Chapter Summaries

After the Divine Capital learned that Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei had survived their Heavenly Tribulations, Meng Qi reunited with his companions in Reincarnation Plaza. The team discovered their next mission would take place in Five Hundred Years After Investiture of the Gods, though it would be divided because two members had reached Outer Scenery.

• A scar-faced Xiliang man learned at the Dou family's shop that the Crown Prince had become King Liang, Prince Jin had become emperor, and Prince Wei had been named Crown Prince.
• The storyteller recounted that Meng Qi had endured four Heavenly Tribulations to reach Outer Scenery, while Jiang Zhiwei had passed three.
• The scar-faced man hurried off to report Meng Qi's breakthrough to Boss Ze Luo, who was his sworn enemy.
• Meng Qi let Gu Changqing practice the Seven Truths Scripture and fall into the lake while Su Ziyue watched.
• Meng Qi reunited with Jiang Zhiwei, Ruan Yushu, Qi Zhengyan, and Zhao Heng in Reincarnation Plaza, where they divided their mission spoils.
• The group learned their next mission would begin in a year and a half, be divided because Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei had reached Outer Scenery, and take place in Five Hundred Years After Investiture of the Gods.

The Lord of Six Paths Samsara explained the Investiture of the Gods, prompting Meng Qi and his companions to discuss the powerful figures and prepare for their next mission. Before leaving, they upgraded weapons and planned how to spend their Merit Points on cultivation and supplies.

• The Lord of Six Paths Samsara described how the Investiture of the Gods war ended with the Heavenly Court falling, and Meng Qi identified Daoist Jieyin as Amitabha and Daoist Zhunti as Bodhi Ancient Buddha.
• Meng Qi warned the group that the Investiture of the Gods World was known for powerful treasures, so Zhao Heng and Ruan Yushu planned to save Merit Points for Secret Treasures.
• Zhao Heng upgraded the Fish Dragon Sword into a mid-grade Treasure Weapon using Myriad Homes' Lights and a Dragon Shadow Stone.
• Qi Zhengyan upgraded the Dragon Pattern Red Gold Sword with a Young Cold Chi Scale and exchanged his remaining Merit Points for time to study the Wordless Stele.
• Ruan Yushu planned to pursue Unity of Heaven and Man, while Meng Qi planned to cultivate the Eight-Nine Outer Scenery Chapter, study several techniques, and upgrade Heaven's Wound.

Meng Qi cultivated in the Samsara space, applied for full membership in the Immortal Trace, and accepted a mission to kill Yang Zhenchan in Bomi. He then hurried to Flowing Sand Collection ahead of schedule, leaving Qu Jiuniang stunned and preparing to confront Ze Luoju.

• Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei agreed to meet near Bomi in three months, while Ruan Yushu and Qi Zhengyan focused on strengthening themselves.
• Meng Qi upgraded Heaven's Wound with Thunder Pool Greenstone and an ancient Thunder Marking glyph, then spent three months cultivating the Outer Scenery Chapter of the Eight-Nine Arcane Art.
• Meng Qi visited the Immortal Trace, applied for the full-member examination, and accepted a mission to kill the weakened Yang Zhenchan in Bomi within a year.
• Meng Qi traveled day and night from the Divine Capital to the Western Regions, reaching Flowing Sand Collection after nineteen days.
• Meng Qi surprised Qu Jiuniang by arriving at Flowing Sand Collection and declared his intention to go after Ze Luoju.

Meng Qi learned that Ze Luoju was staying in Halle while Old Man Ku was away, then secretly traveled there to prepare an ambush. The chapter ended with Meng Qi waiting in rat form outside Ze Luoju’s room for dawn.

• Meng Qi refused Qu Jiuniang’s offer to help kill Ze Luoju, traded her a land deed for information, and learned Old Man Ku was in the God Burial Desert.
• Ze Luoju hurried toward Halle, resolved to obtain the Five Poisons Yin Ghost from his master and kill Meng Qi within two years.
• After nine days of discreet travel, Meng Qi entered Halle’s capital disguised as a Sand Rider and asked Qu Jiuniang’s contact about Ze Luoju and the city’s defenses.
• The tavern keeper told Meng Qi that Ze Luoju was staying at the Imperial Advisor’s residence and that Old Man Ku had not returned.
• Meng Qi infiltrated the residence in rat form and waited outside Ze Luoju’s room, planning to strike at dawn and flee if three attacks failed.

