Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xuezhou discovered that Yang Jian’s dragon-oil fish strengthened his body and harmonized his cultivation techniques, then discussed rare longevity pills with Yang Jian and Heavenly King Li. Yang Jian learned Zhang Xuezhou knew how to make the Elixir of Immortality, while Zhang casually gave Xiaotian a Life-Extending Golden Elixir.

• Zhang Xuezhou ate Yang Jian’s dragon-oil fish and felt his physical strength improve and his Evasion Technique and Fleshly Body Technique work in greater harmony.
• Zhang Xuezhou offered to refine pills for Yang Jian, who asked whether he could make the Immortality Elixir.
• Zhang Xuezhou described the ingredients for the Elixir of Immortality, and Yang Jian explained that the Immortality Elixir used the essence and flesh of powerful spirit beasts.
• Heavenly King Li said even Laojun had only managed to refine the Life-Extending Golden Elixir.
• Zhang Xuezhou called the Life-Extending Golden Elixir junk and tossed one to Xiaotian, shocking Yang Jian and Heavenly King Li.

Zhang Xuezhou, Yang Jian, Heavenly King Li, and their companions discussed the scarcity of Immortality Elixirs and the possibility that Kunlun might capture Zhu Jiuyin to refine them. They formed a private alliance to watch for a chance to intervene and secure a share, leaving the group newly united but wary of being targeted themselves.

• Yang Jian and Heavenly King Li discussed how the Life-Extending Golden Elixir worked and lamented that the Immortality Elixir had become harder to obtain as spirit beasts grew scarce.
• Heavenly King Li reported rumors that Kunlun planned to capture Zhu Jiuyin for alchemy, while Yang Jian doubted the rumor and said Kunlun would not act without cause.
• Zhang Xuezhou warned that powerful bodies might be used to refine Immortality Elixirs, and Heavenly King Li admitted that Wei Hu and Leizhenzi's remains had gone missing.
• Zhang Xuezhou proposed that the group share any materials they obtained, and Yang Jian agreed that they should keep their lives in their own hands.
• Jinzha and Muzha argued that their orders to patrol and watch Zhu Jiuyin gave them grounds to intervene, and Heavenly King Li agreed to the plan.
• Heavenly King Li and Yang Jian established a private alliance with Zhang Xuezhou and the others, hoping to secure a share if Zhu Jiuyin was captured.

Zhang Xuezhou and Yang Jian’s group planned to gather ingredients for the Elixir of Immortality while keeping their efforts secret. Yang Jian agreed to investigate Kunlun and retrieve Zhang Xuezhou’s Nine Treasures Wine, leaving the group to prepare for the brewing and refining ahead.

• Heavenly King Li, Yang Jian, and the others discussed the dwindling ingredients for immortality elixirs and divided up tasks to find them.
• Zhang Xuezhou volunteered to refine elixirs once the ingredients were gathered, and Yang Jian offered to investigate Kunlun.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Yang Jian about the eight dou of Nine Treasures Wine he had brewed in Kunlun and where it might be stored.
• Yang Jian agreed to retrieve the wine, while Zhang Xuezhou explained its effects and medicinal ingredients to the group.
• Heavenly King Li and the others recognized Zhang Xuezhou’s alchemical skill and looked forward to relying on him.

After the group parted at Guan River Mouth, Zhang Xuezhou returned toward Chang'an instead of Mount Tai and placed his hopes on Yang Jian obtaining ingredients for the Elixir of Immortality. Yang Jian watched him depart, judged him a powerful potential ally, and headed to Kunlun to assess his Nine Treasures Wine.

• Zhang Xuezhou told Heavenly King Li he would skip the return to Mount Tai and rest in Chang'an, and Heavenly King Li agreed to alternate patrols with him.
• Zhang Xuezhou flew north and considered whether Yang Jian could obtain the Elixir of Immortality ingredients from Kunlun, while deciding that reaching the True Self and defeating Donghua were his main goals.
• Yang Jian followed Zhang Xuezhou’s departure and praised his speed and strength to Xiaotian, who said he had never heard of Shuo Immortal.
• Yang Jian decided to cultivate a friendship with Zhang Xuezhou rather than guard against him, and planned to judge his pill-refining skill by tasting his Nine Treasures Wine.
• Yang Jian and Xiaotian set off for Kunlun to find the wine and consider taking the Elixir of Immortality ingredients if it proved satisfactory.

