Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “United Together!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing and Zhang Daoxuan secretly listen to the captain of the martial guard and agree that he is unusually reasonable and focused on helping the tribes rather than exploiting them.
• They consider making him the next clan chief because he wants to restore the tribe instead of draining its people and resources.
• After the captain leaves, Xu Changqing reveals that their work is incomplete. He, Zhang Daoxuan, and the male shaman decide to visit the rival Wave Tribe and negotiate directly with its witch.
• Xu Changqing warns that if the Wave Tribe refuses to cooperate, violence may follow, frightening the male shaman.
• While crossing the lake, Xu Changqing senses that something mysterious is hidden beneath its spiritually rich waters. Zhang Daoxuan also recognizes the lake’s potential as a place for cultivation.
• They arrive at the Wave Tribe, a prosperous floating settlement centered around fishing and trade. The inhabitants react suspiciously and aggressively to the Jade Tribe’s arrival.
• The Wave Tribe’s witch allows the visitors into the clan chief’s dwelling, where several elders and the clan chief confront them.
• The male shaman proposes that the Jade and Wave Tribes form an alliance and jointly offer Lord Azure Ripples a single piece of high-quality jade instead of competing and submitting separate offerings.
• The Wave clan chief angrily rejects the idea, arguing that the offering system was established by Lord Azure Ripples and cannot simply be changed. The male shaman counters that continued rivalry will eventually exhaust both tribes’ jade resources.
• The witch stops the argument and listens more seriously, leaving open the possibility that the alliance may be considered.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing emerges as a calculating strategist. He sees the political value of supporting the martial guard captain and understands that cooperation with the Wave Tribe is necessary for broader change.
• Zhang Daoxuan acts as Xu Changqing’s ally and confidant, agreeing with his political assessment and observing the lake’s spiritual qualities.
• The male shaman shows courage and sincerity by proposing peace to a long-standing rival. Although nervous, he directly challenges the exploitative jade-offering system.
• The martial guard captain is established as a potential reformer and future clan chief because he cares about rebuilding the tribe rather than profiting from it.
• The Wave Tribe’s witch is introduced as authoritative, perceptive, and more open-minded than the hostile elders and clan chief. Her intervention prevents the meeting from collapsing immediately.
• The Wave clan chief and elders initially embody distrust, anger, and attachment to tradition, resisting any change to the established offering arrangement.

Significant Themes

• Unity against exploitation: The two tribes’ rivalry benefits Lord Azure Ripples while weakening both communities. Their proposed alliance represents resistance to an unjust system.
• Political strategy and reform: Xu Changqing recognizes that lasting change requires replacing ineffective leaders and building alliances rather than relying only on force.
• Scarcity and resource depletion: The diminishing supply of both Water Jade and Mountain Jade threatens the tribes, making cooperation increasingly necessary.
• Tradition versus survival: The Wave clan chief defends rules imposed by Lord Azure Ripples, while the male shaman argues that survival requires challenging those rules.
• Deception and hidden motives: Xu Changqing’s comments about muddy waters and hidden things beneath the lake suggest that deeper political or supernatural secrets may influence the conflict.

Character Interactions

• Xu Changqing and Zhang Daoxuan privately discuss the martial guard captain’s suitability for leadership and plan their next political move.
• Xu Changqing pressures the male shaman to approach the Wave Tribe, while warning him that negotiations may turn violent.
• The Jade Tribe’s delegation encounters hostility from Wave Tribe villagers, who suspect an attempt at revenge or intimidation.
• The male shaman formally presents the alliance proposal to the witch, clan chief, and elders.
• The clan chief reacts furiously, but the witch asserts control and chooses to hear the proposal before making a decision.

Chapter Summary: “A Year Later!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The proposed alliance between the Jade Tribe and Wave Tribe nearly collapses when the witch asks what will happen if they lose against Lord Azure Ripples.
• Xu Changqing and Zhang Daoxuan reveal their identities and power. Xu seals the room with a water barrier, while Zhang threatens to kill the tribes’ leaders immediately if they refuse cooperation.
• Faced with the choice between certain death now or possible death later, the witch and Chief Wave agree to cooperate.
• The witch explains that both tribes are sacrificing lives to obtain jade: the Jade Tribe uses outsiders, while the Wave Tribe loses its own people diving for increasingly scarce Water Jade.
• Zhang Daoxuan establishes the plan: both tribes will jointly offer only one piece of jade the following year. If Lord Azure Ripples accepts, they can coexist; if not, they will resist him together.
• Over the next year, Xu Changqing and Zhang Daoxuan remain at Azure Wave Lake to oversee the situation.
• Wu Ying becomes the new chief of the Jade Tribe and introduces reforms:
  • Miners no longer have to risk their lives constantly and receive regular rest.
  • Part of the former chief’s residence becomes an infirmary.
  • Stolen food rations are returned to the communal storehouse.
• Wu Ying gradually earns the tribe’s trust through fair leadership, while the male shaman withdraws from public life.
• The Wave Tribe begins sending fish and shrimp to the Jade Tribe, using these exchanges to negotiate the details of their alliance. Former enemies slowly become cooperative partners.
• At the next annual sacrifice, the two tribes gather together rather than separately. They present a single jointly selected jade carving decorated with two intertwined water patterns and pray that the god will judge their offering fairly.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing demonstrates calm authority and immense spiritual power, making it clear that the Dao Sect will accept responsibility for confronting Lord Azure Ripples.
• Zhang Daoxuan acts decisively and aggressively, using intimidation to force the tribes to commit to the alliance.
• The witch shifts from skepticism and fear to active support for cooperation. Her explanation of the tribes’ suffering shows that she has long recognized the need for change.
• Chief Wave remains fearful of Lord Azure Ripples but gradually accepts that continued submission is unsustainable.
• Wu Ying emerges as a fair and reform-minded leader. His policies improve the miners’ lives and win the Jade Tribe’s confidence.
• The male shaman becomes unusually subdued and avoids public attention, suggesting either obedience, caution, or discomfort with the new order.
• The two tribes move from hostility and mutual suspicion toward practical cooperation and shared purpose.

Significant Themes

• Fear versus resistance: The tribes have lived under divine oppression for generations, and the alliance represents their first serious attempt to challenge that fear.
• Exploitation and sacrifice: The dwindling supply of jade exposes the human cost of serving Lord Azure Ripples.
• Leadership and reform: Wu Ying’s policies show that meaningful change begins with protecting ordinary people and restoring communal resources.
• Unity through shared suffering: Although the tribes previously blamed one another, they recognize that both are victims of the same system.
• Hope and uncertain rebellion: The joint offering symbolizes hope, but the darkening lake and tense atmosphere warn that confrontation with the god may be imminent.
• Power and coercion: The alliance is not formed entirely freely; the Dao Sect’s threat forces the tribes to act, raising questions about whether liberation imposed through fear can truly be called freedom.

