Chapter Summaries

Chen Changsheng and Zhang Bairen planned to find the Water Book by locating Dharma Master Cong Xin, whose Water Book Fragment could open a passage hidden in the world’s destiny. Chen Changsheng announced the Golden Age Gathering at the Avici Small World, while the Heavenly Court prepared to attend and Chen Xiao returned with Chen Mengjie to meet his elders.

• Zhang Bairen explained that the Water Book lay hidden within the Great World's destiny and required a Water Book Fragment to reveal its passage.
• Chen Changsheng learned that Dharma Master Cong Xin held the fragment and was imprisoned in the Avici World, so he announced the Golden Age Gathering there.
• Heng Tian agreed to attend the gathering for the Heavenly Court, and his master promised to find him a suitable Dao Protector.
• Chen Mengjie brought the injured Chen Xiao out of the God and Demon Cemetery, where Yin Qi and Chen Xiang were waiting with Jun Lin.

Miao Shi took Chen Mengjie back to explain the situation, while the other visitors departed and Jun Lin reunited with Yin Qi. Yin Qi explained that Jun Lin was bound to the Golden Age Gathering and needed a Dao Protector; Jun Lin then asked permission to seek help from a Forbidden Ground, and Yin Qi agreed.

• Miao Shi took Chen Mengjie away after warning Jun Lin to use his Double pupils more thoughtfully.
• Yan Ziyu took Xu Qianzhui away, and the people from Wudang Mountain took the injured Ruan Su Xian away.
• Yin Qi told Jun Lin that he and his companions had been observed, and that Jun Lin was effectively committed to the Golden Age Gathering because of his identity and his intent to visit the Reincarnation Forbidden Ground.
• Yin Qi explained that Jun Lin needed a powerful Dao Protector and named several possible candidates, including Grandfather Changsheng's new disciple, Jun Lin's maternal grandfather, and Grandma Su.
• Jun Lin argued that he needed to understand the Forbidden Ground and asked to seek its help; Yin Qi agreed but said he did not want Jun Lin to become his enemy.

Chen Mengjie learned that the old grievances involving Chen Xiao were true, but Miao Shi urged her not to live with hatred and agreed she could still call him “Sir.” At Mountain and River Academy, Xu Qianzhui challenged Su You over how his generation treated Senior Changsheng, leaving him unable to answer how soon he could help shoulder their burden.

• Chen Mengjie asked Miao Shi whether Chen Xiao and the others had told the truth, and Miao Shi confirmed it.
• Miao Shi explained that the older generation had concealed the past to spare the younger generation from hatred, and he told Chen Mengjie she could still call him “Sir.”
• Xu Qianzhui returned to Mountain and River Academy with Yan Ziyu and tasted the bitter tea Su You had brewed in imitation of Sir’s Unique Bitter Tea.
• Xu Qianzhui questioned Su You about opposing Senior Changsheng, and Su You explained that his generation had acted partly to keep Sir and themselves from dying in the coming war.
• Xu Qianzhui argued that Senior Changsheng would choose death over submission and that his former students should not make that choice for him; Su You admitted they had let Sir down.
• Su You asked how much Xu Qianzhui could achieve within three thousand years, and Xu Qianzhui fell silent.

Su You guided Xu Qianzhui to understand the cost of protecting those he loved, then sent him out with Zi Yu as his Dao Protector. In Avici World, Chen Changsheng revealed why he had arranged the Golden Age Gathering and discussed the coming crisis with an old monk before an old acquaintance arrived.

• Su You explained why he and the others would rather face Xu Qianzhui's anger than watch their Teacher be lost to the whirlpool.
• Xu Qianzhui thanked Su You, reflected on the limits of book learning, and left the Bamboo House with Zi Yu assigned as his Dao Protector.
• In Avici World, Zhang Bairen protested as Bald Head and the others confronted him about the Golden Age Gathering.
• Chen Changsheng told the old monk that he had chosen Avici World to draw out Follow the Heart, whose clue could help him find what he was seeking.
• Chen Changsheng urged the old monk to prepare Buddhism to help face the future, and the monk agreed to let the younger generation handle Avici World.
• A burly man arrived with a young man and greeted Chen Changsheng, asking for preferential treatment at the gathering.

