Chapter Summaries

Shen Mo investigated an apparently abandoned Tower Ship Dharma Boat from the Heaven-Patrolling Daoist Temple and found signs that its crew had vanished. After leaving the ship, he saw its deck suddenly fill with people.

• Shen Mo identified the strange Dharma Boat as a vessel from the Heaven-Patrolling Daoist Temple by its design and materials.
• Shen Mo met Yuan Tunjing, who explained that he had discovered the ship and warned Shen Mo not to covet it.
• Shen Mo boarded the empty ship with Cicada Sense and the Azure Cloud Umbrella, then found fresh traces of activity but no crew or supplies.
• Shen Mo left the ship, and its deck suddenly filled with shadowy people bustling about.

Shen Mo investigated the bizarre Tower Ship Dharma Boat and discovered that its passengers were not truly alive. After they noticed him and [Cicada Sense] predicted his death, he fled nearly five hundred miles using Feathering Talismans until the danger finally passed.

• Shen Mo found that [Insight into All Living Beings] could not probe the figures aboard the Tower Ship Dharma Boat and suspected they were not alive.
• Shen Mo equipped [Supreme Excellence] and burned the woman in white with his Pure Yang True Fire, destroying her without drawing a response from the other passengers.
• The passengers raised their heads together and stared at Shen Mo, while [Cicada Sense] warned that they would drag him aboard and kill him.
• Shen Mo fled with an escape art, but the danger remained, so he repeatedly activated Fourth-Grade Feathering Talismans to travel farther away.
• After Shen Mo had used nine talismans and escaped nearly five hundred miles, [Cicada Sense] fell silent and he was finally safe.

Shen Mo investigated the Heaven-Patrolling Tower Ship and learned that its Ghost Servants could not be permanently destroyed, then set out for Dingbo City. On the way, his Cicada Sense warned of an approaching threat, and he exhausted his defenses against whatever was coming.

• Shen Mo concluded that the Heaven-Patrolling Tower Ship was an Evil Spirit that lured cultivators aboard and turned them into Ghost Servants.
• Shen Mo sent a Mutated Demon Soul General to the ship, where the Ghost Servants tore it apart and left its soul imprint unable to reform.
• Shen Mo decided he had enough information to report to the sect and flew toward Dingbo City in Sea Province.
• Shen Mo's Cicada Sense erupted, so he used his remaining Feathering Talismans and raised the Azure Cloud Umbrella, his defenses, and his attacks against the space ahead.

A Heaven-Supporting Giant trampled the Near-Sea Demon Cave and struck Shen Mo with a passing step, leaving him mangled and buried beneath the seabed as an undersea volcano began to form. Strange beings and forces appeared across the domains, and a Soaring Serpent swallowed much of Blue Province, including the River-Facing Sect.

• The Heaven-Supporting Giant crushed most of the Near-Sea Demon Cave and killed a Tier Four Great Heavenly Demon as the others fled.
• Shen Mo tried to evade the giant, but his techniques and defenses failed, and the giant's passing step shattered his body and sent him flying into the sea.
• Shen Mo plunged through the seabed, where escaping magma began forming an undersea volcano while he remained buried with his life uncertain.
• Unusual creatures and supernatural phenomena appeared across the North Domain, the far west, the Southern Border Poison Domain, and the Ghost Kingdom Ruins.
• A Soaring Serpent swallowed more than half of Blue Province, including the River-Facing Sect, and fell asleep as the region vanished from the world.

The chapter explained that the Red Flame Domain’s world was a leaf on the Universe Tree, now falling into a mass of decaying worlds and exposing it to their dangers. Shen Mo awoke gravely injured in an underwater volcano after a giant struck him, but his body-cultivation had kept him alive.

