Chapter Summaries

Gu Shaoshang agreed to marry Queen Mother of the West on the seventh day of the third month next year, then refined his cultivation by repairing flaws in his Five Great Secret Realms. After the wedding invitations were sent, he left Yaochi to explore the desolate land beyond it.

• Gu Shaoshang agreed to marry Queen Mother of the West next year, and they discussed the powerful constitution their child might inherit.
• Queen Mother of the West aided Gu Shaoshang’s cultivation as he adjusted and perfected the Five Great Secret Realms over three days and nights.
• Gu Shaoshang gave Queen Mother of the West a complete Hengyu Scripture and said he had obtained insights from it while battling a forbidden land.
• Queen Mother of the West summoned Ziluan and ordered her to deliver wedding invitations to several familiar sacred lands.
• Gu Shaoshang joked about teaching their future son, was sent flying from the pavilion by Queen Mother of the West, and then left Yaochi to survey a barren, lifeless land.

Gu Shaoshang crossed the desolate Northern Region, reflecting on the devastation of past Dark Turmoils before discovering a boy whose bloodline carried an ominous curse. He took Zhang Yuan with him to Holy City to investigate the curse and seek resources for cultivation.

• Gu Shaoshang dispersed the deathly aura over the barren lands and passed through villages rebuilt after the Dark Turmoil.
• Zhang Yuan chased Gu Shaoshang despite his injuries and asked to cultivate, explaining that people feared an ominous curse in his bloodline.
• Gu Shaoshang examined Zhang Yuan and confirmed that an ominous aura was rooted in his bloodline, then told him to follow along.
• Gu Shaoshang healed Zhang Yuan, took his hand, and traveled with him to Holy City in a single step.

Gu Shaoshang brought Zhang Yuan to Holy City, opened his cultivation path, and pondered how his existence had altered the Shrouding the Heavens World. The chapter left Gu Shaoshang considering how he might attain the Dao without disrupting Queen Mother of the West’s realm, while Zhang Yudao entered Divine Land Stone Workshop to watch Origin Stones being cut.

• Gu Shaoshang took Zhang Yuan to an inn in Holy City and explained that Zhang Yuan’s Origin Master inheritance was of little use to him.
• Gu Shaoshang gave Zhang Yuan the Wheel Sea Chapter of the Dao Scripture and opened his Sea of Suffering, allowing him to begin cultivating.
• Gu Shaoshang reflected on the possible connection between the Primordial Ancient Sacred Body and his own influence on the world, then considered how to attain the Dao without affecting Queen Mother of the West.
• Zhang Yudao and the Brocade Robe Youth discussed Queen Mother of the West’s attainment of the Dao and the resulting barrier to other cultivators.
• Zhang Yudao and the Brocade Robe Youth entered Divine Land Stone Workshop as onlookers reacted to someone cutting Origin Stones.

Zhang Yudao watched the Divine Land stone gambling house reveal an Ancient Scripture from the Mythic Era, then witnessed the cutting of a Nine Aperture Stone Man under the protection of Great Sage Lin Yanbai. As the stone was opened, a mysterious humming sound emerged from within.

• An Ancient Scripture sealed in source was cut from ordinary Divine Material, and the Divine Land Dynasty refused to sell it.
• The Seventh Prince ordered the Stone Kings opened and drew attention to a Nine Aperture Stone Man.
• Elder Han sensed danger inside the Stone Man and hesitated to cut it.
• Lin Yanbai arrived and ordered Elder Han to proceed, reassuring the gathered crowd with his presence.
• Elder Han rapidly cut the Stone Man, and a humming sound came from within amid the stone powder.

Lin Yanbai and the Divine Land Stone Workshop crowd uncovered a black-armored being sealed inside an extraordinary mass of Divine Source, which erupted and destroyed the workshop when Lin Yanbai tried to seize it. The being emerged and, seeing the Great Saint and the Holy City's forces, asked whether someone had already attained the Dao and become Emperor.

