Chapter Summaries

Yu Ci and Daoist Qianbao discovered a Parasitic Yuan Worm inside Liu Xiandong and left him alive after Yu Ci briefly restored his awareness. As Liu Xiandong struggled onward, an elusive voice helped him find hope and reach a fragile balance with the worm, leaving him wondering whether gods truly existed.

• The Nether Demon Eye fled when Yu Ci and his companions arrived, and Yu Ci discovered a Parasitic Yuan Worm inside Liu Xiandong.
• Yu Ci and Daoist Qianbao discussed killing Liu Xiandong, but Yu Ci left after briefly clearing his mind with a touch.
• Liu Xiandong charged onward as the worm weakened his awareness, while a vague voice repeatedly gave him strength.
• Liu Xiandong searched for the voice, overcame his fear and despair, and found a new sense of vitality and hope.
• Liu Xiandong collapsed in the mud, still alive with the worm inside him, and wondered whether the world truly had gods.

Yu Ci captured the Nether Demon Eye and uncovered its connection to a secret group tied to the Parasitic Yuan Worms, while Daoist Qianbao prepared to alert the Xiyu Alliance about the threat. After meeting Ji Yao and promising to assess his master’s fate, Yu Ci sensed an unseen ink-like figure manifesting nearby.

• The Nether Demon Eye hid in the marsh, but Yu Ci drew him into his Inner Void with ease.
• Yu Ci searched the Nether Demon Eye’s thoughts and learned he belonged to a secret group, though he knew nothing of the Qionglu Society’s core echelon.
• Daoist Qianbao warned Yu Ci that Parasitic Yuan Worms could lead to a God Breaking Gu and said he needed to inform the Xiyu Alliance’s sects.
• Yu Ci released the Purple-Haired Daoist and his disciple, Ji Yao, who thanked him and sought help for his master.
• Yu Ci agreed to examine the Purple-Haired Daoist’s fortune, then noticed an ink-like figure appear unseen by Ji Yao and Daoist Qianbao.

Yu Ci treated the Purple-Haired Daoist and decided to preserve his fragile soul until it could recover naturally. He reunited with Madam Huanyong, learned she had reached the Earth Immortal realm, and discussed her plans for Liu Xiandong and her believers before she vanished.

• Yu Ci consulted Madam Huanyong about the Purple-Haired Daoist, and she advised him to protect the remaining spark of life rather than force him awake.
• Yu Ci finished treating the Purple-Haired Daoist and told little Daoist Ji Yao to watch over him without moving him rashly.
• Madam Huanyong revealed that she had cultivated an avatar and had become an Earth Immortal after years of adjustment and cultivation.
• Madam Huanyong told Yu Ci that she was gradually conditioning Liu Xiandong and expected his faith to be established in ten years.
• Yu Ci asked Madam Huanyong to keep her avatar stationed at his side, and she described her plans for the believers she was gathering before vanishing.

Yu Ci had Shen Wan read the news of the Qionglu Society purging members blamed for the Parasitic Yuan Worm crisis, then discussed her unstable state of mind and her growing trade network. The chapter left Yu Ci’s plans and the Qionglu Society’s visiting card unaddressed as the Three Treasures Ship neared Xi Yu Lake.

• Shen Wan read that Divine Lord Qionglong had expelled three Society leaders and five Longevity True Mans, while most of them had been killed or captured.
• Qizhen reported that Duanmu Senqiu had left a visiting card for Yu Ci, who said the Society members had themselves to thank.
• Yu Ci told Shen Wan that her cultivation had stalled because she was overthinking and that her state of mind was unsteady.
• Shen Wan described how she had used Yu Ci’s Divine Lord Network to build purchasing and sales channels across the True Realm.

Shen Wan reported on the integration and received Yu Ci’s orders to collect treasures, including a jade slip and Dragon-Guiding Plates, near Hanxu City. After she left, Madam Huanyong explained that Yu Ci’s closeness to Shen Wan was clouding the relationship between them, and Yu Ci recognized the source of his unease.

• Shen Wan briefed Yu Ci on the integration’s results, expenditures, and gains.
• Yu Ci told Shen Wan to collect treasures near Hanxu City in half a month, including a jade slip about the Shangqing remnant lineage and two Dragon-Guiding Plates.
• Shen Wan suspected the delivery was connected to Qionglu Society and considered how Yu Ci might be covertly helping it.
• Yu Ci told Shen Wan to continue building the Shangqing lineage’s strength and let her allocate the remaining items as she saw fit.
• Madam Huanyong judged Shen Wan an outstanding subordinate but warned that Yu Ci was too close to her.
• Madam Huanyong explained the differing bonds between masters and believers, and Yu Ci realized that his closeness to Shen Wan had obscured his judgment.

