Chapter Summaries

Chen Yang and his companions followed the Ancient Path deity's sword-intent lure to a vast rift filled with resentful power, where the deity planned to gather cultivators and use their fortune to ease its burden. When the Su Family's much larger allied force arrived, He Shenglai's companions rallied around him and prepared to fight.

• Chen Yang accepted the Ancient Path deity's sword Dao inheritance and stored it for Dai Wei, who lacked a suitable sword art.
• He Shenglai's group followed the spiritual plant's guidance for two days and found a vast rift that Chen Yang recognized as the Ancient Path deity's mouth, full of resentful power.
• Chen Yang deduced that the deity had lured multiple factions to the rift so their fortune could help dissolve its burden and reveal the Ancient Path Treasure, the True Intent Formless Manifestation.
• The Su Family arrived with more than thirty cultivators, including allies from the Tianyou Dynasty, the Moliang Dynasty, and vassal families.
• Yang Lingrui, Xiao Yize, and the others reassured He Shenglai and declared their readiness to battle, restoring his confidence.

Hong Yao and Tiger Chasing’s cultivators joined the battle against the Su and He families and their allies. Feng Lan faced six attackers by drawing them into his Mountain River Map.

• Hong Yao charged the cloud mass, struck at the three Perfected Cultivators, and began fighting them with his lightning techniques.
• Su Lingyun and He Shenglai met in battle, using their cloud and wood techniques against each other.
• Qiu Ran and Xiao Yize attacked the Tianyou Dynasty’s cultivators, while Shen Yue confronted the Moliang Dynasty’s force.
• Yang Lingrui, Zi He, and Feng Lan fought the remaining cultivators as Xue Qingluan went to find Su Lixue and capture or kill her.
• Eight enemy cultivators targeted Feng Lan, but his Word Spirit technique brought two of them down and he drew the remaining six into his Mountain River Map.

Tiger Chasing held the advantage across most battlefields as Su Lingyun fought He Shenglai and Xue Qingluan dominated Su Lixue. When Xue Qingluan sensed a familiar aura and rushed to protect Yang Lingrui, a moonlight beam pierced her chest.

• Su Lingyun accused He Shenglai of bringing ruin upon the He Family, and He Shenglai revealed that Su Lingyun had driven his half-brother mad to secure his place as the Su Family's heir.
• Qiu Ran and Xiao Yize broke the opposing eight-man formation, while the green-robed Confucian cultivator trapped the Moliang fighters between mountains, floodwater, and heavenly fire.
• Xue Qingluan overwhelmed Su Lixue with moonlight attacks and prepared a killing move to break her spiritual treasure defense.
• Xue Qingluan sensed a familiar aura, turned, and rushed toward Yang Lingrui to protect him.
• A ribbon-soft beam of moonlight pierced Xue Qingluan's chest, and blood spilled across the sky.

Yang Lingrui caught the gravely wounded Xue Qingluan as the Lanyue Sect joined the battle to kill him. Hong Yao summoned Wen Zishu with the token, and Wen blocked the Lanyue Sect’s two Perfected Cultivators from intervening.

• Yang Lingrui recognized the Lanyue Sect’s Moon Waterfall spell and unleashed his killing intent, driving the ten aristocratic cultivators away.
• Yang Lingrui caught Xue Qingluan after she took the Moon Waterfall spell for him, and Chen Yang secretly used pills and healing green light to keep her alive.
• Yue Shuwang arrived with allies from several sects and sent cultivators, including Yu Tingzhi, to attack Yang Lingrui.
• Hong Yao crushed his half of the Immortal token and summoned Wen Zishu to the battlefield.
• Wen Zishu appeared between the Lanyue Sect’s Perfected Cultivators and Yang Lingrui, warning them not to interfere.

Yang Lingrui unleashed a ghostlike wind manifestation infused with his killing intent, trapping the surrounding cultivators and killing them in growing numbers. Yue Shuwang prepared to strike with the Moon Waterfall, while Yu Tingzhi located Yang Lingrui’s true body just as an alarming sound tore through the wind.

