Chapter Summaries

Yu Tunzhou reached Danyang Commandery and learned that the Qian Household would provide his cultivation resources while accepting its wager with Lu Huaiqing. He chose to challenge Jiang Yunshang, Zhang Luyun, and Wang Junmu, who all agreed to meet him at the River-Viewing Tower in seven days.

• Qian Jinqing escorted Yu Tunzhou into Danyang Commandery and explained that the Qian Household would fund his cultivation until External Scenery and support the Northern Dark Continent under Lu Huaiqing’s wager.
• Yu Tunzhou asked for a quiet residence, medicinal supplements, and a month of seclusion before traveling to the Northern Plains.
• Qian Jinqing warned Yu Tunzhou that Jiang Yunshang, Zhang Luyun, and Wang Junmu had arrived to challenge him, but Yu Tunzhou asked her to issue challenges to all three.
• Jiang Yunshang learned that Yu Tunzhou had challenged him and set their fight for the top floor of the River-Viewing Tower in seven days.
• Zhang Luyun and Wang Junmu each accepted Yu Tunzhou’s challenge and agreed to fight at the River-Viewing Tower in seven days.

Yu Tunzhou created the fist technique Mind Wanders the Heavenly River before meeting with a Qian Household elder and preparing for his challenge at the River-Viewing Tower. When Yin Tianjue arrived to kill him, Yu Tunzhou used Swallow the Sun and Refine the Moon to erase him, then turned to face Jiang Yunshang and the others.

• Yu Tunzhou perfected his ear apertures and created the fist technique Mind Wanders the Heavenly River beside the pond.
• A Qian Household elder visited Yu Tunzhou, praised his ambition, and discussed Lu Huaiqing and the wager; afterward, Qian Jinqing arranged support and information for the coming fights.
• Lin Yueheng and his junior sister joined the crowds gathering to watch Yu Tunzhou challenge Jiang Yunshang, Zhang Luyun, and Wang Junmu at the River-Viewing Tower.
• Yu Tunzhou arrived at the tower, where Yin Tianjue of the Supreme Origin Sect revealed himself and announced that he had come to kill him.
• Yu Tunzhou unleashed Swallow the Sun and Refine the Moon, erasing Yin Tianjue before the assembled spectators.
• Yu Tunzhou faced the pale Jiang Yunshang and his companions and challenged them to decide whether they were strong or weak.

Yu Tunzhou killed Yin Tianjue with a Dharma Aspect Divine Ability, then defeated Jiang Yunshang and Zhang Luyun in contests of martial skill. After revealing that he had created his own fist techniques, he left the River-Viewing Tower, while Qian Jinqing realized how far beyond her reach he was.

• Yu Tunzhou’s Divine Ability killed Yin Tianjue in one move, leaving the crowd stunned and Wang Shubo to identify it as a Dharma Aspect move.
• Jiang Yunshang challenged Yu Tunzhou to compete only in martial arts, and Yu Tunzhou sent him flying with his Ten-Thousand-Ren High Mountain fist.
• Yu Tunzhou pressed Zhang Luyun to fight, then overwhelmed him with his Fist Intent and a strike that collapsed his Qi and Blood furnace.
• Yu Tunzhou explained that he had created Ten-Thousand-Ren High Mountain and Mind Wanders the Heavenly River, drawing admiration from the martial artists present.
• Yu Tunzhou departed the River-Viewing Tower, and Qian Jinqing concluded that he was far beyond her reach.

Yu Tunzhou defeated Jiang Yunshang and Zhang Luyun after killing Yin Tianjue with a Dharma Aspect move, sending shock waves through the martial world and the Star Palace. As others began reacting to his rising fame, Jiang Yunshang left his clan for the Northern Dark Sea to seek a new path.

