Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• The Sages suppress the Chaos Demon God remnants attacking across the Primordial True Realm. Their victories seem straightforward, but they suspect Yang Mei’s attacks are a diversion.
• Yang Mei reveals his real plan: using the Nether Blood Sea’s power, he restores the bodies of the Blood, Fiendish, and Netherworld Demon Gods. They tear open the realm’s barrier and threaten its inhabitants.
• Tongtian, Taishang, Jieyin, and Zhunti drive the three demons outside the Primordial World to contain the damage. Nuwa and Taishang stabilize the breach, while Xuan Yin stays behind to guard against further schemes.
• With Hongjun distracted by the damaged barrier, Yang Mei gains the initiative—but Hongjun reveals that the Jade Disc of Creation has been restored as a Chaos Supreme Treasure. He uses it and Heavenly Dao power to form an axe of laws modeled on Pangu’s Heaven-Opening Axe.
• Hongjun gravely wounds Yang Mei, who sacrifices the Space-Time Wheel to escape. Using Spacetime Displacement, Yang Mei switches places with an avatar inside the Primordial True Realm, apparently intending to strike back.

Character developments

• Hongjun reveals that he had anticipated Yang Mei’s maneuver and deliberately allowed the crisis to develop, creating an opening to land a decisive blow. Restoring the Jade Disc marks a major increase in his power.
• Yang Mei proves resourceful and difficult to kill, but his confidence gives way to retreat once Hongjun’s restored treasure overwhelms him. He remains dangerous because he can escape through surviving branches and avatars.
• Xuan Yin acts effectively against the remnants but follows Tongtian’s instruction to remain on guard, showing caution as well as strength.
• The Sages coordinate more closely when the realm itself is threatened, combining their powers to protect the barrier and contain the demons.

Significant themes

• Power and the Heavenly Dao: The Sages’ struggle is ultimately a contest over who shapes the Primordial World’s destiny.
• Strategy and deception: Yang Mei uses the remnants as a diversion; Hongjun, in turn, lets the crisis unfold to create an opportunity.
• Strength balanced by vulnerability: Hongjun’s connection to the Heavenly Dao gives him immense power but divides his attention, while Yang Mei’s mastery of spacetime grants escape but cannot withstand Hongjun’s absolute force.
• Protection amid cosmic conflict: The battle’s consequences reach beyond its combatants, as the Sages must prevent the realm’s destruction and protect its inhabitants.

Character interactions

• Tongtian directs Xuan Yin to remain behind, anticipating another move by Yang Mei.
• The Sages cooperate to expel the revived demons and repair the breached barrier.
• Hongjun and Yang Mei exchange taunts and escalating attacks, with Hongjun ultimately revealing his restored treasure and turning the confrontation in his favor.
• Yang Mei’s escape into his Primordial True Realm avatar sets up a likely new confrontation.

Chapter Summary: Turning the Tide, the Second Primordial World

Key Plot Points and Events

• Great Immortal Yang Mei uses Spacetime Displacement to sacrifice an incarnation and escape Primordial Heavenly Venerate’s attack, but his true body remains nearby to strike at the Heavenly Dao’s foundation.
• Despite his injuries, Yang Mei forms a Saint-Slaying Arrow using the corrupted origin of the Qiankun Great Dao. The attack transcends spacetime and causality, piercing both the Fuli Primordial Treasure Pearl and Primordial Heavenly Venerate.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerate’s saintly body is destroyed, causing heaven and earth to mourn his fall. His True Spirit returns to the Heavenly Dao Origin Space.
• Xuan Yin activates a remnant of Pangu’s axe light through the Saint Law Gourd. The attack shatters Yang Mei’s body, splits his Dao Fruit, and causes his fused Time and Space Great Daos to repel one another.
• Yang Mei abandons his damaged body and escapes before Dao Ancestor Hongjun can capture him. Although grievously weakened, he survives and is no longer an immediate threat to the Primordial True Realm.
• Hongjun repairs the Primordial World Embryonic Membrane and restores the devastation caused by the battles, though doing so significantly drains the Heavenly Dao’s Origin Power.
• The other Chaos Demon Gods withdraw after Yang Mei’s defeat. Hongjun summons all the Sages to Purple Firmament Palace.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerate reconstructs his saintly body through Heavenly Dao Power, but his reputation suffers greatly after becoming the first Sage to fall.
• Hongjun reveals that he encountered Pangu’s Divine Fragment in Chaos. Pangu intends to create a Second Primordial World to help the Primordial World escape Epoch Reincarnation and eventually become eternal.
• Hongjun must oversee and stabilize the Second Primordial World, meaning he will eventually relinquish control of the current Heavenly Dao. The Sages must therefore choose a new Heavenly Dao successor, with Luohu also identified as a contender.

