Chapter Summaries

Su Mu ignored the crowd’s protests and entered Shepherd Heaven Temple, where its formation protected him from Liu Shan’s attack. Inside, he looked up at the temple’s statue and froze.

• Su Mu continued toward Shepherd Heaven Temple despite Liu Shan and the City Lord Manor steward ordering him to stop.
• Liu Shan attacked Su Mu with a silver Law Seal, but the temple’s formation dispersed the strike and protected him.
• Liu Chang Xun stopped Liu Shan and wondered whether Su Mu was a hidden God Alliance official, while Wu Han recognized him as Old Mu, a longtime servant.
• Su Mu reached Shepherd Heaven Temple, confirmed that the strange sensation came from inside, and pushed open its doors.
• The temple’s candles lit as Su Mu entered, and he froze when he saw the statue.

Su Mu recovered his memories inside the Stone Ring’s reincarnation dream and was mistaken for the God Alliance’s Master by the people at Shepherd Heaven Temple. After granting Wu Han a chance to ask for anything, Su Mu woke beside Nannan, uncertain what had happened to him.

• Su Mu recognized the statue’s resemblance to his younger self, endured a painful return of his memories, and realized the dream was false.
• Su Mu emerged from Shepherd Heaven Temple with his youthful appearance and severed arm restored, and Liu Chang Xun recognized him as Master and knelt.
• The crowd knelt before Su Mu, who offered Wu Han a fortune, but Wu Han asked for nothing and wished only for Su Mu’s safety.
• Wu Han’s selfless answer moved Su Mu and transformed his state of mind before he vanished from the dream.
• Su Mu woke beside a worried Nannan and asked what had happened to him.

After Nannan discovered she could not touch Su Mu, he realized his Stone Ring dream had changed and spent the day thinking about it. On patrol, he met Du Ziren and King of the Wheel, who tried to invite him to their home and finally asked him to inspect their collapsed Main Bridge.

• Nannan found Su Mu still asleep at noon and discovered her hand passed through him when she tried to touch him.
• Su Mu noticed a tiny black dot beside the ring mark on his middle finger and reassured Nannan before going on patrol.
• Su Mu dwelled on his dream of the Shepherd Heaven God Alliance and resolved to focus on refining the river so he could leave.
• At a stone bridge, Su Mu met King of the Wheel and Du Ziren, who invited him to a banquet to thank him for his help.
• When Su Mu declined, King of the Wheel said their Main Bridge had partly collapsed and asked him to inspect it.

Su Mu followed Du Ziren and King of the Wheel to a hidden lake on the River of Time, where they revealed their home lay beneath the water. As Du Ziren used a black token to lower their boat into the lake, Su Mu realized the protective mechanism was not a formation.

• Su Mu agreed to accompany Du Ziren and King of the Wheel after learning they wanted his help, then carried them across the river in five breaths.
• Su Mu examined a vast, enclosed lake whose purple-black water felt cold to the soul and gave off a pleasant fragrance.
• Du Ziren and King of the Wheel told Su Mu their home was underwater, and Su Mu found that a powerful force blocked his Divine Sense beneath the lake's surface.
• Du Ziren activated a black token, and a pillar of light carried their boat down into the lake.
• Su Mu studied the light surrounding the boat and realized it was not a formation.

Su Mu arrived with Du Ziren and King of the Wheel at a bustling ancient city hidden beneath a lake, where Law Power held back the water. He agreed to stay the night before repairing the bridge in the morning, and the chapter left him buying a hairpin for Nannan from a stall owner who recognized Du Ziren’s token.

• Du Ziren brought the Black Boat to rest inside the underground city, and Su Mu saw that advanced Law Power kept the lake water above it.
• Du Ziren and King of the Wheel concealed their identities with masks and welcomed Su Mu, who asked to see the bridge but agreed to stay for their banquet and repair it the next morning.
• Su Mu considered bringing Nannan to visit the city and noticed that its townspeople were unusually beautiful but had no cultivation.
• Su Mu bought a finely crafted hairpin for Nannan, and Du Ziren gave the Green-Robed Woman a token to pay for it after she was confused by Su Mu’s spirit stones.

Su Mu learned that lifespan served as currency in the ancient city and wondered whether its apparently contented residents were truly happy. As Du Ziren led him toward the city center, Su Mu reflected on why he had come and persuaded Du Ziren to let him call him Brother Du.

