Ch. 621The Wind-Calming Pearl and Karmic Debt

Key plot points and events

  • Rumors spread that a treasure lies in Gathering Wind Valley, where the Golden Immortal Peak Qiongqi refuses to leave. True Person Du’e had shared information that points Liu Yuanchen toward the valley.
  • Liu Yuanchen realizes his Fortune Golden Dragon has disappeared, signaling that his opportunity to find the Wind-Calming Pearl has arrived. Confident in his strength and four Innate Spirit Treasures, he travels to the valley.
  • He discovers a windless patch concealing a small grotto-heaven. To avoid risking his clone and its treasures against the weakened but still dangerous formation, he sends in a Botanical Dao Soldier first.
  • Inside, Liu Yuanchen finds the Wind-Calming Pearl, a Mid-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure with extraordinary power to suppress wind-based techniques. He removes it, causing the Innate Grand Formation to collapse.
  • The Qiongqi goes on a rampage after sensing the pearl’s removal. Liu Yuanchen kills it to prevent it from harming others and stores its frozen corpse.
  • On his way back, Liu Yuanchen meets Du’e and offers to settle the karmic debt created by taking the treasure Du’e might otherwise have found. Du’e declines an excessively powerful Acquired Spirit Treasure and refuses to accept one taken from a criminal. Instead, he asks for a way to protect himself. Liu Yuanchen gives him the Botanical Dao Soldier Refining Method and urges him to use it only for good.

Character developments

  • Liu Yuanchen shows growing power and confidence, but also caution: he uses a Dao Soldier to scout rather than risking his valuable clone. He takes responsibility for the danger his actions may cause and seeks to settle his karmic debt fairly.
  • True Person Du’e is revealed as cautious, principled, and compassionate. Though he initially hopes for a treasure, he recognizes the danger of possessing one too powerful for him and refuses to profit from killing others.
  • Qiongqi shifts from a feared guardian of the valley to a rampaging threat once the pearl is taken, prompting Liu Yuanchen to kill it.

Significant themes

  • Karma and responsibility: Liu Yuanchen believes taking the opportunity Du’e might have received creates a debt, and chooses compensation rather than risking karmic backlash through forceful severance.
  • Power and restraint: Liu Yuanchen has overwhelming strength but acts carefully around the formation and considers the consequences of leaving Qiongqi alive.
  • Ethical use of power: Du’e rejects an opportunity gained through killing, while Liu Yuanchen warns him to use his new technique for good.
  • Specialized power: The Wind-Calming Pearl is modest in rank but exceptionally effective within its narrow domain, illustrating how a focused ability can counter much stronger forces.

Character interactions

  • Liu Yuanchen indirectly benefits from Du’e’s information, then meets him face-to-face to acknowledge the debt and offer compensation.
  • Du’e responds with fear at first, assuming the powerful Liu Yuanchen may intend to kill him, but gradually accepts a less dangerous and more suitable reward.
  • Liu Yuanchen gives Du’e a practical cultivation method rather than an overwhelming weapon, pairing the gift with a clear moral condition.

Ch. 622Immortal-Slaying Flying Saber

Summary: Immortal-Slaying Flying Saber (Chapter)

1. Key Plot Points & Events

  • Liu Yuanchen's Clone's Mission: After dealing with True Person Du'e, Liu Yuanchen's clone (using the Body-Leaving Trace Divine Ability) heads southeast. His plans are to search for Innate Spirit Treasures in the East Sea's Ten Continents and Three Islands (like Yuanqiao and Daiyu), and to visit the Human Race's territory to persuade the Gaoyang Clan to create currency. This would allow Treasure-Dropping Money to become a Merit Spirit Treasure and grant him endless Heavenly Dao Merit.
  • Conflict with Lu Ya: Lu Ya, the last surviving Golden Crow, detects the aura of the Golden-Feather Lihuo Banner (which Liu Yuanchen used earlier) and pursues him. Lu Ya demands Liu Yuanchen hand over the "Golden Crow Race treasure."
  • Battle: Liu Yuanchen injures Lu Ya with the Earth-Cleaving Pearl. Lu Ya retaliates by using the Immortal-Slaying Flying Saber, which severely wounds Liu Yuanchen's clone (nearly decapitating it). However, Treasure-Dropping Money neutralizes and suppresses the Immortal-Slaying Flying Saber, allowing Liu Yuanchen to survive.
  • Lu Ya's Retreat: Losing control of his trump card and seeing Liu Yuanchen still fighting, Lu Ya flees. Liu Yuanchen is unable to pursue due to his injuries.
  • Grand Immortal Zhenyuan's Aid: Zhenyuan appears, heals the worst of Liu Yuanchen's wounds, and provides him a stronger Earth Book Clone to replace the one destroyed.
  • Backstory Revealed: Zhenyuan explains the Immortal-Slaying Flying Saber's origins—it was forged by the Demon Court from the essence/resentment of dozens of slain Great Witches. Its power was too great for an Acquired Supreme Treasure to contain, so it was housed in an Innate Yellow Gourd.

2. Character Developments

  • Liu Yuanchen: Shows strategic ambition (planning to collect treasures and generate Merit). In battle, he demonstrates cunning (bluffing about the Immortal-Slaying Flying Saber, using Treasure-Dropping Money's restraint ability). He is resilient, continuing to fight despite fatal wounds. His desire for the Immortal-Slaying Flying Saber is established.
  • Lu Ya: Portrayed as arrogant and aggressive, but also cautious. He is confident in his bloodline's superiority but loses his nerve when his ultimate weapon (the Flying Saber) fails. His weakened state (only Peak Primordial Unity Golden Immortal, lacking Solar True Fire) is highlighted.
  • Grand Immortal Zhenyuan: Acts as a protective mentor. He saves Liu Yuanchen, gifts him a new clone, and shares crucial lore about the Flying Saber.

3. Significant Themes

  • Merit and Fortune: Liu Yuanchen's interest in creating currency to gain Heavenly Dao Merit reflects the theme that Merit enhances one's Fortune, allowing one to control more Innate Spirit Treasures and avoid karmic backlash.
  • Resource Gathering & Ambition: Liu Yuanchen's continuous drive to collect Spirit Treasures and Spirit Roots.
  • Pride & Survival: The clash between the Human Race (rising) and the Golden Crow Race (fallen from the Witch-Demon War). Lu Ya's pride vs. Liu Yuanchen's confidence.
  • Limitations of Power: Even a powerful clone is vulnerable—Liu Yuanchen's clone nearly dies, emphasizing the importance of his true body. The Immortal-Slaying Flying Saber's terrifying power and its limitation (being suppressed by Treasure-Dropping Money) are also explored.

4. Character Interactions

  • Liu Yuanchen & True Person Du'e: Brief interaction at the start; Du'e accepts the jade tablet, promises to do good (off-screen resolution).
  • Liu Yuanchen & Lu Ya: Direct confrontation. Lu Ya demands the Golden-Feather Lihuo Banner; Liu Yuanchen mocks and fights him. The battle escalates to Lu Ya using the Immortal-Slaying Flying Saber, leading to a stalemate and Lu Ya's retreat.
  • Liu Yuanchen & Grand Immortal Zhenyuan: Zhenyuan (an old acquaintance/mentor figure) heals him, replaces his destroyed clone, and educates him about the Immortal-Slaying Flying Saber's history. The interaction ends with Liu Yuanchen promising to visit Longevity Mountain when his true body arrives in the Primordial World.

