Chapter Summaries

Li Qi climbed to Fengde Temple, examined its protective Trumpet Flower array, and observed the temple’s unusual monks and thriving Buddhist worship. A wolf demon guided him through the temple toward the Buddha carving, and Li Qi arrived at its location.

• Li Qi left Old Ma to roam the mountains, fashioned a coin to buy incense and candles, and climbed Fengde Temple’s mountain on foot.
• Li Qi saw worshippers kowtowing on the long staircase and considered Buddhism’s influence in Baiyue.
• Li Qi used the True Knowledge Dao Charm to discover that the Trumpet Flowers around Fengde Temple formed a protective array laid by a Rank Five sovereign.
• Li Qi entered the main hall, paid his respects, and noticed that many of the temple’s monks were demons, monsters, and evildoers wearing iron hoops and ordination scars.
• Li Qi asked a wolf demon to lead him to the Buddha carving, then followed it through the back mountain until they reached the carving’s location.

Li Qi toured Fengde Temple’s execution ground and learned that its punished criminals became loyal protectors, then examined the strange stone worshipped as a Buddha Statue. Applying Buddhist ideas of awakening to his own cultivation, he discovered that the tree beside the stone had exactly one thousand rings and lay beneath what appeared to be the statue’s foot.

• Li Qi saw demons and wicked people undergoing brutal punishments, and the wolf demon explained their crimes and conversion into Fengde Temple protectors.
• Li Qi reflected that Fengde Temple’s growing force and influence rivaled those of the major local powers.
• Li Qi reached the Buddha Statue and found it to be an oddly shaped stone that visitors interpreted in different ways.
• The wolf demon explained that a Buddha could be contemplated within the heart, and Li Qi considered how Buddhist awakening resembled aspects of the Shaman Path.
• Li Qi studied the stone through the Buddhist Thirty-two Forms, counted one thousand rings on the tree beneath it, and recognized the thousand-spoked wheel form.

Li Qi assembled the Buddha carving’s Thirty-two Forms and discovered that combining them with the carving produced many distinct Visualization Diagrams, each seemingly profound. After an eighth-rank martial artist cultivated one and gained the Vajra White Elephant Power, most remaining cultivators focused on finding that same method, while Li Qi questioned what he had uncovered.

• Li Qi spent nineteen chen assembling the Buddha carving’s Thirty-two Forms and realized they formed a Visualization Diagram when combined with its shape.
• Li Qi visualized the first diagram, then altered the imagined forms and found that different combinations produced entirely different Buddha images and teachings.
• After testing several combinations, Li Qi hesitated to cultivate any diagram because he did not know whether they were safe.
• An eighth-rank martial artist cultivated a diagram, transformed toward a Vajra Warrior, and proclaimed that he had gained the Vajra White Elephant Power.
• Many cultivators left or began searching specifically for the Vajra White Elephant method, while Li Qi remained deep in thought.

Li Qi investigated the Buddha carving at Fengde Temple and learned from Chan Master Kaiwen that it was a strange stone from Shamoshana, altered by a drop of blood spilled by Black Heaven. He was left wondering whether the blood’s demonic origins had anything to do with the carving’s hidden purpose.

• Li Qi met Monk Weichen, showed him the hairpin from the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom, and asked about the Buddha carving and Monk Xin Ming.
• Weichen brought Li Qi to a pagoda and arranged a meeting with Chan Master Kaiwen, who was still at Fengde Temple.
• Li Qi asked Kaiwen about the carving’s origins, and Kaiwen agreed to explain after Li Qi promised to act rationally.
• Kaiwen said Dakini Heaven had sent him to place a strange stone from Shamoshana at Fengde Temple for someone fated to find it.
• Kaiwen revealed that Black Heaven’s spilled blood had touched the stone, and Li Qi wondered if the blood of the Four Demons was connected to the carving’s mystery.