• The Green-Robed Woman absorbed something from the blue-black token, which Du Ziren had bought for Su Mu.
• Du Ziren explained that the city used years of lifespan rather than spirit stones as currency, and Su Mu remarked that its residents seemed happy.
• Du Ziren and King of the Wheel exchanged uneasy glances and stayed silent when Su Mu questioned whether the residents were truly happy.
• As they walked toward the city center, Su Mu reflected that he wanted to find something Nannan would enjoy and bring color to his family's life.
• Su Mu asked to call Du Ziren Brother Du, and Du Ziren accepted after insisting Su Mu was his senior.
• Du Ziren announced that they had arrived.

Du Ziren welcomed Su Mu and King of the Wheel to his lavish residence and hosted them with rare food and potent wine. Their banquet was interrupted when an unwelcome woman forced her way upstairs, leaving Du Ziren displeased and King of the Wheel frightened sober.

• Du Ziren showed Su Mu and King of the Wheel around his residence and led them to a feast on the fourth floor.
• Du Ziren served Su Mu rare delicacies and potent wine, while King of the Wheel eagerly poured himself a large cup.
• A middle-aged man in a Ghost Face Mask told Du Ziren that a woman had arrived, and Du Ziren ordered him to throw her out.
• The woman ignored the order, reached the fourth floor, and teased Du Ziren for drinking without inviting her.
• King of the Wheel sobered up in fright when he heard the woman's enchanting voice.

Divine Tea arrived at Du Ziren’s residence and offered Su Mu a precious wine that increased his cultivation but proved impossible to resist. After eighteen cups, Su Mu passed out as someone helped him into a room, with a familiar fragrance lingering around him.

• Divine Tea introduced herself to Su Mu and brought a treasured jar of wine, while Du Ziren reluctantly allowed her to stay.
• Divine Tea opened the jar, poured Su Mu a cup, and toasted him; Su Mu found that the wine enhanced his cultivation.
• Du Ziren and Divine Tea took turns pouring wine and toasting Su Mu as the gathering grew livelier.
• After drinking eighteen cups, Su Mu passed out, though he remained faintly aware as someone supported him into a room.

Su Mu woke after a drunken night to discover he had advanced from the fifth level of the Dao Integration Realm to the first level of the Dao Severing Realm. Du Ziren met him at Divine Tea’s residence, while Su Mu realized she had brought him there.

• Divine Tea brought Su Mu sobering tea, but he smashed the cup and pulled her onto the bed before passing out.
• Divine Tea stayed beside the unconscious Su Mu, conflicted about what to do as the wine’s effects continued to overwhelm them.
• Su Mu slept for three days and three nights, then woke to find his cultivation had advanced to the first level of the Dao Severing Realm.
• Su Mu dressed and left the pavilion, where he discovered he was alone on an island in the lake.
• Du Ziren arrived by dragon boat, expressed relief that Su Mu was safe, and asked whether Divine Tea had offended him.
• Su Mu realized Divine Tea had brought him to her residence.

Su Mu learned that three days had passed since Divine Tea brought him to her residence, and Du Ziren guided him toward the collapsed bridge and the Empress. Divine Tea entered reincarnation at the Empress’s direction, while the Empress secretly preserved her memories and cultivation and waited for someone she had awaited for many years.

• Su Mu told Du Ziren that he remembered little after Divine Tea brought him home, and learned he had been drunk for three days.
• Du Ziren guided Su Mu by Dragon Boat toward the ancient city’s deepest reaches, where the Empress was waiting.
• Divine Tea knelt before the Empress and asked to lose her status and be cast into reincarnation as punishment.
• The Empress told Divine Tea that her tribulation could not be avoided and asked whether she was willing to enter reincarnation.
• Divine Tea agreed and walked to the end of the stone bridge, where she was reborn.
• The Empress preserved Divine Tea’s memories and cultivation, then waited for someone whose arrival she had anticipated for many years.

Su Mu passed through the ancient stone gate and followed a guiding firefly across the dark river to a bridge where he met the Houtu Goddess. She revealed her true face to him, and their reunion left Su Mu feeling that they had known each other many times before.

