Chapter Summaries

Summary

• The offerings: After Ye Li accepts two treasures, he asks Dark Moon Directorate leader Lu Fengsheng for a gift as well. A broad-faced elder explains that the supposedly “Immaculate” Spirit Crystal was made by extracting the heart’s blood of hundreds of millions of newly born creatures over thousands of years. Ye Li takes it without comment.
• Lu Fengsheng’s treasure: Hoping to make his offering impressive enough to escape Ye Li’s demands, Lu Fengsheng presents the Heavenly Soul Pearl, which strengthens spiritual perception and can protect against heavenly tribulation. He admits the Directorate created its power by luring hundreds of millions of cultivators and enlightened monks into illusions, where their true spirits remain imprisoned. Ye Li accepts the pearl and says, “Not bad.”
• The sudden reversal: Lu Fengsheng and the elders believe their gifts have appeased Ye Li. But the Red-Robed Girl senses danger and backs away. Ye Li’s divine power erupts, his eyes turn golden, and he accuses the Directorate of brazenly provoking him. The chapter ends as his words shake the Myriad Immortals Terrace.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Li remains outwardly calm while receiving the treasures, but his final outburst reveals that the gifts have not settled matters. His reaction suggests he sees the Directorate’s actions as an intolerable provocation.
• Lu Fengsheng shifts from anxious reluctance to boastful pride as he presents the Heavenly Soul Pearl, then feels briefly relieved when Ye Li accepts it. That relief is abruptly overturned.
• The broad-faced elder proudly describes the Spirit Crystal’s creation, apparently oblivious to how horrifying its origins sound.
• The Red-Robed Girl reacts first to the approaching danger, showing perceptiveness as she retreats from Ye Li.

Themes

The chapter contrasts lavish displays of power and wealth with extreme cruelty: each treasure’s value rests on mass exploitation and suffering. It also builds suspense around misjudgment and false security, as the Directorate mistakes Ye Li’s acceptance for forgiveness.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Li had intended to avoid a fight with the Dark Moon Directorate to preserve the broader effort to recruit the forbidden lands. But he sees the Directorate’s lavish gifts—treasures made through horrific, exploitative methods—as either a deliberate provocation or proof that they have learned nothing from his earlier warnings.
• He unleashes a devastating storm that destroys the Myriad Immortals Terrace and pushes his aura into the Transcendence Realm, amplified by his divine abilities.
• Director Lu Fengsheng is shocked and demands to know why Ye Li is attacking despite the Directorate’s show of “sincerity.” Ye Li replies that he understands their gesture and is preparing a “return gift.”
• Lu decides negotiations have failed and summons the Directorate’s immense dark-moon power. Its silver-white light dissolves Ye Li’s azure palm attack.
• Just as Lu begins to think Ye Li’s attack is weak, Ye Li calmly speaks the name “Li Huo,” ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Li shifts from restraint to open hostility, convinced that the Directorate’s gifts reveal its disregard for the atrocities he condemns. His response is cold and deliberate rather than conciliatory.
• Lu Fengsheng moves from confusion and anger to cautious resolve. Although he recognizes Ye Li as the killer of Wutong Mountain and the Lihuo Divine Lord, he underestimates Ye Li’s apparent strength and chooses to fight.
• Elder Qingchi is frightened and confused, asking Lu why their offerings failed to prevent the confrontation. Lu has no answer.
• The exchange between Ye Li and Lu exposes their opposing interpretations: Lu sees the treasures as proof of goodwill; Ye Li sees their origins as intolerable.

Significant themes

• Power versus morality: Lu assumes cultivation makes morality irrelevant, while Ye Li’s fury suggests that certain crimes remain unforgivable.
• Misread intentions: The Directorate believes valuable gifts should secure safety, but its gesture instead intensifies Ye Li’s condemnation.
• Overconfidence and hidden strength: Lu judges Ye Li by the strength he can perceive, setting up the possibility that his confidence is misplaced.
• Retribution: Ye Li frames his coming attack as a “return gift,” turning the Directorate’s offering into a symbol of the punishment to come.

Plot points and events

• Ye Li’s hidden trump card, the Lihuo Divine Lord Puppet, blocks Lu Fengsheng’s dark-moon attack. Lu Fengsheng recognizes that the real Lihuo died and is stunned that Ye Li has a puppet indistinguishable from him.
• Lu Fengsheng abandons the fight and begs Ye Li to reconcile, offering any price. Ye Li refuses to explain his anger, saying Lu Fengsheng does not deserve an explanation, and orders the puppet to attack.
• As Lihuo engages Lu Fengsheng, Ye Li kills the Dark Moon Directorate’s two Supreme Elders. He destroys Elder Qingchi’s body and then crushes her fleeing true spirit; moments later, he kills the Broad-Faced Elder despite his pleas to be spared.
• Lihuo fights recklessly, using powerful Divine Abilities and ignoring his own damage. Lu Fengsheng is forced into his Dark Moon Heavenly Fox form and suffers severe injuries.
• Seeing the two elders’ auras vanish and Ye Li turn his attention toward him, Lu Fengsheng realizes he now faces both Ye Li and Lihuo. The chapter ends with him overwhelmed by despair.

