Chapter Summaries

Zhang Chu became the Daoist Sect’s Sixth Mountain Master after revealing that he had cultivated the Bitter Character Stele. In private, the Celestial Master disclosed that the Twelve Chapters of the Yellow Court were the Fate Character Stele and revealed why Huang Xugu disappeared, leaving Zhang Chu to realize that someone had watched him since his time in the Southern Regions.

• Zhang Chu admitted that he had cultivated one of the Seven Limits, and Mountain Master Yunshu identified it as the Bitter Character Stele.
• Mountain Masters Lingyue, Yuan, and Baopu endorsed Zhang Chu’s appointment, and the Celestial Master named him the Sixth Mountain Master of Yellow Court at Jueyun Peak.
• The Celestial Master privately warned Zhang Chu that he believed Zhang Chu had cultivated two kinds of the Seven Limits and cautioned him about their dangers.
• Zhang Chu told the Celestial Master that he had come to find Huang Xugu and recover the final three chapters of the Twelve Chapters of the Yellow Court.
• The Celestial Master revealed that the Twelve Chapters were the Fate Character Stele, that Huang Xugu had cultivated it, and that the stolen chapters and Xuansu’s disappearance followed after Huang Xugu exposed its traits.
• Zhang Chu connected the revelation to the Demonic Cult’s references to “that one” and “her,” realizing that someone had been watching him since his time in the Southern Regions.

The Old Celestial Master revealed that the realm faced a growing catastrophe and entrusted Zhang Chu with the Daoist Sect’s inheritance and a route to the Sea Regions. He urged Zhang Chu to take command of the East Sea Sky Patrol Guard, then explained the tiers of the nine great acupoints before warning that the sky was about to change.

• Zhang Chu learned that the Old Scholar of Zhongzhou Academy might uncover who had targeted him, but the Old Celestial Master feared such an investigation would expose them to the growing chaos.
• The Old Celestial Master gave Zhang Chu a forbidden-ground token containing the Daoist Sect’s inheritance and told him to flee if disaster struck.
• The Old Celestial Master revealed that he had arranged Wei Shanhe’s mission and planned for Zhang Chu to travel to Sihuang City, seize the East Sea Sky Patrol Guard marshal post, and continue to the Sea Regions.
• The Old Celestial Master warned that the crisis was more than a struggle among princes and said Zhang Chu would learn the truth in the Sea Regions.
• The Old Celestial Master explained that the nine great acupoints fell into lower, middle, and high tiers, naming them as Essence, qi, spirit, Emotion, pupils, heart, Yin and yang, Samsara, and Ten Thousand Rivers.

Zhang Chu learned from the Old Celestial Master about the nine apertures and was urged to pursue the higher-grade ones before heading to the Sea Regions. Days later, Sihuang City filled with martial-world contenders for the Sea Region Sky Patrol Guard marshalship, and the assembly’s observers welcomed County Princess Le'an, revealed as Yang Yichen, the woman Zhang Chu had met as Yichen.

• The Old Celestial Master explained the grades of the nine apertures, advised Zhang Chu to open as many middle- and upper-grade apertures as possible, and suggested he might reach the legendary aperture of ten thousand rivers.
• The Old Celestial Master gave Zhang Chu a map marked with dangerous locations in the Sea Regions, and Zhang Chu left the Daoist Sect intending to seek the Fate Character Stele and the old man there.
• News spread that the Spirit Court would send troops to the Sea Regions and hold a Marshal Selection Assembly in Sihuang City, drawing famed sect leaders and independent martial artists.
• The crowded assembly plaza filled with contenders, including Tianpo Jun, Shi Zhenyue, Ye Shuchen, Shen Yanci, and Chu Jingyuan, while Gu Changfeng and other dignitaries observed.
• County Princess Le'an arrived by air between two Daoist Scripture Realm cultivators, and the assembly’s leaders bowed to her as Yang Guang welcomed his niece.
• County Princess Le'an was revealed to be Yang Yichen, the woman Zhang Chu had met in the Southern Regions under the name Yichen.

Yang Yichen attended the Sea Region Sky Patrol Guard Marshal Selection, where ten Bone Law Realm experts advanced to the deciding round. Wen Xuanji defeated his rivals and revealed that he had concealed his Daoist Canon strength for thirty years, but a voice from the horizon interrupted his claim to the Marshal position.

