Chapter Summaries

After learning that three new passages had appeared in the Myriad Star Sea, Chen Daoxuan discovered a passage to the True Demon Realm in Demon Ape Mountain. He chose to explore it secretly, planning to rely on the Michen Banner to escape if danger arose.

• Fei Chenxue learned that three new passages had appeared and ordered Qianyuan Sword Sect to prepare defenses in Cloud Country.
• Chen Daoxuan traveled with Luo Li to Demon Ape Mountain, where Luo Xiuyuan thanked him for rescuing the Merfolk captured by the Zhou Family.
• Luo Xiuyuan showed Chen Daoxuan a passage that led to the True Demon Realm, and a young mermaid reported that the far side held a cave with exceptionally dense spiritual qi.
• Chen Daoxuan decided to conceal the passage from Qianyuan Sword Sect and investigate it himself, despite Luo Xiuyuan warning him that Realm Demons devoured living beings for their Spiritual Essence.
• Chen Daoxuan showed Luo Xiuyuan the Michen Banner and explained that he would set a spatial coordinate at the passage so he could return if he encountered danger.

Chen Daoxuan arrived in Yeyang City in the True Demon Realm and learned about the Qinnyang River Monster Slaying Grand Gathering. After hearing that only a few Body Cultivators would face the demons, he doubted they could be Realm Demons and suspected the gathering might amount to a human slaughter.

• Chen Daoxuan disguised himself as a wandering Daoist and entered Yeyang City to investigate the True Demon Realm.
• At an inn, Chen Daoxuan heard diners discuss the Monster Slaying Grand Gathering and learned that several Flesh Derivation Realm experts had come to Qingzhou.
• Chen Daoxuan learned that a demon tide traveled from the Dijang River through its tributaries every ten years, prompting experts across Great Yuan to gather and fight it.
• Chen Daoxuan discovered that the gathering was three days away and that many experts had died in past battles before the demons were driven back.
• Chen Daoxuan watched the Qinnyang River from his room and wondered whether the gathering was truly for slaying demons or for slaughtering humans.

Chen Daoxuan witnessed the Monster Slaying Grand Gathering reveal itself as a harvest in which Realm Demons devoured human cultivators, then received a Blood Crystal as a reward. After nightfall, he returned to the Qinyang River and found the Catfish World Demon asleep on the riverbed, while the Qingzhou Sword Saint also appeared by the river.

• Chen Daoxuan learned that the Monster Slaying Grand Gathering sacrificed cultivators to Realm Demons and that survivors received Blood Crystals.
• A Catfish World Demon emerged from the Qinyang River and swallowed many of the gathered Body Cultivators.
• The Qingzhou Sword Saint, Daoist Yanshen, and the Palace Mistress of Lianhua Palace attacked the demon, but it killed Daoist Yanshen and swallowed the Palace Mistress before retreating underwater.
• Chen Daoxuan received a Blood Crystal with the other survivors and learned that the demon remained beneath the river, refining its meal.
• After nightfall, Chen Daoxuan returned to the river and used the Water Evasion Technique to descend to the sleeping Catfish World Demon.
• The Qingzhou Sword Saint appeared at the riverbank while Chen Daoxuan approached the demon on the riverbed.

Chen Daoxuan killed a Catfish World Demon in the True Demon Realm and brought its World Origin Bead and a Blood Crystal back to the Myriad Star Sea. He sealed the passage, established a nearby cave mansion, and began exploring whether the bead’s Chaos Qi could help him reach the palace he glimpsed during Enlightenment or affect the Golden Scripture in his Sea of Consciousness.

• Chen Daoxuan used the Breath Concealment Technique and Soul Stabilizing Divine Light to kill the Catfish World Demon, then retrieved its World Origin Bead and a Blood Crystal.
• A black-robed figure inspected the slain demon and wondered whether a Body Cultivator who had broken through the Flesh Derivation Realm had appeared.
• Chen Daoxuan returned through the passage, ordered Luo Xiuyuan to seal it and make it a forbidden ground, and learned that the bead’s Chaos Qi could expand Cave Heaven Blessed Lands.
• Luo Xiuyuan identified the Blood Crystal as a likely body-refining treasure, while Chen Daoxuan decided to remain in seclusion near the passage to investigate the True Demon Realm.
• Chen Daoxuan built a cave mansion by a Spirit Eye and used Enlightenment to approach a palace on a Rising Sun in the Sea of Stars Layer, but his Enlightenment ended before he could reach it.
• Chen Daoxuan took out the World Origin Bead and wondered whether its Chaos Qi could connect to the Primordial Enlightenment Scripture or awaken the Golden Scripture in his Sea of Consciousness.

