Chapter Summaries

After Old Peng died when his fifth mission expired, Gu Yuan realized that repeated mission failures in the black mist were fatal and considered how to spread it faster. He returned to the Great Prosperity Dynasty, told Emperor Yongning that cultivators could enter the black mist voluntarily, and the chapter ended after the dynasty began selecting people as Gu Yuan reached the early Golden Core realm.

• Old Peng died when his mission time limit ended, and the crowd discovered he had failed to complete five missions in total.
• Gu Yuan tested the black mist’s boundary and found that he could pass through it freely, then considered ways to accelerate its spread.
• Emperor Yongning met Gu Yuan at the Central Temple, where Gu Yuan said the apocalypse had granted everyone a sliver of life and cultivators could enter the black mist voluntarily.
• The imperial court and temple began selecting cultivators from across the Great Prosperity Dynasty to enter the black mist.
• Three days later, Gu Yuan raised his cultivation to the early Golden Core realm as the Everlasting Prosperity World’s cultivator population surged.

Gu Yuan advanced to Golden Core Middle Stage and sent the Emperor Yongning’s selected people into the black fog, where they met the survivors already living inside. As the Great Prosperity World began joining the black fog’s struggles, Gu Yuan noticed that one Dharma inheritor had established a faction called the Temple of Light.

• Gu Yuan advanced to Golden Core Middle Stage and planned further breakthroughs over the coming days.
• The Emperor Yongning led the selected people to the black fog, where a temple venerable announced that fortune and disaster went hand in hand inside.
• The Emperor Yongning watched the crowd enter the black fog and said that one day everyone would go in.
• Lin Di led several thousand newcomers through the black fog and ordered his people to rebuild the temple and kill anyone who did not revere the Dao Venerable.
• The black fog’s survivors recognized the newcomers as people sent by the temple and praised the Dao Venerable.
• Gu Yuan saw that one Dharma inheritor had founded the Temple of Light and found its name ominous.

As the black mist spread, people in Lin Zhou’s world trusted the Shrine’s promise of opportunities, while a hostile killer cultivated in secret. In Shunyuan World, a reborn Chosen failed to stop the world’s collapse, and its final survivors vanished as the world fell silent.

• A black-robed man blamed the Great Dao Venerable for misleading people into entering the black mist and resolved to keep cultivating before killing another family at night.
• Observers identified the man’s tower-shaped opportunity as a killing-based cultivation technique, though they expected it would only take him to the Five Decays Realm.
• In Shunyuan World, a reborn young man and more than a hundred survivors faced the spreading black mist, which had already devastated nearly the entire world.
• The black sun flashed, Shunyuan World shattered into emptiness, and its remaining people disappeared.
• The Chosen from Shunyuan World appeared in the Elimination Zone, where more than a thousand eliminated people had gathered.

As the black mist swallowed the Great Prosperity World, the Emperor Yongning and the capital entered the Black Mist World, where spiritual energy filled the land. The Great Prosperity Dynasty then faced widespread rebellion, and the Shrine refused to intervene, leaving Yongning to confront a fractured realm.

• Soldiers executed everyone in the capital who had failed to cultivate, following the Emperor Yongning's decree.
• The black mist engulfed the capital, and the Emperor Yongning entered the Black Mist World with his attendants while Gu Yuan observed from the Shrine.
• Gu Yuan sensed new spatial fluctuations and noted that rebels across Great Prosperity had seized cities and proclaimed new dynasties.
• The Emperor Yongning discovered that only half of the regional officials had arrived and learned that rebellions had broken out across more than half the realm.
• Yongning asked the Shrine for help, but it declared that it would not involve itself in mortal affairs.

Ten days after the new era began, the Shrine announced that cultivators would have to slay Outsiders as a spatial passage opened between worlds. The passage connected Lin Zhou’s world with a technological civilization led by Emperor Chen Yi, and both sides prepared for conflict.

• Gu Yuan saw the Shrine’s command to slay the Outsiders and sensed the accelerating spatial fluctuations.
• Cultivators learned that the Outsiders would come from other worlds and discussed whether they could be killed if they cultivated the Great Dao Venerable’s techniques.
• As noon approached, a spatial passage opened, and cultivators began entering it.
• In the Thousand-Grade World, Emperor Chen Yi’s forces deployed Spirit-Slayer Mechas, spiritual energy magnetic fields, and spirit-locking devices.
• Observers beneath the light screen recognized Lin Zhou’s encounter with Chen Yi’s technological civilization and debated its strength.

