Chapter Summaries

Xu Taiping found a safe route toward the volcanic crater, where the Southern Heavenly Gate Ruins entrance lay, and learned the Lotus Eye had sensed an approaching phenomenon. When the group stopped to rescue the Old Hunter from the Wolf-Killing Gang, Gu Yu killed the bandit leader with a single strike, leaving the Old Hunter stunned.

• Xu Taiping used the true intent of Lotus Root Broken, Yet Its Fibers Remain to trace a safe passage through the forbidden area, and the Lotus Eye explained why they had to enter the mountain that day.
• The Battle Merit Ledger announced that the Profound Elixir Palace would grant each of the three an additional three million Gold Essence Coins for allowing people to watch the battle.
• Xu Taiping's group encountered the Old Hunter fleeing several hundred members of the Wolf-Killing Gang, who threatened to massacre Fire Sand Town.
• Xu Taiping agreed to Gu Yu's request to save the Old Hunter, and Gu Yu charged the bandits while the others stayed behind.
• Gu Yu's saber strike broke the bandit leader's weapon and split him and his horse in two, horrifying the Old Hunter.

Gu Yu killed the sand bandits, and an old hunter from Fire Sand Town revealed that a Dragon-Slaying Person had left a treasure on Fire God Mountain for future visitors who knew the Forbidden Grounds’ paths. Xu Taiping reached the crater and leaped toward the hidden rusty sword to retrieve it.

• Gu Yu slew the hundreds of sand bandits with a single attack, and Xu Taiping and his companions continued toward the volcano.
• The old hunter caught up with Xu Taiping, Dongfang Yuejian, and Xuanzhi and told them that a Dragon-Slaying Person had left a treasure on Fire God Mountain centuries ago.
• The old hunter explained that the Dragon-Slaying Person had jumped into the volcanic crater and never returned, and Xu Taiping and Dongfang Yuejian suspected he had been among the Dragon-Slaying People lost in the Southern Heavenly Gate Ruins.
• The old hunter led Xu Taiping and his companions to the summit and showed them a rusty sword concealed beside the crater, which they needed to pull out to retrieve the treasure.
• Xu Taiping refused Dongfang Yuejian’s offer of a fire-warding talisman, revealed his Great Sage Realm physique, and leaped toward the crater.

Xu Taiping retrieved a Bronze Casket from Flame Mountain and found a Jade Slip, a sealed key, and a sealed bronze mirror inside. The sealing method suggested that Yundaozi, the vanished inheritor of the Origin Law Heaven-Mending Book, might have traveled to the Southern Heavenly Gate Ruins.

• Xu Taiping endured Flame Mountain’s eruption, freed the Bronze Casket from the crater wall, and brought it back to Dongfang Yuejian and the others.
• Xu Taiping rewarded the old hunter with treasure and a protective talisman, and the hunter hurried back toward Fire Sand Town.
• With Master Xuanzhi’s Body-Protecting Golden Light shielding the group, Xu Taiping opened the Bronze Casket and found a Jade Slip, a sealed key, and a sealed bronze mirror.
• Dongfang Yuejian recognized the sealing method as the Heaven-Mending Art of the Origin Law Heaven-Mending Book and noted that its last inheritor, Yundaozi, had disappeared thousands of years earlier.
• Xu Taiping and Dongfang Yuejian wondered whether Yundaozi had entered the Immortal Burial Ruins and then gone on to the Southern Heavenly Gate Ruins.

Xu Taiping and his companions heard Yundaozi’s warning in a jade slip: a dangerous matter in the Southern Heavenly Gate Ruins threatened the Shangqing Realm, and its details were sealed in a Moonshadow Stone and bronze mirror. Xu Taiping chose to carry the Bronze Casket into the ruins, while keeping his group’s survival as their first priority.

• Xu Taiping infused true essence into the jade slip, triggering a restriction that revealed Yundaozi’s recorded message.
• Yundaozi identified himself as the Vice Palace Master of the Eight Views Dao Palace and warned that a calamity in the Southern Heavenly Gate Ruins could threaten the Shangqing Realm.
• Yundaozi said the details and his request were sealed in the Moonshadow Stone and bronze mirror, and offered Xu Taiping the choice to handle the matter or leave it to the Eight Views Dao Palace.
• Xu Taiping decided to take the Bronze Casket into the Southern Heavenly Gate Ruins and inspect Yundaozi’s last words before deciding whether they could help.
• Xu Taiping reminded Gu Yu that staying alive came first, and Dongfang Yuejian handed out Fire-Avoidance Talismans.

