Chapter Summaries

The Ghost King arrived in Cloud Dream Marsh and threatened Ye Qiubai, Mu Fusheng, Xiao Hei, and Fang Qiong, prompting Lu Changsheng to send down a manifestation. As Xiangliu’s account led Lu Changsheng to suspect that someone had anticipated and shaped events before he came to this world, his anger grew, and he killed Tu Wenheng.

• The Ghost King suppressed Ye Qiubai and the others, revealed that he intended to take Xiangliu’s devil core, and demanded they summon Lu Changsheng.
• Mu Fusheng crushed a jade pendant, and Lu Changsheng’s manifestation appeared before the group and challenged the Ghost King.
• Lu Changsheng privately complained that his disciples had not warned him before provoking another powerhouse, then listened as Fang Qiong repeated Xiangliu’s account.
• Lu Changsheng suspected that an unknown person had predicted Xiao Hei’s arrival and might have factored Lu Changsheng into a larger plan.
• When Tu Wenheng shouted at Lu Changsheng, Lu Changsheng crushed him beneath a mountain formed from the power of rules, extinguishing his life and soul.

Lu Changsheng restrained the Ghost King and searched his soul after stopping him from destroying it. What he discovered left him grim-faced, while Ye Qiubai and the others sensed that a hidden force might be watching and controlling them.

• Lu Changsheng used his projection to crush the Ghost King's resistance and bind him in place when he tried to flee.
• The Ghost King refused to reveal why he wanted the Lord of the Marsh's demon core unless Lu Changsheng let him go.
• When the Ghost King sent his ghosts to devour his own soul and thwart a Soul Search, Lu Changsheng destroyed them with lightning and sealed the Ghost King's soul with Bind God · Lock Soul.
• Lu Changsheng searched the Ghost King's memories, and his expression grew increasingly grave.
• Ye Qiubai, Xiao Hei, Fang Qiong, and Mu Fusheng noticed Lu Changsheng's unusual seriousness, and Mu Fusheng realized that an unseen presence might be watching and controlling them like puppets.

Lu Changsheng learned that the Ghost Race was helping the Evil Devil Domain escape its seal and open a passage into the Mortal Realm, but the mastermind behind the plan remained unknown. He took Xiangliu into the Changsheng Realm and asked the Willow Tree about the tangled karma surrounding them.

• Lu Changsheng crushed the Ghost King's soul, burned his corpse, and scattered the ashes, causing the formation imprisoning Xiangliu to collapse.
• Xiangliu revealed that he knew the Ghost Race wanted his devil core but not why, and Lu Changsheng asked him to follow; Xiangliu accepted and called him Master.
• Lu Changsheng opened a spatial teleportation formation and brought Xiangliu to the Changsheng Realm, while Xiao Hei approached the opening that held one of his three souls and Mu Fusheng and the others guarded him.
• Lu Changsheng introduced Xiangliu to Huang Qian, told Xiangliu to take human form, and asked Huang Qian to teach him the rules of the Changsheng Realm.
• Lu Changsheng explained the situation to the Willow Tree, who said that people could not avoid karma and needed the strength to discover and sever it.

Xiao Hei absorbed a powerful black soul and endured six days of destruction and recovery as its savage Qi merged with his body. The process raised his physical cultivation to the late God King realm and awakened memories of him fighting the Yin-Yang Divine Lord and the Desolation Lord.

• Xiao Hei entered the cave, found a black soul, and absorbed it into his phantom devil god.
• The soul's savage Devil Qi ravaged Xiao Hei's body, but his bloodline power helped him endure without losing consciousness.
• Xiao Hei survived three days until his body’s recovery matched the destruction, then endured another three days as the Qi fused with his flesh and bones.
• Xiao Hei's physical cultivation reached the late God King realm, and his sea of consciousness filled with fragments of memory.
• In the memories, Xiao Hei fought the Yin-Yang Divine Lord and the Desolation Lord while Mo Ji watched, and he mocked the Divine Lords as he vowed to surpass them.

Xiao Hei relived the memory of his sister sacrificing herself to save him, then went berserk and was dragged into a dark passage. He emerged in the Nine Nether Underworld, where an unseen voice noticed that a living person had arrived.

