Chapter Summaries

Xie Xuanyi learned that Great Sage Bai Ze had reached the True Immortal Realm and left his Primal Devour Sacred Realm and lifetime inheritance within the Dao Stele. Xuan Ming revealed that Xie Xuanyi could claim it only by defeating him, then unleashed strange phenomena as he removed his blindfold.

• Xuan Ming explained that the Primal Devour Grotto-Heaven was nearly a Sacred Realm and that Bai Ze had attained the True Immortal Realm before falling in his tribulation.
• Xuan Ming told Xie Xuanyi that Bai Ze had left the grotto-heaven and Dao Stele for a destined person, while three of his four disciples' divine senses had withered away during their thousand-year wait.
• Xuan Ming explained that previous entrants had failed to refine the Dao Stele and that Xie Xuanyi had a slim chance of claiming Bai Ze's inheritance.
• Xuan Ming revealed that refining the Dao Stele would make Xie Xuanyi master of the secret mausoleum and the Primal Devour Sacred Realm.
• Xuan Ming removed the black silk ribbon from his closed eyes and told Xie Xuanyi to defeat him to become the Dao Stele's master.

Xie Xuanyi accepted Xuan Ming’s challenge for control of the Dao stele, knowing defeat would cost him access to the Primal Devour Grotto-Heaven. After recovering and asking about previous challengers, he faced Xuan Ming’s overwhelming demon-eye visions and declared the battle begun.

• Xuan Ming offered to suppress his realm to match Xie Xuanyi and explained that losing would revoke Xie Xuanyi’s authority over the Dao stele and access to the Primal Devour Grotto-Heaven.
• Xie Xuanyi sat to recover and digest the Dao of Annihilation intent while Xuan Ming meditated.
• Xie Xuanyi rose before half an incense stick had passed, asked whether others had entered and lost, and then drew Chronic Ailment.
• Xuan Ming opened his golden demon eyes, unleashing visions that shook Xie Xuanyi’s Heart Lake and filled the Sacred Realm with overwhelming black-sun, wind, thunder, and Dao-rain phenomena.
• Xuan Ming asked whether Xie Xuanyi was ready, and Xie Xuanyi answered, “Battle!”

Xie Xuanyi endured Xuan Ming’s overwhelming Eye Sea using the Immortal Spring, but neither fighter defeated the other. Xuan Ming admitted his remnant consciousness was nearing its limit and recognized that Xie Xuanyi wielded both the Dao of Annihilation and the Dao of Life.

• Xuan Ming attacked Xie Xuanyi with golden eye-light, damaging his Martial Dao Divine Embryo and extinguishing half the primordial fire in his major apertures.
• Xie Xuanyi used the Immortal Spring to heal and hold back Xuan Ming’s Eye Sea while evolving the Dao of Annihilation, though the Dao’s development stalled at the Principle of Life.
• Xuan Ming stopped the battle because his strongest attacks had failed to defeat Xie Xuanyi, and Xie Xuanyi had not defeated him either.
• Xie Xuanyi accepted that Xuan Ming would decide whether he could refine the Dao Stele, then pointed out that few future challengers might reach the mausoleum in time.
• Xuan Ming confirmed that his consciousness was near its limit after waiting a thousand years for an heir, and said Xie Xuanyi had displayed both the Dao of Annihilation and the Dao of Life.

Xie Xuanyi refined the Sacred Realm Core and became master of the Primal Devour Sacred Realm, while Xuan Ming explained its upkeep and Great Sage Bai Ze’s failed attempt to use it against Heavenly Dao. Xuan Ming revealed that the survivors had hidden from the mysterious calamity a thousand years ago, which he compared to fire burning wild grass.

• Xie Xuanyi told Xuan Ming that he had cultivated the Principles of Life and Annihilation across two lifetimes, and Xuan Ming praised his rare talent.
• Xuan Ming explained that the Primal Devour Sacred Realm would dissolve when his lingering consciousness died, then gave Xie Xuanyi its Dao Stele core.
• Xie Xuanyi refined the Sacred Realm Core and gained control of the sacred realm, including the secret mausoleum around it.
• Xuan Ming warned that maintaining the vast sacred realm required immense primordial energy, but said Xie Xuanyi’s Immortal Spring Eye could help sustain it.
• Xuan Ming explained that Great Sage Bai Ze had created the sacred realm to resist Heavenly Dao, but had fallen during the calamity a thousand years earlier.
• Xuan Ming said he did not know the calamity’s cause and compared its destruction to fire burning overgrown wild grass.

