Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan found the Soul-Congealing Fruit and carefully harvested it with jade tools so its Spiritual Strength would remain intact. With the fruit secured, he prepared to explore deeper into the ruins, then turned his attention to the dead serpent on the shore.

• Xiao Yan reached the island with the One-Horned Whale Serpent and found the Soul-Congealing Fruit Tree.
• The One-Horned Whale Serpent explained that it had left the fruit for Xiao Yan in hopes that he would refine pills for it.
• Xiao Yan used a jade dagger and jade box to harvest and seal the Soul-Congealing Fruit without losing its power.
• Xiao Yan stored the fruit and said they should explore deeper into the ruins, while the One-Horned Whale Serpent rejoiced at the prospect of leaving.
• Xiao Yan turned toward the dead serpent on the shore, considering the value of its body.

After taking the Soul-Congealing Fruit, Xiao Yan traveled deeper into the Ancient Forest with the One-Horned Whale Serpent hidden beneath his robe, seeking time to recover before reaching the ruins. As night approached, he chose a hollow in a giant tree for shelter, but the tree suddenly attacked him.

• Dou Di experts arrived at the lake after Xiao Yan had left and found that the Soul-Congealing Fruit was gone.
• Xiao Yan sped through the Ancient Forest while the One-Horned Whale Serpent disguised itself as a tiny snake beneath his robe.
• The One-Horned Whale Serpent scorned the wary human experts, and Xiao Yan agreed that they were frightening and untrustworthy.
• Xiao Yan continued deeper into the forest as darkness fell and found a secluded hollow in a giant tree.
• The giant tree came alive, raising its vines and firing emerald arrows at Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan and the One-Horned Whale Serpent confronted a living ancient tree that attacked them, then subdued it with the serpent’s superior strength and Xiao Yan’s Heavenly Flames. They spent the night in the tree hollow, leaving the terrified tree to stand guard.

• The One-Horned Whale Serpent smashed the arrows the ancient tree shot at Xiao Yan.
• The serpent’s pressure forced the ancient tree, an Early One-Star Dou Di, to submit to the Late One-Star Dou Di serpent.
• Xiao Yan raised his Heavenly Flames and frightened the tree into promising to obey him.
• Xiao Yan warned the tree not to disturb them and entered its hollow with the One-Horned Whale Serpent.
• The ancient tree stayed awake and guarded them through the night.

Xiao Yan rested beneath an ancient tree, then traveled deeper into the ruins with the One-Horned Whale Serpent as his injuries healed and his strength stabilized. On the fifth day, they reached the ruins’ main hall, where several people had already gathered.

• Xiao Yan finished cultivating beneath the ancient tree, and the One-Horned Whale Serpent told the tree they would spare its life.
• Xiao Yan thanked the ancient tree and left with the One-Horned Whale Serpent.
• Over the next four days, Xiao Yan and the One-Horned Whale Serpent traveled deeper into the ruins while Xiao Yan healed and the Northern King's strength recovered.
• Xiao Yan emerged from the ancient forest on the fifth day and spotted a magnificent golden hall.
• Xiao Yan landed on the golden road before the hall, felt its immense lingering pressure, and found several people gathered at the entrance.

Xiao Yan entered the main hall, where Dou Di experts and the Four Great Clans had gathered while waiting for something. He noticed Sun Hanxi was missing and suspected the Zhuo Clan had killed him; as the Zhuo Clan arrived, Sun Shuo fixed them with a murderous glare.

• Xiao Yan entered the crowded hall, and the wary experts turned hostile at the sight of another arrival.
• Xiao Yan recognized the three black-robed brothers he had fought, then made his way toward the hall’s depths.
• Xiao Yan found the Huo Clan and Bai Clan gathered there, but saw no sign of Bai Zhan.
• Xiao Yan noticed Sun Hanxi was absent and concluded that the Zhuo Clan was the likely culprit behind his death.
• The Zhuo Clan arrived, and Sun Shuo opened his scarlet eyes and locked his killing gaze onto them.

Sun Shuo attacked the Zhuo Clan in a furious rage, and Zhuo Lin learned that Sun Hanxi had been killed. The chapter left Zhuo Lin suspecting Bai Ying might be connected to Sun Hanxi’s death.

