Nie Li

Biodata

Power Progression

Present Timeline

Timeline Shown by the Sky Screen

Background / History

Nie Li comes from the declining Heavenly Marks Family. In his previous life, Glory City fell to a beast tide numbering in the hundreds of millions. Ye Mo died defending the city, while Du Ze, Lu Piao, and Chen Linjian fell during the disaster. Nie Li escaped with survivors led by Ye Ziyun, who became his wife, but eventually lost everyone who had fled with him 3 25.

He obtained the Book of Time and Space Spirit in the Desert Divine Palace. His previous cultivation suffered because he practiced numerous arts without mastering them, repeatedly changing his Soul Sea’s form and element and limiting further progress 13 14 25.

At the Spring of Life, the Sacred Emperor destroyed the souls of Nie Li’s loved ones before they could be resurrected. Nie Li later fought the emperor and his six god-level demon beasts. Although he surpassed the emperor’s cultivation at the last moment, the beasts wore him down and he died fighting. He believes his blood soaking the Book of Time and Space Spirit triggered his return to the age of thirteen 25 26.

In his second life, Nie Li sets out to prevent Glory City’s destruction and the deaths of his companions. The mysterious Sky Screen publicly exposes his rebirth, memories, and knowledge, bringing both powerful allies and enemies into his plans much earlier 1 2 26.

His father’s example is central to this resolve. In the previous life, Nie Ming stood against the invading Wind Snow Demon Beasts to protect his children. Nie Li remembers his teaching that responsibility and spirit stand higher than the sky and determines to protect his family in return 82 118.

Later revelations also expand his understanding of his previous life. After Ye Ziyun’s death, a masked, silver-haired woman named Xiao Ning accompanied him and repeatedly saved him before dying for him. He had never seen her face or fallen in love with her, leaving him burdened with guilt; Xiao Ning’er’s account of her dream recalls this woman to him 250 257.

Following the Sky Screen’s permanent disappearance, Nie Li spends the next century building his strength and supporting his allies. He becomes Feathered God Sect Master, fully masters the Heavenly Dao Divine Art, and ultimately defeats the Sacred Emperor. After restoring the Book of Time and Space Spirit, he returns to Glory City and lives with Ye Ziyun, Xiao Ning’er, their daughter, and his surviving family and friends 314.

Appearance

• Orange hair, temporarily dyed black with an herbal mixture for the Gulan City expedition 25.
• Uses cloud mud, altered hairstyles, and different clothing to disguise himself; later adopts the appearance of a Sacred Family servant during an infiltration 25 49 50.
• When merged with the Shadow Demon Spirit, his hair grows longer and turns white, and black blades emerge from his arms 83.
• When merged with the Eight-Armed Demon Monster, he develops eight enormous black arms, blood-red eyes, curved black horns, and a body over ten meters tall 142.

Personality

Nie Li is openly ambitious and rejects the idea that birth or initial soul force determines a person’s future. He challenges Shen Xiu’s contempt for commoners and chooses a slower cultivation art because he values its long-term potential over immediate advancement 2 3 14.

His loyalty is shaped by the deaths he witnessed. He insists that his companions accompany him into the City Lord’s Mansion rather than remain exposed to retaliation, freely shares valuable cultivation techniques, and exhausts himself preparing protective equipment and pills for their expedition 11 12 24.

He is also calculating, provocative, and willing to manipulate appearances. He stages injuries to turn public opinion against Shen Yue and exploits divisions between the Sacred Family’s main line and branches. His hatred of the family initially extends to wanting its complete destruction, yet he later recruits individual branch members as allies 10 32 33 50.

Despite his experience, romantic attention can unsettle him. His devotion to Ye Ziyun makes him slow to respond to Xiao Ning’er’s affection, while Huyan Lanruo’s aggressive pursuit leaves him visibly flustered 7 25 34 41.

His confidence extends to refusing Ye Yan’s offer of discipleship despite respecting him as a founder of Glory City. Nie Li believes he can reach Legendary through his own efforts and promises to lead the city’s people beyond that realm 103 107.

His outward flippancy coexists with lasting trauma. Nightmares force him to relive his father’s sacrifice and Ye Ziyun’s death, while seeing his restored home and companions helps him accept that his rebirth is real 118 171.

He has little interest in becoming Glory City’s ruler for its own sake. When the broadcast Ye Ziyun accuses him of seeking her as a route to the City Lord’s position, he is deeply hurt and considers that he could instead help other surviving human communities flourish 173.