Ch. 623The Human Emperor

Plot points and events

  • After his clash with Daoist Lu Ya, Liu Yuanchen recovers from the Immortal-Slaying Flying Saber’s wound by using Pangu Astral Force. Grand Immortal Zhenyuan warns him that the saber grows stronger by devouring enemies’ vital essence and urges caution.
  • Liu Yuanchen realizes the Treasure-Dropping Money likely cost him three layers of his Merit Golden Lotus when it erased the saber’s master-recognition restriction. He accepts the loss as worthwhile: the treasure saved his clone and let him retain several Innate Spirit Treasures.
  • Lu Ya repairs his severed leg and discovers that the Innate Yellow Gourd no longer recognizes him as its master. He suspects Liu Yuanchen’s Treasure-Dropping Money has an unusual power and worries it will hinder his search for his uncle’s relics.
  • After years of travel, Liu Yuanchen reaches Qiongsang, capital of the Human Emperor, the Gaoyang Clan. He proposes replacing barter among mortals with minted metal money, which would make trade easier without leaving the Human Race dependent on shells or another power’s resources.
  • The Human Emperor approves the plan and appoints Li to help Liu Yuanchen design and mint the coins. Liu Yuanchen names them “money” and uses the Treasure-Dropping Money as their model.
  • As the coins circulate, each transaction generates innate Merit. The Merit strengthens Liu Yuanchen’s Merit Golden Lotus and transforms the Treasure-Dropping Money into an Innate Merit Spirit Treasure. The first coins also become Merit Dharma Treasures, intended as models for regional mints.
  • Declining the Human Emperor’s invitation to join his administration, Liu Yuanchen leaves to explore the East Sea in search of the immortal mountains Yuanqiao and Daiyu.

Character developments and interactions

  • Liu Yuanchen grows more confident after his clone holds off Lu Ya, but remains alert to the danger of the Immortal-Slaying Flying Saber. He also shows strategic foresight by designing a currency system that benefits ordinary people while strengthening Human sovereignty.
  • Grand Immortal Zhenyuan acts as a cautious mentor, emphasizing that Lu Ya’s saber is more dangerous than Liu Yuanchen assumes.
  • Lu Ya shifts from attacker to wary opponent after losing both a leg and control of the Yellow Gourd; he recognizes Liu Yuanchen as a serious obstacle.
  • The Human Emperor initially treats Liu Yuanchen cautiously because of his connection to Zhenyuan and the immortal sects, then warms to him once he learns Liu’s proposal serves the Human Race. He honors Liu as a great sage and tries to recruit him.
  • Liu Yuanchen and the Human Emperor establish mutual respect, though Liu refuses a political role, preferring cultivation. He nevertheless offers to help if the Human Emperor later needs him.

Significant themes

  • Merit, Fortune, and cost: Powerful treasures carry consequences; Liu Yuanchen weighs the Merit lost against the lives and treasures saved, then gains new Merit through the currency system.
  • Practical innovation as service: A simple economic reform can ease daily life, unite trade, and reinforce a people’s independence.
  • Political autonomy: The Human Emperor’s concern about shell currency reflects the larger goal of keeping outside powers from controlling Human livelihoods.
  • Power balanced by caution: Liu Yuanchen’s strength is considerable, but Zhenyuan’s warning and Lu Ya’s surviving threat show that confidence must not become complacency.

Ch. 624An Enhanced Investiture List and Book of Life and Death

Concise Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

  • Liu Yuanchen continues cultivating beneath the Ginseng Fruit Tree, whose fruit helps him comprehend laws. His Merit Golden Lotus has grown to twenty-seven petals despite the Merit he has spent.
  • The Reincarnation Blessed Land has become the Reincarnation Grotto-Heaven, sustained by imprinted Spirit Veins, Innate Primordial Qi, and the Yin-Yang Gourd Vine. Its strong yin makes it well suited to house the Netherworld and Hell.
  • The Six Paths of Reincarnation has grown dramatically, now operating at the level of a Replica Innate Spirit Treasure and processing souls more than ten times faster. Liu realizes that his Reincarnation Path laws nourish both the Heavenly Dao and the Six Paths, so he resolves to comprehend more.
  • Though Liu has reached the peak of the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal Realm and could form the Three Zenith Heaven Flowers to advance, he delays. As master of the Dongyang Realm, he expects his foundations to deepen as the realm grows, and plans to wait until it becomes a Middle Thousandfold World.
  • Over the next seven thousand years, Liu comprehends all the Reincarnation Path’s laws and continues expanding the realm. The Dongyang Realm reaches a hundred million li across, while the Reincarnation Grotto-Heaven grows to ten million li and the entire main world joins its reincarnation system.
  • The Yin-Yang Gourd Vine absorbs Innate Origin, becomes native to the Dongyang Realm, and grows from three to eight strands of Innate Dao Resonance.
  • Two new Innate Spirit Treasures emerge:
    • Ten-Thousand Gods Pagoda: appoints and ranks deities, records their merits and misdeeds, allows rewards and punishments, and can revive slain deities through their shrine statues. It can replace the Investiture List and God-Striking Whip for the growing Divine Path system.
    • Myriad Spirits Fortune Chart: records every living being’s cause and effect, Fortune, Merit, Karmic Force, lifespan, and life events. Liu considers using it as the foundation for a more comprehensive Book of Life and Death.

Character developments

  • Liu Yuanchen shows patience and strategic foresight by postponing his breakthrough rather than settling for a lower foundation. He also increasingly shapes the Dongyang Realm’s cosmic systems by supplying laws and developing its reincarnation and Divine Path infrastructure.
  • His relationship with the realm is mutually reinforcing: its growth strengthens his cultivation, while his laws and planning strengthen its Heavenly Dao and institutions.

Significant themes

  • Long-term cultivation and accumulated foundations: rapid advancement is less valuable than waiting for the strongest possible breakthrough.
  • Interdependence between cultivator and world: Liu’s laws empower the realm, and the realm’s expansion in turn improves his potential.
  • Order, accountability, and governance: the new treasures make divine appointments, judgment, punishment, and reincarnation more systematic.
  • Growth and transformation: the Grotto-Heaven, Six Paths, and Yin-Yang Gourd Vine all evolve through sustained nourishment.

Character interactions

  • There are few direct interpersonal exchanges. The chapter centers on Liu’s interaction with the Ginseng Fruit Tree, the Reincarnation Grotto-Heaven, the Six Paths, and the newly formed treasures. His decisions reveal his role as both cultivator and architect of the Dongyang Realm’s spiritual order.

Ch. 625Ascension to a Middle Thousandfold World

Key plot points and events

  • Liu Yuanchen refines the Myriad Spirits Fortune Chart, intending to use it to monitor powerful beings in the Dongyang Realm and prevent internal conflict from endangering the world.
  • He discovers that the Six Paths of Reincarnation have become a Postnatal Merit Supreme Treasure, strengthened by a Ninth-Grade Golden Lotus Mark and forty-nine treasure-like restrictions.
  • The Fortune Chart automatically identifies each soul’s destination upon entering Reincarnation. Liu Yuanchen plans to use it to assign souls fairly among the Six Paths.
  • The Origin Spirit Realm has recovered enough to support Celestial Immortals. Human cultivators have advanced rapidly, and the realm is stable, allowing Liu Yuanchen to turn his attention to the Dongyang Realm.
  • Over ten thousand years, the Dongyang Realm grows immensely through its expanding population, Earth Veins, subsidiary worlds, and Spirit Roots. Its treasures and accumulated merit also increase.
  • After a thousand-year surge in energy absorption, the Dongyang Realm ascends from a Lesser to a Middle Thousandfold World. Its Ancestral Vein advances to Fourth Grade, new mountains, rivers, and Spirit Veins form, and numerous sites of Innate Origin appear.
  • The realm’s ascension produces Primordial Yellow Mother Qi. Liu Yuanchen uses it to strengthen the Mystic Yellow Axe, more than doubling its power.

Character developments

  • Liu Yuanchen grows more confident as creator and ruler of the Dongyang Realm. Unlike Hongjun, he can directly remove dangerous troublemakers, and he sees the Fortune Chart as a way to govern fairly.
  • He recognizes that the realm’s growth has made it powerful enough to nurture exceptional treasures and beings—and that its ascension brings him closer to returning to the Primordial World.
  • His achievements in Reincarnation bring him substantial merit, represented by multiple Merit Golden Lotuses.

Character interactions

  • Liu Yuanchen observes the ghost officers bringing souls to Reincarnation and discovers the Fortune Chart’s automatic judgment system.
  • He reflects on Daoist Hongjun’s failed attempts to control powerful factions, contrasting Hongjun’s indirect schemes with his own authority over the Dongyang Realm.
  • He has arranged with the masters of subsidiary Minor Worlds to exchange a share of their energy for protection.

