Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yue successfully cultivates the first layer of the Qian Origin Eternal Body, increasing his divine body’s strength by more than thirtyfold.
• This enhancement allows him to activate both Thousandfold Combat Power and the Seal of Dao Origin simultaneously, raising his combat strength beyond the Top-tier Dimension-level and into the Super Dimension-grade.
• Although he comprehends nine additional Origin Great Daos, he realizes that merely accumulating more Daos provides limited benefits. True advancement depends on fusing the Origin Great Daos.
• His unenhanced strength rises from the Ordinary Dimension-level to nearly the High-grade Dimension-level. With Thousandfold Combat Power, he becomes genuinely invincible among Top-tier Dimension-level beings, comparable to Gray Valley.
• Li Yue reviews the requirements for advancing to the

Super Taboo Divine Rank

1. Possess one billion World Divine Power.
2. Spend at least one hundred years at the High-grade Taboo Divine Rank.
3. Gather forty-nine strands of Extinction Light from the Land of Extinction.
4. Gather forty-nine strands of Light of Ultimate Life from the Land of Ultimate Life.
5. Enter the Death Origin Realm and kill ten Taboo Revenants.

• He has already fulfilled the first two requirements, possessing 7.5 billion World Divine Power supplied by the Great Zhen Imperial Court and Eternal Divine Court.
• The Land of Extinction and Land of Ultimate Life are extremely dangerous and time-consuming to explore. The fastest known Deity required fifteen cosmic epochs to gather the necessary materials, making these tasks impractical for Li Yue in the near future.
• The final requirement appears much easier, so Li Yue decides to visit the mysterious Death Origin Realm, a place even Gray Valley and other powerful Deities know nothing about.
• Upon arrival, he finds a bleak, horrifying Ancient City filled with drifting human skins, sparse flames, chilling gongs, and warnings to beware of fire.
• Li Yue senses that the Death Origin Great Dao dominates the realm and can instantly suppress even Half-step Transcendence-grade beings.
• A suspicious figure hidden behind a small door suddenly appears and offers to sell Li Yue a disc.

Character Developments

• Li Yue becomes significantly stronger through his cultivation of the Qian Origin Eternal Body and gains confidence in challenging the strongest Top-tier Dimension-level beings.
• He develops a clearer understanding of the limitations of his cultivation path, recognizing that Dao fusion—not simply comprehending more Daos—is essential for further growth.
• He also learns an important lesson: although the Dao may advance quickly, divine rank remains the foundation. Allowing Dao comprehension to progress too far ahead of divine rank can create serious problems.
• His curiosity and ambition deepen as he investigates realms beyond conventional knowledge, particularly the enigmatic Death Origin Realm.

Significant Themes

• Foundational cultivation versus superficial accumulation: More Origin Great Daos do not automatically create greater power; their fusion is the true path to strength.
• The importance of balance: Li Yue realizes that divine rank and Dao comprehension must advance together.
• The limits of known existence: Even supreme beings and ancient records possess little knowledge of the Origin Realms, emphasizing the vast mystery of the Divine Path.
• Danger and mortality: The Death Origin Realm is portrayed as a realm ruled by death itself, where even extremely powerful beings can be destroyed instantly.
• The apparent end of cultivation: The Dimension Divine Rank is believed to be the endpoint of the Divine Path, raising questions about whether any realm lies beyond it.

Character Interactions

• Li Yue consults powerful Taboo Deities and records within the Hall of All Gods to learn about the requirements for advancing to the Super Taboo Divine Rank.
• He previously relied on knowledge from Gray Valley, but Gray Valley has no information about the Death Origin Realm or related Origin Realms.
• After entering the Ancient City, Li Yue encounters a furtive middle-aged figure covered partly by human skin, who nervously offers him a disc. This mysterious meeting marks the chapter’s cliffhanger.

Chapter Summary

Li Yue encounters a sinister middle-aged human skin who identifies himself as a Fate-Chart Merchant. The merchant explains that every undead in the Death Origin Realm possesses an Identity Fate Chart, and outsiders without one cannot safely function in the realm or participate in its opportunities. Although the “Otherworldly Lifeform” identity obtainable from the City Lord Mansion allows outsiders to move during the day, it does not make them natives.
The merchant offers low- and middle-ranking identity charts in exchange for a portion of Li Yue’s cultivation. Li Yue realizes this may explain why other Taboo Deities had been unable to exploit opportunities in the Death Origin Realm: they lacked native identities. Suspicious of the merchant’s strength, Li Yue asks whether he reached the Ordinary Dimension level through selling charts. The merchant is startled that Li Yue can see through him and attempts to retreat.
Li Yue traps him inside a powerful Prison-Cage World, created through the initial combination of five Origin Great Daos: Illusory Origin, World Origin, True Origin, Matter Origin, and Five Elements Origin. The merchant recognizes that Li Yue’s strength is far beyond what an ordinary High Creation-grade Deity should possess and realizes he cannot escape. Under pressure, he reveals that his highest-ranking chart is the identity of “Deputy City Lord of Wenyin City” and hands it over to Li Yue.
At dawn, the human skins throughout the ancient city transform into flesh-and-blood undead as the pale sunlight falls upon them. The city becomes active with merchants, laborers, fishermen, and other undead conducting their eerie daily business. Once Li Yue emerges while possessing the Deputy City Lord identity, all the undead recognize his authority, bowing or kneeling as he passes. He reaches the gloomy City Lord Mansion at the center of Wenyin City, determined not merely to kill powerful undead but to uncover the much greater opportunities hidden within the Death Origin Realm.

Character Developments

• Li Yue demonstrates increasing confidence and strategic awareness. He uses information gathered from the Hall of All Gods to question the merchant’s claims and quickly identifies the value of obtaining a native identity.
• His cultivation is revealed to be extraordinarily advanced: after refining the first layer of the Qian Origin Eternal Body, he can initially combine multiple Origin Great Daos, allowing him to overwhelm an Ordinary Dimension-level opponent.
• Li Yue shifts from simply surviving in the Death Origin Realm to actively seeking its hidden opportunities and benefits.
• The Fate-Chart Merchant, initially sinister and confident, becomes frightened after realizing Li Yue’s true power. He abandons his attempt to escape and reluctantly surrenders his highest-ranking identity chart.

Significant Themes

• Identity and belonging: Native identity determines access to the Death Origin Realm’s opportunities and social privileges. Being an outsider fundamentally limits one’s power and participation.
• Hidden rules and information: The realm contains secrets unknown even to experienced Taboo Deities, emphasizing the importance of knowledge and investigation.
• Power concealed beneath appearances: Li Yue appears to be an ordinary outsider but possesses strength vastly exceeding expectations, while the merchant’s seemingly minor business conceals access to extremely valuable identity charts.
• Opportunity over violence: Rather than using his strength merely to kill, Li Yue seeks to exploit the Death Origin Realm’s deeper possibilities.

Character Interactions

• Li Yue and the Fate-Chart Merchant engage in a cautious negotiation, with Li Yue probing the merchant’s knowledge and motives.
• The merchant attempts to intimidate Li Yue by warning him about the dangers of remaining without an identity, but Li Yue remains composed because he already knows about the outsider identity available through the City Lord Mansion.
• When the merchant tries to withdraw, Li Yue decisively reverses the power dynamic by imprisoning him.
• After receiving the “Deputy City Lord of Wenyin City” chart, Li Yue gains immediate authority over the undead inhabitants, who respond to him with fear and respect.

Chapter Summary: The Greatest Opportunity in the Death Origin Realm—the Life-and-Death Furnace

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yue returns to Wenyin City as its Deputy City Lord. The guards, stewards, and servants all kneel to greet him, demonstrating the Death Origin Realm’s rigid status hierarchy.
• He enters the City Lord’s study without announcing himself. The Wenyin City Lord uses his superior status to suppress Li Yue’s strength by twenty percent.
• Li Yue reflects on the double-edged nature of native status: it allows him to suppress those of lower rank, but also leaves him vulnerable to people with higher status.
• Despite the suppression, Li Yue activates his Thousandfold Combat Power and reveals an invincible Top-tier Dimension-level aura. He uses his merged Origin powers to create a Prison-Cage World that successfully restrains the City Lord.
• The City Lord threatens Li Yue with the severe consequences of attacking someone of higher status: loss of status, reduction to the lowest “beggar” class, and future status degradation.
• Li Yue assures him that he does not intend to kill him and explains that he wants information. He reveals that he is an outsider who obtained the Deputy City Lord position through a Fate Disk Merchant.
• The City Lord tells him about the Life-and-Death Furnace, declaring it the greatest opportunity in the Death Origin Realm. Each living being can possess up to three furnaces, and each furnace can raise any cultivated secret art by one level.
• The furnace’s rumored limit is the ability to elevate even a supreme secret art of the Third Transcendence Realm. The City Lord directs Li Yue to Death Origin City with his token so he can participate in the competition for one.

Character Developments

• Li Yue: Demonstrates that his newly acquired status has made him a powerful figure, but also recognizes its limitations. His strength, composure, and strategic manipulation become clear as he subdues the City Lord without immediately killing him. Learning about the Life-and-Death Furnace greatly excites him because it could advance several of his most important techniques.
• Wenyin City Lord: Initially acts arrogantly because his higher status suppresses Li Yue. Once Li Yue reveals his overwhelming strength, the City Lord becomes fearful and compliant. Although he provides the information, he secretly hopes Li Yue will be killed while competing for the furnace.
• Fate Disk Merchant: Though absent, the merchant becomes an important influence. The City Lord curses him for giving a crucial city position to an outsider, viewing him as a dangerous “tumor” in the Death Origin Realm.

