Chapter Summaries

Lu Chen, Yan Ruyu, and the Peacock King found the Demon God Flower in the Feathered Immortal Valley and defeated its guardian, a giant Centipede Insect King. After the Peacock King claimed the flower, Yan Ruyu gave Lu Chen the nine drops of Azure Emperor's Essence Blood he had requested.

• Lu Chen and the others searched the Feathered Immortal Valley, collecting rare ancient medicinal plants before finding the Four-Colored Wonderful Flower, known as the Demon God Flower.
• Lu Chen warned the group that a powerful guardian would protect the flower, and the Peacock King sensed the Centipede Insect King beneath the rocky mountain.
• The Centipede Insect King attacked with killing intent and poisonous mist, but the Peacock King summoned Stars Illuminate the Azure Heavens and destroyed it.
• The Peacock King cleared away the poison and took the rocky mountain and Demon God Flower, thanking Lu Chen for leading them to it.
• After searching the valley for several more days, the group departed, and Yan Ruyu gave Lu Chen nine drops of the Azure Emperor's Essence Blood.

Lu Chen, Ye Fan, and the Peacock King’s group crossed from the Southern Region to the Northern Region and settled temporarily in the Azure Flood Dragon King’s oasis. After parting from Ye Fan, Lu Chen pointed him toward a purple mountain and a Zhang family village near Pingyan City, where he could find a way to obtain cultivation resources.

• The Ji Family Holy Lord and the Yaoguang Holy Lord destroyed the Peacock King’s secluded residence while the Peacock King and his allies were away.
• The Peacock King, Yan Ruyu, Lu Chen, Ye Fan, and members of the Demon Race used a Domain Gate to leave the Southern Region and arrive in the barren Northern Region.
• The Azure Flood Dragon King brought the group to Yunze Prefecture, a large oasis under his rule.
• After leaving Yunze Prefecture, Ye Fan asked Lu Chen where to find resources to cultivate his Desolate Ancient Sacred Body.
• Lu Chen directed Ye Fan to seek a distinctive purple mountain and a village of people surnamed Zhang near Pingyan City, then flew away.

Lu Chen entered the Zhou Ji stone gambling house to test the Source Arts in his Source Heaven Book and assess the stones. After Divine Ring Gate disciples mocked him, he challenged Wang Sheng to a wager of five jin of Pure Source and chose a stone as the onlookers gathered.

• Lu Chen visited the Qingyun Life Oasis and went to Zhou Ji to practice identifying Source in Source Stones.
• He examined more than ten thousand stones in the first courtyard and found only a few with negligible amounts of Source.
• Lu Chen entered the innermost courtyard, where Divine Ring Gate disciples mocked him for being a country bumpkin.
• Lu Chen showed five jin of Pure Source and challenged the disciples to a stone gambling contest.
• Wang Sheng accepted the wager, and Lu Chen chose a Source Stone he knew contained no Source.

Lu Chen used his Source Arts to beat Wang Sheng and the Divine Ring Gate disciples in a series of stone-gambling wagers, winning their Source and a valuable piece of green leaf Source. After confirming his skills, he left Zhou's Gambling Stone Workshop, while several people followed him with designs of their own.

• Wang Sheng and Lu Chen each chose Source Stones, but both stones were cut open with no Source inside.
• Lu Chen lost two more wagers, appearing distressed as the Divine Ring Gate disciples won a small amount of Source.
• Lu Chen produced seventy jin of Source and challenged Wang Sheng and his companions to wager the same amount; they borrowed fifteen jin to match it.
• The Divine Ring Gate disciples' stone contained no Source, while Lu Chen's rooster-shaped stone yielded green leaf Source worth over a hundred jin of pure Source.
• Lu Chen collected the wager, left the workshop after testing his Source Arts, and was quietly followed by several people.

Lu Chen killed the Divine Ring Gate disciples and elders who tried to rob him after he won rare source at Zhou's Gambling Stone Workshop. After learning about the sect, he set out to visit the Divine Ring Gate.

• Lu Chen noticed the Divine Ring Gate disciples tailing him in Qingyun and drove off one who tried to threaten him.
• Three days later, Divine Ring Gate disciples and two Dao Palace elders intercepted Lu Chen as he left the oasis for the Holy City.
• Lu Chen killed one elder with Divine Phoenix Slash, then caught and killed the four disciples who fled.
• Lu Chen caught the remaining elder, learned that the Divine Ring Gate's sect master had reached the Four Extremes Realm, and killed the elder after shattering his weapons.
• Lu Chen flew toward the Divine Ring Gate to pay the sect a visit.

