Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• The system finds the Nine-Dragon Supreme Carriage, and Chen Mu summons it. Its nine enormous dragons astonish a disciple and later alarm the assembled rulers, who mistake the carriage for an immortal’s arrival.
• Chen Mu arrives at the Thousand-World Ruler ceremony. The Three Thousand Great Emperors realize the nine Saint Dragons are his mounts and marvel at his power.
• Chen Mu greets his father, Chen Tianlin, who proudly checks his appearance and urges him to begin the Chen family’s ancestral rite.
• Before the ceremony can start, red clouds and lightning gather overhead. Chen Mu suspects the display is not genuine heavenly punishment, though he is eager to absorb more lightning if it proves useful.
• Six unfamiliar figures appear in the clouds. They have strength comparable to Great Emperors but seem to come from another world. Their leader announces that they are from the Upper Realm and demands that Great Cang submit.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains calm and confident amid the spectacle. He recognizes that the strange storm may be staged and welcomes the possibility of gaining power from lightning. His exchange with Chen Tianlin shows their warm, respectful father-son bond.
• Chen Tianlin takes pride in his son’s achievement and supports him by preparing him for the ancestral ceremony.
• The assembled Great Emperors shift from awe at Chen Mu’s dragons to readiness to defend him, boasting that they will fight the visitors if they threaten the World Ruler.
• The Upper Realm envoys reveal their arrogance and intent: the leader issues an ultimatum, while the white-haired woman dismisses the Great Cang cultivators as “country bumpkins” and advises her companions not to waste time provoking them.
• Ye Qingcheng helps reassure the frightened disciple and then hurries to join the others.

Significant themes

• Power and authority: Chen Mu’s overwhelming presence is demonstrated through his command of the nine dragons and the deference of the Great Emperors.
• Loyalty and family pride: Chen Tianlin’s support underscores the personal bonds behind Chen Mu’s public rise.
• Defiance and unity: The Great Emperors, despite their awe of Chen Mu, are prepared to unite against outside coercion.
• An impending clash between realms: The Upper Realm’s demand for submission turns the ceremony into a potential confrontation.

Key plot points and events

• Six arrogant cultivators from the Upper Realm arrive at Tianyuan Holy Land, treating its people as livestock. The Great Emperors ask Chen Mu for permission to fight.
• Zhou Yi, a Second-Layer Great Emperor, attacks with an enormous golden palm. Ye Qingcheng counters with Sword Qi, cutting through it.
• Zhou Yi declares that he wants to take Ye Qingcheng as his personal maid. Before he can reach her, Chen Mu kills him instantly, exploding him into blood mist.
• Chen Tianlin orders the intruders to leave during his son’s ascension ceremony. When two more elders attack, he defeats and kills them with his Twin Dragon Fist.
• The Holy Land’s people celebrate the victories, their fear of the Upper Realm replaced by confidence in their leaders. Qin Feng, now wary of Chen Tianlin, prepares to use a Black Stone as the chapter ends.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu stays composed and observant, but responds decisively when Zhou Yi threatens Ye Qingcheng. His strength remains hidden from the Upper Realm intruders.
• Ye Qingcheng demonstrates formidable swordsmanship by stopping Zhou Yi’s palm. Her affection for Chen Mu deepens when she recognizes that he saved her.
• Chen Tianlin displays overwhelming confidence and strength, killing two opponents without using his Heavenly Dao Emperor Weapon.
• Qin Feng shifts from dismissing the lower realm to taking its defenders seriously, though he still considers them beneath the Upper Realm.
• Zhou Yi underestimates his opponents and is killed before he can carry out his plan to abduct Ye Qingcheng.
• The Great Emperors and Holy Land residents rally around Chen Mu, Ye Qingcheng, and Chen Tianlin, while Qin Feng’s group is shaken by the unexpected losses.

Significant themes

• Arrogance meets consequence: The Upper Realm visitors’ contempt leads them to underestimate Tianyuan’s defenders.
• Power and protection: Chen Mu’s intervention protects Ye Qingcheng, while Chen Tianlin’s strength turns the tide and restores confidence.
• Hierarchy challenged: The supposed superiority of the Upper Realm is called into question as its fighters fall quickly.
• Escalating conflict: Qin Feng’s decision to bring out the Black Stone signals that the confrontation is not over.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Mu discovers that Qin Feng’s black stone is the God-Subduing Stone, a Heavenly Dao Emperor Weapon capable of growing into a colossal weapon.
• Just before Chen Mu can steal it, his system upgrades and unlocks Copy All Things, which can duplicate objects without limit. He copies the stone.
• Chen Mu reveals his copy, prompting the Three Thousand Great Emperors to show off the thousands of Immortal-Grade Heavenly Dao Emperor Weapons they received through the Tianyuan Holy Land. Qin Feng dismisses the display as an illusion.
• Qin Feng enlarges his original God-Subduing Stone and launches it at the Tianyuan Holy Land. Chen Mu uses God-Rank Theft to steal the weapon mid-attack, then displays both stones.
• Unable to retrieve his weapon, Qin Feng angrily demands it back and offers to ask his Sect Master to spare Chen Mu in exchange. Chen Mu mocks his misplaced confidence.
• When Qin Feng insists the stone is a priceless treasure, Chen Mu orders the system to copy it in bulk, producing 3,052 additional God-Subduing Stones.

Character developments

• Chen Mu gains the new copying ability and uses it confidently, demonstrating that he can both duplicate and steal powerful artifacts—even while they are being used.
• Qin Feng shifts from confidence in his trump card to disbelief, humiliation, and impotent rage. He clings to his belief that the lower-realm scene must be an illusion, then tries to bargain from a position of weakness.
• The Three Thousand Great Emperors act with growing pride, openly displaying their weapons and mocking Qin Feng’s assumptions about lower-realm cultivators.