Significant themes

  • Order and responsibility: A world’s ruler must manage beings powerful enough to threaten its survival.
  • Fairness in judgment: The Fortune Chart’s impartial assignment of souls may make Reincarnation more just than human-appointed judges.
  • Growth and consequence: The Dongyang Realm’s population, infrastructure, merit, and treasures all contribute to its eventual ascension.
  • Creation and stewardship: Liu Yuanchen’s direct authority over the realm lets him guide its development while protecting its inhabitants from the dangers of change.

Ch. 626The True Body Sets Out for the Primordial World

Plot and events

  • Dongyang Realm’s advancement to a Middle Thousandfold World grants Liu Yuanchen substantial Heavenly Dao and Great Dao Merit, forming new Merit Golden Lotuses. The world’s growth also strengthens his Innate God-Devil Foundation and improves his understanding of laws, including Reincarnation Laws.
  • Liu Yuanchen gathers the Earth Immortals of the Eight Desolations Pavilion and gives them five Innate Spirit Treasures to support the Human Race in Origin Spirit Realm. He also leaves the Myriad-Longevity Flat Peach there, explaining that he can cultivate many Innate Spirit Roots himself.
  • He plants additional Spirit Roots in Origin Spirit Realm to help it grow and entrusts Dongyang Divine Prefecture to his nephew Liu Chengye. He equips Chengye with resources and three Innate Spirit Roots to aid his cultivation and protect him from demonic influence.
  • With affairs settled, Liu Yuanchen sends his true body to the Primordial World, where he rejoins his clone on Mount Wuyi. Tea from the Big Red Robe tree accelerates his cultivation and helps him raise his grasp of fundamental Reincarnation Laws from the sixth to the ninth grade.
  • He plans to visit his teacher, pursue several important treasures and locations, and settle a score with Lu Ya. But upon leaving the grotto-heaven, he senses the Primordial Heavenly Dao suppressing his power—and especially Dongyang Realm’s Heavenly Dao. He realizes that waiting until Dongyang Realm had reached its present level may have saved it from being overwhelmed.

Character developments and interactions

  • Liu Yuanchen’s growing power and confidence are balanced by careful planning: he distributes treasures, strengthens Origin Spirit Realm, and ensures Dongyang Realm has capable leadership before departing.
  • The Pavilion experts worry that the Primordial World is dangerous and urge him to keep the treasures, but accept his reasoning about Fortune and the risks of holding unused treasures. They are astonished by his ability to cultivate thousands of Innate Spirit Roots; Zhao Hong asks to learn the technique.
  • Liu Chengye, now a Pinnacle Earth Immortal, accepts responsibility for Dongyang Divine Prefecture and is moved by his uncle’s support. Liu Yuanchen encourages him to make the most of his long life and the Earth Immortal Path.
  • Liu Yuanchen’s teacher, Sage Tongtian, remains a central figure in his plans, while his resentment toward Lu Ya motivates a future confrontation.

Significant themes

  • Reciprocity and stewardship: Liu Yuanchen repays the world that raised him and invests in its people and future.
  • Power and responsibility: Greater strength brings both opportunities and the need to protect followers, worlds, and treasures wisely.
  • Ambition tempered by preparation: Liu Yuanchen delays his departure until his realm is strong enough to endure the Primordial World’s pressure.
  • Cultivation through understanding: Improved foundations and rare resources deepen his grasp of laws, though mastering the Heavenly Dao remains a separate challenge.

Ch. 627Longevity Mountain's Five Villages Abbey

Summary of Chapter: Longevity Mountain's Five Villages Abbey

1. Key Plot Points & Events

  • Liu Yuanchen lingers at Mount Wuyi and determines the Primordial Heavenly Dao's suppression of the Dongyang Realm's Heavenly Dao is negligible—it only slows operations and cannot cause real harm.
  • He travels to the western Primordial Continent, eventually passing near Mount Buzhou, where he senses a destined opportunity drawing him.
  • He deliberately postpones seizing that opportunity because, as only a registered disciple, he lacks enough backing to protect himself from powerful figures.
  • He arrives at Longevity Mountain, the ancestral court of the Earth Immortal Path.
  • At the mountain entrance, he is challenged by Qingtong, a Wood Spirit guardian, but reveals his identity as Zhenyuan's registered disciple and is respectfully welcomed.
  • Qingtong escorts him up the mountain, explaining the history of the sect: Zhenyuan had 36 personal disciples and 72 registered disciples; most have become earth deities across the land.
  • Liu Yuanchen enters Five Villages Abbey and meets Grand Immortal Zhenyuan.
  • Zhenyuan praises his cultivation achievement, announces a formal disciple-acceptance ceremony in 3000 years, and designates Liu Yuanchen as chief disciple, with authority over all Earth Immortal Path affairs.
  • Liu Yuanchen reports the suppression he sensed over the Dongyang Realm; Zhenyuan explains it originates from the Primordial Heavenly Dao but is limited by the Great Dao, so it cannot destroy mature worlds like the Dongyang Realm.
  • Zhenyuan also reveals his contingency plan: if the Primordial Continent collapses, he will separate Longevity Mountain from the Primordial World to preserve a thread of hope for the Earth Immortal Path.

2. Character Developments

  • Liu Yuanchen: Shows patience, resolve, and strategic caution—resisting the pull of Mount Buzhou's opportunity until he has stronger backing. He matures from an outsider into the acknowledged chief disciple of Zhenyuan's lineage, accepting grave responsibility.
  • Grand Immortal Zhenyuan: Demonstrated as a caring but pragmatic teacher, already preparing for possible future catastrophe. He trusts Liu Yuanchen enough to grant him sweeping authority, including permission to "cleanse the sect" if senior disciples err.
  • Qingtong: Introduced as a sycophantic, talkative Wood Spirit guardian. Initially stern and suspicious, he instantly becomes fawning upon learning Liu Yuanchen's identity, revealing a cunning, survival-oriented personality.

3. Significant Themes

  • Preparation for calamity: Zhenyuan plans in advance for the possible shattering of the Primordial Continent, aiming to preserve the Earth Immortal Path.
  • The power of backing and status: Liu Yuanchen consciously waits for formal discipleship and Saint-level connections before pursuing major opportunities.
  • Heavenly Dao vs. Great Dao: The chapter emphasizes cosmic rules—even the Primordial Heavenly Dao cannot arbitrarily destroy a world that is a "son of the Great Dao" like the Dongyang Realm.
  • Mentorship and inheritance: Passing down authority, teaching, and the future of a path from master to a trusted disciple.

4. Character Interactions

  • Liu Yuanchen ↔ Qingtong: Qingtong initially blocks Liu Yuanchen as an intruder, then flatters him profusely after recognizing his identity and aura. He serves as guide and source of information about the sect.
  • Liu Yuanchen ↔ Grand Immortal Zhenyuan: A formal but warm master-disciple meeting. Zhenyuan inspects, praises, and appoints Liu as chief disciple; Liu accepts responsibility. They discuss cosmic mechanics and future plans.
  • Mentioned off-screen: Zhenyuan has hosted the Six Saints, the Chan and Jie Sects, and Western Sect visitors; some Jie Sect disciples have already been appointed as earth deities.

Ch. 628Queen Mother of the West

Key plot points and events

  • Grand Immortal Zhenyuan reassures Liu Yuanchen that his vast Great Dao Merit makes most powerful beings wary of harming him. His main dangers are Minghe and Kunpeng, whose power and lack of restraint make them unpredictable.
  • Zhenyuan advises Liu to use the favor owed by the Western Sect for saving Master Cixin. Liu hopes to obtain a Merit Golden Lotus seed, but learns it may be an easy gift: the lotus requires large amounts of Merit to cultivate, while Liu’s abundant Incense Merit from Dongyang Realm makes it practical for him.
  • Liu visits Cixin in Nether Sun Grotto-Heaven. Cixin has recovered to the Celestial Immortal Realm and chooses to remain there until the Western Sect can formally take him back. Liu gives him Purple-Gold Grapes to help restore his former Golden Immortal cultivation.
  • After three thousand years of study under Zhenyuan, Liu’s understanding of the laws has grown considerably. At his formal initiation, Zhenyuan’s disciples initially resent Liu’s rapid rise, but his Five Qi in the Chest, superior cultivation, youth, and complete Middle Thousandfold World win their respect.
  • The Queen Mother of the West arrives in person for the ceremony. She brings precious Yellowcentral Plums and Peaches of Immortality as gifts, while playfully asking Zhenyuan for a Ginseng Fruit.

