allegiance can transform false defectors into genuine traitors.
• Defiance against fate: The heroes refuse to accept broken worlds, closed gates, or the will of heaven as permanent. They actively repair reality and challenge cosmic forces.
• Power and responsibility: The restored realm must be protected from predatory outsiders, showing that strength also requires maintaining order and defending weaker beings.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming’s confidantes gather to worry about him, while simultaneously insulting and condemning his romantic history.
• Shi Hao transitions from repeatedly checking for Jiang Ming’s return to cooperating with the wider coalition and establishing the Heavenly Court.
• Mysterious Maiden King confronts Immortal King Wushang when other powerful figures cannot defeat him, saving the campaign from stagnation.
• Gu Ancestor reunites with Mysterious Maiden King and recognizes that she was instrumental in enabling his original infiltration of the Other Realm.
• Jiang Wan’er works with Chen Zhan, Dugu Baitian, Ghost Lord, and other experts to restore the damaged world.
• White-Clothed Immortal King and three allies jointly guard the Immortal Domain Gate, symbolizing cooperation between powerful factions.

Summary: “Boundary Sea Invasion”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Although the destruction of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths has ended, restoring the damaged world will take a long time. Internal enemies led by Ao Sheng, Tai Shi, and Yuan Chu are temporarily spared because a civil war could further devastate Immortal Domain.
• The immediate crisis is an invasion from the Boundary Sea. A gigantic black hand attacks the world barrier, but Chen Nan cuts it apart with two heavenly blades formed from the Heavenly Dao.
• Numerous Chaotic Immortal Kings emerge from the Boundary Sea. Many are worldless wanderers who behave like pirates, seeking to conquer and plunder living worlds. Others use the chaos to settle old personal grudges.
• The defenders of Nine Heavens and Ten Earths engage the invaders:
  • Chen Nan overwhelms an Immortal King using Heaven’s Will Is Like a Blade, Nearness and Ends of the Earth, and the Taiji Divine-Demon Diagram.
  • Dugu Baitian kills a powerful demonic Immortal King with the Eight Heaven-Defying Styles, causing the enemy’s own attacks to turn against him.
  • Chen Zhan destroys another opponent with Eternal Emptiness, reducing him from an adult to a child before erasing him completely.
  • Jiang Wan’er shatters a golden seal and annihilates its wielder with her seven-colored power.
• Corpses from the Boundary Sea are initially used to strengthen the world barrier, but they are discarded after being discovered to be contaminated by Dark Matter.
• The invasion expands beyond Immortal Domain, also striking the Ancient Burial Zone and the Other Realm. Combat spreads into inhabited worlds, causing massive civilian casualties.
• To prevent Ao Sheng and his allies from exploiting the crisis, Kun Peng King guards the Immortal Domain Gate, joined by the previously cautious Pan King and Primordial Unity Immortal King. The chapter emphasizes that closing the gate cannot guarantee safety against truly overwhelming power.

Character Developments

• Chen Nan demonstrates mastery over stolen Heavenly Dao power and proves capable of defeating powerful Boundary Sea Immortal Kings. His combination of offensive and defensive techniques makes him one of the main pillars of the defense.
• Dugu Baitian is shown as an exceptionally dangerous combatant whose techniques can cause an enemy’s own attacks to destroy them.
• Chen Zhan displays terrifying control over time and existence through Eternal Emptiness, erasing his opponent with minimal effort.
• Jiang Wan’er emerges as perhaps the most threatening defender. Her cultivation across multiple systems, combined with the seven-colored Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure given by her father, allows her to annihilate an Immortal King instantly.
• Kun Peng King, Pan King, and Primordial Unity Immortal King temporarily set aside political differences to protect the Immortal Domain Gate.
• A mysterious archer from Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, who had left during the Emperor’s Fall Era, refrains from attacking after recognizing his mother world and becomes unwilling to see it destroyed.

