Chapter Summaries

Lu Qing began his watch duty at Reception Peak, where he studied the teleportation gateways and a ten-thousand-mile teleportation talisman. The talisman’s formation opened new insights into spatial formations, and he resolved to practice formations again and learn from the sect’s upcoming protective grand formation.

• Lu Qing flew to Reception Peak and learned that he was responsible for registering disciples emerging from his assigned teleportation formation.
• Lu Qing settled at the platform and examined the formation embedded in its ancient bronze gateway.
• Lu Qing studied the ten-thousand-mile teleportation talisman Senior Brother Wang had given him and saw the intricate spiritual-power patterns within it.
• Lu Qing gained insights into how teleportation formations used space and spiritual power, then decided to practice formations and study the Dao Sect’s upcoming protective grand formation.

Lu Qing studied the teleportation arrays and the Minor Realms connected to the Nine Heavens, reflecting on the difference between cultivating an Inner World and creating a Grotto-Heaven. He then turned to practicing with an array disk while standing guard at the gateway, where no newcomers had appeared.

• Lu Qing focused his mind and saw the teleportation arrays linking the Nine Heavens to countless Minor Realms beyond it.
• Lu Qing considered how Grotto-Heavens could extend a cultivator’s lifespan, while concluding that cultivating an Inner World offered a different path toward the Great Dao.
• Lu Qing checked his Fate Allotment and decided to study the smaller teleportation array within Senior Brother Wang’s talisman rather than attempt to understand the grand array.
• Lu Qing confirmed that no newcomers had emerged from the gateway and drew an isolation and protective array on the ground.
• Lu Qing used the array disk to practice array-setting, while the unfamiliar people in the nearby small building cultivated as well.

Lu Qing practiced the Teleportation Array and successfully teleported a short distance before Senior Brother Feng arrived at Reception Peak claiming a new disciple had come. Lu Qing blended into the crowd as the disciples flattered Senior Brother Feng and waited to learn who the newcomer was.

• Lu Qing studied the Teleportation Array, formed one himself, and teleported thirty feet.
• Lu Qing sensed someone approaching, put away his isolating formation, and saw a white-robed disciple descend on a cloud.
• A disciple from the reception building greeted Senior Brother Feng, who insisted that a new disciple had arrived and scolded the attendants for being idle.
• The attendant discreetly gave Senior Brother Feng a storage ring, and Feng said the new disciple would become their senior brother.
• Other disciples gathered and praised Senior Brother Feng while asking about the newcomer.
• Lu Qing used his concealment skills to blend into the crowd at the back.

Lu Qing watched Feng Xin prepare to receive Zhang Meng'an, who was expected to become Elder Wei Zu’s personal disciple. When Zhang Meng'an emerged from the Little Dream Realm with three companions, Lu Qing sensed unusual Fate Allotment and Tribulation Qi, then kept himself inconspicuous as Feng Xin welcomed the group.

• Feng Xin announced that Zhang Meng'an from the Little Dream Realm was being prepared as Elder Wei Zu’s personal disciple and sent disciples to White Jade Platform Number Eighteen.
• Lu Qing considered informing Senior Brother Wang, who was responsible for the platform, but stayed out of the reception.
• As the Little Dream Realm’s teleportation beam brightened, Lu Qing noticed several people arriving and detected a trace of Tribulation Qi.
• Lu Qing concealed his appearance and aura while three men and one woman emerged alongside Zhang Meng'an.
• Feng Xin identified himself and verified Zhang Meng'an’s identification talisman, then invited the group to the Grand Elder’s residence.

Lu Qing watched Zhang Meng'an arrive at the upper sect, sensed tribulation around his Fate Allotment, and practiced laying a Teleportation Array. Senior Brother Wang then warned him that the coming Great Era would bring perilous struggles between Immortal Path and Demonic Path geniuses.

• Feng Xin escorted Zhang Meng'an to pay respects to the Grand Elder while his three Little Dream Sect companions were taken to a small building.
• Lu Qing sensed tribulation clinging to Zhang Meng'an and sent Senior Brother Wang a message about the matter.
• Lu Qing practiced formation techniques until he successfully laid a small Teleportation Array.
• Senior Brother Wang warned Lu Qing that Demonic Path geniuses would target Immortal Path geniuses to seize their Fate Allotment during the Great Tribulation.

Lu Qing watched newly ascended disciples arrive and concluded that the Nine Heavens faced a vast Great Tribulation tied to the rise and fall of Fate Allotment. He chose to avoid entanglement and return to cultivation, while the three new arrivals considered their uncertain prospects in the superior sect.