• Xiao Hei's memory showed him fighting the Yin-Yang Divine Lord and the Desolation Lord while the Demon King Domain rallied behind him.
• A woman appeared to protect Xiao Hei, revealed herself as his sister, and sealed his three souls and seven spirits in black stones before sending them away.
• After recognizing his sister, Xiao Hei erupted in rage and shattered the ghosts surrounding him as a black abyss opened beneath him.
• Ye Qiubai, Fang Qiong, and Mu Fusheng could not break the barrier or sense Xiao Hei, so Ye Qiubai prepared to contact Lu Changsheng.
• Xiao Hei destroyed the ghosts that had dragged him through the passage, fell into a yellow land of death, and heard a voice welcome a living person to the Nine Nether Underworld.

Xiao Hei arrived alive at the Nine Nether Underworld and was tested by Meng Po on Naihe Bridge. After he lost control of his bloodline and attacked her, Cui Fu stopped him and revealed that he had been chosen by the low-latitude Nine Nether Underworld.

• Xiao Hei saw the Yellow Springs River and Naihe Bridge, and Meng Po explained the fate of souls who broke the rules of the Netherworld.
• Meng Po questioned how Xiao Hei had reached the Nine Nether Underworld alive and mocked his ability to fulfill his hidden anger and hatred.
• Xiao Hei’s savage bloodline awakened, and he forced himself forward through Meng Po’s intensifying Yellow Springs suppression.
• A voice ordered Meng Po to stop, and Xiao Hei charged across the bridge before a tall man halted him with a touch to his brow.
• The man, Cui Fu, caught the unconscious Xiao Hei and told Meng Po that he was chosen by the low-latitude Nine Nether Underworld; he ordered her to keep it secret.

Lu Changsheng learned that Xiao Hei was safe in the High-Latitude Realm, where Cui Fu asked him to compete for the Nether Lord succession, and Xiao Hei agreed. Meanwhile, Ye Qiubai, Mu Fusheng, and Fang Qiong set out for the Extreme Cold Star Region after Mu Ziqing’s father warned that she might be in danger.

• Lu Changsheng sensed Xiao Hei’s location, spoke with the Nine Nether Underworld’s representative, and returned to cultivating after reassuring Ye Qiubai and the others that Xiao Hei was safe.
• Mu Ziqing’s father told Ye Qiubai that Ziqing might be in danger, so Ye Qiubai, Mu Fusheng, and Fang Qiong headed for the Extreme Cold Star Region.
• Cui Fu explained that Xiao Hei’s violent Qi could become a problem and asked him to compete for a place as a Nether Lord candidate.
• Cui Fu offered the Nine Nether Underworld’s support for Xiao Hei’s revenge, and Xiao Hei agreed to compete in the first round, scheduled to begin in seven days.
• Ye Qiubai, Mu Fusheng, and Fang Qiong arrived in the snowbound Extreme Cold Star Region, where the cold affected everyone except Mu Fusheng.

Ye Qiubai, Mu Fusheng, and Fang Qiong searched the Extreme Cold Star Region for Mu Ziqing and learned that the Drifting Snow Sect’s holy maiden had entered the Ice Crystal World. Believing she might be Mu Ziqing, they headed to the Drifting Snow Sect to investigate.

• Ye Qiubai, Mu Fusheng, and Fang Qiong entered an ice-walled city and learned that four major sects ruled the Extreme Cold Star Region.
• At a restaurant, the group overheard that the Drifting Snow Sect’s holy maiden was set to marry the Ice God Hall master’s son but had entered the Ice Crystal World after resisting the match.
• Ye Qiubai threatened a bald man with his sword and learned that the holy maiden came from elsewhere, had an unusual bloodline, and already had a Dao companion.
• Mu Fusheng paid the bald man for a jade pendant to contact his elder sister, a Drifting Snow Sect disciple, and the group set off for the sect.
• Fang Qiong asked whether the holy maiden was Mu Ziqing, and Ye Qiubai said they had to investigate despite being uncertain.

