Chapter Summaries

Fang Yun fought to survive after the Shellwing Emperor shattered his Realm of Family, State, and World, while the two traded taunts and probed each other’s hidden powers. The Shellwing Emperor recognized that Fang Yun had been targeting his damaged shells, and the confrontation remained unresolved.

• The Shellwing Emperor’s Primordial Moon Collapse shattered Fang Yun’s Realm of Family, State, and World, leaving him to heal with Literary Qi, Sacred Qi, and Life-Bestowing Fruits.
• Fang Yun analyzed the Shellwing Emperor’s power and suggested that his attack had required an external source or rare treasure.
• The Shellwing Emperor offered to take Fang Yun to the Demon Realm as a Rebel Species Half-Sage and warned that the Human Race faced extermination.
• Fang Yun asked about the Shellwing Emperor’s rise and mentioned the giant hand in Dragon Cliff; he claimed a complete True Dragon Skeleton was his own treasure, but the Shellwing Emperor withdrew his promise to reveal his.
• The Shellwing Emperor pointed out that Fang Yun had damaged his six pairs of shells while defending and asked why Fang Yun had not yet attacked him.

Fang Yun used a Phantom Demon Fruit to restore his defenses and withstand the Shellwing Emperor’s Barbarian Horn, but the Emperor then opened a Golden Sacred Eye and gained power approaching that of a Half-Sage. Fang Yun’s literary defenses were shattered and rebuilt, leaving their battle unresolved.

• The Shellwing Emperor summoned endless colossal beasts with the Barbarian Horn, while Fang Yun created a Literary Grandmaster-level phantom with the Phantom Demon Fruit to shield him and repair his Realm of Family, State, and World.
• Phantom Demon Fang Yun sent the True Dragon Ancient Sword against the Shellwing Emperor, cracking his outer shell, but the Emperor repelled the sword with a Sage Eye.
• The Shellwing Emperor put away the Barbarian Horn, opened the Golden Sacred Eye on his forehead, and struck the phantom realm with golden divine lightning.
• Phantom Demon Fang Yun recited from the New Annotations to the Analects, but the Shellwing Emperor’s lightning destroyed the wall and buildings it summoned.
• Wang Jinglong’s statue on Fang Yun’s Sacred Soul Literary Platform restored the destroyed wall and buildings, while Phantom Demon Fang Yun revealed a Sacred Soul Literary Platform of his own.

Shellwing Emperor used a Sacred Eye to unleash devastating Sacred Way attacks, while the Hundred Coffins weakened his power and Fang Yun and his phantom fought back at great cost. As Shellwing Emperor prepared another strike, a mysterious silver light entered Fang Yun’s brow, and Fang Yun realized a legendary kind of poem could ignore the Forbidden Law Divine Tree.

• Shellwing Emperor summoned divine lightning and then used the Sacred Eye’s Radiant Sun Descent against Fang Yun and Phantom Demon Fang Yun.
• The Hundred Coffins opened slightly and released corpse qi that weakened the colossal sun, while Shellwing Emperor split it and struck Fang Yun with its inner core.
• Fang Yun and Phantom Demon Fang Yun endured the attack with their defenses and Sacred Soul Literary Platforms, leaving both sides badly wounded and Shellwing Emperor’s Sacred Eye nearly exhausted.
• Phantom Demon Fang Yun sacrificed his remaining Literary Platforms and used Sword Burial with the True Dragon Ancient Sword, forcing Shellwing Emperor to spend more Sacred Might.
• As Shellwing Emperor gathered another lightning strike, a supreme aura rose from Hundred Coffin Island and a streak of silver light entered Fang Yun’s brow.
• Fang Yun recognized that a legendary kind of poem could ignore the Forbidden Law Divine Tree.

Fang Yun used a powerful battle poem to defeat Shellwing Emperor and destroy the Forbidden Law Divine Tree. Badly injured, he flew toward the Medicine Garden to seek the Saint Body Fruit, the only thing that could restore his body.

