Chapter Summaries

Red Dust entered the Eighth Realm and continued cultivating as she and Fuzi prepared for eternal night. Centuries later, she returned to Chang’an and met Ke Haoran, Fuzi’s proud young junior brother.

• Red Dust entered seclusion after Jing Tao’s death and spent two hundred years reaching the Eighth Realm, Nascent Transformation.
• Fuzi congratulated Red Dust, and they discussed Heaven, the Ninth Realm, and the need to prepare before eternal night.
• Red Dust continued cultivating in the Deceive Heaven Formation and reached the end of Nascent Transformation over the next two hundred years.
• Red Dust returned to Chang’an and found Li Mu still in the Sixth Realm.
• Red Dust visited the Academy’s Back Mountain, where she met Fuzi, an intelligent black donkey, and the seventeen-year-old Ke Haoran.
• Ke Haoran declared that he could reach Fuzi’s heights, and Red Dust warned him that his pride and talent would bring great tribulations.

Red Dust and Fuzi discussed their plans to oppose Haotian and protect the Great Tang, while Ke Haoran rapidly advanced under Fuzi’s guidance. Years later, Red Dust ran a roasted-sweet-potato stall in Chang’an and met Ke Haoran and Jian Xiaoxiao.

• Red Dust gave Ke Haoran the Carefree Sword Intent manual and warned him to temper his strength and forge his own path.
• Red Dust worried that Ke Haoran’s pride might lead him to the same fate as Ye Jingtao, and Fuzi promised to guide him carefully.
• Red Dust and Fuzi discussed gathering Haotian World’s strongest people to seek a way to challenge the gods and agreed to work together when the time came.
• In the second year of Tang Sheng, Red Dust quietly helped the ambitious new emperor, while Li Mu ran his inn and Li Qiang secretly guarded the Imperial Family.
• Red Dust bought back her old courtyard in Chang’an’s East Market, opened a stall selling roasted sweet potatoes and chestnuts, and gained regular customers.
• Three years after their first meeting, Ke Haoran encountered Red Dust with Jian Xiaoxiao; they bought her sweet potatoes before leaving.

Ke Haoran left the Academy to travel, then avenged Jian Xiaoxiao by destroying the Demon Sect and challenging Xiling, where he was killed by Haotian Divine Radiance. Xiling later called on the nations to invade the Desolate Plain, while Great Tang refused to join the coalition.

• Red Dust judged Li Zhongyi fit to rule Great Tang after meeting him and his younger brother, and Fuzi agreed that Li Zhongyi would likely become emperor.
• At Zhishou Abbey, a young Daoist studied the Sun Scroll Heavenly Book and resented Ke Haoran’s first-place ranking.
• Ke Haoran left seclusion at the Academy after mastering the transformation of Haoran Sword Aura into Haotian Divine Radiance, then set out to travel.
• After Jian Xiaoxiao died, Ke Haoran destroyed the Demon Sect Mountain Gate, crippled Liansheng, and defeated Chen Mou, the Xuankong monk, and the Xiling Hierarch.
• Ke Haoran challenged Haotian at Peach Mountain and was killed by descending Haotian Divine Radiance; Fuzi later cut down Peach Mountain’s blossoms.
• Xiling ordered the nations to form a coalition and attack the Desolate Plain, but Great Tang did not answer the call.

The Lin household was exterminated after Wei Guangming accused Lin Guangyuan of sheltering the awakened Underworld King's son, while two young boys attempted to escape the massacre. Elsewhere, a mysterious man invoked wind, rain, and night over Chang'an, and four figures on the Desolate Plain contemplated an ants’ battle and the Great Way.

