Chapter Summaries

King Mu and the Night King each received a secret commentary on the Demon God Nine Transformations from mysterious envoys, but both suspected the gifts concealed a scheme. Fang Qianyuan traced the resulting turmoil in the River of Time to hidden plotting.

• An envoy gave King Mu a detailed commentary on the Demon God Nine Transformations, and King Mu recognized its value while questioning the envoy’s motives.
• The envoy denied seeking anything and left, but King Mu suspected the gift was meant to provoke conflict; he secretly ordered a subordinate to escort the envoy away and cover his tracks.
• A second envoy presented the Night King with a text on the Demon God Nine Transformations, and the Night King accepted it despite suspecting a hidden purpose.
• The Night King had his subordinate escort the envoy away and watched him leave with a Traveling Talisman before departing himself.
• Fang Qianyuan sensed the envoys’ contact with King Mu and the Night King had stirred new possibilities in the River of Time.
• Fang Qianyuan used Temporal Reversal to trace the changes to their origin and realized someone was plotting in secret.

Fang Qianyuan summoned the captive Venerable Azure and Venerable White, told them the Cloud Summit Alliance had obtained the Life Essence Fruit, and offered them Millennium Longevity Pills in exchange for serving him. He laid out his power and ambitions as reasons to join him, leaving the two venerables to consider their choice.

• Fang Qianyuan suspected that hidden actors were encouraging unrest within the Cloud Summit Alliance and decided to deal with the threat while the alliance had no immediate campaign planned.
• Fang Qianyuan summoned Venerable Azure and Venerable White and told them the alliance had conquered the Jianmu World and obtained the Life Essence Fruit.
• Venerable Azure recognized the fruit as an ingredient for the Millennium Longevity Pill, while Venerable White and Venerable Azure were shaken by the news that Fang Qianyuan had achieved what their ancient plans had pursued.
• Fang Qianyuan offered the two venerables a share of the pills if they agreed to serve under him and obey his commands.
• Fang Qianyuan cited his cultivation, authority, Star Map, and possession of the Supreme Token as reasons for them to join him.

Fang Qianyuan secured Venerable Azure and Venerable White’s pledge to find the Two Sects’ secret base, while the Cloud Summit Alliance distributed the Hundred-Life Pills refined from the Life Essence Fruits. Tian Heng swallowed one and discovered that it had extended his lifespan by a hundred years.

• Fang Qianyuan promised Venerable Azure and Venerable White longevity and spirit creatures in return for locating the Inner Vista Grotto Heaven, and they agreed to help.
• After eighty-one days of refinement, the Pill Sect produced 323 Hundred-Life Pills from the three Life Essence Fruits.
• Tian Heng and other powerhouses brought the pills to Cloud Summit Peak and distributed them among the alliance members, with Fang Qianyuan receiving 72 and the Azure Cloud Sect receiving 36.
• The powerhouses discussed how the pills replenished lifespan and helped them resist the Celestial Five Declines.
• Tian Heng secretly swallowed a Hundred-Life Pill and felt his lifespan increase by a hundred years as his vitality returned.

After consuming a Hundred-Life Pill, Fang Qianyuan sensed that its lifespan-altering power was changing the Heavenly Dao and could eventually let Spirit Tamers extend their lives through cultivation. He entrusted the pills to Wen Qingfei to share with their family and spirit creatures, while urging her to study the laws behind them.

• Fang Qianyuan consumed a Hundred-Life Pill and sensed its effects stirring the Heavenly Dao laws of the Heavencrystal Snowfield.
• Fang Qianyuan summoned the Snow Wolf Guards and ordered them to bring Wen Qingfei to him.
• Fang Qianyuan entrusted Wen Qingfei with the Hundred-Life Pills, choosing to share them rather than hoard them.
• Fang Qianyuan advised Wen Qingfei to take one pill first, study the lifespan laws, and distribute the others to Yue'er, Yu'er, and their spirit creatures as needed.
• Fang Qianyuan reflected that extended lifespans could allow both Spirit Tamers and their spirit creatures to cultivate further.

Cang Mountain Academy held its annual Spirit Communion Trial, admitting 320 candidates as its leaders discussed the spread of Spirit Taming and warrior enhancement. A cloaked middle-aged man watched the trial from a nearby cliff, then revealed that they had been discovered.

• Cang Mountain Academy began its Spirit Communion Trial, assessing candidates on their ability to command manifested spirit creatures.
• Three hundred and twenty of the more than five hundred candidates passed and joined the academy's inner court.
• The Institute Master and elders celebrated the academy's admission rate and discussed the growing opportunities for Spirit Tamers and cultivators.
• A cloaked middle-aged man watched the trial from a cliff before removing his Veil Hat and revealing Fang-shaped horns.
• When another cloaked cultivator asked whether this was where he had first joined, the middle-aged man said they had been discovered.