Ye Qiubai began climbing the Ice Crystal Heavenly Ladder to reach Mu Ziqing at the Drifting Snow Sect, despite Jiang Qingluan warning him of the danger. He passed Jiang Qingluan’s record and reached the six-hundredth step, where he unleashed his Sword Domain.

• Ye Qiubai, Mu Fusheng, and Fang Qiong arrived at the Drifting Snow Sect, and Jiang Qingluan confirmed Mu Ziqing was its Holy Maiden.
• Jiang Qingluan told Ye Qiubai he had to climb all 999 steps of the Ice Crystal Heavenly Ladder to earn the sect’s recognition and warned he might die trying.
• Ye Qiubai stepped onto the ladder, endured its freezing Dao Law, and kept climbing as Jiang Qingluan watched in surprise.
• Ye Qiubai passed the two-hundredth step, revealed that all his Spiritual Qi had transformed into Immortal Qi, and continued past the four-hundredth step, surpassing Jiang Qingluan’s record.
• At the six-hundredth step, the ice began invading Ye Qiubai’s organs and dantian, so he drew the Silver Dragon Sword and unfolded his Sword Domain, prompting Jiang Qingluan to exclaim that he had reached the Sword God Realm.

Ye Qiubai endured the Ice Crystal Heavenly Ladder’s trial of pain and willpower, reaching its summit and breaking through to the middle stage God King realm. Fang Qiong then completed the ladder as well, while Mu Fusheng declined to try.

• Ye Qiubai stepped onto the eight hundredth step and lost access to his sword intent and Immortal Qi as ice spikes pierced his body.
• Ye Qiubai continued climbing through overwhelming pain, driven by memories of his partner and his determination to learn about the Holy Maiden.
• Ye Qiubai passed the nine hundred and ninety-ninth step, absorbed the Dao Law of Ice, and broke through to the middle stage God King realm before collapsing.
• Fang Qiong climbed the Ice Crystal Heavenly Ladder and collapsed after completing it, becoming the fourth person in history to pass.
• Jiang Qingluan asked Mu Fusheng whether he would attempt the ladder, and Mu Fusheng refused, privately pleased that she underestimated him.

Ye Qiubai learned that Mu Ziqing was undergoing a perilous trial and that the Ice God Hall would seek her in marriage in five days. He vowed to prepare to face the Ice God Hall and visited Mu Ziqing, leaving her to focus on passing the trial while he handled the rest.

• After waking, Ye Qiubai learned from Mu Fusheng that the Drifting Snow Sect wanted to discuss what to do about their situation.
• Jiang Qingluan told Ye Qiubai that Mu Ziqing’s soul was sealed in the Ice Crystal Trial and warned him not to let the Ice God Hall take her.
• The Drifting Snow Sect’s sect master said the sect would not hand Mu Ziqing over, but the Ice God Hall’s young prodigy was an early-stage God Emperor and would arrive to propose marriage in five days.
• Ye Qiubai declared that five days was enough to prepare, and the grand elder agreed to build momentum around him to buy the sect time.
• The sect master took Ye Qiubai to see Mu Ziqing, and he held her hand and urged her to focus on passing the trial.

Mu Ziqing faced the final stage of the Ice Crystal Trial, where she refused to kill illusions of Ye Qiubai and was buried beneath the snow. Five days later, the Ice God Hall arrived to force a marriage engagement, and the Drifting Snow Sect prepared to use Ye Qiubai to challenge its envoy and rally allies.

• Mu Ziqing realized the white cranes transformed into Ye Qiubai and that killing them would sever her emotions, so she chose not to strike and was buried by the snow.
• The Ice God Hall announced that Chen Yuning would visit the Drifting Snow Sect to establish a marriage engagement with the Holy Maiden, inviting cultivators with the promise of Cold Spirit Pills.
• The Drifting Snow Sect Master and elders condemned the Ice God Hall's ultimatum and refused to surrender the Holy Maiden.
• The Drifting Snow Sect Master proposed having Ye Qiubai provoke and defeat Chen Yuning, then using the Ice God Hall's response to enlist the other two major forces.
• The Ice God Hall arrived above the Drifting Snow Sect and called for its people to come out and greet them.

