Chapter Summaries

He Pingsheng obtained twenty-three rods of ten-thousand-year ice marrow in Water Dragon Ravine and refused to trade them, driving off cultivators who considered robbing him with the Heaven-Deficiency Divine Spear. The Thirteenth Prince’s report reached Elder Futu, who resolved to investigate He Pingsheng’s origins.

• He Pingsheng surfaced with Su Zhenzhen after collecting twenty-three rods of ten-thousand-year ice marrow, drawing attention from the other cultivators.
• He Pingsheng refused offers to trade, and when some cultivators threatened him, he revealed the Heaven-Deficiency Divine Spear and made them back down.
• Su Zhenzhen told He Pingsheng she would not trade with him yet, and he agreed to save her one rod for a trade after Earth Dragon Ravine.
• The Thirteenth Prince sent a servant to report He Pingsheng’s discoveries, previous kills, and suspected sacred artifact to Elder Futu.
• Elder Futu heard the report from the servant in Commandery Princess Weichuan’s presence and decided to investigate He Pingsheng’s origins.

He Pingsheng parted ways with Su Zhenzhen, changed his armor and appearance, then entered Fire Dragon Ravines in search of Phoenix Feathers and a possible Phoenix Egg. At the Fire Dragon, he watched the Thirteenth Prince and Ninth Prince enter its flames, where they vanished from sight and divine sense.

• He Pingsheng told Su Zhenzhen to leave him, and she kissed his cheek to memorize his aura before departing.
• He Pingsheng changed his Fire Essence Blood-Reflecting Armor for Seven-Buckle Sharp-Gold Armor and waited for Fire Dragon Ravines to open.
• He Pingsheng traveled through Fire Dragon Ravines and learned that its Fire Dragon sometimes cast out valuable Phoenix Feathers with its fiery tides.
• The Thirteenth Prince entered the Fire Dragon with two guards, and the Ninth Prince followed after him.
• He Pingsheng tested his divine sense but could neither see nor sense inside the Fire Dragon's domain.

He Pingsheng studied the fiery tide around the fire dragon and realized he needed to move faster to reach the Phoenix Feathers. After being blasted away, he activated a Meteor Talisman and prepared to try again.

• The fire dragon's surging tide blasted the Thirteenth Prince, the Ninth Prince, and other cultivators away as they struggled to understand its rhythm.
• The Ninth Prince praised He Pingsheng to the Thirteenth Prince, claiming they shared five-element spiritual roots and had planned to become sworn brothers.
• A golden feather appeared beyond the tide, and cultivators fought over it until True Person Mingyu of the Heavenly Delusion Immortal Sect claimed it.
• He Pingsheng entered during the tide's outward surge, reached five zhang from the fire dragon, and was thrown dozens of zhang away when the fire power erupted.
• He Pingsheng reasoned that he needed to advance farther before the tide reversed, activated a Meteor Talisman, and prepared to increase his speed.

He Pingsheng repeatedly tried to reach the fire dragon by using the sea of fire’s tide and his own speed, and he retrieved two Phoenix Feathers despite being thrown back. After True Person Mingyu publicly pressured him to reveal his method, He Pingsheng mocked Mingyu’s magic power, provoking a challenge.

• He Pingsheng used his talisman and shoes to rush into the sea of fire, reached within three zhang of the fire dragon, and was hurled out with a Phoenix Feather.
• He Pingsheng replenished his spiritual power and tried again, but the reversing tide threw him out after he retrieved another Phoenix Feather.
• True Person Mingyu asked He Pingsheng to explain how he had entered the ten-zhang range, deliberately making his question audible to the gathered cultivators.
• He Pingsheng said success depended on borrowing the tide’s force and having abundant magic power, then told Mingyu that his magic power was weak.
• True Person Mingyu summoned a crimson flying sword and challenged He Pingsheng to test whose fire-attribute magic power was stronger.

He Pingsheng defeated Mingyu in a contest of magical power, then returned to the sea of fire and came within roughly a zhang and a half of the Fire Dragon Pillar before the shifting tide threw him back. He gathered several Phoenix Feathers but remained unable to close the final distance, with only seven or eight days left before the ravines closed.