Character developments and interactions

  • Liu Yuanchen becomes more secure about the dangers facing Dongyang Realm, but remains cautious about Kunpeng. He plans strategically to turn his ties with the Western Sect into useful resources, and continues supporting Cixin’s recovery.
  • Grand Immortal Zhenyuan acts as a trusted mentor, explaining the political risks and practical value of various treasures. He prepares Liu to inherit leadership of the Earth Immortal Path.
  • Master Cixin recognizes Liu’s rising status and addresses him as Martial Uncle once Liu’s place in Zhenyuan’s lineage becomes clear. His recovery strengthens the Western Sect’s debt to Liu.
  • Zhenyuan’s disciples move from resentment to acceptance after seeing Liu’s ability and achievements.
  • The Queen Mother of the West and Zhenyuan greet one another as fellow disciples from the Violet Cloud Palace. Her visit honors Liu’s initiation and signals the event’s importance.

Significant themes

  • Power and political caution: Liu’s Merit protects him from many enemies, but formidable, unscrupulous beings remain a threat.
  • Favors and alliances: Liu weighs how to convert Cixin’s rescue into lasting benefits, while Zhenyuan explains how gifts and obligations shape relations among great powers.
  • Lineage and legitimacy: Liu’s rapid elevation provokes envy, but demonstrated ability secures his acceptance.
  • Long-term ambition and contingency: Liu pursues the Merit Golden Lotus as a possible alternative route to sainthood, despite recognizing its uncertain prospects.
  • Wealth and resources: Treasures’ worth depends on the resources needed to use them; Liu’s steady Incense Merit makes a lotus valuable to him even when others consider it impractical.

Ch. 629A Gathering of Great Powers

Summary: A Gathering of Great Powers

Key Plot Points

  1. Queen Mother of the West's Visit — She arrives at Five Villages Abbey with a lavish congratulatory gift, praising the Earth Immortal Path's potential and explicitly stating she views Liu Yuanchen as a worthy investment for the future, suggesting he may blaze a path to sainthood.
  2. Cangjie's Arrival — The Human Race sage and reincarnation of Ancestor Hongyun arrives representing the Three Sovereigns. He confirms the legend of his identity and gifts Liu Yuanchen a personally inscribed turtle shell (a Merit Spirit Treasure from the early days of script creation).
  3. Overseas Immortals Visit — The Three Immortals of Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity come from the overseas immortal islands, seeking support from Longevity Mountain and hoping to hear a Quasi-Saint lecture.
  4. Witch Race Tributes — Wu Chen, a Great Witch formed from Houtu's essence blood, delivers gifts on Houtu's orders: a Book of Life and Death and an Imitation Judge's Brush for governing Reincarnation. He shockingly bows to Liu Yuanchen, declaring the Witch Race must treat him as an Ancestor Witch.
  5. Chan Sect Gift — Antarctic Immortal Elder (Saint Yuanshi's eldest disciple) delivers a piece of Buzhou Stone as a congratulatory gift, useful for strengthening Liu Yuanchen's world foundation.
  6. Human Sect Gift — Grand Mage Xuandu arrives with Nine-Turn Golden Elixirs personally refined by Saint Taiqing. He addresses Liu Yuanchen as a fellow martial brother, noting the connection between Taiqing and Zhenyuan as fellow disciples of the Dao Ancestor.
  7. Nuwa's Gift — Fire Phoenix Fairy delivers the Creation-Reversal Divine Ability, the foremost of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Divine Abilities, which Nuwa used to create humanity.
  8. Saint Zhunti's Maneuvering — The Western Saint arrives offering two Merit Golden Lotus seeds (worth less than a Ginseng Fruit) in exchange for one, exploiting diplomatic courtesy. He also covets the Sun-Moon Pearl displayed by Tongtian.
  9. Sage Tongtian's Arrival — Tongtian arrives dramatically with azure sword light and delivers the promised Sun-Moon Pearl (a High-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure). He reveals the existence of Liu Yuanchen's Innate God-Devil Foundation, prompting Zhenyuan to explain that he created a secret art allowing acquired beings to reverse into Primordial God-Demons, with Liu Yuanchen as the first success.

Character Developments

  • Liu Yuanchen: His status is firmly established as a rising powerhouse courted by all major factions — Human Race, Witch Race, Chan Sect, Human Sect, and Jie Sect. His Innate God-Devil Foundation is publicly revealed.
  • Grand Immortal Zhenyuan: Discloses his secret art for transforming acquired beings into Primordial God-Demons, positioning the Earth Immortal Path as a potential new avenue amid the severed road to sainthood.
  • Cangjie: Confirmed as Hongyun's reincarnation carrying Primordial Purple Qi, invested in the Human Race's fortune.
  • Sage Tongtian: Demonstrates an existing connection with Liu Yuanchen (promised the Sun-Moon Pearl previously), hinted at deeper ties before the Investiture War.
  • Saint Zhunti: Shows characteristic opportunism — lowballing gifts, seeking advantages, and coveting treasures.

Significant Themes

  1. Investment in Future Saints — Every faction sees Liu Yuanchen as potential breakthrough for the Road to Sainthood.
  2. Political Maneuvering Among Saints — The Western Saints seek advantages while the Three Pure Ones maintain rank privilege.
  3. Human Race Solidarity — Cangjie's gift emphasizes Liu Yuanchen's ties to humanity regardless of his Earth Immortal Path identity.
  4. Reincarnation Governance — Houtu's gifts affirm Liu Yuanchen's control over Reincarnation.
  5. The Earth Immortal Path's Promise — Zhenyuan's secret technique offers hope in an age where sainthood seems impossible.

Character Interactions

  • Zhenyuan & Queen Mother: Respectful exchange highlighting Liu Yuanchen's potential.
  • Liu Yuanchen & Cangjie: Mutual recognition as Human Race sages; Cangjie acknowledges Liu's contributions through currency creation.
  • Liu Yuanchen & Wu Chen: Houtu's decree creates an unprecedented hierarchy where a Great Witch bows to a junior.
  • Xuandu & Liu Yuanchen: Addressed as equals (fellow martial brothers), reflecting Taiqing's recognition.
  • Tongtian & Zhunti: Tension over Tongtian's direct gift of the Sun-Moon Pearl; Zhunti's covetousness barely restrained.
  • Saints Receiving Protocol: Grand Immortal Zhenyuan personally welcomes Saints while disciples handle lesser guests, demonstrating hierarchy.

Ch. 630Pangu Hall of Mount Buzhou

1. Key Plot Points and Events

  • Liu Yuanchen formally becomes the chief disciple of Grand Immortal Zhenyuan of the Earth Immortal Path in a Heaven-and-Earth-witnessed ceremony.
  • Many great powers and Saints attend, including Sage Tongtian, Saint Zhunti, and Queen Mother of the West. Guests are served Ginseng Fruits and Big Red Robe tea (a High-Grade Innate Spirit Root found by Liu Yuanchen).
  • After the ceremony, Zhenyuan and the Saints expound the Dao, causing auspicious phenomena.
  • Saint Zhunti and Sage Tongtian remain behind. Liu Yuanchen brings out Dharma Master Cixin—Zhunti’s rescued granddisciple—prompting Tongtian to mock Zhunti into giving Liu Yuanchen a gift (a string of prayer beads with Dao Resonance).
  • Tongtian insists on helping Liu Yuanchen claim his opportunity at Mount Buzhou, bringing the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation for protection.
  • At Mount Buzhou, Liu Yuanchen senses a mysterious pull, uses Mountain-Piercing Earth-Escape, and tunnels deep into the mountain for two years.
  • He finds a vast underground space with blood-red earth and lakes containing Pangu’s power. His Pangu Dao Embryo causes rhythmic tremors like a heartbeat.
  • A disembodied voice confirms this place is Pangu Hall—the heart of Great God Pangu—setting up Liu Yuanchen’s next opportunity.