Significant Themes

• Status as power and control: Social rank directly affects strength, authority, survival, and even one’s future prospects. The chapter emphasizes that status is effectively the foundation of life in the Death Origin Realm.
• Power versus hierarchy: Li Yue’s superior cultivation allows him to overcome the City Lord’s status-based suppression, showing that absolute strength can challenge but not entirely erase the importance of rank.
• Risk and opportunity: The Life-and-Death Furnace represents an extraordinary chance for advancement, but obtaining it will require Li Yue to enter a dangerous contest where powerful opponents may kill him.
• Outsider’s exploitation of the system: Li Yue uses the status system, despite being an outsider, to gain authority and access to secrets normally reserved for high-ranking natives.

Character Interactions

• The guards and household staff display unquestioning obedience by kneeling before Li Yue.
• The City Lord attempts to assert dominance through status-based suppression and threats.
• Li Yue counters with overwhelming strength but maintains a courteous, controlled manner, presenting his interrogation as a negotiation rather than an execution.
• The City Lord reluctantly reveals the secret of the Life-and-Death Furnace, while privately hoping the information will lead to Li Yue’s downfall.
• Li Yue immediately decides to pursue the opportunity and asks how to participate, setting up his journey to Death Origin City.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yue questions the Fate-Chart Merchant about the hierarchy of statuses in the Death Origin Realm.
• The status hierarchy is revealed:
  • Deputy City Lord and City Lord: High-grade statuses
  • Deputy Fate Lord and Fate Lord: Super-grade statuses
  • Nine Death Dao Masters: the supreme rulers of the realm
• Li Yue learns that status grants tremendous authority and can suppress those of lower rank. He suspects the Death Dao Masters may be Transcenders.
• Conventional methods of obtaining the City Lord Status include winning ten matches in a City Lord Deathmatch Arena, after which one may inherit an abandoned city or establish a new one.
• The Deputy Fate Lord Status can generally only be obtained by pledging allegiance to a Fate Lord and receiving one of their limited quotas.
• Li Yue rejects these conventional paths because they would expose him to the attention of powerful Fate Lords and require him to serve under another ruler.
• The Fate-Chart Merchant reveals three unconventional methods:
  1. Obtain a City Lord Status Fate Disc from a qualified Fate-Chart Merchant.
  2. Have a Status Refiner create one using a living City Lord as material.
  3. Kill ten City Lords and activate a Status Reversal Array.
• These unconventional methods can grant statuses up to the Deputy Fate Lord level, but the merchant knows nothing about obtaining the Fate Lord Status.
• The Fate-Chart Merchant unexpectedly possesses a Status Reversal Array and offers it to Li Yue in exchange for being spared after Li Yue leaves the Death Origin Realm.
• Li Yue agrees, obtains the array, and decides to kill ten City Lords to acquire the status.

Character Developments

• Li Yue demonstrates strategic caution and independence. Rather than submit to a Fate Lord or fight publicly in the arena, he chooses a covert and direct path to power.
• He remains confident in his strength, believing he can defeat City Lords—even those at High-grade Dimension-level—despite the suppression caused by status.
• Li Yue’s goals are linked to both acquiring a higher status and preparing to enter the Life-and-Death Furnace.
• The Fate-Chart Merchant shifts from a helpless captive to a desperate negotiator. Fearing for his life and future, he willingly gives Li Yue a rare Status Reversal Array in exchange for protection.

Significant Themes

• Status as power and law: Rank is not merely symbolic in the Death Origin Realm; it determines authority and can directly suppress weaker-status beings.
• Independence versus submission: Li Yue refuses to become subordinate to a Fate Lord, emphasizing his pride and identity as the Leader of the Divine Path.
• Pragmatism and survival: The merchant sacrifices a priceless treasure to preserve his life, while Li Yue evaluates every method according to risk and efficiency.
• Accumulation of power: Li Yue’s pursuit of status, the Life-and-Death Furnace, and the Super Divine Rank reflects his systematic preparation for greater challenges.
• The value of rare opportunities: The Status Reversal Array appears at exactly the moment Li Yue needs it, allowing him to bypass difficult conventional procedures.

Character Interactions

• Li Yue interrogates the Fate-Chart Merchant about status rankings and advancement methods.
• The merchant answers honestly because he fears death and hopes Li Yue will spare him.
• Li Yue notices the merchant’s wording and presses him about “unconventional” methods, showing his perceptiveness.
• The merchant flatters Li Yue, then offers the Status Reversal Array as proof of sincerity.
• Li Yue accepts the array in exchange for a promise not to kill the merchant after leaving the realm.
• The chapter ends with Li Yue preparing to slay ten City Lords, which will both grant him City Lord Status and help satisfy the requirements for advancing to the Super Divine Rank.

Chapter Summary: “Status Reversal, the Death Dao Master's Favor”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yue leaves Quju Ancient City after killing ten City Lord Status holders—six of Ordinary Dimension-level strength and four of High-grade Dimension-level strength.
• Because defeating lower-ranked City Lords reduced his status to the lowest-grade Beggar Status and suppressed seventy percent of his strength, Li Yue had to use Three-thousand-fold Combat Power against the stronger opponents.
• The battles consumed 980 million units of World Divine Power, bringing his total expenditure during the Death Origin Realm journey to 1.04 billion units.
• Determined to obtain the Life-and-Death Furnace, Li Yue activates the Status Reversal Array on a barren hill.
• The array extracts the status-related power of the ten slain City Lords and merges it into his Identity Fate Chart, reversing his Beggar Status into City Lord Status.
• The Death Origin Realm’s laws repeatedly attempt to reduce his status to Deputy City Lord Status because he previously defeated an opponent above his rank. The array compensates for these reductions three times, allowing Li Yue to stabilize at City Lord Status.
• Li Yue realizes that the array cannot grant him Deputy Fate Lord Status. He considers seeking help from the Fate-Chart Merchant or capturing a living Deputy Fate Lord for the Status Refiner.
• He travels toward Death Origin City, the center of the Death Origin Realm, intending to assess the competition for the Life-and-Death Furnace and the realm’s strongest experts.
• The First Death Dao Master observes Li Yue’s achievements and becomes impressed by his extraordinary strength. He orders his subordinate A-Ling to grant Li Yue Deputy Fate Lord Status as a favorable karmic bond from the Death Origin Realm.
• The Death Dao Master also decrees that no Fate Lord may attack Li Yue, though he does not guarantee that Li Yue will obtain the Life-and-Death Furnace.
• Unaware of this favor, Li Yue arrives outside Death Origin City and senses that the city itself is a living, unimaginably powerful existence, far surpassing Super Dimension-grade strength.

Character Developments

• Li Yue: Demonstrates remarkable combat ability by defeating ten City Lords despite severe status suppression and enormous energy costs. He becomes more strategic and determined, accepting that even his remaining resources may be spent to obtain the Life-and-Death Furnace. His successful use of the Status Reversal Array elevates him to City Lord Status.
• First Death Dao Master: Takes a personal interest in Li Yue after recognizing him as the most exceptional Divine Path Leader to enter the Death Origin Realm. He begins considering Li Yue’s potential role in restoring the realm’s former glory.
• A-Ling: Revealed as a highly trusted and respectful subordinate of the First Death Dao Master. She is surprised by his unprecedented decision to personally intervene on Li Yue’s behalf.
• Other Divine Path Leaders: Through the Death Dao Master’s thoughts, earlier visitors such as Yun Qiannian are shown to be impressive but vastly inferior to Li Yue.

Significant Themes

• Power and status: In the Death Origin Realm, status directly affects strength, and Li Yue’s ability to reverse his status represents an extraordinary violation of the realm’s normal rules.
• Determination and sacrifice: Li Yue is willing to expend immense quantities of divine power and even use his precious Qian Origin One-Qi Thunder Beads to secure the Life-and-Death Furnace.
• Exceptional talent: Li Yue is portrayed as an unprecedented genius whose achievements surpass those of numerous powerful Divine Path Leaders across countless eras.
• Fate and hidden protection: Although Li Yue believes he must struggle to obtain Deputy Fate Lord Status, a higher power secretly grants it to him, demonstrating the influence of unseen forces and karmic connections.
• Restoration and ambition: The First Death Dao Master hints that the Death Origin Realm has fallen into decline and may need to “return to High Heaven,” suggesting a larger future role for Li Yue.

Important Character Interactions

• Li Yue interacts indirectly with the slain City Lords through the Status Reversal Array, using their residual status power to restore his own rank.
• Li Yue’s internal reasoning reveals his plans to seek assistance from the Fate-Chart Merchant or Status Refiner if necessary.
• The First Death Dao Master discusses Li Yue’s accomplishments and potential, then commands A-Ling to grant him Deputy Fate Lord Status.
• A-Ling respectfully accepts the order but privately wonders about Li Yue’s origins and significance.
• Li Yue remains unaware of the First Death Dao Master’s intervention as he approaches the terrifying Death Origin City.