• Yu Tunzhou knocked Jiang Yunshang out with one punch and shattered Zhang Luyun's Qi and Blood furnace, while Lin Yueheng judged Yu's martial attainment to be exceptional.
• Mo Shougui intercepted a report confirming that Yu Tunzhou had killed Yin Tianjue with a Dharma Aspect move and defeated the Jiang and Zhang heirs, prompting the Star Palace elders to reconsider his ranking and Mo's role in compiling it.
• Deng Canglan learned that the Supreme Origin Sect wanted him to kill Yu Tunzhou, but he chose to follow his own interests and sensed that he might meet Yu again soon.
• Zhang Yan told An Ruyu that Yu Tunzhou's feat was confirmed, and An Ruyu remained determined not to submit to him.
• News of Yu Tunzhou's victory spread to the Western Desert, where a red-clad girl became eager to fight him someday.
• After his clan cut his resources and removed his guard, Jiang Yunshang followed Jiang Yungu's advice and left for the Northern Dark Sea.

Yu Tunzhou entered the newly opened Divine Thunder Jade Mansion and gained a Thunder Method inheritance from the Mirror of Good and Evil, though the Book of Changes immediately absorbed it. After Deng Canglan fled the mirror’s lightning, Yu Tunzhou saw that the mirror judged him wicked and wondered how An Ruyu had earned its golden light.

• Yu Tunzhou entered the Heavenly Court ruins and discovered he had arrived at the Supreme Divine Firmament Jade Purity Mansion, the Thunder Ministry’s headquarters.
• An Ruyu led Yu Tunzhou to the Mirror of Good and Evil, where he received a Thunder Method inheritance that the Book of Changes swallowed.
• Deng Canglan ran into the hall while fleeing heavenly lightning, and Yu Tunzhou offered to show him how to obtain a Thunder Method.
• Deng Canglan stood beneath the mirror, sensed danger, and withdrew just before a powerful bolt of lightning struck his former position.
• Yu Tunzhou saw black spread across the mirror and concluded that Deng Canglan had been judged wicked, while questioning how An Ruyu had deceived it.

Yu Tunzhou encountered a terrifying voice in the Heavenly Court ruins, followed a fragment to a mysterious study, and claimed an iron hoop that seemed to be the Vajra Bracelet. After the ruins vanished, signs of a major disturbance reached Deng Canglan and Shangqing Mountain.

• An Ruyu told Yu Tunzhou that the factions sought the Heavenly Court’s secrets of ascension and invited him to join the Sacred Cult, but he declined and followed the restless fragment in his Dantian.
• A voice thundered, “Dao and Virtue is dead,” and Yu Tunzhou used the Book of Changes to enter the Pure Land and endure its impact.
• Yu Tunzhou followed the fragment to a study, where Ji Zhaoxuan identified himself as Great Yan’s crown prince and offered him a position in the army.
• A phantom in the study addressed Haotian and raised an iron hoop; afterward, Yu Tunzhou used Qi of Dao and Virtue to shrink the hoop into a ring, then frightened Sang Yu into fleeing.
• A cold gaze fell on Yu Tunzhou, forcing him to withdraw as black mist swallowed the Divine Thunder Jade Mansion and ended the exploration early.
• Deng Canglan’s master summoned him back after sensing trouble in the Heavenly Court, while a young Daoist at Shangqing Mountain realized the Grand Purity Lineage’s inheritance had appeared.

Yu Tunzhou studied the Vajra Bracelet, entered the Pure Land, and learned that an ancient grotto-heaven had appeared in the Northern Plains. With help from the Gold-Wielding Guard and the Qian Household, he set out to investigate, while the Northern Plains clans prepared to explore the dangerous site.

• Yu Tunzhou discovered that the Vajra Bracelet could store objects and that the Book of Changes had helped him enter the Pure Land, where he tested his newly heightened perception.
• An Ruyu ordered Zhang Yan to report “Dao and Virtue is dead” and “Grand Purity” to the cult, then sent him to the Northern Plains with his elder brother Zhang Ying.
• After completing his lung cultivation, Yu Tunzhou learned that an ancient grotto-heaven tied to the Northern Dark Continent had appeared in the Northern Plains and that the autumn hunt was canceled.
• Yu Tunzhou visited the Gold-Wielding Guard, where Zhang Yan explained how infiltrators had led the Northern Plains clans to the grotto-heaven and agreed to arrange support for Yu Tunzhou's journey.
• Yu Tunzhou boarded a dragon boat bound for the Northern Plains, where Lin Yueheng and his companion also traveled toward the grotto-heaven under the guise of being engaged.
• Xie Lintian discussed the grotto-heaven's exploration rules with Tuoba Zhou and revealed that the Northern Plains clans had refused the Qian Household's request for a place for Yu Tunzhou.