Yu Ci discussed Madam Huanyong’s ambitions and methods, then assigned her the Northern Wilderness as a field for cultivating believers and countering the Great Brahma’s influence. After she left, he considered how his reliance on the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror had compromised the foundation of his believers and weighed two difficult ways to repair it.

• Yu Ci praised Madam Huanyong’s careful influence over Liu Xiandong and acknowledged that his earlier seizure of her ambitions had left her with reason to resent him.
• Yu Ci urged Madam Huanyong to solidify her foundation, pursue the position of Ignorance, and oppose the Great Brahma’s foothold in the True Realm.
• Yu Ci proposed that Madam Huanyong use her methods among the Northern Wilderness’s common people, while warning her that the region’s apparent suitability might be deliberately engineered.
• Madam Huanyong bowed in thanks and departed, while Yu Ci viewed the assignment as both a way to secure a stable rear and an experiment in how her relay might gather Faith Power.
• Yu Ci concluded that changing his believers’ foundation required addressing the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror, and considered either reconstructing the complete mirror or gathering Pratyekabuddha Dharma Realm Shards to empower the Equality Bead.

Tie Lan surveyed Huayang Mountain’s treacherous terrain for a spiritual vein transplantation when a powerful, unknown enemy attacked him. His master’s Sword Qi helped him escape briefly, but the enemy shattered his sword-light and overwhelmed him.

• Tie Lan spent nearly half a month mapping Huayang Mountain’s terrain and demonic repositories for his master's master.
• After the Feng Shui Disk began malfunctioning, Tie Lan sent a retreat signal and rushed toward Huayang Cave.
• A powerful killing intent struck Tie Lan, while his talismans helped him evade the converging demonic beasts.
• Tie Lan used the Shadow Ghost’s Sword Qi to break through the attack, but the impact damaged his senses.
• The enemy manipulated the surrounding laws and demonic Qi, then shattered Tie Lan’s fleeing sword-light.

Shadow Ghost severed a distant divine-will attack that nearly destroyed Tie Lan, then learned the attacker's identity remained unknown. Meanwhile, Yu Ci sailed across Xi Yu Lake and sensed that someone had taken his bait.

• Shadow Ghost used Tie Lan's Iron Soul Returning Spirit Pearl to cut off the distant attacker's connection through the laws of the void.
• Tie Lan re-formed his dharma body, apologized to Shadow Ghost, and described the mysterious attacker's overwhelming divine will.
• Shadow Ghost concluded their arrangements at Huayang Mountain were likely ruined and decided to send a message.
• Yu Ci sailed by moonlight across Xi Yu Lake, where the Three True Immortal Cities and their array kept the core region sheltered from the demonic calamity.
• Yu Ci noticed that a fish had taken the bait he had cast.

Yu Ci tracked his target across Xi Yu Lake, where the dense arrays and restrictions suppressed spiritual perception. Meanwhile, a hunting group delivered the captured God-Hater to an abandoned mine, but as they left, Old Zhou found his companions and the surrounding water frozen in place.

• Yu Ci struggled with Xi Yu Lake’s restrictions on spiritual perception and chose to keep his senses restrained while following his fishbait.
• A group of Void-stepping cultivators transported the captured God-Hater in a diving boat and discussed their reward and plans to leave for the Southern Land.
• The group reached an abandoned mine at a depth of 1,211 zhang and learned that their leader had received the reward.
• As the cultivators filed out of the diving boat, Old Zhou groped the captive before following them outside.
• Old Zhou discovered his companions and the lake water inexplicably frozen in place.

Su Shuanghe and Zhai Que'er interrogated Se Yun about the attacks on sword cultivators and discovered that Baiyi was her superior. Zhai Que'er outlined three ways to respond to the Xia clan, but Su Shuanghe doubted they had enough forces to act decisively and joked that they might have to rob the Sword Discussion Pavilion.

• Su Shuanghe used the Green Wave Spirit Transformation Painting to capture and erase Old Zhou and four other cultivators, then entered the stealth boat with Zhai Que'er.
• Zhai Que'er and Su Shuanghe questioned the captive Se Yun, who said she had been plundering sword cultivators along the Cang River and that Baiyi was her immediate superior.
• Su Shuanghe realized Baiyi's connection to his clandestine operations had exposed a vulnerability and asked Zhai Que'er for advice.
• Zhai Que'er proposed redirecting blame, erasing all traces, or striking first, and she and Su Shuanghe rejected the first two options as too risky or passive.
• Su Shuanghe said his forces lacked enough Void Stepping and True Person sword cultivators, then wondered whether they would have to rob the Sword Discussion Pavilion.

Zhai Que'er and Su Shuanghe hid Se Yun in an underwater mine after discussing how to target Longevity Sword Cultivators, while Yu Ci watched through his link to her and realized Zhai Que'er was manipulating Su Shuanghe. After they left his range, Yu Ci turned toward a message from Shadow Ghost, weighing its implications for Huayang Mountain and the Demonic Sect when someone approached him.

