Chapter Summaries

Zhang Yuan discovered that Tan Chengcheng had killed an impostor disguised as her, then learned that Crown Prince Tan Yuming had orchestrated the attack with help from the First God Cult. The chapter ended as Shangguan Ying and the cult’s forces surrounded Zhang Yuan, Tan Chengcheng, and Xiao Yuanjun.

• Tan Chengcheng killed the impostor who had taken her appearance, and Zhang Yuan realized the woman he had subdued was the real princess.
• Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun learned that the severed head belonged to Third Prince Tan Xingzhou, and Tan Chengcheng identified Crown Prince Tan Yuming as the mastermind.
• Zhang Yuan sensed that attackers were approaching, and black-robed cultivators appeared to surround the courtyard.
• Tan Chengcheng identified Shangguan Ying as a guest of Tan Yuming’s Eastern Palace and recognized the attackers as members of the First God Cult.
• Shangguan Ying declared that Tan Yuming planned to make the First God Cult the state religion after taking the throne, while Tan Chengcheng prepared to rely on Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun.

Tan Chengcheng confronted Shangguan Ying, who arrived with Qin Tianyi, a Demonic Celestial Person hired by the Crown Prince. Zhang Yuan recognized Qin Tianyi, who fled rather than fight, and Zhang Yuan's attack killed Shangguan Ying, leaving the Crown Prince's conflict with Tan Chengcheng unresolved.

• Tan Chengcheng taunted Shangguan Ying and warned her that she had failed to learn who Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun were.
• Shangguan Ying revealed that the Crown Prince had recruited Qin Tianyi, a Demonic Celestial Person, and urged him to kill Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun.
• Qin Tianyi recognized Zhang Yuan, concealed his alarm, and pretended to accept the challenge as Zhang Yuan prepared his sword.
• Zhang Yuan attacked with Three-Colored Qi Light, and Qin Tianyi transformed into lightning and fled without fighting.
• Zhang Yuan's attack struck Shangguan Ying, annihilating her body and soul.

After Zhang Yuan effortlessly defeated the First God Cult’s attackers, Deputy Cult Master Tan tried to persuade him to support Crown Prince Tan Yuming. Zhang Yuan studied Tan and asked whether they had met before.

• Deputy Cult Master Tan ordered the First God Cult cultivators to attack Zhang Yuan and his companions.
• Zhang Yuan used the [Eastern Mystic-Yang Fusang Banner] to devastate the attackers, leaving Deputy Cult Master Tan and two Suspended Sky Realm Elders standing.
• The two Elders tried to flank Zhang Yuan, but he swiftly severed both their arms, forcing them to retreat behind Deputy Cult Master Tan.
• Deputy Cult Master Tan stepped forward and advised Zhang Yuan to back Crown Prince Tan Yuming instead of the Eldest Princess.
• Zhang Yuan asked Deputy Cult Master Tan whether they had met before.

Zhang Yuan fought Deputy Cult Master Tan, whose spell threatened Heaven-Reaching City, and threatened to destroy the entire city to stop him. Even after Tan withdrew the spell, Zhang Yuan still unleashed his sword strike.

• Deputy Cult Master Tan offered to reveal his face if Zhang Yuan bet on the Crown Prince, but Zhang Yuan refused and attacked him before he could finish speaking.
• Deputy Cult Master Tan used the Demon-Summoning Life-Devouring Mist to shield himself and shroud Heaven-Reaching City, using its inhabitants' vitality to defend against attacks.
• Tan Chengcheng urged Zhang Yuan to retreat, but he declared that he would annihilate the city to break Tan's spell.
• Deputy Cult Master Tan withdrew the mist and asked Zhang Yuan to stand down, but Zhang Yuan ignored Tan Chengcheng's plea and swung the Primordial Form-Converging Sword.

Zhang Yuan drove Deputy Cult Master Tan from the city, then learned that Tan Duanchang was his former cellmate and a senior figure in the First God Cult. Before dawn, Tan Duanchang devised a way to modify his life-devouring mist so Zhang Yuan could no longer use the city’s civilians as leverage.

