Chapter Summaries

Chen Qingyu reopened the investigation into his cousin Chen Qingjie’s disappearance, but the military files and the site of the incident revealed no clues. He told Chen Zhenghong he would use the forbidden Bloodline Tracing Technique as a last resort to find Chen Qingjie.

• Chen Qingyu arrived at the Stars Heavenly Army camp, where Commandant Chen Yuanhe said Grand Arbiter Chen Yuangu had warned him of the visit.
• Chen Qingyu ordered Chen Yuanhe to reopen the investigation and let him review every file related to Chen Qingjie and his missing squad.
• Chen Qingyu and Chen Zhenghong found no clues in the files or at the site where the squad had disappeared.
• Chen Zhenghong despaired when Chen Qingyu confirmed he had found no trace of Chen Qingjie.
• Chen Qingyu revealed that he could use the Bloodline Tracing Technique, and Chen Zhenghong objected that it was a forbidden art.

Chen Qingyu arranged a generous reward and pardon to find someone skilled in the forbidden Bloodline Tracing Technique, but no one answered the notices. After perfecting his spirit arts, he gained a massive cultivation boost from the Thirteen Golden Grain Pill, then received news of a nearby Supreme Void Dao Realm challenge offering a Yin-Yang Spirit Mark.

• Chen Qingyu persuaded Chen Zhenghong to seek a Bloodline Tracing Technique practitioner with a generous reward and a pardon, and Chen Yuanqi agreed to issue the notices.
• Recruitment notices in Chen Shaojun’s name spread across the Central Capital, but no one came forward during the following half month.
• Chen Qingyu perfected all three of his spirit arts and absorbed the Thirteen Golden Grain Pill’s effects, doubling his cultivation power and advancing to the seventh heaven of the True Gang Realm.
• Chen Qingyu learned that the notices still had no response and worried that Cousin Qingjie’s chances of survival were diminishing.
• A voice informed Chen Qingyu that a nearby opportunity offering a Yin-Yang Spirit Mark had appeared and invited him to enter the corresponding Supreme Void Dao Realm region for a challenge.

After the Great Void Primal Spirit alerted Chen Qingyu to a chance to obtain his final Yin-Yang Spirit Mark, he traveled to Saint King Chenliu’s tomb on Seven Springs Mountain. In the Supreme Void Dao Realm, he entered a challenge to withstand the Saint King’s projection, which appeared before him as a youth.

• The Great Void Primal Spirit revealed that the opportunity to gain a Yin-Yang Spirit Mark was at Saint King Chenliu’s tomb on Seven Springs Mountain.
• Chen Qingyu ordered his carriage prepared and traveled to the mountain, where he walked to the summit and offered incense at the tomb.
• Chen Yuanlu greeted Chen Qingyu at the summit, then departed before Chen Qingyu entered the Supreme Void Dao Realm.
• The Great Void Primal Spirit announced a challenge to last half a quarter-hour against a Saint King projection at the same cultivation realm in exchange for one Yin-Yang Spirit Mark.
• A youthful projection of Saint King Chenliu appeared and invited Chen Qingyu to fight.

Chen Qingyu defeated the image of Saint King Chenliu and gathered all twenty-four Yin-Yang Spirit Marks before returning to cultivation. After someone took down his recruitment notice, he met the Heavenly Impulse Realm expert surnamed Zhang and invited him to Taihe Garden to begin the investigation.

• Chen Qingyu defeated the image of Saint King Chenliu with the Doomsday Heavenly Calamity and received the final Yin-Yang Spirit Mark.
• The Great Void Primal Spirit announced that Chen Qingyu was the second person ever to gather all the Yin-Yang Spirit Marks, which fused into a golden disc and entered his brow.
• Chen Qingyu left the Supreme Void Dao Realm, paid his respects at a gravestone on Seven Springs Mountain, and returned to Orchid and Bamboo Garden.
• A servant told Chen Qingyu that someone had taken down his recruitment notice, so he ordered his carriage prepared.
• Chen Qingyu met the slovenly middle-aged man surnamed Zhang beneath the notice board and invited him to Taihe Garden to begin the investigation.

