Chapter Summaries

The Heavenly Ranking revealed the strongest figures, including Lu Yinjian in fourth place, as he and the Imperial Evil Lord celebrated their conquest of Calamity City and planned further invasions. When third place appeared, Tao Xue saw Ancestor Muyun ranked above her and flew into a rage.

• The Heavenly Ranking named Geng Long sixth, Gui Ze fifth, and Lu Yinjian fourth, causing widespread alarm over the Devils’ strength.
• In Calamity City, Lu Yinjian and the Imperial Evil Lord celebrated their victory and discussed conquering the Nine Netherworld Phoenix Race, then other clans and the humans.
• The Imperial Evil Lord praised Xie Feng’s potential, and Lu Yinjian admitted that Xie Feng had defeated him in a swordsmanship match.
• Tao Xue returned from the Xuanji Sect after seeing Xiao Heng and joined Lu Yinjian and the Imperial Evil Lord for a drink.
• The Heavenly Ranking named Ancestor Muyun third, and Tao Xue became furious when Lu Yinjian pointed out the result.

After the Heavenly Ranking named Gu Xinglan first and the Imperial Evil Lord second, Xie Feng broke through to Indestructible Saint Venerable and set out with the Imperial Evil Lord for Mengliu Volcano. At a lonely desert teahouse near the border, the brocade-capped boss lamented the lack of customers until a bloodied band of armed men burst in.

• The Heavenly Ranking revealed the Imperial Evil Lord in second place and Gu Xinglan in first, then distributed treasures to those on the list.
• Xie Feng refined the evil spirit energy source, broke through to the first tier of Indestructible Saint Venerable, and decided to seek the Karmic Fire Crimson Phoenix at Mengliu Volcano.
• The Imperial Evil Lord gave Xie Feng a map and agreed to accompany him, and the two departed aboard a spatial ship.
• At a deserted teahouse in the northern desert, the boss complained to Dabao that no customers ever came, even as a rainstorm swept through.
• About thirty armed men kicked open the teahouse doors and surrounded the main hall with bloodied sabers.

The teahouse owner calmly dealt with a gang of Nine Netherworld Phoenix Race bandits who had come to dine without paying. After learning they had killed people from Immortal Firmament Manor, he poisoned their soup and killed them all.

• The bandits seized the teahouse waiters and demanded a meal, so the owner told Dabao to cook for them.
• The owner learned that the bandits were heading to Mengl iu Volcano and noticed the bandit chief's Red Jade Ring.
• The bandit chief bragged that he had killed an academy elder from Immortal Firmament Manor after the elder confronted the bandits for killing his disciples.
• Dabao served beef soup laced with poison, and the owner drank first to reassure the bandits.
• The bandits ate the soup, collapsed in agony, and died within seconds.

Yu Qingzhu, the owner of a desert teahouse, killed a bandit gang with Phoenix Feather Poison and had their bodies erased. When Xie Feng and the Imperial Evil Lord arrived, they recognized Yu Qingzhu as a former lord of Immortal Firmament Manor, and he offered them tea on the house.

• Yu Qingzhu revealed that the bandits had died from Phoenix Feather Poison, then erased their bodies and explained that he had let them linger for amusement.
• Yu Qingzhu lamented the bandits’ poor loot, but his interest sharpened when Xie Feng and the Imperial Evil Lord arrived wearing valuable clothes and ornaments.
• Xie Feng suspected the teahouse of murder after detecting poison in a bowl of beef soup, and Dabao explained what had happened to the bandits.
• The Imperial Evil Lord and Yu Qingzhu recognized each other, and Yu Qingzhu invited the two guests to sit and have Warm Jade Tea.
• Xie Feng asked whether the tea was free, and Yu Qingzhu said it was his treat.

Xie Feng and the Imperial Evil Lord joined Yu Qingzhu on a journey to Mengl iu Volcano, where they hoped to find Karmic Fire Crimson Phoenixes. After Xie Feng sensed powerful cultivators and hidden phoenixes in the mountains, Yu Qingzhu proposed drawing the phoenixes to them.

