Chapter Summaries

Zhang Shouquan proposed sending a small group to reinforce Universal Salvation Temple so he could study its Fifth-Order Grand Array, but Xiao Chen joined the group and foiled his hopes of avoiding him. The reinforcements planned to depart at dawn, while Iron Fan True Monarch prepared a farewell feast.

• Zhang Shouquan joined the strategy discussion and proposed splitting the reinforcements, sending a small group to Universal Salvation Temple while the main force remained in Shallow Sky Sea.
• Zhang Shouquan volunteered to join the first group so he could help repair and study Universal Salvation Temple's Fifth-Order Grand Array.
• Gang Yuan True Monarch and Han Chuan True Monarch agreed to go, but Gang Yuan True Monarch decided Han Chuan True Monarch should stay behind as an Array Master.
• Xiao Chen volunteered to replace Han Chuan True Monarch, leaving Zhang Shouquan dismayed that he would have to travel alongside Xiao Chen again.
• The group decided that Xiao Chen, Zhang Shouquan, and Gang Yuan True Monarch would leave for Universal Salvation Temple at dawn, and Iron Fan True Monarch began preparing a feast.

Xiao Chen, Gang Yuan True Monarch, and Zhang Shouquan reached Universal Salvation Temple after waiting for a break in the Sea Race’s relentless assault, then began the formal visit. During the temple’s Buddha-hall ceremony, the Mani Relic reacted first to Zhang Shouquan and then blazed brightly when Xiao Chen stepped forward, leaving the reason unclear.

• Xiao Chen, Gang Yuan True Monarch, and Zhang Shouquan waited several days for the Sea Race to pause its attacks, then entered Universal Salvation Temple when the assault briefly stopped.
• Zen Master Jing Hua opened the grand array, and Mingde Arhat escorted the three visitors to the Great Hero Hall to meet the temple’s Zen Masters.
• Purified Nature Zen Master explained that the Mani Relic could make a Guardian Vajra react to sin, curses, or demonic items after a thread of black qi rose behind Zhang Shouquan.
• Zhang Shouquan said he carried a demonic artifact taken from a Demonic Cultivator, and the group accepted his explanation as they continued the ceremony.
• When Xiao Chen bowed before the Three Worlds Buddha, the statue’s golden light surged throughout the hall and the Mani Relic blazed like a miniature sun.

Xiao Chen’s Killing Intent triggered terrifying omens in Universal Salvation Temple, which Purified Nature Zen Master identified as a warning of Asura’s Omen and a coming catastrophe. Pressed to explain its source, Xiao Chen claimed that a Fifth-Tier Great Demon’s severed tentacle had tainted him, leaving the temple seeking answers about the supposed danger.

• Xiao Chen’s Killing Intent overwhelmed the Mani Relic’s Buddhist light, causing the Guardian Vajras, Bodhisattva statues, scriptures, and hall decorations to display strange phenomena.
• Xiao Chen retreated to the hall entrance, and the supernatural effects faded when the Mani Relic’s light no longer reached him.
• Purified Nature Zen Master recognized the signs as Asura Manifestation and asked Xiao Chen to explain the Killing Intent, while Gang Yuan True Monarch tried to protect his privacy.
• Zen Master Fa Zhao explained that Killing Intent could alter a cultivator’s temperament and warned that the omen foretold a catastrophe; Zhang Shouquan resolved to address the Killing Intent on his own body.
• Xiao Chen attributed his condition to several causes, including killing Sea Race Great Demons, but Purified Nature Zen Master knelt and begged him to reveal the truth for the sake of all living beings.
• Xiao Chen claimed that Demonic Essence from a Fifth-Tier Great Demon’s severed tentacle had tainted him during the Sea Race battle and that an unknown scheme had wrapped an invisible strand of qi around him.

Xiao Chen and his companions joined Universal Salvation Temple’s effort to repel the Sea Race, helping ease the temple’s shortage of Array Foundations. After Xiao Chen took charge of a manual on cleaning and repairing them, Zhang Shouquan was left frustrated by Xiao Chen’s eagerness to keep the book.

