Recaps

In Zixiao Palace, Hongjun heard the Demon Saints’ proposals for dealing with Qingyuan and settled on Baize’s plan to hold an Immortal Dao Assembly to test him. As Hongjun began expounding the Dao, Tongtian and Qingyuan wondered why he had rung the Dao Bell and prepared for whatever would follow.

• The Demon Saints hesitated to propose a plan after learning that Qingyuan had killed the Two Shakya, so Hongjun questioned Lu Wu, Ying Zhao, Shang Yang, and Baize in turn.
• Hongjun ordered Shang Yang to carry out his plan to pressure the Interception Sect and lure Qingyuan out, despite Shang Yang’s fear of offending Tongtian.
• Baize proposed an Immortal Dao Assembly where the Saints’ disciples could exchange techniques and test Qingyuan under the cover of guidance.
• Demon Master Kunpeng urged Hongjun to kill Qingyuan and suppress the Interception Sect, but Hongjun explained that the Interception Sect’s Fortune Aura made attacking it dangerous.
• Hongjun chose Baize’s plan, promised to accept the Demon Saints as Outer Disciples of the Mystic Gate, and began expounding the Dao in Zixiao Palace.
• At Biyou Palace, Tongtian asked Qingyuan why Hongjun had rung the Dao Bell, and Qingyuan assured him he would handle any trouble that arose.

Qingyuan returned the Qingping Sword to Sect Master Tongtian, received the Yugu Drum, and openly clashed with Hongjun across distant spacetime. At Zixiao Palace, Yuqing rejected Hongjun’s plan to make the Demon Saints Outer Disciples and stormed out, leaving Tongtian confused as he entered the hall.

• Sect Master Tongtian gave Qingyuan the Yugu Drum, told him to remain on Golden Ao Island, and left for Zixiao Palace.
• Qingyuan reflected that he had exposed his strength, then exchanged a palm strike with Hongjun, shaking Zixiao Palace and injuring Hongjun’s arm.
• Hongjun reassured the Demon Saints and told them to wait for the Heavenly Dao Saints to arrive.
• Venerable Yuanshi deduced that Qingyuan’s strength would make the Dao Ancestor more wary of Jie Sect and went to Zixiao Palace after hearing the summons.
• Yuqing insulted the Demon Saints and stormed out after Hongjun announced he would accept Kunpeng and the others as Outer Disciples of the Mystic Gate.
• Sect Master Tongtian teased Yuqing as he left, then entered Zixiao Palace and frowned at the gathering.

Dao Ancestor Hongjun announced an Immortal Dao Assembly and planned to accept the Hunyuan Saints as Outer Disciples, while the other Saints questioned his motives and Venerable Yuanshi objected to the Demon Race Saints. As the assembly discussion continued, the Saints witnessed the Witch Clan and Heavenly Court clash over Chi You’s plan to rebuild Buzhou Mountain.

• Sect Master Tongtian challenged Hongjun, suspecting the gathering was a scheme to kill him, but Hongjun said the Immortal Dao Assembly would establish order among the Saints and their lineages.
• Venerable Yuanshi objected to the Demon Race Saints entering Zixiao Palace, but Hongjun defended their origins and announced that he would accept all the Hunyuan Saints as Outer Disciples.
• Hongjun ordered Saint Nuwa to bring the Three Sovereigns from Huoyun Cave to Wa Huang Heaven and teach them, and Nuwa agreed.
• The Saints noticed that the Witch Clan had clashed with the Heavenly Court and turned their attention to the conflict.
• Chi You had united the Witch Clan at the ruins of Buzhou Mountain and planned to rebuild it as a Heavenly Pillar, provoking the Heavenly Court because it would obstruct their gate.
• The conflict escalated from arguments to deadly fighting, and the Heavenly Emperor appeared at the gates of the Heavenly Realm to face the Witch Clan.