Zhang Xuezhou fled the Guan River Mouth to evade Yang Jian, then met Dong Zhongshu on the road to Chang'an. After Zhang eased Dong Zhongshu’s guilt over the King of Jiangdu’s death, the two discussed the looming war and Dong Zhongshu resolved to stop waiting for the perfect opportunity and face the crisis.

• Zhang Xuezhou sensed Yang Jian following him, flew over a thousand li to escape, and reflected on Yang Jian’s elusive Eight-Nine Mystical Art.
• Dong Zhongshu intercepted Zhang Xuezhou and feared that taking the King of Jiangdu’s Fortune had caused the king’s drowning.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that the King of Jiangdu had been silenced after presenting Technique Gold to the imperial court, easing Dong Zhongshu’s guilt.
• Dong Zhongshu told Zhang Xuezhou that Shanggu Commandery City had fallen and the imperial court had declared war, while he feared he could offer no useful strategy.
• Dong Zhongshu resolved that he could no longer wait for perfect conditions and steeled himself to act as he headed toward Chang'an.

Zhang Xuezhou returned to Chang'an City as public anger over Shanggu Commandery City's fall grew, while Dong Zhongshu entered the palace to meet the new emperor. The emperor pressed Dong Zhongshu to prove that the Confucian Technique could strengthen Great Han’s war effort, leaving him demanding a concrete answer.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Dong Zhongshu discussed the changing public mood and Great Han’s war against the Northern Kuru Continent as they rode toward Chang'an City.
• Zhang Xuezhou invited Dong Zhongshu to stay at his residence, then Dong Zhongshu continued to the imperial palace after learning that the new emperor awaited him.
• The new emperor questioned Dong Zhongshu about promoting Confucian Learning and insisted that the Confucian Technique had to be tested in actual combat.
• The new emperor asked whether Dong Zhongshu could produce thousands of sword-wielding experts through the Confucian Technique, and Dong Zhongshu answered that the realm’s people could become swords if the emperor gave them opportunities.
• The new emperor demanded to know how long it would take and whether the Confucian Technique could truly meet his expectations.

Zhang Xuezhou helped a third group escape Sinkhole No. 2 and learned that Huang Daoxian had played a major role in synthesizing the R36 Catalyst. The chapter left Zhang surprised by Huang Daoxian’s contribution as the group began returning to life outside the sinkhole.

• Ren Anran doubted the new emperor’s counteroffensive, while Zhang Xuezhou said he would support the emperor’s dangerous political realignment.
• Zhang Xuezhou discussed controlling Huang Daoxian after advancing his Prajna Heart Sutra and said Huang Daoxian would have to wait.
• Zhang Xuezhou used his Control over Fast and Slow to guide a third group through the distortion and out of Sinkhole No. 2.
• Qimeng Haige, Ren Yisheng, Qin Zhong, and the others reacted to their escape, and Qin Zhong thanked Professor Zhang for helping them.
• Luo Burang messaged Zhang Xuezhou that R36 had worked and credited Huang Daoxian, Zhang Hao, and Zhang Huang with crucial assistance.

Zhang Xuezhou hurried to the A6 Research Institute after the R36 Catalyst was synthesized, hoping to use it to enter the seventh sequence and combine its resistance layer with the Fleshly Body Technique. As he prepared to test the process on Grian, Huang sought a quick-made Sequence Lock and Zhang Xuezhou’s control over seventh-sequence advancement became clear.

• Zhang Xuezhou learned from Luo Burang that Huang Daoxian had helped synthesize the catalyst and rushed to the A6 Research Institute.
• Huang Daoxian pressed Luo Burang to prepare a gene solution so he could become a Ferocious Beast, while Zhang Xuezhou arrived and took charge of him.
• Huang requested a quick-made Sequence Lock from Zhang Xuezhou, accepting its drawbacks, while the Sovereign regretted not advancing his sequence sooner.
• Zhang Xuezhou reflected on Zhang Huang’s practical approach and the Sovereign’s pursuit of perfection as Luo Burang prepared the laboratory equipment.
• Grian arrived and began the experiment; Zhang Xuezhou told him that Li Yingbo had to wait for more data, while Li Yingbo realized Grian was serving as experimental material.

