Chapter Summaries

Jiang Sheng broke through to the Taiyi Nascent Soul Realm and formed the Yuchen Heavenly Lord Dharma Image, gaining power that rivaled an ordinary Spirit Transformation cultivator. After stabilizing his cultivation, he learned that Qiu Buyu had encountered trouble in Great Tang and decided to go north to stand by his disciple.

• Jiang Sheng formed his thousand-meter Yuchen Heavenly Lord Dharma Image and attained the Taiyi Nascent Soul Realm.
• Jiang Sheng tested his command of heaven and earth’s Spiritual Resonance, then dissolved the Dharma Image and rode into the sky.
• Scarlet Cloud True Lord praised the three cultivators, gave Li Yan instructions to sever her karmic ties, and sent them back to Flowing Splendor Mountain.
• Li Yan and Huang Yu went to Western Wilderness Palace, while Jiang Sheng remained behind to study his arts and stabilize his cultivation.
• Tian Ming'an informed Jiang Sheng that Qiu Buyu seemed to have encountered trouble in Great Tang and had gone there.
• Jiang Sheng met Li Yan and Huang Yu at Western Wilderness Palace and announced that he would leave for Great Tang.

Jiang Sheng left the Southern Yue Kingdom for Great Tang and killed Yin Zhengye, who had pursued him to avenge his son. Afterward, Jiang Sheng sensed another observer and demanded that they reveal themselves.

• Li Yan gave Jiang Sheng a jade slip containing a map of Great Tang and information on how to contact her before he departed ahead of the others.
• Jiang Sheng left Night Jade Mountain and flew high above the Cloudbound Mountains, while Yin Zhengye followed him from afar.
• After Jiang Sheng had traveled ten million miles, Yin Zhengye caught up and explained that he sought revenge for his son, Yin Yuque, without the Yin Family's support.
• Yin Zhengye attacked Jiang Sheng with his domain and Blood Fiend Karma Blade, but Jiang Sheng's wind and water techniques and azure Sword Aura overwhelmed him.
• Jiang Sheng's Sword Aura pierced Yin Zhengye's skull across a thousand miles, after which Jiang Sheng called out to the person who had been watching.

After Jiang Sheng killed Yin Zhengye, Yin Hongyi chose to collect his body rather than seek revenge. Meanwhile, Tian Ming'an searched the Southern River Circuit for the missing Qiu Buyu, who was imprisoned in the Heavenly Pass Dark Prison as masked conspirators plotted an uprising.

• Yin Hongyi confronted Jiang Sheng, but accepted that the Flowing Splendor Dharma Assembly's rules settled Yin Zhengye's death and left without attacking him.
• Tian Ming'an searched for Qiu Buyu in the Southern River Circuit after losing the jade token's signal and finding the Qiu Family residence's traces erased.
• Qiu Buyu recalled how the second prince's faction and another group pursued him before a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator captured and imprisoned him.
• Qiu Buyu met Sun Lang in the Heavenly Pass Dark Prison and learned that he was being held alongside other important prisoners.
• An iron-masked figure told Qiu Buyu that he would soon die, then joined four masked figures who discussed recruiting the Cui Family, Xiao Family, and other allies for a rebellion.

Qiu Buyu learned from Gao Shun that the Heavenly Pass Dark Prison held victims of the emperor’s madness and that the Hidden Dragon Society opposed the court. While Jiang Sheng traveled to the Southern River Circuit to search for Qiu Buyu, Tian Ming'an followed his instructions to Huazhou Prefecture, where he sought a dragon from a suspicious merchant.

• Qiu Buyu questioned Sun Lang in the Heavenly Pass Dark Prison, and Gao Shun revealed that Sun Lang’s household had been executed and that the emperor had gone mad.
• Gao Shun told Qiu Buyu that he had joined the Hidden Dragon Society after his own family faced execution, but doubted that Penglai could help them escape.
• Jiang Sheng learned that Qiu Buyu had disappeared after discovering something in the Jiangdong Circuit and told Tian Ming'an he would reach Luling Commandery in seven days.
• Tian Ming'an went to Huazhou Prefecture’s cultivation market and entered a trading shop after a merchant offered to find whatever he wanted.
• Tian Ming'an asked the merchant for a dragon, and the Golden Core True Person demanded to know who had referred him.