Character Interactions

• The witch confronts the male shaman over his failure to consider the alliance’s consequences.
• Xu Changqing and Zhang Daoxuan confront the witch and Chief Wave, combining reassurance with threats to secure their cooperation.
• The witch and Chief Wave discuss the parallel suffering of their tribes and acknowledge that both depend on dangerous sacrifices.
• During the following year, the Wave and Jade Tribes exchange food and negotiate together, gradually replacing hostility with trust.
• At the sacrifice, the witch and male shaman jointly lift the jade offering, physically representing the tribes’ new alliance.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lord Azure Ripples emerges dramatically from the lake, creating a terrifying display of power that intimidates the hundreds of thousands gathered from the Jade and Wave Tribes.
• The tribes present him with only one piece of fine jade instead of the customary two. The male shaman explains that Mountain Jade has been exhausted and Water Jade has become scarce.
• Lord Azure Ripples destroys the jade in anger, accusing the tribes of taking his gifts—fertile land, irrigation, and protection—for granted.
• He reveals that the “Blood Jade” offered the previous year was made by soaking jade in human blood, exposing the tribes’ sacrifice of jade miners.
• The revelation causes the crowd to erupt. People accuse the Jade Tribe of murder, question the Wave Tribe’s honesty, and turn against the shaman, witch, and tribal chiefs. The fragile cooperation between the two tribes begins to collapse.
• Lord Azure Ripples deliberately allows the chaos to continue, enjoying the fear, suspicion, and conflict. He sees manipulation of human emotions as more satisfying than simply punishing or killing people.
• Zhang Daoxuan finally confronts him, arguing that the deaths occurred because Lord Azure Ripples demanded jade in the first place. His accusation shifts the crowd’s perspective: the god, rather than only the tribal leaders, bears responsibility.
• The chapter ends with the crowd turning toward Lord Azure Ripples and his smile freezing in shock.

Character Developments

• Lord Azure Ripples is revealed as cruel, manipulative, and deeply dependent on fear and worship. Although he presents himself as a benevolent protector, he knowingly pressures mortals into deadly sacrifices and enjoys turning them against one another. His confidence falters when Zhang exposes his responsibility.
• The male shaman becomes increasingly frightened and powerless. He attempts to justify the reduced offering but is trapped when Lord Azure Ripples exposes the use of human blood.
• The witch and tribal chiefs lose control of the situation as public outrage spreads. Their authority and the alliance between the tribes are placed in danger.
• Zhang Daoxuan emerges as the chapter’s boldest challenger. While the entire crowd submits to the god, he remains standing and directly questions the moral foundation of Lord Azure Ripples’ rule.
• Xu Changqing observes the confrontation carefully and recognizes the significance of Lord Azure Ripples seeing through the false Blood Jade, though he does not intervene before Zhang speaks.

Significant Themes

• False benevolence and exploitation: Lord Azure Ripples claims credit for the tribes’ survival while using his authority to exploit them.
• Scapegoating and responsibility: The god encourages the tribes to blame each other, but Zhang forces them to recognize the deeper cause behind the sacrifices.
• Fear versus resistance: Most people submit immediately to divine power, while Zhang’s defiance demonstrates the possibility of challenging oppressive authority.
• Manipulation of human nature: Lord Azure Ripples prefers suspicion, accusation, and social collapse over direct violence, showing how power can control people by turning them against one another.
• The cost of faith and tribute: The demand for jade transforms religious devotion into a system sustained by bloodshed, exposing the destructive consequences of unquestioned worship.

Character Interactions

• Lord Azure Ripples confronts the male shaman and witch over the insufficient tribute, then humiliates them by destroying the jade.
• His accusation of Blood Jade causes the crowd to turn against the Jade Tribe, the Wave Tribe, and their leaders.
• The tribal authorities attempt to calm the people, but their efforts fail as distrust spreads.
• Zhang Daoxuan directly challenges Lord Azure Ripples, reframing the conflict and forcing the crowd to see the god’s role in the miners’ deaths.

Chapter Summary: “The Crucial Step!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Dao Sect members Xu Changqing and Zhang Daoxuan reveal themselves before Lord Azure Ripples and the assembled mortals.
• They demand that the water god reduce the oppressive annual jade tribute imposed on the two tribes, suggesting it be collected only once every five or ten years.
• Lord Azure Ripples refuses, explaining that it needs to gather Faith Power to compete for the vacant position of Flood God over the three-thousand-li Flood River.
• The deity threatens to kill the two Dao Sect cultivators so that the mortals will once again submit without resistance.
• Lord Azure Ripples attacks by unleashing the waters of the entire Eight-Hundred-Li Azure Ripples Lake.
• Xu Changqing protects the mortals with Flowers Bloom in an Instant and uses Water Mastery to redirect the lake’s waters back against the deity.
• Although Lord Azure Ripples is torn apart, it reforms instantly, revealing the resilience of a Great God.
• Xu Changqing counters a second attack, then drains and contracts the lake, exposing its bed and weakening the water god by depriving it of its source of divine power.
• As Lord Azure Ripples begins to perish, Zhang Daoxuan asks to deliver the final blow. Xu Changqing agrees, recognizing the importance of this moment to Zhang’s ambitions.
• Zhang uses his Green Gourd to absorb and refine Lord Azure Ripples’ remaining divine power, authority, and essence.
• The process grants Zhang a new insight: Retrospection.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing demonstrates both compassion and overwhelming strength. He prioritizes protecting the mortals, mocks Lord Azure Ripples’ cowardice, and proves capable of defeating a Great God through precise control of water and terrain.
• Zhang Daoxuan continues pursuing his goal of challenging Gods and Devils and elevating the Human Race. By personally absorbing Lord Azure Ripples, he takes an important step toward becoming a supreme Great Dao Venerable.
• Lord Azure Ripples is revealed to be ambitious but fearful, seeking the greater Flood God position while exploiting mortals for Faith Power. Its confidence collapses once its lake and divine foundation are stripped away.
• The mortals begin showing the first signs of resistance toward divine oppression. Though initially terrified and submissive, the Dao Sect’s intervention gives them the courage to question their god’s authority.

Significant Themes

• Resistance against oppression: The Dao Sect challenges a system in which gods exploit ordinary people through forced offerings and fear.
• Human empowerment: The mortals’ growing anger and the Dao Sect’s actions suggest a broader struggle to change the balance between humans and divine beings.
• Power and dependence: Lord Azure Ripples’ strength is tied to the lake that sustains it, showing that divine authority depends on territory, worship, and material foundations.
• The cost of transformation: Zhang’s absorption of the god marks a dangerous but necessary step in his path toward greater power and his ambition to reshape the world.
• Courage versus cowardice: Lord Azure Ripples hides behind its status and defenses, while Xu and Zhang confront it directly despite the risks.

Character Interactions

• Xu Changqing and Zhang Daoxuan act in unity when confronting Lord Azure Ripples, presenting themselves as representatives of the Dao Sect.
• Xu and Zhang exchange approving glances when the deity confirms their suspicion that it seeks the Flood God position.
• Lord Azure Ripples threatens them, prompting both cultivators to mock its cowardice and provoke the confrontation.
• During the battle, Zhang warns Xu of the deity’s counterattack, while Xu confidently handles it.
• Before the final absorption, Zhang asks Xu for the opportunity to kill the god himself. Xu pauses to consider Zhang’s aspirations, then grants permission.
• Lord Azure Ripples’ final pleas contrast sharply with Zhang’s determination, ending with the deity’s power being refined into Zhang’s new insight, Retrospection.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Beneath a mysterious abyss, the Black Emperor, ruler of all water veins, summons seven major water gods: the Rare Marsh God, Flame Spring God, Cold Abyss God, Ten-Thousand-Blade God, Netherworld River God, Rainfall God, and Thunder Marsh God.
• They discuss the deaths of many gods, including Azure Ripples, and blame the Dao Sect for teaching mortals how to resist and kill gods.
• The gods reveal that their greatest crisis is the decline of Faith Power. As mortals stop worshiping them and offerings decrease, the gods’ authority and strength weaken.
• Rather than simply killing Dao Sect disciples, the Black Emperor identifies the true source of the problem: the Primordial Origin Dao Ancestor. They decide that eliminating him will cripple the Dao Sect and prevent mortals from learning how to oppose gods.
• A hundred years pass. Xu Changqing and Zhang Daoxuan travel among countless tribes, killing tyrannical gods and teaching mortals practical knowledge:
  • How to identify medicinal spirit plants
  • How to stop bleeding
  • How to treat cold and illness
• Xu completes his Records of a Hundred Herbs, documenting the medicinal properties and detoxification methods of over a hundred plants. Zhang reaches the peak of the Dao-Entering Realm and awaits an opportunity to advance.
• The two become widely respected among mortals, but their growing reputation also attracts attacks from gods, demons, fiends, and mountain spirits. They survive through their strength and good fortune.
• They are suddenly summoned back to the Dao Sect Ancestral Court by Senior Brother Li. There, they discover millions of people gathered outside.
• Xu notices that gods are hiding among the crowd and that many mortals appear pale and unnatural. Members of the Xi, Jade, and Wave Tribes are also present.
• The crowd suddenly chants in unison: “Please, Dao Ancestor, die!”, revealing that the gathering is likely part of a massive divine plot against the Dao Ancestor.

