Chapter Summaries

Gu Sheng fought the Meng Family patriarch after defeating Meng Xiao’s guards, and his four Great Grotto-Heavens let him wound the Heavenly Martial Realm expert before the patriarch escaped with Meng Xiao. Badly injured, Gu Sheng was taken by Yue Shen Gong to the Divine Craftsman's Maze Hall to recover, while the patriarch warned Meng Xiao not to rely on his family’s backing.

• Gu Sheng killed one of Meng Xiao’s men and crippled the other four, then evaded the Heavenly Martial Incarnation Meng Xiao summoned and wounded Meng Xiao.
• The Meng Family patriarch arrived, but Gu Sheng stood firm under his pressure and revealed four Great Grotto-Heavens.
• Gu Sheng split the patriarch’s palm attack with his sword, then wounded him with another strike as the Xie siblings fled.
• The patriarch struck Gu Sheng with his Myriad Thunder Heart-Piercing Palm, but Gu Sheng’s golden barrier blocked it and he slashed the patriarch’s neck.
• The patriarch fled with Meng Xiao after Gu Sheng’s North Star Immortal Slaying Sword struck him, leaving Gu Sheng badly injured.
• Yue Shen Gong brought Gu Sheng to the Divine Craftsman's Maze Hall to recover, while the patriarch took a Vitality Returning Pill and cautioned Meng Xiao against relying on family power.

Gu Sheng recovered from his fight with the Meng Family’s old ancestor and led Xie Qingxuan and Xie He toward a hidden realm beneath the Spirit Flame Mountain’s volcanic crater. As Xu Hansong and four Sun Moon Sect members approached to kill him, Gu Sheng sent Xie Qingxuan and Xie He to hide and confronted them at the peak.

• The Meng Family’s old ancestor vowed to eliminate Gu Sheng after returning to Great Desolation City, fearing the threat he would pose if he grew stronger.
• Gu Sheng recovered inside the Divine Craftsman’s Maze Hall, reunited with Xie Qingxuan and Xie He, and told them the Spirit Flame Immortal Herb lay in a hidden realm within the mountain range.
• Gu Sheng detected concealed arrays and found that the main peak was an illusion hiding a volcanic crater; he suspected the realm’s entrance was in the lava and planned to investigate by day.
• Liu Qingyun used her jade pendant to evade Gu Sheng’s spiritual probing, then summoned Xu Hansong and told him Gu Sheng had found the hidden realm; Xu Hansong ordered his four subordinates to attack.
• Gu Sheng sensed five approaching Heavenly Martial Realm auras, sent Xie Qingxuan and Xie He to hide, and went to meet Xu Hansong and the Sun Moon Sect group at the peak.
• Xu Hansong declared the hidden realm Sun Moon Sect territory and threatened to kill Gu Sheng, who warned that the sect would face consequences if it harmed a man of Great Desolation City.

Gu Sheng used Tantai Ying’s phantom to deter Xu Hansong and the other factions, but the Sun Moon Sect and Divine Blood Sect later joined forces against him at the Spirit Flame Mountain secret realm. Just as the elders moved to kill him, Tantai Bing Tang appeared and warned that anyone who harmed Gu Sheng would face the wrath of Linlang Pavilion.

• Gu Sheng invoked Tantai Ying’s phantom to make Xu Hansong and the Sun Moon Sect back down, then clashed verbally with Chi Yan, a leader of the Divine Blood Sect.
• Gu Sheng kept watch overnight and used Shadow’s aura to drive off scouts as the ancient bronze gate to the secret realm rose from the lava.
• Chi Yan challenged Gu Sheng’s group at the entrance, and the Sun Moon Sect and Divine Blood Sect nearly fought before Sect Realm elders from both sides arrived.
• The Sun Moon Sect’s First Elder and the Divine Blood Sect’s blood-robed elder agreed to join forces and kill Gu Sheng, believing Shadow was absent.
• Tantai Bing Tang appeared as a phantom, declared Gu Sheng the Third Pavilion Master of Linlang Pavilion, and threatened both sects if they harmed him.

