Chapter Summaries

He Pingsheng returned to Small Town to reunite with Yuqing and Kong Jiaojiao before the dream collapsed. Days later, Crown Prince Empty Void revealed his awakening and demanded the stone, holding Yuqing hostage alongside Buddha Venerable Bright Moon and Feng Wanxi.

• He Pingsheng fled Lanruo Temple after the black dog attacked Feng Wanxi, then ordered the dog to get him home within ten days.
• After sixteen days, He Pingsheng arrived home and promised Yuqing he would never leave again.
• The Great Order Wisdom King pulled He Pingsheng into the west wing, where he met their baby and she told him that Kong Jiaojiao had missed him.
• Several days later, Crown Prince Empty Void revealed he had awakened and demanded the stone, threatening Yuqing while Buddha Venerable Bright Moon, Feng Wanxi, and the Phoenix Race prodigies stood with him.
• Kong Jiaojiao demanded that they release Yuqing, but Crown Prince Empty Void insisted that He Pingsheng hand over the stone.

He Pingsheng traded the special stone to Feng Wanxi to save Yuqing, despite Ming Yue urging him to abandon the child as an illusion. His choice drew mortal world power, and Ming Yue recognized that he had successfully entered worldly life before the group left the Small Town.

• Crown Prince Empty Void revealed that the Hollow Beast had awakened while eavesdropping and had tackled Feng Wanxi to pass her a message.
• He Pingsheng offered Feng Wanxi the special stone in exchange for Yuqing, and she released the child after catching it.
• Ming Yue urged He Pingsheng to let Yuqing die, but He Pingsheng accused him of trying to damage his Dao heart and declared that his daughter mattered in dreams as well as reality.
• Strands of mortal world power gathered around He Pingsheng, and Ming Yue congratulated him on entering worldly life before leaving with Feng Wanxi, the Hollow Beast, and the others.
• Kong Jiaojiao asked whether He Pingsheng regretted trading the stone, and he said he would regret not saving Yuqing, even though only four days remained together.

The prodigies emerged from Three Dreams of the Mortal World, where He Pingsheng regretted losing the daughter he had known in the dream. Demon Emperor Vajra ended the trial early and announced the Dream-Entering Stone and Mortal World Power scores, leaving He Pingsheng in first place for Mortal World Power.

• The dream realms collapsed, and the prodigies returned to Dreamweaving Square.
• A Phoenix Race woman attacked Wang Dun over his actions in the dream, but he repelled her; Demon Emperor Vajra forbade retaliation for events that had happened in a dream.
• Wang Dun protested that the Dream-Entering Stone belonged to He Pingsheng, but Demon Emperor Vajra awarded Feng Wanxi one hundred points for possessing it.
• The Buddha Emperor measured the prodigies' Mortal World Power and awarded He Pingsheng first place with one hundred points, followed by Zhu Xuanlun, Bai Zhiting, and Wang Dun.

The assessment results showed He Pingsheng in first place for Mortal World Power, while Feng Wanxi ranked twenty-seventh despite leading the overall scores. The Great Order Wisdom King broke through her cultivation bottleneck and walked away with He Pingsheng, leaving him pondering what eternal life was for.

• The Buddhist Emperor announced the rankings, placing He Pingsheng first and Feng Wanxi twenty-seventh in Mortal World Power, with no Phoenix Race member in the top ten.
• Nan Qiqi congratulated He Pingsheng and told him the Vermilion Bird Emperor Domain had gained a strong score from the trial.
• The Great Order Wisdom King released powerful auras and Daoist Law as she broke through her bottleneck, drawing congratulations from the returning Great Emperors.
• The Great Order Wisdom King called He Pingsheng back, asked him to help her stand, and revealed that her childhood name was Kong Jiaojiao.
• As they walked together, the Great Order Wisdom King asked what immortals cultivated for, and He Pingsheng eventually wondered what eternal life was for.

After the first trial, He Pingsheng prepared with the Vermilion Bird Emperor Domain prodigies for the Hundred Years of Dao Comprehension, whose rules rewarded Dao-law vortices and divine-ability insights. When the trial began beneath the Stone Terrace Heavenly Ladder, Yuan Wuyou, son of Demon Emperor Vajra, approached He Pingsheng.

