Chapter Summaries

Plot and events

• Shen Fuyao’s Trait activates unexpectedly, allowing her to overcome Ye Li briefly and embrace him. Ye Li restrains her and uses a Mind-Cleansing Mantra to settle her emotions. Once clearheaded, Fuyao apologizes for her forwardness.
• Fuyao discovers that her Trait, [Cold Outside, Warm Inside], has transformed from Orange to Legendary gold. It can sever powerful concepts—including time, causality, injury, and aging—though not without limits.
• Ye Li suspects Fuyao and her martial aunt, Shen Qinglian, are connected parts of the same being, sharing one Trait’s essence. He reasons that Fuyao’s new power may mean Qinglian has temporarily ceased to exist because of the time-reversing effect.
• Ye Li senses Wei Wanxi outside the Dragon Palace and rushes there with Fuyao and Ao Ying.
• Outside, Ji Kingdom forces battle the Demon Race while the Dragon Clan and other demons defend the Dragon Palace. The reversal of time is weaker beyond the palace, but the conflict is still immense.
• Wanxi, having lost several years of memories, sits injured on a rocky shore after escaping the first wave of the time effect and killing two minor demons. Three more demons corner her for the reward offered for killing humans with watches. Just as one is about to strike, Ye Li arrives and kills them. Wanxi recognizes him with dismay.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Fuyao moves from confusion and emotional distress to discovering the full, frightening scale of her power. Her reunion with Ye Li is both joyful and embarrassing; Ye Li chooses not to erase her memory of the incident.
• Ye Li shows restraint and concern for Fuyao, then quickly shifts from investigating her Trait to acting on his suspicions about Qinglian and rescuing Wanxi.
• Ao Ying witnesses Fuyao’s impulsive embrace and wrongly concludes Ye Li is pursuing both master and disciple. She later shares information that helps Ye Li assess when Qinglian’s Trait was damaged.
• Wei Wanxi, with her memories partly erased, remains confident in her intuition and assumes her future self took revenge on Ye Li. Her assumptions collapse when he appears to save her again.

Significant themes

• Identity and divided existence: Fuyao and Qinglian may be two manifestations of one person or one shared essence.
• Time, memory, and loss: The Primordial Sand’s reversal disrupts lives unevenly, erasing years of memory and temporarily undoing people’s existence.
• Power and its limits: Fuyao’s Legendary Trait grants near-miraculous abilities, but even it cannot overcome every threat.
• Fate, intuition, and irony: Wanxi trusts her Trait to keep her safe, only to be rescued by the very man she resents—and whose involvement often confounds her intuition.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Li rescues Wei Wanxi and reveals that they are destined to marry—and were already Dao partners in the future. He shares his memories with her to prove it.
• Wei Wanxi relives intimate episodes from Ye Li’s perspective. Her Dao Heart Clarity confirms they are genuine, leaving her mortified and furious, though she cannot bring herself to attack him.
• The group learns that Ji Kingdom’s large-scale invasion of the East Sea requires teams to enter the Dragon Tomb. Wei Wanxi knows only that failing the mission costs merit and may leave participants confined to Ji Kingdom; she does not know the invasion’s real purpose.
• A formation seals the East Sea against teleportation and outside aid. Ye Li senses that Infinite Realm experts have joined the fighting.
• An enormous Infinite Realm turtle appears and strikes the sea, annihilating countless Ji Kingdom fighters. Ye Li protects Wei Wanxi, Shen Fuyao, and Ao Ying. The turtle then recognizes Ye Li and appears directly before him.

Character developments and interactions

• Wei Wanxi shifts from shock and denial to embarrassment and guarded acceptance of the memories. She remains wary of Ye Li and suspicious of his closeness to the other women.
• Ye Li uses humor and shared memories to convince Wei Wanxi, then turns serious when the mission and danger become clear. He prioritizes protecting the three women despite being vastly outmatched.
• Ao Ying distrusts Wei Wanxi because of Ji Kingdom’s invasion and suspects Ye Li may have other lovers.
• Shen Fuyao recognizes Wei Wanxi, unlike Wei, whose memories have been altered by the reversal in time.
• Wei Wanxi warns the group of approaching danger; Ye Li gathers everyone together, but the turtle’s power prevents him from escaping into his Grotto-Heaven.

