Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: Nine Secrets: Bing and Eight Deities Savage Force

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming watches his daughter Tingting enter secluded cultivation and accepts that, as cultivators, they must spend increasing amounts of time apart. He resolves to continue adventuring and growing stronger so he can protect her.
• Before leaving, Jiang Ming gives Elder Jiang Yun five drops of Thunder Tribulation Liquid, an extremely rare treasure. Jiang Yun is reassured that Jiang Ming, Tingting, and the family will remain connected despite Jiang Ming’s future travels.
• Jiang Ming plans to send a Dao Palace Totem Deity carrying Immortal Brew to an isolated Saint King in the Central Plains. He hopes to preserve this powerful Human Race expert, who could eventually help resist the rising Primordial Royal Clans.
• Jiang Ming reflects on Ye Fan and Gu Qingyao, both of whom have been absent for some time, though he remains focused primarily on cultivation.
• His recent seclusion has greatly improved his strength: his Dao Palace Deities have become more powerful, his true body can enter the Eight Forbidden Domain, his divine sense approaches the level of early Great Abilities, and his physical body is extraordinarily tough.
• He acknowledges, however, that physical strength alone cannot match a Great Ability’s vast mana and ability to refine powerful materials. Only by using his Third-Transformation and Demon God Transformation can he briefly reach true Great Ability-level combat power.
• Jiang Ming intends to reunite with Ye Fan and explore Purple Mountain in hopes of rescuing God-King Jiang Taixu, though he recognizes that such a rescue would normally require the combined strength of several peak forces and multiple Emperor Armaments.
• During his preparation, Jiang Ming cultivates the Hengyu Scripture’s weapon-controlling secret art, Eight Deities Savage Force, which is derived from the Nine Secret: Bing.
• He practices with eighteen formation flags refined from rare materials, including Profound Yellow Mother Qi. The flags create a powerful demonic domain capable of crushing the Void.
• After a month of cultivation, Jiang Ming successfully comprehends the secret art. He reduces the number of flags to eight and travels rapidly toward a battle occurring near the Yaoguang Sacred Land’s mining area.
• The chapter ends as the Yaoguang Holy Lord confronts the Peacock King, who has joined forces with several of the Northern Region’s Thirteen Bandits to attack the Yaoguang Sacred Land’s Fifteenth Mining Area. The conflict was triggered by the appearance of an ominous object, an Azure Gold Pagoda, and a mysterious old woman who had already taken it away.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Becomes increasingly powerful and strategically minded. He balances concern for his daughter and the Human Race with a disciplined commitment to cultivation. His mastery of Eight Deities Savage Force expands his arsenal and demonstrates his ability to combine techniques from different traditions.
• Tingting: Begins her own secluded cultivation, marking her progression from Jiang Ming’s dependent daughter toward an independent cultivator.
• Elder Jiang Yun: Gains greater confidence in the Jiang Family’s future because of Jiang Ming’s continued connection to the family and his generous gift of Thunder Tribulation Liquid.
• Ye Fan and Gu Qingyao: Remain offstage but continue to influence Jiang Ming’s plans. Ye Fan is expected to return for the expedition to Purple Mountain, while Gu Qingyao’s disappearance is connected to the wider mystery surrounding the extraterrestrial or unusual treasures.
• Peacock King: Appears bold and defiant, openly challenging the Yaoguang Sacred Land despite the danger.
• Yaoguang Holy Lord: Is presented as a powerful and imposing defender of his sacred land, using Primal Chaos Light and a technique that grants immunity to myriad laws.

Significant Themes

• Family and separation: Cultivation grants power but forces Jiang Ming and Tingting into separate paths and periods of seclusion.
• Strength and responsibility: Jiang Ming seeks power not for ambition alone but to protect his family and preserve the Human Race against future threats.
• Legacy and innovation: Great Emperors create their own techniques rather than relying solely on inherited methods. Jiang Ming similarly combines ancient secret arts with insights from his previous life and other sword and weapon-controlling techniques.
• Preparation against catastrophe: The plans to save the Saint King and rescue Jiang Taixu show the importance of preparing allies before major historical upheavals occur.
• Competing cultivation philosophies: Eight Deities Savage Force emphasizes overwhelming control of weapons and the power of heavenly and stellar symbols, while Azure Emperor’s “Plunder” counters Nine Secret: Bing by forcibly seizing an opponent’s weapons.
• Mystery and fate: Strange treasures, primordial creatures, extraterrestrial artifacts, and intersecting destinies hint that larger forces are shaping events beyond Jiang Ming’s immediate knowledge.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Tingting share a quiet but emotionally significant farewell as she begins secluded cultivation.
• Jiang Ming and Elder Jiang Yun discuss the family’s future, with Jiang Ming’s gift of Thunder Tribulation Liquid strengthening their relationship.
• Jiang Ming reflects on his connections with Ye Fan and Gu Qingyao, anticipating future cooperation while remaining wary of complicated fates and relationships.
• Jiang Ming exchanges secret arts and cultivation insights with Yan Ruyu, creating a mutually beneficial relationship.
• The final interaction is an open confrontation between the Yaoguang Holy Lord and Peacock King. Their exchange reveals deep hostility: the Holy Lord accuses Peacock King of provoking a war, while Peacock King rejects negotiation and insists on fighting directly.

Chapter Summary: “Ye Fan’s Reputation and Persona Collapsed”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Fourth Bandit, Azure Flood Dragon King, and Seventh Bandit, Tu Tian, join the Peacock King in attacking the Yaoguang Sacred Land, targeting the Yaoguang Holy Lord. The resulting chaos leaves the nearby Source mine vault temporarily undefended.
• Jiang Ming sneaks into the vault using Earth Escape while transformed into the God-Beating Stone. He finds only a few dozen pounds of Source and considers the amount disappointingly small, though he gives it to Ye Fan when they meet.
• Ye Fan arrives injured and disguised. He collects the Source with his Jade Purifying Vase, seeing it as vital to his future cultivation and advancement into the Dao Palace Secret Realm.
• Tu Fei, a younger-generation cultivator of the Thirteen Bandits, enters the vault. He initially offers to share the Source, but Jiang Ming and Ye Fan quickly establish a friendly relationship with him.
• Tu Fei detects the Yaoguang Sacred Maiden’s scent on Ye Fan and loudly assumes that Ye Fan has become involved with her. Jiang Ming teases Ye Fan about accumulating romantic entanglements with the Yaoguang Sacred Maiden, Ji Ziyue, and possibly others.
• Tu Fei recognizes Jiang Ming, whose reputation includes relationships—or rumored relationships—with powerful women such as Yan Ruyu and the Yaochi Sacred Maiden. He admires Jiang Ming as a model for his own dream of winning a Sacred Maiden.
• As the fighting outside approaches, Jiang Ming disguises himself as Jiang Yichen to avoid being identified while stealing from the mine and to create trouble for the arrogant Jiang Yichen.
• The three leave the vault and encounter Yao Xi, the Yaoguang Sacred Maiden, fighting several bandits. Tu Fei provokes her by announcing that her “old lover” has arrived.
• Ye Fan hurriedly hides the Yaoguang Sacred Maiden’s bellyband inside the Jade Purifying Vase and suppresses it in his Sea of Bitterness, fearing that Jiang Ming and Tu Fei will conclude that he is a shameless womanizer.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Demonstrates his opportunistic and calculating nature by exploiting the battlefield chaos to raid the Source vault. He remains confident, mischievous, and protective of Ye Fan, though he also enjoys mocking Ye Fan’s romantic troubles. His transformation technique highlights his growing mastery of concealment and deception.
• Ye Fan: Continues recovering from severe injuries while disguising his identity. He gains desperately needed cultivation resources but becomes increasingly embarrassed by the evidence surrounding his relationships with women. His concern over his reputation contrasts with his otherwise determined and resourceful behavior.
• Tu Fei: Is introduced as outspoken, naive, and lustful, with an ambition to steal a Sacred Land’s Sacred Maiden and continue his grandfather’s unrealized dream. His heightened sense of smell exposes Ye Fan’s connection to Yao Xi. After learning Jiang Ming’s identity, he becomes highly admiring of him.
• Yao Xi: Appears as a powerful and graceful fighter, capable of battling multiple high-level opponents. Her arrival intensifies the danger and threatens to expose Ye Fan’s secret connection to her.
• Jiang Huairen and Jiang Yichen: Jiang Huairen is mentioned as someone who admires or frequently discusses Jiang Ming, while Jiang Yichen is positioned as the target of Jiang Ming’s planned mischief.

Significant Themes

• Reputation versus reality: Ye Fan’s heroic identity is threatened by rumors and physical evidence suggesting he has relationships with several women.
• Opportunism amid conflict: Jiang Ming uses the large-scale battle as cover to obtain resources, showing how disorder creates opportunities for clever cultivators.
• Cultivation and material resources: Source is essential for advancing cultivation, especially for Jiang Ming’s Heavenly Tyrant Body and Ye Fan’s progress toward the Dao Palace Realm.
• Disguise and identity: Both Jiang Ming and Ye Fan rely on altered appearances and concealment, emphasizing the dangers of recognition in the hostile cultivation world.
• Comedy amid danger: Serious battles and factional conflicts are repeatedly undercut by misunderstandings, romantic teasing, and Tu Fei’s blunt comments.
• Ambition and imitation: Tu Fei’s admiration for Jiang Ming reflects the way powerful figures become models for younger cultivators, even when their reputations are based on scandalous or exaggerated stories.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Ye Fan reunite as brothers, with Jiang Ming teasing Ye Fan’s battered appearance while generously giving him the Source.
• Ye Fan and Tu Fei quickly develop a cooperative relationship, with Ye Fan explaining Tu Fei’s embarrassing misuse of an idiom and offering him some Source.
• Jiang Ming mocks Ye Fan for his romantic entanglements and warns him not to avoid responsibility, while Ye Fan silently worries that his public image will collapse.
• Tu Fei’s admiration shifts from Ye Fan to Jiang Ming after discovering Jiang Ming’s reputation with famous women.
• Tu Fei publicly links Ye Fan to Yao Xi, provoking her attention and creating the immediate threat of exposure just as the group leaves the Source vault.

