Chapter Summaries

Fang Qianyuan left Spellbreak City with Fang Liangyi to seek Cosmic Serpents in a Time Well, advancing to the fourth transformation during their journey. They reached the ruins of an immortal estate, where Fang Qianyuan sensed the Power of Time in a strange cloud bank.

• Fang Qianyuan told Xie Zhenghe he was leaving to pursue cultivation, and Xie Zhenghe let him go rather than risk turning him against the sect.
• Fang Qianyuan set out with Fang Liangyi aboard flying shuttles and cultivated as they traveled through the Star Realm.
• Fang Qianyuan naturally advanced to the fourth transformation, surprising Fang Liangyi and improving his chances of catching a Cosmic Serpent.
• Fang Qianyuan and Fang Liangyi reached a region of shattered stars and found the ruins of an explored immortal estate.
• Fang Liangyi led Fang Qianyuan to a strange cloud bank, where Fang Qianyuan sensed chaotic currents of the Power of Time and recognized a Time Well.

Fang Qianyuan and Fang Liangyi set a trap to capture Cosmic Serpents near the Time Well, but the creatures escaped by reversing time. After a second failed capture, they realized their plan had a flaw.

• Fang Qianyuan and Fang Liangyi spent a day constructing a Spirit-Binding Formation Array and placed Blood-Soul Jade at its center to lure Cosmic Serpents.
• After waiting more than ten days, Fang Qianyuan spotted a Cosmic Serpent entering the formation and he and Fang Liangyi restrained it once it touched the jade.
• Fang Liangyi sealed the Cosmic Serpent in a jar, but Fang Qianyuan realized it had reversed time and escaped.
• Fang Qianyuan and Fang Liangyi continued waiting, and another Cosmic Serpent appeared after a day.
• Fang Liangyi tried to capture the second Cosmic Serpent, but it escaped too, leading him to conclude that their plan would not work.

Fang Qianyuan abandoned his failed attempts to capture a Cosmic Serpent with a Spirit-Sealing Treasure and caught one directly, using his cultivated power of time to resist its Time Reversal. Though the serpent forced his cultivation to regress, Fang Qianyuan appeared to subdue it and celebrated his success.

• Fang Qianyuan and Fang Liangyi spent more than ten days trying and failing to transfer a Cosmic Serpent from the Formation Array into a Spirit-Sealing Treasure.
• Fang Qianyuan decided to capture the serpent directly, believing his familiarity with the Time Dao Formula Reverse Time Transformation could help him overcome its power.
• When another Cosmic Serpent entered the Formation Array to feed, Fang Qianyuan lunged in and caught it with his bare hand.
• The serpent activated Time Reversal, and Fang Liangyi saw Fang Qianyuan's cultivation regress to the third transformation state.
• Fang Qianyuan resisted as spiritual radiance surrounded him, then appeared to subdue the serpent and declared that he had finally succeeded.

Fang Qianyuan obtained a Cosmic Serpent and used it to overcome the main obstacle in cultivating Reverse Time Transformation, gaining the ability to roam the River of Time without rapidly draining his Primordial Spirit. After returning to Spellbreak City, he entered seclusion to recover his cultivation and prepare for his next breakthrough.

• Fang Qianyuan examined the Cosmic Serpent and recognized it as a rare human rank supreme-grade spirit creature with value comparable to some Earth Rank creatures.
• Fang Qianyuan guided the Cosmic Serpent through his body and borrowed its power to travel through the River of Time, removing the strain that had hindered his Time Dao cultivation.
• Fang Liangyi felt uneasy as Fang Qianyuan rejoiced, unaware that helping him obtain the Cosmic Serpent had completed the final piece of his cultivation method.
• Fang Qianyuan withdrew the Cosmic Serpent into his Spirit Sea and suggested that he and Fang Liangyi return before the risks and costs grew.
• Fang Qianyuan and Fang Liangyi returned to Spellbreak City, where Fang Qianyuan announced that he was entering seclusion to restore his cultivation and prepare for the next stage.