Chapter Summary: Life-and-Death Sky Terrace, the Arrival of Fate Lord A-Ling

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yue reflects on the mysterious Death Origin Realm and Death Origin City. He suspects the realm exists beyond the Three Thousand Dimensions and may conceal secrets connected to the Source Dao Sea and High Heaven.
• Despite his curiosity, Li Yue decides to focus on his immediate objective: obtaining a Life-and-Death Furnace.
• He enters Death Origin City, whose enormous gates are guarded by thousands of Dao-Treading Grade dead spirits and a Top-tier Dimension-level city general. The city’s defenses suggest that a Transcendence-grade existence governs it.
• Using his City Lord Status and the Wenyin City City Lord’s token, Li Yue registers for the Life-and-Death Furnace contest. He is the 9,945th participant, meaning only fifty-five more participants are needed before the contest begins.
• The humanoid stone statue overseeing registration initially appears ready to announce that only one furnace will appear, but abruptly changes its answer and declares that three furnaces will be contested for by one thousand participants. Li Yue notices this irregularity and becomes suspicious.
• He settles in an inn, hoping the contest will begin within thirty years.
• When he returns to his room, he discovers Fate Lord A-Ling waiting inside. Her presence immediately triggers Li Yue’s strongest sense of danger yet.
• A-Ling likewise experiences an inexplicable death crisis from Li Yue, despite being a Half-step Transcendence-grade existence while he appears to be only High Creation-grade. This mutual misjudgment ends the chapter on a tense note.

Character Developments

• Li Yue: Demonstrates caution, strong intuition, and strategic thinking. He recognizes the danger of learning too much about the Death Origin Realm and remains focused on acquiring the Life-and-Death Furnace. His ability to provoke fear in A-Ling suggests that his true power or hidden nature is far beyond appearances.
• Fate Lord A-Ling: Introduced as an extraordinarily powerful and elegant woman, likely one of the strongest beings Li Yue has encountered. Although she was ordered by the Dao Master to build a favorable relationship with him, she is deeply shaken by the inexplicable threat he represents.
• Humanoid stone statue: Revealed to be a living, Invincible Dimension-level being rather than an ordinary guardian. Its alteration of the furnace count raises questions about its motives or external influence.

Significant Themes

• Hidden realms and cosmic secrets: The Death Origin Realm’s origins, its connection to High Heaven, and its apparent separation from Gray Valley’s knowledge suggest a vast mystery beyond the known worlds.
• Power concealed beneath appearances: Li Yue appears relatively weak, yet A-Ling instinctively perceives him as capable of killing her. Conversely, A-Ling’s calm appearance conceals overwhelming power.
• Fate and uncertainty: The sudden change in the stone statue’s announcement implies that unseen forces may be manipulating events, while A-Ling’s arrival seems connected to larger plans involving Li Yue.
• Dangerous knowledge: Li Yue deliberately restrains his curiosity, recognizing that understanding the realm’s deepest secrets could expose him to risks he is not prepared to face.

Character Interactions

• Li Yue interacts formally with the stone statue while registering for the contest, carefully observing its words and behavior.
• His use of the imprisoned Wenyin City City Lord’s token highlights his resourcefulness and willingness to exploit available advantages.
• The central interaction is between Li Yue and Fate Lord A-Ling: neither speaks before sensing overwhelming danger from the other. Their mutual fear creates immediate tension and establishes their relationship as potentially significant and unpredictable.

Chapter Summary: Ling’s Wariness of Fate Lord and the Life-and-Death Furnace Battle

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yue meets Fate Lord Ling, a powerful being from the Death Origin Realm. Both remain wary because Li Yue possesses weapons capable of threatening even Half-step Transcendence-grade experts.
• Ling reveals that she has not come to punish Li Yue for killing ten City Lords. Instead, she acts under the orders of the Death Dao Master.
• She presents Li Yue with an Identity Fate Chart granting him Deputy Fate Lord Status. This status is crucial because it prevents him from suffering a twenty-percent strength suppression when facing other Deputy Fate Lords in the upcoming battle for the Life-and-Death Furnace.
• Ling explains that the Death Dao Master is attempting to form a favorable relationship with Li Yue and assures him that Fate Lord-level beings will not interfere in the contest. She also reveals that the original contest’s single furnace has been increased to three, making the battle fairer.
• Li Yue fuses the chart into his divine body, transforming his City Lord identity into the far more prestigious Deputy Fate Lord identity. His new authority causes lower-status death spirits to tremble before him.
• After Ling departs, Li Yue reflects on the Death Dao Master’s interest in him. He concludes that the supreme being values his potential and recognizes that attaining Transcendence-grade strength is his ultimate goal.
• Li Yue spends thirty years cultivating and refining the fourth sword of his Ultimate Thirteen Dao Swords, “Shatter Heaven.” He changes the Origin Great Daos used in its development, experimenting with Matter, World, Five Elements, Kai Tian, Devouring, and Apex.
• Twelve great bell chimes announce that the Life-and-Death Furnace battle is about to begin. Li Yue leaves the inn and heads toward the Life-and-Death Sky Terrace alongside numerous competitors and spectators.

Character Developments

• Li Yue remains cautious and calculating, immediately considering whether Ling intends to arrest him and weighing the cost of using his strongest trump cards. He becomes more confident after receiving Deputy Fate Lord Status and continues striving toward Transcendence-grade power.
• Fate Lord Ling is shown to be extraordinarily perceptive and powerful, capable of sensing the danger posed by Li Yue’s hidden abilities. Although initially wary, she acts diplomatically and delivers the Death Dao Master’s offer without hostility.
• The Death Dao Master emerges as a major unseen influence. His decision to grant Li Yue elevated status indicates that he recognizes Li Yue’s exceptional potential and wants to establish a connection with him.

Significant Themes

• Strength as the basis of respect and influence: Li Yue recognizes that the Death Dao Master notices him because of his extraordinary potential and strength.
• Political alliances and strategic favor: The Deputy Fate Lord Status is both a gift and a means of forging an alliance before a major contest.
• Caution and hidden power: Both Li Yue and Ling carefully assess one another, aware that a single mistake could provoke a deadly confrontation.
• Growth through cultivation: Although Li Yue’s Dao comprehension has reached its limit at the High-grade Taboo Divine Rank, he continues improving through secret arts and sword techniques.
• Status and authority: The Deputy Fate Lord identity provides not only practical combat advantages but also immense prestige within the Death Origin Realm.

Character Interactions

• Li Yue and Ling engage in a tense but respectful conversation, each recognizing the other’s danger.
• Ling reassures Li Yue that she is not pursuing him for his past killings and explains the Death Dao Master’s intentions.
• Li Yue accepts the Deputy Fate Lord Status, while Ling leaves him with a warning and assurance concerning the upcoming contest.
• The chapter ends with Li Yue joining the mass movement toward the Life-and-Death Sky Terrace, where competitors will fight for the supreme Life-and-Death Furnace treasures and the exceptional status associated with obtaining one.

Chapter Summary: Obtaining Three Life-and-Death Furnaces to Become the Death Dao Master

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yue arrives beneath the Life-and-Death Sky Terrace and is shocked to discover several thousand Dimension-level undead beings gathered there, including multiple Top-tier Dimension-level experts.
• He realizes that the Death Origin Realm is a supreme world comparable to the “Heaven and Earth” above High Heaven, containing Transcenders, Half-step Transcenders, and enormous numbers of Dimension-level beings.
• The Life-and-Death Guardian, an Invincible Dimension-level stone statue, appears and summons one thousand participants to compete for three Life-and-Death Furnaces.
• The competition rules are explained:
  • Participants fight one-on-one within the Life-and-Death Sky Terrace.
  • Anyone who obtains a furnace may be challenged by all other competitors.
  • A furnace can only be secured once all challengers are eliminated.
  • Obtaining one furnace grants the title of Fate Lord Candidate and access to rare cultivation resources.
• The Guardian reveals that obtaining two furnaces grants the status of Fate Lord Successor, allowing the victor to inherit the legacy and wealth of a fallen Fate Lord.
• It is then revealed that every Death Dao Master in history obtained all three Life-and-Death Furnaces simultaneously, strongly implying that this feat is connected to becoming a Death Dao Master.
• The Guardian transports the one thousand participants into the Life-and-Death Sky Terrace, an enormous, desolate Gobi filled with sand and ruins.
• Li Yue assesses the competition and discovers that 987 contestants possess City Lord Status, while twelve are Deputy Fate Lords.
• The Sky Terrace suppresses the normal revival abilities of Dimension-level beings. Every participant has only one life, making the contest exceptionally dangerous.

Character Developments

• Li Yue is deeply impressed by the scale and power of the Death Origin Realm. Seeing thousands of Dimension-level beings fuels his ambition to someday command a similarly powerful force.
• His desire to obtain all three furnaces intensifies after learning that the ancient Death Dao Masters all accomplished this feat. He begins considering the possibility that the furnaces are essential to reaching that supreme realm.
• Li Yue remains cautious and analytical. He studies the contestants and recognizes that only the twelve Deputy Fate Lords pose a serious threat, while the other participants are not powerful enough to concern him.
• The Life-and-Death Guardian is established as an overwhelming authority figure. Its Invincible Dimension-level power allows it to control the entire gathering effortlessly and enforce the rules of the trial.
• The competing Dimension-level beings become visibly excited by the possibility of obtaining Fate Lord legacies, though their confidence is tempered by the revelation that death within the Sky Terrace is permanent.

