Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Tongtian attends the treasure appraisal as a spectator, knowing he cannot afford the expensive items. When Shi Meng bids 700,000 purple pearls for the Divine-Grade Sea-Blue Heart, the bidding stops. The Prince of Dong’an questions the price, but Shi Meng says he is preparing for a major treasure the Flying Dragon Chamber of Commerce has hinted will appear.
• Three more rare treasures are displayed. Only the Five Elements Sect buys a high-grade Heaven Rank defensive Spirit Treasure; two other items go unsold and are deferred to a later auction.
• After half a day of appraisals, the guests take a banquet break. The powerful faction leaders use the meal to probe one another, while Tongtian, Shi Meng, and Shi Xue focus on eating.
• Tongtian and Shi Meng devour the banquet’s innate-spiritual-root dishes. Gong Xuan tries to slow them down, but his mention of another meal that evening only encourages them. Shi Xue joins in when she sees their shared table nearly emptied.
• Three young guests nearby watch in disbelief, wondering how the group can consume so many spiritual roots without suffering harm.

Character developments

• Tongtian remains shamelessly practical and food-driven. Confident that his strengthened body can digest the spiritual roots and convert them into cultivation power, he ignores etiquette and focuses on the benefits.
• Shi Meng proves both wealthy and ambitious: his enormous bid is part of a plan to pursue the chamber’s anticipated major treasure. At the banquet, he matches Tongtian’s appetite to avoid being outdone.
• Shi Xue begins the banquet more concerned with appearances, but her companions’ enthusiasm—and the dwindling food—draws her into their feast.
• Gong Xuan is a gracious host and friendly acquaintance of Tongtian, though he becomes increasingly concerned about the banquet’s cost and the group’s public image.
• The Prince of Dong’an questions Shi Meng’s spending but is intrigued by the promised major treasure.

Significant themes

• Wealth, value, and ambition: The auction’s extravagant prices reveal the resources and priorities of the powerful factions; Shi Meng’s bid is tied to a larger, still-hidden opportunity.
• Power versus practical usefulness: The Sea-Blue Heart can create a powerful incarnation, yet its limitations against equal or stronger opponents make its value debatable.
• Appearance versus appetite: The chapter humorously contrasts the leaders’ political maneuvering with the younger characters’ unrestrained eating.
• Cultivation through consumption: Tongtian treats rare spiritual food as a direct route to greater strength, reflecting his unusual, bodily approach to advancement.

Character interactions

• The Prince of Dong’an cautions Shi Meng about his bid, while Shi Meng calmly explains his preparations.
• Tongtian, Shi Meng, and Shi Xue trade teasing rebukes over their eating habits, with Shi Meng turning Shi Xue’s criticism back on her.
• Gong Xuan tries to restrain Tongtian out of concern for both the host’s costs and Tongtian’s reputation, but inadvertently motivates the group to eat even more.
• The young onlookers’ astonishment provides an outside perspective on just how extraordinary the trio’s appetite—and apparent ability to digest spiritual roots—is.

Key plot points and events

• At a banquet during the treasure appraisal gathering, Tongtian, Shi Meng, and Shi Xue consume enormous quantities of Innate Spiritual Roots. Shi Xue and Shi Meng swell into round, ball-like shapes, while Tongtian’s body remains unchanged despite eating more than anyone else.
• The other guests—including Bai Zeyu, Hong Tao, and members of the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion—stop to watch, astonished by the trio’s appetite. The serving staff eventually run out of food, forcing Tongtian to stop.
• Shi Meng uses the Reincarnation Method to distribute the spiritual roots across his future lives, shrinking his swollen belly. Shi Xue refines most of hers but remains plump.
• The Prince of Dong’an, embarrassed by the spectacle, hurries everyone back to the treasure appraisal. Tongtian and his companions eagerly anticipate the evening banquet.
• Bai Zeyu confronts Tongtian, taunting him and urging him to return to his sect and await death. Tongtian avoids escalating matters because he is attending under the Human Emperor Manor’s name. Shi Meng, however, steps in to defend him and challenges Bai.

Character developments and interactions

• Tongtian is carefree and single-minded about food, seemingly able to absorb vast quantities without physical change. Despite Bai’s provocation, he shows restraint to avoid burdening his allies.
• Shi Meng displays loyalty and confidence: he uses his cultivation technique to deal with his overeating, then openly backs Tongtian against Bai.
• Shi Xue joins in the feast but suffers the most visibly, complaining that her companions can recover while she remains swollen.
• The Prince of Dong’an is mortified by the trio’s behavior and worries that their display makes the Human Emperor Manor look poor.
• Bai Zeyu remains hostile toward Tongtian, treating his appetite as proof of incompetence and threatening him indirectly.

Significant themes

• Comic excess: The extravagant eating contrasts with the banquet’s formal setting and leaves the crowd, staff, and hosts bewildered.
• Unusual powers and cultivation: Tongtian’s inexplicable constitution and Shi Meng’s Reincarnation Method show how cultivation can defy ordinary limits.
• Loyalty and backing: Shi Meng’s defense of Tongtian turns a personal insult into a challenge involving the Human Emperor Manor.
• Restraint versus confrontation: Tongtian chooses not to provoke Bai, while Shi Meng is ready to answer the insult—setting up a possible conflict.

Plot points and events

• Bai Zeyu confronts Tongtian after Shi Meng defends him, boasting that the Human Emperor Manor no longer holds sway in Hanyang Commandery. The Prince of Dong’an warns Bai not to overstep, and Gong Xuan breaks up the escalating dispute by reminding everyone they are there to appraise treasures.
• Shi Meng asks why Bai has a grudge against Tongtian. Tongtian explains that Bai wanted him to marry into his family; after Tongtian refused, Bai placed a deadly restriction on him. In five hundred years, Tongtian must go to Prison Suppression and fight in an arena, or the restriction will kill him.
• Gong Xuan resumes the gathering and presents an ancient cauldron from the early days of the Shiva Holy Land. Though its purpose and value are unknown, its age suggests it could be a rare treasure.
• The old Sword God dismisses the cauldron as likely ordinary. Hong Tao bids 100 Purple Pearls, mostly for novelty. Luohu then tells Tongtian that something inside the cauldron can help him cultivate. Tongtian initially objects that he has no money, but promptly bids 110 Purple Pearls when he learns its value to him.