Chen Daoxuan discovered that the World Origin Bead’s Chaos Qi gave the Golden Scripture Star Dust, letting him sustain Enlightenment and enter a sword inheritance trial. After mastering thirty-six first-tier spatial Sword Arts, he chose to continue the trial even as his Enlightenment faded.

• Chen Daoxuan used the World Origin Bead’s Chaos Qi to obtain 763 Star Dust particles from the Golden Scripture.
• Chen Daoxuan spent the Star Dust to enter Enlightenment and reach the palace above the Rising Sun, where a white-robed Daoist began testing him.
• Chen Daoxuan mastered nine first-tier spatial Sword Arts and earned another trial opportunity.
• Chen Daoxuan continued through increasingly difficult Sword Arts and mastered thirty-six in total as his Star Dust ran out.
• Chen Daoxuan received two more trial opportunities and chose to continue using his own comprehension.

After failing to master a Second-Order Space Sword Art in the Trial Ground, Chen Daoxuan resolved to prepare for his next attempt by pursuing Space Sword Intent and sending an avatar into the True Demon Realm to obtain World Origin Beads. He left Demon Ape Mountain in Luo Xiuyuan’s care, while Luo Li watched him go.

• Chen Daoxuan failed to master the Second-Order Space Sword Art within an hour, withdrew from the Trial Ground, and returned to his cave mansion with a Divine Mark Imprint.
• Chen Daoxuan realized his accumulated mastery of thirty-six First-Grade Space Sword Arts could help him comprehend Space Sword Intent, but he would need Comprehension Star Dust to overcome the coming trials.
• Chen Daoxuan planned to exchange Battle Merit for a Fusion Refinement Secret Art, create an avatar, and send it into the True Demon Realm to collect World Origin Beads while his main body cultivated at Demon Ape Mountain.
• Chen Daoxuan decided to focus on Space Sword Intent rather than Silk Rain Sword Intent, then went to say farewell to Luo Xiuyuan and Luo Li.
• Luo Xiuyuan promised to guard the Demon Realm passage, and Luo Li watched Chen Daoxuan depart as her father urged her to accept that they could not be together.

Chen Daoxuan visited Zhang Yu to exchange Battle Merit for the “Substitute Tribulation” Flesh Clone Art and learned that Blood Crystals were needed to cultivate a clone. Zhang Yu explained their rarity and value, while Chen Daoxuan quietly inferred that Taizhou had a supply from a True Demon Realm Passage and probed for how Blood Crystals were produced.

• Chen Daoxuan congratulated Zhang Yu on his new post, and Zhang Yu cautioned him against getting involved in the Qianyuan Sword Sect’s factional conflict.
• Chen Daoxuan asked Zhang Yu for the Qianyuan Sword Sect’s Clone Secret Arts and chose the Flesh Clone Art “Substitute Tribulation.”
• Zhang Yu explained that Flesh Clones could be cultivated with Blood Crystals, which were costly and needed in large quantities.
• Chen Daoxuan recognized Blood Crystals from the True Demon Realm and inferred that Taizhou had a stable supply connected to a passage into that realm.
• Chen Daoxuan asked how Blood Crystals were produced, but Zhang Yu said he did not know and dismissed the idea that anyone would share such a cultivation method.

After returning to Twin Lakes Island, Chen Daoxuan helped Chen Daolian address the Spirit Management Department’s difficulties collecting Spirit Vein Tax from Rogue Cultivators. He proposed selling vacant Spirit Mansions through installment payments to attract cultivators to Guanhai Immortal City and expand the Chen Family’s influence, leaving Daolian with a vision of the clan’s future commercial reach across Cangzhou.

• Chen Daoxuan returned to Twin Lakes Island and found Chen Daolian struggling with demands for funding from the family’s departments.
• Chen Daolian explained that the Spirit Management Department lacked funds because Rogue Cultivators resisted paying Spirit Vein Tax.
• Chen Daoxuan proposed selling vacant Spirit Mansions to Rogue Cultivators through installment payments, with the Chen Family reclaiming them if buyers defaulted.
• Chen Daoxuan told Chen Daolian that attracting cultivators would help Guanhai Immortal City grow and eventually provide workers for the Chen Family’s Artifact Factory.
• Chen Daoxuan showed Chen Daolian a map of Cangzhou and described how its Immortal Cities could become sources of materials and markets for the Chen Family.