Significant Themes

• Power and ambition: Li Yue’s awe at the vast population of powerful beings reflects his growing aspirations and desire to build an influential force of his own.
• Risk and mortality: The suppression of revival turns the competition into a true life-or-death struggle, emphasizing that even powerful Dimension-level beings are vulnerable.
• Legacy and inheritance: The Fate Lord Successor status represents the allure of inheriting the achievements, wealth, and techniques of past supreme experts.
• The path to transcendence: The connection between obtaining all three furnaces and becoming a Death Dao Master suggests that the competition is not merely about treasure, but about access to the highest realm of cultivation.
• Rarity and opportunity: Because Li Yue may never be able to return to the Death Origin Realm, this event represents an extremely rare chance for him to obtain extraordinary resources and advancement.

Character Interactions

• The gathered undead beings respectfully greet the Life-and-Death Guardian, demonstrating its supreme status.
• Participants question the Guardian about the possibility of obtaining two or three furnaces, prompting revelations about the Fate Lord Successor title and the origins of the Death Dao Masters.
• Li Yue silently listens to these exchanges, realizing the deeper significance of the competition and becoming determined to attempt an unprecedented victory.
• The Guardian ultimately ends the discussion and sends all contestants into the Life-and-Death Sky Terrace, initiating the deadly contest.

Chapter Summary: Forging the Fourth “Life-and-Death Furnace,” Li Yue the Outsider

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yue reflects on the brutal battles surrounding the Life-and-Death Furnaces, where even powerful Deputy Fate Lords frequently perish. He suspects the Death Origin Realm—and perhaps the Divine Moon World—may require the deaths of Taboo Lifeforms for some greater purpose.
• He senses the aura of a Life-and-Death Furnace and follows it, discovering that numerous Dimension-level undead are also converging on it.
• Elsewhere, a black-armored Deputy Fate Lord and a woman named Jiu’er prepare a mysterious formation designed to forge a fourth Life-and-Death Furnace.
• Jiu’er explains that the formation can create a genuine furnace by sacrificing enough Dimension-level beings. She claims the furnace will be exempt from the normal rules of the Life-and-Death Sky Terrace.
• Obtaining the furnace would elevate the black-armored figure to a Fate Lord Candidate, allowing him to suppress other Deputy Fate Lords and potentially seize additional furnaces. His ultimate goal is to become a Fate Lord Successor.
• Li Yue arrives and realizes that the visible furnace is not genuine. Its aura contains traces of the Illusory Origin Great Dao, an extremely rare power in the Death Origin Realm.
• He deduces that an outsider or exceptionally powerful hidden force may be behind the deception. Rather than intervene immediately, Li Yue decides to observe the unfolding scheme.
• The gathered City Lords begin fighting savagely over the false furnace. Li Yue initially questions why they would fight so desperately when they have little chance of keeping it.
• He then realizes that holding the furnace rapidly improves one’s mastery of the Death Origin Great Dao, meaning many participants are fighting for temporary benefits rather than ownership.
• However, the violence seems unnaturally extreme even by those standards. Li Yue concludes that the Life-and-Death Sky Terrace itself is manipulating life and death, suggesting a far more terrifying secret.

Character Developments

• Li Yue demonstrates caution and sharp perception. Rather than rush into the conflict, he analyzes the furnace and quickly sees through its illusion, revealing his advanced mastery of the Illusory Origin Great Dao.
• His suspicions about the purpose of the Death Origin Realm’s slaughterhouses deepen. He begins to recognize that the battles may be part of a larger mechanism rather than ordinary contests for treasure.
• Jiu’er is revealed as a confident and highly knowledgeable strategist. Although publicly identified only as a City Lord, she possesses access to a formation supposedly created by a Death Dao Master and is central to the plan to forge a new furnace.
• The black-armored Deputy Fate Lord is driven by ambition. Jiu’er’s promise of becoming a Fate Lord Candidate—and possibly a Fate Lord Successor—awakens intense greed and determination in him.

Significant Themes

• Power through death: Life-and-Death Furnaces are formed through the deaths of vast numbers of Dimension-level beings, reinforcing the realm’s connection between advancement and slaughter.
• Illusion and hidden truth: The false furnace emphasizes the danger of appearances and Li Yue’s unique outsider perspective. What seems to be a supreme treasure may actually be bait in a much larger scheme.
• Ambition and succession: The possibility of becoming a Fate Lord drives characters to risk everything, showing how status and future transcendence fuel the conflicts.
• Manipulation by greater powers: The Life-and-Death Sky Terrace may not be a neutral battlefield. Its ability to influence life and death suggests that the contestants themselves could be manipulated sacrifices.
• Outsider status: Li Yue’s unfamiliarity with the Death Origin Realm’s conventions allows him to notice irregularities that native powerhouses overlook.

Character Interactions

• Jiu’er repeatedly reassures the black-armored Deputy Fate Lord that the formation can forge a real Life-and-Death Furnace and encourages his ambition.
• Li Yue does not directly confront the pair but observes the false furnace and suspects that someone from outside the Death Origin Realm may be orchestrating the plot.
• The gathered City Lords violently compete over the furnace, unaware that it is illusory and that their struggle may be serving another purpose.
• The chapter ends with Li Yue making a shocking discovery about the Life-and-Death Sky Terrace, setting up the revelation of its true function.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yue realizes that the illusory Life-and-Death Furnace is gradually becoming real. This is not merely the result of combining the Illusory Origin Great Dao and True Origin Great Dao; the origins of countless fallen Dimension-level undead are being used as the crucial material.
• He deduces that the Life-and-Death Sky Terrace may be a massive “raising gu” scheme, in which Dimension-level beings are forced to slaughter one another so their deaths can forge Life-and-Death Furnaces. Those who obtain and refine a furnace can become Fate Lords.
• This theory explains several strange phenomena: the intense competition surrounding every furnace, the suppression of restorative abilities, and the unusually savage behavior of the undead within the Sky Terrace.
• After more than a hundred Dimension-level undead perish, the fourth furnace finally becomes real. A black-armored Super Dimension-grade powerhouse, identified as Deputy Fate Lord Yun Shan, kills its previous holder and claims it.
• The emergence of the furnace triggers the other three Life-and-Death Furnaces, revealing that four furnaces now exist. The surrounding undead and Deputy Fate Lords realize that the new furnace may not be restricted by the Sky Terrace’s rules.
• The other Deputy Fate Lords initially agree to take one furnace each, but Yun Shan secretly intends to seize three and become invincible within the Sky Terrace.
• As the others depart, a calm white-robed youth—whose strength is below the Top-tier Dimension-level—approaches Yun Shan. Jiu’er recognizes him as the Otherworldly Lifeform for whom the fourth furnace was deliberately created.

Character Developments

• Li Yue grows more aware of the terrifying schemes governing the Death Origin Realm. He recognizes that even Dimension-level beings remain insignificant pawns until they reach Transcendence. Despite his shock, he resolves to seize the furnace for himself.
• Yun Shan reveals ambition and confidence after successfully obtaining the fourth furnace. He plans to refine it, gain Fate Lord Candidate status, and dominate the other furnaces rather than honor the apparent agreement.
• Jiu’er is shown to be connected to the creation of the fourth furnace and reacts with recognition when the white-robed youth arrives, implying that the furnace was forged specifically for him.
• The white-robed youth is introduced as an enigmatic Otherworldly Lifeform whose low apparent cultivation contrasts sharply with his apparent importance.

Significant Themes

• Power and exploitation: The deaths of countless powerful beings are reduced to materials in a greater scheme.
• The gulf between Dimension-level and Transcendent existence: Li Yue realizes that immense strength still offers no escape from the manipulation of higher-level entities.
• Ambition and betrayal: Yun Shan publicly accepts an equal division of the furnaces while privately seeking to monopolize nearly all of them.
• Illusion becoming reality: The transformation of the furnace symbolizes the reversal of the Illusory Origin Great Dao into the True Origin Great Dao through sacrifice and accumulated origins.
• Hidden conspiracies: The Death Origin Realm and possibly the Divine Moon World may conceal similar systems designed to cultivate or control supreme beings.

Character Interactions

• Li Yue observes the battle and analyzes the furnace’s transformation rather than immediately intervening.
• Yun Shan publicly challenges all nearby Dimension-level beings, claiming the fourth furnace as his own.
• The other Deputy Fate Lords exchange glances and form an apparent agreement to divide the four furnaces among themselves, though Yun Shan does not genuinely intend to cooperate.
• Jiu’er identifies the approaching white-robed youth as the intended beneficiary of the fourth furnace, setting up a confrontation between him and Yun Shan.

Chapter Summary: Seizing a Life-and-Death Furnace, His Strength Soared

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yue prepares to compete for one of the remaining Life-and-Death Furnaces and faces Yun Shan, a Super Dimension-grade expert.
• Before the confrontation begins, Jiu’er reveals her true identity as Fate Lord Xian Yue, a subordinate of Death Dao Master Lin Shuang.
• Xian Yue effortlessly kills Yun Shan with a single attack of death lightning, demonstrating the overwhelming power of a Half-step Transcendence-grade expert.
• Acting on Lin Shuang’s orders, Xian Yue gives Li Yue a Life-and-Death Furnace to establish a favorable karmic relationship with him.
• Lin Shuang is punished by the First Death Dao Master for interfering in the Life-and-Death Sky Terrace, though she willingly accepts the punishment.
• The First Death Dao Master explains that Lin Shuang may have foreseen Li Yue’s extraordinary future through her inherited Eyes of Time Origin. He also admits that Li Yue might eventually surpass him.
• Li Yue successfully refines the furnace, becoming a Fate Lord Candidate, a status superior to that of a Deputy Fate Lord.
• Using the furnace on the Ultimate Thirteen Dao Swords, Li Yue greatly improves his comprehension, mastering the second level and unlocking the fourth, fifth, and sixth swords.
• His strength rises dramatically: with only Thousandfold Combat Power, he believes he can now reach the Super Dimension-grade.
• Li Yue sets his sights on the three remaining Life-and-Death Furnaces.