• Yu Qingzhu treated Xie Feng and the Imperial Evil Lord to his treasured Knowing You tea, and Xie Feng’s poem about kindred souls made Yu Qingzhu consider him a kindred spirit.
• Xie Feng deduced that Yu Qingzhu was heading to Mengl iu Volcano to collect Karmic Fire Crimson Phoenixes, and the three agreed to travel together.
• Yu Qingzhu explained that the phoenixes were weakened during their three-yearly nirvana and that many cultivators would be hunting them.
• The three reached Mengl iu Volcano and entered its cold, rugged mountains.
• Xie Feng sensed at least fifty powerful cultivators and many hidden phoenixes, including some terrifying presences, so the group resolved to proceed carefully.
• Yu Qingzhu suggested they could wait where they were and let the Karmic Fire Crimson Phoenixes come to them.

Xie Feng and Yu Qingzhu persuaded the Imperial Evil Lord to imitate a Karmic Fire Crimson Phoenix’s courtship call, drawing a vast flock of phoenixes for them to catch. Their harvest was interrupted when a middle-aged man in black stole a powerful phoenix from Xie Feng’s grasp.

• Yu Qingzhu proposed using the Imperial Evil Lord’s demonic nature to imitate a Karmic Fire Crimson Phoenix, and Xie Feng promised him a larger share of the rewards until he agreed.
• Yu Qingzhu placed a phoenix feather in the Imperial Evil Lord’s hair, and he used its memories to reproduce the phoenix’s call.
• The calls attracted more than a hundred Karmic Fire Crimson Phoenixes, and Xie Feng and Yu Qingzhu began catching them while the Imperial Evil Lord kept calling.
• Cultivators hiding elsewhere heard the calls and rushed toward the entrance to the mountain range.
• Xie Feng tried to catch the largest phoenix, but a lightning-wreathed arrow broke his net, and a middle-aged man in black seized the bird and stored it in his cloth sack.

Xie Feng, Yu Qingzhu, and the Imperial Evil Lord confronted Ancestor Minghe after he tried to steal their Karmic Fire Crimson Phoenixes. After capturing him, they learned of an ancient phoenix and its nine-million-year Emperor Origin Pearl at Illusory Star Pool, then made him lead them there.

• Ancestor Minghe tried to shoot another Karmic Fire Crimson Phoenix, but Xie Feng blocked his bolt and Yu Qingzhu stopped his attack.
• Yu Qingzhu revealed his identity, and Xie Feng identified Ancestor Minghe as a Heavenly Ranking expert from the Nine Netherworld Phoenix Race.
• Ancestor Minghe fled when he saw the Imperial Evil Lord, but the Imperial Evil Lord quickly caught him and brought him back for questioning.
• Ancestor Minghe admitted he hunted Karmic Fire Crimson Phoenixes and revealed that the oldest one, carrying a nine-million-year Emperor Origin Pearl, lived at Illusory Star Pool.
• Xie Feng ordered Ancestor Minghe to lead the group to Illusory Star Pool, and the four headed deeper into the mountain range.

Xie Feng, the Imperial Evil Lord, Yu Qingzhu, and Ancestor Minghe reached the Illusory Star Pool to hunt the sleeping Karmic Fire Crimson Phoenix King. After the Imperial Evil Lord roused it, the king emerged and killed Ancestor Minghe with a sonic attack, leaving the others facing an opponent as strong as the Imperial Evil Lord.

• Ancestor Minghe led Xie Feng, the Imperial Evil Lord, and Yu Qingzhu to the volcanic Illusory Star Pool, where a nine-million-year-old Karmic Fire Crimson Phoenix slept.
• The Imperial Evil Lord forced Ancestor Minghe toward the crater, then sent an enormous ice sword into the flames to wake the phoenix king.
• The Karmic Fire Crimson Phoenix King burst from the crater, and its appearance stirred cultivators throughout the mountain range.
• Xie Feng and Yu Qingzhu defended themselves against the king’s sonic attack, while the Imperial Evil Lord hurled Ancestor Minghe into its path.
• Ancestor Minghe was killed by the sonic wave, and the Imperial Evil Lord estimated that the king had Indestructible Saint Lord Ninth Stage strength.