Chen Daoxuan explained how the Chen Family could use its industrial output and Spirit Stone Coin to draw wealth into its hands, while warning that its plans depended on strength. After preparing hundreds of millions of Spirit Stones for his trip to Taizhou, he entered Enlightenment to study thirty-six spatial Sword Arts.

• Chen Daolian told Chen Daoxuan the clan could spare 340 million Spirit Stones and described the factories’ rising output and profits.
• Chen Daoxuan explained that Spirit Stone Coin could gradually replace circulating Spirit Stones as the Chen Family’s superior productivity drew wealth from Guang’an Prefecture and eventually Cangzhou.
• Chen Daoxuan warned that the plan depended on the Chen Family’s strength, since rivals could overturn the arrangement when their interests were threatened.
• Chen Daoxuan arranged to travel alone to Taizhou to purchase Blood Crystals, and Chen Daolian spent three days preparing the Spirit Stones.
• Chen Daoxuan gathered thirty motes of Star Dust and used them to enter Enlightenment while contemplating the thirty-six spatial Sword Arts he had learned.

Chen Daoxuan comprehended First-Realm Space Sword Intent and tested its power before leaving Guang'an Prefecture alone for Taizhou. At the border, he learned that he was headed toward Yuan Chen Immortal City to attend True Monarch Yuan Chen’s lecture on the Dao.

• Chen Daoxuan fused the Comprehension Star Dust in his Sea of Consciousness and comprehended Space Sword Intent, then used it to distort space and pierce through an artificial mountain.
• Three days later, Chen Daoxuan took seven Storage Bags filled with Spirit Stones, entrusted the clan’s affairs to Chen Daolian, and set off alone for Taizhou.
• Near the border between Taizhou and Cangzhou, a young cultivator stopped his Spirit Boat and asked Chen Daoxuan whether he was going to True Monarch Yuan Chen’s lecture on the Dao.
• Chen Daoxuan recognized True Monarch Yuan Chen’s reputation and became interested in attending the lecture because he lacked guidance in his cultivation.

Chen Daoxuan traveled with Ji Yanzhao to Yuan Chen Immortal City to attend True Monarch Yuan Chen’s lecture on the Dao, marveling at the city’s Cave Heaven and vast scale. As the lecture approached, a group led by a Myriad Star Sea Inheritance Trial Taker seized Ji Yanzhao’s seats, and their leader ordered Chen Daoxuan to move.

• Ji Yanzhao invited Chen Daoxuan to travel with him to True Monarch Yuan Chen’s lecture, and Chen agreed in exchange for an explanation of the event.
• Ji Yanzhao explained the lecture’s schedule and fees as they approached Yuan Chen Immortal City, which Chen recognized as a Cave Heaven.
• Ji Yanzhao paid for twenty-six Class A seats on the Floating Immortal Island, and Chen Daoxuan waited there with the other cultivators for seven days.
• A group led by an early stage Purple Mansion cultivator arrived, and a late stage Purple Mansion servant threw a Storage Bag containing one million Spirit Stones at Ji Yanzhao to buy thirteen seats.
• Ji Yanzhao yielded the seats occupied by his maids, then identified himself and the others as cultivators of the Jingzhou Ji Family.
• The group’s leader ordered Chen Daoxuan to move aside.

Chen Daoxuan attended True Monarch Yuan Chen’s lecture and gained a clearer understanding of cultivation, then left Yuan Chen Immortal City and traveled to Eternal Night Immortal City in Taizhou. The chapter ended with him arriving in the Jiang Family’s powerful and prosperous territory.

• Jiang Chenye stopped his servant from attacking Chen Daoxuan, and the two waited for True Monarch Yuan Chen’s lecture to begin.
• True Monarch Yuan Chen taught that cultivation involved essence, qi, and spirit, and distinguished cultivation from comprehension of the Great Dao.
• Chen Daoxuan respectfully departed after the three-day lecture, ignoring Ji Yanzhao, while Jiang Chenye recognized his Space Sword Intent and let him leave.
• Chen Daoxuan flew from Yuan Chen Immortal City toward Taizhou, reflecting on how much more prosperous it was than Cangzhou.
• After a long journey, Chen Daoxuan reached Eternal Night Immortal City and observed the Jiang Family’s extensive influence over Taizhou.

