Recaps

Qing Chen’s Red Pawn defeated the black pieces in the chessboard trial, earning a flood of spiritual resonance that let him glimpse the laws of heaven and earth. The insight brought him closer to understanding Unity of Heaven and Man as the chapter ended.

• Qing Chen trapped the Black Chariot with geomagnetic threads and drove it back using Primal Magnetism Divine Light.
• Qing Chen’s Red Pawn destroyed the Black Chariot, raising Qing Chen’s cultivation to peak Golden Core and deepening his understanding of magnetic arts.
• The red pieces overwhelmed the remaining black formation while Qing Chen’s Red Pawn kept the Black General pinned near the Nine Palaces.
• Qing Chen’s Red Pawn broke the Black General’s defenses and sealed away his Pseudo-Nascent Soul aura, destroying the last black piece.
• Spiritual resonance surged into Qing Chen’s Red Pawn, allowing Qing Chen to sense the laws of heaven and earth and understand Unity of Heaven and Man as a bridge to them.

Qing Chen and Cold Mountain returned from the Spirit Abyss Chess Game with new insights and discovered that Huan Chan’s body had been left behind with his divine soul erased. Cold Mountain realized the chessboard might have devoured the souls of everyone eliminated during the game.

• Qing Chen emerged from the chessboard with deeper insights into Golden Core cultivation, heaven-and-earth resonance, and Primal Magnetism Divine Light.
• Cold Mountain returned safely and told Qing Chen that a valiant Red Pawn had helped turn the game around.
• Cold Mountain hurried toward Frost Centipede Valley’s heart, fearing Huan Chan might have survived and reached the Dao Palace.
• Qing Chen followed Cold Mountain and found Huan Chan’s body beside the black crystal, with no trace of his divine soul.
• Cold Mountain concluded that the chessboard had devoured the divine souls of eliminated pieces, and murderous intent suddenly appeared behind him.

Qing Chen ambushed Cold Mountain with Primal Magnetism Divine Light and steadily overwhelmed him with his battle halberd and magnetic threads. Cold Mountain was left badly injured and bound, while Qing Chen continued attacking.

• Qing Chen burned essence blood and struck Cold Mountain from behind with golden-black divine light, piercing his defenses and damaging his back.
• Qing Chen pressed his advantage with the Pojun Battle Halberd and Primal Magnetism Storm, wounding Cold Mountain and binding his legs with magnetic threads.
• Cold Mountain’s qi and blood deteriorated as Qing Chen disarmed him and struck his chest, leaving him severely injured.
• Qing Chen pierced Cold Mountain’s calf and struck his chest again, knocking him into the air as magnetic threads bound both his arms.

Qing Chen killed Cold Mountain, looted both him and Huan Chan, and used their corpses to strengthen his Demon Banners. With two banners advancing to mid-grade, he left Frost Centipede Valley and hurried toward the Mountain Summit Dao Palace to seek its opportunities and make a breakthrough.

• Qing Chen confirmed Cold Mountain was dead after battering him with the Battle Halberd, then removed the Magnetic Threads and cleaned the weapon.
• Qing Chen took the Storage Rings from Cold Mountain and Huan Chan and found Spirit Stones, pills, Magic Treasures, cultivation techniques, and treasures for a Nascent Soul breakthrough.
• Qing Chen summoned his four White Bone Demon Banners and had them devour the corpses for qi, blood, bones, and baleful power.
• After seven days, the Po Jun Banner and Xuanming Banner advanced to mid-grade, while the Greedy Wolf Banner grew stronger.
• Qing Chen left Frost Centipede Valley and rushed toward the White Jade Path and Mountain Summit Dao Palace.

Qing Chen found that the magnetic crystals he carried could no longer strengthen his Primal Magnetism Divine Light and reached the White Jade Path leading to the Mountain Summit Dao Palace. There he encountered Zhaoshenzi, whose hostility eased when he saw Qing Chen’s Primal Magnetism Storm, but both men remained wary as they prepared to ascend.