Jiang Sheng traveled to Yuzhang Commandery to investigate whether the Wei Family was behind Qiu Buyu’s disappearance, while Tian Ming'an searched for possible sites of Heavenly Pass Dark Prison. At the Wei Residence, Jiang Sheng asked the family for help finding his missing disciple, leaving Wei Ming worried that the Wei Family’s political plans had been exposed.

• A merchant told Tian Ming'an that Qiu Lan might have vanished into the Wei Family, the Southern River Circuit Military Governor's Residence, or Heavenly Pass Dark Prison.
• Tian Ming'an reported what he learned to Jiang Sheng, who arrived three days later and sent his disciple to investigate possible prison sites while he visited the Wei Family.
• Jiang Sheng reached Yuzhang Commandery and was welcomed by Wei Ming with an elaborate carriage and a lavish reception at the Wei Family’s spiritual lake palace.
• Jiang Sheng told Wei Ming that his disciple had disappeared in Southern River Circuit and asked the Wei Family for help finding her.
• Wei Ming suspected Qiu Buyu’s disappearance was connected to the Wei Family’s preparations to support the eldest prince, and he wondered how much Jiang Sheng knew.

Jiang Sheng pressed Wei Ming to arrange a meeting with Wei Zhong after revealing that he knew about the secret Heavenly Pass Dark Prisons. Meanwhile, factions tied to the First Prince and Second Prince moved against Qiu Buyu, and Tian Ming'an tracked a suspicious site in Lujiang City.

• Wei Ming told Wei Zhong that Jiang Sheng suspected the Wei Family was hiding something, and Wei Zhong ordered a token investigation while privately considering how to silence Jiang Sheng if necessary.
• Wei Zhong’s connection to the First Prince, Li Qian, revealed that the Wei Family knew about the Southern River Circuit Heavenly Pass Dark Prison, where Qiu Buyu was being held.
• The iron-masked men planned to leak Qiu Buyu’s location to draw in the Second Prince’s people, while Tian Ming'an found suspicious restriction and spiritual-energy fluctuations in Lujiang City.
• Li Tai learned Qiu Buyu had resurfaced and ordered his subordinates to find and kill her before she could expose his collusion.
• At a banquet, Wei Ming claimed the Wei Family had failed to locate Qiu Lan, but Jiang Sheng asked to visit a Heavenly Pass Dark Prison and demanded to meet Wei Zhong.
• Jiang Sheng invoked his status as a true disciple of Penglai, cowed Wei Ming with his aura, and ordered him to tell Wei Zhong that he was waiting.

Jiang Sheng confronted Wei Zhong and revealed that he had condensed a Dharma Image, forcing the Wei Family patriarch to recognize the danger of challenging Penglai. At Heavenly Pass Dark Prison, Tian Ming'an defended Qiu Buyu from Li Yuanhua and the Iron-Faced Society until Jiang Sheng arrived in the form of his thousand-zhang Dharma Image.

• Jiang Sheng asked Wei Zhong to take him to Heavenly Pass Dark Prison, where he believed a Penglai disciple was being held.
• Wei Zhong used his Spirit Transformation power to pressure Jiang Sheng, but Jiang Sheng revealed his Dharma Image and overwhelmed him.
• Jiang Sheng warned Wei Zhong that the Wei Family would face consequences if anything had happened to his disciple, then flew toward Lujiang City.
• Li Yuanhua tried to kill Qiu Buyu, but Tian Ming'an stopped him with a talisman containing Jiang Sheng's Water-Fire True Thunder.
• Three iron-masked Nascent Soul cultivators attacked Tian Ming'an and Qiu Buyu, but Jiang Sheng's sword and Dharma Image broke into Heavenly Pass Dark Prison.
• Jiang Sheng appeared above the prison as a thousand-zhang Dharma Image and challenged the cultivators who had provoked Penglai.

Jiang Sheng broke into the Heavenly Pass Dark Prison, subdued Li Yuanhua and three Iron-Faced Society cultivators, and freed Qiu Buyu, Tian Ming'an, and the other prisoners. As officials mobilized to investigate the breach, Jiang Sheng returned to the Wei Residence in Yuzhang Commandery.

• Li Yuanhua and three Iron-Faced Society cultivators attacked Jiang Sheng and fled, but Jiang Sheng crushed their techniques and pinned all four with Sword Aura.
• Jiang Sheng released Qiu Buyu from his cell, then opened the prison cells and freed the upright cultivators inside.
• Sun Lang, Gao Shun, and Li Ang left the Heavenly Pass Dark Prison before the Jade-Clad Guard arrived.
• Wei Yushu ordered a search across the Southern River Circuit and went to Lujiang, where he reconstructed the prison breach and decided to visit Wei Zhong.
• Jiang Sheng returned to the Wei Residence in Yuzhang Commandery.

