Chapter Summaries

Chen Xun and his companions sailed deeper into the Realm Battlefield as he studied the Defiled Lifespans and resolved to bring forward the great battle between realms. After two years, they reached the Great Li Battlefield, where a group of cultivators fleeing a Defiled Lifespan found their path blocked by Black Mountain.

• Chen Xun recovered aboard the Giant Ship, reasoned that the Yin Cold Qi caused the lifespan loss from killing Defiled Lifespans, and decided to capture a newly born one to investigate Spirit Transformation.
• Chen Xun resolved that he could no longer stand aside and considered provoking the decisive battle between realms; he then began opening a new Divine Aperture as Big Black Ox and Little Crimson cultivated beside him.
• The Giant Ship sailed through the Realm Battlefield for two years while Chen Xun and his companions continued strengthening its defenses with Longevity Points.
• Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson reached Black Mountain in the Great Li Battlefield, where a sinister wind extinguished the Defiled Lifespans climbing across it.
• Huang Shao, Dai Xinqing, and the other fleeing cultivators ran from a Late Golden Core Defiled Lifespan and found Black Mountain blocking their route, leaving them fearing a Nascent Soul Defiled Lifespan was waiting ahead.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox continued killing Defiled Lifespans while waiting for the War Realm Camp, and their corpse mountain became a frightening legend across the Realm Battlefield. Marshal Bai Li Zhong Hu set out to meet the unknown cultivator, and his ten War Realm Boats arrived at the battlefield flank as Chen Xun waited to see who had come.

• A Late Golden Core Defiled Lifespan fled in terror from the corpse mountain, but a figure atop it killed him with a streak of light.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox stayed at the mountain, continued slaughtering Defiled Lifespans, and waited for the War Realm Camp to find them.
• Stories spread that the corpse mountain protected the battlefield flank, making the surrounding area a refuge feared by Defiled Lifespans.
• Bai Li Zhong Hu heard about the cultivator who had piled Defiled Lifespan corpses into a mountain and ordered the War Realm Boats to depart that day.
• Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and the third figure opened their eyes as ten War Realm Boats appeared on the horizon, and Chen Xun rose to greet them.

Chen Xun met Bai Li Zhong Hu, Marshal of the War Realm Camp, atop a mountain of Defiled Lifespan corpses and told him that Baili Fengyao had sent a message. Bai Li Zhong Hu recognized the private words and reflected on his ninth brother’s ideals, while Chen Xun and his companions remained in the Marshal’s company.

• Bai Li Zhong Hu arrived to meet Chen Xun, and the two agreed to speak atop the corpse-covered mountain.
• Chen Xun told Bai Li Zhong Hu that he and his companions had waited for him and asked whether he knew Baili Fengyao.
• Bai Li Zhong Hu revealed that Baili Fengyao was his ninth brother and said he had been destined to become Marshal.
• Chen Xun relayed Baili Fengyao’s message: “This old monk broke his promise.”
• Bai Li Zhong Hu recognized the private words and discussed his brother’s defeat at the Ten Provinces Dao Discussion and his wish to change people’s hearts rather than force change through slaughter.

Chen Xun challenged Bai Li Zhong Hu over the War Realm Camp’s costly advance against the Defiled Lifespans, but Bai Li defended the battles as necessary to preserve hope among the realm’s people. After the confrontation subsided, Bai Li began explaining the realm’s ancient history and why he could not let the truth about the road ahead spread.

• Bai Li Zhong Hu invited Chen Xun to join the War Realm Camp, but Chen Xun refused and questioned whether Bai Li knew the Defiled Lifespans’ birthplace lay at the end of the road ahead.
• Bai Li sealed off Corpse Mountain and confronted Chen Xun after Chen said the War Realm Camp’s sacrifices and advance were meaningless.
• Chen Xun accused the Defiled Lifespans of draining the Realm Lifeforms while their experts cultivated in safety, and Bai Li demanded to know whether Chen understood the ancient war.
• Bai Li explained that the War Realm Camp’s bloody advances kept the realm from losing hope and falling into chaos, and said he would fight until his blood ran dry.
• Chen Xun backed down from the argument and warned that Bai Li could not kill him; Bai Li dropped his killing intent and began explaining that the realm had once been unsealed and free of Defiled Lifespans.