• Zhai Que'er proposed using a dangerous place like Sword Garden to kill Longevity Sword Cultivators without drawing suspicion, and Su Shuanghe agreed to consider the plan.
• Zhai Que'er and Su Shuanghe decided to keep Se Yun alive and hid her in an abandoned mine nearly forty li beneath the water.
• Yu Ci observed the exchange through Se Yun and suspected that Zhai Que'er was influencing Su Shuanghe with the Sovereign Sky Demon Soul Capturing Scripture.
• Yu Ci chose not to extend his senses with the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror, wary of alerting Zhai Que'er, and let her and Su Shuanghe leave his range.
• Yu Ci received a message from Shadow Ghost and paused to consider its connection to the changes at Huayang Mountain and the Demonic Sect.
• Someone approached Yu Ci and began to greet him, but abruptly choked back the words.

Yu Ci reunited with Dong Yan on Xi Yu Lake and accepted an invitation to a feast hosted by the North Sea Whale King. As they entered the reed bed, Dong Yan and Zeng Yue lit a lantern to honor Yu Ci, and Dong Yan openly declared him worthy of the highest respect.

• Yu Ci recognized Dong Yan, the former Wusheng Sword Sect master, and learned that he had become a Void-Stepping Rogue Cultivator.
• Dong Yan introduced Yu Ci to his companions Zeng Yue and Li Hui, and Zeng Yue explained that the North Sea Whale King was hosting a feast in the reeds.
• Yu Ci asked Dong Yan to guide him to the gathering, and Dong Yan carefully steered his boat into the reed bed.
• Zeng Yue realized Dong Yan wanted him to light a lantern, then opened a waterway through the reeds with his Baleful Intent.
• Yu Ci asked about the lantern custom, and Dong Yan declared that Yu Ci was worthy of honor.

Yu Ci sailed through Xi Yu Lake’s reed marsh with Dong Yan and Zeng Yue, learning that the North Sea Whale King had turned the lake into a vast drinking gathering after recovering from his conflict with Lin Qingyu. As the Immortal Guiding Lantern reached the revelers, a flushed, hoarse-voiced figure stopped their boat.

• Dong Yan regretted greeting Yu Ci too boldly, then felt relieved and proud when Yu Ci responded amiably.
• Dong Yan explained that the North Sea Whale King was a famed, generous powerhouse who had fled to Xi Yu Lake after offending Lin Qingyu.
• Yu Ci and Dong Yan discussed old acquaintances as they rowed past cultivators drinking the Whale King’s powerful raw mash.
• The group reached a clearing where revelers recognized the Immortal Guiding Lantern and called out to its passengers.
• A flushed figure sitting alone in a small boat ordered them to stop.

Yu Ci met Luo Yuniang at the wine feast, where she thanked him for helping her master, Xue Pingzhi, and invited him to visit her. He accepted her invitation, leaving the feast behind as Luo Yuniang prepared to lead him to her master.

• Luo Yuniang recognized Yu Ci as Heavenly Monarch and bowed to him, while Yu Ci recalled that she was Xue Pingzhi’s disciple.
• Luo Yuniang told Yu Ci that she and her master had come to find peace amid turmoil in the Northern Lands and apologized for past offenses.
• Luo Yuniang thanked Yu Ci for the talismans he had made for Xue Pingzhi and pledged her loyalty to him.
• Luo Yuniang invited Yu Ci to visit Xue Pingzhi, and Yu Ci accepted, seeing a chance to mend old ties and gain a potential ally.
• Luo Yuniang stepped aboard Yu Ci’s boat, sent Dong Yan ashore beside Zeng Yue, and lit a palace lantern.

Yu Ci was caught between Luo Yuniang and the North Sea Whale King, then accepted the Whale King’s wine before leaving with Luo Yuniang. He meditated by her magical lantern as she guided him through a secluded waterway to a lotus pond, where a brilliant hall came into view.

• Luo Yuniang used her Immortal Guiding Lantern to claim Yu Ci as her guest, and the North Sea Whale King called out to challenge her.
• Yu Ci toasted the Whale King, drank the Cold Jade Original Mash, and revealed that he was Heavenly Monarch Yuanxu.
• The Whale King reacted to Yu Ci’s identity with a thunderous outburst as Luo Yuniang carried him away by boat.
• Yu Ci examined the lantern’s effects and entered deep meditation during the journey.
• Luo Yuniang guided Yu Ci through a winding, secluded waterway into a lotus pond, where they saw a brightly lit main hall.