Gu Yuan watched the technological civilization of Weiyuan World use Spirit-Locking Devices and mecha to kill an arriving Great Prosperity cultivator, then entered the imperial city to confront Emperor Chen Yi. Chen Yi activated layers of defenses and vanished into a trap as the city’s restraints closed around Gu Yuan.

• Gu Yuan observed the Spirit-Locking Device suppress a cultivator’s spiritual energy while Chen Yi ordered his forces to capture outsiders and continue their mission.
• A mecha killed the arriving Great Prosperity cultivator, and Chen Yi’s officers discussed how technology could counter cultivators.
• Gu Yuan entered the technological hub, assessed its devices as roughly Foundation Establishment level, and went to the great hall to meet Chen Yi.
• Gu Yuan told Chen Yi he had something for him to do, conjured tea, and sat down as Chen Yi studied him.
• Chen Yi raised layered energy barriers, escaped through an opening in the floor, and activated the Spirit-Locking Devices and restraints throughout the imperial city to trap Gu Yuan.

Gu Yuan survived the imperial palace’s devastating energy attack and killed Emperor Chen Yi, then vanished from a milk tea shop when challenged by citizens. At the front, the technological empire’s forces remained locked in a stalemate with the cultivator civilization, leaving the commander-in-chief unable to complete the mission.

• The energy wave struck the imperial palace, and Chen Yi prepared to leave for the front line after ordering his ministers to maintain order.
• Gu Yuan appeared, severed Chen Yi’s arm and tongue, and killed him after abandoning his plan to control the emperor.
• Gu Yuan went to a snack street, drank milk tea, and overheard citizens celebrating the empire’s victories and praising Chen Yi.
• When a citizen confronted Gu Yuan for not shouting “Long live His Majesty,” Gu Yuan disappeared, alarming the people in the street.
• At the front line, the commander-in-chief struggled with a stalemate after neither side’s forces returned from crossing the spatial passage.

Gu Yuan used a long dream to convince Commander-in-Chief Xu Jun that Emperor Chen Yi had betrayed the empire and that a Great Dao Venerable had shown him the truth about the Dao Realm and the Fallen. Xu Jun became Regent and began preparing the empire to resist fallen civilizations and coordinate with Great Prosperity.

• After the capital reported that Emperor Chen Yi was missing, Xu Jun ordered the mech forces through the spatial passage to resume the war.
• Gu Yuan made Xu Jun sleep through a dream of a future in which the Emperor sacrificed the empire, then gave him the Great Dao Qi Refining Formula.
• Convinced the dream was real, Xu Jun ordered the army and citizens to cultivate the technique.
• Over seven days, Xu Jun’s counterattack against the cultivation civilization gained public support, and he became Regent while Chen Yi was branded a coward who had abandoned the empire.
• Gu Yuan told Xu Jun a fabricated history of the Dao Realm and the Fallen, and Xu Jun began spreading it and arranging a visit with Great Prosperity.

Xu Jun welcomed the Great Prosperity Civilization’s Shrine Venerable, then received a heavenly edict naming him World Lord and raising his cultivation. Gu Yuan realized the Supreme One had noticed him but allowed events to unfold, while observers began to suspect the trial had been arranged around Lin Zhou’s reincarnation.

• Xu Jun welcomed the Shrine Venerable as the two civilizations established cooperation against the Fallen Ones.
• A heavenly edict invested Xu Jun as World Lord and raised him to Qi Refining Great Perfection, prompting the crowd to praise the Supreme Dao Venerable of Bestowed Profound Dharma.
• Gu Yuan visited the milk tea shop, joined the crowd in shouting for the Shrine, and concluded that the Supreme One had discovered him without interfering.
• The Shrine Venerable’s projection noticed Lin Zhou’s strange fate, which even the true body could not calculate.
• Five days later, shrines had spread and people cultivated alongside technology, while Gu Yuan reached Nascent Soul Late Stage.
• Observers wondered whether the Supreme One had opened the trial for Lin Zhou’s reincarnation.

The Technology Civilization and Great Prosperity prepared for a civilization-wide mission, only to discover they were fighting two worlds. After Windcry World attacked with exploding puppets, Xu Jun retaliated with a hydrogen bomb, leaving the Cultivators’ Alliance Leader stunned by the devastation.