Chen Qingyu brought Mr. Zhang, a cultivator of bloodline-tracing methods, to Taihe Garden to find Chen Qingjie. The compass revealed that Qingjie was alive near the Central Capital, but the group’s search led toward Seven Springs Mountain.

• Chen Qingyu asked Mr. Zhang about his bloodline-tracing method, and Mr. Zhang assured him he could find someone near the Central Capital.
• Chen Qingyu arrived at Taihe Garden with Mr. Zhang and introduced him to Chen Zhenghong and the others as the man who could locate Chen Qingjie.
• Mr. Zhang used Chen Zhenghong’s blood to activate a jade compass, which produced an arrow indicating that Qingjie was alive nearby.
• Chen Qingyu, Chen Zhenghong, and more than half of the Taihe Garden lineage followed Mr. Zhang south out of the Central Capital.
• Chen Qingyu recognized that the compass was pointing toward Seven Springs Mountain.

Chen Qingyu followed a bloodline-tracing Mystic Artifact to Seven Springs Mountain, where he realized Chen Qingjie’s disappearance might be connected to a plot against Saint King Chenliu’s remains. After his sword strike revealed the Sage Evolution Palace’s Heaven-Substituting Technique, he summoned the Ninth Ancestor and warned him that the remains might already have been stolen.

• Mr. Zhang’s Mystic Artifact led Chen Zhenghong, Chen Yuanhe, Chen Qingyu, and the others to Seven Springs Mountain, where it indicated Chen Qingjie was inside.
• Mr. Zhang said a powerful formation blocked him from entering, so Chen Zhenghong prepared to search the mountain with his relatives.
• Chen Qingyu realized Chen Qingjie may have been abducted because his bloodline allowed him to approach Saint King Chenliu’s tomb, and suspected the Sage Evolution Palace wanted the Saint King’s remains.
• Chen Qingyu struck Seven Springs Mountain with his Yang-Inscribed Dharma Sword, revealing the Cangliu Xie Clan’s Heaven-Substituting Technique.
• Chen Qingyu summoned the Ninth Ancestor and told him that the Sage Evolution Palace might already have stolen Saint King Chenliu’s remains.

The Ninth Ancestor broke the Sage Evolution Palace’s Heaven-Substituting Technique over Seven Springs Mountain and discovered that its agents had dug open Saint King Chenliu’s tomb. He and Chen Qingyu opened the coffin to find it empty, revealing that the Saint King’s remains had disappeared long before the recent raid.

• The Ninth Ancestor shattered the Heaven-Substituting Technique and exposed the Sage Evolution Palace’s image of the opened tomb and unconscious Stars Heavenly Army members.
• Chen Qingyu realized the Sage Evolution Palace had exploited the unguarded tomb to steal Saint King Chenliu’s remains, and warned that a Saint King-level Corpse Demon could threaten the continent.
• The Ninth Ancestor explained that he would have sensed any disturbance to the remains through the Myriad Stars Armillary Heaven Bell, so he believed the Sage Evolution Palace had not taken them.
• Chen Qingyu suggested opening the coffin, and the Ninth Ancestor agreed to check the remains despite the disrespect.
• The Ninth Ancestor opened the coffin and found an ordinary-looking woman inside, while the left side was empty; he and Chen Qingyu realized Saint King Chenliu’s remains had already vanished.

Chen Qingyu and the Ninth Ancestor discovered that Saint King Chenliu’s coffin was empty, but they could not determine who had taken his remains. Their discussion was interrupted when Emperor Yuan’s power froze the world and delivered Chen Qingyu an invitation to the Dragon Gate Dharma Assembly.

• Chen Qingyu and the Ninth Ancestor opened Saint King Chenliu’s coffin and found it empty.
• Chen Qingyu and the Ninth Ancestor considered whether Saint King Chenliu had faked his death, someone had stolen his remains, or he had become a Corpse Demon, but the Ninth Ancestor ruled out each explanation.
• The Ninth Ancestor began to suggest another possibility, but the world turned gray and froze around Chen Qingyu and the Ninth Ancestor.
• A platinum invitation from Emperor Yuan’s palace appeared before Chen Qingyu, inviting him to the thirty-sixth Dragon Gate Dharma Assembly in the Saint Yuan Minor Realm within one month.
• Chen Qingyu accepted the invitation and realized that Emperor Yuan’s power had reached them without the Ninth Ancestor noticing.