• The Great Order Wisdom King teased He Pingsheng, offered him refuge in Great Order Emperor City after the gathering, and left through a spatial passage to stabilize her cultivation.
• He Pingsheng returned to his Daoist Grounds with Zhou Qingmei and prepared for the next trial.
• Nan Qiqi told the Vermilion Bird Emperor Domain prodigies that He Pingsheng ranked second individually and their team ranked second, then explained how Dao-law vortexes and divine-ability insights earned points.
• Several days later, He Pingsheng joined the prodigies beneath the Stone Terrace Heavenly Ladder to begin comprehending the qi of Heaven Gang.
• Yuan Wuyou introduced himself to He Pingsheng while Demon Emperor Vajra watched nearby with a friendly expression.

He Pingsheng met Yuan Wuyou and Zhu Xuanlun at the Heavenly Gang Emperor Domain, where they discussed the Heavenly Ladder and the Three Dreams of the Mortal World. The chapter left He Pingsheng without a Wallbreaker, while Zhu Xuanlun expected his father to fill that role.

• Yuan Wuyou praised He Pingsheng and invited him to comprehend the Dao together.
• Yuan Wuyou introduced Zhu Xuanlun, who asked He Pingsheng about giving up the stone in the Three Dreams of the Mortal World to save a daughter.
• Zhu Xuanlun praised He Pingsheng for saying that someone who abandoned children in a dream would do so in reality.
• Yuan Wuyou explained that the Heavenly Ladder reached beyond even a million zhang and that cultivators could climb it up to the Mahayana Emperor Realm.
• Yuan Wuyou asked whether He Pingsheng and Zhu Xuanlun had found Wallbreakers; Zhu Xuanlun said his father would be his, while He Pingsheng had not found one.

He Pingsheng settled near the Stone Terrace Heavenly Ladder as the prodigies began a hundred years of Dao comprehension under the astral winds. Zhu Zhengyan pressured his son Zhu Xuanlun to rank among the top five, insisting that only results mattered.

• He Pingsheng considered asking Senior Brother Wang to borrow a Mahayana Emperor Realm cultivator from the Soaring Serpent Clan if he could not find a trusted wall-breaker.
• Nan Qiqi sat beside Wang Dun, and Bai Yuyu told He Pingsheng that she had become Wang Dun's noble consort in the dream of Three Dreams of the Mortal World.
• Yuan Wuyou and Zhu Xuanlun sat on either side of He Pingsheng before astral winds knocked nearly a third of the prodigies down.
• Two Mahayana Emperor Realm Demon Emperors blocked the astral winds, and a Great Emperor announced that the prodigies would have a hundred years to comprehend Daoist laws.
• Zhu Zhengyan scolded Zhu Xuanlun and threatened him with three hundred lashes of the Soul-Scourging Whip if he finished outside the top five.

The prodigies began comprehending the Heavenly Gang Laws, and Yuan Wuyou and Zhu Xuanlun formed enormous Daoist Law Vortices. Wang Dun silenced Zhu Zhengyan’s scolding, and the chapter left the Demon Emperors stunned as Wang Dun and He Pingsheng each produced a three-hundred-zhang vortex.

• The Phoenix Race’s prodigies entered sudden enlightenment first, while He Pingsheng prepared himself before beginning to comprehend.
• Yuan Wuyou entered sudden enlightenment and formed an eighty-zhang Daoist Law Vortex as Wang Dun watched the others.
• Zhu Zhengyan’s scolding kept Zhu Xuanlun trembling until Wang Dun rebuked the Golden Crow Demon Emperor and made him fall silent.
• Zhu Xuanlun calmed down, entered sudden enlightenment, and expanded his vortex to roughly two hundred zhang.
• He Pingsheng and Wang Dun entered sudden enlightenment, and their vortices each expanded to three hundred zhang, silencing the Demon Emperors.

During the Stone Terrace Gathering’s Dao-comprehension trial, Wang Dun and He Pingsheng stunned the spectators and Emperors with their abilities. The prodigies entered a hundred-year period of sudden enlightenment, while the Emperors left for the Great Hall.