• Qing Chen tested four magnetic crystals, found them too weak to help his advanced Primal Magnetism Divine Light, and kept them for trade.
• Qing Chen crossed Magnetic Origin Mountain, killing third-tier magnetic beasts and avoiding the mountain’s traps until he found the White Jade Path.
• As Qing Chen approached the White Jade Steps, he sensed a powerful figure approaching through a dangerous vortex and saw Zhaoshenzi arrive in a burst of golden light.
• Zhaoshenzi challenged Qing Chen over the upheaval he had caused in the Heavenly Illumination Archipelago, while Qing Chen pointed out that Zhaoshenzi was also among the nine survivors of the Spirit Abyss Chess Game.
• Qing Chen revealed his minor-achievement Primal Magnetism Storm, prompting Zhaoshenzi to acknowledge that he had underestimated Qing Chen and withdraw the power of heaven and earth he had gathered.

Qing Chen climbed the White Jade Steps and was drawn through a pale-gold light curtain to the Mountain Summit Dao Palace. He could not approach the palace, which repeatedly shifted away before vanishing into golden light.

• Qing Chen climbed the magnetically suppressive White Jade Steps while Zhaoshenzi followed at a distance.
• A pale-gold light curtain appeared ahead, and its suction pulled Qing Chen through it.
• Qing Chen arrived before the Primordial Extremity Dao Palace, but found no other cultivators there.
• The Dao Palace repeatedly shifted away whenever Qing Chen tried to approach or attack it.
• The Dao Palace and its stone statues dissolved into golden light and rose into the clouds, leaving Qing Chen bewildered.

Qing Chen reunited with Gong Shisan and met Mr. Jian Yi, who explained the Shushan Sword Sect’s rise and cautioned against escalating the war. Gong Shisan revealed that the Dao Palace required five fated disciples to occupy the five elemental positions and cast the Primordial Magnetism Annihilation Great Art, then gave Qing Chen a Yu Yu Profound True Pill as they prepared to find the others.

• Gong Shisan and Mr. Jian Yi arrived at the vanished Dao Palace, where Qing Chen greeted them cautiously.
• Gong Shisan introduced Mr. Jian Yi, and Qing Chen learned that the Shushan Sword Sect had risen to become one of the Upper Eight Cave Spirit Islands.
• Mr. Jian Yi urged Qing Chen to advise Sect Master Xuanji not to expand the war, and Qing Chen agreed.
• Gong Shisan explained that the Dao Palace followed Mystic Origin Exalted Immortal’s wishes and needed five fated people to open its entrance.
• Gong Shisan said they needed to find the others before his senior brother gathered five people, then gave Qing Chen a Yu Yu Profound True Pill.

Qing Chen, Gong Shisan, and Jian Yi traveled to find the others, but encountered Qing Guhong and his companions at a mountain shrouded in gray mist. Gong Shisan proposed joining forces to open the Dao Palace, and Qing Guhong agreed.

• Qing Chen accepted the Yu Yu Profound True Pill from Gong Shisan and recognized its power to aid a breakthrough to the late Golden Core stage.
• Qing Chen, Gong Shisan, and Jian Yi flew across Magnetic Origin Mountain, using their powers to clear the Magnetic Beasts and other obstacles.
• Qing Chen sensed disturbed geomagnetism and corpse qi ahead, and Gong Shisan concluded that an expert had stirred up the aura.
• Qing Chen's group met Qing Guhong, Zhaoshenzi, and Three Corpses Daoist in midair, and Qing Chen recognized the skull Three Corpses Daoist carried as belonging to True Person Wutong.
• Gong Shisan proposed that he and Qing Guhong join forces to open the Dao Palace, and Qing Guhong agreed.

Gong Shisan and Qing Guhong led five cultivators in combining their magnetic arts to reveal the Primordial Extremity Dao Palace. As the palace opened for only five breaths, Qing Guhong turned on Gong Shisan and the others attacked one another, while Qing Chen faced threats from both Zhaoshenzi and Daoist Three Corpses.

