Chapter Summaries

After the Nine Netherworlds Forbidden Grounds expelled Qing Chen, he landed alone in a desolate wasteland and reflected on the spatial power that had scattered the cultivators. Injured and wary of encountering powerful opponents, he descended deep underground to hide and recover.

• The forbidden grounds expelled Tie Ming, Tie Qingyao, Tie Shou, Gong Shisan, and Qing Chen, forcing Qing Chen to return the Primordial Magnetism Cauldron to Tie Zhan.
• Qing Chen was hurled through a passage of shattered light and shadows and crashed into a black wasteland, where he recognized the expulsion as an expression of spatial rules.
• Qing Chen assessed his injuries from his battle with Long Yuan and realized his depleted strength left him vulnerable to nearby Nascent Soul experts.
• Qing Chen searched the surrounding area with his divine sense, found no powerful cultivators, and used the Minor Five Elements One-Origin Evasion Art to sink underground.
• Qing Chen descended more than twenty thousand zhang and stopped deep in the rock strata, where the thin spiritual qi and icy Qi of Earth Sha made the hidden location suitable for him.

Qing Chen hid nearly thirty thousand zhang underground and spent a year recovering from his injuries by refining the Azure-Faced Lion King's essence blood and Long Yuan's flesh. Once healed, he inventoried the inheritances and treasures he had acquired, while the danger outside and Huo Lifei's whereabouts remained uncertain.

• Qing Chen carved out an underground cave abode, concealed it with layered formations and treasures, and began treating his injuries.
• Qing Chen purified and refined the Azure-Faced Lion King's essence blood and pieces of Long Yuan, using his blood path and magnetic origin powers to control their conflicting forces.
• After one year, Qing Chen's injuries had almost completely healed, his true essence had recovered, and his four Brahma apertures were replenished.
• Qing Chen reviewed Blood Fiend's Brahma Demon-Refining Art, blood path scripture, cultivation insights, and other inheritances, noting that he had not obtained the Ananda Blood Sea Pagoda Sutra.
• Qing Chen examined Huo Lifei's Profound Womb Demon Lotus Platform Method and jade disc but chose not to activate the disc's sealed contents while the Nanhua Realm remained unsettled.
• Qing Chen kept the fifth Fire Seed Fragment sealed in the Nine-Luminaries Glazed Vidyaraja Pagoda as leverage over Huo Lifei, then began reviewing what he had obtained in Dust-Departure Hall.

Qing Chen assessed the power and treasures he had gained in the Nine Netherworlds Forbidden Grounds and decided to begin secluded cultivation. He planned to break through to Nascent Soul Late Stage and improve his arts while keeping his most dangerous treasures secret.

• Qing Chen reviewed his cultivation, rules, spells, physical strength, divine sense, demon banners, and concealed treasures, including the Nine-Luminaries Glazed Vidyaraja Pagoda.
• Qing Chen concluded that his strength had advanced enough to challenge powerful Heavenly Gang Ranking cultivators, though he still fell short of the strongest opponents.
• Qing Chen put aside thoughts of his enemies and the Golden Scale Alliance to avoid letting tangled worries become heart demons.
• Qing Chen chose to remain in his sealed underground cave abode and pursue a breakthrough to Nascent Soul Late Stage using his recent insights and accumulated spirit stones.
• Qing Chen sat down to cultivate and planned to transform his divine-sense method into the first revolution of the Profound Womb Demon Lotus Platform Method.

Qing Chen began cultivating the twelfth layer of the Brahma Demon-Refining Art, risking his Nascent Soul and soul to forge a Demonic Body Brahma Furnace. After severing the demon tethers binding him and enduring visions of past and future suffering, he formed the first petal of the Profound Womb Demon Lotus and set the new layer fully in motion.

• Qing Chen spent ten thousand high-grade spirit stones to create a dense spiritual-qi environment and studied the twelfth layer of the Brahma Demon-Refining Art.
• Qing Chen opened his four Brahma apertures and drew spiritual qi, blood qi, Demon King essence, and power from the Demon Banners into his body.
• Qing Chen began the Profound Womb Demon Lotus Platform Method and severed the blood-red tethers connecting his soul to the demon seed, enduring agonizing pain and a threatening voice.
• Qing Chen faced illusions of past defeats and future torment, then declared that he would not become a demon until purgatory was full.
• Qing Chen formed the first Profound Womb Demon Lotus petal, healed the fissures in his soul, and activated the twelfth layer of the Brahma Demon-Refining Art.