• Wang Dun’s Daoist Law Vortex expanded to five hundred zhang, surpassing the legendary record cited by Demon Emperor Vajra.
• The Emperors discovered that He Pingsheng was comprehending Heavenly Gang Laws with one strand of Divine Sense while using another to fuse a Poison Origin for Body Refining.
• The prodigies’ vortex sizes were ranked, with Wang Dun first, He Pingsheng second, and Zhu Xuanlun third; Yuan Wuyou’s eighty-zhang vortex fell outside the top thirty.
• Zhu Zhengyan celebrated Zhu Xuanlun’s result and teased Yuan Wuyou’s father about disciplining him more strictly.
• The Phoenix Emperor said the prodigies would spend the next hundred years in sudden enlightenment and could earn extra points by comprehending Divine Abilities, then the Emperors went to the Great Hall.

At the Stone Terrace Gathering, the Demon Emperors discussed the rising threat posed by He Pingsheng and Wang Dun and debated how to stop them without provoking the Human Race’s powerful Forefather. They agreed the two could not be allowed to fight together in the fourth stage, and Zhao Xiangdu proposed killing one of them beforehand.

• The Phoenix Emperor warned that the Human Race’s rise depended on He Pingsheng and Wang Dun, whose talent and achievements threatened the Demon Race.
• Zhao Xiangdu and Demon Emperor Hollow explained that the Human Race could use Demon Race bodies and materials as cultivation resources.
• The Buddha Emperor left the gathering after realizing the others were about to discuss targeting the Human Race.
• Zhu Zhengyan suggested killing He Pingsheng and Wang Dun, but the Phoenix Emperor warned that doing so could provoke the Human Race’s Forefather.
• The Phoenix Emperor said the Human Race Forefather could defeat even the Phoenix Race’s two Unbound Immortals, while Unbound Immortals were constrained by heavenly tribulation.
• Zhao Xiangdu proposed separating He Pingsheng and Wang Dun by killing one before the fourth stage and eliminating the other during it.

Demon Emperors agreed to wait until the Heavenly Ladder competition ended before Zhao Xiangdu used a Soul-Linking Curse Talisman to kill He Pingsheng and later target Wang Dun. After a hundred years of Dao comprehension, He Pingsheng reached the ninth layer of the Void Refinement Realm, ranked second, and concealed the Divine Ability he had strengthened.

• Demon Emperor Vajra and several other Demon Emperors left the hall, while those who remained agreed with Zhao Xiangdu’s plan to kill He Pingsheng after the competition.
• Zhao Xiangdu revealed a supreme-grade Soul-Linking Curse Talisman designed to link He Pingsheng’s true body and five avatars for a guaranteed kill, and said they could use the second talisman against Wang Dun.
• After a hundred years of Dao comprehension, He Pingsheng had reached the ninth layer of the Void Refinement Realm in cultivation and body refining, while his divine refining remained at the sixth layer.
• Demon Emperor Vajra announced Wang Dun in first place and He Pingsheng in second place in the Heavenly Ladder Dao comprehension rankings.
• He Pingsheng denied comprehending a Divine Ability, concealing that he had fused what he learned into Heavenly Gang Three Transformations and restored its doubled offensive and defensive power.

At the Stone Terrace Gathering, the leading contestants failed to claim points for Heavenly Gang Divine Abilities, while prodigies from the nine great Celestial Races asserted they had comprehended them. Demon Emperor Vajra finalized the round’s rankings and directed He Pingsheng to the overall standings stele.

• Demon Emperor Vajra learned that Zhu Xuanlun had not perfected his Divine Ability, and Zhu Zhengyan threatened to punish his son for failing to claim the points.
• Feng Wanxi demonstrated a Heavenly Gang Divine Ability and received one hundred points, prompting a commotion among the crowd.
• Ming Yue, Bai Zhiting, Holy Maiden Peacock, and other prodigies from the nine great Celestial Races also claimed Divine Abilities and received one hundred points each.
• Demon Emperor Vajra offered He Pingsheng, Wang Dun, and Zhu Xuanlun points if they showed signs of Heavenly Gang power, but He Pingsheng and Wang Dun confirmed they had comprehended no Divine Ability.
• Demon Emperor Vajra announced the rankings, with Feng Wanxi first, Wang Dun tenth, He Pingsheng eleventh, and Zhu Xuanlun twelfth.
• Demon Emperor Vajra pointed out the overall points stele, and He Pingsheng decided to go look at it.

