Chapter Summaries

Tian Xuan resisted Huineng’s attempt to capture him until the Straw Cape Old Man intervened and drew away four Vajras and the Cloud Mountain Temple monk. As the Buddhist Kingdom prepared to punish the fallen youths, a mysterious man arrived, challenged its treatment of them, and said he had come to find someone about an urgent event outside.

• Tian Xuan refused to yield after the old monk broke both his legs and began circulating his divine power to self-destruct.
• The Straw Cape Old Man stopped Tian Xuan, knocked him unconscious, and confronted Huineng about the Buddhist Kingdom’s actions.
• The Straw Cape Old Man flew off to fight four Vajras and the Cloud Mountain Temple monk, who followed him away from the Buddha Fate Assembly.
• Huineng ordered Chen Shisan and Tian Xuan stripped of their cultivation and imprisoned, while the others were sentenced to one hundred years in the Buddha Pagoda.
• A mysterious man arrived, examined the injured youths, criticized the Buddhist Kingdom’s punishment, and said he had come to find someone about a major event outside.

Chen Changsheng exposed the scheme that had divided the Buddhist Kingdom and forced Huineng to hand over Heaven's Mandate and open the way to the Merit Pool. After the Buddhist Kingdom accepted defeat, Chen Changsheng revealed that Zhang Bairen already held this lifetime's Heaven's Mandate.

• The mysterious man threatened to kill Tian Xuan, Chen Shisan, and Qian Bao'er unless someone intervened, and Linglong rose to act.
• Linglong confessed her feelings for Tian Xuan, renounced Buddhism, destroyed her cultivation, and gave him the Vajra Pestle.
• A Big White Dog restored Chen Shisan and the others as Chen Changsheng appeared and identified the Merit Pool as his goal.
• Chen Changsheng rejected Huineng's appeal to karma and explained that the Buddhist Kingdom's divisions had left it unable to resist him.
• Huineng accepted defeat and handed Heaven's Mandate to Chen Changsheng.
• Chen Changsheng explained how he had exploited the Buddhist Kingdom's hope for Heaven's Mandate, then told Zhang Bairen that the mandate already belonged to him.

Chen Changsheng secured access to the Buddhist Kingdom's Merit Pool after revealing his power and warning Huayang Grotto-Heaven that he would destroy it. As Chen Shisan and Tian Xuan recovered, Tian Xuan explained Chen Changsheng's plan and asked why Linglong was still alive.

• Chen Changsheng treated Chen Shisan and the others, sent Zhang Bairen away with Qian Bao'er, and told the gathered factions to leave while warning Huayang Grotto-Heaven not to scatter before he killed them.
• The witnesses connected Chen Changsheng's words to legends about the Desolate Heaven Emperor and hurried away, while Cang Hong realized he was far beneath the great figures involved.
• At the Merit Pool, Chen Shisan woke and mistook Chen Changsheng for someone who had died, so Chen Changsheng struck him and told him to wake Tian Xuan.
• Tian Xuan learned that the woman he cared for was alive but had lost her cultivation, and Chen Changsheng offered to help restore it.
• Tian Xuan explained how Chen Changsheng had infiltrated the Buddhist Kingdom and used Chen Shisan, the Cloud Mountain Temple affair, and Linglong to force it to yield the Merit Pool.
• Chen Changsheng agreed that Linglong had been central to the plan, and Tian Xuan asked whether Chen Changsheng had spared her out of pity.

Chen Changsheng explained how the Straw Cape Old Man was exiled from the Mystic Bird Clan after falling in love with the Clan Leader’s wife, and said the Buddhist Kingdom would likely punish him for helping Tian Xuan. Chen Changsheng sent Chen Shisan into the Merit Pool and gave Tian Xuan the Wind and Thunder Wings, which he had taken from a powerful enemy of the Desolate Heaven Emperor Wu Li.

• Chen Changsheng told Tian Xuan that Linglong had betrayed her sect to save him, and Tian Xuan had accepted blame to protect her.
• Chen Changsheng revealed that the Straw Cape Old Man was a Mystic Bird Clan genius who had an affair with the Clan Leader’s wife and was taken away by the Buddhist Kingdom after losing a duel.
• Chen Changsheng said the Buddhist Kingdom would likely take its anger out on the Straw Cape Old Man for helping Tian Xuan, while Tian Xuan worried about his fate.
• Chen Changsheng said the lovers alone could judge their choices and confirmed that they had truly loved each other.
• Chen Changsheng kicked Chen Shisan into the Merit Pool, then gave Tian Xuan the Wind and Thunder Wings taken from an enemy whom Wu Li had killed in the Holy Ruins Forbidden Ground.