• Xiao Chen showed the severed tentacle to Universal Salvation Temple’s Zen Masters, who could not identify its origin but agreed to keep the matter confidential and report the possible connection to the Sea Race to Bright King.
• Purified Nature Zen Master apologized to Xiao Chen and gave him a Buddha Meditating Painting, while the Zen Masters urged him to address his Killing Intent; Xiao Chen said he would seek help from an elder after the Sea Race was dealt with.
• Universal Salvation Temple assigned Xiao Chen, Gang Yuan True Monarch, and Zhang Shouquan to refine spirit ore and help repair Array Foundations because the temple’s supplies and workers were stretched thin.
• Zen Master Jing Chi gave Gang Yuan True Monarch a Record containing Array Foundation cleaning and repair methods, then arranged to teach the group later that night.
• Zhang Shouquan offered to demonstrate the cleaning work, but Xiao Chen snatched the Record first and asked Zhang to teach him from the beginning.

Xiao Chen helped Zen Master Jing Chi repair the Universal Salvation Temple’s array foundations, frustrating the Sea Race’s plans to break through. The Venerable One chose to stake everything on a final assault, and the Sea Race launched its full force against the temple at night.

• Xiao Chen memorized Zhang Shouquan’s explanation of the array foundations, helped clean and repair them, and purified spirit ore alongside Zhang Shouquan and Daoist Gang Yuan.
• After half a month of repairs, Zen Master Jing Chi could rest and join the rotating defense, while the Sea Race’s attacks continued to fail.
• The Venerable One learned that Xiao Chen had thwarted the Sea Race at Shallow Sky Sea and reconsidered his plans, reflecting on his injuries and stalled effort to reach the Fifth Order.
• The Venerable One rejected retreat and ordered his forces to rest before he personally led them in a final attack on the Universal Salvation Temple.
• At the third watch, the Sea Race charged the temple’s grand formation with the Nautilus and dozens of Great Demons, alarming Xiao Chen and the monks.

The Sea Race launched a sudden all-out assault on Universal Salvation Temple, forcing Xiao Chen and the defenders to rely on the Fifth-Order Grand Array and organize a desperate defense. Xiao Chen and his companions were assigned to hold the temple’s right flank and protect the Thousand Buddha Glazed Wall as the battle pressed inward.

• The Sea Race charged into the Fifth-Order Grand Array, where its restrictions sharply weakened the Great Demons, while Zen Master Ming Huo pinned several of them in place.
• Xiao Chen told Gang Yuan True Monarch to summon Han Chuan and Iron Fan, sent Zhang Shouquan to finish repairing a Spare Array Foundation, and waited for Universal Salvation Temple’s orders.
• Purified Nature Zen Master deployed the temple’s World-Crossing Puppets and defenders, then ordered Xiao Chen, Gang Yuan True Monarch, and Zhang Shouquan to reinforce the right flank.
• Zen Master Jing Hua explained that the defenders had to protect the Thousand Buddha Glazed Wall and its hub, and Xiao Chen assigned each of the four defenders a section of the line.
• Zen Master Jing Hua distributed Calm and Vigorous Pills and urged the three laymen to share useful battle supplies, promising double compensation for what they used.

Xiao Chen and the other cultivators initially overwhelmed the Sea Race Great Demons with the Fifth-Order Grand Array, until the Giant Nautilus destroyed array foundations and the Venerable One unleashed a vast sea vortex. Purified Nature Zen Master countered with Universal Salvation Temple’s defenses, but the Venerable One’s attack continued as the chapter ended with the Zen Master firing a powerful beam that pierced Nautilus and killed a bread crab.