Xing Tian returned to find the Witch Clan poised to fight the Heavenly Court over rebuilding Buzhou Mountain, only to discover the confrontation had begun because his words about rebuilding their home were misunderstood. The Heavenly Emperor rejected Xing Tian’s attempt to defuse the dispute, and Chi You stepped in to challenge him.

• Witch Clan members and Heavenly Court gods gathered in a tense standoff over the Witch Clan’s plan to rebuild Buzhou Mountain.
• Xing Tian returned from the Northern Darkness and learned that the witches believed he had ordered them to prepare for the project and a war with the Heavenly Court.
• Xing Tian explained that he had meant rebuilding their home as a long-term undertaking, not rebuilding Buzhou Mountain or fighting the Heavenly Court.
• The Heavenly Emperor appeared and accused Xing Tian and the Witch Clan of repeatedly provoking the Heavenly Court, refusing to let the matter end with an apology.
• Chi You challenged Haotian and offered to fight him himself.

Chi You challenged the Heavenly Emperor after believing the Heavenly Court had oppressed the Witch Clan, but learned the conflict began when Xing Tian’s instructions were misunderstood as a plan to rebuild Buzhou Mountain. The Dao Ancestor announced an Immortal Dao Assembly, and Chi You offered to pledge allegiance to the Heavenly Court after the confrontation subsided.

• Chi You refused to back down from the Heavenly Emperor, and the Witch Clan rallied behind his defiance.
• The Heavenly Emperor accused the Witch Clan of trying to rebuild Buzhou Mountain, leaving Chi You stunned and denying that anyone had proposed it.
• Xing Tian explained that he had told Erlang and the others to prepare to rebuild their home, and they had misunderstood his meaning.
• The Heavenly Emperor confronted Chi You over the Witch Clan’s repeated clashes with the Heavenly Court, but the Dao Ancestor’s bell interrupted their standoff and Hongjun announced an Immortal Dao Assembly in a thousand years.
• Chi You offered to make peace or pledge allegiance to the Heavenly Court, and the Heavenly Emperor left without accepting; Chi You then laughed as the immortals departed.

Chi You confronted Xing Tian over his mishandling of the Witch Clan and promised the assembled witches a method to strengthen their bloodlines. Meanwhile, the Heavenly Emperor questioned his ministers about the Dao Ancestor’s Immortal Dao Assembly and called out to his Master, uncertain whether the gathering threatened the Heavenly Court.

• Chi You reprimanded Xing Tian for the chaos that followed his absence and promised to teach the Battle Witches and Great Witches a method to improve their bloodlines before sharing it with the rest of the clan.
• Chi You lured Xing Tian to a deserted mountain ridge and punched him, then warned him that his actions could have led to the Witch Clan’s destruction.
• Chi You urged Xing Tian to act as a deputy leader and protect the clansmen instead of taking on manual labor, then teased him about finding his missing head.
• The Heavenly Emperor asked his ministers to speculate about why the Witch Clan wanted to rebuild Buzhou Mountain and what the Immortal Dao Assembly might mean.
• After dismissing the ministers, the Heavenly Emperor cupped his hands toward the void and asked whether his Master was there.

Haotian asked Qingyuan why Hongjun planned to target the Interception Sect, and Qingyuan explained that Hongjun sought to weaken the Three Pure Ones to secure control of the Primordial Wilderness. A thousand years later, the Immortal Dao Assembly began amid spectacular omens, with countless powerful cultivators setting out for Zixiao Palace.

• Haotian consulted Qingyuan about whether the Heavenly Court should attend Hongjun's Immortal Dao Assembly, and Qingyuan told him it was safe to go.
• Qingyuan explained that Hongjun viewed the Interception Sect's growing power as a threat and would eventually use the Heavenly Court as a pawn against the Three Pure Ones.
• Haotian reasoned that Hongjun would also target the Human Sect and Chan Sect, and Qingyuan told him to accept Hongjun's coming request and join his plans.
• Qingyuan predicted that the Immortal Dao Assembly would be obstructed, then tested Haotian's cultivation knowledge while Hongjun told the Saints the assembly would establish rules for the Primordial Wilderness.
• A thousand years later, Zixiao Palace appeared in Chaos, and Grand Unity Golden Immortals and Saintly Tradition disciples began traveling there for the assembly.

