Chapter Summaries

Shi Lan killed the Confucian Supreme Yu Qingfeng after he confronted her about the Saint's scripture, then returned to Lingyang. Meanwhile, Ling Yu'an awakened with the Heavenly Dao's presence and declared herself Lingyang Tian before briefly regaining control.

• Shi Lan took Shi Yiming out of the tavern, ignored the storyteller's rumors, and destroyed the sub-sage's shackles binding him to the ancient city.
• Shi Lan killed Yu Qingfeng's avatar, traced him beyond Lingyang, and slew his true body with the Burial Realm's arrow.
• Beings in the Outer Starry Sky discussed Shi Lan's power, while Miaoyan feared how far she might grow.
• Ling Qing watched Ling Yu'an's cultivation surge and realized the Heavenly Dao occupied her body.
• Ling Yu'an awakened, stabbed Ling Qing, and announced that her name was Lingyang Tian, then briefly regained control and recoiled in alarm.

Shi Lan oversaw Lingyang’s preparations for the coming upheaval, received Zhu Xiyang’s map of the realm’s ancient terrain, and surveyed the Boundless Sea. She gathered the surviving Lingwu Hall disciples and proposed securing a vast territory with a protective formation.

• Shi Lan visited Yunyan Star, where Bai Weiyang left after meeting her, and Zhu Xiyang explained why she had avoided him.
• Zhu Xiyang gave Shi Lan a detailed map of Lingyang’s ancient continents, mountains, and ley lines, which she had compiled from historical records.
• Zhu Xiyang warned Shi Lan that Chenxin might be building toward a final gamble while the Demon Race remained quiet.
• Shi Lan crossed the Boundless Sea, corrected Zhu Xiyang’s map against the undersea terrain, and summoned the surviving Lingwu Hall disciples after more than twenty of their group had died.
• Shi Lan showed the Supremes a vast territory spanning three continents, and they proposed asking the Grand Supreme to establish a great formation to protect Lingwu Hall’s future fortune.

Shi Lan discovered an ancient god sealed beneath an altar in Mingzhou, then helped the Spirit Martial Hall secure its territory amid repeated attacks from the Heavenly Dao Alliance. As the Lingyang Realm’s laws shifted and the World-Destroying Calamity seemed near, Ling Chu and his companions arrived, and the Demon Emperor prepared to pursue the path to Demon Sainthood.

• Shi Lan heard an ancient god’s plea in Mingzhou, found an altar like the one that sealed the Ancient God King, and fled rather than risk freeing the being beneath it.
• Shi Lan rescued Spirit Martial Hall disciples from a Heavenly Dao Alliance death squad, whose soulless attackers killed themselves before she could question them.
• After the command flags were planted, Shi Lan led the Spirit Martial Hall back to the Illusory Star Domain as the Lingyang Realm’s barriers shifted and the Boundless Sea receded.
• Ling Chu, Wuxu, and Celestial Master Liu arrived at the Imperial Palace, where Shi Lan revealed that she had attained the Dao; the Human History Book’s spirit appeared briefly but could not speak to her.
• The Demon Emperor sensed the loosening shackles of heaven and earth, summoned the demon ranks, and set his sights on becoming the first Demon Saint since the Middle Ages.

Chenxin ascended to the God-Underworld Realm and marched toward the Illusory Star Domain as the Demon Race prepared for war. As Ling Chu awakened a sealed warrior to confront him, the Samsara Hall issued a mission sending reincarnators to exploit the upheaval in Lingyang Realm.

• Chenxin asserted the Demon Race's claim to Lingyang, received the Heavenly Dao's aid, ascended to the God-Underworld Realm, and led the Demon Race toward the Illusory Star Domain.
• Purple Cloud, whose damaged Dao Fruit and Heavenly Demon Mirror left her Devil Race without a path forward, doubted Chenxin could overcome the Human Race's true power.
• Di Luosha reflected on the upheaval and set her sights on the Nether Continent, hoping to find a way to surpass Shi Lan.
• Ling Chu entered the Human Race's Annals of History with Wang Gu, who awakened a wounded young man and ordered him to kill Chenxin in exchange for freedom.
• The Samsara Hall issued a universe-wide mission to gather resources in Lingyang Realm, and Yang Fuji wondered whether to participate.