Character Developments

• Black Emperor: Demonstrates strategic insight and authority by recognizing that the Dao Ancestor—not ordinary Dao Sect disciples—is the true threat to the gods’ survival. He commands the other gods to act.
• Xu Changqing: Remains at the Dao Enlightenment Realm but achieves major progress in practical scholarship, completing his herbal record. His compassion and usefulness to mortals make him increasingly famous. He also becomes more perceptive, immediately detecting disguised gods and the unnatural condition of the crowd.
• Zhang Daoxuan: Deepens his understanding of the Dao through travel and reaches the peak of the Dao-Entering Realm, positioning himself for a breakthrough into Dao Enlightenment.
• The Dao Ancestor: Remains calm and composed despite the enormous hostile crowd gathered outside his Ancestral Court, suggesting that he may understand the situation or possess complete confidence in his ability to respond.
• The water gods: Shift from frustration over individual losses to a coordinated plan to destroy the Dao Sect’s leadership.

Significant Themes

• Faith versus knowledge: The gods depend on worship and Faith Power, while the Dao Sect empowers mortals through knowledge and self-reliance. As mortals learn to heal themselves and resist divine oppression, the gods lose influence.
• Education as liberation: Xu and Zhang’s teachings give ordinary people practical means of survival, reducing their dependence on gods and transforming the balance of power.
• Institutional conflict: The struggle is no longer between individual gods and disciples; it has become a confrontation between the entire Dao Sect and the divine order.
• The danger of popularity: Xu and Zhang’s fame earns them mortal support but also draws the attention and hostility of powerful supernatural beings.
• Manipulation and false devotion: The enormous crowd appears to represent popular opposition to the Dao Ancestor, but the presence of disguised gods and unnatural mortals suggests that public belief and collective action can be manufactured.

Character Interactions

• The seven water gods debate how to respond to the decline of their authority, ultimately accepting the Black Emperor’s plan to target the Dao Ancestor.
• Xu Changqing and Zhang Daoxuan work together throughout their travels, combining Xu’s medical and botanical knowledge with Zhang’s growing Dao comprehension.
• Senior Brother Li urgently retrieves them and brings them back to the Ancestral Court.
• Xu questions the Dao Ancestor about the gathered crowd, but the chapter ends before receiving an explanation.
• The chapter closes with the millions assembled outside uniting in a threatening chant against the Dao Ancestor, creating a major cliffhanger.

Chapter Summary: “The Past Cannot Be Changed!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Millions of mortals surround the Dao Sect’s Ancestral Court, shouting for the Dao Ancestor to die. The Dao Sect initially believes they are loyal followers, but Senior Brother Li reveals that the crowd has been gathering under coercion.
• Xu Changqing realizes the gods are behind the mass gathering. The Dao Sect has killed hundreds of gods over the past century, prompting the gods to retaliate by manipulating mortals and turning them against the Dao Ancestor.
• At least seven powerful water-element gods surround the Ancestral Court with enormous waves and divine barriers. They threaten to kill the millions of mortals unless the Dao Ancestor sacrifices himself.
• Despite the pressure, the Dao Sect’s disciples stand together to protect Primordial Origin Dao Ancestor, recognizing that he is the foundation of the sect.
• The Dao Ancestor steps forward and declares that if his death can secure humanity’s future, it is worthwhile. However, he explains that true death is impossible for him because he has reached the Dao Integration Realm.
• Instead, he offers to scatter his Dao, dissolve his laws, and enter eternal slumber, leaving his physical body to the gods in exchange for the mortals’ lives.
• The Black Emperor accepts the proposal and orders the gods to take the Dao Ancestor’s body to the Eye of Guixu, where he will be permanently suppressed.

Character Developments

• Primordial Origin Dao Ancestor demonstrates extraordinary composure, selflessness, and strategic insight. Rather than reacting with anger to humanity’s betrayal, he is willing to sacrifice his power and consciousness to protect innocent people.
• Xu Changqing shifts from outrage and resistance to stunned understanding. He realizes that the Dao Ancestor is using this moment to teach the Dao Sect to stand independently against the gods.
• Zhang Daoxuan openly rejects the idea that the Dao Ancestor should die for the mortals, emphasizing that the Dao Ancestor’s life is equally valuable. His reaction reflects his loyalty and his inability to accept such a sacrifice.
• The Dao Sect disciples display unity and devotion by standing between the Dao Ancestor and the hostile crowd, even as some panic, weep, pray, or prepare to fight.
• The gods, especially Rare Marsh God, Flame Spring God, and Cold Abyss God, reveal their cruelty and contempt for both mortals and Dao cultivators. Their threats show that the hostage situation is intended not merely to kill the Dao Ancestor but to destroy the Dao Sect’s foundation.
• The Black Emperor emerges as the true authority behind the plan, confirming that the gods intend to imprison the Dao Ancestor indefinitely rather than simply accept his death.

Significant Themes

• Sacrifice and responsibility: The Dao Ancestor is willing to surrender everything to protect millions of people, even those manipulated into cursing him.
• Manipulation of the masses: The gods weaponize ordinary mortals, showing how easily fear and coercion can turn people against their protectors.
• The burden of leadership: The Dao Ancestor’s sacrifice highlights the immense responsibility carried by those who protect humanity.
• Independence from authority: His statement that the Dao Sect needs people willing to say “no” to the gods marks a turning point, encouraging the sect to develop courage and self-reliance rather than depend entirely on him.
• Life beyond death: The Dao Integration Realm makes the Dao Ancestor effectively immortal, shifting the conflict from physical death to the destruction or suppression of his Dao, laws, and consciousness.
• Betrayal and moral complexity: The mortals’ hostility contrasts sharply with the Dao Sect’s years of protection, raising questions about whether morality lies in public gratitude or in doing what is right despite rejection.

Important Character Interactions

• Xu Changqing and Zhang Daoxuan initially attempt to defend the Dao Sect against the mob, but their voices are overwhelmed. Later, they confront the Dao Ancestor’s decision and struggle to accept it.
• The Dao Ancestor and the Dao Sect share a quiet but powerful exchange: he walks past the disciples protecting him and explains that the sect must learn to resist the gods without relying on his existence.
• The Dao Ancestor and the gods engage in a battle of wills. The gods demand his death, but he counters by offering a form of sacrifice they had not anticipated.
• The Black Emperor and the water gods reveal their hierarchy when the Black Emperor instructs them to accept the Dao Ancestor’s terms and deliver his body to the Eye of Guixu for eternal suppression.

Chapter Summary: “Now It Is Destined!”