Chapter Summary: Heaven-Swallowing Devil Jar

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ye Fan obtains Yao Xi’s white Spirit Silkworm-silk camisole from the Yaoguang Sacred Land’s warehouse. Tu Fei reacts with envy and loudly reveals the theft, prompting Ye Fan to flee using the incomplete Xing Secret.
• Tu Fei deliberately taunts Yao Xi by describing the stolen garment and implying that Ye Fan is her former lover. Furious, Yao Xi attacks him with her jade bell, a powerful Spirit-Communicating Treasure refined from Jade King.
• The bell’s sound waves devastate the battlefield, killing or injuring surrounding cultivators and shattering their weapons. Tu Fei counters with a gray earthen jar—an imitation of the Heaven-Swallowing Devil Jar—which absorbs the sound waves and twists the surrounding Void.
• Yao Xi questions Tu Fei about his connection to Tu Tian, the Seventh Bandit. Tu Fei proudly announces his identity and jokes that he intends to marry a Sacred Maiden so that Tu Tian will pass the Heaven-Swallowing Devil Jar to him.
• Yao Xi launches a powerful divine-consciousness attack through the Lunar Palace hidden between her brows. The weapon is revealed to be a Quasi-Emperor Armament and one of her greatest secrets.
• Jiang Ming observes Yao Xi’s Lunar Palace and speculates that it may be connected to Fairy Chang’e and her Moon Palace inheritance. He also reflects on the legendary figures Hou Yi and the Golden Crow Emperor.
• Jiang Ming tests the Eight Deities Savage Force, a secret technique inherited from the Hengyu Scripture. He immobilizes Yao Xi, seizes her jade bell, erases her spiritual imprint, and escapes using Shrinking the Earth to an Inch.
• Yao Xi identifies Jiang Ming as likely being a direct descendant of the Jiang Family because of his mastery of the Hengyu technique.
• Tu Fei continues provoking Yao Xi and exposes Ye Fan’s location, but the arrival of the Jiang Family’s official forces interrupts the confrontation.
• Tu Tian, the Azure Flood Dragon King, and the Peacock King activate what appears to be the genuine Heaven-Swallowing Devil Jar. It effortlessly swallows Yaoguang’s weapons, including a Dragon-Patterned Black Gold Cauldron replica.
• Jiang Ming becomes interested in obtaining both the Heaven-Swallowing Devil Jar and the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Canopy, which together form a complete Emperor Armament and may help suppress his Heavenly Lone Star Fate Pattern.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming becomes more confident in his abilities. He successfully uses the Eight Deities Savage Force for the first time in battle, defeats Yao Xi without a prolonged fight, and acquires her jade bell. His ambitions also expand toward obtaining the Heaven-Swallowing Devil Jar and Demon Canopy.
• Yao Xi reveals her formidable divine consciousness and the hidden Lunar Palace, demonstrating that her strength greatly exceeds her apparent cultivation. Her anger at Tu Fei’s insults is balanced by her caution and political intelligence, as she tries to discredit the bandits’ rumors before the watching cultivators.
• Tu Fei is established as shameless, provocative, and reckless, but also courageous and protected by his status as Tu Tian’s descendant. His boastful dream of marrying a Sacred Maiden highlights both his ambition and his comic audacity.
• Ye Fan remains elusive and resourceful, immediately fleeing after his involvement is exposed. Jiang Ming regards him as a person of extraordinary fortune and a valuable safeguard for future plans involving Purple Mountain.
• Tu Tian is presented as a powerful bandit leader possessing the genuine Heaven-Swallowing Devil Jar, confirming his formidable status and connection to the Ruthless Empress’s legacy.

Significant Themes

• The power and danger of reputation: Tu Fei’s gossip turns a private theft into a public humiliation and forces Yao Xi to respond violently.
• Hidden inheritances and karmic connections: Yao Xi’s Lunar Palace, Tu Tian’s Devil Jar, and the possible connection to Fairy Chang’e and the Ruthless Empress show how ancient treasures link present conflicts to powerful historical figures.
• Treasure as destiny and political power: Spirit-Communicating Treasures and Emperor Armaments determine the balance of power, while characters repeatedly seek weapons that can secure their future.
• Cunning versus brute force: Jiang Ming wins through timing, secret techniques, and observation, while Tu Fei relies on provocation and Tu Tian’s group overwhelms opponents with superior artifacts.
• Karma and fate: Jiang Ming’s concern over his Heavenly Lone Star Fate Pattern and the Devil Jar’s association with the Ruthless Empress reinforce the importance of destiny, inheritance, and karmic consequences.

Character Interactions

• Tu Fei and Ye Fan: Tu Fei exposes Ye Fan’s possession of Yao Xi’s camisole, forcing Ye Fan to flee.
• Tu Fei and Yao Xi: Their exchange is openly antagonistic and mocking. Tu Fei repeatedly insults Yao Xi, while she attempts to kill him and silence the rumors.
• Jiang Ming and Yao Xi: Jiang Ming studies her hidden weapon, tests his technique against her, steals her jade bell, and escapes. Yao Xi recognizes him as a likely Jiang Family descendant.
• Tu Fei and Jiang Ming: Jiang Ming’s intervention leaves Tu Fei to continue taunting Yao Xi, while Tu Fei’s actions help create the chaos that allows Jiang Ming to act.
• Tu Tian and the Yaoguang Sacred Land: Tu Tian and the other bandit kings openly challenge Yaoguang’s forces, using the genuine Devil Jar to destroy their strongest weapons before withdrawing at the Jiang Family’s arrival.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Yaoguang Sacred Land fails to stop them, the Thirteen Bandits retreat under the protection of the Heaven-Swallowing Devil Jar. Jiang Ming withdraws as well, satisfied that Yan Ruyu is safe.
• Yan Ruyu is protected by the Azure Flood Dragon King, Peacock King, Crow Daoist, and Jin Ling. With the resources Jiang Ming left her, she can continue cultivating toward the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm and eventually the Azure Lotus Saint Body.
• Jiang Ming reunites with Ye Fan and agrees to help him obtain the Dao Palace chapter of the Dao Scripture. Their destination is Purple Mountain, which Jiang Ming claims is connected to an ancestor of his lineage and is secretly the Dao field of the Wushi Emperor.
• While Ye Fan prepares himself for future cultivation, Jiang Ming investigates Purple Mountain, gathers buried Source, and later enters seclusion to refine the many techniques he has recently obtained.
• Jiang Ming focuses particularly on the Hengyu Scripture and the Demon Emperor’s Nine Slashes, recognizing that the Seventy-Two Transformations are versatile but cannot fully reproduce the power of the abilities they imitate.
• The chapter then analyzes the Azure Emperor’s Nine Slashes, explaining how each technique counters one of the Nine Secrets.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming becomes increasingly confident in his role as Ye Fan’s guide and protector. He uses his mysterious reputation and knowledge to influence Ye Fan, while secretly pursuing his own cultivation goals.
• Jiang Ming’s strength is shown to come not only from his powerful physique and inherited abilities, but also from his growing collection of Emperor-level techniques.
• Despite his confidence, Jiang Ming feels guilty about approaching Yan Ruyu partly for strategic reasons. His self-deprecating thoughts reveal a humorous awareness of his own questionable motives.
• Ye Fan continues to grow more mature and cautious. He understands the value of the Dao Scripture and willingly follows Jiang Ming’s arrangements, trusting him despite the dangers surrounding Purple Mountain.
• Ye Fan is also portrayed humorously as being caught in complicated relationships with Ji Ziyue, the Yaoguang Sacred Maiden, and Qin Yao, while insisting that he was often provoked rather than the aggressor.
• Yan Ruyu has reached a level of combat strength comparable to Ji Haoyue and is now capable of defeating powerful opponents such as the Golden-Winged Little Roc King.
• The Azure Emperor is characterized as an overwhelmingly domineering and direct figure whose techniques counter opponents by brutally attacking the core of their abilities.

Significant Themes

• Power and preparation: True strength requires more than raw talent; Jiang Ming seeks to consolidate his techniques and prepare for future realms rather than relying solely on temporary advantages.
• Trust and mentorship: Ye Fan’s willingness to follow Jiang Ming demonstrates the trust developing between them, while Jiang Ming assumes the role of guide, strategist, and older-brother figure.
• Dominance versus adaptation: The Azure Emperor’s techniques embody an uncompromising philosophy—rather than competing with an opponent’s strength, they directly destroy or suppress it.
• The burden of ambition: Ye Fan seeks an Emperor Scripture despite not yet being fully established in his current realm, while Jiang Ming recognizes both the value and danger of reaching too far too quickly.
• Humor and self-awareness: Jiang Ming’s commentary about being a “good man” and his guilt over Yan Ruyu’s role balance the chapter’s serious cultivation and political conflicts.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Ye Fan: Their relationship combines mentorship, mutual trust, teasing, and strategic cooperation. Jiang Ming gives Ye Fan direction while concealing some of his own motives.
• Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu: Though separated, Jiang Ming remains concerned about her safety and future advancement. His reluctance to ask her directly for the Azure Emperor’s Dragon-Fighting Art reflects both affection and guilt.
• Yan Ruyu and her protectors: The Azure Flood Dragon King and the other bandits provide her with formidable protection, ensuring that outside enemies cannot easily interfere with her cultivation.
• Jiang Ming and the Azure Emperor’s legacy: Jiang Ming studies the Azure Emperor’s arts as a way to develop a complementary combat style, combining divine-consciousness attacks through the Nine Slashes with physical attacks through the Dragon-Fighting Art.

Azure Emperor’s Nine Slashes

The chapter explains that the techniques are designed to counter the Nine Secrets:

• Soul Wound counters the divine-consciousness and spiritual defenses associated with Qian.
• Form Annihilation destroys the physical body, countering Zhe’s supreme healing abilities.
• Plunder seizes weapons or controlled objects from users of Bing.
• Dao Transformation attacks the body directly, suppressing the combat power of Dou.
• Tribulation Punishment unleashes area-wide heavenly tribulation against multiple incarnations created by Shu.
• Formation Breaker destroys formations and Dao Patterns, countering Zu.
• Destiny traps opponents in cycles of fate and reincarnation, opposing Xing’s speed and time-related abilities.
• Immortal-Slaying challenges even those who enter the Divine Forbidden Realm through Lin.
• The chapter emphasizes that these arts reflect the Azure Emperor’s arrogant, forceful, and highly destructive combat philosophy.

Chapter Summary: “Hengyu Secret Art”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming compares several supreme techniques:
  • Nine Secrets: Jie grants a tenfold increase in attributes and combat strength without drawbacks and may allow early insight into the Divine Forbidden Realm.
  • Azure Emperor’s Nine Slashes—Ban Severance can forcibly knock an opponent out of the Jie state. Their relative strength depends largely on the cultivator using them.
• With Yan Ruyu’s understanding of the Azure Emperor’s Nine Slashes, Jiang Ming improves his own mastery of the technique.
• Jiang Ming begins cultivating the secret arts of the Hengyu Scripture, whose central principle is refining the human body into a cosmic furnace capable of refining all things.
• He first cultivates Hengyu Pill Fire, using his three existing flames—Red Lotus Karmic Fire, White Lotus Purifying Flame, and Golden Lotus Sacred Flame—to create his own Dao fire.
• After two months, he successfully condenses the Samadhi True Fire, a three-colored human-body Dao flame. It can already kill Four Extremes cultivators and threaten some Dragon Transformation cultivators.
• Jiang Ming plans to use the Samadhi True Fire to manifest the Hengyu Furnace, strengthen Hengyu Emperor weapons, and eventually collect even more powerful flames from the Fire Domain.
• He studies additional Hengyu techniques:
  • Four Directional Dao Spirits, which creates four powerful incarnations resembling the original body.
  • Myriad Spirits Seal Art, which imitates various divine beasts, birds, weapons, and other powerful forms for combat.
• Jiang Ming realizes that he possesses enough secret arts to support multiple identities. His Dao Palace Totem Deities may act as agents, spies, or assassins while his primary identity uses Hengyu techniques openly.
• He considers infiltrating forces such as the Myriad Dragon Nest, Qilin Cave, Divine Spirit Valley, Gold Race, and Blood Phoenix Mountain, potentially using alternate identities to kill enemies and erase evidence.
• After roughly another half-month of cultivation, Jiang Ming leaves seclusion.
• Nearby, Ye Fan also leaves seclusion after consuming enormous quantities of Source. He seeks the Source Heavenly Master Art to locate source mines and solve his growing resource needs.
• Ye Fan eliminates local bandit groups for Source while waiting for Jiang Ming and investigates Purple Mountain.
• Jiang Ming and Ye Fan prepare to explore Purple Mountain, which is actually the former Dao field of Wushi Emperor and a vast natural formation resembling nine dragons fighting over a pearl.
• Purple Mountain is nearly indestructible, slowly repairing damage inflicted upon it. It gathers purple qi, Divine Source, and possibly an immortal foundation.
• The mountain’s deeper history is revealed: it was originally the Immortal Emperor’s Dao field, later occupied and sealed by Wushi Emperor, who used it to suppress the Undying Empress while waiting for the Immortal Emperor’s return.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming advances from merely possessing powerful flames to forging his own Dao fire, the Samadhi True Fire. This marks a major step in adapting Hengyu Ancestor’s refining path to his Heavenly Tyrant Body.
• He gains greater confidence in his combat potential, believing that his flames could kill even much stronger opponents if they are caught off guard.
• Jiang Ming becomes increasingly strategic and calculating. He begins planning the use of alternate identities, Dao Palace Totem Deities, infiltration, assassination, and evidence removal.
• He also develops a clearer public identity: he intends to use the Hengyu Scripture and Azure Emperor techniques openly, partly to demonstrate the legacy of Hengyu Ancestor.
• Yan Ruyu’s prior mastery of the Azure Emperor’s Nine Slashes proves valuable to Jiang Ming, strengthening their connection and helping him improve the technique.
• Ye Fan recognizes that his unusual constitution requires extraordinary amounts of Source. His search for the Source Heavenly Master Art becomes tied to his long-term survival and cultivation.
• Ye Fan also demonstrates increasing independence and responsibility by preparing to enter Purple Mountain rather than relying entirely on Jiang Ming.