• Sun Shuo charged Zhuo Lin and fought Zhuo Bentang, overwhelming the Zhuo Clan party with his attacks.
• Zhuo Lin restrained the Sun Clan’s younger members with his presence and demanded to know why Sun Shuo had attacked.
• A Sun Clan disciple accused Zhuo Lin’s side of killing Sun Hanxi.
• Zhuo Lin questioned why Sun Hanxi’s death implicated the Zhuo Clan and fixed his gaze on Bai Ying.

Zhuo Lin stopped Sun Shuo’s attack and argued that Bai Zhan, not the Zhuo Clan, had killed Sun Hanxi. Sun Shuo began to question Bai Zhan’s role, while Bai Zhan concealed his identity in the crowd and remained confident that he had prepared for Zhuo Lin’s suspicions.

• Zhuo Lin suspected the Bai Clan of trying to turn the Sun Clan against the Zhuo Clan, while Bai Ying recognized Zhuo Lin’s suspicion and dismissed him inwardly.
• Zhuo Lin and Zhuo Bentang combined their pressure to force Sun Shuo back, and Zhuo Lin insisted that the Zhuo Clan had not killed Sun Hanxi.
• Zhuo Lin accused Bai Zhan of being the killer, startling Sun Shuo, Bai Ying, Xiao Yan, and a hidden black-robed figure.
• The black-robed figure was revealed in his thoughts to be Bai Zhan, who believed he had guarded against Zhuo Lin’s suspicions.
• Zhuo Lin argued that Bai Zhan had secretly advanced beyond Nine-Star Half-Emperor and had threatened Sun Hanxi, leaving Sun Shuo with reason to doubt him.

Sun Shuo recognized a ruler mark on Sun Hanxi’s corpse and accused Xiao Yan of killing his son, shifting suspicion away from the Bai Clan. As Xiao Yan suspected Bai Ying had framed him, a sealed stone door opened to reveal a vast chamber.

• Sun Shuo saw Sun Hanxi’s corpse and swore to avenge his son, then recognized the ruler-shaped wound on his face.
• Sun Shuo identified Xiao Yan as Sun Hanxi’s killer, and Zhuo Lin and the others redirected their attention toward Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan realized he had not made the ruler mark and suspected Bai Ying had arranged the murder to frame him.
• Bai Zhan sneered as the blame shifted toward Xiao Yan.
• The great hall shook, and a sealed stone door rose to reveal a larger chamber filled with golden light.

The stone door opened onto a vast golden platform filled with valuable weapons, scrolls, and pills, sparking a fierce scramble among the Dou Di experts. As a huge formation appeared beneath the platform, Zhuo Lin searched the black-robed people from Shenzhou for someone who was missing.

• Huo Ba and Huo Tianyi rushed through the opened stone door, and the other Dou Di experts followed.
• Xiao Yan entered last and saw the tiered platform and the treasures suspended above it.
• The Dou Di experts rushed to seize the treasures, fighting so fiercely that several were badly wounded.
• The Four Great Clans' leaders held back while Xiao Yan kept his distance from the battle.
• The platform trembled and lit up as strange lines formed a huge formation beneath the crowd.
• Zhuo Lin scanned the black-robed people from Shenzhou, wondering where a certain person was.

Ten golden, formation-protected gorillas attacked the people on the stone platform, turning the struggle for its treasures into chaos. As Huo Ba and the other clans raced toward the center, Xiao Yan used Heavenly Severing Steps and vanished, intent on reaching the sphere containing a mysterious scroll.

• Ten golden gorillas appeared and began attacking the people on the stone platform, killing and injuring several Dou Di experts.
• Xiao Yan focused on a sphere containing a mysterious scroll and decided to seize it.
• Huo Ba charged one gorilla, but its protective formation let it withstand his attack and force him back.
• Huo Ba raced toward the platform's center, prompting members of the other three clans to pursue him.
• The Mid-Level Dou Di experts fought over the spheres as the gorillas and clan members added to the chaos.
• Xiao Yan activated Heavenly Severing Steps and vanished from the stone platform.