• He Pingsheng accepted Mingyu's challenge and used four of his twelve Fire Crow Technique crows to break Mingyu's thirty-zhang flying sword.
• Mingyu admitted defeat, while the Thirteenth Prince and Ninth Prince discussed He Pingsheng's formidable power.
• He Pingsheng reentered the sea of fire and used the tidal force to advance to about a zhang and a half from the Fire Dragon Pillar, but the tide hurled him away.
• After more than a dozen attempts, He Pingsheng pulled several Phoenix Feathers from the fire dragon's outer edges.
• He Pingsheng concluded that he could not finish refining the Poison-Repelling Five Elements Treasure Pearl in the time remaining and considered how to cross the final distance.

He Pingsheng used the Poison Thorn Ice Cone Technique and a piece of ten-thousand-year ice marrow to break through the fire dragon's defenses and enter it. The Royal Family ordered its people to surround the site and kill him when he emerged, hoping to keep the Phoenix Egg.

• Liang Zhiyan questioned He Pingsheng about how close he had reached the fire dragon, and He Pingsheng concealed his true intentions.
• He Pingsheng returned to the sea of fire and used the Poison Thorn Ice Cone Technique to get within one zhang of the fire dragon.
• After a first attempt failed, He Pingsheng replenished his water-attribute power with Golden Bee Sacred Nectar and tried again.
• He Pingsheng sacrificed his ten-thousand-year ice marrow to weaken the fire dragon's flames, then entered it.
• The crowd realized He Pingsheng had entered the fire dragon, and the Ninth Prince and Liang Zhiyan feared he would take the Phoenix Egg.
• Liang Zhiyan ordered the Royal Family to surround the area and kill He Pingsheng when he came out.

He Pingsheng took the Phoenix Egg and fire crystals from inside the fire dragon while more than a hundred Imperial Family disciples waited outside to kill him. The weakened flames drew thousands of cultivators into the Sea of Fire, allowing him to escape disguised as a woman while the Thirteenth Prince led his people inside.

• He Pingsheng saw the Phoenix Egg and fire crystals inside the fire dragon and realized the Thirteenth Prince had gathered over a hundred disciples outside to ambush him.
• He Pingsheng decided to use the Treasure-Gathering Basin to duplicate the Phoenix Egg, then stored the egg and fire crystals in his Storage Ring.
• The fire dragon weakened after He Pingsheng removed its contents, and cultivators rushed into the Sea of Fire to claim Phoenix Feathers and enter the dragon.
• He Pingsheng disguised himself as an ordinary female cultivator with the Jinlan Treasure Robe and escaped with the crowd carried out by the tides.
• The Thirteenth Prince ordered the Imperial Family disciples into the Golden Dragon to search for He Pingsheng and kill him.

He Pingsheng secretly placed a Phoenix Egg in the Treasure-Gathering Basin and discovered it could be enhanced into a True-Blood Phoenix Egg. Meanwhile, the Thirteenth Prince suspected Fellow Daoist Xu had taken the egg in disguise and warned Elder Futu to watch for him.

• He Pingsheng hid his Phoenix Egg in the Treasure-Gathering Basin while the Thirteenth Prince searched the fire dragon and found no one inside.
• The Thirteenth Prince deduced that Fellow Daoist Xu had disguised himself, taken the Phoenix Egg, and slipped out among the crowd, then sent a servant to warn Elder Futu.
• After night fell, He Pingsheng's Phoenix Egg duplicated in the Treasure-Gathering Basin, and he secretly moved one egg to another Storage Bag.
• He Pingsheng left one egg to keep enhancing, and by morning it had become a True-Blood Phoenix Egg that would hatch with peak twelfth-layer Golden Core Stage cultivation.
• He Pingsheng tested other treasures over the following days, but only the third-grade Ice-Origin Jiazi Dew successfully enhanced.