Significant Themes

• Power depends on the wielder: Even techniques with comparable might cannot be judged absolutely; mastery, timing, and the user’s abilities determine victory.
• Refinement and adaptation: Jiang Ming does not simply copy Hengyu Ancestor’s path. He adapts it to his own body, flames, and combat style, creating the Samadhi True Fire.
• Inheritance and legacy: The Hengyu Scripture represents the strength of an ancient emperor and the declining state of his descendants. Jiang Ming seeks to restore attention to its forgotten power.
• Strategic use of identity: Jiang Ming’s many techniques and incarnations allow him to separate his public actions from covert operations, emphasizing deception and long-term planning.
• Cultivation requires resources: Both Jiang Ming’s fire cultivation and Ye Fan’s advancement depend on rare materials, Divine Source, and special environments.
• Hidden history and ancient conflict: Purple Mountain reveals layers of forgotten history involving the Immortal Emperor, Wushi Emperor, and the Undying Empress, suggesting that the coming exploration will involve far more than treasure hunting.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu: Yan Ruyu’s insights into the Azure Emperor’s Nine Slashes directly aid Jiang Ming’s cultivation. Their relationship is already widely recognized, making Jiang Ming’s use of the technique socially acceptable.
• Jiang Ming and Ye Fan: Although they cultivate separately and Ye Fan cannot perceive Jiang Ming, Jiang Ming monitors Ye Fan with his divine sense. Their mutual trust is shown by Ye Fan preparing to accompany Jiang Ming into Purple Mountain rather than waiting passively.
• Jiang Ming and the Hengyu legacy: Jiang Ming treats Hengyu Ancestor’s techniques as both a source of power and a responsibility to demonstrate the greatness of the Hengyu Scripture.
• Ye Fan and the Heavenly Origin Master descendants: Ye Fan learns about the Source Heavenly Master lineage and its secrets from them, gaining a possible solution to his severe cultivation-resource demands.
• Jiang Ming and future enemies: His plans to infiltrate major ancient races and forbidden forces establish a more covert, organized approach to dealing with powerful opponents.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ye Fan becomes convinced that Purple Mountain contains the treasures and inheritances he seeks, including Divine Source, an Emperor Scripture, an Emperor Armament, and the Source Heavenly Master inheritance.
• While waiting for Jiang Ming, Ye Fan studies the Source Heavenly Master Art under Fifth Master Zhang. Jiang Ming studies alongside him, using the Heavenly Emperor Qi-Gazing Art and Fiery Golden Eyes to improve his understanding and practical abilities.
• Two months pass as both men prepare. Jiang Ming also cultivates additional secret arts from the Hengyu Scripture.
• Ye Fan, believing Jiang Ming may have entered Purple Mountain without him because he considered Ye Fan too weak, decides to go alone rather than remain a burden.
• He equips himself with the Source Heavenly Master Lineage’s Divine Source hide garments and tools. Despite knowing the dangers associated with Purple Mountain and the ominous curses surrounding the Source Heavenly Master Lineage, he steels himself and enters.
• Ye Fan finds Jiang Ming waiting at Purple Mountain. Jiang Ming transforms into a pale-gold God-Beating Stone so that he can conceal his aura and survive the mountain’s dangerous formations.
• Jiang Ming tells Ye Fan that his fortune is at its peak and that Ye Fan must serve as their guide, while Jiang Ming handles combat. They agree to split any treasures they obtain, with Jiang Ming’s primary goal being to rescue someone.
• They enter a deep mine tunnel that appears dangerous but contains a hidden path of survival. Jiang Ming illuminates the way while warning Ye Fan to communicate through voice transmission.
• A powerful Demon Bat attacks them. Jiang Ming instantly destroys it by striking its skull in stone form, then purifies its remains with a Three-Colored Fire Lotus.
• Jiang Ming explains that Demon Bats belong to the Bat Spirit Tribe and often serve as guards for mature Primordial Royal Clans, confirming that their appearance signals extreme danger.

Character Development

• Ye Fan: Grows more responsible and determined. Rather than relying passively on Jiang Ming, he studies the Source Heavenly Master Art, prepares himself, and willingly risks entering Purple Mountain. His fear of the ominous environment remains, but he gains confidence after reuniting with Jiang Ming and discovering that their abilities complement each other.
• Jiang Ming: Demonstrates extensive preparation, confidence, and tactical ingenuity. He improves his Source-related abilities, uses Ye Fan’s extraordinary fortune as a guide, and adopts the form of a God-Beating Stone to survive Purple Mountain. His overwhelming combat ability allows him to protect Ye Fan with ease.
• Fifth Master Zhang: Acts as Ye Fan’s teacher and attempts to dissuade him from entering Purple Mountain by revealing the frightening history and curses of the Source Heavenly Master Lineage.

Significant Themes

• Preparation versus reliance: Ye Fan refuses to become dead weight and works to earn his place beside Jiang Ming.
• Fate and fortune: Ye Fan’s immense luck is treated as a crucial force guiding their journey through Purple Mountain.
• Trust and brotherhood: Jiang Ming trusts Ye Fan’s fortune, while Ye Fan trusts Jiang Ming’s strength and judgment.
• Danger hidden behind opportunity: Purple Mountain promises immense treasures and inheritances but is also connected to ancient terror, ominous transformations, and deadly creatures.
• Alignment with the Great Dao: Jiang Ming humorously claims that their partnership—Ye Fan as the fortunate pathfinder and himself as the God-Beating Stone protector—matches the workings of heaven and earth.

Character Interactions

• Fifth Master Zhang teaches Ye Fan the Source Heavenly Master Art while warning him about the lineage’s ominous history.
• Ye Fan and Jiang Ming prepare together, with Jiang Ming secretly relying on Ye Fan’s luck despite his superior cultivation and abilities.
• Upon meeting again, Jiang Ming reassures Ye Fan and assigns him the role of pathfinder while taking responsibility for combat.
• Their first battle inside Purple Mountain establishes their complementary partnership: Ye Fan chooses the route, while Jiang Ming effortlessly eliminates threats.

Chapter Summary: Wushi Suppressed the Undying Empress

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming and Ye Fan continue through the seemingly endless mine tunnels beneath Purple Mountain. Jiang Ming reassures Ye Fan that the area is not immediately dangerous and that the Primordial Royal Clans within it may eventually help resolve Pang Bo’s situation.
• They encounter a swarm of more than a hundred Demon Bats. Jiang Ming effortlessly crushes most of them, leaving a few for Ye Fan to fight and gain experience from.
• After traveling deeper, they discover ancient murals depicting the history of the mine:
  • Source ore and Divine Source were excavated.
  • Mining awakened powerful Primordial Creatures sealed within Divine Source.
  • One such six-armed, winged creature slaughtered the miners and many people outside the mine.
  • A massive battle followed between the Human Race and the ancient beings emerging from Purple Mountain.
  • The Human Race was defeated, causing widespread death and destruction.
  • Wushi Emperor eventually appeared and suppressed the ancient creatures with a single hand.
  • His Emperor Armament, the Wushi Bell, sealed Purple Mountain and suppressed a mysterious woman identified by Jiang Ming as the Undying Empress.
• Jiang Ming explains to Ye Fan that the Undying Empress is an exceptionally powerful and dangerous existence, likely a Quasi-Emperor at the Ninth Heaven, and that the Wushi Bell may still be suppressing her deep inside Purple Mountain.
• Jiang Ming reflects on the dangerous future ahead, including the threat of the Great Accomplished Tyrant Bodies. He resolves that, despite being a Tyrant Body himself, he will eventually surpass them and prevent Tyrant Star from following their evil path of using the life essence of living beings to prolong their lives.
• The two continue through a region covered in bone dust from countless ancient corpses. Ghostly figures and resentful spirits emerge, but Jiang Ming destroys them with his Heavenly Tyrant Fire and Samadhi True Fire.
• They finally reach a vast chamber filled with sacred light and dense Source essence. The Source energy has merged with Dao Traces to form living creatures such as cranes, fire sparrows, White Tigers, fire crows, earth dragons, and Black Tortoises.
• These creatures attack Jiang Ming’s God-Beating Stone form but are devoured by his five Totem Deities. Over time, their Dao Traces greatly strengthen the Totems and provide Jiang Ming with roughly a month’s worth of cultivation, along with a thousand jin of Pure Source.
• Jiang Ming’s five Totem Deities improve by more than half, bringing him closer to breaking through from the Dao Palace Realm into the Four Extremes Secret Realm.

Character Development

• Jiang Ming: Demonstrates overwhelming combat power, knowledge of ancient history, and a wide range of techniques. His reaction to the murals reveals his growing seriousness and concern about the future. He also reaffirms his moral boundary: he may use ruthless or unconventional methods, but he refuses to prolong his life by draining ordinary living beings.
• Ye Fan: Gains a deeper understanding of Primordial Creatures, Great Emperors, Emperor Armaments, and the dangers hidden within Purple Mountain. His anger toward the Ji Family and Yaoguang Sacred Land resurfaces, but he also becomes more appreciative of Jiang Ming’s loyalty and generosity.
• The Undying Empress: Though she does not appear directly, her status is established as one of the most terrifying beings suppressed by Wushi Emperor.
• Wushi Emperor: Is portrayed as overwhelmingly powerful, capable of suppressing numerous ancient beings and sealing Purple Mountain with his Emperor Armament.

Significant Themes

• The terror of ancient history: The murals reveal that Purple Mountain is built upon immense slaughter and catastrophe, emphasizing how dangerous forgotten eras and sealed beings can be.
• The burden of power and responsibility: Jiang Ming reflects on the future actions of Tyrant Bodies and resolves to prevent their legacy of cruelty from continuing.
• Moral ambiguity: Jiang Ming accepts that he may need to act ruthlessly, but he distinguishes between personal ruthlessness and sacrificing countless innocents for survival.
• Inheritance and Emperor-level power: The Wushi Bell and the legacy of Wushi Emperor represent both supreme protection and the terrifying scale of ancient cultivation.
• Cultivation through opportunity: Jiang Ming’s encounter with the Source-born creatures illustrates how powerful individuals can transform dangerous environments into opportunities for growth.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming guides and protects Ye Fan throughout the mine, explaining the murals and the nature of the Primordial Creatures.
• Ye Fan asks Jiang Ming for guidance and relies on him during the encounters with the Demon Bats, ghosts, and Source-born creatures.
• Jiang Ming’s willingness to share secret arts strengthens Ye Fan’s trust and admiration for him.
• Though both become increasingly solemn after witnessing the ancient massacre, their partnership remains strong, with Jiang Ming acting as protector, teacher, and fellow cultivator.

