Chapter Summaries

Yang Zhen failed to withstand the first ring of the Heaven-Piercing Pestle trial and left to find a method for tempering his spirit. He asked Hua Youyue to lend him one, then confronted the Lachan Temple lama and Heartless Sect scholar who mocked him.

• The Heaven-Piercing Pestle trial began, and cultivators entered its first ring while Yang Zhen stayed outside with Lan Fangyue.
• Yang Zhen staggered out of the first ring after being overwhelmed by its pressure, and the cultivators mocked him.
• Yang Zhen asked Lan Fangyue whether cultivators could attack each other inside the trial, then left to cultivate a method for tempering his spirit.
• A lama and a scholar mocked Hua Youyue for giving Yang Zhen a dark gold tower token, and Hua Youyue rejected their criticism.
• Yang Zhen asked Hua Youyue for a spirit-tempering method and snapped back at the lama and scholar when they mocked him.

Yang Zhen faced down Ku Toutuo and chose Hua Youyue’s Soul-Tempering Scripture over the Soul-Invigorating Pill, despite everyone assuming the pill was his only sensible option. As the others advanced through the divine soul trial, Yang Zhen left confidently, insisting he really was impressive.

• Ku Toutuo threatened Yang Zhen, but Hua Youyue dispelled his pressure and made clear she would protect Yang Zhen.
• Hua Youyue offered Yang Zhen a Soul-Invigorating Pill or the Soul-Tempering Scripture, drawing objections from Ku Toutuo and the refined middle-aged man over fairness.
• Yang Zhen chose the Soul-Tempering Scripture, surprising everyone, and argued that a lasting cultivation method was better than a consumable pill.
• Ku Toutuo accused Yang Zhen of putting on an act as Yun Jie, Zeng Bishu, and the others advanced toward the sixth level of the trial.
• Yang Zhen winked at Hua Youyue, laughed, and declared that he really was impressive.

Yang Zhen began cultivating the Soul-Tempering Scripture and unexpectedly transformed it into the Three Talents Soul Tempering Scripture, opening a spirit sea in his Foundation Establishment Realm. As thunder struck inside the new world in his mind, a small green shoot emerged.

• Tan Fenglie questioned Hua Youyue's decision to trust Yang Zhen, and she said he reminded her of her master, Senior Feng.
• Yang Zhen began cultivating the Soul-Tempering Scripture in front of the crowd instead of taking the Soul-Invigorating Pill Hua Youyue had prepared for him.
• Yang Zhen's Qi fluctuated violently, alarming Shi Feixue and Hua Youyue as the onlookers expected him to fail.
• Yang Zhen's extraordinary talent elevated the Soul-Tempering Scripture into the Three Talents Soul Tempering Scripture and opened a spirit sea inside his mind.
• Lightning struck the center of Yang Zhen's spirit sea, where a tender green shoot emerged from the ground.

After surviving a dangerous attempt to cultivate the Soul-Tempering Scripture, Yang Zhen discovered his soul power had grown immensely. He reentered the formation and mocked the cultivators who had ridiculed him, leaving them stunned by his strength.

• A mysterious sapling sprouted in Yang Zhen's Spirit Sea as violent changes reshaped the Savage Wilderness, and he blacked out before waking outside the formation, exhausted but newly able to sense the essence of heaven and earth.
• Lan Fangyue warned Yang Zhen about the Soul-Tempering Scripture's dangers, while Yun Jie and other cultivators mocked his weakened state and Liang Qiushui disparaged him beside Shi Feixue.
• Yang Zhen stood and headed back toward the formation despite Lan Fangyue's and Hua Youyue's concerns.
• Yang Zhen released soul power greater than Yun Jie's and Zeng Bishu's, then strode through the formation to its fifth layer.
• Yang Zhen repeatedly touched the robe of a cultivator who had mocked him and taunted him until the man spat blood.

Yang Zhen moved freely between the fourth and fifth levels of the soul trial and angered Ma Jing until the formation expelled him. After others condemned Yang Zhen, he crossed to the seventh level and taunted Zeng Bishu and Yun Jie, leaving them furious and afraid of being expelled too.

• Yang Zhen mocked Ma Jing during the soul trial until Ma Jing spat blood, lost consciousness, and was carried away for treatment.
• The crowd and Hua Youyue watched in shock as Yang Zhen moved freely between the fourth and fifth levels, and Hua Youyue recognized his mastery of the Soul-Tempering Scripture.
• Zeng Bishu, Yun Jie, and others accused Yang Zhen of shamelessly bullying Ma Jing and warned him not to offend them.
• Yang Zhen rejected their accusations, challenged the people who had condemned him, and walked toward Zeng Bishu and Yun Jie.
• Yang Zhen squatted between Zeng Bishu and Yun Jie, asked whether they were angry, and warned them not to get worked up or the formation might throw them out.

