Chapter Summaries

Chen Xiao arrived at the Ancient Saint Mountain Range and reunited with Xun Er, whose welcome openly showed the Ancient Clan elders her commitment to him. As Xun Er explained the Heaven Tomb and proposed using an Ice Soul Talisman to bring Chen Xiao inside, Qing Lin left the bamboo house to walk alone.

• Gu Rui told Chen Xiao that the Ancient Clan ceremony was still some time away, and Chen Xiao accepted the clan's noncommittal position.
• Chen Xiao and Qing Lin reached the Ancient Saint Mountain Range, where Xun Er flew to meet them and embraced Chen Xiao's arm.
• Xun Er brought Chen Xiao and Qing Lin to her residence, while Gu Yuan watched their arrival and restrained himself from intervening.
• Xun Er described the Heaven Tomb's energy cores, time dilation, restrictions, and three levels to Chen Xiao and Qing Lin.
• Xun Er suggested using the Ice Soul Talisman to summon Chen Xiao into the Heaven Tomb, and Chen Xiao approved the plan.
• Qing Lin excused herself from the bamboo house to walk around the Ancient Clan alone.

Chen Xiao attended Xun Er's coming-of-age ceremony, where her test revealed a Divine-grade Bloodline and earned her the Ancient Clan's Seven-Colored Clan Mark. The ceremony ended with Gu Dao inviting Chen Xiao to meet him at Ancient Saint Mountain Peak.

• Chen Xiao told Xun Er and Qing Lin that the returning Grand Elder Zhu Hong was powerful enough to rank among the continent's strongest experts.
• Chen Xiao, Xun Er, and Qing Lin arrived at the ceremony, where Xun Er warned Chen Xiao about the Yan and Yao Clans and Chen Xiao asked Qing Lin to have Zi Yan monitor the Stone Realm.
• The Ancient Clan began the ceremony and tested its younger members, granting Ling Quan a Golden Clan Mark before calling Xun Er forward.
• Xun Er's Star Disk revealed ten stars and a Divine-grade Bloodline, then shattered beneath her power.
• An elder used the Seven-Colored Heavenly Emperor Brush to give Xun Er a Seven-Colored Clan Mark, and Gu Dao invited Chen Xiao to meet him after the ceremony.

Chen Xiao met with Gu Yuan and the Ancient Clan’s other leading experts to seek permission to take Xun Er away after the Heaven Tomb trip. Gu Yuan agreed to let Xun Er decide, then confronted Chen Xiao about the Xiao Family’s piece of Tou She Ancient God Jade, and Chen Xiao admitted he had it.

• Chen Xiao left Qing Lin and flew to meet the Ancient Clan’s leaders, where Gu Dao brought him into a pavilion with Gu Yuan, Gu Heng, Gu Yao, and the Black Seal King.
• Gu Heng pressed Chen Xiao to explain his rapid cultivation, and Chen Xiao rebuffed the question and invited him to ask again after Chen Xiao took Xun Er away.
• Chen Xiao argued that he could protect Xun Er and help her advance faster, and Gu Yuan agreed that she could decide whether to leave after the Heaven Tomb trip.
• Gu Yuan sealed the mountain peak and asked whether Chen Xiao had the Xiao Family’s piece of Tou She Ancient God Jade, and Chen Xiao calmly admitted that he did.

Chen Xiao stood up to the Ancient Clan’s doubts, and Gu Yuan agreed to loosen the restrictions on Xun Er after the Heaven Tomb trial. As the Heaven Tomb opened, Chen Xiao confronted the Soul Clan’s entrants, while Xun Er prepared to enter with the other clan heirs.

• Chen Xiao warned the Ancient Clan not to waste time on him and left; Gu Dao and the Black Seal King urged Gu Yuan to let Xun Er interact more with him, and Gu Yuan agreed to explain the decision after the Heaven Tomb.
• On the day the Heaven Tomb opened, Xun Er took Chen Xiao and Qing Lin toward the site, where Mang Tianchi introduced Thunder Clan entrants Lei Luo and Lei Ming.
• Chen Xiao confronted Hun Ya and Hun Li when Hun Ya challenged his right to enter, slapping the Soul Clan elder Hun Lin through him; Hun Lin restrained Hun Ya and avoided a fight.
• Elder Tong Xuan opened the Heaven Tomb and explained the entry limit and three-year stay; the Ancient Clan, Soul Clan, Thunder Clan, Yan Clan, and Yao Clan entrants entered.
• After the others went in, Xun Er said goodbye to Chen Xiao and Qing Lin and entered the Heaven Tomb with four Ice Soul Talismans.

