Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xuezhou discovered that the World Origin had transformed a boulder into a vast Spirit Jade deposit and made the surrounding area rich in Spiritual Qi. He and Ren Anran considered the place’s cultivation potential and left with Zhang Xuezhou feeling much more confident about confronting Donghua.

• Zhang Xuezhou wondered how the World Origin worked and considered learning more from Hu Yu, Xuanming, and Hongjun.
• Zhang Xuezhou realized the dense Spiritual Qi could make the area a powerful cultivation ground and help him advance his Realm Technique.
• Ren Anran found Zhang Xuezhou beside the lake and learned that the World Origin had transformed a boulder into Spirit Jade.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran assessed the enormous Spirit Jade deposit and the sacred land it could create.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Ren Anran that the discovery had increased his confidence against Donghua by at least fifty percent.

After the small world changed around the Qinmeng Secret Stone, Nagesi and the others felt its healing effects and discussed its value and their distrust of Mengtesi Badun. They began digging pits to test a method for reaching a derivative domain, while Zhang Xuezhou remained the person uniting the group.

• Nagesi rushed toward the Qinmeng Secret Stone and realized its fragrance had become powerful enough to affect his body and consciousness.
• Qimeng Haige urged Ren Yisheng to dig a pit and try Mengtesi Badun's method for seeking a derivative domain, and Nagesi decided to try it as well.
• Nagesi asked Ren Yisheng why he did not question Zhang Xuezhou about the world's sudden change, but Ren Yisheng said there was no point in trying to undo it.
• Ren Yisheng warned Nagesi to prepare for Mengtesi Badun's return, and Qimeng Haige explained why he distrusted Badun despite having been spared by him.
• Qimeng Haige said he trusted Zhang Xuezhou because Zhang valued mutually beneficial exchanges, and Ren Yisheng recognized that Zhang's leadership had brought the group together.

Zhang Xuezhou left the Spirit Jade cultivation world before he could watch Ren Anran attempt her breakthrough and returned to Chang'an City, where his spirit-wood staff had been guarding his unconscious body. He learned the staff had injured several people, but its ability to repel intruders gave him a new measure of protection.

• Zhang Xuezhou saw Mallard celebrating the chance to live for five hundred years, then exchanged places with it and returned to Chang'an City.
• Zhang Xuezhou found his spirit-wood staff brimming with vitality and moving freely in his hand.
• Rong Tianding told Zhang Xuezhou that the staff had knocked out Zhufu Yan, Huo Qubing, Wei Shao'er, and A Qiao while driving away others who tried to enter his room.
• Zhang Xuezhou took a Fortune Pill to restore his depleted Law Power and learned that the staff had acted on its own to protect him.
• Zhang Xuezhou realized the staff could repel powerful intruders while he was unconscious, though he could not expect it to distinguish friend from foe.

Zhang Xuezhou tended to the injured guests at his estate and prepared to visit A Qiao and Xiao Jia before going to the palace. Wei Shao'er reflected on her stalled cultivation and asked Bing'er to show her the secret base.

• Zhufu Yan demanded compensation from Zhang Xuezhou, then left for the Imperial Medical Bureau after Zhang agreed to heal him.
• Huo Qubing asked Zhang Xuezhou to teach him how to use the spiritual wood staff, but Zhang told him to cultivate first.
• Gongsun Hong asked whether Zhang Xuezhou had tamed the spiritual wood, and Zhang explained that they had joined hands.
• Zhang Xuezhou set out to check on A Qiao and Xiao Jia and visit the palace, while Wei Shao'er considered her lost chance to cultivate at Mount Li.
• Wei Shao'er asked Bing'er whether she could visit his secret base.

Zhang Xuezhou visited A Qiao, treated her injuries, and considered the threat posed by the King of Huainan before going to the palace. There, the new emperor ordered him to fly the Heaven-Riding Shuttle to Mayi, leaving Zhang Xuezhou to discover the purpose of the urgent assignment.

• Zhang Xuezhou visited A Qiao in Hu'an Alley, healed her gradually, and warned her not to overexert herself while caring for Dongfang Jia.
• A Qiao warned Zhang Xuezhou that Liu Ling's people had been watching him, and he weighed his chances against the King of Huainan and Donghua.
• Zhang Xuezhou told A Qiao he would be careful and reasoned that his position and strength could keep him on equal terms with the new emperor.
• After spending time with A Qiao and Dongfang Jia, Zhang Xuezhou went to the palace to meet the new emperor.
• The new emperor, sharpening a sword in the Shu Chamber, ordered Zhang Xuezhou to fly the Heaven-Riding Shuttle at top speed to Mayi.

Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor flew toward Mayi, where the empress dowager had led an army into an ambush, and tried to determine what the Xiong State sought. Zhang Xuezhou suspected the Nine Dragons Cauldron was central to the contest and worried that Li Shaojun, whom the empress dowager had relied on, was a fraud who had already left Chang'an.