Yang Fuji sought Dongfang Yunqi’s divination before deciding whether to enter the dangerous Lingyang Realm upheaval, while Dongfang Yunqi foresaw a death omen over the Hall of Samsara and a possible thread of hope. At the Lingyang Star Domain, Meng and Lingyun arrived with many worlds and ordered a rescue for beings at the Other Shore Realm inside the Lingyang Realm.

• Yang Fuji joined the long line of Supremes seeking Dongfang Yunqi’s divinations for the temporary mission to the Lingyang Realm.
• Dongfang Yunqi warned Yang Fuji that a powerful being had disrupted fate and that a star of death shone over the Hall of Samsara, but he also sensed an unknown thread of hope.
• Yang Fuji chose to go to the Lingyang Realm and act according to the circumstances, while Dongfang Yunqi privately considered preparing an escape route.
• At the Lingyang Star Domain, countless forces gathered around a massive gray cocoon as they awaited the upheaval’s final stage.
• Meng and Lingyun arrived with many worlds and ordered their forces to break through the Lingyang Realm’s barrier and rescue its Other Shore Realm beings.

Meng prepared to break into the Lingyang Realm, but Hong arrived to help its failing sun evolve. As Chenxin faced a first-generation human-god hybrid, Meng entered the realm, subdued both demigods, and discovered that Shi Lan and the being he sought were in the Imperial Palace.

• Meng prepared to force his way through the Lingyang Realm barrier, while Lingyun worried about the cost of his intervention.
• Hong arrived in the Lingyang Star Domain and said he had come to help the sun evolve.
• Chenxin confronted a first-generation human-god hybrid at the border of the Illusory Star Domain and readied the Ten Thousand Demons Ruler.
• Meng tore into the Lingyang Realm and landed between Chenxin and the hybrid, then effortlessly destroyed the lightning figure wielding the Heavenly Punishment Thunder Sword.
• Meng immobilized the two demigods, inspected the hybrid's blood essence, and sensed Shi Lan and the being he sought in the Imperial Palace.

Meng seized the Ancient God King Xia and swallowed him as outside powers converged on the Lingyang Realm, which was cut off from the universe. Chu Hanzhou remained behind after the Heavenly Dao rejected his attempt to form a Dao Fruit, and he received news that Ling Qing had died; Shi Lan escaped a collapsing domain gate into the starry sky.

• Meng entered the Imperial Palace and bargained with Wang Gu, who agreed to hand over Chen Xin in exchange for a future move on Ling Chu.
• Wang Gu opened Xia’s cocoon, but Meng swallowed the Ancient God King as he emerged, prompting a warning shout from beyond the heavens.
• Blood God Kong, Qing Lan, and other powerful figures arrived as realms were hurled into Lingyang and Meng’s power grew.
• Shi Lan evacuated the Spirit Martial Hall disciples, but a giant palm shattered the Lingyang Realm’s spatial passages, trapping those who remained.
• Wang Gu left with Ling Chu and Wuxu, while Chu Hanzhou stayed behind after the Heavenly Dao rejected his attempt to form a Dao Fruit.
• Chu Hanzhou received a death notice for Ling Qing, and Shi Lan escaped a collapsing domain gate into the surrounding starry sky.

Shi Lan was caught in the chaos of a battle among Sovereigns as Ling Yun tried to escort her to safety, but two True Buddhas blocked their way. Meanwhile, a True Buddha opened a divine kingdom in the Lingyang Realm, and Wu Ya recognized that it was not the true Buddha or a genuine Mahayana Buddhist Pure Land.

• Shi Lan discarded her disguise and changed into the robe of a Spirit Martial Hall True Disciple before Ling Yun arrived to protect her.
• The River of Spacetime opened, and Ying Qianqiu saw golden and silver lights guide his former self safely across it, realizing his own crossing had depended on their help.
• Ling Yun tried to send Shi Lan away from the Sovereigns’ battle, but Miao Yan and another True Buddha blocked their path after receiving an order to capture her.
• A True Buddha entered the Lingyang Realm and opened a divine kingdom, drawing Buddhist cultivators toward its gates.
• Wu Ya stayed behind when his master urged him to leave, saying the figure was not the True Buddha and the divine kingdom held no Mahayana Buddhist Dharma.

