Chapter Summaries

Li Rui learned that He Jiuxuan had killed Ji Lei to strengthen his soul banner and uncovered a connection between Si Feng, the stolen White Jade Capital immortal fruit, and White Jade Capital. After Li Rui earned recognition as a notorious demon, he left Lotus Boat Immortal Island with He Qiannian without securing an alliance.

• He Jiuxuan captured Ji Lei with the Immortal Binding Rope, devoured his Spirit Embryo into the Thousand Soul Banner, and revealed that he had tracked him after planting a mark on him.
• Li Rui emerged from the void and realized White Jade Capital had descended to the lower realm over the immortal fruit Si Feng had stolen and eaten, but chose not to pursue He Jiuxuan because of the power he sensed within him.
• He Jiuxuan blamed Old Demon of Tiannan for Ji Lei’s death, and the Arctic Demon Sect issued a warrant that made the demon’s reputation spread through Jianghu.
• Li Rui completed the Demonic Might Shakes the Heavens achievement and received 40 Achievement Points, bringing his achievements to 50/100.
• Li Rui and He Qiannian stayed on Lotus Boat Immortal Island for another month, failed to meet its sect master or secure an alliance, and then departed.

He Jiuxuan captured and devoured Ji Lei’s Spirit Embryo, while Li Rui learned that Si Feng’s stolen White Jade Capital Immortal Fruit lay behind the conflict. After the Old Demon of Tiannan was blamed and gained notoriety across Jianghu, Li Rui collected his achievement reward and left Lotus Boat Immortal Island with He Qiannian without securing an alliance.

• He Jiuxuan used the Great Teleportation Talisman to catch Ji Lei, bound him with the Immortal Binding Rope, and devoured his Spirit Embryo with the Thousand Soul Banner.
• Li Rui overheard Ji Lei reveal that Si Feng had stolen and eaten the White Jade Capital Immortal Fruit, then decided He Jiuxuan could not be allowed to live but refrained from pursuing him.
• He Jiuxuan spread the story that the Old Demon of Tiannan had killed Ji Lei, and the Arctic Demon Sect issued a wanted notice for the Old Demon.
• Li Rui’s Demon Might Shakes the Heavens achievement completed with an A rating and rewarded him with 40 Achievement Points.
• Li Rui and He Qiannian left Lotus Boat Immortal Island after failing to meet its sect master or form an alliance with the Yu Kingdom.

Li Rui and He Qiannian encountered Gao Tianxia on their return to Yu Kingdom, where Gao recognized Li Rui’s martial ambition and accepted He Qiannian as his eighth disciple. A year later, the World Martial Evaluation rankings were announced, with Gao still First Under Heaven and the Old Demon of Tiannan ranked one hundred and seventeenth.

• Gao Tianxia stopped Li Rui and He Qiannian at sea and reproached He Qiannian for giving up on becoming an Earth Immortal through External Skill.
• He Qiannian introduced Li Rui as someone who could achieve what he had failed to, and Li Rui demonstrated his pure physical martial art for Gao Tianxia.
• Gao Tianxia praised Li Rui, accepted He Qiannian as his eighth disciple, and became Li Rui’s grandmaster.
• Gao Tianxia returned to East Sea City using Shrinking the Ground to an Inch, while Li Rui agreed to keep listing him as First Under Heaven.
• A year later, Li Rui and his companions read the new World Martial Evaluation rankings, where Gao Tianxia remained First Under Heaven and the Old Demon of Tiannan ranked one hundred and seventeenth.

Li Rui received the Holy Emperor’s praise for compiling the World Martial Ranking and considered taking the courtesy name Li Changqing as his standing in court rose. Meanwhile, He Jiuxuan told Arctic Demon Sect leader Sima Mo about an Immortal Fruit, and Sima Mo agreed to send people after it.

• Tan Hu and Ning Zhongtian praised Old Demon of Tiannan without realizing that he was Li Rui, who had ranked the demon at one hundred and seventeenth on the World Martial Ranking.
• At court, the Holy Emperor praised Li Rui’s work and said he would consider a reward, while officials sought his favor afterward.
• Li Rui contemplated adopting the courtesy name Changqing and returned to balancing his official duties with cultivation.
• He Jiuxuan told Sima Mo that an Immortal Fruit had drawn Daoist Wang of White Jade Capital into the lower realm.
• Sima Mo agreed to send people to seek the Immortal Fruit, while He Jiuxuan returned to cultivate and heard Ji Lei’s vengeful threat in his mind.