He Pingsheng put away the enhanced Icefield Divine Dew and raced into the Earth Dragon Ravine to reach the Black Mud Pool and claim the Black-and-White Lotus Root. After the Thirteenth Prince and Royal Family disciples delayed him, He Pingsheng replenished his dantian and overtook cultivators as he sped deeper into the ravine.

• He Pingsheng learned that the enhanced Icefield Divine Dew could extend any Golden Core cultivator at Wisdom Severance by a hundred years and put it away.
• He Pingsheng prepared to race for the Black-and-White Lotus Root when the final Earth Dragon Ravine opened.
• He Pingsheng surged toward the entrance, but the Thirteenth Prince attacked him and dozens of Royal Family disciples held him back.
• He Pingsheng broke free after half an incense stick and swallowed Golden Bee Sacred Nectar to replenish his dantian.
• He Pingsheng ran at four times his normal speed, overtaking cultivators as he headed toward the Black Mud Pool.

He Pingsheng caught up with the princes and joined forces with the Ninth Prince to get past the Thirteenth Prince's guards and reach the Black-and-White Lotus Root. As the Black Mud Pool came into view, the Ninth Prince and Thirteenth Prince both summoned mounts and raced ahead.

• The Thirteenth Prince ordered his followers not to attack He Pingsheng unless he overtook him.
• The Ninth Prince offered to share the Black-and-White Lotus Root with He Pingsheng in exchange for his help distracting the Thirteenth Prince's guards.
• He Pingsheng agreed, demanded to hold the lotus root until they left the Secret Realm, and then surged past the Thirteenth Prince.
• The Thirteenth Prince's servants attacked He Pingsheng, slowing him while the two princes raced toward the Black Mud Pool.
• The Ninth Prince mounted an Earth Dragon Ostrich, but the Thirteenth Prince summoned a White Tiger and overtook him.

He Pingsheng secured the Black-and-White Lotus Root after the Ninth Prince’s servants turned against him, then enhanced it in a secluded cave until it matured. He stored the root, which could refine ten batches of Dao-Restoring Pills, and began considering how to leave and claim his reward.

• The Ninth Prince used a Swift-Movement Talisman to overtake the Thirteenth Prince and retrieve the Black-and-White Lotus Root from the Black Mud Pool.
• The Thirteenth Prince’s servants disowned the Imperial Family and attacked the Ninth Prince to seize the root.
• The Ninth Prince threw the root to He Pingsheng, who grabbed it and escaped the pursuers.
• He Pingsheng hid in a mountain cave, set up second-grade formations, and placed the root in the Treasure-Gathering Basin to enhance it.
• The next morning, He Pingsheng took out the matured root, stored it, and considered how to leave and claim his reward.

He Pingsheng refined pills and the Poison-Repelling Five Elements Treasure Pearl in seclusion before Su Zhenzhen tracked him down to trade for ten-thousand-year ice marrow. He gave her the ice marrow in exchange for her movement divine ability and sent her away after refusing her offer of intimacy.

• He Pingsheng enhanced five high-grade Dual Spirit Pills into supreme-grade pills while continuing to refine the final restriction on his treasure pearl.
• Su Zhenzhen found He Pingsheng in the Mountain Cave and asked to exchange for ten-thousand-year ice marrow.
• Su Zhenzhen offered a high-grade Earth Tier movement divine ability, but He Pingsheng initially rejected it as unsuitable.
• Su Zhenzhen undressed and offered him a night of pleasure along with the divine ability.
• He Pingsheng gave Su Zhenzhen the ice marrow for the divine ability, refused her advances, and told her to leave.

He Pingsheng enhanced a movement technique into two Heaven Tier techniques while the Imperial Family discussed the Black-and-White Lotus Root, the Phoenix Egg, and his suspected fortune. After He Pingsheng emerged and handed the lotus root to the Ninth Prince, Elder Futu summoned him to meet the Forefather, and He Pingsheng followed prepared to escape.

