Chapter Summaries

Miao Shanrou and Lin Miaoyin defended their decision to thank Lin Heng, provoking the Fire Separation Saint Emperor and nearly bringing the Saint Emperors into a deadly confrontation. The Thunder Punishment Saint Emperor stopped the escalating dispute, and the hall fell silent as he considered how to resolve it.

• Miao Shanrou and Lin Miaoyin rejected the other Saint Emperors’ demands to explain why they had visited Liu Ling'er and Lin Heng.
• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor accused Miao Shanrou of disgracing the Saint Emperors, and Lin Miaoyin and Miao Shanrou retorted that Lin Heng had saved them in the Third Heaven’s forbidden land.
• Miao Shanrou threatened to detonate her soul if the Fire Separation Saint Emperor continued pressing her, causing the Heaven Yang Clan Saint Emperor and others to urge restraint.
• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor dismissed Miao Shanrou’s threat, but Miao Shanrou and Lin Miaoyin began gathering power to detonate themselves.
• The Thunder Punishment Saint Emperor warned the two women to stop and reminded the Fire Separation Saint Emperor that they were in the Lei Clan; the women paused, and the hall fell silent.

In the Lei Clan's great hall, the Thunder Punishment Saint Emperor questioned Miao Shanrou and Lin Miaoyin about their connection to Lin Heng and relayed the Lei Clan ancestor's stance. The other Saint Emperors accepted that they should target Lin Heng only if they could kill him, while leaving the two women alone.

• The Thunder Punishment Saint Emperor asked Miao Shanrou and Lin Miaoyin whether they had visited Battle Heaven Pavilion to see Lin Heng, and both admitted they had.
• Miao Shanrou and Lin Miaoyin said they would fight for the Eight Great Imperial Clans against the Ascenders, but hesitated when asked to choose between the clans and Battle Heaven Pavilion.
• The Thunder Punishment Saint Emperor told the women that the Lei Clan ancestor would not interfere as long as they remembered their identities, and they left the hall.
• The Thunder Punishment Saint Emperor told the other Saint Emperors to kill Lin Heng if they could and leave him alone if they could not, while ensuring the Eight Great Imperial Clans did not fall apart.
• The other Saint Emperors accepted the Lei Clan ancestor's instruction, and the Thunder Punishment Saint Emperor went to the Lei Clan's sacred ground.

The Lei Clan Ancestor reassured the Thunder Punishment Saint Emperor about the Eight Great Imperial Clans and revealed that Eldest Senior Brother believed Lin Heng could surpass the limits of the Nine Heavens. Fearing Lin Heng might rise above him, the Lei Clan Ancestor gave his son a powerful map to use in a carefully planned attempt to kill Lin Heng.

• The Lei Clan Ancestor told the Thunder Punishment Saint Emperor that the Eight Great Imperial Clans would endure regardless of the Ascenders’ strength.
• The Lei Clan Ancestor ordered the Thunder Punishment Saint Emperor to watch the Fire Separation Saint Emperor, while his son claimed he would soon match the man’s strength.
• The Lei Clan Ancestor revealed that Eldest Senior Brother had stopped him from acting against Lin Heng and believed Lin Heng would one day break through the limits of the Nine Heavens.
• The Thunder Punishment Saint Emperor suggested leaving Lin Heng alone, but the Lei Clan Ancestor’s jealousy of Eldest Senior Brother’s regard for Lin Heng led him to consider killing him.
• The Lei Clan Ancestor gave the Thunder Punishment Saint Emperor the Ten Thousand Li Rivers and Mountains Map and warned him to attack Lin Heng only when confident, leaving no chance for his resurrection.

The Fire Separation Saint Emperor brooded over his failed ambition to command the Eight Great Imperial Clans, then heard Makeduolang offer a way to transcend the Nine Heavens in exchange for opening a passage. He attacked Makeduolang after realizing the offer involved outsiders, but spared him, leaving the possibility of a deal open.

• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor resented having to obey the Thunder Punishment Saint Emperor despite surpassing him in strength, and feared the Lei Clan Ancestor.
• Makeduolang appeared and told the Fire Separation Saint Emperor that someone could help him realize his ambition.
• Makeduolang offered to let the Fire Separation Saint Emperor transcend the Nine Heavens if he opened a passage for the outsiders.
• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor recognized the outsiders’ involvement, seized Makeduolang, and threatened him.
• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor withdrew his Origin of Fire and threw Makeduolang aside, while Makeduolang prepared to give him a way to accept the deal without losing face.

