Chapter Summaries

Gu De considered how the Emperor Road might disrupt his cycle of starting over and decided to secure resources and enter it. At Hidden Origin Peak, Lu Changzhi received a Secret Road Privilege Token and sensed the Emperor Road’s presence emerging from beneath his own peak.

• Gu De recalled how his repeated experiences let him defeat the four great powers’ experts, and wondered whether the Emperor Road’s early appearance was connected to his vanished gold coins.
• Gu De decided that starting over might no longer be reliable and resolved to gather more resources and take part in the Emperor Road.
• Cang Wenyu showed Lu Changzhi a projection of the stranger who had given the sect a token, then explained that the man had disappeared and the ancestors had left the token to them.
• Lu Changzhi read the token’s description, which said it granted access to the Secret Road and let its holder affect it, and wondered whether that road was truly the Emperor Road.
• A powerful presence erupted from beneath Hidden Origin Peak, and Lu Changzhi sensed that the token was connected to it.
• Lu Changzhi realized the Emperor Road was right beneath his own peak and remarked that he had searched for it in vain.

Lu Changzhi entered the Emperor Road with Cang Wenyu's privilege token and discovered he could use it to reshape the empty realm and create trials that suppressed his abilities. Amused by the prospect of designing the exam instead of taking it, he began planning a new Emperor Road while people gathered in the Land of the Four Directions.

• Lu Changzhi used Cang Wenyu's token to enter the vast, seemingly empty Emperor Road.
• He used the token to raise mountains, grow trees, and bloom flowers across the realm.
• Lu Changzhi marked out a trial area and found that entering it suppressed his strength and body, while holding the token removed the pressure.
• He decided to redesign the Emperor Road into a more distinctive trial and began making plans.
• In the Land of the Four Directions, searchers located where the Emperor Road would appear and saw a warning in the void: those who could not behave themselves would find it hard to enter.

Cultivators gathered near the Five Symbols Sect as the Emperor Road’s warning drew attention and the Myriad Treasures Pavilion spread news of its location. Gu De suspected the changed gold coins had altered the road, and a new message finally appeared urging cultivators to bring their coffin-bound ancestor.

• Cultivators debated the warning in the sky and whether the Five Symbols Sect would benefit from or be endangered by its position near the Emperor Road.
• The Myriad Treasures Pavilion livestreamed from the Land of the Four Directions, prompting cultivators across the world to rush there.
• Mu Fan, Zhong Ming, Xiao Ye, and Qin Li discussed how the Emperor Road’s appearance near the Five Symbols Sect affected their earlier plans and the conflict between the Human Race and Beast Race.
• Gu De noticed that the Emperor Road’s warning differed from his memories and suspected the changed gold coins had caused the alteration, then set out to investigate in person.
• After more cultivators gathered and waited, a new message appeared telling them to bring their coffin-bound ancestor.

A clue on the Emperor Road suggested that descendants could benefit from their ancestors, prompting cultivators and factions to seek out stronger ancestors by any means. As factions scrambled to protect or acquire ancestors, the Myriad Treasures Pavilion announced it would sell them in coffins.

• Cultivators debated whether the Emperor Road clue meant they needed ancestors stronger than themselves, and some Rogue Cultivators decided to steal them.
• A faction leader ordered his people to guard their ancestral tombs, warning that they might not have enough ancestors if only one descendant could benefit from each.
• An elder realized his faction’s ancestral tombs had already been robbed and their ancestors used like bombs by an ancestor-stealing thief.
• The furious patriarch ordered his people to hide in the ancestral tombs and swarm anyone who tried to steal from them.
• The Myriad Treasures Pavilion announced that it would soon sell ancestors in coffins to cultivators who needed them.

The Emperor Road's demand for ancestors in coffins triggered suspicion and a scramble among the powers of the Land of the Four Directions. Inside the Emperor Road, Lu Changzhi finished transforming the space and left, while two figures arrived and decided to report what they saw to their ancestor.

• Gu De watched the message about bringing an ancestor and suspected the Emperor Road was using smoke and mirrors.
• Li Baimei suspected the Emperor Road was a trap and refused to provide an ancestor for the Li Clan.
• Zhong Ming wondered if the ancestor message was his Master's work and imagined rows of ancestors in coffins.
• Chu Ping'an questioned his system about finding another transmigrator and Lin Xie's unchanged fortuitous encounter, then decided to speak with Lin Xie.
• Powerful factions across the Land of the Four Directions sought ancestors in coffins, pressuring and attacking fallen powers to obtain them.
• Lu Changzhi finished transforming the Emperor Road space and departed; two illusory figures arrived, found the changes outrageous, and decided to report to their ancestor.