• Deputy Cult Master Tan fled after Zhang Yuan’s attack wounded him, and Zhang Yuan admitted he could not kill an Ascension Realm opponent.
• Tan Chengcheng told Zhang Yuan and his companion to rest before accompanying her to the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace banquet the next evening.
• Deputy Cult Master Tan returned to the Heavenly Prison, where he revealed himself as Tan Duanchang, an old acquaintance of the Emperor and Empress.
• Tan Duanchang realized Zhang Yuan had restrained him because his spell killed its victims, so he planned to make the mist leave them barely alive.
• Tan Duanchang celebrated his solution while Elders Fang and Liu wondered whether he had gone mad.

Tan Chengcheng invited Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun to accompany her to the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace banquet to see what Tan Yuming was planning. As Xiao Yuanjun went to change, Zhang Yuan stayed in the Main Hall and teased Chi Guanguan, leaving her indignant but appeased by his flattery.

• Tan Chengcheng invited Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun to the Eastern Palace banquet after sunset, saying she wanted to observe Tan Yuming.
• Tan Chengcheng brought Xiao Yuanjun five Dharma robes and asked her to change before the banquet.
• Xiao Yuanjun teased Zhang Yuan for following her toward the bedroom, and he stayed in the Main Hall instead.
• Chi Guanguan asked Zhang Yuan why he had not gone inside, and he joked about her age.
• Zhang Yuan called Chi Guanguan beautiful and ageless to calm her after she bristled at his teasing.

Xiao Yuanjun tried on new clothes with Zhang Yuan’s help and chose a Cloud-Water Robe before joining Tan Chengcheng and two disciples from powerful cultivation factions. Zhang Yuan learned about their backing, while Tong Ke and Huang Yingquan sensed an unsettling danger from him.

• Xiao Yuanjun tried on five outfits for Zhang Yuan and chose the Cloud-Water Robe because it matched his white Daoist robe.
• Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun met Tan Chengcheng, Tong Ke, and Huang Yingquan at the Eldest Princess's Residence.
• Zhang Yuan learned that Tong Ke and Huang Yingquan were True Disciples of the Azure Talisman Grotto-Heaven and the Spirit Emperor Grotto-Heaven, factions allied with the Empress Dowager.
• Zhang Yuan silently wondered whether the two disciples would be easy to kill, then blamed those thoughts on [True Lord Ceased Light Punishes Thoughts].
• Tong Ke and Huang Yingquan both felt a chill of alarm when Zhang Yuan frowned.

Tan Chengcheng brought Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun to the Crown Prince's banquet, where the gate eunuch tried to bar them. Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun made a forceful entrance, and Zhang Yuan revealed his identity as the [Return to True Celestial Person], leaving Crown Prince Tan Yuming to reconsider his threat.

• Tan Chengcheng took Zhang Yuan, Xiao Yuanjun, Tong Ke, and Huang Yingquan by carriage to the Eastern Palace, where Wei Heng saw that the [Immortal-Binding Rope] remained on Zhang Yuan's wrist.
• The gate eunuch challenged Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun's right to attend the banquet, and Tong Ke identified Zhang Yuan as the renowned [Return to True Celestial Person].
• Xiao Yuanjun decided to stir up the banquet to strengthen her Bright Yang conceptual images, and Zhang Yuan agreed to make a conspicuous entrance.
• Zhang Yuan unleashed [Spring Harmony Scenery] and the pressure of his titles, sending the gate eunuch crashing through the Eastern Palace doors and pinning most banquet guests in place.
• Tan Yuming ordered Qin Tianyi to subdue Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun, but Zhang Yuan identified himself as the rogue cultivator [Return to True] and warned that his master might bury everyone in the palace.

Zhang Yuan used his overwhelming power to force Tan Yuming to welcome him and Xiao Yuanjun at the Eastern Palace banquet, where they took the seat of honor. As Tan Chengcheng arrived, Xiao Yuanjun sat in Zhang Yuan’s lap to make room for her, leaving Chi Guanguan regretting her suggestion.

