Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Rahula unleashes the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation against the Dragon Clan’s ancestral seat. The Dragon Palace’s powerful Innate Grand Formation activates in response.
• Zhu Long takes command of the Dragon Palace formation, while five Dragon Clan Daluo Golden Immortals control its three top-grade innate spiritual treasures, the formation’s eyes.
• Rahula’s sword light overwhelms the area, erasing the sea, its waters, and all life across hundreds of millions of li. The attack even opens a view of the sky from beneath the sea.
• Zhu Long and the Dragon Clan realize their formation cannot withstand Rahula. Nearby Daluo Golden Immortals watch from a distance but refuse to help, convinced the clan is doomed.
• Hongjun and Yang Mei sense the attack. Yang Mei is especially startled by Rahula’s rapid progress: Rahula’s Source Great Dao comprehension has reached 98 percent, surpassing Yang Mei’s.
• The chapter closes with the Dragon Clan’s last presumed trump card—the Progenitor Dragon’s Ancestral Dragon Pearl—judged insufficient to stop Rahula.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhu Long moves quickly to defend the clan, but his confidence collapses into grief and despair as he recognizes the gulf between the Dragon Palace formation and Rahula’s power. Even his mastery of the Time Great Dao is useless against the formation.
• Rahula is established as an overwhelmingly dangerous opponent, combining extraordinary cultivation with the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation.
• Yang Mei shifts from shock at the formation’s power to frustrated envy over Rahula’s seemingly impossible advancement, jokingly wondering why everyone else has a “cheat.”
• The Dragon Clan’s five Daluo Golden Immortals cooperate with Zhu Long to sustain their defense, while the outside immortals’ refusal to intervene emphasizes the clan’s isolation.

Significant themes

• Powerlessness before overwhelming force: The Dragon Palace’s formidable defenses—and Zhu Long’s Dao—are rendered insignificant beside Rahula’s formation.
• Isolation and impending destruction: The Dragon Clan has no allies willing or able to help, making its apparent defeat feel inevitable.
• The limits of inherited power: The Progenitor Dragon’s legacy, including the Ancestral Dragon Pearl, seems inadequate against the present threat.
• Uneven advancement and envy: Yang Mei’s reaction introduces a lighter note while highlighting how rapidly the balance of power is changing.

Plot points and events

• Rahula’s Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation overwhelms and destroys the Dragon Palace’s powerful innate formation, leaving Zhu Long and the Dragon Clan’s Daluo Golden Immortals helpless.
• The destruction draws attention from across the East Sea, but no one intervenes. Hongjun and Yang Mei consider the situation and decide that the Dragon Clan’s wealth is not worth antagonizing Rahula.
• The narration explains the importance of Innate Supreme Treasures and why the three great clans possess none: giving one clan such an advantage would upset the balance between the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Clans. Rahula’s sword formation is formidable, though he expects it to become even stronger after he advances and reforges his swords.
• Rahula reveals himself as Demon Ancestor Luohu and demands every treasure of heaven and earth the Dragon Clan has collected. He offers to spare the clan in exchange.
• Zhu Long accepts, reasoning that the clan’s survival matters more than its wealth. He hands over everything without daring to withhold any.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhu Long responds to the crisis with cautious pragmatism. Though surrendering the clan’s entire treasury pains him, he prioritizes its survival and approaches Rahula with deference.
• Rahula is confident and direct, treating the Dragon Clan’s defeat as an opportunity to seize its accumulated resources. He shows no interest in Zhu Long’s feelings or in negotiation.
• Hongjun and Yang Mei remain detached observers, focused on their own cultivation and unwilling to risk conflict over the Dragon Clan’s comparatively modest treasures.
• Zhu Long’s respectful appeal and Rahula’s blunt demand establish a stark imbalance of power: the Dragon Clan can only comply.

Significant themes

• Might makes right: The Dragon Clan’s status offers no protection once it meets a stronger force.
• Power and treasures: Innate Supreme Treasures can determine the balance between great powers, while lesser resources matter little to the most powerful cultivators.
• Pragmatic survival: Zhu Long sacrifices the clan’s wealth to preserve its people.
• Cosmic balance: The absence of Innate Supreme Treasures among the three clans is presented as a deliberate way to prevent any one clan from dominating the others.

Key plot points and events

• Rahula leaves the Dragon Clan after stripping it of nearly all its treasures, leaving the clan impoverished and unable to activate its palace’s protective formation.
• He spares the Dragon Palace and the Ancestral Dragon Pearl. The Pearl gives the weakened Dragon Clan a last-resort defense, and Rahula avoids risking the consequences of exterminating a clan burdened with Karmic Force.
• The Progenitor Dragon’s Primordial Spirit still watches Rahula from the Eastern Pole. Rahula is not afraid of him personally, but respects his role as one of the Four Celestial Spirits, servants of the Heavenly Dao.
• Rahula returns to Mount Sumeru delighted with his windfall, which can support the Demon Clan. He sends the clan back out to cause trouble, even as its growing strength allows it to target Daluo Golden Immortals.
• Rahula forbids the Demon Clan from provoking Innate Gods and Demons or making trouble in the East Sea. He believes four Dao Attainers may still be there, and refuses to risk crossing a Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal.
• During the Dragon-Han Calamity, the East Sea has remained unusually peaceful. Many peace-seeking beings have settled among its islands and Blessed Grotto-Heavens.