Makeduolang persuaded the Fire Separation Saint Emperor to consider helping the otherworlders open a passage in exchange for a chance to transcend the Nine Heavens. After meeting his ancestor in a hidden cave, Makeduolang reported that the Fire Separation Saint Emperor demanded a convincing show of sincerity.

• Makeduolang praised the Fire Separation Saint Emperor and urged him to help the otherworlders so he could rule the Eight Great Imperial Clans and transcend the Nine Heavens.
• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor gave Makeduolang one day to bring proof of the otherworlders' sincerity, threatening him if he failed.
• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor planned to use the otherworlders to gain power, then kill them and seal the passage.
• Makeduolang entered a cave filled with skeletal remains and contacted his ancestor through a blood offering to a stone wall.
• Makeduolang told his ancestor that the Fire Separation Saint Emperor had agreed to cooperate but wanted a substantial show of sincerity.

Makeduolang secured a jade token from his ancestor to offer the Fire Separation Saint Emperor in exchange for cooperation, while Lin Heng told Liu Ling'er about his plans to fight the outsiders. Lin Heng left his mother worried about the coming battle but confident that reaching the Sovereign Realm would let him defeat the outsiders.

• Makeduolang guaranteed that the Fire Separation Saint Emperor would cooperate, and his ancestor gave him a jade token containing methods for breaking through the Nine Heavens' limitations and cultivating mental power.
• Makeduolang left the cave, privately boasting that he would soon rise above those who had looked down on him.
• Liu Ling'er asked Lin Heng whether he was interested in Miao Shanrou or Lin Miaoyin, and Lin Heng said he had never thought of them romantically.
• Lin Heng told Liu Ling'er he might soon leave the Nine Heavens and promised to marry and stay by her side if he returned.
• Lin Heng warned Liu Ling'er about a coming great battle and explained that he intended to wipe out the outsiders.
• Lin Heng reassured Liu Ling'er that he would wait until he reached the Sovereign Realm before confronting the outsiders.

Lin Heng investigated his unease about the foreign races and learned that their bloodlines might have survived within the Great Sun Race and the Duomeng Ant Race. He ordered Situ Jiannan to investigate the two races and entered seclusion to strengthen himself before a possible invasion.

• Lin Heng asked Situ Jiannan about recent events and heard that foreign races had briefly probed the Heaven-Seizing Battlefield before being driven back.
• Situ Jiannan explained that the Nine Heavens had once purged descendants of the foreign races, but suspected bloodlines might have survived among the Great Sun Race and the Duomeng Ant Race.
• Lin Heng wondered whether the two races had secretly colluded with the foreign races and feared another invasion of the Nine Heavens.
• Lin Heng ordered Situ Jiannan to investigate suspicious activity by the two races and authorized him to mobilize the Battle Heaven Pavilion's army if needed.
• Lin Heng entered the time spirit treasure to improve his strength, hoping to avert the danger he sensed.

Lin Heng cultivated within the time spirit treasure to prepare his soul for the Sovereign Realm, while the Fire Separation Saint Emperor agreed to help Makeduolang open a passage for the outsiders. The Fire Separation Saint Emperor asked for three years to arrange it and planned to create a crisis on the Heaven-Seizing Battlefield.

• Lin Heng used Mu Chen's inheritance as a guide while sensing the nature of all things and strengthening his soul.
• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor decided to cooperate with the outsiders despite his misgivings about betraying his duty.
• Makeduolang gave the Fire Separation Saint Emperor a jade token, and the Saint Emperor verified its information.
• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor asked for up to three years to prepare before opening the plane passage.
• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor told Makeduolang to have the outsiders send many attackers to the plane passage so he could justify sending people there.
• Makeduolang agreed to report the plan to the outsiders, then cursed the Fire Separation Saint Emperor after he left.

