Chapter Summaries

Yang Yuanzhao learned that Xuan Youli had clashed with four Meishan cultivators over a rock wall containing true flame, which she planned to transform into true fire for her phoenix nirvana. With the Yang Clan and Penglai Palace cultivators supporting her, she began the transformation, and true fire started to emerge.

• Yang Yuanzhao recognized that the rock wall contained extraordinary true-fire power and inferred that it had sparked Xuan Youli’s conflict with the four Meishan cultivators.
• Xuan Youli explained that she had offered to divide the opportunity, but the Meishan cultivators rejected her proposal and attacked when she refused to surrender it.
• Xuan Youli revealed that she intended to enter the rock wall and use the Mysterious Phoenix Reversal method to turn the true flame into true fire for her nirvanic transformation.
• The four Yang Clan members and Yu Shuang agreed to guard Xuan Youli while she underwent the transformation inside the rock wall.
• Yang Yuanzhao and Long Yan used their fire arts to restrain the true flame as the others supplied spiritual power, and strands of true fire began to emerge in less than two hours.

As Xuan Youli repeatedly burned and revived in her attempt at Nirvana Rebirth, Chen Huai'an confronted cultivators from Kudhan Temple and Lingxiao Dao Academy outside the cave. Wen Hui asked for the strange stone inside, but Chen Huai'an said its ownership had already been decided.

• Xuan Youli repeatedly crawled from the ashes as a fledgling, only to burn to ash again in the true fire.
• Chen Huai'an sensed approaching cultivators and left Lin Qiao and Senior Sister Yu to guard the cave while he went outside.
• Chen Huai'an found cultivators from Kudhan Temple and Lingxiao Dao Academy and blocked the cave entrance with his azure dragon shadow.
• The Dao Academy leader and Wen Hui sent their companions away, while Ming Fang raised his concern about the Yang Clan and was rebuked by Wen Hui.
• Wen Hui asked Chen Huai'an whether the cave held a supreme treasure of metal and stone, and Chen Huai'an confirmed it but said it already had an owner.

Wen Hui used his Way of Knowing Through Hearing to probe Chen Huai'an, but Chen Yang deceived him into believing Chen Huai'an possessed profound cultivation. Ge Xiao then invited Chen Huai'an to discuss the Dao, and Chen Huai'an expressed interest while worrying that a disturbance might disrupt Senior Sister Xuan’s nirvana inside the cave.

• Wen Hui failed to see through Chen Huai'an’s concealment with his Dharma Eye and used his hearing technique to sense him instead.
• Chen Yang planted a false sound in Chen Huai'an’s body, making Wen Hui believe Chen Huai'an had astonishing dharma power.
• Ge Xiao introduced himself as a cultivator from Lingxiao Dao Academy and said the strange stone no longer mattered to him.
• Wen Hui questioned whether Ge Xiao could decide on a discussion of the Dao without Chen Huai'an’s agreement.
• Chen Huai'an considered accepting Ge Xiao’s invitation but worried that sparring might disturb Senior Sister Xuan’s nirvana inside the cave.

Wen Hui proposed a contest between Chen Huai'an and Ge Xiao using golden Buddhist bells to judge their strength while protecting the nearby cave. Chen Huai'an realized Wen Hui also intended to probe their abilities through his hearing, and Chen Yang advised him to agree.

• Chen Huai'an and Ge Xiao sensed Wen Hui's flawless Dao heart and spiritual roots as he chanted sutras and manifested golden Buddhist light.
• Wen Hui formed two golden bells from his Buddhist Dharma and explained that their sounds would reach only his ears.
• Wen Hui offered to set a question for Chen Huai'an and Ge Xiao, using the bells to test who could break free more effectively.
• Wen Hui revealed a Dharma treasure golden bowl that could isolate their contest from the surrounding area.
• Chen Yang recognized Wen Hui's plan to learn their techniques through his special hearing and told Chen Huai'an to accept.

Chen Huai'an used his unusual blackish-purple dragon body to break Wen Hui's Golden Bell before Ge Xiao could escape his own. Ge Xiao accepted defeat and apologized, leaving open the possibility of a future rematch.

• Chen Huai'an identified the Golden Bell's weakest point and manifested a rare blackish-purple dragon body.
• Wen Hui sensed that the vibrations inside Chen Huai'an's Golden Bell did not resemble water Dao arts.
• After the incense burned out, Ge Xiao broke through his Golden Bell, but Chen Huai'an had already escaped and was standing beside Wen Hui.
• Wen Hui declared Chen Huai'an the winner of the Dao discussion, and Ge Xiao's arrogance faded.
• Chen Huai'an asked Ge Xiao to leave, and Ge Xiao accepted defeat, apologized, and proposed a future exchange.