Ye Tianming and the Black-Clad Cultivator escaped Qin Zhi at Cang Mountain Academy without revealing their operation. A day later, Ye Tianming met Elder Shang at a Universal Trade Association branch and was recognized as a Heaven-Tier Powerhouse.

• Qin Zhi confronted Ye Zun and the Black-Clad Cultivator at Cang Mountain Academy, but Ye Zun used a spatial technique to escape with his companion.
• Qin Zhi searched the surrounding mountain forest with his sound-transmission art but failed to find the two intruders.
• Ye Zun told the Black-Clad Cultivator that fighting Qin Zhi would have exposed them, and said their real business took priority over his desire to revisit his former home.
• A day later, Ye Zun and the Black-Clad Cultivator visited a Universal Trade Association branch and presented Elder Shang with a token once given to Venerable Wu.
• Elder Shang recognized Ye Tianming and exclaimed that he had ascended to the heaven tier.

Ye Tianming revealed himself to Elder Shang and claimed the assets Venerable Wu had entrusted to the Universal Trade Association. Elder Shang confirmed the assets remained intact but refused to hand them over without question.

• Elder Shang recognized Ye Tianming as the former Black Dragon and sensed that he had become a Heaven-Tier Powerhouse.
• Ye Tianming said the Warrior forces had endured and asked whether Venerable Wu's assets entrusted to the association still existed.
• Elder Shang explained that he had secretly managed the assets since Wu Lianyi's fall and had kept them safe while they grew.
• Ye Tianming declared that he intended to consolidate the holdings and ordered Elder Shang to prepare an inventory.
• Elder Shang said he could not act so rashly for Ye Tianming as he would have for Venerable Wu.

Ye Tianming confronted Elder Shang over Wu Lianyi’s holdings and realized Elder Shang would not give them up peacefully. He unleashed his darkness domain, defeated the two Attendant experts, and left Elder Shang facing him.

• Elder Shang questioned Ye Tianming’s right to claim Wu Lianyi’s holdings and used the possibility of another heir as an excuse to refuse.
• Ye Tianming recognized that Elder Shang intended to resist, while Elder Shang ordered the two Attendant experts to strike first and tried to escape.
• Ye Tianming closed his eyes and invoked “When It Sleeps, Darkness Falls,” trapping the Attendant experts in a domain that severed their perceptions.
• Ye Tianming warned the Attendant experts to surrender or cease to exist when he opened his eyes.
• Elder Shang saw the room return to normal and found the two Attendant experts exhausted, while Ye Tianming remained seated and watched him coldly.

Ye Tianming forced Elder Shang to reveal the surviving holdings and treasures of Wu Lianyi and the Warrior Hall, then ordered him to prepare for their withdrawal. Elder Shang suspected Ye Tianming planned to use the wealth to rebuild the Warrior faction and decided not to alert the Azure Cloud Sect.

• Ye Tianming stopped Elder Shang from using talismans and warned him to treat him as he had treated Venerable Wu.
• Elder Shang returned with the ledgers and explained that the Azure Cloud Sect had reclaimed more than half the holdings, while other assets and hidden treasures remained.
• Ye Tianming ordered Elder Shang to prepare to withdraw all the treasures stored in the Universal Trade Association’s depository.
• After Ye Tianming left, Elder Shang concluded that Ye Tianming intended to rebuild the Warrior faction using the wealth.
• Elder Shang’s attendants said Ye Tianming seemed far stronger than an ordinary Heaven-Tier cultivator, and Elder Shang chose not to inform the Azure Cloud Sect.

Ye Tianming returned to Cloud Summit Peak to meet his former master, the Night King, and ask to study the Demon God Nine Transformations. After freezing Ye Tong and the other people in the residence with his mastery of time and space, he confronted the Night King, who recognized his Heaven Tier cultivation.

• Ye Tianming refused the Black-Clad Cultivator's suggestion to kill Elder Shang and traveled with him to Central Province.
• At Cloud Summit Peak, Ye Tianming encountered Ye Tong, who angrily attacked him over his betrayal and departure.
• Ye Tianming stopped Ye Tong in midair with his control over time and space, then passed through the frozen disciples to reach the great hall.
• The Night King recognized Ye Tianming and was surprised to learn that he had reached Heaven Tier.
• Ye Tianming asked the Night King to lend him the Demon God Nine Transformations to study.

The Night King trapped Ye Tianming and his black-clad companion in a dreamscape and sent hordes of dream demons to devour them. Ye Tianming remained unharmed by the Night King’s attacks, leaving the Night King to realize he could not hurt him unless he found a way to break his time-based divine ability.