Character Developments

• Great Immortal Yang Mei: Demonstrates overwhelming power even while injured, sacrificing the Qiankun Great Dao to kill Primordial Heavenly Venerate. However, Pangu’s axe light severely damages his Dao Fruit and reduces his strength, forcing him to abandon his body and flee.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerate: Suffers a humiliating defeat and becomes the first Sage to fall. Though resurrected, he senses the contempt of the Primordial World’s inhabitants and realizes that the Exposition Sect’s reputation and fortune have declined.
• Xuan Yin: Reveals that he possesses another powerful legacy from Pangu. He uses it to drive Yang Mei away and then deliberately intimidates the Exposition Sect disciples, arguing absurdly that fighting them would be a contest between peers rather than bullying weaker opponents.
• Dao Ancestor Hongjun: Repairs the damaged world and maintains control despite the Heavenly Dao’s weakened Origin Power. He also reveals his agreement with Pangu and announces the coming succession crisis over the Heavenly Dao.
• Taishang Laojun: Protects the frightened Exposition Sect disciples by invoking Hongjun’s decree and tries to restrain Xuan Yin. He is visibly unsettled by Xuan Yin’s hidden Pangu-related power.
• The Sages: Learn that Pangu does not intend to dictate their individual paths. They are instead confronted with the enormous political opportunity—and danger—of inheriting the Heavenly Dao.

Significant Themes

• Power and sacrifice: Yang Mei’s attack succeeds only because he sacrifices the Qiankun Great Dao, showing the immense costs required to defeat a Sage.
• Higher-order suppression: Pangu’s axe light operates on a level beyond ordinary spacetime techniques, overwhelming even Yang Mei’s mastery of Time and Space.
• Reputation and humiliation: Primordial Heavenly Venerate’s defeat damages not only his pride but also the standing, fortune, and authority of the entire Exposition Sect.
• Order versus transcendence: Pangu’s plan seeks to create an eternal realm beyond Epoch Reincarnation, while Hongjun’s role is to impose stability and order on the new world.
• Succession and political struggle: Hongjun’s eventual departure creates a contest for control of the Heavenly Dao, with the Sages and Luohu positioned as potential rivals.
• Individual destiny: Pangu refuses to interfere directly in the Sages’ futures, emphasizing that each must follow their own Dao.

Important Character Interactions

• Yang Mei and Primordial Heavenly Venerate: Their battle ends with Yang Mei’s Saint-Slaying Arrow destroying Primordial Heavenly Venerate’s body and forcing his True Spirit back into the Heavenly Dao.
• Yang Mei and Xuan Yin: Xuan Yin follows Yang Mei’s victory with Pangu’s axe light, inflicting the damage that forces Yang Mei to flee.
• Xuan Yin and Taishang Laojun: Taishang warns Xuan Yin not to attack the Exposition Sect under Hongjun’s decree. Xuan Yin responds with deliberately twisted logic, provoking Taishang while frightening the disciples.
• Hongjun and the Sages: Hongjun reassures them that Yang Mei is no longer an immediate threat, then reveals Pangu’s plans and the coming transfer of Heavenly Dao authority.
• Hongjun and Pangu: Pangu restored the Jade Disc of Creation, and in return Hongjun agreed to establish and govern the Second Primordial World until it can be merged with the existing Primordial True Realm.