Li Qi connected the Five Aggregates Demon to the illusory nature of the Thirty-two Forms and hurried back to the Buddha carving to test his insight. He drove away those gathered around it, but his confrontation with a seventh-rank swordsman ended with the swordsman stabbing at him while Li Qi held several strands of his hair.

• Li Qi realized that the Five Aggregates Demon could distort perception and that the Desire Realm was real, then deduced that the Thirty-two Forms were illusory.
• Li Qi asked Chan Master Kaiwen to return with him to the Buddha carving and flew there at full speed.
• Li Qi summoned his Mountain God and used it to scatter the people gathered around the carving, ordering everyone to leave.
• A middle-aged swordsman challenged Li Qi for driving people away, and Li Qi sent his Mountain God to attack him.
• The swordsman shattered the Mountain God and stabbed at Li Qi, who somehow ended up holding several strands of the swordsman's hair.

Li Qi drove away the onlookers and isolated the Buddha statue after sensing danger, then saw through its deceptive appearance by letting go of attachment to appearances. The statue vanished into a drop of demonic blood, and Chan Master Kaiwen revealed himself as a fox who recognized Li Qi as the Buddha Child.

• Li Qi cursed the middle-aged swordsman with the swordsman's stolen hair, stopped his heart, then spared him and threw him away.
• Li Qi drew a circle on a map that created a barrier around the Buddha statue, leaving only him and Chan Master Kaiwen inside.
• Li Qi realized that viewing the statue through the Thirty-two Forms was another form of attachment to appearances, and Chan Master Kaiwen recited the Buddha's teachings to affirm his insight.
• Li Qi sealed his senses and used his understanding to break free of appearances, causing the Buddha statue to vanish and a drop of demonic blood to appear.
• Chan Master Kaiwen prostrated himself, revealed his fox face and four tails, and paid respects to Li Qi as the Buddha Child.

Li Qi accepted the Five Aggregates Demonic Blood from Chan Master Kaiwen and used it to pierce his five aggregates, expecting to perceive the true world. Instead, he lost access to ordinary perception and remained trapped in a state of nothingness as the journey to the Tang Kingdom began.

• Chan Master Kaiwen identified Li Qi as the prophesied Buddha Child and invited him to meet Dakini Heaven in the Western Regions.
• Li Qi accepted the drop of Five Aggregates Demonic Blood and placed it on his forehead, opening a flaw in his five aggregates.
• Li Qi’s perception collapsed into pure nothingness after he pierced the five aggregates.
• Several days later, the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom traveled with Li Qi toward the Tang Kingdom and worried that he had lost his soul.
• Li Qi remained mentally present but unable to see or sense the world, while his consciousness stayed at Fengde Temple.

Li Qi lost all perception when the Five Aggregates Demonic Blood suppressed his Five Aggregates, leaving his mind trapped in chaotic sensations and disconnected from his body. He discovered the True Knowledge Dao Charm might let him perceive the world directly, and prepared to try it as his way out.

• The Five Aggregates Demonic Blood suppressed Li Qi's Five Aggregates, cutting off his senses and severing the connection between his spiritual entity and body.
• Li Qi stopped trying to control his body directly and relied on muscle memory while counting to preserve his clarity of mind.
• Li Qi tried to rebuild his senses without the Five Aggregates but realized his mind had only ever understood the world through them.
• Li Qi discovered the True Knowledge Dao Charm was still gathering information and might be controlled to connect directly to his mind.
• Li Qi decided to try perceiving the world through the True Knowledge Dao Charm, with transferring his mind into the Demonic Energy Clone as a fallback.

Chan Master Kaiwen contacted Dakini Heaven to report that Li Qi had taken the Five Aggregates Demonic Blood and fallen into a thoughtless state. Dakini Heaven remained confident that events would fulfill the prophecy, but when Kaiwen opened his door to meet Hengxin, a black blade pierced his chest.