Significant Themes

• External crisis over internal conflict: Former enemies must postpone their disputes to confront a greater threat, though distrust remains.
• The destructive cost of war: Battles between Immortal Kings devastate worlds and endanger countless ordinary beings.
• Dark corruption: The Boundary Sea is not merely dangerous because of its inhabitants; Dark Matter can infect even the dead and corrupt those who fight within it.
• The limits of defensive measures: World barriers and the Immortal Domain Gate provide only temporary protection. Absolute power can render such defenses meaningless.
• Power and adaptation: The defenders’ strength comes from combining different cultivation systems, stolen Heavenly Dao principles, and powerful treasures.
• Cycles of destruction and restoration: The heroes must defend a damaged world even as they struggle to rebuild it, showing that survival requires both battle and long-term recovery.

Character Interactions

• Chen Nan directly clashes with a Boundary Sea Immortal King and defeats him while the invasion unfolds.
• Dugu Baitian’s overwhelming victory frightens another Immortal King, who retreats despite having arrived to avenge a past grudge.
• Jiang Wan’er acts independently and decisively, destroying an enemy before he can breach the barrier.
• Kun Peng King takes responsibility for guarding against both the Boundary Sea invaders and possible treachery from Ao Sheng’s faction.
• Pan King and Primordial Unity Immortal King cooperate with Kun Peng despite their normally conservative stance.
• The invading Immortal Kings themselves display both opportunistic plundering and long-standing rivalries, turning the Boundary Sea into a battlefield of shifting conflicts.

Chapter Summary: Kun Peng Son, My Foolish Mother

Key Plot Points and Events

• Shi Hao shocks both allies and enemies by advancing from the Quasi-Immortal King realm toward the Immortal King realm after only two hundred years. Despite not yet completing his breakthrough, he battles Peak Immortal Kings in the Boundary Sea.
• The war between Nine Heavens and Ten Earths and the Other Realm becomes increasingly fierce. Powerful figures—including Chen Nan, Dugu Baitian, Jiang Wan’er, Ghost Lord, and the White-Clothed Immortal King—hold back the most dangerous opponents and even fight into the Boundary Sea.
• One Immortal King from the Other Realm falls, while several Immortal Kings in the Immortal Domain secretly observing the conflict become frightened by the overwhelming strength displayed by Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
• After Shi Hao fights for a hundred years, he reaches the threshold of breakthrough. Fearing that he will retaliate once he becomes an Immortal King, several Immortal Kings from the Immortal Domain attempt to assassinate him by attacking through the Immortal Domain Gate.
• The Female Kun Peng intervenes. She uses Jiang Ming’s Fangtian Halberd—an Immortal King Colossus-level weapon that absorbs Immortal King blood—to sever and destroy the attacking arms.
• Her appearance causes widespread shock because she was believed to have been killed in the Human World by the Bronze Immortal Hall and several True Immortals. In reality, she survived and has since reached the Peak Immortal King realm, with combat strength comparable to an Immortal King Colossus.
• The Female Kun Peng openly challenges the three Heavenly Court Immortal Kings responsible for the attack, mocking them for hiding within the Immortal Domain. When one provokes her to enter the Immortal Domain, she immediately prepares to charge in, terrifying the Immortal Kings who realize they have made a serious mistake.
• Shi Hao asks the Female Kun Peng to protect his breakthrough while allowing him to personally defeat his enemies. She agrees and promises to guard him against further attacks.

Character Developments

• Shi Hao: Demonstrates extraordinary growth and determination. He has become powerful enough to fight Peak Immortal Kings before even entering their realm, while remaining focused on future goals—finding Willow God and Jiang Ming. His respectful relationship with the Female Kun Peng deepens when he calls her “Master’s wife.”
• Female Kun Peng: Returns from presumed death as a dominant Peak Immortal King. She is revealed to be fiercely protective, overwhelmingly powerful, and still emotionally attached to Jiang Ming despite calling him a scumbag. Her proud and fearless personality is contrasted with her softer, almost delighted reaction to Shi Hao’s respectful title.
• Jiang Ming: Though absent, he continues to influence events through his disciples, allies, weapons, and relationships. His Fangtian Halberd protects Shi Hao, while his connection to the Female Kun Peng motivates her continued support.
• Kun Peng Son: Now a True Immortal, he is embarrassed by his mother’s sudden happiness and affectionate behavior after Shi Hao calls her “Master’s wife.”
• The Immortal Domain’s Immortal Kings: Their arrogance gives way to fear. They attempt to exploit Shi Hao’s vulnerable breakthrough but retreat when confronted by the Female Kun Peng, exposing their cowardice and opportunism.