• Wei Guangming declared that he had sensed the Underworld King's son at Lin Guangyuan's residence, and Prince Li Peiyan and Xia Hou had Lin Guangyuan convicted and his household executed.
• A steward tried to help two young boys escape through a neighboring residence, but the Imperial Feather Guard found their bodies and reported that none were missing.
• A broad-shouldered man ate and drank on a cliff outside Chang'an, spoke toward two unseen people, and called forth wind, rain, and night.
• Four lightly dressed people watched two colonies of ants fight beneath a small tree on the Desolate Plain, and one asked what the mortal world's ant kingdom had to do with the Great Way.

Four successors of powerful factions discussed the Black Chasm and the mysterious child said to have appeared in Chang'an, then went their separate ways. Unbeknownst to them, a scholar had already crossed the chasm and was making his way toward the capital.

• The wooden-sword boy, the young monk, the animal-skin-clad boy, and Chen Tian debated whether the Immovable Underworld King was real and wondered where the child was.
• The animal-skin-clad boy, successor to the Demon Sect and surnamed Tang, left by bounding rapidly across the Desolate Plain.
• Chen Tian identified himself as Carefree Island's representative and said he would return to seclusion.
• Qi Nian, successor of Xuankong Temple, began practicing silence, while Ye Su, successor of Zhishou Abbey, broke through the barrier of death and traveled through the nations.
• After the others departed and the Black Chasm filled with sand, a scholar on its far side gathered his belongings and set off toward the capital.

Red Dust amused herself by teaching Chen Pipi to roast sweet potatoes and later visited Fuzi at the Academy, where she asked him to suppress her impending breakthrough. Fuzi sensed that she was close to advancing, but Red Dust felt the timing was not right.

• Li Zhongyi angrily confronted Li Peiyan and Xia Hou over the unauthorized massacre of the Xuanwei General’s Residence, and both accepted blame.
• Chen Pipi repeatedly visited Red Dust to learn her sweet-potato roasting method, and she told him to infuse the potatoes with primordial energy.
• Fuzi laughed that Chen Pipi had angered an ancient expert, while Li Manman and Yu Lian sensed that powerful sixth-realm figures were hidden in Chang'an.
• In the twelfth year of Tianqi, Red Dust entered the Academy’s Old Book Tower and then traveled to the Back Mountain to meet Fuzi.
• Red Dust told Fuzi she was nearing a breakthrough but asked him to use the power of the human world to suppress it until the timing was right.

Red Dust visited the Academy, refined Fuzi’s Human World Power Yuan Qi bead, and discussed the cultivation of Jun Mo and other promising figures. After she left, Fuzi revealed her identity and explained her ties to Carefree Island and the Bright Sect, while Yu Lian recognized the Immortal Record she had left behind.

• Fuzi gave Red Dust a Yuan Qi bead, which she refined to strengthen the barrier between her cultivation realms.
• Red Dust praised Ye Su’s potential and said Jun Mo should follow Ke Haoran’s Haoran Sword rather than receive her own cultivation system.
• Red Dust explained that she owed the Bright Sect’s Sect Leader Zhan Tai a favor and had left her insights into the Seventh Realm in the Immortal Record.
• After Red Dust left, Fuzi told Yu Lian and the others that she was Li Tang’s greatest support and the founder of Carefree Island.
• Fuzi described Red Dust’s debt to the Bright Sect, explaining that Zhan Tai had taught her its philosophy when she was still weak.

Lü Qingchen protected a convoy at North Mountain Pass from a deadly ambush and defeated a Great Swordmaster with his mastery of thought. The swordsman revealed he was an expelled student of the Academy.

• Black-clad attackers ambushed the convoy, and another group in Tang army uniforms joined the battle.
• A giant hurled a stone at a carriage, but Lü Qingchen sent a short sword flying and struck down attackers.
• A hiltless sword flew toward Lü Qingchen, who stopped it with his mastery of thought and forced its wielder to retreat.
• After night fell, the bloodied swordsman met Lü Qingchen and acknowledged his strength.
• Lü Qingchen recognized the swordsman as connected to the Academy, and the man admitted he was an expelled student.

