Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Qin Xuanji arrives as Chen Mu and Ye Qingcheng face Heaven’s Revelation Palace’s elders. The elders mistake Ye Qingcheng for Qin Xuanji until the real empress appears.
• Qin reveals that Chen Mu and Ye Qingcheng are her children, then instantly erases the elders after they attacked them.
• She admits she had been investigating Heaven’s Revelation Palace but lacked complete evidence. Their assault on her children is now reason enough to destroy the organization.
• Chen Mu already knows the palace’s scheme: its leaders serve an outside “immortal,” supplying human souls in exchange for eternal life. The palace secretly fostered bandits to harvest souls and silenced authorities who threatened to expose the operation.
• Meanwhile, Sect Master Zhao Chengming watches through a scrying technique and panics at Qin Xuanji’s arrival. The Weird Mist dismisses her as insignificant, then grants Zhao an “undying and imperishable” supreme saint body and raises him to the tenth level of the Great Emperor Realm.
• Newly empowered and overconfident, Zhao promises to stop Qin and the others at the divine residence, believing his body will let him outlast them.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Xuanji is fiercely protective of her children; her affection quickly becomes decisive violence. She also shows that family loyalty now outweighs the need for further proof against the palace.
• Chen Mu remains direct and informed, questioning his mother while possessing knowledge of the conspiracy she does not yet have.
• Ye Qingcheng is moved by Qin’s defense of her, deepening their family bond.
• Zhao Chengming shifts from anxious dependence to renewed confidence after receiving power, trusting the Weird Mist completely.
• The Weird Mist is contemptuous of Qin and manipulates Zhao by rewarding his long service, while directing him to fight in its place.

Significant themes

• Family loyalty and protection: Qin’s children are the immediate reason she acts.
• Corruption behind respectability: An orthodox institution hides a system of banditry and mass soul-harvesting.
• The cost of ambition: The palace’s pursuit of immortality rests on sacrificing ordinary people.
• False confidence and power: Zhao mistakes supernatural gifts and apparent immortality for a guarantee of victory.

Plot points

• After meeting the Weird Mist, Zhao Chengming leaves the Divine Mansion determined to kill Qin Xuanji, advance Heaven’s Revelation Palace, and win his patron’s favor.
• He confronts Qin Xuanji, Chen Mu, and Ye Qingcheng. Qin accuses him of collaborating with outsiders and using bandits to harvest ordinary people’s souls. Zhao rejects the accusations, claiming strength and victory justify his path.
• Zhao boasts that he has reached the tenth layer of the Great Emperor Realm and gained an indestructible Supreme Saint Body. He offers to spare Qin Xuanji if she gives up her cultivation and becomes his maid.
• Chen Mu suggests that Ye Qingcheng fight him. She draws a powerful weapon he gave her and strikes, seemingly reducing Zhao to blood and dust.
• Zhao reconstructs himself completely and declares himself impossible to kill. As he revels in his immortality, Chen Mu secretly activates God-Rank Theft.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Chengming grows increasingly arrogant, convinced his new power guarantees victory and future rule. He sees Qin Xuanji as a tool for political legitimacy.
• Qin Xuanji remains calm and dismissive, trusting Chen Mu rather than being impressed by Zhao’s strength. She agrees to let Ye Qingcheng handle the fight.
• Ye Qingcheng eagerly accepts the challenge and demonstrates her strength with a devastating sword strike.
• Chen Mu places the fight in his wife’s hands, confident in her ability, then quietly prepares to counter Zhao’s immortality.
• Zhao’s boastful confrontation contrasts with the composure and confidence of Qin Xuanji, Ye Qingcheng, and Chen Mu.

Significant themes

• The chapter contrasts power and moral accountability: Zhao treats exploitation as necessary ambition, while Qin calls him to account for his crimes.
• It questions the value of immortality when it belongs to an enemy, with Chen Mu finding Zhao’s supposed invulnerability “disgusting.”
• Zhao’s confidence may be misplaced: the ending suggests that Chen Mu’s theft ability could turn Zhao’s greatest advantage against him.

Plot points and events

• Zhao Chengming interprets Chen Mu calling him “disgusting” as praise, unaware that Chen has already stolen his newly granted undying immortal saint body.
• Zhao discovers the loss and contacts Weird Mist, who explains that Chen took the saint body. Zhao identifies Chen as Qin Xuanji’s son and tries to persuade Weird Mist to grant him another body by exaggerating the threat Chen poses.
• Weird Mist grants Zhao a second saint body. Chen immediately steals that one too. When Zhao appeals to Weird Mist again, there is no reply.
• Confident that Chen cannot use the stolen bodies, Zhao threatens him. Chen then steals Zhao’s tenth-layer Great Emperor cultivation, leaving him shocked and unable to understand what happened.
• Qin Xuanji is astonished by Chen’s ability but realizes it explains how he can both grant and plunder cultivation. She decides not to intervene. Chen turns his attention to stealing Zhao’s lifespan.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains calm and silent throughout, repeatedly stripping Zhao of power while Zhao tries to intimidate him. His final choice suggests he intends to take even more.
• Zhao Chengming shifts from smug confidence to panic and terror. He tries to manipulate Weird Mist into empowering him, then demands that Chen return what he stole.
• Weird Mist rebukes Zhao for losing his first saint body, eventually grants a replacement, then falls silent after Chen takes it.
• Qin Xuanji moves from bewilderment to understanding and confidence in Chen, choosing to leave the confrontation to him. Ye Qingcheng, unlike Qin, is already familiar with Chen’s abilities.

