Chapter Summaries

Yu Ci kept the Eternal Azure Sky talisman scroll, unsettling the cultivators gathered at Xi Yu Lake. Meanwhile, Zhao Xiangshan secretly survived by parasitizing fish, but the Dao Lord’s lingering rhyme continued to damage his origin until a bright light found him in the lake’s depths.

• Yu Ci turned the talisman scroll into a bead, strung it with a wooden bead, and wore both on his wrist.
• Madam Xia praised the Eternal Azure Sky, while Divine Lord Cold Bamboo and other cultivators grew wary of Yu Ci’s power.
• A speck of Zhao Xiangshan’s ash landed on a fish, and he used successive fish hosts to recover some of his strength.
• Zhao Xiangshan realized the Dao rhyme of “governing before chaos” kept suppressing his origin and draining his stolen vital energy.
• As Zhao Xiangshan tried to lure a new host, clear light like a bright moon enveloped him and his parasitic fish.

Madam Huanyong trapped Zhao Xiangshan beneath a cyan full moon, destroyed his flood-dragon shark host body, and dragged his spiritual intent through the lunar wheel. As he recognized the forces behind the moon, Zhao Xiangshan was swept toward a place filled with bloody tides and violent emotions.

• Madam Huanyong recalled her past encounters with Zhao Xiangshan, whom she addressed as Brother Mengde, and said her superior had lent her a treasure to bring him to a past-life reunion.
• The full moon’s light corroded Zhao Xiangshan’s host body and drew his remaining spiritual intent into the lunar wheel.
• Zhao Xiangshan realized the moon was connected to the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror, the Boundless Void Divine Lord, the Sovereign Sky Demon Soul Capturing Scripture, and the Demonic Tribe’s fundamental Seed Demon Arts.
• The lunar wheel carried Zhao Xiangshan’s fading spiritual intent into a place where bloody tidal waves and violent emotions welcomed him.

Ao Xiu learned that the talismans Yu Ci had linked to his qi would force him to keep hunting heavenly demons or risk harming himself, then heard that Madam Hua had been assassinated. He boarded a flying boat with Ao Yang to respond to the incident, whose significance to the Xiyu Alliance remained unclear.

• Wandering Cultivator Tianfeng explained that Yu Ci’s linked talismans could become powerful but would consume Ao Xiu’s vital energy and leave him dependent on killing heavenly demons.
• Ao Xiu rejected Tianfeng’s suggestions to seek out Yu Ci or destroy the talismans and instead hoped to damage Yu Ci’s standing through Tianfeng’s connections.
• Ao Xiu’s subordinate reported that Madam Hua had been assassinated, and Ao Xiu hurried to board a flying boat.
• Ao Xiu learned that Yu Ci had been with Madam Hua during the incident and found Ao Yang aboard the boat.
• Ao Yang urged Ao Xiu to coordinate the Sea Merchant Guild’s account of the assassination before confronting the Xiyu Alliance.

Ao Yang and Ao Xiu arrived at Lotus Pond and learned that the Sea Merchant Guild had been reduced to menial duties amid the Xiyu Alliance’s investigation. Yu Ci and Madam Hua examined the murdered Hua Su, and Madam Hua’s cryptic replies left Yu Ci suspecting that someone had deliberately created a trial for him.

• Ao Yang and Ao Xiu discussed the Sea Merchant Guild’s factional struggle over Madam Hua as their flying vessel approached Lotus Pond.
• Divine Lord Cold Bamboo assigned Ao Yang and Ao Xiu to help with the aftermath, and they learned that the incident involved Eternal Azure Sky and a gathering of powerful cultivators.
• Ao Yang and Ao Xiu entered the sealed core area, where they found Yu Ci and Madam Hua beside the corpse of Hua Su, Madam Hua’s personal attendant.
• Zheng Yuan questioned Ao Yang and Ao Xiu about Hua Su’s identity and relationships, while the two struggled to defend the Sea Merchant Guild from suspicion.
• Madam Hua mourned Hua Su and remarked that her impending death could not put people’s hearts at ease.
• Yu Ci inferred that the Lotus Pond restrictions had been aimed at him and asked Madam Hua whether someone had arranged a similar ordeal for him; she acknowledged his resentment, leaving him stunned.