Wen Hui and Ge Xiao speculated that Chen Huai'an was the disciple of the Divine Arrival True Person, prompting Chen Yang to sense their conversation and reflect on how names could stir a connection. Chen Yang concluded that such resonance might grow stronger with cultivation and karma, making survival in the outer realms more dangerous.

• Ge Xiao doubted Chen Huai'an could match the Dragon Lord without a pinnacle expert as his master, but Wen Hui suggested the Divine Arrival True Person might have taught him.
• Wen Hui and Ge Xiao discussed rumors that the Divine Arrival True Person might belong to the Demonic Path, then reconsidered after hearing that Demonic Path powers were also searching for him.
• Chen Yang sensed the two cultivators invoking his title and listened as they guessed that he was Chen Huai'an's master.
• Chen Yang reasoned that the pair would learn Chen Huai'an and Yang Yuanhong's real origins after leaving the Secret Realm, so their suspicion would soon fade.
• Chen Yang considered how cultivation and karmic ties might affect name-triggered resonance and concluded that surviving in the outer realms was especially difficult.

Xuan Youli completed her True Fire nirvana and emerged with a Mystical Phoenix body whose cultivation potential had increased. She thanked those who guarded her and shared wisps of True Fire with Yang Yuanzhao and Long Yan.

• Chen Huai'an returned to the cave and told Lin Qiao that he had persuaded the Dao Academy and Kudhan Temple cultivators to leave the mountain forest.
• Xuan Youli's True Fire pressure receded, and she emerged after completing her nirvana.
• The cultivators congratulated Xuan Youli, who thanked them for guarding her path.
• Xuan Youli gave Yang Yuanzhao and Long Yan a wisp of True Fire each after warning them not to refine more.

Yu Shuang and the others reached the summit and found the Five Elements Dharma Disc absorbing the power of three cultivators. Mu Yunshu explained that it was reclaiming heaven-and-earth energy and said that five chosen cultivators were needed to control it and begin the Five Elements Baptism.

• Yu Shuang stopped a Penglai Palace cultivator from approaching the Five Elements Dharma Disc and showed him the three cultivators suffering beneath it.
• Yang Yuanling used a vine to demonstrate that the disc absorbed spiritual energy from living things, and Yang Yuanzhao realized it was reclaiming power nurtured by heaven and earth.
• Mu Yunshu arrived with her Miaomu Immortal Mansion disciples and greeted Yang Yuanling and Yang Yuanzhao.
• Mu Yunshu agreed that the disc was not an evil artifact but said the group had to save the three cultivators from losing their Dao foundations.
• Mu Yunshu announced that one cultivator representing each of the Five Elements was needed to control the disc and begin the Five Elements Baptism, with the metal and wood candidates already chosen.

Long Yuan investigated the bizarre death of an ancient dragon in the Dragon Transformation Pool and learned it may have starved to death after gu insects drained its nourishment. After more than eight hundred days in the Dragon Tomb, Yang Yuanhong completed his dragon body advancement and emerged.

• Long Yuan researched records about an ancient dragon said to have eaten itself to death and sought the Sea-Bearing Ancestor’s explanation.
• Sea Bearing Venerable told Long Yuan that gu cultivators may have placed unhatched gu insects inside the dragon, leaving it endlessly hungry as the insects consumed its nourishment.
• Yang Yuanhong and Long Yuan returned to the Dragon Transformation Pool with Mystic Armor Venerable and forcibly opened the Dragon Tomb.
• Yang Yuanhong entered the tomb alone while Long Yuan and Mystic Armor Venerable waited outside, and Long Yuan later searched the surroundings for cultivation opportunities.
• After more than eight hundred days, Yang Yuanhong completed his dragon body advancement and emerged with a roar that shook the sky.

Yang Yuanhong found an empty Gu shell inside an ancient dragon and used it to refine more Breath of the Ancient Dragon, completing a second dragon body advancement. After sharing the discovery with Mystic Armor Venerable and Long Yuan, he learned that the conflict between the righteous and demonic paths had grown close to all-out war.

• Yang Yuanhong refined the ancient dragon's heart and absorbed its Breath of the Ancient Dragon, completing his first advancement in the Dragon Tomb.
• Yang Yuanhong discovered an empty Gu shell in the dragon's abdomen and realized it could condense Breath of the Ancient Dragon.
• Yang Yuanhong refined his dragon-attributed treasures in the shell for a year and absorbed the resulting Breath of the Ancient Dragon, completing his second advancement.
• Yang Yuanhong showed the shell to Mystic Armor Venerable and Long Yuan, and Mystic Armor Venerable judged that its maker may have reached beyond the Path Attainment Realm.
• Yang Yuanhong asked about the conflict between the two paths, and Mystic Armor Venerable said Luo Qianchou's slaying of a demonic sect true intent had brought the front lines close to all-out war.