• Venerable Xu Jun and the Great Prosperity Shrine Venerable convened a meeting to discuss the mission and arrange logistical and weapons support between their worlds.
• The spatial fluctuations revealed that the Technology Civilization and Great Prosperity were facing two opposing worlds, and both sides prepared for battle.
• Gu Yuan watched the passages and wondered whether the Supreme Being was forcing him to intervene.
• Exploding puppets attacked the Technology Civilization’s passage, prompting Xu Jun to order a hydrogen bomb strike against the enemy world.
• The hydrogen bomb devastated Windcry World, and the Cultivators’ Alliance Leader realized his world was in danger.

Great Prosperity World easily repelled the Magic World’s first attackers, prompting the Magic Council to seek help from the Pope. The Holy God granted the Pope an hour of divine power, and he set out to face the enemy as his believers watched.

• Great Prosperity World’s Shrine Venerables killed the outsiders emerging from the spatial passageway, while Gu Yuan observed the magic-users and their giant lizards.
• The Magic Council concluded that the enemy was backed by an evil god and sent Alsha to ask the Pope for help.
• Lin Ling dismissed Alsha, prayed to the Holy God, and received one hour of divine power that raised him from Foundation Establishment Early Stage to Foundation Establishment Late Stage.
• Lin Ling resolved to represent his world and slay the heretical evil god, then soared through the air as believers watched in awe.

Gu Yuan watched the Pope enter the Great Prosperity World, where the Pope’s holy power failed to convert anyone and the Shrine venerables killed him. Gu Yuan followed the trail to the Church World, found a statue absorbing faith and energy, and waited beside it as the civilization war began.

• Gu Yuan noticed the Pope arrive with power that seemed bestowed by another source and watched him try to purify the people of the Great Prosperity World.
• A Shrine venerable ordered a young venerable to slap the Pope, and the gathered cultivators killed him using the Spirit-Locking Device and an array.
• Gu Yuan entered the Church World and found the Church’s people waiting in vain for the Pope’s message before he reached the Pope’s Hall.
• Gu Yuan discovered a statue that absorbed energy and faith through a black crystal, returned it to its place, and waited to see whether its owner would appear.
• With the Pope gone, the front lines collapsed as cultivator armies invaded the Church World and the civilization war spread across the land.
• Gu Yuan stayed in the room, watching the statue as the fighting continued.

Gu Yuan discovered that the Holy God behind the statue came from another world and destroyed his projection when it tried to convert him. In Holy God World, the Holy God resolved to draw the Supreme One’s attention as his cultivation reached the Great Perfection of the Golden Core Realm, while spectators debated which trial participant had the advantage.

• Gu Yuan sensed the world’s spiritual energy and stability declining, then used the statue’s brief flicker to trace the Holy God to another world.
• The Holy God projected himself through the statue and tried to make Gu Yuan his believer with the statue’s remaining power of faith.
• Gu Yuan’s divine sense absorbed the faith power without effect, and he crushed the Holy God’s projection before the statue shattered.
• In Holy God World, the Holy God lamented the loss of one of his nine statues and reaffirmed his plan to gain the Supreme One’s attention and escape his teacher’s control.
• The Holy God’s cultivation advanced to the Great Perfection of the Golden Core Realm as spectators discussed his abilities and Gu Yuan’s chances in the trial.

After the Magic Papal World was destroyed, Gu Yuan returned to the Great Prosperity World and openly raised his displayed cultivation to late Spirit Transformation. The next Heaven's Chosen mission required only initial Qi Refining, bringing relief to some worlds while people in others faced chaos and likely death.

• The expedition forces fled the Magic Papal World as black mist consumed it, and Gu Yuan escaped through the spatial passage.
• The Supreme Being's projection silenced another Supreme Being that challenged it, while the Heaven's Chosen Trial continued and many other worlds were destroyed.
• Back in the Shrine, Gu Yuan raised this body's displayed cultivation to late Spirit Transformation, prompting viewers to speculate that his cultivation seal was weakening.
• The next mission required participants to reach initial Qi Refining, and people in the Great Prosperity World and Technology Civilization World celebrated the easy task.
• In worlds where ordinary people had already failed repeatedly, some rioted and killed cultivators while others grieved and entrusted their hopes to family and friends.

Gu Yuan detected an unexplained spatial gate forming in Technology Empire World and investigated it, finding a powerful barrier beyond it. He had Xu Jun install Spirit-Locking Devices, but the gate remained dormant and unchanged.

