Chapter Summaries

The Ling Emperor and the four kings gathered to discuss the evil cultivators’ growing presence and the clues uncovered in their manors. They resolved to protect the Ling Kingdom and destroy any evil cultivators who appeared, while the Ling Emperor prepared to attempt a breakthrough before their enemies regained their full strength.

• The Spirit King revealed that King Chen had infiltrated his manor ten years earlier and had plotted to reach the Forbidden Heart before dying in the Royal Mausoleum.
• The Azure King suggested that the mysterious person who cured the Spirit King’s poison might have killed King Chen, and the Spirit King described the eighth-grade Cold Essence Pills used to treat him.
• The Azure King and the other kings reported few traces of evil cultivators in their manors, leading the Ling Emperor to suspect their enemies had found another strategy.
• The Ling Emperor reminded the kings of their ancestors’ oath to protect the land and ordered them to annihilate any evil cultivators who appeared.
• The Azure King asked whether the evil cultivators’ Dao Palace Realm experts had returned to full strength, and the Ling Emperor said he would attempt to break through before they did.
• The kings left after their discussion, and calls to suppress evil cultivators spread throughout the Ling Kingdom along with stories of the seven branches of ultimate evil.

After a year of seclusion in the Royal Mausoleum, Ling Yun reached Core Formation Realm Perfection while gaining strength beyond an ordinary Primordial Spirit Realm cultivator. His yearly sign-in awarded him True Spirit Qi, which he infused into the Crimson Gold Spirit Fire to help it become a Mystic Spirit Fire, and he then returned to his cottage.

• Ling Yun cultivated in seclusion for a year as the evil cultivators remained hidden, advancing both his Spiritual Yuan and Talisman Yuan to Core Formation Realm Perfection.
• Ling Yun discovered his spiritual sense could reach sixty li and completed the Eye of Deception, a Life-bound Talisman spell that could disrupt an enemy’s senses.
• Ling Yun used his yearly sign-in at the Royal Mausoleum and received the heaven-and-earth spiritual treasure True Spirit Qi.
• Ling Yun infused True Spirit Qi into the Crimson Gold Spirit Fire and returned it to his dantian to continue nurturing its transformation.
• Ling Yun consolidated his cultivation and left the Royal Mausoleum for his cottage.

Ling Yun studied the Divine Formation Great Emperor’s inheritance to learn about the Royal Mausoleum’s powerful grand formation. After mastering Yin-Yang Two Aspects Formation Flags, he tested them by setting up a Metal Astral Formation, leaving him eager to expand his combat abilities.

• Ling Yun noticed formation patterns around the first Spirit King's tomb that carried an aura like the Heart of Heavenly Illusion, suggesting the Royal Mausoleum’s grand formation was a terrifying sixth-tier killing formation.
• Ling Yun studied the Formation Emperor Canon and learned about the Divine Formation Great Emperor, the Divine Formation Sect, and the use of formation foundations to activate formations.
• Ling Yun tore up a spirit silkworm silk garment and made simple formation flags, then chose to practice carving the Yin-Yang Two Aspects Formation Core.
• Ling Yun completed nine Yin-Yang Two Aspects Formation Flags after practicing day and night.
• Ling Yun used the flags to set up a Metal Astral Formation and saw it unleash golden astral Qi powerful enough to rival a strong spell.

Ling Yun examined the three formations protecting the Spirit King's Manor and realized that the deepest layer was beyond his ability to identify. After resolving to grow strong enough to face the returning evil cultivators, he reached toward the mysterious formation and was plunged into darkness.

• Ling Yun identified the active Thousand Shield True Li Formation as a sixth-tier defense powered by earth veins.
• Ling Yun recognized the hidden Seven Killings Forbidden Formation as a peak sixth-tier killing formation capable of threatening Dao Palace Realm experts.
• Ling Yun could not determine the deepest formation's tier or origins and wondered whether it predated the first Spirit King.
• Ling Yun decided to keep growing stronger and remain hidden until he could face the evil cultivators expected to emerge again.
• Ling Yun extended his spiritual sense toward the third formation and was overwhelmed as his senses fell into darkness.

Ling Yun discovered an underground palace whose seven murals revealed a possible history of the Ling Clan, the evil cultivators, and the world's founding ancestors. He opened a sealed stone door with his Spirit King blood, then stared in shock at what lay beyond it.

• Ling Yun emerged from darkness into an underground palace and entered a vast hall displaying seven ancient murals.
• Ling Yun studied the first murals, which showed a world-shattering demonic claw and scenes of evil cultivators ravaging the world.
• Ling Yun recognized the five beasts around a golden figure as the Ling Clan's guardian totems and suspected they were tied to the clan's true origins.
• Ling Yun interpreted the later murals as depicting a great battle between the golden figure's side and the evil cultivators, followed by the seven ancestors founding the Ling Kingdom.
• Ling Yun left the hall and used his Spirit King blood to open a stone door carved with a spirit flood dragon.
• Ling Yun saw the scene beyond the door and reacted with shock.