Madam Hua claimed the Heavenly Evasion Sect had arranged the assassination as a probe, prompting Yu Ci to consider how to respond while questioning how she knew so much about his affairs. He shifted the immediate decision to Divine Lord Cold Bamboo, who began by mentioning the Crimson Firmament Heaven.

• Madam Hua accused the Heavenly Evasion Sect of using the Wuji Pavilion and the Crimson Firmament Heaven to test Yu Ci and expose his resources.
• Yu Ci doubted her explanation but realized she possessed extensive intelligence about his movements and suspected her of helping create the conditions for the assassination.
• Yu Ci reflected that Zhao Xiangshan and his allies had failed to anticipate his use of the Eternal Azure Sky, which had publicly overturned their plan.
• Yu Ci asked Divine Lord Cold Bamboo how the Xiyu Alliance would handle the assassin's side.
• Divine Lord Cold Bamboo considered Madam Hua's claim and began by bringing up the Crimson Firmament Heaven.

Yu Ci used his victory over the Blood Mansion Ancestor and Zhao Xiangshan to demand compensation from the Xiyu Alliance, which blamed Crimson Firmament Heaven for the attack. Divine Lord Cold Bamboo outlined severe penalties, but Yu Ci pressed for control of Crimson Firmament Heaven’s curse-kill techniques, leaving negotiations unresolved.

• Yu Ci recognized that the Xiyu Alliance bore responsibility for failing to maintain order and that he could claim compensation for the resulting losses.
• Divine Lord Cold Bamboo announced that Crimson Firmament Heaven would lose its Grand Competition eligibility, dividends, privileges, and assets, with one mine cavern transferred to Yu Ci.
• Those present realized that the penalties would devastate Crimson Firmament Heaven and might create an opening for the Shangqing Sect to regain its former standing.
• Yu Ci interrupted Divine Lord Cold Bamboo’s next proposal and demanded that Crimson Firmament Heaven hand over everything related to the Crimson Firmament Curse Kill Seal.
• Divine Lord Cold Bamboo privately resented Yu Ci’s demand, recognizing that the seal’s secret manor, altar, artifacts, and cultivation method would be a major loss for Crimson Firmament Heaven.

Yu Ci pressured the Xiyu Alliance for compensation after destroying Wuji Pavilion, then entrusted Madam Hua with negotiating on his behalf. Under his threat and apparent intimacy, she pushed the alliance toward a deadline for settling the compensation and ordered the Sea Merchant Guild to support the talks and secure the Lotus Pond.

• Divine Lord Cold Bamboo stalled Yu Ci’s demands by saying the Xiyu Alliance needed further discussion, and Yu Ci told him to return with a result.
• Yu Ci touched Madam Hua and handed her the negotiations, while secretly threatening her with a soul-locking art and a mark on her shoulder.
• Madam Hua demanded that the Xiyu Alliance review Wuji Pavilion’s assets and settle compensation for Yu Ci before the Clear Sky Discourse.
• Madam Hua told Ao Yang to assign elite Sea Merchant Guild members to the negotiations, leaving Divine Lord Cold Bamboo and Ao Yang unable to object.
• Madam Hua ordered the Lotus Pond cleared and its attendants vetted, alarming Ao Yang because the purge would expose and remove the guild’s spies.

Yu Ci reflected on the battle and used No-Illumination Fire to temper his Inner Void, Dao foundation, and disposition. Madam Huanyong visited Chengqitian and witnessed the Cloud Tower Tree’s growth and the Blood Mansion Ancestor’s renewal, leaving her to wonder whether she might follow his example.

• Yu Ci stayed at Lotus Pond in a courtyard provided by the Sea Merchant Guild and meditated on the gains and losses of the battle.
• After two days, Yu Ci used No-Illumination Fire and Demon Lord Wuming’s power to expose weaknesses in his cultivation and refine his heart.
• Yu Ci recognized that his experiments in deduction drew on the Scripture of the Three Qi's Wondrous Transformations from the Jade Chapter of Cavern Origin and renewed his resolve to reestablish Shangqing.
• Madam Huanyong met Yu Ci in Chengqitian and saw that the Cloud Tower Tree had grown while the ritual platform and its artifacts had been destroyed.
• Madam Huanyong saw Xusheng and the Blood Mansion Ancestor meditating beneath the tree, and considered whether the Ancestor’s renewal could become a model for her.

Yu Ci learned that Zhao Xiangshan was a Skin Demon and discussed how Outer Realm devils could infiltrate the True Realm. He also asked Madam Huanyong to help investigate a mysterious spying worm before leaving the Inner Void to meet Luo Yuniang.