Yu Tunzhou met Cross-River Sword Sect disciples Lin Yueheng and He Xiaoxiao aboard the dragon boat, then learned of the Xie Household’s troubled history with Xie Linchuan. In North Mountain Commandery, he agreed to impersonate Luo Nanwu for the grotto-heaven expedition, mastered the Luo Household’s martial arts, and set out for Xuanbei as the Luo Household prepared to choose its expedition leader.

• Yu Tunzhou discussed martial arts paths and future nicknames with Lin Yueheng and He Xiaoxiao, who warned him about Xie Lintian and shared rumors about Xie Linchuan’s Seven-Orifice Exquisite Heart.
• Yu Tunzhou studied the second page of the Book of Changes during the voyage and found that his solar and Taiyin Qi continued accumulating.
• In North Mountain Commandery, Xiao Ce recruited Yu Tunzhou to enter the grotto-heaven disguised as Luo Nanwu, a Gold-Wielding Guard agent and member of the Luo Household of Xuanbei.
• Yu Tunzhou copied Luo Nanwu’s North-Subduing Formation-Breaking Fist after one demonstration and infused it with powerful battlefield intent, astonishing Luo Nanwu and Xiao Ce.
• Yu Tunzhou learned Luo Nanwu’s history, memorized details about the Luo Household and Northern Plains clans, received a human-skin mask, and left for Xuanbei.
• The Luo Household’s old ancestor ordered the three branches to send disciples to compete for leadership of the grotto-heaven expedition.

Yu Tunzhou returned to the Luo Household under Luo Nanwu’s identity, demonstrated his Primordial Spirit strength, and won authority over the clan’s grotto-heaven expedition. As the expedition approached, he perfected his five organs, formed a Blood Qi Furnace, opened all seven apertures, and reached Form Refinement Perfection.

• Yu Tunzhou stopped Tuoba Zhou from provoking Luo Nanwen, frightened him with a Primordial Spirit illusion, and announced that he would fight Tuoba Yu in the grotto-heaven.
• Yu Tunzhou returned to the Luo Household, claimed to have glimpsed the Pure Land, and opposed the third branch’s plan to ally with the Tuoba Clan.
• Yu Tunzhou defeated Luo Donghu by exploiting his Primordial Spirit and combat flaws, after which Luo Yundong gave him full authority over the Luo Household’s grotto-heaven expedition.
• Tuoba Yu welcomed the chance to fight Luo Nanwu, while her grandfather urged her to cripple him discreetly; Xie Lintian dismissed the threat, and Tuoba Yu also learned that Lin Yueheng would represent the He Household.
• Yu Tunzhou completed the five-organ cycle, formed a Blood Qi Furnace, opened his final aperture, and reached Form Refinement Perfection.

Yu Tunzhou perfected his Form Refinement, learned [One Fist to Secure the Frontier], and restored the Luo Household technique’s lost protective intent. He joined the Luo Household party at the Northern Sea Forest for the grotto-heaven expedition, where the fragment in his Dantian reacted.

• Yu Tunzhou reached the end of the Form Refinement realm and demonstrated that his shout could disrupt Luo Nanwen’s mind.
• Yu Tunzhou gained permission to study [One Fist to Secure the Frontier] and, with the [Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic], grasped its lost intent to protect the people.
• Yu Tunzhou showed his completed interpretation of the fist technique to Luo Xuanyue and the Luo Household elders, who thanked him and gave him Luo Qing’s black iron gauntlets.
• Yu Tunzhou departed with Luo Diyang and the Luo Household group for the Northern Sea Forest, where the grotto-heaven was set to open.
• Yu Tunzhou noticed a red-clad woman threaten him, then sensed the fragment in his Dantian react toward the forest.

