Chapter Summaries

Zhang Cuishan refused to reveal Xie Xun’s whereabouts, and the Wudang Sect stood behind him as the gathered martial artists threatened force. Song Yuanqiao began a duel with Miejue, whose Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber he kept from using its sharp edge.

• Zhang Cuishan refused the gathered martial artists’ demands to reveal where Xie Xun was, despite Miejue’s claim that Xie Xun’s victims’ deaths would fall on him.
• Zhang Songxi challenged the crowd, and Song Yuanqiao declared that the Wudang Sect would defend Zhang Cuishan and fight anyone who would not leave the mountain.
• Miejue stepped into the grounds to challenge the Wudang Sect, and Song Yuanqiao took her on to keep the Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber away from his brothers.
• Song Yuanqiao and Miejue exchanged sword techniques, with Song Yuanqiao keeping his blade against hers and rendering the Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber’s sharp edge useless.

Yin Liting took Song Yuanqiao’s place and defeated He Taichong in a sword duel by turning the Kunlun leader’s strength against him. Ban Shuxian then struck He Taichong for bringing shame on Kunlun.

• Miejue overwhelmed Song Yuanqiao with sword qi, and He Taichong stepped forward to challenge Wudang.
• Yin Liting fought He Taichong with swift, precise swordplay, forcing him onto the defensive.
• He Taichong exposed an opening to provoke Yin Liting, then used his internal force to drive him back three steps.
• Yin Liting feigned weakness, redirected He Taichong’s force, and cut off his beard with a strike at his neck.
• Ban Shuxian slapped He Taichong and berated him for disgracing Kunlun.

Red Dust defended Wudang against the gathered martial artists, defeating Ban Shuxian and Shaolin's three Kong masters after they challenged Yin Liting and demanded answers about Xie Xun. After the visitors left, she warned Zhang Sanfeng that the Yuan Court might target Wudang and planned to enter seclusion to strengthen herself.

• Ban Shuxian slapped He Taichong, then attacked Yin Liting when she noticed his disapproving gaze.
• Red Dust intervened, struck Ban Shuxian down, and rebuked the assembled heroes for causing trouble at Zhang Sanfeng's hundredth birthday.
• Red Dust defended Yin Liting's trust in Xie Xun and warned that the Yuan Court might be using the Dragon Slaying Saber to divide the martial world.
• Red Dust defeated Shaolin's three Kong masters, and the assembled heroes left Wudang unwillingly.
• Red Dust told Zhang Sanfeng she would enter seclusion to improve her cultivation and prepare to deter the Yuan Court, while he cautioned her not to underestimate its hidden strength.

Dao Hongchen left Wudang to seek a cure for Yu Daiyan’s injuries and reached the Vajra Sect on Great Snow Mountain. There, Tsongkhapa and the monks discussed the Khan’s request, which echoed Phags-pa’s past role in the Central Plains.

• Song Yuanqiao told Dao Hongchen that Yin Susu had died, Zhang Cuishan had been killed, and Zhang Wuji had disappeared after being gravely poisoned.
• Dao Hongchen gave Song Yuanqiao the Yin-Yang Wuji Scripture and left Wudang to travel and study nature.
• After hearing about the Vajra Sect and its Great Strength Vajra Finger, Dao Hongchen traveled to Western Shaolin, learned the sect’s location, and headed for Great Snow Mountain.
• Tsongkhapa descended from the snow mountain and joined Rinchen and the other monks in a council meeting.
• Dorje revealed that the Khan wanted Rinchen to repeat what Phags-pa had done, prompting the hall to fall silent.

After witnessing the massacre of a village and the abuse of its women, Red Dust reached the Xiantian Realm and hurried to Bright Summit. She declared that she intended to become Ming Cult Leader and help drive out the Yuan, though she would wait to see whether the Cult could withstand the Orthodox Dao's assault.

• Red Dust found a village burned and its inhabitants slaughtered, then rode after the perpetrators.
• Red Dust killed the Yuan soldiers who were abusing three women by inflicting thousands of sword wounds on each, and her change in understanding led her to achieve the Xiantian Realm.
• Red Dust left Miejue and the others, and Miejue recognized that Wu Lin had gained another supreme grandmaster.
• Red Dust arrived at Bright Summit, where Yang Xiao welcomed the White-Browed Eagle King and the Ming Cult leaders reacted warily to her arrival.
• Red Dust praised the Ming Cult's principles and announced that she would become its leader if it could not withstand the Orthodox Dao's assault.

As the six major sects closed in on Bright Summit, Yang Xiao and the Ming Cult leaders prepared to defend their headquarters, only for Cheng Kun to ambush them. Zhang Wuji emerged from the Universe-Cleaving Qi Bag and drove Cheng Kun away, while Red Dust questioned whether she should lead the divided cult.