• The Night King summoned the Dream-Eating Heavenly Demon and trapped Ye Tianming and the Black-Clad Cultivator inside his dreamscape.
• The Night King transformed into a colossal creature and filled the dreamscape with dream demons that attacked the two intruders.
• The dream demons overwhelmed and devoured the Black-Clad Cultivator as larger mantis-like monsters attacked Ye Tianming.
• Ye Tianming’s time-based power caused the monsters’ blades and the Night King’s claws to pass through him without harm.
• The Night King recognized Ye Tianming’s mastery of the present aspect of time and realized he could not threaten him without breaking his divine ability.

Ye Tianming explained how his Constant Time Transformation made his Present Body nearly invulnerable, then persuaded the Night King to give him the complete Demon God Nine Transformations. He left Cloud Summit Peak with the manual, intending to explore the mysteries of the origin.

• Ye Tianming revealed that his Present Body locked his peak state against changes, though cultivators with deeper mastery of time could counter it.
• The Night King realized Ye Tianming had sought the Demon God Nine Transformations to advance beyond his mastery of the Constant Time Transformation.
• The Night King gave Ye Tianming a brocade box containing his copy of the complete Demon God Nine Transformations.
• Ye Tianming thanked the Night King and left with the black-robed cultivator, while the Night King made no attempt to stop them.
• At the foot of Cloud Summit Peak, Ye Tianming said the manual would let him begin exploring the mysteries of the origin and assured his companion the Night King had not tampered with it.

Ye Tianming and the Black-Clad Cultivator left to pursue their plans, while Venerable Azure and Venerable White entered Xu Mountain Market Ward conspicuously to draw the attention of the Two Sects. Their appearance caught the notice of two Spirit Tamers who seemed ready to leave the city.

• Ye Tianming warned the Black-Clad Cultivator not to speak Fang Qianyuan’s name directly, then led him away without asking about longevity spirit medicine.
• Venerable Azure and Venerable White traveled toward Xu Mountain Market Ward with two Heavenly Wolves and learned it was a likely place to find people from the Inner Vista Grotto Heaven.
• Venerable Azure proposed entering openly to startle the Two Sects into investigating them, and Venerable White agreed.
• Venerable Azure entered the city openly with Venerable White and the two Heavenly Wolves, drawing the attention of the road travelers and city guards.
• Two Human Rank Spirit Tamers stopped beneath a shop’s eaves when they saw Venerable Azure and Venerable White.

Two Spirit Tamers recognized Venerable Azure and Venerable White at Xu Mountain Market Ward and reported their appearance to Grand Elder Guizang. Guizang and Lianshan suspected the pair might have defected to Fang Qianyuan and decided to consult the awakened Yellow Venerable and sacred envoys.

• Two Spirit Tamers recognized Venerable Azure and Venerable White at Xu Mountain Market Ward and hurried to report the sighting.
• The Spirit Tamers used Gray Lord, Guizang's Netherflame Demon Serpent, to send an urgent message to Guizang through their spirit connection.
• Guizang learned that Venerable Azure and Venerable White had been seen with the Azure Cloud Sect's Heavenly Wolf.
• Lianshan and Guizang considered whether the two venerables had defected to Fang Qianyuan and chose to ask the Yellow Venerable and the sacred envoys what to do.

Two black-robed visitors entered the Merchant Association courtyard to meet Venerable Azure, and Zhong Qishan recognized his old acquaintance. Venerable Azure revealed that he had chosen to serve Fang Qianyuan and the Azure Cloud Sect, while Venerable White warned the visitors that the sect had laid a trap around them.

• Two black-robed figures entered the Merchant Association courtyard after Chief Steward Zhou allowed them in.
• Venerable Azure recognized one visitor as Zhong Qishan, an ancient expert and former rival with whom he had reconciled.
• Zhong Qishan questioned why Venerable Azure remained in the present age, and Venerable Azure admitted he had joined the Azure Cloud Sect as an Attendant Elder.
• Venerable Azure said he had chosen the present-day experts over the Sacred Sect because Fang Qianyuan could offer him immortality.
• Venerable White arrived and warned the visitors that the Azure Cloud Sect had cast a net around the area, putting their Inner Vista Grotto Heaven at risk of exposure.

Yellow Venerable and Zhong Qishan confronted Venerable Azure and Venerable White, then tried to evade the Azure Cloud Sect’s trap. After escaping through their possessed bodies, they were pulled back by a distortion in space-time, and Yellow Venerable realized that Fang Qianyuan had made his move.