Character developments

• Rahula emerges wealthy but remains cautious when faced with forces he cannot judge or control. He distinguishes plundering the Dragon Clan from provoking the East Sea, and considers retreat sensible rather than shameful.
• The Dragon Clan is reduced to a nearly defenseless, destitute state, but retains a limited means of protection through the Ancestral Dragon Pearl.
• The Progenitor Dragon remains present only as a watching Primordial Spirit, unable to leave the Eastern Pole.

Character interactions

• Rahula’s encounter with the Dragon Clan is essentially a one-sided raid: he takes its accumulated wealth but leaves enough behind to avoid destroying it.
• The Progenitor Dragon silently observes Rahula, whose restraint reflects both respect for his Heavenly Dao position and concern about Karmic consequences.
• Rahula directs the Demon Clan from afar, encouraging its violence while imposing clear boundaries around especially dangerous targets and regions.

Significant themes

• Caution in the face of overwhelming power: Even an arrogant Demon Ancestor knows when retreat is wiser than confrontation.
• Karmic consequence and restraint: Rahula avoids wiping out the Dragon Clan partly because he fears what its Karmic Force might bring.
• Violence versus refuge: The Demon Clan spreads chaos across the continent, while the East Sea becomes a haven for those seeking peace.

Key plot points and events

• Following the Dragon-Han Calamity, the slaughter that had fueled Bai Yu’s progress dwindles. He has nevertheless reached 98% comprehension of the Great Dao of Slaughter, matching Rahula, and is nearing his fifth Enlightenment of the Dao.
• Bai Yu expects to surpass Hongjun and Yang Mei again: Hongjun is stuck at 99% comprehension, while Yang Mei has reached 97%. Rahula must still advance, and Hongjun’s Enlightenment also depends on the future Dao-Devil War.
• Hongjun cannot make further progress despite possessing the Jade Plate of Creation. He suspects the Great Dao he studies is incomplete within the Primordial World, preventing him from perfecting his comprehension.
• The chapter explains that incomplete Great Daos can be perfected if the Primordial World itself completes them, but this is difficult and depends on the Primordial Heavenly Dao. Bai Yu considers this route as a possible alternative to searching the Endless Chaos Sea for other Grand Cosmoses, yet recognizes the immense effort it would require.
• Bai Yu’s thoughts turn to Pangu’s disappearance. He considers three possibilities: Pangu is in eternal silence, secretly plotting, or has achieved Transcendence. The first two possibilities are alarming, and the second could put Bai Yu directly at risk.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Yu is increasingly confident in his rapid progress, but his ambition is tempered by unease about the Primordial World, the Heavenly Dao’s unexplained friendliness toward him, and Pangu’s fate.
• Hongjun becomes frustrated and confused by his stalled cultivation. His explanation—that his Great Dao may be incomplete in the world—is plausible, though he does not consider the Heavenly Dao’s restrictions.
• Yang Mei remains close behind despite lacking Hongjun’s advantages, which Bai Yu acknowledges as impressive.
• Bai Yu compares his progress with Hongjun, Yang Mei, and Rahula, but has no direct encounters with them in this chapter. His main interaction is with the broader forces shaping cultivation: the Primordial World and its Heavenly Dao.

Significant themes

• Limits of cultivation: Great Dao comprehension depends not only on individual talent, but on whether the world contains a complete version of the Dao.
• World-building and potential: The Primordial World may contain all three thousand Great Daos in incomplete form, giving it enormous potential—but realizing that potential may be extraordinarily difficult.
• Ambition versus uncertainty: Bai Yu’s rapid advancement expands his options while also drawing him toward larger, poorly understood dangers.
• The unknown as a threat: Pangu’s whereabouts, the Heavenly Dao’s motives, and the possibility of powerful unseen forces all leave Bai Yu wary, even as he continues to grow.

Key plot points and events

• Bai Yu considers how Pangu reached Transcendence, but accepts that the answer is unknowable—and that confronting Pangu or traveling to the beginning of time would be suicidal and forbidden by the Primordial Heavenly Dao.
• Hongjun, whose Great Dao comprehension has stalled at 99%, spends ten thousand years puzzling over the blockage. He concludes the Heavenly Dao is preventing him from reaching full comprehension and asks it for guidance.
• The Heavenly Dao confirms Hongjun’s suspicion and reveals key information about the coming Dao-Devil War. It is delaying Hongjun’s Enlightenment until Rahula has advanced far enough in the Great Dao of Slaughter.
• Bai Yu observes that the Heavenly Dao is openly favoring Hongjun: Hongjun has powerful advantages, while Rahula lacks comparable support. The eventual conflict therefore seems heavily tilted in Hongjun’s favor.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Yu remains cautious, choosing continued cultivation over reckless attempts to reach Pangu. He watches events through his Great Dao Avatar while staying in seclusion.
• Hongjun proves both patient and politically astute. Rather than accuse the Heavenly Dao, he presents himself as humble and helpless, prompting it to assist him.
• Rahula is portrayed as disadvantaged before the Dao-Devil War even begins; the Heavenly Dao has not chosen him for comparable favor.
• Hongjun addresses the Heavenly Dao directly, asking it to guide his path; Bai Yu watches and recognizes the effectiveness of Hongjun’s performance.

Significant themes

• Limits of power and knowledge: Even Bai Yu’s mastery of several Great Daos cannot reveal Pangu’s path or overcome the world’s rules.
• Fate and cosmic control: The Heavenly Dao shapes who may advance and how major conflicts unfold.
• Unequal fairness: The coming war is framed as predetermined and unfair to Rahula, with divine favoritism undermining any genuine contest.
• Caution and self-preservation: Both Bai Yu and Hongjun prioritize avoiding risks, though Bai Yu does so through retreat while Hongjun also uses careful appeals for support.