Gu Sheng entered the secret realm with Xie Qingxuan and Xie He, where they found a Spirit Flame Immortal Herb growing above a Magma Lake filled with Divine Phoenix Essence Blood. As the Divine Blood Sect and Sun Moon Sect fought over the site, Gu Sheng began using the magma to temper his body, and a Divine Phoenix Phantom appeared to protect him from attack.

• Tantai Bing Tang's spiritual incarnation severed the First Elder's head, forcing the Divine Blood Sect and Sun Moon Sect to let Gu Sheng enter the secret realm.
• Gu Sheng led Xie Qingxuan and Xie He to a volcano, where they found the Spirit Flame Immortal Herb and later faced Xu Hansong and Zhang Tianxing.
• Zhang Tianxing was badly burned by the Magma Lake's Divine Phoenix Essence Blood, which Gu Sheng explained countered his Dao Marks.
• Gu Sheng stepped into the magma and discovered that its energy burned away and regenerated his flesh, strengthening his body.
• Zhang Tianxing ordered Divine Blood Sect disciples to attack Gu Sheng, but a Divine Phoenix Phantom stopped their strikes and killed the attackers with crimson-gold spikes.

Gu Sheng endured the Magma Lake’s upheaval long enough to complete his body tempering, then was swept toward the lakebed, where a Blood Blade Demonic Vine attacked him. Xu Hansong and Zhang Tianxing had triggered the chaos by breaking the formation that controlled the Divine Phoenix remnant soul.

• Gu Sheng warned Xu Hansong that the magma would kill anyone whose marrow was not tempered, while Zhang Tianxing and Xu Hansong left the lake and plotted to use the remnant soul against him.
• Gu Sheng directed Xie He to search underground and told Xie Qingxuan to cultivate by the shore as he continued tempering his body in the magma.
• Zhang Tianxing revealed the ancient formation to Xu Hansong, and they used the Forbidden-Breaking Spike to disrupt it and unleash the Divine Phoenix remnant soul.
• Xie He learned that the Sun Moon Sect and Divine Blood Sect had allied, then knocked out Xie Qingxuan and carried her away as the lake erupted.
• Gu Sheng completed his tempering during the upheaval, but a vortex dragged him toward the lakebed, where a Blood Blade Demonic Vine attacked him.

Gu Sheng discovered that the monsters in the Magma Lake were Heavenly Demon Vines and used his knowledge to conceal himself and seize their core. He began climbing back to the surface with the vine’s true body, while Zhang Tianxing and Xu Hansong still searched for him and threatened Xie Qingxuan and Xie He.

• Gu Sheng recognized the attacking plants as Heavenly Demon Vines and concealed his life aura so he could descend safely toward their core.
• Zhang Tianxing and Xu Hansong searched the secret realm, found no trace of Gu Sheng, and ordered warriors to investigate the Magma Lake.
• Gu Sheng had the Spirit Embryo Incarnation imitate a divine phoenix’s aura to draw the vines away from their exposed core.
• Gu Sheng used the Secret Art of Dual Seas of Consciousness to subdue the core and claim the Heavenly Demon Vine’s true body.
• Gu Sheng started swimming upward with the golden-red vine protecting him as it parted the magma.
• After three days of searching, Xu Hansong berated his men while Zhang Tianxing threatened Xie Qingxuan and Xie He for Gu Sheng’s whereabouts.

Gu Sheng rescued Xie Qingxuan from Zhang Tianxing and used the Heavenly Demon Vine to kill the Divine Blood Sect and Sun Moon Sect disciples at the lava lake. After giving Xie Qingxuan the Spirit Flame Immortal Herb, he sensed a Sovereign Realm expert approaching and escaped the secret realm with her, where the two sect masters confronted him about their missing disciples.