After Grian advanced to the Seventh Sequence, Zhang Xuezhou prepared to test his own advancement and investigate whether he could fuse the Evasion Technique with his Fleshly Body Technique. The Emperor recognized that Zhang Xuezhou was forging a new path and might become a grandmaster, while accepting that he himself could never attain Hongjun’s transcendence.

• Grian advanced to the Seventh Sequence, felt his body grow stronger, and thanked Zhang Xuezhou for helping him reach it.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Luo Burang that he was certain he could enter the Seventh Sequence but unsure whether he could transform his Fleshly Body into a Divine Ability.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked the Emperor whether he could fuse the Evasion Technique and Fleshly Body Technique, and the Emperor explained how Yuan Hong and Yang Jian had mastered the Eight-Nine Mystical Art.
• Zhang Xuezhou decided to imitate Yuan Hong’s use of lightning, and Luo Burang prepared a modified tank and high-voltage current for the experiment.
• The Emperor told Huang Daoxian that Zhang Xuezhou was moving from imitation toward innovation and might be seeking the path of a grandmaster.
• The Emperor accepted that Zhang Xuezhou’s path exceeded his own and that he could never attain Hongjun’s transcendence.

As Zhang Xuezhou underwent bodily transformation to enter the Seventh Sequence, his body grew rapidly while remaining free of mutations. He tried combining the Resistance Layer and Evasion Techniques, then began using the Unity of Celestial Person and Heaven Technique, leaving Zhang Hao puzzled about what he was cultivating.

• Luo Burang monitored Zhang Xuezhou in the tank as Ren Anran assured him that Zhang Xuezhou’s condition was perfect and trusted him to manage the risks.
• Zhang Hao explained that fusing Evasion Techniques through the Resistance Layer would be extremely difficult, and said the Fleshly Body Technique would not solve the problem.
• Luo Burang reported that Zhang Xuezhou’s body was growing faster, with about forty-five percent of his bodily Resistance Layer still to convert, and assured the others that he had ample medicinal solution ready.
• Zhang Manqian worried as Zhang Xuezhou grew beyond two meters, but Ren Anran and Luo Burang confirmed that his growth showed no mutations.
• Zhang Xuezhou tried different combinations inside the tank and chanted the Unity of Celestial Person and Heaven Technique, making his body repeatedly expand and contract.
• Zhang Hao wondered whether Zhang Xuezhou was cultivating the Eight-Nine Mystical Art, but noticed that his condition was different.

Zhang Xuezhou combined the Eight-Nine Mystical Art, the Resistance Layer, and his other techniques while enduring simulated lightning to transform his body. Zhang Hao recognized that Zhang Xuezhou had achieved Fleshly Body Entering Sainthood, leaving Huang Daoxian and Zhang Hao wishing they could attain the same state.

• Zhang Xuezhou successfully called upon the Unity of Celestial Person and Heaven Technique and used it to refine his body with the Eight-Nine Mystical Art and Ferocious Beast extract gene fluids.
• Zhang Xuezhou guided his techniques into the Resistance Layer, treating the numbness in his limbs as evidence that his body was integrating them.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked the technicians to increase the current in the tank, using simulated lightning to temper his body from the outside.
• Huang Daoxian complained about the electricity, while Zhang Hao expressed excitement at the possibility of controlling lightning again.
• Zhang Hao recognized that Zhang Xuezhou had fused his techniques and achieved Fleshly Body Entering Sainthood.
• Huang Daoxian and Zhang Hao both said they wanted to attain the same state, though Zhang Hao understood how rare and difficult it was.

Zhang Xuezhou successfully fused his cultivation techniques into a Human Body Equation and Eight-Nine Mystical Art, strengthening his body and awakening an embryonic domain. As the laboratory tank began to fail, he completed the process and emerged from the storm of electricity.