• Tan Yuming asked Qin Tianyi about his chances against Zhang Yuan, and Qin Tianyi admitted he could save only five people before escaping.
• Tan Yuming apologized to Zhang Yuan and, under pressure, struggled over to welcome him and Xiao Yuanjun into the banquet.
• Zhang Yuan withdrew his divine ability after Xiao Yuanjun confirmed they had achieved their objective, and Tan Yuming seated them at the place of honor.
• Tan Chengcheng arrived with Tong Ke and Huang Yingquan and signaled for Zhang Yuan to make room at her seat.
• Xiao Yuanjun sat in Zhang Yuan’s lap to free a place for Tan Chengcheng, and Chi Guanguan realized her suggestion had helped Xiao Yuanjun.

At Tan Yuming’s banquet, Tan Linchuan proposed that the court choose between Tan Chengcheng and Tan Yuming to lead Great Heng. Just as the banquet seemed to be ending, Zhang Yuan set down his chopsticks and drew everyone’s attention.

• Tan Yaozheng asked Tan Chengcheng whether Zhang Yuan was her imperial son-in-law, and Tan Chengcheng coldly denied it.
• Xiao Yuanjun fed Zhang Yuan spiritual fruit, while Chi Guanguan asked him to send food into the Dao Domain for her and Ao Xiu.
• Tan Yuming gauged the banquet and signaled Tan Linchuan, who proposed that the court decide between Tan Chengcheng and Tan Yuming at the next morning’s session.
• Tan Chengcheng agreed to meet Tan Yuming in the Golden Throne Hall the next day as their ministers argued over who should lead Great Heng.
• Zhang Yuan set down his chopsticks, and the banquet guests turned toward him in alarm.

At the Eastern Palace banquet, Zhang Yuan ignored the political dispute and collected pastries before leaving with Tan Chengcheng. Back at the residence, he and Xiao Yuanjun suspected that the Great Heng princes and princesses looked unnaturally alike, but Zhang Yuan chose not to investigate with [Person Viewing] because he sensed danger.

• Zhang Yuan asked Tan Yuming for pastries, and the guests redirected every serving to Tan Chengcheng’s table.
• Zhang Yuan swept the pastries into his Dao Domain, where they fell on Chi Guanguan, then asked her to save portions for Xiao Shi and Li Huixi.
• Zhang Yuan and Tan Chengcheng left the banquet, and she asked him to accompany her to the Golden Throne Hall for the next morning’s court session.
• Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun reviewed the banquet and noted that Tan Chengcheng and her siblings looked almost identical.
• Zhang Yuan decided against using [Person Viewing] to uncover the reason, wary of attracting the attention of eyes in the heavens.

Zhang Yuan accompanied Tan Chengcheng to the Golden Throne Hall, where she and Tan Yuming planned to settle their contest for control of Great Heng. Wei Heng brought out the [Evil-Warding Law-Suppressing Stone] to suppress everyone's cultivation, leaving the rivals to decide the matter through physical strength.

• Zhang Yuan entered the Golden Throne Hall with Tan Chengcheng and assessed the powerful cultivators gathered there.
• A Grand Hua Jade Heaven Sect Elder accused Zhang Yuan of killing the sect's disciples, but backed down from challenging him.
• Tan Chengcheng and Tan Yuming faced each other in the hall as their supporters gathered behind them.
• Wei Heng carried in the [Evil-Warding Law-Suppressing Stone], which suppressed everyone's cultivation and abilities.
• Wei Heng explained that the stone would let the two sides settle Great Heng's disputes through physical strength.

Tan Chengcheng fought Tan Yuming for the Great Heng succession while the [Evil-Warding Law-Suppressing Stone] suppressed their cultivation. Tan Yuming prepared to use Qin Tianyi’s [Thunder Rumbles], but Qin Tianyi instead reported his completed mission to Zhang Yuan as Tan Chengcheng’s punch closed in.

