Chapter Summaries

Sect Master Tongtian descended through the underground levels, effortlessly defeating the cultivators who attacked him. He continued toward the ninth level as the survivors wondered who he was.

• A tall man attacked Sect Master Tongtian with nine skull beads, but the blood-colored skull swallowed the man before returning to the beads.
• Sect Master Tongtian made the other two men vanish and proceeded from the seventh underground level to the eighth.
• More than thirty hostile people watched Sect Master Tongtian walk toward the passage, and their attacks turned against their own comrades.
• Sect Master Tongtian passed the final four men, whose magic treasures could not harm him, and reduced them to powder.
• The remaining people wondered who Sect Master Tongtian was, then fell silent when one of them noted that newcomers arrived and old-timers died every day.

Sect Master Tongtian descended through the pagoda, fought off attacks on its lower levels, and reached a vast palace where an illusion of himself confronted him. He then saw Demon Ancestor Luohu’s likeness seated on a throne, suggesting why Luohu had sent him there.

• Sect Master Tongtian crossed the dark ninth level and used his Wisdom Eye to illuminate the water-filled tenth level.
• A black-clad man attacked him with a sword, but Sect Master Tongtian destroyed the attacker and absorbed the smoke that tried to escape.
• A shadow struck at Sect Master Tongtian on the next level, making him dodge and hurry down to the pagoda’s lowest floor.
• Sect Master Tongtian entered a vast palace, heard a voice identical to his own, and saw a hostile double before dismissing it as an illusion.
• A crowd appeared in the palace around a throne where a figure resembling Demon Ancestor Luohu beckoned to Sect Master Tongtian.

Sect Master Tongtian met Demon Ancestor Luohu in the White Bone Dynasty, where Luohu claimed that the worlds Tongtian knew were reflections of a True World. After Luohu showed him a vision that seemed to support the claim, another Demon Ancestor Luohu appeared and confronted the figure on the throne.

• Sect Master Tongtian took the seat beside the throne after Luohu summoned him to become the White Bone Dynasty's Imperial Preceptor.
• Luohu revealed the vast universe surrounding the hall, but Tongtian dismissed it as too small to rule.
• Luohu claimed that the Primordial World and other worlds were evolutions and projections of the True World.
• Luohu showed Tongtian a vision of the White Bone Dynasty as a seed beneath a great tree whose fruits held Great Dao Domains.
• The vision vanished, and another Demon Ancestor Luohu appeared in the hall, glaring hostilely at the figure on the throne.

Sect Master Tongtian and Demon Ancestor Luohu destroyed the false scene in the pagoda and emerged from the ancient temple, where they confronted the Goddess and her followers. The White-clothed Woman attacked them with the Primordial Chaos Golden Dou, but Sect Master Tongtian seized control of it.

• Demon Ancestor Luohu and his counterfeit selves destroyed each other with their Twelve-Ranked World-Destroying Black Lotuses, and Sect Master Tongtian collected the true Luohu's primordial spirit.
• Sect Master Tongtian picked up a Black Bone Pearl and received a True Self Seed from the system for completing its task.
• Demon Ancestor Luohu and Sect Master Tongtian left the pagoda's twenty-seventh underground level, and the ancient temple behind them collapsed into darkness.
• Sect Master Tongtian and Demon Ancestor Luohu met the Goddess and her followers outside the temple, and the White-clothed Woman attacked them with the Primordial Chaos Golden Dou.
• The Primordial Chaos Golden Dou shattered Demon Ancestor Luohu's head, but Sect Master Tongtian restored him and then used a golden rune to capture the dou.

Sect Master Tongtian and Demon Ancestor Luohu confronted the Goddess, while Xu Xian revealed himself as a demon beast and escaped as a wisp of true spirit. Xiao Qing was sent to find Fahai, and Tongtian and Luohu prepared to pursue the Demon God Lantern during the Lantern Festival before an uproar interrupted them.

• The White-clothed Woman failed to control the Primordial Chaos Golden Dou, and Demon Ancestor Luohu summoned the Twelve-Ranked World-Destroying Black Lotus against the Goddess.
• Xu Xian stabbed the Goddess, but Sect Master Tongtian tore away his disguise, and Luohu destroyed his beast form while his true spirit escaped.
• The Goddess healed and ordered Xiao Qing to search for Fahai alone, giving her a token before departing with the White-clothed Woman.
• Sect Master Tongtian and Demon Ancestor Luohu returned to the Demon Capital and discussed the Lantern Festival route to the Demon God Lantern.
• Tongtian and Luohu spoke about the forces pursuing them and their friendship, then heard startled shouts and screams outside the tavern.