Significant Themes

• Hidden strength and reversal of expectations: The presumed-dead Female Kun Peng reappears stronger than ever, while the supposedly dominant Immortal Domain is revealed to be fearful and politically calculating.
• Loyalty and protection: Jiang Ming’s allies continue to honor his final command to protect Shi Hao. The Female Kun Peng personally becomes the guardian of his breakthrough.
• Power and courage versus cowardice: The powerful figures of Nine Heavens and Ten Earths fight directly, while the Immortal Domain’s Peak Immortal Kings rely on ambushes and refuse to leave their protected territory.
• Revenge and justice: The Female Kun Peng’s survival and the destruction of the factions that once persecuted her reflect the consequences of betrayal and persecution.
• Familial and master-disciple bonds: Shi Hao’s respectful treatment of the Female Kun Peng strengthens their relationship, while her connection to Jiang Ming creates a quasi-family structure around him.
• Humor amid epic conflict: Despite the immense scale of the war, the scene gains comedic relief from the Female Kun Peng’s emotional reaction to “Master’s wife” and Kun Peng Son’s embarrassment.

Character Interactions

• The Immortal Domain’s attackers attempt to kill Shi Hao during his breakthrough, but the Female Kun Peng intercepts them and destroys their arms.
• The Female Kun Peng taunts the three Heavenly Court Immortal Kings, challenging them to fight openly instead of hiding behind the Immortal Domain Gate.
• One Immortal King tries to provoke her into entering the Immortal Domain, only to regret his words when she immediately accepts the challenge.
• Shi Hao kneels and asks the Female Kun Peng to guard his path, addressing her as “Master’s wife.” She responds warmly, promising to protect him.
• Kun Peng Son silently reacts with embarrassment, highlighting the contrast between his mother’s intimidating public image and her affectionate, playful behavior toward Shi Hao.

Over a hundred thousand years of war, the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths grew stronger as Shi Hao and the Tomb of Gods powerhouses battled across the Boundary Sea. Jiang Ming secretly restored the world, advanced his own cultivation, and helped Willow God and Mysterious Maiden King approach the Quasi-Immortal Emperor realm, while Shi Hao continued pursuing that goal unaware they had returned.

• Kun Peng Son’s bloodline awakened, and he advanced from early True Immortal to True Immortal Perfection in a hundred years.
• Shi Hao broke through to Peak Immortal King and joined the Boundary Sea war, while Kun Peng Son eventually awakened four divine abilities and also became a Peak Immortal King.
• Over sixty thousand years, the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths restored their world and gained many powerful Immortal Kings, with Jiang Ming secretly repairing the final flaws and ending the End Dharma Era.
• Jiang Ming rescued Willow God from the Dark Depths and helped her and Mysterious Maiden King transform into Emperor-Light Immortal Kings.
• Shi Hao fought across the Other Realm and learned from the Tomb of Gods cultivation method, while Jiang Ming advanced beyond the Heavenly Dao Rank to the Great Dao Rank.
• The Tomb of Gods powerhouses continued their hundred-thousand-year war in the Boundary Sea, while Shi Hao searched for Willow God and Jiang Ming, unaware they had returned in secret.

