Chapter Summaries

Hong Yun exposed Maitreya’s plundered captives and frightened him into accepting punishment for his crimes in the East. He sent Maitreya back to the West with a warning to have his teacher come settle the matter.

• Zhen Yuan Zi worried that confronting Zhun Ti over Maitreya could put him and Hong Yun in danger.
• Hong Yun tore open Maitreya’s Human Seed Bag and released more than a hundred thousand sleeping beings.
• Hong Yun threatened to rally powerful figures from the East against the West over Maitreya’s plundering, frightening Maitreya into silence.
• Hong Yun separated Maitreya’s primordial spirit from his body, wrapped his body in cloud qi, and ordered him to return to the West and summon his teacher.
• Maitreya bowed and fled toward the Western Boundary, and Zhen Yuan Zi remarked that Hong Yun had scared him.

Hong Yun left Maitreya alive but planted disputes over the Western Sect’s teachings in his body, challenging him to understand them or risk destabilizing his Dao Heart. After freeing Maitreya’s captives, Hong Yun agreed to let them cultivate at his sanctuary at Zhen Yuan Zi’s request.

• Hong Yun decided not to kill Maitreya and infused his abandoned body with ideas about disputes between Western Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism.
• Zhen Yuan Zi suggested waking the captive beings and letting them leave, while two golden dragons and other Golden Immortals revealed themselves and begged Hong Yun to take them in.
• The two golden dragons recognized Hong Yun’s overwhelming power and led the group in pleading for refuge.
• Zhen Yuan Zi urged Hong Yun to shelter the captives, noting that his spacious sanctuary could accommodate them.
• Hong Yun agreed to let the captive beings cultivate in his Daoist sanctuary because Zhen Yuan Zi had asked on their behalf.

Hong Yun welcomed the Golden Dragons into his service, named their leaders Long Wu and Long Jiu, and arranged for them to settle the awakened beings in Fire Cloud Cave. He then explained to Zhen Yuan Zi why he would not follow the Path of Slaying Three Corpses, leaving their cultivation plans unresolved.

• Hong Yun accepted the Golden Dragons and warned them to behave, and their two leaders asked him to grant them names.
• Hong Yun named the young Golden Dragons Long Wu and Long Jiu, then sent them to lead the awakened beings into Fire Cloud Cave and organize the others.
• Zhen Yuan Zi wondered whether they should reconnect Fire Cloud Cave to the ley lines, but Hong Yun decided to wait until Zhun Ti honored their agreement with Maitreya.
• Hong Yun told Zhen Yuan Zi that he would not follow the Path of Slaying Three Corpses because merging the corpses required rare sets of treasures that were difficult to obtain.
• Zhen Yuan Zi suggested Hong Yun use the Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler and two Innate Five Elements Flags to sever corpses, but Hong Yun rejected settling for a flawed path to the Dao.

Hong Yun explained his plan to create a small chiliocosm within himself and strengthen it, while Zhen Yuan Zi considered his own path to enlightenment. Meanwhile, Maitreya reached Mount Sumeru as a weakened primordial spirit and began telling Jieyin and Zhun Ti what had happened.

• Hong Yun proposed creating a small chiliocosm within himself and advancing it so its power would bolster him.
• Zhen Yuan Zi set aside his concerns about the Method of Severing the Three Corpses and asked Hong Yun to explain his cultivation plan.
• Hou Tu joined Hong Yun and Zhen Yuan Zi as they discussed the Dao.
• Maitreya hurried back to Mount Sumeru as a dim, unstable primordial spirit, fearing for his absent physical body.
• Zhun Ti used the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree to stabilize Maitreya and asked what had happened.
• Maitreya told Jieyin and Zhun Ti that he had offended two mighty experts and been punished.

Zhun Ti dismissed Maitreya’s warnings and leisurely set out to confront Hong Yun, while Maitreya’s body remained imprisoned and swollen by Hong Yun’s cloud energy. During a Dao lecture at Fire Cloud Cave, Hong Yun’s Four Symbols Law suddenly reversed and plunged into chaos.