Character developments

• Ye Li is revealed to possess a formidable puppet made from the deceased Lihuo Divine Lord. He remains cold and merciless, refusing negotiation and killing the elders without hesitation.
• Lu Fengsheng shifts from confident aggressor to desperate negotiator and then a badly injured, terrified opponent. He recognizes that the odds have turned drastically against him.
• Lihuo Divine Lord Puppet displays overwhelming power and relentless, self-sacrificing aggression, continuing to fight despite losing much of his body.
• Qingchi and the Broad-Faced Elder plead for mercy, but neither can escape Ye Li’s judgment.

Significant themes

• Power and sudden reversals: Ye Li’s concealed trump card overturns what seemed to be a direct confrontation.
• Mercy versus vengeance: Lu Fengsheng offers reconciliation, but Ye Li rejects it and delivers uncompromising punishment.
• Fearlessness as a weapon: Lihuo’s willingness to absorb damage unsettles even a peak-level opponent.
• Despair and unfair odds: Lu Fengsheng’s final reaction underscores how hopeless the fight has become.

Character interactions

• Lu Fengsheng recognizes Lihuo and questions how Ye Li recreated him as a puppet; he then tries to bargain with Ye Li.
• Ye Li dismisses Lu Fengsheng’s pleas and sends Lihuo after him.
• Ye Li confronts and kills Qingchi and the Broad-Faced Elder despite their appeals.
• Lihuo’s relentless assault forces Lu Fengsheng into his true fox form and keeps him occupied while Ye Li eliminates the others.

Plot points

• Cornered by Ye Li and the Lihuo Divine Lord, Lu Fengsheng burns his life essence to break free from the Divine Lord’s assault, reveals his enormous nine-tailed Dark Moon Heavenly Fox form, and tries to flee.
• Ye Li uses the Highest Clarity Jade Edict to freeze Lu Fengsheng for a moment. Though the spell cannot hold a Transcendence Peak expert for long, it gives the Divine Lord time to attack with Phoenix Fire Tribulation.
• The two ancient powers clash in a devastating battle that tears apart the Dark Moon Directorate’s territory. Lu Fengsheng destroys the Divine Lord’s body with a saber formed from his tails, believing he has eliminated the threat.
• Ye Li, who had been gathering power, launches a colossal Divine Spear empowered by Literary Dao Empowerment. It pierces Lu Fengsheng and pins him into the Directorate’s earth.
• Ye Li finishes Lu Fengsheng by triggering the spear’s power from within, tearing the fox apart.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Fengsheng fights with the desperation of someone who refuses to die before reaching Beyond Transcendence. Despite his experience and formidable arts, he is ultimately overwhelmed and killed.
• Ye Li remains calculated and ruthless: he uses the Divine Lord as his weapon, conserves his own power, and waits for the ideal moment to strike. He calmly taunts Lu Fengsheng before delivering the final blow.
• The Lihuo Divine Lord acts as Ye Li’s frontline weapon, taking heavy damage but keeping Lu Fengsheng occupied long enough for Ye Li to prepare his decisive attack.
• Their conflict is a coordinated effort by Ye Li and the Divine Lord against Lu Fengsheng, though Lu Fengsheng briefly turns the tide by destroying the Divine Lord’s body.

Significant themes

• Desperation versus inevitability: Lu Fengsheng’s last-ditch efforts buy moments, but cannot overcome the decisive gap in power and strategy.
• Cunning and timing: Ye Li wins not by spending all his strength at once, but by controlling the fight and striking when Lu Fengsheng is exhausted.
• The cost of ambition: Lu Fengsheng’s pursuit of transcendence ends in a brutal death before he can reach it.

Plot points and events

• As Lu Fengsheng’s body falls, his True Spirit escapes into the void. Ye Li notices and traps it in a vast azure cage.
• Lu Fengsheng demands to know why Ye Li attacked him. Ye Li refuses to explain, dismisses his complaint, and destroys his True Spirit with the Three-Hour Divine Fire.
• The system rewards Ye Li with Malice Points for publicly killing the Dark Moon Directorate’s director, a peak Transcendence Realm expert.
• Exhausted from repeated battles against stronger opponents—and still not recovered from his earlier fight at Wutong Mountain—Ye Li reflects that he would rather fight weaker enemies.
• He is nevertheless unconcerned: his huge reserve of Malice Points would let him instantly advance and restore his strength if another crisis arose.
• Ye Shenfeng returns after hiding several star domains away from the battle. Seeing the devastation and Lu Fengsheng’s complete destruction, she is stunned. Ye Li asks whether she has learned his “way of dealing with the world.”

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Li remains ruthless and confident. He refuses to justify himself to Lu Fengsheng, eliminates even his escaping True Spirit, and treats overwhelming force as his preferred answer to provocation. His confidence rests not only on his combat abilities but also on his ability to spend Malice Points to recover or grow stronger instantly.
• Lu Fengsheng shifts from powerful director to desperate, trapped victim. His anger and disbelief give way to a final, futile protest before his complete death.
• Ye Shenfeng has kept her distance for safety. Returning after the fight, she is visibly shocked by Ye Li’s power and apparent ease in defeating such a formidable opponent. Their final exchange suggests Ye Li is presenting the battle as a lesson in how to handle the world.