Character developments and interactions

• Tongtian stays composed despite Bai Zeyu’s threat and treats the five-hundred-year deadline lightly, though the cauldron gives him a promising route to strengthen himself.
• Shi Meng fiercely backs Tongtian, calling him his elder brother, and later worries that he may have caused Tongtian’s predicament.
• Bai Zeyu is revealed as the source of Tongtian’s deadly restriction. He backs down when challenged by the Prince of Dong’an and interrupted by Gong Xuan.
• Shi Xue is visibly concerned for Tongtian; she also rebukes her father when he jokingly suggests he could have pursued Tongtian himself.
• The Prince of Dong’an protects the gathering’s standing by warning Bai, then lightens the mood with an inappropriate joke.
• Luohu reappears through the God-Slaying Spear, urging Tongtian to buy the cauldron as an investment in his cultivation.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and protection: Shi Meng’s defense of Tongtian shows the strength of their bond.
• Threats and long-term stakes: Tongtian’s restriction turns his refusal of a marriage arrangement into a five-hundred-year deadline.
• Hidden value and opportunity: The cauldron is dismissed by the crowd, but may hold exactly what Tongtian needs.
• Frugality versus ambition: Tongtian’s reluctance to spend contrasts with the urgency of preparing for the challenge ahead.

Key plot points and events

• Tongtian outbids Elder Hong Tao for an apparently unimpressive Small Cauldron. Hong Tao suspects it may be a lost divine artifact containing the insights of a former Dao Palace Realm expert.
• When Bai Zeyu tells Tongtian to withdraw, Tongtian pretends to comply—then immediately bids one Purple Pearl more than before, openly provoking Bai and entertaining the crowd.
• Hong Tao stops bidding and reminds Tongtian of his promise to join the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion as its sixth elder. The item is sold to Tongtian despite the tension.
• After a few uneventful lots, Gong Xuan announces the fair’s principal offering: a map to the sanctuary of the former Ancient God, Venerable Tyrant Blade. He warns that rival forces from other continents may compete for it.
• Tongtian learns that such sanctuaries are the abandoned resting places of powerful figures who left the lower realm; discovering and selling maps to them is the fair’s main attraction.

Character developments and interactions

• Tongtian first appears embarrassed and financially constrained, but reveals a playful, defiant streak by turning Bai’s demand into a pointedly insulting bid. He is increasingly willing to provoke Bai rather than avoid conflict.
• Hong Tao is excited by the cauldron and becomes wary of Tongtian, imagining that Tongtian may be connected to the Ancient God who owned it. Despite losing the auction, he remains friendly and expects Tongtian to visit his pavilion.
• Bai Zeyu grows more furious as Tongtian defies and humiliates him; his desire for revenge intensifies.
• Shi Meng and Shi Xue briefly mistake Tongtian’s apparent withdrawal for timidity, then realize he has simply outmaneuvered Bai.
• The Prince of Dong’an becomes more admiring of Tongtian, while Gong Xuan is left eager to finish the event and escape the disruptions.

Significant themes

• Appearances and hidden value: The cauldron looks ordinary, but may conceal a priceless legacy.
• Defiance and power: Tongtian uses humor and technicalities to resist intimidation, while Bai expects unquestioned obedience.
• Legacy and ambition: The sanctuary map draws attention to the abandoned treasures and knowledge of powerful figures—and to the competition such discoveries provoke.

Key plot points and events

• Gong Xuan announces the discovery of Venerable Tyrant Blade’s sanctuary, a dangerous and highly coveted legacy that may attract rival factions from other provinces.
• The factions negotiate expedition rules. Six sects receive one Primordial Chaos Realm place and three Dao-Unification Realm places each; Prison Suppression gets two additional Dao-Unification places to help hold off outside forces.
• Each faction must post a one-million-purple-pearl security deposit, forfeited if it sabotages the others. The Prince of Dong’an will lead the Human Emperor Manor’s team, with Shi Meng, Shi Xue, and Tongtian joining him.
• After the fair, Tongtian buys the Small Cauldron and hides it in his Great Dao Space to keep Luohu from taking advantage of him.
• The Prince of Dong’an again tries to persuade Tongtian to marry into his household. Hong Tao jokes that Tongtian could instead join the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion and become a suitable match.
• At the celebratory banquet, Gong Xuan complains that Tongtian ate through the Sea-Viewing Tower’s food supplies. Tongtian and the Human Emperor Manor’s group proceed to eat extravagantly once more.

Character developments and interactions

• Tongtian shows caution by securing the Small Cauldron away from Luohu, but remains indifferent to the serious political maneuvering around the expedition. He is embarrassed by the older men’s marriage jokes and unapologetic about his enormous appetite.
• The Prince of Dong’an continues to admire Tongtian and pursues him as a potential son-in-law, while also entrusting him with a place on the expedition team.
• Gong Xuan manages the expedition arrangements but is exasperated by Tongtian’s appetite and fears the Flying Dragon Chamber of Commerce will be stuck with a huge bill.
• The old Sword God invokes Bai Zeyu and Prison Suppression to reassure the assembled factions, prompting Bai to make clear that his organization expects compensation for its help.
• Shi Meng and Shi Xue support Tongtian, with Shi Xue and Shi Meng arriving just in time to spare him from further teasing.