At the Golden Age Gathering, Chen Changsheng faced challenges from Baturu, Zhang Bairen, and the Buddhist Sect, each of whom presented a successor to oppose his disciples. Chen Changsheng revealed that he had chosen Chen Feng, a figure from another epoch, to represent him.

• Baturu introduced Ling Dao, a Child of the Forbidden Ground who wanted to challenge Chen Changsheng's successor rather than Chen Changsheng himself.
• Zhang Bairen arrived with a young man and declared that his successor would also challenge Chen Changsheng's disciples.
• A Buddhist elder said that Buddha Child Bai Zhi would attend under his personal protection and invited Chen Changsheng to guide him.
• Baturu asked whether Chen Changsheng would admit defeat, and Chen Changsheng agreed to meet the challenge through a chosen successor.
• Chen Changsheng said his choice was not Yin Jun Lin, Chen Xiao, Xu Qianzhui, or Ruan Su Xian, but Chen Feng.

Chen Changsheng revealed that Chen Feng might rival Chen Shisan, prompting Heng Tian to vow to test him. A disturbance brought Baturu and Kong Xuan into a fierce argument while Chen Changsheng and Zhang Bairen examined the captured blood mist.

• Chen Changsheng explained that he had found Chen Feng in the Pill Epoch and believed he was the only sword cultivator with a chance of reaching Chen Shisan's height.
• Heng Tian challenged the others' doubts and said he wanted to see Chen Feng's strength for himself.
• A blood-soaked cultivator attacked nearby, and the old monk and Baturu struck him down, leaving behind a fleeing cloud of blood.
• Kong Xuan froze and seized the blood mist with his Five-Colored Divine Light, then argued with Baturu, who challenged him to fight.
• Chen Changsheng declined to settle their dispute, while Zhang Bairen stayed focused on poking at the blood mist with a twig.

Baturu and Kong Xuan reflected on how they had fallen behind the younger generation, while Chen Changsheng rebuked them and revived Liu Yidao from the blood mist. Liu Yidao tried to make Chen Changsheng his adoptive father, then offered to call him grandfather or great-grandfather instead.

• Baturu told Kong Xuan that they had grown old and become like the Dao Protectors they once avoided, and Kong Xuan urged Heng Tian not to retreat from his opponents.
• Chen Changsheng told Baturu and Kong Xuan to stop discouraging the young, then gathered the blood mist and restored Liu Yidao to life.
• Liu Yidao bowed to Chen Changsheng and called him his ancestor, but Chen Changsheng rejected the title and ordered him to dress.
• Liu Yidao claimed Chen Changsheng's words had enlightened him and kowtowed, asking to take Chen Changsheng as his adoptive father.
• When Chen Changsheng warned that others might punish him for such a claim, Liu Yidao offered to call him grandfather or great-grandfather instead.

At the Golden Age Gathering, Chen Changsheng set its rules and announced the Book of Wonders Competition, offering a copy of the Water Book as its prize. Wang Hao explained the Four Great Books to Jun Lin, who rejected the idea of pursuing their crooked and heretical paths.

• Liu Yidao tried to become Chen Changsheng's Dao Protector, and Chen Changsheng agreed on the condition that he break Yin Jun Lin's legs.
• Wang Hao arrived with Jun Lin and revealed that he had given Liu Yidao the Blood Curse control method and the flaws in his cultivation technique.
• Chen Changsheng welcomed the prodigies and explained the Golden Age Gathering's rules, including when Dao Protectors could attack and how prodigies could fight.
• Chen Changsheng announced that the Book of Wonders Competition would begin in eight hours, with a copy of the Water Book as its reward.
• Wang Hao described the Four Great Books as records of powerful unorthodox paths, and Jun Lin decided he did not want one.

Wang Hao explained to Jun Lin that the Golden Age Gathering would test the strength of the young generation before the coming Dark Turmoil. Cui Hao Yu arrived from the Pill Epoch to join Chen Changsheng, and Chen Changsheng warned him that Wang Hao had become Jun Lin’s Dao Protector to preserve his own escape route.