• Zhang Tianxing killed Xie He and tried to throw Xie Qingxuan into the lava, but Gu Sheng emerged from the lake and caught her.
• Gu Sheng unleashed the Heavenly Demon Vine and slaughtered Zhang Tianxing, Xu Hansong, and the gathered disciples of the Divine Blood Sect and Sun Moon Sect.
• Gu Sheng gave Xie Qingxuan the Spirit Flame Immortal Herb and asked her to conceal what had happened; she promised the Xie Family would support him.
• Gu Sheng sensed a Sovereign Realm expert approaching, then used an ancient bronze key to lead Xie Qingxuan through a teleportation gate out of the secret realm.
• The Sun Moon Sect and Divine Blood Sect masters confronted Gu Sheng outside the secret realm, and the Sun Moon Sect master demanded to know where Xu Hansong was.

Gu Sheng distracted the elders guarding the bronze gates, awakened the Nine Dragon Universe Cauldron’s power, and killed the Sun Moon Sect’s First Elder with a single Divine Flame Sword Qi strike. He fled with Xie Qingxuan, then used the spirit embryo to create an identical double, leaving their pursuers to split up and chase both routes.

• Gu Sheng persuaded the Sun Moon Sect and Divine Blood Sect masters to investigate the secret realm while their elders stayed behind to watch him and Xie Qingxuan.
• Gu Sheng taunted the elders and repeatedly attacked without force, waiting until their vigilance faded before using the Nine Dragon Universe Cauldron to awaken his hidden power.
• Gu Sheng cut the Sun Moon Sect’s First Elder in two with Divine Flame Sword Qi, vaporizing his body and frightening the remaining elders.
• Gu Sheng drew Xie Qingxuan to his side and fled under attacks from the pursuing disciples, shielding them with a flame barrier.
• Gu Sheng used the spirit embryo to create an identical double at a fork in the road, and Xue Wuya ordered the pursuers to split up and chase both figures.

Gu Sheng escaped the Divine Blood Sect’s pursuit but was left gravely injured, while Xie Qingxuan rescued him and helped him hide in a cave. As Gu Sheng struggled to recover, Xie Qingxuan found the herbs he needed and was attacked in the forest.

• Gu Sheng hid Xie Qingxuan in the Bronze Great Hall, then used the Nine Dragon Universe Cauldron and a burst of Source Power to break through the Divine Blood Sect elders’ encirclement.
• Gu Sheng collapsed from his injuries and woke two days later in a cave, where Xie Qingxuan told him she had found and cared for him.
• Gu Sheng explained that his organs and meridians were badly damaged and asked Xie Qingxuan to gather herbs for a Heaven-Returning Pill.
• Gu Sheng learned that his avatar had been destroyed, then painfully began circulating the Nine Dragon Qiankun Art to speed his recovery.
• Xie Qingxuan found Seven Star Meridian Replenishing Grass in the forest, but an invisible wind blade struck her and knocked her to the ground.

Xie Qingxuan killed a Black Tortoise Realm Windcloud Leopard while protecting the recovering Gu Sheng, then returned with spiritual medicine and collapsed. After she recovered and Gu Sheng reached the fifth level of the Earth Martial Realm, he prepared to leave and train further, while Xie Qingxuan offered to use her special Yin-Essence Power to help him.

• Xie Qingxuan fought the Windcloud Leopard, used Cold Star to pierce its eye, and killed it by detonating true qi inside its skull.
• Xie Qingxuan gathered Profound Ice Grass and dragged the leopard's corpse back to Gu Sheng's cave before collapsing.
• Gu Sheng used the leopard's demonic core and Xie Qingxuan's herbs to refine a Minor Restoration Pill and treat her, then thanked her for risking her life to protect him.
• Xie Qingxuan and Gu Sheng rested for two days, and Gu Sheng recovered and advanced to the fifth level of the Earth Martial Realm.
• Gu Sheng said he would continue training instead of returning to Great Desolation City, and offered Xie Qingxuan a token for Linlang Pavilion.
• Xie Qingxuan offered to help Gu Sheng recover and break through by using the special Yin-Essence Power in her bloodline, but Gu Sheng refused.