• Zhang Xuezhou used the Emperor's description of Yuan Hong to complete his fusion and reorganize his flesh, bones, and vessels through the Human Body Equation.
• Zhang Xuezhou grasped the electric current and revealed that his strengthened body could make it coil around him like a whip.
• Huang Daoxian reacted to the electricity around Zhang Xuezhou, while Zhang Hao explained that Zhang Xuezhou had reached the threshold of an embryonic domain.
• Ren Yisheng and the others observed that Zhang Xuezhou had developed his domain without undergoing the life-and-death ordeal Mengtesi Badun had faced.
• Luo Burang warned that the tank was melting and cracking, and Zhang Xuezhou said the process was complete as the laboratory reduced the power supply.

Zhang Xuezhou demonstrated the strength of his Resistance Layer and arranged for his allies to test theirs. He then asked Huang Daoxian to explain Principles, offering to help him form a Golden Core and acquire a human body in return.

• Zhang Xuezhou endured the tank's electrical and chemical forces with ease, astonishing Li Yingbo, and ordered the group’s Resistance Layer tests.
• Zhang Manqian rejected Huang Daoxian’s complaint that he was being excluded from the testing order, leaving him worried about falling behind Zhang Xuezhou’s allies.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Huang Daoxian to explain Principles and offered a method to help him form a Golden Core and quickly acquire a human body.
• Huang Daoxian loudly secured Zhang Xuezhou’s promise and gathered witnesses, while Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Hao’s group agreed to act as guarantors.
• Huang Daoxian suspected Zhang Xuezhou meant to combine their abilities, and Zhang Hao invited him to explain what he knew about Principles.

Zhang Xuezhou questioned Huang Daoxian about Principles and the World Origin, suspecting he had encountered the Origin in Sinkhole No. 2. After arranging Huang Daoxian's training, Zhang Xuezhou prepared to return to the sinkhole and investigate.

• Huang Daoxian explained that a Principle could be guided by seeking the World Origin and warned that cultivators with identical Principles were likely to clash.
• Zhang Hao asked how to find the World Origin, and Huang Daoxian said only those with extraordinary luck and strength had a chance to encounter it.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked what would happen if a weak cultivator obtained an Origin, but Huang Daoxian insisted that small realms could not produce one.
• Zhang Hao noted that sensing a secret realm's operating patterns granted strength only within that realm, prompting Zhang Xuezhou to decide to return and investigate Sinkhole No. 2.
• Huang Daoxian grabbed Zhang Xuezhou's thigh, but Zhang Xuezhou's force field repelled him and left him unable to speak; Zhang Xuezhou told Ren Yisheng to teach Huang Daoxian the Sword-Guiding Stance and send him into the sinkhole for secluded cultivation.

Zhang Xuezhou entered Sinkhole No. 2 after reaching the Seventh Sequence and absorbed its Spiritual Qi, strengthening and sustaining his body. He tested his improved toughness with Zhou Rihui, who came away with a clearer sense of the path to the Eighth Sequence.

• Zhang Xuezhou entered Sinkhole No. 2 and absorbed its Spiritual Qi, extending the duration of his enhanced physical state.
• Zhou Rihui learned that Zhang Xuezhou had reached the Seventh Sequence and asked whether Zhang Xuezhou could take him out, but Zhang Xuezhou explained that the sinkhole might reject living creatures.
• Zhang Xuezhou demonstrated his strength by tearing a piece from the hard black rock and estimated that Zhou Rihui's resistance could reach his current level at the Eighth Sequence.
• Zhou Rihui punched Zhang Xuezhou and struck him with an alloy sword, injuring his own hand while failing to harm Zhang Xuezhou.
• Zhou Rihui recognized Zhang Xuezhou's toughness as a model for his own future progress toward the Eighth Sequence.

Zhang Xuezhou tested his newly strengthened body and found that it was drawing in large amounts of Spiritual Qi, giving him a chance to force a breakthrough to the Sole Self Realm. As he began advancing atop the Spirit Jade, Ren Anran reconsidered whether her own cultivation path had been wrong for her.

• Zhou Rihui tested Zhang Xuezhou's body and realized it could rebound attacks in a way beyond the Black Armor Combat Technique.
• Zhang Xuezhou joined Ren Anran atop the Spirit Jade and explained that he might use the abundant Spiritual Qi to break through to the Sole Self Realm.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Ren Anran that his fused techniques could produce a second Divine Ability, and she urged him to attempt the breakthrough rather than miss the opportunity.
• Zhang Xuezhou began his advancement as purple Law Power light appeared on his body.
• Ren Anran reflected that the Yin-Yang School Realm Technique might not suit her and resolved to adjust her cultivation to her own circumstances.