Key plot points and events

• Demon Ancestor Luohu appears in person at the Purple Firmament Palace and is declared eligible to compete for control of the Primordial World Heavenly Dao. Hongjun says the contest must reflect the Heavenly Dao’s principle of fairness.
• The sages debate whose teachings best embody the Heavenly Dao. Yuanshi argues for his Exposition Sect, while Xuan Yin counters that Tongtian’s Interception Sect has proved more successful at educating disciples—including Xuan Yin himself. Yuanshi responds that Xuan Yin’s achievements belong to the Earthly Dao, but Xuan Yin suggests he could become a Heavenly Dao Sage through the Tribulation Dao.
• Hongjun confirms that his departure will leave a Heavenly Dao Sage’s seat vacant. It will go to a teacher from the Northern Lands, making Kun Peng a leading possibility, though Zhiming, Zhenwu, and the North Sea Black Tortoise may also contend.
• The sages consider how to influence the succession. Nuwa welcomes Kun Peng’s prospects as a potential ally; Yuanshi opposes them; Taishang considers backing Zhenwu; and Jieyin and Zhunti contemplate helping the North Sea Black Tortoise.
• Hongjun sets three measures for the contest to become lord of the Heavenly Dao: personal power, the strength of one’s disciples, and recognition by the world’s living beings. Houtu is excluded as Earthly Dao’s ruler, while Xuan Yin is currently ineligible as an Earthly Dao Sage.
• Xuan Yin privately learns that Luohu is willing to pass his Heavenly Dao Sage seat to him, provided Xuan Yin helps hunt Chaos Demon Gods so Luohu can strengthen the Devil Dao.
• Luohu reveals his theory that the Chaos Universe’s origin has divine and devilish aspects. He claims Pangu separated these aspects when creating the world, producing both the Innate Divine Beings and the Hongmeng Ferocious Beasts—and ultimately causing the Ferocious Beast Calamity.

Character developments and interactions

• Hongjun presents the succession as a matter of impartial fairness, while quietly favoring Kun Peng but allowing other northern candidates a chance.
• Xuan Yin strengthens his case for Tongtian’s teaching, considers gaining Heavenly Dao status, and becomes a potential heir to Luohu’s seat. His exchange with Luohu also exposes a much larger cosmological ambition.
• Luohu is revealed to have ambitions beyond ruling the Heavenly Dao: he seeks to embody the universe’s dark aspect by gathering devilish nature.
• The sages respond according to their rivalries and alliances: Nuwa favors Kun Peng, Yuanshi resents the prospect, Taishang weighs Zhenwu’s claim, and the Western sages consider backing the Black Tortoise.

Significant themes

• Fairness versus factional ambition: The Heavenly Dao’s rules demand an open contest, but the sages immediately look for ways to advance their own allies.
• Teaching and legitimacy: A sage’s claim depends not only on power but also on disciples and public recognition.
• Balance and duality: Luohu’s theory frames divinity and devilish nature as complementary cosmic forces, with their separation shaping the world’s history.
• Power as responsibility and constraint: Becoming lord of the Heavenly Dao offers immense authority but requires impartiality and may limit a sage’s freedom.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• Xuan Yin questions why the Four Extremes Holy Monarchs and the North Sea Black Tortoise—beings born as ferocious beasts—became guardians rather than threats to the Primordial True Realm.
• Luohu explains that divine and demonic natures are attributes, not fixed moral destinies. Intelligent beings choose paths according to circumstances and self-interest: even demons may serve order, while divine beings can cause harm.
• Luohu’s explanation inspires Xuan Yin to see a possible path of his own. He plans to combine successive attainments through the Earthly, Heavenly, and Humanity Daos with his Law Dao, ultimately using it to govern the Great Dao’s aspect of order. He also realizes that order and chaos depend on one another, making future cooperation with Luohu plausible.
• In the Purple Firmament Palace, Hongjun lays out three conditions for becoming Heavenly Dao Lord: surpassing the other sages in strength, having exceptional disciples, and earning recognition from the Primordial World’s beings.
• The sages assess their prospects and begin devising ways to meet the discipleship requirement. Jieyin and Zhunti consider Jieyin becoming Shakyamuni’s disciple, while Nuwa considers asking Xuan Yin to become her registered disciple. Their schemes exploit what Hongjun’s rules do not explicitly forbid.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerate, behind in cultivation and dissatisfied with his disciples, confronts his repeated failures through introspection. He stops blaming bad luck and others’ tactics, recognizing that his fixation on Tongtian, rivalry, and pride has distracted him from his own Dao.
• His Dao heart is reforged. Through the Origin Heart Seal, he glimpses a new route to second certification: attaining the Dao through his own perfected heart, relying on nothing external. He has not yet completed the attainment, but has taken its crucial first step.