Significant themes

• Cooperation backed by mutual accountability: deposits and shared rules discourage betrayal among rival factions.
• The costs and limits of power: Primordial Chaos Realm experts are restricted because they cannot claim the most valuable parts of a Dao Palace legacy, and their loss would be costly.
• Comic relief amid danger: the serious contest over a famous legacy is contrasted with Tongtian’s social awkwardness and legendary appetite.

Key events

• With three months remaining before the expedition for Venerable Tyrant Blade’s legacy, Tongtian prepares the Holy Land Interception Sect for the challenge. He links his courtyard in the Commandery Princess’s Manor to the sect with a teleportation array and brings the World-Suppressing Tower, letting him access the sect’s star formation across two commanderies.
• He sends his disciples and other cultivators into the Myriad Worlds Library to improve their cultivation, while the elders and Ying Dang take turns because they must keep the sect running.
• Tongtian asks Luohu to examine the Small Cauldron he bought for 101 purple pearls, hoping it will help him grow stronger before his life-or-death confrontation with Prison Suppression.
• Luohu reveals that the cauldron belonged to a figure whose strength rivaled an Ancient God, despite having reached only the ninth level of the Primordial Chaos Realm. While refining it, Luohu cracks the cauldron, alarming Tongtian.
• A glowing square cloth emerges from the fragments and seems to call to Tongtian. Luohu admits he senses the call too, but gives the cloth to Tongtian as promised.

Character developments and interactions

• Tongtian is focused on strengthening himself and the sect, feeling the pressure of the gap between his disciples and those of top-tier powers. His frustration at Luohu’s mishandling of the cauldron quickly turns to excitement when a hidden treasure appears.
• Luohu is more physically restored after consuming rare spiritual medicines, and remains boastful and teasing. Despite his initial blunder and his own interest in the cloth, he honors his promise and hands it over to Tongtian.
• Tongtian and Luohu trade barbs: Tongtian pushes for practical answers, while Luohu mocks his impatience and his claim to be “the chosen one.”

Significant themes

• Preparation and ambition: Tongtian treats the coming expedition and future trials as opportunities the sect must be ready to face.
• Uneven power and looming danger: The sect’s weakness compared with elite powers—and Tongtian’s deadline against Prison Suppression—drives the push to improve.
• Hidden potential and luck: An apparently discarded treasure contains something far more valuable, suggesting that overlooked relics may conceal extraordinary legacies.
• Trust amid rivalry: Tongtian and Luohu bicker and distrust each other, but Luohu ultimately keeps his word.

Key plot points and events

• Luohu gives Tongtian a treasure and warns him not to damage it. He explains that the cauldron Tongtian acquired belonged to Fangyuan, the God-Slaying Heavenly Venerable, whose inheritance may be hidden in its associated Divine Scarf.
• Luohu claims Fangyuan, though only at the peak of the Primordial Chaos Realm, once fought four Dao Palace Realm Heavenly Venerables at once. Tongtian doubts that such a figure could be so little known, but Luohu insists the legend is true.
• Tongtian asks how Luohu could have lost to Hongjun if he is so powerful. Luohu reveals that the figure Tongtian knew was only one of his many bodies: the Luohu in the Primordial World was an avatar, and the present Luohu is also only one of countless scattered forms. He says Pangu slew him when he was at the ninth heaven of the Primordial Chaos Realm, and his avatars served as escape routes for rebirth.
• Tongtian promises to find Luohu a body, mentioning a Sea-Covering Pearl said to contain one. Luohu dismisses the promise, pointing out that Tongtian may be forced to become someone’s son-in-law in five hundred years—and jokes that he may have to reincarnate elsewhere to escape Tongtian’s strange system.
• Before returning to the God-Slaying Spear, Luohu leaves Tongtian a wisp of demonic qi containing the Ancient Gods’ language, which could help him refine Fangyuan’s Divine Scarf.
• Tongtian begins probing the scarf with his primordial spirit. A powerful suction seizes it and starts pulling it from his body. He cannot resist, and his body becomes lifeless. Nuwa and the other disciples are shocked, with Nuwa crying out, “Tongtian is dead?”

Character developments and interactions

• Tongtian is awed by Fangyuan’s reputed power and shaken by Luohu’s revelation about his many bodies. Despite his own danger, he shows concern for Luohu and confidently vows to make the Interception Sect known. His attempt to study the scarf immediately puts him in mortal peril.
• Luohu reveals more of his ancient history and the survival strategy behind his many avatars. Though he acts dismissive and cynical, he shows trust in Tongtian by sharing knowledge that may help him obtain Fangyuan’s inheritance.
• Nuwa and the disciples shift from focused cultivation to alarm when Tongtian’s life signs disappear.

Significant themes

• Hidden history and uncertain legends: Powerful figures and ancient events may be forgotten or misunderstood.
• Survival through sacrifice and reinvention: Luohu’s scattered avatars let him escape death and return in another world.
• Trust beneath hostility: Luohu’s teasing and skepticism coexist with his willingness to help Tongtian.
• Ambition and risk: Tongtian’s desire to master a powerful inheritance leads him into sudden, potentially fatal danger.

Key plot points and events

• In the Myriad Worlds Library Pavilion, Tongtian’s consciousness abruptly vanishes. Jian Wuchen and the Interception Sect panic, fearing Tongtian has been killed, though Nuwa argues that no enemy could have entered the sealed sanctuary.
• Tongtian awakens as a disembodied primordial spirit in a lightless void, unable to sense his body, treasures, or system.
• The Immortal Slaying Formation Diagram unexpectedly appears within his spirit. Its light reveals the void as a network of luminous points linked by lines, and Tongtian finds himself drawn into one of them.
• He witnesses memories belonging to the Godslayer Venerable, including a battle with four ancient gods, then follows the memories of Heavenly Venerable Fangyuan backward through his life.
• In Fangyuan’s youth, Tongtian recognizes the Immortal Slaying Formation Diagram on a handkerchief. It transforms and sinks into the youth’s body, causing Tongtian intense pain as his spirit begins merging with the host.
• Tongtian wakes in the mountain setting of Fangyuan’s memories, now fully inhabiting the youth’s body. The remembered world has become real, leaving him to wonder whether he has transmigrated or been possessed.