Li Rui learned that someone had tried to assassinate Si Feng in the Black Jail, then used his influence to secure protection for Spring Breeze Hall. He tracked down Wu De, exposed him as the notorious Earth Dragon Child, and heard Wu De claim that the Small Grotto-heaven concealed an extraordinary ancient tomb.

• Minister Yan told Li Rui that a Talismans Cultivator had infiltrated the Black Jail to kill Si Feng but had not been captured.
• Li Rui asked Minister Yan to look after Liu Tong's affairs and secured the Ministry of Justice's support for Spring Breeze Hall.
• Li Rui left the capital in his upgraded flying boat and traveled to Wu De's cave.
• Wu De tried to flee when Li Rui appeared, but Li Rui's Azure Profound Path Dao Resonance trapped him.
• Li Rui identified Wu De as Earth Dragon Child, and Wu De offered to reveal an extraordinary ancient tomb hidden in the Small Grotto-heaven.

Li Rui learned from Wu De about a Dao Sovereign’s tomb and White Jade Capital’s Immortal Fruit, then placed a life-controlling restriction on Wu De to keep his access to the Great Void Dao Field secret. As Daoist Wang prepared to take Si Feng back to White Jade Capital, Li Rui cultivated the Azure Profound Great Dao and formed an azure lotus.

• Li Rui seized Wu De and planted a restriction in his body, binding Wu De’s life to Li Rui and preventing him from revealing Li Rui’s secret.
• Wu De told Li Rui that White Jade Capital’s Immortal Fruit appeared every three thousand years and could help people comprehend genuine immortal qi.
• Li Rui connected the immortal qi he had obtained from Si Feng to the Immortal Court in his dantian and suspected it had come from an Immortal Fruit.
• Gu Changsheng learned that people from the Myriad Laws Palace had tried to kill Si Feng in Black Jail.
• Daoist Wang told Gu Changsheng he would take Si Feng back to White Jade Capital in three days, and Gu Changsheng realized White Jade Capital had opened a path between the two realms.
• Li Rui cultivated at Jishuitan and condensed an azure lotus from the Azure Profound Great Dao.

Li Rui manifested the Azure Profound Great Dao as a green lotus, gaining formidable vitality and confirming that the Azure Sea Green Lotus Contemplation Diagram was likely the Azure Emperor’s inheritance. Gu Changsheng took Jiang Linxian against his wishes to send him to the Immortal Cultivation World, while He Jiuxuan and Arctic Immortal Sect experts gathered near the capital to deal with Si Feng.

• Li Rui manifested a green lotus through the Azure Profound Great Dao and used its vitality to heal a wound inflicted by his second-rank immortal blade.
• Li Rui concluded that the Azure Sea Green Lotus Contemplation Diagram was likely the Azure Emperor’s inheritance, then left to answer roll call.
• Gu Changsheng urged Jiang Linxian to go to the Immortal Cultivation World in Tan Yu’s place, but Jiang Linxian refused because he wanted to stay for Yellow Dragon Child.
• Gu Changsheng tapped Jiang Linxian between the brows, overwhelmed him with unfamiliar memories, and carried his unconscious body away.
• He Jiuxuan met Black Heart True Person and other Arctic Immortal Sect experts in Taiheng Mountain to rescue or kill Si Feng.

Sima Mo and He Jiuxuan arranged to break into Black Jail and seize Si Feng before White Jade Capital could bring him back to the Immortal Cultivation World. Black Heart True Person led the assault, while Li Rui sensed the attack and headed toward the prison as the National Preceptor intervened.

• Sima Mo recruited Black Heart True Person and former Purple Gold Palace retainers to attack Black Jail, while He Jiuxuan secretly planned to use the Water Dao Stone to steal a trace of the Immortal Fruit Spirit.
• Black Heart True Person and the Arctic Immortal Sect’s cultivators ambushed the prison guards, shattered Black Jail’s formation, and broke through its walls.
• Li Rui sensed an Earth Immortal’s attack on Black Jail, recognized that someone was breaking into the prison, and took up the Immortal Blade Flood Dragon Slayer.
• The National Preceptor flew from the imperial palace toward Black Jail to confront the attackers.
• He Jiuxuan killed an Imperial Guards commander and pursued Black Heart True Person, eager to obtain Si Feng’s freshly shed blood.