• Phantom Demon Fang Yun sacrificed his lifespan to recite a poem whose power poured into Fang Yun.
• Fang Yun used Wen Ying's poem to create Golden-Light Ning'an City and repeatedly struck Shellwing Emperor with Frost-Cold Sword Qi.
• The layered defenses withstood Shellwing Emperor's lightning until Fang Yun exhausted his Sacred Might and cut his body in two.
• Shellwing Emperor exploded, but Fang Yun survived the shock waves and confirmed that Shellwing Emperor was dead.
• Fang Yun destroyed the Forbidden Law Divine Tree, then flew toward the Medicine Garden to retrieve the Saint Body Fruit.

Fang Yun reached the center of Hundred Coffin Island’s Medicine Garden and discovered that its river was flowing sacred qi. After respectfully seeking the garden’s master’s permission, he climbed the magically vast slope and began absorbing the medicinal power on the rise as he approached the Nine-Dragon Wall.

• Fang Yun discovered that the river flowing from the Nine-Dragon Wall was concentrated sacred qi and decided not to take any without the master’s permission.
• Fang Yun bowed and declared that he would take only matured treasures with permission and would not harm the island.
• Fang Yun crossed the river and spent two hours advancing only about one zhang up the seemingly endless slope before climbing it on foot.
• Fang Yun reached the rise, where dense sacred qi painfully entered his injured body but then began to heal it.
• Fang Yun manifested his Medical Book and Poison-Attack Literary Platform and let them absorb the medicinal power while he walked toward the Nine-Dragon Wall.

Fang Yun explored the Medicine Garden’s Nine-Dragon Wall and entered the stone house after a powerful voice invited him inside. He found no host, only an Azure Jade Meditation Mat and strange symbols connected to bone fragments he had found before.

• Fang Yun discovered thirty-six sacred qi sources in the pool beneath the Nine-Dragon Wall and recognized the wall as a damaged wondrous treasure of Primordial Antiquity.
• Fang Yun assessed the treasures he had lost fighting the Shellwing Emperor, then concluded that blinding the Demon Realm Half-Sage’s eye had made the battle worthwhile.
• Fang Yun reached the stone house, introduced himself, and heard a vast Divine Sense invite him to enter.
• Fang Yun’s body moved into the house against his will, but he sensed no hostility and regained control once inside.
• Fang Yun found an Azure Jade Meditation Mat and strange black symbols resembling the language on his bone fragments, but no one answered when he called for the senior who had invited him in.

Fang Yun studied the mysterious Star Script in the giant stone house, eventually realizing the writing could only be perceived through divine sense and using the voice that had invited him inside as his key. After ten days of further effort, he deciphered the two characters on the wall as “Star Herding.”

• Fang Yun searched the Mountain Island, found Star Script on fourteen objects, and recorded it in the Strange Book World.
• Fang Yun studied writing systems and linguistics, but days of attempts to decipher Star Script brought him no progress.
• Fang Yun realized the characters could only be perceived through divine sense, while they seemed to evade his attempts to examine them.
• Fang Yun recovered from his injuries but grew exhausted from studying and fell asleep, dreaming again of the voice inviting him inside.
• Fang Yun used the mysterious voice's divine sense as a foundation for understanding Star Script, then deciphered the wall characters as “Star Herding.”

Fang Yun deciphered Star Script and learned that the Medicine Garden had been created by the last Star Shepherd. He uncovered warnings about the Nine-Dragon Wall and learned that later visitors could eat the Starfruit if they could use it.

• Fang Yun guessed that the Star Script characters meant “Star Herding” and continued studying the script.
• Fang Yun deciphered Star Script, discovering that each character conveyed the birth and destruction of a particular kind of star.
• Fang Yun learned some characters from the bone fragments and stone house, but some required rare experiences or the divine sense of a Saint.
• Fang Yun read the bone fragments, which recorded a Star Shepherd disciple’s travels and methods for entering medicinal fields.
• Fang Yun tried to interpret the stone house’s wall inscriptions, but blood flowed from his seven orifices and he stopped.
• Fang Yun learned that the last Star Shepherd had created the Medicine Garden, warned visitors not to tamper with the Nine-Dragon Wall, and allowed later visitors to eat the Starfruit if they could use it.

Fang Yun deciphered the Star Script, learned that the Myriad-Star Throne could greatly strengthen Divine Sense and Literary Guts, and tried to awaken its power. By contemplating the two characters for “Star Herding” together, he witnessed a mysterious point of light and awoke still seated on the throne.