• Du Ziren escorted Su Mu to the enormous stone gate and waited outside as Su Mu entered Behind the Door.
• Su Mu discovered that the vast dark river shared its source with the river he guarded, though his Water Control Mystical Power had little effect on it.
• A firefly guided Su Mu by Dragon Boat to a massive stone bridge topped by a black Stone Tower.
• Su Mu saw the Houtu Goddess on the bridge, and she stepped out of her Xuan Huang Qi to reveal her true face to him.
• The Houtu Goddess greeted Su Mu, and he answered that they had met again while feeling an uncanny familiarity with her.

Hou Tu showed Su Mu the Reincarnation Tablet and revealed that the Myriad Realms had only eleven epochs left before destruction. She explained that she had long suspected Su Mu was the anomaly responsible, but her hostility toward him began to change when the Time Flood appeared.

• Su Mu wondered why Hou Tu had helped him, and Hou Tu said he had saved the city by stopping the great flood before asking him for a favor.
• Hou Tu led Su Mu across the stone bridge to the Reincarnation Tablet, which bore eleven remaining Tablet Marks.
• Hou Tu explained that each mark represented an epoch and that the Myriad Realms would collapse when the marks vanished.
• Hou Tu recounted that the marks had fallen rapidly and dropped to nine when Su Mu appeared as the River Warden eight years earlier.
• Hou Tu said she had secretly treated Su Mu as her greatest enemy because she believed he would destroy the Myriad Realms, until the day the Time Flood appeared.

Hou Tu reconsidered whether Su Mu was the anomaly destined to destroy the Myriad Realms after he stopped two Time Floods and extended their lifespan. Having decided to wager everything on him despite being unable to see his future, she called him to stand beside her beneath the Reincarnation Tablet.

• Hou Tu saw the Reincarnation Tablet’s marks dwindle during the first Time Flood, then watched Su Mu stop it and increase the marks from nine to ten.
• Hou Tu investigated Su Mu’s conduct and found that he intercepted reincarnators for fees, while those he extorted later enjoyed great fortune.
• When a second, more violent Time Flood began, Su Mu blocked it and extended the Myriad Realms’ lifespan by ten eras, bringing the tablet’s marks to eleven.
• Hou Tu chose to stand with Su Mu, gambling on him as the Myriad Realms’ possible savior despite being unable to see his karma or future.
• Su Mu counted the eleven marks on the tablet, and Hou Tu told him to stand beside her beneath it.

Su Mu touched the stone stele and experienced a vision of himself alone on a bridge above an empty, dark world, then discovered a phantom stone bridge in his Sea of Consciousness. After he repaired a gap in the Long River bridge and earned 400,000 Favor Points, the Houtu Goddess gave him a Violet Boat and a way to return to her.

• The Houtu Goddess and Su Mu touched the stone stele, and Su Mu dreamed of sinking beneath dark water before climbing onto a bridge in a world emptied of all life.
• Su Mu awoke on the bridge and discovered the Stone Ring mark had vanished and a phantom Shadow of the Stone Bridge had appeared in his Sea of Consciousness.
• The Houtu Goddess led Su Mu to a gap in the stone bridge and asked him to repair it; he fitted a broken stone into place with his axe.
• The system awarded Su Mu 400,000 Favor Points for stabilizing the Long River, and he thanked the Houtu Goddess by grabbing her hand before quickly letting go.
• The Houtu Goddess gave Su Mu a Violet Boat and told him he could use it to return to her whenever he faced difficulties or had questions.

Su Mu left Houtu Goddess with the Reincarnation Boat, while she hoped he might one day break the deadlock binding her to reincarnation. Du Ziren learned that Houtu had entrusted Su Mu with authority over the Reincarnation Underworld and eagerly accepted him as a superior, as unrest across the Myriad Realms drove the Underworld’s workload higher.

• Houtu Goddess watched Su Mu depart and hoped he would eventually break the deadlock that imprisoned her within reincarnation.
• Su Mu rode Houtu’s Reincarnation Boat through the stone gate and returned to the ancient city.
• Du Ziren saw the legendary Reincarnation Boat and feared Su Mu might have defeated Houtu and seized it.
• Su Mu assured Du Ziren that Houtu was fine, and Houtu’s voice confirmed that Du Ziren should treat Su Mu as one of their own and obey his orders.
• Du Ziren welcomed Su Mu as a powerful superior and noted that turmoil across the Myriad Realms had sharply increased the Reincarnation Underworld’s workload.