Significant themes

• Power and security: Ye Li’s reserves of Malice Points let him take risks because he can potentially restore himself at once.
• Merciless pragmatism: He ensures Lu Fengsheng cannot survive through a True Spirit escape and sees little value in explaining his actions.
• Strength against superior opponents: The chapter emphasizes the cost of fighting above one’s realm, while showing how preparation and powerful trump cards can overcome that disadvantage.
• A brutal lesson in worldly conduct: Ye Li’s closing question frames his uncompromising violence as an example for Ye Shenfeng.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Shenfeng admits that, despite being a Primordial Divine Phoenix, she is too young to fight a monster on Lu Fengsheng’s level. She expects to learn quickly as she grows and consumes more heavenly treasures.
• Ye Li searches Lu Fengsheng’s memories and locates the Dark Moon Directorate’s treasury. He and Shenfeng head there to seize its treasures before Pei Wufeng replies.
• Shenfeng asks whether Ye Li will leave after speaking with the forbidden grounds. He says he may return to his homeland first to tie up loose ends.
• At the Great Dream Immortal Valley, Pei Wufeng meets with its Valley Master and elders from two other Human Race forbidden grounds. The Valley Master asks about the purpose of Pei’s visit.
• Pei says a friend wants to speak with the senior figures. The Valley Master correctly guesses the friend is Ye Li, and Pei confirms that the meeting should now be easier to arrange.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Shenfeng recognizes her current limitations but remains proud and confident about her potential. She is also pleased by the possibility that Ye Li will stay longer and grows curious about his homeland.
• Ye Li remains practical and opportunistic, prioritizing the treasury while arranging conversations with the forbidden grounds. His mention of returning home hints at unfinished business.
• Pei Wufeng is direct and tactful: she gives an unsparing critique of the sparring disciples, then uses her standing to bring powerful Human Race leaders together.
• The Great Dream Valley Master is courteous but perceptive, quickly discerning that Pei’s visit concerns Ye Li.

Significant themes

• Growth and potential: Shenfeng’s immense status does not erase the limits of her youth.
• Power and preparedness: Pei’s critique emphasizes that polished techniques are not enough without experience in real danger.
• Alliances and maneuvering: The gathering of forbidden-ground leaders signals an important diplomatic encounter, while Ye Li’s planned visit suggests broader unresolved matters.
• Opportunity and self-interest: Ye Li intends to claim the Directorate’s accumulated wealth before moving on.

Plot points and events

• Pei Wufeng asks Great Dream Immortal Valley and two other forbidden-land factions to meet Ye Li. All three leaders initially resist, terrified by Ye Li’s recent destruction of Wutong Mountain and the death of its Transcendence Peak powerhouse, Lihuo Divine Lord.
• The two visiting elders offer evasions: one claims he must consult his sect leader, while the other says his sect will remain secluded. Pei understands that they are trying to avoid provoking Ye Li without giving him grounds to retaliate.
• The Great Dream Valley Master is about to refuse as well when a massive wave of heavenly grief sweeps across the valley. The signs reveal that the Dark Moon Directorate’s leader—a second Transcendence Peak cultivator—has just been killed.
• Believing Ye Li responsible, the Valley Master immediately reverses course, bows toward the source of the grief, and pledges to welcome him. The two elders quickly follow suit, claiming their factions are eager to meet him.
• Pei accepts their agreement, privately shocked that Ye Li has killed two supreme cultivators in only a few days and seems even more powerful than the founding master of her order.

Character developments and interactions

• Pei Wufeng acts as Ye Li’s intermediary. She remains composed in public but recognizes the factions’ fear and is astonished by the news of another death.
• The Great Dream Valley Master shifts from guarded refusal to emphatic submission. Her priority is survival, not dignity or resistance.
• The two elders initially hide behind polite excuses, then instantly change their positions once they believe Ye Li has killed the Dark Moon Directorate leader.
• Ye Li never appears, but his reputation and apparent power control the entire encounter. The leaders’ fear turns a routine invitation into a forced-seeming show of loyalty.

Significant themes

• Power and fear: Ye Li’s reputation alone compels powerful factions to cooperate.
• Self-preservation over principle: The leaders readily abandon their stated positions when the danger becomes undeniable.
• Rapidly shifting allegiance: Their displays of respect are driven less by admiration than by the threat of becoming Ye Li’s next target.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Li enters the Dark Moon Directorate’s treasury, bypassing its formidable defenses with help from Lu Fengsheng’s soul. He finds more transcendence-level treasures than at the two other strongholds he looted, but still considers the amount limited.
• He combines the treasury’s medicines with his earlier spoils from Wutong Mountain and Green Snake Mountain, refining them into dozens of powerful treasure pills with Three-Hour Divine Fire.
• Rather than spend his Malice Points on a cultivation breakthrough, Ye Li deliberately keeps his half-step-transcendence level. He expects to earn more points by defeating weaker opponents while the remaining factions pose little danger.
• While recovering his divine power, he receives word from Pei Wufeng that the representatives at Great Dream Immortal Valley are ready. Ye Li prepares to meet them.
• Outside the treasury, Ye Shenfeng has been interrogating surviving fox demons. When they plead for mercy, she kills them with her seven-colored fire. Ye Li praises her for questioning them but advises her to disable captives first so they cannot escape.
• Ye Li and Ye Shenfeng set off for Great Dream Immortal Valley to meet the remaining forbidden-land representatives.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Li remains calculating and patient: he prioritizes maximizing future rewards over an immediate breakthrough. He also thinks ahead about his eventual departure from the Primordial Sea and wants to leave behind someone capable of protecting its people and factions.
• Ye Shenfeng is powerful but inexperienced and innocent. She eagerly seeks Ye Li’s approval and accepts his practical guidance on handling captives. Ye Li sees her as a promising future guardian and intends to shape her judgment while she is still impressionable.
• Pei Wufeng has successfully secured the cooperation of the Great Dream Immortal Valley representatives, allowing Ye Li to proceed with his next meeting.

