Chapter Summaries

Maitreya Body joined the Dharma King Society and received Thunderclap Temple’s Formless Golden Body secret method from Abbot Tianyun. After quickly understanding it, he began explaining how its teachings addressed the Divine Way Method’s danger of Self-Loss.

• Maitreya Body reasoned that Thunderclap Buddha Ancestor and the Earth Emperor Corpse had joined forces to bring turmoil to Western Continent for their own purposes.
• Maitreya Body agreed to join the Dharma King Society after Abbot Tianyun revealed that it held Thunderclap Buddhist Law’s true inheritance.
• Abbot Tianyun gave Maitreya Body the Formless Golden Body manual, which Maitreya Body read and understood in full.
• Maitreya Body explained that Thunderclap’s cultivation methods formed a complete Divine Way system and asked Abbot Tianyun about the Divine Way Method’s benefits and drawbacks.
• Maitreya Body connected the Formless Golden Body’s teaching of having no self-image or image of others to the Divine Way Method’s danger of Self-Loss.

Maitreya Body explained how Thunderclap Temple’s Golden Bodies and Dharma Aspects sustained the sect’s inheritance through the Pure Land. After Abbot Tianyun reported Maitreya Body’s insights, his lord demanded to hear every detail.

• Maitreya Body asked Abbot Tianyun whether a Golden Body represented the self or Non-Self, prompting Tianyun to recognize it as neither Non-Self nor not-Non-Self.
• Maitreya Body explained that Dharma Aspects were Golden Bodies left in the Pure Land after Dao Fruit cultivators died, and that they could support reincarnation or be inherited by cultivators who practiced the same method.
• Maitreya Body warned that Thunderclap Temple’s inheritance depended on the Pure Land, whose restrictions prevented the sect from accumulating Dharma Aspects without limit.
• Abbot Tianyun spent seven or eight days seeking guidance from Maitreya Body, then contacted his lord to report what he had learned.
• After hearing that Maitreya Body had comprehended the insights after only half an hour with the jade tube, Tianyun’s lord ordered him to recount everything Maitreya Body had said.

Zheng Fa planned to create shared Divine Way Dharma Treasures to help the Heavenly Emperor Body safely absorb more Incense Power, and the Immortal Court sought Water Mother’s expertise. Mu Qingyan persuaded Water Mother to help develop a new, more complete Jade Pool method, leaving Water Mother working with Madam Xuanhua.

• Abbot Tianyun recounted Maitreya Body’s extraordinary comprehension to a robed monk, who refused to grant him the latter portion of the Formless Golden Body until he proved himself further.
• Zheng Fa proposed creating Divine Way shared Dharma Treasures to contain Incense Power and ease the Heavenly Emperor Body’s cultivation, and Uncle-Master Pang suggested asking Water Mother for help.
• Mu Qingyan told Water Mother that Thunderclap Temple’s methods had replaced Jade Pool’s in the Divine Way Inspectorate, provoking Water Mother’s anger and hurt.
• Mu Qingyan argued that Water Mother could combine Jade Pool’s inheritance with other methods to create a stronger Divine Way method, and promised to seek Zheng Fa’s support.
• Zheng Fa recognized Mu Qingyan’s political skill, and Water Mother thanked him for trusting her and assigning Madam Xuanhua to work with her.

The Divine Way Method research group struggled to incorporate the Formless Golden Body, while Maitreya Body advanced through its cultivation at an astonishing pace. When a man in monk’s robes traveled through the war-torn Western Continent to Universal Salvation Temple, he found that its vast refugee community and thriving Dragon Flower Tree made it seem the true home of the Future Buddha.