Lu Chen attacked the Divine Ring Gate after learning of its brutal exploitation of mortals and defeated its defenses with ease. Surrounded by the sect master and five elders inside a sealed formation, he began fighting back, leaving the Divine Ring Gate’s fate unresolved.

• Lu Chen learned that the Divine Ring Gate enslaved mortals to mine source and buried them when the mines ran dry.
• Lu Chen shattered the sect’s mountain-gate stele and sent its guards flying when they attacked him.
• The Divine Ring Gate sect master and five elders confronted Lu Chen after he revealed that he had killed two elders and several disciples.
• The sect master ordered the formation activated and the elders attacked Lu Chen, who shattered an elder’s flame-wreathed divine pearl with a single punch.

Lu Chen battled the Divine Ring Gate’s elders and sect master, defeating their ancient Mighty Figure’s Five Elements Ring with his Divine Mark Purple Gold Pagoda and overwhelming strength. After killing the sect master and wiping out the elders, he took the Five Elements Ring and more than two thousand jin of Source, then returned to the barren Red Region.

• Lu Chen shattered the Divine Ring Gate elders’ weapons and killed one elder with Phoenix Cry Nine Heavens.
• The sect master used the Five Elements Ring to break Lu Chen’s Divine Phoenix, and the elders revealed that an ancient Mighty Figure had forged the treasure.
• Lu Chen summoned his Divine Mark Purple Gold Pagoda, which endured repeated strikes from the Five Elements Ring but was driven back by its power of laws.
• Lu Chen triggered the Nine Secrets: Jie and fought the sect master until the Five Elements Ring’s power exhausted him.
• Lu Chen’s pagoda defeated the Five Elements Ring’s five-element vortex, and he killed the weakened sect master before wiping out the remaining elders.
• Lu Chen took the Five Elements Ring and more than two thousand jin of Source from the Divine Ring Gate, then entered the barren Red Region.

Lu Chen entered the Jade Pool Ruins to collect ancient Dao traces with his Spirit-Communicating Purple Gold Pagoda. He obtained the complete Mountain-Embracing Seal and continued deeper into the ruins in search of more arts and the Western Emperor Scripture.

• Lu Chen witnessed the Jade Pool's ascending immortals and confirmed that the Jade Pool Ruins lay in the region.
• He found a buried well, entered the sealed ruins, and saw that most of the land had withered under the Underworld's influence.
• Lu Chen reached the sacred lake but left without exploring its dangerous depths, where yin ghosts and the remains of supreme beings threatened him.
• He discovered an ancient carving and used the Spirit-Communicating Purple Gold Pagoda to recover the complete Mountain-Embracing Seal.
• Lu Chen set off to explore more of the ruins and seek the Western Emperor Scripture and other ancient arts.

Lu Chen used the Divine Mark Purple Gold Pagoda to imprint the Western Emperor Scripture and other surviving Dao traces throughout the Jade Pool Ruins. His search culminated in the discovery of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Fist, apparently left behind by the Queen Mother of the West’s Great Accomplishment Sacred Body husband.

• Lu Chen studied the carvings on a cliff and gained insight from an ancient Jade Pool sage’s failed attempt to deduce the Fight Secret.
• At the Western Emperor’s Dao-comprehension site, Lu Chen used the Divine Mark Purple Gold Pagoda to imprint the Western Emperor Scripture’s Dao Palace Scroll and, over half a month, its complete passages for all five secret realms.
• Lu Chen searched the ruins further and imprinted the Star-Scrambling Finger from a ruined Heavenly Palace.
• While capturing Dao traces on a towering mountain, Lu Chen imprinted the Six Paths of Reincarnation Fist and realized its practitioner had likely been the Queen Mother of the West’s Great Accomplishment Sacred Body husband.

After uncovering treasures in the Jade Pool Ruins, Lu Chen amassed Source in Kun Yun and broke through to the Dao Palace Fifth Heaven. He returned to the city and went to see the Yaochi Saintess, who had brought nine unusual Source stones for experts to assess.

• Lu Chen covered the ancient well that led to the Jade Pool Ruins and left the desolate land.
• He gambled on stones in Kun Yun, earning a fortune in Source and attracting attention from major powers.
• Lu Chen secluded himself with nearly two hundred thousand jin of Source and advanced to the Dao Palace Fifth Heaven.
• After returning to Kun Yun, Lu Chen learned that the Yaochi Saintess had arrived with nine unusual Source stones from the Primordial Ancient Mine.
• Lu Chen visited the Yaochi Stone Workshop, saw the Yaochi Saintess, and sensed the peculiar charm of her Dao power.