• Lu Qing reflected that Heavenly Prodigies’ Fate Allotment came from heaven and earth and that deeper involvement could bring danger during the Great Tribulation.
• Lu Qing decided that withdrawing to cultivate was his response to the Tribulation and left the Ascension Platform after another disciple arrived to take over his watch.
• The three newly ascended disciples discussed the many Purple Mansion Realm cultivators around them and wondered how they would find their place in the sect.
• Lu Qing returned toward his Cultivation Cave and sensed dense Tribulation Fortune gathering behind the Sky Screen.

Lu Qing returned to Sun-Moon Mountain, strengthened its defenses, and settled the Spirit Plant Garden’s work for the coming year. After inspecting his stipend and deacon token, he left the disciples pleased to learn they would plant Five-Element Spirit Rice.

• Lu Qing considered the threat of the Great Era and the possibility that Demonic Cultivators might target the Profound Heaven Dao Sect through the Nether Sea.
• Lu Qing reviewed the mountain’s formations and confirmed that the Spirit Plant Garden had no problems.
• Lu Qing told Hu Laozhang to plant the newly acquired Five-Element Spirit Rice and let him handle the seeds without inspection.
• Lu Qing brewed tea with Dragonbone Herb, then examined his stipend and discovered that his deacon talisman token displayed thirty contribution points.
• Hu Laozhang returned from Myriad Forms Hall, and the disciples celebrated when they learned they would grow eighth-grade Five-Element Spirit Rice.

Lu Qing inspected his Spirit Fields while the Dao Sect disciples divided spirit seeds by the Five Elements. Zhang Meng'an entered the Profound Heaven Dao Sect as Wei Zu's disciple, where his fellow disciples' suspicion met his confidence in his Fate Allotment.

• Hu Laozhang, Hou Wucai, Zhang Xian, and the other disciples divided the spirit seeds according to the Five Elements and agreed to arrange neighboring plots in a cycle of generation.
• Lu Qing examined his Spirit Fields, noted that Dragonheart Fruits and Purple Moon Fruits had little market in the Profound Heaven Domain, and returned to his Cultivation Cave.
• Zhang Meng'an passed the Questioning-Heart Path and became Wei Zu's disciple in the Profound Heaven Dao Sect.
• After Wei Zu left, Zhang Meng'an's senior brothers showed mixed reactions, and some looked down on him as a prodigy from a Minor Realm.
• Zhang Meng'an chose not to contend with his senior brothers, trusting his Fate Allotment, while his and their Fate Allotments rumbled with rising Tribulation Qi.

While Lu Qing continued cultivating, Nan Xun emerged from seclusion and resolved to seek opportunities in the coming Great Era, eyeing the new personal disciple Qing Feng with hostility. Meanwhile, Qingxuan asked Qingchen to observe Lu Qing because he had divined that Lu Qing shared Karmic Affinity with him.

• Lu Qing focused on cultivation and the Five Elements spells as the world stirred with signs of change.
• Wen Si told Nan Xun about the new personal disciple Qing Feng and the sect’s efforts to recruit people with great Fate Allotment.
• Nan Xun brooded over being surpassed, then decided to leave the Daoist grounds to claim a mission and pursue his share of the Great Era’s Fate Allotment.
• Qingxuan told Qingchen that he could not personally approach Lu Qing while refining Heavenly Mandate, and asked Qingchen to observe him.
• Qingchen questioned how Lu Qing could have Karmic Affinity with Qingxuan, while Qingxuan insisted the connection needed to be investigated.

Qingchen asked Wang Chunfeng about Lu Qing at Senior Brother Qingxuan’s request, while Wang Chunfeng traveled with an Immortal Sect delegation into the Four Lands to investigate the emergence of the Demon Land. The delegation prepared to conceal itself near the Yellow Springs of Wrongful Death, and Wang Chunfeng wondered why Qingchen wanted to know about Lu Qing.

• Qingxuan sent Qingchen to ask Wang Chunfeng about Lu Qing, saying he wanted to find him despite not knowing the reason for their karmic affinity.
• Qingchen left to contact Wang Chunfeng, while Qingxuan privately wondered what Cause and Effect connected them.
• Wang Chunfeng and a group of white-robed cultivators arrived in the Four Lands aboard a concealed tower ship.
• Senior Brother Yuan Sui explained that the Immortal Sects sought to prevent the Demon Land from emerging and ordered the group to conceal itself near the Yellow Springs of Wrongful Death.
• Wang Chunfeng received Qingchen’s message about Lu Qing and decided to ask why Qingchen wanted to know about him.

The Scarlet Heaven Dao Sect confronted Black Sun Sect cultivators in the Four Lands, but Elder Black Wind drove off the Immortal Path and punished his own disciples. He devoured one disciple who tried to flee, strengthening his bloodlight Fate Allotment.

