Chapter Summaries

Chen Qing learned from Master Qiku that he must travel to the Pure Land and seek Jingming for the next Dragon Elephant Prajna Vajra Body method, then set out west. After detecting a pursuer in Huayun Path, he ambushed the woman and wounded her with the Jingzhe Spear.

• Chen Qing visited Master Qiku, who directed him to seek Jingming at Great Sumeru Temple and entrusted him with a golden bead to sink in Thousand Lotus Lake if he had the chance.
• Chen Qing told Hua Yunfeng about his journey and upcoming battle with Nan Zhuoran, received back the gray sword, and learned Hua Yunfeng planned to investigate the northern border alone.
• Chen Qing departed True Martial Peak on the Golden Feather Eagle and traveled northwest toward the Pure Land.
• After sensing someone following him through Huayun Path, Chen Qing hid in a forest clearing and waited for the pursuer to approach.
• Chen Qing struck the woman riding a Black Feather Vulture with the Jingzhe Spear, wounded her shoulder, and recognized her as someone he knew.

Chen Qing and Qi Yu agreed to travel together toward the Great Sumeru Temple, where each sought a different Buddhist sacred site. After crossing into the Western Desert and learning of old tensions between the Buddhist Kingdom and Yan Kingdom, they stopped at an abandoned beacon tower, where they sensed a distant battle involving Great Snow Mountain practitioners.

• Chen Qing struck Qi Yu when she approached, but she recovered and explained that they were traveling toward the Pure Land for separate reasons.
• Qi Yu persuaded Chen Qing to travel with her to the Great Sumeru Temple, and he agreed on the conditions that they act independently and she conceal her identity in the Buddhist Kingdom.
• While flying west, Qi Yu explained the Buddhist Kingdom's sects, the guarded Vajra Pavilion, and the Buddhist higher-ups' distrust of Yan Kingdom because of an old betrayal.
• Chen Qing noticed a disguised group of elite Jingwu Guard members traveling in a caravan, but he and Qi Yu continued without confronting them.
• Chen Qing and Qi Yu rested overnight at an abandoned beacon tower, where Qi Yu revealed she planned to use the Eight Treasures Merit Pool to manage backlash from her cultivation.
• Around midnight, Chen Qing and Qi Yu sensed a distant fight bearing the icy aura of Great Snow Mountain methods.

Chen Qing and Qi Yu discovered Great Snow Mountain experts trying to seize Master Jingtai, a revered Lotus Sect monk, and Chen Qing intervened. Chen Qing killed Tie He in a rapid spear battle, leaving the remaining fighters to react to his arrival.

• Chen Qing and Qi Yu watched four Great Snow Mountain experts attack Master Jingtai and his two Martial Monk protectors.
• Qi Yu identified Jingtai as a highly respected Lotus Sect teacher, and she urged Chen Qing to rescue him for the favor and to strike at Great Snow Mountain.
• As Tie He moved to seize Jingtai, Chen Qing attacked from the dunes and wounded him with the Jingzhe Spear.
• Tie He countered with Netherworld Ice Flame and a storm of palm strikes, but Chen Qing broke through them with Thunder Edict: Army Breaker.
• Chen Qing pierced Tie He's throat with lightning, killing Xue Li's eldest disciple within a few breaths.

Chen Qing and Qi Yu rescued Master Jingtai from Great Snow Mountain’s attempt to abduct him, killing four of Xue Li’s disciples. After learning that Jingtai would try to help him obtain the later levels of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Vajra Body at Great Sumeru Temple, Chen Qing continued west with Qi Yu, carrying a map of Great Snow Mountain’s border bases.

• Chen Qing killed Tie He, while Qi Yu trapped the two fleeing Eight Refinements experts in Black Fiend Qi and their Concentric Demons.
• Chen Qing intercepted Han Shan, shattered his attacks, trapped his escape with the Twenty-Eight Mansions Thunder Edict, and killed him with his spear.
• Chen Qing joined Qi Yu in killing the two remaining Great Snow Mountain experts, and Qi Yu drained the four corpses’ Essence Blood and True Essence.
• Master Jingtai thanked Chen Qing for saving him, recognized him as Luo Zhixian’s Closed-Door Disciple, and explained that Great Snow Mountain had tried to use Jingtai’s influence to obstruct an alliance between Yan Kingdom and the Buddhist Kingdom.
• Chen Qing asked for the later levels of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Vajra Body, and Master Jingtai warned that obtaining them would be difficult but promised to speak on Chen Qing’s behalf at Great Sumeru Temple.
• Qi Yu shared Cold Marrow Pills, a Great Snow Mountain Elder Token, and a map of its Western Regions bases with Chen Qing, and the two departed west on their spirit birds.