Su Mu returned from the ancient city and reassured Nannan after she confessed to having nightmares that he would abandon her, then gave her a hairpin. In the Reincarnation Underworld, Shen Yu confronted Du Ziren about her younger sister and learned that the sister had fallen into reincarnation.

• Du Ziren saw Su Mu off, and Su Mu used the Black Boat to leave the ancient city and return home.
• Su Mu found Nannan asleep over a book and comforted her when she woke up crying, explaining that she had dreamed he no longer wanted her.
• Su Mu styled Nannan’s hair and fastened the Plum Blossom Hairpin he had bought for her.
• Shen Yu confronted Du Ziren at his residence and demanded to know where her younger sister was.
• Du Ziren said he did not know what had happened, but revealed that Shen Yu’s sister had fallen into reincarnation after nearly causing a great disaster.

Shen Yu learned that Divine Tea had entered reincarnation and begged Hou Tu to let her share her sister’s punishment, but Hou Tu instead ordered her to become the next Underworld King. Hou Tu promised to protect Divine Tea’s life, while above the Long River Nannan admired the plum blossom hairpin Su Mu had given her.

• Shen Yu questioned Du Ziren about Divine Tea’s reincarnation and hurried to seek an explanation from the Empress.
• Shen Yu learned from Hou Tu that Divine Tea had committed a capital crime and offered to enter reincarnation in her place.
• Hou Tu ordered Shen Yu to become the next Underworld King and clean up the mess Divine Tea had left behind.
• Shen Yu asked Hou Tu to let Divine Tea live happily through her reincarnated lifetimes, and Hou Tu promised to spare her life.
• Nannan told Su Mu that she loved the plum blossom hairpin he had bought for her.

After raising his River Affinity to eighty percent, Su Mu sensed his body and the river changing in mysterious ways, and estimated that he could finish refining the river within a few years. He spent the day collecting fish traps with Nannan, who chose to leave a rare White Moon Otter alone, before Su Mu noticed something alarming at their first fishing spot.

• Su Mu spent one million Favor Points to raise his River Affinity from seventy to eighty percent and felt an unexplained transformation linking him more closely to the river.
• Su Mu took Nannan to collect fish traps, and she gathered shells, amber, and pebbles along the riverbank.
• Su Mu showed Nannan a rare, timid White Moon Otter, but she asked him to leave it alone, so they let it stay in its burrow.
• Su Mu and Nannan reached their first Silkgrass Waters, where Su Mu's pupils contracted at the sight before him.

Su Mu discovered that the Main River Channel’s water level had fallen, and a copper fragment found by the White Moon Otter linked the change to the enemies who had attacked him during earlier floods. After Nannan offered the otter a place in their home, it weighed the invitation.

• Su Mu found his fish traps scattered in the dried pond and discovered that the Main River Channel had dropped by a meter.
• Nannan spotted bubbles in the mud, and the White Moon Otter emerged carrying a broken copper fragment.
• Su Mu recognized the fragment’s lingering aura from the people who had surrounded him during a previous flood and suspected the floods were part of a plot against him.
• Nannan gave the White Moon Otter a spiritual fruit, and Su Mu realized its sense of smell could help him find hidden clues.
• Su Mu and Nannan invited the White Moon Otter to live with them, and it considered their offer.

Su Mu spent the day helping Nannan collect treasure fish, and she brought the White Moon Otter home as a new family member. In the Backyard, Bai Yuan learned that the Kunpeng Demon Realm was under siege and struggled to choose between returning to save his people and keeping his place in the Saint Medicine Garden.

• Su Mu and Nannan collected more than twenty treasure fish with help from the White Moon Otter, then returned home near dusk.
• Nannan introduced the White Moon Otter to the family and their subordinates, while leaving the busy First Brother and the others for another time.
• In the Backyard dormitory, Bai Yuan's roommates discussed their performance rewards and asked why he seemed troubled.
• Bai Yuan explained that the Kunpeng Demon Realm was under attack and that he had to choose between returning to face danger or staying while his people might become slaves.
• A Red-Crowned Crane told Bai Yuan that he had faced the same choice and that the decision depended on what kind of life Bai Yuan wanted.