Meng Qi infiltrated Halle and killed Ze Luoju in a sudden attack, then escaped the city disguised as a Sand Rider. He left for Bomi while Old Man Ku and Halle's forces searched in vain.

• Meng Qi waited outside Ze Luoju's room until morning, concealed as a mouse.
• Meng Qi ambushed Ze Luoju with Opening Heaven and Earth, then fought him with his saber, sword, and thunder techniques.
• Meng Qi used his second head to block Ze Luoju's deadly beam and struck him with a palm that destroyed his Primordial Spirit.
• Meng Qi burned away the evidence, left a message claiming responsibility, and escaped the courtyard disguised as a mouse.
• Wusun Qi and Old Man Ku searched Halle but failed to find Meng Qi, while an Immortal Trace member heard that Mad Saber had killed Ze Luoju.
• Meng Qi disguised himself as a Sand Rider, drank at a tavern, and joined a merchant caravan heading out of Halle toward Bomi.

After recovering from his fight with Ze Luoju, Meng Qi examined the spoils he had taken and found powerful treasures, valuable cultivation materials, and a key matching one from An Guoxie. He entered the dangerous red mist of Bomi, where he used the patrol route of the yin soldiers to orient himself as he searched for Yang Zhenchan.

• Meng Qi left the caravan using sunlight to travel deeper into the Vast Sea, then inspected Ze Luoju's black bag and Evil Blade.
• Meng Qi discovered two Secret Treasures and valuable Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures among Ze Luoju's spoils.
• Meng Qi found a brass key identical to one of An Guoxie's keys and decided to keep the pair for later investigation.
• Meng Qi reached Bomi and entered the red mist, where it blocked his senses and obscured his direction.
• Meng Qi watched a troop of yin soldiers pass and used their east-to-west patrol route to determine the cardinal directions.

Meng Qi searched Bomi for information about Yang Zhenchan and learned that the Seven Luminaries Evil God might be found at a market beneath a blood-red boulder. At the market, Meng Qi’s powerful aura alarmed the gathered Outer Scenery Experts, while a young woman watched him disappear back into the mist.

• Meng Qi reached a hidden cave beneath a dead tree and presented Huamei Villa’s token to an old man in black, who told him Yang Zhenchan had been seen gathering spirit herbs in Bomi’s eastern canyons.
• The old man directed Meng Qi to a market beneath a blood-red boulder, where he could call for the Seven Luminaries Evil God, and explained how Bomi’s recluses traded for cultivation resources.
• As Meng Qi left, he heard chains dragging in the cave and suspected the old man in black was the Gatekeeper, but he chose not to investigate.
• At the market, a young woman’s father identified several notorious Outer Scenery Experts who arrived in the red mist, including the Life-Claiming Yaksha, the Poison Hand Demon Lord, and the Seven Luminaries Evil God.
• Meng Qi emerged from the red mist, released Flowing Fire’s blazing aura to drive it back, and retreated into the mist after the gathered experts withdrew their auras.

Meng Qi traded Vengeful Spirit Yin Iron for Ghost Face Jade at Bomi’s trade fair, then destroyed a strange Yin spirit that attacked him. Afterward, the Seven Luminaries Evil God revealed that Yang Zhenchan had met with Poison Hand Demon Lord and others, possibly to join their secret organization, and Meng Qi headed toward Bomi’s old capital.

• Poison Hand Demon Lord traded Soul-Containing Wood and Evil Underworld Lingzhi for a Jiangdong Wang Clan Special Divination Plate.
• Meng Qi exchanged Vengeful Spirit Yin Iron for Ghost Face Jade and used the Great Sun and Chaos Hole to retrieve it without revealing his method.
• A strange Yin soldier targeted Meng Qi, and he destroyed it with a dazzling Great Sun sword attack.
• Meng Qi called out to the Seven Luminaries Evil God and asked whether he had encountered the Eight Desolations Subduing Demons Sword.
• The Seven Luminaries Evil God said he had seen Yang Zhenchan meet Poison Hand Demon Lord and others at Bomi’s old capital, where Yang might join their organization.
• The Seven Luminaries Evil God said the Yin spirit may have been released by Poison Hand Demon Lord or the Life-Claiming Yaksha, and Meng Qi headed east toward the old capital.

Meng Qi followed Poison Hand Demon Lord into a shrine beneath the ruins of Bomi’s capital, where he encountered a mysterious force and barely escaped. He then waited to ambush Life-Claiming Yaksha, but Poison Hand Demon Lord unexpectedly emerged from the shrine again.

