Chapter Summaries

Ying Huaixu negotiated deals with the Star-Seizing Sect, the Ten Thousand Dragons Sacred Land, and the Nether Capital Merchant Guild, while Lao Zhuang delegated the talks to him. After consulting Lü Qingyi about the Merchant Guild’s offer, Ying Huaixu was told to have its representative sign a contract with Lao Zhuang.

• Ying Huaixu negotiated with the Star-Seizing Sect Master and secured a contract allowing ten disciples to enter the Divine Firmament Grand Secret Realm for ten million Dao Stones a month, with the disciples keeping everything they obtained.
• Lao Zhuang approved Ying Huaixu’s contract and asked him to negotiate cooperation with the Ten Thousand Dragons Sacred Land.
• Ying Huaixu arranged for the Dragon Clan to supply materials in exchange for the Divine Firmament Sword Sect crafting magical artifacts, with one artifact given for every ten sets of materials.
• The Nether Capital Merchant Guild proposed taking over the sect’s production orders for twenty percent of the profits, offering to save Ying Huaixu time for cultivation.
• Ying Huaixu consulted Lü Qingyi about the Merchant Guild’s proposal, and Lü Qingyi told him to have its representative sign a contract with Lao Zhuang.

Ying Huaixu approved a partnership with the Nether Capital Merchant Guild and left to find Ye Ningshuang and the others. The Star-Seizing Sect Master and Madam discussed how Ying Huaixu was reshaping the balance of power and concluded that his conspicuous role might be drawing danger away from others.

• Lü Qingyi agreed to let the Nether Capital Merchant Guild serve as a public face for their business, and Ying Huaixu promised to visit her after recovering.
• Ying Huaixu said farewell to the Star-Seizing Sect Master and hurried off to find Ye Ningshuang and the others.
• The Star-Seizing Sect Master worried that Ying Huaixu was quietly unifying the sects, while the Star-Seizing Sect Madam argued that his revelations had shown them the danger ahead.
• The Star-Seizing Sect Madam cautioned against forming an alliance too soon, reasoning that Ying Huaixu was delaying support negotiations to avoid alerting the hidden forces.
• The Star-Seizing Sect Master reflected on the Divine Firmament Sword Sect’s role in past calamities and wondered why his own sect had no one like Ying Huaixu.
• The Star-Seizing Sect Master realized Ying Huaixu was shouldering the attention while Ye Ningshuang was also formidable.

Ying Huaixu reunited with his disciples, learned that Ye Ningshuang was beating He Xiuyuan and Qin Erniu over their wasted talents, and distributed the Star Sea Secret Realm spoils among the group. After spending two more days at the Star-Seizing Sect, he left with everyone, while the sect master discovered Ying Huaixu had doubled his secret savings.

• Ying Huaixu found Ye Ningshuang beating He Xiuyuan and Qin Erniu because they could not properly demonstrate their powerful talents.
• Ying Huaixu divided the Dao Stones and spirit stones, sending seventy percent to the Divine Firmament Sword Sect and sharing the rest among the group.
• Ying Huaixu distributed the Star Sea treasures and spells to his fellow disciples, keeping none for himself.
• Ying Huaixu spent two days at the Star-Seizing Sect before departing with everyone.
• The Star-Seizing Sect Master found a note from Ying Huaixu and discovered that Ying Huaixu had added fifty thousand spirit stones to his secret savings.

After returning to the sect, Ying Huaixu considered the coming World Boss battle and told the disciples to strengthen their cultivation. He visited He Xixiang, who made him take a day off with wine, and both master and disciple quickly fell asleep.

• The Divine Firmament Sword Sect disciples redid their cultivation, and Ying Huaixu was pleased with their improved strength ahead of the Sect Defense Battle.
• Ying Huaixu worried that the World Boss battle might involve multiple bosses and that the sect’s strongest allies might be unavailable.
• Ying Huaixu told Huang Tianqi and the others to raise their Dao Palace levels before breaking through to Spirit Aspect, then returned to Tianqu Peak to visit He Xixiang.
• He Xixiang hugged Ying Huaixu, fussed over him, and told him to stop thinking about the future for the day.
• He Xixiang and Ying Huaixu drank her treasured wine, passed out after a sip, and Lü Qingyi settled them in and confiscated the jugs.