Summary

Key plot points

• The Heavenly Dao reveals that a Dao-Devil War is part of Hongjun’s fate. Hongjun realizes that his rise—and his treasures, including a fragment of the Jade Plate of Creation and the Pangu Banner—may have been arranged by the Heavenly Dao.
• He suspects he is being used as a pawn in a plan he does not understand. Although the Heavenly Dao favors him, its power leaves him no way to refuse or negotiate.
• Hongjun considers whether other Dao Attainers may also be pawns, but has no proof.
• Since he has already reached 99% Dao comprehension and the Heavenly Dao is blocking further progress, he abandons meditation and looks toward the Western Continent, where Rahula resides.
• Hongjun concludes that the foretold war makes Rahula an unavoidable obstacle to his Enlightenment. What had once been mere personal dislike must now become a deadly conflict between their Daos.

Character developments and interactions

• Hongjun shifts from relief at receiving an answer to unease and despair over being controlled. He dislikes the idea of being a pawn, yet tries to comfort himself that serving the Primordial Heavenly Dao may be preferable to serving a lesser power. Though reluctant, he accepts that he must follow the script.
• Rahula is presented as Hongjun’s rival but not originally his mortal enemy. Their mutual dislike stems partly from Hongjun gossiping about Rahula, who responded by cutting off contact. Rahula’s ambition is to attain Enlightenment before Hongjun and eventually settle the score, not to fight prematurely.
• Both men, along with Qiankun Ancestor, Yin-Yang Ancestor, and other Innate Gods and Demons, had prioritized Dao comprehension over grudges. Rahula even warned his Demon Clan not to provoke them unnecessarily. The Heavenly Dao’s script overturns that understanding.

Significant themes

• Fate versus agency: Hongjun recognizes that apparent rewards may be instruments of a plan, and that he has no meaningful power to reject it.
• Power and subordination: Even an extraordinary cultivator is insignificant beside the Heavenly Dao of a top-tier cosmos.
• Rivalry transformed into necessity: Personal resentment that once seemed minor becomes a fight to the death when their paths to Enlightenment are set against each other.

Key plot points and events

• Rahula remains unaware that Hongjun has anticipated their coming struggle over the Dao and is quietly preparing to defeat him. The narrator presents Hongjun as holding the decisive advantage.
• Bai Yu has comprehended the Great Dao of Slaughter completely and is preparing for his fifth Enlightenment of the Dao. Although Slaughter is exceptionally powerful in combat, Bai Yu judges it less versatile than the Source Great Daos he knows: Time, Space, Destiny, and Karma.
• Over several thousand Yuanhui Eras, Hongjun gathers intelligence on Rahula through his Three Corpses, who investigate the Western Continent. Hongjun also travels widely, discusses the Dao, and cultivates relationships with other Innate Gods and Demons.
• Hongjun’s growing circle of friends—including Yang Mei—could provide allies against Rahula. He does not need everyone’s help, only that of a few especially powerful figures.
• Hongjun knows about Rahula’s Four Immortal Slaughtering Swords and their formation, which Rahula previously revealed when using it to force the Dragon Clan to surrender materials. Concerned about the danger of the swords, Hongjun considers recruiting powerful allies as an additional precaution beyond his own Three Corpses and the Pangu Banner.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Yu deepens his understanding of how the Great Daos relate. His mastery of multiple Source Great Daos makes him increasingly quick to comprehend others, though even his advantage cannot make mastering one Dao unlock all the rest.
• Hongjun proves both sociable and strategic. His open, generous discussions of the Dao strengthen his reputation and build connections, while his covert information-gathering and careful planning show that he remains wary despite believing the advantage is his.
• Rahula is portrayed as focused on slaughter rather than ruling or winning the support of other powerful beings. He avoids provoking the Innate Gods and Demons unnecessarily, and his past use of the sword formation has inadvertently given Hongjun valuable intelligence.
• Yang Mei becomes one of Hongjun’s important connections, showing how far Hongjun’s efforts to make allies have reached.
• The wider Innate Gods and Demons mostly ignore the devastation caused by Rahula’s Demon Clan, prioritizing their own cultivation unless the conflict threatens their interests.

Significant themes

• Preparation and information: Hongjun’s advantage comes not only from power but from knowing Rahula’s capabilities and preparing before the contest begins.
• Specialization versus versatility: The Great Dao of Slaughter excels at killing, while the Source Great Daos offer broader powers and applications.
• Alliances as strategy: Even relationships built through shared study can become useful in a larger conflict, though friendship alone may not guarantee that others will risk their lives.
• Self-interest and indifference: Most powerful beings tolerate widespread destruction when it does not interfere with their own pursuit of the Dao.
• Interconnection of knowledge: The Great Daos are related, and mastering one principle can illuminate others—but the deepest Source Great Daos remain too profound for complete, effortless understanding.

Summary

Hongjun sends his Evil Corpse to Mount Sumeru carrying a Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure. His real purpose is to provoke Rahula into revealing the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation, a suspected trump card. The Evil Corpse attacks without warning, forcing Rahula—caught off guard—to activate the formation. It overwhelms and kills the attacker, and Rahula claims the treasure.
Hongjun considers the mission a success despite losing both his Evil Corpse and the treasure. The test reveals that the formation is terrifyingly powerful and gives him useful clues about how it works and how it might be countered. At the pinnacle of the Daluo Golden Immortal realm, Hongjun is exceptionally cautious and values progress toward the Dao above even powerful treasures.
Rahula, meanwhile, is left confused and angry. He sees his attacker as a dangerous madman and cannot guess the true motive behind the assault. He is also pleased that the formation finally faced a worthy opponent—and that he gained a valuable treasure. His Black Lotus of Destruction would have helped protect him, but the Evil Corpse’s cultivation and treasure made the fight dangerous without the formation.
The encounter also highlights Hongjun’s secrecy: he has concealed the Three Corpses Severing Method, known only to him, Bai Yu, and the Primordial Heavenly Dao. Because Rahula does not know the method exists, he recognizes only that the attacker is unusual, not that he is Hongjun’s Evil Corpse.