Significant themes

• Power and status are overturned: Qin Feng’s upper-realm superiority means little when Chen Mu’s abilities and resources outmatch him.
• Abundance versus scarcity: What Qin Feng regards as a supreme, rare treasure can be copied thousands of times by Chen Mu.
• Self-deception and arrogance: Qin Feng rejects evidence that challenges his worldview, insisting the weapon display is an illusion.
• The comic absurdity of overwhelming advantage: Chen Mu’s casual duplication makes Qin Feng’s dramatic attack—and his later bargaining—seem increasingly futile.

Character interactions

• Chen Mu’s calm displays contrast with Qin Feng’s escalating disbelief and anger.
• The Great Emperors publicly ridicule Qin Feng and reinforce Chen Mu’s dominance.
• Qin Feng tries to command and then bargain with Chen Mu, but neither approach changes the fact that Chen Mu controls his weapon.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Mu distributes thousands of God-Subduing Stones to the assembled Great Emperors. Qin Feng is stunned, especially when Chen Mu dismisses the weapon as worthless and crushes the one he had taken from him.
• Qin Feng attacks Chen Mu, but Ye Qingcheng intervenes and kills him with a single palm strike. She then swiftly eliminates the other two surviving Upper Realm elders, leaving no trace of them.
• With the Upper Realm delegation destroyed, the ancestral ceremony concludes. Chen Tianlin keeps the remaining formalities brief, and the guests are treated to the Tianyuan Holy Land’s abundant food and resources.
• Later, Ye Qingcheng warns Chen Mu that the Upper Realm may retaliate. Chen Mu investigates and learns that the “Upper Realm” is a region on the same plane as Great Cang, located near the upper reaches of a major spirit vein, where richer spiritual resources help explain its people’s greater strength.
• Qin Feng and his companions came from the Desolate Heaven Ancient Clan, one of nine ancient clans ruling the Nine Provinces. Chen Mu decides to visit the clan himself and enters a Teleportation Gate with Ye Qingcheng.
• At the Desolate Heaven Ancient Clan’s hall, a report confirms that all six members sent to subdue Great Cang have died. The clan’s leader rejects the idea that people from the Lower Realm could have defeated them and orders the deaths investigated through an Image Stone.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains casually confident and dismissive of his opponents. After learning the clan’s identity, he shifts from ceremony and relaxation to a deliberate, threatening visit.
• Ye Qingcheng demonstrates overwhelming strength and acts decisively to protect Chen Mu. Their affectionate, comfortable relationship is evident in her massage and private conversation; she also anticipates the threat the clan may pose.
• Chen Tianlin supports the couple, stepping aside to let Ye Qingcheng handle Qin Feng and simplifying the ceremony to spare Chen Mu unnecessary trouble.
• Qin Feng is first psychologically overwhelmed by Chen Mu’s effortless generosity, then driven by rage into an attack that ends in his instant death.
• The Desolate Heaven Ancient Clan’s leader reacts with anger and disbelief to the report, setting up the clan’s response to Chen Mu’s arrival.

Significant themes

• Power and status are overturned: The Upper Realm’s presumed superiority proves meaningless against Chen Mu and Ye Qingcheng.
• Resource inequality shapes strength: The Upper Realm’s location near a richer spirit-vein source gives its inhabitants an advantage, but not enough to overcome Chen Mu’s power.
• Loyalty and protection: Ye Qingcheng’s actions show her devotion to Chen Mu, while Chen Tianlin respects and supports their partnership.
• Retaliation and escalation: The clan’s failed mission turns a local conflict into a looming confrontation across the Nine Provinces.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Hao, patriarch of the Desolate Heaven Ancient Clan, reviews the clan’s Replay Stone to discover how Qin Feng and five companions died in the Lower Realm. The Stone records the final sights of anyone who has bound it with their blood, giving the clan a means to identify their killer and seek revenge.
• Qin Hao sees Qin Feng’s group arrive at Tianyuan Holy Land, dismissing its thousands of “counterfeit Great Emperors” as insignificant.
• A young disciple suddenly explodes in midair, with no visible attacker. Chen Tianlin then kills two powerful elders with a single punch, astonishing the clan.
• Rather than fear Chen Tianlin, the elders suspect the Lower Realm has received a valuable opportunity or legacy and discuss seizing it before rival clans do.
• Qin Feng brings out his Heavenly Dao Emperor Weapon, the God-Subduing Stone, but Chen Mu produces an identical one. The Replay Stone also captures Lower Realm cultivators mocking the Upper Realm’s reverence for such weapons and boasting that their young master can refine many of them.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Hao begins furious and intent on punishing the entire Lower Realm to protect his clan’s reputation. As the recording reveals unexpected strength and weapons, his confidence gives way to confusion and growing unease, though he clings to explanations that preserve his assumptions.
• The Desolate Heaven elders are shocked by the instant kills but remain arrogant and acquisitive. They interpret the Lower Realm’s power as a resource to take, then angrily dismiss its cultivators’ claims as absurd.
• Chen Tianlin and Chen Mu emerge as formidable figures through their decisive victories and access to Heavenly Dao Emperor Weapons.
• Qin Hao’s laborers are shown as disposable and powerless: one is killed for clumsily handling the Replay Stone, and none dare object.

