Chapter Summaries

Wu Tianyin unleashed a peerless Dao art that shaped heaven and earth, while Shen Yun revealed a fourfold mana that shocked the Azure Venerable. As Wu Tianyin charged with his Universe Battle Halberd, Shen Yun completed all Five Elements and answered with the Five-Colored Divine Light.

• Wu Tianyin formed the clear and turbid qi of heaven and earth into the Universe Battle Halberd, drawing praise from the Ninth Prince and Marquis Ping Ding.
• Shen Yun reversed his Five Elements mana, confusing the spectators and making the Azure Venerable realize he had achieved fourfold mana.
• Wu Tianyin attacked Shen Yun with the Universe Battle Halberd, bringing the force of heaven and earth down on him.
• Shen Yun drew Gold Element Mana from his Immortal Spirit Root, completed all Five Elements, and unleashed the Five-Colored Divine Light.

Shen Yun defeated Wu Tianyin with the Great Five Elements Dao and became the Martial Champion, earning the Northern Wasteland's celebration and the Immortal Dynasty's recognition. As the top hundred were summoned to receive offices, Dugu Galuo revealed that she had come to find Shen Yun's teacher.

• Shen Yun's Five-Colored Divine Light shattered Wu Tianyin's Universe Battle Halberd, and Wu Tianyin admitted defeat.
• The Central Continent cultivators accepted the loss, while the Northern Wasteland contingent celebrated Shen Yun's victory.
• Shen Yun and Wu Tianyin acknowledged each other's strength, and Wu Tianyin warned Shen Yun to beware of the Overlord.
• The Ninth Prince announced that the top hundred would gather at Lingxiao Palace in three days to receive Immortal Dynasty offices from the Human Emperor.
• The Ninth Prince asked Dugu Galuo whether she had come for Shen Yun, and she replied that she had come to find his teacher.

Dugu Galuo summoned Shen Yun and revealed that the Cultivation World was approaching the Age of Dharma’s End. She warned that the Great Gan Immortal Dynasty faced its greatest trial yet as the era’s signs appeared.

• After receiving a hidden Divine Sense transmission, Shen Yun sent Shen Qingruo and the others away and went to meet Dugu Galuo on the high platform.
• Dugu Galuo asked Shen Yun about the Cultivation World and its dazzling era, and he connected its rise and decline to the Destiny Artifact.
• Dugu Galuo offered to answer one question, and Shen Yun asked what would happen when the era ended.
• Dugu Galuo told Shen Yun that heaven and earth would enter the Age of Dharma’s End, shocking him and Azure Dragon.
• Dugu Galuo said the Age of Dharma’s End had shown signs long ago and warned that Wolves Devouring the Dragon would bring Great Gan its sternest trial since the dynasty’s founding.

Shen Yun learned that Great Gan was seeking a Destiny Artifact to endure the coming Killing Tribulation, while Dugu Galuo asked him to contact his elusive teacher, Fang Tianyi. After discussing Fang Tianyi’s ties to the Fang Family, Shen Yun encountered Master Wu Nian waiting for him near the Great Thunder Sound Temple.

• Shen Yun realized that Great Gan’s imperial examinations were meant to help find a Destiny Artifact, and Azure Dragon silently relied on Shen Yun to survive the Age of Dharma's End.
• Dugu Galuo asked Shen Yun to contact Fang Tianyi, but Shen Yun said he had last seen his teacher nine years earlier in the Canglang Mountain Range.
• Shen Yun explained that he had only recently received the Great Five Elements Dao, leaving Dugu Galuo astonished by Fang Tianyi’s hands-off teaching.
• Dugu Galuo told Shen Yun that the Fang Family descended from followers of Fang Tianyi and that Fang Guanglie guarded Great Gan’s borders against the Ghost King Sect.
• As Shen Yun walked through the northern city toward the Great Thunder Sound Temple, Master Wu Nian appeared and waited for him.

Master Wu Nian warned Shen Yun that the Great Gan Immortal Dynasty’s destiny was poisoned, but Shen Yun decided he no longer needed dynastic power and considered seeking merit instead. At the Luo River, Wu Nian met his hidden master, who revealed that Shen Yun possessed an Innate Dao Body and planned to use him to awaken the Nine Nether Demon God.