2. Character Developments

  • Liu Yuanchen: Gains formal status as chief disciple of the Earth Immortal Path; solidifies his reputation; receives gifts and protection; moves aggressively toward his Pangu-related opportunity by entering Pangu Hall.
  • Grand Immortal Zhenyuan: Ceremoniously passes on his lineage; demonstrates generosity with spiritual fruits and tea; expresses confidence in Liu Yuanchen.
  • Sage Tongtian: Acts as a blunt, protective ally; teases Zhunti; takes an active role in guarding Liu Yuanchen’s chance at Mount Buzhou.
  • Saint Zhunti: Under social pressure, reluctantly gives a valuable token; his earlier shrewdness and concern for Western Sect resources is shown.

3. Significant Themes

  • Lineage and inheritance: The importance of formal apprenticeship, carrying forward a Dao path, and the weight of vows.
  • Opportunity and destiny: Liu Yuanchen’s unique connection to Pangu’s remains; the idea of seizing primordial treasures before others.
  • Power dynamics among Saints: Tongtian’s brashness vs. Zhunti’s reluctant generosity; subtle political maneuvering.
  • Primordial heritage: The lingering power of Pangu and his heart’s transformation into Pangu Hall.

4. Character Interactions

  • Liu Yuanchen & Zhenyuan: Master-discipline bond formed; mutual promises to uphold the Earth Immortal Path.
  • Tongtian & Zhunti: Antagonistic banter; Tongtian forces Zhunti to compensate Liu Yuanchen for saving Cixin.
  • Liu Yuanchen & Cixin: Liu Yuanchen presents Cixin as evidence of his good deed, strengthening his position.
  • Tongtian & Zhenyuan: Coordination regarding Liu Yuanchen’s journey; Tongtian’s protection is welcomed.
  • Liu Yuanchen & Pangu Hall (voice): Direct supernatural acknowledgment; confirms the destination and deepens the mystery.

Ch. 631Pangu Legacy

Key plot points and events

  • In Pangu Hall, Liu Yuanchen encounters a phantom calling itself Pangu Remnant Obsession. It explains that Great God Pangu’s final desire to protect the Primordial World awakened after Gonggong and Zhurong broke Mount Zhou.
  • The Remnant Obsession reveals that Pangu Will was hidden in Liu Yuanchen’s Buzhou Stone. Pangu Will and the Remnant Obsession were once one: the larger portion entered the stone, while the smaller remained in Pangu Hall to guard Pangu’s legacy. Liu Yuanchen’s connection to the stone helps explain his ability to cultivate the Twelve Ancestral Witch inheritances and form a Pangu Dao Embryo.
  • The legacy is Pangu Hall itself. Following the Remnant Obsession’s instruction, Liu Yuanchen uses his Pangu Dao Embryo and the Nine Heaven-Cleaving Forms to make the hall resonate with Pangu’s power. The hall’s heart-like core and its connected Earth and Spirit Veins detach from Mount Buzhou and merge into his Dao Embryo.
  • The merger takes thousands of years. It strengthens Liu Yuanchen’s body, Dao Embryo, Pangu Astral Force, and Immortal Dao Foundation. Once the Dao Embryo fuses with his primordial spirit, he receives Pangu’s memories.
  • In the resulting vision, Liu Yuanchen witnesses Pangu’s existence inside the Chaotic Azure Lotus, his study of the Three Thousand Daos through the Creation Jade Disc, and his creation of a body-tempering art featuring Heaven-and-Earth Manifestation. He also sees Pangu open the heavens and slay the Chaos Demon Gods, after which his axe, lotus, and jade disc are damaged or scattered.

Character developments and interactions

  • Liu Yuanchen moves from uncertainty about his origins and powers to a clearer understanding of how Pangu Will has shaped his journey. He also gains Pangu’s cultivation insights and a foundation for understanding more than a hundred Great Daos.
  • Pangu Remnant Obsession explains its divided nature and entrusts Liu Yuanchen with the task of preserving the Primordial World, then vanishes once its duty is fulfilled.
  • Their exchange is respectful and purposeful: Liu Yuanchen probes the nature of the phantom and asks about Pangu’s legacy; the phantom answers, directs him to merge Pangu Hall into his Dao Embryo, and leaves the future in his hands.

Significant themes

  • Legacy and continuity: Pangu’s body, will, memories, and treasures persist in different forms, shaping the fate of the world through Liu Yuanchen.
  • Duty and hope: The Remnant Obsession acts to preserve the Primordial World, trusting a narrow possibility of salvation to Liu Yuanchen.
  • Cultivation through inheritance: Liu Yuanchen’s growing power comes not only from personal effort, but from absorbing ancient structures, memories, and insights.
  • Knowledge and limitation: The Creation Jade Disc offers access to immense wisdom, but even Pangu could not fully comprehend it; Liu Yuanchen’s ambitions remain bounded by his current level.

Ch. 632Primordial Measuring Ruler and the Creation Jade Disc Fragment

Key plot points and events

  • Liu Yuanchen learns the origins and stakes of two treasures sealed by Pangu: the Primordial Measuring Ruler, a powerful merit treasure, and a Creation Jade Disc Fragment that could threaten the world if reunited with the complete disc.
  • He fears Hongjun would kill him for the fragment, so he hides it again under a powerful seal. He fully refines the Ruler and leaves Mount Buzhou with Pangu Hall incorporated into his Dao Embryo.
  • After more than ten thousand years below the mountain, Liu returns to its summit, where Grand Immortal Zhenyuan and Sage Tongtian have been waiting.
  • Liu tells Tongtian about gaining Pangu Hall, Pangu’s memories, and ancient cultivation techniques. He reveals that Pangu’s lingering will recognized him as its bearer.
  • Tongtian identifies the treasure as the Primordial Measuring Ruler. Liu offers to trade it for the Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Pearls. Tongtian proposes giving him the pearls while letting him keep the Ruler, on the condition that Liu use it to support the Interception Sect’s Fortune.

Character developments and interactions

  • Liu Yuanchen grows markedly stronger: his laws, especially Force Law, advance, and Mount Buzhou no longer resists his movement. He becomes more cautious and politically calculating, concealing the Creation Jade Disc Fragment while seeking Tongtian’s protection.
  • Sage Tongtian recognizes Liu as kin because he bears Pangu’s will, calling him a brother or nephew and inviting him to address him as Martial Uncle. He is excited by the Ruler but treats Liu generously, declining to exploit their difference in status.
  • Grand Immortal Zhenyuan waits with Tongtian and witnesses Liu’s return and report, though he plays a quieter role.
  • Liu and Tongtian’s exchange shifts from a discussion of Pangu’s legacy to a potential alliance: the Ruler may anchor the Interception Sect’s Fortune, while Liu gains the Sea-Calming Pearls without surrendering it.

Significant themes

  • Power and responsibility: The Creation Jade Disc could grant control over the Heavenly Dao, making its concealment essential to the world’s safety.
  • Inheritance and kinship: Liu’s connection to Pangu’s will creates a new bond with the Three Pure Ones, even though his exact place in their family is ambiguous.
  • Political bargaining and trust: Liu uses the Ruler to negotiate support, while Tongtian’s offer balances sect interests with familial regard.
  • Hidden legacies: Pangu’s sealed treasures and teachings continue to shape the Primordial World long after his death.