• Heavenly Emperor Body and Water Mother concluded that the research group needed deeper knowledge of Thunderclap Temple’s cultivation methods, so Maitreya Body sought guidance from Abbot Tianyun.
• After a month of Dao Discussion, Abbot Tianyun complained that Maitreya Body attained sudden enlightenment repeatedly and was nearing the Sarira Realm.
• A man in monk’s robes surveyed the refugees and destruction across the Western Continent, including a battle in which disciples of Immeasurable Buddha Ancestor flooded a city held by Eastern Glazed Buddha Ancestor’s followers.
• The man reached Universal Salvation Temple and discovered that it had grown into a vast settlement supporting at least a million people with abundant Spirit Grain.
• Seeing its flourishing Dragon Flower Tree, the man heard Abbot Tianyun declare that if the Future Buddha existed, it was within Universal Salvation Temple.

A robed guest from the Thunderclap Temple visited the Universal Salvation Temple, where Maitreya’s astonishing cultivation convinced him that Maitreya might be the Future Buddha Ancestor. Two months later, the guest revealed himself as Ganan, a former disciple of Thunderclap Buddha Ancestor, and explained that the master had sent him away to escape the Pure Land’s corruption.

• Abbot Tianyun showed the robed guest the Universal Salvation Temple’s open preaching and organized work against Blissful Incense.
• Maitreya deliberately displayed his rapid advances, reaching the Sarira Realm while discussing the Formless Golden Body with the robed guest.
• Over the next two months, Maitreya advanced to the Vajra Realm, leaving the robed guest and Abbot Tianyun astonished.
• The robed guest revealed his identity as Ganan, Thunderclap Buddha Ancestor’s former personal disciple and attendant, and reached the True Immortal realm.
• Ganan explained that Thunderclap Buddha Ancestor had discovered the Pure Land was corrupted, but the temple’s dependence on it made the master unable to turn the tide.
• Ganan said Thunderclap Buddha Ancestor had ordered him to leave the temple, and confirmed that some departures and upheavals at Thunderclap Temple had been deliberately arranged by him or his master.

Ganan revealed that Thunderclap Buddha Ancestor had created a Formless Golden Body that no longer relied on the Pure Land, and Maitreya Body brought the incomplete method to the Nine Mountains Immortal Court for study. In Strife-Free City, Madam Thousand Mechanisms discovered the Nine Mountains Sect’s new Warning-the-World Bells channeling vast Incense Power toward the Eastern Continent, where she saw a figure meditating beneath the Sun-Moon Bell.

• Ganan explained that Thunderclap Buddha Ancestor cultivated Harmonious Causality and had secretly developed a new Buddhist method after recognizing the Pure Land’s flaws.
• Ganan gave Maitreya Body the incomplete Formless Golden Body, and Maitreya Body promised to study it and help perfect it.
• The Nine Mountains Immortal Court examined the method, confirmed that it no longer required the Pure Land, and tasked Water Mother and Madam Xuanhua with developing it further.
• Madam Thousand Mechanisms visited Strife-Free City and learned that the Nine Mountains Sect had replaced Watching Ripples Palace with a City God Temple equipped with a Warning-the-World Bell.
• Madam Thousand Mechanisms saw Incense Power streaming from the Northern Continent toward the Eastern Continent and spotted a figure meditating in the vast ocean of power with the Sun-Moon Bell behind him.

Zheng Fa’s Heavenly Emperor Body attained Golden Immortality, transforming the Nine Mountains Realm and proclaiming a world where all beings could learn immortal methods and be governed by the Nine Mountains Heavenly Code. His breakthrough halted the fighting across the Western Continent, leaving its mortals to witness the moment in awe.

• The Heavenly Emperor Body gathered the Nine Mountains Immortal Court’s Incense Power and advanced toward Golden Immortality, while the Lunar Fairy, Mu Qingyan, and the Water Mother watched.
• The Four Direction Buddhas stopped their fierce battle and looked east as Zheng Fa’s rising aura spread across the Western Continent.
• The Heavenly Emperor Body announced that his attainment would bring a ladder to the clouds, and the Nine Mountains Realm expanded beyond the Heaven-and-Earth Fetal Membrane.
• The Heavenly Emperor Body declared that immortals and mortals would be equal under established laws, as bells across the Eastern and Northern Continents rang out the Nine Mountains Heavenly Code.
• The Nine Nether Emperor, the Lunar Fairy, the Three Reclusive Immortals, and the Peacock Great Emperor appeared and bowed with the Heavenly Emperor Body before the Heavenly Code.
• The Heavenly Emperor Body disappeared as the Incense Power dispersed, leaving the Western Continent’s mortals gazing east in wonder.