• Maitreya told Jieyin and Zhun Ti that Hong Yun had punished him, but concealed that he had known Fire Cloud Cave was already occupied.
• Zhun Ti and Jieyin underestimated Hong Yun and decided that an apology could settle the matter, despite Maitreya warning them that Hong Yun had destroyed the Human Seed Bag and threatened the West.
• Zhun Ti took Maitreya’s soul and slowly traveled toward Fire Cloud Cave, testing whether Hong Yun would destroy Maitreya’s physical body.
• Hong Yun, Zhen Yuan Zi, and Hou Tu continued discussing the Dao while Maitreya’s imprisoned body swelled as Hong Yun’s cloud energy spread through it.
• Hong Yun’s Four Symbols Law suddenly reversed during his lecture, sending Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind into chaos, and he used the Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler to suppress them.

Hong Yun released Maitreya’s swollen body to Zhun Ti, but when Maitreya reunited with it, gray cloud qi began changing his soul and filling his mind with ideas that challenged his teacher’s doctrine. Zhun Ti could only suppress the transformation for now, while Maitreya hid his thoughts and feared what would happen if Zhun Ti discovered them.

• Zhun Ti arrived and retrieved Maitreya’s swollen body after Hong Yun lifted his restriction.
• Maitreya’s soul returned to his body, but the gray cloud qi made both body and soul swell.
• Zhun Ti used the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree to suppress the changes in Maitreya’s soul, but could not dispel the cloud qi.
• Maitreya realized the cloud qi was filling his mind with ideas that contradicted Zhun Ti’s teachings.
• Maitreya concealed his thoughts from Zhun Ti, fearing his teacher would treat him as an evil influence.

Hong Yun confronted Zhun Ti over Maitreya damaging Fire Cloud Cave, while using the transformation of Maitreya’s body to pass him a warning and teach him a lesson. Zhun Ti refused to apologize and insisted Maitreya’s act had been an innocent mistake, leaving the dispute unresolved.

• Zhun Ti examined Maitreya, restored his transformed primordial spirit to match his body, and accused Hong Yun of damaging his disciple.
• Hong Yun reminded Maitreya that he had been warned, and Maitreya quietly acknowledged Hong Yun’s guidance while concealing what he had learned.
• Hong Yun ignored Zhun Ti’s anger and told Maitreya his new build might be a fortuitous opportunity.
• Hong Yun asked Zhun Ti whether he had come to apologize for Maitreya damaging Fire Cloud Cave.
• Zhun Ti denied that an apology was needed, claiming Maitreya was an inexperienced junior who had made a small mistake, while Maitreya hoped they would leave quickly.

Hong Yun rejected Zhun Ti’s attempt to settle Maitreya’s destruction of his dojo with the Eight Treasures Prayer Beads and prepared to retaliate against the West. He left the confrontation poised to make the Witch Clan spread his account of why he struck back.

• Hong Yun blamed Zhun Ti for Maitreya uprooting the leyline beneath his dojo and demanded compensation.
• Zhun Ti offered the Eight Treasures Prayer Beads, but Zhen Yuan Zi called the offer insulting.
• Hong Yun accepted the beads sarcastically and proposed using them to compensate for the destruction of Mount Sumeru’s leylines.
• Zhun Ti flared his aura and accused Hong Yun of deliberately making an enemy of the West, but Hong Yun remained unaffected.
• Hong Yun told Hou Tu to have the Witch Clan spread the word that Zhun Ti’s inadequate compensation had forced him to retaliate, and Hou Tu giggled.

Hong Yun attacked Zhun Ti without warning, and their clash damaged Zhun Ti’s Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree. Zhun Ti’s golden attacks could not penetrate Hong Yun’s Heavens Celebration Cloud, leaving Hong Yun protected as the fight continued.