Ye Qiubai joined the Drifting Snow Sect Master to face the Ice God Hall, which had arrived to demand Ziqing’s marriage to Chen Yuning. After Chen Yuning challenged Ziqing’s Dao companion to prove his worth, Ye Qiubai stood against him and predicted that Chen Yuning would suffer the worse injuries.

• Jiang Qingluan found Ye Qiubai cultivating and was shocked by the power of his Sword God's intent before he agreed to go with her.
• Shen Funian presented the Heavenly Ice Extraordinary Vein as a betrothal gift and pressed the Drifting Snow Sect Master to approve Chen Yuning’s marriage to Ziqing.
• The Drifting Snow Sect Master refused, saying Ziqing already had a Dao companion and her heart belonged to him.
• Chen Yuning challenged Ziqing’s Dao companion to appear and prove his talent, and Ye Qiubai rose to face him before the gathered crowd.
• Chen Yuning told Ye Qiubai to withdraw, but Ye Qiubai defended his bond with Ziqing and warned Chen Yuning he would suffer worse injuries.

Ye Qiubai challenged Chen Yuning and revealed that he had reached the Sword God realm, overpowering Chen Yuning despite their difference in cultivation. Chen Yuning then unleashed the Ice God Bloodline and froze Ye Qiubai, who prepared the Fifth Sword of the Primordial Sword Scripture as a deadly attack came for him.

• Chen Yuning agreed to duel Ye Qiubai, and Ye Qiubai mocked him before accepting the challenge.
• Ye Qiubai revealed his Sword Domain and used it to suppress Chen Yuning's Sword Dao, knock away his sword, and force him back.
• Chen Yuning activated the Ice God Bloodline, freezing the surrounding space and trapping Ye Qiubai in ice.
• Ye Qiubai broke free with his Sword God intent as Chen Yuning launched an icicle toward his brow.
• Ye Qiubai invoked the Primordial Sword Scripture's Fifth Sword, Heavenly Slaughter.

Ye Qiubai defeated Chen Yuning with the fifth sword of the Primordial Sword Scripture, but Shen Funian refused to honor the promised withdrawal of Ice God Hall. He offered the Heavenly Ice Extraordinary Vein to the Drifting Snow Sect’s sect master and demanded that she choose between a marriage alliance and becoming Ice God Hall’s enemy.

• Ye Qiubai unleashed Heavenly Slaughter and held off Chen Yuning’s Ice God Descends attack.
• Chen Yuning expanded the Ice Realm with countless destructive ice flowers, but Ye Qiubai annihilated them with the Sword of Heaven’s Slaughter.
• Ye Qiubai asked Chen Yuning whether he still wanted to fight, then struck again; Shen Funian intervened and declared the contest over.
• Ye Qiubai asked Shen Funian whether Ice God Hall would withdraw as agreed, but Shen Funian denied making any agreement and said Chen Yuning had spoken on his own.
• The Drifting Snow Sect’s sect master condemned Shen Funian for breaking his word, and he presented her with the Heavenly Ice Extraordinary Vein while demanding a marriage alliance or hostility.

Shen Funian used the Ice God Hall’s strength and alliances with Glacier Valley and the Extreme Ice Prison to demand a marriage alliance with the Drifting Snow Sect. The Drifting Snow Sect Master chose to resist rather than sacrifice Mu Ziqing, and the sect prepared to fight.

• Shen Funian threatened to destroy the Drifting Snow Sect unless it accepted the Ice God Hall’s betrothal, while the Drifting Snow Sect Master warned that the other great factions would oppose him.
• The leaders of Glacier Valley and the Extreme Ice Prison appeared and sided with Shen Funian, revealing that he had secured their support with promises and a Heavenly Dao Oath.
• Shen Funian explained that Chen Yuning’s bloodline would complete his son’s Ice God Bloodline and help him reach the Divine Lord realm.
• The Drifting Snow Sect Master recalled her predecessor’s lesson about protecting disciples and refused to sacrifice Mu Ziqing to save the sect.
• The Drifting Snow Sect’s elders and disciples joined their sect master in roaring that they would fight.

As the three rival factions prepared to destroy the Drifting Snow Sect, Mu Ziqing returned after passing the Ice Crystal Trial and reunited with Ye Qiubai. With Mu Ziqing able to control the Drifting Snow Grand Array, the sect’s chances of survival rose from none to one as the battle loomed.

