Chapter Summaries

Dreamland issued a task to intercept Providence at Peace Mountain, drawing cultivators from across the Demon Domain toward the site amid the wider struggle over the Longevity Devil Master's Great Dao. The Great Tribulation's conflicts spread across the region, and reports of a powerful standoff at Cave River showed that the contest had reached another battleground.

• Dreamland announced that cultivators could seize a share of Providence at Peace Mountain, and Guides from many directions accepted the task.
• Demon Domain cultivators set out for Peace Mountain, which lay beyond the ten-thousand-mile Endless Wilderness that suppressed their senses.
• The revival of the Longevity Devil Master's Great Dao drew old cultivators and forces from all Six Demonic Paths into conflicts across the Demon Domain.
• Cultivators on Floating Light discussed the danger of traveling during the Great Tribulation and urged weaker practitioners to hide.
• A cultivator reported that two powerful groups were confronting each other at Cave River, where eighteen figures blocked others from heading north.

Old monsters emerged from forbidden zones across the world in pursuit of Longevity, while Yinshan confronted the Longevity Devil Master in a battle rooted in revenge. The chapter left them preparing to fight as the Devil Master challenged Yinshan to show the power of his sect’s descendants.

• Onlookers discussed the many old monsters and factions moving across the world, concluding that they had come for Longevity.
• The narration explained that the emerging old monsters had prepared ways to avoid immediately drawing Heavenly Retribution.
• The Longevity Devil Master urged Yinshan to join him in seeking Longevity and questioned why Yinshan defended those who had died.
• Yinshan refused to yield, intent on avenging his slaughtered Household and destroyed sect.
• The Longevity Devil Master called Yinshan his sect’s descendant and challenged him to reveal his abilities.

The Nether Devil Heir appeared in Western Heaven Continent, where a Buddha tried to block his advance as blood-sea figures gathered behind him. Rumor cultivators spread the news through Floating Light, while experts from every path converged on a contest tied to the Devil Master’s Great Dao and Longevity.

• A Buddha barred the Nether Devil Heir in Western Heaven Continent, but the Heir warned that the Buddha could not stop them alone as a sea of blood gathered behind him.
• Rumor cultivators recognized the Nether Devil Heir and sent firsthand reports through Floating Light.
• Cultivators discussed the Nether Devil’s ancient origins and speculated that the Devil Master’s Great Dao was connected to Longevity.
• A heavenly-secret cultivator’s speculation faded from view, and he refrained from calculating further after sensing a terrifying threat.
• Dreamland issued a mission at Peace Mountain as Daoist Lineages noticed an opening to compete for Providence while experts pursued Longevity.

The chapter explained that powerful figures were obstructing ancient beings during the Great Tribulation to earn Merit and overcome their own Cultivation Tribulations. Bifang arrived in the Demon Domain, sensed his silver light crossing another Long River of Time, and foresaw that the ongoing Dharma Combat could raise the cultivation level of the Nine Heavens.

• The Dreamland task guide accepted the task after realizing that obstructing powerful figures during the Great Tribulation could help cultivators overcome their Cultivation Tribulations and gain Merit.
• The guide learned that his clan's ancestors had gone north to intercept an ancient venerable one, hoping to advance their own Dao.
• Bifang arrived in the Demon Domain, where Providence had gathered around him, and sensed that his silver light remained on a journey beyond the familiar Long River of Time.
• Bifang used flashes of Spirit Light to discern that the Great Tribulation was targeting ancient beings who had hidden through the ages to prolong their lives.
• Bifang concluded that the ongoing Dharma Combat involved the Cultivation Tribulations of both the ancient beings and the present-day cultivators blocking them, and that its outcome could raise the Nine Heavens' cultivation level.

Bifang considered the competing struggles for longevity, providence, and the human emperorship as ancient powers avoided the conflict in the Demon Domain. Xiang Qingshan reached Peace Mountain, where the entire wilderness, abyss, and distant divine mountain formed one vast and confusing place.

• Bifang observed that ancient demons and greater demons were staying out of the Ghost Mountain conflict, while the struggle for longevity grew more intense.
• Bifang realized that Li Beiyun might also have advanced along his path to becoming the Humanity Human Emperor and considered how he could influence the six paths.
• Bifang speculated that Li Beiyun might eventually shoulder the human path along with the demon and ghost paths, though shifting heavenly secrets made the future uncertain.
• Dreamland guides entered the Demon Domain to pursue the Nine Heavens' providence and Dreamland's mission rewards.
• Xiang Qingshan accepted the opportunity and arrived at Peace Mountain, discovering that its wilderness, abyss, and distant peaks were all part of the same vast place.

