Chapter Summaries

Elder Li trapped Liu Rumei with a secret treasure and prepared to kill her, but Lin Xuan intervened and destroyed the Great Saint with a single sword strike. Liu Rumei recognized Lin Xuan, who then asked the remaining Saint Realm cultivators whether they would handle the rest themselves.

• Elder Li used a damaged compass-like Law Treasure to seal the surrounding space and prevent Liu Rumei from escaping.
• With her Secret Technique disabled, Liu Rumei prepared to burn her Essence Blood and lifespan to flee, despite the cost to her talent and cultivation.
• Lin Xuan stopped Liu Rumei's technique and unleashed Sword Qi that annihilated Elder Li's body and soul.
• Liu Rumei recognized Lin Xuan and realized how powerful he was after their repeated encounters in the Heaven-Gazing Secret Realm.
• Lin Xuan glanced at the frightened Saint Realm cultivators and asked whether he would need to handle the rest.

After Lin Xuan helped Liu Rumei defeat the sect disciples who attacked her, she offered him the spoils, but he took only Elder Li’s Storage Bag and damaged compass. Lin Xuan and Liu Rumei set out together for Heaven-Gazing Ridge, where he intended to learn the fate of the Heaven-Gazing Domain Lord.

• Liu Rumei collected the fallen disciples’ Storage Bags and Elder Li’s damaged Saint Artifact, then thanked Lin Xuan for saving her.
• Lin Xuan refused most of the spoils and let Liu Rumei keep the Scarlet Fire Spirit Pearl and the items she had found herself.
• Lin Xuan introduced himself and learned that Liu Rumei came from the Great Wilderness Realm and faced a three-year agreement involving the powerful Ye Household.
• Lin Xuan told Liu Rumei she could seek him at the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect if she needed help, though she doubted his power could solve her predicament.
• Liu Rumei asked to travel with Lin Xuan to Heaven-Gazing Ridge, and he agreed while thinking about taking her as his disciple and investigating the Heaven-Gazing Domain Lord.

The major sects and forces gathered outside Heaven-Gazing Ridge, each noting missing elders and disciples and suspecting the others after recent unexplained deaths. As Jiang Bo prepared to claim the ridge’s inheritance for the Heaven-Viewing Saint Sect, the appointed time arrived and he called for it to be opened.

• The leaders and forces from the Heaven-Gazing Domain and neighboring realms assembled outside Heaven-Gazing Ridge as the sects noticed their missing members.
• Lei Mingzi concluded that Nalan Ying had likely been killed and silently vowed revenge on whoever had slain her.
• Jiang Bo learned that Elder Li had not returned and observed that several other sects had also lost people.
• Jiang Bo resolved to obtain the Heaven-Gazing Sacred Sect’s inheritance and end his sect’s dependence on others.
• Qi Zhengliu saw how many Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect cultivators had died and glared at Lei Mingzi.
• Jiang Bo announced that the appointed hour had arrived and called for Heaven-Gazing Ridge to open.

Ten chosen geniuses from the five great sects prepared to enter Heaven-Gazing Ridge, where they would compete for the buried Saint King's legacy. As the ridge opened, the formation spirit summoned them to ascend.

• Jiang Bo summoned ten chosen geniuses, who represented the tokens that could open Heaven-Gazing Ridge.
• Qi Zhengliu and the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect's leaders were surprised by the powerful, unfamiliar third representatives from the Heaven-Viewing Saint Sect and the Divine Nether Sect.
• Jiang Bo secretly judged his sect's hidden trump card stronger than the Divine Nether Sect's and expected the Heaven-Viewing Saint Sect to win.
• The Azure Soaring Daoist Sect's two representatives drew wary attention, especially the pregnant-looking woman whose belly radiated a sinister presence.
• Qi Zhengliu warned Luo Qingxue to prioritize her survival, but she remained determined to avoid finishing last.
• After the ancient bell rang, white jade steps appeared before the ten, and a voice told them to ascend the ridge.

Heaven-Gazing Ridge appeared, and a Nine Heavens Sect prodigy tried to enter without a Heaven-Gazing Token but was thrown out after reaching the ninth step. After learning that the steps tested talent and disposition through trials that felt like years, Feng Jingyu watched calmly, confident she could do better.

• Heaven-Gazing Ridge emerged amid dense Spiritual Qi, stunning the gathered cultivators and the ten prodigies preparing to enter.
• A man entered the white jade steps without a Heaven-Gazing Token and passed the formation spirit's initial trial, but the ninth step collapsed and hurled him out.
• The crowd recognized him as the Nine Heavens Sect's foremost prodigy, a Saint Realm sword cultivator with Fifth-Level Sword Intent, and marveled that he had reached only nine steps.
• The Nine Heavens Sect prodigy explained that each step contained a trial testing talent and disposition, and that time inside had felt like many years.
• Feng Jingyu watched his failure without concern and believed she could withstand the hundredfold difficulty.