• Xiao Chen, Gang Yuan True Monarch, and Xiao Chen’s companions shared protective pills before engaging the Sea Race Great Demons.
• Xiao Chen and the other Human Cultivators found the suppressed Great Demons easy to fight, but Xiao Chen questioned why the Sea Race had attacked despite the array’s strength.
• The Giant Nautilus destroyed more than ten array foundations with its bubbles, weakening the grand array and charging toward the Worry-Free Empty Gate.
• Zen Master Jing Chi, Junior Brother Fa Zhao, and Master Ting Hai activated the Nine-Nine Demon Subduing Array, binding Nautilus and slowing the Sea Race forces.
• The Venerable One, concealed outside the grand array, summoned a massive sea vortex, and Purified Nature Zen Master switched the White Jade Pier defenses to the Nine-Nine Sea Suppressing Array.
• Purified Nature Zen Master unleashed a golden beam from the Bodhi Altar, piercing Nautilus and killing a bread crab.

The Sea Race’s Venerable One crippled Universal Salvation Temple’s grand array, but Purified Nature Zen Master summoned the Bright King’s Divine Sense Incarnation to strike him down. Xiao Chen dragged the fleeing Venerable One back beneath the descending Buddha Palm, leaving both of them caught in its blow.

• The Bodhi Demon-Exterminating World-Crossing Golden Light killed a Fourth-Order Barracuda, and Zen Master Jing Hua explained that each shot consumed a thousand High-grade Spirit Stones.
• The Venerable One used the Thirty-Six Revolving Thunder Fire Golden Talisman to break the grand array’s Core Array Foundations and weaken its suppression of the Sea Race Great Demons.
• Gang Yuan True Monarch identified the Venerable One as a Half-step Demon Venerable, while Purified Nature Zen Master invoked the Bright King and summoned a Divine Sense Incarnation.
• The Bright King’s incarnation struck the Venerable One down, but he turned into his Flood Dragon form and fled before the next palm fell.
• Xiao Chen used the Mechanical Grappling Claw to drag the Venerable One back, and its fist knocked him unconscious for a breath.
• The descending Buddha Palm struck both Xiao Chen and the Venerable One.

Xiao Chen and the Human Race defeated the Sea Race assault on Universal Salvation Temple after Bright King’s phantom destroyed the Venerable One and eighteen great demons. Xiao Chen hunted down five fleeing demons and returned to find Zen Master Fa Zhao relieved, while honoring Purified Nature Zen Master’s sacrifice.

• Bright King’s phantom drew power from the temple’s golden statue, burned eighteen Sea Race great demons and frightened the surviving demons into fleeing.
• Xiao Chen considered the danger of Spirit Transformation cultivators’ Spiritual Sense attacks and resolved to avoid their attention and seek treasures that could counter tracking imprints.
• Xiao Chen pursued the fleeing Sea Race and killed five great demons, while Gang Yuan True Monarch’s ambush plan helped Daoist Sect reinforcements intercept seven others.
• Xiao Chen struggled to protect his spoils from an Axehead Fish that wielded Sword Intent, then killed it and saved its unusual remains for possible use in advancing his cultivation.
• Xiao Chen returned to Universal Salvation Temple, where Zen Master Fa Zhao welcomed him and praised his role; Xiao Chen credited the victory to Purified Nature Zen Master’s sacrifice.

After the decisive battle at Universal Salvation Temple, Xiao Chen joined the True Lords in planning a final campaign against the remaining Sea Race Great Demons. During the hunt, he focused on preserving a Giant Scallop’s shell as spirit material, but the creature swallowed him when he approached it.

• Xiao Chen returned to Universal Salvation Temple and met with the True Lords, who planned to split their forces to attack seven Sea Race Great Demons and a Giant Scallop on the North Front.
• Zhang Shouquan declined to join the campaign and stayed at Universal Salvation Temple to help repair its array foundations.
• The Human Race forces set out at dawn and overwhelmed the Sea Race defenders, leaving the Giant Scallop as the most difficult target.
• Xiao Chen urged the True Lords to weaken the Giant Scallop without damaging its shell, hoping to use it to forge a defensive Complete Fusion Spirit Tool.
• After swallowing a Purple-Gold Bodhi Fruit and failing to break through, Xiao Chen recalled another way to open the shell and approached the Giant Scallop with Giant Fang.
• The Giant Scallop unexpectedly opened its shell and swallowed Xiao Chen whole.