Two figures overseeing the Secret Road decided to let the token-bearer proceed as he pleased, while Gu Chen showed astonishing improvement in a fight with a Longwang Clan Dragon Emperor. After learning that the Emperor Road might appear near the sect, Gu Chen and the others prepared to ask their Master what to do.

• An old man and his companion observed the Secret Road, then agreed to let its visitors continue without interference.
• Gu Chen fought a Longwang Clan member, impressing Mu Fan, Qin Li, Xiao Ye, and Long Yi with his newly developed dragon-form combat skills.
• Long Yi wondered whether standing on the Emperor Road’s “end” might help Gu Chen improve further, just as standing on dragon and human heads had.
• After the duel, Qin Li told Gu Chen that signs suggested the Emperor Road would soon appear, and she warned that its entrants might include people from every side.
• Gu Chen deduced that the Emperor Road would appear near the sect, and Mu Fan said they had been waiting to return and ask their Master about it.

Lu Changzhi gathered his disciples and the Beast Race representatives, and they shared a meal that turned into a chance for the Dragon Race to show its regard by offering Longwang Clan’s meat. After the meal, Lu Changzhi revealed that he had called everyone together to discuss the Emperor Road, where the Beast Race would participate without entering it.

• Lu Changzhi arrived and praised Gu Chen and his other disciples for their progress, while Zhong Ming offered him wine and Luo Ling'er shared food with the group.
• Bai Po, Zhu Li, and the other Beast Race representatives declined to join the meal and discussed their position among Lu Changzhi’s disciples.
• Long Yi asked Longwang Clan to contribute meat to the meal, and Longwang Clan agreed before Long Yi carved a piece from his back and Lu Changzhi healed the wound with a drop from the Life Spirit Spring.
• After the meal, Zhu Li offered the Beast Race’s plan to help Lu Changzhi’s disciples reach the end of the Emperor Road.
• Lu Changzhi said the Beast Race would take part in the Emperor Road but would not need to enter it, prompting Qin Li to ask what he meant.

Lu Changzhi brought his companions into the Emperor Road to explain their roles, while cultivators across the Land of the Four Directions waited for it to open. Golden stairways appeared across the land, and everyone learned they had to climb them to enter the Emperor Road.

• Lu Changzhi took strands of divine sense from his companions into the Emperor Road and showed them what they would be responsible for.
• Long Yi told the other beasts he suspected Lu Changzhi had sent Gu De, the Human Emperor, to deceive the crowd.
• Cultivators gathered in the Land of the Four Directions discussed the Emperor Road and whether to bring coffin-bound ancestors.
• The words above the Five Symbols Sect vanished, prompting the crowd to wonder whether the Emperor Road was opening.
• Golden light spread across the Land of the Four Directions, and golden stairways formed throughout the land.
• Everyone heard that climbing the stairs would let them enter the Emperor Road.

Gu De led his hidden followers toward the Emperor Road while the four top powers and the crowd held back. After his true body entered, he found the road apparently empty and wondered where its resources had gone.

• The crowd saw many staircases appear and praised the Emperor Road for giving weaker powers a fairer chance to enter.
• Gu De summoned a formidable group of followers, whose unified salute startled the crowd and made the four top powers wary.
• Gu De told everyone to do their best and began climbing, while Li Baimei ordered the Li Clan to wait and the others held back.
• Gu De's avatar climbed the staircase as his true body entered the Emperor Road and vanished into its space.
• Gu De looked around inside the Emperor Road, found no resources, and then noticed something unexpected.

Gu De entered the Emperor Road and spotted the Dao Comprehension Tea Tree, while Lu Changzhi watched from elsewhere. After the four top forces and other cultivators entered the secret realm, they found a pit bearing instructions to bury their coffined ancestors, and many began doing so.

• Gu De tried to search the Emperor Road with his spiritual sense, then spotted a mysterious tree and declared that he must have it.
• Lu Changzhi recognized the tree as his Dao Comprehension Tea Tree, which he had placed on the road to attract participants.
• The four top forces entered the Emperor Road through separate staircases, and Li Baimei arrived in the secret realm and exchanged words with Gu De.
• Cultivators followed the words suspended in the air and found an enormous pit with the message, “Bury your coffined ancestor standing tall, and a bright future is guaranteed.”
• A cultivator buried a long coffin in the pit, and many others followed, burying their own coffins with or without ceremonies.