Fang Qianyuan began cultivating Reverse Time Transformation, which let him preserve his memories and divine soul while his body and cultivation regressed. As his mastery deepened, Lang Dong noticed the change, and later returned with news of a planned counterattack through the Demonfolk's World Gate.

• Lang Dong, Ma Hengyi, and Gu Lanzhi visited Fang Qianyuan with treasured materials, though they had been unable to find the Time Dao materials he wanted.
• After leaving, Lang Dong and Gu Lanzhi sensed that Fang Qianyuan seemed different, but could not determine why.
• Fang Qianyuan reflected that practicing Reverse Time Transformation had pushed his cultivation and physical condition back to the state he had been in months earlier, while his memories, divine soul, and will remained intact.
• Fang Qianyuan resumed meditating on the River of Time and refining his control over its power.
• Lang Dong returned with news that cultivators had found the Demonfolk's World Gate and were gathering to attack, then noticed that Fang Qianyuan's cultivation had regressed.

Fang Qianyuan continued cultivating the Reverse Time Transformation, knowingly sacrificing cultivation to master its power while Lang Dong and Grand Elder Xie worried that something had gone wrong. After Fang Qianyuan fell from the Third Transformation to the middle stage of the Second Transformation, he learned that rumors of his cultivation deviation had spread through the city.

• Lang Dong became concerned about Fang Qianyuan's apparent regression and brought the matter to Grand Elder Xie, who questioned Fang Qianyuan about his cultivation.
• Fang Qianyuan reflected on the dangers of the Reverse Time Transformation and how his father's legacy, the Mysterious Treasure Pill, and the Cosmic Serpent had helped him cultivate it.
• Lang Dong watched a white, mist-like spirit snake emerge around Fang Qianyuan and, after hearing his explanation, continued visiting to keep an eye on him.
• Fang Qianyuan's spirit essence fell from the Third Transformation to the middle stage of the Second Transformation, but he was pleased that his technique was nearing minor accomplishment.
• Fang Qianyuan told Lang Dong he intended to remain at Earth Rank or above, and Lang Dong warned him that rumors of his cultivation deviation had spread through the city.

Fang Qianyuan attended Spellbreak City’s council deliberations after learning he had been placed on a roster for a counteroffensive against the Demon Realm. The factions approved the operation, and Fang Qianyuan’s name appeared among the Azure Cloud Sect’s nominees.

• Lang Dong questioned why Fang Qianyuan had been assigned a mission despite his secluded cultivation plans, but Fang Qianyuan chose to wait for more information.
• Xie Zhenghe told Fang Qianyuan that he had not known about the roster and identified Pang Yuan, a Warrior Hall leader, as another authority in the city.
• Xie Zhenghe brought Fang Qianyuan to Spellbreak City’s council hall, where the other factions’ representatives noticed his rumored cultivation regression.
• The eight factions approved a counteroffensive through the Dui Position World Gate and began listing the Earth Rank experts assigned to it.
• The presiding elder announced Fang Qianyuan as one of the Azure Cloud Sect’s nominees for the operation.

Xie Zhenghe protected Fang Qianyuan from being sent on a dangerous Demon Realm expedition by replacing him with Han Ping, exposing the Warrior Hall’s pressure on the young expert. Afterward, rumors spread that Fang Qianyuan was afraid to fight, and Xie Zhenghe ordered an investigation while recognizing the sect’s internal struggle would continue.

• Xie Zhenghe objected to Fang Qianyuan’s inclusion on the candidate list and demanded that Han Ping replace him.
• When an Earth Baleful Gate elder challenged the change, Xie Zhenghe refused to sign the order unless the Azure Cloud Sect could choose its own candidate.
• The other factions accepted Xie Zhenghe’s position, and Han Ping took Fang Qianyuan’s place while Pang Yuan left in silence.
• Xie Zhenghe warned Fang Qianyuan that the Warrior Hall had targeted him and would continue using pressure and inducements.
• Rumors spread through Spellbreak City portraying Fang Qianyuan as afraid of death, and Xie Zhenghe ordered an investigation into their source.