After entering the Heaven Tomb, Xun Er crossed its first level and summoned Chen Xiao at the entrance to the second, where he helped her gather Energy Cores and advance her cultivation. They reached the third-level passage and discovered an Ancient Devouring Insect nest containing a queen that they planned to collect later.

• Chen Xiao returned with Qing Lin and said he would go into seclusion while Xun Er was inside the Heaven Tomb.
• Xun Er crossed the first level alone for two months, then crushed an Ice Soul Talisman to summon Chen Xiao at the entrance to the second level.
• Chen Xiao and Xun Er entered the second level, where he gathered Energy Cores for her to absorb; after four months, she advanced to the second revolution.
• Chen Xiao broke through the sealed passage to the third level, and they found Ancient Devouring Insects had filled its crystal walls and were blocking the way.
• Chen Xiao and Xun Er spotted the Ancient Devouring Insect queen and decided to leave it there and collect it on their way out.

Chen Xiao sent an incarnation into the Heaven Tomb’s third level to meet Xiao Xuan while another protected Xun Er. After revealing the Xiao Family’s destruction and Xiao Chen’s fate as the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame’s Fire Slave, Chen Xiao provoked Xiao Xuan into appearing and was invited into his Tomb Mansion.

• Chen Xiao and Xun Er entered the Heaven Tomb’s third level, where Chen Xiao sent an incarnation to protect her and continued toward Xiao Xuan’s Tomb Mansion.
• In the Ancient Realm, Chen Xiao learned from Zi Yan that the Soul Clan had gathered over ten Dou Saint experts near the Stone Realm, including Nihility Devouring Flame, and asked a Grand Elder to act secretly.
• Chen Xiao made Blood Saber Saint guide him through the third level until they reached Xiao Xuan’s dark territory.
• Chen Xiao announced that the Xiao Family had been destroyed by the Soul Hall and that Xiao Chen had become the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame’s Fire Slave, stirring Xiao Xuan’s overwhelming aura.
• Xiao Xuan appeared before Chen Xiao, demonstrated how to enter his Tomb Mansion, and invited him inside to explain his intentions.

Chen Xiao met Xiao Xuan in the Heaven Tomb, learned about the Xiao Clan’s decline and the secrets of the Tomb, and refused Xiao Xuan’s offer to exchange his blood and join the clan. Xiao Xuan still explained that controlling the Heaven Tomb required an Emperor Realm Soul, leaving Chen Xiao with the knowledge but not the offered power.

• Xiao Xuan told Chen Xiao that his remnant soul could not survive outside the Heaven Tomb and asked about the Xiao Clan’s current situation.
• Chen Xiao recounted the Xiao Family’s decline, Xiao Yan’s growth, and the Soul Hall’s actions, then told Xiao Xuan that Xiao Chen had become a Fire Slave.
• Xiao Xuan revealed that the Soul of the Heaven Tomb could help someone advance to an Emperor Realm Soul and offered Chen Xiao the Xiao Clan’s sealed bloodline power in exchange for changing his blood.
• Chen Xiao refused to abandon his own bloodline and become a member of the Xiao Clan.
• Xiao Xuan explained that an Emperor Realm Soul was the minimum requirement to control the Heaven Tomb and described the Soul of the Heaven Tomb as its core.

Xiao Xuan asked Chen Xiao to pass the complete Heavenly Flame Three Profound Transformations to Xiao Yan and try to rescue Xiao Chen, then spent two years talking with him in the Heaven Tomb. Meanwhile, Xun Er reached Eight-Revolutions Dou Zun, and Chen Xiao defeated two Soul Clan Dou Saints after they confronted him and Xun Er.

• Xiao Xuan gave Chen Xiao the true Heavenly Flame Three Profound Transformations to deliver to Xiao Yan and asked him to try to rescue Xiao Chen in exchange for help with the Heaven Tomb.
• Chen Xiao told Xiao Xuan about the Soul Clan's destruction of the Spirit Clan and its plans against the Stone Clan, and they talked for two years.
• Xun Er reached Eight-Revolutions Dou Zun while Chen Xiao told her that the Soul Clan had destroyed the Stone Clan and that the four clans had formed an alliance.
• Hun Ya and Hun Li spotted Chen Xiao and Xun Er, fled, and summoned Hun Diao and Hun Bi, two Soul Clan Dou Saints.
• Hun Diao and Hun Bi attacked Chen Xiao and Xun Er, but Chen Xiao revealed his Four-Star Dou Saint strength and killed them with the Great Heaven Creation Palm.