Character developments and interactions

• Xuan Yin moves from puzzlement about the nature of good and evil to a clearer personal philosophy: darkness and chaos need not prevent someone from pursuing light and order. Luohu’s reasoning becomes a catalyst for Xuan Yin’s plans and potential alliance with him.
• Luohu presents himself as pragmatic and self-interested, arguing that beings adapt to whichever system offers the greatest benefit. His conversation with Xuan Yin also reveals that his ambition to govern the Great Dao’s dark side is itself an effort to impose rules on chaos.
• The sages react to Hongjun’s criteria with rivalry and practical scheming, especially around cultivating or affiliating with promising disciples. Nuwa’s contemplated request to Xuan Yin is not yet known to him.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerate undergoes the chapter’s most significant change. Rather than collapsing under defeat, he accepts responsibility, renews his confidence in his own Dao, and turns failure into a source of strength.

Significant themes

• Nature versus choice: Divine and demonic origins do not determine a being’s morality or ultimate allegiance.
• Self-interest and changing loyalties: In the Primordial True Realm, beings often adapt to shifting power and opportunity.
• Order and chaos as interdependent forces: Each contains an aspect of the other; establishing order may require understanding darkness and chaos.
• Rules and loopholes: The sages treat Hongjun’s conditions as a contest to be optimized, exploiting anything not expressly prohibited.
• Inner conviction and growth through failure: Primordial Heavenly Venerate’s breakthrough centers on looking inward, accepting defeat, and strengthening his Dao heart rather than seeking power or validation outside himself.

Key plot points and events

• Primordial Heavenly Venerate’s Origin Heart Seal evolves after his fall, giving him an unshakable Dao heart. Seeing this, Xuan Yin also experiences a breakthrough: rather than feeling threatened, he draws strength from his rival’s transformation.
• Dao Ancestor Hongjun declares that the struggle to become master of the Heavenly Dao will be decided in thirty Epochs. Sages may compete, but they must not fight one another within the Primordial True Realm; their disciples may fall in the coming calamity and be placed on the Investiture of the Gods List.
• Hongjun rules that a contender who becomes Heavenly Dao master must relinquish any Earthly Dao authority. Nuwa and Xuan Yin therefore have little reason to pursue the position at the cost of their Earthly Dao Sage status; both favor a broader path involving all Three Daos.
• The Sages leave to recover and pursue their own plans. The Qiankun Cauldron remains in Nuwa’s custody for now, with its eventual ownership tacitly tied to the outcome of the Dao Struggle.
• On Golden Ao Island, Tongtian tells Xuan Yin that he does not need to become Heavenly Dao master, but he intends to take part in the struggle to test whose vision of the Great Dao will prevail. Xuan Yin agrees: their deeper aim is to preserve the “slender chance of survival” against the Heavenly Dao’s fixed order, even if they ultimately yield the position.
• Xuan Yin senses that Ziwei and Dijun have returned through reincarnation. Their intertwined past conflicts, treasures, and karmic ties have drawn them both into the Human Race, where they have become Emperor Ku and Emperor Yao—setting up a future contest over the Imperial Way.

Character developments and interactions

• Primordial Heavenly Venerate turns setbacks into resolve, using his Dao heart itself as a path to attain the Dao. His transformation inspires Xuan Yin, whose Heart Source Power surges and whose confidence remains intact.
• Xuan Yin and Tongtian recognize that the Heavenly Dao struggle is not merely about authority: it is a way to defend the Interception Sect’s principles and secure recognition for the chance of survival within a seemingly predetermined order.
• Jieyin questions whether Nuwa and Xuan Yin can fairly compete while holding Earthly Dao authority, but Hongjun rejects this objection. Nuwa and Xuan Yin independently conclude that their greater ambitions lie beyond ruling a single Dao.
• Houtu leaves to restore Dijiang and Zhu Jiuyin, while the other Sages depart to repair their losses, refine captured Demon God essences, or strengthen their respective Daos.

Significant themes

• Resilience through adversity: Primordial Heavenly Venerate’s recovery transforms defeat into a stronger Dao heart.
• Rivalry as mutual refinement: Xuan Yin’s opponent’s growth sharpens rather than diminishes his own resolve.
• Choice versus cosmic order: The Sages struggle over whether the Heavenly Dao’s fixed design can accommodate a “slender chance of survival.”
• Cause and effect: Past betrayals, treasures, and karmic debts shape the present and bring Ziwei and Dijun together in a new life.
• Power versus purpose: Mastering the Heavenly Dao is not necessarily the highest goal; several characters value broader Dao paths or the principles behind the contest more than the title itself.