The Arctic Demon Sect attacked the Black Jail to seize the Immortal Fruit Spirit from Si Feng, but the National Preceptor and Li Rui disrupted their plan. He Jiuxuan escaped after Gu Changsheng and Daoist Wang revealed that the defenders had anticipated the assault.

• Black Heart True Person confronted the National Preceptor at Si Feng’s prison, and the two began a fierce battle.
• Li Rui recognized Black Heart True Person and realized the Arctic Demon Sect had targeted Si Feng for the Immortal Fruit.
• He Jiuxuan used the Water Dao Stone to draw the Immortal Fruit Spirit from Si Feng.
• Li Rui interrupted He Jiuxuan’s extraction and fought him, revealing that Li Rui wielded the Azure Profound Great Dao while He Jiuxuan wielded the Smelting Gold Great Dao.
• Gu Changsheng and Daoist Wang appeared in the Black Jail, and He Jiuxuan escaped with a Heavenly Guidance Talisman.

After the Arctic Demon Sect’s attack on the Black Jail was crushed, Gu Changsheng arranged for Jiang Linxian to enter the Immortal Cultivation World, while warning Li Rui that Jiang’s enemies had grown far more dangerous. Gu Changsheng then revealed the Immortal Fruit’s rumored link to immortality, leaving Li Rui more determined to conceal the Immortal Court and Immortal Way from White Jade Capital.

• Black Heart True Person’s body was shattered by three first-rank experts, and the Arctic Demon Sect cultivators in the Black Jail were slaughtered, though Black Heart True Person escaped as a Spirit Embryo.
• Gu Changsheng told the Holy Emperor that Jiang Linxian would take a place traveling to the Immortal Cultivation World, and the Holy Emperor agreed to the plan.
• After leaving the Imperial City, Gu Changsheng admitted that he had knocked Jiang Linxian unconscious and brought him to Daoist Priest Wang because Myriad Laws Palace experts were pursuing Si Feng and Jiang might not survive if he stayed.
• Gu Changsheng told Li Rui that the Arctic Demon Sect had attacked the prison for White Jade Capital’s Immortal Fruit, which Si Feng had stolen and eaten to evade his tribulation.
• Gu Changsheng explained that the Immortal Fruit was said to offer a chance at immortality, and Li Rui concluded that Si Feng had been testing its power and that White Jade Capital must not learn about the Immortal Court and Immortal Way.

Li Rui witnessed the White Jade Capital Dao Lord open a passage to the Immortal Cultivation World, while war resumed in the Northern Plains. His grandmaster Gao Tianxia then faced the Heavenly Tribulation of Celestial Ascension and successfully broke through to the Celestial Realm, leaving Li Rui delighted by his powerful backing.

• A Dao Lord from the White Jade Capital guided Daoist Wang, Jiang Linxian, and two others into the Immortal Cultivation World as a pillar of divine light appeared over the capital.
• War erupted again in the Northern Plains, forcing Great Yu's Chief Zhang to manage the growing military expenses.
• Li Rui defeated He Qiannian in a spar with a single punch, stunning his master with his strength.
• Gao Tianxia stepped onto the waves off East Sea City and faced the immense Heavenly Tribulation of Celestial Ascension.
• After the tribulation cloud dispersed, Li Rui sensed that Gao Tianxia had survived and become the world's sole Celestial Realm expert.

After Gao Tianxia broke through the tribulation and attained a realm beyond First Grade, the Holy Emperor prepared to worship Heaven at Tripod Mountain, with Li Rui overseeing the Immortal Rite. Meanwhile, He Jiuxuan recovered from his escape and met the mysterious Yellow Dragon Child, his master’s senior martial brother.