• Chan Master Kaiwen used Fengde Temple's pagoda to contact Dakini Heaven and reported that Li Qi had obtained the Five Aggregates Demonic Blood.
• Kaiwen explained that the demonic blood had suppressed Li Qi's five aggregates and that he had been sent toward the Tang Kingdom for help.
• Dakini Heaven said Li Qi's death or survival would fulfill the prophecy and assured Kaiwen that the Five Aggregates Demonic Blood could not be lost.
• After ending the communication, Kaiwen considered the Tang Kingdom and the possibility that White Horse Temple could help Li Qi.
• Hengxin arrived at Kaiwen's door, and when Kaiwen opened it, a black blade pierced his chest.

Li Qi transferred his consciousness into a Demonic Energy Clone and convinced the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom that he was still himself. After postponing their trip to Chang'an, he obtained a terminal in Tang Kingdom and discovered that its data was entirely new.

• The Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom brought Li Qi to Hanzhou and worried about his unresponsive original body as she considered seeking a doctor.
• A Demonic Energy Clone emerged from Li Qi's body, and Li Qi explained that his consciousness had entered it.
• Li Qi proved his identity to the Sovereign by displaying a Life Flame, then asked her to wait three days before they traveled to Chang'an.
• Li Qi left his original body in the Jade Road and received a traffic ticket from a ninth-rank mountain god for landing outside a designated corridor.
• Li Qi exchanged Qi beads for silver, bought a terminal, and opened it to check whether its data confirmed his identity.
• Li Qi saw that the terminal contained brand-new data.

Li Qi’s clone learned that the Nexus of All Realms recognized him as a new person, not the original Li Qi, and fled Tang Kingdom to avoid questions about his identity. The original Li Qi awoke on the Jade Road, while the clone reached Baiyue and discovered that his True Knowledge Dao Charm was missing.

• The Nexus of All Realms showed that the Li Qi in Tang Kingdom had no registered identity, causing him to fear he was a copy created through True Knowledge Dao Charm while the original remained sealed in the Five Aggregates.
• Li Qi lost control of his cultivation in Tang Kingdom, and public security officials contained the area and asked him to register his identity.
• Li Qi concealed himself with demonic energy and fled to the Jade Road, asking the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom to let officials inspect his body while he escaped.
• Tang Kingdom officials inspected Li Qi’s body and confirmed his identity, then the original Li Qi awoke amid violent convulsions and asked where his clone had come from.
• The clone fled across the border to Baiyue and discovered that his True Knowledge Dao Charm was gone.

Li Qi escaped the Five Aggregates Demonic Blood’s prison by rebuilding his perception from raw information, and the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom sealed the blood for a limited time. As Li Qi began studying his new senses and the boundary between matter and spirit, his escaped Demonic Energy Clone decided it was also Li Qi, destroyed a mountain in anguish, and was comforted by the Heavenly Demon.

• Li Qi reconstructed sight and hearing from raw data after casting aside the Five Aggregates, then asked the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom to suppress the demonic blood.
• The Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom rooted the Trumpet Flower God through Li Qi’s body and soul, trapping the Five Aggregates Demonic Blood in a cycle of flourishing and withering for ten-odd years.
• Li Qi regained his Five Aggregates and senses, then investigated the boundary between spiritual and material entities and considered how the mind formed within the Demon Dragon’s body.
• Li Qi realized his data-stream vision might reveal information screened out by the Five Aggregates and planned to train himself to use both kinds of sight.
• The Demonic Energy Clone recalled that the True Knowledge Dao Charm had copied Li Qi’s mind into its blank vessel, and concluded that it was another Li Qi despite the Nexus of All Realms and the Dao Charm rejecting it.
• The Demonic Energy Clone unleashed its seventh-rank power, devastated the surrounding mountains, and sat amid the ruins before the Heavenly Demon appeared and told it that it was Li Qi.

Li Qi returned to Chang'an and went to the Imperial Academy to piece together the grotto-heavens, hoping to witness the boundary where a collection of high-grade existences changed and revived. After a night of destructive work, he completed the dragon-shaped assembly and felt life awaken in its eyes.