Qing Chen completed the Brahma-Blood Demon Wheel and continued transforming his cultivation in seclusion while the Golden Scale Alliance expanded and faced increasingly organized attacks from the Outer Sea Demon Race. At a Golden Scale Assembly more than thirty years later, Qing Chen’s seat remained empty and his fate was still unknown.

• Qing Chen endured years of cultivation as he forged the Brahma-Blood Demon Wheel and exhausted tens of thousands of high-grade spirit stones.
• After the demon wheel formed, Qing Chen remained in seclusion, refining the Demon Seed Golden Lotus method into the Profound Womb Demon Lotus Platform Method.
• The Golden Scale Alliance expanded across the Gouwu Sea, but the Outer Sea Demon Race increasingly coordinated attacks against newly opened island chains.
• Abbot Hui'an, Yaoyue, and the other leaders gathered for the Golden Scale Assembly to address the demon threat while Qing Chen’s seat remained empty.
• Rumors about Qing Chen’s disappearance persisted despite the Demon Lotus Sect killing those who spread them.

At the Golden Scale Alliance meeting, Lin Changsheng heard of the Demon Lotus Sect’s devastating losses in the beast tide and faced Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord’s attempt to seize its outer territories. The chapter left Jia Daoyi reeling under Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord’s oppressive might.

• A Golden Core True Person reported the alliance’s beast-tide losses, including the deaths of Daoist Qingyue, Gao Yuliang, Xue Qingxia, and many Demon Lotus Sect disciples.
• Lin Changsheng mourned the fallen sect veterans while suspecting that alliance leaders had helped cause the Demon Lotus Sect’s losses and defections.
• Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord argued that the Demon Lotus Sect should give up its exposed territories and offered to take them for Jiaogu Island.
• True Lord Budong restrained Lin Changsheng, and Jia Daoyi spoke up to defend the sect’s request for alliance resources.
• Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord insulted Jia Daoyi and crushed him with his late-immortality flood dragon might.

Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord tried to force Jia Daoyi to kneel, but True Lord Budong intervened and revealed that he had reached the Immortal Realm Middle Stage. The two powerful cultivators faced off in the Golden Scale Hall, leaving the Demon Lotus Sect's strength newly apparent to its rivals.

• Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord pressured Jia Daoyi with his aura, nearly forcing him to his knees.
• True Lord Budong shielded Jia Daoyi and challenged Thunder Flood Dragon for threatening someone from the Demon Lotus Sect.
• True Lord Budong revealed his Immortal Realm Middle Stage cultivation and summoned the Vajra Mound, displaying his Wisdom King Grotto-Heaven and Vajra Rules.
• Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord realized that True Lord Budong and the Vajra Mound posed a serious threat, and their auras collided across the hall.
• Jia Daoyi recalled how Lin Changsheng, True Lord Budong, Xin Bairen's Cangming Army, and Ye Wushang had sustained the Demon Lotus Sect during Qing Chen's absence.

At the Golden Scale Alliance Meeting, Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord, Old Man Tianchi, and Sea-Calming True Lord pressured the Demon Lotus Sect to surrender part of its Outer Sea defensive line, invoking its losses and Xiao Canglan’s displeasure with Qing Chen. Lin Changsheng challenged Abbot Hui'an to uphold the alliance’s purpose, threatening that the Demon Lotus Sect would leave if it would not.

• True Lord Budong stood against Thunder Flood Dragon’s pressure, but Old Man Tianchi and Sea-Calming True Lord joined in and weakened his grotto-heaven.
• Old Man Tianchi and Sea-Calming True Lord argued that the Demon Lotus Sect lacked the strength to defend its distant territory and should give up part of the defensive line.
• The three allied cultivators used their Heavenly Abyss Pass appointments and Xiao Canglan’s dissatisfaction with Qing Chen to strengthen their pressure on the Demon Lotus Sect.
• Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord claimed Jiaogu Island was offering to defend the Demon Lotus Sect’s islands for free, while Old Man Tianchi urged the sect to keep a low profile.
• Lin Changsheng stopped True Lord Budong from responding and asked Abbot Hui'an whether the Golden Scale Alliance still stood for its purpose.
• Lin Changsheng threatened that the Demon Lotus Sect would withdraw from the alliance meeting if Hui'an did not make a ruling.