• The Ming Cult leaders discussed Red Dust's proposal that she become their leader, but decided the crisis had not yet reached that point.
• Scouts reported that more than two thousand martial artists from the six major sects and other factions were attacking Bright Summit, where the Ming Cult's forces had suffered heavy losses.
• Yang Xiao, Wei Yixiao, and the Five Wanderers reconciled and tested their strength against Yang Xiao, who used the Great Shift of the Universe to make them yield.
• Cheng Kun revealed himself after secretly incapacitating the seven Ming Cult leaders, but Wei Yixiao struck him before he could kill Yang Xiao.
• The Universe-Cleaving Qi Bag struck Cheng Kun, split open, and revealed Zhang Wuji, who had mastered the Nine Yang Divine Skill and chased after Cheng Kun as he fled.
• Red Dust emerged from hiding and remarked that the Ming Cult's leaders were still fighting among themselves, making her question whether she should become their leader.

Red Dust took command of the Ming Cult and confronted the Six Great Sects, defeating Mount Hua leader Xian Yutong after he attacked her with poison. As the Kongtong Five Elders challenged her, she invited them to fight her together.

• After a Ming Cult disciple reported the Six Great Sects’ arrival and the injuries among the Ming Cult, Yang Xiao and the others accepted Red Dust as their Cult Leader.
• Yang Xiao and the others joined the square, where Zhang Songxi and Yin Tianzheng ended their internal-strength contest without a clear victor, and Mo Shenggu challenged Yin Tianzheng over his brothers’ injuries.
• Red Dust told Song Yuanqiao that Wudang should withdraw and offered to face any remaining challengers herself.
• Xian Yutong attacked Red Dust with Mount Hua’s Eagle-Snake Life-and-Death Combat, then tried to poison her with his fan; Red Dust reflected the poison onto him and left him screaming.
• Guan Neng stepped forward for the Kongtong Sect, and Red Dust challenged the Kongtong Five Elders to attack her together.

Red Dust defeated the Kongtong Five Elders, Miejue, and Shaolin’s Kongxing, then warned the six great sects that Yuan soldiers were targeting their headquarters. After the ambush, she organized Ming Cult forces and secured Wudang’s support for the resistance against the Yuan.

• Red Dust defeated the Kongtong Five Elders, who accepted their loss, and Miejue then challenged her with the Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber but was disarmed.
• Red Dust also defeated Kongxing of Shaolin’s four great divine monks, then told the sect leaders that Yuan soldiers were heading for their headquarters and urged them to travel together.
• Zhang Wuji accompanied the returning sects, whose forces were ambushed by Yuan soldiers; both sides suffered heavy losses, though Wudang lost the fewest disciples.
• Half a month later, Red Dust gathered the Five Banners’ commanders and regional branch altar masters at Bright Summit and ordered them to build strength and await her instructions.
• Red Dust went to Wudang after Zhang Wuji had resolved its crisis, and Zhang Sanfeng and the surviving members of the other five great sects pledged support for resistance against the Yuan.

Red Dust ruled Great Ming for decades, reformed its government, and sought a husband and heir to preserve the realm’s stability. Her son Di Dongfang grew to lead armies and expand the empire, which she organized into thirty-six centrally accountable grand protectorates.

• Red Dust visited Zhang Sanfeng at Wudang, then issued decrees dividing state power among three branches and announcing that she was seeking a husband.
• Two years later, Red Dust married the top scholar Dongfang Cheng, and she secretly used Dreamlike Wuji to make others believe she had given birth to their son, Di Dongfang.
• Dongfang Cheng died while leading an army against northern invaders, and the Empress held a grand memorial as witnesses to the supposed birth later died or disappeared.
• Di Dongfang grew up under Red Dust’s instruction, led campaigns that expanded Great Ming’s territory, and became its sole crown prince.
• Red Dust divided the vast empire into thirty-six grand protectorates whose officials answered to the central government and returned to the capital every three years.

After abdicating, Red Dust retired to Wudang and proposed establishing a branch academy on Chivalry Island to protect Wudang’s future. The new sect took root there under Guxu, while Red Dust moved between the island and the Central Plains and eventually faded from public view.

• At Wudang, Red Dust discussed the dangers of the court with Zhang Sanfeng, Mo Shenggu, and Yin Liting, then proposed founding a Wudang branch on Chivalry Island.
• Zhang Sanfeng agreed, and he and Red Dust led Guxu and several hundred people, including one hundred Daoist children, toward the island.
• Emperor Dongfang granted Chivalry Island to Wudang and sent ten thousand people to help develop it.
• Over the following years, Wudang built halls and homes on the island, and Guxu became a top-tier martial artist who led Chivalry Wudang.
• Zhang Zhao settled on Chivalry Island, while Zhang Sanfeng traveled the world and Red Dust divided her time between the island and Wudang in the Central Plains.
• Red Dust disappeared from public view, and increasingly fantastical stories about her spread throughout the world.