Significant themes

• Arrogance and prejudice: The Upper Realm’s contempt for the “barren” Lower Realm blinds its leaders to the strength they are witnessing.
• Power, status, and revenge: The Replay Stone makes clan membership and recognition a matter of obligation, while Qin Hao’s response is driven as much by prestige as by justice.
• Greed and exploitation: The elders’ first response to a possible Lower Realm opportunity is to seize it before their rivals can.
• Misjudgment and irony: The clan scorns Lower Realm cultivators even as the replay shows them effortlessly overcoming its fighters and weapons.

Plot points and events

• The Desolate Heaven Ancient Clan’s elders initially mock the Three Thousand Great Emperors from the Lower Realm, but the Replay Stone shows them drawing Heavenly Dao Emperor Weapons—many of exceptional quality.
• Their disbelief deepens when Chen Mu effortlessly takes Qin Feng’s God-Subduing Stone, prevents Qin Feng from recalling it, and produces thousands of identical stones, one for each person present. He then crushes Qin Feng’s weapon with ease.
• The replay ends as Qin Feng vows to fight Chen Mu to the death. The clan assumes Qin Feng has been killed and recognizes Chen Mu as a potentially world-changing talent.
• Qin Hao orders ten thousand clansmen to travel to the Lower Realm and bring Chen Mu back by any means necessary, fearing rival clans might claim him first.
• As the elders rush to carry out the order, an unexplained azure Spatial Teleportation Gate appears in the clan’s martial arts arena, drawing the disciples’ attention.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Hao goes from irritation and confidence to stunned silence, then excited ambition. He sees Chen Mu less as a person than as a strategic asset capable of helping the clan dominate the Nine Provinces.
• The elders are forced to abandon their doubts as the evidence accumulates. They urge Qin Hao to act quickly, eager to use Chen Mu to secure the clan’s supremacy.
• Qin Feng is shown denying what is happening and lashing out at Chen Mu, while Chen Mu remains composed and demonstrates overwhelming control over the weapons.
• Qin Hao and the elders repeatedly react together—first defending their pride, then falling silent, and finally uniting behind the plan to seize Chen Mu.

Significant themes

• Pride versus undeniable evidence: the clan’s confidence collapses when the Replay Stone reveals the Lower Realm’s power.
• Power and ambition: Chen Mu’s extraordinary abilities make him valuable to the clan, which quickly turns admiration into a plan to control him.
• Self-deception and reputation: the elders struggle to admit they were wrong, partly because of their status and concern for dignity.
• A looming shift in power: Chen Mu’s weapons could reshape the balance among the ancient clans, while the mysterious portal hints that events are about to reach the Desolate Heaven Clan directly.

Key plot points

• Chen Mu and Ye Qingcheng arrive at the Desolate Heaven Ancient Clan through a spatial gate, drawing attention from the clan’s disciples.
• The disciples dismiss the newcomers as outsiders, while many focus on Ye Qingcheng’s beauty. She privately judges the Upper Realm less impressive than expected.
• Qin Xiao, a ranked Inner Court prodigy with an overlord sword body, tries to claim Ye Qingcheng’s attention and then challenges Chen Mu to a life-and-death duel. When Chen Mu ignores him and asks to see the clan head, Qin Xiao attacks verbally and reveals possessive, punitive intentions toward Ye Qingcheng.
• Chen Mu kills Qin Xiao with a casual wave, leaving the gathered disciples stunned. He repeats his demand to meet the clan head.
• More than a dozen other ranked prodigies arrive, including Qin Yan, Qin Wang, and Qin Zun. Qin Zun cannot discern Chen Mu’s cultivation and suspects it may exceed his own. Qin Yan moves to test the newcomers by targeting Ye Qingcheng.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains calm and unimpressed by the clan’s status. His effortless killing of Qin Xiao demonstrates a vast gap in power, and he responds to threats with decisive force.
• Ye Qingcheng stays cold toward Qin Xiao and self-assured about her own homeland’s potential. Her presence provokes both admiration and possessiveness among the men around her.
• Qin Xiao shifts from flirtatious self-promotion to resentment when Ye Qingcheng ignores him. He intends to kill Chen Mu and reduce Ye Qingcheng to a servant, but is killed before acting.
• Qin Yan, Qin Wang, and Qin Zun represent the clan’s next wave of resistance: Qin Yan acts first, Qin Wang frames their intervention as defending the clan, and Qin Zun watches cautiously.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus true strength: The crowd trusts titles and rankings, but Chen Mu’s effortless victory overturns their assumptions.
• Pride and provincialism: The disciples presume outsiders are inferior, while Ye Qingcheng likewise believes her own Holy Land could surpass them.
• Objectification and power: Qin Xiao treats Ye Qingcheng as a prize and expects status to secure her compliance; her refusal fuels his hostility.
• Violence and escalation: Chen Mu’s demand for the clan head is repeatedly interrupted by challenges, turning the arrival into an increasingly dangerous confrontation.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Yan attacks Ye Qingcheng, driven by intense jealousy of her beauty and status. Chen Mu casually swats Qin Yan aside, killing her instantly.
• The assembled disciples are shocked by Chen Mu’s effortless strength. Qin Wang, Qin Zun, and other prodigies decide to attack him together.
• Ye Qingcheng calls Chen Mu her “husband,” making clear that she is already with him. He activates his Instant-Kill Domain and walks on without engaging the group.
• When the prodigies charge, more than half are instantly killed within the domain, their deaths appearing as sudden bursts of blood mist. Chen Mu and Ye Qingcheng continue onward untouched.
• The survivors press Qin Zun to lead another attack. Though wary of Chen Mu’s inexplicable power, Qin Zun chooses to fight rather than risk looking weak or facing blame from the elders. He and the remaining disciples charge after the couple.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains calm and dismissive, demonstrating overwhelming power without visible effort. He checks the attackers’ life scripts and confirms they are connected to villains before activating his domain.
• Ye Qingcheng stands beside Chen Mu and openly claims him as her husband, both affirming their relationship and discouraging the other disciples’ interest.
• Qin Yan is shown as vain and spitefully jealous: she targets women she considers prettier, while befriending less-attractive juniors to enhance her own image.
• Qin Zun shifts from cautious observation to reluctant aggression, pressured by his peers and concerned about his reputation and possible punishment.
• The other disciples move from confidence in their numbers to stunned fear, then push Qin Zun to take responsibility for confronting Chen Mu.