Plot points and events

• Reincarnations and the identities of the Human Race’s Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors vary across timelines. Dijun and Ziwei’s simultaneous return introduces another change to the usual course of history.
• Dijun is reborn as Emperor Ku’s great-grandson, while Ziwei refuses to become his enemy’s son and takes form in Qingdu’s womb. Their births are marked by the Solar Star and Ziwei Star appearing to rival one another.
• Xuan Yin, who owes Ziwei for the Northern Yin Black Law, decides not to take sides in the looming conflict. Instead, he seeks to meet both men and repay his debts without being drawn into their feud.
• Xuan Yin suggests that Golden Spirit Holy Mother use her identity as Dou Mu Yuan Jun—the Mother of All Stars—to win over Ziwei and other Star Gods, potentially strengthening Xuan Yin’s faction in the coming struggle over the Heavenly Dao.
• Xuan Yin visits Dijun and discovers that he has rebuilt his Daluo path by absorbing traits from many races and nearly a thousand Daluo beings. He explains this as seeking the infinite through the finite: a Dao of change that gathers many paths into one. Dijun’s Emperor Flame smelts those powers, making him exceptionally strong.
• Dijun says he will not pursue Ziwei unless Ziwei challenges him. Xuan Yin then visits Ziwei, who asks him to help recover his Companion Spiritual Treasure and restore his authority as Ziwei Great Emperor.

Character developments and interactions

• Xuan Yin is cautious about competing loyalties: he values both Dijun and Ziwei, but chooses neutrality while looking for ways to repay Ziwei and build alliances. He also teases Ziwei about suddenly becoming his “nephew.”
• Dijun has transformed his cultivation and ambitions, abandoning his former Three-Corpse path to pursue an all-embracing Daluo Dao. Though confident in his strength, he claims he will not initiate a conflict with Ziwei.
• Ziwei remains resentful toward Dijun and unwilling to accept him as a father. Despite his return and rapid growth, he recognizes Xuan Yin’s greater power and seeks practical help to regain his former position.
• Golden Spirit Holy Mother confronts the strange duality of being both Ziwei’s mother and the one who defeated his former mother, Lady Ziguang. She quickly understands Xuan Yin’s political proposal and considers how her authority as Doumu might unite the Star Gods.
• Xuan Yin and Golden Spirit Holy Mother discuss recruiting Star Gods, including Ziwei and Gouchen; Xuan Yin and Dijun discuss Dijun’s new Dao and his intentions toward Ziwei; Xuan Yin and Ziwei negotiate repayment of their old debt.

Significant themes

• Change and shifting destiny: History is not fixed; reincarnation and cosmic events can create new timelines and alter established roles.
• Debts, loyalties, and neutrality: Xuan Yin must balance past favors and current alliances without becoming a participant in the conflict.
• Identity and paradox: Golden Spirit Holy Mother’s relationship to Lady Ziguang—and thus to Ziwei—blurs the boundaries between mother, rival, and former self.
• Power through synthesis: Dijun’s path embodies the idea that the finite can be used to pursue the infinite, gathering diverse Dao traits into a single imperial power.
• Cosmic politics: Control of the Star Gods may become a decisive factor in the wider struggle for authority over the Heavenly Dao.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Ziwei tells Xuan Yin that he intends to restore his former power and reclaim his place in the Heavenly Court. To do so, he needs his companion treasure, the Zhou Tian Star Chart, and support in recovering the authority that was divided among other gods.
• Xuan Yin and Golden Spirit Holy Mother agree to help. Xuan Yin arranges for Suirenshi to exchange the Star Chart for a supreme-grade innate spiritual treasure, then has Golden Spirit deliver it to Ziwei, deliberately strengthening Ziwei’s ties to her and the Interception Sect.
• Ziwei plans to serve the Human Race by improving its knowledge of the stars and seasons and teaching it a calendar useful for agriculture. This will repay the karma of his new body and help him win the people’s recognition and fortune.
• Xuan Yin returns to Golden Ao Island and spends two epochs refining the Deception Demon God’s Great Dao origin. Combined with his Law Dao and heart-source power, it lets him simulate the traits of other Great Daos.
• Xuan Yin uses this ability to manifest the primordial-source trait, elevating his standing across the immortal, devil, divine, and Buddhist systems. His Great Dao imprint advances dramatically, including rising to tenth among candidates for Shakyamuni.
• The Primordial Heavenly Venerate sees Xuan Yin’s imprint approaching his own and tries to suppress it with a net of laws. Xuan Yin breaks through, but stops short of fully realizing the primordial-source Great Dao: his return-ruins Great Dao resists the attempt, and he still needs outside support.
• Xuan Yin decides to visit Luohu in the Demon Realm. Before leaving, he challenges Yuanshi in thought, eager to see which of them will complete a second certification first.

