Chapter Summaries

Lu Ren used Hidden Dream, Traceless to enter Gui Shaoyin’s dream and attack him, then forced him to reveal what he knew about the Measure Pavilion. Gui Shaoyin described the Exquisite Pills and Exquisite Hearts that grant rapid comprehension, and Lu Ren was left tempted to join the Pavilion.

• Lu Ren revealed that he had placed a soul mark in Gui Shaoyin’s dream and used it to enter the secret chamber.
• Lu Ren defeated Gui Shaoyin, destroying his nine desolate bodies and knocking him down, then threatened to cripple his cultivation unless he answered questions.
• Gui Shaoyin explained that the Measure Pavilion gave members three Exquisite Pills, which let them comprehend Grand Dao True Intent canons in the time it took an incense stick to burn.
• Gui Shaoyin said members could earn an Exquisite Heart by completing missions, and that replacing one’s heart with it granted the same rapid comprehension.
• Gui Shaoyin revealed that his failed missions had been to win the Great Dao Sect’s Daoist position and steal the Soul-Evolution Pill from the Withering and Flourishing Alchemy Pavilion.
• Gui Shaoyin urged Lu Ren to join the Measure Pavilion and obtain an Exquisite Heart before the Fated Covenant, and Lu Ren began to feel tempted.

Lu Ren agreed to join Measure Pavilion after Gui Shaoyin promised its Exquisite Pill could improve his talent without side effects. The Pavilion Master welcomed him and swore that the Exquisite Heart was harmless, revealing that she possessed one herself.

• Gui Shaoyin persuaded Lu Ren to join Measure Pavilion by describing the Exquisite Pill and the freedom its members enjoyed.
• Lu Ren accepted, and Gui Shaoyin gave him a robe and mask that concealed his identity and aura before leading him into Measure Pavilion's hidden world.
• Gui Shaoyin brought Lu Ren to the Pavilion Master, who recognized him as the famous Daoist of the Great Dao Sect.
• The Pavilion Master revealed that she had once tried to recruit Cang Xuanming, but he had refused because he doubted the Exquisite Heart.
• The Pavilion Master swore on her Great Dao Origin that the Exquisite Heart had no side effects and said she possessed one herself.

Lu Ren tested the Exquisite Pill by comprehending myriad tribulations thunder punishment true intent and discovered that it guided his deductions until he mastered the art at the return to simplicity level. The Measure Pavilion Master claimed an Exquisite Heart would provide that comprehension permanently, leaving Lu Ren confident he could defeat Cang Xuanming in the Fated Covenant if he obtained one.

• The Measure Pavilion Master took Lu Ren and Gui Shaoyin to the Myriad Dao Stele Grounds, where Lu Ren chose the stele of myriad tribulations thunder punishment true intent.
• After a day of study, the Measure Pavilion Master comprehended the true intent to the return to simplicity level, while Lu Ren had made only limited progress.
• The Measure Pavilion Master gave Lu Ren an Exquisite Pill, and Lu Ren swallowed it before returning to the stele.
• With the pill guiding his deductions, Lu Ren comprehended myriad tribulations thunder punishment true intent to the return to simplicity level in less than a day.
• The Measure Pavilion Master explained that an Exquisite Heart could provide the pill's comprehension aid permanently, and Lu Ren considered its value for defeating Cang Xuanming in the Fated Covenant.

Lu Ren joined the Measure Pavilion in exchange for three Exquisite Pills and tested their power in the Reincarnation Ancient Pagoda. He advanced one existing true intent to the unity-returning stage but learned the pills could not advance his self-created Chaos Heaven Burial, leaving him questioning the Pavilion’s motives.

• Lu Ren agreed to join the Measure Pavilion, refined his membership token, and received three Exquisite Pills; Gui Shaoyin also received three for recommending him.
• Lu Ren entered the Reincarnation Ancient Pagoda and used an Exquisite Pill to advance myriad tribulations thunder punishment true intent to the unity-returning stage in half a day.
• Lu Ren used another Exquisite Pill to try to advance Chaos Heaven Burial, but it remained at the return to simplicity level.
• Little Broken Tower explained that the pills could reveal paths already present in the world but could not create a path for Lu Ren’s original true intent.
• Lu Ren accepted that he would have to advance Chaos Heaven Burial himself and wondered whether the Measure Pavilion used Exquisite Hearts to control prodigies.