A mysterious scholar attacked Lü Qingchen with a forbidden technique before a crowned man intervened, while Ning Que and his dark-skinned maid entered Chang'an and began settling in. Yan Se recognized profound meaning in a character Ning Que wrote and searched for him, as Red Dust walked through the East Market.

• The middle-aged scholar used a demonic technique to launch his severed finger at Lü Qingchen, but a flying sword cut it down before a crowned man strode away.
• Ning Que and his maid entered Chang'an with their weapons and Big Black Umbrella, while Li Mu and a palace record keeper noticed the girl was unusual.
• Ning Que and his maid rented a rundown shop in Lane 47 and named it Old Brush Studio.
• Yan Se invited Ning Que to write a character in exchange for candied hawthorns, then recognized profound truth in Ning Que's simple character and asked Li Qingshan to find him.
• Red Dust entered the East Market beneath an oil-paper umbrella, crossing the wet street without leaving a ripple.

Red Dust and Fuzi discussed Haotian’s arrival and believed Ning Que might be the key to victory. Meanwhile, Ning Que endured the Academy’s mountain-climbing examination and passed through the wooden gate, continuing toward the summit.

• Red Dust told Fuzi that Haotian had come to the human world, and they agreed to wait and see whether Ning Que could help them win.
• An Academy professor announced that only one student would enter the Second Floor by reaching the summit first or climbing highest.
• Ning Que began climbing despite being seen as unable to cultivate, enduring painful trials as the monk, Long Qing, and other students passed him.
• Zhong Dajun and several other students collapsed, while Ning Que persisted through visions of leaves, a waterfall, and an endless sea.
• Ning Que crossed a maze-like bridge formation and entered the fog as the second climber to reach it.
• Ning Que solved the wooden gate’s missing-character puzzle by copying a character from his palm, opened the gate, and stepped onto the stone stairs.

Ning Que passed the Academy's firewood gate and became the Academy's Thirteenth Mister, while powerful figures reacted to Long Qing's defeat. The chapter left Ning Que meeting King Tang in the palace as plots to kill him took shape.

• Ning Que relived the tragedies of his childhood at the firewood gate, rejected the demand to choose between light and darkness, and was congratulated by the twelve Back Mountain disciples.
• Li Qiang met Fuzi and the Academy teachers, and Li Mu appeared as a former Crown Prince who had advanced in cultivation.
• News spread that Ning Que had become the Academy's Thirteenth Mister, and Fuzi allowed Yan Se to teach him talismans.
• Cheng Lixue and Li Peiyan argued over Long Qing's defeat, then Li Peiyan ordered guards to kill Ning Que; Xia Hou also sent Lin Ling to eliminate him.
• King Tang welcomed Ning Que as a brother and warned him that breaking the Academy's rules would make Tang Kingdom treat him as an enemy.
• A woman in a blue robe entered the palace after the old eunuch announced the Princess's arrival.

Li Yu introduced Ning Que to Emperor Li Zhongyi, but Red Dust unexpectedly appeared in the palace, treated the emperor’s ailments, and assured him that Tang need not fear Xiling. Li Qiang revealed that Tang’s hidden history included a thousand-year-old crown prince guarding Chang’an, then went to ask Li Mu about Red Dust’s identity.

• Li Yu praised Ning Que to Li Zhongyi and explained their friendship and Ning Que’s connection to Hunyuan.
• Red Dust appeared in the hall, warned Li Zhongyi about Li Peiyan’s conspiracy with Xiling and Xia Hou, and gave the emperor a pill for his hidden ailments.
• Li Qiang arrived and addressed Red Dust as Grandmaster, while she identified herself as a member of the Li Tang line and told the emperor not to worry about Xiling.
• Li Qiang explained that Tang’s founding emperor’s eldest son had lived for a thousand years and guarded Chang’an, but said only that ancestor might know Red Dust’s exact identity.
• Li Qiang went to Yuelai Inn and asked Li Mu who Red Dust was after reporting her visit to the palace.