Gu Sheng escorted Xie Qingxuan to Green Lotus City, gave her a Linlang Pavilion token, and sent her to Great Desolation City before continuing toward the southern region. In Blazing Sun City, he began searching for the Jade Capital Sect, settled into Moon Gazing Pavilion, and rejected Steward Liu’s offer of female martial artists.

• Gu Sheng offered Xie Qingxuan a Linlang Pavilion token for protection, and she accepted it after he warned that the two great sects might target the Xie Family.
• Gu Sheng escorted Xie Qingxuan through the mountains to Green Lotus City, where the Innate Spirit Embryo revealed it had used its spiritual energy to carry him there.
• Gu Sheng paid for Xie Qingxuan to teleport to Great Desolation City, and she asked whether they would meet again before the formation sent her away.
• Gu Sheng traveled to Blazing Sun City, hired Zhao San to find lodging and investigate the Jade Capital Sect, and booked a private courtyard at Moon Gazing Pavilion.
• Gu Sheng cultivated in the courtyard while an unseen shadow followed him, and Zhao San received a High-grade Spirit Stone from a Moon Gazing Pavilion steward for keeping quiet.
• Steward Liu offered Gu Sheng female martial artists skilled in dual cultivation, but Gu Sheng refused and frightened him with his pressure.

Gu Sheng discovered that the Blazing Sun King’s line descended from the Jade Capital Sect and fled Moon Gazing Pavilion after Tang Muzhi marked him and pursued the Innate Spirit Embryo. Unable to shake his trackers, Gu Sheng sought refuge at the Town South King’s Mansion, where an armored woman challenged him before agreeing to report his arrival.

• Zhao San warned Gu Sheng that a powerful figure in Blazing Sun City had stopped his investigation into the Jade Capital Sect, and Tang Qingyun revealed that the Blazing Sun King’s line descended from the sect.
• Tang Qingyun used spiritual force to test Gu Sheng’s explanation, warned him not to investigate the Jade Capital Sect again, and revealed his strength as a sixth-level Heavenly Martial Realm expert.
• Gu Sheng learned that Tang Muzhi had planted a Blazing Sun Mark on him and fled Moon Gazing Pavilion, disguising himself with the Thousand Illusions Mirror as Tang Qingyun led a pursuit force after him.
• Gu Sheng discovered that several experts were tracking him and realized Tang Muzhi would not act inside the city, so he headed toward the Town South King’s Mansion to use its protection.
• An armored woman stopped Gu Sheng outside the mansion, and he presented his Blazing Heaven Sacred Land token and explained that the Town South King might need a method to break through his realm and extend his lifespan.
• The woman withdrew her spear and went to report Gu Sheng’s arrival at the Town South King’s Mansion.

Gu Sheng helped Nangong Tiance overcome his cultivation bottleneck, allowing the Town South King to break through into the Earth King Realm. As Tang Muzhi ordered Gu Sheng seized when he left the estate, Nangong Tiance’s triumphant voice rang through the mansion.

• Gu Sheng used the Blazing Heaven Sacred Order to meet Nangong Tiance and explained that his true qi transformation had taken the wrong direction.
• Gu Sheng wrote “Break to Rebuild!” for Nangong Tiance, who broke through to the Earth King Realm in a massive surge of spiritual energy.
• Tang Muzhi learned of Nangong Tiance’s breakthrough and ordered Tang Qingyun to investigate its cause and have Gu Sheng seized when he left the Town South King’s territory.
• Nangong Yingying introduced Gu Sheng to Nangong Baye, who thanked him for helping Nangong Tiance and grew furious upon learning that the Blazing Sun King’s men were watching him.
• Gu Sheng studied the spiritual fluctuations while sheltering in the mansion, and Nangong Tiance’s voice announced his breakthrough to the assembled people.