Significant themes

• Memory and identity: Wei Wanxi must confront a future relationship she cannot remember, relying on her intuition to distinguish truth from fabrication.
• Humor and intimacy amid danger: Ye Li’s teasing contrasts with the escalating threat of the invasion.
• Power and vulnerability: The turtle’s strike demonstrates the immense gulf between Ye Li’s strength and the Infinite Realm.
• Conflict and uncertainty: The East Sea’s isolation and Ji Kingdom’s unexplained mission suggest a larger struggle over a valuable, unknown prize.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Venerable Xuan’e, an immensely powerful Infinite Realm Black Tortoise, confronts Ye Li and the three women traveling with him. He has sealed off the area and intends to capture them, brainwash them, and turn them into powerful puppets.
• Xuan’e recognizes Ao Ying as the Azure Wave Dragon King, now reduced to the Body Tempering Realm by the Age-Reversing Primordial Sand. He also covets the group’s rare traits and sees them as a means to advance his cultivation.
• Ye Li knows he cannot defeat Xuan’e directly, but offers to endure one strike in exchange for the group’s freedom. Xuan’e accepts, convinced Ye Li is bluffing about having any remaining trump card.
• Ye Li is obliterated by Xuan’e’s attack, but his trait One Attainment, Everlasting Attainment reconstructs him completely. Xuan’e realizes Ye Li possesses a Martial Saint-level trait and briefly honors the bargain—then immediately reneges, hoping to capture and study him.
• Ye Li warns that his next move can defeat anyone below the Martial Saint Realm. Xuan’e suspects he is bluffing, but retreats his true body and sends a remote shell instead.
• Ye Li speaks an indescribable phrase and strikes from a higher dimension. Xuan’e’s consciousness flees, but when he returns, his demonic body has been left alive and stripped of consciousness.

Character developments

• Ye Li demonstrates composure and resolve under overwhelming pressure. He risks his life to protect the others, relying on his immortality to survive Xuan’e’s attack, then reveals a power capable of neutralizing an Infinite Realm opponent.
• Venerable Xuan’e is exposed as ruthless and treacherous. His friendly manner conceals greed: he plans to exploit the group, breaks his promise as soon as he sees an opportunity, and becomes increasingly cautious once Ye Li proves his resilience.
• Shen Fuyao and Wei Wanxi show deep concern for Ye Li and try to stop him from accepting Xuan’e’s strike. Their reactions emphasize their emotional attachment to him.
• Ao Ying is frightened of Xuan’e because of his history of slaughtering his own kind, but she is astonished when Ye Li survives and ultimately overcomes him.

Character interactions

• Xuan’e feigns concern and offers the group shelter, while Ye Li recognizes the threat and warns him to leave.
• Ye Li’s wager shocks the three women, who fear he is sacrificing himself. After he survives, Shen Fuyao checks him anxiously, while Wei Wanxi’s concern is mixed with jealousy over their closeness.
• Xuan’e and Ye Li repeatedly test one another: Xuan’e underestimates Ye Li’s defenses, then betrays their agreement; Ye Li responds with a final, decisive attack.

Significant themes

• Deception and trust: Xuan’e’s false kindness contrasts with Ye Li’s honest commitment to protect his companions.
• Sacrifice and loyalty: Ye Li willingly faces a seemingly fatal blow to secure the others’ safety.
• Power and hidden potential: Ye Li’s apparent vulnerability conceals extraordinary immortality and a still more dangerous ability.
• Greed and corruption: Xuan’e’s desire for greater power drives him to murder his kin, exploit others, and break his word.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Ye Li successfully traps Venerable Xuan’e in a memory loop by forcing him to perceive information about the Primordial Era. In this world, memories of that era are automatically erased unless one has a rare trait, so Xuan’e repeatedly notices the information, forgets it, and notices it again.
• The victory is temporary: Xuan’e is alive and could recover at any moment. Ye Li decides that fighting him directly would be too risky, so he and the three women flee south toward the Dragon Palace, whose vast grotto-heavens could provide shelter.
• The East Sea is in turmoil. The Ji Kingdom’s forces are overwhelmed by demon armies, many of whose members are compelled to fight through slave seals imposed by Infinite Realm rulers.
• On the way south, Ye Li is intercepted by three powerful Myriad-Realms Stage demons. With countless more enemies closing in, he enters the Higher Dimension to escape—but the demons follow.
• Ye Li uses higher-dimensional self-stacking to increase his power, yet realizes that killing the three demons could still delay him long enough for reinforcements—or another Infinite Realm expert—to arrive.
• In desperation, he perfects several cultivation methods and gains a flood of new traits. He sacrifices many lesser traits to strengthen [Blue Demon-Slaying Sword] to +53, greatly boosting the speed of his higher-dimensional stacking. The chapter ends as he prepares to strike.