Xiao Yan seized an ancient scroll amid the battle on the stone platform, drawing the attention of a giant beast and the surrounding Dou Di experts. After the beast cornered him, he discovered the Spirit Stone powering it and removed it, causing its hand to shatter.

• Ten giant beasts attacked everyone on the stone platform while experts fought over the orbs and ancient scrolls.
• Xiao Yan took an ancient scroll from a fallen Dou Di expert and escaped the giant beast’s punch, but other experts saw him store the scroll.
• The giant beast repeatedly attacked Xiao Yan as nearby Dou Di experts waited to take his Storage Ring.
• A black light struck the beast’s fist, and Xiao Yan spotted the Spirit Stone in its palm.
• Xiao Yan passed through a pitch-black curtain, pulled the Spirit Stone from the beast’s palm, and stored it in his Storage Ring.
• The giant beast’s hand shattered as its palm closed around Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan discovered that the giant beasts relied on Spirit Stones in their palms, and that removing the stones weakened them enough for him to destroy them. After defeating two beasts and collecting their stones, he immediately moved on to attack another.

• Xiao Yan dodged a giant beast's punch, hid the Spirit Stone he had taken, and saw that the beast could no longer regenerate its shattered palm or attack as quickly.
• Xiao Yan struck the weakened beast and sent it crashing onto the stone platforms, then collected its second Spirit Stone as the beast broke apart.
• Xiao Yan concluded that each beast had two Spirit Stones in its palms and chose another giant beast to attack.
• Xiao Yan summoned a giant serpent to knock open the beast's fist, exposed its Spirit Stone, and blasted apart its palm.
• Xiao Yan appeared above the beast and struck its forehead, causing its body to crack and explode before the watching Dou Di experts.

Xiao Yan killed five of the ten giant beasts before an immense pressure drew the Dou Di experts toward the summit of the stone platform. He continued climbing without slowing, leaving the others stunned by his apparent resistance to the pressure.

• Xiao Yan and the One-Horned Whale Serpent killed half of the ten giant beasts, and the remaining five recoiled from Xiao Yan in fear.
• An ancient pressure swept across the space, and the Dou Di experts rushed onto the stone platform toward its summit.
• The pressure grew stronger with every step, forcing most of the experts to slow down or collapse while several body cultivators mocked them.
• Xiao Yan used his black robe to shed some of the pressure and climbed rapidly past the struggling experts.
• The curly-bearded body cultivators watched Xiao Yan cross a hundred steps without slowing and realized his strength or physical cultivation was extraordinary.

Xiao Yan pushed up the pressure-laden stone platform until his strength failed just short of the top, impressing the Four Great Clans. The One-Horned Whale Serpent emerged from his sleeve and carried him past the clansmen to the summit.

• Xiao Yan raced up the stone platform using his physical strength, but the growing pressure eventually forced him to collapse near the top.
• Huo Ba, Bai Ying, Zhuo Bentang, and Zhuo Lin watched Xiao Yan and remarked on his formidable strength, while Zhuo Lin suspected the black-robed man’s identity.
• The One-Horned Whale Serpent emerged from Xiao Yan’s sleeve and unleashed its bloodline power, disrupting the pressure around the platform.
• Huo Ba considered taking the One-Horned Whale Serpent for himself, but Bai Ying warned that it already had a master, and Zhuo Lin hinted that Xiao Yan might be stronger than the serpent.
• The One-Horned Whale Serpent wrapped Xiao Yan in its tail and charged through the pressure, reaching the top of the stone platform ahead of the Four Great Clans.

Xiao Yan reached the plaza at the summit of the ruins and found a formation, a statue resembling the woman from the maze, and a glowing golden light that the Four Great Clans suspected was an inheritance. Nearly thirty Dou Di experts eventually gathered, but no one dared enter the formation to claim it.

• Xiao Yan examined the circular plaza and recognized the statue as the woman he had encountered in the maze.
• Huo Ba and Huo Tianyi arrived, followed by Bai Ying, Sun Shuo, Zhuo Bentang, and Zhuo Lin with their clans.
• The One-Horned Whale Serpent roared when Bai Ying asked Xiao Yan's name, and the Four Great Clans backed away without getting an answer.
• The gathered clans noticed the golden light in the statue's hands and suspected it was the source of the pressure and an inheritance.
• Nearly thirty Dou Di experts reached the plaza, but none dared approach the formation and its golden light.