Character developments and interactions

• Ziwei shifts from seeking personal restoration to pursuing a role among the Human Race. His plan to establish a calendar gives him a way to benefit humanity while rebuilding his fortune and influence.
• Xuan Yin shows strategic skill in cultivating alliances: he helps Ziwei recover his treasure while arranging for Golden Spirit’s delivery to bind Ziwei more closely to the Interception Sect.
• Xuan Yin’s power grows substantially, as he learns to use the Deception Demon God’s origin to imitate Great Dao traits. Yet he remains aware of the limits and risks of pushing toward primordial-source realization.
• The Primordial Heavenly Venerate becomes alarmed by Xuan Yin’s rapid rise, which threatens both his own primordial-source ambitions and his creation-opening trait. He attempts to suppress Xuan Yin, but fails.
• Golden Spirit Holy Mother, Suirenshi, and Tai Hao each contribute to the arrangement: Golden Spirit acts as intermediary, Suirenshi trades for the Star Chart, and Tai Hao approves Ziwei’s reincarnation among the Human Race.

Significant themes

• Authority, alliances, and political balance: Divine power is contested and redistributed, and cooperation is often driven by mutual advantage.
• Service as a path to legitimacy: Ziwei aims to earn the Human Race’s support through useful work, not merely reclaim authority.
• Imitation and self-transformation: Xuan Yin’s ability to simulate Great Dao traits allows him to broaden his power and status.
• Ambition constrained by limits: Xuan Yin’s progress is immense, but the resistance of other Great Daos and the need for external aid prevent an immediate breakthrough.
• Priority through attainment: The chapter’s closing idea is that whoever achieves a second certification first gains precedence—and greater influence—in the struggle over the Great Dao.

Summary

Xuan Yin meets Demon Ancestor Luohu in the Demon Realm to complete the inheritance of Luohu’s Dao fruit. Luohu doubts Xuan Yin will keep his promise, pointing out that his reputation is hated among many cultivators. Xuan Yin pretends to withdraw, but Luohu correctly predicts that Xuan Yin values the practical benefits too much to abandon the chance.
Luohu argues that Xuan Yin needs this inheritance because his foundations are weaker than those of ancient Sages, who have had many lifetimes and alternate paths to attainment. Xuan Yin recognizes that he has few other routes to advance. Luohu explains that the final step is to travel back to the Archaic Era, retrace Luohu’s path, and occupy his past concepts. Luohu will then withdraw under a new identity, Luo Tian, Lord of Darkness, rather than be erased.
Luohu warns that powerful Sages—especially the Primordial Heavenly Venerate—may try to stop the inheritance. If Xuan Yin becomes a Heavenly Dao Sage, he could enter the contest for the position of Heavenly Dao Lord, making him a rival to the other Sages. Luohu sends his imprint into Xuan Yin, beginning the journey through the chaotic River of Time and Space.
Xuan Yin passes the era Hongjun excised to suppress the Devil Dao, then arrives at the beginning of creation and descends into the Divine Luminary Palace as Star Lord Luohu. Unable to use his full present-day power without alerting the Sages, he cautiously surveys the era and investigates possible opponents. He identifies the Three Treasures Lords and senses later Daluo watching him, but makes no contact. Planning to strengthen his innate foundation by devouring the origin of a metal world, he manifests as a solemn, obscure deity and declares himself Divine Head Star Lord Luohu.

Character developments and interactions

• Xuan Yin is pragmatic and ambitious, willing to endure hostility and risk to gain the power he needs. He admits inwardly that he lacks the fallback paths available to older Sages, and approaches the past carefully to avoid detection.
• Luohu is shrewd and candid, using Xuan Yin’s ambition and lack of alternatives to ensure he follows through. He has prepared a way to survive the transfer by becoming Luo Tian.
• Their exchange is a contest of skepticism and persuasion: Xuan Yin protests Luohu’s doubts and briefly feigns leaving, while Luohu sees through the act and convinces him to proceed.