Gu Sheng left Blazing Sun City after persuading Nangong Tiance to follow him and study the Dao resonance in a sword mark. On the way to the Southern Frontier, Gu Sheng evaded pursuing martial artists by disguising his aura and reached Blackwater City.

• Nangong Tiance questioned Gu Sheng’s identity, but Gu Sheng refused his offer to marry Nangong Yingying and instead showed him a sword mark containing profound Dao resonance.
• Nangong Tiance agreed to serve Gu Sheng, who gave him a jade talisman and left the city with Nangong Yingying and Nangong Baye as escorts.
• Tang Muzhi and Tang Qingyun plotted to have Southern Frontier forces attack Gu Sheng, while Tang Muzhi suspected Gu Sheng carried one of the thirty-six inheritances left by an ancient sword cultivator.
• An enemy array platform forced Gu Sheng and the Nangong siblings to land; Gu Sheng changed his aura and separated from them to avoid capture.
• Gu Sheng passed himself off as a Southern Frontier cultivator named Zhao San, then reached Blackwater City and was stopped at a checkpoint.

Gu Sheng entered Tianyou City, learned that a secret realm had appeared near the city, and bought a place in the expedition while investigating who might be watching him. He identified the Five Poisons Sect patriarch as the Blood Centipede Protector, lured him into a valley, and faced the Five Poisons Bone Erosion Array.

• Gu Sheng paid for entry into Tianyou City and hired Zhao Laosan to find him a quiet inn and explain the city’s powers.
• Gu Sheng learned about the secret realm near Wusheng Temple and that the Tianyou Sect and Five Poisons Divine Cult were both pursuing it.
• Gu Sheng bought a secret realm slot from Market Master Mo Ling and learned that the Blood Centipede Protector, who wore a bronze mask, was stationed in the city.
• Gu Sheng suspected the Blood Centipede Protector was the Five Poisons Sect patriarch who had been watching him, so he deliberately drew his pursuers into a valley outside the city.
• The Blood Centipede Protector attacked Gu Sheng, but Gu Sheng dispersed his poisonous centipede with a breath; seven followers then formed the Five Poisons Bone Erosion Array around him.

Gu Sheng killed the Blood Centipede Protector, followed the Blood Soul Arrow Mark to the Five Poisons Divine Cult branch, and slaughtered everyone there while framing Tang Qingyun. As Tang Qingyun and the Tianyou Sect Patriarch moved to spread news about Gu Sheng’s treasure, Gu Sheng reached the guarded secret-realm entrance.

• Gu Sheng exposed the Blood Centipede Protector’s Phantom Centipede Substitute Talisman, overcame his poison and attacks, and killed him with the North Star Immortal Slaying Sword and God Slaying Thorn.
• The dying Blood Centipede Protector struck Gu Sheng with a Blood Soul Arrow Mark, and Gu Sheng followed it to the Five Poisons Divine Cult branch.
• Gu Sheng unleashed the Heavenly Demon Vine to kill everyone in the branch, then carved a message blaming Tang Qingyun, heir to the Blazing Sun King.
• Gu Sheng sent his Spirit Embryo Incarnation to impersonate Tang Qingyun across Tianyou City, stirring panic before he slipped away.
• Tang Qingyun denied responsibility to the Tianyou Sect Patriarch, who agreed to help spread news that Gu Sheng possessed a great treasure and summon intelligence brokers.
• Gu Sheng arrived at the secret-realm entrance and overwhelmed a guard with his immense pressure.

Gu Sheng entered the secret realm and killed thirteen Five Poisons Divine Cult martial artists before confronting Yin Jiuyou, the Tianyou Sect’s First Elder. After Yin Jiuyou ambushed him and used the Blood Burst Art to reach the Heavenly Martial Realm, Gu Sheng blocked his powerful saber strike with the Heavenly Demon Vine and prepared to attack.