Wu Ya rejected the True Buddha’s narrow offer of refuge as Buddhist and other human powers arrived in Lingyang to shelter survivors and confront the upheaval. At Ling Qing’s funeral, Chu Hanzhou questioned Ling Yu’an about her identity and the Ancestor’s death as a sword case gathered power behind him.

• Wu Ya stayed in Lingyang despite Jingkong urging him to leave with the True Buddha, and reflected on what it meant to save all living beings.
• The True Buddha attacked Chenxin with a Demon-Subduing Seal, but Mingjun appeared with two others and shattered it, warning Ci'en against seizing the Myriad Demon Ruler.
• Grand Preceptor Chengxiao opened a refuge for the human race, and a Confucian Sage created halls of literature where cultivators could shelter.
• At a funeral on a floating island, Chu Hanzhou asked Ling Yu’an whether she was truly Ling Yu’an or Lingyang and how Ling Qing had died.
• Ling Yu’an said she was Ling Yu’an, that the Ancestor had died saving her, and that the blame was hers, while a sword case behind Chu Hanzhou began gathering Sword Qi.

At Ling Qing’s funeral, Chu Hanzhou learned that Ling Yu'an had become the Heavenly Dao’s avatar but chose to leave her alive and sever their ties. As Lingyang transformed and new powers made their moves, Lingyun continued to protect Shi Lan from two true Buddhas until a Heaven's Punishment Thunder Sword struck at her.

• Chu Hanzhou questioned Ling Yu'an about Ling Qing’s body and learned that Ling Qing had sacrificed his Human Emperor bloodline to keep her lucid.
• Ling Yu'an refused to leave Lingyang, and Chu Hanzhou warned her not to use its name before ending their ties.
• Worlds crashed into Lingyang, restoring its ancient land as a lightning-wreathed figure grew stronger and cut down those seeking to become Dao or survive the calamity.
• Chenxin told Mingjun that he had glimpsed a lone island beyond the river of time and space, limiting Mingjun’s hopes for his future.
• Di Shengjun revealed his kinship to Di Luosha and offered to help the Devil Race in exchange for the Heavenly Demon Mirror; Ziyun agreed to give up her place when Di Luosha reached the Void Realm.
• Lingyun drove back two true Buddhas while Hong gathered the surviving suns, and a Heaven's Punishment Thunder Sword shot from Lingyang Realm toward Lingyun.

Lingyun tried to rescue Shi Lan after the Buddhist Sect trapped them in the Yellow Springs, and he fought the two True Buddhas as they sought to die and reincarnate. He destroyed one golden lotus and captured a True Buddha’s soul, but a black warship appeared, leaving their escape unresolved.

• Meng warned Lingyun that Fanxi had targeted Shi Lan and was trying to summon Shijie back, and told him to return to Shenwu with everyone.
• Miaoyan and another True Buddha burned their essence and drew Lingyun and Shi Lan into the Yellow Springs, where Shi Lan’s blood qi and lifespan began to drain.
• Lingyun attacked the True Buddhas in the Yellow Springs and disrupted their attempt to reincarnate by shattering a golden lotus and impaling one True Buddha’s soul on his spear.
• A black warship appeared at the far end of the Yellow Springs, and Lingyun turned to Shi Lan and told her to leave first, keep a low profile, and wait for Meng after Lingyang’s transformation.

Lingyun confronted the Underworld’s World-Honored One, who claimed Shi Lan was tied to a future calamity and ordered the Underworld to take her in. Lingyun escaped the Yellow Springs after being punished, then told Meng that Shi Lan’s whereabouts were unknown and rejected the World-Honored One’s unsupported claims.

