Chapter Summaries

After ascending through the chaos, Li Qingyun found his Primordial Spirit trapped inside a strange stone statue instead of freely entering Void Sky. Temple Priest Xun Zhu and the people of Ba Snake Mountain welcomed the statue and carried it toward their temple, while Li Qingyun tried to understand his predicament.

• Li Qingyun passed through the layers of chaos and briefly glimpsed Void Sky before an unseen pressure sent his Primordial Spirit into a stone statue.
• Li Qingyun realized his senses and ability to communicate were restricted inside the statue, leaving him unable to correct Temple Priest Xun Zhu’s claim that he had chosen to settle on Ba Snake Mountain.
• Temple Priest Xun Zhu told the gathered mountain folk that the Dao Lord Master had spoken and eagerly wished to return to their temple.
• The four-armed mountain folk carried Li Qingyun’s statue along a muddy path toward their temple as he inspected his prison.
• Li Qingyun saw that the statue depicted him as a three-headed, six-armed monster with a serpent’s tail, though it retained his mortal face.

After ascending, Li Qingyun found himself trapped in a stone statue in a temple on Ba Snake Mountain, where he began to sense a new cultivation path and the dangers of the Upper Realm. He discovered that yellow talismans were sealing the statue and suspected Temple Master Xun of deliberately restricting him.

• Li Qingyun adapted to his confinement, sensed the Wish Fruit forming within his Primordial Spirit, and learned that the statue and temple protected him from the hostile Void Sky.
• Li Qingyun sensed a familiar calling from ancestral Dao Lords of the Lingbao Sect and tried, unsuccessfully, to summon incense offerings from the mortal world.
• Li Qingyun probed the statue and discovered yellow talismans sealing its chest, heads, and back, which weakened his senses and would obstruct his efforts to refine the stone body.
• Li Qingyun recognized the talismans as resembling Mishin Palace's sealing rites and suspected Temple Master Xun had intentionally left them in place.
• The mountain folk carried the statue into the old temple and cleaned it, while Xun Zhu urged them to offer incense and questioned Yi about promised human sacrifices.

Li Qingyun discovered that the people of Ba Snake Mountain offered little true reverence, while temple keeper Xun Zhu withheld offerings and planned a human sacrifice. After burning away the talismans on his statue, Li Qingyun restored the flow of incense from the mortal world and began transforming his Stone Body Divine Statue.

• Ba Snake Mountain folk worshipped Li Qingyun, but he sensed that their offerings carried almost no wish-power.
• Xun Zhu told Xun Yu to pressure hunter Yi into bringing an Eastern Yi captive for a human sacrifice, and admitted they had deliberately left talismans on Li Qingyun's statue.
• Li Qingyun overheard Xun Zhu and Xun Yu, then used a Jade Pure edict to make a flame burn away the talismans.
• Freed from the talismans, Li Qingyun refined his statue more easily and expanded his perception across the temple.
• Li Qingyun redirected incense offerings from the nineteen mortal nations into the statue, beginning to temper its stone body with jade light.

Li Qingyun refined most of his divine statue into jade, letting him survey Ba Snake Mountain and discover a neighboring Dao Lord’s territory. After Xun Zhu’s continued disrespect, Li Qingyun summoned lightning against the temple master for the first time in the Great Wilderness.

• Li Qingyun used mortal incense to refine the inside of his stone statue and project his divine sense across Ba Snake Mountain.
• He surveyed his three-hundred-li territory, spotted a more powerful Dao Lord to the north, and withdrew when the Great Wilderness’s pressure and sun began to wear down his divine sense.
• Xun Yu opened the temple gates, bowed casually to Li Qingyun, and went down the mountain to urge the mountain people to offer more goods.
• Li Qingyun watched Xun Zhu rise, wash, and eat breakfast without paying respects, and decided the temple master was an eyesore.
• Li Qingyun summoned lightning to kill Xun Zhu, but the Great Wilderness’s pressure weakened the spell.