• Wei Heng explained the fifteen-minute limit, and Tan Linchuan and Tan Yaozheng forfeited the fight.
• Tan Chengcheng caught Tan Yuming off guard with a punch that revealed she had reached the peak of the World-Raising Realm.
• Tan Chengcheng relentlessly battered Tan Yuming, who retreated to the edge of the stone’s suppressive range and signaled Qin Tianyi to use [Thunder Rumbles].
• Zhang Yuan asked Xiao Yuanjun to boost Tan Chengcheng, and Qin Tianyi nodded to Zhang Yuan while Tan Yuming mistook the gesture as agreement to help him.
• As Tan Chengcheng attacked again, Tan Yuming realized [Thunder Rumbles] was affecting her instead, and Qin Tianyi told Zhang Yuan that his mission was complete.

Tan Chengcheng won the court contest and was granted authority over state affairs, but Tan Duanchang disrupted the result and attacked Zhang Yuan. Zhang Yuan lost access to his powers when the Imperial House Token crumbled, and Qin Tianyi shielded him from Tan Duanchang’s strike.

• Tan Chengcheng defeated Tan Yuming with a punch secretly empowered by Zhang Yuan, and Wei Heng declared her the winner with authority to govern.
• Tan Duanchang emerged and sealed the Evil-Warding Law-Suppressing Stone, then showed evidence that Zhang Yuan and others had aided Tan Chengcheng.
• Xiao Yuanjun admitted to intervening, while Zhang Yuan stood beside her and Tan Duanchang prepared to attack them.
• Tan Duanchang unleashed a lethal palm strike at Zhang Yuan, and the Imperial House Token crumbled, restoring the Immortal-Binding Rope’s suppression of Zhang Yuan’s powers.
• Qin Tianyi stepped in front of Zhang Yuan to take the strike and was sent flying.

Qin Tianyi played dead while Tan Yuming revealed his alliance with the First God Cult and its plans to sacrifice Great Heng’s people. Tan Chengcheng freed Zhang Yuan from the [Immortal-Binding Rope], leaving him able to face the Ascension Realm cultivators threatening the Golden Throne Hall.

• Qin Tianyi pretended that a killing blow had left him unconscious, and Tan Duanchang chose not to deal with him.
• Tan Yuming revealed that First God Cult members, including Deputy Cult Master Gao and powerful cultivators, were waiting outside the Golden Throne Hall as his backup plan.
• Tan Yuming promised to make the First God Cult Great Heng’s State Religion, and Deputy Cult Master Gao made clear that the cult wanted the people’s vitality and qi-blood for a Dharma Body.
• Zhang Yuan recognized the First God Cult’s planned blood sacrifices as the Demon Realm Devil Lord’s handiwork, and Tan Chengcheng confirmed that the cult had no history of such massacres.
• Tan Chengcheng released the [Immortal-Binding Rope] from Zhang Yuan, who stored the treasure in his Dao Domain.

Zhang Yuan used a dramatic display of Pre-Heaven Supreme Treasures to distract the Golden Throne Hall while preparing to escape with Tan Chengcheng and Xiao Yuanjun. Qin Tianyi also slipped away to the Eastern Palace, and Zhang Yuan vanished after his attack left everyone unharmed.

• Zhang Yuan brought out three Pre-Heaven Five-Direction Banners and the [Primordial Form-Converging Sword], making Tan Duanchang and Deputy Cult Master Gao prepare to fight him together.
• Xiao Yuanjun assured Tan Chengcheng that Zhang Yuan would handle everything while holding a palm-sized Phoenix Luan Golden Carriage.
• Qin Tianyi recognized that Zhang Yuan was creating a distraction, then fled toward the Eastern Palace to take the strand of the five aggregates and ten natures.
• Zhang Yuan unleashed his treasures and divine abilities, prompting the cultivators in the Golden Throne Hall to raise their defenses.
• When the light faded, everyone was unharmed, but Zhang Yuan, Xiao Yuanjun, and Tan Chengcheng had disappeared, leaving a golden streak in the sky.

Qin Tianyi entered Tan Yuming’s bedchamber to retrieve Geng Metal, but the Great Heng Empress appeared and forced him to accept a deadly mission. Meanwhile, Zhang Yuan, Xiao Yuanjun, Tan Chengcheng, and Chi Guanguan discussed their escape and what to do next.