The Four Direction Buddhas and the Supreme Dao reacted to the Nine Mountains Sect’s rapid rise by weighing alliances and preparing to confront it. In the Nine Mountains Realm, Lunar Fairy realized that Zheng Fa’s breakthrough had opened a path to Golden Immortality for his other bodies as well, bringing the sect’s total to ten Golden Immortals.

• Eastern Glazed Buddha Ancestor received Xuan Chengzi’s invitation for Thunderclap Temple to join the Supreme Dao against the Nine Mountains Sect, and the Four Direction Buddhas resumed their struggle over who would become the Future Buddha Ancestor.
• The Nine Sons of Taishang discussed Zheng Fa’s strength and the threat posed by the Nine Mountains Sect, then Qingxu agreed to request the Founder’s Two Modes Dust-Mote Divine Talisman.
• Uncle-Master Pang and the others watched the Heavenly Emperor Body explain the Nine Mountains Realm’s star-based foundation and the different paths followed by Zheng Fa’s other bodies.
• Lunar Fairy realized the Heavenly Emperor Body’s breakthrough had opened the way to Golden Immortality for Zheng Fa’s original body and other avatars, bringing the Nine Mountains Sect’s Golden Immortals to ten.

Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang reviewed a plan to turn Ziwei Star into a supercomputer that could control the Grand Array of Heavenly Stars, but the Immortal Court lacked the resources to carry it out quickly. Meanwhile, Supreme Dao prepared a concealed surprise attack on the Nine Mountains Sect, targeting Zheng Fa.

• Senior Sister Zhang told Zheng Fa that Tang Lingwu and the Modern World scholars had proposed refining Ziwei Star into the array’s control hub, and Zheng Fa examined the plan.
• Senior Sister Zhang explained that the Immortal Court’s depleted resources meant the project would have to proceed gradually, despite Zheng Fa’s concern about Thunderclap Temple’s urgency.
• Xuan Chengzi and the other Nine Sons of Taishang summoned the Twofold Dust-Particle Talisman from the Nine-Story Exquisite Pagoda.
• Xuan Chengzi said the talisman could bypass the Nine Mountains Sect’s formations and assigned eight of the Nine Sons to launch a concealed attack targeting Zheng Fa, while Junior Sister Qingxu guarded Supreme Dao.

Xuan Chengzi led seven Supreme Dao Golden Immortals into Vast Sun City using the Twofold Dust-Particle Talisman, intending to ambush Zheng Fa. After waiting six months, they saw Zheng Fa descend into the city, unaware of their presence.

• Xuan Chengzi left Qingxu behind to guard the Supreme Dao and the Nine-Story Exquisite Pagoda while he and seven others set out for the Nine Mountains Sect.
• Xuan Chengzi used the Twofold Dust-Particle Talisman to bring the group invisibly into Vast Sun City and shield them from detection.
• The eight observed the prosperous city, and Xuan Chengzi rejected seizing the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow so they would not alert the Nine Mountains Sect.
• Xuan Chengzi told the others that killing Zheng Fa was their priority and proposed waiting in Vast Sun City for him to appear.
• After six months of waiting, Zheng Fa descended toward Vast Sun City, unaware that the eight Supreme Dao cultivators were concealed there.

The Heavenly Emperor Body inspected Vast Sun City and discussed a new archival function for the Warning-the-World Bell with Xiao Qing. Eight Sons of Taishang then ambushed him with the Two Modes Dust-Mote Divine Talisman, while the Immortal Court mobilized and the Heavenly Emperor Body challenged them over the Supreme Dao’s refusal to submit to the Nine Mountains Heavenly Code.