Bai Li Zhong Hu explained that their realm was an isolated Small World rejected by the Three Thousand Great Worlds, with its path forward severed and Defiled Lifespans born from the resulting catastrophe. Chen Xun rejected the idea that no road remained and revealed a plan to deal with the Late-Stage Spirit Transformation Defiled Lifespans, leaving Bai Li Zhong Hu stunned.

• Bai Li Zhong Hu told Chen Xun that their realm had once been connected to the Three Thousand Great Worlds but was rejected and eventually cut off.
• Bai Li Zhong Hu explained that Defiled Lifespans had emerged at Realm's End and that ancient cultivators had fought them at the cost of their lives and inheritances.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox eagerly insisted that a road ahead had to exist, while Bai Li Zhong Hu warned Chen Xun not to spread the truth that there was none.
• Chen Xun asked Bai Li Zhong Hu to keep their plan secret and said they would handle the Late-Stage Spirit Transformation Defiled Lifespans.
• Chen Xun showed Bai Li Zhong Hu a booklet and explained his plan, leaving the Marshal horrified as soldiers watched from the War Realm Boats.

After Chen Xun departed the mountaintop, Marshal Bai Li Zhong Hu ordered the armies to hold the battlefield while the retreat unfolded in bloodshed. Three days later, Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson reached the Bank of the Milky Way, where Chen Xun painted and spoke of hoping to live freely in the Three Thousand Great Worlds.

• Bai Li Zhong Hu gave Chen Xun a jade slip, and Chen Xun destroyed the mountain of corpses before leaving the Realm Battlefield with Big Black Ox and Little Crimson.
• Bai Li Zhong Hu ordered the Three Armies and Realm Lifeforms to hold the battlefield and temporarily cease their advance.
• The armies covered the retreat as Yu Chen fought on, Qi Geng Yun carried away Zhuang Yun's corpse, and cultivators established defensive lines against the Defiled Lifespan.
• Three days later, Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson reached the Bank of the Milky Way and looked over its river, burial mounds, and Great Pass.
• Chen Xun painted while telling Big Black Ox and Little Crimson that he hoped they could live freely in the Three Thousand Great Worlds, then discovered he had painted the ten statues as little dwarves.

Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson arrived at the Baili Clan’s Ten Thousand Great Mountains and learned which powers were hunting Little Crimson’s clan. Chen Xun revealed he came from the Qian Kingdom and learned that another Qian Kingdom cultivator had joined the reserve military camp.

• Chen Xun presented Marshal Grave Tiger’s jade slip, and Baili Wentian and Old Ancestor Jiu Hua admitted him and his companions into the mountains.
• Old Ancestor Jiu Hua recognized Little Crimson as a Flame Radiance Crimson Ancient Lion, while Big Black Ox warned him off with a show of strength.
• Chen Xun asked who was hunting Little Crimson’s clan, and Baili Wentian named the Spirit Enlightenment Ancient Immortal Sect, the Ancient Cultivation Family Jiang, and the White Jade Merchant Guild.
• Baili Wentian explained that the Baili Clan had once helped spirit beasts escape Great Li through a Large Teleportation Array, and Chen Xun said he was from the Qian Kingdom.
• Baili Wentian revealed that a junior from the Qian Kingdom had joined the reserve military camp, and Chen Xun asked to meet him.

Chen Xun and his companions secured the Baili Clan’s support for their coming battle and exchanged spirit herbs for essence blood from the Nine Heavens Demon Sealing Ape clan. The next day, Chen Xun visited a Baili military camp, where he examined its cultivation resources and searched for a Qian Kingdom cultivator.

• Chen Xun asked the Baili Clan for ordinary Spirit Transformation cultivation techniques and pledged to go all out in the battle, prompting Baili Wentian and Old Ancestor Jiu Hua to promise their support.
• Chen Xun traded two three-thousand-year-old Yuan Chen Ginseng plants for two drops of the Nine Heavens Demon Sealing Ape clan’s essence blood, which Old Ancestor Jiu Hua obtained from Yuan Yi.
• Baili Wentian warned Chen Xun that there was no turning back, and Chen Xun declared that the others would see his resolve when he stirred up turmoil on the Realm Battlefield.
• The next day, Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson visited a Baili Clan military camp and saw cultivators training with Facing Origin Crimson Treasure Fruits.
• Chen Xun considered using the camp’s resources to help his companions and people back home, then secretly searched for the Qian Kingdom cultivator the Baili family head had mentioned.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox encountered Meng Sheng in the Baili Clan’s camp and caught up with him as he explained how he had reached Great Li. Meng Sheng lent Chen Xun a token for a teleportation array back to Qian Kingdom, and Chen Xun left him pills and a booklet before departing with Big Black Ox and Little Crimson.