Yu Tunzhou led the Luo Household into the grotto-heaven and waited at its entrance for Tuoba Yu, then defeated her with a thunderous shout and a single punch. Tuoba Yu was carried out unconscious, leaving the Tuoba Household’s participation in the exploration in doubt.

• Yu Tunzhou reviewed the grotto-heaven’s records, while the households learned that thirteen overseas remnants had entered after two of their External Scenery experts sacrificed themselves to get them inside.
• Luo Diyang ordered the Luo Household to hunt the remnants, and Yu Tunzhou led his team into the grotto-heaven after the households drew lots for entry order.
• Yu Tunzhou waited by the entrance for Tuoba Yu and told her their grudge from two years earlier would end that day.
• Tuoba Yu attacked with a killing strike, but Yu Tunzhou’s thunderous true utterance stunned and suppressed her before his punch shattered her saber and badly injured her.
• Yu Tunzhou led the Luo Household toward the lightning-filled center, while Tuoba Yu’s guards decided she needed to leave the grotto-heaven for treatment.
• A Tuoba Household warrior emerged from the gate carrying the unconscious Tuoba Yu, surprising the External Scenery experts waiting outside.

Yu Tunzhou defeated Tuoba Yu, led the Luo Household through the thunderous grotto-heaven, and reached a vast palace where An Ruyu revealed that it concealed a gateway to the Human Emperor’s true hunting ground. As overseas remnants sought to open that gateway, An Ruyu disclosed that the Incense-Smelling Cult had come for a fragment of the Investiture of the Gods.

• Luo Nanwu defeated Tuoba Yu, alarming the gathered households and prompting Zhang Tianyang to decide he would roam the martial world after leaving the grotto-heaven.
• Peng Fei spotted Yu Tunzhou’s ability to borrow heaven’s might and warned Kong Ling and the burly man to avoid confronting him while they searched for the portal.
• Yu Tunzhou guided the Luo Household through the thunder, helping them steady their Qi and Blood before leading them into the dark clouds and up white jade steps.
• Yu Tunzhou’s group met Yun Shouhe’s party near a vast palace, where Yun Shouhe warned that the Wu Household had vanished after entering a hall.
• An Ruyu revealed herself among the Yun Household and told Yu Tunzhou that the palace hid a gateway to the Human Emperor’s hunting ground, which overseas remnants intended to open.
• An Ruyu said the Incense-Smelling Cult had come for a fragment of the Investiture of the Gods rather than the gateway.

Yu Tunzhou exposed and killed several Demon Race infiltrators using the Skin-Flaying Evil Technique while the groups fought in the Human Emperor’s palace. After learning the grotto-heaven was a Human Emperor’s tomb, Xie Lintian moved to explore its depths, but Yu Tunzhou blocked the gate and threatened to kill anyone who tried to open it.

• Yu Tunzhou learned that fragments of the Investiture of the Gods could let their holders command the power of heaven and earth, and he led the Luo and Yun Households toward the palace summit.
• Yu Tunzhou discovered freshly mutilated bodies and learned from An Ruyu that the Demon Race used a skin-flaying technique to infiltrate human territory.
• Inside the summit hall, Yu Tunzhou identified and killed three infiltrators, while Chu Mu killed another and Xie Lintian wounded a fifth attacker who then exploded himself.
• The wounded infiltrator revealed that the grotto-heaven was a Human Emperor’s tomb with treasures at its center, and Xie Lintian ordered the Xie Household to advance.
• Yu Tunzhou blocked the gate leading deeper into the palace, warned that powerful remnant-clan members might be imprisoned beyond it, and threatened to kill anyone who tried to open it, including Xie Lintian.

Yu Tunzhou fought Xie Lintian to a standstill in the Human Emperor’s temporary palace, then joined the others in opposing entry through the sealed gateway. Five remnants sacrificed themselves to reach the door, and an ancient roar and unnatural heartbeat erupted from behind it.