Xue Li learned that Tie He and Han Shan had been killed and weighed how to investigate without provoking the Buddhist sects. Chen Qing and Qi Yu reached Great Sumeru Temple during a major Buddhist conference, where Jingming refused to teach Chen Qing the Dragon Elephant Prajna Vajra Body’s later levels but revealed another way to obtain them: challenge the Vajra Platform.

• Xue Li sensed that Tie He and Han Shan had died and considered the danger their deaths posed to Great Snow Mountain’s plans.
• Chen Qing and Qi Yu arrived in Sumeru City, learned that the Wuzhe Conference had drawn monks from across the Buddhist Kingdom, and continued toward Great Sumeru Temple.
• Qi Yu entered the temple to meet Master Pushan, while Chen Qing presented Qiku’s Guangmu Vajra Seal and was admitted to see Jingming.
• Chen Qing asked Jingming for the Dragon Elephant Prajna Vajra Body’s later levels, but Jingming warned that an outsider risked losing control without Buddhist teachings and refused to share the temple’s core inheritance.
• Jingming explained that the two ways to learn the complete art were to become a Buddha’s Child or challenge the Vajra Platform.

Chen Qing secured permission to challenge Great Sumeru Temple’s Vajra Platform for the later stages of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Vajra Body, while Yan Kingdom’s Gu Chengzong weighed the trial’s political consequences. With the trial approaching, Chen Qing received secret guidance from Qi Yu and prepared for the eight tests.

• Jingming explained the Vajra Platform trial to Chen Qing, who agreed to attempt it and was settled in Qingtan Courtyard by Huizhen.
• Jingming persuaded the temple leaders to approve Chen Qing’s challenge, and they scheduled the Vajra Platform to open after the first day of the Wuzhe Conference’s Dharma assembly.
• Gu Mingyue told Gu Chengzong that Chen Qing would challenge the platform, and Gu Chengzong warned her that Jingkong might use Chen Qing’s likely failure as leverage in negotiations with Yan Kingdom.
• Huizhen informed Chen Qing of the trial date and its eight linked tests, while a messenger delivered him a booklet of detailed trial information from Qi Yu.
• Chen Qing spent the days before the Wuzhe Conference consolidating his cultivation and observing the temple as Buddhist leaders and Western Regions nobles gathered.

Chen Qing met Hui Ling, the Chan Sect’s Buddha Son, who revealed the Great Brahma Heavenly Thunder Spear and tied access to it to Chen Qing’s Vajra Platform trial. As the Wuzhe Conference opened, Huizhen led Chen Qing to Vajra Pavilion, where the trial was about to begin.

• Chen Qing watched Hui Ling expound the Heart Sutra in Bodhi Square and recognized his mastery of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Vajra Body.
• Hui Ling publicly identified Chen Qing and announced his plan to challenge Vajra Platform, then told him the Great Brahma Heavenly Thunder Spear was in the Scripture Pavilion and offered to show it to him if he came down from the platform.
• Chen Qing assessed Hui Ling’s words as a mixture of pressure and political goodwill, then set aside his concerns and focused on obtaining the Dragon Elephant Prajna Vajra Body’s next cultivation method.
• The Wuzhe Conference opened with a grand Dharma assembly at Spirit Vulture Mountain while Chen Qing meditated in Qingtan Courtyard.
• Huizhen came to escort Chen Qing to Vajra Pavilion, and Chen Qing collected his spear and belongings before following him to the stone platform, where a crowd had gathered.

Chen Qing challenged the Vajra Platform to obtain the next cultivation technique and passed its first two trials. He remained composed after overcoming a crushing mountain phantom and an Inner Demon Realm that turned his devotion to martial arts into the foundation of his Dao Heart.

• Jingkong thanked Chen Qing for helping Jingtai and warned him about the Vajra Platform's dangerous eight trials before allowing him to begin.
• Jingkong and Jingming activated the platform, and Chen Qing shattered the first trial's towering mountain phantom with one punch.
• Chen Qing entered the Inner Demon Realm, where illusions tempted him with power and inflamed his hatred and self-reproach.
• Chen Qing accepted his greed, anger, and obsession as parts of his martial path, causing the inner demons to fade and the second trial to end.
• Jingkong, Jingming, and the gathered spectators were astonished by how quickly and calmly Chen Qing passed the Inner Demon Realm.