• Hong Yun declared that he meant to attack the West and struck Zhun Ti with the Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler.
• Zhen Yuan Zi and Hou Tu descended to the ground and raised the Earth Book Barrier, while the clash’s shockwave injured Maitreya and drove him to flee.
• Zhun Ti blocked Hong Yun’s blow with the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, but the weapon developed tiny cracks.
• Zhun Ti unleashed a barrage of golden attacks, but Hong Yun’s Heavens Celebration Cloud stopped or deflected them all.
• Hong Yun emerged unharmed and considered fully refining the Heavens Celebration Cloud or merging it into himself.

Hong Yun fought Zhunti after Zhunti's attacks devastated the land around Fire Cloud Cave, while Zhen Yuan Zi and Hou Tu struggled to shield it with the Earth Book Barrier. The battle drew the attention of powerful beings across the Primordial Wilderness, and Di Jun asked why Hong Yun and Zhunti were fighting.

• Zhunti's Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree battered the mountains and space around Fire Cloud Cave, while Zhen Yuan Zi and Hou Tu expanded the Earth Book Barrier to protect the land.
• Hong Yun attacked Zhunti at close range with the Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler and techniques from the Nine Revolutions Primordial Technique.
• Zhunti summoned the Twelve-grade Merit Golden Lotus and his eight-armed Golden Body Dharma Appearance, then fought Hong Yun across the sky and ground.
• Hong Yun tried to lure Zhunti into the chaos, but Zhunti stayed near the land Hong Yun wanted to protect, and the fighting continued to devastate the area.
• The battle drew the attention of powerful beings across the Primordial Wilderness, prompting Jieyin to leave Mount Sumeru and Dijiang to suggest that the Ancestral Shamans go watch.
• At Fuxi and Nu Wa's cave abode, Di Jun noticed the battle and asked why Hong Yun and Zhunti were fighting.

After Maitreya uprooted Hong Yun’s abode and Zhun Ti offered a cheap treasure to settle the karmic debt, Zhen Yuan Zi recounted the dispute to the gathered Ancestral Shamans, Di Jun, Taiyi, Fuxi, and Nu Wa. Their anger turned against Zhun Ti, while Zhen Yuan Zi brought Maitreya before them and pressed him to confirm the account.

• Di Jun, Taiyi, Fuxi, and Nu Wa suspected Zhun Ti had provoked Hong Yun and decided to visit the dispute.
• Dijiang led the Ancestral Shamans to Zhen Yuan Zi’s place, where Zhen Yuan Zi and Hou Tu stood inside the Earth Book Barrier.
• Zhen Yuan Zi told the group that Maitreya had uprooted Hong Yun’s abode, and that Zhun Ti had offered Eight Treasures Prayer Beads to settle the karmic debt.
• Zhen Yuan Zi explained that the prayer beads were merely an ordinary acquired magic treasure, prompting Nu Wa and the others to condemn Zhun Ti’s offer.
• Zhen Yuan Zi seized Maitreya through the void and asked whether his account had been false or exaggerated.

Jieyin learned that Maitreya’s greed had sparked the conflict between Zhun Ti and Hong Yun, while Hong Yun defeated and humiliated Zhun Ti in battle. Hong Yun stopped short of killing Zhun Ti, knowing that fate and Hongjun would prevent it.

• Nu Wa and Fuxi concluded that Zhun Ti had gone too far and that Hong Yun had been justified in fighting him.
• Jieyin arrived and received a cold welcome from the gathered cultivators.
• Jieyin questioned Maitreya, who confessed how his greed had caused the uproar.
• Jieyin realized Zhun Ti had brought the hostility upon himself and sought a way to make peace.
• Hong Yun battered Zhun Ti, damaging his Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree and Golden Body Dharma Appearance while remaining unharmed beneath the Heavens Celebration Cloud.
• Hong Yun decided not to kill Zhun Ti, suspecting Hongjun would intervene and knowing Zhun Ti was destined to become a Saint.