Xiao Chen defeated the Giant Scallop, shared the spoils, and joined the cultivators at Universal Salvation Temple to prepare for an assembly about Compassion Sea's future. While processing the Great Demons, he discovered that the Axehead Fish's sword sheath might be part of an Ancient Magic Treasure and considered turning such fragments into Fusion Spirit Tools; as he waited for Treading Frost True Monarch, an unfamiliar Zen Master came to see him.

• Xiao Chen escaped the Giant Scallop after destroying its Demon Infant, and the cultivators stopped attacking once they realized he was safe.
• Xiao Chen claimed the Giant Scallop's shell while the others divided the Spirit Pearls and other Great Demons' materials, then hosted a banquet at Lotus Flower Temple.
• The cultivators traveled to Universal Salvation Temple and agreed to hold an assembly after Treading Frost True Monarch reported that he was recovering and on his way.
• Qian Shu True Monarch examined the Axehead Fish and suggested its sword sheath might be a fragment of an Ancient Magic Treasure; Xiao Chen considered using fragments to make Fusion Spirit Tools in the New Cultivation World.
• Xiao Chen finished processing the Great Demons' materials, stayed at Universal Salvation Temple for the assembly, and welcomed an unfamiliar Zen Master who arrived to speak with him.

Zen Master Feng Hua and Master Ting Hai canvassed Xiao Chen for votes to rebuild their temples at the Peace Conference, and Xiao Chen agreed in exchange for Thousand Year Profound Crystals. After Master Ting Hai left, Xiao Chen saw Crane Cry True Monarch visiting Yunfeng True Monarch, leaving him curious about the night's other negotiations.

• Zen Master Feng Hua offered Xiao Chen two pieces of Thousand Year Profound Crystal and asked him to vote for rebuilding Kasyapa Temple; Xiao Chen agreed.
• Zen Master Feng Hua met Master Ting Hai, who complained that Zhang Shouquan had demanded ten thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones for his support, while several Buddhist temples had already agreed to vote in favor.
• Master Ting Hai visited Xiao Chen and secured his support for rebuilding Awakening Sea Temple, leaving him two more pieces of Thousand Year Profound Crystal.
• After seeing Master Ting Hai off, Xiao Chen watched Crane Cry True Monarch leave Iron Fan True Monarch's courtyard and knock on Yunfeng True Monarch's gate.

Xiao Chen agreed to support Esteem Truth Temple’s bid for Lesser Prajna Island in exchange for Heartstone Earth and guaranteed dividends from a spirit mine. At the Peace Conference, the factions unanimously adopted a voting rule that added a veto mechanism, though Xiao Chen did not understand why the Daoist True Lords had surrendered some of their voting power.

• Crane Cry True Monarch and Purple Sun True Monarch asked Xiao Chen to support Esteem Truth Temple’s proposal to acquire Lesser Prajna Island and its Fourth-Order Spiritual Vein.
• Crane Cry True Monarch gave Xiao Chen Heartstone Earth and a Spirit Contract guaranteeing him ten percent of the northern Cold Iron Spirit Mine’s output; Xiao Chen promised his vote.
• Xiao Chen went to the newly built Sea Gazing Tower, where the gathered cultivators welcomed Treading Frost True Monarch and assembled for the Peace Conference.
• Purified Dust Zen Master recounted the Sea Race Invasion and explained that the conference would settle disputes left by the war.
• Purified Dust Zen Master proposed a rule requiring more than thirteen votes in favor and fewer than eight against for a proposal to pass, with heavily opposed proposals set aside for discussion.
• The Buddhist and Daoist True Lords unanimously supported the voting rule, surprising Xiao Chen because the Daoist side had enough votes to control decisions without it.

Xiao Chen watched the Peace Conference collapse into mutual vetoes, leaving every substantive proposal postponed or rejected. During the recess, Zen Master Jing Hua visited Xiao Chen, who hoped the meeting would bring him more spiritual items.