Yang Zhen mocked Yun Jie and Zeng Bishu through the soul trial, then casually entered the ninth level while they were thrown out. He turned his attention to Liang Qiushui after Shi Feixue admitted that she bullied her.

• Yang Zhen's taunts made Zeng Bishu spit blood, while Yun Jie broke his prayer beads as he tried to maintain his composure.
• Yang Zhen sang about rings and stepped onto the ninth level, hopping between it and the eighth as the spectators watched in disbelief.
• Yang Zhen's insults broke Yun Jie and Zeng Bishu's states of mind, and the formation expelled them.
• Yang Zhen asked Shi Feixue whether Liang Qiushui bullied her, and Shi Feixue admitted that she did.

Yang Zhen encouraged Shi Feixue to stand up to Liang Qiushui, then entered the trial’s dangerous tenth level despite Hua Youyue’s warning. He met its soul-suppressing force head-on, leaving the observers stunned by his strength.

• Yang Zhen urged Shi Feixue to believe in herself and teased the crowd by refusing to reveal the end of his story about a broken engagement.
• Yang Zhen gave Liang Qiushui the choice to leave, and she withdrew from the trial after threatening him.
• Yang Zhen headed for the tenth level despite Hua Youyue warning him that its suppression was extraordinary.
• The Heaven-Piercing Pestle unleashed a storm of primal Qi that injured and expelled several trial participants, while Hua Youyue tried to intervene.
• Yang Zhen released a terrifying soul fluctuation that collided with the formation’s force, straightened up, and laughed as Ku Toutuo and the refined middle-aged man stared in disbelief.

Yang Zhen endured the tenth-level formation’s soul suppression, securing the soul trial’s victory and shocking the observers. After faking an injury to cling to Hua Youyue, he was carried away as a powerful group of sword-flying experts approached Bright Peak.

• Yang Zhen continued to withstand the tenth-level formation, and City Lord Tan agreed that he had won the soul trial.
• Ku Toutuo and the refined middle-aged man suspected Yang Zhen had opened his spirit sea and considered him a threat, while Hua Youyue questioned him about it.
• Yang Zhen denied opening his spirit sea, then pretended the tenth-level soul suppression had injured him and fell toward Hua Youyue.
• Hua Youyue caught Yang Zhen and carried him to the sixth level, where he clung to her neck and would not let go.
• Hua Youyue and the others saw a group of powerful Golden Core Realm experts flying toward Bright Peak on swords.

More than a hundred Golden Core Realm cultivators arrived at Bright Peak after news spread that a Heavenly Mandate Flower might appear on the ninth floor of the Nine Realms Exquisite Pagoda. As Yang Zhen drew the anger of powerful newcomers, Hua Youyue revealed her Nascent Soul Realm strength by stopping a Golden Core Realm woman from attacking him.

• Hua Youyue learned that the Great Jiang Kingdom's state preceptor and priest had predicted the ninth floor would open and a Heavenly Mandate Flower might appear, so she ordered Hall Master Fang to gather the Long Moon Pavilion's Golden Core Realm cultivators.
• Lan Fangyue explained the flower's inheritance and rarity, and Yang Zhen insisted they should try to reach it despite the risk that other Golden Core Realm cultivators would claim it.
• A young Golden Core Realm lama and a scholar with a feather fan confronted Yun Jie and Zeng Bishu about their injuries, while both men glared at Yang Zhen.
• A young woman from Ten Thousand Flowers Valley ignored Shi Feixue and challenged Yang Zhen, who mocked her and called her unreasonable.
• The woman charged at Yang Zhen, but Hua Youyue stopped her without moving, leaving the woman shocked that Hua Youyue was a Nascent Soul Realm expert.

Hua Youyue and Tan Fenglie escorted Yang Zhen toward the Nine Realms Exquisite Pagoda, where Golden Core cultivators had gathered to explore its newly changed levels. Yuan Kong, Luo Kun, and Wan Yue each agreed to compete to kill Yang Zhen, while Yang Zhen reached the pagoda and prepared to enter.

• Hua Youyue and Tan Fenglie joined forces to escort Yang Zhen toward the Nine Realms Exquisite Pagoda and discussed the surge of True Essence inside it.
• Yun Jie introduced Yuan Kong to Zeng Bishu and Luo Kun, while both injured men warned them that Yang Zhen was cunning and dangerous.
• Yuan Kong proposed that he, Luo Kun, and Wan Yue compete to kill Yang Zhen, with the winner earning the first chance to enter the ninth-level world.
• Hua Youyue warned Yang Zhen to stay vigilant as he arrived at the towering Nine Realms Exquisite Pagoda.