The Primordial Wilderness’s factions and mighty figures gathered at Zixiao Palace for the Immortal Dao Assembly, where the Dao Ancestor prepared to address them. Before he could speak, a violent darkness and mysterious chains engulfed the palace, leaving everyone trapped and panicked.

• The Heavenly Steps appeared, and cultivators from across the Primordial Wilderness set out for the Immortal Dao Assembly.
• Demon Master Hall, the Witch Clan, the Dragon Clan, the Underworld Bureau, and other forces traveled through Chaos toward Zixiao Palace.
• The Heavenly Dao Saints and their followers arrived, with the Interception Sect displaying its vast ranks of powerful disciples.
• Ling Zhuzi and Lu Ya quarreled in Zixiao Palace, and Saint Nuwa scolded them while Daoist Duobao silenced the Interception Sect disciples who mocked them.
• After the gathered leaders took their seats, the Dao Ancestor began to speak, but Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind collapsed as darkness, black flames, and mysterious chains surrounded Zixiao Palace.

A mysterious sea of black flames and bronze chains attacked Zixiao Palace during the Dao Ancestor's banquet, forcing the Heavenly Dao Saints and other cultivators to fight for survival. The Heavenly Dao Saints began losing ground, while Dao Ancestor Hongjun watched the assault and tried to identify the force behind it.

• Black flames engulfed Zixiao Palace, and Dao Ancestor Hongjun demanded to know who had come to attack his dojo.
• Venerable Yuanshi, Sect Master Tongtian, Saint Taiqing, the Western Lands' Saints, and Saint Nuwa charged into Chaos to confront the flames.
• The Demon Race Saints joined the fight but were quickly overwhelmed by bronze chains that pierced and pinned them in the burning sea.
• Chi You, Xing Tian, Jiu Feng, Candle Dragon, and the other Hunyuan Saints stayed inside the palace as they watched the chains torture the Demon Race Saints.
• The chains and flames devastated Chaos and damaged Zixiao Palace, while the Heavenly Dao Saints suffered injuries and retreated under the overwhelming assault.

A mysterious Chaos Black Lotus attacked Zixiao Palace, skewering the Heavenly Dao Saints and Hunyuan Saints before Dao Ancestor Hongjun fought back. After the lotus’s main root struck at Hongjun, everything seemed to return to normal, leaving the cultivators unsure whether the destruction had truly happened.

• The Chaos Black Lotus’s roots pierced the Two Shakya, Nuwa, the Three Pure Ones, and other saints, pinning them above its sea of black fire.
• Hongjun blew away the black flames, revealing the enormous Chaos Black Lotus whose roots had attacked the saints.
• Hongjun struck the lotus and shattered countless offshoot roots, but the lotus itself remained unharmed.
• The saints retreated into Zixiao Palace and warned Hongjun about the lotus, which they feared might bring a great calamity.
• After Hongjun assured the saints that he could protect them, a main root smashed through Zixiao Palace and attacked him.
• Hongjun met the root with the power of the Creation Jade Disk and the Heavenly Dao Eyes, and the cultivators experienced a collapse of reality before everything appeared normal again.

The World-Ending Black Lotus appeared twice near Zixiao Palace, resisting Dao Ancestor Hongjun’s attack before vanishing into Chaos. Hongjun identified it as the World-Ending Millstone and canceled the Immortal Dao Assembly, sending everyone home.