Xu Taiping and his companions accepted the Dragon-Slaying Ranking’s spectating bounty, which promised valuable rewards and protection of their Dao. As cultivators watched the brutal massacre in the Immortal Burial Ruins, they learned of the bounty and reacted with shock to its rewards.

• The Dragon-Slaying Ranking added primordial chaos gold essence stones and a future protection of the Dao for each participant to its spectating bounty.
• Dongfang Yuejian and Xuanzhi agreed to accept the bounty, and Xu Taiping consented after warning the Ranking Spirit that spectators might learn secrets about the ruins.
• Xu Taiping proposed revealing Yundaozi’s last words so the spectators could help fulfill his request, and his companions agreed.
• At the Profound Elixir Palace, spectators watched Nine Abysses cultivators use Demon God Chitu, Pang Zhong, and the Northern Garrison Army to crush Yan Kingdom’s defenders and massacre a city.
• The Dragon-Slaying Ranking announced the bounty to spectators, including thirty thousand battle merit, three million gold essence coins, three pieces of primordial chaos metal essence, and protection of the participants’ Dao.

Spectators questioned the Dragon-Slaying Ranking’s lavish bounty for Xu Taiping’s team, while those in Spring Rain Pavilion realized the reward suggested their situation was extraordinary. After Xu Taiping, Dongfang Yuejian, and Xuanzhi accepted, the viewing image revealed them leaping into the Flame Mountain Entrance amid a surge of fire.

• Spectators condemned the Dragon-Slaying Ranking’s bounty for Xu Taiping’s team, while Zhu Huai and the Xiahou siblings argued that the Ranking could not show favoritism.
• Duan Xiaoyu and Zhang Moyan suspected the bounty reflected a great danger or opportunity that Xu Taiping’s team was facing, and Chu Xiaoxiao grew worried.
• The Dragon-Slaying Ranking announced that Xu Taiping, Dongfang Yuejian, and Xuanzhi had accepted the bounty.
• Chu Xiaoxiao argued with a spectator who mocked Xu Taiping’s team, and both pledged to jump if the team was still eating and fishing.
• The viewing image showed Xu Taiping and the others at the Flame Mountain Entrance, where they leaped into the flames rather than evade them.

Xu Taiping and his companions dove through Flame Mountain’s lava to reach a hidden bronze gate, while the spectators watched through the Battle Merit Ledger. They stood before the gate, and Dongfang Yuejian noticed writing on its lintel.

• Xu Taiping and his companions used Immortal Talisman-grade Fire-Avoidance Talismans to dive deep into Flame Mountain’s lava.
• The group discovered a bronze gate protected by a blue-green barrier, revealing a secret realm beneath Flame Mountain.
• A surge of heat from the underground flame vein hurled the group backward, so Xu Taiping grew over thirty zhang tall and threw Gu Yu and Dongfang Yuejian toward the gate’s barrier.
• Xu Taiping hurled the Xuanzhi Edict toward the barrier, then grabbed the Battle Merit Ledger and cut off its projection.
• Xu Taiping and his companions gathered before the bronze doors, where Dongfang Yuejian spotted words carved into the lintel.

Xu Taiping revealed that the Bronze Gates marked the entrance to the legendary Southern Heavenly Gate, then warned the spectators that the realm held a threat to the survival of the Shangqing Realm. He introduced a final testament left by the vanished Yundaozi, whose recorded voice began to explain what awaited beyond the gates.

• Xu Taiping swept dust from the plaque above the Bronze Gates, revealing that they marked the Lower Realm entrance to the Southern Heavenly Gate, a remnant of the Ancient Heavenly Court.
• Chu Xiaoxiao called on the round-faced cultivator to honor his promise and jump down, but Chu Tiancheng pulled her back and Xiahou Qingyuan offered to help her settle accounts later.
• Xu Taiping warned the spectators that entering the Southern Heavenly Gate might cost the group their lives and that a discovered calamity could threaten the Shangqing Realm.
• Xu Taiping identified the senior whose belongings they found as Yundaozi, the missing Vice Palace Master of the Eight Views Dao Palace, and presented his final testament.
• Yundaozi's voice emerged from the Jade Slip and said that whoever heard it had encountered the descendants of the hunters, unearthed his Bronze Casket, and found him already dead.