• Meng Qi fought off Poison Hand Demon Lord and Life-Claiming Yaksha, then hid nearby and overheard them mention a secret organization and the Nether Lord.
• Poison Hand Demon Lord entered a shrine with the Wang Clan Divination Plate while Life-Claiming Yaksha went to activate a matching shrine, and Meng Qi secretly followed him below.
• A formless, damp force trapped Meng Qi in the passage, but a saber strike split it open and let him escape.
• Meng Qi turned into a pebble and waited outside to ambush Life-Claiming Yaksha, then saw Poison Hand Demon Lord emerge from the shrine and felt danger again.

Meng Qi used the name Shen Bao to approach Life-Claiming Yaksha and Poison Hand Demon Lord, seeking their help to find Worry-Free Valley while secretly reading their thoughts. He arranged to join forces with them and Yang Zhenchan, unaware that they planned to summon the Nether Lord and betray him once they reached the valley.

• Poison Hand Demon Lord reported that the passage beyond the restriction was perilous and that he had seen countless Yin soldiers and a terrifying presence.
• Meng Qi connected the passage's strange effects to Worry-Free Valley and the True Martial Emperor, then decided to use his examiner's backing to investigate the valley's dangers.
• Meng Qi introduced himself as Shen Bao, claimed to know about the Worry-Free Flower, and proposed joining forces with Life-Claiming Yaksha and Poison Hand Demon Lord.
• Life-Claiming Yaksha and Poison Hand Demon Lord secretly agreed to have the Nether Lord follow them and attack Meng Qi after they found the treasure.
• Meng Qi steered them toward recruiting Yang Zhenchan, and Life-Claiming Yaksha and Poison Hand Demon Lord returned with Yang Zhenchan and an unfamiliar scholar.

Meng Qi joined the Life-Claiming Yaksha and the others in using clues about Bomi’s underground array to find the Gate of Life, while secretly planning to ambush Yang Zhenchan. An unknown attacker struck Meng Qi inside the illusion array, and the group emerged in a hall bearing an image of the Nether Lord, whom Meng Qi recognized as Yellow Springs.

• The Life-Claiming Yaksha introduced Yang Zhenchan and Jia Zhen to Meng Qi and explained how earthquakes and Yin Spirits had revealed underground passages beneath Bomi.
• Meng Qi shared the ancient book’s clues and mapped the array’s nodes with the others, concluding that the reversal of the Positive-Negative Five Elements Spirit Trapping Array had switched its Gates of Life and Death.
• The Life-Claiming Yaksha found the Gate of Life’s entrance in the temple opposite the one they first searched, and the group descended through its long passageway.
• As mist separated Meng Qi from the others inside the illusion array, an unknown assailant attacked him; Meng Qi countered with Flowing Fire, but the attacker vanished.
• The group reunited in a hall decorated with an ancient serpent-headed deity, and the Life-Claiming Yaksha identified the figure as the Nether Lord, whom the Central Plains called Yellow Springs.

Meng Qi used the array’s mist to ambush and kill Yang Zhenchan, then concealed his role from the Life-Claiming Yaksha and the others. After Flowing Fire sublimated to a superior-grade weapon, the group entered the mist again, where Meng Qi found the Poison Hand Demon Lord torn apart.

• Jia Zhen kowtowed before the Nether Lord mural, revealing a hidden passage that led the group toward Worry-Free Flowers and the life gate.
• When the illusion array engulfed them, Meng Qi found Yang Zhenchan in the mist and attacked him with a surprise strike.
• Yang Zhenchan counterattacked fiercely, but Meng Qi blocked his sword and killed him with a finger strike.
• Flowing Fire absorbed Yang Zhenchan’s blood and sublimated to a superior-grade weapon, while Yang Zhenchan’s body and belongings rapidly decayed.
• After the group found Yang Zhenchan’s remains, Meng Qi denied killing him, and the Life-Claiming Yaksha turned his suspicions toward the others.
• The group entered the mist again, and when it cleared, Meng Qi saw that the Poison Hand Demon Lord had been torn into two pieces.

Meng Qi and Life-Claiming Yaksha crossed Worry-Free Valley’s mist-shrouded plaza, where they discovered that Old Zhongtou had posed as Jia Zhen and attacked the expedition. As Old Zhongtou tried to flee, Life-Claiming Yaksha revealed that he had prepared a trap and summoned the Nether Lord.