• The cultivators and Saints questioned Dao Ancestor Hongjun about the black lotus, and he explained that it was the World-Ending Demon Lotus, also known as the World-Ending Millstone.
• The black lotus’s roots surrounded Zixiao Palace again as Hongjun attacked it with the Creation Jade Disk, but his strike had no effect and the lotus soon vanished.
• The gathered cultivators recognized the lotus as the World-Ending Millstone, while Qingyuan privately worried about his true body.
• Sect Master Tongtian asked whether the Immortal Dao Assembly would continue, and Hongjun canceled it and opened passages for everyone to return to the Primordial Wilderness.

After the Immortal Dao Assembly ended, Dao Ancestor Hongjun privately summoned a group of Saints and explained that the World-Ending Demon Lotus heralded an Immeasurable Calamity. He said the only way to prevent it was through a Slaughter Tribulation, leaving the assembled Saints to face an ominous path to survival.

• Sect Master Tongtian confronted Daoist Zhunti and Saint Jieyin, but Dao Ancestor Hongjun ordered them and the other Saints to leave Zixiao Palace.
• Hongjun summoned five Heavenly Dao Saints and numerous Hunyuan Saints, while Sect Master Tongtian and Empress Pingxin were absent.
• Hongjun explained that conflict among living beings and the changing world generated Tribulation Qi, and that the World-Ending Demon Lotus warned of an approaching Immeasurable Calamity.
• Hongjun told the Saints that Hunyuan Saints would not survive the calamity and that even Heavenly Dao Saints faced only a slim chance if the Primordial Wilderness was destroyed.
• Hongjun declared that only a Slaughter Tribulation could wear away Tribulation Qi and prevent the Immeasurable Calamity from descending.

Hongjun summoned the Saints to Zixiao Palace and declared that destroying the Interception Sect through a Slaughter Tribulation would help restrain the Immeasurable Calamity. After the Saints agreed to cooperate, Haotian and Yuanshi clashed over the coming conflict, while Chi You and Xing Tian returned to Buzhou Mountain Ruins wary of Hongjun’s plans.

• Xing Tian questioned Hongjun’s claim that slaughter could quell the Immeasurable Calamity, and Hongjun said the right targets had to be killed to stop the crisis.
• Chi You asked which side would face the Slaughter Tribulation, and Hongjun promised the Witch Clan a place to dwell if it avoided wrongdoing.
• Hongjun identified the Interception Sect as the target, shocking the Saints while the Witch Clan and Demon Race Saints considered the resources they could gain from its destruction.
• Hongjun promised Haotian an opportunity to become a Saint and retain his position as Heavenly Emperor, and Haotian agreed to obey his commands.
• Haotian and Yuanshi traded insults over the planned conflict before Hongjun ordered them to stop, then dismissed the Saints after explaining the plan.
• Chi You and Xing Tian returned to Buzhou Mountain Ruins and agreed that cooperating with Hongjun was both an opportunity for the Witch Clan and a dangerous necessity.

The Heavenly Emperor rejected the Dao Ancestor’s gift and ordered Yuanshi to send the Twelve Golden Immortals to the Heavenly Court, silencing ministers who challenged him. As Yang Jiao, Yang Jian, and Yang Chan arrived seeking positions, he sent Taibai Golden Star to deliver his decree to Kunlun.

• The Heavenly Emperor ordered the Dao Ancestor’s Innate Spiritual Treasure placed by the Imperial Horse Bureau stables, then rebuked the immortals who urged him to reconsider.
• The Heavenly Emperor ordered Literary Star Lord to draft a decree commanding Venerable Yuanshi to send the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Heavenly Origin Sect to the Heavenly Court.
• The Heavenly Emperor refused to admit Yang Jiao, Yang Jian, and Yang Chan, but allowed them to remain in the Heavenly Realm when they refused to leave.
• The Heavenly Emperor rejected Literary Star Lord’s weakly worded decree, ordered him cast into Reincarnation, and sent Taibai Golden Star to deliver a replacement to Kunlun.

Taibai Golden Star arrived at Jade Void Palace to deliver the Heavenly Emperor’s message and found the Twelve Golden Immortals gathered with Venerable Yuanshi. His refusal to kneel angered the Twelve Golden Immortals, who demanded his death.

