Chapter Summaries

Qing Chen realized the Rebirth Furnace had trapped the Crystal Mo Tribe cores and was gathering cultivators’ power, laws, souls, and Moyuan qi as fuel. As the furnace began drawing every remnant into its net, he concluded that it was opening to refine a Great Elixir.

• A powerful suction pulled Qing Chen, Tie Shou, and the Crystal Mo Tribe cores toward the sky, but Qing Chen anchored himself with his divine light.
• Qing Chen tried to seize a core and discovered that the Rebirth Furnace had bound the true cores inside the Sea of Suffering Hell.
• The crystal cores formed a net that absorbed the dead cultivators’ laws, magic power, souls, and the scattered Moyuan qi.
• Qing Chen suspected that Blood Fiend and Zhao Ningyi were contending and questioned whether Zhao Ningyi had been possessed.
• The net contracted, drawing the remnants of the dead into the furnace as Qing Chen recognized that it was gathering fuel to refine a Great Elixir.

Zhao Ningyi emerged from the Fire Lingzhu as the Rebirth Furnace began pulling her in, and she confronted the Gray-Black Light Net threatening to crush her. She used a fifth-tier Heart-Rending Gut-Breaking Gu to empower the Fire Lingzhu, which trapped the gu inside a barrier of Samadhi True Fire.

• Qing Chen recognized the Rebirth Furnace as the work of a pinnacle Blood Path expert and prepared to defend himself with the Demon Banner and his immortality true blood.
• The Fire Lingzhu cracked and released Zhao Ningyi, forcing her out as the Gray-Black Light Net and Crystal Mo Tribe cores turned against her.
• Zhao Ningyi ignored Qing Chen and challenged the furnace’s attack, then poured Golden Toad Granny’s power into the Fire Lingzhu.
• Zhao Ningyi tossed the Heart-Rending Gut-Breaking Gu into the Fire Lingzhu to strengthen it.
• The Fire Lingzhu formed a fiery maw and a three-colored barrier, trapping the gu as Samadhi True Fire scorched its red thread.

Zhao Ningyi used the Fire Lingzhu to consume the Fifth Tier Heart-Rending Gut-Breaking Gu and halt the Rebirth Furnace’s attempt to reclaim the fallen cultivators’ power, creating a stalemate. Both sides then turned their attention to Qing Chen, recognizing him as a dangerous variable, while he concluded that Wei Yixiao had escaped.

• The Fire Lingzhu devoured the Fifth Tier Heart-Rending Gut-Breaking Gu, and its Gu power strengthened the pearl.
• Zhao Ningyi sent the Fire Lingzhu into the Gray-Black Light Net, where its fire chains pinned the Crystal Mo Tribe cores and intercepted the power being drawn toward the Rebirth Furnace.
• Qing Chen assessed that the weakened Rebirth Furnace and the partially awakened Fire Lingzhu were evenly matched, leaving neither able to break the stalemate.
• The Crystal Mo Tribe cores and Zhao Ningyi both turned their attention to Qing Chen, recognizing that his Fire Seed Fragments and remaining strength could tip the fight.
• Qing Chen concluded Wei Yixiao had truly fled and relaxed slightly.

Qing Chen foiled Qing Sanxiao’s attempt to trigger the Blood Ginseng Spirit Wine and killed him with the Blood River God-Slaying Spear. He left Tie Shou alive but sealed his body and sea of qi, then remained poised in the air.

• Qing Sanxiao tried to activate the Blood Ginseng Spirit Wine, but it had been taken into the world within Qing Chen’s pagoda and nothing happened.
• Qing Chen used the Primordial Magnetism Divine Boat and Five Elements Escape Technique to rush Qing Sanxiao and impale him with the Blood River God-Slaying Spear.
• Qing Sanxiao tried to form a seal to defend himself, but his injuries kept him from stopping Qing Chen’s strike.
• Qing Chen refused to explain why the wine had failed, then twisted the spear and shattered Qing Sanxiao’s Nascent Soul.
• The six White Bone Demon Mara Banners devoured Qing Sanxiao’s corpse, replenishing their essence.
• Qing Chen left unconscious Tie Shou alive and used Primal Magnetism Divine Light to seal his sea of qi, limbs, and bones.