The Mysterious Female True Lord Guangyuanzi demanded that the Dragon-Slaying Ranking send him to the Southern Heavenly Gate Ruins, but Feng Tianxing drove him away and Jiang Xuanfeng explained why Xu Taiping and his companions were exploring the ruins. As they entered through the Bronze Gate, a giant hand carried them into the secret realm, where a massive armored Skeleton Soldier attacked them.

• Xiahou Qingyuan identified Yundaozi as Guangyuanzi’s master and explained why the Mysterious Female True Lord had lost his composure.
• Guangyuanzi demanded that Jiang Xuanfeng send him to the Southern Heavenly Gate Ruins, but Feng Tianxing overpowered him and ordered the spectators to watch quietly.
• Jiang Xuanfeng told the spectators that Xu Taiping and his companions were exploring the ruins to uncover the calamity Yundaozi had warned about.
• Xu Taiping and his companions pushed open the Bronze Gate and stepped onto a giant pale hand that carried them through the darkness.
• An icy voice warned the group that the gate’s barrier would vanish when the hand opened, and a gigantic armored Skeleton Soldier attacked them with a Giant Axe.

Xu Taiping and his companions faced a powerful Heavenly Soldier Skeleton in the Old Heavenly Court ruins, where spells risked attracting more enemies. Xu Taiping held it off while Dongfang Yuejian and Xuanzhi went to seek armor or weapons to conceal their auras.

• The barrier around Xu Taiping and his companions vanished, and Master Xuanzhi shielded them from the Heavenly Soldier Skeleton's axe with his Body-Protecting Golden Light.
• The Skeleton Soldier strengthened its attack and shattered Xuanzhi's protection, but Xu Taiping switched places with him and caught the axe with both hands.
• Dongfang Yuejian tried to pin the skeleton with a mountain-character talisman, but Xu Taiping warned her that spells could attract more Heavenly Soldier Skeletons and told her and Xuanzhi to find abandoned armor or weapons to conceal their auras.
• Xu Taiping grew to thirty zhang tall and kicked the skeleton back, then used Baxia to knock its axe flying.
• The skeleton reclaimed its axe and spun it into a storm of blades, so Xu Taiping summoned a three-headed, six-armed bull demon with the Heaven-Bearing Stance to buy time for another punch.

Xu Taiping defeated one Heavenly Soldier Skeleton, then fought off two more using his fist forms and Overlord's Breath. As five additional skeletons charged from the ruins, Dongfang Yuejian, Xuanzhi, and Gu Yu brought him armor and weapons they had found.

• Xu Taiping used the Demon Ancestor Ants Shake the Tree True Intent and a final punch to destroy the first Heavenly Soldier Skeleton.
• Two more Heavenly Soldier Skeletons attacked Xu Taiping, who blocked their strikes and drove them back with the Raging Thunder Form and Mountain-Setting Fist.
• Xiahou Qingyuan and the others praised Xu Taiping's strength as five more Heavenly Soldier Skeletons charged from the ruins.
• Dongfang Yuejian, Xuanzhi, and Gu Yu flew toward Xu Taiping carrying armor and weapons they had found.

Xu Taiping and his companions evaded the Heavenly Soldier Skeletons by wearing treasures found in the ruins, then headed for a safer place to activate Yundaozi’s Moonshadow Stone. Their observers feared the calamity described in it could be beyond their imagination.

• Xu Taiping put on black gauntlets Dongfang Yuejian tossed him, and the gauntlets adjusted to fit and focused his power.
• The Heavenly Soldier Skeletons stopped recognizing the group after they wore treasures from the ruins, including Dongfang Yuejian’s armor, Xuanzhi’s boots, and Gu Yu’s mask.
• Dongfang Yuejian and Xuanzhi explained where they had found the treasures, and Xu Taiping agreed to keep the gauntlets.
• After learning that the rubble where the treasures were found was safer, Xu Taiping took out the Bronze Casket and decided to activate Yundaozi’s Moonshadow Stone there.
• Dongfang Yuejian led the four through the air toward the safe place, while Xiahou You and Zhu Huai discussed Yundaozi’s standing and the danger facing the Shangqing Realm.

Xu Taiping entered the Southern Heavenly Gate Ruins with his companions and revealed Yundaozi’s message after the seals on the Moonshadow Stone and Bronze Mirror broke. Yundaozi appeared in the recording, thanked Xu Taiping for his righteous deed, and left the audience wondering what he would say next.

