Chapter Summaries

Xie Feng refined Star Cores and rose from the sixth stage of the Dao Master realm to the sixth stage of the Dao Emperor realm. He confronted Yi Cang over his military authority and left him maimed after Yi Cang refused to surrender it.

• Xie Feng refined thirty Star Cores, broke through two major realms, and stored the remaining Star Cores and star sea crystals.
• Xie Feng encountered Yi Cang, who was searching for Pei Jue, and provoked him over their earlier conflict.
• Xie Feng demanded that Yi Cang hand over his military authority and army, saying Pei Jue could command the troops.
• Yi Cang attacked, but Xie Feng used Sword Qi to sever his arm and asked again for his military authority.
• Yi Cang refused, so Xie Feng struck again and cut off his right leg, dropping him to his knees.

Xie Feng forced Yi Cang to pledge support for Pei Jue, healed his severed limbs, and secured Yi Cang’s military tally. As Pei Jue inherited the Star Ancestor’s power, a formidable saber-wielding man appeared before him.

• Yi Cang attacked Xie Feng with a golden battle-axe, but Little Sword pierced his remaining leg and left him unable to stand.
• Xie Feng demanded Yi Cang pledge not to kill the clan leader, then threatened him until Yi Cang agreed to support Pei Jue and handed over his military tally.
• Xie Feng gave Yi Cang a Flesh Restoration and Bone Regrowth Pill, restoring his severed limbs, and secretly planted Northern Nether Illusory Emperor Flame inside him.
• Xie Feng sensed Pei Jue receiving the Star Ancestor’s inheritance from a statue ten million li away.
• A formidable man carrying a saber appeared before Pei Jue during the inheritance, and Pei Jue’s expression changed.

Pei Jue received the Star Ancestor’s inheritance while Yi Cang turned against Dahe and killed him, then the Heavenly Ranking revealed its new Literary Dao Ranking. Pei Jue emerged with greatly increased cultivation as the ranking began listing its top ten.

• Dahe attacked Pei Jue during the inheritance, but Yi Cang blocked his saber strike and declared that he would protect Pei Jue.
• Yi Cang revealed that he had joined Pei Jue, and Little Sword appeared and pushed him to prove his loyalty by killing Dahe.
• Yi Cang used the Cherished Wine Cup Dao Sword to kill Dahe, whose body was destroyed by the sword’s intent.
• Pei Jue completed the inheritance and rose to the eighth stage of the Dao Emperor Realm and the early stage of the Literary Sage Realm.
• The Heavenly Ranking appeared and announced the Literary Dao Ranking, listing Wen Chu in tenth place.

The Heavenly Ranking revealed several powerful Literary Dao cultivators, including four members of the Literary Clan and Pei Jue of the Star Clan. Pei Jue emerged safely from the Nether Passage Secret Realm alongside Yi Cang, while the ranking continued down to fourth place with Yan Ru.

• Shui Yunjun and the Literary Clan’s state preceptors celebrated Wen Chu’s tenth-place ranking and discussed whether Xie Feng would appear.
• The Heavenly Ranking placed Liu Shishui ninth, Luo Baiyi eighth, and Xuan Zhuying seventh, awarding each an Emperor Grade treasure.
• The ranking named Pei Jue sixth, making him the first Star Clan member to appear, and awarded him the Star Sea Brush Knife.
• Pei Jue emerged from the Nether Passage Secret Realm with Yi Cang, leaving Pei Shanhe and Feng Lin puzzled about Dahe’s fate.
• The Heavenly Ranking placed Ning Jun fifth and Yan Ru fourth, awarding them the Eye of Worldly Retrospection and the Nine Emperor Scroll.

Xie Feng emerged from the Nether Passage Secret Realm and faced five Ghost and Spirit Clan figures who had come to kill him. After the Literary Dao Ranking named Han Haotian, Ming Que, and Liu Yanchuan its top three, Xie Feng learned his enemies’ identities and confronted Ning Jun over Li Mao.