• The Heavenly Emperor Body praised Xiao Qing’s proposal to record City God and Administrative Council policies, then took responsibility for writing it to shield her from opposition.
• The Heavenly Emperor Body left to inspect the industrial district, but an enemy ambush concealed him from the city.
• Xiao Qing raised the Warning-the-World Bell and alerted the sect that enemies had invaded Vast Sun City and the Heavenly Emperor Body was missing.
• Old Yuan declared war readiness, sent reinforcements toward Vast Sun City, and activated the Thick-Earth Magnetism Formation and Sun-Shooting Divine Bow.
• The Heavenly Emperor Body confronted Xuan Chengzi and seven other Sons of Taishang, declaring that the Nine Mountains Heavenly Code would apply to the Supreme Dao.
• The Heavenly Emperor Body said the sect had considered sparing the Supreme Dao out of respect for the Dao Venerable, but revealed that those reservations had ended.

The Supreme Dao and Thunderclap Temple moved against Zheng Fa while his allies rushed to support him, leaving the Heavenly Emperor Body surrounded near Vast Sun City. Xuan Chengzi anticipated the Four Direction Buddhas joining the attack, as they sought both Zheng Fa and the Nine Mountains Sect’s powerful treasures.

• Xuan Chengzi mistook the Heavenly Emperor Body’s confidence for a ploy to buy time until Lunar Fairy and the others arrived.
• Longbrow Daoist tried to persuade Lunar Fairy and Daoist Guhong’s group to stand aside, but they refused and prepared to fight the Supreme Dao.
• Xuan Chengzi sent three Golden Immortals to intercept the allies and surrounded the Heavenly Emperor Body with the remaining Supreme Dao immortals.
• The Four Direction Buddhas agreed to set aside their grudges temporarily and hurried toward the Eastern Continent to target Zheng Fa and seize the Immortal-Slayer Sword Formation and Sun-Shooting Divine Bow.
• Xuan Chengzi sensed the Four Direction Buddhas approaching and told Zheng Fa that Thunderclap Temple would join the attack.

The Heavenly Emperor Body trapped Xuan Chengzi and two Supreme Dao Golden Immortals in the Grand Array of Heavenly Stars, while the Four Direction Buddhas fled after sensing danger. A Sword Dao Body emerged from Vast Sun Base to pursue them, leaving Xuan Chengzi stunned by how many Zheng Fas existed.

• Cloud True Immortal and the Sun-Shooting Army fired at the Four Direction Buddhas, but the Brass Lotus Lamp shielded them from harm.
• Xuan Chengzi and two Supreme Dao Golden Immortals attacked the Heavenly Emperor Body with the Twofold Dust-Particle Talisman, but Zheng Fa escaped its spatial restraints and formed the Grand Array of Heavenly Stars.
• The Heavenly Emperor Body trapped the three Golden Immortals in the formation and used Incense Power from the Sun-Moon Bell to keep its Star Gods from fading.
• The Heavenly Emperor Body revealed that he had been waiting for the Four Direction Buddhas, but they sensed danger and turned back toward the west.
• A Sword Dao Body emerged from Vast Sun Base and pursued the Four Direction Buddhas, prompting Xuan Chengzi to realize that another Zheng Fa was present.

Zheng Fa’s Sword Dao Body trapped the Four Direction Buddhas in the Immortal-Slayer Sword Formation, but Eastern Glazed Buddha Ancestor escaped by betraying his companions. As Glazed Buddha Ancestor entered the Great Vajra Dharma Realm, Jile ambushed him, while the Sword Dao Body questioned the remaining Buddhas about their sect’s uncanny palm technique.

