Chapter Summaries

Xuandu considered recruiting Yang Mei into the Interception Sect to fulfill the system’s requirement, but realized Yang Mei might resent being used against Hongjun and could be difficult to find. He then suspected Luohu had survived his apparent death and might be sleeping beneath Mount Sumeru, leaving Xuandu with a new possible Chaos God Demon to seek.

• Xuandu reasoned that Yang Mei might join the Interception Sect to borrow its strength against Hongjun, but would expect something in return.
• Xuandu inspected the system and learned that he had to invite a genuine pre-World Creation Chaos God Demon of at least Ninth Heaven cultivation to eliminate real-time effects.
• Xuandu surveyed the Interception Sect’s strength and resolved to prepare before the coming tribulations, while acknowledging that Yang Mei’s location and intentions were uncertain.
• Xuandu recalled that Yang Mei had discovered Xuandu’s deception involving the Earth Dao and had left without attacking, making their future relationship unclear.
• Xuandu considered Luohu, a Chaos Demon God who had self-destructed during the Dao-Devil War, and suspected his True Spirit could have gathered again.
• Xuandu suspected Luohu’s True Spirit was sleeping beneath Mount Sumeru within the lingering origin of the Devil Dao.

Xuandu concluded that Luohu’s True Spirit might be sleeping beneath Mount Sumeru and planned to recruit him into the Jie Sect by offering a position and help with revenge against Hongjun. He traveled to Mount Sumeru and greeted Jieyin and Zhunti, who awaited him tensely.

• Xuandu reasoned that Luohu’s True Spirit fragments were suppressed beneath Mount Sumeru and that Luohu might ally with the Jie Sect to seek revenge on Hongjun.
• Xuandu decided to investigate Mount Sumeru and offer Luohu the position of Jie Sect Guardian in exchange for joining and helping eliminate the drawbacks of the real-time effect.
• Xuandu left Lingyun Peak, exchanged an understanding glance with Tongtian above Golden Ao Island, and headed west.
• Jieyin sensed Xuandu approaching Mount Sumeru, and Zhunti worried about his intentions while Jieyin urged him to wait calmly.
• Xuandu appeared beside the Eight Treasures Merit Pool and greeted Jieyin and Zhunti.

Xuandu visited Mount Sumeru and challenged Jieyin and Zhunti to exchange moves. The chapter ended after Xuandu’s punch revealed his overwhelming Seventh Heaven strength, leaving both Fifth Heaven Sages stunned and helpless.

• Xuandu met Jieyin and Zhunti beside the Eight Treasures Merit Pool and proposed that they exchange moves.
• Jieyin and Zhunti eagerly accepted, believing their combined Fifth Heaven cultivation would let them defeat Xuandu.
• Zhunti attacked Xuandu with a golden palm, and Xuandu countered with a single punch that sent Zhunti staggering back and shattered the pool’s surroundings.
• Jieyin and Zhunti realized Xuandu had reached the Seventh Heaven and understood that their raised cultivation could not match his foundation and Martial Dao comprehension.

Xuandu defeated Jieyin and Zhunti at Mount Sumeru, then concealed himself and went deeper into the mountain to seek Luohu. At Kunlun Mountain, Primordial Heavenly Venerate sensed Xuandu’s aura and wondered why he had emerged from seclusion to visit Mount Sumeru.

• Jieyin conceded defeat, and Zhunti held back from attacking Xuandu despite his anger.
• Xuandu left the Eight Treasures Merit Pool without killing Jieyin or Zhunti, who realized he had spared them because he disdained them.
• Xuandu assessed Jieyin and Zhunti as weak opponents and identified Dao Ancestor Hongjun as the true obstacle he had to face.
• Xuandu used the Chaos Bead to conceal his aura and headed deeper into Mount Sumeru to seek Luohu.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerate sensed Xuandu’s aura while teaching at Jade Void Palace and wondered why Xuandu had gone to Mount Sumeru.

Yuanshi sensed Xuandu had emerged from seclusion and gone to Mount Sumeru, reviving old grudges and fears among the Chan Sect. He claimed his Seventh Heaven cultivation would let him defeat Xuandu if he came to Kunlun Mountain, then resumed teaching while Guangchengzi remained uneasy.

• Yuanshi recalled his past humiliations at Xuandu’s hands and resolved to kill him in the Next Kalpa.
• Yuanshi told Guangchengzi and the other Chan Sect disciples that he had sensed Xuandu at Mount Sumeru.
• Guangchengzi worried that Xuandu’s visit to Jieyin and Zhunti might signal that he would next target Kunlun Mountain.
• Yuanshi admitted he could not sense Xuandu’s realm but claimed Xuandu could be no higher than Zenith Heaven Sixth Heaven, while Yuanshi was a Seventh Heaven Sage.
• Guangchengzi and the disciples praised Yuanshi, who resumed teaching, though Guangchengzi remained troubled by Xuandu.