Chen Xiao and Xun Er dealt with Hun Ya and Hun Li, then Xun Er cultivated in Xiao Xuan's Tomb Mansion and broke through to peak Nine-Revolutions Dou Venerate. With the three-year Heaven Tomb deadline approaching, Xiao Xuan sent Xun Er back with a warning for Gu Yuan about the Ancient Clan's treatment of the Xiao Clan.

• Xun Er killed Hun Ya and Hun Li and took their Storage Rings after the Blood Saber Saint brought Hun Li to Chen Xiao.
• Chen Xiao sent Xun Er to cultivate at Xiao Xuan's Tomb Mansion, where she met Xiao Xuan while Chen Xiao continued trading chess games for his knowledge.
• Chen Xiao obtained Xiao Xuan's notes on the Insect Emperor Robe and Ancient Devouring Insects, and they agreed that Chen Xiao would keep Xiao Chen unharmed for three years if he won a game.
• After half a year at the Tomb Mansion, Xun Er broke through from Nine-Star Dou Venerate to peak Nine-Revolutions Dou Venerate.
• As the Heaven Tomb deadline drew near, Xiao Xuan told Xun Er to pass a message to Gu Yuan about the dwindling Xiao Clan, and Xun Er promised to relay it.

The Heaven Tomb’s survivors emerged, revealing Xun Er’s immense cultivation advance and the deaths of Hun Ya and Hun Li, whose deaths sparked a confrontation with the Soul Clan. The next morning, Chen Xiao, Qing Lin, and Xun Er left the Ancient Realm aboard a Void-Shuttling Boat, bound for home and future plans.

• Lei Luo, Lei Ming, Huo Zhi, and the surviving Ancient Clan members emerged from the Heaven Tomb with improved strength, while Hun Ya and Hun Li came out dead.
• Xun Er emerged at the peak of Nine-Revolutions Dou Venerate and told Elder Tong Xuan that Hun Ya and Hun Li had tried to ambush her after provoking Chen Xiao.
• Hun Lin and another Soul Clan elder arrived for the bodies and threatened revenge, but Xun Er challenged them to ambush her and Chen Xiao after they left the Ancient Realm.
• Chen Xiao learned that the Space Trading Fair would take place in less than four months and planned to send Heavenly Flame Honored One to acquire a remnant-map piece; Qing Lin also showed him an unidentified Black Stone.
• Gu Yuan said he would bring Xun Er back if Chen Xiao could not ensure her safety, then Chen Xiao, Qing Lin, and Xun Er boarded a Void-Shuttling Boat and departed the Ancient Realm.

Chen Xiao, Xun Er, and Qing Lin returned to Dragon Island and found it greatly expanded and strengthened after the Ancient Dragon Clan elders reunited the islands. Zhu Hong welcomed Chen Xiao, pledged the elders’ support, and offered resources taken from the Stone Clan as they prepared to help rescue the Old Dragon Emperor.

• Chen Xiao, Xun Er, and Qing Lin left Ancient Saint City and traveled through Void Space to Dragon Island.
• Chen Xiao and his companions discovered that the islands had been joined, Dragon Island had grown nearly fivefold, and twenty Dou Saint experts now lived there.
• Zi Yan, Xiao Yi Xian, Cai Lin, and Cao Ying welcomed Xun Er and Qing Lin as Zhu Hong and Great Elder Qingshan greeted Chen Xiao.
• Zhu Hong explained that he served as Dragon Concealment, who commanded Dragon Abyss Hall while Qingshan and the other elders retained their positions.
• Zhu Hong offered the elders’ aid and Stone Clan spoils to Chen Xiao, saying they would follow his arrangements if he could help rescue the Old Dragon Emperor.

Chen Xiao and his companions entered the Void Thunder Pool to help the Nine Profound Golden Thunder gather spirit and bring it under his command. After Zhu Hong subdued its attack, Chen Xiao persuaded the Thunder Dragon to let them draw out its power, and it accepted.

• Chen Xiao, Zhu Hong, Zi Yan, and Cao Ying met Elder Mo at the edge of the Void Thunder Pool, and he joined them on their journey into its depths.
• Elder Mo and Cao Ying marveled at the Nine Profound Golden Thunder, while Zhu Hong judged its strength to be near that of an early Eight-Star Dou Saint.
• The awakened Nine Profound Golden Thunder fired a bolt at the group, but Zhu Hong caught and compressed it into a Thunder Bead for Chen Xiao.
• Chen Xiao told the Thunder Dragon that surrendering its power could help it gather spirit, and it stopped resisting when he touched its scales.