Chapter Summary: This Journey Was for the White-Clad God King

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• While Jiang Ming cultivates, Ye Fan explores Purple Mountain and discovers numerous intact skeletons. Their age and cultivation level suggest that people from many different eras have attempted to enter the mountain and died there.
• The surrounding nine Dragon Veins and the mountain’s self-repairing structure indicate that Purple Mountain is an extraordinarily dangerous and mysterious place. Ancient murals describe catastrophic destruction inflicted on those who once offended it.
• Following the densest source-energy flow, Jiang Ming and Ye Fan encounter a naturally formed Taiji Dao Diagram. Its yang eye contains peaceful vitality and immense source energy, while its yin eye releases terrifying baleful energy capable of killing even powerful Holy Masters.
• Jiang Ming identifies the formation as a natural grand terrain created by the interaction of yin and yang. Rather than forcing their way through, he uses his Divine-Demon Dao Diagram to merge with the terrain and safely guides them across it.
• After passing beneath one of the Dragon Vein mountains, they reach the true core of the region: Purple Mountain itself. Ye Fan uses the golden page to cut through the mountain, and the stone immediately repairs itself behind them.
• Inside, they discover an ethereal landscape filled with dense ordinary source energy, Variant Source energy, and Divine Source energy. They pass through a magnificent complex of white-jade palaces, towers, and pavilions but find no treasures or inhabitants.
• They eventually reach blood-red steps leading to a dark cavern. Inscriptions reveal that the legendary Jiang Taixu, the White-Clad God King and Jiang Ming’s ancestor, once entered Purple Mountain to seek the Dao.
• The two examine numerous inscriptions left by powerful figures from different eras, including a Yaochi Sacred Maiden, Gu Tianshu, and other peerless cultivators. Ye Fan finally discovers clues confirming that the Origin Heavenly Book was lost inside Purple Mountain by Zhang Jiye’s ancestor.
• They find no writing from Zhang Lin, the most recent Heavenly Origin Master. Jiang Ming speculates that Zhang Lin avoided leaving any message because of his Late-Life Ominousness, while his beloved nevertheless followed him into Purple Mountain.

2. Character Developments

• Jiang Ming gains insight into a breakthrough in the Great Freedom Dao Scripture. The natural Taiji terrain offers him an ideal place for future cultivation, though he recognizes that he will need to return and seclude himself there.
• He demonstrates greater mastery of origin techniques and formations by safely traversing a terrain powerful enough to threaten even Great Accomplished Kings.
• Jiang Ming’s personal purpose becomes clearer: he has come to Purple Mountain in search of Jiang Taixu, an ancestor who was once invincible throughout the Eastern Wasteland and may have reached the threshold of Sainthood.
• His admiration for the great cultivators of the past deepens as he studies their surviving inscriptions and senses their individual Dao auras.
• Ye Fan remains focused on locating the Origin Heavenly Book. The inscriptions confirm that his target is inside Purple Mountain, increasing both his hope and anxiety.
• Ye Fan also displays greater trust in Jiang Ming, accepting that Jiang Ming’s opportunities and discoveries are his own. Their partnership remains cooperative despite their occasional teasing.
• Jiang Ming becomes extremely cautious inside Purple Mountain, suppressing his aura and refusing to release light, showing that even his confidence is tempered by fear of the mountain’s hidden dangers.

3. Significant Themes

• The danger and mystery of Purple Mountain: Its self-repairing walls, lethal formations, ancient remains, and history of destroying intruders establish it as a place beyond ordinary human control.
• Inheritance across time: The inscriptions preserve the traces of legendary cultivators, allowing later generations to encounter their personalities, cultivation, and ambitions long after their deaths or disappearances.
• The pursuit of the Dao: Many powerful figures entered Purple Mountain seeking enlightenment, treasures, or breakthroughs, demonstrating the enormous sacrifices demanded by cultivation.
• Love and sacrifice: The story of Zhang Lin and Yang Yi suggests that devotion can lead people to follow one another into deadly situations, even when separation or death seems inevitable.
• Respect for predecessors: Jiang Ming views the inscriptions almost as living encounters with the ancient geniuses, emphasizing how the Dao and personal legacy can survive beyond the body.
• Caution versus ambition: Ye Fan’s desire for the Origin Heavenly Book and Jiang Ming’s search for Jiang Taixu drive them forward, but both understand that recklessness in Purple Mountain could mean death.

4. Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming guides Ye Fan through the dangerous natural Taiji formation, combining his origin knowledge and Dao diagram with Ye Fan’s practical assistance.
• Ye Fan willingly allows Jiang Ming to benefit from the source energy he discovers, showing trust and a lack of resentment.
• The two discuss Jiang Taixu’s identity and legacy, bringing Jiang Ming’s family connection and personal motivation into the open.
• They exchange humorous remarks about romance and the exceptional women associated with them. Jiang Ming teases Ye Fan about his many relationships, while Ye Fan privately considers mentioning Jiang Ming’s connection to the Demon Emperor’s descendant.
• Their discussion of Zhang Lin and Yang Yi becomes more reflective, with both contemplating the meaning of love, sacrifice, and devotion.
• Despite their banter, the lethal environment keeps their partnership serious: they move carefully, examine every inscription, and avoid drawing attention to whatever dangers remain deeper inside Purple Mountain.

Chapter Summary:

God-King Jiang Taixu

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ye Fan is nearly lured into an abandoned mine by a sinister summoning force. Jiang Ming awakens him by striking his forehead and advises him to use the Dao Scripture and an imperial character to suppress his Sea of Consciousness.
• Jiang Ming reveals that his own cultivation protects him from the summons. His Purple Palace, Dao Diagram, True Dragons, spirit Totem Deities, and the Great Freedom Dao Scripture automatically suppress hostile influences.
• The pair discover seven jade-like skeletons. Jiang Ming identifies them as former Dao-Severing Kings, each killed by a single strike through the brow. He collects their remains to refine them into Divine-Demon Dao Soldiers.
• Ye Fan worries about Zhang Jiye, the Zhang Family ancestor who entered Purple Mountain seeking the Source Heavenly Master Art. Jiang Ming believes Zhang could not withstand the summons and probably died somewhere inside.
• They hear the faint voice of God-King Jiang Taixu, who mistakes Ye Fan for a Jiang Family descendant. At Jiang Ming’s instruction, Ye Fan adopts the name “Jiang Fan” and approaches the God King while Jiang Ming remains concealed.
• Jiang Taixu begins passing down the Nine Secrets: Dou, unwilling to let the technique be lost.
• A terrifying malicious thought belonging to a sleeping Primordial Creature approaches Ye Fan. Jiang Ming recognizes the danger but refuses to attack, fearing that doing so would awaken the creature’s main body.
• Ye Fan reaches a purple jade wall and discovers that God-King Jiang Taixu is imprisoned behind it within an Emperor Formation. The God King is severely weakened and barely able to demonstrate the technique.
• Using his Fiery Golden Eyes and other sight-based abilities, Jiang Ming observes and memorizes the Nine Secrets: Dou.
• Jiang Ming begins planning to sustain the God King with Divine Spring and Immortal Brew carried through a treasure made from the Root of Xuanhuang Mother Qi, hoping to preserve his life until a rescue becomes possible.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming is shown to be highly cautious, resourceful, and opportunistic. He gathers valuable corpses, uses Ye Fan as a decoy, secretly learns the Nine Secrets: Dou, and immediately devises a plan to preserve Jiang Taixu’s life. His willingness to use supposedly “heretical” techniques reflects his belief that methods are judged by their users and purposes rather than by moral labels.
• Ye Fan demonstrates growing trust in Jiang Ming despite being repeatedly placed in dangerous situations. He is frightened by the Primordial Creature’s malicious thought but still advances because he values the favor Jiang Ming promises him. His concern for obtaining the Source Heavenly Master Art remains strong.
• God-King Jiang Taixu appears noble and selfless even in extreme weakness. His priority is ensuring that the Nine Secrets: Dou survives, and he teaches it despite his imprisonment and failing condition.
• The chapter also reveals Jiang Ming’s complicated attitude toward his family’s traditions. He criticizes the Jiang Family’s rejection of puppet-refining techniques as “heretical,” arguing that their ancestors themselves used morally ambiguous methods.

Significant Themes

• Survival through caution and deception: Jiang Ming relies on concealment, misdirection, and Ye Fan’s harmless appearance to avoid alerting the ancient creatures in Purple Mountain.
• The preservation of inheritance: God-King Jiang Taixu’s decision to transmit the Nine Secrets: Dou emphasizes the importance of keeping powerful knowledge from being lost.
• Righteousness versus wickedness: Jiang Ming rejects rigid moral distinctions between techniques, believing that intent and conduct determine whether a method is good or evil.
• Loyalty and mutual obligation: Ye Fan risks himself because Jiang Ming’s promised favor carries weight, while Jiang Ming is prepared to expend valuable resources to save Jiang Taixu.
• Power and vulnerability: Even legendary figures such as Dao-Severing Kings and God-King Jiang Taixu are helpless against the ancient forces and formations within Purple Mountain.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming repeatedly protects and instructs Ye Fan, though he often uses him as bait or a decoy, creating a mixture of dependence, irritation, and trust between them.
• Ye Fan silently envies Jiang Ming’s ability to seize every valuable opportunity, including the seven skeletons, but continues cooperating with him.
• Jiang Ming forces Ye Fan to impersonate a Jiang Family descendant so that Jiang Taixu will speak with him.
• Jiang Taixu interacts primarily with Ye Fan, believing him to be “Jiang Fan,” and passes the Nine Secrets: Dou to him.
• Jiang Ming secretly observes both the God King’s condition and the surrounding Primordial Creature, balancing the need to learn the inheritance with the danger of provoking a catastrophic enemy.

Chapter Summary: “Nine Secrets: Dou”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming and Ye Fan attempt to learn Nine Secrets: Dou from the imprisoned God-King Jiang Taixu inside Purple Mountain.
• Jiang Ming uses the Heavenly Emperor Qi-Gazing Art, Double Pupils, and Fiery Golden Eyes to search for weaknesses in the ancient Emperor Formation created by Wushi Emperor. The formation has endured for countless years but remains almost flawless.
• God-King Jiang repeatedly exhausts himself while teaching the secret art and eventually faints. Jiang Ming realizes that continuing the instruction is rapidly consuming his origin.
• Determined to save him, Jiang Ming devises a method to send nourishment through the formation using the Lihuo Divine Furnace. He prepares Divine Spring, Pure Source, sacred medicinal leaves, Thunder Tribulation Liquid, Nine-Colored Sacred Fire Essence Liquid, Profound Yellow Mother Qi Essence Liquid, and food.
• Jiang Ming secretly uses the God-Beating Stone to control the furnace, while his five Totem Deities transform into juvenile Ten Fierce Gu and use their clan’s techniques to exploit subtle spatial and temporal gaps in the formation.
• The furnace successfully passes through the crystal wall, but the formation strikes Jiang Ming and severs his control over it. Just before it falls, God-King Jiang uses Eight Deities Savage Force to draw the furnace into his hand.
• The Divine Spring and other treasures nourish God-King Jiang, rapidly restoring his vitality. His body begins regaining flesh, and his origin is replenished.
• Once stabilized, God-King Jiang passes the complete Divine Form incantation and Dao Traces of Nine Secrets: Dou to both Jiang Ming and Ye Fan.
• God-King Jiang realizes that neither student has the expected Jiang Family bloodline: Ye Fan appears to possess the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body, while Jiang Ming appears to be a mysterious stone or Saint Spirit. He nevertheless concludes that Jiang Ming’s form must be an extraordinarily profound secret art.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming demonstrates exceptional perception, technical ingenuity, and willingness to take risks. Although he jokes coldly about sacrificing Ye Fan if necessary, his actions show genuine concern for God-King Jiang and a strong desire to preserve his life.
• Jiang Ming’s mastery of formations and multiple divine techniques becomes more evident. He also reveals his resourcefulness by combining different powers—his Totem Deities, God-Beating Stone secret art, Myriad Laws Immunity, Perfect Accuracy, and Three Heads and Six Arms.
• Ye Fan remains cautious but cooperates with Jiang Ming. He contributes his own Divine Spring, sacred leaves, and treasures, showing that he feels responsible for helping rescue God-King Jiang. His increasingly bold behavior under Jiang Ming’s influence is humorously noted.
• God-King Jiang Taixu is initially near death and barely able to speak, but his determination allows him to continue teaching. After receiving the treasures, he regains strength and fulfills his duty by imparting Nine Secrets: Dou before focusing on his own recovery.