Plot Points and Major Events

• The water gods agree to cooperate with the plan, while Zhang Daoxuan repeatedly tries—and fails—to approach the Primordial Origin Dao Ancestor. An invisible force continually pushes him away.
• Xu Changqing remains still because he understands that the Dao Ancestor is destined to scatter his Dao. This will cause the Dao Sect to decline and plunge humanity into a long period of darkness, but it is also necessary for the later Gods’ Twilight and the eventual benefit of the Human and Demon races.
• The Primordial Origin Dao Ancestor unleashes his final power, shouting “Scatter!” His Dao fragments into elemental forces such as fire, water, wind, and mountains. These fragments and countless dharma seals disperse into the world or are absorbed by the Myriad Dao Tree.
• Reality begins to collapse and distort. The sky cracks, space twists, time accelerates, and countless civilizations and scenes flash before Xu Changqing.
• Luo Qing, the mysterious woman, appears and tells Xu Changqing to remember her name. He recognizes her as Luo Qinghan, causing forgotten memories to return.
• Xu Changqing is transported back to the present, to the moment after he broke through to the Body Integration Realm. His memories of the past return completely, revealing that he is the ninth disciple of the Northern Dipper Immortal Mansion—not the eighth. Luo Qinghan is his forgotten second senior sister.
• The Great Dao Venerable appears and reveals that Xu Changqing’s journey into the past was not accidental but predestined. He also explains that the Lord of Creation Dao had already been erased from the River of Time.
• Because Xu Changqing returned to the past without the Lord of Creation Dao’s identity serving as a vessel, he became a new existence who carries the past, present, and future: Shennong.
• The Great Dao Venerable attempts to erase Xu Changqing from existence, not merely kill him. He removes Xu Changqing’s timeline from the River of Time, but the timeline repeatedly returns before it can break.
• Xu Changqing’s foundation undergoes a transformation: the Beginning of the past merges with the Origin of the present, and the Origin Dao Heavenly Scripture evolves into the Primordial Beginning Heavenly Scripture.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing: Gains a complete understanding of his destiny and identity. He realizes that his time-traveling experiences were part of a predetermined fate and that he has become Shennong, a legendary figure remembered by humanity. His cultivation foundation also evolves into something beyond its former state.
• Primordial Origin Dao Ancestor: Sacrifices and scatters his Dao, setting in motion the decline of the Dao Sect and the historical transition toward humanity’s dark age.
• Luo Qinghan: Her true identity as Xu Changqing’s forgotten second senior sister is restored to his memory. Her brief appearance becomes the catalyst for recovering his lost past.
• Great Dao Venerable / Dao Xuan: Revealed as someone who governs the River of Time and has previously erased the Lord of Creation Dao. Though he regards Xu Changqing as a friend, he is willing to erase him because temporal connections represent weaknesses he cannot tolerate.

Significant Themes

• Destiny and inevitability: The fall of the Dao Sect, Xu Changqing’s journey through the past, and his transformation into Shennong are all presented as events that were destined to occur.
• Memory and identity: Remembering Luo Qinghan restores Xu Changqing’s forgotten history and changes his understanding of who he is.
• Existence versus erasure: The Great Dao Venerable’s goal is not to kill Xu Changqing but to make it as though he never existed, highlighting the distinction between death and complete removal from history.
• Time and causality: The chapter explores the instability of time, the impossibility of changing the past, and the danger posed by connections across different eras.
• Sacrifice and renewal: The Dao Ancestor’s destruction causes decline, but that decline is necessary for future races and later historical developments. Similarly, Xu Changqing’s foundation is destroyed and remade into a more powerful form.

Important Character Interactions

• The water gods support the Dao Ancestor’s plan, while Zhang Daoxuan desperately attempts to reach him.
• Xu Changqing and Luo Qinghan share a brief but meaningful exchange that restores her name and his forgotten memories.
• Xu Changqing confronts the Great Dao Venerable, calling him “Master” rather than Dao Xuan, acknowledging their relationship despite his complicated feelings.
• The Great Dao Venerable explains Xu Changqing’s transformation into Shennong and then attempts to erase him. Xu Changqing protests that they are friends, but Dao Xuan insists that anyone connected to him through time is a weakness.
• The failed erasure leaves both Xu Changqing and the Great Dao Venerable shocked, suggesting that Xu Changqing’s new Primordial Beginning foundation places him outside the rules that previously governed his existence.

Chapter Summary: Great Dao Cage!

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing comprehends the Primordial Beginning Heavenly Scripture, an eighteen-character Supreme-grade scripture whose power surpasses the much longer Origin Dao Heavenly Scripture.
• He realizes that the Great Dao Venerable failed to erase him from the River of Time because Xu Changqing’s “Beginning” foundation has transcended the limits of the Dao, making him impossible to locate or eliminate through time.
• The Great Dao Venerable—revealed to be Xu Changqing’s former companion, Zhang Daoxuan—questions how Xu Changqing acquired such a powerful foundation despite beginning as an ordinary Shennong and later a Spirit Farmer.
• Xu Changqing admits that he does not know what happened during the missing period between the Primordial Era and the present. He also senses that Zhang Daoxuan has changed drastically, having abandoned nearly all traces of humanity.
• Zhang Daoxuan identifies a weakness in Xu Changqing’s foundation: while his Beginning exists beyond the Dao, his primordial aspect remains within it and can still be restrained.
• Unable to erase Xu Changqing, the Great Dao Venerable decides to imprison him in the mysterious Great Dao Cage, where the missing immortals are allegedly trapped.
• He summons an enormous purple eye formed from Primordial Purple Qi. Its gaze freezes Xu Changqing’s primordial foundation while leaving only the Beginning aspect active.
• The Great Dao Venerable explains that he sacrificed emotion, desire, stray thoughts, and personal weaknesses in order to control the origin of time, enforce the Great Dao, and protect reality from the Void and Outsider Evils.
• He reveals that he once intended to use Xu Changqing to gain control of the Creation Origin, but that plan failed and the future can no longer be altered.
• Xu Changqing is transported into the Great Dao Cage, a boundless purple realm filled with glass-like immortals suspended in various poses.
• He discovers that the immortals have been divided into separate fragments, with their emotions and aspects of self—such as joy, anger, sorrow, fear, hatred, and numbness—stripped away from their “flawless true selves.”
• Xu Changqing recognizes Senior Brother Li among the imprisoned beings. He too begins crystallizing, though the power of Beginning briefly restores his thoughts and senses before the cage solidifies him again.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing demonstrates extraordinary growth by comprehending a foundation that transcends the Dao despite his humble origins. He also shows compassion toward Zhang Daoxuan, remembering their former friendship rather than immediately treating him as an enemy.
• Xu’s foundation is revealed to be powerful but imperfect: its Beginning aspect lies beyond the Dao, while its primordial aspect remains vulnerable to Dao-based restrictions.
• The Great Dao Venerable/Zhang Daoxuan is shown to have transformed into an emotionless, highly calculating figure. He has deliberately erased his desires, emotions, and weaknesses in pursuit of absolute control and the enforcement of the Great Dao.
• Zhang Daoxuan still retains knowledge of and interest in Xu Changqing, but his former ideals of helping mortals and standing against suffering have been replaced by rigid obedience to cosmic order.
• The imprisoned immortals have been reduced to fragmented versions of themselves, suggesting that their identities and emotions have been systematically dissected.

Significant Themes

• Transcendence versus limitation: Xu Changqing’s Beginning surpasses the Dao, but his primordial foundation remains bound by it, creating a crucial vulnerability.
• The cost of absolute control: Zhang Daoxuan sacrificed emotion, desire, and individuality to become an enforcer of the Great Dao, raising questions about whether perfection requires the destruction of humanity.
• Identity and the self: The Great Dao Cage physically separates each immortal’s emotions and personality traits, exploring whether a “flawless true self” can exist without the qualities that make someone an individual.
• Fate and inevitability: Zhang Daoxuan claims that the future is now fixed and cannot be changed, while Xu Changqing’s existence outside the River of Time challenges the possibility of absolute destiny.
• Friendship corrupted by time: The former bond between Xu Changqing and Zhang Daoxuan contrasts sharply with their present conflict, emphasizing how power, isolation, and long-term sacrifice have driven them apart.