• Xu Taiping’s companions landed in ancient ruins where Heavenly Soldier Skeletons turned back, and a Dragon-Trapping Tower rose above the clearing.
• Xu Taiping said the Dragon-Trapping Tower and Dragon-Slaying Stele could not sense one another inside the secret realm, then darkened the image while he entered the tower.
• Xu Taiping set the Bronze Casket, sealed Moonshadow Stone, and Bronze Mirror on a table as the Five-Colored Crystal seals cracked and broke.
• Yundaozi appeared in the Moonshadow Stone’s image, gravely wounded, and the Mysterious Female True Lord roared that she would avenge whoever harmed her master.
• Yundaozi thanked Xu Taiping on behalf of the common people of the Shangqing Realm, and Zhu Huai, Lu Rushuang, and others bowed to him.

Yundaozi revealed that a sealed ancient god had wielded human spells and Heavenly Dao Edicts, and the cultivators realized the threat might be Xingtian. The chapter ended with Xingtian’s image appearing in the bronze mirror, leaving the gathered cultivators horrified.

• Yundaozi said he had failed to eliminate the calamity in the Southern Heavenly Gate and asked another cultivator to share his recording with the Shangqing Realm.
• Yundaozi recounted finding a treasure in the ruins, then releasing a sealed ancient god’s divine intent after breaking a golden cup.
• Yundaozi revealed that the ancient god wielded human spells and the power of Heavenly Dao Edicts, alarming Zhu Huai, Lu Rushuang, Jiang Cuicui, and the Xiahou siblings.
• Xiahou Qingyuan suggested the god might be the ancient enemy who fought Xuanyuan, and the others warned that its awakening could bring a catastrophe.
• Xu Taiping touched Yundaozi’s bronze mirror, which projected a headless deity carrying an axe and shield, and the cultivators identified him as Xingtian.

Yundaozi revealed Xingtian’s ancient origins and explained how he had been released from a heavenly lamp and fought for millennia in the Southern Heavenly Gate Ruins. He left Xu Taiping with a final warning and prepared to stake his life and cultivation in one last gamble against Xingtian’s divine intent.

• Yundaozi recounted how the ancient deities, Dragon Clan, and humans fought for dominion, and how Xingtian became the deities’ chosen rival to Human Sovereign Xuanyuan.
• Yundaozi explained that Xuanyuan beheaded Xingtian, sealed his head and part of his divine soul in nine golden lamps, and hung them at the Heavenly Court’s Four Cardinal Heavenly Gates.
• Yundaozi admitted that he had shattered one of the lamps, releasing Xingtian’s divine intent several years early, and Xiahou You Qingyuan and Xiahou You feared a coming catastrophe.
• Yundaozi said that he fought Xingtian’s divine intent for over two thousand years and that three dragon-slaying people died after entering the domain a few years earlier.
• Yundaozi explained that he possessed one of the dead people’s bodies and carried the bronze casket out of the ruins, then told Xu Taiping that he would make one final gamble against Xingtian.

Yundaozi revealed his plan to seal Xingtian’s lingering divine intent and offered his treasures, the Heaven-Replenishing Book, and a chance to reach the Half-Immortal Realm to whoever came to the Southern Heavenly Gate Ruins. After the viewing ended, Xu Taiping asked Dongfang Yuejian and the others whether they should go to the sealed place.

• Yundaozi explained that he would sacrifice himself to seal Xingtian’s divine intent and weaken it, then urged Xu Taiping to strike before the seal broke.
• Yundaozi revealed that he had hidden his lifetime’s treasures, the Heaven-Replenishing Book, and a Half-Immortal Realm breakthrough opportunity in the sealed domain.
• The cultivators at the Dragon-Suppressing Platform reacted to Yundaozi’s offer, and the Eight Views Dao Palace’s Mysterious Female True Lord claimed the Heaven-Replenishing Book for her sect.
• Xu Taiping ended the viewing and announced that the next session would begin in three days, while cultivators prepared to search for the Southern Heavenly Gate Ruins.
• Xiahou Qingyuan and Xiahou You chose not to join the expedition, and Zhu Huai suggested they return for the next viewing.
• Xu Taiping asked Dongfang Yuejian and the others whether they should enter the sealed place shown by the bronze mirror.