Character developments

• Tongtian shifts from a powerful cultivator cut off from everything to a frightened, helpless spirit—and finally to an unwilling possessor of Fangyuan’s young body. He realizes the formation diagram may be a means of possession rather than merely a treasure.
• Nuwa remains composed and tries to reassure the panicked disciples, relying on the sanctuary’s security and Tongtian’s alliances.

Significant themes

• Death and isolation: Tongtian’s experience of disembodied nothingness strips away the certainty and power of cultivation.
• Memory and identity: As he inhabits another being’s memories, the boundary between observer and host collapses.
• Possession and rebirth: The formation diagram links Tongtian to Fangyuan’s body, raising uncertainty over whether Tongtian has been reincarnated, transported, or displaced.

Character interactions

• Jian Wuchen searches for a way out after Tongtian disappears, while Nuwa cautions the group against assuming the worst.
• Tongtian interacts with the memories of the Godslayer Venerable and Fangyuan only as an observer at first; the formation diagram then forces him into a direct, painful merger with Fangyuan’s youthful self.

Plot points and events

• Tongtian finds himself sharing a youth’s body in a world where everything except the two of them and a formation diagram is frozen.
• An unseen voice urges him to merge with the diagram, but refuses to answer his questions. Suspicious, Tongtian fears it may be a trap; he ultimately decides to take the risk.
• The Immortal-Slaying Formation Diagram engraves itself into the youth’s body, causing immense pain. As Tongtian endures the process, his spirit grows more resilient and the formation fuses completely with his body.
• Tongtian awakens back in the Myriad Worlds Library Pavilion, having advanced from the seventh to the eighth heaven of the Dao-Unification Realm. His limbs now anchor the formation, while his body forms its foundation, letting him greatly amplify his combat power and cultivate faster.
• The handkerchief’s remaining powder gathers into an image of the Godslayer Venerable. Tongtian thanks him for the inheritance, and the Venerable reveals he has waited a long time for him.

Character development

• Tongtian moves from suspicion and fear to resolve, trusting his instincts enough to accept the dangerous inheritance.
• Enduring the fusion strengthens both his primordial spirit and his confidence. He ends the chapter astonished and grateful, though still unsettled by the Venerable’s claim.

Significant themes

• Risk and growth: Tongtian’s breakthrough comes through pain and a willingness to act despite uncertainty.
• Inheritance and destiny: The formation is revealed as an inheritance tied to Tongtian’s origins and a choice made by Pangu.
• Transformation through cultivation: The formation becomes part of Tongtian’s body, making power and practice inseparable from him.

Character interactions

• The mysterious voice guides Tongtian through the fusion but withholds its identity, fueling his distrust.
• Tongtian bows to the Godslayer Venerable in gratitude and remorse for doubting the inheritance. The Venerable reassures him and explains that Tongtian bears Pangu’s aura and the God-Slaying Formation Rubbing, marking him as Pangu’s chosen inheritor.

Summary

• Tongtian meets the lingering consciousness of the Godslayer Venerable, who notices that a restriction inside Tongtian is draining his vitality. He warns that Tongtian may have fewer than a hundred years to live, but says the Venerable’s God-Slaying Formation Diagram could help him break it. The Venerable’s consciousness fades before Tongtian can properly say goodbye, urging him to master the diagram and eventually seek him in the Divine Domain.
• Tongtian examines his body and finds the restriction’s gray energy obstructing several meridians. He judges that the danger is less immediate than the Venerable feared, and concludes Bai Zeyu probably did not lie about the restriction lasting roughly five hundred years.
• The formation diagram, inscribed in Tongtian’s acupoints and meridians, amplifies his power fourfold and greatly improves the flow of his internal energies. His cultivation rises to the eighth heaven of the Dao-Unification Realm, though the incomplete formation still leaves him short of Primordial Chaos Realm strength. He hopes that completing it could bring his power to that level.
• To advance his cultivation, Tongtian studies the Heavenly Demon Art passed down by Luohu. He discovers that it resembles the Nine-Turn Primordial Unity Mystical Art but is more complete, including methods for cultivation beyond the Primordial Chaos Realm. He begins using it to perfect the formation within his body.
• After spending about fourteen years inheriting the Venerable’s legacy, Tongtian has ten years left before the Mystic Sea Region expedition. He resolves to strengthen himself further and aim for dominance among Dao-Unification Realm cultivators.
• Shi Meng prepares for the expedition by using a Divine-Grade Sea-Blue Heart to create an External Incarnation with the fifth-heaven Primordial Chaos Realm cultivation he once possessed. Though he is currently an ordinary mortal, he can potentially field two powerful versions of himself through the incarnation and the Reincarnation Method.
• The Human Emperor Manor’s real objective is a separate divine artifact, not the Heavenly Venerable’s legacy. The Prince of Dong’an and his daughter will accompany Tongtian and Shi Meng as escorts and protectors; the Manor’s expedition roster is designed to bring as many Primordial Chaos Realm fighters as possible.

Character developments and interactions

Tongtian’s encounter with the Venerable turns anxiety about his restriction into renewed confidence and ambition. He also becomes intrigued by the Divine Domain and gains a clearer sense of how far he must progress. His exchange with the Venerable is frank but respectful, while his reassessment of Bai Zeyu shows that he is willing to question alarming claims rather than accept them blindly.
Shi Meng demonstrates a practical and formidable approach to preparation, using an incarnation to compensate for his mortal status. The expedition’s arrangements reveal the Human Emperor Manor’s strategic priorities: Tongtian and Shi Meng qualify as sub-Primordial Chaos participants, but their protected status and Shi Meng’s hidden strength make them valuable assets.