• Yan Ru guided Ning Jun, Hai Kuoyun, Liu Yanchuan, Ming Que, and Han Haotian to wait for Xie Feng near the Nether Passage Secret Realm.
• The Heavenly Ranking announced Han Haotian in third place, Ming Que in second, and Liu Yanchuan in first, leaving the Literary Clan absent from the top three.
• Xie Feng emerged from the realm and crossed the sea of blood, where Han Haotian and the others confronted him.
• Yan Ru told Xie Feng that the Ghost and Spirit Clan figures had come to kill him, and Han Haotian, Liu Yanchuan, and Ming Que announced their names.
• Ning Jun challenged Xie Feng over Li Mao, and Xie Feng replied that Li Mao had attacked him first.
• Kong Qiusu told Xie Feng that he had once given Ning Jun a pointer, prompting Xie Feng to question how Kong Qiusu remembered it despite losing his memory.

Xie Feng faced five opponents after Little Sword identified Ning Jun as being controlled by evil Qi. Xie Feng killed Ning Jun with the Cherished Wine Cup Dao Sword and then challenged the remaining enemies to fight him without it.

• Kong Qiusu said that revisiting the Dao Realm had gradually brought back memories, though he still could not remember where his physical body was.
• Little Sword said Ning Jun was afflicted by evil Qi, and Xie Feng warned the group that he would fight back against anyone who attacked him; Yan Ru stepped aside.
• Ning Jun attacked Xie Feng with the Literary Dao skill Hell on Earth, but Xie Feng summoned Little Sword, which pierced Ning Jun's heart and destroyed his soul.
• Han Haotian and the others recognized Little Sword as a powerful Dao Sword, and Xie Feng identified it as the Cherished Wine Cup Dao Sword before taunting them.
• Ming Que charged at Xie Feng, but he stopped her and challenged the group; when Liu Yanchuan questioned whether he could fight without the sword, Xie Feng said he could, and Han Haotian mocked him.

Xie Feng killed Han Haotian with Emperor Su’s Eight Returns, absorbed his cultivation, and rose to the early Literary Sage Realm, causing the Heavenly Ranking to announce him as third. After claiming Han Haotian’s reward, Xie Feng was trapped by Ming Que’s Yellow Springs Hellfire.

• Han Haotian, Ming Que, and Liu Yanchuan attacked Xie Feng while Yan Ru stayed back to watch.
• Xie Feng used Emperor Su’s Eight Returns to drain Han Haotian’s power and cultivation, killing him and reaching the early Literary Sage Realm.
• The Heavenly Ranking replaced Han Haotian’s third-place entry with Xie Feng’s name, and its projection showed Han Haotian’s death to the Dao Realm.
• Yan Ru concluded that Kong Qiusu was helping Xie Feng and recognized Emperor Su’s Eight Returns.
• Xie Feng broke into Han Haotian’s spatial ring and took the Thousand Autumns Literary Inkstone.
• Ming Que trapped Xie Feng in a domain of Yellow Springs Hellfire.

Xie Feng defeated Ming Que and Liu Yanchuan, taking their Heavenly Ranking rewards and rising to second place. With the top three eliminated, he claimed A Candle in the Mortal World, while Yan Ru watched from a safe distance.

• Xie Feng trapped Ming Que with Emperor Su's Eight Returns, drained her power, and took the Spring and Autumn Ink from her storage bracelet.
• Xie Feng swallowed the Spring and Autumn Ink, replenished his energy, and rose to second place on the Heavenly Ranking as Yan Ru climbed to third.
• Xie Feng confronted Liu Yanchuan and declared that he intended to seize the rewards of the remaining top-ranked experts.
• Xie Feng used Emperor Su's Eight Returns to counter Liu Yanchuan's Dao of Rebirth, draining his power until he died.
• Xie Feng took Liu Yanchuan's reward, A Candle in the Mortal World, after the top three on the Heavenly Ranking had fallen.

