Chapter Summaries

Lu Ren discovered that Guo Erwa had already formed a thread of true qi and instructed her to nurture it carefully. Far away, Chen Tianshou learned that Li Caishang’s jade pendant had broken, and while pretending to grieve, he secretly rejoiced at her apparent death.

• Lu Ren asked Guo Erwa about her meditation and discovered a thread of Primordial Qi forming in her dantian.
• Lu Ren warned Guo Erwa to protect her true qi and sent her to chop firewood while she worked on the cabin.
• Chen Tianshou found his twin jade pendant broken after leaving a secret realm and feared that Li Caishang had died.
• Luo Fei comforted Chen Tianshou, who secretly celebrated Li Caishang’s apparent death because he resented her constant demands.
• Luo Fei urged Chen Tianshou to investigate what had happened to Li Caishang.

As winter approached, Lu Ren and Guo Erwa prepared for the cold while Niu Genshan brought supplies and described the declining Great Ming Dynasty. Lu Ren learned who the region’s strongest experts were as he continued waiting for his system to finish setting its anchor.

• Chen Tianshou hurriedly bade farewell to Luo Fei and flew away, while Luo Fei wondered whether the Taihang Sword Sect would survive the winter.
• Guo Erwa stocked the cellar with game, pelts, and mountain produce and stacked firewood as the weather turned cold.
• Niu Genshan arrived with winter supplies, and Lu Ren questioned him about how demons transformed into human form before letting him carry the goods inside.
• Niu Genshan described the Great Ming Dynasty’s rise and decline and predicted that the Taihang Sword Sect might face an army after winter.
• Lu Ren asked about the region’s strongest experts, and Niu Genshan named Yang Erlang, Lord Jimo, and Hua Youyu as Truth-Seeking Realm masters.

Lu Ren taught Niu Genshan the Great Strength Bull Demon Fist and continued adjusting Guo Erwa’s cultivation while drawing energy from Crimson Dragon Ao Li. When Chen Tianshou arrived searching for a woman, Lu Ren exposed his ambush and forced him to recognize Lu Ren as a powerful body cultivator.

• Lu Ren asked Niu Genshan to capture a human-form demon and demonstrated the Great Strength Bull Demon Fist as payment for his help.
• Niu Genshan left focused on the fist technique, and Lu Ren told Guo Erwa that her constitution was different from his.
• Three days later, Guo Erwa ate all the food while Lu Ren claimed he had reached Grain Abstinence and absorbed energy from Crimson Dragon Ao Li.
• Chen Tianshou arrived from the Taihang Mountains asking whether Lu Ren had seen a woman, and Lu Ren denied seeing anyone.
• Chen Tianshou attacked Lu Ren from underground, but Lu Ren shattered his Sword Qi and dragged him from the earth.
• Chen Tianshou escaped Lu Ren’s grasp with Golden Cicada Shedding its Shell and realized Lu Ren had reached a high realm of body cultivation.

Lu Ren defeated and killed Chen Tianshou after destroying the sword cultivator’s flying sword and Dao foundation. He resolved to visit the Taihang Mountains, while Guo Erwa agreed that they would need to eliminate the sect’s elders to stop further attacks.

• Chen Tianshou asked Lu Ren whether he had killed Li Caishang, then attacked him with a jade-colored flying sword.
• Lu Ren caught Chen Tianshou’s flying sword, crushed it, and left Chen Tianshou wounded and enraged.
• Lu Ren broke through Chen Tianshou’s protective light and killed him, destroying his corpse after the system confirmed the kill.
• Guo Erwa asked why Chen Tianshou had attacked, and Lu Ren explained that sects sent older members after younger ones were defeated.
• Lu Ren said he would go into the Taihang Mountains, and Guo Erwa agreed that they should deal with the elders once spring arrived.

