Chapter Summaries

Gu Hui watched the Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament and assessed several Qingyun Sect disciples, praising Lu Xueqi most highly after she defeated her opponent with Tianya. The tournament continued with Shui Yue's disciple singled out as an extraordinary talent.

• Gu Hui opened the Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament at Cloud Sea Plaza, where disciples competed across eight arenas.
• Gu Hui praised Tian Buyi's young daughter, Lin Jingyu, and Zeng Shushu for their cultivation and talent.
• Lu Xueqi cut her Longshou Peak opponent's immortal sword in two with Tianya, prompting Daoist Cangsong to criticize Shui Yue.
• Shui Yue explained that Lu Xueqi could not yet fully control Tianya's power and looked to Gu Hui for his judgment.
• Gu Hui recognized Lu Xueqi's eighth-level Yuqing Realm cultivation and declared that she was very good.

After Gu Hui praised Lu Xueqi’s talent and warned her to refine her spiritual energy, the tournament advanced to the semifinals. Zhang Xiaofan and Lu Xueqi’s clash destroyed the arena, and Lu Xueqi began using the Divine Sword Controlling Lightning True Formula.

• Gu Hui praised Lu Xueqi as a rare genius who might reach the Taiqing Realm and urged Shui Yue to remind her to strengthen her foundation.
• Shui Yue and Tian Buyi discussed how Gu Hui seemed changed, then Tian Buyi told Tian Ling'er that Gu Hui had praised her.
• Shui Yue relayed Gu Hui’s advice to Lu Xueqi, who promised to remember it and learn from her senior sister.
• The second and third rounds produced Qi Hao, Lu Xueqi, Zeng Shushu, and Zhang Xiaofan as the final four; Qi Hao defeated Zeng Shushu in the first semifinal.
• Lu Xueqi and Zhang Xiaofan began their semifinal, and the collision between Tianya and Shi Hun destroyed the arena.
• Gu Hui recognized that the weapons were pulling their wielders into battle, as Lu Xueqi rose into the air and unleashed the Divine Sword Controlling Lightning True Formula.

Gu Hui stopped Lu Xueqi’s lightning technique from destroying the arena, healed her, and declared her match with Zhang Xiaofan a draw. After the tournament ended, the peak heads examined Zhang Xiaofan’s Fire Poker, and Gu Hui noticed Zeng Shuchang’s hidden reaction to it.

• Lu Xueqi suffered the backlash of the Divine Sword Controlling Lightning True Formula, and Gu Hui dispersed the lightning with a Taiji Diagram formed by his command.
• Gu Hui healed Lu Xueqi and warned her not to force herself to use the technique again.
• Gu Hui praised Zhang Xiaofan and ruled that his match with Lu Xueqi was a draw because both fighters had exhausted their strength.
• Qi Hao defeated Lu Xueqi, Zhang Xiaofan, and Zeng Shushu in the subsequent challenge matches, bringing the Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament to an end.
• The peak heads questioned Zhang Xiaofan about his Fire Poker, and Gu Hui noticed Zeng Shuchang’s subtle reaction while he examined it.

Gu Hui lured the Demonic Cult’s four great factions into a full assault on Qingyun Mountain, then revealed his strength and summoned the Zhu Xian Ancient Sword. He unleashed a vast sword formation over the battlefield, raining destructive sword qi on the Demonic Cult forces.

• Gu Hui learned that the Kui Ox’s activity near Flowing Wave Mountain was tied to a major Demonic Cult scheme and ordered Qingyun Mountain to prepare.
• Cangsong led elite disciples to investigate Flowing Wave Mountain, while Shui Yue and Tian Buyi followed; Gu Hui later staged an injury with Cangsong to draw out the Demonic Cult.
• The Demonic Cult’s four great factions attacked Qingyun Mountain, where Gu Hui and the Qingyun disciples fought them across the mountain.
• Gu Hui severely wounded Ghost King Wan Renwang, while Cangsong struck Poison God down, and Gu Hui revealed that his injury had been a deception.
• Gu Hui summoned the Zhu Xian Ancient Sword and unleashed a sword formation that covered the battlefield and struck the Demonic Cult forces.