• Zhang Xuezhou learned that Mayi lay near Yanmen Pass as he and the new emperor flew there to find the empress dowager's battlefield.
• The new emperor explained that the empress dowager had taken three hundred thousand elite troops to an ambush and had kept him from joining her.
• Zhang Xuezhou reasoned that the Xiong State's great cultivators would only risk a direct battle over something valuable and difficult to move, leading them to suspect the Nine Dragons Cauldron.
• The new emperor said the cauldron had been moved from the Palace of Peace and Happiness and might have been sent to Mayi, while Zhang Xuezhou questioned its connection to the Nine Cauldrons.
• The new emperor revealed that Li Shaojun had left Chang'an a month earlier, and Zhang Xuezhou suspected the empress dowager's supposed expert was a fraud.

Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor searched for Mayi near Yanmen Pass and discovered Xiong State's main cavalry force gathered below. Unsure whether the empress dowager's plan would trap the enemy or lead them into danger, they watched from above.

• Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor failed to get directions to Mayi from the Yanmen Pass garrison and decided to search west from the sky.
• The new emperor warned Zhang Xuezhou to fly high, and they spotted an eagle bearing a ring used by Xiong State's royal family.
• Zhang Xuezhou followed the patrols and saw a vast army from Xiong State gathered below.
• The new emperor explained that the empress dowager intended to crush Xiong State's Sacred Land forces and kill Zhu Jiuyin, Lu Ya, Nine Spirits, and the other top cultivators.
• Zhang Xuezhou recognized that Xiong State's main cavalry force had mobilized and wondered whether the empress dowager's ambush was actually drawing their own forces into danger.

Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor infiltrated the Xiong State Legion by disguising themselves as cavalrymen, and the new emperor seized a hundred-man commander's position. They learned that a captured Great Han Dynasty general had revealed an ambush ahead, and the Xiong State forces planned to counter it with a bull-horn formation.

• Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor seized two straggling Xiong State riders, took their horses and armor, and blended into the legion.
• Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor reached a border patrol post and found its garrison slaughtered.
• When a slave hundred-man commander lashed the new emperor, the new emperor seized the whip, knocked him down, and took his horned helmet and command.
• Zhang Xuezhou warned the new emperor not to challenge the thousand-man commander, whose strength and retinue made him too dangerous to confront.
• Zhang Xuezhou learned that the Xiong State vanguard had captured a Great Han Dynasty general, who revealed an ambush several dozen li ahead, and that the legion would form a bull-horn formation to counter it.

Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor joined the Xiong State army near Mayi, where they learned that the holy lands were demanding an assault to seize a pill-making cauldron. They entered the elite assault group, leaving the new emperor positioned to take part in the raid.

• Zhang Xuezhou and his companions reached Mayi with the Xiong State army and saw the great chanyu among its gathered leaders.
• The great chanyu warned that Han forces might be preparing an ambush, while Crown Prince Yudan urged the army to seize Mayi's cauldron.
• A black-robed elder pressured the great chanyu to provide enough experts for the assault, and the great chanyu rode forward himself.
• Zhang Xuezhou signaled the new emperor to join the assault group, and they rode to the front with other officers and experts.
• Hulugu examined the new emperor but ultimately allowed him and Zhang Xuezhou to join the core group.

Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor rode with the Great Chanyu’s assault force toward Mayi, where the Nine Dragons Cauldron had been used as bait. They reached the city amid signs of slaughter, but the ambush force had not revealed itself, leaving the new emperor unsure how to proceed.

• Venerable Black Mountain berated the Great Chanyu, who led nearly five hundred riders, including Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor, toward Mayi.
• Zhang Xuezhou judged that the ambush had lost its advantage and worried that Han Anguo’s forces could be caught in the plot.
• The riders passed through a narrow stretch of grassland without being attacked, and Mayi City came into view with its gates open and fighting inside.
• The Great Chanyu ordered the riders to protect the Nine Dragons Cauldron and carry it out of the city.
• The new emperor charged toward the cauldron, saw bodies and a beheaded horse around it, and found that the ambush elites had yet to appear.

The Xiong State forces captured the Nine Dragons Cauldron and began hauling it away from Mayi. Kong Ning recognized Zhang Xuezhou despite his disguise, but lowered her guard after he warned her of the dangers ahead and asked where His Excellency was.

• The Great Chanyu ordered the Xiong State forces to haul the Nine Dragons Cauldron fifty li, while Zhang Xuezhou and the others helped clear the route and prepare the carriage.
• Venerables and mages gathered around the moving cauldron, discussing its craftsmanship and its possible connection to Emperor Yu’s Nine Cauldrons.
• Kong Ning examined the Xiong State officers and recognized Zhang Xuezhou’s voice, then reached to pull away his face cloth.
• Zhang Xuezhou warned Kong Ning through voice transmission that Zhu Jiuyin’s death would leave her vulnerable, and Kong Ning lowered her hand and asked what he was doing there.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Kong Ning where His Excellency was.