Lu Ren named Guo Erwa Guo Muyang, developed her golden-flame potential, and dissected a captured snake demon to study how demons transformed between human and animal forms. He discovered an improved cellular structure for transformation and considered seeking the Taihang Sword Sect’s cultivation methods.

• Guo Erwa asked Lu Ren to name her and confessed that she wanted to marry him, but he made her his disciple and named her Guo Muyang.
• Lu Ren developed a cultivation method for Guo Muyang, and her first training unleashed a painful golden flame with great potential for strengthening her body and spirit.
• Lu Ren saw swordlike aura rising from the Taihang Mountains and planned to investigate the Taihang Sword Sect after Guo Muyang’s cultivation was established.
• Niu Genshan brought Lu Ren a green snake demon that had devoured villagers, and Lu Ren agreed to help him find a cultivation method in return for assistance.
• Lu Ren dissected the snake demon and used his golden mind’s eye to study her cells, discovering a more efficient structure for transforming between human and animal forms.

Lu Ren took Guo Muyang to the Taihang Sword Sect and found it destroyed in a bloody battle. At the burning main hall, a dying old man attacked Guo Muyang with his Primordial Spirit, but Lu Ren caught it and recognized the man as an Establishing Dao Realm cultivator.

• Lu Ren studied the snake demon’s unusual energy circulation and considered visiting the Demon Clan’s Four Sacred Lands before exploring the Taihang Mountains.
• Lu Ren and Guo Muyang climbed to the Taihang Sword Sect, where Lu Ren spotted the shattered mountain-protecting formation and the Blood Fiend aura above the summit.
• Lu Ren carried Guo Muyang to the sect’s mountain gate and found its buildings burning, its grounds strewn with corpses, and the Taihang Sword Sect apparently wiped out.
• Lu Ren explained to Guo Muyang that immortals still pursued power and immortality, then led her toward the burning main hall.
• A wounded old man launched his Primordial Spirit at Guo Muyang, but Lu Ren seized it and identified him as an Establishing Dao Realm cultivator.

Lu Ren killed Liu Qing and learned that Guo Muyang possessed the rare Pure Yang Body. After Qian’er approached and tried to seduce him, Lu Ren asked whether justice delayed was still justice.

• Guo Muyang recovered from Liu Qing’s attack as Lu Ren seized Liu Qing’s primordial spirit and erased it with his spiritual power.
• Lu Ren killed Liu Qing by sending a sword charged with Ten Realms True Qi into his body, earning two Skill Points.
• A veiled woman named Qian’er emerged from the flames and recognized Guo Muyang’s Pure Yang Body as a path to extraordinary cultivation.
• Qian’er tried to entice Lu Ren and offered to deal with Guo Muyang, while Guo Muyang anxiously tugged at Lu Ren’s clothes.
• Lu Ren’s apparent fascination vanished, and he asked Qian’er whether delayed justice was still justice before reaching out to strike.

Lu Ren confronted Qian'er and Chen Yi, an Establishing Dao expert who coveted Guo Muyang’s Pure Yang Body. After Chen Yi tried to take Guo Muyang, Lu Ren killed Qian'er and attacked Chen Yi, whose protective treasure appeared to shield him.

• Lu Ren blocked a distant attack, seized Qian'er, and held her as Chen Yi arrived and revealed his Establishing Dao Realm cultivation.
• Chen Yi spotted Guo Muyang’s Pure Yang Body and demanded that Lu Ren hand her over, promising to spare Lu Ren’s life.
• Lu Ren killed Qian'er, identified as Li Qian, and noticed that his Status Panel now showed a Skill Points progress bar.
• Lu Ren sent Guo Muyang running, then intercepted Chen Yi with his sword as Chen Yi prepared a formation of forty-nine jade swords.
• Lu Ren rushed Chen Yi and struck him with a punch, but a dim green protective light appeared around Chen Yi.

Lu Ren survived Chen Yi’s lightning strike and revealed his Buddhist golden body, prompting Chen Yi to recognize him as a disciple of Shakya. Lu Ren then interrupted Chen Yi’s spell and slammed him into a rock wall, leaving the fight ongoing.