Abilities & Skills

Heavenly Dao Divine Art

A cultivation art selected for its compatibility with Nie Li’s attributeless Soul Sea and its greater eventual potential 13 14.

• Can eventually integrate cultivation arts of every element and allow the practitioner to establish an individual Great Dao 14.
• Allows the Soul Sea to hold seven demon spirits of different elements, with each integration producing another increase in strength 14.
• Progresses more slowly than the God of War Art and Void Divine Art, the alternatives Nie Li considers 14.
• Repairs cracks in his Soul Sea during Chu Yuan’s attack in the Sky Screen timeline 40.
• Enables him to coordinate his two integrated demon spirits to defend his Soul Sea and refine invading spirits while subduing the Heavenfall Divine Thunder Sword in the broadcast timeline 105.
• Is fully mastered by age one hundred, when he has gathered all seven demon spirits 314.

Soul-Force Combat and Control

Nie Li uses precise soul-force application to overcome opponents with greater apparent advantages 16 17.

• Targets joints and pressure points to subdue Shen Yue 16.
• Projects overwhelming killing intent that frightens Shen Yue into fleeing; its effects even reach spectators through the Sky Screen 17.
• Compresses soul force into a narrow beam to attack a demon spirit directly, stunning the Silver Five-Star Azure-Armed Giant Ape 27.
• Siphons Chu Yuan’s soul force and seals his Soul Sea in the broadcast timeline 40.
• Plants soul seals in Shen Ning and Shen Xiao after recruiting them as agents 50.
• Uses the Book of Time and Space Spirit’s remnant pages to draw away the Demon Lord’s soul force, then attacks along the connection with the Heavenfall Divine Thunder Sword 86.
• Refines the Demon Lord’s soul force within his Soul Sea and gains access to memories of the Dark Guild’s origins, dimensional passages, and the Black Prison World 89.

Demon Spirits

By the final confrontation, Nie Li has gathered all seven demon spirits required for the complete Heavenly Dao Divine Art. The ending does not identify all seven individually 314.

Soul Sea and Demon Spirit Assessment

Nie Li evaluates aptitude through Soul Sea forms and elements rather than initial soul force alone 12 14.

• Uses unused Soul Crystals to identify suitable cultivation arts and demon spirits 12 16 18.
• Supplies tailored arts, including the Heavenly Kirin Art for Du Ze, Chaos Sacred Spirit Art for Lu Piao, Nine-Turn Ice Phoenix Art for Ye Ziyun, Wind Thunder Winged Dragon Art for Xiao Ning’er, and Nine Nether Dragon Art for Chen Linjian 12 14 21 23 24.
• Classifies demon spirit growth potential into six grades: inferior, ordinary, good, excellent, exceptional, and god tier 46.
• Prioritizes compatibility and growth potential over a spirit’s current rank, selecting a god-tier Shadow Netherwolf for Chen Linjian 23.
• Examining large numbers of spirits consumes his soul force and leaves him mentally fatigued 46.
• Identifies Nie Yu’s heavenly marks body after testing her forty points of soul force at age nine. Gives her its cultivation art and entrusts Nie Hai with the complete thirteen-section art to test other family members 64.
• Personally assesses incoming Black Prison World families and provides suitable arts and demon spirits as part of their settlement in Glory City 149.

Inscriptions and Ancient Knowledge

His retained knowledge includes ancient scripts, lost inscriptions, and historical architecture 10 16 19.

• Identifies the Sacred Family’s supposedly original flame inscription as a copy from the Thunderfire Sacred Book 10.
• Reads the book’s Wind Snow Empire-era script and explains its relationship to Black Gold Empire script 16.
• Diagnoses an unusable scroll drawn with larval rather than adult Wind Snow Spirit Insect blood 16.
• Restores Raging Wind and Sudden Snow toward its original Silver rank by correcting its incomplete structure 16.
• Cannot personally produce Legendary inscription scrolls at his early Bronze cultivation because of their mental-energy demands 26.
• Translates Sacred Empire-era writing and identifies Emperor Kongming’s tomb in the Sky Screen timeline 53.
• Builds a Spirit Puppet using blueprints recovered from the Sacred Family’s treasury 80.
• Repairs an ancient Legend Rank summoning scroll and explains dimensional worlds and their relationship to the Saint Spirit Continent 151.
• Engraves weapons for the Jade Seal Family, producing equipment that becomes popular throughout the Nether Realm 209.
• Takes over deciphering the more than three hundred inscriptions on the Tomb’s doors when the giant skeleton’s attention threatens his infiltration with Xiao Yu 232.
• Writes calligraphy imbued with Dao intent, selling a “martial” character to Yan Yang for 150,000 Soul Stones and providing two pieces to Mingyue Wushuang 286.