Significant themes

• Hidden potential and self-cultivation: Tongtian’s incomplete formation already multiplies his strength, encouraging him to pursue mastery rather than settle for a partial inheritance.
• Uncertainty and trust: The Venerable’s warning conflicts with Tongtian’s own findings, leaving him to interpret the restriction and Bai Zeyu’s intentions for himself.
• Power and preparation: Both Tongtian and Shi Meng exploit their distinct advantages as they prepare for a dangerous expedition.
• Legacy and the wider cosmos: The Venerable’s reference to the Divine Domain and the Heavenly Demon Art’s advanced teachings point toward realms and cultivation levels beyond Tongtian’s current horizon.

Plot points and events

• Three months after Tongtian entered seclusion, he emerges to find Nuwa and the Interception Sect disciples alarmed by his unexplained disappearance. He reassures them and says he will travel to the Mystic Sea Region.
• His disciples and Nuwa fear he is going to face Prison Suppression. Nuwa offers him a mysterious jade token for emergencies, but Tongtian explains he is joining the Flying Dragon Chamber of Commerce’s treasure-hunting expedition with experts from the Human Emperor Manor.
• With three days before departure, Tongtian explores Hanyang City. As he walks, he attunes to the world’s powerful Human Dao, and the sense that he does not belong in this realm begins to fade.
• He witnesses a ragged teenage beggar with Heavenly Immortal cultivation accused of theft by a group of Profound Immortals. The boy denies it and bravely resists, but the men overwhelm him while bystanders look on indifferently.
• A finely dressed young gentleman intervenes, challenges the attackers, and reveals Golden Immortal strength, driving them back. The chapter ends as his confrontation begins.

Character developments and interactions

• Tongtian is reassured by the disciples’ concern and increasingly regards Nuwa and the others as his own people. He accepts Nuwa’s token rather than dismissing her care, though he remains confident in his strength.
• Nuwa and the disciples show genuine attachment to Tongtian, despite Nuwa’s insistence that her concern is practical. They urge him to be cautious and offer to accompany him.
• The beggar is physically outmatched but shows grit and an unyielding spirit.
• The young gentleman acts decisively to defend the child, contrasting with the passive crowd.
• Tongtian watches the incident with curiosity rather than immediately stepping in, intrigued by the city’s social order and by who might come to the beggar’s aid.

Significant themes

• Belonging and acceptance: Tongtian’s growing connection to the Human Dao helps him feel recognized by the Sacred Land Great World.
• Loyalty and care: The Interception Sect’s concern reflects the bonds Tongtian has built with those around him.
• Indifference and injustice: A prosperous city tolerates violence against a vulnerable child, while one individual chooses to intervene.
• Courage versus power: The beggar’s resolve and the gentleman’s intervention challenge the attackers’ reliance on strength.

Plot points and events

• A righteous young Golden Immortal intervenes when burly men appear to beat a little beggar, accusing them of violence and defending the child despite hostile reactions from bystanders.
• The beggar claims innocence and says their parents are dead. Moved by the story, the young master drives the attackers away, buys healing pills, and brings the beggar to his home.
• Tongtian, who has followed them, recognizes the setup: the “boy” is a disguised Golden Immortal woman, and the attackers are accomplices from the Rebirth Gate waiting to share the spoils.
• The woman tries to strike the young master once they are alone. Tongtian freezes the scene, exposes the deception, and pulls the accomplices into the courtyard.
• The gang attacks Tongtian, but the world’s Great Dao crushes the burly men. The woman’s real body attempts to flee, then is dragged back and begs for mercy.
• Tongtian leaves her fate to the young master. He says she can go, but heaven and earth immediately kill her. He is left shocked.

Character developments and interactions

• The young master begins as an earnest, impulsive do-gooder, trusting the beggar’s story despite public warnings. When given the power to decide her fate, he chooses mercy—but the outcome reveals how little control he has over events.
• Tongtian remains calm and amused, seeing through the con from the start. He intervenes effortlessly, then tests the young master by handing him the decision.
• The beggar / Rebirth Gate leader exploits the young master’s compassion with a disguise and staged attack. When exposed and overpowered, she abandons her followers and pleads for her life.
• The gang members act as accomplices, but panic and helplessness replace their bravado once Tongtian reveals his overwhelming power.

Significant themes

• Naïve righteousness and deception: Good intentions can be manipulated when compassion is not paired with discernment.
• Public indifference: The onlookers criticize the person intervening rather than help the victim.
• Power and moral agency: Tongtian can end the conflict instantly, while the young master’s choice proves largely symbolic under the world’s higher forces.
• Justice versus mercy: The young master offers forgiveness, but the woman’s death complicates the meaning of his decision.

Key plot points and events

• Tongtian confronts Ye Chen after seemingly killing a woman from the Rebirth Gate. He argues that Ye Chen’s effort to save her reflects confused moral judgment, leaving Ye Chen unsure whether Tongtian was right.
• Tongtian reveals that the deaths were an illusion: everyone in the courtyard is alive. He had staged the scene to challenge Ye Chen’s thinking and test his character.
• Impressed by Ye Chen’s extraordinary chaos spiritual root, Tongtian offers to take him as a disciple—but makes it conditional. Ye Chen must subdue the Rebirth Gate’s wicked cultivators before Tongtian returns.
• Tongtian teaches Ye Chen the Nine-Turn Primordial Unity Mystical Art and strengthens his body to withstand the technique’s power, then disappears.
• Over the next three days, Ye Chen struggles against the Rebirth Gate. Though talented, he is inexperienced and nearly killed several times. The group also curbs its behavior, apparently frightened by Tongtian’s display. Tongtian leaves Ye Chen to face the challenge alone before departing for the Mystic Sea Region.