• Wen Zishu’s arrival forced Yue Shuwang to abandon her immediate attempt to kill Yang Lingrui, and the gathered cultivators encircled him as the Lanyue Sect prepared another Moon Waterfall.
• Yang Lingrui sent the injured Xue Qingluan away with Zi He, then merged his killing aura with his wind sorcery to create a terrifying ghostly manifestation.
• Yang Lingrui’s wind manifestation enveloped the besiegers, and its soul-snaring howls accompanied the deaths of more and more Core Formation Cultivators.
• Yue Shuwang ordered Yang Lingrui killed and used a crescent-shaped ruyi spirit treasure to infuse Yu Tingzhi with true essence so she could locate him.
• Yu Tingzhi found Yang Lingrui’s true body and began preparing Moonlight Silk Thread, but she sensed danger and heard something tear through the wind.

Zi He killed Yu Tingzhi with a Gold Aspect Arrow as Yue Shuwang’s plan to kill Yang Lingrui unraveled. Just as Yue Shuwang attacked, a cultivator from the Jade Firmament Sect captured Yang Lingrui with a strange stone stele, claiming he was tied to the sect’s secrets.

• Zi He shot Yu Tingzhi through the head with a Gold Aspect Arrow, killing her and reclaiming the true essence she had received.
• Yue Shuwang cursed Yu Tingzhi and accidentally revealed that she had considered Xue Qingluan superior to her.
• Yue Shuwang asked the Chuyun Pavilion cultivators to help kill Yang Lingrui, but they refused to join the conflict.
• Yue Shuwang absorbed the bright moon and crushed Zi He’s arrow before charging at Yang Lingrui.
• Yang Lingrui withdrew his techniques at Chen Yang’s instruction, but a beam from a white-haired Jade Firmament Sect cultivator seized him with a stone stele.

Ban Kuizhen used Jade Firmament Sect’s influence to take Yang Lingrui from the battle, convincing the other cultivators that he had captured him for the sect. In reality, Ban Kuizhen had arranged the seizure to protect Yang Lingrui, whose fate remained hidden from everyone else.

• Ban Kuizhen appeared with a mysterious stone stele and identified himself as a member of Jade Firmament Sect, causing the battling cultivators to stop and take stock of his power.
• Wen Zishu recognized that Ban Kuizhen possessed a Primordial Spirit and was undergoing Spiritual Connection Re-cultivation, and he warned Hong Yao that the two of them could not defeat him.
• The Lanyue Sect cultivators withdrew with Yue Shuwang, who judged that Jade Firmament Sect’s seizure of Yang Lingrui might serve Lanyue Sect’s goal of stopping his growth.
• Su Lingyun mistakenly concluded that Jade Firmament Sect had planned the seizure to avoid a confrontation with Tiger Chasing.
• Ban Kuizhen’s Primordial Spirit had sensed Yang Lingrui in danger, so he fabricated a connection to Mingxu Sect remnants and borrowed a sect supreme treasure from Xu Chen.
• Ban Kuizhen used the treasure to take Yang Lingrui in public, making it appear that the young cultivator was under Jade Firmament Sect’s control while secretly protecting him.

Chen Yang used Ban Kuizhen’s arrival to protect Yang Lingrui and arrange for Zi He and Xue Qingluan to be brought to the Jade Firmament Sect’s group. The chapter left Zi He stunned after Ban Kuizhen secretly freed him from the spell restricting his cultivation.

• Chen Yang told Yang Lingrui to pretend to be struck and carried away, then welcomed Ban Kuizhen as a powerful protector.
• Xu Chen questioned Ban Kuizhen about his earlier investigation of the Yang Family, and Ban blamed the family prodigy’s unusual origins on the remnants of the Mingxu Sect.
• Ban Kuizhen’s companions brought Zi He and Xue Qingluan back, and Yang Lingrui gave Zi He a reassuring look.
• Ban Kuizhen revealed Zi He’s ocular art and proposed using him to scout the rift abyss for the Jade Firmament Sect’s treasure-seeking expedition.
• While opening Zi He’s eyelids, Ban Kuizhen secretly removed the spell restriction in his sea of consciousness, leaving Zi He shocked at Ban’s strength and allegiance.