Alchemy and Treatment

Nie Li combines lost formulas, medicinal knowledge, and manual techniques 8 24 43.

• Treats Xiao Ning’er’s extreme cold affliction with the Guiding Technique, massage, a prescription, and instructions to avoid cultivating at night 8 17.
• Produces beast-specific anesthetics and lethal poisons, including Purple Mist Grass-based arrow poison 5 24 27.
• Refines one hundred Soul-Recovery Pills and one hundred Soul-Explosion Pills before the expedition, exhausting himself in the process 24.
• Provides the lost Nine Profound Pill formula, whose principal ingredients are sacred nether grass and mist leaf grass. The resulting pills help Ye Zong and Chen Zhenglong reach Legendary 32 43 45.
• Uses the Meridian-Sealing Hand to force breakthroughs from Bronze Five-Star to Silver. The process damages meridians and depletes soul force, requiring restorative pills afterward 45 47.
• Begins awakening Duan Jian’s Dragon Race bloodline with thirty-six silver needles in the broadcast timeline, offering him the possibility of reaching Legendary Rank 144.
• Recognizes dragon tongue grass poisoning after Ye Han’s betrayal and begins saving the dying Ye Zong before the ninth Sky Screen ends 176.

Archery, Tracking, and Tactics

His combat instincts come from hunting tens of thousands of demon beasts in his previous life 27.

• Maintains one-kill-per-arrow accuracy against agile Azure-Armed Giant Apes by striking their foreheads or eyes with poisoned projectiles 27 42.
• Blinds the Spirit-Rank ape’s left eye after stunning its demon spirit, creating an opening for the group’s combined attack 27.
• Identifies nearby Fox Bears through fur and odor, persuading the expedition to abandon a dangerous campsite 37.
• Recognizes beast strength from their cries and uses wooded terrain to restrict large enemies’ movement 27 31 42.
• Designs defensive lines and modifies Glory City’s defenses, reducing casualties during the present timeline’s beast tide to their lowest historical level 75.
• In the broadcast timeline, prepares pits and other measures that kill over one hundred thousand demon beasts before they reach the city wall 165 167.
• Exploits opponents’ expectations with feints, including throwing an ordinary pebble while threatening Shen Hong with a supposed Bloodburst Technique 186.

Demon Spirit Refinement

Nie Li uses the Nightmare Demon Pot to combine ten demon spirits into one with improved growth potential. Successful refinement can eventually produce god-tier spirits, although the process requires vast numbers of materials 66 96.

• In the present timeline, spends a week refining nearly a million demon spirits and replaces his companions’ spirits with god-tier ones where needed 66.
• In the broadcast timeline, refines Dragon Blood Demon Spirits, producing twenty-one with exceptional growth potential in one day, including three mutated spirits 280.
• Uses heavenly dao power and the vine in his Soul Sea to stabilize a difficult fusion. His spiritual sense discovers an enormous internal world within the pot, where energy from failed fusions also accumulates 280.
• Establishes profitable sales channels through his allies and gives god-tier Dragon Blood Demon Spirits to Gu Bei, Lu Piao, and Xiao Yu 278 280 281.
• Supplies high-growth Dragon Blood Demon Spirits to organizational leaders and members, strengthening loyalty and expanding his influence 292.

Law Power and the Soul Sea Vine

Under Yu Yan’s guidance in the broadcast timeline, Nie Li absorbs Law Power from the Black Spring much faster than she expects. Although she initially states that he can cultivate only one law, he proceeds to cultivate both light and darkness 200 202.

• The vine absorbs Law Power as he descends through the Black Spring 200.
• Regulates the conflicting light and darkness powers by having the vine absorb them and feed them to his demon spirits 209.
• Allows the Fangtooth Panda to wield the two powers separately through his hands; combining the attacks greatly amplifies their destructive effect 202.
• Strengthens the Light-Dark Primordial Qi Blast severalfold, although the technique remains slow to release 213.
• In the present timeline, absorbs half of the defeated Demon Lord’s soul force 89.

Arrays and Soul Weapons

Nie Li’s array expertise supports both personal cultivation and Glory City’s defense 85 112 115.