Character Developments

• Li Yue: Gains a major power boost and advances to Fate Lord Candidate status. His understanding of the Ultimate Thirteen Dao Swords improves substantially, increasing his confidence and ambitions.
• Yun Shan: His arrogance and confidence are shattered when he is instantly killed by Xian Yue. His death highlights the vast gap between Super Dimension-grade and Half-step Transcendence-grade experts.
• Fate Lord Xian Yue: Reveals herself as a powerful Fate Lord rather than the seemingly ordinary Jiu’er. She acts courteously toward Li Yue but displays ruthless superiority toward Yun Shan.
• Death Dao Master Lin Shuang: Demonstrates strong confidence in Li Yue’s potential by personally giving him a furnace, despite violating the rules of the Sky Terrace. Her foresight and background are revealed to be extraordinary.
• First Death Dao Master: Shows unusual interest in Li Yue, believing he may eventually surpass even himself.

Significant Themes

• Power and hierarchy: The effortless destruction of Yun Shan emphasizes the enormous differences between cultivation realms.
• Investment in potential: The Death Dao Masters treat Li Yue favorably because of his immense talent and possible future achievements, showing that powerful figures are willing to form alliances early.
• Fate and foresight: Lin Shuang’s Eyes of Time Origin suggest that Li Yue’s future may be extraordinary, reinforcing the theme that destiny influences the actions of major powers.
• Karmic relationships: The Life-and-Death Furnace is not merely a treasure but also a gift intended to create a favorable karmic bond with Li Yue.
• Rapid advancement: Li Yue’s cultivation and sword comprehension surge after obtaining the furnace, accelerating his path toward greater realms.

Character Interactions

• Li Yue and Yun Shan: They confront each other over the furnace, but Xian Yue’s arrival prevents a direct battle.
• Li Yue and Xian Yue: Xian Yue respectfully addresses Li Yue and gifts him the furnace, while Li Yue remains cautious and prepares his strongest defensive measures.
• Xian Yue and Yun Shan: Xian Yue dismisses Yun Shan as insignificant and kills him instantly after he reacts to her identity.
• Lin Shuang and the First Death Dao Master: Lin Shuang accepts punishment for interfering, while the First Death Dao Master acknowledges both her talent and her possible foresight.
• The First Death Dao Master and Fate Lord Ling: He explains why the Death Dao Masters are interested in Li Yue and orders that no one interfere with his opportunities in the Sky Terrace.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• On Desolate Mountain in the Death Origin Realm, Li Yue observes the fierce battles surrounding the remaining three Life-and-Death Furnaces. Dimension-level undead are fighting desperately for the furnaces, the chance to become Fate Lord Candidates, and the possibility of ultimately becoming Fate Lords.
• Reflecting on the endless competition among all beings—from mortals and Great Emperors to Transcenders and even entire dimensions—Li Yue embraces the principle of contention. He declares that his will is also to contend.
• Li Yue’s sixth sword of the Ultimate Thirteen Dao Swords, the My Will Sword Light, absorbs the other five sword lights and gains a stronger “ultimate intent” centered on striving forward and competing for destiny.
• He attacks two Deputy Fate Lords battling over one of the furnaces. With two devastating sword strikes, he severely wounds both, annihilates the Top-tier Dimension-level Deputy Fate Lord, and forces the Super Dimension-grade Deputy Fate Lord to flee.
• Li Yue claims the first Life-and-Death Furnace. His strength is enhanced by the suppression of Dimension-level beings within the Life-and-Death Sky Terrace, his Fate Lord Candidate status, and his Three-thousand-fold Combat Power.
• He then moves to a second battlefield and uses only three swords to force another Super Dimension-grade Deputy Fate Lord to abandon the fight and flee, securing the second furnace.
• With only one furnace remaining, Li Yue confronts its owner, Zhang Hui, a Super Dimension-grade Deputy Fate Lord serving the Lightless Fate Lord. Zhang Hui politely asks Li Yue to let him take the furnace so that the Lightless Fate Lord will remember Li Yue’s “kindness.”

Character Developments

• Li Yue: His mindset shifts decisively toward open competition. Rather than merely observing the struggle for destiny, he accepts contention as an unavoidable principle and makes it the core intent of his swordsmanship. His newly strengthened My Will Sword Light demonstrates a major increase in power, allowing him to dominate powerful Deputy Fate Lords and seize multiple furnaces.
• Deputy Fate Lords: Several powerful opponents are shown to be completely outmatched by Li Yue. Their confidence collapses into terror once they realize he possesses strength approaching the Invincible Dimension-level.
• Zhang Hui: Unlike the previous opponents who fought or fled, Zhang Hui attempts negotiation. He invokes his connection to the Lightless Fate Lord and tries to persuade Li Yue to surrender the final furnace without conflict.

Significant Themes

• Contention as the nature of existence: All beings, regardless of status, must compete for greater power, freedom, safety, and destiny. Even the strongest Transcenders and dimensions remain locked in struggle.
• Destiny and self-determination: Becoming a Fate Lord symbolizes truly grasping one’s own destiny. Li Yue’s declaration that “my will is to contend” reflects his refusal to remain beneath others or passively accept fate.
• The fragility of life and power: Li Yue recognizes that even beings who once dominated vast dimensions can fall suddenly in battle, emphasizing the uncertainty and danger of the world.
• Strength and authority: Li Yue’s overwhelming power allows him to claim opportunities directly, while Zhang Hui’s request suggests that political influence and the reputation of the Lightless Fate Lord may still matter—but only if Li Yue chooses to respect them.

Character Interactions

• Li Yue clashes with two Deputy Fate Lords, overwhelming them with his sword intent; one is killed and the other retreats in fear.
• He similarly confronts a second Deputy Fate Lord, whose desperate resistance lasts only three swords before he flees.
• The surrounding City Lords witness Li Yue’s victories with shock and awe, recognizing him as an exceptionally terrifying existence.
• Zhang Hui directly addresses Li Yue and appeals to the authority of the Lightless Fate Lord, asking for permission to take the final furnace and promising that Li Yue’s favor will be reported and remembered.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yue refuses to surrender the fourth Life-and-Death Furnace despite Zhang Hui invoking the authority of Fate Lord Wuhui. He declares that the furnace belongs to whoever can seize it and threatens to kill Zhang Hui if he interferes.
• Zhang Hui recognizes that Li Yue is overwhelmingly powerful. Li Yue has already defeated other Super Dimension-grade Deputy Fate Lords in only a few exchanges, leaving Zhang Hui no choice but to retreat and abandon the furnace.
• Li Yue claims all four Life-and-Death Furnaces, exceeding even the record of the nine Death Dao Masters, who had once seized three each.
• Satisfied with his achievement, Li Yue plans to leave the Life-and-Death Sky Terrace, gather the required Extinction Lights and Lights of Ultimate Life, and advance to the Super Taboo Divine Rank. Until then, he retreats to a desolate mountain to cultivate and temper his Ultimate Thirteen Dao Swords.
• Elsewhere, Fate Lord Wuhui waits for Zhang Hui to obtain a furnace for his only son, A Xin. Wuhui intends to use the furnace to grant A Xin Fate Lord Candidate Status, compensating for his son’s weak cultivation potential.
• When Zhang Hui emerges without a furnace, Wuhui publicly demands an explanation. Zhang Hui reveals that Li Yue seized all the furnaces, and the other Deputy Fate Lords confirm his accusation.
• The chapter ends as Fate Lord Wuhui fixes his cold gaze upon Li Yue, clearly preparing to confront him.

Character Developments

• Li Yue displays increasing confidence and ruthlessness. He is fully aware that Fate Lords are vastly stronger than himself, yet refuses to surrender a supreme opportunity merely to preserve their dignity. His priority remains personal advancement and the pursuit of power.
• Zhang Hui shifts from confidence to fear and submission. Although he initially tries to invoke Wuhui’s name, Li Yue’s overwhelming strength forces him to abandon the furnace and prioritize survival.
• Fate Lord Wuhui is established as domineering, authoritative, and deeply protective of his only son. His confidence in Zhang Hui turns to anger and humiliation when he learns that his promised furnace has been taken.
• A Xin is portrayed as ambitious but dependent on his father’s influence. He hopes the furnace will allow him to gain Fate Lord Candidate Status and eventually reach the Dimension-level.
• The other Deputy Fate Lords reveal their fear and self-preservation by immediately directing Wuhui’s anger toward Li Yue.

Significant Themes

• Power versus authority: Li Yue refuses to respect Wuhui’s status when it conflicts with his own pursuit of opportunity, showing that absolute strength can challenge established hierarchy.
• Survival and pragmatism: Zhang Hui abandons the furnace because preserving his life matters more than obeying Wuhui’s command.
• Parental favoritism and inherited privilege: Wuhui uses his immense status to secure opportunities for A Xin, allowing his son to bypass normal stages of advancement.
• Competition for destiny: The Life-and-Death Furnaces symbolize the brutal struggle for advancement, status, and access to greater power.
• Growing conflict: Li Yue’s seizure of all four furnaces creates a direct confrontation between an ambitious rising powerhouse and an established Half-step Transcendence-grade Fate Lord.