Character developments

• Ye Chen begins as a compassionate but naïve young cultivator, convinced that saving the beggar is unquestionably right. Tongtian’s psychological test unsettles him, but he ultimately agrees to act against the Rebirth Gate and accepts the challenge of earning discipleship.
• Tongtian reveals himself as a powerful, pragmatic mentor who uses deception and pressure to expose and correct Ye Chen’s weaknesses. He recognizes Ye Chen’s immense potential but doubts his judgment and competence.

Significant themes

• Moral judgment and consequences: Tongtian challenges the idea that mercy is always the right response when someone continues to harm others.
• Growth through hardship: Ye Chen must prove himself through a dangerous test rather than receive a master’s acceptance automatically.
• Talent versus wisdom: Ye Chen’s exceptional natural aptitude is offset by poor judgment and limited experience.
• Perception and manipulation: The illusion forces Ye Chen—and the reader—to question what is real and how easily conviction can be shaken.

Character interactions

• Tongtian uses an apparent killing and a debate about morality to unsettle Ye Chen, then reveals the trick and offers him a path to discipleship.
• Ye Chen accepts Tongtian’s condition and resolves to restrain the Rebirth Gate cultivators, while Tongtian watches from concealment and lets him struggle independently.

Key plot points and events

• Tongtian returns to the Human Emperor Manor after several days away, relieving Shi Meng and Shi Xue, who feared he had been kidnapped. He recounts what happened, but they are unconcerned about the minor Golden Immortal involved.
• Tongtian, the siblings, and the Prince of Dong’an attend the Sea-Viewing Tower’s auction. Though the major factions have already inspected the goods, the auction is a required formality before the expedition.
• The crowded auction proceeds energetically, with ordinary cultivators filling the lower floors and powerful factions occupying the sixth.
• The expedition parties include elite disciples from Prison Suppression, the Divine Sword Sect, the Five Elements Sect, and Black Cliff Cave. Tongtian notices three celebrated young cultivators: Qingshan, the Five Elements Sect’s first-place prodigy; Qianyuan, the Divine Sword Sect’s second-place “Little Sword God”; and Nan Yi, who placed third.
• Shi Xue explains that youthful prodigies are not necessarily a sect’s enduring strength, since established Primordial Chaos Realm experts matter more. However, their power makes them valuable in an expedition where Dao-Unification Realm cultivators will be most useful.
• The auction’s final and most valuable lot is announced: the Sea-Covering Pearl. Tongtian wants it because it may help him obtain the Sea Demon Emperor’s divine body and restore Luohu’s physical form, but the gathered factions make him doubt he can win it.

Character developments and interactions

• Tongtian recognizes the Human Emperor Manor’s genuine concern for him, despite its possible ulterior motives. His interest in Qingshan and Qianyuan leads him to compare them with Nan Yi, whose third-place status makes Tongtian feel sympathy—and amusement.
• Shi Meng and Shi Xue show how worried they were about Tongtian’s disappearance. Shi Xue also gives Tongtian context about the expedition’s participants and the role of prodigies.
• Nan Yi is embarrassed and resentful when Tongtian’s gaze seems to mark him as the weaker of the three famous young talents. Ye Qing teases him, sharpening his frustration.
• Qingshan and Tongtian exchange a brief, friendly smile after noticing each other.

Significant themes

• Reputation versus real strength: Young prodigies attract attention, but long-lived experts and a faction’s broader roster determine its lasting power.
• Competition and insecurity: Nan Yi’s rank is overshadowed by the talents above him, leaving him sensitive to comparisons.
• Friendship and concern: The siblings’ relief at Tongtian’s return shows that their bond with him is genuine.
• Ambition amid overwhelming power: Tongtian has a personal reason to pursue the Sea-Covering Pearl, yet recognizes that the powerful factions may put it beyond his reach.

Key plot points and events

• The Sea-Covering Pearl appears at the auction, and its price quickly climbs from 800,000 to 2 million purple pearls as several powers compete for it.
• The Old Sword God of the Divine Sword Sect bids 3 million. His standing and the sect’s power silence most challengers, making it seem the pearl is his.
• Shi Meng explains to Tongtian that the prize may be more than the Sea Demon Emperor’s body: it could contain a detailed map of the Mystic Sea Region, possibly revealing the long-lost location of Prison Suppression.
• Shi Meng believes Prison Suppression’s Bai Zeyu may want the pearl, but could avoid bidding because Prison Suppression’s old commander or the mysterious Duan Ya may already be in Hanyang City—and could take it back by force.
• Just as the auctioneer is about to award the pearl to the Old Sword God, an unknown bidder on the Second Floor offers 4 million. The bid shocks the entire tower. Tongtian suspects Prison Suppression’s old commander may be behind it.

Character developments and interactions

• Tongtian gives up hope of buying a Primordial Chaos Realm body for Luohu, then questions Shi Meng about the pearl and begins piecing together the bidder’s identity.
• Shi Meng reveals his knowledge of the pearl’s possible map and watches Bai Zeyu closely, showing he understands the political stakes behind the auction.
• Bai Zeyu remains remarkably calm when the unexpected bid is made, prompting Tongtian to wonder whether he knows who is bidding or is relying on Prison Suppression’s hidden strength.
• The Old Sword God asserts the Divine Sword Sect’s dominance with a 3-million bid, but the Second-Floor challenger directly contests his authority.

Significant themes

• Power and intimidation: Many bidders withdraw not because they lack interest, but because they fear the Old Sword God and the Divine Sword Sect.
• Hidden value and secrets: The pearl’s apparent worth as a divine body may be eclipsed by its potential link to the Mystic Sea’s secrets and Prison Suppression’s location.
• Uncertainty and concealed strength: A seemingly insignificant Second-Floor bidder may be a major hidden power, and Prison Suppression’s true capabilities remain unknown.
• A looming conflict: The unexpected 4-million bid raises the possibility that the auction will trigger a confrontation between powerful factions.