Jiang Sheng pressured the Wei Family over his disciples’ imprisonment, forcing Wei Zhong to acknowledge Penglai’s authority and provide compensation. After meeting Jiangnan Circuit’s military governor, Wei Yushu, Jiang Sheng revealed that he had captured several people connected to the prison, leaving both men wary of what he intended to do next.

• Jiang Sheng reminded Wei Zhong that Jiangnan had once been Southern Chu Territory and that Penglai stood above the continent, prompting Wei Zhong to submit and offer Tian Ming'an and Qiu Buyu items from the Wei Family treasury.
• Wei Zhong learned that the military governor, Wei Yushu, had arrived, while Jiang Sheng wondered why Heavenly Pass Dark Prison held no Nascent Soul or Spirit Transformation prisoners and recalled the four Nascent Soul cultivators he had captured.
• Wei Yushu asked Wei Zhong whether Jiang Sheng was still at the Wei Family, then went with him to meet the Penglai true inheritor at Poyang Jade Palace.
• Jiang Sheng told Wei Yushu that he had come to rescue his disciple and had captured several thieves, then said Jiangnan Circuit had little to do with the matter.

As Great Tang’s emperor remained incapacitated, First Prince Li Qian prepared to seize the throne before the court could investigate the breached Heavenly Pass Dark Prison. He ordered forces into the Metropolitan Circuit and accepted that his move would shatter the existing order.

• News that a Penglai Dao Sect True Person had breached the Southern River Circuit Heavenly Pass Dark Prison reached Li Qian and Li Tai, changing their calculations.
• Fang Jing and Du Ping warned Li Qian that the court would investigate the missing prisoners and that he had little time to act.
• Li Qian’s advisers confirmed that he controlled three Heavenly Pass Dark Prisons and had promised their prisoners freedom in exchange for helping him seize the throne.
• Li Qian ordered Dong Guang to bring twenty units of Daoist Soldiers from the New Western Circuit and told the Longyou Fang Clan and Longxi Du Clan to send fifteen units each into the Metropolitan Circuit.
• Li Qian’s ally agreed to block the Headmaster of Chang'an Academy, while Li Qian planned to rely on the Celestial Observatory’s neutrality and someone else to counter the Martial Academy.
• After his allies left, Li Qian looked toward Luoyang and prepared to act, crediting Li Tai with driving potential allies into his camp.

Prince of Chu Li Tai prepared to respond to Prince of Qi Li Qian’s impending move as Jiang Sheng considered Great Tang’s decline and resolved to break the deadlocked political order. After using Li Yuanhua as bait in Poyang Lake, Jiang Sheng received an invitation to discuss matters in Guanzhong.

• Li Tai weighed acting against Li Qian and learned from Qin Yu and Wu Si that he could not afford to wait for his brother to seize Chang'an.
• Jiang Sheng told Tian Ming'an and Qiu Buyu that the princes’ struggle involved Star Saint Sect, the East Sea Dragon Palace, and Buddhist forces, and declared that he would depose the dragon they sought to support.
• Jiang Sheng used Li Yuanhua’s Nascent Soul as bait to catch a golden carp nearing dragon transformation.
• Jiang Sheng explained to Li Yuanhua that Great Tang had reached a dead end and that Emperor Wende had sought to break it so a new order could arise.
• Jiang Sheng erased the surrounded white pieces from his chessboard, sealed Li Yuanhua, and cast him into Poyang Lake as bait for spiritual fish.
• A Nascent Soul elder arrived in a cloud carriage and invited Jiang Sheng to Guanzhong for a discussion on his master’s behalf.

Jiang Sheng traveled to Guanzhong and met Prince Li Zhen, who asked for his support in the struggle for Great Tang’s throne. Jiang Sheng agreed to back Li Zhen on the condition that he secure the Luoyang Dao Palace’s support at the upcoming Luotian Dharma Assembly.

• Jiang Sheng arrived at Li Zhen’s estate in the Guanlong Mountains, where Li Zhen thanked him for helping free Li Ang and the Hidden Dragon Society’s imprisoned members.
• Li Yan urged Jiang Sheng to support Li Zhen against Li Qian and Li Tai, who were preparing to contend for the throne.
• Li Zhen promised that Great Tang would follow Penglai’s lead if Jiang Sheng helped him win, but Jiang Sheng said Penglai’s influence already extended over every ruler.
• Tian Ming’an delivered Wei Yushu’s invitation for Jiang Sheng to attend the Luoyang Dao Palace’s Luotian Dharma Assembly.
• Jiang Sheng agreed to support Li Zhen, asking him to win the Dao Palace’s backing at the assembly.