• Chen Xun recognized Meng Sheng at the edge of the camp and invited him to walk and talk.
• Meng Sheng told Chen Xun that he had reached Great Li through an ancient teleportation array after being hunted from the Southern Secret Realm.
• Chen Xun asked about the array in Qian Kingdom, and Meng Sheng gave him its Restriction Token for the return journey.
• Chen Xun gave Meng Sheng Supreme Purity Ancient Pills, a booklet about pill refining, and an orange in exchange.
• Meng Sheng asked Chen Xun's name as he departed, and Chen Xun identified himself before vanishing into the forest with Big Black Ox and Little Crimson.

Chen Xun created the Five Elements Spirit Transformation Art in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, triggering a heaven-shaking phenomenon that drew the attention of the Baili Clan and Old Ancestor Jiu Hua. As Big Black Ox rushed back to him, a powerful Baili ancestor prepared to personally confront Chen Xun.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox revealed to Little Crimson that they had run to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains instead of using a Teleportation Array, then continued traveling and trading for cultivation resources.
• Chen Xun deduced the Five Elements Spirit Transformation Art using his Five Elements Primordial Spirits and insights into Heaven and Earth Essence Qi.
• The newly created art summoned vast Five Elements Pressure and Essence of Heaven and Earth, shaking the Ten Thousand Great Mountains and suppressing nearby beasts and soldiers.
• Baili Wentian met the Baili Clan's armored Old Ancestor, who ordered preparations and said he would personally seek out Chen Xun.
• Old Ancestor Jiu Hua and Big Black Ox stopped their battle after sensing Chen Xun's breakthrough, and Big Black Ox hurried back to guard him.

After completing his meditation, Chen Xun reached the mid-stage of Spirit Transformation and prepared to leave the Ten Thousand Great Mountains with Big Black Ox and Little Crimson. They arranged teleportation arrays and set their sights on visiting the Heaven Severing Great Ravine before going home.

• Old Ancestor Jiu Hua suspected Chen Xun and Big Black Ox had come from the Great World and ordered its descendants to seek aid from spirit beasts throughout Great Li.
• After half a month of meditation, Chen Xun emerged with his apertures absorbing Heaven and Earth Five Elements Qi and reached the mid-stage of Spirit Transformation.
• Chen Xun told Big Black Ox they would visit the Heaven Severing Great Ravine before returning home, then jokingly accused it of trying to send him off to the afterlife when it performed a ritual around him.
• The next day, Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson reached the ancient Teleportation Array, where Big Black Ox built another array and secretly prepared three underground Medium Teleportation Arrays.
• After exchanging essence blood for Thousand Year Spiritual Herbs with the spirit beasts, Chen Xun and his companions prepared to depart.

Chen Xun and his companions left the Ten Thousand Great Mountains as the Baili Clan and Nine Heavens Demon Sealing Ape Clan mobilized, prompting powers across Great Li to prepare for a possible decisive battle on the Realm Battlefield. They sailed toward the Heaven Severing Great Plains, where Chen Xun planned to establish a Teleportation Array and gather Extinguishing Divine Stones.

• Chen Xun bade farewell to the Baili Clan and Nine Heavens Demon Sealing Ape Clan as their forces launched War Realm Boats and rose into the sky.
• The Baili Clan contacted powers across Great Li, warning that the Realm Battlefield might soon change and urging them to prepare.
• Old Ancestor Jiu Hua told spirit beasts across the ancient lands that there was hope on the road ahead and that they could choose whether to pass through the Heavenly Pass.
• Hidden cultivators emerged and mobilized, while the Ancient Immortal Sects and cultivation families wrestled with whether to follow their ancestral teachings or explore the road ahead.
• Chen Xun and his companions sailed above the sea of lightning toward the Heaven Severing Great Plains, where Little Crimson looked forward to returning to his hidden supplies.
• Chen Xun told Little Crimson they would establish a Teleportation Array and visit the Heaven Severing Great Ravine to collect Extinguishing Divine Stones.

Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson gathered Little Crimson’s hidden treasures before entering the Heaven Severing Great Ravine to collect Extinguishing Divine Stones. They filled the Giant Ship with stones while leaving the mysterious Three-Eyed Lifeforms and their seals untouched.

• After Big Black Ox reached Mid-Stage Spirit Transformation, Chen Xun and his companions set out to work in the Heaven Severing Great Plains.
• Little Crimson showed Chen Xun and Big Black Ox the many treasures it had hidden over a thousand years, and they packed them into its Storage Ring.
• The group headed for the Heaven Severing Great Ravine to collect Extinguishing Divine Stones, using the Giant Ship and the Crane Spirit Five Elements Tree to gather them.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox noticed the Three-Eyed Lifeforms sealed beneath the ground and decided not to disturb them.
• The brothers filled the Giant Ship with Extinguishing Divine Stones while Little Crimson used its Flame Radiance Divine Sense to help mine them.

Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson mined Extinguishing Divine Stones in the Heaven Severing Great Ravine while Chen Xun converted Divine Apertures and grew powerful enough to drive back the Extinguishing Divine Wind. They continued gathering stones cautiously, and Little Crimson fell silent when it saw spirit beast skeletons crumble to ash.

• Chen Xun noticed at least a thousand Three-Eyed Lifeforms beneath the ravine and considered what he might gain by returning them to their clan.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox invested their Longevity Points in defense while Little Crimson hauled Extinguishing Divine Stones and Chen Xun cultivated on the Giant Ship.
• Chen Xun converted twenty Divine Apertures, creating an Extinguishing Divine Storm powerful enough to annihilate the Primordial Spirit of a Late-Stage Spirit Transformation cultivator.
• After six months, Chen Xun awoke and his dark radiance drove the Extinguishing Divine Wind away; he praised his companions and told them to mine a little more without damaging their merit.
• The group mined for another half year, and Little Crimson kept hauling stones while Chen Xun and Big Black Ox focused on defense.
• Little Crimson saw spirit beast skeletons turn to ash and fell silent.

After years of mining Extinguishing Divine Stones in the Heaven Severing Great Ravine, Chen Xun prepared to return home and left Big Black Ox, Little Crimson, and Little Crane behind while he went to Great Li for supplies. The chapter leaves him traveling alone as the Jiang Clan faced turmoil after its war with the Yu Family was halted.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox continued mining Extinguishing Divine Stones while adding Longevity Points to defense, and the Facing Origin Crimson Treasure Tree reached its thirty-thousand-year limit and withered after dropping its fruits.
• Big Black Ox gave Little Crimson more than a hundred fruits, and Chen Xun and Big Black Ox chased and beat him after he loudly tried to thank them.
• Chen Xun told Big Black Ox to establish at least three Large Teleportation Arrays and instructed Little Crimson to cultivate before they entered the Realm Battlefield.
• After the Giant Ship left the Heaven Severing Great Ravine, Chen Xun handed out Teleportation Array Sub-Flags, said goodbye, and departed alone for Great Li.
• At the Jiang Family Ancestral Land, Jiang Zhao Cheng suspected the Jiang Clan's ancestors were pursuing a far-reaching plan and wondered whether the Black-Clothed People in the battle had come from the Boundless Sea.

Chen Xun confronted the Jiang Clan ancestors and warned them to stop hunting the Flame Radiance Crimson Ancient Lion Clan, then pressured another powerful force into backing down. By the next morning, the major forces had ended their pursuit, leaving Chen Xun’s identity and strength feared throughout Great Li.

• Chen Xun used Forgetfulness Talismans to disrupt the Jiang Clan ancestors’ blood and qi, then declared the Flame Radiance Crimson Ancient Lion Clan under his protection and threatened to erase the Jiang Clan if it hunted them again.
• The Jiang Clan ancestors agreed to stop pursuing the Flame Radiance Crimson Ancient Lion Clan and suspected Chen Xun had come from an ancient era and neared Void Refinement Realm.
• Thunder Pool Heavenly Mountain erupted with lightning at the Spirit Enlightenment Ancient Immortal Sect, but an ancestor told the disciples to continue cultivating and gave no explanation.
• Chen Xun confronted a woman by a lake and overwhelmed her before leaving her injured and terrified.
• The three powerful forces ordered their members to stop hunting the Flame Radiance Crimson Ancient Lion Clan, and other forces began restraining their cultivators as well.