As the ancient Dao deity prepared the rift abyss, Ban Kuizhen tricked Xu Chen into approaching it and used the sudden eruption of black flames to make Xu Chen believe he had saved him. Xu Chen destroyed the spirit treasure controlling the Soul-Hosting Insect and let go of his suspicion toward Ban Kuizhen.

• The Jade Firmament Sect’s overwhelming strength forced the three factions and other Waning Moon Realm forces to keep their distance from the rift abyss.
• The ancient Dao deity opened its eye, assessed the cultivators’ fortunes, and began channeling divine power into the abyss.
• After Chen Yang warned him, Ban Kuizhen claimed he sensed fluctuations below and drew Xu Chen toward the abyss.
• Black flames erupted, and Ban Kuizhen pulled Xu Chen to safety while Xu Chen activated the Soul-Hosting Insect’s technique against him.
• Feeling guilty, Xu Chen destroyed the spirit treasure that triggered the Soul-Hosting Insect, and Ban Kuizhen reassured him until Xu Chen abandoned his suspicions.

Ban Kuizhen pretended to be injured to win Xu Chen’s trust, then tested the weakening black flames around the abyss by throwing Zi He inside. After learning the Stone Tablet Treasure could protect them, Ban Kuizhen prepared to enter with Yang Lingrui and Xue Qingluan while Chen Yang secretly bound them together.

• Ban Kuizhen feigned pain from the Soul-Hosting Insect to earn Xu Chen’s trust.
• A five-colored halo rose from the black flames, and the cultivators sensed an Ancient Path Treasure within the abyss.
• Ban Kuizhen grabbed Zi He and hurled him through the black flames to test the entrance.
• Ban Kuizhen claimed Zi He had entered safely, convincing the Jade Firmament Sect cultivators that the stone tablet could shield them.
• Ban Kuizhen drew Yang Lingrui and Xue Qingluan beside him, and Chen Yang secretly bound the three together as they prepared to enter the abyss.

Ban Kuizhen, Yang Lingrui, Xue Qingluan, and the stone stele entered the rift abyss, where Ban Kuizhen revealed his allegiance to Chen Yang. After Chen Yang healed them, Yang Lingrui reassured Xue Qingluan and concealed the Venerable God's existence from her.

• Ban Kuizhen suddenly spat blood, and the stone stele broke free of Xu Chen and flew into the black flames.
• Ban Kuizhen charged into the flames after the stele, taking Yang Lingrui and Xue Qingluan with him as they fell into the five-colored halo.
• In the rift abyss, Ban Kuizhen bowed to Yang Lingrui and pledged his loyalty to Chen Yang, who emerged from Yang Lingrui's sleeve.
• Chen Yang healed Ban Kuizhen's Primordial Spirit injuries and Xue Qingluan's wounds, then returned to Yang Lingrui's sleeve to study the stone stele.
• Yang Lingrui told Xue Qingluan that Ban Kuizhen had saved them and that they had accidentally entered the abyss.

Yang Lingrui, Xue Qingluan, and Ban Kuizhen climbed a mountain trial that tested their talent, while Zi He reached the summit by another path. Though Ban Kuizhen appeared unable to advance, Chen Yang trusted his perseverance, and Ban Kuizhen finally began moving toward the summit again.

• Yang Lingrui discovered that the mountain path slowed Xue Qingluan and Ban Kuizhen according to their differing talent, and Ban Kuizhen explained that the climb tested their aptitude for the Dao.
• Ban Kuizhen overcame his doubts by remembering his past cultivation breakthroughs and continued climbing alone after Yang Lingrui and Xue Qingluan pulled far ahead.
• Yang Lingrui reached the summit and waited for Zi He, who arrived later; Xue Qingluan then joined them, leaving Ban Kuizhen as the only climber still below.
• Chen Yang watched Ban Kuizhen struggle to advance and told the ancient path deity that Ban Kuizhen’s perseverance and repeated Spiritual Connection cultivation showed talent.
• After Ban Kuizhen had walked in place for a long time, he suddenly began moving toward the summit again.