Hong Yun let Zhun Ti’s Six Roots Pure Bamboo seal his senses, hoping to reach true primordial chaos through the resulting emptiness. As his consciousness sank into darkness, the many laws within him began to merge chaotically, leaving his transformation underway.

• Zhun Ti used the Six Roots Pure Bamboo to seal Hong Yun’s six senses after Hong Yun briefly lost focus.
• Hong Yun stopped resisting and let the bamboo’s clear light envelop him, believing sensory emptiness might help him reach primordial chaos.
• Hou Tu sensed that Hong Yun had vanished and flew toward the Ninth Heaven, but Zhen Yuan Zi stopped her and suggested the situation might be Hong Yun’s opportunity.
• Jieyin saw Hong Yun trapped and urged Zhun Ti to accept the advantage and make peace rather than escalate the conflict.
• Zhun Ti attacked Hong Yun, but the Heavens Celebration Cloud blocked his strikes while Hong Yun remained motionless.
• Hong Yun’s Four Symbols, time, space, martial arts, Formation Dao, karma, and other powers were drawn together into the chaos within him, throwing his magical power into disorder.

Hong Yun awakened after opening a small world inside his body and used the Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler to expand it. The Innate Gourd Vine joined the world by taking root in the red gourd, stabilizing Heaven and Earth as Hong Yun’s power and soul transformed.

• Hong Yun’s undying True Spirit split the chaos inside him and awakened his soul as a tiny world formed.
• The Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler entered Hong Yun’s body and showed him images of the Primordial Wilderness’s creation, while he used it to expand his world.
• The Innate Gourd Vine entered Hong Yun’s newborn world, and Hong Yun gave it the red Fire-aspected gourd as a new foundation.
• The Innate Gourd Vine abandoned its old body, became a seed inside the gourd, and grew into a vast vine that drew in chaos and supplied Yin-Yang and Five Elements forces.
• The vine stabilized Hong Yun’s world, and Hong Yun felt his power rise beyond the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm as his soul transformed.

Hong Yun broke through to Quasi-Saint by establishing a world rather than severing a corpse, and the Heavenly Dao bestowed merit on him for opening a new path. Hongjun realized Hong Yun was not following the Three Corpses path and wondered what he had discovered.

• Hong Yun became the first Quasi-Saint after Hongjun without severing a corpse, and the Heavenly Dao bestowed merit upon him.
• Zhun Ti stopped his attack when the Heavenly Dao's merit appeared, while cultivators across the Primordial Wilderness recognized Hong Yun's breakthrough.
• Zhen Yuan Zi celebrated Hong Yun's success, the Ancestral Shamans rejoiced over their thirteenth Ancestral Shaman, and Di Jun resolved to advance his plans faster.
• The Three Pure Ones reacted to being surpassed, while Jieyin lamented that he and Zhun Ti had provoked someone they could not afford to offend.
• Hongjun sensed the Heavenly Dao's disturbance and saw Hong Yun through its power; Hong Yun noticed his gaze and looked back at him.
• Hongjun concluded that Hong Yun was not following the Three Corpses path and wondered whether he had discovered something.

Hong Yun sensed Hongjun’s suppressed killing intent and resolved to grow stronger and gather more fate to protect himself. He then refined merit into the Innate Gourd Vine and seized the Six Roots Pure Bamboo from Zhun Ti, leaving Zhun Ti furious.

• Hongjun considered killing Hong Yun but restrained himself because of the Heavenly Dao and the Witch Clan’s fate, then resumed merging with the Heavenly Dao.
• Hong Yun sensed Hongjun’s killing intent and decided to increase his strength and bind himself to more fate and merit.
• Hong Yun collected the Heavenly Dao’s merit and used it to refine the Innate Gourd Vine into a Merit Supreme Treasure.
• Zhun Ti tried to reclaim the Six Roots Pure Bamboo, but Hong Yun severed its bonds to Zhun Ti and pulled it into his inner world.
• Zhun Ti cried out for his Six Roots Pure Bamboo, while Hong Yun ignored him and kept the treasure.

