Chapter Summaries

Lu Qing saw that a future involving Nine Nether’s return had been erased, while Cui Zhen remained destined to receive the Great Dao Heavenly Heart. He then sensed that his main body had returned, as clear light spread from the Profound Heaven Dao Sect across Southern Heaven Continent and drew the attention of cultivators.

• Lu Qing witnessed a glimpse of a future involving Nine-Nether Reincarnation and concluded that a powerful figure had erased that possible future.
• Lu Qing reasoned that Cui Zhen would receive the Great Dao Heavenly Heart, while Nine Nether would not return to claim the Nether Sea’s Providence.
• Lu Qing sensed the connection to his main body reopening and realized that his main body had returned along with the Dao-Seeking Hall.
• Clear light surged from the Profound Heaven Dao Sect and spread across Southern Heaven Continent, stirring its Providence.
• Cultivators emerged from their Cultivation Caves and wondered what had caused the clear light and renewed Spiritual Vitality.

A sweeping clear radiance refined the spiritual aura across the Profound Heaven Dao Sect, puzzling disciples and cultivators alike. Several senior peak masters recognized hints of the ancient Dao-Seeking Hall and wondered whether its return could strengthen Profound Heaven in the coming age of contention.

• Clear radiance spread across the Southern Heaven Continent, making the spiritual aura feel more refined and stirring speculation about a breakthrough or another major event.
• Disciples and cultivators around the Profound Heaven Dao Sect searched for an explanation, but none knew what had happened.
• Several peak masters sensed that the radiance shared an origin with the Dao Sect's main lines, yet carried a more profound Great Dao aura.
• A senior peak master connected the radiance to Dao-Seeking Hall, the ancient lineage from which the later main-line traditions had emerged.
• The peak masters considered that Dao-Seeking Hall's return might give Profound Heaven a chance to advance during the age of contention.

Clear light bearing the aura of the Great Dao appeared, leading Profound Heaven’s cultivators to suspect that the Dao-Seeking Hall had returned. The Sect Master and chief seats were also surprised as they considered Lu Qing’s connection to the Hall and the dangers of crossing time.

• Senior peak masters saw the clear light and wondered whether the Dao-Seeking Hall had returned as a new main vein of the Profound Heaven Dao Sect.
• Cultivators speculated that the Sect Master and chief seats had anticipated the phenomenon, though their calm did not mean they had known it would happen.
• The Sect Master and chief seats recalled that Lu Qing had gone to an ancient era and was especially suited to opening the Dao-Seeking Hall.
• They considered how the Profound Heaven Dao Sect’s past experts and foundations could help protect Lu Qing while he traveled through time.
• The cultivators recalled that later generations had failed to open the Dao-Seeking Hall, whose karmic affinity had become increasingly elusive over the eras.

As Dao-Seeking Hall prepared to open, Yu Youshu and the other leaders discussed establishing its new main lineage and awaited Lu Qing’s return. They left the choice of its Daoist Dojo and chief’s arrangements unresolved, focusing instead on the coming reordering of the Dao Sect’s Dharma lineages.

• Yu Youshu sensed the signs of Dao-Seeking Hall’s opening and reflected that its appearance would let great powers study its true energy flow directly.
• Fu Huazi produced a scroll for Dao-Seeking Hall’s True Name and asked the Cloud Platform Figures to help select suitable candidates.
• Yu Youshu said the new main lineage’s Daoist Dojo had to wait until Lu Qing returned, since each lineage chief’s Dojo was tied to their Dao.
• Yu Youshu surveyed the Outer Sect Main Lineage and noted that Bai Sheng remained incapacitated while its chief’s position had been vacant for a thousand years.
• Yu Youshu considered the old Supreme Elders’ likely concerns about assigning a chief to the new lineage, then set those thoughts aside as the opening and reordering had yet to occur.

Lu Qing remained in the First Era, where he sensed that the Dao-Seeking Hall was about to manifest as the Immortal Path approached a Dao tribulation. Powerful figures from the Profound Heaven Dao Sect noticed the change and discussed the difficult Heaven-Ascending Path and Lu Qing’s path of uniting the myriad Daos.

• Lu Qing observed the First Era and recalled how the Green Duckweed Discourse five hundred years earlier had changed the Immortal Path without bringing the expected Dao tribulation.
• As Lu Qing neared the threshold of seeking the Dao, he sensed tribulation qi spreading through the heavens and the hearts of living cultivators.
• The Dao-Seeking Hall’s clear light manifested, allowing powerful experts across eras to sense a change in heavenly secrets.
• Figures of the Profound Heaven Dao Sect discussed how their past geniuses had failed to pass the Heaven-Ascending Path and how Dao Masters could no longer seek the Dao.
• The figures considered Lu Qing’s path of returning the myriad Daos to one and remarked on the dangers of cultivating such a Dao heart.