Chen Daoxuan bought Blood Crystals in Eternal Night Immortal City and used them to advance his body refinement before ritually refining a Flesh Clone. After a month of preparing the clone, he began dividing his soul, and his Sea of Consciousness shrank as the process took effect.

• Chen Daoxuan learned that the Jiang Family was selling Blood Crystals in large quantities and rented a B-Class Cave Mansion to refine his clone.
• Chen Daoxuan used Blood Crystals with the Dragon Python Swallowing Heaven Technique and reached the Flesh and Blood Derivation stage after consuming nine.
• Chen Daoxuan severed his left hand and watched it regrow, then used the severed flesh as the foundation for his Flesh Clone.
• Chen Daoxuan spent a month feeding the mass of flesh 107 Blood Crystals until it formed a sphere roughly one and a half meters across.
• Chen Daoxuan followed the Substitute Tribulation Secret Art to divide his soul, causing his Sea of Consciousness to shrink from one hundred kilometers to sixty.

Chen Daoxuan created a powerful Flesh Clone, toured Eternal Night Immortal City, and spent heavily on supplies before evading two Purple Mansion cultivators who pursued him. He returned safely to Twin Lakes Island with his clone stored in his Dantian, intending to focus on reaching the Purple Mansion realm.

• Chen Daoxuan used his remaining Blood Crystals to complete a Flesh Clone that looked like him and possessed a body comparable to his true body.
• Chen Daoxuan explored Eternal Night Immortal City, judged that Guanhai Immortal City could not match its prosperity, and observed that Taizhou had abundant cultivation resources.
• A black shadow urged Old Ancestor Jiang and the other Jiang Family Nascent Soul True Lords to abandon the Qianyuan Sword Sect, warning that the expanding True Demon Realm Passage threatened their family.
• Chen Daoxuan spent heavily on supplies and Blood Crystals, then used the Michen Banner to evade two late stage Purple Mansion cultivators who searched for him outside Eternal Night Immortal City.
• Chen Daoxuan returned to Twin Lakes Island after half a month and kept his Flesh Clone inside his Dantian.

After three months of seclusion, Chen Daoxuan restored his Sea of Consciousness, advanced to the fourth layer of Foundation Establishment, and discovered that his Flesh Clone had reached Foundation Establishment as well. At the Changping Artifact Research Institute, he learned the Spirit Talisman Lithography Machine was already producing talismans at an experimental factory and watched it operate.

• Chen Daoxuan emerged from seclusion with his Sea of Consciousness restored to a radius of a hundred li and his cultivation advanced to the fourth layer of Foundation Establishment.
• Chen Daoxuan found that his Flesh Clone had reached Foundation Establishment, then recalled it into his Dantian sea of Qi.
• Chen Daoxuan went to the Changping Artifact Research Institute and asked Chen Daochu and Chen Fusheng about the Spirit Talisman Lithography Machine.
• Chen Daochu told Chen Daoxuan that the machine had been developed and that an experimental Talisman Factory staffed entirely by ordinary workers had begun production.
• Chen Daochu demonstrated the machine as it used a laser head to inscribe spell Dao patterns onto Spirit Jade, leaving Chen Daoxuan amazed.

Chen Daoxuan inspected Chen Daochu’s Spirit Talisman Lithography Machine, which promised to make the Chen Family’s Talisman Factory highly profitable while reducing the family’s reliance on young cultivators for factory labor. He then learned that the Qianyuan Sword Sect’s Artifact Hall had created a special Magic Artifact to quantify cultivators’ strength, and Chen Daochu explained why cultivation level alone was an unreliable measure.

• Chen Daochu showed Chen Daoxuan a newly produced First-grade Superior Spirit Talisman and described plans to expand automated Talisman production.
• Chen Daoxuan considered how the Talisman Factory could earn substantial profits while allowing future Chen Family cultivators to receive a full education instead of being sent into factory work early.
• Chen Daochu reported that twenty lithography machines could produce up to 1,920 Talismans a day, with estimated annual profits exceeding 21 million Spirit Stones.
• Chen Daoxuan entrusted the Artifact Research Institute with further developing the lithography machines and encouraged Chen Daochu to continue researching automation for Artifact and Pill Factories.
• Chen Daochu introduced a special Magic Artifact from the Qianyuan Sword Sect’s Artifact Hall that could quantify a cultivator’s strength, explaining that his Foundation Establishment cultivation did not make him stronger than Chen Fusheng in sparring.