• Gong Shisan assigned the six cultivators positions, and they combined their powers to form a massive magnetic earth storm.
• Gong Shisan and Qing Guhong drove the storm into Yuanji Mountain, causing the Primordial Extremity Dao Palace to emerge from a fissure.
• Qing Guhong attacked Gong Shisan as the group prepared to enter the Dao Palace, and Gong Shisan blocked his silver lightning with the Black Pearl Beads.
• Zhaoshenzi sent a fire dragon toward Qing Chen while Daoist Three Corpses launched a skull and corpse baleful energy at his back.
• Qing Chen cleaved through the flames with the Pojun Battle Halberd and summoned a minor-achievement Primal Magnetism Storm.

Qing Chen entered the Dao Palace and secluded himself in a cave abode to break through to the late Golden Core stage. After a month of cultivation, his Golden Core transformed and his breakthrough succeeded, but the surrounding spiritual power suddenly turned frenzied.

• Qing Chen fought his way through the Dao Palace gates as Three Corpses Daoist pursued him, and the other cultivators followed.
• The six cultivators reached the White Jade Steps, where Gong Shisan explained that the steps and nearby caves held dense primordial magnetism and that the third trial was a training ground.
• Qing Chen chose a cave abode, sealed its entrance, set guards, and swallowed the Yu Yu Profound True Pill to begin cultivating.
• Over a month, the pill, the Dao Palace’s spiritual energy, and the geomagnetic power strengthened Qing Chen’s Golden Core without obstruction.
• Qing Chen reached the late Golden Core stage, and the spiritual power around him suddenly grew frenzied.

After breaking through to the late Golden Core stage, Qing Chen consolidated his cultivation in the Primordial Extremity Dao Palace and discovered that the White Jade Steps were a powerful cultivation ground. He continued ascending, with the steps steadily condensing his true essence.

• Qing Chen absorbed the Dao Palace’s spiritual energy for a little over a month, stabilizing his Golden Core and consolidating his late Golden Core cultivation.
• Qing Chen assessed his strengthened divine sense, lifespan, and combat power, judging that he could enter the top thirty of the Gou Wu Dragon-Tiger Ranking.
• Qing Chen withdrew the restrictions and refined corpses from his cave abode and stepped onto the White Jade Steps.
• Qing Chen found that the steps exerted no pressure and instead gently resonated with his true essence as he climbed.
• After fifty steps, Qing Chen sensed that his true essence had grown more solid, and he realized the stairs were designed to cultivate Pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivators.

Qing Chen reached the Primordial Magnetic Origin Mountain and began comprehending its Rules, rapidly advancing his understanding of Primal Magnetism Divine Light. A Light Person revealed that the six cultivators had one year to train before fighting a Guardian for a Primordial Magnetism Attribute Rule Thread.

• Qing Chen reached the terrace and recognized the Primordial Magnetic Origin Mountain as a Rules Object.
• Qing Chen found a place seven zhang from the mountain and meditated as its Magnetic Crystals resonated with him.
• A Light Person appeared before Qing Chen and explained that the six cultivators would train for one year before facing the Guardian.
• The Light Person announced that the victor would obtain the Rules Thread and qualify to become a true disciple of Yuanji.

After half a year of studying Primordial Magnetic Origin Mountain, Qing Chen fought the light figure on a suspension bridge and unleashed his strongest technique, the Primordial Magnetism Spiral Dragon. The attack struck the figure’s spiral-patterned shield, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Qing Chen was drawn into an unknown realm and found himself on a dark iron bridge above geomagnetic turbulence.
• The light figure attacked Qing Chen with a magnetic thread, and Qing Chen’s Primal Magnetism Storm and Divine Light failed to stop it.
• Qing Chen used lingering magnetic power to buy time and formed the Primordial Magnetism Spiral Dragon.
• The light figure condensed a spiral-patterned shield, and the dragon struck it with a blow that shook the bridge.
• The light figure asked whether Qing Chen had fused Primal Magnetism Storm with Primal Magnetism Divine Light.