• Chen Yi unleashed a lightning attack that blasted Lu Ren through the burning main hall.
• Chen Yi recovered his composure, checked that Guo Muyang was still nearby, and considered taking over her Pure Yang body.
• Lu Ren emerged from the ruins in the Bodhisattva Dharma Appearance of the Sixteen Foot Golden Body, and Chen Yi identified him as a disciple of Shakya.
• Lu Ren reflected on Buddhism’s purge under Great Ming and the traces of Shakya he had encountered on Beidou.
• Lu Ren taunted Chen Yi for failing to advance in the Establishing Dao Realm, then charged before Chen Yi could finish forming his spell.
• Lu Ren’s shoulder strike scattered Chen Yi’s silver radiance and slammed him into a rock wall fifty meters away.

Lu Ren trapped Chen Yi and unleashed the Tathagata Supernatural Art, overwhelming Chen Yi’s defenses despite his Verdant Jade Bamboo. The Buddha projection vanished after its crushing strike, while a separate battle near the Taihang Sword Sect continued with Ren Tianli surrounded by four half-step Truth-Seeking experts.

• Lu Ren pulled Chen Yi back with a suction force after Chen Yi used Golden Cicada Shedding its Shell to escape his strike.
• Chen Yi summoned a rain of Qi Swords, and Lu Ren answered with the Tathagata Supernatural Art, draining his True Qi.
• Lu Ren’s Buddha hand swept away Chen Yi’s sword rain and shattered his protective jade pendants.
• Chen Yi used a Verdant Jade Bamboo to pierce the Buddha hand, but the hand still crushed down and vanished in an explosion of Buddha light.
• Four half-step Truth-Seeking experts continued besieging Ren Tianli near the Taihang Sword Sect, and one offered to spare his life if he surrendered.

Lu Ren killed Chen Yi and took the Verdant Jade Bamboo after a burst of Buddhist light drew the attention of Prince Zhenbei Li Chengzhang and Ren Tianli. He fled through the forest and encountered a peerless expert and a smaller companion.

• Ren Tianli clashed with Li Chengzhang and three other experts until Buddhist light spread from the Taihang Sword Sect and stopped their fight.
• A palace-robed woman judged that the Buddhist presence was at least a Bodhisattva, and Li Chengzhang and the Daoist experts resolved to deal with Ren Tianli before investigating.
• Lu Ren picked up the Verdant Jade Bamboo, erased Chen Yi's mark from it, and killed Chen Yi and his primordial spirit.
• Lu Ren sealed away his Seventh Pilgrimage Bodhisattva Dharma Appearance and followed Guo Muyang's trail into the forest.
• Lu Ren stopped after ten li and faced a large, bald, brown-robed figure and a smaller companion, sensing that the larger one was a peerless expert.

Lu Ren met Xuanzang, the emissary of Mani Temple, who recognized his Buddhist cultivation and called him Buddha’s Son. Xuanzang brought Lu Ren to a secluded house to speak, leaving Lu Ren wondering whether his blended Buddhist and Daoist techniques might make him a Daoist Son as well.

• Lu Ren confronted Xuanzang after the gray-robed man restrained Guo Muyang with extraordinary bodily force.
• Xuanzang released Guo Muyang, introduced himself as the emissary of Mani Temple, and asked Lu Ren to speak elsewhere to avoid the Shangqing Sect and the Great Ming Dynasty’s imperial clan.
• Lu Ren agreed, and two hours later he and Xuanzang met at a wooden house near Taihang Mountain while Guo Muyang practiced outside.
• Xuanzang praised Lu Ren’s wild chrysanthemum tea and explained that he recognized Shakya’s aura in Lu Ren, calling him Buddha’s Son.
• Lu Ren considered how his Ten Worlds Sutra combined Buddhist and Daoist techniques and wondered whether Daoist cultivators might also call him Daoist Son.