• Xiao Ce learned that a fleeing remnant had killed himself by detonating his Inner Scenery, deepening concerns about the remnants’ purpose in the grotto-heaven.
• Yu Tunzhou fought Xie Lintian, first countering his swordsmanship with the North-Subduing Formation-Breaking Fist, then weathering Xie Lintian’s Seven-Aperture Spirit Rhinoceros Luminous Body and forcing him to prepare an External Scenery move.
• Qi Feng and Lin Yueheng arrived, interrupting the duel, and the gathered factions debated whether to enter the sealed gateway or report it to their elders.
• Five remnants burned their lives to attack the gateway, killing two youths and failing to open the door, but their sacrifice triggered an ancient roar and a heartbeat that made many martial artists vomit blood as their hearts convulsed.

Yu Tunzhou used the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic and the Incense-Smelling Cult’s inheritance to reach the Human Emperor across time, who stopped the Demon Race threat and transformed the corrupted grotto-heaven. The Human Emperor’s intervention left a bloodstained Peng feather and an unknown fragment in the hall, where the survivors immediately eyed the treasures.

• As a savage Great Sage presence threatened to break through the bronze door, Yu Tunzhou asked An Ruyu for a Human Emperor cultivation method and used the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic to seek the Human Emperor.
• In High Antiquity, the Human Emperor interrupted his hunt for Huntian and sent his will across time, freezing the palace crisis and confronting hidden powerhouses in the ruined Heavenly Court.
• The Human Emperor’s will crushed the savage presence, restored the grotto-heaven, and left the doorway empty; Kong Ling concluded that the sacrifice had confirmed the Human Emperor could alter the future.
• Chu Mu ordered the Gold-Wielding Guards to secure the hall, while Yu Tunzhou wondered whether the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic could reveal the secrets of other ancient creators.
• A bloodstained Peng feather and an unknown fragment emerged from the void gate, and Xie Lintian, Qi Feng, Chu Mu, and Lin Yueheng moved toward the treasures.

Yu Tunzhou revealed his overwhelming fist intent, defeated Xie Lintian, and took the Peng feather before leaving the hall as the grotto-heaven came alive. Outside, the Dream Arhat arrived and identified the site as the Human Emperor’s former autumn-hunt palace.

• Qi Feng, Xie Lintian, Chu Mu, Lin Yueheng, and the other factions fought over the Peng feather and the fragment of the Investiture of the Gods.
• Yu Tunzhou used Mind Wanders the Heavenly River to defeat Xie Lintian with one punch, then took the Peng feather and drove back Qi Feng and Lin Yueheng.
• Xie Lintian tried to stop Yu Tunzhou with Heavenly Evolution Stabilizes the Void, but Yu Tunzhou countered with One Fist to Secure the Frontier and left him gravely injured.
• Yu Tunzhou and the Luo Household left the hall and found the grotto-heaven transformed into a flourishing landscape; spring thunder stirred a new insight in Yu Tunzhou.
• The Dream Arhat arrived outside the grotto-heaven, recognized it as the Human Emperor’s temporary palace for autumn hunts, and spoke of the Demon Race Great Sage whose presence had vanished.

Yu Tunzhou accepted Great Sage Huntian’s contract and learned that the Human Emperor had hidden a gateway and the grotto-heaven’s core for future use. After An Ruyu returned with a supposed Investiture of the Gods fragment, Yu Tunzhou challenged her to a match.

• The Yun Household woman revealed her mastery over Chu Mu, redirected his Mystic Yellow Prison-Suppressing Saber strike, and caused it to kill the weakened Xie Lintian.
• Yu Tunzhou sent the Luo Household disciples to seek opportunities, then drew Great Sage Huntian’s Primordial Spirit from the Peng feather into his Primordial Spirit Heaven and Earth.
• Yu Tunzhou signed a hundred-year contract with Great Sage Huntian, who agreed to guide his cultivation and then fell asleep on Little Black.
• Yu Tunzhou learned that the gateway remained hidden in the grotto-heaven and that he needed to find and refine its core before the realm was sealed.
• An Ruyu presented Yu Tunzhou with a fragment she claimed was from the Investiture of the Gods, and Yu Tunzhou challenged her to a match.