Ying Huaixu gained experience by sleeping beside He Xixiang, then went to Lü Qingyi, who gave him a Heavenly Tribulation Pearl to help him break through. After perfecting his Extreme Ice Dao Palace and defeating a heart demon that impersonated Lü Qingyi, he was told to take someone with him the next time he went out.

• Ying Huaixu woke beside He Xixiang, gained experience from being near her, and left when Lü Qingyi summoned him.
• Lü Qingyi gave Ying Huaixu a Heavenly Tribulation Pearl and stood guard as he used it to complete his tribulation.
• Ying Huaixu spent nearly a hundred thousand Dao Stones to perfect his Extreme Ice Dao Palace, which became the immortal-grade Guanghan Palace.
• Ying Huaixu challenged his heart demon and encountered a version of Lü Qingyi who called him her husband and invited him to bed.
• A droplet pierced the heart demon's forehead, completing Ying Huaixu's challenge, and Lü Qingyi told him to take someone along on his next outing.

Ying Huaixu broke through to Spirit Aspect and discovered the powers and abilities of his two Spirit Aspects. Lü Qingyi concealed his golden Way Sword Spirit Aspect from detection, then punished him with lightning after he made an improper remark.

• Ying Huaixu reached the first layer of Spirit Aspect and unlocked the Lord of Guanghan Palace and Lord of the Way Sword Spirit Aspects.
• Ying Huaixu activated the Guanghan Palace Spirit Aspect, froze his Small World, and found that both Spirit Aspects slowly gained experience while cultivating.
• Ying Huaixu examined the Way Sword upgrade and learned that its improvements accumulated without adverse effects, though he wondered how to obtain more Spirit Leaves.
• Lü Qingyi sensed Ying Huaixu's twin Spirit Aspects and placed a protective barrier over the golden one so others could not detect it when inactive.
• Ying Huaixu asked Lü Qingyi to change back to her former appearance, and she struck him repeatedly with Violet Firmament Divine Thunder.

Lü Qingyi sent Ying Huaixu to Reflection Cliff to release Old Ten and have her act as his guardian. After bringing her out, Ying Huaixu updated the Illusory Dream Trial with Star-Devouring Clan instances, which proved too difficult for the sect’s disciples.

• Lü Qingyi told Ying Huaixu that Old Ten’s cultivation had fallen to the Spirit Manifestation Realm and sent him to release her from Reflection Cliff.
• Ying Huaixu released Old Ten, who flirted with him before becoming docile when she noticed He Xixiang watching from the clouds.
• Old Ten agreed to accompany Ying Huaixu as a senior sister and said she wanted to see how the Divine Firmament Sword Sect had changed over the past six hundred years.
• Ying Huaixu discovered he could draw the Illusory Dream Trial toward himself and added instances featuring all twenty-four Star-Devouring Clan branches, plus separate instances for the Star-Devouring Leader and Silver-White Star-Devourer.
• The sect’s disciples tried the new instances, found them overwhelmingly difficult, and decided to focus on passing He Xiuyuan instead.

Ying Huaixu returned to the Divine Firmament Sword Sect to research a new cultivation build while his companions pursued their own training. Huang Tianqi’s bottleneck led him to discover that Li Chunfeng had grasped minor time abilities through pill refining, leaving the Pill Peak Master stunned by the pair’s breakthroughs.

• Ying Huaixu entered the Scripture Pavilion to choose cultivation techniques and spells for a budget endgame build, and he resolved to punish Ye Ningshuang when she returned from running instances.
• He Xiuyuan began punishing training with Cheng Wanshu, Qin Erniu went mining, Qiu Shiyi merged with weak water, and Chen Zhiyuan worked on formations and other devices.
• Huang Tianqi failed to form a Spirit Aspect despite reaching Great Perfection in his Spatial Dao Palace, so he returned to the Pill Room to refine pills and argued with Li Chunfeng.
• Huang Tianqi tried to break through his bottleneck by refining pills in a spatial Alchemy Furnace, while Li Chunfeng repeatedly restored the damaged ingredients.
• Huang Tianqi realized Li Chunfeng had comprehended time laws, and Li Chunfeng demonstrated that he could accelerate and reverse time in small areas.
• The Pill Peak Master was left wondering why years of pill refining had taught him only the Dao of alchemy when Huang Tianqi and Li Chunfeng had grasped space and time through the same craft.

