Chapter Summaries

Ren Ye solved his bronze coffin riddle by realizing the headless man was the extra person in the Secret Realm, then stole the headless man’s coffin to survive the night. After accepting an assignment to retrieve the Xing Clan’s Emperor’s Blessing Stele, Ren Ye traveled west with Feng Rende and Little One, where Feng Rende went to scout a fight blocking the bridge to West Pole Mountain.

• Ren Ye solved Feng Rende’s temple riddle for three hundred thousand star source, then figured out his own riddle referred to the dead diarrhea warrior as the hundredth person in the Secret Realm.
• Ren Ye summoned the headless man, confirmed that he slept in a bronze coffin, and stole it before returning to the Xing Clan ancestral hall with Little One.
• Ren Ye accepted the assignment to recover the Emperor’s Blessing Stele, stocked up on supplies, and met Feng Rende, who was also traveling to West Pole Mountain.
• Ren Ye and Feng Rende traveled west with Little One for ten days and reached the Red River, where they sensed Supernatural Ability Users fighting near the bridge.
• Feng Rende went ahead to scout, while Dwarf taunted a cultivator from Nine Li for challenging the five men blocking the bridge; at East Pole Mountain, the Little Marquis threatened a group to leave or die.

Ren Ye and Feng Rende learned that the Xiangbian Five Ghosts had seized the Great Dao Bridge into West Pole Mountain, and Feng explained the quintuplets’ brutal history and formidable formation. The chapter left Ren Ye unsure how to cross, while the Five Ghosts waited with a captive and expected him to arrive.

• Ren Ye and Feng Rende withdrew from the Great Dao Bridge after Feng returned from scouting it and described a deadly battle there.
• Feng told Ren Ye that the Xiangbian Five Ghosts had defeated three Blood Mark Bearers, killing one, capturing one, and gravely wounding the third.
• Feng recounted how the Five Ghosts were born to the queen of Xiang Kingdom and the abbot of Tiantong Temple, were abandoned as infants, and later murdered and abused the family that raised them.
• Feng explained that all five Ghosts had reached fifth grade and could use the Five Ghosts Five Elements Formation to suppress groups of fourth-grade cultivators on the bridge.
• Ren Ye reasoned that the Five Ghosts might have gathered extra Blood Marks and blessings before reaching the Emperor's Tomb, making them even more dangerous, and he worried over how to advance.
• Inside West Pole Mountain, the Five Ghosts' leader fed a captive young woman and told his brothers that the Ancient Emperor Successor would come.

Ren Ye and the other trapped Heavenly Prides faced the Five Ghosts’ blockade at the Great Dao Bridge, while Lingyun organized a group assault to rescue Yue'e, his childhood sweetheart. At sunset, sixteen cultivators charged toward the bridge as Middle Ghost calmly prepared to meet them.

• The Five Ghosts discussed how to ambush Ren Ye, then Summer Ghost attacked their captive Yue'e, who killed herself rather than submit and dissolved her soul after warning Lingyun to flee.
• Ren Ye concluded that the Five Ghosts’ formation made crossing the Great Dao Bridge nearly impossible, until Feng Rende brought him to meet Lingyun.
• Lingyun revealed that he was gathering the trapped Heavenly Prides to cross the bridge and rescue Yue'e, and Ren Ye agreed to join if the promised group assembled.
• At sunset, Lingyun sounded his Dragon Drum and led sixteen fourth-grade cultivators toward the Great Dao Bridge.
• Autumn Ghost warned Middle Ghost that the Heavenly Prides had united, but Middle Ghost remained composed and said that people’s hearts were the hardest thing to unite.

Ren Ye watched the Heavenly Prides abandon their united attack after Middle Ghost offered to let most of them enter West Pole Mountain in groups of three, then recruited Lingyun for a risky plan against the Five Ghosts. He sent Feng Rende into the mountain to complete his assignment and returned with Little One to the Red River, determined to face the Five Ghosts himself.

• Ren Ye saw through the bridge’s illusion and watched Middle Ghost propose safe passage for everyone except the Human Emperor Successor and the leaders, while Spring Ghost declared that the Five Ghosts were waiting for the successor’s supreme treasure.
• The Heavenly Prides accepted Middle Ghost’s offer and drew lots to choose the first three entrants, leaving Lingyun furious and disillusioned when the others refused to fight together.
• Ren Ye told Lingyun that human selfishness allowed the Five Ghosts to thrive, revealed himself as the Human Emperor Successor, and asked Lingyun to occupy one of the Five Ghosts if a battle began three days later.
• Ren Ye offered Feng Rende a chance to enter West Pole Mountain safely, and Feng Rende left the cave with the bronze coffin to complete his Heavenly Dao assignment.
• Ren Ye left the cave with Little One and returned to the East Bank of the Red River, resolved to kill the Five Ghosts.