Significant themes

• The chapter contrasts apparent strength with vulnerability: Zhao boasts of immense power, yet Chen can remove it without warning.
• Power and dependence are central: Zhao relies on Weird Mist for his strength, while his attempts to exploit that relationship reveal his insecurity.
• The uncanny, invisible nature of Chen’s ability creates fear and unsettles even Qin Xuanji.

Key events

• After Chen Mu steals Zhao Chengming’s lifespan, the man rapidly ages and dies. Chen confirms that all 255,879 years of Zhao’s lifespan have been added to his own.
• Qin Xuanji is amazed by her son’s power. Chen claims he learned a secret art in a hidden realm and offers to teach it to her; she gladly agrees.
• Qin recalls that Ye Qingcheng had been meant to deal with Zhao Chengming. Chen realizes he acted first, but Qingcheng says she does not mind.
• A vast being known as the Weird Mist appears and threatens the group for killing Zhao. Ye Qingcheng senses its extraordinary vitality, and Chen reveals that it created the undying immortal saint body.
• The Weird Mist summons shadow soldiers, each empowered by that body, and offers the three a place under him in exchange for immortality. Chen pretends to consider the offer, then displays numerous saint bodies from his inventory.
• Chen’s theft ability strips 350 supreme saint bodies from the soldiers, causing them to collapse. He mocks the Weird Mist’s achievement, provoking an angry defense of how it used the Heavenly Dao Origin to create the bodies.
• The Weird Mist’s insult about Chen’s ignorance does not bother him, but it enrages his system, which begins attempting an upgrade.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains candid with his family about his powers while concealing the system behind a fabricated “secret art.” He is playful and confident even when facing a formidable enemy.
• Qin Xuanji shifts from amazement to admiration and eagerly accepts Chen’s offer to teach her, while still wanting to keep pace with him.
• Ye Qingcheng calmly reassures Chen that she bears him no ill will for intervening, then helps assess the Weird Mist’s threat.
• The Weird Mist moves from recruitment to hostility when Chen refuses to be impressed and dismantles its forces. Its furious response exposes how personally it takes Chen’s taunts.

Significant themes

• Hidden power and misdirection: Chen disguises the system’s abilities as a cultivation art.
• Family loyalty and mutual respect: Qin seeks to learn from her son, while Qingcheng responds without resentment.
• Pride challenged by irreverence: Chen’s mockery undermines the Weird Mist’s confidence in its celebrated creation.
• Power as leverage: The Weird Mist offers immortality to recruit the group, but Chen demonstrates that its supposed advantage can be taken from it.

Plot points and events

• Chen Mu’s system unlocks a Saint Body Creation feature, just as he anticipated.
• The eerie mist boasts about his own supposed power and demands that Chen Mu, Qin Xuanji, and Ye Qingcheng submit to him. Chen Mu dismisses his claim that he truly created his Saint Body, arguing that he merely received it from the Heavenly Dao.
• Chen Mu uses the new feature to create the Invincible Saint Body, designed to be undying, imperishable, and impossible to break.
• To demonstrate its power, Chen Mu merges it with a trembling stray dog. The dog successfully accepts it, triggering a ten-thousandfold system rebate that grants Chen Mu 10,000 more Invincible Saint Bodies.
• The enraged eerie mist attacks the dog with lightning, but the ordinary, non-cultivating animal remains completely unharmed. Ye Qingcheng taunts the mist, who erupts in fury.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains calm and confident, treating Saint Body creation as a simple task and using the dog to prove his creation’s capabilities. He stops Ye Qingcheng from shielding the animal because he knows it will be safe.
• The eerie mist shifts from arrogant demands to disbelief and rage as Chen Mu repeatedly surpasses what he thought possible.
• Ye Qingcheng openly defends and praises her husband, trusts his judgment, and takes the chance to ridicule the mist in return.
• Qin Xuanji is stunned; witnessing Chen Mu’s feat upends her expectations of what powerful cultivators can do.
• The stray dog, initially frightened and vulnerable, becomes the unlikely demonstration of the Saint Body’s invulnerability.

Significant themes

• Proving power through action: Chen Mu answers the mist’s boasts with a concrete demonstration.
• Limits of arrogance and perspective: The mist assumes his own experience defines what is possible, then discovers otherwise.
• Power used without regard for status: Chen Mu gives a supreme body to an ordinary stray dog, showing that worthiness or cultivation is not required.
• Trust and loyalty: Ye Qingcheng’s confidence in Chen Mu contrasts with the mist’s disbelief.