Huang Tianqi and Li Chunfeng used spatial and time laws to improve their alchemy, while Huang helped Li strengthen his cultivation through the Illusory Dream Trial. The Pill Peak Master struggled with the comparison, and the chapter ended when Zhuang Mu noticed the woman in yellow called Old Ten had been let out.

• Huang Tianqi used spatial laws to shape pills, while Li Chunfeng rewound failed alchemy and repeatedly refined pills with time laws.
• Huang Tianqi and Li Chunfeng agreed to train together, with Huang helping Li solidify his cultivation and Li advising Huang on alchemy.
• Li Chunfeng endured the Illusory Dream Trial and raised his power from 0.05 He to 0.5 He, inspiring other Divine Firmament Sword Sect disciples to train on higher difficulties and consume more pills.
• Li Chunfeng began using time laws to increase the ages of spirit herbs, while Huang Tianqi occasionally produced immortal-grade pills despite his unorthodox methods.
• The Pill Peak Master grew despondent over the dominance of spatial and time laws, and Zhuang Mu tried to console him by reminding him that other sect members also faced rivals and setbacks.
• Zhuang Mu sensed the woman in yellow, realized Junior Sister had let Old Ten out, and predicted that things would get entertaining.

Old Ten returned to the Divine Firmament Sword Sect and struggled to understand its friendly, harmonious disciples and the sect’s new ways. After learning that her false accusation had led Lü Qingyi to purge Ancient God Firmament, she watched the Illusory Dream Trial and chose to challenge Lü Qingyi at ridiculous difficulty.

• Old Ten released her demonic energy, but the disciples admired her aura and urged her to try the Illusory Dream Trial.
• A disciple told Old Ten that Lü Qingyi had purged Ancient God Firmament after being falsely accused of demonic cultivation, and Old Ten realized her own accusation had set the events in motion.
• Old Ten watched disciples fight monsters in the Illusory Dream Trial and was impressed by their smooth, ferocious combat.
• The disciples explained that the trial recorded enemies Ying Huaixu had fought or slain, and Old Ten learned that he was the Holy Son they called Sister Ying.
• Before a disciple could warn her against choosing an extreme challenge, Old Ten selected ridiculous difficulty and Lü Qingyi’s challenge.

Old Ten easily cleared Lü Qingyi and He Xixiang’s Ridiculous Difficulty illusions, but Ying Huaixu repeatedly defeated her when they fought at the same level. After studying his records, she understood why Lü Qingyi had asked her to guard him and looked forward to seeing what threats he would face next.

• Old Ten defeated the weakened illusions of Lü Qingyi and He Xixiang, then entered Ying Huaixu’s illusion and was overwhelmed by his freezing techniques, Sword Mark, and relentless attacks.
• After five attempts, Old Ten released the seal on her Spirit Aspect physical body and beat the Dao Seal Realm Ying Huaixu with one punch.
• That night, Old Ten sealed her physical body and cultivation to Ying Huaixu’s level and fought him repeatedly, losing every time and learning to stop showing off while casting techniques.
• Old Ten recognized Ying Huaixu’s exceptional battlefield control, crowd control, damage, and recovery, and concluded that no one could beat him one-on-one at the same realm.
• Old Ten reviewed Ying Huaixu’s records of fighting the Four Foxes, slashing the Falling Star Giant Beast, and leading the Inner Sect through the Star Sea Secret Realm, then welcomed the chance to guard him against future threats.

Old Ten eagerly awaited Ying Huaixu’s return from seclusion while Tai Wangshu persuaded the Taiyin Sacred Land to ally with the Divine Firmament Sword Sect against the Outsiders. The elders questioned the alliance, but Tai Wangshu rejected cooperation with the Outsiders and insisted there was no safe neutrality.

• Old Ten finished viewing Ying Huaixu’s past and eagerly urged him to end his seclusion.
• Tai Wangshu presented Little Rabbit to the Taiyin Sacred Land’s leaders, and the Taiyin Old Ancestor revealed his identity and defended her decision to cooperate with the Divine Firmament Sword Sect.
• The Taiyin Old Ancestor showed the elders battle footage from the Star Sea Secret Realm, convincing them that Tai Wangshu was too valuable to alienate.
• Tai Wangshu declared that the Taiyin Sacred Land should tie its fate to the Divine Firmament Sword Sect, and the Taiyin Saint Lord warned that the Outsiders might retaliate.
• Tai Wangshu argued that the factions had to unite against the Outsiders, then rejected an elder’s proposal to cooperate with them.