Significant Themes

• The terrifying endurance of Emperor-level power: Wushi Emperor’s formation has survived for ages with almost no weakness, demonstrating the vast difference between ordinary cultivators and true Emperors.
• Sacrifice and rescue: Saving God-King Jiang requires patience, precision, and significant risk. Jiang Ming and Ye Fan endanger themselves and expend rare treasures to preserve him.
• Inheritance and transmission: God-King Jiang prioritizes passing on Nine Secrets: Dou, showing the importance of preserving supreme cultivation legacies even amid extreme danger.
• Adaptation and ingenuity: Jiang Ming succeeds not through brute force but by combining specialized abilities and exploiting minute gaps in the formation.
• The contrast between cruelty and loyalty: Jiang Ming’s threatening humor contrasts with his practical generosity and determination to save the God King.
• The nature of power: Nine Secrets: Dou represents supreme offensive force, while related Jiang Family furnace techniques embody the principle of using an unchanging, refining power to counter endlessly changing attacks.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Ye Fan work together, with Ye Fan acting as Jiang Ming’s public mouthpiece so Jiang Ming’s true identity and strength remain hidden from the Primordial Creatures.
• Ye Fan worries that Jiang Ming’s rescue attempt will trigger the formation or expose them, while Jiang Ming remains confident and even jokingly threatens to throw him into the formation.
• God-King Jiang initially urges Ye Fan not to waste his strength, believing him too weak to help. After being nourished, however, he recognizes that the two visitors possess extraordinary resources and abilities.
• Jiang Ming and Ye Fan’s contributions combine to save Jiang Taixu, strengthening their relationship and allowing both to receive the complete Nine Secrets: Dou inheritance.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After three days of using the Bodhi Seed, Ye Fan finishes memorizing the Nine Secrets: Dou. He has not yet had time to comprehend the technique fully.
• Jiang Ming and Ye Fan encounter a troop of Yin Soldiers and Yin Horses leaving an abandoned mine. Jiang Ming destroys them instantly with his Samadhi True Fire, which is especially effective against yin-based creatures.
• Jiang Ming prepares to leave Purple Mountain after passing Nine Secrets: Jie to God-King Jiang Taixu through the Lihuo Divine Furnace. He views this as both repayment for Jiang Taixu’s help and an investment in gaining a powerful ally.
• Ye Fan, speaking on Jiang Ming’s behalf, tells Jiang Taixu that they will contact the Jiang Family and seek help rescuing him. Jiang Taixu refuses to rely on them, intending to recover and become a Saint so he can escape using the Lihuo Divine Furnace.
• Jiang Taixu warns them that Purple Mountain remains extremely dangerous and that the Primordial Royal Clans within it may be too powerful to confront. He also reveals that Zhang Jiye likely died after entering the mountain’s depths while searching for the Origin Heavenly Book.
• As Jiang Ming and Ye Fan continue deeper into Purple Mountain, Ye Fan’s Divine Source Stone Garment reacts to a nearby treasure.
• They discover a huge piece of Exotic Divine Source containing a beautiful, gravely injured woman. Jiang Ming identifies her as Yang Yi, the former Yaochi Sacred Maiden and confidante of Heavenly Origin Master Zhang Lin. She is in a deathlike state and may require a Medicine King or Saint Fruit from the Desolate Forbidden Land to survive.
• Nearby, they find the corpse of a six-armed, silver-scaled Primordial Creature. It was killed after touching the source, which is protected by a deadly formation created by Zhang Lin.
• Jiang Ming explains that the creature was a servant of the Primordial Creature lineage, tasked with guarding the sealed woman and the source across generations.
• Ye Fan notices the presence of Red Hair, a sign of the ominous transformation associated with mastering the Source Heavenly Master Art. Jiang Ming reveals that Zhang Lin likely suffered this fate but retained enough humanity to protect Yang Yi.

Character Developments

• Ye Fan gains one of the Nine Secrets and becomes increasingly aware of how valuable and dangerous Jiang Ming’s knowledge is. His combat potential rises because Nine Secrets: Dou can increase the likelihood of triggering Nine Secrets: Jie.
• Ye Fan continues acting as Jiang Ming’s spokesman when communicating with Jiang Taixu, showing his growing cooperation and dependence on Jiang Ming.
• Ye Fan’s greed and curiosity are evident when he sees the enormous Divine Source, but he also becomes more cautious after learning about its lethal defenses.
• Jiang Ming demonstrates overwhelming strength against the Yin Soldiers and deep knowledge of Purple Mountain, Source Heavenly Master techniques, Primordial Creatures, and the Red Hair curse.
• Jiang Ming also reveals a pragmatic, calculating side: he helps Jiang Taixu partly because the God-King is trustworthy and may become a future ally.
• Jiang Taixu remains cautious and responsible. Though grateful, he refuses to depend on the two younger cultivators and insists on becoming strong enough to escape by himself.
• Zhang Lin, though absent, is developed through his actions. His sealing of Yang Yi suggests enduring love and loyalty, while the Red Hair indicates the terrible price he paid for his mastery of Source techniques.
• Yang Yi is introduced as a tragic figure: preserved in Exotic Divine Source after suffering a fatal injury, awaiting a powerful healing treasure.

Significant Themes

• Trust and strategic alliances: Jiang Ming aids Jiang Taixu not only out of gratitude but also to secure a powerful and honorable ally for the future.
• The danger of knowledge and power: The Source Heavenly Master Art grants extraordinary abilities but carries the threat of Late-Life Ominousness and physical transformation.
• Loyalty amid corruption: Zhang Lin’s preservation of Yang Yi shows that love and human emotion can survive even when a cultivator is afflicted by terrifying supernatural changes.
• Inheritance and lost legacies: The Nine Secrets are portrayed as ancient, scattered treasures whose survival is uncertain, emphasizing the fragility of cultivation traditions.
• Caution versus greed: Ye Fan is tempted by the Divine Source, but Purple Mountain repeatedly demonstrates that valuable treasures are protected by deadly traps.
• The hierarchy of Primordial Creatures: Their servants are bound by bloodline, rank, and duty, revealing the rigid social order that governs the Primordial races.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Ye Fan maintain a humorous but unequal partnership. Ye Fan frequently asks questions, while Jiang Ming answers with superior knowledge and sarcastic criticism.
• Ye Fan acts as Jiang Ming’s public voice when speaking to Jiang Taixu, creating an unusual dynamic that leaves the God-King puzzled about their relationship.
• Jiang Taixu warns both men to flee Purple Mountain, while they reassure him that they will wait a year before seeking outside help.
• Jiang Ming mocks Ye Fan’s incomplete understanding of Source techniques, especially after Ye Fan incorrectly identifies the Exotic Divine Source.
• Ye Fan is startled by Jiang Ming’s blunt comment that he may eventually suffer the same Red Hair transformation, highlighting Jiang Ming’s dark humor and Ye Fan’s growing awareness of future dangers.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ye Fan and Jiang Ming encounter a terrifying white-clad female ghost in the mine. Its scream directly attacks the soul and Sea of Consciousness, but Ye Fan survives thanks to the Divine Source Stone Garment and the protective properties of his Desolate Ancient Sacred Body.
• Ye Fan’s Divine Source Stone Saber injures the ghost, while Jiang Ming finishes it with a stone imbued with Three-Colored Lotus Flame.
• More than a hundred Yin Soldiers and Yin Horses emerge from the mine. Ye Fan discovers that his Divine Source Stone Saber is exceptionally effective against them, allowing him to destroy the entire group.
• The two investigate the mine tunnel, hoping to find Zhang Jiye, but instead encounter a continuous stream of ghosts and Yin creatures emerging from a yin vein. Ye Fan uses Five-Element True Fire to burn them away.
• They find no trace of Zhang Jiye, the Origin Heavenly Book, or the Divine Source Garment. Jiang Ming explains that Zhang Jiye, a Great Ability and descendant of the powerful Heavenly Origin Master lineage, was not as weak as Ye Fan assumed.
• Several low-ranking Primordial Creature servants attack. Jiang Ming, disguised as a stubborn stone, kills them instantly with his physical strength and Three-Colored Lotus Flame, earning Pure Source rewards from the system.
• Jiang Ming theorizes that many of these weak Primordial Creatures were sealed in Source or Divine Source through ancient hibernation techniques, allowing them to survive for millions of years with minimal consumption.
• A powerful Great Ability-level Primordial Creature awakens, triggering the awakening of others and intensifying the demonic summons from deep within Purple Mountain.
• Jiang Ming rapidly carries Ye Fan into a stone hall. At that moment, the Wushi Bell rings, instantly suppressing the demonic influence, the Primordial Creatures, and all the disturbances within Purple Mountain.
• Jiang Ming marvels at the overwhelming power of Wushi Emperor’s legacy. Ye Fan excitedly suggests taking the Wushi Bell, but Jiang Ming rejects the idea, warning that removing it could release the Primordial Creatures and allow the dangerous Undying Empress to escape and dominate the Big Dipper Burial Emperor Star.

Character Developments

• Ye Fan demonstrates increasing courage and combat ability. Although initially terrified by ghosts, he quickly adapts and takes the initiative against the Yin creatures. His Desolate Ancient Sacred Body, Divine Source equipment, and Five-Element True Fire prove especially effective against supernatural enemies.
• Ye Fan also reveals his characteristic confidence and stubbornness by underestimating Zhang Jiye, though Jiang Ming corrects him by explaining the strength of the Heavenly Origin Master lineage.
• Jiang Ming remains calm, knowledgeable, and strategically cautious. He guides Ye Fan through the dangers, eliminates powerful enemies with ease, analyzes the ancient hibernation methods of the Primordial Creatures, and recognizes the importance of leaving the Wushi Bell in place.
• Jiang Ming’s system rewards him with Pure Source for killing Primordial Creature servants, adding to his resources while emphasizing the practical benefits of his battles.
• Zhang Jiye does not appear directly, but his reputation and lineage are clarified. He is revealed to have been a Great Ability and a legitimate inheritor of the Source Heavenly Master tradition, making his disappearance mysterious rather than evidence of weakness.
• Wushi Emperor remains absent but exerts overwhelming influence through the Wushi Bell, which terrifies and suppresses the Primordial Creatures.

Significant Themes

• Specialized power against supernatural threats: Divine Source weapons, sacred physiques, and divine flames are uniquely effective against ghosts and Yin creatures that would otherwise be extremely dangerous.
• Respect for hidden strength and heritage: Ye Fan’s casual judgment of Zhang Jiye is corrected, emphasizing that ancient lineages and inherited treasures can conceal immense power.
• Ancient survival and sealed civilizations: The Primordial Creatures’ long-term hibernation illustrates how ancient beings preserved themselves across vast stretches of time.
• The danger of awakening buried powers: Purple Mountain contains creatures and forces capable of destabilizing the world if released.
• The authority of great emperors: The Wushi Bell’s single ringing overwhelms the awakened Primordial Creatures, demonstrating the lasting might and psychological dominance of Wushi Emperor.
• Caution over greed: Although the Wushi Bell is immensely valuable, moving it would endanger everyone by releasing the sealed creatures and possibly the Undying Empress.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming repeatedly warns and instructs Ye Fan, acting as both protector and mentor.
• Ye Fan’s fear of ghosts contrasts with Jiang Ming’s calm indifference, producing humorous exchanges in which Jiang Ming dryly predicts even more monsters will appear.
• Ye Fan tries to justify his panicked use of True Fire as “eliminating evil,” while Jiang Ming mocks him for wasting energy.
• Jiang Ming challenges Ye Fan’s dismissive view of Zhang Jiye, forcing Ye Fan to reconsider the strength of the Heavenly Origin Master lineage.
• After the Wushi Bell rings, Ye Fan eagerly proposes taking the Emperor Armament, but Jiang Ming firmly restrains him, prioritizing the safety of the region over potential gains.