• The Divine Source burst with power as the stone workshop was cut open, revealing a motionless black-armored being inside.
• Lin Yanbai identified the armor as dating from the Mythic Era, cleared the workshop, and decided to send the Divine Source as a wedding gift to the two Great Emperors at the Jade Pool.
• The Divine Source shattered when Lin Yanbai reached for it, and the resulting clash destroyed the workshop and sent Zhang Yudao crashing into Gu Shaoshang's inn room.
• City Lord Liu and the Holy City's Great Powers activated the grand array to contain the shockwaves as Gu Shaoshang watched from the inn.
• The black-armored being stepped out of the Divine Source and asked whether someone had already attained the Dao and become Emperor.

A Mythic Era Quasi-Emperor named Di Kun awakened after being cut from divine source in Holy City and attacked Lin Yanbai, blaming the city for ending his path to the Dao. Lin Yanbai fought him to protect the city, and after exchanging several blows, he was wounded while Gu Shaoshang secretly strengthened the city’s array.

• Di Kun’s awakening filled Holy City with Emperor Qi, alarming its residents and prompting Lin Yanbai and City Lord Liu to face him.
• Gu Shaoshang secretly reinforced Holy City’s array while Lin Yanbai warned Di Kun that a Great Emperor and a Great Accomplishment Sacred Body held sway in the era.
• Di Kun recounted that he had asked Emperor Zun to seal him away after his path to the Dao was cut off, then declared that everyone in Holy City must die.
• Lin Yanbai sent City Lord Liu away and clashed with Di Kun’s attack, matching the Quasi-Emperor’s first strike with his Dragon Slaying Saber.
• Di Kun escalated the fight with a fist seal and two more blows; Lin Yanbai blocked them but was struck by divine light, scattering Great Sage blood across the sky.

Lin Yanbai reached the threshold of Quasi-Emperorhood while fighting Di Kun, but the Great Accomplishment Sacred Body intervened before either could finish the battle. He saved Lin Yanbai and effortlessly seized Di Kun in his colossal palm.

• Di Kun wounded Lin Yanbai, but Lin Yanbai completed his Dragon Severing Heavenly Art and began his Quasi-Emperor tribulation.
• Di Kun attacked Lin Yanbai as he prepared to risk his life with a final strike.
• The Great Accomplishment Sacred Body appeared, healed Lin Yanbai, and threw him into the stalled lightning tribulation.
• Di Kun charged the Great Accomplishment Sacred Body’s vast palm, but it crushed his resistance and captured him.

Gu Shaoshang captured Di Kun, a Quasi-Emperor who mistook him for the Emperor, and questioned him about the Mythic Era. Di Kun described two accounts of the Emperor’s origins and revealed that he had been sealed in divine source at the Emperor’s order, mentioning a Wordless Heavenly Book.

• Gu Shaoshang seized Di Kun while Lin Yanbai continued undergoing his Quasi-Emperor tribulation.
• Gu Shaoshang brought the powerless Di Kun before Zhang Yudao, who recognized Gu Shaoshang as a Great Emperor.
• Di Kun mistook Gu Shaoshang for the Emperor after seeing his eyes and agreed to answer his questions.
• Di Kun explained that the Emperor established the Heavenly Court and recounted two competing stories about his origins.
• Di Kun said he had fought for the Heavenly Court before the Emperor sealed him in divine source, and he mentioned a Wordless Heavenly Book.

Gu Shaoshang spared Di Kun, witnessed Lin Yanbai’s breakthrough to quasi-emperor, and openly challenged the forbidden zones before returning to the Jade Lake. There, he opened the Wordless Heavenly Book and saw a vision of himself descending onto a desolate earth.