Key themes and interactions

• Caution and strategic sacrifice: Hongjun deliberately risks an avatar and treasure to gather intelligence.
• Power and preparation: Rahula’s hidden formation turns the battle in his favor, while the encounter shows how much cultivation and equipment shape combat.
• Secrecy and information: Hongjun’s concealed method prevents Rahula from identifying the attacker or tracing the plot.
• Dramatic irony: Hongjun knows exactly why the battle happened; Rahula sees it as a senseless attack and never learns the truth.

Summary

Key plot points

• Hongjun’s Evil Corpse tests Rahula’s Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation. Because the corpse’s causal ties conceal Hongjun’s involvement, Rahula cannot trace the test back to him.
• Both sides gain something: Rahula receives a Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, while Hongjun learns that breaking the formation requires at least four top-tier Daluo Golden Immortals.
• Though Hongjun and his Three Corpses meet that minimum, he decides to recruit three more powerful allies to ensure victory.
• He considers Yin-Yang Ancestor and Qiankun Ancestor, and also hopes to involve Yang Mei. Convincing them will be difficult, since Hongjun intends not merely to defeat Rahula but to kill him.

Character developments and interactions

• Hongjun is shown as strategic and cautious. He studies the formation indirectly, plans for overwhelming numbers, and relies on his connections among the most powerful Innate Gods and Demons.
• Yin-Yang Ancestor is a formidable potential ally. He has mastered over ninety percent of the Yin-Yang Great Dao and owns the Innate Supreme Treasure Taiji Diagram, which makes even Hongjun wary. He also possesses the Top-Grade Innate Yin-Yang Mirror.
• Qiankun Ancestor lacks a Supreme Treasure but owns two Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures: the Qiankun Diagram and Qiankun Cauldron.
• Yang Mei is a reserved but connected figure who values survival and avoids unnecessary risks. His caution makes him especially unlikely to join a campaign that could provoke a blood feud.
• Hongjun, Yin-Yang Ancestor, Qiankun Ancestor, and Yang Mei belong to an elite circle of powerful beings. Their mutual standing and connections matter, but friendship may not be enough to persuade them to risk everything against Rahula.

Significant themes

• Causality and concealment: Severing causal connections can defeat even powerful divination, especially in a mighty world.
• Power and treasure: Innate Supreme Treasures can outweigh differences in cultivation and shape alliances, caution, and respect.
• Risk versus ambition: Hongjun’s goal of killing Rahula raises the stakes far beyond a limited confrontation, forcing potential allies to weigh loyalty against survival.
• Fortune and status: Hongjun’s immense collection of treasures is attributed to the Heavenly Dao’s favor, contrasting with the more limited inheritances of other reincarnated Godsfiends.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Hongjun recruits powerful allies to help kill Rahula, beginning with Qiankun Ancestor.
• Qiankun initially refuses: he considers Rahula too dangerous, knows about the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation, and sees little reason to risk his life for Hongjun.
• Hongjun offers Qiankun temporary access to the Jade Plate of Creation, a supreme treasure that aids Dao comprehension and contains the Three Thousand Great Dao Principles. The offer persuades Qiankun to join.
• Hongjun then makes the same offer to Yin-Yang Ancestor. Yin-Yang is tempted to seize the treasure outright, but Hongjun’s strength and the revealed power of the Pangu Banner deter him.
• Yin-Yang accepts the arrangement, though he still covets the Jade Plate. Hongjun proceeds with his plan despite the danger of revealing his treasure.

Character developments

• Hongjun shows strategic confidence and a willingness to expose a valuable secret to achieve his aims. He believes his cultivation and the Pangu Banner are enough to control the risk, and he is focused on killing Rahula before pursuing his own Enlightenment.
• Qiankun Ancestor shifts from cautious refusal to eager cooperation once offered a chance to use the Jade Plate. He remains wary of Hongjun’s motives but prioritizes the opportunity for Dao comprehension.
• Yin-Yang Ancestor reveals greater ambition and impulsiveness: he considers taking the treasure by force. Hongjun’s display of power makes him reconsider, though not abandon his desire for it.

Significant themes

• Temptation and ambition: Even powerful cultivators struggle to resist a treasure that could advance their Dao comprehension.
• Power as restraint: Hongjun prevents Yin-Yang from acting on his greed by demonstrating that he is strong enough to punish him.
• Risk and strategy: Hongjun knowingly risks exposing the Jade Plate because he judges the potential reward—Rahula’s death and his own path to Enlightenment—worthwhile.
• Distrust beneath alliances: The ancestors agree to cooperate, but their shared goal does not erase self-interest or suspicion.

Character interactions

• Hongjun persuades Qiankun through an offer rather than an explanation; Qiankun never learns why Rahula must die.
• Hongjun’s offer also exposes Qiankun’s envy and prompts him to wonder why Hongjun is prioritizing Rahula over his own imminent Enlightenment.
• With Yin-Yang, the exchange becomes more dangerous: temptation brings him close to betrayal, while Hongjun’s aura and the Pangu Banner restore the balance of power.
• Both alliances are therefore transactional, founded on the chance to use the Jade Plate rather than trust in Hongjun’s reasons.