• He Pingsheng examined the Three Thousand Thunderbolt Technique, which gave him a burst of fivefold speed, and the Shrinking Earth Technique, which increased his speed threefold.
• The Ninth Prince claimed he had obtained the Black-and-White Lotus Root and offered to submit to a soul search, but the Thirteenth Prince stopped arguing over it.
• The Forefather ordered Elder Futu to bring Xu Kunlun to him so he could test whether Xu Kunlun, whom he suspected was He Pingsheng, possessed tremendous fortune.
• He Pingsheng emerged from the Secret Realm and gave the Ninth Prince the mystic yellow-and-black-and-white lotus root in exchange for the Blood-Jade Purple-Skinned Jujube.
• Elder Futu summoned He Pingsheng, who swallowed a Dual Spirit Pill and prepared a Teleportation Talisman as he followed him.

He Pingsheng met the Great Liang Imperial Family’s Spirit Transformation Patriarch, who reclaimed the Variant-Blood Phoenix’s egg and rewarded him with a rare jujube. The Patriarch then insisted that He Pingsheng undergo a tribulation so he could determine whether He was a Great Fortune Bearer, and He began seclusion aboard the ship.

• The Imperial Family’s Patriarch recognized He Pingsheng as Xu Kunlun and questioned him about the Black-and-White Lotus Root and his other gains from the Secret Realm.
• He Pingsheng returned the Variant-Blood Phoenix’s egg to the Patriarch, who promised him a favor and gave him a Blood-Jade Purple-Skinned Jujube to help him break through his bottleneck.
• The Patriarch rewarded the Ninth Prince with a jujube and offered to betroth Princess Qinghe to He Pingsheng if He proved to be a Great Fortune Bearer.
• The Patriarch refused He Pingsheng’s request to decline the tribulation test and sent him, the Ninth Prince, and the Thirteenth Prince from the hall to prepare for their tribulations.
• The Thirteenth Prince apologized to He Pingsheng, and He entered seclusion aboard the ship to consume the jujube.

After reaching the twelfth layer of Foundation Establishment, He Pingsheng prepared for his tribulation and secured two fourth-grade defensive talismans through a deal with Commandery Princess Weichuan. The Ninth Prince said He Pingsheng would face his tribulation third, after the princes.

• He Pingsheng ate a Blood-Jade Purple-Skinned Jujube and broke through to the twelfth layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
• He Pingsheng assessed his defensive treasures and spells, realized he lacked defensive talismans, and worried about surviving his coming tribulation.
• The Ninth Prince and Commandery Princess Weichuan told He Pingsheng that the Forefather had destroyed the promised Black-and-White Lotus Root, and the Ninth Prince offered collateral and fief revenue as compensation.
• He Pingsheng asked Commandery Princess Weichuan to borrow a fourth-grade defensive talisman in exchange for lending her the Soul-Nurturing Banner.
• Commandery Princess Weichuan returned with two middle-grade fourth-grade talismans, and He Pingsheng lent her the banner while assuring them he could activate the talismans.
• The Ninth Prince told He Pingsheng that he would face his tribulation third, after the Ninth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince.

He Pingsheng and several princes prepared to undergo their tribulations before a crowd of spectators. After He Pingsheng helped the Ninth Prince break through with a supreme-grade Origin-Reaching Pill, the Ninth Prince began his tribulation and drew four-nine lightning, exceeding expectations.

• He Pingsheng, the Ninth Prince, and Commandery Princess Weichuan met the Royal Family Ancestor as spectators gathered to watch their tribulations.
• The Ninth Prince took two high-grade Origin-Reaching Pills but failed to break through, prompting the Thirteenth Prince to mock him.
• He Pingsheng gave the Ninth Prince a supreme-grade Origin-Reaching Pill, and the Ninth Prince swallowed it and drew dark clouds.
• The Ninth Prince endured the first three waves of tribulation lightning with ease.
• The Ninth Prince drew four-nine tribulation lightning, delighting Elder Futu and angering the Thirteenth Prince.

The Ninth Prince endured a six-nine heavenly tribulation, prompting the imperial patriarch to take him under his personal protection, while the Thirteenth Prince received only a three-nine tribulation. He Pingsheng then began his own tribulation, and the enormous storm clouds left Jingxin fearing that he might face a nine-nine heavenly tribulation.