As prodigies and powerful figures gathered in Luoyang for the Luotian Dharma Assembly, Su Yajun and Li Sixian discussed the coming calamity and the Dao Palace’s plans for her. Meanwhile, Ao Bing was tempted by a scheme to sabotage the assembly and attack Great Tang.

• Xiang Yu and Xiang Yao arrived in Luoyang, while Lin Dong entered the city and marveled at Great Tang’s grandeur.
• Ye Qian and Huang Wensheng hurried toward Luoyang after their travels, as prodigies from across the Eastern Domain continued converging on Great Tang.
• Su Yajun defeated Li Sixian at chess, scattered the pieces, and said they should take the initiative rather than submit to unpredictable heavenly will.
• Luoyang Dao Palace prepared to use the Luotian Dharma Assembly to make Su Yajun the Luo River god and protect Luoyang from the coming calamity.
• Ao Bing considered Fang Lan’s proposal to sabotage the assembly, provoke disorder in Great Tang, and attack Li Tai.

As the Luotian Dharma Assembly began in Luoyang, Su Yajun prepared to raise Su Yajun to godhood while the Dao Palace awaited a guest from Penglai. Jiang Sheng arrived in a grand procession, and Su Yajun welcomed the young Dharma Image True Person whose true identity was Lingyuan.

• Fang Lan watched Luoyang’s celebrations and planned to use a clash between the Dao Palace and the East Sea Dragon Palace to plunge the Great Tang into chaos.
• The Dao Palace hosted the Luotian Dharma Assembly and offered cultivators lavish provisions in exchange for their help with Su Yajun’s Investiture of the Gods at the Luo River.
• Su Yajun prepared to enter the assembly after learning that only the invited True Person from Penglai had not arrived.
• Li Sixian and Su Yajun welcomed the Spirit Transformation cultivators, but delayed the assembly while waiting for the Penglai guest.
• Jiang Sheng arrived with Lingyuan, Tian Ming'an, and Qiu Buyu in a ceremonial procession, and Su Yajun greeted him at the Celestial Master Hall.

Jiang Sheng attended the Luotian Dharma Assembly, where the Dao Palace’s demonstrations and the succession from Li Sixian to Su Yajun were interrupted by Ao Bing’s arrival. Ao Bing accused the Great Tang of persecuting the East Sea aquatic clans, and hundreds of dragon kings appeared over Luoyang as the assembly descended into chaos.

• Jiang Sheng entered the Celestial Master Hall as a Dharma Image True Person and watched the assembly’s junior spell duels, including Xiang Yu’s battle with Lin Dong.
• Jiang Sheng listened to Nascent Soul cultivators discuss cultivation and learned from the Dao Palace’s Four Symbols demonstrations.
• Zhang Luyi, Wei Xuancheng, and the four seasonal officials rehearsed summoning rain, then Li Sixian led the public ceremony beside the Luo River on the assembly’s seventh day.
• Ao Bing revealed his true form and accused the Great Tang of driving out East Sea aquatic clans, killing dragon kings, and seizing their waterways.
• Hundreds of dragon kings appeared in the storm, and people fled as the Luotian Dharma Assembly erupted into chaos.

The Dragon Palace and the Star Sovereign Sacred Sect attacked Luoyang, forcing its defenders into a battle against several Dharma Image True Persons. As Su Yajun and Li Sixian fought Fang Lan and Ao Bing, Jiang Sheng joined the fight to help hold back the attackers.

• Ao Bing and the Luo River Dragon King led an assault on Luoyang, and Li Sixian and Zhang Luyi countered their attacks.
• Su Yajun confronted Fang Lan, who revealed the Three-Origin Star Lord Dharma Image and challenged her to fight.
• Li Sixian attacked Ao Bing while Zhang Luyi was forced to fight Tao Yiqian, a Star Sovereign Sacred Sect True Person who unleashed the Lihuo Star Lord Dharma Image.
• Jiang Sheng asked Xiang Yu to protect Ye Qian, Huang Wensheng, Tian Ming'an, and Qiu Buyu, then manifested the Yuchen Heavenly Lord Dharma Image and prepared to join the battle.