After a Nine Heavens Sect cultivator failed at Heaven-Gazing Ridge, Feng Jingyu and Liu Rumei considered their own goals, while Lang Ping wondered how far his ordinary aptitude would take him. The crowd hesitated to climb until Heaven-Viewing Saint Sect Holy Son Xiao Ce stepped forward.

• Feng Jingyu concealed her strength and decided she would show everyone what a true heaven's chosen was.
• Liu Rumei resolved to claim the Heaven-Gazing Domain's inheritance and uphold her three-year agreement rather than apologize to Ye Hao.
• Lang Ping admitted he did not know how many steps he could pass, but remained determined to try despite his ordinary aptitude.
• After the Nine Heavens Sect cultivator failed and the crowd held back, Heaven-Viewing Saint Sect Holy Son Xiao Ce stepped forward with confidence.

Xiao Ce, the Heaven-Viewing Saint Sect’s Holy Son, climbed Heaven-Gazing Ridge with the aid of his Heaven-Gazing Method. As he reached the twentieth level, a celestial phenomenon appeared and began strengthening him, allowing him to climb even faster.

• Xiao Ce stepped onto the white jade stairs without taking the trial because he carried a Heaven-Gazing Token.
• Lin Xuan recognized the stairs as possibly belonging to the Heaven-Gazing Sacred Sect’s Sword Dao lineage.
• Xiao Ce climbed rapidly, reaching the ninth level in a few seconds and leaving the Nine Heavens Sect’s heaven’s chosen shaken by the gap in their strength.
• Xiao Ce slowed as he climbed higher, while the onlookers watched his progress with growing tension.
• When Xiao Ce reached the twentieth level, golden clouds, dragons, phoenixes, and immortal music filled the sky, and golden light surrounded him.
• Onlookers identified Xiao Ce’s Heaven-Gazing Method as being at major mastery and realized the celestial phenomenon was strengthening him as he climbed.

Xiao Ce climbed fifty-eight levels of Heaven-Gazing Ridge before withdrawing, setting a new record, and Xiao Nian reached fifty-seven. The Heaven-Viewing Saint Sect’s results left the other sects envious, while its quiet, unfamiliar saber-wielding prodigy remained at the foot of the ridge and did not climb.

• Xiao Ce used the Heaven-Gazing Method to reach level fifty-eight, then withdrew and reported his result to Jiang Bo.
• Jiang Bo praised Xiao Ce, while Qi Zhengliu and the other spectators worried about the rewards and pressure his record would bring.
• Xiao Nian entered Heaven-Gazing Ridge and withdrew at level fifty-seven, just one level below her twin brother.
• The onlookers envied the Heaven-Viewing Saint Sect’s results and wondered about its remaining prodigy.
• The unfamiliar saber-wielding prodigy kept his eyes closed and made no move to climb.

The Divine Nether Sect revealed Shen Youzi, a disciple secretly raised to master the Nether God Secret Method, as its hidden contender for first place at Heaven-Gazing Ridge. As her ascent filled the sky with a netherworld phenomenon, Jiang Bo recognized her rare physique and realized she might one day reach Saint Lord.

• The Divine Nether Sect's sect master challenged Jiang Bo and declared that his sect would claim the top spot at Heaven-Gazing Ridge.
• The sect master introduced the veiled Shen You as Shen Youzi, revealing that he had secretly nurtured her for years because she possessed the netherworld physique.
• Shen Youzi stepped onto the white jade stairs, and her ascent swept away the lingering golden sky and replaced it with a dusky purple phenomenon that disturbed nearby cultivators.
• Jiang Bo identified Shen Youzi's physique as the myriad ages netherworld physique and warned that she could attain Saint Lord, leaving the onlookers stunned.

Shen Youzi of the Divine Nether Sect climbed Heaven-Gazing Ridge to the sixty-sixth step, surpassing the records of the Heaven-Viewing Saint Sect and the four great sects. As the crowd reacted with envy and fear, Jiang Bo’s previously resting young sect member opened his eyes and dismissed her achievement before offering to climb.