Plot points and events

• Weird Mist’s lightning attacks and nearly full-strength Heaven and Earth One Sword fail to harm the stray dog. Chen Mu catches the dog and throws it into the sword’s path, but the sword shatters against its body.
• Chen Mu restores the dog to its ordinary form by removing its invincible saint body. Weird Mist, desperate to survive, offers peace and protection in exchange for the power, but Chen Mu refuses.
• Chen Mu lets Ye Qingcheng finish the fight. She kills Weird Mist with a single sword strike, and the group returns to the Imperial Palace.
• Over dinner, Qin Xuanji asks whether they want to ascend to godhood. Ye Qingcheng says she only wants to stay with Chen Mu; Chen Mu and Qin Xuanji likewise have no interest in becoming immortals, preferring a peaceful life and protecting their family and the Divine Court.
• An armored guard reports that the Heavenly Gate has opened—the legendary passage to godhood. Qin Xuanji, Chen Mu, and Ye Qingcheng go outside and see two enormous golden gates in the sky.
• Chen Mu searches with his divine sense but finds no one in the Divine Court, Capital City, or even the Great Wilderness whose strength could explain the gate’s appearance. The chapter ends as Qin Xuanji and Ye Qingcheng stare at him.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu demonstrates complete confidence in his power, protects the dog, and gives Ye Qingcheng the chance to deliver the final blow. He remains uninterested in immortality.
• Ye Qingcheng stays devoted to Chen Mu and proves her strength by instantly defeating Weird Mist. She also quietly refills Chen Mu’s wine.
• Qin Xuanji prioritizes her family and the Divine Court over ascension, while retaining her resolve to retaliate decisively against any threat.
• Weird Mist goes from arrogant aggressor to bewildered and desperate negotiator before Ye Qingcheng kills him.
• The dinner conversation reveals the family’s shared values: companionship, peace, and protecting their own. The sudden Heavenly Gate opening shifts their attention from the defeated invader to a new mystery.

Significant themes

• Power and humility: Even a formidable overlord is helpless before the stray dog’s unexplained power.
• Family over status: The characters reject immortality and prestige in favor of loved ones and peaceful lives.
• Protection and retaliation: Qin Xuanji’s stance reflects the Divine Court’s willingness to leave others alone—but answer attacks forcefully.
• Unanswered mysteries: The Heavenly Gate opens without an identifiable candidate, setting up a new question about who—or what—has triggered it.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Mu denies having opened the Heavenly Gate, though Qin Xuanji and Ye Qingcheng suspect that only he could have made it appear. Ye Qingcheng wonders if someone created it to lure him into their ranks.
• While they wait to see what happens, hundreds of powerful cultivators—including sect elders and leaders—rush toward the gate, eager to become immortals. They disguise themselves, argue over the chance, and soon turn on one another.
• Ye Qingcheng worries the gathering could become a plot to weaken the Divine Court, but keeps the suspicion to herself. Chen Mu chooses not to intervene, conjuring loungers, wine, and food so the three can watch in comfort.
• Qin Xuanji recognizes Chen Mu’s genuine preference for leisure and briefly jokes about giving up her responsibilities. Chen Mu tries to dissuade her, then suggests Chen Tianlin could take over instead.
• As Qin Xuanji jokes about leaving the work to Tianlin, he suddenly sneezes while buried in official documents.
• The cultivators’ brawl escalates to deadly violence, with some arguing that they will ascend before their enemies can retaliate. At last, the Heavenly Gate begins to open.

Character development and interactions

• Chen Mu remains detached from the ascension frenzy, preferring to observe and enjoy himself. His playful attempt to keep Qin Xuanji from abandoning her duties reveals that he may hope to avoid inheriting them.
• Qin Xuanji moves from skepticism about Chen Mu’s carefree nature to appreciating the appeal of taking it easy. She sees through his attempt to steer her away from retirement and jokes about shifting the burden to Tianlin.
• Ye Qingcheng is cautious and perceptive, raising the possibility that the gate is bait or a deliberate scheme, though she does not voice her concern publicly.
• The three share easy, teasing banter, contrasting with the increasingly desperate and violent cultivators below.

Significant themes

• Ambition and greed: The promise of immortality overwhelms the cultivators’ reputations, restraint, and regard for life.
• Leisure versus duty: Chen Mu’s contentment with an unambitious life prompts Qin Xuanji to reconsider the burden of rule.
• Power and responsibility: The Divine Court’s future may depend on people who are willing to risk everything for personal gain.
• Uncertainty and suspicion: The gate’s true origin and purpose remain unknown, leaving open whether it is an opportunity, a trap, or something connected to Chen Mu.

Key events

• The Immortal-Passing Gate opens, prompting sects and powerful families to battle for the chance to enter.
• Qin Xuanji suspects the gate is a trap and lets others test it rather than intervening.
• A wave of golden Spiritual Qi annihilates everyone who approaches. Even Shen Wansi, a legendary former Sect Master, is destroyed instantly.
• The crowd loses its nerve. A group then attempts to approach together, but the gate blasts them back with serious injuries instead of killing them.
• A voice from within the gate calls Chen Mu forward to receive his investiture.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Xuanji remains skeptical and detached, while her subordinates’ excessive ceremony continues to amuse and frustrate her.
• Chen Mu is calm and uninterested in entering, preferring to observe. He predicts the group’s failure after assessing their combined strength.
• Ye Qingcheng wonders whether the gate is meant for Chen Mu; he dismisses the idea.
• The assembled cultivators shift from reckless ambition to fear after witnessing the deaths. Some conclude that only the Female Emperor could pass; others try cooperation, which fails.
• The gate’s mysterious voice singles out Chen Mu, abruptly making him the focus of the scene.