Xiang Qingshan weighed the risks of meeting other cultivators in the vast Peace Mountain region and chose to remain concealed. As more Dreamland Guidances arrived, they kept their distance, leaving the region crowded with wary newcomers who did not know one another.

• Xiang Qingshan reasoned that the immense wilderness would make encounters unlikely and decided against exposing himself or fighting without cause.
• An earth-escape cultivator reached the Peace Mountain region, judged the open ground unsafe, and burrowed deep underground to hide.
• The earth-escape cultivator's Dreamland mission trembled, confirming that he had reached the correct destination.
• Over several days, numerous Dreamland Guidances arrived quietly in Peace Mountain and sensed one another through Divine Sense.
• The Dreamland cultivators avoided meeting or trusting one another, wary that fellow participants could be more dangerous than the world's natives.

Chen Huan used his Turtle Shell to divine the timing of an opportunity at Peace Mountain, while a mysterious Buddhist monk suppressed a group of blood cultivators nearby. The chapter left the blood cultivators subdued and observers guessing that the monk belonged to the Glazed Buddhist Sect.

• Chen Huan surveyed the cultivators gathered at Peace Mountain and considered how to win Heaven's Will and providence with the Dragon-Seizing Method.
• Chen Huan used his cracked Turtle Shell to divine that the opportunity would arrive around midnight the day after tomorrow.
• A Buddhist monk confronted the blood cultivators on the western bank and declared that he would deliver them from their wickedness.
• The monk manifested a Buddhist dharma realm and trapped the blood cultivators within its light.
• The monk's display astonished hidden observers, who suspected he belonged to the Glazed Buddhist Sect.

Observers discussed the failed Dharma Combat and wondered whether the Longevity Devil Master's Great Dao would emerge. A recorded image revealed several Devil Master's Reincarnations, while opposing forces maneuvered around Ghost Mountain, leaving its center unexpectedly unguarded.

• Observers concluded that the Buddhist monk's Three Thousand Affliction Realms showed another great divine ability of the Buddhist Sect and questioned what would happen to the Longevity Devil Master's Great Dao.
• An observer sent a recorded image of people aboard a treasure boat into the Floating Light, prompting others to identify them as the Devil Master's Reincarnation.
• Participants in the Floating Light said the Devil Master's Reincarnation had divided into several people and that many Demonic Path cultivators were traveling beyond the Four Lands to protect them.
• A middle-aged cultivator doubted that the Devil Master's Reincarnation could control Ghost Vine and noted that their connection to the Devil Master's Dao seemed faint.
• As rival groups maneuvered around Ghost Mountain, their mutual struggle left its center unexpectedly empty.

A whisper of “longevity” spread from Ghost Mountain, alarming the ancient figures battling over the Devil Master’s legacy and disturbing demons across the Demon Domain. Two elders read the growing struggle for providence as an opportunity born from the tribulation, but the chapter left unclear who would claim it.

• At Ghost Mountain, a voice from the coffin whispered “longevity,” drawing the attention of the ancient figures fighting nearby.
• The ancient figures debated whether the Devil Master had returned, then concluded that the disturbance was likely his lingering divine thought and resumed their confrontation.
• The longevity whispers reached demons across the Demon Domain, and several demon kings recognized Ghost Mountain as their source but chose not to interfere.
• Zhu Hu complained that the disturbance was disrupting his sleep, while the other demon kings discussed how to avoid the tribulation.
• Two elders used a board game to examine the competing forces and concluded that the tribulation would bring a struggle for providence, with many contenders poised to seize an opportunity.

Lin Lidao inferred that the Dragon-Eye Providence belonged to a Ghost Path prodigy whose birth created a debt of Cause and Effect with the Demon Path. In Dreamland, Chen Huan waited beneath ominous black clouds, sensing that Providence might soon fall.

• While playing chess, Lin Lidao rejected the idea that the Humanity Human Emperor's Sons possessed the Dragon-Eye Providence and suspected its owner came from the Ghost Path.
• Lin Lidao explained that the Ghost Path prodigy's birth had depended on the Demon Path's Emperor's Flowing Nectar, leaving him with Cause and Effect to repay.
• The other old man concluded that the prodigy would face grave danger if he tried to intervene in the conflict over Ghost Mountain.
• Lin Lidao identified the third person on the Hidden Dragon Ranking as a possible bearer of the Providence that could revive the Ghost Path.
• In Dreamland, Chen Huan watched the black clouds gather and sensed that Providence might fall like rain.