Hua Youyue and Lan Fangyue warned Yang Zhen that powerful enemies might target him inside the Nine Realms Exquisite Pagoda, but he entered anyway. He left with a wooden token meant to help Long Moon Pavilion locate him, while Lan Fangyue remained uneasy.

• Hua Youyue urged Yang Zhen to keep a low profile, while Ma Yuan’s companions warned him that Yang Zhen could be killed inside the pagoda and persuaded him to stay back.
• Hua Youyue told Yang Zhen to hide and cultivate on the fourth floor for three days, and offered to grant him one condition if he reached the Lesser Vehicle Realm in that time.
• Yang Zhen learned Long Moon Pavilion’s Golden Core Realm cultivators had already entered and were waiting on the first floor, then headed for the pagoda with Lan Fangyue following.
• Ku Toutuo and his companions approached the pagoda as Hua Youyue worried that Yang Zhen would ignore her advice.
• Lan Fangyue explained that Yang Zhen’s wooden token would reveal his location and urged him to crush it if he faced danger; Yang Zhen entered the Nine Realms Exquisite Pagoda as she watched anxiously.

Yang Zhen entered the first floor of the Nine Realms Exquisite Pagoda and rapidly advanced his cultivation in its dense primordial Qi. As Lan Fangyue and her companions searched for him before Yuan Kong’s group could find him, they guessed he would be drawn to the world treasure.

• Yang Zhen entered the pagoda’s first-floor world and found that its dense primordial Qi greatly accelerated his cultivation.
• After half an hour, Yang Zhen reached the Foundation Establishment Realm Ninth Layer Peak and decided he would make his next breakthrough to the Lesser Vehicle Realm in front of a crowd.
• Yang Zhen set out to find the entrance to the second floor, hoping to cultivate at the highest floor he could reach.
• Senior Brother Dong and Lan Fangyue discussed the reward Yuan Kong’s group had offered for information about Yang Zhen’s whereabouts.
• Senior Sister Lü said Yang Zhen was cautious beneath his apparent arrogance, and she and Senior Brother Dong predicted he would head for the world treasure.
• Lan Fangyue agreed that Yang Zhen would not miss the excitement and joined them in searching for the world treasure.

Yang Zhen learned the directions to the second-level entrance and a realm treasure while dealing with two scheming cultivators, then raced west. He arrived as the treasure ripened among a crowd that included Yuan Kong.

• Yang Zhen overheard a pair of Foundation Establishment cultivators discussing his bounty and revealing that the second-level entrance lay north while a realm treasure had appeared in the west.
• Yang Zhen knocked out the pair, tied them to a tree, took their belongings, and questioned them about the directions.
• Yang Zhen discovered he had been turned around, then headed west using Skyward Cannon and Traversing the Void in Midair.
• Yang Zhen reached a crowd that included Yuan Kong as a red, lollipop-shaped realm treasure ripened amid a surge of primal Qi.

Yang Zhen disguised himself and joined the crowd gathered around a ripened Realm Treasure, while Luo Kun proposed that Golden Core Realm cultivators bid for it. After Luo Kun won the bidding with one hundred thousand crystals, Lü Ping recognized the treasure as a legendary Fortune Fruit, and someone shouted at Luo Kun to let go of it.

• Yang Zhen put on a stolen straw hat and squeezed into the crowd surrounding the Realm Treasure.
• Luo Kun proposed that Golden Core Realm cultivators bid for the treasure and divide the winning bid among the others.
• Yuan Kong and several sect leaders supported Luo Kun's proposal, while Dong Lei and Lü Ping suspected they planned to manipulate the bidding.
• Luo Kun bid one hundred thousand crystals and won after the other Golden Core Realm cultivators withdrew.
• Lü Ping recognized the Realm Treasure as a Fortune Fruit as Luo Kun reached to pick it up.
• An unknown person shouted, "Let go of that lollipop!"

Yang Zhen appeared at the Fortune Fruit and claimed the Realm Treasure belonged to him, then provoked Luo Kun and Yuan Kong before snatching it and escaping. He left the pursuers behind with his strange movement technique as the crowd watched in amazement.

• Yang Zhen arrived and claimed the Fortune Fruit was his, insisting it would answer him as proof.
• Yang Zhen insulted Luo Kun and Yuan Kong by pretending to scold the Fortune Fruit, infuriating the two Golden Core Realm experts.
• As Luo Kun and Yuan Kong attacked, Yang Zhen grabbed the Realm Treasure and vanished into the sky with a burst of Vital Qi.
• Luo Kun, Yuan Kong, and Liang Qiushui pursued Yang Zhen, but Liang Qiushui's sword passed through his afterimages.
• Lan Fangyue recognized Yang Zhen's movement as Traversing the Void in Midair, and Yang Zhen escaped faster while taunting his pursuers.