• Shen Funian gathered the full forces of the Ice God Hall, Extreme Ice Prison, and Glacier Valley to attack the Drifting Snow Sect, whose members vowed to fight.
• As the Drifting Snow Sect Master prepared to activate the Drifting Snow Grand Array, Mu Ziqing arrived and offered to serve as its core, delighting Ye Qiubai.
• Mu Ziqing explained that she had passed the Ice Crystal Trial’s Severing Emotion Trial by refusing to cut down the feelings tied to Ye Qiubai, and a soul in the trial had allowed her to cultivate through the Dao of Emotion.
• The Drifting Snow Sect Master entrusted the grand array to Mu Ziqing, whose late God King Realm cultivation gave the sect a chance of victory.
• Ye Qiubai told Mu Ziqing that the Drifting Snow Sect would not fall because Junior Brother Mu was there, while Mu Fusheng and Fang Qiong appeared confident in his strength.

The Drifting Snow Sect activated the Drifting Snow Grand Array to defend against Ice God Hall, Extreme Ice Prison, and Glacier Valley, but two Half-Step Divine Lord experts began overwhelming it. Mu Fusheng appeared to help the Sect Master and revealed that he, too, had reached the Half-Step Divine Lord Realm.

• The Drifting Snow Sect Master gave Mu Ziqing the token needed to activate the Drifting Snow Grand Array.
• Mu Ziqing and the Drifting Snow Sect’s elders and disciples powered the array, unleashing deadly snowflakes against the invading sects.
• The Glacier Valley Master and Extreme Ice Prison Sect Master attacked the array, while Shen Funian joined forces with the Extreme Ice Prison Sect Master against the Drifting Snow Sect Master.
• Mu Fusheng appeared beside the Sect Master and said he had come at his eldest senior brother’s order.
• Mu Fusheng summoned five kinds of lightning and revealed his Half-Step Divine Lord presence, stunning Jiang Qingluan and the assembled fighters.

Mu Fusheng revealed his Half-Step Divine Lord Realm strength and fought the Extreme Ice Prison Master with Ancient Divine Lightning and talisman techniques. The Extreme Ice Prison Master unleashed the Extreme Ice Prison Jail to suppress Mu Fusheng’s lightning dragon, leaving the fight at a critical point.

• Mu Fusheng revealed his strength and urged the Extreme Ice Prison and Glacier Valley leaders to join the Drifting Snow Sect, but the Extreme Ice Prison Master challenged him.
• Mu Fusheng and the Extreme Ice Prison Master exchanged attacks, with Mu Fusheng blocking an icy strike using his Ninefold Lightning Shield Divine Talisman and counterattacking.
• Mu Fusheng summoned the Holy Talisman Mystic Thunder Brush and used it to merge five kinds of Ancient Divine Lightning into a devastating attack.
• The Extreme Ice Prison Master formed the Extreme Ice Prison Jail to seal and suppress Mu Fusheng’s lightning dragon, and Shen Funian declared that the tide had turned against Mu Fusheng.

Mu Fusheng defeated the Extreme Ice Prison sect master with a five-colored lightning dragon empowered by Soul Fire, but suspected the enemy had kept more strength in reserve. Shen Funian revealed three more Half-Step Divine Lord experts, leaving Mu Fusheng to face a new threat.

• Mu Fusheng used Soul Fire to strengthen his five-colored lightning dragon, which shattered the Extreme Ice Prison Jail and overwhelmed the Extreme Ice Prison sect master.
• Mu Fusheng bombarded the sect master’s hiding place with divine lightning until the ancestor’s soul shield was spent and the sect master could no longer fight.
• Mu Fusheng’s allies realized he had not used the Divine Talisman of Creation, and Ye Qiubai and Fang Qiong understood that he had held back because he expected another hidden force.
• Mu Fusheng reasoned that Shen Funian must have kept other Half-Step Divine Lord experts in reserve, and Shen Funian admitted he was interfering in the affairs of Ice God Hall.
• Shen Funian summoned three old men, all in the Half-Step Divine Lord Realm.