Li Tang responded to Left Tent Royal Court raids in Yan Kingdom by sending the Yan Relief Army, while Chen Tian explored the Desolate Plain and encountered disciples from Great River Kingdom. The chapter ended with Chen Tian identifying himself as a Tang man.

• Li Mu explained that his aunt had become a Fate-Knowing cultivator, left Chang'an after a falling-out with Fuzi, and established the lineage on Carefree Island.
• Li Zhongyi ordered the court to address the Left Tent Royal Court's breach of the agreed border, and the ministers prepared a response.
• Great Tang sent its western border army to aid Yan Kingdom, and Left Tent cavalry raids became more restrained.
• Chen Tian reached a lakeside camp in the Desolate Plain and encountered young disciples from Ink Pond Garden of Great River Kingdom.
• A young woman asked whether Chen Tian was from Tang, and he confirmed that he was a Tang man.

Chen Tian met Ning Que and other cultivators on the Desolate Plain as the High Priest of Light, Wei Guangming, escaped his imprisonment and resumed his hunt for the Son of the Underworld King. In Chang'an, Li Qiang confronted Wei Guangming over the innocent people he had killed, but Wei remained convinced that the Son of the Underworld King existed.

• Chen Tian recognized Ning Que as the Academy's Thirteenth and introduced himself to the gathered cultivators as Chen Tian of Carefree Island.
• Wei Guangming pushed open the bars of You Pavilion and escaped after fourteen years of imprisonment.
• Wei Guangming bought meat buns in Chang'an, where Li Qiang told him he should not be there.
• Wei Guangming said he could not leave Chang'an while the shadow of darkness remained, and Li Qiang questioned his certainty about the Son of the Underworld King.
• Wei Guangming admitted he did not know where the Netherworld was but insisted that it existed.

Wei Guangming recognized Sang Sang as the Daughter of Light and decided to remain in Chang'an, while Chen Tian rescued Ning Que and Mo Shanshan from masked attackers. Yan Se then informed the Tang Emperor about the Restoration Society and began to reveal its crimes.

• Wei Guangming saw Sang Sang and identified her as the Daughter of Light, then declared that he would stay in Chang'an until he found the shadow of darkness.
• Li Qiang warned Wei Guangming not to cause trouble in Chang'an and vanished using Distance-Free.
• Chen Tian rescued Ning Que, Mo Shanshan, and the Mount Mogan group by killing the masked attackers, whom he identified as Xiling spies working for Xia Hou.
• Yan Se told the Tang Emperor that Wei Guangming was following Sang Sang and that Chang'an's authorities were watching over the situation.
• Yan Se revealed that Chongming had founded the Restoration Society and that its members had stirred up trouble in Tang, including taking part in the Spring Breeze Pavilion incident; he hesitated before saying more.

Li Qingshan and the Tang court uncovered He Mingchi’s ties to the Restoration Society, leading to a purge in Chang'an that captured Chongming and killed He Mingchi. At the Desolate Plain, Ning Que confronted Xiling over the attack on a grain convoy as the purge sharpened suspicions of Xiling’s influence.

• Yan Se told Li Zhongyi that He Mingchi, Li Qingshan’s disciple, was implicated in the Restoration Society, and Li Zhongyi ordered an investigation.
• Yan Se found Li Qingshan devastated by the allegations against He Mingchi and tried to console him.
• He Mingchi arranged a Restoration Society operation and sent a letter, while Secret Guards watched the teahouse and seized the letter and his associate.
• Li Qingshan burned He Mingchi’s letter, and the Tang King received intelligence from Li Qiang that led Chang'an to purge the Restoration Society, capture Chongming, and kill He Mingchi.
• Ning Que challenged Cheng Lixue over Xiling’s failure to reinforce the grain convoy, while Shu Cheng connected the attackers to Xiling methods and reported that the Restoration Society had been destroyed.