• Taibai Golden Star looked over the Chan Sect’s Immortal Market and judged it an inferior imitation of the Interception Sect’s Heavenly Palace Immortal City.
• Taibai Golden Star walked to Jade Void Palace and requested an audience with Venerable Yuanshi on the Heavenly Emperor’s orders.
• Taibai Golden Star entered the inner hall, saw the Twelve Golden Immortals and other disciples, and noticed a black panther listening to Venerable Yuanshi’s teachings.
• Taibai Golden Star bowed to Venerable Yuanshi without kneeling, enraging the Twelve Golden Immortals.
• The Twelve Golden Immortals insulted Taibai Golden Star and urged Venerable Yuanshi to kill him.

Taibai Golden Star endured Venerable Yuanshi’s pressure to deliver Haotian’s decree ordering the Chan Sect disciples to perform labor in Heaven. Haotian appeared to protect him and gave Yuanshi five hundred years to comply, while the Heavenly Court’s ministers watched and began to see their power differently.

• Guangchengzi and the Chan Sect Immortals demanded that Venerable Yuanshi kill Taibai Golden Star for refusing to kneel.
• Taibai Golden Star declared that he represented the Heavenly Emperor’s dignity, endured Yuanshi’s Saintly pressure without kneeling, and presented the imperial decree.
• Taibai Golden Star read Haotian’s order for Yuanshi to send Chan Sect disciples to Heaven for penal labor, and Yuanshi attacked him in anger.
• Haotian appeared through the decree, mocked Yuanshi and his disciples, demanded the disciples be sent to Heaven, and set a five-hundred-year deadline before taking Taibai Golden Star away.
• Yuanshi dismissed the Chan Sect Immortals’ protests and resumed expounding the Dao, while Haotian’s ministers watched the events through the Haotian Mirror and were shaken by the Heavenly Court’s growing confidence.
• A report announced that Taibai Golden Star had returned to the Lingxiao Treasure Hall.

Haotian rewarded Taibai Golden Star for his mission to Kunlun and appointed Gao Heng to weaponize the Heavenly Court’s internet against the Chan Sect. On Golden Ao Island, Tongtian learned about the Saints’ schemes against the Interception Sect and declared that he would resist rather than accept his fate.

• Haotian welcomed the injured Taibai Golden Star, granted him a high rank and lavish rewards, and ordered Wang Lingguan to guard him as he recovered.
• Haotian condemned the Chan Sect for rejecting his offer and asked his ministers how to make them submit without attacking their Saint’s domain.
• Gao Heng proposed using the Heavenly Court’s internet to publicly disgrace the Chan Sect, and Haotian appointed him chief officer of the Water Corps Bureau to carry out the plan.
• After returning to Golden Ao Island, Tongtian questioned Qingyuan about the Black Lotus and heard how Qingyuan had used its power against the Two Shakya.
• Tongtian opened a Great Thousand World and challenged Qingyuan to spar so he could test the Black Lotus’s power and the Interception Sect’s strength.
• Tongtian declared that he would resist the Saints’ plans and decide his own fate rather than yield to Heaven.

Qingyuan learned that Sect Master Tongtian was ready to fight for the Interception Sect, then tested Qingyuan's strength and acknowledged his mastery of laws. After leaving Biyou Palace, Qingyuan reassured his disciples that the Interception Sect and Primordial Wilderness were safe and explained that the black lotus was the sect's savior.

• Qingyuan laughed with joy when Sect Master Tongtian resolved to gamble everything to protect the Interception Sect.
• Sect Master Tongtian tested Qingyuan in a Great Thousand Worlds and realized Qingyuan's grasp of Great Dao Law surpassed his own.
• Qingyuan urged Sect Master Tongtian to take responsibility for his disciples while warning them against disobeying his orders.
• Qingyuan returned to his dojo, where Yun Zhongzi asked whether the Interception Sect faced calamity and what the black lotus in Chaos was.
• Qingyuan assured the disciples that the Interception Sect and Primordial Wilderness would survive, and said the black lotus was the Interception Sect's savior.