Character developments

• Ye Li proves resourceful and willing to gamble: rather than relying on brute force, he exploits the world’s rules to incapacitate Xuan’e. When escape is blocked, he rapidly adapts, using his traits and cultivation system to pursue a new advantage.
• Ao Ying is deeply shocked by Ye Li’s ability to disable an Infinite Realm expert. Having once reached that realm herself, she recognizes the significance of his power and begins to regard him as an equal.
• Wei Wanxi shows sound intuition by identifying the south—and the Dragon Palace—as their best chance of survival.
• Xuan’e remains dangerous despite being incapacitated; his fate is uncertain, creating urgency throughout the escape.

Character interactions

• Ao Ying questions how Ye Li defeated Xuan’e, and Ye Li explains his unconventional Primordial Era information attack.
• When Ao Ying asks what to do next, Ye Li immediately orders the group to run. Wei Wanxi proposes heading south, and Ye Li agrees.
• Ye Li protects the women by drawing them into his grotto-heaven before confronting the pursuing demons.
• The demon pursuers are bound by slave seals: despite recognizing Ye Li’s sudden strength, they cannot retreat and are forced to attack.

Significant themes

• Knowledge as a weapon: Ye Li turns the world’s restrictions on Primordial Era memories into an attack.
• Cunning over raw power: His survival depends on strategy, timing, and exploiting unusual abilities rather than winning a straightforward battle.
• Coercion and expendable lives: The demon army reveals a harsh hierarchy in which lower-ranked beings are enslaved and used as disposable soldiers.
• Adaptation under pressure: Ye Li’s rapid cultivation, trait selection, and trait consolidation show how he responds to overwhelming danger.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Li’s heavily enhanced Storm Demon-Slaying Sword grants him an immense speed increase. He kills three Demon Kings with a single punch, tears through the Demon Race’s vast defensive line, and escapes into the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace.
• Demon King Xuan’e breaks free of the mental loop Ye Li had trapped him in and discovers the trail of destruction. Wanting to keep a possible Martial Saint-level opportunity secret, Xuan’e lies to a fellow demon about what happened, then tries to divine Ye Li’s location.
• Inside a grotto-heaven, Ye Li releases Ao Ying, Wei Wanxi, and Shen Fuyao. Ao Ying warns that an Infinite Realm expert may be able to trace them.
• Ye Li uses his enhanced Form Wandering the Great Void trait to conceal himself from divination. Xuan’e’s attempts fail, leaving him frustrated but determined to search the Dragon Palace.
• Ye Li explains their options: hide until Ao Ying recovers from the Age-Reversing Primordial Sand, or—half-jokingly and provocatively—use “dual cultivation” to accelerate her recovery. The women reject the suggestion angrily.
• Ye Li then examines the Heavenly Book and discovers an unclaimed Epic Trait, My Self, Unbound, with full integrity. It makes its user immune to seals, fate, causality, and the effects of time and space. Rather than learning it immediately, he pauses over the mystery of why no dragon has claimed it and where the Dragon Clan’s other Heavenly Books are.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Li demonstrates overwhelming power and tactical preparation, but remains irreverent, unsettling his companions with his crude proposal. His cautious reaction to the Heavenly Book shows he is wary even when offered a seemingly extraordinary advantage.
• Xuan’e shifts from stunned and trapped to calculating and secretive. He hides his real motives from the other demon and pursues Ye Li for the opportunity he believes is at stake.
• Ao Ying warns the group about divination and takes pride in being their possible protection once she recovers. Ye Li’s proposal embarrasses and enrages her.
• Wei Wanxi condemns Ye Li’s behavior, while Shen Fuyao objects to his timing and privately feels envy that only Ao Ying can offer the strength they need.
• The women’s repeated clashes with Ye Li underscore their strained but familiar dynamic: his jokes provoke them, even amid immediate danger.

Significant themes

• Power and speed: Ye Li’s enhanced traits turn movement into a devastating weapon, making sheer force enough to overwhelm an enormous army.
• Concealment and pursuit: The battle continues through competing abilities—Xuan’e’s divination against Ye Li’s trait-based protection.
• Secrecy and ambition: Xuan’e’s lie shows how a coveted path to higher cultivation can encourage mistrust and self-interest.
• Freedom from constraint: The new trait promises liberation from fundamental forces, while its unexplained presence raises questions about the Heavenly Books and the Dragon Clan’s history.