After receiving an invitation to Emperor Yuan Palace’s Dragon Gate Dharma Assembly, Chen Qingyu prepared to leave the Central Capital and return to the Divine Capital. He promised Chen Yuanhe and the others that he would ask the Golden Hall to restore their main-lineage status, leaving them hopeful that their long-held wish would soon come true.

• Emperor Yuan Palace sent Chen Qingyu an invitation, and the Ninth Ancestor explained how it would let him enter the Saint Yuan Minor Realm.
• The Ninth Ancestor told Chen Qingyu to return to the Central Capital soon, hinting that time was running short before vanishing into the void.
• Chen Qingyu restored Saint King Chenliu’s tomb, kept the disappearance of the remains secret, and reunited the unconscious Chen Qingjie with his family.
• Chen Qingyu told Chen Yuanhe and the others that he would resign as inspecting envoy and attend the Dragon Gate Dharma Assembly.
• Chen Qingyu promised to ask the Golden Hall to restore Chen Yuanhe and the others to the main lineage, then said farewell and asked them to handle his resignation.

Chen Qingyu returned to the Divine Capital and learned from the Ninth Ancestor that Emperor Yuan was nearing the end of his lifespan. The Ninth Ancestor warned that his death could unleash continent-wide war, as the powerful Emperor Yuan Palace might no longer remain aloof.

• Chen Qingyu left the Central Capital and returned to the Divine Capital, leaving local affairs to the city lord.
• Chen Qingyu asked the Ninth Ancestor to let his relatives in the Central Capital regain their status in the main lineage, and the Ninth Ancestor approved.
• The Ninth Ancestor told Chen Qingyu that Emperor Yuan was about to die after living for thirty thousand years.
• The Ninth Ancestor explained that Emperor Yuan's death would remove a powerful deterrent and could trigger war across the Desolate Continent.
• The Ninth Ancestor described the Emperor Yuan Palace's enormous strength, including nine surviving direct disciples in the Extreme Transformation Realm, three of them at Saint King level.

The Ninth Ancestor explained to Chen Qingyu that Emperor Yuan’s death could trigger a war that reshaped the Desolate Continent, because Emperor Yuan Palace’s power had kept the holy lands and other races in check. He revealed that Emperor Yuan had only a few to perhaps a dozen years left, and left Chen Qingyu with the hope that he would become a pillar of the Chen Clan before the era ended.

• The Ninth Ancestor told Chen Qingyu that Emperor Yuan Palace would likely seek greater power on the Desolate Continent once Emperor Yuan could no longer restrain it.
• The Ninth Ancestor explained that Emperor Yuan Palace’s existence had prevented war between the human holy lands and the other races after the Divine Capital calamity.
• The Ninth Ancestor revealed that Emperor Yuan possessed several Quasi-Emperor-level treasures and that the holy lands’ control of the Supreme Void Eternal World Mirror was weakened by the Great Void Primal Spirit’s reincarnation and Sage Evolution Palace’s stolen authority.
• The Ninth Ancestor warned Chen Qingyu that Emperor Yuan’s death could lead to the destruction or submission of the holy lands and a new era of rule by Emperor Yuan Palace.
• The Ninth Ancestor said Emperor Yuan would likely die within a few to a dozen years and expressed confidence that Chen Qingyu could become a pillar of the Chen Clan before then.

The Ninth Ancestor warned Chen Qingyu that the Emperor Yuan Palace might be secretly allied with the Sage Evolution Palace and involved in stealing Saint King Chenliu’s remains. He sent Chen Qingyu to the Dragon Gate Dharma Assembly with three covert missions, as the assembly became a potential battleground between powerful factions.

• The Ninth Ancestor explained that Emperor Yuan’s disciples organized the Dragon Gate Dharma Assembly and might have used the Emperor Yuan Palace’s power to steal Saint King Chenliu’s remains.
• Chen Qingyu and the Ninth Ancestor suspected the Emperor Yuan Palace had secretly supported or even created the Sage Evolution Palace.
• The Ninth Ancestor told Chen Qingyu that the Dragon Gate Dharma Assembly would represent a contest between two great camps, and that Chen Qingyu would bear responsibility for the Chen Clan and humanity.
• The Ninth Ancestor tasked Chen Qingyu with discovering Emperor Yuan’s true whereabouts, investigating the relationship between the two palaces, and locating Saint King Chenliu’s remains.