• The chapter described how worlds on the Universe Tree could touch, separate, and eventually fall and decay, bringing other fallen worlds and their vermin into contact with them.
• The world-leaf containing the Red Flame Domain had reached the point of falling from its branch, and the upheaval across the world reflected that change.
• Shen Mo awoke in magma at the bottom of the sea and found that a giant’s accidental collision had destroyed much of the right side of his body and badly injured the rest.
• Shen Mo realized his powerful physique had allowed him to survive, though repairing his bones, organs, and twisted chakras would be difficult.
• Shen Mo retained his Qiankun Pouch and several treasures, but his robe and inner armor were destroyed, the Azure Cloud Umbrella was reduced to its frame, and most of his Nine-Pole Crystal Sand Aura was spent.

Shen Mo survived catastrophic injuries by rebuilding his body with the Three-Heads Six-Arms True Immortal Technique, then discovered that the upheaval had disrupted communication and teleportation across Sea Province. He raced to the River-Facing Sect after learning that the Origin Core Ancestors had left Dingbo City and its outposts were vulnerable.

• Shen Mo swallowed shattered healing pills and used their power and Blood Essence Origin to regenerate his destroyed Dao Body in the underground volcano.
• After healing, Shen Mo emerged from the sea, found that his Sound Transmission Talisman and conch could not reach Mingyu, and flew toward Dingbo City.
• Shen Mo saw that the Four-Eyed Giant had crushed much of the Near-Sea Demon Cave and its demons, unaware that the demons' passage back to the Heavenly Demon Realm had been severed.
• Shen Mo learned in Dingbo City that teleportation arrays were misdirecting travelers and that Ancestor Zhou and the other Origin Core Ancestors had returned to their sects.
• Worried that Sea Province's outposts were exposed to a demonic tide, Shen Mo left for the River-Facing Sect's mountain gate.

Shen Mo crossed a dangerous, transformed Red Flame Kingdom and found that most of Blue Province, including the River-Facing Sect, had vanished, replaced by unfamiliar terrain. He discovered a colossal Soaring Serpent in the Linjiang Mountain Range and failed to learn anything about it or upgrade his Insight into All Living Beings.

• Shen Mo traveled toward the River-Facing Sect, avoiding dangerous unknown regions and encountering numerous extraterrestrial beings along the way.
• After more than ten days of detours, Shen Mo reached Blue Province and found a colossal sleeping serpent-dragon coiled through the Linjiang Mountain Range.
• Shen Mo sent Demon Soul Generals to investigate and learned that most of Blue Province, including the River-Facing Sect and Cloud-Gathering Town, had disappeared.
• Shen Mo tried to probe the creature and learned its name was Soaring Serpent, but Insight into All Living Beings failed to reveal its information.
• Shen Mo spent 400 Destiny Points attempting to upgrade Insight into All Living Beings, but all four attempts failed.

Shen Mo reunited with Ancestor Zhou and learned that the River-Facing Sect had evacuated its members into the Mountain and River Secret Realm before the Soaring Serpent swallowed most of Blue Province. The sect’s people were safe for now, but the serpent blocked the secret realm’s entrance, leaving them unable to get out and Shen Mo unable to reach them.

• Shen Mo found Ancestor Zhou and Zhou Ru, then asked what had happened to the River-Facing Sect and Blue Province.
• Ancestor Zhou told Shen Mo that the sect had moved its disciples into the Mountain and River Secret Realm before the Soaring Serpent swallowed most of Blue Province.
• Ancestor Zhou explained that the Soaring Serpent was an ancient Strange Dragon that might have come from another world.
• Shen Mo asked what had happened to those swallowed by the serpent and why the sect had not returned from the secret realm.
• Ancestor Zhou said that the Soaring Serpent blocked Mountain and River Valley, trapping the sect’s people inside the secret realm and preventing others from entering.

Shen Mo and Ancestor Zhou discovered that the Soaring Serpent's power transformed any creature approaching it into a Winged Flying Snake, trapping the River-Facing Sect disciples inside Mountain and River Realm. Their attempts to find a way around the corruption failed, leaving them with no choice but to wait for the Soaring Serpent to leave.