Li Qingyun tried to punish the arrogant temple keeper Xun Zhu, but discovered that Xun Zhu could withstand his lightning and had powerful backing. Xun Zhu rejected Li Qingyun’s warning and returned to the side hall, leaving Li Qingyun resolved to kill him.

• Xun Zhu deflected Li Qingyun’s lightning strike with his vine staff and mocked the newly ascended Dao Lord Master.
• Li Qingyun withdrew the jade light from his statue and watched Xun Zhu enter the main hall without bowing.
• Xun Zhu proposed that they keep the peace for a hundred years, admitting that people above him had arranged for him to hinder Li Qingyun.
• Li Qingyun wrote a warning on red paper, telling Xun Zhu to leave or face the consequences.
• Xun Zhu tore up the warning, claimed his tribe were the true masters of the Void Heaven, and returned to the side hall.
• Li Qingyun decided that Xun Zhu would die.

Li Qingyun used his divine power to forbid blood and human sacrifices after Xun Zhu exploited his manifestation to demand better offerings. Xun Zhu, angered by the public rebuke, plotted to leave Ba Snake Mountain unprotected during an impending ruinfall.

• Mountain folk brought bloody beast offerings to Ba Snake Mountain Dao Lord Temple, and the statue instinctively absorbed their blood aura while Xun Zhu took the offerings for himself and Xun Yu.
• Li Qingyun devoured incense offerings and transformed his statue’s stone surface into shining jade, startling the mountain folk and Xun Zhu.
• Xun Zhu claimed Li Qingyun’s manifestation was a reward for worship and urged the mountain folk to bring more beast offerings, while calling for Yi to provide human sacrifices.
• Li Qingyun displayed a divine decree forbidding blood and human sacrifices, and the mountain folk pledged to obey him rather than Xun Zhu.
• Humiliated, Xun Zhu ordered Xun Yu to deliver a talisman letter to Lingqiu Great Temple, declaring that Ba Snake Mountain would handle the night’s ruinfall without their protection.

Li Qingyun prepared to protect Ba Snake Mountain from the night’s Ruinfall after realizing Xun Zhu intended to leave the mountain folk exposed. As Xun Yu reached Lingqiu Great Temple to seek help, Li Qingyun began refining the gates in his jade body so he could shield the mountain himself.

• Xun Zhu left the temple without hearing Li Qingyun agree to submit and resolved to make him regret it during Ruinfall.
• Li Qingyun concluded Xun Zhu planned to prevent Lingqiu Great Temple from protecting Ba Snake Mountain so the mountain folk would blame him for any casualties.
• Li Qingyun began a second refinement, directing incense offerings to open the Heavenly Salient Gates in his statue’s three heads.
• Xun Yu crossed the mountains and arrived at Lingqiu Great Temple to request an audience with Great Temple Master Qi.
• Qi You scolded Xun Yu and led him toward the rear hall.

Li Qingyun opened all three Heavenly Salient Gates in his statue and began trying to break open its Earth Spring Gate. As night fell, Xun Zhu left the mountain villages unprepared for the market-ruin, which began with a terrifying rumble.

• Temple Keeper Qi read Xun Zhu's talismanic letter and welcomed its news, then reported it to the Dao Lord Master.
• Li Qingyun opened the statue's three Heavenly Salient Gates and gained greater control over the void-sky power of Ba Snake Mountain.
• Li Qingyun began directing incense power toward the statue's Earth Spring Gates to open them and draw on the Great Thousand Earth Veins.
• Xun Yu returned to the temple and reported that Temple Keeper Qi had given no clear answer; Xun Zhu told him to ignore cries for help during the market-ruin.
• Xun Zhu left the villages without warning or defenses, and the market-ruin began as a thunderlike rumble terrified the mountain folk.

As a ruinfall struck the Eastern Wasteland, Li Qingyun used his three Heavenly Salient Gates to shield Ba Snake Mountain and revealed his power to Temple Master Xun. Xun Zhu transformed and leaped to attack two falling objects as he regretted not siding with Li Qingyun sooner.