Xu Taiping used his Lotus Eye and True Intent to investigate the objects left by Yundaozi and Fairy Lingyue, awakening a Divine Soul Mark that contained clues about Immortal Elder Wuji. The vision revealed Wuji had encountered Xingtian’s remaining Divine Intent in Dumu Palace, leaving Xu Taiping to face the possibility that the sealed grounds threatened the entire Shangqing Realm.

• Xu Taiping decided that the group would explore the Southern Heavenly Gate Ruins for a few days and inspect the sealed grounds on the day of the third battle viewing, while leaving the attempt to eliminate Xingtian’s Divine Intent to stronger cultivators.
• Xu Taiping linked the objects on the table with the True Intent of Lotus Root Broken, Yet Its Fibers Remain and suspected Fairy Lingyue’s safety was connected to the sealed grounds.
• Xu Taiping activated his Lotus Eye, received a Divine Soul Mark, and was warned not to use the eye again for at least half a month.
• Xu Taiping opened the Divine Soul Mark and saw Immortal Elder Wuji find a wooden box in Dumu Palace before Xingtian’s Divine Intent attacked him.
• Immortal Elder Wuji lost the arm holding the box and sent a message to Moon Candle Heavenly Lord, saying he had to deal with Xingtian’s remaining Divine Intent to prevent a catastrophe in the Shangqing Realm.

Xu Taiping learned that Xingtian’s divine intent might have escaped Yundaozi’s seal and could threaten cultivators in the Southern Heavenly Gate Ruins, so he set out to investigate Dumu Palace. The Blood Ancestor claimed the Blood Skeleton Head could lead them there, and Xu Taiping found a thread of true intent connecting him to the relic, making the claim seem credible.

• Lotus Eye warned Xu Taiping that Xingtian’s divine intent might have escaped its seal and that Immortal Elder Wuji could have fallen victim to it.
• Xu Taiping decided to investigate Dumu Palace to find evidence about the divine intent.
• Xu Taiping tortured the Blood Ancestor with 𩙥 Flame and Golden Flame until it claimed to know Dumu Palace’s location.
• The Blood Ancestor said the Blood Skeleton Head had been brought from Dumu Palace and that blood qi would make its eyes point toward the palace.
• Xu Taiping used Lotus Root Broken, Yet Its Fibers Remain and saw a fine thread of true intent stretching to the Blood Skeleton Head.

Xu Taiping forced the Blood Ancestor to reveal the Blood Skeleton Head’s true purpose and learned that Ancient God Xingtian’s seal had begun failing over a century ago. After warning Dongfang Yuejian and Xuanzhi, he resolved to reach Dumu Palace quickly to investigate whether Xingtian’s divine intent had awakened.

• Xu Taiping threatened the Blood Ancestor until he admitted the Blood Skeleton Head had to be fed Gold Essence Coins or gold essence stones, while qi-blood power would attract nearby skeletons and endanger everyone.
• The Blood Ancestor explained that combining qi-blood true essence and divine essence would transform the Blood Skeleton Head into a shadow that could protect and empower its user, and admitted it was part of his plan to escape the Immortal Burial Ruins.
• The Blood Ancestor revealed that he had learned of the Blood Skeleton Head from a Dragon-Slaying Person he devoured, whose memories showed Yundaozi’s seal had begun failing two gatherings ago.
• Xu Taiping sent thunderflame into the red gourd in retaliation for the Dragon-Slaying Person, then left the Dragon-Trapping Tower and told Dongfang Yuejian and Xuanzhi what he had learned.
• Xu Taiping, Dongfang Yuejian, and Xuanzhi agreed to hurry to Dumu Palace and look for evidence of whether Ancient God Xingtian’s lingering divine intent had awakened.

Xu Taiping and his companions followed the Blood Skeleton Head to black-fog-shrouded ruins that appeared to contain Dumu Palace, where it concealed them from three divine generals guarding the site. A powerful Human Race presence then called Xu Taiping by name, and he suspected the voice belonged to Immortal Elder Wuji.

• Xu Taiping agreed to take Gu Yu with the group to Dumu Palace, and the Blood Skeleton Head pointed them toward the ruins after absorbing five pieces of gold essence stone.
• After following the skeleton head's light for three days, Xu Taiping and his companions found black-fog-shrouded ruins where the light vanished near the entrance.
• Three divine generals charged out of the fog, but Xu Taiping used the Blood Skeleton Head to conceal the group and make the generals return to Dumu Palace.
• A powerful divine soul aura spread from the ruins, and a familiar voice called Xu Taiping by name, prompting him to wonder if it was Immortal Elder Wuji.