Ban Kuizhen reached the summit and regained his determination to keep pursuing a breakthrough. Chen Yang entered Ku Yun’s inner realm to speak with him, where Ku Yun asked how Chen Yang preserved his consciousness and wielded divine and baleful power, hoping to learn a way to ease his resentment.

• Ban Kuizhen reached the summit, and Yang Lingrui and the others congratulated him.
• Ban Kuizhen decided to keep trying to break through to the second level of Spiritual Connection.
• The Ancient Dao deity admitted to Chen Yang that he had misjudged Ban Kuizhen and invited Chen Yang into his inner realm.
• Chen Yang entered Ku Yun’s inner realm and met Ku Yun’s spiritual body in a pagoda beneath a sky of sun, moon, and stars.
• Chen Yang explained that he had awakened in an Earthly Treasure Secret Realm thirty years earlier and received his name from the Yang Clan.
• Ku Yun asked Chen Yang how he had preserved his consciousness and controlled divine power and baleful power, seeking a method to dispel his resentment.

Chen Yang subdued Ku Yun after Ku Yun accused him of hiding the secret art and attacked him, then learned Ku Yun’s history and his wish to see the Divine Dao’s former glory. Chen Yang lifted Ku Yun’s potted plant and offered to take him back to his old homeland.

• Ku Yun grew angry when Chen Yang said he could not explain how he had learned the method of Dual Cultivation of Immortal and Divine Paths, and he attacked Chen Yang with divine power.
• Chen Yang used the stone tablet’s power to strike Ku Yun’s soul, then restrained him with three True Essence blasts and revealed that he could cultivate both paths.
• Ku Yun surrendered and explained that he had been a stone giant nurtured by a Venerable God, who sent him into the ancient path and gave him the power to survive the Divine Dao’s collapse.
• Ku Yun confessed that resentment would consume his consciousness within a century, turning him into an evil god, and said he longed to see the Divine Dao’s former glory again.
• Chen Yang lifted the potted plant Ku Yun inhabited and offered to take him back to his old homeland.

Ku Yun revisited the Divine Palace, learned that Chen Yang was its Venerable God, and joined his ranks to help revive the Divine Dao. As Chen Yang took Ku Yun’s resentment power, cultivators began climbing the Peak of Talent, where rivals and prodigies were set on intersecting paths.

• Chen Yang brought Ku Yun’s spirit to the Star Sea, where Ku Yun reunited with the ruined Divine Palace and met Fu Yin and Wu Hua.
• Ku Yun recognized Chen Yang as the Venerable God and accepted his invitation to join the Divine Palace.
• Ku Yun removed his vast store of resentment power, and Chen Yang placed it in the jade tower.
• Cultivators entered through the abyssal entrance and began climbing the Peak of Talent after discovering they could not fly.
• Shen Yue, Yue Shuwang, and Xu Chen were assigned to the same path, while He Shenglai and Su Lingyun, and Qiu Ran and Xiao Yize, were each placed together.

Xu Chen, Shen Yue, and Yue Shuwang climbed a mountain trial that they believed tested cultivation talent. Shen Yue left them behind, intent on reaching the summit to find Zi He and Yang Lingrui, while Xu Chen watched him pull ahead.

• Xu Chen invited Shen Yue and Yue Shuwang to climb the mountain with him, and they concluded the trial tested talent for cultivation.
• Xu Chen sped up and opened a lead, assuming the others could not match his pace.
• Shen Yue judged that climbing speed did not measure true talent and remembered that Zi He and Yang Lingrui might already be at the summit.
• Concerned for his friends, Shen Yue began crossing three steps at a time, stunning Yue Shuwang.
• Shen Yue caught up to Xu Chen, explained that he could not stop worrying about his friends, and hurried ahead, declaring Chengtian Academy's scenery superior to the mountains.