Chen Qing defeated the eighteen Vajra Puppets in the third trial, then entered the Reincarnation Realm, where he endured repeated, realistic failures to break through to Grandmaster. As Gu Chengzong joined Princess Changle outside the platform, Chen Qing remained trapped in the trial, resisting its assault on his will.

• Chen Qing used his spear technique and physical strength to defeat the eighteen Vajra Puppets and break their combined formation.
• Master Jingkong praised Chen Qing's foundation, spear skill, and resolve but warned that the remaining trials would be more perilous.
• Chen Qing entered the fourth trial and repeatedly attempted to break through to Grandmaster, suffering a different failure in each cycle.
• Hui Tong explained that the Reincarnation Realm tested entrants by subjecting them to hundreds or thousands of realistic breakthrough failures to destroy their resolve.
• Gu Chengzong appeared beside Princess Changle as Chen Qing continued enduring the trial.

Chen Qing endured the Vajra Platform’s Reincarnation Realm, then unexpectedly comprehended the Buddhist supernatural skill Eight Dragon Sounds and passed the Mystical Dharma Realm. His success summoned the long-unseen Vajra manifestation for the sixth trial, which would determine whether he qualified as a Guardian Vajra.

• Chen Qing overcame the Reincarnation Realm’s illusions by trusting his perseverance and passed the fourth stage.
• As Chen Qing sat beneath the Bodhi tree, his [Heaven Rewards Diligence] Fate helped him comprehend Eight Dragon Sounds, producing Sanskrit chants and golden light that marked his passage through the fifth stage.
• The watching Buddhist masters and nobles reacted with shock, and Master Jingkong said Chen Qing had affinity with the Buddha.
• The eight stone pillars shook and summoned a thirty-zhang Vajra manifestation, beginning the sixth trial, the Wisdom King Realm.
• Gu Chengzong explained that passing the sixth trial would qualify Chen Qing for the title of Guardian Vajra and a chance to obtain the next Dragon Elephant Prajna Vajra Body cultivation method, while Qi Yu worried whether Chen Qing could withstand the trial.

Chen Qing fought the Vajra manifestation in the Vajra Platform’s Sixth Stage and defeated it by combining the Dragon Elephant Prajna Vajra Body, the Vast Whale Overturning Sea Technique, the Twenty-Eight Mansions Thunder Edict, and his Spear Intent. As the spectators recognized his achievement and potential, the Seventh Stage began to appear.

• Chen Qing discovered that the Sixth Stage allowed him to use True Essence, but the Vajra manifestation’s counterattack sent him flying and injured his arms.
• Chen Qing unleashed his full strength, used layered-wave force from the Vast Whale Overturning Sea Technique, and exchanged nearly a hundred blows with the manifestation while building his spear momentum.
• Chen Qing combined his martial arts and Spear Intent into a lightning-charged final thrust that pierced the Vajra manifestation’s head and broke the Sixth Stage.
• Master Jingkong recognized Chen Qing’s initial fusion of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Vajra Body and the Vast Whale Overturning Sea Technique, while Marquis Jingnan ordered a report sent to Jade Capital.
• Chen Qing prepared for the Seventh Stage as a doorway formed in the golden light and ancient chanting sounded from beyond it.

Chen Qing recited the ancient Sanskrit original of the Vajra Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra, broke the seventh trial, and encountered the Formless Buddha and the Buddhist Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasure. Though the eighth trial’s outcome remained unclear to the crowd, Master Jingkong granted Chen Qing the titular rank of Guardian Vajra and access to Buddhist inheritances.

• Patriarch Du'e asked Chen Qing what Buddha was, and Chen Qing answered by reciting the ancient Sanskrit original of the Vajra Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra.
• Chen Qing’s chanting awakened the Formless Buddha, and Patriarch Du'e bowed to him before vanishing and ending the seventh trial.
• Chen Qing entered the Golden Light Gate, received the Bodhi Responding Heart Chapter, and saw the Thirteen-Petal Pure World Lotus Platform enter his Sea of Consciousness.
• The gate vanished and the stone pillars cracked, leaving the observers uncertain whether Chen Qing had passed the eighth trial.
• Master Jingkong declared that Chen Qing had broken the seventh trial and granted him the titular rank of Guardian Vajra, with access to the Vajra Pavilion and Buddhist inheritances.

After earning the honorary title of Guardian Vajra, Chen Qing met Abbot Jingchen, obtained the remaining cultivation methods for the Dragon Elephant Prajna Vajra Body, and broke through to its eighth layer. He then set aside the mysterious golden bead entrusted by Qiku and went to meet Marquis Jingnan, Gu Chengzong, who had requested a private audience.