• Ancestor Zhou showed Shen Mo that creatures entering the Soaring Serpent's shadow became Winged Flying Snakes that fed on its dead skin and rotten scales.
• Shen Mo used Insight into All Living Beings to learn that Winged Flying Snakes were created by the Soaring Serpent's power and could not grow stronger through cultivation.
• Shen Mo sent two Demon Soul Generals toward the Soaring Serpent, and both transformed into Winged Flying Snakes as their Divine Soul imprints vanished from the Soul Refining Banner.
• Shen Mo realized that the Soaring Serpent's corruption prevented him from entering Mountain and River Valley or communicating with the trapped disciples.
• Shen Mo asked Ancestor Zhou whether they could only wait for the Soaring Serpent to wake and leave, and Ancestor Zhou agreed that they might have no other choice.

After the Soaring Serpent swallowed most of Blue Province, Shen Mo resolved to grow stronger and find a way to communicate with the Mountain and River Secret Realm. He set out to visit other sects for help while Ancestor Zhou prepared a River-Facing Sect branch in Yu Province.

• Shen Mo steadied his Dao heart and vowed to become strong enough to confront the Soaring Serpent if necessary.
• Ancestor Zhou explained that Gongsun Jiuru and Feng Daogu were unreachable, then planned to establish a branch sect in Yu Province with the disciples he had gathered.
• Shen Mo checked Ancestor Zhou’s sect register but found none of Chen Mengze or his other close companions listed.
• Shen Mo told Zhou Zhiwei he would visit other major sects to seek a way to contact the secret realm, then departed for the Ghost Corpse Sect in You Province.
• Ancestor Zhou and Zhou Ru set out for Yu Province after leaving information on stone tablets around the area.
• Shen Mo sent Demon Soul Generals ahead to scout for dangers and considered relying on his alchemy, talisman-making, and artifact-crafting skills to earn resources.

After searching unsuccessfully for a way to enter Mountain and River Valley, Shen Mo reunited with Cao Ren, whose draconic transformation was worsening. Shen Mo accepted Cao Ren’s Spirit Stones and left to secretly use the Martial Drill to deduce the Counter-Dragon Curse.

• Shen Mo searched for the sect ancestors and learned that the Ghost Corpse Sect and Heavenly Sword Sect had fled while the Moon-Deriving Sect remained hidden.
• Shen Mo studied the Counter-Dragon Curse and considered using the Martial Drill to deduce it, but worried about the cost and its cultivation prerequisites.
• Cao Ren visited Shen Mo and revealed that his connection to the Dragon-Rearing Pool had strengthened, scales were spreading over his chest, and he had begun losing his mind and spreading the Dragon Transformation Curse.
• Cao Ren asked Shen Mo to have the Counter-Dragon Curse strengthened, offering the 130,000 low-grade Spirit Stones he had saved.
• Shen Mo explained that the curse might counter the Soaring Serpent’s life radiation and accepted Cao Ren’s 1,300 mid-grade Spirit Stones.
• Shen Mo left the River-Facing Sect Branch Courtyard, claiming he would visit a senior expert while actually seeking a safe place to use the Martial Drill.

Shen Mo deduced and cultivated a stronger version of Counter-Dragon Curse, then prepared to test whether it could protect him from the Soaring Serpent Strange Dragon’s transformation. Near the Linjiang Mountain Range, he created a clone to serve as the test subject.

• Shen Mo descended into Dahuai City, where an Ancient Well had drawn sacrifices of livestock and people before cultivators contained the violence.
• Shen Mo used Martial Drill and over two hundred thousand low-grade Spirit Stones to deduce Counter-Dragon Curse and began cultivating it.
• Shen Mo gave Cao Ren the revised method, and Cao Ren found that it reduced his dragon-transformation scales.
• A month later, Shen Mo and Cao Ren went to the Linjiang Mountain Range to test the method against the Soaring Serpent’s transformation.
• Shen Mo used Three-Heads Six-Arms True Immortal Technique and Gecko Divine Skill to create an identical clone for the test.