• Mountain folk fled for shelter as wild beasts roared, while Xun Zhu waited in the temple and wondered why Li Qingyun had not warned them.
• Li Qingyun extended his divine sense past the ten-thousand-meter critical line and saw dark ruin-earth, threaded stones, Green Copper Pieces, and other fragments falling from above.
• Other mountain temples raised azure canopies over their territories, while Ba Snake Mountain remained unprotected as the threaded stone and Green Copper Piece plunged toward its temple.
• Li Qingyun raised an azure canopy over Ba Snake Mountain, and Xun Zhu reacted in shock as his attempt to force the Dao Lord Master’s hand failed.
• Xun Zhu transformed into a giant blood-skinned worm, declared that he was in the Sea-Chasing Realm, and leaped toward the falling stone and copper fragment, regretting that he had not joined Li Qingyun earlier.

Li Qingyun opened the Earth Spring Gate and used Ba Snake Mountain’s Xuanhuang Earth Qi to protect the mountain folk and seal the black qi released by the strange rock and Green Copper Piece. The black qi transformed into a powerful demonic bird, while Xun Zhu watched in shock as Li Qingyun considered how to control it.

• Xun Zhu struck the strange rock and Green Copper Piece aside, and their black qi spread across Ba Snake Mountain, corroding Li Qingyun’s barrier and devouring beasts and mountain folk.
• Li Qingyun diverted the grievance backlash from the mountain folk’s deaths into the Soul Corpse Body, but stopped allowing the black qi to rampage when he feared it could destroy his fiefdom.
• Li Qingyun opened the Earth Spring Gate and summoned Xuanhuang Earth Qi to shield the mountain folk and trap the spreading black qi in an Eight Directions Mysterious Gate Array.
• The trapped black qi condensed into a six-winged demonic bird that battered the array and unleashed soul-dazing cries.
• Li Qingyun considered refining the strange rock and Green Copper Piece into Dao artifacts to contain and command the demonic bird, while Xun Zhu stared in disbelief at his mastery of the Earth Spring Gate.

Li Qingyun killed Xun Zhu after the temple priest fled Ba Snake Mountain, then used the resulting resentful backlash to activate more of his soul-corpse avatar. Xun Yu survived, while Li Qingyun remained in the temple with his power growing.

• Xun Zhu realized Li Qingyun was dangerous and fled Ba Snake Mountain, while Xun Yu fell to his knees and begged the Dao Lord Master to spare him.
• Li Qingyun called down Divine Lightning, striking Xun Zhu from the sky as he tried to escape.
• Xun Zhu attempted to flee again, but Li Qingyun used Xuanhuang Earth Qi to tear him apart and crush the blood lice he became.
• Li Qingyun transferred the resentful backlash from Xun Zhu’s death to his mysterious soul corpse, activating more of its chest.

Li Qingyun contained the falling ruins’ survivors and forged the Green Copper Piece into a bronze bird for the sealed demonic bird. The new servant, Qing Nu, awakened with a powerful wail and was placed under Li Qingyun’s command.

• Li Qingyun sealed the demonic bird and retrieved the strange stone and Green Copper Piece from the craters.
• Li Qingyun recognized that the strange stone’s patterns resembled the twisted bronze chain shadow and hid the stone in a layer of void.
• Li Qingyun burned the Green Copper Piece’s eerie double-pupiled eye, then melted the artifact and forged it into a six-winged, four-eyed bronze bird.
• The falling ruins stopped, and the louse-clan mountain folk celebrated surviving the disaster on Ba Snake Mountain.
• Li Qingyun put the sealed demonic bird into the bronze bird, named it Qing Nu, and commanded it to serve him.

After suppressing Xun Zhu, Li Qingyun appointed Qing Nu as his messenger and questioned Xun Yu about who had sent the pair to Ba Snake Mountain. Xun Yu revealed a possible link to the Eastern Wasteland Regional Sacrifice Temple, then fled, leaving Li Qingyun to resume opening the remaining Earth Spring Gates.