Chapter Summary: Slaying into the Dark Depths

Key Plot Points and Events

• Shi Hao continues his solitary campaign through the Other Realm, riding a Golden-Haired Hou of Quasi-Immortal King strength. After countless battles, he reaches the level of an Immortal King Colossus and begins evolving toward the Quasi-Immortal Emperor realm.
• His growth is aided by the Immortal Scripture, the Tomb of Gods Method, and techniques taught by Jiang Ming. His body is gradually approaching the Quasi-Immortal Emperor level, making his advancement to the Emperor-Light Immortal King realm almost inevitable.
• The war across the Perfect World setting intensifies. Jiang Ming’s companions from the Tomb of Gods World actively fight in the Boundary Sea and against the Dark Calamity, showing exceptional courage.
• Jiang Ming’s daughter, Jiang Wan’er, personally blocks the advance of the Dark Immortal Kings and kills every Immortal King who challenges her.
• Shi Hao visits the Immortal Domain and resolves the Longevity Calamity, defeating a fused monster created from former Immortal King Colossi and Peak Immortal Kings who consumed one another to survive.
• Jiang Ming considers the four Dark Quasi-Immortal Emperors to be trials for Shi Hao, Chen Nan, Dugu Baitian, and Chen Zhan. He deliberately refrains from intervening so they can develop enough strength to face the greater threat.
• The chapter recounts the Golden Crow Heavenly Emperor’s destruction at the hands of the Cang Emperor, which severely weakened the Immortal Domain. It also explains the tragic histories of Butcher and Di Yao, whose families were destroyed and whose lives were redirected by these ancient calamities.
• After another three hundred thousand years, Shi Hao, Chen Nan, Dugu Baitian, and Chen Zhan all become Quasi-Immortal Emperors. Jiang Ming’s women remain at the Emperor-Light Immortal King level, while Willow God approaches a breakthrough.
• The four new Quasi-Immortal Emperors travel to the Boundary Sea Dam, where they discover a footprint left by one of Jiang Ming’s avatars. They wonder whether the mysterious “Footprint Emperor” is actually Jiang Ming.
• Shi Hao is particularly troubled because he believes Jiang Ming and Willow God may have entered the Dark Depths. He has come seeking his master and Willow God, carrying both concern and accumulated killing intent.
• Chen Nan enters the Dark Depths first, eager to discover the mastermind behind the world and the source of the Weird Substance.
• While the four leaders are away, some Boundary Sea Immortal King Colossi attempt to attack the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. They are quickly annihilated by stronger Immortal King Colossi, Jiang Ming’s allies, and mysterious supporting experts.
• Beyond the Boundary Sea Dam lies a vast, dead realm consumed by darkness and hostile laws. It is the domain of beings comparable to Immortal Emperors and the dwelling place of the Dark Quasi-Immortal Emperors.
• Jiang Ming remains hidden and observes events while continuing his research. He has perfected the Shrouding Method to the Great Dao level and seeks to comprehend the Sacrificial Dao so he can merge the Tomb of Gods Method into his Great Freedom Dao Scripture.

Character Developments

• Shi Hao: Evolves from an exceptionally powerful Immortal King into a Quasi-Immortal Emperor. His strength, body, and combat experience have all advanced dramatically, but his concern for Jiang Ming and Willow God reveals a more emotional and vulnerable side.
• Jiang Ming: Becomes increasingly detached from ordinary battles, viewing the conflict between Immortal Kings as insignificant. He acts as a hidden guide and deliberately withholds information from Shi Hao to motivate his growth.
• Willow God: Nears a major transformation and breakthrough. She recognizes Jiang Ming’s manipulation of Shi Hao and reproaches him for intentionally making his disciple worry.
• Chen Nan: Displays impatience and initiative by entering the Dark Depths before the others, determined to uncover the ultimate enemy.
• Dugu Baitian: Attempts to analyze Jiang Ming’s footprint but cannot see through its past or future, reinforcing Jiang Ming’s mysterious status. He remains conflicted about Jiang Ming’s relationship with his daughters.
• Chen Zhan: Joins the group of four Quasi-Immortal Emperors entering the Dark Depths.
• Jiang Wan’er: Demonstrates overwhelming combat ability by single-handedly stopping the Dark Immortal Kings.
• Butcher and Di Yao: Their backstories reveal how ancient destruction shaped their paths—Butcher chose an invincible road of cultivation, while Di Yao was taken away by a fallen World Tree offshoot.