Xiao Yan watched as Mu Kunlun provoked the crowd into a fight, then used the clash to lure a fat Dou Di into the great formation. The formation killed the fat old man, leaving the gathered experts even more wary of entering.

• Xiao Yan stayed concealed among the crowd and waited for someone else to test the great formation.
• Mu Kunlun revealed the Coiling Dragon Staff and challenged the fat old man after the crowd provoked him.
• Mu Kunlun struck the fat old man and sent him crashing onto the ground within the great formation.
• The golden runes beneath the fat old man activated, and a streak of golden light pierced his chest as he tried to flee.
• The formation enveloped the fat old man and made his body vanish, chilling everyone present.

The grand formation activated over the square and killed Dou Di experts with overwhelming golden beams, trapping Xiao Yan and the survivors with no way to retreat. After the formation struck again and killed nearly ten more experts, Xiao Yan remained unable to find a flaw or a way to survive.

• Thirty-one stone pedestals released golden pillars that joined into a vast formation over the square.
• The formation fired a golden beam that killed two Dou Di experts who failed to dodge.
• The survivors discovered the stone steps had vanished, leaving a bottomless abyss where the exit had been.
• Xiao Yan searched the square for a flaw but found none and feared the ruins were a trap.
• The formation attacked again, killing nearly ten Dou Di experts with two golden beams.

The golden formation repeatedly fired pillars that killed Dou Di powerhouses, and Zhuo Lin realized they would continue until they claimed a life. A wiry old man pushed a survivor into a pillar to halt the formation temporarily, and Zhuo Lin then spotted a possible way to break it.

• The golden formation sent successive pillars at the Dou Di powerhouses, and Xiao Yan narrowly dodged one that burned away part of his robe.
• Three Dou Di powerhouses died when they failed to escape the pillars.
• Zhuo Lin concluded that the pillars would keep falling until they took a life.
• A wiry old man shoved a white-haired old man into a descending pillar, killing him and stopping the formation temporarily.
• The wiry old man argued that his act had bought everyone time, leaving the crowd silent.
• Zhuo Lin studied the stone blocks in the square and said he had found a way to break the formation.

After the Heaven-Soaring Grand Formation killed more Dou Di experts, Zhuo Lin offered to lead the survivors in breaking it and demanded they cooperate. As another attack began, Xiao Yan and the other experts joined the alliance, leaving them facing two enormous pillars of golden light.

• The golden formation fired again, killing several Dou Di experts and making the survivors wary of one another.
• Zhuo Lin proposed cooperation, and Huo Ba asked him to give the crowd a convincing reason to agree.
• Zhuo Lin claimed he could lead them in breaking the formation, surprising Xiao Yan and the other experts.
• Huo Ba and Bai Ying agreed to cooperate, while Sun Shuo signaled his agreement by stepping forward.
• Zhuo Lin warned the remaining experts that he would not protect those who refused to join, and Xiao Yan stepped forward to join the group.
• All the Dou Di experts joined the alliance just as two enormous golden pillars shot toward them.

Zhuo Lin explained that the lotus-shaped stone pedestals powered the formation, and Xiao Yan proved it by destroying one with Eight Extremes Blast, causing a golden pillar to burst apart. The Dou Di experts began attacking the pedestals, while Zhuo Lin watched Xiao Yan and questioned his identity.

• Zhuo Lin claimed the stone pedestals powered the formation and said destroying them would break it.
• A brocade-robed old man attacked a pedestal, but the formation remained intact because a protective golden layer shielded it.
• Xiao Yan struck a pedestal with Eight Extremes Blast, shattering it and causing one descending golden pillar to burst apart.
• The Dou Di experts rushed to attack the pedestals, but their strikes were diverted by the spinning pedestals and their protective formation.
• Huo Ba, Bai Ying, Sun Shuo, and Zhuo Bentang attacked pedestals while Zhuo Lin watched Xiao Yan and wondered who he was.