• Establishes an Advanced Soul-Gathering Array throughout the City Lord’s Mansion in the present timeline 85.
• In the broadcast timeline, identifies and guides construction of the Ten Thousand Demons Demon Spirit Array, then experiments with combining killing arrays to reduce their space requirements and increase their power 112 167.
• Completes the Divine Thunder Killing Array and leaves soul imprints with Ye Ziyun and Ye Xiu so they can activate the defensive arrays 115.
• Refines Knuckle Spikes capable of piercing Ye Han’s Golden Armored Earth Dragon defenses 126.
• Refines three throwing knives and names them Red Flame, Red Cold, and Red Void 151.
• Knows the forbidden Demon Spirit Devouring Art, which violates the Heavenly Dao and damages future cultivation. A broadcast later shows him using a demon-spirit-devouring magic array to force a Black Gold breakthrough 213 214.

Heavenfall Divine Thunder Sword

Nie Li subdues the Heavenfall Divine Thunder Sword in the broadcast timeline by overcoming its killing intent and using his two demon spirits to defend and replenish his Soul Sea against the spirits it releases 105.

• In the present timeline, the sword protects his soul against the Demon Lord’s Soul Refining and Soul Searching Arts 86.
• Can grant him enough destructive power to contend briefly with the Demon Lord, but initially consumes his soul force at a severe rate 86.
• Receives an inscription from a remnant page of the Book of Time and Space Spirit, drains his Soul Sea, and subsequently releases lightning in defense of his unconscious body 86 87.
• Is used with sixth-rank armor to overpower Murong Yu during the broadcast Eastern Courtyard trials 300.
• By age one hundred, Nie Li has learned all thirty-six sword forms and uses them to defeat the Sacred Emperor 314.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Book of Time and Space Spirit — the artifact associated with his rebirth and a source of cultivation knowledge. A remnant page carried against his chest nourishes his soul and later guides him to the Fangtooth Panda 15 26 31 47. Two remnant pages are subsequently stored in his Soul Sea and help drain the Demon Lord’s soul force. By the final confrontation, he has recovered all four remnant pages, retrieves the remaining pages after defeating the Sacred Emperor, and restores the complete book 86 314.
• Spirit Lamp — recovered at Gulan City; contains the Shadow Demon Spirit before its integration 28.
• Space Ring — stores weapons, pills, money, and supplies. He returns a borrowed ring to Xiao Ning’er after buying his own 22 24 34.
• Flame-Rage Beast inner armor — light protective armor selected for the expedition 22 24.
• Light crossbow and poisoned arrows — his principal ranged equipment against the Azure-Armed Giant Apes 23 27.
• Flame-Rage Sword — a weapon bought for 200,000 Demon Spirit Coins and drawn against the pursuing ape in the Sky Screen timeline 43.
• Soul Crystals — used to test Soul Seas and demon spirit growth potential 12 23.
• Medicinal baths and cultivation pills — used together to accelerate his otherwise slow-growing cultivation art 31 35.
• Nightmare Demon Pot — refines batches of ten demon spirits into spirits with stronger growth potential. Its vast internal world later supplies heavenly dao power for fate-soul cultivation 66 96 280.
• Spirit Puppet — constructed from Sacred Family treasury blueprints 80.
• Heavenfall Divine Thunder Sword — a powerful lightning sword that resides in his Soul Sea during the Demon Lord’s attack. It protects him from soul arts and becomes his weapon against the Sacred Emperor 86 87 314.
• Knuckle Spikes — a refined Soul Weapon worn inside his transformed panda paw to penetrate Ye Han’s dragon armor in the broadcast timeline 126.
• Red Flame, Red Cold, and Red Void throwing knives — three refined throwing knives; Red Flame is later used to kill a Wind Snow Demon Beast 151 169.
• Dragon soul stones — forged into spheres and infused with light and darkness Law Power in the broadcast timeline 213.
• Golden Egg — carried and examined in his tent at the Jade Seal Family camp in the broadcast timeline 223.
• Soul Essence Fruits — sought in the Nine-Layered Deathlands for their cultivation benefits. Present-day Nie Li possesses fruits delivered by Du Ze 223.
• Torch Dragon’s demon spirit — retrieves and stores the pale blue spirit after an unseen enforcer kills Torch Dragon in the present timeline 252.
• Heavenly Net Armor — a fourth-grade Sacred Spirit Ranking reward in the broadcast timeline, capable of resisting a five-fate expert’s attacks and preserving his fate soul if his body is destroyed 280.
• Sixth-Rank Treasure Artifact Set — protects him against Murong Yu and later withstands attacks during his retreat from Gu Heng’s forces until its barrier is worn down 300 309.
• Ten Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains Painting — supplies heavenly dao power during his broadcast battle against Guo Huai 303.

