Chapter Summaries

He Pingsheng arrived at the contest between He Tianya and the Thirteenth Prince, Liang Zhiyan, and revealed a history that terrified the prince. Liang Zhiyan killed himself to spare his family, while He Pingsheng offered the assembled crowd the same chance.

• Liang Zhiyan and City Lord Pu discussed the contest and Su Zhenzhen, while Liang Zhiyan planned to use He Tianya to control her.
• City Lord Pu revealed that Su Zhenzhen’s former Dao Companion had died, and those gathered mocked her before she arrived with He Tianya.
• He Pingsheng stepped down from the carriage, and Liang Zhiyan recognized him and fell to his knees in terror.
• He Tianya asked He Pingsheng for guidance after the contest, while He Pingsheng took a seat beside Su Zhenzhen.
• He Pingsheng confirmed that Liang Zhiyan could save his family by taking his own life, and Liang Zhiyan stabbed himself through the throat.
• He Pingsheng told the frightened crowd that anyone else who wished to take their own life still had a chance.

He Pingsheng left the Great Void Sect to repair the formation that would reopen ascension, entrusting his family and sect to others. After activating the formation, he triggered the forced ascension of more than a hundred Spirit Transformation cultivators across the Nine Kingdoms.

• He Pingsheng revealed himself as the new Sacred Lord, and the Heavenly South Trading Company elder and City Lord Pu killed themselves before he left the arena with Su Zhenzhen and He Tianya.
• He Tianya joined the Great Void Sect and became heir to Dingxiang Commandery, while Su Zhenzhen and Cheng Daocai advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Wang Dun gave He Pingsheng two Yin-Yang Teleportation Talismans, and He Pingsheng entrusted talismans and other belongings to Yu Ning, Su Zhenzhen, and He Tianya before setting off.
• Qiao Xiaoqiao and Liang Huaqiu caught up with He Pingsheng; Qiao Xiaoqiao promised to find him and her sister in the Spirit Realm, and Liang Huaqiu said she would ascend to join him.
• He Pingsheng told Old Tree that he had killed He Asks and He Thinks, then placed the space origin and time origin into the formation and swapped their positions until it began to rumble.
• The formation restored the possibility of ascension, and more than a hundred Spirit Transformation cultivators across the Nine Kingdoms were forcibly pulled into the void.

Li Yunyun, a herb gatherer from Rouge Mountain, risked descending a cliff to collect century-old purple ginseng and discovered the badly injured He Pingsheng nearby. After initially refusing to help him, she returned and agreed to rescue him once he swore never to harm her and promised to repay her kindness.

• Li Yunyun descended a sheer cliff while her younger brother Xiao Mo watched the rope from above.
• Li Yunyun gathered century-old purple ginseng from a ledge and discovered He Pingsheng lying injured in a nearby crevice.
• He Pingsheng explained that he had fallen after being swept into the Spirit Realm, leaving him unable to move and without his cultivation.
• Li Yunyun refused He Pingsheng's plea for help and started to leave, but her conscience brought her back.
• He Pingsheng swore not to harm Li Yunyun and promised to reward her, so she agreed to save him.

He Pingsheng persuaded Li Yunyun to take him home after she hauled him up the cliff, and warned her that her century-old purple ginseng could attract dangerous cultivators. Li Yunyun distrusted him and walked away with Li Mo, but two sword-flying cultivators soon blocked their path.

• He Pingsheng convinced Li Yunyun to pull him up the cliff with a vine and rope instead of throwing him down.
• He Pingsheng asked Li Yunyun to take him home and find a physician, promising to reward her and her brother.
• He Pingsheng warned Li Yunyun that her picked purple ginseng could draw hostile cultivators and urged her to hide it in his Storage Bag.
• Li Yunyun accused He Pingsheng of coveting her treasure and left with Li Mo.
• Two cultivators arrived on flying swords and blocked Li Yunyun and Li Mo before they could reach He Pingsheng.

He Pingsheng killed two Cultivator Li Family disciples who threatened Li Yunyun and her younger brother, then had Li Yunyun gather their belongings and give him a healing pill. He ordered her to carry him home, leaving the two corpses behind.

• Li Yunyun handed her century-old purple ginseng to the Cultivator Li Family disciples, who threatened to kill her and her younger brother.
• He Pingsheng confronted the two Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators and survived the female disciple's sword strikes.
• He Pingsheng killed both cultivators with his Formless Big Dipper Nails and called Li Yunyun over.
• He Pingsheng had Li Yunyun empty the male cultivator's Storage Bag, then took a middle-grade Golden Bone Pill to heal his injuries.
• He Pingsheng told Li Yunyun to put the belongings and purple ginseng back in the Storage Bag, leave the corpses, and carry him home.