Significant themes

• The cost of ambition: The pursuit of immortality leads many to their deaths.
• Skepticism versus spectacle: Qin Xuanji and Chen Mu resist the crowd’s excitement and question the gate’s promise.
• Power and restraint: The gate kills some intruders but merely injures the later group, suggesting its tests—or intentions—are more complicated than they first appear.
• True greatness: The crowd recognizes that the Female Emperor’s indifference to the opportunity may be part of what sets her apart.

Plot points and events

• A divine voice announces that Chen Mu must enter the Heavenly Gate to receive God Investiture, shocking the gathered crowd.
• Chen Mu ignores the summons, calmly eating a grape. The crowd grows anxious and speculates about his identity and his connection to the Divine Court Royal Family.
• An angry young Immortal Realm envoy emerges from the gate and confronts Chen Mu for refusing the invitation.
• Chen Mu rejects immortality and tells the envoy to leave. When threatened with a choice between kneeling for investiture or dying, Chen Mu chooses the envoy’s death.
• The envoy loses his composure and prepares to attack, threatening to rip out Chen Mu’s tongue. Chen Mu activates his Instant-Kill Domain and invites him to try.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains utterly calm and defiant, treating divine authority as something he can dismiss. His confidence turns the envoy’s ultimatum back on him.
• The young envoy begins with lofty certainty but becomes increasingly enraged by Chen Mu’s disrespect, shifting from persuasion to threats and violence.
• The crowd moves from confusion to awe and fear. Many envy Chen Mu’s chance at immortality, while others worry his defiance will bring disaster on the Divine Court and its people.
• Chen Mu and the envoy clash over authority and choice: the envoy assumes a mortal must obey, while Chen Mu insists that receiving immortality is his decision.

Significant themes

• Free will versus imposed authority: Chen Mu refuses the envoy’s claim that he has no choice.
• Power and arrogance: The envoy’s divine status fuels his entitlement, while Chen Mu’s composure undermines it.
• Envy and differing values: The crowd sees God Investiture as a rare blessing, but Chen Mu does not value the immortality they covet.
• Defiance and consequences: Chen Mu’s challenge escalates the encounter toward violence, leaving the outcome poised on his newly activated domain.

Key plot points and events

• The crowd assumes Chen Mu’s defiance of the Immortal Realm’s emissary is reckless, believing no mortal can match a god.
• The young emissary attacks Chen Mu, but Chen’s unseen Instant-Kill Domain tears apart his divine soul and kills him instantly—without Chen moving.
• The spectators and Qin Xuanji are stunned. Their belief in gods’ absolute superiority falters, though some still struggle to accept what they witnessed.
• A stronger divine figure emerges from the Heavenly Gate. His pressure forces the surrounding crowd to their knees, but Chen Mu, Qin Xuanji, and Ye Qingcheng remain unaffected because the domain blocks it.
• The newcomer arrives with a hundred golden-armored soldiers and offers Chen Mu the dead emissary’s divine position and passage to the Immortal Realm.
• Chen Mu says he is willing to go—but demands the seat of the Heavenly Emperor. The old man immediately refuses.

Character developments

• Chen Mu demonstrates overwhelming power and composure, confirming that his confidence is backed by strength. He remains unmoved by both divine intimidation and the crowd’s expectations.
• Qin Xuanji is astonished by how effortlessly her son kills the emissary, surpassing even her high expectations.
• Ye Qingcheng remains calm throughout, suggesting she is accustomed to extraordinary situations.
• The crowd shifts from dismissing Chen Mu as doomed to speculating that he has a clever plan, though many remain submissive toward the gods.
• The older divine figure presents himself as accommodating, but his refusal of Chen Mu’s demand reveals the limits of his supposed generosity.

Significant themes

• Power versus reputation: The crowd’s assumptions about gods collapse when Chen Mu defeats one instantly.
• False worship and self-abasement: Many mortals reflexively praise and submit to divine authority, even after witnessing a god’s defeat.
• Confidence and ambition: Chen Mu’s demand for the Heavenly Emperor’s seat shows he will not accept a subordinate role.
• The limits of intimidation: Divine pressure can overwhelm the crowd, but it cannot affect those protected by Chen Mu’s domain.

Character interactions

• Chen Mu kills the young emissary before he can strike, shocking Qin Xuanji and the onlookers.
• The older divine figure attempts to recruit Chen Mu by offering him the fallen emissary’s position.
• Chen Mu counters with a demand for the Heavenly Emperor’s seat; the old man rejects it, setting up a direct conflict.

Key plot points and events

• After Chen Mu declares that he wants to become Heavenly Emperor, the Immortal Venerable’s elderly envoy loses patience and orders ten heavenly soldiers and generals to kill him.
• All ten are killed instantly before reaching Chen Mu, though he appears not to move. The remaining immortals and the Divine Court witnesses are stunned.
• The envoy sends every remaining soldier after Chen Mu. They, too, explode in a wave of deaths. Unable to detect an attacker, the increasingly panicked envoy imagines someone is hiding nearby and accuses the Human Race of ambushing them.
• The envoy demands to know Chen Mu’s method and suspects he has a powerful artifact. Chen Mu refuses to reveal his trump card, reminding him that enemies do not disclose their abilities. The envoy attacks Chen Mu himself and is killed.
• Chen Mu privately credits his instant-kill domain for the slaughter. After the heavenly gate begins to close, Qin Xuanji worries that the Immortal Realm may retaliate with a full invasion. Chen Mu silently tells the system to copy the gate before it vanishes.