Key plot points

• Ye Li finds the Heavenly Book [My Self, Unbound], an Orange Trait that makes its bearer immune to seals, fate, karma, space, and time. Before he can read it, Shen Qinglian appears, freezes the world around them, and tells him to save the book until he reaches the Myriad-Realms Stage. Used then, it will make him impossible for anyone to restrain.
• Shen Qinglian warns that Heaven currently favors Ye Li; if he loses that favor, powerful forces across the Universe Realm will hunt him.
• She reveals that she and Shen Fuyao are “one person,” but not two halves of a split trait: two versions of Fuyao have always existed, sharing the same origin. Fuyao is the Shen Qinglian of several hundred years ago.
• Shen Qinglian explains that the present world has been preceded by at least three future simulations centered on Ye Li. The Heavenly Will repeatedly urged the Dragon Clan to kill him before he became a Martial Saint, but those plans failed. The current timeline can no longer be changed.
• The Dragon Venerable appears, lamenting that his latest attempt also failed. Shen Qinglian says his Epic Trait, [Ten Thousand Ages, One Moment], lets him view possible futures and choose among them. She herself came from one such predicted future, made real.
• Ye Li connects this revelation to past events, realizing that Shen Qinglian’s knowledge may have guided many encounters and decisions. He also questions why his own trait, One Attainment, Everlasting Attainment, did not preserve memories of the supposed time rewinds. Shen Qinglian clarifies that they were simulations, not real rewinds.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Li shifts from curiosity about the Heavenly Book to shock and suspicion as he learns the truth about Shen Qinglian, Fuyao, and the simulated timelines. He examines his memories for signs that Shen Qinglian orchestrated events, and wrestles with whether her past care for him was genuine.
• Shen Qinglian reveals herself as knowledgeable but not omniscient: she has observed several simulated timelines, yet never reached this point before. Though outwardly composed, she fears that telling Ye Li the truth may drive them apart and hides her affection and anxiety.
• Shen Fuyao and Shen Qinglian are clarified as two distinct versions of the same origin, rather than one woman divided by a trait. The chapter revisits earlier name-swapping and mistaken identities, suggesting Shen Qinglian’s long-term influence on events.
• The Dragon Venerable is presented as powerful but fallible. His future-sight has limits, and his plans—including one involving the destruction of his own Dragon Clan—have repeatedly failed.
• The chapter’s central exchange is between Ye Li and Shen Qinglian: he challenges her account using his own trait’s logic, while she patiently explains the difference between real history and simulated futures. Their conversation is intimate but strained by Ye Li’s doubts.

Significant themes

• Fate, agency, and prediction: Seeing possible futures does not guarantee control over them; the Dragon Venerable’s plans fail, and the current timeline resists alteration.
• Trust and hidden motives: Ye Li must reconsider whether past kindness and chance encounters were sincere or calculated.
• Identity and time: Shen Qinglian and Fuyao’s shared origin complicates the idea of a single, continuous self.
• Power and restraint: The Heavenly Book could make Ye Li untouchable, but using it too early may be dangerous; timing matters as much as strength.

Plot points and events

• At thirteen, Ao Guang, heir to the Dragon Clan’s current Dragon Venerable, awakens the Legendary trait [All Worlds, One Thought]. It lets him simulate possibilities repeatedly and inherit what he gains in a simulation.
• His ability is detected by Qing State’s adviser, whose [Cause-Tracing and Effect-Tracking] reveals Ao Guang’s identity and location. Emperor Qing erases the adviser’s memory to keep the discovery secret, then sets out for the East Sea, intending to claim Ao Guang’s power for the Human Race.
• Ao Guang begins simulating to prepare for the danger, but a Martial Saint arrives demanding that the Dragon Clan surrender its weaker members for pill-making. Ao Guang learns that his simulations all end in death.
• Further simulations reveal that [Fortune Turns], a powerful trait belonging to a rival, has manipulated events against Ao Guang. Heavenly Will also sees him as a future threat and helps close off his paths to survival.
• Ao Guang discovers one way to live: surrender to Heavenly Will and give up his chance to reach the Martial Saint Realm. He downgrades his trait from Legendary to Epic, enduring immense physical and emotional pain. Heavenly Will then protects him, allowing the Dragon Clan to survive.
• In the distant future, an aged Ao Guang reflects that Heavenly Will took control of the Universe Realm, reduced it to Five Regions and their heavens, and sealed or drove away the Martial Saint experts. He dies urging his successor to obey Heavenly Will and expel the Human Race.