Blood Fiend and Zhao Ningyi both tried to tempt Qing Chen with knowledge of his cultivation, while each concealed a desire to take control of him. After realizing Zhao Ningyi likely shared her body with another soul, Qing Chen saw a possible weakness, but both forces attacked him at once.

• Blood Fiend recognized Qing Chen's refined essence blood and assessed his Brahma Demon-Refining Art, offering to guide his incomplete cultivation.
• Zhao Ningyi warned Qing Chen that Blood Fiend wanted his body and offered the Immortal-Locking Cult's methods as an alternative.
• Qing Chen recalled the signs of Zhao Ningyi's divided identity and concluded that two souls shared her body.
• Blood Fiend sent blood mist toward Qing Chen's brow as Zhao Ningyi's fire thread reached for his right arm, striking simultaneously.

Qing Chen fought to survive as Blood Fiend’s Blood Mist and Zhao Ningyi’s Samadhi True Fire attacked him while the two remained locked in a struggle over the Crystal Demon Cores and fallen cultivators’ power. His defenses began to fail, leaving him needing to break the stalemate before their forces killed him.

• Qing Chen unleashed his Five Elements and Primal Magnetism defenses, briefly halting the Blood Mist and Fire Line.
• Qing Chen used the White Bone Immortal-Locking Gourd to deflect the Blood Mist and cut the Fire Line with his Blood River God-Slaying Spear.
• Qing Chen evaded the divided flames with his Divine Boat, but Blood Fiend and Zhao Ningyi’s attacks soon caught up to him.
• Qing Chen raised layers of Protective Blood Gang, but the Blood Mist corroded it and the Samadhi True Fire cracked it apart.
• Qing Chen realized his defenses could not withstand the attacks much longer and resolved to break the stalemate.

Qing Chen used the Ancient Pendant to halt Blood Fiend and Zhao Ningyi’s assault, revealing the remnant soul of Blood Fiend’s sister, Yun Zhao, inside it. Blood Fiend shielded the pendant and demanded to know who had given it to Qing Chen, while Zhao Ningyi offered him powerful rewards to hand it over.

• As Qing Chen neared defeat, he activated the Ancient Pendant and drove back the blood mist and Samadhi fire.
• Yun Zhao’s remnant soul appeared within the pendant, and Blood Fiend turned his blood mist into a barrier to protect her.
• Blood Fiend demanded to know who had given Qing Chen the pendant and wondered whether his former master had survived.
• Qing Chen used the opening to restore his strength with pills and spirit stones while keeping the Blood River God-Slaying Spear ready.
• Zhao Ningyi offered Qing Chen the fifth Demon Seed Golden Lotus transformation, six Demon Banners, and Zhao Ningyi as his companion in exchange for the pendant.

Blood Fiend and Zhao Ningyi fought over the Jade Pendant while Qing Chen tried to keep the remnant soul inside it safe. Blood Fiend unleashed his Five Hells Blood-Shadow Demon Sword against Zhao Ningyi’s Fire Lotus Domain, leaving the clash unresolved.

• Blood Fiend focused on protecting Zhao Ningyi’s remnant soul in the Jade Pendant and threatened anyone who tried to harm her.
• Zhao Ningyi attacked the blood mist barrier, prompting Blood Fiend to fight back while Qing Chen watched and recovered his strength.
• Blood Fiend questioned Qing Chen about the Jade Pendant and the Sect Leader, and Qing Chen concealed what he knew.
• Zhao Ningyi renewed her assault with a three-headed, six-armed fire spirit dharma form, and Blood Fiend summoned the Five Hells Blood-Shadow Demon Sword.
• Zhao Ningyi formed the Fire Lotus Domain, and her lotus collided with Blood Fiend’s descending sword as Qing Chen sensed the might of Spirit Transformation.

Qing Chen watched as Zhao Ningyi and Blood Fiend fought a ruinous battle, then listened as Zhao Ningyi halted the clash and appealed to Blood Fiend to negotiate for his sister’s sake. Blood Fiend paused and asked her to speak, leaving their fight unresolved.