He Pingsheng recovered from his severe injuries in Li Yunyun’s home and began rebuilding his cultivation after discovering that all five of his nascent souls had vanished. He quickly advanced to the fifth layer of Qi Refining, and Li Yunyun called from outside to ask whether he was still alive.

• Li Yunyun carried He Pingsheng down Rouge Mountain and brought him to her home in a small village.
• Li Yunyun summoned Physician Grandpa Liu, who found He Pingsheng’s injuries beyond treatment and advised preparing for his funeral.
• After about ten days, He Pingsheng recovered enough to sit up, found a supreme-grade Great Return Pill among his treasures, and healed his injuries completely.
• He Pingsheng discovered that his five nascent souls had vanished, repaired his dantian with a Spirit-Expanding Pill, and began cultivating again.
• He Pingsheng used pills and the Treasure-Gathering Basin to reach the fifth layer of Qi Refining within a few days.
• Li Yunyun called from outside He Pingsheng’s room and asked whether he was still alive.

After recovering, He Pingsheng tested Li Yunyun and Xiao Mo for spirit roots, gave them valuable supplies in repayment for saving him, and continued cultivating. Before he could reach Foundation Establishment, two Cultivation Li Family cultivators arrived to question the siblings about what happened on Rouge Mountain.

• He Pingsheng recovered, checked Li Yunyun and Xiao Mo for spirit roots, and gave them a cultivation manual when he suspected they might have void spirit roots.
• After the siblings failed to cultivate, He Pingsheng offered to repay them, and Li Yunyun chose to remain in her hometown.
• He Pingsheng gave Li Yunyun Golden Bone Pills, a Spirit-Gathering Pill, a sword with nine powerful strikes, and a chest of gold and silver.
• He Pingsheng resumed secluded cultivation and advanced from the fifth to the tenth layer of Qi Refining.
• Two Qi Refining Stage cultivators from the Cultivation Li Family questioned Li Yunyun and Xiao Mo about their visit to Rouge Mountain.

Li Tong and Li Ning questioned Li Yunyun and Xiao Mo about the deaths of two Li family cultivators until He Pingsheng revealed that he had killed them. He challenged Li Tong to a duel and defeated him with a single punch, leaving Li Tong badly injured.

• Li Tong threatened Li Yunyun and Xiao Mo while investigating the deaths of two Li family cultivators, but Xiao Mo blurted out that they had not killed the Immortals.
• He Pingsheng entered the courtyard and confessed to killing the two cultivators, explaining that they had tried to steal his century-old purple ginseng.
• Li Tong dismissed He Pingsheng's claim because he was only at the tenth layer of Qi Refining, then agreed to fight him outside.
• Li Ning urged the two cultivators to move the fight away from Li Yunyun's home, and He Pingsheng and Li Tong went to a nearby mountain.
• He Pingsheng struck Li Tong with a fist phantom that shattered his sword attack and sent him flying hundreds of feet.
• Li Tong coughed up blood and urged Li Ning to flee.

After learning that the Li Family’s strongest patriarch was a Nascent Soul cultivator, He Pingsheng stayed with Li Yunyun, confident the family could not kill him. The Li Family sent its foremost Qi Refining disciple, Mu Ruolin, to capture him and bring him back.

• He Pingsheng asked Li Yunyun about the Li Family and learned that its strongest patriarch, Dao Yuan Patriarch, had a great Nascent Soul cultivation base.
• Li Yunyun urged He Pingsheng to leave, but he stayed because he believed the Li Family would return and might harm her family if he fled.
• Li Tong told West Lake Patriarch that He Pingsheng had admitted killing two Li Family disciples, while Mu Ruolin argued that the dead disciples had been greedy and He Pingsheng had spared Li Tong and Li Ning.
• West Lake Patriarch ordered Mu Ruolin to capture He Pingsheng and gave her a talisman capable of blocking a Golden Core cultivator’s full-powered strike.
• On the Flying Boat, Li Tong minimized the strength of He Pingsheng’s punch, and Mu Ruolin concluded that she could capture him if she acted carefully.

He Pingsheng faced Mu Ruolin and the Li lineage’s party over the deaths of two of their disciples. He agreed to duel Mu Ruolin and demanded that the Li lineage leave Li Yunyun and her brother alone, then went with the group to fight at Rouge Mountain.

• Dong Bie caught up with Mu Ruolin’s flying boat and joined her party, promising not to act without permission.
• He Pingsheng greeted Mu Ruolin and explained that the two Li lineage cultivators had tried to seize century-old purple ginseng and kill people.
• Mu Ruolin asked He Pingsheng to return with her for questioning, but he refused and challenged her to settle the matter through a duel.
• He Pingsheng made the Li lineage’s protection of Li Yunyun and her brother his condition if he won, and Mu Ruolin agreed.
• Dong Bie warned He Pingsheng against using tricks, and the group headed to the foot of Rouge Mountain for the duel.