Sect Master Tongtian traded three Minor Golden Pills to free two girls burdened by immense Karma, then continued with Demon Ancestor Luohu toward the trials for the Demon God Lantern. They arrived at Demon Lantern Alley, whose true scale surprised Tongtian.

• Sect Master Tongtian recognized the two caged girls’ immense Karma and stopped Demon Ancestor Luohu from intervening.
• Sect Master Tongtian traded the girls’ captor three Minor Golden Pills for the key, freed them, and took them away in the cage.
• Sect Master Tongtian and Demon Ancestor Luohu discussed the troubling events and the fierce competition expected for the Demon God Lantern.
• Sect Master Tongtian and Demon Ancestor Luohu arrived at Demon Lantern Alley, the first trial, and Tongtian found it far larger than he had imagined.

Sect Master Tongtian entered Long Lamp Alley and overcame its deadly first stage at overwhelming speed. He earned a token with only three challengers surviving behind him, while the unusually increased difficulty raised suspicions about this year’s Lantern Festival.

• Demon Ancestor Luohu warned Sect Master Tongtian that Long Lamp Alley allowed no one to leave unless they reached its end, and Sect Master Tongtian entered anyway.
• Inside the alley, Sect Master Tongtian faced a dark canyon filled with beasts that repeatedly attacked him and were burned to dust.
• Sect Master Tongtian accelerated through the seemingly endless trial, and three challengers managed to follow him to the exit while the others fell behind.
• Sect Master Tongtian collected a token for passing the first stage and learned that fewer than ten people had passed, including the three who followed him.
• The three survivors discussed how much harder the festival had become and decided to stay close to Mister Tian through the remaining stages.

Sect Master Tongtian and his three followers boarded a painted boat in the River Lantern Array, where a hostile group demanded that everyone cooperate and reveal who was in charge. When a bald man summoned a Death God Puppet and it swung its scythe at Tongtian, Tongtian blew a breath that transformed into a lotus flower.

• Sect Master Tongtian accepted rare ores from three men in exchange for letting them follow him into the River Lantern Array.
• The four boarded a painted boat with six other people, and an old fisherman set sail across the Demon River.
• A fat man demanded their names, but Sect Master Tongtian stayed silent and his followers kept their identities secret.
• A bald man ordered the group to work together, but one of Tongtian's followers rejected his demand and challenged him.
• The bald man summoned a Death God Puppet, which swung its Death God Scythe at Sect Master Tongtian.
• Sect Master Tongtian blew a breath that transformed into a lotus flower.

Sect Master Tongtian killed Baldy with a golden lotus, destroying both his body and spiritual essence, then mocked the fat man for invoking the Hundred Thousand Futuo. The fat man transformed into an armored giant and attacked with a Heavenly Halberd, but Sect Master Tongtian destroyed it with four spoken words.

• A golden lotus melted Baldy's Death God Scythe, shattered his body, and erased his spiritual essence.
• The fat man accused Sect Master Tongtian of killing a disciple of the Hundred Thousand Futuo, and Sect Master Tongtian mocked him.
• Sect Master Tongtian recalled the many powerful Demon Realm forces he had angered by helping Demon Ancestor Luohu and Demon Emperor Long Yuan and White Emperor Bai Suzhen.
• The fat man transformed into a golden-armored giant and shattered nearby boats and lanterns with his aura, though the passengers remained unharmed.
• The fat man swung his Heavenly Halberd at Sect Master Tongtian, but Sect Master Tongtian's four golden-rune words turned it to smoke and dust.

Sect Master Tongtian and his companions survived an attack by evil ghosts on the Demon River, then learned the old boatman was Chen Tuan. When a giant ship rammed their pleasure boat, Chen Tuan enlarged it and shattered the attacker, whose crew demanded to know why he had struck the Azure Emperor's Ship.

• The giant's primordial spirit was devoured by passengers who became evil ghosts, and the ghosts tore apart the four Hundred Thousand Futuo disciples.
• The ghosts attacked Sect Master Tongtian and his three companions, but golden light from Tongtian burned them all to ashes.
• Sect Master Tongtian spoke with the old boatman, who introduced himself as Chen Tuan and remarked on Tongtian's strength.
• A giant ship charged the pleasure boat, and Chen Tuan enlarged the boat so its spiked stern shattered the ship.
• A man in blue accused Chen Tuan of ramming the Azure Emperor's Ship, and Chen Tuan questioned whether any Azure Emperor existed.

Ancestor Chen Tuan destroyed the Azure Emperor’s attackers with a mysterious blue lotus before parting ways with Sect Master Tongtian. Tongtian and three companions entered Nine Lamp Temple, where a White-robed maiden led them to a waterside pavilion.