Powerful beings across the ages sensed clear radiance stirring the Long River of Time and suspected it marked an extraordinary Immortal Path cultivation opportunity in the Era of Variables. They watched the disturbance gather in the mist of the later ages, awaiting the path that might allow cultivation beyond lifespan.

• Powerful beings connected Dao-Seeking Hall’s faint karmic ties and the clear radiance to the Era of Variables, where many factions had laid plans across time.
• The cultivators wondered when a new path would appear, since lifespan remained a barrier to transcendence even for those who had obtained miraculous medicines and extraordinary longevity.
• Great Dao imprints stirred in the Long River of Time, and figures emerged to observe the disturbance without finding signs of battle.
• The powerful beings judged the clear radiance to resemble a movement of the Immortal Path rather than the Demonic or Ghost Path.
• The observers noted that the Immortal Path had endured across the ages while other paths had risen and fallen, and they located the strongest disturbance in the mist of the later ages.

After entering the realm of questioning the Dao, Lu Qing examined the origins of his Calamity Avoidance talent and sensed that it came from beyond the Nine Heavens without posing him any danger. He realized the Dao Tribulation five hundred years ahead had drawn powerful figures toward the First Era, while turmoil in the river of time made their journey more perilous.

• Lu Qing sensed that his Calamity Avoidance talent carried an aura distinct from the Nine Heavens and wondered whether it came from another universe or had changed during his crossing through time.
• Lu Qing reflected on the Dao Sect's ancient founding and sensed that powerful figures from later generations had left traces of their Dao in the Long River of Time.
• Lu Qing concluded that the Dao Tribulation would occur five hundred years later and that at least ten powerful figures had come to the First Era in their Dao bodies.
• The Long River of Time grew turbulent, increasing the danger for those seeking to reach the First Era and raising the risk of being stranded or sealed there.
• The figures decided to send their Dao thoughts into the misty span of time despite the danger, and their streams of light disappeared into it.

The Dao Tribulation of the Six Paths approached, stirring powerful beings in the First Era and prompting the five High True Persons to prepare their sects for the human tribulation. As the sky darkened, the coming calamity began to press upon the mortal world.

• Powerful beings near the First Era sensed a coming Dao Tribulation and warned that human tribulation would follow it.
• Observers saw hidden lightning and discussed the rarity of the tribulation and the mystery of reaching beyond the Great Dao.
• The five High True Persons appeared in the radiance and noted that the tribulation had been delayed by five hundred years.
• The High True Persons instructed their sect members to prepare for human tribulation, while one said each would face their ordained fate.
• A small silvery-white fish leapt from the water, the sky darkened, and the five figures of light manifested in the mortal world.

A Dao tribulation spread across the Six Paths, changing cultivators’ hearts and making them question the value of cultivation. The five Immortal Path Supreme True Ones chose to let the mortal world temper those hearts, while the master of Ghost-God Mountain ordered his sect to remain secluded and guard their Dao hearts.

• Lu Qing recognized that the Great Dao was withering and that the tribulation was also a trial of human hearts.
• Later-era figures warned that the tribulation could end cultivation and destiny’s fortune if people lost their desire to seek the Dao.
• The five Immortal Path Supreme True Ones discussed allowing mortal trials to temper cultivators rather than intervening directly.
• Cultivators across the world began doubting cultivation and turning toward indulgent pleasures as the tribulation spread.
• The master of Ghost-God Mountain told his disciples to remain secluded and guard their hearts after recognizing the tribulation’s effects within his sect.

The dao tribulation spread through cultivators’ hearts, making many lose the desire to cultivate without realizing anything was wrong. Lu Qing saw that each cultivator whose Dao Heart faded caused the Great Dao’s fate to wither at its root, revealing the tribulation’s danger.

• The Spirit Ghost Mountain Master guarded his spiritual gateway and searched the Spirit Ghost Sect grounds as its disciples and elders lost interest in cultivation.
• At the Seeking Dao Immortal Sect, people noted that cultivators’ Dao Hearts had fallen into tribulation and discussed their waning diligence.
• Lu Qing observed cultivators across countless cities blending into mortal life and heard an ancient being warn that the Great Dao’s withering would be a long process.
• A Foundation Establishment cultivator declared that cultivating the Dao was false, and his remaining spiritual vitality went out.
• Lu Qing saw a thread wither at the root of the Great Dao’s fate allotment when the first cultivator’s Dao Heart dimmed, and he understood that failing human hearts would make the Dao wither.

Lu Qing watched the Dao tribulation spread through the First Era after antiquity, sensing that it tested cultivators’ hearts and might hold the opportunity for his final step. As cultivators began turning mortal, he witnessed Purple Cloud True Person lose his cultivation aura and unsettle an elder who had once studied under him.