He Pingsheng defeated Mu Ruolin in a direct contest of strength and secured her promise to protect Li Yunyun and Xiao Mo. Dong Bie then refused to honor the wager’s spirit and challenged He Pingsheng, who opened with an expanding fist.

• He Pingsheng challenged Mu Ruolin to block one punch, and she unleashed her strongest sword attack against him.
• He Pingsheng’s punch shattered Mu Ruolin’s sword phantom and broke through her shield before he halted it; Mu Ruolin admitted defeat.
• Mu Ruolin promised to bring Li Yunyun and Xiao Mo to the Li household as attendants and find them a good place to live.
• Dong Bie demanded that He Pingsheng return to the Li household for questioning, claiming Mu Ruolin’s wager did not bind him.
• He Pingsheng punched toward Dong Bie, and the fist rapidly expanded from ten feet to a hundred feet as Dong Bie panicked.

He Pingsheng defeated Dong Bie with a single blow, then began preparing to cultivate and gather ingredients for a pill to restore Sister Qiao’s soul and body. His plans were interrupted when True Person West Lake arrived and invited him to join the Li Household and compete in the Seven-Household Grand Competition.

• He Pingsheng shattered Dong Bie’s three defenses and defeated him, prompting Mu Ruolin to concede and remind him of her promise.
• He Pingsheng returned to Li Yunyun’s home, set cultivation goals, and studied the ingredients needed to make the Tenfold Fusion Pill for Sister Qiao.
• True Person West Lake arrived with Mu Ruolin and told He Pingsheng she would no longer pursue his killing of two Li Household disciples.
• True Person West Lake invited He Pingsheng to become her disciple, represent the Li Household at the Seven-Household Grand Competition, and receive rewards including Foundation Establishment Pills.

He Pingsheng learned that the Bushel Mountain Seven-Lineage Tournament determined each lineage’s places in the Heavenly Fire Ruins, then agreed to represent the Li Lineage. He left with promises to protect Li Yunyun and Xiao Mo and to grant him a ruins place if he won first place, confident he could reach the required cultivation.

• True Person West Lake explained that the seven lineages competed every hundred years for rankings and entry places in the Heavenly Fire Ruins, a former cultivation site of the nine-heavens mystic fire.
• He Pingsheng learned that the Heavenly Fire Ruins held fire-origin remnants, Daoist laws, and the mystic fire’s aura, but only Foundation Establishment cultivators or higher could enter.
• True Person West Lake asked He Pingsheng to compete for the Li Lineage, and he agreed on the condition that the lineage care for Li Yunyun and Xiao Mo for life.
• Mu Ruolin swore to protect the siblings, and True Person West Lake accepted He Pingsheng’s condition that he receive a ruins place if he secured first place.
• He Pingsheng said he could rise from the tenth to the twelfth Qi Refining layer with his treasures and reach Foundation Establishment after the tournament, which was just over a month away.

He Pingsheng settled at the Li Household and used its knowledge of the Spirit Realm to learn about the Heavenly Fire Continent and the distant Yellow Springs. He realized he would need Void Refinement Realm strength to reach the Thunderwaste Continent, then turned to check on Sister Qiao’s soul.

• True Person West Lake assigned He Pingsheng a palace for cultivation and put Li Yunyun and her brother in charge of tending her spiritual herb garden.
• He Pingsheng asked Mu Ruolin for a text on basic Spirit Realm knowledge, and she brought him a jade slip from the Li Household’s Scripture Repository Hall.
• He Pingsheng used the Treasure-Gathering Basin to enhance the jade slip into two copies of A Thousand Customs of the Spirit Realm and studied one for several days.
• He Pingsheng learned that the Yellow Springs were on the Thunderwaste Continent and that crossing between continents required at least Void Refinement Realm strength.
• He Pingsheng took out the Soul-Nurturing Banner to check how Sister Qiao’s soul was recovering.

He Pingsheng witnessed Qiao Huizhu awaken inside the Soul-Nurturing Banner and explained how he had rescued her and reached the Spirit Realm. After she returned to the banner to conserve her Soul Power, he advanced to the peak of the twelfth Qi Refining layer while preparing for the Seven-Household Grand Competition, and Mu Ruolin arrived to summon him.

• Qiao Huizhu awoke in the Soul-Nurturing Banner, briefly failed to recognize He Pingsheng, then recovered her memories of being deceived by He Asks at Tawenian Mountain.
• He Pingsheng told Qiao Huizhu how he had saved her, killed He Asks and He Thinks, and ascended to the Spirit Realm, and promised to seek a way to restore her body.
• Qiao Huizhu asked after her younger sister, then returned to the Soul-Nurturing Banner so she would not exhaust her Soul Power.
• He Pingsheng used a supreme-grade Qi-Gathering Pill to reach the eleventh Qi Refining layer and then the peak of the twelfth, stopping short of Foundation Establishment for the Seven-Household Grand Competition.
• He Pingsheng refined Essence-Gathering Pills and studied the Supreme Clarity Golden Liquid Scripture until Mu Ruolin came to tell him it was time to set out.