• Venerable Azure explained that he would not fight his former allies and sought a future beyond the Sacred Sect’s plans, so Yellow Venerable left with Zhong Qishan.
• Yellow Venerable concluded that Venerable Azure and Venerable White had likely accepted the Immortality Elixir and joined Fang Qianyuan.
• Yellow Venerable sensed they were being watched and led Zhong Qishan along secluded routes to a deserted alley.
• Warriors attacked the bodies possessed by Yellow Venerable and Zhong Qishan, forcing their black-vapor divine senses to flee into the earth.
• Yellow Venerable and Zhong Qishan tried to leave on an azure bird, but a space-time distortion returned them to their original positions.
• Yellow Venerable sensed that Fang Qianyuan had disturbed their spell net and declared that he had made his move.

Yellow Venerable and Zhong Qishan repeatedly tried to escape the Azure Cloud Sect's time-distorting trap, discovering that their successful escape routes were being erased. When the sect's forces finally surrounded them, Yellow Venerable's body crumbled and black-clad figures appeared in multiple locations outside Xu Mountain Market Ward.

• Yellow Venerable and Zhong Qishan defeated an Earth Rank General-Rank Warrior's initial attack but fled when they could not overcome his regeneration.
• The two tried to leave Xu Mountain Market Ward in another direction, but the distorted space-time returned them to Venerable Azure's courtyard.
• Yellow Venerable repeatedly used Earth Escape, while he and Zhong Qishan realized the timeline had advanced and their escape futures were collapsing.
• Venerable Azure's scripted words repeated as time rewound, and dozens of Warrior experts arrived to seize the pair.
• Yellow Venerable's body crumbled, and identical black-clad figures appeared at more than a dozen locations outside Xu Mountain Market Ward.

Inside the Inner Vista Grotto Heaven, Yellow Venerable and the other ancient cultivators decided to confront Fang Qianyuan rather than remain on the defensive. Fang Qianyuan tracked them through the river of time, and Yellow Venerable and Zhong Qishan prepared to fight him using a giant puppet.

• Lianshan and Guizang shared news about Fang Qianyuan, and the ancient cultivators discussed how to meet him despite suspecting a trap.
• Yellow Venerable proposed using an earth spirit to control a puppet, while the group agreed that confronting Fang Qianyuan could reveal his strength and establish their presence.
• Fang Qianyuan used the Cosmic Serpent to pursue the black-robed figures through the tributaries of time, but Yellow Venerable and the others altered their courses and escaped his interception.
• Yellow Venerable used Giantification Art to form an enormous earthen puppet, and Zhong Qishan entered its body with his Body Gu Seizes the Will, Soul-Transferring Great Art.
• More than a dozen figures shone toward Yellow Venerable and Zhong Qishan as they began the Fusion Art.

Yellow Venerable’s enormous earth giant battled the Warrior Administration’s coordinated elite fighters, who wore it down with repeated attacks and healing support. As the giant weakened, a hidden Cosmic Serpent struck with Time Dao power, and a distant Spirit Tamer in a blue-gray robe realized the trap had begun.

• The Warrior Administration’s elite fighters attacked Yellow Venerable’s giant in coordinated formations, while a concealed ally healed their wounded.
• Yellow Venerable’s giant stamped and struck at the Warriors, but they evaded its blows and continued attacking from every side.
• The Warriors whittled away nearly half the giant, and Yellow Venerable judged that their strength alone could not stop him.
• A Cosmic Serpent emerged from the void and coiled around the weakened giant, sending its Time Dao power into Yellow Venerable’s mind.
• As Yellow Venerable’s thoughts and perception slowed, a Human Rank Spirit Tamer in a blue-gray robe on a distant mountain reacted in alarm.

Fang Qianyuan traced the Yellow Venerable and Zhong Qishan’s puppet network to their Inner Vista Grotto Heaven, despite the group’s attempt to hide the stronghold. The Yellow Venerable confronted Fang’s snow-wolf manifestation, which dispersed under his attack, but Fang’s golden light appeared again as his true body approached.

• The Yellow Venerable and Zhong Qishan used scattered puppet manifestations to probe Venerable Azure and Venerable White while concealing their stronghold from Fang Qianyuan.
• Fang Qianyuan froze the divine-soul strands linking the puppets and followed their causal connection toward the Inner Vista Grotto Heaven.
• Lianshan, Guizang, and the Black Venerable joined the Yellow Venerable and tried to sever the realm’s connection to the Spirit-Taming World, but Fang’s icy aura arrived first.
• The Yellow Venerable accepted that their stronghold had been exposed and vowed to guard it personally.
• Fang Qianyuan’s snow-wolf manifestation entered the hall, and the Yellow Venerable struck it apart before Fang’s golden light appeared again.