Qing Chen defeated Venerable Xuan of Dust Departure’s light projection in their thirty-seventh suspension bridge trial, demonstrating his mastery of magnetic techniques. Venerable Xuan recognized Qing Chen’s aptitude and gave him a method for temporarily storing the Rules Thread until his cultivation could support refining it.

• Qing Chen used the Spiral Magnetic Dragon to break Venerable Xuan of Dust Departure’s shield and strike his light projection.
• Venerable Xuan acknowledged Qing Chen’s improved magnetic techniques and revealed that Qing Chen had passed the trial.
• Qing Chen explained that he wanted to keep practicing, but Venerable Xuan warned that his current cultivation could not refine the Rules Thread.
• Venerable Xuan sent Qing Chen a magic formula for temporarily storing the Rules Thread in spirit crystals or other spirit items.
• Qing Chen realized that he had supreme-grade spirit stones and welcomed the chance to preserve the Rules Thread.

Qing Chen learned the Spirit-Entrusting Art and attempted to store a Rules Thread inside a supreme-grade spirit stone. The thread began entering the stone, but the process remained dangerous as the stone shuddered under its pressure.

• Venerable Xuan of Dust Departure had been assigned to watch over the Power of Laws until time wore it away.
• Qing Chen removed the supreme-grade spirit stone from the Nine-Luminaries Glazed Vidyaraja Pagoda and studied the Spirit-Entrusting Art for more than three months.
• Qing Chen returned to the suspension bridge world and told Venerable Xuan of Dust Departure that he had mastered the art.
• Qing Chen opened the spirit stone’s aperture, and Venerable Xuan of Dust Departure sent a Rules Thread toward it.
• Qing Chen guided the Rules Thread into the spirit stone, adjusting his true essence as the stone shuddered and Venerable Xuan of Dust Departure urged him to steady it.

Qing Chen successfully used the Spirit-Lodging Formula to seal a thread of rules inside a spirit stone, then learned that Venerable Xuan of Dust Departure had recognized his Bodhi Spirit Body and cultivation background. Venerable Xuan warned him away from the Brahma Demon Sect and invited him to cultivate at the Yuanji Lineage Daoist Ground after reaching the Spirit Transformation Realm.

• Qing Chen spent three days mastering the Spirit-Lodging Formula and sealed the thread of rules inside the spirit stone.
• Venerable Xuan of Dust Departure warned Qing Chen to keep the spirit stone hidden because powerful cultivators would covet its rare aura.
• Venerable Xuan of Dust Departure recognized Qing Chen's Brahma Demon-Refining Art and Bodhi Spirit Body, and explained that advancing its second layer required extraordinary treasures.
• Venerable Xuan of Dust Departure advised Qing Chen not to join the Brahma Demon Sect and invited him to cultivate the magnetic origin rule at the Yuanji Lineage Daoist Ground after reaching Spirit Transformation.
• Qing Chen promised to seek out Venerable Xuan of Dust Departure if he broke through to the Spirit Transformation Realm.

Qing Chen received the complete Primordial Magnetism Annihilation Great Art from Venerable Xuan of Dust Departure and studied it for a year before leaving the space. The Primordial Magnetic Origin Mountain then collapsed, bringing Qing Chen and the others together on one platform, where Qing Guhong confronted Gong Shisan over hiding his gains.

• Venerable Xuan of Dust Departure gave Qing Chen the complete Primordial Magnetism Annihilation Great Art and warned him not to cultivate its higher levels before his soul and magic power had endured heaven-and-earth scouring.
• Qing Chen studied the magnetic arts for several months and left the space when his year there ended.
• Venerable Xuan of Dust Departure vanished after warning Qing Chen to judge his limits and saying he hoped to meet him again in a thousand years.
• The Primordial Magnetic Origin Mountain melted into magnetic water, and its collapse shattered the barrier around the stone platform.
• Qing Chen discovered that he stood with Qing Guhong, Zhaoshenzi, Three Corpses Daoist, Jian Yi, and Gong Shisan, and prepared for a confrontation.
• Qing Guhong angrily accused Gong Shisan of concealing his acquisition of a thread of magnetic origin rule.