• The five Immortal Path True Persons and other cultivators noticed the Dao tribulation’s changes shaking the fortunes of the Six Paths, and some questioned whether cultivation ants could affect them.
• Lu Qing concluded that the tribulation was a trial of the Dao heart for cultivators beneath heaven and that even the most powerful figures were unlikely to intervene.
• Lu Qing withdrew his aura and watched ordinary cultivators turn mortal, sensing that the tribulation contained an opportunity for his final step.
• An elderly cultivator recognized Purple Cloud True Person as his former teacher, but Purple Cloud said he was no longer the person he had once been.
• The elder’s Coiled Dragon Jade Pendant protected him from the tribulation’s influence, and he left in the opposite direction from Purple Cloud True Person.

Lu Qing understood that the Dao tribulation had made spiritual opportunities dangerous to pursue and went into the mortal world to seek them. At the Spirit Ghost Sect, the Mountain Lord watched disciples disappear and cultivation grow more difficult, while the Patriarch and the Immortal Path True Persons remained unmoving.

• Lu Qing realized that cultivators had to break the Dao tribulation before cultivating again, then went to the mortal world to seek Dao opportunities.
• Several years later, the Spirit Ghost Mountain Lord found the Mission Hall nearly deserted and demanded to know why the sect's disciples had left.
• An elder told the Mountain Lord that the Dao tribulation had made it increasingly difficult to focus during cultivation.
• The Mountain Lord saw the elder's cultivator aura dim and feared he would suffer the same fate as the missing disciples.
• The Mountain Lord wondered when the Dao tribulation would end and suspected the Patriarch and the five Immortal Path True Persons were waiting for its full nature to become clear.

Lu Qing observed the Spirit Ghost Mountain Master as cultivators faced a Dao Calamity that stirred thoughts of abandoning their cultivation. He discovered that the calamity’s Dao-heart thoughts carried traces of destinies from other ages, while the Spirit Ghost Mountain Master resisted the temptation and feared a coming killing tribulation.

• Lu Qing watched the Spirit Ghost Mountain Master dismiss his followers to prepare for seclusion and guard their hearts.
• The Spirit Ghost Mountain Master worried that his sect might face a killing tribulation after the Dao-heart trial and questioned whether its patriarch could protect them.
• Lu Qing noticed that cultivators who passed the trial were not necessarily those with the firmest Dao hearts and concluded that the calamity’s thoughts did not arise from the formless alone.
• Lu Qing identified traces of destiny from other ages in the calamity aura and realized that a destiny tribulation accompanied the Dao-heart tribulation.
• A thought urged the Spirit Ghost Mountain Master to give up his position, but he rejected it as contrary to his lifelong wish.

The Spirit Ghost Mountain Master sensed Dao Heart Tribulation Qi generating thoughts that seemed to come from his own desires, and he struggled to distinguish them from his true intentions. The chapter left him facing increasingly greedy impulses to seek out abandoned ruins and seize their treasures.

• The Spirit Ghost Mountain Master recognized that a thought of giving up his position had arisen naturally, but he suppressed it with Dharma Power.
• He recalled that disciples entering Dao Heart Tribulation often failed to notice their own changes, and that their Ghost-God imprints vanished when they failed to pass through the tribulation.
• Another wisp of Tribulation Qi urged him to seek an ancient cultivator's cave beyond the mountain gate for its treasures.
• He reflected that powerful cultivators were especially vulnerable to Dao Heart Tribulation, while their abandoned treasures would tempt weaker cultivators.
• The Spirit Ghost Mountain Master decided his safety meant Heaven's Will had granted him Fortune Dao and considered traveling to a Southern Sea ruin and a northern frozen-sea Minor Realm.

Lu Qing watched Spirit Ghost Mountain Master resist the temptation of ownerless fortunes and endure the Dao Heart Tribulation. Spirit Ghost Mountain Master chose to remain within his mountain gate and focus on cultivating his Dao Heart as the world’s tribulation continued.

• Spirit Ghost Mountain Master was tempted by the ownerless fortunes beyond the mountain, hoping one could repair flaws in his foundation and help him advance.
• Lu Qing observed that Spirit Ghost Mountain Master’s foundation flaws made him more vulnerable to the Dao Heart Tribulation, but he eventually settled his inner conflict and broke free of its disturbance.
• Lu Qing noticed blood-red upheaval in the fates of cultivators, while the mortal living beings beyond the mountain showed no sign of slaughter calamity.
• Spirit Ghost Mountain Master rejected the fortunes beyond the mountain, fearing that leaving the gate could expose him to the tribulation without his ancestor’s protection.
• Spirit Ghost Mountain Master kept his distance from the dimming mountain-protecting formation and focused on tempering his Dao Heart rather than pursuing spiritual opportunities.