• Yang Yichen arrived on King Zhao's behalf and told Gu Changfeng to proceed with the selection according to the rules.
• Gu Changfeng began the trials, and Tianpo Jun, Shi Zhenyue, Chu Jingyuan, Ye Shuchen, Shen Yanci, Su Baicao, Luo Qingyi, Chi Liao, an unnamed Rogue Cultivator, and Wen Xuanji reached the stage.
• The deciding round began, and the ten contenders fought until Wen Xuanji swiftly defeated Chi Liao, Chu Jingyuan, Tianpo Jun, Shen Yanci, Su Baicao, and the others.
• Wen Xuanji revealed his Daoist Canon aura and explained that he had hidden his strength for thirty years while seeking to stand atop the martial world.
• Wen Xuanji claimed the Marshal position and challenged the rumored Yellow Court Dao Master, but a voice from the horizon asked, "I heard you were looking for me?"

Zhang Chu arrived at the Marshal Selection Assembly and killed Wen Xuanji with a single attack after demonstrating his overwhelming strength. Afterward, he recognized Yang Yichen on the main platform, but two figures rushed to attack him.

• Zhang Chu appeared over the square, identified himself to Wen Xuanji, and revealed that he had reached the Daoist Scripture Realm with Blood Qi Transformation into Dragon.
• Wen Xuanji attacked Zhang Chu with Enemy-Locking Qi, but Zhang Chu’s East Sea Undying Tribulation Armor blocked it, and Zhang Chu’s blood qi forced Wen Xuanji back.
• Wen Xuanji formed eighteen qi weapons into a Sword Formation, but Zhang Chu shattered the formation with a palm strike and crushed Wen Xuanji’s head.
• The crowd and Gu Changfeng were shocked by Wen Xuanji’s death, while Zhang Chu noticed Yang Yichen on the main platform.
• Zhang Chu addressed Yang Yichen as “Brother Yichen,” and two figures behind her charged at him.

Zhang Chu survived a surprise attack by the Tianshan Two Elders, defeated them, and was appointed Marshal of the East Sea Sky Patrol Guard. The chapter ended with a mysterious faction ordering Mang to stop Zhang Chu from entering the Sea Regions.

• Hansong and Lengbai attacked Zhang Chu at the Marshal Selection Assembly, but his Divine Mansion withstood their Spiritual Power strike.
• Zhang Chu counterattacked with a Golden Heavenly Saber, severely injuring both elders, and matched Gu Changfeng when he intervened.
• Yang Yichen apologized and offered compensation on behalf of King Zhao Mansion, and Zhang Chu spared the elders but severed their legs.
• With no challengers remaining, Gu Changfeng appointed Zhang Chu Marshal of the East Sea Sky Patrol Guard.
• Yang Guang invited Zhang Chu and Yang Yichen to the City Lord's Mansion, while covert agents carried news of the assembly to their factions.
• A shadowy leader assigned Mang to prevent Zhang Chu from entering the Sea Regions before an approaching great event.

After learning that the Imperial Court’s new Sea Region Sky Patrol Guard might be tied to the Sea God’s secret and the Four Profound of the Sea Regions, Zhang Chu set out for Wanghai City. He arrived at the neglected outpost and faced Zhao Tieshan’s blunt challenge about whether he truly intended to help its men.

• At a banquet, Yang Guang and Gu Changfeng told Zhang Chu that the Sea God had once opened four of the Eight Profound and that the Imperial Court might be seeking to repeat this during the Sea Regions’ turmoil.
• Yang Yichen warned Zhang Chu that his journey would not go as expected and told him to beware of the Imperial Court’s people.
• Zhang Chu left Sihuang City with Eunuch Wang and reached Wanghai City in two days using Cloud Dragon Nine Manifestations.
• Zhang Chu bypassed the city and inspected the dilapidated Sea Region Sky Patrol Guard compound, where the men had been idle and gambling.
• Zhao Tieshan introduced himself as the acting commander and challenged Zhang Chu to prove he had come to accomplish something rather than use the post as a stepping-stone.

Zhang Chu asserted control over the Sea Region Sky Patrol Guard, investigated records of the Mist Sea Region, and learned about its deadly bell and Black Flood Dragon Cave. He planned to attack Black Flood Dragon Island with Zhao Tieshan as a massive shadow watched from within the mist.

• Zhang Chu shattered reefs beyond the docks with a palm strike, won the Sea Region Sky Patrol Guard's submission, and appointed Zhao Tieshan as commander.
• Zhang Chu searched the garrison archives and found records connecting a Daoist to the Sea Heart Cave, Black Flood Dragon Cave to a suspected treasure, and the Mist Sea Region to a mysterious bell and missing scouts.
• Zhao Tieshan told Zhang Chu that the Mist Sea Region's bell had drained his companions of their blood and left him stranded on shore.
• Zhao Tieshan identified Yuanshan Lie as Black Flood Dragon Cave's leader, and Zhang Chu ordered him to join a two-man expedition to Black Flood Dragon Island.
• Zhang Chu considered the powerful figures and secrets gathering in the Sea Regions as news spread through Wanghai City that he would attack Black Flood Dragon Cave.
• A massive, inhuman shadow revealed blood-red eyes in the Mist Sea Region and watched the sea.