Character development

• Ao Guang changes from an exhilarated young dragon, convinced his power can make his clan supreme, into a desperate survivor who sacrifices his greatest potential to save himself and his people. In old age, he regards the bargain as worthwhile, though he feels guilt over its costs to later generations.
• Emperor Qing appears ambitious and calculating: he values Ao Guang’s trait as a resource for the Human Race and suppresses information that might complicate his plans.
• The adviser is powerful in his own right but vulnerable to Emperor Qing’s control, which allows his memory to be erased without his awareness.
• Ao Guang’s descendants inherit his traits but live under the consequences of his pact with Heavenly Will.

Themes

• Power and its price: Ao Guang’s extraordinary ability cannot overcome a world shaped by stronger powers and hostile systems; survival requires surrendering his greatest gift.
• Fate, competition, and unfair advantage: Traits, Heavenly Will, and accumulated power create a world where those who rise earlier can dominate newcomers.
• Sacrifice for the collective: Ao Guang saves the Dragon Clan by limiting his own future and binding its descendants to Heavenly Will.
• The cost of victory: The clan survives, but later generations lose their former longevity and freedom, and Ao Guang’s final command turns their resentment toward the Human Race.
• Moral ambiguity: Ao Guang’s choice protects his people while helping establish a regime that restricts the entire realm.

Key plot points and events

• Ao Wang repeatedly uses [Ten Thousand Ages, One Moment] to simulate ways to destroy the Five Regions and elevate the Dragon Clan. He boasts of his simulated victories, but the Dragon Venerable warns that simulations cannot perfectly predict reality, Heavenly Will can obstruct plans, and Ao Wang’s obsession is undermining his cultivation.
• The Dragon Venerable confines Ao Wang to cultivation. Ten thousand years later, Ao Wang succeeds him. Though Ao Wang gains control of the clan through careful real-world maneuvering, he discovers that Heavenly Will can thwart even his best plans.
• In simulations, Ao Wang grows increasingly ruthless, sometimes sacrificing Dragon Clan forces or plunging the world into chaos because he believes simulated consequences do not matter.
• Heavenly Will issues an urgent command to kill Ye Li, making Ao Wang suspect Ye Li has a dangerous trait. Ao Wang enters a simulation to investigate and learns that Ye Li has advanced astonishingly quickly and is preparing to challenge the Five Regions’ talents.
• Ye Li arrives in the East Sea with his master, Yun Huanzi, and senior sister, Shen Fuyao. Dragon woman Ao Ying welcomes them to the Emerald Wave Grotto and explains that the Dragon Transformation Pool will soon open.
• Ye Li asks to enter the pool, but Ao Ying says he would need to make a Dragon Clan art his primary cultivation method. He refuses to abandon his sect’s art.
• Ao Wang decides to kill the Heavenly Illusion Immortal Sect’s prodigies while they are in the East Sea.

Character developments and interactions

• Ao Wang shifts from an arrogant young simulator-user into a calculating Dragon Venerable, but his simulations encourage growing cruelty. He recognizes Heavenly Will’s power yet remains determined to pursue his ambitions.
• The former Dragon Venerable is cautious and experienced, warning Ao Wang that foresight has limits and that the clan must proceed patiently. Ao Wang later dismisses his mentor’s caution, then gradually understands why it mattered.
• Ye Li is exceptionally talented and cheerful, treating his journey as both a cultivation challenge and an opportunity to enjoy the sights—and flirt. He remains loyal to his current cultivation method and master.
• Shen Fuyao feels overshadowed by Ye Li’s rapid progress and popularity. Her frustration is heightened by his romantic escapades and her own insecurity about her appearance.
• Ao Ying is cool and formal toward the visitors, offering Ye Li a Dragon Clan cultivation method while making clear that he is there to challenge their prodigies.
• Yun Huanzi accompanies his two disciples; his position is complicated by having two gifted students who have drawn Heavenly Will’s attention.

Significant themes

• The limits of foresight: Simulations provide information, but reality changes through Heavenly Will, unpredictable traits, and shifting circumstances.
• Ambition versus patience: Ao Wang’s desire to accomplish in one lifetime what generations could not leads toward reckless decisions.
• Power and manipulation: The Dragon Clan’s rise depends on long-term schemes, but its alliance with Heavenly Will also leaves it vulnerable to that power.
• Talent, comparison, and insecurity: Ye Li’s extraordinary progress intensifies Shen Fuyao’s sense of being overlooked.
• Consequences and moral detachment: Ao Wang treats simulated destruction as harmless, allowing him to become increasingly extreme.