• Wang Hao told Jun Lin to seize the Yin Yang Yansheng Book and described the Golden Age Gathering as a trial run before the Dark Turmoil.
• Wang Hao explained that the factions would judge one another’s strength by how their young prodigies performed at the gathering.
• Wang Hao asked about Jun Lin’s brother and worried that he might have chosen Bai Ze as his Dao Protector.
• Cui Hao Yu arrived with Chen Xiao after Ming Yu declined Chen Xiang’s invitation from the Pill Epoch, and Cui Hao Yu joined Chen Changsheng.
• Wang Hao introduced himself to Cui Hao Yu, and Chen Changsheng warned Cui Hao Yu that Wang Hao was shameless and had become Jun Lin’s Dao Protector to keep himself a way out.

Chen Changsheng prepared to use Small Avici Hell to force the gathered prodigies into a deadly contest as the Dark Turmoil approached. Meanwhile, Jun Lin and his companions weighed how to identify their enemies and defeat the Child of the Forbidden Ground, and Liu Yidao appeared before them.

• Wang Hao warned Jun Lin about his ruthlessness, while Chen Changsheng explained that demons like him were difficult to defeat and Jun Lin resolved to understand them so he could eradicate them.
• Liu Yidao proposed joining forces with Jun Lin against Wang Hao, and Chen Changsheng described how the chaotic Chang Sheng Epoch had produced heroes such as the Sword God and Desolate Heaven Emperor Wu Li.
• Chen Changsheng learned that Small Avici Hell was ready and Buddha Child Bai Zhi guarded its final checkpoint, then signaled the gathered prodigies to leave.
• In Avici World, Xu Qianzhui told Chen Xiao and Jun Lin that their goals were to defeat the Child of the Forbidden Ground and expose those with ulterior motives.
• Jun Lin said killing everyone was the simplest way to handle uncertainty, but Chen Xiao argued they had to act carefully to honor what the Sages had created.
• Liu Yidao emerged from behind a tree, prompting Chen Xiao to ask what he was doing there.

Liu Yidao explained why he tried to kill his second master, arguing that Demon Cultivators kill one another because they expect no mercy from each other, while good people can be manipulated into sparing them. Jun Lin, Xu Qianzhui, and Chen Xiao agreed to let Liu Yidao join them so they could better understand their enemies.

• Xu Qianzhui asked Liu Yidao why he wanted to kill his master, and Liu Yidao said his master had raised and taught him despite their lack of a blood feud.
• Liu Yidao explained that his second master would eventually kill him, and that Demon Cultivators sought to keep the world from filling with people like themselves.
• Liu Yidao said his second master had trained him to pass on his legacy before killing him to pose as a good person and profit from the world.
• Liu Yidao argued that good people would spare him if he repented, acted properly, or protected others, whereas his Demon Cultivator master would not.
• Xu Qianzhui, Jun Lin, and Chen Xiao agreed to let Liu Yidao travel with them so they could learn more about Demon Cultivators and their methods.

Jun Lin’s group learned why Liu Yidao’s second master feared and respected Chen Changsheng, and then headed toward the Buddha Pagoda. Meanwhile, Chen Changsheng insisted he would not interfere in the era’s affairs, but threatened to fight Wang Hao if Wang Hao harmed his god-grandsons.

• Jun Lin asked Liu Yidao how his second master could be killed, and Liu Yidao explained that Chen Changsheng was one of the few people capable of killing him.
• Liu Yidao described Chen Changsheng as the greatest Demon Cultivator under heaven because he would use any means to achieve his goals, including slaughtering an entire epoch.
• Liu Yidao explained that his second master respected Chen Changsheng for guiding him onto his path and for advancing the study of Demon Cultivator methods.
• Chen Xiao ended the discussion and led the group toward the Buddha Pagoda.
• Wang Hao praised Liu Yidao’s explanation while Chen Changsheng said he could only watch the era’s events unfold.
• Wang Hao challenged Chen Changsheng about protecting his god-grandsons, and Chen Changsheng vowed to fight Wang Hao if he harmed them.

As Jun Lin’s group approached Avici World’s Buddha Pagoda, Liu Yidao explained its deadly trials and warned that the Children of the Forbidden Ground and hidden Dao Protectors made entering dangerous. He urged them to wait for potential allies, while Wang Hao revealed he planned to kill everyone except Chen Changsheng’s godgrandsons.