The Golden Scale Alliance debated forming the Golden Scale Army, and Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord tried to take command and absorb the Demon Lotus Sect’s Cangming Army. Qing Chen suddenly appeared, revealing an overwhelming Nascent Soul Late Stage aura and leaving the assembled cultivators stunned.

• Abbot Hui'an halted the confrontation and reminded Lin Changsheng that the alliance had to focus on the growing demon tide rather than abandon the alliance.
• Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord proposed forming the Golden Scale Army and volunteered to command its expedition against the Three-Headed Black-Tailed Snake.
• Lin Changsheng challenged Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord’s plan, but Hui'an said the commander needed sufficient strength and skill to control the situation.
• Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord proposed recruiting five hundred thousand troops and drilling the Cangming Army, prompting True Lord Budong to rise in anger.
• Qing Chen’s voice came from outside the hall, stopping the wind and smoke as he challenged anyone who wanted to drill his army.
• Qing Chen entered the hall with a powerful Nascent Soul Late Stage aura, shocking Hui'an and the other cultivators.

Qing Chen returned to the Golden Scale Alliance meeting after killing the Three-Headed Black-Tailed Snake and demanded that the alliance's cultivators join the Cangming Army. When Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord challenged him, Qing Chen attacked and overwhelmed his lightning strike and axe blow.

• Qing Chen returned to the Golden Scale Alliance meeting and greeted Lin Changsheng, then revealed the Three-Headed Black-Tailed Snake's broken fang as proof that he had killed it.
• Abbot Hui'an praised Qing Chen but argued that the alliance should continue training its cultivators and declined to establish a Golden Scale Army.
• Qing Chen crushed the fang and proposed placing all cultivators levied from the alliance under the Demon Lotus Sect's Cangming Army.
• Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord challenged Qing Chen's proposal and questioned whether the alliance would have to obey him.
• Qing Chen suddenly attacked Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord, unraveled his thunderbolt with blood-colored Rules Threads, and blocked his battle axe with the Blood River God-Slaying Spear.

Qing Chen fought Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord and Old Man Tianchi at Golden Scale Hall, revealing the strength he had gained after reaching the Nascent Soul late stage. He crushed Old Man Tianchi’s corpse puppet and shattered Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord’s grotto-heaven, leaving both foes defeated.

• Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord attacked Qing Chen with his battle axe and thunder flood dragon phantom as Old Man Tianchi summoned his Flesh-and-Blood Heavenly Puppet and Five Corpses United Heart Demon.
• Qing Chen’s blood-colored aura broke the puppet threads and swallowed the thunder phantom, then Old Man Tianchi summoned a five-faced corpse king while Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord unleashed his Thunder Sea Grotto-Heaven.
• Qing Chen used the Lawless Blood Seal to collapse the corpse king’s domain and pierced its corpse core with the Blood River God-Slaying Spear.
• Qing Chen’s six demon banners devoured the corpse king’s remains, and the blood seal struck Old Man Tianchi into the Jade Plaza, gravely wounding him.
• Qing Chen sent the Primordial Magnetism Divine Boat against Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord’s grotto-heaven, shattering its phantom and destroying its lightning sea and mountains.

Qing Chen destroyed Thunder Flood Dragon with the Innate Annihilation Divine Thunder, then faced Abbot Hui'an’s attempt to stop him. He blocked Hui'an’s attack and declared that he would kill Old Man Tianchi and Thunder Flood Dragon, ending the chapter as he prepared to reveal his Nascent Soul Late Stage strength.

• Qing Chen’s Innate Annihilation Divine Thunder knocked away Thunder Flood Dragon’s battle-axe and blasted him into the ruined Golden Scale Hall, killing numerous cultivators in the shock waves.
• Abbot Hui'an seized the moment after Qing Chen’s attacks and struck with the Great Sumeru Annihilation Finger, while Yaoyue and others saw a chance to restrain Qing Chen.
• Qing Chen summoned the White Bone Immortal-Burying Coffin and barely held off Hui'an’s attack, then dismissed the Golden Scale Pact and said he would find evidence after killing Old Man Tianchi and Thunder Flood Dragon.
• Hui'an burned his blood, qi, and true essence to intensify his attack and grind away the coffin’s death qi, but Qing Chen regulated his breathing and declared that Hui'an knew nothing of his Nascent Soul Late Stage strength.