Fang Qianyuan ignored the rumors about his absence from the Demon Realm expedition and focused on mastering Reverse Time Transformation. After the campaign succeeded, he accepted an invitation to Spellbreak City's victory banquet, ready to emerge from seclusion and test his progress.

• Grand Elder Xie spread word that Fang Qianyuan had been barred from the campaign and was recovering from injuries sustained against Golden Toad True Person.
• Fang Qianyuan dismissed the slander and concentrated on completing Reverse Time Transformation, carefully avoiding a dangerous decline in cultivation.
• Fang Qianyuan refined his hair with the power of time, drawing on the Cosmic Serpent as his hair repeatedly grew long and short during cultivation.
• The expedition infiltrated the Demon Realm, killed more than a dozen Demon Generals, inflicted heavy casualties, and returned safely after more than a month.
• Spellbreak City's leaders invited Fang Qianyuan to the victory banquet, and he decided to attend and test what he had gained.

At Spellbreak City’s victory banquet, Fang Qianyuan encountered Li Yulou, a young expert from the Flying Immortal Sect who challenged his reputation as the Righteous Path’s Top Young Expert. The surrounding cultivators revealed that Li Yulou was related to Liu Zongming, whom Fang Qianyuan had previously humiliated, and the confrontation left Fang entangled in old karma.

• Fang Qianyuan arrived at Spellbreak City’s victory banquet with Xie Zhenghe and observed several celebrated young experts from the Righteous Path Alliance.
• Xie Zhenghe explained that the young cultivators were being raised as representatives of their sects, while Fang reflected on his own pursuit of the Dao and his ties to the Azure Cloud Sect.
• The guests noticed Fang Qianyuan and discussed rumors that his cultivation had regressed from the third transformation to the second.
• Li Yulou approached Fang Qianyuan, mocked his reputation, and challenged him to surrender the title of the Righteous Path’s Top Young Expert.
• Cultivators revealed that Li Yulou was related to Liu Zongming of the Flying Immortal Sect, whom Fang Qianyuan had previously disgraced.

Fang Qianyuan answered Li Yulou’s challenge by attacking him at the victory banquet, and their clash revealed the strange, time-infused properties of Fang’s hair. Li Yulou was caught in Fang’s icy assault, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Fang Qianyuan accepted Li Yulou’s provocation and declared that he would defend his title as the Righteous Path’s Top Young Expert.
• When someone tried to prevent a fight, Fang ignored the intervention and sent his hair lashing at Li Yulou.
• Li Yulou counterattacked with a hundred flying swords, while Fang used Windbody Technique, Wind Transformation to evade and attack from the air.
• Li Yulou’s swords severed Fang’s hair, but the strands rejoined and wrapped around Li Yulou.
• Fang’s hair channeled the Demon-Ice Nether Soul’s power, freezing Li Yulou’s arm and leaving him at an unseen disadvantage.

Fang Qianyuan used a concealed hair-based Fusion Art to overwhelm Li Yulou in the Council Hall, then turned his attack on Qi Yunxin when the Earth Baleful Gate elder intervened. Qi Yunxin blasted Fang Qianyuan out of his Wind Transformation, but Fang remained unharmed.

• Fang Qianyuan attacked Li Yulou with ink-black strands of hair infused with the power of his spirit creatures, driving him to the edge of the fighting area.
• Qi Yunxin of the Earth Baleful Gate stepped in and ordered the two men to stop fighting.
• Fang Qianyuan continued pursuing Li Yulou and sent more strands of hair toward Qi Yunxin.
• Qi Yunxin fought off the strands with a gang-and-baleful-energy punch, while Fang Qianyuan vanished by transforming into wind.
• Qi Yunxin detonated his fist gang where Fang Qianyuan had vanished, blasting him back into view, but Fang stood unharmed.