Xie Feng killed Liu Yanchuan and rose to first place on the Heavenly Ranking, sending crowds to Pill Maple Academy. Meanwhile, Pei Shanhe and Feng Lin suspected Xie Feng had helped Yi Cang and argued over how to deal with the Star Clan leader, whom they feared would soon move against them.

• Xie Feng anticipated his Transcendence Tribulation Crossing and accepted Liu Yanchuan's reward, then the Heavenly Ranking named him first after Liu Yanchuan vanished in the projection.
• People flocked to Pill Maple Academy, where Sushang guarded the gates and punched away those who tried to force their way in.
• Shui Yunjun admired Xie Feng's strength and thought Marquis of Mo Yang would be gratified by his achievements.
• Pei Shanhe and Feng Lin discussed Dahe's death, reasoning that a fourth person had helped Yi Cang kill him and wondering whether that person was Xie Feng.
• Feng Lin urged Pei Shanhe to stop the Star Clan leader before he made a move, and Pei Shanhe said the ambitious leader could not be allowed to remain but that he could not strike first against his nephew.

Ye Zhu prepared to leave Buddha Island’s quiet life behind as the Heavenly Ranking changed after Xie Feng killed four leading contestants. Xie Feng’s rise drew attention across the Dao Realm, while Yan Ru’s attempt to meet the Military Confucian ended with a blunt dismissal.

• Ye Zhu gave Xiao Mo his medicine, revealed the Blood Tathagata Beads, and said it was time to stretch his limbs as a mysterious chime rang across Buddha Island.
• The Heavenly Ranking promoted Xie Feng to first place and filled eight of its top ten spots with Literary Clan members.
• People across the Dao Realm celebrated and speculated about Xie Feng after the ranking changed.
• Xie Feng passed the frightened Yan Ru and agreed to pass along a message from the Military Confucian.
• Kong Qiusu sent Yan Ru a note reading “Scram,” leaving Yan Ru stunned.

Yan Ru escaped a Buddhist attempt to lure him away by unleashing the power of Kong Qiusu’s crumpled calligraphy, while Kui Xin entered a blood-red Buddhist temple and fell under its influence. Sushang then headed across the Corpse-Burying Sea to deliver Ge Kuangwo his share of the reparations.

• Yan Ru was approached by monks from Buddha Island, whose leader tried to exploit his wish to meet Kong Qiusu and remedy his regrets.
• Yan Ru resisted the monk’s chime with Literary Sage power, then threw Kong Qiusu’s crumpled paper at the monks and escaped through a hole in space.
• Kui Xin learned that a blood-red Buddhist temple had appeared near Medicine City and went to investigate it.
• A voice in the temple promised to remedy Kui Xin’s regrets and grant him power; after he crossed the threshold, a chime left him dazed, and he entered as the gates closed.
• Sushang carried fifty trillion in reparations toward Flame Island to pay Ge Kuangwo and stopped to look at her Alchemical Dao Academy.

Sushang discovered a mysterious Buddhist temple but left without entering, then went to deliver money to Ge Kuangwo. Xie Feng set out to return to the Upper Realm, fought three Ghost Sorrow City cultivators who challenged his claim to a forest, and left the Dao Realm with Shui Yunjun.

• Sushang spotted a blood-red temple near Wuyou College, heeded its warning not to enter, and headed to Flame Island to deliver money to Ge Kuangwo.
• Xie Feng went to the forest where he had first arrived in the Dao Realm and looked toward the Upper Realm, thinking of his companions there.
• Three cultivators from Ghost Sorrow City confronted Xie Feng and claimed the forest belonged to them, but he insisted it was his territory.
• Xie Feng drew the Cherished Wine Cup Dao Sword, shattered the three cultivators' weapons, and sent them flying before their city lord could arrive.
• Shui Yunjun joined Xie Feng, formed a cloud kite, and flew with him through the Dao Realm's barrier into the universe.