After awakening as Princess Li Red Dust in the Tang Empire, Red Dust learned that the world resembled one from her new memories and decided to cultivate. She studied the cultivation realms, including powers beyond the official guide, and met the Knowing Destiny instructor her brother had arranged.

• Red Dust awoke in the palace as Princess Li and reunited with her brother, Emperor Li Zheng, who had worried after she was rescued by Fuzi.
• Red Dust told Li Zheng she wanted to cultivate, and he gave her access to the Imperial Family's Scripture Depository and arranged a Knowing Destiny instructor.
• Red Dust read the Cultivation Guide and learned about the five recognized cultivation realms and their limits.
• Red Dust recalled knowledge of the Sixth and Seventh Realms, as well as Fuzi's later Wuju.
• Red Dust met her instructor and compared Knowing Destiny to the Innate realm she had reached in her previous life.

Red Dust advanced rapidly in cultivation, left Chang'an to explore the world, and visited Zhishou Abbey, where she discussed the Dao with its Abbey Master. After several days, she continued her travels with new insights into her path.

• Red Dust persuaded Crown Prince Li Mu to study, then met Fuzi, who noted her talent and invited her to keep cultivating.
• Red Dust reached Profound Insight in half a month and left Chang'an to learn about the world beyond the capital.
• Red Dust entered Zhishou Abbey by applying the rule of seven steps in and thirteen out, then met its Abbey Master.
• Red Dust and the Abbey Master exchanged questions about the Dao, and he recognized that her understanding surpassed his in some respects.
• Red Dust left Zhishou Abbey and continued visiting renowned experts as she traveled across the world.

Red Dust traveled the world, cultivated a new realm she named Transcendent Mortal, and returned to Chang'an to find Li Zheng dead and Li Bo on the throne. She counseled the princes to govern for the people as she prepared to continue pursuing a path beyond the established realms.

• Red Dust visited the Bright Sect, discussed cultivation with its Sect Master, and broke through to Knowing Destiny; Fuzi watched from the far north and looked forward to her growth.
• Red Dust traveled across the Unknowable Lands and other regions, debated with powerful cultivators, and returned to Chang'an after ten years at the peak of her former strength.
• Red Dust studied collected texts for another ten years, formed a Golden Core, and named her new realm Transcendent Mortal.
• Red Dust emerged from seclusion and learned that Li Zheng had died after trying to kill Fuzi, while Li Bo had become emperor and Li Mu had been made a prince.
• At Li Zheng's tomb, Red Dust learned that Wang Hao had deceived him and told Li Bo and Li Mu to work together and put the people first.

Red Dust withdrew to Carefree Island, mastered four established cultivation realms, and created the Sixth Realm, Transcendent Mortal. Over the next century, she built a hidden cultivation ground and trained Li Mu and five exceptional disciples, the Carefree Five.

• Red Dust left the Imperial Palace, killed Xiling's headmaster, and took its collected treasures before settling on a remote island in the East Sea.
• Red Dust mastered Boundless, Heaven Demon, Extinction, and Distance-Free, then created Carefree Island and named her own Sixth Realm Transcendent Mortal.
• Fuzi visited Red Dust, praised her new realm, and warned her not to use power beyond Knowing Destiny.
• Red Dust created the Deceive Heaven Formation on Carefree Island and began cultivating while Li Mu and his family came to join her; his family soon left, but Li Mu stayed and learned the Carefree Sword Intent.
• Over the next hundred years, Li Mu attained the Sixth Realm and Red Dust took in five gifted orphans, who became the Carefree Five and advanced in their cultivation.

Red Dust created the Free and Easy Formula, allowing herself and others to conceal or imitate their auras, then returned to the world and eventually broke through to the Shattering Realm. She learned that Fuzi had raged after the Bright Sect leader died under Heaven’s Condemnation, and that Carefree Island had lost many fighters in the battle.

• After fifty years of work, Red Dust created the Free and Easy Formula and taught it to Li Mu, Xiao Nan, and Jun Yue.
• Red Dust left Carefree Island to roam the mainland, while Li Mu returned to Chang'an and secretly protected the Li Clan.
• Li Na entered the Sixth Realm, and Red Dust later returned to Carefree Island and reached the Shattering Realm within the Deceive Heaven Formation.
• Red Dust saw the Desolate Plain’s devastation and learned that the Bright Sect leader had died under Heaven’s Condemnation while Fuzi was held back by powerful attackers.
• The Carefree Island master told Red Dust that more than half of the island’s fighters sent to the battle had been killed or wounded, and Red Dust told him to care for their families.
• Red Dust vanished to her cultivation retreat, thinking of Xiling and the Bright Sect on the Desolate Plain.