Ch. 633Suppressing the Interception Sect's Fortune

Key plot points and events

  • Sage Tongtian asks Liu Yuanchen to use the Primordial Measuring Ruler to anchor the Interception Sect’s fortune. Liu agrees, though he warns that the sect must not respond by recruiting indiscriminately: a huge membership could overwhelm even powerful fortune-suppressing treasures.
  • Tongtian says he has stopped accepting disciples and has expelled more than a hundred karmically burdened followers, reducing them to nominal disciples. He takes Liu and Grand Immortal Zhenyuan to Golden Ao Island, where the Heavenly-Dao-bestowed Tongtian Jie Sect Stele stands.
  • Tongtian introduces Liu to Duobao Adept, the sect’s chief disciple, and Immortal Qiu Shou. He explains Liu’s Pangu-related origins and asks them to treat him as a fellow disciple.
  • Before the stele, Tongtian draws the sect’s fortune into a purple-gold dragon, condenses it into a pearl, and Liu seals it within the Primordial Measuring Ruler. The dragon returns to the stele, successfully anchoring the Interception Sect’s fortune.
  • Tongtian gives Liu the promised twenty-four Sea-Calming Pearls, bringing Liu’s total to thirty-six. Liu and Zhenyuan eventually leave for Longevity Mountain.
  • Afterward, several disciples complain that the sect gave up too much. Duobao argues that securing the sect’s long-term foundation was worth far more than the pearls. Tongtian agrees and appoints him to manage the sect, including its nominal disciples, while warning him not to admit new disciples casually. Tongtian also promises Duobao the position of Jie Sect Leader after the next great calamity, if the sect survives it.

Character developments and interactions

  • Liu Yuanchen accepts the arrangement despite recognizing that he gains more than Tongtian. He remains cautious about the sect’s growth and values the ruler as a treasure he can now use with the Interception Sect’s protection behind it.
  • Sage Tongtian shows concern for the sect’s survival and restraint in recruitment. His decision to entrust its administration and future leadership to Duobao signals growing confidence in him.
  • Duobao Adept emerges as a perceptive, politically minded leader. Though he could have viewed Liu as a rival, he welcomes him as a potential ally and later demonstrates that he understands the bargain’s strategic value.
  • Immortal Qiu Shou and Holy Mother Guiling focus on the immediate cost of the deal and initially object to giving Liu the pearls without trading for the ruler outright.
  • Zhenyuan supports Liu and accompanies him to Golden Ao Island, then leaves with him once their business is complete.

Significant themes

  • Long-term stability over immediate gain: The ruler protects the sect’s future, making the exchange worthwhile despite its apparent cost.
  • Leadership and restraint: Tongtian’s earlier open-door policy could endanger the sect; limiting recruitment and managing karmically burdened followers are presented as necessary safeguards.
  • Fortune, merit, and catastrophe: Even powerful lineages and treasures can fail in a great calamity, but a carefully anchored fortune may improve the chance of survival.
  • Trust and alliance: Liu’s ties to Tongtian and the Interception Sect deepen without his formally joining it, while Duobao sees cooperation as mutually beneficial.

Ch. 634The Heavenly Dao is Complete, the Great Dao Fades

Key Plot Points

  • Sage Tongtian delegates full authority over the Jie Sect to Duobao, who is delighted—his Dao requires ruling alone, and this power will accelerate his cultivation.
  • Liu Yuanchen returns to Longevity Mountain with Zhenyuan after over a century. He plans to seclude himself and prepare for a breakthrough to Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal Realm, but intends to wait until Dongyang Realm becomes a Greater Thousandfold World.
  • Liu Yuanchen attempts to use the imitation Jadeglow Twofold Ceremonial Lamp to locate the original, but fails (likely sealed or hidden in a special space).
  • He fully refines the Sun-Moon Pearl and twenty-four Sea-Calming Pearls; he also places the Buzhou Stone into Dongyang Realm's spatial barrier.
  • He names Pangu's body-refining technique the "Heaven-Opening Art" and cultivates it alongside comprehending the three thousand Great Daos via the Creation Jade Disc fragment.
  • After one epoch (~100,000 years), Dongyang Realm's Heavenly Dao matures: the Great Dao guardian withdraws, and Liu Yuanchen gains complete control over the realm. The Ancestral Veins' energy absorption from Chaos increases severalfold, speeding the realm's growth.

Character Developments

  • Liu Yuanchen: Greatly strengthens his foundation through Pangu's heart, memories, and the Heaven-Opening Art—his body can now withstand twelve Sea-Calming Pearls without injury. He gains surface-level comprehension of all three thousand Great Daos, laying the foundation for his World-Dominion Path. Takes control of Dongyang Realm's mature Heavenly Dao.
  • Duobao: Receives authority over all Jie Sect affairs, directly fueling his cultivation speed.
  • Zhenyuan: Serves as a guiding mentor, advising against rushing the breakthrough and emphasizing the importance of high-blooming Three Zenith Heaven Flowers.

Key Themes

  • Patience over haste: Liu Yuanchen deliberately delays his breakthrough to maximize his Three Flowers' bloom rank (aiming for ninth or tenth).
  • Power and authority as cultivation resources: Duobao's Dao progresses directly from gaining dominion.
  • Foundation as destiny: Physical body, realm support, and Dao comprehension all feed into future Saint potential.
  • Realm-building: Maturation of Dongyang Realm's Heavenly Dao marks a major milestone in the protagonist's long-term plan.

Character Interactions

  • Zhenyuan & Liu Yuanchen: Master advises disciple on breakthrough strategy, warns against rushing, and offers free access to Ginseng Fruits. Liu Yuanchen is respectful and explains his patient plan.
  • Tongtian & Duobao (reported): Tongtian hands over sect authority; Duobao is filled with delight and sees it as his Dao's path.
  • Liu Yuanchen (internal): Reflects on the Jadeglow Lamp's diminished importance, Pangu's legacy, and the interplay between his treasures, realm, and cultivation path.

Ch. 635The Heavenly Court Has a Master

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points & Events

  • Liu Yuanchen uses his authority as master of the Dongyang Realm to suppress unformed Innate Origins, preventing the birth of more innate treasures. Instead, he fuses Innate Origin into several spirit roots: the Merit Golden Lotus, the Five-Needle Pine, and the Azure Water Clear-Sound Bamboo.
  • He discovers a newly matured innate spirit root called the Yellow Dragon Pearl, which bears 365 fruits every thousand years; its fruits heal wounds, extend lifespan, and increase cultivation.
  • He discovers the Six Paths of Reincarnation has partially reverted to the innate, with two of its six paths becoming innate spirit treasures, and fuses Innate Origin into the other four paths to complete the transformation.
  • News arrives that the Dao Ancestor has appointed Haotian and Yaochi as masters of the Heavenly Court, with Haotian's formal ascension ceremony set for three thousand years later.
  • Liu Yuanchen, Grand Immortal Zhenyuan, and Sage Tongtian meet at Five Villages Abbey to strategize. Tongtian reveals the Dao Ancestor has forbidden Saints from interfering with the Heavenly Court.
  • Liu Yuanchen advises strengthening the Heavenly Court and the Western Sect's fortune before the tribulation erupts, to lessen its impact. Tongtian gives Liu Yuanchen four small swords containing his insights on the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, and receives thousands of Yellow Dragon Pearls in return.

2. Character Developments

  • Liu Yuanchen: Demonstrates his growing power and foresight as world master, strategically cultivating spirit roots over treasures and planning long-term to mitigate the Investiture War's damage.
  • Sage Tongtian: Initially angered by the Western Sect's claim on Jie Sect fortune, but is persuaded by Liu Yuanchen's explanation of karmic debt (the Devil Ancestor draining the west's origin). Shows his pride, pragmatism, and grudging acceptance of the situation.

3. Significant Themes

  • Strategic preparation for a coming tribulation (the Investiture War) by strengthening the Heavenly Court's authority in advance.
  • Balance of fortune and karma — the west's depleted origin gives it a karmic claim on Jie Sect fortune.
  • The value of innate spirit roots (non-offensive, world-strengthening) over innate treasures (which cause conflict and damage the world).
  • The Heavenly Court as a stabilizing institution — cultivators who pledge to it avoid the fated tribulation.

