Chapter Summaries

Li Shun learned that Li Langxuan had spent more than a century preparing to help the Spring-Autumn Brush Lineage remove Great Qian’s Reincarnation Dao. After confirming that Li Shun had come from beyond the world, Li Langxuan took him to a Dao hall so he could study the Dao, while asking whether reincarnation should be destroyed.

• Li Shun realized that Great Qian’s Reincarnation Dao kept people from striving for power because their achievements could not benefit their descendants.
• Li Langxuan revealed that an extraordinary man had given him Li Shun’s primer, helped him rise to Grand Tutor, and asked him to establish Dao halls as anchor points.
• Li Shun confirmed he was not from Great Qian and identified the man in Li Langxuan’s portrait as Zhao Cheng, his deceased martial uncle.
• Li Langxuan explained that Dao halls housed more than a thousand infants under one month old so Li Shun could observe reincarnation at close range.
• Li Shun asked Li Langxuan to take him to the nearest Dao hall, then questioned whether the Reincarnation Dao should exist.

Li Shun investigated the unnaturally silent infants at Li Langxuan’s Houtu sanctuaries and suspected their faceless statue was connected to the strange force affecting them. He and Li Langxuan found that the scripture used to design the statue described the Houtu God as having a distinct human face, leaving the source of the statue’s appearance in question.

• Li Langxuan told Li Shun he hoped Reincarnation would seem to exist while he ruled, so he could claim credit for destroying it and ascend the throne.
• Li Shun and Li Langxuan visited a Houtu sanctuary and found thousands of healthy infants who remained silent even when awake.
• Li Shun sensed a force influencing the infants and traced it to a faceless statue of the Houtu God in the sanctuary’s central hall.
• Li Shun ordered Li Langxuan to seal every sanctuary and take him to the scripture describing the Houtu God’s appearance.
• Li Langxuan found the scripture in the palace’s Dao Repository Pavilion, and its description said the Houtu God had a human face, long brows, and phoenix eyes.

Li Shun discovered that Houtu God had secretly influenced Li Langxuan and prepared to observe the Reincarnation Dao at the sanctuaries. He planned to use the Qian Dynasty’s national Fortune and the Mind-Communicating Bead to bring back traces of the Outer Heavenly Dao, while remaining wary of Houtu God’s interference.

• Li Langxuan recalled how he had been mysteriously led into the Dao Repository Pavilion and found the scripture about Houtu God.
• Li Shun concluded that Houtu God had guided Li Langxuan and ordered him to reduce the sanctuary crowds to nine infants while stationing veterans nearby.
• Li Shun spent half a month cultivating to the Profound Insight Realm and used ritual artifacts to survey the sanctuaries.
• Li Shun subdued the Jade Imperial Seal of Succession after sensing that it had developed a consciousness and was draining Fortune from the emperors.
• Li Shun planned to use the seal, an emperor’s blood essence, and the Mind-Communicating Bead to merge his divine thought with the Dao and bring back traces of the Reincarnation Grand Dao.

Li Shun united his thoughts with the world’s Reincarnation Dao, uncovered the Houtu God’s origins, and seized it before returning to Great Qian. Li Langxuan celebrated the apparent end of reincarnation, but died before he could claim the throne.

• Li Shun used the Square Inch Dao to merge with the Reincarnation Dao while the Mind-Communicating Bead preserved his sense of self.
• Li Shun discovered that the Houtu God was a remnant sustained by folk faith and had used Zhao Cheng and Li Langxuan to establish daoist grounds.
• Li Shun saw that other manifested gods had vanished and seized the Houtu God as he prepared to leave the world.
• Li Shun activated the Mind-Communicating Bead and returned to Great Qian, while Li Langxuan realized the visitor from beyond the heavens had departed.
• Li Langxuan celebrated the apparent disappearance of reincarnation, then died after recalling that his longevity came from the scripture he had cultivated.

Li Shun returned to the Imperial Academy with the Reincarnation Grand Dao and the Houtu God, earning rewards from the Grand Chancellor. After learning that the god was sealed inside a Jade Gourd, Li Shun used a drop of its refined essence to deepen his understanding of Square Inch, while the Grand Chancellor discovered another mystery in the Qian Dynasty World.