• Madam Huanyong told Yu Ci that Zhao Xiangshan had revealed traits identifying him as a Skin Demon, one of the Thirteen Outer Paths.
• Yu Ci questioned how Outer Realm devils could remain in the True Realm, and Madam Huanyong explained that some could enter by abandoning their cultivation and adapting to its laws.
• Yu Ci showed Madam Huanyong a wormlike spying artifact that had blended with his Inner Void, and she judged it to be a man-made object formed from mind power and likely used to spy.
• Yu Ci asked Madam Huanyong to help trace the artifact to its source, since he suspected someone had been watching him for years.
• Yu Ci saw Xiao Jiu playing with the Taihao City-Shattering Bow he had given her, then went to greet Luo Yuniang, who had helped look after Ye Chi.

Yu Ci attended Su Shuanghe’s banquet despite having another appointment, while Su tried to learn what Yu Ci knew about the missing sword cultivators. On their way out, they interrupted an assault on Xue Zhi, and Yu Ci recognized a faint fragrance that suggested an old connection.

• Luo Yuniang invited Yu Ci to Xue Pingzhi’s estate the following evening, and Yu Ci agreed despite an earlier appointment.
• Su Shuanghe hosted Yu Ci, hoping to gauge how much he knew about the Wuji Pavilion’s collection of sword cultivators, but he learned little.
• Yu Ci and Su Shuanghe heard a disturbance in a covered walkway, where a cultivator was assaulting Xue Zhi.
• Su Shuanghe beat the attacker, while Yu Ci’s intervention helped keep Su from turning his anger on Xue Zhi.
• Yu Ci noticed a familiar, faint fragrance from Xue Zhi and looked toward the attacker.

Yu Ci recognized Su Qizhe’s depraved behavior as a symptom of Seven Emotions Disorder and arranged for Xue Zhi to leave Su Shuanghe’s courtyard. As he flew to his next appointment, he traced the unusual fragrance on Xue Zhi to a modified Pollen Sowing Technique and wondered whether it could be detected only by chosen people.

• Yu Ci recognized Su Qizhe as Su Shuanghe’s clan nephew and recalled their earlier meeting at the Li Chen Sect.
• Su Shuanghe explained that Su Qizhe had developed Seven Emotions Disorder after his cultivation went awry, then sent him away.
• Yu Ci urged Xue Zhi to go out and clear her mind, and Su Shuanghe agreed.
• Yu Ci flew toward his next appointment and reasoned that a Pollen Sowing Technique had transferred the fragrance from Su Qizhe to Xue Zhi.
• Yu Ci suspected the fragrance might be detectable only by particular people or under specific conditions.

Yu Ci investigated a strange fragrance that matched Miao Xiang’s unique aura and suspected she was using it to send a message through Su Qizhe. He tasked You Rui with reestablishing contact and learned that Miao Xiang was Su Qizhe’s aunt, leaving the significance of her connection to the fragrance unresolved.

• Yu Ci formed an image of Miao Xiang in the Inner Void, and Xusheng recognized her while noting that her distinctive fragrance was missing.
• Yu Ci explained that the fragrance he had detected around Su Shuanghe’s courtyard and Xue Zhi resembled the aura produced by Miao Xiang’s cultivation technique.
• Yu Ci summoned You Rui and asked about her past communications with Miao Xiang, and You Rui said contact had stopped after Miao Xiang began closed-door seclusion before the Mount Donghua incident.
• Yu Ci ordered You Rui to investigate Flying Soul City and Su Qizhe for preliminary results before the Clear Sky Discourse.
• Madam Huanyong and You Rui revealed that Miao Xiang belonged to the Su clan and was Su Qizhe’s aunt.

Yu Ci recognized the Witch Sect’s bloodline ties as a possible way to influence its politics and went to meet Xue Pingzhi. There he reunited with Murong Qingyan and learned that Madam Xia was also among the evening’s guests, leaving him to consider how to use his connections on both sides.