• Li Qingyun bound the Soul Blue Bird, named Qing Nu, to his service and assigned it a place on the temple beam.
• Li Qingyun had Qing Nu bring Xun Yu into the temple and questioned him about who had directed Xun Zhu to make trouble.
• Xun Yu said Xun Zhu had visited the Eastern Wasteland Regional Sacrifice Temple before coming to Ba Snake Mountain and suspected the northern Lingqiu Great Temple might also oppose Li Qingyun.
• Li Qingyun ordered Xun Yu to tell his clan elders that no more unexplained temple priests should be sent to Ba Snake Mountain, then let him leave.
• After Xun Yu fled into the night, Li Qingyun began breaking through the remaining five Earth Spring Gates.

Li Qingyun opened the second Earth Spring Gate and rejected blood-food offerings, continuing to refine his divine statue with incense and fire. As the mountain folk returned from worship in the rain, they saw another Dao Lord arrive at Ba Snake Mountain by walking upstream through the Ba Water River.

• Li Qingyun opened the second Earth Spring Gate and gained greater command over Xuanhuang Earth Qi, earthfire, and magma.
• Li Qingyun resolved not to accept blood-food offerings, believing they would corrupt his Dao heart and risk Jade Pure's backlash.
• Mountain folk from nearly a hundred villages worshipped Li Qingyun, though their prayers yielded little incense and fire power.
• Several mountain folk found the Ba Water River had washed away the bridge and began felling trees to build another.
• The mountain folk spotted a nine-zhang Dao Lord walking upstream through the river, and he confirmed that Ba Snake Mountain was his destination.

Li Qingyun reunited with True Teach Ancestor, the Lingbao Dao Lord who had crossed great distances to find him. After hearing the ancestor condemn Qingyun’s bleak temple and forced assignment, Qingyun revealed his resolve to cultivate the Fruit Realm openly while secretly pursuing Jade Pure and a path to break free of the bronze-chain shadow.

• True Teach Ancestor crossed the Ba Water River and used a gust of wind to carry the mountain folk safely to the opposite bank.
• Li Qingyun sensed his ancestor’s arrival, raised a Dao lotus of Xuanhuang Earth Qi, and sent Qing Nu to guide him up the mountain.
• True Teach Ancestor entered the Ba Snake Mountain Temple and told Li Qingyun to address him as Senior Brother, since they were fellow Daoists.
• True Teach Ancestor lamented that the Three Divine Palaces had placed Li Qingyun in the barren Ba Snake Mountain despite his foundation and the Lingbao Dao Lords’ efforts to have him ascend elsewhere.
• Li Qingyun resolved to cultivate the Fruit Realm openly and pursue Jade Pure in secret, hoping to escape the bronze-chain shadow and attain his own supreme path.

Li Qingyun asked Dao Lord Zhenhui about the Fruit Positions and the path to supreme transcendence, learning that the order and dangers of the nine Fruits remained uncertain. Zhenhui explained the ranks of powerful Dao Lords, while Li Qingyun grew more convinced that those who sought the final step faced a hidden terror.

• Li Qingyun set aside talk of past troubles and asked Dao Lord Zhenhui to explain the Fruits cultivated after ascension.
• Dao Lord Zhenhui explained that the Wish Fulfillment Fruit came first and warned that evil wishes could damage cultivation and invite Outer Demon pollution.
• Dao Lord Zhenhui described the disputed nine Fruits, including the dangerous Heavenly Eye Fruit, the Myriad Laws Fruit, and the uncertain final Body Root Fruit.
• Li Qingyun concealed his concern as he considered whether the disappearance of Dao Lords beyond the Eight Fruits signaled a deeper danger.
• Dao Lord Zhenhui explained that Fourth-Fruit Dao Lords were Exalted Sovereigns, Seventh-Fruit cultivators were Sacred Sovereigns, and Eighth-Fruit cultivators were Sacred Ancestors.

Li Qingyun learned about the Wei Zu Great Thousand’s cultivation ranks and travel routes from True Teach Ancestor, who then left Ba Snake Mountain. On his way home, True Teach confronted Saint Dao Lord Mishen at Qingqiu, accusing him of threatening Li Qingyun.