Li Baimei and the Li Clan entered the Emperor Road, where their abilities and storage methods were suppressed and they had to choose between two hazardous paths. They discovered that only those who had buried an ancestor could proceed along the land route, leaving Li Baimei to lead the others toward the water.

• People who could not offer an ancestor went around the pit, while Zhong Ming secretly marked everyone who had not made an offering.
• Li Baimei passed the character and entered the Emperor Road, where he and the other Li Clan members were reduced to mortal strength and could not use storage methods.
• The Li Clan found two paths: a backward-moving land road and a water route struck by lightning, so Li Baimei chose the land road.
• Some Li Clan members could not advance on the land road, while those who had buried even fake ancestors could keep going.
• Li Baimei realized they could not return to the entrance and led the stranded members toward the water route.

Li Baimei and the other cultivators struggled to swim through the Emperor Road’s water, while Gu De moved through it with striking ease. Beneath the surface, Mu Fan and Xiao Ye coordinated an attack on Gu De, and a whirlpool began pulling at him and those nearby.

• Li Baimei warned the others to swim forward, but he and the Li Clan experts found they could not move well through the water without their cultivation.
• Gu De plunged in and swam swiftly, drawing admiration and making Li Baimei worry that he would claim any rewards first.
• Mu Fan appeared beside Xiao Ye and ordered him to help shock Gu De so Mu Fan could approach unnoticed.
• Xiao Ye called on the Black Tortoise Race to target Gu De, then activated lightning techniques as Mu Fan headed toward him.
• A whirlpool formed around Gu De and the others, and its pull began to drag them in.

Gu De and the others faced escalating hazards on both the water and the Emperor Road, while Mu Fan used the chaos to steal their supplies and arrange more lightning for Li Baimei. Outside the Emperor Road, observers discussed Mu Fan’s methods and Gu De’s prospects.

• Gu De was struck by powerful lightning in the water and realized the Emperor Road had suppressed his cultivation, prompting him to hurry toward safety.
• Li Baimei and the others on the road were shaken into the water when the ground surged, while hesitant travelers chose to press onward despite the dangers.
• Mu Fan revealed that he had replaced Gu De’s storage artifacts with mud fakes and stolen their resources, then asked Xiao Ye to target Li Baimei with more lightning.
• Observers outside the Emperor Road debated Mu Fan’s restraint and theft, while one said he would have demanded an explanation if Gu De had been killed.

As the travelers endured repeated lightning strikes on the Emperor Road, the Great Qian Ancient Kingdom’s people noticed their storage artifacts looked different but could not check what was inside. Worried their supplies had been altered or stolen, Qian Guiyi led his group toward the Li Clan and said they had come to give them something to worry about.

• Gu De and the other travelers endured another, weaker lightning strike in the water and continued toward shore.
• Members of the Great Qian Ancient Kingdom discussed the trial and complained that the road’s restrictions kept them from using their cultivation or belongings.
• A man noticed that flaws on his storage ring had disappeared, prompting others to inspect their own storage artifacts and find similar changes.
• Someone suggested the artifacts might have been swapped, but the group realized they could not check inside them, leaving Qian Guiyi and the others concerned about their stored preparations.
• Qian Guiyi led the Great Qian Ancient Kingdom’s experts toward Li Baimei and the Li Clan, then told them they had come to give them something to worry about.

Qian Guiyi warned Li Baimei that storage rings might have been switched, then teased him over his reaction to a sudden lightning strike. When a Li Clan expert discovered his ring was missing and accused a Great Qian Ancient Kingdom expert, the crowd gathered to investigate as a Li Clan expert warned Li Baimei to move away from something seeping out.

• Qian Guiyi urged Li Baimei and the Li Clan experts to check their storage rings, suggesting someone might have swapped them.
• A sudden lightning strike hit the group, and Qian Guiyi mocked Li Baimei by claiming he had looked as if he enjoyed it.
• A Li Clan expert found his storage ring missing, while a Great Qian Ancient Kingdom expert discovered a strange ring on his hand and tried to hide it.
• The Li Clan expert accused the Great Qian Ancient Kingdom expert of stealing the ring, drawing the attention of the surrounding crowd.
• A Li Clan expert privately told Li Baimei to move because something seemed to be seeping out.