After Ancestor Minghe's death reshaped the Heavenly Ranking, Xie Feng, Yu Qingzhu, and the Imperial Evil Lord teamed up to kill the Karmic Fire Crimson Phoenix King in Illusory Star Pool. Yu Qingzhu took its blood, Xie Feng claimed the Emperor Origin Pearl, and the Imperial Evil Lord hinted at ambitions to seize territory before Yu Qingzhu departed.

• The Imperial Evil Lord engaged the Karmic Fire Crimson Phoenix King while Yu Qingzhu used a bell to counter its cries and poisoned it with toxic powder.
• As the Crimson Phoenix King weakened, Xie Feng sent Little Sword through the storm to pierce its heart, and the Imperial Evil Lord finished it by severing its head.
• The Imperial Evil Lord declined a share of the corpse, and Xie Feng and Yu Qingzhu amicably divided the spoils according to their goals.
• Yu Qingzhu took the phoenix blood and gave Xie Feng a jade token identifying him as an honored guest of the Immortal Firmament Manor.
• The Imperial Evil Lord declared that he might make the Devil Race rulers of another land, and Yu Qingzhu challenged him before leaving.

Xie Feng refined the Emperor Origin Pearl and upgraded the Azure Profound Fan to Extreme Dao Grade, but the process awakened a white elephant he had mistaken for a rock. The elephant demanded the fan as compensation for Xie Feng sitting on and scorching its head.

• Xie Feng traveled to a secluded cave and began refining the Emperor Origin Pearl while the Imperial Evil Lord went to survey the surrounding terrain.
• Xie Feng used the Northern Nether Heaven-Subduing Fire and Chaos Power to break through the pearl’s defenses and transfer its energy into the Azure Profound Fan.
• The Emperor Origin Pearl’s energy upgraded the Azure Profound Fan from Dao Grade to Extreme Dao Grade.
• The enormous white rock Xie Feng had been sitting on awakened and transformed into a white elephant that attacked him with its trunk.
• Xie Feng offered to leave, but the white elephant demanded the Azure Profound Fan as payment for him riding on and scorching its head.

Xie Feng fought the white elephant after it tried to take his Azure Profound Fan, but its master, Heavenly Soul Venerable, arrived and stopped the conflict. After agreeing to let the matter go, Xie Feng demanded compensation in pills, learning they were made from Heaven-Reaching Elephant Heart Cores.

• Xie Feng used the Azure Profound Fan to drive back the white elephant and bite off its ear with a silver dragon.
• The white elephant transformed into a child and called for his master, Heavenly Soul Venerable, who arrived and healed his ear.
• Heavenly Soul Venerable recognized Xie Feng and, remembering the trouble caused by the Dao of Time, refused to seek revenge for his disciple.
• Xie Feng agreed to let the fight go, but demanded pills to treat his psychological trauma.
• Heavenly Soul Venerable explained that he had a hundred Heaven-Reaching Elephant Heart Pills made from Heaven-Reaching Elephant Heart Cores, and Xie Feng asked whether the white elephant feared being used as a medicinal catalyst.

Xie Feng coerced Heavenly Soul Venerable into handing over nearly all of his Heaven-Reaching Elephant pills, then agreed to hear about the Fifth Universe. Their conversation revealed Xie Feng’s connections to powerful figures, while Heavenly Soul Venerable tried to learn where Nether Dao and Ye Die were.

• Xie Feng told Heavenly Soul Venerable he would call for backup unless he handed over ninety-eight of his hundred pills, and Heavenly Soul Venerable reluctantly gave them to him.
• Heavenly Soul Venerable invited Xie Feng to talk about the Fifth Universe, and they walked together through an apricot grove in a secluded space.
• Heavenly Soul Venerable explained that the Fifth Universe was a threshold to higher dimensions and warned that Xie Feng’s current strength would make survival there difficult.
• Heavenly Soul Venerable asked about Xie Feng’s relationship with Long Cangxue, and Xie Feng said they were friends, shocking him.
• Heavenly Soul Venerable asked where Nether Dao and Ye Die were, but Xie Feng refused to reveal their location.