• Fang Yun learned that comprehending Star Script made him a disciple of the Star Shepherd Clan and revealed that the Myriad-Star Throne could train Divine Sense and Literary Guts.
• Fang Yun resolved to advance his Literary Guts to the Fourth Realm before Saint Enfeoffment and approached the Myriad-Star Throne despite its pressure.
• Fang Yun sat on the Myriad-Star Throne and spent a day contemplating the Star Script characters for “Star Herding,” but could not activate the throne.
• Fang Yun used his Dual-Mindedness Literary Heart to contemplate both characters as one, witnessing two stars collapse together and a point of light emerge in the darkness.
• Fang Yun awoke from his vision and found himself still seated on the Myriad-Star Throne.

Fang Yun studied the Myriad-Star Throne and risked destroying his Divine Sense to master the Star Herding words, then rebuilt it with a new quality of ceaseless generation. He awakened the throne's power, strengthened his Literary Guts, and left able to control the True Dragon Ancient Sword at fifteen resonances and reverse it instantly.

• Fang Yun failed repeatedly to contemplate Star Herding, then studied ancient astronomy and physics to understand the origins of the Myriad Worlds.
• Fang Yun visualized creation while contemplating Star Herding, damaging his Divine Sense as it gained a quality of ceaseless generation.
• Fang Yun deliberately reduced his Divine Sense to ordinary thoughts, then used Star Herding to regenerate it and awaken the Myriad-Star Throne.
• Fang Yun restored his Divine Sense to the Literary Grandmaster and Emperor Realm level, while his Literary Guts reached the Third Realm peak.
• Fang Yun controlled the True Dragon Ancient Sword to reach fifteen resonances and reverse direction instantly.

Summary of "Signs of Creation" (Chapter)

1. Key Plot Points & Events

• Divine Consciousness Awakens: Fang Yun senses his newly attained divine awareness and reflects on the Star Shepherd race’s creed—"The Myriad Worlds are born by Heaven, and all are for us to shepherd"—while integrating it with Confucian and Human Race philosophies.
• Sacred Way Reaches Its Limit: His previous method, "My Heart Knows Itself," has hit its ceiling. He must forge a new Sacred Way—a daunting but necessary step toward becoming a Sage.

Three Foundations Revealed

1. "My Heart Knows Itself" (Truth as foundation—self-awareness, morality, and humanity).
2. "My Way Runs Freely" (Action as foundation—practical application over mere contemplation).
3. "[Unnamed third method]" (Life as foundation—yet to be fully realized).

• Defiance of Destiny: Fang Yun rejects Heaven’s decree (the Fifth Realm) to pursue his own path, declaring he will "become a Sage where I stand."

Claiming Sacred Resources

• Takes three Sacred Qi Sources from the Nine-Dragon Wall’s pool into his Saint Skull Ring.
• Uses the Double-Dragon Arch to absorb massive amounts of Sacred Qi from the highlands, expanding it into a ten-thousand-zhang-tall divine structure before embedding its essence into his Literary Palace.
• Decides to leave the arch in Burial Saint Valley due to its excessive resource consumption.
• Harvesting Divine Medicines: Fang Yun ascends into the sky to survey the medicinal gardens, focusing on Saint Body Fruits (unripe, unrotted ones) before moving to the Longevity Fruit field (blocked by incomplete Star Script comprehension).

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2. Character Developments

Fang Yun’s Growth

• Philosophical Evolution: Moves from self-reflection (My Heart Knows Itself) to active creation, embracing a non-conformist path that defies tradition.
• Confidence & Willpower: Rejects external influences (Star Shepherds, Ancient Demons) and firmly declares his independence, stating:

  "Even if I seize the ways of all races with a Confucian heart, what can anyone do to me!"

• Pragmatic Action: Shifts from theoretical mastery to practical application, understanding that knowledge without action is meaningless.
• Resourceful Adaptation: Uses the Saint Skull Ring and Double-Dragon Arch as tools, demonstrating strategic thinking in resource management.

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3. Significant Themes

Creation vs. Tradition

• Most Sages follow pre-existing Sacred Ways, but true innovation requires breaking boundaries.
• Fang Yun’s path is both a risk and an opportunity—his new way could be revolutionary or catastrophic.

Truth, Action, and Life

• The three foundations represent a holistic philosophy:
  1. Truth (My Heart Knows Itself) → Moral and intellectual clarity.
  2. Action (My Way Runs Freely) → Practical execution over stagnation.
  3. Life → Yet to be defined, hinting at a biological or existential dimension.