Laozi sensed Xuandu had emerged from seclusion and renewed his hatred over losing his Human Sect position and Dao. He dismissed White Guard, then vowed to kill Xuandu during the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation, while White Guard recognized that his immense cultivation rested on a borrowed, unstable foundation.

• Laozi sensed Xuandu's aura from Mount Sumeru and realized his grudge against Xuandu had never faded.
• Laozi told White Guard that Xuandu had emerged from seclusion, and White Guard asked whether he had gone to Mount Sumeru.
• Laozi said Xuandu's affairs with Jieyin and Zhunti had nothing to do with them, while White Guard privately doubted that Laozi could challenge Xuandu.
• Laozi dismissed White Guard and vowed that the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation would be Xuandu's death and the end of the Jie Sect.
• White Guard returned to his cave and saw that his Quasi-Saint Peak power came from Laozi, pills, and Heavenly Dao origin rather than his own foundation.

White Guard reflected on his cold master and hoped Xuandu would eventually visit Shouyang Mountain, where he could ask to join the Interception Sect. At Eight Sceneries Palace, Laozi watched Mount Sumeru, while Hongjun discovered that Xuandu had reached the Seventh Heaven and vanished beyond his perception.

• White Guard considered his master's neglect and anticipated Xuandu confronting Laozi at Shouyang Mountain.
• White Guard resolved to wait for Xuandu and ask to join the Interception Sect.
• Laozi sensed Xuandu had left Mount Sumeru and wondered what his visit there meant.
• Hongjun sensed Xuandu's Seventh Heaven cultivation, far beyond what he had expected.
• Hongjun searched the Great Wilderness but could not find Xuandu or trace his aura.

Hongjun realized Xuandu may have used the Chaos Bead to conceal his schemes and accelerate his cultivation, while Nuwa sensed that Xuandu had reached the Seventh Heaven. Hongjun promised that the Investiture of the Gods would give Nuwa a chance to return and seek revenge.

• Hongjun reconsidered the Chaos Qi trace at Wuzhuang Temple and suspected Xuandu had used the Chaos Bead to mislead him and conceal the Earth Dao's revival.
• Nuwa sensed Xuandu's aura above Mount Sumeru and learned that he had reached the Seventh Heaven, matching her own cultivation but surpassing her in foundation.
• Hongjun told Nuwa that the Chaos Bead's inner world had a hundredfold time flow, which could explain Xuandu's rapid advancement.
• Nuwa asked whether she could still take revenge, and Hongjun said the Investiture of the Gods would force Xuandu and the Interception Sect to answer the calamity.
• Hongjun told Nuwa to cultivate in Purple Heaven Palace until the Investiture of the Gods began, and she vowed to kill Xuandu when she returned.

Xuandu searched deep within Mount Sumeru for Luohu but found no demonic aura, and realized the Devil Ancestor’s True Spirit had weakened under the Daoist schools’ flourishing fortune. He concluded that waiting for the demonic path to rise would take too long and left to investigate the Immortal-Slaying Four Swords as a way to awaken Luohu and bring him into the Jie Sect.

• Hongjun observed the Chaos Bell suppressing the Jie Sect’s fortune and decided that the Heavenly Dao’s predetermined Investiture of the Gods Tribulation would still suppress the sect and force Xuandu to answer the tribulation.
• Xuandu entered Mount Sumeru unseen but found no trace of Luohu’s demonic aura, prompting him to consider that Luohu’s True Spirit might have fled into Chaos or become too weak to reveal itself.
• Xuandu recalled Luohu’s vow that demons would rise when the Dao waned and recognized that the Daoist schools’ current prosperity had pushed Luohu into a deep slumber.
• Xuandu reasoned that Luohu would not recover until after the Daoist schools declined, and that waiting for the later rise of the demonic path would be too late for his plans.
• Xuandu decided to use the Immortal-Slaying Four Swords, which might retain Luohu’s mark and origin, to awaken him, gather his True Spirit, and invite him into the Jie Sect.
• Xuandu left the depths of Mount Sumeru to pursue the Immortal-Slaying Four Swords.

Xuandu returned to Tongtian after defeating Jieyin and Zhunti, then borrowed the Immortal-Slaying Four Swords and formation diagram. He carried the formation to Mount Sumeru and used its sword marks to awaken Luohu’s True Spirit, whose stirring shook the mountain and alerted Jieyin and Zhunti.