• Qing Chen protected the Jade Pendant inside the Immortal-Locking Gourd as Blood Fiend and Zhao Ningyi exchanged powerful attacks.
• Zhao Ningyi and Blood Fiend continued fighting until their weapons and bodies were badly damaged and both their auras weakened.
• Zhao Ningyi stopped attacking and warned Blood Fiend that continuing the fight could leave his sister vulnerable to Qing Chen.
• Zhao Ningyi proposed that they find another way forward, and Blood Fiend paused his raised sword and told her to speak.

Huo Lifei halted her clash with Blood Fiend and demanded the return of the Fire Seed Fragments, then used Yun Zhao’s fragile condition to persuade him that they should stop fighting. She warned that the Nanhua Realm could not restore Yun Zhao and that Blood Fiend would face powerful local cultivators if he left the forbidden land, leaving negotiations possible but unresolved.

• Zhao Ningyi recalled her Fire Lotus and glanced at Qing Chen, making him realize she would not let him benefit from her fight with Blood Fiend.
• Zhao Ningyi explained that the Fire Seed Fragments belonged to the Three Lives Scarlet Bright Flame and demanded their return, offering not to contest Blood Fiend’s other gains.
• Blood Fiend sent scarlet shock waves toward Zhao Ningyi, but she stood firm and warned him to consider whether Yun Zhao would live or die.
• Zhao Ningyi explained that Yun Zhao’s remnant Primordial Spirit could not be restored in the Nanhua Realm and might eventually fade even with the Ancient Pendant’s protection.
• Blood Fiend addressed Zhao Ningyi as Huo Lifei and asked what she meant, and she urged him to stop fighting and warned that native Spirit Transformation Venerables would threaten him if he left the forbidden land.

Huo Lifei offered Blood Fiend a way out of the Nanhua Realm and a chance to find a cure for his younger sister, revealing a secret passage at the Heavenly Devil Tower. She proposed working together to escape the realm, while making clear she also wanted to deal with Qing Chen.

• Huo Lifei explained that Blood Fiend could not break through the Nanhua Realm's barrier and offered her star chart and routes to the Frost Moon Stars.
• She revealed that a surviving Secret-Seal Node at the Heavenly Devil Tower could open a short-distance Star-Relocation Route into the starry heavens.
• Huo Lifei warned Blood Fiend that his younger sister had at most three hundred years left in the Nanhua Realm and described resources elsewhere that might save her.
• Blood Fiend's killing intent faded as he listened, then he asked Huo Lifei why she was telling him all this.
• Huo Lifei said she wanted to leave the Nanhua Realm too and did not want Qing Chen to profit while they fought.

Qing Chen and Huo Lifei negotiated with Blood Fiend, who offered to cooperate and recognized Qing Chen as a Blood Jiangshi Holy Son. After Qing Chen restored the Moon-Worshipping Divine Cult’s formal greeting, Blood Fiend thanked him for bringing Yun Zhao’s primordial spirit and asked what he wanted.

• Qing Chen considered sacrificing his Demon Banners, suppressed cultivators, and treasures to activate the Wisdom King Tower if the confrontation turned against him.
• Huo Lifei demanded the return of her Fire Seed, a mutual nonaggression oath, cooperation to open the Heavenly Devil Tower’s secret-seal node, and a great favor from Blood Fiend.
• Blood Fiend told Qing Chen that he had attacked to restrain him rather than kill him, and identified him as a genuine Blood Jiangshi Holy Son.
• Qing Chen recognized Blood Fiend’s attempt to ease their conflict, performed the cult’s formal salute, and addressed him as Third Elder.
• Blood Fiend praised Qing Chen for carrying on the Moon-Worshipping Divine Cult’s legacy and offered to repay him for bringing Yun Zhao’s primordial spirit, though he refused to give up the Three Tribulations Rebirth Furnace.

Qing Chen asked Blood Fiend for the complete Brahma Demon-Refining Art and Crystal Mo Tribe cores, but Blood Fiend offered him the supreme Brahma Five Hells Blood Scripture as well. Blood Fiend explained how to forge an independent path through Blood Path cultivation and warned Qing Chen that powerful techniques could contain hidden contingencies.