• The Sword Dao Body chased the Four Direction Buddhas to the Sea Region, where they stopped and recognized him as Zheng Fa’s incarnation.
• The Sword Dao Body summoned the Immortal-Slayer Sword Formation and fought the Four Direction Buddhas, who discovered that their combined attacks could break it.
• When a gap opened in the formation, Eastern Glazed Buddha Ancestor struck his companions and escaped alone, leaving the other three trapped.
• Glazed Buddha Ancestor crossed the Xuanwei Sea and entered the Great Vajra Dharma Realm, believing the other Future Buddha candidates had been eliminated.
• Jile emerged from the void and struck Glazed Buddha Ancestor from behind, prompting the Sword Dao Body to ask the remaining Buddhas about their peerless palm technique.

The Blissful Heavenly Maiden defeated and subjugated the Eastern Glazed Buddha Ancestor by revealing her mastery of the Thunderclap Method and the power of Blissful Incense. Her rise forced the Maitreya Body and Azure Maiden to abandon their plans to seize the Western Continent and seek help from the Supreme Dao against her Incense Way.

• The Blissful Heavenly Maiden ambushed the Eastern Glazed Buddha Ancestor and declared her intention to become the Future Buddha Ancestor.
• The Blissful Heavenly Maiden revealed her Thunderclap Dharma Aspect, then used Blissful Incense and a Jile True Seed hidden in her palm strike to make the Eastern Glazed Buddha Ancestor submit to her.
• The Maitreya Body and Azure Maiden watched the Blissful Heavenly Maiden unify the Western Continent's faith and recognized that she had become a formidable power.
• The Maitreya Body and Azure Maiden returned to Universal Salvation Temple and discussed how to counter the Blissful Heavenly Maiden's influence.
• Old Man Bai proposed seeking an elixir or Alchemy Dao inheritance from the Supreme Dao, while the Heavenly Emperor Body confronted the Supreme Dao Eight Sons in Vast Sun City.

Zheng Fa returned to the battlefield and revealed that his true body’s Reenacting Purple Heaven Outer Landscape could reproduce the techniques of the Three Thousand Guests of Purple Cloud. After he transformed into Dao Venerable, the Nine-Story Exquisite Pagoda flew into his hand, leaving Xuan Chengzi and the Supreme Dao Eight Sons stunned and their resistance in doubt.

• Xuan Chengzi proposed that the Supreme Dao submit outwardly, offer the Nine Mountains Sect tribute, and wait for a chance to rise again, but the Heavenly Emperor Body rejected his terms and demanded the Supreme Dao surrender its Xuanwei territory and obey the Immortal Court.
• Qingxu arrived with the Nine-Story Exquisite Pagoda, and Xuan Chengzi believed its defensive power could help the Supreme Dao escape.
• Zheng Fa’s true body returned, tested the pagoda with Great Sun True Fire, and then drew the battlefield into his Reenacting Purple Heaven Outer Landscape.
• The Three Thousand Guests of Purple Cloud unleashed their techniques against the Nine-Story Exquisite Pagoda, but it remained intact and protected Qingxu.
• Zheng Fa transformed into Dao Venerable and summoned the Nine-Story Exquisite Pagoda into his palm, leaving Xuan Chengzi shocked that it had accepted Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa defeated the Nine Sons of Taishang, claimed their treasures, and secured their surrender, learning that Dao Venerable had gone silent after Nine Nether Emperor attained the Dao. He arranged terms for the defeated Golden Immortals and sent Senior Sister Zhang and Xie Qingxue to take control of Supreme Dao territory, while the Eastern Continent’s unification was recorded as a major victory for the Immortal Court.

