Chapter Summaries

After escaping the spatial turbulence, Li Wuyang and his companions reached a hidden cave abode and recovered enough to explore it. There, he found a mysterious Green Lotus and a jade slip inscribed with the name Huang Ting Jing.

• Li Wuyang and his companions crashed into an enormous cave after passing through the spatial vortex, and the pursuing aura could no longer reach them.
• Li Wuyang treated his companions’ injuries and rested before exploring the cave.
• Li Wuyang found signs that someone had once lived in the cave and saw ancient murals depicting the creation and destruction of all things.
• Li Wuyang entered a circular cavern hall and discovered a three-tiered Green Lotus growing in a spiritual pool.
• Li Wuyang bowed to the Green Lotus, picked up a jade slip from a meditation cushion, and learned that it contained the Huang Ting Jing.

Li Wuyang received the Huang Ting Jing from a jade slip and discovered that it was a supreme cultivation scripture suited to him. He stayed in the mysterious cave abode to begin comprehending it and stabilizing his Dao foundation.

• The Primordial Great Dao Imprint awakened and organized the overwhelming information from the jade slip as Li Wuyang received the Huang Ting Jing.
• Li Wuyang recognized the Huang Ting Jing as a supreme inheritance for refining qi and building a Dao foundation.
• Li Wuyang carefully put away the jade slip and bowed to the Green Lotus and prayer mat to thank the cave abode’s unknown owner.
• Li Wuyang decided to remain in the cave abode and began his first closed-door cultivation session.

Li Wuyang cultivated in the cave abode until he broke through to Spirit Refinement and Void Return, only to discover that at least fifty years might have passed outside. Worried that the Primordial World had changed while he was secluded, he decided to leave immediately and find out what had happened.

• Li Wuyang used the Great Dao Imprint to cultivate the Huang Ting Jing and condense his true qi while his companions rested and trained in the cave abode.
• Li Wuyang formed a golden core and broke through to Spirit Refinement and Void Return, strengthening his body and expanding his divine sense.
• Li Wuyang noticed that his companions had grown stronger during their long seclusion.
• Li Wuyang examined a water mark and the flow of time, then realized at least fifty years might have passed outside.
• Li Wuyang worried that the Witch-Demon War or the Dao Ancestor's lectures might already be over and decided to leave the cave abode.

After fifty years in seclusion, Li Wuyang returned to the Houtu Tribe and found its people driven from their ancestral camp and living in a battered refuge. Chief Hou Yuan explained that demon attacks had devastated the tribe, partly because demons suspected it had taken a fragment of Demon Ancestor Luohu’s weapon; Li Wuyang wondered whether his new strength could help them.

• Li Wuyang left the spatial turbulence with his companions and reached the Earth Immortal realm after seclusion.
• He flew to the Houtu Tribe’s former camp and found it deserted, with only ruins and scorch marks remaining.
• Li Wuyang located a small group of wounded Witch Clan warriors in a nearby valley, and they recognized him as the Daozi.
• He reunited with Chief Hou Yuan, who told him that fifty years had passed and the tribe had relocated after a demon army ambushed them about thirty years earlier.
• Hou Yuan explained that demons had targeted the tribe because they suspected it possessed a fragment of Demon Ancestor Luohu’s weapon, and Li Wuyang felt guilt and considered helping the beleaguered tribe.

Li Wuyang taught the Houtu Tribe a body-forging technique to help them survive the demon race’s threat and received a strand of Xuanhuang Qi for his good deed. After assisting the tribe further, he departed for Buzhou Mountain to learn about the teachings at Zixiao Palace.

• Li Wuyang offered Hou Yuan a technique to help the Houtu Tribe’s young members strengthen their bodies and cultivate faster.
• Hou Yuan swore not to pass the Witch Body Forging Art to outsiders, and Li Wuyang taught it to him and several elders.
• Hou Yuan and the elders tested the technique and found that it improved their circulation of vital energy and absorption of baleful qi.
• A strand of Xuanhuang Qi descended to Li Wuyang, and he guided it into his dantian to nourish his golden core.
• Li Wuyang gave the tribe cultivation guidance and supplies, then left with Huaihuai and his companions for Buzhou Mountain to investigate Zixiao Palace’s teachings.