• Di Kun realized the Emperor Venerable had likely arranged his awakening, and Gu Shaoshang offered to seal him in divine source again before leaving him in Holy City with Zhang Yuan.
• Lin Yanbai survived his tribulation and became a quasi-emperor, then thanked Gu Shaoshang for saving him from Di Kun and explained how his old defeat had held back his cultivation.
• Gu Shaoshang told Lin Yanbai he might still have a chance to attain the Dao, then raised a Golden Light Great Dao across the Northern Region to provoke the forbidden zones.
• The Lords of the Forbidden Zones discussed killing Gu Shaoshang in the future but chose not to act, and Gu Shaoshang returned to the Jade Lake regretting that he had not drawn out an ancient Sovereign.
• Gu Shaoshang examined the blank Wordless Heavenly Book and considered how his separate selves could unknowingly affect one another across time.
• The Wordless Heavenly Book released a vision of a black-clad Gu Shaoshang descending onto an endless desolate earth, leaving him unsure whether it showed his true body or an avatar.

Gu Shaoshang’s avatar received a warning from his true body about the Shrouding the Heavens world, but his true body chose to enter anyway after glimpsing the wider timelines of the Myriad Heavens and Worlds. The heart demon Gu Shaoshang arrived in the Mythic Era as Emperor Zun’s emergence approached and prepared to use his Heavenly Demon Dao.

• Gu Shaoshang’s avatar saw an image of his true body amid a vast lightning tribulation and heard a broken warning: “Beware of the Heavenly Emperor... it...”
• Gu Shaoshang’s avatar decided to enter the Shrouding the Heavens World despite the warning, while his true body realized that the experience had revealed traces of the timelines of countless worlds.
• Gu Shaoshang’s true body entered the heart demon avatar, which carried him into the Shrouding the Heavens World during the Mythic Era.
• The heart demon Gu Shaoshang arrived in a desolate region of the Eastern Wasteland’s Northern Region and learned that the world could detect outsiders who used incompatible cultivation methods.
• The heart demon Gu Shaoshang saw a world-spanning lightning tribulation aimed at the land beneath him and suspected Emperor Zun was emerging.
• The heart demon Gu Shaoshang decided to use his true body’s Heavenly Demon Dao amid the tribulation.

Emperor Venerable emerged from nirvana and devoured his tribulation, believing he had begun a second life and could reach immortality. Gu Shaoshang used the upheaval to prepare to adapt to the world, then his Heart Demon stirred within Emperor Venerable until a black-haired youth approached to confront him.

• Gu Shaoshang’s Heart Demon merged into the thunderstorm as a giant corpse surfaced on the Big Dipper Star and began to dissolve beneath the tribulation.
• A black-haired youth rose from the corpse, declared, “The Celestial Venerable has gone; I am the Emperor Venerable!” and swallowed the lightning.
• Gu Shaoshang realized that the Shrouding the Heavens World rejected outside lineages and began deducing its cultivation method to deceive the world’s Heaven and Earth Will.
• Emperor Venerable repelled the Four Immortal Slaying Swords and other imperial weapons, then consumed the lightning and convinced himself he could become immortal.
• Emperor Venerable sensed the Heart Demon’s influence, roared for it to reveal itself, and heard it laugh from within his body.
• A black-haired youth arrived from the distant starry sky, and Emperor Venerable declared that he would beat him to death.

Gu Shaoshang confronted the newly reborn Emperor, whose attempt to kill him was complicated by a heart demon embedded in his emotions. They fought across the starry cosmos, and the chapter ended with Gu Shaoshang emerging from the Emperor’s Dao Fire to attack again.

• Gu Shaoshang revealed that his Heart Demon had taken root in the Emperor’s emotions and desires, making it difficult to remove.
• The Emperor attacked Gu Shaoshang, and Gu Shaoshang led the fight away from the Big Dipper to protect it from their battle.
• Gu Shaoshang and the Emperor exchanged powerful blows, each suffering severe injuries before recovering and continuing the fight.
• The Emperor ignited Dao Fire to refine Gu Shaoshang, but Gu Shaoshang emerged from the flames and declared that he would keep fighting.

Gu Shaoshang defeated Emperor Zun in a devastating clash, using the Fist of the Great Dao to break through Emperor Zun’s Nine Secrets: Jie. The Inner Demon Avatar overwhelmed Emperor Zun’s will, and Gu Shaoshang left for the Northern Dipper Star after beginning to recover from his injuries.