Zhang Xuezhou used the abundant Spiritual Qi in Sinkhole No. 2 to break through to the Sole Self Realm and advance his techniques, but the breakthrough greatly depleted the Spirit Jade. The chapter ended as he, Ren Anran, and Zhou Rihui noticed the sinkhole’s plants suddenly flowering and bearing fruit.

• Zhang Xuezhou drew Spiritual Qi from the Spirit Jade and broke through to the Sole Self Realm, transforming the Poison Avoidance Instruction and advancing his other techniques.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Ren Anran that his Yin-Yang Realm Technique was nearing collapse and that his fused techniques had consumed a great deal of Spiritual Qi.
• Ren Anran suggested that Zhang Xuezhou’s unusual dependence on Spiritual Qi might become an advantage in special circumstances.
• Zhang Xuezhou saw that the Spirit Jade had grown dim and that the Spiritual Qi in Sinkhole No. 2 had fallen sharply.
• Zhou Rihui pointed out that the plants had turned red, flowered, and borne fruit, then asked whether they could be eaten.

Zhang Xuezhou and the others investigated the poisonous grass and trees in Donghua’s secret realm as the plants rapidly withered and produced fruit or ash. They discovered that a burned tree left behind a metallic trunk resembling a blank for a powerful Law Treasure.

• Zhou Rihui found that the poisonous grass dropped thousands of red fruits, and the group collected them while avoiding eating any before Huang Daoxian could identify them.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran observed that the poisonous trees were withering rapidly and considered whether their remains might serve as reproductive cores.
• Zhang Xuezhou tested a fallen poisonous tree with a spark, and it burned within seconds, including its roots.
• Zhou Rihui found an unburned section of trunk in the ash, and Zhang Xuezhou sensed that it resembled Donghua’s scepter and could be a high-quality Law Treasure blank.
• Zhang Xuezhou looked at the remaining poisonous trees and realized that the secret realm might be producing many such materials.

After the Aomeijia Alliance sacrifices, Zhang Xuezhou found his Karmic Fortune soaring and tamed a poison-tree staff with the Nurturing Method. He and Ren Anran recovered thirteen Law Treasure embryos, then considered how to distribute them to help the group advance toward the Ninth Sequence.

• Zhang Xuezhou reflected that his gains had sparked little hostility, leaving his flourishing Karmic Fortune unlikely to provoke a backlash.
• Zhang Xuezhou used Mengtesi Badun's Nurturing Method to tame the poison-tree staff and discovered it amplified Control and domain power.
• Zhou Rihui's shout caused the decayed poison trees to collapse, and Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran retrieved the staffs hidden inside them.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran counted thirteen staffs and discussed how they could help cultivators develop domains and approach the Ninth Sequence.
• Zhou Rihui accepted that he needed to follow the cultivation path Zhang Xuezhou and the others had opened.
• Zhang Xuezhou said the staffs should be distributed through open discussion, with the group's advancement in mind.

The committee debated how to distribute the poisonous-tree staffs that might help their wielders reach the Ninth Sequence. They agreed to let qualified pioneers use some first and reserve others for promising newcomers, while the staffs’ recipients would carry responsibilities to advance research and hunt Ferocious Beasts.

• The committee members discussed the staffs’ origins and debated who should receive them, with Li Yingbo proposing Ren Yisheng and Luo Burang declining a staff.
• Wang Haoran warned that advancing to the Seventh Sequence required cooperation in hunting Ferocious Beasts, while Li Yingbo called for fair distribution and shared responsibility.
• Zhao Tianhua asked whether his corpus cavernosum disease could be cured, and Zhang Xuezhou assured him that it could.
• Alternate Committee Member Ning suggested letting interested people sign up and selecting recipients after they reached the Seventh Sequence.
• Zhang Manqian proposed giving staffs to qualified pioneers while reserving some for promising newcomers, and Li Yingbo secured the committee’s agreement.