• Master Jingkong escorted Chen Qing to Dustless Courtyard, where Abbot Jingchen asked what he had seen in the final trial and examined his ancient Sanskrit scripture.
• Chen Qing concealed the Thirteen-Petal Pure World Lotus Platform and offered the scripture to Jingchen, who praised his contribution to the Buddhist Sect.
• Jingchen gave Chen Qing the methods for the eighth through twelfth layers of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Vajra Body and cautioned him against rushing his cultivation.
• Chen Qing returned to his quarters, found that his divine sense could not approach the lotus platform, and cultivated the eighth layer, transforming his bones, marrow, blood, sinews, and organs.
• Chen Qing considered Qiku's golden bead and its connection to Thousand Lotus Lake, then put it away rather than acting without understanding it.
• Huizhen informed Chen Qing that Marquis Jingnan, Gu Chengzong, was waiting to see him, and Chen Qing followed him to the reception hall.

Chen Qing agreed to help Marquis Jingnan Gu Chengzong promote an alliance between Yan Kingdom and the Buddhist Kingdom against the Night Clan, and learned that the Imperial Court could provide the Essence of Yang Earth he needed. Later, Elder Jingming revealed that Master Qiku had secretly cultivated a forbidden scripture and might be on the verge of choosing evil over good; Chen Qing showed him the golden bead Qiku had entrusted to him.

• Gu Chengzong asked Chen Qing to mediate with the Buddhist Kingdom over an alliance against the Night Clan and revealed that Li Qingyu had survived.
• Chen Qing agreed to do his utmost to help and asked the Imperial Court for the Essence of Yang Earth, which Gu Chengzong promised to provide.
• Chen Qing met Elder Jingming and conveyed the Imperial Court's willingness to make concessions, and Jingming agreed to pass the message to the Buddhist leaders.
• Jingming told Chen Qing that Qiku had been expelled for secretly cultivating the forbidden Dichotomy of Good and Evil Bodhi Scripture.
• Jingming warned that Qiku might use Blood Bodhi to strengthen his evil thoughts and become a dangerous enemy of Buddhism, and Chen Qing presented the golden bead Qiku had entrusted to him.

Chen Qing learned that Qiku had entrusted him with a relic to cast into Thousand Lotus Lake, then received and began studying the Great Brahma Heavenly Thunder Spear. When he reached the lake to fulfill Qiku’s request, he encountered Qi Yu cultivating beneath its waters.

• Jingming identified Qiku’s golden bead as his relic and explained that Thousand Lotus Lake could help Qiku sever his evil thoughts and preserve his benevolent ones.
• Jingming arranged for Chen Qing to visit the lake after the Wuzhe Conference, and Chen Qing spent two days consolidating his Dragon Elephant Prajna Vajra Body.
• Hui Xing delivered the Great Brahma Heavenly Thunder Spear scroll from Hui Ling, and Chen Qing studied it and began practicing the technique.
• Huizhen led Chen Qing to Thousand Lotus Lake, where Chen Qing took a boat toward its central spring eye with Qiku’s relic.
• Chen Qing found Qi Yu emerging from beneath the lake, exchanged wary words with her, and continued toward the lake’s center as she returned to her cultivation.

Chen Qing accidentally helped Qiku’s evil thought gain the upper hand when he cast the Golden Relic into Thousand Lotus Lake, but a hidden monk explained the danger and claimed he could still stop it. Chen Qing grew suspicious of the monk’s attempts to lure him into a cave, and the monk revealed himself as a furious, hostile presence.

• Chen Qing cast the Golden Relic into Thousand Lotus Lake, triggering a violent eruption of Red Lotus Karma Fire that attacked Qiku’s good thought before a golden net suppressed the flames and the Relic vanished.
• A voice from a cave identified itself as an ascetic monk and explained that the evil thought had used the lake’s Karma Fire to devour Qiku’s good thought, with Chen Qing’s action helping the scheme.
• The cave voice offered a way to stop the evil thought and tried to entice Chen Qing with Buddhist secrets and knowledge about the Dragon Elephant Prajna Vajra Body.
• Chen Qing questioned why the monk had failed to intervene earlier and refused to enter the cave without proof of the monk’s identity or sincerity.
• The supposed monk erupted in anger, calling Chen Qing insolent and revealing that Qiku had deceived him, then struck Chen Qing with a powerful sound and mental assault.

Chen Qing survived an attack from the powerful being imprisoned beneath Thousand Lotus Lake, and the ancient scripture’s mantra helped drive the attacker away. Master Pushan then revealed that Master Qiku had reclaimed his Relic, leaving Chen Qing and the Lotus Sect uncertain about Qiku’s intentions.