Significant Themes

• Destiny versus change: Although many tragedies seem predetermined, Jiang Ming realizes that fate is not absolute and that certain outcomes can still be altered.
• Growth through pressure and suffering: Jiang Ming deliberately allows Shi Hao and the others to face overwhelming trials, believing that danger and uncertainty are necessary for them to reach the Quasi-Immortal Emperor realm.
• The cost of war: Generations of destruction have reshaped entire realms, weakened civilizations, and redirected the lives of powerful figures.
• Hidden power and mystery: Jiang Ming’s true movements and identity as the Footprint Emperor remain uncertain, while the Dark Depths conceal enemies far beyond ordinary Immortal Kings.
• Corruption and transformation: The Weird Substance erodes the nature of living beings, but resisting it can refine and transform their origins.
• Legacy and surpassing predecessors: Shi Hao’s rise beyond expectations, even surpassing figures connected to him, demonstrates the emergence of a new generation of supreme experts.

Important Character Interactions

• Dugu Baitian, Chen Nan, Shi Hao, and Chen Zhan discuss the mysterious footprint and Jiang Ming’s possible identity as the Footprint Emperor.
• Shi Hao searches for Jiang Ming and Willow God, revealing his dependence on and concern for his master and former companions.
• Willow God criticizes Jiang Ming for intentionally hiding from Shi Hao and using his anxiety as motivation.
• Jiang Ming explains that Shi Hao needs pressure to unlock his full potential.
• Chen Nan’s decision to enter the Dark Depths sets the group’s investigation into motion.
• Dugu Baitian’s conflicted feelings toward Jiang Ming reflect both respect for his strength and resentment over Jiang Ming’s relationships with his daughters.

Chapter Summary: “Dark Weirdness’s Origin”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Shi Hao, Chen Nan, Chen Zhan, and Dugu Baitian enter the Dark Depths beyond the Boundary Sea Dam and encounter Cang Emperor, confirming that Quasi-Immortal Emperors exist within the darkness.
• They discover that the Dark Depths were once an enormous central world, now reduced to a dead wasteland by the four Dark Quasi-Immortal Emperors: Cang Emperor, Hong Emperor, Feather Emperor, and the World-Destroying Old Man.
• Recognizing that these beings threaten the survival of the entire world, the four protagonists immediately begin battle:
  • Shi Hao fights Cang Emperor.
  • Chen Nan and Chen Zhan fight Hong Emperor and Feather Emperor.
  • Dugu Baitian battles the World-Destroying Old Man.
• Jiang Ming observes and livestreams the conflict for his companions, using the battle to teach them about the Quasi-Immortal Emperor realm and help them prepare for their own breakthroughs.
• The battle lasts thousands of years. During it, several powerful cultivators break through:
  • Willow God becomes a Quasi-Immortal Emperor.
  • Mysterious Maiden King follows soon afterward.
  • Other cultivators, including Shepherd King and Ghost Immortal King, show strong potential to advance.
• The Dark Quasi-Immortal Emperors attempt to interfere with the River of Time and hunt Shi Hao across history. This provokes the intervention of Ye Fan, the Ruthless Empress, Wushi Emperor, Jiang Tingting, and Azure Emperor, who confront and defeat the interfering ancient powers.
• After another ten thousand years of battle, Shi Hao kills Cang Emperor. With his assistance, the remaining Dark Quasi-Immortal Emperors are eliminated.
• Despite their deaths, the Dark Origin remains, proving that the four emperors were not the true source of the darkness.
• Shi Hao senses the possible presence of Willow God and his master. Willow God then emerges from Jiang Ming’s Inner Heaven and Earth, confirming that she and her master are safe and revealing her newly perfected Dao.