Bifang investigated the source of Heaven’s Will providence and witnessed a Ghost Path statue shatter, revealing a Heavenly Prodigy’s providence and fate had already been decided. He realized ancient powers were arranging the contest for the Dao far in advance, as the Great Era filled the world with providence-bearers.

• Bifang considered Dreamland’s intentions and learned from his Reincarnation Avatar that the providence was connected to the Ghost Path and Demon Path.
• Bifang saw a moonlike radiance fall over Peace Mountain as a providence manifestation of the Ghost Path’s Boundless Senluo Hall appeared in the clouds.
• A ghost statue split apart, its head falling as torrential Providence Rain poured from its wounds, carrying deep hatred and resentment.
• Bifang witnessed a vision of a powerful cultivator striking down the statue and understood that the Ghost Path Heavenly Prodigy’s death and loss of providence had already been determined.
• Bifang chose not to absorb the Providence Rain and concluded that other providence-bearers and ancient powers had intervened in the coming contest.
• Bifang reflected that the Great Era had produced countless providence-bearers and that the race to achieve the Dao would unfold amid their competing arrangements.

Chen Huan absorbed the Providence Rain with his Dragon-Seizing Method, only to discover that it carried a burden of Cause and Effect. He accepted the burden and continued absorbing Providence as it gathered across the Demon Domain.

• Chen Huan waited three days at the edge of the Dharma Combat battlefields before the Providence Rain began to fall.
• Chen Huan used the Dragon-Seizing Method to draw raindrops into the Providence above his head.
• Chen Huan noticed muddy Cause and Effect coating his Providence and found black qi seeping from the Turtle-Shell Formation.
• Chen Huan accepted the burden of Cause and Effect and continued absorbing Providence.
• Ghost Cultivators discussed the troublesome Destiny and the upheavals that had complicated their calculations.

Heaven’s Will providence descended across the Demon Domain and other regions, settling an old Cause and Effect tied to a Ghost Path prodigy while drawing cultivators to compete for its benefits. Li Beiyun watched from the Eight Wastelands, regretted missing the opportunity, and asked whether the person fated to become the Human Emperor had appeared.

• The Ghost Path elders saw Heaven’s Will providence flow toward Peace Mountain, Ghost Mountain, and the Demon Domain, and decided not to pursue the settled Cause and Effect further.
• The Ghost Hall elders brought their outstanding members to claim and advance their providence as battles broke out across Peace Mountain.
• Several Demon Kings discussed the providence flowing into Peace Mountain and its abyss, while Zhu Hu dismissed the possibility of serious consequences.
• Li Beiyun and Humanity-Dao White Marsh watched the providence fall in the Demon Domain and lamented that distance kept them from joining the competition.
• Li Beiyun asked whether the person fated to become the Human Emperor had appeared, and Humanity-Dao White Marsh waited to answer.

Humanity-Dao White Marsh’s divination pointed to two possible bearers of the Human Emperor Fate: an unremarkable Rogue Cultivator and Huang Wuxuan, a powerful Son of the Human Emperor. Li Beiyun set aside the mystery and ordered White Marsh to find both of them.

• Humanity-Dao White Marsh recalled that Li Beiyun had destroyed three leading Sons of the Human Emperor, leaving few candidates besides the person born with the Human Emperor Fate.
• White Marsh revealed a divination showing an ordinary Rogue Cultivator as one possible bearer, despite his unremarkable appearance and providence.
• White Marsh showed Huang Wuxuan, a Son of the Human Emperor whose crimson-and-gold providence had risen, as the second possible bearer.
• White Marsh wondered whether both men could share the Destiny Pattern or whether a Supreme Treasure had obscured the heavenly secrets.
• Li Beiyun told White Marsh to find the locations of both men.

Humanity-Dao White Marsh searched for the second Son of the Human Emperor, Huang Wuxuan, who learned that someone was targeting him but chose to seek a treasure before leaving. Meanwhile, White Marsh dreamed of the Cause-and-Effect Divine Tree and the Variable Fate Sword, then sent a warning to its master as the sword’s emergence loomed.

• Humanity-Dao White Marsh began deducing Huang Wuxuan’s location, and the Mysterious Stone Tablet warned Huang Wuxuan that someone had discovered him and advised him to leave.
• Huang Wuxuan refused to leave before obtaining a treasure hidden in the Cause-and-Effect Divine Tree, including a divine sword said to slay Variable Fate.
• At the Clearless Dao Grounds, White Marsh dreamed of the ancient Cause-and-Effect Divine Tree and the Variable Fate Sword that had once slain a Heavenly God.
• White Marsh suspected its Bloodline had shown it an omen because one of its kin had become involved, and it sent a message to its master about the vision.
• White Marsh browsed Floating Light and heard that its coming revamp would add virtual illusions called Dreamlike Nine Heavens.