Lu Chen examined the nine wondrous Source Stones at the Yaochi Stone Workshop, identified a stone that might contain extreme yin power, and accepted the Yaochi Saintess's invitation to the Yaochi Grand Gathering. Outside Kun Yun City, he fought the Ji Family disciples who had recognized him and killed Ji Yunfei with one strike.

• Lu Chen sensed the Ji Family disciples' killing intent at the Yaochi Stone Workshop, but continued examining the nine stones.
• Lu Chen detected extreme yin power inside a human-head-sized stone and told the Yaochi Saintess what he had found.
• The Yaochi Saintess invited Lu Chen to attend the Yaochi Grand Gathering, and he accepted.
• After Lu Chen left Kun Yun City, Ji Yunhao and Ji Yunfei confronted him with their followers.
• Ji Yunfei attacked Lu Chen with the Heaven-Cutting Finger, but Lu Chen's Mountain-Embracing Seal crushed him.

Lu Chen killed three Ji Family disciples after defeating Ji Yunhao and Ji Yunxiao with the Star-Scrambling Finger. He stayed in Kun Yun Ancient City despite warnings, where the Yaochi Saintess grew acquainted with him and other powerful young figures arrived.

• Lu Chen killed Ji Yunfei, then defeated Ji Yunhao and Ji Yunxiao's Void Scripture techniques with the Star-Scrambling Finger.
• Lu Chen killed Ji Yunhao and Ji Yunxiao, and news of the three Ji Family disciples' deaths spread through Kun Yun City.
• Lu Chen returned to the city and continued visiting its stone workshops, while the Yaochi Saintess urged him to leave.
• The Holy Son and Holy Maiden of the Yaoguang Holy Land, an Imperial Prince of the Great Xia Dynasty, and descendants of the Northern Region's Thirteen Great Bandits arrived in Kun Yun Ancient City.
• Lu Chen and the Yaochi Saintess exchanged insights about Source Arts, and she valued his talent more than that of the new arrivals.

Lu Chen met the Yaoguang Holy Son, the Yaoguang Holy Maiden, the Great Xia prince, and other heirs at the Yaochi Stone Workshop, then revealed what he knew about the forbidden Buddhist figure Tathagata. His claim that Tathagata came from beyond the heavens left Ye Fan wondering whether the same path could lead him back to Earth.

• Lu Chen calmly told the holy heirs that he would strike without mercy against anyone who became his enemy, regardless of their family.
• The Great Xia prince stopped Ye Fan, disguised as a young Daoist priest, from approaching his nun sister, but Ye Fan persuaded him to let him speak with her.
• Ye Fan asked about Tathagata and Sakyamuni, and the Great Xia prince refused to discuss the taboo names.
• Lu Chen explained that Tathagata had arrived in the Western Desert two thousand years earlier, presided over Mount Sumeru, and later left for unknown reasons.
• Lu Chen said Tathagata was a man from beyond the heavens, exciting Ye Fan's hopes of finding a route back to Earth.

Lu Chen explained Tathagata’s arrival from beyond the heavens and his conflict with Buddhism, revealing that their dispute concerned reincarnation, immortality, and the origins of the world. Ye Fan learned that returning to Earth would require reaching the heights of a Primordial Saint, while the gathered holy-land heirs began probing Lu Chen’s origins.

• Lu Chen said Tathagata had come from beyond the heavens, challenged Mount Sumeru’s Bodhisattvas, and left despite their Extreme Dao Weapon.
• The Great Xia Princess called Tathagata a demon, and Lu Chen explained that his conflict with Buddhism concerned mysteries of past, present, and future lives, reincarnation, immortality, and the world’s origins.
• Ye Fan asked how Tathagata had crossed the heavens, and Lu Chen said only cultivators at the heights of the Ancient Sages could travel through the starry sky alone.
• Ye Fan realized he might have to become a Primordial Saint to return to Earth and worried about the time that would take.
• The Yaoguang Saintess and Yaochi Saintess questioned Lu Chen about his lineage after noting his knowledge, Source Arts, cultivation, and boldness.

Lu Chen arrived in Source City to test his Source Arts and seek a way to visit the outskirts of the Primordial Ancient Mine. He hired the notorious Duan De to lead him past the holy lands' blockade and set out with several other young cultivators.