Yu Tunzhou learned from An Ruyu that their generation had to forge new Martial Dao paths, then left to seek his own. At a rain-soaked temple, he watched Zhuang Yuan stop a quarrel and teach five men a cooperative martial art, before Jin Ting arrived to confront Zhuang Yuan and threaten everyone inside.

• An Ruyu demonstrated Locking Down Heaven and Earth, explained the unprecedented Martial Dao paths pursued by their generation, and invited Yu Tunzhou to meet again at the Eternal Dragon Gate in one year.
• Yu Tunzhou refined the grotto-heaven’s coordinate, causing it to close and expel everyone; outside, the Xie Household learned Xie Lintian had been killed by Chu Mu and attacked Xiao Ce.
• After returning to the Gold-Wielding Guard, Yu Tunzhou thanked Luo Nanwu, who set off for the Northern Dark Continent to improve his fist art, while Yu Tunzhou planned to seek his own Martial Dao path.
• At a ruined mountain god temple, Zhuang Yuan burned five villagers’ disputed saber manual and taught them a five-person combined attack instead.
• Jin Ting arrived with armed followers to confront Zhuang Yuan over the Jin Household’s young master and threatened to kill the five villagers and Yu Tunzhou; Yu Tunzhou questioned whether Great Yan’s law allowed his actions.

Yu Tunzhou drove Jin Ting’s men from the temple and learned why Zhuang Yuan had killed a Jin Household heir, then heard that Yuan Mengzhou would help Zhuang escape to the Western Desert. After Great Sage Huntian examined Yu’s Martial Dao and taught him the simplified Eight-Nine Mysterious Art, Yu gave it to the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic to see whether it could produce a complete version.

• Jin Ting recognized Yu Tunzhou as the Luofu Dao Seed ranked fifteenth on the Dragon and Tiger Ranking and withdrew with his men.
• Zhuang Yuan explained that he had killed a Jin Household heir for causing the deaths of forty-seven villagers, and Yu praised his courage.
• Yuan Mengzhou met Zhuang Yuan in the rain and offered to send him to the Western Desert for safety.
• Huntian examined Yu Tunzhou’s Martial Dao foundation, realized his Dao Embryo was the Dao Body Immortal Platform, and taught him the simplified Eight-Nine Mysterious Art.
• Yu Tunzhou studied the art for a day, then gave it to the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic and wondered whether it could complete the technique.

Yu Tunzhou completed the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art and traveled to West Xuan Commandery, where he learned that the Jin Household had covered up Jin Shaoyan’s crimes and was holding survivors from Apricot Blossom Village hostage. After agreeing to help Zhuang Yuan and Yuan Mengzhou rescue them, Yu Tunzhou received an invitation from Jin Moyuan, an old friend of Master Lu.

• The Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic elevated the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art, briefly showing Yu Tunzhou the Jade Void Palace before he began refining the Baihui and Huiyin acupoints.
• In West Xuan Commandery, Yu Tunzhou confirmed through Xiao He that Jin Shaoyan had been responsible for Apricot Blossom Village’s tragedy and that the Gold-Wielding Guard had failed to hold him accountable.
• Yu Tunzhou sent challenges to five local martial artists, while Jin Qingwu learned of his arrival and ordered Jin Ting to inform Jin Moyuan that Lu Huaiqing’s successor had come.
• Zhuang Yuan and Yuan Mengzhou told Yu Tunzhou that Jin Xiongfei had taken the surviving villagers hostage, and Yu Tunzhou agreed to challenge Jin Qingshui to draw Jin Xiongfei away while they rescued the captives.
• The next day, before Yu Tunzhou could send his challenge, Jin Moyuan invited him to visit the Jin Household.