Qing Chen defeated Hui'an with his newly created Lawless Blood-Magnetism Prison-Suppressing Domain and demanded that the Gouwu Sea submit to the Demon Lotus Sect. The chapter ended with the region’s factions accepting his rule while Yaoyue reluctantly withheld her resistance.

• Qing Chen combined Blood Path rules, Primal Magnetism Divine Light, and Yang Spirit Intent into the Lawless Blood-Magnetism Prison-Suppressing Domain, which shattered Hui'an’s Great Sumeru Annihilation Finger.
• Qing Chen drove the wounded Hui'an from the clouds and defeated him before tens of thousands of cultivators.
• Wuchen offered to surrender the Golden Scale Alliance, but Qing Chen demanded that the entire Gouwu Sea submit to the Demon Lotus Sect and threatened Hui'an’s life.
• Sea-Calming True Lord pledged Guixu Sea Tower’s obedience, and cultivators from other factions followed with declarations of submission.
• Guanyin agreed to serve Qing Chen, and Yaoyue lowered her head rather than resist, while Qing Chen looked at her with undisguised desire.

Qing Chen forced Wuchen to accept the Demon Lotus Sect’s control over the former Golden Scale Alliance after learning that Hui'an was a disciple of Mount Sumeru. He killed Old Man Tianchi and turned to the wounded Thunder Flood Dragon, who invoked his ties to Wu Gui.

• Wuchen warned Qing Chen that killing Hui'an would provoke Mount Sumeru, where Hui'an had once trained as a Venerable’s disciple.
• Qing Chen backed down from killing Hui'an and demanded the Vajra Zen Sect surrender the former Golden Scale Alliance’s resources and factions to the Demon Lotus Sect.
• Qing Chen killed Old Man Tianchi, destroyed his nascent soul, and absorbed the remains into his weapons.
• Qing Chen sensed that some Golden Scale Alliance cultivators had made a move, then turned toward the wounded Thunder Flood Dragon.
• The Thunder Flood Dragon threatened Qing Chen with Wu Gui’s retaliation, but Qing Chen dismissed the threat and continued confronting him.

Qing Chen killed Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord and used his victory to establish the Demon Lotus Sect’s authority over the Gouwu Sea. He offered terms to major sects and remaining factions, then announced rewards and a massive expansion of the Cangming Army.

• Qing Chen crushed Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord’s phantom with the Primordial Magnetism Divine Light and devoured his soul with the Blood River God-Slaying Spear.
• Qing Chen declared that Old Man Tianchi and Thunder Flood Dragon True Lord had colluded with foreign demons and been executed, while granting Hui'an and Yaoyue’s sects continued control of their territories and legacies.
• Qing Chen ordered the remaining factions and islands to register their resources within ten days and become Demon Lotus Sect vassals in exchange for keeping their territories and sects unchanged.
• Qing Chen promised vassals access to ranked missions, Demon Lotus points, cultivation resources, immortal official positions, and a chance to join the Demon Lotus Sect.
• Qing Chen ordered the Cangming Army to expand to five hundred thousand members, and Lin Changsheng knelt to accept the decree.

Qing Chen declared the extermination of the Thousand Puppet Sect and Jiaogu Island, offering their spoils to those who conquered them, and used his divine sense to prevent their forces from escaping. Months after the massacre, the old alliance had collapsed, and the Demon Lotus Sect had taken control of the Gouwu Sea.

• Qing Chen issued a decree allowing cultivators to keep the spoils and seized territory from the Thousand Puppet Sect and Jiaogu Island, while requiring certain techniques to be submitted for Demon Lotus points.
• The surviving Thousand Puppet Sect and Jiaogu Island cultivators tried to flee, but Qing Chen's thousand-mile divine sense lock trapped them.
• Demon Lotus Sect forces, allied sects, and vengeful rogue cultivators attacked the fleeing survivors, while Qing Chen watched the slaughter.
• Several months later, the Thousand Puppet Sect's territory had been divided, Jiaogu Island's remnants had been hunted down, and the Demon Lotus Sect had registered their former holdings.