• Yu Ci considered using Witch Sect bloodlines as leverage and planned to have You Rui investigate the idea.
• Yu Ci traveled to Xue Pingzhi’s residence, aware that he needed her as an ally against the Rakshasa Ghost King and the Great Black Heavenly Buddha Mother Bodhisattva.
• Luo Yuniang presented Yu Ci with a choice between her boat and another boat carrying Murong Qingyan, and he chose to greet Murong.
• Yu Ci recognized Murong Qingyan as his old companion and exchanged greetings with her.
• Yu Ci guessed that Madam Xia was the other guest Xue Pingzhi had invited, and Luo Yuniang and Murong Qingyan confirmed it before taking him toward the residence.

Yu Ci met with Madam Xia and Xue Pingzhi to coordinate claims over void worlds at the coming Clear Sky Discourse, while learning more about the realms and stars beyond the true realm. The meeting ended with Madam Huanyong privately explaining the Shaman God’s creation of the true realm and his eventual downfall.

• Yu Ci arrived at Madam Huanyong’s estate, where Xue Pingzhi introduced him to Madam Xia.
• Madam Xia discussed the Death Star, Feipuo Realm, and Taishi Star with Yu Ci, noting the factions likely to contest them at the Clear Sky Discourse.
• Yu Ci noticed a strange fragrance on Madam Xia and wondered whether Su Qizhe had recently met with her.
• Madam Xia explained the Death Star’s strategic value and warned that Flying Soul City might not be able to secure the Feipuo Realm completely for Xue Pingzhi.
• Madam Huanyong privately explained that stars formed naturally while realms were created by powerful beings, then recounted how the Shaman God shaped the true realm and was eventually slain by Qu Wujie and sword cultivators.

Yu Ci learned that the Xiyu Alliance planned to distribute the void worlds through interlocking sect partnerships and Cloud-Splitting Talisman Combat, with Taishi Star serving as the key prize. Madam Xia sought Yu Ci's cooperation, while Xue Pingzhi shielded him from committing to a side; after Madam Xia left, Xue Pingzhi revealed her connection to a disciple and challenged Yu Ci to guess what Madam Xia expected of her.

• Madam Xia explained that sects could join forces to compete for void worlds under Cloud-Splitting Talisman Combat rules, allowing many sects to share the rewards.
• Yu Ci recognized that the Xiyu Alliance’s system offered smaller sects a share while letting powerful sects retain control through tangled partnerships, and he understood Madam Xia was inviting him to join that network.
• Madam Xia identified Taishi Star as the symbol of the struggle for leadership and suggested Yu Ci could make good use of it, while Xue Pingzhi redirected their discussion toward the star and the Feipuo Realm.
• Madam Xia departed after speaking with Yu Ci and Xue Pingzhi, and Murong Qingyan agreed to visit Yu Ci before the Clear Sky Discourse.
• Yu Ci resolved to press You Rui for information about Madam Xia and Su Qizhe, then asked Xue Pingzhi about her relationship with Madam Xia and the Rakshasa Ghost King.
• Xue Pingzhi said Madam Xia had introduced her registered disciple nearly thirty years earlier, and Yu Ci questioned what Madam Xia could expect from her if she would not openly oppose the East China Sea figure.

Yu Ci accompanied Xue Pingzhi through the Death Star void passage to examine her condition, then made his first formal arrival in the outer domain. They entered the Light Gauze Spirit Barrier surrounding the Death Star, where Yu Ci sensed the complicated emotions of the gathered cultivators.

• Xue Pingzhi insisted that she and Yu Ci leave Xi Yu Lake to examine her condition at the Death Star, since releasing the Furnace Token required preparations.
• Yu Ci and Xue Pingzhi crossed paths with Yang De, and Yu Ci learned of Yang De’s ties to the Shangqing Sect before leaving him to his duties.
• Yu Ci and Xue Pingzhi entered the Death Star void passage and emerged into the outer-domain starry sky.
• Xue Pingzhi explained that the Shangqing Sect had built the Light Gauze Spirit Barrier around the Death Star and led Yu Ci through its concealed entrance.
• Yu Ci surveyed the barrier’s layered dwellings and sensed the complicated emotions of the cultivators gathered inside and around it.

Yu Ci and Xue Pingzhi explored the ruined Death Star, where they found traces of its former defenses and the remains of a cultivator sealed inside a spiritual cocoon. After Xue Pingzhi explained that she had brought Yu Ci there to evade the Rakshasa Ghost King and undergo treatment, Outer Realm Heavenly Demons gathered nearby as she prepared to face them.