Plot points and events

• After securing the Yin-Yang Ancestor and Qiankun Ancestor’s agreement to help deal with Rahula, Hongjun approaches Yang Mei, the last potential ally.
• Hongjun cannot find Yang Mei’s hidden abode, so he uses an emergency means of contact to summon him.
• Hongjun explains his plan to kill Rahula. Yang Mei questions why Hongjun is so determined and says he wants no part in feuds, preferring to focus on attaining the Dao.
• During their conversation, Hongjun reveals the Jade Plate of Creation. Yang Mei recognizes it as Pangu’s legendary treasure and is stunned: he has searched the Primordial Wilderness for it because it can assist Dao comprehension.

Character developments and interactions

• Hongjun is cautious of Yang Mei’s great but poorly understood power. Yang Mei has comprehended the Space Great Dao to 97%, surpassing the Yin-Yang Ancestor’s 93% mastery of Yin-Yang. Hongjun nevertheless trusts his own path: he has devoted himself to the Qi Great Dao because it suits him best.
• Yang Mei is revealed as enigmatic, powerful, and strongly motivated by Dao cultivation rather than conflict. He privately marvels at how formidable Hongjun and Rahula have become, then thinks of Bai Yu as even more exceptional.
• Hongjun and Yang Mei begin with polite respect, but their aims differ: Hongjun wants Yang Mei’s help against Rahula, while Yang Mei is reluctant to become involved. The Jade Plate’s appearance sharply changes the stakes of their meeting.

Significant themes

• Choosing the path that suits you: Hongjun argues that a Great Dao need not be the most prestigious to be the right one for a cultivator.
• Power versus the Dao itself: Pangu’s dominance came from his personal strength, not inherent superiority of the Force Great Dao; any Great Dao could “suppress ten thousand arts” when wielded with sufficient power.
• Mystery, ambition, and temptation: Yang Mei’s hidden strength and longstanding desire for the Jade Plate foreshadow how the treasure may influence his decision about Hongjun’s plan.

Key plot points and events

• Yang Mei is stunned to discover that Hongjun is offering the Jade Plate of Creation as part of a deal to recruit allies for killing Rahula.
• Yang Mei agrees to borrow the treasure for ten thousand Yuanhui Eras, hoping it will help him advance his comprehension of the difficult Space Great Dao beyond its current 97%.
• Hongjun expects Yang Mei to return the Jade Plate once Hongjun attains Enlightenment of the Dao first. He believes the Heavenly Dao’s favor—and its deep control over the Primordial World—will prevent Yang Mei from escaping with it.
• Hongjun offers both the Jade Plate and the Pangu Banner because he needs a strong incentive to persuade Yang Mei, Qiankun Ancestor, and Yin-Yang Ancestor to join the attack on Rahula.
• Yang Mei accepts partly because he fears Rahula’s Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation. He and the other powerful figures knew Rahula was forging the Four Immortal Slaughtering Swords, but had not known about the formation diagram that makes the completed array vastly more dangerous.

Character developments and interactions

• Yang Mei is shown as exceptionally capable, having comprehended 97% of the Space Great Dao, but impatient with his slow progress. He covets the Jade Plate yet recognizes he cannot take it from Hongjun, so he accepts a temporary loan.
• Hongjun appears calculating and confident. He values Yang Mei’s strength as an asset in the planned battle and trusts the Heavenly Dao’s influence to protect his interests.
• Yang Mei is baffled by the depth of Hongjun’s hatred for Rahula, since he sees no obvious past enmity between them. Nevertheless, fear of Rahula’s hidden strength helps persuade him to cooperate.
• Hongjun and Yang Mei’s relationship is transactional: Hongjun provides a rare cultivation treasure, while Yang Mei lends his power to the campaign against Rahula.

Significant themes

• Power, ambition, and compromise: Yang Mei trades a measure of independence for a chance to advance his Dao comprehension.
• Trust and control: Hongjun’s confidence rests less on personal trust than on his belief that the Heavenly Dao will constrain Yang Mei.
• Hidden threats and incomplete knowledge: The group underestimated Rahula because they knew about his weapons but not the formation diagram that transforms them into a formidable array.

Key plot points and events

• Hongjun, Yin-Yang Ancestor, Qiankun Ancestor, and Yang Mei finish a hundred Yuanhui Eras of Dao discussion, then travel together to Mount Sumeru to attack Rahula.
• Rahula has used the same period to comprehend ninety-nine percent of the Great Dao of Slaughter, becoming the strongest figure beneath a Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal except for Hongjun.
• The attackers strike as soon as they arrive. Their combined assault instantly breaks Mount Sumeru’s ordinary protective formation, but it gives Rahula a brief warning.
• The Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation is concealed beneath the mountain and is not constantly active. Yang Mei, wary of its power, has already decided that survival comes before helping Hongjun secure the Jade Plate of Creation—and that he will flee if necessary.
• At Penglai, Bai Yu observes the conflict rather than pursuing his own chance at Enlightenment. He notes that this world’s Dao-Devil War is not a sweeping calamity: it is essentially a direct contest between Hongjun and Rahula.