Tai Wangshu suspected the Heavenly Dao was secretly using Ying Huaixu as its real countermeasure against the Outsiders, and the Taiyin Old Ancestor backed her decisions and took her as his disciple. When her new cultivation began, she rejected the Old Ancestor’s techniques and resources, saying she needed Pure Yang Power to balance her Taiyin Great Dao and ultimately asking him for merit.

• Tai Wangshu reasoned that the Heavenly Dao might be hiding its true plans behind Lü Qingyi and Ye Ningshuang, with Ying Huaixu serving as its real trump card.
• The Taiyin Old Ancestor ordered the Taiyin Sacred Land to follow Tai Wangshu and kill anyone caught contacting the Outsiders, then declared that he would personally guide her cultivation.
• The Taiyin Saint Lord gave Tai Wangshu the complete Taiyin Scripture, and the Old Ancestor took her to a star-filled Small World as his final disciple.
• Tai Wangshu dismissed the Old Ancestor’s Divine Abilities, cultivation methods, and resources, saying she needed to create her own method.
• Tai Wangshu said she needed Pure Yang Power to balance her Great Dao, then told the female Taiyin Old Ancestor that she wanted his merit, which he gave her.

Tai Wangshu transformed merit into power, mastered new techniques, and awakened a Yin-Yang Goddess Dharma Aspect with extraordinary restorative and offensive abilities. She tested her strength against a projection of Ying Huaixu but concluded she could not defeat him alone.

• Tai Wangshu explained that merit could be transformed into power, then used it to advance her Taiyin Scripture and divine abilities to full mastery.
• Tai Wangshu turned merit into a Taiji symbol, broke through her realm, and manifested a Yin-Yang Goddess Dharma Aspect that shattered a heavenly tribulation.
• Tai Wangshu used the Restoration Art to return the Taiyin Old Ancestor to human form and restore his cultivation, while explaining that other spirit beasts paid the balancing cost.
• Tai Wangshu demonstrated The Dao Gives Birth to One by striking a distant mountain peak with a Taiji Diagram.
• Tai Wangshu fought a projection of Ying Huaixu and determined that even four fighters like her might not be able to defeat him.

Tai Wangshu tested the yin-yang techniques she had developed after entering the Spirit Aspect realm and taught the Taiyin Old Ancestor the Profound Scripture of Yin and Yang. The Taiyin Old Ancestor used up his merit to master it, then prepared to leave with Tai Wangshu’s supplies as she warned him that First Yin might be planning a major move against the outsiders.

• Tai Wangshu used her new fist art to overpower the Taiyin Old Ancestor and redirect his divine abilities back at him.
• Tai Wangshu gave the Taiyin Old Ancestor the Profound Scripture of Yin and Yang, which he deciphered by spending his merit and reached minor mastery.
• The Taiyin Old Ancestor worried that merit might make him a puppet of the Heavenly Dao, and Tai Wangshu explained how merit and karmic retribution worked.
• After exhausting his merit, the Taiyin Old Ancestor claimed he needed to gain experience and asked Tai Wangshu for supplies.
• Tai Wangshu gave the Taiyin Old Ancestor over two hundred Revival Pills and a Yin-Yang Jade Pendant, and warned him that First Yin might soon act against the outsiders.

Xu Yaoyang punished He Fangxu for threatening him, then investigated He Xiuyuan’s past and realized the Great Sun Saint Lord had deliberately pushed his son away to protect him. Believing the Saint Lord had staged the estrangement and entered seclusion to hand him authority, Xu Yaoyang prepared to visit the lady.

• He Fangxu confronted Xu Yaoyang about failing to save him, and Xu Yaoyang killed him and his guards before having disciples take him away for a lesson.
• Xu Yaoyang requested and read the information on He Fangxu and He Shurong, then noticed how the Great Sun Saint Lord had treated He Xiuyuan after the second young lady reached adulthood.
• Xu Yaoyang inferred that the Saint Lord had deliberately neglected He Xiuyuan and sent him away to protect him from the changed He Fangxu and He Shurong.
• Xu Yaoyang concluded that the Saint Lord’s actions and apparent seclusion were calculated, then ordered preparations to visit the lady.