Significant themes

• Power and arrogance: The prodigies trust their numbers and status, but Chen Mu’s domain makes those advantages meaningless.
• Jealousy and insecurity: Qin Yan’s attack is motivated by resentment of Ye Qingcheng’s beauty.
• Reputation versus survival: Qin Zun feels trapped between the danger of attacking and the shame of retreating.
• Unseen strength and dramatic reversal: The crowd expects Chen Mu to be overwhelmed, but the confrontation becomes a one-sided slaughter in his favor.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Qin Zun and the other prodigies sent after Chen Mu are instantly killed as soon as they enter his Instant-Kill Domain. Chen Mu never attacks; the domain does the work.
• The deaths shake the disciples watching in the Martial Arts Arena, who had expected the clan’s famous prodigies to prevail. Their confidence in the Desolate Heaven Ancient Clan’s strength begins to falter.
• In the Elders’ Pavilion, the elders speculate about Chen Mu’s identity and motives. The Second Elder mistakenly believes the clan’s top ten prodigies can drive him away.
• Chen Mu and Ye Qingcheng leave the arena and walk calmly through the clan grounds. Chen Mu notices the top ten prodigies watching them and uses his system to inspect them.
• The prodigies debate whether to make peace or attack. Qin Pang recalls the elders’ wish to avoid conflict, but Qin Jue and Qin Liu argue that the clan’s reputation demands retaliation. Qin Wuwei, the highest-ranked prodigy, simply orders, “Kill.”
• Qin Liu charges Chen Mu with a powerful saber technique. His enormous phantom blade—and his divine weapon—shatter before reaching its target, leaving the chapter on the moment of his shock.

Character developments

• Chen Mu remains relaxed and passive, relying on the active Instant-Kill Domain rather than taking action himself. His calm contrasts sharply with the fear and aggression around him.
• Ye Qingcheng suspects that Chen Mu is responsible for the unexplained deaths and remains composed beside him.
• Qin Pang shows some caution and awareness of the elders’ preference for peace, but is silenced by arguments about protecting the clan’s reputation.
• Qin Jue and Qin Liu prioritize retaliation and face over restraint; Qin Liu acts on that stance.
• Qin Wuwei is portrayed as decisive and self-assured, giving a terse command to kill without discussion.
• The clan’s disciples shift from renewed confidence to doubt as their supposedly strongest fighters prove vulnerable.

Significant themes

• Arrogance and repeated misjudgment: Despite witnessing earlier instant deaths, the disciples again assume their champions will win.
• Reputation versus prudence: The prodigies choose violence to protect the clan’s face, even though their elders had urged restraint.
• Hidden power and helplessness: Chen Mu’s unseen domain defeats opponents without a visible attack, undermining their understanding of strength.
• Fear and wavering faith: The deaths force the disciples to question the clan’s supposed supremacy.

Character interactions

• Ye Qingcheng silently observes Chen Mu and recognizes him as the likely cause of the killings.
• The disciples encourage one another to trust Qin Zun and the clan, then react with disbelief when he and his companions die.
• The elders debate Chen Mu’s identity and the appropriate response, while the Second Elder confidently backs the top ten prodigies.
• The top ten argue over peace versus retaliation; Qin Wuwei’s order settles the matter, and Qin Liu immediately attacks Chen Mu.

Plot points and events

• Qin Liulian’s body suddenly cracks apart and he dies, apparently destroyed by the rules of Chen Mu’s Instant-Kill Domain despite Chen Mu making no move.
• The remaining prodigies look to Qin Wuwei, Desolate Heaven’s leading talent. He activates his Giant God Body, swelling to a hundred-meter giant.
• Qin Wuwei presses a finger toward Chen Mu, but the moment it touches the domain, he explodes. His Soul Lamp goes out, confirming his death.
• The elders, shocked by the deaths of their two strongest prodigies, rush toward Chen Mu, hoping to make him leave or defeat him before they face the Lineage head’s wrath. The other eight prodigies flee.
• Chen Mu does not pursue anyone. He continues strolling with Ye Qingcheng, while ordinary disciples quietly give them a wide berth.
• A group of Inner Court elders surrounds the pair. Unaware of Chen Mu’s identity, their chief elder demands to know who he is and why he has come to kill their disciples. Chen Mu keeps walking, and the elders prepare to act.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains calm and confident, treating the lethal domain as a matter of choice for those who enter it. His effortless restraint contrasts with the panic around him.
• Ye Qingcheng stays beside Chen Mu, trusting him despite the escalating danger.
• Qin Wuwei displays the power and limits of his famed Giant God Body, but its immense size offers no protection from Chen Mu’s domain.
• The prodigies and disciples shift from confidence to fear and self-preservation. The surviving prodigies flee, while ordinary disciples avoid provoking Chen Mu.
• The elders move from confidence in Qin Wuwei to alarm and desperation. Their ignorance of Chen Mu’s identity leaves them misreading him as a possible hidden champion from a rival clan.