Relationships

• Nie Ming and Xiao Yun — his parents. Nie Ming proudly supports his ambitions, while Xiao Yun worries about his safety and young age 3 16. Nie Li kneels before them upon their reunion, overwhelmed to see them alive, and later returns to ordinary family life with them in Glory City 64 314.
• Ye Ziyun — his wife in his previous life and the focus of his affection after rebirth. She develops feelings for him independently in the present life and later encourages Xiao Ning’er’s closeness to him 25 28 34. They become engaged alongside Xiao Ning’er in the present timeline; the broadcast separately depicts his engagement to Ye Ziyun 176 216. After the Sacred Emperor’s defeat, they reunite and raise a daughter with Xiao Ning’er 314.
• Xiao Ning’er — a friend whose illness and cultivation he treats. She falls in love with him, refuses to give up despite his devotion to Ye Ziyun, and declares herself willing to protect him 8 24 36. She becomes his fiancée together with Ye Ziyun in the present timeline and ultimately shares his family life in Glory City 176 314.
• Du Ze — trusted brother and cultivation companion. Nie Li gives him the Heavenly Kirin Art; Du Ze pledges his support and helps him after his collapse from exhaustion 12 24. Du Ze later delivers Soul Essence Fruits to him and reaches Legendary in the present timeline 223.
• Lu Piao — close friend, frequent teasing companion, and reluctant bait in Nie Li’s hunting strategies 2 5 27.
• Wei Nan, Zhang Ming, and Zhu Xiangjun — classmates and loyal companions who receive suitable cultivation arts and accompany his expedition 3 14 23.
• Ye Zong — protector and strategic ally whom Nie Li persistently calls “Father-in-law.” Initially resistant to his pursuit of Ziyun, Ye Zong later regards him as trustworthy and benefits from his pill formula 11 12 24 45. Their antagonistic banter continues through repeated punishments and reconciliations; Nie Li begins saving him from poisoning in the broadcast and later promises to protect Ye Ziyun and bring the traveling companions home within five years 114 171 176 250.
• Ye Xiu — personally guards Nie Li and accompanies him on the Gulan City expedition and to the Alchemist Association 12 25 43.
• Chen Linjian — expedition partner who grants Nie Li first choice of treasures. Nie Li supplies his cultivation art and Shadow Netherwolf, earning his gratitude 19 23. Joins the present-day journey to the Endless Desert 250.
• Yang Xin, Gu Yan, and the Alchemist Association — collaborators in refining the restored Nine Profound Pill formula 43. Yang Xin also protects the broadcast Nie Li and develops affection for him, sharing a drink and kissing his cheek before their farewell 92 174.
• Huyan Lanruo — persistent pursuer whose advances Nie Li repeatedly avoids; he also breaks her Snow Cherry Demon Spirit’s alluring illusion in the broadcast timeline 40 41 48.
• Sacred Family — his chief early enemy within Glory City, blamed for the previous life’s western-wall collapse. Shen Yue and Shen Fei repeatedly clash with him, while Shen Hong and Shen Ming seek to counter or eliminate him 10 17 48. The Sky Screen confirms its collusion with the Dark Guild, and the present timeline later removes its hostile leadership while sparing cooperating branch members 58 77 164.
• Shen Ning and Shen Xiao — Sacred Family branch members recruited as undercover agents with promises of superior techniques, spirits, and pills 50. After the family’s betrayal, they are placed in charge of its surviving holdings under Nie Li and the City Lord’s Mansion’s leniency. Their broadcast counterparts instead fight him in the Genius Martial Arts Tournament 77 98 99.
• Ye Han — a rival who views Nie Li’s rise as a threat to his prospects of marrying Ziyun and becoming City Lord. Nie Li warns Ye Zong about his suspicious behavior 46 48 49. The broadcast later depicts Nie Li defeating him, Ye Han poisoning Ye Zong, and his joining the Witch Ghost Family 126 176 209.
• Sacred Emperor — the enemy who destroyed his loved ones’ souls and caused his death in the previous life 25 26. Nie Li defeats him at age one hundred and restores the Book of Time and Space Spirit 314.
• Nie Yu — his younger cousin, frequently treated as his younger sister. He identifies her heavenly marks body, gives her a suitable art, and cautions her against nighttime cultivation before Silver 64 83. Later exempts her from the brutal drills imposed on the other Heavenly Marks Family juniors 176.
• Nie Hai — Heavenly Marks Family patriarch who recognizes Nie Li as the family’s greatest support, receives the full heavenly marks body cultivation art, and names him Young Clan Leader and future Clan Leader 64.
• Ye Mo — Glory City’s guardian and Ye Ziyun’s grandfather. Strongly approves of Nie Li in the present timeline and oversees his engagements to Ye Ziyun and Xiao Ning’er 75 176.
• Demon Lord — seeks to extract Nie Li’s memories and possess his body. His present-timeline attack ends in defeat, and Nie Li subsequently refines his soul force and examines his memories 84 86 87 89.
• Ye Yan — founder of Glory City whose discipleship offer Nie Li respectfully refuses in the broadcast timeline. Witnesses his attempt to subdue the Heavenfall Divine Thunder Sword 103 105.
• Duan Jian — companion whose Dragon Race bloodline Nie Li helps awaken in the broadcast. Pledges lifelong loyalty and later accompanies the present-day expedition to the Endless Desert 144 250.
• Yu Yan — deity who teaches the broadcast Nie Li to cultivate Law Power. His rapid progress and mastery of two laws persuade her that his promise to rebuild her divine body may be possible 200 202.
• Jade Seal Family — Nether Realm partners who protect the broadcast Nie Li in exchange for his weapon inscriptions. He negotiates seventy percent of the proceeds and asks them to monitor the Dark Guild 209.
• Xiao Yu — assists his broadcast infiltration of the Tomb and receives a god-tier Dragon Blood Demon Spirit. Joins the present-day journey to the Endless Desert and later uses a Space-Time ring during the broadcast retreat from Gu Heng 232 250 281 309.
• Gu Bei and Li Xingyun — allies involved in his demon-spirit trade and Great World operations. Gu Bei supplies large quantities of spirits, while Li Xingyun protects him from Hua Ling and helps raid a Divine Pool 278 295.
• Long Yuyin — initially a hostile sparring opponent in the broadcast timeline. After repeated defeats, she seeks his guidance and becomes thoroughly convinced of his ability 274 280.
• Yan Yang and Mingyue Wushuang — influential allies cultivated through Dao-intent calligraphy. Yan Yang declares him a friend and promises Fire God Sect support in the Great World; Mingyue Wushuang promises to look after Xiao Ning’er 286.
• Nether Realm Controller — assures the broadcast Nie Li that Glory City is already under his protection at an old friend’s request, raising questions about why it fell in Nie Li’s previous life 248.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Sky Screen Exposure and Protection