• A woman ambushed Ancestor Chen Tuan, but he annihilated her with a radiance from his crown.
• A scarred man attacked with Fan Tian Yin, which Ancestor Chen Tuan erased using a single-petaled blue lotus; Tongtian suspected the strange treasures came from other worlds.
• Nine fighters formed a Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation, but Ancestor Chen Tuan wiped them out and continued to the riverbank.
• Ancestor Chen Tuan bid farewell to Sect Master Tongtian, who continued toward Nine Lamp Temple with three men following him.
• Tongtian opened the temple gate and saw a beautiful, lantern-lit landscape; a White-robed maiden appeared and led the four of them into a waterside pavilion.

Sect Master Tongtian questioned a White-robed maiden at the waterside pavilion and learned that Master Jiudeng led Nine Lamp Temple, prompting him to recall the temple’s place in the Western Teachings. When the performance ended and the lights went out, a voice announced that the crucial stage of the trial had begun.

• Sect Master Tongtian and his three companions settled into the waterside pavilion as White-robed maidens served them wine and food.
• Sect Master Tongtian questioned his attendant about the pavilion’s visitors and learned that they came from various Great Dao Domains outside the Infinite Primordial World.
• The White-robed maiden told Sect Master Tongtian that Master Jiudeng was the abbot of Nine Lamp Temple.
• Sect Master Tongtian recalled Master Jiudeng’s past and considered how the Western Teachings’ factions and leaders might develop.
• The pavilion’s performance stopped, the lights went out, and a voice announced the crucial stage of the assessment.

During the Demon God Lantern trial, Sect Master Tongtian faced a challenge to write a talisman inspired by a song and dance, but instead played a pipa alongside the Black-clothed Woman. The White-robed maiden realized that the woman was the Saintess of Demon God Mountain, leaving Tongtian performing before a powerful figure.

• The Black-clothed Woman told the challengers to write talismans inspired by the performance and gave them three hours, while Sect Master Tongtian calmly ate and drank.
• The Black-clothed Woman played the Konghou, and Sect Master Tongtian noticed its mystical sound seemed to help the challengers.
• When the White-robed maiden asked why he was not writing, Sect Master Tongtian claimed that writing a talisman would leave no chance for others; his words were heard throughout the Nine Lamp Temple, where people discussed his reputation.
• Sect Master Tongtian sprayed wine onto his talisman paper, making characters appear slowly, then walked onto the stage with his pipa and played in rhythm with the Konghou.
• The White-robed maiden watched in alarm as Sect Master Tongtian played opposite the Black-clothed Woman, whom she knew to be the Saintess of Demon God Mountain.

Sect Master Tongtian played music with the saintly maiden while the brothers accompanying him completed Spiritual Talismans, and Qing Ruyi produced a Divine Talisman. After Sect Master Tongtian teased the saintly maiden, he turned an Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife against its attackers and killed several members of Heaven and Earth Net, including Luo Zhantian’s younger brother.

• The saintly maiden recognized Tian Zheng Yi, and she and Sect Master Tongtian performed a seamless musical duet.
• The three brothers accompanying Sect Master Tongtian completed Spiritual Talismans, while Qing Ruyi’s Divine Talisman sent a golden beam into the sky.
• Sect Master Tongtian joked that the saintly maiden would make a perfect cauldron, provoking an angry shout and an attack by an Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife.
• Sect Master Tongtian commanded the flying knife to turn around and kill the richly dressed men who had attacked him.
• Sect Master Tongtian discovered the dead men belonged to Heaven and Earth Net, and the saintly maiden remarked on his ability to control the flying knife.

Sect Master Tongtian completed a Saint Talisman that transformed into an unprecedented Supreme Saint Talisman, surpassing the Saint Talisman inscribed by Luofu. Its power left the challengers wondering what kind of being it could destroy.

• Sect Master Tongtian waited as his talisman slowly took shape while other challengers completed Divine and Immortal Talismans.
• At the final moment, Tian Zheng Yi's talisman revealed its last point and summoned the Eye of the Heavenly Dao, identifying it as a Saint Talisman.
• Luofu's Saint Talisman appeared beside Tian Zheng Yi's, and the challengers favored the twelve-year-old prodigy as the stronger contender.
• Sect Master Tongtian's Saint Talisman erupted in violet light and drew the Eye of the Great Dao, transforming into a Supreme Saint Talisman.
• The Supreme Saint Talisman endured the Great Dao Tribulation Lightning as violet radiance spread across Demon City, astonishing everyone.

Sect Master Tongtian entered the second challenge for the Demon God Lantern, a sword formation resembling the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation he once possessed. As the challengers advanced through its deadly attacks, four who rushed ahead died, leaving Sect Master Tongtian, his three companions, Qing Ruyi, and Luofu to continue.