• Meng Qi examined Poison Hand Demon Lord’s cleanly cut, desiccated corpse and checked himself for possession, finding no sign of an intruding spirit.
• Meng Qi and Life-Claiming Yaksha continued through the mist and found Jia Zhen crushed to pulp.
• Old Zhongtou attacked Meng Qi in Jia Zhen’s guise, but Meng Qi recognized him by his Heavenly Demon Ultimate Bliss technique and wounded him with Flowing Light.
• Life-Claiming Yaksha faced an Ancestor Spirit in the mist while Old Zhongtou admitted he had attacked the group to conceal Mythos’s search for Worry-Free Valley’s secrets.
• Old Zhongtou explained that the Ancestor Spirit guarded the important sites, then tried to provoke it into attacking the others.
• Life-Claiming Yaksha revealed he had invited Old Zhongtou because he was convenient to kill, and the Nether Lord appeared to seize the Ancestor Spirit as Old Zhongtou fled.

Doumu Yuanjun killed the Nether Lord and the Ancestor Spirit, but the Nether Lord’s Primordial Spirit escaped into the Worry-Free Valley. After Old Zhongtou died rather than surrender information about Mythos, Meng Qi and Ye Yuqi entered the valley and awakened a field of corpses.

• Doumu Yuanjun crushed the Nether Lord and the Ancestor Spirit, while Poison Hand Demon Lord and Life-Claiming Yaksha escaped into the Worry-Free Valley.
• Doumu Yuanjun subdued Old Zhongtou, and Meng Qi used the Eight-Nine Arcane Art to study his Heavenly Demon Skill.
• Old Zhongtou refused to grovel and burned himself to death, leaving behind a hand bone that Ye Yuqi gave to Meng Qi.
• Meng Qi and Ye Yuqi entered the Worry-Free Valley, where the Nether Lord’s Primordial Spirit disappeared ahead of them.
• Meng Qi and Ye Yuqi found a field of mummified corpses, and Ye Yuqi’s stone strike caused them to awaken and ask, “Who am I?”

Meng Qi and Ye Yuqi investigated Worry-Free Valley, where clues suggested the Bomi Kingdom had tried to summon the Nether Lord and a sword strike had opened a path to the heart of the Nine Abysses. They crossed the black mist and followed the passage deeper, where the supposedly slain Nether Lord appeared and fled through another stone door.

• Meng Qi and Ye Yuqi found messages and a book describing the Bomi Kingdom’s attempt to bring the Nether Lord into the mortal world, including repeated warnings that the Imperial Advisor had gone mad.
• Meng Qi connected Worry-Free Flowers and their Water of Forget Worry to Yellow Springs Water and suspected True Martial Emperor had sealed the Yellow Springs in the valley.
• Ye Yuqi identified a fissure cut by a sword strike as reaching the heart of the Nine Abysses, where ordinary warriors could not draw on the principles of heaven and earth.
• Meng Qi used the Eight-Nine to transform into a Yin Spirit, then carried Ye Yuqi across the fissure and returned to normal beyond the black mist.
• Meng Qi and Ye Yuqi found Poison Hand Demon Lord and Life-Claiming Yaksha as bewildered dried corpses beside an open stone door.
• The Nether Lord appeared behind the door, fled through another stone door, and glanced back with an uncanny smile.

Meng Qi and Ye Yuqi discovered the Bomi Imperial Advisor, who had awakened in the jade coffin after absorbing the spirits of Bomi and inheriting the Nether Lord’s power. The advisor claimed he had crossed the Sea of Suffering, but Ye Yuqi’s sword-shaped token declared that he had taken the wrong path, provoking his rage.

• Meng Qi and Ye Yuqi entered the chamber and found a jade coffin, a painted door, and the Nether Lord’s bewildered spirit.
• The old man in the coffin awakened, and Ye Yuqi identified him as the Imperial Advisor of Bomi.
• Meng Qi and Ye Yuqi learned that the Imperial Advisor had impersonated the Nether Lord and used Bomi’s people to absorb their spirits and pursue the Sea of Suffering.
• The Imperial Advisor said the real Nether Lord was sealed beyond the painted door and boasted that he had surpassed the destination reached by Damo.
• Ye Yuqi consulted her sword-shaped token and told the Imperial Advisor he had taken the wrong path, causing him to erupt in anger.