Xu Yaoyang gained authority to manage the Great Sun Sacred Ground while its leader entered seclusion, then warned Ying Huaixu about the danger of karmic retribution. Ying Huaixu suspected the Outsiders were exploiting the Heavenly Dao’s punishment system and asked Xu Yaoyang to investigate Heart-Questioning Valley.

• Xu Yaoyang visited the lady of the house with pastries, and she saw images of He Xiuyuan’s recent life and wept.
• The lady of the house gave Xu Yaoyang a token and told him to manage the sect while Old He entered seclusion, warning him not to burden their disciples with karmic retribution.
• Xu Yaoyang told Ying Huaixu that the Great Sun Sacred Ground’s leaders seemed willing to help the Divine Firmament Sword Sect and asked what karmic retribution meant.
• Ying Huaixu discovered that karmic retribution could progressively suppress cultivation, soul, and body, and suspected the Outsiders were exploiting the Heavenly Dao’s rigid punishment system.
• Ying Huaixu considered the world upgrade quest as a possible solution, then asked Xu Yaoyang to investigate Heart-Questioning Valley in detail.
• Xu Yaoyang agreed but asked Ying Huaixu what reward he would receive.

Ying Huaixu paid Xu Yaoyang to investigate, then developed an ice-support sword build and refined his bonded magic treasure. He finished with a powerful new setup but was frustrated by the treasure’s mostly useless affixes.

• Ying Huaixu promised Xu Yaoyang a reward for gathering intelligence and sent him five thousand revival pills.
• Xu Yaoyang agreed to investigate after making a breakthrough first.
• Ying Huaixu assembled an ice-support sword build using frost abilities, sword techniques, the Ice Mystic Scripture, and Frost Annihilation-Moonlight.
• Ying Huaixu refined his bonded magic treasure and unlocked several affixes, most of which increased defense instead of the damage he wanted.

Ying Huaixu strengthened Xiaoxue, then recruited Tai Wangshu to join him after his usual companions proved unavailable. They reached a guarded Cave Abode that served as the next Instance for raising the World Level, where Ying Huaixu spotted a red-haired young man marked as a Small World boss-level monster.

• Ying Huaixu unlocked and rerolled Xiaoxue's abilities and attributes, causing her severe pain, then restored her condition and improved her mood with a cat teaser.
• Ying Huaixu found that Huang Tianqi was stuck at a bottleneck, Qiu Shiyi, Chen Zhiyuan, and He Xiuyuan were in seclusion, Qin Erniu was still mining, and Ye Ningshuang was unreachable.
• Ying Huaixu contacted Tai Wangshu, learned she had reached the second level of Spirit Aspect, and asked her to join him; Old Ten followed after he left.
• Ying Huaixu and Tai Wangshu met and were both shocked by each other's strength, while Old Ten watched them from the clouds.
• Ying Huaixu, Tai Wangshu, and Old Ten arrived at the guarded Cave Abode, where Ying Huaixu noticed a red-haired young man whose map icon identified him as a Small World boss-level monster.

Ying Huaixu and Tai Wangshu completed the secret realm quest while Old Ten slaughtered their enemies outside. The world level rose, but Ying Huaixu could not detect the promised changes, while Tai Wangshu sensed that heaven and earth had changed.

• Tai Wangshu told Ying Huaixu that the red-haired young man was only at Spirit Aspect, but Old Ten arrived before Ying Huaixu could attack.
• Old Ten slaughtered the Ten Thousand Demons Sacred Land, Ten Thousand Buddha Mountain, and Thousand Mechanisms Sect group, and the red-haired young man fled after spotting Ying Huaixu.
• Ying Huaixu and Tai Wangshu entered the secret realm, where Ying Huaixu disarmed its mechanisms and inserted the World Jade into a slot on a floating platform.
• The secret realm collapsed and sent Ying Huaixu and Tai Wangshu outside, where they found Old Ten still killing members of the Ten Thousand Demons Sacred Land and the Thousand Mechanisms Sect.
• Ying Huaixu completed the world upgrade quest and received a notice of 100 billion EXP and special rewards, but he could not sense any changes; Tai Wangshu sensed that heaven and earth had changed.