Shen Mo tested whether the Counter-Dragon Curse could protect him from the Soaring Serpent’s mutative radiation by sending in a Gecko False Body. The curse worked briefly, but the body mutated into a fourth-tier Winged Flying Snake, revealing that the Serpent’s parasites included powerful fourth-tier creatures.

• Shen Mo used a Gecko False Body to approach the Soaring Serpent while Cao Ren watched and he recovered with spirit pills.
• The False Body began suffering the Soaring Serpent’s mutative radiation, so Shen Mo activated the Counter-Dragon Curse, which temporarily stopped the mutation.
• After the False Body moved closer, the Counter-Dragon Curse failed, and it transformed into an early fourth-tier Winged Flying Snake.
• Shen Mo examined the transformed creature and concluded that the Soaring Serpent’s radiation both caused mutation and unleashed its victims’ potential.
• Several Winged Flying Snakes emerged from beneath the Soaring Serpent’s scales and attacked the False Body, and Shen Mo discovered they were all at least early fourth tier, with some at middle or late fourth tier.

After discovering the dangers inside Mountain and River Valley, Shen Mo returned to the other courtyard and focused on raising his cultivation so he could enter. He revealed his second-grade skills in several auxiliary arts and organized disciples to help him earn resources, while Yao Ting worked for him to fund her own breakthrough.

• Shen Mo learned through the False Body's probe that the Soaring Serpent Strange Dragon's radiation and powerful Winged Flying Snakes made entering Mountain and River Valley too dangerous for his current strength.
• Shen Mo told Cao Ren he had found a way in but needed to improve his Counter-Dragon Curse and cultivation before attempting the crossing; Cao Ren resolved to strengthen himself against the Dragon-Rearing Pool.
• Shen Mo and Cao Ren returned safely to the other courtyard, where Shen Mo resumed his cultivation routine and decided to reveal his second-grade skills in pill refining, talisman making, and artifact forging.
• Shen Mo recruited Inner Sect disciples to buy materials and sell his finished goods, easing the burden of running his auxiliary businesses.
• Yao Ting joined Shen Mo's helpers, earning a commission as she saved resources to buy a fourth-grade spirit pill and attempt to open her Spirit Sea.

Shen Mo learned more about the Flower Fairies and the upheavals that had reshaped the Red Flame Domain, while the River-Facing Sect’s other residence struggled to recover from immense losses. With the sect unable to provide stipends and its former power structure shattered, Shen Mo declined to manage the residence and focused on condensing his three Spirit Seas into a Primordial One-Qi Pill.

• Shen Mo and Zhou Zhiwei investigated the Forbidden Land near Chong'a Mountain and identified its inhabitants as powerful but generally peaceful Flower Fairies.
• Shen Mo spoke with several Flower Fairies and learned more about the upheavals, the arrival of extraterrestrial beings, and the existence of Fifth Order beings in Flower Fairy Valley.
• Zhou Zhiwei ordered the River-Facing Sect members at the other residence to avoid the Forbidden Land and live peacefully with the Flower Fairies.
• The other residence gradually regained order as survivors and returning sect members gathered, though many had lost family and friends to the Soaring Serpent Strange Dragon.
• Shen Mo declined Zhou Zhiwei's offer to put him in charge of the other residence and resolved to focus on condensing his three Spirit Seas into a Primordial One-Qi Pill.

Chen Mengze reunited with Shen Mo at Chong'a Mountain, where he forged her a spirit sword before she returned to the Void Heaven Mountain Range. Afterward, Shen Mo resumed seclusion and assessed the limits of his progress in several cultivation professions.