• True Teach Ancestor explained the fruit positions, the dangers of the Time Ruin Mother River, and the limits on traveling away from a sitting statue.
• Li Qingyun thanked True Teach Ancestor and sent Qing Nu and a Mysterious Yellow Earth Qi Dao Lotus to escort him from Ba Snake Mountain.
• True Teach Ancestor traveled through the Ba Water and Qingqiu River veins, then arrived outside Qingqiu city.
• True Teach Ancestor sent a message to Mishen at Lingqiu Sacrificial Temple, intending to challenge him over his presence near Li Qingyun.
• Mishen appeared in a black wind and mocked True Teach Ancestor for arriving with hostile intentions.

True Teach Ancestor challenged Mishin Dao Lord on his fief, using his Foot Connection Fruit and Earth Method to attack Lingqiu Great Temple from beyond the reach of Mishin's strongest control. Mishin repelled the falling meteors with curses but grew furious as the spectacle humiliated him before Qingqiu City, and he drove off Temple Keeper Qi when Qi offered to help.

• Mishin Dao Lord strengthened his divine-sense body with Xuanhuang Earth Qi and Void Gloom, while True Teach Ancestor rose above the fief’s boundary to escape the Earth Qi’s reach.
• Mishin used Void Suppression, but True Teach evaded it with the Mouth Connection Fruit’s power and appeared at the boundary between Lingqiu Great Temple and Ba Snake Mountain Temple.
• True Teach issued Earth Method decrees that shook the temple and summoned burning meteors to smash it, while Mishin countered with curses that shattered the meteors and pursued True Teach’s shifting figure.
• Falling star dust covered Lingqiu Great Temple and Qingqiu City, alarming the clansmen, who blamed Mishin for letting their land face danger.
• Temple Keeper Qi offered to shoot True Teach with his bow, but Mishin angrily ordered him out and insisted that a mere louse had no place in a clash between Dao Lords.

Mishin Dao Lord trapped True Teach Ancestor in Lingqiu with the Great Soul Annihilation Curse, but Li Qingyun intervened from Ba Snake Mountain and pulled him to safety. The two Dao Lords’ confrontation ended with Zhenhui rescued, while Mishin’s attack remained unresolved.

• Mishin Dao Lord unleashed the Great Soul Annihilation Curse against True Teach Ancestor in Lingqiu’s eight-hundred-li territory.
• Mishin used the combined powers of his Mouth Connection and Nose Connection Fruits to break Zhenhui’s Foot Connection and hinder his escape.
• Zhenhui tried to use his Wish Fruit Position to resist, but Mishin’s curse was about to strike him.
• A six-winged, four-eyed Mysterious Bird cried out and disturbed Mishin’s primordial spirit as Xuanhuang Earth Qi surged from Ba Snake Mountain.
• Li Qingyun sent a gigantic Xuanhuang hand across the boundary and pulled Zhenhui into Ba Snake Mountain’s territory.

Li Qingyun opened the remaining Earth Spring Gates and rescued True Teach Ancestor, then defended Ba Snake Mountain against Mishin Dao Lord’s invasion. As Bawei Village was destroyed, Li Qingyun secretly redirected the villagers’ deaths toward nourishing Soul-Qingyun in the Burial Abyss.

• Li Qingyun used the Jade Pure Mysterious Pearl to open the last four Earth Spring Gates and drew on Ba Snake Mountain’s Xuanhuang Earth Qi to pull True Teach Ancestor from Mishin Dao Lord’s grasp.
• Mishin Dao Lord attacked Ba Snake Mountain, and Li Qingyun met the invading dao field with a wall of Xuanhuang Earth Qi while True Teach Ancestor launched Heaven Collapses at Lingqiu Great Temple.
• Ba Snake Mountain villagers blamed Li Qingyun for provoking Mishin Dao Lord, and Li Qingyun ordered Qing Nu to kill three lousefolk amid the ensuing chaos.
• Mishin Dao Lord’s earth-qi waves destroyed Bawei Village, and Li Qingyun transferred the resentment backlash from the villagers’ deaths to Soul-Qingyun in the Burial Abyss.
• True Teach Ancestor noticed Qing Nu near the dying villagers but chose to say nothing, while Li Qingyun continued to conceal what he had done.