Yang Yuanhong received the Eye-Pointing Formula and an Ancient Dragon Horn to advance his dragon body cultivation at Penglai Palace. The Five Elements Secret Realm ended, and Xuan Youli shared her true fire with senior cultivators of the Xi Yan Immortal Mansion.

• The Ninth Abyss Venerable read the jade slip from the Nangong Clan and understood that it contained dragon cultivation intelligence and an Ancient Dragon Horn for Yang Yuanhong.
• The Mystic Armor Venerable returned to Penglai Palace with two juniors, and the Sea Suppressing Venerable brought Yang Yuanhong into the Dragonkin Forbidden Ground.
• Hai Liu'er gave Yang Yuanhong the Eye-Pointing Formula and explained how the Ancient Dragon Horn could help him complete his final dragon body advancement.
• Yang Yuanhong promised Hai Liu'er that he would support Long Yuan and share future opportunities with him before entering a grotto-heaven to cultivate.
• The Five Elements Secret Realm ended, and Chen Huai'an, Lin Qiao, Xuan Youli, Ge Xiao, and Mu Yunshu received inheritances from the Five Elements Dharma Disc.
• Xuan Youli visited high-level cultivators of the Xi Yan Immortal Mansion and gifted them some of the true fire she had obtained.

Shen Yue and Baili Fusang reflected on the cost of the war between the Righteous and Demonic Paths as they prepared to return to the front lines. Shen Yue left with a firmer resolve to uphold his convictions and put his understanding into practice.

• Baili Fusang found Shen Yue watching the demon lands from an observation tower at Demon Suppression Pass.
• The chapter recounted how Shen Yue and Baili Fusang became close friends and studied Confucian writings together at Ruyi Immortal Valley.
• Shen Yue wondered how many people would die in the war and argued that it would have no true winner.
• Baili Fusang warned that refusing to fight would leave ordinary people at the mercy of demonic cultivators.
• Shen Yue said he would never yield on the treatment of ordinary people and realized he was beginning to understand the unity of knowledge and action.

Bai Di’s side used a secret mission as bait to expose traitors at Demon Suppression Pass and draw out a Demonic Path target. As Xuan Youli and four other Gold Ranking prodigies left as backup, an unseen senior confronted the suspected spy, who tried to convince himself that he remained undiscovered.

• Bai Di learned that the secret support mission had leaked and used Baili Fusang as bait in a trap for the traitor and a larger Demonic Path target.
• The righteous leaders’ covert investigation exposed two more people who had grown restless while the intelligence channel was being watched.
• Xuan Youli secretly led Yu Shuang, Liu Yanqing, Dongfang Yinghao, and Teng Shechuan from Demon Suppression Pass as a five-person reserve team.
• A True Intent Perfection cultivator returned to his quarters and sensed an unseen senior watching him through Spatial Daoist Magic.
• The suspected spy greeted the senior and privately reasoned that he had not been exposed, since he had used a True Intent cultivator from the dynasty to pass the information.

Ye Chenfeng delivered a captured Primordial Spirit to Venerable Xiu Zhu, completing the requirements for a soul-suppressing magical treasure that could take up to three years to forge. At the Talisman Mountain encampment, Ling Shuang confronted Mo Yunzhou after he took the soul-related items Ling Shuang had brought and tried to send him away.

• Ye Chenfeng killed a man, sealed his Primordial Spirit in a jade-green gourd, and brought it to Venerable Xiu Zhu at Hundred Artifacts Tower.
• Ye Chenfeng proposed that the man’s death be reported as a sacrifice after a failed secret assassination mission, and Venerable Xiu Zhu accepted the explanation.
• Venerable Xiu Zhu said the Primordial Spirit supplied the final piece for a soul-suppressing magical treasure, which he expected to complete within three years.
• Ling Shuang arrived at Talisman Mountain with two soul-related items, but Mo Yunzhou used a transposition technique to take them and told Ling Shuang to leave.
• Ling Shuang insisted he needed to enter the tower for guidance on talisman arts, then threatened Mo Yunzhou for provoking him.

He Shenglai arrived at the southwestern front and sought an audience with the fate official, using his long whip as proof of his connection. He reunited with Xue Qingluan at the young master's private camp and congratulated her on her progress.

• He Shenglai told Sui Changjiang he had come to visit the fate official and offered him his long whip to carry inside.
• Sui Changjiang learned of He Shenglai's relationship with the fate official and returned to invite him into the camp.
• Xue Qingluan welcomed He Shenglai at the entrance to the private camp after sending Sui Changjiang away.
• He Shenglai briefly marveled at how much Xue Qingluan had changed, then congratulated her on her improved cultivation and Dao arts.