Key plot points and events

• The Dragon Venerable reveals that his gathering with the dragons takes place inside a simulation. He explains that the Dragon Clan has secretly served Heavenly Will and that its attack on Ye Li is meant to kill him.
• In the simulated Dragon Transformation Pool ceremony, the dragons swarm Ye Li’s group. Ye Li unleashes a devastating sacrificial attack that destroys much of the Dragon Clan Grotto-Heaven, but Shen Fuyao is killed.
• Ye Li vows to uncover the plot and revive Fuyao. After restoring and interrogating the dead dragons with age-reversing primordial sand, he learns that the world is a simulation—and realizes that his prismatic [World-Shocking Wisdom] is being reproduced within it.
• Convinced he can use the simulation to change reality, Ye Li tells the Five Regions what is happening and gathers support. He then asks Xu Yun, bearer of [Qiankun Reversal], to sacrifice himself to help send Fuyao into the past.
• Ye Li reveals [Gift of Xiantian], an orange trait that can make falsehood real. He uses it to deceive and reshape the weakened simulation trait, then combines it with Xu Yun’s power to send Fuyao centuries into the past. Xu Yun dies; Ye Li survives because of his everlasting attainment, but suffers immense, unrelenting pain.
• Fuyao awakens in the past and meets a young Ao Ying. She conceals her identity, stays close to Ao Ying, and eventually reaches the Infinite Realm. She later joins the Heavenly Illusion Immortal Sect, where Yun Huanzi accepts her as his junior sister.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Li shifts from grief over Fuyao’s death to a determined, strategic effort to save her and alter the future. He accepts extreme personal suffering and persuades Xu Yun to make the ultimate sacrifice.
• Shen Fuyao becomes the key agent in Ye Li’s plan. Though unsettled by being displaced into the past, she adapts, hides her true purpose, and grows into a formidable cultivator.
• Xu Yun is initially incredulous and wary of Ye Li’s plan, but ultimately trusts him enough to sacrifice himself.
• Yun Huanzi shares Ye Li’s grief, helps investigate the Dragon Clan, and later unknowingly welcomes Fuyao into his sect.
• Ao Ying, still young, takes an immediate liking to Fuyao and asks her to stay as a companion.

Significant themes

• Simulation and reality: The chapter blurs the boundary between the simulated world and the real one, raising questions about what is genuine and whether simulated events can reshape reality.
• Sacrifice and devotion: Ye Li and Xu Yun pay enormous costs to give Fuyao another chance, while Fuyao accepts the burden of changing the past.
• Fate and intervention: The characters try to outmaneuver Heavenly Will by exploiting time, traits, and the simulation’s rules.
• Truth, falsehood, and identity: [Gift of Xiantian] turns the unreal into real, while Fuyao must conceal who she is as she enters the past.