Chapter Summary: Burning the Holy Master

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ye Fan and Jiang Ming search an ancient stone hall and discover the remains of Zhang Jiye, along with the Origin Heavenly Book and fragments of his Divine Source Garment. Ye Fan collects Zhang Jiye’s bones, fulfilling his promise to Fifth Master Zhang.
• More than a dozen Primordial Creatures gather outside, including a powerful three-headed, nine-armed creature at the Holy Master level.
• When the creature attempts to seize Ye Fan’s Myriad Things Mother Qi Cauldron, Jiang Ming unleashes the seven-colored Hengyu Furnace Flame, killing numerous Primordial Creatures and earning substantial system rewards.
• The purple-haired Holy Master tries to withstand the flames, apparently attempting to lure Jiang Ming out. Jiang Ming responds by adding the Nine-Colored Sacred Flame, killing it and obtaining additional Great Divine Source. He also salvages its damaged Fire-Warding Pearl.
• The Wushi Bell rings, intensifying the Primordial Creatures’ suffering and reminding Jiang Ming and Ye Fan that they must escape quickly.
• God-King Jiang Taixu warns them that the Primordial Creatures have been awakened and that he cannot currently rescue them because his vitality is nearly exhausted. He needs a breakthrough to survive.
• Guided by Jiang Ming, the pair follows the demonic summons toward the enormous Wushi Scripture stone book. Along the way, Jiang Ming collects several valuable pieces of Divine Source and kills another Primordial Creature sealed in Pure Source.
• Ye Fan and Jiang Ming reach the Wushi Scripture but cannot open it. Jiang Ming explains that they lack the necessary connection to the scripture, likely requiring the Dao charm of an Innate Sacred Body Dao Embryo.
• Jiang Ming promises to help Ye Fan obtain a Dao Palace cultivation technique comparable to an Emperor Scripture, offering the Hengyu Scripture’s Dao Palace Volume if necessary.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming demonstrates overwhelming combat ability and ruthlessness, using increasingly powerful flames to eliminate enemies. He remains calm and opportunistic, collecting Divine Source and even salvaging damaged treasures during their escape.
• Jiang Ming’s moral values are shown to align with Ye Fan’s: despite joking about refining powerful beings into Dao soldiers, he genuinely does not want to see rivers of blood and mountains of corpses.
• Ye Fan fulfills his promise to recover Zhang Jiye’s remains and gains the Origin Heavenly Book. He also becomes increasingly aware of the gap between his own abilities and Jiang Ming’s, especially after witnessing Jiang Ming destroy a Holy Master-level opponent.
• Ye Fan’s trust in Jiang Ming deepens, but he also experiences disappointment when neither of them can open the Wushi Scripture.
• God-King Jiang Taixu is revealed to be in a severely weakened state. Though he wants to protect the two youths, his depleted vitality prevents him from breaking free or rescuing them immediately.

Significant Themes

• Power and survival: Jiang Ming’s mastery of divine flames allows him to survive and dominate even against high-level Primordial Creatures.
• Inherited destiny and affinity: The inability to open the Wushi Scripture emphasizes that powerful inheritances cannot be obtained through strength alone; one must possess the proper bloodline, physique, or Dao affinity.
• Loyalty and promises: Ye Fan’s recovery of Zhang Jiye’s bones and Jiang Ming’s promise to provide Ye Fan with a Dao Palace technique highlight the importance of keeping one’s word.
• Resourcefulness amid danger: Jiang Ming balances escape, combat, treasure collection, and strategic planning while facing overwhelming threats.
• Mortality and sacrifice: Jiang Taixu’s declining vitality underscores the cost of past struggles and the fragility of even legendary figures.

Character Interactions

• Ye Fan relies on Jiang Ming’s guidance during the escape and follows his instructions to avoid the demonic summons.
• Jiang Ming encourages and reassures Ye Fan after they fail to open the Wushi Scripture, promising to compensate him with another powerful inheritance.
• Jiang Ming and Ye Fan cooperate closely: Ye Fan retrieves Zhang Jiye’s remains while Jiang Ming handles the Primordial Creatures.
• God-King Jiang Taixu communicates with them from afar, expressing concern for their safety while admitting that he cannot yet intervene.
• Jiang Ming treats Ye Fan as a trusted companion, transmitting instructions, protecting him from the Primordial Creatures, and patting his shoulder as he makes his promise about the Dao Palace technique.

Chapter Summary: “The Black Emperor Arrives”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ye Fan reveals that he may have obtained a fragmentary secret technique from the Dao Palace Secret Realm, possibly connected to the Western Emperor Scripture, and offers it to Jiang Ming for study.
• Ye Fan experiments with a jade pendant near the stone book containing the Wushi Scripture. The altar reacts to the pendant, revealing that it is connected to a piece of the Wushi Emperor’s jade.
• Placing the jade into the altar activates a powerful teleportation formation. Jiang Ming, Ye Fan, and their companions escape the dangerous central region of Purple Mountain and emerge through its Dragon Vein.
• Once outside, Jiang Ming gives Ye Fan a large piece of Divine Source, while Ye Fan lends Jiang Ming the Origin Heavenly Book so he can study the Source Heavenly Master Art and investigate the Purple Mountain terrain.
• Jiang Ming uses his special abilities to memorize and analyze the Origin Heavenly Book, focusing on the relationship between human, earthly, and heavenly forces.
• Unbeknownst to Ye Fan, Jiang Ming intentionally uses the Divine Source as bait to lure out the Black Emperor, a powerful but shameless dog hiding near the Wushi Scripture.
• After a month of cultivation, Ye Fan completes the nine transformations of rebirth and perfects his Other Shore Realm. Before he can refine all the Divine Source, the Black Emperor steals it.
• Ye Fan catches the dog and violently attacks it, nearly turning it into dinner. Jiang Ming intervenes when the Black Emperor reveals that it once served the Wushi Emperor and possesses information about the Western Emperor Scripture.
• Jiang Ming and Ye Fan agree to cooperate with the Black Emperor, but restrain it with a Taiyi Azure Gold rope. The Black Emperor is promised freedom if it helps them find the Western Emperor Scripture.
• During their journey toward the Yaochi Ruins, Ye Fan and the Black Emperor repeatedly fight, establishing their antagonistic but potentially useful partnership.

Character Developments

• Ye Fan grows stronger through cultivation of the Dao Scripture and the Divine Source, reaching a perfected Other Shore Realm. He also becomes more trusting of Jiang Ming, accepting his gifts and lending him the Origin Heavenly Book without suspicion.
• Ye Fan’s temper is strongly revealed when the Black Emperor steals his Divine Source. His fury turns him from a normally cautious cultivator into someone willing to fight—and even eat—the offending dog.
• Jiang Ming demonstrates generosity by giving Ye Fan most of the Divine Source and strategic intelligence by using it to lure out the Black Emperor. He deepens his mastery of the Source Heavenly Master Art and shows that he understands the Black Emperor’s greedy, opportunistic personality.
• The Black Emperor is introduced as cunning, greedy, physically powerful, and shameless. Although his cultivation has declined after receiving another lifetime from the Wushi Emperor, he retains a formidable body and valuable knowledge. He submits to cooperation only because he is outmatched and threatened with being eaten.

Significant Themes

• Trust and mutual benefit: Jiang Ming and Ye Fan cooperate despite their different personalities, while the Black Emperor joins them only because the arrangement benefits him.
• Greed and manipulation: Jiang Ming deliberately uses Ye Fan’s Divine Source as bait, while the Black Emperor steals it. Both sides attempt to exploit one another.
• Inheritance and legacy: The Wushi Emperor’s altar, scripture, jade, and guardian dog emphasize how ancient emperors continue to influence the present.
• Power versus cunning: Physical strength alone does not determine outcomes. Jiang Ming relies on planning, Ye Fan on overwhelming force, and the Black Emperor on deception and survival instincts.
• Comedic tension amid danger: The deadly setting is balanced by the absurd conflict between Ye Fan and the Black Emperor, including the threat of dog-meat hotpot and their constant hand-to-paw battles.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Ye Fan maintain a close, informal partnership, with Jiang Ming teasing and directing Ye Fan while Ye Fan trusts his judgment.
• Ye Fan and the Black Emperor immediately become enemies after the dog steals his Divine Source. Their relationship is defined by insults, suspicion, and frequent physical clashes.
• Jiang Ming acts as the mediator and controller of the group, restraining the Black Emperor and persuading Ye Fan to postpone killing it.
• The Black Emperor reluctantly respects Jiang Ming’s strength and negotiates with him, while secretly considering how it might eventually steal Jiang Ming’s treasure rope.

Chapter Summary: Yaochi Ruins

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ye Fan, Jiang Ming, and the Black Emperor travel hundreds of thousands of miles to locate the hidden Yaochi Ruins. Their journey is slowed by frequent arguments and physical fights between Ye Fan and the Black Emperor.
• They discover that the former Yaochi Sacred Land has been completely concealed by a powerful sealing technique. What appears to be a barren desert is actually the hidden entrance to the ruins.
• Under the moonlight, strange white figures appear—an echo of the former Yaochi Sacred Land preserved in the Void and the earth. The Black Emperor explains that these are remnants of the past, not actual immortals.
• Jiang Ming locates an ancient well buried deep underground and identifies it as a sealed entrance. Using his Earth-Element Escape Art, he leads the group directly through the ground rather than digging.
• The group descends more than seven hundred zhang, passes through a dried underground river, and walks forty-three li before reaching an ancient sealing barrier.
• Jiang Ming easily breaks through the weakened seal, allowing them to enter the true Yaochi domain through an underground lake.
• The ruins are revealed to be a once-prosperous sacred land that has become completely lifeless. The lake contains terrifying black, ghostly energy; enormous fish and shrimp skeletons cover the shore, and giant ancient trees have withered despite the area’s abundant spiritual energy.
• Jiang Ming realizes that the ruins are connected to the tragic history of Yaochi, the Western Emperor, the Great Accomplished Sacred Body, Wushi Emperor, and the Netherworld. The ominous aura suggests that something related to the Netherworld may have caused the destruction.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming demonstrates superior cultivation, formation knowledge, perception, and earth-related techniques. He locates the hidden entrance, bypasses the seals, protects the others, and detects the sinister black qi within the lake.
• Ye Fan continues to grow in strength, even using the Nine Secrets, but remains locked in a comic rivalry with the Black Emperor. He becomes increasingly suspicious of the dog’s hidden knowledge and background.
• The Black Emperor reveals its extraordinary knowledge of formations, the Yaochi Ruins, and ancient history. It is also shown to be unable to fly, forcing it to cling to Ye Fan during the descent. Despite its shamelessness, it remains essential to finding the ruins.
• Jiang Ming begins teaching the Black Emperor aspects of the Source Heavenly Master Art, though only in exchange for valuable treasures. Their relationship is based on mutual exploitation and cooperation.
• Jiang Ming’s reflections on the Void Great Emperor show his admiration for ancient heroes and his desire to have witnessed or participated in their battles.