• Master Wu Nian privately warned Shen Yun not to become entangled with the Great Gan Immortal Dynasty because its destiny was poisoned.
• Shen Yun and Azure Dragon discussed the warning, and Shen Yun concluded he could cultivate without relying on dynastic destiny.
• Shen Yun asked whether intervening could earn him Power of Merit, and Azure Dragon judged the chance high.
• Master Wu Nian hurried out of the city and met a half-bodied old man at the Luo River, addressing him as his master.
• The old man told Master Wu Nian that Shen Yun possessed an Innate Dao Body and said the Nether God Sect could use his help to awaken the Nine Nether Demon God and destroy the Great Gan Immortal Dynasty.

Master Wu Nian learned that his master, Ming Feng, planned to help the Nether God Sect bring down the Great Gan Immortal Dynasty, and he agreed to assist despite his earlier doubts. Ming Feng laid out their plan to seize Great Gan’s Destiny Artifact and warned Wu Nian not to oppose Shen Yun unless necessary.

• Ming Feng recalled how Master Wu Nian had offered his life to help him and become his disciple, then revealed his belief that Chaos Qi belonged to an Innate Divine Being.
• Ming Feng persuaded Master Wu Nian to support the destruction of Great Gan by invoking the woman Wu Nian cared about, and Wu Nian asked what they should do.
• Ming Feng listed the forces expected to join the coming upheaval and explained that Great Gan meant to use a Destiny Artifact to suppress the calamity.
• Master Wu Nian agreed to monitor Great Gan and seize the Destiny Artifact, while Ming Feng promised to find helpers from the Heavenly Crafts Pavilion, Ghost King Sect, and Pill Cauldron Sect.
• Ming Feng told Master Wu Nian to avoid becoming Shen Yun’s enemy because Shen Yun was key to awakening the Nether God, but said he would intervene if Shen Yun refused to be enlightened.

After the imperial examination, Shen Yun and Shen Qingruo enjoyed a leisurely day in the capital before encountering the arrogant disciples of the Pill Cauldron Sect. Shen Yun spotted Master Wu Nian heading into their medicine hall and decided to follow him with Shen Qingruo.

• Shen Yun and Shen Qingruo toured the capital, and Shen Yun cherished the safety talisman she had made for him.
• The pair overheard rumors about Shen Yun’s examination victory and the Joyful Union Sect Saintess, then continued to Spirit Medicine Hall.
• Dan Xuan and other Pill Cauldron Sect disciples swaggered into their medicine hall while boasting about Dan Yangzi’s alchemy examination victory and his interest in Li Shuying.
• Shen Yun and Shen Qingruo heard that the Pill Cauldron Sect planned an auction attended by Venerable Ling Yan, and Shen Qingruo worried about the sect’s growing power.
• Shen Yun spotted Master Wu Nian heading toward the Pill Cauldron Sect’s residence and brought Shen Qingruo inside to investigate.

Shen Yun visited the Pill Cauldron Hall, decided to buy a Phoenix Leaf, and secretly listened in on a confrontation upstairs. Master Wu Nian demanded to know why Dan Yangzi had made Li Shuying cultivate the Life Devouring Art, but Li Shuying said she had chosen it herself, leaving Wu Nian stunned.

• Shen Yun admired the Pill Cauldron Hall’s collection and decided to spend his High-grade Spirit Stones on a Phoenix Leaf.
• Shen Yun sensed a confrontation upstairs and used Chaos Energy and the Great Five Elements Dao to probe through the isolation formation.
• Shen Yun sent Wu Yao to help Shen Qingruo hear the argument while he listened in himself.
• Master Wu Nian confronted Dan Yangzi over making Li Shuying cultivate the Life Devouring Art and offered to protect her.
• Li Shuying said cultivating the Life Devouring Art had been her own choice, and Master Wu Nian staggered in shock.

Li Shuying rejected Master Wu Nian and chose to remain with the Pill Cauldron Sect, while Wu Nian agreed to attend the Vice Sect Master's pill refinement at Ghost Cry Ridge. After hearing the exchange, Shen Yun suspected the sect was involved in a hidden scheme and decided to investigate in person.