Key plot points and events

• The Sea-Covering Pearl’s auction price climbs rapidly: the Old Sword God bids four million purple pearls, Prison Suppression’s commander Bai Yushan raises it to five million, and the Old Sword God counters with six million.
• A mysterious second-floor bidder calling himself “Luo” shocks the auction by offering ten million purple pearls.
• Bai Yushan decides not to challenge the bid, judging that the bidder’s unstable aura suggests an injury or concealed weakness—but concluding that Prison Suppression can still pursue the pearl later.
• The Flying Dragon Chamber of Commerce verifies that the bidder’s barter payment is worth ten million purple pearls. He wins the Sea-Covering Pearl, which appears in his hand.
• The bidder is revealed to be Luohu. He celebrates, believing the pearl will let him rebuild his physical body and escape Shiva Holy Land’s control.
• Tongtian realizes Luohu has slipped away and discovers that the God-Slaying Spear and World-Destroying Black Lotus are missing from his system space.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Yushan remains cautious and strategic, refusing to provoke a fight inside the Sea-Viewing Tower despite the importance of the pearl to Prison Suppression.
• Duan Ya offers to eliminate the rival bidder but defers to Bai Yushan’s judgment.
• The Old Sword God grows furious as the price rises beyond his reach.
• Tongtian shifts from observing the bidding to panic once he recognizes Luohu’s voice and notices his treasures are gone.
• Luohu reveals both his ambition and confidence: he has obtained the pearl and expects to regain a body powerful enough to free himself.

Significant themes

• Wealth and power: The immense bids make clear that the auction is a contest among formidable factions, not ordinary buyers.
• Hidden identities and deception: Luohu’s disguise and secret departure catch even attentive observers off guard.
• Strategic restraint: Bai Yushan chooses not to risk a confrontation in a politically dangerous venue.
• Freedom and restoration: Luohu’s purchase is driven by the hope of rebuilding his body and escaping captivity.

Key plot points and events

• The Sea-Covering Pearl’s buyer, Luohu, vanishes moments after winning it at auction. Bai Yushan and Duan Ya are shocked and fear the treasure may fall into Prison Suppression’s enemies’ hands.
• Prison Suppression seals Hanyang City and the Sea-Viewing Tower, detaining the Flying Dragon Chamber of Commerce’s senior members and preventing anyone from leaving.
• On the Sixth Floor, Bai Zeyu asks the assembled sect leaders to reveal whether they secretly bid on the pearl. He explains that Prison Suppression suspects one of the powerful guests because the buyer disappeared from the second floor.
• The Prince of Dong’an says the Human Emperor Manor will cooperate, but points out that everyone on the Sixth Floor remained present and could not have slipped away unnoticed.
• The truth is that Luohu used the system to return directly into Tongtian’s body. He paid for the pearl with the core of a chaos star, but falls silent when Tongtian asks whether the Sea Demon Emperor’s divine body is sealed inside it.
• Prison Suppression searches the tower and finds nothing. Meanwhile, its citywide lockdown and lethal treatment of people attempting to leave provoke growing public anger.
• On the Sixth Floor, the Five Elements Sect’s elder protests the continued detention. Bai Zeyu declares everyone a suspect. Shi Meng then openly condemns Prison Suppression for violating the Human Emperor Manor’s authority, and manifests a powerful Fifth Heaven of the Primordial Chaos Realm incarnation.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Yushan and Bai Zeyu become increasingly suspicious and forceful, treating the vanished buyer as a threat and pressuring the gathered leaders for answers.
• The Old Sword God (Jiang Mubai) agrees to assist Prison Suppression, but his request meets resistance from Shi Meng and Hong Tao, who question why they should be suspected.
• The Prince of Dong’an urges caution and declares the Human Emperor Manor’s cooperation, while quietly signaling Shi Meng not to provoke Bai Yushan.
• Tongtian is relieved and excited that Luohu secured the pearl, though he is frustrated that Luohu will not answer his questions.
• Luohu demonstrates the system’s ability to conceal and transport him beyond even powerful experts’ detection, and reveals his substantial resources.
• Shi Meng shifts from restraint to open defiance as Prison Suppression’s coercion escalates.

Significant themes

• Power and tyranny: Prison Suppression uses its strength to impose a citywide lockdown, provoking resentment and resistance.
• Secrecy and deception: Luohu’s disappearance and hidden return to Tongtian keep the pearl’s true owner beyond detection.
• Political tension and authority: The crisis pits Prison Suppression against the Human Emperor Manor and other sects, testing their willingness to submit or resist.
• Trust and suspicion: With the buyer missing, every powerful guest becomes a potential suspect, worsening the standoff.