Significant themes

• Overwhelming power and its limits: Even a renowned Supreme Saint Body cannot withstand Chen Mu’s mysterious domain.
• Fear and survival: Once the strongest fighters fall, the remaining disciples choose escape over duty or pride.
• Misjudgment and hidden identity: The elders interpret Chen Mu’s power through clan rivalry, unaware of his true importance.
• Power as choice: Chen Mu’s domain leaves others’ fate in their own hands, and he chooses not to pursue the fleeing survivors.

Key plot points and events

• More than a dozen Inner Court elders release their spiritual energy to threaten Chen Mu. His instant-kill domain detects their murderous intent and kills them all at once, leaving only bloodstains.
• The clan’s disciples, many of whom joined only for its resources and protection, begin fleeing rather than risk sharing its fate.
• Qin Hao hears that the elders and many disciples have been killed. Instead of investigating personally, he assumes a rival Lineage is behind the attack and orders the Qin Lineage Ancestors to suppress the intruder.
• A messenger uses Qin Hao’s jade token to enter the Ancestors’ secluded mountain chamber. One Ancestor seizes him and demands to know why he has come; the messenger explains that Qin Hao has summoned them to fight a powerful enemy.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains an overwhelming, largely unseen threat: anyone who attacks him is killed instantly by his domain.
• Qin Hao reveals his arrogance and priorities. He dismisses the dead as replaceable, while viewing Chen Mu as uniquely valuable—not as a person, but as a resource he wants to capture and exploit.
• The disciples show little loyalty to the clan, abandoning it as soon as its safety is in doubt.
• The Ancestors are introduced as powerful figures who have secluded themselves to cultivate. Their first interaction with the messenger is hostile and suspicious, but the jade token and his explanation establish that Qin Hao has called them out of seclusion.

Significant themes

• Power and its consequences: The elders’ attempt to intimidate Chen Mu instead triggers their deaths.
• Self-interest over loyalty: The disciples flee, and Qin Hao treats clan members as expendable.
• The commodification of talent: Qin Hao values Chen Mu chiefly for what his artifact-forging ability can do for his ambitions.
• False confidence: Qin Hao assumes the attack is a rival’s scheme and expects his Ancestors to handle it, underestimating the danger.

Key plot points and events

• A messenger presents the Desolate Heaven Ancestors with a Jade Token and explains that Qin Hao wants their help against Chen Mu, a Lower Realm figure capable of forging Immortal-Grade Heavenly Dao Emperor Weapons.
• The Ancestors realize Chen Mu could be crucial to the clan’s future and decide to send Qin Jingwu—their strongest fighter in single combat—to confront him. The others remain in seclusion to improve their own strength.
• Jingwu locates Chen Mu and Ye Qingcheng, doubts they are truly Ancestor-level because they look so young, then secretly observes them and prepares a spiritual bow and arrow to test Chen Mu.
• Chen Mu detects Jingwu’s spying and expands his instant-kill domain to include the rear mountain. As Jingwu releases his arrow, he suddenly explodes into a burst of blood, without ever reaching Chen Mu.
• The messenger is left drenched and bewildered. The five Ancestors still in the cave sense Jingwu’s death, but cannot explain how it happened or why their barrier gave no warning.
• After questioning the messenger and finding no clear explanation, the five head for the main peak to confront Chen Mu and identify the intruder.

Character developments

• Chen Mu remains calm, observant, and lethal. He notices Jingwu’s surveillance and responds before the Ancestor can attack.
• Qin Jingwu is confident and eager to test Chen Mu, interpreting the encounter as a chance to measure his own strength. His arrogance and curiosity prove fatal.
• The remaining Ancestors, especially Qin Wudi, shift from confidence to alarm. They begin to suspect that only an immortal could have killed Jingwu instantly.
• The messenger is truthful but deeply shaken, having witnessed Jingwu’s unexplained death at close range.

Significant themes

• Overconfidence and misjudgment: Jingwu assumes he can safely test an opponent whose power he has not understood.
• Hidden power and appearances: Chen Mu and Ye Qingcheng’s youth conceals their overwhelming strength.
• The limits of accumulated experience: Even the clan’s ancient experts cannot explain a death that occurs beyond their understanding.
• Fear of the unknown: The Ancestors’ concern grows as familiar measures—sensing, barriers, and knowledge of powerful figures—fail to offer answers.

Character interactions

• Qin Hao’s messenger reports the threat and Chen Mu’s weapon-forging ability to the Ancestors, who debate the response and choose Jingwu.
• Jingwu questions the messenger about Chen Mu’s strength, then proceeds despite the warning that his opponents are unfathomable.
• Chen Mu silently counters Jingwu’s surveillance and attack through his instant-kill domain.
• Afterward, the five surviving Ancestors question the messenger, exchange theories about Jingwu’s death, and agree to investigate Chen Mu directly.

Key plot points and events

• Five of Desolate Heaven’s six founding Ancestors appear after Chen Mu and Ye Qingcheng’s arrival. The sixth is already dead, though most observers do not know this.
• Disciples and Enforcement Pavilion members gather to watch rather than intervene, recognizing that sheer numbers cannot overcome a vast difference in power. They fear what Desolate Heaven’s fate might mean for the wider region.
• Chen Mu and Ye Qingcheng approach the lineage hall. The five Ancestors cannot discern Chen Mu’s cultivation because an unseen barrier blocks their perception.
• Qin Wudi tries to open a peaceful dialogue. Chen Mu explains that Desolate Heaven’s disciples attacked first, then gives the Ancestors a blunt choice: submit or die.
• Qin Han rejects Chen Mu’s demand and, enraged by Ye Qingcheng’s challenge, advances to attack her. The chapter ends as he steps into Chen Mu’s Instant-Kill Domain, leaving the outcome unresolved.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains calm and uncompromising, confident that his domain can kill anyone who attacks him, regardless of cultivation.
• Ye Qingcheng stands firmly beside her husband, speaking up when Qin Han dismisses her and preparing to defend herself.
• Qin Wudi is cautious and pragmatic: he acknowledges that Desolate Heaven’s disciples provoked the conflict and attempts negotiation before resorting to force.
• Qin Han is hot-tempered and contemptuous, treating Ye Qingcheng as unworthy of addressing him; his aggression escalates the confrontation.
• The disciples and enforcers show fear and self-preservation, choosing to observe rather than risk joining a battle they believe they cannot win.