• The Grand Chancellor praised Li Shun for bringing back the Reincarnation Grand Dao and gave credit to the Spring-Autumn Brush Lineage for preparing the journey.
• The Grand Chancellor awarded Li Shun a Jade Gourd and permission to study the academy's Outer Heavenly Dao Marks.
• The Grand Chancellor revealed that the Houtu God was sealed inside the gourd and that its essence could aid Li Shun's cultivation and enlightenment.
• Li Shun described how the awakened god imprints in the Qian Dynasty World had vanished, and the Grand Chancellor investigated before declaring that Li Shun had gained another great merit.
• Li Shun drank a drop of jade nectar, gained new insight into Square Inch, and found that the Grand Chancellor had restricted the gourd from dispensing more.

Li Shun watched the Ancient Web sacrifice his old body at Mount Taibai and be reborn through its river, then borrow lifespan from the Great Qian Heavenly Dao. The Ancient Web returned to Square Inch in a perfected new body, while Li Shun learned that making one like it would require waiting at least a hundred years.

• The Heaven-Mending Bell rang for a second time that day, drawing Li Shun's attention before he turned back to the Ancient Web's journey.
• The Ancient Web climbed Mount Taibai, gave up his life in its stream, and was reborn as the river carried him down the mountain.
• The Ancient Web demanded more than the usual two hundred years of borrowed lifespan, and the Heavenly Dao granted him purple-gold radiance instead of purple-azure.
• The Ancient Web returned to Square Inch, where Li Shun examined his flawless new body and asked whether he could make one like it.
• The Ancient Web told Li Shun that another spiritual essence would not emerge from White Mountain Black Water for at least a hundred years.

Ancient Web explained that the Great Qian Heavenly Dao used the role of the fallen Outer God Mingxing Wangyu to let Mind-Communicating Bead users travel through Chaos, while warning Li Shun that copying the method could invite corrosion. Li Shun agreed to test the idea using another world as a buffer, and Ancient Web revealed he hoped to imitate the role himself if the risks proved manageable.

• Ancient Web transformed into a vast, glowing net and showed Li Shun how the Great Qian Heavenly Dao connected through Mingxing Wangyu while protecting Mind-Communicating Bead users.
• Ancient Web explained that the Great Qian Heavenly Dao was playing the role of the fallen Mingxing Wangyu, and Li Shun realized this could expose the Heavenly Dao to Outer God corrosion.
• Ancient Web warned Li Shun that neither he nor the Martial World could withstand such corrosion, then proposed using a separate world as a temporary buffer.
• Li Shun rejected sacrificing the Martial World because it was tied to the Demon Race World, but agreed to test the method with another world and withdraw if danger appeared.
• Li Shun questioned Ancient Web's eagerness to help, and Ancient Web admitted he wanted to observe the consequences so he could play Mingxing Wangyu's role himself if the risks were limited.

Li Shun learned that Ancient Web hoped to grow stronger by acting as the Outer God Mingxing Wangyu, and he considered using Square Inch to turn Outer Gods into stepping stones toward godhood. Ancient Web explained how Borrowing Longevity from Heaven helped stabilize the Heavenly Dao, then revealed that it had borrowed five hundred years of lifespan.

• Ancient Web explained that it was an imprint of Ancient Web Across Time and hoped acting as Mingxing Wangyu would strengthen it, even though it could never truly become that Outer God.
• Li Shun connected Ancient Web’s words about gods and the Dao to the Grand Arbiter and Emperor Gan, then declared that Square Inch might let him turn Outer Gods into puppets and forge a path to godhood.
• Ancient Web warned Li Shun about the dangers of his ambition, while Li Shun dismissed his words as casual and promised to find worlds where Ancient Web could practice acting as Mingxing Wangyu.
• Li Shun asked why the Great Qian Heavenly Dao had granted Ancient Web more than the initial two hundred years, and Ancient Web explained that borrowed lifespans anchored Heaven against Outer God corruption.
• Ancient Web said its Heaven-and-Earth affinity had earned it special favor and indicated that it had borrowed five hundred years of lifespan.