After the trial results placed He Pingsheng twelfth and the Vermilion Bird Emperor Domain sixth in the team rankings, Zhao Xiangdu confronted him at his Daoist Grounds. Zhao Xiangdu attacked He Pingsheng in front of the gathered cultivators, and the Soul-Linking Curse Talisman attached itself to He Pingsheng as the blow fell.

• He Pingsheng saw Feng Wanxi take first place with 371 points, while he ranked twelfth and the Vermilion Bird Emperor Domain ranked sixth.
• Nan Qiqi celebrated their team’s standing, and He Pingsheng returned to his Daoist Grounds with Zhou Qingmei.
• Zhao Xiangdu appeared in He Pingsheng’s Daoist Grounds, destroyed the hall, and accused He Pingsheng of carrying on with his fiancée.
• He Pingsheng defended his relationship with Zhou Qingmei, while Wang Dun challenged Zhao Xiangdu and was blasted far away by his attack.
• Zhao Xiangdu confined Zhou Qingmei and sent a mountain-like palm strike crashing toward He Pingsheng.
• The Soul-Linking Curse Talisman flew out and stuck to He Pingsheng.

He Pingsheng survived Zhao Xiangdu’s devastating strike despite being trapped by a Mahayana spatial blockade. He reminded Zhao Xiangdu of his promise not to trouble him if he endured one blow, leaving Zhao Xiangdu embarrassed as the crowd marveled at He Pingsheng’s strength.

• Zhao Xiangdu struck He Pingsheng, shattering his Divine Turtle defense and overpowering his spear technique while preventing his escape with a spatial blockade.
• Zhao Xiangdu’s palm drove He Pingsheng into the ground, and the onlookers assumed he had been killed.
• Yuan Wuyou pointed out that Zhou Qingmei had not died through Liberation by Violence, proving He Pingsheng was still alive.
• He Pingsheng crawled out from beneath the handprint, spat blood, and swallowed several pellets of Ice Jade Loquat Paste.
• He Pingsheng reminded Zhao Xiangdu that he had promised not to trouble him if He Pingsheng survived one strike, while the crowd praised his resilience.

Qiao Huizhu arrived just in time to save He Pingsheng and Wang Dun, then killed Zhao Xiangdu’s avatar and true body with two sword strikes. She confronted the Phoenix Emperor over Zhao Xiangdu’s attack, leaving him to answer whether Zhao had acted on his orders.

• Zhao Xiangdu summoned his avatar to attack He Pingsheng and Zhou Qingmei after his first strike failed to kill He Pingsheng.
• Wang Dun tried to shield He Pingsheng from the avatar’s full-strength sword strike but was knocked down by its sword intent.
• Qiao Huizhu arrived and stopped the sword strike with Inch of Blue.
• Qiao Huizhu cut Zhao Xiangdu’s avatar in two, then killed Zhao Xiangdu’s true body as he tried to flee.
• The Phoenix Emperor challenged Qiao Huizhu for killing a servant of the Phoenix Race, and she asked whether Zhao Xiangdu had attacked on his master’s orders.

Qiao Huizhu killed the Phoenix Emperor’s main body after he admitted ordering Zhao Xiangdu to target He Pingsheng, then secured He Pingsheng’s right to continue in the competition. She revealed that she was returning to the Immortal Realm, gave Su Zhenzhen her sword and charged her with caring for He Pingsheng, then healed him and departed.

• The Phoenix Emperor admitted that Zhao Xiangdu had acted on behalf of the Phoenix Race and that the race had ordered He Pingsheng killed.
• Qiao Huizhu used her power to kill the Phoenix Emperor’s main body, frightening Demon Emperor Hollow, whom Wang Dun accused of plotting against He Pingsheng.
• Qiao Huizhu asked the emperors to confirm that He Pingsheng could continue competing, and Demon Emperor Vajra and the others agreed.
• Qiao Huizhu told He Pingsheng she was returning to the Immortal Realm and that he could seek her out there to renew their marriage, then gave Su Zhenzhen the Divine Sword Inch of Blue and asked her to care for him.
• Qiao Huizhu healed He Pingsheng with creation light, breaking another cultivation shackle and advancing him to the tenth layer of the Void Refinement Realm, then departed after saying she had slain her avatar.