Fang Qianyuan used his time-infused hair to withstand Qi Yunxin’s assault and then wounded him with the Demon-Ice Nether Soul. Xie Zhenghe stopped the fight, and Qi Yunxin left humiliated while Li Yulou remained badly injured; then an unidentified voice challenged the Azure Cloud Sect.

• Fang Qianyuan revealed his long, seemingly indestructible hair and used the power of time to nullify Qi Yunxin’s attack.
• Fang Qianyuan realized that his hair could transfer attacks through space and time, then refined his control of the technique.
• Fang Qianyuan used the Demon-Ice Nether Soul to pierce Qi Yunxin’s defenses and encase half his body in Ice Armor.
• Xie Zhenghe told Fang Qianyuan to stop, and Fang Qianyuan complied; Qi Yunxin left in shame while Li Yulou struggled with frozen meridians.
• An unidentified speaker coldly criticized the Azure Cloud Sect’s conduct.

Xie Zhenghe defended Fang Qianyuan after his clash with Li Yulou, then asked about the time-based art Fang Qianyuan had used. After discussing ways to improve the Indestructible Demon Hair, Xie Zhenghe offered to find him the Thousand Threads Art and a Hair Demon.

• Xie Zhenghe rebuked Elder Huang and the Flying Immortal Sect for challenging Fang Qianyuan, and the dispute ended without further consequences.
• Xie Zhenghe privately asked Fang Qianyuan about Li Yulou's strength, and Fang Qianyuan judged that Li Yulou's Dao Path of slaughter did not suit his aptitude.
• Fang Qianyuan explained that he had fused the Cosmic Serpent's power into his hair to cultivate the Indestructible Demon Hair.
• Xie Zhenghe praised the art's defensive applications, warned Fang Qianyuan to master it safely, and advised him to develop its offensive potential.
• Xie Zhenghe offered to obtain the Thousand Threads Art and a Hair Demon for Fang Qianyuan, who accepted his offer.

After Fang Qianyuan’s strength changed how others viewed him, Xie Zhenghe arranged for him to study a hair-based divine ability. Spellbreak City then summoned him and other sect elites for a mission to investigate the Outer Domain Heavenly Road as new ruins and resources emerged.

• Xie Zhenghe advised Fang Qianyuan to think like a future leader rather than compete for glory, and public opinion stopped criticizing him for avoiding the campaign.
• Xie Zhenghe procured the Thousand Threads Art and the spirit creature Hair Demon so Fang Qianyuan could develop his divine ability as a hair-cultivation technique.
• Fang Qianyuan accepted the gifts and studied them to explore the mysteries of his Past Body.
• Xie Zhenghe summoned Fang Qianyuan, Spellbreak City’s senior figures, and the great sect elites to discuss a new task.
• A Spellbreak City elder explained that they would send the sect elites to the Outer Domain Heavenly Road to investigate emerging ruins and resources, promising merits and rewards for their findings.

Fang Qianyuan joined a resource-gathering expedition to the Heavenly Road Starfield, where his reputation drew the other cultivators to him and unsettled his peers. The group arrived at the frontier and began planning how to scout its dangerous, resource-rich reaches.

• Xie Zhenghe told Fang Qianyuan that the expedition would let him make connections and gather resources, and Fang understood it was an opportunity from his sect.
• Eighteen young Earth Rank experts assembled outside Spellbreak City, where Liu Mingyue greeted Fang and Li Yulou and Fan Yuntang reflected on Fang’s standing.
• Rogue cultivators Ren Hao, Su Xiuxiu, and Zhang Yunfei introduced themselves to Fang, and he welcomed them before the group set off.
• The group crossed the starry expanse and reached the Heavenly Road Starfield, a fractured frontier known for origin energy tides, ruins, and valuable resources.
• After identifying patrol routes with the help of star maps and experienced guides, Fan Yuntang proposed splitting into several groups to scout separately.