Xuanzang tried to persuade Lu Ren, whom he believed to be Buddha’s Son, to lead Buddhism’s return to human lands. Lu Ren questioned the claim and challenged Xuanzang over Buddhism’s past exploitation, while Xuanzang argued that the Great Ming Dynasty’s decline offered a chance for Buddhism to rise.

• Xuanzang praised Lu Ren’s Buddhist cultivation and urged him to unite Buddhism’s branches and restore the faith among humanity.
• Lu Ren dismissed Xuanzang’s grand promises, while Guo Muyang listened eagerly from the doorway.
• Xuanzang presented an ancient wooden Buddha pendant carved by Shakyamuni and explained that an omen from Mani Temple’s Wooden Buddha Statue had led him to Lu Ren.
• Xuanzang interpreted Guo Muyang’s presence as further proof that Lu Ren was Buddha’s Son, but Lu Ren corrected him by saying she was his disciple.
• Lu Ren questioned why Buddhism sought more territory despite having its own settlement and kingdom, and Xuanzang said the time was right to expand while the Great Ming Dynasty weakened.
• Lu Ren accused Buddhism of contributing to the dynasty’s turmoil and recalled how its exploitation of commoners had provoked the Great Ming Dynasty’s Anti-Buddhist Campaign.

Lu Ren asked Xuanzang about obtaining the Demon Clan’s cultivation methods and learned that the four holy lands were scattered across the vast Beidou Emperor Star. Xuanzang persuaded him to visit Mani Temple in the Beidou Domain, and Lu Ren agreed in exchange for a Demon Clan true method before setting out without Guo Muyang.

• Xuanzang explained that Buddhism needed support to grow, but Lu Ren remained uninterested in joining his plans.
• Lu Ren asked for the Demon Clan’s four holy lands’ true methods, and Xuanzang described their distance, the scarcity of teleportation arrays, and the different approaches of their cultivation traditions.
• Xuanzang told Lu Ren that Mani Temple in the Beidou Domain might let him open the scripture scrolls left by Venerable Shakya Tathagata.
• Lu Ren agreed to visit Mani Temple after Xuanzang promised to obtain him a Demon Clan true method.
• Xuanzang described the Lixuan, Yaoguang, Ten Thousand Demons, and Demon Court traditions, and Lu Ren prepared to depart without Guo Muyang.

Lu Ren left Guo Muyang behind so she could cultivate and conceal her Pure Yang Body, then continued traveling with Xuanzang across Beidou Emperor Star. After learning why the Taihang Sword Sect had been destroyed, they reached Linjiang City, where Xuanzang proposed resting and resupplying before crossing the river.

• Lu Ren reassured Guo Muyang that they would meet again and left her behind with the pendant he had made for her.
• Xuanzang discussed Guo Muyang’s potential and the mysterious human tribulation with Lu Ren as they traveled.
• Xuanzang explained that the Great Ming crown prince had orchestrated the destruction of the Taihang Sword Sect after its members offended him in a secret realm, with Buddhist sects also involved.
• Lu Ren and Xuanzang reached a vast tributary of the Heavenly River after traveling nearly a million li and saw a major settlement for the first time.
• Xuanzang suggested resting and resupplying in Linjiang City before crossing the river, and Lu Ren questioned why they were entering a city after Xuanzang had said they would avoid them.

Lu Ren and Xuanzang discussed the Beidou Emperor Star, the origins of Shakya and Laozi, and the Era of Dharma Decline before setting out to Mani Temple. They left the Li Luo Region and continued into the wilderness, where Xuanzang warned there would be no more human settlements.