• The Saintess announced a second challenge and revealed that the first person to pass through the sword formation would win the Demon God Lantern.
• Sect Master Tongtian recognized the formation as a modified version of the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation and entered it alongside the other challengers.
• A rain of swords attacked the group, but Sect Master Tongtian halted the blades near himself and protected his three companions as they advanced.
• Sect Master Tongtian, Qing Ruyi, and Luofu continued at an unhurried pace while four challengers who had rushed ahead became injured and fell behind.
• Swords erupted from the ground and killed the four injured challengers, leaving their primordial spirits to flee the formation.
• Qing Ruyi proposed that she and Sect Master Tongtian cooperate, offering to let him take first place if he helped her pass through the formation.

Sect Master Tongtian rejected Qing Ruyi’s attempts to use his protection, then exposed her plan to conserve her strength and attack him during the trial. Qing Ruyi revealed deadly poison and accelerated ahead, but Sect Master Tongtian and Luofu easily dispelled it.

• Sect Master Tongtian told Qing Ruyi to stay away, narrowed his sword-rain protection, and forced her to defend herself with her own barrier.
• Qing Ruyi kept pace while pretending to struggle, and Sect Master Tongtian suspected she was trying to exhaust him before ambushing him.
• Sect Master Tongtian accused Qing Ruyi of planning to take first place, and Luofu said Qing Ruyi had a treasure meant to exploit her weakness.
• Qing Ruyi denied targeting Luofu, then accelerated and released deadly black poison mist over Sect Master Tongtian’s group and Luofu.
• Sect Master Tongtian healed his companions and dispelled the mist, while Luofu erased it with a true word; they watched Qing Ruyi race ahead and sneered.

Sect Master Tongtian saw through Qing Ruyi’s deception, learned the truth of her past, and helped her break through to the Saint Venerable Realm. He then discovered Luofu’s Innate Saint Body and gave her a Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir before leading the group into the real Nine Lamp Temple, where the scene changed.

• Sect Master Tongtian exposed Qing Ruyi’s illusion, killed her, and absorbed her primordial spirit to learn her memories.
• Moved by Qing Ruyi’s true circumstances, Sect Master Tongtian restored her and helped her advance to the Saint Venerable Realm; she thanked him and departed.
• Sect Master Tongtian learned that Luofu wanted an ancient text to resolve her cultivation bottleneck and recognized her Innate Saint Body.
• Sect Master Tongtian explained Luofu’s immense innate power and gave her a Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir to help her advance.
• Luofu privately realized Sect Master Tongtian’s identity, and he warned her to seek him out at the peak of the True Self Saint Venerable Realm.
• Sect Master Tongtian and the three brothers entered the real Nine Lamp Temple, and the scene before them changed.

Sect Master Tongtian and the three brothers overcame Nine Lamp Temple’s final trial, which tested their fears, and received Demon God Lanterns. They set off toward Demon God Mountain, leaving the old man behind as an explosion sounded in the distance.

• Sect Master Tongtian saw through the ocean illusion and led the three brothers back into the temple hall, where he recognized the half-demon, half-Buddha statue from an ancient temple.
• The old man declared the trial over and offered the three brothers Demon God Lanterns as a reward for supposedly arriving first, but they credited Sect Master Tongtian and refused to claim the opportunity for themselves.
• The old man asked what Sect Master Tongtian would do if the brothers betrayed him, and Sect Master Tongtian said he could destroy them just as he had protected them.
• The old man gave Sect Master Tongtian a blood-red lantern and the three brothers black lanterns, then Sect Master Tongtian led them through a rear door toward Demon God Mountain.
• Sect Master Tongtian plucked a crimson flower and blew it away; after the group continued onward, a muffled groan and an explosion sounded behind them.

Sect Master Tongtian and the three brothers reached Demon God Hall after receiving lanterns from an old man who seemed to be the transformed Demon God Tree. Once inside its Small World, Tongtian collected a reward and reflected on Sun Wukong’s Journey to the West plans.

• Sect Master Tongtian led the three brothers up Demon God Mountain, gave them flower wreaths, and accepted their homeland’s token.
• Sect Master Tongtian and the brothers reached the summit, where guards questioned why they carried four lanterns, including a red one.
• The brothers described meeting the old man, and a guard concluded that the Demon God Tree had taken human form before letting all four enter Demon God Hall.
• Sect Master Tongtian told the brothers to seek their own opportunities, then entered a palace and received the Ruyi Flying Shuttle as a mission reward.
• Sect Master Tongtian considered Sun Wukong’s alliances with the six demon kings and reflected on the hidden relationships behind the Journey to the West.