Significant themes

• Strategic restraint and self-interest: Ye Li delays his breakthrough to preserve the value of future rewards.
• Power and responsibility: Ye Li treats Ye Shenfeng’s upbringing as part of his responsibility, especially because her immense potential could shape the Primordial Sea’s future.
• Violence and moral influence: Ye Shenfeng’s casual cruelty contrasts with Ye Li’s practical, instructional approach; his praise and guidance begin directing how she uses her power.
• Legacy and departure: Ye Li’s plans to leave the Primordial Sea motivate him to prepare a capable successor and safeguard the people and factions he will leave behind.

Plot points

• Ye Li and Ye Shenfeng arrive at Great Dream Immortal Valley, where the cultivators escort them nervously to the reception hall.
• The Valley Master and two leaders from other forbidden lands meet beforehand and agree that they should submit and offer Ye Li treasures to protect their sects.
• One leader, Zhao, questions whether Ye Li truly destroyed the Dark Moon Directorate and suggests they assess his strength before deciding how to respond. The others warn him not to provoke Ye Li; Zhao reluctantly agrees to hold back.
• Ye Li receives the leaders. His silence and commanding presence frighten them into sitting despite their initial insistence on remaining standing.
• The Valley Master senses that Ye Li’s aura seems no stronger than half-step Transcendence. Zhao appears to notice the same thing, while she keeps her suspicions to herself.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Li remains calm and controlled, using silence and presence rather than threats to dominate the meeting.
• Ye Shenfeng admires his composure and decides that imperturbable bearing is part of being a true powerhouse.
• The Valley Master is outwardly deferential but privately conflicted: she senses a weakness in Ye Li’s aura yet is too cautious to test him.
• Zhao shifts from fearful compliance toward guarded suspicion, apparently considering whether Ye Li’s reputation exceeds his current power.
• The other sect leader sides with caution, helping prevent Zhao from taking an immediate risk.

Significant themes

• Fear and power: Ye Li’s reputation and controlled demeanor exert pressure even before he acts.
• Prudence versus ambition: The leaders weigh safe submission against the temptation to exploit a possible weakness.
• Appearances and uncertainty: Ye Li’s aura seems inconsistent with his fearsome reputation, leaving the leaders unsure whether he is truly powerful or has already spent his strongest means.

Key plot points

• Ye Li reveals that the Lihuo Divine Lord and Lu Fengsheng—the two powerful Demon Race figures—are present as his allies, overwhelming the three forbidden-land sect leaders with their Transcendence-peak pressure.
• He confronts Zhao Wuji, lord of Other Shore Island, whose sect’s cultivation method requires consuming fellow cultivators. Zhao admits the practice but argues it is necessary and offers the sect’s treasury in exchange for mercy.
• Ye Li refuses. Zhao makes a desperate attempt to seize Ye Shenfeng as a hostage, but Lu Fengsheng intercepts him, destroys his body, and freezes his True Spirit. Ye Li burns the spirit away completely.
• Ye Li orders Lu Fengsheng to attack Other Shore Island.
• The Great Dream Valley Master and the Ink-Wash sect master insist their sects have never cultivated by eating people. Ye Li nevertheless warns that leaving potential enemies behind is dangerous and asks whether the Valley Master would spare a rival if their positions were reversed. The chapter ends before either sect’s fate is decided.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Li remains calm and decisive, showing that his power comes not only from his own abilities but also from commanding formidable allies. He treats the eradication of predatory cultivation practices as a matter of principle, while also acting pragmatically to protect his own sect.
• Zhao Wuji shifts from evasive pleading to desperate violence when he realizes Ye Li will not accept a bribe. His attempt to exploit Ye Shenfeng’s apparent weakness fails instantly.
• Ye Shenfeng is furious at being targeted and prepares to defend herself, but Lu Fengsheng protects her before she needs to act.
• Lu Fengsheng demonstrates overwhelming strength and unquestioning loyalty, carrying out Ye Li’s orders and taking responsibility for the assault on Other Shore Island.
• The Great Dream Valley Master and Ink-Wash sect master are terrified witnesses. They plead that their sects are innocent, then realize Ye Li may still consider them a future threat.