Important Character Interactions

• Li Yue and Zhang Hui: Li Yue orders Zhang Hui to abandon the furnace and threatens him indirectly with death. Zhang Hui submits after witnessing Li Yue’s strength.
• Wuhui and A Xin: Wuhui reassures his son that the furnace will belong to him, revealing both his affection and his determination to manipulate others on A Xin’s behalf.
• Wuhui and Zhang Hui: Wuhui expects Zhang Hui to fulfill their agreement but publicly pressures him when he fails, exposing Zhang Hui’s fear.
• Wuhui and the Deputy Fate Lords: Wuhui’s intimidating gaze forces the other Deputy Fate Lords to identify Li Yue as the one responsible.
• Wuhui and Li Yue: Their confrontation is only beginning; the chapter closes with Wuhui’s anger focused directly on Li Yue.

Chapter Summary

• Li Yue’s victory and its implications: After conquering the Life-and-Death Sky Terrace, Li Yue reveals that he possesses all three Life-and-Death Furnaces. The surrounding undead are astonished, since each furnace represents the status and opportunity of a Fate Lord Candidate. Some consider buying one from him, but the appearance of the Lightless Fate Lord makes them realize that Li Yue may be unable to keep them.
• Lightless Fate Lord’s demand: The Lightless Fate Lord orders Li Yue to surrender one furnace, claiming that it originally belonged to Zhang Hui, one of his subordinates. Though Death Origin City forbids fighting, he assumes Li Yue will submit because a Fate Lord is vastly stronger than a Deputy Fate Lord. He also implies that Li Yue can be killed after leaving the city, since beings may remain there for only one kalpa.
• Li Yue challenges the system: Rather than yield, Li Yue questions whether Fate Lords are allowed to seize the rewards of Life-and-Death Sky Terrace victors. He argues that if such behavior is permitted, the Sky Terrace will become the private preserve of Fate Lords, destroying the advancement path of countless city lords and Deputy Fate Lords. His words cause many onlookers to realize that the Lightless Fate Lord’s actions threaten their own futures.
• The Lightless Fate Lord attacks: Enraged, the Lightless Fate Lord discovers that Li Yue is an outsider with no fundamental causality connected to the Death Origin Realm. Believing he can kill an outsider with relatively little consequence, he launches a devastating Half-step Transcendence-grade blade attack. The surrounding undead are overwhelmed by its power, while Li Yue prepares a Qian Origin One-Qi Thunder Bead, a treasure capable of severely injuring and potentially killing a Half-step Transcendence-grade opponent if both beads are used.
• Chen Yu Dao Master intervenes: Before Li Yue can retaliate, an icy voice commands the Lightless Fate Lord to stop. A faint light descends from the Firmament, annihilates the blade attack, and sends the Lightless Fate Lord flying thirty thousand li, leaving him injured and weakened. A mysterious green-robed figure then appears amid immense death radiance.
• Revelation and regret: The figure is identified as Chen Yu Dao Master, one of the supreme Death Dao Masters. The Lightless Fate Lord immediately kneels and pays respects, terrified that his actions have attracted Chen Yu Dao Master’s attention. He realizes that Li Yue may be connected to this supreme existence and deeply regrets provoking him.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Li Yue remains calm and defiant despite facing a Fate Lord. He uses logical and public criticism to expose the broader consequences of the Lightless Fate Lord’s demand, while secretly preparing a powerful defensive counterattack.
• The Lightless Fate Lord shifts from arrogant confidence to fury, then to fear and regret after his attack is effortlessly stopped. His belief in his absolute superiority is shattered by Chen Yu Dao Master’s intervention.
• Chen Yu Dao Master is introduced as an overwhelmingly powerful and authoritative figure whose single casual strike can injure a Half-step Transcendence-grade Fate Lord.
• The surrounding city lords and Deputy Fate Lords move from shock and curiosity to fear, then to renewed astonishment when Chen Yu Dao Master appears. Li Yue’s argument also aligns their interests with his against the unchecked authority of Fate Lords.

Significant Themes

• Power and hierarchy: Fate Lords dominate the Death Origin Realm, but the arrival of a Death Dao Master reveals an even higher level of authority.
• Justice and access to opportunity: Li Yue exposes how allowing powerful figures to seize Life-and-Death Furnaces would eliminate fair advancement for weaker cultivators.
• Defiance against oppression: Li Yue refuses to submit simply because his opponent has greater status, using both rhetoric and overwhelming hidden power to preserve his position.
• Pride and reversal: The Lightless Fate Lord’s confidence collapses when a superior force intervenes, leaving him fearful and regretful.
• Hidden alliances and consequences: The chapter ends by suggesting that Li Yue may have a significant connection to Chen Yu Dao Master, creating uncertainty about his true background and future protection.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Yu Dao Master, one of the nine supreme Death Dao Masters and a genuine Transcender, descends upon Death Origin City. His appearance causes every undead being—including those outside the Death Sky Platform—to kneel in fear and reverence.
• Li Yue remains standing but is fully aware that he would be utterly powerless against Chen Yu Dao Master. He stays calm because, as a Deity, he can revive in the Three Thousand Dimensions through a drop of essence blood preserved in Azure Cloud Ultimate Dao Mountain, though losing his current body would also destroy his “Divine Domain.”
• Chen Yu explains that Huangtian Dao Master and Linshuang Dao Master have already formed favorable bonds with Li Yue. Although he does not understand their intentions, he trusts their judgment and decides to follow their example.
• Chen Yu directly attacks the Lightless Fate Lord, extracting all of his fundamental power into a dazzling Seven-Colored Pearl. Despite the Lightless Fate Lord’s desperate pleas for mercy, Chen Yu erases him completely.
• Chen Yu gives the Seven-Colored Pearl to Li Yue. The pearl contains the full power of a Half-step Transcendence-grade undead being and can protect Li Yue from one death calamity—even against a Transcender, provided the attacker is not stronger than Chen Yu.
• Chen Yu acknowledges that Li Yue, as an Otherworldly Lifeform, cannot become a “Fate Lord Successor,” but expresses hope that Li Yue will transcend before they meet again.
• After Chen Yu departs, Li Yue leaves Death Origin City and returns to the Three Thousand Dimensions. He begins considering which three Transcendence secret arts to enhance using the three Life-and-Death Furnaces.

Character Developments

• Li Yue: Demonstrates composure in the presence of an overwhelmingly powerful Transcender. His confidence in his ability to revive allows him to face potential death calmly, though he recognizes the severe cost of losing his current body and Divine Domain. Receiving the Seven-Colored Pearl greatly improves his chances of surviving future death calamities. His ambition to reach Transcendence is also strengthened.
• Chen Yu Dao Master: Is portrayed as patient, humble, and unusually persistent. He describes a life in which he advanced slowly, repeatedly breaking through only when near the end of his lifespan, while more talented peers surpassed and eventually died before him. His survival and eventual transcendence reveal his defining strength: endurance and keen observation. He chooses to support Li Yue based on the trust placed in Li Yue by Huangtian and Linshuang.
• Lightless Fate Lord: Undergoes a final reversal from an aggressive power-seeker to a terrified victim. His attempt to seize a Life-and-Death Furnace results in his destruction, and he dies overwhelmed by regret after realizing that Chen Yu supports Li Yue.

Significant Themes

• Persistence over innate talent: Chen Yu’s history emphasizes that slow, determined cultivation can ultimately surpass natural genius.
• The value of alliances and trust: Li Yue benefits from the favorable relationships formed with Huangtian and Linshuang Dao Masters, as their influence persuades Chen Yu to protect him.
• The vast gap created by Transcendence: The chapter reinforces that genuine Transcenders exist on an entirely different level from Half-step Transcendence beings and other powerful lifeforms.
• Death and rebirth: The Seven-Colored Pearl embodies the principle that “from death comes life,” while Li Yue’s own resurrection ability shows that death is not necessarily final—but still carries enormous costs.
• Ambition and future growth: Li Yue’s awe at Chen Yu’s power becomes motivation for his own future advancement toward Transcendence.

Character Interactions

• Li Yue and Chen Yu Dao Master: Li Yue respectfully greets Chen Yu, while Chen Yu explains his decision to favor him and grants him the Seven-Colored Pearl as a goodwill gesture. Their interaction establishes a new protective alliance.
• Chen Yu and the Lightless Fate Lord: The relationship is entirely one-sided. The Lightless Fate Lord begs for mercy, but Chen Yu silently destroys him, demonstrating the absolute authority of a Transcender.
• Li Yue and the other Dao Masters: Though Huangtian and Linshuang do not appear directly, their previous alliances with Li Yue influence Chen Yu’s decision and become the foundation for Li Yue’s continued protection.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yue arrives in the Three Thousand Dimensions and is relieved not to have been transported back into the First Dimension, where he is wanted for killing numerous Taboo Grade Asuras.
• While traveling toward the Dimension of Myriad Daos, he senses an enormous procession moving through Endless Darkness. It consists of:
  • A bronze eight-bearer sedan
  • A Dimension-level presence
  • Over one hundred Taboo Lives
  • More than a million Dao Ancestor-level followers
• The procession belongs to a powerful ancient woman traveling to the Nine Heavens Emperor Lord’s reopened Great Luo Banquet.
• The woman’s projection confronts Li Yue after detecting that he was observing the procession. Li Yue explains that he merely encountered them by chance.
• She reveals that the Nine Heavens Emperor Lord is a Top-tier Dimension-level powerhouse, ranked among the fifty greatest beings in Three Thousand Dimensions history. He possesses a secret art capable of locating every Dimension-level Taboo Life in the dimensions.
• Li Yue, intrigued by this ability and eager to learn more about the hidden Dimension-level powers in his homeland, asks to attend the banquet despite lacking an invitation.
• The woman permits him to follow the procession, recognizing that any Dimension-level being technically qualifies to attend.
• Li Yue follows using the Tiger Soul Puppet gifted to him by Qian Bao.
• Inside the sedan, the elderly attendant questions why an unknown, uninvited Dimension-level being was allowed to come. The palace-dressed woman identifies Li Yue as a Dimension-level Deity—the current Divine Path Leader.
• The attendant is shocked, since every Divine Path Leader historically reaches the Pinnacle of the Top-tier Dimension-level, making Li Yue far more powerful and significant than she initially assumed.