Zhang Chu stormed Black Flood Dragon Island, killed Yuanshan Lie, and wiped out the entire Black Flood Dragon Cave. He then sailed alone toward the Mist Sea Region, while the Imperial Court and sect forces learned the island had already fallen.

• Zhang Chu and Zhao Tieshan reached Black Flood Dragon Island, where Zhang Chu broke through the stockade with a single saber strike.
• Zhang Chu confronted Yuanshan Lie and learned that the cave master had been waiting for him on behalf of a powerful master in the Mist Sea Region.
• A bloody force from the Mist Sea Region killed Yuanshan Lie, and Zhang Chu destroyed the island and its bandits with one palm strike.
• Zhang Chu ordered Zhao Tieshan to return and report the victory, then took a Black Flood Dragon Cave ship toward the Mist Sea Region alone.
• Marshal Li Cangming and the Eastern Region sect forces rushed to support Zhang Chu, but Zhao Tieshan's report revealed that Black Flood Dragon Cave had already been wiped out.

Zhang Chu entered the Mist Sea Region, where a deadly fog and an underwater bell led him to an ancient ship and clues about Sea Heart Cave. He met Mang, the former Flesh Dao Master, who revealed that Spirit Desire Heaven was alive and that he had survived by worshipping Great Red Heaven.

• Li Cangming ordered his warships to Black Flood Dragon Island after learning that Zhang Chu had destroyed the bandit stronghold.
• Zhang Chu entered the Mist Sea Region and found that its fog suppressed his eyesight and Spiritual Power while a bell drained his blood and vitality.
• Zhang Chu boarded a thousand-year-old ship, found a skeleton and a decayed notebook, and read its fragments about Sea Heart Cave and the bell toll.
• Mang emerged from the fog and revealed that he was the former Flesh Dao Master of the Demonic Cult and now served as a Great God General of the Heavenly Evil Cult.
• Mang told Zhang Chu that Spirit Desire Heaven could perceive threats and had ordered Dugu Weiwo's execution for trying to destroy it.
• Mang said he had survived beneath Spirit Desire Heaven by worshipping Great Red Heaven.

The Flesh Dao Master revealed that rival Heavens used god worship to empower their followers and explained the powers and costs it could grant. Zhang Chu refused Great Red Heaven's offer and prepared to fight as the Flesh Dao Master transformed into a towering monster.

• The Flesh Dao Master told Zhang Chu that Great Red Heaven and Spirit Desire Heaven were rival gods, and that the Heavenly Evil Cult and King Song served Great Red Heaven.
• He explained that god worship could grant ranks of divine power, extend life, enable resurrection, and even let worshippers break the limits of the human body; he also clarified that the God Child Zhang Chu killed was only a remnant of an Evil God.
• Zhang Chu connected the Source Cult's history and artifacts to another hidden Heaven that might be plotting against Great Red Heaven.
• The Flesh Dao Master offered to make Zhang Chu a Divine General, but Zhang refused to entrust his life to a god and demanded to know what god worship entailed.
• When the Flesh Dao Master threatened that Zhang Chu would not leave alive unless he worshipped a god, Zhang Chu chose to fight and said he would rather kill him.
• The Flesh Dao Master unleashed his Divine General Ability and grew to more than a hundred meters tall, displaying the power of his Secret Treasury of Essence.

Zhang Chu battled the Flesh Dao Master, whose Divine General Ability let him resurrect from catastrophic injuries, and revealed his Decomposition Attribute as a force that could truly kill him. The Flesh Dao Master responded by triggering Yang Pole, Blood Explosion, as Zhang Chu prepared to strike with a gray heavenly saber.

• Zhang Chu and the Flesh Dao Master exchanged devastating attacks, each suffering injuries before their recovery abilities restored them.
• Zhang Chu used Samsara and Heaven Covering to destroy much of the Flesh Dao Master's body, but the Flesh Dao Master reassembled himself within five breaths.
• Zhang Chu regrew his shattered arm with the Southern Bright Undying Heavenly Art and refused the Flesh Dao Master's demand that he worship a god.
• Zhang Chu unveiled his Decomposition Attribute and formed a gray heavenly saber, making the Flesh Dao Master realize he could be killed.
• The Flesh Dao Master erupted with unstable Red Sun Qi and began self-detonating with Yang Pole, Blood Explosion.