Ling Yun explored a hidden world and realized its enormous black flood dragon was likely the Spirit Flood Dragon shown in the Ling Clan’s mural. He concluded that the dragon’s pearl was the Forbidden Heart guarded by the Spirit King’s Manor, and feared that the weakened Ling Clan would face an all-out attack from the evil cultivators.

• Ling Yun entered the hidden world and saw a colossal black flood dragon whose immense pressure kept him from approaching.
• Ling Yun reasoned that the dead, undecayed flood dragon might have reached the Mortal Transcendence stage and that the luminous pearl in its mouth was a Dragon Pearl.
• Ling Yun connected the flood dragon to the Spirit Flood Dragon in the Ling Clan’s mural and inferred that the clan descended from powerful Saint Realm beings.
• Ling Yun concluded that the Dragon Pearl was the Forbidden Heart protected by the Spirit King’s Manor and the Ling Clan’s foundation against the evil cultivators.
• Ling Yun realized that the Ling Clan was now at its weakest and feared the evil cultivators would try to annihilate it when they emerged.

Ling Yun cultivated in the small world until he broke through to the Early Primordial Spirit Realm, and the system began upgrading. As a storm swept through the world, the flood dragon’s corpse opened its eyes and addressed him as the “Holy descendant.”

• Ling Yun discovered that the dragon pearl had created the small world and its dense Spiritual Qi, so he stayed to cultivate and study the three inheritances.
• His divine sense reached a bottleneck, and Ling Yun used the Spirit Refining Technique and his Life-bound Talisman to withstand the primordial divine radiance.
• Ling Yun’s soul formed a Primordial Spirit, and he advanced to the Early Primordial Spirit Realm.
• The system congratulated Ling Yun on his breakthrough and announced a free upgrade with new services.
• The flood dragon’s corpse opened its eyes as an unprecedented storm descended, and a voice called Ling Yun the “Holy descendant.”

Ling Yun learned from the dragon corpse that he and the people of the Ling Kingdom were descendants of Saint Evil Slayer, whose ancient struggle with the Seven Absolutes Evil Saint shaped the origin of the Forbidden Heart and the kingdom. The dragon corpse warned that the evil path was showing signs of returning, while Ling Yun wondered whether the long-running feud was nearing its conclusion.

• Ling Yun watched the dragon corpse awaken and heard it identify pure saint blood within him.
• The dragon corpse showed Ling Yun a vision of the Seven Absolutes Evil Saint sacrificing ten empires and fighting Saint Evil Slayer across several battles.
• The dragon corpse revealed that Saint Evil Slayer slew the Seven Absolutes Evil Saint in the Eastern Desolation, where the evil saint's power was divided into seven sealed parts.
• The dragon corpse explained that five spirit beasts and several of Saint Evil Slayer's descendants created the Forbidden Heart and founded the Ling Kingdom to suppress the evil path's future return.
• Ling Yun realized that the Ling Kingdom's people were saint descendants and wondered whether their inherited fate was reaching its conclusion.

Ling Yun learned why the Ling Clan's branches inherited the five spirit beasts' legacies and how the clan planned to destroy the Seven Absolutes Evil Saint's remaining power. The dragon corpse recognized Ling Yun's rare Forbidden Physique and declared that he might offer the Ling Clan another way forward.

• The dragon corpse explained that the five branches of the Ling Clan inherited ninth-tier legacies from the five half-saints, while only the clan leader and successor could learn the saint's legacy.
• The dragon corpse revealed that the Ling Kingdom's seven ancestors had been loyal core members of the five branches, and that the five spirit beasts had sacrificed their cultivation to enter the Eastern Desolation and forge the Forbidden Hearts.
• The dragon corpse warned Ling Yun that the Evil Saint's power would be reborn within ten years, when the Forbidden Hearts would emerge and the Ling Kingdom's long mission would be fulfilled.
• Ling Yun vowed to fight the evil cultivators, and the dragon corpse identified him as the possessor of a Forbidden Physique.
• Ling Yun admitted that he possessed a special physique without naming the Immortal Physique of Myriad Daos, and the dragon corpse celebrated him as a possible new hope for the Ling Clan.

Ling Yun received the Dragon Transformation Technique from Dragon Venerable and rapidly mastered half of the Half-Saint inheritance. He awakened the technique’s dragon bearing and manifested a black true dragon behind him.

• Ling Yun introduced himself as the son of the present Spirit King, and Dragon Venerable welcomed him as a descendant of their lineage.
• Dragon Venerable explained that he was a Half-Saint and offered Ling Yun a supreme inheritance suited to his existing natal art.
• Dragon Venerable passed on the Dragon Transformation Technique, which let Ling Yun briefly conjure a true dragon’s power and bearing in human form.
• Ling Yun memorized the incantation and began cultivating, astonishing Dragon Venerable by mastering half the technique in a single day.
• Ling Yun envisioned a flood dragon transforming into a true dragon, then opened his eyes as a black true dragon manifested behind him.