• The first broadcast reveals his rebirth and Glory City’s destruction, prompting Ye Zong to assemble the major families and reassess the city’s future 1.
• His exposure of the Sacred Family’s copied inscription earns him the library steward position rather than the expulsion Shen Xiu demands 10 11.
• Nie Li, his companions, and Xiao Ning’er move into the City Lord’s Mansion; guards are also dispatched to protect their families 12.
• Later broadcasts turn his knowledge and combat abilities into public proof of Glory City’s potential, while also exposing intimate moments, rivalries, and the trauma of his previous life 56 114 118.

Gulan City Expedition

• Sells ten thousand jin of Purple Mist Grass for 300 Demon Spirit Coins per jin and uses the proceeds to buy high-grade cultivation pills for his friends 21.
• Prepares disguises, armor, poisons, and restorative supplies before leading the smaller present-day expedition out of Glory City 24 25.
• Helps defeat the Silver Five-Star Azure-Armed Giant Ape, retrieves the Spirit Lamp, and persuades the group to recover the dead warriors’ equipment for Glory City’s defense 27 28 29.
• Survives the stone coffin’s restriction and gains a permanent cultivation increase 29.
• The fourth broadcast shows him deliberately diverting the giant ape toward the Dark Guild, traveling with Ye Ziyun, and discovering Emperor Kongming’s tomb after falling into a chasm 53.