• Lu Chen left Kun Yun after buying the Source Stone he could confidently appraise.
• Lu Chen explored Source City and bought one overpriced stone from a local workshop.
• Lu Chen learned the Various Holy Lands had sealed off the Primordial Ancient Mine's outskirts.
• Duan De offered to guide Lu Chen through the blockade for fifty jin of source.
• Three days later, Lu Chen met Duan De, who had gathered several young cultivators, and followed him toward the mine.

Lu Chen and Duan De led several young cultivators to the outskirts of the Primordial Ancient Mine, where a deadly blood-red sandstorm struck. Lu Chen survived inside the Immortal-Slaying Gourd and emerged after the storm passed, while the other cultivators were killed.

• Duan De guided Lu Chen and the young cultivators through secluded routes to the Primordial Ancient Mine's outskirts.
• Duan De warned the group not to speak carelessly as they crossed the barren, crimson land and reached ancient ruins.
• A blood-red sandstorm swept toward them, and Duan De and Lu Chen fled as the storm killed the other cultivators.
• Lu Chen entered the Immortal-Slaying Gourd, which endured the storm's attacks without damage.
• After the storm dispersed, Lu Chen emerged from the gourd and cautiously returned to the red earth.

Lu Chen and Duan De struggled through the Primordial Ancient Mine’s Life Forbidden Zone and found an ancient temple containing two valuable treasures. After they left, an enormous figure appeared on the horizon and charged toward them.

• Lu Chen reunited with Duan De on a blood-colored plain, and Duan De said they had fallen into the Life Forbidden Zone around the Primordial Ancient Mine.
• Lu Chen and Duan De crossed the dangerous terrain together, escaped a mysterious field after three days, and reached an ancient temple.
• Inside the temple, Lu Chen found a head-sized piece of divine source in one stone, while Duan De uncovered Great Luo Silver Essence in another.
• Lu Chen and Duan De left the temple, and an enormous figure appeared in the distance and charged at them.

Lu Chen and Duan De were trapped in the Primordial Ancient Mine with a powerful Ancient Creature and had to work together to defeat it. They killed the creature with heavenly yin absolute water, but the corrosive liquid also damaged Duan De’s God-Binding Rope.

• Lu Chen and Duan De fled from an approaching Ancient Creature but discovered that uncanny fields had sent them in circles and left them with no escape.
• Lu Chen fought the creature with the Five Elements Divine Ring while Duan De attacked with azure flames from his Ancient Bronze Lamp and protected himself with a tortoise-shell shield.
• The creature drove them back with its strength and black gale, so Lu Chen and Duan De agreed to restrain it and use a killing treasure.
• Duan De bound the creature with his God-Binding Rope, sealing its divine power, and Lu Chen poured heavenly yin absolute water from the Immortal-Slaying Gourd over it.
• The Ancient Creature melted into black liquid, and Duan De mourned that the heavenly yin absolute water had corroded his rope.

Lu Chen and Duan De escaped the ancient creature and explored nearby ruins, where they discovered the Scarlet Blood Grotto and Falling Sun Ridge. Lu Chen identified the site as the place where Emperor Hengyu had forged his weapon, and they reached an ancient hall bearing a plaque inscribed with his name.

• Lu Chen slew the ancient creature with Heavenly Yin Absolute Water, damaging Duan De's God-Binding Rope in the process.
• Lu Chen and Duan De left the area, but heard a more powerful ancient creature roar behind them without pursuing.
• The two found ruined grounds and identified them as the dangerous Scarlet Blood Grotto and Falling Sun Ridge.
• Lu Chen recognized Falling Sun Ridge as the place where Emperor Hengyu had forged the Solar Divine Furnace.
• Lu Chen and Duan De carefully crossed the ridge and found an ancient hall with a plaque engraved with "Hengyu."

Lu Chen and Duan De searched Emperor Hengyu’s abandoned residence in the Primordial Ancient Mine, then collected black divine fire from Falling Sun Ridge before escaping the Life Forbidden Zone. They reached Source City, where Duan De complained about his bad luck and demanded compensation from Lu Chen.

• Lu Chen took the Hengyu plaque from Emperor Hengyu’s hall before Duan De could claim it.
• Lu Chen and Duan De found recent footprints in the hall and discovered that its treasures, including the phoenix blood red gold, were gone.
• Lu Chen collected black divine fire from Falling Sun Ridge with the Immortal-Slaying Gourd, and Duan De gathered some with a small cauldron.
• Lu Chen and Duan De cautiously crossed the Primordial Ancient Mine and escaped the Life Forbidden Zone.
• Duan De led Lu Chen through the mining blockades to Source City, then demanded compensation for taking him on the dangerous trip.
• Lu Chen accused Duan De of having planned to fleece them, dismissing his complaints about bad luck.