Significant themes

• Absolute power versus numbers: The onlookers believe that overwhelming numbers are useless against a sufficiently powerful opponent.
• Pride and escalation: Qin Han’s arrogance turns a tense negotiation into an imminent fight.
• Consequences of provocation: Chen Mu frames his violence as retaliation for Desolate Heaven’s initial attacks.
• Uncertainty and political survival: Desolate Heaven’s followers weigh whether to submit to Chen Mu or seek protection elsewhere if their Ancestors fall.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Han moves to kill Ye Qingcheng and Chen Mu, but Chen Mu kills him instantly. The crowd and Desolate Heaven’s Ancestors are stunned: no one can even tell when Chen Mu struck.
• Qin Wu and formation master Qin Changtian decide to attack Chen Mu together. Qin Wudi stays back to observe and learn Chen Mu’s abilities, while Qin Sheng is assigned to protect the attackers and help them escape if needed.
• Qin Changtian activates the Myriad Forms Formation, which binds Chen Mu and Ye Qingcheng and is meant to suppress spiritual energy, formations, and spirit treasures. Ye Qingcheng confirms that it drains her spiritual energy; Chen Mu sees through its effects.
• Qin Wu unleashes his signature technique, the Chaos Demon Sword: a gigantic demon figure descends amid apocalyptic clouds and brings down a massive blade, forcing nearby disciples to their knees.
• Before the attack’s outcome is revealed, Chen Mu casually shatters the formation’s chains. Qin Changtian realizes his formation cannot restrain him and warns Qin Wu.

Character developments

• Chen Mu remains effortlessly composed, displaying power beyond the Ancestors’ ability to perceive or counter. He appears immune to Qin Changtian’s restrictions.
• Ye Qingcheng recognizes how far Chen Mu surpasses her. Rather than intervene, she accepts the gap and sheaths her sword.
• Qin Wudi shifts into cautious observation, prioritizing the discovery of Chen Mu’s secrets over immediate action, though pride prevents him from considering retreat.
• Qin Wu and Qin Changtian respond to Qin Han’s death with a desperate plan, relying on their combined techniques. Qin Changtian’s confidence falters when the formation fails.

Significant themes

• The gap between expectation and reality: Qin Han imagines a triumphant display of Desolate Heaven’s power, only to be killed instantly.
• Overwhelming, mysterious strength: Chen Mu’s abilities defy observation and conventional methods, leaving even Ancestors baffled.
• Pride versus prudence: Desolate Heaven’s leaders fear Chen Mu but feel bound by their status to resist him.
• False confidence in established power: The formation and demon-sword technique appear formidable, yet Chen Mu’s effortless response undermines their apparent might.

Character interactions

• Chen Mu’s unseen strike prompts Ye Qingcheng to accept his superiority and leaves the witnesses in shock.
• Qin Wudi, Qin Wu, Qin Changtian, and Qin Sheng coordinate silently: Qin Wu and Qin Changtian attack, Qin Sheng stands ready to cover them, and Qin Wudi watches for clues.
• Qin Changtian’s warning that the formation has failed interrupts Qin Wu’s attack, setting up the confrontation’s next turn.

Plot points and events

• Confident that his perfected Chaos Demon Sword will kill Chen Mu, Qin Wu unleashes it in a tightly controlled strike, dismissing the Desolate Heaven clan disciples watching nearby.
• Chen Mu counters with the Heavenly Demon Hand, a copied and upgraded version of a Red Feather Demon Race art. Its enhanced strength and durability let it seize and shatter Qin Wu’s demon sword, then disperse the half-formed demon god.
• The backlash badly injures Qin Wu and hurls him across a rooftop. Unable to accept that Chen Mu simply outmatched him, he blames an imaginary peerless treasure.
• Chen Mu copies Qin Wu’s saint-rank Chaos Demon Sword and instantly comprehends it. He demonstrates its full power by summoning a complete Supreme Demon God, far mightier than Qin Wu’s half-formed one.
• As the demon god swings its Heaven-Slaying Divine Sword at Qin Wu, clan leader Qin Changtian activates the formation to shield him. Chen Mu strikes Qin Changtian with another Heavenly Demon Hand, crushing him before he can intervene.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains calm and ruthlessly practical: he turns Qin Wu’s own signature technique against him, upgrading it into a vastly superior display, and kills anyone who obstructs him.
• Qin Wu goes from triumph and certainty to disbelief, humiliation, and resignation as Chen Mu surpasses him at his own art. He closes his eyes, accepting that he is about to die.
• Qin Changtian intervenes to protect Qin Wu, but his attempt to block Chen Mu’s attack costs him his life.
• Qin Wudi recognizes the danger to Qin Changtian but cannot react in time. The watching disciples are awed by the clash and Chen Mu’s power.