Xu Chen struggled to keep ahead of the relentless Yue Shuwang, while He Shenglai rejected Su Lingyun’s attempt to turn him against Yang Lingrui and continued toward the summit. Stung by He Shenglai’s words, Su Lingyun resolved to abandon the Dao of Calculation and reclaim the Heart of Ruthless Dao.

• Xu Chen gave up trying to catch Shen Yue, but Yue Shuwang’s furious pursuit forced him to keep racing uphill.
• He Shenglai and Su Lingyun climbed side by side, arguing over the old calamity that had befallen their families.
• Su Lingyun suggested that Elder Yu had tied the Yang Family to the Jade Firmament Sect and used them for his own purposes.
• He Shenglai said he valued Yang Lingrui for his potential regardless of who had raised him, then left Su Lingyun behind to reach the summit and help him.
• Su Lingyun recognized that his schemes and lingering feelings had failed him, and resolved to retrieve the Heart of Ruthless Dao himself.

Qiu Ran and Xiao Yize struggled up the third mountain trail while Shen Yue reached the summit first, followed by the other cultivators. In the next region, Yang Lingrui wandered alone through a featureless wasteland after a sandstorm separated him from his companions.

• Qiu Ran and Xiao Yize agreed to rest together after climbing at matching speeds, leaving their first trial likely tied.
• Shen Yue reached the summit first, rang the bronze bell, and was transported to the next region.
• Xu Chen and Yue Shuwang reached the summit, followed by Feng Lan and the other cultivators, who rang the bell to continue.
• A sandstorm separated Yang Lingrui from Zi He, Xue Qingluan, and Ban Kuizhen in the gray wasteland.
• Yang Lingrui continued alone through the directionless wasteland, where cultivators could barely use their true essence.

Yang Lingrui crossed a desolate wasteland filled with illusions that tried to turn him back, but his unwavering Dao heart carried him to the stone door and ended the trial. As his body returned to normal, countless other cultivators remained trapped in the wasteland, broken by its tests of body and mind.

• Yang Lingrui kept walking as illusions of Yang Linghu called to him, and he affirmed his resolve to shoulder the Lineage and continue forward.
• Yang Lingrui ignored illusions of Yang Guanfeng and Elder Yu pleading that the family was in danger, reasoning that the real ancestors would have urged him to flee instead.
• Illusions of Yang Lingqing, Zi He, Yang Lingshu, Li Qingwan, Zhao Qi, and Feng Linghua tried to stop Yang Lingrui, but he pressed on without wavering.
• Yang Lingrui aged as he crossed the wasteland, yet his steps and clear resolve never changed.
• Yang Lingrui reached a stone door, ending the trial as Dharma light restored his body to normal.
• Across the wasteland, many cultivators broke down or stopped walking under the torment of the illusions and their aging bodies.

Yang Lingrui reached the Fate Lake after passing the talent and perseverance trials, while Chen Yang learned from Ku Yun that the Twilight Ancient Path held three True Intent Formless Manifestations. To keep other cultivators from obtaining them, Chen Yang ordered Ku Yun to move the manifestations in the Starlight and Rising Sun Realms; one trial site then collapsed, leaving its cultivators baffled.

• Yang Lingrui entered the frozen lake area and became the first cultivator on the journey to reach the Fate Lake.
• Ku Yun's resentment was completely cleansed, and he thanked Chen Yang, who promised him a place in the reconstructed Divine Palace.
• Chen Yang asked Ku Yun about obtaining True Intent Formless Manifestations, and Ku Yun explained that he could guide them to appear but could not control who claimed them.
• Ku Yun revealed that three manifestations were within the Twilight Ancient Path and that the Starlight and Rising Sun Realms each had exploration sites.
• Chen Yang ordered Ku Yun to move the manifestations in those two realms and prevent cultivators from obtaining them.
• Ku Yun used divine power to draw three manifestations from a Rising Sun Realm ruin, causing the trial site to collapse as cultivators fled and wondered whether the ancient path was failing.