Chen Qingyu prepared to attend the Dragon Gate Dharma Assembly in the Saint Yuan Minor Realm, where he would secretly investigate Emperor Yuan Palace and attempt three major tasks. He departed with three Chen Clan cousins, with the Ninth Ancestor’s emergency talisman and Chen Yaoguang’s orders entrusting their safety and decisions to him.

• The Ninth Ancestor gave Chen Qingyu a source talisman from the Supreme Void Eternal World Mirror and promised to break into the Saint Yuan Minor Realm if Chen Qingyu faced danger.
• Chen Qingyu spent half a month cultivating as news of the Dragon Gate Dharma Assembly spread and prodigies from across the Desolate Continent prepared to attend.
• Chen Yaoguang gathered Chen Qinghan, Chen Qinglu, and Chen Qingjue with Chen Qingyu, then ordered them to follow Chen Qingyu’s decisions during the journey.
• Chen Qingyu and his three cousins activated their invitation talismans and entered the gate of light to the Saint Yuan Minor Realm.

Chen Qingyu brought Chen Qinghan, Chen Qinglu, and Chen Qingjue through the Saint Yuan Minor Realm toward Emperor Yuan Palace, observing its unusual rules and mixed-race communities along the way. After several hours of flight, they reached the vast plain before the palace complex.

• Chen Qingyu and the others entered the Saint Yuan Minor Realm and followed their invitations toward Emperor Yuan Palace.
• Chen Qingyu carried his three cousins in his Ziwei Star True Gang after realizing their different cultivation levels made their flight too slow.
• Chen Qingyu discovered that the minor realm restricted flight speed to roughly that of a newly advanced Divine Treasure Realm cultivator.
• The group saw humans and other races living together throughout the realm, and Chen Qingyu noticed that mixed-blood children’s lineages seemed to coexist without interfering with each other.
• After flying for several hours, Chen Qingyu and the others reached a vast plain and spotted the immense palace complex of Emperor Yuan Palace in the distance.

Chen Qingyu and his three cousins arrived at the Emperor Yuan Palace to attend the Dragon Gate Dharma Assembly and were shown to the human prodigies’ quarters. After settling in, Chen Qingyu prepared to use his system to check in.

• Chen Qingyu brought Chen Qinghan, Chen Qinglu, and Chen Qingjue to the Emperor Yuan Palace and presented their invitations at the entrance.
• A white-robed attendant recognized Chen Qingyu as Chen Shaojun and escorted the four into the palace complex.
• Chen Qingyu learned that five prodigies from the Myriad Phenomena Holy Land had arrived the day before and that human and nonhuman guests were housed separately.
• The attendant led the four to their quarters, and Chen Qingyu advised his cousins to stay in their palaces and tell him if they encountered trouble.
• Chen Qingyu entered his palace, sat in the cultivation chamber, and called on his system to check in.

Chen Qingyu gained the Heavenly Emperor’s divine ability, Words Become Law, and tested its power and limits in the Saint Yuan Minor Realm. A wounded Chang Ziqiu of the Myriad Phenomena Holy Land arrived to visit him and asked to speak inside.

• Chen Qingyu received Words Become Law as his first check-in reward at Emperor Yuan Palace.
• Chen Qingyu used the ability to fill his cultivation chamber with light and found that it consumed far more True Gang than producing light normally.
• Chen Qingyu tried to remove the Saint Yuan Minor Realm’s flight-speed restriction, but Emperor Yuan’s rules resisted him and caused a slight backlash.
• Chen Qingyu reflected on how the Heavenly Emperor’s powers might relate to the Dao of Myriad Calamities before Chang Ziqiu called from outside the palace.
• Chen Qingyu met the injured Chang Ziqiu, who asked to discuss his visit inside the hall.