Dijiang and Zhu Rong overheard the Fire Separation Saint Emperor plotting with Makeduolang and decided to let the foreigners become a trial for Lin Heng while secretly tipping off Situ Jiannan. The Fire Separation Saint Emperor learned that he needed an Origin Soul Spirit to break through the Nine Heavens’ restrictions, leaving him dependent on the foreigners despite receiving their mental power cultivation method.

• Dijiang stopped Zhu Rong from attacking the Fire Separation Saint Emperor, explaining that Lin Heng needed the foreigners to temper his strength.
• Dijiang told Zhu Rong to leave clues about Makeduolang for Situ Jiannan to discover, so the secret would pressure Lin Heng to cultivate.
• Zhu Rong agreed and left to arrange the clues while Dijiang urged Lin Heng to grow stronger before the foreigners’ battlefield in three years.
• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor studied the jade token and found that an Origin Soul Spirit was essential to the formation that could break the Nine Heavens’ restrictions.
• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor realized the foreigners had offered him a method he could not use without their help, but he resolved to master the mental power cultivation method and advance partway toward that realm.

After reaching the limit of his soul realm inside the time spirit treasure, Lin Heng realized that its simulated world could not help him break through to Sovereign and left after advising his companions that all things were alive. Back in the Battle Heaven Pavilion, he heard Situ Jiannan’s suspicions that Makeduolang might share the otherworlders’ power of invisibility, and Ao Zhantian agreed to investigate him.

• After more than 200,000 years without progress, Lin Heng realized the time spirit treasure’s simulated world was preventing him from reaching Sovereign.
• Lin Heng told the Good and Evil Doppelgangers and Sun Yuan, “All things are alive,” then left the treasure.
• Situ Jiannan reported that Makeduolang, a Duomeng Ant Race cultivator, had rapidly risen to the Heavenly Firmament Saint Realm and once killed several opponents of equal strength in an instant.
• Situ Jiannan suspected Makeduolang could turn invisible because the Duomeng Ant Race carried the otherworlders’ bloodline, and Lin Heng found the theory plausible.
• Lin Heng asked Ao Zhantian to investigate Makeduolang, and Ao Zhantian said he had suspected the man before and would look into him in secret.

Lin Heng left the Battle Heaven Pavilion and cultivated in the open, using the living mountain range to seek a breakthrough in soul cultivation. The Lei Clan Ancestor recognized Lin Heng’s goal and warned the Thunder Punishment Saint Emperor that attacking him could leave the Imperial Clans isolated and vulnerable.

• Lin Heng set up a defensive grand array on a mountain peak and used his soul power to observe the changing life around him as he pursued the Sovereign Realm.
• The Lei Clan Ancestor examined Lin Heng’s cultivation and realized he had reached Heavenly Firmament Venerable Realm Great Perfection in soul cultivation and was attempting a breakthrough.
• The Thunder Punishment Saint Emperor proposed that the Saint Emperors surround Lin Heng, but the Lei Clan Ancestor pointed out that the Water Race and Wood Clan might refuse and that the Firmament Hall and Mortal World Inn could intervene.
• The Lei Clan Ancestor reprimanded his eldest son for prioritizing the clans’ pride over their survival and explained that the Ancestors’ restrictions prevented either side from starting a great war.
• The Thunder Punishment Saint Emperor understood that the Ascenders did not attack because the Ancestors’ restrictions restrained them as well.

The Lei Clan Ancestor explained why he and his third junior brother had not moved against Lin Heng, while Ao Zhantian and Qin Hongmian watched Lin Heng approach the Sovereign Realm. Qin Hongmian warned that Lin Heng’s rise beyond the Nine Heavens could bring disaster, and Ao Zhantian was left troubled by the prospect of the Ascenders becoming his enemy.

• The Lei Clan Ancestor told the Thunder Punishment Saint Emperor that he and his third junior brother feared both Lin Heng’s future strength and their eldest senior brother’s protection of him, so the Lei Clan had stayed silent.
• Ao Zhantian and Qin Hongmian watched Lin Heng cultivate through the Mystic Light Mirror, and Qin Hongmian judged that he was close to reaching the Sovereign Realm.
• Ao Zhantian suggested Lin Heng could become a powerful ally to the Ascenders and might eventually surpass the Nine Heavens, prompting Qin Hongmian to reveal her unease.
• Ao Zhantian asked Qin Hongmian whether the situation could still be changed, and she urged him to persuade Lin Heng to remain within the Nine Heavens.
• Qin Hongmian left the back garden, while Ao Zhantian watched her go, troubled by the possibility that Lin Heng and the Ascenders’ backer would become enemies.