• Emperor Zun unleashed the Nine Secrets: Jie in a final punch, and Gu Shaoshang answered with the Fist of the Great Dao.
• Their attacks collided, leaving Emperor Zun with a shattered Immortal Platform and Gu Shaoshang gravely wounded.
• Emperor Zun died, and the Inner Demon Avatar enveloped his body and claimed his powerful obsession.
• Gu Shaoshang healed as his destroyed secret realms formed anew, then recalled the Inner Demon Avatar into himself.
• Gu Shaoshang headed toward the Northern Dipper Star, expecting to reach the Divine Demon realm within ten days to a year.

After defeating the Emperor Venerate, Gu Shaoshang returned to the Big Dipper and decided to establish the Heavenly Court while investigating the Shrouding the Heavens World. He sent his Inner Demon Avatar to gather subordinates and went to confront the Underworld, where its ruler rose from the abyss to challenge him.

• Gu Shaoshang returned to the Big Dipper seemingly unharmed, while hidden powers watched and the fat Daoist buried himself underground to sleep.
• Gu Shaoshang surveyed the Mythic Era, noted the human race’s weakness, and considered whether breaking through to the Divine Demon Realm would draw the world’s attention.
• Gu Shaoshang decided to establish the Heavenly Court and released his Inner Demon Avatar to travel the world and gather subordinates, forbidding him from slaughtering indiscriminately.
• Gu Shaoshang headed for the Underworld Forbidden Zone, alarming powers across the Big Dipper and beyond.
• Gu Shaoshang arrived at the death-filled Underworld, where Nether Venerate rose from the abyss and demanded to know his business.

Gu Shaoshang visited the Underworld to question Nether Venerate about the Immortal Domain and learned that the Path to Immortality remained broken. He returned to the stars, where his realm broke through into the Divine Demon Realm and a vast lightning tribulation engulfed the starfields.

• Gu Shaoshang entered the Underworld and met Nether Venerate, who recognized him vaguely but could not recall where they had met.
• Nether Venerate explained that generations of Heavenly Venerates had carved only a broken Path to Immortality, and that opening it would require countless future experts.
• Gu Shaoshang said he intended to establish the Heavenly Court, unite all races and living beings, and see the Immortal Domain for himself before leaving the Underworld.
• Nether Venerate warned Kunyu not to become Gu Shaoshang's enemy, while Gu Shaoshang's Inner Demon Avatar gathered followers and waged war on other ancient stars in his name.
• Gu Shaoshang broke through into the Divine Demon Realm, and a lightning tribulation far greater than Emperor Zun's covered hundreds of millions of miles of starry sky.

Gu Shaoshang faced a Proof of the Dao lightning tribulation that tested whether his Dao could satisfy the will of heaven and earth. After stabilizing his Divine Demon cultivation and overwhelming the tribulation’s beasts and weapons, he confronted the imprints of the Nine Celestial Venerables and fought on despite severe injuries.

• Gu Shaoshang realized the lightning tribulation manifested heaven and earth’s judgment of his Dao, then broke through into the Divine Demon realm as the lightning sea engulfed him.
• Gu Shaoshang shattered the tribulation’s Divine Beasts and Emperor weapons with his fists, absorbed their lightning essence, and advanced to the peak of Divine Demon First Heaven.
• The nine imprints of the Mythic Era’s Celestial Venerables appeared, including Lingbao Tianzun, Emperor Zun’s former self, and the Nether Venerate.
• The Nine Celestial Venerables attacked Gu Shaoshang with their secret arts, badly injuring him with the Immortal Slaying Swords and blows that shattered his bones and arm.
• Gu Shaoshang recovered, swallowed the four lightning-formed immortal swords, destroyed the phantom using Nine Secrets: Xing, and struck back at the nine Celestial Venerables.