Xie Xuanyi discovered that the Immortal Spring Eye and the Immortality Tree could gradually revive the Primal Devour Sacred Realm, then learned that Lu Yuzhen had challenged its guardians centuries ago. Xie Xuanyi suspected Lu Yuzhen was the Great Dao Brush in human form, but Xuan Ming revealed that the Brush had shattered before the great calamity.

• Xie Xuanyi used the Immortal Spring Eye to awaken a new branch on the Immortality Tree, and Xuan Ming explained how the tree and spring could restore the Sacred Realm together.
• Xuan Ming told Xie Xuanyi that Lu Yuzhen had challenged the Sacred Realm five or six hundred years earlier, defeated its other guardians, and then lost to Xuan Ming.
• Xie Xuanyi connected Lu Yuzhen to the Great Dao Brush and described the Paper Effigy Dao, Pure White Mountain, and the Northern Sea Mausoleum to Xuan Ming.
• Xuan Ming suggested that Lu Yuzhen’s unusual history might involve the Dao of Time, and Xie Xuanyi recalled Lu Yuzhen’s reaction to Qing Li’s death during Emperor Qi’s battle.
• Xie Xuanyi proposed that Lu Yuzhen was the Great Dao Brush in human form, but Xuan Ming said the Brush had broken in two before the great calamity.

Xie Xuanyi became master of the Primal Devour Sacred Realm and received its inheritances from Xuan Ming, who explained the Primal Devour Art’s four scrolls and their costs. After weighing his options, Xie Xuanyi chose to cultivate the Devouring Dao Scroll to help perfect his Principle of Life.

• Xuan Ming made Xie Xuanyi master of the Primal Devour Sacred Realm and gave him a bamboo slip containing its inheritances.
• Xuan Ming explained that the Primal Devour Art had four scrolls—Devour Origin, Devouring Dao, Devour Qi, and Devour Soul—and warned that each came with drawbacks.
• Xuan Ming revealed that the Devouring Dao Scroll let him preserve and wield Great Dao intents, but absorbing them had muddied his Chongming Dao and would eventually consume those intents.
• Xuan Ming gave Xie Xuanyi four azure slips containing the Primal Devour Arts and told him he could choose how to cultivate them.
• Xie Xuanyi considered the four scrolls, ruled out the others for now, and chose the Devouring Dao Scroll to help perfect his Principle of Life.

Xie Xuanyi mastered the Devouring Dao Scroll, refined the Primal Devour Sacred Realm, and subdued Smoky Evil’s avatar in the secret mausoleum. Qin Qianlian revealed that he had come to the imperial capital on his master’s orders to help end the Daoist sect’s growing infighting, and urged Xie Xuanyi to search Yansha’s soul for information.

• Xie Xuanyi absorbed the Devouring Dao Scroll and learned that it helped cultivators sense the Great Dao rather than simply plunder it.
• Xuan Ming praised Xie Xuanyi’s character, called him the master of the Primal Devour Sacred Realm, and promised to support him as his senior brother.
• Xie Xuanyi emerged as the Sacred Realm’s master, suppressed Smoky Evil’s avatar, and gathered the treasures exposed when the mausoleum’s second-level maze collapsed.
• Xie Xuanyi gave Qin Qianlian a Vajra Fruit, and Qin Qianlian explained that he had left Longevity Hall to confront corruption in the Qin Household.
• Qin Qianlian revealed that he had brought Tang Fengshu to the imperial city on his master’s orders to restore order to the Daoist sect.
• Qin Qianlian asked Xie Xuanyi to search Yansha’s soul, while the Sacred Realm’s suppression prevented Yansha from resisting or self-destructing.

After absorbing Bai Ze Secret Mausoleum into the Primal Devour Sacred Realm, Xie Xuanyi emerged with Qin Qianlian and reunited with the survivors. Ancestor Ye sent everyone to safety through a gateway to Hundred Flowers Valley, leaving Xie Xuanyi behind to face Pure White Mountain and giving him the lost Burning Flowers sword move.