Ren Ye crossed the Red River in a Bronze Coffin and hid on West Pole Mountain, where he prepared a surprise attack on the Five Ghosts. After Summer Ghost followed a Heavenly Pride into the gorge, Ren Ye lured him to a false Great Emperor Seal and revealed himself, ready to fight.

• Ren Ye tested the Bronze Coffin in the Red River with Night Walker inside and found that it protected him from the river’s deadly pressure.
• Feng Rende returned to join Ren Ye, and Ren Ye told him to meet Lingyun and wait for purple qi to appear before acting.
• Ren Ye changed his plan and crossed to West Pole Mountain with Little One in their coffins, then took medicine and hid in the snow.
• Summer Ghost left the bridgehead to follow a Heavenly Pride through the gorge while the other Five Ghosts stayed behind.
• Ren Ye used a staged Great Emperor Seal and purple qi to draw Summer Ghost to him, then activated the Divine Light Enlightenment Pill and prepared to attack.

Ren Ye defeated Summer Ghost in West Pole Mountain, crippled his Star Core, and carried him away to draw the other Five Ghosts from the Great Dao Bridge. He left the Heavenly Prides with an opening to enter while he headed deeper into the mountains to find the Emperor's Blessing Stele.

• Summer Ghost revealed Ren Ye’s identity, summoned his Banshan Divine Strength Gu, and transformed into a giant to attack him.
• Ren Ye used the Human Emperor Seal to hide the battle beneath purple qi while the Purple Mansion successor and the Five Ghosts’ brothers sensed the fight and moved toward the gorge.
• Feng Rende identified the purple qi as human destiny, but the Heavenly Prides hesitated to cross the Great Dao Bridge while the Five Ghosts’ formation was weakened.
• Ren Ye bound Summer Ghost with Azure Cloud Bamboo, burned his Treasure Gourd and Gu with Tiangong Fire, then shattered his Star Core with the Red Lotus Karmic Fire Finger.
• Ren Ye carried the crippled Summer Ghost away, forcing the other three brothers to choose between pursuing him and returning to defend the bridge.
• The three ghosts returned toward the bridge as Ren Ye set off to find the Emperor's Blessing Stele.

Ren Ye brought Little One to the West Pole Ancient Temple, where Little One began refining the Emperor’s Blessing Stele. Ren Ye sent the crippled Summer Ghost crawling toward the Great Dao Bridge, but the red tide killed him before he arrived; meanwhile, Daoist Chu went to meet Senior White-Striped Chicken.

• Ren Ye found Little One drunk in the coffin, then carried him deeper into West Pole Mountain to follow his strange sense of being watched.
• Ren Ye and Little One found the ancient temple, where Little One recognized the Emperor’s Blessing Stele and began refining it under the Heavenly Dao’s blessing.
• Ren Ye released Summer Ghost without his coffin and crushed his limbs, challenging him to crawl over four hundred li to the Great Dao Bridge before nightfall.
• Summer Ghost crawled through the snow, but the red tide crushed him to death, and Middle Ghost realized his younger brother had died.
• At the Waiting for the Wind Inn, Daoist Chu left after telling Yin Tiger that Senior White-Striped Chicken had given him a task.

Jiang Ancestor learned that his beloved confidante had been executed and buried in the Hidden Clan’s wilderness, then arranged for Daoist Chu to seek a pill in the Eight Palaces and Nine Sceneries. As Daoist Chu departed and the four surviving ghosts planned to flee the bridge, the Heavenly Dao announced that a mysterious Blood Mark Bearer had become a Heaven Character.

• Jiang Ancestor found the Divine Dragon Immortality Medicine gone and learned that his confidante had died after he entered the Ancestral Land, so he visited her forgotten grave and grieved.
• Jiang Ancestor gave Daoist Chu a Sword Talisman and tasked him with retrieving a half Heavenly Venerable Pill from the eighth scenery to fulfill a promise.
• Daoist Chu prepared to leave Nine Li, while his companions offered supplies and Ai Fei revealed that she had two bottles of water of life.
• The four surviving ghosts decided to assault the bridge and escape, with Middle Ghost setting their departure for fifteen minutes later.
• The Heavenly Dao announced that a mysterious Blood Mark Bearer had become a Heaven Character, and Ren Ye wondered who it was.

