One Man, One Sword, Battling the Heavens

Ling Chen, an outer sect disciple of the Qinglan Sect, was once a lonely boy. But the secret of the Chaos Pearl he carries makes him a thorn in the side of Xu Gang, the sect's Grand Elder, and Zhao Wuji, a lackey of the Punishment Hall. He is also hunted by the prodigies Yan Jin of the Burning Flame Valley and Jin Lie of the Golden Sun Palace, who covet what he possesses. After being framed for stealing the Earthcore Flame Marrow, he is branded a “traitor” and placed on the wanted list by all nine sects. The sect casts him aside, and his former fellow disciples turn their blades on him. Only Ye Qingmei, a concubine-born daughter of the Ye family of Medicine King City, uses her business acumen to secretly pave a way for him to escape amid her family's infighting. In his darkest hour, she is the only warmth he has left. Cornered, Ling Chen accidentally falls into the Black Swamp. There, in an ancient cultivator's tomb, he awakens the Chaos Sword Physique and obtains the ancient inheritance, the Chaos Heaven-Devouring Art. This cultivation method devours the spiritual energy of the five elements to strengthen its user. Combined with his own techniques, Nine Void-Splitting Strikes and Cloudflow Illusory Step, it can cleave stars and leave only afterimages in its wake, while its sword aura can shatter the void. The Chaos Pearl he carries holds even more secrets: not only can it conceal his presence, it also awakens a fragment of the ancient Myriad Paths Sword Diagram when he is near death, stirring secrets of the heavens and allowing him to glimpse the supreme sword intent of “tracing cause and effect” and “letting all worlds rise and fall with a single thought.” After escaping the deadly swamp, Ling Chen begins his comeback, fighting the heavens with nothing but a sword. In the Mystic Mist Valley secret realm, he conceals himself with a damaged formation, claims treasures of the five elements, and turns the tables on the peak Foundation Establishment prodigies who try to surround him. To protect Ye Qingmei, he confronts the powerful clans of Medicine King City and uses sword intent so supreme that one sword can overcome ten thousand techniques, shattering the notion that “bloodline determines everything” and striking fear into the surrounding forces. As his cultivation advances, he gradually discovers that the nine sects' pursuit of him is only the tip of the iceberg. Beyond the Qingli Domain, foreign races have long been plotting, while ancient grudges and a catastrophe on a cosmic scale are quietly drawing near.