• The cultivators waited in Ancestor Ye's formation because Pure White Mountain's Yin Spirit Revered Ones might be guarding the Southern Borderlands' exit, while Xie Xuanyi was believed to be recovering from his wounds.
• A pillar of annihilation Dao intent rose from the Earth Abyss, and Xie Xuanyi emerged with Qin Qianlian after absorbing the secret mausoleum into the Primal Devour Sacred Realm.
• Ancestor Ye urged Xie Xuanyi to settle accounts with Pure White Mountain and gave him a red leaf bearing a Great Dao oath to conceal his movements for one day.
• Ancestor Ye opened a gateway to his Hundred Flowers Valley grotto-heaven and led the gathered cultivators out of the Southern Borderlands, leaving Xie Xuanyi behind.
• Xie Xuanyi read the sword intent in the final red leaf and learned Hundred Flowers Valley's unrevealed Burning Flowers sword move.

As the Paper Effigy Dao prepared to close the White Paper Grotto-Heaven and abandon Yin Mountain, Xie Xuanyi rushed to Pure White Mountain and attacked the formation. He damaged the barrier and struck down Mirror Three, but Lu Yuzhen still refused to appear.

• Mirror Three began closing the White Paper Grotto-Heaven as the Heavenly Puppet Sect and Joyous Union Sect confirmed they were ready to be taken inside.
• Red Immortal and Qing Xiao discovered that the two sect gates had vanished and found White Wraith dead in the shattered spirit tablet hall.
• Xie Xuanyi arrived at Pure White Mountain and broke through the paper-snow waterfall, badly damaging the barrier despite Mirror Three and five Immaculate Revered Ones trying to stop him.
• Xie Xuanyi called for Lu Yuzhen, then struck Mirror Three again and cracked the Profound Mirror, shattering one of Mirror Three's arms.
• Xie Xuanyi threatened to slaughter the Paper Effigy Dao if Lu Yuzhen did not come out, while Lu Yuzhen remained hidden.

Xie Xuanyi tested the Devouring Dao Scroll against White Daoist and Unity Zen Master, absorbing and wielding a corpse puppet’s Blood Dao law before defeating their combined attack. He killed Unity Zen Master and began extracting the pseudo-saint’s Great Dao as White Daoist remained alive.

• Xie Xuanyi discovered that Lu Yuzhen and Paper Daoist were absent from Pure White Mountain as White Daoist joined Unity Zen Master against him.
• Xie Xuanyi used Primal Devour on Qiu Kou’s corpse puppet, read fragments of its memories, and absorbed its Blood Dao law.
• Xie Xuanyi released the Blood Dao law to break through the puppet tide, forcing White Daoist to withdraw his corpse puppets.
• Unity Zen Master shattered a pure vase to attack Xie Xuanyi’s soul, but the Primal Devour Sacred Realm blocked the strike.
• White Daoist’s crimson guillotine missed as Xie Xuanyi dodged and struck Unity Zen Master down with the Golden Sword.
• Xie Xuanyi activated the Devouring Dao Scroll and began extracting a Great Dao from Unity Zen Master’s corpse.

Xie Xuanyi killed Unity Zen Master and overwhelmed White Daoist with Flower Burning, then entered Pure White Mountain and found a message from the absent Lu Yuzhen. Lu Yuzhen congratulated him on his advancement and revealed a golden pearl as a gift.

• Xie Xuanyi killed Unity Zen Master, extracted his Black Bodhisattva Dao Domain, and detonated it to blast White Daoist away.
• Xie Xuanyi severed White Daoist’s arm with Chronic Ailment and unleashed Flower Burning, ravaging the two sects while Immortal Spring vapor healed his backlash.
• Xie Xuanyi entered Pure White Mountain and found Chu Man waiting; she guided him toward Lu Yuzhen’s hidden grotto-dwelling.
• Chu Man’s White Paper Avatar dispersed, and Lu Yuzhen’s remnant image greeted Xie Xuanyi and explained that he was too weak to meet him in person.
• Lu Yuzhen reached into a blazing bronze furnace and presented a glittering golden pearl as a gift for Xie Xuanyi.

Xie Xuanyi discovered that Lu Yuzhen held his Fetal Light and escaped the collapsing Pure White Mountain realm after the Paper Effigy Dao withdrew. He then attacked Yin Mountain alone, forcing Red Immortal and Qing Xiao to summon the Myriad Souls Formation as he prepared to defeat them.