• Wang Hao agreed not to harm Chen Changsheng’s godgrandsons, but declared that he would kill everyone else until he was satisfied.
• Liu Yidao explained that Heretical Buddha Cong Xin was imprisoned on the Buddha Pagoda’s eighteenth level and that reaching it required overcoming formidable defenses and trials.
• Liu Yidao revealed that Buddha Child Bai Zhi guarded the gathering’s challenge, and the group heard a Five Thunder Talisman strike the pagoda as Dao Sect participants attacked.
• Liu Yidao admitted he feared the Children of the Forbidden Ground and possibly the hidden Dao Protectors, and said he had delayed the group to avoid entering the pagoda with them.
• Liu Yidao proposed waiting for Ruan Su Xian and recruiting Heng Tian before attempting to storm the Buddha Pagoda.

Ruan Su Xian returned from the Buddha Pagoda and clashed with Liu Yidao, who later explained that a Qingcheng Mountain heir had ambushed him because of his ties to the Crown Prince. After Liu Yidao nearly revealed a forbidden secret, Chen Changsheng warned Wang Hao not to cross a line.

• Ruan Su Xian emerged from the Buddha Pagoda, and Liu Yidao attacked him before Chen Xiao intervened and stopped the fight.
• Jun Lin explained the earlier events to Ruan Su Xian, who apologized for his misunderstanding and gave Liu Yidao a Purple Talisman for an explanation.
• Liu Yidao said Zhao, the Qingcheng Mountain heir and son of Zhao Yun, had likely ambushed Ruan Su Xian because of his connection to the Crown Prince and Senior Changsheng.
• Liu Yidao began to discuss the Ultimate Battle, but Chen Changsheng slapped him and warned him to watch his mouth.
• Chen Changsheng told Wang Hao not to cross a line or touch the forbidden thing.

Chen Changsheng explained that the Ultimate Battle sealed a powerful being and revealed that the Book of Wonders Competition had no victory condition beyond survival. He and Wang Hao agreed not to intervene while their disciples and the other contestants faced danger.

• Chen Changsheng told Cui Hao Yu that the Ultimate Battle sealed a being powerful enough to threaten the current turmoil.
• Liu Yidao persuaded Ruan Su Xian, Jun Lin, and the others to wait until Heng Tian was in danger before rescuing him, then led them toward the Buddha Pagoda.
• Chen Changsheng explained that rescuing Follow the Heart did not guarantee the Water Book Fragment and warned that the imprisoned Heretical Buddha could become a deadly threat.
• Chen Changsheng asked Wang Hao how long he would leave his disciple to resist, and Wang Hao proposed that neither of them intervene for three shichen.
• Wang Hao agreed to Chen Changsheng's deal to let their disciples and the others die without either man stepping in.

As Jun Lin and the others infiltrated the Buddha Pagoda, Liu Yidao explained how the Forbidden Grounds and the famous righteous sects were tied to the Dark Turmoil through their pursuit of Chang Sheng. The group learned that Longevity Bloodstones came from sacrifices and that the conflict would remain difficult to stop while sect elders might eventually join the Forbidden Grounds.

• Jun Lin questioned Liu Yidao about the other Forbidden Grounds, and Liu explained that their people pursued Chang Sheng by killing anyone who obstructed them.
• Liu Yidao told Xu Qianzhui and Chen Xiao that stopping the Dark Turmoil meant killing its potential initiators, powerful cultivators who extended their lives by sacrificing others.
• Liu Yidao revealed to Ruan Su Xian that Longevity Bloodstones required mass blood sacrifices and that righteous sects obtained theirs by stealing them from dangerous lands, evil cultivators, and Demon Cultivators.
• Liu Yidao explained that some righteous sect elders might join the Forbidden Grounds when their Longevity Bloodstones ran out, making the Dark Turmoil difficult to oppose.
• Chen Xiao asked whether new Forbidden Grounds could be established, and Liu Yidao said smaller ones had declined after Chen Changsheng's godfather destroyed them.

As Jun Lin and the others descended into the Buddha Pagoda, Liu Yidao and Chen Xiao explained the Forbidden Grounds’ advantages and voiced their growing unease. Deep below, Heng Tian fought to release the Heretical Buddha despite Bai Zhi’s warning, while Liu Yidao concluded that an unseen danger threatened them all.