• Purified Dust Zen Master recorded the votes and announced that the veto rule had passed with twenty-three votes in favor and two abstentions.
• Iron Fan True Monarch's proposal for equal exploration rights to new ruins was vetoed by the Buddhist Sect and Zhang Shouquan.
• Proposals for a Far Sea inspector mechanism and special spiritual-item exchanges were also vetoed, with Zhang Shouquan repeatedly voting against them.
• The Great Sects rejected Zhang Shouquan's proposal to open Mid-Grade Spirit Stone exchanges, and Purified Dust Zen Master called a recess for lunch and private discussions.
• Zen Master Jing Hua visited Xiao Chen during the break, but Xiao Chen's eager, direct replies confused him before he entered and asked whether he had disturbed Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen negotiated with Zen Master Jing Hua over Peace Conference proposals, gaining valuable spiritual items and permanent access to future Trade Fairs. At the afternoon conference, the sects passed a broad set of reforms that reshaped the Compassion Sea, including a decision to drive out the Jade Leaf Commerce Association.

• Zen Master Jing Hua sought Xiao Chen's support for Universal Salvation Temple's proposals, and Xiao Chen agreed to discuss demon-clearing and trade plans while avoiding several contentious issues.
• Xiao Chen and Zen Master Jing Hua agreed on an intelligence network to track Sea Race Great Demons, warning signs for dangerous waters, and regular collective trade fairs.
• After Zen Master Jing Hua left, Xiao Chen opened the gift box and found Bodhi Nourishing Spirit Incense, Azure Jade Lotus Seeds, and a Green Shrimp Carapace.
• At the afternoon Peace Conference, Purified Dust Zen Master presented amended proposals, and the sects passed major compromises on territories, trade, ruins, patrols, and other matters.
• The conference granted Xiao Chen permanent Trade Fair access and opened New Ruins to Fourth-Order Cultivators, while assigning ownership of several Secret Realms and limiting the World Crossing Convention.
• Cloud Wave Sword Abode proposed shutting down the Jade Leaf Commerce Association's businesses and replacing its role, and the conference passed the measure with twenty-three votes in favor.

After the Peace Conference concluded, Xiao Chen studied Universal Salvation Temple’s Scripture Pavilion and uncovered ancient intelligence about the Blood Witch Tribe and other regions. He planned his next year of travel, research, and cultivation, while postponing his return to Storm Sea and the reckoning with his enemies.

• The Peace Conference ended successfully, and the great sects departed to implement its proposals and restore their territories.
• Xiao Chen asked Iron Fan True Monarch to protect the Ruan Family from unfair treatment during the Sea Race investigation and to thank Ruan Lingchun for her map.
• Xiao Chen explored Universal Salvation Temple’s Scripture Pavilion, studying ancient records about spirit items, a vanished Secret Realm, the Blood Witch Tribe, and cultivators from other regions.
• The ancient records reminded Xiao Chen of a possible surviving Witch Clan tribe near the Compassion Sea, and he decided to warn Universal Salvation Temple about it.
• Xiao Chen reviewed his goals and planned to visit Thousand Machines Valley and Azure Sea Immortal Sect, investigate a southeastern phenomenon, attend a Grand Auction, and prepare for a body cultivation breakthrough.
• Xiao Chen postponed his campaign against the Yin Corpse Sect and other enemies until after his planned year in the Compassion Sea, and resolved to seek World Breaking Stones only if the opportunity arose.

After leaving Universal Salvation Temple with a newly found Star Sand Wave Stabilizing Shield fragment, Xiao Chen visited Thousand Machines Valley to study its Ancient Books. He found two useful secret laws and planned to use the Spirit Devouring Yuan Great Method to accelerate his cultivation, potentially reaching the Nascent Soul Middle Stage much sooner.