Li Wuyang rescued a Witch Clan patrol squad from demon cultivators, including the young warrior he had met before. After the battle, a powerful demon under Golden Suan King arrived and confronted him.

• Li Wuyang spotted a Witch Clan squad being overwhelmed by demon cultivators and recognized the wounded youth among them.
• Li Wuyang ordered Little Fire to attack, and he and his companions defeated the demon squad and aided the survivors.
• The Witch Clan youth recognized Li Wuyang and thanked him for saving the patrol.
• Li Wuyang sensed a powerful demonic aura approaching, but a golden-robed demon appeared before they could flee.
• The demon accused Li Wuyang of killing generals under Golden Suan King and threatened him.

Li Wuyang and Little Fire defeated Golden Suan King after he attacked them, then Li Wuyang demanded his valuables in exchange for letting him go. Golden Suan King was left injured and stunned as Li Wuyang invoked his connection to the Sea-Covering Great Sage.

• Golden Suan King attacked Little Fire, but Li Wuyang’s axe strike interrupted him and Little Fire countered with his natal flames.
• Li Wuyang joined Little Fire, and their companions helped hinder Golden Suan King as the fight became a stalemate.
• Golden Suan King tried to flee, but Li Wuyang trapped him with “Draw the Ground as a Prison,” letting him and Little Fire land a combined attack.
• Golden Suan King warned that he served the Sea-Covering Great Sage, and Li Wuyang pretended the fight had been a misunderstanding.
• Li Wuyang demanded that Golden Suan King leave behind his valuables and broken spear, leaving the injured demon king furious and bewildered.

Li Wuyang forced the Golden Suan King to surrender his storage ring and spear and swear not to retaliate, then continued toward Zixiao Palace. At Buzhou Mountain, he arrived among tens of thousands of beings and discovered that his bronze compass was pointing to a spot on the mountain.

• Li Wuyang demanded the Golden Suan King's storage ring and spear and made him swear not to trouble him or the Witch Clan youths again.
• The Golden Suan King surrendered his possessions, swore the oath, and fled, while Li Wuyang told the Witch Clan youths to return to their tribe.
• Li Wuyang urged Huaihuai toward Buzhou Mountain and traveled discreetly among the cultivators heading to hear the Dao Ancestor's teachings.
• Li Wuyang reached Buzhou Mountain and saw Zixiao Palace above a vast crowd gathered at its foot.
• Li Wuyang noticed his bronze compass trembling and pointing toward a spot on Buzhou Mountain.

Li Wuyang followed the bronze compass through a hidden passage in Buzhou Mountain and reached the summit ahead of the crowd. Zixiao Palace opened, and he entered with the other cultivators to claim a seat.

• Li Wuyang discovered that the bronze compass pointed toward a vine-covered fissure at the base of Buzhou Mountain.
• Li Wuyang entered the fissure with Yingying and Treasure-Seeking Mouse Jinbao and climbed a hidden stairway that bypassed the mountain’s pressure.
• Li Wuyang emerged at the summit and found many powerful figures, including the Three Pure Ones, Empress Nuwa, and Di Jun and Taiyi, gathered before Zixiao Palace.
• A young attendant announced that the palace gates were open and that three thousand prayer mats awaited the visitors.
• Li Wuyang followed the other cultivators into Zixiao Palace.

Li Wuyang struggled to understand Dao Ancestor Hongjun’s lecture from the last row of Zixiao Palace. As he neared sleep, his gray cushion and bronze compass began to resonate with each other.

• Li Wuyang took a weakly resonant gray cushion in the last row and appreciated its calming support.
• Dao Ancestor Hongjun appeared and began expounding the Dao to the three thousand cultivators.
• The front-row cultivators gained insights, but Li Wuyang could not comprehend the profound teachings even with help from his Great Dao Imprint.
• As Li Wuyang was about to give up, his cushion warmed and his bronze compass began to feel warm as well.

During Dao Ancestor Hongjun’s three-thousand-year sermon, Li Wuyang used the cushion and bronze compass to sense the Great Dao’s primordial rhythm and strengthen his cultivation foundation. After the sermon ended, Taishang Laozu called him to stay, leaving Li Wuyang facing an unexpected encounter.