• Master Wu Nian tried to persuade Li Shuying to abandon the Life Devouring Art, but she insisted she wanted control of her own fate and chose to cultivate in the Pill Cauldron Sect.
• Dan Yangzi dismissed his disciples after Master Wu Nian's glare frightened them, then invited Wu Nian and his hidden master to help refine a sixth-rank Soul Dao Great Pill at Ghost Cry Ridge.
• Ming Feng instructed Master Wu Nian to say his master would attend, and Dan Yangzi set the meeting for the hour of Xu that night.
• Dan Yangzi told Li Shuying that the souls of her companions had already perished, and she clenched her hands until blood seeped from them.
• Shen Yun connected Li Shuying's aura to Old Man Li of Tianhua Prefecture, suspected the Pill Cauldron Sect was conducting a secret scheme, and decided to go to Ghost Cry Ridge.

Shen Yun bought the Phoenix Leaf and other materials, then learned that the upcoming auction would bring together the Three Great Sects and several Nascent Soul experts. Meanwhile, Venerable Ling Yan used trapped souls to refine a pill at Ghost Cry Ridge, where he sensed an intruder.

• Shen Yun purchased the Phoenix Leaf for two thousand High-grade Spirit Stones, and the crowd recognized him as the martial examination champion who had defeated the Heir of the Martial Marquis.
• Shen Yun bought pill formulas and medicinal materials, then learned that Venerable Ling Yan, Venerable Qian Ji, and Venerable Jin Fu would attend the auction hosted by the Three Great Sects.
• Shen Yun asked about array dao and heard that Marquis Guangcheng had recruited a disciple of Mister Lianshan, a fifth-grade spirit array master.
• Venerable Qian Ji watched Shen Yun leave and recalled that his disciple Jun Lingzi had suffered a soul-loss affliction after losing to Shen Yun in the Northern Wasteland.
• At Ghost Cry Ridge, Venerable Ling Yan fed remnant souls into a cauldron and began refining the Three Souls Nether God Pill while Dan Yangzi watched.
• Venerable Ling Yan sensed someone near the mountain wall and demanded that the intruder reveal themselves.

Shen Yun and Jian Wushuang secretly watched the Pill Cauldron Sect’s leaders gather and learned that they were pursuing clues to a Destiny Artifact. A mysterious being calling himself Ming Feng demonstrated overwhelming power, then ordered the leaders to watch the top three of the martial examination.

• Venerable Ling Yan killed a Mirror Division envoy who had followed him to Ghost Cry Ridge.
• Shen Yun and Jian Wushuang hid near the Pill Cauldron Sect’s cauldron, where Jian Wushuang identified the pill as the Three Souls Nether God Pill, made from living souls.
• Venerable Qian Ji arrived and explained that Jin Fu was negotiating with the Ghost King Sect; Master Wu Nian then appeared with a terrifying Divine Sense.
• Shen Yun called on Wu Yao to conceal him and Jian Wushuang from Master Wu Nian’s probing Divine Sense.
• Calling himself Ming Feng, Master Wu Nian gathered and refined ghost qi to complete the Three Souls Nether God Pill, astonishing Venerable Ling Yan and Venerable Qian Ji.
• Ming Feng told the gathered leaders to watch the top three of the martial examination because they held clues to the Destiny Artifact.

Ming Feng persuaded the sect leaders to wait for Great Gan’s destiny artifact and exploit the coming chaos, while secretly manipulating them for his own ends. Shen Yun and Jian Wushuang overheard the plot, then launched a devastating surprise attack alongside Azure Dragon.

• Ming Feng told Venerable Ling Yan, Venerable Qian Ji, and Dan Yangzi that Great Gan would seek the destiny artifact within two months and urged them to wait for an opportunity.
• Venerable Ling Yan considered using the Phoenix Robe Creation Pill to seize others’ destiny, while Ming Feng privately revealed that the pill formula was a trap he had planted.
• Venerable Qian Ji proposed killing more geniuses, but Ming Feng forbade the group from harming Shen Yun.
• Shen Yun and Jian Wushuang listened from the forest as the schemers divided the bodies and souls of their intended victims.
• Shen Yun and Jian Wushuang, aided by Azure Dragon, unleashed a sudden assault that leveled the mountaintop and swallowed the four schemers in divine light.