Chen Changsheng took Meng Yu to meet Zhang Bairen, who revealed that a powerful Ominous had taken over another world and was preparing to attack. Zhang Bairen asked Chen Changsheng to oversee the response while he entered seclusion to bear the Heaven's Mandate, and requested several of Chen Changsheng's people.

• Chen Changsheng told Tian Xuan that the enemies of Desolate Heaven Emperor Wu Li had been far stronger than Cang Hong and Nangong Ruoxue, then gave Meng Yu the Wind and Thunder Wings and left with her.
• Chen Changsheng assured Meng Yu that Chen Shisan and the others were safe in the Buddhist Kingdom and said he was taking her to meet Zhang Bairen, this era's Heaven's Mandate Bearer.
• Chen Changsheng and Meng Yu met Zhang Bairen and Qian Bao'er beneath a great tree, where they shared tea and discussed Zhang Bairen's reason for seeking help.
• Zhang Bairen explained that one of the eighteen Ominous suppressed beneath the Eighteen Bronze Ancient Halls had escaped to another world and taken control of it, which threatened the lower realm as worlds began to merge.
• Zhang Bairen asked Chen Changsheng to manage the overall situation while he entered seclusion to bear the Heaven's Mandate, and requested Sour Scholar, Chen Shisan, Tian Xuan, and Meng Yu's help.

Chen Changsheng helped Zhang Bairen gather fortune and bear Heaven’s Mandate as Zhang Bairen established the Heavenly Court, while Nalan Xingde claimed a share of that fortune to found the Mountain and River Academy. The chapter ended with Chen Changsheng sealing Huayang Grotto-Heaven and leaving its fate decided.

• Chen Changsheng agreed to help Zhang Bairen bear Heaven’s Mandate, and they decided to destroy Huayang Grotto-Heaven and the three Cave Heavens tied to it.
• Chen Changsheng pulled the spear from the Bodhi Tree and used it to gather the scattered fragments of Heaven’s Mandate and the world’s fortune.
• Zhang Bairen smashed a giant hand reaching for the forming Heaven’s Mandate, struck an unseen attacker with a bronze mirror, and declared the founding of the Heavenly Court.
• Chen Changsheng sent a Heaven’s Mandate fragment to Nalan Xingde, who founded the Mountain and River Academy and drew twenty percent of the gathered fortune, breaking through two realms.
• Chen Changsheng told Zhang Bairen that the Mountain and River Academy would keep the Heavenly Court in check, then used the spear to seal Huayang Grotto-Heaven.

Chen Changsheng agreed to govern the Heavenly Court for three hundred years while Zhang Bairen stabilized his realm, then armed Qian Bao'er and Meng Yu with powerful treasures. He sent them to bring their families and secure every faction’s submission to the Heavenly Court.

• Zhang Bairen told Chen Changsheng that the other world might attack within a few decades or a few centuries, and that he needed three hundred years in seclusion to stabilize his realm.
• Chen Changsheng agreed to govern the Heavenly Court for three hundred years, and Zhang Bairen explained that he chose him because he was still human and some other powerful beings were no longer human.
• Chen Changsheng gave Qian Bao'er Purple Gold Copper Matrix, which could nourish and improve artifacts, and explained its potential alongside her Innate Divine Ability.
• Chen Changsheng gave Meng Yu the Yin Yang Mirror, which could protect her from a strike by a Heaven's Mandate Bearer, and told her it had come from the Ascension Road.
• Chen Changsheng ordered Meng Yu and Qian Bao'er to bring out their families and visit every faction until all submitted to the Heavenly Court.

Chen Changsheng assigned forces to subdue the continents and ordered the Heavenly Court to prepare for a final offensive, while defending his decision to send Chen Shisan toward the Ascension Road. The System told him that his own path had no end unless he was stopped by an obstacle.

• Chen Changsheng ordered Qian Bao'er to subdue Eastern Wilderness and Meng Yu to take Kongming Heaven in Central Court, telling them to eliminate factions that refused to submit.
• Chen Changsheng learned from a Jade Slip how much force Zhang Bairen's Heavenly Court had gathered, ordered four cave heavens sealed, and set the final offensive for half a month later.
• Chen Changsheng assigned Tian Xuan to suppress West Continent, explaining that a trusted Demon Race leader could govern the region without threatening the Heavenly Court.
• At the Merit Pool, Chen Changsheng told Bai Ze that Tian Xuan's fusion with the Wind and Thunder Wings would take time and refused to promise Chen Shisan would survive the Ascension Road.
• Bai Ze condemned Chen Changsheng for sending Chen Shisan toward Deathward Path, then vowed to train Tian Xuan and the others to fight on the Ascension Road.
• Chen Changsheng asked the System whether he had an end, and it replied that world destruction would not be his end and that his road would continue unless an obstacle stopped him.