Significant themes

• Power and fear: Ye Li’s allies’ strength leaves even established rulers unable to resist or speak confidently.
• Justice versus expediency: Ye Li punishes human-consuming cultivation, but his willingness to eliminate possible future enemies raises questions about how far preventive justice should go.
• Loyalty and protection: Lu Fengsheng acts instantly to defend Ye Li’s companion and obey his commands.
• The danger of unchecked power: The surviving sect leaders’ fear reflects the uncertainty of facing a ruler who can punish not only proven wrongdoing but also perceived future risks.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Li explains why he cannot leave potential enemies unchecked: once he departs this world, he and his forces may be unable to protect it. He therefore demands either complete submission or the destruction of threats.
• The Great Dream Valley Master recognizes the danger and chooses to prove her loyalty through action rather than empty promises. She reverses her divine power, destroys her own Dao foundation, and cripples her Transcendence-level cultivation.
• She asks Ye Li to spare the Great Dream Immortal Valley and treat its disciples kindly after she eventually dies, since she no longer expects to survive her coming Heavenly Tribulation.
• Ye Li is surprised by her sacrifice but responds generously: he gives her a pill made from his blood that can restore her foundation and return her to her former peak.
• He incorporates the Great Dream Immortal Valley into Xuanjian Mansion while allowing her to continue managing it. She accepts the arrangement with gratitude and pledges the valley’s obedience.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Li reveals that his ruthlessness comes from concern about what may happen after he leaves the world. Though he insists on securing absolute loyalty, he rewards the Valley Master’s sincerity and sacrifice rather than simply demanding submission.
• The Great Dream Valley Master moves from fear to decisive self-sacrifice, prioritizing her sect’s survival over her own power. Her despair at Ye Li’s uncertain response turns to overwhelming relief when he offers healing and protection.
• The Ink Wash Sect Leader remains silent alongside her, visibly frightened; the chapter does not show him making a decision.
• The exchange between Ye Li and the Valley Master shifts from a life-or-death confrontation to an alliance: he grants her a chance to recover and govern under his authority, and she offers the valley’s loyalty.

Significant themes

• Loyalty proven through action: The Valley Master’s willingness to destroy her foundation carries more weight than verbal assurances.
• Power and survival: Ye Li’s overwhelming strength forces the sect leaders to choose between submission and annihilation.
• Mercy paired with control: Ye Li spares and heals the Valley Master, but brings her sect under Xuanjian Mansion.
• Leadership and sacrifice: The Valley Master gives up her cultivation to preserve her sect, while Ye Li’s gift lets her continue protecting it.

Key events

• The Great Dream Valley Master pledges loyalty and asks what kind of faction Xuanjian Mansion is. Ye Li admits it is a new faction he plans to establish, but the Valley Master accepts this without concern, trusting Ye Li to make it powerful.
• The Ink-Wash Sect Leader, seeing the Valley Master receive a miraculous Treasure Pellet and a position in the new faction, tries to imitate his foundation-shattering act. Lihuo Divine Lord stops him, and Ye Li offers him membership in exchange for a Divine Soul Pact. The Sect Leader agrees, though he regrets missing out on the pellet.
• With both leaders brought into his fold, Ye Li leaves the valley openly, displaying his overwhelming aura as the disciples bow to their new sect leader.
• Ye Shenfeng asks why Ye Li trusts the Valley Master without a pact. Ye Li explains that the pellet carries a hidden Heartfire technique: if the Valley Master betrays him, Ye Shenfeng can trigger the fire remotely and kill him. The Valley Master understands the danger but accepts the pellet because it offers his only chance at survival and a future.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Li demonstrates strategic cunning: he recruits through a mix of rewards, coercion, and concealed leverage, while keeping his plans under control.
• The Great Dream Valley Master shows pragmatic loyalty, accepting both the uncertain new faction and the risky pellet because the alternative is death.
• The Ink-Wash Sect Leader is opportunistic but cautious; his envy of the Valley Master’s reward gives way to fearful compliance and relief that he survived.
• Ye Shenfeng is curious and eager to learn, but admits that her vaunted “Supreme Dao Wisdom” does not yet extend to political scheming. Ye Li advises her to cultivate until her strength makes such maneuvering less necessary.

Significant themes

• Power and coercion: Ye Li’s authority makes open resistance nearly impossible.
• Pragmatism and survival: Both leaders choose submission because it offers better prospects than defiance.
• Hidden control beneath generosity: The apparently valuable pellet is also a means of enforcing loyalty.
• Strength as freedom: Ye Li teaches that overwhelming power can make political complications irrelevant.

Plot and key events

• Ye Li exits the Great Dream Immortal Valley after bringing its three powerful elders under his command.
• Pei Wufeng, the Heaven-Cutting Sword Pavilion’s Sword Chief, confirms Ye Li expects to leave this realm once he reaches Transcendence and shatters the void.
• She gives him an ancient Sword Talisman left by the Pavilion’s founder, who promised it could help an ascendant find her in the Upper Realm and gain her protection.
• When Ye Li reaches for the talisman, his Good Fortune Avoids Calamity ability warns him of a potentially lethal future danger connected to it. He accepts the warning but does not yet decide what to do.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Li remains calm and straightforward, confirming that the three elders are now under his command. He accepts Pei Wufeng’s gift readily, but his supernatural warning makes him reconsider its apparent value.
• Pei Wufeng shows admiration for Ye Li’s success and candor in entrusting him with the talisman. She admits she is unlikely to ascend for a very long time and jokes that, if she reaches the Upper Realm, she may seek his protection instead.
• Their exchange is friendly and trusting, with Pei Wufeng offering the talisman both as practical help and as a gesture of goodwill.