Xie Feng and Shui Yunjun returned from the Dao Realm to the Upper Realm, where they passed through the First Sequence and reached the Xuanji Sect in Azure Jade Heaven. A young disciple failed to recognize Xie Feng and challenged him, just as Mo Beichen and Anping arrived.

• Xie Feng and Shui Yunjun landed in the Upper Realm, where the Azure King and White King recognized Xie Feng and welcomed them.
• Shui Yunjun asked when Xie Feng would return to the Dao Realm, and he told her she could go back ahead of him if she wished.
• Xie Feng and Shui Yunjun reached the Xuanji Sect, where Ye Ming stopped them and demanded their names and purpose.
• Ye Ming drew his sword and attacked Xie Feng, who knocked him back with a palm strike.
• Ye Ming prepared to call for help, but Mo Beichen and Anping appeared and told him not to be rude.

Xie Feng returned to the flourishing Xuanji Sect, reunited with Anping and Mo Beichen, and learned that the Upper Realm had remained peaceful under an alliance of four factions. Guided by Primordial Bamboo, he opened a portal to the Endless Nebula to claim a treasure his master had left there.

• Anping and Mo Beichen welcomed Xie Feng back, while Ye Ming realized he had insulted the sect master and rushed over to apologize.
• Xie Feng rewarded Ye Ming by assigning him permanent guard duty and asked Anping how the Xuanji Sect and Upper Realm had fared.
• Anping explained that four factions maintained peace through the Holy Alliance, and Xie Feng urged them to guard against complacency.
• Xie Feng asked Primordial Bamboo about the black leaf, and it identified it as the Endless Star Key, which could open a secret realm in the Endless Nebula.
• Primordial Bamboo opened a purple door, and Xie Feng stepped through with it to seek the treasure his master had left behind.

Xie Feng and Primordial Bamboo entered the Endless Nebula, where Xie Feng collected star stones and soon faced four guardian Eight-Clawed Star Octopuses. As the group split up to fight, Xie Feng discovered that one octopus could regenerate its severed tentacles and launched a fiery sword attack to find its weakness.

• Xie Feng learned that fallen explorers’ bones became power-filled star stones and used a spatial ring to collect the stones along the path.
• Xie Feng and Primordial Bamboo were surrounded by four Eight-Clawed Star Octopuses, and Little Sword and Kong Qiusu joined the fight.
• Xie Feng confronted one octopus and repeatedly severed its tentacles, only for it to regenerate them.
• Xie Feng decided to search for the octopus’s weakness and sent a flame-wreathed sword at it while a swarm of fiery swords attacked.

Xie Feng found the Dao-less Tree and used its essence to help Kong Qiusu repair his soul before merging the Dao-less Physique with his Chaos Physique. As his Northern Nether Illusory Emperor Flame advanced to Dao Grade, a wounded armored man carrying a golden silkworm cocoon arrived, pursued by two mysterious creatures.

• Xie Feng and Primordial Bamboo defeated the star octopus guardians and collected their Mystic Star Cores.
• Primordial Bamboo weakened the nebula magnetic force so Xie Feng could reach the Dao-less Tree and uncover the Dao-less Physique and Dao-less Star Essence.
• Xie Feng gave the Dao-less Star Essence to Kong Qiusu, whose soul began to solidify as Little Sword also drew nourishment from it.
• Xie Feng began merging the Dao-less Physique into his Chaos Physique, and his Northern Nether Illusory Emperor Flame transformed into a Dao Grade flame.
• A wounded, horned man in black armor emerged from a rift carrying a golden silkworm cocoon, with two mysterious black-mist creatures pursuing him.
• The armored man spotted Xie Feng and stopped in front of him.

Xie Feng successfully fused with the Dao-less Physique, reaching a new cultivation realm after Primordial Bamboo saved Gu Yuan from the Earthborn Devil Creatures. He learned Gu Yuan served his second senior brother, Devil Emperor Ge Ya, and agreed to share the protective energy from the stolen Golden Devil Emperor Silkworm Queen.