After two foreign assaults on the Heaven-Seizing Battlefield, the Thirteen Factions met to prepare for a wider war. The Fire Separation Saint Emperor offered the Fire Clan’s formation to secure the plane passage and presented a costly materials list, leaving Qin Hongmian and the others stunned.

• Foreign forces attacked the Heaven-Seizing Battlefield twice within a few months, and the Nine Heavens forces drove them back at heavy cost.
• The Thunder Punishment Saint Emperor and Qin Hongmian urged the factions to unite against the foreigners and prepare for a possible great war.
• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor proposed using the Fire Clan’s Azure Firmament Origin-Locking Formation to guard the plane passage.
• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor handed Qin Hongmian a prepared list of materials needed for the formation.
• Qin Hongmian was shocked by the list and passed it to Ao Zhantian, who asked whether there was a problem.

The twelve factions agreed to provide the Fire Clan with materials for the Azure Firmament Origin-Locking Formation after the Fire Separation Saint Emperor warned that the outsiders’ next assault could be far more dangerous. He secured a plan to withdraw the Fire Clan if the formation failed, while secretly intending to help the outsiders enter the Nine Heavens.

• Ao Zhantian and the other leaders read the Fire Clan’s enormous list of requested resources and fell silent.
• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor argued that the outsiders’ attacks might escalate and said the Fire Clan would guard the planar passage to reduce the Nine Heavens’ losses.
• The Thunder Punishment Saint Emperor pledged the Lei Clan’s share, and Qin Hongmian agreed that the Ascenders would contribute as well.
• The Thunder Punishment Saint Emperor proposed dividing the costs among the twelve factions, and the Fire Separation Saint Emperor warned that the formation might not hold forever.
• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor said the Fire Clan would defend the Heaven-Seizing Battlefield but retreat if the formation failed, leaving the other factions to fight.
• The factions accepted his terms because they trusted the formation and believed the planar passage would prevent the outsiders’ strongest experts from entering.

The Fire Separation Saint Emperor revealed his deal with Makeduolang to the Fire Clan’s Sovereign experts, who supported his bid to break beyond the Nine Heavens. He met Makeduolang that night, saying the Fire Clan was ready and asking when the promised Origin Soul Spirit would be delivered.

• Yan Xifan and the other Fire Clan experts questioned the Fire Separation Saint Emperor about the cost of maintaining the Azure Firmament Origin-Locking Formation.
• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor told the gathered experts about his deal with Makeduolang and the chance to break through the Nine Heavens’ limitations.
• The Fire Clan experts examined the jade token’s cultivation method and agreed that the Fire Separation Saint Emperor should pursue the breakthrough first.
• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor promised to seek Origin Soul Spirits for the others if he succeeded, and the clan agreed to cooperate with the foreigners.
• That night, the Fire Separation Saint Emperor met Makeduolang and said he had arranged everything, then asked when Makeduolang would deliver what he had promised.

The Fire Separation Saint Emperor and Makeduolang agreed to let one outsider enter the Nine Heavens to find the Origin Soul Spirit, while the Fire Clan secretly guarded the planar passage. Half a year later, Lin Heng awakened amid gathering thunderclouds, seemingly merged with the mountain.

• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor threatened to end his cooperation unless the outsiders offered a more immediate way to obtain the Origin Soul Spirit.
• Makeduolang returned with a compromise: the Fire Clan would admit one outsider to help find the Origin Soul Spirit, then destroy the planar passage after obtaining it.
• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor agreed on the condition that the outsider's strength did not exceed the Sovereign Realm, and the outsiders agreed to keep sending cannon fodder against the Heaven-Seizing Battlefield.
• The Fire Separation Saint Emperor led the Fire Clan's experts to the Heaven-Seizing Battlefield, where they completed the Azure Firmament Origin-Locking Formation and took sole control of the area.
• Half a year later, thunderclouds gathered over Lin Heng's mountain as he opened his eyes, with no energy fluctuation around him and his presence seemingly blended into the mountain.