Character Interactions

• Xu Changqing and Zhang Daoxuan confront one another over Xu’s origins, the source of his Primordial Beginning Foundation, and the events that occurred during Xu’s missing years.
• Xu expresses concern and pity for his former companion, asking what happened to him and whether a misunderstanding caused their conflict.
• Zhang Daoxuan responds with cold pragmatism, acknowledging Xu’s strength but focusing on exploiting his weakness rather than repairing their relationship.
• Their confrontation ends with Zhang imprisoning Xu instead of killing him, sending him into the Great Dao Cage to join the missing immortals.
• Inside the cage, Xu encounters Senior Brother Li and witnesses the horrifying fragmentation inflicted upon the imprisoned immortals before becoming trapped himself.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing endures 188 years inside the Great Dao Cage, where immobilized immortals are surrounded by purple mist, glazed bodies, and endless layers of external forms. Over time, his boredom and despair deepen until he closes his eyes and falls into an unconscious, dreamlike state.
• He awakens in what initially appears to be his old wooden hut in the Dongting Immortal Sect’s Outer Spirit Fields. However, outside the hut is an endless, source-less world illuminated by faint light and crossed by forty-nine celestial tracks, each embodying a different Great Dao such as fire, water, metal, wood, and earth.
• Xu realizes that this place is the true source of the Grand Void Rift; what he once saw there were only projections leaking from this realm.
• Following the sound of voices and singing, he discovers a boundless garden inhabited by many immortals formerly trapped in the Great Dao Cage. Here, they are no longer frozen glazed figures but living, peaceful people who play chess, play the zither, converse, and rest among ordinary flowers.
• Xu meets Wan Buyi, a fat immortal whose appearance resembles both Hu Bugui and Jin Buhuan. Wan explains that Hu Bugui and Jin Buhuan are incarnations of his Dao, known as the “Three Thousand Refusals.”
• Wan identifies the location as Dream Xuandu and explains that it consists of three realms: the Heavenly Palace Realm above, the Xuandu Realm in the middle, and the Netherworld Realm below. The trapped immortals are currently in the Heavenly Palace Realm.
• He reveals that Dream Xuandu originated from the dream of the Primordial Origin Dao Ancestor. After the Dao Ancestor dispersed his Dao, his body was suppressed in Guixu, his consciousness became the third Demon Ancestor, Lord Xiyi, and his dream transformed into Dream Xuandu. Lord Xiyi later brought the imprisoned immortals into Xuandu through dreams.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing: Moves from extreme exhaustion and resignation to astonishment and renewed curiosity. His awakening in Dream Xuandu gives him a new opportunity to investigate the Great Dao Cage, the Grand Void Rift, and the fate of the immortals.
• Wan Buyi: Introduced as a lively and friendly guide. His identity explains the similarities between himself, Hu Bugui, and Jin Buhuan, revealing that those figures are manifestations of his personal obsessions and cultivated Dao.
• The trapped immortals: Their condition changes dramatically. Though previously immobilized and lifeless within the cage, they now appear free, social, and peaceful in Dream Xuandu.

Significant Themes

• Imprisonment and escape: The chapter contrasts the suffocating stillness of the Great Dao Cage with the apparent freedom and serenity of Dream Xuandu.
• Reality and illusion: Xu’s “return” to the Dongting Immortal Sect is revealed to be an illusion, while the dream realm contains real connections between countless immortals.
• Identity and incarnation: Wan Buyi’s explanation shows how a single immortal’s obsessions can divide into multiple incarnations with distinct personalities and identities.
• The relationship between Dao and consciousness: The Primordial Origin Dao Ancestor’s dispersed body, consciousness, and dream each become separate cosmic forces or realms.
• Hope amid despair: After nearly two centuries of waiting to die, Xu discovers that the prison may contain a deeper world and perhaps a path toward understanding or escape.

Character Interactions

• Xu initially questions whether Wan Buyi is Hu Bugui or Jin Buhuan, prompting Wan to explain the connection between his incarnations and the Three Thousand Refusals Dao.
• Wan warmly welcomes Xu as a newcomer and questions him about his origins, reacting with surprise when Xu confirms that the Heavenly Origin Realm still exists.
• Xu repeatedly questions Wan about their location and the nature of their surroundings. Wan responds patiently, revealing the structure and origin of Dream Xuandu.
• Their conversation establishes Wan as Xu’s first guide and source of information in this mysterious new realm.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing learns from Wan Buyi that Primordial Origin Dao Ancestor was not human but a fragment of the Heavenly Dao’s will. During the Primordial Era, the Heavenly Dao created him to teach mortals cultivation and prevent the Gods or Devils from dominating the myriad realms.
• Wan Buyi explains that Humanity Dao now fears becoming too powerful, which should normally allow the Demon Race to rise. However, the current threat comes from Void, an entity devouring not only space but also time.
• The Outsider Evils are revealed to be manifestations of Void’s power. Void seeks the Dao Ancestor’s body because it contains a portion of the Heavenly Dao. If Void acquires it, it could distort the Heavenly Dao and erase the past, present, and future.
• Guixu remains protected from Void by the Ruins Dragon Tomb, formerly known as the Eye of Guixu. Wan Buyi believes the reincarnated Candle-Wielding Dragon is guarding it.
• Xu Changqing is embarrassed and worried upon realizing that he previously absorbed the Candle-Wielding Dragon’s Torch Dragon Bloodline, unknowingly weakening the being responsible for protecting Guixu. He wonders whether the Lord of the Ruins, Lao Zhao, and Linglong are safe.
• Wan Buyi takes Xu Changqing deeper into the Heavenly Gate Garden to meet immortals from the Heavenly Origin Realm.
• Xu Changqing unexpectedly encounters Yu Caiqing and Dantai Yuanyu, former acquaintances from the Dongting Immortal Sect, who have become powerful immortals.
• He later meets Li Er, an immortal who closely resembles his former Senior Brother Li Sancai. These encounters make Xu Changqing feel as though the former Dongting group has been reunited in altered forms.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing gains a deeper understanding of the cosmic conflict surrounding the Heavenly Dao, Void, and the Dao Ancestor. He also experiences guilt and anxiety over having absorbed the Candle-Wielding Dragon’s bloodline.
• His encounters with familiar faces reveal his lingering emotional ties to his past, particularly his former relationship with Yu Caiqing and his memories of the Dongting Immortal Sect.
• Wan Buyi acts as Xu Changqing’s guide and reveals crucial information about the origins of the Dao Ancestor, the threat of Void, and the defenses of Guixu.
• Yu Caiqing and Dantai Yuanyu are revealed to have risen from their former identities as Dongting Immortal Sect members to become powerful immortals governing life-and-death-related domains.
• Li Er, while not actually Li Sancai, carries a similar appearance and hints at a long history, deepening the chapter’s sense of reincarnation and altered identities.

Significant Themes

• The Heavenly Dao’s manipulation and balance: The Dao Ancestor’s existence was part of a deliberate Heavenly Dao strategy to maintain equilibrium between Gods, Devils, and mortals.
• The existential threat of Void: Void represents total cosmic annihilation, threatening not only physical space but the continuity of time and reality itself.
• Identity, reincarnation, and illusion: Familiar people reappear under different names and identities, blurring the distinction between memory, reincarnation, and reality.
• Regret and unintended consequences: Xu Changqing realizes that an earlier personal gain may have weakened Guixu’s defense, forcing him to confront the consequences of his past actions.
• Nostalgia and emotional attachment: Seeing former companions awakens Xu Changqing’s longing for the past and makes the dreamlike Xuandu Realm seem almost preferable to reality.