He Pingsheng arrived with True Person West Lake and Mu Ruolin at the Kong Household for the Seven-Household Grand Competition. The Zhu Household challenged the Li Household, and He Pingsheng faced Zhu Dong in the opening match.

• True Person West Lake showed off her Three-Colored Peacock and again urged He Pingsheng to become her disciple.
• Mu Ruolin explained that the Li Household had won the recent competitions and that she could not defeat Zhu Dong.
• He Pingsheng and his companions arrived at the Kong Household, where the seven households gathered for the round-robin competition.
• The Kong Household's elder reviewed the competition rules and invited the households to choose their opponents.
• Zhu Ci announced that the Zhu Household would challenge the Li Household, naming Zhu Dong to fight He Pingsheng.
• Zhu Dong and He Pingsheng entered the valley arena for the first match.

He Pingsheng defeated Zhu Dong with a barrage of punches in the competition, frustrating the Zhu Household’s bid for first place. Zhu Ci secretly attacked He Pingsheng’s Sea of Consciousness, but the attack failed, and He Pingsheng decided to wait until the competition ended before retaliating.

• He Pingsheng shattered Zhu Dong’s Tenfold Vermilion Divine Armor with one punch and beat back his Fire Phoenix attack with another.
• He Pingsheng’s repeated punches overwhelmed Zhu Dong, who surrendered before the fifth punch landed.
• The Kong Household Great Golden Core cultivator declared He Pingsheng the winner, and True Person West Lake praised his chances in the remaining matches.
• Zhu Ci told Zhu Dong not to lose any of his next five matches and secretly struck at He Pingsheng’s Sea of Consciousness with Divine Sense.
• He Pingsheng remained unharmed, recognized Zhu Ci’s attack, and chose to settle the score after the competition to avoid risking the Li Household’s eligibility.

He Pingsheng led the Li Household to first place in the contest, then advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm so he could enter the Heavenly Fire Ruins. After arriving at the ruins, the group passed through the formation and saw the vast, fire-filled space and the sinkhole below.

• He Pingsheng defeated the other households’ fighters with single punches, and the Li Household took first place while the Zhu Household came second.
• He Pingsheng entered seclusion and reached the first layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm in two days.
• The Li Household gathered its seven entrants, including He Pingsheng, and the Dao Yuan Patriarch explained why the household included lower-ranking cultivators.
• The lineages traveled by ship to the Heavenly Fire Ruins, where Nascent Soul cultivators entered first to suppress the fire-attribute laws.
• He Pingsheng followed the Li Household cultivators through the formation and saw the ruins’ fiery expanse and deep sinkhole.

He Pingsheng descended into the Heavenly Fire Ruins with the other cultivators and confronted Zhu Ci, who admitted attacking him during the competition and demanded his divine-sense-defense treasure. He Pingsheng immobilized Zhu Ci with a spatial seal and killed him with Divine Sense Nails, then claimed his saber and rings.

• True Person West Lake led the cultivators into the Heavenly Fire Ruins, where they descended cautiously through the fiery sinkhole.
• Golden Core Stage cultivators and then Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators stopped to cultivate along the walls as the fire aura grew stronger.
• Zhu Ci accused He Pingsheng of possessing a treasure that defended against divine sense attacks and admitted he had attacked him during the competition.
• After Zhu Dong stopped to cultivate, Zhu Ci threatened He Pingsheng and demanded that he hand over the treasure or be killed.
• Zhu Ci attacked with his blood-red saber, but He Pingsheng immobilized him and revealed his divine sense could take form.
• He Pingsheng struck Zhu Ci's Sea of Consciousness with two Divine Sense Nails, killing him, and took his saber and rings.

He Pingsheng searched the Heavenly Fire Ruins for the aura of the Nine-Heavens Mystic Fire, disguising himself as Zhu Ci to descend deeper. He rescued True Person West Lake from fire poison, then continued downward while she headed back up.

• He Pingsheng found no trace of the Nine-Heavens Mystic Fire's aura after spending days cultivating, so he decided to descend farther.
• He Pingsheng used the Jinlan Treasure Robe to disguise himself as Zhu Ci and kicked a Golden Core cultivator out of his way.
• He Pingsheng encountered True Person West Lake and restored his own appearance because she had a grudge against Zhu Ci.
• True Person West Lake explained that fire poison had overwhelmed her, and He Pingsheng cooled her with ten-thousand-year ice marrow and Icefield Divine Dew.
• He Pingsheng asked True Person West Lake not to reveal that he could descend so deep, then continued downward as she returned up the sinkhole.