Character developments and interactions

• Yang Mei shows his defining caution and survival instinct, relying on the Space Great Dao as an escape route. Hongjun, unaware of Yang Mei’s private plan, regards him as a potential threat and thinks he must be eliminated—while also recognizing a kindred reluctance to take needless risks.
• Hongjun acts decisively after reaching the limit of his Dao comprehension and recruiting the other three ancestors. His attack on Rahula is a coordinated effort, though Yang Mei’s motives differ from his.
• Rahula is confident that his rapid progress heralds imminent Enlightenment, unaware that Hongjun and the others are coming. His gains may have been aided by unseen circumstances, which he does not investigate.
• Bai Yu takes a more observational role, comparing the events with familiar fictional versions of the war and recognizing how different this world’s conflict is.

Significant themes

• Power determines the scale of events: In this vast world, enormous armies and lesser immortals matter little beside the strongest individuals. The Dao-Devil War’s outcome hinges on Hongjun and Rahula.
• Cultivation gaps are overwhelming: Even beings at the same broad realm can differ immensely according to their Dao comprehension. Treasures can help, but equal-tier treasures reveal the decisive importance of cultivation and insight.
• Survival versus ambition: Yang Mei places self-preservation above treasure or loyalty, while Hongjun pursues the contest despite the risks.
• The hierarchy of the Primordial Wilderness: “Beneath a Sage, all are ants” captures the chapter’s central view of the world’s immense disparities. It also clarifies that Quasi-Sage is a stage Hongjun devised within the broader Daluo Golden Immortal realm, between its late and consummate stages.

Key plot points and events

• The chapter explains that Three Corpses Unification is not the same as reaching the peak of the Daluo Golden Immortal realm. It clears the Dao Heart and helps one understand the Source Great Dao, but does not complete that understanding. Hongjun created the Quasi-Sage realm as an intermediate step to make the immense final stretch easier.
• Yang Mei joins Hongjun’s plan because the Jade Plate of Creation offers a rare opportunity to deepen his comprehension of the Space Great Dao. He has nearly exhausted his accumulated insights and may otherwise remain stuck at 97 percent for ages.
• The Dao-Devil War begins, catching Rahula off guard. He rushes into battle with the Black Lotus of Destruction and the Black Fiend Spear—a top-grade treasure he acquired by killing Hongjun’s Evil Corpse.
• Rahula is formidable: he can fully wield the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation, while Hongjun and Yin-Yang Ancestor cannot fully refine their Innate Supreme Treasures. Still, Rahula remains weaker than Hongjun overall, and the other major powers have joined the conflict for their own reasons.

Character developments and interactions

• Rahula is frustrated to be dragged into trouble again. He has added the Black Fiend Spear to his arsenal and, though it is not ideally suited to him, values its killing power. His encounter with the weapon also reminds Hongjun of the cost of testing Rahula’s sword formation.
• Hongjun is willing to sacrifice his Evil Corpse’s treasure to learn the formation’s strength. He would prefer not to fight Rahula, but feels compelled to do so.
• Yang Mei acts against his usual caution because the Jade Plate may help him overcome a long-standing limit in his cultivation.
• Qiankun Ancestor, Yin-Yang Ancestor, and Yang Mei are drawn into the conflict by the prospect of obtaining the Jade Plate and advancing their Dao, despite the danger Rahula poses.

Significant themes

• Cultivation requires opportunity, not just time: Immortality does not guarantee progress, and great breakthroughs may depend on rare chances.
• Intermediate stages and secret methods: The Quasi-Sage realm and Three Corpses Unification are presented as aids to a difficult breakthrough, rather than ultimate achievements.
• Power has limits and trade-offs: Rahula’s killing formation is exceptionally dangerous, but not equivalent to a fully controlled Innate Supreme Treasure; Hongjun and Yin-Yang Ancestor possess stronger treasures they cannot yet wield completely.
• Ambition and necessity: Even cautious figures accept dangerous conflicts when the potential reward is significant enough.

Plot and key events

• Rahula is stunned to see Hongjun arrive with Yin-Yang Ancestor, Qiankun Ancestor, and Yang Mei. He suspects they know how to counter his Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation, possibly because Hongjun learned its secrets from a mysterious black-robed Daoist.
• With no prospect of talking his way out, Rahula activates the formation as soon as the four enter it.
• The attackers prepare their defenses: Hongjun uses the Pangu Banner, Yin-Yang Ancestor relies on his Innate Supreme Treasure, and Yang Mei uses spatial power to divert sword qi into the Endless Void. Their measures buy time but do not solve the problem.
• To defeat the formation, all four must break its gates simultaneously. Hongjun, Yang Mei, and Yin-Yang Ancestor can handle theirs, but Qiankun Ancestor struggles under Rahula’s attack.
• Rahula targets Qiankun, whom he dismisses as the group’s weak link. A streak of sword qi pierces the Qiankun Diagram’s defenses and strikes him, leaving him terrified and disrupting the plan.

Character developments and interactions

• Rahula is wary of the group but overconfident about Qiankun. He reads the situation quickly, then uses the formation to exploit what he sees as the weakest opponent.
• Hongjun appears determined to defeat Rahula and comes prepared with the Pangu Banner. Rahula resents him, believing Hongjun’s gossip helped isolate him and drive him to the Western Continent.
• Qiankun Ancestor discovers that his confidence in his treasures is misplaced: neither is well suited to defense against the formation’s immense killing power.
• Yang Mei demonstrates formidable spatial abilities, though his defense can only delay the sword qi. Yin-Yang Ancestor’s Supreme Treasure likewise offers protection while the others seek a way to break the formation.