Zhang Xuezhou used Kong Ning to learn where the Sacred Land masters were and urged her to leave the Xieluosi River Holy Land for the emperor’s protection. As he and the new emperor tried to slip away from the Xiong State assault corps, Li Xi’s Han forces attacked, and the Nine Spirits Primal Sage and three unknown lights appeared.

• Kong Ning revealed that His Eminence and the Dao Lord were traveling with the Nine Spirits Primal Sage, and Zhang Xuezhou ordered her to tell Zhu Jiuyin that Kunlun wanted the Nine Dragons Cauldron.
• Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor discussed protecting Kong Ning in Chang'an City if she left the Xieluosi River Holy Land.
• Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor fell behind the retreating assault corps and tried to leave unnoticed at a bend in the road.
• Li Xi’s Han forces ambushed the Xiong State corps with three volleys of arrows before fighting broke out in a nearby mountain hollow.
• The new emperor began to charge toward Li Xi, but Zhang Xuezhou stopped him and warned that the Nine Spirits Primal Sage was approaching as three bright streaks flew in from the west.

Zhang Xuezhou joined the ambush against the Xiong State charge corps as the new emperor fought his way toward Li Xi. His attacks left several Yedie River Holy Land venerables in agony, while Hongku watched from behind and worried about the Nine Dragons Cauldron and his pill business.

• The Han and Kunlun forces launched a scattered ambush, but Nine Spirits Primal Sage ordered the charge corps to keep moving toward the Sacred Land.
• The new emperor charged uphill toward Li Xi, protected by Huang-Lao Way talismans, while Zhang Xuezhou approached Venerable White Bone with his Spirit Wood Staff.
• Venerable White Bone’s body shattered, and he woke in agony as Bone-Devouring Insects harmed him and two disciples; Venerable Black Mountain also suffered uncontrollable pain.
• Hongku sent Hulugu, the Left Worthy King, to choose reinforcements, then worried that the Nine Dragons Cauldron would damage his pill trade.
• Venerable Weaver Emperor returned to his body in pain, and Venerable White Bone recovered enough to beg Hongku for a Qi and Blood Fortune Pill.

Zhang Xuezhou and Li Xi drove off the curse mages attacking the ambush party, but the new emperor learned that the planned interception had unraveled. With the first and second waves unable to carry out their roles, the third wave was left to face the Xiong State forces head-on.

• Zhang Xuezhou endured the Sky Elephants and found Li Xi, then pointed out the new emperor fighting nearby.
• Li Xi fired blue-tipped arrows that threw the curse insects into disarray, and Zhang Xuezhou told him to use fire arrows against the curse mages.
• Li Xi’s men shot flaming arrows at the curse mages, forcing them to flee after their bodies reacted painfully to the flames.
• The new emperor demanded to know where Li Xi’s ambush force was, and Li Xi explained that he had not had enough time to gather three hundred experts.
• Li Xi reported that the first and second interception waves had failed to assemble as planned because the Xiong State forces retreated faster than expected, leaving the third wave to fight head-on.

After the ambush at Mayi failed, the new emperor and Zhang Xuezhou flew ahead aboard the Heaven-Riding Shuttle to observe the coming battle with Xiong State and seek a chance to intervene. Dao Lord caught up with them and asked Zhang Xuezhou what the Emperor Lord wanted, revealing that he sensed the Emperor Lord had changed.

• The new emperor ordered Li Xi to advance west with the army while Zhang Xuezhou piloted the Heaven-Riding Shuttle ahead.
• Li Xi urged his troops to hurry toward the fighting, encouraged by seeing Zhang Xuezhou fly the imperial treasure.
• Zhang Xuezhou warned the new emperor that the shuttle could be pursued, and they spotted the Xiong State convoy transporting the Nine Dragons Cauldron.
• The new emperor chose to watch from above and wait for a chance to strike rather than rush into the battle.
• Dao Lord's Yang Corporeal Soul caught up with the shuttle, recognized Zhang Xuezhou, and asked what the Emperor Lord wanted.

Zhang Xuezhou kept the Dao Lord occupied while observing the battle below, but a young swordsman ambushed the Dao Lord’s Yang Corporeal Soul Incarnation. The incarnation was left shattering after the swordsman drove his flaming sword into its head.