Chen Changsheng questioned whether sending Chen Shisan to storm the Ascension Road made him a beast, and admitted that his feelings made the decision difficult. Half a month later, Chen Shisan completed the Zhang Liu Golden Body and surged into the peak of the Cave Heaven Realm.

• Chen Changsheng asked the system to judge his plan for Chen Shisan by emotion, and the system called his actions those of a beast for raising a disciple he planned to send to his death.
• Chen Changsheng acknowledged that he could not convince his heart with reasons alone and said he needed time to decide whether to personally set foot on the Ascension Road.
• Over the next half month, the Heavenly Court expanded while the Wan Tong Merchant Guild and Kongming Heaven waged war across the Central Court and Eastern Wilderness, leaving the West Continent untouched.
• Chen Shisan completed the Zhang Liu Golden Body after cultivating in the Merit Pool, and his cultivation leapt from the Other Shore Realm to the peak of the Cave Heaven Realm.
• Chen Changsheng sensed Chen Shisan's breakthrough and recognized that Chen Shisan's steadfast heart had allowed him to pass through the Divine Sense, True Self, and Life Lamp realms at once.

Chen Changsheng left the Buddhist Kingdom with Chen Shisan and Tian Xuan after Chen Shisan resisted the Merit Pool’s teachings and the Buddhist Sect accepted its defeat. He explained the divine realm’s blood moving stage to Tian Xuan, who remained in the life lamp realm, and left him with a new understanding of the gulf between cultivation realms.

• Chen Shisan emerged from the Merit Pool with his heart unaffected, while Tian Xuan completed his Wind and Thunder Wings refinement but remained in the life lamp realm.
• Old monk Huineng realized the Buddhist Kingdom had lost its final chance, and Chen Changsheng promised to repay his karmic debt and advised the Buddhist Sect to submit to the Heavenly Court while answering military orders but not court summons.
• Chen Changsheng told Tian Xuan that the bitter sea system’s divine realm contained the blood moving, bone replacement, and mortal shedding stages.
• Chen Changsheng explained that the blood moving realm required cultivators to condense essence blood until it replaced all their blood, and he warned Tian Xuan that the cultivation system made the gap between realms especially severe.
• Tian Xuan realized that his inability to fight the Cloud Mountain Temple monk had come from the bitter sea system’s realm gap, not merely his own lack of strength.

Chen Changsheng explained that the realms beyond the Divine Realm had no fixed standards yet and told Tian Xuan that he and his contemporaries could become the Sages who forged a path for later generations. He then set out to destroy four of the Ten Great Grotto-Heavens, leaving Tian Xuan assigned to the army around Zhou while he waited for a powerful helper before attacking Huayang.

• Chen Changsheng told Chen Shisan and Tian Xuan that cultivators beyond the Divine Realm were still exploring without established realm standards, and that later generations would follow paths created by Sages like them.
• Chen Changsheng encouraged Tian Xuan to keep moving forward, then announced that he would destroy four of the Ten Great Grotto-Heavens and took Chen Shisan and Tian Xuan toward the front.
• At Zhou Grotto-Heaven, Shi Pan recognized Chen Changsheng's command token and followed his order to assign Tian Xuan to the army's battle formation.
• Chen Changsheng took Chen Shisan to inspect the deployments around Zhou, leaving Tian Xuan behind as the two parted ways.
• At the army's central area, Chen Changsheng told a subordinate to wait before attacking Huayang Grotto-Heaven because they needed a powerful helper, who he expected to arrive soon.

Chen Changsheng ordered the Heavenly Court army to annihilate everyone in Huayang Grotto-Heaven, seeking to eradicate Calamity and detect whether it could change hosts. After Nalan Xingde returned with two Calamity-tainted Round Balls, Chen Changsheng revealed he would bury the entire army and grotto-heaven together if he could not rule out further infections.

• Chen Changsheng rebuked Shi Pan for proposing a partial siege and ordered him to leave no living creature in Huayang Grotto-Heaven, then gave him three hours to set up the Ten Suns Scorching Yang Array.
• Chen Changsheng told Chen Shisan that killing everyone was the safest way to prevent Calamity from spreading through an unknown host.
• Nalan Xingde returned with two Round Balls containing Calamity aura, and Chen Changsheng concluded that a single Calamity origin had been hiding in Huayang Grotto-Heaven.
• Chen Changsheng explained to Nalan Xingde that the chaotic battle would let him test whether Calamity could change hosts, and that he would bury the army and grotto-heaven if he could not determine whether the soldiers were infected.
• Nalan Xingde accepted Chen Changsheng's reasoning, and Chen Changsheng told him to prepare and keep watch on Tian Xuan.