Red Dust returned to Chang'an, learned that Cause and Effect was behind the Li Tang Imperial Family’s dwindling numbers, and reunited with Fuzi after he had punished Xiling’s hierarch and crippled leaders from Zhishou Abbey and Xuankong. She revealed that she had broken through to the Shattering Realm and told Fuzi why she loved Tang, leaving their conversation with her apology for her brother’s past belief in Xiling’s slander.

• Red Dust visited Li Zheng’s grave and met Li Mu at the Yuelai Inn, where he described the Imperial Family’s declining numbers and she blamed Cause and Effect’s scheming.
• Red Dust told Li Mu to protect the Li Tang bloodline, send promising relatives to Carefree Island, and kill anyone preventing births; Li Mu said he had already killed several offenders.
• Red Dust went to the Academy’s Back Mountain, where Fuzi welcomed her and explained that he had killed Xiling’s hierarch and crippled the leaders of Zhishou Abbey and Xuankong.
• Red Dust told Fuzi she had been in seclusion and had reached a new realm, which she named the Shattering Realm; Fuzi read her notes and praised the name.
• Red Dust reflected on the humanity of Tang and apologized to Fuzi for her brother once believing Xiling’s slander about him.

Red Dust reconciled with Fuzi before he left to search for the truth, then spent a century teaching calligraphy at the Academy and watching events unfold in the Great Tang. She eventually traveled west toward Xuankong Temple, where she discovered the Bodhi Tree and an immense sinkhole surrounding a partly buried mountain.

• Fuzi and Red Dust made peace, and Fuzi admitted he still knew nothing about the Underworld King or Eternal Night.
• Red Dust began teaching calligraphy at the Academy while Fuzi traveled the world in search of answers.
• Over the next century, Red Dust secretly killed several cruel women in the Imperial Family, while Li Mu brought Li Clan children to Carefree Island.
• Li Qiang became Carefree Island's representative and a Tang prince, killed the empress responsible for a cruel affair, and helped defend the Great Tang against invasion.
• After a hundred years at the Academy, Red Dust headed west and found the Bodhi Tree in the desert.
• Red Dust crossed the Desolate Plain and discovered a vast sinkhole with a mountain rising from its depths.

Red Dust confronted Xuankong’s chief lecturer over the suffering of the people living beneath its temples, then attacked him after he tried to subdue her with Buddhist power. Their battle escalated as her sword pierced his defenses, and she thrust at him again just as he summoned a fierce divine manifestation.

• Red Dust saw Xuankong’s temples and the vast population of laborers living and working below them.
• Red Dust accused the chief lecturer of treating the people as slaves, while he defended Xuankong as a safe refuge for them.
• The chief lecturer attempted to invade Red Dust’s Sea of Consciousness with a Buddhist illusion, but she split its Buddha statue with her sword.
• Red Dust pierced the chief lecturer’s defenses and wounded his little finger, prompting him to unleash a Mahamudra and a sea of Buddhist light.
• Red Dust’s Carefree Sword Intent broke through the Buddhist light as the chief lecturer summoned a fierce divine manifestation.
• Red Dust appeared before the chief lecturer and thrust her sword at him, its intent warping space.

Red Dust crossed the wilderness and met the Butcher and the Drunkard, who revealed that they feared Fuzi and told her that darkness was brightness. She carried their words to Fuzi, who began to understand the truth he had sought for centuries.

• Red Dust killed Cai Jian at Xuankong Temple and spared the temple before setting out across the Western Wilderness.
• Red Dust reached a butcher shop and met the Butcher, who recognized her as Li Hongchen.
• The Drunkard described how people had survived the ancient calamity and said he hoped to live forever.
• The Butcher and the Drunkard asked Red Dust to tell Fuzi to stop disturbing their peaceful lives and said that darkness was brightness.
• Red Dust met Fuzi at the Back Mountain and passed on their words, prompting Fuzi to realize that darkness and brightness were closely bound together.

Ye Jingtao drew Haotian’s attention after unleashing his power in the South Sea and challenged the divine forces that appeared above him. Red Dust stopped Carefree Island’s cultivators from intervening as Ye Jingtao faced overwhelming odds.

• Darkness spread from the South Sea as a fissure opened in the sky, revealing Golden Giant Dragons and Golden-Armored Divine Generals.
• The mortal world prayed to Haotian, while Fuzi and Red Dust sensed the disaster from afar.
• Ye Jingtao confronted the gods, declaring that he would scout the path for those who came before him.
• Ye Jingtao flew toward a Golden Giant Dragon and cut through its dragonfire with his sword.
• Carefree Island’s cultivators tried to rush to Ye Jingtao’s aid, but Red Dust immobilized them and warned them not to throw their lives away.