Li Shun learned that damage to the Celestial Array, not the dispute over the skies, had nearly destroyed Great Qian and discussed finding a remote world for experiments against Mingxing Wangyu's corruption. The ancient web proposed searching Chaos for a disordered world that could be destroyed if necessary.

• The ancient web explained that Emperor Gan's arrangements monitored excessive lifespan borrowing and revealed clues about the yin-yang imbalance in Great Qian.
• The ancient web identified the malfunctioning Celestial Array as the true cause of Great Qian's near-collapse and said restoring normal days and nights would only ease the damage.
• Li Shun agreed that he and the ancient web needed to find an isolated world for experimentation and prepare ways to destroy it if Mingxing Wangyu's corruption appeared.
• Li Shun hesitated to destroy a world's inhabitants, but the ancient web suggested choosing a realm so chaotic and vile that destroying it would carry no moral burden.
• The ancient web proposed tracking the paths of Outer Gods through Chaos to locate worlds they had avoided.

Li Shun learned that Heaven-and-Earth Mystic Yellow Qi was a remnant of the Ancient Primordial Vast Wilderness’s Heavenly Dao, with a nature resembling an Outer God, and gave some to Ancient Web to explore Chaos. Back in Great Qian, he learned that students had brought back the Reincarnation and Causality Dao Marks, leaving him to consider how Causality’s return would change cultivation.

• Ancient Web explained that Heaven-and-Earth Mystic Yellow Qi came from the Ancient Primordial Vast Wilderness’s surviving Heavenly Dao and warned that abusing it could bring Karma’s backlash.
• Li Shun considered whether the Qi’s influence on Square Inch could make his idea of using Outer Gods to pave a path to godhood possible.
• Ancient Web swallowed the Mystic Yellow Qi and began gazing beyond Square Inch while it took effect.
• Li Shun returned to reality and learned that two students had brought back the Reincarnation and Causality Dao Marks, prompting Great Qian’s Heaven-Mending Bell to ring.
• Li Shun reflected that restoring the Causality Dao could make cultivation and breakthroughs harder by imposing consequences for cultivators’ actions.

Li Shun learned that Dong Chunqiu had become Left Chancellor partly because Li Shun found the Reincarnation Grand Dao. As Dong Chunqiu restored equal days and nights in Great Qian, Li Shun sensed that the change heralded a new crisis rather than a blessing.

• Li Shun reflected on Great Qian cultivators shifting lifespan tribulations onto commoners and worried that restoring the Dao of Causality could make him answer for deaths he had caused.
• Wang Zheng told Li Shun that Dong Chunqiu had been appointed Left Chancellor and that Li Shun's discovery of the Reincarnation Grand Dao had helped secure the appointment.
• Imperial Academy students visited to congratulate Li Shun, who wondered why no one knew who had returned the Dao of Causality to Great Qian.
• Dong Chunqiu took office and restored equality between day and night after gaining the approval of the officials and Gu Zhizhong.
• Li Shun sensed that restoring the balance of Yin and Yang had stirred a new crisis in Great Qian and warned himself that it was misfortune, not blessing.

Li Shun worried that the Celestial Array’s malfunction could worsen Great Qian’s disasters and settled into his upgraded Imperial Academy residence. Shang Qingqiu visited him with fragmented memories of events apparently erased by Threefold Self-Reflection, and Li Shun concealed his curiosity by dismissing her concerns.

• Li Shun realized the Celestial Array might be behind Great Qian’s turmoil and resolved to find somewhere else to live.
• After Dong Chunqiu became Left Chancellor, Li Shun moved into a secluded estate with an array that could take him back to Great Qian once a year.
• The Ancient Web spent ten days searching for a suitable world while Li Shun waited.
• Shang Qingqiu told Li Shun that vivid, unfamiliar memories showed them confronting Cold Mountain Soul in Bing Province, but Wang Zheng was missing from the scenes.
• Li Shun wondered how Shang Qingqiu could retain memories through Threefold Self-Reflection, then pretended her visions were caused by too little dual cultivation.