Significant themes

• Underestimating others has consequences: Rahula’s contempt for Qiankun shapes his strategy, while Qiankun’s overconfidence in his treasures leaves him vulnerable.
• Preparation and teamwork: The formation can only be broken by four people acting at once, making Qiankun’s difficulty a threat to everyone.
• Resentment and perceived injustice: Rahula sees himself as the wronged party in his conflict with Hongjun, while Hongjun’s reasons for attacking remain unclear.

Key plot points and events

• Rahula’s Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation proves devastating: its sword energy can overwhelm anyone who lacks either an Innate Supreme Treasure, a complete Great Dao, or a way to evade it.
• Hongjun and Yin-Yang Ancestor can withstand the sword energy with their Innate Supreme Treasures. Yang Mei, lacking such a treasure, uses his command of space to banish the formation into layers of the Endless Void, delaying its attacks.
• Qiankun Ancestor has neither comparable protection nor sufficiently deep mastery of his Great Dao. A first strike gravely wounds his body, Primordial Spirit, and Dao.
• Though he raises the Qiankun Diagram and Qiankun Cauldron for defense, repeated sword strikes pierce both treasures and annihilate him. He dies completely, beyond reincarnation, making him the first casualty among the four.

Character developments and interactions

• Qiankun Ancestor shifts from a powerful participant in Hongjun’s plan to its fatal weak link. He realizes too late how dangerous the formation is and inwardly blames Hongjun for bringing him into the fight.
• Hongjun recognizes that he underestimated the formation. Qiankun’s sudden death leaves him shocked and grieving—not primarily from personal closeness, but because the group has lost a key ally needed to break the formation. He had intended to send his Three Corpses to help but never had time.
• Rahula sees Qiankun as the easiest target and correctly identifies him as the decisive weakness in the group.
• Yang Mei demonstrates ingenuity and exceptional spatial mastery, while Yin-Yang Ancestor’s treasure gives him a defensive advantage.

Significant themes

• Preparation and capability matter: Rank and reputation cannot make up for lacking the right defenses against overwhelming power.
• The danger of underestimating an opponent: Qiankun’s initial misjudgment of the formation leaves him unable to recover.
• Strength takes different forms: Treasures protect Hongjun and Yin-Yang; Yang Mei survives through technique and comprehension; Qiankun has neither sufficient mastery nor adequate protection.
• The cost of a weak link: Qiankun’s fall turns Hongjun’s plan into a more difficult and precarious struggle.

Plot points and events

• With Qiankun dead, Hongjun still needs a fourth person to hold the formation gate. He sends his Evil Corpse there, protected by the Pangu Banner, while keeping his other two corpses in reserve.
• The Evil Corpse finds no trace of Qiankun’s remains or treasures. Rahula has already taken the Qiankun Diagram and Qiankun Cauldron, both of which can recover from the sword formation’s damage.
• Rahula is struck by Hongjun’s Jade Plate of Creation fragment. He had searched for it himself and, overcome by envy and greed, decides it should be his.
• Rahula intensifies the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation. The sword qi surges from a handful to hundreds of torrents, putting Hongjun’s allies under extreme pressure.
• Yang Mei warns Hongjun that he may have to flee if he cannot hold out. Yin-Yang, relying on the Taiji Diagram, is also struggling as it trembles under the repeated attacks.

Character developments and interactions

• Hongjun uses his Evil Corpse and the Pangu Banner to maintain the formation’s four-person requirement, while preserving his remaining forces.
• Rahula shifts from fighting Hongjun to coveting the Jade Plate of Creation, rationalizing his intended theft by claiming it belongs to the “virtuous.”
• Yang Mei recognizes the limits of his spatial abilities and openly tells Hongjun he may retreat rather than face certain defeat.
• Yin-Yang loses confidence in his ability to withstand the formation. His earlier faith in the Taiji Diagram gives way to fear as he struggles to control a treasure he has not fully refined.
• Rahula’s display of power forces Hongjun, Yang Mei, and Yin-Yang to confront how overwhelming the formation has become.

Significant themes

• Greed and self-justification: Rahula turns envy of the Jade Plate into a claim that he deserves it.
• The limits of power: Even powerful treasures and advanced Dao abilities cannot guarantee safety against the formation’s relentless sword qi.
• Risk and survival: Yang Mei and Yin-Yang must weigh loyalty and resistance against the need to escape.
• Treasure and vulnerability: The Pangu Banner and Taiji Diagram offer protection, but their effectiveness depends on the wielder and the scale of the threat.

Key plot points and events

• Rahula’s Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation overwhelms the defenders with hundreds of sword-qi strikes, but still cannot break through true Innate Supreme Treasures. Its power nearly reaches that level, yet remains slightly inferior.
• Hongjun’s Evil Corpse has taken Qiankun Ancestor’s former place, but even four top-tier experts—the minimum needed to challenge the formation—would not make breaking it easy.
• Rahula has enhanced the formation by linking it to Mount Sumeru and the Western Continent’s Ancestral Vein. This boosts its power and makes an assault costly: damaging the vein would bring immense karmic consequences upon the attacker, as well as Rahula.
• The formation diagram remains essential to the complete formation. Rahula has found a way to retain it while also drawing on the Ancestral Vein.
• The formation’s components are not Innate Supreme Treasures: its diagram is a top-grade innate spiritual treasure, and its four swords are Acquired Supreme Treasures. Their accumulated killing aura and Blood Fiend Aura give them extraordinary force, but the formation still has a limit.
• Rahula recognizes that the formation can release several hundred sword-qi strikes from each position at once. That is enough to destroy even top-grade innate spiritual treasures, though not to overcome Innate Supreme Treasures.