Plot points and events

• Shen Fuyao, returned to the past but unable to freely change history, lives in the Heavenly Illusion Immortal Sect under the alias Shen Qinglian. After decades in seclusion, she takes her younger self, also named Shen Fuyao, as her disciple.
• When the girl’s trait awakens, it is [Orange · Cold Outside, Warm Inside]. The awakening removes part of Qinglian’s original [Gold · Cold Outside, Sugary Inside] trait, which she conceals as a Dao injury.
• The Dragon Venerable notices that memories of Qinglian have appeared in his mind and suspects she has been inserted into history. In a simulation, she confronts him, reveals she knows about his link to Heavenly Will and his time-resetting ability, and warns him to keep Ye Li alive until he reaches Martial Saint. Unable to attack her directly, the Dragon Venerable prompts the Great Qing Dynasty to investigate a suspected golden-trait talent in the south.
• Qinglian sends her disciple to explore the approaching Dragon Clan Secret Realm. Fuyao disguises herself using a sacrificial artifact—but imitates Qinglian’s figure as well as her appearance. In the Xia capital, Fuyao encounters Ye Li in a compromising situation and later blames Heavenly Will, not realizing Qinglian engineered their meeting.
• Qinglian secretly follows Ye Li’s group into the secret realm. She watches as Ye Li withstands the Dragon Maiden’s attempt at possession and escapes with the Scarlet Gold Hall. Afterward, Qinglian retrieves the scattered age-reversing primordial sand and vanishes.
• Months later, Ye Li joins the Immortal Gate. Qinglian is privately pleased when a twist of fate leads him to call her Fuyao, giving her a sense of connection to the present.
• At the Prodigy Grand Competition, Qinglian recalls a prodigy who once climbed the Thousand-Step Dao Stairway in one ascent: the Bald Monk, the leading talent of his era.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Qinglian balances her long-term mission to protect Ye Li with the emotional strain of watching her past self grow close to him. Her feelings intensify when Fuyao, using her likeness, becomes entangled with Ye Li; Qinglian tries to deny her jealousy and attraction.
• Young Shen Fuyao is eager for adventure and strongly admires Qinglian’s appearance. She is spirited and naïve about the forces shaping her life, interpreting her encounter with Ye Li as Heavenly Will’s doing.
• The Dragon Venerable shifts his focus from killing Ye Li to containing Qinglian, whose knowledge threatens the Dragon Clan’s alliance with Heavenly Will. When direct action is too risky, he resorts to political and institutional pressure.
• Ye Li remains largely unaware of Qinglian’s protection and manipulation. His success against the Dragon Maiden surprises even Qinglian.
• Qinglian’s relationship with her disciple blends affection, secrecy, and irony: she guides Fuyao toward Ye Li while concealing that she herself is the one arranging their encounters.

Significant themes

• Fate versus agency: Heavenly Will fixes much of history, while Qinglian searches for limited ways to intervene without provoking greater consequences.
• Identity and continuity: Qinglian and Fuyao share an origin and body, and names, traits, and appearances blur the distinction between past and present.
• Memory and altered history: The Dragon Venerable’s impossible memories expose Qinglian’s existence as an intrusion into the established timeline.
• Longing and regret: Qinglian’s reflections on how ordinary the past once seemed, and her concealed feelings for Ye Li, give her mission a melancholy emotional undercurrent.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Qinglian explains that the Dragon Venerable’s apparent help in a previous simulation became part of the fixed future. She urges Ye Li to trust destiny rather than use the Heavenly Book [My Self, Unbound], which might create unpredictable dangers.
• Ye Li shows concern for Qinglian’s centuries of isolation and hardship, then teases her about their relationship. Qinglian says she has no interest in romance, despite Ye Li suspecting she cares for him.
• Qinglian reveals that Shen Fuyao was inside the Dragon Palace and vanished when the age-reversing primordial sand affected her. Qinglian has secretly prepared an array to restore her after the crisis.
• The Dragon Venerable appears and proves Qinglian cannot harm him: his “heaven-following fortune-answering body” makes him immune to attacks until his fated time of death. He reveals that Qinglian is also destined to die after using the Forbidden Technique All Things Return as One.
• The Dragon Venerable urges Ye Li to master [My Self, Unbound], arguing that it is his only way to escape Heavenly Will’s control and perhaps save Qinglian. He frames the choice as power versus love, then disappears.
• Ye Li decides to acquire the Heavenly Book rather than accept Qinglian’s death. But Qinglian secretly removes a tiny corner of a page while he is distracted, leaving the book’s trait 0.01% incomplete.
• Ye Li begins absorbing the book’s power, but cannot master it fully. Before leaving, Qinglian kisses him—her first kiss—and tells him to cultivate in seclusion rather than interfere in her affairs. She vanishes, leaving Ye Li furious and the others confused.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Li shifts from trusting Qinglian’s advice to choosing to defy fate for her sake. His concern and attraction toward her become clearer, though he masks them with teasing.
• Shen Qinglian reveals her self-sacrificing plan: she intends to face her foretold death alone and keeps Ye Li at a distance because she cares for him. Her kiss is both an emotional breakthrough and a way to distract him while preventing him from gaining the complete Heavenly Book.
• The Dragon Venerable manipulates Ye Li by exposing Qinglian’s fate and presenting the Heavenly Book as the only escape from Heavenly Will. His immunity underscores the power and limits of fate.
• Wei Wanxi and Ao Ying witness the aftermath but are bewildered by Qinglian’s disappearance and Ye Li’s transformation.

Significant themes

• Fate versus free will: Heavenly Will fixes destinies, while Ye Li’s attempt to master the book represents resistance.
• Love and sacrifice: Qinglian tries to protect Ye Li by distancing herself; Ye Li refuses to accept her sacrifice.
• Incomplete power and hidden costs: Qinglian’s missing page leaves Ye Li with an almost—but not entirely—complete trait, suggesting that escaping fate may require more than raw power.