Chen Xiao and Zhu Hong extracted sixteen Thunder Beads from the Nine Profound Golden Thunder, then helped it gather a spirit. After recovering and transforming into a young woman, Nine Profound accepted her name and agreed to stay in the Void Thunder Pool for a month before joining Chen Xiao’s group on Dragon Island.

• Zhu Hong extracted fifteen more Thunder Beads from the Nine Profound Golden Thunder, leaving it greatly weakened.
• Chen Xiao used Rune Seals, rare materials, and Spiritual Qi to help the Nine Profound Golden Thunder gather a spirit.
• The Nine Profound Golden Thunder succeeded, absorbed the Black Demon Thunder, and rapidly recovered to the late stage of Six-Star Dou Sheng.
• The Nine Profound Golden Thunder transformed into a young woman, chose a female form, and showed Chen Xiao her trust and gratitude.
• Chen Xiao named her Nine Profound and suggested she recover in the Void Thunder Pool before joining them on Dragon Island.
• Nine Profound agreed to recover for one month, after which Chen Xiao’s group would return to take her to Dragon Island.

Chen Xiao helped Xun Er absorb a Ninth-grade Treasure Pill-level Thunder Tribulation Pill so she could advance toward Dou Saint, then returned to the Void Thunder Pool and found that Nine Profound had reached the Eight-Star Dou Saint level. After Heavenly Flame Honored One returned with the completed Purifying Lotus Demon Fire map and news that the Bodhi Ancient Tree had appeared, Chen Xiao decided to go to the Vast Desolate Ancient Region himself.

• Chen Xiao gave Xun Er a Thunder Tribulation Pill and spent more than twenty days helping her stabilize and absorb its energy in seclusion.
• Chen Xiao went to the Void Thunder Pool and found that Nine Profound had grown into a golden thunder dragon, apparently reaching the Eight-Star Dou Saint level, then brought her back toward Dragon Island.
• Two months later, Heavenly Flame Honored One reported that Elder Zhu Feng had killed the Scorpion Demon Trio after they tried to ambush them following the Space Trading Fair.
• Chen Xiao assembled the Purifying Lotus Demon Fire Remnant Map pieces and assured the others that the plain-looking map was authentic and needed a special method to reveal its function.
• Heavenly Flame Honored One told Chen Xiao that the Bodhi Ancient Tree had appeared in the Vast Desolate Ancient Region, and Chen Xiao declared that he would go there in person.

Chen Xiao organized Purple Firmament Pavilion and the Ancient Dragon Clan’s expedition to the Bodhi Ancient Tree, naming Heavenly Flame Honored One its leader and secretly preparing Cao Ying for the tree’s dangers. He gave Cao Ying a Bodhi Seed and scheduled the group’s departure for a month later.

• Chen Xiao explained the Bodhi Ancient Tree’s treasures and risks to Purple Firmament Pavilion’s leaders and announced that their experts above Dou Venerate could join the expedition.
• Chen Xiao appointed Heavenly Flame Honored One to lead the team, ordered those below Six-Star Dou Zun not to approach the tree, and said he would follow from the shadows.
• After the others left, Chen Xiao told Cao Ying that the Bodhi Ancient Tree had been polluted by a Dou Emperor’s negative emotions and explained why he believed she might gain its favor.
• Chen Xiao handed Cao Ying the Bodhi Seed he had pre-paid for and told her to keep it for the encounter with the tree.
• Cao Ying agreed to the plan, and Chen Xiao set the expedition’s departure for one month later.

Chen Xiao and Nine Profound watched the many forces gather in Vast Desolate Town before entering the Vast Desolate Ancient Region for the Bodhi Ancient Tree. That night, Xiao Yan received a scroll containing a more complete version of the Heavenly Flame Three Profound Transformations.

• Chen Xiao explained to Nine Profound why cultivators risked their lives to pursue opportunities in the Vast Desolate Ancient Region.
• Yao Chen led the Dan Tower group, including Xiao Yan and Wind Honored One, into town and sensed that Chen Xiao and Nine Profound were powerful experts.
• The Flower Sect, Burning Flame Valley, and other forces arrived, including Cao Ying's group of Dou Venerate experts, who recognized Chen Xiao and Nine Profound.
• Chen Xiao planned to fulfill his agreement with Xiao Xuan by delivering the complete Heavenly Flame Three Profound Transformations to Xiao Yan.
• That night, Xiao Yan caught a scroll thrown through his window and realized it contained a more complete version of the Heavenly Flame Three Profound Transformations.