The Zhu Xian Sword Formation crushed the Demonic Cult’s attack on Qingyun Mountain, forcing the Ghost King to retreat. After the battle, Gu Hui gave Zhang Xiaofan the Heavenly Book volumes and urged him to grow stronger, then revealed his own cultivation had reached the Mid Taiqing Realm.

• Daoxuan wielded the Zhu Xian Sword, devastating the Demonic Cult army and breaking its assault on Qingyun Mountain.
• The Ghost King protected some of the Ghost King Sect’s forces with the Fulong Cauldron, then ordered the Demonic Cult to withdraw.
• The Heavenly Sound Temple and Incense Valley disciples departed after the battle, and Gu Hui summoned Tian Buyi, Su Ru, and Zhang Xiaofan to Yuqing Hall.
• Gu Hui gave Zhang Xiaofan his recorded three volumes of the Heavenly Book and explained how they related to the cultivation methods of the major sects.
• Gu Hui urged Zhang Xiaofan to gain strength through experience outside Qingyun Mountain and said the Qingyun Sect would accept him regardless of whether he joined the Demonic Cult.
• Gu Hui revealed that he had entered the Taiqing Realm a century earlier and was now at its middle stage.

After ten years of cultivation, Gu Hui revealed his identity as Daoxuan to Dongfang Bai, Gu Xi, and Gu Lin, and gave them his cultivation insights and techniques. As Orthodox and Demonic factions gathered at the Death Swamp to seek the Heavenly Emperor's Treasure Vault, the story left the factions poised at the edge of the dangerous region.

• Over ten years, Gu Hui reached the fourth level of Tribulation Transcendence, while several Qingyun disciples and Gu Hui’s companions advanced within the Shangqing realm.
• News spread that the Heavenly Emperor's Treasure Vault, said to contain the secret of Changsheng, was about to appear in the Death Swamp, and Daoxuan sent Xiao Yicai and elite disciples to investigate.
• After the other elders left Yuqing Hall, Gu Hui revealed to Dongfang Bai, Gu Xi, and Gu Lin that he was Daoxuan, also known as Gu Xuan.
• Gu Hui gave the three his insights into Taiqing and beyond, the Hunyuan True Scripture, the Gu Sword Formula, four volumes of the Heavenly Book, and the Shrinking Earth to an Inch technique.
• The Qingyun Sect, Heavenly Sound Temple, Incense Valley, Ghost King Sect, Myriad Poisons Sect, and Acacia Sect dispatched elite disciples to the Death Swamp and took wary positions outside it.

Gu Lin, Zhang Xiaofan, and Zeng Shushu investigated unrest in the Southern Border and discovered Incense Valley guarding an ancient altar and a crimson crystal. As Qin Wuyan and Jin Ping'er attacked, Incense Valley elder Shangguan Ce arrived, and Gu Lin decided to approach the valley while the others stayed back.

• Tian Buyi and Zeng Shuchang sent Gu Lin and Zeng Shushu to investigate Incense Valley’s activity in the Southern Border, and Zhang Xiaofan joined them.
• Disguised as wandering cultivators, Gu Lin, Zhang Xiaofan, and Zeng Shushu found heavy Incense Valley patrols and signs of hostility between them and the Witch Race.
• The three spotted a guarded valley radiating intense heat and sensed an obscure, sinister presence within it.
• Qin Wuyan and Jin Ping'er attacked the Incense Valley guards, and Gu Lin noticed an altar bearing a crimson crystal beside the bodies of Witch Race members.
• Shangguan Ce arrived and prepared to fight Qin Wuyan and Jin Ping'er, while Gu Lin told Zeng Shushu and Zhang Xiaofan to stay behind as he went to investigate.

Gu Lin secretly entered the underground cavern and helped Xiao Bai break free from Incense Valley’s seal. Xiao Bai escaped with the Mysterious Fire Mirror as Earthfire destroyed the valley, leaving Shangguan Ce furious and the Southern Lands facing greater turmoil.