Li Shun questioned whether Shang Qingqiu could remember a Threefold Self-Reflection rewind, then suspected her visions showed the future instead. The Grand Sacrificer ordered Li Shun and Shang Qingqiu to investigate and suppress the Elder Remnant Soul in Bing Province with a mysterious pill furnace.

• Li Shun asked Ancient Web whether anyone below the Sage realm could retain memories through a Threefold Self-Reflection rewind, and Ancient Web insisted Shang Qingqiu’s claim was probably a misunderstanding.
• Shang Qingqiu returned with the Imperial Academy’s Right Deputy Director, who asked Li Shun to investigate a possible Elder Remnant Soul in Bing Province alongside her.
• Li Shun realized Shang Qingqiu might have foreseen a future confrontation with Cold Mountain Soul, but he still decided to refuse the assignment.
• The Grand Sacrificer confirmed an Elder Remnant Soul was sleeping in Bing Province and ordered Li Shun and Shang Qingqiu to suppress it using a violet-gold pill furnace.
• Li Shun recognized the furnace as identical to the mysterious treasure that had suppressed the Imperial Academy’s Thunder Pool, then questioned whether it could subdue the remnant soul alone.

The Grand Sacrificial Wine Master sent Li Shun and Shang Qingqiu to find the Elder Remnant Soul, entrusting Li Shun with two powerful protective treasures. As they reached Cold Mountain County, Shang Qingqiu located the destination, and Li Shun discovered unusual plants resembling evolved Cold Mountain Grass.

• The Grand Sacrificial Wine Master gave Li Shun the Myriad Treasures Furnace and God-Striking Whip, then sent him and Shang Qingqiu to the surface with three days to complete their task.
• The Right Director of Studies asked why the Mysterious Pivot Gap had revealed a prophecy, and the Grand Sacrificial Wine Master said they could not ignore its guidance again.
• Li Shun learned the treasures’ abilities and kept them out of Square Inch, wary of their intelligence and the risks of bringing them inside.
• Shang Qingqiu told Li Shun that she had experienced visions since childhood, many of which had later come true, and that the visions had returned the previous day.
• Li Shun and Shang Qingqiu reached Cold Mountain County, where Shang Qingqiu found the Elder Remnant Soul’s location and Li Shun spotted blue plants resembling Cold Mountain Grass.

Li Shun and Shang Qingqiu searched a gorge for the Cold Mountain Soul, where Li Shun realized Shang Qingqiu’s vision matched their encounter with the remnant. The God-Striking Whip appeared to terrify the Cold Mountain Soul into stillness.

• Li Shun grew wary of the Mutated Cold Mountain Grass and followed Shang Qingqiu to the gorge she believed was where the remnant soul first appeared.
• Shang Qingqiu searched the gorge with her Yin-Yang Union Miasma, which drained Yin-Yang Qi from the creatures it enveloped, but found no clues by nightfall.
• The mist surged as a transparent figure raced toward them, and Li Shun used the Myriad Treasures Furnace to reveal a crystalline beast skeleton.
• A second figure appeared behind Li Shun and Shang Qingqiu, and Li Shun recognized the scene as identical to the one Shang Qingqiu had shown him through her divine sense.
• The Cold Mountain Soul tried to seize them, but the God-Striking Whip appeared above Li Shun, prompting the remnant to tremble in terror and attempt to flee.
• The God-Striking Whip swept through the air without touching the Cold Mountain Soul, which froze in place.

Li Shun and Shang Qingqiu captured the Cold Mountain Soul in Bing Province, and the Grand Sacrificial Scholar refined it into a jade pendant that he awarded to Li Shun. After Shang Qingqiu left with the scholar, Li Shun suspected the assignment had concealed a larger purpose.

• Li Shun used the God-Striking Whip to freeze the Cold Mountain Soul, then captured it with the Myriad Treasures Furnace as the Mutated Cold Mountain Grass began growing rapidly across Bing Province.
• Li Shun and Shang Qingqiu searched the plain for two days but found no other trace of the remnant soul.
• The Grand Sacrificial Scholar assured them the God-Striking Whip had confirmed the remnant soul was dead, then took back both treasures from Li Shun.
• The Grand Sacrificial Scholar refined the Cold Mountain Soul into a pale-blue jade pendant and gave it to Li Shun as a reward.
• The Grand Sacrificial Scholar took Shang Qingqiu away, leaving Li Shun to wonder whether the academy had sent him to Bing Province for a hidden reason.