Lu Qing's incarnation proposed expanding Floating Light beyond a communication artifact by creating a realistic virtual world where cultivators could cultivate and play. The Council Hall considered the idea, including how to make it appealing and whether death would be possible there.

• Cultivators paid little attention to the announcement that Floating Light would receive an upgrade next month amid the Tribulations.
• Lu Qing's incarnation explained to the Council Hall that artifacts alone could not support Floating Light's future scale and suggested involving people across the Dao-Seeking Hall lineage.
• Lu Qing's incarnation proposed turning the platform into a game-like world where cultivators could cultivate, unlike Dreamland's illusory setting.
• Sun Qidao asked whether cultivators would be willing to enter the virtual world, and Lu Qing's incarnation said it should be made more realistic.
• Li Luoyang called it a real Second World, while Fu Huazi and the White Crane considered whether people could fight there without dying.

The Dao Lords agreed to develop the Nine Heavens Second Cultivation World into a vast realm for cultivation, exchange, and discussion, while the Red Dust Avatar sensed the project strengthening his foundation. As the Great Tribulation reshaped the Cultivation World and ancient beings fought over the Longevity Great Dao, news spread that Floating Light would be updated.

• Yu Youshu, Zhang Qingyun, Lu Qing's avatar, and the other Dao Lords discussed hazy heavenly secrets, the Great Tribulations, and creating a Second Cultivation World.
• The Dao Lords expanded the project beyond the Nine Heavens to include the Boundary Sea, distant realms, and a trace of the Long River of Time.
• The Red Dust Avatar felt his foundation strengthen as the Samsara Dao Lord and the Reincarnation Dao Body contributed power and established the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
• The Red Dust Avatar examined a new Floating Light and sensed Cause and Effect linking its divine sword to the Broken Sword and the Humanity Human Emperor's Son.
• The Great Tribulation devastated old sects and raised new factions, while ancient beings fought to protect the Longevity Great Dao and prevent others from crossing over.
• Cultivators noticed that Floating Light was due for an update, leaving schemers confused about the changes.

The fiends of the Abyss sensed another change in the heavenly secrets and debated what might be influencing the future of the Nine Heavens. They suspected the Longevity Great Dao and the Devil Master's Reincarnation, then chose to watch the present world and investigate the past.

• The fiends sensed a new trace of Variable Fate and wondered whether something could influence the Long River of Time.
• They recalled that earlier fiends had entered a vortex and that later fiends had sent portions of their origin power into the Nine Heavens.
• The fiends considered whether the Longevity Great Dao's emergence and Tribulation Qi had drawn ancient beings from their graves.
• They debated whether the Longevity Great Dao was a backup plan for the old Devil Master and whether his Reincarnation had returned to reclaim it.
• The fiends decided to monitor the Nine Heavens and divine the past while avoiding the backlash of divining the future.

Huang Wuxuan reached the ancient divine tree and Cause-Slaying Sword, where Stone Elder explained the sword’s power over Cause and Effect and Variable Fate. As Huang Wuxuan began trying to connect with it, Stone Elder detected White Marsh approaching and moved to delay him.

• Huang Wuxuan arrived at the divine tree and saw the Cause-Slaying Sword embedded in the earth beneath its roots.
• Stone Elder explained that the sword could erase Cause and Effect or sever one Variable Fate, then urged Huang Wuxuan to try drawing it.
• Stone Elder assessed Huang Wuxuan’s Providence and noted that his path had merged the Human Emperor path with another path toward becoming a Dao Lord.
• Huang Wuxuan approached the sword and became motionless as he entered a critical attempt to connect with it.
• Stone Elder used its blood-red moon-like eye to detect White Marsh crossing Heaven’s secrets and decided to obstruct his arrival.

Humanity-Dao White Marsh tried to follow a thread of Cause and Effect but found its course had been changed by a powerful being on the other side. After White Marsh and Li Beiyun withdrew, the being behind the Stone Tablet reflected that the small intervention had created enough of a timing difference while Huang Wuxuan remained in an opportune state.

• Humanity-Dao White Marsh sensed danger and severed its connection after the path it opened began changing course.
• Li Beiyun recognized that the destination was beyond White Marsh's strength and told them to withdraw their power.
• White Marsh dissolved the unstable path into mist and traveled with Li Beiyun, who asked about the Son of the Human Emperor's past.
• The being behind the Stone Tablet said it had shifted the river's course without using much power, though the Heavenly Retribution-like pressure lingered until the others left.
• The being concluded that the timing difference was sufficient and noted that Huang Wuxuan could not hear it.