• Zheng Fa used Dao Venerable’s Jade Pendant and his own understanding of the Nine-Story Exquisite Pagoda to seize it and the Twofold Dust-Particle Talisman, then persuaded Longbrow Daoist and the Nine Sons of Taishang to surrender.
• Longbrow Daoist told Zheng Fa that Dao Venerable had stopped issuing decrees after Nine Nether Emperor attained the Dao, and Zheng Fa admitted he could not contact his master.
• Zheng Fa ordered the Supreme Dao to surrender its Xuanwei territories and set conditions for the Nine Sons of Taishang and the three Buddha Ancestors.
• Zheng Fa kept the surrendered Golden Immortals under watch and sent Senior Sister Zhang and Xie Qingxue with the Divine Firmament Fleet and Sun-Shooting Army to receive Supreme Dao territory.
• The historical record stated that the Eastern Continent was unified in the 346th year of the Immortal Court.

Longbrow Daoist and Xuan Chengzi discussed how the Supreme Dao’s alchemy inheritance might secure their place in the Nine Mountains Immortal Court, but Zheng Fa assigned them to help Mu Qingyan develop an antidote to Blissful Incense. Zheng Fa then urged Mu Qingyan to understand the forces backing her and to judge the Immortal Court for herself rather than simply follow his example.

• Xuan Chengzi told Longbrow Daoist he wanted the Taishang lineage to retain control of its alchemy secrets and help Mu Qingyan shape the Nine Mountains Alchemy Dao.
• Zheng Fa revealed that the Blissful Heavenly Maiden had occupied Thunderclap Temple, subdued Eastern Glazed Buddha Ancestor, and was advancing rapidly through Blissful Incense.
• Zheng Fa ordered the Supreme Dao and Thunderclap Temple experts to help develop an antidote, with Mu Qingyan overseeing the work and the Alchemists Association leading it.
• Mu Qingyan told Zheng Fa she wanted to become the next Sect Leader, and he warned her that the powerful support behind her could become either an advantage or a trial.
• Zheng Fa told Mu Qingyan to form her own judgment, learn from differing ideas, and be willing to recognize and improve on his mistakes.

Zhao Jingfan introduced the Nine Sons of Taishang to the Azure Wood Research Institute and defended its work of testing and improving Supreme Dao alchemical classics. He explained Nine Mountains Sect’s empirical methods, leaving Xuan Chengzi and the others to confront a new approach to alchemy.

• Zhao Jingfan anxiously prepared the Azure Wood Research Institute to receive the Nine Sons of Taishang, who arrived with Mu Qingyan.
• Zhao Jingfan showed the visitors the Spirit Medicine Reaction Chamber and explained how it recorded and analyzed experiments.
• When Xuan Chengzi challenged his claim that the institute was improving Supreme Dao classics, Zhao Jingfan said the classics lacked a unified system.
• Zhao Jingfan described how the institute compared recorded medicinal reactions with formulas and used double-blind trials with Pseudo-Pills to test medicines.
• Zhao Jingfan called the institute’s process Empirical Alchemy Dao and said it would verify every formula in the Supreme Dao’s classics.

Zhao Jingfan demonstrated how the Nine Mountains Sect used double-blind experiments and the Heaven's Derivation Array Disk to test and improve Supreme Dao pill formulas, leaving the Nine Sons of Taishang shaken by the threat to their traditional expertise. After debating whether to resist or adapt, Longbrow Daoist sought to learn how to use the array disk and discovered Xuan Chengzi had already done the same.

• Zhao Jingfan showed the Nine Sons of Taishang experimental results revealing that many Supreme Dao pills were ineffective or harmful and that fake pills sometimes performed better.
• Longbrow Daoist acknowledged the value of the experiments, while Zhao Jingfan explained how testing had exposed flaws in traditional pharmacological theories.
• Zhao Jingfan used the Heaven's Derivation Array Disk to analyze and propose thousands of improvements to the Meridian-Penetrating Pill, and Xuan Chengzi tested one of its formulas.
• The Nine Sons of Taishang discussed the array disk's threat to alchemists and considered destroying the Nine Mountains Sect, but Longbrow Daoist urged them to learn from it instead.
• After a night of deliberation, Longbrow Daoist asked Mu Qingyan how to learn the array disk, and she revealed that Xuan Chengzi had just asked the same thing.