Qing Chen secured the Demon Lotus Sect’s position in the Gouwu Sea, ordered preparations for a possible campaign into Great Jin, and departed with valuable supplies. After settling an old opportunity left by Flying Bear True Lord, he arrived at Cloud Dream Province, near the Capital Region.

• Qing Chen divided the outer archipelagos between the Vajra Zen Sect and the Blissful Union Tower, keeping them as a defensive bulwark under the Demon Lotus Sect’s order.
• Qing Chen instructed Lin Changsheng, Xin Bairen, Su Zixuan, Xu Jiuling, Hua Tieshou, Jia Daoyi, and the others to stabilize the Gouwu Sea, purge remnants, and secretly expand the Cangming Army to at least eight hundred thousand cultivators.
• Heavenly Abyss Pass’s Southeastern Circuit lifted most restrictions on the Demon Lotus Sect exchanging military merits for treasures, including Nascent Soul Formation Pills and Fortune Spirit Crystals.
• Qing Chen left the Gouwu Sea carrying cultivation supplies and wealth, then traveled along Southern Yue’s border to settle the opportunity left by Flying Bear True Lord.
• Qing Chen arrived at Cloud Dream Province’s provincial capital at dusk, near the gateway to Great Jin’s Capital Region.

Qing Chen arrived in the prosperous provincial capital of Cloud Dream Province as the Heavenly Gang Nascent Soul True Lord Ranking was updated, placing him at rank one hundred. He read the ranking and its account of his victories, believing his combat strength deserved a higher position.

• Qing Chen admired the prosperous capital of Cloud Dream Province and reflected on how small the Gouwu Sea seemed beside Great Jin.
• The new Heavenly Gang Nascent Soul True Lord Ranking arrived in the city and drew crowds of cultivators eager to see its changes.
• The ranking placed Qing Chen at number one hundred and identified him as the Demon Lotus Sect Leader, a Second-Class Azure Abyss Marquis, and a formidable young Nascent Soul True Lord.
• Cultivators discussed Qing Chen's victories at Golden Scale Island, his demonic reputation, and the rise of the Demon Lotus Sect.
• Qing Chen watched his name settle on the ranking and judged that he had been placed lower than his combat strength warranted.

Qing Chen reached Yunmeng Prefectural City after a long journey and considered the political forces seeking to use him as he prepared to pursue greater cultivation in Great Jin. The chapter then shifted to the Imperial Court, where ministers reviewed mounting threats on several borders while key commanders were away.

• Qing Chen arrived in Yunmeng Prefectural City, rested by Yunmeng Lake, and reflected on the Iron Household's and the Eighth Prince's plans for him.
• Qing Chen recalled his unfulfilled promise to accompany Yan Moyou to the Origin-Initial Devil Sect and decided to spend the night relaxing.
• The Ministry of War reported secret alliances among the Thirty-Six Western Regions Kingdoms and growing raids along Great Jin's northwestern and southwestern borders.
• The Governor-General's Office reported that the Golden Tent Khanate's tribes were moving to threaten Shanhai Pass and the Youyan Provinces while Tie Hengjiang held the front.
• The court heard that the Dragon Lord of Azureblood Lake was advancing on Sword Gate Pass, while the Southern Borderlands remained unsettled.
• A purple-robed cultivator from the Ministry of War stepped forward after the court finished discussing the reports.

At court, officials debated whether Qing Chen should become Governor-General of Gouwu Sea, weighing his military achievements against concerns about his origins and power. Deputy Chief Councillor Hu Yong acknowledged both sides and left the appointment unresolved.

• Lu Xuanzhen recommended Qing Chen as Governor-General of Gouwu Sea, arguing that his strength and achievements could consolidate the region for Great Jin.
• Lei Xiao objected, warning that Qing Chen's demonic background and brutal conduct made him unfit for sweeping authority.
• The Duke Who Guards the Nation and Grand Preceptor Chen supported caution, citing Qing Chen's limited governing experience and the risk of granting him too much power.
• Tie Ce defended Qing Chen's appointment, listing his victories and arguing that Gouwu Sea needed a forceful leader to protect Great Jin's southeast.
• Emperor Jingtai asked Deputy Chief Councillor Hu Yong for his view, and Hu Yong said Qing Chen deserved recognition but an immediate appointment with real authority could unsettle the court.