Shen Yun, Azure Dragon, and Jian Wushuang fought Ming Feng, whose Mirage Glazed Bead repeatedly trapped them in illusions and let him evade their attacks. Shen Yun used the Power of Merit to dispel the illusions and seize the bead, leaving Ming Feng beaten at the bottom of a pit.

• Shen Yun, Azure Dragon, and Jian Wushuang crushed Ming Feng's allies, killing Venerable Ling Yan and leaving Venerable Qian Ji, Dan Yangzi, and Master Wu Nian gravely injured.
• Shen Yun and Azure Dragon attacked Ming Feng, and Jian Wushuang joined them as Ming Feng revealed the Mirage Glazed Bead and trapped them in illusions.
• Shen Yun, Azure Dragon, and Jian Wushuang broke free of repeated illusions, but Ming Feng used the bead to keep escaping their attacks.
• Shen Yun told Azure Dragon and Jian Wushuang to attack while he handled the illusions, then used the Power of Merit to dissolve the bead's effect.
• Azure Dragon and Jian Wushuang struck Ming Feng down, and Shen Yun used rune chains of merit to sever Ming Feng's connection to the Mirage Glazed Bead and take it.

Shen Yun seized Ming Feng’s Mirage Glazed Bead and used his Vast Righteous Qi to suppress the Asura summoned from the Three Souls Nether God Pill. After Azure Dragon and Jian Wushuang helped destroy it, Shen Yun collected its treasures, and Ming Feng retreated into a turtle shell.

• Shen Yun refined Ming Feng’s Mirage Glazed Bead and turned its illusion power against him.
• Ming Feng summoned an Asura with the Three Souls Nether God Pill and Asura Royal Family essence blood.
• Shen Yun’s Great Completion Vast Righteous Qi weakened the Asura, allowing Azure Dragon and Jian Wushuang to destroy it.
• Shen Yun collected the Asura’s remaining essence blood and magical weapons while Ming Feng struggled in vain.
• Ming Feng produced a turtle shell and hid inside it.

Shen Yun subdued Ming Feng after discovering that he had hidden inside an unbreakable seventh-tier Mystic Turtle shell. With Ming Feng sealed by Shen Yun’s formation and Vast Righteous Qi, Shen Yun and his companions headed to Ghost Cry Ridge to deal with the remaining aftermath.

• Shen Yun struck Ming Feng’s Mystic Turtle shell with a powerful spear, but it repelled the attack, and Azure Dragon identified it as a seventh-tier Mystic Turtle shell.
• Ming Feng boasted that even Heaven Swallowing King had failed to break the shell and tried to escape, while Azure Dragon and Jian Wushuang’s attacks could only hold it in place.
• Shen Yun used Vast Righteous Qi to pin down the shell and inscribed a formation diagram on it, then joined the two forces to seal Ming Feng inside.
• Azure Dragon and Jian Wushuang mocked the trapped Ming Feng as Shen Yun stopped their banter and prepared to handle Dan Yangzi and the others.
• Shen Yun summoned Qiongqi King, placed the Mystic Turtle shell on its back, and flew with Jian Wushuang and Azure Dragon toward Ghost Cry Ridge.

After defeating Venerable Qian Ji and Dan Yangzi, Shen Yun forced them to reveal their sects’ secrets and learned that Old Man Ming Feng was trapped inside Qiongqi King’s shell. Shen Yun killed Qian Ji, gained a great reward of merit, and sent Dan Yangzi to investigate the two sects as he prepared for the immortal official title ceremony.

• Shen Yun offered Venerable Qian Ji and Dan Yangzi a chance to live if they summoned their sects’ experts, and Qian Ji quickly betrayed the Heavenly Crafts Pavilion while Dan Yangzi pledged the Pill Cauldron Sect’s allegiance.
• Shen Yun revealed that Old Man Ming Feng was trapped inside Qiongqi King’s shell, leaving Qian Ji and Dan Yangzi stunned.
• Shen Yun killed Venerable Qian Ji, and the death of the puppet-maker brought Shen Yun a vast amount of Qi of Merit, which he shared in small portions with Azure Dragon and Jian Wushuang.
• Dan Yangzi submitted to Shen Yun’s restriction, agreed to conceal what had happened, and flew off to investigate the movements of the two sects.
• Shen Yun looked toward the capital and noted that the immortal official title would be bestowed the day after tomorrow.