• Gu Lin slipped away from the battlefield and found the Nine-Tailed Sky Fox Xiao Bai imprisoned beneath the valley.
• Xiao Bai explained that Gu Lin could suppress the Earthfire while she broke the chains, and he agreed to help.
• Gu Lin held back the Earthfire as Xiao Bai snapped the Mysterious Fire Chains and seized the Mysterious Fire Mirror.
• Xiao Bai and Gu Lin escaped as Earthfire erupted and destroyed the altar and underground passage.
• Xiao Bai rebuked Shangguan Ce and fled with the mirror, while the others scattered and Shangguan Ce watched helplessly.

The Beast God broke free from the Demon-Suppressing Ancient Cave and devastated the Southern Border. Yun Yilan sought Qingyun Sect’s aid, and Daoxuan ordered Qingyun to prepare and contact the Orthodox Dao as the calamity spread.

• Li Tribe and Black Witch Tribe traitors gathered five sacred artifacts and shattered the Demon-Suppressing Ancient Cave’s seal, despite Incense Valley’s efforts to stop them.
• Yun Yilan learned the Beast God had emerged and decided to seek Reverend Daoxuan’s help at Qingyun Sect.
• Yun Yilan showed the leaders in Yuqing Hall a Memory Jade Disc proving the seal’s destruction and begged Qingyun to join the fight.
• Daoxuan ordered Qingyun Sect to prepare its mountain defenses and dispatch envoys to Heavenly Sound Temple and other Orthodox Dao allies.
• The Beast God’s baleful energy turned the Southern Border into a wasteland, corrupting living creatures into monsters driven to kill.

The Beast God’s destructive domain swept north toward Qingyun Mountain, where the Orthodox Dao gathered to defend Shenzhou Haotu. As the Beast God’s demonic tide attacked, the coalition’s formation began to weaken while its foremost experts fought the Destruction Avatar.

• The Beast God advanced north, destroying towns and villages as its dark-red domain spread across Shenzhou Haotu.
• Cultivators and refugees fled toward Qingyun Mountain, where the Orthodox Dao Alliance assembled under Gu Hui’s leadership.
• Gu Hui rallied the gathered sects to defend the common people, while he sensed fear and hidden Demonic Cult forces among the coalition.
• The Beast God’s demonic tide reached Qingyun Mountain, and Gu Hui ordered the defenders to activate their formation.
• Qingyun Sect, Heavenly Sound Temple, Incense Valley, and other cultivators fought the tide, but casualties mounted and the protective barrier weakened.
• Gu Hui, Venerable Puhong, Yun Yilan, and the other foremost experts began battling the Beast God’s Destruction Avatar.

Gu Hui wielded the Zhu Xian Ancient Sword to defeat the Beast God's Destruction Avatar, but the Beast God reappeared as a youth before finally dissolving and perishing. The catastrophe ended with Shenzhou Haotu devastated, the Orthodox Dao weakened, and Zhang Xiaofan leaving Qingyun to wander the ravaged lands.

• Gu Hui unleashed the Zhu Xian Sword Formation, annihilating demonic creatures and weakening the Beast God's Destruction Avatar.
• The Beast God condensed his remaining power into a blood spear and thrust it at Gu Hui, who countered with Zhu Xian's Godslayer strike.
• After the clash destroyed Qingyun's protective barrier and razed nearby peaks, the Beast God's avatar vanished, then re-formed as a youth.
• The Beast God acknowledged his defeat and dissolved into dark crimson motes, causing the destruction energy to recede.
• The Beast God's Tribulation left Shenzhou Haotu devastated and the Orthodox Dao Alliance weakened, while the Ghost King Sect expanded its influence.
• Zhang Xiaofan left Qingyun and set out to wander the ravaged lands of Shenzhou Haotu.

After two years of peace, Wan Renwang completed the Four Spirits Blood Formation, but Shura consumed him and took control of the Demonic Cult forces. Gu Hui rallied Qingyun Sect as the Shura-led army advanced, with the defenders assembling before Yuqing Hall.