Yu Ci met Yuanjun Pingzhi at a lavish lakeside residence and learned that Madam Hua had arranged the gathering. After Madam Hua thanked him for his connection to the Supreme Clarity lineage, the meeting began with her frail condition still a concern.

• Luo Yuniang guided Yu Ci from the boat to the dock, where Xue Pingzhi welcomed him and thanked him for the Furnace Heart Method that had eased her illness.
• Xue Pingzhi escorted Yu Ci through the prepared banquet hall, where he found only three seats and Madam Hua waiting as host.
• Yu Ci recognized Madam Hua as the Sea Merchant Guild’s influential chief strategist and took a seat beside her and Xue Pingzhi.
• Madam Hua bowed to Yu Ci and thanked him as the legitimate successor of Supreme Clarity, saying Wingless’s spirit talismans had helped her survive as her health declined.

Yu Ci learned that Madam Hua’s ruined Dao foundation and sealed vitality had resisted years of treatment, and agreed to examine her with talisman arts. As he began taking her pulse, Xue Pingzhi warned him that the restriction’s lingering intent made the diagnosis dangerous.

• Yu Ci asked why Madam Hua’s condition had not improved despite her use of the Grand Profound Yin Birth Talisman and Kaiming Spirit Talisman.
• Madam Hua explained that calamity and a vicious restriction had damaged her foundation and vitality, while maintaining her appearance further depleted her strength.
• Xue Pingzhi said Madam Hua’s affliction required gentle talismans that nurtured her foundation, and Yu Ci acknowledged his limited expertise.
• Madam Hua revealed that Zhengyi Dao and Yellow Heaven Dao had failed to treat her because their methods did not suit her needs.
• Yu Ci agreed to examine Madam Hua’s qi and consider adjusting her talismans, despite Xue Pingzhi’s warning about the restriction’s dangerous lingering intent.
• Yu Ci sat beside Madam Hua and began taking her pulse as Xue Pingzhi watched closely.

Yu Ci examined Madam Hua and discovered that a dormant, powerful restriction was entwined with her frail body and spirit. Unable to find a safe cure, he agreed to make her Supreme Vast Sun Essence Illuminating Spirit Talismans, and the gathering continued with a toast.

• Yu Ci felt Madam Hua's pulse and found her qi and blood slow, but could not locate the restriction through ordinary examination.
• At Madam Hua's invitation, Yu Ci probed her Cun Guan pulse with divine sense, triggering the restriction and causing her severe pain.
• Yu Ci escaped the restriction's attack with the Void Leap Method, while Xue Pingzhi used primordial qi to dispel the clash of divine intents.
• Yu Ci concluded that the restriction was deeply rooted and dangerously sensitive, making a drastic treatment through the Law of Life and Death the only possible approach he could imagine.
• Madam Hua asked Yu Ci to make Supreme Vast Sun Essence Illuminating Spirit Talismans at ten times the market price, and he agreed to consider the request.
• Madam Hua, Xue Pingzhi, and Yu Ci raised their cups and exchanged words about beauty, life, and death.

Yu Ci discussed freedom and the Heaven and Earth Law System with Madam Hua and Xue Pingzhi before learning that his divine soul injury could be treated in Madam Hua’s cold spring. As he rested in the spring, he realized its effects on his thoughts resembled the methods of the demonic path.

• Yu Ci heard Xue Pingzhi describe how the Eight Sceneries Palace’s teachings and the Heaven and Earth Law System constrained true freedom.
• Xue Pingzhi asked about Yu Ci’s lingering divine soul injury, and Madam Hua offered him her cold spring as treatment.
• Madam Hua served Yu Ci wine medicine and invited him to enter the spring at dawn.
• Yu Ci followed a maidservant through a concealed route beneath the lotus pond to reach the spring chamber.
• Yu Ci immersed himself in the cold spring and found that it made his thoughts spread freely and sparked unusual inspirations.
• Yu Ci judged that the spring’s effects resembled the methods of the demonic path.

Yu Ci studied Demonic sect inscriptions in the spring pool and summoned Madam Huanyong to ask about the people under her care. He learned that Ye Chi’s damaged sword embryo threatened her cultivation, though he believed the injury could be healed.

• Yu Ci recognized Demonic sect inscriptions around the spring pool and entered a relaxed state that helped clear his injuries and organize his thoughts.
• Yu Ci realized some inscriptions resembled passages from the Twelve Heavens of Jade Firmament's Profound Passage and summoned Madam Huanyong.
• Madam Huanyong reported that Fifth Mistress had mostly overcome the demonic influence and could rest nearby.
• Madam Huanyong said Dian Niangzi needed a long period of recovery and suggested nourishing her with ley-line energy.
• Madam Huanyong warned that Ye Chi’s damaged natal sword embryo could cost her decades of cultivation if treated carelessly, while Yu Ci believed his sword scripture offered ways to heal it.