4. Character Interactions

  • Liu Yuanchen & Grand Immortal Zhenyuan: Zhenyuan calls Liu Yuanchen out of seclusion to discuss the Heavenly Court. Zhenyuan has already been appointing earth deities (including Jie Sect and Western Sect disciples) to boost fortune.
  • Liu Yuanchen & Sage Tongtian: Tongtian arrives bearing the news of the Dao Ancestor's decree. He and Liu Yuanchen align the Jie Sect and Earth Immortal Path. Tongtian gives the four swords as a gift and trades insights on strategy. Their exchange ends warmly, with Tongtian jokingly planning to send his disciples to "mooch off" the Earth Immortal Path.

Ch. 636The Dao Ancestor's Decree, the Heavenly Emperor's Ascension

Key plot points and events

  • Nearly three thousand years after the Heavenly Court’s founding, Liu Yuanchen and Grand Immortal Zhenyuan travel to the Ninth Heaven to attend Hao Tian and Yaochi’s enthronement.
  • The new Heavenly Court is still sparsely staffed. Former Demon Court officials and representatives of several weakened or politically cautious factions attend, hoping to secure safety or influence. Some powerful groups, including Kunpeng’s Demon Master Palace and Ancestor Minghe’s Asuras, send no one.
  • Grand Immortal Zhenyuan’s presence draws notice because of his stature and the Earth Immortal Path’s recent expansion. Other notable attendees include the Queen Mother of the West, Wu Chen representing the Netherworld, Fire Phoenix Fairy representing Nuwa, and the Supreme Old Lord representing Saint Taiqing.
  • Saints Zhunti and Tongtian arrive, followed by Saint Yuanshi. Yuanshi openly disparages Hao Tian and Yaochi, calling them former attendants and objecting to their failure to greet him.
  • When Hao Tian and Yaochi appear, Yuanshi presses them to show deference, threatening to undermine their authority. The Supreme Old Lord intervenes, reminding him that the Dao Ancestor appointed them and that the Saints are guests. Yuanshi grudgingly backs down.
  • Hao Tian presents the Dao Ancestor’s decree. Its power manifests the Dao Ancestor, who formally appoints Hao Tian Heavenly Emperor and Yaochi Heavenly Empress, charged with governing the Heavenly Court.
  • Great White Star leads the officials in paying homage. The other attendees follow, though Grand Immortal Zhenyuan and the Queen Mother of the West frame their bows as obedience to the Dao Ancestor rather than recognition of the rulers’ independent authority.

Character developments and interactions

  • Liu Yuanchen observes the gathering with political insight, recognizing Yuanshi’s hostility as a threat to the new rulers and understanding why the decree swiftly settles the dispute.
  • Hao Tian and Yaochi face a difficult test before their reign even begins: they must preserve their dignity without provoking a Saint. The Supreme Old Lord’s intervention lets them proceed with the ceremony and secure public acknowledgment.
  • Grand Immortal Zhenyuan demonstrates support by attending, lending the fledgling court prestige, but his formal salute stops short of endorsing its broader authority.
  • Saint Yuanshi asserts his status and contempt for Hao Tian and Yaochi; Saint Tongtian makes a light remark but avoids escalating matters. Saint Zhunti appears pleased by Yuanshi’s challenge, while the Supreme Old Lord remains reserved until intervention becomes necessary.
  • Wu Chen’s respectful greeting to Liu Yuanchen reflects their prior connection and the Netherworld’s elevated standing.

Significant themes

  • Legitimacy versus power: The Dao Ancestor’s decree gives Hao Tian and Yaochi unquestionable appointment, but real authority depends on whether powerful factions accept them.
  • Hierarchy and status: Yuanshi’s contempt reflects the rigid social order of the Primordial World and his resentment that former attendants now rule above the Saints.
  • Political compromise: The Supreme Old Lord’s careful wording allows both sides to retreat without openly conceding their claims.
  • Pragmatism and factional alignment: Many attendees support the Heavenly Court less from loyalty than because it offers security, position, or future advantage.

Ch. 637The First Flat Peach Banquet

Key plot points and events

  • At the Heavenly Emperor Hao Tian and Empress Yaochi’s enthronement, most guests accept the Dao Ancestor’s decree. Yuanshi objects, insisting their authority should not extend beyond the Heavenly Court, but leaves before the dispute escalates.
  • The guests present gifts. Zhenyuan offers Ginseng Fruits and Yellow Dragon Pearls—produce from a spirit root in Liu Yuanchen’s cultivated world. The revelation that a complete world can nurture Innate Spirit Roots astonishes the assembly and draws Zhunti’s interest.
  • Zhunti offers two Merit Golden Lotus seeds, prompting Tongtian to mock the Western Sect’s stingy gifts. Zhunti blames the west’s poverty and even gathers up his own tears rather than waste them.
  • Tongtian, unexpectedly supportive of the new rulers, gives them Purple Cloud Lingzhi and promises help. Hao Tian then opens the banquet, distributing Flat Peaches according to guests’ status.
  • Liu Yuanchen rapidly absorbs three nine-thousand-year peaches, strengthening his foundation enough to be ready to break through to Daluo Golden Immortal. Zhenyuan praises him and shares his own peaches.
  • Duobao also displays remarkable physical strength after refining his peach. Tongtian explains that he practices the Eight-Nine Profound Technique, though lacking an Innate Dao Body and Pangu’s legacy prevents him from perfecting it.
  • Concerned that the fledgling Heavenly Court lacks personnel, Hao Tian welcomes Tongtian’s offer to send Interception Sect disciples to serve there. Zhunti then offers Western Sect disciples as well.

Character developments and interactions

  • Hao Tian and Yaochi move from anxiety over Yuanshi’s challenge to cautious confidence as Tongtian pledges support and offers manpower.
  • Yuanshi remains hostile and openly limits the new rulers’ authority, but avoids directly defying the Dao Ancestor.
  • Tongtian acts more diplomatically than expected: he supports the Heavenly Court, gifts it valuable produce, and offers disciples to strengthen it. He also openly ridicules Zhunti’s familiar gift-giving habits.
  • Zhunti is shrewdly interested in the possibilities of Liu Yuanchen’s world-building path, while continuing to pursue opportunities for the Western Sect.
  • Liu Yuanchen demonstrates exceptional cultivation and a powerful foundation, impressing Hao Tian and reinforcing Zhenyuan’s confidence in him.
  • Zhenyuan and Liu Yuanchen share a warm mentor-disciple bond; Zhenyuan’s extra peaches help Liu Yuanchen advance.
  • Tongtian and Hao Tian establish a practical alliance, while Zhunti’s final offer suggests the Western Sect may seek a similar foothold in the Heavenly Court.

Significant themes

  • Political authority versus actual power: The Dao Ancestor’s appointment grants legitimacy, but the Heavenly Court’s real influence depends on strength and alliances.
  • Cultivation and world-building: Liu Yuanchen’s complete world can produce unique treasures, suggesting a path to resources and power beyond the Primordial World’s limits.
  • Institution-building through alliances: The new Heavenly Court needs capable personnel, and the Saints’ willingness to send disciples could shape its future reach.
  • Humor and status: The gift exchange contrasts prestigious offerings with Zhunti’s shamelessly recycled lotus seeds, puncturing the ceremony’s formality.

Ch. 638Invested as Great Emperor of Mount Tai

Key plot points and events

  • Zhunti announces that the Western Sect will send disciples to serve in the Heavenly Court. With the Netherworld’s Reincarnation system already established, the Sect turns its attention to the Court instead.
  • The Supreme Old Lord reveals that Taiqing’s benevolent corpse will also serve the Heavenly Court, supplying pills and spirit treasures from Tusita Palace.
  • These commitments leave four Saints supporting the Heavenly Court: Tongtian, Zhunti, and Taiqing’s clone, alongside the Court’s existing backing. Nuwa remains neutral, while Yuanshi’s Chan Sect is its main opponent.
  • Grand Immortal Zhenyuan pledges that the Earth Immortal Path’s earth deities will obey the Heavenly Court’s commands, giving the Court a foothold in governing the Primordial Land.
  • The Heavenly Emperor proposes making Liu Yuanchen Great Emperor of Mount Tai, with authority over mountain gods across the world. Zhenyuan appoints him using the Earth Book, with Tongtian and Zhunti endorsing the choice and the Human Sect remaining uninvolved.