• The Divine Nether Sect’s sect master expected Shen Youzi’s rare physique to secure first place at Heaven-Gazing Ridge.
• Shen Youzi climbed past the Heaven-Viewing Saint Sect holy maiden’s fifty-seven-step mark and the holy son’s fifty-eight-step mark.
• Shen Youzi reached the sixty-sixth step, then returned to the foot of the ridge without attempting the sixty-seventh.
• The onlookers focused on the Divine Nether Sect, with some fearing Shen Youzi’s future power and considering her a threat.
• Jiang Bo’s young sect member opened his eyes, called sixty-six steps nothing special, and said he would climb.

A hidden young man from the Heaven-Viewing Saint Sect revealed the Heaven-Severing Sacred Physique as he rapidly ascended the white jade stairs, alarming the gathered cultivators. Jiang Bo planned to use the prodigy to lead his sect toward controlling the entire Heaven-Gazing Domain.

• The young man from the Heaven-Viewing Saint Sect climbed the white jade stairs without stopping as lightning and thunder gathered above him.
• The cultivators recognized that the young man was a powerful hidden trump card and wondered what physique he possessed.
• The Divine Nether Sect's sect master identified the young man's Heaven-Severing Sacred Physique, and Jiang Bo confirmed that it matched the former Domain Lord's physique.
• The gathered cultivators recalled that the former Domain Lord had vanished after heaven and earth supposedly punished his monstrous physique, and they feared the young man might become his successor.
• Jiang Bo dismissed the political suspicions around his sect and resolved to unite the Heaven-Gazing Domain under the Heaven-Viewing Saint Sect.
• The young man reached a high level on the stairs before returning to the bottom, and Jiang Bo judged that his ambitions would soon be realized.

The Heaven-Viewing Saint Sect prodigy climbed seventy-two steps and received the Heaven-Gazing Saint Instruction, emerging with a bearing that astonished the assembled sect leaders. Then Xian Ni of the Azure Soaring Daoist Sect began her climb, and the black stain and sorrowful murmurs from the steps revealed the manifestation of the being in her belly.

• The final Heaven-Viewing Saint Sect prodigy reached seventy-two steps and was granted entry to a blessed land to receive the Heaven-Gazing Saint Instruction.
• The young man entered the spatial ripple and emerged moments later with a changed bearing that reminded Jiang Bo of the Heaven-Gazing Domain lord.
• The Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect elders and Qi Zhengliu worried that Luo Qingxue could not match the seventy-two-step result, while she remained waiting for her turn.
• The Azure Soaring Daoist Sect leader called forward Xian Ni, whose pregnant appearance provoked revulsion among the surrounding cultivators.
• Xian Ni climbed the white jade steps as thunder sounded and blackness spread beneath her feet, accompanied by sorrowful murmurs.
• Qi Zhengliu realized the manifestation came from the being in Xian Ni's belly, which appeared to be a shattered immortal climbing back toward the heavens.

Xian Ni of the Azure Soaring Daoist Sect reached eighty steps on Heaven-Gazing Ridge, stunning the gathered sects and raising fears that the Immortal Embryo was consuming her life. The Purple Firmament Palace's Holy Son reached sixty-four steps, and attention turned to the injured Luo Qingxue and the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect.

• The Heaven-Viewing Saint Sect's vice sect master told Jiang Bo that the Azure Soaring Daoist Sect had gone mad, while he suspected Xian Ni was carrying the Immortal Embryo.
• Xian Ni exhausted herself climbing to the eightieth step before being transported back, securing first place and prompting Jiang Bo to suspect she was a false vessel with little life left.
• The Purple Firmament Palace's Holy Son climbed to the sixty-fourth step and consoled himself that he had done well for his first participation.
• Lei Mingzi approved of his Holy Son's result as the gathered sects admired the Purple Firmament Palace's showing.
• The crowd looked toward the injured Luo Qingxue and doubted that the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect could match the other sects' results.

Luo Qingxue climbed Heaven-Gazing Ridge despite her injuries, determined to fight for the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect’s standing. As her condition worsened, she resolved to risk her life rather than turn back.

• Lei Mingzi taunted Qi Zhengliu and suggested Luo Qingxue should not climb because she was injured.
• Luo Qingxue recalled the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect’s sacrifices for her and chose to ascend despite Qi Zhengliu calling after her.
• Luo Qingxue’s ascent produced a vast, magnificent phenomenon that impressed the gathered sect leaders and spectators.
• After passing the thirty-third step, Luo Qingxue’s injuries flared and her climb became increasingly unsteady.
• Luo Qingxue steeled herself to continue, resolving to sacrifice her life for the cause if she could not succeed.

After Luo Qingxue failed at the fifty-second step, the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect feared losing its place among the four great sects. Lang Ping entered Heaven-Gazing Ridge despite his poor aptitude, determined to test himself against the steps.