• Gu Yuan asked Xie Feng to protect the golden cocoon from the approaching Earthborn Devil Creatures, and Xie Feng agreed after recognizing Ge Ya's name.
• Primordial Bamboo destroyed the Earthborn Devil Creatures with a sword net of bamboo leaves.
• Xie Feng fused with the Dao-less Physique, formed the Chaos No-Dao Physique, and advanced beyond the Dao Ancestor Realm.
• Primordial Bamboo told Xie Feng that half a year had passed outside, and Xie Feng decided to return to the Dao Realm.
• Gu Yuan introduced himself as a subordinate of Devil Emperor Ge Ya, and Xie Feng realized he had helped him because they were family.
• Gu Yuan admitted he had stolen the Golden Devil Emperor Silkworm Queen's cocoon and offered Xie Feng half of its protective energy when it emerged; Xie Feng accepted.

Xie Feng returned to the Xuanji Sect, supplied Zhou Zhulu and his companions with Star Cores, and welcomed Jun Ran and Jing Yuan. Shui Yunjun and Jing Yuan met, quickly became friendly, and left Shui Yunjun startled when Jing Yuan hinted at her past with Xie Feng’s master.

• Xie Feng gave Zhou Zhulu Star Cores, helping him advance to emperor-grade high-level smith, then asked him to forge Star Shields and merge the Azure Profound Fan with the Thousand Autumns Literary Inkstone.
• Xie Feng distributed Star Cores to his companions and gave three to Shui Yunjun, who had stayed at the Xuanji Sect awaiting his return.
• Jun Ran arrived with Jing Yuan, and Xie Feng remembered that Jing Yuan was his master’s beloved.
• Shui Yunjun and Jing Yuan sized each other up, but chose not to fight and introduced themselves before touring the Xuanji Sect together.
• Jing Yuan said that Xie Feng’s master had founded the Xuanji Sect and hinted at their past, leaving Shui Yunjun startled.

Jing Yuan learned that Mu Bingxing had also been Shui Yunjun’s lover, then gave Xie Feng five Dao Pearls before leaving. Three days later, Xie Feng upgraded five Star Shields, while Ye Yuan was left mediating a territorial dispute between the Lin and Ming Kingdoms.

• Shui Yunjun told Jing Yuan that she and Jing Yuan had loved Mu Bingxing, prompting Jing Yuan to rage at Xie Feng’s master.
• Jing Yuan and Shui Yunjun agreed that Mu Bingxing deserved to be punished, then Jing Yuan gave Xie Feng five Dao Pearls.
• Three days later, Zhou Zhulu forged five Star Shields, and Xie Feng fused Jing Yuan’s Dao Pearls into them to raise them to Dao Grade.
• At the Holy Alliance, the kings of the Lin and Ming Kingdoms argued over seized territory, and Ye Yuan ordered the Ming Kingdom to return it.
• The king of the Ming Kingdom refused, and Ye Yuan challenged his claim that the weak deserved to be bullied.

Ye Yuan killed the Ming Kingdom’s king for despising the weak, then joyfully reunited with Xie Feng and gave him a Double Pupil before they returned to the Dao Realm. There, Shui Yunjun learned that the Ghost, Pill, and Cloud Clans had allied against the Literary Clan, whose forces were holding the outer perimeter.

• Ye Yuan beheaded the Ming Kingdom’s king after condemning his contempt for the weak, while the Lin Kingdom’s king escaped when Xie Feng arrived.
• Ye Yuan welcomed Xie Feng, described the Dao Realm, and accepted a powerful defensive Star Shield from him.
• Ye Yuan gouged out his right Double Pupil and gave it to Xie Feng, then grew a replacement eye.
• Xie Feng and Shui Yunjun returned to the Dao Realm and went together to Pill Maple Academy.
• Yu Qianfeng told Shui Yunjun that the Ghost Clan, Pill Clan, and Cloud Clan had formed the Three-Clan Alliance and attacked the Literary Clan, whose forces were holding the outer perimeter.