Chen Shisan asked Chen Changsheng to let him face Cang Hong during the assault on Huayang Grotto-Heaven, not to save his former enemy but to grant him dignity in death. Chen Changsheng gave him a coffin, and Chen Shisan entered the battlefield as Cang Hong continued fighting Tian Xuan.

• Chen Changsheng and Nalan Xingde opened a breach into Huayang Grotto-Heaven, then Shi Pan led twenty thousand cultivators inside as Nalan Xingde went to confront a dangerous presence.
• Chen Changsheng controlled the Ten Suns Scorching Yang Array while the invading army slaughtered Huayang Grotto-Heaven’s inhabitants.
• Cang Hong fought Tian Xuan, condemned the destruction of Huayang Grotto-Heaven, and demanded that Chen Shisan be sent to kill him.
• Chen Shisan told Chen Changsheng he wanted to see Cang Hong through his final moments because even an enemy occupied a place in his memories.
• Chen Changsheng gave Chen Shisan a discounted Red Sandalwood Coffin and told him to burn Cang Hong’s body; Chen Shisan entered the battlefield as Cang Hong and Tian Xuan clashed again.

Chen Shisan killed Cang Hong after hearing why Cang Hong had resented him, then carried Cang Hong’s ashes away from Huayang Grotto-Heaven. As Chen Changsheng found the Uncanny One’s hidden presence, he activated the Ten Suns Blazing Yang Array despite the Heavenly Court army still being inside it.

• Chen Shisan arrived carrying a coffin and told Cang Hong he had bought it for eighty catties of divine source, which Cang Hong paid for with a hundred.
• Cang Hong told Chen Shisan he had killed his senior brother after choosing to compromise for resources, and admitted he had wanted Chen Shisan to yield to justify his own choice.
• Cang Hong asked Chen Shisan to take his ashes out of Huayang Grotto-Heaven, then attacked with everything he had; Chen Shisan killed him with one sword and burned his body to ashes.
• Chen Shisan left with Cang Hong’s ashes while Chen Changsheng watched the dwindling battlefield and captured a fleeing wisp of Black Qi.
• Chen Changsheng blasted apart thirty-eight cultivators to destroy the Uncanny One’s remaining tentacles, provoking it to unleash pressure from within Huayang Grotto-Heaven.
• Chen Changsheng activated the Ten Suns Blazing Yang Array while the Heavenly Court army was still inside, ignoring Shi Pan’s warning that they remained within its range.

Chen Changsheng strengthened the Ten Suns Scorching Yang Array to expose the ominous hidden among Huayang Heaven’s cultivators. After discovering its concealed lair, he broke into the hidden space, but Nalan Xingde could not destroy the ominous.

• Shi Pan led the Heavenly Court’s soldiers into the array, gambling that their attack would force the ominous to reveal its methods.
• Chen Changsheng explained Shi Pan’s strategy to Chen Shisan and said everyone who entered Huayang Grotto-Heaven might have been parasitized.
• Chen Shisan entered the formation, and Chen Changsheng infused it with heartfire, intensifying its power and causing black Qi to emerge from the cultivators.
• Chen Changsheng realized the ominous could secretly plant black Qi in ordinary cultivators and moved to stop it from spreading.
• Chen Changsheng shattered Huayang Heaven’s hidden space, revealing the Bronze Ancient Hall where Nalan Xingde was binding the black energy with Golden Chains.
• Nalan Xingde told Chen Changsheng that his cultivation was insufficient to destroy the ominous.

Chen Changsheng and Zhang Bairen joined Nalan Xingde to refine the Uncanny in Huayang Grotto-Heaven while drawing out a hidden enemy. After three days, Chen Changsheng said three million people would have to die in the war against the other world, though he could save at most 365 by using the Heavenly Court’s Luck Investiture of the Gods.

• Chen Changsheng ignited the Uncanny with Colorless Flame and used the Bronze Ancient Hall and its spear to trap it, while the Uncanny drained tens of thousands of cultivators for power.
• A giant hand reached from the void to seize the hall, and Nalan Xingde was knocked back after striking it.
• Zhang Bairen emerged and attacked the hidden figure behind the Uncanny, but the enemy’s prepared array drove him back into the open.
• Chen Changsheng, Zhang Bairen, and Nalan Xingde spent three days refining the Uncanny, then transferred many unconscious cultivators out of Huayang Grotto-Heaven.
• Chen Changsheng told Zhang Bairen that three million people would have to die to destroy the Uncanny-infected world, but said he might save up to 365 by abandoning their bodies and using the Luck Investiture of the Gods.