Significant themes

• Ambition versus reputation: Xuan Yin knows he is widely resented but treats survival and advancement as more important than public approval.
• Power and political rivalry: Becoming a Heavenly Dao Sage would change Xuan Yin’s standing and draw opposition from those competing for supremacy.
• Identity and inheritance: Xuan Yin can become Luohu by occupying his past concepts, while Luohu preserves himself through a new identity.
• The instability of time and history: The past is crowded with Daluo imprints, overlapping timelines, and altered identities, making reverse attainment both an opportunity and a danger.

Plot and events

• Xuan Yin realizes that taking over Luohu’s mythic legacy requires four stages: become the Divine Head Star Lord, become the Primordial World’s First White Emperor, found the Devil Dao, and finally replace Luohu as a Heavenly Dao Sage. Failure at any stage would leave his actions stranded as an unrealized timeline.
• To advance from Innate Spirit to Innate Divine Being, he attacks Lung God Hao Hua, who rules the Metal Origin World. Hao Hua detects him and counters with Dream Dao and Buddhist powers, prompting Xuan Yin to recognize the presence of Daoist Jieyin acting through an alternate identity.
• Xuan Yin uses formations, power drawn from the surrounding worlds and the Return Ruins, and attacks targeting Hao Hua’s mind and Dao heart. He defeats Hao Hua and refines the Metal Origin World’s origin, strengthening his own foundation.
• Jieyin warns that Xuan Yin’s struggle to inherit Luohu’s legacy will draw Taiqing and Yuanshi into the conflict. In particular, Taishang Laojun has already occupied the concept of Yin-Yang Ancestor, a key figure in the coming Dao-Demon War.
• Xuan Yin considers how to find allies and identifies potential figures, but recognizes that many may be sages’ disguised identities. He decides to proceed cautiously: refine the Metal Origin World, gather Luohu’s spiritual treasures, and build his White Emperor authority.
• After completing the refinement, Xuan Yin recites the White Emperor’s invocation and travels by a golden bridge to the Western Land.

Character developments and interactions

• Xuan Yin moves from outlining an ambitious plan to taking decisive action, while showing greater caution about hidden opponents and unreliable allies. He defeats Hao Hua but understands that this victory is only an early step.
• Jieyin, disguised as Hao Hua, fights Xuan Yin with Dream Dao and Buddhist techniques, then warns him of the larger danger. He refuses to acknowledge his true identity, reflecting the accepted convention that an alternate identity’s actions are not attributed to its original self.
• Hao Hua’s identity is effectively sacrificed: Xuan Yin defeats the incarnation and claims the Metal Origin World’s power.
• Xuan Yin weighs possible alliances—including his teacher Lord Lingbao, Dou Mu Yuan Jun, and Earth Mother Yuanjun—but doubts whom he can safely trust. He is especially wary of Taiqing, Yuanshi, and the many identities they may have assumed.

Significant themes

• Myth, identity, and inheritance: Xuan Yin must become the figures and fulfill the deeds associated with Luohu before he can claim Luohu’s legacy.
• Alternate identities and concealed loyalties: Sages operate through disguises, making appearances and affiliations unreliable.
• Preparation and strategy: Raw strength is not enough; Xuan Yin relies on formations, specialized techniques, and careful planning for future conflicts.
• History as possibility: A timeline that fails to merge into the River of Time and Space’s main axis never becomes settled history, raising the stakes of Xuan Yin’s mission.
• Power and authority: Refining the Metal Origin World improves Xuan Yin’s innate foundation, but he still needs to spread his Dao and accumulate the authority required to become the White Emperor.

Xuan Yin spread his modified Interception Sect methods through the western lands, gathered countless followers, and attained the White Emperor Dao Fruit. After grievously wounding White Tiger Jianbing and driving him off, Xuan Yin agreed to attend Cang Li Shi’s Meeting of Ten Thousand Gods, while suspecting Azure Heaven and Azure Sky had ties to his teacher and Taishang Laojun.