The Four Ghosts withdrew their formation and tried to escape across the Great Dao Bridge, but Lingyun, Feng Rende, and a growing group of Heavenly Prides attacked them. Ren Ye arrived to join the hunt, while the Purple Mansion successor chose to hold back and exploit the battle for his own purposes.

• The Four Ghosts recalled their formation and charged across the bridge, while Lingyun rushed out alone to intercept them and hidden attackers began striking from afar.
• Thirteen or fourteen Heavenly Prides joined the fight, but the Four Ghosts broke through the illusion and reached the bridgehead, where Lingyun demanded to know what had happened to Yue'e.
• Lingyun recognized Yue'e's skin on Middle Ghost's Bronze Coffin and attacked the Four Ghosts in a furious, reckless bid for revenge; Feng Rende joined him to keep Lingyun from being overwhelmed.
• Feng Rende urged the watching Heavenly Prides to attack, pointing out that the Four Ghosts might possess over twenty Blood Marks, and they rallied to hunt them down.
• Ren Ye left Little One in a safe place and hurried to the battle, taunting the fleeing Four Ghosts and drawing Winter Ghost's threat.
• The Purple Mansion successor refused to help, deciding that the chaos might let him take control of the situation.

Ren Ye and the Heavenly Prides fought the Five Ghosts, whose deaths scattered their Blood Marks and exposed the greed behind the hunt. Ren Ye killed Middle Ghost, while Lingyun killed Spring Ghost to avenge his wife; the chapter ended with Lian'er waking Brother Huang with news about the Shangyu Nine Lands.

• Winter Ghost sacrificed himself to hold off the Heavenly Prides, but the Red River destroyed him and his seven Blood Marks were divided among the survivors.
• Autumn Ghost burned his Star Core to help Middle Ghost and Spring Ghost escape, then died as the Heavenly Prides seized his nine Blood Marks.
• The Purple Mansion Successor persuaded most of the Heavenly Prides to stay near the bridge and wait for Ren Ye and the remaining Ghosts to weaken each other.
• Ren Ye pursued and killed Middle Ghost, whose death advanced the Tiangong Fire into the Fourth Grade Heavenly Ministry of Works Purple Flame.
• Lingyun killed Spring Ghost and carried his head, declaring that he had offered the Five Ghosts' deaths to his late wife's soul.
• In Qingliang Prefecture, Lian'er woke Brother Huang and urged him to check the Shangyu Nine Lands, saying he was close to doing it.

After Lingyun sacrificed himself to kill the second ghost, Ren Ye returned to the Great Dao Bridge and attacked the Heavenly Prides who had schemed against them. He killed the Purple Mansion successor with Little One’s help, then buried Lingyun and Yue'e on West Pole Mountain.

• Lingyun revealed that he had burned his Star Core and lifespan to kill the second ghost, then asked Ren Ye to bury him and Yue'e on West Pole Mountain with his broken sword.
• Ren Ye placed Lingyun in the Phoenix Fire Furnace and returned toward the Great Dao Bridge despite Feng Rende warning that the Heavenly Prides were waiting to ambush them.
• Ren Ye confronted the Heavenly Prides, exposed the Purple Mansion successor and his allies as ringleaders, and killed the black-saber youth when he urged the others to attack.
• Young Master Zhu fled and the other Heavenly Prides backed away, while the Purple Mansion successor tried to surrender his Blood Marks and escape the Secret Realm.
• Little One used the Xing Family's ancient stele to strike down the Purple Mansion successor, and Ren Ye killed him after explaining how his schemes had led to Lingyun's death.
• Ren Ye buried Lingyun and Yue'e in a bronze coffin on West Pole Mountain, planted Lingyun's broken sword by their grave, and watched Lingyun's soul return to heaven and earth.

Ren Ye, Feng Rende, and Little One reached Human World Town and learned that the Human World Arena required entrants to endure escalating Red Tide pressure and compete for Blood Marks. After hearing the rules, Ren Ye recognized Feng Rende’s self-serving motives and ended their partnership, leaving the group’s plans for the trial uncertain.

• Ren Ye, Feng Rende, and Little One arrived in Human World Town on the final day of the deadline and learned that arena registration required at least five Blood Marks.
• Li Ju's Descendant explained the arena’s three stages, its open and secret paths, the risks of attacking other entrants, and Ren Ye and Little One’s special requirement to endure double pressure alone.
• Ren Ye and Feng Rende discussed recruiting companions and explored the town, where they found no useful opportunities among the shops.
• At a restaurant, Ren Ye told Feng Rende a story recounting his calculated actions during their earlier journey and explaining why their ideas of loyalty differed.
• Ren Ye told Feng Rende that their paths could not converge, proposed they part after sharing one final drink, and ended their partnership.