Significant Themes

• Decay and lost glory: The beautiful Yaochi Sacred Land has become a barren, haunted ruin, emphasizing the impermanence of even the greatest sacred places.
• Hidden history: The strange moonlit apparitions and preserved formations show how the past can remain imprinted in the world long after civilizations disappear.
• Ominous supernatural forces: The black qi, dried rivers, dead creatures, and lifeless spiritual environment suggest corruption connected to the Netherworld.
• Cooperation amid conflict: Ye Fan and the Black Emperor constantly fight and insult each other, yet their combined abilities—and Jiang Ming’s guidance—allow them to progress.
• Respect for legendary figures: Jiang Ming’s thoughts about Wushi Emperor and Void Great Emperor highlight the chapter’s reverence for powerful protectors who opposed forbidden zones and the Netherworld.

Character Interactions

• Ye Fan and the Black Emperor repeatedly threaten to cook, roast, bite, or beat each other. Their antagonism is humorous but also reveals mutual familiarity and reluctant dependence.
• The Black Emperor orders Ye Fan around and expects others to work for it, while Jiang Ming repeatedly criticizes its greed and demands payment for instruction.
• Ye Fan takes revenge by petting and threatening the Black Emperor when it clings to him during the descent.
• Jiang Ming acts as the mediator between them, acknowledging the Black Emperor’s importance while preventing their quarrels from becoming too disruptive.
• The group’s playful banter contrasts sharply with the increasingly disturbing Yaochi environment, ending the chapter on a note of mystery and danger.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming, Ye Fan, and Black Emperor arrive at the drastically changed Yaochi Ruins and discover that the water sources have become corrupted. Areas near lakes, rivers, and waterfalls are barren, while regions farther away remain lush.
• Black Emperor rushes toward Yaochi’s Sacred Lake, famous for extending life, preserving beauty, strengthening the body, and providing valuable ingredients for pill refinement.
• Black Emperor dives into the lake in excitement and tricks Ye Fan into entering as well. Ye Fan is frightened by the lake’s sinister aura and immediately escapes.
• Jiang Ming investigates and discovers that the lake is filled with the corpses of former Yaochi Fairies. The women had once guarded the grave of a Great Accomplished Sacred Body but were strangled and later transformed into water ghosts.
• Jiang Ming uses his Divine-Demon Dao Diagram and Samadhi True Fire to suppress and purify the corpses. He recites the Scripture of Taiyi Rescuing Suffering, allowing the remnants of their true spirits to gain release.
• Hundreds of corpses are purified. Three particularly powerful water ghosts resist, but Jiang Ming easily suppresses them.
• Jiang Ming begins refining the three powerful corpses into Water-Element Dao Soldiers, using the Sacred Lake’s water essence and his Ancestral Shaman Dharma Form to extract and refine it.
• Ye Fan and Black Emperor decide to search the ruins for the Western Emperor Scripture rather than remain in the dangerous lake. Jiang Ming warns Ye Fan that continued exposure could cause ominous changes, including the growth of red hair.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming demonstrates compassion, caution, and overwhelming power. Although he intends to turn the strongest water ghosts into Dao Soldiers, he first purifies the weaker corpses and performs funeral rites for them rather than treating them as mere resources.
• Ye Fan remains curious and opportunistic but becomes more cautious after Black Emperor’s prank and Jiang Ming’s warning. He trusts Jiang Ming’s judgment and abandons the idea of cultivating in the Sacred Lake.
• Black Emperor is excited by the Sacred Lake and its benefits, behaving mischievously by deceiving Ye Fan. However, the lake’s eerie nature eventually frightens him, and he agrees to leave with Ye Fan.
• Jiang Ming’s mastery of purification, sealing, and elemental refinement becomes more evident. His future Water-Element Dao Soldiers are intended to possess bodies comparable to Dao-Severing Kings and combat power approaching that of Great Abilities.

Significant Themes

• Beauty and corruption: The Sacred Lake, once a place of purity, youth, and beauty, has become connected to death, curses, and monstrous transformations.
• Compassion amid cultivation: Jiang Ming balances ruthless cultivation methods with respect for the dead, granting the fallen Yaochi Fairies release before using the strongest remnants for his own purposes.
• The danger of ancient inheritances: The ruins preserve extraordinary treasures, but they are also burdened by the consequences of ancient disasters, ominousness, and the late-life corruption of powerful beings.
• Life, death, and lingering spirituality: Though the fairies are physically dead, traces of their spirits remain. Their transformation into water ghosts suggests that death in this world does not always bring true rest.
• Opportunity versus danger: Black Emperor and Ye Fan seek the benefits of Yaochi, while Jiang Ming recognizes that its treasures are inseparable from hidden threats.

Character Interactions

• Black Emperor enthusiastically praises the Sacred Lake and deliberately lures Ye Fan into it, leading to Ye Fan’s frightened reaction and anger.
• Ye Fan relies on Jiang Ming’s lack of warning as evidence that the lake is safe, but Jiang Ming later cautions him not to enter because of the lingering ominous power.
• Black Emperor initially jokes with Ye Fan but becomes serious after witnessing Jiang Ming’s rites and recognizing the lake’s danger.
• Jiang Ming explains nothing directly about the corpses but acts decisively, while Ye Fan and Black Emperor observe and interpret his actions.
• After Jiang Ming begins refining the Dao Soldiers, Ye Fan and Black Emperor choose to search for the Western Emperor Scripture elsewhere, leaving Jiang Ming to continue cultivating.

Chapter Summary: “Totem Azure Dragon”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming summons the Azure Dragon Totem Deity from his Liver Divine Treasure. The thirty-five-zhang dragon transforms into a blue-haired, azure-armored man identical to Jiang Ming.
• The Totem Azure Dragon and Ye Fan study the stone carvings throughout Yaochi Sacred Land, both eventually obtaining the Western Empress’s Dao Palace Scripture inheritance.
• Jiang Ming continues cultivating in the Yaochi ruins while refining Water-Element Dao Soldiers. Ye Fan and Black Emperor leave after Jiang Ming escorts them safely beyond the formation.
• A terrifying black mist erupts around the Sacred Lake. Jiang Ming remains unharmed and summons the Poison Ancestor Shaman, Shebi, to refine the curse-filled origin essence within the mist.
• Shebi’s refinement proves highly beneficial, strengthening Jiang Ming’s body, divine power, and divine sense. Jiang Ming also considers using the poison essence to create Poison-Element Dao Soldiers in the future.
• After a month, Jiang Ming completes three Water-Element Dao Soldiers from former water ghosts. They retain traces of spiritual awareness and can use basic water techniques, but function primarily as obedient combat puppets.
• Jiang Ming leaves the Yaochi ruins and travels to the Fire Domain, practicing the Nine Secrets: Jie along the way. He reaches the ninth region, where the Five-Element True Fire is strongest.
• Using the Ancestral Shaman Zhurong’s Divine Form, Jiang Ming absorbs and refines the Five-Element True-Fire Essence. His five Dao Palace Totem Deities complete their breakthrough and gain foundations sufficient for Eight Prohibitions combat power.
• Jiang Ming successfully breaks into the Four Extremes Secret Realm, greatly enhancing his divine sense and bringing it to a level comparable to a Holy Master-level Great Ability with Six Prohibitions combat power.
• His breakthrough triggers an exceptionally powerful Four Symbols Tribulation. Lightning forms Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise manifestations, which begin attacking him.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Gains a deeper understanding of the Dao Palace Secret Realm and significantly improves his combat foundation. His five Dao Palace Deities continue developing innate abilities through absorbed natural and beastly imprints. He also becomes more capable of controlling and utilizing various Dao Soldiers.
• Ye Fan: Acquires the Western Empress’s Dao Palace inheritance and recognizes the vast difference between Jiang Ming’s Totem Azure Dragon and other Dao Palace Deities. He remains concerned about Jiang Ming but accepts that he lacks the strength to assist him.
• Black Emperor: Initially reacts with shock to the Azure Dragon and the black mist, but becomes more cautious and practical, urging Ye Fan to leave the dangerous ruins.
• Water-Element Dao Soldiers: Three former water ghosts are transformed into humanoid weapons. Though lacking true consciousness, they retain simple instincts and powerful close-combat abilities based on their former Dao-Severing King cultivation.
• Poison Ancestor Shaman Shebi: Demonstrates its value as a specialized manifestation capable of refining the dangerous curse and ominous energy surrounding the Sacred Lake.

Significant Themes

• Power through refinement and transformation: Jiang Ming repeatedly converts dangerous forces—water essence, poison, curses, and true fire—into resources for cultivation.
• The relationship between cultivation and potential: The chapter emphasizes that Eight Prohibitions and the Divine Forbidden Realm represent extraordinary future potential, including the possibility of reaching the level of a Great Emperor.
• Dao Palace Deities as extensions of the self: Jiang Ming’s five deities grow independently, acquire natural imprints, and provide major enhancements, especially to his divine sense.
• Weaponization of life and spiritual remnants: The water ghosts are stripped of their former identities and refined into obedient Dao Soldiers, highlighting Jiang Ming’s pragmatic approach to cultivation.
• Tribulation as recognition of advancement: Jiang Ming’s breakthrough immediately summons the rare Four Symbols Tribulation, showing that Heaven regards his foundation and potential as unusually formidable.

Character Interactions

• Ye Fan and Black Emperor are startled by the Azure Dragon’s emergence and question Jiang Ming about it.
• Jiang Ming calmly explains that the dragon is one of his Dao Palace Deities and allows them to continue their own affairs.
• Ye Fan and Black Emperor worry about Jiang Ming when the Yaochi Sacred Lake becomes engulfed in black mist. Jiang Ming reassures them and personally escorts them out.
• Ye Fan acknowledges Jiang Ming’s overwhelming strength and accepts that he cannot meaningfully help in the current danger.
• The chapter ends as Jiang Ming faces the Four Symbols Tribulation, with the four divine beasts formed from lightning charging toward him.

Chapter Summary: “Totem Vermilion Bird”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming successfully endures the Four Symbols Tribulation, breaking through from the Dao Palace Secret Realm into the Four Extremes Secret Realm.
• As a wild Heavenly Tyrant Body without the support of an ancestral star or ideal cultivation environment, he completes the breakthrough largely through his own effort.
• His twelve Ancestral Witch Divine Forms become more substantial and gain spiritual vitality. After reaching the Four Extremes Secret Realm, two of them—Qiangliang, the Thunder Ancestral Witch, and Xizi, the Lightning Ancestral Witch—begin to manifest clearly.
• Qiangliang grants Jiang Ming powerful thunder-based sound and vibration techniques, while Xizi embodies destructive lightning.
• Jiang Ming uses the tribulation to temper his body, divine forms, weapons, wine gourd, and formation flags. He also collects Thunder Tribulation Liquid.
• He begins transforming his formation flags:
  • Twelve become Twelve Demon God Banners bearing the Dao traces of the Ancestral Witches.
  • Five become Five Directions Banners bearing the Dao traces of the Totem Deities.
  • One becomes a Chaos Banner containing both systems.
• His five Dao Palace Totem Deities emerge and battle the tribulation lightning:
  • Azure Dragon
  • Vermilion Bird
  • Qilin
  • Black Tortoise
  • White Tiger
• The Totem Deities take human-like forms resembling Jiang Ming, each reflecting the nature of its corresponding divine beast.
• After five and a half hours, the tribulation ends. Jiang Ming’s four phenomena, Life-Bound Sword, lotus weapons, divine forms, and banners all receive substantial strengthening.