• Chen Qing tried to summon help, but the cave-dweller revealed that a Karma Fire Barrier concealed the lake and offered him power in exchange for help escaping.
• The cave-dweller attacked Chen Qing with Red Lotus Karma Fire, but the Thirteen-Petal Pure World Lotus Platform turned the flames into a refinement that strengthened him.
• The cave-dweller struck again with sinister Killing Intent, and Chen Qing’s ancient Sanskrit Vajra Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra released a mantra that dispelled it and caused the cave to collapse.
• Chen Qing met Master Pushan and concealed the cave-dweller and scripture’s intervention, telling him that Qiku’s Relic had triggered flames beneath the lake.
• Pushan said he had seen Qiku reclaim the Relic and warned Chen Qing to watch him carefully, then decided to report the matter to the Abbot and Chief Seats.

Chen Qing returned safely to Tianbao Supreme Sect after a perilous journey from the Buddhist Kingdom, where Qing Dai and Bai Zhi told him that his deeds at Vajra Platform had become a sensation. Elder Gong Nansong then summoned him to the main peak, hinting that an imperial decree had arrived to reward his service.

• Xue Li met with Brother Cha, who said he had sensed a trace of a vital aura and ordered her to redirect the investigation toward it.
• Chen Qing considered the mysteries of the cave-dwelling Old Ancestor, Qiku, Old Deng, and the Thirteen-Petal Pure World Lotus Platform, then decided to leave the Buddhist Kingdom and focus on strengthening himself.
• Chen Qing departed Great Sumeru Temple, bought specialties and wine in Sumeru City, and flew east on the Golden Feather Eagle.
• A massive sandstorm forced Chen Qing and the Golden Feather Eagle to detour and rest before continuing their journey to Yan Kingdom.
• Chen Qing returned to Tianbao Supreme Sect, where Qing Dai and Bai Zhi told him that word of his Vajra Platform achievement had spread throughout the sect.
• Gong Nansong told Chen Qing that the Sect Leader had summoned him to the main peak, likely to receive a reward connected to an imperial decree brought by Vice Commander Tang Taixuan.

Chen Qing received Emperor Yan’s commendation as Marquis Jing'an and learned that Nan Zhuoran had likely reached the Eleventh Refinement ahead of their duel. Concerned about Qiku and the secrets surrounding Tianbao Tower, Chen Qing went to Prison Peak to question him, and Qiku allowed him into his chamber.

• Jiang Lishan praised Chen Qing’s achievements in the Buddhist Kingdom and presented him with the title of Marquis Jing'an, an imperial decree, and the Essence of Yang Earth.
• Jiang Lishan asked whether Luo Zhixian had left Chen Qing any final instructions, then urged him to master the Buddhist Dragon Elephant Prajna Vajra Body before his battle with Nan Zhuoran.
• After Chen Qing left the main hall, Jiang Lishan and Luo Ping discussed Chen Qing’s talent and their unresolved search for Tianbao Tower and the Patriarch's Legacy.
• Qu He told Chen Qing that Nan Zhuoran had probably broken through to the Eleventh Refinement and shared news of his growing reputation as the Asura Spear.
• Chen Qing gave Qu He gifts from the Buddhist Kingdom, then decided to visit Qiku at Prison Peak to ask about the mysterious person at Thousand Lotus Lake and their deal.
• Chen Qing reached Qiku’s chamber in Blackwater Abyss Prison, where Qiku told him to come in.

Chen Qing questioned Qiku about his trip to the Buddhist Kingdom and heard a story about a martial monk whose love and loss shaped his view of good and evil. He then returned to True Martial Peak, cultivated, mastered another spear intent, and broke through to the Tenth Refinement.

• Chen Qing asked Qiku about the Buddhist Kingdom, and Qiku admitted he had gone there before telling the story of Wu Qi, Yun Niang, and the burning Scripture Repository.
• Chen Qing told Qiku that he measured himself rather than judging others, then left Blackwater Abyss Prison wary of Qiku and determined to consult Hua Yunfeng and prepare for his battle with Nan Zhuoran.
• Chen Qing entered seclusion and refined the Purple Marrow Spirit Liquid, strengthening his True Essence as he continued cultivating toward the Tenth Refinement.
• Chen Qing mastered the Phoenix Facing Spear Intent while practicing the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear, bringing his total to eight spear intents.
• Chen Qing broke through to the Tenth Refinement as his True Essence expanded and began forming a Golden Core Prototype, while his Dragon Elephant Prajna Vajra Body also advanced.