Significant themes

• The promise and danger of ascension: Leaving the familiar world may bring opportunity, but also unpredictable threats.
• Trust versus caution: A gift meant to guide Ye Li may expose him to great danger.
• Legacy and uncertainty: The founder’s token carries the Pavilion’s hopes, yet her status and intentions in the Upper Realm remain unclear.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Li accepts the Sword Talisman from Pei Wufeng, despite suspecting it may lead to danger. He resolves to face whatever lies ahead rather than avoid it.
• In return, he gives Pei Wufeng a Jade Pendant that can help her find him if she later breaks through the void and reaches his region.
• Pei Wufeng describes her Sword Pavilion founder’s hopeful account of the Divine Domain as peaceful and devoted to discussing the Dao. Ye Li warns that such descriptions are only speculation: other factions’ visions of the Upper Realm are equally self-serving or fanciful.
• Pei Wufeng takes his advice to heart and resolves to resume cultivation and pursue a breakthrough. She and Ye Li part on friendly terms.
• With the conflict in the Primordial Sea settled and its major obstacles removed, Ye Li decides to return to Blue Star. He wants to see its condition for himself and improve its defenses and environment.
• Ye Shenfeng, anxious about her weak cultivation and their arrival on Blue Star, asks whether they are leaving immediately. Ye Li bluntly warns her to hide her aura there or face punishment.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Li shows confidence in confronting danger and skepticism toward idealized stories about the Upper Realm. His gift to Pei Wufeng reflects his sense of fairness, while his decision to revisit Blue Star reveals attachment to his homeworld.
• Pei Wufeng is grateful for the Jade Pendant and inspired by Ye Li’s perspective. She shifts from reflecting on the promised afterlife beyond the void to committing herself to reaching it through cultivation.
• Ye Shenfeng longs for a way to find Ye Li after a future breakthrough, but her hopes go unfulfilled in this scene. She is also insecure about her strength and worried about how she will fare on Blue Star.
• Ye Li and Pei Wufeng exchange sincere farewells; Ye Li’s teasingly harsh warning to Ye Shenfeng contrasts with the respectful tone of his parting with Pei Wufeng.

Significant themes

• Experience versus speculation: Claims about the Upper Realm are unreliable until personally tested.
• Perseverance and self-reliance: Ye Li chooses to confront danger, while Pei Wufeng recommits to cultivation.
• Connection across distance: The Jade Pendant represents the possibility of reunion beyond the shattered void.
• Home and responsibility: Ye Li’s return to Blue Star is motivated by concern for its people and harsh conditions.

Key events

• Huaxia’s influence over Blue Star has grown rapidly since Ye Li’s departure. Nations such as the Federation and White Country have yielded territory and resources rather than risk opposing it.
• At a diplomatic meeting, Qingyi Bureau adjudicator Zuo Qingyu secures the Federation’s Spirit Dragon Secret Realm for Huaxia.
• Federation leader Isabella reveals a new secret realm in her territory contains at least several ninth-tier alien beasts. She asks Huaxia to send Ye Li, hoping only he can stop the threat.
• Zuo promises Huaxia will help, but clarifies that Ye Li will not be the one sent. Isabella accepts the offer, though she is visibly disappointed.
• Zuo and Chen Jingli discuss the wider dangers facing Huaxia: the powerful Blood Sea Society, backed by a Heaven and Earth Realm expert, is probing Blue Star. Ye Li’s Starry Sky Great Wall has protected the planet but also drawn the outsiders’ attention.
• Huaxia’s leaders are anxious about these threats and about the Federation crisis, unaware that Ye Li has already reached Transcendence, a level vastly beyond the dangers they fear.

Character developments and interactions

• Zuo Qingyu is now a seventh-tier adjudicator and negotiates from a position of authority, but privately feels the pressure of Huaxia’s growing responsibilities. She is cautious when Isabella asks about Ye Li and flustered when Chen Jingli points out her attachment to him.
• Chen Jingli, now a fifth-tier cultivator and senior Qingyi Bureau official, is blunt about her devotion to Ye Li. She says she joined the Bureau because he left traces of himself there, and privately reveals an even more intense obsession.
• Isabella, the Federation’s “Knight King,” readily gives up the secret realm and asks for Ye Li’s help. Chen suspects Isabella’s request is partly motivated by admiration—or personal feelings—for him.
• Zuo and Chen’s walk back from the embassy turns into a teasing exchange: Chen exposes Zuo’s own feelings for Ye Li, prompting Zuo to deny them and hurriedly change the subject.

Significant themes

• Power and political change: Ye Li’s past deeds have shifted Blue Star’s balance of power, allowing Huaxia to expand with little resistance.
• The burden of leadership: Huaxia’s rise brings new responsibilities and dangers beyond Blue Star, despite its apparent dominance at home.
• Unequal knowledge and scale: The leaders fear threats that seem overwhelming to them, while Ye Li’s true strength has surpassed their entire frame of reference.
• Loyalty and romantic attachment: Zuo, Chen, and possibly Isabella are connected to Ye Li through admiration and affection, though their feelings differ in how openly they express them.