Character developments and interactions

• Rahula’s caution and strategic thinking are emphasized. After learning from the Phoenix Clan’s use of an Ancestral Vein as a formation base, he adapted the idea to Mount Sumeru, where he is safest.
• Hongjun is portrayed as increasingly pressed for time: Rahula rarely leaves Mount Sumeru, leaving Hongjun little opportunity to confront him elsewhere.
• Hongjun and the Yin-Yang Ancestor rely on their Innate Supreme Treasures to survive the barrage, though neither has fully refined theirs. Yang Mei’s mastery of the Space Great Dao is also judged insufficient against a truly complete Great Dao.
• The Phoenix Clan serves as a precedent for accepting the karmic risk of using an Ancestral Vein in defense.
• Qiankun Ancestor’s swift death illustrates the danger of facing the formation without protection on the level of an Innate Supreme Treasure.

Significant themes

• Quality versus quantity: Hundreds of powerful attacks cannot necessarily overcome the superior nature of an Innate Supreme Treasure.
• Power and its limits: The formation is devastating, but its components and structure prevent it from equaling a true supreme treasure.
• Strategic cost and responsibility: Using an Ancestral Vein strengthens a formation while tying its defenders and attackers to serious karmic consequences.
• Caution and home-ground advantage: Rahula’s secrecy and control of Mount Sumeru turn the confrontation into a dangerous challenge for his opponents.

Key plot points and events

• Rahula’s Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation traps Hongjun, Yang Mei, and Yin-Yang Ancestor around Mount Sumeru. It draws on the Western Continent’s earth veins, allowing its sword qi to grow far beyond its original strength and seemingly inexhaustible supply.
• Yang Mei struggles against the sword qi despite his mastery of space, showing that exceptional technique cannot overcome overwhelming force.
• Yin-Yang Ancestor is identified as the formation’s weakest target. Though he has the Taiji Diagram, an Innate Supreme Treasure, his lower cultivation makes it costly to wield.
• He cannot safely put the treasure away, but continuing to use it is draining his Essence, Qi, and Spirit and threatening to injure his Dao. He tells Hongjun he can barely hold on.
• Hongjun is unable to help: his two treasures cannot solve the problem, and sending his other selves into the formation would only expose them to danger.
• Rahula chooses to focus the formation’s power on Yin-Yang Ancestor, judging him easier to defeat than the mysterious Yang Mei. The sword qi aimed at him swells from hundreds of streams to more than ten thousand.

Character developments and interactions

• Yin-Yang Ancestor shifts from confidence in the Taiji Diagram to helplessness as its power drains him. He becomes the formation’s immediate target.
• Rahula demonstrates tactical judgment: wary of Yang Mei, he attacks the opponent he considers more vulnerable, treating Yin-Yang Ancestor as the “soft persimmon.”
• Yang Mei remains formidable but strained, barely holding out without an Innate Supreme Treasure.
• Hongjun recognizes his allies’ danger but is constrained by the formation and his limited options. His frustration underscores the group’s predicament.
• Yin-Yang Ancestor directly informs Hongjun of his limits, while Hongjun privately feels let down by both him and Yang Mei.

Significant themes

• Power versus technique: Mastery of a Great Dao cannot always counter sheer force.
• The cost of power: Using an Innate Supreme Treasure without sufficient cultivation can damage the wielder’s very Dao.
• Strategy and vulnerability: Rahula exploits differences in strength and knowledge, targeting the opponent he believes easiest to break.
• Hidden sources of power: The earth veins transform the formation into a far more dangerous weapon than its opponents realize.

Key plot points

• The Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation intensifies, surrounding Yin-Yang Ancestor with more than ten thousand streams of sword qi.
• The Endless Void around Mount Sumeru is also filled with sword qi, leaving Yang Mei unable to escape through space. Breaking the formation is the only way out.
• Hongjun and Yang Mei study the formation’s workings. Hongjun’s supreme treasure lets him focus on observation, while Yang Mei must fend off the attacks as he searches for a weakness.
• Yin-Yang Ancestor’s Taiji Diagram holds back the assault, but sustaining it drains him severely. Realizing he is near death, he resolves to create an opening for the others.
• He detonates his life-bound Innate Yin-Yang Mirror and sacrifices his own body and Dao. The resulting shock briefly shakes the formation, giving Hongjun and Yang Mei a chance to act.

Character developments and interactions

• Yin-Yang Ancestor moves from fear and desperation to determined self-sacrifice, choosing to die rather than leave the others without an opportunity.
• Yang Mei is trapped despite his mastery of the Space Great Dao; his desire for the Jade Plate of Creation has helped lead him into this danger.
• Hongjun remains calculating and focused. He has been relying on his Three Corpses and his own observations, and is willing to accept the deaths of his companions if that means breaking the formation.
• Qiankun Ancestor, already killed, and Yin-Yang Ancestor are portrayed as liabilities in Hongjun’s plan—though neither Yang Mei nor Yin-Yang Ancestor knows how expendable Hongjun considers them.
• The three allies accepted the risk for the chance to comprehend the Great Dao and obtain the Jade Plate of Creation.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice for the Dao: Yin-Yang Ancestor gives up his life and spiritual path to create a chance for others.
• Ambition and risk: The pursuit of enlightenment and the Jade Plate of Creation drives the group to gamble with their lives.
• Self-interest beneath cooperation: Hongjun’s apparent alliance masks a plan that treats his companions as expendable.
• The limits of power: Even powerful treasures and mastery of the Space Great Dao cannot overcome an overwhelming formation without a weakness to exploit.