Character Interactions

• Wan Buyi explains the Dao Ancestor and Void to Xu Changqing, while Xu Changqing connects the revelations to his previous encounter with the mysterious Void figure.
• Wan Buyi introduces Xu Changqing to Yu Caiqing and Dantai Yuanyu. Xu Changqing recognizes them and calls them “Senior Sisters,” but they no longer remember him, creating an awkward and emotionally distant reunion.
• Xu Changqing mistakes Li Er for Li Sancai. Though Li Er denies knowing him, he responds wistfully when Xu calls him “Senior Brother Li,” suggesting that the title evokes an old memory.
• The chapter ends with Xu Changqing reflecting that although the people around him seem familiar, their identities and circumstances have changed, making the reunion feel dreamlike and unreal.

Chapter Summary: Remnant Obsession!

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing enters a beautiful dreamlike garden populated by familiar immortals, including Wan Buyi, Li Er, Senior Sister Yu, and other old acquaintances.
• Wan Buyi and Li Er show him the pond in Dream Xuandu. Beneath its surface is an entire mortal world, complete with cities, villages, people, animals, incense, and ordinary daily life.
• Xu Changqing recognizes that the world lacks a final element: the power of Creation. He places a spark of Creation Spirit Light into the pond, making the realm complete and vivid.
• Suspicious of the dream’s perfection, Xu Changqing asks who Wan Buyi and Li Er truly are. His completed Primordial Beginning Foundation protects him from becoming lost in the illusion.
• The dream inhabitants vanish, revealing that only Xu Changqing and Li Er remain. Li Er reveals himself as Lord Xiyi, the master of Dream Xuandu and the Third Demon Ancestor.
• Lord Xiyi explains that the apparent immortals were real beings who died long ago. Their bodies are gone, but their Dao Resonances and lingering obsessions formed the people, environment, and reality of Dream Xuandu.
• Xu Changqing realizes that Dream Xuandu is not merely a dream but also a grave preserving the remnants of the dead.
• Lord Xiyi explains that Dao Xuan likely knows of the dream but cannot enter without permission.
• The conversation turns to Xu Changqing’s imprisonment. Dao Xuan attempted to erase him but failed, so he confined him within the Great Dao Cage.
• Lord Xiyi reveals that time moves ten times faster inside the cage: ten thousand years pass within for every thousand years outside. Even immortals eventually die there.
• He promises to absorb Xu Changqing’s lingering Dao Resonance after his death and merge it into Dream Xuandu so Xu Changqing can remain with his old companions.
• The chapter ends with Lord Xiyi revealing that Dream Xuandu began on the day the first immortal was sacrificed.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing demonstrates that his completed Primordial Beginning Foundation gives him immunity to the dream’s seductive influence. He is observant enough to detect the subtle incompleteness of the realm and perceptive enough to uncover its true nature.
• His discovery of the Creation Spirit Light’s importance shows his understanding of the principles required to make a world genuinely complete.
• Xu Changqing experiences shock and grief upon learning that the familiar immortals are dead remnants rather than living people. His reaction highlights his emotional attachment to them despite his growing awareness of the illusion.
• Lord Xiyi shifts from appearing as Li Er, a familiar companion, to revealing himself as an ancient and powerful figure who controls Dream Xuandu. He is calm, mysterious, and somewhat detached, treating death and lingering consciousness as natural phenomena.
• Wan Buyi, Senior Sister Yu, and the other immortals are revealed to be manifestations of surviving Dao Resonances and obsessions rather than independent living beings.

Significant Themes

• Dreams versus reality: The dream is convincing because it preserves memories, personalities, and daily life, forcing Xu Changqing to question whether something must be physically alive to be meaningful.
• Death and continuation: Though the immortals’ bodies have perished, their Dao and obsessions endure within Dream Xuandu. The chapter explores whether such remnants should be considered alive or dead.
• Memory as a form of existence: Dream Xuandu functions as both a sanctuary and a tomb, preserving the dead through shared memories and lingering spiritual traces.
• Creation and completeness: Xu Changqing’s addition of Creation Spirit Light suggests that life and genuine vitality require more than structure, matter, or imitation; creation is what gives a world its final authenticity.
• Loneliness and mortality: The Great Dao Cage is terrifying not only because it imprisons its victims but because accelerated time guarantees eventual death and endless isolation.
• Obsession and sacrifice: The final revelation links Dream Xuandu to the sacrifice of the first immortal, suggesting that the entire realm was born from death, remembrance, and unresolved attachment.

Character Interactions

• Wan Buyi and Li Er initially interact with Xu Changqing as though they are old friends, guiding him through the dream and asking for his judgment about the pond.
• Xu Changqing, Wan Buyi, and Li Er share a brief moment of cooperation when Xu Changqing completes the mortal world with Creation Spirit Light.
• Xu Changqing directly confronts Li Er about the dream’s identity, forcing the illusion to collapse and prompting Li Er to reveal himself as Lord Xiyi.
• Lord Xiyi answers Xu Changqing’s questions about the dead immortals, Dao Xuan, and the Great Dao Cage while offering him a grim form of comfort: even after death, Xu Changqing’s remnant may join the dream.
• Their exchange develops from familiar companionship into a confrontation between a trapped cultivator and the ancient master of the realm.

Chapter Summary: “The Future Has Arrived!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing remains trapped in the Great Dao Cage, able to communicate with old friends only through dreams. A thousand years pass without him escaping.
• Zhen Yuanzi, Great Dao Venerable’s first disciple, suddenly returns after disappearing for ages. He reveals that he fled into the future, the only place beyond his master’s complete control.
• Zhen Yuanzi declares his intention to overthrow Great Dao Venerable and become the new ruler of the Four Mortal Domains and All Heavens and Myriad Realms.
• He reveals that he partnered with the White-Clad Lord, one of the Seven-Clad Lords—an Outsider Evil capable of distorting time.
• Through this alliance, Zhen Yuanzi traveled into the future, perfected the Northern Dipper Return-to-Origin Scripture, and reached an unprecedented tenth realm.
• His new “reverse force” can undo completed events or return unfinished intentions to an earlier state, making it uniquely dangerous to Great Dao Venerable, whose authority is based on time.
• When Great Dao Venerable attempts to erase Zhen Yuanzi from the River of Time, the White-Clad Lord’s power infects and cracks his body, overwhelming his control of time.
• Zhen Yuanzi argues that ruling briefly is preferable to remaining Great Dao Venerable’s servant, even if his actions allow the Outsider Evils to corrupt the entire world.
• As Great Dao Venerable begins to collapse, Zhen Yuanzi hints that he encountered someone significant in the future.
• Meanwhile, in the Ruins Dragon Tomb, the Lord of the Ruins senses an impending catastrophe. He summons Xu Linglong and appoints her as the new Lord of the Ruins, announcing that he can no longer remain there.

Character Developments

• Zhen Yuanzi returns transformed from a fugitive disciple into a confident challenger. His future cultivation and mastery of the tenth realm give him a power capable of countering Great Dao Venerable directly.
• Great Dao Venerable is shown to be vulnerable for the first time. His control over time is neutralized by the White-Clad Lord’s distortion and Zhen Yuanzi’s reverse force.
• Xu Linglong has matured considerably and is entrusted with a major position, inheriting the Lord of the Ruins’ authority.
• The Lord of the Ruins shifts from guardian to one preparing for a larger crisis, suggesting that the coming upheaval threatens even Guixu.
• Xu Changqing’s continued imprisonment remains an important background event, motivating Zhen Yuanzi’s rebellion and emphasizing the oppressive consequences of Great Dao Venerable’s rule.