Character developments

• Chen Mu remains composed and evasive, concealing his ability even as he destroys the immortal force. His success leaves him in a good mood, and he turns his attention to copying the heavenly gate.
• The envoy shifts from contemptuous confidence to confusion, rage, and fear as his troops die without an apparent cause. He never discovers what killed them.
• The heavenly soldiers mistake numbers and immortal status for safety, then are wiped out.
• Qin Xuanji responds as a ruler, focusing on the danger a retaliatory invasion would pose to ordinary people.
• Ye Qingcheng observes that the heavenly gate is closing and that the invaders appear to have given up.

Significant themes

• Power and misjudgment: The immortals underestimate Chen Mu because he is mortal and mistake confidence in numbers for real security.
• Secrecy and strategy: Chen Mu protects his advantage by refusing to reveal his ability.
• Fear is universal: The envoy’s panic challenges the witnesses’ belief that immortals are beyond ordinary emotions.
• The cost of conflict: Qin Xuanji’s concern shifts the focus from victory to the civilians who could suffer if the Immortal Realm retaliates.

Character interactions

• Chen Mu calmly counters the envoy’s interrogation with the principle that one does not reveal one’s trump cards to an enemy.
• The envoy’s insults and accusations contrast with Chen Mu’s composure, while the soldiers’ deaths leave the Divine Court’s observers speechless.
• Ye Qingcheng reports the gate’s retreat; Qin Xuanji voices concern about the consequences of escalation. Chen Mu offers no reply aloud and instead acts through the system to copy the gate.

Plot points and events

• Chen Mu copies the Heavenly Gate before it disappears, planning to enter the Immortal Realm and deal with its inhabitants before they can threaten the mortal world again.
• Qin Xuanji offers to accompany him, and Ye Qingcheng joins them. Chen Mu uses the copied gate to transport all three into the Immortal Realm.
• Powerful cultivators in the mortal world witness their departure and are astonished that Chen Mu can open the Heavenly Gate at will. They recognize him as Qin Xuanji’s son and the reigning dynasty’s Crown Prince.
• In the Immortal Realm, the trio find a landscape of isolated mountain estates and abundant spiritual energy, but few people. They have not been recognized by the realm’s will, so they remain mortal rather than becoming immortals.
• A hostile young man confronts them for entering without permission. Before he can attack, a woman in green—his junior sister and a representative of the Vast Immortal Sect—intervenes and welcomes the visitors.
• She explains that the Immortal Realm is not fundamentally different from the ordinary world: its inhabitants eventually formed factions and sects after conflicts arose.
• At the woman’s invitation, Chen Mu, Qin Xuanji, and Ye Qingcheng agree to visit the Vast Immortal Sect. They remain wary, with Chen Mu keeping his instant-kill domain active.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu acts on the belief that preemptive action is safer than waiting for the so-called immortals to attack again. He is confident, distrustful of their arrogance, and lets Qin Xuanji decide whether to accept the sect’s invitation.
• Qin Xuanji supports her son’s plan but accompanies him out of concern for his safety. Her knowledge helps clarify how the Immortal Realm can be reached.
• Ye Qingcheng travels with Chen Mu and Qin Xuanji, remaining part of the group as they enter the new realm.
• The young man is aggressive toward the visitors but backs down when the woman in green intervenes.
• The woman in green is courteous and comparatively welcoming, though her authority over the young man suggests a strong hierarchy within their group.
• The trio’s interactions with their hosts are polite but cautious: they accept the invitation without trusting the sect completely.

Significant themes

• Preemption versus restraint: Chen Mu believes eliminating a future threat is preferable to living in fear of another attack.
• Power and arrogance: The young man’s attitude reflects how status and strength can make people forget their origins.
• Familiar divisions: Despite its name and spiritual advantages, the Immortal Realm has factions and social conflicts much like the mortal world.
• Trust and vigilance: Courtesy does not erase danger; Chen Mu remains prepared to protect his companions.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Mu learns that Li Yao and Li Wushuang are low-ranking mortal immortals. Immortal life proves to be an endless cultivation grind, far from his idea of carefree existence.
• Li Yao leads Chen Mu, Qin Xuanji, and Ye Qingcheng through a teleportation gate into the Vast Immortal Sect, a hidden world with fewer than a hundred members.
• The sect’s immortals are wary of the three visitors, who still have mortal bodies. Li Yao insists Chen Mu deserves consideration because he reached the Immortal Realm by opening the Heavenly Gate.
• Li Yao’s rival, Yang Lan, blocks the group from meeting the Sect Master and insults them as useless. Qin Xuanji decides they should leave rather than force the issue.
• Li Yao follows them, driven by instinct, despite Li Wushuang’s objections. As he follows her out, he sees a crowd from the rival Illusory Immortal Sect approaching.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains cautious and observant, recognizing that Li Yao’s initial friendliness may depend on her uncertainty about his strength. He cooperates with Qin Xuanji’s cautious decision to withdraw, despite believing he could protect the group.
• Qin Xuanji takes the lead in avoiding unnecessary risk, showing concern for Chen Mu and Ye Qingcheng.
• Li Yao demonstrates conviction and intuition: she defends Chen Mu’s worth, clashes with Yang Lan, and pursues the visitors even after they leave.
• Li Wushuang is dismissive of Chen Mu and the others, while repeatedly trying to rein in Li Yao.
• Yang Lan openly opposes Li Yao and prioritizes the sect’s reputation and immediate conflict with the Illusory Immortal Sect over welcoming outsiders.