• Xuandu told Tongtian that he had defeated Jieyin and Zhunti with a single punch.
• Xuandu asked Tongtian to lend him the Immortal-Slaying Four Swords and formation diagram, and Tongtian entrusted them to him without asking why.
• Xuandu took the formation to Mount Sumeru, where he intended to use it to awaken Luohu’s True Spirit.
• Xuandu summoned the four swords and formation diagram deep inside Mount Sumeru and sent their killing aura toward the demonic path’s origin.
• A thunderous explosion shook Mount Sumeru and the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, alerting Jieyin and Zhunti.

Xuandu awakened Luohu beneath Mount Sumeru and invited the Demon Ancestor to join the Interception Sect, offering to help him take revenge on Hongjun. Luohu considered the offer as Jieyin and Zhunti waited helplessly above the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation.

• Jieyin sensed the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation beneath Mount Sumeru, and he told Zhunti that they could not enter without the Four Sages.
• Jieyin and Zhunti sat beside the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, waiting for Xuandu to emerge.
• Xuandu witnessed Luohu's True Spirit awaken within the mountain and told him that he had borrowed the Immortal-Slaying Four Swords from Sect Leader Tongtian.
• Xuandu identified himself as a member of the Interception Sect and invited Luohu to join as a Guardian without taking a master or following sect rules.
• Xuandu offered to help Luohu kill Hongjun and settle the karma of their past conflict.
• Luohu recognized that the Interception Sect might give him the strength to recover and face Hongjun again.

Xuandu persuaded Luohu that their goals differed from Hongjun’s and recruited him into the Interception Sect, though Luohu remained too weakened to return while the Mystic Gate prospered. Luohu agreed to await the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation, while Xuandu concealed him with the Chaos Bead.

• Xuandu told Luohu he was not afraid of betrayal because Luohu sought freedom while Hongjun sought control, and Luohu agreed to join the Interception Sect.
• Luohu’s True Spirit briefly reassembled through the demonic Dao source, but the Mystic Gate’s fortune and Heavenly Dao suppressed it again.
• Luohu explained that he could not truly return until the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation weakened the Mystic Gate and the Jie Sect’s fortune suffered losses.
• Luohu promised to join Xuandu in killing Hongjun when the tribulation began, and Xuandu gave him the Chaos Bead to hide his awakening.
• Luohu sank back into the Demonic Dao origin, and Xuandu reflected that the recruitment was complete.

Xuandu received the reward for recruiting Luohu, permanently removing the Real-Time Effect that made him lose accumulated sums when Interception Sect disciples died. Luohu’s depleted origin only raised Xuandu to the early Eighth Heaven, and Xuandu left Mount Sumeru confident that he could prepare for the coming tribulation on his own.

• Xuandu saw that the Real-Time Effect had been removed, so his accumulated sums would no longer diminish when Interception Sect disciples died.
• Xuandu sensed Luohu’s feedback and realized Luohu’s origin was far weaker than expected because his True Spirit and foundation had been depleted.
• Luohu’s origin pushed Xuandu through the Seventh Heaven bottleneck and raised his cultivation to the early Eighth Heaven before the feedback ran out.
• Xuandu accepted that Luohu could not yet bring him to the Nine Heavens and resolved to prepare for the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation without relying on others.
• Xuandu left the depths of Mount Sumeru.

Xuandu returned the Immortal-Slaying Four Swords to Tongtian and revealed that he had reached the Eighth Heaven of Zenith Heaven and invited Luohu into the Interception Sect as a Guardian. He vowed to turn the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation against the Mystic Gate and thwart Hongjun’s plans, leaving Tongtian shocked by his resolve.

• Jieyin and Zhunti felt relieved when Xuandu and the strange force beneath Mount Sumeru disappeared.
• Xuandu returned the Immortal-Slaying Four Swords and their formation diagram to Tongtian at Biyou Palace.
• Xuandu told Tongtian that he had advanced to the Eighth Heaven of Zenith Heaven, and Tongtian praised his achievement.
• Xuandu revealed that he had awakened Luohu beneath Mount Sumeru and recruited him as a Guardian of the Interception Sect.
• Xuandu explained that Luohu could not fully return until the Mystic Gate declined, and Tongtian recognized the effect of Luohu’s oath.
• Xuandu declared that he would turn the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation into the Mystic Gate’s calamity and reverse Heavenly Dao’s Predetermined Number, leaving Tongtian shaken.

Xuandu met the Three Ancestors at the East Sea Coast and explained that they could not become Human Dao Sages until the Human Dao awakened and its fruit positions appeared. He sent them into the Chaos Bead to cultivate until the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors emerged, then reflected on the Human Race’s strength and his secure cultivation-sum gains.