Chen Xiao and Jiu Xuan waited while factions entered the Vast Desolate Ancient Region, then reached the Ancient Domain Stage, where the Ancient and Yao Clans approached their allies. Yao Chen received an invitation to the Yao Clan’s Pill Canon and weighed it against his promise to honor his parents.

• The top factions entered the Vast Desolate Ancient Region together, and Chen Xiao stayed behind with Jiu Xuan until the others had time to reach the Ancient Domain Stage.
• Chen Xiao spotted the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan and sent Zi Yan a message to have the Ancient Dragon Clan deal with them.
• At the Ancient Domain Stage, Chen Xiao recognized members of the Ancient, Lei, Yan, and Yao Clans and watched from hiding with Jiu Xuan.
• Gu Qingyang asked Cao Ying about Xun Er, and Cao Ying said the opportunity would no longer be useful to her, prompting the Ancient Clan members to suspect Xun Er had reached the Dou Saint realm.
• Yao Xingji delivered Yao Chen an invitation to the Yao Clan’s Pill Canon, and Yao Chen considered attending to fulfill his promise to place his parents’ names on the Ancestral Clan Stele.

Chen Xiao and Jiu Xuan bypassed the beast tide and reached the Bodhi Ancient Tree, which pleaded with them to relieve its pain. After knocking aside five Half-Saint Puppets, Chen Xiao let the tree’s light engulf him and was transported somewhere with his Dou Qi sealed.

• Hun Yu proposed that the factions join forces to cross the beast tide, but Cao Ying refused to ally with the Soul Clan and instead formed a temporary alliance led by the Purple Firmament Pavilion with the Dan Tower and other factions.
• Chen Xiao and Jiu Xuan left the Ancient Domain Stage and crossed the vast plain of Fierce Beasts without being harmed.
• Chen Xiao and Jiu Xuan reached the Bodhi Ancient Tree, and it sent them an urgent plea for help.
• Chen Xiao told Jiu Xuan to stay behind and approached the Bodhi Heart, where five Half-Saint Puppets emerged from the tree.
• Chen Xiao swept the five Puppets away with one palm, then allowed a pillar of light to envelop him and transport him while suppressing his Dou Qi.

Chen Xiao faced Hun Tiandi in an illusion created by the Bodhi Ancient Tree and used a temporary vision of Dou Emperor power to defeat him. After realizing the scene was a trial, Chen Xiao dispelled the illusion and prepared to continue confronting the tree’s tests.

• Chen Xiao and Nine Profound encountered Hun Tiandi, who sealed the space and attacked them.
• Nine Profound carried Chen Xiao away, but Hun Tiandi effortlessly broke through their attacks and severely wounded them both.
• Chen Xiao activated a fifteen-minute advance of Dou Emperor strength, healed himself and Nine Profound, and annihilated Hun Tiandi with a pale golden light.
• Chen Xiao sensed the borrowed power before it expired, then dispersed Nine Profound and the surrounding scene as he recognized the Bodhi Ancient Tree’s illusion.
• Chen Xiao recalled that the illusion was the tree’s second trial and resolved to continue his path forward.

Chen Xiao entered the Bodhi Ancient Tree’s inner space and learned that a dead Dou Emperor’s negative emotions had tormented its Tree Spirit for over ten thousand years. After he refined five Bodhi Seeds to purge some of the corruption and gained a boost to his cultivation, Cao Ying arrived to help with the task.

• Chen Xiao watched the Tree Spirit show how a black-clothed Dou Emperor had tried to seize it, been killed with the Bodhi Ancient Tree’s help, and left his negative emotions behind.
• The Tree Spirit offered Chen Xiao twenty-four Bodhi Seeds, and he began refining five with the Bone Spirit Cold Flame to clear the corruption.
• The Bodhi Ancient Tree rewarded Chen Xiao with energy that raised him to the mid-stage of Five-Star Dou Saint, and he told the Tree Spirit that Cao Ying could refine the seeds more efficiently.
• Outside, the arriving teams faced five Half-Saint Puppets, while Cao Ying and the Purple Firmament Pavilion group overcame their obstacle and entered the tree.
• Cao Ying emerged from her illusion and found Chen Xiao waiting for her beside the Tree Spirit.