• Lu Yuzhen revealed that he had Xie Xuanyi's Fetal Light and promised to keep it safe, while Pure White Mountain began to collapse.
• Xie Xuanyi emerged from Pure White Mountain as its realm evaporated, then turned his attention to the remaining mountain gate in the Southern Borderlands.
• Xie Xuanyi attacked Yin Mountain, killing its cultivators with Chronic Ailment and the Intent of Annihilation Dao.
• Red Immortal and Qing Xiao recognized Xie Xuanyi and ordered Yin Mountain's disciples to form the Myriad Souls Formation.
• Xie Xuanyi recalled being trapped by the same formation ten years earlier and declared that he would send Red Immortal and Qing Xiao on their way.

Chen Jingxuan watched Great Chu’s treasure ship depart, then told Jiang Qihu he was leaving the imperial capital to resolve trouble involving Tang Zhaizhu at the Daoist Sect. He left Jiang Qihu behind with a warning to hold onto his position, and promised they would meet again.

• Chen Jingxuan watched the treasure ship depart early and regretted missing the chance to see Xie before it left.
• Chen Jingxuan urged Jiang Qihu to protect his position as Chief of the Imperial City Bureau, even if he temporarily lost it.
• Chen Jingxuan told Jiang Qihu he was leaving the imperial capital to resolve Tang Zhaizhu’s trouble and planned to visit the Daoist Sect.
• Jiang Qihu offered to accompany Chen Jingxuan and threatened to bring the Imperial City Bureau’s iron cavalry, then realized doing so could cause trouble for Chen Jingxuan and the Jiang Clan.
• Chen Jingxuan pinned Jiang Qihu in place with a touch, told him to stay in the capital, and promised they would meet again.

Perfected Person Xuanzhi left Qingnang Mountain after entrusting Su Ye with her chores and the hoe she had used to kill great demons. Old Ox guessed she was going to fight someone she could not defeat alone, and tried to persuade Su Ye to free him.

• Perfected Person Xuanzhi told Su Ye to water the medicinal fields, feed the spirit chickens, and keep Old Ox tied up while she was away.
• Xuanzhi changed into a spotless Daoist robe, gave Su Ye her hoe, bound Old Ox with the Demon Binding Rope, and departed.
• Su Ye asked Old Ox where Xuanzhi had gone, and Old Ox guessed she had gone to fight someone.
• Old Ox warned Su Ye that Xuanzhi could not beat her opponent alone and asked him to untie the rope.

Perfected Person Xuanzhi went to the Back Mountain to confront Grand Master Chongkan about the threat to Qingnang Mountain. After Candle Daoist and Yǎn Wēi let her pass, Yǎn Wēi challenged her to explain her cultivation, and she credited her ordinary farm work.

• Perfected Person Xuanzhi reached the Back Mountain, where Candle Daoist tried to turn her away and urged her to leave Qingnang Mountain’s fate to the Daoist sect’s plans.
• Xuanzhi struck Candle Daoist down, then sent him tumbling down the mountain steps after telling him his duty was done.
• Xuanzhi asked Yǎn Wēi whether he would stop her, and he allowed her to pass as long as she did not enter the Celestial Origin.
• Yǎn Wēi stopped Xuanzhi near the top of the stairs and asked how she had advanced so far, and she described her daily work farming and tending animals.

Perfected Person Xuanzhi confronted Grand Master Chongkan over the Daoist sect’s fortune and accused him of sending it to the Great Chu Imperial City to aid the Demon Empress. When Chongkan ordered her to leave, Xuanzhi refused, and his towering Dharma form reached toward her.

• Yǎn Wēi Zhenren warned Perfected Person Xuanzhi to watch her words and conduct when she met her master.
• Perfected Person Xuanzhi told Grand Master Chongkan that Qingnang Mountain’s spirit-field rice had stopped growing and asked where the Daoist sect’s accumulated fortune had gone.
• Xuanzhi accused Chongkan of sending the Daoist sect’s fortune to the Great Chu Imperial City to help the Demon Empress gather qi and gamble with Great Chu’s national fortune.
• Chongkan rebuked Xuanzhi, declared the use of the Daoist sect’s fortune none of her concern, and ordered her to go back.
• Xuanzhi refused to leave and told Chongkan that the Daoist sect was not his alone; his Dharma form extended a hand toward her.