Fang Qianyuan and the other scouts split up to explore the four routes of the Heavenly Road Starfield, and Fang chose the northern route to investigate sites known to the Azure Cloud Sect. After reaching a surveyed cloud crystal mine, he entered a small Star Realm, while hidden figures emerged nearby and prepared to act.

• Fan Yuntang, Kang Long, Fang Qianyuan, and Li Yulou each chose a different route, with Fan taking the eastern route, Kang the southern, Fang the northern, and Li the western.
• Ren Hao, Su Xiuxiu, Zhang Yunfei, and Liu Mingyue joined Fang on the northern route, while Li Yulou felt jealous of Liu Mingyue's choice.
• Fang dismissed Liu Mingyue's offer to travel together, transformed Little White into a giant wolf, and flew ahead; the others set out to pursue their own objectives.
• After a day, Fang sent a signal with his magical artifact and entered a small Star Realm containing a cloud crystal mine surveyed by the Azure Cloud Sect.
• Several concealed figures appeared in the void north of the starfield and asked whether they should make their move.

Fang Qianyuan and his companions completed their survey of the Heavenly Road Starfield’s resource sites, but learned that Fan Yuntang’s group had vanished. They decided to investigate the group’s last known location, where they might find danger or hidden treasure.

• The beetle Warrior and his followers agreed to monitor Fang Qianyuan without confronting him, then concealed themselves and disappeared.
• Fang Qianyuan found numerous ore veins and treasured materials while exploring the starfield with Little White.
• Fang Qianyuan met Ren Hao, discussed resource gathering and immortal abodes, and then joined him on the way to meet the others.
• Liu Mingyue reported that Fan Yuntang’s group had missed its scheduled contact, and Fang Qianyuan sent a message before returning to the rendezvous point.
• After Fan Yuntang’s group failed to appear, Li Yulou and Kang Long proposed searching for them, and Fang Qianyuan agreed.

Fan Yuntang and the other rogue cultivators explored an ancient city and identified its restrictions as a powerful dharma-ending zone from the Late Ancient Era. Their hopes of finding valuable treasures were interrupted when Ironclad Divine Soldiers entered the city, forcing them to prepare for battle.

• Fan Yuntang and the other rogue cultivators discovered that the ancient city blocked communications and made movement difficult with powerful restrictions.
• Fan Yuntang identified the restrictions as a dharma-ending zone created by the Artifact Sect during the Late Ancient Era.
• The group discussed the value of ancient magic treasures and grew excited at the prospect of finding the city's armory.
• A spatial rift opened outside the city, and roughly a hundred Ironclad Divine Soldiers strode through it.
• Fan Yuntang recognized the soldiers as the city's defenders, and the group formed up to fight.

Fang Qianyuan and the others learned that Fan Yuntang's party had discovered Near-Ancient Ruins guarded by Divine Weapon Puppets, drawing factions from Spellbreak City to compete for the site. After meeting the injured party, Liu Mingyue identified the cause of one Rogue Cultivator's grave wound as a Spell-Breaking Blade.

• Fan Yuntang's party sent word that they had escaped, but one of their members was badly injured and needed treatment.
• Spellbreak City and the major factions learned of the ruins and sent reinforcements to explore them and pursue their treasures.
• Kang Long, Li Yulou, Liu Mingyue, and Fang Qianyuan discussed how dangerous the Divine Weapon Puppets might be before continuing toward the ruins.
• Fang Qianyuan's group reached Fan Yuntang's party and found one Rogue Cultivator near death from a severe chest wound.
• Liu Mingyue identified the wound as damage from a Spell-Breaking Blade that could dissipate Dharma Power.