Gu Shaoshang battled the nine phantoms in his tribulation and was drawn into a formation that revealed visions of the world's history and its creation. After a sword-bearing figure resembling the Desolate Heaven Emperor struck him down, the universe believed he had died, while his inner demon warned itself to stay wary of the world's will and continue the Emperor Venerable's path.

• Gu Shaoshang fought the nine phantoms, studied the Nine Secret Techniques, and absorbed lightning essence as his divine particles began to transform.
• The lightning formation carried Gu Shaoshang through visions of Great Emperors attaining the Dao and the Desolate Heaven Emperor severing the Shrouding the Heavens World from time.
• A figure resembling the Desolate Heaven Emperor appeared and attacked Gu Shaoshang with a sword bearing the combined power of thirty Great Emperors.
• Gu Shaoshang answered with Annihilation of All Directions, but the sword destroyed his body and scattered his particles in the sea of lightning.
• Experts across the universe concluded that Gu Shaoshang had died, while his inner demon resolved to conceal itself and continue along the Emperor Venerable's path.

Gu Shaoshang’s inner demon established the Heavenly Court and declared himself Emperor Venerate, then led its army to conquer the Big Dipper. After defeating and sealing a powerful Holy Spirit, he secured the submission of the cosmic powers and began the Heavenly Court’s glorious age.

• Gu Shaoshang’s inner demon returned to the Big Dipper Starfield with his subdued followers and prepared to establish the Heavenly Court.
• Two or three thousand years later, the inner demon revealed the Heavenly Court, named himself Emperor Venerate, and ordered an invasion of the Big Dipper.
• Chuan Ying killed a Holy Spirit quasi-Celestial Venerate who challenged the invading army.
• The inner demon defeated and sealed another Holy Spirit who attacked the Heavenly Court army, and the army occupied the Big Dipper.
• Gu Shaoshang used Ginseng Fruit to refine Nine Revolutions Immortal Pills, extended the lifespans of several Celestial Venerate-level figures, and brought them into the Heavenly Court.

Gu Shaoshang emerged from a tribulation that showed him the history of countless emperors and reflected on the dangers of attaining the Dao amid the many Life Forbidden Zones. He and Queen Mother of the West reaffirmed their hope for their son’s future, and their wedding began in Yaochi with powerful guests arriving.

• Gu Shaoshang endured a tribulation filled with visions of the Inner Demon, ancient emperors, and events across the ages, then awoke in Yaochi and considered how the ordeal had tempered his cultivation.
• Gu Shaoshang worried that the Life Forbidden Zones and the Heaven and Earth Will could threaten him and Queen Mother of the West if he attained the Dao.
• Queen Mother of the West told Gu Shaoshang that she had seen their son surpass them both, and Gu Shaoshang promised they would live to see that day.
• Several months later, Gu Shaoshang and Queen Mother of the West held their wedding, drawing powerful guests to Yaochi.
• Lin Yanbai arrived with a youth holding a small child, and an elderly saint from Tianxuan Sacred Land said he hoped to see the Western Empress before risking his life against a forbidden zone.

Gu Shaoshang and Queen Mother of the West celebrated their wedding at the Jade Lake with old friends and powerful cultivators. The morning after, they discussed refining Nine Revolutions Immortal Pills and the danger their ingredients could bring, then asked their guests to help gather the rare materials.

• Gu Shaoshang welcomed Daoist Mu, the old saint, Lin Yanbai, and other guests to the Jade Lake wedding banquet.
• Gu Shaoshang and Queen Mother of the West completed their wedding rites, and the guests drank and reminisced late into the night.
• Gu Shaoshang lifted Queen Mother of the West’s veil, and the two spent their wedding night together.
• The next morning, Gu Shaoshang proposed making Nine Revolutions Immortal Pills, and Queen Mother of the West warned that the forbidden-zone existences must not learn of them.
• Gu Shaoshang asked Lin Yanbai and the other guests for Spirit Medicines, and Lin Yanbai said several key ingredients would be difficult to obtain.