• Chen Mengze told Shen Mo about her Ice-Clear Jade Immortal Art, her cultivation in the North Domain, and her dealings with the Mystic Ice Beings.
• Chen Mengze embraced Shen Mo, and her surging emotions caused her Ice-Clear True Essence to release a freezing aura.
• Shen Mo forged Chen Mengze the low-grade spirit-level sword Returning Snow and reforged her other equipment.
• Chen Mengze left Shen Mo the location of her temporary cave abode, reassured him that Zhao Lingyin was being looked after, and departed for the north.
• Shen Mo returned to his residence and resumed seclusion, noting that his Talisman Dao and Alchemy Dao progress had stalled for lack of higher-grade materials and recipes.

At the peak of the Spirit Sea Realm, Shen Mo studied River-Facing Sect’s inherited insights on forming an Origin Core and assessed his chances of reaching the perfect grade. He left confident that forming a core was only a matter of time, while its quality remained the challenge.

• Shen Mo stopped cultivating and read the jade slip of Origin Core insights passed down by River-Facing Sect’s founding ancestors.
• Shen Mo considered how his Heaven’s Pride aptitude, Destiny Panel, and mastery of cultivation techniques compared with Spirit Body bearers.
• Shen Mo reviewed the five Origin Core grades and learned that most powerful cultivators had formed middle-grade or superior cores.
• Shen Mo hoped to form a perfect Origin Core and studied how ancient cultivators had used Outer Cores to enter the Origin Core Realm.

Shen Mo studied the sect’s methods for improving Origin Core quality and weighed which preparations suited him. With the Ascension Pool inaccessible, dual cultivation unsuitable, and the Primordial Pill recipe lost, he considered finding a Blessed Land or heavenly treasures—and possibly reconstructing the pill recipe.

• Shen Mo reviewed how difficult it was to form a high-quality Origin Core and learned that the sect’s predecessors had recorded four ways to improve one.
• He ruled out the Ascension Pool because the Spirit Void Immortal Realm could not be reached and its entrance would be difficult to find.
• Shen Mo dismissed dual cultivation because he would not reveal his secrets and Zhao Lingyin was trapped in the Mountain and River Secret Realm.
• He considered seeking a suitable Blessed Land or heavenly treasures, since the sect’s Primordial Pill recipe was lost and its remaining pills had been used up.
• Shen Mo contemplated reconstructing the Fifth-Grade Primordial Pill recipe to help perfect the transformation of his essence, qi, and spirit during core formation.

Shen Mo planned to recreate the fifth-grade Primordial Pill and realized the Jade Pool Secret Realm held most of the herbs he needed. After Zhou Zhiwei gave him a travel order to reach the realm through Dragon-Falling Abyss, Shen Mo headed first to the Forbidden Land where Flower Fairy had appeared.

• Shen Mo listed thirteen possible Primordial Pill ingredients and their substitutes, then realized he could gather most of them in the Jade Pool Secret Realm.
• Shen Mo decided to travel to the secret realm himself, where he could gather herbs and search for treasures to aid his breakthrough.
• Shen Mo explained that the teleportation arrays were unreliable and that reaching the Jade Pool Secret Realm required crossing dangerous Dragon-Falling Abyss.
• Zhou Zhiwei approved Shen Mo's journey, hoping he would contact Elder Li, gather spirit herbs, and perhaps form his Origin Core.
• After receiving a travel order from Ancestor Zhou, Shen Mo left the Chong'a Mountain residence and flew toward the Forbidden Land where Flower Fairy had appeared.

Shen Mo sought to trade with the Flower Fairy Clan, believing the spirit plants in the Jade Pool Secret Realm would interest them. Flower Fairy Ami agreed to inspect his catalog, leaving the deal still undecided.

• Shen Mo waited far from Flower Fairy Valley, wary of the powerful being whose presence warned him away.
• After hours of waiting, Shen Mo sensed Ami leaving the valley and called her over.
• Ami asked why Shen Mo had summoned her, and he proposed trading rare flowers and exotic herbs with the Flower Fairy Clan.
• Shen Mo gave Ami a jade slip cataloging the Jade Pool Secret Realm’s spirit plants, and she asked to examine its contents.