• The cushion resonated with Li Wuyang’s bronze compass, whose needle pointed to a symbol representing “one.”
• Li Wuyang felt the Dao’s rhythms of movement, stillness, birth, and extinction, and his cultivation gradually became purer and more solid.
• Dao Ancestor Hongjun ended his three-thousand-year sermon and dismissed the gathered guests.
• Li Wuyang left Zixiao Palace and reflected on the foundation he had gained from the sermon.
• Taishang Laozu called Li Wuyang to stay.

Taishang Laozu praised Li Wuyang’s unusual insight, warned him that turmoil would soon rise, and gave him a Nine-Revolutions Purple-Gold Pill. After Laozi departed, Eastern Emperor Taiyi confronted Li Wuyang and demanded to know his origins and whether he was connected to Demon Ancestor Luohu.

• Taishang Laozu told Li Wuyang that his gifts and fortune were extraordinary and that his way of understanding the Dao aligned with nature.
• Laozi warned Li Wuyang to take care of himself amid the coming turmoil and gave him a Nine-Revolutions Purple-Gold Pill.
• Li Wuyang stored the pill and wondered whether Laozi had discovered his origins or was offering a warning.
• Other powerful figures noticed Laozi’s gift and began viewing Li Wuyang as someone important.
• Eastern Emperor Taiyi questioned Li Wuyang about his connection to Laozi and accused him of possibly being linked to Demon Ancestor Luohu.

Eastern Emperor Taiyi threatened to take Li Wuyang into custody and interrogate him, but Xuan intervened and made him withdraw. After the others left, Xuan said she might travel with Li Wuyang, and the two set off down the mountain together.

• Taiyi pressured Li Wuyang to explain how he had entered Zixiao Palace and threatened to detain him.
• Xuan appeared and challenged Taiyi for threatening a junior at Zixiao Palace.
• Taiyi withdrew his pressure and left Buzhou Mountain with Di Jun, while the watching great powers departed.
• Li Wuyang thanked Xuan, who said she had not rescued him but disliked bullies and noisy scenes.
• Li Wuyang said he planned to leave the mountain and continue traveling, and Xuan said she might follow him.
• Li Wuyang and Xuan walked together toward the path down the mountain.

After descending Buzhou Mountain, Li Wuyang and Xuan found the Witch-Demon War raging and encountered Hou Yuan leading the last survivors of his tribe toward Houtu’s ancestral land. As demon pursuers closed in, Li Wuyang chose to intervene, and Xuan stepped forward to face their leader.

• Li Wuyang asked Xuan about her understanding of Hongjun’s lecture, and she said his Dao of life and order conflicted with her origin.
• Li Wuyang and Xuan reached the foot of Buzhou Mountain and saw signs that the Witch-Demon War had intensified during their three thousand years away.
• Li Wuyang recognized Hou Yuan among a group of Witch Clan warriors escorting women and children toward Houtu’s ancestral land.
• Hou Yuan told Li Wuyang that the Demon Heavenly Court had destroyed his tribe and that demon pursuers were about to catch them.
• When an early True Immortal demon general threatened the survivors, Li Wuyang decided to help, and Xuan stepped forward to confront him.

Xuan used her Power of Annihilation to destroy the pursuing demon soldiers and save Hou Yuan and his clansmen. After they left, Li Wuyang and Xuan discussed the great calamity, then set off to learn what had happened during the past three thousand years.

• The demon general ordered his soldiers to attack Li Wuyang, Xuan, and the Witch Clan survivors.
• Xuan erased the attacking Celestial Immortal demons, terrifying the remaining demons into fleeing.
• Hou Yuan thanked Li Wuyang and Xuan, then led his clansmen away.
• Li Wuyang thanked Xuan, who remarked that his fated connections always brought trouble.
• Xuan asked what role Li Wuyang intended to play in the great calamity, and he decided to focus on surviving and finding out what had happened over the past three thousand years.
• Xuan followed Li Wuyang as they set off to seek information.

Li Wuyang and Xuan entered the Ruins, a secret realm containing the remains of fallen Chaos Demon Gods, and discovered a fragment of the Devouring Demon God's origin. Xuan rushed toward it and was attacked by three demonic cultivators and the great witches Hou Yi and Kuafu, prompting him to unleash a powerful Domain of Annihilation.