Yang Zhen snatched the Fortune Fruit from Luo Kun and fled toward the second level of the Nine Realms Exquisite Pagoda, provoking his pursuers as they tried to catch him. He feigned losing his temper, then struck Luo Kun with the Great Flame Qian Lightning Sword Instruction and escaped into the pagoda, leaving the cultivators stunned.

• Yang Zhen stole the realm treasure from Luo Kun and outran the Golden Core Realm cultivators pursuing him.
• Dong Lei and Lü Ping realized Yang Zhen was heading for the entrance to the second level, while Lan Fangyue worried Luo Kun might provoke him into fighting.
• Yang Zhen pretended to accept Luo Kun's challenge, and Dong Lei and Lü Ping were blocked when they tried to intervene.
• Yang Zhen revealed his Thunderclap longsword and used the Great Flame Qian Lightning Sword Instruction to blast Luo Kun from the sky.
• Yang Zhen escaped into the second level of the Nine Realms Exquisite Pagoda as the other cultivators stared at the fallen Luo Kun in disbelief.

Yang Zhen entered the Nine Realms Exquisite Pagoda’s second-level world after defeating Luo Kun with a heaven-tier martial skill, surprising the cultivators inside and outside. As more people entered the pagoda, one disciple was ejected after laughing his way out, leaving the crowd baffled.

• Yang Zhen struck Luo Kun down with a heaven-tier martial skill, and Luo Kun concealed that he had underestimated him.
• Dong Lei, Lü Ping, and Lan Fangyue watched in disbelief as Yang Zhen became the first to enter the second-level world.
• Cultivators outside the Nine Realms Exquisite Pagoda learned that Yang Zhen had entered the second level, while Ku Toutuo and others mocked his chances of staying safe.
• An old sect master told his disciple to help Yuan Kong and Luo Kun if the opportunity arose, citing the coming Overseas Trial.
• A disciple was ejected from the pagoda despite no fight breaking out, then admitted that he had laughed his way out.

Yang Zhen ate the Fortune Fruit he had stolen from Luo Kun, gaining insight into heaven and earth and breaking through to the Lesser Vehicle Realm. Yun Jie then found him and attacked in fury after learning Yang Zhen had already eaten the treasure.

• A disciple reported that Yang Zhen had stolen Luo Kun’s realm treasure and escaped the first-floor world, prompting disbelief and anger from the gathered cultivators.
• Yang Zhen hid in the second-floor world and took a bite of the realm treasure, which he recognized as a Fortune Fruit.
• The Fortune Fruit transformed Yang Zhen’s spiritual sea and helped him break through to the Lesser Vehicle Realm.
• Yun Jie found Yang Zhen, demanded the Fortune Fruit, and learned that Yang Zhen had eaten it.
• Yun Jie attacked Yang Zhen in a rage.

Yang Zhen survived Yun Jie's strongest attack and revealed that he had dozens of Life Stars, enraging Yun Jie. After defeating Yun Jie, Yang Zhen took his ring and sword, then startled another cultivator so badly that the man fled the Nine Realms Exquisite Pagoda in terror.

• Yun Jie attacked Yang Zhen with his strongest martial skill, but Yang Zhen survived and asked him about Life Stars.
• Yang Zhen showed Yun Jie dozens of Life Stars, and Yun Jie charged at him in fury.
• Yang Zhen struck Yun Jie with Thunderclap, severing his arm and knocking him to the ground.
• Yang Zhen took the ring and sword from Yun Jie's fallen arm, returned the arm, and left Yun Jie gravely injured.
• Yang Zhen startled a nearby cultivator, who appeared outside the Nine Realms Exquisite Pagoda and cried that Yang Zhen would eat him.

A terrified cultivator told the gathered sect leaders that Yang Zhen had attacked Yun Jie and run off with his severed arm, making him seem like a man-eating fiend. In the second-floor world, Yang Zhen searched Yun Jie's storage ring and then rushed toward a woman's scream.

• The Heartless Elegant Scholar and Ku Toutuo each tried to calm the terrified cultivator, but he fainted at their attempts.
• After the cultivator recovered, he said Yang Zhen had eaten a lama from Lachan Temple, then explained that Yang Zhen had severed Yun Jie's arm and fled with it while pretending to gnaw on the meat.
• Ku Toutuo angrily condemned Yang Zhen as the crowd reacted with horror, while Hua Youyue and Tan Fengl​​ie doubted the story.
• Yang Zhen examined Yun Jie's storage ring, found pills, spirit talismans, and a vial of pink drug, and decided to keep the vial himself.
• Yang Zhen heard a woman's hysterical scream nearby and eagerly rushed toward it.