• Xie Chonghuo attacked seven Black Sun Sect cultivators aboard the Lotus Treasure Boat, but Elder Black Wind stopped his Heaven-and-Earth True Fire and carried the group away.
• Xie Chonghuo told Liu Tao that something had felt wrong for an instant, while the Immortal Path’s efforts depended on the great powers behind their sects.
• Elder Black Wind revealed that the Immortal Path’s arrival confirmed the Five Elders’ prediction and demanded a price from the seven disciples for their failed mission.
• One Black Sun Sect disciple surrendered a flesh hand, while another offered a drop of essence blood after being injured by Xie Chonghuo.
• Elder Black Wind accused the injured disciple of colluding with the Immortal Path and trying to defect, then crushed and devoured him along with his True Spirit and bloodlight Fate Allotment.

Elder Black Wind devoured a reckless Black Sun Sect disciple while the remaining disciples and other demon cultivators weighed the dangers and opportunities of the immortal cultivators entering the Four Lands. Wang Chunfeng reached Black Tiger Mountain in disguise, and Qingchen arrived near Lu Qing’s location.

• Elder Black Wind swallowed a disciple who had tested an Immortal Dao cultivator, then warned the remaining six Black Sun Sect disciples against acting as spies.
• Rogue demonic cultivators and lower-ranking demon sect disciples reacted to news of the immortal cultivators, with some fleeing and others coveting their flesh.
• The chapter described Black Tiger Mountain as a dangerous stronghold beneath the Yellow Springs of Wrongful Death.
• Wang Chunfeng arrived near Black Tiger Mountain disguised as a thin man in black robes and remained wary of the demon territory.
• Lu Qing read Wang Chunfeng’s message about Qingchen and decided to wait until they met to learn why Qingchen had sought him.
• Qingchen’s escaping light descended near a mountain range east of Lu Qing.

Lu Qing discovered that his Karmic Affinity with Qingxuan came from the Great Concealment Art and his Calamity Avoidance Skill. Qingxuan announced that he would descend the mountain to answer the Great Era’s summons, while unseen powers turned their attention toward the Fate Allotment forming above Lu Qing.

• Qingchen wondered why Lu Qing had been named a Karmic Affinity and received a Golden Halberd Sword Pellet from Qingxuan.
• Qingxuan dismissed the Heavenly Secrets Path and said he would soon descend the mountain to answer the Great Era’s summons.
• A vast Fate Allotment formed, drawing hidden gazes from across distant realms before a formless palm concealed them.
• Lu Qing saw Qingxuan in the distance, and Qingxuan told him their Karmic Affinity came from the Great Concealment Art.
• Lu Qing recognized Qingxuan as the first Direct Disciple and understood that his Calamity Avoidance Skill had changed his Karmic Affinity.

Lu Qing realized that observing the upheaval of the Great Era could help him complete his cultivation of the Great Concealment Art. As he anticipated Mars falling, a Celestial Star fell and the Heavenly Change and millennium Great Fortune began, drawing the attention of cultivators across the Nine Heavens and Heavenly Domains.

• Lu Qing traced how his earlier Divination had altered his path and concluded that Senior Brother Qingxuan may have descended the mountain after glimpsing future Heavenly Secrets.
• Lu Qing decided that completing the Great Concealment Art required observing the Great Era's turbulence rather than cultivating in seclusion.
• Lu Qing identified the star he had seen in the Grotto-Heaven as Mars and predicted that its fall would begin the Heavenly Secrets Fate Allotment.
• A thunderclap sounded in the clear sky as a vast red Fate Allotment emerged from a falling Celestial Star and scattered across the Nine Heavens and Heavenly Domains.
• Cultivators throughout the realms sensed the Heavenly Change and Great Fortune, while beings in ancient hidden places withdrew their awareness to avoid Heaven's Way.

Lu Qing reflected on the descending Fate Allotment of Mars and sought ways to comprehend the Five Elements through the Spirit Rice’s Dao Rhyme. He also considered the dangers of entrusting his True Spirit to sect protections, while Qingchen chose to leave without meeting him.

• Lu Qing concluded that Mars’s Fate Allotment might bring Heavenly Mandate Star Lords and intensify the cultivation world’s struggle.
• Lu Qing studied the Five Elements Dao Rhyme rising from the Spirit Rice and considered using Five Elements spirit items to aid his cultivation.
• Lu Qing reflected on Golden Core cultivators’ True Spirits and the risks of Soul Lamps, Heaven Lamps, and reincarnation.
• Lu Qing resolved that he preferred to keep his True Spirit in his own hands and continue pursuing a long life in this lifetime.
• Qingchen glanced toward the mountain peak and the direction his senior brother had gone, then left without meeting Lu Qing.

Lu Qing chose to avoid the political entanglements surrounding the Dao Sect’s personal disciples and returned to cultivating at Sun-Moon Mountain. Ten million miles away, Wang Chunfeng arrived at a demonic gathering on Black Tiger Mountain, where the demons fled as soon as they sensed his power.