Significant themes

• Status and prejudice: The immortals judge Chen Mu and his companions by their mortal bodies, even though Chen Mu’s achievement is exceptional.
• The cost of ambition: Immortal life is portrayed as a relentless cultivation race rather than freedom or leisure.
• Caution versus intuition: Qin Xuanji favors retreat until the group understands the situation, while Li Yao trusts her instinct that Chen Mu matters.
• Internal division amid external danger: The Vast Immortal Sect is already threatened by a rival, yet its members argue over whether to accept potential allies.

Plot points and events

• The Illusory Immortal Sect ambushes the Vast Immortal Sect’s party and seals the Teleportation Gate with enormous chains. Li Wushuang’s sword cannot damage them; the backlash injures him, and he realizes he is trapped before overwhelming enemies.
• Convinced the Vast Immortal Sect is doomed, Li Wushuang kneels and offers to help the invaders destroy it. Li Yao is furious and refuses to share his surrender.
• Sheng Shiyu, leader of the Illusory Immortal Sect’s group, rewards Li Wushuang’s submission with a sword and promises him admission to the sect if he kills the others.
• Li Wushuang eagerly accepts, then turns on Chen Mu and his companions. Chen Mu’s Virtual Panel confirms that Li Wushuang is genuinely defecting, not pretending to gain an advantage.
• Li Wushuang charges Chen Mu. Ye Qingcheng prepares to intervene, but Chen Mu stops her, saying that killing Li Wushuang would dirty her hands.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Wushuang shifts from fear and helplessness to eager betrayal, then quickly regains his arrogance once he believes the invaders are backing him. He argues that survival matters more than loyalty or dignity and tries to persuade Li Yao to surrender too.
• Li Yao remains loyal to the Vast Immortal Sect and is disgusted by Li Wushuang’s cowardice, openly condemning him.
• Sheng Shiyu treats Li Wushuang as a disposable servant rather than a genuine ally, offering him a conditional place in the sect as a way to use him.
• Chen Mu stays composed and sees through Li Wushuang’s motives. He prevents Ye Qingcheng from acting, signaling that he considers the traitor beneath her.
• The confrontation brings the characters’ values into sharp contrast: Li Wushuang prioritizes self-preservation, while Li Yao and Chen Mu maintain their principles and composure.

Significant themes

• Power and opportunism: Li Wushuang’s confidence returns only when he believes he has powerful protection.
• Dignity versus survival: He explicitly rejects dignity as meaningless without life, while Li Yao’s response embodies the opposite conviction.
• Dehumanization and exploitation: Sheng Shiyu’s offer exposes how little the invaders value their new “ally.”
• Loyalty and betrayal: The crisis tests allegiance, revealing who stands by the Vast Immortal Sect and who abandons it.

Plot and events

• Chen Mu advises Ye Qingcheng not to engage Li Wushuang. She agrees and steps back, ignoring his provocation.
• Li Wushuang attacks Chen Mu, but vanishes in a burst of blood before his sword can strike. No one sees what killed him, and Chen Mu remains completely calm.
• Li Yao suspects Chen Mu may have caused it, though she cannot explain how. Sheng Shiyu instead mocks her sect, suggesting it planted a lethal curse in Li Wushuang.
• Sheng Shiyu invites Li Yao to become his personal maid. She refuses, declaring she would rather die than betray the Vast Immortal Sect.
• When a junior disciple reminds Sheng Shiyu they are wasting time, he orders two disciples to deal with Chen Mu and his companions. They initially object to killing mortals, but Sheng Shiyu frightens them into obeying.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains composed amid the attack and its inexplicable outcome, reinforcing the mystery around his abilities.
• Ye Qingcheng trusts Chen Mu’s judgment and follows his advice without hesitation.
• Li Yao shows courage and loyalty under pressure. Her refusal earns the admiration of Chen Mu, Qin Juexin, and Ye Qingcheng.
• Sheng Shiyu is revealed as arrogant, predatory, and domineering. He treats others as possessions and commands even his own fellow disciples through fear.
• The Illusory Immortal Sect disciples are initially reluctant to kill mortals for the sake of their reputation, but quickly submit to Sheng Shiyu’s authority.

Significant themes

• Power and hierarchy: The Immortal Realm, like the Human Realm, rewards strength and excuses those who possess it.
• Loyalty and integrity: Li Yao holds to her allegiance despite the threat and temptation.
• Hidden power and uncertainty: Li Wushuang’s sudden death suggests Chen Mu’s group may be far more formidable than they appear, though the cause remains unexplained.
• Hypocrisy and abuse of authority: Sheng Shiyu condemns others while casually exploiting and threatening those under his own power.