Heavenly Soul Venerable attacked Xie Feng to prevent him from growing stronger, but Long Cangxue rescued him and revealed that his eldest senior brother Kong Qiusu’s physical body was at the Peak of Heaven. She then raised Little Sword to Origin Level, giving Xie Feng a stronger ally for the challenges ahead.

• Heavenly Soul Venerable attacked Xie Feng, and Xie Feng and Little Sword struggled to withstand his overwhelming power.
• Long Cangxue arrived, destroyed Heavenly Soul Venerable’s attack, and drove him away before dispelling his domain.
• Long Cangxue warned Xie Feng that the Fifth Universe was drawing near and identified the Peak of Heaven as a powerful force he would have to face.
• Long Cangxue revealed that Kong Qiusu’s physical body was at the Peak of Heaven, and Xie Feng worried that he was not strong enough to reach it.
• Long Cangxue tapped Little Sword twice, raising it from Supreme Level to Origin Level, and Xie Feng asked her to do the same for him.

Xie Feng learned that wielding Little Sword could greatly increase his cultivation, but Long Cangxue warned him that his body needed training to withstand the weapon’s power. He returned to the Xuanji Sect with the Imperial Evil Lord to see Sushang, where Gu Yu confronted them at the gate.

• Long Cangxue demonstrated how Little Sword could raise Xie Feng’s cultivation, then struck him to show that his body was too fragile to endure the power.
• Little Sword fled when Long Cangxue attacked again, and Xie Feng agreed to train his body after she explained the need to strengthen it.
• Xie Feng asked Long Cangxue about his master, but she said they would talk later and left; the Imperial Evil Lord then returned from scouting.
• The Imperial Evil Lord recommended that Xie Feng train by fighting Earthborn Devil Creatures during the campaign against the Nine Netherworld Phoenix Race.
• Xie Feng chose to return to the Xuanji Sect to see Sushang, and the Imperial Evil Lord joined him to visit Yue Heng.
• At the sect gates, Gu Yu emerged from the trees and attacked the Imperial Evil Lord with a sword shadow, which the Imperial Evil Lord shattered with a finger.

Xie Feng visited the Xuanji Sect, learned that Gu Yu was Gu Xinglan’s younger cousin, and arranged to keep in contact with him. He then left with the Imperial Evil Lord to join Lu Yinjian, who had captured Medicine City.

• Gu Yu challenged the Imperial Evil Lord until Xie Feng explained that the Imperial Evil Realm was now an ally of the Xuanji Sect.
• The Imperial Evil Lord revealed that Gu Yu came from the Devil Subduing Realm and was Gu Xinglan’s younger cousin.
• Sushang and Yue Heng greeted Xie Feng and the Imperial Evil Lord, and Yue Heng explained that she had lost her Indestructible Saint Venerable cultivation.
• Sushang gave Xie Feng a Falling Star Body Technique manual, and Xie Feng gave her Heaven-Reaching Elephant Heart Pills and a voice transmission talisman for Gu Yu.
• Xie Feng and the Imperial Evil Lord left for the Nine Netherworld Phoenix Race and found Lu Yinjian celebrating his capture of Medicine City.

Xie Feng trained the Falling Star Body Technique through repeated injuries and combat with an external incarnation, greatly increasing his physical strength. As he prepared to return to Ning City, Emperor Si Ming arrived and accused him of killing members of the Nine Netherworld Phoenix Race.

• Xie Feng studied the Falling Star Body Technique and repeatedly broke and healed his bones to strengthen his body.
• Xie Feng practiced the technique until his punch destroyed a distant mountain, then studied the final section.
• Xie Feng created an external incarnation and fought it, using large quantities of healing pills to recover.
• Emperor Si Ming appeared before Xie Feng and said he had come to kill him over his ties to the Imperial Evil Realm and the deaths of Yi Hui, Su Ye, and Feng Changyan.
• Xie Feng denied killing Feng Changyan but did not reveal that Cong Yun had killed him.