• Shi Lan escaped through Lingyun’s passage before the World-Honored One sealed it and confronted Lingyun on behalf of the Underworld.
• The World-Honored One explained that a future Buddhist mandate named Shi Lan as a demon, and said she might come from the future and be connected to the destruction of the universe.
• The World-Honored One declared that the Underworld would take Shi Lan in, then punished Lingyun by taking a hundred thousand years from his lifespan and sending him out of the Yellow Springs.
• Lingyun sent Meng a message saying Shi Lan’s whereabouts were unknown and that the World-Honored One had intervened because of a message from the future Buddhist sect.
• Lingyun dismissed the World-Honored One’s claims as conjecture and argued that the Buddhist sect’s standards could label countless beings demons.

Ling Yun learned that Shi Lan remained trapped in the Yellow Springs while the Immortal Dao began stirring around the Lingyang Realm. As forces converged on the realm, Shi Lan disguised herself as a Yin Spirit and set out to find the path of reincarnation.

• Ling Yun and Meng discussed Shi Lan's whereabouts, and Meng reported that Shi Jie and a Celestial Gods Dominator had perished while Dong Xuan survived.
• Meng told Ling Yun that the Immortal Dao was reviving from roots in the Lingyang Realm and seemed connected to Shi Lan.
• Ling Yun opened a domain gate and traveled to the area near the Lingyang Realm, avoiding entry because Dong Xuan controlled it.
• As the Lingyang Realm expanded and outside forces rushed toward it, Yang Fuji concealed himself and approached the realm to investigate the Reincarnation Lord God's plans and seek another way out of the Reincarnation Hall.
• Shi Lan woke in the Yellow Springs, found that she could not create a spacetime passage, and used the Myriad Transformations Sacred Robe to disguise herself as a Yin Spirit.
• Shi Lan realized the Yellow Springs' laws were still eroding her and searched for a city and a route onto the path of reincarnation.

Shi Lan searched the Yellow Springs for a way to reach the road of Samsara and learned that the Underworld Office controlled access and could make her wait centuries to be reborn. She left the old man's building with directions but no immediate way to escape her predicament.

• Shi Lan searched her possessions beneath the Yellow Springs and found a clay figurine and the Underworld King's Seal, both linked to the underworld.
• After nearly two days of travel, Shi Lan reached a city and entered a tall black building, where an old man invited her to speak.
• Shi Lan asked the old man where the road of Samsara was and revealed that her ancestral land was the Lingyang Realm.
• The old man explained that Lingyang lay outside the Underworld Office's jurisdiction, but anyone seeking rebirth had to go through that office and wait for an opening, possibly for centuries.
• Shi Lan showed him the clay figurine and Underworld King's Seal; he identified the figurine as a common burial offering and said the seal could strengthen a yin spirit's soul.
• The old man told Shi Lan his ancestral land was Xuanyang and saw her out, wishing her safe travels.

Shi Lan traveled through Yellow Springs while evading a powerful warrant issued for her arrest. She found Liang Yunnan and two other Cube members on a mission and realized they might offer a way back to the mortal world, though their return would not come for ten years.

• Shi Lan crossed Yellow Springs, where Yin Gods recognized her through a widely distributed warrant, but the Myriad Transformations Sacred Garment concealed her identity.
• Shi Lan encountered Liang Yunnan and two other wandering souls in a city and learned they were carrying out a Cube mission.
• Liang Yunnan explained that the Cube had sent them to gather rare nether soil and Yin Pearls and would retrieve them after their ten-year term.
• Shi Lan realized the Cube members might let her return through the Divine Martial Otherworld, but she could not wait ten years.

Shi Lan decided to risk traveling along the Samsara Road after learning the Cube could not be contacted directly. Meanwhile, Ling Yun searched the Yellow Springs for her as the Lingyang Realm recovered, and Meng considered entering the underworld to help find her.

• Shi Lan learned that only the dead could pass along the Samsara Road and chose to proceed despite the danger.
• Ling Yun burned his incarnation’s strength to use Shi Lan’s soul lamp as a beacon, while Yin Gods and Underworld Bureau Inspectors followed and waited to capture her.
• The Lingyang Realm stabilized and regained its ancient form as surrounding worlds merged into it, though no one had survived the World-Destroying Calamity and attained the Dao.
• Meng and Ling Yun discussed their failure to locate Shi Lan, and Meng considered using the Lingyang Realm as a passage to the Yellow Springs.
• Ling Yun warned Meng that the Underworld Bureau could exploit his weakened condition and leave him trapped in the Yellow Springs.