Qingyuan warned his disciples that a Slaughter Tribulation would develop into a Tribulation of Calamity and began preparing them to pursue the Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortal path. As Tribulation Qi spread, Haotian arrived at Zixiao Palace to accuse Yuanshi Tianzun and demand that the Chan Sect immortals serve in the Heavenly Court.

• Qingyuan told his disciples that he would teach them the Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortal path and warned that the coming Tribulation of Calamity would endanger even Saints.
• Great Peng Bird encouraged the disciples to trust Qingyuan, but Qingyuan admitted he could not predict the tribulation and promised to protect them.
• Qingyuan ordered his disciples to settle their affairs and return to his dojo in ten years, then realized the Heavenly Secrets were becoming difficult to deduce as Tribulation Qi spread.
• Qingyuan saw Haotian traveling to Zixiao Palace and recognized that his complaint against Yuanshi Tianzun would set the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation in motion.
• Haotian accused Yuanshi Tianzun of sheltering disciples who had committed the Red Dust Tribulation and asked Hongjun to punish the Chan Sect.
• Haotian demanded permission to bring the Chan Sect immortals to the Heavenly Realm to serve, claiming this would cleanse them of the Red Dust Tribulation.

The Heavenly Emperor Haotian confronted Dao Ancestor Hongjun over the Chan Sect’s defiance and demanded authority to discipline the Mystic Gate. Venerable Yuanshi attacked Haotian, and the two prepared to clash again before Hongjun intervened, but Haotian still insisted on justice.

• Haotian told Hongjun that the Heavenly Court lacked personnel and accused the Chan Sect and Venerable Yuanshi of defying the Heavenly Rules.
• Haotian demanded that Hongjun control the Chan Sect and Yuanshi, declaring that he would manage the Mystic Gate if Hongjun could not.
• Yuanshi rushed into the Chaos and attacked Haotian with Yuqing immortal qi, but Haotian countered with the Thunder Seal and shattered his assault.
• Haotian mocked Yuanshi and demanded that the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Heavenly Origin Sect enter the Heavenly Realm to serve.
• Yuanshi swung the Pangu Banner at Haotian, but Hongjun rebuked them both and forced them apart.
• Haotian refused to back down, telling Hongjun that he had come to demand justice and would take it himself if the Mystic Gate would not provide it.

Haotian demanded that Hongjun judge Yuanshi for shielding disciples who committed the Red Dust Slaughter Tribulation, but Hongjun captured him with his fly whisk. A mysterious power then took over Haotian’s body, shattered the whisk, and intimidated Hongjun before Haotian returned to the Primordial Wilderness and Hongjun summoned the Saints to discuss the matter.

• Yuanshi mocked Haotian as a pawn, but Haotian retorted that he could challenge the Mystic Gate while its Saints and Hongjun could do nothing to stop him.
• Haotian demanded that Hongjun judge Yuanshi for shielding the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Heavenly Origin Sect, and Hongjun asked him to return while he considered the matter.
• Haotian refused to leave without an answer, so Hongjun trapped him in the strands of his fly whisk.
• A mysterious power took control of Haotian’s body, broke Hongjun’s fly whisk with Chaos Divine Thunder, and challenged Hongjun to meet it later.
• The power vanished and Haotian returned to himself; Hongjun retreated with Zixiao Palace, Yuanshi departed, and Haotian returned to the Primordial Wilderness.
• Hongjun summoned the Saints into Zixiao Palace to discuss the matter.

Hongjun summoned the Saints to Zixiao Palace to discuss the mysterious power behind Haotian and the Interception Sect, then invited Haotian to negotiate the Investiture of the Gods. Haotian accepted the plan, but Hongjun said it could begin only after the Five Emperors were decided and the Human Race prospered.