Significant themes

• Imitation surpassed by innovation: Chen Mu’s copied Heavenly Demon Hand and Chaos Demon Sword exceed their originals.
• Pride and denial: Qin Wu cannot acknowledge Chen Mu’s superior ability and instead clings to the excuse of a nonexistent treasure.
• Power and its consequences: The fight escalates from a duel into a demonstration of overwhelming force, with intervention resulting in Qin Changtian’s brutal death.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Mu continues his assault on the Desolate Heaven Ancient Clan, killing another ancestor with a single strike. Of the clan’s six hidden-reserve ancestors, only two remain.
• Clan head Qin Hao arrives to mediate, then recognizes Chen Mu and Ye Qingcheng as figures from the Lower Realm’s Tianyuan Holy Land. The disciples are shocked that the supposedly resource-poor Lower Realm produced such powerful people.
• Qin Hao hides the fact that the conflict began when he sent people to disrupt Chen Mu’s ceremony and force the Lower Realm to submit.
• Chen Mu repeats his ultimatum: Desolate Heaven must submit or die. Another ancestor, Qin Wu, is killed instantly, and his attack cleaves the clan’s core region in two.
• The disciples’ fear grows, and more begin openly favoring surrender. Chen Mu then copies Qin Wudi’s divine-rank Heaven God Art and instantly comprehends it completely.
• Chen Mu manifests the technique before the clan. Qin Hao identifies it, leaving everyone—including Qin Wudi—stunned that Chen Mu can use their most powerful secret art.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains calm and merciless, using overwhelming force to compel submission. His ability to copy and master Heaven God Art demonstrates that even the clan’s greatest advantage is no protection against him.
• Qin Hao shifts from confidence to panic and regret. He tries to negotiate but conceals his responsibility for provoking Chen Mu, fearing Qin Wudi’s reaction.
• Qin Wudi is increasingly shaken: he watches his allies fall, hears his disciples lose faith, and sees Chen Mu wield his own signature technique.
• The disciples move from stunned disbelief to fear and practical talk of surrender. Some even consider joining Tianyuan, though Chen Mu disdains their willingness to switch loyalties so readily.
• Qin Hao turns to Qin Wudi for the decision, underscoring the ancestor’s authority over the clan despite Qin Hao’s title as head.

Significant themes

• Overwhelming power and helplessness: Chen Mu’s instant kills make resistance appear futile.
• Fear and loyalty: The disciples’ principles weaken as survival becomes their priority, contrasting with Chen Mu’s view of Tianyuan’s steadfastness.
• Consequences of provocation: Qin Hao’s earlier attempt to dominate the Lower Realm has brought disaster to his own clan.
• The collapse of inherited advantage: Desolate Heaven’s treasured divine-rank art becomes another weapon in Chen Mu’s hands, undermining the clan’s pride and security.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Mu overwhelms Qin Wudi by demonstrating perfect mastery of the Heaven God Art, then unleashes the technique’s ten swords. Qin Wudi, seeing no chance of victory, kneels and submits.
• Qin Hao pledges Desolate Heaven’s allegiance, and the clan’s disciples follow. Chen Mu’s conquest of Desolate Heaven is complete.
• Chen Mu uses Undead Summoning on the slain prodigies and Ancestors. Their strength appears intact, and even Qin Wudi is shaken by the possibility that Chen Mu commands many more undead.
• Chen Mu takes the clan leader’s seat, confirms the loyalty of its key leaders, and begins planning how to manage and develop the clan.
• In neighboring Ten Thousand Dragon Valley, the Dragon Lord hears that Desolate Heaven has suffered a major defeat. Mistaking the submission for an opportunity to plunder, he orders his forces to seize territory and spirit-vein mines.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Wudi shifts from defiant confidence to despair and submission. Seeing Chen Mu’s undead forces reinforces his belief that resisting would have doomed the clan.
• Qin Hao openly leads Desolate Heaven’s submission, prompting the disciples to kneel as well.
• Chen Mu moves from conqueror to ruler, using displays of power, loyalty checks, and political planning to secure control.
• The Dragon Lord is calculating and opportunistic: he assumes Desolate Heaven is weakened and plans to exploit it, unaware that Chen Mu now controls the clan.

Significant themes

• Power and submission: overwhelming strength leaves the defeated with little meaningful choice.
• Fear as a tool of rule: Chen Mu’s undead summoning deepens his opponents’ dread and secures compliance.
• Political opportunism: the Dragon Lord treats another faction’s apparent weakness as a chance for expansion.
• Misjudgment and dramatic irony: the Dragon Lord acts on incomplete information, unaware that Desolate Heaven’s new ruler may be far more dangerous than its former leadership.

Key plot points and events

• Dragon Lord Long Ao leads 13,300 members of Ten Thousand Dragon Valley—including Dragon Beasts—toward Desolate Heaven, hoping to exploit the aftermath of its recent battle and seize spoils before rivals arrive.
• A subordinate suspects the situation may be dangerous, but Long Ao dismisses the warning. He trusts his forces’ readiness and assumes Desolate Heaven’s enemies are too weakened to retaliate.
• Chen Mu’s system alerts him to the approaching dragons. He reveals their advance to those gathered using a huge Heaven-Peering Mirror, which can observe distant events.
• Qin Hao realizes the Dragon Clan likely learned of Desolate Heaven’s troubles through spies and intends to take advantage. Chen Mu treats the invasion as an opportunity to conquer or destroy another rival.
• The Dragon Clan arrives. Desolate Heaven’s disciples respond with jokes rather than fear, confident after seeing Chen Mu’s overwhelming power. Long Ao becomes enraged by their insults toward the Dragon Beasts, while his subordinate again warns that the expedition may be a trap.