Ren Ye parted ways with Feng Rende, then planned for The Human World Arena while seeking more Blood Marks. After Feng Rende failed to find companions, four men invited him to join them, while a black-clad young man lamented his own shortage of Blood Marks.

• Ren Ye explained why he could no longer trust Feng Rende as a companion, shared a farewell drink with him, and left him a bamboo leaf before departing with Little One.
• Ren Ye counted his eighty-five Blood Marks and considered ways to gain more and prepare for the Arena trial, including a plan that might make Little One bear the Red Tide's pressure.
• Feng Rende searched the arena registration area for a team, but strangers rejected him and others warned their companions about his calculating reputation.
• Feng Rende returned to the inn, but the waiter told him it was booked; after Feng Rende left, the waiter called him back with an invitation from the four men who had reserved it to enter the Arena together.
• A black-clad young man with azure eyes watched The Human World Town, complained that he had too few Blood Marks, and remarked that Ren Ye had stolen the limelight by slaying the Five Ghosts on West Pole Mountain.

Feng Rende refused to betray Ren Ye, gave up on the Human World Arena, and offered his twelve Blood Marks to Ren Ye after reflecting on the friends he had failed to make. As Feng Rende left the Emperor's Tomb, the Little Marquis arrived at the Moon-Gazing Terrace and demanded Blood Marks from the four young men.

• Zhang Long, Wu Hao, Li Man, and Qian Zonghao offered Feng Rende Star Source and equalized Blood Marks in exchange for information about Ren Ye's Blood Marks.
• Feng Rende demanded eight million Star Source, then reconsidered his choice as he reflected on his past selfishness and his bond with Ren Ye.
• Feng Rende gave up on the Human World Arena and offered his twelve Blood Marks as tribute to the Emperor Character Blood Mark Bearer.
• Ren Ye received Feng Rende's Blood Marks and wondered why he had given them despite their falling out.
• The Little Marquis confronted the four young men and demanded two Blood Marks from each, threatening to kill them if they refused.

The Little Marquis forced Zhang Long and his companions to hand over sixteen Blood Marks, inspiring a group of Rogue Cultivators to attack them. Ren Ye secretly captured the injured Four Young Masters and began charging them Blood Marks to stay hidden inside his Fire Furnace.

• Ren Ye suspected Zhang Long and his companions had threatened Feng Rende, while the Little Marquis arrived at the Moon-facing Terrace and demanded the four lend him Blood Marks.
• Zhang Long, Wu Hao, Li Man, and Qian Zonghao surrendered sixteen Blood Marks to the Little Marquis, who explained that he targeted them for bullying Rogue Cultivators at East Pole Mountain and in town.
• A group of six Rogue Cultivators confronted the Four Young Masters, and more attackers joined the fight until the four were badly injured and overwhelmed.
• Ren Ye used his Fire Furnace and Purple Fortune to conceal and abduct the Four Young Masters from the battle.
• Ren Ye claimed to be the Hand of Noxus, guardian deity of the Creation Crystal-Darius, and demanded one Blood Mark every seven and a half minutes to keep the four hidden.

Ren Ye forced Zhang Long and the other three young masters to surrender forty-three Blood Marks before sending them out of the Emperor’s Tomb contest. Short of the Blood Marks needed to advance with Little One, he entered the Human World Arena by its open route, while a new Cheng-Character Blood Mark Bearer appeared in town.

• Zhang Long recognized Ren Ye’s disguise, but Ren Ye threatened to transport the wounded four outside town into the Red Tide unless they paid tribute or abandoned the contest.
• Zhang Long and the others gave up the contest and left through the Secret Realm gate without surrendering their Blood Marks to the crowd, having paid them to Ren Ye instead.
• Ren Ye calculated that he and Little One still needed more Blood Marks to advance, so he chose the free open route into the Human World Arena rather than the secret route.
• Ren Ye entered the arena carrying Little One inside the Phoenix Fire Furnace and arrived before a vast Divine Mountain lined with Bluestone Steps.
• Young Master Zhu and six companions set out for the arena, agreeing to eliminate anyone who held back or acted selfishly.
• Old Liu announced that a newcomer had become the Cheng-Character Blood Mark Bearer, making all four special Blood Mark Bearers present in the Emperor’s Tomb.