Xie Feng tested his Falling Star Body Technique against Si Ming, then fought back after Si Ming’s powerful attack forced him to dodge. Lu Yinjian arrived before Si Ming could escalate the fight, and Si Ming fled, leaving Xie Feng and Lu Yinjian together.

• Si Ming attacked Xie Feng with a silver battle-axe, but Xie Feng used the Falling Star Body Technique to withstand repeated blows and reveal his Falling Star Golden Body.
• Si Ming used Heavenly Yue Sundering the Sun, forcing Xie Feng to block with the Azure Profound Fan and retreat.
• Xie Feng raised his cultivation to the Indestructible Saint Lord first stage, destroyed Si Ming’s battle-axe with Little Sword, and met his palm strike head-on.
• Si Ming recognized Xie Feng as a dangerous opponent and prepared to assume his Nine Netherworld Phoenix form.
• Lu Yinjian arrived and challenged Si Ming, who judged that he could not win against both men and fled.
• Xie Feng thanked Lu Yinjian for coming to his aid.

Si Ming tried to escape Ning City, but Tao Xue intercepted him and fought to keep him from leaving. Just as she gained the upper hand, Gu Xinglan arrived after breaking through to the Indestructible Saint Emperor realm.

• Xie Feng told Lu Yinjian and the Imperial Evil Lord that Si Ming had attacked him, and the Imperial Evil Lord revealed Si Ming had fled northeast toward Tao Xue.
• Tao Xue confronted Si Ming, refused his offers of territory and allegiance, and demanded that he defeat her to leave.
• Si Ming tried to flee, but Tao Xue caught him and used the Distant Moon Zither to destroy his silver battle-axe and assault him with demonic music.
• Gu Xinglan appeared amid a thunderstorm and struck at Tao Xue, revealing that she had advanced from the Indestructible Saint Lord Tenth Stage to the Indestructible Saint Emperor First Stage.

Gu Xinglan arrived to aid Si Ming and fought Tao Xue, Lu Yinjian, and the Imperial Evil Lord, revealing a secret technique that raised her cultivation to the fourth stage of indestructible Saint Emperor. Xie Feng intervened with Little Sword, whose Origin Level power forced the fighters apart and left Gu Xinglan demanding to know how he could wield it.

• Gu Xinglan confronted Tao Xue and attacked her, but Xie Feng, the Imperial Evil Lord, and Lu Yinjian arrived and blocked her strike.
• The Imperial Evil Lord, Lu Yinjian, and Tao Xue joined forces against Gu Xinglan while Tao Xue told Xie Feng to flee if the fight turned against them.
• Gu Xinglan used a secret technique she had cultivated for two hundred years to raise her cultivation from the first to the fourth stage of indestructible Saint Emperor.
• Little Sword flew between the fighters and released Origin Level power, driving them apart.
• Gu Xinglan recognized Little Sword as an Origin Level weapon and asked Xie Feng how he could wield it, but he dismissed her question.

Xie Feng drove Gu Xinglan away by threatening to destroy Little Sword, though wielding the Origin Level sword nearly drained his power. With a large force from the Nine Netherworld Phoenix Race approaching, Xie Feng and his allies planned how to attack it.

• Xie Feng drew a boundary with Little Sword and threatened to make the Origin Level sword self-destruct if Gu Xinglan crossed it.
• Gu Xinglan chose to retreat with Si Ming, and Xie Feng put Little Sword away once he was sure she would not return.
• Xie Feng admitted that he could not actually destroy Little Sword and that using it had consumed nearly ninety percent of his Origin Power.
• The Imperial Evil Lord warned Xie Feng, Lu Yinjian, and Tao Xue that a large contingent from the Nine Netherworld Phoenix Race was on its way.
• The Imperial Evil Lord proposed that he and Xie Feng target the race's ministers while Lu Yinjian and Tao Xue attacked its main army, with Gu Yuan, Shuangyan's group, Chi Ling, and Leng Hanyu providing support.