• Gao Tianxia's ascent and destruction of the ten-thousand-li tribulation clouds spread across the land, and the Holy Emperor decreed a general amnesty and planned a trip to worship Heaven.
• Li Rui prepared to preside over the Immortal Rite with Yuan An's help and promised to place him in the front row.
• He Jiuxuan recovered at the Arctic Immortal Sect, blamed Gu Changsheng for his failed attempt to obtain the Immortal Fruit Spirit, and resolved to kill Li Rui if the chance arose.
• An unfamiliar old Confucian scholar appeared at He Jiuxuan's residence and identified him as Nine Snakes True Person's disciple.
• He Jiuxuan guessed that the scholar was his Martial Uncle Yellow Dragon, and the old man confirmed that he was Yellow Dragon Child.

Li Rui oversaw the Holy Emperor’s grand procession to the Ding Mountain Immortal Ritual, accompanying him and Gu Changsheng as they traveled south. When Gu Changsheng revealed that Yellow Dragon Child had returned to the Arctic Demon Sect, the Holy Emperor and Li Rui turned their attention toward finding him.

• Li Rui reported that preparations for the Ding Mountain Immortal Ritual were complete, and the Holy Emperor praised him at court.
• On the fifth day of the fourth month, Li Rui joined the Holy Emperor and Gu Changsheng as the grand procession departed the capital for Tripod Mountain.
• During the journey, the Holy Emperor reminisced about his youth, and Li Rui listened while Gu Changsheng showed his familiarity with the stories.
• Gu Changsheng told the Holy Emperor that Daoist Priest Wang had learned through divination that Yellow Dragon Child had returned to the Arctic Demon Sect.
• The Holy Emperor vowed to use people from the Immortal Cultivation World to find Yellow Dragon Child, while Li Rui considered helping Jiang Linxian avenge his wife.

Li Rui presided over Yu Kingdom’s Immortal Rite at Tripod Mountain, drawing together the dynasty’s fortune and earning powerful cultivation benefits. Just as the Holy Emperor was about to ascend the altar, black qi engulfed Li Rui, and Gu Changsheng recognized the attack as the Evil Birth Method and accused Yellow Dragon Child.

• The Holy Emperor arrived at Tripod Mountain, praised the Ding Mountain Guard, and took up residence at the Ding Mountain Courtyard.
• Over the following seven days, cultivators and officials from Yu Kingdom’s allies gathered to witness the Immortal Rite.
• Old Ziyang Daoist and Sang Kong discussed Li Rui’s rise as he prepared to serve as chief officiant.
• Li Rui recited the sacrificial text, and the gathered fortune of Yu Kingdom surged, benefiting him, the ritual officials, and the ceremony’s attendees.
• Black qi suddenly surrounded Li Rui as the Holy Emperor prepared to mount the altar, and Gu Changsheng identified the Evil Birth Method and challenged Yellow Dragon Child.

Li Rui survived Yellow Dragon Child’s Rising Evil Spell by relying on his Dao-fused Immortal Court, completed the Immortal Rite, and helped Yu Kingdom form an immortal cauldron. After receiving an A-rated achievement reward, he was invited to meet the Holy Emperor and found Gao Tianxia waiting there.

• Yellow Dragon Child used the Rising Evil Spell to attack Li Rui and corrupt Yu Kingdom’s fortune, but Li Rui’s golden light suppressed the external evils.
• Li Rui resumed chanting the sacrificial text, and the Holy Emperor’s ceremony formed a hundred-zhang immortal cauldron, the embryonic form of an immortal dynasty.
• Li Rui reunited with Ning Zhongtian and the others, reflected on Yellow Dragon Child’s assassination attempt, and received 40 Achievement Points for completing the Heavenly Sacrifice mission with an A rating.
• Eunuch Zheng invited Li Rui to speak privately with the Holy Emperor, and Li Rui entered the residence to find Gao Tianxia seated with him.

Li Rui reunited with his Martial Granduncle Gao Tianxia at Ding Mountain, where Gao assured the Holy Emperor that he did not wish to change the world. After Gao left, Yellow Dragon Child and He Jiuxuan discussed Gao’s strength and turned their attention to Li Rui as a rival in the Contention for the Great Dao.