• Qing Chen respectfully asked Blood Fiend for the complete Brahma Demon-Refining Art and the Crystal Mo Tribe cores.
• Blood Fiend dismissed the modest requests as inadequate repayment for Qing Chen bringing Zhao'er to him.
• Blood Fiend offered Qing Chen the Brahma Five Hells Blood Scripture, his personally created Spirit Venerable-grade cultivation technique.
• Blood Fiend explained that the Five Hells built upon the Four Brahma Apertures and could guide Qing Chen toward forging a new aperture of his own.
• Blood Fiend warned Qing Chen that Blood Path techniques could contain hidden backdoors that let their creators control or refine their cultivators.
• Blood Fiend urged Qing Chen to learn from his methods without becoming his copy, and Qing Chen recognized the advice as a true imparting of the Dao.

Blood Fiend gave Qing Chen the True Explanation of Yang Spirit Dharma Control, his first-Tribulation Blood Path insights, and over a hundred Crystal Mo Tribe cores in repayment for restoring Zhao’s Remnant Soul. As Blood Fiend prepared to send Qing Chen back to the Nine Netherworlds Forbidden Grounds, the woman in the Fire Lotus stopped him, saying someone wanted to see him.

• Blood Fiend explained that he could not teach Qing Chen the Moon-Worshipping God-Slaying Strategy or the Ananda Blood Sea Pagoda Sutra, but could pass on the True Explanation of Yang Spirit Dharma Control.
• Blood Fiend offered Qing Chen all the Crystal Mo Tribe cores and a Jade Slip containing his first-Tribulation Blood Path insights and information about the cult’s Main Altar, while keeping the Nascent Soul Cultivators’ belongings for his journey with Zhao.
• Qing Chen thanked Blood Fiend and gathered the cores and Jade Slip, sealing the Jade Slip carefully before placing it in his Storage Ring.
• Blood Fiend said his gifts repaid Qing Chen for bringing back Zhao’s Remnant Soul, then prepared to send him out of the Nine Netherworlds Forbidden Grounds and asked him to return the Jade Pendant.
• The white-haired, black-robed woman in the Fire Lotus interrupted Blood Fiend and told Qing Chen that someone wanted to see him.

Zhao Ningyi regained control of her body and faced Qing Chen after more than two hundred years apart. Qing Chen tried to use their unresolved past to influence her, leaving Zhao Ningyi visibly unsettled.

• Zhao Ningyi regained control while Blood Fiend watched and Huo Lifei refrained from taking over again.
• Zhao Ningyi recalled how her feelings about Qing Chen had shifted from hatred to astonishment, jealousy, and renewed killing intent as she learned of his rise and planned marriage to Tie Qingyao.
• Qing Chen and Zhao Ningyi stared at each other in silence before he addressed her as the Commandery Princess of Ford City.
• Qing Chen said he once thought Zhao Ningyi had died and would have taken her to the Condensed Jade Sect if he had known they would meet again.
• Zhao Ningyi rebuked Qing Chen for bringing up the past, but he suggested she had come out because she had still been thinking about him.

Qing Chen confronted Zhao Ningyi’s threat by revealing a pair of boots she had made for him more than two hundred years earlier, showing that he still remembered their past. He offered the boots back and promised not to harm her even if she attacked him in the future.

• Zhao Ningyi vowed to kill Qing Chen, and he told her he would wait for her to become strong enough.
• Qing Chen took a pair of blue men’s boots from his Storage Ring, and Zhao Ningyi recognized them as the gift she had made him in the mortal world.
• Qing Chen said he had kept the boots as a reminder of the first woman who had given him a gift with genuine affection.
• Qing Chen revealed that the original boots had been lost, and he had secretly commissioned more than a thousand carefully matched replacements before choosing this pair.
• Qing Chen offered the boots back to Zhao Ningyi and promised that he would not harm her if she tried to attack him in the future.

Zhao Ningyi insisted that Qing Chen must survive long enough for her to kill him herself, while Huo Lifei agreed to trade node information only for something valuable. Qing Chen revealed that he knew where the missing fifth Fire Seed Fragment was.