• Xuan Yin taught cultivation methods based on the Lingbao Red Scripture Jade Chapter, drawing followers whose Great Daos strengthened his White Emperor Dao Fruit until he reached the Zhiyi Realm.
• White Tiger Jianbing appeared in the west, and Xuan Yin trapped him with Primordial Magnet Divine Light and wounded him with a Primordial Magnet Divine Sword.
• Cang Li Shi, Azure Heaven, Azure Sky, and Yellow Sky attacked Jianbing, but Xuan Yin struck at them, allowing Jianbing to escape.
• Cang Li Shi explained that they had come to help fight the ferocious beasts and invited Xuan Yin to the Meeting of Ten Thousand Gods at the Tai Emperor’s Palace.
• Xuan Yin accepted the invitation scheduled for ten epochs later and resolved to watch Azure Heaven and Azure Sky closely.

Xuan Yin established his Dao at Mount Sumeru, studied cause and effect, and gathered followers whose understanding strengthened his White Emperor Dao Fruit. He claimed the Twelve-Grade Black Lotus of Destruction, forged the Four Swords of Zhu Xian, and began preparing for the coming tribulations; before the Myriad Gods Assembly, he resolved to recruit White Tiger Jianbing.

• Xuan Yin reflected on how disciples and living beings could support a sage’s Dao, then used preaching to build karmic connections and gather Dao resonances.
• Xuan Yin found the Abyss of Darkness beneath Mount Sumeru, claimed the Twelve-Grade Black Lotus of Destruction, and discovered sword embryos and chaos demon god origins.
• Xuan Yin forged the Four Swords of Zhu Xian and summoned his divine followers to rehearse a modified Myriad Gods Formation.
• Xuan Yin considered obtaining the Innate Five Elements Flags and other treasures, but concluded that he first needed to deal with Azure Heaven and Azure Sky.
• Xuan Yin decided to bring White Tiger Jianbing under his command before the Myriad Gods Assembly so he could face unforeseen changes.

Xuan Yin led his western forces against Jianbing and used the Heaven-Opening Seal to separate his divine nature from his demonic nature. Jianbing joined Xuan Yin, strengthening the White Emperor Dao Fruit, but Beast Emperor Shen Ni appeared to claim the remaining Fierce Beasts and their baleful energy.

• Xuan Yin marched with nearly seven hundred thousand followers and used the Myriad Gods Formation to overpower Jianbing and his Fierce Beasts.
• Xuan Yin examined Jianbing with Chaos Red Script, confirmed that Fierce Beasts possessed suppressed divine nature, and used the Heaven-Opening Seal to split Jianbing into divine and demonic aspects.
• Xuan Yin suppressed Jianbing’s demonic aspect with the Twelve-Grade Black Lotus of Destruction, while Jianbing’s divine aspect thanked him for severing his demonic intent.
• Xuan Yin invited Jianbing into his service, and Jianbing agreed, merging with the White Emperor Dharma Form and raising Xuan Yin’s Divine Dao cultivation to the Divine Unity Realm.
• Xuan Yin’s forces began destroying the remaining Fierce Beasts, but Beast Emperor Shen Ni appeared and drew the beasts and lingering baleful energy toward himself.

Xuan Yin strengthened the Four Swords of Zhu Xian and allied with Ancestor Dragon to preserve the Nine Sons of the Ancestral Dragon and separate the demonic aspects of Black Tortoise Zhiming and Azure Dragon Meng Zhang. After Xuan Yin subdued Zhiming’s demonic aspect, Zhiming complained that Xuan Yin had meddled in his affairs again.

• Xuan Yin fused Jianbing’s demonic aspect into the Immortal-Killing Sword, awakening a White Tiger phantom and intensifying the sword’s killing power.
• Xuan Yin met Ancestor Dragon, who agreed to support him in exchange for help preserving the true spirit imprints of Yazi, Qiu Niu, Suanni, and the other dragon sons.
• Xuan Yin agreed to preserve the Nine Sons’ true spirits through the Human Emperor Banner, accepting that they would form karmic ties with the humanity Dao.
• Ancestor Dragon rallied the North Sea’s Innate Divine Beings against the Fierce Beasts while Xuan Yin attacked Black Tortoise Zhiming.
• Xuan Yin used Jianbing, the Return Ruins Seal, and the Heaven-Opening Seal to split Zhiming’s divine and demonic aspects, then suppressed the demonic aspect with the Twelve-Grade Black Lotus of Destruction.
• Zhiming’s divine aspect descended into the spacetime and rebuked Xuan Yin for meddling with his causality, while Ancestor Dragon urged him to accept the change and become an Innate Divine Being.