Character Developments

• Shi Hao grows stronger throughout the battle, refining his techniques through combat. His increasing power allows him to defeat Cang Emperor and help destroy the other dark emperors.
• Chen Nan, Chen Zhan, and Dugu Baitian demonstrate their determination to protect the world, treating the Dark Quasi-Immortal Emperors as existential threats comparable to the corrupted Heavenly Dao of their former world.
• Willow God successfully reaches the Quasi-Immortal Emperor realm. Her Dao of Life and Death merges with Jiang Ming’s teachings on Creation, allowing her to form a powerful new Dao Fruit.
• Mysterious Maiden King also breaks through after realizing that her cultivation foundation was already sufficient and that she only needed enlightenment.
• Jiang Tingting reaches the Quasi-Immortal Emperor realm after her mother’s return restores and perfects her Dao heart.
• Azure Emperor advances through his own persistence and ability, becoming another Quasi-Immortal Emperor.
• Jiang Wan’er, once withdrawn, becomes more cheerful after her experiences and personal growth. She also reaches a level where she can safely enter the Dark Depths.
• Jiang Ming remains vastly above the battlefield’s combatants. He acts as teacher, protector, and strategist, guiding his companions while effortlessly understanding the deeper principles behind the battle.

Significant Themes

• The destruction caused by unchecked power: The Dark Depths reveal how the four Dark Quasi-Immortal Emperors transformed a once-vast world into a lifeless ruin.
• Growth through struggle: The protagonists use the prolonged battle not only to defeat their enemies but also to refine their Dao and advance their cultivation.
• The danger of interfering with history: Attempts to cross the River of Time carry enormous karmic consequences and threaten the stability of the natural order.
• The difference between symptoms and true causes: Killing the four dark emperors does not eliminate the Dark Origin, emphasizing that the visible villains were only manifestations or servants of a deeper evil.
• Mentorship and inheritance: Jiang Ming’s guidance helps the next generation achieve breakthroughs, while Willow God’s new Dao reflects the combination of her own understanding and Jiang Ming’s teachings.
• Family and protection: The chapter highlights Jiang Ming’s bonds with his wives, daughter, and extended family, as well as the collective effort to safeguard the world and its future.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming watches the battle with his companions and explains the combatants’ Dao techniques, directly aiding their cultivation.
• The four protagonists coordinate indirectly through their separate duels, united by their shared goal of destroying the Dark Quasi-Immortal Emperors.
• Ye Fan, the Ruthless Empress, Wushi Emperor, Jiang Tingting, and Azure Emperor join forces across the River of Time to stop the ancient powers from interfering.
• Jiang Ming affectionately reassures Jiang Wan’er and encourages her to explore the battlefield, showing his supportive relationship with his daughter.
• Shi Hao anxiously searches for Willow God and his master after the battle. Willow God reassures him after emerging from Jiang Ming’s Inner Heaven and Earth, creating an emotional reunion and confirming her successful transformation.

Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• With time passing, Shi Hao is in a much better position than in the original timeline because he has reliable comrades, including Willow God and Jiang Ming. Knowing they are safe gives him comfort.
• The confrontation with the Corpse Immortal Emperor is presented as a major opportunity for Shi Hao, Chen Nan, Chen Zhan, and Dugu Baitian. They may be able to use the mysteries of the Dark Depths to break through to the Immortal Emperor realm.
• Jiang Ming reflects on the terrifying power of Immortal Emperors and the deeper source of the Strange and Ominous. He recalls the Sick One at the Plateau’s End, the first being in the Red-Haired Monster World to reach the mysterious Beyond Sacrificial Dao realm.
• Jiang Ming decides that he should not investigate his former identities and memories until he reaches Beyond Sacrificial Dao, since doing so could trigger deadly consequences.
• After touching the dark blood that contaminated the Corpse Immortal Emperor, Jiang Ming senses an unexplained connection or danger. His suppressed Heavenly Lone Star and Jinx Star Fate Patterns evolve from seven-star to eight-star, making them powerful enough to potentially curse Immortal Emperors or Daluo Golden Immortals.
• Although his nine-star Merit Golden Lotus and cultivation can suppress the Fate Patterns, Jiang Ming realizes that he must personally resolve the source of the problem: “the one who tied the knot must be the one to untie it.”
• Jiang Ming begins studying the Strange and Ominous power directly from the Corpse Immortal Emperor’s remains, hoping its Sacrificial Dao-level properties may aid his cultivation and help him overcome his Fate Patterns.
• The group examines the Corpse Immortal Emperor, whose ruined body is the apparent origin of the Dark Matter. His enormous corpse is decayed, blackened, incomplete, and surrounded by terrifying dark mist.
• The corpse is bound to a stone chair by an Immortal Emperor-grade divine chain forged from Immortal Metal. The chair appears to be a World Stone refined into an Emperor Throne, both objects having been corrupted by Dark Matter while still suppressing the corpse.
• Everyone begins using secret techniques to investigate the Corpse Immortal Emperor’s past.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming becomes increasingly cautious and self-aware. He recognizes that his past identities and the Strange Ominous power conceal dangers beyond his current understanding. Rather than recklessly pursuing answers, he chooses to strengthen himself and study the power carefully.
• Shi Hao has matured into a dependable disciple and companion. He remains concerned for Jiang Ming’s safety but accepts his warnings seriously and commits to guarding his own mind.
• Chen Nan, Chen Zhan, and Dugu Baitian recognize the terrifying depth of the world and the risks of copying the Corpse Immortal Emperor’s path. Chen Nan responds casually but confidently, Chen Zhan shows respect, while Dugu Baitian retains his hostile, irritated attitude toward Jiang Ming despite being unable to defeat him.
• Willow God, the Mysterious Maiden Emperor, Emperor Mu, and the Ghost Immortal Emperor are treated by Jiang Ming as powerful partners rather than people who need protection. Nevertheless, he plants Sacrificial Dao-level Purifying World White Lotus sparks in their origins to shield them from contamination.

Significant Themes

• Power and corruption: The Corpse Immortal Emperor demonstrates that even beings above the Heavenly Dao Rank can be destroyed and transformed by the Strange and Ominous.
• The danger of imitation: Jiang Ming warns that imitating the Corpse Immortal Emperor’s apparently perfect Dao can cause cultivators to lose themselves, as happened to the four Dark Quasi-Immortal Emperors.
• Self-determination and fate: Jiang Ming’s worsening Fate Patterns reinforce the idea that he must solve the consequences of his own past and choices rather than rely on external aid.
• Hidden depths of the world: The Corpse Immortal Emperor’s condition reveals that the Dark Depths, Dark Matter, and the Strange Ominous are far more profound and dangerous than previously believed.
• Restraint versus ambition: The characters are offered a possible route to Immortal Emperor-level advancement, but success requires resisting the temptation to follow a corrupted path.