Chen Tian visited Great Ming Lake and met Tang and Tang Xiaotang, while Ye Su arrived to discuss the Devil Sect Mountain Gate with them. The chapter ended with Chen Tian returning to the lake to investigate the mountain gate, where the Heavenly Book might be hidden.

• Chen Tian sensed the power of the Block Fortress Formation beneath Great Ming Lake and approached the Five Realms.
• Tang warned Tang Xiaotang to avoid Chen Tian, but Chen Tian offered to help her join Carefree Island; she insisted she would become Fuzi's disciple at the Academy.
• Long Qing questioned Chen Tian's friendly meeting with Tang, and Ye Hongyu rebuked Long Qing for his arrogance and warned him about Chen Tian's strength.
• Ye Hongyu recognized her brother Ye Su arriving to meet Tang, while Ye Su said the Heavenly Book might be hidden in the Devil Sect Mountain Gate.
• Chen Tian returned to Great Ming Lake to look inside the Devil Sect Mountain Gate.

Ye Hongyu, Mo Shanshan, Ning Que, and Chen Tian entered the Devil Sect Mountain Gate and discovered the chained Liansheng Thirty-Two, who revealed that he had engineered the massacre at Lanke Temple to provoke Ke Haoran. Liansheng remained imprisoned, reflecting on his failed attempt to understand the world beyond Haotian’s blessing.

• Ning Que used his ring to open the Devil Sect Mountain Gate, and the group explored the cavern within.
• Ning Que spotted an old hand among the bones, and Chen Tian recognized the survivor as Divine Seat Liansheng.
• Liansheng acknowledged that Ke Haoran had imprisoned him and dismissed Ning Que’s cultivation as weak.
• Chen Tian accused Liansheng of scheming against Ke Haoran and causing a bloodbath that brought Heavenly Punishment upon him.
• Liansheng confessed that he had framed Xiling’s Judgment Division for massacring Lanke Temple, including Ke Haoran’s wife, to provoke Ke Haoran into attacking the Demon Sect.
• Liansheng said he had sought to see the world as it truly was and admitted that Ke Haoran’s imprisonment had kept him alive.

Liansheng Thirty-Two forced his inheritance into Ning Que, drawing him into the Devil Dao before dying in the mountain's killing formation. As Ning Que faced Xia Hou outside the mountain gate, a mysterious scholar appeared and stopped the confrontation.

• Liansheng Thirty-Two used his Mind Power to defeat Chen Tian and seize Ning Que, then forced his inheritance into Ning Que's mind.
• Ning Que entered the Devil Dao, but the energy from the mountain's sword marks restored some of his clarity and helped him turn the cage into a killing formation.
• Liansheng Thirty-Two died in the formation, leaving only ashes, and Ye Hongyu carried them away in an urn.
• Xia Hou threw a spear at Ning Que outside the mountain gate, and Chen Tian blocked it but was driven back.
• As Xia Hou prepared to attack again, a middle-aged scholar appeared, and Mo Shanshan recognized that he might be a cultivator above the Five Realms.

At the Devil Sect Mountain Gate, Li Manman stopped Xia Hou from killing Ning Que, while Xia Hou pretended they had only sparred. In Chang'an, Yan Se decided to send Wei Guangming away before Ning Que returned, as Wei Guangming’s presence could give Xiling grounds to target Ning Que and the Tang Kingdom.

• Li Manman told Xia Hou that he would not kill Ning Que, and Xia Hou claimed their fight had only been a test of strength.
• Li Qingshan told Yan Se that Ning Que had crippled Long Qing and entered the Devil Dao, prompting Yan Se to tear up Xiling’s report in anger.
• Yan Se asked Li Qingshan to retrieve the Formation Core Pestle for Ning Que and resolved to send Wei Guangming out of Chang'an the next day.
• Wei Guangming helped Sang Sang prepare a meal at Old Brush Studio and reflected on the comfort of their brief domestic life.
• Wei Guangming noticed the Tianshu Office cultivators and South Gate disciples watching him, snorted at them, and returned to the kitchen.