• Zhao Ningyi told Huo Lifei that she wanted Qing Chen to leave the Nanhua Realm so she could destroy his hopes and kill him herself.
• Huo Lifei refused to give away the node locations and activation method for nothing, then allowed Zhao Ningyi to negotiate for a valuable exchange.
• Qing Chen offered to return his two Fire Seed Fragments, but Huo Lifei rejected the offer, saying Blood Fiend had already promised them to her.
• Qing Chen asked about the missing fifth fragment, and Blood Fiend explained that it had vanished without a trace after the fragments were scattered.
• Qing Chen announced that the fifth Fire Seed Fragment was in Wei Yixiao's hands.

Qing Chen persuaded Huo Lifei to trade Nanhua Realm information and a cultivation method for his promise to retrieve the Fire Seed Fragment from Wei Yixiao. Huo Lifei gave him a sealed Jade Butterfly and began teaching him the first turn of the Profound Womb Demon Lotus Platform Method.

• Qing Chen told Huo Lifei that Wei Yixiao had hidden a Fire Seed Fragment inside his Black Pagoda and used the information to bargain for her help.
• Huo Lifei agreed to give Qing Chen node locations, unlocking methods, and a star chart if he signed a Rules Contract and returned the fragment to her in the Shiyuan Immortal Star Sea.
• Blood Fiend urged Huo Lifei to bind Qing Chen with their Rules Alliance Pact, and Qing Chen agreed while privately doubting that Wei Yixiao even had a fragment.
• Zhao Ningyi warned Qing Chen not to take another Dao Companion, then withdrew from control of her body.
• Huo Lifei gave Qing Chen a sealed Jade Butterfly containing three hidden node locations, a star chart, information about Wei Yixiao, and the Immortal-Locking Cult's Spirit Transformation divine soul method.
• Huo Lifei offered to teach Qing Chen the first turn of the Profound Womb Demon Lotus Platform Method immediately.

Qing Chen received the first revolution of the Profound Womb Demon Lotus Platform Method from Huo Lifei and discovered it could turn Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons into nourishment for his divine soul. Huo Lifei, Blood Fiend, and Qing Chen then established a binding contract governing their cooperation and Qing Chen’s future return of the fifth Fire Seed Fragment.

• Huo Lifei gave Qing Chen the first-revolution method and warned him to keep it to himself, while Qing Chen cautiously examined the jade slip.
• Qing Chen learned that the method used a Xuanpin Demon Gate to devour Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons, making their attacks during Spirit Transformation a potential source of power.
• Huo Lifei produced fifth-tier spiritual materials to create a contract with Blood Fiend and Qing Chen, and Blood Fiend identified the Star-Soul Oath Blood, Boundary-Pattern Golden Paper, life-locking azure mulberry, and Star-Pattern Sand.
• Huo Lifei set the contract’s terms: she and Blood Fiend would refrain from harming each other and their protected souls, cooperate until they left the Nanhua Realm, and not expose or destroy the passage to the Heavenly Devil Tower node.
• The contract required Huo Lifei to reveal the Jade Butterfly’s sealed information to Qing Chen and required Qing Chen to return the fifth Fire Seed Fragment if he gained the strength to reach the Shiyuan Immortal Star Sea.

Qing Chen sealed an oath with Huo Lifei and Blood Fiend, then watched them leave with Yun Zhao’s pendant, the Rebirth Furnace, and the Fire Seed Fragments. Left behind with the unconscious Tie Shou, he spent half a month recovering from his injuries.

• Qing Chen, Huo Lifei, and Blood Fiend sealed a contract by dripping their essence blood onto the golden paper.
• Blood Fiend reclaimed Yun Zhao’s jade pendant and told Qing Chen to follow his advice in the Heavenly Devil Tower and pass on the Moon-Worshipping Divine Cult’s inheritance if possible.
• Huo Lifei warned Qing Chen that he was far weaker than the tower’s top prodigies and could not safely refine the Heavenly Devil Race’s ancient bloodline.
• Blood Fiend and Huo Lifei departed with the Rebirth Furnace and the two Fire Seed Fragments, leaving Qing Chen and the unconscious Tie Shou behind.
• Qing Chen bound Tie Shou, formed a Spirit-Gathering Formation with spirit stones and Fortune Spirit Crystals, and meditated for half a month to recover.