Character developments and interactions

• Long Ao is bold and opportunistic, but his confidence makes him dismiss sound warnings. His pride in the Dragon Clan’s status and pure blood is revealed when he fixates on the “lizard” insult.
• Long Ao’s subordinate recognizes the danger but feels bound by the Dragon Clan’s rigid hierarchy, so he can only obey and repeatedly voice his concerns.
• Chen Mu remains calm and amused, viewing the Dragon Clan as an easy target. His surveillance ability and immense power strengthen his position as the true force shaping events.
• Qin Hao shifts from worry to resigned acceptance—and even hopes Chen Mu will conquer other powers. He sees submission as the Desolate Heaven Ancient Clan’s best chance to survive and benefit.
• Ye Qingcheng casually addresses Chen Mu as her husband, showing that this familiarity has become normal between them.

Significant themes

• Overconfidence and miscalculation: Long Ao assumes Desolate Heaven is vulnerable, unaware that Chen Mu is watching and can easily overwhelm him.
• Power and submission: Qin Hao concludes that resistance means destruction, while submission offers a chance of survival.
• Predator and prey: Long Ao believes he is the “fisherman” arriving to collect spoils; Chen Mu instead sees the dragons as a fresh crop to harvest.
• Hierarchy and obedience: The subordinate’s loyalty reflects the Dragon Clan’s strict social order, even when he believes his lord is leading them into danger.

Plot points and events

• Long Yan warns Dragon Lord Long Ao that the Dragon Clan may have been lured into a trap by rumors that the Desolate Heaven Ancestors are dead. Long Ao dismisses the concern: his divine sense confirms that most of the Ancestors’ auras have vanished, and he argues that the strongest, Qin Wudi, could not be overlooked if the Ancestors were merely hiding.
• Long Ao concludes that the Desolate Heaven Sacred Domain has been weakened and orders the Dragon Clan’s forces to attack. Three hundred enormous Dragon Beasts bombard its Guardian Grand Formation with fireballs.
• The Sacred Domain’s Formation Masters struggle to keep the barrier standing. When it finally breaks, the incoming fireballs disappear before they can hit anyone.
• The chief Formation Master realizes an unseen force is stopping the attacks and suspects Chen Mu is responsible. Chen Mu expands his Instant-Kill Domain until it covers all the Dragon Beasts.

Character developments

• Long Ao displays confidence and strategic reasoning, though his irritation at being compared to a “turtle” briefly reveals a petty, comic streak. He interprets the missing Ancestors’ auras as proof that the Sacred Domain is vulnerable.
• Long Yan remains cautious but yields when he cannot support his suspicions with evidence.
• Qin Hao acts as the nominal leader by ordering the formation activated, but his reliance on Chen Mu underscores how little authority he now exercises.
• The chief Formation Master begins to doubt the clan’s leadership and the value of his loyalty, then witnesses a defense far beyond conventional formation arts.
• Chen Mu remains composed and quietly reveals the overwhelming reach of his power by extending his domain around the attacking dragons.

Significant themes

• Appearances and misjudgment: Long Ao mistakes the Sacred Domain’s apparent passivity for weakness, while the Formation Master mistakes Chen Mu’s protection for a formation.
• Power and authority: Qin Hao’s formal position contrasts with Chen Mu’s practical control, unsettling the clan’s hierarchy.
• Limits of imagination: Ordinary specialists interpret extraordinary abilities through the limits of their own expertise; Chen Mu’s Instant-Kill Domain surpasses those assumptions.

Character interactions

• Long Yan challenges Long Ao’s decision to proceed, but Long Ao answers with evidence and dismisses the warning.
• Qin Hao consults Chen Mu rather than making the decisive call himself, reflecting their unequal standing.
• The Formation Master reports the barrier’s imminent failure and then watches in disbelief as Chen Mu’s unseen domain erases the fireballs and surrounds the Dragon Beasts.

Key plot points

• Chen Mu’s hidden instant-kill domain abruptly destroys all 300 Dragon Beasts as they prepare to attack. The Dragon Clan and Desolate Heaven Ancient Clan are stunned, unable to detect the formation or understand how the beasts died.
• The lead Formation Master recognizes Chen Mu’s overwhelming power and resolves to remain loyal, convinced Chen Mu could conquer the Nine Provinces by himself.
• Through the Heaven-Peering Mirror, Ye Qingcheng, Qin Wudi, Qin Hao, and others witness the massacre. Their loyalty to Chen Mu rises; Qin Hao speculates that Chen Mu can decide life and death like King Yama’s Book of Life and Death.
• Chen Mu’s system upgrades twice: first unlocking mind listening, then mythic summoning. He listens to Qin Hao’s thoughts, jokes that the Book of Life and Death sounds useful, and then begins his first summon.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains confident in his direct, overwhelming approach to enemies, though he is intrigued by his new summoning ability. He playfully needles the system and offers it an idea for an upgrade.
• The Formation Master shifts from uncertainty to absolute allegiance after witnessing the concealed domain’s lethality.
• Qin Hao becomes even more determined to stay loyal, while his imaginative theory about Chen Mu’s powers amuses Chen Mu.
• The system gains two new functions despite many failed upgrade attempts. It insists unlimited summons are already permitted and takes offense at Chen Mu’s doubts.

Significant themes

• Overwhelming power and fear: Chen Mu’s unseen attack makes even formidable enemies helpless.
• Loyalty through awe: Witnessing Chen Mu’s strength turns observers into committed followers.
• Humor amid escalation: Chen Mu’s teasing thoughts and the system’s defensive replies lighten the dramatic battle.
• Anticipation of greater power: The chapter ends as Chen Mu activates mythic summoning, leaving the result unresolved.