Ye Yuqi used a token to deliver a sword strike from her brother-in-law, breaking the Imperial Advisor of Bomi’s control over the Yin Spirits and causing him to die. Meng Qi and Ye Yuqi then examined the aftermath, and Meng Qi noticed a hollow in the wall that matched the Xuanwu Pendant.

• The Seven Luminaries Evil God learned from the Gatekeeper that a mysterious Daoist had trapped him beside a door drawn on the cave wall and that the cave’s paths were deadly.
• Ye Yuqi challenged the Imperial Advisor of Bomi’s explanations for his lost memories and failed clone, then revealed that one sword strike would kill him.
• The Imperial Advisor attacked Ye Yuqi, but her token released a sword strike that broke the Yin Spirits’ linked nodes and collapsed the cold, damp presence.
• The Imperial Advisor’s body rotted as his power faded, and he died after Ye Yuqi told him he had taken the wrong path.
• Ye Yuqi took the blood-yellow bead with Meng Qi’s consent and explained how Dharma Body artifacts and distant attacks worked.
• Meng Qi noticed a hollow where the tortoise-and-snake image met a slit in the wall and sensed that it matched the Xuanwu Pendant.

Meng Qi and Ye Yuqi opened the painted door with the Xuanwu Pendant, found Zhenwu’s warning and the Xuan Shui Demon Quelling Banner, and completed the fourth step of the Chain Quest. After emerging, Meng Qi questioned the gatekeeper and learned that a mysterious young Daoist had spoken of a destined visitor and the riddle “Who am I? Who is me?”

• Meng Qi used the Xuanwu Pendant to open the painted door and entered the red-mist chamber with Ye Yuqi.
• Meng Qi and Ye Yuqi found a coffin marked as the place where Zhenwu had suppressed Yellow Springs, but it was empty; Meng Qi’s mysterious hand bone absorbed the blood-yellow aura inside.
• Meng Qi read Zhenwu’s message on a tortoise shell, took the Xuan Shui Demon Quelling Banner, and completed the Chain Quest’s fourth step.
• The banner’s power made the painted door open for the Seven Luminaries Evil God and the gatekeeper, and Meng Qi emerged from it.
• Meng Qi questioned the gatekeeper, who recalled a young Daoist’s words about waiting for someone destined to come and asked, “Who am I? Who is me?”
• Meng Qi connected the riddle to the calligraphy he had found at the Dongyang Branch Mansion and wondered whether Eastern Sun Divine Lord was still alive.

After investigating the mysterious Daoist and the Xuan Shui Demon Quelling Banner, Meng Qi returned with Ye Yuqi to the Immortal Trace and became an official member. He received the Eye of Yuan Shi emblem and chose new techniques, leaving with a path to deepen his Outer Scenery cultivation.

• Meng Qi questioned the gatekeeper about the Daoist who had imprisoned him, then let him go with a warning against future evil.
• Meng Qi told Ye Yuqi about the Eastern Sun Divine Lord’s strange calligraphy, and they discussed the unexplained purpose of the Xuan Shui Demon Quelling Banner.
• Meng Qi and Ye Yuqi returned to the Immortal Trace, where Doumu Yuanjun explained the limits on obtaining Dharmakaya techniques and gave Meng Qi his official Eye of Yuan Shi emblem.
• Meng Qi chose the Yin Yang Seal and the Three Treasures Ruyi Fist from the Immortal Trace’s Yuanshi Golden Chapter.

Meng Qi studied the Yin Yang Seal and learned how Five Virtues energy and the Sambhogakaya worked, then received Immortal Trace techniques and a possible mission. At the Immortal Traces Workshop, he appraised Ze Luoju’s spoils and learned that the hand bone from Old Zhongtou belonged to the Evil God Yellow Springs, though its power and value remained unknown.

• Meng Qi comprehended the Yin Yang Seal and reviewed the Outer Scenery techniques in the Yuanshi Golden Chapter.
• Doumu Yuanjun explained how the Five Virtues arose from actions aligned with the Great Dao and described the Sambhogakaya, including Lanke Temple and Hong Neng’s cultivation.
• Doumu Yuanjun gave Meng Qi the Immortal Trace’s surface-level techniques and told him he might be sent on a mission to another world through Biyou Palace.
• Meng Qi went to the Immortal Traces Workshop and showed Jade Rosy Clouds Yuanjun the treasures and Worry-Free Flowers he had taken from Ze Luoju.
• Meng Qi had the Black Water Demon-Quelling Banner and Yellow Springs’ hand bone appraised, learning that the banner was a damaged divine weapon and the hand bone had lost its power.