• Xuandu surveyed the Jie Sect’s strength on Golden Ao Island and resolved to defy Hongjun’s plans with Martial Dao and the Interception Sect.
• Xuandu visited Suiren Shi, Youchao Shi, and Ziyi Shi beneath the Martial Dao Heavenly Stele and explained that their Quasi-Saint Peak cultivation was complete, but the Human Dao had not yet awakened.
• Xuandu told the Three Ancestors to wait until the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors emerged, then sent them into the Chaos Bead to cultivate at a rate of ten thousand years inside for each year outside.
• The Three Ancestors entered the Chaos Bead, and Xuandu surveyed the prosperous Human Race and its growing strength.
• Xuandu returned to Lingyun Peak and confirmed that the real-time effect had been removed, so his accumulated sums would remain even if disciples died.

Xuandu explained to Tongtian that Hongjun, not the Four Sages, was the true threat in the coming Investiture of the Gods Tribulation. He proposed subduing Taotie before the tribulation began.

• Xuandu reviewed the Four Fierce Beasts hidden in the Chaos Bead and decided to keep them concealed until the Investiture of the Gods and Human Dao were underway.
• Xuandu went to Biyou Palace and told Tongtian he wanted to discuss the Investiture of the Gods.
• Xuandu argued that Hongjun’s Half-step Heavenly Dao power made him more dangerous than the Four Sages and could threaten the Jie Sect despite its flourishing fortune.
• Tongtian asked Xuandu what he intended to do, and Xuandu declared that he would subdue Taotie before the Investiture began.

Xuandu planned to lure Taotie, the early Nine Heavens leader of the Four Fierce Beasts, out of the Xuandi Heavenly Domain and trap it within the Chaos Bead. Chaos acted as bait, and the chapter ended with Taotie roaring as it emerged from the rift.

• Xuandu told Tongtian that Taotie's gluttony could be exploited to draw it away from Shen Ni's perception, and Tongtian agreed to let him go.
• Chaos revealed that Taotie slept in an abyss in the southern Xuandi Heavenly Domain and would be drawn by his origin essence.
• Xuandu assigned Chaos to lure Taotie beyond the spatial rift, promising to trap it in the Chaos Bead and suppress it with the Innate Five Elements Great Formation.
• Chaos returned through the rift with a convincing fake wound while Xuandu concealed himself and waited nearby.
• Taotie roared from within the rift, announcing its arrival as Xuandu sharpened his gaze.

Xuandu appeared in the Chaos Depths after Chaos lured Taotie away from the Xuandi Heavenly Domain, revealing that Chaos had obeyed his master’s plan. As Taotie charged Xuandu, Xuandu summoned the Chaos Bead’s light, which began to capture and seal the beast.

• Taotie emerged from the rift and pursued Chaos, intending to devour him and advance his cultivation.
• Chaos led Taotie deep into the chaos, away from the Xuandi Heavenly Domain and Shen Ni’s awareness.
• Xuandu appeared behind Taotie and introduced himself as Jie Sect’s Xuandu.
• Taotie realized Chaos had betrayed My Emperor and charged Xuandu instead.
• Xuandu released a pillar of light from the Chaos Bead, freezing the surrounding chaos and threatening to capture and seal Taotie.

Xuandu captured Taotie inside the Chaos Bead and subdued him with the Innate Five Elements Great Formation, bringing all four Fierce Beasts under the Jie Sect. He explained that he would not confront Shen Ni yet, leaving the Jie Sect to grow stronger as it prepared for the coming conflict.

• Xuandu drew Taotie into the Chaos Bead, where the Innate Five Elements Great Formation trapped and overwhelmed him.
• Taotie surrendered, accepted Xuandu as his master, and received the Jie Sect’s rules, a cultivation method, the Hunyuan Dao, and healing methods.
• Xuandu released the formation after Taotie submitted, and Chaos told Taotie that his surrender was not unjust.
• Taotie asked why Xuandu did not attack Shen Ni, and Xuandu explained that Shen Ni’s greater cultivation and home territory made an early confrontation too dangerous.
• Xuandu reflected that the Four Fierce Beasts had joined the Jie Sect and that their strength would help it prepare for the coming upheaval.

After subduing Taotie, Xuandu refined the resulting feedback and advanced to the early Ninth Heaven of the Primordial Great Golden Immortal realm. He returned to Chaos, weighing his chances against Hongjun and anticipating the coming upheaval around the Investiture of the Gods, before setting course for Golden Ao Island.

• Xuandu entered the Bead World and refined Taotie's Origin Power while the Four Fierce Beasts watched his breakthrough.
• Xuandu broke through from the Eighth Heaven to the early Ninth Heaven after Taotie's feedback was exhausted.
• Xuandu considered Hongjun's Heavenly Dao advantage in the Great Wilderness and judged that he had a fifty-percent chance against Hongjun in Chaos.
• Xuandu sensed the Four Fierce Beasts cultivating and assessed that their recovery would strengthen the Interception Sect.
• Xuandu returned to Chaos, reasoned that Shen Ni would wait for Hongjun to be distracted, and headed toward Golden Ao Island as the coming storm approached.