Chen Qingyu learned from the injured Chang Ziqiu that Emperor Yuan would not preside over the Dragon Gate Dharma Assembly, and that Emperor Yuan Palace's prodigies had overwhelmingly defeated the visiting challengers. The chapter left Chen Qingyu facing the possibility that Emperor Yuan Palace's true successors were stronger still.

• Chen Qingyu welcomed Chang Ziqiu into the palace, where Chang used a treasure to shield their conversation from eavesdroppers.
• Chang Ziqiu told Chen Qingyu that Emperor Yuan had not appeared for a hundred years and that his eldest disciple would preside over the assembly.
• Chang Ziqiu explained that Emperor Yuan Palace's prodigies had challenged the visiting youths the previous night and crushed them all.
• Chang Ziqiu revealed that the prodigies who defeated them were only external disciples, while Emperor Yuan Palace's direct successors were stronger.

Chang Ziqiu explained that the Saint Yuan Minor Realm’s open academy system and Emperor Yuan’s Yuan-Seizing Method produced prodigies with foundations beyond the Desolate Continent’s limits. He warned Chen Qingyu that the coming Dragon Gate Dharma Assembly would pit the Desolate Continent’s prodigies against those from within the Saint Yuan Minor Realm.

• Chang Ziqiu told Chen Qingyu that the Saint Yuan Minor Realm made cultivation arts widely available and selected talented cultivators through successive rounds of competition.
• Chang Ziqiu explained that Emperor Yuan’s True Scripture of Ten Thousand Yuan, Life-Seizing and Void-Crossing contained the Yuan-Seizing Method, which could break the strongest foundation’s shackles.
• Chang Ziqiu said that only a tiny fraction of the Emperor Yuan Palace’s people became direct disciples, and that just a dozen or so cultivators had reached the Divine Shore Realm in thirty thousand years.
• Chang Ziqiu warned Chen Qingyu that the Emperor Yuan Palace’s prodigies would join the Dragon Gate Dharma Assembly, making it a contest between the Desolate Continent’s cultivators and those of the Saint Yuan Minor Realm.

Chen Qingyu explained to Chang Ziqiu that Emperor Yuan Palace had arranged for its disciples to challenge outsiders and reveal the Saint Yuan Minor Realm’s cultivation system as part of a plan to weaken and divide the Desolate Continent’s holy lands. He warned that the pressure would intensify at the Dragon Gate Dharma Assembly and that Emperor Yuan Palace would later seek support across the continent.

• Chang Ziqiu told Chen Qingyu that the externally taught disciples had treated him courteously but seemed to look down on outsiders.
• Chen Qingyu reasoned that Emperor Yuan Palace’s upper echelons had authorized the challenges to display their strength and undermine the holy lands’ confidence.
• Chen Qingyu explained that revealing the Saint Yuan Minor Realm’s cultivation system could tempt outsiders to abandon their own inheritances and split the holy lands from within.
• Chang Ziqiu admitted that he had considered switching to Emperor Yuan’s True Scripture of Ten Thousand Origins, Life-Seizing and Void-Traversing after losing to a disciple.
• Chen Qingyu predicted that Emperor Yuan Palace would pressure more prodigies, then seek influence across the Desolate Continent after the Dragon Gate Dharma Assembly.

Chen Qingyu explained that the Emperor Yuan Palace planned to use the Dragon Gate Dharma Assembly to display its strength and win support, and Chang Ziqiu hoped Chen could delay that plan by defeating its talents. Meanwhile, Emperor Yuan Palace disciples were ordered not to provoke Chen Shaojun because they feared they could not defeat him.

• Chang Ziqiu realized the Emperor Yuan Palace's plan could divide the holy lands and draw the people of the Desolate Continent to its side.
• Chen Qingyu said he could not stop the Palace's open stratagem, but winning at the Dragon Gate Dharma Assembly could delay it by preserving the holy lands' reputation.
• Chang Ziqiu said Chen Qingyu was their only hope against the Palace's origin-seizing method.
• Chen Qingyu recognized that the Emperor Yuan Palace would target him and said he looked forward to seeing its methods.
• An Emperor Yuan Palace woman told the gathered disciples that their superiors had ordered them not to provoke Chen Shaojun because his strength surpassed theirs.