• Li Rui greeted Gao Tianxia before the Holy Emperor and Gu Changsheng, then stood behind his Martial Granduncle as Gao asked the emperor to look after him.
• The Holy Emperor reassured Gao that Li Rui was a pillar of the Imperial Court, and Gao said he still had no wish to change the world.
• Gao Tianxia detected Yellow Dragon Child spying from afar and injured him, while Gu Changsheng realized who the observer was.
• Gao praised Li Rui’s progress, urged him to practice his fists three times a day, and vanished back toward East Sea City.
• Yellow Dragon Child told He Jiuxuan that Gao’s strength came from being the first Celestial Realm expert to break the Small Grotto-heaven’s limit.
• He Jiuxuan identified Li Rui’s Ten Thousand Evils Immunity as a rival and vowed to win the Contention for the Great Dao, with Yellow Dragon Child offering to conceal him if he acted.

Li Rui discovered that he could refine national fortune into the power of the Great Dao and emerged from seclusion after gaining greatly from presiding over the Immortal Rite. Meanwhile, the Old Duke of Wei repeatedly sought an audience with the Holy Emperor to secure his successor, but the emperor had decided that he would be the last Duke of Wei.

• Li Rui refined fortune into the power of the Great Dao and realized his position as Peacekeeper would provide a steady source for cultivation.
• Yuan An told Li Rui that the Duke of Wei had come to the capital to seek an imperial edict naming Qi Kuang as his successor.
• The Old Duke of Wei waited outside the Imperial Study for the seventh day, but the Holy Emperor again refused to see him.
• The Holy Emperor told Zhang Zilu that, despite his old debt to Qi Tang, the Duke of Wei's past actions had left him resolved to end the title with its current holder.

The Old Duke of Wei received a letter revealing the Qi Clan’s origins and urging them to return to their former post, while He Jiuxuan planned to use the Duke of Wei’s Mansion to draw Li Rui out and kill him. The Old Duke of Wei then visited Li Rui with Qi Kuang, asking for a way to save the thousand people in his household.

• Qi Kuang gave the Old Duke of Wei a letter that identified the Qi Clan as descendants of tomb keepers from Myriad Laws Palace and permitted them to return without punishment.
• He Jiuxuan revealed that he had arranged the letter and intended to use the Duke of Wei’s Mansion to lure Li Rui out and kill him.
• The Old Duke of Wei chose to visit Li Rui despite the capital’s officials avoiding his declining household.
• Li Rui welcomed the Old Duke of Wei and Qi Kuang, and the old man asked for a way to save the thousand people in his household.

Li Rui lured He Jiuxuan into a trap outside the capital and fought him after revealing himself in place of Duke of Wei. He Jiuxuan unleashed a first-grade Magic Treasure, and Li Rui opened his Immortal Domain as the battle escalated.

• Duke of Wei agreed to meet He Jiuxuan, while Li Rui prepared to take his place using a Universe Shift Talisman.
• He Jiuxuan discovered Li Rui had replaced Qi Tang and realized Duke of Wei and Li Rui had set a trap to kill him.
• He Jiuxuan attacked Li Rui with a first-grade Magic Treasure tower, but Li Rui survived its first blow.
• Li Rui struck the tower back with a fist empowered by the Great Daos within his Immortal Court.
• He Jiuxuan fueled the tower with his blood essence, awakening the power of a Celestial being within it.
• Li Rui consumed his power of fortune and opened his Immortal Domain, covering three zhang.

Li Rui used his Immortal Domain to sever He Jiuxuan’s connection to the Smelting Gold Great Dao, defeated him, and absorbed his Spirit Embryo. Afterward, Li Rui received a fragment of the Evergreen Immortal Contemplation Diagram and collected He Jiuxuan’s treasures.

• Li Rui suppressed He Jiuxuan’s Great Dao, seized his magic treasure, and shattered the Jade Talisman he tried to use.
• He Jiuxuan recognized Li Rui as Old Demon of Tiannan, but Li Rui continued attacking until He Jiuxuan’s body disintegrated.
• He Jiuxuan tried to flee as a Spirit Embryo, but Li Rui’s Dao Embryo Infant consumed him.
• Li Rui collected He Jiuxuan’s scattered treasures and received the Evergreen Immortal Contemplation Diagram fragment as an achievement reward.
• Li Rui reflected on his gains, including He Jiuxuan’s magic treasure, the nourishment from his Spirit Embryo, and the contemplation diagram fragment.