• Gu Sheng forced a martial artist to open the secret realm, then entered using a token from the Five Poisons Divine Cult.
• Gu Sheng used the Heavenly Demon Vine to kill a Five Poisons Divine Cult martial artist refining a spiritual herb, then killed three more disciples traveling together.
• Gu Sheng hunted down thirteen Five Poisons Divine Cult martial artists and learned that the cult might be backed by a hidden great sect.
• Yin Jiuyou confronted Gu Sheng, claimed he had no friendship with the Five Poisons Divine Cult, and attacked him when Gu Sheng passed by.
• Gu Sheng wounded Yin Jiuyou and exposed his feigned death, then countered his activated defensive talismans with Divine Flame Sword Qi.
• Yin Jiuyou used the Blood Burst Art to reach the Heavenly Martial Realm and unleashed a massive saber strike, but Gu Sheng blocked it with the Heavenly Demon Vine and sent its tendrils toward him.

Gu Sheng defeated a Tianyou Sect expert who guarded a valley of dense spiritual energy, using the Heavenly Demon Vine’s newly revealed poison to stop her secret technique and drain her life. Afterward, he suspected the vine had gained its poison from absorbing practitioners of poison arts.

• Gu Sheng watched the Heavenly Demon Vine complete its advancement after draining a middle-aged Heavenly Martial Realm cultivator, then recalled it into his body.
• The Innate Spirit Embryo detected unusually dense spiritual energy north of Gu Sheng, leading him to a mist-shrouded valley.
• A Tianyou Sect woman in the Heavenly Martial Realm accused Gu Sheng of trespassing and attacked him to claim the valley’s resources for herself.
• Gu Sheng countered her blade lights with the North Star Immortal Slaying Sword and sent the Heavenly Demon Vine to overwhelm her defenses.
• The woman used the Blood Fiend Soul Burning Great Law, but a hidden vine poisoned her and disrupted the technique before the Heavenly Demon Vine drained her life.
• Gu Sheng examined the blackened corpse and suspected the Heavenly Demon Vine’s poison came from absorbing practitioners of poison arts.

Gu Sheng claimed an Innate Spirit Spring, absorbed its core, and broke through to eighteen Grotto-Heavens while the Tianyou Sect mobilized after Youyun and the First Elder died. As Mo Tianyou attacked the Heavenly Demon Vine guarding the valley, Gu Sheng concealed his aura and prepared to face the approaching sect forces.

• Gu Sheng entered the spirit spring, advanced to the sixth level of the Earth Martial Realm, and captured its red core after the Spirit Embryo identified it as a treasure of the same origin.
• Gu Sheng collected the remaining Spiritual Spring Water and endured intense pain to open his second meridian, successfully forming eighteen Grotto-Heavens.
• Old Ancestor Tianyou discovered that Youyun and the First Elder's soul lamps had gone out and ordered the sect to search the secret realm for them.
• Gu Sheng tested his new strength, then sensed the Heavenly Demon Vine's spiritual fluctuation and heard Mo Tianyou demanding vengeance outside the valley.
• Mo Tianyou attacked the Heavenly Demon Vine with a sword formation as Gu Sheng watched from concealment and turned his attention toward the Tianyou Sect disciples.

Gu Sheng destroyed the Tianyou Sect Patriarch and escaped the Five Poisons Divine Cult’s pursuit after its checkpoint detected the Blood Soul Arrow mark. After traveling through the wilderness for half a month, he reached Xiaguang City, where a mysterious woman blocked his way.

• Gu Sheng ambushed the Tianyou Sect, killed its disciples and Patriarch, and looted their possessions before leaving the secret realm.
• Gu Sheng saw Tianyou City descend into chaos as rival factions fought over the fallen sect’s resources.
• At a Five Poisons Divine Cult checkpoint, Gu Sheng was exposed by the Blood Soul Arrow mark and killed the three martial artists guarding it.
• Gu Sheng evaded the pursuing Branch Master and his men by hiding in a swamp and misleading them with an afterimage.
• Gu Sheng avoided cities for half a month and finally reached Xiaguang City, where a woman in a violet-and-gold robe stopped him.