• Luo Qingxue fell at the fifty-second step, and Qi Zhengliu and the elders treated her wounds and comforted her.
• The Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect realized it might no longer rank among the four great sects, while the other sects watched calmly.
• A new climber appeared on the first step, drawing attention away from the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect.
• The onlookers mocked the climber for moving extremely slowly and predicted he would soon fall.
• The climber was revealed to be Lang Ping, who accepted that his aptitude might stop him but climbed anyway.

On the Heart-Questioning Road, Lang Ping faced a version of himself who had accepted Lin Xuan’s offer to improve his aptitude and saw the glory that choice might have brought. He rejected that alternate path without regret and moved beyond the ninth level of Heaven-Gazing Ridge.

• Lang Ping heard the voices of people who had mocked or doubted him and met an alternate self who had accepted Lin Xuan’s offer.
• The alternate Lang Ping showed him visions of rising quickly through Heaven-Gazing Ridge and becoming a celebrated heaven’s chosen.
• Lang Ping dismissed the visions and insisted that Lin Xuan was his master, not the alternate’s, and that he would pursue the sword with a mortal body.
• Lang Ping’s resolve shattered the alternate self, and he took a steady step beyond the ninth level.

Lang Ping steadily climbed beyond the ninth level of Heaven-Gazing Ridge, revealing a vast, quiet manifestation of stones and ordinary people that an old man identified as the Mortal Sword Dao. Lang Ping continued until he reached exhaustion, then accepted that he had done his best and prepared to withdraw.

• Lang Ping passed the ninth level and continued climbing while the crowd wondered why no manifestation had appeared.
• The spectators discovered that his manifestation silently covered the mountains with stones, a pangolin, and mortals carrying swords as they climbed.
• An old man explained that Lang Ping followed the exceptionally difficult Mortal Dao and said success could grant someone the qualifications to become a Saint Lord and perhaps an Immortal.
• Lang Ping kept climbing without counting his steps, then stopped when exhausted and decided he had fulfilled his task.

Lang Ping secretly climbed to the eighty-first step of Heaven-Gazing Ridge, breaking the record, then returned with Lin Xuan’s help while everyone mistook him for an unknown outsider. Feng Jingyu decided to make her own climb and show the crowd a greater prodigy.

• Lin Xuan watched Lang Ping climb the white jade stairs and felt proud of his disciple’s perseverance.
• Lang Ping reached the eighty-first step without a Heaven-Gazing Token and claimed the new record.
• Lin Xuan used a shadow double to conceal Lang Ping’s return, and Lang Ping thanked his master for helping him evade the four sect leaders.
• The four great sects’ disciples searched among outsiders for the mysterious climber, never suspecting Lang Ping.
• Feng Jingyu concealed her appearance with a ring and prepared to climb the stairs herself.

Feng Jingyu climbed Heaven-Gazing Ridge at remarkable speed, displaying a phoenix manifestation that impressed the onlookers. Liu Rumei then joined the ascent, and their rival manifestations drove both women to climb faster as observers feared the inheritance would go to outsiders.

• Feng Jingyu used a concealment ring to enter the white jade stairs unnoticed and climbed swiftly, revealing a phoenix manifestation.
• Feng Jingyu crossed the forty-ninth level without slowing, convincing the onlookers that her aptitude and resolve were exceptional.
• Liu Rumei entered the stairs while Feng Jingyu was still climbing, using an escape technique and showing little concern for the local custom against simultaneous climbs.
• Liu Rumei’s Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox manifestation met Feng Jingyu’s phoenix manifestation, and the two visions each claimed half the sky.
• Feng Jingyu noticed the rival manifestation and quickened her pace, while both women’s competitive ascent left the crowd wondering whether outsiders would claim the inheritance.

Feng Jingyu and Liu Rumei reached the eighty-eighth and eighty-ninth floors of Heaven-Gazing Ridge, earning rare treasures before escaping the great sects. Their feats left the Heaven-Gazing Domain stunned and dealt a final blow to the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect’s hopes of remaining one of the four great sects.

• Feng Jingyu and Liu Rumei received treasures and inherited cultivation methods for reaching the eighty-eighth and eighty-ninth floors.
• Feng Jingyu brooded over losing by one floor, while Liu Rumei wondered whether her rival came from beyond the domain.
• The formation spirit sent Feng Jingyu and Liu Rumei out of the reward space, and they escaped the four great sects’ attempts to stop them.
• The crowd marveled at the visitors’ records, while Lang Ping reflected on the vast gap between mortal limits and prodigious talent.
• Qi Zhengliu saw Luo Qingxue’s despair and realized the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect would have to leave the ranks of the four great sects.