• Lu Qing reflected on the risks of approaching the Dao Sect’s personal disciples and resolved to cultivate quietly as a steward.
• Lu Qing checked Sun-Moon Mountain with his Divine Consciousness, then sat beneath the Star Tree to seek a Five Elements opportunity.
• At Black Tiger Mountain, the Tiger Demon hosted a banquet and promised the gathered demons that they would soon eat Immortal flesh.
• Wang Chunfeng appeared at the banquet and revealed his profound aura.
• The demons recognized Wang Chunfeng’s strength and scattered in panic.

Wang Chunfeng discovered that rumors of an immortal-path supreme treasure had spread through the Four Lands and sent a warning to Senior Brother Yuan. As immortal cultivators and devil-path forces gathered, No-Dao Hall lit its ghostfires and revealed the assembled devils, prompting questions about the unusual change.

• Wang Chunfeng searched the tiger demon’s memories, learned that Black Wind Old Demon had spread word of an immortal-path supreme treasure, and crushed the demon’s true spirit.
• Wang Chunfeng decided to warn Senior Brother Yuan that the treasure rumors could attract immortal cultivators.
• Immortal cultivators from the nine sects and the two great immortal dynasties entered the Four Lands, while golden rain from the Nine Dragons Divine Dynasty killed devil cultivators.
• Devil cultivators complained that the Holy Sect had not responded, and another figure said a great power from the Holy Sect had already stepped forth.
• Ghostfires lit No-Dao Hall, exposing the gathered devil cultivators, and a seductive woman asked why the hall had made an exception to its usual darkness.

Heart Fox arrived at No-Dao Hall, where the Demonic Cultivators gathered to discuss the great enemy of the Immortal Path. Elder Nonaction appeared as the Five Elders’ subordinate, and the assembled cultivators feared his power and his ability to erase True Spirits.

• Heart Fox appeared at No-Dao Hall, and the Demonic Cultivators recognized that she was not using her true body.
• An aged voice welcomed the gathered cultivators and explained that the meeting was meant to encourage them to become acquainted and cooperate against the Immortal Path’s great enemy.
• Elder Nonaction revealed himself beneath the empty seat at the top of the hall, causing the Demonic Cultivators to grow solemn and wary.
• The cultivators recalled Elder Nonaction’s Heavenly Demon Longevity Nonaction Path and his practice of draining others’ lifespans to pursue his Dao.
• The Demonic Cultivators feared that Elder Nonaction could erase their True Spirits, so they restrained their thoughts and stopped communicating through Divine Senses.

Elder Nonaction delivered the Five Elders’ plans for the Immortal-Slaying Assembly to the gathered Demon Heads, ordering them to hunt Mars Star Lords and lure the Immortal Sects into the Yellow Springs of Wrongful Death. He revealed that Demon Land was in the Yellow Springs, then vanished without the assembly noticing.

• The Demon Heads welcomed Elder Nonaction and felt the terrifying pressure of his inadvertent glance, which cost some of them lifespan and Destiny.
• Elder Nonaction announced that the Immortal-Slaying Assembly would begin with Mars Guarding the Heart and the scattering of Fate Allotment.
• Elder Nonaction instructed the Demon Heads to find and kill the Mars Star Lords to seize their Fate Allotment, then decide whether to destroy or recruit later Star Lords.
• A Demon Head asked how they could lure the Immortal Sects into the Yellow Springs of Wrongful Death, and others echoed his request for guidance.
• Elder Nonaction said it was enough that Demon Land was in the Yellow Springs of Wrongful Death, leaving the Demon Heads confused.
• The Demon Heads discovered that Elder Nonaction had vanished from the meditation cushion without them seeing him leave.

The Demonic Cultivators gathered in No-Dao Hall agreed to a limited Great Dao Oath and Yellow Springs Contract before the Five Elders’ plan was carried out. Days later, Lu Qing sensed the rising killing intent from the Fate Allotment of Mars and recognized how it threatened cultivation, leaving him to ponder its influence on heaven, earth, and man.

• A black-robed Demonic Cultivator urged the group to follow the Five Elders’ call and face their common enemy together.
• Heart Fox proposed that the eighteen Demonic Cultivators make a Great Dao Oath and sign a Yellow Springs Contract, and the group agreed to limit its terms to the matter at hand.
• The Demonic Cultivators used Divine Sense to negotiate and produced a Talisman bearing the aura of countless ghostly souls.
• Several days later, Lu Qing sensed restless air and killing intent gathering in heaven and earth as he cultivated at Sun-Moon Mountain.
• Lu Qing caught a falling Star Tree leaf, absorbed its essence into his Purple Mansion Realm, and reflected that the Fate Allotment of Mars had disrupted clarity, tranquility, and divinity.