Jiang Sheng joined Su Yajun’s battle against Fang Lan to protect Luoyang from the East Sea Dragon Palace and the Star Sovereign Sacred Sect. Fang Lan tried to escape, but Jiang Sheng trapped him as Su Yajun summoned Great Tang’s dragon aura for a decisive strike.

• Jiang Sheng entered the battle and identified himself to Fang Lan as Lingyuan of Penglai.
• Jiang Sheng and Su Yajun coordinated their attacks, forcing Fang Lan to retreat from Su Yajun’s moonlight assault.
• Jiang Sheng trapped Fang Lan inside a Four Symbols Sword Formation when Fang Lan tried to flee.
• Fang Lan launched a heavenly star at Jiang Sheng, pinning him in place.
• Su Yajun invoked Great Tang’s dragon aura and began casting the Heavenheart: Five-Origin Thunder Response Supreme Method.

Jiang Sheng and Su Yajun helped repel Fang Lan and Tao Yiqian, but the Star Saint Sect cultivators escaped after Penglai elders arrived. Dao Yan and Dao Lan returned to Luoyang and captured Ao Bing, while Penglai True Lords watched Panfeng World’s Divine Lords gather beyond Shanhe World’s barrier.

• Su Yajun’s Five Elements heavenly lightning struck Fang Lan and shattered the Four Symbols Sword Formation, while Tao Yiqian rescued Fang Lan from the attack.
• Fang Lan and Tao Yiqian fled Luoyang as Dao Yan True Person and Dao Lan True Person pursued them, and the Luo River Dragon King was struck down and suppressed by Dao Yan.
• Dao Yan and Dao Lan’s attack drove Fang Lan and Tao Yiqian into hiding in the Ninth Heaven’s storm winds, though the two ultimately escaped.
• Penglai True Lords gathered beyond Shanhe World’s barrier and watched the Upper Three Realms Divine Lords of Panfeng World.
• Dao Yan and Dao Lan returned to Luoyang, where Dao Yan used a golden rope to bind Ao Bing and send him crashing from the sky.

After Penglai helped end the crisis in Luoyang, Jiang Sheng reunited with his companions while Great Tang faced political upheaval over the disaster. In the Eastern Sea, Ao Yi rebuked Ao Bing for nearly exposing the Dragon Palace’s plans, as the Four Seas prepared for the approaching ten-thousand-year calamity.

• Dao Yan True Person handed Jiang Sheng his accumulated resources and gave the Luo River Dragon King to Li Sixian, who planned to seek compensation from the East Sea Dragon Palace.
• Jiang Sheng returned to Luoyang and met Tian Ming'an, Qiu Buyu, Ye Qian, and Huang Wensheng, then invited Xiang Yu and his companion to tea.
• Li Tai ordered his people to tell the Third and Fourth Princes about Li Qian’s plans and threatened to join them against his eldest brother.
• Dao Yan True Person and Dao Lan True Person brought Ao Bing to the East Sea Dragon Palace, where Ao Yi said Ao Guang had gone to the South Sea and agreed to confine Ao Bing in the Abyss of the Eastern Sea.
• Ao Yi freed Ao Bing, struck him down, and scolded him for attacking Luoyang before Penglai had made its move against the Tang Dynasty.
• Ao Yi told Ao Bing that Ao Guang had gone to meet Ao Qin in the South Sea, where the Dragon Kings were discussing the ten-thousand-year calamity and a chance to overthrow their suppression by the Profound Gate and Buddhist sect.

Penglai prepared to welcome Patriarch Dejing back after five thousand years abroad, while Li Qian maneuvered to exploit a court dispute over the imprisoned Luo River Dragon King. In Luoyang, Li Sixian and Su Yajun decided to offer Jiang Sheng a greater reward for helping the Dao Palace.

• Tianshu True Person reflected on the Great Calamity and Penglai’s plans as the sect prepared for Patriarch Dejing’s return.
• Patriarch Dejing arrived at Penglai, where the True Persons and disciples welcomed him back after his five-thousand-year journey abroad.
• Li Qian ordered his faction to propose releasing the Luo River Dragon King, intending to undermine Li Tai and improve relations with the East Sea Dragon Palace.
• Ministers split over whether to release the Luo River Dragon King, and the dispute drew in the Luoyang Dao Palace and Celestial Master Li Sixian.
• Su Yajun proposed opening the Luoyang Dao Palace’s wind, thunder, water, and fire arts to Jiang Sheng, but Li Sixian said they should also give him a treasured item.