Character Development

• Jiang Ming grows more powerful and independent, reinforcing his identity as a self-reliant Heavenly Tyrant Body who lacks the natural protection enjoyed by others of his lineage.
• His breakthrough allows his Divine Forms to evolve from mere projections into more active Dao manifestations that can protect and augment his combat abilities.
• He develops a more sophisticated arsenal by combining:
  • Heavenly Tyrant Body Divine Forms
  • Totem Deities
  • Four powerful phenomena
  • Formation Dao techniques
  • Refined weapons and banners
• Jiang Ming’s unusual cultivation path becomes clearer. Because he initially lacked a suitable Shrouding Method, he cultivated the Chinese Paladin Method and accidentally developed four powerful phenomena. These coexist with his Heavenly Tyrant Body rather than being replaced by its Divine Forms.
• His Life-Bound Sword advances to the level of a lower-grade mid-grade Spirit Treasure, while his four Treasure Lotuses also reach an unusually high level for his cultivation.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming interacts primarily with his own manifestations and weapons rather than other characters.
• His Ancestral Witch Divine Forms and Totem Deities act as semi-independent combat entities, battling the tribulation lightning and helping refine his treasures.
• The Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird Totem Deities are emphasized most strongly. Both take the form of armored men resembling Jiang Ming, though the Vermilion Bird manifestation appears especially noble and sacred because it originates from the Heart Dao Palace.
• The chapter also references broader figures and lineages:
  • Ye Fan’s slow growth prevents Jiang Ming from testing his phenomena against Desolate Ancient Sacred Body phenomena.
  • The Black Emperor is cited as an example of someone whose Formation Dao allows him to wield terrifying killing formations despite limited cultivation.
  • Emperor Hengyu’s Eight Deities Savage Force and the Nine Secrets are compared as examples of powerful secret arts whose effectiveness depends on the user.

Significant Themes

• Defying heaven and earth: Cultivation is portrayed as breaking through the restrictions imposed by the world’s laws, especially for physiques like the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body and Heavenly Tyrant Body that are no longer favored by the current era.
• Self-reliance and adversity: Jiang Ming’s progress is meaningful because he lacks the support traditionally available to his lineage and must create his own path.
• Integration of multiple systems: The chapter highlights Jiang Ming’s unusual ability to combine Divine Forms, phenomena, Dao Palace Totems, weapons, and formations without them destroying one another.
• Growth through tribulation: The lightning tribulation is not merely an obstacle; Jiang Ming turns it into a resource for refining his body, manifestations, weapons, and formations.
• Power depends on the practitioner: Comparisons between Sacred Body phenomena, the Nine Secrets, and Hengyu’s techniques emphasize that no method is absolutely superior. Its strength depends on the person who comprehends and uses it.
• Balance between inherited tradition and innovation: Jiang Ming draws from ancient myths, the Heavenly Tyrant Body lineage, Emperor-level scriptures, and memories from his previous life while creating a unique cultivation system of his own.

Chapter Summary: Innate Dao Embryo Overlord Body

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming completes the refinement of seven Fire-Element Dao Soldiers in the ninth layer of the Fire Domain. Unable to withstand the Nine-Colored Sacred Fire directly, the Dao-Severing King skeletons are transformed using Fire-Element Essence and later strengthened in the Five-Elements True Fire Region.
• One red-glowing skeleton awakens powerful Fire Dao Patterns and reaches combat strength comparable to a Holy Master. The Dao Soldiers are further enhanced with Dao Traces borrowed from Jiang Ming’s twelve Ancestral Shaman Dharma Forms.
• After months of cultivation, Jiang Ming’s physical body reaches the Dao-Severing King level. He can briefly endure the Seven-Colored Divine Fire without protection, demonstrating a major increase in strength.
• Jiang Ming reflects on the difference between Dao-Severing Kings and Saints, including their vastly different lifespans and combat power. He also considers Madman’s possible transformation into the Saint King Realm.
• His Nine-Aperture Divine-Demon Dao Embryo continues evolving, raising questions about whether he has become an “Innate Dao Embryo Overlord Body” or an “Innate Saint Spirit Overlord Body.”
• Jiang Ming perfects the first stage of his Four Extremes cultivation through the Hengyu Scripture. His right arm fuses with the Vermilion Bird Dao, giving him control over Li-Fire and allowing his attacks to carry the power of the Great Dao.
• He plans to cultivate his other limbs as manifestations of the Four Symbols: the left arm as the White Tiger, the right leg as the Azure Dragon, and the left leg as the Black Tortoise. He also envisions a future fifth-limb cultivation centered on the Qilin.
• Using the Hengyu Li-Fire Escape, Jiang Ming leaves the Fire Domain and travels rapidly to the Northern Region, eventually reaching the Azure Flood Dragon King’s territory in Cloud Marsh Prefecture.
• Guided by his Marriage Red Thread connection with Yan Ruyu, he locates the Secret Realm Cave-Heaven where she and the Peach Blossom Demons reside.
• Jiang Ming enters the realm and surprises the thirty-eight female demons while they bathe. He gives each of them a drop of Water-Element Essence from the Yaochi Sacred Lake to strengthen and nourish them.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Experiences a major advancement in physical strength, Dao comprehension, speed, and combat potential. His body and Dao Embryo are approaching an unprecedented state, while his personal path increasingly combines the Divine-Demon Dao Embryo, the Hengyu Scripture, and the Four Symbols.
• Fire-Element Dao Soldiers: Become significantly stronger through Jiang Ming’s refinement. One reaches Holy Master-level combat power and gains exceptional defensive resilience through Fire Dao Patterns and Five-Element True Fire.
• Yan Ruyu: Although she does not appear directly, Jiang Ming’s next goal is to assist her final transformation. He hopes she will develop the Azure Lotus Saint Body and eventually the Azure Lotus Dao Body.
• Madman: Jiang Ming speculates that Madman’s condition has improved and that he may have completed his transformation into a Saint King. His future transformations are foreshadowed as a progression from old age to middle age and finally youth.
• Peach Blossom Demons: Continue living safely and comfortably because Jiang Ming prevented their tragic fate from the original storyline. They remain loyal and delighted by his arrival.
• Jiang Family Connections: The chapter reveals that Jiang Yi, one of the Thirteen Bandits, is both Jiang Huairen’s grandfather and related to Jiang Ming through Jiang Ming’s father, Jiang Zhe.

Significant Themes

• Evolution and transformation: Jiang Ming’s body, Dao Embryo, limbs, and Dao Soldiers are all undergoing continual refinement and rebirth.
• Forging one’s own Dao: Jiang Ming develops a personalized cultivation path based on the Four Symbols, the Five Elements, the Dao Palace, and the Hengyu Scripture.
• The gap between realms: The chapter emphasizes the enormous distinction between Dao-Severing Kings, Saints, and Saint Kings, particularly in lifespan, power, and the danger of incomplete transformation.
• Inheritance and innovation: Jiang Ming uses established scriptures and borrowed Dao Traces but reshapes them into something uniquely his own.
• Protection and altered fate: The Peach Blossom Demons survive because Jiang Ming intervened, showing how his actions have changed the original course of events.
• Relationships as guidance: The Marriage Red Thread enables Jiang Ming to locate Yan Ruyu, highlighting the continuing importance of their bond.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming reflects on the likely growth and transformation of Madman, though they do not meet in this chapter.
• He considers his future role in helping Yan Ruyu complete her transformation and improve her cultivation foundation.
• Upon entering the Secret Realm, Jiang Ming reunites with the Peach Blossom Demons. They react with surprise and happiness, addressing him affectionately as “Young Master.”
• Rather than merely observing them, Jiang Ming rewards and assists the demons by giving each Water-Element Essence, strengthening their bodies while preserving their peaceful life under his protection.

Chapter Summary: Emperor Hengyu, Master Craftsman

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming escapes a group of flirtatious female demons who pursue him after receiving Water-Element Essence from him. Their bodies are nourished by the essence, and they return to refining its benefits.
• He travels through the vast Secret Realm Cave-Heaven, a domain spanning fourteen thousand eight hundred li and once belonging to a powerful Saint Body cultivator.
• Jiang Ming finds Yan Ruyu in seclusion. She has used the treasures he gave her—including Profound Yellow Mother Qi Essence Liquid, Nine-Colored Sacred Fire Essence Liquid, Thunder Tribulation Liquid, and Immortal Brew—to reach the final stage of a major transformation.
• Yan Ruyu is preparing to evolve from the Demon Race’s Heavenly Demon Body into the superior Azure Lotus Saint Body, using the Azure Emperor’s secret technique.
• Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu reunite emotionally and begin an intimate period of dual cultivation. After more than a month, Yan Ruyu completes her transformation, improving her body, soul, origin, magical power, and divine consciousness.
• Her cultivation advances into the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm, and she prepares to undergo tribulation.
• Jiang Ming accompanies her outside the Cave-Heaven, where they undergo heavenly tribulation together. Yan Ruyu faces the powerful Hundred Dragons Tribulation, while Jiang Ming endures the Four Symbols Tribulation and refines Thunder Tribulation Liquid.
• Jiang Ming gives Yan Ruyu a powerful set of Nine Heavens Golden Jade Body Armor, which he personally crafted using techniques from multiple worlds and the traditions of his Old Jiang Family.
• After the tribulation, Yan Ruyu questions Jiang Ming’s cultivation. He claims to be a Four Extremes cultivator who follows a Single-Secret-Realm cultivation method, though his actual strength is clearly far beyond what his cultivation level suggests.
• Yan Ruyu accepts his explanation and returns with him, taking his hand affectionately.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Remains powerful, confident, and playful. He continues supporting those close to him through rare treasures, cultivation guidance, artifact crafting, and protection. His mastery of weapon refinement is emphasized, especially through his inheritance of Emperor Hengyu’s craftsmanship.
• Yan Ruyu: Undergoes a complete transformation into the Azure Lotus Saint Body, greatly increasing her combat ability and reaching the Seven Prohibitions level. She becomes more emotionally open toward Jiang Ming, showing longing, concern, trust, and affection.
• The female demons: Benefit physically from Jiang Ming’s Water-Element Essence and become even more openly attached to him, though they are eventually reminded to stop playing and focus on cultivation.
• Jiang Ming and Yan Ruyu’s relationship: Their reunion reveals that Yan Ruyu has deeply missed him. Her former reserve gives way to initiative and tenderness, while Jiang Ming continues to protect and encourage her.

Significant Themes

• Transformation and self-improvement: Yan Ruyu’s evolution demonstrates that a powerful physique can fundamentally enhance every aspect of cultivation and combat.
• Strength through physique and foundations: The chapter stresses the importance of a strong constitution, comparing Yan Ruyu’s transformation with the achievements of figures such as Wushi Emperor, Ye Fan, and the Ruthless Empress.
• Devotion and protection: Jiang Ming’s treasures, armor, and willingness to undergo tribulation alongside Yan Ruyu reflect his commitment to protecting and strengthening her.
• Craftsmanship and inheritance: Jiang Ming’s artifact-making abilities connect him to Emperor Hengyu and the Old Jiang Family, presenting him as both a cultivator and a master craftsman.
• Hidden power and misleading appearances: Jiang Ming presents himself as merely a Four Extremes cultivator, but his strength and tribulation reveal that his true abilities far exceed his apparent realm.
• Romance amid cultivation: Emotional intimacy and dual cultivation are portrayed as both expressions of love and means of advancing in strength.

Character Interactions

• The female demons tease and pursue Jiang Ming while discussing the benefits of the essence he gave them.
• Jiang Ming reunites warmly with Yan Ruyu, whose guarded attitude softens because of his past protection and their long separation.
• Their dual cultivation helps Yan Ruyu complete her transformation and stabilize her breakthrough.
• Jiang Ming accompanies Yan Ruyu through her tribulation, assists her cultivation, and equips her with specially crafted armor.
• Yan Ruyu worries about Jiang Ming’s unusual cultivation path, interprets it as an imitation of Ancient Sages, and responds with affection and concern.
• The chapter ends with Yan Ruyu taking Jiang Ming’s hand as they return together, highlighting their growing closeness.