Strengthening Glory City

• Restores the Nine Profound Pill formula, enabling two new Legendary Demon Spirit Masters; the remaining three pills are reserved for a future eligible expert 43 44 45.
• Advises Ye Zong and Chen Zhenglong to conceal their breakthroughs so hostile forces will not retreat before revealing themselves 45.
• At the aristocratic banquet, confronts Shen Hong and secures the families’ approval for the Wind Snow Family to control the western wall’s City Defense Army 48.
• Distributes god-tier demon spirits refined with the Nightmare Demon Pot and accelerates his own cultivation in the Heavenly Illusion Sacred Realm 66.
• His present-day defensive designs help Glory City survive a beast tide with historically low casualties 75.
• Broadcast developments show him constructing defensive killing arrays, organizing beast-tide traps, and earning the major family heads’ recognition through his contributions 115 165 167.
• After his engagements, trains hundreds of Heavenly Marks Family juniors in the heavenly marks body, imposing harsh drills while exempting Nie Yu 176.
• The final victory leaves Glory City the Miniature Exquisite World’s most prosperous human city, with hundreds of millions of inhabitants and his family still living in the Heavenly Marks Family’s original territory 314.

Sacred Family Infiltration

• Obtains information about the Sacred Family’s main and collateral lines from Ye Shuo, then enters its territory in disguise 49.
• Recruits Shen Ning and Shen Xiao by exploiting their resentment over unequal resources. He gives them suitable techniques and pills, warns them against the family’s poisoned pills, and orders them to gain influence while gathering intelligence 50.
• The fourth broadcast confirms the Sacred Family’s connection to the Dark Guild through agents associated with its Star Picking Restaurant, prompting Ye Zong to intensify the search for evidence 58.
• In the present timeline, Shen Ning and Shen Xiao’s cooperation helps prevent the family’s complete destruction. They take charge of its surviving properties and businesses after its betrayal 77.
• Later viewing scenes confirm that the hostile Sacred Family and Dark Guild have already been defeated in the present timeline, preventing their planned hundred-million-beast tide from unfolding 164.

Heavenly Marks Family Return

• Reunites with Nie Ming and Xiao Yun and introduces Ye Ziyun and Xiao Ning’er to them 64.
• Discovers Nie Yu’s heavenly marks body and provides its complete thirteen-section cultivation art for the family’s use 64.
• Accepts Nie Hai’s appointment as Young Clan Leader and designated future Clan Leader after seeing his parents’ astonishment 64.
• Takes responsibility for paying for the auction purchases, reflecting his new role as the family’s principal source of support 64.

Demon Lord Attack

• After Nie Li reaches Gold One-Star, the Demon Lord targets him as a source of powerful cultivation arts, formulas, and previous-life experience 84 85.
• The Heavenfall Divine Thunder Sword protects Nie Li against soul refinement and searching, while the two remnant pages drain the attacker’s soul force 86.
• A remnant-page inscription empowers the sword at the cost of completely exhausting Nie Li’s Soul Sea. The sword continues defending him after he loses consciousness 86 87.
• The Demon Lord attempts to possess his apparently defenseless body, but the attack ultimately fails. Nie Li begins refining his soul force and examining his memories 87 89.
• Ye Ziyun and Xiao Ning’er recover the unconscious Nie Li and bring him back to Glory City 89.

Genius Tournament and Heavenly Illusion Sacred Realm Broadcast

• The fifth broadcast shows Nie Li shielding Xiao Ning’er from Shen Fei and accepting the prospect of fighting him in the Sacred Family’s Genius Martial Arts Tournament 78.
• The sixth broadcast shows him rapidly defeating Shen Fei, demanding a one-hundred-million wager for the match against Shen Ning, and using the Fangtooth Panda against Shen Xiao 98 99.
• After recovering from injuries, visits the Heavenly Illusion Sacred Realm to find Xiao Ning’er and refuses Ye Yan’s offer to become his disciple 103.
• Subdues the Heavenfall Divine Thunder Sword and subsequently helps establish the City Lord’s Mansion’s defensive arrays 105 115.
• Defeats Ye Han’s mutated Golden Armored Earth Dragon using the Fangtooth Panda and Knuckle Spikes 126.

Black Prison World Expansion

• Integrates his third demon spirit in the present timeline and demonstrates the Eight-Armed Demon Monster transformation 142.
• After the Silverwing Family suffers a devastating defeat, declares that his party represents Glory City and intends to develop the Black Prison World and bring its thirteen families into Glory City’s fold 143.
• The broadcasts show him gaining Duan Jian’s loyalty, awakening his Dragon Race bloodline, repairing ancient scrolls, and refining throwing knives 144 151.
• Recognizes a dangerously powerful mad old man as one of Emperor Kongming’s inheritors and resolves not to return to the Black Prison World before reaching Black Gold 151.
• Incoming families receive residences, supplies, education, pills, cultivation arts, and suitable demon spirits under Glory City’s settlement arrangements 149.