• Xue Pingzhi warned Yu Ci that the Death Star’s value as a refuge from heavenly demons would make governing it difficult for the weakened Shangqing Sect.
• Yu Ci and Xue Pingzhi descended to the Death Star’s ruins, where she showed him the remains of the Spirit Official Hall and an old alchemy site on the inner barrier.
• The pair uncovered the remains of a dead cultivator sealed inside a spiritual cocoon, and Yu Ci gathered the body and its garment for a future plan.
• Xue Pingzhi told Yu Ci that she had brought him to the outer realms to evade the Rakshasa Ghost King and then led him away to find a quiet place for treatment.
• Outer Realm Heavenly Demons approached after sensing Xue Pingzhi’s exposed state of mind, and she welcomed their arrival.

Yu Ci entered Xue Pingzhi’s Delusion Realm and discovered how the Rakshasa Ghost King’s influence had warped her emotions and memories, while Xue Pingzhi revealed her dangerous plan to reshape them. Their investigation uncovered that the Rakshasa Ghost King had once made Xue Pingzhi a devotee, and that this connection began at the dawn of the current calamity.

• Xue Pingzhi unleashed her accumulated emotions to draw in the Heavenly Demons and form a Delusion Realm, allowing Yu Ci to examine her condition.
• Yu Ci explored the Delusion Realm, where bloody traces of the Rakshasa Ghost King’s influence twisted Xue Pingzhi’s memories and emotional responses.
• Yu Ci found Xue Pingzhi at the realm’s center and examined her, concluding that her illness had deformed the boundary between body and spirit and changed her emotional nature.
• Yu Ci realized Xue Pingzhi planned to use the Furnace Talisman Plaque and an emotional flood to reshape her responses, but warned that the method could erase the feelings attached to her memories.
• Yu Ci and Xue Pingzhi discussed the bloody traces, and Yu Ci recognized that she had once been a devotee of the Rakshasa Ghost King.
• Yu Ci discovered that the Rakshasa Ghost King’s use of divine-lord methods had begun at the dawn of the current calamity, millennia after her initial conflict with Xue Pingzhi.

Yu Ci learned that the Rakshasa Ghost King had pursued Xue Pingzhi because of the Yin Yang Method and its connection to the Nine Celestial Methods. As Madam Huanyong explained the methods and sent him a demonic diagram, Yu Ci confronted a dangerous gap in his understanding of the fundamental laws.

• Yu Ci inferred from Xue Pingzhi’s memories that the Rakshasa Ghost King’s interest in her had changed at the start of the calamity, then Xue Pingzhi raised Yu Ci’s past with Fang Hui and the Li Chen Sect.
• Xue Pingzhi demonstrated the Two Forms Circle, refined the Heavenly Demons around them, and resisted an Outer Realm Calamity Demon’s attempt to exploit her humiliating memories.
• Yu Ci realized that the Yin Yang Method was one of the fundamental laws and that the Rakshasa Ghost King might also be targeting his Heavenly Barrier Natal Golden Talisman and its connection to life and death.
• Yu Ci asked Madam Huanyong why the Nine Celestial Methods numbered nine, and she described their three categories: Celestial Methods, Human Methods, and Heaven-Humanity Methods.
• Madam Huanyong sent Yu Ci a simplified demonic diagram of the Nine Celestial Methods, whose abyssal presence warned that insufficient cultivation could lead to ruin.

Yu Ci studied Madam Huanyong’s demonic diagram and, through a perilous Dao debate, gained a deeper understanding of the nine celestial methods and the Rakshasa Ghost King’s vast schemes. He allied with Xue Pingzhi, promised to free her after the Clear Sky Discourse, and prepared to travel to a nearby star while leaving the conference’s arrangements to her and Madam Xia.

• Yu Ci interpreted the demonic diagram, questioned why the law of nature and form was absent, and triggered a dangerous Dao debate with Madam Huanyong.
• Madam Huanyong explained how the nine celestial methods interconnected, and she and Yu Ci gained insights that prompted him to rebuild his system for analyzing the laws of reality.
• Yu Ci discussed the Rakshasa Ghost King’s targets and methods with Xue Pingzhi, then recognized the scale of her schemes and asked about a nearby star.
• Yu Ci and Xue Pingzhi formally allied, and Yu Ci promised to try to free her from her imprisonment after the Clear Sky Discourse.
• Yu Ci told Xue Pingzhi to disregard Madam Hua and let her and Madam Xia handle the Clear Sky Discourse, while he planned to attend and travel toward the star.