Qing Guhong and Gong Shisan accused each other of taking the Magnetic Origin Rules Thread, but the Dao Palace collapsed before they could discover who had obtained it. Qing Chen was teleported out with the Rules Thread and jade slip safe, then escaped Primordial Magnetism Origin Mountain and left Wuji Island.

• Qing Guhong accused Gong Shisan of taking the Magnetic Origin Rules Thread, but neither dared to attack while the six cultivators considered that no one might have obtained it.
• The stone platform shook, and the collapsing Dao Palace teleported Qing Chen and the others away in golden light.
• Qing Chen landed near the dimmed White Jade Path, confirmed the Rules Thread and jade slip were safe, and fled down the mountain.
• Qing Chen sent Lin Changsheng a message to seek shelter, then reached the mountain entrance and met Second Elder Xuanming.
• Qing Chen received a jade talisman from Elder Xuangu, left Wuji Island for the Cold Mountain Sea Region, and discarded the jade talismans from Wuji Palace.

Sword Fool convened the rival sects at Swordheart Terrace, where Prefectural Assistant Wang of Minjiang Province arrived with official business from the Immortal Dynasty. The gathering waited to hear the important matter Wang had come to announce.

• The Condensed Jade Sect, demon sects, Eight Serpent Sect, and Cold Mountain Temple faced one another in tense silence at Swordheart Terrace.
• Sword Fool entered as the newly advanced Dharma Nascent Soul Grand Elder of the Shushan Sword Sect, and the assembled cultivators rose to greet him.
• Wang Qi, Prefectural Assistant of Xuan Prefecture, Minjiang Province, entered with Sword Fool and took the guest seat beside him.
• Sword Fool told the gathered cultivators that Wang had official Immortal Dynasty business to announce and urged them to listen carefully.

Wang Qi announced that the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty would require Gouwu Sea sects to adopt Spirit Notes and supply cultivators for a new army, while Sword Fool forced the warring sects to agree to a truce. Far away, Qing Chen visited the Vajra Zen Sect to avoid Qing Guhong and began considering how the new army might serve his plans.

• Wang Qi announced the Spirit Treasury New Policy, requiring Gouwu Sea sects to use Great Jin Spirit Notes within three months.
• Wang Qi ordered the archipelagos to provide 300,000 cultivators for the Gou Wu Whale Army and warned that Sword Fool would inspect the recruits.
• Sword Fool offered Shushan Sword Sect's mediation and demanded the rival sects sign a Four-Hundred-Year Truce Pact, leaving the Condensed Jade Sect facing territorial losses and a draft.
• Qing Chen visited the Vajra Zen Sect because he feared Qing Guhong would suspect him and try to kill him.
• Qing Chen concealed his strength while sparring with Ye Wushang and Buddha's Son Wuchen, and news of the Gou Wu Whale Army prompted him to form plans.

Qing Chen, Wuchen, and Ye Wushang discussed the Gou Wu Whale Army’s hastily assembled command structure and compared it with Great Jin’s trained Dao Armies. Wuchen explained that disciplined formations and the Immortal Dynasty’s resources could let ordinary troops challenge powerful cultivators.

• Qing Chen and Wuchen noted the high-ranking officials and cultivators who had come to establish the Gou Wu Whale Army.
• Wuchen outlined the army’s hierarchy, from its three hundred thousand troops and field armies down to squads and units.
• Ye Wushang dismissed military organization as inferior to individual cultivation and claimed one sword strike could defeat ten thousand cultivators.
• Wuchen argued that strict organization, training, resources, and fortune rules made Great Jin’s Dao Armies formidable.
• Wuchen gave examples of how trained Dao Army formations could contend with Golden Core cultivators and suppress even Nascent Soul cultivators.

Qing Chen discussed the Shushan Sword Sect’s history with Ye Wushang and Wuchen, then revealed his intention to seek a future in the Gou Wu Whale Army. Wuchen offered the Vajra Zen Sect’s help securing Qing Chen a commandant’s post, and Qing Chen accepted his offer and promised to repay the favor.