Chen Changsheng rejected reviving the dead Heavenly Court cultivators through Luck Investiture of the Gods, while Zhang Bairen decided to proceed with it. Chen Changsheng left Tian Xuan in command and took Chen Shisan to the West Continent for one last visit with Proud Snow Red Plum before Chen Shisan began a long, dangerous path.

• Chen Changsheng explained to Zhang Bairen that reviving the fallen cultivators with Luck Investiture of the Gods would bind and change them, and said he would not revive Wu Li and the others against their wishes.
• Zhang Bairen insisted that Luck Investiture of the Gods must be used, and Chen Changsheng left the decision to him.
• Chen Changsheng appointed Tian Xuan commander, ordered him to bring the cultivators to the West Continent and subdue the Demon Race, and gave him a Brocade Sack before departing with Chen Shisan.
• After Chen Changsheng left, Nalan Xingde and Zhang Bairen also departed, leaving Tian Xuan responsible for the remaining three Cave Heavens and their forces.
• Chen Changsheng told Chen Shisan they were going to the West Continent to see Proud Snow Red Plum one last time before Chen Shisan entered a place where he would remain for a very long time.
• Chen Shisan asked whether he resembled Chen Changsheng's past self, and Chen Changsheng fell silent before denying that he had nothing.

Chen Changsheng brought Chen Shisan back to Gold Mountain City, where Chen Shisan reunited with Proud Snow Red Plum and faced his feelings for Meng Yu. Red Plum gave him a pair of bells to offer Meng Yu as a token of love before sending him to call her back.

• Chen Shisan told Chen Changsheng that he would continue along his chosen path despite losing the people and things he cared about.
• Chen Changsheng and Chen Shisan returned to Gold Mountain City, where Chen Shisan hesitated outside Proud Snow Red Plum’s cottage before going in.
• Proud Snow Red Plum welcomed Chen Shisan and Meng Yu, while Chen Changsheng lightened the meal with his antics.
• Proud Snow Red Plum told Chen Shisan that he loved Meng Yu and urged him not to let her down.
• Proud Snow Red Plum gave Chen Shisan a pair of bells forged from the silver he had left behind and told him to give them to Meng Yu.

Meng Yu met Proud Snow Red Plum, who explained why she could not be with Chen Shisan and urged Meng Yu to accompany him instead. Outside the cottage, Chen Changsheng pressed Chen Shisan to face his feelings, leaving him with no way to have both women.

• Meng Yu urged Proud Snow Red Plum not to reject Chen Shisan, but Proud Snow Red Plum said she could not share his life or follow the immortal path.
• Proud Snow Red Plum explained that Chen Shisan's childhood affection for her had become an elder sister's place in his heart, while his hesitation showed his feelings for Meng Yu.
• Proud Snow Red Plum used the pill Chen Changsheng had left her to restore her face, then told Meng Yu she never wanted to see Chen Shisan again.
• Chen Shisan confronted Chen Changsheng about arranging Meng Yu's meeting with Proud Snow Red Plum, and Chen Changsheng said Chen Shisan had to choose whom to hurt.
• Chen Shisan asked whether he could have the best of both worlds, but Chen Changsheng told him that was impossible for him.

Chen Changsheng sent Chen Shisan to Netherworld Forest to train until he could defeat all its demon beasts, while Chen Shisan and Meng Yu parted after exchanging bells. Chen Changsheng left with Bai Ze, and Chen Shisan was left to face the forest’s powerful beasts alone.

• Chen Shisan gave Meng Yu two Silver Bells from Proud Snow Red Plum and himself; Meng Yu tied one to his sword and the other to Chen Shisan, then left while Proud Snow Red Plum wept behind the cottage door.
• Chen Changsheng brought Chen Shisan to a spatial gate in the Eastern Wilderness and said he would train there while Chen Changsheng prepared him a stronger sword.
• Chen Shisan entered Netherworld Forest with Chen Changsheng and reunited with the Treasure Vomiting Rat.
• Chen Changsheng fed seeds and demon beast corpses to Little Tree, then told Chen Shisan he had to kill every regenerating demon beast in Netherworld Forest to complete his training.
• Chen Shisan was transported into a dense forest and faced a mountain-sized black bear and other powerful beasts as Chen Changsheng left.
• Chen Changsheng found Bai Ze outside Netherworld Forest and departed with it, joking about whether Bai Ze needed a position in the Heavenly Court.