Character Interactions

• Shi Hao openly worries about Jiang Ming’s decision to study the contaminated corpse.
• Jiang Ming reassures the group while warning Shi Hao and the others not to imitate the Corpse Immortal Emperor’s Dao.
• Chen Nan, Chen Zhan, and Dugu Baitian acknowledge Jiang Ming’s warning, with Dugu Baitian maintaining his familiar resentment toward his son-in-law.
• Jiang Ming protects his female companions by placing purifying lotus sparks within their origins.
• The entire group collectively investigates the Corpse Immortal Emperor, united by curiosity and the possibility of finding a path to the Immortal Emperor realm, while remaining wary of the corpse’s overwhelming corruption.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming sits on the imperial throne and effortlessly suppresses the Corpse Immortal Emperor, leaving Shi Hao and the others uncertain of his intentions.
• Shi Hao retrieves the rotten wooden chest once sought by An Lan and Yu Tuo, sensing that it is connected to the current situation.
• The chest’s seal breaks, releasing a severely damaged Immortal Emperor Primordial Spirit. Jiang Ming identifies it as a lost part of the Corpse Immortal Emperor and takes possession of it rather than destroying it.
• The group discovers that the Corpse Immortal Emperor is the true source of the Strange and Ominous pollution. His breathing absorbs pure essence from the Boundary Sea and surrounding realms, then releases Dark Matter.
• Jiang Ming refines the Boundary Sea Dam into a Sacrificial Dao-grade treasure, cutting off the Dark Continent from the other worlds. His Purifying World White Lotus begins cleansing the Strange and Ominous power.
• Jiang Ming spends thousands of years studying the Strange and Ominous, hoping to understand and control the ominous Fate Pattern within himself, which could bring death to everyone connected to him.
• After eighty thousand years, the Corpse Immortal Emperor awakens and angrily confronts Jiang Ming after effectively being forced into a kneeling position beside the throne.
• Jiang Ming reveals the Corpse Immortal Emperor’s history: he was once a brilliant Immortal Emperor who was ambushed upon breaking through, contaminated by a Strange Source Blood, and forced to dismember himself and seal away his pure Primordial Spirit.
• Jiang Ming removes the contaminating black blood from him with ease. He orders the Corpse Immortal Emperor to serve as a sparring partner for his companions and promises to restore his body after they reach the Immortal Emperor realm.
• Jiang Ming begins studying the extracted blood while recovering fragmented memories suggesting that he once reached a realm beyond Sacrificial Dao and may have faced an unavoidable death that threatened all living beings.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming is established as vastly superior to the Corpse Immortal Emperor. He acts with calm authority, protects and guides his companions, and seeks to understand the Strange and Ominous because of the danger posed by his own Fate Pattern.
• Shi Hao remains observant and curious, connecting the rotten wooden chest to the larger mystery and continuing to rely on Jiang Ming’s judgment.
• The Corpse Immortal Emperor shifts from an apparently dead source of pollution to a conscious, proud, but powerless survivor. His anger and humiliation give way to shock when Jiang Ming removes the contamination that ruined him.
• The damaged Primordial Spirit in the chest is revealed to be a surviving pure fragment of the Corpse Immortal Emperor, though it has lost most of its memories and identity.
• Jiang Ming’s companions gain valuable cultivation time in a purified environment and are expected to grow through combat with the Corpse Immortal Emperor.

Significant Themes

• Power and submission: The Corpse Immortal Emperor’s forced kneeling emphasizes the enormous gap between him and Jiang Ming, while Jiang Ming frames submission as acceptable when it leads to redemption.
• Pollution and purification: The Strange and Ominous are traced to a specific source, and Jiang Ming’s White Lotus symbolizes the restoration of order and purity.
• Redemption and atonement: Although the Corpse Immortal Emperor caused immense destruction unintentionally, Jiang Ming chooses to cleanse him and make him pay for his actions through service rather than annihilation.
• Hidden origins and fragmented memory: The chest, the sealed Primordial Spirit, and Jiang Ming’s resurfacing memories suggest that the true history of the Immortal Emperor and Jiang Ming is far more complicated than currently known.
• The danger of fate: Jiang Ming fears that his own ominous Fate Pattern may make him a future catastrophe even greater than the Strange and Ominous.

Character Interactions

• Shi Hao questions Jiang Ming about the chest and the Corpse Immortal Emperor’s origins, but Jiang Ming withholds the full truth until Shi Hao reaches the Immortal Emperor realm.
• Jiang Ming dominates the Corpse Immortal Emperor physically and verbally, criticizing him as a crippled emperor while offering him a path to recovery.
• The Corpse Immortal Emperor reacts with fury to his humiliation but is ultimately silenced by Jiang Ming’s overwhelming power and miraculous removal of the Strange Source Blood.
• Jiang Ming’s relationship with his companions is protective and instructive: he creates a safe cultivation environment, provides them with a powerful sparring opponent, and intends to restore the Corpse Immortal Emperor once they are strong enough.