Key events

• Two Illusory Immortal Sect disciples attack Chen Mu and his companions, hoping to regain the favor of their senior, Sheng Shiyu. Li Yao steps forward to protect the others, believing Chen Mu has no chance of winning.
• Li Yao’s sword strike reaches Sheng Shiyu but cannot harm him, exposing the vast difference between their cultivation levels.
• Sheng Shiyu suspects Chen Mu’s group possesses a Legendary Immortal Treasure and orders dozens of disciples to attack, intending to use them to test its limits.
• Chen Mu’s hidden power instantly kills the attackers. Sheng Shiyu is left stunned and trapped between returning to face punishment and advancing against Chen Mu.
• When Sheng Shiyu shouts for an explanation, Chen Mu refuses to reveal his trump card. Sheng Shiyu then turns and flees, but Chen Mu prepares to kill him with an active instant-kill ability.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yao shifts from admiration and concern for Chen Mu to desperate fear as the disciples attack. After witnessing their sudden deaths, she realizes Chen Mu is protecting the group with overwhelming power.
• Chen Mu remains calm and dismissive throughout, refusing to explain his abilities. His confidence contrasts sharply with the attackers’ panic.
• Sheng Shiyu, initially curious and commanding, becomes rattled when his plan costs dozens of disciples their lives. He tries to mask his fear with bluster, then escapes.
• Ye Qingcheng and Qin Xuanji trust Chen Mu enough to remain still, unlike Li Yao, who initially assumes they must flee.
• The Illusory Immortal Sect disciples are forced by Sheng Shiyu to attack despite recognizing that he is using them as expendable probes.

Significant themes

• Hidden power and mistaken assumptions: Sheng Shiyu interprets Chen Mu’s victories as the work of a Legendary Immortal Treasure, unaware that Chen’s power operates beyond the known hierarchy.
• Fear and self-preservation: The disciples attack because refusing Sheng Shiyu seems even more dangerous; Sheng Shiyu himself flees once the situation turns against him.
• The gap between appearances and reality: Li Yao sees Chen Mu as a mortal in need of protection, while he is in fact the group’s decisive shield.

Key plot points and events

• Li Yao watches Chen Mu kill Sheng Shiyu, an esteemed figure of the Illusory Immortal Sect, who first flees and then explodes and dies. She is stunned by the power she has witnessed.
• Chen Mu opens a teleportation gate to the Illusory Immortal Sect, intending to eliminate the threat before it can disrupt his future peace. Li Yao follows, then disguises herself to hide her ties to the rival Vast Immortal Sect.
• The system upgrades and unlocks Crack and Modify, a feature that lets Chen Mu alter virtually anything in the world without limits.
• Chen Mu uses it first to mute the other system features for a day, then changes his, Qin Xuanji’s, and Ye Qingcheng’s race from mortal to immortal.
• The Illusory Immortal Sect’s members welcome the three apparent new powerhouses, assuming the Heavenly Dao has granted them immortal bodies. They do not know Chen Mu has come to destroy the sect.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yao moves from disbelief to reverence toward Chen Mu and his companions, but remains curious about who they really are. She follows them despite recognizing the danger of entering enemy territory.
• Qin Xuanji is quietly shaken by the extent of her son’s strength, realizing she cannot gauge his true power.
• Chen Mu stays focused on removing future obstacles and quickly tests the new system ability, using it both for convenience and to alter his group’s status.
• Ye Qingcheng and Qin Xuanji accept their new immortal bodies, mistakenly believing the Heavenly Dao has acknowledged them.
• The Illusory Immortal Sect members interpret the newcomers as valuable allies and potential assets to their campaign to unify the Lower Reaches.

Significant themes

• Overwhelming, ever-escalating power: Chen Mu’s strength and system abilities surpass even the expectations of those closest to him.
• Appearance versus reality: Chen Mu claims to be an ordinary mortal, while everyone around him draws their own mistaken conclusions about his nature and the source of his companions’ transformation.
• Convenience and control: The new feature lets Chen Mu rewrite the rules of his world, turning a minor annoyance into an opportunity to demonstrate near-total control.
• Dramatic irony: The sect welcomes people it believes will help it grow, unaware that Chen Mu intends to crush it.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Mu, Ye Qingcheng, Qin Xuanji, and the anxious Li Yao enter the Illusory Immortal Sect’s Treasure Pavilion to watch an auction.
• The auctioneer offers ten high-quality Spirit Treasures, beginning with an immortal-grade Divine Cauldron Pill.
• Chen Mu has no immortal spirit stones, so he uses his system to change his balance to unlimited.
• As bidding for the pill slows at 2,700 stones, Chen Mu bids 100,000, winning it immediately and stunning the room.
• Yang Hao, a young disciple, challenges Chen Mu to prove he can pay. Chen Mu tosses him a sack, which knocks Yang Hao over and spills dozens of immortal spirit stones onto the floor.

Character developments

• Chen Mu remains relaxed in what Li Yao considers enemy territory. He tests his system’s new unlimited-currency function and confidently makes an extravagant bid.
• Ye Qingcheng anticipates Chen Mu’s curiosity and suggests attending the auction; Qin Xuanji readily supports the idea.
• Li Yao grows increasingly nervous. She considers bidding to build rapport with Chen Mu, but realizes she cannot afford the auction’s prices.
• Yang Hao emerges as a skeptic who tries to embarrass Chen Mu by questioning his ability to pay.