Chen Daoxuan and the others tested their strength using the Chen Family’s new Inkfall Wall, which assigned attack values by absorbing their blows. The results revealed Chen Daoxuan’s enormous advantage over ordinary cultivators, and he borrowed the artifact to measure his progress during his coming secluded cultivation at Demon Ape Mountain.

• Chen Daochu introduced the Inkfall Wall, a Magic Artifact made from Inkfall Gold that the Chen Family had bought for fifty million Spirit Stones.
• Chen Fusheng tested the wall with escalating attacks, scoring 1 with True Qi, 2 with Thick Earth Sword Intent, and 3 when using a Magic Artifact.
• A seventh layer Qi Refining cultivator scored 0, while Chen Daochu scored 1 and 2, showing that Chen Fusheng’s strongest attack surpassed Chen Daochu’s.
• Chen Daoxuan scored 11 with a punch, 37 with Silk Rain Sword Intent, 46 with his Lifebound Flying Sword, and 51 when fighting with the Shadow-Bearing Sword.
• Chen Daoxuan decided not to reveal his Space Sword Intent, borrowed the Inkfall Wall for secluded cultivation, and arranged for the Qianyuan Sword Sect’s Artifact Hall to buy another for the family.

Chen Daoxuan returned to Demon Ape Mountain, gave Luo Li a Purple Mansion Pill, and prepared his cave for secluded cultivation. Testing his Spirit Division’s strength with the Inkfall Wall revealed how far Zhou Mubai surpassed him and helped Chen Daoxuan recognize that powerful factions were elevating the Chen Family; he resolved to live up to their support.

• Chen Daoxuan returned to Demon Ape Mountain and gave Luo Li a Purple Mansion Pill to help her open her Purple Mansion.
• Chen Daoxuan built a simplified fourth-tier Water Repelling Array around his cave and discovered that Luo Li had decorated its hall with Spirit Plants.
• Chen Daoxuan tested his Spirit Division’s attacks on the Inkfall Wall, recording a maximum strength of 55 with Space Sword Intent and the Rainbow Light Sword.
• Chen Daoxuan estimated that Zhou Mubai’s true attack strength could reach at least 750 because of his Body Refining cultivation, Sword Dao, and other abilities.
• Chen Daoxuan realized that Cangzhou’s established clans were propping up the Chen Family and resolved to make the family worthy of its position.

Zhou Minghao decided to unite Cangzhou’s cultivators through a contest of strength before pursuing a risky breakthrough to Golden Core, while Chen Daoxuan returned from the True Demon Realm with a rich haul and prepared for the inheritance trial. The chapter left Chen Daoxuan facing a raised trial level after the white-robed Daoist recognized his Space Sword Intent.

• Zhou Minghao warned Zhou Mubai that the Zhou Family’s ambitions required him to put the clan before his bond with Chen Daoxuan, and revealed his plan to unite Cangzhou’s cultivators through contests of strength.
• Zhou Minghao said he would relinquish the Clan Leader position after the matter was settled and stake everything on breaking through to Golden Core, and Zhou Mubai accepted his decision.
• Chen Daoxuan’s avatar returned from the True Demon Realm with fifty-three World Origin Beads and eighteen thousand four hundred and twenty-seven Blood Crystals, which Chen Daoxuan divided between his avatar’s training and his own cultivation.
• Chen Daoxuan absorbed the Chaos Qi from the World Origin Beads, gaining enough Comprehension Star Dust for forty days of Enlightenment, then entered the inheritance trial.
• The white-robed Daoist recognized Chen Daoxuan’s Space Sword Intent and announced that his trial level had been raised.

Chen Daoxuan faced a combat trial against a white-robed Daoist with the same cultivation and equipment, learning close-combat swordsmanship and Anticipating Enemy Moves through repeated defeats. After matching the Daoist in battle and demonstrating how much he had improved, Chen Daoxuan passed the trial and received an information-laden inheritance that gave him a splitting headache.

• The white-robed Daoist transported Chen Daoxuan to a Dao Arena and began a combat trial, defeating him almost immediately.
• The Daoist had Chen Daoxuan fight him repeatedly, teaching him to unite essence, qi, and spirit and achieve Thought Reaches Sword Reaches in close combat.
• Chen Daoxuan gradually improved, learned Anticipating Enemy Moves, and eventually traded blows evenly with the Daoist.
• The Daoist declared that Chen Daoxuan had passed and summoned a version of him from three days earlier, which Chen Daoxuan easily defeated.
• The Daoist congratulated Chen Daoxuan and sent an immense flood of information into his Sea of Consciousness, causing a splitting headache.