• Li Qi and the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom returned to Chang'an and agreed to prepare a banquet to publicize her news and secure an apology from the scholars who had mocked her.
• Li Qi chose to visit the Imperial Academy before contacting Liu Donghe, intending to assemble the grotto-heaven and study the boundary involved in the Witchcraft Silkworm's resurrection.
• An Azure Bird who recognized Li Qi from his lecture at the Imperial Academy carried him there, and he waited until nightfall after entering the academy.
• Li Qi used his power to connect the grotto-heavens and stabilize their collisions, causing earthquakes and destruction within the worlds as he pieced them together.
• Li Qi completed the eastern, western, southern, and northern sections of the dragon-shaped grotto-heaven, then opened all his senses as he fitted in the final piece.
• Energy pulsed through the dragon's eye positions, and Li Qi sensed that they had become lively.

Li Qi observed the Demon Dragon’s resurrection as Netherworld Constables fought to drag it back into death, seeking to understand the boundary between life and death. When the Demon Dragon finally came alive, Li Qi witnessed the transformation in information flow and found the boundary he had been searching for.

• Li Qi used his information-flow vision to study the Demon Dragon’s resurrection and the traces of the boundary between life and death.
• The Imperial Academy’s disciplinary ruler attacked, but an unseen force repelled it as Black Mist spread and an iron city from the Netherworld appeared.
• Netherworld Constables sealed the area and assaulted the Demon Dragon while its dharma manifestation battled them in the sky.
• Li Qi considered what distinguished a mind from living bodies, beasts, and puppets as the forty-nine grotto-heavens fused into a human-body minor world.
• The minor world came alive and formed the Demon Dragon, allowing Li Qi to witness the transformation from death to life and find the boundary.

Li Qi discovered that boundaries existed in information and logic, then watched the underworld officials capture the revived Demon Dragon. After the Imperial Academy disciplined him for the destructive experiment, he left to organize his findings and planned to consult Liu Shenzhi about the Witchcraft Silkworm; meanwhile, the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom arrived at Upper Garden.

• Li Qi concluded that boundaries could be located through a logical formula and fuzzy membership sets, rather than material observation alone.
• Underworld officials captured the Demon Dragon and dragged his soul and mind into the Iron City after a judge sentenced him to the Plow-Tongue Prison.
• The disciplinary ruler reprimanded Li Qi for his unapproved experiment, suspended him from classes, and ordered him to write a self-criticism, apology, and report.
• Li Qi accepted the punishment and planned to organize his findings before visiting Liu Shenzhi about the Witchcraft Silkworm and seeking Liu Donghe's help for the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom.
• The Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom arrived at Upper Garden and said that he had returned.

The Trumpet Flower God returned to Above Garden, where Iron Begonia learned of her arrival and hoped she had become willing to lower her head. Li Qi visited the Liu Household, learned about Liu Shenzhi’s past as a Flower God fan, and worried that the revelation might affect Liu Donghe’s view of Flower Gods.

• The Trumpet Flower God returned to Above Garden and watched a young sunflower Flower God dance before encountering Iron Begonia.
• Iron Begonia told her maid to inform the other sisters that the Trumpet Flower God had returned, hoping she had learned to lower her head.
• Li Qi visited the Liu Household late at night, where Liu Junyi noticed his changed aura and welcomed him inside.
• Liu Junyi told Li Qi that Liu Shenzhi’s cultivation had improved and praised Li Qi’s influence on his younger brother.
• Liu Junyi revealed that Liu Shenzhi had once pursued the Hundred Flowers Ranking and helped Flower Gods build their connections.
• Li Qi realized Liu Shenzhi’s history might cause Liu Donghe to develop a prejudice against Flower Gods.

Li Qi returned to Liu Shenzhi’s courtyard and demonstrated how his new understanding of boundaries could improve Witchcraft Silkworm breeding. The chapter ended with Liu Shenzhi watching the newly hatched silkworms achieve an efficiency increase of more than ninety percent.