Defiance of Destiny

• Fang Yun rejects Heaven’s predetermined path, symbolizing human agency over cosmic fate.
• His self-made Sagehood contrasts with the gradual, structured progression of traditional Sages.

Resource Mastery

• The harvesting of Sacred Qi and divine medicines reflects control over the environment, a key aspect of a Sage’s power.
• The Double-Dragon Arch’s insatiable appetite for Sacred Qi underscores the scale of his ambitions.

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4. Character Interactions

Fang Yun & His Own Mind

• Internal Dialogue: His self-reflection and mutual reinforcement of Confucian and Star Shepherd philosophies drive his growth.
• Conflict with Destiny: He verbally challenges Heaven, treating cosmic forces as negotiable rather than absolute.

Fang Yun & Burial Saint Valley

Interaction with Sacred Artifacts

- **Saint Skull Ring** → Acts as a **container and amplifier** of Sacred Qi.

Fang Yun harvested divine medicines from Hundred Coffin Island, including dragon qi flowers and other rare treasures, while avoiding fields he was not entitled to enter. He ended by examining four Heavenly Gift Jade Monkeys and began feeding dragon qi to the True Dragon Ancient Sword.

• Fang Yun collected ripe and rotten Saint Body Fruits, divine soil, and other medicines from the fields he could enter, overcoming poison from rotten thousand-pattern tubers.
• Fang Yun harvested dragon qi flowers and claimed all four Dragon Qi Jars, taking only a hundred flowers for himself, the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace, and the Sacred Academy.
• Fang Yun ate three Saint Body Fruits and gathered other medicines, including algae fish whose power could benefit a future child.
• Fang Yun entered the final field and studied four Heavenly Gift Jade Monkeys, uncertain which one to use or what ability it might grant.
• Fang Yun drew dragon qi from a Dragon Qi Jar and sent it into his literary guts for the True Dragon Ancient Sword to absorb.

Fang Yun restored his Realm of Family, State, and World so he could inspect the Heavenly Gift Jade Monkeys, then chose and released one of the fruits. After a meteor struck him unconscious, he awoke to find that Besieged on All Sides had become an innate literary heart.

• Fang Yun found that the four Heavenly Gift Jade Monkeys seemed identical, so he delayed choosing one and restored his Realm of Family, State, and World with the medicinal power near the Nine-Dragon Wall.
• After ten days, Fang Yun recovered his realm and used the Withering Force to examine the monkeys, choosing the second-smallest fruit.
• Fang Yun sent the spirit monkey fruit into his Literary Palace, where it hatched into a little monkey that escaped into the sky.
• A meteor struck Fang Yun and knocked him unconscious.
• Fang Yun awoke and discovered that Besieged on All Sides had changed from an instant literary heart into an innate literary heart.

After gaining a permanent Besieged on All Sides literary heart, Fang Yun absorbed dragon qi until the True Dragon Ancient Sword advanced to eight markings and gained the ability to transform into Dragon Race treasures. He discovered the transformed sword could wield sacred might without risking damage to its original body, then wondered what greater powers it might gain as he grew stronger.

• Fang Yun left the medicinal field with the Dragon Qi Jar and felt the Besieged on All Sides literary heart lift the gloom he had carried through the Burial Saint Valley.
• Fang Yun absorbed three jars of dragon qi, strengthening the Literary Palace Coiled Dragon until the True Dragon Ancient Sword advanced from seven markings to eight.
• Fang Yun used Withering Force to transform the True Dragon Ancient Sword into the Crime-Suppressing Ancient Sword, which struck Sainthood-grade divine gold and left a trace of sacred might.
• Fang Yun chipped the edge of Great Sage-grade divine gold with the transformed sword, then withdrew the ability and found the True Dragon Ancient Sword unharmed.
• Fang Yun transformed the sword again and saw it take the form of a Grievance-Examining weapon, prompting him to wonder whether it could gain the power of treasures like the Dragon-Slaying Platform or Hundred-Sage Chariot.

After advancing his True Dragon Ancient Sword to eight patterns and testing his greatly enhanced body and divine sense, Fang Yun tried to leave the Mist Treasure Pavilion. His Space-Breaking Talisman instead brought him to the newly descended Lightless Graveyard, where he discovered he could see far farther than expected.