• Zen Master Jing Hua found the Star Sand Wave Stabilizing Shield fragment, and Xiao Chen accepted it without offering the fourth-order spiritual material he had brought to trade.
• Qian Shu True Monarch welcomed Xiao Chen with a banquet and a Thousand Machines Dance, then led him to the Scripture Pavilion after Xiao Chen declined to inspect his puppets.
• Xiao Chen copied the Thousand Machines Water Escape Evasion Talisman, a modified version of the Black Abyss Blood Escape Evasion Talisman, to give Su Li a reference for making the original talismans.
• Xiao Chen studied the Spirit Devouring Yuan Great Method and learned that it could speed up true essence condensation at a high Spirit Stone cost, while its companion Yuan Devouring method carried serious risks.
• Xiao Chen decided to learn the Spirit Devouring Yuan Great Method and considered earning Spirit Stones through trade so he could use it to advance his cultivation faster.

Xiao Chen mastered the Spirit Devouring Yuan Great Method and confirmed that it greatly accelerated his cultivation. At the Azure Sea Immortal Sect, he found a clue to a mysterious fragment and learned that the fragment had been preserved by a Golden Core cultivator’s descendants.

• Xiao Chen copied the Spirit Devouring Yuan Great Method, grew wary of the Yin Corpse Sect’s rise, and tested the method on a Desolate Island, condensing new true essence with greatly increased efficiency.
• Xiao Chen crossed a massive thunderstorm and arrived at the Azure Sea Immortal Sect, where Iron Fan True Monarch welcomed him with a banquet and explained that Ruan Lingchun had become a Guest Elder.
• Xiao Chen gave Iron Fan True Monarch’s closed-door disciple a gift, then searched the Scripture Pavilion and found a memoir describing a strange fragment recovered during a campaign against the Witch Clan.
• Xiao Chen asked Iron Fan True Monarch to trace the fragment, and Iron Fan True Monarch located it with the descendants of the Golden Core cultivator who had kept it.
• Cheng Shi presented the ancestral fragment to Xiao Chen, hoping he could uncover its secret.

Xiao Chen bought the Cheng Family’s ancestral fragment for one million Spirit Stones after confirming it came from the Star Sand Wave Stabilizing Shield, then arranged for the Cheng Family’s protection and publicized his offer to attract other fragments. While surveying Azure Sea Market for a discreet trading strategy, he recruited Chu Tianze to search for ancient treasure fragments and advanced him 200,000 Spirit Stones.

• Cheng Shi sold the Cheng Family’s ancestral fragment to Xiao Chen for one million Spirit Stones, and Iron Fan True Monarch promised to protect the family and spread news of the transaction.
• Xiao Chen disguised himself and surveyed Azure Sea Market, choosing sixty kinds of Second-Order Spiritual Objects to test as trade goods and considering selling Clear Dew Foundation Establishment Pills.
• Xiao Chen bought pastries from Golden Silk Market, arranged for them to be delivered to Azure Sea Pavilion, and traveled to Ink Stone Market to find Chu Tianze.
• Xiao Chen explained the Star Sand Wave Stabilizing Shield and Ancient Sword Sheath fragments to Chu Tianze and asked him to search for more.
• Chu Tianze accepted the task and requested an advance; Xiao Chen gave him 200,000 Spirit Stones and agreed on a secret mark for reporting discoveries.

After returning to Secluded Doom Island, Xiao Chen found its plants withered and learned that Su Li’s Witch Tribe cultivation had intensified the Moon Eclipse Curse. He reassured her about her changed appearance, and the chapter ended with Su Li explaining how stored Moonlight Power became Curse Power and showing him an unusually large Blood Crystal.

• Xiao Chen returned to Secluded Doom Island and found its vegetation dead and its Spirit Woods bearing strange growths.
• Iron Fan True Monarch learned that Xiao Chen had entered the island and ordered the news kept secret.
• Xiao Chen found Su Li hiding in her stone house and threatened to tear it down unless she explained what had happened.
• Su Li revealed that she had cultivated a Witch Tribe Heritage and that the Moon Eclipse Curse had become more severe after she absorbed Moonlight Power.
• Xiao Chen reassured Su Li that he still wanted to see her, and she came outside to join him for the festival.
• While grilling fish, Su Li explained that unabsorbed Moonlight Power had turned into Curse Power during the eclipse and showed Xiao Chen a Blood Crystal twice its usual size.