• Hongjun gathered the Saints, who discussed Haotian’s mysterious patron and the Interception Sect’s connection to the East Sea.
• Hongjun proposed eliminating the Interception Sect and putting its members on the Investiture of the Gods; the Saints agreed.
• Haotian realized his master might not be Qingyuan, the First Disciple of Interception Sect, and felt his confidence and reverence for his master grow.
• Hongjun invited Haotian to Zixiao Palace and offered the Investiture of the Gods as a way to supply the Heavenly Realm with officials under Haotian’s command.
• Haotian asserted his authority over the Heavenly Realm and the Primordial Wilderness, and Hongjun agreed that the Investiture of the Gods had to wait until after the Five Emperors were decided and the Human Race prospered.

In Zixiao Palace, the Heavenly Emperor forced Hongjun to set boundaries for the Witch-Demon Two Clans and watched the Dao Ancestor place the Queen Mother of the West under his authority. After the gathering ended, Chan Sect Immortals kicked the Little Black Leopard around at Qilin Cliff until True Person Huanglong intervened.

• Nuwa told Hongjun that the Three Sovereigns refused to leave Huoyun Cave, and Hongjun instructed the Saints to absorb their shares of the Human Dao Origin.
• Hongjun assigned the Queen Mother of the West and the female immortals of the Heavenly Realm to the Heavenly Emperor’s governance, while the Heavenly Emperor mocked his autocratic decision.
• The Heavenly Emperor demanded that the Witch-Demon Two Clans be restrained, and Hongjun confined each clan to its assigned territory; the Saints reluctantly agreed.
• Hongjun warned the Saints not to spread word of the meeting and said they would discuss the Investiture of the Gods after the Five Emperors matter was settled.
• At Qilin Cliff, Chan Sect Immortals chased and kicked the Little Black Leopard like a football until True Person Huanglong angrily challenged them.

True Person Huanglong vented his humiliation on Shen Gongbao, ordering Chan Sect Outer Disciples to kick and nearly kill the little leopard while they blamed him for their own misconduct. After the disciples left Shen Gongbao badly injured, he tried to heal himself but collapsed, then awoke near an elderly Daoist.

• True Person Huanglong rebuked the Outer Disciples to vent his frustration after Guangchengzi had refused to lend him the Heaven-Listening Bell for a dangerous trip into the Heaven Abyss.
• The Outer Disciples blamed Shen Gongbao for their commotion, and Shen Gongbao accepted responsibility to keep them from being punished.
• True Person Huanglong threatened to expel Shen Gongbao, then ordered the disciples to kick him until he was near death.
• Scarlet Spirit Immortal blamed Shen Gongbao for angering Huanglong, stomped on him, and left with the other disciples.
• Shen Gongbao tried to heal himself with the Yuqing Nine-Cavern Spirit-Origin Art but collapsed, and later awoke beside white clouds near an elderly Daoist.

After dying from abuse by Chan Sect disciples, Shen Gongbao met a mysterious old Daoist who offered him cultivation and spells. The old Daoist challenged Shen Gongbao’s loyalty to Venerable Yuanshi and left him reeling by calling him expendable material for filling the Sea Eye.

• Shen Gongbao awoke above the clouds without injuries and found a mysterious old Daoist waiting for him.
• The old Daoist asked whether Shen Gongbao wanted to keep living in the Chan Sect, and Shen Gongbao described enduring humiliation for his family’s sake.
• The old Daoist offered Shen Gongbao a cultivation method and spells, but Shen Gongbao hesitated out of fear of betraying the Chan Sect and endangering his family.
• The old Daoist revealed that Shen Gongbao had died and showed him his body beneath a tree at Qilin Cliff.
• Shen Gongbao refused to take another master because he believed he belonged to Venerable Yuanshi, but the old Daoist argued that the Chan Sect had never treated him as a true disciple and called him expendable material for filling the Sea Eye.