Significant Themes

• The danger of absolute control: Great Dao Venerable’s domination of time has allowed him to erase threats and manipulate fate, but it has also created resentment among his disciples.
• Freedom versus submission: Zhen Yuanzi prefers risking the destruction of all realms over remaining under his master’s control, embodying an extreme rejection of servitude.
• The future as a source of uncertainty: Unlike the past and present, the future contains variables even Great Dao Venerable cannot fully control.
• The reversal of natural order: Zhen Yuanzi’s tenth-realm power opposes time’s normal forward movement, symbolizing the possibility of undoing fate, history, and completed actions.
• Resistance and corruption: Zhen Yuanzi’s alliance with an Outsider Evil may defeat Great Dao Venerable, but it threatens to infect all existence, raising the question of whether liberation is worth catastrophic destruction.
• Succession and preparation: Xu Linglong’s appointment suggests that old powers are falling and a new generation must inherit responsibility during the approaching crisis.

Character Interactions

• Zhen Yuanzi and Great Dao Venerable: Their master-disciple relationship becomes an open confrontation. Zhen Yuanzi accuses his master of destroying his disciples and ruling too long, while Great Dao Venerable condemns Zhen Yuanzi for cooperating with an Outsider Evil.
• The White-Clad Lord and Zhen Yuanzi: They form a partnership based on their shared opposition to Great Dao Venerable. The White-Clad Lord provides the temporal distortion that enables Zhen Yuanzi’s return from the future.
• The Lord of the Ruins and Zhao Ziyue: The Lord urgently orders Zhao Ziyue to bring Xu Linglong, showing his trust in Zhao and the seriousness of the threat.
• The Lord of the Ruins and Xu Linglong: He transfers his title and responsibility to her, marking a major generational transition.
• Zhen Yuanzi and the absent future figure: Zhen Yuanzi’s final question about whom he saw in the future creates a cliffhanger and implies that the future contains a person or event capable of changing the conflict.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing spends ten thousand years imprisoned in the Great Dao Cage, experiencing dreamlike reunions with old friends such as Wan Buyi, Li Er, and Yu Caiqing.
• The cage suddenly trembles, and the horrifying Immortal-Slaying Platform emerges. One by one, all the imprisoned immortals—including the former companions of Xu Changqing—are executed.
• Their bodies, souls, Dao foundations, laws, and immortal power are stripped away and sent into the heavens as nourishment for the Heavenly Dao. Xu Changqing realizes this is the “sacrifice” Lord Xiyi previously mentioned.
• Outside the cage, the Great Dao Venerable’s distortion causes the Time Origin to collapse. The corruption spreads through the River of Time and twists the True Lord of Myriad Realms, the Myriad-Insect Mother Empress, and Void-Biting Lord.
• All four sovereign-level beings ultimately “return to Void,” causing the stars to vanish, laws to fall into disorder, and countless living beings to die or transform into grotesque entities.
• Within only five hundred years, nearly all of All Heavens and Myriad Realms is destroyed. Zhen Yuanzi becomes Void’s proxy and the last major “sovereign” remaining.
• The Heavenly Origin Realm survives as the final light in the darkness. Xu Ping’an leads over a million cultivators and demons in a desperate defense, though he remains only at the peak of the Body Integration Realm.
• Zhen Yuanzi arrives with the twisted remnants of the four sovereigns and urges Xu Ping’an to surrender, arguing that all things will inevitably return to Void.
• Xu Ping’an rejects him and challenges Zhen Yuanzi to battle with the immortal artifact Desolation Queller.

2. Character Developments

• Xu Changqing: Awakens from his long dreamlike imprisonment and witnesses the true purpose of the Great Dao Cage, gaining a clearer understanding of the Heavenly Dao’s sacrificial system.
• Zhen Yuanzi: Having chosen to become Void’s proxy, he has gained immense power but lost all satisfaction and purpose. Although he claims his actions were necessary for survival, he has become emotionally hollow and increasingly aligned with destruction.
• Xu Ping’an: Remains physically underpowered compared with the enemy but demonstrates courage, resolve, and defiance. He refuses to abandon the Heavenly Origin Realm even when he believes resistance may be futile.
• The Four Sovereigns: Their former identities and powers have been grotesquely distorted. They are no longer independent beings in any meaningful sense, instead serving as monstrous manifestations of Void’s corruption.

3. Significant Themes

• Sacrifice and exploitation: The Immortal-Slaying Platform reveals that immortal lives and accomplishments are being harvested as fuel for the Heavenly Dao.
• The inevitability of destruction versus resistance: Zhen Yuanzi believes surrender is the only rational choice, while Xu Ping’an represents the decision to resist even in the face of certain death.
• Loss of identity: The sovereigns’ grotesque transformations illustrate how returning to Void destroys individuality, form, and meaning.
• The emptiness of power: Zhen Yuanzi has achieved dominance over a ruined world but finds no happiness in it, emphasizing that victory without companions or purpose is meaningless.
• Hope in darkness: The Heavenly Origin Realm’s survival symbolizes a fragile last refuge and the persistence of life despite overwhelming cosmic collapse.

4. Character Interactions

• Xu Changqing silently observes the deaths of the immortals imprisoned alongside him, deepening his understanding of the Heavenly Dao’s cruelty.
• Zhen Yuanzi confronts Xu Ping’an and addresses him as his disciple, attempting to persuade him that surrender is inevitable and that even Xu Ping’an’s master ultimately acted for his sake.
• Xu Ping’an challenges Zhen Yuanzi’s justification, pointing out that Zhen Yuanzi’s “future” has resulted in the destruction of nearly the entire world.
• Their ideological disagreement escalates into an open confrontation, ending with Xu Ping’an raising Desolation Queller and inviting Zhen Yuanzi to fight.

Chapter Summary: “One Epoch as the Beginning!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing remains the sole living being in the Great Dao Cage after all the imprisoned immortals are collectively sacrificed to nourish the Heavenly Dao.
• In a dream, he consults Lord Xiyi. Xiyi explains that the unusual mass sacrifice suggests the Heavenly Dao is facing a severe crisis and urgently requires nourishment.
• Xu Changqing spends tens of thousands of years in isolation. During this period, the dream world deteriorates: the garden withers, the chessboard gathers dust, and no new visitors appear.
• The Tenfold Great Calamity eventually breaks into the Great Dao Cage, pursuing Xu Changqing because he killed Kong Fang. The calamity battles the Primordial Purple Qi, damaging the cage and creating a temporary spatial fissure.
• Xu Changqing uses the power of the Beginning Dao to escape through the fissure.
• Outside, he discovers that the Four Mortal Domains, Endless Starfield, and the wider All Heavens and Myriad Realms have seemingly vanished into an endless, law-distorted darkness. Time, space, and Order are severely corrupted.
• His Primordial Beginning Foundation protects him by reverting attacks to the instant before they occur.
• Xu Changqing eventually finds the Heavenly Origin Realm, still glowing faintly amid the darkness. There, he reunites with his senior brother Zhen Yuanzi and encounters several powerful beings, including the distorted Great Dao Venerable, the True Lord of Myriad Realms, the Myriad-Insect Mother Empress, and the Void-Biting Lord.
• Zhen Yuanzi reveals that he survived the mortal calamity by hiding in the future. He also says that, in the future, he met another version of Xu Changqing called “Doctor Household,” who invented the Superbrain learning system.
• This future Xu Changqing helped Zhen Yuanzi perfect his cultivation and break through to the tenth realm, allowing him to interfere with the Great Dao Venerable’s control over time.
• Zhen Yuanzi explains that future Xu Changqing asked him to bring the Superbrain system back through time, but it was lost during the journey. Xu Changqing privately realizes that the system had not truly been lost—it had descended into the past and bound itself to him when he was still an outer disciple.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing: Becomes increasingly patient and resilient after spending thirty thousand years imprisoned. He turns the Tenfold Great Calamity’s arrival into an opportunity to escape and demonstrates greater mastery of the Beginning Dao and the Primordial Beginning Foundation.
• Lord Xiyi: Provides crucial insight into the Heavenly Dao’s condition, suggesting that its mass slaughter of the immortals reflects an unprecedented emergency.
• Zhen Yuanzi: Reveals that he survived by exploiting future time and has grown powerful enough to reach the tenth realm. His reunion with Xu Changqing shows his continued loyalty and affection toward his junior brother.
• Future Xu Changqing / “Doctor Household”: Is revealed as an important figure in the future, combining cultivation with technological or systematic knowledge through the invention of the Superbrain.
• The Heavenly Dao: Appears to be in serious danger or undergoing a catastrophic transformation, since it suddenly requires far more nourishment than usual.