• After leaving a cinema, Gu Yuan sensed spatial fluctuations near a street and went to investigate while buying and eating a guokui.
• A transparent gate appeared, and observers beneath the light screen debated its origin but found no known world responsible for opening it.
• Gu Yuan tried to probe beyond the gate, but a powerful, apparently unconscious membrane blocked his divine sense.
• Gu Yuan notified Xu Jun under his Great Dao Venerable identity, and Xu Jun installed Spirit-Locking Devices near the gate.
• The gate remained unchanged over time, and Gu Yuan repeatedly found that its energy neither increased nor diminished.

Gu Yuan absorbed the weakening energy around a spatial barrier until a hidden door appeared, then opened it and crossed into another world. There, a boy stood at an altar after apparently failing to summon something.

• Gu Yuan discovered that the weakening barrier's energy flowed into him and absorbed enough to approach the Five Decays realm, but chose not to enter it.
• Gu Yuan depleted the energy, causing the concealed spatial door to appear, and figured out that it slid open to the left.
• A young boy's voice called, "Hear my summons, seal released!" from beyond the door, and Gu Yuan crossed through as the passage began to shrink.
• The trial's viewers lost Gu Yuan's light screen and debated whether he had left the trial world, while the Primordial Chaos experts watched without intervening.
• Gu Yuan arrived at an altar, where a boy opened his eyes and regretted that his summoning had failed again.

Chen Xiao successfully summoned Gu Yuan, who recognized that the summoning site was in the Old Universe and introduced himself as the Supreme Dao Venerable of Bestowed Profound Dharma. Gu Yuan offered Chen Xiao a choice among three cultivation methods, and Chen Xiao asked about their differences before choosing.

• Chen Xiao’s summoning succeeded, and Gu Yuan appeared before him as onlookers speculated about the young summoner.
• Gu Yuan sensed that the giant pillar had enabled his arrival and learned from Chen Xiao how the summoning process worked.
• Chen Xiao tried to make Gu Yuan his guardian through a contract, but Gu Yuan refused and explained that he had only thirty minutes there.
• Gu Yuan recognized that he had arrived in a world within the Old Universe and presented himself to Chen Xiao as the Supreme Dao Venerable of Bestowed Profound Dharma.
• Gu Yuan offered Chen Xiao a choice among the Heaven Method, Earth Method, and Human Method, and Chen Xiao asked about their benefits and costs.

Chen Xiao chose the Human Method and received a cultivation technique from Gu Yuan before Gu Yuan returned to Technology Empire World. As both worlds continued developing through cultivation and technology, people in Great Prosperity World worried about the long absence of civilization missions.

• Chen Xiao chose the Human Method, received the Human Method Qi Refining Formula from Gu Yuan, and followed an outer court elder to register his summon.
• Gu Yuan returned to Technology Empire World through the passage, while observers wondered where he had gone and the Supreme projection noted that he had visited the old universe.
• Gu Yuan wandered through Technology Empire World as the Heaven's Chosen Trial continued, and both worlds advanced their cultivation and technology over the next half month.
• People in Great Prosperity World discussed the changes brought by cultivation and technology, mourned those lost to the black mist, and worried about the lack of recent large-scale missions.

A four-civilization war was announced, forcing the Technological Empire Civilization and Great Prosperity World Civilization to prepare for battle. Gu Yuan entered a strange, oppressive world and discovered that its building was a baleful entity.

• The Black Mist World announced a three-month Four-Civilization War, alarming its citizens and prompting Gu Yuan to wonder whether the Supreme One was accelerating the Heaven's Chosen Trial.
• Xu Jun ordered the Technological Empire's logistics department to produce more Spirit-Locking Devices as both civilizations prepared weapons and defenses.
• Spatial passages appeared, and Gu Yuan raised his cultivation to the early Void-Shattering Realm before finding one passage with a murderous aura.
• Gu Yuan entered the strange world through the passage and found a deserted, dilapidated building that rejected his presence.
• Gu Yuan spread his divine sense, recognized the building as a baleful entity, and lowered his palm as space began to tremble.

Gu Yuan entered a ghost-occupied modern city and discovered that its apparent residents were creatures wearing human bodies, while unaware humans remained a minority. After learning that a civilization war was approaching, he was approached by a powerful-looking ghost girl who asked him to come with her.

• Gu Yuan shattered the eerie building, entered the empty world beyond it, and headed toward a distant city while concealing his presence.
• Gu Yuan found a bustling commercial street where ghosts mimicked human life and used gruesome ingredients to sell food to humans who did not recognize them.
• Gu Yuan warned a human man who was kissing a ghost, then overheard humans discussing an upcoming civilization war and the officials’ preparations.
• A grotesque young girl approached Gu Yuan, claimed she had known him for a long time, and shyly asked him to come with her.