Character Developments

• Li Yue: Demonstrates caution after his conflict with the First Dimension, but remains bold and opportunistic. His interest in the Great Luo Banquet is driven by the chance to acquire information about every Dimension-level Taboo Life in the Three Thousand Dimensions.
• The palace-dressed woman: Reveals herself to be highly perceptive and knowledgeable. She quickly identifies Li Yue’s true status and treats him with measured respect.
• The elderly woman: Initially views Li Yue as a potentially insignificant or suspicious Ordinary Dimension-level being. She becomes astonished upon learning that he is the current Divine Path Leader.
• Nine Heavens Emperor Lord: Though absent from the chapter, he is established as an extremely powerful figure, nearly Super Dimension-grade, with a unique ability to locate all Dimension-level Taboo Lives.

Significant Themes

• Power and recognition: Li Yue’s true identity carries far greater weight than his outwardly obscure aura suggests.
• Hidden strength and deception: His ability to conceal his cultivation allows others to underestimate him, while the palace-dressed woman’s insight reveals the danger of judging by appearances.
• The importance of information: Li Yue values the banquet primarily because it may reveal the distribution and identities of the Three Thousand Dimensions’ strongest hidden beings.
• Hierarchy and legacy: The Divine Path Leader’s historical reputation, the First Heavenly Court’s authority, and the Nine Heavens Emperor Lord’s standing emphasize the immense power structures governing the setting.
• Return to the homeland: Li Yue’s concern for the Azure Cloud Sea Lineage, the Qian Origin Lineage, and the wider Three Thousand Dimensions shows his growing responsibility toward his home realm.

Character Interactions

• Li Yue and the projected palace-dressed woman exchange polite but cautious words after she detects his observation.
• Li Yue directly requests access to the Great Luo Banquet, and she agrees to let him accompany the procession.
• The elderly attendant privately questions the woman’s decision, worried that Li Yue is an unknown and possibly underqualified outsider.
• The palace-dressed woman corrects her attendant’s judgment by identifying Li Yue as the Divine Path Leader, prompting the attendant’s shock and reevaluation of his status.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The eldest princess of the First Heavenly Court decides to share secrets and inheritances related to the Gray Valley Ark and Qian Origin Divine Mountain with the Divine Path Leader at the upcoming Great Luo Banquet. She views this as a favor and dismisses the Heavenly Emperor’s possible displeasure, calling him merely a puppet.
• Her old attendant warns that the massacre in the Tianlin Great Region may be connected to the Divine Path Leader and could anger the Heavenly Emperor, since Tianlin King belongs to his lineage.
• Li Yue reflects on the mysterious bronze sedan’s occupants. He senses that another aura may be hidden inside and finds the old woman’s presence unnatural, possibly even originating from the legendary First Dimension.
• Preparing for cultivation, Li Yue creates a powerful defensive formation using a Top-tier Dimension-level array disk Supreme Treasure.
• He reviews his major secret arts and decides to use one of his Life-and-Death Furnaces to empower “Hai Wudao,” a supreme secret art of the Azure Cloud Sea Lineage that he has not yet begun cultivating.
• The cultivation succeeds after ten years. “Hai Wudao” reaches the First Level, fundamentally transforming Li Yue’s divine body through the fusion of forty-nine Origin Great Daos.
• The transformation doubles the strength of everything within him, including his Divine Domain. Without activating Thousandfold Combat Power, Li Yue reaches the upper-middle level of the High-grade Dimension-level; with it, he is expected to reach the Super Dimension-grade.
• He plans to use his remaining two Life-and-Death Furnaces on “Qian Origin Eternal Body” and “Great Void Time-Space.”
• The group arrives at a palace complex filled with Flat Peach trees in the Endless Darkness. Li Yue detects a Half-step Transcendence-grade aura inside, suggesting a powerful being is present.

Character Developments

• Li Yue grows dramatically stronger after cultivating “Hai Wudao.” The technique does more than increase combat power—it elevates his fundamental life essence, making his entire existence more powerful.
• His confidence and ambition increase as he moves closer to the Transcendence realm and ultimately the mysterious Beyond Transcendence realm.
• Li Yue remains cautious and observant, particularly regarding the strange old woman and the hidden power within the bronze sedan.
• The eldest princess is portrayed as politically confident and highly influential. She is willing to aid Li Yue despite the Heavenly Emperor’s authority, revealing that she does not regard him as a genuine threat.
• The old woman acts as a cautious adviser, concerned about the political consequences of helping Li Yue.

Significant Themes

• Power through fundamental transformation: “Hai Wudao” illustrates that the greatest advancement is not merely increased cultivation, but an evolution in the essence of life itself.
• The vastness of cultivation: The fusion of forty-nine Origin Great Daos emphasizes the extraordinary difficulty and scale of supreme secret arts.
• Political power and hidden hierarchies: The eldest princess’s dismissal of the Heavenly Emperor suggests deeper power structures within the First Heavenly Court.
• Mystery and concealed origins: The old woman’s unusual aura and the possible connection to the First Dimension introduce uncertainty about her identity and allegiance.
• Relentless pursuit of transcendence: Li Yue’s continued use of the Life-and-Death Furnaces reflects his determination to reach ever-higher realms.

Character Interactions

• The eldest princess and the old woman discuss aiding Li Yue and the possible backlash from the Heavenly Emperor.
• Li Yue does not directly confront the sedan’s occupants but internally evaluates their strength and origins.
• His main “interaction” in the chapter is with the Hai Wudao secret art, whose cultivation profoundly changes him.
• The chapter ends by setting up a future encounter between Li Yue and the mysterious Half-step Transcendence-grade being within the Flat Peach palace complex.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yue detects a powerful aura near the Great Luo Banquet and realizes it comes not from a Half-step Transcendence-grade lifeform, but from a Half-step Transcendence-grade supreme treasure that has developed self-awareness.
• He compares it to Minglou Heavenly Venerable’s Dao-proving artifact, concluding that such a treasure would possess strength close to that of an ultimate Half-step Transcendence-grade expert—far beyond ordinary Dimension-level beings.
• Li Yue identifies the treasure’s origin as Qian Origin Divine Mountain, a faction famous for refining supreme treasures. He consults the Qian Origin Scroll and determines that the treasure is probably the Life-and-Death Reincarnation Mirror, one of six Half-step Transcendence-grade treasures created by Qian Bao.
• He wonders whether the treasure’s former owner, Divine Firmament Emperor Lord, is connected to the Nine Heavens Emperor Lord, who is hosting the banquet. Li Yue remains unconcerned because all Qian Origin Divine Mountain treasures contain a secret “back door” known only to the lineage’s ruler.
• At the entrance to the Flat Peach forest, the First Heavenly Court’s Eldest Princess arrives in her bronze palanquin. Her Dao protector, the half-bald old woman, asks Qingyu—an attendant of the Nine Heavens Emperor Lord—to accommodate Li Yue, whom the Eldest Princess invited to the banquet.
• Qingyu is surprised that the proud Eldest Princess would personally invite an unfamiliar Dimension-level Taboo Life. He questions Li Yue’s identity and asks why he has never heard of “Ming Lou.”
• Li Yue claims that his master is Jiang, one of the most powerful and ancient Half-step Transcendence-grade beings in the Three Thousand Dimensions. He manifests a phantom of Jiang using the Time-Life Orb to support the claim.
• Qingyu, the Eldest Princess’s protector, and the princess herself are all shocked by the revelation that Li Yue may be Jiang’s disciple.

Character Developments

• Li Yue: Demonstrates his exceptional perception, knowledge of supreme treasures, and strategic caution. He continues hiding his true identity, using the name “Ming Lou” and presenting himself as Jiang’s disciple. His ability to manipulate the situation shows growing confidence and political intelligence.
• The Eldest Princess: Reveals a willingness to cultivate relationships with promising figures. After recognizing Li Yue as the future Leader of the Divine Path and a potential Top-tier Dimension-level existence, she deliberately extends him a favor.
• Qingyu: Initially skeptical of Li Yue, but becomes deeply shocked and respectful after hearing Jiang’s name. His reaction emphasizes Jiang’s enormous reputation.
• Jiang: Though absent, his legacy and reputation dominate the interaction. His name alone commands awe from powerful beings.
• The Nine Heavens Emperor Lord: Gains further importance as the host of the banquet and master of at least one Dimension-level Taboo Life, suggesting that his faction is extraordinarily powerful.