Significant Themes

• Imprisonment and patience: Xu Changqing’s endless confinement emphasizes endurance, isolation, and the ability to wait for the right opportunity.
• Collapse of cosmic order: The destruction of the Great Dao Cage and the disappearance of the major realms suggest that the entire structure of existence is entering a period of catastrophic upheaval.
• Fate and causality: The Tenfold Great Calamity follows Xu Changqing across dimensions, demonstrating that karmic consequences can transcend time and space.
• Time and alternate selves: Zhen Yuanzi’s account introduces a future version of Xu Changqing, showing that identity and destiny may develop differently across eras while still remaining connected.
• Cycles of “farming” and creation: Xu Changqing’s identities as Shennong, a Spirit Farmer, and eventually a “code farmer” humorously but meaningfully suggest a recurring role of cultivation, development, and creation.
• Beginning and renewal: Xu Changqing’s escape from the dying cage into an unknown void marks the start of a new epoch and possibly the birth of a different cosmic order.

Character Interactions

• Xu Changqing consults Lord Xiyi in the dream realm about the mass sacrifice and the Heavenly Dao’s alarming behavior.
• Xu Changqing and Lord Xiyi spend thousands of years together in near-total silence, their relationship defined by shared isolation rather than conversation.
• Xu Changqing reunites with Zhen Yuanzi after believing the wider world has disappeared. Their exchange confirms that both survived, though by entirely different means.
• Zhen Yuanzi introduces Xu Changqing to his future identity and explains how that future version influenced his cultivation.
• Xu Changqing listens with surprise and amusement, especially upon realizing that the Superbrain Zhen Yuanzi believed lost was actually the system that had already chosen him in the past.

Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing encounters Zhen Yuanzi, who has allied with the forces of distortion and asks him to persuade the people inside the Heavenly Origin Realm to surrender and embrace the Void.
• Xu Changqing discovers that the Great Dao Venerable, the True Lord of Myriad Realms, the Myriad-Insect Mother Empress, and the Void-Biting Lord have all been corrupted by Outsider Evil.
• Because Xu Changqing is uncontaminated, he can enter the Heavenly Origin Realm without being rejected by its Heavenly Dao Will.
• He reunites with his son, Xu Ping'an, who initially suspects he is another counterfeit but soon realizes that Xu Changqing is truly alive.
• Xu Ping'an explains how Zhen Yuanzi returned, corrupted the Great Dao Venerable through the White-Clad Lord’s power, and forced the survivors of the myriad realms to retreat into the Heavenly Origin Realm.
• Rather than convincing his son to surrender, Xu Changqing joins the resistance. He declares that he will cultivate and provide food while Xu Ping'an fights to protect everyone.
• For thousands of years, Xu Changqing transforms the Heavenly Origin Realm into one vast Spirit Field, allowing humans, demons, and other survivors to establish a lasting refuge. Xu Ping'an eventually reaches the Mahayana realm.
• Over countless generations, the Heavenly Origin Realm becomes the only surviving “immortal realm.” Xu Changqing becomes its old ancestor, but everyone he loves—including Xu Ping'an, Luo Qinghan, and the members of the Xu Lineage—eventually dies.
• Zhen Yuanzi also reaches the end of his lifespan and curses Xu Changqing for deceiving him before dying in the Void.
• After Xu Changqing is left completely alone, the mysterious man returns and reveals that their conflict has occurred across 400,000 reincarnations and lasted 1.344 billion years. Xu Changqing had previously lived as the Azure Emperor, Shennong, and Doctor Seek, among many others.
• The mysterious man delivers a message from Xu Changqing’s future self, Doctor Seek: “One origin begins anew; all things are renewed.”
• Xu Changqing finally comprehends the complete operation of his Primordial Beginning Foundation. The Three Origins—Creation, Order, and Terminus—return to truth, and his Primordial Origin Power becomes a growing spring shoot within the Void.
• He transforms into all aspects of existence—nature, memories, loved ones, sacrifices, hopes, and the ordinary details of life. The spring shoot roots itself in the Void and carries the future forward.
• The chapter ends with Xu Changqing attaining an infinite lifespan and creating the possibility of renewal after the Void.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing: Demonstrates patience, loyalty, and strategic wisdom. Instead of betraying the survivors, he quietly joins Xu Ping'an’s resistance and sustains the entire community through farming. After enduring the deaths of everyone he loves, he transcends individual existence and becomes a foundation for renewed creation.
• Xu Ping'an: Initially distrustful because of the many counterfeits produced by Zhen Yuanzi, he becomes emotional upon confirming his father’s identity. He grows into a capable leader, protects the surviving beings, and eventually reaches the Mahayana realm.
• Zhen Yuanzi: Begins confident that Xu Changqing will help him end the resistance, but slowly realizes he has been deceived. His anger and frustration culminate in his curse against Xu Changqing before his eventual death.
• The Mysterious Man: Revealed to be an ancient opponent who has encountered Xu Changqing through hundreds of thousands of reincarnations. Although he challenges Xu Changqing, he also serves as the messenger who enables Xu Changqing’s final awakening.
• Luo Qinghan and the wider community: Their eventual deaths emphasize the passage of time and the enormous personal cost of Xu Changqing’s resistance.

Significant Themes

• Resistance through endurance: Victory does not come from a single battle but from preserving life, cultivating the land, and refusing to surrender across immense stretches of time.
• Renewal and rebirth: The ending presents destruction not as absolute finality but as the precondition for a new beginning.
• The meaning of existence: Xu Changqing’s life gains meaning not through survival alone, but through the people, memories, labor, and ordinary experiences he preserves.
• Cycles of time and reincarnation: The revelation of 400,000 lives suggests that struggle, growth, and confrontation repeat until true understanding is achieved.
• Individuality becoming universality: Xu Changqing ultimately expands beyond his personal identity, becoming heaven, earth, nature, memory, and the countless details that make life meaningful.
• Creation through cultivation: His farming serves as both literal survival and a metaphor for nurturing the future despite seemingly inevitable annihilation.

Character Interactions

• Xu Changqing and Zhen Yuanzi: Their polite exchange conceals mutual hostility. Xu Changqing pretends to cooperate, enters the Heavenly Origin Realm, and secretly undermines Zhen Yuanzi’s plan.
• Xu Changqing and Xu Ping'an: Their reunion is emotional and central to the chapter. Xu Changqing reassures his grieving son, listens to his account, and forms a partnership in which one cultivates and the other defends.
• Xu Changqing and the survivors: Through his Spirit Fields, Xu Changqing supports humans, demons, and other beings, becoming a protective ancestor and provider.
• Xu Changqing and the mysterious man: Their final meeting reframes their conflict as an ancient, recurring contest. The mysterious man’s message triggers Xu Changqing’s realization and transformation.
• Xu Changqing and the departed: In his final speech, Xu Changqing invokes the lives, objects, memories, and emotions connected to numerous companions, showing that his ultimate power is rooted in remembrance and love rather than domination.