Yang Lingrui reunited with He Shenglai over wine, and the two reminisced about their years together until they passed out. Yun Xiwu arranged for He Shenglai to rest and prepared battle reports about the demon lands to help with the purpose of his visit.

• Yang Lingrui gave He Shenglai spiritual wine, and they drank while recalling their shared past.
• Yun Xiwu found Yang Lingrui and He Shenglai drunk, sent Xue Qingluan to settle He Shenglai in a guest room, and helped Yang Lingrui into his cave dwelling.
• Yun Xiwu asked Xue Qingluan whether He Shenglai had been settled and gave her selected battle reports to pass to him when he woke.
• Xue Qingluan had already learned that He Shenglai sought information about the demon lands for the He Family, which cultivated wood arts and spiritual plants.

He Shenglai was assigned to a squad as the Demonic Path launched an all-out assault on the Southwest front. The chapter explained how the Demonic Path assembled its forces for the counterattack, including lifespan-sacrificing cultivators and a vast horde of corpses.

• Luo Qianchou arrived at the encampment and selected He Shenglai for a major operation.
• He Shenglai and Chen Huaien joined Long Yuan's squad for combat drills in a grotto-heaven.
• Seven days into the drills, an urgent order sent every squad to its battlefield as demonic clouds approached.
• He Shenglai and the other borderland cultivators rushed to defend the Southwest line while the Demonic Path attacked Demon Suppression Pass in the Central Region.
• More than forty percent of the Demonic Path's cultivators had sacrificed lifespan to raise their cultivation, while many others fought to retain Bai Di's protection and earn merit.
• The Ten Thousand Corpses Demon Cave supplied a vast horde of Blood Corpses, corpse puppets, and corpse ghosts, with a few intelligent Arcane Corpses hidden among them.

The righteous and demonic forces fought a war that would shape Canglan Continent’s fortune, while Baili Fusang’s squad reached the eastern war zone to target a powerful Demon Child. Baili Fusang concealed his squad near the enemy positions and prepared for the danger of the Demon Child’s hidden protectors.

• Gold Ranking talents were scattered across the vast front, while Xiao Huai and Chi Tian carried out special assignments alone.
• The war’s victories and defeats shaped competing torrents of fortune and would settle Chen Yang and Wu Chang’s wager.
• Baili Fusang led his squad into its assigned area and slipped past the main demonic forces with help from the local commander.
• Baili Fusang hid the squad near enemy positions, wary of their detection arrays, traps, and the Demon Child’s secret protectors.
• Baili Fusang recognized that the protectors were prepared to sacrifice their lives for the Demon Child, as was customary in the Poison Absolute lineage.

The demonic cultivators prepared to meet the righteous force, but their attack was disrupted by a powerful fire arts cultivator who burned the blood arts cultivator’s avatar. The strength arts cultivator charged ahead while his supposed partner grew wary, and the chapter ended by explaining why Wu Xingqiu had not gone to Demon Suppression Pass.

• The blood arts cultivator told the strength arts cultivator that the Myriad Corpses Sect’s secret should remain confidential, expecting his companion would die before reinforcements arrived.
• A righteous fire arts cultivator burned three returning scouts and planted a fire seed in the last scout; the two demonic leaders stopped the scout from carrying it back to their formation.
• The blood arts cultivator ordered the demonic forces to attack, and he and the strength arts cultivator charged into the righteous formation together.
• The fire arts cultivator burned the blood arts cultivator’s avatar, forcing him to recall it and avoid direct contact.
• The strength arts cultivator charged straight at the enemy, while the chapter revealed that Wu Xingqiu had missed the first deployment because he was not a heaven’s chosen and had not mastered the true fire art.

Qi Han killed a blood-arts demonic cultivator and absorbed his remains to cultivate blood poison, one of the eight poison arts he still needed to complete. He intended to seek purer blood qi in the Central Region, while the battlefield between the two paths offered him new targets among the righteous cultivators.

• Qi Han dissolved the blood-arts demonic cultivator with his poison arts, collected his treasures and storage bags, and swallowed the remains.
• Qi Han recalled how his Innate Hundred-Poison Physique had destroyed his birth parents and village, led a Core Formation demonic cultivator to report him to the Poison Absolute Immortal Sect, and brought him to Old Ancestor Poison Absolute as a favored disciple.
• Qi Han reflected that his cultivation had reached the peak of the Twelfth Layer of Spiritual Connection, with eight poison arts left to complete before he could attain True Intent.
• Qi Han judged the Demonic Land's blood qi too impure for his blood poison art and decided he would need to reach the Central Region to advance further.
• Qi Han saw the battlefield between the two paths as an opportunity to cultivate using the righteous cultivators' condensed blood qi and vigorous life force.