• Liu Yidao said Chen Changsheng’s past actions had likely achieved more against the Dark Turmoil than anyone else could, though completely ending it was impossible.
• After another disturbance shook the Buddha Pagoda, Chen Xiao led the group deeper, and Liu Yidao explained how the Forbidden Grounds had built stronger foundations for extending lifespans.
• In the Eighteen Levels of Avici Hell, Heng Tian battled the Children of the Forbidden Ground while Bai Zhi urged him to turn back and warned that releasing the Heretical Buddha would bring disaster.
• On the third level, Liu Yidao placed Purple Talismans and carved an array as a precaution, then told the others that he sensed someone was setting them up.
• Chen Xiao agreed that the Buddha Pagoda felt dangerous, and Liu Yidao argued that the Book of Wonders Competition made the prodigies expendable pieces in a game among powerful figures.
• Jun Lin asked where the danger came from, and Liu Yidao said the Children of the Forbidden Ground were not strong enough to explain their unease, so they had likely overlooked something.

Ruan Su Xian proposed splitting up so one group could support Liu Yidao while the others went deeper into the Buddha Pagoda. Chen Xiao, Ruan Su Xian, and Xu Qianzhui reached the eighteenth floor as Heng Tian prepared to use a Peacock Clan feather to break the final barrier.

• Ruan Su Xian and Xu Qianzhui agreed that Jun Lin and Liu Yidao would stay behind while they and Chen Xiao explored the pagoda.
• Jun Lin and Liu Yidao discussed Grandfather Changsheng as Liu Yidao carved an array and Jun Lin used his dual pupils to observe the pagoda.
• On the sixth floor, Ruan Su Xian passed through a Buddhist barrier with a talisman, Xu Qianzhui followed, and Chen Xiao tore through the wall with his physical strength.
• On the eighteenth floor, Heng Tian and the other prodigies overwhelmed Bai Zhi, who withdrew and allowed them to approach the final barrier.
• Heng Tian produced a Peacock Clan Natal True Feather to break the final barrier, and Ruan Su Xian recognized it.

As Heng Tian and the others broke the Buddha Pagoda’s seal, Chen Xiao and Ruan Su Xian realized the gathering might be a trap designed to make the Dao Protectors clash and leave the prodigies exposed. On the third floor, Liu Yidao discovered that the pagoda’s formations had never been fully active, then found the exit blocked by a golden wall.

• Heng Tian and the other prodigies helped break the Buddhism Wall, while Xu Qianzhui grew uneasy about Bai Zhi’s sudden retreat.
• Chen Xiao questioned how the prodigies had concluded that the Water Book was inside the Buddha Pagoda, since Senior Changsheng had never said so.
• Ruan Su Xian concluded that the pagoda was a cage and Follow the Heart was meant to trigger a crisis that would draw in the Dao Protectors and provoke a deadly clash.
• Chen Xiao and Xu Qianzhui decided to withdraw quietly rather than warn Heng Tian and the others before escaping.
• On the third floor, Jun Lin told Liu Yidao that roughly eighty percent of the formations were shut down and had never been fully activated.
• Liu Yidao tried to flee, but a golden wall blocked the exit and sent him flying back; he blamed Jun Lin’s grandfather for trying to kill them.

Jun Lin and Liu Yidao realized the Buddha Pagoda was a death trap designed to make prodigies kill one another before the Heretical Buddha slaughtered the survivors. Outside, Chen Changsheng sealed the pagoda and began arranging wagers between the Heavenly Court and the Forbidden Grounds, enforcing the stakes with threats of death.

• Liu Yidao explained to Jun Lin that Chen Changsheng and his second master had likely agreed to let the prodigies die in the Buddha Pagoda to weaken each other's forces.
• Jun Lin admitted he had been naive and recognized that the Golden Age Gathering had become a killing trap.
• Chen Changsheng told the Dao Protectors that sealing the pagoda created the fair conditions they had agreed upon, with a Heretical Buddha and prodigies trapped inside.
• Kong Xuan wagered territory from two realms on Heng Tian's survival, and the Dao Protector of Void Forbidden Ground negotiated for a third realm.
• Chen Changsheng declared that he would kill anyone who broke the wager or helped others break it, while individual actions remained unrestricted.
• The Dao Protector of Holy Ruins Forbidden Ground objected that unrestricted individual action undermined the wager, and Chen Changsheng mocked the Forbidden Grounds for fearing a handful of powerful individuals.