Lin Heng broke through to the Sovereign Realm, awakening Kunpeng within the Eternal Ages Divine Weapon. Kunpeng refused to submit, but Lin Heng rejected his offer of protection and left Kunpeng trying to persuade him.

• Lin Heng’s soul power rose to the Sovereign Realm as lightning struck him and then shattered.
• Eternal Ages appeared on its own and absorbed the life force of all things, awakening a powerful beast spirit.
• The Ancestral Dragon recognized the roar’s bloodline pressure and suspected that Kunpeng had awakened inside Eternal Ages.
• Kunpeng scorned Lin Heng as an unworthy junior, but Lin Heng threatened to seal Eternal Ages away again.
• Kunpeng grudgingly offered to watch over Lin Heng because he was Mu Chen’s successor, but Lin Heng refused.
• Kunpeng promised that he could protect Lin Heng even in the Holy Heaven Realm, hoping his strength would tempt Lin Heng into a bargain.

Lin Heng bound Kunpeng, the artifact spirit of Eternal Ages, to a soul contract and returned to the Battle Heaven Pavilion. After learning that Makeduolang might be connected to the outsiders and the Fire Separation Saint Emperor, Lin Heng rushed to the First Heaven to investigate the Fire Clan’s position at the Heaven-Seizing Battlefield.

• Lin Heng subdued Kunpeng and signed a soul contract that gave Kunpeng a million years to await Lin Heng’s breakthrough to the Holy Heaven Realm before demanding his freedom.
• Lin Heng returned to the Battle Heaven Pavilion, where Situ Jiannan reported Makeduolang’s suspicious cultivation and possible connection to the Fire Separation Saint Emperor.
• Lin Heng ordered Situ Jiannan to gather Battle Heaven Pavilion disciples at the Samsara Realm and above, then headed to the First Heaven.
• Lin Heng contacted Ao Zhantian and urged him to inspect the Heaven-Seizing Battlefield’s plane passage, where the Fire Clan was stationed alone.
• Ao Zhantian hesitated over the grave accusation against the Fire Clan, while Lin Heng prepared to go to the battlefield even without his agreement.

Lin Heng confronted Makeduolang to confirm suspicions that the Fire Separation Saint Emperor had let outsiders into the Nine Heavens in exchange for a way to break its limits. Makeduolang revealed that the outsiders had promised the Fire Separation Saint Emperor an Origin Soul Spirit, and Lin Heng demanded that he swear to the truth of his claims.

• Lin Heng proposed going to the Heaven-Seizing Battlefield, and Ao Zhantian agreed after Lin Heng assured him he could escape even from the Fire Separation Saint Emperor.
• Lin Heng went to Makeduolang’s desolate mountain residence and seized him after noticing his evasive behavior.
• Lin Heng implied that the Fire Separation Saint Emperor would kill Makeduolang, prompting Makeduolang to accuse the Saint Emperor of betraying him after receiving the promised benefits.
• Makeduolang revealed that the outsiders had offered the Fire Separation Saint Emperor an Origin Soul Spirit to help him break through the Nine Heavens’ limits.
• Lin Heng questioned whether Makeduolang dared swear that his confession was true.

Lin Heng brought Makeduolang to the Heaven-Seizing Battlefield and exposed his claims about the Fire Separation Saint Emperor before the gathered witnesses. When Yan Xifan attacked Makeduolang, Lin Heng's divine weapon Eternal Ages unleashed Kunpeng's roar and sent Yan Xifan flying, shocking everyone present.

• Makeduolang swore that the Fire Separation Saint Emperor had deceived Lin Heng, then offered to confront him in person.
• Lin Heng teleported Makeduolang to the Heaven-Seizing Battlefield, struck down two Fire Clan guards, and destroyed their communication spirit orb.
• At the plane passage, Lin Heng shouted accusations and summoned nearby Ascenders and Eight Great Imperial Clans experts as witnesses.
• Lin Heng ordered Makeduolang to reveal the Fire Clan's deeds, and Makeduolang began describing his cooperation with the Fire Separation Saint Emperor.
• Yan Xifan charged out of the formation to kill Makeduolang, but Eternal Ages appeared and Kunpeng's roar sent Yan Xifan flying.