• Lu Ren entered Linjiang City with Xuanzang, who revealed that the city was a stronghold of Mani Temple.
• Over a meal, Lu Ren asked whether Mani Temple knew where Shakya and Laozi had gone, and Xuanzang said the temple preserved items Shakya had left behind.
• Lu Ren told Xuanzang that the birthplace of mythology was experiencing an Era of Dharma Decline, and Xuanzang gave up on exploring it for now.
• The next morning, Lu Ren and Xuanzang crossed the river by ship and left the Li Luo Region for the wilderness.

Lu Ren and Xuanzang reached the Buddhist kingdom, where Lu Ren discovered that its monks used human remains to fertilize spirit rice. Xuanzang led him toward Mani Temple, promising a chance to witness a miracle, while Lu Ren hoped Shakya’s legacy would help him navigate the sect.

• Lu Ren and Xuanzang traveled through the primeval forest for a month before reaching the Buddhist kingdom’s peaceful fields and mountain temples.
• Xuanzang explained that the kingdom had only about a million people despite a thousand years of growth.
• Lu Ren smelled blood and spotted bones in the fields, then learned that spirit rice required human flesh and blood for its high yield.
• Lu Ren grew furious at the monks’ practice but concealed his reaction as he asked whether they were heading to Mani Temple.
• Xuanzang confirmed they were going to Mani Temple, and Lu Ren resolved to see whether Shakya’s legacy would prove useful.

Lu Ren and Xuanzang reached Mani Temple, where they met Longjia World Honored One. Longjia explained that Lu Ren was one of the people Shakya had left behind, but Lu Ren remained uncertain about the claim.

• Xuanzang told Lu Ren that Buddhism’s foothold in the region had been won through great bloodshed, then led him to Mani Mountain as its World Honored One watched them from above.
• Changxing warned Lu Ren not to go to Mani Temple, while Xu Fu, Kong Qiu, Chen Xuzi, and Subhuti reacted to the immense power and resources of the Buddhist sect.
• Xuanzang explained that Mani Temple permitted marriage and valued having more children as a blessing of affinity, and he guided Lu Ren through the temple’s courtyards and halls.
• At the summit, Xuanzang introduced Lu Ren to Longjia World Honored One, and the System Prompt Sound revealed that Longjia had long been watching him.
• Longjia said Lu Ren was one of the fated people left behind by Shakya, but Lu Ren doubted that Shakya’s choice had such significance.
• Lu Ren asked the difference between a Buddha and Shakya, and Longjia replied that World Honored One was only his title as abbot of Mani Temple.

Longjia World Honored One explained that Shakya had left a box inside his statue and wanted Lu Ren to enter it after preparing his mind. While waiting at Mani Temple, Lu Ren toured the grounds and discovered the temple’s sheep farms.

• Longjia World Honored One told Lu Ren that Shakya’s box could only be opened by a chosen person, and that Lu Ren was their last hope.
• Xuanzang explained that the golden statue contained a hidden space holding Mani Temple’s patriarchs and relics.
• Longjia World Honored One said Lu Ren would need to purify and focus his mind before entering the statue, a process that could take up to a year.
• Three days later, Lu Ren toured Mani Temple with a young monk, who described how Patriarch Li Feng had bred foot sheep into livestock.
• Lu Ren reached a domed building marked “Sheep Farm” and saw tall, muscular monks working around it.

Lu Ren saw that Mani Temple raised humans as livestock at its Sheep Farm, and he suppressed his rage while searching for a way to gain enough strength to oppose the sect. He returned to his meditation chamber, determined to wait for a useful inheritance from Shakya before resorting to killing.

• A young monk guided Lu Ren through the Sheep Farm, where people were kept in enclosures and bred for meat.
• The young monk explained how the farm raised ordinary stock, selected breeding stock, and captured escaped people underground.
• Lu Ren concealed his fury, left the farm, and questioned whether Shakya would condemn Mani Temple's practices.
• Lu Ren returned to his meditation chamber and decided to wait for something useful from Shakya before killing his way toward greater strength.
• The young monk asked whether Lu Ren no longer needed food, and Lu Ren claimed that living on air and dew helped keep his body pure.