• Fang Yun stopped feeding dragon qi to his True Dragon Ancient Sword when its blade trembled, then stored the remaining two jars.
• Fang Yun bent a Demon King's metal cudgel with his bare hands and sprinted past the sound barrier using only his physical strength.
• Fang Yun searched Hundred Coffin Island, studied its hundred enormous coffins, and used a Space-Breaking Talisman to leave.
• Fang Yun found himself back in the Mist Treasure Pavilion and realized its exit had vanished, then returned to the valley through the hollow tree and gate of light.
• Fang Yun used another Space-Breaking Talisman and arrived in the Lightless Graveyard, where his enhanced vision let him see a hundred li away.

Fang Yun left the Lightless Graveyard and flew toward the Ancient Demons' Blood Tomb Mausoleum, learning that Ao Yuwei had fought to protect him. When thirty-two Great Demon Kings attacked him, he unleashed the True Dragon Ancient Sword and began cutting them down.

• Fang Yun endured the Lightless Graveyard's chill, left its boundaries, and saw black pillars spreading across the Burial Saint Valley.
• Fang Yun found that the Divine Gift Mountains and Seas had closed, then continued toward the Ancient Demons' Blood Tomb Mausoleum.
• Fang Yun learned from the Great Demon Kings that Ao Yuwei had killed Demon Barbarians to keep them from reaching him, and he resolved to thank her.
• Thirty-two Great Demon Kings charged Fang Yun, but he sent out the True Dragon Ancient Sword, which rapidly killed twelve of them.

Summary of "Returning to the Blood Tomb Mausoleum" (Key Chapter)

1. Key Plot Points & Events

• Fang Yun’s Power Revealed: Fang Yun, previously weakened, now wields Sacred Way suppression (a power that prevents regeneration) and Withering Force, stunning the Great Demon Kings. His True Dragon Ancient Sword ("Fifteen Resonances") proves unstoppable, beheading 14 Great Demon Kings in a single breath before the remaining six flee in terror.
• Celestial Aspect Strikes Fail: The Demon Barbarians’ strongest attack (Celestial Aspect Strikes) is disrupted by Fang Yun’s Realm of Family, State, and World and the Half-Sage statue’s Sacred Soul Literary Platform, rendering them ineffective.
• Bear Clan Great Demon King’s Defeat: Fang Yun uses One Sword Frosts Fourteen Prefectures (a brushstroke technique) to sever the Bear Clan Great Demon King’s legs, then Frost-Cold Sword Qi carves it into chunks.

Eagle Emperor’s Betrayal & Downfall

• The Eagle Emperor (a disguised Great Demon King) attempts a sneak attack but is outmaneuvered.
• Fang Yun overloads the True Dragon Ancient Sword to Sixteen Resonances, slashing 100 times in one breath, shredding the Eagle Emperor’s claws and legs.
• Despite severe damage, the Eagle Emperor flees at Emperor Realm speed, vowing revenge.
• Fang Yun pierces the Eagle Emperor’s belly with the sword, flooding its body with Withering Force, killing it instantly.

2. Character Developments

Fang Yun

• Power Surge: His Sacred Way suppression and Withering Force (from the Crime-Suppressing inscription) make him nearly unstoppable.
• Tactical Brilliance: He exploits enemy weaknesses (Celestial Aspect Strikes’ delay, Eagle Emperor’s overconfidence) and adapts his sword technique (from Fifteen Resonances to Sixteen Resonances).
• Psychological Dominance: His indifference (strolling through the battlefield) and overwhelming aura break enemy morale.

Great Demon Kings

• Fear & Instincts: Their battle instincts (Celestial Aspect Strikes) fail against Fang Yun’s superior power and speed.
• Betrayal & Desperation: The Eagle Emperor (a false ally) tries to ambush Fang Yun but is exposed and killed.
• Collapse of Confidence: Even the Fifth Realm Bear Clan Great Demon King is terrified into paralysis, showing the demon race’s vulnerability against Fang Yun.