Li Shun learned that the Imperial Academy had arranged for him and Shang Qingqiu to reclaim Cold Mountain Soul, and the Ancient Web explained why her visions could not truly predict an immutable future. The Ancient Web found a distant, deeply corrupted world for Li Shun to investigate, and he began trying to reach it through Chaos with the Heaven-and-Earth Mystic Yellow Qi.

• The Ancient Web concluded that the Imperial Academy had deliberately arranged for Li Shun and Shang Qingqiu to reclaim Cold Mountain Soul, and explained that Shang Qingqiu's foresight was likely tied to the academy's deductions about the future.
• The Ancient Web explained that Chaos could disrupt any world's predicted course, including Great Qian's, and that Li Shun's presence had already changed its history.
• The Ancient Web told Li Shun it had found a world near the Primordial Ancient Domain, one so corrupted that destroying it would not burden his conscience, and advised him to send only a strand of divine soul intent.
• Li Shun experienced a disorienting imitation of Chaos before the Ancient Web marked the target world and restored his awareness.
• Li Shun focused on the marked world and tried to use the Heaven-and-Earth Mystic Yellow Qi to reach it, but the Qi seemed unequal to the task.

Li Shun crossed the Chaos to reach a new world, then discovered that entering it unleashed countless past-life memories that overwhelmed his remnant will. As he recovered, an attacker pierced his chest, leaving him seemingly dead.

• Li Shun followed the Ancient Web's guidance through the Chaos and formed a threshold to a crowded world that appeared peaceful.
• After returning to the Square Inch, Li Shun recovered from the Chaos's effects and entered the new world through the door with a thread of divine intent.
• Li Shun endured severe pain as the body's countless past-life memories flooded his mind, then chose to stop exploring.
• A sudden attacker pierced Li Shun's chest and destroyed his viscera, leaving him collapsed.

After being killed and eaten in the Disorderly Reincarnation World, Li Shun escaped back to Square Inch by breaking the world’s restraints. Ancient Web explained the world’s endless reincarnation cycle and revealed that a long-dead Outer God had created it as a playground, while its inhabitants remained trapped in its rules.

• A scar-faced man killed Li Shun and ate his body while Li Shun remained conscious and helpless.
• As the scar-faced man swallowed the last of his body, Li Shun broke free of the world’s restraints and fled back to Square Inch.
• Li Shun asked Ancient Web whether the world’s inhabitants were all like the cannibal, and Ancient Web explained that the dead were reborn after eighteen years without losing their memories.
• Ancient Web described a fixed population cycling through humans, beasts, insects, and objects, with beings driven by instinct and the need to eat one another.
• Li Shun likened the world to a cruel punishment, and Ancient Web confirmed that a nameless Outer God had created it as a playground before perishing in Chaos.
• Ancient Web said the Outer God’s rules remained unbreakable, and no one had ever succeeded in escaping the cycle.

The Ancient Web explained that the Disorderly Reincarnation World was a deceased Outer God’s playground, where its shifting Heavenly Dao imposed endless cycles of slaughter and hunger. Li Shun learned that the world had noticed his arrival, but its abandoned power could potentially become an Outer God puppet if he took control of it.

• The Ancient Web explained that the Disorderly Reincarnation World’s Heavenly Dao changed every sixty years and that hunger defined its current era.
• Li Shun watched a shadow that embodied the hungry Heavenly Dao devour the scar-faced man, then turn its gaze toward him.
• The Ancient Web told Li Shun that the world had detected his arrival and that the native soul he displaced had been sent into Reincarnation in a blank state.
• Li Shun considered abandoning the world, but the Ancient Web reassured him that Square Inch could protect him and described the potential rewards of taking control.
• The Ancient Web explained that controlling the power left behind by the fallen Outer God could give Li Shun an Outer God puppet that he might bring into Square Inch.