Lu Qing observed the Dao Heart Tribulation persist as time accelerated, causing cultivators to age and die. He realized that fallen cultivators retained blank True Spirits, whose future lives would lack past-life Cause and Effect and Karmic Affinity, while the Tribulation continued to grow more apparent.

• The Spirit Ghost Mountain Master and the remaining elders sensed danger and focused on tempering their Dao Hearts as Tribulation Qi spread.
• Lu Qing recognized a temporal Killing Tribulation, in which the passage of time had accelerated rather than proceeded normally.
• After the first century, the master of the Ghost-God Mountain Gate was the sect's last survivor, while the old ancestor hesitated to break through.
• Lu Qing connected the cultivators' deaths to the lifespan changes following the Immortal Path Revision and saw that their surviving True Spirits had lost all Cause and Effect, fate, and destiny.
• An old cultivator sensed his body and Divine Soul nearing decay and relied on a Radiance Jade Tablet as the hundred-year Dao Tribulation continued.

As the Dao Tribulation’s killing intent intensified, an old cultivator hid behind a formation but sensed no way to escape the calamity. Lu Qing witnessed the tribulation destroy him and ancient beings sealed in underground coffins, while realizing that future generations would create such coffins again.

• An old cultivator recalled how a patriarch’s attempt to protect his descendant from the Dao Heart Tribulation had caused a devastating backlash, and he stayed secluded to avoid entanglement in others’ Cause and Effect.
• The old cultivator sensed the aura of passing years and an ominous premonition through his layered formation, but could find no way to cross the Dao Tribulation.
• As the tribulation’s killing intent emerged after lying dormant for a century, the old cultivator comforted himself that heaven and earth would leave a thread of hope.
• Lu Qing witnessed the old cultivator die in his Cultivation Cave and saw underground spaces shatter, exposing ancient coffins that crumbled before their occupants could awaken.
• Lu Qing realized that although these coffins had been destroyed, future generations would make more to preserve cultivators who had not attained Longevity.

After two hundred years of seclusion during the Dao Tribulation, Mistcloud True Person left his cave and discovered that his sect had fallen into desolation. Seeing the world’s killing intent and sensing his own decline, he resolved to seek a way to survive the Tribulation.

• Lu Qing observed Mistcloud True Person and the Spirit Ghost Mountain Master, both of whom had endured the two-hundred-year Dao Tribulation despite their cultivation being less profound than that of the realm’s foremost cultivators.
• Mistcloud True Person emerged from seclusion when the world turned into what seemed to be a blood sea and Asura battlefield.
• Mistcloud True Person saw that the mountains around his sect were eerily desolate and that the sect had lost its former Providence and grandeur.
• Mistcloud True Person sensed the killing intent across Heaven and Earth and realized his lifespan was draining away.
• Mistcloud True Person decided he could no longer remain in seclusion and set out to find a way to survive the Tribulation.

Lu Qing used the Great Dream Divine Ability to understand the final step from the Dongzhen Realm to seeking the Dao. After leaving a trace of his Dao shadow on two leaves and resolving to return to himself, he stepped into a new era of the Long River of Time.

• Lu Qing observed Mistcloud True Person begin to seek a path to survival and saw the Spirit Ghost Mountain Master maintain his resolve amid the Dao Calamity.
• Lu Qing confronted the serene unknown beyond the gate to seeking the Dao and realized that breakthrough required him to seek and comprehend the Great Dao itself.
• Lu Qing recognized that the gap between the Five Steps of Dongzhen and seeking the Dao demanded profound foundations or a desperate gamble for a heavenly opportunity.
• Lu Qing awoke from the Great Dream Divine Ability as the Spirit Ghost Mountain Master and Mistcloud True Person vanished, leaving a pale green leaf behind.
• Lu Qing understood that he had contended with himself for too long, united the myriad Daos within himself, and stepped into another era.

A mysterious observer recognized Lu Qing’s use of a divine ability resembling the Great Dream Immortal Sect’s lost inheritance, while five immortal figures discussed how the Dao Tribulation had exposed a new thread of fate. They left the tribulation underway, suspecting its sudden turning point was connected to the Great Dream Immortal Sect.

• A gaze examined the leaves left behind by Lu Qing and suspected they reflected the Great Dream Immortal Sect’s Great Dream divine ability.
• The observer wondered who had used the lost technique, then let the mystery rest.
• Wuyun True Person drew no notice as the observer contrasted his fate with the Spirit Ghost Mountain Master’s.
• Five figures in immortal light sensed that Lu Qing’s Great Dream had stirred the river of time and questioned whether he belonged to the Great Dream Immortal Sect.
• The five figures saw the killing tribulation arrive and anticipated lightning tribulation and immortal shadows.
• The five figures calculated that the sudden tribulation point might be the thread of life they had been seeking, and wondered what connection it had to the Great Dream Immortal Sect.