• Zhang Xiaofan visited Heavenly Sound Temple, let go of his obsession over Puzhi, and advanced to the peak of Taiqing, mastering all five volumes of the Heavenly Book and wielding Jade Dynasty without backlash.
• Wan Renwang used the Four Spirits Origin and the blood souls of Ghost King Sect disciples to complete the Four Spirits Blood Formation and summon Shura.
• Shura swallowed Wan Renwang, destroyed the altar and Fox Qishan, and began controlling cultivators as it led the Demonic Cult army toward Qingyun.
• Gu Hui sensed the catastrophe, summoned Qingyun's branch heads, and ordered the sect's protection formations activated and its disciples to hold their positions.
• Gu Hui stood before Yuqing Hall with Tian Buyi, Zhang Xiaofan, and Wan Jianyi as Shura's crimson clouds approached Qingyun Mountain.

Gu Hui defeated Shura’s assault on Qingyun Mountain by suppressing Shura’s will and severing its control over the Four Spirits Blood Formation. He imprisoned Shura’s consciousness in Huanyue Cave Abode, but found he could not yet refine its soul.

• Gu Hui left Qingyun Mountain’s formation to confront the Shura Ghost King and dissolved its bloody claw with his law-rejecting domain.
• Gu Hui sealed Shura’s will, cutting its connection to the Ghost King’s body and the Four Spirits Blood Formation.
• The demonic tide fell into disorder, and Gu Hui destroyed the Ghost King’s body before ordering Xiaofan, Junior Brother Wan, and Junior Brother Tian to lead the Qingyun disciples in clearing the remaining threats.
• Gu Hui imprisoned Shura’s consciousness in Huanyue Cave Abode and tried to refine it for its cultivation memories.
• Gu Hui discovered Shura’s soul essence was too powerful for him to refine for now.

After a century of peace and cultivation, Gu Hui ascended from Qingyun Mountain, leaving Dongfang Bai and their children behind. Dongfang Bai explained that Gu Hui had restored the world’s Heavenly Dao, opening the way for future ascensions.

• Over a hundred years, cultivation clans spread across Shenzhou Haotu while Zhang Xiaofan and others withdrew from worldly affairs, and Xiao Yicai established the Qingyun Trial and Black Cloud.
• Gu Hui embraced Dongfang Bai in the snow and urged her to keep cultivating and surpass herself.
• A tribulation gathered over Qingyun Mountain, and Gu Hui said goodbye to Dongfang Bai, Gu Xi, and Gu Lin before ascending in a burst of starlight.
• Dongfang Bai told the Qingyun elders that Gu Hui’s departure had completed the world’s Heavenly Dao laws, though they still needed time to evolve.
• Dongfang Bai revealed that she and Gu Hui had once lived together as Gu Xuan in another world and had reunited in Shenzhou Haotu a century earlier.

After generations of ascenders, Gu Hui entered a new world, joined forces with Fuzi to end its age of chaos, and led an army toward a future capital. He planned to rebuild the ruined city as Chang'an and welcomed Fuzi’s proposal to establish an Academy there.

• Dongfang Bai, Gu Lin, and Zhang Xiaofan later attained Tribulation Crossing and ascended to the Upper Realm after Gu Xi.
• Gu Hui, reborn in another world, met Fuzi and joined him in a campaign to pacify the land before the next Eternal Night.
• Gu Hui led the army to a ruined city and chose it as the capital of a new dynasty, naming it Chang'an City.
• Fuzi agreed to protect Chang'an with a great formation and proposed founding an Academy there.
• Gu Hui offered to provide workers and hoped Fuzi’s Academy would become a fourth great Unknowable Land.

Gu Hui completed Chang'an, established Great Tang, and helped Fuzi create a formation that shielded the capital from Haotian’s gaze. With the nation stabilized, Gu Hui planned to build an Imperial Extremity Realm as a lasting foundation for the imperial family.

• Gu Hui chose Tang as the name of the nation, and Li Wei and Li Nian reported that the city had no hidden dangers.
• Gu Hui reflected on the limits Haotian placed on powerful cultivators and on his inability to transcend tribulation.
• Gu Hui and Fuzi completed Chang'an and established the God-Shocking Formation, which protected the capital and blocked divine senses from above the heavens.
• Gu Hui ascended the throne, restored Great Tang, and named Li Wei Crown Prince, Li Nian a princess, and Li Ci Empress.
• Gu Hui proposed refining his Imperial Extremity Realm painting into a spiritual world or secret realm for talented imperial family members, and Fuzi expressed interest in seeing the result.