• Ye Wushang explained that his Shushan Sword Sect had moved from the Nanhua Continent to the Gouwu Sea nearly ten thousand years earlier, and that his master had served in Great Jin’s Yue-Suppressing Army.
• Qing Chen suggested that he, Ye Wushang, and Wuchen venture out together, and Ye Wushang eagerly agreed while Wuchen envied their freedom.
• Wuchen judged Qing Chen to be talented and recognized that his position in the Condensed Jade Sect had become precarious.
• Wuchen offered to use the Vajra Zen Sect’s influence to help Qing Chen join the Gou Wu Whale Army, promising that a commandant’s post was certain.
• Qing Chen accepted Wuchen’s offer, promised to repay his kindness, and asked Ye Wushang to witness their agreement.

Xuanji True Lord and his elders finalized the Condensed Jade Sect’s conscription plans while debating whether Qing Chen and his followers should be sent to the army. A sudden message announced the arrival of two powerful Shushan Sword Sect figures at Huishan Gate, and Xuanji True Lord went to welcome them.

• Yuji True Person urged the sect to send Qing Chen and his trusted retainers into the army, but Wan Hun and Chi Xuntian warned that they could build a powerful faction there.
• Xuanji True Lord selected Xin Bairen, Spirit Crane True Person, and Guangqi Jinsan to meet the Immortal Dynasty’s quota for Golden Core cultivators.
• Xuanji True Lord assigned one thousand conscripts to Qing Chen’s Demon Lotus Sect, one thousand to the Condensed Jade Sect, and two thousand to major lineages, small sects, and rogue cultivators.
• A communication talisman arrived with news that Supreme Elder Sword Fool and Grand Elder Jian Yi of the Shushan Sword Sect had reached Huishan Gate.
• Xuanji True Lord ordered Wan Hun to accompany him to welcome the visitors, while Chi Xuntian finalized the register and Yuji True Person prepared the welcoming procession.

Sword Fool delivered the Gou Wu Whale Army conscription list to Xuanji, who rejected Qing Chen’s authority to finalize it and challenged Shushan’s decision. Xuanji unleashed the Xuanpo Divine Light, damaging Sword Fool’s sword net and Jian Yi’s flying swords, leaving Sword Fool stunned by his strength.

• Sword Fool presented Xuanji with the final conscription list, explaining that Qing Chen had submitted it and Shushan had verified it.
• Xuanji objected that Qing Chen had bypassed the sect master and Elder Hall, while Yuji True Person condemned the deputy sect master’s actions.
• Jian Yi used Sword Qi to force Yuji back when he interrupted Sword Fool’s explanation.
• After Sword Fool refused to give the Condensed Jade Sect another day to deliberate, Xuanji manifested his Dharma Body and attacked with the Xuanpo Divine Light.
• Xuanji’s divine light cracked Sword Fool’s sword net and knocked three of Jian Yi’s nine flying swords to the ground, leaving Sword Fool questioning how Xuanji had become so powerful.

Xuanji used law-infused power to defeat Sword Fool’s sword net and rejected the Shushan Sword Sect’s attempt to dictate Condensed Jade Sect’s conscription. Sword Fool revealed that the Immortal Dynasty had appointed Deputy Sect Master Qing Chen to command four thousand Whale Guards, leaving the elders shocked and questioning his worthiness.

• Xuanji’s jade-colored miniature world shattered Sword Fool’s sword net and drove his flying swords back into their Sword Case.
• Xuanji insisted that Condensed Jade Sect would decide its own conscription list and refused to recognize Qing Chen’s list.
• Sword Fool conceded defeat, but warned that Xuanji’s strength still could not match Tianshu, who had reached the Nascent Soul middle stage.
• Sword Fool revealed a Great Jin Immortal Dynasty Command Token and announced Qing Chen’s appointment as deputy commander of four thousand Whale Guards in the Central Army’s Second Division.
• Wan Hun and Yuji protested Qing Chen’s appointment, while Jian Yi explained that Qing Chen was at the late Golden Core stage and had combat strength rivaling the Golden Core peak.