Lu Ren searched the Measure Pavilion’s Ten-Thousand Exchange Hall for Nine-Turn Soul Source Grass but found a trade offer for Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Marrow instead. He tore down the scroll and offered its owner an Exquisite Pill, leaving the watching members stunned.

• Lu Ren left the Reincarnation Ancient Pagoda and read about the Measure Pavilion’s rules and member trading platform.
• Lu Ren examined the Ten-Thousand Exchange Hall’s offers but found no Nine-Turn Soul Source Grass.
• Lu Ren spotted an offer of Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Marrow for a Heavenly Evolution Soul-Enlightenment Pill and learned from Little Broken Tower that the marrow might help repair its damaged artifact spirit.
• Lu Ren tore down the offer’s scroll, prompting its owner, a tall man in a black Pavilion Robe and Formless Mask, to arrive.
• Lu Ren told the tall man he lacked the requested pill and offered an Exquisite Pill instead, shocking the other members.

Lu Ren traded an Exquisite Pill for Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Marrow and took it to the Reincarnation Ancient Pagoda to cultivate. Wan Huang and Chi Ming recognized him as a likely new Measure Pavilion member and urged Gui Shaoyin to help them kill him, leaving Gui Shaoyin torn between his hatred and fear of Lu Ren.

• Lu Ren exchanged an Exquisite Pill with a tall man for a bottle of Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Marrow and left the Ten-Thousand Exchange Hall.
• Wan Huang and Chi Ming recognized Lu Ren from the trade and told Gui Shaoyin they believed he had joined the Measure Pavilion.
• Chi Ming proposed that he, Wan Huang, and Gui Shaoyin find a chance to kill Lu Ren, but Gui Shaoyin agreed only to wait for a sound opportunity.
• After Wan Huang and Chi Ming left, Gui Shaoyin debated whether to join their plot or warn Lu Ren.
• Lu Ren entered the Reincarnation Ancient Pagoda, released a drop of Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Marrow, and swallowed it.

Lu Ren refined ten drops of Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Marrow in the Reincarnation Ancient Pagoda and advanced to the ultimate dao mid stage. After the Little Broken Tower explained how dao-proving marks determined strength, Lu Ren resolved to use the remaining marrow to approach the late ultimate dao stage.

• Lu Ren refined the first drop of Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Marrow over ten years, improving his chaos great dao power by nearly ten percent.
• Lu Ren continued refining the marrow drop by drop, enduring the repeated crushing and recondensing of his chaos great dao power.
• After refining ten drops over a hundred years, Lu Ren advanced from the early ultimate dao stage to the ultimate dao mid stage.
• Lu Ren judged that his new strength could let him kill Chi Ming and Wan Huang, but the Little Broken Tower explained the stages and power of dao-proving marks.
• Lu Ren asked how much stronger he would be at the late ultimate dao stage, then resolved to use the remaining Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Marrow to advance further.

After consolidating his cultivation, Lu Ren learned that Wan Huang and Chi Ming had discovered his identity and wanted Gui Shaoyin to help them target him. He revealed that he had reached the Ultimate Dao mid stage, leaving Gui Shaoyin convinced the two rivals might still be no match for him even after condensing Dao-Proving Marks.

• Little Broken Tower urged Lu Ren to stop refining Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Marrow and consolidate his recent breakthrough before pursuing the late Ultimate Dao stage.
• Lu Ren found no news of the Nine-Revolution Soul-Nurturing Grass at the Ten-Thousand Exchange Hall and went to speak with Gui Shaoyin.
• Gui Shaoyin told Lu Ren that Wan Huang and Chi Ming had identified him and had tried to recruit Gui Shaoyin to join their attack.
• Gui Shaoyin warned Lu Ren that Wan Huang and Chi Ming planned to condense their first Dao-Proving Marks, which would greatly increase their strength.
• Lu Ren's chaos Great Dao power surged, revealing that he had reached the Ultimate Dao mid stage and forcing Gui Shaoyin to retreat.
• Gui Shaoyin concluded that Lu Ren's strength might still surpass Wan Huang and Chi Ming even if they condensed their first Dao-Proving Marks.