Significant Themes

• Power concealed within objects: Supreme treasures with self-awareness can rival the strongest living beings, blurring the distinction between lifeforms and artifacts.
• The legacy of ancient factions: Qian Origin Divine Mountain’s treasures and Jiang’s reputation demonstrate how the influence of ancient powers continues shaping the present.
• Political maneuvering and alliances: The Eldest Princess’s invitation and Li Yue’s acceptance create a potential alliance based on future value and mutual advantage.
• Identity and deception: Li Yue conceals his true origins and uses a fabricated—or at least carefully constructed—identity to gain status and protection.
• Power of reputation: Jiang’s name immediately changes how others perceive Li Yue, showing that prestige can be as influential as strength.

Important Character Interactions

• Li Yue internally analyzes the mysterious supreme treasure and its connection to Qian Origin Divine Mountain.
• The Eldest Princess’s protector politely asks Qingyu to admit Li Yue to the banquet.
• Qingyu questions Li Yue’s unknown background and challenges his identity.
• Li Yue responds by invoking Jiang’s name and displaying a phantom of him, causing Qingyu, the protector, and the Eldest Princess to react with astonishment.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• The Divine Path is widely hated throughout the Three Thousand Dimensions because, unlike individual cultivation paths such as the Immortal and Martial Paths, it expands by seizing territory, gathering believers, and creating subordinate gods. Other factions fear that its unchecked growth would allow it to dominate all dimensions.
• The Divine Path’s former leaders were extremely powerful, often reaching the pinnacle of Dimension-level cultivation or even Half-step Transcendence. After their eventual deaths, old enemies took revenge against the entire Divine Path, leaving it surrounded by hostile factions.
• Li Yue decides to keep a low profile at the Great Luo Banquet. He plans to create an identity, conceal his Divine Path aura with the Half-step Transcendence-grade Time-Life Orb, and obtain a rare secret art belonging to the Nine Heavens Emperor Lord.
• His plan is complicated by the presence of the eldest princess of the First Heavenly Court, who travels with him and may already have recognized him as a Divine Path Leader. Li Yue suspects she invited him because she knows or suspects his true identity.
• Li Yue and the eldest princess enter the banquet palace, where seventeen Dimension-level Taboo Lives—including three Top-tier Dimension-level beings—have gathered.
• The attending beings are all aliens, with no Human Race Dimension-level cultivators present. This unusual composition immediately makes Li Yue suspicious that he has entered an alien power’s inner circle.
• The Nine Heavens Emperor Lord announces that he has discovered the identity of the mysterious being who has hunted and killed their kind across the Three Thousand Dimensions for more than a thousand eras.

2. Character Developments

• Li Yue: Becomes more cautious and politically aware. He recognizes the historical hostility toward the Divine Path and understands that revealing his identity could place him in grave danger. His observation of the banquet’s attendees shows his growing suspicion and strategic thinking.
• Eldest Princess of the First Heavenly Court: Her decision to accompany Li Yue becomes increasingly significant. She may have already seen through his disguise or recognized him as a Divine Path Leader, suggesting that her intentions toward him remain unclear.
• Nine Heavens Emperor Lord: Establishes himself as a powerful and respected leader among the alien races. His lineage has killed four Human Race leaders, and he commands enough influence to summon hidden Dimension-level beings from across the Three Thousand Dimensions.
• The alien Dimension-level beings: Their hostility toward the Human Race is revealed. Many participated in ancient campaigns against Human Race leaders and justify those actions as retaliation or self-defense.

3. Significant Themes

• Historical hatred and inherited conflict: The Divine Path’s past dominance created enemies whose hostility continues long after its former leaders have fallen.
• Power and survival: Factions justify conquest, suppression, and assassination as necessary measures to prevent another power from becoming the sole ruler of the Three Thousand Dimensions.
• Disguise and political danger: Li Yue must conceal both his identity and his cultivation path while entering a gathering filled with potential enemies.
• Revisionist views of history: The alien races portray themselves as victims of Jiang Emperor’s actions, claiming that he altered the dimensions’ laws and made their reproduction extremely difficult. Their account contrasts with the Human Race’s likely perspective.
• Suspicion and hidden agendas: Nearly every major character may be concealing information. The banquet itself appears to be more than a social gathering, and Li Yue’s invitation may be part of a larger scheme.

4. Character Interactions

• Li Yue travels with the eldest princess in her bronze sedan chair and follows her into the palace complex, creating an alliance that is both useful and dangerous.
• Qingyu formally welcomes the eldest princess and Li Yue on behalf of the Nine Heavens Emperor Lord.
• Before Li Yue’s arrival, several alien powerhouses mock the idea that he is truly Jiang Emperor’s disciple and discuss the ancient enmity between the Human Race and their races.
• The aliens debate the historical actions of Jiang Emperor, with some claiming that his efforts to elevate the Human Race oppressed and weakened their species.
• The Nine Heavens Emperor Lord silences the discussion and redirects everyone’s attention to the mysterious hunter targeting their races.
• When Li Yue enters, he silently assesses the assembled beings and realizes that the banquet may be an exclusive gathering of hostile alien forces, making his chosen identity as Jiang Emperor’s disciple potentially dangerous.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• The Great Luo Banquet begins, hosted by Nine Heavens Emperor Lord and attended by numerous alien Dimension-level beings, the Eldest Princess of the First Heavenly Court, and Li Yue, who is posing as Ming Lou, a disciple of Jiang Emperor.
• The Eldest Princess reveals that she came on behalf of Ancient Cultivator King, a terrifying Half-step Transcendence-level expert of the First Dimension. She demands information about Qian Origin Divine Mountain, which is the only matter Ancient Cultivator King cares about.
• Li Yue notices that every alien Dimension-level being present—including Nine Heavens Emperor Lord—harbors concealed hostility toward him and the Human Race. Despite this, he remains calm, intending to eliminate them after learning their secrets.
• Nine Heavens Emperor Lord serves the guests rare Nine Dao Life-and-Death Immortal Peaches, which aid comprehension of the Life and Death Origin Great Daos. Li Yue is deliberately excluded from receiving one, and the aliens openly mock him.
• After the banquet guests eat, the Eldest Princess presses Nine Heavens Emperor Lord to reveal the promised secret.
• Nine Heavens Emperor Lord announces that a disciple has emerged from Qian Origin Divine Mountain.
• The guests are shocked, realizing that this disciple is the mysterious pursuer who has hunted them across the past thousand epochs. Their group once contained twenty-six Dimension-level beings, including five Top-tier beings, but nine have already been killed—two of them Top-tier—by this unknown pursuer.
• The chapter ends with the group questioning why a disciple of Qian Origin Divine Mountain has been targeting them.

2. Character Developments

• Li Yue remains composed despite being surrounded by enemies. He recognizes the danger but is confident in his own strength and plans to use the gathering to identify and destroy the hostile Dimension-level beings.
• He also becomes more curious about Qian Origin Divine Mountain, especially because the enemy’s strongest trump card—the Life-and-Death Reincarnation Realm Patriarch—originated there.
• The Eldest Princess is shown to possess powerful backing through Ancient Cultivator King, raising questions about her connection to him and whether he may be linked to the Imperial Clan of the First Heavenly Court.
• Nine Heavens Emperor Lord appears outwardly gracious but is secretly hostile toward Li Yue. He deliberately excludes Li Yue from the Immortal Peach offering while presenting himself as a benevolent host.
• The alien Dimension-level beings reveal their fear and shock when they learn the identity of the mysterious hunter who has slaughtered many of their comrades.

3. Significant Themes

• Hidden hostility beneath formal courtesy: The banquet’s refined atmosphere masks widespread hatred and murderous intent toward Li Yue and the Human Race.
• Power and backing: The mention of Ancient Cultivator King emphasizes the overwhelming influence of Half-step Transcendence-level beings and the importance of alliances with supreme factions.
• Secrets and information as weapons: The Great Luo Banquet is not merely a social gathering; it is a calculated meeting centered on intelligence about Qian Origin Divine Mountain.
• Calmness amid danger: Li Yue’s composure contrasts with the hidden schemes surrounding him, highlighting his confidence and growing strength.
• The terrifying reach of Qian Origin Divine Mountain: The emergence of even one disciple is enough to shock the Three Thousand Dimensions, suggesting that the faction exists on a level far beyond ordinary Dimension-level powers.

4. Character Interactions

• Eldest Princess and Nine Heavens Emperor Lord: She directly challenges him to reveal the secret information, invoking Ancient Cultivator King’s authority. He delays briefly with the peach ceremony before answering.
• Li Yue and the alien guests: The aliens mock Li Yue for being Human and deny him the Immortal Peach, while Li Yue responds with polite indifference and silently prepares to deal with them.
• Eldest Princess and Li Yue: She observes Li Yue’s calm behavior and recognizes the aliens’ hostility toward him, seemingly finding the situation interesting rather than intervening.
• Nine Heavens Emperor Lord and Li Yue: Their courteous exchange conceals mutual distrust. Nine Heavens Emperor Lord suspects Li Yue may possess an escape method, while Li Yue has already identified him as an enemy.
• Nine Heavens Emperor Lord and the assembled Dimension-level beings: He reveals the existence of the Qian Origin Divine Mountain disciple, causing collective shock and forcing the group to confront the reason behind their recent losses.