• Li Qi asked Liu Junyi about Liu Donghe’s opinion of Flower Gods, and learned that Liu Donghe admired them from afar but believed everyone should focus on their own duties.
• Li Qi reached Liu Shenzhi’s courtyard, where Liu Shenzhi described his research and proposed buying a better adjustment formation together.
• Li Qi told Liu Shenzhi he had an important technical matter to show him and used his knowledge of boundaries to calculate how to improve the Witchcraft Silkworms.
• Li Qi edited and hatched a new batch of Witchcraft Silkworms, then fed them magic treasure fragments.
• Liu Shenzhi saw that the new Witchcraft Silkworms worked with more than ninety percent greater efficiency.

Li Qi and Liu Shenzhi improved the Witchcraft Silkworms enough to begin promoting them as a valuable production line. Li Qi proposed recruiting the Fifth Rank Trumpet Flower God and persuaded Liu Shenzhi to ask his father, Liu Donghe, for help, leaving them set to approach him together the next morning.

• Li Qi used military formation principles and divination calculations to raise the Witchcraft Silkworms’ devouring efficiency by more than ninety percent.
• Li Qi and Liu Shenzhi agreed that the Witchcraft Silkworms had practical value and could be promoted as Shaman Path magic treasure production sets.
• Li Qi suggested asking the Trumpet Flower God to promote their products, and explained that she was a Fifth Rank Baiyue sovereign with whom he had already made an agreement.
• Li Qi told Liu Shenzhi how he had promised the Trumpet Flower God that he would clear Liu Donghe’s name in exchange for her help promoting the Witchcraft Silkworms and Sacred Flame.
• Liu Shenzhi worried his father would oppose the plan, but Li Qi argued that the Witchcraft Silkworms’ success could advance Liu Shenzhi’s cultivation and offered to speak with Liu Donghe beside him.
• Liu Shenzhi agreed to go with Li Qi to bring the matter up with his father at breakfast the next morning.

Amitabha Buddha battled Mara of Self-Transformation, using his authority over the universe to suppress the heavenly demon while debating the cost of containing her. Mara devoured a doomed world and revealed a demonic figure resembling Li Qi, leaving the reason for his connection unclear.

• Amitabha Buddha annihilated the infinite devils surrounding his Buddha lands through a clash of logic and the Dao.
• Mara of Self-Transformation appeared before Amitabha Buddha, and his followers attacked while he ignored her provocations.
• Mara argued that the deaths caused by containing her were the Buddha's responsibility, while Amitabha Buddha maintained that the sacrifices protected countless living beings.
• Mara summoned a corrupted world nearing destruction, compressed it into a tiny sphere, and swallowed it as its inhabitants died.
• Mara said the doomed world's destruction held great meaning for someone and manifested a figure made of demonic qi that looked like Li Qi.

Demonic Energy Li Qi sought refuge with Amitabha Buddha, who accepted him into the Buddhist path after cleansing and rebuilding his body. The chapter ended with Demonic Energy Li Qi agreeing to receive the precepts and a Dharma name, though he still wished to be Li Qi.

• The Heavenly Demon presented Demonic Energy Li Qi to Amitabha Buddha, who agreed to take him into the Western Heaven Buddhist Kingdom because of his aptitude and partial Heavenly Eye.
• The Heavenly Demon gave Demonic Energy Li Qi the souls of a Fourth-Rank World to ferry across, and he accepted so they would not be destroyed.
• The Heavenly Demon's clone withered and turned to dust under the Buddhist Kingdom's suppression.
• Demonic Energy Li Qi asked Amitabha Buddha whether he was truly Li Qi, and the Buddha taught him not to cling to appearances or identity.
• Amitabha Buddha's chants dispelled Demonic Energy Li Qi's demonic energy and rebuilt his body with normal qi.
• Demonic Energy Li Qi agreed to take refuge in the empty gate, and Amitabha Buddha told him to shave his head, receive the precepts, and take a Dharma name.