Significant themes

• Power and wealth: An apparently impossible bid instantly shifts the room’s attention to Chen Mu.
• Composure amid danger: Chen Mu’s calm contrasts with Li Yao’s fear of being surrounded by the Illusory Immortal Sect.
• Abundance versus limitation: Chen Mu’s unlimited funds contrast sharply with Li Yao’s inability to participate.
• Public challenge and spectacle: Yang Hao’s demand for proof turns the auction into a test of Chen Mu’s credibility.

Character interactions

• Ye Qingcheng and Qin Xuanji accommodate Chen Mu’s interest by joining him at the auction.
• Li Yao silently follows the group, worried but reluctant to ask Chen Mu to leave.
• Chen Mu’s bid silences the room and draws the elders’ scrutiny.
• When Yang Hao challenges him, Chen Mu answers not with an explanation but by handing over a heavy sack of stones—leaving the room to react to the proof.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Mu casually proves he has access to vast quantities of pristine immortal spirit stones, silencing Yang Hao, who had doubted him. Yang Hao retreats, now fearful of the consequences of antagonizing him.
• At the auction, Chen Mu repeatedly bids 100,000 immortal spirit stones and wins the Mother-and-Child Divine Swords. He then buys all ten auction items, sometimes bidding before the auctioneer has finished describing them.
• Afterward, Qin Xuanji asks where his wealth came from. Chen Mu claims he found the stones in a secret realm, then suggests making immortal spirit stones a primary currency for the Divine Court, implying his supply could meet its needs.
• Chen Mu turns his attention to the Immortal Sect’s grand hall, intending to test his modification ability on powerful immortals. Before he can proceed, several elders from the auction approach and ask him to wait.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains unbothered by his extravagant spending and the crowd’s attention. His confidence shifts toward a more ominous ambition: he sees even powerful immortals as subjects for experimentation and considers using his ability to strip arrogant immortals of their status.
• Yang Hao is humiliated into silence when Chen Mu’s wealth is demonstrated. He understands the implied warning when Chen Mu tosses another sack of stones at his feet, but dares not respond.
• Qin Xuanji accepts Chen Mu’s secret-realm explanation, then realizes the scale of his resources and is left speechless by the possibility that he could supply the entire Divine Court.
• Li Yao is stunned by Chen Mu’s spending, which nearly matches several years of her sect’s expenses, and continues to watch him in disbelief.
• The auction crowd moves from suspicion to awe and eager admiration, hoping to gain Chen Mu’s favor. The elders’ approach suggests that his display of wealth has attracted the attention of powerful figures.

Significant themes

• Wealth as power: Immortal spirit stones can buy influence, loyalty, and even violence; Chen Mu’s seemingly limitless supply overwhelms the auction and reshapes how others treat him.
• Status and humiliation: Yang Hao’s retreat contrasts with the crowd’s eagerness to associate with Chen Mu.
• Power and arrogance: Chen Mu’s plan to turn contemptuous immortals into mortals reflects a desire to punish those who look down on others, while also raising questions about how he will use his own overwhelming power.

Plot points

• Several Illusory Immortal Sect elders confront Chen Mu, seeking the source of his many immortal spirit stones. Lin Dong offers to make him a Core Disciple or elder in exchange for the information; Chen Mu refuses.
• When Lu Guangfa blocks Chen Mu’s way and threatens him, Chen Mu uses his system to erase Lu’s cultivation and turn him mortal. He then knocks Lu through a wooden wall.
• Lin Dong tries to use the elders’ authority to pressure Chen Mu, but Chen Mu exploits his wording: Lin calls Lu a former elder, so Chen argues that Lu’s past rank gives him no protection.
• The elders prepare to use force. Chen Mu instead strips all of them of their cultivation and immortal status, reducing them to mortals.
• Lin Dong recognizes Chen Mu is responsible and demands that he undo the change. Chen Mu kills him with a thought.
• The remaining elders, terrified, beg Chen Mu to restore them and promise to drop the matter of the spirit-stone vein. Chen Mu refuses and criticizes their attitude as they plead. The scene ends when the elders welcome the approaching Sect Master.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu is blunt, confident, and unwilling to be intimidated or bought off. He reveals a startling new use of his system and uses the elders’ own claims about immortality against them.
• Lin Dong begins as a composed negotiator who presents himself as concerned for Chen Mu’s safety, but turns to coercion when persuasion fails. His confidence collapses after losing his cultivation, and Chen kills him when he refuses to accept his new position.
• Lu Guangfa is the first to threaten Chen Mu and becomes the test case for the system’s ability to make someone mortal.
• Li Yao watches in astonishment and is further impressed by Chen Mu’s seemingly immeasurable power.
• Ye Qingcheng supports Chen Mu’s rebuke of the elders, affirming that their pleas do not show the proper humility.

Significant themes

• Power and status: The elders’ authority depends on their cultivation; once stripped of it, their former rank offers little protection.
• Arrogance and consequences: Their attempt to exploit and threaten Chen Mu leads to the loss of their power and, for Lin Dong, death.
• Words turned against their speakers: Chen uses the elders’ own framing—especially Lin Dong’s reference to Lu as a “former” elder—to undermine their claims of authority.
• Humility and mercy: The elders seek help only after losing their power, while Chen insists that genuine repentance must be reflected in their attitude.