Hong Yun revealed that he had severed the karma between the Six Roots Pure Bamboo and the West, leaving Zhun Ti unable to reclaim it. When Zhun Ti tried to end the fight by asking the assembled cultivators to judge the dispute, Hong Yun unleashed his Quasi-Saint aura and challenged him to follow through on his threat to fight to the death.

• Hong Yun told Zhun Ti that the Six Roots Pure Bamboo was no longer connected to the West by karma.
• Zhun Ti probed the secrets of Heaven and discovered that he had no karmic claim to the bamboo.
• Zhun Ti realized he could not defeat the newly advanced Quasi-Saint Hong Yun and decided to retreat.
• Zhun Ti proposed going down to let the other cultivators judge their dispute, but Hong Yun refused to let him escape the fight.
• Hong Yun overwhelmed Zhun Ti with his Quasi-Saint aura and asked if he had not said he wanted to fight to the death.

Hong Yun tested his newly created World Seal against Zhun Ti and badly wounded him, while Jieyin rushed to protect his junior brother. The Ancestral Shamans hesitated to intervene after seeing Zhun Ti’s condition.

• Hong Yun explained that he had created martial arts seals to wield the power of his inner world, including the Karma Seal and the World Seal.
• Hong Yun formed the World Seal, and Zhun Ti fled while using his Golden Body Dharma Appearance and Twelve-grade Merit Golden Lotus to defend himself.
• Hong Yun struck Zhun Ti with the World Seal, shattering his Golden Body Dharma Appearance and sending him crashing toward the crowd below.
• Jieyin used his Jieyin Treasure Banner to shield Zhun Ti and catch him, while Zhun Ti suffered grave injuries.
• The Ancestral Shamans considered attacking Jieyin and Zhun Ti but stopped after seeing how badly wounded Zhun Ti was.

Hong Yun defeated Zhun Ti with his martial-path World Seal, and the gathered immortals, Nu Wa, and the Witch Clan confronted Jieyin and Zhun Ti over the dispute. Zhun Ti protested that Hong Yun had attacked first, then collapsed further as Maitreya blamed himself and Zhun Ti comforted him.

• Hong Yun descended after defeating Zhun Ti, impressing Di Jun, Taiyi, and the other Grand Unity Golden Immortals with the power of a Quasi-Saint.
• Hong Yun exchanged looks with Hou Tu and Xuanming, who recognized his World Seal as a martial-path technique, and he planned to teach Xuanming his latest insights.
• Jieyin asked Hong Yun to show mercy toward Zhun Ti, but Zhen Yuan Zi argued that Zhun Ti’s side had started the dispute and that Hong Yun had held back.
• Dijiang warned Jieyin that the Witch Clan would march on the West and tear down Mount Sumeru unless they received an explanation.
• Zhun Ti insisted that Hong Yun had attacked first, spat out more blood, and heard Maitreya blame himself for causing the disaster.
• Zhun Ti gave Maitreya a comforting look as Maitreya supported him.

After Hong Yun injured Zhun Ti while defending his dojo, Zhun Ti comforted Maitreya, and Di Jun publicly backed Hong Yun. Hong Yun resolved to return Di Jun’s goodwill and began considering how to prevent the Witch-Demon War from destroying both clans as Di Jun moved to address the dispute.

• Zhun Ti reassured Maitreya that he did not blame him for the trouble, and Maitreya was deeply moved by his teacher’s support.
• Di Jun defended Hong Yun, criticized Zhun Ti, and promised to ensure justice was done.
• Zhun Ti silently resented Di Jun, while Hong Yun worried that his support for Hong Yun might lead Zhun Ti to scheme against the Golden Crow Princes.
• Hong Yun decided to return Di Jun’s kindness and considered finding a way to save both the Wu and the demons from destruction.
• Di Jun turned to Jieyin and Zhun Ti and began comparing their dispute with Hong Yun to Yuan Shi’s earlier karmic debt to him.