Lu Ren learned that Measure Pavilion alchemists still possessed Nine-Turn Soul Source Grass as Chi Ming visited Gui Shaoyin and revealed his plan to kill Lu Ren. Chi Ming intended to lure him into an Ancient Secret Realm with the promise of a Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Lake, where a powerful Dao-Devouring Beast slept.

• Lu Ren asked Gui Shaoyin about Nine-Turn Soul Source Grass and learned that Measure Pavilion alchemists still had some.
• Chi Ming arrived, revealed that he had condensed a fire-attribute Dao-Proving Mark, and boasted that killing Lu Ren would now be easy.
• Chi Ming told Gui Shaoyin that Lei Heng, who had four thunder Dao-Proving Marks, had agreed to help kill Lu Ren for his world-pacifying black tortoise iron and to prevent him from winning the Fated Covenant.
• Chi Ming explained that Lei Heng had found a Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Lake in an Ancient Secret Realm, beside which a powerful Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao-Devouring Beast slept.
• Chi Ming proposed luring Lu Ren into the secret realm with the lake's riches, confident that the beast and their ambush would let them kill him.

Lu Ren learned that Chi Ming, Gui Shaoyin, Wan Huang, and Lei Heng were plotting to kill him, but chose to turn their scheme to his advantage and pursue Chi Ming’s fire-attribute Dao-Proving Mark. The four conspirators prepared Soul-Averting Spirit-Transforming Talismans to block Lu Ren’s dream-inducing technique before luring him into an Ancient Secret Realm.

• Chi Ming and Gui Shaoyin discussed delaying their attack until Wan Huang emerged from seclusion, and Gui Shaoyin recalled how Lu Ren’s dream-inducing technique had gravely injured him.
• Lu Ren emerged from hiding, agreed with Gui Shaoyin that he should fight those who wanted him dead, and decided to use the conspiracy to target Chi Ming’s fire-attribute Dao-Proving Mark.
• Lu Ren returned to the Reincarnation Ancient Pagoda and spent a year cultivating Chaos Heaven Burial toward the Unity-Returning Stage.
• Chi Ming, Gui Shaoyin, Wan Huang, and Lei Heng met in the Measure Pavilion and planned for Lei Heng to lure Lu Ren into an Ancient Secret Realm before they surrounded him.
• Gui Shaoyin produced four Soul-Averting Spirit-Transforming Talismans, which the conspirators planned to activate so Lu Ren’s dream-inducing technique could not help him escape.

After learning of the ambush planned for him, Lu Ren followed Lei Heng to a secret realm said to contain a Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Lake. They arrived in the realm, where a terrifying beast roared from the depths.

• Lu Ren received Gui Shaoyin's secret message about the planned ambush and learned that the Soul-Averting Spirit-Transforming Talismans had been sabotaged.
• Lu Ren took down Lei Heng's scroll offering information about the Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Lake in exchange for an Exquisite Pill.
• Lei Heng told Lu Ren that a Middle Dao-Proving Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao-Devouring Beast guarded the lake, and Lu Ren agreed to travel there with him.
• Lu Ren and Lei Heng left the Measure Pavilion using Spatial Lantern Boats and traveled for a month to a barren stone mountain.
• Lei Heng opened a spatial vortex in the mountain, and he and Lu Ren entered the secret realm.
• Lei Heng warned Lu Ren to avoid provoking the beast, but a terrifying roar shook the realm from the depths.

Lu Ren entered a secret realm with Lei Heng, who ambushed him and joined Chi Ming, Wan Huang, and Gui Shaoyin in a trap to kill him. When they blocked his escape with soul-protecting talismans and a Flame-Binding Dao Array, Lu Ren unleashed his Five-Leaf Realm Soul Power, cracking all four talismans.

• Lei Heng told Lu Ren where to find the Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Lake and demanded the Exquisite Pill, but Lu Ren insisted on verifying the lake first.
• Lei Heng attacked Lu Ren from behind, but Lu Ren blocked his Thunder Dragon punch with the Immortal-Smiting Iron.
• Chi Ming, Wan Huang, and Gui Shaoyin arrived and surrounded Lu Ren, revealing that they had joined the Measure Pavilion and intended to kill him.
• Wan Huang and the others activated Soul-Averting Spirit-Transforming Talismans, while Chi Ming trapped everyone inside a Flame-Binding Dao Array.
• Lu Ren unleashed his Five-Leaf Realm Soul Power with One Thought, One Dream, and the four talismans cracked under the attack.