Chen Xun bought pill formulas and spirit herbs at Three Lives Pavilion, then returned to Big Black Ox and Little Crimson at the Heaven Severing Great Ravine. As they prepared to finish the teleportation array and return to Qian Kingdom, he reassured Little Crimson that the Baili Clan would no longer target its clan.

• Chen Xun negotiated a discount at Three Lives Pavilion and spent two hundred thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones on pill formulas and spirit herbs.
• Chen Xun realized that he could use Big Black Ox’s Five Elements Teleportation Array and Storage Rings to become a reseller across the Three Thousand Great Worlds.
• Big Black Ox and Little Crimson continued constructing the teleportation array, and Little Crimson worked carefully after advancing to Nascent Soul Late Stage.
• Chen Xun returned to the Heaven Severing Great Ravine with his purchases and said the array should be ready in two days.
• Chen Xun told Little Crimson that the Baili Clan would no longer target the Flame Radiance Crimson Ancient Lion Clan, easing its fears as they continued preparing to return to Qian Kingdom.

Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson returned from Great Li to the Northern Border of Qian Kingdom, where Little Crimson confronted the spirit beasts that challenged their arrival. The Beast King recognized Little Crimson as its ancestor, but Little Crimson denied the connection.

• Chen Xun reflected on Little Crimson’s inherited ancient memories and reassured it that he would protect them.
• Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson traveled through Great Li and used Meng Sheng’s Teleportation Token to leave the realm as powerful figures prepared for a looming battle.
• The three arrived in the frozen Northern Border, where Chen Xun and Big Black Ox recognized their homeland.
• When Northern Border spirit beasts roared at their arrival, Little Crimson revealed its immense size and aura, silencing them.
• The Beast King approached Chen Xun and Big Black Ox, then recognized Little Crimson and excitedly called it its ancestor.
• Little Crimson denied being the Beast King’s ancestor, despite noticing their resemblance.

Chen Xun declared that the Flame Radiance Crimson Ancient Lion Clan would be under his protection after Little Crimson discovered that the Northern Border spirit beasts were descendants of its clan. Chen Xun and his companions stayed in the Northern Border, where Big Black Ox began preparing a hidden Large Teleportation Array and Chen Xun collected ancient books from the barbarians.

• Chen Xun questioned the Northern Border Beast King, called Blue Lion, about the spirit beasts’ origins and reassured it that he and Big Black Ox did not want its sacred Extinguishing Divine Stone.
• Blue Lion recognized Little Crimson as the pure-blooded ancestor of the Flame Radiance Crimson Ancient Lion Clan and asked whether its people could escape human persecution and return to their clan.
• Little Crimson could not promise the spirit beasts a safe return, since its clan had ceased to exist and its members had scattered or died.
• Chen Xun announced that the Flame Radiance Crimson Ancient Lion Clan was under his protection, and the Northern Border spirit beasts and barbarian cultivators paid homage to him and Big Black Ox.
• Chen Xun went with Blue Lion to its cave abode, where the Beast King and barbarian elders offered spirit herbs; the group stayed for five days as Big Black Ox began building a hidden Large Teleportation Array and Chen Xun received ancient history books.

Little Crimson chose to leave the Northern Border with Chen Xun and the Big Black Ox, rejecting the Beast King's attempt to bind it through bloodline and race. After bidding farewell to the spirit beasts and barbarian cultivators, the three departed, while the Great Elder told Man Zhidong and Man Luoyin to remember Chen Xun's name.

• The Northern Border Beast King asked Little Crimson to stay, but Little Crimson said it would go wherever Chen Xun and the Big Black Ox went.
• When the Beast King warned Little Crimson that Chen Xun was human, Little Crimson struck it down and told it to take care of the Northern Border spirit beasts.
• Chen Xun called Little Crimson into the ice house, and Little Crimson affirmed that it would go with him before leaving to help the Big Black Ox.
• Three days later, the Beast King, the spirit beasts, and the barbarian cultivators gathered to see Chen Xun, the Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson off.
• The barbarian Great Elder told Man Zhidong and Man Luoyin that their clan must remember Chen Xun's name.