• Li Wuyang and Xuan explored the Guixu Sea Eye, and Xuan used his Power of Annihilation to open a safe passage through its vortex.
• The group emerged into a ruined realm where Xuan identified the remains of fallen Chaos Demon Gods.
• A dark-purple pillar revealed a fragment of the Devouring Demon God's origin, and Xuan hurried toward it with Li Wuyang and their companions following.
• Li Wuyang found Hou Yi and Kuafu battling three demonic cultivators over the origin crystal.
• Xuan reached for the crystal, drawing attacks from all five fighters, and unleashed Annihilation—Return to Nothing.

Xuan Qing subdued the Devour Origin Core and revealed to Li Wuyang that she was the incomplete Myriad Manifestations Annihilation Demon God, seeking to recover her lost origin and memories. After they left the Chaos Secret Realm, powerful auras converged on them outside the Guixu Sea Eye.

• Xuan Qing’s Domain of Annihilation repelled Hou Yi, Kuafu, and three Demonic cultivators as she suppressed the Devouring Demon God’s will and claimed the crystal.
• Hou Yi warned Xuan Qing that the crystal was a Chaos Demon God legacy, but she declared that it belonged to her and revealed that her origin was annihilation.
• After Xuan Qing displayed her power, the three Demonic cultivators fled, and Hou Yi and Kuafu left with them.
• Xuan Qing told Li Wuyang that the crystal held a remnant of Uncle Devouring’s origin, who had protected her during the Heaven-Opening Tribulation.
• Xuan Qing revealed that she was the incomplete Myriad Manifestations Annihilation Demon God, and Li Wuyang promised to help her recover what she had lost.
• Xuan Qing and Li Wuyang left the Chaos Secret Realm, but several powerful auras approached as they emerged near the Guixu Sea Eye.

After the Devouring Demon God's origin drew powerful pursuers from the Demon Heavenly Court, the demonic path, the Dragon Clan, and a sword immortal, Xuan fought them while Li Wuyang and their companions created an opening. Xuan escaped with the group, but their enemies immediately gave chase across the primordial world.

• Li Wuyang and Xuan were surrounded by powerful forces demanding the Demon God's origin.
• Xuan attacked the demon lord and used his Domain of Annihilation to withstand attacks from the Demon Saint, the Azure Dragon, and the sword immortal.
• Li Wuyang rallied Huaihuai, Little Fire, Yingying, and Treasure-Seeking Mouse Jinbao to distract the pursuers and help create an opening.
• Li Wuyang struck toward the Dragon Clan with the Sky-Opening Axe (replica), while his companions harassed the surrounding forces.
• Xuan seized the opening, grabbed Li Wuyang and their companions, and used the Power of Annihilation to escape through space.
• The four factions' forces pursued them across the primordial world.

Xuan and Li Wuyang fled their pursuers into spacetime turbulence, where their companions were swept away and Xuan’s origin was badly damaged. They escaped through a glowing exit into an unfamiliar world that felt strangely false.

• Xuan carried Li Wuyang and their companions through the primordial void while four factions pursued them.
• Li Wuyang used the bronze compass to guide Xuan into spacetime turbulence, and their pursuers stopped at its edge.
• A rift swallowed Huaihuai, and chaotic currents scattered Little Fire, Yingying, and Jinbao through different fragments of time and space.
• Xuan burned more of her Origin Power to protect Li Wuyang and followed the compass toward an exit.
• Xuan and Li Wuyang escaped the turbulence and found themselves in an unfamiliar world with abundant spiritual qi and an unsettling false feeling.

Separated from Huaihuai, Little Fire, Yingying, and Jinbao by spatial-temporal turbulence, Li Wuyang resolved to grow strong enough to find them while Xuan recovered. They discovered they had landed in the Spiritual Stream Realm, where Daoists confronted them and demanded their names.

• Li Wuyang grieved over losing Huaihuai, Little Fire, Yingying, and Jinbao, but Xuan reassured him that they might have survived and that karma could guide them back together.
• Li Wuyang vowed to become stronger and bring his companions home, then urged the injured Xuan to recover.
• While Xuan meditated in a concealed cave, Li Wuyang found that the unfamiliar world's dense spiritual energy was difficult to refine and his bronze compass could not find a direction.
• After several days, Xuan judged that the world had incomplete laws and might be an artificial testing ground or prison.
• A group of Daoist cultivators arrived, identified the place as the Spiritual Stream Realm, and demanded that Li Wuyang and Xuan state their names.