After the third contest was announced as a divine sense test, He Pingsheng comforted Qiao Xiaoqiao and learned that contestants would demonstrate their divine sense through pill refining, artifact refining, or talisman drawing. Nan Qiqi gave him a drop of Southern Bough Immortal Spring that could raise a high-grade pill to supreme grade, leaving him with a way to pursue the round’s bonus points.

• Demon Emperor Vajra dismissed the crowd and announced that the third contest, held in three days, would test divine sense.
• He Pingsheng returned to a new hall with Su Zhenzhen and Zhou Qingmei, and told Su Zhenzhen to keep the [Inch of Blue Sword] Qiao Huizhu had given her.
• Qiao Xiaoqiao apologized to He Pingsheng and worried that Qiao Huizhu was angry with her, but He Pingsheng reassured her and urged her to cultivate and ascend.
• Nan Qiqi explained that contestants could choose pill refining, artifact refining, or talisman drawing, with supreme-grade pills earning bonus points.
• He Pingsheng said he could not refine supreme-grade pills himself but thought he might manage high-grade pills, so Nan Qiqi gave him a drop of [Southern Bough Immortal Spring] to upgrade one.

He Pingsheng prepared for the divine sense test by practicing Spirit-Nourishing Pill alchemy with ingredients and a Southern Bough Immortal Spring drop supplied by Nan Qiqi. After choosing alchemy for the test, he reunited with the Great Order Wisdom King, who checked on him after hearing Zhao Xiangdu had attacked him.

• Nan Qiqi explained that the Southern Bough Immortal Spring was permitted in the competition and gave He Pingsheng its bottle to use.
• Nan Qiqi left He Pingsheng the Spirit-Nourishing Pill formula and five sets of ingredients so he could practice before the test.
• He Pingsheng used the enhanced method in the Golden Coffer Concordance to refine five batches, improving from middle- and low-grade pills to six high-grade pills in the final batch.
• He Pingsheng, Nan Qiqi, and the other Vermilion Bird Emperor Domain participants chose alchemy for the divine sense test.
• The Great Order Wisdom King asked He Pingsheng about his recovery from Zhao Xiangdu's attack, and he bowed to her in gratitude.

He Pingsheng and Nan Qiqi chose the alchemy competition at the Stone Terrace Gathering, while Wang Dun chose artifact refining and declined Nan Qiqi’s offer to join the Vermilion Bird Emperor Domain. After the materials were distributed and the rules announced, He Pingsheng began refining pills with his Void Heaven Furnace and nine-heavens mystic fire.

• Wang Dun told He Pingsheng and Nan Qiqi that he had chosen artifact refining, then left after declining Nan Qiqi’s invitation to become a guest elder in the Vermilion Bird Emperor Domain.
• He Pingsheng and Nan Qiqi received green tokens and found their adjoining seats among the many alchemy competitors.
• Zhu Xuanlun greeted He Pingsheng and said he was skilled at alchemy but found supreme grade pills difficult to refine.
• Demon Emperor Vajra explained the scoring rules, including an extra hundred points for every supreme grade pill, and declared the competition begun.
• He Pingsheng checked his five sets of materials, opened the Void Heaven Furnace, ignited his nine-heavens mystic fire, and started refining pills.

He Pingsheng displayed his Nine-Heavens Mystic Fire and supreme grade alchemy furnace while refining Spirit-Nourishing Pills at the gathering of prodigies. After a modest first batch, he matched Zhu Xuanlun’s earlier best, and the Great Order Wisdom King shielded Zhu Xuanlun from his furious father’s scolding.

• He Pingsheng’s Nine-Heavens Mystic Fire and supreme grade alchemy furnace astonished the spectators as the cultivators began refining pills.
• Feng Wanxi produced twelve pills, including two high-grade pills, and Zhu Xuanlun followed with six high-grade pills.
• He Pingsheng’s first batch contained twelve middle-grade pills, drawing mockery, so he adjusted to the new furnace and began another batch.
• He Pingsheng’s second batch yielded six high-grade and six middle-grade pills, while Zhu Xuanlun’s batch contained only two high-grade pills.
• Zhu Zhengyan berated Zhu Xuanlun, and the Great Order Wisdom King shielded him from the curses, prompting Zhu Zhengyan to demand an explanation.