After the upheaval at Ghost Cry Ridge, Great Gan Capital buzzed with rumors while the Pill Cauldron Sect and Heavenly Crafts Pavilion disciples faced public ridicule. At a literary gathering, Shen Yun was named Champion of the Scholarly Arts Tournament, and Princess Wangshu hinted that the Emperor sought him before declaring the sects were under her control.

• Rumors spread through Great Gan Capital that two powerful Dao Lords had fought a mysterious opponent, and the disciples of the Pill Cauldron Sect and Heavenly Crafts Pavilion were mocked after Venerable Qian Ji disappeared.
• Princess Wangshu held a literary gathering at Building Outside Building with Murong Jiu, Bai Qian, and other scholars.
• Bai Qian predicted that Li Xiandao would take Second Place, while the guests assumed Shen Yun would win the championship.
• A scholar announced that Shen Yun placed first, Li Xiandao second, and Tang Bozho third in the Scholarly Arts Tournament.
• After the gathering, Princess Wangshu said the Emperor was looking for Shen Yun, and Murong Jiu warned her against getting entangled with the sects.
• Princess Wangshu assured Murong Jiu that the sect members were merely chess pieces in her palm.

Princess Wangshu revealed that she had joined Wu Sheng Dao and asked Murong Jiu to investigate Shen Yun, whom she believed was key to obtaining the Destiny Artifact. Murong Jiu pretended to agree while resolving to warn Shen Yun, and Wangshu secretly ordered a watcher to monitor her.

• Murong Jiu warned Princess Wangshu that Wu Sheng Dao was a dangerous, deeply rooted Devil Dao Sect, but Wangshu dismissed her concerns.
• Wangshu told Murong Jiu that the sect world was pursuing the Destiny Artifact and asked her to investigate Shen Yun.
• Murong Jiu agreed outwardly, but decided to monitor Wangshu and report her plans to Shen Yun.
• Wangshu promised Murong Jiu ten thousand strands of dragon qi and the prosperity of Tian Ce Marquis Manor if they succeeded.
• After Murong Jiu left, Wangshu ordered a hidden watcher to monitor her and keep her alive, declaring that she would seize the Destiny Artifact and eventually control Great Gan.

Shen Yun attended the investiture ceremony and entered the palace to meet the Human Emperor, where his composure under the assembled nobles’ pressure impressed the court. He finally looked upon the Human Emperor seated on the Dragon Throne, visibly stirred.

• Shen Yun and his party prepared for the ceremony at the Ministry of Rites, while Shen Wude arrived in high spirits after selling Shen Yun’s treasures for a large profit.
• Minister Mu Guangze led Shen Yun and the other talented scholars through the cheering capital to the palace.
• Shen Yun entered Cloud Palace Heavenly Palace and climbed the steps with the assembled scholars to the imperial hall.
• The gathered kings and marquises pressed Shen Yun with their combined presence, but he remained steady and dispersed their pressure.
• Gan Changkong praised Shen Yun, who then looked toward Dugu Galuo, the elderly official, and the Human Emperor on the Dragon Throne.

At Great Gan’s appointment ceremony, Shen Yun observed the Immortal Dynasty’s immense destiny as officials announced the successful examinees’ posts. The ceremony ended with Shen Yun named Martial Examination Champion and appointed Shao Jing Si at Subordinate Third Rank.

• Emperor Qianyuan’s gaze showed Shen Yun a vision of a Divine Dragon, while Dugu Galuo watched him with a dark, unreadable look.
• The Old Grand Sorceress opened the conferral ceremony, and Mu Guangze began announcing the candidates’ official posts and ranks.
• Shen Wude chose the post of Director of the Imperial Kitchen after placing in both the Martial Examination and Scholarly Arts Tournament.
• Mu Guangze called for Master Wu Nian, but Shen Yun remembered he had left him repenting at the rear mountain of the Great Thunder Sound Temple.
• Mu Guangze announced posts for the champions, then named Shen Yun Martial Examination Champion and appointed him Shao Jing Si, Subordinate Third Rank.