Zhang Chu defeated and killed the Flesh Dao Master despite his devastating Divine General power, then met Li Cangming while carrying the enemy’s head out of the Mist Sea Region. At a hidden altar, a demonic-looking figure learned of Mang’s death and sent Fei and You after Zhang Chu as the time for a mysterious place to open drew near.

• The Flesh Dao Master unleashed his self-detonating Divine General ability, but Zhang Chu trapped his flesh particles with Decomposition Power and killed him with a grayish-white Heavenly Saber.
• Zhang Chu began healing his severe injuries, reflected on the dangers of God Worship, and decided to strengthen the Bitter Character Stele with his accumulated Merit Points.
• Zhang Chu followed a horn through the mist and emerged carrying the Flesh Dao Master’s head, which Li Cangming recognized as belonging to the Demonic Cult’s Dao Master.
• A divine statue’s flames flickered at a hidden altar, and a demonic-looking figure learned that Mang was dead.
• The demonic-looking figure ordered Fei and You to go after Zhang Chu because the time for a mysterious place to open was approaching.

After Zhang Chu returned to Wanghai City, the people celebrated his destruction of Black Flood Dragon Cave and his slaying of the Flesh Dao Master. His victory drew the attention of the Imperial Court, the Daoist Sect, and the forces behind God Worship, while Zhang Chu prepared to use his accumulated Merit Points to strengthen the Bitter Character Stele.

• Zhang Chu returned to Wanghai City, where grateful residents welcomed him, and he vowed to protect the Sea Regions from further attacks.
• Li Cangming sent an urgent secret report to the imperial capital, while Yang Yichen learned of Zhang Chu's victories and burned the report she had received.
• The Imperial Advisor ordered Zhang Chu rewarded with a Spirit Pill, entry to the Great Ling Armory, and ten thousand taels of gold, then assigned him to inspect the Seven Star Islands Sea Region after he recovered.
• Mountain Master Qingxu told the old Celestial Master that Zhang Chu had killed the Flesh Dao Master, and the Celestial Master warned him not to interfere with Zhang Chu's path.
• Zhang Chu recovered from his injuries, concluded that his Decomposition Power could sever a god's connection to its worshipper, and decided to strengthen the Bitter Character Stele with his 22,196,000 Merit Points.

After recovering from the lingering power of God Worship, Zhang Chu purified and strengthened the Sorrow Mantra, absorbing the suffering within the Bitter Character Stele. His Spiritual Power surged, forming a Dao Embryo and letting him break through to Divine Union and open the Secret Treasury of Spirit, though he remained uncertain what path his unusual Dao Embryo was cultivating.

• Zhang Chu used the Southern Bright Undying Heavenly Art and Decomposition Attribute to purge the power of God Worship and heal his injuries from the battle with Flesh Dao Master.
• Zhang Chu spent ten million Merit Points removing the Sorrow and Suffering Erosion from the Sorrow Mantra, then spent eight million more strengthening the technique.
• Zhang Chu endured visions of countless lives’ suffering as his Heavenly Palace filtered that power into Spiritual Power and expanded his Sea of Consciousness to three hundred miles.
• Zhang Chu’s Dao Embryo took shape with mysterious patterns, and his Spiritual Power reached a new level.
• Zhang Chu combined the Bitter Character Stele’s sorrowful power with the Jade Purity Book’s clear light, achieving Divine Union and opening the Secret Treasury of Spirit.
• Zhang Chu realized that his Dao Embryo seemed to cultivate by an unknown path of its own, unlike the Daoist Sect’s records.

After testing his newly strengthened abilities, Zhang Chu investigated strange disappearances in Green Fish Town linked to a Red Boat that took townspeople to work on an island. A family of three was found hanged, and Zhang Chu confronted a Fish Gang member who claimed they had died to avoid working on the boat.

• Zhang Chu tested his enhanced power at sea and found that his techniques had become several times stronger.
• Zhang Chu entered Green Fish Town, where a teahouse shopkeeper warned him to leave before dark and a young man told him the Red Boat had changed workers and people had begun disappearing at night.
• The young man begged Zhang Chu to investigate because his brother had boarded the Red Boat and could vanish next.
• A woman discovered that Old Zheng's family of three had hanged themselves, and Zhang Chu went to inspect the scene.
• Brother Biao arrived with Fish Gang members and said the family had hanged themselves to avoid working on the Red Boat, then threatened Zhang Chu when he questioned him.