Plot points and events

• The Blood Sea Society chairman arrives outside Blue Star’s Starry Sky Great Wall with attendants, demanding negotiations. To overcome Zhang Qingliu’s excuse that there is nowhere to meet, he moves a lifeless planet and has a palace built on it with a casual display of power.
• Zhang Qingliu and Yang Qingshan are overwhelmed by the visitors’ strength. Zhang, now nearing the seventh level of the Mountain Sea Realm after years of progress, realizes he is still vastly outmatched.
• The chairman presents the Blood Sea Society’s offer as a friendly partnership: they will provide protection and help develop the Heavenly Balance Star Domain’s resources.
• Zhang recognizes the proposal as a pretext to exploit the domain. He politely refuses, saying his people can protect themselves, and warns the chairman to consider why the domain’s powerful cultivators have disappeared.
• The chairman asks to meet the legendary “Heavenly Balance God of Slaughter,” the young cultivator said to have defeated the domain’s factions. Zhang claims this figure is away with no fixed return date and says he can relay any message.
• Unable to find another leader to speak with, the chairman interprets Zhang’s evasiveness as evidence that the domain is bluffing and that its legendary protector is a paper tiger.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Qingliu stays formally courteous despite feeling intimidated. He attempts to protect his domain through careful refusals and warnings, but his unease betrays his lack of confidence.
• Yang Qingshan shares Zhang’s shock at the visitors’ overwhelming power and cannot even meaningfully compare their strength with Ye Li’s.
• The Blood Sea Society chairman masks his contempt with friendliness and caution. Though initially wary of the Great Wall and hidden Jade Talismans, he grows increasingly confident as he reads Zhang’s evasions as weakness.
• The meeting is a contest of appearances: Zhang tries to deter the Society without revealing his true position, while the chairman probes for signs of strength and resolves to exploit what he sees as vulnerability.

Significant themes

• Power imbalance and intimidation: The visitors’ effortless feats make the defenders’ recent gains seem insignificant.
• Diplomacy as a disguise for exploitation: The Society’s language of cooperation conceals its desire to seize the domain’s resources.
• Bluffing and misinterpretation: Zhang’s attempt to conceal his side’s situation is taken as proof that its strongest figure does not exist or is powerless.
• The uncertainty of reputation: The legend of the God of Slaughter influences the negotiation, but neither side knows how accurately it reflects his actual strength.

Plot points

• The Blood Sea Society’s president and vice president pressure Zhang Qingliu and Yang Qingshan to sign over the star domain’s resources. The president’s oppressive aura leaves them nearly helpless, and Yang urges Zhang to use Ye Li’s emergency talisman.
• Before they can act, a vast presence freezes the surrounding cosmos. A red-robed girl appears, but a calm voice rebukes her for letting her aura spread; she immediately vanishes.
• Ye Li then manifests above a realm of chaos and confronts the Blood Sea Society. His power prevents the invaders from lying or resisting.
• With a quiet remark that he will not waste time, Ye Li kills everyone in the hall and erases the Blood Sea Society’s distant headquarters.
• The world returns to normal. Zhang and Yang recognize Ye Li, who greets them warmly.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Qingliu and Yang Qingshan show their loyalty and composure under extreme pressure, preparing to use Ye Li’s safeguard rather than submit.
• The Blood Sea Society’s leaders shift from arrogant coercion to desperate pleas for mercy once they realize the vast difference in power.
• The red-robed girl initially radiates overwhelming majesty but becomes visibly chastened when Ye Li corrects her, revealing her deference to him.
• Ye Li’s effortless destruction of his enemies contrasts with his gentle reunion with Zhang and Yang, old allies who had worried over Blue Star.

Significant themes

• Overwhelming power and hierarchy: Ye Li’s authority surpasses even the supposedly supreme beings’ strength.
• Loyalty rewarded: Zhang and Yang’s faith in Ye Li is validated by his sudden intervention.
• Power restrained by control: Ye Li’s calm command quickly suppresses the red-robed girl’s uncontrolled display.
• Arrogance punished: The Blood Sea Society’s attempt to bully a weaker domain ends in its complete destruction.

Summary

• Ye Li returns to Blue Star at a moment when Huaxia is facing an existential threat. He effortlessly destroys the danger with a wave of his hand, repeating the kind of overwhelming intervention Yang Qingshan remembers from Ye Li’s earlier days on the planet.
• Zhang Qingliu and Yang Qingshan react with relief and awe. Zhang asks whether Ye Li faced hardship beyond the stars. Ye Li says he encountered no danger, though he warns that someone with Zhang’s late Mountain Sea Realm cultivation would need to be cautious outside the Starry Sky Great Wall.
• Zhang reflects that his past time working with Ye Li sometimes feels unreal; Ye Li dryly tells him not to develop “strange proclivities.” Yang explains that Huaxia had been in serious danger, but Ye Li’s arrival has resolved its greatest immediate problem.
• Zhang warns that the Blood Sea Society may still have powerful guards at its headquarters. Ye Li reveals that he has already destroyed the organization’s headquarters and left behind a Law-based power that will prevent anyone from reviving it.
• Ye Shenfeng introduces herself as Ye Li’s “future Dao companion.” Zhang and Yang are stunned, immediately worrying about the women in Huaxia who have ties to Ye Li or hopes of following his path. Ye Li avoids the subject and orders everyone to return to Huaxia; the two men eagerly comply, while Ye Shenfeng is relieved that her status has been acknowledged.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Li is established as vastly stronger than before and composed even when others are overwhelmed. He remains practical, focusing on returning to Huaxia rather than discussing his relationship.
• Zhang Qingliu shifts from formal gratitude to affectionate nostalgia, then becomes alarmed by Ye Shenfeng’s declaration.
• Yang Qingshan is initially dazed by Ye Li’s return and the familiar ease with which he saves them.
• Ye Shenfeng confidently asserts her place beside Ye Li, while privately relieved that no one challenges her claim.