• Qin Tianyi sneaked into Tan Yuming’s bedchamber and found the Great Heng Empress waiting there.
• The Great Heng Empress revealed her identity and ordered Qin Tianyi to kill Tan Yuming, Tan Linchuan, Tan Chengcheng, and Tan Yaozheng, then bring her Zhang Yuan.
• The Great Heng Empress gave Qin Tianyi the Geng Metal and placed a restriction in his sea of consciousness to enforce his loyalty.
• After the Empress vanished, Qin Tianyi realized he could not escape the mission or its consequences.
• Inside the Golden Carriage, Zhang Yuan asked Tan Chengcheng why Tong Ke and Huang Yingquan had been left behind, and Chi Guanguan blamed Xiao Yuanjun for taking only Tan Chengcheng when she fled.

Zhang Yuan and his companions hid in Tan Chengcheng’s safe house in Heaven-Reaching City, where they encountered the powerful Great Heng Empress. The Empress asked Zhang Yuan to become Tan Chengcheng’s Imperial Son-in-Law, and he was determined to refuse.

• Zhang Yuan reassured Xiao Yuanjun and learned from Tan Chengcheng that Tong Ke and Huang Yingquan had powerful backers who would protect them.
• Tan Chengcheng chose to hide in an unregistered house in West City rather than flee Heaven-Reaching City, and Zhang Yuan took the group there in the Golden Carriage.
• A woman emerging from the house effortlessly suppressed Zhang Yuan’s divine abilities, and Tan Chengcheng identified her as the Empress Dowager.
• The Great Heng Empress recognized Zhang Yuan as the [Return to True Celestial Person] and asked him to become Tan Chengcheng’s Imperial Son-in-Law.
• Zhang Yuan resolved that he would never agree to the proposal.

Zhang Yuan refused the Great Heng Empress’s proposal to make him Tan Chengcheng’s imperial son-in-law, and the Empress gave Tan Chengcheng and her companions artifacts and a strand of ji earth before departing. Tan Chengcheng then asked Zhang Yuan to kill the Great Heng Empress, prompting him to confront her about concealing crucial information.

• Zhang Yuan told the Great Heng Empress that he could not marry Tan Chengcheng because he was already engaged and marrying into a powerful clan.
• The Great Heng Empress accepted his refusal, reminded Tan Chengcheng to restore her imperial father’s clarity, and left her the [Heng Emperor Founder Sword], the Empress Token, and a strand of ji earth.
• Zhang Yuan took the strand of ji earth, and Tan Chengcheng offered him the [Heng Emperor Founder Sword] in exchange for killing someone.
• Tan Chengcheng whispered that she wanted Zhang Yuan to kill the Great Heng Empress.
• Zhang Yuan accused Tan Chengcheng of hiding important information and said her secrecy made it difficult to trust her.

Tan Chengcheng revealed that the Great Heng royal family were divided incarnations of the First Ancestor, and Zhang Yuan agreed to help her in exchange for one future fight. Zhang Yuan then planned to visit the Eastern Sunken Pavilion and sent Tan Chengcheng out with Xiao Yuanjun to contact her allies.

• Tan Chengcheng told Zhang Yuan that the emperor, empress, and five royal children were all parts of the First Ancestor, and Zhang Yuan used [Person Viewing] to confirm she was sincere.
• Zhang Yuan deduced that Tan Chengcheng and Tan Yuming were gathering power to avoid being consumed by the emperor and empress, then offered help in exchange for Tan Chengcheng fighting someone once she became a Divine Master.
• Tan Chengcheng accepted Zhang Yuan's condition, and he considered gathering allies to confront [True Lord Ceased Light Punishes Thoughts].
• Tan Chengcheng told Zhang Yuan that an Eastern Sunken Pavilion had recently opened in Heaven-Reaching City and offered to lead him there.
• Zhang Yuan asked Xiao Yuanjun to accompany Tan Chengcheng while she contacted Wei Heng, Tong Ke, Huang Yingquan, and her other allies, and told them to return before sunset.