Zhang Chu investigated the Red Boat’s influence in Green Fish Town and followed seven entranced townspeople to a dark-red paper ship. There, he witnessed a sword-wielding woman confront the Red Robe Envoy and collapse after inhaling its incense.

• Zhang Chu threatened Brother Biao, learned what the Fish Gang knew about the Red Boat, and ordered him to bury the dead and bring the Gang Leader to meet him the next morning.
• Zhang Chu stayed at the young man’s home and sensed the same incense-and-stench odor Brother Biao had described drifting in from the sea.
• Zhang Chu followed a middle-aged man being carried by Paper Persons and discovered six more townspeople walking in the same trance toward the shore.
• The seven townspeople boarded a dark-red paper boat, where Zhang Chu saw birth details written on paper strips attached to their chests.
• A sword-wielding woman attacked the Red Boat, but the Red Robe Envoy sent out smoke from an incense stick, and she spat blood after inhaling it.
• The woman called the enemy demon spawn and named its methods, while Zhang Chu watched from nearby.

Zhang Chu rescued a woman from a Red Lantern Cult envoy and destroyed the envoy despite his strange God Worship powers and escape technique. The envoy’s final gaze matched that of a hanged child, leaving Zhang Chu questioning whether he had been mistaken as he identified the woman as a Zhongzhou Academy seed.

• The Red Robe Envoy attacked the woman with corrosive incense, but Zhang Chu appeared, erased the smoke, and healed her.
• Zhang Chu resisted the envoy’s smoke-formed Human Face and learned that the envoy served Lady Red Lantern and recruited villagers onto Paper Boats.
• The Red Robe Envoy recognized Zhang Chu as the Yellow Court Dao Master who had killed the former Demonic Cult Flesh Dao Master.
• The envoy scattered into hundreds of yellow papers to escape, but Zhang Chu’s Sea of Consciousness and Decomposition Power burned them all away.
• The Red Robe Envoy vanished after saying the Empress would remember Zhang Chu, and his final gaze resembled the hanged child’s.
• Zhang Chu recognized the woman’s embroidered insignia and asked whether she was the Sea Regions seed arranged by the Zhongzhou Academy Master.

Zhang Chu learned from Song Li that the Red Lantern Cult was draining people’s Soul Fire and that Sea Heart Cave had become active near the City of Extreme Evil. Suspecting a local accomplice and a hidden method of resurrection behind the cult, he returned to Green Fish Town, where Fish Gang leader Wang Mancang and County Magistrate Zhao Cheng'an confronted him.

• Song Li recognized Zhang Chu as the Daoist Sect Walker, proved her ties to Zhongzhou Academy, and described her investigation of the Red Lantern Cult and its Lamp Mother.
• Song Li reported unusual activity at Sea Heart Cave near Grey Reef Island, and Zhang Chu connected its strange bell tolls to the Mist Sea Region.
• Zhang Chu suspected the Red Lantern Cult had an informant near Green Fish Town and that its God-Worship Power could revive through a method unlike the Flesh Dao Master's.
• Zhang Chu and Song Li returned to Green Fish Town, where Zhang Chu waited outside Old Zheng's home for the people controlling events to approach.
• Wang Mancang arrived with Fish Gang members and challenged Zhang Chu's authority, then County Magistrate Zhao Cheng'an came with yamen runners and invoked the Spirit Court's jurisdiction.

Zhang Chu exposed and killed County Magistrate Zhao Cheng'an and Wang Mancang, then uncovered the young informant as the mastermind behind the Red Boat schemes. The mastermind revealed a new body and summoned an Underworld Lamp that began drawing out Zhang Chu’s living essence with an aura linked to the Seven Limits.

• Zhao Cheng'an and Wang Mancang transformed into God Worshipers, but Zhang Chu killed them with his decomposition power and exposed their complicity in the Red Boat crimes.
• Zhang Chu accused the tearful young informant of being the mastermind, explaining that the young man had used multiple bodies as avatars and staged events to lure him away from Green Fish Town.
• The young man dropped his disguise, identified Zhang Chu as the Yellow Court Dao Master, and attacked with swarms of Paper Persons that raised his power to the Daoist Scripture Realm.
• Zhang Chu struck the young man apart with a palm infused with Decomposition Power, but the mastermind reappeared in the body of the supposedly foolish older brother, stronger than before.
• The mastermind gathered the Paper Person fragments into a dark-red lamp and unleashed Underworld Lamp: Hundred Decays, which began drawing out Zhang Chu’s living essence and carried the aura of the other Seven Limits.