Lu Ren and Gui Shaoyin used the Soul-Averting Spirit-Transforming Talismans to catch Chi Ming and Wan Huang off guard, then attacked them. Lu Ren killed Chi Ming inside the Flame-Binding Dao Array, while the battle with Wan Huang remained unresolved.

• Lu Ren and Gui Shaoyin attacked Chi Ming and Wan Huang while they were asleep, severely injuring both of their Great Dao Origins.
• Chi Ming realized Gui Shaoyin had tampered with the talismans and betrayed him, while Gui Shaoyin continued attacking Wan Huang.
• Lu Ren overwhelmed Chi Ming with his Great Dao True Weapons, forcing Chi Ming to unleash Crimson Heaven Dao-Melting and flee.
• Chi Ming found his escape blocked by the Flame-Binding Dao Array, and Lu Ren caught up and struck him again.
• Lu Ren killed Chi Ming with Void Instant-Kill Sword, destroying his Great Dao Origin and soul.

Lu Ren and Gui Shaoyin joined forces to ambush Lei Heng while he was trapped in a dream, severely damaging his great Dao origin. After their clash left all three wounded, Lei Heng proposed ending the fight before their return-to-void power ran out.

• Lu Ren collected Chi Ming’s fire-attribute Dao-Proving Mark and resources, then returned to find Gui Shaoyin had killed Wan Huang and claimed the Nine Exotic Wood Swords.
• Lu Ren and Gui Shaoyin decided Lei Heng had to die and simultaneously activated the Ten Thousand Daos Return-to-Void Canon.
• While Lei Heng remained trapped in the dream, Lu Ren and Gui Shaoyin struck him together, shattering his defenses and tearing two fissures in his great Dao origin.
• Lei Heng broke free, summoned his four thunder Dao-Proving Marks, and fought Lu Ren and Gui Shaoyin, leaving all three injured in the clash.
• Lei Heng recognized that Lu Ren and Gui Shaoyin’s return-to-void power would fade and proposed that they each withdraw.

Lu Ren and Gui Shaoyin fought Lei Heng after refusing to let their deadly conflict end, and Lu Ren ultimately killed him with the Void Dao Source. The battle left Lu Ren utterly exhausted, while Gui Shaoyin was shocked by the divine ability’s power.

• Lu Ren rejected Lei Heng’s offer to stop fighting and charged him with Gui Shaoyin.
• The three fought fiercely, suffering severe wounds as Lei Heng’s four Dao-Proving Marks kept him powerful despite his damaged Great Dao Origin.
• Lu Ren asked Gui Shaoyin to hold Lei Heng back while he gathered power for Void Dao Source.
• Gui Shaoyin entangled Lei Heng with ghostly baleful qi, allowing Lu Ren to trap him inside the Void Dao Abyss.
• Lei Heng’s Thunder Dragon defense and desperate lightning attacks failed, and the abyss tore apart his body, Great Dao Origin, and soul.
• Lu Ren collapsed from exhaustion after killing Lei Heng, while Gui Shaoyin questioned him about the terrifying divine ability.

After defeating Lei Heng, Lu Ren gave Gui Shaoyin a Dark Dao-Proving Mark and recovered in seclusion before advancing to the Late Ultimate Dao Stage. He then examined his spoils, and the Immortal-Smiting Iron asked to devour Wan Huang’s nine Upper-Grade Great Dao True Weapons.

• Lu Ren seized Lei Heng’s Lightning Attribute Dao-Proving Mark and plundered his resources, finding three more Dao-Proving Marks and vast wealth.
• Lu Ren thanked Gui Shaoyin and gave him the Dark Dao-Proving Mark; Gui Shaoyin accepted it and left to recover and cultivate.
• Lu Ren stayed in the secret realm, entered the Reincarnation Ancient Pagoda, and spent a year restoring his Dao Power.
• Lu Ren refined twenty drops of Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Marrow over a hundred years and reached the Late Ultimate Dao Stage.
• Lu Ren examined the resources taken from Chi Ming and Lei Heng, and the Immortal-Smiting Iron asked to devour Wan Huang’s nine Upper-Grade Great Dao True Weapons.