Perfected Person Xuanzhi shattered his jade hairpin and unleashed the cultivation he had quietly built over a century, proving the Dao and ascending to the Yang Spirit Realm. He defeated Grand Master Chongkan’s attack and reached the realm’s sixth level, leaving Chongkan stunned.

• Grand Master Chongkan’s enormous palm descended on Perfected Person Xuanzhi, and the jade hairpin Chong Kan had made for him shattered.
• Candle Daoist and Yǎn Wēi Zhenren sensed the anomaly from outside the Back Mountain formation and realized Xuanzhi was proving the Dao.
• Xuanzhi’s Great Dao, formed long ago without karma, erupted as he resisted Chongkan’s palm and swept away the tribulation clouds.
• Xuanzhi broke through to the Yang Spirit Realm and was recognized as Grand Master Xuanzhi.
• Xuanzhi broke through six levels of the Yang Spirit Realm before his aura finally slowed, while Chongkan watched in astonishment.

Perfected Person Xuanzhi broke through to the sixth level of the Yang Spirit realm and fought Grand Master Chongkan to save Qingnang Mountain and the Dao Sect. After Xuanzhi explained that he had cultivated only a mountain full of flowers and grass, Chongkan saw his long-lost senior brother in him.

• Perfected Person Xuanzhi refused Chongkan’s offer to stop fighting in exchange for becoming the Dao Sect’s second-ranking leader, saying he wanted things to return to how they were.
• Chongkan attacked with the full force of his Dao Domain, and Xuanzhi countered with a punch embodying the Dao he had cultivated for a hundred years.
• Candle Daoist and Yǎn Wēi Zhenren watched the clash from halfway up Back Mountain and wondered what Dao Xuanzhi had comprehended.
• Chongkan’s palm cracked and bled, while Xuanzhi was driven back and injured by the exchange.
• Chongkan asked Xuanzhi what Dao he had comprehended, and Xuanzhi explained that he had become one with Qingnang Mountain and wanted to save it from withering.
• Chongkan looked at Xuanzhi and saw his former senior brother in him.

Grand Master Chongkan unleashed the Dao Sect’s supreme One Breath Transforms into Three Purities against Perfected Person Xuanzhi, overwhelming her with his Myriad Manifestations Dao. As Xuanzhi prepared one last resistance, someone and an Old Ox arrived to help her.

• Chong Kan recalled losing to Master Xiaoyao a hundred years earlier and asking what Dao his senior brother cultivated.
• Grand Master Chongkan summoned three Dharma manifestations with One Breath Transforms into Three Purities, drawing on the Dao Sect’s accumulated fortune and teachings.
• Xuanzhi resisted the Earth Persona’s horsetail-whisk attack with more than ten thousand punches but was battered and exhausted.
• Xuanzhi regretted that her hoe, grass rope, and Old Ox were not with her on the Back Mountain.
• Someone shouted that they had come to help Xuanzhi, and a powerful moo followed.

Su Ye and Green Ox arrived at the Back Mountain carrying Qingnang Mountain to support Perfected Person Xuanzhi's challenge against Grand Master Chongkan. Qingnang Mountain disrupted Chongkan's Dao Domain, and Chongkan discovered that Green Ox had secretly reached the Yang Spirit Realm.

• Green Ox carried Qingnang Mountain into the Back Mountain, shattered Yǎn Wēi Zhenren's cauldron, and knocked him away before crushing Candle Daoist's defenses.
• Green Ox's arrival broke apart the Earth Lattice Dharma Form's silver threads and hindered Chongkan's Myriad Manifestations Dao Domain.
• Su Ye climbed down from Green Ox with a demon-binding rope and iron hoe, telling Perfected Person Xuanzhi that he had come to help.
• Green Ox mocked Chongkan for using his overwhelming methods against his own disciple and noted that Qingnang Mountain had changed the balance of the battle.
• Chongkan sent a cloud-formed hand at Green Ox, who pierced it with his horns, revealing his Yang Spirit Realm cultivation.
• Chongkan praised Green Ox's hidden cultivation and remarked that following Xuanzhi had helped the old ox attain the Yang Spirit.