Li Baimei’s reaction to the lightning prompted the Li Clan expert to accuse a Great Qian Ancient Kingdom expert of stealing from him, and a physical fight broke out between them. Their brawl drew members of both powers into a massive melee, which nearby onlookers watched in amazement.

• Li Baimei noticed that something had seeped out and hurriedly tried to conceal it, prompting others to suspect the lightning had given him pleasure.
• The Li Clan expert grabbed a Great Qian Ancient Kingdom expert and accused him of stealing, then punched him and tried to take his storage rings.
• The Great Qian Ancient Kingdom expert tried to retaliate, but the Li Clan expert punched him again and reminded him that they could not use their usual powers here.
• Two more Great Qian Ancient Kingdom experts attacked the Li Clan expert, and people from both sides joined the fight.
• Nearby spectators watched the top-tier powers brawl like ordinary people, commenting on their suppressed strength and still-impressive movements.

A chaotic fight between the Li Clan, the Great Qian Ancient Kingdom, and others delayed both factions as Gu De's group neared the end of the waterway. Chu Ping'an recognized Gu De as a reincarnated protagonist he hoped to recruit, just as lightning struck the water again and a mysterious voice singled out Li Baimei for testing.

• Lu Changzhi told Xiao Ye to hold back the lightning until the fighters were nearly done, while Li Baimei and Qian Guiyi argued over the spreading melee.
• Li Baimei wondered why the earlier lightning had affected him strangely and waited for another strike as the combatants began to tire.
• Gu De's group spotted the end of the waterway and decided to press ahead without slowing down.
• Chu Ping'an realized Gu De was a reincarnated protagonist and considered finding a way to make him part of his Leek Garden.
• Lightning appeared in the water again, and a voice outside the secret path said Li Baimei showed promise and might be given to Yang Kaizhi if he passed a test.

Li Baimei and Qian Guiyi ended their groups’ fight and continued along the waterway, while Gu De became the first to reach the far shore. Gu De waited at the edge of a dangerous-looking forest, and Chu Ping'an refused to go ahead as a test subject.

• Li Baimei noticed a strange effect from the lightning and stopped the melee, while Qian Guiyi urged his people to move on.
• Li Baimei reassured the dissatisfied Li Clan members and led them onward after Qian Guiyi departed.
• Zhong Ming collected the buried coffins and ancestors beneath the enormous pit and said he would soon need to digest them.
• Gu De emerged from the waterway first and decided to wait for those behind him to test the forest ahead.
• Chu Ping'an realized Gu De's group wanted him to scout the forest and sat down, claiming he was tired.

Chu Ping'an refused to follow Gu De into the woods, while Gu De allowed him to rest and studied his apparent confidence. As more people arrived and chose to rest rather than proceed, Li Tianque sent a scout toward the woods, where a ball of light asked him whether he would coexist peacefully with the Beast Race.

• Chu Ping'an mocked Gu De's followers and refused to go ahead, but Gu De told them not to force him.
• Gu De suspected Chu Ping'an had something to rely on, while Chu Ping'an knew his system and its stored items still worked.
• More people arrived, heard that Gu De was resting, and decided to rest rather than risk the road ahead.
• Li Tianque offered to have someone from the Li Clan scout the woods, and Gu De accepted.
• Li Tianque sent a hesitant follower forward, where a ball of light asked whether he would coexist peacefully with the Beast Race.

Gu De ordered a second man to choose against peaceful coexistence with the Beast Race so the group could compare the outcomes. The first man chose peace, entered the woods, and was swallowed by the soft ground while Ma Ze approached too cautiously to save him; the group was left wondering whether he would return.

• Gu De told Li Tianque to send two people into the woods, one to choose coexistence with the Beast Race and the other to refuse it.
• Li Tianque persuaded a second man to go and refuse coexistence, while the first man chose to coexist peacefully and entered the woods.
• The first man walked about ten zhang before stumbling and sinking into the soft ground as he struggled.
• The sinking man called for Ma Ze to save him, but Ma Ze advanced slowly while onlookers warned that struggling would make him sink faster.
• The man disappeared beneath the ground, leaving bubbles behind, and Ma Ze stopped as the crowd wondered whether the man would resurface.