Plot points and events

• The Old Sword God warns Bai Zeyu that the Mystic Sea Region Map hidden in the Sea-Covering Pearl must not reach the wrong hands. Although Prison Suppression’s lockdown is angering the assembled powers, they remain because the map may be tied to the sect’s dangerous origins.
• Shi Meng explains that something terrifying is sealed within Prison Suppression; if released, it could threaten the entire Sacred Land World. Shi Xue and Tongtian realize the confinement may continue.
• Tongtian learns that Luohu fought the Sea Demon Emperor, who had survived inside the pearl while preserving his vitality in hopes of possessing someone and being reborn. Luohu claims he killed him.
• Luohu reveals the ancient hide map to Tongtian. It can recreate the Mystic Sea Region when examined with Primordial Spirit power, but Luohu needs a supreme-grade spirit crystal to refine the divine body.
• A pale, menacing stranger appears on the Sixth Floor and effortlessly blasts away Shi Meng’s powerful External Incarnation. As the Prince of Dong’an prepares to fight, the stranger looks at Tongtian and remarks, “It’s gone.” Bai Zeyu identifies him as Duan Ya, shocking everyone.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Zeyu remains proud but is increasingly anxious under pressure from the gathered powers and the Old Sword God.
• Shi Meng controls his anger, explains what he knows about Prison Suppression, and instinctively shields Tongtian from Duan Ya.
• Tongtian grows suspicious of the pearl’s secrets, worries about Luohu’s condition, and secretly hides the map when Duan Ya scrutinizes him.
• Luohu is badly weakened by his battle but remains boastful, assuring Tongtian that the Sea Demon Emperor is dead.
• The Old Sword God urges restraint while helping enforce the lockdown; his involvement emphasizes the map’s importance.
• The Prince of Dong’an confronts Duan Ya, ready to defend the Human Emperor Manor, while Bai Zeyu intervenes before the confrontation escalates.

Significant themes

• Dangerous knowledge and containment: The map and Prison Suppression’s sealed threat could imperil the wider world.
• Power and vulnerability: Even formidable fighters can be overwhelmed, as Shi Meng’s incarnation is effortlessly defeated.
• Secrets and suspicion: Tongtian conceals the map, while Duan Ya’s remark suggests he sensed its disappearance.
• Uneasy cooperation: Rival powers tolerate confinement because a greater danger may be at stake.

Key plot points and events

• Shi Meng’s External Incarnation returns unharmed after Duan Ya’s sudden attack, but the incident leaves a hole in the Sea-Viewing Tower and terrifies those present.
• Duan Ya reveals that he briefly sensed the map from the Sea-Covering Pearl near someone in the Human Emperor Manor, then lost its trace. He focuses on Tongtian, though he doubts a minor Dao-Unification cultivator could have taken the pearl.
• Shi Meng threatens to summon his powerful younger brother, Shi Shan, and accuses Prison Suppression of provoking the Human Emperor Manor. Bai Zeyu calms the confrontation by offering Prison Suppression’s share of expedition gains as compensation.
• Old Commander Bai Yushan arrives, apologizes, ends the lockdown of Hanyang City and the tower, and warns that anyone who spreads the map’s contents will be hunted down.
• The factions avoid discussing the confrontation and board the Flying Dragon Chamber of Commerce’s Moon-Sky Shuttle for the expedition. After half a day, they reach the edge of the Mystic Sea Region, with most of the journey still ahead.

Character developments and interactions

• Tongtian remains shaken by Duan Ya’s power and becomes more cautious. He secretly has the map in his system space but dares not take it out.
• Shi Meng shifts from trying to preserve peace to openly defending the Human Emperor Manor’s honor, invoking Shi Shan as a deterrent.
• Bai Zeyu acts as mediator, offering compensation to prevent a feud from derailing the expedition.
• Duan Ya is relentless in pursuing the map’s trail, while Bai Yushan uses his authority to end the standoff and issue a grave warning.
• The Human Emperor Manor and Prison Suppression remain distrustful, and the other factions keep their distance after witnessing the power imbalance.

Significant themes

• Power and intimidation: Duan Ya and Bai Yushan’s strength silences even prominent leaders.
• Political restraint and face: Factions balance pride against the practical need to cooperate.
• Secrecy and suspicion: The missing map becomes a hidden threat, especially for Tongtian.
• Uneasy cooperation: The factions travel together toward the Mystic Sea Region despite their recent clash and unresolved mistrust.

Key plot points and events

• The Moon-Sky Shuttle enters the vast Mystic Sea Region, with its protective arrays opened to the sea breeze and ocean views. Its interior marketplace is crowded with merchants and travelers.
• Tongtian, Shi Meng, and Shi Xue browse the market. A Primordial Origin Realm peddler sells maps to a supposedly undiscovered Mysterious Island, claiming a dying Primordial Chaos Realm cultivator drew its location.
• Most shoppers suspect a scam, but Shi Meng buys a map for one hundred purple pearls, partly because it reminds him of the map Prison Suppression has been seeking. He boasts that his map is superior.
• Tongtian jokes that Bai Zeyu would be angered by Shi Meng’s taunt. Bai appears immediately afterward with four Black-Robed Masters, revealing he has been monitoring the group.
• Bai warns Tongtian that he remains a nominal Son-in-Law Candidate of Prison Suppression and must attend its Arena in five hundred years—or face death. Shi Xue and Shi Meng defend Tongtian and challenge Bai’s treatment of him.
• Bai leaves without a fight. The groups remain nominal allies for the coming treasure-hunting expedition, though their real enemies will be cultivators from the other two great continents.

Character developments and interactions

• Shi Meng shows his impulsive curiosity by buying the dubious map, then reveals that his purchase is also a way to mock Prison Suppression. He is openly loyal to Tongtian.
• Shi Xue is skeptical of the map and exasperated by the men’s antics, but quickly becomes protective when Bai threatens Tongtian.
• Tongtian enjoys the market with his companions but is uneasy about the five-hundred-year deadline. He tries to ease tensions with humor, then finds himself caught between Bai’s threat and his friends’ defense.
• Bai Zeyu remains hostile and suspicious of Tongtian’s ties to the Human Emperor Manor. He asserts Prison Suppression’s claim over Tongtian’s future and continues to monitor him.

Significant themes

• Uncertainty and opportunity: The island map may be a scam, but the prospect of hidden treasure makes risk tempting.
• Loyalty and protection: Shi Meng and Shi Xue stand up for Tongtian despite the danger of confronting Prison Suppression.
• Political tension and rivalry: Tongtian’s obligations to Prison Suppression clash with his growing connections to the Human Emperor Manor.
• Temporary alliances: Despite personal hostility, the groups avoid fighting because they may need to cooperate against outside rivals.