Ren Ye analyzed the Human World Arena’s attack-and-defense rules, then wagered 140 Blood Marks to defend Number Three Route and assigned Little One to face the first trial. The first round ended with Little One preparing to climb Divine Mountain under double Red Tide Pressure, while the Big Dipper learned that its probes had revealed little about the roads it most wanted to understand.

• Old Liu announced the Human World Arena’s rules, including attacks, defensive wagers, Red Tide Pressure multipliers, and the special double-difficulty rule linking Emperor and Fate.
• Ren Ye reasoned that attacks carried serious risks and that the number of people on each road would determine how easily they could withstand Red Tide Pressure.
• The Little Marquis regretted choosing a Secret Route, considered testing another Secret Route with a small wager, and asked Old Liu whether he could attack himself.
• Young Master Zhu persuaded the Big Dipper to wager ten Blood Marks against each of four Open Roads to gather information, and the group attacked roads two, three, four, and five.
• Ren Ye wagered 140 Blood Marks to defend Number Three Route, gained the attackers’ Blood Marks, and assigned Little One to take the trial at double pressure.
• The Big Dipper learned that No. 4 Road had five people and No. 5 Road had six, but its attacks on No. 2 Route and Number Three failed to reveal how many people were there.

Little One endured the Weight of Humanity for three months, awakened a Star Core, and completed the trial, while the Little Marquis redeemed his Great Emperor’s Blessing for a chance to upgrade his Divine Power Method. His blessing opened the Fifth Grade Secret Realms in Xingshan to everyone outside the Emperor’s Tomb, prompting Ai Fei, Yin Tiger, and others to prepare to enter.

• Ren Ye watched Little One struggle up the Bluestone Steps as the Weight of Humanity’s pressure steadily wore him down.
• On the fifteenth day, Little One nearly gave up but chose to continue, and he endured the trial until his Star Core formed under extreme pressure on the thirty-fifth day.
• After completing the three-month trial, Little One displayed his strength to Ren Ye, then admitted he was no longer afraid of walking alone.
• The Little Marquis asked the headless man about the Great Emperor’s Blessing and exchanged ninety-nine Blood Marks for a chance to upgrade his own Divine Power Method.
• The Little Marquis’s blessing triggered the opening of Xingshan’s Fifth Grade Secret Realms, and Ai Fei and Yin Tiger decided to enter the Emperor’s Tomb.

As the Emperor's Tomb opened to outsiders, Li Yan's squad entered Treasure Pavilion One, where Xu Qingzhao found a Yin-Yang Fish Talisman that could lead her to Heaven-Connecting Azure Tour. Meanwhile, the Blood Mark Bearers prepared for the Second Trial, and Ren Ye ended the chapter by declaring that he would attack eight routes while facing the Red Tide without defending.

• Li Yan led the Park District Squad toward Treasure Pavilion One after Xu Qingzhao sensed a familiar aura there, and he drove off challengers with the Primordial Golden Dipper.
• Xu Qingzhao found the Yin-Yang Fish Talisman, learned it granted entry to Heaven-Connecting Azure Tour, and began refining it with her Dao Body.
• The First Trial ended without eliminations, and the Headless Man announced the Second Trial's rules, including Time-Strategy Verification and a maximum sixteenfold Red Tide pressure.
• Young Master Zhu's group verified that No. 2 Route had three people and voted to stake 170 Blood Marks on an attack against it.
• Ren Ye used his two verifications to learn that Route No. 5 had six people and Route No. 8 had seven, then ordered attacks on eight routes and declared he would face the trial without spending Blood Marks on defense.

The attacks of several routes forced Ren Ye and the Little Marquis to face sixteenfold Red Tide pressure, which both endured in pursuit of the mountain summit. After five days, Ren Ye had taken 302 steps before collapsing, leaving his survival uncertain.

• Young Master Zhu concluded that Route Three had attacked Number Seven to probe its strength, and the Big Dipper agreed to consider verifying Route Three and attacking it next round.
• The Little Marquis celebrated Number Thirteen's attack because it gave him the sixteenfold pressure he wanted, then used his God-Slaying Spear to take a step forward under the crushing force.
• Number Seven attacked Number Two with 170 Blood Marks, forcing its three Rogue Cultivators to face sixteenfold pressure.
• Ren Ye explained that he had chosen not to defend so he could test himself under sixteenfold pressure, then struggled against the trial until his Human Destiny let him take his first step.
• After five days and 302 steps, Ren Ye called out to the Headless Man, who encouraged him to focus on the next step; Ren Ye then fell motionless, seemingly near death.