Character developments and interactions

  • Hao Tian and Yaochi are astonished and delighted as the Heavenly Court’s influence grows far faster than they expected. Hao Tian rewards Zhenyuan’s allegiance by recognizing his authority over earth deities in the Court’s territory.
  • Zhunti offers the Western Sect’s support while making clear that its disciples remain accountable to Hao Tian.
  • The Supreme Old Lord takes a practical, limited role in the Court, agreeing to run its pill-refining and treasure-forging operations.
  • Zhenyuan and Hao Tian strike a mutually beneficial bargain: the Court gains legitimacy and support, while Zhenyuan retains influence over earth-deity appointments.
  • Liu Yuanchen gains a major new title and broad nominal authority, while carefully observing the proper courtesies toward his master, the Heavenly Emperor, and the Saints. His new position also formally places him within the Heavenly Court, helping him avoid the coming Investiture calamity.

Significant themes

  • Political legitimacy and alliances: Saintly backing and the Dao Ancestor’s mandate transform the Heavenly Court’s authority from a claim into something more credible.
  • Power balanced by negotiation: Hao Tian and Zhenyuan exchange recognition and influence rather than allowing one side to dominate.
  • Ambition and survival: Factions seek positions in the rising Heavenly Court both to gain power and to protect themselves from future calamities.
  • Titles versus real strength: Liu Yuanchen recognizes that his new authority is nominal at first, but expects to make it substantive as his power grows.

Ch. 639Advancing to a Greater Thousandfold World

Key plot points and events

  • After Liu Yuanchen is appointed Great Emperor of Mount Tai, other factions react uneasily. The Dragon and Phoenix Clans envy his new standing but hesitate to seek protection from the Heavenly Court; the Penglai and Yingzhou immortals worry that joining it will not protect their island holdings from Liu’s authority. The Witch Race, meanwhile, enjoys strong control of the Netherworld and has little need to submit.
  • At the Heavenly Court’s departure, Wu Chen invites Liu to visit Houtu in the Netherworld. Liu agrees, but postpones the trip until he breaks through to the Daluo Golden Immortal realm, since his treasures and complete world make him a target. Wu Chen accepts his reasoning.
  • Back at Longevity Mountain, Liu places the Earth Book and Dongyang Realm in a mountain spirit eye. He sends a new clone to Mount Tai to establish the Great Emperor’s Divine Prefecture and recruit followers.
  • Liu focuses on strengthening himself and expanding Dongyang Realm. He plants three rare flat-peach trees, imprints several Primordial World Ancestral Veins into the realm, and continues cultivating Innate Spirit Roots to increase its supply of Innate Primordial Qi.
  • After three yuanhui, Liu’s physical strength and mastery of the Three Thousand Great Daos have advanced greatly. When Dongyang Realm’s First Ancestral Vein begins fluctuating, he uses the Chaos Alms Bowl to feed it Chaos Qi and the Earth Book to offset the realm’s energy costs.
  • The First Ancestral Vein ultimately transforms into a Sixth-Grade Ancestral Vein, and Dongyang Realm becomes a Greater Thousandfold World. Its other veins continue evolving, while the realm produces Primordial Yellow Mother Qi. Liu uses it to strengthen the Mystic Yellow Axe, expecting its power to rise substantially.

Character developments and interactions

  • Liu Yuanchen consolidates his new authority through a Mount Tai clone while remaining cautious about threats to his person. Rather than rush into a dangerous visit to the Netherworld, he prioritizes reaching Daluo Golden Immortal.
  • Wu Chen conveys Houtu’s invitation and recognizes that Liu’s caution is justified; he promises the Witch Race will welcome him when he is ready.
  • The Dragon and Phoenix Clans, Penglai’s Three Immortals, and Yingzhou’s Nine Elders are shown as politically vulnerable and uncertain about how to respond to Liu’s growing influence.
  • Liu’s cultivation and resources develop in tandem: he becomes physically formidable, deepens his law comprehension, and uses his expanding realm to build greater power.

Significant themes

  • Power and political leverage: Liu’s appointment changes the balance among factions, while control of territory and institutions determines who can act independently.
  • Caution amid ambition: Liu builds influence and strength methodically, avoiding risks before he can defend himself.
  • Growth through cultivation and world-building: Dongyang Realm’s advancement directly strengthens Liu’s foundation and creates new opportunities for treasures and spiritual resources.
  • Interdependence: Liu’s progress relies on the realm’s Ancestral Veins, Spirit Roots, and treasures, while his own interventions—such as supplying Chaos Qi—help the realm advance.

Ch. 640Zenith Heaven Flowers Bloom

Key plot points and events

  • With Dongyang Realm’s rise to a Greater Thousandfold World, Liu Yuanchen’s Mystic Yellow Axe absorbs a vast supply of Primordial Yellow Mother Qi, greatly enhancing its potential. The realm’s advancement also brings him substantial Heavenly Dao and Great Dao Merit, which he considers using to turn the axe into a Postnatal Merit Supreme Treasure.
  • Over the following centuries, Dongyang Realm’s Ancestral Veins transform, while the Ginseng Fruit Tree and Earth Book each reach High-Grade status. Their advancement triggers a major improvement in Liu Yuanchen’s own foundation: his understanding of the Three Thousand Great Daos rises from the second rank to around the fourth.
  • Determined to reach Daluo Golden Immortal, Liu Yuanchen consumes rare spiritual fruits to strengthen his cultivation, body, and grasp of laws. His Immortal Dao Foundation draws on his own power and Dongyang Realm’s energy to form the Nascent Three Zenith Heaven Flowers.
  • The process unfolds over millennia: a golden lotus seed forms, sprouts five colored leaves, and grows twenty-five leaves before three flower buds emerge. Liu Yuanchen sustains them with abundant spiritual fruits, while the buds absorb his energies and the power of laws.
  • The buds rise above his head. The first—the Past Flower—begins to bloom, and Dongyang Realm’s Heavenly Dao pours its power into it. It fully opens as a thirty-six-layer, Twelfth-Rank Azure Lotus, and Liu Yuanchen’s cultivation bottleneck breaks, marking his breakthrough into the Daluo Golden Immortal realm.

Character development

  • Liu Yuanchen’s confidence reflects his extraordinary resources and growing strength: he believes he can reproduce Pangu’s Nine Heaven-Cleaving Forms closely enough to defeat a Daluo Golden Immortal.
  • His breakthrough demonstrates not just accumulated power but exceptional preparation. As master and sole Primordial God-Demon of a Greater Thousandfold World, he can draw on its resources and Heavenly Dao to cultivate a foundation far beyond that of ordinary cultivators.
  • He remains pragmatic and resourceful, treating rare fruits as tools to replenish whatever the breakthrough consumes.

Significant themes

  • Accumulation and transformation: Realm growth, treasure refinement, and spiritual-root advancement all contribute to Liu Yuanchen’s personal breakthrough.
  • Abundance versus scarcity: Resources considered precious by others are plentiful to Liu Yuanchen, letting him overcome the immense demands of cultivation.
  • Heaven-and-cultivator cooperation: Dongyang Realm’s Heavenly Dao directly empowers Liu Yuanchen’s Past Flower, showing how closely his fate and cultivation are tied to the world he governs.
  • Patient cultivation: The breakthrough takes thousands of years, emphasizing endurance and methodical preparation rather than sudden advancement.

Character interactions

  • Liu Yuanchen’s key relationships in this chapter are indirect: he benefits from the Queen Mother of the West’s earlier gift of spiritual fruits and from Grand Immortal Zhenyuan’s teachings and breakthrough insights.
  • His strongest ongoing relationship is with Dongyang Realm itself. As its master, he draws upon its energy and laws; in turn, the realm’s growth strengthens him, and its Heavenly Dao assists his breakthrough.
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