Law Power and Nether Realm Alliances

• The broadcasts show Nie Li informing the impoverished Heavenly Fortune Tribe about Glory City and giving it a route and introduction for resettlement 193.
• Trains under Yu Yan in the Black Spring, rapidly strengthens his body, and cultivates both light and darkness Law Power 200 202.
• Negotiates an inscription-work partnership with the Jade Seal Family in exchange for protection and intelligence on the Dark Guild 209.
• Returns toward Glory City after learning that Ye Han has joined the mobilizing Witch Ghost Family 209.
• Later broadcasts depict the demon-spirit-devouring array, his Black Gold advancement, and his engagement to Ye Ziyun 214 216.
• Leads his companions into the Nine-Layered Deathlands to search for Soul Essence Fruits and becomes separated from most of them by the Mist of Lost Tracks 223.
• Infiltrates the Tomb with Xiao Yu and later requests the Nether Realm Controller’s protection for Glory City before leaving for a higher world 232 248.

Engagements and Endless Desert Journey

• Becomes engaged to both Ye Ziyun and Xiao Ning’er in the present timeline, with Ye Mo overseeing the arrangements and Glory City celebrating 176.
• After the fourteenth Sky Screen ends, decides to seek the Book of Time and Space Spirit in the Endless Desert 250.
• Promises Ye Zong to protect Ye Ziyun and bring every traveling companion home within five years 250.
• Departs with Ye Ziyun, Xiao Ning’er, Xiao Yu, Duan Jian, Lu Piao, Xiao Xue, and Chen Linjian 250.
• Gambles that an unseen enforcer will intervene against Torch Dragon. After the enforcer kills him, retrieves his pale blue demon spirit 252.
• The next broadcast shows the Desert Divine Palace reduced to ruins and Nie Li collapsing after his remnant pages flare, puzzling the present-day Nie Li because he has not experienced the same collapse 252.

Draconic Ruins Realm and Sect Development

• Later broadcasts follow his training at the Heavenly Spirit Institute, including physical sparring under Venerable Chimu and repeated clashes with Long Yuyin 264 274.
• Establishes a lucrative Dragon Blood Demon Spirit trade through Gu Bei and other allies, using the Nightmare Demon Pot to produce rare high-growth spirits 278 280 281.
• Builds connections with Yan Yang and Mingyue Wushuang through Dao-intent calligraphy, intending to make them allies against the Sacred Emperor 286.
• In the present timeline, his generous distribution of Dragon Blood Demon Spirits and valuable calligraphy helps win over powerful families; a Heavenly Dao Realm enforcer also supports him 292.
• The broadcasts show Divine Pool raids with Li Xingyun, the Sacred Blood Winged Wyrm transformation, and Eastern Courtyard battles against Murong Yu and Guo Huai 295 300 303.
• Encounters limits to his equipment and cultivation when a peak Dragon Path opponent restrains his body and Soul Sea, and when Gu Heng’s forces wear down his sixth-rank armor barrier 305 309.

Final Sky Screen and Sacred Emperor’s Defeat

• Reaches the Thousand Illusions Soul-Confusing Array with his companions and Wuyazi. A masked man approaches, and the Sky Screen displays a blessing for the future Demon God before going dark permanently 314.
• Over the following year, expands the Demon League, becomes Feathered God Sect Master, strengthens the sect, and helps his allies rise within their respective sects 314.
• By age one hundred, completes the Heavenly Dao Divine Art, gathers seven demon spirits, masters the Heavenfall Divine Thunder Sword’s thirty-six forms, and recovers all four remnant pages 314.
• Defeats the Sacred Emperor while the Human Alliance Army fights below, retrieves the remaining pages, and restores the Book of Time and Space Spirit 314.
• Returns to Glory City with Ye Ziyun and Xiao Ning’er, raising their daughter and enjoying peaceful reunions with his parents, friends, Ye Zong, and Ye Mo 314.

Notable Quotes

“Sooner or later, I, Nie Li, will become the greatest Demon Spirit Master!” 3

“Yes, Ziyun doesn't have to die, Ning'er doesn't have to die, Du Ze doesn't have to die, Lu Piao doesn't have to die. None of them have to die. That's exactly why I came back.” 26

“Ancestor Ye Yan, if I say it, I can do it. Not just you and me, either. I'll bring everyone in Glory City to a realm beyond Legendary.” 107

“Rest assured, Father-in-Law. I'll absolutely protect Zi Yun. In five years, I'll bring everyone back, without a single person missing.” 250

“Sacred Emperor, die!” 314

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