Lu Ren refined over one hundred and fifty Great Dao True Weapons while Immortal-Smiting Iron devoured the Nine Exotic Wood Swords and recovered to the level of a Supreme Great Dao True Treasure. He learned that the iron had belonged to the ancient Sacrificial Dao expert, the Dao-Lord of Return-to-Void, and resolved to grow stronger before the Fated Covenant.

• Lu Ren gave the Nine Exotic Wood Swords to Immortal-Smiting Iron, which devoured them to restore its power.
• Lu Ren refined more than one hundred and fifty Great Dao True Weapons over five months, bringing his total to two hundred and fifty.
• Immortal-Smiting Iron recovered to the level of a Supreme Great Dao True Treasure and told Lu Ren it had been shattered in an ancient battle.
• Immortal-Smiting Iron identified its former master as the Dao-Lord of Return-to-Void, and Little Broken Tower revealed that he created the Ten Thousand Daos Return-to-Void Canon.
• Little Broken Tower said the Dao-Lord of Return-to-Void had fought the Dao-Lord of Ten Thousand Slaughters in the Great Wilderness, and that Ming Qitian had retrieved the shattered iron afterward.
• Lu Ren noted that fewer than twenty years remained until the Fated Covenant and resolved to advance further before then.

Lu Ren found the Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Lake and attacked its gravely wounded guardian, the Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao-Devouring Beast, hoping to claim the lake’s marrow. The beast revealed that the lake sealed the Dao-Lord of Ten Thousand Slaughters, and Lu Ren asked whether the seal had weakened.

• Lu Ren reached the Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Lake and saw the wounded Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao-Devouring Beast lying beside it.
• Lu Ren sent two hundred and fifty Great Dao True Weapons at the beast, but its defenses repelled the attack and it warned him to stop.
• Lu Ren and the beast clashed, causing black rays to erupt from the lake; the beast blocked the ray aimed at Lu Ren and was wounded further by the other.
• The Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao-Devouring Beast explained that the lake was part of a sealing formation created by the Dao-Lord of Return-to-Void to suppress the Dao-Lord of Ten Thousand Slaughters.
• The Immortal-Smiting Iron and Little Broken Tower recognized the site as the place of the Dao-Lord of Return-to-Void’s final battle, and Lu Ren asked the beast why it was so badly injured.

Lu Ren learned that the Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao-Devouring Beast had been wounded while suppressing a breach in the seal, and agreed to help repair it in exchange for a Ten-Thousand Ultimate Mother Embryo. He plunged into the Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Lake, where crushing pressure immediately struck him.

• The Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao-Devouring Beast explained that Lei Heng had stolen Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Marrow, weakening the seal and allowing the Dao-Lord of Ten Thousand Slaughters to wound him through a breach.
• Lu Ren revealed that he wanted to use the lake to reach the forbidden extreme realm, and the beast offered him a Ten-Thousand Ultimate Mother Embryo for helping repair the seal.
• The Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao-Devouring Beast gave Lu Ren a Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao-Suppressing Talisman and told him to place it over the breach near one of the nine Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao-Locking Pillars.
• Lu Ren accepted the task and plunged into the Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Lake, where immense pressure bore down on him.

Lu Ren descended through the Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Lake and discovered the sealed Dao-Lord of Ten Thousand Slaughters beneath it. After locating the breach he had come to repair and spotting the Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Embryo, Lu Ren drew the prisoner’s attention, and the Dao-Lord guessed why he was there.

• Lu Ren endured the lake’s crushing pressure as he descended, resisting the temptation to absorb its Dao Marrow and weaken the seal.
• Lu Ren found an independent space beneath the lake, entered it through the lakebed, and saw nine pillars and chains binding a figure to an altar.
• The Immortal-Smiting Iron confirmed that the bound figure was the Dao-Lord of Ten Thousand Slaughters, while Lu Ren spotted a crack leaking black-red energy from the seal.
• Lu Ren saw the Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao Embryo but chose to repair the breach before trying to take it.
• The Dao-Lord of Ten Thousand Slaughters met Lu Ren’s gaze, forcing him to use the Reincarnation Ancient Pagoda to escape its effects, then guessed that the Ten-Thousand Ultimate Dao-Devouring Beast had sent him to repair the seal.