• The Ninth Prince survived six waves of tribulation lightning, and the imperial patriarch declared that he would personally protect his path.
• The Thirteenth Prince underwent a three-nine tribulation and was led off the platform by Elder Futu, dejected.
• He Pingsheng stepped onto the platform as onlookers recalled his remarkable fortune and his wife's eight-nine tribulation.
• He Pingsheng swallowed a supreme-grade Origin-Reaching Pill, summoning dark clouds larger than those of the princes.
• Jingxin recognized that He Pingsheng's storm clouds already exceeded the size of Qiao Huizhu's and wondered if he would face a nine-nine tribulation.

He Pingsheng endured three unusually powerful waves of tribulation lightning and survived using layered defenses, armor, and a fourth-grade talisman. The Royal Family Ancestor accepted the event as a three-nine heavenly tribulation, abandoned plans concerning Princess Qinghe, and left with the Ninth Prince after striking a white-haired man who fled.

• He Pingsheng activated three defenses, but the first wave of lightning shattered them and severely wounded him.
• He Pingsheng changed into the Seven-Buckle Sharp-Gold Armor, swallowed Golden Bee Sacred Nectar, and blocked the second wave without further injury.
• He Pingsheng activated a fourth-grade Innate Water Shield talisman, which blocked the third wave as the tribulation clouds disappeared.
• The Royal Family Ancestor called the tribulation a three-nine heavenly tribulation, told the Ninth Prince to maintain good relations with He Pingsheng, and ruled out risking Princess Qinghe.
• The Royal Family Ancestor flew away with the Ninth Prince after striking a white-haired man with a golden beam, and the wounded man fled.

After surviving a hidden nine-nine heavenly tribulation, He Pingsheng received the Great Void Grand Mystic Scripture and learned the truth about his master’s legacy. He suspected the Heavenly Dao had concealed his tribulation to protect him, then left for Southern Heaven City rather than travel with Jingxin.

• He Pingsheng realized the Heavenly Dao had shifted the first six waves of his nine-nine tribulation onto the Ninth Prince, then used a Golden Bone Pill to heal his body while his golden core remained cracked.
• The Grand Ancestor of the Great Void’s recorded message revealed that he had left the Great Void Grand Mystic Scripture in He Pingsheng’s sea of consciousness, not tried to seize his body.
• He Pingsheng learned that the scripture could grant golden core Dao access and that Wuwei had wanted it to reopen his path toward the Nascent Soul Realm, but would have needed to kill someone with a five-element spiritual root.
• The Grand Ancestor’s message faded, and the legacy appeared as a white orb of information in He Pingsheng’s sea of consciousness.
• He Pingsheng reasoned that the Heavenly Dao had hidden his tribulation and withheld creation golden light and golden core Dao access to protect him, then ignored the square’s mockery.
• Jingxin invited He Pingsheng to return to Redstone Commandery with him, but He Pingsheng refused and boarded a ship bound for Southern Heaven City.

He Pingsheng enhanced his master’s inheritance into the Five Elements Unity Heaven Scripture and improved several talismans and other items aboard the Immortal Ship. After the ship reached Southern Heaven City, he saw Su Zhenzhen hurry off to save her Dao companion and entered the city in disguise.

• He Pingsheng examined his cracked golden core and began cultivating his divine sense while enhancing the Grand Ancestor of the Great Void’s inheritance.
• He Pingsheng learned the Five Elements Unity Heaven Scripture, which let him cultivate all five elements together and included the Five Elements Unity Force divine ability.
• He Pingsheng enhanced a Heavenly Fire Condensed Armor talisman to withstand a peak Nascent Soul Realm cultivator’s full-powered strike, then improved a Teleportation Talisman into an Instantaneous Teleportation Talisman.
• He Pingsheng found that the Heaven-Deficiency Divine Spear, Jinlan Treasure Robe, and Broken Formation Plate could not be enhanced, but turned the Essence-Splitting Lightning Fruit into four fruits.
• The Immortal Ship landed in Southern Heaven City, where He Pingsheng saw Su Zhenzhen hurry away to save her Dao companion before entering the city in disguise.