3. Significant Themes

• Power vs. Instinct: The Great Demon Kings’ brute strength (Celestial Aspect Strikes) is no match for Fang Yun’s refined, overwhelming power.
• Sacred Way & Withering Force: The Crime-Suppressing inscription grants Fang Yun unnatural, life-destroying abilities, making him untouchable in combat.
• Deception & Betrayal: The Eagle Emperor’s false alliance highlights trust issues in the demon world, where everyone is a potential threat.
• Speed & Precision Over Technique: Fang Yun doesn’t rely on skill—he outpaces and overpowers enemies with brute sword force.
• The Cost of Overconfidence: The Eagle Emperor’s arrogance leads to its defeat, showing that even the strongest can be exploited.

4. Character Interactions

Fang Yun vs. Great Demon Kings

• Dominant & Indifferent: Fang Yun ignores surrendering enemies, focusing on the strongest threats.
• Psychological Warfare: His aura and movements (strolling through the battlefield) terrify the demons into submission.

Eagle Emperor’s Ambush Attempt

• Deceptive Alliance: Pretends to be a weakened Great Demon King to lure Fang Yun into a trap.
• Failed Assault: His Emperor Realm power is useless against Fang Yun’s speed and Withering Force.

Bear Clan Great Demon King’s Defeat

• No Chance of Escape: Even its flight ability is neutralized by Fang

Fang Yun killed the Eagle Emperor, spared four Great Demon Kings after learning of events in the Ancient God Pagoda and the coming catastrophe, and gathered their treasures. He returned to the Ancient Demon Blood Tomb Mausoleum to seek the Sacred Mausoleum, where an Emperor Realm city blocked his way.

• Fang Yun cut the Eagle Emperor's power down to a Fifth Realm Great Demon King and killed him with the True Dragon Ancient Sword.
• Fang Yun questioned four Great Demon Kings, who told him that the Demon Emperor had lost a world-shaking treasure to Xue Baiyi and that the Lightless Graveyard threatened Burial Saint Valley.
• Fang Yun spared the four Great Demon Kings, made them pledge allegiance, and collected valuable treasures and unusual treasures from the Demon Barbarians' corpses.
• Fang Yun returned to the Ancient Demon Blood Tomb Mausoleum and traveled across the Ancient Demon Plains toward the Ancient Demon Clan's Sacred Mausoleum.
• After searching for four hours, Fang Yun found a canyon entrance blocked by an enormous city radiating an Emperor Realm aura, with three worried Ancient Demons standing outside.

Fang Yun reached Ancient City, which was blocking access to the Sacred Mausoleum, and reunited with Crab Spider and two other Ancient Demons. After learning about recent events in Burial Saint Valley, he confronted Ancient City and accepted the flower maiden’s offer to help, while the others warned her about Mountain Bearer.

• Fang Yun approached Ancient City and recognized Crab Spider, a golden giant, and a flower maiden waiting outside it.
• Crab Spider warned Fang Yun that Ancient City held a feud with the Fu Yue Clan and told him that rumors claimed the Inverse Stele Emperor had killed him.
• Crab Spider explained that Ancient City had barred the three Ancient Demons from the Sacred Mausoleum unless they surrendered their most precious treasures.
• Fang Yun resisted the flower maiden’s seductive influence, then accused Ancient City of betraying its own kin by blocking their way.
• The flower maiden offered to help Fang Yun, and Crab Spider and the golden giant warned her that Mountain Bearer had become a Half-Sage and had the Tree Venerable’s favor.

Fang Yun summoned the remains of Mountain Bearer while confronting the Ancient City, and the Great Sage’s colossal corpse crushed the city into the earth. The remains then lowered its head toward Fang Yun, leaving him astonished that he had summoned a Great Sage rather than a Half-Sage.

• Flower Maiden offered Fang Yun a treasure to let him pass, but Fang Yun said he only wanted to take one thing from outside the Sacred Mausoleum.
• After the Ancient City ignored his warning, Fang Yun brought out a Sacrificial Sphere, recited ancient sacrificial poems, and invoked Mountain Bearer.
• Pitch-black lightning and the souls of saints stirred as a massive turtle-shaped behemoth carrying a mountain range appeared before Fang Yun and the three Ancient Demons.
• The Ancient City opened its fiery eye and tried to flee, but Mountain Bearer stomped it into the earth.
• Fang Yun realized he had summoned the remains of a Great Sage instead of a Half-Sage, and Mountain Bearer lowered its head toward him.