Significant themes

• The scale of Ye Li’s growth: What once would have been a desperate crisis is now easily handled by him.
• Protection and security: Ye Li has not only saved Huaxia from immediate danger but has also taken measures to prevent the Blood Sea Society’s return.
• Power and distance: Ye Li’s warning about the universe highlights how weak even formidable cultivators may be beyond Blue Star.
• Romantic tension and social consequences: Ye Shenfeng’s claim raises the prospect of conflict or awkwardness with other women connected to Ye Li, though the matter is postponed.

Key plot points and events

• After completing the handover of Secret Realm clusters along Huaxia’s western border, Zuo Qingyu is called back by Cai Jingyun to discuss the Federation’s crisis: multiple ninth-tier aberrant beasts threaten it.
• Both agree Huaxia must provide aid. As the dominant power, it has a responsibility to protect the international order associated with Ye Li’s achievements.
• Cai proposes that she go to the Federation while Zuo guards Qingyi Bureau headquarters. Zuo objects, worried that Cai’s new ninth-tier cultivation is not yet stable.
• Zuo offers to go instead, revealing a jade talisman containing Ye Li’s power. She is prepared to use this precious safeguard to uphold the reputation he built.
• Cai persuades her that sending Huaxia’s newly advanced ninth-tier cultivator is the most sensible choice, while Zuo and the talisman remain in reserve. Zuo reluctantly agrees.
• Before they can act, a surge of energy erupts through headquarters and staff announce that General Ye has returned.

Character developments and interactions

• Zuo Qingyu shows growing maturity as the Ninth Adjudicator: she thinks beyond Huaxia’s immediate interests, prioritizes its responsibility, and demonstrates fierce loyalty to Ye Li’s legacy. Her willingness to risk herself—and spend her talisman—reveals how deeply she values that legacy.
• Cai Jingyun balances compassion with strategic judgment. Though newly at the ninth tier, she volunteers to help and calmly explains why her deployment is the safer, more legitimate choice.
• Their exchange is respectful but emotionally charged: Zuo worries for Cai, while Cai praises her growth and ultimately persuades her.
• Chen Jingli briefly withdraws from the room to avoid overhearing confidential military discussion.

Significant themes

• Leadership and responsibility: Huaxia’s power brings obligations toward other nations.
• Legacy and loyalty: Ye Li’s reputation and the order he established inspire both women’s choices.
• Duty versus personal concern: Zuo’s protective instincts clash with the strategic need to send Cai.
• Hope and timing: Ye Li’s unexpected return interrupts their plans and suggests the crisis may take a new direction.

Key plot points and events

• News of Ye Li’s return spreads through headquarters when Zhou Shang, overcome with excitement, announces it with a thunderous shout.
• Zuo Qingyu and Cai Jingyun rush to see him. Chen Jingli arrives first and embraces Ye Li, who tolerates the hug briefly before gently asking her to stop.
• Ye Shenfeng, standing behind Ye Li, is startled and jealous, but convinces herself the embrace is understandable because Chen is his senior sister.
• Zuo Qingyu struggles to speak when she finally sees Ye Li. Ye Shenfeng introduces herself first, making Zuo even more self-conscious.
• Cai Jingyun breaks the awkward silence by welcoming Ye Li and asking how long he will stay. He says probably two or three days.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Li remains composed amid the excitement and attention. He shows consideration for Chen Jingli’s feelings but sets a boundary when her embrace becomes too intense.
• Chen Jingli reveals how deeply she has missed Ye Li: she devoted herself to cultivation after regretting that she missed his previous return, and now embraces him without restraint.
• Ye Shenfeng reacts possessively to other women’s closeness with Ye Li, though she tries to appear gracious and reassure herself that Chen’s affection is innocent.
• Zuo Qingyu discovers that her confidence cannot withstand seeing Ye Li again; despite rehearsing their reunion in her mind, she can barely speak and regrets letting the moment pass.
• Cai Jingyun remains composed and considerate, helping Zuo through the awkward encounter with a tactful question.
• Zhang Qingliu and Yang Qingshan avoid intervening in the tense, personal reunion, recognizing that they have little control over the situation.

Significant themes

• Longing and reunion: Several characters’ years of separation have intensified their feelings for Ye Li.
• Restraint versus emotion: The characters struggle to balance private affection with propriety and their public roles.
• Jealousy and romantic rivalry: Ye Shenfeng’s wariness, alongside the attention of Chen Jingli and Zuo Qingyu, sets up potential tension.
• Missed chances: Zuo Qingyu’s hesitation echoes Chen Jingli’s earlier regret over missing Ye Li’s previous return.