• Zhang Xuezhou questioned the Dao Lord about the Nine Dragons Cauldron and learned that he planned to await Donghua at the Yedie River.
• Zhang Xuezhou and the Dao Lord watched another clash erupt between the court’s ambushers and the Xiong State Legion, where Tian Fen piloted a Heaven-Riding Shuttle.
• Zhang Xuezhou told the Dao Lord that the Red Empyrean Sword had been moved to a mausoleum, making clear he no longer depended on the Yedie River Holy Land.
• Zhang Xuezhou sensed Law Power in the approaching rain and began turning his Heaven-Riding Shuttle to seek shelter.
• A young swordsman launched a flaming Vertical Sword Technique and struck the Dao Lord’s Yang Corporeal Soul Dharma Form eighteen times before driving his sword into its head.
• The Dao Lord’s Dharma Form began to shatter as he realized the severity of the attack.

The new emperor defeated the Dao Lord with a surprise sword strike, then urged Zhang Xuezhou to attack the Nine Spirits Primal Sage. Zhang Xuezhou refused and redirected their attention toward the wider battle, while Zhu Jiuyin continued retreating with the Xiong State force until a strange wind and water technique wounded and bound him.

• The new emperor struck down the Dao Lord, then landed on the Heaven-Riding Shuttle and urged Zhang Xuezhou to ram the Nine Spirits Primal Sage.
• Zhang Xuezhou refused to join the attack, warning that the Nine Spirits Primal Sage was a dangerous close-combat opponent and pointing out that the empress dowager's forces needed help.
• Zhu Jiuyin led the Xiong State force in a retreat while targeting the Nine Dragons Cauldron as a pill furnace to take back.
• Gongsun He shot a heavy arrow at Zhu Jiuyin, but Zhu Jiuyin caught it and flung it back.
• A sudden wind slashed Zhu Jiuyin and water coiled around his feet, revealing that an unfamiliar technique had wounded and restrained him.

A Han cultivator used a wind-and-rain Technique to restrain Zhu Jiuyin’s incarnation, then struck it with a flaming sword and escaped. The Great Chanyu secretly let the new emperor pass unharmed and suspected the other cultivator was someone important after seeing him expend many talismans.

• Zhu Jiuyin praised the wind-and-rain Technique but found it hampered his ability to channel Law Power, while its caster challenged him to reveal his true body.
• The cultivator mocked Zhu Jiuyin and drew away as Zhu Jiuyin’s eyes began to turn white and flames gathered in his gaze.
• Zhu Jiuyin’s Divine Ability sent the cultivator falling, but a flaming sword pierced Zhu Jiuyin’s head and set his incarnation ablaze.
• The Great Chanyu, Junchen, deliberately shot his arrow wide of the fleeing new emperor, hoping the Han cultivators might help restrain the Sacred Land masters.
• Other attackers nearly riddled the cultivator with arrows, but twelve bursts of talisman light protected him, leading the Great Chanyu to guess his identity.

After the new emperor defeated Zhu Jiuyin, the Han forces tried to slow the Xiong State retreat while the new emperor urged Zhang Xuezhou to attack the Nine Spirits Primal Sage. Zhang Xuezhou refused to risk another failed assault, and the chapter ended as a green-robed figure aimed a streak of red light at the new emperor.

• Zhu Jiuyin’s defeat disrupted the Xiong State rear guard, and both sides ordered their forces to shoot at the opposing mounts.
• The Great Chanyu ordered the Xiong State assault force to ride another five li toward its encampment, confident its cavalry could escape the Han pursuers.
• The new emperor urged Zhang Xuezhou to help him attack the Nine Spirits Primal Sage, but Zhang Xuezhou refused because he feared they could not defeat him.
• Zhang Xuezhou pointed to Tian Fen as a possible attacker, but Tian Fen’s ineffective flying maneuvers and the group’s inability to coordinate ruled out an ambush.
• A deadly sense of danger struck the new emperor as a green-robed figure appeared and aimed a streak of red light at him.

The Dao Lord pursued the Han forces after the new emperor destroyed his incarnation, forcing the empress dowager, Zhang Xuezhou, and the emperor to defend themselves while retreating toward Wuzhou Pass. Zhang Xuezhou called for Tian Fen to help and prepared to fight back if he could free his hands.

• The Dao Lord arrived to avenge his destroyed incarnation, and Zhang Xuezhou piloted the Heaven-Riding Shuttle among the Han riders to evade him.
• The new emperor urged an immediate attack, but Zhang Xuezhou warned that the shuttle could not outrun the Dao Lord.
• The empress dowager ordered her troops to shoot and reposition themselves to protect the emperor and draw the Dao Lord's attention.
• The Dao Lord dodged the arrows and declared that he would make them pay for destroying his incarnation.
• The empress dowager ordered another volley and led the troops toward Wuzhou Pass as the Dao Lord continued his pursuit.
• Zhang Xuezhou called for Lord Tian to help and prepared his Spirit Wood Staff for a counterattack.