Meng decided to wait half a month before entering the Yellow Springs to search for Shi Lan and investigate Shi Jie, while ancient beings emerged from cocoons in the Boundless Sea. In the Great Tianyuan World, Fan Xi arrived at Shi Lan’s family mansion and said he had come to find someone.

• Meng said he would enter the Lingyang Realm’s Yellow Springs if no news arrived within half a month, and he worried that Shi Jie had not answered Fan Xi’s summons.
• Meng sensed dozens of powerful ancient descendants in the Lingyang Realm but chose not to intervene, noting that Ye had left them there.
• A wounded ancient demon named Fuguang emerged from a cocoon in the Boundless Sea and recognized the aura of the Heavenly Demon Mirror and Beichen’s bloodline, deciding to seek Rakshasa.
• Shi Lan’s family settled in the Flying Snow Dynasty after leaving the Lingyang Realm.
• Fan Xi arrived at Shi Lan’s mansion and introduced himself to the gatekeeper.

Fan Xi brought Shi Tianlu and Su Lanyue into the River of Time and attempted to alter the fate bound to a colossal pillar, but the pillar did not change. He dissolved into the Dao, and the Shi Mansion vanished with him as Shi Qinghu sensed the disaster and Gu Ye declared that everything was decided.

• Fan Xi seized control of the gatekeeper and brought Shi Tianlu and Su Lanyue from Shi Mansion into the River of Time, where he revealed the pillar that blocked its flow.
• Fan Xi asked whether the past and future should remain bound to the pillar, then burned his incarnations across the ages to stir the River of Time, but the pillar remained unchanged.
• Fan Xi admitted that his Buddhist sect was at fault and dissolved into the Dao, sweeping away Shi Tianlu, Su Lanyue, and the entire Shi Mansion.
• Shi Qinghu sensed his Demon-Suppressing Token turn blood-red, saw his battle merit surge, and tore open a passage toward Shi Mansion.
• Gu Ye closed the human race's annals after witnessing the events in the River of Time and said everything was already decided.

Gu Ye reflected on the fate and cost of Lingyang martial cultivation before visiting a cocoon holding the dying Yao. In Ming Province, two ancient gods entered the Spirit Martial Hall’s territory to free a captive, but the sealed altar resisted them until a voice beneath it urged them to find Yang.

• Gu Ye entered the annals of human history and saw Yao suspended inside a cocoon, then wondered if she had been right.
• Two ancient gods crossed into Ming Province and passed through the Spirit Martial Hall’s formations without interference.
• Meng told Ling Yun that the ancient gods could not free the suppressed Perfected Void Realm cultivator and warned that forcing open the Yellow Springs portal could destroy Ming Province.
• Yan and his companion reached an altar in a canyon and attacked its seal, but Di Beichen’s formation remained intact.
• A voice from beneath the altar told the ancient gods to find Yang, saying that Yang was still alive.

Di Luosha sought a way to reach Netherworld Province while the Devil Race’s leaders argued over the Heavenly Devil Mirror and waited for the Sovereigns to withdraw. Beneath the Yellow Springs, Shi Lan sensed that her family had been attacked and set out to return to the living world, suspecting the Buddhist Sect.

• Two ancient gods left the altar after the wounded god beneath it told them that Yang might still be alive and they sensed Xia remained in Lingyang.
• Fuguang told Di Luosha that he was repairing the Heavenly Devil Mirror and warned her not to trust Di Shengjun; she said she wanted to go to Netherworld Province to find the ancient god her father had suppressed.
• Di Shengjun declined to seize the Heavenly Devil Mirror because he feared Emperor Beichen’s safeguards, and he waited for the Sovereigns to withdraw before making his move.
• Shi Lan sensed through her Demon-Suppressing Token that Shi Tianlu and the others had suffered a disaster, suspected the Buddhist Sect had targeted her family, and resolved to return to the world of the living.