Ye Li manipulated karma and fate to escape the Dragon Palace’s siege while trying to complete the My Self, Unbound Secret Art. Just before reaching its final threshold, he entered a white spacetime realm and confronted Heavenly Will, while Shen Qinglian rejected an invitation from the Yi Kingdom.

• Ye Li sent Ao Ying and Wei Wanxi into his grotto-heaven, weakened himself, and reversed the My Self, Unbound Secret Art to draw Heavenly Will’s karma onto himself.
• Ye Li escaped the Dragon Palace through a series of improbable dangers as Heavenly Will’s influence repeatedly protected him from death.
• Ye Li followed his sense of Shen Qinglian while rapidly cultivating the secret art, bringing its progress to 1,999,999.
• Ye Li crossed into a pure-white spacetime realm and recognized the white-jade figure before him as Heavenly Will or its agent.
• A man invited Shen Qinglian to the Yi Kingdom, claiming her connection to its origin point in time might offer a chance to survive, but she told him to leave.

Ye Li defied Heavenly Will’s attempt to bind him with a slave contract, while Shen Qinglian fought the Yi Kingdom’s enormous army of Infinite Realm experts. The Dragon Clan and the Ji Kingdom began reviving as the battle escalated, and Shen Qinglian fought to hold the Yi Kingdom back until the Dragon Clan could join her.

• Heavenly Will appeared through Ao Li and offered Ye Li Shen Qinglian’s life in exchange for his service, but Ye Li used his trait to make Heavenly Will’s vessel approach him and then learned he needed to complete [My Self, Unbound] to leave the spacetime.
• After Heavenly Will withdrew from Ao Li, she mistook Ye Li’s situation for their marriage being consummated, while Ye Li tried to find a way to take her out of the pure-white spacetime.
• Emperor Qing met the Dragon Venerable in the East Sea as the Dragon Clan and the beings of the Ji Kingdom began reviving, and Wei Wanxi saw the Ji Kingdom’s quest change to slaying Ye Li.
• Shen Qinglian killed an Infinite Realm expert from the Yi Kingdom, then faced an immense army of Yi Kingdom experts pouring through spacetime.
• Shen Qinglian used her restored Legendary Trait to divide spacetime, erase concepts, and seal her enemies’ traits, but she focused on stalling until the Dragon Clan revived.

Shen Qinglian prepared to sacrifice herself to erase the Dragon Clan’s Azure Dragon Deliverance Method practitioners, but Ye Li used [gift of Xiantian] to make everyone else forget the methods he cultivated. He perfected the Azure Dragon Deliverance Method’s eighth level and faced three choices for enhancing its trait.

• Shen Qinglian resolved to erase the Dragon Clan’s practitioners of the Azure Dragon Deliverance Method, leaving the Dragon Venerable for Ye Li to confront.
• Ye Li asked Xiantian Realm about [gift of Xiantian] and shaped its effect to preserve his uniqueness.
• [Gift of Xiantian] caused practitioners throughout the Universe Realm, including the Dragon Venerable, to forget the Azure Dragon Deliverance Method and other methods Ye Li practiced.
• Ye Li completed the eighth level of the Azure Dragon Deliverance Method and unlocked specialized trait enhancement.
• Ye Li viewed the three enhancement options for Dragon’s Flourishing: Frenzy, Persistence, and Madness.

Ye Li perfected the eighth level of the Azure Dragon Deliverance Method and chose an epic trait that amplified his attacks to an unimaginable degree. After escaping Heavenly Will’s control, he emerged from spacetime to face the Dragon Venerable, Emperor Qing, and an army of Infinite Realm martial artists lying in wait.

• Ye Li perfected the Azure Dragon Deliverance Method, selected Dragon's Flourishing: Frenzy, and used its power to shatter the pure-white spacetime.
• Ye Li absorbed the remaining karma needed to complete the My Self, Unbound Secret Art, then drew Ao Li into his grotto-heaven.
• The Dragon Venerable and Emperor Qing assembled forces around the East Sea and offered a Heavenly Book to whoever captured Ye Li alive.
• Ye Li emerged from the spacetime origin, and the Dragon Venerable realized that Ye Li’s confident expression signaled something had gone wrong with his plans.
• An Infinite Realm martial artist challenged Ye Li, and the assembled forces charged as Ye Li raised his fist and formed a pitch-black slash.