Gu Hui stepped down as emperor and watched his family take up new lives while Great Tang prospered. Decades later, Heavenly Punishment struck the Desolate Plain, killing the founder of the Bright Sect and leaving Gu Hui wary of its power.

• Gu Hui told Fuzi that strength mattered more than imperial authority, and said he planned to teach at the Academy after stepping down.
• Gu Hui traveled, practiced medicine in Chang'an, and lived freely; Li Ci later left the palace, while Li Wei abdicated and became master of a Library Pavilion.
• Li Nian withdrew from court and tempered her Divine Soul within the Imperial Extremity Realm using the Samsara Secret Art.
• A dark sky and a gate of light appeared above Chang'an, activating the God-Shocking Formation as Gu Hui sensed that the Desolate Plain was the true target.
• Divine radiance struck the founder of the Bright Sect on the Desolate Plain, and the pinnacle powerhouse was assimilated by Heavenly Punishment.
• Gu Hui watched the strike and judged that he could not withstand its power.

Gu Hui reflected on the gulf between his strength and Fuzi’s, then secretly advanced through repeated Lightning Tribulations in the far north. While wandering afterward, he encountered one of the survivors of the previous Eternal Night near Taihe Mountain.

• Gu Hui felt humbled by Fuzi’s strength, and Li Wei, Li Nian, Li Ci, and other cultivators entered seclusion to improve.
• With fortune’s aid, Li Wei, Li Nian, and Li Ci reached the Primordial Spirit level within a hundred years.
• Gu Hui used the darkness in the far north to evade Haotian’s perception, passed several Lightning Tribulations, and advanced to the fifth level of Tribulation Transcendence.
• Gu Hui and Fuzi shared a meal by the Hot Sea and discussed the cause of Eternal Night and the possibility of preventing its return.
• Gu Hui wandered to Taihe Mountain and encountered a ragged old man whose strength he judged to be at the peak of the sixth realm.

Gu Hui followed Drunkard’s map to Return Ruins, searching for the Vitality Secret Realm amid the region’s annihilating force. After seeing through an illusion that concealed a demonic ambush, he used his Heart Sword Domain to blunt and turn back the attackers’ mind-based assaults.

• Drunkard gave Gu Hui a map fragment pointing to Return Ruins and asked him to tell Fuzi to settle down.
• Gu Hui traveled north and reached the deadly waters of Return Ruins, where a powerful vortex devoured seawater, light, and fragments of space.
• Gu Hui searched the outskirts for the Vitality Secret Realm but found only destruction and attacks from maddened sea beasts.
• A seemingly beautiful immortal realm appeared in white mist, but Gu Hui recognized it as an illusion and shattered it with sword qi.
• Black-robed demons emerged from the revealed twisted space and attacked Gu Hui with illusions, curses, and soul techniques.
• Gu Hui’s sword intent dispelled the illusions, while his Heart Sword Domain weakened and rebounded the attackers’ mind-based assaults.

Gu Hui entered the depths of the Return Ruins vortex and found the Life Source Water, where its guardian demanded a substitute to preserve the world's balance. The Dao Mirror provided an imprint that allowed Gu Hui to receive a strand of the water, and he emerged from cultivation with a vastly elevated sword Dao realm.

• Gu Hui killed the black-clad old man and all the other ambushers before charging into the Return Ruins vortex.
• Gu Hui endured the vortex's destructive forces and discovered the Life Source Water at its core.
• The water's guardian explained that Gu Hui could take a drop only by leaving an equivalent item or Dao behind, and allowed him to cultivate in the water's aura.
• The Dao Mirror sent a mysterious substance into the Source Water, which returned a strand of water to Gu Hui.
• Gu Hui absorbed the Source Water, healed his injuries, strengthened his foundation, and advanced his sword Dao realm.